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 Continually producing new types of matter. All of them ending up as poo poo. Team Name: CERN Colliders Home City: Moncton,NB Home Stadium: Yankee Stadium (the original one, if possible) DH Preference: No Feeders: '27 Yankees '53 Braves '15 Athletics 30-Man Roster: Batters (14) 1B 27 Lou Gehrig 2B 27 Tony Lazzeri 3B 53 Eddie Mathews SS 82 Robin Yount LF 27 Bob Meusel CF 27 Earl Combs RF 27 Babe Ruth Bench C 27 Pat Collins 1B 53 Joe Adcock UT 15 Nap Lajoie RF 53 Andy Pafko 2B 84 Ryne Sandberg Minors 1B 15 Stuffy McInnis SS 53 Johnny Logan OF 15 Amos Strunk Pitchers (11) SP 53 Warren Spahn SP 27 Waite Hoyt SP 27 Herb Pennock SP 27 Urban Shocker SP 53 Don Liddle CL 53 Lew Burdette SU 27 Dutch Ruether SR 27 Ernie Johnson SR 97 Robb Nen MR 27 Bob Shawkey LR 53 Johnny Antonelli Minors 53 Bob Buhl 27 Wilcy Moore 89 Jeff Reardon Lineup: CF Earl Combs LF Bob Meusel 1B Lou Gehrig RF Babe Ruth C Wally Schang 3B Eddie Mathews SS Robin Yount 2B Tony Lazzeri P Pat Collins will be Urban Shocker's personal catcher Strategy (Rate on a scale from -5 to +5) Hit and Run: 0 Sacrifice Bunt: -2 Squeeze Play: -4 Trying for extra bases: 2 Stealing Bases: 2 Aggressively Tagging Up: 2 Pitch Outs (to prevent stolen bases): 1 Giving Intentional Walks: 0 Pitching Around Good Hitters: 0 Bringing the Infield In: 0 Guarding the Lines: 0 Making Cutoff Throws: 2 Bringing in Pinch Hitters: 2 Bringing in Pinch Runners: -1 Bringing in Defensive Replacements:2 Starting Pitchers on Short Rest: -2 Letting pitchers pitch throw trouble: 0 Letting Pitchers rack up high pitch counts: 0
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Feb 28, 2013 23:36
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The Heart-Pounding, Brain-Shattering, Spleen-Exploding Super-League IX Preview: Senor Goodtimes Division The Luna Landers have been poised on the brink of dominance for a long time, waiting for the moment to lay waste to the rest of you owners, which, by league rule, will force the lot of you to sign an oath forever disclaiming punk rock. I'm not sure it was the wisest thing I've ever done to agree to that. The Gumshoes are also back, even if everyone, including me, is skeptical that they can be as good as they were last season. Meanwhile, the New Orleans Mashers have become the Arkansas Destroyers, and that reminds me of what my late grandfather used to say about his boyhood in Stuttgart, Arkansas, he'd say, "Little Smasher, I hope to hell that when World War III comes, that whole damned state gets blown to kingdom come first. Now go get me some more vodka from the freezer!" The new teams are the Catastrophes and the Pandas, two teams that have come into the league with the best of intentions and the worst of pitching staffs. Catcher 1. '?? Josh Gibson (LUN) 2. '54 Yogi Berra/'42 Walker Cooper (SAD) 3. '06 Joe Mauer (CNT) 4. '70 Joe Torre (ARK) 5. '78 Brian Downing (LOM) Josh Gibson is the best catcher that ever lived so...that's the end of that discussion. Yogi Berra is good, and I will never understand why everyone's reflexive instinct is to platoon him with a righty-hitting catcher. I guess because Marauder did it, everyone else thinks it's a great idea. Joe Mauer is the best hitting catcher of our era, even if we're all just waiting for the day the Twins move him to 1B. Joe Torre in 1970 was about at the end of his ability to play catcher full-time. Brian Downing is a god damned hero. First Baseman 1. '07 Albert Pujols (SAD) 2. '65 Willie McCovey (CNT) 3. '98 Jeff Bagwell (ARK) 4. '89 Will Clark/'99 Nomar Garciaparra (LUN) 5. '87 Eddie Murray (LOM) Albert Pujols is pretty clearly the class of this group, even if he was just a tiny bit past his prime by '07. Willie McCovey has always hit tons of home runs in the Super-League, and isn't that what you really want from your first baseman. Bagwell might be better than McCovey, but he probably won't hit as many home runs, so how can I rank him higher? The Clark/Garciaparra is interesting, although Lou Gehrig would have been more interesting, mrnoun. Eddie Murray is just kind of there, just like in real life. Second Baseman 1. '11 Eddie Collins (LUN) 2. '69 Joe Morgan (CNT) 3. '11 Chase Utley (LOM) 4. '10 Nap Lajoie (ARK) 5. '57 Nellie Fox (SAD) Eddie Collins is going to hit a productive .310 from a middle infield spot. That is about as helpful a player as you're going to find in the Super-League. Morgan doesn't have the same level of contact skills, but he does draw walks, hit the occasional home run, and is a great defender. Just keep repeating that to yourself when he's hitting .230. Chase Utley will be fine, as long as he doesn't get injured. So, he's probably not going to be fine. But he might be! Old Nap Lajoie is just such a load on defense that I can't put him above fourth place. Nellie Fox is the only one of these guys who can't really hit, which is a problem. Third Baseman 1. '79 George Brett (LUN) 2. '95 Jim Thome (CNT) 3. '78 Bobby Grich (LOM) 4. '96 Matt Williams (ARK) 5. '54 Gil McDougald (SAD) George Brett, oddly enough, is the only one of these third baseman that doesn't make me wince, even if he had a bad season in Super-League VIII. Jim Thome can hit home runs but, well, if you've ever seen a picture of the guy, you can immediately understand why he got moved to first base after only a couple of years at third, and then quickly off to full-time DH. Bobby Grich isn't really a 3B, but he'll do the best he can. Matt Williams would be great if only he could post an OBP over .290, but I'm not sure that he can. Gil McDougald is your starting 3B, eh? Well, good luck. Shortstop 1. '01 Alex Rodriguez (ARK) 2. '87 Barry Larkin (CNT) 3. '95 Barry Larkin (LOM) 4. '99 Nomar Garciaparra/'48 Eddie Joost (LUN) 5. '42 Marty Marion (SAD) The Super-League doesn't test for PEDs, so A-Rod is once more the king of the shortstops, even if he occasionally dreams of leaving behind this world that hates him so and taking his place among the space centaurs of Ganymede. Hey, what do you want from me? I'm tired, okay? Let's just pretend it was an oblique reference to Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. I'll take young Larkin over old Larkin, if only because shortstop is such a demanding position. The Landers' platoon is offensively good, but a bit suspect in the field. Marty Marion can't hit. And when I say, 'can't hit', you need to understand that this isn't like a 'can't hit for a Super-Leaguer' sort of situation, this is a 'Mark Belanger while blind-folded' level of badness. Left Fielder 1. '85 Rickey Henderson (LOM) 2. '85 Tim Raines (LUN) 3. '95 Manny Ramirez (CNT) 4. '42 Stan Musial/'42 Enos Slaughter (SAD) 5. '51 Larry Doby (ARK) Man, Tim Raines just can't catch a break. Can't make it into Cooperstown because of Rickey, and now this. Still, those are two great leadoff men. Manny can't play defense, and might be a bit erratic because of his age. I like Stan Musial, but when you add in 30% of Eno Slaughter, I'm not sure that he's better that the top three. Larry Doby has had about 20 different bad seasons in the Super-League. But the 21st time is the charm, right? Center Fielder 1. '54 Mickey Mantle (SAD) 2. '54 Willie Mays (LOM) 3. '38 Joe DiMaggio (LUN) 4. '98 Bernie Williams (ARK) 5. '95 Kenny Lofton (CNT) Mays was better in real life, but Mantle has always been better in the Super-League, mainly because his knees don't turn to dust before their time in this league. Joe DiMaggio is just a step below those two, because he doesn't quite have the on-base skills of the other two. Then again, I think mrnoun can live with that, he can live with it quite well, in fact. Bernie Williams is okay, mainly because his classical guitar playing skills can't make him the sort of elite player that Mays, Mantle and DiMaggio are. Kenny Lofton has speed, and some patience, but not a lot of power, and in this group, that sets him back. Right Fielder 1. '65 Hank Aaron (LUN) 2. '97 Larry Walker (ARK) 3. '42 Enos Slaughter/'42 Stan Musial (SAD) 4. '84 Harold Baines/'78 Don Baylor (LOM) 5. '87 Eric Davis (CNT) Hank Aaron is one of the greatest hitters of all-time, and is basically in his prime in '65. Larry Walker is a good bat and a good glove, even if he doesn't get the Coors Field boost in Arkansas. I don't like Enos Slaughter, if only because he sounds like the villain of Deliverance II: Dam Burst. The Baines/Baylor combo is basically a combination of two guys who could never quite hit enough to get their teams over the top. Here's hoping the platoon advantage can help them fix that. Eric Davis is a great hitter for a center field, not quite as much in the corners. Designated Hitter '?? Sadaharu Oh (LOM) '95 Albert Belle (CNT) '04 Manny Ramirez (LUN) '11 Ryan Braun (SAD) '98 Moises Alou (ARK) Not the most pleasant bunch of DHs here. Oh once had his players conspire to keep Randy Bass from breaking his NPB home run record. Albert Belle was a notorious rear end in a top hat, and a guy who was once caught using a corked bat, though the charges were dropped when another member of his team stole it from the room the umpires were holding it. Ramirez and Braun are both PED users. Moises Alou was involved with the Bartman Game. Very involved. Bench 1. '91 Det. Don Slaught/'54 Alvin Dark (LOM)/'89 Lenny Dykstra/'83 Ken Griffey, Sr. (LOM) 2. '87 Paul O'Neill/'95 Carlos Baerga/'66 Duke Sims/'34 Bill Terry (CNT) 3. '55 Ed Bailey/'04 Mark Bellhorn/'55 Johnny Temple/'80 Dwayne Murphy/'55 Johnny Temple (LUN) 4. '70 Ted Simmons/'97 Mo Vaughn/'98 Carl Everett/'64 Jim Fregosi/'10 Chone Figgins (ARK) 5. '04 Nick Johnson/'04 Jose Vidro/'04 Macier Izturis/'54 Enos Slaughter (SAD) All of your benches are terrible, and you should feel bad for making them! The Catastrophes don't have a fourth outfielder or a utility infielder that can play SS. The Landers' backups fill me with dread and shame. The Destroyers have exactly one guy on their bench I think might be good, and Mo Vaughn isn't exactly versatile. The Sad Pandas bench is an affront to God. Hang your heads in shame! SP1 1. '17 Walter Johnson (SAD) 2. '99 Pedro Martinez (LUN) 3. '65 Juan Marichal (CNT) 4. '78 Nolan Ryan (LOM) 5. '98 Randy Johnson (ARK) Walter Johnson is still the best pitcher ever. I'm glad I was here to make sure you heard that for the 100th time. Pedro, in his prime, was brilliant beyond all reason. He was dominant in the biggest hitting era in history. Marichal is going to be good for the Catastrophes, or Monathin's team is most certainly doomed. Everyone wants to know how TKBomber turned Nolan Ryan into an unstoppable force for the Skyhawks, and the Gumshoes are the latest to try and replicate that success. Randy Johnson might be great, might be terrible, might be mediocre. No one can say for sure. SP2 1. '85 Roger Clemens (LUN) 2. '70 Bob Gibson (ARK) 3. '11 Eddie Plank (LOM) 4. '06 Roy Halladay (CNT) 5. '96 Kevin Brown (SAD) I think Clemens is a bit better than Gibson because he's younger, and had better career, even if that is thanks mainly to the wonders of modern chemistry. It's close though. Eddie Plank is a good pitcher, if a bit older, and a bit dependent on his defense to field all of the ground balls that he's going to induce. Roy Halladay is a great pitcher, although I'm not sure how he rates from a historical perspective. Kevin Brown may be up and down, but his surliness is eternal. SP3 1. '95 Greg Maddux (LUN) 2. '70 Steve Carlton (ARK) 3. '54 Whitey Ford (SAD) 4. '77 Rick Reuschel (LOM) 5. '66 Sam McDowell (CNT) Maddux is way ahead of the lefties, because Mogul doesn't much like lefties, and also Maddux was a force in the mid-'90s. Carlton has more power than Ford, and I'd rather have a power lefty than a finesse lefty if I have the choice, if only because there are too many right-handed sluggers in the Super-League for a left-hander without strikeout power. Rick Reuschel is the greatest innings-eater in Super-League history, which, admittedly is damning him with faint praise. McDowell is wild. I have no idea what he's going to do this season. That is not a good sign. SP4 1. '10 Felix Hernandez (ARK) 2. '77 Rick Reuschel (LUN) 3. '78 Frank Tanana (LOM) 4. '66 Luis Tiant (CNT) 5. '42 Mort Cooper (SAD) King Felix is the only guy who was really considered a true ace in real life of this lot, so I'll give him the top spot here. Reuschel is still a great innings-eater, and that does have value, even in the Super-League. Tanana tends to be a bit erratic in the Super-League, so needs to be watched carefully. Tiant never seems to stick in a starting role in the Super-League, which can't be good news for the beleaguered Catastrophes rotation. Mort Cooper was the real-life brother of Walker Cooper. So, hey, that's something! SP5 1. '79 Don Sutton (LUN) 2. '54 Bob Feller (SAD) 3. '95 Jose Rijo (LOM) 4. '64 Dean Chance (ARK) 5. '95 Orel Hershiser (CNT) Don Sutton is a quality pitcher in the Super-League, and if he's your fifth pitcher, then you've got a hell of a rotation. Bob Feller was mainly done thanks to injury by 1954. Jose Rijo was mainly done thanks to injury by 1995. Dean Chance was a flameout, but he did have a few good seasons left in his life. Orel Hershiser was mainly done thanks to injury by 1995. Bullpen 1. '99 Mariano Rivera/'85 Tom Henke/'06 Joe Nathan/'84 Craig Lefferts/'04 Keith Foulke/'80 J.R. Richard (LUN) 2. '54 Hoyt Wilhelm/'96 Robb Nen/'95 Mike Jackson/'95 Jeff Brantley/'89 Terry Mulholland/'95 David Wells (LOM) 3. '98 Billy Wagner/'09 Jason Motte/'06 A.J. Burnett/'98 Mike Hampton/'98 Shane Reynolds/'10 Cliff Lee (ARK) 4. '42 Lon Warneke/'02 Chad Bradford/'11 Jim Johnson/'04 Chad Cordero/'42 Howie Pollet/'42 Max Lanier (SAD) 5. '78 Gaylord Perry/'87 Frank Williams/'00 Eric Gagne/'95 Julian Tavarez/'66 Sonny Siebert/'95 Paul Assenmacher/'06 Roger Clemens (CNT) The Landers' bullpen is everything a bullpen should be. It's almost beautiful, especially when stacked up against the rest of this division. The Gumshoes biggest problem is that Wilhelm is a knuckleballer, and, well, you saw what happened when the W's relied on a knuckleball reliever in last year's playoffs. The Destroyers only have two loving relievers in their entire bullpen, how the gently caress did that happen? Lon Warneke is not a closer! Not even close! And Gaylord Perry sure as gently caress isn't a closer either! He was never a closer! His biggest strength as a pitcher was that he could pitch a billion innings a season! And you're using Julian Tavarez? What the gently caress are you guys doing? THIS PREVIEW IS OVER!
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Mar 1, 2013 04:01
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Woo goin to the Gauntlet this year
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Mar 1, 2013 06:25
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Smasher Dynamo posted:and that reminds me of what my late grandfather used to say about his boyhood in Stuttgart, Arkansas, he'd say, "Little Smasher, I hope to hell that when World War III comes, that whole damned state gets blown to kingdom come first. Now go get me some more vodka from the freezer!" I second your grandpa, this state sucks.
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Mar 1, 2013 06:26
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I honestly have no idea why Slaughter and Musial are swapping positions all the time. Full time LF: Slaughter Full time RF: Musial Same batting order. I'm really impressed by how much better my pitching was. I think my hitting fell a fair bit, but I still feel more comfortable with Nellie Fox than Jose Vidro (who's still hitting ridiculously well for some reason). Is there much precedent for random "nice" players like Vidro and Mort Cooper to sustain success?
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Mar 1, 2013 17:08
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 Home City: Punta Arenas, Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena, Chile Home Stadium: Magellan's Deadlock (Open stadium, fair visibility, natural grass (cut to a length best for all my groundballers), 338/373/405/390/365) DH Preference: Nah Position Players: C Mike Piazza (1997 Dodgers) C Ramón Hernández (2012 Rockies) 1B John Olerud (2004 Mariners) 1B Ferris Fain (1948 Athletics) 2B Bobby Grich (1976 Orioles) SS Alan Trammell (1986 Tigers) SS Troy Tulowitski (2012 Rockies) 3B George Brett (1977 Royals) 3B Brooks Robinson (1976 Orioles) LF Ken Singleton (1976 Orioles) CF Ichiro Suzuki (2004 Mariners) RF Reggie Jackson (1976 Orioles) OF Earl Averill (1937 Indians) OF Carlos González (2012 Rockies) Position Minors: 1B Paul Konerko (1997 Dodgers) 3B Doug DeCinces (1976 Orioles) Lineups: CF Ichiro Suzuki 2B Bobby Grich 1B Ferris Fain C Mike Piazza 3B George Brett LF Ken Singleton RF Reggie Jackson/Carlos González SS Alan Trammell Bench: C Ramón Hernández 1B John Olerud IF Troy Tulowitzki 3B Brooks Robinson OF Earl Averill Pitching Staff: SP Pete Alexander (1922 Cubs) SP Jim Palmer (1976 Orioles) SP Mordecai Brown (1903 Cardinals) SP Ken Holtzman (1976 Orioles) [caught by Ramón Hernández] SP Hideo Nomo (1997 Dodgers) CL Rafael Soriano (2004 Mariners) SU Rafael Betancourt (2012 Rockies) SR Rex Brothers (2012 Rockies) SR Antonio Osuna (1997 Dodgers) MR JJ Putz (2004 Mariners) LR Jamie Moyer (2004 Mariners) Pitching Minors: SP Jhoulys Chacin (2012 Rockies) SP Dennis Martínez (1976 Orioles) RP Denny Rainwater (2012 Postmodernists) List of Those Ground Up In The Mechanism of History (but available for purchase!): Tippy Martínez (1976 Orioles) Eddie Guardado (2004 Mariners) Ismael Valdéz (1997 Dodgers) Freddy Garcia (2004 Mariners) Mike Cuellar (1976 Orioles) Michael Cuddyer (2012 Rockies) Homer Smoot (1903 Cardinals) Mark Belanger (1976 Orioles) Bret Boone (2004 Mariners) Eric Karros (1997 Dodgers)Raúl Mondesí (1997 Dodgers)Chan Ho Park (1997 Dodgers) Strategy: Hit and Run: +1 Sacrifice Bunt: -2 Squeeze Play: -3 Trying for extra bases: +1 Stealing Bases: +1 Aggressively Tagging Up: +1 Pitch Outs (to prevent stolen bases): -2 Giving Intentional Walks: -4 Pitching Around Good Hitters: -3 Bringing the Infield In: -1 Guarding the Lines: 0 Making Cutoff Throws: -1 Bringing in Pinch Hitters: -1 Bringing in Pinch Runners: -1 Bringing in Defensive Replacements: +3 Starting Pitchers on Short Rest: -1 Letting pitchers pitch throw trouble: +2 Letting Pitchers rack up high pitch counts: +2 Pete Ladd fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Mar 1, 2013 |
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Mar 1, 2013 17:53
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  : I have heard (but not believ'd) the spirits of the deadMay walk again: if such thing be, thy double Appeared to me last season; ne'er was dream So like a waking.  : It was no dream, Loveless. But you're a dead man walking with this team.Roster: C Bill Dickey (1938 NYY) C Mike Piazza (2006 SDP) C Ernie Lombardi (1936 CIN) 1B Lou Gehrig (1938 NYY) 1B Adrian Gonzalez (2006 SDP) 1B David Ortiz (2004 BOS) 2B Joe Gordon (1938 NYY) 2B Roberto Alomar (1996 BAL) 2B Eddie Collins (1927 PHA) SS Barry Larkin (1990 CIN) 3B Brooks Robinson (1972 BAL) IF Frankie Crosetti (1938 NYY) UT Richie Allen (1964 PHI) IF Red Rolfe (1938 NYY) IF Marco Scutaro (2011 BOS) OF Rickey Henderson (1989 NYY) OF Tommy Henrich (1938 NYY) OF Brian Giles (2006 SDP) OF Max Carey (1921 PIT) OF Carlos Beltrán (2004 HOU) OF Chet Lemon (1978 CHW) OF Mike Cameron (2006 SDP) SP Jim Bunning (1964 PHI) SP Chris Short (1964 PHI) SP Lefty Gomez (1938 NYY) SP Red Ruffing (1938 NYY) SP Bret Saberhagen (1997 BOS) SP Jeff Tesreau (1915 NYG) SP Chris Young (2006 SDP) SP Curt Schilling (1998 PHI) SP Don Sutton (1971 LAD) SP Carl Mays (1921 NYY) RP Rollie Fingers (1970 OAK) RP Trevor Hoffman (2006 SDP) RP Scott Linebrink (2006 SDP) RP Alan Embree (2006 SDP) RP Bobby Schantz (1964 PHI) RP Ed Roebuck (1964 PHI) RP Daniel Bard (2011 BOS) RP Alfredo Aceves (2011 BOS) ST Mark Bellhorn (2006 SDP) Lineup: LF Rickey Henderson CF Max Carey SS Barry Larkin 1B Lou Gehrig RF Brian Giles DH David Ortiz/Mike Piazza (Also catches for Sutton) C Bill Dickey 2B Eddie Collins/Joe Gordon 3B Red Rolfe/Brooks Robinson Bench: 1B Adrian Gonzalez IF Roberto Alomar OF Carlos Beltrán Pitching Staff: SP Jim Bunning SP Don Sutton SP Curt Schilling SP Bret Saberhagen SP Jeff Tesreau CL Rollie Fingers SU Trevor Hoffman SR Daniel Bard SR Alan Embree MR Alfredo Aceves LR Lefty Gomez Minors: C Ernie Lombardi IF Frankie Crosetti IF Marco Scutaro OF Chet Lemon OF Mike Cameron OF Tommy Henrich UT Dick Allen ST Mark Bellhorn SP Red Ruffing SP Carl Mays SP Chris Short SP Bob Grim SP Eddie Lopat SW Chris Young RP Ed Roebuck RP Bobby Schantz RP Scott Linebrink Strategy Hit and Run: +1 Sacrifice Bunt: -4 Squeeze Play: -4 Trying for extra bases: +1 Stealing Bases: +2 Aggressively Tagging Up: +1 Pitch Outs (to prevent stolen bases): -3 Giving Intentional Walks: -5 Pitching Around Good Hitters: -2 Bringing the Infield In: -2 Guarding the Lines: -1 Making Cutoff Throws: -2 Bringing in Pinch Hitters: -2 Bringing in Pinch Runners: -2 Bringing in Defensive Replacements: -1 Starting Pitchers on Short Rest: +2 Letting pitchers pitch throw through trouble: +1 Letting Pitchers rack up high pitch counts: +2 Home Stadium: Ithaqua Field (325/370/405/370/325) Trade History:
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Mar 1, 2013 19:11
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 I'm pressed for time, and, looking at the results, some of your teams were too. Either that, or the Rockford Losers really are that good. Either way, the Rockford Losers were the first team to hold the United States Championship, but they haven't held it since Super-League IV, so it's been a long time. Too long. Also, I punted the CERN Colliders to the European Title Tournament because, last time I checked, New Brunswick wasn't part of America! And yes, I'm well aware that up until the Webster-Ashburton treaty, a portion of southern New Brunswick was claimed by America, but that was a long time ago, and we gave up those claims, because the Whigs didn't have the loving stones to win the Aroostook War....the cowards!   The Rockford Losers win. By thirteen games. In a fifty-game round. That's about as dominating a win as I can imagine.    The new banner is coming...eventually. For the moment, I want to know whether your DH is supposed to be Dick Allen or Moises Alou, because your roster post says two different things.    Del Ennis' struggles aren't quite a surprise. Also, I know Teddy Ballgame isn't a great fielder, but he's a real LF, unlike Cepeda. Still, you played the Rockford Losers better than anybody.    Needs more hitting. That's the long and the short of it.    Your infield makes me nervous, and your pitching staff, outside of Maddux, kind of makes me want to cry. These are holes you will need to fill at some point.    Your biggest problem is that your best hitter and best pitcher got crippled. Granted, that could happen in the real Super-League as well, but you aren't likely to be quite that snakebit.    This wasn't a fight, it was a murder.
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Mar 1, 2013 23:43
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That's just mean, Mogul.
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Mar 2, 2013 00:29
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Hmm, yes, the United States title back in the hands of its rightful owner. cbx: Seems you've built yourself a pretty solid team. You were to able to hang in there with a veteran squad quite well. Smasher: Though it very clearly had no effect on the final outcome of this title tournament, I noticed my team was missing Robbie Alomar and Steve Bedrosian. I think you called them out during the division preview, but I just want to make sure they don't get forgotten from my regular season roster.
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Mar 2, 2013 00:56
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Well, not as sturdy as I'd hoped. I was hoping that Ellis was a better player than Walker. I'll stand by that. Also, like I figured, my bullpen is suspect in a couple areas, and Cepeda can't field. That's all fine and dandy, it's what I expected, and I'll be making the changes before the Super League proper.
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Mar 2, 2013 01:02
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ToiletofSadness posted:
Yes, clearly, but for their absences, you could have gone 50-0! Seriously, though, I know that there were a number of minor errors and I have taken note of them, and they'll be fixed by the Super-League.
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Mar 2, 2013 01:21
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ToiletofSadness posted:Smasher: Though it very clearly had no effect on the final outcome of this title tournament, I noticed my team was missing Robbie Alomar and Steve Bedrosian. At least you didn't have Hooks Dauss doing long relief.  I just realized that it would have been smart of me to try and use Altrock in there to get a glimpse of how he'll be, I'm curious since his 1908 model was two years after he stopped being really good. Whoops.
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Mar 2, 2013 02:59
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Holy smokes, my team blows! Moises is my DH, though looking at this team, I could have made Felix my DH and it wouldn't have made a difference
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Mar 2, 2013 03:01
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Smasher Dynamo posted:Yes, clearly, but for their absences, you could have gone 50-0! Seriously, don't worry about the minor errors. You've been doing this for a while; We all have faith in you that you'll get it right and we're not worried about the specifics.
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Mar 2, 2013 03:23
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The Depression-Inducing, Life-Disaffirming, Badtimes-Causing Super-League IX Preview: Mark Bellhorn Division The Finger Lakes Phoenixes, through no real effort of their own, have won this division in each of the previous two seasons. Why? Because everytime I put a promising expansion team into the division, hoping they'll break through, they gently caress it up and get relegated. But hope springs eternal, so we're going to try again. The new incarnation features the Phoenixes, the Barons, who I'm hoping can do a bit better now that they know the ropes of the Super-League, the Cougars, who are the best of the DH Expansion teams, the Mercuries, who have the Senerio dumb luck thing going for them, and the Manatees, who...yes. Catcher 1. '27 Mickey Cochrane/'69 Carlton Fisk (QUE) 2. '38 Bill Dickey (FIN) 3. '78 Carlton Fisk (BRN) 4. '01 Ivan Rodriguez (MAN) 5. '38 Rudy York/'15 Chief Meyers (DEC) Mickey Cochrane has usually been good in the Super-League, and with a caddy to handle left-handed pitching, I think the Mercuries have the best catching duo in the division. Bill Dickey is also pretty good, but I think Cochrane is just a bit better. As for Fisk, he's been up and down in the Super-League, and yes, I know I've said that about a lot of players. I-Rod, and in a division with two Fisks, he can't be 'Pudge', can hit singles and field well, but will not draw a walks. He made a promise about that and he can't break it. Rudy York can't field, Chief Meyers can't hit, together, they either fight crime, and prove a huge disappointment for cbx. First Baseman 1. '38 Lou Gehrig (FIN) 2. '69 Carl Yastrzemski (QUE) 3. '11 Prince Fielder (BRN) 4. '38 Hank Greenberg (DEC) 5. '99 John Olerud (MAN) Lou Gehrig is probably the best first baseman of all-time, which seems odd if you think about it, but is almost certainly true. Yaz was in the middle of his best run in the late-60s, but the Mogul engine hasn't always been kind to players from that era. Prince Fielder can usually hit, which is good, because he cannot field or run. At all. Hank Greenberg's struggles in the Super-League point to anti-Semitism on the part of the Mogul programmers. Old John Olerud isn't going to kill, but neither will he thrill you. Second Baseman 1. '38 Charlie Gehringer (DEC) 2. '49 Bobby Doerr (QUE) 3. '51 Red Schoendienst (BRN) 4. '27 Eddie Collins/'38 Joe Gordon (FIN) 5. '90 Julio Franco (MAN) Gehringer is the only member of this bunch without any glaring problems. Doerr was not the best fielder, and won't have the chance to use the big wall in Fenway for easy doubles in the Super-League. Red Schoendienst is solid, and has the most Teutonic name imaginable, which is odd, because I'm pretty sure that the main point of Ellis Island was to smooth those names out. Eddie Collins is so loving old in 1927 that he really can't be playing as much as Marauder wants. It's just not going to work, although Joe Gordon and Roberto Alomar will be able to step in when it all goes to hell. Julio Franco can't really field. That's not great. Third Baseman 1. '04 Chipper Jones (DEC) 2. '96 Edgar Martinez (MAN) 3. '88 Wade Boggs/'49 Johnny Pesky (QUE) 4. '66 Brooks Robinson (BRN) 5. '38 Red Rolfe/'72 Brooks Robinson (FIN) Chipper Jones is a question mark in the field, in that it's an open question whether he is actually better than a cardboard cut-out. Still, he can hit. Edgar Martinez is somehow even worse of a defender, and I think he's just a little worse of a hitter than Jones. I don't know why Senerio is platooning Boggs and Pesky, because Boggs isn't really the sort of giant slugger who can't handle left-handed pitching, and he should probably stop. Brooks Robinson can't hit all that well, which, oddly enough, summarizes the rest of this list. Shortstop 1. '12 Honus Wagner (BRN) 2. '96 Alex Rodriguez (MAN) 3. '90 Barry Larkin (FIN) 4. '49 Vern Stephens/'69 Rico Petrocelli (QUE) 5. '65 Harvey Kuenn/'38 Billy Rogell (DEC) Honus is the best shortstop ever. Young A-Rod was the second-best shortstop ever. Sometimes things are that simple. Barry Larkin is a guy who can do a lot of things well, but nothing outstanding. Which means his numbers aren't going to look that great, but he'll help you. Vern Stephens and Rico Petrocelli are two guys whose offensive numbers where really helped by Fenway, and I'm not sure how they'll do in more neutral ground. Harvey Kuenn can't play shortstop in 1965, and Billy Rogell isn't going to hit enough for you. Calling this a 'massive hole' for the Cougars seems like an understatement. Left Fielder 1. '51 Stan Musial (BRN) 2. '89 Rickey Henderson (FIN) 3. '64 Willie Stargell (MAN) 4. '65 Orlando Cepeda (DEC) 5. '88 Mike Greenwell/'88 Jim Rice (QUE) Stan Musial was one of the greatest hitters ever, and unless he's stacked up against Williams, he's probably going to win. Henderson will draw walks, steal bases, and hit the occasional homer, which is all that Marauder really wants from him anyway. Stargell hasn't gotten many chances in the Super-League, so here's hoping this time he does a bit better. I think that Cepeda will start the season as the DH for the Cougars, because he isn't a LF in any shape or form. Mike Greenwell is best known today as the guy who keeps complaining that Jose Canseco should give him the 1988 MVP because Canseco used steroids. Of course, even without the steroids, Canseco was still probably the better player. Greenwell is being platooned with the living corpse of Jim Rice, which is interesting because the 1988 Red Sox had the same chance to create such a platoon, and decided it would be a completely terrible idea. Center Fielder 1. '65 Willie Mays (DEC) 2. '96 Ken Griffey, Jr. (MAN) 3. '78 Fred Lynn (BRN) 4. '21 Max Carey (FIN) 5. '69 Reggie Smith/'49 Dom DiMaggio (QUE) It feels like a big season for people using Mays. By the law of averages, that's going to work out for at least one of these teams you'd think. Ken Griffey is in the middle of his prime, when the offers for SNES games and other merchandise were flowing, and no one had yet learned his horrifying secret...that he dreamt of living in a gray Necropolis devoid of all hope and comfort. You all likely know this dark place as "Cincinnati." Fred Lynn is a step below Griffey, although both were known for being young phenoms who burst onto the scene to save their respective teams...something neither of which could accomplish. Max Carey has negative power, and I don't much like outfielders without any power. Reggie Smith and Dom DiMaggio are both guys who aren't going to be a ton of help to your offense, but probably, well, how about 'might', not destroy your offense. Right Fielder 1. '97 Larry Walker (MAN) 2. '64 Roger Maris/'78 Dwight Evans (BRN) 3. '51 Del Ennis/'38 Dixie Walker (DEC) 4. '06 Brian Giles (FIN) 5. '88 Dwight Evans (QUE) Larry Walker is coming home! Which is a shame, because I doubt he'll be taking his Coors Field induced home runs with him. Maris is a bit old, Evans is a bit young, but they can probably work together to form a mildly productive whole. Del Ennis was pretty good in real life, which probably isn't enough in the Super-League, and Dixie Walker is in the same boat...except more racist. Brian Giles was pretty old in 2006, and was never much of a fielder in left field, meaning that either Marauder knows something I don't, or he has not quite thought this through. '88 Dwight Evans is quite old, and that can't end well. Designated Hitter 1. '49 Ted Williams (QUE) 2. '57 Ted Williams (DEC) 3. '04 David Ortiz/'06 Mike Piazza (FIN) 4. '90 Rafael Palmeiro (MAN) 5. '78 Jim Rice (BRN) Young Williams beats Old Williams by a bit, although old Williams will probably end up in LF when the season starts. The Ortiz/Piazza combo is interesting, and, even better, has allowed Marauder to exploit the duplicate DH/Personal Catcher glitch, which will allow Piazza to bat twice as much in a few games. I'd explain the glitch more fully, but I'd rather you guys didn't know, less mrnoun get Josh Gibson 1300 ABs this season. I like Raffy better than Rice at DH, because I think he was just a better hitter overall, even if slightly (Career OPS+ is 128 vs. 132). Bench 1. '06 Adrian Gonzalez/'96 Roberto Alomar/'04 Carlos Beltran/Platoon Partners (FIN) 2. '11 Matt Wieters/'99 Edgardo Alfonzo/'99 Rickey Henderson/'51 Ralph Kiner (MAN) 3. '51 Del Rice/'77 Buddy Bell/'51 Solly Hemus/'12 Max Carey/Platoon Partners (BRN) 4. '65 Jim Ray Hart/Platoon Partners (DEC) 5. Platoon Partners (QUE) All bad. I guess the Phoenixes are best because they're the only ones that have a pinch-hitter, utility infielder and fourth outfielder that actually seem helpful. The Manatees don't have any spare guys who can play center if Griffey goes down or needs a day off. The Barons' backups simply suck. The Cougars don't really have all that much help on the bench, and Hart can't really play...well, any defensive position. The Mercuries don't have much of a bench at all. SP1 1. '88 Roger Clemens (QUE) 2. '89 John Clarkson (BRN) 3. '96 Randy Johnson (MAN) 4 .'15 Christy Mathewson (DEC) 5. '64 Jim Bunning (FIN) Clemens has the power and skills to lead a rotation, even if I'm not sure that he'll lead up to the hype. John Clarkson is the maximum deadballer, and will have to rely on a strong defense behind him. Fortunately, the Barons seems more than up to the task. Randy Johnson might be good, or he might burn down Montreal, just don't trade him for Mark Langston again. Christy Mathewson is old, and the screwball is rough on the arm, so he might crap out over a full season. He's still Big Six, though. Jim Bunning (R-KY), couldn't lead a successful rotation in real life (and no, Marauder, I wouldn't exactly call the '64 Phillies a successful rotation given how the season ended), so I'm not sure he can do it here, either. SP2 1. '86 Roger Clemens (MAN) 2. '27 Lefty Grove (QUE) 3. '34 Carl Hubbell (DEC) 4. '71 Don Sutton (FIN) 5. '12 Babe Adams (BRN) Whatever the gently caress I said about Clemens last entry, I incorporate and repeat those sentiments here. Lefty Grove has usually been good enough in the Super-League, especially when you consider the plight of lefties in this circuit. Carl Hubbell has that great screwball and never, ever walks anyone. In fact, he threw the screwball so much that he eventually permanently crippled his arm in the process. Don Sutton should do Marauder proud, and he'll have to if Marauder wants to stay alive in the Super-League. Babe Adams is...well....present. SP3 1. '04 Pedro Martinez (MAN) 2. '65 Gaylord Perry (DEC) 3. '98 Curt Schilling (FIN) 4. '09 Josh Johnson (BRN) 5. '88 Bruce Hurst (QUE) All of these pitchers have a fatal flaw. Pedro is on the downside. Gaylord's one trick pitch isn't as effective in the Super-League as it was in real-life. Schilling is inconsistent to say the least. Johnson rarely lives up to his potential. And Bruce Hurst? Son, Bruce Hurst IS the fatal flaw. SP4 1. '90 Kevin Brown (MAN) 2. '97 Bret Saberhagen (FIN) 3. '06 Jake Peavy (DEC) 4. '11 Roy Oswalt (BRN) 5. '88 Mike Boddicker (QUE) I don't like any of these guys. Kevin Brown is young in '90, and he's had his struggles even in his prime pitching in the Super-League. Sabes is well into the "arm held together by masking tape and teary-eyed dreams" phase of his career, and dreams really end well in the Super-League. Jake Peavy has never been impressive in the Super-League, and he doesn't have PetCo to bail out his rear end this time. Roy Oswalt was old by '11, and was only the fourth-best pitcher on his own team. Mike Boddicker? The hell are you doing, Senerio? SP5 1. '49 Mel Parnell (QUE) 2. '15 Rube Marquard (DEC) 3. '12 Claude Hendrix (BRN) 4. '15 Jeff Tesreau (FIN) 5. '90 Nolan Ryan (MAN) For the record, Parnell is better than Hurst or Boddicker, and by a fairly large margin. Rube Marquard was one of the worst pitchers ever inducted into the Hall of Fame, but he's decent enough for a fifth starter. Hendrix beats Tesreau because the 'x' makes him cooler than Tesreau, and that's an important part of these rankings. Nolan Ryan was 43 years old in 1990. Now, yes, he was Nolan Ryan, was kind of a sui generis case when it came to aging, but Mogul doesn't get that part. It just sees a power pitcher who is 43 years old, and thinks to itself "Why the gently caress is Nolan Ryan not retired yet?" Bullpen 1. '00 Robb Nen/'69 Sparky Lyle/'88 Lee Smith/'88 Bob Stanley/'49 Tex Hughson/'88 Dennis Lamp (QUE) 2. '70 Rollie Fingers/'06 Trevor Hoffman/'11 Daniel Bard/'06 Alan Embree/'11 Alfredo Aceves/'38 Lefty Gomez (FIN) 3. '78 Dennis Eckersley/'78 Bill Campbell/'06 Francisco Rodriguez/'12 Howie Camnitz/'12 Wilbur Cooper/'78 Dick Drago (BRN) 4. '11 J.J. Putz/'15 Rube Benton/'38 Schoolboy Rowe/'65 Frank Linzy/'65 Bill Henry/'65 Bobby Bolin (DEC) 5. '99 Armando Benitez/'11 Koji Uehara/'11 Mike Gonzalez/'99 Jason Isringhausen/'96 Mike Jackson/'04 John Smoltz/'90 Jamie Moyer (MAN) The Mercuries have real relievers, so I guess they win by default. The problem with the Phoenixes' bullpen is that Hoffman is 38 years old, Bard and Embree still give Red Sox fans nightmares, and Fingers, well, you know his history in the Super-League. Out of the Barons' bullpen, I only like Eckersley, and he can't pitch every relief inning. The Cougars' bullpen is kind of interesting, in the same way that a zeppelin made out of ice would be interesting, but not practical. The Manatees seem to think that Armando Benitez would be a good closer for them. They could not be more wrong.
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Mar 2, 2013 06:10
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 From the Databanks of Monathin, Manager-Overseer of the Canton Catastrophes: Well, we almost won the Intercontinental, even if there are apparently some problems with our team setup in the preview. Where the hell did we put the guy who replicated Omar? The minors? Ugh, no, that can't be right. Who the hell made that decision? What do you mean 'me'? Ugh, whatever. Just make sure to put Omar Vizquel on the Bench in place of Carlos Baerga, who'll drop to the minors. Oh, and why we're at it, why the hell aren't we running a second catcher? Don't tell me I forgot that too, I remember perfectly what I did and didn't forget! Make sure Duke Sims is catching for Sam McDowell personally before the season starts. Also, while we're making changes that certainly can't help us, change the first four of the lineup. Go for Morgan, Mauer(Sims on Sammy Days), Thome, and McCovey, in that order. Rest of the lineup is unchanged. Here's hoping we just breach .500 this year. Baseball have mercy on us.
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Mar 2, 2013 07:10
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I hear I should post itt.
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Mar 2, 2013 08:58
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Mornacale posted:I hear I should post itt. Welcome back, Mornacale. Post your 30-man.
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Mar 2, 2013 14:56
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I think they fixed that DH glitch in the latest BM pitch, I tried using it and just ended up playing no DH games vs DH teams.
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Mar 2, 2013 14:59
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 Hmm.. take, the 26, subtract the zero.. Wow. That's 26 more games than I thought we would win in the Intercontinental Title boondoggle, despite some crippling injuries! Now it's truly time to live up to our name! Depending on the preview, I might make a change to the rotation, but the only change I want to make right now is to change from Artificial Turf to Grass! Don't want my speed guys to get hurt, that means it's less of a chance for them to join in the jobbin' fun.
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Mar 2, 2013 15:15
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The good news is that we're only a few days away from the next season starting, so you guys can wake up and come back to the thread. The Contractually-Mandated, Wholly-Joyless, Perfunctory-at-Best Super-League IX Preview: Sic Transit Vir Division With the Bangers gone, someone has to step up and win this division, don't they? Catcher 1. '97 Mike Piazza (PAR) 2. '15 Wally Schang (CER) 3. '70 Thurman Munson (MDM) 4. '79 Darrell Porter (ONE) 5. '10 Brian McCann/'07 Russell Martin (CLU) Mike Piazza towers over this group like a colossus towering over an ant. And not a very big ant, either. Wally Schang was actually quite good for his day, and he'll draw some walks, even as he hits very few or no home runs. That's a tradeoff that you should be able to live with. I don't like Munson, but he's still solid enough, and the Million Dollar Men have other, bigger problems they need to deal with. Darrell Porter has usually been okay, sometimes even good in the Super-League. The McCann/Martin platoon hasn't worked for something like five straight seasons. It's kind of amazing that IceMole has never done anything to fix it. First Baseman 1. '27 Lou Gehrig (CER) 2. '12 Albert Pujols (MDM) 3. '90 Mark McGwire (CLU) 4. '48 Ferris Fain (PAR) 5. '11 Adrian Gonzalez (ONE) The Iron Horse rides again! I don't think it's much of a debate to put a young Gehrig above an aging Hombre, which is kind of a shame given how long the Angels have signed him for. McGwire usually has a BA of something like .225 with an OBP of .330 or so. That's survivable given how many home runs he hits. Fain is an interesting guy who doesn't hit a ton of home runs, but has immense contact and walk-drawing skills. Adrian Gonzalez hasn't lived up to the hype either here or in real life. Second Baseman 1. '05 Nap Lajoie (MDM) 2. '24 Frankie Frisch/'34 Billy Herman (CLU) 3. '76 Bobby Grich (PAR) 4. '27 Tony Lazzeri (CER) 5. '79 Frank White (ONE) I do like the Frisch/Herman platoon, I just think Lajoie is a bit more consistent in the Super-League. It's not a huge margin between the two, though. Grich is another one of those guys who isn't going to have eye-popping numbers, but he'll be useful to a team, although he'll hit a few home runs too. Lazzeri is one of those guys who was just in the right place at the right time, which is why he's in the Hall of Fame, but he might be okay, even if he is a bit young in '27. Frank White was considered an okay hitter for a '70s middle infielder, but, well, that doesn't really say much of anything. Third Baseman 1. '53 Eddie Mathews (CER) 2. '77 George Brett (PAR) 3. '98 Scott Rolen (ONE) 4. '16 Frank Baker (MDM) 5. '73 Darrell Evans (CLU) A lot of good players here. I like Mathews more than Brett, because Mathews has generally done a bit better than Brett in the Super-League, and it's not like either was considered all that great defensively at 3B. Rolen is actually all that great defensively at 3B, but he isn't as good of a hitter, though he's okay with the bat, at least in his early days. Frank Baker isn't actually going to hit all that many home runs, but he's otherwise a good enough bat to start. Darrell Evans was a three true outcomes type of player a couple of decades before that was cool. He's an interesting historical artifact, but not quite a great player. Shortstop 1. '03 Honus Wagner/'24 Frankie Frisch (CLU) 2. '86 Alan Trammell (PAR) 3. '30 Joe Cronin (ONE) 4. '82 Robin Yount (CER) 5. '06 Bobby Wallace (MDM) Honus is the greatest shortstop ever. Accept it. Trammell has a good mixture of power, fielding and other skills, but he's not elite in any of those fields, which has left him underrated. On the plus side, though, that does mean that he can fit in with most types of teams. Joe Cronin was slipping a bit in the field as a shortstop by '30, but he was still good enough to start there, and he still had his great bat. Yount has been the death of many a Super-League team, and you traded for him, theacox? I think you're just afraid of success. Bobby Wallace is going to break your heart, CVE, no matter how guarded it is by German stoicism! Left Fielder 1. '86 Barry Bonds (CLU) 2. '27 Bob Meusel (CER) 3. '93 Jose Canseco (ONE) 4. '76 Ken Singleton (PAR) 5. '06 George Stone (MDM) Bonds doesn't have his power stroke in '86. In fact, at the time he projected more as a Henderson or Raines type then a guy who would hit over 700 home runs. Which, of course, begs the question of how great Rickey Henderson could have been if he had taken loads of PEDs. Long Bob Meusel had a famously good throwing arm...which doesn't mean that much in left field, but it's mildly interesting historical trivia. Jose Canseco will hit home runs. He will not do anything else, but he will hit home runs. Ken Singleton is going to have to be replaced in the Super-League. George Stone is somehow even worse than that, and might single-handedly kill the Million Dollar Men if he starts too many games. Center Fielder 1. '24 Ty Cobb (ONE) 2. '04 Ichiro Suzuki (PAR) 3. '03 Sam Crawford (MDM) 4. '06 Ken Griffey, Jr./'24 Hack Wilson (CLU) 5. '27 Earle Combs (CER) Ty Cobb may have been a virulent racist, and a man who viciously assaulted people with little provocation, but he could hit the hell out of a baseball. Suzuki is, in many ways, kind of like a lesser Cobb in his style of play. Good contact, not the best patience in the world, and not a ton of power. Sam Crawford is another contact/little power type of player. Old Griffey has usually not been good in the Super-League, and Hack Wilson isn't much of a defender in center field, both of which are kind of problems. Earle Combs is in the Hall of Fame, mainly because he was on the '27 Yankees. Right Fielder 1. '27 Babe Ruth (CER) 2. '64 Roberto Clemente (MDM) 3. '76 Reggie Jackson/'12 Carlos Gonzalez (PAR) 4. '23 Harry Heilmann (ONE) 5. '24 Ross Youngs/'03 Honus Wagner (CLU) Ruth is Ruth is Ruth is Ruth is Ruth. Clemente was a guy who didn't really want to take walks or hit home runs, but he did hit a lot of singles and was a great defender in right field. I'm not sure how the Jackson/CarGo platoon is really going to work in practice, but I'll agree that it's worth a shot, because Jackson isn't so great a hitter that he couldn't use a platoon partner against lefties. Heilmann is a good hitter, but not a lot of power. I have nothing else interesting to say about him. Youngs has even less power than Heilmann, and was about to drop dead from Bright's Disease. Bench 1. '27 Pat Collins/'53 Joe Adcock/'15 Nap Lajoie/'53 Andy Pafko/'84 Ryne Sandberg (CER) 2. '12 Ramon Hernandez/'04 John Olerud/'12 Troy Tulowitzki/'76 Brooks Robinson/'37 Earl Averill (PAR) 3. Platoon Partners/'24 George Kelly/'07 Rafael Furcal (CLU) 4. '75 Brian Downing/'03 Frank Chance/'03 Johnny Evers/'76 Bill Madlock/'03 Joe Tinker/'76 Rick Monday (MDM) 5. '23 Johnny Bassler/'08 Todd Helton/'23 Del Pratt/'96 Andres Gallaraga/'23 Topper Rigney/'92 Ray Lankford (ONE) I can basically break these down by saying that the first two benches have players I could actually deal with coming off the bench, even if I think that '76 Brooks is too old to be much help to anyone, and then the last three are essentially useless, to the point where those three teams should pray to avoid injuries, because they have no one who can credible fill in. SP1 1. '22 Pete Alexander (PAR) 2. '08 Ed Walsh (ONE) 3. '03 Deacon Phillippe (CLU) 4. '53 Warren Spahn (CER) 5. '16 Bob Shawkey (MDM) Alexander is a sure thing, and those are rare in the Super-League. Ed Walsh should be good, and he'll have to be, because he's by far the best pitcher the Spooners have. The Deacon gets this slot based on his prior performance in the Super-League, because he's kept the Unicorns' pitching strong for over six seasons at this point. Spahn is a non-power lefty in an engine that hates pitchers like that. Spahn is probably the best of those type of pitchers, but I could easily see him melting down over the course of the season. Bob "The Gob" Shawkey got his name because he joined the American Navy during World War I, which, when you think about it, must have been a sweet gig given that America didn't enter the war until after Jutland when the German Navy was bottled up in the North Sea. SP2 1. '76 Jim Palmer (PAR) 2. '06 Johan Santana (ONE) 3. '27 Waite Hoyt (CER) 4 .'03 Sam Leever (CLU) 5. '76 Rick Reuschel (MDM) Palmer won 20 games eight times in nine years, and still failed to win 300 over the course of his career, probably because it's hard to have a long career in the modern era when you're pitching 300 innings a year. I feel like Santana is due for a good season, and the competition really isn't that stiff in this group. Waite Hoyt had a career K/9 of 2.9, which is low no matter how you slice it, and only had a 3.0 K/9 in 1927. Maybe this will work out, but that power number is so low that I'm a bit skittish. Sam Leever has done good work for the Unicorns before, but he doesn't have any power either. Reuschel isn't really an elite pitcher in the Super-League, and probably shouldn't be a team's second-best pitcher. SP3 1. '03 Mordecai Brown (PAR) 2. '71 Catfish Hunter (CLU) 3. '27 Herb Pennock (CER) 4. '75 Jim Kaat (MDM) 5. '08 Frank Smith (ONE) Three-Finger Brown is usually helpful, and the Postmodernist' defense looks like it will be good enough to turn him into a quality pitcher. Hunter will give up home runs, but he is also durable, and tends to be good enough to not kill the team he's on. Pennock somehow has even less power than Hoyt, which is insane. I'm not sure how any of these '20s Yankees pitchers are going to do, especially when you consider that most of them were getting old by '27. Jim Kaat is 35 years old in 1975, and is a pitch-to-contact sort of pitcher, and is a lefty, any of those could end up killing him. Frank Smith is just another deadballer. SP4 1. '08 Doc White (ONE) 2. '27 Urban Shocker (CER) 3. '03 Jack Taylor (MDM) 4. '08 Cy Falkenberg (CLU) 5. '76 Ken Holtzman (PAR) Despite playing in a big-pitching era, Doc White only won 20 games in a season once, which is a bit of a red flag. Still, Mogul likes him, and the rest of these pitchers aren't all that much better. Shocker had a weird career, in that he started late, and had his career cut short by a fatal case of pneumonia. Still, in his prime, he was dominant. Unfortunately, '27 is past that prime by a couple of seasons. Jack Taylor was actually the centerpiece of the deal that brought Mordecai Brown to the Cubs in the first place, but was only occasionally brilliant in the majors. Falkenberg is yet another deadballer, and not a particularly inspiring one. Holtzman is a lefty who issued more walks that strikeouts in 1976. How could that end badly? SP5 1. '16 Urban Shocker (MDM) 2. '05 Roy Oswalt (ONE) 3. '97 Hideo Nomo (PAR) 4. '24 Art Nehf (CLU) 5. '53 Don Liddle (CER) I already talked about Shocker, but in this group, he's a champion! Oswalt should be fine, but he's been erratic in the Super-League, so I think Shocker is a bit better. I think Nomo has only been used once in the Super-League, to mixed results, so this rating is mainly speculation on my part. Art Nehf is only starting because IceMole refuses to change his roster unless he absolutely has to. Don Liddle shouldn't be starting. I don't know why he is starting, but I can only assume that theacox is suffering from dementia, and it wouldn't be right to make fun of him for that. Bullpen 1. '07 Takashi Saito/'07 Jonathan Broxton/'07 Hong-Chih Kuo/'01 Keith Foulke/'24 Virgil Barnes/'10 Cy Young (CLU) 2. '76 Bruce Sutter/'76 Darrold Knowles/'75 Goose Gossage/'75 Cecil Upshaw/'16 Nick Cullop/'03 Jake Weimer (MDM) 3. '85 Tom Henke/'86 Willie Hernandez/'94 Pedro Martinez/'79 Dan Quisenberry/'08 Nick Altrock/'23 Earl Whitehill (ONE) 4. '04 Rafael Soriano/'12 Rafael Betancourt/'12 Rex Brothers/'97 Antonio Osuna/'04 J.J. Putz/'04 Jamie Moyer (PAR) 5. '53 Lew Burdette/'27 Dutch Ruether/'27 Ernie Johnson/'97 Robb Nen/'27 Bob Shawkey/'53 Johnny Antonelli (CER) I guess I can almost get myself to think that the Unicorns have an okay bullpen, which means they're the winners here in a landslide. I like Sutter, I like the Goose, but I don't know that I like the rest of the MDM bullpen. The Spooners have some pieces that might work, or might not, and I hesitate to say that they're anything better than the 3rd best in their division in terms of bullpens until I see how Quisenberry and young Pedro do. The Postmodernists are betting of Soriano to not suck. I wouldn't want to take that bet, myself. Lew Burdette is famous for never striking anyone out ever. I'm not sure he's a great fit as a closer.
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Mar 3, 2013 01:42
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Guess I should have drafted one of the Bonds as a Left Field (or a SS) replacement but I was led to believe that Jorge Orta was and even bigger threat to Super League survival. Also people in he IRC really liked George Stone for some reasons. Also I didn't know that my pitching was this bad given that I had the best ERA in the Expansion Cup (obviously benefitting from playing in Petco Park). Well, let's try to survive until the Super Draft and hope to find stuff to fix a possible sinking ship by then.
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Mar 3, 2013 02:13
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CVE posted:Guess I should have drafted one of the Bonds as a Left Field (or a SS) replacement but I was led to believe that Jorge Orta was and even bigger threat to Super League survival. Also people in he IRC really liked George Stone for some reasons. Also I didn't know that my pitching was this bad given that I had the best ERA in the Expansion Cup (obviously benefitting from playing in Petco Park). Well, let's try to survive until the Super Draft and hope to find stuff to fix a possible sinking ship by then. There are plenty of great-hitting outfielders. There aren't that many great-hitting 2B, and Nap Lajoie in his prime is a rarity. Be glad you got him, don't second guess. If the outfield thing is a bother, try for a trade.
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Mar 3, 2013 03:17
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I'll do a favor for the team of whoever can do the best of making the last preview for me. And that favor doesn't even include the fact it would free me to up get the next season started sooner. A couple of other things: -Instead of the CYObit, we'll instead do a pick 'em contest that lasts through the season. More details when I figure them out. -I'm assuming that TKBomber, blaklemenakle and Marauder are all interesting in running their old teams in that side-Gauntlet I've talked about. -I should get the European Title thing done tomorrow.
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Mar 3, 2013 07:12
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cbx posted:There are plenty of great-hitting outfielders. There aren't that many great-hitting 2B, and Nap Lajoie in his prime is a rarity. Be glad you got him, don't second guess. If the outfield thing is a bother, try for a trade. Yeah I guess. Well let's see how things went in the European Championship to get a slightly skewered sample but a sample nevertheless. And even then I don't really have tradable players I feel.
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Mar 3, 2013 13:24
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The Gimmick-Stealing, Insomnia-Fueled, Slightly-More-Accurate-Than-Using-Random.org Super League IX Preview: Momento Mori Division presented to you by Moutain Dew: Kick Start Moutain Dew: Kick Start: it's Diet Mountain Dew with slightly more caffeine and a more pronounced orange flavor.  For the first time in its existence, the Momento Mori does not contain a team by TKBomber, the leader of the legendary Boston Skyhawks and the decidedly less successful Dorcester Phantoms and Portland Bulldogs. He's run out of tricks and his last team was relegated, perhaps to return with a revived Skyhawks next season. The Burma Imperialists, winners of this division in SLVI and SLVII, had looked to jump to the next level and be more than whipping boys for the stronger teams in the Vae Victis and Sic Transit Vir divisions. However, almost every position player on their team collectively forgot how to hit, they were upstaged by the upstart Cancun Tornados. After a wire-to-wire Gauntlet run, the Imperialists escaped relegation and are back to reassert their prior dominance. Now in the Tornados, the Momento Mori had a team win a playoff series winner since the Skyhawks and perhaps a dawning of a new era of domination by a pitching-first team. Last season also introduced Smasher's second least favorite owner ever in Mornacle and the Bloggers, who hung around at the cusp of wild card contention for most of the season. The Antarctic Unspecifieds were there too, winning a wild card spot, but falling to the Coburns in the Wild Card Round. New to the division is the Jacksonville Jobbers, the latest in a long line of wrestling-themed Super League teams; for this one, Armitage harnesses the power (?) of wrestling's most prolific ham and eggers like Zack Ryder, S.D. Jones, Barry Wyndham, and Disco Inferno. Sounds promising, right? Let me remind you that I previewed this division last season and figured the Imperialists would mostly cruise to another division title, and then they ended up finishing 25.5 games behind the division-leading Tornados. And, about the Tornados...well, I grossly underestimated how kind Mogul would be to their collection of mostly turn-of-the-century hitters. And then ate double-crow when they knocked my team out of the playoffs. But with Marauder retired from the Dynamo League, UltimoDragonQuest will have to do as my league rival. Note that since Mornacle hasn't provided a new roster/lineup/pitching staff post, I used his gauntlet roster as the basis for his team in this preview. So screw you Mornacle for making me have to dig for that. Second, I've never played a single game of Baseball Mogul, so all my rankings are based on what statistical comparisons I can make via BB-Ref and my memory of similar players during my 4 seasons as a team owner in the league. So I'm not joking when I call these only slightly more accurate than random.org. One of you is likely to make me look like a fool over the course of the season. Catcher
The best part about reviewing the same division two years in a row, is that I can lazily reuse all my old analysis and rankings. Not much has changed here between this and last season. Easpecially with this first one. Yogi Berra is heads and shoulders above the rest of the group here. Young Fisk will be marginally better than old Campanella, but both are quite good. Burma's catcher platoons have always been productive, if unspectacular. And Jacksonville is starting Chris Hoiles? Is that a typo? First Baseman
Lou Gehrig is an all-time great. My personal preference here is Bagwell, and I wouldn't expect him to repeat last season's terrible performance. Cabrera will likely be just as good, which means 20+ HRs and a ~.330 OBP. Armitage becomes the next in a long line of owners to trot out Rafael Palmeiro at 1B; despite his great career numbers, he's just never been productive in the SL. He's paired with old Killebrew, who probably deserves more starts than he'll get as Palmeiro's caddy. Cancun again brings Joe Kelley and Gil Hodges, who actually managed to just exceed my expectations and hit exactly 10 HRs between the two men. Second Baseman
Hornsby and Collins are two of the best offensive 2B of all time. In choosing between the two you must make a couple trade-offs--Hornsby has the power hitting ability but less plate patience, and Collins has the better eye and base running ability but little power. All things considered, the Mogul engine seems to love any and all incarnations of Collins, so he gets the edge here. Robinson Cano falls next in large part because of his power and in small part to being a better defender than Rod Carew. Carew will hit for a high, mostly empty average and will bring sub-par defense. Riggs Stephenson is going to provide about the same with slightly better defense, but without the hall-of-fame track record. Third Baseman
For another year, Eddie Matthews is the clear best player in this group; he'll be paired with the decidedly worse Matt Williams whose large number of HRs and small number of walks will hopefully be good enough for pulling one of Burma's best hitters out of the starting lineup for about 40-50 games. David Wright comes next mostly because (1) I'm not sure if John McGraw can put up .400 OBP with 60+ steals again, (2) I doubt the Bloggers make it long with a decrepit version of Eddie Matthews, and (3) David Wright is a really good player. As for McGraw, he was scintillating for the Tornados last season, but he's really at the end of his career (he only had something like 160 PAs after 1901). Cronin will provide a strong lefty caddy but not so great defense. Like I said, I don't expect the Bloggers to make it through much of the season with old Matthews; what I'm not sure of is if Youkilis becomes the full-time starters or if he recalls Brooks Robinson. Either is still better than Home Run Baker. Shortstop
Ernie Banks will not hit for a high OBP or play great defense, but he has premium power at a position where that's extremely rare. Derek Jeter balances out his bad defensive range with high contact and OBP skills. Jose Reyes has an uncanny knack for hitting triples, but doesn't have Jeter's eye or Banks's HR power. Next in line for Viscount Slim's failed experiments at SS is Robbie Alomar, who is playing out of position. And this is still better than Robin Yount, who the Mogul programmers must secretly hate. Left Fielder
Barry Bonds is the best and that's that. I have Rickey next because I'd expect him to do all the things Cancun's platoon does--that is, have a high OBP, steal lots of bases, and play average-ish OF defense--plus hit HRs. That said, Cancun's platoon probably outplayed Rickey last season; they hit over .300, OBP over .380, and stole 60+ bases. Oliva/Howard are basically lefty/righty mirrors of each other--good average, good power, but strikes out too much, doesn't walk enough, and can't play good defense. But together, they provide a pretty competent corner outfielder...or at least one without any platoon weakness. Joe Jackson will hit for high average but with it comes no HRs and below average defense. Center Fielder
Tris Speaker is a really great CF, so, hypothetically speaking, a younger version should be better than the older version, right? Edmonds splits the Speakers by virture of hitting more HRs and still providing great defense. Regardless, all 3 of the top players are very valuable to their teams. I have Kirby next mainly because I trust him to be more consistent than baby Griffey. Right Fielder
Mel Ott is an all-time great playing in position, so he's first. This season, Cancun is teaming Duke Snider with Steve, Prince of Fate, which is probably a reference to some sci-fi thing I've always been to lazy to look up. They'll be very good too. The Herman/Ordonez platoon was very productive for the Bloggers last season as they combined for about 30 HRs. Lance Berkman has awesome power, but decidedly not so awesome defense. Also, he's injury prone at his age. To take some pressure off Launch Ballman, he's teamed him with Danny Tartabull, who's most famous for that episode of Seinfeld he was on. Paul Waner will likely hit 1/10th the number of HRs any of the previous 4 will and doesn't have great speed or great defense to compensate. Bench
I never know exactly how to rank benches; they all seem similarly bad. All I know for sure is that I hate Burma's and the Bloggers the most. For as long as Burma has been in the league and the thousands of players they've acquired, you'd think they'd have more depth. The top 3 are all roughly equivalent to me. For the Unspecifieds, Brett is probably good enough to be starting at 3B if Mogul was more consistently kind to him. For the Tornados, they've added Mike Trout as a backup OF. For the Jobbers, Sheffield is wasted as a 4th OFer. But without any place to put him, he becomes a better than average pinch hitter/backup 3B or RF. SP1
Sandy Koufax is one of the few power lefties able to thrive in the Super League; that makes him immensely valuable in a league with a glut of top-quality lefty hitters. Hilton Smith, as all the Negro Leaguers, will be good. Chief Bender has always been a solid performer in the SL, but is really more of a mid rotation guy than an ace. Blyleven is kind of in the same camp; he fits better as a 2 or 3 and this one also has the disadvantage of being on the young side. Whitey Ford has always been a middling performer and that's not acceptable from your SP1. SP2
In addition to inspiring a great twitter account, Old Hoss Radbourn is the Bloggers' best starter, but he's for some reason been relegated to #2. Though he's always been a strong performer in the Super League, Don Sutton is extremely old in 1982 and thus falls behind Doc Halladay, who is normally not so great SL. The difference, I suspect is that Cancun has a substantially better defense than all those other teams that tried Halladay. I'm not too fond of Jim Kaat, but I suspect he'll be much better than Mike Mussina, who always seems to get clubbed in the Super League. SP3
As with the SP1 rankings, I'm going to give preference to the lefty starter, though Grove and Dihigo should be top-quality starting pitchers. Armitage trots out yet another version of Kevin Brown, which leads me to wonder if we have more Kevin Browns or Rob Nenns in the Super League. He should be effective given the right defense, which I'm not exactly sure the Jobbers have. Glavine, like Mike Mussina, seems to never be very good in the Super League despite quality career numbers. Despite his sub 3 ERA last season, Bridges is the worst here because his career numbers suggest he's going to allow too many hits and walks over the long term. SP4
As a 19 year old, Drysdale is liable to be erratic, but I still think he's the best here. Joe Wood has a long history of Super League success dating back to the Providence Murderbots. Cliff Lee and Johan Santana are modern-day lefty aces, that never exactly pan out for whatever reason. Claude Hendrix is a run of the mill deadballer that turned out to be about league average for last season's Bloggers. SP5
Hippo Vaughn and Don Newcombe have very similar ERA+, K/9, and BB/9 profiles, so the edge goes to Hippo by virtue of being a deadballer. Don Newcombe has a career HR/9 over 1.1 which scares me in a league of elite power hitters. Note that 1956 marks the effective end of Newcombe's career; he only reached over 200 IP in one more season from here. Also of note is his .705 career OPS, which is great for a pitcher. The Jobbers' Tommy John is pre-eponymous-injury, so he still has a little strikeout ability. Messersmith is Burma's choice this season for their SP5 from their literal army of spare pitching. He was solid last season with a sub 3 ERA and a K/9 near 7. Jered Weaver is probably too recent a player to be anything better than replacement level in the Super League. Closer/Bullpen
Jacksonville's bullpen features 3 of the greatest closers of all time, so they pretty much win by default. The Unspecifieds also feature an Eckersley along with in prime John Wetteland which is pretty good. The Imperialists bring Papelbon and a lot of middling modern day relieveers which is better than can be said for the last 2 teams. Cancun did add one credible reliever in last season's Super Draft which brings their total of credible relievers to one. The Bloggers bullpen is capital B BAD. How they Finish
I will not underestimate the Tornados for a second time; how much they win this division by will be determined by how close their hitters can perform to last season. The starting rotation is one of the best in all the Dynamo League; even if it's backed up by one of the worst bullpens. I can't foresee Burma repeating last year's disappointing performance; there's just too much accumulated talent to hold down. They should hang around the Tornados most of the season, but will ultimately be contending for a wild card spot. The Unspecifieds will probably quietly produce another winning season and battle with Burma for second place and one of the wild card spots. Much to Smasher's chagrin, the Bloggers are probably good enough to finish near wild card contention or one of the last rounds of the Gauntlet, which at least means living to see SLX. Of course, not being a super deep team, a couple unfortunate injuries could torpedo the whole ship. The Jobbers will live up to their name, and end their season looking up to the lights, probably in one of the mid rounds of the Gauntlet; let's say round 4 or 5. ToiletofSadness fucked around with this message at 19:51 on Mar 3, 2013 |
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Mar 3, 2013 17:53
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I'm out of the bullpen cellar!  quote:I suspect is that Cancun has a substantially better defense than all those other teams that tried Halladay.  I'm very afraid of bad luck and the Imperialists after last season and the gauntlet showed how powerful both are.
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Mar 3, 2013 18:04
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UltimoDragonQuest posted:I'm out of the bullpen cellar! You're welcome.
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Mar 3, 2013 18:17
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I do have Frank Howard platooning with Tony Oliva. Howard's the LF against left handed pitchers, and ideally he mashes them. Of course, his defense is suspect on his best days, so even with Oliva/Howard the ranking sounds about right.
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Mar 3, 2013 18:31
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Armitage posted:I do have Frank Howard platooning with Tony Oliva. Howard's the LF against left handed pitchers, and ideally he mashes them. Of course, his defense is suspect on his best days, so even with Oliva/Howard the ranking sounds about right. UltimoDragonQuest posted:I'm out of the bullpen cellar! Also, I may be trying to jinx you. 
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Mar 3, 2013 19:44
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 Thank god that this offseason is almost over because this thread has turned into a giant echo chamber. The next big update, due Tuesday or so, will be the first injury report for Super-League IX. But, before we get there, it's time to allocate the European Championship!   Big loving surprise.    Yeah, this is why I don't like Roy Oswalt in the Super-League. As for your hitters, well, this is the worst case scenario, just be happy that it happened here instead of the Super-League.    Well, the moral here is that the Tornados can't deal with power-heavy teams. Just be grateful that most of those are in the DH league so that you won't have to play them too often.    Babe Ruth can only carry a team so far, and I can already see the looming disaster in your rotation.    You need more hitting. And pitching. I have some ideas about how you could fix these problems, but they're a bit out there. Let me know if you want to hear them.    You need another starter, and I still don't see the point of the Boggs/Pesky platoon. I think Boggs really ought to have that job full-time. Still, if you were capable of finding satisfaction in your team doing well, Senerio, and I'm not sure that you are, you have to be happy about this.    I think everyone should be happy that the Super-League is predictable enough to let the Eazy W's steamroll to a victory here. Predictability means that you can better plan and make moves that can help your team in the future. Of course, it's not the best thing for competitiveness, I guess.
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Mar 3, 2013 23:06
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Whatever. Who gives a poo poo about titles never held by Asai? ToiletofSadness posted:I'm not sure if John McGraw can put up .400 OBP with 60+ steals again  
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Mar 3, 2013 23:35
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Momento Mori Division Preview I had most of this typed up last night, but then Sadness beat me.. so here it is anyway. Antarctica Unspecifieds (AUS) Burma Imperialists (BUR) Cancun Tornados (CUN) Web 2.0 Bloggers (WEB) Catcher: 1. '75 Carlton Fisk / Bill Freehan (WEB) 2. '51 Yogi Berra - Backup: Lance Parrish (AUS) 3. '56 Roy Campanella - Backup: Roger Bresnahan (CUN) 4. '55 Smokey Burgess/'84 Carlton Fisk (BUR) 5. '95 Chris Hoiles (JAX) I like the Fisk/Freehan platoon slightly more than the greatest MLB catcher just because the platoon is going to be better over a 162 game season that than Yogi's 100-120 games and Lances 42-60. Roy Campanella either hit .200 or .400 (park adjusted) in real life, but the SL smooths that over to 'solidly average' and his backup is too young. Smokey Burgess just isn't in the same league as the other guys who are all top 5 catchers. Hoiles is a liability. First Base: 1. Lou Gehrig (WEB) 2. '94 Jeff Bagwell (BUR) 3. '11 Miguel Cabrera (AUS) 4. '95 Rafael Palmeiro/'72 Harmon Killebrew (JAX) 5. '02 Joe Kelley/'56 Gil Hodges (CUN) You can argue with my ranking of the top 3 - they are all flawed. Gehrig will be the best ever, but this Gehrig is not yet there, Bagwell's value is from walks which are harder to come by in the SL and Cabrera just isn't as good as the other two in normal circumstances, but he might be better in SL circumstances. Ultimately I think it's a coinflip who will do best. Palmeiro just isn't good enough, but Killebrew is an exciting option as caddy/pinch hitter. Joe Kelley will hit 3 homers and steal over 40 bases, and is one of the first parts of UDQ's 'speed in the corner power up the middle' strategy, but I'd rather steal 3 bases and hit 20 homers. Second Base: 1. '11 Eddie Collins (BUR) 2. '18 Rogers Hornsby (AUS) 3. 2010 Robinson Cano (WEB) 4. '72 Rod Carew (JAX) 5. Ancient Jackie Robinson / Fired by the Indians for being '24 Riggs Stephenson (CUN) / Many unsatisfactory options (CUN) Eddie Collins has a great hit tool, good defence and no power. Hornsby has a good hit tool, good power and no defence. Also, racism. Cano has great defence, good power and a poor hit tool. Carew is just OK compared to the other guys. UltimoDragonQuest wants and needs a new 2nd base guy. Third Base: 1. '02 John McGraw/'35 Joe Cronin (CUN) 2. 2008 David Wright (JAX) 3. '54 Eddie Matthews/'91 Matt Williams (BUR) 4. '11 Home Run Baker (AUS) 5. '68 Eddie Matthews/2011 Kevin Youkilis (WEB) John McGraw is an aging OBP machine who has a legitmate hall of fame case outside of his managerial career. David Wright hits, defends, and takes walks - he's very Santo like and given Santo's large base of SL success, that makes me think the Jobbers are onto a winner here. Young Eddie Mathews is a good all around player, and Matt Williams is a useful complementry piece if he only has to hit lefties, but the Matt Matt platoon still doesn't have a bat good as McGraw's. Frank Baker lacks power, but I still like him more than ancient Eddie Mathews. Short Stop: 1. '58 Ernie Banks (CUN) 2. 2008 Jose Reyes (JAX) 3. '82 Robin Yount (WEB) 4. '97 Derek Jeter (AUS) 5. '97 Roberto Alomar (BUR) I refuse to discuss Ernie Banks. I have no idea if Reyes is going to be good, but it's still the best middle infield in the division. Yount is just sort of there. Jeter is to young to be reliable - he's not really the fourth best shortstop in the division, bad Jeter is the fourth best. A good roll and he moves up to second, despite his defence. I have no idea why Martin Dihigio isn't the starting shortstop. Left Field: 1. '99 Barry Bonds (WEB) 2. '89 Rickey Henderson (BUR) 3. '01 Billy Hamilton/'02 Joe Kelley (CUN) 4. '10 Joe Jackson (AUS) 5. '72 Tony Oliva/'65 Frank Howard (JAX) Ser Barrold is the best hitter here by enough to make his numerous defects irrelevant. Of the rest, Rickey is the best power/speed combination, Jackson will hit a million doubles which is useful but not that useless and I note that Billy Hamilton 1901 and Billy Hamilton 2013 share the same name, position and speed so many Cincinnati has a future HoFer? Tony Oliva is a contact hitter who didn't get 2000 hits. This is a warning sign that the Jobbers apparently have ignored. Centre Field 1. '15 Tris Speaker (AUS) 2. '24 Tris Speaker (CUN) 3. '00 Jim Edmonds (BUR) 4. '90 Kirby Puckett (WEB) 5. '90 Ken Griffey, Jr. (JAX) None of these CFs are really great, and it's a close ranking. Tris is in the second tier of centre fielders, I prefer younger Tris to Older Tris, Jim has consistently been OK in the SL and that has to count for something, and Kirby is a fat bloke who punched a million doubles into the OF. He's a lot like Tris - a better glove, but less range and speed on the bases. Griffey is just kinda there I guess. I mean, it's close, Griffey could easily have a season better than old Speaker. Right Field: 1. '34 Mel Ott (JAX) 2. '56 Duke Snider/?? Steve, Prince of Fate (CUN) 3. '29 Paul Waner (AUS) 4. '32 Babe Herman/2001 Magglio Ordonez (WEB) 5. 2010 Lance Berkman/'89 Danny Tartabull (BUR) Mel Ott is great. Duke Snider is also great, though why he's platooned with King Kelly I will never know. Seriously, trade me King Kelly. Big Poison sort of defaults into the third spot because I like him more than Babe Herman, worst defender in history and while Launch Ballman is beloved by Mogul, this edition is seriously old and Danny Tartabull is seriously bad. Surfing the Pine 1. Platoon Partners/'02 Roger Bresnahan/'56 Jackie Robinson/2012 Mike Trout (CUN) Probably the best, but Ultimo is misusing his pieces imho. 2. '84 Lance Parrish/'89 George Brett/'70 Jim Fergosi/'65 Tony Oliva/'29 Pie Traynor/'10 Sam Crawford (AUS) Solid. 3. '75 Darrell Porter/'45 Snuffy Stirnweiss/'95 Cal Ripken/'93 Gary Sheffield/Platoon Partners (JAX) Some good pieces (Sheffield), so bad pieces (Snuffy!), and some old pieces ('95 Cal Ripken) 4. '68 Bill Freehan/'64 Luis Aparicio/2012 Andrew McCutchen/Platoon Partners (WEB) Freehan is good, but that credit is already reflected in the catcher rankings. The rest of them? Ehhhh. 5. Platoon Partners/2000 Placido Polanco/1980 Cesar Cedeno/2008 Carlos Beltran (BUR) I don't like this bench either. SP1: 1. Hilton Smith (BUR) 2. '56 Sandy Koufax (CUN) 3. '11 Chief Bender (WEB) 4. '72 Bert Blyleven (JAX) 5. '58 Whitey Ford (AUS) Smasher thinks Hilton Smith is better than I do. While the man has a 75% win percentage, and that's pretty amazing, he also had great run support. As a pitcher, I'd suggest a good comp is Wes Ferrell, rather than SL ace. However, as Smasher edits the player in, I'd suggest that's the opinion you consider. Koufax has always been good, Chief Bender is a deadballer with a slider, and Bert has a monster hook. Whitey Ford is.. well. Whitey Ford is a good pitcher, but against a lineup SL Righties, I'm not sure I want Whitey Ford in. SP 2: 1. 2003 Roy Halladay (CUN) 2. '84 Charlie Radbourn (WEB) 3. '82 Don Sutton (BUR) 4. '65 Jim Kaat (AUS) 5. '95 Mike Mussina (JAX) Halladay's strikeouts, generously proportioned stadium and speedy outfield get him the nod here, though it's close. Old Hoss never gives up homers and once won 59 games in one season, so there is that. Don Sutton is okay I guess and Jim Kaat is criminally underrated in real life but not here, and Mike Mussina has an artificially inflated W/L record that makes him look better than he is. SP 3: 1. Martin Dihigo (BUR) 2. '35 Lefty Grove (CUN) 3. '95 Kevin Brown (JAX) 4. '93 Tom Glavine (WEB) 5. '31 Tommy Bridges (AUS) I'm sure there is a good reason Martin isn't starting at short, I'm just not sure what that could be. Lefty Grove lead the league in ERA 8 times and that's pretty drat good. The other three are just SL filler - I like Brown the Pitcher, though not Brown the Person, so he gets third, and while I'm not sure Tom Glavine is better than Tommy Bridges, he was last season so let's go with that. SP 4: 1. '15 Joe Wood (BUR) 2. 2009 Cliff Lee (AUS) 3. '56 Don Drysdale (CUN) 4. 2008 Johan Santana (JAX) 5. '19 Claude Hendrix (WEB) Joe Wood is easily the class act here, pitching effectively and allowing few homers. Cliff Lee is Steve Bradbury'ing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z6GnUTVAF0 his way to success, as the rest of the pack is fatally flawed. Rookie Drysdale is a lottery ticket, but that's still good enough for 3rd. Santana suffers from the SL power leftie blues and Claude Hendrix just wasn't good to begin with. SP5 1. '19 Hippo Vaughn (WEB) 2. '68 Tommy John (JAX) 3. '56 Don Newcombe (CUN) 4. '70 Andy Messersmith (BUR) 5. 2012 Jered Weaver (AUS) Hippo Vaughn is a really good pitcher, as long as you keep him away from dogs, or people that want to talk to him about dogs. Newcombe is a bit old, has a fly ball problem and his drinking problem is just beginning, so he could be good or bad Don could come back. Tommy Johns has a good infield, so should do well, , and as a man who relied on his grade A fastball, that is a warning sign, Messersmith is OK I guess and Weaver is a lottery ticket. 1. '08 Billy Wagner/'84 Dennis Eckersley/'93 Trevor Hoffman (JAX) The Jobbers have the best bullpen in the superleague I think. 2. '89 Dennis Eckersley/'94 John Wetteland/'93 Mark Wohlers (ANT) These guys are just kinda bad. 3. 2007 Jonathan Papelbon/2000 Mike Timlin/2011 Matt Thornton (BUR) It speaks to the quality of SL bullpens that this comes in third. 4. '86 Jesse Orosco/'90 Rick Aguilera/'64 Al McBean (WEB) Like Burma, except not as good! 5. '72 Sparky Lyle/'92 Jeff Montgomery/'68 John Hiller (CUN) Vomit. Cthulhu Dreams fucked around with this message at 14:32 on Mar 4, 2013 |
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Mar 4, 2013 09:28
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 Johnny Pesky and Jim Rice off platoons for now. Also move Parnell up to SP3 Gonna wait on the other platoons before I make any drastic decisions there, but I'll move those guys down to Injury Replacements for now.
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Mar 4, 2013 09:53
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My underpaid agents will be coming by the Commissars office to But drat, was the EC class this bad hitting wise that my pitcher were able to blind me like that? But clearly I need to act fast. CVE fucked around with this message at 14:26 on Mar 4, 2013 |
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Mar 4, 2013 14:18
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Cthulhu Dreams posted:Cano has great defence, good power and a poor hit tool.  "Robinson Cano has a poor hit tool." WHAT?! Robinson Cano's worst BA in the majors was .278 and that's in a year where his BABIP was 40 points off its career average. And, Cano has a 11.8 strikeout percentage over his years in the majors, as opposed to a 17.8% mark for the rest of the majors. Cano is very, very good at putting a bat on a ball. BrooklynBruiser fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Mar 4, 2013 |
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Mar 4, 2013 19:55
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Yeah, Cthulhu is often bizarre in his descriptions and off in his assessments, and so rapacious in trade talks, I stand gobsmacked that people trust him for advice.
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Mar 4, 2013 20:22
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Viscount Slim posted:Yeah, Cthulhu is often bizarre in his descriptions and off in his assessments, and so rapacious in trade talks, I stand gobsmacked that people trust him for advice. Non-Euclidean baseball is all but impossible for mortal minds to comprehend.
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Mar 4, 2013 20:29
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| # ? May 30, 2024 17:48 |
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Gabriel Pope posted:Non-Euclidean baseball is all but impossible for mortal minds to comprehend. "No recognised school of statistics had studied this terrible subject, yet centuries and even thousands of years seemed recorded in its dim and greenish surface of squamous spreadsheets."
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Mar 4, 2013 20:33
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