PT21 Diary - A Tale of Three Teams

[trman73]

2030 - Great End to an Awful Week

Just an absolutely miserable week for all three teams this week. It’s not even worth getting into details. The Warlocks and Frogs were both relegated with 100-loss seasons, so all three teams will be in Gold next year. Despite completing a bunch of the new Name Missions, nothing came of the packs and I saw my PP dwindle for both my non-pack teams.

No additions to speak of except one decent pull for the Hammers... RP Bobby Tiefenauer (85), who steps into the long relief role for Ian Anderson. Tiefenauer is a groundball pitcher with 63-91-85 ratings, and with our infield defense he should have more success than the more longball-prone Anderson.

Despite a depressing week, we end it with a big boost for the Hammers, as we earn a pack that includes 45,000 PP worth of players. Although none of the players join the team, this is a pretty incredible pull, with a Negro League gold, a second Gold, and two Live Diamonds in six cards. I now have 45 packs to rip, and up next, a report on those pulls.

[trman73]

45,000 PP later, two usable players:

• SP Jose DeLeon (94)
• C Dick Dietz (90)

DeLeon joins the bullpen, where the conversion to reliever gives him 147-74-48 ratings. With him and Dibble in the pen, that's a ton of walks. But Jeff Nelson (83) is overmatched in Gold, and DeLeon can't be any worse than Nelson's been.

Dietz is just a horrible catcher, but he'll make for a quality DH against lefties with 88-83-108-93-52 ratings vs. LHP. He replaces SS Bo Bichette (82), also ineffective in Gold and essentially a pinch runner at this point.

These are not huge impact players, but they're slight upgrades. For 45K PP I expected more, but that's the way it goes.

[trman73]

2031 Season Recap - A Gold Title in the Cards???

Like many players, I have resigned myself to the fact that without investing a significant amount of money, or getting some incredible luck with packs from tourney wins, I am destined to jump from Gold to Diamond, fail at Diamond, and be right back in Gold. I’m trying to keep in mind that in PT21, Diamond is essentially Perfect League from PT20, but still, the gap between the quality Diamond teams and teams like mine seems insurmountable at this point in the PT21 campaign.

With that said, it’s been a successful 2031 season overall.

Success for the packs-only Hammers means that we’ll be back in Silver next season, with a chance to build the roster through points accumulation and the packs that come with it. We were a complete disaster in Gold 326, finishing 63-99, the second-worst overall record in the league. We had one roster addition, and it was Future Legend Brendan Rogers, who replaced Bo Bichette as the backup middle infielder. I barely checked in on this team all week. We did finish with the 3^rd-best defense in the league, and there may be some Great Gloves coming (Ozzie for a 7^th time, Brooks Robinson for a 4^th time in four years), but this season was a big failure.

The Warlocks were the polar opposite in Gold 306, finishing 99-63, the best overall record in the league. We will be promoted regardless of how the playoffs shake out. We had the highest-scoring team in the conference at 874 runs scored, led by Ichiro (.323-.374-.444), Bagwell (.302-.368-.540, with 38 HR and 131 RBI) and the surprising Mike Tiernan at DH (.279-.373-.452). Bobby Shantz, who I brought into the bullpen last year, was excellent, posting a 0.90 WHIP in 67 IP. I was also able to get rid of my last remaining non-Gold player, as OF Drew Waters (who was really a solid player), gave way to 2018 Mookie Betts (93). This is easily my best team, and we have a good shot in the playoffs in this league.

The Frogs are also in the playoffs in Gold 300 after a 95-win season that was good for 5^th overall in the league. Unfortunately, two of the four teams ahead of us were in our division, so we’re on the road for the Wild Card game. I wouldn’t mind losing this game at all, as I can only handle one team being drilled in Diamond at a time. We had the best defensive team in the conference and finished 4^th in both runs scored and runs allowed. We brought in two pieces during the season. I took a chance on one of those 90-92 rated MR, Mel Rojas, and he was good, posting a 1.36 WHIP and a 3.55 ERA despite more walks than strikeouts (!!!!!). Dick Groat (83) was brought in to replace DJ LeMahieu as a backup infielder, specifically to play third against lefties, and he wasn’t terribly effective with a .659 OPS and a -0.6 WAR. Still, this is a perfectly fine Gold team that continues to be dominated by Live Mission players.

Separating myself from the Live Mission-dominant teams is now priority #1 for both the Frogs and Warlocks. The Warlocks are further along in this, particularly on the pitching staff, but it’s driving me insane that 20 of the 30 teams in my leagues essentially roll out the same guys. If I have to slightly downgrade at some positions in order to get some fresh blood in, I will.

So... on to the playoffs!

[trman73]

The Frogs are in the Wild Card game against the New York Mets The Amazins, a team that went 102-60 in the regular season and took the season series against us, 11-8. It’s a battle of Maddux’s and neither one looks sharp early, as our second hitter of the game, Sherry Magee, goes yard to give us a 1-0 lead. Our Maddux gives up one in the bottom of the inning, then we score in the top of the 2^nd to go up 2-1. But then our Maddux retires the side in order for the next five innings, works around a walk in the 7^th, and gets out of a jam in the 8^th, and we enter the 9^th up 3-1. Our closer, Dave Smith, gives up a leadoff single, but then retires the side after that and we win to advance to the LDS, 3-1.

We face the Pawnee Harvesters in the LDS, a team that’s got titles in Rookie, Stone, Iron, and Gold and went 109-53 this season. We went 5-14 against these guys during the campaign. This team scored 1,011 runs in the regular season, and boasts Ty Cobb and Oscar Charleston at the top of their order, and a pair of Dizzy’s, Dean and Trout, in their rotation. Needless to say, I am not feeling confident. Still, with us in the Final 8 and having the 5^th-best record overall, we may advance to Diamond next year even if we get rolled in this series.

We get off to a good start in Game 1 and take a 3-0 lead after getting to Greg Maddux early. Steve Carlton is in control for the first four innings, but that control abandons him in the 5^th and he walks three before giving up a salami to Jeff Bagwell. A three-run homer from Ichiro in the 6^th dooms us, and we lose, 11-5 as Bags drives in seven runs for them.

But we’re not out of this thing yet. Bert Blyleven, who had a solid season for us, scatters seven hits over 7.2 innings and we get some timely hits against Dizzy Dean in Game 2 to take it, 3-0, and even the series heading home.

Game 3 is a classic matchup between Gaylord Perry for them and our ace, Greg Maddux. They get to Maddux in the 3^rd, and it’s 1-0 heading to the bottom of the 8^th. They bring in Trevor Hoffman, and with two outs and a man on first, Dave Winfield, in his first appearance of the series, doubles to tie the game. The next batter, ichiro, drives in Winfield with a single, and we’re up 2-1. Dave Smith puts two on in the ninth but gets the 27^th out, and we’re a game away.

Game 4 is another barn-burner, and is tied 4-4 after six. It goes to the ninth, and in the bottom of the inning, we put men on first and third with two out, and up steps Dave Winfield again. He hits a 10-footer between infielders, beats out the throw, and we win, 5-4, advancing to the Sub-League Series!

Winfield’s series line: 2-2 with 2 RBI, 1 run scored, and the catalyst for two incredible late wins.

[trman73]

The Warlocks open their quest for a Gold title against the Macomb Tigers. We face their ace, Perfect Lefty Gomez, in Game 1, and I feel like if we can handle him we’ll be good for this series. Greg Maddux is in control for us, and we’re up 5-0 after seven. Maddux gives up a homer to Yogi Berra in the 8^th and Joe Nathan surrenders another two-run dinger to Fred Lynn in the 9^th, but he closes the door eventually for a 5-4 win.

We send our 22-game-winner, Steve Carlton, to the mound in Game 2 against Live Justin Verlander, and I feel good about this. But Carlton’s all over the place, and we lose, 4-3 to even the series.

Game 3 is a great duel between Charlie Buffiington for us and Maddux for them. Buffington, who is very up and down, gives up just four hits and a walk in eight innings and it’s 0-0 in the 9^th. They bring in Takashi Saito, and he can’t get it done, as Eddie Mathews, a guy I’ve been trying to replace for three seasons, singles in the game’s first run. Ichiro drives in another, Nathan closes it out, and we win, 2-0.

Game 4 is all us. We score seven in the first four innings and cruise, 7-1, behind Jack Stivetts. We win the series, 3-1, and this team is on to the Sub-League Series as well.

A great Sunday thus far.

[trman73]

The Frogs’ opponent in the Sub-League Series is the Waterdown Tigers, another team with primarily Live Mission players. We went 6-1 against them during the year, but they’re a quality team, finishing 91-71.

It’s another battle of Madduxes in Game 1, and once again ours is excellent. We enter the 9^th with a 4-1 lead, but then Dave Smith, who’s been shaky in the post-season, gives up a game-tying, three-run bomb to Billy Williams to make it 4-4. The game goes to the 14^th, and Robinson Cano wins it for Waterdown with a homer off Randy Johnson. Our hangover from that tough loss extends to Game 2, which we’re never in as we lose 6-1 to go down 2-0 heading home for the next three.

We fall in Game 3, 7-1, as Ted Lyons goes the distance for them, and we’re in a huge hole. We get a quality start from Mike Mussina in Game 4, as he holds down the fort in a 2-1 win. But in Game 5, we put a maddening number of men on against Eddie Plank without scoring, and with the game tied 0-0 in the 9^th, Dave Smith gives up a single to Nolan Arenado, and we go down, 1-0. Joe Nathan strikes out Robinson Cano to end it, and we fall in the SLS, four games to one.

A frustrating end to a quality season for the Frogs, and It’s on to the Warlocks.

[trman73]

The Minglewood Warlocks have a real shot at a Gold 306 title, but to get it we need to make our way past the Everfree Forest Shadowbolts, who went 89-73 and played us well during the regular season.

We handle them 7-3 in Game 1, then torch their Steve Carlton in Game 2 in a battle of Carltons, scoring six in the first en route to a 12-4 win. After a 5-0 Game 3 win in which Charlie Buffington goes eight scoreless innings again, we are on the precipice of the finals.

But we drop Games 4 and 5 without putting up too much of a fight. Game 6 is a rematch of the Carltons, and we hold a 4-3 lead after eight and are just an inning away from the Series. We send Joe Nathan to the mound and he gets in all sorts of trouble, loading the bases with two outs. Duke Snider unloads on him for a two-out, ninth-inning homer that makes it 7-4, and we are on to a Game 7 with a chance to blow what looked like an insurmountable 3-0 lead.

For some God dang reason we send Ted Lyons to the mound in Game 7 over a rested Buffington. WTF? We take a 3-1 lead after five, and then Lyons’ wheels come off in the 6^th as the Shadowbolts score four to take a 5-3 lead. I am livid at myself for not checking the rotation and going with Buffington, who’s gone 2-0 with 0 ER in 16 IP. But Jeff Bagwell drives in a run in the bottom of the 7^th to make it 5-4, and in the 8^th, we get a solo homer from unsung hero Eddie Mathews to tie it!

It goes to the 9^th, where Joe Nathan gives up a harmless single and gets out of the inning. In the bottom of the 9^th, Ichiro strikes out to lead off against their Joe Nathan. But Mike Tiernan walks, and after a Bagwell strikeout, Yaz steps up. I assume he’d be walked, but Nathan pitches to him, and that’s a mistake. As he hits a 379-foot homer to end it and send us to the Series!!!!!

[trman73]

The Warlocks get the Mound City Crappie in the G306 Series, and on paper this looks good for us. They won 11 fewer games than we did, going 88-74 with just a +45 run differential. But... they’ve got the usual collection of guys, so once again this will be a Live Mission showdown.

We get a decent start from Greg Maddux in Game 1 and win 6-5 in a game we had in control despite the close final score. We send Buffington and his perfect 2-0, 0.00 post-season record to the mound in Game 2, but he has nothing. We’re down 9-3 after four, and fall 10-7, evening the series.

It’s Carlton for us and Maddux for them in Game 3, and Maddux gets the better of us as we fall, 3-1. We send Jack Stivetts to the mound for Game 4 and he is just outstanding, giving up three hits in eight shutout innings. Nathan costs us some PP by surrendering a homer in the 9^th, but we win 3-1 to make this a best-of-three series.

Game 5 is a rematch between Maddux (us) and Johnny Allen (them) and once again we get to Allen early, scoring seven in the first three innings on our way to an 11-5 win. We are One. Game. Away.

We head home with a chance to close it out, but can’t get it done, losing 6-2 as Buffington has his second straight bad start. And so... it’s down to one game.

The final game comes down to Steve Carlton for us (22-9, 4.29) and Ted Lyons for them (11-10, 4.52). And neither one of them gets off to a good start. Carlton gives up a first-inning dinger to Jeff Bagwell, but we tie it in the bottom of the inning. But they get a two-out, two-run single from Troy Tulowitzki in the second. We respond again, and in a big way, scoring five in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by a two-run dinger by our own Bagwell, to go up 6-3. Things settle down a bit and we lead 7-4 after seven (thanks to Bags’ second homer of the game). Bert Blyleven gets a 1-2-3 8^th for us, and we head to the 9^th. Joe Nathan comes on and promptly loads the bases with no one out. He strikes out Billy Williams, and gets Ichiro to ground into a fielder’s choice, and with two outs Yogi Berra steps up. And he hits a harmless fly to center that’s taken by Ichiro, and...

THE MINGLEWOOD WARLOCKS HAVE WON THE GOLD LEAGUE SERIES!!!!!!

[trman73]

2032 All-Star Break Update

Ahhh, Silver. What a welcome change for the Hammers, who had losing records in Gold for the past three weeks, culminating in last week’s 63-99 relegation. We won 97 games in Silver back in 2028, and we’re looking pretty good this season at 56-40 in S278. Despite a recent slide we’re six games clear in our division. The pitching staff, 14^th in runs allowed last week, leads our conference with just 366 RA. Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and Noodles Hahn are a combined 35-17 and all have ERA’s under 3.40. We’re going to enjoy this while it lasts, because we’ve got a good shot to be back in the Gold grind next week.

For a while it looked like the Warlocks might make a shocking push for the post-season in Diamond 356. We started 19-10, but then reality set in. And that reality has come in the form of the San Diego Cats, a division foe that’s pounded on us, winning nine of our 10 games thus far. Removing them from the equation we’re 42-45, but we sit at 43-54 overall. We did make two moves. We got a 5,000 PP start from Jack Stivetts early in the season and leveraged that to replace Jose Mesa (87) with Peak Cole Hamels (91), who joined the bullpen and has posted a 3.45 ERA and 1.34 WHIP thus far, making him our best reliever this season. And we finally replaced Bill Russell as our backup middle infielder, bringing in a familiar face in Special Edition Troy Tulowitzki (91), a guy I dumped a few seasons back about 10 seconds after I earned him through the Rockies mission. These guys won’t help me much this year, but we now are down to just one Gold or below player.

Finally, the Frogs are just God-awful in Diamond 363. We’re 29-58 and four games back from the relegation line. We finally replaced Mission Eddie Mathews, and are training Special Edition Carlos Correa (94) at 3B. No reason not to try this as we’re going nowhere and I’ll be happy if this team is back in Gold next season.

[trman73]

2032 Recap

The Hammers were what we thought they’d be in Silver 278 – a playoff team. We go 97-65 and finish with a 14-game cushion in our division, with our playoff hopes never in doubt after June 1 or so. We won a significant number of packs along the way, but had bad luck with those and haven’t added to the team at all. Still, 3B Brooks Robinson is in the MVP race after posting a .330-20-106 line with a .918 OPS and 7.2 WAR, both good for second in our league. And he’s in line for yet another Great Glove, as are Ozzie and Maz. We finish with the best defense in our conference. We also wind up with three 20-game winners in Scherzer (20-7, 2.86), Verlander (20-9, 3.58) and Noodles Hahn (20-10, 3.36). With the 5^th-best record in our league, it’s not a given that we’re back up in Gold next season, but it’s likely.

The Warlocks went from a Gold championship last week to relegation in Diamond 356, as we go 66-96. I’m really kicking myself as I had a philosophy after making the two additions early in the week of just buying packs whenever I got to 1,000 PP, and I wasted 5,000. But then we won a tournament and the first card I got from the pull was a Live Mookie Betts (100). Already having the 2018 Mookie (which has been a good card), I sold the Live Mookie for 23,333 (getting 21,000) and now have 25K to play with, although I really wish it was 30K and I hadn’t flushed the PP from earlier in the week down the toilet.

Two big needs here – 3B, where Eddie Mathews has a sub .200 average this year, and the bullpen, where I’d like to replace a couple guys. We’ll see what deals come up in the AH.

As for the Frogs, we had a good second half of the season in Diamond 363, going 36-29 post-All Star break, but that only got us up to 75-87 for the year. We’re back in Diamond next season and it’ll be a struggle again. I took a patient philosophy with this team regarding upgrades this week, and we have built up 7,200 PP... just enough to make me itchy for an upgrade, but not enough to get anything truly game-changing, even with a trade-in like SE Randy Johnson or Mike Mussina included. So it’s sit tight with these guys for another week, probably.

Next... a playoff run for the Hammers?

[trman73]

The Hammers get the Rockton Talcotts in the Division Series. This is a typical Live Mission team that also has Ron Santo at third and Mark Prior in their rotation. They won 100 games this year and have won 100+ each of the last three seasons, moving up the pyramid from Iron to (very likely) Gold next season in rapid fashion. Still, if I can just get one win from Scherzer or Verlander in the first two games, I’ll feel okay. We went 4-2 against them in the regular season. Looming for the winner of this series is the 111-win Sequim Wolves.

Well whaddya know, we get Greg Maddux in Game 1! Shocking. But we get two off him in the first without hitting a ball out of the infield thanks to an infield single, a two-base throwing error by Yogi Berra, a fielder’s choice and a wild pitch. And we never look back, as Scherzer goes seven and we tack on insurance in the final two innings to win, 7-3.

Game 2 is Bert Blyleven and 20-game winner Justin Verlander. This one’s an absolute tater-fest as Verlander and our knuckle-balling long reliever, Bobby Tiefenauer, give up five dingers in the first three innings and we’re down 7-4 after seven. But... then they bring in Live Aroldis Chapman, and I know we still have a chance. Sure enough, we score four in the 8^th off Chapman and Jason Christensen, aided by a huge bases-loaded error from Jeff Bagwell. We add one in the 9^th and steal Game 2, 9-7. This looks good.

We send Noodles Hahn to the mound in Game 3 and I have total faith in him. It’s 2-2 after four but we bust it open in the 5^th with an RBI double by Albert Pujols and a three-run dinger by Christian Yelich. That’s all Hahn needs and he makes it stand... we win 6-2, secure promotion to Gold, and advance to the Sub-League Series. They have absolutely no answer for Pujols, who wins MVP going 7-13 with two homers, six RBI, four runs scored and a 1.725 OPS in three games.

[trman73]

It is indeed the Sequim Wolves in the SLS. They went 111-51 and are made up almost entirely of Live Mission players. They’ve got ‘em all – Klein, Williams, Bags, Ichiro, Tulo, Mathews, Longo, Cano, Yogi, Maddux, Blyleven, Nathan... everyone. We’ve got none of them with this being a packs team, so we’ll see what we can do. They beat us five times in six games during the season.

We get Maddux in Game 1, and absolutely explode offensively, taking it 16-7. We pound out 23 hits, with Paul Waner going 5-6 with five runs scored. We get 750 PP from the game. It’s Verlander vs. Steve Carlton in Game 2, and this is a close one, with Dick Deitz homering for us to kick off a three-run 6^th that gives us a 4-2 lead. I cringe as Verlander keeps coming out for the 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th, but he hangs on, pitching a solid eight innings as we win, 4-3. We’re now 6-0 in this post-season and heading home for three.

We don't stretch our streak to seven as Randy Johnson shuts us down in Game 3 and we lose 5-0, with the Unit pitching a complete game shutout. Our offensive drought continues through the first six innings of Game 4, but Jose Fernandez is keeping us in it and we’re down just 2-0 in the 7^th when we tie it in the 7^th and take a 5-2 lead in the 8^th. Dave Smith closes it out and we’re up 3-1.

In Game 5 we match Scherzer up with Maddux again and this time we can’t solve Maddux, and fall 3-0 to head back to their place needing to win one out of two. In Game 6, we get to Steve Carlton early, and once again Justin Verlander does just enough, getting four innings of shutout relief from Jose DeLeon, Dustin May, and Dave Smith to give us a 5-3 win and put us in the Silver League Series.

[trman73]

We’ve beaten two 100-win, Live Mission dominant teams to get to the Series, and we get another Live Mission team in the finals, the Tulsa Mother Road, a 98-win club that we faced during the season and beat three times in four games. As always, it’s the usual suspects on this team. Even in Silver, it would be nice to knock off three of these teams with my packs-only club. A win in this series would also give me one championship for all three of my clubs, with the Frogs winning in Rookie League back in Week 1 and the Warlocks taking a Gold title seven days ago.

Hey it’s Greg Maddux for the fourth time in 10 games! He duels with Noodles Hahn for eight innings and we head to the 9^th down 2-1. We get a man on third and for some reason Brendan Rogers tries a suicide squeeze play, which doesn’t work. But Ichiro and Paul Waner hit back-to-back singles, and we tie it to go to extras, where we score four in the 10^th to once again steal a game late, 6-2. We go down 7-0 early in Game 2 as Scherzer is ineffective, and despite a comeback that sees us cut it to 8-6 with a man on in the ninth, we can’t finish it off, and it’s tied heading home.

Verlander’s been scraping by for us and we’ve won all three of his starts. This time around he’s excellent in Game 3, holding a 1-0 lead in the 8^th. I can’t believe we leave him in, but we do, and Ichiro greets him with a game-tying dinger. We immediately bring in Dustin May, who gets two outs but then gives up back-to-back doubles, and we’re down, 2-1. We get nothing off Nathan or Mussina in the 8^th and 9^th, and are down in a series for the first time this post-season. We jump on Randy Johnson in Game 4 thanks to a two-run homer from George Foster, but Jose Fernandez can’t make it stand and we go to the 9^th 2-2. For the first time this postseason Dave Smith can’t get it done, surrendering a run, and we meekly go down in the bottom of the 9^th to fall into a 3-1 hole.

We don’t climb out of it. I know by the fact that the sim runs over by about seven minutes that we’ve lost, and it’s just a question of how. And the how is just awful. Up 4-1 in the 9^th, we turn to Dave Smith again, and he surrenders four runs. It’s 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, and we bow out in the Series, four games to one.

The good news comes with the awards announcements, as we collect a ton of hardware:

• Great Gloves for Mazeroski at 2B, Robinson at 3B, and Ozzie at SS (his 8^th overall and 4^th straight GG).
• A Platinum Stick for Brooks Robinson at 3B.
• A (shocking) Pitcher of the Year Award for Max Scherzer.
• And... an MVP for Brooks Robinson!

All in all, adding in a Save Streak bonus for Dave Smith and the 1,000 Great Score bonus, that’s 3,375 on Awards Day, all of which I’d happily trade in for a championship.

[trman73]

Post-Season

The Hammers get two decent cards from the awards packs... Live Joey Gallo, and Live Kris Bryant. We also get a Silver Billy Wagner card that I’ll hold on to for now, but the two Diamonds get quick-sold for more packs.

We wind up with one player who makes the club: Historical All-Star SP Cliff Lee (91). With Walt Masterson and Bobby Tiefenauer each having a history of struggles in Gold, I’ll try Lee as my 5^th starter, move Masterson from that role into the long-relief role, and drop Tiefenauer to the reserves for now, until Lee either falls flat or I get itchy for more packs. Fair enough.

As for the Warlocks, I cash in on the 25K I accumulated largely through the Mookie Betts sale...

OUT: 3B Eddie Mathews (91)
IN: SS (3B) Jose Reyes (91)

OUT: Peak SP Charlie Buffington (96)
IN: Peak SP Virgil Trucks (97)

I got Reyes for 18,000 PP, 3K less than what he’d been averaging. I’m really excited about this as he can easily be trained to be well beyond what Mathews was defensively at third, and can also serve as the primary backup SS to Cronin. I’ll also start Reyes at 2B vs. LHP, as Cano has just been terrible against lefties since I got him.

For the pitchers, my more immediate need was the bullpen but Trucks for 30K is a nice upgrade from Buffington, who has really struggled in Diamond. We will enter next season back in Gold with Maddux-Trucks-Carlton-Stivetts-Lyons, which I like.

The Frogs are sitting on their 8,000 PP for now.

[trman73]

A third of the way through 2033 and it’s been a weird and interesting start to the season.

The Hammers are in Gold 311, and for a while we were great. We went 18-8 in April and then totally cratered with a 5-22 (!!!!) May. We sit at 26-33 overall, but are just a winning streak away from contention in a division that does not have a dominant team. The big news for this club has been the success of our newest addition, SP Cliff Lee. I didn’t know what to expect from a guy with 76-75-90 ratings, but he’s been excellent, posting a 2.49 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP thus far. Surely this has a lot to do with our defense, which is once again one of the best of our conference (3^rd in ZR and Efficiency), but I will take this from Lee. I am seriously considering quick-selling the maddening Live Verlander card, but with no viable option in reserves I may wait until I am completely out of it to do so.

The Warlocks, meanwhile, are absolutely crushing Gold 300. We are 44-17, and lead the league in every major offensive category, with a +132 run differential. This team’s newest addition, 3B Jose Reyes, spent the first quarter of the season hovering around .400, and right now sits at .307-7-28 with an .887 OPS and a 5.1 WAR pace. Quite the upgrade from Eddie Mathews. Our other new face, SP Virgil Trucks, is 6-4 with a 4.48 and a 1.15 WHIP. We are a full 10 games clear in our division and have a four-game lead overall in the entire league.

The Frogs have been up and down in Diamond 351, but despite a record of 32-29, we’re just a half game out in our division. I am not getting my hopes up, but if this team lucked into a competitive division and somehow became a Diamond playoff team, I’d be thrilled. Hell, we still have Taylor Rogers and Roberto Osuna in our bullpen and 68 Ozzie Smith starting at short!I am bracing for what feels like an inevitable 8-game losing streak, but so far, it hasn’t come. We’ve also built up 10,000 PP, and if we package that with a sale of someone like Randy Johnson, we can bring in a quality arm for a struggling bullpen.

[trman73]

We enter Friday with one team locked into a playoff spot and the two others hanging on for dear life.

It speaks to the balance in Gold 311 that the Hammers are 50-57 with a -20 run differential, and are just six games back in our division while also being just a half-game up in the relegation battle. Only one team in this league has a RD of +80 or above, and only one team is below -90. We’re not going to make the playoffs in this league, but we may stick around and cause some trouble. This team’s had a great run in tournaments this week, but all it’s gotten us is a steaming pile of garbage, and we’ve made no additions this week. Cliff Lee continues to impress though (8-7, 3.64, 1.13 WHIP), so our most recent add is having success.

The Warlocks have surrendered the top overall record in Gold 300 but are still 73-37 and have an eight-game lead over the 3^rd-place team, all but guaranteeing our promotion to Diamond next season. I really like this team and we now lead the conference in both runs scored and fewest runs allowed. We’re also first in Defensive Efficiency and ZR. Friday and Saturday are basically a waltz into the playoffs for us, as we have an 18.5-game lead in our division.

I expected the Frogs to go on an inevitable losing streak in D351, and sure enough, it came in June, as we dropped nine straight to fall into the also-ran category. Still, we’re just 6.5 back in a division where the leader is 56-53. We need serious bullpen help and it’s time to make a move. SE Randy Johnson has been really good in the bullpen for my Warlocks team, but I just can’t take him any more on the Frogs, as he’s posted a 6.12 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in four Diamond seasons. Team him with Live Taylor Rogers, and that’s a big, big problem with our LHP in the bullpen. Assuming we don’t go on a surprise run today to stay in it for Saturday’s games, I expect to drop The Unit tonight and see what we can find in the AH.

[trman73]

2033 Regular Season Recap

Hammers – The Silver Shuffle Continues

The Hammers finish 73-89 in G311, a 10-game improvement over our last season in Gold, but still three games short of safety, and we’re back in Silver in 2034. I’m okay with this essentially being a good Silver team as a Packs-Only squad. Once again the offense is just not up to par. Other than Pujols (another great season at .317-25-99 with a .932 OPS), Gold Ichiro, and Peak Brooks Robinson, we’re just not good offensively. We did make one move late in the season, pulling a RP Clay Carroll (86) and slotting him in to replace Jose DeLeon, whose walks (9.9 BB/9!!!!!!!!) were just killing us. I can live with the pitching on this team (7^th in runs against in our conference), but the offense is brutal.

Warlocks – Diamond, Baby!

The Warlocks go 107-55 in Gold 300, easily securing promotion to Diamond next season with the 2^nd-best overall record in the league. We finish 1^st in the conference in runs scored and runs allowed and wind up with a +286 RD. Still, we’re not favored to win this league, as the Scranton Electrics go 114-48 and are chock full of great players. I hope to be able to see them in the Series, but you know how it goes. We could very well be knocked out in the Division Series. Ichiro wins the batting title for us (.332), Steve Carlton leads the league with 20 wins, and Joe Nathan’s 39 saves leads the league as well. Nathan posts a very surprising 2.07 ERA to anchor our league-leading bullpen, with Cole Hamels (1.91) and Bert Blyleven (3.00) also having quality seasons in the pen.

Frogs - Treading Water

The Frogs go 71-91 in D351 and frankly I would have preferred they dropped to Gold, but they didn’t. We did make a couple changes to our awful bullpen... out are SE Randy Johnson and Live Roberto Osuna, and in are Peak Doug Jones (91) and ’96 Robb Nen (92). I am making small changes as opposed to building up PP for a big splash, which probably isn’t the best strategy, but I’m doing so while also crossing my fingers for a big pack pull from a tourney. This is still essentially a live mission team that has not separated itself from the 200 other teams with similar rosters, and we need to do so to have any kind of success.

[trman73]

The Warlocks get the 85-77 KIA Tigers in the Division Series and things get off to a, ummmm, rough start for us as we lose Game 1, 27-0. I’d love to know how many PP this team got from the game as the list of game notes is 12 lines long. If you’re out there KIA Tigers, let us know. We hold a 5-3 lead heading to the 9^th of Game 2, and Joe Nathan promptly gives up seven runs in two-thirds of an inning. We lose, 10-5, and this is most certainly not looking good. We fall meekly in Game 3, 6-1, and are swept, outscored 43-6 in the three games. Ugly.

[trman73]

Postscript - Minglewood Warlocks

Well the playoffs may have been a total washout, but awards season certainly wasn't...

• 1,000 PP for a Fantastic Season
• 250 PP for a Great Glove from SS Joe Cronin
• 600 PP for a Reliever of the Year Award for Joe Nathan
• 750 PP for Great Bats for Ichiro, Cronin, and Yaz
• 600 PP for Ichiro, winning an MVP in the closest race I've been involved in, 338-328 over one of the Jeff Bagwells.

So that's 3,200 PP from Awards, which gives us 22,000 PP to play with in the offseason.

Not bad at all.

[trman73]

2034 – Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

We pass the quarter mark of 2034 with each team making some significant personnel changes.

The Hammers get a pack from Challenge Mode and we see that magical black card with the gold border. The card flips and it’s... Live Christian Yelich. A duplicate. So we now have 20 additional packs to open, and we do get a couple upgrades:

OUT – C Phil Masi (81)
IN – C JT Realmuto (99)

OUT – SP (MR) Walt Masterson (89)
IN – SP (MR) Tommy Bridges (89)

I’m not sure if these are upgrades necessarily but it’s time for some fresh blood. Masi was the backup catcher and was a defensive nightmare. Realmuto is not going to be a significant contributor offensively but he’s excellent behind the backstop, so we make the switch. It takes me a while to warm to Bridges’ 118-59-71 ratings, but Masterson was walking a ton of guys and Bridges has fabulous pure stuff so we’ll see what he brings. The team itself is back in Silver, and is 32-15 in S272.

The Warlocks make the most significant change after compiling 27,000 PP thanks to some patience, fortuitous pack pulls (those 500 PP sales add up for Live Silvers), and a successful 2033 campaign. And we land a guy who fills a big need...

OUT – MR Jeff Tesreau (88)
IN – CL Bryan Harvey (96)

I’d been studying Harvey on other teams for weeks and land him for 23,000. He replaces Joe Nathan at closer, Nathan moves to middle relief, bumping SE Mussina to long relief, and making Tesreau, who was a decent long reliever, expendable. I like the bullpen a lot now with Harvey closing, Blyleven taking the 8^th, Bobby Shantz the 7^th, and Cole Hamels anchoring the middle relief corps. The team is in Diamond 353 and at 25-22 is in the Wild Card race.

The Frogs are 21-23 in Diamond 354 and just a game back in a weak division. And this team makes a pair of moves as well...

OUT – MR Live Taylor Rogers (87)
IN – MR Peak Tom Burgmeier (88)

OUT – IF Dick Groat (83)
IN – SS Peak Rafael Furcal (88)

Now we’re getting somewhere. I love Burgmeier on the Hammers and he’s a significant upgrade over the gas can Rogers. We’ve now added three new arms to the bullpen in Doug Jones, Robb Nen, and Burgmeier, and I feel good about it. As for Furcal, Ozzie Smith was just absolutely killing us in the #9 lineup spot. His defense just didn’t justify the annual OPS of .550 or so. So in comes Furcal to breathe some life into the bottom of the lineup. Ozzie moves into the utility role for now, while the awful Dick Groat goes away.