1969 Season Thread

[leecemark]

--Welcome to the 9th season of CKL baseball. The 1969 season is one of major changes for the league. Expansion opened slot for 4 new teams. We switched to a 2 league, 4 division format and added the Designated Hitter.
--The defending champion Legends are favorites to repeat in the Hulbert Division. The perennial contendig Skipjacks will again provide a challenge,as will surprisingly strong expansion club Windy City Thunder. The Bedraggled Badgers hope to fend off the new guys and escape the cellar.
--The new Hulbert Division features what appears to be the best edition of both the Gamblers and Shoeless Joes. Kyle had an outstanding offseason and looks like a powerhouse in the making. The Joes counter with what should be one of the leagues strongest rotations. The Angels also have fine pitching, but the lineup is only slightly improved over the impotent 1968 roster. The Brawlers look to be a more traditional expansion outfit and will need to catch alot of breaks to come up short of 100 losses.
--The Knights are looking to return to the top of the Johnson Division. The Gold Sox had alot of turnover in the offseason, but retooled their way to another strong team and won't give up the top spot without a fight. The Redbirds rebuildign effort is starting to bear fruit and they look to challenge again after several dismal seasons. Former Gamblers owner, Wil The Dude, steeped in at the last minute to take over an expansion franchise whose original ownership group fell apart. AC Appletonia didn't have much chance to build a team prepared to compete this year out of that troubled start and will be playing mostly for a high draft choice this year.
--The Hard Cider, as usual, patched their offseason holes and return as favorites to win their 9th straight Cartwright Division title. The relocated Birmingham Cloverleafs will bring a strong club to their new home though and should give the Macmen a stiff challenge. The Diablos are in full rebuild mode after expansion stripped them down to 3 position players. The Wranglers appear to be a well put together organization, but for this season that meant mostly bypassing short term solution to focus on the future. KW will likley be one of 3 expansion squads to drop 100+ in 1969.

[leecemark]

--The Opening Series will be played shortly after midnight EST tonight. The only results put up for that will be game and injury reports. The 2nd series will go tomorrow morning. After that one I'll add the standings and team batting/pitching reports to the other 2. I'll also send the league file to DMB owners after the 2nd series (and every other series all season). Lew gets that info loaded to the web site, usually the same day, so non-DMB owners can see boxes and other information not included in my reports. The first leaderboards will go up after the 3rd series and team reports and leaderboards will alternate every other series the remainder of the season. Game reports, standing and injury reports will be posted after each series.
--After the first 2 series I'll usually sim one per day. I'll try and give as close to 24 hours between them as possible to allow owners to react if needed. Sometimes my schedule will require me to play them either a little closer together or miss a day. If there is a major injury or - hopefully not til much later in the season - a player on the verge of going over the playing time I'll give extra time rather than shorter in those cases.

[leecemark]

--The first series is in the books and the only undefeated team is the AC Appletonia. Enjoy your day in the sun, Wil:dance. Pat Kelly of the Brawlers goes down for 2 weeks and 3 other players go down for one.

[-Kyle-]

Wow, McDowdell vs Koosman and the game was 2-1? I wish I could've gone to that game :laugh

[Windy City Fan]

Two out of three from a quality team like the Joes! I'll take that. Glad to see the season is up and running. :)

BTW, is it possible for us to get a schedule?

[leecemark]

--Schedule attached. You may find it easier to read off the web site though, once Lew gets it loaded up there.

[leecemark]

--Okay 2 series in. No undefeated teams and only the Wranglers still looking for their first win. You get your first team reports so you can see who has started off hot - and who has not. The schedule was supposed to be set up for all 3 game series and that has generally working out in the past. Two of today's series only went 2 games though. I didn't go through and review day by day, but appears we'll have a few extra twists this year.

[Sockeye]

The Angels sign the following players

Terry Crowley
George Thomas

both players get a 0.25/2 yr deal

[-Kyle-]

I could have sworn Crowley was taken in the draft.

[Sockeye]

I could have sworn Crowley was taken in the draft.

I sure don't see him listed among the draftees.

[leecemark]

The Angels sign the following players

Billy Cowan
Terry Crowley
Jim Gosger
Frank Johnson
George Thomas
Claude Raymond
Fred Wenz

Each player gets a 0.25/2 yr deal


--For owners already at 40, as you are, there is a limit of one signing after each sim. Pick your favorite 2 from that group. Crowley is a free agent.

[-Kyle-]

Yeah, and I'll take two of em then too ;)

[leecemark]

Kyle, since you have 10 open roster spots you can sign them all if you want.

[-Kyle-]

Ah, right. Well I'll let Sockeye sign two of them and take the rest...as compensation for Gaylord Perry :D

[buppers]

Wow, Bedraggled Badgers 4 and 1 in the early going.

Will peruse game-by-game and play-by-play soon but 1 thing I noticed is opposing baserunners are 0 for 5 in SB attempts.

Was gonna play for high draft pick (and probably still will get one) but looks like I will let team pride take over and play to win (for awhile :))

Ed

[leecemark]

--Ed, the BB's did much better in the sims after I got your MP loaded. With my rough drafts the best you could do was crawl out of the cellar a few times. With your MP you had a few seconds and even won the division (well tied for first) once. That latter season was the best Badger sim and worst Legends sim out of several dozen so its a long shot, but you could make the season more interesting than I thought previously.
--The other big shift I noticed was the combined effect of the Agee-Culp deal and getting the Hard Cider-Thunder profiles loaded. The trade helped both teams with the Hard Cider fortifying a thin staff and Agee providing a strong bat to the middle of an underpowered Thunder lineup - plus a big defensive upgrade. Mac opened up some breathing room in the Cartwright in the second phase of sims. The Thunder went from being the best of the expansion clubs (and only one not favored for a last place slot) to a strong WC contender.
--Except for the other 3 expansion clubs and the Diablos every team made the playoffs at least once in my sims. The Wild Card races in both leagues should be multiple team affairs that go down to the wire. The division races were a little more predictable, but at least one of them (not always the same one) was close virtually every time.

[Sockeye]

That stinks. Didn't know there was a rule as to how many could be signed at one time. I'll go with Terry Crowley and George Thomas

[leecemark]

Knights sign Bob Johnson to a 1 year .25 deal

[-Kyle-]

Billy Cowan - 2 years
Jim Gosger - 2 years
Claude Raymond - 2 years
Fred Wenz - 2 years

all for a .25m

Thanks Sockeye!!!

I will come up with some more players later when I get home.

[Sockeye]

Billy Cowan - 2 years
Jim Gosger - 2 years
Claude Raymond - 2 years
Fred Wenz - 2 years

all for a .25m

Thanks Sockeye!!!

I will come up with some more players later when I get home.

trade embargo goes into effect!

[-Kyle-]

Hey Hey, it's just compensation for Gaylord Perry. You stole a hall of fame pitcher, I stole some scrubs. I think its a fair deal.

[catcher24]

Not a whole lot of time so far this week to work on the website, and with the problems we had with the database and the subsequent renumbering of team ID numbers, I know it'll take a little while to get the website ready again. I expect to be able to do it tomorrow afternoon (that will be Thursday for my friend Mac in Japan!). Hope to have it ready so you can review the box scores by then.

Incidentally, I ran off my 20 test sims but then realized, when I was getting together some info for a fellow owner,that the injury rule had been turned off. So I'm hoping to get that done again tomorrow as well, and if not it'll be done Friday.

Sorry about the delays, but a lot of stuff going on in my personal life. I apologize for the hold up.

[buppers]

Sorry about the delays, but a lot of stuff going on in my personal life. I apologize for the hold up.

I hate when "REAL life" interferes with baseball

Ed

[jterry619]

I can't determine if this guy is available...if so, The Leafs would like to sign Jim Hall ...if he is not available we will re-think ...thanks!

[leecemark]

He's all yours.

[jterry619]

I can't determine if this guy is available...if so, The Leafs would like to sign Jim Hall ...if he is not available we will re-think ...thanks!


1 year....minimum salary

[leecemark]

--The Legends have reeled off a 6 game winning streak to again establish themselves as the leagues best team, at least in the early going. Rick Monday has led the charge with 4 HR and 11 RBI in the first 9 games. The Brawlers continue to experience injury woes with starting ctacher George Mitterwald joining backup Buck Martinez and Rfer Pat Kelly on the sidelines - Mitterwald's injuiry being the most serious and shutting him down for a month. The Badgers also lose SP Joe Neikro for 3 weeks.

[jterry619]

--The Legends have reeled off a 6 game winning streak to again establish themselves as the leagues best team, at least in the early going. Rick Monday has led the charge with 4 HR and 11 RBI in the first 9 games. The Brawlers continue to experience injury woes with starting ctacher George Mitterwald joining backup Buck Martinez and Rfer Pat Kelly on the sidelines - Mitterwald's injuiry being the most serious and shutting him down for a month. The Badgers also lose SP Joe Neikro for 3 weeks.


wow...for a second I thought it was brother Phil!...Whew!

[Sockeye]

The Angels sign Frank Johnson .25/2 yr deal.

[leecemark]

The Angels sign Frank Johnson .25/2 yr deal.

Johnson is on the Gamblers roster.

[Sockeye]

Johnson is on the Gamblers roster.

Care to explain how? He isn't listed on their roster page and isn't one of the 4 players they signed since the season started.

[leecemark]

Care to explain how? He isn't listed on their roster page and isn't one of the 4 players they signed since the season started.


--Originally Kyle said he'd take all but the 2 you didn't pick. Looking back I see he skipped Johnson when he actually posted the signings. I'll shift him from the Gamblers to the Angels.

[leecemark]

--The Knights sign Willie Montanez to a 3 year/250K deal

[Windy City Fan]

Disappointing to get swept by the Legends, but we were on the road. Hopefully we can make up for it now that we're back at home and facing the Agnels. I'm still fairly pleased as I took 2 of 3 from two playoff caliber teams in the Joes and Gamblers.

[BlueBlood]

The Brawlers continue to experience injury woes with starting ctacher George Mitterwald joining backup Buck Martinez and Rfer Pat Kelly on the sidelines - Mitterwald's injuiry being the most serious and shutting him down for a month.

Geez! I so did not need this.

[buppers]

DL Niekro, promote Billy Wynne and put him in starting rotation in Niekros place (2nd)

And Badgers show why they are nicknamed "bedraggled" once again

Ed

[catcher24]

OK, guys, I think the website will be operational, after much frustration and redoing this afternoon and evening. If anyone has been checking it, they've probably had some strange things happening!

Anyway, since only one team page is complete, don't even worry about the team name links down the left side, unless you want to check out the Legends home page (that one is done). The other links should all work. Let me know if you have any problems.

To get your team stats, click on the Stats link on the top menu bar, then select your team from the page. The logo itself is the actual link. This will bring up your team batting, pitching, fielding, usage reports; the team roster; and at the bottom, the team game results. These are active links, and clicking on a game should bring up the box score for that game. Other ways to check out the box scores (in case you want to check them all) are to click on either the Scores link on the main menu bar, or click on the Game Results link in the left menu bar.

You may be a little confused with the new pages and close some accidentally. The best way to remember: any page that looks like I created it will almost always open in a new window, so that window can be closed when done and the other will stay open. Any page that appears to be generated by Diamond Mind, you should use the back button on your browser to go back to the previous page.

Hope everyone can access the page and links OK. I'll be working on the team pages over the next several weeks. The Shoeless Joes are very close to done. Once those are done, you will be able to access your various team reports from the team page if you want.

In case anyone hasn't seen it, the website is now HERE (http://diamondmindckl.lewssite.net/).

[leecemark]

--Another series in the books. The early schedule has featured some long home stands/road trips. The Hard Cider opened with 11 staright road games and came away an impressive 8-3, including taking 3 of 4 from the Knights today. They finally get their home opener vs Appletonia tomorrow. The Gamblers opened with lucky 13 on the road and managed to turn that into a division leading 8-5 mark. The hometown fans finally get to see them vs the Thunder tommorrow. The Wranglers get the first home game in team history tomorrow.
--The Legends went 10-3 in a long opening home stand. The Knights were a disappointing 5-7 in their 12 home games. The Gold Sox had a 7-5 all hme start and the Badgers went 6-5 before hitting the road for the first time.

[Windy City Fan]

Well McClain is pitching great. 3 starts and 3 complete games with a 1.00 ERA.

[Windy City Fan]

Question though, why are my platoons not being followed. Moses is listed for 100% against lefties and he has only 1 AB against lefties and McCarver has 11. Similarily, Fiore is supposed rest against lefties and he has 11 AB when a lefty is on the mound, while his platoon partner, Morton, has 1 AB.

[leecemark]

--Craig, when I put your second lineup in I neglected to change to "vs LHP". Fixed now.

[-Kyle-]

Please set our profile to

use closers: Standard (not more)

Tatum already has 10 innings and we are barely through the season. :eek:


EDIT: And what the heck is up with Koosman?!?! He has a ERA of 6 when his real life ERA+ is 160 and his WHIP is like 1.1???

[Sockeye]

Mark,

Will you make sure you have the Angels lineups correct. It should as follows.

VS RHP

1. Bobby Etheridge 3B (R)
2. Steve Hovley RF (L)
3. Chico Salmon DH (R)
4. Gail Hopkins 1B (R)
5. Norm Miller LF (L)
6. Jay Johnstone CF (L)
7. Ike Brown SS (R)
8. Jim French C (R)
9. Ted Sizemore 2B (R)
PH vs LHP Curt Motton, Bill Voss, Cap Peterson

VS LHP

1. Cap Peterson RF (R)
2. Jim French C (L)
3. Curt Motton LF (R)
4. Bill Voss CF (L)
5. Brant Alyea DH (R)
6. Ron Hansen 1B (R)
7. Zoilo Versalles 2B (R)
8. Ted Sizemore SS (R)
9. Bobby Cox 3B (R)
PH vs RHP Chico Salmon, Gail Hopkins, Steve Hovley

[catcher24]

Please set our profile to

use closers: Standard (not more)

Tatum already has 10 innings and we are barely through the season. :eek:


EDIT: And what the heck is up with Koosman?!?! He has a ERA of 6 when his real life ERA+ is 160 and his WHIP is like 1.1???


Koosman may be another of those who don't sim well, Kyle. I had Tommy John several seasons, and then traded him to Mark, and I don't believe he has yet come close to his real life performance. I'm discovering that Tom Seaver and Dock Ellis don't sim well, either.

[-Kyle-]

Should've taken Gary Nolan or have traded Koosman to EB...:(

[leecemark]

--I don't think I'd worry about Koosman too much til he gets a few more innings under his belt. Fenway will do him no favors though. LHP haven't historically done well there. As for Seaver, he has over 500 IP, 37 wins and a 3.61 ERAS in his first two years. If that is not simming well I wish a few more of my hurlers would have the same issues:p.

[buppers]

Speaking of early season anomalies :

Lemaster 3 - 0 with 0.69 ERA

Pepitone .342 AVG, 1.151 OPS and 6 Homeruns

Ed

[-Kyle-]

He had a 3.91 ERA last year - with a 145 ERA+ in real life.

[buppers]

Don't see pitching moves I posted.
Please DL Niekro and activate Billy Wynne and put him in rotation in Niekros spot

Ed

[leecemark]

--The Legends sweep the Angels to run their record to an easy league best of 13-3. Meanwhile that beating drops the Angels to laegue worst 2-14. The bats for most teams are taking a little while to warm up. Despite a boom in real life offense and the addition of the DH the leaue OPS is barely over 700. The Appletonia are anchoring that figure with an even .600:eek:. The Skipjacks are over 800, well over 100 points ahead of avergae and nearly 60 ahead of the second best hitting club.

[catcher24]

--I don't think I'd worry about Koosman too much til he gets a few more innings under his belt. Fenway will do him no favors though. LHP haven't historically done well there. As for Seaver, he has over 500 IP, 37 wins and a 3.61 ERAS in his first two years. If that is not simming well I wish a few more of my hurlers would have the same issues:p.

Sounds good, but in real life he had 2.76 and 2.20 ERAs, so basically his ERA is about 50% above what it was in real life - and since my home park was his actual home park, that shouldn't have any effect for my 84 home games. The CKL league ERA was 3.83 for 1968, while the combined league ERAs for 1968 (real) was 2.99, so our league produced runs (measured by ERA, that is) at a rate about 28% higher than real life. So even taking everything in context, Seaver isn't pitching up to expectations. Ellis, OTOH, has gone from being a good to very good real life pitcher to being a batting practice pitcher in DM!

But I am very happy to take the 250+ IP every year, making him a decent part of a four man rotation. And with the Legends offense, he should continue to put up the Ws for me.

Interestingly, as bad as I thought John has been, in reviewing his career record in 1967 he probably pitched better than he should taking everything into context - but that's the only season. Every other year he's been way off his real stats.

[leecemark]

--Seaver is going to have alot of good seasons and a few great ones over his career. Pitchers are not as reliable on duplicating real life success in DMB as batter's though. They are generally not as consistent in real life either, but that is magnified in DMB.
--Koosman should sim a little better than John. John was the classic soft tossing lefty who didn't strike out many batters and that doesn't translate well in DMB. Koosman isn't Koufax or anything, but he did get his fair share of K's. OTOH, as mentioned before, LHP in Fenway have not fared well in the CKL (nor has it been very hospitable in real life). On the third hand, another Gamblers pitcher, Jim Kaat, had the second best year of his undistinguished (he is a John type pitcher) CKL career in Fenway last year - and he is off to an awesome beginning this year. Baseball is a funny game - whether played on grass or a computer screen:).

[catcher24]

JW had wondered in another thread quite some time ago how the DH might affect league run scoring, and I ran a little check.

From 1964 to 1968 (I excluded the years of the doormat teams), the league averaged 8,783 runs per season. I increased that figure by 33% to adjust for the 4 teams that we added in 1969, which would give a yearly runs average of 11,681. I then checked the 20 seasons of the autosim. The runs per season ran from a low of 12790 to a high of 13438. The vast majority of seasons was between 12900 and 13050. The average was 13012, or 11% higher than my initial estimate.

The real life increase in offense from 1968 to 1969 went from 11109 runs in 1968 to 15850 runs in 1969, a 43% increase. However, we must remember that 4 teams, or an additional 20%, were added in 1969, so adjusting the 1968 runs by 20% gives us 13331 runs to be expected, based on 1968 offensive numbers. The actual total of 15850 was 19% higher than expected, but is still 8% more than what the average was for the 20 test sims I ran.

Looking at it from another - and perhaps better - perspective, the CKL runs per game average in 1968 was 8.76 RPG. In 1969 (again using the test sims) it was 9.68, or an increase of 10.5%. In real life, the RPG went from 6.84 in 1968 to 8.15 in 1969, a 19% increase. So even looking from that perspective, our league run production doesn't increase as much as real life run production did.

The difference could be our use of the Neutral Era every season, while in real life the offenses went from below dead ball RPG in 1968 to a more normal offensive environment in 1969.

[catcher24]

Baseball is a funny game - whether played on grass or a computer screen.

Agreed, and dead on accurate about the pitchers being so variable. But boy, Koosman sure is looking ugly early on. But take heart, Kyle. I checked out the replays, and Koosman had ERAs under 3 five times, with a low of 2.58. Unfortunately, he also had ERAs over 4 several times, with a high of 4.76. The rest were everywhere in between. Just cross your fingers :crossfingers: and hope you end up getting one of the better seasons.:)

At any rate, I don't see you losing your division no matter what Koosman does. No one got closer than 7 games in any sim (once), and you won your division by 41 games once. The average you won the Chadwick Division by was over 20 games.

[Erik Bedard]

Kyle, you should give me Koosman just for giving you the tip on Gentry. :)

What is it with all the pitchers I give huge contracts not earning it (at least in the first year)? Perry in '66, McCormick in '67, Veale in '68, and now Lolich in '69 have all been mediocre.

Oh, and I've changed my mind on Bill Mazeroski. He belongs in the Hall of Fame.

[leecemark]

--The Diablos have put together a 5 game winning streak to pull within a game of first in the Cartwright. Only 2.5 games separate first ad last in the Johnson, but that is because nobody is gotten off to a good start. The last palce team in our toughest division to date, the Hulbert, would only be a half game out in the Johnson. The biggest gap is in the Chadwick. The Gamblers are the only team playing well there and the Angels have run their losing streak to 8 - compiling a shockingly bad 2-17 mark overall.

[Windy City Fan]

Please change my pen settings as follows:

Spot Starter: Stange
Mop up: Stange
Long man: Gelnar, Stange, DiLauro
LH set up: Aguire, DiLauro,
RH set up: Gelnar, Upshaw
RH Closer: Upshaw, Gelnar
LH Closer: Upshaw, Aguire, DiLauro

[Windy City Fan]

Also, the lineups have been juggled a bit.

Lineup vs RHP
2B Glen Beckert (O’Brien 10%, Beckert DR)
DH Rich Reese (Stroud 15%)
CF Tommie Agee (Cardenal 5%)
RF Rusty Staub (Piniella)
3B Doug Rader (Joseph 10%)
1B Mike Fiore (Reese)
C Tim McCarver (Jerry Moses 10%)
SS Ed Brinkman (O’Brien 10%, Brinkman DR)
LF Jose Cardenal (Piniella 15%, Stroud 5%)
PH vs Lefty: Morton, Piniella, Moses, Joseph
PH vs Righty: Stroud, Joseph, Moses

Lineup vs LHP
2B Glen Beckert (O’Brien 20%, Beckert DR)
1B Rich Reese (Fiore 5%)
CF Tommie Agee (Cardenal 5%)
RF Rusty Staub (Piniella)
C Jerry Moses (McCarver)
3B Doug Rader (Joseph 10%)
DH Bubba Morton (Piniella, Joseph)
SS Ed Brinkman (O’Brien 20%, Brinkman DR)
LF Jose Cardenal (Piniella 5%, Stroud 5%)
PH vs Righty: Fiore, Stroud, McCarver, Joseph
PH vs Lefty: Piniella, Joseph, O’Brien

[-Kyle-]

Kyle, you should give me Koosman just for giving you the tip on Gentry. :)

What is it with all the pitchers I give huge contracts not earning it (at least in the first year)? Perry in '66, McCormick in '67, Veale in '68, and now Lolich in '69 have all been mediocre.

Oh, and I've changed my mind on Bill Mazeroski. He belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Well...It was Gentry or Nagy and then you basically convinced me and Nagy fell forever.

And the only reason I am doing well is because my pitchers are pitching out of their minds right now. I'll be in trouble when my players run out of playing time though.

[jterry619]

Granger to DL...replaced by Ron Willis...no other changes

[-Kyle-]

Gambler's call up Billy Cowan and Gary Wagner and bring Marty Pattin and Hank Allen down to the farm.

New Profile:

Lineup:

LF: Shamsky (Hisle)
2B: Green (Donaldson)
SS: Petrocelli (Donaldson)
1B: Killebrew (Ward)
DH: Davis (Cowan)
RF: Kirkpatrick (Melton)
3B: Melton (Ward)
C: Hundley (Casanova)
CF: Hisle (Davis)

Pitching (11)
SP1: Koosman
SP2: Stottlemyre
SP3: Kaat
SP4: Reed
SP5: Gentry
Spot: Nagy, Waslewski
Long Relief: Waslewski, Paul
Mop Up: Britton, Waslewski, Paul
Short Relief: Perranoski, Waslewski
Middle Relief: Paul, Nagy, Waslewski
RH Setup: Perranoski
LH Setup: Perranoski
Closer: Tatum

Profile
Batting
Bunt for hit: Normal
Sac bunt: Normal
Squeeze: Normal
Steal: More
Take extra bases: More
Take pitches: More

Pinch hitting
for pitchers: Standard
for non-pitchers: Less
for platoon partners: Standard
in blowouts: Standard

Pitching
pitch around - Normal
IBB - Standard
use relievers - standard
use closers - standard

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

[catcher24]

The early easy part of my schedule is now done, and things get a lot tougher with series against the Skipjacks, Cloverleafs, Thunder and Diablos on the horizon. How I do in these twelve games should give some indication of how good this team really is.

Stats will go up tomorrow afternoon or evening. It's late, been a busy day and I have to get up very early for work tomorrow.

[buppers]

It's late, been a busy day and I have to get up very early for work tomorrow.

WORK - How can you let WORK interfere with BASEBALL ?????

[leecemark]

--The Legends sweep the Skipjacks to run their record to 18-4 and open a 5.5 game lead in the Hulbert. The Gamblers run their winning streak to 5 and open the same 5.5 lead. The Redbirds and Knights had an offensive explosion in their series with 61 runs crossing the plate in the 3 games - including a 24 run outburst by PAP in the mddle game.

[mac195]

We'll DL Holtzman and bring up Geishert.

Pitching
SP1: Osteen
SP2: Moose
SP3: Boswell
SP4: Selma
SP5: Culp (skip)
Spot: Walker, Leonhard
Mop up: Lopez
Long man: Geishert, Humphreys, Lopez
LH set up: Walker, Hamilton
RH set up: Humphreys, Geishert
LH closer: Hamilton, Walker
RH closer: Leonhard, Humphreys

use relievers: Less

[catcher24]

WORK - How can you let WORK interfere with BASEBALL ?????

Actually, Ed, it's not work so much as aging. Can't put in the hours I used to or get by with as little sleep, and it became much more noticeable once I hit 55. It doesn't seem to be getting any better as I keep going up, either....

[catcher24]

including a 24 run outburst by PAP in the mddle game.

Ouch!:hp The Knights team ERA took a huge hit there, I have to believe.

[-Kyle-]

One quick change


LF: Shamsky (Hisle)
2B: Green (Donaldson)
SS: Petrocelli (Donaldson)
1B: Killebrew (Ward)
DH: Davis (Ward)
RF: Kirkpatrick (Melton)
3B: Melton (Ward)
C: Hundley (Casanova)
CF: Hisle (Davis)

[Erik Bedard]

DL McCormick, call up Blass as the #4 starter.

[leecemark]

--The Gamblers sweep the Knights to run their winning streak to 8 games and sending the Knights into third place. The Diablos sweep the Skipjacks, dropping another traditional power into 3rd place. The Diablos and Bedraggled Badgers currently hold the wild card spots giving their fans some spring cheer.

[-Kyle-]

CF: Hisle (Davis)
2B: Green (Donaldson)
SS: Petrocelli (Donaldson)
1B: Killebrew (Ward)
LF: Shamsky (Hisle)
DH: Davis (Ward)
RF: Kirkpatrick (Melton)
3B: Melton (Ward)
C: Hundley (Casanova)

[buppers]

--The Diablos and Bedraggled Badgers currently hold the wild card spots giving their fans some spring cheer.

There goes my master plan of cashing in my 6 draft picks in 1st 3 rounds in 1970 on early picks :shhh:

Now I'll have to rank 48 players instead of the expected 36 - 40 :eek:


And of course this shows That "The Bedraggled Badgers" can't even lose right :sigh:

[catcher24]

There goes my master plan of cashing in my 6 draft picks in 1st 3 rounds in 1970 on early picks :shhh:

Now I'll have to rank 48 players instead of the expected 36 - 40 :eek:


And of course this shows That "The Bedraggled Badgers" can't even lose right :sigh:

Don't feel too bad, Ed. The Legends, when they were the downtrodden team in the Hulbert, did that to me two straight years. Had the league's worst record with a month to go each time, then they started winning and cost me the first pick both years!:eek: You never did reach the playoffs in my 20 sims, but I believe you did it once or twice in Mark's sims, so maybe this is the year everything comes together in the cosmos for the Badgers .:)

[J W]

Another typical start for my team. 11-13 with a +34 run differential. Good thing it's a long season. :cap:

Intriguing how the Diablos are doing so well after being non-existent in the draft and PFA, and then signing so many secondary FAs. Is Jim onto something?

[Erik Bedard]

Personally, I find that not drafting is a lot less stressful -- and it works.

[leecemark]

--We move into May. Nothing especially noteworthy comes out of today's series'. The Gold Sox do lose SS Mark Belanger for a couple weeks.

[Windy City Fan]

Biggest surprises for me thus far have been Veale's utter lack of control (he's pitched 28 innings and walked 20), Brinkman and Rader's unimpressive defense (both have been adaquete, but neither look like EX rated Gold Glovers at the moment), and of course Beckert's hitting (.402 BA!). My pen, which I thought was pretty decent, has been weak too. Upshaw has 3 blown saves already and Gelnar and DiLauro have looked bad in the setup role.

[leecemark]

--My pen has been horrendous. Only one reliever has a ERA below 8.00 and that is long man Jack Aker. The sample sizes are too small to panic over quite yet, but it is pretty disheartening to see what seemed like a solid bullpen blow lead after lead.

[catcher24]

The only unpleasant surprises I've had so far are Joe Morgan and my catching tandem (Freehan/Sims). Morgan hasn't been playing well, his OBP is low and his base stealing is horrible (stolen five/caught six, 49/14 real life). Freehan/Sims are at 141/250/268 and 156/211/344. Ron Kline has been a pleasant surprise so far - he was terrible in real life, and I picked him up only so he could complete his career with the Legends, but he has given me some excellent outings to date.

[catcher24]

Mark, Garry (Sockeye) asked me to request the following moves be made on his behalf: send Chico Salmon to the minors (usage issue), call up Gary Geiger to take his place, and set his lineups as follows:

VS RHP

1. Bobby Etheridge 3B (R)
2. Steve Hovley RF (L)
3. Gail Hopkins 1B (R)
4. Norm Miller LF (L)
5. Jay Johnstone CF (L)
6. Ike Brown SS (R)
7. Gary Geiger DH (L)
8. Jim French C (R)
9. Ted Sizemore 2B (R)
PH vs LHP Curt Motton, Bill Voss, Cap Peterson

VS LHP

1. Cap Peterson RF (R)
2. Jim French C (L)
3. Curt Motton LF (R)
4. Bill Voss CF (L)
5. Brant Alyea DH (R)
6. Ron Hansen 1B (R)
7. Zoilo Versalles 2B (R)
8. Ted Sizemore SS (R)
9. Bobby Cox 3B (R)
PH vs RHP Gail Hopkins, Steve Hovley

Guess he's having issues of some kind with his computer or his ID.

[Erik Bedard]

Start Alley at short, Maz at 2B. Since I want Belanger back ASAP, I won't put him on the DL for a 12-day injury.

[Hack_Miller]

No big suprises for my team thus far. Other than the fact that I don't have the worst record in the league, yet. My eye-popping -67 run differential really hides the fact that the Wranglers have lost some close games. One thing that's not hidden is my team's utter lack of any offensive skill...Yuck.

[Erik Bedard]

No real surprises for the Gold Sox, other than Gene Alley and Maz (four HR already), but my second basemen almost always get off to a ridiculous start.

I really am starting to wish I had kept that first-rounder and taken Gentry, though. With him dominating and Veale not being able to find the strike zone, I'm declaring my new scouting method accurate.

[J W]

Miller and Edmondson are getting overworked. So I'll go back to before:

Use Relievers (SP rating) - PR-FR=more, AV=average, EX=less

...so all my AV rated started will have average relief, not more.

Surprises? Carl Yastrzemski is having a terrible start to the season, as is Bobby Tolan. With Allison going down for a while, they need to pick things up. Ken McMullen and Joe Torre have been better than expected and have fueled our potent offense so far (we have come back to earth a bit).

Edmondson and Miller have been terrific, which kind of stinks now that they need a break. I'm very surprised Pete Richert has only one save to his credit so far (one less than Edmondson). The rotation has been Sam McDowell and little else... that's somewhat expected but I'm hoping they can pick it up a bit. We've got the second worst WHIP in the league, which is worrisome. But we're also near the bottom in errors (again surprising) so the team ERA isn't too bad.

So it's hard to say if we're underachieving or if this is what to expect for the season.

[jterry619]

Please farm Willis and move Granger off of the DL and back into his closer role versus left and right

[-Kyle-]

CF: Hisle (Davis)
2B: Green (Donaldson)
SS: Petrocelli (Donaldson)
1B: Killebrew (Ward)
LF: Shamsky (Hisle)
DH: Davis (Ward)
RF: Ward (Cowan)
3B: Melton (Ward)
C: Hundley (Casanova)

Set Closers to Less...for now.

[-Kyle-]

Looking for a 80 OPS+ outfielder with 250+ PA. 4th Rounder or Cookie Rojas (who has a great '71, 117 OPS+ from a second basemen).

[-Kyle-]

Gamblers sign

Jose Herrera
Frank Baker

to .25m/1 year each. Roster will be updated when I get back (Jamming tonight).

[mac195]

Looking for a 80 OPS+ outfielder with 250+ PA. 4th Rounder or Cookie Rojas (who has a great '71, 117 OPS+ from a second basemen).
I don't see Rojas on your roster, Kyle. What is his contract?

[Erik Bedard]

Apparently Rojas was signed by the Diablos in the FA auction.

[-Kyle-]

Really? I was completly out of it during the FA draft I suppose. I could have sworn I signed him.

[leecemark]

--The Knights have run off a 6 game winning streak, courtesy of a pair of expansion squads, and move to within 1/2 a game of the Gold Sox. They head to Wrigley for a 4 game set vs the division leaders. The Skipjacks struggle with a tougher opponent, dropping 2 of 3 to the Hard Cider to drop into a tie for last in the Hulbert. They match up with the Thunder next to break that deadlock. Meanwhile, the second place Badgers (not looking so bedraggled thus far) host the Legends with a chance to show they are for real.

[-Kyle-]

Does order in the rotation matter now? Because Gentry, my #5 starter is pitching out of his mind and I was wondering if it would screw up the rotation to pitch him in the number one spot and move Koosman to #5. I really want him to get as many innings as possible.

[Windy City Fan]

I believe Bunning is set to be skipped this time through the rotation. If so, I wanna switch him and Veale - moving a fresh Bunning to the #2 spot and Veal to the #5. Also switch Veale to use relivers more. He's on a short leash until he can get things right again.

EDIT: Also, did DiLauro's spot in the pen get switched with Aguire? It seems like he's still getting a lot of use.

[Windy City Fan]

Sockeye, the game says you either are not allowed to accept PMs or you turned them off. I'd like to talk about one of your players, but I have no way to contact you.

[leecemark]

--Sockeye will be unavailable for a few days. He should be able to get PM's again by the first of next week.
--Kyle, your rotation is current set for strict. That means each pitcher will go every 5th game regardless of offdays. If you went to skip then the #5 guy would be skipped everytime the #1 had sufficient rest to take the ball. Moving Gentry up in that scenario would get him (and 3 other guys) more starts with your #5 probably getting only half as many.
--Craig, I made the switch with Veale and Bunning. You should get a skip to McLain (3 days rest, but only 47 pitches thrown while Veale would be at 2 days and 73 pitches on his clock), but I can't be 100% certain. DiLauro is behind Aguirre as #2 LHSU and #3 LHC. He is also #3 LM. The only game he pitched in the last 5 days was one where Aguirre also pitched.

[Windy City Fan]

Is my 5th starter scheduled the pitch the next game if I hadn't made the switch? If so, I'll just call up Peters - put him in the fifth slot, moving Bunning to the 2 slot, and send Veale down to the minors for a turn.

[leecemark]

--5th is next in line. I'll make the swap for you, but Veale would not be eligile for recall for 10 days (we follow MLB rules as much as possible) barring someone going on the DL.

[Windy City Fan]

That's fine. I think I can manage for ten days without his "contributions"

[Windy City Fan]

Two other changees:

Switch all roles in the bullpen for Stange and Gelnar. Secondly, make Piniella the starting DH vs lefties. It's not like Piniella is tearing things up, but Morton is hittless in 24 AB.

[leecemark]

--Not to pour salt in the wound or anything, but he is hitless in 29 AB's:). He has managed 5 walks though:cap:.

[-Kyle-]

--Kyle, your rotation is current set for strict. That means each pitcher will go every 5th game regardless of offdays. If you went to skip then the #5 guy would be skipped everytime the #1 had sufficient rest to take the ball. Moving Gentry up in that scenario would get him (and 3 other guys) more starts with your #5 probably getting only half as many.

Interesting I'll think it over. Leaning towards keeping it the same...hoping Koosman straightens out.

[buppers]

Farm Hendricks. Bring up Gibbs, Place him 7th vs. RHP.

Lineup vs. RHP is
Clarke - 2B
Uhlaender - LF
Unser - CF
Stargell - DH
Pepitone - 1B
Pinson - RF
Lanier - SS
Robinson - 3B
Gibbs - C

Activate Niekro, Farm Johnson

Rotation
Lemaster
Niekro
Fryman
Robertson
Wynne

Start with Niekro

[-Kyle-]

Is there a way I can see my team's defensive attributes without buying the game?

[Erik Bedard]

http://diamondmindckl.lewssite.net/Data/tm18_file1.html

Scroll almost all the way down to the bottom, and just above your team's game results, there's a defensive rating chart.

Mark, who are my pitchers for this four-game series scheduled to be?

[-Kyle-]

Infinite thanks. I never thought to look at the bottom of the page...only at mine. :hp

[buppers]

Kyle, I can email you def stats if you like

Ed

[-Kyle-]

Please call up Herrera for Wagner.

CF: Hisle (Herrera 15%)
2B: Green (Donaldson 10%)
SS: Petrocelli (Donaldson)
1B: Killebrew (Ward)
LF: Shamsky (Ward 20%)
DH: Davis (Ward 10%)
C: Hundley (Casanova 5%)
RF: Kirtpatrick (Cowan 15%)
3B: Melton (Ward)

SP1: Koosman
SP2: Stottlemyre
SP3: Kaat
SP4: Reed
SP5: Gentry
Spot: Nagy, Waslewski
Long Relief: Paul, Waslewski, Nagy
Mop Up: Britton, Waslewski, Paul
Short Relief: Perranoski, Waslewski
Middle Relief: Perranoski, Nagy, Waslewski
RH Setup: Perranoski
LH Setup: Perranoski
Closer: Tatum, Perranoski

Profile
Batting
Bunt for hit: Less
Sac bunt: Normal
Squeeze: Normal
Steal: Normal (Davis: Most, Hisle: More)
Take extra bases: More
Take pitches: More

Pinch hitting
for pitchers: Standard
for non-pitchers: Less
for platoon partners: Standard
in blowouts: More

Pitching
pitch around - Normal
IBB - Standard
use relievers - standard
use closers - Less

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

[leecemark]

http://diamondmindckl.lewssite.net/Data/tm18_file1.html

Scroll almost all the way down to the bottom, and just above your team's game results, there's a defensive rating chart.

Mark, who are my pitchers for this four-game series scheduled to be?


--You're on your #1 starter to open the series; Perry, Lolich, Maloney, Blass

[-Kyle-]

WCF and I agreed to this trade

WCF's
Mickey Stanley
1970 4th Round

for

Gambler's
1972 3rd Round
1972 5th Round

[Erik Bedard]

--You're on your #1 starter to open the series; Perry, Lolich, Maloney, Blass

Perfect. Activate McCormick, farm Blass. McCormick will be my #4 starter.

[mac195]

Mark, Allen and Sudakis should be in a strict platoon for me at 3B. Sudakis should not be getting a percentage of playing time vs. RHP.

[leecemark]

Perfect. Activate McCormick, farm Blass. McCormick will be my #4 starter.

--Sorry I didn't see this post before running today's games. This didn't turn out to be a good day for the Gold Sox either.

[leecemark]

--The Knights sweep a 4 game series from the Gold Sox, running their winnign streak to 10 and taking the lead in the Johnson Division. Most of the other 4 games series split, leaving things much the same in the other divisions.

[Windy City Fan]

WCF and I agreed to this trade

WCF's
Mickey Stanley
1970 4th Round

for

Gambler's
1972 3rd Round
1972 5th Round

Confirmified!

[leecemark]

--We've at roughly the 20% mark of the season. That puts players around 25% at their max usage. Here is a list of players already at 30% or more. You may wish to tinker with your setting to get them some rest.

AC: Clendenon 30, Philliups 32, Aspromonte 31
BB: Downing 38, Burgmeir 57, Bryant 41
EB: Maloney 32
EH: Francona 32
JKC: Etchebarren 39, Hickman 38
KG: Shamsky 41, Davis 31, Kirkpatrick 34
KW: McCraw 32
LL: Monday 30
Mac: Lopez 37, Goosen 30
SA: Secrist 59, Murphy 110, Brown 53, French 68, Ethridge 100
WCF: DiLauro 47, Reese 30

--With Sockeye temporarily unavailable I am farming out Murphy and Ethridge for him. Klimchock and Grant will fill their roles until Garry is able to resume control of the team.

[catcher24]

Thanks for putting that up Mark. I've been a bit remiss this season. The usage does get posted every time I upload the files, in two places: under the usage link, where all teams are listed alphabetically, and also in each team's individual stats. But I don't think everyone checks that, so I've tried in the past to get any problem players listed every couple of weeks or so.

Incidentally, in case anyone else in unaware of it, the following info is available via your team's stat page:
Batter Stats: Primary, secondary, vs LHP and vs RHP
Pitcher Stats: Primary, secondary, analytical, starting, relief
Fielding Stats: Primary, broken out by position
Usage: Batter usage, pitcher usage
Team Roster Report: Batter ratings, Pitcher ratings, Fielding ratings
Team Game Results: Scores of your games played, listed by date. Clicking on a date will bring up the box score.

I also see that the web site generating engine is listing usage for all teams again under the single team report links. I'll try to get that fixed, because it makes a long scroll necessary when there shouldn't be one.

[catcher24]

Garry (Angels) has asked me to post the following items for him.

He trades Chuck Hartenstein to the Thunder in exchange for the Thunder's 3rd round draft pick in 1971.
Thunder, please confirm.

1. He signs Jack Baldschun to a one year, 250K contract.
2. He does not want to use Grant this season, farm him out again and replace him with Jack Baldschun.
3. The Angels current lineups/pitching assignments should be:

VS RHP

1. Ike Brown SS (R)
2. Steve Hovley RF (L)
3. Gail Hopkins 1B (L)
4. Norm Miller LF (L)
5. Jay Johnstone CF (L)
6. Lou Klimchock 3B (L)
7. Gary Geiger DH (L)
8. Jim French C (L)
9. Ted Sizemore 2B (R)
PH vs LHP Curt Motton, Bill Voss, Cap Peterson

VS LHP

1. Cap Peterson RF (R)
2. Jim French C (L)
3. Curt Motton LF (R)
4. Bill Voss CF (L)
5. Brant Alyea DH (R)
6. Ron Hansen 1B (R)
7. Zoilo Versalles 2B (R)
8. Ted Sizemore SS (R)
9. Bobby Cox 3B (R)
PH vs RHP Gail Hopkins, Steve Hovley

Rotation
SP1-Mike Cuellar
SP2-Andy Messersmith
SP3-Gaylord Perry
SP4-Dave McNally
SP5-Jim McAndrew (skip)

Bullpen
Closer-Bob Priddy
LHSU-Don Secrist
Longman-Jack Baldschun

[catcher24]

OK, I've got the report fixed so that the only usage report when checking your team stats should be your own team, rather than everyone's. If there is any problem, let me know.

[Windy City Fan]

He trades Chuck Hartenstein to the Thunder in exchange for the Thunder's 3rd round draft pick in 1971.
Thunder, please confirm

Confirmed!

[Windy City Fan]

Send Morton to the minors, Hartenstein takes his place. These are the new bullpen roles:

Spot Starter: Stange
Mop up: Gelnar, Stange, Hartenstein
Long man: Stange, Gelnar, Hartenstein
LH set up: Aguire, DiLauro,
RH set up: Hartenstein, Stange, Upshaw
RH Closer: Upshaw, Stange, Hartenstein
LH Closer: Upshaw, Aguire, DiLauro

Also set McClain to use relievers average, and Peters to more.

[-Kyle-]

Send down Herrera and call up Stanley.
CF: Hisle (Stanley 20%)
2B: Green (Donaldson 10%)
SS: Petrocelli (Donaldson)
1B: Killebrew (Ward)
LF: Shamsky (Ward 25%)
DH: Davis (Ward 15%)
C: Hundley (Casanova 5%)
RF: Kirtpatrick (Stanley 25%)
3B: Melton (Ward)

[leecemark]

--The Knights wining streak ended in a 14 inning affair vs the Diablos. They did take 3 of 4 in the series though to put some room between them and the pack in the Johnson. The Cloverleafs sweep the Gold Sox to pull into 2nd in the Cartwright - meanwhile running the Gold Sox losing streak to 10 as they free fall into 3rd place.
--The Shoeless Joes have put together a modest 4 game streak to solidify their hold on 2nd in the Chadwick and tighten thins up a bit with the Gamblers. The Bedraggled hold steady in 2nd in the Hulbert, but the Legends have a big lead and the league's best record.
--Several major injuries marred today's games. The Gamblers lack of depth may be exposed with Dick Green going down for 3 weeks. The Hard Cider lose #1 starter Claude Osteen for 3 weeks as well. The Diablos lose Cookie Rojas for a month. 4 other players go down for roughly a week apiece.

[mac195]

That's ridiculous. Osteen threw 321 innings in real life. He should be iron.

Well, at least Holtzman is ready to go. Bring him up and put him in Osteen's slot (DL Claude.)

[leecemark]

--41 starts and 321 IP does seem like an iron man to me:confused:. It did get him EX durablity, but for some reason only a normal injury rating. Had he been iron, this injury probably wouldn't even have caused him to miss a start - if it even occurred.
--I'm sure the Cloverleafs are thanking the programmers now:). OTOH Osteen wasn't having an especially good season so the rotation may not suffer too much while he's out.

[Sockeye]

The Angels sign Dave Wickersham to a 0.25/1 yr deal

The Angels would also like to adjust their team lineups and pitching roles. They will now be as follows.

VS RHP

1. Zoilo Versalles 2B (R)
2. Curt Motton LF (R)
3. Ike Brown DH (R)
4. Norm Miller LF (L)
5. Ted Sizemore SS (R)
6. Steve Hovley RF (L)
7. Jim French C (L)
8. Ron Hansen 1B (R)
9. Lou Klimchock 3B (L)
PH vs LHP Gary Geiger, Brant Alyea

VS LHP

1. Bobby Cox 3B (R)
2. Zoilo Versalles 2B (R)
3. Gary Geiger DH (L)
4. Norm Miller LF (L)
5. Brant Alyea DH (R)
6. Steve Hovley RF (L)
7. Ted Sizemore SS (R)
8. Gail Hopkins 1B (L)
9. Jim French C (L)
PH vs RHP Ike Brown, Curt Motton

Rotation
SP1-Mike Cuellar
SP2-Andy Messersmith
SP3-Gaylord Perry
SP4-Dave McNally
SP5-Jim McAndrew (skip)

Bullpen
Closer-Bob Priddy
LHSU-Don Secrist
RHSU-Jack Baldschun
Longman-Dave Wickersham

[leecemark]

--The Cloverleafs are the league's hottest team with a 7 game winning streak. They gain no ground on the Hard Cider today though, as Mac sweeps the Shoeless.

[Sockeye]

Having a mini firesale. The following players are all available

C-Jim French (1.00) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 88 OPS+
1B-Chico Salmon (4.75) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 130 OPS+
3B-Bobby Etheridge (1.00) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 101 OPS+
LF-Norm Miller (.50) (signed 1967, FA after 1969) 102 OPS+
1B-Ron Hansen (1.75) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 82 OPS+
2B-Zoilo Versalles (1.00) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 69 OPS+
3B-Bobby Cox (.50) (drafted 1968, retires after 1969) 80 OPS+
LF-Curt Motton (4.75) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 168 OPS+
CF-Bill Voss (1.00) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 90 OPS+
RF-Cap Peterson (1.00) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 81 OPS+
LF-Gary Geiger (1.00) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 79 OPS+
CF-Don Young (1.25) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 91 OPS+
LF-Willie Smith (.25) (signed 1967, FA expires after 1969) 104 OPS+
3B-Lou Klimchock (0.25) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 107 OPS+
RP-Danny Murphy (4.75) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 1.21 WHIP
RP-Bob Priddy (1.00) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 1.24 WHIP
RP-Don Secrist (0.25) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 1.23 WHIP
RP-Jack Baldschun (0.25) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 1.42 WHIP
RP-Dave Wickersham (0.25) (signed 1969, FA after 1969) 1.44 WHIP

Our asking price is a 3rd rd pick each, any two for a 2nd rd pick, any four for a 1st rd pick. PM me if interested. It's first come first serve!

[Windy City Fan]

Looks like Beckert's hot bat has cooled. Time to reshuffle the lineup. Playing time changes bolded.

Lineup vs RHP
1B Mike Fiore (Reese)
DH Rich Reese (Stroud 15%)
CF Tommie Agee (Cardenal 5%)
RF Rusty Staub (Piniella)
LF Jose Cardenal (Piniella 15%, Stroud 5%)
3B Doug Rader (Joseph 30%, Rader DR)
C Tim McCarver (Jerry Moses 10%)
SS Ed Brinkman (O’Brien 10%, Brinkman DR)

2B Glen Beckert (O’Brien 10%, Beckert DR)
PH vs Lefty: Morton, Piniella, Moses, Joseph
PH vs Righty: Stroud, Joseph, Moses

Lineup vs LHP
DH Lou Piniella (Joseph)
1B Rich Reese (Fiore 5%)
CF Tommie Agee (Cardenal 5%)
RF Rusty Staub (Piniella)
C Jerry Moses (McCarver)
LF Jose Cardenal (Piniella 5%, Stroud 5%)
3B Doug Rader (Joseph 30%, Rader DR)
SS Ed Brinkman (O’Brien 50%, Brinkman DR)
2B Glen Beckert (O’Brien 10%, Beckert DR)

PH vs Righty: Fiore, Stroud, McCarver, Joseph
PH vs Lefty: Joseph, O’Brien

Pitching changes too

SP1: McClain (use relievers average)
SP2: Bunning (use reliever more)
SP3: Sutton (use relievers average)
SP4: Stange (use relievers average)
SP5: Peters (skip) (use relievers more)

Spot Starter: Drago
Mop up: Drago, Gelnar, Hartenstein
Long man: Hartenstein, Drago
LH set up: Aguire, DiLauro,
RH set up: Gelnar, Hartenstein, Upshaw
RH Closer: Upshaw, Gelnar, Hartenstein
LH Closer: Upshaw, Aguire, DiLauro

[-Kyle-]

DL Green and call up Herrera


CF: Hisle (Stanley 20%)
LF: Shamsky (Cowan 15%, Ward 10%)
SS: Petrocelli (Donaldson)
1B: Killebrew (Ward)
DH: Davis (Ward 15%)
C: Hundley (Casanova 5%)
RF: Kirtpatrick (Stanley 25%)
3B: Melton (Ward)
2B: Donaldson (Kirkpatrick)

[leecemark]

--Another series in. The Gamblers and Badgers each pick up a little ground on the Legends. The Diablos pull back to a tie for 2nd in the Cartwright.

[catcher24]

The Badgers are being my team's nemesis again this year. Could be the beginning of another great rivalry, ala the Legends/Skipjacks battles over the years. I think Mark put the curse on me when he added that "bedraggled" as a part of the team name!:hp ;)

Haven't put together a decent streak yet this season, but up until this series with the Badgers I was managing to win 2 of 3 pretty regular. I need a nice 11 game win streak like Mark's recent one....:cap:

[jterry619]

--Another series in. The Gamblers and Badgers each pick up a little ground on the Legends. The Diablos pull back to a tie for 2nd in the Cartwright.

Just noticed the game a few days ago in which the Leafs scored 8 in the bottom of the ninth for a come back win...way to go boys!

[buppers]

The Badgers are being my team's nemesis again this year. Could be the beginning of another great rivalry, ala the Legends/Skipjacks battles over the years. I need a nice 11 game win streak like Mark's recent one....:cap:

Check the schedule. If you play the Badgers odds are you WON'T get that 11 game win streak :dance

[-Kyle-]

Please put Nagy for Kaat in the rotation.

[J W]

Things are clearing up as to why the Skipjacks are under .500 and 4.5 games back of the "Bedraggled" Badgers despite a +43 run differential. We're getting killed by LHP! And poor Blue Moon Odom is 0-8 (yech).

1) Please set "use relievers" to average for all pitchers in my rotation save Sam McDowell.

2) Long man: Miller, Baldwin
LH set up: Lindblad*, Baldwin

3) Lineup vs. LHP
1) CF - Flood (Tolan*)
2) SS - Menke (Schofield 5%)
3) 1B - Powell* (Allison 10%)
4) C - Dietz (Torre)
5) 2B - Johnson (Schofield 5%)
6) 3B - McMullen (Hinton)
7) LF - Yastrzemski* (Allison 20%)
8) DH - Torre (Allison 10%)
9) RF - Tolan* (Hinton)

PH vR - Jones*
PH vL - Hinton

[leecemark]

--Odom may be the biggest underperformer so far this season. Hard to see why thats the case.

[Windy City Fan]

I'd have to nominate Rusty Staub for disappointment player of the year with a line 220/321/378. What's really scary is I have 4 starters who are worse at the plate than Staub! Though none of them were expected to be big bats, unlike Staub and his 166 real life OPS+.

[-Kyle-]

Kirkpatrick, Melton, Davis, Hundley are all vastly underperforming. Kaat and Koosman have imploded. Petrocelli is cooling now and Killebrew is as exceptional as I was hoping. =/

[catcher24]

Kirkpatrick, Melton, Davis, Hundley are all vastly underperforming. Kaat and Koosman have imploded. Petrocelli is cooling now and Killebrew is as exceptional as I was hoping. =/

I'll trade Dock Ellis for either Kaat or Koosman - just let me know, Kyle!

As for underperforming: Dock Ellis (oops, better not mention that...) 6.62 ERA; Lindy McDaniel, 12.00 ERA; Sparky Lyle, 4.91; Bill Freehan 144/257/256. Joe Morgan's stolen base line is 13 steals, 12 caught (49/14 real), Tommy Harper is 4 stolen, 4 caught (73/18). I think my biggest disappointment is how poorly my guys have done stealing - and of course Big Mac, who was 320/453/656 real and is so far 318/437/565. Not bad, but only 9 HR and we're over 25% done now.

[leecemark]

--The Hard Cider win 4 in a row to step out as the CKL's new best team. The Cloverleaf's also take 4 to stick right behind them. The Legends slip a bit in this series, but the Badgers fail to take advantage. The Gamblers do though, picking up some ground in the race for the bye in the Ruth League.

[Erik Bedard]

Biggest disappointments? My entire pitching staff, aside from Mike McCormick, Dave Giusti, and Nolan Ryan. Not a one with an ERA below 4.50. My offense (particularly Bench, Northrup, and Hegan) has been good, but my pitching has been dreadful, and Wrigley's not doing them any favors.

Mark, is Belanger back to the starting SS and Alley and Maz back to their original timeshare situation?

[leecemark]

--Changed back now. You should never assume that I'll fix/restore something on my own though. I very rarely touch a team profile without specific instruction. Only when an owner lets me know they'll be out of touch for awhile and asks me to deal with situations that may come up (or are out of touch for a long while if they haven't said something).

[-Kyle-]

The Gamblers do though, picking up some ground in the race for the bye in the Ruth League.
You say it like I've already clinched. :eek: Wildcard is enough for me. I just want to be in the playoffs (so no jynxing please :D).

Would this be the first time the Gamblers made the playoffs?

[-Kyle-]

Please put Petrocelli 4th and Killebrew 3rd. It never dawned on my I was going against what I usually think about lineups. :crazy

[leecemark]

--It would be the Gamblers first playoff berth. They finished second once under previous ownership, but came up short of the wild card. I'd bet big money on you getting there this year though. You were a heavy favorite from the preseason sims and the most likely division challenger, the Shoeless Joes, have stumbled out of the gate. They probably don't have the horses to come back from this deficit.
--The race thats likley to be most interestign in your league is the wild card. The Badgers are the only non-division leader over .500 and that is a bit of a surprise. The Skipjacks and Joes are under .500, but both likley to make a run and the Thunder can't be counted out. The Angels I thought had a (long)shot coming in, but their horrid start pretty much rules that out and the Brawlers were playing for draft position from Opening Day.

[catcher24]

I'll take a split with the Skipjacks anytime. Regardless of their poor start, they're still a dangerous opponent. But the loss of Rick Monday for 26 games could prove devastating. I'll send an updated MP, probably using Whitaker in his place. Don't really want to do that, since it will use up most of Whitaker's PAs, but I really don't have another good OFer in the minors (I'll have plenty next season...).

[Erik Bedard]

Gold Sox are looking for an impact player, preferably 3B, 2B, or OF. PM me if you've got anyone available.

[jterry619]

Wegener and Herbel promoted....Womack and Regan farmed

[leecemark]

--The Bedraggled have started to fall back to earth with a 6 game losing streak. They still hold 2nd place and the WC lead, but 4 teams are within 3 games now. The Hard Cider are the league's hottest team with a 7 game winning streak. The Cloverleafs loss ground dispite a good run of their own. The league's other early surprise, the Diablos, fall 5 back of the Cloverleafs and 10 back of the Hard Cider.

[mac195]

Mark, we'll bring up Osteen and put him in Moose"s slot. Moose goes to the pen replacing Geishert, who is sent down.

[mac195]

Please return our "use relievers" setting to standard (Osteen less.)

[Sockeye]

The Angels option Don Secrist to the minors

The Angels sign Johnny Podres to a 0.25/1 yr deal. He'll take Secrist place in the pen as the LHSU man. :eek:

The Angels will also make lineup adjustments. They should now be as follows.

VS RHP

1. Zoilo Versalles 2B (R)
2. Curt Motton LF (R)
3. Ike Brown DH (R)
4. Norm Miller RF (L)
5. Ted Sizemore SS (R)
6. Gary Geiger CF (L)
7. Jim French C (L)
8. Ron Hansen 1B (R)
9. Bobby Cox 3B (R)
PH vs LHP Brant Alyea

VS LHP

1. Bobby Cox 3B (R)
2. Zoilo Versalles 2B (R)
3. Brant Alyea DH (R)
4. Gary Geiger LF (L)
5. Bill Voss CF (L)
6. Ted Sizemore SS (R)
7. Norm Miller RF (L)
8. Jim French C (L)
9. Gail Hopkins 1B (L)
PH vs RHP Ike Brown, Curt Motton

[-Kyle-]

Please set use Tatum to Less.

[Sockeye]

I'll be on vacation from 7-11 to 7-17. While I'm gone I won't have internet access. I've asked Lew to look after my team for me while I'm away.

[Windy City Fan]

Spot Starter: Drago
Mop up: Drago, Gelnar, Hartenstein
Long man: Hartenstein, Drago
LH set up: Aguire, DiLauro,
RH set up: Hartenstein, Gelnar, Upshaw
RH Closer: Upshaw, Gelnar, Hartenstein
LH Closer: Aguire, Upshaw DiLauro

[leecemark]

Please set use Tatum to Less.

--There is no setting to bring a reliever in less. You'll need to either take away one of his reponsibilities or move him down the depth chart at one or more jobs to have him see less action.

[-Kyle-]

Augh, okay. Please put Perranoski, Tatum, for closers.

[leecemark]

--The Cloverleafs sweep the Shoeless Joes to run their winning streak to 10. It doesn't gain them any ground on the Hard Cider though. Mac sweeps the Brawlers to run his winning streak to 10! The Badgers run their losing streak to 8 before breaking it in the series finale vs the Knights. The triple Bs still cling to 2nd place and the WC lead though, as the Skipjacks drop 2 of 3 to the expansion Appletonia.

[catcher24]

--The Cloverleafs sweep the Shoeless Joes to run their winning streak to 10. It doesn't gain them any ground on the Hard Cider though. Mac sweeps the Brawlers to run his winning streak to 10!

Joe, how do you get a 10 game winning streak and not gain any ground? :confused: Mac must have a voodoo doll of your team over there in the far east!:eek::laugh

--Actually that happens when some idiot makes a typo in his post :). The Cloverleafs win streak is 5 to the Hard Cider 10.

[catcher24]

I'll be on vacation from 7-11 to 7-17. While I'm gone I won't have internet access. I've asked Lew to look after my team for me while I'm away.

Got you covered, Garry. And I'm sure when Mike Cuellar goes to the Legends for a fourth rounder in 1980, you'll be fine with it. :laugh:D

But Jim French is at 102% usage as of the last file I got from Mark. You may want to address that issue before you go. And Don Secrist is at 100%, but I think you already sent him down in a post somewhere.

[buppers]

Leave my team alone for a few days and look what happens.
My computer seriously crashed. Had to do system recovery. Lost everything. Am getting back up and running but see I missed 4 series and am now fighting for WC. Lost all excel files with salaries, contracts, etc. Also lost my darft lists for 70 and 71 :).

All can be replaced within a week. What I'm looking for is any spreadsheet with salaries and contracts. You can email me at buppers1954@aol.com.

Thanks, Ed

[leecemark]

--Ed, I had a pretty comprehensive salary list put toghether prior to the expansion draft. It hasn't been updated for the team changes or this years free agent signings, but I'll forward you that to get you started on rebuilding your files.

[-Kyle-]

CF: Hisle (Stanley 25%)
LF: Shamsky (Cowan 10%, Ward 15%, Herrera 10%)
SS: Petrocelli (Donaldson)
1B: Killebrew (Ward)
DH: Davis (Ward 15%)
C: Hundley (Casanova 5%)
RF: Kirtpatrick (Stanley 30%)
3B: Melton (Ward)
2B: Donaldson (Kirkpatrick)

[Sockeye]

The Angels option Jim French to the minors and call up Ellie Rodriguez to take his place.

Also want to make sure that Don Secrist was sent to the minors. Johnny Podres was signed to take his place.

[jterry619]

Joe, how do you get a 10 game winning streak and not gain any ground? :confused: Mac must have a voodoo doll of your team over there in the far east!:eek::laugh

--Actually that happens when some idiot makes a typo in his post :). The Cloverleafs win streak is 5 to the Hard Cider 10.



Well that makes me feel a little better...mot much..but a little.

[-Kyle-]

Send Donaldson down and take Green off the DL


CF: Hisle (Stanley 25%)
2B: Green (Kirkpatrick)
1B: Killebrew (Ward)
SS: Petrocelli (Stanley)
LF: Shamsky (Cowan 20%, Ward 15%)
DH: Davis (Ward 15%)
C: Hundley (Casanova 5%)
RF: Kirtpatrick (Stanley 30%)
3B: Melton (Ward)

[jkc32]

Shoeless is selling, and as a minimum, is willing to move any/all of the players below for either future keepers or picks.

Andy Etchebarren, C
Julian Javier, 2B
Roberto Pena, SS
Tony Perez, 3B (Stud)
Alex Johnson, OF
Ken Johnson, P
Hoyt Wilhelm, P (Stud)
Ray Washburn, P

[catcher24]

--Actually that happens when some idiot makes a typo in his post . The Cloverleafs win streak is 5 to the Hard Cider 10.

And who might that idiot be?;):p

[J W]

The Badgers run their losing streak to 8 before breaking it in the series finale vs the Knights. The triple Bs still cling to 2nd place and the WC lead though, as the Skipjacks drop 2 of 3 to the expansion Appletonia.

hmmm... +54 in run differential, 5th best RF and 5th best RA in the league, and still two games under .500. That can only point to one thing--the manager. I think I jinxed my team by killing off Ol' Codfish and hiring Dick Williams. :hp

[leecemark]

--Something had to give when the white hot Hard Cider matched up with the red hot Cloverleafs today. As has so often been the case it was the challenger to the masters of the Cartwright Division who came up short. A Hard Cider sweep runs their winning streak to 13 and puts Birmingham down 8 in the divsion race. The Leafs do still have a solid lead in the WC race, but the Diablos made up some ground and the Redbirds swept the Gold So to solidify their hold on 2nd in the Johnson.
--The Skipjacks took 2 of 3 from the slumping Badgers to move into a tie for 2nd in the Hulbert and the WC race. The races of interest in the Ruth League appear to be the one for the bye, where the Gamblers lead by half a game, and the Wild card - which remains wide open. Both division leaders have double digit leads and nobody else is over .500.
--Several significant injuries today. Make sure to check that report. Also please check you usage report on the web site. Several teams have been using some real life part timers in starting roles and they need monitoring.

[jterry619]

--Something had to give when the white hot Hard Cider matched up with the red hot Cloverleafs today. As has so often been the case it was the challenger to the masters of the Cartwright Division who came up short. A Hard Cider sweep runs their winning streak to 3 and puts Birmingham down 8 in the divsion race. The Leafs do still have a solid lead in the WC race, but the Diablos made up some ground and the Redbirds swept the Gold So to solidify their hold on 2nd in the Johnson.
--The Skipjacks took 2 of 3 from the slumping Badgers to move into a tie for 2nd in the Hulbert and the WC race. The races of interest in the Ruth League appear to be the one for the bye, where the Gamblers lead by half a game, and the Wild card - which remains wide open. Both division leaders have double digit leads and nobody else is over .500.
--Several significant injuries today. Make sure to check that report. Also please check you usage report on the web site. Several teams have been using some real life part timers in starting roles and they need monitoring.



wow....11 games over .500 and still 8 back...tough division!

[J W]

No IR changes here. Hinton can take over for Tolan and Schofield can cover Johnson for one game.

Blue Moon Odom is now 2-8 btw :)

Also of note, longtime Skipjack Joe Horlen is sitting on 99 career wins and is well over .500 as a pitcher. He's turned in one of the better performances of the decade. :gt But he's still no Camilo Pasqual :p

Dean Chance blew by the 100-win mark with an 8-4 record as a reliever for the Appletonia. I'm really sad he had to go.

[jterry619]

Palmer and Carty farmed....Cloninger and Kranepool promoted

[catcher24]

Sure was hoping to avoid any injuries to the pen, and losing Hoerner for 26 games is very ugly indeed. Especially after losing Monday for so many as well. I'll be sending you an updated MP later tonight, Mark. If you don't get it before running the sims, please put Locker in both closer roles.

[The Dude]

Sorry guys; this is the first chance I've had to get on a computer in about three weeks. Thanks for taking care of the team. I've yet to find a place to live right now, and my dad's in the hospital right now. I don't have any real time to do anything tonight, but I'm just letting you guys know that I'm still trying to keep up. As soon as I can get a day were I can sit down for an hour at a computer, I promise you I'll have the roster set up.

[leecemark]

--The team will be waiting for you when you get things settled. Sounds like you have plenty of real life stuff to deal with right now. Hope all goes well and is settled soon.

[leecemark]

--Th Hard Cider run their winning streak to 17, opening a double digit lead in the Cartwright. The last 7 wins have been vs the Cloverleafs who go from a tight division race to a tight wild card race in 2 sims time. The Redbirds have won 8 in a row and join the Cloverleafs and Diablos all bunched within a game. That winning streak also keeps the Johnson race interesting - something that is already hard to say about the other 3 divisions.

[jterry619]

--Th Hard Cider run their winning streak to 17, opening a double digit lead in the Cartwright. The last 7 wins have been vs the Cloverleafs who go from a tight division race to a tight wild card race in 2 sims time. The Redbirds have won 8 in a row and join the Cloverleafs and Diablos all bunched within a game. That winning streak also keeps the Johnson race interesting - something that is already hard to say about the other 3 divisions.



OUUUUUUCCCCHHHHHH!!!!!!!

[Erik Bedard]

8 straight losses -- seven to the Redbirds. Something needs to change, and fast.

[J W]

Will, please, take your time on this. Good luck and my thoughts are with you and your father.

This is turning out to be a sad summer for the owners :(

[jkc32]

Shoeless trades Tony Perez to the EB Gold Sox for the following:
2nd round pick in 1970 (Cloverleafs), 3rd round in 1974 (Gold Sox) and Mike Shannon.

Once confirmed...Shannon in at 3B for Perez.

Anyone need a dominant closer...Wilhelm is available.

[Erik Bedard]

Hold on a second... what is Perez's salary? 2.5M?

[jkc32]

Hold on a second... what is Perez's salary? 2.5M?
Half that, $1.25M.

[Erik Bedard]

Awesome. I confirm.

[catcher24]

The team will be waiting for you when you get things settled. Sounds like you have plenty of real life stuff to deal with right now. Hope all goes well and is settled soon.

Will, please, take your time on this. Good luck and my thoughts are with you and your father.

Ditto both of those sentiments. The league will be here when you get things resolved all around. Best of luck in that, and hope everything turns out fine with your dad, too. And it was good to hear from you, Wil!

[Erik Bedard]

In case it's not obvious, Perez in at 3B for Shannon. Kelly will be listed as emergency starter only.

[catcher24]

Th Hard Cider run their winning streak to 17

I believe that ties the league record for consecutive wins and one more will make a new record. Great run, Mac!

Anyone need a dominant closer...Wilhelm is available.

I would love to have him, Joe, but no way I can take on his salary.

[leecemark]

--The Hard Cider continue to dominate, running their winning streak to 20 with a sweep of Appletonia. The Redbirds have been nearly as good, winning 11 in a row to pull within 3 1/2 of the Knights. They gain no ground in the WC though as the Cloverleafs rebound from their brusining vs the HC to sweep the Knights.
--The Knights have struggled against good teams all year with todays brooming dropping us to 11-17 vs teams with winning records - and we haven't even faced the Legends yet:eek:. Thankfully we have the expansion teams to help keep up appearances. Appletonia has been especially generous, to the tune of an 11-1 record. Thats tied for the most wins vs another team. The Gamblers have gone 11-2 vs the Angels and the Legends have also batrered Sockeye - going 9-0 so far.

[leecemark]

In case it's not obvious, Perez in at 3B for Shannon. Kelly will be listed as emergency starter only.

--I did insert Perez in the lineup in Shannon's spot for you. A little surprised by this deal. The Shoeless Joes are very much in the thick of the WC race in the Ruth League. They have gotten off to a slow start, but so has everyone else excpet the Gamblers and Legends. The Gold Sox will have a much harder time coming backfrom their bad start. There are 5 winning teams in the Robinson League to overcome.

[Erik Bedard]

We've been extremely unlucky to this point (-4 from the Pyth.), and we simmed fairly well, so I'm pretty confident we can bounce back. It'll be really, really tough (12 games back of the Cloverleafs at the moment), but we've been in deeper holes and come through. And the 50-point OPS+ jump from Shannon to Perez should help.

New lineup (v. both):

Alley
Hegan
Perez
Northrup
Bench
Mincher
Crawford
Comer
Belanger

Also, I'll be away Sunday-Tuesday, so if someone could watch my team for a few days, it'd be much appreciated.

[catcher24]

The Hard Cider continue to dominate, running their winning streak to 20 with a sweep of Appletonia.

Definitely a new - and impressive - record for consecutive wins. I can only say I'm happy that I won't be facing the Cider during this onslaught! In fact, looking at my schedule, I don't play Mac until mid-October, and then face him 6 out of my last 17 games. I know by that time you'll be resting most (all?) of your starters for the playoffs, right Mac?:nod:;)

[jkc32]

--I did insert Perez in the lineup in Shannon's spot for you. A little surprised by this deal. The Shoeless Joes are very much in the thick of the WC race in the Ruth League. They have gotten off to a slow start, but so has everyone else excpet the Gamblers and Legends. The Gold Sox will have a much harder time coming backfrom their bad start. There are 5 winning teams in the Robinson League to overcome.

I can't seem to figure out what works and I'm too impatient right now to battle for .500 and a *chance* at the wildcard.

Shoeless is frustrated...so the remedy is a FIRESALE. See someone without a future who can help your squad NOW??? Send me an offer.

[catcher24]

Mark, a couple of Angels players are getting pretty high on usage. Please note the following changes: remove Ike Brown as DH vs RHP and insert Gail Hopkins into that slot; remove Curt Motton from LF vs RHP, insert Jay Johnstone into his slot in the lineup, make Johnstone the CFer and move Gary Geiger to left.

I'll make the changes on my end and send you an updated Angels MP. That should make it a bit easier for you.:)

[catcher24]

Stats are updated on the web site. It may be tomorrow before the news gets updated, though.:hp

[jkc32]

Shoeless is still selling and is willing to part with any/all of the players below for a future keeper or picks. I'm willing to take on salary this season to make it work...See someone you can use???

Andy Etchebarren, C
Julian Javier, 2B
Roberto Pena, SS
Alex Johnson, OF
Ken Johnson, P
Hoyt Wilhelm, P (Stud)
Ray Washburn, P

[BlueBlood]

leecemark, please remove Tom Burgmeier entirely from the relief pitchers usage. In other words, he shouldn't be pitching at all now that he's at 109% of his Real Life Batters Faced.

To compensate for this, slot George Lauzerique into all of Burgmeier's roles.

[Windy City Fan]

Promote Morton and put him in at DH vs RH. Demote Gelnar.

Spot Starter: Drago
Mop up: Drago, Hartenstein
Long man: Hartenstein, Drago
LH set up: Aguire, DiLauro,
RH set up: Hartenstein, Upshaw
RH Closer: Upshaw, Hartenstein
LH Closer: Aguire, Upshaw DiLauro

[leecemark]

--BB, Burgmeir has been removed from all roles. That doesn't mean he won't pitch at all though. If you run though enough pitchers in a game he might get the call. You should send him down and call up a replacement.

[leecemark]

--The story today is all about the Robinson League. The Hard Cider extend their winning streak to an amazing 24 games. They appear to be a lock not only for the division, but for the bye. The Cloverleafs rebound from their 7 game slide vs the Hard Cider to take 7 straight from the Knights. The Redbirds streak finally ended at 13, but that was enough to bring them within a game of the Knights.

[BlueBlood]

--BB, Burgmeir has been removed from all roles. That doesn't mean he won't pitch at all though. If you run though enough pitchers in a game he might get the call. You should send him down and call up a replacement.

I think I can risk it for now. He's at 109 percent, so even if he pitches on extremely rare instances, he should be able to stay under. I'll keep tabs on him.


Edit (hours later): Hmmm. It looks like my starters could take on a bit of an extra workload. Please change my preferences to "use relievers less"

What's really odd is that I'm nearly .500 on the road of all places. My team is very ill-equipped for their home park.

[J W]

-sigh- 3-3 vs. the Blueblood Brawlers. The starting rotation is getting pounded.

Although we're leading the WC race by a half game at the moment, the Skipjacks may be sellers at the deadline. PM me if you're interested in talking. Expiring contracts (like Curt Flood) and players whose use runs out after 1969 would be available.

[catcher24]

-The story today is all about the Robinson League. The Hard Cider extend their winning streak to an amazing 24 games. They appear to be a lock not only for the division, but for the bye. The Cloverleafs rebound from their 7 game slide vs the Hard Cider to take 7 straight from the Knights. The Redbirds streak finally ended at 13, but that was enough to bring them within a game of the Knights.

24 games is simply incredible! That ties the all time major league record. I note also that Appletonia has dropped 13 straight, which I think has them within two of the league record for consecutive losses. I can't believe my team is playing at a .687 clip and I'm still 101 points back of the Cider! And the Redbirds are really pushing the Knights as they're actually even in the loss column. Pretty interesting season so far, that's for sure.

And that loss to the Angels in the final game of the set cost me a perfect record against them this season, but I'll take 11-1. Amazing that my season series against the Angels (12 games) and the Redbirds (6 games) are done, while I've yet to see the Knights, Appletonia, Hard Cider or Wranglers.

[-Kyle-]

Robinson league is certainly exciting...not like the boring old Chadwick division...;)

I'm okay with it though.

[leecemark]

--The biggest series of the day was Knights at Redbirds. PAP came into the series just a game back and took the opener to pull into a tie for first. The Knights bats came alive in game 2 to reclaim the lead and Juan Marichal went the distance for his 2th win in the finale to give the Knights a little bit of breathing room.
--The Hard Cider winning streak reached 25 before the Diablos finally give them a loss. Bravo for that great run Mac:applaud:.
--After a long struggle to get over .500 the Skipjacks drop 4 in a row, with a broom job at the handsof the Legends today. The Thunder "roar" into a tie with the Badgers for the WC lead in the Ruth division. That rather slow moving race now has 4 teams within a half a game - all still looking up at .500.

[jterry619]

--The biggest series of the day was Knights at Redbirds. PAP came into the series just a game back and took the opener to pull into a tie for first. The Knights bats came alive in game 2 to reclaim the lead and Juan Marichal went the distance for his 2th win in the finale to give the Knights a little bit of breathing room.
--The Hard Cider winning streak reached 25 before the Diablos finally give them a loss. Bravo for that great run Mac:applaud:.
--After a long struggle to get over .500 the Skipjacks drop 4 in a row, with a broom job at the handsof the Legends today. The Thunder "roar" into a tie with the Badgers for the WC lead in the Ruth division. That rather slow moving race now has 4 teams within a half a game - all still looking up at .500.

Gotta love it...Leafs have the 4th best record in the league and only 13 games back!!!!

[mac195]

--
--The Hard Cider winning streak reached 25 before the Diablos finally give them a loss. Bravo for that great run Mac:applaud:.


Thanks. I have been afraid to post anything here for the last week... didn't want to jinx such an impossible run by a team that shouldn't really be that strong.

Looking back to compare the stats from 5/26 and 6/28... Ken Holtzman is our streak MVP, and several others made great contributions:

Ken Holtzman - 62 IP, 5-0, 13 ER allowed

Dick Boswell - 46 IP, 4-0, 12 ER allowed

Norm Cash - OPS improved from .842 to .899

Jim Wynn - OPS from .752 to .820

Frank Robinson - OPS from .876 to .903

Johnny Callison - OPS from .788 to .821

[BlueBlood]

Alright, I don't want to worry about Burgmeier going over, Mark. Send him down and bring up rookie Vida Blue. Give Vida one of Lauzerique's roles.

[catcher24]

--The Hard Cider winning streak reached 25 before the Diablos finally give them a loss. Bravo for that great run Mac

I second that sentiment, Mac. An absolutely amazing run, and one of the very few REAL records that we've broken here in the CKL. Mark did a number on the HR record in 1961, but as I've noted here numerous times I take all those 1961 records with a very large grain of salt. This run was against tough competition and mostly established teams. BRAVO!!:bowdown::applaud::nod:

But now it's time for the Legends to fire up and regain the league's top mark....

[catcher24]

Mark, I'll be sending you an updated MP for the Angels as well as the Legends.

For the Angels the changes will be to farm Curt Motton, promote Don Young, and put Young in at LF against LHP 40% of the time. I'll get the MPs out to you in an hour or so.

[-Kyle-]

CF: Hisle (Stanley 35%)
2B: Green (Kirkpatrick)
1B: Killebrew (Ward)
SS: Petrocelli (Stanley)
LF: Shamsky (Cowan 20%, Ward 15%, Kirkpatrick 15%)
DH: Davis (Ward 20%)
C: Hundley (Casanova 5%)
RF: Kirtpatrick (Stanley 40%)
3B: Melton (Ward)

[mac195]

I second that sentiment, Mac. An absolutely amazing run, and one of the very few REAL records that we've broken here in the CKL. Mark did a number on the HR record in 1961, but as I've noted here numerous times I take all those 1961 records with a very large grain of salt. This run was against tough competition and mostly established teams. BRAVO!!:bowdown::applaud::nod:

But now it's time for the Legends to fire up and regain the league's top mark....
Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement, Lew. I expect the Legends to finish with the top record, despite my best efforts to prevent that.

[leecemark]

--As we move into JUly the Badgers are stating to take on a bedraggled look, dropping from the Wild Card Lead to the Hulbert cellar. The Thunder hold the lead in that race, but anybody who can get ht enough to push over .500 can claim that spot. The Thunder host long time power JW tomorrow. The Gold Sox have what may be their last chance to get back into contention over the next 2 days, traveling to Tiger Stadium to face the division leading Knighty tomorrow and then hosting them the next day. Down 11 1/2 (and even more in the WC race) they need to come up big now. Moving into July also means the All Star balloting thread goes up (probably tomorrow).

[catcher24]

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement, Lew. I expect the Legends to finish with the top record, despite my best efforts to prevent that.

Not just kind words, Mac. I think you (and Mark) are simply amazing the way you keep on filling holes and continue to win year after year. You guys do a great job, and I'm even more impressed with your ability to do it (no slight intended here Mark) because you don't even have the game, which in my mind is at least a small advantage. Mark, I and anyone with the game can run as many sims as we want to test different lineups, rotations, etc. You don't have that advantage. I may or may not catch you for overall best record, but it took me a couple of basement years to build up the team I have - as it did for Jason, Dan and others. But you and Mark continue to win without ever suffering any bad seasons! Simply remarkable, and my hat is off to both of you.:bowdown:

[catcher24]

Not happy to drop two out of three to the Diablos, especially when they beat Seaver and Jenkins.:hp I did very well with Monday and Hoerner out; now they're back and I'm losing!:noidea:confused:

[J W]

Congrats on the winning streak Mac! And thank you so much for letting us take the last series! :laugh :eek:

I just have to shake my head at the Hard Cider. Mac knows how to manage a sim team, bottom line.

[leecemark]

--The Hard Cider start up another win streak to continue their runaway of the Cartwright Division and Robinson League. The Redbirds also start up a new streak to stay hot on the Knights heels. The Thunder take 2 of 3 from the Skipjacks to reach .500 and extend their WC lead.

[catcher24]

Stats should be updated in about five minutes (uploading now), the league page will be later today.

[jterry619]

Palmer promoted...Cloninger farmed...Granger and Taylor swap roles in the pen

[catcher24]

Looking at the team vs team thus far, I find that I lost the season series to the Diablos, 2-4. The Badgers continue to be my team's personal nemesis, as they have played the Legends even so far (5-5) while I'm 8-2 against the Skipjacks and 9-3 against the Thunder. And I wish I played the Angels a LOT more, as I finished 11-1 against them for the season.

[catcher24]

We are now 45% of the way through the season. At this point, any player at 57% usage or higher is in danger of going over the usage limits. I have listed below all players who are at 60% or higher usage. I would suggest taking a good look at the usage of any included player and make appropriate adjustments.

Appletonia: Bob Aspromonte, 72; Donn Clendenon, 70; Larry Haney, 65; Ivan Murrell, 68; Adolfo Phillips, 68; Dave Watkins, 63 (Farmed); Dean Chance, 61; Fred Lasher, 63
Cloverleafs: Nobody over 51%. Absolutely outstanding job, Joe!:bowdown::thumbsup::applaud:
Brawlers: Richie Allen, 64; Eddie Leon, 72; George Mitterwald, 63; Jim Spencer, 60; Ron Bryant, 90; Tom Burgmeier, 109 (F); Al Downing, 80; George Lauzerique, 60.
Badgers: No one over 55%. Also a very nice job, Ed! :clapping
Gold Sox: Gene Alley, 69; Mike Hegan, 66; Jim Pagliaroni, 66; Jim Maloney, 65
Diablos: George Stone, 62
Shoeless Joes: Ken Boswell, 63; Alex Johnson, 60; Dick Bosman, 65; Dick Hall, 64
Skipjacks: Bob Allison, 61; Paul Edmondson, 60; Bob Miller, 62; Pete Richert, 60
Wranglers: Alan Foster, 71; Joe Moeller, 85; John O'Donoghue, 69
Gamblers: Ed Kirkpatrick, 61
Knights: None, just as I expected. Great job as usual, Mark!:waving:nod:
Legends: Steve Whitaker, 96 Rats! If not for the long injury to Monday, I might have finally had no one on the list.:rant:
Hard Cider: Mike Andrews, 62; Johnny Callison, 61; Ron Fairly, 61; Greg Goossen, 61; Vern Geishert, 61 (F)
Redbirds: Jack Billingham, 61; Paul Doyle, 89; Tom Phoebus, 64; Tom Timmermann, 68
Angels: Ike Brown, 97; Bobby Etheridge, 100(F); Jim French, 107 (F); Gary Geiger, 86; Norm Miller, 63; Curt Motton, 104 (F); Chico Salmon, 110 (F); Jim McAndrew, 71; Danny Murphy, 110 (F); Don Secrist, 100 (F)
Thunder: Mike Fiore, 62; Jerry Moses, 67; Rich Reese, 63; Jack DiLauro, 74

[mac195]

Mark, please set my steal preference to: standard (Kenney less)

[leecemark]

--The Shoeless Joes sweep the division leaders. It doesn't help them much in that race, but it did get them to .500 and the WC lead. The bad news is they lose SP Steve Carlton for a couple weeks in the process of recording the sweep.

[catcher24]

Mark, the game results didn't come through, at least for me. It only had two games for Appletonia and nothing else. FYI; I saw from my last ten games column that I took two of three.

I also see that Mac is on pace to shatter the season wins record I set just last year!

[-Kyle-]

CF: Hisle (Stanley 35%)
2B: Green (Kirkpatrick)
1B: Killebrew (Ward)
SS: Petrocelli (Stanley)
LF: Shamsky (Cowan 20%, Ward 15%, Kirkpatrick 15%)
DH: Davis (Ward 20%)
C: Hundley (Casanova 5%)
RF: Kirtpatrick (Stanley 55%)
3B: Melton (Ward)

[mac195]

Mark, we'll DL Norm Cash and bring up Bobby Brooks. Fairly will move to 1B with Brooks taking his spot at DH. Also Moose gets a bigger role in the pen...

Lineup vs. RHP
1 Kenney SS (Patek)
2 Brooks DH (Rettenmund)
3 Wynn CF (Rettenmund)
4 Robinson LF (Rettenmund DR)
5 Callison RF (Fairly)
6 Andrews 2B (Allen)
7 Fairly 1B (Goossen)
8 Allen 3B (Sudakis DR)
9 Haller C (Hiatt)
PH vs RHP: Goossen, Rettenmund
PH vs LHP: Goossen, Rettenmund
Lineup vs. LHP
1 Rettenmund LF (Fairly)
2 Andrews 2B (Allen)
3 Wynn CF (Rettenmund)
4 Robinson DH (Cash)
5 Goossen 1B (Fairly)
6 Callison RF (Fairly)
7 Hiatt C (Haller)
8 Sudakis 3B (Allen)
9 Patek SS (Kenney DR)
PH vs RHP: Brooks, Fairly
PH vs LHP: Brooks, Fairly

Pitching
SP1: Osteen
SP2: Holtzman
SP3: Boswell
SP4: Selma
SP5: Culp (skip)
Spot: Walker, Leonhard
Mop up: Lopez
Long man: Moose, Humphreys, Lopez
LH set up: Walker, Hamilton
RH set up: Moose, Humphreys
LH closer: Hamilton, Walker
RH closer: Leonhard, Moose

[-Kyle-]

Nagy is in for Reed in the rotation (until he comes back).

[jkc32]

In an unprecedented move, Shoeless Joe’s management has petitioned Commissioner “Bowie” Leecemark to stop the Gold Sox’ Jim Bouton from “taking notes” when the two teams meet later this year. Shoeless ace Bob Gibson was overheard telling sportswriter Lenny Schechter, “That man (referring to Bouton) is odd. Word around the league is he keeps scribbling stuff in this diary he’s been carrying around with him. Batting practice, running the outfield, even in the locker room it’s rumored he’s got that damn thing with him. I don’t know what he’s writing, but if I see him scribblin’ notes when our teams meet, he better hope he doesn’t have to bat that day!” Attempts to reach the commissioners office for comment went unanswered…

[jterry619]

In an unprecedented move, Shoeless Joe’s management has petitioned Commissioner “Bowie” Leecemark to stop the Gold Sox’ Jim Bouton from “taking notes” when the two teams meet later this year. Shoeless ace Bob Gibson was overheard telling sportswriter Lenny Schechter, “That man (referring to Bouton) is odd. Word around the league is he keeps scribbling stuff in this diary he’s been carrying around with him. Batting practice, running the outfield, even in the locker room it’s rumored he’s got that damn thing with him. I don’t know what he’s writing, but if I see him scribblin’ notes when our teams meet, he better hope he doesn’t have to bat that day!” Attempts to reach the commissioners office for comment went unanswered…

I am lucky enough to have a signed first edition of "Ball Four"...one of my most prized possessions...along with a signed copy of "Boys of Summers."

[jkc32]

I am lucky enough to have a signed first edition of "Ball Four"...one of my most prized possessions...along with a signed copy of "Boys of Summers."

My copy of Ball Four isn't signed, but I've probably read it 10 times over the years. I can see why Bowie Kuhn tried to discredit Bouton and the book as much of of what it covered was considered taboo to talk about outside of baseball circles.

[Erik Bedard]

That's part of (most of?) the reason I wanted him in the first place. :D

[leecemark]

--The Cloverleafs have run off a 5 game winning streak and now old a commending 6 game lead in the WC (and would have a solid lead in the Johnson division for that matter). The Thunder take 2 of 3 from the Shoeless Joes to claim the lead in that WC race - while return to an even .500 record. Somebody is eventually going to get hot and take charge there, but for now its a tight, if uninspired, race.

[catcher24]

Don't know what you've suddenly done with the game results report Mark, but this time you have the result of every game for the entire season. Starting to really look forward to opening the file now just to see what I get!:p:laugh

[buppers]

Don't know what you've suddenly done with the game results report Mark, but this time you have the result of every game for the entire season. Starting to really look forward to opening the file now just to see what I get!:p:laugh

At 279+ KB, we should have had fair warning as to size of file:). I will repeat my assertion that Mark needs a secretary :rofl:

[catcher24]

I don't know if Mark caught this; if so, he didn't mention it and I'm pretty sure he would have. Tony Perez smacked four homers in a game (against the Knights, BTW) in the last sim. I have a full report in the News section on the web site. And that game also proved once more the incredible incompetence of the computer manager - he pinch hit for Perez in the eighth when Tony had the shot at five homers in a game!:eek::confused::faint::rant:

Incidentally, Ed, I don't know if Mark needs a secretary or if he was just trying to hide those games against the Gold Sox - an 11-3 loss in Perez's four homer game, then a 17-0 bashing two days later. Larry Dierker did manage a 3-2 win in between for the Knights, though!:)

[Erik Bedard]

I've had it with the idiotic CM. Turn pinch hitting in blowouts to least.

Oh, and we've got to be the least lucky team in the league right now, underplaying our Pyth by seven games. That's ridiculous.

[leecemark]

--Too bad that 17-0 game didn't count as 3 (4?) wins in the standings like it does in your pyth:cap:. No wait - its good that it didn't. You outscored me 30-6 in that series, but only picked up one game in the standings:).
--I didn't catch Perez's 4 HR game, even though it was against the Knights. What I usually do is autoplay the first 5 innings of Knights games and then manage the rest of the game myself if its close. The 17-0 blowout I just let the CM finish up and didn't even look at the box, except to see how many pitchers took a beating for me:noidea.

[jterry619]

Farmed:
Millan
Kranepool
Granger
May
Marone



Promoted:
Popovich
Carty
Womack
Herrmann
Meyer

[leecemark]

--The Skipjacks and Shoeless Joes each sweep their series today and pull into a 3 way tie with the Thunder for the Ruth WC. They are all even over .500 now:cap:.

[Windy City Fan]

Bring Gelnar up, send Upshaw and his 7 blown saves to the minors.

Spot Starter: Drago
Mop up: Drago, Gelnar
Long man: Gelnar, Drago
LH set up: Aguire, DiLauro,
RH set up: Gelnar, Hartenstein
RH Closer: Hartenstein, Gelnar
LH Closer: Aguire, Hartenstein

[leecemark]

--The Hard Cider continue their dominating ways with a sweep of the Redbirds to extend their latest win streak to 6. The Knights have a 6 game streak of their own heading into a matchup with their long time rivals.
--The Shoeless Joes get on the right side of .500 and take sole possesion of the WC lead for the first time this season. On the other side of the coin the Brawlers have run off an 8 game losing streak as they make their move on the first pick in the 1970 draft. The pitching staff gets most of the credit - they have given up over 100 more runs than the next worst staff.

[catcher24]

Mac's got the latest streak without Cash, and the last three games without Andrews. Why do I get the feeling this is a team of destiny?:hp

Good news, a sweep of the Brawlers. Needed something to get this team on the right track again!:dance

[leecemark]

--Fergie Jenkins tossed a shutout in the Brawlers series to move his record to a league best 15-3 and lower his ERA enough to get in the top 10. Guess he must be motivated by the snub in the early All Star balloting:cap:.

[BlueBlood]

--Fergie Jenkins tossed a shutout in the Brawlers series to move his record to a league best 15-3 and lower his ERA enough to get in the top 10. Guess he must be motivated by the snub in the early All Star balloting:cap:.

Normally, that would make me not want to vote for somebody. But I've been wracking my brain in an attempt to figure out who hasn't shut us out already. :hp

[Windy City Fan]

Just to sell at least one Thunder star for the all-star team, Denny McClain has been the man for us. He's second in wins, 9th in ERA, 4th in WHIP, 1st in IP, tied for third in SHO (with 2), tied for second in complete games with 10, 4th in Quality Start Percentage, and 5th in K/BB ratio. He also pitched a 2 hitter with no walks earlier this season. And he was just selected as pitcher of the week. I'd ask that you seriously consider Denny McClain for the all-star team.

[leecemark]

--The Thunder get swept by the lowly Angels to drop 2 back in the WC race. The Brawlers run their streak to 11, but Appletonia hangs tough and holds a one game lead in the race for first in 1970. The Legends put a little ground between themselves and the Gamblers in the race or the bye.
--In the Robinson, the Gold Sox have turned things around and have a 6 game winning streak. It may be too little, too late though as they trail by 13 1/2 in both the division and the WC. The Redbirds are 4 /12 back in both races and offer the best chance for some excitement in the late season. The Knights Juan Marichal picked up his 15th win and 14th complete game while the hitters battered Hard Cider ace Ken Holtzman, sending him to an early shower and his 2nd loss of the season. Hopes were high in LM that the Knights might actually take a series from a condtender, but the mighty Macmen came back to take the next 2. The Hard Cider have all but assured themselves of the bye in the Robinson.

[leecemark]

--Only 2 series left til the All Star break. Those will be played Wednesday and Thursday. We will break for 4 days real time, as this year's break also takes us to the trade deadline. You've got til midnight EST next Monday to make any deals you think will help push you into the playoffs - or do something once you get there.
--Midnight EST on Saturday will be the deadline for submitting All Star ballots.

[leecemark]

--The Knights are looking for pitching help. I'd really like a SP who could be trusted to face a playoff opponent, but a bullpen upgrade would help too. I doubt I can afford both, as I'm not looking to give up too much. If you are ready to write off the 1969 season and have a pitcher who won't help you after this year maybe we can do business though. I'll be scouring rosters for such a player, but if you see a fit please PM or e-mail me.

[buppers]

Normally, that would make me not want to vote for somebody. But I've been wracking my brain in an attempt to figure out who hasn't shut us out already. :hp


2 more you can take off list of who HASN'T shut you out.
Santorini and Lemaster. :cap:

Just my way of helping you get a good 1st rounder :)

Of course, that means a good 3rd rounder for me too :dance

[J W]

Ugh, one game over .500 and tied for the WC lead -- I have no idea right now which direction to go!

That said, we could be buyers or sellers. PM me with any deal and I'll at least give it a read.