California Dreamin' - The GUBA's California Crusaders

[CatKnight]

Tough break, Mike. From your descriptions and a quick look at Jackson via the link you provided last post, I thought you'd get past them easily.

Still, as you say, the Crusaders are definitely on the upswing. How many seasons do you think you have before you'll need to start retooling again?

[Afino]

Considering their division, indefinitely. Like a decade.

[mikev]

Like Afino said, I think we're set up for a pretty good little run. Financially we couldn't be in better shape -- we have a cash-on-hand max of $20M in the GUBA, and we're at the max. We have a $64M payroll and an $89M budget, and the only player we are losing to free agency is Roosevelt Stephenson.

Barring injury and/or talent lumps, I have to think I have at least 4-5 years of just making minor tweaks here and there with this team.

[mikev]

Voigt Is Golden (Again!)

History repeated itself.

Dominic Mother****ing Voigt is your 2028 MBBA Golden Arm winner, his second consecutive Golden Arm award.



Last year, he led the league in WHIP, K/(, Hits/9, Avg, OBP, SLG, and OPS against, ERA+, FIP, and Winning Percentage.

This year, he led the league in Wins (20), ERA (1.78), WHIP (0.95), Strikeouts (239), K/BB (4.78), Hits/9 (6.3), Avg (.195), OBP (.258), SLG (.271) and OPS (.529) against, VORP (67.6), and probably FIP (2.21) and ERA+ (225) as well but I'm not completely sure on those two without game access.

Voigt received all 32 first place votes on the ballot. I don't believe that he is the first unanimous selection, however he's the first one in a few seasons if I remember correctly. Interestingly enough, Broadway wasn't even a unanimous selection for the hitter of the year award, and he had perhaps one of the best seasons ever by a hitter. That said, the voting is always weird and there are always one or two people who want to 'make a statement' or don't look at enough data before voting. Nature of the beast, I suppose.

To say that we're excited would be the biggest understatement ever. We've got a 3rd year starter who just won his second consecutive Golden Arm award, and he also signed a 5 year extension. Voigt will be paid $8.7M for each of the next 5 seasons. Much has been said about the extension logic in the GUBA, and it's nice to finally benefit from it, as well as with Alfonso Gonzales. Having those two locked up, McEachin improving on his rookie year, GARICA staying home for a few more seasons, and both Plazewski and Torres nearly big league ready, well... I expect to have a solid, solid rotation for the foreseeable future.

As stated in A Feature written, Voigt is the face of the franchise. He and Matthams are going to be the future of this team.

Please don't get hurt and/or lump and/or die. Thanks.

[mikev]

Matthams, Konchellah Earn Hardware

The Crusaders had the top pitching staff in the MBBA in 2028. A good part of that was their 2nd best in the MBBA .287 BABIP. A good part of THAT was phenomenal defense pretty much all over the diamond.

Two members of that defense were awareded with the American Express Platinum Glove award in 2028: third baseman Archie Matthams and centerfielder Bereket Konchellah.

Matthams really needs no introduction. In his first full season as a pro - he appeared in 69 games in 2027, thus losing rookie eligibility for this season - Matthams hit .311/.395/.459, but more importantly put up a crazy +15.1 Zone Rating at third base. By some more advanced metrics, Matthams was the second most valuable player in the MBBA behind roidfreak Broadway Santos.

"It's nice, sure. I would rather have an MBBA Pennant, but we've still got some work to do." said Matthams. "All I can do is play, I'm not responsible for anybody else out there. We'll get it." Matthams was, of course, referring to the first round playoff exit the Crusaders made in the 2028 playoffs. We can only expect him to continue to work his ass off and improve.

Konchellah, 25, receieves his second consecutive Platinum Glove award. Though he hit a meager .256/.293/.350 (with 16/15/1/8/15 ratings? really?), good for a rather ugly .282 wOBA, Konchellah's +19.1 ZR in centerfield was good enough to make him a 1.6 WAR player. If he can hit more in line with his ratings, he's all star caliber. For now, we'll take it, because he makes the pitchers that much better. However, we expect him to combine with Ellsworth at the top of the order next year to wreak havoc on righties, and Martinez against lefties. Unlike those two, Konchellah has basically no platoon split. We'd like some growth in his eye rating, with a 7 talent he should be much more than an 8 overall. IF he develops that, you can squint your eyes and see a poor man's Jean-Paul Cote. Fingers crossed.

With Konchellah in CF and Weaver in left field, it's plausible that we have 2/3 of the Platinum Glove OF in 2029. Ellsworth is also a potential, but platooning might keep him from playing enough.

Either way, I /love/ the outfield defense next year. A lot.

[mikev]

Soto Joins Rotation

Going into the offseason, I didn't really figure to do much in free agency. We had the best rotation in the GUBA last year, the offense wasn't /that/ bad, albeit has a significant lack of HR power, and the bullpen is stacked.

Well, then this happened.

October 13, 2028
Franck Berthier: Control versus Righties Decreases from 11 to 10
Franck Berthier: Overall Control Decreases from 11 to 10
Franck Berthier: Control Talent Decreases from 6 to 5
Franck Berthier: Strikeouts versus Lefties Decreases from 10 to 9

December 01, 2028
Franck Berthier: Control versus Righties Decreases from 11 to 10
Franck Berthier: Contact versus Righties Increases from 3 to 4
Franck Berthier: Strikeouts versus Righties Decreases from 9 to 8

Well, ****. Berthier, who went 17-11 last year with a 3.25 ERA, 1.24 WHIP as our 5th starter is now a 5/6/5 talent with 10/11/10 ratings against RHP, and 9/11/10 against lefties. For some clubs that's just fine at the back of the rotation, but for us being built on pitching that's not going to cut it.

It's looking more and more like Plazewski and Torres are both going to need another season at Triple-A Oakland, so an internal candidate wasn't looking like it would happen.

Enter Juan Soto.

The 34 year old righty inked a 2 year deal with the Crusaders, paying him just over $4.2M per season.

Is it an overpay for a guy with a career ERA over nearly 5? Perhaps, yeah. We've got TONS of payroll room though, and no real significant money needing to be spent in the near future. With 15/11/12 ratings against righties, Soto should put up solid numbers pitching for California. Mostly a fastball/curveball guy, Soto features a slider, changeup, and splitfinger as well. As of now, he's going to be penciled in as the 5th starter for California.

So far there have been no rumors about the team making any attempt to add offense. Their .726 team OPS was 8th in the MBBA last year, but they still won 93 games in a weak MBBA Pacific. Adding a slugger would benefit the team in the postseason if they make it again, but the demands of most of the premier sluggers on the market are far more than the team is willing to spend.

[mikev]

Another Starter Nabbed With First Round Pick

"With the 23rd pick in the GUBA Amateur Draft, the California Crusaders select starting pitcher Callum Moir. The Bogota Toros are on the clock."



Callum More, RHP
21 years old
5'11, 170"
Born: Glasgow, Scotland
College Senior

The newest member of the Crusaders farm system is right Callum Moir, selected in the first round of the 2029 GUBA draft. Featuring 4 pitches - Cutter, Slider, Changeup, Forkball - and reaching the mid 90s with his stuff, resulting in Moir striking out 168 batters in only 123.2 innings in college last year.

He's still quite raw, and his command is not there yet (59 walks last season), and if there's one knock on Moir it's that he'll never have what would be considered above average control.

Some considered California's selection of yet another pitching prospect to be one of luxury and not need. This may well be true, the team has several young pitchers in the rotation now, plus Plazewski and Torres, a pair of 24 year olds in AAA Oakland. That said, Moir was the highest ranked player California had on their draft board at the pick, and adding depth at SP is never a bad thing.

Moir is likely going to be assigned to Single A Glendale to start his minor league career, joining fellow 21 year old (and unfortunate all-name team member) Richard Nothard.

The team's next pick is not until #67 overall, as a result of compensation for kicking Roosevelt Stephenson (**** him, he doesn't get a link) to the curb. Again, expect the team to go BPA with the pick as opposed to drafting from a position of need.

[mikev]

Off To A Fast Start...

The Crusaders have gotten off to a quick start in 2029, with a 14-4 record that is currently the highest win total in the GUBA.

Surprisingly, they are only 1/2 game ahead of Vancouver, themselves off to a scalding 13-4 start.

Guys off to hot starts? Let's take a quick look.

Dominic Mother****ing Voigt - 4 starts, 4 wins, 35 strikeouts/3 walks in 28.1 innings. His VORP is already 15.1

Ramon Baca - 1 win, 2 saves, 13 strikeouts/0 walks in 9.1 innings

Juan Bruno - 2 saves, 10 strikeouts/4 walks in 8.1 innings

Domingo Reyes - .352/.417/.815, 5 homers, 6 doubles, 12 RBI, 10 runs scored.

Bill Ellsworth - .420/.508/.520 vs RHP with a HR, a triple, and 14 runs scored.

Bereket Konchellah - .353/.414/.579, 5 doubles, a HR, 7 runs scored, 11 RBI.

Reyes was given the MBBA Player of the Week award after going 11-26 with 4 homers and 7 RBI during the last sim.

Speaking of the last sim, it was a nice early test to go up against both LA and Valencia -- we took 2 out of 3 from the Riot and then swept Valencia in a 4 game set -- sending them home with a 13-2 pounding in front of a crowd of 51,000. A nice message to send to our Pacific rival so early in the season.

Coming up next sim, it's a road trip against Louisville, Des Moines, and Austin before finishing with the first game of a series against Birmingham back home in California.

I'd like to see the middle infield get going, as rookie Wade Meadows and slugger Shihei Hayagawa are both off to slow starts.

[mikev]

2029 Draft Continued...

Real quick, we're gonna run down the next few picks in the draft for 2029:

SS Javier Calderon - Rd2, #67 overall

18 years old and drafted out of high school, the right handed projects to be a super utility type in the big leagues. With 6/7/1/4/8 talents, he's going to be an average hitter at best, however he's got the potential to be well above average at basically every defensive position. With the way people salivate over defense in the GUBA, he'll be a trade chip at the very least, and a good backup otherwise.

CF Halola Naikelekele - Rd3, #94 overall

I chatted with Goldie about this pick for a few minutes before making it. I was basically down to taking him or yet another pitcher. We both agreed, though, when you hvae a chance to draft a guy named Naikelekele, you do it. To boot, I got a 7 contact/7 avoid Ks guy in the 3rd round. That's, again, sort of an easy choice to make. 13 position players were drafted in the 3rd after my pick, and 8 were selected before. You know how many other guys in round 3 had a 7 contact and 7 avoid ks? One, but he's going to end up as a DH and not a corner outfielder. I'll take that.

MR Gilbert Castano - Rd3, #100 overall

Remember when I said pick 94 was either Naikelekele or a pitcher? This is the pitcher. 7/6/5 talents, a 7 rated fastball, 9 rated circle change, and a nineteen stamina. If he lucks into a 3rd pitch, I've got a 3rd/4th starter type. If he doesn't, I've got one hell of a workhorse for the bullpen. He's certainly got some development left to do, with 7/9/2 ratings, but he's 17 years old. He'll have until he's 23 to make the big leagues. That's /plenty/ of time.

MR Ramon Escamille - Rd4, #135 overall

Autopick. Escamille is a junkballer who throws 5 pitches, none of them very good, and can't top 90. With 5/5/5 ratings, the likeliness he ever appears in the big leagues for California is very slim. If he does, that probably means he bumped like crazy or my team was ravaged by injuries and lumps, and I'm rebuilding again. At this time, this is a wasted pick.

MR Bruno Baecker - Rd4, #137 overall

Take everything I just sai dabout Escamille. Apply that to Baecker, except he only throws 3 pitches. He's got worse stuff and better control than Escamille though, grading out at 4/3/7 overall talents. Still, there's not much chance a guy like that makes the big leagues. What I don't get is how not one, but two 7/5/5 closers were taken after Baecker. On an auto pick, wouldn't the 1 star guy be taken before the 1/2 star guy? Eh, oh well.

So, basically, in addition to our first round pick discussed here, I think we have 3 other players drafted who could contribute at the big league level.

I'd say if you walk away from a draft with 4 guys who can play, that's a good thing.

[mikev]

Beating Up On The Rest Of The Pacific...

So, this was kind of an interesting sim. Yes, it's May, but it's always nice to play against division rivals to see how things are shaping up.

We had 3 against Valencia and 3 against division leading(!) Vancouver to start the sim.

Hi there, guys. We're the Crusaders.

@ Valencia:

2-0 W
5-6 L
3-2 W

v. Vancouver:

2-1 W
7-6 W
6-0 W

That's 5 out of 6 against our division rivals. Hell yeah we'll take that. I don't even care that we went out and laid an egg against Mexico City and got swept, the boys were busy partying it up and doing tequila shots to celebrate spanking the hell out of Valencia and Vancouver.

Voigt is a man. 7.1 IP, 1 hit, 9 K, 1BB against Valencia. 7.1 IP, 5 hits, 12 K, 0 BB against Vancouver. Man.

Ramon Baca? Also quite mannish. 5 games, 6.3 IP, 13 strikeouts, 2 walks and only 1 ER allowed.

Jon Lee had an interesting stat line. 0 official at bats, 4 walks, 2 runs scored, and a .000/1.000/.000 line. Moneyball!

The hitting last sim was actually kind of meh. Matthams was solid, and is rebounding nicely from his slow start. Velasco and Cintron did their thing (mash lefties), and Weaver did his -- 6 of his 8 hits were XBH -- but a few other guys had really, REALLY bad sims. Mostly looking at Domingo Reyes (.492 OPS) and Shihei Hayagawa (.395 OPS) not pulling their weight.'

But like I said, we're not worrying about that right now. We smoked the other contenders in the Pacific. Bring it.

[mikev]

In Search Of Offense...

At 41-30, the Crusaders are still in first in the Pacific, tied with Vancouver who just won't go away.

Pretty bad, we have the best pitching in the league by quite a bit, and our middle of the road offense isn't getting it done for us. A brief look at the guys who seem to be underperforming so far this season:

Archie Matthams and his 17/15/12/16/13 ratings are someone only good for a .712 OPS this year. Really? After .853 last season? Okay, that makes total sense.

Wilfred Weaver is apparently one of those guys hwo has great ratings except for eye, and that's ****ing him. 15/16/15/7/14 overall ratings, .243/.287/.431 overall. OOTP has him rated as a 4.5 star outfielder, though.

Shihei Hayagawa. 5 star rating. .494 OPS against righties with 10/13/15/8/7 ratings. He's basically a platoon player now, and Claudio Garcia should probably start against RHP.

Wade Meadows. 11/14/3/12/14 against righties. .528 OPS. 13/17/3/15/15 against lefties. .517 OPS. This after he came up and wrecked shop over 55 at bats last year and in the playoffs.

Sometimes this game makes no sense. Nearly half my starting lineup is hitting like crap, but there's really not much I can do about it. Obviously Matthams isn't going anywhere. Weaver either. I can platoon Hayagawa, but there's not much out there for second base and Meadows should be, oh, at least 150 OPS points higher than it is right now. If I go position by position:

Rodriguez - .308 wOBA. He's a catcher, you expect slightly below avg hitting.

Kanai / Cintron -- Kanai is OPSing .731 against righties. Cintron is OPSing .719 against lefties. What the ****ing ****.

I covered 2B, 3B, and SS, and LF.

Bereket Konchellah is a goddamn man. I've been playing him only against righties, and he's hitting .349/.421/.517 against them. Weaver is getting the time in CF against lefties, but at this point I might put Konchellah back there and move Weaver back to a corner spot, since apparently Velasco has decided that he's not going to rake against LHP anymore.

Bill Ellsworth is holding down right field well enough against righties, with a .393 OBP and hitting leadoff. Oh, and 14/18/20 speed, sealing, baserunning gets me 12 steals and 14 caught? How the hell does THAT work? Martinez platoons with him, and is currently sporting an .886 OPS against lefties. Yeah, we'll take that.

I've begun to play around and get Jon Lee more at bats, so hopefully he will give the offense a bit of a jumpstart.

Basically, there isn't a WHOLE lot I could do right now to upgrade. Sure, something at 1B (since Kanai is in a walk year anyway) might be nice, a big time masher. We'll wait a bit longer before really worrying.

[mikev]

Some Good News On The Dev Front...


So, as we've shown before, Shihei Hayagawa basically ****ing sucks now. He's got a .232 wOBA /and/ a negative ZR (with an 18 SS rating. Really?) so basically he's killing the team. Badly.

So badly that he's been replaced by Claudio Garcia again in the lineup, at least against right handers.

However, we may have something brewing. We've been waiting for some time now for Craig Knappto show that he's ready for the big leagues. So far this year in his fourth year of AAA? .197/.262/.237 -- yes, a .500 OPS. However, the 25 year old still has the tantalizing 8/7/3/6/10 talents that made him a top 10 pick in the 2023 draft.

Well, we got some good news last sim.

Contact overall: increased from 10 to 11
Gap Overall: increased from 8 to 9
Strikeouts overall: increased from 10 to 11
Gap vs LHP: increased from 10 to 11
Strikeouts vs LHP: increased from 11 to 12
Gap vs RHP: increased from 8 to 9
Strikeouts vs RHP: increased from 10 to 11

Knapp's ratings are currently sitting at 11/9/4/8/11 overall. 10/9/4/7/11 vs RHP, 12/11/4/9/12 vs LHP. You could squint real hard and see him being an option against lefties sooner than later in the GUBA, but Hayagawa is rated significantly better and I wouldn't throw Knapp to the wolves yet anyway.

At this point, it sure looks like Knapp's development will earn him a September callup at worst, earlier than that at best if he continues to have a bunch of green on his dev page. We're going to be watching him closely, that's for sure.

Oh, and also -- just for kicks, lemme just leave this here:

Domenic Voigt 27 ML 2029-07-11
Control (overall)

1
13 14 Dev History
Domenic Voigt 27 ML 2029-07-11
Circlechange (overall)

1
15 16 Dev History
Domenic Voigt 27 ML 2029-07-11
Control (vsl)

1
13 14 Dev History
Domenic Voigt 27 ML 2029-07-11
Control (vsr)

1
13 14 Dev History

[mikev]

Putting Some Space Between Us And The Pacific

6-2 sim. 3 of 4 from Vancouver, 3 game sweep of LA, and then dropped the first of a 3 gamer against Birmingham.

Our lead in the Pacific is now 6.5, and we've got a bit of breathing room.

The decision to move Claudio Garcia back into the starting role at shortstop against righties has paid off so far. He's putting up a .306/.342/.417 so far, which obviously won't last, but we'll take it for now.

34 year old Domingo Reyes continues to have a career resurgence with the Crusaders. He's currently sporting a .959 OPS, good for 3rd in the MBBA. He's got 20 homers in only 320 PAs, as he's only facing RHP for the most part. Still, he's on pace for 30+ which would be the first Crusader to hit 30 since Carlos Cortez way back in... 2018. (wow)

Due to the injury to Juan Soto, we called up prospect Esteban Torres a few sims ago, without much fanfare. In 3 starts, Torres has thrown 20.1 innings, allowed 6 ER with 13 strikeouts and 7 walks, and won all 3 decisions. It's not certain that he will remain with the club, as Scott Pearson was also acquired on the cheap. Still it's nice to see him get his feet wet and have a good couple starts.

It's also nice to see Matthams catch fire. He hit .382/.450/.676 last sim, and has raised his OPS to .791 on the season. Combined with his +5 ZR and he's still one of the best 3B in the game, but he should really be better than .260/.337/.427 against right handers.

Coming up next sim, we've got 2 more against Birmingham, 4 against Jackson, 3 against Bogota, and then we start a series against Santo Domingo. It would be nice to have another good result and put some more distance between ourselves and the rest of the Pacific while we determine whether or not we want to make any moves at the trade deadline.

[mikev]

Billionaire Owner's Diva Meltown Results In Huge Franchise Shakeup

Opulence. I has it.



The California Crusaders billionaire Russian owner is happy with the team. They are looking like they will win the Pacific and make the playoffs for the second consecutive year, he's not having to spend a ton of money on the team, fans are packing the stadium, and the team is turning a profit.

However, there is just one problem.

He hates the name Crusaders. It reminds him of the Crusades, and he can't stand that. The whole minor league system as well, he does not like. Knights, Paladins, Gladiators, Spartans, and Friars. He wants them changed, and is willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen.

So, it was announced that he went out and purchased the rights to the long defunct Pacific Coast League, which was the closest thing to major league baseball in the early 20th century west of St.Louis. Featuring teams such as the Hollywood Stars, Mission Reds, Salt Lake Bees, Oakland Oaks, and San Francisco Seals -- there was now a good amount of choices to rename the team, move it if needed, and rebrand the entire minor league affiliate system.

Because he couldn't decide what he wanted to name the team, he bought the league. It's good to have the moneys. After taking several suggestions, a memo was sent out to the entire organization. Change is coming, top to bottom. The Crusaders will cease to exist, and every team in the minor leagues will take on the name, colors, and locations of former PCL franchises.

Without further ado, we announce the rebranding of the California Crusaders and look forward to moving forward as

The San Francisco Seals



A press conference has been scheduled in which the franchise will also announce the new minor league affiliates, but we've been led to believe that it will shake down like this:

Triple A: Oakland Oaks
Double A: Hollywood Stars
Single A: Seattle Rainiers
Short A: Portland Beavers
Rookie League: Vernon Tigers

Stay tuned, as this exciting development will be followed closely and we venture into a new era of baseball in the MBBA Pacific.

[mikev]

Small Deadline Move, Other Miscellany

A quiet trade deadline came and went for the Crusaders, who were unable to swing any deals. There were some negotiations for players, though talks either died down or were ignored completely.

They did manage to add a bat, however. Mario Franco was claimed off waivers from Johannesburg, and will take over as the starting first baseman against right handers, pushing Kanai to the bench as he's been severely underperforming.

Franco is the owner of a career .833 OPS, and hit .269/.352/.452 with 20 homers for the Diamonds last season, but has hit poorly in limited time this year and was replaced by Horan Seaton anyway.

Looking at Kanai vs Franco -- their ratings are actually quite similar. 12/13/13/16/10 for Kanai and 12/14/14/14/7 for Franco. On paper, Kanai should probably hit better, but... He hasn't. Franco is basically a low risk flier for the rest of the year, maybe we'll get lightning in a bottle the same way we did with Reyes, who has come crashing down to earth in the second half. However, against left handers Kanai will remain in the lineup as DH. Fact of the matter is neither player will be back with teh team next season, as Jose Cintron has developed against right handers enough to be seen as a viable starter and not just a platoon player.

To make things worse, Wilfred Weaver was injured and will be out for the next 5 weeks with a bone bruise. Replacing him in the lineup will be Jon Lee against right handers, and Jose Velasco against lefties.

To make things even worse than that, DMV lumped again. Because that's what 27 year old starters coming off back to back Golden Arm awards tend to do, especially in the middle of what should be a third straight Golden Arm season. Oh, and his Intelligence and Work Ethic are both high. His Morale is Great. Yet, somehow this season he's fallen from 10/9/9 talents and being the best pitcher in baseball to 10/8/7 talents. I don't get it, but whatever. He's still putting up numbers, so screw it. I quit trying to understand the development curves in this game.

Oh, and we're essentially tied for first right now. Tied in the loss column, anyway, but we have one less win than Vancouver. We should be running away with the ****ing division, but the offense sucks. Same story as usual for this team.

[mikev]

Separation In The Pacific

Into September, and the Crusaders have distanced themselves from the rest of the Pacific. At 80-63, we're enjoying an 11 game cushion as Vancouver has fallen back to earth.

We're still doing it the same way we hvae all year. Best pitching in the league, and enough offense to score a few runs. DMV is still awesome, but unlikely to earn a 3rd consecutive Golden Arm award. In a somewhat questionable move, we decided to go ahead and give Gonzales his wish -- he has been moved to the bullpen and is the primary middle relief pitcher for us now, bridging the gap between the starters and Bruno/Baca. Juan Soto coming back from injury, as well as the good seasons being put together by youngsters Torres and McEachin were also catalysts for the move into the bullpen.

Offensively, it's basically been Matthams, Reyes, Konchellah, and a bunch of other dudes. Waiver claim Mario Franco has been a huge upgrade over Kanai as our 1B against righties - he's got an .838 OPS with California since being claimed from Johannesburg. Ellsworth continues to set the table nicely in teh leadoff spot, with a .306 average and .379 OBP. Also, Jon Lee has been huge in the outfield after being put into the starting spot when Weaver got hurt. Lee has a .281/.400/.356 slash line against right handers, more than holding his own. Hell, even Claudio Garcia has been decent since replacing the corpse of Hayagawa at shortstop.

So currently, pundits seem to think we'll end up the 4th seed in the playoffs. As we're quite a bit behind the other division leaders, that seems fair. That means a potential matchup with Manhattan, a more balanced team than us. We'll have to rely on pitching and defense if we plan on making it deep into the postseason this year.

[mikev]

Division Champs Again, Pythag Blown Out Of The Water

With a 7-2 sim, combined with Vancouver's 3-6 result, the California Crusaders have mathematically eliminated their Pacific rivals and have clinched a second consecutive MBBA Pacific division.

The sim itself was a bit of a joke. We started with the final 2 of a 3 game series against what some are calling the worst team in the history of the GUBA, Chicago.

Game one, which was the final game of the previous sim, was a 13-3 whoopin.

The first game of /this/ sim, the second of the series, was 10-1, another throttling.

Then it got silly.

Game 3 was started for Chicago by Lusalah, the poor bastard who has literally no business being in the big leagues. 9/7/5 ratings. Seriously. Their 5th starter in AA is better than that. By a lot. Anyway, this is how the first inning went against him:

Walk
Single
Double
Single
Walk
Hit Batter
Single
Flyball Out
Sac Fly
pitching change
Walk
Single
Walk
Double
Walk
Double
pitching change
Strikeout

Eleven runs in the first. Seven hits, five walks. Then came the second inning.

Walk
Walk
Walk
Walk
Single
RBI Groundout
Walk
Walk
pitching change
Double
Single
Walk
Walk
Single
Sac Fly
Strikeout

Ten runs. Four hits. Eight walks. The game ended 27-0. How's that for ****ing up my Pythag record? Scoring fifty runs in a 3 game series will do that. Mind boggling.

Anyway, more importantly, the rest of the sim was a 3 game sweep of Valencia before dropping 2 out of 3 to Vancouver. However, it was enough to clinch, so that works.

Next sim finishes things off, as we have Valencia, Vancouver, and LA to end things. I'll probably rest some key guys a little bit to try and avoid major injuries, considering I lost Garcia for the playoffs and Konchellah for a couple weeks. As it stands now, we're the #4 seed and are looking at Manhattan in the first round still.

Stay tuned, we'll see how it goes.

[mikev]

Another First Round Exit

Well, that sucked.

After taking a 3-0 lead in the playoffs and having staff ace and Golden Arm winner Dominic Voigt on the mound for Game 4, the team just fell apart.

Voigt breezed through 6 innings, handed the ball over to Gonzo for the 7th, and that's when things started getting wonky.

Gonzo threw 2 pitches, getting Barretti to ground out. That was it for Gonzo, as apparently OOTP decided Juan Bruno needed to come in for lefty Ken Etter. Etter flied out, and then Stan Coleman struck out looking to end the 7th.

Then things got weird.

To start the 8th, OOTP decided to hand the ball over to closer Ramon Baca, who had pitched 1.2 innings in game 1 (but on only 16 pitches), 3.1 innings in the 12 inning game 2 (49 pitches!), and 2 innings in game 3 (24 pitches). For the record, he's listed as SU2 and CL1 in-game. Baca threw two pitches, allowing a Victor Cruz single, and was then pulled for Yi-da Wu. Now, don't get me wrong, I love me some Wu, dude struck out 93 batters in 73 innings for me, but I'm really questioning the use of Gonzalez and Baca for one batter each right now.

Wu proceeded to allow a walk, a sac bunt, an RBI single, another single, and then a 3 run homer to Roidfreak before getting pulled. I mean, you'd think that with a one run lead you MIGHT wan to go ahead and leave your best pitchers in there for more than a couple pitches each.

That turned around the series for New York, as we dropped the remaining 3 games and were outed in the first round for a second consecutive season. It sucks, but hey.. not much I can do about it. We've got some guys leaving for free agency and a TON of money available, so we'll reload and look to win the Pacific again next year and beat whoever we happen to draw in the playoffs... but this time as the San Francisco Seals.

Onward...