MBSBL

2006-04-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Everybody is a tu sceered to play me. That'sa why I've only plaid 6 games so fur. Come on you sceeredy cats. Step up to the plate aginst burnt toste.

2006-04-19T08:27:00.000-07:00

Is there a schedule for this league? I remember one in previous years. With the odd number of teams, there seems to be considerable unevenness in # games played among the teams - well for Burnt Toast, anyway. Makes those cumulative stats pretty meaningless. I'm trusting that will even out over time. I'm thinking the Western Sounders pythagorean record would be at least 9-3. I know it's early yet - looking forward to seeing more games played.

2006-04-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

So Diamond Mind sucks.

After two starts, here are the numbers on King Felix.

10.1 IP
23 hits
18 runs
18 earned runs
7 walks
8 strikeouts
4 home runs

2006-03-28T14:08:00.000-08:00

Alright guys, I've been avoiding making the decision but here we go. A combination of a brutal flu and to much to do before we go on vacation means I'm not going to have the league started before I go out of town. I'm going to do my best to get everything set up so that right when I get back I can get the games going. I'm pretty sure I have everyone's profile now and I'll get them inputed. I'm really sorry for the delay - I want to see how this turns out as well. I'll post here and send an eamil when I start up the games hopefully around 4/12.

BTW, the league server is down because I changed my ISP. Moving it is another thing I have to get done.

Sorry again and go M's!

2006-03-28T12:56:00.000-08:00

I guess the server is still down. Looks like despite all the hard work on Mike's end the MLB season may begin before ours does. :-(

2006-03-27T20:17:00.000-08:00

What's up with the MBSBL server? I'm ready to see the fruits of our 3 month draft start banging heads. Play ball.

2006-03-16T13:52:00.000-08:00

So I went and ran everybody's lineups through a lineup simulator.

Many caveats apply. Like I guessed at everybody's starting 9. It also doesn't account for right/left splits. I had to use raw, unadjusted stats. It figures average pitching (which a 9-team league is not). Yada yada yada. Nobody's perfect.

So just for kicks, here are the most potent offenses of the league top to bottom.

Western Sounders 6.968 runs/game
Burnt Toast 6.802
Bainbridge Bashers 6.717
PurpleSwirlies 6.644
Borden Parker Bowne 6.599
Bobbleheads 6.168
Adobe Toetags 6.052
Iowa Hay 5.829
Pueblo Runyons 5.693

2006-03-14T10:53:00.000-08:00

OK, the draft is over! Now I have some tedious work to do. I have to make the teams in the Diamond Mind software and have it generate default manager profiles. I will send those to you to make changes and then we can start. It will probably be a day or two.

-mh

2006-03-13T17:45:00.000-08:00

and 6 weeks later.....

the draft is almost over.....

2006-03-01T13:18:00.000-08:00

I know you're afraid of my stealing your next 2 picks in the draft Walker, but do you really have to take 24 hours to research your next pick?

2006-02-27T16:36:00.000-08:00

I was curious.

2006-02-24T10:24:00.000-08:00

M’s sign Ibanez to two-year, $11m extentsion.

I keep telling myself that I rooted for the M's in the 80's from Pennnsylvania so I have to be able to handle this but...I just don't know anymore. How...why... I like Ibanez and all but is this deal honestly so we can get a big discount on his age 36 year? Just FYI I might play out the MBSBL one game at a time and pay attention to that instead of the M's.

2006-02-20T07:21:00.000-08:00

So seriously, is Brian still alive? Because I'm getting worried.

2006-02-15T15:19:00.000-08:00

Aaaarghh! Metz does it again, but again it's no surprise. The catcher I need or the best value slugger left in the draft. Why don't I just take the one (Tony Clark) that I KNOW Metz will grab?

2006-02-15T13:41:00.000-08:00

I've started drafting for need now. I picked up the only hitter with an OPS over 1 for my DH and then figured with the 2 rangeless wonders I had in LF & RF I needed a fleet footed CF to pick up everything they miss...

I was bummed Varitek was gone by the time I picked....I've got his jersey and he would have made a nice addition to the Toast.

2006-02-14T13:44:00.000-08:00

ROUND 2

My pick: Jason Giambi

Why I made this pick: Well, after going with an ace with my first pick, I needed a slugger. Fifteen picks into the draft, Giambi -- whose secondary average of .523 led all major leaguers -- was atop my list of available hitters. That .440 OBP was a must-have.

Best value of the round: Metz followed up his #1 Pujols pick with Jason Bay who not only hit .306/.402/.559 but also stole 21 bases in 22 tries AND plays left or center field. Seriously, how did Bay fall to #18 overall? Maybe the same reason he finished 12th in the MVP ballot.

Other notables: Brian snags Ichiro! for his first hitter pick. And while Ichiro! ranks 13th among all right-fielders in OPS we really can't nitpick any sentimental Mariner picks in this league, now can we? And then Harold follows up his pick of Dontrelle Willis with a closer - and not just any closer. Chad Cordero is certainly a valuable commodity, but 2nd round? Surely something is up Harold's sleeve. We'll stay tuned.

2006-02-13T14:27:00.000-08:00

Yes this is a DH league. Yes I watched as my two next picks Young and Drew went right before my turn.

2006-02-13T13:57:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't have picked a pitcher :-)

I really needed to fill out some position players and I was particularly looking for help up the middle and get some balance to my righty dominated lineup.

Looking at the OPS of 2b & SS I decided to alter that strategy. Remember when the league was full of SS with .900 OPS? Man, that position has fallen on hard times. We're back to the age of the defensive wizard.

On the good side I have an infield full of defensive vacuums. On the down side I have an outfield with no range that makes a lot of errors. Say hello to the late inning defensive substitution for Burnt Toast.

2006-02-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

First thing this morning I was faced with a tough choice.

Smoltz or Berkman.

Only Metz gets two picks before I'm up, but I'm pretty sure whichever one I pick, he'll probably pick the other as one of the two. There was a better chance he might not pick Smoltz, and that leaned me toward Berkman. But of the remaining available starters I thought Smoltz was unambiguously best, so I feel I just couldn't risk it with only one starter on my team so far, and so many gone. Now Metz can make me feel bad by saying he wouldn't have picked a pitcher, because he didn't surprise me on the other account - Berk was gone.

2006-02-13T09:55:00.000-08:00

I'm going to assume that we are using a DH in this league as in years past....

You're welcome for taking Sheets...

2006-02-13T07:40:00.000-08:00

I miss Jeff.

Or maybe more specifically, I miss Jeff's round recaps.

So maybe I'll try my hand at reviewing the draft round by round, if I can do it justice.

ROUND 1

My pick: Felix Hernandez

Why I made this pick: Plain and simple - I <3 King Felix. And with premier slugging MVP's Pujols, A-Rod and also Derrek Lee getting picked ahead of me, there was no way I was taking the chance of waiting to see if he'd last another 15 or so picks. All will bow to the prowess of King Felix. And a full season at that.

Best value of the round: Pujols was the Most Valuable Player of NL, and A-Rod in the AL. Derrek Lee had arguably better numbers than Pujols. King Felix posted a 2.67 ERA and struck out 77 in 84 innings. Travis Hafner raked 75 extra base hits. Clemens, Willis and Carpenter finished 3, 2 and 1, respectively, in the Cy Young voting. And one could argue that Johan Santana was robbed of the pitching award in the American League. You really can't fault any of these first round picks.

2006-02-09T18:41:00.000-08:00

Metz you %\#$@! I knew you'd take Sheets but I knew Chipper wouldn't make it through either.

2006-02-05T14:20:00.000-08:00

Round 3 is the earliest I've ever drafted a pitchter but I've never seen a run on pitching like this before. Halladay wsa actually number 1 on my draft board so I just took him.

Go Hawks!!

2006-02-04T22:48:00.000-08:00

Yes we had a huge wind storm last night and the power was out all day. The server is back up now.

2006-02-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

Is the draft server down? Just checking.

2006-02-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

If the run on starters keeps up, I may be in real trouble having any kind of rotation, but I couldn't resist beefing up my infield with good hitters who field well in rounds 2 & 3. If Chris Carpenter had still been available I might have gone for a starter. Missed the earlier trash talk about A-Rod. We'll see, I just looked at the numbers before the draft started and was surprised he was even available after one pick.

2006-02-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

OK, we're back. We need to get this going so we're going to go with 9 teams. Brian is back on the clock after changing his first pick from Tony Womack to Chris Carpenter...wow we have abig run on pitchers.

2006-01-31T11:08:00.000-08:00

I know you'll ask how is this different but the draft is on hold for a bit. The St Paul team just dropped and I'm getting a replacement. Please stand by.

2006-01-31T07:37:00.000-08:00

We're off to a rough start. I just drafted to really "fine" players for St. Paul as place holders. Ugh.

2006-01-30T15:41:00.000-08:00

Whew...for a minute I thought Brian had some sort of stroke and had actually drafted Tony Womack with his pick.

2006-01-29T21:49:00.000-08:00

OK, I just picked the worst player in the draft (OPS) as a place holder for the Toetags. Brian can send me who he wants from who is available and I will change the pick.

2006-01-27T22:47:00.000-08:00

24 hour time limit on picks through the first few rounds? Please.....

2006-01-24T16:12:00.000-08:00

Good Times! Hey, good luck with A-Rod Walker (heh heh).

Speaking of Bonds, how about this blast from the past from the first league I ran in 2002.

Yes, I had the '01 Bonds who hit...81 homers! It was very good times for the Bashers.

2006-01-24T14:57:00.000-08:00

Three picks in and someone is already slamming the other's pick. Nice!! The Seahawks are going to the freaking Superbowl and we're still hating on A-Rod!

2006-01-24T08:33:00.000-08:00

The Burnt Toasties start the draft by grabbing Albert Pujols. Yes, I know Derrick Lee had better numbers but I've always wanted Pujols on a team. I was tempted to grab A-rod until I remembered how poorly he's done on MBSBL teams in the past, how many good 3rd basemen their are now and...oh yeah...how much I dislike him.

Metz

2006-01-24T00:02:00.000-08:00

We're back! I ran the draft order program like last year and here is what came out:

>>> teams = range(1, 11)
>>> teams
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
>>> random.shuffle(teams, random.random)
>>> teams
[7, 8, 9, 5, 1, 10, 4, 6, 3, 2]

The draft site is ready to go. Burnt Toast is on the clock.

2005-06-21T05:25:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Team Awesome!

The Optimist continues his Atlanta Braves-like ways by having his second straight dominant season, only to falter in the playoffs.

Management is blaming the loudmouth Optimist for declaring victory before the World Series was played.

2005-06-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

Optimist 5 - Awesome 6 - Awesome wins series 4 - 0

Congratulations Team Awesome!

2005-06-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

Optimist 3 - Awesome 10 - Awesome leads series 3 - 0

2005-06-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

Awesome 9 - Optimist 3 - Awesome leads series 2 - 0

2005-06-14T21:48:00.000-07:00

MBSBL World Series

Awesome 7 - Optimist 5 - Awesome leads series 1 - 0

2005-06-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

Optimist 9 - Bellingham 3 (11) - Optimist wins series 4 - 1

Metz 5 - Awesome 8 - Awesome wins series 4 - 1

2005-06-14T21:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long delay - and sorry to Metz. The Diamond Mind "manager" completly screwed up his pitching for this series. I've tried to come up with a fair way to recover but I've got nothing. I'm just going to play out the rest of the games. This is the second time with two different programs that the playoffs have been screwed up and it's prety frustrating. It's a long off season and I'm sure I'll be back but I'm again going to look into other options for the simulation software.

2005-06-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, I guess I win, right?

2005-05-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

The Optimist goes to Basselope Stadium with a 2-0 lead, and promptly give it up.

In game 3, the Optimist scores 3 runs on 11 hits, while the Basselopes score 5 runs on 4 hits. Mussina pitched a fine game, but both of his walks scored on the 2-run and 3-run homers he gave up to Carlos Delgado in the 3rd and Aubrey Huff in the 6th. Andy Pettitte pitched well with runners on, with the only damage coming from a Jimmy Rollins home run to lead off the game, and a 2-run shot from Ramon Hernandez in the 6th.

With the Basselopes up 5-3 in the top of the 8th, the Optimist chased Pettitte with a leadoff single, and had the bases loaded with one out. Juan Rivera works the count to 2-0, and promptly grounds into an inning-ending double play. And that's the ballgame.

With the Optimist up 2-1, game 4 features a rematch of Jason Schmidt and Johann Santana. Remember in game one, each of these pitchers only went 3 1/3. Well in game 4, they both go 6 2/3 and each gives up a run. Santana struck out 13, walked one, and gave up just 3 hits. The only damage came in the first when Luis Gonzalez lined a 2-out double and Adrian Beltre followed with a RBI single.

Jason Schmidt was not nearly as sharp for the Optimist, as he struggled with his location all day, en route to walking EIGHT batters. But he was effectively wild, as he gave up only two hits, and struck out 9. In the 4th inning, he escaped a no-out, runners on 2nd and 3rd situation with a couple of Ks.

In the sixth inning, he walked two batters, and with two outs, Lew Ford hit a double down the third base line, scoring Carlos Delgado, but Optimist left fielder Eli Marrero gunned down Aubrey Huff at home to end the threat.

In the 7th, a 2-out single from Ramon Hernandez thankfully chased Mr. Santana. Three walks in the bottom of the 7th ended the day for Mr. Schmidt, but Billy Wagner came on to strike out JD Drew.

The 8th and 9th saw both teams get runners to second, but Ricky Bottalico and Billy Wagner had no troubles. In the 10th inning, both teams turned to their erstwhile closers to hold the game.

Eddie Guardado came in with runners on first and second and one out and got two quick flyouts to get out the 10th. Lidge allowed an infield single to JD Drew but nothing else.

Then, with one out in the top of the 11th, Adrian Beltre hit a MAMMOTH 520 foot shot out of the stadium. Lidge held in the bottom of the 11th, and that was the ballgame.

The Optimist is now up 3 games to 1 and returning home for Game 5. After an 0-4 Game 3, Beltre went 2-5 in Game 4, dropping his batting average for the series down to .500. Mariner fans can only dream about seeing this sort of production from Beltre in the playoffs.

2005-05-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

13 runs allowed in 40 innings so far.

That's good pitching. C'mon Team Awesome!

2005-05-17T15:04:00.000-07:00

Optimist 2 - Bellingham 1 (11) - Optimist leads series 3 - 1

Metz 4 - Awesome 5 - Awesome leads series 3 - 1

2005-05-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

Optimist 3 - Bellingham 5 - Optimist leads series 2 - 1

Metz 1 - Awesome 2 - Awesome leads series 2 - 1

2005-05-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

Bobby Madritsch shuts down the Basselopes, while Adrian Beltre and David Wright lead the offensive attack against Brad Radke, who also only lasts 3 2/3 inning. That Basselopes manager has got the quick hook working these playoffs...

2005-05-13T06:58:00.000-07:00

Bellingham 2 - Optimist 6 - Optimist leads series 2 - 0

Awesome 6 - Metz 2 - Series tied 1 - 1

2005-05-12T22:03:00.000-07:00

Isn't that nice - my defensive replacement catcher costs me the game.

Asshole can't do anything right.

2005-05-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

The hook came out early in the other playoff series as well. Sheets only lasted 3.2 innings and Halladay 1.2 innings before they both got the hook. Both bullpens pitched pretty well with 8 combined relievers giving up no runs. A combined twenty eight men left on base.

There were several "interesting" game events, including...

5-5  0 --- 32  Mabry walked (BBSFBB)
           Williamson now pitching
5-5  0 1-- 22  Varitek popped out to second (FbBSBX)
5-5  1 1-- 32  Reese struck out (BSCFBBC)
5-5  2 1-- 22  Loretta grounded a double down the first base line, Mabry
             to third (CBFBX)
           Rauch now pitching
5-5  2 -23 30  Berkman was walked intentionally (IIII)
5-5  2 123 22  Ramirez struck out, Mabry out at home (FBBCS)

Two outs, the batter K's and the guy on 3rd is out at home? Must have been a passed ball strikeout with the runner getting cut down at the plate.

This one in the bottom of the 9th...

**************  Bottom of the 9th inning, Metz batting
             Blanco now playing catcher
5-4  0 --- 02  Loretta lined a single to shallow left (FFX)
5-4  0 1-- 11  Berkman popped out to short (BSX)
5-4  1 1-- 10  Ramirez popped out to short (B>X)
5-4  2 1-- 31  Thome walked, Loretta to second (BBSBB)
5-4  2 12- 00  Giles grounded a single between third and short, Loretta
              scored on an error by the catcher Blanco, Thome to
              second (X)
5-5  2 12- 32  Mohr struck out (FBBCB>S)

I scored the tying run on an error by the catcher.

This one turned into the eventual game winner in the 13th inning

5-5  0 --- 32  Loretta flied out to left (CBSBFBX)
5-5  1 --- 32  Berkman walked (BSBFBB)
5-5  1 1-- 01  Berkman stole second (C>B)
5-5  1 -2- 31  Ramirez was walked intentionally (C>B.III)
5-5  1 12- 21  Thome flied out to left, Berkman to third (CBBX)
5-5  2 1-3 20  Giles grounded a single between third and short, Berkman
             scored, Ramirez to second (BBX)

Berkman tagged from 2nd to get to 3rd on a fly ball to left field? That must have been one heck of a fly ball :-)

2005-05-12T06:15:00.000-07:00

Optimist takes 1-0 lead over the Basselopes in a pitchers non-duel between Jason Schmidt and Johan Santana. Neither pitcher could get out of the 4th as their managers showed that, during the playoffs, the hook comes VERY early.

After two innings, there was no sign of the "carnage" to come, as Schmidt faced the minimum and Santana had only given up a two-out single to stud Adrian Beltre.

The Basselopes struck for two runs in a bizarre third inning. With one out, Raul Ibanez singled, and Ray Durham doubled. Then, Derek Jeter dribbled a ball to short that Jimmy Rollins couldn't field and was generously scored a hit. Schmidt seemed unfazed as he struck out Ben Broussard. But then, he walks J.D. Drew and drills Carlos Delgado in the middle of the back to drive in the second run.

Johan Santanna cruised to a 1-2-3 3rd with two strikeouts, and Jason Schmidt returned to the hill for the 4th inning, still without the control he lost in the third. Schmidt walked the bases full, and Optimist manager Whitey Ford was quick with the hook, bringing in scrub reliever Terry Adams into this situation. Adams nearly got out of it unscathed by getting a lineout from Jeter, but Ben Broussard drove in two runs with a single up the middle.

Staked to a 4-run lead, Johann Santana should have cruised to victory. Instead the Optimist bats and the Basselopes manager got to him in the 4th. Luis Gonzalez opened with a double, and Adrian Beltre hit an infield single that was smothered at second. Mike Lamb struck out, and then Hernandez ripped a run-scoring single between first and second.

And then the inexplicable happened. With one out and a 4-1 lead and runners on first and second, the Basselopes YANKED Johan Santana. Reliever Orber Moreno was greeted with a run-scoring Junior Spivey single and a Rocco Baldelli groundout to close the scoring on the inning.

The final line on Santana? 3.1 innings, 4 hits, 1 walk, 4 K's and 3 earned runs. He threw 35 strikes in 54 pitches. His counterpart Jason Schmidt pitched 3.1 innings, giving up 3 hits, 4 walks, a hit batter, and 4 earned runs against 4 K's. Schmidt threw 67 pitches, 36 of which were strikes.

Amazing that in the 4th inning of a playoff game that either manager would yank their pitcher.

The move turned out great for the Optimist, as Terry Adamas, Ramiro Mendoza, and Billy Wagner combined to pitch 4 2/3 of 1-run ball. The Basselopes did not fare so well, as Moreno gave up a run in the fifth, and Tom Gordon gave up three runs in the 7th.

Optimist closer Brad Lidge did his best to make things interesting as he gave up two doubles to bring the score to 7-6, but then he settled in to strike out Javy Lopez and induce a Lew Ford flyout to strand the tying run at second.

2005-05-11T23:46:00.000-07:00

The playoffs have started. But, the web site generator does not know how to make reports for the playoffs and I'm sorry but I don't have time. The team boxsocore RSS feeds have the scores and I will post them here along with the series record. Here we go!

Bellingham 6 - Optimist 7 - Optimist leads series 1 - 0

Awesome 5 - Metz 6 (13) - Metz leads series 1 - 0

2005-05-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

Can we switch to a four man rotation for the playoffs? Do we start from scratch or go from where the season ended?

2005-05-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

4 reasons why the Iowa Hay sucked ass

Now that the season is over, let me take this opportunity to throw my team under the bus. Because it's all their fault.

1. My Bullpen is to awful as Nomar is still the DL.

The telling stat is that my bullpen gave up more blown saves (28) than any other team. Truth is, they never really had a chance as my team inherited more runners than any other team. In fact, the bullpen was just par for the course because ….

2. My starting pitching wasn’t much better

My pitchers—in gestalt—placed second in ERA, second in innings pitched, second in base-on-balls. I think my pitchers lacked nerve because when the going got tough, they collectively stank; No team gave up more sacrifice hits/bunts and I was second in wild pitches. Let me tell you, I was a sure thing. If you got on second (which apparently wasn’t all that hard to do against me), you were going to score as evidenced by my being third worst in WHIP.

To cap off my suckitude: I was second in BB/99 and second worst in K/9inning. Third worst in complete games and narrowly second last in quality starts which …

3. Would be all right if I had any run support
I didn’t. Worst in run support per pitcher and I finished with the second worst margin. Perhaps if I had hitting but alas,

4. The offense was a vanilla shade of vanilla

Offensively, I am middle of the road on about all categories except for stolen bases (2), which of course means I led the league in caught stealing. That was the only noteworthy thing to point out about my offense.

It’s not all bad though. My defense kicks ass. I led the league in put-outs, was second in assists and had the fewest errors (70). However, I think defense wins championships idiom clearly never intended itself for baseball. Unless they meant pitching. In which case, my kick ass defense now really, really sucks.

At any rate, it’s been fun. Good luck in the playoffs!

2005-05-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

Regular Season is Over!

Hi all. I'm heading out of town this week and wouldn't have been able to run the games so I just ran the final week of the season. Thanks everyone for playing and congratulations to the top four who make the playoffs:Mariner Optimist, Bellingham Basselopes, Team Awesome, and Oh No Metz. I'm glad John is there to defend our title (and Optimist, if it was rigged I would not have given up 981 runs...981!!!!!!).

I'll get the playoffs set up next weekend and the first games should be there Monday. All best of seven series. I'd love to see some analysis on the blog about what will happen - I guess some more trash talk would be OK too.

Thanks again!

2005-05-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

Retarded Question: Manny Ramirez attempted 3 steals. However he got caught stealing 4 times. Does that mean that if a guy gets picked off it counts an attempted steal? Or is this simply an error in the software?

2005-05-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

Trash talk, eh? Um, thanks to my latest push I am now 20.5 games out of first whoohoo. Oh, but I have been eliminated from playoff contention. So I guess I am playing for draft position now which is sad given I had the second pick.

So now that its hopeless: is there any way I can bring up some guys up from the Ioway Hay farm system?

On the plus side, I was in Portland last week amid the rain for my sisters wedding when I happened by a Starbucks and grabbed my Ichiro Starbucks card. It's pretty cool so it's not all bad. :-)

2005-04-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

Team Awesome doesn't lose. They donate.

Can I get the Jesse Crain freakshow replaced with Troy Percival already, commish? I can't very well exert my Awesomeness if the league is colluding against me.

And Team Three True Outcomes? I like it. Note the 26 stolen base attempts, which is way below the average. I think I *will* sit back and wait for the three-run homer, thankyouverymuch.

I hereby nominate the Guam Guamaniacs as Team Gritty.

2005-04-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

Can we rename Team Awesome to Team Three True Outcomes?

Look at this
Homeruns: 250 (2nd place Optimist has 204)
Walks: 722 (2nd place Oh No Metz has 602)
K's: 1199 (2nd place Bloomquist has 1187)

A team batting average of .257, but a slugging percentage of .474

I'll have to see how TTTC fared against Bobble Heads whose pitching staff leads the league in fewest walks and homers allowed.

Amazingly, playoff contender Western Sounders pitching has given up 20 more homers than any other team, but also leads the league with 20 complete games.

Sodo Mike's pitching staff is a debacle with a team ERA of 5.60 which is more than a half run worse than the second worst team. But that ain't all. They easily lead the league in unearned runs as well with 90, so that all told they have given up 15% more runs than the second worst team and almost 50% more than the best. Ouch.

Here are some calls for best/worst pitchers drafted:
BEST:
23) Jason Schmidt, OPT - 2.73 ERA, 19-6, MBSBL Cy Young Favorite
92) Rich Harden, CRI - 3.59 ERA, 13-7
118) Bobby Madritsch, OPT - 4.05 ERA, 16-5
164) Trevor Hoffman, WES, 18 of 20 saves.
189) Braden Looper, CRI, 22 of 25 saves.
190) Wilson Alvarez, MET - 3.85 ERA, 10-7
197) David Bush, AWE - 4.07 ERA, 17-5

WORST:
34) Oliver Perez, OPT - 6.90 ERA, 3-4 before being cut. Whoops.
40) Bartolo Colon, GUA - 5.60 ERA, 7-16.
67) Livan Hernandez, REV - 5.68 ERA 6-15.
79) Brad Lidge, OPT, 5.27 ERA, 7 Blown Saves
85) Doug Davis, SOD, 6.41 ERA, 8-13.
110) Matt Clement, BLO - 6.69 ERA !!! 4-18 Record !!! The Anti-Cy Young.
117) Greg Maddux, WES - 5.85 ERA, 9-13
153) Jason Marquis, KEN - 7.00 ERA, 5-17
174) Luke Hudson, OPT - 7.73 ERA, 3-7 record and cut.
205) C.C. Sabathia, BOB - 7.56 ERA, 1-5 record before mercifully cut
333) Jeff Suppan, SOG - 6.59 ERA, 5-16

2005-04-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'll trash talk. I'm 3-3.5 games up on 3 teams with 22 to play, and easily have the best record and run differential in the league.

Why?

Because I'm better at this than you are. Just like Billy Beane is superior to the rest of the GMs.

Last year, I had the best team as well, but somehow my superior team lost it in the playoffs. Of course the guy running the simulations won it all somehow. Coincidence?

This year, Sodo is out and Oh No is on the ropes, so who knows, maybe the playoffs won't be fixed. Or maybe my 4-9 record vs Team Awesome will catch up to me. Just remember, I'm Billy Beane, so the playoffs are all luck.

No matter how it turns out, you know I'm better than you.

2005-04-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

The schedule certainly doesn't favor team Oh No as they close out the season. With only a few series remaining, we have 6 teams fighting for 4 playoff spots. Unfortunately Oh No plays the Optimists, Basselopes and Team Awesome in 3 of the remaining 4 series. Metz's 3-10 record against the Soggy Bottom Boys, most of the games having been played early on in the season, may be his undoing.

It just goes to show you that games in April count as much as games in September.

2005-04-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Interesting game here. Thanks to some interesting pinch hitting decisions I ended up with the following infield in the 9th inning of a game where I was leading 6-3.

In the top of the 9th Tino Martinez pinch hit for my SS Pokey Reese. Instead of inserting Menechino in at SS ( he had the day off). The computer did the following...put Menechino in for Loretta at 2nd base, moved Koskie from 3rd to SS (where he has no defensive rating) and then put Tino Martinez in at 3rd base (again no defensive rating at that position and despite the fact that normal starting 3rd baseman Ramierez was on the bench). I guess the computer takes those days off very literally. I held on to win 6-5 with only Meninchino getting a defensive chance in the 9th....

2005-04-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

The dearth of trash talking here must be a result of all the mild-mannered folks being in the lead. My Sounders continue to perform beyond their expectations, and I am sure that the first hint of hubris from me will trigger a precipitous slide.

For those who like pitching duels, though, I've found the July 6 game between the Boobleheads and Sounders. Not a no-hitter, but there were only 7 total hits and 3 total walks for both teams combined. Willis earned the 1-0 win, allowing only 2 hits in 8 2/3 innings, Gagne picked up the save by getting Teixeira to fly out to left on an 0-2 pitch. Lima suffered the complete game loss, allowing only 5 hits and NO walks in a full 9 innings. The WHIP for the game was an impressive 0.55. There were two triples and three doubles, but no home runs.

Just noticed more about that game. Alou's triple in the second inning came just after Willis picked off Walker on first. Ouch! The Sounders defense reciprocated in the top of the third when Figgins caught a screamer off of Fick's bat, and was able to walk over to third base and double off Valentin who had just tripled with one out. The next time Fick was up to bat, Figgins had his comeuppance, as he booted the grounder and Fick reached. After Polanco followed that with his own error, Rolen doubled to right center and Fick ended up scoring the game's only run - an unearned one. So I suppose better than the WHIP of 0.55 is the game's ERA of 0.00.

2005-04-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry!!

It must be that my team, well, let's just say that we've been through quite a few pitching coaches already. I'll get the games posted tonight.

2005-04-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

Hey, Commish - if you could drop Jesse Crain from my team and replace him with Troy Percival, that'd be great.

2005-04-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

MGN = Margin, or Run Differential.

Team Awesome has won 19 of its last 24 games to pull into a three-way tie for first place. Credit goes to David Bush, an awesome bullpen, and the best offense in the league. Get out of my way.

2005-04-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

Whoo hooo!! I won 8 out 10 and ... gained absolutely no ground as everybody but Metz, Bloomquist and Soggy are on at least 3-game win streaks (and every one has won at least 6 out of 10). Damn this virtual impersonation of the beer & whiskey league!

Incidently, on our standings page, what does MGN stand for (between Runs Allowed & Magic Number)? If I am going to suck at something--as my -47 would attest--I'd like to know exactly what I am sucking at!

2005-04-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

Announcing the first trade of the year...

After deciding they needed to bolster their offense for the stretch run Oh No Metz has agreed to acquire Mark Loretta from Sodo Mike in exchange for starting pitcher Juan Dominguez and 2b Todd Walker.

Dominguez joined Oh No part way through the season and had become a fixture in the starting rotation. He went 8-4 for Metz with a sterling 3.69 ERA. Todd Walker was a disappointment for Oh No compiling a batting average barely over .200 in over 100 games. Sodo manager Mike stated "We know Walker is a quality player, we're hoping a change of scenery will help him re-establish his hitting stroke."

Loretta joins Oh No and gives them an immediate leadoff threat. Oh No had been using Lance Berkman in the leadoff role. Manager Metz stated "While Lance's .400+ OBP in the leadoff role has been a blessing, we haven't been making use of his power and ability to drive in runs. By shifting him down into the #2 hole we hope to jump start our offense."

Taking Dominguez's place in the starting rotation for Oh No is Dave Williams. Williams had been pitching mop up relief for On No. He was demoted early in the season after giving up 15 home runs in 30 innings pitched. Early results on Williams return to starting are mixed. He went 4 &2/3rds innings in his first start giving up 6 runs in the loss. His second start was also a loss but he pitched much better, going 7&1/3, giving up only 3 hits and 2 runs. The big news is that he kept the ball in the park in both starts. Manager Metz is keeping Williams under tight scrutiny. Oh No is 4&1/2 games out of the final playoff spot with 50 games left in the season.

Manager Metz also announced some further lineup changes for Oh No as a result of the Loretta trade. "We'll be shifting around the batting order. I need to get Ramirez more at bats with men on base", spoke the sage field leader.

Is this the last deal for Oh No? "We've got a few irons in the fire. Never say never", spoke veteran GM Metzvasi. "There are a few athletes we have our eyes on."

2005-04-20T22:58:00.000-07:00

Heh heh heh.

I'm so glad I got Harden :)

2005-04-20T09:47:00.000-07:00

My pitching woes continue. Here's my first three guys (who lasted two innings) versus his stud Rich Harden. Harden threw seven innings and only threw four more pitches than Wright, Madson, Chacon did in their two illustrious (cough) innings.

Pitcher	INN	H	R	ER	BB	K	PCH	STR	BF	HR	ERA
Wright	0.2	5	4	4	1	1	31	17	7	2	5.51
Madson	0.1	4	4	4	0	0	22	14	5	0	2.77
Chacon	1	2	2	2	0	1	20	13	5	1	8.5

Pitcher	INN	H	R	ER	BB	K	PCH	STR	BF	HR	ERA
Harden	7	5	1	1	2	9	96	59	28	0	3.67

2005-04-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

Which league won the all-star game and gets to host the world series??

2005-04-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

Well, once again my team is under performing and not only are they not playing somewhere similar to their 2004 stat line, they are WAY off the mark. I mean Carpenter and Clement are pitching like Hideo Nomo.

If anyone is interested in a trade (for equal value) I'm open to it. I need to make some changes so I can try to get back in this.

2005-04-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

What's up with the schedule? I just played 7 straight games at the Western Sounders. Strange...

In the first game, Jason Schmidt got shelled in an 11-4 loss.

No worries, in the sixth game of the series, Jason Schmidt got his revenge with this NO-HITTER. He struck out 15 and walked 5.

This game really has not mastered the walk yet. I've got Schmidt walking FIVE? Orlando Hernandez walking EIGHT?

And, oh yeah, my last start Bobby Madritsch gives up seven runs in 1/3 of an inning. And I won, 8-7! Sounders pitcher Greg Maddux somehow gave up FOURTEEN hits and seven runs in 7 innings. FOURTEEN hits! His pitch count? 88. No wonder Bobby Madritsch is 10 and freakin 1. This team never says die!

2005-04-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

pythagorean numbers for all teams


                               Team       W       L      Expected  Wins       RS        RA       Actual    Pythagorean        Diff    Pythagenport          Diff      X   
     Metz    39    38    41    392    367    0.506    0.533    -0.026    0.532    -0.025    1.94062658   
     Mike    36    40    36    431    458    0.474    0.470    0.004    0.469    0.005    2.05213225   
     Optimist    48    28    45    437    360    0.632    0.596    0.036    0.595    0.037    1.98096709   
     Sounders    45    31    41    406    374    0.592    0.541    0.051    0.540    0.052    1.96692152   
     Awesome    40    36    40    432    409    0.526    0.527    -0.001    0.528    -0.001    2.01597361   
     Hay    37    40    36    376    398    0.481    0.472    0.009    0.472    0.008    1.95337535   
     Bloomquists    36    40    36    365    387    0.474    0.471    0.003    0.472    0.002    1.94310637   
     Soggy    27    50    33    340    394    0.351    0.427    -0.076    0.430    -0.079    1.918808   
     Cricketeers    44    33    43    391    346    0.571    0.561    0.011    0.558    0.013    1.92146514   
     Bellingham    43    44    48    385    343    0.494    0.558    -0.063    0.553    -0.059    1.83391819   
     Punchy    40    36    37    377    383    0.526    0.492    0.034    0.492    0.034    1.95   
     Booble    38    39    37    328    340    0.494    0.482    0.011    0.483    0.010    1.85742861   
     Kent    35    42    37    356    369    0.455    0.482    -0.028    0.483    -0.028    1.91077092   
     Guam    27    49    29    298    386    0.355    0.373    -0.018    0.381    -0.025    1.88136376

2005-04-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

Indeed I feel fortunate, not only against Metz, but overall. The Sounders must be a Pythagorean anomaly at this point. It looks like we have an extra day to anticipate the face off between 1-2 in our league, as no games happened last night. And a face off it will be with 7 games straight. Can the Sounders carry their heat forward against the top team, or is a comeuppance upon them? We'll see.

2005-04-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

Walker, you cursed me! After mentioning the Iowa Hay as surging, they have slumped into a six-game losing streak. I hope we haven't already peaked.

2005-04-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

Walker you should feel fortunate you swept me. Two extra innng games and the 3rd you won in the bottom of the 9th on a walk off by Alou. Octavio Dotel, possibly the worst reliever in the game not named Chacon blew both extra inning games.

Dotel had these stats in the real world

W	L	ERA	IP	H	BB	K	HR	G	GS	QS	CG	SV	IRS	IRS%
6	6	3.69	85.1	68	33	122	13	77	0	0	0	36	2	0.12

and these stats in our world

Name

ERA

SHO

INN

GDP

Dotel

6.84

25.0

110

2005-04-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

My Sounders have been surging of late, but not as much as Mariner Optimist or Iowa Hay. My boys' mettle will be tested in the next two rounds of games, though, as 10 of the next 12 games will be against the two division leaders, and the other two against the Revenge who have just reeled off 7 straight. It may be an opening for some of you others in contention.

It appears that my middle infield's fielding acumen is a genuine asset, as my record seems better than my batters' or pitchers' appearances on the stats leader board would indicate. Figgins and Uribe and Castilla seem to get to more balls and make fewer errors than most 2-ss-3 infields. Figgins is also an asset as a batter and runner with a decent .307 avg. and a league leading 10 triples. But it's Edmonds that's been carrying my team offensively, having produced the "Game-Winning RBI" in 11 of the last 45 games (11 of the last 28 wins)!

2005-04-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

I think my team is having an identity crisis:

Roberts pinch hitting for Podsednik
9-3 2 --- 00 Podsednik grounded a single between first and second (X)
9-3 2 1-- 30 Chavez walked, Roberts to second (BBBB)

2005-04-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

I can't figure out if this is one of the best or one of the most boring games of the year:

Team Awesome 6, Bloomquist Fan Club 4 (16)

There were four runs scored in the first 15 innings of the game.

Perhaps most impressively, I only needed to use four pitchers, half as many as Trent in a losing effort.

2005-04-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

Here's something interesting, my winning percentage (0.471) is exactly the same as the James' "Pythagorean theorem".

Consider:
Rf ^ 1,82
--------------
(rf ^ 1.82) + (ra ^ 1.82)

Which yields:
30308.39 / 64327.72 = .471158

I don't know if this is the intention of the program or not, but it is pretty cool.

2005-04-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

Disturbing Stat: the pitchers who play the most game 1-5 are all on my team! No wonder my bully is so awful and I am 0-21 when trailing after 7.

Games Played
1 Chacon HAY 29
2 Shouse HAY 29
3 Smoltz HAY 29
4 Madson HAY 28
5 Seay HAY 28

Blown Saves
1 Chacon 3
6 Shouse 3

2005-04-09T14:16:00.001-07:00

My "manager is on crack" moment was when my manager hat Dave Roberts (.091) pinch hit for Paul L0Duca (.243) at the top of the 10th. Roberts struck out and A-Rod homered to win it.

2005-04-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

How to turn a 5-0 lead into a 12-0 lead courtesy of the base on balls

 0-5  0 --- 30  Mohr walked (BBBB)
0-5  0 1-- 21  Walker reached on an infield single to third, Mohr to
                 second (BF11BX)
               Crain now pitching
0-5  0 12- 11  Reese popped out to short (BSX)
0-5  1 12- 30  Berkman walked, Mohr to third, Walker to second (BBBB)
0-5  1 123 31  Giles walked, Mohr scored, Walker to third, Berkman to
                 second (BBBCB)
0-6  1 123 31  Varitek walked, Walker scored, Berkman to third, Giles to
                 second (BBBCB)
0-7  1 123 32  Thome walked, Berkman scored, Giles to third, Varitek to
                 second (BSFBBB)
0-8  1 123 32  Koskie walked, Giles scored, Varitek to third, Thome to
                 second (BBBCFB)
               Remlinger now pitching
0-9  1 123 10  Mabry lined a single down the right field line, Varitek
                 scored, Thome scored, Koskie to third (BX)
0-11 1 1-3 12  Mohr struck out (CSBS)
0-11 2 1-3 20  Walker lined a single to shallow center, Koskie scored,
                 Mabry to second (BBX)
0-12 2 12- 11  Reese flied out to left (CBX)

2005-04-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

My team gets two-hit by Juan Dominguez, then beats the crap out of Mark Prior and AJ Burnett? What?

2005-04-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

The post by the Optomist is one of the funniest things I've read in weeks. Thanks Cory. You made my day.

Let's get some more chatter from the other members....

Oh No has gone 6-4 since the rotation and playing time shakeup. I think the team meeting we had where the players "cleared the air" really helped get the "team chemistry" in sync.

2005-04-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

Team Awesome is holding up the draft again. They have been on the clock for 307:54:33 and counting. I may have to ask Mike to enforce the 24 hour rule in a week or so.

Games? What games?

2005-04-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

You want interesting games? My manager is completely stoned. The manager profile has Ron Villone setup as a mop-up man only. Instead here are games where...

he started and predictably lost 11-6
he came in to CLOSE a 2-1 Schmidt win, and predictably gave up 4 runs in ninth
got his first save

I hate to mention it, but Jason Schmidt is pitching ungodly and is carrying my team. 9 quality starts in 9 tries, 3 shutouts, and a 0.89 ERA. The rest of my starters are Madritsch (5.09), Orlando Hernandez (6.82), Oliver Perez (7.01), and Luke Hudson (8.59).

Here's is Brad Lidge blowing save in 9th and staying in to lose game 13-10 in 11 to Team Awesome. Team Awesome sure likes my pitching (they are 6-3 against me) - here's them scoring 10 runs on Oliver Perez in the first.

And my favorite starting pitching debacle comes against the Intimidators where Hernandez walked 11 batters in 125 pitches in 4 innings!

2005-04-06T11:55:00.000-07:00

In true Bavasi fashion....

Please add Juan Dominguez to my roster as my 25th player and modify my manager profile (sent to Mike in an email) . Time to star auditioning for a new 5th starter and adjusting roles in the bullpen.

I've also modified playing time for some of the regulars and changed my manager profiles to "put the game in motion". All things I think Bavasi and Hargrove would do after starting 15-23.

My team is doing worse then even I expected mostly because my players aren't hitting. If this continues I'll have to "shuffle the lineup". Then I'll start grabbing guys off the waiver wire and plug them into the starting 9.

2005-04-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

If you notice any interesting games while looking over your boxscores, post them.

Here is a David Wells 3-hit complete game shutout of the Sounders followed the next night by a Brandon Webb 5-hit complete game shutout of the Mike's.

2005-04-04T22:20:00.000-07:00

This isn't Team Awesome. This is Team Horseshit.

2005-04-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

Yes, I forgot to run the games last night! Sorry, I'm trying to set up boxscore RSS feeds for the major league teams and last night I finally had a real boxscore to work with. Of course, Yahoo decided to make willy-nilly changes in the format so I had a lot of tweaking to do it the MBSBL slipped my mind. I'll run four series tonight. If your interested in the box score feeds you can get a preview here:

http://casdra.com/cgi-bin/box_rss.py?team=bos

I still need to do a lot of testing before I announce to the world but it seems to be working.

2005-04-01T10:09:00.000-08:00

It just seems like I play Guam every game! The schedule making tool is clearly a bit weird. For better or worse here is the full league schedule.

2005-04-01T06:58:00.000-08:00

Can my team fire it's manager? Can I at least put them all on steroids? Is Casdra down? I cannot access the further carnage done to my team.

2005-03-31T10:13:00.000-08:00

I'm spent! After a really long night fighting with regular expressions and the interesting Diamond Mind boxscore format I have the boxscore RSS feeds up. You can find the feeds on the league Teams page. If you try them out, please let me know if you have any problems. I know that using the Sage plugin for Firefox, the "river of news" view does not look good with the pre-formatted box scores but when you click on an entry it does render it correctly.

Enjoy!

2005-03-31T06:25:00.000-08:00

Bullpen ERA: 2.28

Just as I'd hoped.

2005-03-30T21:40:00.000-08:00

OoooKayyy. I definitely found something set up wrong. All of the teams had the their pitching profiles set up to use realistic playing time for the players. This certainly caused some of the problems where the computer thought that a starter who did not start much in real life should not be in the rotation. Since this effected every team I reset them all to the correct setting and played tonight's games. Frankly I just did it, closed my eyes and hoped. I'm sure you will let me know if it didn't work.

Sorry about this, hopefully things will act more correctly now.

2005-03-30T18:44:00.000-08:00

Hi guys - first of all, I didn't write this puppy! Clearly there is something up with the starting rotations. I've never seen it skip around like this in previous versions. I'm going to double check all the settings tonight and see what I can come up with.

Hey John, I'm pretty sure you knew that defensive switch would not work and as for the errors, well, eight games is certainly enough to draw conclusions :-)

I do agree with you that your team won't be very good but I'm pretty sure that has to do with the players you (or Bavasi in your trance) drafted :-)

Team	W	L	Expected Wins	RS	RA	Actual	Pythagorean	Diff	Pythagenport	Diff	X
Metz	39	38	41	392	367	0.506	0.533	-0.026	0.532	-0.025	1.94062658
Mike	36	40	36	431	458	0.474	0.470	0.004	0.469	0.005	2.05213225
Optimist	48	28	45	437	360	0.632	0.596	0.036	0.595	0.037	1.98096709
Sounders	45	31	41	406	374	0.592	0.541	0.051	0.540	0.052	1.96692152
Awesome	40	36	40	432	409	0.526	0.527	-0.001	0.528	-0.001	2.01597361
Hay	37	40	36	376	398	0.481	0.472	0.009	0.472	0.008	1.95337535
Bloomquists	36	40	36	365	387	0.474	0.471	0.003	0.472	0.002	1.94310637
Soggy	27	50	33	340	394	0.351	0.427	-0.076	0.430	-0.079	1.918808
Cricketeers	44	33	43	391	346	0.571	0.561	0.011	0.558	0.013	1.92146514
Bellingham	43	44	48	385	343	0.494	0.558	-0.063	0.553	-0.059	1.83391819
Punchy	40	36	37	377	383	0.526	0.492	0.034	0.492	0.034	1.95
Booble	38	39	37	328	340	0.494	0.482	0.011	0.483	0.010	1.85742861
Kent	35	42	37	356	369	0.455	0.482	-0.028	0.483	-0.028	1.91077092
Guam	27	49	29	298	386	0.355	0.373	-0.018	0.381	-0.025	1.88136376