Tweeners 4, Buckeyes 1

Tweeners take 4 of 5 at home vs. Buckeyes.

5/13 – Tweeners 8, Buckeyes 5.  The NORM TWEENERS bested the GLENN Buckeyes by a 8 to 5 score at The Hoover

Dome.

NORM scored 3 runs in the decisive bottom of the 7th inning with the help of 6

hits.  The biggest moment was provided by Chris Colabello who excited the

crowd when he hit a single bringing in two baserunners.  It was roller

coaster of a game as the lead change hands 5 times. 

Felix Hernandez(1-0) went 7 innings allowing 5 runs for the victory. Carson

Smith got the save, his 1st.  Vincent Velasquez(2-1) was given the loss in

relief.  NORM knocked him around a bit, as he gave up 3 runs in 2 and 1/3

innings.  Kevin Pillar (1e2) committed a 2 base error on the first play of the game, but would thereafter atone by hitting .588 for the series.

5/14 – Tweeners 6, Buckeyes 3.  The NORM TWEENERS bested the GLENN Buckeyes by a 6 to 3 score at The Hoover

Dome.

NORM jumped on top of GLENN in the bottom of the 4th inning scoring one runner

on 2 hits.  After an out was recorded, Zack Cozart drew a walk.  After

another out, Nolan Arenado stepped in and he lined a single.  Kevin Pillar

then ripped a single scoring the run.  NORM totaled 11 hits on the night, including homers by Springer and Cruz.  Bour homered for the visitors.

The win was credited to Sonny Gray(1-0) who went 6 and 2/3 innings allowing 3

runs. Andrew Chafin recorded the save, his 1st.  The losing pitcher was J.A.

Happ(2-10).  He was unable to control the NORM offense and allowed 11 hits

and 3 walks in 8 innings.  

5/15 – Tweeners 5, Buckeyes 4 (13 inn.).  Kevin Pillar had 3 base hits at The Hoover Dome as the NORM TWEENERS beat the

GLENN Buckeyes in 13 innings 5 to 4.

The game was deadlocked at 4 after nine full innings.  Finally, NORM prevailed

in the 13th inning.  Nolan Arenado cracked a solo homerun making NORM

victorious to the delight of the home town crowd.  NORM managed 10 hits

in their victory.  

Andrew Chafin(1-0) went 1 and 1/3 innings allowing no runs for the victory.  Tweeners hurlers walked only 2 batters while fanning 22.

The loss was charged to Trevor Bauer(3-8).  He pitched 12+ innings and

surrendered 10 hits and 6 walks. Much like the night before Christmas, not a creature was stirring in the visitors’ bullpen.

8/6 – Tweeners 5, Buckeyes 3.  In a two run game the NORM TWEENERS got by the GLENN Buckeyes by the score of

5 to 3.

NORM promptly took the lead in their half of the first scoring 3 runners on 3

hits.  The biggest moment was provided by Nelson Cruz who came through for

the home fans when he lifted one out of the park for a two run home run.

NORM finished with just 6 hits in the victory.  

Felix Hernandez(2-0) went 6 innings allowing 2 runs for the victory. Carson

Smith recorded his 2nd save.  Trevor Bauer(3-9) absorbed another complete game loss.  He was

touched for 3 homeruns in his 8 innings of work.  

8/7 – Buckeyes 5, Tweeners 2.  Designated hitter Chris Carter homered and had 4 RBI and Anthony Desclafani

pitched a complete game at The Hoover Dome where the GLENN Buckeyes beat the

NORM TWEENERS 5 to 2 to avoid the series sweep.

Carter had a big day with his bat, obviously pissed off about being unceremoniously dumped by his former team.  He doubled scoring a run in the 1st

inning, doubled resulting in a run in the 3rd inning and smashed a two-run

homer in the 7th inning.  “If he had shown any indication of such ability in spring training he might still be a Tweener.  Where was that shit when he was with us?” wondered Tweeners’ skipper George Brett.  “He didn’t do that much for us all of last year.”  GLENN had 11 hits for the afternoon.

Desclafani(4-4) got the victory, allowing 2 runs for the game. Robbie Ray(0-1)

ended up with the loss.  He was unable to control the GLENN offense (read: Chris F. Carter) and

allowed 10 hits and 4 walks in 6 and 1/3 innings.  

Zaps 8, FFTs 2

Scherzer dominated winning four games. 

Game 1-Scherzer was dominate giving up three hits with not walks through the 7^th, and the Zaps bats plated four in the sixth and three in the eighth to take the opener 7-1

 Game 2-In a slugfest HAL left Gio Gonzalez surrendered seven runs in the first four innings. Cole Hamels only lasted five, but the pen was able to stop the Fan Fucking Tastics rally short for a 8-6 win. Goldschmidt led the Zaps with three ribbies.

 Game 3-The Fan Fucking Tastics scored a run in the top of the first off three hits, but the home team came right back with four runs in the bottom of the frame. Samardzja, Scherzer, and the bullpens threw goose eggs the rest of the way.

 Game 4-The Zaps scored three in the home half of the second powered by taters from Goldie and Moreland, but the FFT’s came right back in the top of the third with two of their own on two-run double by Guyer, a Tulo solo shot in the fourth, and a RBI single by Miggie in the fifth to put the out of towners ahead. Lackey settled down until the seventh when Martin’s double scored Moreland from first to tie it, and Cesar Hernandez doubled in Russell from second to give the good guys the lead. The Zap pen sealed the deal for a 5-4 victory.

 Game 5-The Zaps scored early on Gio again to take a 3-2 lead into the final from, but Goins reached third on an x-chart single and error on Piscotty in right and Beltre single through the drawn in infield tied it up. Cesar Hernandez and Colby Rasmus led off the home half of the final frame with back to back doubles to win it for the Zaps. 

Game 6-Bautista opened the scoring with a solo shot in the third. Machado added another in the fourth. Scherzer did the rest with a  complete game, four-hit, eleven K shutout.

Game 7-Goldie smacked a three-run shot in the first, and back-to-back errors by Miggie and Guyer led to three more runs in the second inning. Gio issued three walks in the third that keyed a six-run inning. The Fan Fucking Tastics scored six the rest of the way, but the damage was done.

Game 8-Corey Dickerson hit a two-run shot in the first off Lynn, and the Zaps stayed ahead until the 9^th. Rivero blew the lead loading the bases to set up Cano’s two-run double that won it for the home team.

 Game 9-The Zaps used two hits and a walk to plate a couple of runs in the home half of the first. Realmute hit a tater in the 3^rd to get the Fan Fucking Tastics on the board, but Dickerson doubled in Cutch in the bottom half of the inning to get the lead back to two. Lackey fell apart in the fifth giving up three runs and Duffy came in out of the pen. Scherzer continued his domination in the series giving up only three hits in seven innings of one run work.

Game 10-The Fan Fucking Tastics plated one run in the first and another in the second to take the early lead, but the Zaps scored back to back runs in the fourth and fifth to tie it. Logan Forsythe hit a two-run double in the seventh. Machado hit a late tater to get the Zaps within one, but Warren sealed the deal in the ninth.

Warpigs 3, DVs 1

Using TeamViewer, the Pigs and DVs played a quick 4 games with no snags. Well, the DVs had version 10 and had to upgrade to version 11, but that took only a minute.

All games played at the BallPork.

April 15 - DVs win 3-2 in 11 innings. Brandon Moss brought home the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning, making a winner of Alex Colome (3-0). Antonio Bastardo (1-1) took the loss. Dexter Fowler homered for the DVs; Ian Kinsler hit one for the Warpigs.

April 16 - Warpigs win 9-0. Mike Leake (3-0) scattered 6 hits and 1 walk for the complete game shutout. Francisco Cervelli went 4-4, and both Prince Fielder and Jake Lamb homered for the Pigs. Lamb's was a 3-run shot to wrap up an 8-run 3rd inning. Nathan Eovaldi (2-8) took the loss.

April 17 - Warpigs win 10-6. The Pigs had 16 hits, including 3 each by A.J. Pollock, Lorenzo Cain, and Ian Kinsler. Jake Peavy (1-0) went 6.2 innings in his first start of the year. Stephen Strasburg (5-6) took a beating for the DVs.

April 18 - Warpigs win 2-1 in 10 innings. Kyle Hendricks and Garrett Richards squared off, matching each other out for out as the game was knotted 0-0 after 9. The DVs finally broke thru in the top of the 10th with a run squeezed home. The Pigs answered in the bottom of the inning with 2 runs, the final run coming on a 1-out double by A.J. Pollock. Bartolo Colon (5-5) took the loss in relief. Drew Pomeranz (1-1) got the win.

Zaps 6, Buckeyes 1

Zaps take 6 of 7 at Buckeyes.

5/30 Zaps 10 Buckeyes 1

5/30 Zaps 5 Buckeyes 4

5/31 Zaps 3 Buckeyes 1

6/1 Zaps 8 Buckeyes 7

9/12 Zaps 2 Buckeyes 0

9/13 Buckeyes 5 Zaps 4

9/14 Zaps 6 Buckeyes 4

Fungoes 4, Buckeyes 1

Fungoes win 4 of 5 vs Buckeyes at WTF:

4/7

Buckeyes score 3 in the first and never look back winning it 5-1.  Coghlan bangs out 4 hits, including a homerun!  Bour also homers for the Bucks!  Trout accounts for the lone Fungo run with his 5th homerun!  Kyle Gibson takes the loss.  J A Happ improves to 3-9 with the victory for the Buckeyes!

4/8

Clayton Kershaw throws a masterpiece allowing the Buckeyes just 2 hits over 8 2/3 innings.  Will Harris gets the last out for his 3rd save of the season.  Trevor Bauer takes the hard luck loss allowing just 1 run on 7 hits.  Matt Carpenter homered for the lone Fungo run!  Fungoes win it 1-0.

4/9

David Price out-dueled Patrick Corbin as the Fungoes win a close one 3-2.  Price struck out 12 Buckeye batters in 8 2/3 innings.  Will Harris picked up the save for the Fungoes.  Ryan Zimmerman and Matt Carpenter hit back to back homers in the 4th for the Fungoes.  Evan Gattis homered for the Buckos!

6/30

Fungoes blow open a close game with a 5-spot in the 5th inning.  Napoli hits a 3 run blast to complete the scoring!  Fungoes win it 6-2.  Patrick Corbin takes the loss while Kyle Gibson picks up the win. 

7/1

Fungoes break out to a 6-0 lead and hold on to win it 8-2.  Lance McCullers picks up the win for the Fungoes.  Desclafani takes the loss.  Will Harris picks up a 5 out save for the home team.  

Draft Data

We drafted 221 players at the 2016 NASOMA Draft. Of those, 189 were taken in the regular draft; 32 more were selected in the Lightning Round. We drafted 111 pitchers, 97 hitters, and 13 uncarded players.

And there was a "first" for the NASOMA Draft (as far as I can remember): There were ZERO passes - not even by the Mavs who ALWAYS pass their last 2 picks. It was close to not happening, though. The Bees were all set to pass on their last 2 picks before trading them away. And the Goofs had to be talked into using their last 2 picks. They, naturally, ended up keeping one of them.

The earliest a player was drafted and then cut was #146 (Phil Gosselin by the Warpigs). The latest a player was drafted and then kept was #205 (Carlos Ruiz by the Buckeyes).

Of the 32 players taken in the Lightning Round, 4 made it onto the final rosters (1 each by the DVs, FFTs, Buckeyes, and Tweeners).

And maybe because there were 3 weeks of games between roster cut-down and the draft, there were 23 protected players who were later cut post-draft. In fact, every team except the Zaps, Wahoos, Goofs, and Inmates cut at least 1 player who had been protected pre-draft. The Fungoes, FFTs, Tweeners, and Sidewinders each cut three players they had protected.

Here are the numbers...

Number of Protected Players Pre-Draft
Uncarded - 9
Hitters - 205
Pitchers - 142
Total - 356

Number of Protected Players Who Were Cut Post-Draft
Uncarded - 0
Hitters - 13
Pitchers - 10
Total - 23

Number of Players Drafted
Uncarded - 13
Hitters - 97
Pitchers - 111
Total - 221

Number of Drafted Players Who Were Cut Post-Draft
Uncarded - 0
Hitters - 21
Pitchers - 20
Total - 41

Final Rosters
Uncarded - 22 (All 22 on Reserve)
Hitters - 268 (2 on Reserve)
Pitchers - 223 (9 on Reserve)
Total - 513 (33 on reserve)

Almost Perfect

This past winter, the Driller Dude offered Maikel Franco to the Wahoos for Jake Arrieta. The Wahoos, of course, declined. DD later traded Franco to the Killer Bees for the 2nd pick in the 2016 Draft. With that pick, the Drillers selected Michael Conforto.

In the first meeting of the year between the Wahoos and Drillers, Arrieta had a perfect game with 1 out in the 9th, but the bid for perfection ended on a pinch hit homer by... Conforto.

Conforto homers to end Arrieta's perfect game with 1 out in the 9th.

Zaps 5, Buckeyes 2

Game 1-Nelson couldn’t finish the first inning before HAL yanked him. The Zaps built 6-0 lead after three and held on for a 6-3 victory despite seven innings of shutout relief from Iglesias. 

Game 2- Russell Martin’s three run tater in the 4th allowed Greinke to pitch through seven with a 4-0 lead. Carlos Rodon promptly gave it all back in the eighth and ninth only to see Blanco and Hernandez hit back-to-back doubles in the 9th to salvage a 5-4 win. Happ went the distance in defeat.  

Game 3-The Buckeyes scored three in the first off Scherzer led by Gennett’s two-run triple, and never looked back. Bauer stifled the Zap bats on the way to a 6-1 triumph. 

Game 4-Manny Machado hit a three-run home run in the first to put the home team ahead, and cranked a two-run shot in the eighth to stop the Buckeye rally that started with Trevor Plouffe’s three-run homer in the top of the frame as the Zaps won 7-3. 

Game 5-Mitch Moreland hit two two-run homers off Desclafani in the first three innings and the Zaps never looked back in an 8-1whitewash of the visitors. 

Game 6-Scherzer had it on cruise control until the Buckeyes hit two solo shots in the seventh. First round draft pick Travis Shaw drove in three runs to power the Zap offense to a 7-2 W. 

Game 7-Jimmy Nelson bent but refused to break as he limited the Zaps to two runs which was enough to back up Christ Carter’s two-run tater and poor fielding from Travis Shaw as the out of towners took the getaway game.

Transactions Made at the Draft

The Warpigs traded R.A. Dickey to the Nads for pick 71.
The DVs traded pick 5 to the Fungoes for pick 40, a reserve, a 2017 1st, and a 2017 3rd.
The Warpigs traded Justin Morneau to the Killer Bees for picks 130 and 146.
The Buckeyes traded Matt Moore to the Sidewinders for their 2017 7th.

How About My Team For Yours?

I got several responses from the question, "Which roster would you trade your roster for?"  Some were even actual answers. Others debated between the desire to win now vs the rosters built for the long haul. And a couple of owners admitted they wouldn't trade their rosters for anybody else's - and who could blame them?

Turns out it's not an easy answer. Consider these teams...

Zaps - Goldschmidt, Machado, Bautista, McCutchen, Rendon, Kluber, Greinke, Scherzer, Giles...

Fungoes - Trout, Kershaw, Betts, Lindor, Sal Perez, Hosmer, Carpenter, Harvey, Price...

Rhinos - Bryant, Votto, Syndergaard, Cole, Archer, Braun, AGordon, Jansen...

Those names make up just the nucleus of those teams. They have plenty of talent and depth beyond those guys. And that's not even including the young, talented rosters of the Sidewinders (who were mentioned more than once as the most likely team to win in 2016), the Mavs (with Harper and Correa... definitely something brewing in Mavland), and the DVs (boy, if they only had pitching... and a different manager).

But the results from the votes are:

1. Zaps with 5 votes
2. Fungoes with 4 votes
3. Rhinos with 3 votes

Transactions

The DVs traded Cory Spangenberg to the Warpigs for Yasmany Tomas.

Drafting Strategy Help

The Driller Dude gets some assistance to prepare for the 2016 Draft

Extra Reserve Contest

All Extra Reserve Contest selections have been turned in and are now final. The spreadsheet link is on the main page. If you can't access it, follow the link that emails me your request. I put in your usual email, but if you use an alternate one, I will have to add it.

15 of the 16 teams are entered. For the 83rd consecutive year, the Nads have taken advantage of our collective naivete by slyly not entering the contest. We fall for his clever strategy every year.

No two teams made the same picks, although a couple were close.

14 of 15 selected the Blue Jays in the AL East. Only the Inmates differed, going with the Red Sox. Likewise, 14 of 15 picked the A's to lose the most games in the AL West. The Goofs went with the Astros to be the big losers.

Only the Mariners and the Angels were not picked at all. And 8 teams were selected on both sides - as either the biggest winner or the biggest loser in their division, and 4 of those 8 are in the AL Central.

10 teams picked the Astros to win the AL West, but the Goofs picked them to finish last. Over in the NL East, 10 teams picked the Phillies to be the big losers. The Goofs picked the Phillies to win the NL East.

The Goofs have been mathematically eliminated.

I won't update every day, but I'll update it fairly often.

Updated Mock Draft (A New Story)

With two more weeks to go before we draft, it appears a couple of teams will benefit greatly from our late draft. If a rebuilding team had used an early pick on Schwarber, they would have had their turn-around set back by a year or more. And Trevor Story, who at best might have been a very late-round pick 3 weeks ago, will go early.

By the way, Trevor Story went to Irving High School just a couple of miles from here. Two of the young math teachers at my school are friends with him and his older brother. They both text with him regularly. One of the teachers was in the wedding party of Story's older brother. And they both say that the older brother was the baseball stud - Trevor was always just "kinda okay."

After only a week of games, my draft list is completely shot. Two more weeks, and I may just phone it in.

Here's the "2 Weeks Away" version of the Mock Draft:

1. Buckeyes - Trevor Story (uncarded). I know we are all wary of falling for a guy who just happens to get off to a good start (remember Tuffy Rhodes?), but as I write this, Story has hit 6 homers in 4 games - and only ONE of the games was in Coors. He's also playing a pretty good shortstop.

2. Drillers - Odubel Herrera. Centerfield covered. What about Conforto or Schwarber? "I don't need a left fielder."

3. Warpigs - Stephen Piscotty. He makes a great LF platoon partner for Ender Inciarte this year, and a full time RF next year.

4. Wahoos - Kyle Schwarber. Yes, he's out for the year, but the Wahoos are set up to win right now. And Schwarber's card is just what the doctor ordered.

5. DVs - Steven Matz. Okay, he hasn't actually pitched yet, and I've bumped him up the board. What the hell do I know? But with so few innings on this card, his first two starts will determine how quickly he's gobbled up, and I predict his first 2 starts will be just fine.

6. Mavs - Matt Duffy. It doesn't matter if the Mavs pick 3rd or 6th, Duffy is a good fit.

7. Nads - Michael Conforto. Sometimes the next big slugger just falls right into your lap.

8. Fungoes - Roberto Osuna. This guy is young and good. Very young. Very good.

9. Drillers - Logan Forsythe. Second base covered. 

10. Tweeners - Carson Smith. Another good, young reliever.

11. Goofs - Lance McCullers. The shoulder issues have slowed his start, and that causes him to slip a few spots. Advantage: Goofs.

12. Zaps - Devon Travis. He's out hurt right now, but he'll be back soon.

13. SSWs - Hunter Strickland. It seems like every mock draft I do, Strickland and Garcia seem to end up as Sidewinders.

14. SSWs - Jaime Garcia. Garia's a lefty; that and his lack of BP homers works well in the SnakePit.

15. SSWs - Franklin Gutierrez. Yeah, it's too early, but the rest of us are just playing for second this year. But if Schwarber's injury causes him to slide, this is where he ends up. Guaranteed.

16. Tweeners - Will Harris. Relievers in the first round aren't sexy, but the Tweeners need pen.

Yep... Another Patch

Go here. Your game version should be 2016f after this.

Stay tuned for more, I guess.

Patching Things Up

SOM has yet another patch. This one doesn't apply to us, as it only fixes bugs in the Baseball Daily game. It will also fix the errors with the pitcher running ratings and with Quintana's POW, but the patch we downloaded a month ago already fixed that.

However... for NetPlay to work, both teams have to have the same version. The previous patch should have made your version 2016d. The new one, I believe, will make your version 2016e. So if one person downloads the newest patch, we'll all need to in order to use NetPlay (which usually doesn't work anyway).

That being said, I recommend downloading TeamViewer. It allows you to play the game with your opponent, and it's excellent. It includes an audio facet that allows you to talk to each other w/o using your phone. The host can allow visitors access so you can both control your own teams. Or the host can limit a visitor to view only, so they can watch a game without being a part of it.

It's simple to download and use. Go to TeamViewer.com. It's free.

Casualties of the Spring

Wahoos: Hey, did you see that your boy Pollock fractured his elbow last night?

Pigman: Boy, you love to be the bearer of bad news, huh?

Wahoos: No... I was just shocked. Really.

Pigman: Steve Boyer was like that. He loved to be the first person to tell you when something bad had happened.

Wahoos: Are you saying I'm like the Cletes?

Pigman; Well, except that he won our league once.

Pre-Draft Rosters - By the Numbers

Of the 988 cards in the set this year, we are protecting 347 going into the draft.

There are 500 batter cards. 205 are on our protected lists; 295 are available to be drafted.

There are 488 pitcher cards. 142 are on our lists; 346 are available.

In addition, there are 9 uncarded players protected (6 are in the AWD).

The Rhinos protected the most players, with 28.

The Buckeyes protected the fewest with 17.

The Rhinos kept the most batters (19); the Zaps and Buckeyes kept the fewest (9).

The Warpigs kept the most pitchers (12); the Tweeners kept the fewest (6).

The Zaps were the only team to protect more pitchers than hitters.

The Buckeyes have the most draft picks (18); the Warpigs have the fewest (6).

Although a few will be passes, there are 189 scheduled draft picks (not counting the Lightning Round).

In the chart below, the (Max) column represents the maximum number of uncarded players each team is allowed to select in the Draft.

Transactions

The Bees released (for real) Jedd Gyorko and Raul Mondesi.

April 1, 2016

6:54 AM - Beeboy: Are you joking about my team? If not, you can have them all.

6:55 AM - Beeboy: I will get to this around 9:00 this morning. I missed the "midnight" portion of Glenn's email. Thought I had all day today.

8:07 AM - Pigman: Dude... what's the date today?

8:11 AM - Beeboy: I realized it about 30 minutes ago. Jackass.

8:12 AM - Pigman: Love me some Beeboy!

Rosters are Set

Final pre-Draft rosters are now set.

Unfortunately, the Bees did not meet the deadline, and per Constitution Rule IV, part F, their roster is limited to 15 players (the 10 batters with the most AB and the 5 pitchers with the most IP).

Therefore, the final cuts of the preseason are:
Archie Bradley
Robinson Chirinos
Alejandro DeAza
Alex Fernandez
Maikel Franco
Joey Gallo

So now we're ready. LET'S DRAFT!!!

Transactions

The DVs released James Paxton.

The Warpigs traded their 2017 12th round pick to the DVs for pick 149.

Schedule Proposal

I know we don't want to spend time at the Draft (assuming it ever gets here) talking about rules, so here's my proposal now for deadlines for playing games. I presented this last fall, and it's basically the same, but I'm adding a schedule for this year.

The games played per month are: 20-20-25-25-25-25-22

Game Schedule Proposal

All dates are the first Sunday in each month. The deadline on those Sundays is 10:00PM (Central Time).

2016
May 1 - 20 games played
June 5 - 40
July 3 - 65
August 7 - 90
September 4 - 115
October 2 - 140
November 6 - 162

Starting in 2017 (Dates of 1st Sunday will vary year to year)
April 2 - 20
May 7 - 40
June 4 - 65
July 2 - 90
August 6 - 115
September 3 - 140
October 1 - 162

Transactions

The Wahoos released Kyle Blanks, Austin Jackson, Jordy Mercer, Mike Morin, Seth Smith, Dale Thayer, and Kyle Zimmer.

The SuperGoofs released Jesse Chavez, Josh Hamilton, and Hyun-jin Ryu.

The Mavs traded picks 3 and 38 to the Warpigs for picks 6 and 32.

The Warpigs traded Victor Martinez to the Drillers for Yasmany Tomas.

The Buckeyes released Jayson Werth and Mark Appel.

The FFTs traded picks 115, 163, and 179 to the Warpigs for Scott Van Slyke and pick 144.

Happy Easter!

By the time we draft, it will be 11 months since the Buckeyes last played a game. (text message from the little Wahoo)

Final Pre-Draft Rosters

Final Pre-Draft Rosters are due April 1st.

The easiest thing (for me) would be if you list your complete roster and add a comment like "My roster as listed now is good except drop these two guys" or something like that.

And be sure to check your roster after I make your changes to confirm it's correct.

By the way... let's NEVER draft in April again. The waiting is torture.

Transactions

The Wahoos traded picks 45, 61, and 65 to the Rhinos for picks 4, 116, and 117.

Transactions (Country Breakfast edition)

The Mavs traded Billy Butler to the FFTs for a 2017 8th round pick.

Transactions

The Tweeners released Kevin Quackenbush and Zach Duke.

The Warpigs released Michael McKenry.

Ballparks for 2016

Make your selection thru the email started by the Buckeyes. I will update this page.

1. Buckeyes - Yankee Stadium: singles 0/0, HR 20/20 (same park; changed from 1/1, 20/20)
2. Killer Bees - Atlanta: singles 5/5, HR 7/7 (new park)
3. FFTs - Dodger Stadium: singles 2/2, HR 11/11 (new park)
4. Rhinos - San Diego: singles 0/0, HR 5/15 (same park; no changes)
5. DVs - Baltimore: singles 13/13, HR 13/15 (same park; changed from 12/12, 15/15)
6. Mavs - Milwaukee: singles 8/8, HR 16/16 (new park)
7. Nads - Kansas City: singles 12/12, HR 8/8 (same park; no changes)
8. Fungoes - San Francisco: singles 9/5, HR 0/0 (same park; changed from 7/7, 1/1)
9. Drillers - Los Angeles-AL: singles 6/6, HR 6/6 (new park)
10. Tweeners - Philadelphia: singles 2/2, HR 12/18 (new park)
11. SuperGoofs - Miami: singles 0/0, HR 0/0 (same park; changed from 2/2, 2/2)
12. Zaps - Oakland: singles 3/10, HR 2/5 (new park)
13. Wahoos - Colorado: singles 20/20, HR 20/20 (same park; changed from 19/19, 19/19)
14. Inmates - Toronto: singles 5/5, HR 14/14 (new park)
15. Sidewinders - Washington: singles 8/0, HR 15/0 (same park; no changes)
16. Warpigs - San Diego: singles 0/0, HR 0/2 (same park; changed from 0/0, 1/4)

Video from Opening Day at SOM

Here's the video interview from Opening Day.

Transactions

The FFTs released Chase Headley.

The Warpigs released Matt Shoemaker.

Updated Mock Draft

Okay, forget that earlier Mock Draft. This one is OFFICIAL!

1. Buckeyes - Kyle Schwarber. When you're looking to add offense, it doesn't matter how good they are on defense - it only matters which positions they play. And that they can hit. Schwarber can hit.

2. Drillers - Stephen Piscotty. The decision, with Schwarber gone, is between Piscotty and Conforto. Conforto probably has the better future, but Piscotty definitely has the better card - and the Drillers are a playoff team.

3. Mavs - Matt Duffy. He's the next best player available, and the Mavs need 3b. It's a no-brainer. My first LOCK.

4. Rhinos - Lance McCullers. The Rhinos, like the two teams drafting before him, could be headed for the post season, so it's nice to get a prospect who also has a good card AND fits your needs.

5. DVs - Michael Conforto. The DVs probably don't have the pitching to compete for a playoff spot, so might as well take the best young hitter available.

6. Warpigs - Jung Ho Kang. Another team with dreams of the playoffs; another player with a good card, although at 29, he doesn't really count as a prospect.

7. Nads - Steven Matz. Hey, Steven Matz may only have 36 innings, but he's 24 and already has a World Series start under his belt. He's the next stud in the Mets' rotation. By this time next year, with Stroman, Fiers, Tillman, and Matz, the Nads could have the best rotation in NASOMA.

8. Fungoes - Carson Smith. The Fungoes are the favorites to win the HWD. Smith makes a good bullpen into a great one, and he's going to be around for awhile.

9. Drillers - Logan Forsythe. The Drillers breathe a sigh of relief that Forsythe is still there. Devon Travis is younger and has a higher ceiling, but Forsythe can play every day and has better defense.

10. Tweeners - Francisco Rodriguez. The Tweeners are a bullpen away from being a playoff team, KRod is a good first step.

11. Goofs - Yunel Escobar. My second LOCK of the Mock Draft. He is this year's Casey McGehee. Yunel will be a Goof.

12. Zaps - Franklin Gutierrez. Well, why not? Because he's 33? Because he only has 171 at bats? Neither is a good excuse when you have one of the two best teams in the league. He'll be a regular in LF come playoff time, and if the Zaps don't take him here, he could end up on the Snakes, who have the next 3 picks.

13. Sidewinders - Jaime Garcia. The team with the best pitching needs pitching. Strange but true. Garcia is a good one.

14. Sidewinders - Hunter Strickland. And then they add a reliever. Limited a bit with his innings, but he won't have to do the heavy lifting on a team with Wade Davis, Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, and Craig Kimbrel.

15. Sidewinders - Nick Hundley. The Snakes may go with a third pitcher here, but Hundley is the best catcher in the Draft, and with Mesoraco down, Grandal needs some help.

16. Tweeners - Odubel Herrera. He's young, he's got a good card with a lot of AB. The Tweeners could use an outfielder. Seems like a good pick, but I have no idea. This pick could easily be another reliever.

Transactions

The Rhinos traded Jake Lamb and pick 144 to the Warpigs for pick 117.

The Rhinos released Jorge Alfaro, Alex Avila, and Marco Gonzalez.

The SuperGoofs released Kyle Lohse, Daniel Nava, and James Russell.

Missed this one earlier: The Fungoes released Ryan Howard and reinstated Jarrod Dyson.

Screenshots

I've been playing around with the computer game. Here's a couple of screenshots of my game screen. I think the bright one looks better, but the darker one makes it easier to read the text on the screen.

Sad News

From The HEAD INMATE...

Gracie, the last remaining beer-swilling Baptist Bowl feline, died shortly after her 19^th birthday.

Depth Charts

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to cut some dead wood off their roster. I have now updated all the team icons on the homepage to link to your team's homepage, which includes updated depth charts of your current rosters. Let me know if there are any corrections to make.

Also, there are a couple of new things I will be adding soon. Back in December, the Buckeyes were interviewed by Ultimate Strat. Now Ultimate Strat has interviewed the Warpigs for their February newsletter, as well as a shorter feature on the Pigs and Fungoes making the trip to Strat-O-Matic's Opening Day. I will link all of that as soon as I figure out the best way to do it.

I recently sent you an lzp file of the updated league. I think I may have backed that league up before some recent cuts, but I know for sure that I accidentally dropped Jose Reyes onto the DVs instead of the Free Agent list. I'll keep updating with roster moves and send more lzp files out as needed.

Stay tuned for an announcement by the Commissioner regarding official cut down date.

Transactions

The Warpigs released James Loney.

The SuperGoofs released Michael Cuddyer, David DeJesus, Torii Hunter, Casey McGehee, and Rene Rivera.

The Fungoes released Tommy La Stella.

The Inmates released J.P. Howell, Pat Neshek, Zach Putnam, Aramis Ramirez, Wilin Rosario, and Kennys Vargas.

Transactions

The Mavs released Alexi Amarista, Homer Bailey, Billy Butler, Matt Cain, Greg Holland, Dominic Leone, Michael Morse, Wily Peralta, and Christian Vazquez.

Recommend Best Player

I put the new league together on the computer game and updated all the rosters to match what shows on your roster page right now. Then I asked the computer to suggest the best player available for you to draft. Here are the results...

Buckeyes: Mark Teixeira
Drillers; Logan Forsythe
Mavs: Nick Hundley
DVs: Kyle Schwarber
Zaps: Colby Rasmus
Sidewinders, Wahoos, and Goofs: Jaime Garcia
Warpigs, FFTs, Nads, Fungoes, Rhinos, Tweeners, Bees, and Inmates: Francisco Rodriguez

I'm not sure what this means, but I'm wishing hard for the Buckeyes to take Teixeira with the first pick of the draft.

Transactions

The Nads released Jeremy Affeldt, Jonathan Broxton, Jared Cosart, Carl Crawford, Alex Rios, Kurt Suzuki, and Chris Taylor.

The Nads traded Matt Shoemaker to the Warpigs for pick 192.

Opening Day at Strat-O-Matic

It was a fantastic last two days as the Fungoes and Warpigs flew to Glen Head, NY, to attend the 55th Anniversary of Strat-O-Matic and get in line to get their cards. And while a couple of guys from New Jersey and Philly showed up at 5AM (the doors officially open at noon), we were next in line (we got there at 8AM). We stood in 18 degree weather for 4 hours, but it was worth every minute of it. We chatted for those 4 hours with the 2 guys ahead of us and a guy in line behind us who drove there from Cleveland. We met all the SOM people, including Hal himself. All of them were as nice as can be (but then, we didn't tell them we know the Zapper). They provided coffee and donuts and free peeks at new cards. Derek and I were interviewed for a YouTube segment and later by a local newspaper guy. And when the cards started getting passed out, the Warpigs were the first to have their cards in hand.

We went over to find the place the day before, and they let us in and introduced us to Hal. It was a great two days.

Transactions - Opening Day at SOM Issue

The Fungoes traded Derek Holland to the Warpigs for Danny Farquhar.

Transactions

The Buckeyes released Dustin Ackley, Leonys Martin, Logan Morrison, and Jon Singleton.

Transactions

The Killer Bees traded pick 2 and Lucas Giolito to the Drillers for Neil Walker, Jimmy Rollins, Raul Mondesi, Alex Cobb, Mike Zunino, Zack Wheeler, and Maikel Franco.

Transactions

The Drillers released Joe Beimel, Dan Haren, Yusmeiro Petit, C.C. Sabathia, and Alex Torres.

New Features in SOM for 2016

IMPORTANT NETPLAY NOTE FOR WINDOWS 10(tm) USERS:
 If you are running Windows 10(tm) and are using Netplay, you must run the game in compatibility mode.  See the Netplay Compatibility Note in the Netplay section of the Help File.

List Of New Features And Improvements In Strat-O-Matic Baseball 2016

1) Daily Data (Optionally Available) - Our most exciting innovation in years is now available for play. Imagine playing Strat-O-Matic in parallel to the real-life baseball season! As the players go through hot and cold streaks, imagine seeing that reflected in their Strat-O-Matic cards! Imagine seeing a new Strat-O-Matic card daily for every player!! Well, imagine no more - this option is now available for Strat-O-Matic baseball fans! Please see the full description of Daily Data for restrictions and additional information. 

2) High Resolution Color Ballparks - Our ballpark option has been enhanced to include high-resolution ballpark pictures for all current major league stadiums. In addition, low resolution color ballparks will now be included with the game.
 
3) Individualized Pitcher Injuries - Starting with the 2015 season, pitchers will be assigned an individual injury rating. This new rating is designed to be used with the new Super Advanced Injury charts. Older seasons will use default ratings (based upon actual usage).

4) Card Image - Clutch Hitting - If you have purchased the Card Image Option, then the Clutch Hitting effects are now integrated into the card image displayed on the Game Screen Layout. In clutch situations (2-outs, runner(s) in scoring position), the clutch result will display instead of the original card result. This will make it easier to evaluate the current batter and pitcher and will make more sense when the clutch result is rolled with the dice. Note that the only place this is done is on the in-game batter vs. pitcher card image (where the dice are rolled). You can still view the player's original card image by clicking on the player's name to display his notebook. Also note that the Clutch Hitting results are shown in green (the color of money!) to indicate that the original card result has been replaced with the clutch result.

5) Super-Advanced Injury Charts - A new and improved set of Super-Advanced Injury Charts is now supported. The new charts alter the frequency and length of injuries to more closely simulate current real-life injuries than the original charts did. We recommend using these new charts when playing with the 2015 or newer season(s). However, they can be used with any league from any season. Use this option if you desire maximum board-game compatibility.
 6) Online Draft - The Online Draft logic for drafting players when an owner is not present has been improved.

7) Help File - If you are unable to read the older help file format, we are including a "New Help File" which can be accessed via "Start / Programs / Strat-O-Matic". It is not accessible directly from the game, though. Even if you are on Windows 10, you should be able to open the new help file.

8) WAR - Wins Above Replacement (WAR) has been added to the Main Game Screen for both batters and pitchers. WAR is an estimated measure of the number of wins a player contributes to his team. Our version of WAR is a combination of a player's wRAA, rWAR, and dWAR and attempts to value a player's total contribution in one number. This number should not be taken as the definitive measure of player value but as another tool to use when evaluating a player's performance. In addition to the player's replay WAR, we included a calculated WAR for the player card as well (that is located on the top line of the display). This roughly estimates the real-life WAR of the player's card, but is not an exact match of other WAR systems available elsewhere.
 9) Roster Report - The Roster Report (located in the Teams / Display Reports menu) now includes a count of the number of batters and pitchers on each team's roster. The counts are shown on the heading line, in a series of two numbers separated by a slash - the first number is the number of batters, the second is the number of pitchers. Two sets of numbers are shown. The first set is the number of eligible batters and pitchers. The second set is the number of ineligible batters and pitchers. Here is an example showing a team with 13 batters and 12 pitchers who are eligible, and 2 batters and 3 pitchers who are ineligible:
  

2014 New York (NL) Amazins Black=In Majors (13/12) Blue=In Minors (2/3) 

10) Sort Players - Sort Players has been improved to allow sorting of players by WAR. You can sort all players, just batters, or just pitchers by WAR. This capability will be especially convenient when looking at the free agent pool, as it allows you to sort all batters and pitchers into one list, which provides an idea of the relative worth of the batters compared to the pitchers in the pool.

11) X-Chart Improvements

- Super-Advanced Fielding Catch-X G3 Rare Play play-by-play has been changed to better reflect what might happen on such a play.
- Super-Advanced Fielding Catch-X G2 with the infield in, play-by-play has been changed so that it indicates the tag was made directly by the catcher instead of a throw being made.

12) Restore League Improvements

- The Restore League function now defaults to the Backup folder since that is where backups are normally stored.
- After you restore a league, it is now automatically selected in the league listbox as a convenience.

 13) Eligible Players - The Promote/Demote Minor Leaguers dialog now includes an "All" and a "None" button to make it possible to set all players eligible or ineligible with one click.
 14) Computer Manager - When a Double Duty Player pinch-hits for the pitcher, the computer manager attempts to keep him in the game to pitch. This year, code has been added to use another reliever if he is tired and there are two or more other relievers available in the bullpen.  

15) Turn Off Suggested Defensive Strategies - A new option is available in the Computer Manager section of the Game Preferences dialog that will prevent the computer from automatically overriding certain defensive strategies such as holding baserunners, positioning the infield, and positioning the outfield. 

16) Multiple Instances - A warning is now issued if you attempt to run multiple copies of the game at the same time. This is a dangerous practice that can lead to serious data corruptions! We allow you to ignore this warning, however, before doing so, you should read the documentation on Multiple Instances that has been added to the Help File.

17) Bugs Fixed 

- A very rare program hang was found and corrected in the Recommend Best Available Player routine. 
- The Blogger interface has been replaced, as we are no longer able to authenticate your blog credentials using the Blogger API.
- Sometimes the box score story would say that a leadoff hit plated a run, which is not possible unless it was a homerun.
- An extremely rare sequence caused an incorrect number of earned runs to be calculated. According to baseball rule 10.16, an inning that proceeds as follows should result in two runs allowed being credited to the pitcher, but only one earned run:  Out, out, catcher's interference, homerun, out. In essence, since there is no way to determine the final result of the at-bat due to the catcher's interference, that plate appearance is ignored for purposes of determining earned runs.
- In the Report Writer 2014 John Danks was displaying as "Jordan Danks" when viewing pitching reports.
- According to the Strat-O-Matic Rule Booklet, rule 25.21, which is for adjusting outfielders range ratings when playing out of position, is both an Advanced and Super-Advanced rule. This rule was not being used for the Advanced computer game, and that has been corrected.
- When using the Show Flight of Ball game option, home plate was reversed.
- Setting the lineup with your pitcher as the leadoff hitter was confusing the stats package. Sometimes two pitchers would get credited with a loss or the runs and/or earned runs for the pitcher were incorrect.
- Defensive Runs Above Average (dRAA) was being miscalculated for certain outfielders.
- Award icons were not showing in the Team Yearbooks for old seasons.
- A Catcher's Interference with the bases loaded should result in an RBI for the batter according to baseball's 2015 official rules, section 9.04(a)(2). The RBI for this situation has been added back (the RBI was removed in Version 10 as a result of an erroneous bug report).
- A Netplay bug was identified and fixed that could cause games to get out of sync after a message was displayed. For example, sometimes after the message that states the pitcher is tired was displayed the games would get out sync.
- The play-by-play for a rare play regarding the hidden ball trick was indicating that a double was hit down the line even though it was hit to center field.

18) New Seasons - Support for the new 2015, 2016 Daily Data, 1982 (Deluxe Super-Advanced), Hall of Fame 2016, 2015 Career Historical, 1874 National Association, 1908 Negro League, 1917 Negro League, 1935 Negro League, 1948 Negro League, and 2015 Japanese Baseball seasons has been added.

19) Ballpark Photos  

- 6 new ballpark pictures - Cleveland (day and night), Los Angeles (night), Texas (night), Anaheim (night), Houston (day).
- 34 new ballpark entry pictures - Cleveland-11, Los Angeles-5, Anaheim-6, Houston-4, Chicago-NL-6, Kansas City-2.

20) Play-By-Play 

- Over 1350 new lines of Nickname play-by-plays have been included!
- New and updated Trivia questions are included.
- All 30 team play-by-play files have been edited and updated for 2015 season.  

Transactions

The DVs released Trevor Plouffe.

Transactions

The Mavs traded Elvis Andrus to the Drillers for pick 73.

The Drillers released Conor Gillaspie and Chris Owings.

2016 Outlook: Bob Uecker Division

Big Innings takes a look at the four divisions to see what each team has and where each team will finish.

2015 was a big year for the BUD. Two teams in the playoffs. One upset a higher seeded team in the 1st round, and the other won it all. In fact, neither team lost to a team outside the BUD. So what do they do for an encore? Can the Pigs capture another Higdon? Can the Wahoos win their first? Can the FFTs keep adding the players they need to win before the veteran guys get old? Can the DVs upset Donald Trump and win the Republican nomination? Read on, faithful readers...

Starting Pitching:
1. Wahoos
2. Warpigs
3. DVs
4. FFTs
The Wahoos' solution to surpassing the Pigs lies on the mound. Jake Arrieta is, of course, the best starting pitcher out there, but his supporting cast of Estrada, Iwakuma, and Verlander is also good. The Pig staff (Richards, Wacha, Leake, Dickey, Peavy) was hurt by the early season injury to Wainwright. The DVs have a promising group led by Strasburg and Ventura.

Bullpen:
1. Wahoos
2. Warpigs
3. FFTs
4. DVs
The Wahoo bullpen can challenge the Sidewinders for the best in the league. Betances, Melancon, McGee, Watson, and Familia are the class of the BUD for sure. Not far behind is the deep staff of the Pigs, with Strop, O'Day, Maurer, Pomeranz, Bastardo, and Clippard. The FFTs' Adam Warren and Danny Duffy may combine for 200 appearances.

Catcher:
1. Cervelli/Molina, Warpigs
2. Wieters/Realmuto/Ellis, FFTs
3. Norris, Wahoos
4. WCastillo/McCann, DVs
Cervelli has the best bat of the bunch; Yadi has the best glove/arm.

First Base:
1. Cabrera, FFTs
2. Fielder/Morneau, Warpigs
3. Encarnacion, Wahoos
4. Pujols, DVs
Miggy has another great card. Encarnacion and Pujols play in homer parks, which probably puts them ahead of the Pig pair.

Second Base:
1. Kinsler/Kipnis, Warpigs
2. Panik, DVs
3. Pedroia, Wahoos
4. Cano, FFTs
Pretty good group when you have to put Cano last. Kipnis will probably DH for the Pigs, but Kinsler can hold his own (so to speak). Panik will need some AB help.

Third Base:
1. Moustakas/CSeager, DVs
2. Beltre, FFTs
3. KSeager/Turner, Wahoos
4. Prado, Warpigs
If Turner were the Wahoo starter at 3b, he'd be #1. But chances are he will DH, and the elder Seager brother didn't have his best year.

Shortstop:
1. Bogaerts, DVs
2. Hechevarria/Simmons, Warpigs
3. Tulowitzki, FFTs
4. Crawford, Wahoos
Another good group, with the NL Gold Glove winner bringing up the rear. All 4 are excellent with the gloves. It's even better when you consider Corey Seager is a DV, as well.

Left Field:
1. Grichuk/Holliday/RCastillo, DVs
2. Inciarte/Van Slyke, Warpigs
3. Blanco/Aoki, Wahoos
4. BHolt, FFTs
It's hard to guess where Grichuk might play. The #1 ranking is based on him being the starter in LF. If it's somebody else, Inciarte moves up to the top spot.

Center Field:
1. Pollock, Warpigs
2. Fowler/Grichuk, DVs
3. Eaton, Wahoos
4. Pederson, FFTs
Eaton getting a cf-4 was a devastating blow to the Hoos. If he were a 2 - or even a 3 - he'd be ahead of Fowler.

Right Field:
1. Stanton/Grichuk/RCastillo, DVs
2. Cain, Warpigs
3. Pence/Reddick, FFTs
4. Granderson/Aoki, Wahoos
Stanton and Pence missed big chunks of the season. When Stanton is in the lineup, though, he will mash.

Designated Hitter:
1. Kipnis/VMart, Warpigs
2. Turner, Wahoos
3. Holliday/CSeager, DVs
4. Headley(?)/HanleyR(?), FFTs
As always, it's not easy projecting who will DH. But if these are the guys, this is the order.

Draft Picks:
1. DVs
2. Warpigs
3. Wahoos
4. FFTs
The DVs and Pigs are higher mostly because the other two don't have picks in the 1st round.

Overall:
1. Wahoos
2. Warpigs
3. DVs
4. FFTs
This should be a tightly contested race, but the pitching staff of the Wahoos will be the difference. The Pigs' defense and bullpen should keep them in the mix for a shot at a wild card. The DVs have lots of young talent; they just need a big year from their pitchers. The FFT batters are not on the young side like the DVs, but they still have plenty in the tank. The FFTs also need to hit on some pitchers to challenge the Hoos and Pigs.