Tournament of Champions: Promotion, Relegation, and Forced Relocation

[StLee]

[StLee]

[StLee]

And so my journey as the GM of the New Mexico Suns began. I have not figured out how exactly I will present my time as a GM. I believe I will tell mostly about the moves I am making to help the team improve, while giving some of the goings on around the league as they happen. However, I won't be too involved. In the end, I like God Mode much better than Micro Mode.

For the offseason, I had a few roster decisions to make. A few players on the active roster were eligible for arbitration, so I assessed their skills and whether or not I wanted to keep them or let them move on. To me, it was important to free up some salary to try to improve what I felt was the team's biggest weakness: pitching.

Our free agents and arbitration-eligible players:

3B Miguel Cabrera – free agent

Was not going to let him get to smell the market. The first thing I did after signing my contract with the Suns was to get Cabrera’s agent on the phone. His desire was to sign a 1-year extension and either go to arbitration or negotiate a long-term deal. To me, the long-term deal sounded the best. I mean, Cabrera is without a doubt one of the best in the game, so I was happy to hear he was willing to play long-term in Albuquerque.

C George Kottaras – free agent

Had career lows in several offensive categories, but I’m convinced he had an off year. Therefore, I’m giving him a year. Signed a 1-year extension with arbitration eligibility the following season.

1B Andres Rivera – free agent

Was not very good and indicated that he was not interested in looking elsewhere. I informed him I had other plans for the first base position, and he announced his retirement after other teams showed little interest.

SP Sergio Ramos - arbitration eligible

Ramos was acquired via trade for the 2013 season for OFs Alex Presley and Francisco Puguero , but he stunk it up for us when he wasn’t on the DL. In eight starts, he had a 7.02 ERA and just seemed like he was an injury waiting to happen. Thus, I let him walk.

MRs Chad Cordero and Hideki Okajima – arbitration eligible

Terrible. No arbitration offered. Let them walk.

MR Michael Kirkman – arbitration eligible

The Suns had no true closer for the 2013 season, so Kirkman filled in and did an OK job, earning 20 saves despite a pretty high 4.77 ERA in 58 appearances. Still, I thought he was someone who could help our team more than some of the other players, so I offered him arbitration.

MR Mike MacDougal – arbitration eligible

I was interested in maintaining MacDougal’s services, but I did not like the arbitration-projected numbers, so I withdrew the offer and let him walk. However, I let him know that I would still consider him in free agency if he was interested at all in returning to New Mexico. He said he would be.

RF – Daniel Ortmeier – arbitration eligible

A decent outfielder who did not have a lot of pop, but could be a valuable asset for depth without having to comb the free agency market looking for a player similar. Offered arbitration and was a little disappointed he won his arbitration case. I may have let him walk if I had known he might win it.

These players were in conjunction with some other solid players I had coming back.
For pitchers, John Danks and Travis Wood were the shining lights in the filth most of the pitching staff had been. Late-season acquisition Brett Myers also gave me some promise for the starting rotation. On the bench, Drake Britton was the only pitcher that gave me any hope. I was also hoping that John Axford could claim the closer role, but I didn’t have a lot of hope.

The true strength of the team was on offense. In addition to Cabrera, outstanding young players Wil Myers and reigning top rookie Christian Yelich gave me a lot of hope that the future was brighter than the New Mexican sun. I could also mention 2B Neil Walker, SS Tyler Magee, CF Kirk Nieuwenheis, and reserve first baseman Justin Smoak as some other solid players to help get my offense going. In all, I was not very worried about the offense.

[StLee]

With my team in place in its current form and arbitration behind us, I started pressing down on my targets. Without going into a lot of details about the failures, here are the people I had high on my list based on their demands and my needs. My main focus was to build depth in the bullpen, try to find a decent starter, and fill in some needs at 1B, C, and OF.

I had $9.869M available to me for signing these free agents:

SP Li-Ben Chen, 1 year, $2.5M

My most expensive free agent because the veteran would not accept a cent less. I knew he was 40 years old, but he was someone I felt could step in as my third or fourth pitcher and at least hold the fort. Youth would have been money better spent, but there were no young pitchers within my budgetary limits, so I made Chen a Sun.

1B Jose Alaniz, 2 years, $1.6M/year

For posterity sake, hit .303 with 19 home runs and 78 RBI (.387 OBP, .460 slug) for KC in 2012. Offered a definite upgrade over Rivera as my usual starter.

MR Aaron Laffey, 1 year, $598,400
He was looking to improve the competition he faced from his time in the Omega League with Pittsburgh, so I felt I got a bargain at just over half a mill.

MR Pat Neshek, 3 years, $850,000 per year
The longest deal I offered. Neshek was coming off a really good year in Miami, though it is probably pretty easy to have a decent year there. The Towers are freakin' good. Anyway, I felt that Neshek could be my top reliever, so I offered him a three-year deal, and he jumped on it.

LF/C Evan Gattis, 2 years, $975,000 per year
Gattis is one of those dynamic players GMs love to have. My intention in signing him was to make him the starter at catcher and move Kottaras to backup. If my minor league prospect Chen would blast his way into playing time, then I could move Gattis into the outfield without a problem. Regardless, Gattis was a must-get for me for depth purposes.

SP C. Kluber – minor league contract
Former fifth overall pick by the Denver Peaks was there for the taking. I'm not sure if he'll ever "get" it but he has a load of potential talent. Depending where we are in the race, I may try to give him a few late-season shots to see if he can be anything for me in the future.


Draft:
Round 1, Pick 8 – SP Tex Etheridge, Missouri State University, 19 y.o.
Tops out at 96 on the gun. Strong FB and cutter, but needs to work a lot on his changeup before he gets a big league shot. Right now he has good movement, but needs to develop more on his placement to avoid giving up a lot of big hits.

Round 2, Pick 8 – CF Brandon Kirkpatrick, Sioux City HS, 19 y.o.
Drafted him for SPEED. Don't know if he can ever be a great producer on offense, but if he can get on base, he can steal a base or two. Also, great range in the OF gives him a chance to be an everyday player in the future.

Round 3, Pick 8 – SS Cal Ackland, Augusta Chrsitian (GA) HS, 18 y.o.
Defensive gem. Will have to bat eighth in the lineup if he ever makes it to the bigs, but great arm and glove in the infield means he will be a great defensive shortstop for years to come. Pretty good plate discipline could put him in position for good K/BB ratio.

Round 4, Pick 8 – SP Richard Skidmore, Dixie State University, 20 y.o.
Definite project. Not a strong arm, in fact, doesn't make the hard throw. Instead, depends on an array of off speed and moving pitches. Needs to make some huge leaps in improvement to sniff the majors.

Round 5, Pick 8 – 3B Ethan Riley, NY Tech University, 19 y.o.
Another project. May get some early playing time, though, just to see if he has it. Needs to improve his offense, but I can see that happening if he just starts to love the game. Solid defensive player at the hot corner, so he can be an asset there. Wait and see for me, but worth the pick in the fifth round.

[StLee]

In the Champions Association, there is a mandatory relocation rule for teams in the Omega League that cannot improve themselves over a five-year period. The reason for the initial rules of so much movement among leagues (5 of 12 teams in the Omega League are promoted each year, for instance) was to ensure that some of the top markets would not get an unlucky draw at first, and then be in danger of losing a franchise. Despite all of the plans put in place, there are still two franchises that are "on the chopping block": the Baltimore Bullets and the Edmonton Freeze.

Baltimore has been the worse of the two franchises, having only had one season where it came close to being promoted. In 2010, the Bullets finished 11th in the OL, meaning that they had no postseason. However, in 2011, despite finishing 10th, Baltimore had a chance to be promoted. They beat 3rd ranked Pittsburgh in the first round of the Omega Cup tournament, meaning they were in a battle where three of four teams would be promoted. However, Baltimore then went on to get swept by Louisville and Buffalo to remain in the OL for a third year. In 2012, Baltimore again finished 10th after defeating Vancouver in the play-in game, but the Bullets were swept by Minneapolis to end their season. In 2013, the Bullets had their highest finish: fifth. Despite that high finish, Baltimore was again swept in the first round of the Omega Cup tournament.

Edmonton has had two higher finishes than Baltimore, but the Freeze also had two terrible season. In 2010, the Freeze finished 7th in the Omega League. However, they exited the first round of the Omega Cup tournament with a two games to one loss to Oklahoma City. In 2011, the Freeze missed the postseason by finishing 11th in the league. They stepped down another slot in 2012 to finish dead last. Despite the back-to-back disappointing seasons, Edmonton seemed to bounce back in 2013 by finishing 7th again. However, a first round exit to Philadelphia means they remain in the Omega League for a fifth season.

Should either team fail to gain promotion this season, they will relocate to the cities waiting. The complication of the situation is that the Champions Association did not make prior rules about what would happen if multiple teams would be forced to relocate. The thought is that the top franchise waiting will get first choice of if they want to take over the Baltimore or Edmonton franchise. Because that’s where the money is, the next location spot is a second Los Angeles-area team in Anaheim. The second choice is a third New York team in Queens. Both franchises have logos and jerseys ready, so all they need is a place in the league.

Also, even if neither Baltimore nor Edmonton relocates, there are talks of expanding the Omega League by two teams. The proposed expansion would mean a total of 14 teams in the league, with possible further expansion trickling up with more teams promoted to eventually expand the Gamma then Beta then Alpha Leagues.

One final note: The Boston Night Hawks have decided to drop the "Night" to become just the Hawks with new logo, color scheme, and uniforms. Logo and newly acquired free agent C.C. Sabathia's baseball card below.

[baseballonly]

How does the draft work? Does each league have it's own draft or are all the teams put together?

[StLee]

Originally Posted by baseballonly

How does the draft work? Does each league have it's own draft or are all the teams put together?

That is the grand dilemma I have for the league. I have been too lazy to change the draft order, but I will if I remember to do it for the 2014 draft.

Basically, right now, the teams are all in one association with a shared draft, so the draft is based on worst to best record of all leagues (thus why New Mexico drafted so high this past offseason). I thought about manually changing the draft order from worst of the OL all the way to best of the AL before, but I was too lazy to do it.

Thanks for pointing that out. I had forgotten of my intention to change it, but now I will.

[StLee]

Without making charts, I'm not sure how to do this, so I think I'll list what teams have done to get into their current place in the associated league. Thus, I'll begin with the current AL.

AL 2014

Austin Savage
2010, GL, 3rd place, Won Gamma Cup, Promoted
2011, BL, 5th place, Lost Beta Cup
2012, BL, 4th place, Won Beta Cup, Promoted
2013, AL, 3rd place, Lost Diamond Trophy

Cincinnati Cyclones
2010, AL, 6th place, Lost Alpha Cup
2011, AL, 6th place, Lost Alpha Cup
2012, AL, 3rd place, Won Diamond Trophy
2013, AL, 7th place, Lost Honors Cup final

Dallas Tycoons
2010, GL, 8th place, Won Gamma Survivors Cup
2011, GL, 1st place, Won Silver Trophy, Promoted
2012, BL, 1st place, Lost Gold Trophy, Promoted
2013, AL, 4th place, Won Diamond Trophy

Detroit Wolverines
2010, AL, 9th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated
2011, BL, 11th place, Lost Survivors Cup, Relegated
2012, GL, 1st place, Lost Silver Trophy, Promoted
2013, BL, 3rd place, Lost Gold Trophy, Promoted

Kansas City Sting
2010, BL, 7th place, Lost Beta Cup
2011, BL, 2nd place, Lost Gold Trophy, Promoted
2012, AL, 8th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated
2013, BL, 1st place, Won Gold Trophy, Promoted

Los Angeles Actors
2010, BL, 1st place, Won Gold Trophy, Promoted
2011, AL, 1st place, Lost Diamond Trophy
2012, AL, 6th place, Won Alpha Cup
2013, AL, 6th place, Won Alpha Cup

Miami Towers
2010, BL, 2nd place, Lost Gold Trophy, Promoted
2011, AL, 3rd place, Lost Diamond Trophy
2012, AL, 1st place, Lost Diamond Trophy
2013, AL, 8th place, Won Honors Cup

Nashville Country
2010, AL, 3rd place, Lost Diamond Trophy
2011, AL, 10th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated,
2012, BL, 2nd place, Lost Gold Trophy, Promoted
2013, AL, 5th place, Lost Alpha Cup

New Orleans Gators
2010, BL, 6th place, Won Beta Cup, Promoted
2011, AL, 11th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated
2012, BL, 6th place, Lost Beta Cup
2013, BL, 2nd place, Lost Gold Trophy, Promoted

Phoenix Firebirds
2010, GL, 6th place, Lost Gamma Cup, Promoted
2011, BL, 12th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated
2012, GL, 2nd place, Won Silver Trophy, Promoted
2013, BL, 5th place, Won Beta Cup, Promoted

San Diego Slammers
2010, AL, 11th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated
2011, BL, 3rd place, Lost Gold Trophy, Promoted
2012, AL, 10th place, Lost Honors Cup Final
2013, AL, 2nd place, Lost Diamond Trophy

Virginia Beach Neptunes
2010, BL, 5th place, Lost Beta Cup
2011, BL, 9th place, Won Beta Survivors Cup
2012, BL, 3rd place, Won Gold Trophy, Promoted
2013, AL, 1st place, Lost Diamond Trophy

[kq76]

Originally Posted by StLee

That is the grand dilemma I have for the league. I have been too lazy to change the draft order, but I will if I remember to do it for the 2014 draft.

Basically, right now, the teams are all in one association with a shared draft, so the draft is based on worst to best record of all leagues (thus why New Mexico drafted so high this past offseason). I thought about manually changing the draft order from worst of the OL all the way to best of the AL before, but I was too lazy to do it.

Thanks for pointing that out. I had forgotten of my intention to change it, but now I will.

What are your thoughts on: 1) disabling the draft entirely, or 2) just having the lowest league(s) drafting? That's maybe my biggest quandary of running an association of multiple leagues. I think I prefer either over a shared draft. They seem more like something that might actually happen in a real life association.

[StLee]

Originally Posted by kq76

What are your thoughts on: 1) disabling the draft entirely, or 2) just having the lowest league(s) drafting? That's maybe my biggest quandary of running an association of multiple leagues. I think I prefer either over a shared draft. They seem more like something that might actually happen in a real life association.

I like the draft for helping to put teams in position to attain new players on a closed communal market, so I want to keep it. Also, I think I need to keep it open for all leagues because of the fact that the leagues are so dynamic. In real life, I feel like teams might occasionally tank just to get the right to draft (see, 2014 NBA). So, I am going to manually reorder the draft based on that season's final regular season standings:

1st) OL #10
2nd) OL #9
3rd) OL #8
...
48th) AL #1

[StLee]

Beta League

Brooklyn Avengers
2010, AL, 2nd place, Lost Diamond Trophy
2011, AL, 8th place, Won Honors Cup
2012, AL, 9th place, Won Honors Cup
2013, AL, 12th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated

Buffalo Bears
2010, OL, 4th place, Lost Omega Cup
2011, OL, 6th place, Won Omega Cup Promotion Series, Promoted
2012, GL, 6th place, Lost Gamma Cup
2013, GL, 2nd place, Lost Silver Trophy, Promoted

Charlotte Flyers
2010, GL, 2nd place, Won Silver Trophy, Promoted
2011, BL, 4th place, Won Beta Cup, Promoted
2012, AL, 11th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated
2013, BL, 4th place, Lost Beta Cup

Houston Bulls
2010, AL, 1st place, Lost Diamond Trophy
2011, AL, 2nd place, Lost Diamond Trophy
2012, AL, 4th place, Lost Diamond Trophy
2013, AL, 11th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated

Memphis Hound Dogs
2010, OL, 9th place, Lost Omega Cup
2011, OL, 8th place, Lost Omega Cup
2012, OL, 5th place, Won Omega Cup Promotion Series, Promoted
2013, GL, 3rd place, Won Gamma Cup, Promoted

Milwaukee Beers
2010, OL, 5th place, Lost Omega Cup final, Promoted
2011, GL, 12th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2012, OL, 6th place, Won Omega Cup, Promoted
2013, GL, 5th place, Lost Gamma Cup final, Promoted

Minneapolis Blizzard
2010, BL, 12th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated
2011, GL, 8th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2012, OL, 3rd place, Lost Omega Cup final, Promoted
2013, GL, 1st place, Won Silver Trophy, Promoted

Montreal Saints
2010, AL, 7th place, Won Honors Cup
2011, AL, 4th place, Won Diamond Trophy
2012, AL, 5th place, Lost Alpha Cup
2013, AL, 9th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated

New Mexico Suns
2010, AL, 4th place, Won Diamond Trophy
2011, AL, 7th place, Lost Honors Cup final
2012, AL, 12th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated
2013, BL, 10th place, Won Beta Survivors Cup

Oakland Gorillas
2010, BL, 3rd place, Lost Gold Trophy, Promoted
2011, AL, 5th place, Won Alpha Cup
2012, AL, 2nd place, Lost Diamond Trophy
2013, AL, 10th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated

San Francisco Gold
2010, BL, 4th place, Lost Beta Cup
2011, BL, 6th place, Lost Beta Cup
2012, BL, 5th place, Lost Beta Cup
2013, BL, 6th place, Lost Beta Cup

Toronto Thunderbirds
2010, AL, 8th place, Lost Honors Cup final
2011, AL, 12th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated
2012, BL, 8th place, Won Beta Survivors Cup
2013, BL, 7th place, Lost Beta Cup

[StLee]

Gamma League

Bronx Bombers
2010, OL, 1st place, Lost Bronze Trophy, Promoted
2011, GL, 10th place, Won Gamma Survivors Cup
2012, GL, 3rd place, Won Gamma Cup, Promoted
2013, BL, 12th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated

Chicago Brats
2010, GL, 11th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2011, OL, 5th place, Won Omega Cup, Promoted
2012, GL, 11th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2013, OL, 2nd place, Lost Bronze Trophy, Promoted

Cleveland Sluggers
2010, GL, 10th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2011, OL, 1st place, Lost Bronze Trophy, Promoted
2012, GL, 5th place, Lost Gamma Cup final, Promoted
2013, BL, 11th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated

Denver Peaks
2010, BL, 11th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated
2011, GL, 9th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2012, OL, 4th place, Lost Omega Cup
2013, OL, 4th place, Won Omega Cup, Promoted

Honolulu Tropics
2010, AL, 12th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated
2011, BL, 1st place, Won Gold Trophy, Promoted
2012, AL, 7th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated
2013, BL, 9th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated

Philadelphia Liberty
2010, OL, 12th place
2011, OL, 12th place
2012, OL, 9th place, Lost Omega Cup Promotion Series
2013, OL, 6th place, Lost Omega Cup final, Promoted

Portland Pioneers
2010, AL, 5th place, Won Alpha Cup
2011, AL, 9th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated
2012, BL, 10th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated
2013, GL, 4th place, Lost Gamma Cup

Seattle Ports
2010, AL, 10th place, Lost Honors Cup, Relegated
2011, BL, 7th place, Lost Beta Cup
2012, BL, 9th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated
2013, GL, 6th place, Lost Gamma Cup

St. Louis Lions
2010, GL, 1st place, Lost Silver Trophy, Promoted
2011, BL, 10th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated
2012, GL, 4th place, Lost Gamma Cup
2013, GL, 10th place, Won Gamma Survivors Cup

Tampa Sharks
2010, GL, 7th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2011, OL, 9th place, Lost Omega Cup
2012, OL, 7th place, Lost Omega Cup
2013, OL, 8th place, Won Omega Cup Promotion Series, Promoted

Utah Mustangs
2010, BL, 10th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated
2011, GL, 6th place, Lost Gamma Cup
2012, GL, 8th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2013, OL, 1st place, Won Bronze Trophy, Promoted

Washington Presidents
2010, GL, 5th place, Lost Gamma Cup
2011, GL, 3rd place, Won Gamma Cup, Promoted
2012, BL, 7th place, Lost Beta Cup
2013, BL, 8th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated

[StLee]

Omega League

Atlanta Blazers
2010, GL, 3rd place, Lost Gamma Cup
2011, GL, 5th place, Lost Gamma Cup final, Promoted
2012, BL, 11th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated
2013, GL, 11th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated

Baltimore Bullets
2010, OL, 11th place
2011, OL, 10th place, Lost Omega Cup
2012, OL, 10th place, Lost Omega Cup
2013, OL, 5th place, Lost Omega Cup

Boston Night Hawks / Hawks
2010, BL, 8th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated
2011, GL, 4th place, Lost Gamma Cup
2012, GL, 10th place, Won Gamma Survivors Cup
2013, GL, 12th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated

Edmonton Freeze
2010, OL, 7th place, Lost Omega Cup
2011, OL, 11th place
2012, OL, 12th place
2013, OL, 7th place, Lost Omega Cup

Indianapolis Express
2010, OL, 3rd place, Lost Omega Cup
2011, OL, 2nd place, Won Bronze Trophy, Promoted
2012, GL, 7th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2013, OL, 12th place

Las Vegas Dealers
2010, OL, 2nd place, Won Bronze Trophy, Promoted
2011, GL, 7th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2012, OL, 1st place, Won Bronze Trophy, Promoted
2013, GL, 9th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated

Louisville Thoroughbreds
2010, OL, 8th place, Lost Omega Cup
2011, OL, 4th place, Lost Omega Cup final, Promoted
2012, GL, 12th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2013, OL, 9th place, Lost Omega Cup

Oklahoma City Bandits
2010, OL, 6th place, Won Omega Cup, Promoted
2011, GL, 2nd place, Lost Silver Trophy, Promoted
2012, BL, 12th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated
2013, GL, 7th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated

Orlando Rockets
2010, GL, 9th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2011, OL, 7th place, Lost Omega Cup
2012, OL, 2nd place, Lost Bronze Trophy, Promoted
2013, GL, 8th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated

Pittsburgh Energy
2010, GL, 12th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2011, OL, 3rd place, Lost Omega Cup
2012, OL, 8th place, Lost Omega Cup
2013, OL, 10th place, Lost Omega Cup Promotion Series

San Antonio Buzzards
2010, BL, 9th place, Won Beta Survivors Cup
2011, BL, 8th place, Lost Beta Survivors Cup, Relegated
2012, GL, 9th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2013, OL, 3rd place, Lost Omega Cup

Vancouver Mounties
2010, OL, 10th place, Won Omega Cup Promotion Series, Promoted
2011, GL, 11th place, Lost Gamma Survivors Cup, Relegated
2012, OL, 11th place
2013, OL, 11th place

[Trebro]

Kinda looks like being in the Omega League is a bit of a death sentence. Lotta teams staying down or not moving out. Is that a bufget thing or league reputation?

[StLee]

Originally Posted by panelpatter

Kinda looks like being in the Omega League is a bit of a death sentence. Lotta teams staying down or not moving out. Is that a bufget thing or league reputation?

That's mostly because it's the bottom of the league and there are five teams that fall from the GL each year, making it more likely to move up a year and then fall right back down. The budgets and league reputation for the OL are the lowest, though I have not checked thoroughly exactly how the budgets are working. Kind of just hoping they will

I did not turn on the financials until 2012, hoping that would cement a few teams and give a true challenge to the teams at the bottom. I was hoping that it wouldn't automatically be based on big markets being the best teams. Anyway, I just analyzed the teams that have been in one league for at least three years. The AL and the OL definitely lead in the number of teams that seem to remain, which makes sense based on the movement practices.

AL - 10 teams have been in the league at least three of five years. Cincinnati has been in the league all five years. Five of those 10 are currently in the BL: Brooklyn, Houston, Montreal, New Mexico, and Oakland.

BL - Six teams have been in the league at least three of five years. San Francisco has been in the league all five years. Three of the six are currently in the AL.

GL - Eight teams have been in the league at least three of five years. No team has been in the league all five years, which would be hard since nine teams move up or down each year. Two of the eight are currently in the OL.

OL - 11 teams have been in the league at least three of five years. Baltimore and Edmonton (which both MUST move up this year to survive) have been in the league all five years. One of the 11, Memphis, is currently in the BL. Two of the eleven are currently in the GL.

So, yes, overall, the OL is the muck league. However, I think over time you could see people move based on budgetary room or injuries or retirements. Five years is a short time to truly draw conclusions.

[StLee]

We were not allowed to participate in the Spring Bowl because of a low finish in the 2013 BL season, so I just watched for basic scouting purposes. Until my team participates in a tournament, I consider myself to be a spectator. I certainly found the results to be interesting.

Results






Though the Blizzard won the Gamma League a year ago, I didn't consider them to be a major player worth taking the Spring Game. We will be in the same league this season in the Beta League, so they are a team worth watching. Other than Alex Cobb, who won the Spring Bowl MVP as Minneapolis' ace, there are a few other notable players on their team:

CL Matt Belisle - He had limited time last season with Minneapolis but still managed a 0.39 ERA in 23.1 innings with 15 saves. On the season with both Portland and Minneapolis, he was 5-0 with 16 saves and a 1.85 ERA. With the Blizzard, he is the straight up closer, and he is good!

1B Mark Teixeira - .293/.373/.511, 26 HRs, 76 RBI last season, and that was a DOWN season for him.

3B Kevin Youkilis - Came over to the Blizzard in a midseason trade with Toronto. Finished the 2013 season with a line of .330/.413/.595 with 24 HR and 77 RBI.

RF Domonic Brown - The youngster has emerged as a star. Had career highs of .311/.390/.556 with 28 HR and 96 RBI.

[StLee]

If you didn't notice it on the tournament brackets, the second round of the loser's bracket featured an amazing feat by the Denver Peak's Jeremy Hefner: a perfect game! I have pasted the box score below. As you can see, 27 batters faced, 27 batters retired. Congratulations to Jeremy Hefner and being the first to throw a perfect game in the Champions Association.

[StLee]

Our Preseason Games

We had two five-game series to get us ready for the regular season. Basically, what I was looking for in the team was how well the dynamics of batting and pitching would work. This only helped to confirm what I thought I knew: we would be a pretty good offense with an occasional hiccup, our starting pitching would be OK, and our relievers would be well below average or even the worst in the BL.

Series 1: at Detroit
We went 2-3: 9-8, 0-3, 3-0, 4-10, 10-11
The goal was to limit all pitchers' pitch counts each game and to use the entire lineup for the games. No starter threw more than three innings, so arms could be fresh going into the season. Everyone had playing time, which I think was beneficial.

Series 2: vs St. Louis
Again 2-3: 3-0, 3-2, 0-5, 4-7, 0-1
I was more disappointed in how the batters responded in this series, but we were trying out a lot of combos to see who fit where. Gattis played catcher and outfield. I told the manager he was signed to play catcher more because that's where the need is, and we'll think about either calling up the rookie later or looking to free up money to sign another catcher for next year. Anyway, this was preseason, and overall I was happy with how well the starting pitching looked in limited action. Even the game where we gave up 7 was not due to the starter (Myers).

Preseason Predictions by League




I don't know why the preseason predictions are "off." Maybe I simulated some games before generating the predictions report?!? Anyway, I am just using this as a basis to give me an idea of where teams are expected to finish.

For us, 3rd in the Beta League means some good things. Of course, 1st would be better, and anything lower than 3rd would be a disappointment.

[baseballonly]

Hope the Towers don't crumble under the pressure...if Trout stays healthy, we should be fine.

Loving this series. Did anyone ever tell you it needs to be a quickstart?

[StLee]

Originally Posted by baseballonly

Hope the Towers don't crumble under the pressure...if Trout stays healthy, we should be fine.

Loving this series. Did anyone ever tell you it needs to be a quickstart?

I think I made a quick start file for it, but never bothered to zip it up or anything. To whomever plays it, they would just have to be aware that the tournaments are all manually scheduled. I'll try to figure out how to get it ready as a quick start and edit it into the first post.