Free Agent Rankings

TOP FREE AGENTS BY POSITION
This ranking is using a similar ranking system to what was done at the beginning of the season, just to capture the free agents.

CATCHERS
After Chico Duran, the talent available in free agency drops significantly. If Duran does not resign with his current team, then you could see a serious bidding war emerge because of his abilities. Beyond him, you get a bunch of role players, who will solidify the catcher position, but not dominate it like Duran has the potential to.

1. Chico Duran - Finished 4th in the overall world rankings for catchers and 23rd in the hitter rankings, Duran is a very good player who will give a team as many at-bats as they need behind the plate. He would be an ideal player to pair with a great defensive catcher. Chico recorded a 13-game hitting streak. Owner dgtrache had this to say about Duran, “Chico Duran had another great year behind the plate for the Cougars, blasting 28 home runs and driving in 91. Duran looks to continue for another few years, but might benefit from a move to DH, with a role as the back-up catcher, where with is durability, he could likely play all 162 games.”

2. Jonathan Maduro - Maduro finished 22nd in the overall world rankings for catchers, but he is still a solid player. Can work a walk, hit righties and lefties, and still catch in about 70% of a team’s games. Jonathan recorded an 18-game hitting streak which was tops for catchers in the NCAA world and tied for 7th longest in the world. Can help a team looking to bridge the gap to a young catcher. Owner mh17 said Maduro was “a team leader and great OBP guy, Maduro is a clutch hitter and dependable run producer with 2 outs. His career numbers could easily be better on a more offensive oriented team”

3. Robert Kelley - Kelley comes in just behind Maduro in the top available catchers entering free agency. What Kelley lacks in durability and catching skills, he more than makes up for it with a solid ability to hit. Won’t give you too many more games than the 100 he put in during Season 9, but that should be enough to help a team get over the hump or to spell a young catcher with questionable durability himself. “We haven't ruled out bringing Robert Kelley back,” owner drichar138 said, “I felt like we were fortunate to get him in here on a one year deal for the price we did this season and his performance has been what we expected. Of course the big question mark going forward will be his durability more than his ability to perform.”

FIRST BASEMEN

One of the strongest positional groups in the world, this group is a middle of the road free agent group. One all-star appearance among the top 3 players. This group has no star power, but is definitely able to help a team with their talent.

1. Bubbles Haynes - A good player in the strongest group of players in NCAA, Haynes nonetheless leads a middling field of free agents into the offseason. Haynes will hit for average and power and induce a fair amount of walks. While he won’t win a gold glove, he should be good enough to start for most teams at first base. Could be a very good stopgap to bridge the generations. Owner miggyt4 had this to say about Haynes…”Bubbles was a midseason pickup in Season 8 to boost my poor performing offense and he did exactly that, boost my offense. I'm not a huge fan of players over 30 however I decided to resign him for $900,000 for Season 9 and he was the anchor in my lineup. The only player to reach 100 RBIs he was a force in my lineup. I thought about resigning him but like I said, I'm not a huge fan of players over 30 and he's asking 4.8 million for 2 years.”

2. Otto Cosby - Otto is a solid player but does not have the durability a team will look for to build around. If you’re happy with 450-500 really good ABs, and a .400+ OBP, this guy is the man you want. Won’t hit for a tremendous amount of power as his career-high in homers is 33 (in 693 plate appearances). At 35 with a great makeup, he provides great clubhouse leadership and could definitely hold down the #2 slot on a lot of teams. Ajwalton says, “Otto provided a solid bat off the bench and was well worth the 1.3M. I have age concerns, otherwise he would have been resigned.”

3. Sid Jordan - Sid still has the power, contact, and eye to compete for a spot on a team. He’s the 24th best first baseman in the league and only appeared in 46 games last season, due largely to the first guy on this list. Finished the season at Little Rock’s AAA affiliate, where he hit .375 in 8 ABs and 3 games. He could definitely help a team who has a weakness at first base. Great durability means he doesn’t need days off. “I signed him thinking he was going to be my answer at first base.” Miggyt4 said, “boy was I wrong. Sid never really performed at the level I expected him to. He has decent ratings but his average and OBP never reflected what I expected. He was demoted in Season 9 to make way for Grant Dickerson at the DH position. I'm happy to see Sid go along with his 6 million dollar a year contract.”

SECOND BASEMEN

The weakest group of position players in free agency also just happens to be the second weakest in the world. Despite that, there is some real talent available. Looking for defense, it’s here…offense as well. No superstars, but these guys can definitely contribute to a winning team.

1. Oscar Purcell - A good but not great player, Purcell set career highs in home runs, OBP, and walks in season 9. A weaker than average arm leads him to struggle with turning two and plays up the middle, but his offense is solid enough to make up for that weakness. He has a great eye and makes enough contact to provide help at the top of the order for a team. He did show his versatility with 13 starts at 3rd, 4 starts each in CF and LF, 21 starts in right, and 11 at DH. Also appeared in one game at catcher. Owner lefty32 could not be reached for comment.

2. Tracy Nen - Due to Seattle having the market cornered on 2nd basemen, Nen spent most of this time in right field. His numbers aren’t great, which are the product of not excelling against righties or lefties. Decent eye, great power and good contact should allow this player to perform well and justify his use at any position. Owner lefty32 was not available as of press time.

3. Jung Lee - Jung stole 37 bases in 45 tries while tying a career high with 35 doubles. Has tremendous range that led to a range factor of 4.68. He is probably more of a 7-hole hitter as his eye will lead him to struggle getting on base, as evidenced by his career OBP of .337. His other skills translate to a good lead-off hitter with the exception of his eye. Could really help a team with their depth and versatility. Lee “pretty valuable, especially for someone without outstanding 2B defensive attributes only 9 errors all season (.986), and no plus plays ... .299 BA in 142 games with nearly 600 official ABs (on-base .355 isn't terrible and only 79 Ks) ... 37 for 45 SB ... his ratings have declined each of his last couple Spring Trainings, so I'm torn on whether to resign him,” said owner tdvy31.

THIRD BASEMEN

A weak group, there’s not a single impact player entering free agency at this time. You’ve got some specialty talent available, but if you’re looking for a guy to come in and get you over the top…this is not the position to target.

1. Terrence Washington - Washington is a veteran presence who brings a solid glove, along with the ability to work the count and hit against all pitchers. He’s not going to set the world aflame, and at his age it remains to be seen how much his abilities deteriorate over the off-season, but suffice to say, he is the clear leader of a weak group of free agents. When asked about what Washington meant to his team, jarazix responded,” Nowhere near as much as I hoped. A decent bat and excellent 3rd base play.”

2. Delino Marquez - Saw limited playing time, but produced decent numbers despite this limitation. Could be a perfect platoon player against righties. With limited range and arm strength, may be best suited to be someone’s top PH against righties. Owner hitman1979 summed up his feelings on Marquez by saying, “Delino plugged up a hole for us, but there was still a leak.”

3. Stu Ford - Is going to hit about 20-30 home runs a season, while giving you an average and on-base percentage around what he produced. He can hold his own defensively. He’s the least likely to drop off over the off-season, so he may actually be the best value out of this free agent group. Owner meteu40 said, “He played far under what his salary would dictate, but was not a complete waste of money. Needless to say, I'll not be resigning him for next season, unless his price comes way down.”

Shortstops

Another relatively weak group, there is no superstar setting the market, just some role players who will help a team out, but not push them over the hump.

1. Yorvit Castilla - Castilla saw limited playing time due to being stuck behind one of the better defensive shortstops in the league. Has the durability and fielding ability to help solidify a team’s shortstop position. Won’t provide much offense, but definitely could compete for a gold glove. Hitman1979 said, “Castilla was expendable because of Jacob Belle at SS. He was decent as a rather expensive defensive replacement at positions other than SS, though his bat didn't warrant much playing time.”

2. Howard Smith - Smith saw a fair amount of playing time and committed 12 errors in 108 games at SS. He’s a good defender who appears to be better off bringing a tennis racket to the plate in place of a bat. With enough innings, his glove could earn him a gold glove, but it is difficult to justify him starting at SS with that bat.

3. Carlos Park - His offense doesn’t come close to justifying the atrocious defense he provides. No range, no arm strength…if he can get to the ball, he’ll make the throw on target, yet he still committed 16 errors and 11 minus plays in only 123 games at SS. Could be a prime candidate to make the move to second or third base on a team.

LEFT FIELDERS

This is the second best group of free agents available this season. There’s something for everyone here. Bashers who’ll anchor a lineup, leadoff type guys, defensive players…they’re all here. The top two players are two of the best free agents on the market and are nearly interchangeable.

1. Dernell Cameron - A devastating power hitter who recovered nicely from a down season in Season 8 to have a very good Season 9. The only concern is his ability to hit lefties…that’s off-set by his pure ability to pound righties into submission.

2. David Cordero - Another really good player who had another good season. Cordero won’t hit for a great average, but will always hit for power. The only real concern here is his ability to hit lefties. He will steal the occasional base as he has 111 for his career.

3. Aaron Downing - The best of the rest, Downing doesn’t have the ability to carry a team offensively with power like his peers, but he can rake with the best of them. His comparable lack of power hurts him in this ranking, but he has never hit below .275 or stolen fewer than 27 bases in a season. Can give you a very good leadoff or number two hitter to put in front of your boppers. Could be a missing piece for a contender.

CENTER FIELDERS

Although their stats don’t speak to it, this is the best free agent position in this class, centerfield is characterized by its lack of depth. There are only 7 available free agents, and you can argue that 3 of them are really just outfielders, not centerfielders. That said, this is a strong group overall and can really help a team out.

1. Jolbert Rosado - Rosado is more useful for his defense than any particular aspect of his offense. Has the ability to hit .275 with 20-25 home runs on occasion, but his ability to hit righties really diminishes his value. Has put up some really good seasons, but those seem to aberrations. His defense makes it worthwhile to put up with his offensive struggles.

2. Rex Allen - Rex was a 20/20 guy this season (25HR; 23SB) but is an example of the lack of centerfielders available in free agency. A defensive liability in centerfield, he had 9 errors and 11 minus plays during the season. He’s a prime candidate for a move to a corner outfield spot where he could likely compete for a gold glove. He has the ability to have a couple really good offensive seasons before his career is over. Owner hurricane384 said, “Allen plugged a hole in centerfield and while the defense wasn’t great, it was more than what was expected on the offensive end. We haven’t ruled out bringing him back, but want to wait on the youngsters who were not ready last season to see if they are ready in season 10.”

3. James Lee - Lee is a defensive dynamo, able to make some very good plays and immediately compete for the gold glove in centerfield. Doesn’t have much power, but can definitely hit for a decent average. It did appear that he picked the wrong season to have a down season. Should steal about 20 bases a year as well.

RIGHT FIELDERS

Not much to write home about in this group, although there are some good players, nobody is going to win an MVP. They can definitely help a team, but as a role player, not the star of the team though.

1. Cal Riggan - Clearly a good player, Riggan is the best of this group. Will make right-handed pitchers wet themselves while working the count and walking quite a bit. Has solid power and a good ability to make contact. What you see is about what you can expect to get with him, although he followed up a 25-steal season in season 8 with a 0-steal season in 9.

2. Joe Campbell - Season 6’s gold glove right fielder has the potential to be a perennial gold glover with solid defensive ratings. He is no slouch at the plate either as he can hit for power with the best of the league. Lefties quiver in fear as he strides to the plate and he’s not an easy out against righties either. Low durability limits his value.

3. Wes Thomas - Thomas has the ability to hit for power and average, although his OBP will typically be lower than what it was this past season. He will struggle against lefties, although he has great speed. Could steal 30 bases a year on speed alone. Decent on defense as well.

STARTING PITCHERS

This is a solid group…not an ace amongst them though. They can provide help to a rotation and some value as long as they are not overpaid.

1. Pinky Matheson - Matheson definitely has the talent to be a middle of the rotation starter, the only question is whether he can physically give a team enough innings to be worth the money he can make this off-season. If a team is creative, he might be able to get 180 innings out of him. He should get his 100th win and 1,000th strikeout this season.

2. Jimmie Daniels - Daniels is a solid middle of the rotation pitcher. Definitely can get a team 200+ innings. Has a good array of pitches, and should be able to reproduce season 9’s numbers with relative ease. Daniels should be able to get his 1,400th strikeout this season. He will definitely help a team out who is looking to remedy a weak rotation. “Jimmie did an admirable job for the Herd since joining us early in the season,” hurricane384 said, “we are strongly considering bringing him back on a long-term deal, but we want to see how our youth progressed.”

3. Bob Elster - Elster started the season in the bullpen for Dover, but was traded to Cincinnati in time to make 7 starts for the Bearcats. A solid pitcher who will definitely be a starter somewhere next season, Elster should provide really good results for his new team. He’s still young and can give a team 180+ seasons out of the rotation.

RELIEF PITCHERS

There are some guys who have the talent to be all-star closers, but spent last season as set-up men. A team could definitely run these guys to the mound in the 9th without worrying about that inning.

1. Johan Ramsay - What’s really holding Ramsay back is his lack of stamina. Lucky to finish an inning and be ready for a game 2 days later, he has all the talent in the world, he is just unable to make full use of it.

2. Esteban Cedeno - Cedeno really struggled this season, yet was able to finish perfect in save opportunities. Has all the talent as well, but can’t pitch very many innings due to an unfortunate stamina/durability combination. He would be a lights-out closer saving 40+ games a season with a stamina of 10-15 points higher. He will help a team in limited appearances this season

3. Peter Ryan - The one-time top closer lost his job last season, but that doesn’t mean he lost his effectiveness. At age 38, it’s hard to tell when Father Time catches up to him. Provided Father Time isn’t too hard on him in the off-season, there’s a very real chance that a team could get a guy to put them over the hump as closer and could help him get to 250 saves in the process. “This guy lost his closer spot after one season of 40 saves, yet you never heard him complain. He performed whatever was asked of him. I just hope he can go to a team that will help get him his 250th save,” owner hurricane384 said.

TOP FREE AGENT HITTERS
1. Dernell Cameron (LF, NAS)
2. Chico Duran (C, CHR)
3. Bubbles Haynes (1B, LR)
4. David Cordero (LF, HEL)
5. Cal Riggans (RF, OAK)
6. Aaron Downing (LF, CHR)
7. Otto Cosby (1B, LAA)
8. Oscar Purcell (2B, SEA)
9. Napoleon Saunders (LF, NY2)
10. Tracy Nen (2B, SEA)

Records Updates

Single Season and Career Records have been updated. No change in the single season pitching records, however there was one change in the hitting records. Bob Guerrero is the new hitting streak leader with the 41 games in a row from last season eclipsing the old 31 games in a row record.

Joaquin Nunez continues to make his case as the top pitcher in the history of NCAA as he has taken over the career records for both ERA and WHIP.

All of the other records have been updated.

Stay tuned for some updates to the blog that lp and I are working on.

World Rules Refresher

NCAA World Rules

Here are the rules that all of NCAA World members have agreed to by playing in this world. If they are not followed, then the owner will be replaced.

Competition Committee
There is a five person competition committee consisting of myself, bighead34, evil doers, tk21775, and mikejuggalo. This committee exists to provide checks and balances on the commissioner (myself) so that I can not make changes unilaterally. The committee will review any rules violations and then vote and majority rules.

Anti Tanking Rules

1. More than 200 losses over a two year period and the owner will be asked to state their case as to why they should be allowed to stay. If allowed to stay the owner must reach 70 wins or be replaced.

2. Extended losing streaks or trends at the end of the season will be reviewed above and beyond the 200-win requirement. Teams are expected to maintain a level of competitiveness throughout the entire season. It is not acceptable to lose towards the end of the season to secure a higher draft slot.

Gameplay Rules

3. Owners must keep their minor league teams intact. This includes having enough pitchers to avoid fatigued pitchers and also covering all of the positions. (Not enough money in the budget is not an excuse as budgeting is an important part of the game...you'll need to make some moves to free up payroll).

4. Using tandem pitchers for the specific reason of telling the AI who you want to be the first pitcher out of the bullpen is perfectly fine. However, it is NOT ok to deceive the other owner to gain a platoon advantage. Starting Pitchers should have their target pitch count set to at least 60. If you choose to not to use a target pitch count, then the max pitch count should be set to at least 60. (exceptions may apply in extreme circumstances)

5. If cash is included in a trade then the cash can NOT exceed the player salary going with it. (Example is player A makes 2 million...you can NOT trade 5 million and the player)

6. You must protect your players for the 40 man roster! Plenty of time to do so once budgets are set to protect your players for the Rule V Draft. There will be no "I had something come up, please take pity on me and trade me my player back."

7. If a team signs a "Type A" or "Type B" player than that player can NOT be traded until after the amateur draft.

8. When a trade is completed, any major league player involved is immediately to be moved to "Rest" and any minor league player involved is to be put on the inactive roster. This is to prevent fatigue and/or injury. If a starting pitcher (ML) is traded and is scheduled as next starter (therefore can not be rested), his pitch count should be set at minimum and then he should be placed on "rest" immediately thereafter.

Other Rules

9. Trade chats and proposals must be responded to in 48 hours...even if it is to say "hey, i saw your chat/proposal, but I'm busy, give me some time to get back to you." Please send me a private trade chat if this rule is not being observed.

10. Cities/Stadiums are not to be moved once you are in the world. All team names must look and sound professional.

11. The world chat is to be used for discussion and debate, however you must keep it civil. Personal attacks will not be acceptable.

12. I reserve the right to add to these rules. Usually I'll put a matter up for a vote and we'll see what everyone thinks.

Season 9 - World Series Roundup by hurricane384

Game 2

Minnesota 5 9 0

Arizona 7 11 0



WP: Buddy Stoops (1-0)

LP: Orber Pierre (0-1)

SV: Justin Ward (5)

POG: David Sierra (1-4, HR, 3 RBI)



Summary:

This was a game that could’ve gone either way. Bernie Ortiz opened the scoring with a 2-run home run in the bottom of the first. Jake Peterson homered in the 3rd, followed by an Ortiz single. Ortiz will miss the rest of the World Series due to a strained hamstring. Juan Delgado singled to score Albert Brogna. Minnesota scored 2 in the top of the 4th on run-scoring hits by Bob Guerrero and Ichiro Kwon. A single by Jim Hernandez in the 7th made the score 4-3. Things get wild from here. Candy Thomas hit a solo shot to right-center in the 8th and two batters later, Monte Hall grounds into a fielder’s choice with men at the corners to knock in Guerrero and give Minnesota the late advantage, 5-4. That didn’t last long though, as Orber Pierre gave back-to-back singles followed by a David Sierre, 3-run home run to put Arizona up 7-5. Justin Ward came in to pitch a perfect 9th for the save.

ARIZONA LEADS THE SERIES, 2-0.



Game 3
Arizona 4 10 0

Minnesota 0 5 0



WP: Don Martin (3-0)

LP: Chad Gold (2-2)

POG: Don Martin (9.0 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 5 K)



Summary:

Arizona showed off its superior talent today. David Sierra walked in the 3rd and Jake Peterson tripled to give Arizona a 1-0 lead. In the 4th, the Sun Devils struck again. Shawn Tremie walked, Joaquin Colon doubled, and after a Don Murphy pop-out, Jung-Lee Koh singled to right to knock in 2 and give the Sun Devils a 3-0 lead. They closed the scoring in the 5th with a single by Peterson who was knocked in on Michael Maddux’s triple. Minnesota really only threatened once, and that was in the 8th, where they loaded the bases with no outs, but Don Martin was able to induce two fly-outs and a strikeout to escape.

ARIZONA LEADS THE SERIES, 3-0



Game 4
Arizona 4 4 0

Minnesota 1 6 0



WP: Guy McMasters (1-0)

LP: Stuart Anderson (0-2)

SV: Justin Ward (6)

POG: Guy McMasters (8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K)



Summary:

Arizona didn’t waste any time in getting the scoring started with a Joaquin Colon single in the 2nd knocking in Juan Delgado. David Sierra hit a 2-run homer in the 3rd to put the Sun Devils ahead, 3-0. Juan Delgado hit a solo home run in the 4th to cap the scoring for Arizona and put them ahead, 4-0. Despite outhitting the Sun Devils, the Golden Gophers were never able to mount a huge threat, as the closest they came was in the 6th when they scored a run on Phil York’s 2-on, 2-out single, to make the score, 4-1. Justin Ward pitched the ninth, giving up a single and striking out one en route to his 6th post-season save.

ARIZONA WINS THE SERIES, 4-0.

CONGRATULATIONS!



MVP: JUSTIN WARD (3 SAVES, 0.00 ERA)

World Series Game 1 Recap by hurricane384

Game 1

Minnesota 0 5 0

Arizona 1 6 1

WP: Nick Wilson (4-0, 2.08)

LP: Kenneth Banks (1-1, 2.70)

SV: Justin Ward (4, 0.00)
POG: Kenneth Banks, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 2 K



Summary:

Neither team could muster any offense of which to speak against the other team’s postseason ace. Minnesota garnered 5 hits, with only 1 extra base hit being a double by RF Terry Dodd (1-4, 2B) who was thrown out at home three batters later in the fourth. Minnesota ’s pitching staff did everything that was asked of it with Kenneth Banks (5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 4 K), Francisco Vega (perfect 6th inning), and Orber Pierre (2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 K) keeping the game close. Arizona broke through in the bottom of the fifth as Jung-Lee Koh (1-2, R, 2BB, SB) walked with 2 outs, stole second and then scored when Buddy Buckley (1-4, RBI) singled to RF Dodd, who misjudged the high fly ball. Buckley was thrown out at home two batters later trying to go from 2nd to home on a single by Bernie Ortiz (3-4). Justin Ward (1.0, 1 K) pitched a perfect 9th for the save.

ARIZONA LEADS THE SERIES, 1-0.

Seaon 9 World Series Preview

WORLD SERIES PREVIEW – SEASON 9 by hurricane384

MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS ( AL )

VS.

ARIZONA SUN DEVILS (NL)



RATINGS ADVANTAGES

STARTING LINEUP

POWER: Arizona
CONTACT: Arizona
VS L: Arizona
VS R: Arizona
EYE: Arizona

ADV: Arizona

BENCH

POWER: Arizona
CONTACT: Arizona
VS L: Minnesota
VS R: Minnesota
EYE: Arizona

ADV: Arizona

Rotation

CONTROL: Minnesota
VS L: Arizona
VS R: Arizona
VELOCITY: Arizona
STUFF: Arizona

ADV: Arizona

Bullpen

CONTROL: Minnesota
VS L: Arizona
VS R: Arizona
VELOCITY: Arizona
STUFF: Arizona

ADV: Arizona

#3 MINNESOTA (81-81)

This was the first division championship in the franchise’s history and bighead34 rode the momentum all the way to the World Series. A sweep in the first round, then a 3-2 win and a 4-2 AL championship over the Golden Bears, who were seeded 5th despite having the 5th most victories in the majors.

Offense: The top AL team in batting average, OBP, and doubles, 5th in runs scored, and 6th in slugging, they ranked at or near the bottom of the AL in the rest of the offensive categories. Bob Guerrero finished 8th in the league in batting average, but the true toast of Minnesota was 2B Candy Thomas (.303/.353/.531) who finished 2nd in RS and hits, 6th in doubles and RBIs, and 15th in homers. Ron Thomas was an all-star who hit 26 home runs, and 32 doubles while driving in 94.

Pitching: This was truly one of the worst pitching staffs in the league during the regular season. A combined 4.79 ERA was good for 12th out of 16 teams in the AL. The bullpen blew 20 saves and they finished dead last in the league in strikeouts while giving up a OAV of .270. The staff did ratchet it up in the postseason with a 3.68 ERA and going a perfect 3/3 in save opportunities. The Golden Gopher staff was led by Don Holt with a 4.83 ERA in 206.2 innings pitched and Stuart Anderson who won 13 games despite a 5.09 ERA. Closer Norman Borders was solid with a 3.86 ERA in 35 IP and was 24 of 26 in save opportunities.

Fielding: The top fielding team in the league, Minnesota boasted a .987 fielding percentage while also finishing fifth in double plays with 384. With 71 plus plays against 12 minus plays, they truly were one of the best fielding teams in the league. Anthony Myers led the team with 13 plus plays in 87 games at SS and 12 plus plays in 54 games at 3B. SS Jamie Cameron contributed 9 plus plays as well. This is a great fielding team and Arizona will not be able to get any cheap runs this way.



#3 ARIZONA (94-68)

Whatever lpa2a is doing, he needn’t stop as Arizona beat a very strong Syracuse Orange team in 5 games, outscoring the Orange (#2 in ERA, #3 in runs scored) 50 to 20, including a game 5 shellacking by the score of 18-0. The Sun Devils are making their 5th straight World Series appearance and are looking for their 3rd title after having been stopped short last season.

Offense: This is an offense ranked 1st in runs scored, doubles, triples, home runs, runs batted in, and slugging percentage, 3rd in stolen bases and average, and 4th in OBP. This season they had 5 players hit 30+ home runes, and had 3 players steal 20+ bases. Bernie Ortiz and Jake Peterson had 150+ RBIs in addition to 50+ homers (3rd & 4th in the NL, respectively). 5 guys scored 100+ times during the season. This offense averaged 5.7 runs per game while only hitting into 100 double players. The Sun Devil offense is a true force to be reckoned with.

Pitching: The pitching was very solid, finishing 7th in the NL in ERA, 8th in WHIP, 5th in OAV, 6th in OBP, and 1st in strikeouts. Arizona had 5 players start 30+ games, 6 players won 10 or more games, and of the 5 starters with 30+ starts, 3 had ERAs less than 4, and one had an ERA less than 5. Even the starter with a 5+ ERA had a winning record. Joaquin Nunez (17-6, 3.47 ERA) is once again a Cy Young finalist, while last year’s Fireman of the Year Justin Ward struggled to 37 saves (77%) with a 5.44 ERA.

Fielding: Arizona ’s defense was slightly below average this year with a .982 fielding percentage, which was good enough for 10th in the league. 110 errors were 8 more than last season. Surprisingly they did turn the 4th most double plays in the NL, led by the combo of 2B Shawn Tremie (.977 pct, 99 DPs) and SS’s Juan Delgado (.946 pct, 75 DPs) Joaquin Colon (.962 pct, 28 DPs).



Prediction: Arizona in 4.

Despite the historical accomplishments of bighead34 and his Golden Gophers becoming the first non-winning team to make it to the World Series as well as making their first ever playoff appearance a huge success, I believe that the ride ends after 4 games. Arizona just has too many advantages over Minnesota for this series to go any further.

Results of Competition Committee's Vote on Kemosabe

After several days of discussion, By a vote of 4 to 1, the competition committee has decided to evict kemosabe from NCAA world because he broke the 200 loss rule. Below you will find 4 of the decisions, although I have kept them anonymous. As the commissioner, I will not keep mine anonymous.

Throughout our discussions, we tried to come up with some type of "sanction" we could put in place to justify voting for kemo to stay. Unfortunately we weren't able to make it work. Either the sanction was too weak or it was too strong (lasted multiple seasons) and in that case no one can guarantee real life won't get in the way to take them away from HBD. If that happened, then the sanctions would just hurt the follow up owner.

After a lot of discussion and thought, I voted to evict kemo. I The only reason it was such a hard decision was because I've grown to enjoy the friendship we share through this baseball game. I truly think he is a good guy and I hate to lose him. I hope that after his one year absence from NCAA, he applies for the wait list again.

I believe that NCAA is a top flight world and think our set of rules are great. I've seen owners with 10 plus seasons in worlds get evicted due to loss requirements and believe that if we are going to play in that category then we have to abide by the rules we all have agreed to play by.

I informed kemo (and several others) at the beginning of the season of the loss target he had to avoid to miss the 200 losses. I also sent updates throughout the season. I believe that kemo made a calculated decision that he wasn't going to compete for a division championship and/or pennant and decided to "roll the dice" and leave as much player payroll open as possible so he could transfer that to prospects. Unfortunately that move backfired and he ended up with 207 losses over the two seasons. It is my opinion that it is easy enough to avoid 200 losses over 2 seasons in HBD except in very extreme cases. As I've mentioned several times, I legitimately hoped we'd never have to come to this point.

Below are the other 4 votes with their reasoning. As I mentioned, we spent several days discussing this through trade chats and sitemails so please don't think any of us came to this decision lightly.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Chris

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Vote for Removal:

After doing the requisite research into kemosabe's 2 full seasons here i vote for option 1, to evict him. my reasoning behind this is as follows: he took over a pretty well run franchise that was pretty consistent as far as winning went, and they also had quite a few very good ML players.

He basically started selling off all his players that were good with the intention(in my opinion) of getting a high draft pick and eliminating all the salary to spend as much as possible on IFAs. now i dont have a problem with the strategy of rebuilding this way, but we do have a 200 loss requirement and he was aware of that. he gambled that his team would avoid the 200 losses and lost.

I dont feel like he did enough to actually try to win while he was rebuilding though and that is the reason i am voting the way i did. if he had the same payroll and all of his top prospects at the ML level, i would have felt like he was trying to win and would have definately voted for him to stay with the sanctions, but he was trying to get by on the cheap with waiver guys and FAs nobody else wanted....

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Vote for Probation with sanctions.

Probation with sanctions. I'd like to see him given a chance to fix this. And if he doesn't get to 70 wins then we;re in the same spot. And if he does get to 70, then we've fixed the issue.

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Vote for Removal

Reasoning: The transfer of $40M to prospect is the main reason. Even if kemo had spent $10M of that on a FA, his prospect budget still would have been $34M but instead choose to roll the dice when he knew that he had to hit a certain number of wins this season. Probation with sanctions only hurts the new owner if things aren't met, which is also hurtful to the world. Kemo's a friendly owner and has enough experience, but choosing to go with a $28.5M payroll instead of getting a player in FA that could have helped avoid this is my reasoning for removal.

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Vote for Removal

I vote to evict...to me it comes down to the lack of player payroll...i would have no problem with him spending 40M in prospect if he were able to remain competitive, but to be on pace to blow by 100 losses and to be continuing to transfer out of player payroll to me was inexcusable...plus i think that in order for the rules to mean anything they have to be enforced and should be waived in only the most exceptional circumstances