Monday, September 29, 2014

POWER RANKINGS

RANK Franchise  W L WIN% RS RA xW xL
SOS
HIT
PIT
DEF
PREV RANK
1 Minnesota Golden Gophers 106 38 0.736 847 509 103 41 0 1 1 8 1
2 Arizona Lumberjacks 93 50 0.650 770 564 91 52 0 4 3 1 3
3 Philadelphia Owls 94 50 0.653 798 571 93 51 0 3 4 3 2
4 Richmond Spiders 94 50 0.653 723 535 91 53 0 8 2 22 4
5 Dover Fightin Blue Hens 88 55 0.615 731 574 87 56 0 6 5 18 5
6 Charlotte Tar Heels 87 57 0.604 729 589 86 58 0 7 7 11 8
7 Anaheim Trojans 88 55 0.615 803 661 84 59 0 2 16 12 7
8 New York Red Storm 85 58 0.594 764 612 86 57 0 5 12 20 6
9 Detroit Wolverines 83 61 0.576 642 584 78 66 0 20 6 15 11
10 Oakland Golden Bears 74 69 0.517 666 610 77 66 0 14 10 23 14
11 Nashville Commodores 68 76 0.472 711 669 76 68 0 11 18 4 9
12 Charleston Cougars 79 65 0.549 701 644 78 66 0 12 15 28 12
13 Jackson Rebels 66 78 0.458 717 679 76 68 0 10 19 10 13
14 Helena Grizzlies 76 67 0.531 600 587 73 70 0 25 8 7 15
15 Seattle Huskies 77 66 0.538 621 600 74 69 0 23 9 30 16
16 Columbus Buckeyes 73 71 0.507 592 615 69 75 0 27 11 5 10
17 Louisville Cardinals 67 77 0.465 693 721 69 75 0 13 21 29 25
18 Huntington Thundering Herd 70 74 0.486 718 767 68 76 0 9 28 32 20
19 Kansas City Wildcats 59 84 0.413 654 722 65 78 0 16 22 17 18
20 Cincinnati Bearcats 65 79 0.451 646 739 63 81 0 19 25 2 26
21 Syracuse Orange 64 79 0.448 585 637 66 77 0 29 14 6 19
22 Memphis Tigers 64 80 0.444 590 637 67 77 0 28 13 24 23
23 Boise Broncos 69 74 0.483 651 744 63 80 0 17 26 25 17
24 Texas Tech Red Raiders 57 86 0.399 664 784 61 82 0 15 30 9 22
25 Portland Ducks 63 80 0.441 594 696 61 82 0 26 20 19 24
26 Little Rock Razorbacks 62 81 0.434 650 782 60 83 0 18 29 16 21
27 Fargo Bison 62 82 0.431 642 760 61 83 0 21 27 21 27
28 Buffalo Bulls 52 91 0.364 499 661 54 89 0 32 17 13 28
29 Salem Beavers 57 86 0.399 584 732 57 86 0 30 24 14 31
30 New Orleans Bayou Bengals 49 95 0.340 633 867 52 92 0 22 32 26 29
31 Chicago Blue Demons 54 89 0.378 600 803 53 90 0 24 31 27 32
32 Iowa City Hawkeyes 51 93 0.354 568 731 56 88 0 31 23 31 30

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Rule Change Discussion

I have been thinking for some time that we may need to revise our MWR rule.  Specifically regarding the probationary season and the result if you don't hit 70 wins.   I am not sure how much attention everyone is paying to the HBD forums, classifieds, and current world openings, but the climate right now is not of a very robust environment.  Frankly, we're not in a position to be kicking out owners who legitimately want to stay and are open to taking significant penalties in lieu of expulsion.

I've thought about this for awhile, but it came to a head this season as mongoose_22 (who has a stellar reputation within the HBD community and is a great owner) has struggled to get to 70 wins with his Texas squad.  He has taken full ownership of whats happened and has admitted to thinking his teams were better than they were.  That combined with some unbelievably bad luck in 1 run games has led him to the point of expulsion.  He sent me a trade chat offering to give up his team immediately because he isn't going to hit the 70 win mark, but offered these penalties instead so that he would not be getting benefits from a bad season.

1. Forfeiture of the first round pick next year by selecting an absolute scrub

2. Two season IFA ban on signing anyone for more than $1 million.  Anything less would still allow him to sign minor league filler.

3.  Between the first round pick forfeiture and IFA ban, the remaining payroll would have to be invested into the ML team to keep improving it.

This would not be a one time exception.  We're discussing making a permanent rule change as exceptions just cause all kinds of problems.  In essence, anyone not hitting 70 wins in their probationary season would have a choice of leaving the world or accepting the above penalties. The competition committee voted 4 - 0 to vote for this rule change, but I want to bring it to the world as well.  Feel free to post in the world chat or you can always trade chat or sitemail me.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Down on the Farm...

Rob Ray
Cincinnati Bearcats

Score - 64
Fastball Velocity - 70
Fastball Movement - 65
Control - 65
Command - 55

Rob has a blazing fastball that sits between 92 to 95 MPH. When he needs to, he can give it a little extra. His four-seam FB has good late movement. He has an above average cut FB that breaks into RH batters and away from LH batters. His command could be a little better. Rob looks like he has the ceiling of a #2 SP with the floor of a #4 SP. He was drafted with the 17th pick, and it looks like he should have been selected higher. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in Cincinnati next season.
Down on the Farm...

Roger Urich
Jackson Rebels

Score - 43
Fastball Velocity - 30
Fastball Movement - 55
Control - 30
Command - 55

Roger has above average movement on his Split Fastball. He tops out around 85 MPH and doesn't look like he will add to his velocity. He has a plus slider. Control is where Roger is lacking. He is having a fine year in AA, but his success there doesn't look to translate to the majors. He has the ceiling of a AAAA pitcher with the floor of a AAA SP. Only look for Roger in the majors if there are several injuries to the ML staff.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Interview With Arizona Lumberjacks Owner mitt0108

I had the opportunity to interview mitt about his Arizona Lumberjacks team. They are having another great year. With the interview, we get to talk a little about the past and the present. 



J: I appreciate you taking the time to chat. Will your team continue on its torrid pace (.685 winning percentage) the rest of the year? 

M: Probably not quite that high, but who knows. Everything is clicking right now. We have been fortunate to avoid injuries as well. I don't care too much what the final record is, but the goal was getting a bye for the playoffs. 

J: You have some stiff competition in the NL. Do you think Arizona can represent the NL in the World Series?

M: I definitely think we are talented enough to make it, but the odds may be working against us after 3 straight WS appearances. My luck might run out against hop's Charlotte squad! I know he is sick of me haha. 

J: What did you do in the first two seasons that lead to your current success?

M: I'm not a fan of full on rebuilds. I don't have the patience ha. So, when I took over I was immediately focused on improving the ML squad every season. I inherited a couple good young bats in Doug Treadway and Howard Stevenson, so that obviously helps, but almost everyone else on my squad was acquired via trade or FA. I really just look at every position and pitching role and ask if I think they are good enough to be a part of a WS team. If the answer is no, or if I think I can get a net upgrade somehow, I am willing to deal whoever it is or upgrade via FA. 

J: What were the keys to winning it all in season 23?

M: Season 23 was when I finally had acquired enough ML talent mainly through FA and trades. I had 2 veteran FAs lead the team in home runs and a couple veteran pitchers acquired via trade come up big in Kevin Ryu and Tony Telemaco. Fred Keppel has also been a good value pick up in FA at SP. 

J: You have won 5 straight division titles and look as though you will win your 6th. How did you build your team to where it is today? Have you built mainly through the draft, international free agents, free agent signings, or some part of each?

M: I have built mainly through free agency and trades to get the core of my team. I am quick to sacrifice a late first round pick for a quality free agent. I do dabble in IFAs, but usually just acquiring middle tier cost ones that I will eventually trade. I also try to improve something every offseason, even after having a good team. I have acquired 4 big contributors since that WS victory in 3B Danny Smoltz, 2B Arthur Haynes, 1B Franklin Cornelius, and just this last offseason CF Pedro Gonzales.



Thank you again for taking the time to answer a few questions mitt! Arizona looks like a force to be reckoned with. Will mitt win his second World Series ring? We look forward to the playoffs to see the answer.


Sunday, September 21, 2014

25 Years of History

Looking back at 25 years of history, we can try to determine who were the dominate teams in both leagues. Day in and day out, you can definitely see that some organizations have been at the top of their game.

Charlotte has the best win percentage at .604 while Louisville has the most wild cards at 9. Minnesota has the most world series rings with 5 and Nashville has the most division titles with 18.

TeamLeagueDivisionWLW%WCDivWS
Anaheim TrojansALWest204420060.505743
Arizona LumberjacksNLWest208219680.5140134
Boise BroncosNLWest180422460.445230
Buffalo BullsNLEast190021500.469400
Charleston CougarsALEast213019200.5263110
Charlotte Tar HeelsNLEast244716030.6045173
Chicago Blue DemonsALEast181222380.447020
Cincinnati BearcatsALNorth195520950.483240
Columbus BuckeyesNLNorth187821720.464200
Detroit WolverinesNLNorth205419960.507591
Dover Fightin Blue HensNLNorth214319070.5292121
Fargo BisonALNorth215418960.5323102
Helena GrizzliesNLWest205419960.507272
Huntington Thundering HerdNLSouth194221080.480140
Iowa City HawkeyesNLNorth184722030.456240
Jackson RebelsALSouth190421460.470200
Kansas City WildcatsNLWest192421260.475220
Little Rock RazorbacksALSouth187121790.462330
Louisville CardinalsNLEast199620540.493900
Memphis TigersNLSouth184522050.456120
Minnesota Golden GophersALNorth221018400.546395
Nashville CommodoresALSouth226417860.5591182
New Orleans Bayou BengalsALSouth201920310.499540
New York Red StormALEast203620140.503751
Oakland Golden BearsALWest203220180.502350
Philadelphia OwlsALEast204820020.506370
Portland DucksALNorth196820820.486220
Richmond SpidersNLSouth214419060.5293121
Salem BeaversALWest225617940.5573160
Seattle HuskiesALWest184722030.456300
Syracuse OrangeNLEast220818420.545680
Texas Tech Red RaidersNLSouth198220680.489470

The AL has a slight edge in win percentage and world series rings over the NL. Every division has won at least one world series ring. 

W L W% WS
AL North 8287 7913 0.512 7
AL East 8026 8174 0.495 1
AL South 8058 8142 0.497 2
AL West 8179 8021 0.505 3
TOTALS 32550 32250 0.502 13
NL North 7922 8278 0.489 2
NL East 8551 7649 0.528 3
NL South 7913 8287 0.488 1
NL West 7864 8336 0.485 6
TOTALS 32250 32550 0.498 12
When you look at the overall win percentage of each team and the leagues, you get a sense of balance in the world. Each team has a chance to bring home the trophy every year. Some teams are consistently good, but the world seems to have an equilibrium over time.

Twenty-five years can seem like a long time. In reality, some of the long-time owners have probably felt like it has flown by. What a nice testament to the world as a whole when you view the statistics behind the last 25 years.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Waiver Wire

Hick Wilson
Huntington Thundering Herd

Hick is on the waiver wire currently. He was promoted to the majors this season. He pitched in relief and got his first career win. The highlight reel stops at his first win.

Hitters in the NL have hoped to get to Huntington's bullpen so they could face Hick. He has a 6.20 ERA with a 1.52 WHIP in 24.2 innings. He hasn't been afraid to throw the ball over the plate as shown by the 4 long balls he has given up. The ease with which he has given up walks has definitely hurt him.

If you are looking for a mopup pitcher, you might want to select Hick off the waiver wires. Otherwise, a trip back to AAA looks to be in his future.
A Look Back at the Rule 5 Draft

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Peter was selected by Texas Tech with the number one pick of the Rule 5 draft from Oakland. When asked about leaving Peter off their 40 man roster, the Oakland GM said, "We sent in the paperwork to add Peter Feng to our 40 man roster. We didn't want to lose someone of his caliber. Somehow the league says they didn't get the paperwork in time to process our request." 

Peter has done an excellent job mainly roaming CF in Texas Tech while sometimes filling in at 2B. He is batting .287 on the year with 18 HR and an OPS of .833 while playing 110 games. Peter has held his own in CF with 8 plus plays and only 2 errors on the season.  Of his 110 games played, he has started 97 of them in CF. 

"When I received the call from the GM of Texas Tech, mongoose, I was as happy as can be.", said Peter. He continued, "I knew I had finally made it! I had been waiting for my opportunity to show that I belonged in the big leagues. Oakland was a nice organization, but I am happy to be playing in Texas Tech. I hope to bring a championship to Texas."
Down on the Farm...

Pepe Zurbaran
Texas Tech Red Raiders

Score - 48
Hitting - 55
Power - 70
Plate Discipline - 45
Running - 20
Fielding - 45
Range - 10
Arm Strength - 55
Arm Accuracy - 55

Pepe has plus power along with a decent contact skill. He doesn't walk enough. His play calling skills behind the plate are lacking. He could be a backup catcher in a pinch, but he looks to be a DH. Texas may try to trade him to an AL team where he would have greater worth. If he could remain as a catcher, he would have All Star potential. Due to his pitch calling and receiving skills lacking, his ceiling will be as a DH in the AL with his floor being a bench player and backup catcher.
Down on the Farm...

Gregg Wells
Portland Ducks

Score - 59
Hitting - 45
Power - 60
Plate Discipline - 45
Running - 75
Fielding - 65
Range - 65
Arm Strength - 50
Arm Accuracy - 45

Gregg was drafted as a CF but has been moved to 2B which appears to be where he will stick. He has plus plus speed with good base running IQ. He should steal 40+ bases a year. Combine that with his plus power, and Gregg should be in the majors next season. When he makes contact, the ball will go a long way. His hitting skills outside of the long ball are suspect. He has played in a career high 100 games this season which diminishes his overall value as a player. He has the ceiling of a starting 2B in the majors with a bench role as his floor.
Down on the Farm...

Luis Morlan
New Orleans Bayou Bengals

Score - 57
Hitting - 55
Power - 50
Plate Discipline - 55
Running - 70
Fielding - 55
Range - 60
Arm Strength - 50
Arm Accuracy - 45

Luis belongs in LF with his glove. With his power, he should hit 15 to 20 HRs per season in the majors. He is much better against LH pitchers. His plus speed is his best skill. If he could stick at 2B, he would be a more valuable player. If he is moved to LF as expected, his value will drop some. He has the ceiling of a starting LF with a bench spot as his floor. Don't be surprised to see Luis in New Orleans next season.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Down on the Farm...

Al Brandt
Cincinnati Bearcats

Score - 48
Hitting - 65
Power - 80
Plate Discipline - 55
Running - 0
Fielding - 40
Range - 45
Arm Strength - 45
Arm Accuracy - 40

Al has plus plus power to go along with good contact and a decent eye. He should easily hit 40+ homers a year in the majors. Don't let his overall score fool you. He will be a force for Cincinnati. He may be more suited as a DH than a 1B. Al's biggest problem will be finding a place to play in Cincinnati since they already have an everyday Dh and 1B. Cincinnati may look to trade him for some help elsewhere.
Down on the Farm...

George Priddy
Louisville Cardinals

Score - 56
Fastball Velocity - 40
Fastball Movement - 65
Control - 65
Command - 55

George like several others in his draft class has decent movement on his fastball but lacks the velocity to make it a plus pitch. His fastball will remind you of a Bronson Arroyo fastball with him topping out at 89 MPH with good movement. Like Arroyo, Priddy will have a hard time keeping the ball in the park at Louisville. George should be in the majors next year with a ceiling of a #5 starter and the floor of a long relief guy.
Down on the Farm...

P.T. Durazo
Salem Beavers

Score - 54
Fastball Velocity - 40
Fastball Movement - 60
Control - 60
Command - 55

P.T. looks to be a fifth starter in the majors or possibly in a long relief/mopup role. His fastball is a little too slow without enough movement to fool big league hitters. His sinker is a decent second pitch. He is having a decent year in AAA, but he doesn't project to be any better than average in the majors. Look for P.T. on Salem's major league team next year.
Down on the Farm...

Lance Owens
Memphis Tigers

Score - 58
Hitting - 65
Power - 65
Plate Discipline - 45
Running - 75
Fielding - 50
Range - 50
Arm Strength - 45
Arm Accuracy - 45

Lance has plus speed but lacks some of the necessary base running skills needed to be very successful as a base stealer. His defense will be fine in LF. He has the potential to be a 30/30 man in the majors. He will strikeout his fair share and will not hit for a high average probably in the .265 to .280 range.
Down on the Farm...

Anthony Painter
Philadelphia Owls

Score - 55
Fastball Velocity - 20
Fastball Movement - 75
Control - 70
Command - 55

Anthony has plus movement on his fastball, but he lacks the arm strength to strike batters out. He can use his curveball to set up his fastball though. He will have trouble keeping the ball in the park and will not strike out many batters. Look for Anthony to be called up next year to help in Philadelphia's bullpen.
Minor League Update

Tarrik Price notched his 25th save of the season last night as the Cincinnati Bearcats beatthe Seattle Huskies in a AAA game 2 to 1. Tarrik pitched one inning with one strikeout and one hit batter. When asked how his outing went, Tarrik said, "I didn't have the greatest command out there tonight. I hit their left fielder in the leg. Their first basemen was so scared in his at bat that I could throw the ball down the middle and he was ducking. It was nice to help my team though. " Tarrick reached a career high in saves tonight.

Jesse Becker blasted a solo HR to left field as the Dover Fightin Blue Hens defeated theHelena Grizzlies 6 to 1. Dover swept Helena in their four game series. For Becker, he hit his 33rd HR of the season. He is having a great season after repeating AA and looks primed for a call up to AAA any day now.

The Salem Beavers beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers 6 to 5 to avoid the sweep in a High A game last night. Tony Hargrave hit is 5th home run of the season to seal the win. As he was talking about his home run Hargrave said, "The ball just had 'nuff umpf to clear the wall. My arms really hurt from swinging that hard! I may bunt next time since it is safer." One wonders if Salem has retractable fences.


The manager of the Dover Fightin Blue Hens was asked about his catcher in last night's game which Dover one 8 to 6 over the Arizona Lumberjacks. The Low A coach Tim Parrish said, "Jae Sugawara has played well for us this season. I know it looks like he doesn't know what he is doing behind the plate, but he is hitting .323 on the season. Where would you have me play him?" If you are like most of our readers, you are probably wondering how much longer Parrish will keep his job with those strategy skills he possesses.

Power Rankings by joekendall

Joe has asked to help contribute on the blog and I've happily accepted.  Below is his first submission and I think its great! Enjoy reading and hopefully a good conversation will follow on the blog!

Weekly, I will be releasing a Power Rankings for our NCAA world. As we get closer to the playoffs, I may increase the release schedule.

There are four pieces that I use to create an overall ranking. Hitting, Pitching, Defense, and current
record are those four pieces. I take into consideration seven components for Hitting, Pitching, and
Defense. I weight Hitting and Pitching higher than Defense while the current record accounts for a small amount of weighting in the composite rank.

The table will show the rank of each franchise in order, their current record, runs scored, runs against, expected wins, expected losses, strength of schedule (which I am not currently doing), their hitting
rank, pitching rank, defensive rank, and their previous rank. I have another table which I can include if others want it. It would show the breakdown of each franchise and how they rank in each of the seven components for hitting, pitching, and defense.

POWER RANKINGS

RANK
Franchise
W
L
WIN%
RS
RA
xW
xL
SOS
HIT
PIT
DEF
PREV RANK
1
Minnesota Golden Gophers
85
27
0.759
660
376
83
29
0
1
1
6
0
2
Philadelphia Owls
74
38
0.661
627
437
74
38
0
4
3
3
0
3
Arizona Lumberjacks
77
35
0.688
643
454
73
39
0
2
6
1
0
4
Richmond Spiders
75
37
0.670
590
412
74
38
0
7
2
23
0
5
Dover Fightin Blue Hens
69
43
0.616
590
457
69
43
0
6
7
14
0
6
New York Red Storm
67
45
0.598
601
464
69
43
0
5
8
17
0
7
Anaheim Trojans
72
40
0.643
634
499
68
44
0
3
15
15
0
8
Charlotte Tar Heels
67
45
0.598
552
472
64
48
0
10
9
11
0
9
Nashville Commodores
54
58
0.482
563
522
60
52
0
8
17
4
0
10
Columbus Buckeyes
60
52
0.536
498
484
57
55
0
21
12
5
0
11
Detroit Wolverines
62
50
0.554
471
445
59
53
0
26
5
16
0
12
Charleston Cougars
64
48
0.571
534
489
61
51
0
15
14
27
0
13
Jackson Rebels
48
64
0.429
539
529
57
55
0
12
18
10
0
14
Oakland Golden Bears
59
53
0.527
522
487
60
52
0
18
13
22
0
15
Helena Grizzlies
59
53
0.527
474
481
55
57
0
25
10
8
0
16
Seattle Huskies
58
54
0.518
471
444
59
53
0
27
4
31
0
17
Boise Broncos
57
55
0.509
535
583
52
60
0
13
23
26
0
18
Kansas City Wildcats
46
66
0.411
524
574
51
61
0
17
21
18
0
19
Syracuse Orange
50
62
0.446
442
481
52
60
0
30
11
7
0
20
Huntington Thundering Herd
54
58
0.482
554
609
51
61
0
9
28
32
0
21
Little Rock Razorbacks
52
60
0.464
527
593
50
62
0
16
24
19
0
22
Texas Tech Red Raiders
45
67
0.402
547
639
48
64
0
11
30
9
0
23
Memphis Tigers
51
61
0.455
475
502
53
59
0
24
16
24
0
24
Portland Ducks
51
61
0.455
486
532
51
61
0
23
19
20
0
25
Louisville Cardinals
46
66
0.411
535
600
50
62
0
14
27
29
0
26
Cincinnati Bearcats
46
66
0.411
504
613
46
66
0
20
29
2
0
27
Fargo Bison
47
65
0.420
492
600
46
66
0
22
26
21
0
28
Buffalo Bulls
36
76
0.321
379
533
39
73
0
32
20
12
0
29
New Orleans Bayou Bengals
38
74
0.339
507
680
41
71
0
19
32
25
0
30
Iowa City Hawkeyes
41
71
0.366
456
582
44
68
0
29
22
30
0
31
Salem Beavers
43
69
0.384
432
599
40
72
0
31
25
13
0
32
Chicago Blue Demons
39
73
0.348
468
660
39
73
0
28
31
28
0