Thursday, September 22, 2016

Great Story About the Time the KC A's Tried to Make their Park like Yankee Stadium

Love me some Joe Poz

http://joeposnanski.com/pennant-porch-and-the-great-american-ballpark/

No team had ever given up 200 home runs in a season before 1964. The closest had been … the 1962 Kansas City Athletics, who gave up 199. Well, the Kansas City Athletics did love to give up the the long ball. The 1956 Athletics still hold the record for most homers allowed to one team … you can guess the team. That was the year Mickey Mantle won the triple crown, and he hit nine of his 52 homers against the A’s. Even more impressively, Hank Bauer hit 10 of his 26 homers against the A’s, and Yogi Berra hit nine of his 30 homers against the A’s. All in all, the Yankees hit an astonishing 56 home runs in 22 games against Kansas City.
Well, Athletics owner Charlie Finley thought he knew the real secret to the Yankees success.
For Charlie, it all came down to the dimensions at Yankee Stadium.
It is unclear how exactly this loony idea came into Finley’s head. Finley would tell people he picked it up from the manager of the 1964 A’s — former Yankee star pitcher Eddie Lopat — but to be fair to Lopat he publicly repudiated the idea over and over. Anyway, crazy ideas floated into Finley’s head all the time, some of them semi-fun (brightly colored uniforms, fun nicknames like “Catfish” Hunter and “Blue Moon” Odom, bonuses to players growing mustaches, hiring a young MC Hammer to hang around the Oakland A’s) and some of them semi-crazy (orange baseballs, a poison pen award to his least favorite sportswriters, a mascot mule called “Charley O,” etc.).

Be sure to read the whole article.

Thursday, June 9, 2016

All Time Leaderboard Updated

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

The only new record set was a new Innings Pitched record.  Walter Johnson beat his own record by 2, tossing 321 innings this eason.

There were many updates to the top 10, especially pitching.  The link above takes you to the main history page, these two are included on the main page, but listed here for quick access to single season leaders.

Single Season Pitching Leaders
Single Season Batting Leaders

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Expectations: 1st pick 90 wins, 2nd pick 74 wins?

The chart below depicts the # of wins by draft slot for each of the past 5 years.  Unsurprisingly, when you luck into the #1 draft pick you can expect 90 wins, the highest win expectancy of any slot.  Very strangely however, if you draft 2nd you can expect just 74 wins.  This makes little sense:



The only explanation I can come up with is sample size.  Here are the top 3 picks in each of the past 5 drafts:


All Time Manager Rankings - New #1

Congrats to Justin P who now owns 5 titles in 18 years, which has vaulted him in to the overall lead for Manager Power Rankings.

1) 658 Pts - Justin Petronzi (0 Chg)
2) 650 Pts - Lou Poulas (-1 Chg)
3) 629 Pts - Mike Smitko (0 Chg)
4) 609 Pts - Steve Chippendale (0 Chg)
5) 589 Pts - Jason Bernarndon (0 Chg)
6) 577 Pts - Sean Seeley (0 Chg)
7) 561 Pts - Brad Peterson (0 Chg)
8) 543 Pts - David Kuenn (0 Chg)
9) 543 Pts - Johnny Kondovski (0 Chg)
10) 540 Pts - Elliot Goldbetter (0 Chg)
13) 532 Pts - TJ Olszewski (-1 Chg)
12) 528 Pts - Joe Terry (-1 Chg)
14) 523 Pts - Matt Brody (-1 Chg)
11) 513 Pts - Mike Murphy (20 Chg)
16) 512 Pts - Jeff Burns (-1 Chg)
17) 512 Pts - Mike Thanasides & Zach Bernstein (-1 Chg)
19) 511 Pts - Brian Barnes (-1 Chg)
18) 509 Pts - Shotgun Spratling (-1 Chg)
15) 505 Pts - Joe Valenzano (-1 Chg)
20) 494 Pts - Jay Seeley (-1 Chg)
21) 484 Pts - Ivar Anderson (-1 Chg)
22) 483 Pts - Joe Poulas (-1 Chg)
23) 474 Pts - Leanne Sarubbi (-1 Chg)
25) 455 Pts - Greg Murphy (22 Chg)
24) 447 Pts - Jay Hattem (-1 Chg)
26) 434 Pts - Kevin Crowley (-2 Chg)
27) 405 Pts - Gary Gambino (-2 Chg)
28) 382 Pts - Allen Cherulnik  (-2 Chg)
29) 306 Pts - Justin Burnson (-2 Chg)
30) 306 Pts - Scott Carter (-2 Chg)
31) 303 Pts - Joel Quey (NA Chg)
32) 297 Pts - Mike Green (-3 Chg)
33) 285 Pts - Justin Bossert (-3 Chg)
34) 275 Pts - Bruce Nalepka (-2 Chg)
35) 273 Pts - David Inlow (NA Chg)
36) 260 Pts - Michael Rippe (-3 Chg)
40) 260 Pts - Tony Pelligrino (NA Chg)
37) 256 Pts - Larry Caggiano (-3 Chg)
39) 254 Pts - Thomas Richards (NA Chg)
38) 244 Pts - Will Gabel (NA Chg)
41) 238 Pts - Steve Gray / Tommy Bligh (-6 Chg)
42) 235 Pts - Jim Nugent (-6 Chg)
43) 235 Pts - Richard Madachik (-6 Chg)
44) 235 Pts - Stephen Lee (NA Chg)
45) 234 Pts - Matt Hinzpeter (-5 Chg)
46) 231 Pts - Mike Wishnick (-5 Chg)
47) 231 Pts - Scott Salley (-5 Chg)
48) 225 Pts - Dennis Slinger (-5 Chg)
49) 225 Pts - Ted Knorr (-5 Chg)
50) 225 Pts - Richard G (NA Chg)
52) 221 Pts - Ben Matsil (-4 Chg)
51) 216 Pts - John J (NA Chg)
53) 216 Pts - Bob Lessard (-4 Chg)
54) 216 Pts - PJ Dodds (-4 Chg)
59) 216 Pts - Al Hastick (-4 Chg)
55) 213 Pts - Paul Nebenfuer (-4 Chg)
56) 210 Pts - Devon Eckhart (-4 Chg)
57) 210 Pts - Andy Matsil (-4 Chg)
58) 210 Pts - Greg Stillwagon (-4 Chg)
60) 207 Pts - Jason Schwartz (-4 Chg)
61) 198 Pts - John Wolford (-4 Chg)
62) 194 Pts - Chris Kelly (-4 Chg)
63) 192 Pts - Adam Bloomquist (-4 Chg)
64) 188 Pts - Rod Aukamp (-4 Chg)
65) 188 Pts - Adam Luther (-4 Chg)
66) 185 Pts - Lee Wykes (-4 Chg)
67) 185 Pts - Bill Nyman (-4 Chg)
68) 173 Pts - Paul Taschereau Jr (-4 Chg)
69) 167 Pts - Neil Book (-4 Chg)
70) 164 Pts - Mario Iafrate & Russ Palmer (-4 Chg)


Here is a snapshot of all active owners.  Playing time counts, those owners with less years are penalized a bit so that a single great season or two doesn't score higher than 10 very good seasons (as an example).

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

The Most Boring Post Season Awards In Our History

Given the lateness of these I am not going to put the balloting up to owner vote, and instead rely on my own methods to determine our post season awards.  Feel free to gripe in the comments!  So many of these went to the perennial favorites to win the award in the first place - boring/

NL MVP - Barry Bonds, Cape Town
There really isn't a valid argument against Bonds.  He is by far the best hitter in the NL, his OPS a full 246 points better than his closest competition.  The left fielder batter .303 .457 / .688 with 61 HR, 138 R, and 160 RBI for a playoff team.

AL MVP - Babe Ruth, New Amsterdam
This was a much closer call than in the NL.  Ruth was clearly the best hitter on the year, belting 63 home runs, 127 Runs, and 136 RBI while maintaining a slash line of .262 / .419 / .653, 1.072 OPS.  He played right field this year as well, so no points were lost for being a DH.  The closest competition was from red Dunlap.  The Port Hawkesberry second basemen batted .337 / 394 / .517.  Even with defense, Ruth has too large of a batting margin for Dunlap to overcome.

NL Cy Young - Greg Maddux, Tattooine

No pitcher, perhaps in our history, has amassed as many quality innings as Maddux threw this season.  We'll let the stat line speak for itself:

20-10, 320 IP, 254 H, 2.05 ERA, 43 GS, 0.99 WHIP, 2.27 RCERA

Whit Wyatt (Martian) also had a comparable year, even a tad better in the rate stats, but tossed 100 fewer innings.

AL Cy Young - Pedro Martinez, Brooklyn
I really wanted to give this award to Seattle's Bill Benhard, and it is a classic case of determining what is more important - a lot of great innings vs few elite innings.  Let's break it down a bit:

.........PM......BB
W........15......22
IP.......238.....272
ERA......2.90....3.11
OOPS.....0.612...0.612
CG.......9.......15


By these measures, sure looks like Benhard was deserving.  But peeling back some of the analytical stats sheds some more light on the situation:

.........PM......BB
RCERA....2.65....2.83
CERA.....2.49....2.79

QS%......0.758...0.703
WHIP.....1.01....1.12
K/9......9.3.....3.5


To me, Pedro was clearly a more effective pitcher, and given that he pitched a full season - 238 innings -  and not something like 150, he gets the award.

NL Reliever of the Year - Tug McGraw, Martian
I tried not to give this to someone who pitches in an extreme pitchers park, but McGraw was just too good this year:  9-2, 1.45 ERA, 33 Sv, 81 IP, 0.77 WHIP, 1.41 CERA.

AL Reliever of the Year - Joe Nathan, Port Hawkesberry
This was the closest race of any post season award.  Jeff Zimmerman (Fort Worth) had striking similar stats, and the difference proved to be sheer blown saves.  Nathan converted 90% of his opportunities, Zimmerman just 80%.  Nathan sported a 1.85 ERA in 83 innings, recording a 0.96 WHIP, 1.73 CERA, and 40 saves.


Friday, June 3, 2016

20 Resim Summary

1) Spanish Harlem Pinata Beaters
2) Hockenberry Scholics
3) Martian Manhunters
4) South Boston Sabermetrics
5) Camorr Gentleman Bastards
6) New Amsterdam Highlanders
7) Grumman Hellcats
8) Port Hawkesberry Puffins
9) Forth Worth Hunters
10) St Paul Doppelgangers
11) Jeff City Blausers
12) Seattle  Pilots
13) Richmond County Mudslingers
14) Lakeview Zeros
15) Cape Town Apostles
16) Shamokin Miners
17) Tatooine Solo Artists
18) Chatanooga Lookouts
19) Brooklyn Cyclones
20) Helena Handbasket
21) Fox City Foxes
22) Planet 10 Red Lectroids
23) Downsouth Brews
24) Appalachian Hillbillies


Also, here below are some high level charts - I will post the full suite of back up documents once I get home tonight.  If anyone wants a copy sooner I can email.

Keep in mind the rankings are determined by a myriad of factors, namely:

- Resim Winning Percentage
- Resim Run Differential
- Balanced Resim Winning Percentage
- Division Titles and Wild Card Births
- Divisional Strength




Saturday, May 14, 2016

Spanish Harlem Wins The World Series!

This is Justin P's 3rd Championship in 4 years - congrats!

Friday, May 13, 2016

Games 3 & 4 Complete

Series Tied!

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

World Series Page Up

Games 1 and 2 were completed last night, both owners are managing live.  Great stuff.   Beaters currently lead 2-0.

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


2 more games tonight at 8.30, watch here.

Monday, May 9, 2016

Sunday, May 8, 2016

LCS Game 1s Complete

League_Championship_series_ATBXVIII.htm

League Championship Page Posted

League_Championship_series_ATBXVIII.htm

Broadcast of the LCS Game 1's begins tonight at 8:30 PM.  DVR Game of Thrones.


  • ALCS - newcomer Ernie White (11-6, 2.33 ERA) vs ATB ace Nip Winters (20-9, 4.06)
  • NLCS - Two longtime ATB stallwarts - Jesse Tannehill (8-14, 3.21)vs Cy Blanton (16-11, 3.32)


Saturday, May 7, 2016

LDS Game 7's Complete

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

League Championship Series starts tomorrow (Sunday) night.  Lineups due 8 PM.

Friday, May 6, 2016

LDS Game 6's Complete

We have two game 7s!

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

No Broadcast Tonight

Sorry, i am not going to be around.  I will run the games and post the results though.

Monday, May 2, 2016

Division Series Game 2s Complete

All series knotted at 1-1

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

Broadcast Games Tonight

Join us tonight for Game 2!  Featured games are Hockenberry vs. Camorr and Jeff City vs. Martian.  We'll bill this as old vs old and new vs new:


  • Lou P is at the helm for Hockenberry and faces off against fellow 18 year veteran Mike S of Camorr.
  • Contrast that with sophomore Thomas R of Jeff City challenging ATB rookie, Joel Q.
Last nights broadcast was a doozy - an extra inning affair and a bottom of the 9th comeback.  

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Division Series Game 1's Complete!

Low scoring affairs all around, and 10th inning nail biter.

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

Broadcast Schedule

Two games per night are broadcast live.  If intestested, here is the link to the AnyMeeting conference page.  http://www.anymeeting.com/alltimebaseball1


Friday, April 29, 2016

Division Series Page Updated

With AL Matchups and Ball Park Factors for all teams

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

Port Hawkesberry Completes September Comeback, defeat Hockeberry 3-2

The heart of the order came through for the Puffins when it mattered, putting 3 runs on the board in the 3rd and 4th innings.  It would hold up behind a very good Orel Hershiser, who defeated the Scholics 3-2.  The Puffins completed a long-shot comeback, down 6.5 games at the start of September to capture the division crown in game 163.  Fred Dunlap had 2 RBI and Sam Thompson drilled a timely triple.

For their part, Hockenberry chose to keep their ace, Jake Arrieta on the bench to save him for the ALDS opener this Sunday.  Still, the defeat is bitter.

Here is th box.

In Round 1, Camorr will face Hockeberry while St Paul goes against Port Hawkesberry.

St Paul Avoid Biggest Collapse in ATB History, Defeats New Amsterdam 4-1

In a tension filled game, the Doppelgangers, behind Teddy Higuera who pitched extremely well, advance to the playoffs.  Offense was scarce and Eddice Cicotte joined Higuera in a tight pitchers duel, both pitching into the 8th inning while yielding lone runs.

St Paul broke the game open in the 8th with some timely pinch hitting.  Chuck Klein, stepping in for Cal Ripken, led off the inning with a rope single into the left field.  Cicotte remained on the mound to pitch to Mike Schmidt, who was brought in instead of Brooks Robinson.  Schmidt doubled to right, putting runners at 1st and 2nd with no outs.

This was enough for manager Connor MacLeoad, and he brought in reliever Pat Jarvis.  The righty did induce a ground ball to the right side out of Rogers Hornsby, but Klein scored.  Paul Goldschmidt followed with 6-4-3 double play, but Schdmidt scored.  To add misery, Jim Thome then belted a solo shot for some icing on the cake.

Dellin Betances and Eric Gagne ensured New Amsterdam would not complete the amazing comeback - they faced the minimum in the last two innings, and Gagne struck out the side to end the game.

Here is the box - Hockenberry vs Port Hawkesberry tonight.

Division Series Page is Up

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

At least for the known matchups in the NL.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Sim 12E Complete, But the Regular Season Rolls On

We need some tiebreaks!

First, congratulations to the Division Winners - Camorr, Jeff City, Martian, and Capetown.  Also, congratulations to one of the best Wild Card teams in our history - Spanish Harlem.

Two, 1-game playoffs are required as well.  First for the NL Central crown, New Amsterdam will face off against St Paul.  New Amsterdam went 20-8 in September coming back from an unheard of 9.5 game deficit.  Remarkable.

It's a little less exciting in the NL West were Hockenberry and Port Hawkesberry will have a 1 game playoff to determine the division winner and wild card team.  Hockenberry spit the bit on this one, resting the staff in the last week only to have it come back and haunt them.  Port Hawkesberry had a great September themselves - 18-10 to erase a 6.5 game deficit.  I don't fully understand why MLB rules state that if this tie had occurred between teams with the two best records in the league, a playoff is not required.  I must be misinterpreting that clause.  Either way, it is clear in this particular situation a playoff is required:

Two-Club Tie for Division Championship and Wild Card:One tiebreak game will be played to determine the Division Champion. The loser of the game will be declared a Wild Card
These games will be played tomorrow night and owners may submit lineup


Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Tie Breaker Rules

We've got some great races to finish out the season.  Lets go over the tie breaker rules, which follow MLB procedures.


  • NL Central.  Since no playoff spot is at stake, i.e., both teams have the best records in the NL, the tie breaker is calculated and no playoff game is required.  First tie break is head to head record.  Here we are tied 11-11.  Second tie break is best record within the division.  Spanish Harlem currently has a 2 game advantage for Martian, and with both teams playing games outside the division, Spanish Harlem wins if it ends in a tie.
  • Most of the rest of the potential tie breakers will require 1 game playoffs.  In the NL West, Lakeview has an outside shot to catch Capetown; in the AL Central New Amsterdam and St Paul are locked at 86 wins; in the AL Wild Card Seattle and Port Hawkesberry are tied as well.
  • The difficult scenario is a three way tie between Hockenberry, Seattle, and Port Hawkesberry.  In this case. Hockenberry and Hawkseberry are tied for the division crown, and both also tied with Seattle for the Wild Card.  WTF, this may break DMB.  Here we would need two playoff games, first for the division crown, and then for the wild card.  These would be played in back to back days immediately following the regular season. 
Home field advantage in playoff games are determined by a) Head to Head record, then b) record within the division, then c) best winning percentage in the last 81 games, then d) keep on adding 1 game back (82 games, 83 games, etc) until there is a answer.

So, home field advantage:
  • NL West:  Cape Town (13-8 vs Lakeview w/1 game remaining)
  • AL Central: New Amsterdam (H2H tied 11-11, New Amsterdam winning intradivision by 9 games)
  • AL Wild Card: Port Hawkesberry (8-4 vs Seattle)
  • Crazy Scenario
    • Division:  Hockenberry (12-9 vs Pt Hawkesberry w/1 game left)
    • Wild Card: Hawkesberry over Seattle (as above); Seattle over Hockenberry (7-5)
Feel free to post any questions here.  I certainly may have this incorrect, and that's ok.  We follow MLB rules for 1 wild card team, regardless of what I said above.  Just saying this in case I do have a flaw in interpretation - the final arbiter would be MLB rulebook.

Sim 12D Complete

2 game to go!



Playoff Picture
AL Central
0.0 - Highlanders
0.0 - Doppelgangers

AL West
0.0 - Scholics
2.0 - Puffins

AL Wild Card
0.0 - Pufffins
0.0 - Pilots

NL Central
0.0 - Manhunters (Won 6 in a row)
0.5 - Pinata Beaters

NL West
0.0 - Apostles
2.0 - Zeros

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Sim 12C Complete



Playoff Picture
AL West
0.0 - Scholics
3.0 - Puffins

AL Wild Card
0.0 - Pufffins
1.0 - Pilots

NL Central
0.0 - Pinata Beaters
1.5 - Manhunters

NL West
0.0 - Apostles
1.0 - Zeros

Monday, April 25, 2016

Sim 12B Complete



Playoff Picture
AL West
0.0 - Scholics
3.5 - Puffins

AL Wild Card
0.0 - Pufffins
0.0 - Pilots

NL Central
0.0 - Pinata Beaters (Win 7 in a row)
2.0 - Manhunters

NL West
0.0 - Apostles
2.0 - Zeros

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Sim 12A Complete



Playoff Picture
AL West
0.0 - Scholics
4.5 - Puffins

AL Wild Card
0.0 - Pufffins
2.0 - Pilots

NL Central
0.0 - Manhunters
0.0 - Pinata Beaters

NL West
0.0 - Zeros
1.0 - Apostles (Lost 5 in a row)

Friday, April 15, 2016

Week 12 Transactions

Lakeview picks up 2009 Kevin Youkilis, drops Don Mattingly

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Sim 11E Complete


Playoff Picture
AL West
0.0 - Scholics
4.5 - Puffins

AL Wild Card
0.0 - Pufffins
2.0 - Pilots

NL Central
0.0 - Manhunters
1.0 - Pinata Beaters

NL West
0.0 - Apostles
1.0 - Zeros



Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Playoff Picture

American League
While not technically over, the divisional races in the American League are all but sewn up.  Both Camorr and St Paul have commanding leads with about 15 games remaining on the docket and are in fine tuning mode.  They both have the best Run Differentials in the AL and appear to be the two teams to beat.  Hockenberry also has a safe lead of 5 1/2 games, but are making things interesting for Port Hawkeseberry with a late season mini slump.

The Wild Card race is a doozy, with Port Hawkesberry just 1 game up on Seattle.  New Amsterdam and South Boston are on the outside looking in, 5.5 back and technically alive but a long shot to advance.

Hawksesberry has a daunting schedule remaining, having to face division leaders 10 times in their last 16 games.  Interestingly enough, they do still face Hockenberry an incredible 8 times - maybe that division title isn't entirely secure for the Scholics.

Seattle schedule is easier, but by no means easy.  They face above .500 teams 13 times in their remaining 16 games, including 8 times against division leaders.  This race is entirely up for grabs.

National League
In the National League, three teams have all but secured a playoff spot - Jeff City, Spanish Harlem, and Martian.  Jeff City will win the East (although technically can still fall to Chattanooga) while the two Central teams battle it out for their division crown and the wild card.  This is somewhat anticlimactic as Martian, currently in 2nd place, have an 8.5 game lead on the WC.  Still, the division title has perhaps extra meaning this season as the winner will face off against Jeff City, who have struggled at times all year long, and currently sport a negative run differential.

All is on the line in the West however, as Cape Town cling to a 2 game lead over Lakeview.  The Zeros have been the hottest team in National League since around mid-August, winning 19 of 26.  They've hardly been able to gain ground, however, as Cape Town has been the second hottest team in the NL, winning 17 of 26.

The schedule will be the difference maker.  Lakeview plays 8 of the 9 next games against sub.500 teams and then start a 5 game series with Cape Town, and finally close the season with a lone game against long time rival, Grumman (a Brian B vs David K rivalry that crosses several years in several leagues).

Cape Town in turn faces Spanish Harlem three times, but also some lesser quality teams 7 times.  Regardless, one would think the 5 game head to head series will be the deciding factor.  Cape Town have won 10 of 16 on the season.

Good luck playoff hopefuls!

Sim 11D Complete


Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Saturday, April 2, 2016

Week 10 Transactions


  • Jeff City picks up Carlos Gonzalez 2010, releases Max Scherzer
  • Lakeview picks up Jimmy Barrett 1903, Don Mattingly 1985, and Art Devlin 1906; drops Ralph Kiner, Ferdie Schupp, and Terry Pendleston
  • Shamokin drops Scott Stratton.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Sim 9B Complete - Scholics Win Streak Stops at 15 :)

Reminder:  Sim 9C will be run tomorrow morning.


Monday, March 28, 2016

Sim 9A Complete - Two win streaks continue

We are behind 1 day - so this weeks schedule

9a - Monday night
9b - Tuesday night
9c - Wednesday morning
9d - Wednesday night
9e - Thursday night

13 in a row for Hockenberry; 7 in a row for Camorr

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Friday, March 25, 2016

Week 9 Transactions


  • Helena signs Jim Turner 1937, drops Fred Toney
  • Shamokin signs Travis Hafner 2006, Stan Spence 1944, and Kevin Saucier 1981; drops Earl Averill, Willie Randolph, Randy Tomlin
  • Appalachian signs Dave McNally 1968, drops Jimmy Rollins

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Sim 8C Complete


State of the National League

Yesterday, we briefly explored the American League playoff picture, today we focus on the National League where the divisional races are heating up.

Starting in the East with are immediately faced with a conundrum.  Just about all season long the Jeff City Blausers have led the division despite sporting a negative run differential.  Over the course of a few weeks it means nothing, in late July however, it does make you pause.  Can this squad really keep it up despite being outscored?  Well, they've lost 4 in a row and coupled with a 4 game win streak from Chatanooga, the Blausers now lead by just 3.5 games.   They're just 4-8 against Chatanooga with 10 left to play.

The Central is race between what may feature the two best teams in baseball.  The defensive powerhouse Manhunters cling to a 1.5 game lead over the Pinata Beaters, and the two have been separated by only a few games all year long.  Martian sports the most wins in ATB, despite scoring 2.8 runs per game, a remarkable achievement if you stop and think about that.  Spanish Harlem is 2nd in the league in wins and 1st in Run Differential and have a very slight advantage head to head, winning 8 of 15.   This race is too close to call, but the loser looks to be the Wild Card winner - Spanish Harlem currently holds an 11 game advantage.

Finally in the West, Capetown and Grumman are neck and neck, struggling to stay above .500 while punishing each other at the same time (they've split 12 games to date).  Waiting in the wings is Lakeview, currently 4.5 back with a poor -60 run differential.  While they are not out of the race completely, one must figure they are an extreme long shot.  Cape Town may be the most interesting team in ATB, struggling to find wins despite a +90 RD.  Their actual record vs Pythagorean record is historically bad - an incredible -10.  I went back several years and this is the worst mark in recent history.  It is strange - despite the best offense in the National League, they are just 1-40 when trailing as of the 7th; they are also 12-20 in 1 run games.

The NL race for the playoffs is one of division title or bust.  Compared to the AL, fewer teams are in the hunt, but you could argue a lot more is at stake in the NL East and West.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Sim 8B Complete


State of the American League

The AL is experiencing a very interesting season, one in which the top 2/3s of the league is simply beating up on the bottom one third.  8 teams are above .500, and the 'worst' of those eight has a very good winning percentage of .531, which would be good enough for 86 wins over 162 games.

Three teams are taking a drubbing, with the Hillbillies and Cyclones on track for 100 loss seasons, and the Brews on track for a 108 loss season.  It leaves one team in no man's land - Helena - 7 games below .500 and and 8.5 games out of the Wild Card

Overall, each one of those 8 teams I mentioned are within two games of a playoff slot, the race for which promises to deliver a great stretch run.

Who has the edge?
In the East it appears the Gentleman Bastards  will win the division comfortably.  Seattle is sticking around, 7 games a back, but have put very little pressure on the Bastards all season long.   The Bastards have the better run differential and even though they have 7 head to head games remaining, lets give Camorr the division for the sake of argument.

The Central is entirely up for grabs.  St. Paul had a 6 game lead at one point recently, but have now dropped 5 in a row, giving South Boston and New Amsterdam a chance to get back in the race.  They are 1 and 2 games back respectively.  On paper, South Boston is the team to beat - sitting at +76, the best run differential in the league, and have a very well balanced attack.  Despite a pen with great names - Dennis Eckersley, Cla Meredith, BJ Ryan - they are just 3-11 in contests tied in the 7th.  Even an average showing here would have them leading the division.

The West is currently led by Hockenberry, who are clinging to a 4.5 game lead over Port Hawkesberry.  Again using run differential, the Scholics are the better team but that is just part of the story.  They've lost 5 of 9 against the Puffins, and have 13 head to head games left to play.  Give Hockenberry the edge for now, but this division is up for grabs.

That leaves us with the 5 Wild Card contenders.  Below is the standings as of the sims of Sunday night:

GB* W-L   Team
0.0 53-43 St Paul Doppelgangers
0.0 54-44 Seatle Pilots
2.0 50-44 Port Hawkesberry Puffins
2.0 52-46 Fort Worth Hunters
2.0 52-46 New Amsterdam Highlanders
* Not official, remember, we have a current division leader in this list.

Should be a very exciting 2nd half of the season.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Sim 8A Complete


Brouthers Heads to Shamokin in 4 Player Deal

To Shamokin:
Dan Brouthers: Av/91,  .252 / .344 / .381, 4 HR, 39 R, 48 RBI, 341 AB
Ben Sheets: 2-4, 3.91, 50.2 IP, 51 H, 12 BB, 44 K

To Appalachian
Bill Terry: Ex/110, .266 / .295 / .383, 7 HR, 32 R, 59 RBI, 376 AB
Don Newcombe: 2-2, 2.49 ERA, 61 IP, 47 H, 19 BB, 19 K

Handbasket, Hunters Swap Beltre and Ott

Helena receives Mel Ott
(Fr/88 D, .223 / .304 / .423, 727 OPS, 15 HR, 39 R, 46 RBI, 260 AB)

Fort Worth receives Adrian Beltre
(Vg/46 D, .193 / .294 / .331, 565 OPS, 13 HR, 25 R, 39 RBI, 332 AB)

Week 8 Transactions


  • Miners pick up Harry Brecheen 1948, drop Dave McNally
  • Puffins pick up Russ Pythias 1927, drop Roger Bresnahan; Release Norman Yokely
  • Blausers pick up Jake Peavy 2007 and 2014 Aroldis Chapman; drop Travis Hafner and Dallas Keuchel

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Sim 7D Complete

Playoff Picture:  9 AL Teams, 6 NL Teams

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Monday, March 14, 2016

NL Takes the All Star Series!

It's as close as one can get in a 5 game series, with the NL winning 3 games to 2.  Both team scored 25 runs in the 5 game set.

Game 1 - HR's by Gibson, Mantle, and Lajoie, power to NL 8-4 win.
Game 2 - AL storms back behind Arrieta, win 5-3.
Game 3 - Mantle 10th inning HR gives NL series lead with 7-6 victory.
Game 4 - Potter, Gehrig team upu for 7-2 blow out, forces game 5.
Game 5 - Maddux shuts down AL, 5-3.  NL secures  home field advantage for World Series.

Sim 7B Complete

Just 1 game tonight due to the All Star Break


Saturday, March 12, 2016

National League All Star Rotation

SP 1 - Bucky Walters (Martian)
SP 2 - JGreg Maddux (Tatooine)
SP 3 - Kevin Millwood (Cape Town)
SP 4 - Noodles Hahn (Planet 10)
SP 5 - Jimmy Key (Spanish Harlem)

Closers
Tug McGraw (Martian)
Armando Benetiz (Jeff City)

Relievers
Steve Kline (Tatooine)
Michael Pineda (Spanish Harlem)
Buddy Groom (Martian)

American League All Start Rotation

SP 1 - Walter Johnson (Appalachian)
SP 2 - Jake Arrieta (Hockenberry)
SP 3 - David Cone (Appalachian)
SP 4 - Nels Potter (New Amsterdam)
SP 5 - Bill Bernhard (Seattle)

Closers
Tim Burke (Helena)
Tom Gordon (Seattle)

Relievers
Joe Nathan (Port Hawkesberry)
Jeff Zimmerman (Fort Worth)
Scot Atchison (St. Paul)

Friday, March 11, 2016

National League All Star Lineup

1. John McGraw, 3B (Jeff City)
2. Norm Cash, 1B (Planet 10)
3. Barry Bonds, LF (Cape Town)
4. Jimmie Foxx, DH (Chatanooga)
5. Bryce Harper, RF (Spanish Harlem)
6. Mike Trout, CF (Cape Town)
7. Josh Gibson, C (Grumman)
8. Nap Lajoie, 2B (Spanish Harlem)
9. Honus Wagner, SS (Martian)

Back Up Outfielders
Mickey Mantle (Lakeview)
Joe Jackson (Spanish Harlem)
Heavy Johnson (Fox City)

Back Up Infielders
Ben Taylor (Tatooine)
King Kelly (Lakeview)
Pop Lloyd (Cape Town)

American League All Star Lineup

1 - Fred Dunlap, 2B (Port Hawkesberry)
2 - Deacon White, 2B (Port Hawkesberry)
3 - Lou Gehrig, 1B (South Boston)
4 - Babe Ruth, LF (New Amsterdam)
5 - Oscar Charleston, CF (Fort Worth)
6 - Babe Herman, RF (Brooklyn)
7 - George Hall, DH (New Amsterdam)
8 - Eddie Mathews, 3B (Fort Worth)
9 - George Carr, SS (Port Hawkesberry)

OF Bench
Orator Shaffer, Camorr
Frank Robinson, Downsouth

IF Bench
Mark McGwire, Downsouth
Ross Barnes, Hockenberry
Willie McCovey, Helena
Rick Wilkens, Forth Worth

Week 7 Transactions


  • Brews pick up Mel Stottlemeyer 1965, drop Hal Schumacher
  • Hillbillies pick up Corey Kluber 2014 and Joe Sambito 1980, drop Harry Brecheen and Ron Reed
  • Solo Artists pick up Chili Davis 1984 and Preacher Roe 1948, drop Aroldish Chapman and Carl Crawford
  • Handbasket pick up Bobby Veach 1919, Herman Long 1894, and Dutch Leonard 1914; release Milton Bradley, Dick Lundy, and Cliff Melton
  • Miners pick up Jimmy Ryan 1888, DL Cal McVey

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Sim 6E Complete


Miners, Lakers announce 4 player deal

To Shamokin
Fernando Rodney (1.46 ERA, 37 IP, 32 G(
Scott Stratton (3-3, 3.53 ERA, 58 IP, 5 GS)

To Lakeview
Chris Sale (7-5, 2.70 ERA, 17 GS)
Joe Berry (4.24 ERA, 34 IP)

Wednesday, March 9, 2016