Sidewinders 4, Mavs 1

May 7^th:  The Mavs miss five HR 1-7, one HR 1-13 and get thrown out at home on a 1-17.  Kipnis hits a homer 1-5 to win the game that the Mavs were just not meant to win.  The SSWs twice missed the pitch on hit and runs and successfully stole second on a 1-9 chance.  Kimbrell completely shuts the Mavs down in a 2 inning save and wins the Chico Bail Bonds Player of the Game.  2-1 SSWs.

May 8^th:  In a continuing the theme the Mavs miss the homer 1-14 and the SSWs get the homer 1-4.  The Mav announcers are heard to say “the SSWs are too good for the Mavs to beat if the twenty side die doesn’t go there way” leaving many listeners totally mystified.  Upton chokes in the clutch with two out and two on in the ninth.  Kimbrell picks up his second save to win his second Chico’s Bail Bonds Player of the Game.  SSWs 2-1.

July 30^th:  The Mavs miss a few more home run chances and then finally Heyward hits a HR 1-7.  Doolittle, Crain and Holland make it hold up.  Moore strikes out 11 in a losing cause.  Heyward wins the Lewinsky Blow of the Game for the tater.  1-0 Mavs.  If you are keeping score at home the cumulative score for the series is 4-3 SSW’s.  Sounds like 1968.

July 31^st:  In a match up that left many fans scratching their heads, the Mavs start 8R Jeremy Guthrie against the SSW’s.  Ironically it was David Wright who hit the home run on a 1-7 HR, Fly in the sixth.  In the bottom of the same inning, Davis hit a double (on his own card obviously) off of Sale and Lucroy haunted his former teammates with a 1-6 homer 1-13 that he rolled a 1 on.  Gattis followed with a homer off of Chapman who Hal brought in in the sixth inning(??).  Dominic Brown missed a homer 1-7 that would have tied the game in the eighth.  But Greg Holland blew his third save in the top of the ninth.  Mauer wins the Chico’s Bail Bonds Player of the Game going 2-5 including the game winning hit in the ninth.  5-4 SSWs.  Guthrie is informed after the game that he will also pitch against the SSWs twice on the road.  He begins to drink heavily.

August 1^st.  The SSW’s pound out 11 hits led by three by Mauer and Wright each.  Soto misses a homer 1-7 with two outs in the ninth that would have tied it.  Kimbrell picks up his fourth save and gets the Chico’s Bail Bond Player of the Game award.  4-1 SSWs.

Drillers 3, Goofs 2

Drillers Take 3 of 5 vs Goofs in the Mudpit

June 13 Goofs 2 Drillers 1

June 14 Drillers 1 Goofs 0

June 15 Goofs 4 Drillers 2

Aug 26 Drillers 4 Goofs 3

Aug 27 Drillers 6 Goofs 4

Buckeyes 6, Drillers 1

Buckeyes Bust Driller's Ass 6 games to 1 at the Mud Pit.

May 30 Belt goes 5 - 5 including a walk off single to lead the Drillers to a 5 - 4 win.

May 31 Feldman Ks 10 and the Buckeyes hold on to win 3 - 2.

April 1  Buckeyes win 10 - 3...  Don't want to talk about it.

9/11    Game much the same as the April Fools game.  10 - 2 Buckeyes.

Sep 12 Bats are ice cold.  Buckeyes win 3 - 1.

Sep 13 Beatings continue.  Buckeyes win 4 - 2.

Sep 14 My birthday game sucked too.  Buckeyes throw us a shutout 3 - 0.

Pretty sure HAL, in his hidden quest for realism, put the breaks on Driller bats.  I had several guys flirting with .400 and several pitchers with ERAs under 1.  Neither can happen in HALS world. 

DVs 3, Goofs 2

DVs stumble through a Tweener split with the Goofs –

Game 1 – Goofs win 8-6 as Cashner suffers his first loss of the season

2 – DVs come back with a 6-5 walk off win

3 – DVs match their longest winning streak of the season with a 6-2 win behind Lynn’s pitching brilliance

4 – Goofs rough up Cashner for a second time with a 4-3 win

5 – DVs win 5-3 on getaway day (as in we can’t getaway from .500)

DVs round the quarter pole at 20-20.

Buckeyes 3, Fungoes 2

Buckeyes like our park more than the Fungoes place. Buckeyes go 3-2 at home.

May 15 - Fungoes 6 Buckeyes 4 (11 innings) - Quentin's 2 run double off Johnson in the 11th makes a winner out of Santos. Kershaw had a no hitter through 5 but gave up 3 runs in the 6th.

May 16 - Buckeyes 8 Fungoes 0 - M Gonzalez and JJ Hoover scatter 7 hits. Buckeyes get to Price with 5 run 6th. No homers in the game. Escobar drives in 4.

August 8 - Buckeyes 7 Fungoes 4 - Buckeyes blow open a 2-1 game with a 5 run 7th. Fungoes rally for 3 in 9th but Koji get the last couple of outs for the save. Lowrie gors 3 for with 3 RBI's

August 9 - Fungoes 7 Buckeyes 1 - Fungoes turn for a 5 run 7th to blow the game open. Hosmer hits 2 HR's in support of Kershaw who gets the win.

August 10 - Buckeyes 8 Fungoes 1 - Buckeyes get to Price again. Ruggiano hit 2 HR's and Middlebrooks adds another. Scooter Feldman tosses a CG 4 hitter for the win.

Fungoes 4, Buckeyes 1

Fungoes win 4 of 5 vs the Buckeyes at WTF.  

April 3:

Fungoes win 4-0.  Holland starts the game for the Fungoes but Roark picks up the win in relief.  Miguel Gonzalez takes the loss for the Buckeyes.  Trout hits a 3-run homer followed immediately by a  Carlos Quentin solo shot.

April 4:

Buckeyes win this one 5-1.  R A Dickey throws a complete game for the win while David Price gets banged around for the loss.  

April 5:

Kershaw throws a three hitter and shuts out the Buckeyes for the win.  Wandy Rodriquez gets the loss.  Bloomquist gets 3 RBIs for the Fungoes.

June 26:

Fungoes break open a 1-1 tie with a 7-run 6th inning.  Harvey picks up the win for the Fungoes while Dickey takes the loss.  Tempers flared a bit in the 7th when Rajai Davis stole 3rd and then home plate for the Fungoes final run. Fungoes win it 9-1.

June 27:

Buckeyes take a 6-0 lead into the bottom of the third only to watch an 8 spot go up on the board.  Fungoes hold on to win 9-8.  Cuddyer kept the Buckeyes in the game with a homer, 2 doubles and 5 RBIs.  Medlen makes it through 5 innings for the win.  Miguel Gonzalez takes the loss.

WTF

Zaps 3, Goofs 2

The Zaps take three of five at home.

  5/ 4 SPG  2  6  0  VPS 11 14  0      C.Hamels (5-0)        A.Wood (0-1)
  5/ 5 SPG  5  8  2  VPS  3  8  0      Y.Darvish (1-0) F.Liriano (0-1)
  5/ 6 SPG  4 11  0  VPS  7 13  0      B.Ziegler (1-1)      H.Ryu (0-1)
7/28 SPG  5  7  1  VPS  7 10  1      J.Machi (3-1)        A.Wood (0-2)
7/29 SPG 13 15  1  VPS  5  9  2      C.Torres (1-0)        B.Ziegler (1-2)

May 4- Manny Machado had 2 base hits and 2 RBI and Cole Hamels pitched a
complete
game as the sizzling TRISTAN VIVAZAPASTAS beat the PHIL -SG SUPER GOOFS by a
score of 11 to 2.

Hamels(5-0) had a solid outing for TRISTAN.  He went 9 innings and surrended
up 6 hits and 3 walks lowering his ERA to 3.78.  TRISTAN rapped out 14 hits
for the afternoon.

Alex Wood(0-1) absorbed the loss.  He was unable to control the TRISTAN
offense and allowed 9 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings.

May 5-Yu Darvish struck out 11 batters as the PHIL -SG SUPER GOOFS
defeated the
TRISTAN VIVAZAPASTAS 5 to 3 at PNC Park.

Darvish(1-0) gave PHIL -SG a solid outing.  He allowed only 7 hits and 1
walk
in 8 and 1/3 innings.  TRISTAN tried unsuccessfully to come back in the 9th.

Darvish got help from Joaquin Benoit who was credited with his 1st save. The
losing pitcher was Francisco Liriano(0-1).  He pitched 4 innings giving up 5
hits and 2 walks.

Darvish, when asked about his 11 strikeout performance noted, 'The important
thing is that we won, if I get 20 and we lose, what good does it do our
team?
But, on the other hand, since we won it feels great!'

May 6-
Paul Goldschmidt smacked 2 homeruns and had 4 RBI as the TRISTAN
VIVAZAPASTAS
defeated the PHIL -SG SUPER GOOFS 7 to 4 at PNC Park.

The TRISTAN fans enjoyed the offense provided by Goldschmidt.  He clubbed a
solo home run in the 4th inning and belted a three-run homer in the 7th
inning.  Brad Ziegler(1-1) got help from Neal Cotts who pitched great and
earned his 2nd save.

Hyun-Jin Ryu(0-1) was the losing pitcher.  He allowed 9 hits and 2 walks
in 6
innings.

July 28-Miguel Cabrera had 2 base hits and 2 RBI as the TRISTAN
VIVAZAPASTAS defeated
the PHIL -SG SUPER GOOFS by the score of 7 to 5 at PNC Park.

Jean Machi(3-1) was brilliant in relief and registered the victory. He
allowed no hits and 1 walk in 2 innings and recorded 4 strikeouts lowering
his ERA to 2.79.  TRISTAN finished with 10 hits while PHIL -SG ended up with
7.

Alex Wood(0-2) ended up with the loss in relief.  He gave up 2 runs and
3 hits
in 1 inning.

July 29-Hyun-Jin Ryu struck out 10 batters and Junior Lake jacked one
out of the
ballyard and had 4 RBI as the PHIL -SG SUPER GOOFS staged a dramatic
comeback
over the TRISTAN VIVAZAPASTAS by a score of 13 to 5 at PNC Park.

PHIL -SG put a big number on the board in the 9th inning, which proved too
much for TRISTAN to overcome as they creamed TRISTAN blasting them with 10
runs on 10 hits.  The crucial at-bat was provided by Lake who silenced PNC
Park as he clubbed a three-run home run.  PHIL -SG had 15 hits for the
afternoon while TRISTAN had 9.

The victory went to Carlos Torres(1-0) who went 1 and 2/3 innings,
allowing 1
run. Brad Ziegler(1-2) was hit with the loss in relief.  'The only way this

Drillers 6, FFTs 4

Drillers go 6 - 4 vs FFTs

April 25 FFTs win 4 - 2

April 26 Drillers win 3 - 2

June 5 Drillers win 5 - 0

June 6 Drillers win 12 - 6

July 18  Drillers win 9 - 4

July 19 FFTs win 3 - 1

July 20 FFTs win 8 - 6

August 17 Drillers win 2 - 1

August 18 FFTs win 2 - 1

August 19 Drillers win 2 - 0

Mavs 4, Warpigs 1

Games played at MavLand

Mavs win 4 of 5 at home.

Mavs 3, Warpigs 2

The story is becoming familiar early in the season for the Warpigs... (1) We cannot score. Our offense is offensive. And (2) we can't win a game that isn't started by Wainwright, Strasburg, or Fernandez.

 

All games played at the BallPork.

Game 1 - Mavs win 10-2. The battery of Yovani Gallardo and Jonathan Lucroy dominated the game. Gallardo scattered 4 hits over 7 shutout innings, and Lucroy went 4-for-5 with 6 RBI, including a grand slam.

Game 2 - Mavs win 6-3. Both teams scored 2 in the 1st. In the top of the 2nd, with 2 outs and 2 on, Ryan Flaherty booted a grounder to allow the go ahead run, and Chris Davis followed with a 3-run homer for 4 unearned runs in the inning. Flaherty's virtual card was virtually torn to pieces. Davis had already hit a 2-run homer in the 1st inning to finish with 5 RBI.

Game 3 - Warpigs win 4-1. Stephen Strasburg righted the ship a bit with a complete game 4-hitter. Austin Jackson led off the 1st with a solo homer, and Yadier Molina hit a 3-run shot in the 3rd.

Game 4 - Warpigs win 4-2. A 2-run homer by Justin Maxwell gave the Mavs an early lead. The Mavs still led 2-0 in the bottom of the 8th when the Warpigs put together a rally. An Austin Jackson tripled in the first run, and then scored the tying run on a hit by D.J. Lemahieu. The go ahead run scored when Yonder Alonso slapped a single past a drawn-in infield. Adam Wainwright needed last-out help from Casey Fien to get the victory.

Game 5 - Mavs win 3-1. Wily Peralta pitched well, but Yovani Gallardo pitched better. A lot of that had to do with the kind of bats each pitcher faced.

Mavs 6, FFTs 4

Basically you got the Full Boat version of the Tweener split.  4-6 for the FFT's.

 

April 27^th:  Two FFT pitchers combine on a two hitter.  Samardzija is the Chico’s Bail Bonds Player of the Game going seven innings giving up one hit while striking out 7 and walking one.  The Mavs never had a chance.  6-0 FFT’s

April 28^th:  Mavs get 20 base runners and 11 score.  Gallardo picks up the win.  Bryce Harper rolls a 1 on a homer 1, double 2-20 chance and picks up the Cash America Pawn Star of the Game.  Mavs win 11-2.

April 29^th:  Five Mav pitchers combine on a two hit shutout striking out 15 and walking none.  The lone run scored on a Justin Upton groundball with runners on second and third in the first inning.  It would have been a plus hit with the infield in.  Bailey and the rest made it hold up.  The Chico’s Bail Bonds Player of the Game goes to Greg Holland who struckout three recording a four out save.  Mavs win 1-0.

June 7^th:  Mike Leake drops to 0-9.  Somehow the Mavs left 13 on and still won.  Pesky Chris Davis went 3-4 to win the Chico’s Bail Bonds Player of the Game.  He is only going to hit about 35 homeruns but his batting average is a nice .272 so far.  Mavs win 5-1.

June 8:  The FFT’s blast Guthrie for 16 runs (but only 9 were earned) as the knock out 20 hits off of him in 4 2/3.  Leading the charge:  Ethier and Fielder with four hits each.  Perez gets the win despite giving up 11 runs in 5 2/3s.  Chico’s Bail Bonds Player of the Game goes to Napoli.  Every other FFT had at least two hits. Napoli went hitless somehow.  FFTs 16-11.

July 21^st:  The FFT’s win in the top of the ninth on a LFX and a CX.  The Mavs were 3 hit though by three FFT pitchers.  The Sandman picked up the save and the Chico’s Bail Bonds Player of the Game Award.  FFTs 5-3.

Ju;y 22^nd:  In a disappointing game for both teams Holland blows another lead giving up a game tying homer to Mike Napoli only to see the Sandman give up a walk to Chris Davis to drive in the winning run.  Davis drives in four and wins the Lewinsky Blow of the Game award for his three run 2-4 off of a tough lefty.  Mavs win in 10 4-3.

August 20^th:  Mavs come from behind in the seventh with 3 runs.  Two coming on a Howie Kendrick double.  That along with a solo homer wins Howie the Chico’s Bail Bonds Player of the Game.  The Mavs struckout 14 more FFTs.  6-3 Mavs.

August 21^st:  Five Mav pitchers combine on a six hitter.  Prince Fielder’s solo shot in the fourth prevented the shutout.  Elvis got an RBI on a squeeze play and another on a one star single to earn the Chico’s Bail Bonds Player of the Game.  Mavs win 5-1.

Goofs 3, Mavs 2

Mavs achieve a Tweener split.

 

Game one:  Yu Darvish strikes out sixteen as Hal plays a game set in 1931 and has Yu throw a twelve inning complete game.  Ballpark single was the undoing of Greg Holland in the top of the twelfth.  The Chico’s Bail Bond Player of the Game is Yu Darvish.  He says he’ll use the gift certificate to buy a personality.  Goofs 3-1 in12.

Game 2:  Ryu gets tagged with 11 runs in 5 1/3.  Guthrie goes the distance giving up ten hits and five runs for the win.  The Lewinsky Blow of the Game goes to Howie Kendrick for his third inning grand slam.  But the Cash America Pawn Star goes to Chase Headley who stole both second and third in the bottom of the eighth when the Mavs were trying to save at bats by getting thrown out.  He “missed” the steal sign for home.  Mavs 16-5.

Game 3:  Homer Bailey has his first bad outing of the year and drops to 2-5 as the Goofs get to him for six runs in an inning and two thirds.  Hunter gets the Chico’s bail bonds player of the game going 2-4 and driving in three.  Goofs 8-4.  As a side note, Garrett Richards sees his ERA drop to 1.29 with six innings of shutout relief.  Go figure.

Game 4:  The Goofs bullpen collapses as the pesky Mavs score six in the bottom of the eighth.  The Lewinsky Blow of the Game goes to Lucroy who hits a grand slam off of Jason Frasor’s card.  Richards picks up the win in relief and sees his ERA fall to 1.21.  Mavs win 8-3.

Game 5:  Mavs may have started saving at bats too early.  We wound up with Davis at the plate as the tying run.  Missed a homer by just a bit.  9-6 Goofs.  Frasor held on for the save and Ryu picked up the win.  Castro drove in three runs and picks up the Chico’s Bail Bonds player of the game.

Goofs 3, FFTs 2

Ryu shows he should have been an FFT by losing two to the FFT's

Fungoes 4, Goofs 1

Fungoes and Goofs played five pc games at WTF.  Here are the results.

April 25 At Fungoes:

Fungoes win it 4-1 behind a strong performance by Clayton Kershaw.  Loshe takes the loss and Cishek picks up a save.  Chris Johnson picks up three hits for the Goofs while Carpenter bangs out two hits for the Fungoes.

April 26 At Fungoes:

Fungoes pick up three in the first inning and three in the fifth and then cruise to a 10-5 win as Price picks up a win.  Griffin takes the loss.  Carlos Quintin hits two homers and picks up 4 RBI for the Fungoes versus his old team.  

July 18 At Fungoes:

Goofs break open a 1-1 tie with a two spot in the eighth and a two spot in the ninth winning this one 5-1.  Brothers gets the win in relief while Cishek takes the loss for the Fungi!  Denard Span had the big hit for the Goofs blasting a two-run homer to break the Fungoes in the eighth inning.

July 19 At Fungoes:

Marathon 14 inning affair ends with a Mike Trout walkoff leading off the 14th inning for the Fungoes!  Kershaw and Darvish pitched a classic duel through nine innings where Claton Kershaw called it an evening.  Darvish went the distance striking out 18 before hanging a breaker in Trout's wheelhouse!  Robertson gets the win for the Fungoes, Darvish takes the hard luck loss for the Goofs!

July 20 At Fungoes:

Fungoes win a slugfest 10-9.  Fungoes take a 10-7 lead into the ninth and then hold on to win.  Tazawa gets the loss for the Goofs while Redmond picks up a win for the Fungoes.  Fungoes homer four times with Carpenter picking up two while the Goofs hit two longballs of their own.  Santos comes on in the ninth to get the final two outs and picks up his 5th save of the season.

WTF

Depth Charts

The team icons on the home page are links to depth charts for each team.

At the close of Draft Weekend...

The Fungoes have mathematically clinched their division.

FFTs at the Draft

FFT's 2 wins Buckeyes 8 wins

it gets worse.

FFT's 3 wins Nads 7 wins

yes, it gets worse

FFT's 0 wins, Fungoes 10 wins

cannot get any worse

FFT's 3 wins Bees 7 wins

this may be as good as it gets.

FFT's 2 wins Pastas 8 wins

Bring on the Zits

Dusty Baker got fired today.

FFT management

Warpigs 6, Killer Bees 4

To open the 2014 season, the defending champion Warpigs hosted the Killer Bees. Before game 1, a ring ceremony took place to honor the Pigs for their 2013 title. Since most of the players receiving their rings were now members of the Bees, it worked out nicely.

@ The BallPork
3/31 - Warpigs 4, Killer Bees 1 - Adam Wainwright went the distance, and Brett Lawrie homered to lead the Pigs. The Bees broke up the shutout in the 9th.

4/1 - Killer Bees 3, Warpigs 0 - It was April Fools' Day at the BallPark, and despite the Beeboy being in attendance, Cliff Lee made the Pig batters look like real fools. Former Warpig Edwin Encarnacion homered for the Bees.

4/2 - Killer Bees 6, Warpigs 2 - Jose Fernandez made his debut and got rocked for 6 runs in less than 3 innings. Former Pigs Encarnacion and Freddy Freeman both went yard.

@ The Bee Hive
5/13 - Killer Bees 6, Warpigs 3 - Coco Crisp homered twice and Daniel Nava lacked only a double from hitting for the cycle.

5/14 - Warpigs 1, Killer Bees 0 - Jose Fernandez enacted some revenge in his second start, limiting the Bees to 2 hits in the complete game victory. The game featured the first use of the Instant Replay Rule. In the 7th inning, down by 1, the Bees' Jose Molina doubled to left-center. Encarnacion tried to score from first. He was initially called safe, but after further review, the throw came from Yoenis Cespedes in LF as opposed to Austin Jackson in CF, and Encarnacion was out.

@ The BallPork
6/24 - Warpigs 2, Killer Bees 1 - Stephen Strasburg scattered 5 hits and combined with Casey Fien for the win. Yonder Alonso tripled in the 5th and came home on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Crawford for the eventual game-winning run.

6/25 - Warpigs 6, Killer Bees 0 - Jose Fernandez again handcuffed the Bees. Yadier Molina went 2-for-3 and drove in 4 runs.

@ The Bee Hive
8/5 - Warpigs 7, Killer Bees 3 - Fernandez continued to shut down the Bees. With a 7-run lead, he came out early. The bullpen allowed 3 9th inning runs on two homers, ending the Bee scoreless streak at 24 innings.

8/6 - Killer Bees 3, Warpigs 2 in 10 innings - Coco Crisp homered in the 8th to tie the game, and Freddy Freeman had a walk-off single in the 10th.

8/7 - Warpigs 7, Killer Bees 4 - In a shocker, Zack Wheeler outpitched Julio Teheran. Yadier Molina went 5-for-6 with a homer and 2 RBI. The Bees rallied in the 9th by loading the bases with 1 out. The Pigs were left with only Nick Tepesch in the pen, but he came through, getting 2 outs and stranding all 3 runners to earn his first save.

Draft Trades

These trades were made before the new rosters were set for the 2014 season...

The Drillers traded Casey Fien to the Warpigs for a 2015 8th.
The Fungoes traded Scott Van Slyke to the FFTs for a 2015 9th.
The FFTs traded Scott Van Slyke to the Warpigs for Mike Carp.
The Fungoes traded Zach McAllister to the Rhinos for a 2015 9th.
The DVs traded Sean Rodriguez and Wellington Castillo to the FFTs for Wilson Ramos and Trevor Plouffe.

Replay

I LOVE the new instant replay rules in MLB. Baseball definitely needed something to make the games last longer.

Another idea might be to allow the batter to change batting gloves after every foul ball. Think of the revenue that could be generated from the sale of those "game-used" gloves. And the time it takes to change gloves would give the announcers more time to talk - which they obviously need.

That would lead easily into unlimited trips to the mound by the pitching coach. (Unlimited = the number of time outs allowed in a college basketball game.)

Draft Reminders

You start with:

1. Your protected players (between 19 and 26 on this year's rosters)
2. Enough draft picks to get that player number to 30 (so if you kept 22 players, that would be 8 picks)
3. Additional picks based on how many reserves you own (between 0 and 4 this year)
4. Two additional picks according to the "Tweener Rule". These are optional. If you use one or both of them, you will have to cut 1-2 players after the draft.
5. The option to participate in the "Lightning Round" and draft up to 5 more players - also leading to additional cuts after the draft.

In the main phase of the draft, you may draft UNCARDED players if you have reserve picks that are not already being used to protect a player without a card. Drafting an uncarded player is optional. Below is a list of the maximum number of UNCARDED players each team is allowed to draft this year:

3 - Warpigs
2 - DVs, Mavs, Drillers, Goofs, Wahoos, Sidewinders, Rhinos, Inmates
1 - Bees, Zaps, Tweeners, Fungoes, FFTs
0 - Nads, Buckeyes

Following the draft, you assign reserve status to players based on how many reserve picks you own. Those players do not have to be uncarded players - the reserved players can just be players you want to keep the rights to, but don't want to suit up this year. However, uncarded players that you keep HAVE to be kept on the reserve list.

The LIGHTNING ROUND phase of the draft takes place 5 minutes after the regular draft ends. The Lightning Round Rules:

• You must be present to participate.
• Picks cannot be traded (but the players selected in the Lightning Round CAN be).
• There are 5 rounds, although you may drop out at any time.
• The order of selection is based on the original draft order.
• The pick MUST be carded.
• You have ONE MINUTE to make your selection. After one minute, you must pass.
• If you pass or take an ineligible player, your evening is over.

Remember, you will have to cut one player for every "Tweener Rule" or "Lightning Round" selection you make.

And finally, keep in mind that when you make a trade during the draft, it's a good idea to make trades that balance out numerically. For instance, if you trade Juan Gomez and pick 34 for pick 15, you should insist on getting another player or pick back. Typically, in a trade like this, the team getting pick 15 would also get the other team's last pick. If you don't do this, you'll just end up with fewer picks. An extra pick WILL NOT BE ADDED ON AT THE END OF THE DRAFT FOR YOU. You'll just have to make use of your "Tweener Rule" picks or take part in the "Lightning Round."

The Pre-Draft Numbers

First of all, thanks to those of you who confirmed your rosters. Apparently, the Roster page and the Draft Grid are good to go. We are set to draft.

There were 352 players protected. That's exactly 22 per team. Of those, 200 are hitter cards and 143 are pitcher cards. There were 9 uncarded players protected (5 pitchers, 4 hitters).

The FFTs and Rhinos protected the most players (26), while the Nads (19) protected the fewest.

The Nads were the only team to protect more pitchers (10) than hitters (9).

The team protecting the most hitters was the Warpigs (16). The team protecting the fewest hitters was the Nads (9).

The team protecting the most pitchers was the Rhinos (11). The team protecting the fewest pitchers was the Warpigs (6).

The FFTs protected the most uncarded players (3).

Not counting the Lightning Round, there will be 193 players drafted. (Fewer, probably, as there are always a number of passes near the end of the Draft.)

The SuperGoofs and Sidewinders have the most draft picks (14). The Fungoes and Rhinos have the fewest (9).

There are 664 available carded players eligible to be drafted. I have an alphabetized list of all of them squeezed onto one page. If you want a copy, email me.

Also, if you want a copy of the Draft Grid or the Roster page in Excel format, email me for that as well.

Warpigs and DVs trade

The Warpigs traded picks 61 and 128 to the DVs for Yonder Alonso, Tommy Milone, and pick 87.

Fungoes and Goofs trade

The SuperGoofs traded Carlos Quentin to the Fungoes for Denard Span.

Fungoes and Warpigs trade

The Warpigs traded John Jaso and Brendan Ryan to the Fungoes for Matt Wieters.

And an era ends...



The Rhinos announced today that they were cutting ARod.

Tweeners and Fungoes trade

The Fungoes traded Nelson Cruz to the Tweeners for Jose Tabata.

We just like to see the boys hit it deep...

Wahoos and Inmates trade

The Inmates traded pick 122 to the Wahoos for Josh Reddick.

DVs and Drillers trade

The DVs traded Michael Saunders to the Drillers for Mike Moustakas.

Buckeyes and Drillers trade

The Drillers traded A.J. Burnett to the Buckeyes for pick 66.

I'm Ready to Play

 

Warpigs and Inmates trade

The Inmates traded a reserve pick to the Warpigs for pick 48.

Corrected Cards

There are a few cards whose numbers don't match up to the ones from the SOM spreadsheet. Nothing big, but there are at least 3 that I know of (Pastornicky, Janish, and Constanza) with minor number changes against LHP. There may be more - I just hope it's not anybody important. Right now, the only thing to be aware of is that Pastornicky is NOT the lefty-killer that SOM originally promised.

Pastornicky vs LHP:
on spreadsheet: 35bb, 57.7h, 92.7ob, 57.7tb
actual card: 0bb, 49.5h, 49.5ob, 49.5tb

The Weirdest Moments from the 2013 MLB Season

From Athlon Sports...

An MLB calendar of oddball occurrences

The Weirdest Things to Happen in Baseball Last Season 2013

Baseball is filled with bizarre coincidences, amazing statistics, and lots of oddball occurrences. Last season was no exception. As 2014 spring training gets underway, we decided to look back at the kookiest from 2013 in our annual Calendar of MLB Weirdness. 

 

APRIL

April 5 Emilio Bonifacio is the second player of the live-ball era to strike out four times and commit three errors in the same game.

April 5 The Diamondbacks score two runs on a single passed ball.

April 5 Xavier Cedeno is the fifth pitcher in history to allow six runs without recording an out, yet surrender fewer than two hits.

April 6 The Rangers issue three intentional walks to Albert Pujols, but he homers the two times they don’t.

April 7 Reigning Cy Young Award winners R.A. Dickey and David Price each lose their starts by a score of 13–0.

April 7 Braves batters strike out 16 times for the second time in five days, but Atlanta wins both games by scoring a combined 14 runs.

April 9 In 10.1 innings, Brett Myers has allowed more home runs (seven) than 12 entire teams have hit.

April 10 With his fifth home run in his ninth game, John Buck equals the tater total of all Mets catchers in the 2012 season.

April 10 Including his previous start against them in 2012, the Mets’ Jeremy Hefner puts 13 consecutive Phillies batters on base.

April 16 KC’s Kelvin Herrera’s MLB-high 82.1 innings without a home run allowed evaporates when he serves up three in the span of four Braves hitters.

April 20 Two of the day’s starters, Rick Porcello and Philip Humber, combine to allow 17 earned runs while retiring a total of three batters.

April 24 Baltimore’s Josh Stinson allows five hits in his season debut — four homers and a double.

April 24 Eric Hinske of the D-Backs is awarded second base when the Giants’ Santiago Casilla, warming up in the bullpen, gloves his base hit.

April 29 Milwaukee is the first team in 55 years to hit at least four home runs and three triples in a game.

April 29 Between the 11th and 15th innings of Oakland’s 19-inning win over the Angels, three different center fielders sustain leg injuries while running to first base and must be removed from the game.

April 30 The month ends with the highest home run total by catchers (117) and highest strikeout total by pitchers (5,992) of any April in baseball history.

 

MAY

May 3 Braves third baseman Chris Johnson appeals an official scorer’s decision by insisting he should be charged with an error.

May 7 Thirteen-year veteran Nick Punto’s home run is the first he’s ever hit prior to June 2.

May 8 The Cardinals and Cubs, playing each other, rap into four double plays apiece.

May 10-11 Cardinals pitchers hold the Rockies hitless for 49 consecutive at-bats.

May 11 Nelson Cruz cranks his third game-tying homer of the week, all setting up close Rangers victories and each in the sixth inning.

May 11 All three Marlins outfielders record an assist.

May 14 The Phillies poke their 16th straight solo home run.

May 17 Gerardo Parra’s homer on the game’s first pitch provides the sole run in Arizona’s defeat of Miami — the first time that’s happened since 1993, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

May 18 On the same day the Orioles’ streak of 109 victories when leading after seven innings is terminated, the Astros win for just the fifth time in their last 139 after trailing in the seventh or later.

May 19 Buck Showalter’s dash from the dugout to argue that a Rays double should have been called a foul ball backfires when the umps decide to check the replay and change their ruling to a home run.

May 21 Mike Trout’s cycle is the first in 81 years also to include at least five RBIs and a stolen base.

May 24 The umpire, thinking the first baseman caught the ball on the bag, calls out Jesus Sucre even though the pitcher takes the throw six feet in front of it.

May 25 All nine A’s starters drive in a run by the fifth inning. 

 

JUNE

June 4 The Red Sox score in every inning against the Rangers except the one pitched by outfielder David Murphy.

June 4 Miguel Cabrera ends a streak of 2,457 plate appearances in which he did not strike out after reaching a 3–0 count.

June 6 Bud Selig, announcing first-round picks, repeatedly calls it the “2000” draft.

June 8 Jose Fernandez and Matt Harvey are the first starting hurlers since 1884 to match up against each other in two games that lasted 15 or more innings during the same season.

June 12 Brandon Moss gets just his fifth hit over 40 at-bats in 19 games, but all are home runs.

June 13 For the second time in franchise history, the Phillies win a game in which they score three or fewer runs despite accumulating at least 16 hits. (They first did it in 1954.)

June 14 Freddy Galvis (following Carlos Gomez and Carlos Gonzalez) is the third player in eight days to hit a triple in successive innings.

June 15 Exactly one month after Raul Ibanez was the first 40-year-old in Mariners history to hit a grand slam, Henry Blanco becomes the second.

June 18 For the second time in a week, Alfredo Aceves is demoted to Triple-A immediately after beating Tampa Bay with a one-run start.

June 25 Alexi Casilla homers for the second time in 498 at-bats — both off Justin Masterson. (He failed to hit another in 2013.)

June 28 A position player for two different teams (the White Sox’ Casper Wells and L.A.’s Skip Schumaker) throws a scoreless inning after his pitching teammates allow a combined 35 runs.

 

JULY

July 2 The Mets, who had set an NL record by failing to score more than five runs in 30 consecutive home games, tally seven times in the seventh inning at Citi Field.

July 5 The fireworks of victory are ignited at Busch Stadium with no outs in the ninth inning.

July 9 Al Alburquerque, who hadn’t allowed a home run in his first 71 major-league games, serves up one in a second straight appearance.

July 11 The Giants win for only the third time in 17 tries, with Madison Bumgarner notching the “W” in all three.

July 14 Brandon Workman (joining Jarred Cosart and Danny Salazar) is the third pitcher in four days to take a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his first big-league start, equaling the total number who had done that in the previous 15 seasons.

July 22 Joe Blanton becomes the second pitcher (with Bert Blyleven) to allow a home run in 10 consecutive outings two years in a row.

July 28 One day after a record-tying four games end in a 1–0 score among seven shutouts in all, there are four more whitewashes, including another pair of 1–0 battles.

July 28 For the first time in 50 years, the only players with multiple hits in a game are the starting pitchers (Travis Wood and Tim Lincecum).

July 31 Texas sweeps a three-game series from the Angels with each win via a walk-off home run — just the second time a team has ever done that.

 

AUGUST

Aug. 2 The Braves become the fourth team of the modern era to hang up a five (or more)-run inning in five consecutive games.

Aug. 4 Mike Scioscia is the first manager in 30 years to give the ball to seven pitchers during the eighth and ninth innings of a game.

Aug. 4 The Cardinals get an RBI from the first eight starters in their batting order for the second time in four days.

Aug. 7 The Rangers run their total to 13 stolen bases over two nights against the Angels.

Aug. 9 Although their first four batters of the game get a hit, the Pirates fail to score in the first inning.

Aug. 9-10 After hitting five home runs in his previous 85 games, Josh Reddick doubles that total in two days.

Aug. 10 Breaking his own Mets season-opening record of 2012 by needing 233 at-bats to raise his batting average to .200, Ike Davis finally reaches the Mendoza Line in his 264th of 2013.

Aug. 13 The Twins score their 23rd consecutive run on homers.

Aug. 13 Both teams’ leadoff hitters (the Mariners’ Brad Miller, the Rays’ Ben Zobrist) homer twice — just the third time that’s ever happened.

Aug. 13-14 After driving in 13 runs in his first 153 appearances of the season, Alfonso Soriano matches that total in a span of seven trips to the plate.

Aug. 16 The Braves limit the Nats to three or fewer runs for the 13th consecutive time.

Aug. 17 The Cubs are shut out for the fifth game in their last seven at Wrigley Field, tying a major league record for home games.

Aug. 19 Jake Elmore of the Astros catches and pitches in the same game — both the first appearances of his career at those positions.

Aug. 21 Max Stassi’s first career RBI sends him to the hospital, as he is hit by a pitch with the bases loaded that ricochets off his shoulder into his face.

Aug. 24 Cliff Pennington becomes the first Diamondback ever to draw five walks in a game, doing so in the 16th inning. Two innings later, teammate Tony Campana ties his record. 

Aug. 27 Alfonso Soriano socks his 400th home run and Aramis Ramirez his 350th on the same day.

Aug. 27 For the first time in 28 games, the Brewers score a first-inning run.

Aug. 30 A 38th consecutive Marlin who drew a walk fails to score.

Aug. 30 21-year-old Taijuan Walker debuts by throwing to a batterymate (Henry Blanco) who was catching for Class A Bakersfield when he was born.

 

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 6 Yusmeiro Petit, preceded by Yu Darvish, makes this the first season in which two pitchers lose a perfect game with two outs in the ninth.

Sept. 13 Princeton product David Hale strikes out Princeton product Will Venable as the first batter he faces in his major-league career.

Sept. 19 Matt Moore allows Texas to steal four bases in the first four innings — one more than he’d permitted in 136 innings entering the game.

Sept. 26-28 After the Brewers beat the Mets by the same score (4–2) for the third straight day, the Elias Sports Bureau reports that this is the fourth time in the past 20 years this has happened — all involving one of those two teams.

Sept. 29 The Astros, needing 14 strikeouts in their season finale to set a major-league team record for a season, stage a clutch performance and whiff 19 times.

Sept. 29 Mike Trout sets a record for most games played in the outfield (148) without recording an assist.

Sept. 30 For just the third time in the 162-game era, no player records 200 hits, although Adrian Beltre and Matt Carpenter finish with 199.

 

OCTOBER

Oct. 3 Carlos Beltran goes deep, concluding the NLCS game with 15 home runs in 129 postseason at-bats — precisely the same stats that Babe Ruth had in his postseason career.

Oct. 15 Matt Holliday finally leaves the yard after the first 242 hitters of the NLCS come up empty.

Oct. 27 One night after Game 3 of the World Series ends on an obstruction call, Game 4 ends on a pickoff — neither of which had ever happened before.

Buckeyes and Mavs trade

The Buckeyes traded Jeremy Guthrie to the Mavs for David Dejesus.

Whetting the Appetite

Are you ready for some baseball?

Wahoos make two trades

The Wahoos traded Matt Dominguez, and picks 36, 115, and 147 to the Rhinos for Darren O'Day and a 2015 2nd round pick.

The Wahoos traded picks 50 and 114 to the Warpigs for a 2015 3rd round pick.

FFTs and Wahoos trade

The FFTs traded Gregor Blanco to the Wahoos for Jon Jay.

Zaps and Buckeyes trade

The Zaps traded Jaime Garcia and pick 154 to the Buckeyes for pick 131.

Snakes and Drillers trade

The Sidewinders trade Brandon Belt to the Drillers for Jay Bruce.

The 2014 Draft - Mock 1

1. Drillers - Josh Donaldson. He doesn't need him, but he's the best of the full time hitters in the draft. Despite being a 2e17 at 3b, he will DH or play 1b for the Drillers.

2. Warpigs - Michael Wacha. A good, young pitcher for the Cardinals. And he has relief.

3. Warpigs - Sonny Gray. The Pigs look to the future by turning Jordan Zimmermann into Sonny Gray and Zack Wheeler.

4. Killer Bees - Daniel Nava. He's got a job in Boston, where they love him. The Bees will love him, too, in a lineup with Werth, Encarnacion, Freeman, and Santana.

5. Tweeners - Jose Iglesias. A 1e8 at ss, he can also hold his own at 2b/3b. And he has a nice card.

6. Tweeners - Ryan Raburn. It takes some balls to use the 6th pick in the draft on a 33-year old spare part outfielder. But he has a great card, and the Tweeners aim to claim that AWD title. As GM Al Davis said, "Hell, if the Goofs can win this division, ANYBODY can! If I'd known they were gonna win last year, we'd have tried harder."

7. DVs - Yan Gomes. Semog Nay. (There's no Inmate pick in the first round. This is his chance to remind us he's still there.)

8. Wahoos - Andrew Cashner. The Wahoos have a lot of picks. Expect him to exit the first round with an armful of good pitching cards. Cashner offers 175 good relief innings.

9. Fungoes - Jordy Mercer. If nothing else, this pick means all those Fungo lefties won't have to face Mercer this year.

10. Zaps - Josmil Pinto. The first of what will be several chances for the Zapper to let the Fungoes know, "Anything you can do, I can do better." These are the best two teams this year, and they will pick back-to-back in every round. The pressure will be on the Fungoes, who pick first. Expect most Fungo picks to be greeted by the Zapper's call of, "Too early!"

11. Wahoos - Trevor Rosenthal. The Wahoos continue to make the most of their first round picks.

12. SuperGoofs - Masahiro Tanaka. The Darvish pick worked out well, so why not do it again?

13. Tweeners - Marlon Byrd. Yes, he's like 47 years old, but that's still younger than the team owner. And he has 532 AB on a really, really good card.

14. Mavs - Byron Buxton. The dilemma the Mavs face: Draft the best card and finish .500? Or draft for the future and finish .500. Since there aren't any good cards left, Buxton it is.

15. Wahoos - Luke Hochevar. Probably the best relief card in the draft.

16. Wahoos - Paco Rodriguez. And the bullpen is set.

Warpigs make two trades

The Warpigs traded Prince Fielder to the FFTs for Albert Pujols and pick 18.

The Warpigs traded Jordan Zimmermann and pick 50 to the Wahoos for Zack Wheeler, D.J. Lemahieu, A.J. Pollock, pick 3, and pick 61.

Pigs and Snakes trade

The Sidewinders traded Michael Bourn to the Warpigs for pick 160.

Two Nad Deals

The Nads traded pick 6 to the Tweeners for Chris Tillman and the 2015 Tweener 1st round pick.

Then the Nads traded pick 38 and both of their reserves to the Inmates for Alex Rios.

FFTs and Buckeyes trade

The FFTs traded Michael Young and Ronald Belisario to the Buckeyes for pick 141 and a player to be named later.

Zaps and FFTs trade

The Zaps traded Aaron Hill and a reserve pick to the FFTs for Francisco Liriano.

Pigs and Nads trade

The Warpigs send Nick Punto, J.J. Putz, and Darren Oliver to the Nads for Cody Ross.

FFTs and Warpigs trade

The FFTs traded Alejandro De Aza to the Warpigs for pick 144.

Congratulations to the newest HOF Members!

Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Frank Thomas

2012 DVs vs 2013 Warpigs

The best of 7 series concluded last night with 2 games at The BallPork. The results were most unsavory and quite unrealistic.


Game 6 @ The BallPork - DVs win 16-10

Cliff Lee proves once again that he was only active for the playoffs so he could face the Buckeyes. And this time, the rest of the bullpen joined in on the DV batting practice. SIX different DVs homered in the game off of 5 different Pig pitchers.

The Warpigs did momentarily climb back into the game by hitting 4 home runs of their own and getting as close as 13-10 with the tying run at the plate, but it was not to be.


Game 7 @ The BallPork - DVs win 6-3

How anybody ever stayed with these guys is beyond me. They hit 5 more homers in this game (and again, by 5 different hitters), including 3 off of Fernando Rodney, who has no homers on his card.

The game was 3-3 in the 8th when Kinsler and Stanton went back to back. Daniel Bard finished it off for the victorious DVs.

In the final two games, there were 17 home runs hit by the two teams - the same amount they combined for in the first 5 games of the series.

Said DV manager PeeWee Herman, "This Warpig team was obviously not good enough to hang with us, but they could easily beat those Zap teams, or, well, ANYBODY else really. Just not us."

DVs and Sidewinders trade

The DVs traded Mark Trumbo to the Sidewinders for Justin Morneau and Seth Smith.

2012 DVs vs 2013 Warpigs (cont)

The series continued tonight. After splitting games 1 and 2 at the BallPork earlier in the week, the series moved to DV Park for games 3, 4, and 5.


Game 3 @ DV Park - DVs win 11-7

Warpig starter Cliff Lee got walloped early, giving up a 5 spot in the 1st and 3 more in the 3rd on homers by Allen Craig and Matt Holliday. Four Warpig homers kept it from being a complete runaway, but a 7th inning Curtis Granderson homer added to the DV lead. Mat Latos wasn't at his best, but hung around long enough to get the win.

Holliday, Craig, and Ian Kinsler each had 3 hits for the DVs.


Game 4 @ DV Park - Warpigs win 4-1

Adam Wainwright out-pitched Jered Weaver in a rematch of Game 1.

The DVs struck first with a 2nd inning solo shot by Giancarlo Stanton. The much-maligned Brandon Crawford brought the Pigs back in the top of the 3rd. His double sent David Freese to 3rd. Freese scored on a wild pitch, and Austin Jackson gave the Pigs the lead with a sacrifice fly plating Crawford. Edwin Encarnacion added an insurance run in the 5th with his third homer in 4 games.

Fernando Rodney got the last 5 outs for the save.


Game 5 @ DV Park - Warpigs win 8-1

The Warpigs pounded Alexi Ogando with 8 runs in the first 4 innings. Yoenis Cespedes did most of the damage, hitting a 3-run homer in the 2nd and a 2-run triple in the 3rd.

Jordan Zimmermann kept the DV bats quiet, striking out 10 in 7.1 innings before getting help from the bullpen.


With the Warpigs up 3 games to 2, the series heads back to the BallPork. Stay tuned.

2014 Hall of Fame

Below are some of the names on the ballot this year. How many would get your vote? Please reply to this with the names of the players receiving your vote. The number beside each name is the number of times they have been on the ballot.

Moises Alou (1)
Jeff Bagwell (4)
Craig Biggio (2)
Barry Bonds (2)
Roger Clemens (2)
Tom Glavine (1)
Jeff Kent (1)
Greg Maddux (1)
Edgar Martinez (5)
Don Mattingly (14)
Fred McGriff (5)
Mark McGwire (8)
Jack Morris (15)
Mike Mussina (1)
Rafael Palmeiro (4)
Mike Piazza (2)
Tim Raines (7)
Kenny Rogers (1)
Curt Schilling (2)
Lee Smith (12)
Sammy Sosa (2)
Frank Thomas (1)
Alan Trammell (13)
Larry Walker (4)

2012 DVs vs 2013 Warpigs

The last two NASOMA champions are squaring off in a best of 7 series via NetPlay. Games 1 and 2 took place last night. Here are the results...


Game 1 @ The BallPork - Warpigs win 4-2

Allan Craig opened the scoring with a solo homer off of Adam Wainwright in the top of the 1st, but a bases loaded walk to Yadier Molina off of Jered Weaver in the bottom of the inning tied the score.

Jesus Montero homered in the 4th on a 3-2 roll to give the DVs a lead, but the Pigs responded in the 5th with a 2-run homer by Edwin Encarnacion. Fernando Rodney then came on to start the 6th and shut down the DVs for the next 3 innings. Yoenis Cespedes hit a solo shot off of Drew Storen in the 8th to make the lead 4-2.

Three Warpig relievers got an out apiece in the 9th. J.J. Putz got the last one to earn the save.


Game 2 @ The BallPork - DVs win 7-4 in 13 innings

Opposing starters Alexi Ogando and Jordan Zimmermann got off to rough starts. The DVs scored 4 in the top of the 1st, but the Warpigs responded with 3 in their half and another run in the 2nd to tie the game. Both starters settled down and there was no more scoring until the 13th, when Jesus Montero (on ANOTHER 3-2 roll!) and Henry Blanco went back to back off of Casey Janssen.

The Warpigs, in a rare occurrence, used all 25 available players. The non-SPs, Adam Wainwright and Cliff Lee, both appeared as pinch hitters in the game; and the Pigs finished the game with no players left on the bench or in the bullpen (and no DH).

The rest of the series will (hopefully) be played later this week.

Least Likely to be Traded

Some teams trade all the time, and some rarely make a deal. Some players bounce around from team to team, and others are locked in. And it doesn't help that some teams (like the Fungoes) almost never make a trade. And Nad players become untouchable once somebody asks about them.

*Our beloved commissioner has agreed to award a demerit credit to any team who manages to trade for anybody on this list in the next 3 months AND to the team who trades them. So you'd both start the year with a negative 1 demerit. Trade them to the Buckeyes or the Warpigs and get FIVE demerit credits!

Anyway, to while away the winter, here is a list of the least likely players to be traded in NASOMA:

20. Andrelton Simmons, Killer Bees - He can't hit a lick, and he was recently traded TO the Bees... but he's a Brave and quite possibly the best defensive SS since Ozzie Smith. Oh, and he's a Brave.

19. Adam Jones, Inmates - He wasn't ALWAYS an Inmate or he'd be rated higher.

18. Yadier Molina, Warpigs - The Pigs trade as much or more than anybody, but this guy is a Cardinal, he's the best player at his position, and he was the main reason the Pigs won in 2013.

17. Jose Fernandez, Warpigs - Young and talented, with a great card. You'd have to be a fool to trade this guy. Oh wait, how'd I get him in the first place??? :o)

16. Yasiel Puig, Drillers - Might have been higher before he started getting arrested for driving 110 mph. Super talented, but there is some risk here, too.

15. Buster Posey, Drillers - It's hard to imagine that there are 14 guys less likely to move than this guy.

14. Carlos Gonzalez, Inmates - He can hit. He can run. He can field. He's not going anywhere. Like Charles Manson, he'll die an Inmate.

13. Matt Holliday, DVs - Holliday has played for the Rockies and Cardinals, the DVs' two favorite teams. Half of the DVs' wardrobe is made up of Holliday jerseys. Much to the consternation of Matt Holliday, he'll always be a DV.

12. Joe Mauer, Sidewinders - The Snakeman recently took his Joe Mauer SOM card collection to his priest and had them blessed.

11. Troy Tulowitzki, Rhinos - Other shortstops have and will come along thru the Rhino system, but Tulo is still there and still in charge. The Rhinos have occasionally made blockbuster deals, but don't expect Tulo to ever be part of one.

10. Dustin Pedroia, Wahoos - The Chief recently confessed that he has a Pedroia poster on the ceiling above his bed. Too much information, in my opinion.

9. Elvis Andrus, Mavs - He's a Ranger, he's good, and he's a good guy. Short of the Rangers trading him, he'll stay a Mav.

8. Miguel Cabrera, Zaps - He's the second best player in baseball. His move back to 1b is the only thing keeping him from being ranked in the top 3.

7. Joey Votto, Rhinos - More valuable to the Rhino front office than anybody else on the team, and why not? He is an onbase machine.

6. Yu Darvish, Goofs - The Goofboy is a huge fan of Ranger players, and Darvish has become the face of the franchise.

5. Clayton Kershaw, Fungoes - Actually, every player on the Fungo roster could make up the top 20, but there are 4 guys ranked ahead of this Kershaw despite the fact that he's the best pitcher in baseball and is still only 25 years old.

4. Mariano Rivera, FFTs - This year's card will be his last, and the good doctor is nothing if not loyal. I wouldn't be surprised if he used a reserve to keep him in 2015.

3. Andrew McCutchen, Zaps - They just don't get any better than McCutchen. The Zapper once traded Josh Hamilton after his best season, but that won't happen with McCutchen.

2. Shin-Soo Choo, Goofs - A few weeks ago, it might have been possible to get Choo from the Goofs, but now that he's a Ranger, he's locked in.

1. Mike Trout, Fungoes - The best player in baseball plays for the manager who makes the fewest trades. That's why he's #1 on this list.

* - This is a lie.

Merry Christmas!

Buckeyes and FFTs trade

The Buckeyes traded Chris Capuano and pick 98 to the FFTs for Jeremy Guthrie and pick 80.

Trimming Rosters

I'm going to start cutting the dead weight off of our rosters. If you have any "for sure" cuts, send me an email. This is just for the guys you have no plans to keep, trade, or reserve. And you could always change your mind. Or at least up until the official cut down date (some time in March, I assume.)Thanks to the FFTs and Zaps for already sending me their lists.

I'll start by taking the names off the rosters page, but I guess I could delete them from the Winter Tracker as well.

Ratings Preview

You probably already know this, but SOM has released their range ratings preview for next year.

Here are the 1's:

C:  Wieters, Sal Perez, Russell Martin, Yadi
1B: Goldschmidt, Anthony Rizzo, Freeman, Adrian Gonzalez
2B: Galvis, Espinosa, Zobrist, Cano, Pedroia, Darwin Barney, Phillips
SS: JJ Hardy, Jose Iglesias, Alcides Escobar, Yunel Escobar, Elvis Andrus, Andrelton Simmons, Tulo, Hechavarria, Brendan Ryan, Gregorius
3B:  Machado, Longoria, Beltre, Arenado
LF:  Brandon Barnes, Trout, Starling Marte, Gerardo Parra, Sam Fuld, Gregor Blanco, Alex Gordon, Carlos Gonzalez
CF:   Brandon Barnes, McCutchen, Lorenzo Cain, Adam Jones, Ellsbury, Bourjos, Trout, Carlos Gomez, Denard Span
RF:  Victorino, Brandon Barnes, Josh Reddick, Parra, Heyward, Jay Bruce

Zaps and Buckeyes trade

The Zaps trade Jed Lowrie, Peter Bourjos, Wes Middlebrooks, Jonny Gomes, and Josh Johnson to the Buckeyes for Cole Hamels.     

Pigs and Buckeyes trade

The Warpigs traded Justin Ruggiano to the Buckeyes for Adam Dunn.

Winter State

With the weather keeping me inside for a few days, I thought I'd endeavor to place some sort of holistic ratings on the teams in NASOMA to get a handle on where we stand as we enter the 2014 season.

Please understand that the following rankings do not take into account any prospects for the future - it's just an idea of how good we'll be next year. I used the Winter Tracker, so if you own players who are NOT listed on there, they were not taken into consideration. And obviously there's nothing scientific about it. I simply rated all 16 teams in four categories: draft pick situation, hitters, starting rotation, and bullpen. So yes, pitching counts twice as much as hitting in this rather shoddy system, but there's some adage out there that supports that premise, I believe. I considered adding Intangibles as a 5th category, but that would have had to include such things as "The Buckeyes always win" and "The Rhinos always cave and draft for the future" and "The Drillers suck"... things like that. And it all seemed too obvious to mess with. Anyway, I assigned each group a score of 1-10, with this rubric:

10 - the best, hard to improve this area

7-8-9 - pretty dang good

6 - slightly above average

5 - average

4 - slightly below average

3-2-1 - in need of repair

There aren't too many surprises. There are four ratings of 10 - twice for rotations, once for lineup, and once for draft picks. There are two ratings of 1 - both for bullpen. The Fungoes are the obvious team to beat. The MFD will have quite the race, as will the AWD. The Tweener totals surprised me a little, but there's no denying that's a talented pitching staff. Even the BUD, winners of the last two Higdons, will have an interesting race for first, although the winner is due a #4 playoff seed and the 12th pick in next year's draft.

The keys will be the trades that happen between now and the draft, the draft itself, and then the watch to see which teams give up the ghost and take aim at 2015.

And here we go...

Warpigs
Draft: 4 - An early pick (#2) saves this from being even lower since they have no 2nd.
Lineup: 2 - Yadi and Prince. That's it. The cupboard is bare.
Rotation: 10 - Wainwright, JFernandez, Zimmermann, and Strasburg earn the first 10.
Bullpen: 1 - Only because the ratings don't go any lower.

Wahoos
Draft: 10 - And here's the second rating of 10. They have 6 of the first 19; 9 of the first 36.
Lineup: 4 - Pedroia is joined by new acquisitions VMart, Beltran, and Aoki. But not much else.
Rotation: 4 - Anibal is pretty good, but Verlander, Gee, and Buehrle will be very hittable.
Bullpen: 1 - Right now if you call the bullpen, no one will answer.

DVs
Draft: 5 - All their own picks. They pick 7th.
Lineup: 5 - Holliday, Craig, Stanton, ARam, Kinsler.
Rotation: 4 - Latos, Weaver, Lynn, Porcello... maybe 4.5
Bullpen: 4 - Clippard is good and Breslow helps.

FFTs
Draft: 4 - No 1st or 4th.
Lineup: 4 - HanRam, Napoli, and Pence, but a lot of holes.
Rotation: 5 - Kuroda, Samardzija, Liriano, Masterson, Leake
Bullpen: 3 - The last Mariano card(?), but it's pretty good.

Rhinos
Draft: 2 - One pick in the first 90, and it's #59. Hard to help your team like that.
Lineup: 8 - Maybe the 2nd best in the league going in: Votto, Cano, Tulo, Gomez, Myers...
Rotation: 3 - Hudson, Garza, CC. If not for Gerritt Cole, this is probably a 2.
Bullpen: 4 - Jansen and O'Day are stout, but nothing else.

Fungoes
Draft: 5 - Their own picks, and they pick 9th.
Lineup: 7 - Trout is awesome, but plenty of help coming from Carpenter, Hosmer, and Zimmerman.
Rotation: 10 - Another perfect 10. Kershaw, Price, Harvey, Medlen, and even D.Holland.
Bullpen: 7 - Papelbon, Perkins, Cishek, and Robertson allow the league's best drafter to draft bats.

Inmates
Draft: 5 - No first, but extra 3rd and 4th. They pick late in each round.
Lineup: 6 - Beltre, CarGo, AJones, Marte, Segura. Above average offense, but not great.
Rotation: 5 - Parker, Chacin, Straily, Stults. Injuries keeps this from being better.
Bullpen: 4 - Street, Grilli, D.Hernandez. Like everybody, will need to get better in the draft.

Nads
Draft: 5 - His own picks, starting at #6.
Lineup: 2 - AGonzalez... and then... okay, when Ben Revere is your 2nd best hitter, that ain't good.
Rotation: 4 - CJ, Fister, and Miley is the start of a decent nucleus.
Bullpen: 4 - Not great relievers, but a lot of them: Thayer, Albers, Balfour, LeCure, Blevins.

Drillers
Draft: 6 - Their own picks, but it starts at #1.
Lineup: 7 - Ellsbury, Longo, Posey, Puig, Bruce, Yelich. Even better when they add Donaldson.
Rotation: 5 - Shields, Minor, Corbin, Cobb. I rated this as average, but it might be better than that.
Bullpen: 4 - Nathan, Mujica, and Gregerson. Not a bad start.

Zaps
Draft: 5 - All their own picks, starting at #10.
Lineup: 10 - Holy cow. The AL MVP. The NL MVP. The NL MVP Runner Up. And there's lots more.
Rotation: 4 - Scherzer will dominate, and Greinke is fine; but there isn't much else.
Bullpen: 3 - Ziegler and Parnell will need some help.

Buckeyes
Draft: 4 - No 1st or 2nd, but an extra 3rd. And all the best cards are always still there when he picks.
Lineup: 3 - Ortiz and Cuddyer and probably a bunch of guys named Greg Pirkl.
Rotation: 4 - Hamels and Dickey. Miggy Gonzo too.
Bullpen: 5 - Uehara, and Alias Smith and Johnson.

Mavs
Draft: 5 - An extra 2nd, but thanks to his 100 wins last year, his picks are all pretty late.
Lineup: 7 - Chris Davis leads a salty group: Harper, the good Upton, Country Breakfast, Lucroy.
Rotation: 5 - Cain, Bailey, Buchholz, Gallardo. If Buchholz hadn't been hurt, this rating is higher.
Bullpen: 4 - Doolittle, GHolland, RRoss.

Sidewinders
Draft: 5 - No 1st but an extra 2nd.
Lineup: 5 - Mauer, Kipnis, Belt, Wright. A good nucleus. Depth needed.
Rotation: 6 - Sale, Lester, Moore, Peavy, Cueto. The Cueto injury hurt.
Bullpen: 6 - Kimbrel and Chapman. Best 1-2 punch in the league. That's all there is for now.

Killer Bees
Draft: 6 - No 3rd, but he has an extra 5th and his first pick is early (#4).
Lineup: 6 - Freeman, Encarnacion, Werth, CSantana. Pretty solid.
Rotation: 6 - CLee, Teheran, ESantana, Ubaldo, Lincecum.
Bullpen: 4 - Janssen, RSoriano, Peralta, Stammen. Not a great group, but a good start.

Tweeners
Draft: 6 - An extra 1st. He picks #5 and #13.
Lineup: 4 - Victorino, Zobrist, Sandoval, Rosario. Losing VMart hurt some.
Rotation: 8 - Deep and good: Iwakuma, Tillman, King Felix, MadBum, Shelby Miller, Gio.
Bullpen: 6 - Smyly, Avilan, Romo.

Goofs
Draft: 5 - His own picks, starting at #12.
Lineup: 4 - Ahh... Choo.
Rotation: 5 - Darvish, Griffin, Lohse
Bullpen: 3 - Benoit and Walden.

Totals by Division:

BUD
19 Wahoos
18 DVs
17 Warpigs
16 FFTs

HWD
29 Fungoes
20 Inmates
17 Rhinos
15 Nads

MFD
22 Drillers
22 Zaps
21 Mavs
16 Buckeyes

AWD
24 Tweeners
22 Sidewinders
22 Killer Bees
17 Goofs

Team Stats and League Leaders

Scroll down on the NASOMA home page to see a list of some of the league leaders in various categories. There are also links to take you to the team stats for both pitching and hitting.

Some highlights... The Zaps' Andrew McCutchen won the batting title, hitting .332 to finish just ahead of the unlikely runner up, Erick Aybar of the Nads. Josh Hamilton of the Goofs led the league in both home runs and RBI. Hamilton also led in slugging percentage. The Rhinos' Joey Votto won the onbase category, but numbers 2 and 3 were, again, Nads (Miguel Montero and Josh Willingham). Surprisingly, no players reached the 100-walk mark this year. Juan Pierre of the Drillers led in stolen bases with 53, and Adam Jones of the Inmates led with 60 doubles.

In pitching, Adam Wainwright of the Warpigs went 22-3. Kyle Lohse (20-7) of the Goofs was the only other 20-game winner. The ERA champion was Clayton Kershaw of the Fungoes (2.74). Kershaw (248) also led the league in strikeouts. The Pigs' Fernando Rodney led in saves with 45.

In the team categories, the Warpigs had the top batting average, onbase percentage, and slugging average. The Pigs also scored the most runs. The Zaps had the most home runs, and the Fungoes stole the most bases. The Goofs made the fewest errors in the league, and the Fungoes made the most.

The Mavs allowed the fewest runs and had the lowest ERA. The Fungoes had the most strikeouts, and the Goofs led the way in shutouts with 21. The Bees, for a record 15 years in a row, did not have an error by a pitcher. Now that's good coaching.

Soon you will be getting an All Star ballot from the DVs. Please take the time to vote.

Updates

The Mavs have a new home address (the Midlothian Mavs?) and the Killer Bees have a new email address. Both have been updated on the address page.

Wahoos make 2 more trades

The Wahoos trade Jeff Samardzija and pick 83 to the FFTs for Craig Gentry, Garrett Jones, and pick 114.

The Wahoos trade Nolan Arenado and Chris Carter to the Tweeners for Victor Martinez and Nori Aoki.

Inmates and Wahoos trade

The Wahoos traded Dan Straily and pick 51 to the Inmates for pick 15.

Trade

The FFTs trade Nick Punto and pick 50 to the Warpigs for David Freese and pick 80.

2014 Draft Order

I'll put up a Draft Grid next week, but here's the draft order based on records and playoff results:

1. Drillers
2. FFTs
3. Wahoos
4. Killer Bees
5. Tweeners
6. Nads
7. DVs
8. Sidewinders
9. Fungoes
10. Zaps
11. Rhinos
12. Goofs
13. Buckeyes
14. Mavs
15. Inmates
16. Warpigs

Game 6

It may not have been as close as the earlier games, but the 16-6 final game of the 2013 World Series was a classic. The Pigs were rolling their 12th game of the day, but the Inmates were rolling their 18th! We were both tired, and after a 7-run 2nd inning by the Pigs, the game began to unravel a little. Here are some of the more memorable game 6 events:

In the 6th inning, the Inmates rolled a ss-x groundout followed by a gbA groundout, only to have me realize that I did NOT have my 1e12 in the game at ss, but instead still had the 1e24 in there, so the ss-x groundout should have been an error, but the following gbA made it a double play anyway.

Still in the 6th inning, the Inmates pinch hit Starling Marte for Danny Espinosa - forcing me to pull Darren Oliver for Fernando Rodney. I really wanted to leave Oliver in because Adrian Beltre was on deck. So... Rodney gets Marte out to end the inning, and then all hell breaks loose. The HEAD INMATE suddenly realizes that he COULDN'T hit for Espinosa because he was his last option at 2b. AND, it turns out, Marte had STARTED THE GAME! lol. So Espinosa has to hit for
himself, which means, of course, there was no need to pull Oliver. So back comes Espinosa. Back comes Oliver. The 3rd out is made (again), and Beltre leads off the next inning against... Oliver.

But the chaos didn't end there. After Oliver got Beltre out to start the next inning, Casey Janssen (not Rodney, who is somehow still available in the pen) comes in and immediately gives up a homer, but he then gets the next 3 batters in order, until The HEAD INMATE realizes, hey, there was already one out when he came in, so that last out shouldn't have batted.

It was quite a day at the Pigsty. Congratulations to all the teams for making the playoffs, and especially to the Inmates for getting to the World Series. Except for surrendering a 5-run 1st inning in game 1 and a 7-run 2nd inning in game 6, the Inmates would have won the Higdon.

Darren Oliver was the World Series MVP, going 2-0 in 10 innings of relief, allowing only 4 hits and 1 run and striking out 10. Edwin Encarnacion was 1-for-20 with no RBIs in the first 5 games of the Series, and then hit 3 homers and 2 doubles in game 6, knocking in 8.

NASOMA Playoffs 2013

...are underway.

First Round:

Rhinos vs Inmates

Gm1 - Beckett at Beachy - Inmates win 4-2
Gm2 - Jackson at Anderson - Rhinos win 7-6 in 10 innings. The Inmates missed a 1-17 homer to lead off the bottom of the 10th. The result, though, was a triple. Alas, he was stranded at third.
Gm3 - Parker at Hudson - Inmates win 4-0.
Gm4 - Billingsley at Garza - Rhinos win 6-3.
Gm5 - Beachy at Beckett - Inmates win 6-2.
Gm6 - Sabathia at Anderson - Inmates win 8-3.
INMATES win the series 4 games to 2.


Buckeyes vs Goofs

Gm1 - Karstens at Lohse - Buckeyes win 5-1
Gm2 - Hamels at Darvish - Buckeyes win 4-3
Gm3 - Lewis at Capuano - Goofs win 5-4 in 11 innings. "He's been deflowered."-HEAD INMATE
Gm4 - Villanueva at Harrell - Buckeyes win 5-2.
Gm5 - Lohse at Karstens - Buckeyes win 4-2.
BUCKEYES win the series 4 games to 1.


Second Round:

Inmates vs Mavs

Gm1 - Parker at Cain - Mavs win 4-2.
Gm2 - Beachy at Vogelsong - Mavs win 4-2.
Gm3 - Gallardo at Anderson - Inmates win 5-3
Gm4 - Cain at Stults - Inmates win 9-3
Gm5 - Vogelsong at Parker - Inmates win 6-4.
Gm6 - Beachy at Gallardo - Inmates win 7-2.
INMATES win the series 4 games to 2.

Buckeyes vs Warpigs

Gm1 - Hamels at Wainwright - Buckeyes win 8-4
Gm2 - Karstens at Zimmermann - Buckeyes win 6-4 in 11 innings.
Gm3 - Lee at Capuano - Warpigs win 4-2 in 15 innings.
Gm4 - Wainwright at Hamels - Warpigs win 5-3.
Gm5 - Zimmermann at Karstens - Warpigs win 12-1.
Gm6 - Capuano at Lee - Warpigs win 5-2.
WARPIGS win the series 4 games to 2.

World Series:

Inmates vs Warpigs

Gm1 - Parker at Wainwright - Warpigs win 5-4.
Gm2 - Beachy at Zimmermann - Warpigs win 5-4.
Gm3 - Lee at Billingsley - Warpigs win 4-2.
Gm4 - Wainwright at Stults - Inmates win 2-1 in 11 innings.
Gm5 - Zimmermann at Parker - Inmates win 6-0
Gm6 - Billingsley at Lee - Warpigs win 16-6. Edwin Encarnacion goes 5-5 with 2 doubles and 3 home runs, driving in 8.
WARPIGS win the series 4 games to 2.

Sidewinders and Mavs trade

The Sidewinders send their 5th round pick to the Mavs for Devin Mesoraco.

Tweeners and Sidewinders trade

The Tweeners traded Yasmani Grandal to the Sidewinders for Ryan Howard.