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Originally Posted by UltimateAverageGuy
What years settings do you use?
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I think the total stats modifiers originally were based on the 1977 season, which was the first year of the ABL, but in the 2000s Questdog made some subtle adjustments to them. In general they are still 1970s-ish, but they are not from any particular year.
The financials originally were historical starting with 1977, but I abandoned that even earlier and I have been doing manual inflation since at least the 1990s.
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In the second half of November the Thunder tried to get rid of CL David Gerow, whose numbers had taken a nosedive in 2035. There was something wrong with twice the walks and only two thirds the strikeouts per nine innings compared to the years before and for $2.2M we would be able to find out first-paw what exactly it was. We passed.
Proven talent was on the top of the shopping list though. While there were some teams that were trying to get rid of everything not nailed down, like in any other offseason, I was more curious about a few free agents, especially since we had this set of four or five players that were on the cusp or had arrived in the majors that every team would ask for, and Tony Morales, Jesus Maldonado, and the other two guys I talked about that I already half-forgot about… Cristiano, remind me. Cristiano. No, he’s not listening. He has the … the things in his ears. CRISTIANO. No, he’s making dance moves with his arms.
Oh well. None of those were up for grabs for other teams!
At one point, Nick Valdes popped by and presented a list with player additions that would make him happy, all of which would include selling the farm, and an arm, and a leg. Plus, he looked ridiculous, like a black and white photograph next to an entry in the encyclopedia with the underline “Lord Bumbleford arrives from Alexandria to excavate the pyramid of El-Insein*, 1928.” – Oh, you’re actually going on an archaeology expedition? – I didn’t know that was your expertise? – Yucatan? – The fountain of youth? – No, nobody’s ever found that, but make sure you search for it thoroughly. Take your time. Don’t come back without having found it.
Corner infielders were right up the top of my list. There were a few high-profile veteran first basemen available on the market, f.e. 36-year-old Kevin McGrath, who had been in a slight decline in the last year or two and who was also a type A free agent, which made me meander to another Kevin, and one we all still know well.
Kevin Harenberg was 38 years old, but came off a season in which he had hit for an .860 OPS, although not in a qualifying amount of at-bats. There had been a few nagging injuries, and the Capitals had been stacked, so he had only gotten to the plate 428 times, but had still hit 16 homers and 24 doubles and had driven in 62 runs. Harenberg was of course the big addition during the 2026 season after the Raccoons had lost Jon Gonzalez to injury, and willed them into the playoffs batting .326 with 14 homers in 61 games. He was never *that* good again through the end of his Critters stint after the 2030 season, but we got a pair of rings for it anyway.
And yes, Harenberg was older than dirt; he had been the FL Rookie of the Year the same season Jonny Toner led the CL in strikeouts for the final time – 2021. But he was also a proven serial winner – Harenberg had been on the championship-winning team five times in the last ten seasons, taking rings with the 2026 and 2028 Coons, the 2033 and 2034 Warriors, and the 2035 Capitals. He was like a good luck charm – rub it regularly for great results! He was also not eligible for compensation, making him an even better acquisition target. His advanced age also ruled out a long commitment, so he would also be able to bridge the gap to either Jesus Maldonado, who could play first base and the outfield, or Jeff Wilson at some point. He wouldn’t be available on a 1-year deal though…
At the hot corner, we looked for defense and maybe the OBP presence that Bob Zeltser had been in ’34 but decidedly not in ’35. There was a former Bayhawk that fit the mold and the Raccoons hurried to make an offer.
There was also the rule 5 draft coming up. The Raccoons had 33 players on the 40-man in late November. No trade was beckoning, and there was *some* talent in the minors that was eligible to be selected, and right-handers Tom Miller and Travis Sims were added to the roster. They couldn’t be more different, a 26-year-old starter and a 22-year-old reliever. Miller seemed firmly shut out from participation going down the line given that we had at least six valid starter candidates, but that didn’t mean we had to donate him to other teams for free. 23-year-old LF/1B Will Luna was also added.
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November 18 – The Wolves acquire SP Dylan Channel (10-18, 4.27 ERA) from the Buffaloes for a prospect.
November 21 – The Bayhawks take in the Stars’ 28-yr old OF Josh Dahlman (.269, 6 HR, 38 RBI), with Dallas receiving C Jorge Resendez (.256, 9 HR, 126 RBI), who was traded the other way in a trade in December 2034.
November 24 – The Knights pick up SP Mike Burris (8-11, 3.40 ERA) from the Indians, who get catching prospect Sal Mordino in the deal; the unranked 20-year-old hit three home runs in a single-A game in August.
November 25 – The Capitals reinforce their championship team with the addition of 35-year-old ex-TOP CF/RF Tony Coca (.254, 268 HR, 1,114 RBI), who signs a 1-yr, $1.42M contract.
November 25 – The Titans trade for the Buffos’ 1B Greg Regan (.288, 73 HR, 361 RBI), parting with outfielder Clay Walberg (.207, 8 HR, 57 RBI) and a prospect.
November 28 – The Dallas Stars sign ex-DEN CL Josh Boles (40-43, 2.82 ERA, 271 SV) to a 1-yr, $2.16M contract.
November 29 – The Raccoons sign ex-SFB 3B/SS Dave Myers (.285, 39 HR, 354 RBI) to a 4-yr, $7.2M contract.
December 1 – Rule 5 draft: 20 players are selected. The Raccoons draft 23-yr old MR Vance Harbison from the Capitals.
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Myers attended the press event for his contract signing on crutches for a broken foot, but we firmly believed that this was not something that would hinder him going forwards, right, Dr. Chung? – Dr. Chung, he’s not simulating, we saw the X-rays. – … Dr. Chung just spat on the floor and stormed out, mumbling something in Korean.
I like the idea of hitting Myers second behind Berto. With the right sort of personnel (cough) Harenberg (cough) you can then continue to alternate bats all the way through the lineup at least against right-handers. Although there was also the thought of hitting Fowler third, but then we’d want a lefty bat ahead of him, likely Manny Fernandez. There were surely options here!
Whether Harbison makes it to Opening Day is uncertain. He struck out 12.4/9 in AA, but couldn’t keep that up at all in AAA. He is probably not ready, and we’re also having an issue with Hennessy if we keep him, but that’s something that can be sorted out in the coming months.
In terms of former Raccoons signing new work papers, Jonathan Snyder regrettably joined the damn Elks for $374k (do people do EVERYTHING for money??); Hugo Salgado moved down I-5 and joined the Wolves for 2-yr, $594k;
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*Pronounce: Insane. And no, it’s not a real location.