Sunday, May 31, 2015

LCS Game 6 Complete

And there will be a Game 7!


Friday, May 29, 2015

Batting Records Set this Year

Not many at all, but here are the list of records and new entrants into the top 10

New Records

  • SF - 16, Rickey Henderson (JFC)
That's it!

New Top 10s
  • SLG - .653, Babe Ruth (FFL), 7th
  • OPS - 1.076, Babe Ruth (FFL), 10th
  • RC -- 170, Lou Gehrig (ANK), 7th
  • R --- 134, Babe Ruth (FFL), 10th
  • TB -- 410, Lou Gehrig (ANK), 5th
  • H --- 232, Roger Connor (ROC), 9th
  • H --- 231, Harry Heilmann (OAS), 10th
  • 2B -- 63, Fred Dunlap (ROC), 6th
  • 2B -- 62, Hugh Duffy (DHA), 9th
  • EBH - 100, Babe Ruth (FFL), 7th
  • HBP - 45, Hughie Jennings (GAL), 8th
  • PA -- 776, Hugh Duffy (DHA), 10th
  • AB -- 711, Hugh Duffy (DHA), 8th
  • SB% - 84%, Maury Wills (DEN), 2nd
  • SB% - 82%, Oscar Charleston (SHA), 6th
  • SB% - 82%, Paul Molitor (DEN), 9th
  • SH -- 18, Eddie Collins (ROC), 4th
  • SH -- 16, Fred Dunlap (ROC), 5th
  • SH -- 15, Johnny Evers (SPA), 9th

NL Cy Young Award

1) 65 Points-Pedro Martinez - (13, 0, 0 / 13 ballots)
2) 16 Points-Bill Bernhard - (0, 4, 4 / 8 ballots)
3) 10 Points-Christy Mathewson - (0, 3, 1 / 4 ballots)
4) 9 Points-Justin Verlander - (0, 2, 3 / 5 ballots)
5) 9 Points-Joe Wood - (0, 3, 0 / 3 ballots)
6) 5 Points-Walter Johnson - (0, 1, 2 / 3 ballots)
7) 3 Points-Noodles Hahn - (0, 1, 0 / 1 ballots)
8) 2 Points-Randy Jones - (0, 0, 2 / 2 ballots)

No surprises here as Pedro Martinez of Sparta likely put together the best season of all time for a starting pitcher.  Martinez's final line was a beauty:

21-6, 1.21 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 258 IP, 153 H, 276 K, 1.58 RCERA.

He basically led every stat category that holds much meaning:

  • ERA
  • W
  • CG
  • ShO
  • K
  • K/9
  • K/BB
  • WHIP
  • Opp OPS
  • RCERA
  • CERA
  • RSAA
Most of these were by very large margins.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

LCS Game 4's: Complete

Lakeveiw Ties It

AL Cy Young Award

1) 36 Points-Harvey Haddix - (6, 1, 3 / 10 ballots)
2) 30 Points-Brett Saberhagen - (4, 3, 1 / 8 ballots)
3) 18 Points-Dennis Eckersley - (3, 1, 0 / 4 ballots)
4) 11 Points-Chris Carpenter - (0, 2, 5 / 7 ballots)
5) 10 Points-Addie Joss - (0, 3, 1 / 4 ballots)
6)  7 Points-Mike Cuellar - (0, 2, 1 / 3 ballots)
7)  5 Points-Randy Johnson - (0, 1, 2 / 3 ballots)

In another close race, Harvey Haddix of Willets Point bests Brett Saberhagen.  Haddix appeared on more ballots and garnered more first place votes than Saberhagen so there is no controversy here.  Haddix went 17-5 with a 1.17 WHIP, 3.31 RCERA, -28.6 RSAA in 230 IP.  Haddix didn't lead the league in any one category, though, was 4th worst in home runs given up.  Voters seemingly respected the win total and he was the best with a high wins and good rate stats.

Also of note, reliever Dennis Eckersley stole some votes from Haddix and Sabe's, coming in third.

Early Game - Ankhana Sweeps

Bad time for Spanish Harlemm to go cold.

http://www.alltimebaseballsim.net/championship_series_atbxvii.htm

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

LCS Game 3 Complete


National League MVP

1) 45 Points-Babe Ruth - (7, 3, 1 / 11 ballots)
2) 44 Points-Ted Williams - (5, 6, 1 / 12 ballots)
3) 18 Points-Oscar Charleston - (1, 3, 4 / 8 ballots)
4) 6 Points-Tip O'Neill - (0, 1, 3 / 4 ballots)
5) 2 Points-Dan Brouthers - (0, 0, 2 / 2 ballots)
6) 1 Points-John McGraw - (0, 0, 1 / 1 ballots)
7) 1 Points-Mike Schmidt - (0, 0, 1 / 1 ballots)

It doesn't get any closer than that.  Babe Ruth of Flin Flon takes home the NL MVP hardware.  He was left off more ballots than send place finisher Ted Williams (Lakeview) but secured more first place votes than the Splendid Splinter to narrowly win.

Ruth was a powerhouse, batting .278 / .422 / .653 with a 1.076 OPS, 46 2B, 54 HR, 134 R, and 129 RBI.  Overall, he led the NL in ATB Value, ATB Value+, SLG, OPS, RC, RC/27, HR, EBH, TB, R, and RBI.  Not a bad year!

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

LCS Game 2 Complete

A pair of 6-5 games with some memorable managerial duels

Tune in Tonight 9 PM!!

Both games will be managed by ATB owners, which adds a great dynamic to the game.

http://alltimebaseballsim.blogspot.com/www.anymeeting.com/alltimebaseball1

9 PM is the NL, 9:30 PM AL

American League MVP

1) 51 Points-Lou Gehrig - (10, 0, 1 / 11 ballots)
2) 20 Points-Fred Dunlap - (2, 3, 1 / 6 ballots)
3) 16 Points-Ross Barnes - (0, 4, 4 / 8 ballots)
4) 9 Points-Rogers Hornsby - (1, 1, 1 / 3 ballots)
5) 7 Points-Barry Bonds - (0, 1, 4 / 5 ballots)
6) 4 Points-Bill Terry - (0, 1, 1 / 2 ballots)
7) 9 Points-George Brett - (0, 3, 0 / 3 ballots)
8) 1 Points-Willie Wells - (0, 0, 1 / 1 ballots)


Lou Gehrig of Ankhana handily wins the American League MVP.  The Designated Hitter was easily the best hitter in the league, batting .325 / .408 / .631 with a 1.039 OPS, 56 2B, 39 HR, 126 R, and 129 RBI.  He led the league in ATB Value +, SLG, OPS, RC, RC27, R, and RBI.

He was left off two ballots because he didn't play the field and some voters found that to be a differentiator for overall value.

Six of the remaining seven vote getters were infielders.  It doesn't mean anything, but found it interesting.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Sunday, May 24, 2015

LCS Previews

First - the league championship page is up.

Second, we have some wonderful matchups and arguably the four best teams in ATB facing off to represent their respective leagues in the World Series.  Starting in the American League we have a marquee matchup with the two best AL teams of ATB 17 and the two highest ranked owners of all time - Lou P and Justin P.

These are two evenly matched teams constructed in similar fashion - Good  pitching, great hitting with a nod towards on base percentage, and above average defense.  This has become the "ATB way" for a while now, and while admittedly a bit boring, it has proven to a great way to accumulate wins.

Lou P's Adventurers had a better offense during the regular season, but they are without star catcher and 2nd round draft pick Bill Dickey.  Top to bottom Justin's offense is probably a notch above, but the best hitter on the field is Ankhana's MVP front runner, Lou Gehrig.

Pitching wise, we have another matchup that is simply too close to call.  During the regular season Spanish Harlem had an advantage, but in a short series the playing field is leveled a bit.  Ankhana will toss their ace starter Addie Joss three times and will have Reliever of the Year front runner Dennis Eckersley on full rest.  Spanish Harlem counters with a more balanced rotation and a deeper bullpen.  The wild card may be 2nd starter Kevin Brown who has struggled at times this year, but throughout ATB history has been a well above average pitcher.

Overall, this series is a toss up and will be exciting to watch (and take part in).

In the National League we have a good old fashion good vs evil matchup.  Playing the role of the evil empire is Brian B and his Lakeview Zero's.  Why evil?  Remember the contentious trades during the summer where Brian was able to land stars Heavy Johnson and Greg Maddux, and add them to a team that already starred Ted Williams and King Kelly?  Not to mention Brian also added solid players as well such as Boog Powell and Kevin Millwood.

Why is Shamokin the good guys?  Work ethic.  The Miners were biggest losers in those trades and after voicing their opinion once, put their collective heads down and played hard every day.  Common opinion thought the trades would tip the balance in the AL West but day in and day out, Shamoking kept winning and in fact, by the end of the season increased their lead to 5 games.

What should we expect over the next 10 days?  Frankly, I am not sure.  I too thought Lakeview would end up the best team in the NL and they may still have the advantage in this series.  They arguably have the best middle of the order in baseball (although a relatively weak back end) and have Maddux starting 3 times to boot.  Shamokin counters with simple quality and every position.  Every batter has an ATB Value + over 100 and 3 of 4 starters have ERA's between 3.10 and 3.20.  Their defense is a notch or two better than Lakeview as well.

This series may just come down to each team's star players stepping up.   And that may be trouble for Shamokin - Oscar Charleston is the best overall player on either team, but can he hit his stride in order to keep Maddux, Williams, and Johnson from getting their way?

Tune in to find out.  Starting Monday, games will be broadcast and 9 and 9:30 PM each night, though, sometimes our real lives do get in the way.

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Thursday, May 21, 2015

LDS Game 5's Complete

Managing your team is about as fun as it gets, thanks Matt, great game!

Sunday, May 17, 2015

LDS Game 1s Complete

http://www.alltimebaseballsim.net/division_series_ATBXVII.htm

Live Broadcast Link

Three games will be broadcast tonight, starting at 9:30 PM

anymeeting.com/525-019-803

(Very) Quick Series Previews

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Dharma Islanders (92-70) vs Spanish Harlem Pinata Beaters (98-64)
This is not another blatant attempt at a reverse jinx (tuly!) but the Pinata Beaters are likely the best team in ATB.  While they started slow, they more than made up for it in the second half and since August 1st they are a blistering 44-20.  Turkey Steanres (.313 / .347 / .575 since August 1) has turned it around and even Kevin Brown has shown signs of life after a season long funk.  Overall, this team has a top 3 offense and the best pitching staff in the American League.

This will be a considerable challenge for Dharma who lost 8 of 12 during the regular season against them.  With names like Bill Swift, Camillo Pascual, Kevin Appier, and Matt Harvey it does come as a bit of a surprise how good the rotation is on paper, and overall the team has given up the third fewest runs in the American League.  The lineup is defensive first, runs scoring second.  Dharma needs Jason Giambi (.784 OPS) to come up big in order to have a chance in this series.


Willets Point "Mechanics" (95-67) vs Ankhana Adventurers (100-62)
This is arguably the premier matchup of all the Division Series games.  Only three playoff teams cracked the +100 run differential and two of them are facing off in this AL matchup.   On paper, Ankhana has the edge thanks to a 48 run advantage in RD, the best record in baseball, and a 7 game winning streak to close out the season.  Conversely, Willets Point limped into the playoffs with a sub-.500 record in September and lost the Division title to Spanish Harlem during the last sim of play.

The Mechanics are well balanced (2nd in RA and 5th in RS) and feature 17- and 19 game winners in Harvey Haddix and Brett Saberhagen.  Almost every spot in the lineup is above average with shortstop Willie Wells leading the way thanks to 37 home runs and 103 RBI.  Ankhana counters with a high octane offense led by Lou Gehrig (1.039 OPS, 127 RBI), decent starting pitching, and the best reliever in the game, Dennis Eckersley (13-7, 1.74 ERA, 155 IP).  If the 6-6 record against each other in the regular season is any indication, this series should go at least six games.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Lakeview Zeros (91-71)vs Grumman Hellcats (92-70)
A rivalry in name since the draft, these two teams are direct opposites of each other.  Grumman has great defense at almost every spot in the lineup and it has helped their rotation immensely.  Employing a 4-man all season long, three hurlers achieved at least 17 wins and three has ERA's under 3.40.   Despite a losing record, Justin Verlander appears to the best of the bunch with a 2.85 ERA.  No single player in the lineup will cause an inordinate amount of fear for the opposing club, but make no mistake, any batter can hit the ball out at any time.  Mike Schmidt hit 49 home runs this year, and four other Hellcats cracked 30.  And everyone in the lineup hit at least 16.

While Grumman has pop, they also have some gaping holes.  Namely, their team .229 batting average is a liability and is exactly what Lakeview does best.  The Zero's are batting .282 / .350 / ..411 as a team and have scored the second most runs in the National League.  Their lineup is admittedly star heavy, but that may not matter much with Ted Williams, King Kelly, and Heavy Johnson in the heart of the order.  The key for Lakeviews success rests on the right arm of Greg Maddux.  The much debated mid season trade for the star hurler is settled right now, depending upon his success.  Lakeview narrowly took the season series 7-5 and there is no reason to think this will be a short series either.

Sparta Hoplites (87-75) vs Shamokin Miners (96-66)
The Hoplites have a remarkable pitching staff, one that obliterated the all time ATB record for fewest runs allowed.  The previous best was 540 runs allowed, set by both Spanish Harlem and Dos Equis last season.  In ATB 17, the Hoplites allowed just 508.  And to make matters worse for Shamokin, this was accomplished with Pedro pitching every 5 days.  In the playoffs, he may go every 3rd start and with a line of 21-6, 1.57 ERA, and you can easily see how Sparta can win this series.  However, in order to win, the Hoplites must score and they have a weak offense, one that scored only 588 runs.

Shamokin counters with a well balanced attack, and they had the best record in the NL for a reason.  Third in the National League in both run scoring and run prevention during the regular season,   Oscar Charleston (.928 OPS) and Dan Brouthers (.895 OPS) led the offense, while Johnny Podres (3.14 ERA) and Randy Jones (3.20 ERA) are the co-aces.  They key to the the Miners success is likely the bullpen.  While they are above average, they have no elite standouts and can be beat.  Head to head, Shamokin won 7 of 12 and did best Pedro in one of his two starts.  

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Tentative Broadcast Schedule and Updated Division Series Page

I can't broadcast 4 games per night so I posted a tenative schedule on the LDS page.  Basically, I will buckle down and broadcast 4 games for series opener and Game 7s, but in between we'll switch off with one night the NL and the next for the AL.  Things will change a bit I am sure based upon everyone's schedule.

LDS site is here.  So far, only Justin P and myself have signed up to manage.  Please let me know if you are interested.


Division Series Page is Up

http://www.alltimebaseballsim.net/division_series_ATBXVII.htm

It's also permanently linked on the right hand menu.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Players of the Week

Babe Ruth (FFL): .405 / .511 / 1.189, 1.700 OPS, 8 HR, 15 R, 16 RBI

Johnny Cueto (BRO): 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 18 IP, 5 H, 6 BB, 12 K, 0.61 WHIP, 0.54 RCERA

Regular Season Complete!

Sorry about lack of updates this week, the job had me in Chicago but I got to see two Cubs games (my first time at Wrigley) so it wasn't a total loss.

Playoffs will begin Sunday night.  Playoff teams - lineups due ASAP.  The games will be broadcast live for those interested, and if both owners want to manage we can arrange that too.  Managing is subsititions only, and does not include game tactics.

Because of the travel, I am woefully behind on some reporting and establishing the playoff website.  I'll get to that as soon as I can.

Also, league reports page is back to normal.

Finally, congrats to all the playoff owners and a hearty thank you to everyone - participation was top notch this season, several owners submitted more than 20 lineups.

Here are the playoff matchups.

American League
Willets Point (95-67, +112) @ Ankhana (100-62, +160)
Dharma (92-70, +52) @ Spanish Harlem (98-64, +178)

National League
Lakeview (91-71, +128) @ Grumman (92-70, +56)
Sparta (87-75, +80) @ Shamokin (96-66, +93)

Friday, May 8, 2015

Players of the Week

Turkey Stearnes (SPH): ,393 / .435 / .750, 6 2B, 4 HR, 9 R, 19 RBI

Walter Johnson (HOB): 1-1, 0.45 ERA, 20.1 IP, 12 H, 3 BB, 14 K

Standings Summary


With only 9 or 10 games left in the regular season, the playoff teams have all but been finalized in the American League.  However, the race in the AL East is not over yet and the loser will have to square of against the team with the best record in baseball, at least as of today.

Willets Point closes the season as with tough matchups, and do not have a winning record against any team the face:
1 - Ankhana (5-5 H2H so far)
3 - New Orleans (3-6)
3 @ Hudson (2-4)
3 - Hudson (2-4)
1 @ Ankhana (5-5)

On the other hand, Spanish Harlem has a winning record against every they team face the rest of the way.
1 - Rochester (7-3 H2H so far)
2 - Ankhana (6-4)
3 @ New Orleans (5-1)
3 - New Orleans (5-1)
1 @ Rochester (7-3)

Since August 1st the Pinata Beaters have a 4 game advantage of the "Mechanics" and if the trend continues through Sim 13 they'll win the division.

If the two teams tie for the division title we'll follow the MLB rules and have a 1 game playoff to determine division winner and wild card.  

If there is a three way tie for best record in the American League, Ankhana would obviously be the AL Central champions, and the winner of the 1 game playoff would be crowned the team with the best record in the AL by the fact they played 1 more regular season game and therefore have a higher winning percentage.  I couldn't find the MLB rules on this one, so if anyone knows otherwise feel free to chime in.


Things are a bit simpler in the NL.  Lets call the NL East and NL West races over, and Lakeview has a 6 game lead in the Wild Card so lets declare that all but over as well.  That leaves the NL Central where up until last night, I would have declared the race over thanks to a 5.5 game lead from Sparta.  

That lead is now down to 3.5 games and it is still plausible, if unlikely, that Flin Flon could catch them.  Sparta had 9 games left and if they win 5 of them, Flin Flon would need to go on a tear, winning 9 of their last 10.

Elsewhere
Lets also take a moment to congratulate the Miners, Zeros, Hellcats, and Islanders on closing the season in fine fashion.  Their records since August 1

  • DHA: 28-21, 3rd best in the AL
  • GRU: 28-23, overtook GAL (25-26) for the division crown 
  • SHA: 31-21, best record in NL.  Must feel good after some of the trade debate
  • LAK: 25-24, they struggled a bit, but were doing some major tinkering with the lineup.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Sim 12E Complete



AL East
0.0 - Willets Point
0.5 - Spanish Harlem


AL Central
0.0  - Ankhana
15.0 - Hudson

AL West
0.0  - Dharma
16.0 - Denver

AL Wild Card
0.0 - Spanish Harlem
6.6 - Oasis

NL East
0.0 - Grumman
5.5 - Galaxy

NL Central
0.0 - Sparta
3.5 - Flin Flon

NL West
0.0 - Shamokin
4.5 - Lakeview

NL Wild Card
0.0 - Lakeview
6.0 - Galaxy

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Sim 12D Complete


AL East
0.0 - Willets Point
1.5 - Spanish Harlem


AL Central
0.0  - Ankhana
15.5 - Hudson

AL West
0.0  - Dharma
15.0 - Denver

AL Wild Card
0.0 - Spanish Harlem
4.5 - Oasis

NL East
0.0 - Grumman
7.0 - Galaxy

NL Central
0.0 - Sparta
6.5 - Flin Flon

NL West
0.0 - Shamokin
5.0 - Lakeview

NL Wild Card
0.0 - Lakeview
6.5 - Galaxy

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Sim 12C Complete

AL East Race Does Matter as the Loser Faces Off Against Ankhana


AL East
0.0 - Willets Point
1.0 - Spanish Harlem


AL Central
0.0  - Ankhana
14.5 - Hudson

AL West
0.0  - Dharma
13.0 - Denver

AL Wild Card
0.0 - Spanish Harlem
4.5 - Oasis

NL East
0.0 - Grumman
6.5 - Galaxy

NL Central
0.0 - Sparta
4.5 - Flin Flon

NL West
0.0 - Shamokin
4.0 - Lakeview

NL Wild Card
0.0 - Lakeview
7.0 - Galaxy

Box Score Issue from 12B

Box scores from last nights sim are not posting correctly.  I thought I rectified the issue earlier today but no such luck. I won't be able to correct until tonight when Sim 12C is run.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Sim 12B Complete



Races
AL East
0.0 - Willets Point
3.0 - Spanish Harlem


AL Central
0.0  - Ankhana
14.5 - Hudson

AL West
0.0  - Dharma
15.0 - Denver

AL Wild Card
0.0 - Spanish Harlem
5.5 - Oasis

NL East
0.0 - Grumman
5.5 - Galaxy

NL Central
0.0 - Sparta
3.5 - Flin Flon

NL West
0.0 - Shamokin
4.5 - Lakeview

NL Wild Card
0.0 - Lakeview
7.0 - Galxay

Players of the Week

From last week!

Cliff Lee (FFL): 3-0, 0.33 ERA, 27 IP, 13 H, 0 BB, 17 K

Tip O'Neill (P10): .431 / .450 / .776, 6 2B, 4 HR, 11 R, 11 RBI

American League Standings Charts





National League Standings Charts







Pedro on Par to Have Greatest Season Ever

These numbers do actually speak for themselves:

20-4, 1.52 ERA, 231.1 IP, 132 H, 43 BB, 246 K, 5.1 H/9, .459 OOPS
plus
0.75 WHIP, 1.46 RCERA, 1.28 CERA, .164 oppenents batting average.

There has been no better season ins the 17 year history of ATB and Pedro, with 4 or 5 more starts, just needs to avoid imploding to set a myriad of records.  Below are some of the single season marks he is gunning for.

W - 23, Addie Joss (OFB) and Greg Maddux (WPM)
ERA - 1.92, Greg Maddux (WPM)
WHIP - 0.87, Pedro Martinez (MEN)
RCERA - 2.04, Pedro Martinez (MEN), Mort Cooper (JMF)
CERA - 1.78, Pedro Martinez (P10)
H/9 - 5.7, Russ Ford (HH)
OOPS - .523, Greg Maddux (P10)

PS.  Sorry for the jinx Sean

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Sim 12 Complete



Races
AL East
0.0 - Willets Point
4.0 - Spanish Harlem

AL Central
0.0  - Ankhana
14.5 - Hudson

AL West
0.0  - Dharma
14.5 - Denver

AL Wild Card
0.0 - Spanish Harlem
5.5 - Oasis

NL East
0.0 - Grumman
4.0 - Galaxy

NL Central
0.0 - Sparta
3.0 - Flin Flon

NL West
0.0 - Shamokin
5.5 - Lakeview

NL Wild Card
0.0 - Lakeview
5.0 - Galxay