PT21 Diary - A Tale of Three Teams

[trman73]

I decide to pull the trigger on selling Scherzer, and the Hammers trade one Live Perfect for another...

OUT: DH Paul Waner (82)
IN: LF Live Cody Bellinger (100)

Waner has been one of my favorite players on this team. We pulled him in 2022 and he's been a starter vs. RHP ever since, collecting 2,550 hits. But his time seems to have passed, as over the past three seasons he's been a real liability, and in Gold he's just not getting it done as the teams around us get better. So Bellinger replaces him even though I'm afraid of a drop to 99 for him Monday morning. So... I'll hang on to Waner in reserves and wait on what to do with him.

[trman73]

The Hammers enter the final day of 2041 having fallen off a cliff. We went 9-18 in August and I’m blaming Cody Bellinger, who’s been just terrible. He has quick-sale written all over him. We’re now firmly in the relegation zone at 57-79, and need a miracle today to stay in Gold next season.

Not so the Warlocks, who have been great since the All-Star break and now find themselves with a two-game lead in the Wild Card race at 73-63. We haven’t been great at anything – 6^th in scoring, 7^th in runs allowed, basically somewhere between 5^th and 8^th in every single category on the Team Rankings... but that’s been good enough this season. The division title is out of range, but today could see us in the Gold playoffs for the second straight season.

The Frogs were cruising to their first playoff appearance in four seasons until we ended the day yesterday by losing 11 of 12. We’re now two back of the Wild Card and need to get it together. We also have 48,000 PP that I may have to use for the playoff push, although I am inclined to hang on to it to try to hook a big fish next week or so.

Should be an interesting Saturday.

[trman73]

With two weeks left in the season, the Warlocks look like they're in the playoffs, the Frogs are trying to fend off a challenge for the final Wild Card spot, but the big news is with our worst team. I got completely fed up with Live Cody Bellinger and quick-sold him in a fit of mini-rage.

That rage was rewarded...

[trman73]

Well an interesting thing happened to the Hammers at the close of the 2041 season. After the miracle Eddie Collins pull, we lose our first game with him in the lineup, then rattle off an 8-game winning streak. We go 11-3 after the acquisition, which puts us 75-87, safe from relegation. So it’s a second straight season in Gold next year. I also have seven packs to open this morning after a great overnight run in tourneys.

UPDATE: Our great pack luck continues, as we pull a Cliff Lee (91), a duplicate going for just under 38,000 in the AH right now. Man, we're hot!!!

The Frogs were tied for the final Wild Card spot in Gold 303 with seven games to go. We go 3-4 in those games, the other guys go 5-2, winning their last four, and we’re out despite winning 89 games. Still, I’m optimistic that we are a move or two from being back in Diamond, and we have 50,000 PP.

Which leaves the Warlocks, who will play at least a game on Sunday. We go 15-11 in September and finish 87-75, more than enough to take the second Wild Card spot in G331. We face an uphill battle just to get to the Division Series, but it’s nice to be back in the post-season for the second straight year.

[trman73]

The Warlocks get the Florida Fire Frogs (87-75) in the Wild Card Game, at their place. We send Dizzy Trout (16-8, 4.21) to the mound. Dizzy’s gone 8-2 in August and September and we’ve won 11 of his last 13 starts. He faces SE Greg Maddux, a guy who the Warlocks have traditionally had good luck against in the playoffs.

We’re all over Maddux. He gives up a two-run shot to Jeff Bagwell in the first, and we tack on three more in the second to go up 5-0. Yaz opens the third with a dinger, and we’ve chased him. Dizzy absolutely cruises, giving up a harmless run in the eighth, but we cruise, 6-2, and it’s on to the Division Series.

[trman73]

I’m running errands and not able to view the Warlocks’ first three Division Series games against the Boston Patriots, the best team in our league by far. They won 124 games, although we did take two from them during the season.

We split the first two games by identical 5-3 scores, with us winning Game 1 with a five-run 5^th, and them getting to Tom Seaver early in Game 2.

Two key members of our lineup vs. lefties, Mickey Mantle and Cesar Cedeno, homer off Ron Guidry in Game 3, and we get a nice start from Lefty Grove to win, 6-1.

It’s a battle of Dizzy Trouts in Game 4, and theirs went 20-1 this season. Both cruise through the first three innings, but we load the bases with no one out in the 4^th, and Yaz unloads them with a grand slam! Our Dizzy gives us his second straight strong game, and we take it easily, 6-1.

We are on to the SLS, and will be playing back in Diamond in 2042!!!

[trman73]

It’s Botticino Amatori in the Sub-League Series. We’ve been knocked out by these guys before, and they easily won our division with a 98-64 record. We won eight of 19 from them during the year. They scored 900+ runs during the season, led by Todd Helton, Rusty Staub, Tommy McCarthy, and Billy Williams. On the mound they have Perfect Kershaw, SE Maddux, Jerry Reuss, and Jack Powell. They are very similar to us in that they’ve had some success in Diamond, having made the playoffs at that level three times (we’ve made the Diamond playoffs twice). But... we have a Gold title, and they are looking for their first medal.

It’s Maddux and Maddux in Game 1, and it’s a pitcher’s duel. A throwing error by Yogi Berra gives them a 2-1 lead in the 7^th. Dwight Gooden comes on a blows us away in the 8^th, striking out the side, but we get to him in the 9^th, manufacturing a run to send it to extras. They put a man on third with no one out in the 10^th, but Lindy McDaniel gets out of it. Then in the 11^th they load the bases with no one out, and close the deal with a hit from Robbie Cano that wins it.

We get a quality start from Tom Seaver in Game 2, and after a homer from Mookie Betts we lead 4-2 after seven. But Bobby Shantz gives up a three-run shot to Jeff Bagwell in the bottom of the inning, and Steve Carlton surrenders another dinger in the 8^th, and we lose 7-4 and are in an 0-2 hole. The Hammers escaped from being down 0-2 last week, so we’ll see if we can do that again, but I doubt it.

We get back in it in Game 3 as we get to Jack Powell early and often. The bullpen makes it interesting, but Lindy McDaniel closes the door for a 7-5 victory. Dizzy Trout takes his 2-0 postseason record to the mound against Peak Clayton Kershaw in Game 4. Kershaw wins it as errors and misplays cost us in an 8-3 loss, and we’re in serious trouble.

We take a 2-0 lead in the rematch of Madduxes in Game 5, but they go up 3-2 in the 3^rd with a homer by Todd Helton. It’s 4-3 them when they bring in Doc Gooden in the 8^th, and we can’t get anything off him. They win the game and the series.

I wish these guys good luck and hope they win the Series. I like their team. Good luck Botticino!

[trman73]

Back to the Hammers, who now have 34 packs to open after selling our duplicate Cliff Lee. And man, we are just killing it with packs this week...

[trman73]

The Hammers’ run of good pack luck ends with a complete dud from the 22 packs we got from Jose Mendez. But it’s been a nice nine days for us, as we’ve made significant additions:

• HH 2B Roberto Alomar (92) – Has been benched, but still a valuable asset for Indians FOTF.
• Live SP Gerritt Cole (100) – Good in Silver, awful in Gold. Would love to replace him.
• HL LR Ellis Kinder (90) – 3.02 ERA, 1.20 WHIP this season in Gold.
• Live OF Cody Bellinger (100) – Sold. Awful.
• HL 2B Eddie Collins (100) – Yeah.
• HH 2B Charlie Gehringer (95) – Will DH and play a little 2B as Collins trains at SS.
• HL SP Cliff Lee (91) – Sold (duplicate).
• Negro League SP Jose Mendez (92) – Sold.

That’s a good week of cards and is a significant upgrade to our offense, as Collins and Gehringer take over for Mazeroski and Paul Waner.

2042 Lineup:
CF Ichiro (88)
2B Eddie Collins (100)
1B Albert Pujols (99)
RF Tris Speaker (96)
3B Brooks Robinson (98)
DH Charlie Gehringer (95)
LF Christian Yelich (100)/Paul Waner (82)
C Jason Kendall (85)
SS Ozzie Smith (68) (until Collins becomes a SS)

We finished 14^th with 650 runs scored this year. Interested to see what next year looks like.

The Warlocks stay put as we don’t have a lot of PP, but the Frogs find a way to spend their 50,000 PP.

OUT: LR Freddie Fitzsimmons (89)
IN: SP Tommy Bond (99)

Bond was up for like 48 hours in an open-ended auction, and I swooped in at the end and took him for 45,000 PP. I like him as a #3 behind Maddux and Grove.

I debated three guys... SS Johnny Pesky, 2B Lou Whitaker, and Bond. In the end, I spent on the pitcher, as we still had Steve Carlton and Ted Lyons in the rotation. Lyons now takes the long relief role, Carlton becomes the #5 starter, and Fitzsimmons is gone.

On to 2042!!!

[trman73]

The Hammers are back in Gold this week. Gold 326 to be exact, and we’re feeling good about where we are heading into the season. After a blip last night, our great run of packs continued this morning after some sales of Live guys who bumped levels this morning (thank you, Nick Anderson!). And we pull... a duplicate Live Perfect Gerritt Cole!!! He’s on the block right now, so grab him if you want him.

We also get another solid card...

OUT: DH Dick Deitz (90)
IN: DH Rico Carty (91)

I can’t believe this is the case for the traditionally offensively hapless Hammers, but we have too many hitters for too few spots. I’m now all in on transitioning Collins to SS full time. Gehringer becomes the full-time 2B, and Carty (decent vs RHP, excellent vs LHP) takes over as the full-time DH. Dare I say, this is a pretty solid lineup.

The Warlocks are in Diamond 357 and are already in the cellar at 2-6. We’ve scored 20 runs in eight games. Too early to make a real judgment, but ugh.

And the Frogs are 4-2 in G322, despite our new addition, Tommy Bond, getting rocked in his debut. We’re in a division that looks winnable for now, and I have hopes of a playoff run for these guys.

[trman73]

Things looked good for the West Ham United Hammers through the first 30 games of 2042 in Gold 326. We looked like a potential playoff team. But we went 19-30 in May and June, and find ourselves 37-43. The offense, which I had such high hopes for, is 12^th in our league. I had to quickly abandon the Eddie Collins at SS experiment, as well as the Rico Carty starting vs. RHP experiment and we’re back to fighting to stay up in Gold. Right now we’re safe, but just by two games.

The Warlocks are three games back of relegation in D357. I thought we’d be better, but offensively we’re struggling. The good news for these guys is that we pulled a Historical All Star Mickey Mantle (93) from a pack, who we’re holding on to until the new FOTF’s are unveiled tonight. So with him and Mike Tiernan still languishing in reserves, we potentially have 50K PP or so waiting to be shopped, to go with the 32,000 we already have.

The good news this week comes from the Frogs, who are tied for the best record in Gold 322 at 50-31, and have the best run differential in the league at +162. We have the second-most runs scored and fewest runs against in our league. Frank Thomas has an .887 OPS. Rusty Staub’s at .966, platooning in right. On the mound, we’ve got two guys, Lefty Grove and Jim Whitney, on pace for 20+ wins. Whitney’s been a monster, going 11-3 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP, and leading the league in WAR. It looks like we finally may have gotten over the hump in Gold with some of our new additions. And we’ve got 22,000 PP in the bank, and expect a big pack windfall at about 9 p.m. this evening. Everything looks good in Fort Worth.

[trman73]

Well once again FOTF creates some big roster movement for our teams.

The Hammers are still waiting to open 45 packs after we wound up with 60,000 worth of PP thanks to players we’d been saving in reserves for this very reason. Thus far we’ve pulled one addition... SP Howie Pollet (94), who we’re taking a flyer on and giving Cliff Lee some time in reserves. Pollet has similar ratings across the board to Noodles Hahn, who’s been quite effective for us, so we’ll see. The team is 62-71, looking at a third straight week in Gold next week barring a collapse. But I’d love to see a good Historical Diamond or, dare I say, a black and gold card come from those remaining packs.

The Warlocks had 35,000 PP at 8:30 p.m. Thursday and woke up Friday morning to 102,000, thanks in large part to 30,000 sales of both the Mickey Mantle we pulled Tuesday and the Mike Tiernan we’d been hanging on to for weeks. We also pulled a Frank Viola (92) from the packs we got from the new missions, and sold him for 25,000. So, we make a move:

OUT: DH Cesar Cedeno (92)
IN: DH SE Ted Williams (100)

I love Ted Williams. My favorite ballplayer of all time, although he was long gone by the time I was growing up in Boston. And this is the good Williams, an absolute beast who showed up and hit two homer for us in his debut. We still have 58,000 PP to spend, and I’ve got a few more big moves in the works. For now we’re just a half game up from relegation at 58-77, but the next time we’re in Diamond, whether that’s next week or down the road, we’ll be better.

The Frogs continue to lead their division in G322 and have the third-best overall record in our league. But that didn’t stop us from also making a move:

OUT: MR SE Joe Nathan (93)
IN: SP Peak Vida Blue (98)

Blue takes Jim Whitney’s spot in the rotation, bumping Whitney to the pen and making Nathan expendable. Blue lost his first three starts but has been on fire since, with a two-hit shutout in his last start. This rotation is now good for Gold with Maddux-99 Grove-99 Bond-98 Blue-96 Carlton. We’ve got 17,000 PP left. The playoffs are almost a lock for these guys tomorrow.

[trman73]

The Frogs, surging into the playoffs on Saturday, make another move:

OUT: Peak SS Rafael Furcal (89)
IN: Peak SS Monte Ward (98)

A big upgrade and hopefully our revolving door at SS has come to an end for a while. Furcal was the definition of a 26th man, getting just a handful of starts over the past few years. Ward replaces Ray Chapman at short, and Chapman, who brings speed and defense to the table, becomes the primary backup infielder.

[trman73]

The Hammers finish 77-85 in Gold 326, a decent showing I suppose. We scored 103 more runs than we did a year ago, but are still just a middle of the pack offensive team. The pitching let us down this year, which I’m attributing partially to reduced effectiveness on defense.

We are still opening the massive collection of packs, but we have gotten a few guys who will help in one way or another. Listing the Diamonds and Perfect here...

• SP Live Verlander (100) – Quick sold.
• SP Howie Pollet (94) – Trying him in the rotation; 2-3, 6.44 (one truly awful start)
• SP Dolph Luque (94) – Threw a one-hitter on season’s final day
• LF Chick Hafey (90) – No defense; saving him for STL FOTF sale

Still 20 packs to go.

The Warlocks got relegated after a bad September and will be back in Gold. Ted Williams posted an .864 OPS in 44 games, and also helped David Ortiz immensely, as Papi’s OPS was over 1.000 in August and September batting cleanup behind Teddy Ballgame. The pitching was terrible.The team that beat us in the SLS last season, Botticino, was also relegated.

The Frogs won their division easily at 94-68 and finished with the second-best overall record in G322. We’re preparing for the playoffs to start for us in another 15 minutes or so. Monte Ward was a huge upgrade at SS, posting a .786 OPS that was well over .800 before a late tailspin. Vida Blue went 4-3 with a 4.31 and had some great starts and a couple truly awful ones. I am feeling good that we can get the three wins today to be playing in Diamond next season.

[trman73]

The Frogs' quest for their second Gold title begins with the Peshastin Pine Beetles. We blow Game 1 in 11 innings, 6-4, thanks to Dave Smith blowing a save and then giving up a double to Mickey Cochrane to lose it for us. But Yogi Berra gives us a walk-off win in Game 2, 9-8, and we sweep both games at their place, winning 6-3 and 7-6, to advance to the Sub-League Series and guarantee our promotion to Diamond.

In the SLS, we avoid the best team in our league, who fell in the Division Series, and get the Chicago White Stockings. We split the first two games at home, get shut out by Cy Young in Game 3, and then take the next two in Chicago to go up 3-2. We return home and trail 7-6 in the 7^th of Game 6 before scoring five in the bottom of the 7^th. We hang on to win 11-8 and it’s on the Gold League Series.

[trman73]

We get the Columbus Evil Squirrels, an 88-win team, in the Gold Series. We take Game 1, 12-5, thanks to Jeff Bagwell’s 4^th homer of the post-season, and Yogi Berra’s 5^th. In Game 2, it looks like they’re going to tie it as they lead 5-4 in the 9^th. They bring in SE Nolan Ryan to save it, and he walks Frank Thomas, then gives up a game-winning blast to Jeff Bagwell, which gives us the 2-0 Series lead!

We head to their place and take Game 3, 8-3, putting us one win away. And we get it, winning 4-3 to sweep the series. We win our last seven games of the post-season en route to our second Gold Series and our third medal overall. Jeff Bagwell is unstoppable in the series, going 8-for-17 with two triples, three homers, and nine RBIs in the four games.

[trman73]

The West Ham United Hammers enter 2043 in Gold for the third straight season. We’ve got some new pieces to try out, as Howie Pollet (94) and Dolph Luque (94) start the season in the rotation, with Live Gerrit Cole ready to take over if one of them falters. We decided to drop Cliff Lee, as the 44,000 PP price tag was too juicy to pass up. If this wasn’t a packs-only team, I’d be able to afford some pretty good players for the club. For now we’re 7-9.

The Minglewood Warlocks, back in Gold after a terrible season in Diamond, had been eyeing an upgrade at the SS position from Joe Cronin. However, a player appeared in the AH that we couldn’t pass up:

OUT: RP SE Steve Carlton (96)
IN: SP Peak Pete Alexander (98)

Had to do it. Alexander’s L7 was something like 85,000 PP, and we got him for 70K. So we’re sticking with Cronin at SS, move Virgil Trucks to the bullpen, and insert Alexander into the rotation. Those 94-88-95 ratings and high GB% make him a great fit for our team, and if Cronin is one thing, it’s a great defender. So with new additions Alexander and Ted Williams in tow, we start our season in Gold 346 at 12-4.

Finally, the Fort Worth Frogs are back in Diamond for the first time since 2038. And we celebrate with another upgrade...

OUT: IF Snuffy Stirnweiss (87)
IN: 2B Eddie Collins (95)

Another bargain as Collins’ L7 was 29,000 and we get him for 20,001. He’s been awful thus far, but the team, which has brought in Vida Blue (98), Monte Ward (98) and now Collins in the last 72 hours, is 11-6 right now coming off our Gold championship yesterday.

[trman73]

The Hammers are slogging through another season in Gold, out of playoff contention. So let’s take a moment to recognize the unique achievements of Dolph Luque.

Luque is a decent enough looking starting pitcher. 91-90-70 ratings with a 94 overall... seemingly fine for Gold. And when he’s good, he’s good. In the seven games he’s won, he’s pitched 52.2 innings and given up seven runs, good for an ERA of 1.20. But in the six games he’s lost, he’s allowed 35 runs in 27 innings, good for an 11.67 ERA. I have never seen such a bizarre combination of dominance and nightmarish incompetence from a SP. It all adds up to 7-6, with a 6.07 ERA, in 19 starts. You truly never know what you’re going to get with this guy.

On to the Warlocks, who are destroying Gold 346. At 67-25 we have a five and a half game lead... over the second-best team in the league. We lead our division by 20 games heading to the All-Star Break. The bullpen has a collective ERA of 1.93. Our two newest additions, Ted Williams and Pete Alexander, have been the best hitter and best pitcher in the league. Williams is on pace for .322-44-150 with 114 walks, a .433 OBP and a 1.048 OPS. Alexander is 11-3 with a 2.16 ERA and a WHIP of 0.95. This certainly looks like a team that will be back in Diamond next season.

Last, the Frogs, who are actually in Diamond, and succeeding. For a while we led our division and had the second-best record in our conference in Diamond 368. But we’ve fallen off in July, and now sit 5.5 games back in our division, although we are in a Wild Card spot for now at 50-44. But we’re 17-24 since June 1, and headed in the wrong direction. The dream of a Diamond playoff berth is slowly slipping away.

[trman73]

As the 2043 season comes to a close, all of our teams have something to play for down the stretch.

The Hammers are trying to finish .500 in Gold for the first time since 2025. Right now we’re 73-74. We have our best offense in years, currently 5^th in our league, but they pitching’s been sub-par and the defense has been sacrificed a bit for the increased offense. One surprising player has been Live Gerrit Cole, who has taken the 5^th spot in the rotation after a revolving door of tryouts. Cole is 9-5 with a 4.05. He’s a nice fit at the #5 in Gold. We did make two new additions from packs..

OUT: Live 3B Anthony Rendon (97)
IN: HL 1B Rafael Palmeiro (93)

OUT: HAS LF George Foster (87)
IN: Peak OF Dale Murphy (96)

Palmeiro DH’s vs. RHP and Murphy comes in as a starter vs. LHP. Both have been average.

At 101-47, the Warlocks are likely to finish with the best overall record in Gold 346. The big story has been the offense, which has just taken it to another level since the Ted Williams acquisition. He’s not only (possibly) heading for an MVP, but has impacted everyone else in the lineup, from Papi hitting behind him (.885 OPS) through everyone else down the lineup. We’re second in our league in scoring, and with the pitching leading the league with a collective #1 ranking in both starters and relivers ERA, it’s championship or bust for these guys. We’re also back up to 40,000 PP.

The Frogs’ battle for a Diamond Wild Card spot in D368 is over, as we’ve had a terrible second half. Still, the 77-72 record is a positive step, and we’re 4^th in our league in runs scored. I’m really rethinking Tommy Bond (8-14, 5.26), who I thought would be successful in Diamond but has not been.

[trman73]

The Hammers' goal of an above-.500 record in Gold is achieved as we rally to finish 82-80.

The Warlocks have an awful September/October (12-19) but still finish 105-57, good for second overall in the league and the second-most wins in team history. We'll be fighting for promotion to Diamond today.

And the Frogs complete their fall collapse, finishing 5 games back of the Wild Card, but still go 85-77 in Diamond, a promising sign.