Millennial League Baseball, est. 2001

[Questdog]

In the mid 1990's, a small group of wealthy men, disillusioned with the Steroid Era baseball of the Major Leagues, began to foster a plan to build their own baseball league. By 2000, their number had grown to 16 and they were ready to play their inaugural season in 2001.

Editor's Note: A very special thanks to txranger, who made most of the uniforms used in the League and the beautiful League logo at the top of the page!

The teams will play 162 games with 14 against each division foe and 8 against teams in the other division. The winners of each division will play a 7 game series for the league championship, called the 'Millennial Cup'.

Here are the teams with their parks and factors:
The owners wanted to add some nostalgia pull to get fans to come to the games, so all of the parks are recreations of old MLB Parks. Carleton County Stadium in Ottawa is a recreation of Milwaukee County Stadium. Providence Stadium is a recreation of Arlington Stadium. Charlotte Municipal Stadium is a recreation of Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Colonels Field is a recreation of Braves Field in Boston. All recreations have modern amenities added, of course.... They wanted to have the Polo Grounds in the League, but it was voted out because of its radical park factors. All parks have a capacity of 30,000.

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

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Reserved 4

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Reserved 5

[Questdog]

Editor's Note: Here are the rules of Millennial League Baseball:

No scouting/no coaches (Scouts turned on 2006)
No Current or Potential Ratings shown (except during draft and signing international free agents)
Other Ratings shown on a 1 to 10 scale with higher ratings shown
No Overall or Potential Overall Ratings shown (except during draft and signing international free agents)
No Owner Goals
No Storylines

Injuries - Normal (OOTP Classic)
Injury Rating hidden (Shown in 2006)
Suspensions - Normal
Personality, Morale and Chemistry Systems enabled

Aging/Development settings at default

Trading Difficulty - Average/Neutral (When initiating a trade, difficultly set to '8')
Player Evaluation Settings - Default

No DH
25 man rosters with expanded rosters disabled
Waivers disabled (enabled in 2006)
Injured List - 15 days
Players cannot refuse minor league assignments (can refuse in 2006)
No Rule V Draft (Rule V Draft in 2006)
Trading Deadline - June 15
Drafted Players can be traded immediately (Must wait 1 year in 2006)
10/5 rule disabled (enabled in 2006)
Injured players can be traded
Trading Frequency set to Very High
No Amateur Draft and automatic creation of free agents disabled (Amateur Draft instituted in 2006)

Financial settings all at their defaults, except for:
No inflation
Global coefficient set to 0.01
Attendance baseline = 10,000
Ticket price = $0.90
Teams cannot change the ticket price
Reserve Era rules in effect (Free Agency enabled in 2006)
National Media Contract fixed for all teams ($850,000) ($600,000 in 2006)
No revenue sharing
Minimum Salary = $5,000
Contract Years Maximum = 1 (10 in 2006)
No extensions allowed (Allowed in 2006)

Spring Training = 5 weeks
MVP = no pitchers allowed
Pitcher of the Year = Ace Award, no relievers allowed
Reliever of the Year = Fireman Trophy

All-Star = 25 man rosters, all teams are not forced to be represented

5 man Bullpens

Stats set to recreate the National League of 1969-1992

Each Team has 1 A Ball Affiliate (AAA)
There is no 40 man roster and no limit on the number of players on a team's minor league affiliate. Basically, once a team drafts a player, he belongs to them forever, unless released or traded. This is to avoid the A.I. letting good players get snatched away by the waiver wire. The downside is that some pretty good players will get stuck in A Ball and never play in the majors or at least a lot less than they deserve. This is especially true of 1st Basemen. Trading is set to Very High to alleviate this, but the A.I. still does not trade as much as teams did in the days before free agency.
Teams will draft players from the B leagues (AA). (8 rounds each January)
All of the players in the B Leagues come from Scouting Discoveries.

There are two B Leagues: the Southern League and the Texas League. Each has 8 teams. The top 8 players at each position by WAR (300 IP to qualify) and the Top 32 starting pitchers and top 32 relievers by rWar qualify for the draft each season.

In 2006, the MLB took over the B Leagues and set up a complete minor league system with 6 levels and instituted the Amateur Draft.

House Rules:
I cannot negotiate any trades. I can only accept trades offered by other teams and I must accept them as they are offered, no negotiating allowed.
If I am desperate to be rid of a player, I can shop the player, but I must randomly take a player that is offered through a dice roll, as long as the player is uninjured, not a slacker and has a Speed rating greater than 1 (except for pitchers).

I did some tests regarding trading difficulty and all settings result in bad offers from the A.I. teams. Never do they offer you a better player than the one they are asking for, even on Very Easy. Many times they would offer a mediocre player and ask for one mediocre player plus a better player in return. In many, if not most cases, if I picked "Discuss Deal" and removed the better player from the deal, the A.I. GM would still think it was a good deal. So rest assured that on "Average" difficulty, the A.I. will never make us an offer of a better player than the one they want.

There will be only a handful of players released each season and sometimes none. I cannot sign any free agents (they will all suck anyway) and any free agents at the time of the B Leagues Draft will be retired. This will simplify my life quite a bit by not having to run the draft twice each year. (This paragraph has no meaning after 2006. There are no many free agents and I can sign whomever I please. The only house rule regarding them is that I cannot trade a free agent I have signed until a Millennial Cup (World Series) has passed since the signing.

In 2006, after the Amateur Draft was instituted, the "Shop and take a player at random" mechanic was no longer feasible, so 1 initiated trade was allowed each off season. The trade difficulty is set to '8' for this trade and set to '5' at all other times for A.I. initiated trades. Another house rule was added when waivers were enabled, that being that I cannot claim anyone on waivers. I can lose players, though.

I created the league in 1969 and simmed to the beginning of the pre-season of 2001, running the B League Draft every season, and then deleted all history. My team, the Jacksonville Jays, were given a market size of 1 for the 32 years and forced to pick last in all drafts and each of their first picks was sacrificed to the baseball gods. So, in essence, each team got 2 picks before the Jays got 1. They were the only team to never win a division during the pre-sim. They lost over 90 games in each of the final 17 seasons and over 100 the last two. In 1995, they lost 120. They are a very bad team right now and do not even have a single prospect in the top 100. They do have 2 decent starting pitchers, though one will be 36 before the season starts, and they have a SS and CF ranked in the middle of the pack of the position ratings. Every other position is rated at the absolute bottom. I took over the team on January 27, 2001.

I will play all games out, but during the games, I am only in charge of substitutions. All teams, including mine, are controlled by the same AI strategy settings. I found that managing teams completely gave me a 5 to 10 game advantage over the A.I. just by avoiding doing the stupid things it likes to do. That's the equivalent impact of having an extra superstar player in the lineup, so my team will do the same stupid things to even it out.

All teams have the same market size (9) (6 from 2006 on) and will stay the same forever. Every team begins 2001 with Fan Loyalty set to 1 and Fan Interest set to 40 and Fan Interest Modifier set to 0. These numbers will be allowed to change organically. Things are set up, though, that financial matters do not really matter much. All the teams will make money most of the time. A few will occasionally lose a little money in a season, but rarely, if ever, two seasons in a row. These settings are because I think it is harder to build a team without free agency. If the Jays ever become a perennial powerhouse, we can consider enabling free agency. (They did and rather quickly, so free agency was enabled after the 2005 season).

Also, I set the Experience rating at each position and the triple rating manually for every player based on formulas. It is all done in a spreadsheet and I do not see any player info while doing this. Well, I do see some player info, but I do not see much and I do not know which players the info I am seeing belongs to..... I changed the settings for this league from what I had been using and was a lot more liberal in who could get ratings at positions. This was done to alleviate the issue with teams sometimes not having enough players to play shortstop or center field. The standards, however, are still a lot more strict than default OOTP. In my league, every player gets a triple rating. In default OOTP, only some fast players get them. This rating stays the same until they lose it at some point as they age. This makes for artificial results where a player would average 10-15 triples a season for a while and then all of a sudden start only getting a handful the rest of his career. I set the rating for all players every season so that it erodes gradually. Also, some slow players would never hit triples in default OOTP. In real life and in my league, everyone can hit the occasional three bagger.

The bug in the export and import of rosters that killed the first iteration of this league has been fixed!

[Questdog]

Saturday, January 27, 2001

I took over as the General Manager of the the Jacksonville Jays today. In the latest Baseball America issue, the editors ranked all the teams in the Millennial League and the Jays were ranked #20 out of 16 teams! They were ridiculed for not acquiring as much talent as any of the other teams. The list of prospects was particularly damning, with no Jay in the top 100. Our top rated prospect was RP Bob Craig (23-R), ranked #106. That means the other 15 teams in the league have an average of 7 prospects each better than anything we have! Owner Jerry Orman (80), who has been running the team single-handedly, was castigated for not hiring a baseball man to steer the franchise. So he has belated hired one: me. He told me flat out that he expects me to undo his mess and take the team to the Millennial Cup this season and I told him (after I had signed my contract) that that was impossible and it would take years to undo his mess.

Orman managed to sign 4 players that have some skill, but all 4 have a history of injury problems. 2 are starting pitchers: Victor Espinoza (35-R) and Manny Martinez (28-R). Both will have a birthday before the season starts. Espinoza, in particular, is one of the best pitchers in the League, when healthy. But at 36, he will not be around when the Jays finally become a winner, so we will try to trade him to a contender, hopefully, for a prospect rated in the top 100! The other 2 players with some skills are SS Bill Crystal (26-S), who has a good glove and can hit for power, but strikes out a lot and does not hit for much average, and CF Cal Doty (24-L), who is a pretty good all round player, though he does not have quite the range I like in center field. Baseball America ranked both of those guys in the middle of the pack of projected starters in the league at their positions. Every other player the Jays have was ranked last at his spot....

We have 79 players under contract, though they are players only by technical definition. 27 of them are known slackers who must be eradicated from the roster at any cost. They will either be traded or cut. As most everyone knows, I cannot stand for a player who cannot run at all. Players need not be fast, but they must be able to at least outrun my pet 3 legged box turtle. Surprisingly, Orman only signed 1 player who is not a slacker, but cannot run a lick and that is a catcher who will also be traded, if possible. We only have 5 catchers under contract, so we cannot afford to cut him, unless we get another catcher in a trade. We only have 9 weeks until the season starts, so I better get to work.

[Questdog]

Monday, February 19, 2001

Only a week to go before Spring Training starts, so I could not wait any longer for offers to come. Editor's Note: All of the trades between now and Spring Training will be of the "Shop and take a player at random variety", unless otherwise noted. I have to limit the offers to only prospects for my players that are making little to no money, because the A.I. is interested in dumping salary, offering me good players for bums through the Shop. But there is no reason to dump salary in this League, since everyone is making plenty of money and there are no free agents to spend any budget space saved on.... I suspect this is because none of the players have any history to support their salaries right now. This means, however, that we will get no offers for most of our slackers.... So far I have not seen any of these types of trades come through as regular offers, but if I do, I will reject them. For my slackers that have a salary, any players making more than double what my player is making will be excluded from the random roll. This "Shop and take a player at random" mechanism should only be used this off season to get rid of slackers. After this, there should rarely be any reason to use it.

Trade #1
RF Dave Knizner (31-R) to Rochester for RP Barry Finney (25-R)

Knizner is nothing but a slacker. Baseball America ranks 257 players in the League as prospects and they have Finney at #234.... He was the only player offered by any team and I suspect he was only offered because he has a $34,000 contract for some unknown reason.... Editor's Note: That is equivalent to $3.4 million in the current real major leagues. The quality of our relief corps, however, means that Finney goes near the top of our depth chart and is a likely candidate to make the Opening Day roster....

[Questdog]

Thursday, February 22, 2001

Trade #2
RF Wes Hurst (27-R) to Rochester for RP Bill Grant (30-L)

Hurst would be our 5th best player, if he was not a slacker. He can play D and hit for a decent average and steal some bases. He is making $26,000 this season. Grant is making $30,000 and is a decent reliever, who goes straight to the top of our depth chart. He's a little wild, but otherwise, seems like a good pitcher. At least, better than anyone we currently have.

Trade #3
SS Floyd Cochran (23-R) to Columbus for 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R)

Cochran was our 2nd highest rated prospect at #143. He is a solid defender, but not much of a hitter. Scrogham is rated at #201. He seems fairly useless, lacking both a bat and a glove.

[Questdog]

Friday, February 23, 2001

Trade #4
2B Al Molina (25-R) to Louisville for RP Mike Hasley (25-R)

Prospect #161 for Prospect #246.... Not an earth shaking deal...

Trade #5
2B Ed Grand (26-R) to Syracuse for SP Sam Marshall (25-R)

Grand is too old to be on the prospect lists, but Marshall squeaks in at #255....

Trade #6
2B Mike Reed (29-R) to Birmingham for SS Leander Gooding (29-R)

Reed is a decent singles hitter and is sure handed, though his range is not great. Gooding is the same, though his hands are not quite as sure, but his range is much better. He is Captain material. He is, however, very injury prone... If he and incumbent SS Bill Crystal (27-S), who is also injury prone, can coordinate their injuries, we could have a decent shortstop all season!

[Questdog]

Saturday, February 24, 2001

Trade #7
1B Rick Richmond (26-S) to Richmond for SP Marc Uhrich (25-L)

Uhrich is only rated as the #211 prospect, but he seems to be better than that to me. Anyway, I'd rather have him than Richmond.

Trade #8
RP Danny Beckwith (32-R) to Indianapolis for CF Joe Roberts (30-L)

Beckwith would have been a candidate for our Bullpen if he was not a slacker. Roberts can hit for a good average and play good defense, but has no power and swings at everything. But he is a go-getter!

[Questdog]

Sunday, February 25, 2001

Trade #9
RP Billy Miller (34-R) to Birmingham for RP Blair Montgomery (29-R)

Miller would have been our Closer, if he was not a slacker. Montgomery seems to have some skills, but wants to be a starter, though his lack of stamina means he won't do that here. Us trading for him denies Montgomery the chance to play for the Montgomery Biscuits (A), which is a shame...

Trade #10
SP Mike Carroll (21-L) to Columbus for RP Roger Wallace (25-R)

Prospect #225 for #196! Wallace truly looks like mincemeat.... Though that is my favorite pie! And most of our other relievers look like cat vomit!

And that is all the trading we can do of our slackers. We still have 17 on our roster. 7 are pitchers and they can be cut; no need to mention their names. They will be mentioned later if some other team signs them and they come back to bite us in the fanny... The 10 hitters will need to be kept around to give our Daytona (A) affiliate enough players to play....

[Questdog]

Monday, February 26, 2001

We began our schedule of 30 exhibition games with a 6 to 3 loss at our training complex in Daytona Beach to the Buffalo Bombers. 3B Brian Porter (33-R) hit a double and a home run for us.

Let's see if we can make it through the schedule without any serious injuries... Not that any injuries will change the outlook of our season; we are destined for last place regardless....

[Questdog]

Sunday, March 11, 2001

SP Marc Uhrich (25-L), who we just traded for 3 weeks ago tore something in his shoulder and is out for the year...

[Questdog]

Saturday, March 17, 2001

SP Manny Martinez (29-R), one of the two decent starting pitchers we mentioned having earlier, tore a tendon in his elbow and is out for the year and maybe more....

[Questdog]

Thursday, March 29, 2001

This has been a Spring Training from Hell....

We lost one of our 2 good pitchers for the season to injury and our cleanup hitter, SS Bill Crystal (26-S), has now developed an attitude and has begun causing problems.... When confronted about his antics, he just said everything is "Mahvelous" and shrugged his shoulders... So he was traded...

Trade #11
SS Bill Crystal (26-S) to Syracuse for CF Danny Stewart (30-L)

Crystal was our only real power hitter.... Stewart has no power at all, but hits for a decent average and will take a walk every now and then. He likes to steal bases, but is not very good at it. He is, however, a very hard worker and a stand-up guy and will be one of the leaders on the team once he settles in. Editor's Note: There were much better players offered, but the dice were not kind to us....

We ended our exhibition schedule with a 5 to 4 win in 11 innings at Ottawa's training complex. The win raised our dismal record to 9-21, tied with Rochester for the worst in the Grapefruit League. We scored a Grand Total of 83 runs, an average of 2.77 per game and a pace to score 448 over a full season. And that was before we traded our only home run threat! Charlotte and Orlando tied for top honors at 19-11. RF Ivan Moreno (29-L) of Buffalo led all players with 6 HR and RF Ed Yeager (25-L) of Ottawa led with 21 RBI. RP Ray Hayes (25-R) of Orlando pitched 35.1 innings! And he did not allow a run! Only 13 hits and 8 walks allowed with 40 strikeouts! He was 3-0 with 8 Saves.

Next Up: Meet the Jays!

[Questdog]

Meet the Jays!

Opening Day starters are highlighted in blue.

Opening Day Roster
Pitchers
Starting Rotation
Victor Espinoza
36 year old right-hander from San Juan, Puerto Rico. 6' 1" 201 lbs. $163,125. An original Jay. 94 MPH fastball with a slider and changeup. He keeps the ball low in the zone and gets a lot of ground balls. Not a good fielder, but about as good a move to 1st as a right-hander ever had. A little better than average hitter for a pitcher. A team leader and not afraid to speak his mind. Will be one of the best pitchers in the League if he can stay healthy, but he will not stay healthy. Still hoping some contender makes us an offer before June 15. We limited his work in Spring Training and he was only 1-1 with a 5.91 ERA. 10.2 IP, 17 H, 1 HR, 5 BB, 6 SO.

Frank Cook
35 year old right-hander from McDonough, Georgia (a small town 25 miles southeast of Atlanta). 6' 1" 199 lbs. $55,000. An original Jay. 91 MPH fastball with a curve, changeup, splitter and forkball, though he cannot explain the difference between his splitter and forkball. Keeps the ball down and gets a lot of ground balls. A good fielder and a good move to 1st. A little better than average hitter for a pitcher, but not the best bunter. Very smart and a hard worker and a team leader and all round swell guy. Was 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA this Spring. 18.1 IP, 16 H, 1 HR, 13 BB, 13 SO.

Mike Gaddis
32 year old right-hander from Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina (a very small town on the Outer Banks). 6' 2" 201 lbs. $38,000. An original Jay. 95 MPH fastball with a curve and changeup. Pitches up in the zone to go for strikeouts, but also gives up his share of home runs. Not a good fielder, but an excellent move to 1st. A little better than average hitter for a pitcher and a good bunter. A nice guy. Was 0-3 with a 6.38 ERA this Spring. 18.1 IP, 29 H, 1 HR, 6 BB, 11 SO.

Mackie Reed
29 year old right-hander (a youngster!) from Apple Valley, Minnesota (a suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul). 6' 0" 202 lbs. $5,000. An original Jay. 90 MPH over the top fastball with a slider and changeup. A decent fielder for a pitcher, but not a good move to 1st. Not much of a hitter, but average for a pitcher and a good bunter. A stand up guy and a leader on the team and a very hard worker. If only he had some talent.... Was 0-3 with a 3.54 ERA this Spring. 20.1 IP, 20 H, 1 HR, 8 BB, 11 SO.

Spencer Shuff
32 year old right-hander from Minneapolis, Minnesota. 6' 0" 200 lbs. $30,000. An original Jay. 97 MPH fastball with a curve, changeup and knuckle curve. A good fielder and a decent move to 1st. A horrible hitter, but a superb bunter. Another leader type, but a bit rigid in his ways. Was 0-2 with a 5.17 ERA this Spring. 15.2 IP, 21 H, 2 HR, 5 BB, 3 SO. We do not have much to chose from....

Bullpen
Bill Grant
30 year old left-hander from Mentor, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland. on Lake Erie). 6' 2" 189 lbs. $30,000 Acquired in a trade with Rochester in February. 95 MPH cut fastball with a curve. A decent fielder and a great move to 1st. Not much of a hitter, but a good bunter. A perfectionist, which means he is not all that easy to get along with, though he is not a bad guy. Was 0-1 with a 3.72 ERA this Spring. 19.1 IP, 13 H, 0 HR, 7 BB, 21 SO.

Barry Short
32 year old right-hander from Weirton, West Virginia (a small town in the panhandle of the the state, 30 miles west of Pittsburgh). 6' 5" 200 lbs. $34,000 An original Jay. 97 MPH fastball with a slider and changeup. Gets a lot of ground balls. A very good fielder for a pitcher and can play 1st or the outfield in an emergency. Not a great move to 1st. A good hitter for a pitcher and the best bunter on the team. Was 2-0 with 2 Saves and a 1.26 ERA this Spring. 14.1 IP, 8 H, 0 HR, 4 BB, 9 SO.

John Newberry
33 year old left-hander from Tulsa, Oklahoma. 6' 3" 199 lbs. $14,000 An original Jay. 96 MPH cut fastball with a slider and changeup. A superb fielder, but a below average move to 1st for a left-hander. One of the worst hitters to ever exist, but a decent bunter. A very hard worker and a great guy, but a little slow on the uptake. Was 1-0 with a 2.41 ERA this Spring. 18.2 IP, 13 H, 2 HR, 3 BB, 16 SO.

Gary Adamson
35 year old right-hander from Northampton, Massachusetts (a small town 15 miles north of Springfield). 5' 9" 172 lbs. $22,000 An original Jay. 92 MPH fastball with a curve and forkball. Pitches to contact, but up in the zone. Not a good fielder and not a good move to 1st. A very good hitter for a pitcher and a superior bunter. A good team player. Was 2-0 (we only had 9 wins) with an 0.60 ERA this Spring. 15 IP, 8 H, 0 HR, 3 BB, 6 SO.

Barry Finney
25 year old right-hander from Hinesburg, Vermont (a very small town in the middle of nowhere in the northern part of the state a few miles from Lake Champlain). 6' 2" 184 lbs. $34,000 A rookie. Acquired in a trade with Rochester in February. 93 MPH over the top cut fastball with a slider and changeup. Not a good fielder and an average move to 1st. Have no idea what kind of a hitter he is because I cannot find any evidence that he has ever batted in a game before this season, but he went 1 for 1 in Spring Training. He is a good bunter. He is smart and a good guy. Was 1-0 with a Save and a 1.15 ERA this Spring. 15.2 IP, 13 H, 1 HR, 5 BB, 15 SO.

Fielders
Catchers
Bert Swope
29 year old catcher who bats from both sides of the plate and throws right-handed from Wilmington, Delaware. 6' 5" 199 lbs. $5,000. Rookie. An original Jay. A good receiver with an average arm. Decent runner for a catcher and will steal the occasional base. Did not hit for much average or many home runs in the minors, but will take a walk if offered the opportunity. Very smart and a very hard worker and a great guy. Was scheduled to be the backup, but hit his way into the starting role in Spring Training. Hit .296/.367/.407 with 1 HR and 2 RBI in 27 AB this Spring with 0 SB. He drew 3 walks and did not strike out.

Garrett Bender
27 year old catcher who bats and throws right-handed from Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada (a small city 285 miles northwest of Edmonton). 6' 4" 202 lbs. $22,000. An original Jay. A good receiver with an strong arm. A good runner for a catcher, but will not steal a base. Not much of a hitter. Too quiet to be much of a field general like I like my catchers to be. Hit .214/.327/.238 with 0 HR and 2 RBI in 42 AB this Spring with 0 SB.

Infielders
Tony Becerra
31 year old first baseman who bats and throws left-handed from Caguas, Puerto Rico. 6' 6" 203 lbs. $6,300. An original Jay. A very good fielder. Can also play some outfield. Not much of a runner, but will steal a base every now and then. Has some pop in his bat, but does not walk much and strikes out a lot and does not hit for much average. A bit rigid in his ways. Hit .226/.265/.306 with 1 HR and 5 RBI in 62 AB this Spring with 0 SB.

Ed Diskin
36 year old second baseman who bats and throws right-handed from Richfield, Minnesota (a suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul). He's the 3rd player on the team for that area. 5' 10" 192 lbs. $78,750. An original Jay. A decent fielder, very good on the double play, but his range is slipping, though still decent. Can play anywhere in the infield. Below average runner, but good at picking his spots to run. A decent hitter for a middle infielder, but he is getting old. A crossword puzzle freak. Hit .189/.286/.189 with 0 HR and 2 RBI in 37 AB this Spring with 1 SB.

Leander Gooding
30 year old second baseman who bats and throws right-handed from Los Angeles, California. 5' 9" 184 lbs. $65,000. Acquired in a trade with Birmingham in February. Good range, hands and arm and solid on the pivot. Can play well anywhere in the infield and a little outfield if pressed. Above average runner and likes to steal bases. No power, but hits for a good average and draws an average number of walks. A leader in the clubhouse, but likes things to be a certain way. Hit .235/.341/.294 with 0 HR and 3 RBI in 34 AB this Spring with 0 SB.

Brian Porter
33 year old third baseman who bats form both sides of the plate and throws right-handed from Grand Island, Nebraska (a small city 150 miles west of Omaha. How you get an island in Nebraska is a mystery). 6' 0" 195 lbs. $7,875. An original Jay. Average range, decent hands and a very strong arm. Can play 1st and the corner outfield spots. Slow runner; no threat to steal. Has 10-15 home run power, but not much of an average hitter. Hit .211/.266/.351 with 2 HR and 9 RBI in 57 AB this Spring with 0 SB.

Bobby Scrogham
25 year old third baseman who bats and throws right-handed from Brookfield, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). 6' 0" 198 lbs. Rookie. Acquired in a trade with Columbus in February. Average range and a strong, but erratic arm. Can play 1st and corner outfield. Average runner, but likes to steal bases and is pretty good at it. Has never hit much in the minors, but we had to fill the roster spot with someone and we do not have a lot to chose from. Hit .283/.327/.370 with 0 HR and 4 RBI in 46 AB this Spring with 0 SB.

Junior Danielson
29 year old shortstop who bats and throws right-handed from Fort Collins, Colorado (a medium sized city 55 miles north of Denver). 6' 3" 200 lbs. $28,000. An original Jay. Good range, good hands and a good arm. Can play anywhere in the infield. Fast and likes to steal bases. Single contact hitter who swings at everything. A nice and humble fellow Went 4 for 53, all singles in Spring Training. Hit .075/.140/.075 with 0 HR and 0 RBI in 53 AB this Spring with 3 SB.

Frank Roadman
26 year old shortstop who bats and throws right-handed from Latrobe, Pennsylvania (a very small town 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, home to Arnold Palmer, Mr. Rogers and the Banana Split). 6' 3" 198 lbs. $60,000. An original Jay. Good range, hands and arm. Can play anywhere in the infield and the outfield in a pinch. Very fast runner and an excellent and prolific base stealer. Has had an erratic batting career with some great seasons and some pretty awful ones in the minors. That matches his personality. He has a big mouth. Hit .444/.516/.741 with 1 HR (5 XBH) and 7 RBI in 27 AB this Spring with 1 SB. Was scheduled to be on the bench until Bill Crystal started his antics and was traded.

Outfielders
Cal Doty
24 year old left fielder who bats left-handed and throws right-handed from New York City. 6' 1" 173 lbs. $95,000. An original Jay. Good range and an average arm. Can play anywhere in the outfield and is a decent first baseman. Very fast runner and likes to steal. The only really good hitter on the whole team. Hits the ball hard and consistently for a lot of doubles and 10-15 home runs. He's still developing, so maybe his home run total will go up (fingers crossed). A very hard worker and a great guy. Hit .182/.247/.242 with 0 HR and 6 RBI in 66 AB this Spring with 4 SB. His lack of production, while not encouraging, is not much of a concern. His previous track record is impeccable.

Joe Roberts
30 year old center fielder who bats and throws left-handed from Pike Creek, Delaware (a small town 10 miles west of Wilmington). 6' 3" 201 lbs. $26,000. Acquired in a trade with Indianapolis in February. Good range and hands and a strong arm. Can play anywhere in the outfield and first base. Average runner, but a good base stealer. High average free swinger with little power. Very hard worker and a spark plug in the clubhouse. Hit .217/.226/.267 with 0 HR and 5 RBI in 60 AB this Spring with 1 SB.

Danny Stewart
30 year old center fielder who bats and throws left-handed from Saginaw, Michigan. 6' 1" 196 lbs. $99,000. Acquired in a trade with Syracuse in February. Good range and a solid arm. Can play anywhere in the outfield and first base. Fast runner, but not a good base stealer. Hits for a good average and does not mind taking a walk, but is mostly a singles hitter. Very hard worker and a stand up guy and a leader in the clubhouse. Hit .300/.377/.467 with 0 HR and 8 RBI in 60 AB this Spring with 0 SB.

Frank Wendell
33 year old center fielder who bats and throws right-handed from Wareham, Massachusetts (small town 15 miles northeast of New Bedford on the coast). 6' 2" 193 lbs. $5,250. An original Jay. Good range and an average arm. Very fast runner and excellent base stealer. A slap hitter and not a very good one. Very hard worker and another spark plug on the bench. Hit .167/.227/.250 with 1 HR and 2 RBI in 60 AB this Spring with 3 SB.

Dennis Brown
26 year old (27 on April 27) right fielder who bats and throws left-handed from Louisville, Kentucky. 6' 4" 200 lbs. Rookie. An original Jay. Below average range and a very strong arm. Very fast runner, but not good at stealing bases. Has never played above B Ball, but hit 19 HR in 354 AB there last year and we need some power from somewhere. A meat and potatoes kind of guy and goes along with the crowd. Hit .288/.325/.425 with 2 HR and 11 RBI (the latter two numbers leading the team) in 73 AB this Spring with 1 SB.

Mike Volkman
33 year old right fielder who bats and throws left-handed from Scottsdale, Arizona. 6' 4" 200 lbs. $5,000. An original Jay. Below average range and a strong arm. Good runner, but not a great base stealer. Was a very good hitter in his 20's, but seems to be aging fast. Yet another hard worker and clubhouse leader. Who are all these leaders leading? Dennis Brown, I guess. Frank Roadman is not a leader, but he won't listen to anybody... Hit .226/.314/.274 with 0 HR and 1 RBI in 62 AB this Spring with 2 SB.

Disabled List
Manny Martinez
29 year old right-handed pitcher from Barquisimeto, Venezuela. 5' 8" 165 lbs. $105,000 An original Jay. 91 MPH fastball with a curve and changeup. Not a good fielder and a poor move to 1st. A good hitter for a pitcher, though he refuses to take a pitch. Not a very good bunter. Rigid in his routines, which have been upset by his blown out elbow. Was 0-1 with a 3.09 ERA this Spring. 11.2 IP, 7 H, 2 HR, 1 BB, 7 SO. The second best pitcher on the team and the only one we had long term hopes for, but that is now all squashed.... He will not be able to toss a ball again until Spring Training next year, as long as there are no complications from his surgery.

Marc Uhrich
25 year old left-handed pitcher from Lake Charles, Louisiana. 6' 7" 202 lbs. $12,000. Rookie. Acquired in a trade with Richmond in February. 93 MPH over the top fastball with a cutter, changeup and forkball. Not a good fielder and a below average move to 1st for a lefty. A good hitter for a pitcher. A good bunter. A leader in the clubhouse. Was 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA this Spring. 5.2 IP, 8 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 6 SO. He blew out his shoulder and, like Martinez, will not be able to pick up a ball until next Spring Training. Had decent stats as a swingman in the minors and we hope he can recover, because we do not have a lot of pitching talent on the roster.

Jim Kenzy
33 year old right-handed pitcher from Blaine, Minnesota (a suburb of Minneapolis). He is the 4th player from the Twin Cities on the roster. 5' 10" 177 lbs. $19,000 An original Jay. 93 MPH cut fastball with a slider, changeup and forkball. Not a good fielder, but a very good move to 1st. 2 for 8 for his career as a hitter without a strikeout. A very good bunter. Noy a bad teammate is what the team media guide has to say about him, but He has not been around the offices at all, so I do not know how they know that. He was signed by Owner Orman after having already had surgery on his elbow and is expected to be able to start throwing in early July. Unless the surgery made his elbow able to do things it could not before, there is no reason to suspect that he will ever help the Jays.

Since there are only 16 teams in the League and no minor league affiliations below A Ball, being the 200th highest rated prospect in the Millennial League does not mean much, so we will only worry about the top 100.

Prospects ranked by Baseball America in the top 100:
RP Bob Craig (#95)
23 year old right-hander from New York City. 6' 5" 202 lbs. Minor league contract. Rookie. An original Jay. 94 MPH fastball with a curve, slider and changeup. Not a good fielder and not a good move to first. 4 for 8 in the B Leagues as a hitter without a strikeout. A very good bunter. Don't know much about his personality, but he seems like an okay guy. Did not go to the Major League Spring Training as he has never pitched above B Ball and we did not expect him to make the roster. Baseball America published a new list of prospects after Spring Training and bumped him up from #106 to #95 so that we now have a Top 100 prospect! He is the only one, though, and the next highest is #189....

Our group of prospects is rated dead last of the 16 teams by Baseball America. Orlando, with the top two rated prospects, tops the list. Indianapolis is #2 with 3 in the Top 20.

Top 25 prospects according to Baseball America:
(Rank: Name, Position, Team (Age-Throws or Bats) (Level to begin the season))
1: Ricky Perez, CF, Orlando (21-L) (A)
2: Ernie Patterson, SS, Orlando (19-R) (A)
3: Glen Lewis, RF, New Orleans (20-L) (A)
4: Tom McDowell, 3B, Rochester (23-R) (A)
5: Ron Lerche, 2B, Louisville (22-R) (MLB)
6: Tom Walker, CF, Rochester (21-R) (A)
7: Billy Warner, SP, Birmingham (22-R) (A)
8: Willie Davis, SP, Columbus (21-R) (MLB) injured
9: Larry Bowling, SP, Providence (22-R) (MLB)
10: Johnny Brown, 3B, Buffalo (22-R) (A)
11: Scott Damon, SS, Charlotte (22-R) (A)
12: Ernie Jones, SP, Memphis (25-R) (MLB)
13: Lou Baldwin, CF, Indianapolis (21-L) (A)
14: Terry Graham, CF, Charlotte (21-L) (A)
15: Carlos Frias, SS, Richmond (20-R) (A)
16: Bob Marks, CF, Birmingham (22-R) (A)
17: Ray Stover, SS, Indianapolis (21-R) (MLB)
18: Bob Hill, 2B, Memphis (22-L) (A)
19: Victor Perales, RP, Indianapolis (21-R) (A)
20: Ray McDonald, CF, Orlando (20-L) (A)
21: Jim Beard, CF, Syracuse (22-R) (MLB)
22: Bob Cline, 1B, Richmond (22-R) (MLB)
23: Ken Kelly, 2B, Birmingham (22-S) (MLB)
24: Ken Johnson, LF, Richmond (24-L) (MLB)
25: Dave Stacy, 3B, Memphis (25-R) (MLB)

Prognosis:
If we do not end up with the first pick in the draft next January, I should get the Manager of the Year award. Usually, when I have to manage a terrible team, I can at least enjoy watching the youngsters develop their skills and I can see cloudy visions of the glory days ahead, but this team is not just terrible, it is old and terrible. LF Cal Doty is the only player under 25 and there are not many under 30. The pitching staff, especially, is ancient; the average hurler on our roster being 32 years old, with only 2 of them being under 30 and one of those is 29. And Daytona (A), our minor league affiliate, only has 3 players under 25! I wish I could just skip this season and fast forward to the B Leagues Draft in January, when we should at least get a player or two worth getting excited about.

Editor's Note: A few things I meant to mention in the Rules Post, but forgot:
1) I am using my 1970's name set this time, as I tired of all the Cody's and Josh's. Gimme my Gary's and Greg's!
2) I have come up with a scheme for the Bullpens. It has always been a dilemma when setting up a league from the 70's and 80's, what to set the Closer usage to. If set to 'Often', we'll see a lot more Saves by the League Leaders, but they will only pitch 70 innings or so (or fewer), which is a lot fewer than they did back then. If you set it to 'Sometimes', the Closers will pitch about twice as many innings, but only get half the saves. Neither setting is great for simulating the late 70's, early 80's, but I have usually opted for the 'Often' setting, as with 'Sometimes', you will sometimes have the League Leader not get 20 Saves and someone will pitch over 150 innings in relief every so often, which actually did happen in real life, but not as often as it would in OOTP. Anyway, I experimented during the pre-sim with alternating the setting during the season and was really happy with the results. A few pitchers will get over 100 IP, but no one will get 150 and I only once saw a fellow get 120, and the League Leaders will have pretty spot on totals from the period, usually between 35 and 40, but sometimes a little less and sometimes a little more. The League totals for Saves will be a little low, but not by much and not so anyone would notice. So every day, I will alternate the closer settings between 'Sometimes' and 'Often'. The reliever usage setting is at 'Often' and both Hook settings (for starters and relievers) are at -5 and all Computer Managers have their hook setting for starters all the way to the left and the one for relievers set in the middle.

Next up: Opening Day!

[Questdog]

Tuesday, April 3, 2001

Opening Day!

Baseball America picks 4 teams to be in a dogfight for the Southern Division: Birmingham, Charlotte, Memphis and Richmond. Memphis is their choice to edge out the others as Champions. But they say whoever wins the South will lose the Millennial Cup to the Syracuse Sycamores, who they say are they class of the League. They have sanely picked us to have the worst record in the League. SS Ray Holloway and CF Jose Vazquez are the biggest stars on the Robins.

Jacksonville Jays at
Richmond Robins

JAX: Victor Espinoza (36-R) (1-1 5.91 ERA 10.2 IP, 17 H, 1 HR, 5 BB, 5 SO this Spring) vs.
RICH: Bruce Rich (23-R) (1-0 0.00 ERA 8 IP, 5 H, 0 HR, 0 BB, 6 SO this Spring)

Baseball America ranks Espinoza as the 3rd best pitcher in the League. How many starts will we get out of him and will we be able to trade him before he blows out his arm?

Editor's Note: The Letter Grades for defense reflect the player's overall rating at the position as assigned by the Game on a 1-10 scale:
A++ = 12
A+ = 11
A = 10
B+ = 9
B = 8
C+ = 7
C = 6
D+ = 5
D = 4
D- = 3
F = 2
F- = 1

Pitcher's get 2 added to their rating to get the Letter Grade, except that there is no D- rating for them. A natural rating of 1 = F.

I would prefer that 9 would equal an A minus, rather than a B plus, but the minus symbol is not as easy to spot as the plus symbol.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF Stats from this Spring)
JACKSONVILLE
1: CF Danny Stewart (30-L .300-60-0-8-.843-0 C+)
2: SS Frank Roadman (26-R .444-27-1-7-1.257-1 C+)
3: LF Cal Doty (24-L .182-66-0-6-.489-4 B+)
4: 1B Tony Becerra (31-L .226-62-1-5-.571-0 A+)
5: 3B Brian Porter (33-S .211-57-2-9-.617-0 C+)
6: RF Dennis Brown (26-L .288-73-2-11-.749-1 C) Rookie
7: 2B Leander Gooding (30-R .235-34-0-3-.663-0 A)
8: C Bert Swope (29-S .296-27-1-2-.774-0 B)
9: P Victor Espinoza (36-R .000-2-0-0-.333-0 F)

RICHMOND
1: CF Jose Vazquez (28-R .214-70-0-5-.532-6 A)
2: 3B Skip Dunkin (22-S .318-76-0-4-.702-14 A)
3: LF Andres Borges (33-S .422-64-3-13-1.082-5 C+)
4: SS Ray Holloway (27-R .222-72-1-6-.610-5 B+)
5: RF Rob Worms (28-R .295-44-3-13-.939-4 A)
6: 2B Charlie Faber (30-R .145-62-0-1-.409-7 A)
7: C Larry Slattery (25-R .327-49-0-8-.842-0 C)
8: 1B Brian Bowden (24-R .200-75-0-6-.454-10 A++)
9: P Bruce Roach (23-R .000-1-0-0-.000-0 F)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Griffith Stadium
Weather: 52 F, Partly Cloudy, with an 8 MPH wind blowing right to left
Attendance: 11,274

Top of the First:
Danny Stewart swings at the first pitch ever in a Jacksonville Jay game and chops it weakly down the 3rd base line and is out, 5-3. Frank Roadman grounds out to short. Cal Doty pops out to left...

Bottom of the First:
Jose Vazquez flies out to deep left. Skip Dunkin strikes out on 3 pitches! Andres Borges lines a hit to center. Ray Holloway grounds one to 3rd, but Brian Porter makes an errant throw to 2nd... Rob Worms strikes out!

Bottom of the Second:
Charlie Faber leads off with a double down the left field line and goes to 3rd on a ground out. Brian Bowden lines a hit to center and Faber scores... 1 to 0, Robins. The next two make outs.

Top of the Fourth:
With 2 outs, Tony Becerra grounds the first Jay hit ever up the middle. Brian Porter lines a double down the right flied line and Becerra tries to score from 1st, but is out, 9-4-2...

Bottom of the Fifth:
With 1 out, P Bruce Roach lines a hit to right and Dennis Brown botches the pickup for an error and P Roach is at 2nd. Jose Vazquez lines a hit to left. Skip Dunkin grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6, but we cannot turn the double play and P Roach scores... 2 to 0, Robins. Andres Borges lines a hit to left and Cal Doty botches the pickup for another error and runners are at 2nd and 3rd... Ray Holloway grounds out to 2nd!

Top of the Seventh:
With 2 outs, Leander Gooding takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. P Bruce Roach tries to pick him off at 1st, but throws the ball away for an error. Bert Swope grounds a hit to right and Gooding scores the first Jay run ever! 2 to 1, Robins. PH Mike Volkman (33-L) grounds a hit to right, but Swope stops at 3rd... Dernit.... Danny Stewart swings at the first pitch and flies out to deep right...

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Jack Barber (27-R), their closer and one of the best in the League, according to Baseball America. 5-6-7 up for us. Brian Porter flies out to deep center. Dennis Brown swings at the first pitch and flies out to deep left. Leander Gooding strikes out...

Lost - 2 to 1

This is going to be a long season...

We had 6 hits and made 3 errors
Richmond had 8 hits and made 2 errors

Victor Espinoza (L 0-1) went 6 innings, allowed 2 runs, 7 hits, no walks and struck out 4. At bat, he had a hit.
RHP Barry Short went 2 scoreless innings and allowed 1 hit.

Bruce Roach (W 1-0) went 8 innings, gave us 1 run, 6 hits, 1 walk and struck out 1. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run.
RHP Jack Barber (SV 1) pitched a perfect 9th with 1 strikeout.

3B Brian Porter hit a double. 2B Leander Gooding had a hit and a walk and scored our only run. PH Mike Volkman had a hit.

For Richmond, LF Andres Borges had 3 hits.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, April 4, 2001

Jacksonville Jays (0-1 .000 1.5 GB tied for 6th (last) place in the Southern Division) at
Richmond Robins (1-0 1.000 0.5 GB tied for 1st place in the Southern Division)

JAX: Frank Cook (35-R) (2-1 2.45 ERA 18.1 IP, 16 H, 1 HR, 13 BB, 13 SO this Spring) vs.
RICH: Sammy Brumley (24-L) (2-2 3.91 ERA 23 IP, 18 H, 3 HR, 13 BB, 15 SO this Spring)

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: 2B Leander Gooding (30-R .333-3-0-0-.833-0 A)
2: SS Frank Roadman (26-R .000-4-0-0-.000-0 C+)
3: LF Cal Doty (24-L .000-4-0-0-.000-0 B+)
4: 1B Tony Becerra (31-L .250-4-0-0-.500-0 A+)
5: 3B Brian Porter (33-S .250-4-0-0-.750-0 C+)
6: RF Dennis Brown (26-L .000-4-0-0-.000-0 C) Rookie
7: CF Danny Stewart (30-L .000-4-0-0-.000-0 C+)
8: C Bert Swope (29-S .333-3-0-1-.667-0 B)
9: P Frank Cook (35-R Season debut C+)

RICHMOND
1: CF Jose Vazquez (28-R .250-4-0-0-.500-0 A)
2: 3B Skip Dunkin (22-S .000-4-0-1-.000-0 A)
3: LF Andres Borges (33-S .750-4-0-0-1.500-0 C+)
4: SS Ray Holloway (27-R .000-4-0-0-.000-0 B+)
5: RF Rob Worms (28-R .000-4-0-0-.000-0 A)
6: 2B Charlie Faber (30-R .667-3-0-0-1.667-0 A)
7: C Larry Slattery (25-R .000-3-0-0-.000-0 C)
8: 1B Brian Bowden (24-R .333-3-0-1-.667-0 A++)
9: P Sammy Brumley (24-R Season debut F) Mild hamstring strain

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Griffith Stadium
Weather: 49 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 9 MPH wind blowing right to left
Attendance: 6,422

Top of the First:
Leander Gooding grounds out to the pitcher. Frank Roadman swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit to left. Cal Doty flies out to deep center. Tony Becerra gets beaned. A wild pitch moves the runners up. Brian Porter grounds out to 1st, unassisted....

Bottom of the First:
Jose Vazquez grounds out to short. Skip Dunkin swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Andres Borges grounds out to 2nd! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the Second:
Ray Holloway bloops a hit to right and then steals 2nd. With 1 out, Charlie Faber grounds one back to the mound, but P Frank Cook makes a bad throw to 1st for an error... With Faber running, Larry Slattery strikes out and C Bert Swope throws Faber out at 2nd to end the inning!

Bottom of the Fourth:
With 1 out, Andres Borges draws a walk. Ray Holloway hits a 438 ft. home run to right center... 2 to 0, Robins.

Bottom of the Sixth:
Jose Vazquez grounds a hit to left. Skip Dunkin grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6. He steals 2nd and goes to 3rd when C Bert Swope throws the ball into center field... 2 games and we have already made 5 errors... The Bullpen gets up. With the infield in, Andres Borges grounds one hard to the left side and Brian Porter makes a diving stop and throws him out at 1st from his knees! Dunkin stays at 3rd. Ray Holloway grounds out to 1st, unassisted!

Top of the Ninth:
P Sammy Brumley is at 105 pitches. 4-5-6 up for us. Tony Becerra grounds a hit to right. A passed ball sends him to 2nd. Brian Porter flies out to right. Dennis Brown swings at the first pitch and flies out to deep left. Danny Stewart grounds out to 2nd...

Lost - 2 to 0

The first of many shutouts to come...

We had 6 hits and made 2 errors
Richmond had 5 hits and made no errors

Frank Cook (L 0-1) went 7 innings, allowed 2 runs, 4 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 1.
RHP Gary Adamson went 1 scoreless inning and allowed 1 hit.

Sammy Brumley (W 1-0) pitched 9 shutout innings (CG), gave us 6 hits, 1 walk, 1 HBP and struck out 4. He threw a WP. 117 pitches. At bat, he had a hit.

SS Frank Roadman had 2 hits with a double. 1B Tony Becerra had a hit and was beaned. RF Dennis Brown had a hit and a walk.