Orcin's Brave New World

[AstaSyneri]

OMG. A dark day for any Orcin fan.

Now the press will be all over Rosenthal and Thompson - and your decision to play them. They'll be sharks in the water, smelling blood.

What are the plus points? Now you have a better understanding of your team and will be able to improve it in key points. I look forward to the next Championship run and will follow closely.

#heartbroken

[pjh5165]

Always tough to get knocked out early. Gotta love the playoffs.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Sal, The Barber

Where was Philadelphia's pitching rated? Your offense was top 3 in the NL?

Philadelphia was 5th (in the N.L.) in runs allowed. We were 2nd (N.L.) in runs scored.

[AstaSyneri]

The sun penetrates the shades in front of the window of the owner's office just enough to paint a few light stripes into the gloom. Behind the huge oaken desk sits a bulky figure, even bulkier figures standing behind either shoulder.

"Mr. Orcin..." a raspy voice begins.

"This is not what our goal was. If you would like to offer any explanations, I would suggest you do it quickly and succintly. Otherwise..."

[Orcin]

2021 Divisional Series Summary




Well, sir...

It is hard to win a series when you score less than three runs per game. It is hard to score runs when your 3-4 hitters (Taveras and Alfaro) combine to go 4-34 (.118) with 3 RBI. I don’t want to lay the blame on any two individuals, but that stat is hard to ignore.

Should we have started lefty Jose Flores in one of the games? Maybe, but he did win game 2 and he wouldn’t have been available for that four-inning stint if he were the game 3 or 4 starter.

Should we have started Odorizzi in game 4? We’ll never know the answer to that one. If I had pitched Odorizzi at 85% and he got shelled early, we would be questioning why I passed over the rookie who was virtually untouchable in September. Thompson was hot. Taveras was hot. Alfaro was the MVP of our team. We can second-guess this stuff all winter, but I would make the same calls if I had it to do over again.

Philadelphia shortstop Walt Dennis hit .229 this season, but he hit .375 and killed us with key hits in this series. How do you explain that? Does Dennis have a book on our pitchers? Is it just luck? As a wise man once said, “that’s baseball”.

I have tasted defeat before. Famous baseball philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” I am not dead yet. MY goal for this year was “win the championship”. That wasn’t Bill Dewitt’s goal, but it was mine. MY goal for next year is the same. The Cardinals will re-load and try it again.

[Sal, The Barber]

Originally Posted by Orcin

Philadelphia was 5th (in the N.L.) in runs allowed. We were 2nd (N.L.) in runs scored.

A world turned upside down. Well, Sal is used to this.

[Sal, The Barber]

Originally Posted by Orcin

The Cardinals will re-load and try it again.

This is the way Sal has approached marriage, although now he has decided to stay single.

[AstaSyneri]

Through the gloom the slightly screeching sound of a closing wooden drawer can be heard.

"Well, Mr. Orcin. I will say you get one more chance. One more! We will watch you closely..."

[Orcin]

2021 League Championship Series



Earlier this season, I criticized Zach Wright’s new contract in comparison to Jorge Alfaro’s. Perhaps I should compare Wright’s post-season performance to Alfaro before making a snap judgment. Not that I am bitter about the playoff loss…


Report: St. Louis Proposes 4-Year Deal to Star 3B
Rumors swirl around the Trey Michalczewski situation in St. Louis. Will the Cardinals star re-sign? Will he go elsewhere when his current deal is up?

The latest gossip indicates his willingness to stay under the right circumstances, and the two sides are engaged in negotiations on a contract extension that would avoid his last year of arbitration. Sources say the four-year deal would be worth $36 million with no player or team options.

This past season, Michalczewski hit .276 with 17 home runs, 79 RBIs and 73 runs scored. He had 141 hits in 510 at-bats and played in 130 games.

[gwalk]

hate to root for the dodgers, but a LA v LA world series would have been fun. plus i hate the phillies almost as much.

[Orcin]

2021 World Series & Season Wrap-Up
I did not see Philadelphia as the best team in baseball – I really didn’t.






American League Awards
MVP: Toronto RF Dennis Donovan .319/.431/.596, 28 HR, 98 RBI
CYA: Minnesota SP Lewis Thorpe 16-5, 2.90 ERA, 217 IP, 218 K
ROY: Minnesota SS Brian Curtis .262/.336/.437, 13 HR, 68 RBI
MGR: Andrew Graham, Minnesota Twins

National League Awards
MVP: Pittsburgh 2B Gian-Andrea Massari .356/.455/.497, 12 HR, 73 RBI, 98 RS, 55 SB
CYA: Los Angeles SP Clayton Kershaw 21-6, 1.87 ERA, 245 IP, 325 K (that’s 3 years in a row)
ROY: Philadelphia 1B Pablo Martinez .288/.383/.560, 29 HR, 79 RBI
MGR: Lee Stevens, Philadelphia Phillies

Gold Glove: STL 1B Kyle Cooper

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Orcin

2021 World Series & Season Wrap-Up
I did not see Philadelphia as the best team in baseball – I really didn’t.

Never mind. I did not see Al Albuquerque as someone saving two games in the World Series.

[Orcin]

I am leaving on an extended trip tomorrow. I will have access to the forums via my mobile device, but unfortunately I won’t be able to play OOTPB while I am gone. This is a logical place to stop, so I plan to pause right here. I will resume the dynasty report on or about July 1 with a quick off-season rolling right into the 2022 campaign.

In the meantime, I will raise a topic that I have avoided until now. I didn’t want to bring it up when the thread started because I thought the conversation might distract from the preparation for the upcoming season. This is the perfect time to insert it, because there is no way to sidetrack a thread that is on hiatus.

Feel free to bump the thread with debate and criticism on the selections, exclusions, and the overall gall of the writer to just leave you hanging for three weeks and then expect you to be around when he returns.

[Orcin]

Hall of Fame

I started the league with automatic Hall of Fame election disabled, and all selections from 2013-2020 were made by me. You might disagree with some. My “veteran’s committee” inducted a few players that are currently excluded in real life, and my “voters” focused on field accomplishments only. I realize that you don’t have complete stats for some of the later selections, but it is pretty easy to see the track they were on.

One other note, my Hall of Fame is for players only. There is a separate Hall outside of the game world for managers, executives, umpires, broadcasters, and pioneers. I don't think the game votes in managers either, but I could be wrong about that.

Here are my selections. The 2013 inductees came straight from the thread that we had on the OOTP forum. I took over from there until 2021, where I turned it back over to the game AI.


2013 Hall of Fame Inductees:
Greg Maddux
Tom Glavine
Frank Thomas
Craig Biggio
Jeff Bagwell

2014 Hall of Fame Inductees:
Randy Johnson
Pedro Martinez
John Smoltz
Mike Piazza
Tim Raines

In response to growing criticism, the Board of Directors of the Hall of Fame altered Rule 5 to remove the standards of integrity, sportsmanship, and character. Thus, the 2015 HOF induction became known as the “amnesty ballot”.

2015 Hall of Fame Inductees:
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Mark McGwire
Pete Rose (veteran’s committee)
Joe Jackson (veteran’s committee)

2016 Hall of Fame Inductees:
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Curt Schilling
Mike Mussina
Ken Boyer (veteran’s committee)

2017 Hall of Fame Inductees:
Larry Walker
Alan Trammell
Jack Morris (veteran’s committee)
Roger Maris (veteran’s committee)

2018 Hall of Fame Inductees:
Chipper Jones
Manny Ramirez
Andy Pettitte
Mariano Rivera

2019 Hall of Fame Inductees:
Edgar Martinez
Vladimir Guerrero
Trevor Hoffman
Kevin Brown

2020 Hall of Fame Inductees:
Alex Rodriguez
Todd Helton
David Ortiz

I re-enabled automatic Hall of Fame induction for 2021, and the result was one new member. I plan to leave it automatic (with default settings) going forward.

2021 Hall of Fame Inductees:
Jim Thome

So there you have it. Who was left out? Who shouldn’t be in? Who cares?

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Orcin

Feel free to bump the thread with debate and criticism on the selections, exclusions, and the overall gall of the writer to just leave you hanging for three weeks and then expect you to be around when he returns.

What makes you think you can actually *leave* us? We may not fit into your suitcase (like ALF did in Kate's), but some of us may just hold onto your ankles and be dragged along on the trip.

Come back soon, Mr. Orcin. We have none other like you.

[illeracula]

Originally Posted by Orcin

So there you have it. Who was left out? Who shouldn’t be in? Who cares?

Did I miss Derek Jeter? Or did he play thru 2016?

Hope all is well and will be looking forward to "seeing" you in July...

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by illeracula

Did I miss Derek Jeter? Or did he play thru 2016?

Very good question! Derek Jeter did play through 2016, then he sat around as a free agent for two more years. Thus his official retirement date is 2019, and I don't know how the game will treat that. He finished with 3,635 hits (#4 all-time), so he is a lock whenever he becomes eligible.

[Bub13]

Originally Posted by Orcin

So there you have it. Who was left out? Who shouldn’t be in? Who cares?

Trammell but no Sweet Lou?
Vet committee vote for Vada Pinson and Ted Simmons?
I guess Palmeiro's and Sosa's characters were too bad even for 2015?
Ivan Rodriguez, Dan Quisenberry are others I've added.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Bub13

Vet committee vote for Vada Pinson and Ted Simmons?

You get extra points for appealing to my Cardinals sentiment.

Originally Posted by Bub13

I guess Palmeiro's and Sosa's characters were too bad even for 2015?

I thought it was interesting that the AI did not pick either of them in 2021. I expect they will go in eventually.

[AstaSyneri]

Three weeks? Preposterous!

I might have to finish my own fourth season, actually this thread already prompted me to do that. Six games to go till the play-offs and I am tied for home court advantage with the Luxemburg Citadel at 97 wins (and 48 losses - it's not a full 162 games season for some reason).

Now I dread the first round of the play-offs, having seen how easily dreams can be shattered.