All the World News that's unfit for print.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
So...Minimum win requirement. 14 of you voted and 13 of you said yes, which leads us to another question. What sort of MWR, a hard single season basement, or a multi-season progressive, or, hey, a combo of both? In this current recruiting atmosphere of HBD, it seems somewhat self-defeating to be booting owners, and then having to wait to fill the spots. On the other hand, extensive, season after season, ardent 100+ loss seasons starts looking bad. Especially to HBD veterans looking for worlds to join.Now, I'm not one who is dead set against rebuilding, and I don't think taking a couple seasons to retool is an afront to my humanity. But there is tanking, it does exist, and even in my worst seasons I always looked to field the best team I can, and if it meant sacrificing some propspect budget, or later draft picks, I would do it. I also don't understand why many veteran HBD, and frequent forum posters, look down on 100 win teams or multiple title winnings franchises, it is call Hardball Dynasty after all. Is a perfect HBD world one where all 32 teams finsih 81-81? Boring. But I digress. So on to the next question....over there<----->
And now girls in grey bikinis and stuff:
And now girls in grey bikinis and stuff:
Monday, March 16, 2015
AL West: Season 28
Now THAT'S what I call an active winter. So many free agents and trades, everyone in this division made moves to try and put themselves at the top. Love it. The question is whether these moves will lead to improvements from team to team, or were they all just reshuffling of talent?
Defensively, I love what Oakland has got going on. Gloves and range all over the place, and it's not just coming from backups who will only go in during a blowout. Vancouver is in the same proverbial ballpark, with a bunch of starters who can more than field the ball, along with a bunch of backups who won't make a ton of errors when they come in to relieve the starter. Honolulu doesn't quite have the gloves that the others do, but man, they will get to every ball that is put into play. Some of them might drop it when they get to it, but at least there won't be too many extra base hits. Colorado Springs isn't a huge park, but they've got rangy guys as if they worry about having to get to balls. Really, these four teams together might have the best overall defensive ratings of BPF. Take any other four teams, whether they are from the same division or not. I bet they won't have the range and gloves that these four do, and these four are all in one division. Not sure if I can really rank them, but let's throw some darts and say CS, Vancouver, Honolulu, then Oakland.
As per usual, Vancouver has a stud pitching staff, with Lee, Cho, and acquisitions Lopez and AC leading the way. The bullpen is nothing to sneeze at either, and the whole staff might be able to actually improve on the 3.65 ERA from last season. The Oakland staff has a few too many lefties for my liking, but they are still strong, and might improve on last year's numbers if they can get the hitters to put the ball on the ground to their solid defense. I want to get excited about Honolulu, but their staff just won't be able to keep up in this division. The bullpen is solid, and they have a couple of above average starters, but that's not enough in this division. Speaking of "not enough," CS has a couple of stud lefties to start for them, and an above average bullpen, but they're in the same situation as Honolulu, where their staff would look much better in another division. Vancouver gets the nod, with Oakland next, then CS, with Honolulu rounding it out.
I love that arguably the best hitter on CS is a guy named Juan Valdez. Why does that amuse me? Anyway, they've got some power and will get on base a fair amount, but they're not scary from top to bottom. Again, part of the problem is the division that they're in. jc has himself in a good spot with this Oakland team. They weren't a bad hitting team last season, but they weren't good either. Bringing up Malone from the minors and acquiring Burrell should be a big boost to the offense. Meanwhile, in Honolulu, you know you're in trouble when three of your top five home run threats are C/DH type guys. Maybe you can put one of them in RF and hope he doesn't give you a minus play every game, but otherwise you have to split their time at C/DH, and then only one of them gets to play during inter-league games. Yikes. And then there's the pride and joy of the AL West, with Vancouver and their re-vamped offense. The Rosado/Lance deal gave Vancouver some more defense, but took away some offense. Neruda/Figureoa kind of washed the trade out, as KC took on a guy who could play RF, and Vancouver got a DH bat. Did either team really improve with that trade? I guess KC got ride of a few years worth of a big contract. Then the Jarvis for Iglesias/Chang was another big contract on the books for Vancouver, but a massive bat for now. In the short term, I think those two trades are huge for Vancouver. The offensive potential, much like the team's payroll, is through the roof. Six guys hit 30+ HR's last year. Three of those guys are gone now (39, 32, and 32 HR's), and have been replaced by 61, 38, and 38 HR guys. Hey AL West, good luck with that. The clear winner here is Vancouver, with a big gap back to Oakland, then CS, follwed by Honolulu.
The division winner and likely 120 game winner is Vancouver, but then Oakland could mess around and get 90 wins and a wild card spot. Both Honolulu and CS slipped a little bit last year, and I think they'll slip a little more again, but with CS being in the 85 win area, and Honolulu hanging around the .500 region. And then everyone is crazy if they're not looking at Vancouver as the AL Champ and favorite for the World Series as well.
Defensively, I love what Oakland has got going on. Gloves and range all over the place, and it's not just coming from backups who will only go in during a blowout. Vancouver is in the same proverbial ballpark, with a bunch of starters who can more than field the ball, along with a bunch of backups who won't make a ton of errors when they come in to relieve the starter. Honolulu doesn't quite have the gloves that the others do, but man, they will get to every ball that is put into play. Some of them might drop it when they get to it, but at least there won't be too many extra base hits. Colorado Springs isn't a huge park, but they've got rangy guys as if they worry about having to get to balls. Really, these four teams together might have the best overall defensive ratings of BPF. Take any other four teams, whether they are from the same division or not. I bet they won't have the range and gloves that these four do, and these four are all in one division. Not sure if I can really rank them, but let's throw some darts and say CS, Vancouver, Honolulu, then Oakland.
As per usual, Vancouver has a stud pitching staff, with Lee, Cho, and acquisitions Lopez and AC leading the way. The bullpen is nothing to sneeze at either, and the whole staff might be able to actually improve on the 3.65 ERA from last season. The Oakland staff has a few too many lefties for my liking, but they are still strong, and might improve on last year's numbers if they can get the hitters to put the ball on the ground to their solid defense. I want to get excited about Honolulu, but their staff just won't be able to keep up in this division. The bullpen is solid, and they have a couple of above average starters, but that's not enough in this division. Speaking of "not enough," CS has a couple of stud lefties to start for them, and an above average bullpen, but they're in the same situation as Honolulu, where their staff would look much better in another division. Vancouver gets the nod, with Oakland next, then CS, with Honolulu rounding it out.
I love that arguably the best hitter on CS is a guy named Juan Valdez. Why does that amuse me? Anyway, they've got some power and will get on base a fair amount, but they're not scary from top to bottom. Again, part of the problem is the division that they're in. jc has himself in a good spot with this Oakland team. They weren't a bad hitting team last season, but they weren't good either. Bringing up Malone from the minors and acquiring Burrell should be a big boost to the offense. Meanwhile, in Honolulu, you know you're in trouble when three of your top five home run threats are C/DH type guys. Maybe you can put one of them in RF and hope he doesn't give you a minus play every game, but otherwise you have to split their time at C/DH, and then only one of them gets to play during inter-league games. Yikes. And then there's the pride and joy of the AL West, with Vancouver and their re-vamped offense. The Rosado/Lance deal gave Vancouver some more defense, but took away some offense. Neruda/Figureoa kind of washed the trade out, as KC took on a guy who could play RF, and Vancouver got a DH bat. Did either team really improve with that trade? I guess KC got ride of a few years worth of a big contract. Then the Jarvis for Iglesias/Chang was another big contract on the books for Vancouver, but a massive bat for now. In the short term, I think those two trades are huge for Vancouver. The offensive potential, much like the team's payroll, is through the roof. Six guys hit 30+ HR's last year. Three of those guys are gone now (39, 32, and 32 HR's), and have been replaced by 61, 38, and 38 HR guys. Hey AL West, good luck with that. The clear winner here is Vancouver, with a big gap back to Oakland, then CS, follwed by Honolulu.
The division winner and likely 120 game winner is Vancouver, but then Oakland could mess around and get 90 wins and a wild card spot. Both Honolulu and CS slipped a little bit last year, and I think they'll slip a little more again, but with CS being in the 85 win area, and Honolulu hanging around the .500 region. And then everyone is crazy if they're not looking at Vancouver as the AL Champ and favorite for the World Series as well.
Friday, March 13, 2015
NL pt4
Howdy stranger! Now let's turn our steely, or, perhaps, fawning eyes to the NL West. Gone, long gone, are the heydays of the former San Diego/Albuquerque now Oklahoma City franchise. This is a team in retool modus. Ya, I said modus. Not much to get excited about. Defensively, the team is sharp at short. Speaking of "Yikes", let's look at the catching. Yikes! They do have a Piazza type in Chico Borbon, with a better arm, but won't help the pitching much, Hope the pitching coach is good, if that even helps, which I don't think it does. Aside from Borbon the offence is swing and a miss or boom, ball go bye-bye types. There's a really fast guy, but he's not the best baserunner. I find that this world has a thing for power bats, noticing a lot more power in line-ups, this season. They did sign Santiago Lee to keep opposition from piling runs on, late in games, which is good. I suppose. To be fair, the pitching isn't bad at all. It's just that they won't get much help, and they have two catchers that tend to shrug when the pitcher looks in for a sign.
"What a bullpen!" That's what the imaginary fans of Las Vegas are saying. Too bad about the rest of the team. Not very dissimilar to OKC. Pitching is the strength, defence is weak, but with better catchers. The offence is worse. The line-up features Louie Twitchell, who can hit when not striking out, and some speed, but is not very threatening. The pitching is, actually, pretty good. Though he's the number 2 starter, the best in the rotation is Mitch Jensen, starting his sophmore season. I'm not certain that this squad will see a turnaround from last season's downturn, and this could be the start of a rebuild.
Ok, now we got a team that can get to the ball and make a play on it. Wow, so very strong up the middle. except at catcher. what's with the West and their disdain for capable backstops? I dunno. Run production will be somewhat of an issue. Season 26 MVP, Andres Silva will slug 40, as usual, and there's a couple other guys, but this won't be a team that piles up runs. Pitching is notch below the other teams in the West, and might struggle with control out of the bullpen. Andrea McCartney has two brothers. Their names are Elizabeth and Margaret. true fact. The rest of the rotation ain't shabby, especially Wayne Payton. I always marvel at rocketcy's ability to get the max out of his team, and season after season, and has been the division champ three out of the past four seasons, winning 94 games last season. I can't see it happening this season, but I'll not be shocked in the least if rocket guides this squad to 100 victories this season.
Hmm, I think I know which team won't win the division, theArizona BOO-YAHS. Sorry bbwinks, just saying like I sees it. Scoring runs is going to be a huge challenge for this team, with the best hitter, I s'pose, being the fading Jack Bergen. There's not a lot of power, but there's a couple high contact guys. But, yah, three runs a game would be awesome for this line-up. Pitching is the equal of the hitting, so yah, keeping the opposition to five runs a game would also be awesome. Weak, as well, are the gloves. It's just not going to be a good year for the Season 13 World Series winning franchise.
The MidWest farmer's daughter really make you feel all right
"What a bullpen!" That's what the imaginary fans of Las Vegas are saying. Too bad about the rest of the team. Not very dissimilar to OKC. Pitching is the strength, defence is weak, but with better catchers. The offence is worse. The line-up features Louie Twitchell, who can hit when not striking out, and some speed, but is not very threatening. The pitching is, actually, pretty good. Though he's the number 2 starter, the best in the rotation is Mitch Jensen, starting his sophmore season. I'm not certain that this squad will see a turnaround from last season's downturn, and this could be the start of a rebuild.
Ok, now we got a team that can get to the ball and make a play on it. Wow, so very strong up the middle. except at catcher. what's with the West and their disdain for capable backstops? I dunno. Run production will be somewhat of an issue. Season 26 MVP, Andres Silva will slug 40, as usual, and there's a couple other guys, but this won't be a team that piles up runs. Pitching is notch below the other teams in the West, and might struggle with control out of the bullpen. Andrea McCartney has two brothers. Their names are Elizabeth and Margaret. true fact. The rest of the rotation ain't shabby, especially Wayne Payton. I always marvel at rocketcy's ability to get the max out of his team, and season after season, and has been the division champ three out of the past four seasons, winning 94 games last season. I can't see it happening this season, but I'll not be shocked in the least if rocket guides this squad to 100 victories this season.
Hmm, I think I know which team won't win the division, theArizona BOO-YAHS. Sorry bbwinks, just saying like I sees it. Scoring runs is going to be a huge challenge for this team, with the best hitter, I s'pose, being the fading Jack Bergen. There's not a lot of power, but there's a couple high contact guys. But, yah, three runs a game would be awesome for this line-up. Pitching is the equal of the hitting, so yah, keeping the opposition to five runs a game would also be awesome. Weak, as well, are the gloves. It's just not going to be a good year for the Season 13 World Series winning franchise.
The MidWest farmer's daughter really make you feel all right
I wish they all could be California girls
Thursday, March 12, 2015
AL South, Season 28
You guys really need to thank sergei for making so many moves during the winter, otherwise this would have been the most boring division. Six trades from KC, none from the other three. Two free agents from KC (a Type A and a Type B), while Richmond had two Type B's, San Antonio had one Type B, and Houston made no big noise in free agency. It's like there's no heartbeat in that division! Come on, do something! Entertain us!
Anyway, KC has thrown all of their chips on the table, as they roll into the season with a massive budget and one of the weirdest pitching staffs I've seen so far. Hamilton, Fuentes, Chang, and Valent are lights out when they come out of the bullpen, but combine for about 200 innings a season, while costing the team a total of about $14.6M. Maybe I'm a cheap bastard, but it seems like a lot of money for four guys who account for less than 15% of your innings in one season. Santos, Roque, and Little lead the staff over in Virginia's capital city, with a pretty decent bullpen to back them. Houston is making a decent effort, but they're not exactly making a run at a playoff spot or anything. They've got a couple of good lefties, but the vR split leaves a little to be desired. Same deal in SA, where young stud Griggs has been called up after getting the requisite 500 innings in the minors, but the rest of the staff is just kind of average. We'll give the edge to KC, with Richmond behind them, then SA a bit ahead of Houston.
The KC defense is really solid, but like someone else I wrote about earlier whose name escapes me now, I'm not sure how much playing time some of those gloves will get. And then the drop-off from those top gloves to the second tier is pretty severe, which would greatly impact my ranking here. We'll just average it out and say they're average. Richmond is adequate at the main defensive positions we worry about, but nothing to write home about. If you've got a CF that you're looking to move, Houston would love to talk to you about him. Six different guys played CF last year (in fairness, two of them combined for nine innings total), combining for 23 minus plays and only 1 plus play. The team as a whole had 88 minus plays to 39 plus plays. SA might actually be the most solid of this division when it comes to defense. Yikes. Richmond is behind them, then KC, then a big drop down to Houston.
Wow, the Houston offense is really old. A dozen position players, and eight of them are 30 or older. Not that overall rating is the be-all to end-all, but only two of those dozen players have overalls of 70 or higher. San Antonio is upping their offense game, with guys like Zhang and Paco helping out, and Mahaffey being the center of the offense. Richmond has guys like Rodriguez, Gonzales, and Moreno leading the way, which makes them a decent offense, but nothing that scares pitching staffs like Cincy and Milwaukee and Vancouver. The Rosado trade is likely what puts KC at the top of the offensive pile in this division. Between him, Malik, Diory, Dwayne, and Shea, they should have the most powerful offense in the division, by far. We've gotta give them the top spot in this category, with Richmond trailing behind, SA not too far off of those guys, and then Houston rolling behind in their wheelchairs.
Overall, KC is the clear favorite to win the division, with Richmond pushing for a wild card, San Antonio possibly not losing 100 games this season, and then Houston most certainly losing well over 100 games.
Anyway, KC has thrown all of their chips on the table, as they roll into the season with a massive budget and one of the weirdest pitching staffs I've seen so far. Hamilton, Fuentes, Chang, and Valent are lights out when they come out of the bullpen, but combine for about 200 innings a season, while costing the team a total of about $14.6M. Maybe I'm a cheap bastard, but it seems like a lot of money for four guys who account for less than 15% of your innings in one season. Santos, Roque, and Little lead the staff over in Virginia's capital city, with a pretty decent bullpen to back them. Houston is making a decent effort, but they're not exactly making a run at a playoff spot or anything. They've got a couple of good lefties, but the vR split leaves a little to be desired. Same deal in SA, where young stud Griggs has been called up after getting the requisite 500 innings in the minors, but the rest of the staff is just kind of average. We'll give the edge to KC, with Richmond behind them, then SA a bit ahead of Houston.
The KC defense is really solid, but like someone else I wrote about earlier whose name escapes me now, I'm not sure how much playing time some of those gloves will get. And then the drop-off from those top gloves to the second tier is pretty severe, which would greatly impact my ranking here. We'll just average it out and say they're average. Richmond is adequate at the main defensive positions we worry about, but nothing to write home about. If you've got a CF that you're looking to move, Houston would love to talk to you about him. Six different guys played CF last year (in fairness, two of them combined for nine innings total), combining for 23 minus plays and only 1 plus play. The team as a whole had 88 minus plays to 39 plus plays. SA might actually be the most solid of this division when it comes to defense. Yikes. Richmond is behind them, then KC, then a big drop down to Houston.
Wow, the Houston offense is really old. A dozen position players, and eight of them are 30 or older. Not that overall rating is the be-all to end-all, but only two of those dozen players have overalls of 70 or higher. San Antonio is upping their offense game, with guys like Zhang and Paco helping out, and Mahaffey being the center of the offense. Richmond has guys like Rodriguez, Gonzales, and Moreno leading the way, which makes them a decent offense, but nothing that scares pitching staffs like Cincy and Milwaukee and Vancouver. The Rosado trade is likely what puts KC at the top of the offensive pile in this division. Between him, Malik, Diory, Dwayne, and Shea, they should have the most powerful offense in the division, by far. We've gotta give them the top spot in this category, with Richmond trailing behind, SA not too far off of those guys, and then Houston rolling behind in their wheelchairs.
Overall, KC is the clear favorite to win the division, with Richmond pushing for a wild card, San Antonio possibly not losing 100 games this season, and then Houston most certainly losing well over 100 games.
AL East, Season 28
It can't be a coincidence that the day I post a gif of Kate Upton on the blog, she goes to the Nationals' spring training game. It just can't be. I'm tempted to post a gif of Iron Man to see if Robert Downey Jr shows up, or maybe a World Series trophy to help them be good this year. Anyway, here comes the exciting AL East.
The East made a valiant effort to be part of the free agency market this winter, with big signings like Alfredo Jarvis and Ivan Tejada, but with Jarvis being traded a few days after his signing, that made New York's acquisition of Hoss Anderson the second biggest FA move of the winter for the division. At 35yo and with a control rating of 49, it's not surprising that he has posted a career 4.42 ERA, but it is surprising that he was a Type A free agent this winter. Tejada is a great pickup for Cincy, after posting a career high for wins last season, and his second best ERA as well. No option on the fifth year of the deal might be a tough pill to swallow when we get to that point, but maybe he'll hold up well and will either still be a solid starter, or a great bullpen arm.
Speaking of arms, go look at the Syracuse staff. Seriously. Stop reading this. Click onto the HBD tab. World Office -> Standings -> AL -> Syracuse. I'll wait here for a minute...........OK, are you back? Do you understand why these guys have been to the WS twice in the last three seasons, while winning it once? Becker and Stewart both won 20 games last year, and the entire staff is reasonably priced. Ugh. Chicago is rolling with a solid bullpen and future-HOF'er Slaughter as their ace, with a bunch of young guys backing him up. I like what they've got going on, but I'm slightly worried about the ability to eat innings. Over in Cincy, adding Tejada gives them a nice 1-2-3 punch with him and Hernandez and Gray, with another three or four guys who could feasibly round out the staff. They will have long-relief guys who could be starters on other teams, yet this staff isn't even the talk of the division. NY has a few guys who get paid money to throw baseballs. So Syracuse is the top staff, with Cincy not too far behind them, then Chicago, then the Cincy AAA staff, then NY.
You know what NY does have? Travis Tresh. He's a good little hitter who is still young and has the ability to be the cornerstone of this franchise. He should probably be playing LF/1B, but has instead been busy racking up minus plays out in CF. After Travis, they don't have much offensively. A fan favorite in ALB/OK, Lonnie Schneid was a first rounder who stole 300+ bases and had a couple gold gloves at 1B during his tenure, and is now slowly declining in NY while grinding out his final years. Love that guy. The Cincy offense is just as excited about this season as the pitching staff is. Last season they had four guys who hit 30+ HR's each (164 total) and 110+ RBI's each (479 total), with three of those four hitting .333 or better. All four of those guys are 26 or younger. What's a fascinating stat is that Chicago hit 60 more HR's than Cincy, but had 100 fewer RBI's. The Cincy OBP of .357 to Chicago's .320 might be a clue as to how that happened. Anyway, Chicago is looking at similar numbers this year, with a bunch of solo HR's. Syracuse has a couple of studs, but a lot of aging talent. They will obviously rely on that pitching staff, and hope they don't get into any slugfests. The nod goes to Cincy, then Chicago, then Syracuse, then the SUNY softball team, then the Genesis.
Chicago finally wins a category, with their defense being head and shoulders above the rest of the division. Even though their best defensive guy is a backup who never starts, they still have the range and gloves to more than cover every position on the field. Not that the Syracuse defense is bad, but I wish it was better to backup that pitching staff. I feel like if I had those studs on the mound, I would put a bunch of 80+ gloves behind them. Cincy has done a slightly better job than Syracuse in that department, they've got all of their bases covered when it comes to putting adequate range and glove guys in each spot. NY is below average at SS and CF, but above average pretty much everywhere else, which I guess makes them average? Maybe slightly above average? Either way, Chicago wins this category, with Cincy just edging out Syracuse, and then NY not as far behind the pack as they are in the other categories.
You'd be crazy not to pick Syracuse to win the division, their pitching is just unreal. But I feel like Cincy might give them a run for their money. They've gotta make up nearly 20 games from last season's record, when they didn't even get a wild card spot. But what the fuck, I think they can pull it off. Cincy will pull back a few of those wins, and get something in the 95 win vicinity, while Syracuse will be a game or two back and in a wild card spot. Chicago has been steadily improving their wins from season to season, but I think this is the year they hit a plateau and only get into the lower 80's. NY is NY and is likely looking at another 100 loss season.
The East made a valiant effort to be part of the free agency market this winter, with big signings like Alfredo Jarvis and Ivan Tejada, but with Jarvis being traded a few days after his signing, that made New York's acquisition of Hoss Anderson the second biggest FA move of the winter for the division. At 35yo and with a control rating of 49, it's not surprising that he has posted a career 4.42 ERA, but it is surprising that he was a Type A free agent this winter. Tejada is a great pickup for Cincy, after posting a career high for wins last season, and his second best ERA as well. No option on the fifth year of the deal might be a tough pill to swallow when we get to that point, but maybe he'll hold up well and will either still be a solid starter, or a great bullpen arm.
Speaking of arms, go look at the Syracuse staff. Seriously. Stop reading this. Click onto the HBD tab. World Office -> Standings -> AL -> Syracuse. I'll wait here for a minute...........OK, are you back? Do you understand why these guys have been to the WS twice in the last three seasons, while winning it once? Becker and Stewart both won 20 games last year, and the entire staff is reasonably priced. Ugh. Chicago is rolling with a solid bullpen and future-HOF'er Slaughter as their ace, with a bunch of young guys backing him up. I like what they've got going on, but I'm slightly worried about the ability to eat innings. Over in Cincy, adding Tejada gives them a nice 1-2-3 punch with him and Hernandez and Gray, with another three or four guys who could feasibly round out the staff. They will have long-relief guys who could be starters on other teams, yet this staff isn't even the talk of the division. NY has a few guys who get paid money to throw baseballs. So Syracuse is the top staff, with Cincy not too far behind them, then Chicago, then the Cincy AAA staff, then NY.
You know what NY does have? Travis Tresh. He's a good little hitter who is still young and has the ability to be the cornerstone of this franchise. He should probably be playing LF/1B, but has instead been busy racking up minus plays out in CF. After Travis, they don't have much offensively. A fan favorite in ALB/OK, Lonnie Schneid was a first rounder who stole 300+ bases and had a couple gold gloves at 1B during his tenure, and is now slowly declining in NY while grinding out his final years. Love that guy. The Cincy offense is just as excited about this season as the pitching staff is. Last season they had four guys who hit 30+ HR's each (164 total) and 110+ RBI's each (479 total), with three of those four hitting .333 or better. All four of those guys are 26 or younger. What's a fascinating stat is that Chicago hit 60 more HR's than Cincy, but had 100 fewer RBI's. The Cincy OBP of .357 to Chicago's .320 might be a clue as to how that happened. Anyway, Chicago is looking at similar numbers this year, with a bunch of solo HR's. Syracuse has a couple of studs, but a lot of aging talent. They will obviously rely on that pitching staff, and hope they don't get into any slugfests. The nod goes to Cincy, then Chicago, then Syracuse, then the SUNY softball team, then the Genesis.
Chicago finally wins a category, with their defense being head and shoulders above the rest of the division. Even though their best defensive guy is a backup who never starts, they still have the range and gloves to more than cover every position on the field. Not that the Syracuse defense is bad, but I wish it was better to backup that pitching staff. I feel like if I had those studs on the mound, I would put a bunch of 80+ gloves behind them. Cincy has done a slightly better job than Syracuse in that department, they've got all of their bases covered when it comes to putting adequate range and glove guys in each spot. NY is below average at SS and CF, but above average pretty much everywhere else, which I guess makes them average? Maybe slightly above average? Either way, Chicago wins this category, with Cincy just edging out Syracuse, and then NY not as far behind the pack as they are in the other categories.
You'd be crazy not to pick Syracuse to win the division, their pitching is just unreal. But I feel like Cincy might give them a run for their money. They've gotta make up nearly 20 games from last season's record, when they didn't even get a wild card spot. But what the fuck, I think they can pull it off. Cincy will pull back a few of those wins, and get something in the 95 win vicinity, while Syracuse will be a game or two back and in a wild card spot. Chicago has been steadily improving their wins from season to season, but I think this is the year they hit a plateau and only get into the lower 80's. NY is NY and is likely looking at another 100 loss season.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
NL pt3
Well, hello, welcome back let's continue on this journey of hilarity shall we...
The NL South, the Durty South.
What has long been the top division in the NL may now be the top division in BPF with the emergence of New Orleans, and the resurgence of Jackson. let's focus on the Burg on the Bayou first. This squad blew me away with it's performance last season and earned Oakman the OotY. It looks even stronger this time around. Midre Brandt earned the Cy last season, anchoring a very formidable set of arms. The offence, though lacking a stud of, say, Brandt's quality, is balanced and more than capable. The defence is also strong, especially up the middle. Expect more continuing success.
Just like the real life Atlanta team, the Bullochs are built around pitching, pitching, and yet more fucking pitching. Atlanta has represented the NL in the past four World series and is the two time defneding champ, not sure it has the chops this season. Defense is pretty strong up the middle, but a little average elsewhere. the hitting appears to not be as deep as previous seasons but still features Joel Harvey, who is in the last year of his contract. When Clayton Hamilton returns from his extended DL stint, he will join Frank "Tricky Dick" Nixon and Santiago S. Santiago to provide Atlanta with an enviable top 3 starter group. This is looking like s step back year for this franchise that has always maintained a contending squad while keeping payroll in check. all in all, the best run NL team for many, many seasons. If bluegreyjay were to ever takehis ball and go home, there would be a void filled only with hookers and blow.
Where is bnags and why is his team on AI? He must be a busy beaver as I'm noticing a few extended absences lately. Hope all is well. As for his Jacksonville Jimmies, well, like the team above, they look like they have taken a step back as well. Two very potent bats in Don "I drive a" Suzuki and Yamil James, and a couple of other notables, will generate enough offence. The pitching isn't as strong with the bullpen seeming to possess better arms than the rotation. Defence is lacking which won't help the pitching all that much. Comeback soon, bnags.
And, finally, there are the Generals of Jackson. This squad might be strong competition for New Orleans and looks to have a date in the post season set. While not particularly blessed with range as a whole, the defense has strong fielding skills. Quentin Wieland is not really there to provide a solid backstop, he's there to mash the fucking ball. Though declining power wise Eugenio Sojo can still get a lot of hits and new FA signing Emil Manuel will enjoy blasting dingers and driving him in. the pitching is deep and talented, with Donte Westmoreland being the top CY candidate. Team won 91 games last season, good enough for fourth place. Shouldn't finish worse than second this year.
Jackson 98-64
New Orleans 97-65
Atlanta 89-73
Jacksonville 83-79
And the Southern girls with the way they talk they knock me out when I'm down there
The NL South, the Durty South.
What has long been the top division in the NL may now be the top division in BPF with the emergence of New Orleans, and the resurgence of Jackson. let's focus on the Burg on the Bayou first. This squad blew me away with it's performance last season and earned Oakman the OotY. It looks even stronger this time around. Midre Brandt earned the Cy last season, anchoring a very formidable set of arms. The offence, though lacking a stud of, say, Brandt's quality, is balanced and more than capable. The defence is also strong, especially up the middle. Expect more continuing success.
Just like the real life Atlanta team, the Bullochs are built around pitching, pitching, and yet more fucking pitching. Atlanta has represented the NL in the past four World series and is the two time defneding champ, not sure it has the chops this season. Defense is pretty strong up the middle, but a little average elsewhere. the hitting appears to not be as deep as previous seasons but still features Joel Harvey, who is in the last year of his contract. When Clayton Hamilton returns from his extended DL stint, he will join Frank "Tricky Dick" Nixon and Santiago S. Santiago to provide Atlanta with an enviable top 3 starter group. This is looking like s step back year for this franchise that has always maintained a contending squad while keeping payroll in check. all in all, the best run NL team for many, many seasons. If bluegreyjay were to ever takehis ball and go home, there would be a void filled only with hookers and blow.
Where is bnags and why is his team on AI? He must be a busy beaver as I'm noticing a few extended absences lately. Hope all is well. As for his Jacksonville Jimmies, well, like the team above, they look like they have taken a step back as well. Two very potent bats in Don "I drive a" Suzuki and Yamil James, and a couple of other notables, will generate enough offence. The pitching isn't as strong with the bullpen seeming to possess better arms than the rotation. Defence is lacking which won't help the pitching all that much. Comeback soon, bnags.
And, finally, there are the Generals of Jackson. This squad might be strong competition for New Orleans and looks to have a date in the post season set. While not particularly blessed with range as a whole, the defense has strong fielding skills. Quentin Wieland is not really there to provide a solid backstop, he's there to mash the fucking ball. Though declining power wise Eugenio Sojo can still get a lot of hits and new FA signing Emil Manuel will enjoy blasting dingers and driving him in. the pitching is deep and talented, with Donte Westmoreland being the top CY candidate. Team won 91 games last season, good enough for fourth place. Shouldn't finish worse than second this year.
Jackson 98-64
New Orleans 97-65
Atlanta 89-73
Jacksonville 83-79
And the Southern girls with the way they talk they knock me out when I'm down there
AL North, Season 28
Slightly different approach to this season's preview, and I don't really care if you like it or not. OK, maybe I care if you like it, but I don't care if you don't like it.
Madison made arguably the most noise in free agency this winter, signing maybe the weakest hitting 3B in the history of BPF to a 4-year deal worth almost $12M/yr for the first two years, and then about $10M/yr in the final two seasons, with no option on the final year. The guy is a gold glove 3B, but a career sub-.260 hitter with no pop. Fortunately, they also pulled in a C/DH who can play all 162 games, and hit right around .300 while averaging about 20 HR's per season over the last ten that he's played. Only two years at about $2.6M/yr is a bargain for a guy like that, but giving up that second round pick for the Type A FA is rough. Milwaukee was the only other team that was active in the "big names" of free agency, taking a Type B 3B for $5.2M/yr for two years. A decent glove and a .277 career hitter, he'll fill a role, but won't exactly fill Lance's cleats. The market for 3B's must have been rough this season.
Maybe the lightest trading season ever for the AL North, Milwaukee made two trades, while the other three mostly sat on their hands. And those two trades brought Milwaukee a DITR catcher and a 20-25 innings/season relief pitcher, while shipping off a 2nd round CF, a serviceable DH, and a backup CF. I can't believe you guys made me look at those trades.
The biggest transaction of the winter for this division really happened in the "fall" of last season. Between his no-trade clause and high salary, moving Lance was quite difficult, so Milwaukee ultimately put him on the waiver wire without the option to revoke him after the trade deadline. He was claimed by KC, which meant that Milwaukee was free of the massive contract, but the Ueck's would see no compensation for the exchange. Watching it play out was fascinating, and the subsequent attempts by KC to trade Lance this winter were equally entertaining. Let this be a lesson to all of you young owners out there. Don't give a guy a no-trade clause unless you either plan on keeping him forever, or you plan on being really bad and actually give yourself teams to trade him to.
Anyway, as per usual, I think Milwaukee is the team to beat in this division. One of the best young talents in all of BPF is going to debut in CF on opening day for the Ueck's, and he could be an MVP candidate before he's even eligible for arbitration. It worries me that he might be their best hitter already, but other than maybe Madison, nobody else in this division can compete with them at the plate. Just for argument's sake, we'll give the nod to Madison, followed by Milwaukee, then Minny, and finally Fargo.
I would love to say one squad is the clear-cut leader when it comes to defense, but they're all just kind of average. Minnesota has a seriously legit SS with Maholm, who was a gold-glover back in S26, and was a fucking comp pick. But after that, they're average to above average at every other position, nothing too crazy. It's a similar situation in Milwaukee, where Calixte not only could be a silver-slugger in CF, but could also pull in some gold gloves. And then the rest of the defense is average to above average. The aforementioned expensive 3B in Madison might actually end up playing SS, but he's a career .950 fielder in that spot. Former first-rounder Merv Harris fielded at a .970 clip last year, so maybe he will continue in the SS position. CF and 2B are okay, but not great, yet better than most every other team so far. Fargo won't have any gold-glovers anywhere, but they're decent all around the diamond. Defensively, I'd go Madison, Fargo, then a coin toss between Milwaukee and Minny.
It's the pitching in this division that really gets me hot and bothered. Specifically the pitching for Milwaukee and Madison. While most of the studs for Madison are coming out of the bullpen (like Crawford and Jensen), their starters are not slackers either, with Piersoll and Priest leading the way. But in Milwaukee, the studs come from all areas. Starting, middle relief, late inning guys, it doesn't matter. Their fifth starter would be a number two or three for a lot of teams in this world, and their worst setup guy would be a closer for half of the teams here. Fargo and Minnesota are similar in that they both have one or two studs, either starting or in the bullpen, plus a handful of serviceable to average guys, but both squads pale in comparison to Madison, and can't hold a candle to Milwaukee.
Overall, as mentioned previously, Milwaukee has to be the favorite to win the division. After that, I think Madison won't be too terribly far behind the Ueck's, and could fight for a wild card spot. Sorry Fargo and Minnesota, thanks for playing, and maybe next year.
Madison made arguably the most noise in free agency this winter, signing maybe the weakest hitting 3B in the history of BPF to a 4-year deal worth almost $12M/yr for the first two years, and then about $10M/yr in the final two seasons, with no option on the final year. The guy is a gold glove 3B, but a career sub-.260 hitter with no pop. Fortunately, they also pulled in a C/DH who can play all 162 games, and hit right around .300 while averaging about 20 HR's per season over the last ten that he's played. Only two years at about $2.6M/yr is a bargain for a guy like that, but giving up that second round pick for the Type A FA is rough. Milwaukee was the only other team that was active in the "big names" of free agency, taking a Type B 3B for $5.2M/yr for two years. A decent glove and a .277 career hitter, he'll fill a role, but won't exactly fill Lance's cleats. The market for 3B's must have been rough this season.
Maybe the lightest trading season ever for the AL North, Milwaukee made two trades, while the other three mostly sat on their hands. And those two trades brought Milwaukee a DITR catcher and a 20-25 innings/season relief pitcher, while shipping off a 2nd round CF, a serviceable DH, and a backup CF. I can't believe you guys made me look at those trades.
The biggest transaction of the winter for this division really happened in the "fall" of last season. Between his no-trade clause and high salary, moving Lance was quite difficult, so Milwaukee ultimately put him on the waiver wire without the option to revoke him after the trade deadline. He was claimed by KC, which meant that Milwaukee was free of the massive contract, but the Ueck's would see no compensation for the exchange. Watching it play out was fascinating, and the subsequent attempts by KC to trade Lance this winter were equally entertaining. Let this be a lesson to all of you young owners out there. Don't give a guy a no-trade clause unless you either plan on keeping him forever, or you plan on being really bad and actually give yourself teams to trade him to.
Anyway, as per usual, I think Milwaukee is the team to beat in this division. One of the best young talents in all of BPF is going to debut in CF on opening day for the Ueck's, and he could be an MVP candidate before he's even eligible for arbitration. It worries me that he might be their best hitter already, but other than maybe Madison, nobody else in this division can compete with them at the plate. Just for argument's sake, we'll give the nod to Madison, followed by Milwaukee, then Minny, and finally Fargo.
I would love to say one squad is the clear-cut leader when it comes to defense, but they're all just kind of average. Minnesota has a seriously legit SS with Maholm, who was a gold-glover back in S26, and was a fucking comp pick. But after that, they're average to above average at every other position, nothing too crazy. It's a similar situation in Milwaukee, where Calixte not only could be a silver-slugger in CF, but could also pull in some gold gloves. And then the rest of the defense is average to above average. The aforementioned expensive 3B in Madison might actually end up playing SS, but he's a career .950 fielder in that spot. Former first-rounder Merv Harris fielded at a .970 clip last year, so maybe he will continue in the SS position. CF and 2B are okay, but not great, yet better than most every other team so far. Fargo won't have any gold-glovers anywhere, but they're decent all around the diamond. Defensively, I'd go Madison, Fargo, then a coin toss between Milwaukee and Minny.
It's the pitching in this division that really gets me hot and bothered. Specifically the pitching for Milwaukee and Madison. While most of the studs for Madison are coming out of the bullpen (like Crawford and Jensen), their starters are not slackers either, with Piersoll and Priest leading the way. But in Milwaukee, the studs come from all areas. Starting, middle relief, late inning guys, it doesn't matter. Their fifth starter would be a number two or three for a lot of teams in this world, and their worst setup guy would be a closer for half of the teams here. Fargo and Minnesota are similar in that they both have one or two studs, either starting or in the bullpen, plus a handful of serviceable to average guys, but both squads pale in comparison to Madison, and can't hold a candle to Milwaukee.
Overall, as mentioned previously, Milwaukee has to be the favorite to win the division. After that, I think Madison won't be too terribly far behind the Ueck's, and could fight for a wild card spot. Sorry Fargo and Minnesota, thanks for playing, and maybe next year.
NL pt2
The East
Hmm, is Boston sampling the Brew? 15 pitchers and 10 position guys. How odd. Still BPF's only franchise run by an actual baseball mind has won four straight division titles despite my oft predicted crapulence, so there may be method to madness. And, somehow, this team will win 85-90 games for the umpteenth time. The AAA team should have a good season. Nobody down there who can make an impact at the ML level however. I'd love to say more but I can't find much to write about. Oh, Julio Manzanillo. He's good.
Where would HBD be, without folk like gregor. 37 teams on the go. On behalf of fellow owners, thanks for keeping our worlds going. Making his big league debut for the Columbus Crusaders is Rookie of the Year candidate and projected lead-off man Ben Grey, there to drive him home are some pretty damn good hitters, especially Gordon Maranville. Pretty solid line-up overall. Big free agent signee Pascual Castilla joins Joshua Owens to be the core of a decent pitching squad. Defensively, not so gouda (cheesy cooking pun). Still, there appears to be enough, overall, to overtake the Brewers.
Hoping a change of scenery, from Chicago to Norfolk, will bring a return to the playoffs no doubt. That doesn't appear to be the only change as it looks like this team ha had quite the extreme makeover, BPF edition. Two prominent additions would be the brittle Wandy Telemaco and the powerful Phil Wigginton. Carlos Gonzalez is a high quality arm, but it's too bad neither him, nor Telemaco can get close to 200 innings. There are other capable hurlers on the staff, which is backed by fairly solid defence except at catcher where it looks like the pitchers are on their own in terms of pitch calling and pick off attempts..
Not a great time to be a 66'ers fan. The pitching, which is a little below average, is better than the hitting, which is better than the combined fielding skills we call defence, or defense in Americanese.
There's Marvin Orosco in LoA, and that's good for three seasons from now. I think we may have a team that is a solid candidate for first pick in next seasons draft.
Norfolk 91-71
Columbus 86-76
Boston 81-81
Florida 60-102
Well East Coast girls are hip, I really dig the styles they wear...
Hmm, is Boston sampling the Brew? 15 pitchers and 10 position guys. How odd. Still BPF's only franchise run by an actual baseball mind has won four straight division titles despite my oft predicted crapulence, so there may be method to madness. And, somehow, this team will win 85-90 games for the umpteenth time. The AAA team should have a good season. Nobody down there who can make an impact at the ML level however. I'd love to say more but I can't find much to write about. Oh, Julio Manzanillo. He's good.
Where would HBD be, without folk like gregor. 37 teams on the go. On behalf of fellow owners, thanks for keeping our worlds going. Making his big league debut for the Columbus Crusaders is Rookie of the Year candidate and projected lead-off man Ben Grey, there to drive him home are some pretty damn good hitters, especially Gordon Maranville. Pretty solid line-up overall. Big free agent signee Pascual Castilla joins Joshua Owens to be the core of a decent pitching squad. Defensively, not so gouda (cheesy cooking pun). Still, there appears to be enough, overall, to overtake the Brewers.
Hoping a change of scenery, from Chicago to Norfolk, will bring a return to the playoffs no doubt. That doesn't appear to be the only change as it looks like this team ha had quite the extreme makeover, BPF edition. Two prominent additions would be the brittle Wandy Telemaco and the powerful Phil Wigginton. Carlos Gonzalez is a high quality arm, but it's too bad neither him, nor Telemaco can get close to 200 innings. There are other capable hurlers on the staff, which is backed by fairly solid defence except at catcher where it looks like the pitchers are on their own in terms of pitch calling and pick off attempts..
Not a great time to be a 66'ers fan. The pitching, which is a little below average, is better than the hitting, which is better than the combined fielding skills we call defence, or defense in Americanese.
There's Marvin Orosco in LoA, and that's good for three seasons from now. I think we may have a team that is a solid candidate for first pick in next seasons draft.
Norfolk 91-71
Columbus 86-76
Boston 81-81
Florida 60-102
Well East Coast girls are hip, I really dig the styles they wear...
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
NL Preview Pt 1
Let's begin, shall we...
"Hi Everybody!"
"Hi Beloved Commish!"
That was great. So, ya, here we are on the almost eve of Season 28. And it's time for the almost annual NL Preview. As usual I will start in the North. Never the strongest division in BPF's history, last season was no different. Looks like one team should be a playoff/divisional lock, notice the "should". Pittsburgh is that team. Years of blowing have swallowed up some fine young talent, and really little payroll. While there's some big talent roster, there's also not much support. Hoping we see some call-ups. The pitching on the ABCs AAA squad is mostly ML ready and would go a long way to putting this squad on top of it's divisional foes. Star of the team is Vic Hoiles, a fine player to be sure. The ace of the staff should be Livan Nunez...still in AAA. ML ready? Yes! Very solid defence up the middle, and the guys are good with a bat, too. Especially Francisco Ramirez. Wow, that is a very solid nucleus to any team. Definitely enough hitting, but it's the pitching that is a concern. But, again, with the arms in AAA it shouldn't be. Call-ups! Call-ups!
New to BPF is vincenzoR who takes over Philadelphia Philth franchise that hasn't seen a winning season since season 21. vince is in for a challenge. Pitching is most likely the strength of the team. Douglas Reynolds is definitely the ace. Offence, on the other hand isn't great. There's some power, but not much to go with it. I have an odd attraction to Pepe Castillo as a make believe ballplayer. Defence will help the pitching keep scores down but so will the Philth's hitting. They will be in a lot of games, but they will come up short most games, in this reporter's unerring opinion. Unfortunately there's nothing in the system to get excited about. Good luck.
Boom! It's the New Britain Rock Cats. I love cats. Recently had five, but one was old, and the other two decided to cross the highway, and met tragic ends. Anyhoodle, this team still boasts copious amounts of pop in the line-up. The issue being that there's no real elite type slugger. The hitters are a patient lot though, who will wait for their pitches and draw a fair share of free passes. The best all around bat belongs to Sherman Riley, who begins the campaign on the DL, which is a bummer. If only Vitas Fields could get 500 ABs. And Chief RunningJoke snagged another contract to continue his unsubstantiated career and 84 overall rating. Pitching, aside from the inningly challeneged Stephen Watson and a couple other guys, is meh to sub-meh. Defence won't help the pitching much. Let's see how much walks and home runs can carry a team...
And then we got the Cleveland Crime Syndicate. I've already used up the back.jack thing so I will mercifully skip that shtick. Already making a big splash in the IFA game with the very recent signing of Wandy Pimentel, who I have no idea how good he's projected to be because i have zip in advance scouting and he's just 18. My guess would be 80 something control and 70/70 something splits. oming off an off year is Chris Garcia, who has astonishing ratings, but not eye popping career numbers. good, but I would think his ratings would make him fairly close to unhittable. Rest of the pitchings boasts solid control and good splits, though not necessarily both for all pitchers. Still the best set of arms in the NL North. Pat Penny would look good in most team's line-ups, if not all, but beyond Ol' Copper, as we will pretend he is called, there isn't a whole heck of a lot to get excited about. Good players but not great, or even really good. Defensively, shortstop is covered, but not much else is. the pitchers will feel abundant imaginary frustration.
If Pittsburgh calls up the order of finish will be:
Pittsburgh 89-73
Cleveland 78-84
New Britain 77-85
Phillly 68-94
And the Northern Girls with the way they kiss:
"Hi Everybody!"
"Hi Beloved Commish!"
That was great. So, ya, here we are on the almost eve of Season 28. And it's time for the almost annual NL Preview. As usual I will start in the North. Never the strongest division in BPF's history, last season was no different. Looks like one team should be a playoff/divisional lock, notice the "should". Pittsburgh is that team. Years of blowing have swallowed up some fine young talent, and really little payroll. While there's some big talent roster, there's also not much support. Hoping we see some call-ups. The pitching on the ABCs AAA squad is mostly ML ready and would go a long way to putting this squad on top of it's divisional foes. Star of the team is Vic Hoiles, a fine player to be sure. The ace of the staff should be Livan Nunez...still in AAA. ML ready? Yes! Very solid defence up the middle, and the guys are good with a bat, too. Especially Francisco Ramirez. Wow, that is a very solid nucleus to any team. Definitely enough hitting, but it's the pitching that is a concern. But, again, with the arms in AAA it shouldn't be. Call-ups! Call-ups!
New to BPF is vincenzoR who takes over Philadelphia Philth franchise that hasn't seen a winning season since season 21. vince is in for a challenge. Pitching is most likely the strength of the team. Douglas Reynolds is definitely the ace. Offence, on the other hand isn't great. There's some power, but not much to go with it. I have an odd attraction to Pepe Castillo as a make believe ballplayer. Defence will help the pitching keep scores down but so will the Philth's hitting. They will be in a lot of games, but they will come up short most games, in this reporter's unerring opinion. Unfortunately there's nothing in the system to get excited about. Good luck.
Boom! It's the New Britain Rock Cats. I love cats. Recently had five, but one was old, and the other two decided to cross the highway, and met tragic ends. Anyhoodle, this team still boasts copious amounts of pop in the line-up. The issue being that there's no real elite type slugger. The hitters are a patient lot though, who will wait for their pitches and draw a fair share of free passes. The best all around bat belongs to Sherman Riley, who begins the campaign on the DL, which is a bummer. If only Vitas Fields could get 500 ABs. And Chief RunningJoke snagged another contract to continue his unsubstantiated career and 84 overall rating. Pitching, aside from the inningly challeneged Stephen Watson and a couple other guys, is meh to sub-meh. Defence won't help the pitching much. Let's see how much walks and home runs can carry a team...
And then we got the Cleveland Crime Syndicate. I've already used up the back.jack thing so I will mercifully skip that shtick. Already making a big splash in the IFA game with the very recent signing of Wandy Pimentel, who I have no idea how good he's projected to be because i have zip in advance scouting and he's just 18. My guess would be 80 something control and 70/70 something splits. oming off an off year is Chris Garcia, who has astonishing ratings, but not eye popping career numbers. good, but I would think his ratings would make him fairly close to unhittable. Rest of the pitchings boasts solid control and good splits, though not necessarily both for all pitchers. Still the best set of arms in the NL North. Pat Penny would look good in most team's line-ups, if not all, but beyond Ol' Copper, as we will pretend he is called, there isn't a whole heck of a lot to get excited about. Good players but not great, or even really good. Defensively, shortstop is covered, but not much else is. the pitchers will feel abundant imaginary frustration.
If Pittsburgh calls up the order of finish will be:
Pittsburgh 89-73
Cleveland 78-84
New Britain 77-85
Phillly 68-94
And the Northern Girls with the way they kiss:
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