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 The following contest, scheduled for the best three-out-of-five wins is a for a berth in the Smasher League Championship Series.  Marauder's B-Team shouldn't keep winning division titles, but none of the teams I put in the Mark Bellhorn Division seem capable of stepping up their game and taking him out for good. Next season, I'm hoping cbx's team will fill that role but, for the moment, it will be up to Lombard St. Gumshoes to keep Marauder's Frankenstein from making the Smasher League Finals. In terms of roster construction, the Phoenixes are, oddly enough, the scrappiest of the surviving teams. They don't have much in the way of overwhelming talent, with Gehrig being their only superstar, but they've managed to cobble together a decent enough offense out of spare parts. As for their pitching, well, it gets by.  Chataqua Field Ithaca, NY Chataqua Field will host Game 3 and 4 of this series. The following faithless men have thrown in their lot with the merciless Marauder: gingemidget (WAL) (3 Games, 3-1) Senerio (NOW) (3 Games, 1-0) Armitage (JAC) (4 Games, 7-3) cbx (DEC) (5 Games, 3-1) GrickleGrass (MAN) (5 Games, 3-2) Pander (SAD) (5 Games, 6-5)  The Gumshoes are a team of balance. They don't really have any superstar hitters or pitchers, but they simply stack up enough good players who draw walks that they can usually score enough runs to win. They aren't the most dynamic of teams, as their game is mainly based around grinding down pitchers until they can knock out the starter and feast on the middle relievers, but it's been enough to get them into the playoffs in a relatively comfortable fashion. If such a strategy will work against the Phoenixes who have a more solid bullpen than most teams is unknown.  Bourbon Field San Francisco, CA Bourbon Field will host Games 1, 2, and 5 of this series. The following classy baseball detectives have lined up behind Don Slaught, P.I.: mooseontheloose (HRV) (3 Games, 6-4) Monathin (CNT) (4 Games, 4-3) NotThatSamBeckett (PAR) (4 Games, 4-2) CVE (MDM) (5 Games, 4-1) Gabriel Pope (OMA) (5 Games, 7-4) ScottyJSno (LOV) (5 Games, 7-3) theacox (CER) (5 Games, 6-2) Game 1 Don May posted:
Box Score   Game 2 Don May posted:
Box Score   Game 3 Don May posted:
Box Score   Game 4 Don May posted:
Box Score   Game 5 Don May posted:
Box Score   Updated Playoff Bracket 
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Feb 11, 2013 04:05
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OK, yes, I'm mildly disappointed in my team, but check out that sexy banner! Nice, yeah? Thanks, gingemidget and Smasher! At least Det. Don Slaught didn't let me down, hitting .385 with an inevitable error and providing a fun narrative. Poor Robert Grich and his three errors, along with the error I will blame on him from Al Dark, his defensive replacement, well...that's another matter.
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Feb 11, 2013 04:17
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poo poo, I got crushed by Marauder in the division series, and I didn't even get a banner! Good season, though, we really turned it around from the shitshow that was the first six weeks or so.
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Feb 11, 2013 04:19
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Warm Sarsaparilla posted:poo poo, I got crushed by Marauder in the division series, and I didn't even get a banner! You won an Expansion Cup, you got your danged banner 
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Feb 11, 2013 04:36
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Fair point. Smasher, can I have the Deadwood Expansion champs banner added? After all, there is only one Coburn. And I have a player from the Cutthroats on the Coburns! Tom HEN-KE yet holds the shotglass high.
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Feb 11, 2013 04:43
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mentholmoose's unofficial Expansion Cup advice post, which is mostly just random thoughts on each team in the expansion class, along with a couple players from your feeder teams to consider that you might have missed. There's a mock draft at the bottom, too, with some caveats, though. Players from the Albany Pessimists, Cuba Smokers, New England Arguments, Cleveland Commies, Florida Oranges, and Spokane Air Raids will be available in the dispersal draft. Some general advice for all owners, though: there are a couple players you should pick no matter what position you need. In this draft, it'll likely be Johnson, Alexander, the Bonds brothers, and Williams. These are the types of player you make room for on your team, even if you have to trade somebody to do it. Second, for the most part, pick starting pitchers ahead of relievers. You can move your bad starters over to middle and long relief without it affecting them too much; in fact, it might actually help. I'd say any starting pitcher past Derek Lowe probably won't help most teams relative to what they currently have.  Your team is so hosed. Your lineup in the last Expansion Cup post I can find is also hosed, unless you put Willie Stargell at shortstop willingly, in which case I suggest checking in to a mental health facility. That said, you need a lot of new hitters, along with new pitchers. Hernandez, Stargell, Clemente, and Hrbek should be alright, if not great. Aside from Otis, I haven't even heard of the rest of your hitters, which can't be good. Look for middle infielders and catchers on the hitting side of things in the draft. On the pitching, Jesse Orosco is a pretty good pitcher and everyone else basically isn't. Gooden would be a good #4. Actually, just take Ted Williams or Walter Johnson first overall and worry about the rest of your team in the later rounds. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Dock Ellis - SP, 1971 Pirates Rusty Staub - 1B, 1984 Mets  That pitching is absolutely horrendous. You might even say, it's a catastrophe. Sorry. Anyways, three picks might not be enough to fix your team. You'll get another two in the Super-Draft to plug a couple holes, but by then it might be too late. ToiletofSadness covered most of it in his post, but you'll want a new catcher and likely a third baseman also. Even at his young age in 1995, I doubt Jim Thome will be a good 3B, but he should do well at first. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Orel Hershiser - SP, 1995 Indians (if you haven't traded him, I don't remember for sure) Ruben Amaro Jr. - UT, 1995 Indians (don't actually do this) Paul O'Neill - RF, 1987 Reds  Nice team. Pitching, both bullpen and starting, could be an issue in the Super League, though. As is your shortstop, although that's an issue for a lot of teams. Nap Lajoie could work as DH if you move Ruth into right, which would remove Joe Adcock from the lineup. I'm also not sure young Eddie Mathews is the solution at third, but there are many worse players playing third in the SL. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Walker Cooper - C, 1953 Braves Bob Shawkey/Herb Pennock - SP, You've got two of each on the Yankees and Athletics, so whichever team you didn't pluck them from already  A really drat good team, probably the best in this EC. I don't know how Pete Fox was that successful, but he almost assuredly won't be in the SL. Neither will Rube Marquard, and Christy Mathewson's age is something to worry about. So is the left side of your infield. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Every player I thought you should take a look at is already on your roster. Maybe Masanori Murakami, off the '65 Giants, although I'm not sure his ridiculously high strikeout rates would make up for his really short career in the Mogul ratings.  THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE MOOSE IN THE SUPER LEAGUE! As I have no doubt I'll be relegated, there's nothing to worry about. If by some miracle I'm not, I'll do my best to relegate your team. Catching is a likely issue for your team. Ted Simmons is an alright backup, but I don't think he should be the only catcher on your roster. Center field and shortstop are also pretty big issues, as is the bottom half of your rotation and your bullpen. Andy van Slyke is injured, but on the whole he's probably not much more than a 4th outfielder. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: John Denny - SP, 1979 Cardinals  Looking over the remaining feeder teams, I likely would have chosen most of the teams you did; unfortunately there weren't a lot of good teams remaining in the pool, and I think you've made the best of what you were given. I'm not sure why Pete Alexander and Al Kaline are in your minor leagues, but they really should be starting. Aside from Hornsby and Helton, your infield really needs work, and Harvey Kuenn should be near the bottom of the lineup. Cesar Cedeno is not likely the solution in center, either. For your rotation, Alexander-Bunning-Richard-Dierker-Lary isn't great but - with a pick used on a starting pitcher - could be alright. Your bullpen could use work, too, because most of those guys won't repeat their success. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Chick Hafey - OF, 1926 Cardinals (  )Joe Niekro - RP, 1976 Astros Justin Speier - RP, 2003 Rockies  Draft both Kevin Brown's. With a rotation of Blyleven-Brown-Brown-Brown-Mussina, how could you lose? I really like this team. You've got good hitters at most positions, an alright starting rotation, and three good relievers. Killebrew should obviously be starting instead of Frank Howard. Ken McMullen should be fired into the sun in favor of Delgado or Oliva. You could use more relievers, and Chris Hoiles is probably better suited to being a backup, but otherwise I think your team will do alright. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Hoyt Wilhelm - RP, 1968 White Sox Jim Corsi - RP, 1993 Marlins Andy van Slyke - OF, 1995 Orioles Jamie Moyer - SP, 1995 Orioles Jesse Orosco - RP, 1995 Orioles Pedro Martinez - SP, 2008 Mets  A team based mostly on the Cubs has nowhere to go but relegation. Maddux should be very good, but aside from him you have 4 #4 starters on your team. Your bullpen, however should do alright-ish. The real problem lies with your offense. You need another shortstop, a catcher to go with Molina - Gillespie and Girardi should not be on your team - and another outfielder. Mark Grace should start instead of Scott Spiezio. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Lon Warneke - SP, 1945 Cubs  Old Rickey Henderson probably won't do well as a starter. I don't know what the deal with A-Rod was, though. Maybe he didn't have his PED's. Luckily, the SL is full of them, so he should do alright. Your lineup is pretty good otherwise, although I don't know if Robin Ventura or Julio Franco will be anywhere near as successful in the SL. Your pitching, on the other hand, could use some work. Nolan Ryan is 43 and unlikely to be anywhere near as successful in the future. Take my advice that a pitcher that old is a disaster waiting to happen. You could also use a reliever or two. If you think Edgar Martinez can play third in '96, try moving him there and putting Olerud in as DH. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Juan Gonzalez - OF, 1990 Rangers Harold Baines - DH, 1990 Rangers Michael Jackson - RP, 1996 Mariners Vladimir Guerrero - DH, 2011 Orioles Jim Johnson - RP, 2011 Orioles  I'm not really sure what to write about your team, except that they must be in a pitchers park. Contrary to Grinnblade's thoughts, I think Brian Downing is one of your only acceptable hitters, although that's mostly due to his heroic actions to help eliminate the Woodchucks. Frank Chance, Sam Crawford, and Frank Baker will be OK, but not good. Jim Kaat should be back in the majors for the start of the SL, and Shocker should be in long relief, though I suspect you already know that. Gossage is your only good reliever. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Chet Lemon - CF, 1975 White Sox  The best of the Red Sox on a three-CD set! But holy poo poo, get a better catcher. The most feared hitter in the game doesn't seem to be feared by Super League pitchers, along with Dwight Evans, mostly because by 1989 they're pretty old. Your outfield in general needs help, and I don't think that Pesky will do quite as well in the future, but with Bobby Doerr healthy he should be on the bench anyway. Reggie Smith might rebound in the SL, though. He is a borderline Hall of Famer in my opinion. Bruce Hurst is not a number two starter, and the Spaceman couldn't strike anyone out. You need starting pitching and bullpen help. Lyle and Smith should be good, but the rest of your bullpen is not good. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Nobody jumps out at me that would provide any help for any of your problems.  You're one of the few teams in this expansion class with a bullpen that's close to reliable. I would expect a rebound from Tom Henke, but Paul Quantrill should probably be replaced. God help you if you believe Mysterious Walker will work out. Replace him in the draft and your rotation should be OK. David Wells is also a disaster waiting to happen. I'd arrange it ???-Mussina-Stieb-Key-Wells, although you'll want to keep an eye on both Mussina and Wells as the season goes on. The offense should be fine, although, as is the case with most teams, you're definitely going to need a better catcher. Neither Borders nor Posada are quality starters. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Again, nobody really jumps out at me.  Tanking for a higher draft pick? This is treachery in its highest form! At least it worked. Even with Jim Palmer and Mordecai Brown at the top of your rotation I still think you need another starting pitcher. And your offense isn't that great either. Tulowitzki and Konerko are alright bench bats but probably shouldn't start. In my limited experience, BBM really doesn't like Reggie Jackson either. Old Brooks Robinson will definitely not work at third. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Matt Thornton - RP, 2004 Mariners Jason Giambi - 1B, 2012 Rockies  Your pitching staff is a nightmare. Whitey Ford and Lon Warneke are literally the only pitchers on your team who might have success in the Super League. I know you and Mornacale aren't high on Whitey Ford, but you're new at this and Mornacale's got vision issues after staying in his mother's basement for too long. On the offense side of things, you might be alright, although you'll need better infielders. I'm not sure if this is what you're doing right now, but unless you draft a better hitter to move somebody to DH, you should just platoon Berra and Cooper at C and start whoever's not at C at DH. I'm also kind of mystified by your choice of the 2004 Expos. There is quite possibly literally nobody of value there. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Enos Slaughter - RF, 1954 Yankees  You're one high quality starter and two relievers short of a good pitching staff. Bronson Arroyo. What the gently caress? You also need better infielder's, and you need to move Rickey Henderson over to left. I tried Rickey Henderson in center, and it didn't end well. Oh, and have him lead off. Adam Dunn will likely do much better in the Super League, though it still won't be great. Put Griffey in center, Henderson in left, and Dunn at DH. Draft another C, SS, and SP with your three picks. Wait, you traded one for Buddy Bell? People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Jay Buhner - RF, 1987 Yankees Willie Randolph - 2B, 1990 Dodgers  Hell of an offense you've got, although a lot of it is due to really old Eddie Collins and Ty Cobb, who will likely regress. George Sisler is also definitely not going to do well, and your defense leaves a bit to be desired. Also, with Downing and Cochrane on your roster you shouldn't need Jim Sundberg. Old as gently caress Don Sutton is also not going to do well. I'd say go after a good defensive SS and two starters in the draft. And start Bobby Grich. People to Look at on Your Feeder Teams: Eddie Rommel - SP, 1927 Athletics Zack Wheat - OF, 1927 Athletics Rube Walberg - SP, 1927 Athletics Charlie Hough - SP, 1982 Rangers And now, for the part that Keep in mind this doesn't have the yet to be determined sandwich picks in it yet. Last season there was also a supplementary round for every team in the SL. I might do another mock when the official order with all the sandwich picks/supplementary order comes out, but this should do for now. One quick observation as well: for whatever reason, this draft pool seems much deeper than the one after EC VII. First Round 1) Brooklyn BABiPs select '57 Ted Williams So continues the tradition of Ted Williams on really bad teams. 2) Patagonian Postmodernists select '17 Walter Johnson The Postmodernists rotation of Johnson-Brown-Palmer-Nomo-Chacin is still one starter short, but this is progress. 3) Canton Catastrophes select '86 Roger Clemens The Catastrophes avoid Pete Alexander because Clemens' high strikeout rates will help get around the Catastrophes bad defense. 4) Sad Pandas select '22 Pete Alexander I think your defense will let Alexander thrive. Well, that might be exaggerating it, but it's still better than the Catastrophes. 5) Lovable Losers select '89 Barry Bonds Younger Bonds is better in Mogul than older Bonds. 6) Million Dollar Men select '00 Barry Bonds Bonds will be a much better hitter in left field than George Stone, though given the state of your offense, I wouldn't bench Stone if I were you. 7) Harvard Elites select '62 Willie Mays The best center fielder ever will give you a great outfield. 8) Miami Manatees select '95 Roger Clemens Clemens will knock Kenny Rogers out of the rotation. 9) Idaho Potatoes select '64 Mickey Mantle The man with the .294 OBA should not be in the lineup, let alone lead off, even if he does have 41 stolen bases. 10) Walney Rakers select '27 Lefty Grove One '27 Lefty Grove isn't enough, so get two! 11) Jacksonville Jobbers select '96 Kevin Brown The Brown to Brown connection! 12) Tijuana Mules select '34 Gabby Hartnett Hartnett takes over the catching duties for the Mules, while David Ross is sent to a wonderful farm where all the catchers can laugh and play together forever. 13) Omaha Forgettables select '27 Mickey Cochrane Some advice to whoever chose the '27 Athletics as a feeder team again: I'm not sure choosing the same feeder teams over and over again will work out. Eventually, all we'll have in the draft pool is 1927 Lefty Grove and 1927 Mickey Cochrane. 14) Nowhere Men select '34 Mel Ott Despite playing in hated New York City, Mel Ott will do just fine in right field. He can theoretically play third, too, in case Wade Boggs is injured. 15) CERN Colliders select '97 Nomar Garciaparra NOMAH! 16) Detroit Cougars select '77 George Brett I know you were mad about having the last pick in the draft and not even getting to the EC finals, but I think you'll be OK with getting George Brett. Second Round 17) Brooklyn BABiPs select '97 Kevin Brown He'll help, but you're still not anywhere near a competent team yet. 18) Patagonian Postmodernists select '04 Chipper Jones Jones is the answer at third. 19) Canton Catastrophes select '07 Albert Pujols Thome won't work well at third, but the addition of Pujols' bat will more than make up for the switch. 20) Sad Pandas select '05 Nap Lajoie I don't get how Jose Vidro was so good in the Expansion Cup. Don't expect him to be in the SL and draft Lajoie to lead off at 2B. 21) Lovable Losers select '51 Whitey Ford Maddux and Ford will be a good 1-2, although you'll want to draft the best bat you can in the third round. 22) Million Dollar Men select '69 Joe Morgan Anything that removes Jorge Orta from your lineup is good, and Morgan not only does that, but is a really good hitter as well. 23) Harvard Elites select '86 Alan Trammell Shortstop was a really weak position in this draft, but Trammell should be good. 24) Miami Manatees select '06 Roy Halladay Johnson-Clemens-Brown-Martinez-Halladay? Yeah, that works. Put Nolan Ryan in long relief, and old Jamie Moyer in the minors. 25) Idaho Potatoes select '34 Carl Hubbell Alexander and Hubbell should be alright at the top of your rotation. Bunning, depending how he rolls, should be third. 26) Walney Rakers select '12 Albert Pujols George Sisler, be gone! 27) Jacksonville Jobbers select '06 Joe Mauer Platooning him and Hoiles at C could help Hoiles numbers and give both of your catchers some days rest. 28) Tijuana Mules select '64 Whitey Ford Rich Aurilia is possibly better than all of the remaining shortstops. That is an issue you might want to wait until the Super-Draft to fix. 29) Omaha Forgettables select '04 John Smoltz Probably limited to a reliever, but he should be good at it. 30) Nowhere Men select '86 Mickey Tettleton I'm running out of things to say, so have this: BB-Ref says his nickname is Fruit Loops. 31) CERN Colliders select '51 Robin Roberts One of the best pitchers in Phillies history, which says a lot about the Phillies. 32) Detroit Cougars select '64 Roberto Clemente I still have no idea how Pete Fox was that good. Clemente, however, has a much better chance of remaining that good. Third Round 33) Brooklyn BABiPs select '89 Mark McGwire The best hitter remaining on a team starved for hitting. You're still going to get relegated. 34) Patagonian Postmodernists select '69 Ron Santo Brooks Robinson is good to have off the bench, but Santo should start full time. 35) Canton Catastrophes select '12 Stephen Strasburg Strasburg is another high strikeout starter that won't get ruined by your defense. Wait to fix catching until the Super-Draft because that isn't your biggest issue. 36) Sad Pandas select '97 Bret Saberhagen Kind of old, but he was drat good. 37) Lovable Losers select '86 Mark McGwire The best bat remaining. 38) Million Dollar Men select '64 Willie Stargell He has the power your team so desperately needs. 39) Harvard Elites select '11 Cliff Lee Pitching will probably help your team more than whatever bat you could get at this point in the draft. 40) Miami Manatees select '84 Dennis Eckersley The first real reliever selected was a starter in 1984. Don't use him as a starter. 41) Idaho Potatoes select '89 Matt Williams Third base is likely one of those positions you'll want to fix for real during the Super-Draft. Williams should be a good stop-gap. 42) Walney Rakers select '92 Ozzie Smith Hey, he can play defense! 43) Jacksonville Jobbers select '04 Billy Wagner Two Billy Wagner's and two Kevin Brown's. 44) Walney Rakers select '18 Bob Shawkey I bet the Mules wish they still had this pick instead of Buddy Bell. 45) Omaha Forgettables select '86 Jose Rijo Your rotation seems a bit lefty-heavy, which wouldn't be an issue if they were great left-handers, but they aren't. 46) Nowhere Men select '04 Ichiro Suzuki ICHIRO! Also, Mel Ott at DH, Ted Williams in left. 47) CERN Colliders select '96 Robb Nen Or any Robb Nen, really. 48) Detroit Cougars select '05 Andy Pettitte I'm out of ideas. That took way too long. mentholmoose fucked around with this message at 05:35 on Feb 11, 2013 |
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Feb 11, 2013 05:10
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I am very surprised. Apparently my middle infield of two second basemen is hell on deadballers who pitch to contact. Love the Ernie Lombardi triple. Great writeups, Smasher. Good for you taking some pressure off of Smasher, menthol. mentholmoose posted:I'm also kind of mystified by your choice of the 2004 Expos. There is quite possibly literally nobody of value there. How could you dismiss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZSmQgqsUqk
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Feb 11, 2013 05:21
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mentholmoose posted:
Please Don't spend a first round pick on Nomar. Please.
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Feb 11, 2013 05:28
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mks5000 posted:Please Don't spend a first round pick on Nomar. Please. Yeah I saw that and was all  , but that was only my initial reaction and I will do some diligence on that...
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Feb 11, 2013 05:36
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I'm just going to say that the Colliders take advantage of a bad pool of shortstops in the draft to fill a position of need. Also this is the first time I've done one of these things. If that's the biggest issue with it then I'm happy.
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Feb 11, 2013 05:49
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Thought vidro, Johnson, cordero, rauch, ayala, and downs would be a nice group. Oops. I'm surprised vidro did so well, better than so many HoFs. Id like to hope he can be competent. I'd almost rather draft a good 3B and put mcdonald at 2nd more often. I think Johnson might actually stick as a platoon half, 1b or dh. The expos bullpen selection...that's my failure to "get" bbm, I think. Not worth the point. I didn't pay any attenton to defense when drafting. What's a good way to gauge def, especially per bbm? I mostly used bbref d-war by pos as a rough guide. Put Johnson at 1B and couldn't tell if he did any worse than moose or hopp. Hate to find out it's awful and draft deadballers. Also: why the gently caress are the 42 cards starters so awful? Great writeup btw!
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Feb 11, 2013 06:18
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mentholmoose posted:I'm just going to say that the Colliders take advantage of a bad pool of shortstops in the draft to fill a position of need. Yeah, I'm sure that my middle infield situation is bordering on SL disaster and I could use some BP help. I would be dumb if I weren't looking at trade possibilities....
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Feb 11, 2013 06:53
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The Pick'em United Can Never Be Defeated Pick TWO! Burma Imperialists Florida Dickshots Rochester Generics San Juan Elephants
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Feb 11, 2013 22:44
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My entire starting lineup gets drafted 
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Feb 12, 2013 00:21
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  The Imperialists and the Generics have been on a long journey together, but every journey has its end. Is this the round that the Burma/Rochester duo gets broken up? Or do they still have more in the tank? What did you guys think? Burma Imperialists Armitage (JAC) cbx (DEC) CVE (MDM) gingemidget (WAL) GrickleGrass (MAN) Monathin (CNT) mooseontheloose (HRV) NotThatSamBeckett (PAR) Pander (SAD) ScottyJSno (LOV) Senerio (NOW) theacox (CER) Florida Dickshots NotThatSamBeckett (PAR) ScottyJSno (LOV) theacox (CER) Rochester Generics CVE (MDM) Monathin (CNT) Senerio (NOW) San Juan Elephants Armitage (JAC) cbx (DEC) gingemidget (WAL) GrickleGrass (MAN) mooseontheloose (HRV) Pander (SAD) You all agree that the Imperialists are locks to advance, but it appears that most of you have lost faith in the Generics, with only three out of twelve of you picking them to see another sunrise. Is this the end of Rochester? Results!   NO! Rochester can never, ever die! Imperialists and Generics advance again!    Just killing time until the money rounds.    Monicro, you're a good guy, but the Dickshots were just a lousy team. Your next team will be better...especially if you don't locate it in Florida.    YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DIE!!!! By which I mean you were almost certainly going to die going into the last part of this round, when you went 11-3 to survive AND break tatankatonk's heart into a million pieces.    The Elephants were cruising until they ran into the Generics, and somehow completely fell apart. It was the damnedest thing, really, it was as if the universe refused to bend to my will and killed your team instead of the Generics. Times like this, I almost wish I did rig the results, because your team deserved more life, but that's no way to run a league. No way at all. Pick 'em: The Will and the Way Pick TWO Burma Imperialists Dubai Dervishes Portland Bulldogs Rochester Generics
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Feb 12, 2013 01:09
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Yes, yes, I'm history's greatest monster, etc.
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Feb 12, 2013 01:38
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Florida...where pro sports simply should not be. Owner: Monicro Location: Orlando, FL Home Grounds: Johnson Stadium Teams Used 1946 New York Giants 1967 Chicago Cubs 1981 Montreal Expos 1983 Baltimore Orioles Past Records Expansion Cup VII 72-91, 4th Place, Sub-Tropicals Division Super-League VIII 73-89, 4th Place, Vae Victis Division, Gauntletted Gauntlet VII Round 4: 18-22, 4th Place, Relegated Championship History 1x Intercontinental Champions Obituary Monicro only had 46 minutes to save his team. The Dickshots had blown it big time in the Gauntlet, Monicro couldn't deny that, but there had to be something he could, some angle he could take before Smasher Dynamo dissolved his team for good. Setting back in his chair, Monicro began to brood. How had it come to this, anyway? Joss. He thought. If only Joss hadn't been injured, I could have entered later in the Gauntlet when someone had already taken out the Generics. They were the ones that did this to me, them and that damned immortality. Of course, the Generics weren't really immortal. Not even close, but they were going to move on to the next round, and his Dickshots weren't. Not unless Monicro could think of something, anything to save his team. Could I buy off Smasher? Now this was a longshot. Maybe offer to do something for the thread. Monicro thought about that for a minute, and then realized that it would never work. After all, gingemidget had made all of those banners, and Smasher relegated him, and cbx had run the Expansion Cup one year, and that hadn't stopped him from losing roughly a hundred teams to the Gauntlet. No, Smasher was simply not a man that Monicro had the means to bribe. How had this happened? Was it his lineup? It must have Andre Dawson. Monicro needed to find a scapegoat before his time was up. Yes, it was Dawson's fault! If only he had been able to draw a walk or hit for contact, then maybe his offense wouldn't have been so stagnant. Maybe they could have kept afloat in the Vae Victis Division! It was a nice thought, but he knew he was lying to himself. He didn't play Dawson because he thought Dawson would be good, or even adequate, he put Dawson out there because Dawson was the only real center fielder that he had. It wasn't Dawson's fault that he was out there, it was Monicro's. He was the one who built the roster. He was the one who gave himself no backup, and didn't draft a replacement in the Super-Draft. How much time left? Thirty-six minutes? drat. There's just not enough time. Looking over the fatal Gauntlet results, Monicro tried looking for anything he could use to challenge the validity of the Gauntlet round. But, no, the results looked clean. Smasher had even put Lefty O'Doul at DH, even though it really hadn't done the team any good at all. Then again, looking at the stats, O'Doul wasn't the big problem. Robin Yount, Eddie Murray, Ron Santo and Andre Dawson had all managed to post OBPs under .300, a mark often considered the OBP equivalent of the Mendoza line. Monicro felt like he shouldn't have been that surprised. Santo had been up and down in the Super-League, sometimes adequate, sometimes disastrous. The Generics had never used him for that very reason. Those loving Generics. If they had only had the decency to die, then the Dickshots might still be alive. No. It wasn't over yet, Monicro still had...thirty minutes to figure this out. What about the rest? Murray? Never considered all that great in real life, and was even worse in the Super-League, where competence usually wasn't good enough. Would old Mize have been better? Or old Banks? It's hard to say that they would have been better. Murray was rated over ten points higher. No, Monicro had to go with Murray, he had no choice! And Yount? Okay, Yount was a mistake, maybe. But, again, what choice did Monicro have? Ozzie Smith couldn't hit. Never could. Hell, no one would even remember him nowadays if he hadn't been on the Simpsons. And Odell Hale wasn't even a shortstop. Monicro had done what he needed to do! It wasn't his fault that all of his players had failed him, it must have been someone else's! He had done everything right! He deserved to keep going! Yes, if Monicro could just show Smasher that one of the other teams had somehow cheated, then maybe Smasher would kill that team, and spare the Dickshots. After all, Smasher could be plenty vengeful when he had to be. Now, let's see, who could have cheated? The Imperialists? No, that wasn't likely to get much traction. Everyone thought that they would win this round, and trying to claim that the prohibitive favorite was a cheater? That was going to be an uphill battle, especially when there was no time...wait...wait...Dihigo and Smith! Those Negro League players had some anomalously high ratings! Maybe Smasher could look into...no, Smasher was the one who assigned those ratings. That wasn't going to go anywhere. Twenty-two minutes? drat! Monicro hadn't figured out anything yet. Okay, who else was in the round? The Elephants? They lost. Hard to say that the Dickshots should live because the other losing team lost. But, then again, the Generics only won because they won 11 games against the Elephants in the last phase of the round. Was there someway he could prove that the Elephants had taken a dive? After all, tatankatonk had tried to quit in the middle of the season to give all of his best players to Mornacale, so who's to say that he hadn't made another corrupt deal? But Monicro had no proof, and with only...seventeen minutes left, there wasn't exactly time to forge any sort of documents, even if Monicro knew how to do that in the first place. No, Monicro was missing the point, he knew that now. The only way his team would live is if he could somehow kill the Generics. But how? No evidence they cheated. They just got lucky...again. Why a team that bad should get that much luck was beyond Monicro. One would hope that the universe would punish an owner dumb enough to trade Barry Bonds for Chick Hafey, and yet there the Generics stood, safe for another round while the Dickshots were dying! Dying! Only ten minutes left now! Think! There had to be something he could do. Think. Think! THINK! No time left. drat it all.
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Feb 12, 2013 01:53
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Pick 'em: The Will and the Way Pick TWO Burma Imperialists Dubai Dervishes
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Feb 12, 2013 01:58
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Pick 'Em Burma & Dubai Poor, poor Elephants. Let us never forget.
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Feb 12, 2013 02:03
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Pick 'em: The Will and the Way Pick TWO Dubai Dervishes Rochester Generics
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Feb 12, 2013 02:11
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Pick 'em: The Will and the Way Pick TWO Burma Imperialists Dubai Dervishes Portland Bulldogs Rochester Generics mentholmoose posted:44) Walney Rakers select '18 Bob Shawkey If this ends up being my pick, the back end of my rotation is going to start looking rather familiar (though hopefully it won't be made out of papier-mâché this time).
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Feb 12, 2013 02:16
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Feb 12, 2013 02:30
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Smasher Dynamo posted:Pick 'em: The Will and the Way
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Feb 12, 2013 02:56
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Pick 'em Totaly random... Dubai Dervishes Portland Bulldogs
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Feb 12, 2013 03:01
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Jacksonville is going with Dubai and Burma!
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Feb 12, 2013 03:48
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Smasher Dynamo posted:Pick 'em: The Will and the Way Into the ground, I said! Burma and Rochester!
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Feb 12, 2013 03:49
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Pick 'em: The Will and the Way Pick TWO Burma Imperialists Portland Bulldogs Can't root against any team with the 1984 Tigers.
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Feb 12, 2013 05:28
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Cthulhu's 'If I won the EC, I would wish for' Effort Post The EC prize is a player who hasn't played in the SL yet, so I thought I'd put some thoughts down to help the owners. This was going to be longer, but I have instead highlighted a few players that I think are good! From Glorious Nippon Katsuya Nomura, Catcher Probably the most durable catcher to ever play baseball, managing a 26 year career with almost all of his games at catcher, and he posted really hot numbers while doing it. A great choice behind the dish, especially as Mogul doesn't know he doesn't speak English. His Japanese league numbers: code:Shigeo Nagashima, Third Base Hit third in front of Sadaharu Oh for many years. Had a lot of skills, hitting for average with some power, patience and some gold gloves in defence. Was immensely popular, but Oh was a much better hitter, though Oh was a 1B guy. Closest MLB comps as a hitter are Joe Gordon and Ron Santo. In the great hierarchy of 3rd base guys in the sky, he's not Mike Schmidt, but he does comes out somewhere between Boggs and Santo, though in terms of value he's a bit closer to Boggs than Santo. Masaichi Kaneda, Pitcher The good: Winning three Sawamuras (Japanese Cy Young Awards), 400 career wins and 20 or more wins for 14 consecutive seasons despite playing for some truly awful teams, the hard throwing leftie Kaneda was a hell of a pitcher. The Bad: A hard throwing left hander in the Steve Carlton mould, these guys have historically struggled in the SL. The Ugly: Kaneda posted a very low ERA despite being the all time Japanese career leader for home runs allowed. I have no idea what caused his love of giving up gopher balls, but it doesn't seem to be caused by his park, that said, MLE of HR allowed come out at Spahn/Carlton levels and.. well, his closest major league comps overall are Steve Carlton and Warren Spahn - he had better control than Steve though not hugely better and didn't strike out as many guys, but he struck out more dudes than Spahn but didnt have the same control. He was a much better hitter than either of them. His other comps are guys like Seaver - he was really good and would have won 300 games in MLB (just playing for a decent team would help). From Communist Cuba Omar Linares Third Base Started playing in the Cuban league with 82 plate appearances at the age of 14, in which he walked 5 times and managed 19 hits including a triple. People generally consider that the Cuban leagues are probably as good as A ball, so this isn't as ridiculous as it sounds, but that said.. how many 14 year olds could cut it in rookie ball? As a 15 year old he hit .308 .358 .444, launching a historic career than eventually ended up in Japan as an old and broken down old player. He has lead the league in Average (five times), Walks (seven times), Runs (six times), RBI, Homers, Doubles and Triples (once each). Is first all time in career SLG, second in career AVG and walks, and third all time in homers. How good was he? Who knows - his career ended at 34 in Cuba and then he went to Japan where he sucked. It's likely that he was like Robin Yount and just bored with playing baseball, but he was a good player until he started packing on the pounds in his 30s, and he does have a career OPS of 1.189. Braudilio Vinent Cuba's best post Castro Pitcher, a 5"10 right handed power pitcher with good control. Has a 56-4 record in international competition. His career statistics are below: code:From The Negro Leagues Look, someone should take Turkey Sterns, but to make this more serious, the 5 greatest negro league players is probably as follows: Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Smokey Joe Williams and Turkey Stearns. So.. what I'm saying is pick Turkey Stearns. Turkey Stearns Centrefield / Left Field Turkey had power, contact, speed, excellent fielding some plate discipline and a meh throwing arm. His closest comp in terms of value in MLB is Joe Dimaggio, assuming that you give Dimaggio credit for the war. He's not exactly the same, Joe had a better arm and less mobility What else can I say? He's as good as Joe DiMaggio. Cool Papa Bell I'm not as high on him as Bill James, mostly because Bill rated him in 2001 and a big stat release occurred in 2003-4 which shows there are a few problems with prior analysis. Very fast, but an unwise decision to start switch hitting mid career UL Washington style had the same career destroying effects. He's probably over-promoted by his association with Satchel. Don't get me wrong, he's pretty good, but Maury Wills wouldn't be a good SL LF/CF. Great defence though - huge range, which is unsurprising. Overall not close to as good as Turkey Sterns. Mule Suttles An extreme pull hitter with massive home run power. Natural position is first base, but can be stretched defensively to play LF. Again, Bill James thinks he is great, but detailed analysis reveals he kinda stuffers from Kingman syndrome, except he could hit for an OK average and field OK. OK I guess he's a lot better than Kingman. You're looking at a Willie Stargell type guy, maybe with a bit more power and a bit less of everything else. Not the same hitter as Stearns. Cristobal Torriente Centrefield / Left Field / Right Field. Like Turkey Sterns but he started drinking and was out of the game earlier. A subtly different player - had a better throwing arm but less speed, was slightly better at hitting for average but not as disciplined at the plate and couldn't leg out the doubles and triples as much - but it's pretty frikken close. His peak is about as good as Turkey's, it's just that his career has 6 or so less seasons in it, and overall I'd take Turkey. Willard Brown, SS/CF/RF The first black man to crush a dinger in the major leagues, Willard Brown is one of the strangest players to ever play competitive baseball, and certainly had the most hacktastic approach at the plate. While he totally failed in his one month trial in the big leagues, his achievements include posting this truely ridiculous season in Peurto Rico (something like AA or AAA in quality) winter ball: code:Biz Mackey, Catcher Taught Roy Campenalla to catch. Suffered some sort of injury or life changing circumstance and started to suck in 1932. Prior to that, very good. If you assume he would have retired in 1932 if he was in the majors and became a manager or coach or sold insurance, your looking at a OPS+ ~115 catcher which is pretty good, but I'd take Katsuya Nomura. Cthulhu Dreams fucked around with this message at 07:47 on Feb 12, 2013 |
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Feb 12, 2013 06:51
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Sorry for the delay in the TLCS write-up, I've had some stuff to take care of in real life over the past few days. Should have it out by Valentine's Day because it's not like I'm doing anything that day 
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Feb 12, 2013 19:23
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Sure, sure, Grinnblade. We all know it's just difficult to find a way to make "Tijuana got stomped" interesting enough for a whole update.
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Feb 12, 2013 22:37
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 The following series, scheduled for the best-three-out-of-five wins, is for a berth in the Dynamo League Championship Series and the Hardcore Championship!  The Tornados don't care about your "proper roster construction" or "basic logic", that's not their game, man! I know that a lot of people think that it makes sense to put good fielders up the middle and good hitters on the corners, but that's just conformist talk, man! A guy with real balls would put a bunch of slap hitters at 3B, 1B, and the corner outfield, and his best power bats at SS, C and CF. And he'd totally make his 2B a guy who couldn't really field, because he'd be too cool for defense! Clearly, the dude who made the Tornados must be the bossest dude around.  Progressive Field Cancun, Quintana Roo, Estados Unidos Mexicanos Progressive Field will host Games 3 and 4 of this series. The following spring breakers have chosen the Tornados to win this series: Gabriel Pope (OMA) (4 Games, 7-3) theacox (CER) (4 Games, 8-5) Armitage (JAC) (5 Games, 5-4) Monathin (CNT) (5 Games, 7-5) Pander (SAD) (5 Games, 4-0)  Rockford is basically the most miserable city in America. I mean, East St. Louis is pretty bad too, but at least it's a bit warmer, and connected to a city, not a good city, admittedly, but it's still somewhere you can get to via light rail to get away. Rockford, though? It's in the middle of nowhere. The Losers are a fantasy fantasy baseball team, and they are still probably the best thing that Rockford has going for it right now. The city of Rockford needs this win. Can they get it?  Rockford Municipal Stadium Rockford, IL Rockford Municipal Stadium will host Games 1, 2 and 5 of this series. These road warriors took a break from their marauding to pick the Losers to win this series: CVE (MDM) (4 Games, 3-1) NotThatSamBeckett (4 Games, 3-2) ScottyJSno (LOV) (4 Games, 7-5) Senerio (NOW) (4 Games, 2-1) cbx (DEC) (5 Games, 7-2) gingemidget (WAL) (5 Games, 4-2) GrickleGrass (5 Games, 4-1) mooseontheloose (5 Games, 5-3) Game 1 Don May posted:
Box Score   Game 2 Don May posted:
Box Score   Game 3 Don May posted:
Box Score   Game 4 Don May posted:
Box Score   Game 5 Don May posted:
Box Score   Updated Playoff Bracket  Super Pick'em Turbo: League Championship Edition Pick the winner, number of game (best-of-seven) and score of the final game Cancun Tornados @ Fukuoka Finger-Bangers Finger Lakes Phoenixes @ South Bolton Eazy W's Marauder! UltimoDragonQuest! ForeverBWFC! One of you will soon become the champion of the Super-League, a title that holds certain rights...and responsibilities. The time has come to see which of you have the heart of the (Ultimate) warrior, and which of you are little better than craven jackals, fit only to dine on scraps of greater beasts. Is a life of cowardice worth living? That is the question that you must ask yourselves, for the question at hand is thus: Who is willing to challenge the Macho Men?
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Feb 13, 2013 03:30
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Smasher Dynamo posted:
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Feb 13, 2013 03:36
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Super Pick'em Turbo: League Championship Edition Pick the winner, number of game (best-of-seven) and score of the final game Fukuoka Finger-Bangers 6 games (4-2) South Bolton Eazy W's 7 games (8-6)
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Feb 13, 2013 03:38
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Oh, for gently caress's sakes... Here's your drat pick em scores update. Goodnight. pre:Gricklegrass 33 Armitage 30 cbx 30 Pander 30 Monathin 29 Senerio 26 NotThatSamBeckett 24 CVE 23 theacox 22 gingemidget 21 Gabriel Pope 20 Mooseontheloose 16 ScottyJSno 11 Bograt 3
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Feb 13, 2013 04:02
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Super Pick'em Turbo: League Championship Edition Pick the winner, number of game (best-of-seven) and score of the final game Fukuoka Finger-Bangers, 5, 7-2 South Bolton Eazy W's, 6, 5-4
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Feb 13, 2013 04:40
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In the spirit of small changes that give idle hands something to do, I want to make sure Reuschel is in the LF spot, Finley is #5, and I'll move Dolf Luque to MR.
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Feb 13, 2013 04:51
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  As we all know, Macho Man challenges are serious. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMbcOC5dS5k King Kelly would never decline a ridiculous challenge, and fully intends to loophole his way back into the league after defeating the Macho Men.
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Feb 13, 2013 05:09
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Super Pick'em Turbo: League Championship Edition Pick the winner, number of game (best-of-seven) and score of the final game Cancun Tornados @ Fukuoka Finger-Bangers 6 games, 6-1 Finger Lakes Phoenixes @ South Bolton Eazy W's 5 games, 5-3
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Feb 13, 2013 05:14
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The W's are a Super-League institution, built around the principle that every man has a story. That what makes a play is not the outcome but the players, and that together camaraderie and team spirit will win through confusing acronyms. I have assembled the greatest team the League has ever seen, not in terms of sabremetrics or stolen bases or home runs, but in terms of character and determination. I am genuinely proud and happy to call this team my own... But every story must end, WE WILL FACE THE MACHO MEN!!!
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Feb 13, 2013 09:13
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| # ? May 30, 2024 14:37 |
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Super Pick'em Turbo: League Championship Edition Pick the winner, number of game (best-of-seven) and score of the final game Cancun Tornados @ Fukuoka Finger-Bangers - 6 games, 7-3 final Finger Lakes Phoenixes @ South Bolton Eazy W's - 7 games, 4-3 final An all Marauder finals. His will be done.
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Feb 13, 2013 11:16
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