1979--A 3rd (and 4th) League is born

[seth70liz76]

05/29/1979—cont’d

MIN—They still need more depth on the INF, and they don’t do anything very well—but they do everything just good enough. They are right in the middle of the pack in every offensive and pitching category (save Steals where they have a pathetic 3) and they find themselves in 3rd, only 4 GB. They send Mike Bruhert (2nd on the team with 5 wins, but a .323 OAVE) and Forrest Thompson to settle down at AAA, along with INF Rico Rossy. Pat Darcy and Frank Eufemia are somewhat questionable recommendations by Scout Luke Sims, but GM Eric Strauss does not hesitate to dip into his minor league system. Tony LaRussa also is recalled, a testament to the lack of INF depth at the big club and AAA level.

Darcy joins the back end of the rotation, but everything else stays the same. They have had a stability in the staff that most other teams wish they had. Nothing much else changes. 1B Paul Campbell will probably be moved soon for someone to give the INF some stability, and C Matt Merullo could also be shipped someplace for more pitching, but for now, I like the position the Hits are in.

[seth70liz76]

05/29/1979—cont’d

NE—I put forth the proposition, a few post ago, that NE was the worst team in either league, even though they weren’t quite in last place. Horrible defense, pitching and base running negated a fairly decent offense. In some ways though, they are a NAL success story. Crammed in a tiny park, they sell out every game, building a loyal following that could serve them for a long while. However; that tiny park will be barely able to cover the bills at the end of the year—and unless a better park is found in the Boston area—moving or folding is in their future (foreshadowing? If you know the history of indoor soccer in America-what the league life-cycles are based on, if you skipped over the first couple post, that is the future for most of these clubs). GM Mark Shaw would like to do more, but he doesn’t have much AAA talent. Steve Shea makes a return visit to the Huntington Street Grounds, to see strangely little-used Colby Ward (3 G in 20 days, as bad as this staff is? With a WHIP of .92? Manager Jeromy Gushue must have a job lined up for next year already). Shaw also continues the “let’s make Chris Arnold miserable” moves by sending the guy down for the 2nd time. This time, instead of an OF, Shaw does bring up SS Bobby Kline. Which likely means Arnold will be back in 3 days, only to ship out again 2 days hence. I myself keep waiting for the Len Boehmer era to begin.

I will say if Jamie Brewington and Jim Neidlinger can keep up close the to level they showed in their first starts, they could improve to 8th instead of fighting for last. This team does cost too much (2nd highest payroll in either league) for this performance—expect to see them get really young quick.

[seth70liz76]

05/29/1979—cont’d

NY—Released AA P Jim Pena. Otherwise, GM Vic Stone, who didn’t even look to trade, decides the roster is fine for now and makes no moves. (I run the GM for my club too, just so I don’t have an unfair advantage—and I am stuck with one of the least aggressive GMs in either league) Our pitching keeps us in the race—I just need to stop running so recklessly. I like an aggressive team on the basepaths, but I don’t think we’ve got that kind of talent. Oh well. Scout Stephen Wade thinks Frank Carpin should be back on the roster, but Stone wants Bowman to have more time to show what he can do. I think I might rather have Carpin too, however, my job is to make do with the players Stone gives me. I still think this is winnable for us, IF I can make better decisions on when to send runners. We miss Randy Johnson’s steady bat too.

Right now, as good as our starters are, the back 4 (Morogiello, Terpko, Remmerswaal and Richardson) in the bullpen are all shut down quality. I give Hawk Taylor a shot to win the C job, but I really would like Stone to trade for one (MIN has an extra one available). Until what I’m doing stops working, I’m keeping the same guys out there—just need to be smarter when I run.

[seth70liz76]

05/29/1979—cont’d

PHI—GM Danny Chase is even more conservative than NY GM Victor Stone. And with a 2 game lead, he is not about to start messing with the make up of this team. With all the HR allowed and the inability to score, I’d think they would be falling out of the race, but they are hanging tough and could win the CL if they are lucky.

Manager Nicky Majocka keeps the winning formula in the pitching staff, though Jerry Crimian is the starter who would be skipped, not newfound Ace Jim Bouton. There isn’t much change in the everyday line up either—Jack Pierce becomes the “starting” 1B as Benny Distefano's time is divided between C/1B as to not qualify as a starter at either post.

[seth70liz76]

05/29/1979—cont’d

PIT—I have to commend PIT GM Scott Free. His team, who like us, was near last place a week or so ago. But unlike NY, as they have pulled close to the lead, he has shown a willingness to make a move to win the CL. Knowing pitching was the real weak link in his team ships off his starting 2B and RF (plus a SP, backup C and 2 AA players) for 3 P and a defensive minded RF. And he almost moved his starting SS too! And I think they are in a great position because of it. They are very thin on the INF and the bench (and AAA) is very thin, but if they stay healthy, and don’t have to dip into those wells too often—let’s just say this: I think NY can win a two team race with PHI, I don’t know if we can win a three team race if PIT is the 3rd club. They score so many runs (if no back ups are in the game--when forced to play the reserves you might shut them out); they are never out of the game. As they have improved the pitching, they climb in the standings.

Whole mess of bodies moving here and there. Dropped from the Spirit roster to AAA are Jim Otten—who should be released—and Niles Jordan who can build some confidence for his next go around. Walter Cress will not join the other newcomers on the PIT roster, but is assigned to AAA. C Moe Thacker sent down once this year already, is recalled to be the back up C. Young Larry Wolfe is called to take SS/DH Rod Corriea’s spot on the roster. Bob Will, acquired from TB, will be disappointed offensively after Bob Hazle, but the defense and increased speed could help more. Having to call up 19 year old 1B Dale Coogan to fill out the roster shows how thin the AAA club was. The kid won’t see a lot of time, so it will be hard for him to succeed this time around. This also is a risky move, because if he is REALLY good (and who know who will be the stars will be in this league) he’ll make the big money quick. Everyone at this level is looking for the cheap talent.

With all the lefties in the pen, Bert Roberge and his league leading 11 saves, drops to the set up role to get more late outs. Ray Newman gets the chance to close. Initially, Woody Main and not Brian Snyder will start. Snyder has had 2 very rough stars in a row and pitching coach Raymond Potts thinks he can work out the kinks. Bob Will moves into the #2 slot in the Spirit line up, more suited for his talents than the 5-hole TB had him in. Strange as it may sound, there really isn’t a DH option on this team—evidence by DH Dave Stegman’s .154, 9th place hitting butt. It looks like the pitching is close to contending, but that bench (and DH) shows there are steps still to take. Unfortunately, it looks like PIT does not have the minor league personnel to make any kind of move without crippling the offense.

[seth70liz76]

05/29/1979—cont’d

TB—I could explain to you 10 ways to Tuesday why TB will not even challenge .500; but I just have a hard time believing a team that pitches this well will not be at least close—if they can add ½ a run a game. I don’t know if Bob Hazle is worth ½ a run a game, but he should be enough to erase a few of those close losses. The power he adds, HR & 2B, plus the walks as teams pitch around him—this could be a season saver. Coupled with budding star C Jayhawk Owens (and if Carmen Fanzone can turn this month long slump around) this could be a surprise over the last 2/3 of the season. Not “in the pennant hunt” surprise, but a “Wow, this could be a great team . . . next year.” Hazle cost a lot—Bob Will was a solid performer at the plate and borderline great with the glove. Woody Main was, arguably, the Rowdies most valuable pitcher. Hazle is slow and you wince at anything hit his way, but he is one of those guys you hate to see with an ohfer. He is expensive, but despite being in the .280’s most of the year—he could be a MVP threat with his ability. They now go from battling to stay out of the cellar to lining themselves up for a pennant run next season.

The other players acquired with Hazle—2B Mike Champion and RF Jim Lindeman—are assigned to AA. Georges Maranda is recalled to replace Main. Maranda had ok #’s in limited AAA action, but GM Joseph Wilson doesn’t want to eat up service time on any more kids than he has already this season. Maranda moves into the back end of the bullpen, no one else really changes roles. Hazle anchors the line up in the 3 spot, with Owens behind him. If Carmen Fanzone starts hitting better (he’s down to .208) this could turn the Rowdies season around.

[seth70liz76]

05/30/1979

MEM—P Phil Paine asks for a contract extension. Difficult one. Paine is worth resigning. Since he took over the closer role from DeWayne Buice, the MEM pen has steadied. He is doing the best job so far. And it’s that “so far” that questions how much Paine should be offered. After the LA trade, MEM has the highest payroll in either league. They are going to be right on the edge of making money/losing money. They will have 19 arbitration eligible players, and that is the heart of the team. Only Scipio Spinks and his $8.7 million are signed for longer than this season. The other problem with offering Paine an extension—he won’t let MEM know what he thinks his value his—is that this offer could start setting the market. No one else who has asked for an extension has been offered on. GM Vic Sage, offers Paine $937,070 for 3 years and he takes it. I don’t know if this is a good deal or not, but the salary is over 3X the minimum he was making now. A benchmark has been set—better hope Paine is as good or better than he’s shown, otherwise bankruptcy is in these teams’ future.

HOU 16-14-1
CLE 4-10-3
Take away an 11 run 2nd (where Jim Pankovits hits 2 HR in) and this was a fairly close game.

PHI 0-1-2
PIT 4-8-0
Philadelphia has no chance in a 1-hitter by Mike Birkbeck
PITTSBURGH - Philadelphia's hitters looked uncomfortable, and Pittsburgh's Mike Birkbeck didn't help them. The right-hander fired his 2nd shutout of the season, a 1-hitter. 'I had my stuff going. Everything I tried worked. What a day!' Birkbeck (6-1) struck out 5 and walked none, throwing 58 of 93 pitches for strikes. Larry Owen provided Pittsburgh with the offense Birkbeck needed as he stroked 2 hits in 4 AB, hitting a double. Pittsburgh scored 4 runs on 8 hits.

CIN 3-9-0
NY 5-12-2
Two unlikely HR’s marked this game. In the 3rd, I was going have Dan Dobbek bunt the runner over, thought better of it, and watched him hit a 2 run HR. In the 7th, with Bob Trice throwing like Paul Toth, he gives up a 3-R HR to Jesus Vega, just recalled—originally sent down because he didn’t show enough power. We got the right back in the bottom of, but still. This is like HOU, a team we need to just stomp on. Tied 1 GB with PIT.

CAL 7-16-2 11 innings
TUL 3-13-0
Bob Johnson hits a 3-run PH HR and Tom Alston adds a solo shot to win the battle of the bullpens.

DET 2-10-2
FL 5-12-0
DET INF errors give the Strikers big runs at home.

MEM 3-9-2
ATL 4-7-1 10 innings
Spinks goes 9 strong innings in his Rouge debut, but just extended Phil Paine gives up the game-winning hit to Joe Pittman (who entered the game as a defensive replacement for just acquired Torey Luvullo).

MIN 6-13-3
LA 4-9-1
Both new Aztecs take ohfers as just called up Royce Lint throws a good but not good enough debut. Hits overcome bad defense to get the win.

NE 10-14-2
TB 6-9-1
After making a big splash to improve their offense, it’s the TB pitching that collapses. Hazle is 0-3 in his Rowdie debut. Don Gordon gives up 5 R with out getting an out for TB.

[seth70liz76]

05/31/1979

TB—Reliever Dewey Robinson is suffering from back spasms, but will not be DL’d. Based on past experiences, Robinson said these could bother him for 1 to 1 ½ months. “I love pitching too much to shut it down.”

PHI 6-10-3
PIT 1-6-1
PIT Hal Dues walks 7, and allows the game to get out of reach. Gary Ryerson compensates for his teammates’ 3 errors by not walking anyone.

HOU 2-4-2 11 innings
CLE 1-7-0
CLE Paul Toth does what he always does, but the Summit is charged up about the effort Joe Crawford has been giving of late. 3 straight PoG and showing signs of being a guy they can build a rotation around. HOU does use 5 pitchers to get through 2 innings, but keep the Force from scoring late.

CIN 8-13-1
NY 3-5-2
Rare bullpen collapse (6 R in 2.1 IP) and Buddy Bianclana forgets how to catch the ball. Jim Willis was fantastic against us. Remy Hermoso hits his 5 (2nd bases loaded) 3B.

MEM 4-12-1
ATL 3-7-1
It was like the Chiefs gave up. The Rouges tied it in the top of the 9th at 3 with two out. And then ATL brings in Ravelo Manzanillo, who right handed batters ripped for almost a .500 OBP and .150 ISO, in to face a right-handed batter—Sherman Obando. He drives in the winning run and we all go home on time. Tom Bruno pitches better than Spinks did in his MEM debut.

DET 9-13-0
FL 3-8-1
Almost a shut out until Bob Greenwood tired late.

CAL 9-12-3
TUL 6-12-1
CAL gets more clutch hits in this game than they usually get in a week. TUL Dino Restelli hits 2 HR (3 and 4 on the year—in only 14 PA) tries to keep the ‘Necks alive in this one.

MIN 3-6-2
LA 4-9-0
Recent acquision Rich Rowland drives in 2 and Jose Gonzalez adds 2 more to edge the Hits.

NE 13-22-1
TB 14-18-2
Wild game. NE’s Rod Brewer drives in 4, Clint Conaster hit a 3 run HR while TB’s Bob Hazle, Jayhawk Owens and Jeff Gardner all push home 3 RBI each. Only new TB call up Georges Maranda was the only effective pitcher all day long.

[seth70liz76]

06/01/1979

Batter of the Month award winners announced
The Batter of the Month award in the Contential goes to Cleveland's Ken Macha this time, as the third baseman displayed the best offensive performance in his league. Macha helped his team with an average of .369 and 15 RBI in 84 at bats. Ken is hitting .374 this year, with 71 hits in 190 at bats. He has driven in 31 runs, slugging .479. He's 1st in the Contential in batting and 8th in RBI! The North American's best player of the month was Detroit's Dick Gray, who wins the award for the 1st time in his career. In 85 at bats he hit .400 with 4 HR and 23 RBI. Gray has hit 7 homeruns this year while batting .312. He adds 8 doubles, along with 23 runs scored.

Cleveland's Toth earns Pitcher of the Month award
Winner of this month's Contential Pitcher of the Month award is Cleveland's Paul Toth. He had an ERA of just 0.87 in 62.1 innings of work in which he struck out 16 hitters. His record in May is 6-0. Paul fired THREE shutouts! Paul has a record of 10-2 this season, with an ERA of 1.90. In 118.1 Innings he was able to strike out 35 batters. Paul has pitched 5 shutouts and 7 complete games. He's 1st in the Contential in ERA and 1st in wins! New England's pitcher Dana Kiecker is the North American winner of the Pitcher of the Month award in May. He started 3 games in May, going 2-0 and compiling an ERA of 1.10 in 16.1 innings. Dana fanned 6 hitters. Dana has a record of 4-2 this season, with an ERA of 3.27. In 55 Innings he was able to strike out 16 batters.

It should be noted that Kiecker is out for the season, so not likely he'll repeat this year.

[seth70liz76]

06/01/1979—cont’d

TB—P John Morlan will be dealing with migraines for a couple days

HOU 3-7-1
CLE 10-14-2
Ah—HOU’s pitching is battered early and often. All is right in the world.

PHI 3-5-2
PIT 1-6-0
Well-pitched game by Bouton and Main. Shawn Barton almost blows the game for PHI, but was able to coax a looong fly ball by Phil Clark to strand the tying runs on base.

CIN 5-10-1
NY 9-13-3
CIN does what they do every game: just keep putting men on base, always threatening to score. It took a lot of bullpen manipulation to get the final 7 outs (total of 4 pitchers in that span). Defense was terrible around the INF, but we turned enough DP to negate most of the defensive damage. Used the Sac Bunt twice—each time leading to runs. Should have swept this club, but I will take 2 of 3. Sit in 2nd alone, 2 GB. CIN drops to 6 GB.

DET 2-8-0
FL 0-2-0
Dom Zanni and 2 relievers combine to shut out the FL offense. Jack Daugherty drives in both runs for the Express.

CAL 7-18-0
TUL 2-9-1
Chris Holt has a decent start for TUL, but is removed after throwing 100 pitches in 6.1 IP. Then Jim Austin surrenders 8 hits, 4 runs in 1.2 IP to ruin any chance for a ‘Neck comeback. John Burke shows he can be a top of the rotation starter if he limits his walks. Feel good game for a Surf offense that has shown more life these last three days than they have all year.

MEM 6-9-2
ATL 8-11-3
Ugly game. Jim Wright gives up all 8 Chief runs in 4.1 IP; Johnny James gives up all 6 Rouge runs in 5. The bullpens were the only good thing in this game.

MIN 10-11-0
LA 11-13-0
LA is in a slugfest too? The SoCal teams aren’t usually involved in that kind of game. The Aztec pen comes close to giving the game away, but Ray Soff gets the Hits 1-2-3 after Matt Winters clubs a 2-run shot to bring MIN within one. Rich Rowland hits his 2nd HR since joining the team 3 days ago.

NE 7-11-0
TB 9-16-0
What a difference a Hurricane makes. After NE puts up 6 in the 3rd, it looked like the Rowdies were about to lose another. But now they have Bob Hazle, who hit HR in back to back innings to spark a comeback against Jamie Brewington and Danny Boone. The Rowdies do burn through the pen to get the win, but with an off day tomorrow, maybe it won’t hurt so much.

As per the request of Craig, I'm going to go into some depth on my GM sked that I use for my dynasty. Next post is going to cover some of the background and philosophies behind how I use the Sked. Hopefully it won't be as boring as I fear it might.

[seth70liz76]

Since I'm going to be refering to this alot, thought I should post it.

Team	GM		Aggresivness Respond Propose Spend Pitch Hit Defense Scout AAA	AA A	Ideal P	Ideal H	Special
ATL	Arthur Curry	 11[13]	     8	     5	     4	   7	 8   B       8     8    7  6	456	554	
CAL	Oswald Cobblepot 10	     9	     6	     9	   3	 2   D	     4	   5	5  4	375	456	+1 on trade if propose is greater than respond; Drawback: when another GM job opens, must roll 2d10 to see if he stays or leaves
CIN	Lex Luthor	 13	     10	     8	     10	   4	 3   D	     6	   6	6  5	285	366	+2 on trade if propose is greater than respond
CLE	Adrian Veidt	 17	     10	     6	     10	   11	 5   C	     10	   7	9  5	573	375	
DET	Hal Jordan	 12	     8	     6	     3	   8	 4   A/D     10    7    8 10	554	2103	
FL	Edward Blake	 10	     7	     7	     7	   5	 4   C	     4	   4	4  5	455	555	+1 on trade if propose is greater than respond; Drawback: will NEVER pursue player who leaves as FA
HOU	Buddy Baker	 8	     5	     5	     4	   6	 4   C	     6	   5	5  5	644	465	
LA	Nathaniel Adam	 9	     5	     5	     3	   7	 10  A	     6	   5	6  5	644	1032	
MEM	Vic Sage	 11	     7	     7	     5	   7	 4   C	     9	   6	7  7	555	465	
MIN	Eric Strauss	 14	     10	     10	     4	   7	 4   A	     10	   10	10 10	366	177	
NE	Mark Shaw	 12	     7	     6	     6	   8	 4   C	     6	   5	6  7	654	465	+1 on trade if propose is greater than respond
NY	Victor Stone	 9	     6	     7	     6	   6	 8   C	     6	   5	4  5	555	654	
PHI	Danny Chase	 8	     6	     6	     5	   5	 2   D	     5	   5	5  4	455	455	+1 on trade if propose is greater than respond
PIT	Scott Free	 15	     10	     6	     5	   11	 4   C	     7	   6	8  10	663	465	
TB	Joseph Wilson	 10	     6	     7	     5	   6	 3   C	     6	   6	6  5	555	366	+1 on trade if propose is greater than respond; Advantage: gains +1 on all GM's under Ave. Agressiveness
TUL	Werner Vertigo	 9	     5	     5 	     10    6	 4   C	     5	   4	4  4	644	555	2 roll chances if trying to trade players not meeting other GM's ideal
		         11	     7	     6	     6	   7	 5  	     7	   6	6  6

[seth70liz76]

GM Schedule—a little bit of background

(I apologize in advance for the next couple of posts they are a bit narcissistic. But part of the reason I have this dynasty is to do some record keeping. If I could keep the cats interested with this stuff I wouldn’t have to post it.)

I felt I was taking advantage of myself.

Let me explain—I first played a “sim” with a deck of cards and those sundae helmets I got from the DQ one summer. Flipping card after card, playing 3 inning games and keeping track of only wins and losses. After growing bored of this, I tried to create my own game using two six-sided dice and baseball cards. I wish I could say this was a success, but my burgeoning understanding of the game far outpaced my mathematical abilities. But then, I found it: APBA.

Now, after annoying my friends by dominating them in our little 8-team league with my roster of Rangers, Blue Jays, Mariners and Brewers, I found myself with no one willing to game with me. So I set up a 12-team league with NL players and the XB cards from the AL. (For those who aren’t familiar with APBA, at this time you got 20 players per team, with the option to add 6 more players per team with the XB cards. Most of these players were Sept call-ups, guys who had been hurt, or the back end of the bullpen—the guys who round out a roster.) It was exciting because not only could I have fill-ins if someone got hurt, I now had enough players per team to make trades. And trade I did—multiplayer, uneven, anything I could think of. It was during my 1986 season I realized I had a problem.

Now, I don’t know how this happened, since I played out every game and made every decision for each team in game and out of game, but I developed an affinity for one particular team. And my trades concerning this team helped them to win the pennant every year. That was becoming boring. I needed someway to check myself on these trades—especially since I knew what the performance of each player was going to be before the season started.

I had purchase the DC Heroes RPG when it came out in 1989, but my friends—as they had with D&D and other RPGs—turned it into an outlet for their woefully inadequate sex lives and just wanted to see if their characters could commit low-level perversions with the female heroes. Not much fun. But the “Action Table” and d10 could provide an answer. It was very simple—it was a “Yes or No” kind of thing—based on games in relation to .500 (don’t ask why I thought that was a good idea—when all the record keeping is done by hand you just try to keep it simple). And while that team still won the pennant, it was the closest race I ever had. Switching over later in 1989 to Miller Associates APBA for DOS (and a bit later Windows), I kept this as my basic “decision maker”. And generally trying to find more decisions for the GMS to make.

I also started, at this time, using the character profiles from the Heroes game to set the parameters. Trying to use their ratings to set a personality for the GM. I mean, if Bruce Wayne is going to run a club, he’s going to spend the cash—you know what I mean. Clark Kent—btw I love Bill’s explanation of what Kent means Kill Bill Vol. 2—would build for power; Lex Luthor would go for free agents and target the weaker teams. The Joker would have no plan. Wally West (the game was post-crisis, and I don’t know if that means anything anymore) would build with speed.

Now the more I tried to play these characteristics, the harder it was to GM. I was trying to remember to write down situations as they came along, but there was no trigger for events. Trades, demotions, line-up changes, or any other roster management decision was still started by what I thought was necessary. And I had found that while I may not be able to improve my club thru trades; I could also choose not to improve my rivals. That was just as effective in building a winner. And then I found FPS 96.

Suddenly, I had a lot more information to access—but more importantly: the results were unknown. In APBA if you had a guy who was struggling—you knew about what his numbers where going to be at the end of the year, so you’d make decisions based not on in-game performance, but real-life performance. I didn’t like that. FPS 96 also was my first game with ratings, not stats as the guide. And the physics based game play. I saw a chance to greatly improve the GMS. I saw a chance to set triggers. I’d set all the teams to human—and created a league of first year expansion teams (1961 Angels & Senators, 1962 Mets and Colt .45s, 1969 Padres, Royals, Expos, Pilots, 1977 Blue Jays and Mariners, 1993 Rockies and Marlins—and someone could add the 1998 Diamondbacks and Devil Rays—some one do that here, lets find out who the best expansion team was—no trades, no coaches, no scouts—just the one season run multiple times) and (sorry about the tangent) started use the game to make decisions.

I tried the AI GM. I wanted the AI to work. Doing all of the GM work was starting to get more time consuming. I found the more information I had, the more situations I found I could make the GMS handle. Keeping track of the information and making the dice rolls, I was finding myself doing more accounting than game playing. I really wanted the AI GM to work to make it easier for me. I could play more games. I tried the AI GM and I didn’t like it. The AI GM was why I didn’t like Baseball Mogul. I find something odd about having 14 pitchers on the 25-man roster and only using 10 of them. Releases and trades just didn’t make sense at times and their was a refusal to deal with me. But more than anything else, it was because I didn’t know anything about the other teams. Starting line-ups where a blur; I couldn’t remember my opponents bench players or pitchers. And I didn’t know when they made trades, or how the team changed with a player was released. So, based on the 100 point rating system for the players (contact-power-speed) and being able to order a team or free agents by its stats and trying to connect the ratings for the Heroes characters. I spent a year running a couple short seasons testing the system, trying to make the Heroes’ numbers “mean” something in a baseball sense. And slowly it started to come together. FPS 98 comes out, and I run my GMS, run a league, and it runs ok. Over the season it gets tuned up, and tightened up—but overall I’m very pleased. And then, after a few years I bought OOTP3.

Much like the FPS 96/FPS 98 situation, OOTP3 basically was a beta version of my GMS. Again, I first tried the AI GM. And I didn’t like it. So, I picked up the GMS again, and found that OOTP allowed me to set different/better triggers, and the information I needed in a easier to navigate form—and was better able to use the ratings and characteristics of the Heroes in conjunctions with aspects of the game. When I upgraded to OOTP5, I was ready for my “dream” league.

Of course, the “dream” league was a little too overwhelming, so I cut back to this league and the GMS has worked pretty well. Adjustments have been made since the start of the season, but I just view them as patches. So that is a little background on the GMS, next post will cover how I use the Heroes ratings with the game generated information.

[seth70liz76]

GM Schedule—The Whys, but not the Hows

Let me just say this: I know there is probably a better way. The fact that this is essentially 15 years old and I’m still tweaking and tuning it up tells me that. And I know the things I rely on from the game for information and standards are not perfect. The features of this game are discussed through out this forum with complaints, apologies and explanations. And while imperfect, I feel it is doing what I want it to do. Is it right for anyone else? Probably not, at least in the format I have. Unless you have the DC Heroes RPG and the exact same philosophies and beliefs I do, someone isn’t going to develop the same thing. If this at least gives you some ideas for running your own GM’s, that’s great. And seeing how the players in the forum find ways of looking at OOTP that I never thought of, extra eyes on my system can only help me.

So, the basics of my league: Still using OOTP5 (it works for me—with this dynasty I don’t feel the extended financials or revised game engine are worth changing for, yet), financials on, no salary cap, minors enabled, coaches & scouts on, all teams set to human, reduced ratings. Store that information for a while or refer back to it later.

Now the DC Heroes RPG came with quick reference cards for some of the more important heroes and villains. If I remember my RPG’s correctly, this isn’t too different than what most games have—though the labels could be different. Here is how they look:

BATMAN
DEX: 10 STR: 5 BODY: 6
INT: 12 WILL: 12 MIND: 12
INFL: 10 AURA: 8 SPIRIT: 10
INITIATIVE: 36 HERO POINTS: 150
Skills:
Advantages:
Drawbacks:
Equipment:
Alter Ego: Bruce Wayne
Motivation: Seeking Justice
Wealth: 20

It became a question of how to link those ratings and skills to the game.

Now, here is where you may find your self-saying, “that seems a little random.” I just want you to know that you’re not that far off at times. I tried to make linkages that made some sense, but some had to be forced because there wasn’t any other rating left.

I decided, for me, the most important rating was INITIATIVE. This to me made sense, since it was used to determine turn order in the RPG. Everything from who is looking to trade, demotions, promotions and everything else I use the GMS to determine has this at the base. Since I wanted to keep everything resolved with only rolling 2d10, I halved the INITIATIVE, renamed it Aggressiveness and began the linkage. If we can think of the card altered for OOTP it would look like the following.

BRUCE WAYNE
Pitching: 10 Hitting: 5 Defense: 6
Response: 10 Scouts: 10 AA: 10
Propose: 10 AAA: 8 A: 5
Aggressiveness: 18
Skills, advantages, drawbacks: If any of these seemed applicable (charisma for example) to negotiations or thought process of a GM—I assigned it a value in terms of column shifts either positively or negatively.
Motivation: Balanced prospects/FA, spends smartly
Willingness to spend: 10

Since I am using a 10-point rating system for my players in OOTP, I felt reducing the ceiling for every rating, except Aggressiveness, to 10 made sense.

I also used these numbers to develop a “profile” for each GM for an “ideal” hitter and pitcher. I tried to set this “rating” based on 15 points (5 contact/stuff-5 power/movement-5 eye/control being average). Bruce Wayne’s ideals would be 8-3-4 for hitters with C range or speed; 5-5-5 his ideal pitcher. Now Wayne isn’t looking for those exact combos, but players who match or exceed his base in each category.

From these ratings, the following profile emerges for Wayne: He prefers contact hitters, but doesn’t have a favorite talent with pitchers. He’ll spend money, but smartly. Has a lot of faith in his scouts and his upper minors. Very aggressive, hard to convince to accept a trade, but able to convince others. He even has an additional advantage over GM’s because of his charisma. Values pitching over hitters. Bottom line—good GM who can fleece a bad one.

I also use these ratings, in a simple formula, to determine salary offers to Free Agents, coaches, scouts and minor league managers. Wayne, with the exceptions of hitting coaches and A managers, is going to be tough to outbid—if his club has the money.

Now, before I get into the How it works, I want to anticipate some criticism. I use the advice of scouts and the listed “team weaknesses” in the trade/FA scenes probably more than most of the veteran gamers do. I understand the limitations and flaws in these parts of the game engines. However, those flaws I think are fairly realistic. Something may be listed as a “team weakness” when there is a player at that position posting All-Star numbers. Well, I’d argue while the player may be having a great season, he could be viewed by the club as not a long-term solution. Hey, Scott Cooper was an all-star—clearly outperforming his ratings—and the Red Sox cut their ties with him before he fell of the face of the earth. I think this could be more of an issue if I was trying to do a historical league; for a fictional league (which, despite historical players, is what this league is) I don’t think it is a much of a problem.

So enough background and introduction—lets get the dice (virtually) rolling.

[seth70liz76]

GM Schedule—in action (finally)

Irony Games Dice Server

The above is where I do all my “dice rolls.” With four cats, I can only get 2 or 3 rolls in before they try to steal the dice. If this makes less sense than before, I'm sorry--I've never had to explain this before to anyone. If you have questions, let me know.

I generally do all the main GMing on off-days. I have found this makes things easier to get a handle on. I have been fortunate that Stickware generated a schedule with everyone having the same days off. If someone gets hurt or comes off the DL on a non-off day, I run the GM for that team, but that doesn’t go into all the ins and outs like an off day.

The first roll I make is to see if a team is interested in trading: no sense in making changes to rosters if players are going to ship out anyway. Now, one of my big things in evaluating numbers is the relationship to the “center”. So here is the first column of the GMS:

Team	GM		Aggressiveness
ATL	Arthur Curry		11[13]
CAL	Oswald Cobblepot	10
CIN	Lex Luthor		13
CLE	Adrian Veidt		17
DET	Hal Jordan		12
FL	Edward Blake		10
HOU	Buddy Baker		 8
LA	Nathaniel Adam		 9
MEM	Vic Sage		11
MIN	Eric Strauss		14
NE	Mark Shaw		12
NY	Victor Stone		 9
PHI	Danny Chase		 8
PIT	Scott Free		15
TB	Joseph Wilson		10
TUL	Werner Vertigo		 9
				11

Arthur (Aquaman) Curry has 2 Aggressiveness ratings since in the RPG he has 2 INITIATIVE ratings (one for land, one for water). For my purposes, a month before the trade deadline he just becomes a little more aggressive—just my way of trying to use the RPG ratings to create more “personality” for each GM. Anyway, the final line is the average Aggressiveness for the GM’s in this league. This serves as the Opposing Value (OV) for our first roll. Here are the rolls Irony games generated:

ATL-18
CAL-15
CIN-9
CLE-6
DET-8
FL-12
HOU-8
LA-12
MEM-8
MIN-18
NE-16
NY-8
PHI-12
PIT-10
TB-16
TUL-12

Using the Aggressiveness for my Acting Value (AV) I check the handy dandy chart included with the game against an OV of 11 for everyone. ATL, CAL, FL, MIN, NE, PIT and TB all could possibly deal; the other 9 aren’t in the mood.

{HOUSE RULE: If every team has a day off—deals can only occur between teams ready to deal. If off-days are staggered, deals with “active” teams are possible, but subject to a +1 column shift.}

Lets start with ATL. The Scout feels C, 1B and RF are the key positions to upgrade. The offense is on the low end of average (needing improvements in power and patience) with the pitching on the high end of average (needing improvement in control). Curry has no special affinity for any of any of his ML hitters (though 2B Kelvin Chapman is close, if he had more speed or a better glove), but is protective of P’s Jerry Lane, Ron Klimkowski, and Brian Holman at the ML level.

I go to the player trade and see if any player/pitcher meets GM Curry’s ideal. There is one position player and several P’s that meet the criteria. It is MIN LF Ozzie Timmons, not a “need” position, but Curry likes this kind of player. And, MIN has an abundance of 1B—a need for ATL, while MIN also is thin on the INF—something the Chiefs have extra of after the trade for Torey Luvullo. I go to the trade screen and set Offering Team to ATL and Receiving Team to MIN. I click on Receiving Team Involved Players and add Ozzie Timmons. The dialogue box saying “ATL Players that would make the deal work:” has in the initial view has 10 P . . . and 1 2B. 2B is listed as a need for MIN—we have something cooking. Looking at players who can make money work—ATL will offer 2B Kelvin Chapman and 3B Mickey Klutts for LF Ozzie Timmons, 1B Bob Beall and A P Dilson Torres. (Each team can make one offer, so MIN can deal with one team of their choosing and anyone who chooses to deal with them). No roll yet, we have to see what the other proposed deals are first.

And so on thru the teams:

CAL offers P Julio Navarro and AAA P Ray Jarvis to FL for C Tim Hosley and AAA SS Billy DeMars.

FL offers LF Steve Pegues and CF Carlos Bernier to TB for AA P Bill Kunkel and 3B Gus Gil.

MIN offers 1B Paul Campbell, AA P Red Webb and to PIT for P Tom McCarthy, SS Mick Kelleher, AAA P Bruce Von Hoff, and A SS Amado Samuel.

NE offers 2B Jerry DaVanon for MIN P Jerry Ujdur, LF Ozzie Timmons, AA P Monty Montgomery, A P Dilson Torres and A P Thornton Kipper.

PIT offers P Jim Otten, P Mauro Gozzo, A SS Amado Samuel and A P George Tsamis to CAL for P Julio Navarro and 1B Dan Masteller

TB offers SS Rod Booker and AAA CF Herb Adams to PIT for AA P Al Raffo and A UTL Monty Farriss.

All of these deals were put together by the GM ratings, Scout appraisal of “weaknesses” and player ratings. Players were added to make the money work out as well. This is the most time-consuming part of running my GMS—setting up the trades. But, I’ll gladly trade the time investment for a better understanding of the whole of my league.

Obviously, not all of these deals can work since players show up in different deals. We don’t know if these deals will go through at all. So we have our next set of rolls.

Team	GM	Aggressiveness	Respond	Propose	Spend	Pitch	Hit	AAA	AA	A	Special
ATL	Arthur Curry	11[13]	8	5	4	7	8	8	7	6	
CAL	Oswald Cobblepot10	9	6	9	3	2	5	5	4	+1 on trade if propose is greater than respond; Drawback: when another GM job opens, must roll 2d10 to see if he stays or leaves
FL	Edward Blake	10	7	7	7	5	4	4	4	5	+1 on trade if propose is greater than respond; Drawback: will NEVER pursue player who leaves as FA
MIN	Eric Strauss	14	10	10	4	7	4	10	10	10	
NE	Mark Shaw	12	7	6	6	8	4	5	6	7	+1 on trade if propose is greater than respond
PIT	Scott Free	15	10	6	5	11	4	6	8	10	
TB	Joseph Wilson	10	6	7	5	6	3	6	6	5	+1 on trade if propose is greater than respond; Advantage: gains +1 on all GM's under Ave. Aggressiveness
		        11	7	6	6	7	5	6	6	6

The Acting Value (proposal) is figured by adding Offering teams Aggressiveness, Proposal, Hitter/pitcher rating (I use which ever one would correspond to the highest paid player received), Spend (the team taking on the most salary/value uses their own spend rating, the team taking on less salary uses the LgAveSpend) and any minor league rating necessary (only use if receiving prospect, only one team receives minor leaguers, use LgAve for that level). The Opposing Value is the same except you use the respond rating.

ATL Aggr. + Propose + Hitter + Spending + A = 36
MIN Aggr. . + Respond + Hitter + LgAveSpend + LgAveA = 40 need roll of 14 for trade to go thru, rolled an 18.

Since this deal contains two players involved in another possible deal (Ozzie Timmons and Dilson Torres of MIN), I can’t finish it yet. If the other deal falls through, then no problem, but if it goes through too, then we need another step.


CAL Aggr. + Propose + Hitter + LgAveSpend + AAA = 32 (no column shift)
FL Aggr. + Respond + Pitcher + Spend + AAA = 33 need roll of 11, rolled 17

Again AAA SS Billy DeMars could be in multiple deals, can’t conclude yet, as is P Julio Navarro.


FL Aggr. + Propose + Pitcher + Spend + AA = 29 (1 column shift)
TB Aggr. + Respond + Hitter + LgAveSpend + LgAveAA = 31 Needed 11 (with shift), rolled 10—deal doesn’t happen

And the CAL/FL deal goes though, but only if the PIT/CAL doesn’t.


MIN Aggr. + Propose + Pitcher + LgAveSpend + AAA + LgAveAA + A = 60
PIT Aggr. + Respond + Hitter + Spend + LgAveAAA + AA + LgAveA = 59 Needed 11, rolled 14

A SS Amando Samuel is possibly in multiple deals, can’t conclude yet.


NE Aggr. + Propose + Pitcher + LgAveSpend + AA + A = 45 no shift
MIN Aggr. + Respond + Hitter + Spend + LgAveAA + LgAveA = 40 Needed 9 rolled, 15

Both deals involving Timmons are possible. Since MIN is the respondent in both deals, so there will be rerolls until one fails and one concludes or both fail. And both fail on the reroll, getting an 8 & 7. So MIN was up for 3 trades and none of them worked out.


PIT Aggr. + Propose + Pitcher + LgAveSpend + LgAveA = 44
CAL Aggr. + Respond + Pitcher + Spend + A = 35 Need 7 rolled, 15

Both deals with Amado Samuel are possible. However this one takes priority, since PIT is the team initiating this deal and was the respondent in the other deal. But then, Julio Navarro of CAL is possible multiple deals, and the same rules apply: CAL is the initiator in the CAL/FL deal and that goes through. This transaction doesn’t happen and the neither does MIN/PIT deal.


TB Since the dice roll for this transaction was 2, the deal automatically fails.
PIT

So: of 16 teams, 7 wanted to seek a trade. 1 actually went through. A lot of work for 1 trade, but I’m learning more and more about each teams and GM setting over the season. And since my adjustments are pretty much done (I hope) I become much more familiar with the formulas too.

So that is how trading is handled with my GMS. Next post (yes there is one more, sorry) will concern more day-to-day roster managing. Until then kids.

[seth70liz76]

GM Schedule—“You gotta pick up the little pieces every day”

For every team, you need to determine if anyone is going to be sent down or called up. Now for minor league promotions and demotions, I wait for an e-mail. Now the reason for this is I could use the scout comments, but with several ill-advised expansions in the next couple years I need as many players at least working on their skills somewhat in the minors. I have a house rule that minor league clubs can have a maximum of 11 pitchers and 14 position players. So if everyone who the scout in the minor league reports is ready for promotion is promoted—the minors could lose at least 1/3 of the players. E-mails are less frequent, therefore fit my model better. I do a dice roll {Aggr. + Scout + (minor league level promoted to) = AV; LgAve of those added = OV, column shift if player is GM “ideal”}

I do check the minor report to see if anyone is ready for the ML roster. A dice roll is done to see if he’s called up {Aggr. + Scout + (Hitter or Pitcher) = AV; LgAve of those added = OV, column shift if player is GM “ideal”}

I also check to see if anyone is deserving of a demotion. Players making 4x the minimum or less can be sent to AAA (if they don’t refuse assignment). There are a couple statistical checks—measured against the team, not league totals, so as to have park effects accounted for. If the player fails they could be sent down—and there are several opportunities to make column shifts making it easier or harder to demote, and then a dice roll. Even if everyone is “saved” from demotion, if a recommended call up passes, someone must get demoted. I generally keep rerolling until the prospective demotions whittle down to one.

I do all this for the team I game manage, but I don’t really have a choice. Since all the other clubs make there decisions based on dice rolls, I have to be able to “speak” that language too. And frankly, I can’t speak dice all that well. By running the GMS for my club, I’ve basically eliminated my ability to cheat the game—as long as I use the system constantly.

If you want to develop a GMS—do it, I think it is worth the effort. It takes extra time and effort, but for a smaller league I think it is fine. Anything-over 16 and I can see off-days lasting 2 weeks or more (what I’ll have to deal with the next two seasons—ugh). A couple things to remember and think about:

1) Its ok to change the GMS if it’s not “working” they way you want it too. That’s why when I was working with OOTP3 and this, I’d take notes on each days transactions, to track if things were happening with the frequency and logic I felt was right. Running an 8-team dummy league for a short season will give you an idea if the “accounting” and pace are for you—as well as work out kinks in the GMS.

2) Accept that sometimes things that make no sense could happen. But if you keep your house rules and GMS in written form—you reduce the chance of odd things happening because of inconsistent enforcement of your rules.

3) Be ready to move at a slow pace. Under ideal conditions I could do 3 seasons in a year—while in reality I might not finish two.

But on the other hand, I know a lot about both leagues. I see the weaknesses and strengths in each team, and not just at the ML level. If you are really into the details and don’t trust the AI GM to work the way YOU think it should—create your own old-school AI—some dice and paper. This is how mine turned out. It may not be way you think it should work, but that’s ok—we’re all looking something different in a baseball game.

And that’s why OOTP is a great game—I imagine no one really runs solo leagues the same as anyone else. This is how I play it. How do you play it?

[seth70liz76]

06/02/1979

Cleveland's Toth wins Player of the Week award
The Contential Player of the Week award goes to Paul Toth, one of Cleveland's best starting pitchers. Paul went 1-0 with an ERA of 0.50, while fanning 4 in 18 innings of work. He hurled a shutout as well. The North American Player of the Week award goes to Jim Baxes, Memphis' starting second baseman. Baxes helped his team with an average of .480 and 13 RBI in 25 at bats. Jim managed to drive in at least one run in every game he played this week.

ATL—After just two days, 1B George Vico is promote as GM Arthur Curry decides Vico’s sins of poor hitting is more forgivable than CF Sil Campusano’s poor defense. [Editors Note: Since we had an off-day 3 game days ago, and another in 2—and I had all the writing on the GMS this weekend-these write ups are going to be brief.) Pitching staff is the same, moving Lovullo to 3B instead of SS makes the most sense if you aren’t going to play him at 2B.

[seth70liz76]

06/02/1979—cont’d

CAL—What is with the SoCal teams and carrying 3 C and 3 1B? UTL Leo Burke is sent to AAA for newly acquired C Tim Hosley—I think his walks and HR will be more valuable than Dwight Lowry’s endless parade of singles. Huck Flener is recalled to take the place of trade Julio Navarro—a steep price to pay for Hosley’s power, but the rest of the pitching should step up in his place. Flener moves Bobo Holloman to the pen. Hosley starts at C; Dave Cochrane gets a shot in LF. I don’t like Cliff Aberson losing AB’s, but I do like getting his glove off the field. One of the 1B needs to go. I don’t think they are done dealing.

[seth70liz76]

06/02/1979—cont’d

CIN—Released AA P Tom Borland. No changes to the pitching staff, but 3B Glenn Gulliver—is there such a thing as a natural born walker? —And backup C Orlando McFarlane are shipped to AAA. C Hank Camelli, who was up briefly at the start of the season, and possible HR source Curt Motton are called up. Motton, if he sticks, could be my leagues Rob Deer! I’m very excited about that. The scout wanted to bring back Agganis, but Luthor thinks he needs more time in the cooler, as it were.

[seth70liz76]

06/02/1979—cont’d

CLE—Pitching stands. GM Adrian Veidt sends down INF Johnny Goryl, C Marv Foley and OF Pete Laydon. And overrules his scout Maurice Cyphers and leaves super-stud C Dan Graham at AAA. Instead, Veidt recalls 3 players who already have time with the big club: Dave Rosello, Jim Mahoney and Jim Tyrone. Other than Rosello taking over the SS job, nothing else changes for the Force.

DET—Some pitching changes not based on injuries. George Cappuzzello and Ed Bauta, both who have good superficial numbers, but just let too many men on base. Larry Bradford, who can find his way back and forth from AAA to DET blindfolded now, and Scout recommendation George Estock—who has questionable control, are called up. Since Lenn Sakata is going to be healthy tomorrow, I’m going to wait until tomorrow to adjust the line up.

[seth70liz76]

06/02/1979—cont’d

FL—The trade with the Surf leads to some roster shuffling. Overmatched 2B Bob Sheldon (no EXBH in 66 AB) and fairly impressive INF Kelly Paris are sent to AAA for UTL Rick Parker, CF Carlos Bernier and C Chuck Brinkman. Each of the call-ups had spent time on the Striker roster. P Doug Piatt is sent down for newly acquired Julio Navarro. Ray Jarvis is assigned to AA. No real changes in the staff roles; Navarro is now the No. 1 setup man. Mel Roach is back to playing too much 2B, but I shudder to think how good this offense would be if they could find a SS that could hit.

HOU—They keep trying, but nothing is changing. This time HOU does at least address the pitching problems by sending out Frank Biscan and Karl Spooner and recalling Mike Draper (for the first time) and previous failure Jack DiLauro. The slumping offense is saved from shake up today. I was wrong about Curt Motton—Joe Ostrowski IS my Rob Deer:

Batting  G  AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K AVG OBP SLG IOB TAVG ISO 
  	50 175 31  3  1  6  23 22 29 36 177 294 309 426  553 131 
April   24  94 20  1  1  5  18 15 14 18 213 315 404 506 
May     25  77 10  2  0  1   5  7 15 17 130 272 195 337

And he’s still batting clean up. Says more about the state of the Summit than about his abilities.