Christmas Day Write Up!

Troy, NY:  So I attended my first Arizona First Pitch with a couple of friends back in November.  After meeting a number of great writers for Baseball HQ and other cool people, watching some great Arizona Fall League baseball games and generally enjoying the heck out of myself, even meet and able to hang out with Scoresheet Baseball creator and all around good guy, Jeff Barton; I came to realize something I subconsciously already knew in the first place.  A good amount of the fantasy baseball analysis does not correlate well to my two favorite fantasy baseball games, Strat-o-matic and Scoresheet baseball.

  Why is that?  That's much more of a difficult question.  I have always been more of a fan of a simulation type fantasy game which Strat and scoresheet excel at, while a large majority or the other types of leagues count stats.  As a fantasy football player, I do understand the draw of watching your players build their values on a day to day basis instead of a weekly basis, but it just doesn't do it for me for baseball.  The biggest thing to me is that any player ranking list that does not include Clayton Kershaw in the top 5 overall players (and some where he would not even be drafted in the first round of a league), does not only not make sense, it just doesn't seem realistic.

  But enough about the "other" types of fantasy baseball, why do I like strat and scoresheet?  Strat-o-matic baseball is an amazing game that I learned as child rolling dice and looking up results on some cards, and it wasn't until I was a teenager when I began to realize the mathematical way that someone could analyze the cards (or results) and figure out the best players to pick and use.  Then, as I was introduced to scoresheet baseball, I realized the fun in trying to predict how the players were going to do and try to pick and use those players that would give the best result.  That, the prediction process I mean, in itself is so much fun to try to figure out and completely maddening at the same time.  Continuing Strat leagues have this great value, but drop off because once the season is complete you are then able to calculate each possible result mathematically.  Is that worse than trying to predict how each of your players are going to to on a week to week or yearly basis?  No, it's just different. 

   I could go on, but I'm starting to ramble and get away from what I wanted to do with this post.  I don't know how much anyone in the league reads books like Baseball Forecaster, Baseball Prospectus or my personal favorite John Sickels Baseball Prospect Book; but I thought it would be fun to try my hand at writing up a few players.  So here you go; some write ups and predictions of a few players on my team:

Madison Bumgarner:  A former top prospect with already 3 and a half years under his belt who over the past three years has seen his H/9 go from 8.9, 7.9 then 6.5.  At 23, primed for a big breakout in 2014, or something in between 2012 and 2013.  Either way that's pretty good. Expectation: 18 wins, 2.80 ERA, 1.000 WHIP

B.J. Upton: The most over-rated player in the history of baseball, and has been on a steady decline since his one great season in 2007.  Has good speed but it doesn't do any good when you do not get on-base.  At what point do teams finally just give up an move on from this guy?  The Haymakers picked him up cheap looking for some future value...I expect them to be disappointed.  Expectation:  .235-20 homers-30 stolen bases, with an under .300 on-base average.

The Future of the Haymakers?

Troy, NY:  Making it to the championship series two of the last three years and not winning has left a dark cloud over the small city of Troy.  The Haymakers came to town in 2007 and have been fairly irrelevant in the NASBL until 2010.  A flurry of trades brought some big names and some major excitement to the area.  The past three seasons, the Haymakers have won at least 90 games thanks to a number of dominating performances.  But does it matter if you do not win it all?  Probably not.  No one remembers or cares about the teams that don't make the finish.  Heck this reporter can not even remember the other NASBL World Series losers of past seasons not from Troy.
   So can the fans cry "Wait 'til next year!"?....well, actually no.  With down years from key players and no picks in the first five rounds of the upcoming draft; the fans will have to look elsewhere to see a contending team.  Burlington (or the Lake Champlain area) is about a 3 hour drive to the north where you can see the Cannibals and Fighting Sioux while the Chin Music play about three hours to the south.  It's about time to gas up and go.

   The fans that actually decide to stick around to watch the games played in Troy next season will have the benefit of watching Edwin Encarnacion in a lineup of part-timers and wash-ups.  Recent trades have not helped this.  The acquisition of B.J. Upton, a player that Troy management has never liked in the first place, is going to make the team hard to watch.  The reason for picking up Upton?  "We got him for nothing, and there is no way he can be this bad going forward."  That sounds eerily similar to what was said when the Haymakers picked up Andrew Jones years ago.  Just what did Andrew Jones do for the Haymakers in 2008?  Only hit .182 with a .626 OPS.  Lets not forget he was part of one of the major trade blunders for Troy. He was out of the league for two straight years after that and his career, save for two seasons as a bat off the bench, was pretty much over.
  The small bright spot on the team are the two starters, Madison Bumgarner and recent pickup Kris Medlen and closer Greg Holland.  Team management has been a fan of Holland for a while now, and he's primed to take over the closer role next season.  Bumgarner and Medlen will be a decent one/two punch at the top of the rotation, but the rest rotation is looking like a barren wasteland of has-beens and never-was'.

  Mudville has nothing on the Troy Haymakers.

2014 NASBL Base Draft Order

With the close of the 2013 NASBL World Series, the last piece of the 2014 base draft order puzzle is in place.

The 2014 base draft order (all rounds except rounds 3 and 4, which are governed by FA Money) is as follows:

1.  SBU
2.  ILL
3.  SPL
4.  GRK
5.  PCM
6.  CCC
7.  VFS
8.  OJW
9.  SHA
10. LCC
11. DFW
12. SPR
13. GCG
14. ENP
15. TRY
16. LVI

There were situations where teams were tied in terms of base winning percentage.  The tie-breakers were as follows:

-DFW gets pick #11 over SPR due to less overusage points.
-VFS gets pick #7 over OJW due to winning a coin-toss tie-breaker.

Trades lead Spurs in 2013

At the start of the 2013 no one would have thought the Spurs would be a playoff team.  After BK-1 they were playing .500 baseball.  We were making plans on who would we try and trade and get ahead start on 2014.  Thanks to a 19-8 BK-2 home record the Spurs found themselves in the play off hunt.  Before the start of BK-3 the Spurs made a couple of trades that turned out to be one of the most successful trades the Spurs have ever made.  Looking for relief help and another Closer to replace the struggling Rafael Betancourt who had a record of 1-4, with 14 saves with an era over 4 and had given up 7 home runs in 30 inning.   In a deal that brought Wilton Lopez over from PCM, Lopez went 2-2 with 14 saves & a 1.77 era.  Then in a deal that brought 3 new faces from VFS Garrent Jones in 38 games batted .312ba 7-2b 7-hr 28-rbi.  Willie Bloomquist batted .333ba in 49 games and Joe Smith went 3-1 with 2saves & a 1.98 era.  

"We couldn't have asked more of the players we picked up in trades in 2013" stated the skipper of DFW Red Robbins.  "There is no doubt if we didn't make those moves we wouldn't have made the play  offs.  We are hoping we can sign Joe Smith and Willie Bloomquist to deals before the start of 2014"!

Outlaw Career Stolen Base Leaders

Twenty-three years of Outlaw All-Time stolen base leaders, from 1991 to 2013 including the predecessor NASBL Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres:

1. 613, Kenny Lofton, 1993 - 2001
2. 395, Omar Vizquel, 1996-2011
3. 149, Elvis Andrus, 2010-2013
4. 115, Willy Taveras, 2006-2008
5. 111, Alfonso Soriano, 2004-2008

Elvis has a loooong way to go to get to the top.

REMATCH!! or Iron Pigs and Haymakers part deux

Troy, NY:  It was back in early January 2011 when the Haymakers made their big splash and added their impact bat.  Let by Hamilton's .366 batting average and 118 RBI's, Troy made their first appearance in the NASBL World Series.  Facing juggernaut Iron Pigs, lead by "King" Albert Pujols who blasted 48 homers and drove in 125 and three starters who won at least 15 games each, the Haymakers could only muster 2 wins and vowed to return to glory.
    In 2011 Hamilton had some help in Jose Bautista and Corey Hart, who both hit over 35 homers and drove in over 100 runs each.  Other players such as Billy Butler (.323 - 13 - 71) and David Murphy (.325 - 11 - 51) were great peices of the puzzle while Brett Gardner lead off for Troy, scoring over 100 runs and stealing 55 bases.  Now two years later and still lead by Josh Hamilton, the Haymakers are looking to return to glory and finally take the coveted NASBL crown.  What is different about these 2013 Haymakers?  Hamilton did not hit .366 this season, but 100 points less.  He did hit 49 homeruns and drive in 129. Hamilton's help is not as good this season, but arguably a little deeper.  Edwin Encarnacion did nicely (.243 - 38 - 93) and Alan Craig (.297 - 22 - 72) supported Hamilton's power while part timers Corey Hart (.351 - 10 - 38) and Casper Wells (.290 - 10 - 28) got a number of timely hits to help pick up some wins.  Dexter Fowler has taken over the leadoff slot with a .376 on-base average.
  But the biggest difference between the two seasons has been the mid-year pickups.  In 2011, Troy picked up Francisco Liriano (14-3 2.35 ERA), but that was really it.  In 2013 the Haymakers picked up ace Kris Medlen (6-0, 1.09 ERA), but also got relief pitcher Sean Marshall (3-0, 0.90 ERA), starter John Niese (7-3, 4.08 ERA).  Troy also improved in the field and lineup getting Chase Headley (.251 - 9 - 28) and Aaron Hill (.301 - 7 - 31).  Both were major improvements over what was considered to be fan favorites at their positions.
 Now Troy is back to battle the Pujols (.287 - 38 - 123) led Iron Pigs, but this time Billy Butler (.320 - 25-110) and Robinson Cano (.321-31-82) will be assisting Albert and the league best ERA to mash down the Haymakers It should be an epic battle.

Looking for a wild card?  It might just be Josh Johnson, who will be at his third straight NASBL championship.  In 2011 Josh Johnson went 19-5 for the NASBL champs; while in 2012 Johnson was hurt for most of the season he was strong in the playoffs for champion Slatington.  In 2013 Johnson did not have the same success (11-14 5.26 ERA), but will he be making an appearance in the 2013 World Series?  We'll have to wait and see.

Strat Twitter preview: Part Tre

#10.) TORONTO: Jose Reyes gets a 3 at SS in his first season for the Jays

#9.) TAMPA BAY: Rookie of the Year Wil Myers receives a 4B3 in CF and a 3B2 in RF

#8) DETROIT: Three different position ratings for José Iglesias. SS: 1, 3B: 2 and 2B: 3

#7) LOS ANGELES (AL): AL MVP runner-up Mike Trout earns a 1 fielding rating in CF and LF

#6) MILWAUKEE: Jean Segura receives a 2 fielding rating for his play at SS.

#5) LOS ANGELES (NL): Rookie phenom Yasiel Puig gets a rating at all three OF LF: 3, CF: 4B3, RF: 2

#4) OAKLAND: Josh Donaldson gets a 2 at 3B and a 4 at 1B/SS (1 inn. played at each)

#3.) CLEVELAND: Jason Kipnis gets a 2 fielding rating at 2B

#2.) ST. LOUIS: All-Star Matt Carpenter is rated at four positions... a 3 at 2B/3B, 4 at 1B, 5 in RF

#1.) CINCINNATI: The most requested player was Shin-Soo Choo. Choo gets a 4B3 fielding rating in CF and a 3 in LF

For our draft: Scooter Gennett(3) , José Iglesias(1/2), Jean Segura(2), Yasiel Puig(2),  Josh Donaldson (2) and Wil Myers(3) stock goes up!!!

Jedd Gyorko(4/4) drops a bit...

Strat Twitter Preview...Part Doux

(NOTE: All comments supplied by Strat-o-matic)

BALTIMORE: 2013 HR Champion Chris "Crush" Davis jumps from a 4 to a 2 fielding rating at 1B

BOSTON: Rookie phenom Xander Bogaerts will receive a card and has a 4 rating at 3B and SS

CHICAGO (AL): Alejandro De Aza gets a 3 in LF and a 4 in CF

CLEVELAND: The ultra energetic Nick Swisher gets a 2 rating at 1B and a 3 in RF

DETROIT: Austin Jackson receives a 2 rating for his play in CF.

HOUSTON: Catcher Jason Castro receives a 3 rating (0 arm) for his play behind the dish for the 'Stros

KANSAS CITY: Mike Moustakas falls from a 1 to a 2 at 3B

LOS ANGELES (AL): Erick Aybar keeps his 2 rating at SS

MINNESOTA: Brian Dozier gets a 2 in his first season at 2B (he received a 4 at SS last year)

NEW YORK (AL): Hot Free Agent Curtis Granderson receives a 3B2 rating in LF/CF (+1 arm) and a 3 in RF

OAKLAND: Coco Crisp holds his 2 rating in CF from last season.

SEATTLE: Lots of fielding ratings for the versatile Dustin Ackley! First Base: 3, Second Base: 2 and LF/CF: 4B3

TAMPA BAY: Evan Longoria is back to a 1 rating at 3B after falling to a 2 the previous year.

TEXAS: Alex Rios nets a 2 fielding rating in RF (-2 arm)

TORONTO: Jose Bautista aka "Joey Bats" receives the following Strat-O-Matic ratings: RF- 3B2, 1B/3B- 4

ARIZONA: Didi Gregorius earns a 1B2 at SS in his first season with the D-Backs

ATLANTA: Two for the price of one! Justin Upton gets a 3 in LF/RF while B.J. Upton is a 2 in CF

CHICAGO (NL): Catcher Welington Castillo receives a defensive rating of 3 (-1 arm)

CINCINNATI: Brandon Phillips takes home his sixth 1 rating at 2B in the last seven years!

BONUS RATING: Billy Hamilton's Steal Rating = AA *2-12 (20-16). He will be carded as an Additional Player.

COLORADO: Sure-handed/Gold Glover Carlos Gonzalez earns a 1 rating in LF.

LOS ANGELES (NL): Hanley Ramirez improves from a 4 to a 3 at SS for the NL West Champs

MIAMI: Giancarlo Stanton stays a 3 in RF (-2 arm)

MILWAUKEE: CF Carlos Gomez receives his fourth 1 fielding rating in the last five years! (-3 arm)

NEW YORK (NL): Daniel Murphy gets a 4 fielding rating at both 2B and 1B in 2013

PHILADELPHIA: Jimmy Rollins drops from a 1 to a 2 at SS

PITTSBURGH: Yes, Russell Martin is rated at three different positions. C: 1 (-3 arm), 3B: 4 & RF: 4

ST. LOUIS: Carlos Beltran remains a 4 in RF (-1 arm) for the Cards

SAN DIEGO: Chase Headley is a 2 at 3B

SAN FRANCISCO: Pablo Sandoval aka Kung Fu Panda holds a 3 rating at 3B

WASHINGTON: Bryce Harper scores a 3B2 rating in LF/RF and a 3 in CF. -5 arm... can you say CANNON?!

Strat Twitter Range Ratings preview(for those that haven't joined the 21st century and don't have a Twitter account-more tomorrow)...

BALTIMORE: Manny Machado earns a 1 for his stellar play at 3B

BOSTON: World Champion Mike Napoli gets a 3 at 1B

CHICAGO (AL): Dayan Viciedo is a 5B4 in LF

CLEVELAND: Michael Bourn falls to a 2 in CF for the first time since 2008

DETROIT: Torii Hunter drops to a 3 in RF, his first rating below a 2 at any position since 1998

HOUSTON: José Altuve remains a 3 at 2B

KANSAS CITY: Slick-fielding Alcides Escobar gets a 1 at SS.

LOS ANGELES (AL): Albert Pujols drops all the way from a 2 to a 4 at 1B.

MINNESOTA: Joe Mauer has a rating for two positions... Catcher: 3B2 (-3 arm) and First Base: 4

NEW YORK (AL): "The Captain" Derek Jeter receives a 4 at SS, the first 4 of his career since his debut in 1995

OAKLAND: 2013 HR Derby Champion Yoenis Cespedes is a 2 in LF and a 3 in CF.

SEATTLE: Kyle Seager improves to a 2 at 3B for the M's

TAMPA BAY: Yunel Escobar earns a 1 at SS for the first time in his career

TEXAS: The recently traded Ian Kinsler gets bumped up from a 3 to a 2 at 2B

TORONTO: Melky Cabrera with a 5B4 rating in LF

ARIZONA: Adam Eaton's outfield ratings... LF: 2B3, CF: 3, RF: 3

ATLANTA: Andrelton Simmons... you guessed it. He receives a 1 at SS.

CHICAGO (NL): Starlin Castro is a 3 at SS for the fourth consecutive year.

CINCINNATI: Todd Frazier gets a 2 at 3B and a 3 in LF

COLORADO: Michael Cuddyer is a 3 at 1B and a 4B3 in RF.

LOS ANGELES (NL): Matt Kemp retains his 3 rating in CF

MIAMI: Logan Morrison, one of the more active Twitter users in baseball, gets a 4B3 for his play at 1B

MILWAUKEE: Scooter Gennett earns a 3 at 2B in his rookie season for the Brew Crew.

NEW YORK (NL): Juan Lagares receives a 2 in CF and a 3 in RF (-4 arm) for his first season in the bigs

PHILADELPHIA: Chase Utley notches a 2b3 for his play at 2B this season.

PITTSBURGH: Andrew McCutchen caps his MVP season by receiving a 1B2 rating in CF, his third straight 1!

ST. LOUIS: Jon Jay gets a 3B2 in CF for the defending NL Champs

SAN DIEGO: Rookie Jedd Gyorko posts a 4B3 defensive rating at Second Base and a 4 at Third Base

SAN FRANCISCO: Hunter Pence moves back up to a 2 fielding rating in RF after falling to a 3 last year.

WASHINGTON: Ian Desmond holds his 2 rating at SS for the third consecutive year

More Strat-O-Matic fielding ratings to come tomorrow!

2013 NASBL Postseason Awards Winners

The 2013 Post Season Awards voting is closed, and the winners are in!

2013 #1 overall draft pick and NASBL batting champ Mike Trout (.328/25/111) of the Ed Couch New Potatoes pulled off a double win, taking home both the Tastes Great MVP and TG Rookie of the Year Awards for fellow rookie Ed Killmer.  Besides the batting title, Trout led the NASBL in runs scored (103) and was 2nd in the Tastes Great in stolen bases with 32, a total trailing only that of all-time NASBL SB leader Juan Pierre (LVI) who once again led the league with 44.

Another rookie, Stephen Strasburg (16-4, 2.85, 251 K), took home the Tastes Great Cy Young award for Lehigh Valley.  The award was the 3rd such trophy for the Iron Pigs, with Strasburg's Cy joining those of Daisuke Matsuzaka (2008) and Clay Buchholz (2011) on owner Kevin Burns' mantle.  Strasburg was solid all around, finishing 2nd in ERA behind SPR's Clayton Richard (2.32), 2nd in strikeouts behind LCC's Clayton Kershaw (261), and 4th in wins.

The final Tastes Great award, the Fireman of the Year, was a clean sweep of the 1st place voting by 2012 FOY winner Craig Kimbrel (1-2, 0.68, 33 saves).  Besides the back-to-back awards by Kimbrel, Outlaw owner Mark Hildebrandt has also captained 2001 Keith Foulke to the TG Fireman's trophy.  Besides his microscopic ERA, Kimbrel posted a huge 15.2 K/9 ratio (89 strikeouts in 53 innings), and top-flight saves numbers (3rd in the Tastes Great behind CCC's Sergio Romo, who finished 2nd in the voting.)


In the Less Filling Conference, Miguel Cabrera (.301/36/116) brought Grundy County owner Jack Howard and his Grizzlies their first ever MVP Award.  Cabrera was solid all around, finishing 2nd in RBI behind TRY's Josh Hamilton, 2nd in doubles behind teammate Alex Gordon, 3rd in hits, and 4th in homeruns.

The Less Filling Cy Young was a surprise in several ways, as Shawnee Crow Justin Verlander (17-9, 3.27, 223 K) edged out Troy Haymaker worthy Scott Diamond (18-3, 2.82, 119 K) in the closest vote of the 2013 ballot.  The first surprise was to see the Less Filling leader in ERA, wins, and winning percentage fall by the wayside in the voting.  The second surprise was that this is the first NASBL Cy Young award in the career of Justin Verlander.  Perhaps the voters remembered that last year Verlander was beaten out for the LF Cy despite leading the conference in ERA, strikeouts, and shutouts (thanks to the winning ways of 26-victory 2012 Cy winner Matt Cain of SBU.)

The LF Rookie of the Year voting was far less controversial, as Jarrod Parker (15-10, 3.27) brought home the hardware for Vermont Fighting Sioux owner Justin Rabidoux.  The award was the 3rd ROY for the Sioux, with Parker joining 2009 Ubaldo Jimenez and Rabidoux's inaugural pick in his NASBL career 2002 Albert Pujols.

Finally, 2013 Less Filling Fireman of the Year Award winner Jim Johnson (6-4, 2.71, 45 saves) made the Shawnee Crows and Mike Johnson the only LF team to win two awards this offseason.  Johnson's 45 saves not only led the league in 2013, they were the 2nd highest single season total of all time in the NASBL (trailing only Michael "The Thriller" Jackson's 47 all the way back in 1999.)  This is the 2nd season in a row the LF FOY has gone to a Crow, with Johnson joining 2012 winner Ryan Madson.


Congratulations to all the winners!