Season MJ (23) Discussion Thread (2041)

[One Great Matrix]

I'd better aim for thee division anyway,
I don't like a 1-game playoff series.

Certainly not counting on it, but last year a wolf/whale went up 17 games rather rapidly and I closed it down to 13 by the end of the season even though I messed around a little bit...All the good teams in the conference should at least be a test. For me, of course, too, though.

Of course, they're 16-2 after 18. Yeahh, looks like at LEAST 3 teams for the one-game playoff if Singapore doesn't have an unlikely off season. I'm sort of considering just simming sort of players that I'd like to see full season stats for but I have to make up my mind on that soon. Doesn't quite seem worth it in one sense because if I do make the wild card and win it, 3-2, 4-3, 4-3 or better is always a possibility, against any team capable of losing. But it's different with a team that plays close to .800. ...even in 5 games, .400 or worse, 7 games, .4285 or worse isn't very likely. Much more likely that they play .600 or better in 5 games than .400-, .5715 or better in 7 than .4285-.

I might do a mix if that's possible. Increased playing times for my preferred win or lose players I'm more interested in & I'd rather be out there without forsaking the possibility of a playoff spot.

6 perfect titles for Singapore and 120-42 their WORST season in the last 12. (134-28 their best.)

[waittilnextyear]

Originally Posted by One Great Matrix

I'd better aim for thee division anyway,
I don't like a 1-game playoff series.

Certainly not counting on it, but last year a wolf/whale went up 17 games rather rapidly and I closed it down to 13 by the end of the season even though I messed around a little bit...All the good teams in the conference should at least be a test. For me, of course, too, though.

Of course, they're 16-2 after 18. Yeahh, looks like at LEAST 3 teams for the one-game playoff if Singapore doesn't have an unlikely off season. I'm sort of considering just simming sort of players that I'd like to see full season stats for but I have to make up my mind on that soon. Doesn't quite seem worth it in one sense because if I do make the wild card and win it, 3-2, 4-3, 4-3 or better is always a possibility, against any team capable of losing. But it's different with a team that plays close to .800. ...even in 5 games, .400 or worse, 7 games, .4285 or worse isn't very likely. Much more likely that they play .600 or better in 5 games than .400-, .5715 or better in 7 than .4285-.

I might do a mix if that's possible. Increased playing times for my preferred win or lose players I'm more interested in & I'd rather be out there without forsaking the possibility of a playoff spot.

6 perfect titles for Singapore and 120-42 their WORST season in the last 12. (134-28 their best.)

It's always possible, so don't despair. That's what keeps us coming back week after week. That's what keeps the whales pouring cash in week after week--to stop upstarts like our teams.

My team was F2P until about 2 weeks ago and before that time we made the PL Series twice, winning once. When we lost, it was against the Bville Battling Bonsai--a perennial 130-game winner and even then they needed to erase a 3-0 deficit to defeat my Frogs. In the season we won, we swept the perennial 120-win Amsterdam Armada before edging out 3-time PL champ Huntley in a hotly contested series. I can't claim F2P anymore, but we're still a small fish amongst whales and got back to the PL Series again last week, losing in 6 games.

Bottom line, you can win it all. It really comes down to things aligning although they won't be every week. Even if things don't align, your team just might surprise you every now and then. With a team that's F2P or nearly so you really have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Experiment. Challenge your ideas. Sneak up on your enemies Sun Tzu style. Now go out there and kick some whale butt!

[Maxfire5]

Main team: After a loss in the Wild Card game to a team with 130+ wins, we're looking for another playoff season. A few key additions came into the team late in the season last year, so I'll be looking to see how they do with a full season under their belts. Main additions, all through collections, SE Lenny, SE Gene Garber, SE Eddie Plank. I also picked up the 94 Rick Reuschel, 89 Eckersley and SE Bob Friend through the AH. We're currently a whopping 18-2 to start the season. I've hit 4 grand slams thus far, including one by the 66 Aparacio!

Kansas City Team: After a wild card loss, we're looking to go at it again. I'm one card away from completing all the newest Royals Collections, but it'll be some time, since it's Greg Holland or Zack Greinke. Currently 9-10 to start the season so we will see how the season goes. No significant additions to speak of.

I just created a pack only team because that has always been an enjoyable way to play on other similar games, and it fulfills my desire to rip packs as often as possible. The team name? Kansas Rangers, nickname is RNG. The biggest pull I got was 88 Ivan Rodriguez, 71 Chris Collabello, 87 Ray Lankford. The team is 8-11 to start. It'll be tough to get going, but I'm enjoying watching those 3 rake at the Iron level.


I'm also very close to converting all 3 to OL and joining the group there. It's a fun way to play, and how I want to play the game. Hopefully will have it done for next week, but if not, the week after.

Good luck to everyone this season!

[One Great Matrix]

Originally Posted by waittilnextyear

It's always possible, so don't despair. That's what keeps us coming back week after week. That's what keeps the whales pouring cash in week after week--to stop upstarts like our teams.

My team was F2P until about 2 weeks ago and before that time we made the PL Series twice, winning once. When we lost, it was against the Bville Battling Bonsai--a perennial 130-game winner and even then they needed to erase a 3-0 deficit to defeat my Frogs. In the season we won, we swept the perennial 120-win Amsterdam Armada before edging out 3-time PL champ Huntley in a hotly contested series. I can't claim F2P anymore, but we're still a small fish amongst whales and got back to the PL Series again last week, losing in 6 games.

Bottom line, you can win it all. It really comes down to things aligning although they won't be every week. Even if things don't align, your team just might surprise you every now and then. With a team that's F2P or nearly so you really have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Experiment. Challenge your ideas. Sneak up on your enemies Sun Tzu style. Now go out there and kick some whale butt!

Thanks very much for the talk, Coach Fighting Kermit.
I wouldn't...wouldn't despair one bit if not for the reality of the way I exited the postseason yesterday & actual fatigue...and what I went through in my head and in my previous post about teams that play +.775 regularly. It's a small small group. Mega-whales... Of course the odds of beating them in a series are far better than winning Mega Millions lottery.

I gotta work just to make the playoffs, though.
No big deal if I quaif this week because I'll be better next week...and I don't know how promotion/relegation works when it's perfect 2 perfect but maybe even a favorable league if I ...quaif this week?

[One Great Matrix]

You fired me up just enough to go 0-3 against Singapore but keep all 3 games VERY close. (2-3, 5-6, 4-6)…and all three played close as the scores indicate, one game extra innings. Some things stood out (three in particular): Outfield defense (they had it, I don't), running wild (stealing bases on us until I put Carter in.), & a clear notch-above talent. Singapore is now 23-3. I've broke even through 26 games but looking at Singapore's schedule...only one other team to this point played them closely.

I've got all week but in the meantime have to try & do better than my now 13-13 and certainly won't be easy. But I'll have fun with it.

[Izz]

13-13 here too. 2 games above Pythag. We've got one 100-110 average perfect league win team in our division but nobody else especially strong. We've scored 122 runs and conceded 139, which is just how we roll, yo. Our defense is just plain bad!

[Marleigh]

Paragon City Heroes started 0-2 and had a 4 game losing streak but finished the sim 19-8, ahead of the St Louis Sabercats by 3. Buck O'Neil hitting in the leadoff spot has .448OBP and 20 runs scored, Bill Madlock in the cleanup spot is hitting .306 with 24RBI so the offence seems to be working, Maddux has had a slow start 2-2 4.89 era, and both of my lefties in the pen have struggled, other than that the team is doing much better than last season

Bad News Bulldogs started off the seaon winning 9 in a row then losing 5 in a row and finally stabilizing at 17-9. Frank Robinson is once again doing a great job, but the star of the first month has been Don Hoak hitting .402 with 1.285 OPS and 2.2 WAR already. On the pitchign side the starters have been incredible but the bullpen has a couple of weaknesses in Dibble and Lodolo (who had great years last year so hoping they can recover)

[waittilnextyear]

Frogs are continuing their metronome-consistent quality of play into another week. 20-7 with a 4.5 game division lead after the 1st day of sims. The offense struggled early but is somehow 2nd in the conference in runs scored with a .273 batting average after checking earlier to see a .244 batting average. SE George Sisler has heated up substantially and got 400 PP for a 2 HR 8 RBI game. Satchel Paige has been pitching poorly back in the rotation, but he earned 1000 PP for an immaculate inning. Plus, he's going to need to go back to the bullpen anyway because I just pulled 100 Tom Seaver from a challenge mode pack!

[old timer]

The Raccoons had a very tough schedule in April and didn't do too well, but it wasn't as awful as last season. We finished 12-14 (14-12 Pyt) and had far fewer blowout losses compared to last year. The coming month has only 10 games vs whales so if we're lucky, maybe we'll finish the month with an overall winning record.

Since my ftp Mammoth Mud Hens aren't getting much of my attention, I decided to go the pack opening route just for something different. I got 33 packs (I hadn't been able to find anyone on the AH I wanted) and picked up a historical diamond worth 25k (my new #2 SP), 2 live golds (quick sold since that's all they were worth) and 4 silvers. In all, I almost got back what I put in, but even if I hadn't, I didn't really care since I wasn't spending much time with them anyhow.

I'm starting to see the appeal in starting up a packs only team. Being forced to work with who you get from packs and selling them on the AH and using that PP to open more packs will present a different kind of challenge so I'm thinking of starting up another team like this. But for the moment, I'll just stick with the Mud Hens and try and sell off all of those extra players I've accumulated and open more packs. I don't expect to get much, but my team is so weak (they currently have a .654 WPct, but it's a weak league and it won't last), it's possible to get upgrades even from a good silver or bronze card.

[dkgo]

Anyone have thoughts on the new 98 pudge? Last season I had paired Gibson with Bench but the depth chart interface stinks so I can't get them to play the way I want without managing the 7 day lineups. Pudge looks a lot more balanced vs L/R so I could just set him as a regular "if tired" for both which is nice.

[Nero]

Originally Posted by JasonC23

That's awesome--I can see Lake in the Hills from my house (we are just south of Algonquin Road).

And, um, you are currently 15-0...damn. The Red Raiders have stumbled out of the gate at 6-8.

Added: OK, now you're 16-0, and as I take a closer look at my results, I am 7-1 against Everyone Except the Austin Express, and 0-7 against the Austin Express. So...wow.

15 is a small sample size! Just checked, and it's a 3.5 game spread between us, I suspect we'll have an excellent race all season.

You took two of the last 3 against me, and one of two things seems to happen every year to my team, we either come out on fire, and then start to stumble a bit back into the pack and play .500 ball for a couple of months, and then we heat up. Or we struggle at the start and play good ball in the 2nd half.

If I'm honest, usually it's me changing things around that gets me in trouble, but this week I swore I was not going to make any changes, and go. We'll see how long that lasts!

(Before we moved I was just north of the 62 & Randall intersection, in the "original" section of Lake In The Hills)

[JasonC23]

Originally Posted by Nero

If I'm honest, usually it's me changing things around that gets me in trouble, but this week I swore I was not going to make any changes, and go. We'll see how long that lasts!

(Before we moved I was just north of the 62 & Randall intersection, in the "original" section of Lake In The Hills)

I say that every year--"Just let it ride, you're reacting to small sample sizes, don't do anything rash"--and before I know it I'm tinkering with the lineup for the millionth time...

(Nice! Although right now, 62 and Randall is under massive construction, so...yeah. )

[waittilnextyear]

Originally Posted by dkgo

Anyone have thoughts on the new 98 pudge? Last season I had paired Gibson with Bench but the depth chart interface stinks so I can't get them to play the way I want without managing the 7 day lineups. Pudge looks a lot more balanced vs L/R so I could just set him as a regular "if tired" for both which is nice.

My only thoughts are that I wish the 90 Francisco Cordero card wasn't such a bottleneck because I'd like to collect that Pudge.

It sounds like you've got some serious 1st world problems if you're deciding between 100 Bench and 98 I-Rod as your backup catcher. It might come down to batted ball profile, baserunning, and splits like you said.

[Marleigh]

Paragon City Heroes moved 36-19 and a 4 1/2 game lead. The pitching is still great, Scherzer (8-2 2.78era) and Hunter (5-2 2.42era) are the pick. In the lineup only my DH is letting me down, been through many players trying to find one that fits. Madlock is the offensive star so far, driving in 46 runs,

Bad News Bulldogs had an up and down month swapping the lead back and forth between them and North Park Nincompoops. Ended the month up by 1/2 a game at 31-23. the bullpen is really letting the team down. we are 15th in bullpen era and the lowest era is 4.20. not really a lot i can do about it but hope it picks up.

[old timer]

The Raccoons are doing much better this year even though the competition is the same overall. We're 28-25 (32-21 Pyt) and although we've still not done well against the whales, we're at least coming close a lot more often than last year. We're 0-3 in X-Inn and 5-10 in 1-Run which isn't helping.

It's still too early to tell how changing to a neutral park from a hitter's park is going to work out. So far, our hitters are hitting much better at home than they did last year and they're hitting much better at home than on the road this year so they're definitely not suffering from the change yet. The pitching is also doing better, but they're about the same at home as on the road.

All in all, it's encouraging. Hopefully, we can get a bit more lucky against the whales. Right now, we're only 6-18 .250 vs whales while we're 22-7 .759 against the rest. So if we were in a league of only whales, we'd lose 120+ games at this rate, while in a "normal" perfect league, we'll usually win about 114 games. It will be interesting to see if this continues for the rest of the season.

[Westheim]

Coonie Coons pretend they're a .500 team, 27-27, but I've seen worse from them. LIKE LAST WEEK. They are also 2-5 against the whale with the Saints logo in their division, so there is that. Still not near a wild card or anything. There are some bubbles on that team bound to burst at some point, like Severino's 2.33 ERA and Joe Torre batting .390 …

Rebs are as silently .500 as possible. 27-25, and made just over 300 PP in May, after about the same in April. Even for a mediocre team, that's … mediocre.

The Accountants are first in their division at 36-17, with a 9 1/2 game lead. Second-most runs, most dingers, best ERA in the league (but that's the stingy pen; the rotation is blech) - still don't make a substantial amount of PP...

[Magus978]

Here it comes...the big 9 team recap. Stand by.

New York Patriots (G307, OL): 34-20, 1st in NC West. I needed the pitching to be better this week to make another promotion push. Well, I got what I wanted. I also got the return of longtime Patriots closer Gene Garber (84 OVR) after selling Rob Dibble for 5k. Feel like I can have a closer again with Garber back home. Now if only Jim Gilliam (.217 in 143 at bats) could remember how to hit again...

Brooklyn Dynasty (P429, $): 24-28, last in NC Central. Had a feeling this would be a tougher season, as all our odd-numbered weeks at this level have been stinkers. Pitching's been rotten, especially last week's hero Paul Splittorff (4-5, 5.14). Everyone else isn't much better. There isn't a lot keeping them afloat right now, and this could very well get worse before it gets better.

Connor Joe Appreciation Society (S292, Meme): 27-25, 1st in NC Central. We are not a good team. The thing keeping the meme alive is its starting pitching, 1st in the conference in ERA (3.73). As for the meme himself, Connor Joe might have been a half-season wonder. At .237, 2 HR, and 24 RBI, as well as a -3.5 ZR, he's making a mess of everything. However, as the team mascot, he has a lifetime contract and nothing can be done about that.

Blitzkrieg Boppers (P414, OL): 34-21, 1st in AC Central. Playing similar competition that Brooklyn played against last week, the Boppers are showing that they might have a future at this level. Fueled by solid pitching (4.08 team ERA) and a decent offense, the Boppers may be setting the foundation for a playoff appearance as a newly-promoted team.

New York Mets (S314, OL): 23-32, last in AC Central. Things have gone from bad to worse for the Amazin's, as they are dancing perilously close to relegation. It's easy to see why too, their offense has been abysmal. Production has been hard to come by from Roberto Alomar and Gregg Jefferies, and if this continues, the Mets will be hard pressed to avoid dropping right back to bronze, where they probably still belong.

Metuchen Mariners (D363, Pack Only): 28-27, last in NC West. It's hard to be a consistent winner when your ace is 1-7. It also hurts when said ace is Warren Spahn, and he's getting barely 2 runs per game in support. That has to change, but how is it going to change when the packs are against you? Easy answer...it's not. Metuchen are in no danger of fluking their way into the playoffs anytime soon, and may crawl towards the drop zone if this keeps up.

Raleigh Rage (S330): 30-24, T-1st in AC East. There's not much to say about the Rage that hasn't already been said. They're trying to brute force their way through the lower levels, but it turns out they don't quite have the talent to do that. Their pitching has been a mess, and it's probably going to stay that way.

St. John's Silver Sox (I198, Pack Only): 41-15, 1st in AC West. This may be the week that the Silver Sox finally escape Iron. Carlos Rodon's no-hitter during today's sims was a huge boon. Unfortunately, the packs acquired from the points got us absolutely nothing, like usual. This pack-only team will only go as far as RNGjesus will take them, and apparently RNGjesus refuses to get out of the garage with all the bad luck they've had.

Steelport Saints (S314, OL): 27-28, 3rd in AC West. When pulled last week, I said that this team will go as far as Lefty Grove (100 OVR) will carry them. So far, he's carried them right into a ditch. Despite a 6-4, 3.48 mark, Grove has not been the big difference maker that was expected. Sounds like you need more than just one elite pitcher to successfully compete, because the rest of the staff has been downright appalling.

[waittilnextyear]

The Frogs followed up a 20-7 day with another of the same, and are thus 40-14 (yep, math checks out). This is good for the best overall record in P404 (would be a first) and a 9-game NC East division lead. As expected, the early .244 team batting average has come up to .286, which leads the conference. The Frogs are 2nd in runs scored (292), 2nd in runs allowed (179), 1st in base running (+13.4), and 1st in defensive zone rating (+15.0) at the thirder-pole of the season.

The Frogs have already played the 2nd place team 12 times (7-5) and both home and away series against the whale/5-time PL champ Whatever Whatevers (3-3). It's hard to imagine the Frogs not winning the division at this point. Especially since packing 100 Tom Seaver yesterday, but that's why we sim the games.

Standouts for the Frogs include Christy Mathewson (9-0, 2.09 ERA) and George Sisler (.325/.371/.550, 9 HR, 49 RBI, 11 SB). Mathewson was bailed out of a would-be first loss in his previous start when the Frogs scored the tying run in the 9th and 3 more in the 11th inning to win the game. Sisler has been a 4-hit game waiting to happen. He was named NC player of the week twice already and has 20 multi-hit games.

Things are going pretty good for the Frogs on the diamond (putting the latest PL series loss behind us), but my high dollar cards continue to languish in the AH. This is very frustrating. And then they last so long without selling that a less patient merchant comes in and sells a card at a price to favor the buyer, which leaves me biding time and waiting for the very unfavorable "last 7 day" price to clear out. Ah, market economics!

[old timer]

Originally Posted by waittilnextyear

The Frogs followed up a 20-7 day with another of the same, and are thus 40-14 (yep, math checks out). This is good for the best overall record in P404 (would be a first) and a 9-game NC East division lead. As expected, the early .244 team batting average has come up to .286, which leads the conference. The Frogs are 2nd in runs scored (292), 2nd in runs allowed (179), 1st in base running (+13.4), and 1st in defensive zone rating (+15.0) at the thirder-pole of the season.

The Frogs have already played the 2nd place team 12 times (7-5) and both home and away series against the whale/5-time PL champ Whatever Whatevers (3-3). It's hard to imagine the Frogs not winning the division at this point. Especially since packing 100 Tom Seaver yesterday, but that's why we sim the games.

Standouts for the Frogs include Christy Mathewson (9-0, 2.09 ERA) and George Sisler (.325/.371/.550, 9 HR, 49 RBI, 11 SB). Mathewson was bailed out of a would-be first loss in his previous start when the Frogs scored the tying run in the 9th and 3 more in the 11th inning to win the game. Sisler has been a 4-hit game waiting to happen. He was named NC player of the week twice already and has 20 multi-hit games.

Things are going pretty good for the Frogs on the diamond (putting the latest PL series loss behind us), but my high dollar cards continue to languish in the AH. This is very frustrating. And then they last so long without selling that a less patient merchant comes in and sells a card at a price to favor the buyer, which leaves me biding time and waiting for the very unfavorable "last 7 day" price to clear out. Ah, market economics!

Your team has changed so much in the last several seasons, it's got me curious what it looks like now. Would you mind posting a screenshot of your primary lineup, rotation, bullpen from the home page (or any other similar screen)?

Regarding the AH, I really hope they make it possible to remove stats from purchased cards. Even though I like to see them initially, I want them gone and I know several of you won't keep them and then have to deal with what you are right now. Anyone know if the developers are even considering this?

[Marleigh]

Neuman Furshlugginers are 21-31 and are still only 3 games out of 1st place despite constantly fiddling with lineups, pitching staff and strategy. Is there a worse division in baseball?