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  The Finger-Bangers are all about the theory that if you put enough guns on a battleship, then you'll be the king of the seas. Their roster isn't exactly elegantly constructed, it has Williams playing right field, after all, but they've got a lot of big guns, and have won the Dynamo League two years running. Crappy defense and unsteady roster or not, they'll be a tough out for anyone. By winning the Sic Transit Vir Division this year, they now have five division champions, the most in Super-League history.  Sumitomo Mitsui Group Park Fukuoka, Japan Sumitomo Mitsui Group Park will host Games 2 and 3 of this series.  The Dervishes are all about complementary pieces. Their pitching isn't the greatest, but they've got a good defense behind them to make them better. Their hitting isn't the greatest, but their pitching means there's less pressure to score oodles and oodles of runs. Their defense isn't the greatest...well, actually, it probably is. I can't think of a better infield defense around than Perez-Smith-Morgan-Leonard with Johnny Bench as the backstop. It's quite outstanding, actually. The Dervishes are a team that's greater than the sum of their parts.  Salah ad-Din Ayyubi Stadium Dubai, UAE Salah ad-Din Ayyubi Stadium will host Games 1, 4 and 5 of this series. Game 1 Don May posted:
Box Score   Game 2 Don May posted:
Box Score   Don May posted:
Box Score   Don May posted:
Box Score   Don May posted:
Box Score   Updated Playoff Bracket  Pick 'em: Championship Series Edition Pick the winner, number of games (best-of-seven), and score of final game Finger Lakes Phoenixes vs. Chicago Bobbleheads Fukuoka Finger-Bangers vs. Rockford Losers
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Nov 25, 2012 03:39
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Aw man, the Dervishes almost pulled that poo poo out. What a shame. Pick 'Em! Rockford Losers in 7, 4-3 Chicago Bobbleheads in 5, 6-2
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Nov 25, 2012 03:53
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Pick 'em Bobbleheads in 6, final game 4-2 Finger-Bangers in 5, final game 7-4
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Nov 25, 2012 04:46
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Pick 'em Cleveland Comancheros Bobbleheads in 7 Losers in 7
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Nov 25, 2012 04:54
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PICKEM Fingerbangers in 6 Final score: 5-3 Bobbleheads in 5 Final score: 6-1
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Nov 25, 2012 05:43
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Woodchucks Pick 'Em! Phoenixes in 7, 2-1 Bangers in 6, 4-2
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Nov 25, 2012 06:05
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 Chicago Bobbleheads in 6, 4-1 Fukuoka Finger-Bangers in 7, 7-5 UPDATED Draft preferences Ended up more picky than I've seen here, but dammit, if we can't go live, might as well exert as much control as I can with reasonable* effort. * Effort exerted may not be reasonable ROUND 1 (apply also to sandwich round if necessary): 1. 2B '02 Nap Lajoie 2. 2B '11 Eddie Collins 3. SP '95 Roger Clemens 4. SP '53 Whitey Ford 5. CF '62 Willie Mays 6. 3B '77 George Brett 7. SS '01 Alex Rodriguez 8. CF '53 Mickey Mantle 9. 2B '69 Joe Morgan 10. C '53 Yogi Berra 11. SP '22 Pete Alexander or BEST AVAILABLE ROUND 2: Top ranked player from 1-11 above, but no position player same position as already drafted (don't want more than one 2B, one CF, one C, etc. from this draft, but am fine with multiple SP if it comes to that). If none of those eleven are still on the board: 12. 2B '97 Roberto Alomar 13. SP '11 Chief Bender 14. CF '04 Carlos Beltran 15. SP '02 Addie Joss 16. SS '82 Robin Yount 17. 3B '71 Sal Bando or BEST AVAILABLE ROUND 3: Top ranked player from 1-17 as listed above, but no position player same position as already drafted. If none of those are still on the board: 18. C '10 Mike Napoli 19. C '34 Gabby Hartnett 20. 2B '68 Dick McAuliffe 21. 2B '10 Ian Kinsler 22. 2B '10 Robinson Cano 23. 3B '66 Brooks Robinson 24. SS '91 Cal Ripken or BEST AVAILABLE
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Nov 25, 2012 06:33
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Smasher: what's the status of my starters for the DLCS? Since the Finger-Bangers went to a full 5 games, does that mean Paige is fully rested and can start game 1?
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Nov 25, 2012 06:54
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Bobbleheads in 5, 8-3 Losers in 7, 9-1 Surely random.org would never lead me astray!
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Nov 25, 2012 07:54
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ToiletofSadness posted:Smasher: what's the status of my starters for the DLCS? Since the Finger-Bangers went to a full 5 games, does that mean Paige is fully rested and can start game 1? It does indeed.
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Nov 25, 2012 07:58
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 Pick 'em! Fingerbangers in 6, final game 5-1 Phoenixes in 6, final game 6-3
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Nov 25, 2012 13:39
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Pick-'em update IV - Waiting for an Obituary Bruzer - 19 points  Faustoan Bargain - 13 points  gardenald - 20 points  mentholmoose - 18 points  mks5000 - 10 points  Monicro - 17 points  Mornacale - 5 points  Pungry - 11 points  Robert_Deadford - 7 points  tatankatonk - 22 points  UltimoDragonQuest - 13 points  Standings 1. tatankatonk (22) 2. gardenald (20) 3. Bruzer (19) 4. mentholmoose (18) 5. Monicro (17) 6. Faustoan Bargain/UltimoDragonQuest (13) 8. Pungry (11) 9. mks5000 (10) 10. Robert_Deadford (7) 11. Mornacale (5) A big round for tatankatonk sees him propel into the lead, but there's still lots of points to play for. This round seemed to have quite a lot of close-to-the-score bonuses, which is probably a good way to accumulate points fast. The Unicorns continue to be worth picking in the Gauntlet.
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Nov 25, 2012 14:25
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 Playoff pick 'em: Bobbleheads in 4, 5-2 Losers in 6, 6-3 mentholmoose fucked around with this message at 16:04 on Nov 25, 2012 |
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Nov 25, 2012 15:25
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 Submitted Bearers Gauntlet Roster! SS Luke Appling CF Kenny Lofton 1B Willie McCovey RF Lance Berkman/Bobby Bonds LF Al Simmons C Ted Simmons DH Willie Mays 3B Stan Hack 2B Craig Biggio C Victor Martinez (Catches for Marichal) IF Joe Cronin OF Dale Murphy UT Phil Cavaretta #1 Mordecai Brown #2 Juan Marichal #3 Gaylord Perry #4 Curt Schilling Mopup Ted Lyons Closer Bruce Sutter Setup Todd Worrell Short Relief Roberto Hernandez Short Relief Steve Hamilton Middle Relief Paul Assenmacher Long Relief Tom Seaver Looking forward to a corporate obituary consisting of crickets and unintelligible muttering.
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Nov 25, 2012 15:25
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Viscount Slim posted:
Sure, whatever, my apathy dissuades me from arguing...
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Nov 25, 2012 15:50
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ForeverBWFC posted:Sure, whatever, my apathy dissuades me from arguing...
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Nov 25, 2012 19:55
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  Results      Adam Dunn stood to address the Daydreamers, knowing that, with a 10-16 record going into the final third of the Gauntlet Round, that they were doomed. "I know that none of us wanted to be in this spot, because getting relegated kind sucks rear end. But it's gonna happen. But, you know what, just because we gotta get relegated, that doesn't mean we gotta go down there alone..."    IceMole peered out of the window of Progressive Field, home of the Unicorns. It was raining softly, which was not uncommon this time of the year in Cleveland. one more Gauntlet round down....IceMole felt a pang of guilt at killing another two teams so that his own could live, but, then again, what choice did he have?    The Call of the Coburn will one day consume the Comancheros....but not today.    And that's the story of how the Splinter Cells were beaten by that most lowly of hitters, the common Adam Dunn. Next Time!      Pick 'em: The Will and The Way Pick TWO! Cleveland Unicorns Comancheros Great Googly-Mooglies St. Paul Bearers Expansion Owners! If you haven't already given me your draft preferences, I need, or some other proof of life from you within the next ten days or your team will be dropped from Super-League VIII. Marauder! blakelmenakle! ToiletofSadness! Marauder! I need to know if your team will be taking up the Macho Men challenge should you win the Super-League Championship!
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Nov 25, 2012 22:31
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Pick 'Em Gotta pick the Bearers, one of my favorite team names in the SuperLeague. Also the Unicorns I guess.
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Nov 25, 2012 23:08
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Pick 'em! Unicorns and Googlie Mooglies to advance.
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Nov 25, 2012 23:13
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Guess I'll go with Cleveland and the Bearers
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Nov 25, 2012 23:32
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 pick 'em Guantlet: Cleveland, Comancheros Series: Finger Lakes in 7, 3-0 Fukuoka in 6, 4-2
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Nov 25, 2012 23:36
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 Pick Em: Cleveland and Great-Googly Mooglies Playoffs: Bobbleheads in 6, 8-3 Losers in 7, 2-0
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Nov 26, 2012 00:48
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Woodchucks Pick 'Em! Unicorns and Bearers.
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Nov 26, 2012 00:59
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Changing my draft priorities (bold indicates change):Mornacale posted:Draft Priorities  Also, anyone who is looking for a catcher, please ask me about 1932 Ernie Lombardi or 1968 Bill Freehan or 2004 Jason Kendall.
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Nov 26, 2012 01:14
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 PICKEM Great Googly-Mooglies and the St. Paul Bearers.
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Nov 26, 2012 01:18
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Pick 'Em! Unicorns and Bearers.
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Nov 26, 2012 01:50
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Pick 'Em! Unicorns, Bearers
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Nov 26, 2012 01:56
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Gauntlet pick 'em: Unicorns Comancheros
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Nov 26, 2012 02:20
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Just to get this officially recorded in the thread, SmasherDynamo and I have made a bet. If the Packers win their game tonight, I get 5 Pick 'Em points and my choice of any one player who played for any of my teams at any point. If the Packers lose tonight, I lose 5 Pick 'Em points, and one player of Smasher's choice is eliminated from the Woodchucks.
BrooklynBruiser fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 02:43
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 Well, boys...this is it. It's been a long ride, and I'd be lying to you if I said I could remember all of it...did we have Ted Williams at one point, or was that just the guy who hooked me up with that "crystal ship" stuff? Weird guy, that Ted. Anyway, I have faith in you guys. We've been through too much for it all to end now. I'm not saying we're going to make it all the way through, but we've got a run in us. I'm not a betting man, but if I was, I'd have a fair amount of gold on the Mooglies to advance. EDIT: Just to be on the safe side, I figured that I would once again post the Mooglies' roster: 25-Man Roster: C 2009 Yadier Molina 1B 2001 Jeff Bagwell 2B 1997 Chuck Knoblauch SS 1984 Cal Ripken, Jr. 3B 2001 Chipper Jones RF 2009 Shin-Soo Choo CF 1934 Earl Averill LF 2003 Vladimir Guerrero DH 1939 Hank Greenberg BN 1911 Stuffy McInnis BN 1912 Chief Meyers BN 2009 Mark DeRosa BN 2004 Andruw Jones BN 2009 Grady Sizemore SP 1911 Chief Bender SP 2009 Cliff Lee SP 2001 Mike Mussina SP 1998 David Cone SP 2011 Justin Verlander RP 1978 Tug McGraw RP 2009 Kerry Wood RP 2009 Chris Perez RP 2009 Kerry Wood RP 2009 Justin Masterson RP 1990 Dan Plesac Minors: 1911 "Lightning" Amos Strunk 1934 Joe Vosmik 1985 Joe Carter 1934 Lloyd Brown 1978 Bill Lee 2009 Joe Smith Lineups: vs RHP 1. Earl Averill CF 2. Vladimir Guerrero LF 3. Jeff Bagwell 1B 4. Hank Greenberg DH 5. Chipper Jones 3B 6. Shin-Soo Choo RF 7. Cal Ripken, Jr. SS 8. Yadier Molina C 9. Chuck Knoblauch 2B vs LHP 1. Cal Ripken, Jr. SS 2. Vladimir Guerrero LF 3. Jeff Bagwell 1B 4. Hank Greenberg DH 5. Chipper Jones 3B 6. Earl Averill RF 7. Andruw Jones CF 8. Yadier Molina C 9. Chuck Knoblauch 2B Pitching Rotation: SP1. Justin Verlander SP2. Mike Mussina SP3. Chief Bender SP4. David Cone SP5. Cliff Lee LR Justin Masterson MR Dan Plesac SR Chris Perez SR Tug McGraw SU Kerry Wood CL Kerry Wood The Goog fucked around with this message at 03:52 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 03:46
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 Can I say I want my draft priority to be starting pitchers because I need pitchers badly...
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Nov 26, 2012 03:57
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 Draft Preferences: 3B, SP, SS, C then bullpen
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Nov 26, 2012 04:09
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 Owner: cbx Location: Detroit, MI Home Grounds: Tiger Stadium Teams Used CLASSIFIED Past Records Sealed by Executive Order #P6571 Owner: cbx Location: Norfolk, VA Home Grounds: Clancy Field Teams Used 1910 Detroit Tigers 1986 Boston Red Sox 2003 Seattle Mariners 2007 Cincinnati Reds Past Records Expansion Cup VI 78-84, 5th Place, Doppels Division Super-League VII 73-89, 4th Place, Mark Bellhorn Division, Gauntletted Gauntlet VI Round 3: 27-13, 1st Place, Survived Round 4: 19-21, 2nd Place, Survived Round 5: 18-22, 4th Place, Relegated After the Splinter Cells were destroyed, a collection of documents were found in the ruins of the headquarters that shed some light on the mysterious origins of the team. FROM: Ordius TO: Osiris RE: Project: Splinter Cells Date: Super-League VI, Week 15 As of 1500 hours, Project: Splinter Cells has officially begun. Made contact with sleeper agent C.B.X., hereafter cbx. Activated dormant personality, and debriefed. According to agent cbx, the flaws with the Bengals are fatal, and the chances of a successful salvage operation are minimal. Recommendation: Extract Agent cbx and as many of the best components of the Bengals as is practicable, then scrub city of Detroit to remove all evidence of covert activity. With Detroit in decline, likelihood of public outcry is near zero. FROM: Ordius TO: Ordius RE: Shopping List Date: Super-League VI, Week 15 Just so I remember: Asparagus French Bread Clementines Salmon Parmesan Cheese Rosemary Frozen Pizza Iced Tea Remember to check if I have a coupon for the frozen pizza. FROM: Ordius TO: Osiris RE: Extraction Date: Super-League VI, Week 17 The extraction of components from the Bengals has hit a snag. Commissar Dynamo has been pressured by other owners to punish the Cells for suspected collusion. At the moment, danger exists that no components can be salvaged, and further sanctions may be levied in addition. Opposition centers from mrnoun and Senerio, owners of Landers and Saints, respectively. Senerio is not considered real threat, as history of abandoning league makes him a transient threat. mrnoun should be considered more formidable, as he appears to have Commissar's ear regarding this situation. Making matters worse, TKBomber7285 has recently been found to operating a similar operation, making it appear as if this is a recurring problem. I have provided several suggested courses of action: Alternative #1: Bribe Commissar enough to allow our plan to go through. This is certainly most expensive option, but may be the easiest. Alternative #2: Blackmail mrnoun with contents of file #6543j ed. note- No such file was recovered from the Cells' former base of operations, and it is impossible to know what said file contained. It appears likely that, when confronted with the file, that mrnoun will be more accommodating to our requests. Alternative #3: Do both. FROM: OSIRIS TO: ORDIUS RE: Snag Looks like that pathway has somehow been cleared for us, and we should be ready to make the transfer of components from the Cells soon enough. More importantly, however, we must, as an office, come together to deal with a new crisis: What to order for lunch. I have attached a list of possibilities: ATTACHMENT Jake's Gyros: The advantage of ordering from Jake's is that their menu has a breadth of options that most other restaurants lack. They have hamburgers, hot dogs, gyros, Italian beef and sausages, as well as various chicken and fish sandwiches. However, our intelligence informs us that they were linked to several cases of food poisoning over the last month. Subway: Subway has the cheapest prices of any takeout, but that is balanced by the cheap ingredients it uses in its sandwiches. For example, their so-called tuna salad is only 5% tuna and 95% prison-grade mayonnaise. Of late, they have also restricted their $5 foot-long promotion to only the least desirable sandwiches they make in order to save on costs. Chipotle: The burritos from Chipotle are least likely to cause food-borne illness among the staff, but they are surprisingly expensive for a dish that is made primarily from beans, rice and a tortilla. Also, every possible variation of their burritos tastes virtually the same. Consider this our new highest priority. FROM: Stevie Mitch TO: Osiris RE: Lunch I vote Chipotle! FROM: Ordius TO: Osiris RE: Lunch I'm thinking Subway, because I don't really want to spend too much money. FROM: cbx TO: Osiris RE: Lunch Hey, did you hear about that new Jamaican place down the street? Maybe we could try that. FROM: Osiris TO: cbx RE: Jamaican Cuisine While that might be a good idea in theory, I feel like there's just too much unfamiliarity with Jamaican cuisine to make it work. FROM: cbx TO: Osiris RE: Jamaican Cuisine Bummer, I was looking forward to getting some jerk chicken. FROM: Ordius TO: Osiris RE: Bengals Date: Gauntlet V The Bengals have been officially eliminated from the Super-League as the result of a losing performance in Round 2 of this year's Gaunltet. I have asked cbx to give a brief post-mortem on the Bengals FROM: cbx TO: Osiris RE: Bengals The Bengals died because the game was rigged against the, They were definitely a better team that any of the other teams in their division, and they should have won. It was clearly a conspiracy against me and my team. The '11 Tigers are one of the best Tigers teams of all-time, and should have been easily able to carry this roster by themselves. We all know that Miguel Cabrera, as the best player of his era, should have done much better than he did. There was definitely nothing wrong with the Bengals. It was the Super-League's fault. FROM: Ordius TO: cbx CC: Osiris RE: Expansion Cup Date: Expansion Cup, Month 6 Analysis of results of Cells' performance in Expansion Cup as follows. 1. Despite having numerous components transferred from Bengals to Cells, performance was still subpar, as Cells finished with losing record. 2. Compounding the problem, as per an agreement with the Commissar, the Cells will receive no dispersal draft picks, meaning that while our competition will improve, we will not. 3. As a result, barring something drastic happening, the chances of the Cells' survival seems poor. FROM: cbx TO: Ordius RE Expansion Cup No way, we've got Miguel Cabrera. Now, I know there are a lot of statheads out there that will try to tell you that Mike Trout was the better hitter in 2012, but I think that if you look carefully at the numbers, you'll disagree. First, while Cabrera was able to get the Tigers into the Playoffs, Trout couldn't even get his team into second place. Second, Miggy is much more clutch than Mike Trout, who basically never helped his team in the clutch. Third, Miguel Cabrera is an underrated fielder at third, capable of doing a decent job at his position. Hell, he's probably no worse a fielder than Jim Thome was when you played third base. With a full season of Cabrera, I have no doubt that we'll be able to crush the other three teams in our division. It's almost like it's not even fair. FROM: Stevie Mitch TO: Osiris RE: Community I can't believe they delayed Community until February! And Dan Harmon is gone! This is bullshit! FROM: Osiris TO: Stevie Mitch RE: Community Dude, the show got three full seasons, and it's going to get thirteen more episodes, and, as much as I like Community, the show wasn't going to last forever. Better it die young than stagger on as some sort of Zombie. FROM: Stevie Mitch TO: Osiris RE: Community That's bullshit! This show had tons of good ideas left in it, it would have been two or three more seasons before it ran out of gas. It's not even going to reach 100 episodes! FROM: Osiris TO: Stevie Mitch RE: Community Dude, you've got to let it go. FROM: Ordius TO: cbx CC: Osiris RE: Told you so Date: Super-League VII, Week 5 Analysis of the most recent results indicates that the chances of the Splinter Cells' survival is now under 50%. As I have said before, we did not have the roster necessary to be dominant in the Super-League, despite the presence of Miguel Cabrera. FROM: cbx TO: Ordius CC: Osiris RE: gently caress you Miguel Cabrera is great! The fact that he isn't dominating is just a small sample size. When he comes around, well, I think we'll show them all who the real best team in the Mark Bellhorn Division is. FROM: cbx TO: Osiris CC: Ordius RE: Big Trade Date: Super-League VII, Week 14 I just finalized a deal with the Oranges. Clemens for Brown straight up. I think this should solve all of our pitching problems forever. FROM: Ordius TO: cbx RE: Big Trade Wait, the same Mordecai Brown that's been terrible for the Oranges? And we gave up our best pitcher? With the defense we have, there appears to be little chance that Brown will be of much help to our team, especially with our fielding what it is, I fear you may have doomed our team. FROM: cbx TO: Ordius RE: Big Trade Doomed it...or saved it? FROM: Ordius TO: cbx RE: Big Trade Doomed it, and the Cells have run out of healthy position players thanks to other trades you made. FROM: cbx TO: Ordius I think I saved it. Also, I'm pretty sure that Carlos Guillen can play left field. FROM: Ordius TO: cbx Carlos Guillen can play left field in the sense that he can physically occupy the position, but nothing more than that. FROM: Ordius TO: Osiris RE: cbx Date: Super-League VII, Week 20 Has anyone seen cbx, he seems to have disappeared around the time that the Cells' defeat became inevitable. FROM: Ordius TO: Steve Mitch RE: Where did everyone go? Date: Super-League VII, Week 25 Hey, where did everyone go? I haven't seen anyone in the office for days. FROM: Smasher Dynamo TO: cbx RE: Alt Accounts Date: Gauntlet VI, Round 5 But seriously, cbx, don't use an alt account again, okay?
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Nov 26, 2012 04:21
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 Some say it was madness to try and wed Bolshevism and Existentialism. They could not have been more right. Owner: NotThatSamBeckett Location: Polyarny, Muramansk Oblast, Russian Federation Home Grounds: The Sub Pen Teams Used 1901 Boston Beaneaters 1902 Cincinnati Reds 1902 Cleveland Bronchos 1981 New York Mets 1985 St. Louis Cardinals 1986 Pittsburgh Pirates Past Records Expansion Cup VI 102-60, Imaginos Division Champions Defeated Barrow Daydreamers 4-1 in TLCS Defeated Vice City Goose Eggs 4-3 in ECF Expansion Cup VI Champions Super League VII 75-87, 4th in the Memento Mori Division Gauntlet VI Round 4: 18-22, 3rd place, Relegated The Postmodernists were dead, and there was no longer any denying it. Two men sat in NotThatSamBeckett's office, waiting for their team's owner. Their last Gauntlet game had ended less than an hour earlier, and the other players had collectively chosen them to represent the players at this final meeting: Nap LaJoie, representing the team's dead ball players, and George Brett for the modernists. Neither man was especially bothered by their situation, as each knew he was bound for an early spot in the Dispersal Draft. Rather, foremost in each man's mind was the same thought: Where is Beckett? Brett had taken careful stock of the room when he first entered. This would be the first time he'd met his soon-to-be former owner, and he wanted to get a feel for the man before the meeting. But to all appearances, it looked as if Beckett had made his exit long ago. The furniture, including the chairs in which Brett and his counterpart now sat, had a dusty, underused look to them. A pair of pots, intended for plants, sat empty by the door, and a single, moribund spider plant hung near the big picture window overlooking the parking lot. Filing cabinets lay open, their filing folders empty but for a few scraps of paper, each filled with long lists of unexplained and apparently arbitrary numbers. There was no chair at all behind the owner's desk, which was worrisome. But worst of all was the desk itself: completely bare, except for a chessboard, set up and ready to play. "So," said Brett, "This is going to be a Waiting for Godot thing, isn't it?" LaJoie looked up from his book, quizzically. "Never mind, that was after your time." A clearly annoyed LaJoie sighed, pointedly turned his chair so he was facing away from Brett, and returned to his book. George tried to recall everything he could about Godot, but he kept getting it crossed up with Camus in his head. So instead, he started going over everything he knew about chess. He'd never really been interested in the game before, but he now found himself deeply regretting that particular life choice. "No, it's nothing to do with Godot," said Denny Rainwater. Both men looked up in surprise. The enigmatic reliever had vanished months previously, before the Gauntlet even began. But here he was, looking just the same as he ever had, except around his neck was a pendant with a strange green gem. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid old Mr. Beckett, he ain't around no more," he said. "But he weren't around all that much in the first place, so we folks'll just have to do like always, and find our own answers." Brett stared at him for a long moment, searching for the right words. He settled on, "Why?" "Well, because there ain't no one around to find 'em for us, Georgie." "No, no, that's not what I meant," said Brett. "I mean, why... why everything? Why like this? A team with a weird mix of oddball deadballers and seemingly random modern players? A team with no power and a .255 batting average? Three modern bullpens, but Jeff Reardon as the closer? I don't understand. I don't understand any of it! What was the point?" "Well, that sure was a lot of questions, weren't it? Don't know how much I can help you with most of that, especially the whole 'Jeff Reardon' thing," said Rainwater with a smirk, "but I figure there's one thing I can help you with, sure enough. You want to know the point? You really want to know the point? Then stand yourselves up, walk on over to that window, and take a good long look out there, tell me what you see." As one, Brett and LaJoie rose from their chairs, almost as if bidden by some invisible force. The window showed, as they expected, a whole bunch of parking lot. "I see people," said Brett. "Thousands and thousands of people filed out of this stadium after the game, into that parking lot. And yeah, the game ended a while ago, but you can see, there are still quite a few of them out there. They're chatting with friends, maybe having a last drink before they head home." "I see miles and miles of loving Russia," said LaJoie. "Well, yeah, that too," said Brett. "But am I right? Is that the point, that we were part of something larger than just us? That what we did mattered, and affected the lives of all the thousands who turned out each day to watch us play?" "That's kind of depressing," said LaJoie. "Having your life affected by watching us play. Doesn't Russia already have a dangerously high suicide rate?" "What do you think, Rainwater?" But when they turned to look, he wasn't there. Ten minutes later, Brett and LaJoie sat at the desk, commisserating over a bottle they'd found tucked away in the filing cabinets. It had been filed under 'P', presumably for "paint thinner", but at this point, they didn't care as long as it was alcoholic. "loving Magical Negroes," said Brett. "Always waltzing into white folks' lives and teaching them important lessons, then vanishing without a trace. As if the only thing minorities are good for is enriching the lives of white people. Sadly common in American literature, and especially film." "I didn't even know he was black," said LaJoie. "Coulda sworn he was a Laplander or something." "Please, they prefer to be called the Sami," said Brett. "And it's probably one of those 'subjective reality' things. You know, like, your own personal experience cannot ever hope to conform precisely to objective reality because your interpretation of events can't help but be tainted by prior assumptions and prejudices? It's probably one of those things." "I think on the whole I'd have preferred the Godot spoof," said LaJoie. Brett thought for a moment. "Yeah, me too." "Hey guys, sorry, I had to step out and take a piss," said Rainwater. "So, did you look out the window?" Luckily, the guys were drunk enough by now to take this in stride. LaJoie said, "Yeah, but then you disappeared and we got drunk, so it doesn't seem as important anymore." "I thought I saw a bunch of people that meant we were all interconnected or some bullshit like that," said Brett. "But then I got drunk too, and it started sounding like bullshit." "Oh, you guys!" chuckled Rainwater. "But you're closer than you think. Take a little peek now, and all you'll see is a big, empty parking lot. A big slab of concrete with a little mostly-faded paint slapped on it. There ain't nothing out there but what we put there. And that's the secret. The fact is, life ain't a story. There's no moral, no storybook meaning. It's just life, and there ain't no meaning we can get out of it that we don't put into it. And if this sounds like bullshit too, it's because it is: it's a storybook meaning for something as essentially meaningless and random as the Super League. So you know what, gently caress it, get drunk, get relegated, get dispersed, and do it all over again. As for me, I'm needed elsewhere." "So you are a Magical Negro," said Brett. "No, I'll be signing with the new Intercontinental Champs, dummy. See you in Super League VIII!"
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Nov 26, 2012 06:30
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Expansion Draft Review! I was bored. All views are my own and not endorsed by Smasher. Catchers '53 Yogi Berra (IDA) '34 Gabby Hartnett (IDA) '70 Thurman Munson (RRS) '43 Bill Dickey (PAR) '43 Walker Cooper (MAD) '71 Gene Tenace (POU) '85 Darrell Porter (PAR) '10 Mike Napoli (POU) '90 Brian Harper (RRS) '76 Bob Boone (RRS) '11 Jonathan Lucroy (MAD) '40 Birdie Tebbetts (RRS) '85 Ernie Whitt (VIC) '22 Hank Severeid (VIC '19 Ray Schalk (PAR) Sure Things Yogi Berra is a great catcher, and in '53 he is at his peak and just about to ring up two more MVP awards. Usefully he hits left handed, giving you lots of options for a catcher platoon. Gabby Hartnett is almost a sure thing. Backstop of the multiple championship winning Skyhawks for many years, Hartnett is a good defensive catcher who can hit for average, has some power and will draw some walks. Consistently a solid performer in the super league. I considered rating him a sure thing. Helpful Players Thurmon Munson and Billy Dickey are both good, but not great. Filler That Won't Kill You Walker Cooper isn't terrible. Gene Tenace holds a surprising number of quite weird records - I think he's the only catcher with 900 hits to get on base more often by earning a free pass than via a hit. Considering he's a big advocate of swinging aggressively during at bats, his career walk totals are ridiculous. In the SL the number of control pitchers reduces how helpful this is, but it's still a good skill. This category probably bottoms out at Mike Napoli. Best of the rest: Hank Severid First Basemen '62 Willie McCovey (IDA) '11 Prince Fielder (MAD) '89 Mark McGwire (POU) '95 Don Mattingly (RRS) '79 Keith Hernandez (PAR) '22 George Sisler (VIC) '05 Jeff Bagwell (RRS) '99 Fred McGriff (RRS) '28 George Sisler (RRS) '02 Joe Kelley (PAR) '88 Glenn Davis (VIC) '71 Don Mincher (POU) '85 Cecil Fielder (VIC) '91 Sam Horn (IDA) '43 Ray Sanders (MAD) '02 Jake Beckley (PAR) Sure Things Willie McCovey is pretty great. Quoting Smasher: "McCovey really deserves a chance to play for a good team. He's been a bit spotty in the Super-League, but that's mainly because owners keep jerking him around. gently caress, he was once traded straight-up for Orlando Hudson. Still, he's a mortal lock to hit 25 home runs, which is drat good in the Super-League." I think you all know what you'll get from Prince Fielder: Power hitting and terrible fielding. Helpful Players '89 Mark McGwire is probably okay. Hits for AVG, SLG and has patience at the plate. Will field at an acceptable standard. Filler that will kill you '05 Jeff Bagwell and Crime Dog '99 Fred McGriff are Super League Filler. Same for Mattingly. But, at this point, I will diverge from my chosen topic. First base is one of the most competitive positions in the super league, in part due to the sheer number of Jimmie Foxxes that are floating around. As the Juggernauts are probably going to exit existence with five of them, this might change. In the meantime, the upshot is that unless your 1B guy is comparable to an aging Jimmie Foxx or something, he probably shouldn't be starting for you. So whoever you are starting at 1B needs to be pretty good. On a related note, when thinking about your 1B guy you want sure gloves, because the most important thing at 1B is to stand on the bag and make those throws into outs, and you want power hitting. In the SL, guys who make errors and don't hit for power come with a helpful warning label, called 'Deadballers.' Therefore, the next guy I see with a deadballer first baseman will be mocked. '22 George Sisler is garbage. He doesn't walk, he doesn't have any power and he makes errors constantly. The fact him and his older brother are both in the dispersal draft pool should tell you a lot. Best of the Rest: If you are starting these guys, you will die. Second Basemen '11 Eddie Collins (POU) '02 Nap Lajoie (PAR) '69 Joe Morgan (IDA) '85 Paul Molitor (RRS) '10 Robinson Cano (VIC) '97 Roberto Alomar (MAD) '60 Nellie Fox (VIC) '10 Ian Kinsler (POU) '68 Dick McAuliffe (RRS) '85 Tom Herr (PAR) '12 Neil Walker (MAD) '22 Marty McManus (VIC) '04 Freddie Sanchez (RRS) '11 Rickie Weeks (MAD) '85 Harold Reynolds (IDA) '53 Billy Martin (IDA) Sure Things The top three picks are some of the greatest second sackers ever in the sport. Joe Morgan might be a bit young. Really you cannot go wrong with any of these three guys. Certainly it's hard to say definatively any one of these dudes is better than the others. Joe Morgan is the most complete player, with sure hands, some power, plate discipline, low CS%, good at the double play all that good stuff. The other two will hit a fuckton of singles and doubles and get on base while providing various levels of 'fielding' Expect Errors and thrown out runners. Helpful Players '85 Paul Molitor (RRS) and '10 Robinson Cano (VIC) should both be good despite Cano making GBS threads the bed for the goose eggs this year. Molitor is only here because he has to be somewhere, he's a useful utility player as well as a 2B guy. Filler That Won't Kill You '97 Roberto Alomar (MAD) and '60 Nellie Fox (VIC) are both bad years of decent second base guys. They should be usable. Don't start them except as platoon pieces or whatever. Best of the rest: McAuLiffe might be a usable backup. Third Basemen '77 George Brett (PAR) '55 Eddie Yost (RRS) '66 Brooks Robinson (RRS) '71 Sal Bando (POU) '83 Buddy Bell (VIC) '10 Adrian Beltre (POU) '74 Ron Cey (VIC) '53 Gil McDougald (IDA) '43 Whitey Kurowski (MAD) '92 Todd Zeile (RRS) '85 Rance Mulliniks (VIC) '12 Pedro Alvarez (MAD) '06 Maicer Izturis (IDA) Sure Things There is an argument that George Brett is the best SL 3B guy. He isn't, because that title probably goes to Wade Boggs bat, but he's a complete hitter who has patience, hits for average, hits for power, and squeaks out some extra doubles with his legs, he defends OK, he does it all to a very good standard. Helpful Players Both of these guys are otherwise filler 3B guys with one skill turned up to elite. Yost has great plate discipline and gets on base. Robinson is a good defender, or so I hear. If these helps your team, they are a good guy at that slot. If not, don't pick them. Filler that will probably kill you eventually The next four guys, Bando through Cey are decent 3B guys in real life, but this is a league in which the standard is set at Harmon Killibrew or Ron Santo levels. Best of the rest: Rance Mulliniks! Shortstops '01 Alex Rodriguez (POU) '82 Robin Yount (MAD) '82 Robin Yount (RRS) '91 Cal Ripken (IDA) '85 Ozzie Smith (PAR) '10 Michael Young (POU) '19 Charlie Hollocher (RRS) '71 Bert Campaneris (POU) '85 Tony Fernandez (VIC) '74 Bill Russell (RRS) '70 Luis Aparicio (POU) '53 Phil Rizzuto (IDA) Sure Things Arod is pretty good, with an elite bat and everything else OK. The Younts in the SL fall into that Rob Santo class of players who'll help you win, but not be amazing at anything. Yount can hit, he can take a walk, he can field OK. They basically deliver you 6 feet of SL shortstop. They are good, but not great. Carl Ripken is pretty good, but starting to get on a bit due to the ironman thing which is bad in a shortstop. He's basically Yount with a slightly worse glove. Helpful Players Ozzie Smith is a player that will help a ground ball pitching staff that throws to contact, and will otherwise choke your offense with his weak hitting ways. Use the force carefully. Filler that will probably kill you eventually All the other shortstops are terrible, despite Bill James' affection for Campy. Left Fielders '39 Ted Williams (RRS) '43 Stan Musial (MAD) '80 Rickey Henderson (IDA) '10 Josh Hamilton (POU) '11 Ryan Braun (MAD) '78 Dave Parker (RRS) '68 Willie Horton (IDA) '08 Matt Holliday (VIC) '70 Lou Brock (RRS) '85 George Bell (VIC) '22 Ken Williams (VIC) '11 Carl Crawford (RRS) '71 Rick Monday (POU) '86 Jim Rice (VIC) '04 Jose Bautista (RRS) '72 Felipe Alou (RRS) '65 Bob Allison (RRS) '53 Gene Woodling (IDA) Sure Things Ted Williams is great. This is Rookie Williams though, so temper expectations slightly. But he's still great. Stan Musial (my favourite  ) is also very young, but this year is his first MVP year - though all the good players were at the war. He's also great player, more complete than Ted Williams, but how much does LF defence really matter? Helpful Players Rickey Henderson is a step down from the first two, and again, is very very young, but he's still a great power/speed combo and he owns many, many major league records of a reason. You could move him to 'helpful' if you wanted. Filler that will probably kill you eventually The other guys are all deeply flawed in some respect. '10 Josh Hamilton (POU) '11 Ryan Braun (MAD) and '78 Dave Parker (RRS) are all acceptable hitters with questionable defence. Matt Williams cannot get on base in the SL. Jim Rice is old. They are all decent pieces, but not great pieces. Center Fielders '62 Willie Mays (PAR) '53 Mickey Mantle (IDA) '01 Billy Hamilton (PAR) '98 Bernie Williams (RRS) '04 Carlos Beltran (POU) '80 Cesar Cedeno (PAR) '12 Andrew McCutchen (MAD) '02 Sam Crawford (PAR) '19 Max Carey (PAR) '78 Amos Otis (VIC) Sure Things Do I need to rehash the brilliance of Mays and Mantle? No? Good. Helpful Players It's not that Billy Hamilton, though I actually suspect the two Billy Hamiltons are related karmically or something. If you look at photos of them both, they actually kinda look the same. Notice that the Reds have noticed this too and moved him to his natural position of centre field. Anyway, despite having zero power, he'll get on base, steal a lot of bases, isn't an awful fielder and has a lot to be said for him. '98 Bernie Williams (RRS) '04 Carlos Beltran (POU) and '12 Andrew McCutchen (MAD) are all surprisingly similar players. They'll be okay, but not great. Filler that will probably kill you eventually Don't draft anything. '80 Cesar Cedeno (PAR) or Sam Crawford is the best of the rest, but really? Right Fielders '58 Al Kaline (VIC) '97 Larry Walker (RRS) '71 Reggie Jackson (POU) '96 Gary Sheffield (MAD) '06 Vladimir Guerrero (IDA) '03 Ichiro Suzuki (VIC) '84 Joe Carter (RRS) '02 Elmer Flick (PAR) '72 Roberto Clemente (IDA) '93 Ellis Burks (RRS) '11 J.D. Drew (RRS) '85 Danny Tartabull (IDA) '11 Corey Hart (MAD) Sure Things Nothing in this group is a sure thing, though Al Kaline is pretty good.lefties very well. Helpful Players The next guys are all 'good but not great' Larry Walker has the Rockies helping him out, buthe did spend a while in Canada and looks like a legit hitter. If you want to see how he goes, I have a clone of this walker on the Cultists. He's solid, he has some power, gets on base and doesn't hit. Jackson and Sheffield are not the sort of Super Elite player you're looking for in RF for a SL team, Ichiro gave us this: http://soundcloud.com/gibbstack/ichiros-theme but not much power. Pick one that fits your team and park. Filler that will probably kill you eventually Elmer Flick can play second base OK as well. He's like Nap Lajoie lite. Starting Pitchers i've broken these guys up into groups Great '22 Pete Alexander (IDA) '95 Roger Clemens (MAD) Excellent: '62 Juan Marichal (VIC) '53 Whitey Ford (IDA) '02 Addie Joss (PAR) Good: '66 Steve "Sting" Carlton (IDA) '79 Don Sutton (MAD) '02 Noodles the Pitcher (PAR) '11 Chief Bender (RRS) '71 Catfish Hunter (POU) Various Question marks: '96 Kevin Brown (MAD) '91 Mike Mussina (IDA) '85 Dave Stieb (VIC) '84 Rick Sutcliffe (RRS) '68 Mickey Lolich (POU) '86 Rick Reuschel (PAR) '83 Frank Tanana (VIC) Utility is has mostly evaporated: '06 Jered Weaver (IDA) '71 Vida Blue (POU) '01 Kid Nichols (PAR) '85 John Tudor (PAR) '11 Yovani Gallardo (MAD) '10 C.J. Wilson (POU) '47 Bob Lemon (MAD) '22 Urban Shocker (VIC) '04 Cy Falkenberg (PAR) '01 Vic Willis (PAR) Anything below here is seriously questionable: '70 Tommy John (POU) '95 Jack McDowell (RRS) '11 Doug Fister (VIC) '78 Luis Tiant (VIC) '86 Fernando Valenzuela (PAR) <-- Best of the rest IMHO, Smasher disagrees. '96 Al Leiter (MAD) '65 Phil Niekro (VIC) '64 Jim Bouton (RRS) '70 Wilbur Wood (POU) '43 Harry Brecheen (MAD) '11 Nap Rucker (PAR) '57 Frank Sullivan (RRS) '53 Ed Lopat (IDA) '34 Waite Hoyt (PAR) '00 Barry Zito (RRS) '99 Barry Zito (MAD) '78 Dennis Leonard (RRS) '43 Howie Pollet (MAD) '91 Mike Flanagan (IDA) '43 Max Lanier (MAD) '72 Steve Kline (RRS) '70 Joe Horlen (POU) '67 Denny Lemaster (RRS) '06 Ervin Santana (IDA) '85 Mike Moore (IDA) Relievers Usefulness disappears about the point of Reardon. '97 Robb Nen (PAR) '96 Robb Nen (MAD) '85 Tom Henke (VIC) '71 Rollie Fingers (POU) '06 Francisco Rodriguez (IDA) '68 John Hiller (PAR) '81 Jesse Orosco (PAR) '81 Jeff Reardon (PAR) '11 John Axford (MAD) '10 Neftali Feliz (POU) '85 Todd Worrell (PAR) '11 Francisco Rodriguez (MAD) '06 Scot Shields (IDA) '10 David Aardsma (RRS) '10 Alexei Ogando (POU) '10 Darren O'Day (POU) '83 Danny Darwin (VIC) '71 Mudcat Grant (POU) '53 Johnny Sain (IDA) '74 Charlie Hough (RRS) '72 Bob Johnson (VIC) '06 Brandon League (POU) '10 Koji Uehara (MAD) '10 Koji Uehara (POU) '06 J.C. Romero (IDA) '11 Jose Valverde (VIC) '05 Dan Wheeler (RRS) '58 Hank Aguirre (VIC) '11 Jason Grilli (MAD) '53 Bob Kuzava (IDA) '78 Dave LaRoche (VIC) '58 Tom Morgan (VIC) '04 Saloman Torres (RRS) '58 Frank Lary (VIC) '91 Todd Frohwirth (IDA) '92 Rheal Cormier (RRS) '92 Mike Perez (RRS) 'X6 Denny Rainwater (PAR) Cthulhu Dreams fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 06:30
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Pick 'em picks: Unicorns and Mooglies.
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Nov 26, 2012 06:42
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mks5000 posted:
I've edited this a few times. Quoting it because these are my final pick preferences.
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Nov 26, 2012 06:51
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Updated draft preferences: First, if I win the sandwich pick: 1st round: '53 Yogi Berra, '34 Gabby Hartnett, best hitter overall. Sandwich pick: Best SS overall. Robin Yount over A-rod, if they're both still available. 2nd round: Best C overall if I didn't get Berra or Hartnett, otherwise best hitting OF overall. 3rd round: Best 3B overall. If the best available according to your ranks is 74 Ron Cey or lower, then go with the best relief pitcher overall. And in the much more likely event that I don't: 1st round: '53 Yogi Berra, '34 Gabby Hartnett, best hitter overall. 2nd round: Best SS overall. Robin Yount over A-rod, if they're both somehow still available. 3rd round: Best C overall if I didn't get Berra or Hartnett, otherwise best hitting OF overall. BrooklynBruiser posted:Just to get this officially recorded in the thread, SmasherDynamo and I have made a bet. If the Packers win their game tonight, I get 5 Pick 'Em points and my choice of any one player who played for any of my teams at any point. If the Packers lose tonight, I lose 5 Pick 'Em points, and one player of Smasher's choice is eliminated from the Woodchucks.
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Nov 26, 2012 21:46
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I move that whatever player Bruiser loses instead defects to the 
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Nov 26, 2012 23:51
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| # ? May 12, 2024 12:25 |
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 Consecutive championships means the Bobbleheads are destined for a showdown with the Men who are Macho!
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Nov 27, 2012 00:56
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