Season 41 (2059) - The Thread

[emilempenza]

Good old Lefty Grove managed to get 16 strikeouts in his last 2 games of the season to beat Rube Waddell in the strikeout leaderboard by 2, thus robbing Rube of the Triple Crown. Thanks Lefty, way to help a teammate out.

Hopefully the animosity this has surely caused in camp won't affect us in the post season. The Rays are once again favourites in a seemingly weak league, but once again threaten to be knocked out by my brothers wildcard team. Not sure I can handle another week of banter if I lose again!

[Splitter24]

Well, they did it. The FTP Pack-Only Muck Rakers survived the division from hell, aka P442 NC West to stave off PL relegation for the 28th straight year with a 61-101 record. The top 3 teams averaged 113 wins. And it was the second straight season where my team was in a division that yielded both wild cards, though last season my team finished a close 4th.

Here's to some pack luck in 2060!

[Edster007]

My Coney Island team has qualified as a WC with a 102-60 record. This will be their 16th trip to the playoffs in 17 seasons and 32nd overall with nothing to show for it. I can't remember the last time we won a Wildcard game regardless of the opponent so I'm not holding my breath.

They've only made the WS twice, both times blowing a 3 games to 1 lead.

Next season will see the team reach 4,000 wins with Shoeless Joe getting his 7,000th hit, Tris Speaker will top 6,750 hits. Three Finger Brown will get his 500th win (which would have come sooner if I hadn't put him in the bullpen), Seaver picked up his 600th this year with Gooden 30 wins shy of 600.

When you aren't winning anything lifetime stats become more interesting to follow.

[macacks]

Originally Posted by macacks

Warbirds find themselves in P449 this year.

15 PL titles in their division.
25 in their conference.
40 in the league.

The Preseason predictor has the Warbirds winning the division (120 Wins) and the conference by 11 games...seems aggressive when I see the competition.
4 pitchers and 3 Hitters listed on the top performers section.

A weird pattern has developed with the 4PL titles.
First PL title was followed by a 2nd PL title 5 years later....then the 3rd four years later...followed by the 4th three years later...

It is now two years since my 4th so the pattern has the Warbirds as a lock to win the PL this year.

The Warbirds came in with 123 wins as opposed to the pre season prediction of 120. They did win the division (3 110+ win teams) by that 11 games as predicted.

In season acquisitions of TOD Betts and TOY Yelich (both packs) made a major impact.
Improving defence and speed as well as hitting.

[daves]

Originally Posted by macacks

The Warbirds came in with 123 wins as opposed to the pre season prediction of 120. They did win the division (3 110+ win teams) by that 11 games as predicted.



In season acquisitions of TOD Betts and TOY Yelich (both packs) made a major impact.

Improving defence and speed as well as hitting.

There is a pre-season predictor?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HelpDodgers]

Belfast out.

[pappyzan]

Originally Posted by waittilnextyear

I'm not sure if there is potential for getting the Old Timer 5 back together next week, but I would be interested. I see that they weren't placed in OL this time, so that assuages my guilt a little bit.

I'm gonna exit the Old Timer 5 this week, had a really tough division draw the past 2 weeks. My father had a stroke last Sunday morning, so I've paid attention to my team a lot less than in weeks past. Things are going really well compared to others I know who've had a stroke, but please send your thoughts and prayers this way.

EDIT: the Lefty Grove closer experiment went better than expected, only blew one save out of 30-ish chances with a 1.99 ERA. Will try it again next week.

[JasonC23]

Originally Posted by pappyzan

I'm gonna exit the Old Timer 5 this week, had a really tough division draw the past 2 weeks. My father had a stroke last Sunday morning, so I've paid attention to my team a lot less than in weeks past. Things are going really well compared to others I know who've had a stroke, but please send your thoughts and prayers this way.

Thoughts and prayers for your dad and you, Pappyzan.

[X3NEIZE]

Originally Posted by pappyzan

I'm gonna exit the Old Timer 5 this week, had a really tough division draw the past 2 weeks. My father had a stroke last Sunday morning, so I've paid attention to my team a lot less than in weeks past. Things are going really well compared to others I know who've had a stroke, but please send your thoughts and prayers this way.

EDIT: the Lefty Grove closer experiment went better than expected, only blew one save out of 30-ish chances with a 1.99 ERA. Will try it again next week.

Hope your father has a full recovery and best of luck, i'll be happy to lose vs your team. Peace.

[JasonC23]

Originally Posted by JasonC23

In other words, despite an amazing regular season, the Playoff Failure warning lights are flashing incredibly bright in Huntley tonight.

Game 1 vs the Detroit Tigers (94-68, +121 RDiff, 38 GB Huntley in the NC West):
Huntley's Rube Waddell: 5.0 IP, 4 R (3 ER) (fourth straight poor start)
Detroit's Hooks Dauss: 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R
Detroit shuts out Huntley in Huntley, 5-0.

Game 2:
Huntley's Curt Schilling: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R
Detroit's Dizzy Trout: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R
Huntley's Mariano Rivera, called upon to close out the 2-0 lead in the 9th: 0.1 IP, 2 H
Huntley's Dennis Eckersley, called upon to clean up Rivera's mess: 1 H, 1 inherited runner scored, but 0.2 IP
Huntley escapes by the skin of its teeth, 2-1, to tie the series.

Game 3:
Huntley's Ed Walsh: 8.0 IP, 1 ER
Detroit's SE Hal Newhouser: 8.0 IP, 0 R
Detroit wins, 1-0.

Will the 132-win Red Raiders even make it to a game 5? With the 1,048-runs offense managing a pathetic 2 runs in 3 games, all signs point to ...

[JasonC23]

Originally Posted by JasonC23

Will the 132-win Red Raiders even make it to a game 5? With the 1,048-runs offense managing a pathetic 2 runs in 3 games, all signs point to ...

Well, OK, the offense woke up...

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by pappyzan

My father had a stroke last Sunday morning, so I've paid attention to my team a lot less than in weeks past. Things are going really well compared to others I know who've had a stroke, but please send your thoughts and prayers this way.

Best wishes for a full recovery!

[macacks]

Originally Posted by daves

There is a pre-season predictor?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Before the league kicks off you can find it in the reports menu like you would for OOTP. after the season kicks off it is not available.

[JasonC23]

Rube Waddell took the mound for Huntley in the Division Series game 5 against the Detroit Tigers. He was coming off 4 straight subpar starts, which marred his otherwise outstanding, triple-crown-winning season, but the Red Raiders were counting on him to come through when it mattered.

Ty Cobb dug into the batter's box. After watching 2 strikes go by, he laced a single.

Bill Freehan was next. He took ball one, then launched a majestic shot into the bleachers.

Just like that, the Tigers were ahead 2-0.

Waddell demanded a new ball from Yogi Berra. He caught it and stared at it on the mound as Freehan circled the bases. Waddell gripped it tight and murmured, "That's it."

Five innings later, he departed, having given up only 2 more hits and no more runs.

Meanwhile, the Huntley offense managed to tie the game against Hooks Dauss--Berra singled home Christian Yelich in the third, and Barry Bonds singled home Norm Cash in the fifth.

Then, the fateful bottom of the 8th began.

Cash grounded out against John Hiller, but Bonds singled. Max Scherzer was summoned from the bullpen. Yelich greeted him with a single, sending Bonds to third. George Brett then singled, and Bonds raced home with the go-ahead run! Later in the inning, Ken Griffey Jr singled home Yelich, and the Red Raiders were 3 outs away from a hard-fought Division Series win.

Mariano Rivera took the mound in the ninth and threw 4 pitches:
Hank Greenberg flew out on the first pitch.
Miguel Cabrera grounded out on the first pitch.
Chet Lemon took a called strike, then grounded out.

And there was relief--and joy!--in Huntley.

Huntley will face the ayyy lmaos in the Sub-League Series. The teams were 3-3 against each other during the regular season.

[macacks]

Originally Posted by macacks

The Warbirds came in with 123 wins as opposed to the pre season prediction of 120. They did win the division (3 110+ win teams) by that 11 games as predicted.

In season acquisitions of TOD Betts and TOY Yelich (both packs) made a major impact.
Improving defence and speed as well as hitting.

Warbirds out in 5 games. Big Train loses the game and his 13 game winning streak.

[dbqs]

P425 might be the most polarized league I've been in yet! So many 100-game winners... lost out in the wild card round :-(

[JasonC23]

Over in the AC, the well-covered-in-these-updates Pacific Sixers lost games 1 and 2 of the Division Series at home to the Glen Dronach, 5-1 and 12-4. With their backs against the wall, the Sixers came through, winning 8-4 and 6-0 on the road and then closing out the series with a 9-0 win at home. Pacific RF Cody Bellinger (.296/.321/.741, 3 HR, 6 RBI) took home the MVP.

Surprisingly, the Sixers will face the AC West champs Mesa Snow Dogs (93-69, +116 RDiff) in the AC Sub-League Series. The Snow Dogs shocked the 114-win Atlantis Giant Squid in the Division Series, coming from 2-1 down to win games 4 and 5 8-5 and 5-2. Mesa RF Frank Robinson (.324/.410/.647, 2 HR, 9 RBI) made it 2-for-2 for RFs winning AC Division Series MVPs.

[pappyzan]

Originally Posted by pappyzan

EDIT: the Lefty Grove closer experiment went better than expected, only blew one save out of 30-ish chances with a 1.99 ERA. Will try it again next week.

...Aaand Lefty blows it in game 5 after both teams' starters, Peak Pedro and Big Walt, are both destroyed. Congrats X3NEIZE, was a fun season and a close DS, good luck the rest of the way.

[JasonC23]

Huntley defeats ayyy 4 games to 1 to advance to the P410 Perfect League Series! The Red Raiders' opponent is undetermined at the moment, but Pacific Sixers are up 3 games to 1 over the Mesa Snow Dogs, so it seems very likely it will be the NC #1 versus the AC #1.

[waittilnextyear]

The Fighting Frogs (131-31, +537) had quite the season in P430 this week. They set franchise records in wins, RDiff, runs scored (1037), and batting average (.302). Several double digit winning streaks were had--the longest of which was 22 games. It looks to be quite the haul of individual awards, too, but we'll wait until after the playoffs to get the full measure of that.

These Frogs obtained the #1 overall seed, dispatched the Charlestown Chiefs in 4 games in the DS, and currently hold a 3-2 lead over the Poughkeepsie Singles Club in the AC Sub-League Series. It's a bit of an uncomfortable lead right now after taking the first 3 games and then watching the offense score a grand total of 1 run on 20 hits in the subsequent 2 losses. It'll be my 100 Rube Waddell and 100 Ed Walsh vs their 97 Smoky Joe Wood and 100 Bob Gibson in games 6 and 7. Here's to hoping that a return home will spur the offense back to life. We'll also have to tighten the strategy settings a bit with this specific opponent in mind.

On the other side of the bracket, the Backyard Melonheads (a defense theme team) has surprisingly fought its way through to the PL Series, and will await the winner of La Crosse/Poughkeepsie. First, the Montreal Expos upset the fearsome (but autopiloting) Cottage Grove Tube Sox. Then, the Expos were themselves upset by Backyard in a string of close games that went something like: 2-4, 3-1, 3-2, 2-1, 3-0. And this was after the Melonheads rallied from a 2-0 deficit against the Paragon City Heroes in the NC Divisional Series.

No offense to either Poughkeepsie or the Melonheads, but the Frogs have a golden opportunity to add PL title #8 this week if they don't gag it away over the next handful of sims. But if the Frogs do gag it away, it would be a first PL title for Poughkeepsie or Backyard.