Season 21 Discussion thread

[Splitter24]

Despite their 0-16 start, the FTP/Pack Only Lowell Muck Rakers have played well enough to stay up for a 9th season in Perfect. I am a little torn about this because my team has not been ringing up the PP achievements and the pack luck has run dry. So I've only made one new roster addition over the last few seasons. So I'm probably looking at another 70-92 season next year. Oh, well. It's the price you pay to play with the big boys.

[One Great Matrix]

Personally just started thinking of my playoff roster adjustments,

4 starters
6 relievers
8 position players
3 necessary "relief" position players

4 spots to play with.

It should be fun.
Ideally 11-0 but at least 3-2, 4-3, 4-3 if not.

Guess I won't worry about it.

[Magus978]

Brooklyn will not make the playoffs after last week's 103 win fluke. However, we're not as bad as I thought we'd be, and will avoid relegation with ease. Some packs tonight brought the return of Mike Trout for a second run with the Dynasty, and after some sales I was able to pick up Lou Boudreau for 2nd base. To my surprise, he came fully trained.

Hopefully next week will bring a return to form for my pitching and a second playoff appearance at perfect. Ideally, I'd like it to bring my first perfect title.

Full season in review write-up will come tomorrow once my teams are out of the playoffs (should have 3 playoff teams, and all as wildcards, so this won't take long)

[Marleigh]

Paragon City Heroes underwent a lot of changes during the week, sold off most of my team and completed collections bringing in Lonnie Smith, Lenny Dykstra and Eddie Plank. The changed meant that my first season in gold was an up and down one and we ended 82-80, 4th in a loaded division with everyone being over .500

optimistic for next season if i can sort my bullpen out as they have been the worst part of the team by a distance

Bad News Bulldogs came from way back to win the division with a 88 win season, despite losing the last 6 games of the season, including 3 against my likely 1st round opponents. Basically sums up the season, we have been incredibly streaky. Joey Votto had a quietly spectacular season leading the league in WAR and OPS+ behind 119 walks. If we can run a 3 man rotation in the playoffs we have a decent chance behind Rijo, Soto and Riddle

Neuman Furshlusgginers still don't really have an identity, just been messing around trying things and invested in potential future franchise collection missions, so a 78-84 record wasn't entirely unexpected

[waittilnextyear]

The bad news is the Frogs limped to the finish line on a 6-game losing streak to finish just south of 100 wins (99-63). This streak included nail-biting 2-4, 2-3, and 3-5 losses to the conference whale team.

The good news is 99 wins is a new regular season best for the Frogs in Perfect level. Maybe more promising is the 751 runs scored vs 616 runs allowed closely resembles the P412 championship team of 2032 (744/607).

The Frogs will host the wild card game against the Arizona Aces (98-64), and it looks to be just about a coin flip of a game with my 100 Christy Mathewson (10-5, 4.16 ERA, 4.3 WAR) going against their 100 Tom Seaver (17-10, 4.02 ERA, 5.6 WAR).

Division winners include the Team To Be Determined (124-38, AC East), Brooklyn Dodgers (123-39, AC Central), and Rio de Janeiro Gauchos (88-74, AC West). The victor of the AC will almost certainly have to face down the Pineville Phantoms (125-37)--the 5-time Perfect champs are the class of the NC.

[Nero]

The better team won the AC West.


Exeter put together some big win streaks in the second half, and pulled away from me, and finished 6 games in front, splitting one late 4 game series, and taking 2 of 3 in the final series. Last game of the season I beat Virginia Beach, and Exeter won, breaking their tie, and giving Exeter home field, which of course means if I do win the wild card game, I've got them again pretty quick. I owe everyone here for the lefty reliever suggestions, while Dutch Leonard had a miserable start, he's been electric in the pen for me, and I expect that he'll solidify that spot in my pen for good. Felipe Vasquez has been unhittable as the lefty specialist, although his control has been sketchy at best. Both of them though give me a lot more confidence in the near term.

I almost had more fun with the Tombstone Glory this year, assembling a unit of Cubs, and they are way over level for bronze, but it was fun. Claude Passeau was a two time recipient of pitcher of the month. Ron Santo had a season for the ages, going .343/31/112. In total I had 10 players hit at least 10 HR's, and that didn't include my DH, Bill Madlock, who hit a robust .348. There were a couple of non-Cubs in the rotation, but today I picked up their replacements, and next year we'll be 100% Cub. There is a disturbing lack of Cub talent CF looking around though, Jerome Walton was decent while he played, and Andy Pafko but up some big numbers, but his glove scares me, and I saw Adolpho Phillips on the AH tonight, and his glove looks great, his bat not so much. Finally, looks like Don Kessinger is going to be my SS at least until I can find a Sandberg to play 2B, and stop using Javy Baez as a utility player, and move him full time to short.

Kind of funny, but started to realize that for a team with a long history, the Cubs greats don't have a ton of impressive cards, and there are some positions where they certainly have not developed good talent.

Good luck in the playoff's everyone!

[Marleigh]

Originally Posted by Nero

Kind of funny, but started to realize that for a team with a long history, the Cubs greats don't have a ton of impressive cards, and there are some positions where they certainly have not developed good talent.

Feel the same about the Reds,not helped by the top guys in a few positions being astronomically priced and the second best being several rungs below

[Westheim]

Well, the week began with dark clouds and doom, but ended relatively … well… eh. At least in 20. (In 19, my packs team got relegated - worst in league - from Diamond, and the Raccoons lost a second tie-breaker for the division and ended without a wild card, either, an event so despiriting that the best thing that can be said about is that it didn't involve ****ing Nick Lester being chainsawed in half by the Loggers in the 10th …*)

Nothing to say about the 20 Coons. 73-89, ten games out of the wild card (only!), and five games away from the red zone. Here's to another year of Perfect futility! It will be their 13th straight season in Perfect. Never had a winning record.

The Rebs actually managed to squeeze their way into the first wild card with a rather pedestrian 84-78 record. Only five teams with a winning record in their subleague, and neither of those won more than 95, either. D.J. LeMahieu hit .332 for the batting title.

Accountants went back and forth with the Ellicott Red Sox in September, and ultimately went back and finished one game behind them at 90-72. Which is good for a wild card bonanza ticket, again. This is their ninth playoff appearance, and the fifth on a wild card.

Campanella hit .231 with five homers in his very partial season. Well, I waited about 150 games on 1937 DiMaggio (since sold for profit, like any old Ferengi'd do), I can also wait another 129 games on Campy Roy.

And then sell him for profit.

*mad dynasty rambling

[Izz]

B'sin'Glou were awful down the stretch, going 7-24 across September-October. Our season record was 68-94, terrible but not terrible enough to get relegated (and 3 games better than last season's effort). All Star Mike Trout clubbed 30 homers and drew a league-leading 120 walks. Onto next season!

[daves]

Doubledays easily make 15th straight playoff appearance in Perfect. However, with 110 wins we are 3rd best in the NC and 4th overall since there are a few mega whales.

At least I was in a good division to take 1st place.

[Magus978]

2039 Season in Review...

New York Patriots (G354, OL): 94-68, 2nd in AC East. The Patriots led the division for most of the season, going nip and tuck with fellow OL members Pablo Pandas, but the deep-rooted issues in their starting rotation reared their ugly head, and ended up costing them the division. It's hard to win consistently when the only person in your rotation that can win regularly is Fernando Valenzuela (21-6, 3.21). Those same pitching woes reared their head in the wildcard game vs the Texas Strangers, where they lost 6-1. With limited points at their disposal, it doesn't look like another rebuild of the starting rotation is likely, which means the Patriots will have this glaring question mark going into next season.

Brooklyn Dynasty (P408, $): 77-85, 4th in AC Central. The 2nd half was a bit better for the Dynasty, who were looking to finish above the relegation line. Some 2nd half additions included Cisco Carlos (2-4, 4.11), Jeff McNeil (.330, 5 HR, 32 RBI), Lou Boudreau, Johnny Pesky (.277, 1 HR, 25 RBI), Hugh Duffy (.284, 12 HR, 45 RBI), and via packs another live Trout. Brooklyn is hoping that the infusion of new players will take full effect next season and propel them back into the postseason.

Tri-State Sky Rockets (S308): 81-81, 4th in AC Central. The Sky Rockets harbored wildcard hopes down the stretch, but lost 5 in a row to end those hopes. As with most of my teams, they had the best batting average in the conference, but were clueless as to how to drive runs in. They may be even more clueless in that department, as Connor Joe's hostile takeover of the team begins tomorrow, transforming it into the Connor Joe Appreciation Society.

Blitzkrieg Boppers (D388, OL): 79-83, T-3rd in AC East. The Boppers just could not overcome a nightmare April (8-18), and were constantly playing from behind. They did not help their cause at the end of the season either, going 13-18 down the stretch to scuttle any lingering playoff hopes. Despite this, they have the likely conference MVP in Rickey Henderson (.290, 28 HR, 75 RBI, 7.7 WAR). They also added via packs Hal Newhouser, so on paper they look like they have a loaded rotation for next season.

New York Mets (B272, OL): 91-71, 2nd in NC Central. The Mets took a page out of their real-life counterparts and collapsed in October to miss out on the postseason. A 10-15 July will be looked at as the real culprit as they finish 1 game behind the Southside Sluggers. They did, however, get a neat consolation prize in end of season packs, nabbing peak legend Roberto Alomar (NYM 2002-2003), who isn't good enough to use in the field so he'll be used as a DH.

Metuchen Mariners (G316, Pack-Only): 88-74, 2nd in NC East. The Mariners finished way behind an even better built pack-only team, and were thrust into wildcard hell for their efforts. Being in wildcard hell does not suit the Mariners, but they beat Notre Dame to advance to face the 114-win Michigan Stags, who are far better and far luckier than the Mariners could ever hope to be.

Raleigh Rage (S305): 85-78, 2nd in AC East. The Rage once again showed you cannot win without pitching as they lost their division in a game 163. Garry Maddox (.329, 10 HR, 94 RBI, 7.4 WAR) is the likely MVP of the conference, but without pitching, his efforts have largely gone to waste.

St. John's Silver Sox (I219, Pack-Only): 91-71, 2nd in AC East. This team is still very much a work in progress, having turned pack-only after their first season, but will be making their second straight playoff appearance, and have already won their wildcard game. Needless to say there are still more than a few live players to get rid of, but that cannot be done until the luck gets better. I do not expect them to get promoted anytime soon, but RNGjesus is a fickle old maid. We'll see what happens.

Steelport Saints (I262, OL): 95-67, 2nd in NC East. This was the week for Magus teams to pull off elite-level chokejobs. The Saints led their division by as much as 9.5 games at one point, but because RNGjesus wanted payback for blessing me with two titles last week, the Saints also collapsed and fell into a wildcard spot. They re also proof that you don't need good pitching to succeed, as everyone not named Joe Hesketh in the starting rotation had an ERA over 4.

[Westheim]

The Rebels poked 1986 Roger Clemens for five in the opening inning and that blew up juuust enough to make it interesting late, but held on to a 5-4 win and a ticket to the LDS.

On the other hand, the Accountants' 2006 Johan Santana was poked for five in the opening inning, and while the team rallied back and there was some back-and-forth shoving and pushing, they bowed out with a 9-8 loss.

All runs on Santana, by the way were unearned. Ken Boyer made an error with one out that put two in scoring position. Santana struck out Pete Alonso, gave up a 2-run single to George Springer, walked Jose Ramirez, and then had 2003 Gary Sheffield fight off six foul balls before hitting a 3-run corker.

Ah.....

[Canthereon]

Originally Posted by Nero

I saw Adolpho Phillips on the AH tonight, and his glove looks great, his bat not so much.

His bat has been mostly OK up until Perfect league, but definitely not my best hitter. I have attached his stats for Dah Bears

The Windy City Summoners and Dah Bears are both in the playoffs. Dah Bears won 4 of their last 5 games with one run, including a tiebreaker and a wildcard game. The Summoners are a solid pitching and defense team that has just never shined in the playoffs, but maybe this is the year, as they soundly win their wildcard game as well.

Goodluck to the Bayou Whodats, who have a pretty similarly assembled team against my Summoners, and to the Pawtucket Poets, who have a good chance to sweep Dah Bears

[bailey]

The final regular season series with Ann Arbor was a complete wipeout and the Magpies limp into the wild card game with "just" 121 wins, 5 games behind. I wonder if that is a record win total for a wild card team.

Cy Young took care of business in the wild card game 6-0, so it's all good, so far. Next up, Ann Arbor.

[waittilnextyear]

That playoff run was very short--the Frogs lose the wild card game 9-7 against the Arizona Aces.

100 Christy Mathewson will hopefully never get another start in an elimination game after giving up 6 runs in 2.2 IP. Luckily for me, the opponent's 100 Tom Seaver was nearly as bad (6 runs in 4.2 IP).

The opponent's 100 Rapid Robert provided 3.1 IP of scoreless relief whereas a trio of La Crosse pensmen (Felipe Vazquez, 95 Rollie Fingers, Eddie Plank) were touched up for one run apiece.

The Frogs would score in the 9th inning against 100 Lee Smith to provide the final margin, but unluckily for the Frogs pinch hitter Smoky Burgess grounded out with the bases loaded to end the game. Burgess was added to the postseason roster with precisely this kind of scenario in mind, but perhaps he was a bit rusty after riding the inactive roster all season long.

Onward.

Good luck to all still alive in the playoffs.

[Westheim]

Done over here - Rebels lost the LDS in four, and thus the pains are over for the week.

What, tomorrow is Monday?

More pains?

Yay!

[Marleigh]

My only playoff team Bad News Bulldogs got through the divisional series, not sure how their pitching will handle Gold, expect more complaining about pitching from me next week

[Orcin]

The Colonels have advanced to their much-anticipated showdown with the Metheun Silver Sox by defeating the Mordor Mayhem in the division series. "We tried not to look ahead to the Sub-League Series, but we thought we'd be there for sure," said third baseman George Brett who was named series MVP. Louisville will have the home field advantage in the series by virtue of their 122-40 regular season record.

[PocketsAintFull]

Northern Alliance go down 3-2 in the DS, to the team they finished 12 games ahead of in the Division. Unfortunately they had a 13-6 regular season advantage on the Alliance, so it was a tough matchup.

So another season in Silver, then. T-Mobile Park will give way to Target Field in the rotation

[PocketsAintFull]

Of my two Perfect teams, Birmingham go down with 64 wins, Walsall stay up with 63. I'd have rather it be the other way around due to team strength, but there ya go