Manhattan Mothmen

[peterbernard209]

Eliminated by a team with a .531 winning percentage during the season, a wild card team.

Whatever.

What a bummer.

Wonder if I'll be in gold or diamond tomorrow.

[peterbernard209]

Ha my third trip to the Diamond League opens much as the last two-- with me getting unmercifully beaten into the ground.

Wood got beaten in the first game badly and has an ERA over 7. Half the staff got trashed in game 2, so that Haddix's ERA is 13.50, Keuchel is 32.40 and Zach Wheeler is 11.57.

Carew has already started to hit, which is promising. I sent Reggie Jackson to the reserves and want to go the first month with Lefty O'Doul DHing vs righties and Juan Gonzalez vs. lefties. I have Enos Slaughter backing up at DH and left field and pinch hitting. I think the hitting will be okay, I'm more worried about the pitching. Although we start on the road, so maybe these guys will pitch better at home. I have 7000 pp so I can get other pitchers but I don't want to jump the gun. Wood and Haddix are both flyball pitchers. Their ballpark doesn't seem that small, but we have a larger pitcher's park. Still, maybe two flyball junk pitchers in a row won't work in the Diamond League. Maybe move one to the bullpen.

ARGUMENT AGAINST THAT-- Keuchel also got lit up and he's an extreme groundball pitcher.

I'll check back later in the day to see if the pitchers have calmed down or if I should make wholesale changes. Give them a week or two to either fail or turn it around.

[peterbernard209]

I went to bed with the team a game over .500. I wake up to see they are freaking 4 games under .500 now!!!!!!!!!

I tried Kyle Wright out as a starter and in two starts he went 8 innings and has an ERA of 10. Patrick Corbin's ERA is almost 9. Ottavino is at 7.20 and Knebel is at 9.00.

On the hitting side, we were #1 in average when I went to sleep and 5th now. These are precipitous drops in a very short time.

Hank Aaron is back in the lineup. He had started the year hitting under .200 so I gave him 14 days off and experimented. The outfielders are all doing well other than Aaron, so I've worked 5 into the lineup--
Lefty O'Doul is DHing against righties: .325/4/12
Enos Slaughter is in left: .361/3/14
I'm moving Bryce Harper to center which is not optimal. He and Juan Gonzalez who is DHing against lefties are both hitting .250. I'm putting Aaron back in right to see if he can hit like he's capable of.

The only weaknesses I can see in the lineup are at 2b and SS where I've tried a few people and nobody is sticking. Currently Ozzie Smith is hitting under .200 at short and Scott Kingery hasn't provided much at 2B. I can bring Cano back iup if I want but he really stunk up the place in the beginning of the year. I'd like to give Kingery more time but also want to get Cano back in the lineup. Kingery hasn't played SS. I'm sure he could do it in real life but the game might not agree with me. Royce Lewis can come back in 2 days, maybe I'll leave Ozzie in for 2 more games then be patient with Lewis. He's only hitting .214 but maybe he can get better.

[peterbernard209]

I've got Dierker, Raschi and Alex Wood all listed as hot but we've been getting trounced every game. Our starters and relievers are both listed as 15th and we're 4 games under .500, 8 games out.

I'm not sure what else to do, so I'm going to stop looking for a while.

[peterbernard209]

Well we are in dead last place, 6 games under .500. We absolutely can't win a game but there are a lot of good players losing these games. One of our pitchers threw a 6 hit 9 inning shutout so we won that one, but if we give up one run, we lose. I always thought in real life that kind of play wore pitchers out mentally until they gave up a lot of runs a game and could no longer compete. I'm seeing the same scenario unfolding with baseball cards now though, so maybe there is some statistical or random chance reason for these developments and maybe they aren't as based on the personalities of the payers as I had thought.

I am really not sure who to sell off or who to buy. Bryce Harper has been terrible and has one home run even though we're beginning June. I have him in center, which lowers my defensive efficiency, so it seems time to send him down and replace him. I'd rather not sell him because he's good on nearly every other team, and he might go back to being good for me next season. But I need a good fielding center fielder who can hit. We have very few home runs so maybe I want a power hitter, but I definitely need a good fielding center fielder.

I only currently have around 4000 pp to spend but I can sell off some of these guys who are stinking. I don't think I have ANY diamond players left, none of them ever play well for me.

PHIL NIEKRO is one I should sell. I spent a lot on him and he's good on other teams but he's 0-2 with an 8.59 ERA. In fact, let me put him up for auction this morning. I've gotten better results from silver pitchers than gold, weirdly enough. The silver Dock Ellis (70) has been good as a setup man!

Lefty O'Doul and Rod Carew have almost identical lines right now-- .358 to .350, 22 RBI to 24, and they both have 6 homers. I've gone through so many middle infielders I can't even count but right now it's Andrelton Simmons and Javier Baez, both doing okay but not great. Wilson Ramos is hitting .300, Enos Slaughter is at .277. There are no overt disasters except I guess Harper, but MAN are we losing badly. I guess after I solve centerfield, I have to figure out how to get better results from our pitching. Really at a loss in that department. I hope to find time to study the pitching staffs of successful teams to see what they're doing that I'm not doing.

[peterbernard209]

OK I changed my mind and decided Len Barker will put the team on his back so I paid above average price for him. Not the most anyone has ever paid for him, but more than the average on the card. Now I'm broke again, and we'll see if Barker starts losing 1-0 and 4-3 games like the other starters.

Phil Niekro is on sale if any of you think he'll pitch better for you. I'm selling for slightly less than the average value on the card back. Haha are we allowed to mention when we're selling players or is that like advertising? Well, I'm losing money on Phil Niekro either way.

Oh-- and I'm trying Kenny Lofton out in center. I dumped Bryce Harper for the season. Maybe I'll try him again next season-- he and JD Martinez are the two most consistent medium or lower priced sluggers that I've noticed, but he just wasn't cutting it for us this season. Since I wasn't getting home runs from center anyway, I'm hoping Lofton can get on base and also bring our defensive efficiency up. He's got an 84 in center with a 110 arm, plus he's 94 speed. He's not nearly as outstanding on the hitting side, but his contact, eye and avoid K's are all in the green, so it's not impossible he could be a decent on-base and speed kind of guy with superior defense. More likely in Diamond level, he'll just hit .098 and I'll be looking for another center fielder to try out. I can't afford Trout, but he's the kind of guy I would like. I was thinking of going with Jim Edmonds again but I want to see what Lofton does. I may as well use this season to experiment. If one of my experiments succeeds, maybe we can finish the season above .500 and get to try again next time. My goal is basically to try to get out of last place. If I can do that, then the goal is to play .500 ball.

[peterbernard209]

We've got Barker, Dierker and Raschi all listed as HOT at the same time. We have two guys in the top 8 for both average and on-base. Vic Raschi has the best K/BB ratio in the league at 9.9.

So why are we in last place, deeper than ever before, 7 games below .500?

The amazing thing is we're still only 8 games out, and IN THEORY we definitely could make a run in the 2nd half, it's just that I've run out of ideas. If putting the best players I can afford on the field AND HAVING THEM SUCCEED still leads to dead last place, I don't know what else to try.

We keep losing 3-2. We keep having our pitchers called player of the game while we lose CONSTANTLY.

Take the most recent game, for example. Dierker comes out and gives up 2 runs on 6 hits in 8 innings. We lose 3-2. Player of the game: Larry Dierker. This is our entire season so far wrapped up in one game.

I was quoted in one of the "news" reports of one of our losses, and it had me saying something about how if anyone can figure out this game, they should let me know. That's pretty much how I feel. Utterly hopeless. Just depressed about this. Blecchh

[peterbernard209]

Whatever happened to the tournaments???????????? I guess they canceled them?

[peterbernard209]

You know this morning we're a game under .500 but only a game and a half out of first place (!!??!!)

What a crazy division. I think I had 100 pp when I went to sleep and somehow we have 1440 this morning.

Yesterday I did a crazy thing, since nothing logical I had been doing worked. I bought a pack of cards and decided I would use a card from the pack no matter what. It was a terrible pack and the best card was 61 Steve Bedrosian. I DEMOTED SEAN DOOLITTLE and stuck Bedrosian in there. I made Yadier Alvarez the closer. The two have pitched over 12 innings, Alvarez has 2 saves, and they both still have a 0.00 ERA. I'm sure it won't last long, but it demonstrates that logic is irrelevant once you get to the Diamond League. Rolling dice will get you the same or better results as thinking things out.

Crazy.

[peterbernard209]

We are one game over .500 and 1/2 game out of first. I just saw this and felt I had to write it down because probably the next time I check, we'll be 7 games under again haha. But I'm enjoying my 15 minutes in the over- .500 sun.

Oh and BTW to go over .500, Len Barker beat de Grom. Cimber and Alvarez still have 0 ERAs.

[peterbernard209]

Well we are up in first place by 2 games and we are currently the only team in our division over .500. We are 69-66, and the distance between us and the last place team is only five games!!! So it's still anybody's division, literally any of the 6 teams are in a good place to win the division. How crazy is that?

So I could stay in first or I could be back in last within 2 hours or less. Just crazy, but I'm enjoying being in first, in case it doesn't last long.

[peterbernard209]

Oh well, we finished above .500 and missed the postseason by one game, with everything going down to the last day of the season.

Too bad. But still, our best season in Diamond League. I have no idea if we go to Perfect but I'm pretty sure we'll stink there haha. It's okay with me either way. If we get to Perfect, I'll just try to understand it the way I've been trying to understand Diamond. But I'm going to have low expectations right off the bat.

I simply am not going to have 100 cards playing for me. If I ever get a 100 card it will be an absolute fluke. So I'm really uninterested in Perfect League and think I might take time off of the game. I would have been doing the tournaments by now but they don't exist and are never talked about any more.

So it's been fun, but without the tournaments, I'm not sure how much time I'll be spending on Perfect Team any more. Without the tournaments I wouldn't get the next version of the game either.

But it really has been fun and I have nothing but thanks for the developers here, I think you guys are geniuses.

[peterbernard209]

Hey this team is doing okay. Over .500. 2 and a half games out, in decent position to make a run in the second half. We're first on On-Base, 2nd in Starter ERA, Batting Average and Home Runs. But we're 12th in reliever ERA so I will try to find time to look into the bullpen today or tonight.

I haven't got much time for the game this week. Oh I did one thing, I got Larry Doby for center. All of the great fielding speedsters I tried (Kenny Lofton, etc.) couldn't hit well enough even for the 9 hole so I finally broke down and got Doby. He's got 3 HRs and 11 RBI in his first 12 games, so I'm glad I made the move. I wish there were a Ricky Henderson card with him in center that had better fielding. I have the one but his hitting on that isn't as good as the real Ricky. There's a gold Ricky but he's a left fielder in that one. The Micky Mantle cards are worthless to me because they have him as a slow runner. Actually, the young Mantle was the fastest running to first from home when he batted lefty. Then he injured his legs and that was over, but the 1952 Mantle should be as fast as a Ricky Henderson card. The Yankees didn't steal often back then because it was viewed as throwing away potential RBI's if they got caught. I remember Phil Rizzuto saying he wasn't allowed to steal if DiMaggio was at bat. So looking at steal totals will not tell you the speed of the players from that era, especially not on a home run hitting team like the Yankees. If they put out a REAL young Micky card, it would have lightning speed, good base running ability, very low steal ratings. So you play the strategy as very aggressive on the basepaths, lots of hit and runs, occasional bunting for a hit, but almost never stealing. I would love to have THAT guy playing center. He can hit 30 homers but he can also stretch a single into a double or a double into a triple. His range in center should be wider I would think as well. This is more of a Duke Snider card than a Micky Mantle card. Also, Aaron Judge is too slow-- the same exact deal. And Derek Jeter and Joe DiMaggio were MUCH faster than on these cards. Have you ever seen film of DiMaggio rounding second? Oh man, it's a thing of beauty, and the same for Jeter. But neither of them were going to steal bases unless the team really needed a guy on second in a crucial moment.

[peterbernard209]

I got Aaron Nola and Mariano Rivera to shore up my bullpen. I put Nola in place and checked the game later to find he had been deactivated with nobody replacing him. I activated him and put him back in the bullpen and added Rivera. I made them both stoppers or setup for Doolittle or something. Then I checked back later, and Rivera's card had been deactivated. I had to go reactivate him and put him back in the biullpen. It's been like this for about a week. I never know if the team has all it's players or if the game has deactivated them.

So Nola got his first save. Wilbur Wood, who won the game and was named player of the game, is listed as COLD by the game. Whatever.

I hope RIvera is in the game, but we'll see what the game decides.

Nola is stopper-- 7th and close. Rivera and Tony Watson are setup. Doolittle is closer. I hope the game can decide based on who is least tired who to use in each game.

[peterbernard209]

Looks like we're #1 in runs, batting average and on base, 3rd in starters ERA, but we've fallen out of first thanks to the Media Magnates beating us in two series. I don't even know if we're in the wild card now. But a good September is all that matters to any of the teams in the race.

Reggie Jackson has 26 home runs and 25 steals!!!!! He could have a 30-30 season!

Carew started slow at first so I put Votto in there, who held strong for a while. When Votto's on base started dropping, I put Carew back and he's been getting better. If they are both giving roughly the same defense, and .380 on base, then I'd rather have Carew in there because he's faster on the bases.

Our bullpen is 11th, but it used to be 15th. Nobody's really doing badly in an outstanding way, I'm not sure who to move. Maybe I have then performing the wrong roles. If everyone is having a good season then it must be the manager's fault if the team is losing.

We've had a tough time getting production in center field so I eventually got rid of Larry Doby and put Kevin McReynolds back in. His on base isn't even .300 but I wasn't getting much more from anyone else, and his defense brings our defensive efficiency up to 7th. Andrelton Simmons is our WAR leader with 4.4. Reggie, Machado and Dierker are tied for a distant second with 3.1.

[peterbernard209]

I'm trying to understand why we aren't winning more games when we have good players playing well. I think possibly we might be losing because -- and this sounds counterintuitive-- because we have starting pitchers who go so deep into the games. Dierker is 12-12, Raschi is 7-7. They're only winning half the games in spite of being so good. We have the 3rd best starters ERA. Maybe I should be putting strong pitchers with lesser endurance, like 50-80 endurance-- in the starters roles, and putting some of these guys like Raschi and Dierker in the bullpen. I'm not sure if that's crazy talk or if it makes sense, as I'm not sure what numbers I would need to support or argue against the idea. I guess I would need to know the ERA of these starters in each inning. If their ERA goes up as the game progresses, then it might make more sense to use everyone fewer innings at a time.

Then there are exceptions, like Len Barker who is 15-7 with a 2.94 ERA. Each of these guys in my rotation are having that kind of year for some team somewhere-- they're all capable of that kind of season. I guess it's important in Perfect Team to sense early which guys are having what kind of season and put them in the position in which they can contribute best.

Oh I completely revamped my catching again, with Thurman Munson (91 defense) and Tony Pena Sr (138 defense-- 138!!!) taking over. In center, I am taking a chance on Lance Johnson with his 83 centerfield defense. 89 speed and 103 rated arm. We have to play well to get into the postseason, so I want the defense tightened.

[peterbernard209]

Well we made it to the wild card game. The team we're playing we just played 6 times in the last month and split the series. Mainly between us there are blowouts. So I have no prediction as to who might win or lose this game. I will bet that it will be decided in the later innings by the bullpens though.

[peterbernard209]

I foolishly pitched a diamond card in our most important game of the year. Nola gave up 7 earned runs in 2.2 innings. Thanks Nola. I want to do the George Steinbrenner spite move and sell him before tomorrow. Actually, I could get more for him than most of my other players, so maybe I will sell him. I could get four great old timer silver and gold pitchers for one diamond pitcher. Diamond players tend to suck IMHO. Perfect 100 plyers look like they play well but I can't afford those.

Our MVP of our post season (one game) was Thurman Munson, who went 3 for 4. I'm going to give him first crack at starting catcher tomorrow. I haven't had a catcher hit really well yet, and Munson got hot at the end of this season for us. He was hitting .400 for over a week. His fielding is very good and if I have a great fielding backup, he might hit .280 - .310 with 10 or 15 homers if he gets off to a good start.

I want to start the season experimenting with a 4 man old timer rotation like described in the youtube videos about Perfect Team. I have a feeling it won't work out for a whole season but might work in April. I like being able to carry an extra hitter or backup fielder.

I really think that if I ever have a winning season in Diamond league or above that it will be largely luck and pieces falling into place at the right moment. So maybe I just need more skills or insight before I can come close to mastering this. Or maybe luck really is a large part of it. I do believe a team of mostly silver and gold can beat a perfect team because baseball is naturally so much closer to parity than most other games/sports. Also, silver pitchers are better than diamond in this game. At least for me!!!

[peterbernard209]

Let's see-- 45 wins, 39 losses. I had to make a lot of changes and it seems some of them have been lucky so far.

Jim Edmonds couldn't hit .200 for me in his first 70 or 80 at bats so I sold him and put out backup outfielder in center, who is Lorenzo Cain. I got sick of seeing him play so well for other teams that I gave up and put him there myself. None of the better fielding players hit and Jim Edmonds didn't either, so now Lo Cain is hitting over .300. Not the most original solution but he plays well in this game. We are 1st in runs scored, 1st in batting average, 2nd in on-base and stolen bases, 3rd in bullpen ERA which is a VAST improvement, and 5th in starter ERA. How we went up to 4th in defense when I put in better hitters I'll never know. Victor Martinez is hitting .335 at catcher. I dropped JD Martinez for a rare off season of light hitting, and brought up Enos Slaughter to DH instead. He's hitting .299/.345 with 5 HR in 164 AB. I did some maneuvering to bring up Graig Nettles as defensive backup for Machado at 3rd. He's almost hitting .300 with an on base almost .400 and I'm sure his fielding is bringing up our efficiency. Juan Marichal, Tony Watson, Sean Doolittle and Mariano Rivera have been starring in the bullpen. Mike Witt got beat up so I just inserted Ross Stripling as middle relief to see how he does for 14 simulated days. Dallas Keuchel has an ERA in the 4's but I like having a leffty groundball pitcher who can do long relief or spot starts. I see him sometimes starring as a starter so maybe I should move him to starting like Lorenzo Cain.

We'll see how it goes today.

[peterbernard209]

It's a good thing I wrote this down because I just went in and found we'd been playing 2 pitchers short. ONCE AGAIN the game took two of my players and deactivated them as soon as I was offline. It's really a ridiculous glitch by now. I literally got offline, went back into the game and checked to see that the players were still there. Then I check back in the afternoon and the players have been missing and the team playing short. Just crazy.

EDIT
Even playing short, we are in first barely.

Our second baseman Scott Kingery just won MVP of the All Star Game! We get 400 pp