Earl Weaver Baseball League

Re: Commissioner Ballot

October 15th, 2008 by Banditos GM

1) George Will
2) Bob Kerrey
3) Larry Koenig
4) Peter Gammons

Re: Commissioner Ballot

October 15th, 2008 by Wolverines GM

1) Gerry Spence

2) Bob Kerrey

3) Peter Gammons

4) George Will

Re: Commissioner Ballot

October 15th, 2008 by Admirals GM

In no particular order...

Gammons

Bush

Kerrey

Will

Weaver

Commissioner Ballot

October 15th, 2008 by Banditos GM

Please list your top 4 in order of preference from the following:

George HW Bush (It should be noted that the Bush Family owns the Houston Black Gold, so this would be a Bud Selig situation)
Peter Gammons
Larry Koenig
Gerry Spence
Jerry Brown
Bob Kerrey
George Will
Ted Williams
Stephen Hawking
Earl Weaver

Re: coaches

October 15th, 2008 by Banditos GM

ODDS of Morgan as Omaha Manager at end of 1993:  1 to 2
1994:  3 to 1
1995:  55 to 1

For Entertainment Purposes Only

Re: coaches

October 15th, 2008 by Admirals GM

We send our congratulations to Dave Morgan.

 

For the oddsmakers out there: What are the chances that Morgan is still the manager on opening day 1994?

coaches

October 15th, 2008 by Wolverines GM

1) We would like to first off give an extension now to Omaha pitching coach Andy Hanson

 

2) We would like to hire Sacramento (AAA Portland) hitting coach Jason White to the same position in Omaha.

 

3) We would like to make Lou Frye the bench coach in Omaha

 

4) And finally we would like to announce the hiring of AAA manager Dave Morgan as Manager of the Omaha Wolverines.

Re: Remainder of Interview

October 15th, 2008 by Wolverines GM

3) We are going to be stable, but we have to go through this process to get to where want to go and that is win the World Series. I have stated this over and over again with you guys there is a process in place and in place to make us better. When I took over we basically had nothing and now we are looking at one of the most talented clubs in EWB. We took our time with Ed Jackson who will be in our rotation next year as our 4th starter !  Look at our rotation Romano,Diaz,Jones, Jackson and hopefully Felix Rojas will be 100 percent when we start spring training as our 5th starter, look at our offense Jimmy Garrett, Aaron Ellis, Ricardo Hernandez, Jose Rodriguez and now Frank Patterson and some good young outfielders and not to mention Fireman winner Punk Perez so if look at where we were in 1990 and today it is a complete overhaul and that kind of stuff doesn't happen overnight and yes I could have stood pat, but stay pat with what I had we would have had a different conversation all together right now. I have a strategy and it is working, will I divulge that strategy NO. Will we win we will find out, we have the players and NOW it is time to let the new manager and his staff bring it all together and I can't wait for that and to the fans of the Wolverines we will be good now and in the future I stake my job on it.

 

4)You will find out soon enough.

 

5) Yes, why don't you interview him? We are of the same opinion as to how to get things turned around. We know what we are doing. Let's have this conversation a year from now and we will see where things stand.

 

6) Kansas City, because of the proximity and because of the history of our ball clubs. Also some bad history as far as that 4th of July night in '76.

 

7) I have ideas on it, but that is Mr. Theisen's decision.

Remainder of Interview

October 15th, 2008 by Banditos GM

3)  You recently traded for Frank Patterson, sending two of your best minor league prospects and the well liked John Roe (fan interest dropped considerably with the loss of Roe) to Montreal.  What is the endgame strategy for you as a GM?  Many fans and media in Omaha have characterized this team as a merry go-round revolving players.  With no stability, chemistry, or tradition, how do you expect to build a winner or a stable fan base?

4)  Lou Frye, is he at the helm in 1993?  If yes, why is he your man?  If no, who are your candidates?

5)  Is your job safe?  Willie Thiesen has been quite patient but with the flurry of changes that just happened around the league, do you fear for your job security?

6)  Who is Omaha's biggest rival in EWB and why?

7)  Who are you going to vote for as the new commissioner of the Earl Weaver Baseball League?

Re: Nominations

October 15th, 2008 by Wolverines GM

Add Sen.Bob Kerry (D-NE) to the list of possible candidates.

Re: Nominations

October 15th, 2008 by Admirals GM

Other nominations for commissioner: George H.W. Bush (will be out of office by time 1993 season starts).  Peter Gammons.  Larry Koenig.

1992 Washington Admirals Hall of Fame Ballot

October 15th, 2008 by Washington Admirals

My Vote

1. Crespo: No.  (3 No's, meaning Crespo is eliminated in the future.)

2. Gudino: Yes.  (3 Yes's, meaning that Gudino is inducted.)

3. Mitchell: No. (1 Yes, 1 No, 1 Reconsider.  Mitchell doesn't make it this year, but will be on the ballot next year.)

 

4. Green: No.  (1 Yes, 2 No's.  Green doesn't make it this year, but will be on the ballot next year.)
5. Nakamura: Yes.  (1 Yes, 1 Reconsider, 1 No.  Nakamura doesn't make it this year, but will be on the ballot next year.)

6. Lopez: Reconsider.  (1 Yes, 2 Reconsiders.  Lopez doesn't make it this year, but will be on the ballot next year.)

 

7. Pena: Yes.  (2 Yes's, 1 Reconsider, even though the rules prohibit Reconsiders for him.  With 2 Yes's, Pena makes it in.)

 

So, the 1992 Hall of Fame class has two members: Carlos Gudino and Daniel Pena.

1992 Omaha Wolverines Hall of Fame Ballot

October 15th, 2008 by Wolverines GM

1) Crespo---NO

2) Gudino-- Yes

3) Mitchell--- Yes

4) Green --- Yes--- we reward team play and he was exceptional at it to boot

5) Nakamura---- Reconsider

6) Lopez --- Reconsider

7) Pena ----Resonsider-----we are still shaky on the alleged drug use in 1983.

1992 Miami Banditos Hall of Fame Ballot

October 15th, 2008 by Banditos GM

Miami Banditos Hall of Fame Ballot
1) Crespo - NO
2) Gudino - YES
3) Mitchell - RECONSIDER
4) Green - NO
5) Nakamura - NO
6) Lopez - YES
7) Pena - YES

Much more positive than we have been in the past.

1992 Hall of Fame Ballot

October 15th, 2008 by Admirals GM

Here is your hall of fame ballot.  The ballot is separated into 3 divisions: First Time Ballot players, Second Time Ballot Players, and Final Ballot players.  Vote by replying to this e-mail.

 

To start off, here are the First Time Ballot players.  For them, you can vote YES, NO FOREVER (I don't want to reconsider), or Reconsider (meaning No this year, but let me think about it again in the future).  If a player receives 2 Yes votes, he's in.  If he receives 1 Yes vote or 2 Undecideds, he will be included on the ballot again next year.  If a player fails to pass this threshold, he will be left off the Hall ballot in future years.

 

1. Armando "Bonkers" Crespo, CL/MR: 1970-1992 (Pittsburgh 1970-1971, Portland 1971-1977 and 1990, Cleveland 1978-1981 and 1990 and 1992, Chicago 1982, Cincinnati 1982-1986, Dallas 1986-1988, Minneapolis 1989 and 1991, Miami 1990).

On the Ballot: 1st Time.

Career Stats (Rank): 1,030 Games (3rd), 450 Saves (7th), 2.96 ERA, 1.27 WHIP.

Peak Years: 1974, 1.18 ERA in 61 IP, 29 Saves; 1983, 2.13 ERA in 63.1 IP, 50 Saves, 1.31 WHIP.

Awards: 1 Time Freman of the Year (1983).

Leaderboard: Led the league in saves once (1983).

Playoffs: 0 World Series titles, 0 World Series Losses, 3 Playoff appearances

Career postseason stats: 3.1 IP; 8.10 ERA, 0 Saves

All Star: 4 times.

Comments: The paradigm case of a journeyman.  Played for 8 different teams; had 12 different "stints" (where by stint, I mean if you play for Dallas in 1978 and then again in 1992, that's 2 different stints with the same team); played for Minneapolis and Portland on two different occasions (Minneapolis: 1989 and 1991; Portland: 1971-1977 and 1990); played for Cleveland on three separate occasions (1978-1981, 1990, and 1992).  To go with this journeyman career, he has high career totals.

 

YES, NO, or RECONSIDER?

 

 

2. Carlos Gudino, 1B: 1972-1992 (Austin, 1972-1982, Kansas City 1983-1988, Carolina 1989-1992).

On the Ballot: 1st Time.

Career Stats (Rank): .313 BA (13th), 2,571 Games (3rd), 9,940 At Bats (2nd), 1,514 Runs (3rd), 3,112 Hits (2nd), 598 2B (2nd), 206 HR, 1,353 RBI (5th).

Peak Years: 1979, .348/16/105; 1981, .342/12/84

Awards: 1979 NL MVP; 2 time Gold Glove winner at 1B.

Leaderboard: Led the league in Hits 3 times; in Doubles 3 times; in extra base hits 2 times.

Playoffs: 0 World Series titles; 2 World Series losses (in 1976, playing for Austin vs. Carolina; in 1984, for Kansas City vs. Washington D.C.); 7 Playoff Appearances.

Career Postseason Stats: .332/4/31 in 58 career postseason games.

 All Star: 5 Times.

Comments: First EWB player ever to 3,000 hits.  As you can see, his name is all over the EWB career leaderboard.  The computer automatically inducted him, although it's up to us to approve this induction.

 

YES, NO, OR RECONSIDER?

 

 

3. Tom Mitchell, SP: 1976-1992 (Detroit 1976-1990, Denver 1991-1992).

On the Ballot: 1st Time.

Career Stats (Rank): 220-202 (14th in Wins); 3.30 ERA; 3,568 K's (1st); 1.25 WHIP.

Peak Years: 1990, 18-12, 2.70, 235 K's; 1982, 15-12, 2.62, 256 K's

Awards: None.

Leaderboard: Led the League in K's 6 times, in K's/9 5 Times

Playoffs: 0 World Series Titles; 0 World Series Losses; 0 Playoff Appearances.

Career Postseason Stats: None.

All Star: 1 Time.

Comments: The all time K's leader, he had the bad fortune to spend most of his career with a horrible team: the Detroit Cruisers.  This kept his career win total down.  On the other hand, his 3.30 ERA, although solid, isn't absolutely exceptional.  Right after Detroit traded him in the 1990-1991 offseason, they went on to make the playoffs in 1991 for the first time in 20 years.

 

YES, NO, OR RECONSIDER?

 -----------

 Now we move on to 2nd time ballot players.  All of these players received either 1 Yes Vote last year or 2 undecideds.  The rules are pretty much the same for them as they were for the 1st ballot players.

 

 

4. Dick Green: 1970-1990 (Washington, 1970-1974, Indianapolis 1974-1980, Pittsburgh 1981-1990, Portland 1990, Austin 1991).

On the Ballot: 2nd Time.

Career Stats (Rank): 1,129 games (1st all time), 362 Saves (17th), 2.57 ERA, 1.22 WHIP.

Peak Years: 1972, 1.37 ERA in 83.1 IP as a MR; 1987, 44 Saves, 1.01 ERA.

Awards: 1 Time Fireman of the Year (1987).

Leaderboard: Led the league in Saves once, in games pitched once.

Playoffs: 0 World Series titles, 2 World Series losses (1975 vs. Washington, 1979 vs. Kansas City), 9 playoff appearances.  Career postseason stats of 9 saves, 1.50 ERA in 48 IP.

All Star: 6 times.
Comments: As Rob said, Green is arguably the greatest middle reliever in EWB history (though see Collier below).  He also did spend a fair amount of time as closer, as his 362 career saves indicates.  If he had been a closer his entire career, his save total probably would have guaranteed him induction into the hall.  For us, the question is whether a (primarily) middle reliever can make it.

 

YES, NO, or RECONSIDER?

 

5. Katsuhiko "Poison" Nakamura: 1970-1986 (all with Indianapolis).

On the Ballot: 2nd Time, via Veteran's Committee (computer did not induct him, but worth a 2nd look).

Career Stats: 2.46, 500 Saves (5th), 1.12 WHIP

Peak Years: 1975, 50 Saves, 2.45 ERA; 1978 36 Saves, 0.91 ERA

Awards: 2 Fireman of the Year Awards (1975, 1976)

Leaderboard: Led the league in Saves twice.

Playoffs: 0 World Series Titles, 3 World Series Losses (1975 vs. Washington, 1979 vs. Kansas City, 1981 vs. Kansas City).  Career stats: 24 Saves, 3.82 ERA, 1.33 WHIP.

All Star: 7 times.

Comments: A central cog for the Indianapolis team that lost 3 World Series in the 1970s and early 1980s (think of them as our Buffalo Bills; incidentally, both Dick Green and Daniel Pena were members of those teams as well).  Nakamura has 500 lifetime saves; everyone else with this many saves is already in the hall of fame.  Struggled a bit in the playoffs, as his 3.82 ERA indicates.  Does his lack of postseason success (0 titles, struggles just mentioned) keep him out?

 

YOUR VOTE: YES, NO, or RECONSIDER?

 

 

6. Pedro Lopez: 1974-1991 (Cleveland 1974-1980; Washington D.C. 1981-1986; Denver 1986-1988; Detroit 1989-1991).

On the Ballot: 2nd Time.

Career Stats: .299, 2535 hits (10th), 107 HR, 1016 RBI, 1569 Runs (2nd), 708 SBs (4th), .416 OBP (6th).

Peak Years: 1981, .366/8/85/64 SBs/101 Runs; 1984, .327/6/61/55 SBs/115 Runs.

Awards: 1 time MVP (1981).  1 time Gold Glove Award in CF (1980).

Leaderboard: Won 1 Batting Title; Led the league in SBs once; in Runs once, in OBP twice.

Playoffs: 2 World Series Titles (1984, 1985 with D.C.), 1 World Series Loss (vs. Omaha in 1985), 7 playoff appearances.  Career postseason stats of .293/3/25/21 SBs in 72 games.

All Star: 6 times.

Comments: Along with Chris Henry (inducted to the Hall last year), a cornerstone of the mid 1980s Washington D.C. Diplomats dynasty.  Whereas Henry was the feared power hitter, Lopez was the ideal lead off hitter (lots of runs, OBP, and stolen bases) who played a solid CF as well.  He suffered a career-ending injury this year, keeping his career numbers a bit below where they could have been.  One of the few leadoff men in EWB history to win an MVP award.

 ---------------

 

We have one final ballot player: Daniel Pena.  You must either vote YES or NO on him.  There is no RECONSIDER vote.  If Pena does not get voted in this year, he will never appear on the Hall of Fame ballot again.

 

7. Daniel Pena: 1973-1990 (Indianapolis 1973-1979; New Orleans 1980-1983; sat out 1984 (???); Miami 1985-1986; Los Angeles 1987-1989; Washington 1990).

On the Ballot: 2nd time, after coming up short last year.
Career Stats (Rank): 228 (11th)-139; 3.51; 3472 Ks (2nd) in 3396.2 IP; 1.23 WHIP; 9.19 K/9 IP (4th)
Peak Years: 1975, 21-7, 2.67, 237 K in 239.1 IP, 1.03 WHIP; 1983, 22-7, 3.70, 269 Ks in 263 IP, 1.27 WHIP
Awards: 1 time NL Bob Gibson (1975)
Leaderboard: Led League in Wins twice, in K's 8 times (ala George Brett, Pena led the league in K's the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s)
Playoffs: 0 World Series Titles, 3 World Series losses (1975 vs. Washington, 1979 vs. K.C., 1983 vs. D.C.) 6 playoff appearances (3 with Indianapolis, 1 with New Orleans, 2 with  Los Angeles), career playoff stats of 13-7, 3.51, 154 Ks in 153.1 IP, 1.31 WHIP
All Star: 5 times
Comments: Worse pitchers are already in the Hall, but that shouldn't be our basis for voting.  A central cog in the 1970s Indianapolis team that kept winning the NL but not the World Series, Pena became more of a mercenary in his later career, switching teams often.  The Cuban Pena was plagued by drug rumors in the early 1980s; it did not help that he sat out the entire 1984 season under mysterious circumstances, and then signed a free agent contract with the dreadful *Miami* Banditos in 1985.  Probably the greatest K pitcher in the history of EWB so far, the question is whether his okay ERA and solid but unspectacular win total keeps him out.

YES or NO?  (Again, there is no RECONSIDER here.)

Nominations

October 15th, 2008 by Banditos GM

Commissioners:
Gerry Spence (Mike)
Jerry Brown (Mike)
George Will (Rob)
Ted Williams (Rob)
Stephen Hawking (Rob)
Earl Weaver (Rob) (Not quite sure how it would work into the "story of the league" considering the league is already named after him)

Justin, any Nominations?

GM:
Bill James ( I want to add him to the GM pool.  See if any team takes a sabermetric slant)

Managers:
Cito Gaston
Russ Nixon
Don Mattingly

The Manager pool is quite large and quite talented, so I don't want to inflate it too much more but open to ideas.

Release These Players

October 15th, 2008 by Admirals GM

I've included career orbituaries for these releasees.  There's 17 players in all.

 

AAA Tacoma

-----------

SS Eric Davidson (at one point we had utility-man hopes for him, but in 106 ML AB he's just a .132 hitter)

RF Hector Vasquez (a throw-in in the Ernesto Perez trade from a year ago)

 

AA Trenton

------------

RF Eric Thurlow (a 1987 3rd round pick who just never developed, and is now regressing)

1B Thomas Feliz (showed some flashed in 1990 when we took over, but now he's 28 and still can't crack AAA)

SP Luis Rodriguez (even with our organizational pitching depth problems, Rodriguez can't cut it)

RP Bill Webb (back in 1990, he was a 10 pt. pitcher; today, he's a 7 point guy; a 6.57 ML ERA in 24.2 IP)

 

A High Desert

----------------

LF Darryl Bryant (how far he's fallen: he's down to 1-3 contact-power)

CF Travis Albright (despite being healthy all year in 1992, our minor league managers gave him just 3 AB over the entire season)

SS Tim Miller (24 year old who still hasn't made it to AA)

CF Edgar Perez (quite possibly the least talented player in our entire organization: 1 ratings across the board)

SP Mike McCrorey (back in 1988, was judged to have 9 point potential; never lived up to it)

 

A Ralston

---------------

C Tony Pina (25 year old who can't crack into AA)

SS Jeff Collins (ditto)

1B Mark Akers (ditto)

 

SA Everett

---------------

C John Lehman (has been in our minor league system since 1985, and is still playing in SA)

 

R Quebradillas

---------------

C Nick Belcher (back in 1988, was rated to have 4 contact potential; never materialized)

SP Alex Marino (we're now the 4th organization to release him)

Re: Voting Totals: The Winners

October 15th, 2008 by Admirals GM

I feel like there has to be more to the story in New York.  I mean, I know that they lost in the first round of the playoffs, but they're only 1 year off being World Series Champs, and this very year they had far and away the best team in baseball.  Somehow, management must have made the situation untenable for Morse and Vera.

 

One more thing.  This year, New York was $4.8M over budget, and their $56M payroll was by far the highest in baseball.  In fact, the difference between #1 New York and #2 Dallas was greater than the difference between #2 Dallas and #15 Cleveland.  (Sort of like real life, with the Yankees being so far ahead of everyone else.)  I wonder if this inflated payroll helped cost Morse his job.

 

At any rate, I suspect it will be moves that New York fans seriously regret.

Re: Voting Totals: The Winners

October 15th, 2008 by Banditos GM

Both the NL Exec and NL Manager of the Year will not be returning.  Vera retired and Morse was not resigned.  NL Exec Awards are a kiss of career death.

Voting Totals: The Winners

October 15th, 2008 by Admirals GM

AL MVP
 
1. Robinson 24 (4)
2. Carter 7
3. Lang 6

4. Carranza 4
5. Hernandez 3
 
AL Gibson
 
1. Banks 24 (4)
2. MacGregor 10
3. Pereira 8
4. Romano 2
 
AL ROSA
 
1. Brown 20 (3)
2. Reinert 11 (1)

3. Hernandez 5
3. Wright 5
5. Hinkle 2 

AL FIREMAN
 
1. Perez 18 (3)
2. Rosario 8
3. MacNiter 4
4. Hernandez 3
 
AL MANAGER
 
1. Washington 15 (2)
2. Howe 8 (1)
3. Nolan 6
4. McKeon 4
 
AL EXECUTIVE
 
1. Justin 15 (2)
2. Rodriguez 11 (1)
3. Rob 4
4. Bruno 3
 
NL MVP
 
1. G. Ortiz 21 (3)
2. Kelly 9 (1)

3. Mills 5
4. Altagracia 3
5. J. Ortiz 2
5. Johnson 2

5. Winman 2
 
NL GIBSON
 
1. Altagracia 24 (4)
2. Morgan 12
3. Rodgers 2
3. Mitchell 2
3. Goodwin 2

3. Olson 2
 
NL ROSA
 
1. Laws 18 (2)
2. Gonzalez 12 (1)
2. Hunter 12 (1)
3. Huff (2)

NL Manager
 
1. Vera 15 (2)
2. Pancheco 8 (1)
3. Stevens 8
4. Anderson 2
 
NL Executive
 
1. Morse 15 (2)
2. Goodman 10 (1)
3. Gardner 5
4. Endo 3

1992 Official AI Award Ballot

October 15th, 2008 by Banditos GM

AL MVP
1) Mike Robinson, WAS
2) Caleb Lang, LA
3) Vincent Carter, DEN

AL Bob Gibson Award
1) George Banks, MIA
2) Victor Pereira, NO
3) Joe MacGregor, WAS

AL Angel Rosa Award
1) Dale Reiner, WAS
2) Ryan Hinkle, MIA
3) Kenneth Brown, CAR

NL MVP
1) Don Kelly, ELP
2) German Ortiz, NY
3) Henry Winman, PHI

NL Bob Gibson Award
1) Luis Altagracia, STL
2) Daniel Morgan, STL
3) Gary Olson, NY

NL Angel Rosa Award
1) Cooper Hunter, AUS
2) Scott Laws
3) Chris Huff

End of 1992 Season- News and Agenda

October 15th, 2008 by Banditos GM

Will be Uploaded in about 1 hour.

First some General News
- Carlos Gudino got Auto inducted to the HOF.
- Dave Tyler of San Antonio, formerly of Washington, is asking for a trade.
- Washington's Owner sets Budget at 49,289,402
- Miami's Owner sets Budget at 47,726,326
- Omaha's Owner sets Budget at 43,833,601
- Omaha Hitting Coach Felipe Fernandez Retired.  Juan Cruz left un resigned.
- Miami is going to offer Trainer Ed Rose a 4 year, 225k Contract.

Agenda
- I want to sim up to the first day of Free Agency eligibility, then schedule a Yugma.  It doesn't all have to be simmed in one chunk, it can be broken up into blocks.  Here are the things that need to be taken care of:

• Finish Awards Ballots.  Justin, I am sending you the computer ballot.  If I can just get a finalized tally.
• Hall of Fame Ballots and Vote.  Once again the EWB archivist Justin, can you take care of this?  Gudino already got auto inducted.
• Personnel.  If you have personnel slots to fill and want to do that now.  I need your offers.
• Salary Arbitration.  I am planning to sim through this.  I bring it up, because if you have plans (drops, trades, etc.) that are dependent on the salary arb. time, be aware.
• Commisioner Ballot.  I will put together a ballot.  If you have any more nominations speak soon.
• Rule 5 Prep.  Look over your Rule 5 eligible and make roster moves if necessary. 

Once again, these are things I want to take care of before our Yugma and FA.  So send me moves and ballots and I'll try to figure the most efficient way to sim up to FA.

GM/Coach Firings/Retirings/Non Renewals
Sunbelt
- New Orleans Dukes GM Arthur Miller was not resigned.
- New Orleans manager Mitchell Reese was FIRED.

Plains
- Chicago Samurai GM Pablo Lara was FIRED.
- Chicago Samarui Manager Armando Ortiz was FIRED.  Remember Ortiz took over for Tom Kelly on an interim basis.

- Minneapolis Manager Steve Reeves RETIRES.
- Matt Egger appoints veteran Bench Coach, Pepe Vargas, to take Reeves spot.

Mountain West
- Los Angeles GM Victor Hernandez was FIRED.
- Los Angeles Manager Ray Harrington was FIRED.
- In fact every single staff position was turned over, from Hitting Coach to Doctor.  LA is starting from scratch.
- Former Bench Coach Matt Hammond was appointed Manager.

- Portland GM Tim Hill was not resigned.
- Portland Manager Doug Turner RETIRES.

Colonial
- NY GM Ron Morse was not resigned.
- NY Manager Francisco Vera RETIRES.
- Bench Coach John McNamara takes over as Manager.

- Montreal GM Cedric Backman was not resigned.
- Montreal Manager Manny Hernandez was FIRED.
- Felix Cabrera, long time Montreal AAA Columbus Manager, was appointed Manager.

- Philadelphis Manager Luis Romero was FIRED.

Ohio Valley
- Pittsburgh GM Ramiro Najcrea was FIRED.
- Pittsburgh Manager Lou Piniella was FIRED.
- Bench Coach Ty James takes over.

- Detroit GM Mauro Hernandez was FIRED
- Detroit Manager Steve Tracey was FIRED.

- Cleveland GM Mike Thomas RETIRES.

Texas
- El Paso Manager Dale Jackson was FIRED.

- Dallas Manager Cristian Bruno was not resigned.
- Bench Coach John Keys appointed Manager.

- San Antonio GM Bob Riehl RETIRES.  God forbid he was ever forced out, Wally Reynalds feels a little less secure today.

Player RETIREES

El Paso Iron Horses: SP B. Thompson retires.

Cleveland Rockers: MR A. Crespo retires.

Carolina Colonials: 1B C. Gudino retires.

Pittsburgh Crusaders: SP T. Vanderzee retires.

Carolina Colonials: SP B. Gallegos retires.

Denver Amigos: SP T. Mitchell retires.

Houston Black Gold: MR C. Matthews retires.

Minneapolis Mutiny: MR B. Lilly retires.

Houston Black Gold: 1B P. Fernández retires.

New Orleans Dukes: MR L. Orlandi retires.

Houston Black Gold: MR D. Lamb retires.

Kansas City Wheat Kings: CF J. McGrath (R Idaho Falls) retires.

Kansas City Wheat Kings: RF S. Glenn (R Naguabo) retires.

Los Angeles Gargoyles: 2B S. King (R Toa Baja) retires.

Carolina Colonials: 1B H. González (R Bluefield) retires.

Denver Amigos: LF J. Castanieda (A Kinston) retires.

St. Louis Savages: CF A. O'Brian (R Jupiter) retires.

Montreal Knights: MR M. Browning (R Villalba) retires.

Memphis Razorbacks: 2B S. Chandler (R Pulaski) retires.

Kansas City Wheat Kings: 2B S. Bunning (R Idaho Falls) retires.

Memphis Razorbacks: C A. López (R Pulaski) retires.

TOP SECRET !!!

October 13th, 2008 by Wolverines GM

The other candidate I throw out there would be (my favorite choice) Gerry Spence. I think he is the best lawyer in the country and I think he would also be interested. I think the owners and players would find fairness with Mr. Spence and I have talked about this choice with Mr. Theisen and he also agrees that he thinks that the other owners would be receptive of Mr. Spence and that he would bring it up during the winter meetings.

 

Thoughts ?

RE: Commissioner Ballot

October 13th, 2008 by Wolverines GM

I nominate the former governor of California the honorable Jerry Brown as commisioner. Not only would he be arbitrary but he is a huge baseball fan. He dropped out of the presidential race and I think he would be receptive of the idea.

Commissioner Ballot

October 13th, 2008 by Banditos GM

The league is flailing with the death of Bart giamatti. Can't get the
playoffs scheduled. We need a new commish.

C'mon

October 13th, 2008 by Wolverines GM

Not to be a dick, I realize that there are time commitments from certain parties, but the Omaha Wolverines would like to continue on to the off season and onto the next season. This has got to be the longest fucking playoffs in history. So if we could expediate the end of the season and wrap up the World Series the Omaha Wolverines and the entire rest of the league would appreciate it.

                       

                                                                       Mike G

                                                                     President and GM

                                                              Omaha Wolverines Organization

Re: 2nd Question

October 11th, 2008 by Wolverines GM

2A) Yes, I am a supporter of Gov. Clinton. I believe he is a man of change and of new ideas for the 21st century after 12 years of old ideas and policies. Our economy is down right now and it does effect us as an organization so I believe not only is Gov. Clinton is a good and funny man he has the best ideas for our country in the future. I think his policies on our economy are right on as far as tax cuts for the middle class I think are prudent and I think his wife Hillary has some good ideas about our health care system and numerous other things. As far as being for a Democrat in a Republican city/state I think the people of Omaha/Nebraska are more interested in loyalty and respect a good conversation about policy than dislike me for my views and I think they care more about who will be the next manager or who we will have on our team next year.

 

2B) We are just friends.

 

2C) No, I believe age means absolutely nothing. Look if you win you stay you lose you go regardless of age, race, sex, etc. Look at Admirals GM Justin T and Banditos GM Rob M, we are all about the same age and they are in the World Series and made it to the ALCS respectively so age doesn't have to be a deterrent or an advantage. I have never had a GM say I will not deal with you because of your age that's ludicrous. Does Francisco Vera get scrutinized more because he's black, No because he is one of the best GM's in the game. Does Justin Tiehen or Rob Mullin get scrutinized because of there age I should hope not there are 27 other GM's who wished they are where they are so I think it's all to do about nothing.

 

2D) I grew up idolizing Sherwood Johnston as a kid. I used to wear his number in little league, I used to swing like him, I had his poster on my wall. I think he was a winner and a great humanitarian. He was as good off the field as he was on it for all the charity work he did for the United Way and those funny commercials he and O.J. Simpson did so I would be honored if my club were like him not just on the field but off of it as well. His numbers and MVP's speak for themselves.

2nd Question

October 11th, 2008 by Banditos GM

Let's step away from baseball for a second.  Part of the reason for the interview is to introduce you to the citizens of Omaha.  So:

2A.  You have been an unabashed supporter of the Arkansas Governor, Bill Clinton, for President over President Bush.  In fact it has been noted that you've attended many of his fundraising ceremonies.  What is it about Governor Clinton that you see and so fully support?  Is it wise to be so political in the business of baseball, especially when most of your fan base is Republican?

2B.  You are no doubt aware of the rumours about yourself and Paula Abdul, is there any truth?  What is your relationship with Paula Abdul?

2C.  Due to your youth do you feel like you have a heavier burden than the other GM's?  In other words are you scrutinized more?  Can you hold your own with the more experienced and wisened GM's of EWB?

2D.  What former EWB player do you most respect and admire?  Why?

Re: 1st Question

October 10th, 2008 by Wolverines GM

First off let me just start off by saying that we expect to compete for or win the division every year. I don't think those goals are to outragous and if our players, staff and front office don't feel that way then we will never obtain ANY goals.

Secondly when we first got here in 1990 this organization was abismal had really no prospects and not much talent at the EWB level so we had to make wholesale changes across the board as far as coaches through out our minors to players etc. so remember this is just the 3rd year of wholesale change so our expectations can't be win the World Series in year 3 even though we now have a great team so we are doing things right now to set us up for years to come.

As far as this year I hired Joe Torre before the season as Billy Martin suprisingly retired before the season so we took a chance on Joe and it didn't work out in my eyes so I let Joe go after we were swept at Kansas City in the final weeks of the season while in a playoff hunt. My reasoning was this team DID underachieve and I thought to maybe give them a shot in the arm we give Lou Frye our AAA manager a chance to try to make the playoffs with a couple weeks to go it didn't work and were at where were at and I take blame for the managing decision as it did not work out in my opinion.

         If you look at our stats we were one of the better teams in EWB but it did not translate into victories for whatever reason. I admit I am continuely tinkering with our team to get it better for the future as far as talent and financial solvency for years to come so in that sense I maybe messing with team chemistry, but like I stated in the opening comments this is just year 3 of major change over and I have a plan that I am carrying out as we speak and I have Mr. Theisens full support because he knows what I am doing and what our plans are for the future.

 

 

Re: Interview Request

October 10th, 2008 by Wolverines GM

First off I know who the fuck you are I live in Omaha. Secondly yes I will do any interview. I am not afraid of criticism people who are that do this won't last very long and they do things for the wrong reasons. So set up a time with my secretary and we will talk.

                                                                                       Mike Gilmore

                                                                                     President and GM

                                                                                   Omaha Wolverines Org.

 

1st Question

October 10th, 2008 by Banditos GM

Mr. MikeG,
If you choose to accept my invitation, question number 1.
Mike Kelly

Did the Omaha Wolverines meet expectations this year by going 82-80?  If yes, then what can fans expect to raise those questions, and considering the talent aren't the expectations artificially low?  If no, why did this team fail to do better and what exactly were the expectations?

Interview Request

October 10th, 2008 by Banditos GM

Dear Mr. Gilmore,
I am Mike Kelly.  I write sports columns.  I write for the Omaha World Herald.  I would like to do an interview with you.  Please?  I want to submit questions to you.  I want to publish your answers in my column.  Please?
Sincerely,
Mike Kelly

Gelling Effect

October 10th, 2008 by Admirals GM

One more thing.  This isn't to chastise Mike, it's a genuine question: Do you think team chemistry is affected by how long players have been together?  Casually, it seems to me that several teams who added a bunch of players all at once failed to live up to expectations, sometiems even though those players were producing.

 

1. Omaha.  A lot of trades and free agent signing in recent years makes them one of the most talented teams in the entire AL.  (Perhaps the most talented team.)  And a number of those new players put up good stats this year.  *Still*, they were only 82-80.  Could it be that their lack of team chemistry is costing them?

 

2. Austin.  Prior to 1991, the Marshalls made a splash by signing a bunch of free agents.  Talent-wise, the algorithm thought they were excellent, one of the best teams in the NL.  And yet, in 1991, that first year with the new players, Austin was just 80-82.  (Good enough to make the playoffs, but only because the Texas division was so weak.)  Now, in 1992, after the players have been together for awhile, they're playing up to expectations and are just 1 game away from winning the World Series.  Austin didn't add nearly as much between 1991 and 1992 that they did between 1990 and 1991, and yet it's now that they make their great leap forward, not in 1991.

 

3. El Paso.  This past offseason, they signed the two reigning MVPs in Keith Whitfield and Jose Garza, and also signed staff ace Jon Houston.  Now, admittedly, El Paso still has some weaknesses on their team.  But still, given these huge signings, I thought they would be much better than their 80-82 record this year.  Once again, could it be that the players haven't had a chance to gel yet?

 

These are just a few cases, but my impression is that there are others as well.  Given that it's not fully clear how player personalities work anyhow, maybe it's somehow sensitive to how long certain players have been teammates?

RE: Montreal-Omaha Trade Talks

October 9th, 2008 by Admirals GM

If Montreal agrees, I think I would probably agree as well.  I don't think especially highly of Roe; I regard him as more of a throw-in, although a decent one.  But Wright and Tommy Brown are pretty decent prospects, and both are relatively close to being ML-ready.  Brown is already a 3-3 hitter, with 4-4 potential, so it's imaginable he could play in the majors as soon as 1993 (although he probably wouldn't start off the season there).  I suspect Wright will spend all of next year in the minors, although he could be in the majors by 1994 -- he's already a 9 point pitcher, and he's got nice 11 point potential.

 

Question: How is this different from trading for Boston's Justin Johnston, which I said I would veto before?  Answer: Johnston is already fully developed.  As of this minute, he's ranked as the 13th best player in EWB *right now*.  Frank Patterson, as good of a prospect as he is, isn't that.  Also, the logic of Boston keeping Johnston was just so strong given the departure of Valentin, while Montreal is in a very different situation.

 

In light of this, I don't think I would veto the Patterson trade.

Montreal-Omaha Trade Talks

October 9th, 2008 by Wolverines GM

Like I state, yes they give up a potentially great player, but they have a lot of needs and they get some needs taken care of now CL (Roe) and in the near future (SP Wright- one of the top P prospects) and (OF Brown).

 

They have 3 pretty damn good 1B and an old OF and not a clear number one starter, and NO closer as Roe has had 2 excellent years and we believe he deserves a chance to close games somewhere else.

 

We get a 1B (which should be ours anyway) of the future and it helps our financials for a long time so not only do we see him a great everyday 1B, but he will be cheap until 1998.

 

Again I want to be fair to them.

Game 4

October 9th, 2008 by Admirals GM

1. How rested is Joe MacGregor?  Whether we go with him or Gustavo Chavez as our starter depends on MacGregor's rest percentage.

 

2. Place Artie Bicknell on the 15 day DL.  Again, it's unbelievable the injuries we've suffered.  We've had 4 major injuries in the playoffs alone: the Bicknell injury (our cleanup hitter), Jim Smith (our top pinch runner), Sergio Garcia (right in the middle of the series against Rob, when Garcia's health was crucial), and Dale Reinert (one of our few power hitters left, and again right in the middle of the series against Miami).  If there's any consolation with the latest, it may be that Bicknell had been playing so poorly, it's hard to say we'll miss him.  Or in other words: given that we've gotten as far as we have this playoffs with Bicknell playing so badly, maybe we can hope to continue on without him.  On the other hand, I had been sort of hoping all along that come the World Series, Bicknell would step up and shine, since we couldn't count on Porter Scott and Leo Kennedy to continue producing at the level we had been.

 

At any rate, this latest injury makes us just that much more of an underdog.  I don't think any realistic analyst could like our shot at coming back.

 

3. To replace Bicknell on the roster, call up CF Gustavo Rangel from AAA Tacoma.  Hopefully he can contribute as a pinch runner.  Our new OF depth chart is as follows...

 

LF: Escobido, Luna, Rangel

CF: Power, Rangel, Luna

RF: Henderson, Luna, Rangel

 

4. Our Game 4 Lineup is as follows...

 

  1. Roy Wilson, CF

  2. Ismael Escobido, LF [note: this is a position change from RF, where he had been]

  3. Porter Scott, 1B

  4. Dale Reinert, DH

  5. Leo Kennedy, C

  6. Daniel Smith, 2B

  7. Oliver Cole, SS

  8. Patrick Cole, 3B

  9. Mitchell Henderson, RF

 

That's a pretty crappy lineup, if you ask me.  For what it's worth: Mitchell Henderson hadn't played in a month prior to Game 3, when he replaced an injured Bicknell.  God knows when I traded Rob for him back in June, I never thought he would be my starting right fielder in the World Series.  Here's hoping he pulls a Mark Lemke.

 

5. Again, don't Sim the game until you let me know MacGregor's exact status.

trade

October 8th, 2008 by Wolverines GM

We would like to acquire about Montreal 1B Frank Patterson, we would like to offer these players for their weaknesses.

 

1) They don't have the best starting pitching in the world and we are willing to offer Bill Wright, Bill would be their number 1 starter by next year ('94)

 

2) They only have one really good OF prospect in AAA Albert Perez and their current OF is getting old so we would offer AA OF Tommy Brown.

 

3) They have no closer, matter of fact they have former Wolverine Carlos Crus as their CL so we would offer John Roe.

 

4) If they want a stop gap 1B for this year we would throw in Ben Lindsay.

 

We understand the agreement of throwing alot of players at a team for one good one, but we think we are giving them needs and alot of quality to potentially great players and it fits all their needs. Also they have a great 1B in AAA by the name of David Benitez and current back up 1B Roy Payton.

 

If they don't like this deal we would offer Dundee SP Bill Wright for 1B Roy Payton.

 

World Series Game 3 Pitching Matchup

October 8th, 2008 by Banditos GM

Looks to be extraordinary.

Austin is going with Norman Banks:  3-0, 4 G, 1.72 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, .171 OAVG
Washington, Basket Case Garcia:  3-0, 4 G, 1.37 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, .214 OAVG

This is a huge game for Washingtion, in fact the cliched "must win game."  Washington can't afford to go down 3-0 AND go down 3-0 on a Garcia start.  Garcia needs to win the games he pitches for Washington to have it's best chance.  2-1 and going with MacGregor at home will give many an Admiral Fan a lot of hope.

Lincoln Wolves

October 8th, 2008 by Banditos GM

The Lincoln Wolves defeated the Oregon Battleaxes (San Antonio AAA) 4 games to 3 in a stunning 5-4 win of the PCL Championship.  Round of Applause.

- Heshel Himmelfarb has returned from his injuries and is up in Oregon.  He played 2 regular season games and played all their post season games, hitting quite well in the 3rd spot.  The Israeli 3B is only 19 years old, is he the Saviour (pun intended) of the Aztecas.  Himmelfarb's potential ratings are quite scary.

-  Fred Dodman was the Player of the Game for Game 7.  Round of Applause.  Dodman has perhaps saved himself from sinking into anonymity.

-  This was Lincoln's second trip to the playoffs ever, their first was in 1990 when they were known as the Hustlers.  They christened their new name "Wolves" flamboyantly, winning the title in the first year.

-  A tale of two coaches.  Lou Frye led Lincoln for most of the season going 62-67, losing record, before getting the big promotion to Omaha.  In Omaha, Frye went 13-14 as the Wolverines wilted like a limp dick.  Dave Morgan took over in Lincoln when Frye went to Omaha.  Morgan came from the Erie Silverbacks, whom he led to an 82-56 record.  Erie eventually finished 96-66, won the division, and went to the playoffs, losing to Connecticut in RD 1.  Morgan, meanwhile, took Lincoln to a strong 21-12 finish, securing a playoff spot.  In the playoffs the Wolves were LARGE underdogs in every series (I'll explain why below).  Morgan lead Lincoln to beat the best team in the AC, Round Rock and the best team in the PC, Oregon.  Bottomline:  Dave Morgan looks like a hell of a coach, maybe he deserved the promotion to Omaha.

- Lincoln won the AC North Division with an 83-79 record.  Every single team in the AC South Division had a better record, all of them except for the AC South winner were shut out of the playoffs.  In fact, my own Little Rock was 7 games better than Lincoln but finished second to Round Rock.  The fuckin inequity is abhorrent in the Pacific Coast League.  Miami will be lobbying for a new playoff structure in the Owner's Meetings.

One more Baseball Thought

October 6th, 2008 by Admirals GM

This isn't about any particular article from that book, but a general thought.

 

Suppose, as I think is actually the case, there are many different types of value in baseball.  Some of these values are captured by the new-fangled Sabermetrics, but not by traditional stats.  For instance, David Kimble's value, which consisted in drawing walks and getting on base even though he couldn't hit very well any more.  On the other hand, other values are captured by the traditional stats, but not so much by the new Sabermetrics.  For instance, Joe Carter's value, which consisted in collecting RBIs.  If both sorts of things are valuable, then you should want to look at both things: look at Sabermetrics, AND at traditional stats.  It's not either/or, it's both/and.

 

Now, if you were a G.M. in a league filled with people who *only* looked at traditional stats, then the best way to get ahead would be by emphasizing Sabermetrics.  Joe Carter's (traditional-based) value would be realized by everyone, but David Kimble's (Sabermetric-based) value would be realized by only you.  People would come up to you and say, "David Kimble sucks, I'll trade him to you for a AA backup catcher."  You, because you pay attention to Sabermetrics, would realize these people are underrating Kimble, and thus could rip them off.  More generally, in this scenario, the best way to rip off your opposing G.M.s and more generally get good deals on trades/free agents/etc. would be by having a Sabermetric-based approach.  This, in effect, is what Billy Beane did.  His success doesn't necessarily prove that Sabermetrics are *superior* to traditional stats.  It could simply be that Sabermetrics capture one aspect of value that traditional stats miss (while traditional stats capture value of their own).  Because opposing G.M.s were ignoring these aspect of value, he was able to get one over on them.

 

On the other hand, imagine you were a G.M. filled with people who *only* looked at Sabermetrics.  Then, the best way to get ahead would be by emphasizing traditional stats.  Other G.M.s would say, "Joe Carter, he sucks, I'll trade him to you for that backup AA catcher."  They would miss Carter's (traditional-based) value, and thus underrate him.  I suspect this is what EWB is like.  It's filled with Sabermetric-pursuing G.M.s: the computers.  If so, then there's not so much benefit in being a Billy Beane: everyone pays attention to BBs and VORP, and so on, so you aren't going to get a VORP-deal in trades/free agents/etc.  Where you're going to get a deal is in traditional stats like RBI's.  The computer thinks RBIs are worthless, and so doesn't care that Carter is a RBI machine.

 

At least, that's a theory.

Re: Team vs. Team Report 1992

October 5th, 2008 by Admirals GM

1. Not sure about Yugma.  I have to help Ariela with this application she's working on; it will depend on how long it takes.

 

2. As far as poor coaching for Nebraska, agreed.

 

3. Rob, I got "Baseball Between the Numbers."  A lot of it's interesting, and a lot of it I agree with.  Some of the articles even appear to oppose other articles, which I'm glad to see.  I especially like Nate Silver, who I already knew from his political analyses (see, e.g., THE NEW REPUBLIC online blog, The Plank, where Silver contributes).  If you look at, e.g., p. 363, you'll see Silver write that (in the postseason) a pitcher's avoiding walks doesn't correlate with playoff success, and Silver's explanation is that it depends on who you walk -- you want to walk good hitters, but not bad hitters.  (See the least full paragraph.)  Silver's reasoning here would fit well with my previous argument, and would seem to entail that walks shouldn't be assigned a uniform positive value for batters -- it depends on who you are, whether it's a good thing to walk (it is if you're Alvarro Espinoza, but not if you're Barry Bonds).  Silver doesn't draw this implication, but it clearly follows.

 

4. I disagree with almost everything from Chapter 1-1, including the verdict that Joe Carter was overrated.  I'm no big Joe Carter fan, but I find Jonah Keri's argument wholly unconvncing.  In fact, Carter is a pretty good proxy for Daniel Smith from my original post: Smith/Carter have high RBI totals, comparatively low K's, and low OBP's. 

 

Let me use Keri's Carter/Kingman comparison (pp. 8-9) to get at my guiding thought one more time.  Suppose you wanted to build an RBI machine.  Then according to my analysis here are the traits you should look for:

 

(a) Power (duh)

(b) Comparatively low K's (i.e., low K's for someone with your level of power)

(c) Low BB's, and so low OBP in comparison to your BA (if your BA is .270, you want an OBP of say .300, not .370)

 

Well, guess what?  It turns out Joe Carter was pretty good at all 3 things, and so according to my analysis one would expect him to be an RBI machine, just as he was.

 

Now, what is Keri's argument that Carter was actually worse than David Kingman?  It largely boils down to this.  True, Carter had more RBI's than Kingman, but that's just because Carter had so many more RBI *opportunities* than Kingman did.  For instance, Carter often batted 3rd (lots of opportunities) while Kingman batted 6th or 7th (fewer).  But if it's just a matter of more opportunities, then it isn't really to Carter's *credit* that he had more RBIs.  It's due to factors outside of the two players' control.

What this argument misses, I say, is that how many RBI *opportunities* a player gets isn't wholly a matter of luck, it's partly a product of what sort of player you are.  Imagine I'm a manager who has both Carter and Kingman on my team.  One of them gets to bat 3rd; the other has to bat 7th (suppose that for whatever reason, slots 4-6 are already filled).  Well, I look at Kingman's stat-line and what I see is low BA's, high BBs, and high K's.  That's horrible, as far as producing RBIs.  Each one of those traits makes me think that Kingman will waste many RBI opportunities.  By comparison, I look at Carter's stats, and I see that he is what he is: an RBI machine.  And so, if I'm a halfway decent manager, I bat Carter 3rd and Kingman 7th.  If so, that will guarantee that Carter gets more RBI opportunities than Kingman does.  But this isn't a matter of *luck*.  And as it goes for this fictional case, it also goes for real life, where Carter and Kingman weren't teammates.  Across the wholes of their careers, if their managers are smart, those managers should try to give Carter many more RBI opportunities than Kingman, since Carter is an RBI-machine.

 

Team vs. Team Report 1992

October 3rd, 2008 by Banditos GM

Like I mentioned before, I would like to start keeping team vs. team historical records.  There is probably no correlation between how the 1978 Banditos played the 1978 Confederates, but I think if you span 3-4 continuous years there may be some correlation.  Either way it's interesting.

Can you guys think of anything else that I should try to archive while I have the chance?

Download Earl Weaver Baseball League Team vs Team Standings 1992

Re: Playoff Thoughts

October 2nd, 2008 by Wolverines GM

This post is not just to criticize because of one loss, but Lou Pinniella makes some questionable decisions as a manager in the playoffs or tight games.

        For example last year the Cubs were winning game one or tied with Arizona and Zambrano was sailing and was pulled in the 6th inning because he didn't want to over use Zambrano because if it goes 5 games he would be available, fucking stupid you win now and worry about that later.

        Fast forward to last night first off he starts Fukudome, which I understand because of his defense, but he has been horrible the last 3 or 4 months at the plate, ok that's fine but he hit him second, he will have the second most at bats in the game ????????

        Secondly the whole Dempster situation, he walked 7 BATTERS and 3 in that inning alone, Lou pulled a Grady Little, how can you let him face a left hander with bases loaded when you have a left hander already warm in the pen, granted I get that he handled Loney the whole game, but that wasn't the same pitcher as he was 2 or 3 innings ago....result grand slam.

       Again I still like Lou and what he has done but I scratch my head sometimes strike that pull my fucking hair out with some of his big time decisions.

Re: Playoff Thoughts

October 2nd, 2008 by Banditos GM

No, I don't think we should go to a 5 game series for the reasons you stated.  In fact, I specifically changed this when first setting up the league.

The league is loosely based on the MLB format but the good thing is we can bend whatever we want.

Also, read this about the Yankees obsession in the media, it's hilarious.

Playoff Thoughts

October 2nd, 2008 by Admirals GM

1. Worried, Mike, about the Cubs?  On the one hand, I feel like there were plenty of first round series through the years where the Yankees lost the first game, and then went on to win the series.  And in fact, in recent years it's been common for them to win the first game in the first round and then lose the series.  So clearly, first games don't matter a lot.  On the other hand, 2nd games seem to matter a ton in these short, 5 game series -- you can't really afford to go down 0-2, heading on the road.  So the Cubs better not lose tonight.

 

2. Here's one difference between MLB's playoff format and EWB's: in EWB, the first round is a 7 game series, but in MLB it's just 5 games.  Do we want to change this, to make EWB better fit MLB?

 

3. I raise the question, to see your opinions.  Let me say myself, though, that I think 5 game series are stupid in baseball.  Any single 1 game in baseball is subject to luck in a way that goes well beyond the way that luck factors in in basketball or football.  Because of this, you should want long series, to minimize luck, at least to some extent.  5 games is too short for this, I think.

Cory Davidson

September 30th, 2008 by Admirals GM

Somehow I had missed this, from earlier in the year...

 

Wednesday, August 19th, 1992

C. Davidson was injured when he was attacked by a wild animal during a trip to the zoo. The Diagnosis: dislocated finger. This is a day-to-day injury expected to last one week.

Re: One more thing about Ralston

September 26th, 2008 by Wolverines GM

We might make Darryl a coach in our system when his playing days are over.

One more thing about Ralston

September 26th, 2008 by Admirals GM

He didn't play there in the regular season, but just before the playoffs started our minor league Czar Chuck Tanner decided to demote veteran OF Darryl Bryant to play for the Rams during the postseason.  I don't have access to Bryant's stats, but according to Rob he played well during the playoffs.

 

Incidentally, Bryant, who is now 28 and was the AL Rookie of the year for Omaha back in 1988, is presently rated as "Probably overmatched at Single A," according to Tanner.  What a decline it's been for him.  We will release him this offseason, and I doubt any other team will pick him up, unless one of you does for sentimental reasons.

Ralston Rams

September 26th, 2008 by Admirals GM

The Ralson Rams have won the 1992 Nebraska League Championship.  This is the 3rd league championship in Ralston History; the other banners, which hang in the gymnasium of the local high school (for complicated contractual reasons having to do with the lease of the local Orville Smith Field), are from 1974 and 1979, so it's the first one in awhile.  For what it's worth, this now ties Ralston with several other Nebraska League teams for most championships all-time: Ralston, the South Omaha Vaqueros, the Elkhorn Antlers, and the Council Bluffs Yellow Jackets all have 3 titles.  (Unlike other minor leagues, the Nebraska League has not been dominated by a single team, historically.)

 

The Rams were an unlikely champ this year.  For one thing, they're the minor league affiliate of the Washington Admirals, and the Admirals have an extremely weak minor league system, by all accounts.  In fact, no other Admiral affiliate finished above .500 besides Ralston; and several minor league affiliates finished at the bottom of their respective leagues.  For another thing, it's not as though the minor league talent Washington does have is concentrated in Ralston -- if anything, just the opposite.  Admiral executives will tell you that they're more-or-less content with their high minor league talent (in AAA ball), and hopeful regarding their low minor league talent (in R and SA), but they feel like there's something of a hole in the middle (A and AA).  This is especially true on offense.  If you look at the Rams' roster right now, you'll see at most 3 marginal prospects -- meaning players who have an outside chance to become ML backups, but who do not project to ever become starters -- and a bunch of minor league filler.  Admittedly, their pitching staff does appear to have more potential -- perhaps as many as 4 pitchers project to have a chance at making a ML roster in their career.  But, bottom line: the Rams are not an especially talented team, when it comes to potential.

 

Perhaps strangest of all, Ralston began the season without a manager, due to administrative oversight.  Somehow, the players and coaches down in Ralston didn't let the folks up in Seattle know about this until April 18th of this year, well after the season had started.  At that point, wanting to hire someone to takeover the job, Admiral executives felt like all the best managerial prospects had been snatched up already, during the offseason.  And so, they decided to hire a 1 year stopgap at manager: Nolan Smith.  Instead of hiring Smith to a long term contract, Ralston offered him just a 1 year deal, figuring that after the year they would instantly let him go and pursue a bigger name or someone with more managerial potential.  But out of nowhere, Smith led the (relatively) talent-less Rams to a wild card spot, and ultimately to the championship.  Now, even though scouts would rank Smith as probably the worst manager in the entire Washington franchise, the Admirals have to make a decision.  How could they justify letting him go, as was the original plan, given that Smith has succeeded at the minor league level while no other minor league manager did this year for Washington?

Re: Question

September 24th, 2008 by Banditos GM

I was wondering the same thing.  I guess only time will tell.  If we dominate year in and out it means either we are really good or that the challenge level needs to be tougher.  We already have some checks and balances but more could be instituted if necessary.  You just have to find a balance between difficulty and fun level.

On the other hand you don't want to overreact if it is an aberration.