Season 43 (2061) - Discussion Thread

[JasonC23]

The team that is currently locked in mortal kombat with the Huntley Red Raiders atop the AC Central in the tough P464, the Rilzemer Deifel, is most definitely not a whale.

bmp120's team has known its share of success, winning an Iron championship in 2023 and back-to-back-to-back Bronze, Silver, and Gold championships in 2026, 2027, and 2028, but after reaching the Perfect League level in 2030, the Deifel did not achieve a winning record until 2035, did not make the playoffs until 2042, and did not make the playoffs in back-to-back years until 2050 and 2051.

Starting in 2055, however, Rilzemer has made the playoffs every year. They have done so with modest records by Perfect League standards, winning between 101 and 106 games each year, and have yet to claim a Perfect League championship. But if they can keep up the 118-win pace they're on so far this year, they would far surpass their best-ever Perfect League record and be a serious contender for the championship, no matter the strength of the rest of the league.

So the story of the Deifel is not that of a whale, but of perseverance, which is pretty awesome.

Personnel-wise, Deifel sports a rotation of Smoltz, Walsh, Maddux, Brecheen, and Welch; Lee Smith anchors the bullpen. The largely diamond lineup consists of Rutschman, Bregman, Robinson, Ripken, Brett, Cobb, Yelich/Pujols, Mays, and Kaline. Rilzemer's ballpark is neutral all around.

Current standings follow...

[waittilnextyear]

Just gonna put this here...whoa nellie. We've had some good seasons, but I can't remember ever having single-digit losses after day 2 of sims. The Frogs are +198 and Long Beach-Compton is +188. The race is on! We've only played 3 games against one another so far and don't have another series until July.

The stats have been pretty wild for Frog batters. With the HR park factors dropped back into "pitcher-friendly" 0.950 territory, we're singling teams to death. 363 runs scored and just 38 HR so far. Appling is on pace for 3 HR 112 RBI; Bill Terry is on pace for 15 HR 124 RBI; Richie Ashburn is on pace for 0 HR/59 2B/15 3B. The team's batting .310 and leads the league with 144 doubles.

Chicks might not dig our approach this week, but it seems to be working.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by JasonC23

Who are the Rilzemer Deifel?

Not exactly my corner of the world, but I deciphered the Palatian dialect on that and they're from this place: Wikipedia ... meanwhile "Deifel" means "Devils".

[One Great Matrix]

Originally Posted by waittilnextyear

For what it's worth, old timer, I got home from work about 15 min ago, logged in expecting to see all of your teams. I was bummed when I realized what had happened. But, then I started laughing for a good couple of minutes seeing how things turned out. LOL. I mean, if I were trying to sabotage you guys (I'm honestly not), I'd have a hard time thinking of a better scheme than this.

[Thornbreaker]

Originally Posted by waittilnextyear

Just gonna put this here...whoa nellie. We've had some good seasons, but I can't remember ever having single-digit losses after day 2 of sims. The Frogs are +198 and Long Beach-Compton is +188. The race is on! We've only played 3 games against one another so far and don't have another series until July.

The stats have been pretty wild for Frog batters. With the HR park factors dropped back into "pitcher-friendly" 0.950 territory, we're singling teams to death. 363 runs scored and just 38 HR so far. Appling is on pace for 3 HR 112 RBI; Bill Terry is on pace for 15 HR 124 RBI; Richie Ashburn is on pace for 0 HR/59 2B/15 3B. The team's batting .310 and leads the league with 144 doubles.

Chicks might not dig our approach this week, but it seems to be working.

So how are you creating substantial runs? My contact/gap team hits high average, often in top 5 of league, but my runs scored is usually half or less.
This is also with an Ichiro and a couple of others at the top of the order with decent baserunning skills.

Ichiro
Furillo
Sisler
Hornsby
Rice

[Thornbreaker]

In other news today, I just submitted a request for a new card:

Historical Legend - Bugs Bunny

Seriously. Please back me in this endeavor. Bugs is one of the best 2 way players on television ever.

[waittilnextyear]

Originally Posted by Thornbreaker

So how are you creating substantial runs? My contact/gap team hits high average, often in top 5 of league, but my runs scored is usually half or less.
This is also with an Ichiro and a couple of others at the top of the order with decent baserunning skills.

Ichiro
Furillo
Sisler
Hornsby
Rice

If I knew how exactly, I'd just do it every week.

We're leading the league in AVG (.314), OBP (.381), and base running (+20.1). Also hitting lots of 2B/3B. Park factors are supportive of a contact/XBH approach. Probably has something to do with beating up on baby seal teams as well. In addition to all that, some guys are just going off and having career seasons (Ashburn .389, Sisler .349, Ichiro .356, Ripken .330). Not a single player is batting below .270.

[JasonC23]

After a 16-8 April and 20-9 May, Huntley slumped to a 15-11 June that doesn't look so bad until you see that the Red Raiders began the month with an 8-game winning streak. The 7-11 skid to end the month brought the team's offensive struggles to the forefront; while the Red Raiders are 3rd in the AC and 4th in the entire league in runs allowed (257), the offense is a shockingly mediocre 8th in the AC and 15th in P464 in runs scored (378). The resultant +121 RDiff is a mere 7th in the league.

The Rilzemer Deifel have had an even rougher seasonal progression, dropping from its white-hot 21-3 April to 15-11 in May and an unfortunate 11-16 in June that currently has the team 4 games behind Huntley for Wild Card home-field advantage and only 1.5 games up on the Las Vegas Silver Knights for that second Wild Card spot.

Of course, the real story of the AC Central is the 3-time Perfect League champion St. Louis Cardinals, who took full advantage of the Red Raiders' and Deifel's struggles by posting a scorching 24-3 record in June that has vaulted the Cardinals to a 5-game lead in the division.

Meanwhile, over in the NC Central, the Evergreen Forest Raccoons shook off an 8-16 April with a 14-12 May and an even better 19-9 June. With a victory in the first game of July, the Raccoons find themselves 22 games back in the division but facing a much more surmountable 7-game deficit in the Wild Card chase. And the team they're chasing in the Wild Card race is the San Angelo Warbirds, who rode a 21-5 June into the second Wild Card spot, 5.5 games up on the Florida Phoenix.

A little short of halfway standings follow...

[waittilnextyear]

The Frogs are continuing to push for the division crown in P441. The lead is currently 5 games over Long Beach-Compton, but with 16/19 meetings yet to take place. The Frogs also have the edge in RDiff (+316 vs +260).

When the team is chugging along at an .831 pace, you try not to press too many buttons. However, fifth starter 100 Gaylord Perry was struggling a bit (4.45 ERA overall, 5.63 ERA in June) with his 84 STUFF rating in a max contact ballpark. And, I've basically established that Perry's GB% is 57% at this point. And I have to have something to tinker with. So, I decided to move 100 Tom Seaver (whom I had benched in the eventuality that the Old Timer 5 curse would get him again this week) into the pen with his boosted 118 STUFF, and slide 99 Stan Coveleski (97 STUFF) into the rotation for the first time since 2054. Basically, getting more contact avoidance in the rotation without losing much in a very under-worked bullpen.

The other big in-season news is that I was able to swing a deal with the owner of the Glendale Golden Grizzlies (I think it is GGG) to purchase 99 Eddie Collins in MINT condition. Collins fits this team's M.O. to a "T" and also forms a very exciting 2B platoon with 97 SE Willie Randolph.

Around the league...Despair Woe is having a good time of things in the NC East. Name does not check out. Monterey Bay and Madison should play right down to the wire in the NC Central. The Frogs are 3-4 combined against the NC Central leaders so far. The Silicon Valley Outlaws and the Auburn Doubledays are separated by the width of a sheet of paper in the AC Central. And I'm just glad that my NC division doesn't cross over with their AC division when the AC West is much less top heavy.

[old timer]

Originally Posted by JasonC23

Meanwhile, over in the NC Central, the Evergreen Forest Raccoons shook off an 8-16 April with a 14-12 May and an even better 19-9 June. With a victory in the first game of July, the Raccoons find themselves 22 games back in the division but facing a much more surmountable 7-game deficit in the Wild Card chase. And the team they're chasing in the Wild Card race is the San Angelo Warbirds, who rode a 21-5 June into the second Wild Card spot, 5.5 games up on the Florida Phoenix.

As you mentioned, we had a 19-9 June, but that doesn't tell the full story. We lost 3 to Stone Island, 4 to the Soniqs and 2 of 3 to USC. In other words, we were 1-9 vs whales and 18-0 vs the rest. For the season, we're 0-9 vs Stone Island and 2-7 vs the Soniqs (so 20 more games to go vs those two!). Hmm... I wonder if this division from hell is affecting our performance much?

The Warbirds won their season series against us, 5-1. We've still got 4 coming up vs Huntley. For this past month, we did manage to take 2 of 3 from the Cardinals, so that's one whale we had some good luck with. Speaking of records vs whales/mini-whales (rather subjective, obviously), here's how the 3 of us are faring (as of July 4):

vs Whales (Is there a 5 win limit?):
Red Raiders 5-9 .357
Warbirds 5-17 .227
Raccoons 5-19 .208

vs Mini-Whales:
Warbirds: 5-1 (that's vs us!) .833
Red Raiders: 14-5 .737
Raccoons: 8-11 .421

Total vs strong teams:
Red Raiders: 19-14 .576
Warbirds: 10-18 .357
Raccoons: 13-30 .302

Whales: LOLCats, Cardinals, Trojans, Stone Island, Soniqs
Mini-whales: the 3 of us, Deifel, Twins, Asbury

So vs all non-whales:
Warbirds: 45-13 .776
Red Raiders: 48-20 .706
Raccoons: 38-19 .667

Clearly, we've been abysmal against strong teams which is not how things had been in recent seasons, so I'm rather disappointed there. But at least we're faring better than Asbury who's 34-45. Their perfect Young is 2-9 4.37, 100 Johnson 7-11 5.33, Walsh 7-7 4.87, 100 Pedro 4-5 5.91. Only Hoyt is doing somewhat well at 7-6 3.92. Brutal division!

If only we'd have ended up in the NC West... Oh well, it won't be the 1st time we didn't make the playoffs. It would take a miracle to catch the Warbirds and catching the Soniqs... Just not possible.

I'll be rooting for you two in the playoffs. So come on and show those whales who's the boss!

[macacks]

Originally Posted by old timer

As you mentioned, we had a 19-9 June, but that doesn't tell the full story. We lost 3 to Stone Island, 4 to the Soniqs and 2 of 3 to USC. In other words, we were 1-9 vs whales and 18-0 vs the rest. For the season, we're 0-9 vs Stone Island and 2-7 vs the Soniqs (so 20 more games to go vs those two!). Hmm... I wonder if this division from hell is affecting our performance much?

The Warbirds won their season series against us, 5-1. We've still got 4 coming up vs Huntley. For this past month, we did manage to take 2 of 3 from the Cardinals, so that's one whale we had some good luck with. Speaking of records vs whales/mini-whales (rather subjective, obviously), here's how the 3 of us are faring (as of July 4):

vs Whales (Is there a 5 win limit?):
Red Raiders 5-9 .357
Warbirds 5-17 .227
Raccoons 5-19 .208

vs Mini-Whales:
Warbirds: 5-1 (that's vs us!) .833
Red Raiders: 14-5 .737
Raccoons: 8-11 .421

Total vs strong teams:
Red Raiders: 19-14 .576
Warbirds: 10-18 .357
Raccoons: 13-30 .302

Whales: LOLCats, Cardinals, Trojans, Stone Island, Soniqs
Mini-whales: the 3 of us, Deifel, Twins, Asbury

So vs all non-whales:
Warbirds: 45-13 .776
Red Raiders: 48-20 .706
Raccoons: 38-19 .667

Clearly, we've been abysmal against strong teams which is not how things had been in recent seasons, so I'm rather disappointed there. But at least we're faring better than Asbury who's 34-45. Their perfect Young is 2-9 4.37, 100 Johnson 7-11 5.33, Walsh 7-7 4.87, 100 Pedro 4-5 5.91. Only Hoyt is doing somewhat well at 7-6 3.92. Brutal division!

If only we'd have ended up in the NC West... Oh well, it won't be the 1st time we didn't make the playoffs. It would take a miracle to catch the Warbirds and catching the Soniqs... Just not possible.

I'll be rooting for you two in the playoffs. So come on and show those whales who's the boss!

Ownership at the Warbirds (had) considered themselves as a whale so there is some head scratching and frustrations in the front office. This has been a test for sure.

We need to understand better what strategies are being used against me (Lefty cheese for sure) and how to counter them.

[macacks]

Originally Posted by old timer

As you mentioned, we had a 19-9 June, but that doesn't tell the full story. We lost 3 to Stone Island, 4 to the Soniqs and 2 of 3 to USC. In other words, we were 1-9 vs whales and 18-0 vs the rest. For the season, we're 0-9 vs Stone Island and 2-7 vs the Soniqs (so 20 more games to go vs those two!). Hmm... I wonder if this division from hell is affecting our performance much?

The Warbirds won their season series against us, 5-1. We've still got 4 coming up vs Huntley. For this past month, we did manage to take 2 of 3 from the Cardinals, so that's one whale we had some good luck with. Speaking of records vs whales/mini-whales (rather subjective, obviously), here's how the 3 of us are faring (as of July 4):

vs Whales (Is there a 5 win limit?):
Red Raiders 5-9 .357
Warbirds 5-17 .227
Raccoons 5-19 .208

vs Mini-Whales:
Warbirds: 5-1 (that's vs us!) .833
Red Raiders: 14-5 .737
Raccoons: 8-11 .421

Total vs strong teams:
Red Raiders: 19-14 .576
Warbirds: 10-18 .357
Raccoons: 13-30 .302

Whales: LOLCats, Cardinals, Trojans, Stone Island, Soniqs
Mini-whales: the 3 of us, Deifel, Twins, Asbury

So vs all non-whales:
Warbirds: 45-13 .776
Red Raiders: 48-20 .706
Raccoons: 38-19 .667

Clearly, we've been abysmal against strong teams which is not how things had been in recent seasons, so I'm rather disappointed there. But at least we're faring better than Asbury who's 34-45. Their perfect Young is 2-9 4.37, 100 Johnson 7-11 5.33, Walsh 7-7 4.87, 100 Pedro 4-5 5.91. Only Hoyt is doing somewhat well at 7-6 3.92. Brutal division!

If only we'd have ended up in the NC West... Oh well, it won't be the 1st time we didn't make the playoffs. It would take a miracle to catch the Warbirds and catching the Soniqs... Just not possible.

I'll be rooting for you two in the playoffs. So come on and show those whales who's the boss!

It definitely has been my pitching that has let the Warbirds down. It has long been the engine for the bombers but has had tough time adjusting to the whale heavy league. Further investigation is needed.
Also
Ownership just about out of cards to sell in order to keep chasing that perfect Pedro and our amazing pack luck (documented in another thread) has slowed.

[dkgo]

peak pedro come on down

wasn't sure if he was worth it but the 3 points of defensive rating at 3B he comes with pushed him over the edge for me. cant put a price on that kind of flexibility. and not like there is anything else to spend that many points on

[JasonC23]

Originally Posted by old timer

vs Whales (Is there a 5 win limit?):
Red Raiders 5-9 .357
Warbirds 5-17 .227
Raccoons 5-19 .208

vs Mini-Whales:
Warbirds: 5-1 (that's vs us!) .833
Red Raiders: 14-5 .737
Raccoons: 8-11 .421

Total vs strong teams:
Red Raiders: 19-14 .576
Warbirds: 10-18 .357
Raccoons: 13-30 .302

Whales: LOLCats, Cardinals, Trojans, Stone Island, Soniqs
Mini-whales: the 3 of us, Deifel, Twins, Asbury

So vs all non-whales:
Warbirds: 45-13 .776
Red Raiders: 48-20 .706
Raccoons: 38-19 .667

Thanks for compiling this!

[One Great Matrix]

Hey, waittilnextyear! One of those "beat those dirty cheatin' wolves & whales pep talks please"?

[Thornbreaker]

Originally Posted by waittilnextyear

If I knew how exactly, I'd just do it every week.

We're leading the league in AVG (.314), OBP (.381), and base running (+20.1). Also hitting lots of 2B/3B. Park factors are supportive of a contact/XBH approach. Probably has something to do with beating up on baby seal teams as well. In addition to all that, some guys are just going off and having career seasons (Ashburn .389, Sisler .349, Ichiro .356, Ripken .330). Not a single player is batting below .270.

What's your baserunning sliders set at team/individual? Do you play around with that much?

I think I set my overall as aggressive, while a lot of the individual slow pokes I have are ultra conservative. Ichiro gets thrown out 15% more often than Sisler tho, and it may be because I have Ichiro set too aggressive.

[One Great Matrix]

I could never describe what I do when I have success. It's like that scene from The Hangover where he's preparing to count cards at the Casino...you just do what you best know how to do sometimes. Other people are very methodical it seems and CAN describe or teach others what they do.

[old timer]

Originally Posted by macacks

Ownership at the Warbirds (had) considered themselves as a whale so there is some head scratching and frustrations in the front office. This has been a test for sure.

We need to understand better what strategies are being used against me (Lefty cheese for sure) and how to counter them.

Hmm... I looked at your roster again and I'm not sure why I considered it a mini-whale. I think I I just assumed this when you joined us and even after seeing all those top notch players, it never occurred to me, oh, that's a whale.

[One Great Matrix]

Your records, old timer & wait til next year demand new categorization...It's odd to see any team (as yours do) win 110+ games on a 162 game schedule rather easily...or in an "off" year. You are like...harpooners.

[One Great Matrix]

There you are: