FOOL 2084 Regular Season

[Alan T]

The regular season runs in a little under 9 hours! For those that have the day off, I hope they are enjoying their day.

I have some new "Fun awards" for the end of each season that I'll unveil after the season too. I spent several hours this weekend writing up sql scripts that will auto-generate them for me.

List of Fun FOOL awards:

Best bang for the Buck: Hitter and Pitcher that did the most while being paid the least
Worst bang for the Buck: Hitter and Pitcher that were the most overpaid for the production that they had. (Could be highly paid player that only paid average, or could be average paid player that bombed).
Home Run or Nothing award: For the player that had the most Home Runs with the least overall production. Imagine Dave Kingman
Selfish Pitcher award: As Kevin Costner once said, ground balls are democratic. The selfish pitcher is the one who least allowed the rest of his team to participate. Imagine Nolan Ryan as the .500 pitcher that would either strikeout or walk many hitters.
Unluckiest Pitcher award: A pitcher can't record a win all by themselves, they need help. The unluckiest Pitcher is the one that played far better than their record would indicate.
Running on Empty Award: A good basestealer can be a good addition to a team. A bad basestealer on the other hand can actually cost their team runs. This award is for the player that was the most counter-productive to their team's offense thanks to their bad basestealing.
Can't hit his weight award: For the hitter that hit the furthest below or at least closest to his weight.
Should have stayed home award: For the hitter and pitcher that were the furthest below league replacement value for their position during the season. The team would have been better off if the player just didn't show up for the season.
Stone statue award: For the shortstop that best resembled a stone statue in the field.
Cannon-Arm award: For the catcher with the best cannon for an arm on the field this season both in the field and versus stolen base attempts.
Early Checkout award: For the pitcher that left the game on average the earliest.


Many or most of the awards have some minimum apperance requirements of course. None of the awards will be recorded in game, but I'll post the results after each season.

[TeachEnEspanol]

Those are hilarious! I'm excited.

[Tasan]

I can't wait for the awards! Great work again Alan.

[Chief Rum]

That's terrific. Can't wait to see those.

BTW, Chief Rum is on vacation. So he will be in attendance tonight (before you say Labor Day, my second job is a service job, it isn't taking today off--ergo, the importance of my vacation ).

[Johnny93g]

Looking forward to the season and these new awards. Another reason why FOOL is awesome, good luck everyone

[hyde4us11]

Awesome, will be fun to see who wins these.

[Montreal_GM]

Great work Alan. Looking forward to the upcoming season!

[TeachEnEspanol]

Ok....I'm bored of waiting. Let's play!

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by TeachEnEspanol

Ok....I'm bored of waiting. Let's play!

Run by the concession stand and pick up some popcorn and cracker jacks. We'll be ready to start by the time you get back

[TeachEnEspanol]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Run by the concession stand and pick up some popcorn and cracker jacks. We'll be ready to start by the time you get back

I've got sangria instead. Way better for a Monday night mood, in my opinion.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by TeachEnEspanol

I've got sangria instead. Way better for a Monday night mood, in my opinion.

If I started drinking alcohol, I'd screw up something and we'd end up with something crazy happening like Hammersmith winning the RL or something.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Alan T

If I started drinking alcohol, I'd screw up something and we'd end up with something crazy happening like Hammersmith winning the RL or something.

Feel free to pour yourself a strong one or two.

P.S. I just PM'd you.

[TeachEnEspanol]

Originally Posted by Alan T

If I started drinking alcohol, I'd screw up something and we'd end up with something crazy happening like Hammersmith winning the RL or something.

We can't have THAT happen, now can we. I'll drink some in your honor. My sangria is the best ever though, so it's a little sad you're missing out.

[Alan T]

Sim time! Getting exports now.

[TeachEnEspanol]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Feel free to pour yourself a strong one or two.

P.S. I just PM'd you.

You're here! I read that that would be the case, but I didn't believe it until I've seen it for myself.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Alan T

If I started drinking alcohol, I'd screw up something and we'd end up with something crazy happening like Hammersmith winning the RL or something.

[TeachEnEspanol]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Sim time! Getting exports now.

Cheers!

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by TeachEnEspanol

You're here! I read that that would be the case, but I didn't believe it until I've seen it for myself.

It's not actually me. I wrote complicated computer bot that anticipates every post by the rest of the league, based on an exhaustive study of everyone's post history.

I chose to do that instead of work on my sorry ass team.

[Alan T]

One person is 9,950 over the salary cap! While I get the torches and pitchforks ready, I'll PM them real quick to see if they can fix it otherwise I'll have to!

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Alan T

One person is 9,950 over the salary cap! While I get the torches and pitchforks ready, I'll PM them real quick to see if they can fix it otherwise I'll have to!

"F5"
"F5"
"F5"

Okay, so far it ain't me.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

It's not actually me. I wrote complicated computer bot that anticipates every post by the rest of the league, based on an exhaustive study of everyone's post history.

I chose to do that instead of work on my sorry ass team.

That sounds pretty similar to the 6 hours of creating mysql queries that I did for this league over the long weekend!

[TeachEnEspanol]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

It's not actually me. I wrote complicated computer bot that anticipates every post by the rest of the league, based on an exhaustive study of everyone's post history.

I chose to do that instead of work on my sorry ass team.

You're just using that as an excuse for when you suck!

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by TeachEnEspanol

You're just using that as an excuse for when you suck!

And accept my own crapitude? Naw, this way hurts my pride less.

[TeachEnEspanol]

Hey, it's 2084. I turn 100 years old this season!

[Alan T]

Saturday, April 1st, 2084

Baltimore Charm: Signed free agent 3B S. Sibincic to a minor league contract.

Hartford Harpooners: Signed free agent MR S. Bowman to a minor league contract.

Baltimore Charm: Signed free agent SP J. Valenzuela to a minor league contract.

Baltimore Charm: Signed free agent MR H. Fujishima to a minor league contract.

Baltimore Charm: Signed 2B R. Sánchez to a 3-year contract extension worth a total of $5,130,000.

Baltimore Charm: Signed free agent SS R. Roach to a 1-year contract worth a total of $390,000.

Hartford Harpooners: Signed free agent SP S. Hernández to a minor league contract.

Baltimore Charm: Signed free agent SP D. Marcoux to a minor league contract.

Hammersmith Hooligans: Signed free agent LF G. Gallardo to a 1-year contract worth a total of $2,300,000.

Tokyo Cyclones: Signed free agent 3B C. Brocklebank to a 1-year contract worth a total of $6,270,000.

Hartford Harpooners: Signed free agent LF A. Oliver to a minor league contract.

Boston Settlers: Signed free agent SP R. Hamasaki to a 1-year contract worth a total of $552,500.

Baltimore Charm: Signed free agent MR J. Josey to a minor league contract.

Hartford Harpooners: Signed SP J. Thomas to a 2-year contract extension worth a total of $2,300,000.

Hartford Harpooners: Signed free agent MR M. Grenier to a minor league contract.

Toronto Marlboros: Signed free agent SP K. Hunter to a minor league contract.

Baltimore Charm: Signed free agent MR M. Caballero to a minor league contract.

Hartford Harpooners: Signed free agent MR E. Sha to a minor league contract.

Tokyo Cyclones: Signed free agent LF D. Pepin to a 1-year contract worth a total of $13,687,500.

[Alan T]

Ok, here we go. Good luck to everyone this season

[TeachEnEspanol]

Originally Posted by Alan T

One person is 9,950 over the salary cap! While I get the torches and pitchforks ready, I'll PM them real quick to see if they can fix it otherwise I'll have to!

Alan is a fantastic gentleman for not calling me out, but I'm sorry to the rest of you guys for holding you up tonight!!!

[Chief Rum]

BTW, don't know if it will improve my pitching any, but I believe this might be the first time I have done this... My entire rotation is composed of five original Hammersmith draft picks, all brought up through the system. They are all in fact still short of their free agency years (although I signed three of them to extensions already to try to help keep arbitration costs down).

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by TeachEnEspanol

Alan is a fantastic gentleman for not calling me out, but I'm sorry to the rest of you guys for holding you up tonight!!!

Way to go, Teach!

Glad you were here at least to make a change.

[Chief Rum]

My closer is also an original Hooligan draftee.

[TeachEnEspanol]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

BTW, don't know if it will improve my pitching any, but I believe this might be the first time I have done this... My entire rotation is composed of five original Hammersmith draft picks, all brought up through the system. They are all in fact still short of their free agency years (although I signed three of them to extensions already to try to help keep arbitration costs down).

Cool, it will be interesting to see how that works out for you!

[Alan T]

Bedeschi Spins Shutout Against Brunswick
Friday, April 7th, 2084: The Winged Lingerines bested the Barons 4-0 behind the 4-hit pitching of Evaristo Bedeschi. The Ann Arbor hurler had 9 strikeouts and 1 walk in going the distance.

[Alan T]

Bedeschi Wins RL Top Pitcher Award
Monday, May 1st, 2084: Veteran Evaristo Bedeschi put together quite a successful stretch in April for the Ann Arbor Winged Lingerines, earning himself the Republic League Pitcher of the Month award.

Bedeschi racked up a 4-1 record in 6 starts, posting a 2.86 ERA over 44 innings and striking out 42.


Halifax's Carneirinho CL Top Pitcher
Monday, May 1st, 2084: Donato Carneirinho's been around the league long enough to appreciate the honor he received today. After going 4-1 in April, the 33-year-old Halifax hurler has been named Continental League Pitcher of the Month.

He fanned 26 in 40.1 innings, logged an ERA of 1.56 and allowed opponents to hit .193 against him.

[Alan T]

Boyd RL Outstanding Batter of the Month
Monday, May 1st, 2084: The Republic League has made it official -- Lane Boyd is the winner of the Batter of the Month trophy.

In April, the Colorado first baseman starred with a .371 batting average, 11 home runs and 27 RBIs. Boyd also had 12 walks, posted a .472 on-base percentage and scored 24 times.


Napa Valley's Tarn Acclaimed Best CL Hitter
Monday, May 1st, 2084: When Keith Tarn stepped up to the plate in April, he did it with confidence and today he was honored with the Continental League Batter of the Month award.

The young Napa Valley left fielder posted a .344 batting average with 9 home runs, 26 RBIs and scored 24 runs. Tarn also worked pitchers for 21 walks to post a .453 on-base percentage.

[Alan T]

RL Selects Rookie Star of the Month
Monday, May 1st, 2084: Hidemichi Aoki earned April's Rookie of the Month honors in the Republic League for last month's performance. The boyish Ann Arbor first baseman might be wet behind the ears, but he's proving that he has what it takes to play at this level.

Aoki hit .290 with 2 home runs, 10 RBIs and 16 runs scored this past month on his way to winning the award.



Continental League Names Rookie of Month
Monday, May 1st, 2084: Gannon Acheson was toddling around on his tricycle when some of the guys he's playing against were in their prime, but the 25-year-old left fielder definitely knows how to get to first, second or beyond. Today he was chosen April's Continental League Rookie of the Month for his remarkable month of hitting.

In 25 games Acheson batted .280 for Tokyo, slapping 28 hits in 100 at-bats with 5 home runs, drove in 16 runs and scored 15 times.

[Alan T]

Continental League Standings

Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Baltimore Charm 15 8 .652 - 12-11 3 7-4 8-4 3-2 4-2 137 W1 7-3 Halifax Winter Wolves 16 11 .593 1.0 13-14 3 10-5 6-6 1-0 7-0 W1 6-4 Boston Settlers 13 10 .565 2.0 13-10 0 5-1 8-9 2-1 1-1 W3 5-5 Napa Valley Winemakers 13 13 .500 3.5 15-11 -2 9-6 4-7 0-2 0-5 W1 5-5 Apex Assassins 11 12 .478 4.0 11-12 0 6-8 5-4 3-4 4-4 L2 2-8 Georgia Devils 12 15 .444 5.0 13-14 -1 10-6 2-9 4-3 3-5 L1 5-5 Tokyo Cyclones 7 18 .280 9.0 9-16 -2 2-8 5-10 2-3 2-4 L2 4-6

Republic League Standings

Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Ann Arbor Winged Lingerines 18 8 .692 - 16-10 2 12-3 6-5 0-0 8-3 137 W8 9-1 Brunswick Barons 15 8 .652 1.5 14-9 1 6-5 9-3 0-1 4-3 L1 7-3 Toronto Marlboros 13 10 .565 3.5 13-10 0 3-3 10-7 0-1 5-2 W1 5-5 Hammersmith Hooligans 11 12 .478 5.5 12-11 -1 7-7 4-5 2-3 5-4 L1 3-7 Colorado Rancheros 12 15 .444 6.5 15-12 -3 8-7 4-8 2-3 1-9 W4 4-6 Hartford Harpooners 10 17 .370 8.5 10-17 0 3-13 7-4 2-1 5-3 L7 1-9 Chico Rebels 8 17 .320 9.5 7-18 1 1-9 7-8 3-0 3-7 L1 4-6

[Alan T]

League Leaders AVG B. Cassidy - BRU .422 2 M. Báez ANN .380 3 H. Yi BRU .376 4 L. Boyd COL .371 5 J. Giles HAM .365	League Leaders HR L. Boyd - COL 11 2 D. Gonzáles NVY 9 2 K. Tarn NVY 9 4 E. Castro GEO 8 5 5 tied with 7	League Leaders RBI 2 tied with 27 1 L. Boyd COL 27 1 J. MacDonald COL 27 3 K. Tarn NVY 26 4 B. Thirkettle BOS 25
League Leaders W 4 tied with 4 1 J. Álvarez ANN 4 1 E. Bedeschi ANN 4 1 D. Carneirinho HAL 4 1 T. Pérez BOS 4	League Leaders ERA J. Manuel - BAL 0.96 2 J. Soriano HAL 1.54 3 D. Carneirinho HAL 1.56 4 J. Delgado APX 1.66 5 A. Ortíz TOK 1.82	League Leaders K 2 tied with 42 1 E. Bedeschi ANN 42 1 Y. Nakano NVY 42 3 A. Galilei BRU 36 4 S. Border HAM 35

[Alan T]

Loyola Shines in Gem
Friday, May 5th, 2084: A pitcher's main job is to keep the opposition off the scoreboard and Halifax pitcher Martín Loyola did just that today in a 2-0 victory over the Apex Assassins at Assasins Ballpark. He gave up no runs in his start, permitted 3 hits and had 7 strikeouts.

Loyola's record this season is 3-and-3 with no saves and a 3.47 ERA. He has given up 34 hits in 46.2 innings with 33 strikeouts.

[TeachEnEspanol]

Interesting start...

We'll see where we go from here.

[Alan T]

Shiu Launches Number 300
Thursday, May 18th, 2084: "I wasn't trying to hit a homer. I just wanted to make contact."
That's what Zuo-lin Shiu told reporters after he made baseball history today at Patriots Place. The prolific slugger belted home run #300 in the Hartford Harpooners 8-5 victory over the Brunswick Barons.

The standout catcher collected 3 hits in 5 at-bats with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored.

"I guess this puts me in baseball's elite," said Shiu. "I don't feel any different. I probably should, but I don't. Still, it is a nice achievement. I did get a little excited, didn't I?"

During his career Shiu has hit for a .278 average and totaled 1826 hits, 301 home runs and 1202 RBIs.

[Alan T]

Castro Rips HR Number 300
Friday, May 19th, 2084: Georgia's 5-3 victory over Baltimore was highlighted by Enrique Castro's 300th career home run. His teammates congratulated him at home plate after he circled the bases.

"I didn't see all of them out there," Castro said with a chuckle, "until I rounded third base." He added sheepishly: "It was only a home run. It's not like I won us a World Series!"

In 4 at-bats the Devils left fielder collected 3 hits in his historic game, scored 2 runs, and had 3 RBI.

His lifetime stats show that Castro has hit .291 and connected for 301 home runs.

[Alan T]

Hagiwara Zeroes in on Halifax
Thursday, May 25th, 2084: Hayato Hagiwara, the 23-year-old Georgia hurler, tamed the Halifax Winter Wolves 2-0 at Howler Meadow today. He limited them to 4 hits while fanning 7 and walking 0.

So far in 10 appearances this season, Hagiwara has recorded 4 wins and sustained 3 losses. He has pitched 73 innings, yielded 62 hits, fanned 56 and has a 4.56 ERA.

[Tasan]

Hi!

[Alan T]

Cantú in Command, No-Hits Cyclones
Monday, May 29th, 2084: Mario Cantú made quick work of Tokyo at Howler Meadow earlier today. The 22-year-old hurler tossed a no-hitter for the Halifax Winter Wolves in defeating the Cyclones 1-0.

"I really didn't have my best stuff today," he admitted after the game, "there's a lot of luck involved in throwing a no-hitter. Some days it's better to lucky than good."

In a superlative outing he registered 3 strikeouts and 3 walks.

Luck or not, Cantú will go down in history and will get his name written down in the league record book.

In 10 starts this year Cantú has crafted a 3-3 record and a 4.69 ERA.

[Alan T]

Cantu's no-hitter means there has been a no-hitter in three straight seasons!

The last time that happened was 1971-1973 when there were two no hitters from Anthony Jones and one from the ageless Palmer White

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Tasan

Hi!

Hello!

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Tasan

Hi!

[TeachEnEspanol]

Originally Posted by Tasan

Hi!

Sup homie?!

[Alan T]

Republic League #1 Hurler is Álvarez
Thursday, June 1st, 2084: An outstanding 5-0 record in May earned José Álvarez the Pitcher of the Month Award in the Republic League. When his name was penciled in to start on the Ann Arbor lineup card, it meant trouble for opposing teams.

In 49 innings of work, Álvarez limited opposing batters to 45 base hits and a .247 batting average. He notched 25 strikeouts, issued 6 walks and had a 3.86 ERA.

In 12 starts this season, Álvarez has picked up 9 wins while suffering 1 loss. He has pitched 85.1 innings, allowed 84 hits, struck out 49 and posted a 4.22 ERA.

CL Top Pitcher Award for May to Pérez
Thursday, June 1st, 2084: Despite the number of years he's been in the league, Tony Pérez still gets excited when he puts together a quality stretch like he had in May. The 29-year-old starter for Boston was named Continental League Pitcher of the Month earlier today.

He collected 5 wins and no losses with 24 strikeouts in his 5 starts, putting up a fine 1.25 ERA in 36 innings of work.

This year Pérez has compiled a 9-1 mark with a 2.11 ERA.

[Alan T]

Red-Hot May Lands Estrada Batting Prize in RL
Thursday, June 1st, 2084: Manuel Estrada battered Republic League pitchers all May and wound up taking home the Batter of the Month Award.

"I've been around Front Office Offseason League long enough to know you really have to work hard day in and day out to be able to put up this kind of consistency," the 33-year-old Estrada told reporters. "I put in a lot of work, even on the days I may not take the field and it's always nice when everything comes together for me like it did this last month."

In 27 games, Estrada hit .312 with 10 home runs, 41 RBIs and scored 24 runs.

Presently Estrada is hitting .297 with 15 home runs and 62 RBIs. He has played in 50 games and scored 36 times.


CL Top Batter Trophy Won by Tarn
Thursday, June 1st, 2084: Snap, crackle and pop!
In May, Keith Tarn snapped up the Continental League Batter of the Month trophy by cracking 30 hits and popping 9 home runs.

For the month he hit a solid .337 with 25 RBIs and 15 runs scored. The Napa Valley left fielder also picked up 20 walks to compile a .474 on-base percentage.

For the year Tarn has hit at a .341 clip with 51 RBIs, 18 home runs and 39 runs scored.