Thursday, June 28, 2012

Post Break Updated

The Baltimore Baybirds are doing what they do every season, and that is win at a clip of north of .700%. Former CY winner, Vladimir Olivares getting injured might sting a bit, but they have enough pitching to still so keep up their winning ways. As always, they are the best hitting team in the world.

The El Paso Silverbacks have been right with the Baybirds this season and even better numbers in pitching. Amp Bevil has been lights out and Pedro Lopez has been great as a number two.

Those two teams are the best of the AL and will not be easy to beat come post season time.

The Sacramento Renegades are tied with the Triple Bs for the best record. They have had every single Pitcher of the Week so far this season and have been amazing on the mound. Matt Burns has moved up to 4th all time in saves this season. The 1-5 pitching staff has been giving them a chance to win every time play. Davey Fick, so far, has not played very well this season. If he balnace out his poor first half with a strong second half this team could really take off.

New York Midtowners have been the second best team in the NL. They are another team that has pitched very well this season. Del Vallarta is having career season and finally living up to his price tag. Branch Mitchell has been great this season as well. The heart of the line-up is still very strong and holds up with the other top teams in the world.

Those are your NL top Two

This seasons pitching has been great all around so far. Back in season 21, I posted about the historic significants of finishing the season with a sub 4 ERA. In season 21 only 19 teams had ever finished with a sub 4 ERA. Since then (including season 21 because that was a mid-season report) 12 more teams have finished the season under a 4 ERA.  AL teams are currently under that mark this season. So the AL went from averaging less than one a year to 4 a year. Those same three seasons, have also seen the flip side of that show up in the hitting. Are the days of AL OPS north of .800 over? Have owners decided to not put the money into hitting and focusing more on fielding? I believe so. Looking over the +/- plays season average, you can see a huge trend shift starting in season 14. Season 1 and 2 were both upside down in +/- but season one had 44+ plays and 2 had 39+ plays. We did not see a + play average above 22 till season 14, and were upside down for all but one season in the first 13. Season 14 gave us the first truly positive number in +/- plays and since that season we have also seen a decline in OPS. The Juiced Ball Era is over and we may never see another 70 homerun season, but have owners traded in sexy hitters for slick gloved fielding? That is what the numbers show to me.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Get to Know them: Eeyore1959 Edition




Who are you?

Just a 53 year old government drone.

Who are your favorite all-time players in real baseball?

Jim Northrup (Detroit Tigers), Tim Burke (Montreal Expos), John Smoltz

Do you have a favorite Kaline Player?

My favorite player was Martin Wang. He gave me many seasons of 250+ innings, where I could hide some other deficiencies of my pitching staff.

What is your favorite Kaline moment(other then when I started of course)?

My first division title. I rebuilt, felt I was one or two seasons away from contending, and a couple of moves, including claiming a Rule 5 third baseman to fill a left field opening, brought it all together.

In Hardball Dynasty, what is your strategy for allocating your budget?

Try to keep payroll under 90 million, keep the best coaches available, and allocate to areas which improve prospects.

How do you approach off-season events with players such as arbitration and free agency?

I am looking at who I need to win now, and who can I let go because I have homegrown the replacement.

What is your basic strategy for setting your starting lineups and pitching rotation?

I use a somewhat traditional lineup, and I try to keep lesser stamina pitchers from starting consecutively.

What do you believe are the most important individual player ratings for performance?

For hitters, contact and splits. For pitchers, control and pitch rating.

How do you approach in-season player events like the draft, international prospects and promotions/demotions?

I lean more on the draft, and try to get one top pitcher and one top player each season. The competition for international prospects makes it harder to get a gem at a good price. I try to be patient, not making any moves until after 40 games. I try to have a plan B or C in case a player is underperforming.

If you were to give one piece of advice to a new user, what would it be?

Watch what works with top teams, and stay true to your team plan

What is your favorite aspect of Hardball Dynasty?

Opening Day- that is when you find out if all the work is worthwhile.

Least?

Coach hiring. Too many times you think you have the spot settled, and at the eleventh hour, you have to scramble.

: If you were a sim player, what position would you play, and what would you be rated?

I would be a first baseman with a 70 glove who could catch due to a 60PC, above average power, almost zero contact, and splits which would never let me get in the show, like Phil Dykhoff on my team, only with about 15-20 less in each hitting category.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Get to Know Them: Twostepper Edition

Who are you?

Michael , 30 year-old from outside Chicago. Manager for Walgreens. Married with a kid that is about to turn 1.




Who are your favorite all-time players in real baseball?

Craig Biggio, Ty Cobb, Jeff Bagwell and Kirby Puckett.



Do you have a favorite Kaline Player?

Was Flash Clemens and now is Russel Reitz



What is your favorite Kaline moment(other then when I started of course)?

Flash Clemens getting into the hall



In Hardball Dynasty, what is your strategy for allocating your budget?

Do my best to keep training and medical high. I try to offset contracts with large bonuses. So I usually stay in the middle of the pack for payroll.



How do you approach off-season events with players such as arbitration and free agency?

Write out my goal for a lineup and rotation. See what holes I need filled. I try to not arbitrate if I know I'm going to want the player for 3+ years. I just don't have the balls to give somebody a max deal. Never feels worth it. I try to give huge bonuses so that the later years of a players contract are super low.



What is your basic strategy for setting your starting lineups and pitching rotation?

I usually ignore power and just want obp and avg guys near the top. Pitching I go for vs. L and vs. R along with having 3+ pitched for starters.



What do you believe are the most important individual player ratings for performance?

Contact, Eye, VS for hitters. Control, VS and velocity for pitchers



How do you approach in-season player events like the draft, international prospects and promotions/demotions?

I rank the top 50 or so from the draft pool. I use a ratings threshold of zero. I don't do international. I try not to promote to the majors midseason unless need be.



If you were to give one piece of advice to a new user, what would it be?

Not trade with Cloud. Haha. I would tell them to build the team into the mold they like. Small ball, heavy hitters, pitching dominated...etc.



What is your favorite aspect of Hardball Dynasty?

I love stats!



Least?

23 seasons in and my team has no playoff success. Very frustrating when it seems like I'm doing the best I can.



 If you were a sim player, what position would you play, and what would you be rated?

Second Base

Range/80 Glove/85 Arm/60 Accuracy/65

Speed/85 Durability/85 Health/85 Patience/55 Make Up/99

Contact/60 Power/0 Left/80 Right/50 Eye/50

Baserunning/99 Bunt/99 Push/Pull 50