1962 Season

[leecemark]

--Counting down to Opening Day....and we're all tied for first! I'll post the schedule by team. It will be easier to follow (plus the league schedule exceeded the max file size).

[leecemark]

--The Hard Cider ran away with this division in 1961 and return with an outstanding team for 1962. They lost superstar Mickey Mantle to free agency and traded away Roger Maris, but signed speedy CFer Willie Davis and traded for hard throwing pitcher Juan Pizzaro. Rookie Dick Radatz looks to make an impact in the bullpen and the Macmen are looking for a big year from Hank Aguirre.
--The Cannons took the Wild card in 1961 and look to make a move on the division title in 62. They signed Mantle away from the Hard Cider and traded for Steve Barber and Bob Skinner from the Knights, mortaging a big chunk of their future to do so. Part of their future arrives this year in rookie SS Tom Tresh.
--Diablos fans didn't enjoy the offseason as much. Starters Willie Davis, Joe Adcock and Zolio Versalles signed elsewhere and their replacements will be hard pressed to match their production. Lenny Green and Al Smith lead the newcomers. First round draft pick Willie Stargell looks like a future star, but isn't expected to contribute this season.

[leecemark]

--The Hulbert figured to be the leagues weakest divison in 1961 as both the Legends and Skipjacks sacrificed the short term to build for the future. Many observers figured the Quakers to coast to the division title. The scrappy Legends stuck with them all the way and eventually eeked out the title though.
-- However, that Legends team no longer exists, with 2/3 of the team let go and a new crop of role players signed to try and duplicate the feat. Young stars Willie McCovey, Vada Pinson and Juan Marichal will again headline a patchwork crew with Joe Adcock, Jack Kralick and Woody Held the biggest names amoung this years group of veterens.
--The Quakers aren't looking to settle for 2nd place again this year. They made the division's biggest offseason signing, making young slugger Frank Howard the league's 2nd highest paid player. Most of the rest of last years team return and figures to be in the thick of it again in 62.
--The Skipjacks met their goal of beating out the doormats in 1961, but there was little else to brag about. This season should give their fans a little more to cheer about. Several young players figure to step forward and heralded rookies Dean Chance and Jim Fregosi should make immediate contributions. Several offseason pickups should also help the Skipjacks rise to respectablilty or even contention this year. Relief ace Don McMahan, GG 2B Bill Mazeroski and 1B Pete Runnells all provide significant upgrades.

[mac195]

I'm starting the season with a 15-game road trip... :crazy ...should be nice and warm in New York by the time we play a game there.

[leecemark]

--The Knights cruised to the divison title enroute to their championship and bring back most of their frontline players to defend it. Ricky Colavito was lost to free agency, but was replaced by MVP runnerup Roger Maris, ensuring another offensive juggernaut. The pitching saw more changes, with several young arms being counted on to contribute in 1962.
--With a year to reshape the team after assuming control just before Opening Day in 1961, the Redbirds look ready to challenge in 62. The lefty tilt to their pitching staff that proved to be such a problem in Fenway has been fixed. Zoilo Versalles provides an upgrade at SS, Ernie Banks was picked up to blast a few balls over the Green Monster and Tommy Davis is expected to challenge for Rookie of the Year honors.
--The Gamblers fell out of the race early in 1961, but made some big moves in the offseason in hopes of giving their fans something to cheer about in 62. Their bandbox of a park had the staff shellshocked last season, but a move to spacious new Chavez Ravine and the acqusition of workhorse LHP Jim O'Toole should take a little pressure off the hitters. The lineup was also given an upgrade by signing Rocky Colavito away from the Knights. Ed Broussard looks like he may solve the Gamblers problem at SS as well.

[mac195]

I think it was written somewhere, but I don't remember where. After teams cut to 40 men before opening day, they may begin signing extra players, one per day, until they run out of cap room. What is the time when teams can make that first extra signing? Is there a different time when teams can begin resigning players they cut, but are still paying in '62 (dead contracts), or is it the same?

[leecemark]

--The first day for signing playing players above 40 is 13 April (12:01 EST). Any players signed that day will be eligible beginning with the second series of the season. You may sign one player that day and continue signing one per day as long as you want and can fit them under the cap.
--Resigning a player you cut to get down to 40 won't be permited until 14 April, to allow them to "clear waivers" from all other teams. Also, if you resign a player you cut they must be resigned at their previous salary rather than minimum wage.
--Only the Redbirds and Legends have let me know that their rosters and profiles are updated for this season (actually Scott and Lew own the program and e-mailed me their team files). You have until Monday, but if you are ready sooner let me know. As of Tuesday, I'll use whatever is in there and make my own adjustments if you don't have 25 active, have a player no longer with your club listed or whatever other discrepancies may exist. Any roster adjustments received after 10 April will not be input for the first series.

[J W]

Managerials are up Mark.

Lookin' forward to the season! You won't have the Skipjacks to kick around anymore! :laugh

I doubt we'll finish much above .500 but that may still be enough to take the division from the Quakers. Time will tell. I believe that, like last year, our pitching will be better than advertised. And it's a given we'll score more runs than last time. :rolleyes:

[leecemark]

--Still need rosters updated for Quakers and Diablos. Please get them done by tomorrow night.

[ElHalo]

My rosters are up in my team thread. Wanted to ask you: You said I needed to make two cuts, but I reflect only 39 players on my roster now after the two cuts. If there's somebody I'm missing, let me know.

Thanks.

[ElHalo]

The Cannons and Diablos have a trade pending; Chris, if you could confirm.

Billy Garnder and the Diablos' 1963 second round pick are going to the Cannons for Luis Aparicio.

[538280]

The Cannons and Diablos have a trade pending; Chris, if you could confirm.

Billy Garnder and the Diablos' 1963 second round pick are going to the Cannons for Luis Aparicio.

Confirmed.

BTW, my roster page and managerial profile are ready.

[mac195]

Mark, I'd like to many a couple minor adjustments before we start:

Lineup vs. RHP
1 CF Davis (Spangler)
2 LF Floyd Robinson (Spangler)
3 RF Frank Robinson (Clinton)
4 1B Fairly (Sievers)
5 C Haller (Camilli)
6 3B Davenport (Rollins)
7 SS Kubek (Rogers)
8 2B Moran (Rogers)
PH vs RHP: Spangler, Camilli, Clinton
PH vs LHP: Camilli, Clinton, Sievers

[Nails]

Mine are up in the roster thread as well.

[J W]

Last minute, I've added some detailed managerial settings for the season, Mark... it should be up on the roster post.

OK, we're set! :gt

[mac195]

....time check....

[leecemark]

The Knights sign Gary Bell for 2yr/250K.

[mac195]

Hard Cider sign CF Nelson Mathews - 1 year 250K.

[leecemark]

--A minute premature:) . Confirming the Bell signing.

[mac195]

Nice grab there, Mark. I didn't even realize he was availible.

[leecemark]

--He isn't worth much for this year, but I won't miss the 250K either . He'll be a nice addition to the 63 bullpen at minimum wage with a 123 ERA+ in over 100 IP.
--I must admit I had never heard of Mathews until you signed him. He'll be a nice injury fill in if the need arises for you though.

[leecemark]

--For at least the first series some teams got a little payback for 1961. The Quakers took 2 of 3 from the Legends, The Gamblers took 2 of 3 from the Knights and the Diablos pitchers dominated on the way to a sweep. Notable performances include the Gamblers Jerry Adair going 4-4 with 2 HR and a SB in the opening and then adding 3 hits, including a key blow in a 4 run bottom of the 9th in game two and Bob Friend tossing a 2 hitter for 9 in a game the Diablos won in 12. More games tomorrow night, so get changes in quick if you have any.

[The Dude]

I make big acqusitions in the off-season, but of course, it's my power hitting infield that wins me games. Who'd of thunk.

[leecemark]

--Second series in the books. The Hard Cider and Gamblers are off to hot starts at 5-1. Several teams had injuries in these series that may require attention.

[The Dude]

Move Dick Stigman from the spot starter position to 4th starter position (Where Buhl is) and move Bob Buhl to the 15-day disabled list.

To keep my roster at 40, bring up Early Wynn and make him the spot starter.

[J W]

Farrell gets blasted by the Gamblers while Podres throws a shutout? Who knew? :p Well, it was against the doormat.

Actually Mark, I have Farrell going 3rd in the rotation and Podres 4th... I'd rather not throw out two LHPs in a row.

[catcher24]

OK, I didn't see this thread until today!:rolleyes: Same thing happened last year, too. First, I would encourage anyone who can swing it to get the Diamond Mind game. Mark has encouraged this as well. It makes it much easier to change lineups, pitching assignments, etc. You simply set your MP and mail a small file to Mark. Works like a charm (so far, at least). And no, I don't receive a commission from DM!:p

Second, the website is up and working. Soon after I get the league file from Mark (another huge advantage to owning the game) I am getting the files onto the site. I'm hoping the site will help those who don't have the game. All current injuries are listed, as are all free agents. Your team stats include batters, pitchers, current roster, player ratings chart by position, as well as a list of batters with real PA/Sim PA and pitchers with Real BF/Sim BF. This last is the most important, since it will help you to keep track of your player usage. Game results are also listed, and by clicking on a game score, the box score and game log will come up.

I just about have all the reports set up for the league encyclopedia, too. I hope to have that up and running this weekend. When done with that, I am going to try and get salary sheets up for all teams, but that will take a while. BTW, if you see stats that you don't care about having uploaded, let me know. I have customized some of the reports, and can customize any of the others to reflect only that info that you all feel is useful or that you wish to see. I personally don't look at the analytical stats very much. If no one else does, I'll just remove them. Also, if something is missing you would like to see, tell me. It's pretty easy to customize the reports.

Please use (and hopefully enjoy) the site. It should help those of you who are DM-less during the season!

[538280]

Place Joyce on the 15 day DL, and bring up Frank Lary. Change the pitcher roles to this:

Spot starter: Pena, Koonce
Mop up: Lary, Pena
Long man: Koonce, Lary
LH set up: Stock, Clevenger
RH set up: Clevenger, Stock
LH closer: Miller, Stock
RH closer: Miller, Clevenger

[mac195]

The website if great, Lew... those detailed box scores are fun, although I don't understand all the numbers there. Is the full season schedule on the site somewhere?

[mac195]

Looks like Dude and I are the only ones here.

[mac195]

Hard Cider will resign Jimmy Constable at his 500K salary to a one year contract. Should get a couple good games out of him at least.

[leecemark]

--The Knights sign Jesse Gonder to a 2yr/250K deal.

[leecemark]

---Rolling along.....

[catcher24]

Posted by Mac:
The website if great, Lew... those detailed box scores are fun, although I don't understand all the numbers there. Is the full season schedule on the site somewhere?
Mac - To the best of my knowledge, the full schedule isn't up on the site, but I'll try to fix that today. As for the numbers in the boxscores, if you have any questions about something, feel free to post. Maybe I could answer your question and someone else's at the same time!:)

BTW, the numbers you don't completely understand - is that from the boxscore, or from the game log? If anyone looks at those game logs pretty regularly, I could copy and paste the game log interpretation section from the DM help file. Just let me know.

[mac195]

I don't understand this part:


Hard Cider -----A------ -----B------ -----C------ -----D------ -----E------
Davenport 3b 1>k S.3-H;1-2 5>HR 9 8>S
Sievers 1b k S.2-3;1-2 W 7>Stock 7
W
Robinson lf S 9 HR.1-H S.1-2 HR.1-H
Camilli c 54/f 3>9 k HR.2-H;1-H Pena
63
Haller c
Clinton rf 2>S 7 S 63 S
Brandt cf W.1-2 D.Bx3(945) 63.1-2 W bk.1-2
k
Davis,W cf
Moran 2b W.2-3;1-2 4>7 53 64/f.B-1 9>53
Rodgers ss note 1 3/g 6>k e2.1-2;B-1 63
Aguirre p W 53 43 8 k

1: 43/gdp.3-H;2-3

[The Dude]

I"m guessing it has something to do with the DM formula.

[catcher24]

Mac (and everyone) - That's the scoresheet, which is basically a shorthand notation of each inning for the entire game going batter by batter. There are actually three items provided for each game, divided by the linescores. Let me break it down a bit, section by section, using your reference game:

4/4/2006, Mac62-53862, Crosley Field

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
1962 Hard Cider 0 2 0 0 3 0 3 2 0 10 13 0 8 2
1962 Cannons 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 1 4 1

Hard Cider AB R H BI AVG Cannons AB R H BI AVG
Davenport 3b 5 2 3 2 .600 Tresh ss 3 0 0 0 .000
Sievers 1b 3 2 1 0 .333 Pagliaroni c 4 0 0 0 .000
Robinson lf 5 3 4 4 .800 Mantle cf 4 0 1 0 .250
Camilli c 5 1 1 3 .200 Aaron,H rf 4 1 1 1 .250
Haller c 0 0 0 0 .000 Skinner lf 3 0 0 0 .000
Clinton rf 5 1 3 0 .600 Cash 1b 3 0 0 0 .000
Brandt cf 3 1 1 0 .333 Pena p 0 0 0 0 .000
Davis,W cf 0 0 0 0 .000 Boyer 3b 3 0 1 0 .333
Moran 2b 4 0 0 0 .000 Bolling 2b 2 0 0 0 .000
Rodgers ss 5 0 0 0 .000 Ford p 1 0 0 0 .000
Aguirre p 4 0 0 0 .000 Wertz ph 1 0 1 0 1.000
39 10 13 9 Stock p 0 0 0 0 .000
Yost 1b 1 0 0 0 .000
29 1 4 1

Hard Cider INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Aguirre W 1-0 9.0 4 1 1 3 4 107 72 1.00
9.0 4 1 1 3 4 107 72

Cannons INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Ford L 0-1 6.0 8 5 5 4 4 112 66 7.50
Stock 1.1 4 5 5 2 0 44 20 33.75
Pena 1.2 1 0 0 0 2 21 17 0.00
9.0 13 10 10 6 6 177 103

Mac: Haller inserted at c in the 8th
Davis,W inserted at cf in the 8th
538: Wertz batted for Ford in the 6th
Yost inserted at 1b in the 8th

E-Pagliaroni. 2B-Brandt, Mantle, Boyer, Wertz. HR-Davenport(1),
Robinson 2(2), Camilli(1), Aaron,H(1). K-Davenport, Sievers, Camilli, Brandt,
Rodgers, Aguirre, Pagliaroni, Mantle, Aaron,H, Yost. BB-Sievers 2, Brandt 2,
Moran, Aguirre, Tresh, Skinner, Bolling. BALK-Pena.
Temperature: 83, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: in from right at 13 MPH.


This first section is the actual box score, giving the date, teams, location and a newspaper style box score, with batter and pitcher lines, errors,extra base hits, etc.

Next comes the scoresheet, which is a batter by batter game summary:

4/4/2006, Mac62-53862, Crosley Field

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
1962 Hard Cider 0 2 0 0 3 0 3 2 0 10 13 0 8 2
1962 Cannons 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 1 4 1


Hard Cider -----A------ -----B------ -----C------ -----D------ -----E------
Davenport 3b 1>k S.3-H;1-2 5>HR 9 8>S
Sievers 1b k S.2-3;1-2 W 7>Stock 7
W
Robinson lf S 9 HR.1-H S.1-2 HR.1-H
Camilli c 54/f 3>9 k HR.2-H;1-H Pena
63
Haller c
Clinton rf 2>S 7 S 63 S
Brandt cf W.1-2 D.Bx3(945) 63.1-2 W bk.1-2
k
Davis,W cf
Moran 2b W.2-3;1-2 4>7 53 64/f.B-1 9>53
Rodgers ss note 1 3/g 6>k e2.1-2;B-1 63
Aguirre p W 53 43 8 k

1: 43/gdp.3-H;2-3


Cannons -----A------ -----B------ -----C------ -----D------ -----E------
Tresh ss 1>W 7 4 note 1
Pagliaroni c k 4>43 163 9>31
Mantle cf k 6/L 7>9 D
Aaron,H rf 43 k HR 9.2-3
Skinner lf 2>43 5>6 W 6
Cash 1b 4/L 5 63/gdp
Pena p
Boyer 3b 53 6 8>D
Bolling 2b 3>53 6>53 W
Ford p 53
Wertz ph D
Stock p
Yost 1b k

1: 4/ldp.2x2(4)


Hard Cider IN OUT ER Cannons IN OUT ER
Aguirre A1 D5 1 W 1-0 Ford A1 D1 5 L 0-1
Stock D2 E3 5
Pena E4 E9 0


At the top is the game date, teams and location. The name and position are the player and his position for the game. Let me go through the first couple of columns (A & B) here for everyone's benefit.

Column A:
1>..k = Beginning of first inning, Davenport struck out
.....k = Sievers struck out
.....S = Robinson singles
.....54/f = Camilli hits into forceout, Robinson is out third to second

Note: I think Haller must have come in as a defensive replacement after Camilli's last AB, because there is no line for him other than his postional appearance
2>..Beginning of second inning, Clinton singles
.....W.1-2 Brandt walks; runner on first goes to second
Note: I think the Willie Davis appearance is the same as Haller's - no AB, but came in late for defense.
.....W.2-3;1-2 Moran walks; runner on second to third; runner on first to second
.....note 1 Refers us to 1 at the bottom of the scoresheet, which is:
1: 43/gdp.3-H;2-3 This shows that Rodgers hits into a double play, second baseman stepping on second and then throwing to first, with the runner on third scoring and the runner on second going to third.
.....W Aguirre walks

Now to top of Column B. Second time through the batting order:

.....S.3-H;1-2 Davenport singles; runner on third comes home, runner on first to second.
.....S.2-3;1-2 Sievers singles; runner on second to third; runner on first to second.
.....9 Robinson flies out to right.

...3>9 Beginning of third inning; Camilli flies out to right.
.....7 Clinton flies out to left
.....D.BX3 (945) Brandt doubles, is out trying for third rightfielder to second baseman to third baseman.

...4>7 Moran flies to left
.....3/g Rodgers grounds out to first unassisted.
.....53 Aguirre grounds out to third.



Finally, there is the game log, which is a pitch by pitch game recreation. I've only included the first four innings so everyone can see what it looks like, but the actual game log covers the entire game:

4/4/2006, Mac62-53862, Crosley Field

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
1962 Hard Cider 0 2 0 0 3 0 3 2 0 10 13 0 8 2
1962 Cannons 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 1 4 1

Score O Rnr BS Event
----- - --- -- -----

************** Top of the 1st inning, Hard Cider batting
0-0 0 --- 32 Davenport struck out (BCFFBBS)
0-0 1 --- 12 Sievers struck out (CBSFC)
0-0 2 --- 31 Robinson lined a single down the left field line (BBCBX)
0-0 2 1-- 21 Camilli grounded to third, forcing Robinson at second
(1CBBX)

************** Bottom of the 1st inning, Cannons batting
0-0 0 --- 31 Tresh walked (FBBBB)
0-0 0 1-- 12 Pagliaroni struck out (FBSC)
0-0 1 1-- 22 Mantle struck out (FSBBFFS)
0-0 2 1-- 12 Aaron,H grounded out to second (BFFFFX)

************** Top of the 2nd inning, Hard Cider batting
0-0 0 --- 02 Clinton lined a single to left (FCX)
0-0 0 1-- 30 Brandt walked, Clinton to second (BBBB)
0-0 0 12- 32 Moran walked, Clinton to third, Brandt to second (CBFBBB)
0-0 0 123 22 Rodgers grounded into a double play, Bolling to Cash,
Clinton scored, Brandt to third (CBCBX)
1-0 2 --3 31 Aguirre walked (BBFBB)
1-0 2 1-3 22 Davenport grounded a single up the middle, Brandt scored,
Aguirre to second (BCSBX)
2-0 2 12- 11 Sievers lined a single between third and short, Aguirre
to third, Davenport to second (BCX)
2-0 2 123 00 Robinson flied out to right (X)

************** Bottom of the 2nd inning, Cannons batting
2-0 0 --- 01 Skinner grounded out to second (SX)
2-0 1 --- 11 Cash lined out to second (FBX)
2-0 2 --- 32 Boyer grounded out to third (BFBFBFX)

************** Top of the 3rd inning, Hard Cider batting
2-0 0 --- 02 Camilli flied out to right (CFX)
2-0 1 --- 02 Clinton flied out to left (FSFX)
2-0 2 --- 22 Brandt lined a double to right center, Brandt out at
third (CSBBX)

************** Bottom of the 3rd inning, Cannons batting
2-0 0 --- 12 Bolling grounded out to third (BSFX)
2-0 1 --- 00 Ford grounded out to third (X)
2-0 2 --- 02 Tresh flied out to left (CFX)

************** Top of the 4th inning, Hard Cider batting
2-0 0 --- 22 Moran popped out to left (BBCCFX)
2-0 1 --- 01 Rodgers grounded out to first (CX)
2-0 2 --- 11 Aguirre grounded out to third (BFX)

************** Bottom of the 4th inning, Cannons batting
2-0 0 --- 10 Pagliaroni grounded out to second (BX)
2-0 1 --- 31 Mantle lined out to short (BBBCX)
2-0 2 --- 22 Aaron,H struck out (FBBFFS)

I have PMed a copy of the instructions from the DM help files to Mac, for reading both the scoresheet and the game log. If anyone else would like them, please let me know and I'll see that you have them.

BTW, Mac, ask and you shall receive.:) The league schedule is on the website now - just click on the small button, and the complete schedule will be listed. If any of the games are links (cursor turns to hand when you move it over a date), that game has been played and the boxscore,scoresheet and game log will come up.

[catcher24]

Mac - I apologize for the way the boxscore and scoresheet got scrunched together in my above post. Don't know how you got it to copy over so neatly. But I think everyone gets the idea now.

[Nails]

First, I would encourage anyone who can swing it to get the Diamond Mind game. Mark has encouraged this as well. It makes it much easier to change lineups, pitching assignments, etc.

I ordered my copy yesterday. In case you haven't heard, it's looking like May 31 for the new OOTP.

Second, the website is up and working. Soon after I get the league file from Mark (another huge advantage to owning the game) I am getting the files onto the site. I'm hoping the site will help those who don't have the game. All current injuries are listed, as are all free agents. Your team stats include batters, pitchers, current roster, player ratings chart by position, as well as a list of batters with real PA/Sim PA and pitchers with Real BF/Sim BF. This last is the most important, since it will help you to keep track of your player usage. Game results are also listed, and by clicking on a game score, the box score and game log will come up.

I just about have all the reports set up for the league encyclopedia, too. I hope to have that up and running this weekend. When done with that, I am going to try and get salary sheets up for all teams, but that will take a while. BTW, if you see stats that you don't care about having uploaded, let me know. I have customized some of the reports, and can customize any of the others to reflect only that info that you all feel is useful or that you wish to see. I personally don't look at the analytical stats very much. If no one else does, I'll just remove them. Also, if something is missing you would like to see, tell me. It's pretty easy to customize the reports.

Please use (and hopefully enjoy) the site. It should help those of you who are DM-less during the season!

Great job on the website. Thanks a lot for setting that up.

[leecemark]

--Thru a dozen games...

[catcher24]

Posted by Nails:
I ordered my copy yesterday. In case you haven't heard, it's looking like May 31 for the new OOTP.


Great! It takes a bit of a learning curve, but I'll be glad to help if I can, and I'm sure Mark and Scott will, too. I actually went through the Help file section by section.:eek: I think you'll enjoy it.

No, I hadn't heard that about OOTP. Don't know how much time I'll have to spend on that, since I won't get it until June and the summer is crunch time (timewise) for me. But I'll start playing around with it.

And thanks for the comment on the website. I appreciate it. I hope everyone finds it useful.

[catcher24]

Stats are now on the website.

Back to back shutouts by the Legends (Marichal & Kralick) versus the Gamblers!:gt :clapping

Dave Stenhouse has a 2.35 ERA over 23 innings, with an 0-1 record to show for it - certainly the tough luck pitcher of the league to this point.

[leecemark]

--The Knights sign Joe Gibbon for 3yrs/250K. Gibbon would be an immediate upgrade to several teams as a LH setup guy. If interested drop me a PM.

[mac195]

HC sign Mike de la Hoz to a 3-year/250K contract.

[ElHalo]

--The Knights sign Joe Gibbon for 3yrs/250K. Gibbon would be an immediate upgrade to several teams as a LH setup guy. If interested drop me a PM.

You're right; he would be. Not sure why I non-tendered him, now that I think about it. Oh well; not interested in trading for him.

With the thinness of my PA eligibility margins, I'm expecting some 20 game injuries right about... now.

[The Dude]

Mark, I've noticed that Don Lee only has one start so far. I thought I took the "Skip 5th starter" off my managerial profile.

[leecemark]

--Wil, you were set for skip. Its changed to a strict 5 man now, with the 4 spot going next. If you see this soon and want to go to Lee (#5) next let me know.

[mac195]

Lew, thanks for the game log explanation. That's a big help.

[leecemark]

--15 games in and two divisions are deadlocked top to bottom, the Hulbert at 7-8 and the Johnson at 8-7. Only the Hard Cider have separated from the pack and they only lead by 1 over the Diablos.

[leecemark]

--Sorry to be going so fast out the gate, I just get a little carried away. No more games until Monday. The Gamblers swept the Phillies to take sole possesion of first in the Johnson. The Skipjacks also picked up a sweep and the Legends have won 5 in a row to up over .500 and into a tie in the Hulbert.

[catcher24]

Posted by Mac:
Lew, thanks for the game log explanation. That's a big help.

Glad to help if I can, Mac!:waving

[mac195]

HC sign pitcher John Miller to a one year minimum wage contract.

[leecemark]

--One last signing for the Knights; Mike Hershberger for 2yr/250K.

[The Dude]

Move Wynn back to the minors, Stigman to Spot Start and Bob Buhl off the DL back into the 4th starter spot.

[baseballPAP]

Redbirds MP adjustment to cover Ashburn injury.....
~S

[catcher24]

Scott - You want me to put up your new logo, or leave the old one?

[catcher24]

For anyone interested, the Encyclopedia link on the home page is now active. As you would expect, there isn't any different information in the Encyclopedia than what was in the final 1961 stats. Also, the career leaders and single season leaders are all the same :laugh . Eventually, though, once we have five or six seasons played, I hope it will become an interesting reference source to all owners. I have links to go directly to the top 15 batting/pitching leadiers and top 10 fielding leaders, both for single season records and career records. Eventually, I will have links to the MVP and CY Young winners, as well as single game records for various categories. If there is any category you are particularly interested in having listed, let me know.:)

[catcher24]

The Legends sign P Ron Nischwitz to a 1 year, 250K contract. He will be placed on the minor league roster.

[538280]

The Cannons sign pitcher Cecil Butler to a one year 250k contract.

To make room for him on the major league roster, send Wes Stock down to the minors. Also change my relief roles so they look like this:

Spot starter: Pena, Koonce
Mop up: Joyce, Koonce
Long man: Koonce, Pena
LH set up: Butler, Clevenger
RH set up: Clevenger, Joyce
LH closer: Miller, Butler
RH closer: Miller, Clevenger

[mac195]

HC resign OF Earl Robinson to a one year 250K contract, because 2 Robinsons is never enough.

[catcher24]

I believe Mark said the limit was one remaining FA per day, so being another day, I'll take another FA. The Legends sign pitcher Dave Debusschere to a 2 year, 250K contract.

BTW, Mark, if that one FA per day is not correct, please let me know. I am looking at a couple of others.

[leecemark]

--It is one per day. Chris, the Cannons are capped out and can not sign anyone

[538280]

--It is one per day. Chris, the Cannons are capped out and can not sign anyone

I don't think we're capped out anymore after making the Aparicio trade. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

[J W]

The Skipjacks will sign C Don Leppert to a 1 yr/250k deal, so we won't have to call up Triandos this season. He'll go to the minors.

Wait--Don Leppert was an All-Star? :laugh

[leecemark]

--My bad Chris, I'll get the changes made.

[leecemark]

--Up to 21 games....my Knights still haven't got untracked;

[mac195]

I will DL Camilli and replace him in the lineup vs LHP with Sherm Lollar.

[baseballPAP]

Scott - You want me to put up your new logo, or leave the old one?
I'll stick with the other one Lew. Its a slightly modified Columbus Redbirds (International League affiliate of the Cards in the 40s-50s) Logo...the new one is an ols Cincinnati Red Legs logo... The difference would bug me if no one else :)

[catcher24]

Posted by Pap:
I'll stick with the other one Lew

Good choice, Scott, because I like that one a lot more!:laugh

I see from the game results that reality finally caught up with Dave Stenhouse. Can't wait to see the boxscore on that one!:o

BTW, if anyone missed it, the Encyclopedia link on the league's home page is now active. It will link to the Encyclopedia page, which has the single season and career record holders for several categories (who are all the same at this point, since we only have one season played). It also lists the single game records I will track, and team records I will track. The Knights have most of the single season hitting records, and I don't expect to see several of them ever get broken (maybe we should restart without doormats:D :rolleyes: ). And I think it will be a while before anyone wins more than 117 games, too.
Also, if anyone has a particular record they would like to see added, let me know. I got a third party created add-on program for DM that makes it very easy to track most of these, and if it isn't there, forget it!:laugh I should note that the doormats did actually have some records beyond those listed, but since they were computer managed, couldn't make changes and were basically "frozen" I didn't count those (the A's actually had a 14 game losing streak, a 13 game streak, and two others of 10 or more).

And my final "ad" for Diamond Mind. I would really encourage everyone to get it. Mark was dead on right - it makes playing much easier. I have tried to make it easier for those without the game to track standings, boxscores, injuries, free agents and usage via the website, but it still doesn't compare with having the game.

[catcher24]

OK, another day, another free agent. The Legends sign first baseman Jim Marshall to a one year, 250K contract. He is placed on the minor league roster.

[ElHalo]

How is Don Cardwell continuing to be a viable pitcher?

My team's hopes are really resting on 1971, when I can hopefully have both the MVP and CY winner (Stargell and Wood). I don't really have much expectation for them before that, but it's nice to know they're trying.

[leecemark]

--Hate to break you the bad news EH, but Stargell will be a free agent after 1967. You might still have him in 1971, but thats hardly in the bag. Wood should still be yours, but he didn't win the Cy Young.

[538280]

How is Don Cardwell continuing to be a viable pitcher?

My team's hopes are really resting on 1971, when I can hopefully have both the MVP and CY winner (Stargell and Wood). I don't really have much expectation for them before that, but it's nice to know they're trying.

I must admit, I was amazed you even took Stargell. He is, after all, just another glorified Rob Deer. :D

[leecemark]

--A sweep of the Gamblers gets the Knights in first (well tied) where they belong:dance :gt

[The Dude]

You won't be there for long Mark. I'm teaching Buhl how to throw a gyroball.:crazy

[catcher24]

Posted by Dudecar:
You won't be there for long Mark. I'm teaching Buhl how to throw a gyroball.

I want to see the gyroball pitch!!:laugh :laugh

[catcher24]

Stats have all been uploaded to the website. I would suggest everyone check their usage figures, especially if you have someone who has been playing pretty regularly but only was a part time player in real life. I checked my players, and there are two I will need to keep a very close eye on.

Remember, you can use a player 140% of real life plate appearances or pitchers faced.

Also, I'm going to try to add some notes each week and try to catch any particularly good batting days or pitching days. Scott does this in the PAP2 League, and last season OOTP did it automatically. I think it adds a bit. I'll just put the info in a small text section on the web page (or if it doesn't fit well, I'll put a link to the text page). If some of you enjoy it, I'll continue to do it. If not, I won't.

[mac195]

HC will move Tony Kubek to backup SS behind Andre Rodgers vs. RHP.

[J W]

Nice to see the boys finally have a positive run differential! Wouldn't look good from a first place team with a fat (-) in front of the number. :D

The offense is creeping up to par too. I know we're better than than the doormats, this year.

[ElHalo]

I must admit, I was amazed you even took Stargell. He is, after all, just another glorified Rob Deer. :D

It all depends on what you're looking for out of life, Chris. Sometimes you take the W's anyplace you can get them, and sometimes you'd rather stick with your principles and end up on the downside for it. Here, I'll go with what works.

On the flipside, though, I was thinking of this today: What would I, as a Yankee fan whose favorite player is Derek Jeter, rather see:

A) Jeter goes .250/.320/.350 this year and the Yanks win the WS, or
B) Jeter goes .350/.450/.550 this year, wins the MVP, and the Yanks miss the playoffs.

At this point, I'd probably go with B.

[leecemark]

--Well JW your positive run margin only lasted 1 series, but you are still in 1st anyway. The Quakers have won 5 in a row to get back in the Hulbert hunt. My Knights have won 7 in a row to gain sole possesion of first in the Johnson, but the Gamblers recovered from being swept by them to sweeping the Redbirds as the Johnson race looks to be very interesting. The Hard Cider are firmly in control of the Cartwright.

[catcher24]

5/3/2006 @ JW W 6-0 Stenhouse R Stenhouse

OK, good series, two out of three from the Skipjacks and Stenhouse is back on track!

[catcher24]

The Hard Cider are firmly in control of the Cartwright.

Mac has a small advantage (along with all of that division's other managers). The A's proved themselves the most inept of the doormats last year by dropping 117 games, and they're well on the way to repeating this year. With the unbalanced schedule, Mac plays them more. No offense meant to Mac, because he has put together a very formidable team, and perhaps the A's record is so bad because they play Mac more!:laugh

[mac195]

Hey, those A's just beat HC 2 out of 3, first opponent to take a series.

[leecemark]

--30 games in and the 3 division champs from last year are again leading their divisions....

[mac195]

Guess I might as well DL Fairly. I'll bring up Rollins. He can't play 1B, but at least he'll be another bat off the bench. Put Rollins at backup 20% behind Davenport, and Rodgers behind Sievers at 1B.

Lineup vs. RHP
1 CF Davis (Spangler)
2 LF Floyd Robinson (Spangler)
3 RF Frank Robinson (Clinton)
4 C Haller (Camilli)
5 1B Sievers (Rodgers)
6 3B Davenport (Rollins 20%)
7 SS Rogers (Kubek)
8 2B Moran (Rogers)
PH vs RHP: Spangler, Kubek
PH vs LHP: Clinton, Rollins Lollar

Lineup vs. LHP
1 3B Davenport (Rollins 20%)
2 1B Sievers (Rodgers)
3 LF Frank Robinson (Floyd Robinson)
4 C Camilli (Haller DR)
5 RF Clinton (Floyd Robinson)
6 CF Brandt (Davis)
7 2B Moran (Rodgers)
8 SS Rodgers (Kubek)
PH vs RHP: Haller, Floyd Robinson, Kubek
PH vs LHP: Rollins, Haller, Floyd Robinson

[The Dude]

Lineup Vs RHP:
1.CF-Curt Flood (Virdon)
2.2B-Jerry Adair (Boros)
3.1B-Harmon Killebrew (Skowron)
4.C-Elston Howard (Rodgers 10%)
5.LF-Rocky Colavito (Keunn)
6.3B-Frank Malzone (Skowron)
7.RF-Stan Musial (Alou 25%)
8.SS-Eddie Bressoud (Schoendienst 5%)
Pinch Hitter: Default

Lineup VS LHP:
1.CF-Curt Flood (Virdon)
2.2B-Jerry Adair (Boros)
3.1B-Harmon Killebrew (Skowron)
4.C-Elston Howard (Rodgers 10%)
5.LF-Rocky Colavito (Keunn)
6.3B-Frank Malzone (Skowron)
7.RF-Stan Musial (Alou 5%)
8.SS-Eddie Bressoud (Schoendienst 5%)
Pinch Hitter: Default


Changed theh eatr of the order.

[538280]

Cash .230 .362 .360
Tresh .209 .285 .302
Sawatski .202 .284 .321
Pagliaroni .147 .275 .324
Jay 4.76 2-4
Ford 5.27 0-3
Barber 6.43 1-3

Man, these guys had better get it together quick, because the HC are running away with the division. My team this far has been underachieving.

[catcher24]

Chris, with the stats you posted, underachieving is an understatement!:eek:

[catcher24]

Stats have been uploaded. Dave Stenhouse threw a one hit shutout against the Skipjacks! Only Johnny Edwards two out single in the second spoiled the nohitter.

And what the league leaderboards don't show (because neither one has enough AB to qualify) is that my firstbase combo of McCovey/Adcock is batting .333 and slugging .722 with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 13 HR, 31 runs and 34 RBI.

[leecemark]

--The Cannons are startign to get untracked with 4 wins in a row, moving up to 2nd place.

[catcher24]

Three shutouts in a row by Mac's staff? And another one by Hank Aguirre? He's the Cy Young choice right now. If you didn't catch it in the notes on the website, I had him as the Pitcher of the Month for April, and he's started May with two straight shutouts! Can't wait to see the boxscores, Mark!

And I want to know how the Skipjacks are three games over .500 with a -13 run differential!

[leecemark]

--The Redbirds take 2 of 3 to pull within one of the Knights.

[mac195]

HC will bring Camilli off the DL and send Lollar down, and also put Kubek back at SS vs RHP.

Lineup vs. RHP
1 CF Davis (Spangler)
2 LF Floyd Robinson (Spangler)
3 RF Frank Robinson (Clinton)
4 C Haller (Camilli)
5 1B Sievers (Rodgers)
6 3B Davenport (Rollins 20%)
7 SS Kubek (Rogers 30%)
8 2B Moran (Rogers)
PH vs RHP: Spangler, Camilli, Clinton
PH vs LHP: Camilli, Clinton, Rollins/Davenport

Lineup vs. LHP
1 3B Davenport (Rollins 20%)
2 1B Sievers (Rodgers)
3 LF Frank Robinson (Floyd Robinson)
4 C Camilli (Haller DR)
5 RF Clinton (Floyd Robinson)
6 CF Brandt (Davis)
7 2B Moran (Rodgers)
8 SS Rodgers (Kubek)
PH vs RHP: Haller, Floyd Robinson, Kubek
PH vs LHP: Rollins/Davenport, Haller, Floyd Robinson

[mac195]

Mark, is that game results file an old one?

[leecemark]

--It was a repeat of the previous series. Here is the most recent, plus some extras.

[catcher24]

Newest stats are up on the website. Updating notes now, and that will be up very shortly.

[catcher24]

If you get a chance, check out the league notes this week. We had a 4 HR/ 12 RBI game; a one hitter; and eight shutouts. Not to mention four players scoring four runs each - in the same game!:eek:

[catcher24]

Joe Adcock's OPS vs LHP: 1.535!:D

[catcher24]

Mac has the FOUR top ERA leaders!!:eek:

[leecemark]

--The Knights break out the broom in a rematch with the Redbirds to gain some breathing room. The Hulbert continues to be a tight battle and Mac is leaving rest of the Cartwright division in his dust.

[leecemark]

--The Knights send Dennis Bennett to AAA Kalamazoo and call up Joe Gibbon. Smokey Braithwaite says "we want to get Dennis pitching every 5th day and honing his craft. Gibbon is a proven commidity that we were lucky to find unsigned after the season got started".

[mac195]

Another 1Bman goes down... well, I'd like to activate Fairly, and get him back in as soon as he is availible.

[J W]

My part-timers are ahead of schedule, particulary Fregosi (sigh). Please note the following changes:

Lineup vs. RHP
CF Geiger (Lock)
1B Runnels (Clendenon) DR-Clendenon
RF Allison (Luplow 5%)
LF Yaztrzemski (Luplow 5%)
3B Robinson (Mantilla)
C Edwards (Torre 5%)
SS Mantilla (Fregosi) DR-Fregosi
2B Mazeroski (Mantilla)

PHR - comp control
PHL - Luplow, Clendenon, Fregosi

Lineup vs. LHP
SS Fregosi (Mantilla 50%)
1B Clendenon (Runnels 20%)
CF Lock (Geiger 5%)
RF Allison (Luplow)
3B Robinson (Mantilla)
LF Yastrzemski (Luplow 50%)
C Torre (Edwards 5%) DR-Edwards
2B Mazeroski (Mantilla)

PHR - Runnels, Geiger, Edwards
PHL - comp control

Also, please switch Claude Raymond and Ed Roebuck's roles:

RH Setup - Roebuck, Raymond

[J W]

Brooks is killin' me so far. He really needs to pick it up if my offense hopes to work!

Meanwhile, my staff had a good series against the Hard Cider, but Pierce takes another loss... the guy's got a 1.12 WHIP and a 7.55 ERA. How? He's given up 14 HRs, 5 off of his pace for the entire 1962 season. Was Candlestick Park really that different from Camden Yards?

[catcher24]

Posted by JW:
Was Candlestick Park really that different from Camden Yards?

Yeah, the Stick had that wind blowing in. At Camden, those shots are HR's!!:D

[leecemark]

--Mac, Fairly has 3 games left before he can come off the DL. Remind me after the next series.

[J W]

:eek: :noidea :o :D

er, um, I meant Memorial Stadium... of course those shots are HRs in Camden Yards. :laugh

[leecemark]

--Another series in the books. About a quarter of the way through the season and everybody is within a few games of at least the Wild Card.

[mac195]

--Mac, Fairly has 3 games left before he can come off the DL. Remind me after the next series.

:waving Fairly is ready to play ball. Please activate him and send Rollins back down. Fairly will play full time at 1B until Sievers comes back.

[538280]

My pitching has been horrible, so it can't hurt to make some changes. I'm making Al Jackson my 4th starter instead of Steve Barber and I'm making Orlando Pena my #1 Long man instead of Cal Koonce.:

Pitching
SP1 Ford
SP2 Jay
SP3 Sanford
SP4 Jackson
SP5 Barber (skip)
Spot starter: Pena, Koonce
Mop up: Joyce, Koonce
Long man: Pena, Koonce
LH set up: Butler, Clevenger
RH set up: Clevenger, Joyce
LH closer: Miller, Butler
RH closer: Miller, Clevenger

[catcher24]

New stats and notes uploaded to the website.

BTW, how many are checking the League Notes? If most are reading them and enjoy them, I will continue posting them. If no one is, then I'll probably discontinue them. Let me know. Thanks!

[Nails]

New stats and notes uploaded to the website.

BTW, how many are checking the League Notes? If most are reading them and enjoy them, I will continue posting them. If no one is, then I'll probably discontinue them. Let me know. Thanks!

I've been checking them out on a weekly basis.

[leecemark]

--Another series played and the Diablos brutalized the Knights, picking up a sweep to go over .500 and pull within a game of 2nd place.

[mac195]

Sievers has really been terrible. I'll just leave Fairley in to play 1B full time.

[catcher24]

Posted by Nails:
I've been checking them out on a weekly basis.

Thanks. Glad someone enjoys it. However, I should mention that the notes change about every three days - whenever Mark sends me a new file (after six games), I put up a new notes section. So you're probably about half of them.

[leecemark]

--Another series in the books. The Diablos enter June on an 8 game winning streak.

[baseballPAP]

New stats and notes uploaded to the website.

BTW, how many are checking the League Notes? If most are reading them and enjoy them, I will continue posting them. If no one is, then I'll probably discontinue them. Let me know. Thanks!
Still checking in once or twice a week Lew.....

[baseballPAP]

Hiller in for Banks Mark......

[leecemark]

--Lew, even though I'm the one actually running the games and have access to everything I'm still picking up stuff I'd wouldn't other wise see from the notes. I don't look thoough all the boxscores, so the great single game performances often go unnoticed (unless they happen in a Knights game).

[catcher24]

Mark - I don't look through all the box scores, either. I got a third party utility (and I think Scott may use it too) called Trilogy. The link was on the DM website. It checks all the box scores for whatever your criteria is, so it takes a little bit, but I think it makes the league more enjoyable. In all honesty, I wouldn't have caught Hank Aaron's 4HR, 12 RBI game without it, and probably no one else would have either (except maybe Chris). I also think it's easier to read the boxscores (I look over all of the Legends games) online because you have an entire page, rather than the partial one in DM.

Since it appears most people are still looking at the notes, I'll continue them. Thanks for the replies, too.

[leecemark]

--Here are the batting and pitching leaders for the month of May.

[leecemark]

--The Diablos 8 game streak came to a rude end as the Cannons swept them to take a 3 game lead for 2nd place in the Cartwright. The Legends are working on a streak of their own, dropping 6 straight to drop into a tie for 2nd in a Hulbert race that looks to be a dog fight again this year.

[leecemark]

--Oops, forgot the attachments

[catcher24]

Due to a foul up on my part:o , I didn't get the stats posted for the last league file Mark sent me. Since he sends them every other day, I will wait for the next one to upload stats and notes to the site.

[J W]

Great time for my team to beat up on a few doormats. :cool: Strange 13-16 loss to the Athletics though with Dean Chance on the mound.

Robinson, Runnels, and even Geiger are hot bats right now and that's what I needed to make the offense click. Torre is doing well in the lefty platoon too. My team still hasn't cracked .400 in slugging though. :laugh

My staff ERA is kinda high but four out of my five starters have sub-4.0 ERAs... just no one spectacular. And when the time comes, McMahon is shutting the door.

So, I guess this is how you win with a mediocre offense and mediocre pitching. I wonder if the stats will catch up to the record, or if the record will fall down to the stats?

[leecemark]

--The Legends skid hit 8 before taking the finale from the Quakers. The Cannons are the leagues hottest team, closing in on the Hard Cider as each division looks to be closer this season.

[mac195]

I'd like to change my team "use relievers" setting to "standard", leaving it at "most" only when Pizarro starts.

[baseballPAP]

Hiller in for Banks Mark......
And now back again.....gotta get Mr.Redleg errrr Cub back in there!

[leecemark]

--The Redbirds take 2 of 3 from the Knights as each division leader is now at 4 games up.

[catcher24]

Stats and notes for games of 5/25 through 6/8 are now up on the website.

[catcher24]

Mark - I sent you a new Manager Profile. So everyone else knows, I demoted Jack Kralick and Bob Hendley and promoted Harvey Haddix and Phil Regan to take their spots in the rotation.

[leecemark]

--That Kralick signing isn't working out so good, eh? I didn't sign anybody for more than a minimum contract this offseason, but how is everybody who spent some cash feeling about their purchase? I did trade for a high ticket player in Roger Maris, who is barely hitting his weight:( .

[mac195]

Willie Davis will never be worth $10.75 million, but he's doing pretty well so far - one of the few bright spots for my offense.

[538280]

Skinner has been great, but what's up with Steve Barber? I wasn't getting him as much for this year anyway, more for the future.

Anyway, what's worrying me more is Whitey Ford. DM has been known to do some funny things with lefthanders, so hopefully for me Ford isn't becoming prey to that. I need him too, my pitching has been horrible.

Luckily, my offense has been tremendous, and offseason acquisitions Mantle and Skinner certainly have been a huge part of that.

The scary part is that my offense should really be doing even better, because Norm Cash and Tom Tresh both are underperforming.

[Nails]

--That Kralick signing isn't working out so good, eh? I didn't sign anybody for more than a minimum contract this offseason, but how is everybody who spent some cash feeling about their purchase? I did trade for a high ticket player in Roger Maris, who is barely hitting his weight:( .

I'm pleased with Frank Howard. I thought about re-signing Kralick, but I'm kind of glad I didn't now. I'm hoping my record will eventually catch up with my positive run margin.

[catcher24]

Chris - Yup, your offense IS in high gear! Did you check out the most recent notes? Two of your guys competed for Batter of the Month in May.

Mike - Howard has worked out well for you. He's been very productive, and steady. He was right up there near the top for BOTM in April, and he wasn't too far away in May.

Mark - Not really too happy with the Kralick signing, or the fact I kept Bob Hendley for another year. They've been absolutely horrid. My hitting has been good enough to make me quite happy (fourth most runs as of last stats upload), but my pitching is definitely a problem (eighth in team ERA; only Chris' Cannons and the three doormats are worse!). Of course, his two best seasons left are in '63 and '64, so it may work out OK yet.

Don't know if the problems my staff is having continue to reflect the "magic" DM works with lefties or not - the four big disappointments (Kralick - 6.16 ERA (3.86), Hendley - 5.87 (3.60), Steve Hamilton - 7.43 (3.77), and Denny Lemaster - 6.86 (3.01)) are ALL lefties. Only lefty on my staff not getting killed on a regular basis is Bo Belinsky. Hamilton and Lemaster were counted on for middle relief, and both of them are double their real life ERA! Of course, looking at Mac's staff kind of destroys the "DM punishes lefties" argument, with Aguirre absolutely lights out and Koufax and Spahn not doing too badly.:noidea

[leecemark]

--There is no inherent bias against LHP in the program. The problem they run into is the lefties generally have larger platoon splits than righties and there is alot more platooning in a draft league where the talent concentration is higher. They don't get as many of the relatively easy outs vs LH batters they did in real life. Or that is the most common theory I've found on the issue anyway.
--I think its pretty telling that Scott, the owner with the most DM experience, made ridding the Redbirds of LHP his first priority when taking over the team (of course he also plays in Fenway). Personally, I find that all LHP have to be discounted some and mediocore LHP are something to avoid. Curt Simmons has been pretty solid for me though and Gary Peters is my top pitching prospect (if he disappoints the Knights could have some lean years). I also like to have a couple lefties in the pen, but try to use them only as LH setup guys, where they get to face as many LH batters as possible (and even then my 2nd lefty has been bombed alot).

[catcher24]

No, I know there isn't any inherent bias against lefties; that would be crazy, the game would be worthless. I don't know if I buy the platooning argument or not. I think most draft league managers will "stack" their lineups with righties or lefties, depending on the opposing pitcher, so I would think that righthanded pitchers would face a lot more lefty batters than in real life and thus would get beat up pretty good,too, but that doesn't seem to happen as much. But the theory is worth considering. I may have to kind of keep an eye on that. And both McCovery and Pinson (lefthanded batters) are doing very well against lefties, while a couple of my right handed batters are doing worse against them. So I just don't know.

[leecemark]

--The increased platooning does work both ways, but lefties are more vulnerable to its effects. The are lots of guys who have real careers as LH batters without ever learning to hit LHP. And for pitchers there is even a "position" for guy whose only value is retiring only LH batters. Even most good LHB suffer more of a platoon split than good RHB. Many everyday LHB would actually be well served by having a platoon partner. That is far less true for righties.

[mac195]

Diamond Mind seems pretty park sensitive. I had little success with lefties in the earlier leagues, especially playing in Fenway. But so far in Yankee Stadium my lefties have generally performed as well or better than expected.

[leecemark]

--That is something else to consider. I've always used Tiger Stadium and the short porch in RF makes me want to keep LH pitchers around in hopes of controlling other teams LH power hitters.

[catcher24]

Mark, the argument that some LH hitters make a career out of platooning should in fact INCREASE the damage done to righthanded pitchers, since that is who the good LH platoon hitters would be playing against. So I would think the RH pitchers would be the ones to suffer most based on platooning, and the LH pitchers would be a bit better. DM seems to work in just the opposite direction. Mac's argument makes some sense, too, but I have Forbes Field as my home park, with that atrocious Death Valley in leftcenter, so it seems my lefties should be good, at least at home. Maybe I'll check that - home/road performance of my lefties.

[catcher24]

Oh well, it seems I can get reports on pitches per game, percentage of strikes/balls and everything else, but no home/road splits for pitchers, unless I missed it somewhere.

[538280]

Chris - Yup, your offense IS in high gear! Did you check out the most recent notes? Two of your guys competed for Batter of the Month in May.


I saw it. I would be smiling much more if it wasn't for my pitching. :crazy

Ford might be a victim of the LH problem too. In Crosley, though? I guess it is a small ballpark....

[mac195]

I think there is a general lefty problem for the reasons Mark has stated. They just don't get as much chance to beat up on left handed batters in the sim. Good lefty hitters usually don't platoon much in real life, even if they are only mediocre vs. LHP. In the sim it's easy to bench the lefty star, since he can't complain about it, and won't sulk and go into a slump. Maybe that factor should be built in to add more realism. I remember in OOTP the players would complain about lack of playing time, but I don't know if that effected the simulation at all.

[leecemark]

--Another series in the books with nothing much changed in the races. I've been speeding along the last few days, so I'll pause until Monday night to give people a chance to review and make changes if they wish (JW, Pierce is out of your misery for 11 days;) ).

[538280]

Wow, Vic Wertz is batting .515 in 33 at bats! :eek: With Cash not doing all that great, he probably deserves a bit more playing time. So, just a minor change to my lineup vs. RHP:

Lineup vs. RHP
1.Tom Tresh, SS (Chacon)
2.Bob Skinner, LF (Bruton 10%)
3.Mickey Mantle, CF (Bruton)
4.Hank Aaron, RF (Pearson)
5.Norm Cash, 1B (Wertz 25%)
6.Carl Sawatski, C (Pagliaroni 30%)
7.Clete Boyer, 3B (Yost 5%)
8.Frank Bolling, 2B (Chacon 20%)
PH: Wertz, Pearson, Yost

[mac195]

Doug Camilli - real life .284/.366/.523, sim .145/.217/.339 - and he's only playing against lefty staters. How pathetic is that? :grouchy

He looks like the 1963 version of Camilli instead of '62. I'll move him down from the cleanup spot vs. LHP to #7. Everyone 5-7 moves up one spot.

[catcher24]

Stats through 9/16 now uploaded. Also, I have changed the notes section. It is no longer a link, but a drop down list (now that I found out how to do that). You can select the notes for whatever period you want, then click the go button. Hope this works OK for everyone. I thought it might be nice to have them all available. This way, if you don't get to peruse them before the next ones are uploaded, you can still read them. They would all be up still if I had known how to do this before!

[mac195]

Mark, actually I wanted to put Camilli at #6 in the lineup vs. LHP, and behind Clinton as a pinch hitter.

[leecemark]

--Pop Oldfarte's rundown of the Knights performance 60 games into the season. "We haven't been as dominating as we were last season, but we're leading the division and seem to be gelling after some early stumbles. Camilio Pascual is more or less on the same pace that earned him the CYA in 1961. The rest of the starters have been a little inconsistent. The worlds oldest rookie, Don Rudolph has been our 2nd best guy."
--The bullpen has been strong. Barney Schultz has been even better than last year. Chet Nichols has also improved on his 1961 performance. Don Elston and Bill Dailey have also stepped in and pitched very well."
--"The lineup hasn't been quite as strong. Jim Gentile is having a nice season, but its far removed from his historic 1961 campaign. Roger Maris has struggled all season, but I'm hoping he'll get untracked. Most of our other starters are about where they were last year. The one guy who has really upped his performance is Johnny Romano, who is having a MVP type year."
--"The bench, other than rookies Lou Johnson and Dick SChofield, hasn't contributed much. Frank Thomas, Dick McAuliffe and Cam Carreron were all key contributors in 61, but have looked lost this year. Mac is a guy we are counting on to play a big role for us in the future and he may need to go down to Kalamazoo to get his swing back. I may be asking Smokey to find me another bench bat before the deadline, if these guys don't start hitting."

[mac195]

Fairly has a .514 OPS vs. LHP... guess I'll have to put Sievers back in at 1B in that role. Hopefully he's been working hard in the batting cage and is ready to contribute.

[ElHalo]

At least I'll get a good draft pick...

[catcher24]

Another change to the Notes section. It is now just a drop down list; click the arrow and choose which dates you are interested in. Clicking on those dates will load the notes for that time period. Boy, I've learned a lot in the last two days!:laugh

[J W]

Hmmm... ok, put Billy Pierce on the 15-day DL and call up Jim Golden. Give Jim Bouton Pierce's starts. If he does well then I may send Pierce to the minors.

Still want that trade, Mac? :laugh

[leecemark]

--Games are back underway. The Hard Cider took 3 from the Cannons to gain some breathing room, as the Cannons fall back into a 2nd place tie with the Diablos. The Skipjacks hold the Hulbert lead as that divisions only winning team.

[J W]

Long-time Skipjacks manager Wilie "Codfish" Spatz is enjoying something of a renaissance in his second year in the DMK leagues. Under some criticism in his first season, he has taken a team not sporting many impressive stats and managed a winning record at the beginning of the '62 season. In the weak Hulbert Division, that's good enough for first place.

Beanie Bill:

"We're maximizing our talent right now. Everyone has a role and most of them understand what they have to do. The lockerroom is tight and the team is enjoying itself and Ol' Codfish has been a big part of that. We're looking forward to the rest of the season."

One way Codfish has helped the team this season is via quirky ritual. For example, the noted Leatherwood chewer began planting a spittoon in the Skipjack dugout reading "DONATIONS HERE". Before the first game of any road trip, he has his team wash their hands in whiskey. "Gets the germs off... helps grip too..." he often says. Young building blocks like Carl Yastrzemski are relishing under the I'm-old-but-I'll-whoop-you coach. Even the rather clean players on the team are partaking in the festivities.

Rumors surrounded the team that Spatz would hang up his uniform after year one of the ambitious Skipjacks project. The 65 year old quashed those rumors in April. "The day I'm no longer a Skipjack", says Codfish, "is the day they're planting my (posterior) in the ground."

NOTES
* * * * * * * * * *
- One player who is assuredly not having a bad year is RFer Bob Allison, named the team's Player of the Month for the second time in a row. Allison is among league leaders in OBP, slugging and HRs and leads the league with 7 triples.

Jim "Rainbows" Monahan: "This guy's peaking at just the right time for us. I don't even have to spend much time with him anymore. He's helping me teach the young players."

- 1960 All-Star Brooks Robinson has a quirky line--48 RBIs and an OBP under .300. How is that done? You could start with 10 sac bunts, 8 sac flies and 12 home runs. Says Robinson, "I'm just trying to score Pete (Runnels) and Bob." True, if bland and obvious.

- The starting pitching, which showed well last season until the staff fell apart at the end, is doing yeoman's work, with the help of Robinson and newly acquired Gold-Glover Bill Mazeroski. No one is having a spectacular year (though Johnny Podres is off to a torrid 7-0 start), but four of the Skipjacks' five starting pitchers sport ERAs under 4.0. And, any lead has been well kept by FA closer Don McMahon.

- Pitching coach George "Butterfly" Carpenter offers a different reason for the success of the youthful staff: "Johnny Edwards has been my personal MVP this year. He's just terrific with the pitchers, and he's got a cannon for an arm. He's keeping our staff in line and giving us a chance to win most of our games."

- One player who has still not shown his potential is the Skipjacks' inaugural pick Yastrzemski. "Yaz is going through some growing pains still," says Monahan. "He needs to learn to control that wild swing of his... just to go with the ball and focus enough to know where he's hitting it. That swing may look odd but he's the rare athlete with the ability to master it."

[mac195]

Still want that trade, Mac?
No, thanks. Wanna dump Yaz? ;)

[leecemark]

--The surprising Diablos slipped in front of the Redbirds and Cannons to take the lead in the Wild card race. Meanwhile the Knights have caught up with the Hard Cider in the race for best record.

[catcher24]

Stats have been updated on the website through games of June 22nd. Notes will be updated later this week, after the next set of stats from Mark.

[leecemark]

--The Redbirds have put together a 5 game winning streak to move into the WC lead, although no division leader has pulled away yet. In fact, all the owned teams are very much in contention as we near the halfway point.

[leecemark]

--Chris, the Cannons and Knights just completed one of the wildest games of the year (the wildest for the Knights anyway). You took a 9-2 lead into the 7th, but I came back for 8 in the bottom of the inning - with a Willie Mays grand slam bring home the last 4. You tied it up in the top of the 9th, but Jim Gentile brought the game winner in with a double in the bottom of the 9th for an 11-10 win.

[538280]

Quite the game there. I just wish we were the winners! :crazy .

11-10...that's becoming the quintessential score of a Cannons game this year.

[J W]

Go ahead and send Pierce to the minors, Mark. I want to see what Bouton and Golden can do for a while.

All hail Don McMahon--hope he keeps it up. Meanwhile, it looks like our doormats are a bit more competetive this season... in fact, Art Mahaffey is doing as good a job as any pitcher out there for the Athletics!

[leecemark]

--The doormats are a little more competitive this season. Which is a little surprising since they have exactly the same personnel, with the same projections. I guess some of the owned teams just aren't quite as good. For sure, Mac and I aren't running away from the league like we did last year and some of the great performers of 1961 have come back to earth (for guys like Gentile, Maris and Cash just as they really did).

[leecemark]

--I just did a look at everybody's roster to see who might be headed for excessive use. Here is everybody over 65% of real life usage;
Cannons: Clevenger 99, Sawatski 83, Joyce 78, Mantle 65
Gamblers: Nobody - great job
Diablos: Kaline 72, Schilling 65 (but how can you rest a guy hitting 185?)
Skipjacks: None - great job
Knights: Dailey 79, Johnson 70
Legends: McCovey 66
Hard Cider: Camilli 91, Haller 65 (catching problems looming)
Quakers: none - great job
Redbirds: Snider 68

[leecemark]

--The Hard Cider have reeled off an 8 game winning streak to open a 9 game cushion in the Cartwright. The last 3 of those were a sweep of the Redbirds to give the Knights a little more breathing room as well.

[catcher24]

Mark - Looks like a couple of guys are definitely headed for trouble (Clevenger, most notably). I go through my team every week or so, and compare the playing time to 140% of actual plate appearances/batters faced. Using that yard stick, even McCovey, at 66% of real playing time, is only at about 50% of his league limit. I hope everyone knows that two of the custom reports I created and upload each time ae the batter and pitcher usage reports. If anyone has any question where their players stand, just check that.

[538280]

Clevenger is headed down to the minors. Bring up Wes Stock and change my relief pitcher roles to look like this (changes to every role):

Spot starter: Pena, Barber
Mop up: Koonce, Stock
Long man: Pena, Koonce
LH set up: Joyce, Butler
RH set up: Butler, Joyce
LH closer: Miller, Joyce
RH closer: Miller, Butler

I'm also going to limit Sawatski's playing time a bit more. Also Frank Bolling is moving to the #2 spot against LHPs and Pagliaroni is moving down to #8. Change lineups to this:

Lineup vs. RHP
1.Tom Tresh, SS (Chacon)
2.Bob Skinner, LF (Bruton 10%)
3.Mickey Mantle, CF (Bruton)
4.Hank Aaron, RF (Pearson)
5.Norm Cash, 1B (Wertz 15%)
6.Carl Sawatski, C (Pagliaroni 40%)
7.Clete Boyer, 3B (Yost 5%)
8.Frank Bolling, 2B (Chacon 20%)
PH: Wertz, Pearson, Yost

Lineup vs. LHP
1.Tom Tresh, SS (Chacon)
2.Frank Bolling, 2B (Chacon 20%)
3.Mickey Mantle, CF (Bruton)
4.Hank Aaron, RF (Pearson)
5.Bob Skinner, LF (Bruton)
6.Norm Cash, 1B (Wertz)
7.Clete Boyer, 3B (Yost 5%)
8.Jim Pagliaroni, C (Sawatski 5%)
PH: Yost, Pearson, Chacon

[catcher24]

Stats and notes uploaded to the website (through games of 6/29). PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MAY NEED TO CLEAR YOUR CACHE BEFORE THE NEWEST NOTES WILL SHOW UP ON THE DROP DOWN. I would suggest clearing the cache BEFORE going to the website, or the old page might still load. Let me know if this is the case, mostly just for my own info. It may just be my system that keeps loading the older list until I empty the cache, because I create the update on my system.

[catcher24]

The Legends demote Bob Tillman and promote Merritt Ranew. Also, Phil Regan will be the #2 starter, and Harvey Haddix the #5 starter. Mark, I sent you the updated manager profile.

[leecemark]

--Another series in the books and the surprising Diablos have regained the WC lead. The Quakers have closed on both the WC and division lead with some steady play. The Hard Cider continue to pace the league.

[538280]

Mark, I have a question regarding Elio Chacon. I have had him marked at 15% playing time at 2B vs. both lefties and righties all season (and just recently changed that to 20% against LH), and yet he only has 12 PAs. Could you please make sure he's playing the proper amount of time?

[leecemark]

-- I made the change to 20%, but he was listed as the backup with no scheduled playing time prior to that change. Sorry if I missed something earlier.

[leecemark]

--The Skipjacks have won 6 in a row to open up a little cushion over the Quakers. Meanwhile the Redbirds have dropped 8 of 10 to fall 10 games back of the Knights. Looks like the WC race may be the most interesting this season, although there is a long ways to go.

[The Dude]

The Gamblers trade:
'64 2nd Round Pick
Dick Stigman-P
Eddie Bressoud-SS

to Hard cider for:

'64 First Round pick.

Confirm when you can mac.

[mac195]

I confirm. Bressoud will replace Rodgers in the lineup, and Stigman will replace Pizarro. Pizarro moves to Mossi's spot in the bullpen. Mossi and Rodgers go down to the minor league roster.

[mac195]

Lineup vs. RHP
1 CF Davis (Spangler)
2 LF Floyd Robinson (Spangler)
3 RF Frank Robinson (Clinton)
4 1B Fairly (Sievers)
5 C Haller (Camilli)
6 3B Davenport (Bressoud)
7 SS Kubek (Bressoud 20%)
8 2B Moran (Bressoud)
PH vs RHP: Spangler, Clinton, Camilli
PH vs LHP: Clinton, Camilli, Sievers

Lineup vs. LHP
1 3B Davenport (Bressoud)
2 1B Sievers (Fairly)
3 LF Frank Robinson (Floyd Robinson)
4 RF Clinton (Floyd Robinson)
5 CF Brandt (Davis)
6 C Camilli (Haller DR)
7 SS Bressoud (Kubek)
8 2B Moran (Bressoud)
PH vs RHP: Haller, Floyd Robinson, Fairly
PH vs LHP: Haller, Floyd Robinson, Fairly

Pitching
SP1: Aguirre
SP2: Koufax
SP3: Spahn
SP4: Bunning
SP5: Stigman (skip)
Spot: Pizarro

Mop up: Funk, Pizarro, Morgan
Long man: Morgan, Funk, Radatz
LH set up: Shantz, Radatz
RH set up: Radatz, Duliba
LH closer: Shantz, Radatz
RH closer: Radatz, Duliba

Profile
Batting
Bunt for hit: Least (Willie Davis - more)
Sac bunt: Less (Frank Robinson - never)
Squeeze: Less
Steal: Less (Davis - most, Moran, Rollins, Brandt - standard, Davenport, Haller - least)
Take extra bases: Standard
Take pitches: Standard
Pinch hitting
for pitchers: More
for non-pitchers: Standard
for platoon partners: More
in blowouts: Standard

Pitching
pitch around - Standard
IBB - Standard
use relievers - Standard
use closers - More

Defense
hold runners - Standard
IF in - Standard
guard lines - Standard

[538280]

Wow, good trade Mac. Bressoud will give you a very good shortstop for this season and the next two, Stigman is a good starter next year. The draft class is weak in '64, so you're not giving up that much there and you got a replacement pick in the 2nd round too. Good trade for the HC.

[leecemark]

--Dude, what were you thinking? Unless your team improves alot by next year (which is less likely without Stigman and Bressoud) you are only moving up a couple spots in the draft for in exchange for 2 good players. Let me know what changes you want to your roster ASAP.

[catcher24]

OK, Mac, you thought Chris was nuts in the Mantle trade with me. That was nothing compared to this thievery!:p You got two starters for what will effectively be around the 11th or 12th pick (probably) in a very weak class. But maybe Dude has something in mind (finish last so he gets the first pick in a GREAT 1963 rookie draft!:eek: ).

[leecemark]

--That might be a good strategy - if Dude hadn't already traded that pick away:confused: . Worse, that pick has ended up in Mac's hands giving him an additional benefit from this deal:eek: .

[538280]

But Dude has already traded away his '63 pick, and it's with the HC too!!! :grouchy

[catcher24]

I've uploaded stats and notes through July 6th.

Mark, I made some changes. I sent you an updated manager profile.

[J W]

Hey Mark, next update could you run league stats by team for me? I'd like to take a look at how my guys are doing vs. league average.

Stigman isn't as big a deal as Bressoud, who should be one of the better bang-for-buck middle infielders in baseball the next two years.

I shudder to think who Dick Allen is going to... The Legends, in my division, or the Hard Cider, already a tough nut to crack. Mark, could you maybe send him to Kansas City or something? :D

[leecemark]

--Perhaps he should insist on being a Phillie:clapping . I hate to think of him with the Hard Cider (although it would be my own fault since that pick was mine and I traded it to Mac). He would be a tough fit with the Legends, since they already have Santo. I guess they could find a spot though or get something very nice in trade. Allen gives a huge early payoff that makes him one of, if not the, best rookies of the whole decade.

[The Dude]

Do we have to go back up to 40 players during the season?


Lineup Vs RHP:
1.CF-Curt Flood (Virdon)
2.2B-Jerry Adair (Boros)
3.3B-Harmon Killebrew (Malzone)
4.C-Elston Howard (Rodgers 10%)
5.LF-Rocky Colavito (Keunn)
6.1B-Moose Skowron (Malzone 5%, Landrum %10)
7.RF-Stan Musial (Alou 25%)
8.SS-Roy McMillan (Schoendienst 5%)
Pinch Hitter: Default

Lineup VS LHP:
1.CF-Curt Flood (Virdon)
2.2B-Jerry Adair (Boros)
3.3B-Harmon Killebrew (Malzone)
4.C-Elston Howard (Rodgers 10%)
5.LF-Rocky Colavito (Keunn)
6.1B-Moose Skowron (Malzone)
7.RF-Stan Musial (Alou 5%, Landrum 25%)
8.SS-Roy McMillan (Schoendienst 5%)
Pinch Hitter: Default


Pitching Rotation:
SP1: Larry Jackson
SP2: Jim Kaat
SP3: Jim O'Toole
SP4: Bob Buhl
SP5: Don Lee
Spot Starter: Milt Pappas
Mop-up: Chuck Estrada
Longman: Chuck Estrada
Setup: Art Fowler, Tom Sturdivant
Closer: Roy Face

15 Day DL



Profile
Batting
Bunt for hit: Least
Sac bunt: More
Squeeze: Less
Steal: Standard (Most for Landrum)
Take extra bases: Most
Take pitches: Most

[leecemark]

--You can go either over or under 40 during the season. The only time that is the limit/requirment is on Opening Day. You traded away 2 players on your 25 man without getting anybody back though. Who are you calling up to fill the active roster.

[The Dude]

Roy McMillan and Don Landrum.

[The Dude]

I forgot to put in the trade on the post that there were two Players to be Named Later. Lots of bargaining on what year the picks would be and I Forgot all about those.
Mac and I have agreed on Don Mossi and Andre Rogers.
If Mac could confirm this when he has time.

[mac195]

I confirm... thought Dude had decided he didn't want Mossi and Rodgers, but turns out it was just a bit of confusion. I'm still willing to give them up.

[leecemark]

--Another series played. 4 teams within a game of the WC. The Legends and Gamblers need to get going or start thinking about next season.

[catcher24]

JW - I upload the team stats to the website every time I get a new file from Mark (after every six games). Just click on the Team Totals link. Also, clicking on any team logo will bring up the stats for that team's players. At least I think that's the info your looking for - team totals, with league totals at the bottom. I have found that it is sometimes necessary to clear my browser's cache to get the most updated info to load.

[leecemark]

--I think the reports included with the series just posted are what JW wanted. If not, let me know and I'll post them. As Lew said, the website has that info also and is usually no more than a few games behind what is posted here. In fact, some of the reporting is going to be more current since I don't provide every report after each series here, but they are all being updated on the website.
---Warning commercial break------
--The one time expense involved in buying the game will significantly increase your enjoyment of the league. You'll have all the boxscores, team and league reports, the ability to directly update your team and the ability to run multiple sims to see how different lineups and profile choices will affect your team. Plus, it is fun for running other projects of your own. It is a one time expense since I'll be buying each new season and will forward the updated league file to each owner who has the program. If you are interested check out www.diamondmind.com

[538280]

Roy McMillan and Don Landrum.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Roy McMillan's on my team under dead contract. I never traded him to you, so how's he on your team?

[leecemark]

--You released Roy McMillan. You just weren't released of the financial obligation since you released if after the non-tender period. The dead contract means a player no longer on your roster, but to whom you still owe money.

[The Dude]

Mark beat me to typing that out.

[J W]

OK--sorry 'bout the request, I'll check the website from here on.

Things that caught my eye:

- R/H splits are pretty even in avg and OBP, but the league is slugging 11 points higher vs. LHP than RHP.

- The four teams hitting generally better vs. RHP than LHP (Mac, Dudecar, Philly, Washington) are 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th in runs scored.

- Home Runs are up from 1962's pace by approximately 147:
3001 total HR, *12/20 for teams, *82/162 for pace, = 911 < 1058 HRs

- Runs scored are up from 1962's pace by approximately 522:
14461 total runs, *12/20 for teams, *82/162 for pace, = 4392 < 4914 runs

We've technically divvied up slightly over 17 teams' worth of talent into 9. Apparently, the consolidation of hitting, eliminating holes in the lineups, has had more effect than shoring up the pitching staffs. This means a guy with a 110 OPS+ may not cut it in the future. Hopefully our expansion will help the pitchers out some.

[J W]

Just checked the website...

Kudos to Sandy Koufax for hitting two HRs in one game for the Hard Cider. What makes it even more quirky is that his team scored 12 runs (which doesn't happen often), so they weren't needed at all.

Mac's pitching staff is absolutely dominating the league. His staff ERA is almost a full run better than everyone else, and 2/3 of his team starts are "quality".

Hank Aguirre may not have received a Cy Young vote in 1962, but he must be the early favorite here.

[catcher24]

JW - When you mention we are ahead of 1962 in HR and runs, you do mean the real life numbers, correct?

I agree on Aguirre. Doing the pitcher of the month and the notes sections, I'm just amazed at the incredible season he is producing so far. If the Cy Young vote were held today, he'd get mine easily.

BTW, I did customize the reports that I upload to the website. I cut out some of the stuff that to me seems rather esoteric. But if anyone would like that info included, I can adjust the reports accordingly.

It has always seemed to me that in this type of replay (dividing up several teams into a lot fewer teams), the hitting always dominates. There just aren't enough really good pitchers to go keep up with all of the really good hitters available in this type of league. Expansion in 1964 should help, since many of the players on the doormats will be gone, and the new owners will replace them with better players. We may have to consider additional expansion in 1969, since the real majors added four teams. If we don't, those 1961 hitting records set by Gentile might actually get broken!

Finally, to everyone, I can only try to reinforce what Mark says about owning the game increasing the enjoyment. I was reluctant to spend the $$$ (this is NOT a cheap game), but owning it makes the league so much easier to do, and also opens up many other opportunities not involving the Keeper league.

[leecemark]

--The Gamblers have dropped 6 in a row since the trade with the Hard Cider and it looks like time to say "wait till next year". The Quakers have won 4 in a row to take the lead in an extremely tight WC race (the Cannons, Redbirds and Diablos are all just a game back). Nails hasn't made up any ground on the Skipjacks though, as they continue to ball great ball. The doormats have all regressed after starting the year laying decent ball. They are all below .400 now.

[leecemark]

--Lew, I had been thinking of a second expansion in 1969 as well. I really don't want to see the talent get anymore concentrated than it already is. Of course, that assumes we can get enough good owners to expand.
--We would also probably need to look at some restructuring (probably to a 2 league concept). Plenty of time to worry about that though. The details can wait at least until we have a successfull 1964 expansion.

[mac195]

I'll put Davenport on the DL and bring up Rollins to replace him at 3B, same lineup slots.

[The Dude]

Move Don Mossi from the farm system into Lee's role in the 5th spot and move Lee to the DL.

[The Dude]

--The Gamblers have dropped 6 in a row since the trade with the Hard Cider and it looks like time to say "wait till next year".

Tough to wait till next year when you trade away next year for this year and everyone on your pitching staff underperforms. Oh well.:ughh

More changes:
Lineup Vs RHP:
1.RF-Jose Tartabull (Musial 25%)
2.CF-Curt Flood (Virdon)
3.3B-Harmon Killebrew (Malzone)
4.C-Elston Howard (Rodgers 10%)
5.LF-Rocky Colavito (Keunn)
6.1B-Moose Skowron (Malzone 5%, Landrum %10)
7.2B-Jerry Adair (Boros)
8.SS-Roy McMillan (Schoendienst 5%)
Pinch Hitter: Default

Lineup VS LHP:
1.RF-Jose Tartabull (Musial 15%, Landrum 5%)
2.CF-Curt Flood (Virdon)
3.3B-Harmon Killebrew (Malzone)
4.C-Elston Howard (Rodgers 10%)
5.LF-Rocky Colavito (Keunn)
6.1B-Moose Skowron (Malzone)
7.2B-Jerry Adair (Boros)
8.SS-Roy McMillan (Schoendienst 5%)
Pinch Hitter: Default

Profile
Batting
Bunt for hit: Least
Sac bunt: More
Squeeze: Less
Steal: Most (Except Killebrew, Skowron, Howard, and Musial)
Take extra bases: Standard
Take pitches: Standard

[leecemark]

--Wil, I don't have Tartabull on the active roster. Who is going down to make room for him?

[leecemark]

--We're halfway through the schedule with the All Star Game fast approaching. I'll be starting a separate thread for the voting. Prospective owners if you are following along you may join in the vote.

[The Dude]

Matty Alou went down to the minors Mark.

[catcher24]

Stats through July 13th are now on the web site, along with notes for the last week.

[leecemark]

--Another series in the books and the Diablos come out 1 game ahead of the other 3 WC contenders after this one.

[mac195]

I'm going to send Camilli down. He's at 110%, and he hasn't been any good anyway. Lollar comes up and replaces him in in the lineup vs. LHP.

[ElHalo]

Johnny Roseboro having 21 intentional walks is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Is Pagan really that terrible?

[leecemark]

--I just assumed Roseboro was picking up those IBB because he was hitting 8th (although it would still be awfully high). Now that I see he isn't it makes that figure pretty puzzling. He may end up with more than Gentile did last year when he was doing his Babe Ruth imitation.

[mac195]

Agreement has been reached on a major deal initiated by the Cannons.

To the Cannons: Juan Pizarro, Roy Sievers and Hard Cider's 1964 3rd round draft pick

To Hard Cider: Norm Cash and the Cannons' 1963 2nd round pick

Cider GM "Crabapple" McGilicutty said, "Norm is a big lefty bat, and throws some leather around at first. With him in the lineup there'll be a lot more souvenirs for folks out in the right field stands. We're sorry to lose Juan, but we expect to land a decent replacement pitcher or two with our '63 draft picks."

[mac195]

lineup changes:

Lineup vs. RHP
1 CF Davis (Spangler)
2 LF Floyd Robinson (Spangler)
3 RF Frank Robinson (Clinton)
4 1B Cash (Fairly)
5 C Haller (Lollar)
6 3B Rollins (Bressoud)
7 SS Kubek (Bressoud 20%)
8 2B Moran (Bressoud)
PH vs RHP: Fairly, Spangler, Clinton
PH vs LHP: Clinton, Brandt, Fairly

Lineup vs. LHP
1 3B Rollins (Bressoud)
2 1B Fairly (Cash)
3 LF Frank Robinson (Floyd Robinson)
4 RF Clinton (Floyd Robinson)
5 CF Brandt (Davis)
6 C Lollar (Haller DR)
7 SS Bressoud (Kubek)
8 2B Moran (Bressoud)
PH vs RHP: Cash, Haller, Floyd Robinson
PH vs LHP: Cash, Haller, Floyd Robinson

Pitching
SP1: Aguirre
SP2: Koufax
SP3: Spahn
SP4: Bunning
SP5: Stigman (skip)
Spot: Shantz

[leecemark]

--Chris, please confirm ASAP. I'll be running another series after work tonight and the involved players will be ineligible for either team if the trade is still unconfirmed.

[538280]

Trade confirmed. New lineups and rotation below. Wes Stock sent down to the minors.

Lineup vs. RHP
1.Tom Tresh, SS (Chacon)
2.Bob Skinner, LF (Bruton 10%)
3.Mickey Mantle, CF (Bruton)
4.Hank Aaron, RF (Pearson)
5.Roy Sievers, 1B (Wertz 15%)
6.Carl Sawatski, C (Pagliaroni 40%)
7.Clete Boyer, 3B (Yost 5%)
8.Frank Bolling, 2B (Chacon 20%)
PH: Wertz, Pearson, Yost

Lineup vs. LHP
1.Tom Tresh, SS (Chacon)
2.Frank Bolling, 2B (Chacon 20%)
3.Mickey Mantle, CF (Bruton)
4.Hank Aaron, RF (Pearson)
5.Bob Skinner, LF (Bruton)
6.Roy Sievers, 1B (Wertz)
7.Clete Boyer, 3B (Yost 5%)
8.Jim Pagliaroni, C (Sawatski 5%)
PH: Yost, Pearson, Chacon

Pitching
SP1 Ford
SP2 Pizarro
SP3 Sanford
SP4 Jay
SP5 Barber (skip)
Spot starter: Pena, Jackson
Mop up: Koonce, Jackson
Long man: Pena, Koonce
LH set up: Joyce, Butler
RH set up: Butler, Joyce
LH closer: Miller, Joyce
RH closer: Miller, Butler

[leecemark]

--Trade made and changes made to your rosters. Mac you only have 24 active players now.

[catcher24]

Looks like that trade might work out OK for both teams. Chris definitely needed some pitching help. Mac DIDN'T need another bat:rolleyes: , but I'm sure Cash and the draft pick will work out well for him, as usual!:laugh

[mac195]

--Trade made and changes made to your rosters. Mac you only have 24 active players now.

We'll go with 24 'till Davenport comes back if that's OK. Crabapple doesn't want to give anyone raise for next year.

[538280]

I figured I could spare Cash, because my offense is so awesome as it is, and I badly needed pitching so Pizarro was much more needed for my team than Cash. Sievers gives me a capable replacement for the next two years until I can find someone better.

My team for '63 is shaping up real nice, particularly the starting pitching for next year. Rotation will be Ellsworth, who's every bit as good as Koufax is next year, Ford, Pizarro and Steve Barber. That's a pretty awesome rotation.

[leecemark]

--Well it will beat this year's anyway:D . Hope the curse of the southpaws doesn't strike you down (or me either since I'm looking at 3 LH starters for 63).

[mac195]

Ellsworth, who's every bit as good as Koufax is next year...

http://home.wtal.de/homer/home/ho_smile.gif

[538280]

http://home.wtal.de/homer/home/ho_smile.gif

Koufax-311 IP, 161 ERA+, 32 WS
Ellsworth-290.7 IP, 167 ERA+, 32 WS

Ellsworth may even be better, considering that Koufax had the perfect context to play under while Ellsworth had Wrigley, and his ERA+ is better.

[mac195]

Just messing with you, Chris. Ellsworth might well turn out to be as good as Koufax, although I doubt that DM cares about ERA+. It will be interesting to see how they do.

[leecemark]

--Ellsworth has a great 1963 season, but he is no Koufax. The ERA+ is slightly better, but it is the components of the ERA that make up the programming. Koufax has a much better WHIP and over 100 more K's. With the stacked lineups in our league keeping the ball out of play helps. Of course, that doesn't mean Ellworth won't win the CY Young and Koufax won't post a 4.50 ERA next season:laugh . You are never quite sure how close to their real season any particular guy may come.

[leecemark]

--One more series to go until the All Star break. That series will be played tomorrow night. Thursday will be an off day for the league. If you want to reshuffle your pitching this will be the time. The break will be 4 days in league time so everybody will be fully rested when we resume.
--Only 5 ballots cast for the All Stars so far. Please get those in the next two days.

[leecemark]

--Oh and here are the updates from the series just played:p

[The Dude]

I wouldn't be happy with 4 leftys in the rotation. My two have gotten their socks rocked this year. Well, O'Toole is for some reason now pitching better.

[catcher24]

Yeah, Chris, I would be a little leery of three lefties in the rotation. I'm still not convinced that the game doesn't - unintentionally - have somewhat of a bias against lefties. I've had some great lefthanded pitchers get absolutely rocked. But then Mac has Aguirre, Koufax, Pizarro (pre-trade) and Spahn all doing OK this year, so maybe in the long run it will come close to evening out. But everything else being equal, if I have a comparable righthanded pitcher and left handed pitcher, I'm to the point now where I take the rightie - in DM, at least. I never noticed the same problem in OOTP or SOM, for that matter.

[leecemark]

--Okay we're into the All Star break. I'll give the last couple owners until this time tomorrow to cast their ballots. Games will resume on Friday. Let me know if you want any changes before then.

[leecemark]

--These are all the players at or exceeding 50% of their allowable usage. For those over 110% this is an official warning and a draft choice will be forfeited if you across the 140% level.
Cannons: Bolling 71, Butler 121, Clevenger 101, Joyce 99, Mantle 89, Sawatski 91, Skinner 75 and Wertz 126. You've got the most monitoring to do by a pretty good margin Chris.
Gamblers: Adair 70, Fowler 74
Diablos: Kaline 93, Roseboro 71, Schilling 83, Smith 77
Skipjacks: Chance 73
Knights: Dailey 88, Elston 71, Johnson 78, Simmons 78
Legends: Botz 98, Foiles 80, Jimenez 73, McCovey 87 and Post 73
Hard Cider: Aguire 71, Camilli 120, Haller 85, Koufax 82, Morgan 76
Quakers: Altman 70, Howard 77
Redbirds: Ashburn 80, Bilko 74, Snider 71.

[ElHalo]

Ok. I knew I was thin on PA's going into the season, so this is going to take some work.

Third base is relatively easy; I'll shift Smith and Hoak to 50% each, and that shouldn't be a problem.

Catcher, I'll bump Crandall up from 10% to 30%; if somebody gets hurt, I can always grab Leppert from the minors.

LF, I'll bump Lynch up to 40%, Essegian up to 35%, and knock Kaline down to 25%, and hopefully that shouldn't be too big of a problem for the rest of the season, though I'll have to keep a close eye if anybody gets injured (Hector Lopez is my only safety net... ugh).

The problem comes at 2B. I don't really have anybody I can use to replace Schilling, and Zim's kind of maxed out. For the moment, I'll drop Schilling to 60%, bump Sim to 40%, and once Schilling hits 110, I'll have to send him back down to the minors and bring up Luis Aparicio to take the reins at 2B (he never played a game there in his life, but hopefully the fact that he was a spectacular SS playing 2B shouldn't damage me too much... though his bat doesn't bear thinking about).

[leecemark]

--EH, your usage problems aren't really that bad. You may have missed it, but playing time limit is 140%. A little more rest may be in order for the guys you mention, but only Kaline is shaping up to be a serious problem. Of course, since he is carrying your offense, that is a problem you could do without.

[catcher24]

Mark - Yeah, as you know I've been monitoring some of my players closely. Botz has already been sent down. McCovey will likely go down soon (I have two guys who can use some ABs, so no problem there). Post is right on the cusp, with 73% played he's basically only half way to max, but I just started using him a lot recently. I think the 19 game injury to Savage has forced his AB's to adjust (obviously, since he's not listed). Prior to the injury, he was getting close and was in a more precarious position than Jiminez.

Just a reminder to everyone, I designed a custom report to track player usage. If you click on your team logo, this brings up your team reports. Right after the pitching reports, about one-third of the way down, are the Batter Usage and Pitcher Usage reports. These list the Sim and Real Life plate appearances for batters and batters faced for pitchers. Simply multiply the real life figure by 140%, and this will give you your limit. Hope you are all aware of this and are checking it regularly.

[leecemark]

--Here is how I'm dealing with my high usage players. Bill Dailey (88%) has been dispatched to the minors, probably not to return until sometime in August. Lou Johnson (78) has been removed from his platoon role in LF and will strictly PH for awhile. Curt Simmons (78) has been bumped to 5th starter and I'll skip his starts whenever possible. Don Elston (71) I'll leave alone unless his percents jump significantly higher.

[leecemark]

--Here are a few reports I haven't run very often. There is a current free agent list for anybody looking to fill a hole (this info is also available at the website), team vs team records, the transaction log (everybody who has been called up/sent down, traded, disabled, etc) and the injury log (shows all injuries so far this year). We actually have not had very many injuries this season, as compared to some (expect a rash of them now that I said that:D ).
--The trade deadline is July 31, which is only a couple weeks away in DM time and less in real time. I'll pause after the last series before 7/31 for at least 48 hours to allow for last minute dealing. Now is the time to decide if you are a buyer or seller and start looking for trade partners. Its close enough for most teams that it should be a sellers market for those who are ready to look towards the future.

[leecemark]

--I wish you could edit in the attachments. Anyway, here are the files I mentioned.

[catcher24]

As Mark mentions, the team vs team record is available whenever you want by clicking on the League Standings link on the web site and then scrolling down. The free agents are all also listed, by clicking on the Free Agents link. I don't upload any of the other reports Mark has produced. It could be done fiarly easily, but I didn't know how much interest there would be. Thanks for that info, Mark!

[538280]

--These are all the players at or exceeding 50% of their allowable usage. For those over 110% this is an official warning and a draft choice will be forfeited if you across the 140% level.
Cannons: Bolling 71, Butler 121, Clevenger 101, Joyce 99, Mantle 89, Sawatski 91, Skinner 75 and Wertz 126.

Lots of changes to make here. I knew going in I was thin, particularly on BF, though I must admit I didn't think I was quite this thin. Send Butler down to the minors, call up Wes Stock (again). Wertz is also going down, call up Billy Gardner. All things in bold are changes.

[Lineup vs. RHP
1.Tom Tresh, SS (Gardner)
2.Bob Skinner, LF (Bruton 15%)
3.Mickey Mantle, CF (Pearson 25%)
4.Hank Aaron, RF (Pearson)
5.Roy Sievers, 1B (Yost)
6.Jim Pagliaroni, C (Sawatski 20%)
7.Clete Boyer, 3B (Yost)
8.Frank Bolling, 2B (Chacon 20%)
PH: Pearson, Yost, Chacon

Lineup vs. LHP
1.Tom Tresh, SS (Gardner)
2.Frank Bolling, 2B (Chacon 20%)
3.Mickey Mantle, CF (Pearson 25%)
4.Hank Aaron, RF (Pearson)
5.Bob Skinner, LF (Bruton 15%)
6.Roy Sievers, 1B (Yost)
7.Clete Boyer, 3B (Yost)
8.Jim Pagliaroni, C (Sawatski 5%)
PH: Yost, Pearson, Chacon

Pitching
SP1 Ford
SP2 Pizarro
SP3 Sanford
SP4 Jay
SP5 Barber (skip)
Spot starter: Pena, Jackson
Mop up: Koonce, Jackson
Long man: Jackson, Koonce
LH set up: Koonce, Pena
RH set up: Pena, Joyce
LH closer: Miller, Pena
RH closer: Miller, Joyce

[catcher24]

Stats and notes updated through games of July 20th. Once again, if the newest info doesn't show up, try clearing your cache. I have to do it pretty regularly using Firefox.

[leecemark]

--I guess I wasn't paying attention to the date of the All Star break and we are closer to the trade deadline than I realized. The next series will take us through 30 July. That will be played tomorrow. There will be another pause until Monday night for deadline deals. Midnight EST on Monday will be the cutoff for deals to be posted and confirmed.

[leecemark]

--Last series before the trade deadline is complete. The aptly named Ted Savage goes down for 36 games in a brawl - his first day back from the DL!

[catcher24]

Thirty six games!!!:eek: You've got to be kidding!:grouchy Guy was having a good year, and this is his only decent year!

[catcher24]

The Legends braintrust, realizing that this season is beginning to look rather bleak for the team, will accept trade offers. Review my roster and, if interested in anyone, make an offer. As you all know well by now, future draft picks are particularly appealing to the Legends management.;)

[The Dude]

In what has become a trading partnership almost, the Hard Cider and Gamblers complete another trade.

The Gamblers Reciever:
-Skipjacks 3rd Round in '63 from the Hard Cider

Hard Cider:
-OF Stan Musial

Confirm when you can Mac.


General Manager Moe Green has this to say "Stan's been a great player for a long time. But the fact is, we've got younger players who are playing just as well as The Man. We're keeping an eye out for that great talent next year, and someone had to go. The logical choice was Stan, but we'll still miss him. He was great in helping those younger players ease into the game."

[mac195]

HC confirm that deal, and send out a big welcome to future HOFer, Stan Musial. Stan will join the major league squad, and become the first pinch hitter off the bench.

Also, HC will activate Jim Davenport, send Rollins down to the minors, and make a few adjustments to the profile.

Lineup vs. RHP
1 CF Davis (Spangler)
2 LF Floyd Robinson (Musial)
3 RF Frank Robinson (Clinton)
4 1B Cash (Fairly)
5 C Haller (Lollar)
6 3B Davenport (Bressoud)
7 SS Kubek (Bressoud 20%)
8 2B Moran (Bressoud)
PH vs RHP: Musial, Fairly, Spangler
PH vs LHP: Clinton, Brandt, Musial

Lineup vs. LHP
1 3B Davenport (Bressoud)
2 1B Fairly (Cash)
3 LF Frank Robinson (Floyd Robinson)
4 RF Clinton (Floyd Robinson)
5 CF Brandt (Davis)
6 C Lollar (Haller DR)
7 SS Bressoud (Kubek)
8 2B Moran (Bressoud)
PH vs RHP: Musial, Cash, Floyd Robinson
PH vs LHP: Musial, Cash, Floyd Robinson

Pitching
SP1: Aguirre
SP2: Koufax
SP3: Spahn
SP4: Bunning
SP5: Stigman (skip)
Spot: Shantz

Mop up: Funk, Morgan
Long man: Morgan, Funk, Radatz
LH set up: Shantz, Radatz
RH set up: Radatz, Duliba
LH closer: Shantz, Radatz
RH closer: Radatz, Duliba

Profile
Batting
Bunt for hit: Least (Willie Davis - more)
Sac bunt: Less (Frank Robinson - never)
Squeeze: Less
Steal: Less (Davis - most, Moran, Rollins, Brandt, Musial - standard, Davenport, Haller - least)
Take extra bases: Standard
Take pitches: Standard
Pinch hitting
for pitchers: More
for non-pitchers: More
for platoon partners: Most
in blowouts: More

Pitching
pitch around - Standard
IBB - Standard
use relievers - More
use closers - More

[catcher24]

Mac, you really need to get the game. I think you're wearing Mark down to a frazzle!:laugh

[mac195]

HC have completed a deal with Lew's Legends.

To LL: Floyd Robinson

To HC: Legend's 1965 second round draft pick

It just wouldn't be right to keep Stan the Man on the bench. Mark, please ignore the lineup changes above. I'll get new revisions posted up shortly.