1966 Season & Post-season completed

[Young Drachma]

Spring Training tonight. Should be interesting to see where everyone sits heading into the season. The results don't necessarily correlate to the regular season (fatigue is off during Spring Training), but it'll be a nice opportunity for all of the teams to see who they have and to make tweaks and prepare their lineups before the season gets underway.

I think I'll do little season previews this year of all of the teams, maybe to get us a little geeked!

1966 TEAM PREVIEWS (By team)
---
CONTINENTAL LEAGUE
Hartford Harpooners
New York Highlanders
Charleston Chew
Brooklyn Brownstones
Ann Arbor Wolverines
Long Beach Island Atlantics
Boston Settlers
Baltimore Gothams

REPUBLIC LEAGUE
Valdosta Peanuts
Texas Copperheads
Colorado Rancheros
El Paso Alligators
St. Petersburg Pelicans
Seattle Supersonics
Chicago Comets
Rio Grande Roadrunners

[Young Drachma]

1966 SEASON PREVIEWS

CONTINENTAL LEAGUE


NEW YORK HIGHLANDERS
1965: 95-59, FOOL Classic Champions
Coming off their best season in franchise history, which resulted in a FOOL Classic victory over St. Louis, the 'Landers return locked and loaded.

All of the major pieces of their lineup from catcher Hideaki Tanaka (.325/31 HR/112 RBI) to former MVP and four-time All-Star Fernando Spindola (.267/26 HR/99 RBI) have returned.

That's not all.

Their pitching staff -- all five starters from the championship squad, as well as the closer -- are back too.

Unlike most of the teams around the FOOL this year, New York didn't make any major moves. But then, they didn't need to.

That said, Charleston took them to the final week of the regular season before New York pulled away and won their first CL pennant. So, don't expect the rest of the league to roll over to the defending champs.

Looking at their roster, you have to believe that they will be competitive all year. But the other teams in the league have closed the gap enough to make you believe that it'll be hard for them to steamroll their way to 90+ wins again, unless their pitching holds up the whole way through.

Prediction: 2nd place, CL

[Young Drachma]

CHARLESTON CHEW
1965: 88-66, 2nd Place

Ben's Boys are back. Two years removed from a FOOL Classic appearance, the Chew are still looking for their first breakthrough resulting in a title, but can't seem to put it together. Yet, they're always in the hunt.

Expect nothing less this year.

The team ran into a bit of financial trouble late last year, finding themselves as much as $20 million over the salary cap. They shed the salaries of centerfielder Dave Myers (.284/20 HR/79 RBI) to Chicago and sent third baseman Rick Inman (.298/17 HR/ 63 RBI) to expansion St. Petersburg.

While those moves would hurt a lot of teams, this team has the depth at the major league level to absorb the shock.

Where they might suffer is pitching. While dual 20-game winners Steven Davis (20-11, 3.11) and reigning CL Pitcher of the Year Albert Ortiz (20-4, 2.40 ERA) will return, the team thins out a bit at the bottom of the rotation.

Still, you have to believe that a veteran ballclub such as this one can pull it through. It really depends on whether the rest of the league can play up to its potential. If teams falter at the top, expect Charleston to remain right in the thick of things down the stretch.

This club has got to have one last gasp in them to make it through. Whether it'll be enough to compete with the other horses in the Continental League pennant race will remain to be seen.

Prediction: 3rd place

[Young Drachma]

HARTFORD HARPOONERS
1965: 80-74, 3rd Place

The Whale Killers are back, folks. In case you were wondering. Despite their third straight 3rd place finish in the CL, the 'Pooners made great strides in the off-season to ensure that this year is their year.

Their pitching staff boasts 3/5ths of the former rotation of the now departed St. Louis club that won five straight RL titles and two FOOL Classics. Benny Myers (13-9, 2.43 ERA) is the new arrival, inked to a 4-year/$69.4 million deal this past off-season, "Blinky" becomes the ace of the staff in Hartford.

Add to him former and now new teammates Gabriel Prado (15-8, 3.22 ERA) and Rob Roberts (16-7, 3.87 ERA) and four-time all-star closer Peter McKeane (4-7, 41 SV, 3.86 ERA) and you think that Hartford ought to be called St. Louis East and be done with it.

Offensively is where they might struggle. Their cleanup hitter is outfielder Jeremy O'Herlihy, who hit 21 HRs and 66 RBI last year on .292 average. They are also a bit clogged at first base, with both Andy Nolan (.291/2 HR/26 RBI in 203 ABs) and Joel Beach (.311/11 HR/88 RBI) seeming to both want to play the position. (I bet they miss the DH now!)

If Hartford's pitching is any indication, St. Louis proved that you can with a lot of pitching and not a lot of hitting. Hartford might be a bit thinner than those historic teams of Terrier Past, but...it seems they might have the chops this year to get over the top in the CL.

Prediction: 1st Place

[Young Drachma]

BROOKLYN BROWNSTONES
1965: 77-77, 4th Place

Arguably the most improved team coming into this season and that's saying a lot.

They have the best back of the bullpen in baseball coming into the year adding former Chicago closer Sherman Douglas (4-4, 19 SV) to their own closer Rafael Bonilla (3-7, 29 SV, 2.45 ERA)

Their biggest offensive acquisition was former St. George third baseman Ramon Lopez who inked a 3 year deal worth $34.5 million. He hit 19 HRs last year and 65 RBI with a .294 batting average.

The Brownstones should be much improved this year and have one of the most balanced offenses in the league, but they might not have the chops in the middle of the rotation to get themselves into a pennant race with the horses of the Continental League.

Prediction: 4th Place

[Young Drachma]

LONG BEACH ISLAND ATLANTICS
1965: 76-78, 5th Place

The Jersey Shore boys are...young. Expect another average year is in the books for this ballclub. Not bad, just...a little young. Their ace, Jose Sepulveda (13-14, 3.86 ERA) a pretty good player who should win 15 games this year if things go well. Another player to look out for on this ballclub is Harry Mason, who is a rookie, a southpaw and has the chops to be a 22-year old phenom. He's got above average ratings.

Their closer Antonio Cruz (2-4, 36 SV, 1.86 ERA) is one of the best in the game at his position.

Leftfielder Marcos Cintron (24 HR/88 RBI/.271) is the team's leading hitter and bats cleanup. His batting buddy is Outfielder Larry Richmond (.254/23 HR/75 RBI), coupled with first baseman Hayden Gearvil, the Atlantics probably have one of the better middle of the orders in the league.

The Atlantics are close, but they're going to need to come with a bit more to get themselves to nearer to the top of the CL standings.

Prediction: 6th Place

[Young Drachma]

ANN ARBOR WOLVERINES
1965: 74-80, 6th Place

Ann Arbor had regressed in recent years, hanging towards the bottom of the pack in the CL. While they're not really in a position to take the league by storm, they made good moves in the off-season that should give them the credibility to be a contender down the road.

By far, their biggest signing was the acquisition of former St. Louis hurler Pancho Duran (14-7, 2.83 ERA), coupled with top prospect Raul Ramos, who should be penciled in at #2, Alberto Vargo (14-8, 3.65 ERA) and 16-game winner Juan Gonzales, the team is much improved on the pitching side of the ball. Their bullpen boasts twin threats in former St. George closer Raymond Pearson who had 26 saves last year and Rudko Perisic who should move into the closer role after pitching in middle relief last year, making 61 appearances with a 2.82 ERA.

Offensively, the team is pretty balanced. The Wolverines boast four players who notched 70+ RBI last year including team RBI leader first baseman Theodore Reid (.323/15 HR/94 RBI).

There isn't a real question mark on this team. They don't have the depth of other teams and their talent isn't laden with veteran experience. But their rotation is young and strong and couple that with a few guys who are poised to have breakout years and the Wolverines could easily be the CL's "Sleeper Team" of 1966.

Prediction: 5th Place

[Young Drachma]

BOSTON SETTLERS
1965: 62-92, 8th Place

The Settlers have found themselves stuck in neutral in recent years. The massive dropoff of Steve Williams after the blockbuster signing that brought the slugger to Beantown was very disappointing. But the Boston faithful are hoping he's part of a big turnaround as the ballclub ushers in a new era in their new ballpark on Yawkey Way.

Of all of the lineups in the league, Boston has the one that has the most potential to do more than it has. Third baseman Patrick Perkins has been the team leader, a steady presence as the team leader in HRs (22) and RBI (85) last year, you should expect more of the same from him this year.

The team acquired youthful infielder Bruce McDaniel as a free agent. He hit 17 HRs and 66 RBI last year in St. Louis and will help to shore up the Boston infield.

Welsh star in the making Noah Wakeling hit .290 in his rookie year and is poised for a breakout year this season.

The real problem with Boston isn't what's new -- it's what's the same. Their rotation boasts many of the same names that led the team to a last place finish a year ago including ace rookie Luis Perez who won 12 games. Another rookie, John MacDonald won 11 games, the only two players in the rotation with winning records.

Closer Danny Bennett was solid, logging 24 saves a year ago, giving the manager confidence if the team gets to games that are winnable and need to be nailed down.

One of the most laudable moves that Boston undertook this offseason wasn't with the major league club, but was with their minor league system. Once one of the worst in FOOL, they've gone on a tear and now own Baseball America's top organizational ranking. Which means that while you can count out the Settlers for this season, rest assured that they won't be settling for the bottom of the standings table for much longer.

Prediction: 7th Place

[Young Drachma]

BALTIMORE GOTHAMS
1965: 64-90, 7th Place

How the mighty have fallen. After two straight FOOL Classic titles, the Gothams ahve fallen on hard times, progressively declining in wins from 97 in 1961 to just 64 last year. Sad to say that, things will not be getting any better in 1966 for the faithful in Gotham Town.

Free agents continue to exodus Baltimore as if it were a plagued city. Their barren farm system was once one of the crown jewels of FOOL. That system is now bare bones and the fruits of it are the only ones hanging around to see what happens -- albeit not as happy as they probably once were to be Gothams.

Ben Harris is a player that makes teams around the league salivate. He's a second baseman that hits for average (.308 ) as well as power (19 HR, 73 RBI) and he anchors a team that doesn't have much else to go with him. Travis Erickson, is a slick fielding centerfielder who hit .264 with 18 HRs, 58 RBI and 10 triples during his rookie year. He's got great wheels too, notching 46 steals last year.
The only player worth noting on the offensive side is Manuel Cota, who has been around since the glory days. He hit .258 in limited duty last year, logging just 208 ABs.

The only thing that keeps Baltimore even somewhat relevant are their pitchers. Tom Williams somehow managed to win 11 games last year, despite the team's poor performance, as did Gordon Burkey and Carlos Gomez. Craig Holt is in his third year and is a young hurler with a ton of potential, as is Justin Sutton (8-13, 3.66 ERA)

Baltimore will still suffer madly and the majority of their squad are free agents to be, who are desperately looking for a ticket out. Expect big years from all of them, but not the Gothams as a whole.

Prediction: 8th place

[Young Drachma]

REPUBLIC LEAGUE

VALDOSTA PEANUTS
1965: 86-68, 2nd place

The Peanuts are back on the upswing after hitting the skids their first year in their new home.

For the first time in RL history, the St. Louis Terriers will NOT be league champions, after a five year run as the juggernaut atop the league standings.

What does this mean for the Peanuts? They hope it means a league title, but the entire league has restocked, locked and loaded and the Peanuts enter the year with the mark on their backs.

The team they return is much like the one that finished in 2nd place last year, with longtime ace Bryan Hughes surviving being exposed during the expansion draft. He won 16 games for the second time in three years last year and the veteran hurler will be called upon to keep the team in the hunt every fifth day.

Ricardo Torres (16-6, 2.84) was a surprise last year, as was a breakout year from Tekkan Yamamoto (15-10, 3.16 ERA) and so, the real question is going to be whether these season were a flash in the pan or a sign of things to come. If they're not a fluke, Valdosta has the most formidible rotation in the RL hands down.

On the offensive side, the Peanuts aren't loaded, but they do have some weapons to work with. This includes Rick Hamilton who hit .298 with 15 HRs and 78 RBI in his rookie campaign. Veteran first baseman Heath Palmer is back (.330/14 HR/87 RBI) and catcher Sam Harmon (.264/12 HR/ 52 RBI) had a heck of a rookie campaign himself, going straight to the majors. Keeping with the theme, Rookie of the Year in the RL, Ruben Mendoza (.308/3 HR/ 36 RBI) figures to have a breakout year this season, too.

On balance, Valdosta is the most well adjusted team in the RL. They've got almost everyone back and the team is young, hungry and poised to declare a new day in the Republic League.

Prediction: 1st Place

[Chief Rum]

I said it before, I'll say it again: both of my top rookies last year were absolutely ripped off for ROY. No offense to Mendoza, but he wasn't even on the radar compared to what they did.

Good reads, DC. Keep it up!

[Young Drachma]

TEXAS COPPERHEADS
1965: 81-73, 3rd place

Texas are best described as a creeper team. As with most teams in the RL, they fly a bit under the radar. But now, with the Terriers out of the picture, the Copperheads are going to stake their claim as something more than just the best team in Texas - but the best team in all of FOOL.

Their pitching staff was bolstered with the signing of reigning RL MVP and Pitcher of the Year Joe Morris (21-5, 2.10 ERA) to a 2-year deal worth $13.6 million. Coupled with returning Texas ace Dave McTeel and the Copperheads pack a 1-2 punch that many in the league would envy. The Copperheads hope that Chris Winston can return to form, after going 10-15 last year. The two-time all-star won 41 games the previous two years in Charleston. If he can do that in Texas, watch out.

Switching to the offensive side of the bin, Tom Campbell hit 28 HRs last year and is back again hitting third. They added outfielders Ramiro Mateo and Clarence Gilliam from Hartford in a deal that should pay huge dividends, as both are young, hungry players looking for a chance to break loose.

The Copperheads are improved in big ways. The real question marks are their lot of rookies and whether they can handle a long season and if their middle relief and bottom of the rotation can hang tough. If they can, Valdosta will have a battle to claim the first post-STL pennant in the Republic League.

Prediction: 2nd place

[Alan T]

Nice coverage of Valdosta DC.. Some additional notes.. You didn't even talk about the person whom I think is possibly my best hitter on the team Winston Davis .354/6/31 All of my outfielder stats are pretty ugly but that is because I have had 5 outfielders whom I think all of which are quite good.

My team definitely has some weak points though.. My infield is brutal offensively, and only so-so defensively.. and the one place I was hit in the expansion draft was in middle relief.. so we will see if my pitching staff can hold it together again.

[Young Drachma]

Spring training time!

[muns]

DC just wanted to say this is an amazing read!! Thanks for taking the time to do it.

[Chief Rum]

Heh...hope he keeps doing it after this, though. Still six more teams! (and yeah I know getting to the end is a lot harder than starting. )

[Young Drachma]

I promise to finish it after spring training.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

I promise to finish it after spring training.

Heh...no need to promise. I think it's great. But I did this sort of thing a lot in my old league, and it can get hard. Of course, my problem is I turn everything into a treatise. You seem to have better balance with that.

Looking forward to it.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Nice coverage of Valdosta DC.. Some additional notes.. You didn't even talk about the person whom I think is possibly my best hitter on the team Winston Davis .354/6/31 All of my outfielder stats are pretty ugly but that is because I have had 5 outfielders whom I think all of which are quite good.

My team definitely has some weak points though.. My infield is brutal offensively, and only so-so defensively.. and the one place I was hit in the expansion draft was in middle relief.. so we will see if my pitching staff can hold it together again.

I didn't talk about him because it's your job to come in here and hype your team. I just got the convo started...

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Heh...no need to promise. I think it's great. But I did this sort of thing a lot in my old league, and it can get hard. Of course, my problem is I turn everything into a treatise. You seem to have better balance with that.

Looking forward to it.

Well I promise to do St. Petersburg, How about that?

[Young Drachma]

SPRING TRAINING STANDINGS
(as of March 6, 1966)

CL
--
Boston 8-1
LBI 7-2
Brooklyn 5-4
Hartford 5-4
New York 4-5
Charleston 3-6
Baltimore 2-7
Ann Arbor 2-7

RL
---
Seattle 7-2
Texas 5-4
Chicago 5-4
El Paso 5-4
Rio Grande 4-5
Colorado 4-5
St. Petersburg 3-6
Valdosta 3-6

[Young Drachma]

The thing about spring training that's deceiving is the whole "position player fatigue off" thing. It changes the entire complexion of the game, I think. Not to make things crazy, but...it's always hard to really read into it too much

[Young Drachma]

FINAL SPRING TRAINING STANDINGS
1966

CONTINENTAL LEAGUE
---
Boston 14-10
Baltimore 14-10
Hartford 14-10
New York 13-11
LBI 11-13
Brooklyn 10-14
Ann Arbor 10-14
Charleston 10-14

REPUBLIC LEAGUE
----
Seattle 14-10
Texas 14-10
Rio Grande 14-10
El Paso 13-11
Valdosta 12-12
Chicago 10-14
Colorado 10-14
St. Petersburg 9-15

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

The thing about spring training that's deceiving is the whole "position player fatigue off" thing. It changes the entire complexion of the game, I think. Not to make things crazy, but...it's always hard to really read into it too much

I always let all of my players have playtime too.. just to see what they do.

[Young Drachma]

Packing the league file now and uploading...will let you know when it's up and done.

[muns]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

FINAL SPRING TRAINING STANDINGS
1966

CONTINENTAL LEAGUE
---
Boston 14-10
Baltimore 14-10
Hartford 14-10
New York 13-11
LBI 11-13
Brooklyn 10-14
Ann Arbor 10-14
Charleston 10-14

REPUBLIC LEAGUE
----
Seattle 14-10
Texas 14-10
Rio Grande 14-10
El Paso 13-11
Valdosta 12-12
Chicago 10-14
Colorado 10-14
St. Petersburg 9-15

That looks about pretty even to me. Man this should really be an interesting season.

[Young Drachma]

The spring training curse isn't one that I'd like to have anyway. That is, since we began doing it, no team that won spring training won the league in the same year. So I'm all for not being first. Though I don't know if things have EVER been this close before, either.

[Young Drachma]

I need to reload the file. I didn't reduce the roster size limits and I need to do that or else it'll be a nightmare to manage your roster.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

The spring training curse isn't one that I'd like to have anyway. That is, since we began doing it, no team that won spring training won the league in the same year. So I'm all for not being first. Though I don't know if things have EVER been this close before, either.

Yeah, I won the Spring Training RL championship two seasons ago, and I think I finished second last year. Hasn't really helped much.

[Young Drachma]

Ok, I'm reloading the file. Sorry for the delay. It'll be another 10 minutes or so, I figure.

[Young Drachma]

File is 13.58 MB and it's available now. Dated March 28, 1966

[Huckleberry]

I loaded the file and the available managers was all jacked up.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

I loaded the file and the available managers was all jacked up.

I just picked the only option available and started releasing all of Dark Cloud's best players.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

I loaded the file and the available managers was all jacked up.

Hmm...I wonder why? I think I might have a solution. I'm gonna try to upload again and if that doesn't work, then I'll know precisely what the problem is...I installed the beta patch. Doesn't usually cause any problems when I'm testing and working the league. But in this instance, it might have. If so, I'll just reload the .27 version and get you all a new file.

Sorry about that.

[Young Drachma]

try the one i just uploaded and lemme know what happens. I'm reverting back to .27 just to be safe right now.

[Young Drachma]

Nevermind. I reverted back and see what you all see. Weird! I'll fix the names and upload a new file now. Sorry for the confusion, as usual.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Nevermind. I reverted back and see what you all see. Weird!

I chose the wrong option and crashed ootp9.. I feel like the scene from Indiana jones and the last crusade where the knight says "You chose poorly"

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Alan T

I chose the wrong option and crashed ootp9.. I feel like the scene from Indiana jones and the last crusade where the knight says "You chose poorly"

Yeah, gimmie a bit to send up a new file with actual names. Grr...that's what I get for trusting that shit actually worked right. Ugh.

[Young Drachma]

This game makes me want to create my own sometimes. Sooo frustrating for all of the wrong reasons.

That said, I found a workaround. Human_managers.dat was the file causing us grief and I found a backup version of it on my PC. Still had me as the manager in St. Louis, but short of that, all seems to be well -- and all of the names are there.

I've reported this bug to OOTP, because I'm CERTAIN other online leagues would have the same problem if it went unchecked.

I'll get a file up stat. Sorry again. Thanks for being beta testers for the night. We likely saved another league a lot of grief.

[Young Drachma]

File is up. All should be well. Sorry for the hiccups!

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

File is up. All should be well. Sorry for the hiccups!

Heh, I am amazed you take it so well. I would be endlessly annoyed. Thanks for dealing with these issues and keeping things going good.

So, anyway, where's that St. Pete preview? (j/k )

[Young Drachma]

EL PASO ALLIGATORS
1965: 76-78, 4th place

The Alligators have a bonafide ace in Ron Pate who went 17-11 last year and struck out 266 batters on a 2.81 ERA. Antonio Mendoza won 13 games and pitched seven complete games last year. Closer Cole Dickey had 41 saves last year and should be there again to nail down the ninth.

All in all, the pitching staff is just about average and probably won't hurt the Alligators a lot, but won't vault them to the top of any beauty contests either.

Offensively, the 'gators boast one of the best lineups in the RL. They acquired former St. George catcher Felipe Polanco (.295/20 HR/ 67 RBI) to go with their existing catcher Ivan Rios (.242/11 HR/ 67) giving them the best 1-2 tandem at that position in the FOOL.

OF Craig Thomas is back, after mashing 24 HRs last year, as is second baseman Cristo Farias who belted 83 RBI a year ago.

While the Alligators strike out way too much, they're still one of the most powerful clubs in the RL and if they find their stroke -- watch out.

Be on the lookout for a young rookie by the name of Riley Hollis. He'll likel be playing first base this year and is already being tapped for a possible Rookie of the Year campaign.

All in all, El Paso will do better to not have to play the likes of St. Louis 22 times this year. Problem for them, is that there are probably 3-4 other teams in the league that could give them just as many problems.

Prediction: 4th Place

[Young Drachma]

COLORADO RANCHEROS
1965: 68-86, 6th Place
Colorado is one of those teams where you need to REALLY dig deep beyond stats and check out the ratings to see what they really have on their slate. From the perspective of pure talent, there isn't a pitching staff in the game that rivals them from top to bottom. The problem is translating those numbers into something that actually means wins.

Pablo Gonzalez (17-12, 2.87 ERA) is still just 21-years old and coming off an excellent rookie year leading the pitching staff in Denver. He's back again and looking to break the 20-win mark. Alden Hendricks is still improving at 26 and is looking to build on a 11-10 mark last year, where he struck out 172 batters.

If the staff can hold up, the offensive improvements the team made might put them in the mix in what appears to be the most open race in the Republic League ever.

Their biggest signing of the off-season came when they let Clay Darby, an infielder and fan favourite who was slated for free agency, walk to Seattle in the expansion draft. They followed it up by getting Christan Larsen who spent years in Baltimore, before heading to St. Louis last year. The deal for Larsen was for six years, $88.5 million and includes a no-trade clause. The 1964 MVP and 4-time All-Star hit 14 HRs and 74 RBI last year.

Where the Rancheros look thin is in the outfield, boasting more than a few rookies.

Colorado has been on the doorstep until last year's surprising 7th place finish. They're better than that, ownership expects it, as do their fan base. Look for them to rebound in '66.

Prediction: 3rd Place

[Young Drachma]

RIO GRANDE ROADRUNNERS
1965: 72-82, 5th Place
Two steps forward, two step back. That's the refrain along the Rio Grande in Texas as the roadrunners can't seem to get their sputter back.

The story here is undoubtedly one of depth. The expansion draft hit them hard, losing a lot of their depth players to the expansion clubs -- who funny enough, aren't really using them -- and leaving them scrambling a bit heading into the season.

Tyler Reilly, the mashing first baseman is still here. Gone are the days where he logged 100+ walks and 100+ RBI a sesson, though he came close to the latter mark last year (94 RBI).

Andres Aguilera was considered the first young star of FOOL when he entered the league. He rebounded from a supbar '64, hitting .298 last year with 22 HRs and 79 RBI. He inked a $33.9 milllion extension with the team after last year, too.

The problem with the Roadrunners isn't their talent, it's their lack of movement during a year when lots of teams made moves to improve.

Jose Medina went 15-12 last year and pitched six complete games. He anchors a rotation that's thin on long talent. Doug Pitts (11-14, 219 K) and Ron Wilson (14-12, 3.49 ERA) are the "big 3" along the Rio Grande, but...the team will struggle to cobble together five major league caliber starters and in the wide open RL, that's just not going to cut it.

They'll sputter this year, but a year or two rebuilding the ship a bit and they could be easily right back in the thick of things in a league where everyone has a flaw or three.

Prediction: 8th place

[Commo_Soldier]

Thanks for the writeups they are interesting to read. I had a suggestion I was curious about after reading this however. What are the thoughts on moving the all-star game to after the classic then we vote for the all-star game members before you sim the classic?

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Commo_Soldier

Thanks for the writeups they are interesting to read. I had a suggestion I was curious about after reading this however. What are the thoughts on moving the all-star game to after the classic then we vote for the all-star game members before you sim the classic?

Or maybe moving it to the pre-season of the following year. Either way, I like the idea.

[muns]

DC, I exported and should be good to go. Good luck to eveyone, as I wont be around till Sunday again. Cant wait to see the results.

[muns]

Originally Posted by Commo_Soldier

Thanks for the writeups they are interesting to read. I had a suggestion I was curious about after reading this however. What are the thoughts on moving the all-star game to after the classic then we vote for the all-star game members before you sim the classic?

Only problem with it is that you are asking guys to do work, that some may not want to do, or have time to do.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by muns

Only problem with it is that you are asking guys to do work, that some may not want to do, or have time to do.

Well that's why we wouldn't do it this year. I need to figure out the "best" time. I'm thinking maybe even in the pre-season or something. If it's late in the season, it might affect fatigue and I'd hate for it to be that way.

[Commo_Soldier]

Originally Posted by muns

Only problem with it is that you are asking guys to do work, that some may not want to do, or have time to do.

I guess I was under the assumption that it would not cause problems if an owner did not submit their picks. My thinking is that it would bring more attention to the allstar game and the actual starters then there is currently because I did not know for sure we even had one until after reading some of the previews.