Charlotte made a deal with Arizona with the intent to shore up its defense at 2B and CF while Arizona attempts a youth movement.
Charlotte gets: CF Justin Hernandez and Closer Vic Trevino
Arizona gets: MR Paul Schwartz and LF Wilson Hughes
Analysis: Charlotte gets a CF that helps their defense and provides right-handed hitting help for the offense in Hernandez. Trevino provides a strong left-handed closing help in the pen. Arizona gets a formidable left-handed long reliever prospect in Schwartz and a adequate for average hitting LF in Hughes. Both appear to have gotten what they needed in the trade.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Inter-League Report
TBDSN-With the Inter-League play being over, which league and teams fared the best? Does the schedule need tweaked a bit? I thought about several ways of changing the schedule, but alas the 162 games makes it very difficult to make it even out. Currently we play every team with 10 games between each other meaning it is either a 3 game series or a four game series. One team gets an advantge this way because it is either a 6-4 series home or away depending on how the schedule was made. Do some teams get an advantage under the current scenario? Unlike the real world, the schedule doesn't have to be made up considering travel costs and availability at least (lol...like Astros a few years back that had to play something like 35 straight away games.) However the division play is 15 and 15 and is evened out.
Under my best scenario you would play each non-division opponent for 8 games and could be either 4 game sets home and away or a 2 game home/away scenario like the NHL. Inter-League play would have to be in the 2 home/away scenario for 16 games total instead of the current 12 which would be more fun in my thinking and not playing the same raivals each year would be great. The drawback is the final two series of the season where the you would play an extra game against two of your division opponents. Would people complain about being short changed by 1 game in their division? (of course they would, most just like to find something to complain about anyway.)
The North:
Milwaukee Manic Maulers: 3-9
Toledo Greensox: 7-5
St. Louis Silly Nannies: 7-5
Syracuse Slyce: 3-9
Fargo Dirtbags: 8-5
Chicago Snake Tamers: 6-6
Toronto Toros: 7-5
Philadelphia Phantoms: 7-5
NL had a decisive victory with a 28-20 win advantage.
The East:
Louisville Legends: 7-5
Charlotte Blue Devils: 7-5
Huntington Beachcombers: 7-5
New York new york: 4-8
Trenton Traffic: 5-7
Norfolk Destroyers: 7-5
Atlanta Bandits: 7-5
Washington D.C. Blue Coats: 4-8
AL wins with a 25-23 advantage.
The South
Monterrey Sultans: 9-3
Iowa City Cornjerkers: 6-6
Nashville Sounds: 7-5
Jackson Vipers: 4-8
Houston Riverdogs: 9-3
New Orleans Voodoo: 5-7
San Juan Dead Bunnies: 4-8
Austin City Limits: 4-8
AL wins with a 26-22 advantage.
The West
Las Vegas Gamblers: 6-6
Colorado Springs Chickens: 7-5
Anaheim Chiles: 2-10
Seattle Killer Whales: 3-9
Salem Sacrifices: 9-2
Arizona Diamondbacks: 10-2
Scottsdale SLAMMERS: 5-7
Salt Lake City Shakers: 6-6
NL wins with a decisively lopsided 30-18 win advantage.
Overall the NL wins decisively with a 103- 89 win advantage.
Under my best scenario you would play each non-division opponent for 8 games and could be either 4 game sets home and away or a 2 game home/away scenario like the NHL. Inter-League play would have to be in the 2 home/away scenario for 16 games total instead of the current 12 which would be more fun in my thinking and not playing the same raivals each year would be great. The drawback is the final two series of the season where the you would play an extra game against two of your division opponents. Would people complain about being short changed by 1 game in their division? (of course they would, most just like to find something to complain about anyway.)
The North:
Milwaukee Manic Maulers: 3-9
Toledo Greensox: 7-5
St. Louis Silly Nannies: 7-5
Syracuse Slyce: 3-9
Fargo Dirtbags: 8-5
Chicago Snake Tamers: 6-6
Toronto Toros: 7-5
Philadelphia Phantoms: 7-5
NL had a decisive victory with a 28-20 win advantage.
The East:
Louisville Legends: 7-5
Charlotte Blue Devils: 7-5
Huntington Beachcombers: 7-5
New York new york: 4-8
Trenton Traffic: 5-7
Norfolk Destroyers: 7-5
Atlanta Bandits: 7-5
Washington D.C. Blue Coats: 4-8
AL wins with a 25-23 advantage.
The South
Monterrey Sultans: 9-3
Iowa City Cornjerkers: 6-6
Nashville Sounds: 7-5
Jackson Vipers: 4-8
Houston Riverdogs: 9-3
New Orleans Voodoo: 5-7
San Juan Dead Bunnies: 4-8
Austin City Limits: 4-8
AL wins with a 26-22 advantage.
The West
Las Vegas Gamblers: 6-6
Colorado Springs Chickens: 7-5
Anaheim Chiles: 2-10
Seattle Killer Whales: 3-9
Salem Sacrifices: 9-2
Arizona Diamondbacks: 10-2
Scottsdale SLAMMERS: 5-7
Salt Lake City Shakers: 6-6
NL wins with a decisively lopsided 30-18 win advantage.
Overall the NL wins decisively with a 103- 89 win advantage.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Some Interesting Things
I found Deacons blog on Arbitration very interesting, so if you have the time I would head over to the blog and read it. I have my own way of handling Arbitration but it follows his way of thinking. If I want to keep a player, I will offer what he asking long term in most cases. There are some if, ands and buts to go with that however. Some of the things I look at are health, decline risks, available replacements and asking salary. If I don't want to keep them long term then I will let them become a FA and usually let them go right before the hearings start. If I let one go that would have been nice to keep but not long term I set the watch button on the player, if at the end of the FA period he is still available then I might tender an offer to the player. If they clear FA, you might be able to lock the player for a much cheaper long term period even. By the way, I never go into arbitration with a player regardless and I won't go after him in FA either as his asking price is usuaully more than his arbitration demands were.
Some things I have seen that are bad usually involve huge long term salaries where the player has declined or injury has ruined the player. Another is a GM that back-loads a contract, rising salaries as the player gets older, this usually hurts a team more than helps long term. I would rather see a front-loaded contract and would be more beneficial down the road, even on a FA by the way. These types of players usually end up on the trade block and you have to give up a good prospect to get rid of him.
I used to try and put 20M into prospect payroll, but the recent discussion gave me a little pause and I went and checked my other worlds as to how I spent the cash on IFA's. I have been putting less and less into IFA's by the way in all my worlds. In my thinking 10M+ for 1 player is a bit much when I can get 3 or 4 specialty players for the same money to start with. After analyzing what I did in the IFA market I came to some conclusions of how I usually spent the money. A relief pitcher that cost 6M (for ML long) and in most cases less than 3M (ML setup). A defensive 2B, SS or CF that cost less than 7M (ML hitting quality) and normally around 3M (ML defensive only). And the big prize is a defensive PC catcher for about 500K to 1M. Most of the pitchers I go for early in the season as most will wait because they are looking for the big guy. The catcher can be had almost anytime as most pay them no heed waiting on a bigger fish. The others usually come after everyone has spent their money already. At or near the end of the season, I will buy up the remaining cheap IFA's so I can move players out of rookie ball or just to spend the remaining money or move it to player salary and lock up a FA for next season if possible.
As for spending money on scouting, it actually dictates how many and how well you see the players in all realms. I have been spending less and less on scouting IFA's as a matter of fact. There was an article in the forum a few months back where they did a study with IFA scouting from 10M to 20M spent. The 20M saw about 50% more players and about 85+% of all players than the 10M and those in between. The ability accuracy was not enough to warrant a big difference in most cases.
I have done my own study on the amateur draft. I usually spend 18M on college and 14 on HS. I once did 18M on both and was thoroughly disappointed at the results. But I may reverse this trend as I have noticed that HS players are more apt to be the better players overall. With a 18M - 14M split I see about 100+ HS players, less than I expected. At 18M I saw 250 each by the way, I do remember that and the pool wasn't any better. I usually spend 18M on college because they will reach the ML level faster and match my advanced scouting so there is no surprises in abilities. I used to do 16M each, but I never paid attention if I got a 250 even split or not. I may go back to the 16M split again. I know at 14M the trade off could be as much as + or - 4 on the overalls and 16 would be a + or -2 with 18 advanced. The trend I noticed with my current setup is that a HS player might have a higher overall but is placed lower in the rankings. That tells me that player has skewed abilities and caution should be taken. It doesn't happen with every HS player, so to me that means if a HS player is placed first in an OVR weight class, he could be moved up because his abilities are seen lower than they actually are. As for the super players, the 90+ ones, I really don't see much of a difference, though for some reason I tend to see more of them the later I draft which really upsets me..lol
Some things I have seen that are bad usually involve huge long term salaries where the player has declined or injury has ruined the player. Another is a GM that back-loads a contract, rising salaries as the player gets older, this usually hurts a team more than helps long term. I would rather see a front-loaded contract and would be more beneficial down the road, even on a FA by the way. These types of players usually end up on the trade block and you have to give up a good prospect to get rid of him.
I used to try and put 20M into prospect payroll, but the recent discussion gave me a little pause and I went and checked my other worlds as to how I spent the cash on IFA's. I have been putting less and less into IFA's by the way in all my worlds. In my thinking 10M+ for 1 player is a bit much when I can get 3 or 4 specialty players for the same money to start with. After analyzing what I did in the IFA market I came to some conclusions of how I usually spent the money. A relief pitcher that cost 6M (for ML long) and in most cases less than 3M (ML setup). A defensive 2B, SS or CF that cost less than 7M (ML hitting quality) and normally around 3M (ML defensive only). And the big prize is a defensive PC catcher for about 500K to 1M. Most of the pitchers I go for early in the season as most will wait because they are looking for the big guy. The catcher can be had almost anytime as most pay them no heed waiting on a bigger fish. The others usually come after everyone has spent their money already. At or near the end of the season, I will buy up the remaining cheap IFA's so I can move players out of rookie ball or just to spend the remaining money or move it to player salary and lock up a FA for next season if possible.
As for spending money on scouting, it actually dictates how many and how well you see the players in all realms. I have been spending less and less on scouting IFA's as a matter of fact. There was an article in the forum a few months back where they did a study with IFA scouting from 10M to 20M spent. The 20M saw about 50% more players and about 85+% of all players than the 10M and those in between. The ability accuracy was not enough to warrant a big difference in most cases.
I have done my own study on the amateur draft. I usually spend 18M on college and 14 on HS. I once did 18M on both and was thoroughly disappointed at the results. But I may reverse this trend as I have noticed that HS players are more apt to be the better players overall. With a 18M - 14M split I see about 100+ HS players, less than I expected. At 18M I saw 250 each by the way, I do remember that and the pool wasn't any better. I usually spend 18M on college because they will reach the ML level faster and match my advanced scouting so there is no surprises in abilities. I used to do 16M each, but I never paid attention if I got a 250 even split or not. I may go back to the 16M split again. I know at 14M the trade off could be as much as + or - 4 on the overalls and 16 would be a + or -2 with 18 advanced. The trend I noticed with my current setup is that a HS player might have a higher overall but is placed lower in the rankings. That tells me that player has skewed abilities and caution should be taken. It doesn't happen with every HS player, so to me that means if a HS player is placed first in an OVR weight class, he could be moved up because his abilities are seen lower than they actually are. As for the super players, the 90+ ones, I really don't see much of a difference, though for some reason I tend to see more of them the later I draft which really upsets me..lol
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Rumor Report
TBDSN-A rumor came across my desk that warrants dissemination. It appears that a certain anonymous team is being courted by several cities as there may be plans for a move in the near future. The courting cities are Cheyenne, Boise, Oklahoma City and Omaha at this time. However, inside sources tell me that San Francisco and Fresno may also enter the fray as El Paso was turned down with a grunt and the front runner appears to be Oklahoma City.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Big IFA Signings
TBDSN-The IFA picture is shaping up as a spend spend spend motif so far this season. In another world I am in there has only been one IFA signing above 10M and the next highest is 6.8M. Doesn't sound too bad until you realize the season is 2/3 gone already. We are just barely over 1/3 of the way through and we have spent more on 5 players than the other world has total. Oh well, so much for the who cares trivia on to the IFA guys.
D'Angelo Martin we already know about and his whopping 22.4M signing bonus. In 8 appearances though he has a record of 4-1 and performing to all the hype.
Ivan Hernandez and his 15.8M signing bonus hasn't performed quite as well yet. He is 1-0 in 7 appearances so far.
Candy Kreuter will be bringing his signing bonus of 15.6M to play soon enough. The Seattle Killer Whales get a good power hitting and defensive RF for their money.
Del Hernandez has jolted the economy somewhat with his 10.8M bucks. Though that much money spent should have gotten a 2B that could play the position IMHO. So far in Low A he has a .308 average with 1 tater in 18 games.
Tomas Tatis brings his 10M to town with some pretty good stuff as some teams have found out. In two starts so far he as given up 1 hit, that being a solo shot, and has struck out 11.
Yeico Solano has yet to start earn his 9.5M signing bonus. He awaits the Arizona Rookie League to start. Everything points to the fact that he could very well be an All-Star power hitting catcher one day.
Tomas Bennett got his chunk of the pie also as he took home 6.9M. Although he may be attuned to Seattle's park, the numbers are not overly impressive. So far he is enjoying his season in Low A with a 2-1 record in 4 appearances.
Davey DaSilva gets 6.6M for his services. Sporting a 5-2 record in 7 appearances has the Beachcombers hopeful.
D'Angelo Martin we already know about and his whopping 22.4M signing bonus. In 8 appearances though he has a record of 4-1 and performing to all the hype.
Ivan Hernandez and his 15.8M signing bonus hasn't performed quite as well yet. He is 1-0 in 7 appearances so far.
Candy Kreuter will be bringing his signing bonus of 15.6M to play soon enough. The Seattle Killer Whales get a good power hitting and defensive RF for their money.
Del Hernandez has jolted the economy somewhat with his 10.8M bucks. Though that much money spent should have gotten a 2B that could play the position IMHO. So far in Low A he has a .308 average with 1 tater in 18 games.
Tomas Tatis brings his 10M to town with some pretty good stuff as some teams have found out. In two starts so far he as given up 1 hit, that being a solo shot, and has struck out 11.
Yeico Solano has yet to start earn his 9.5M signing bonus. He awaits the Arizona Rookie League to start. Everything points to the fact that he could very well be an All-Star power hitting catcher one day.
Tomas Bennett got his chunk of the pie also as he took home 6.9M. Although he may be attuned to Seattle's park, the numbers are not overly impressive. So far he is enjoying his season in Low A with a 2-1 record in 4 appearances.
Davey DaSilva gets 6.6M for his services. Sporting a 5-2 record in 7 appearances has the Beachcombers hopeful.
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