Metro East Baseball League

[hopeful1212]

Welcome to the inaugural season of the Metro East Baseball League! This is a fictional 8-team league based on cities and towns in the Metro-East area. So let's learn a bit about the league.

Structure
MEBL is composed of 8 teams all in one division. Each team plays 100 games from May through September, 5 days a week. Two teams may make the playoffs each year based on a split-season format. Tie-breakers are head-to-head records. If this is tied, we'll have a one-game playoff at the end of the year. If one team wins both halves they'll be declared the winner without any playoffs. OOTP 11 can't really handle this, so I'll be manual scheduling playoffs in the off-season (I've tested this and it works. Though the game will call whoever finishes with the best record the Champion on the history screens, we'll know otherwise.) Home-field advantage is awarded to the team with the best overall record, and if tied, we'll go to head-to-head records. If still tied, the second-half winner will get home field advantage. The Champion will be decided in a seven game series.

There are also two minor leagues, called the High Minors and the Low Minors. They are structured identically to the MEBL, 100 games, split-season etc.


Rules
MEBL plays by rules similar to Major League Baseball, but several are simplified or removed.

No DH in any league, even minors (It's 9 vs. 9, guys!)
No Arbitration. After three years of service, you're a free agent.
No Rule Five Draft.
Minor Leaguers are free agents after 3 years in the minors. (instead of six in MLB).
No Free Agent Compensation.
No Revenue sharing. In order to balance the league, MEBL instead splits all attendance income 50%/50% and all media contracts are equal. This does not mean every team has equal revenue however.
Uniform Ballparks. Each ballpark is built identically so as to remove park factors.
DL and DFA lists are reduced to 7-days for all leagues.
Trading Draft picks is allowed.
The Draft is moved up to May 1st to allow new players to play a full year, if they sign early.


History

Year	1st half winner	2nd half winner	Champs
2010	Breese	O'Fallon	Breese 4-3
2011	Alton	Alton	Alton
2012

[hopeful1212]

So, Let's meet the teams!
I'm really happy with how these logos turned out. Each row shows each league (Metro East Baseball League, High Minors, Low Minors, from top to bottom) and the minors are sorted so that their parent club is in the same column above them.

[Lee]

Love the logos, what did you use to make them?

[hopeful1212]

Originally Posted by Lee

Love the logos, what did you use to make them?

Thanks! I used this tutorial and these logos. I put them together with GIMP.

[hopeful1212]

Taken over Bunker Hill Revolution
I've taken over this Low Minors team and hope to prove that I'm worthy of managing in the MEBL. I intend to keep you updated on my progress in my OOTP blog.

This thread will be used for general league-wide information, updated less frequently than the blog.

[scuffleball]

Very nice! Love the logos! I am considering remaking my own 2008 dynasty into a small 8 or 10-team league similar to this setup. Looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

[Jeff1787]

Great logos....How do you post them, with Imageshack??

[hopeful1212]

Originally Posted by Jeff1787

Great logos....How do you post them, with Imageshack??

Thanks! I'm using Dropbox. You get 2GB of space with the free account, which should be way more than enough for something like this.

First time I've used it and I like it so far.

[hopeful1212]

$300,000 Man off to poor start

May 7th, 2010 -- When O'Fallon signed CF Mark Graham to a contract paying him $300,000 in 2010 and 2011 -- the highest contract thus far in the MEBL -- many were skeptical. Graham, now 27, had been a third-round draft choice out of high school by the Baltimore Orioles. Scouts loved his raw athleticism and power, but like so many others he failed to reach his full potential, never getting past Double-A ball. He had displayed some power in the minors, but his swing just had too many holes.

Clearly, O'Fallon believes that Graham can do well in this newly formed league, against easier competition. It just hasn't happened yet. Through the first three games Graham has gone hitless (0-for-12) with 5 strikeouts.


Mark Graham (CF)
Season stats:
0-for-12, 2 BB, 5 K

[toxicavenger74]

Well, well, well, since I live and work in the STL metro area and my wife's family is from Breese I will definately be following.

[hopeful1212]

Week 1 Standings

1st Half Standings (May 10th, 2010)

               W   L   PCT  GB
Belleville     5   0 1.000  --
Jerseyville    4   1  .800   1
O'Fallon       3   2  .600   2
Alton          2   3  .400   3
Breese         2   3  .400   3
Edwardsville   2   3  .400   3
Columbia       1   4  .200   4
Staunton       1   4  .200   4

Belleville is off to a great start at 5-0. They won 2 games against O'Fallon and 3 games against Staunton. Jerseyville also had a very good week (3-0 vs Alton and 1-1 vs Staunton).

Player of the Week:

Dan Davis (3B) -- Belleville Cannons
13-for-22 (.591), 4 HR, 10 R, 11 RBI

[hopeful1212]

Week 2 Standings

1st Half Standings (May 17th, 2010)

               W   L   PCT  GB     This Week
Jerseyville    7   3  .700  --        3-2
Edwardsville   6   4  .600   1        4-1
Belleville     5   5  .500   2        0-5
Breese         5   5  .500   2        3-2
Staunton       5   5  .500   2        4-1
Alton          4   6  .400   3        2-3
Columbia       4   6  .400   3        3-2
O'Fallon       4   6  .400   3        1-4

I guess what goes up must come down. Belleville started 5-0, but went 0-5 this week. Jerseyville ends up on top after two weeks, with a solid week. The other ville, Edwardsville really helped their cause going 4-1, including three wins against Belleville. It's still anyone's game.

Player of the Week:

Jeff Bacon (CF) -- Edwardsville Snarl
9 for 13 (.692), 3 HR, 4 R, 8 RBI

[hopeful1212]

Kennedy takes no-hitter into 7th inning

May 21st, 2010 -- Whirlwinds ace pitcher John Kennedy baffled O'Fallon hitters tonight, taking a no-hit bid into the seventh inning. He lost the no-hitter on a two-out double from RF Garth Hickman, who is hitting .358 on the year thus far. Kennedy, who's been off to a very strong start, would only give up the one hit along with three walks through 8 2/3 innings and get the win. Breese has now won five straight games and is currently in 2nd place in the MEBL with a record of 8-5.


John Kennedy (SP)
Season stats:
3-1, 1.17 ERA, 30.2 IP, 21 K

[hopeful1212]

Week 3 Standings

1st Half Standings (May 24th, 2010)

               W   L   PCT  GB     This Week
Breese        10   5  .667  --        5-0
Edwardsville   9   6  .600   1        3-2
Jerseyville    9   6  .600   1        2-3
Belleville     8   7  .533   2        3-2
Alton          7   8  .467   3        3-2
Staunton       7   8  .467   3        2-3
O'Fallon       6   9  .400   4        2-3
Columbia       4  11  .267   6        0-5

Breese had a big week going 5-0 and taking the lead. They're currently riding a 7 game winning streak. Columbia, meanwhile had a disastrous week and is in an early hole.

Player of the Week:

Steve Reed (1B) -- Edwardsville Snarl
10 for 17 (.588), 1 HR, 5 RBI

[hopeful1212]

Week 4 Standings

1st Half Standings (May 31st, 2010)

               W   L   PCT  GB     This Week
Breese        14   6  .700  --        4-1
Belleville    11   9  .550   3        3-2
Jerseyville   11   9  .550   3        2-3
Alton         10  10  .500   4        3-2
Columbia       9  11  .450   5        5-0
Edwardsville   9  11  .450   5        0-5
O'Fallon       8  12  .400   6        2-3
Staunton       8  12  .400   6        1-4

Breese extended their lead to 3 games with another good week (4-1). They had a 10-game winning streak snapped. Columbia got back into things moving from 8th to 5th (tied) with a 5-0 week and Edwardsville fell considerably going from 2nd (tied) to 5th (tied). Everyone's pretty close together now except for Breese. Can they continue to win like this or will they fall back?

Player of the Week:

John Hudson (LF) -- Belleville Cannons
11 for 20 (.550), 1 HR, 4 RBI

[hopeful1212]

May 2010 Awards

Hitter of the Month:

Mike Weaver (1B) -- Staunton Rebels
.333, 8 HR, 16 R, 24 RBI

Pitcher of the Month:

John Kennedy (SP) -- Breese Whirlwinds
4-1, 1.18 ERA, 29 K

[hopeful1212]

Kevin Lambert Hurls No-Hitter in Low Minors



June 4th 2010 -- Belleville had just demoted 27-year old minor league starter Kevin Lambert from Fairview Heights (High Minors) to Freeburg (Low Minors) earlier today. It looks like he wants to come back. Some may get down on themselves when they get demoted, but Kevin just took the ball and mowed them down!

Kevin retired the first 19 batters he faced, but broke up the perfect game in the 7th with by hitting a batter. The only other blemish was an 8th inning walk. Lambert was dominant, striking out 10. Kevin's defense helped him out as well: LF David Robinson made a nice diving catch in the 6th, which preserved the no-hitter. This was the first no-hitter at any level in league history. Truly an historic outing!


Kevin Lambert (SP) -- Freeburg Firedogs
High Minors: 1-1, 5.96 ERA, 11 K
Low Minors: 1-1, 1.69 ERA, 18 K

[hopeful1212]

Week 5 Standings

1st Half Standings (June 7th, 2010)

               W   L   PCT  GB     This Week
Breese        16   9  .640  --        2-3
Alton         14  11  .560   2        4-1
Belleville    14  11  .560   2        3-2
Jerseyville   13  12  .520   3        2-3
Columbia      12  13  .480   4        3-2
O'Fallon      11  14  .440   5        3-2
Staunton      11  14  .440   5        3-2
Edwardsville   9  16  .360   7        0-5

We're at the half-way mark of the first half. There's just another 25 games left to decide the winner. Breese came back to earth a little, but still maintains a two game lead over Alton and Belleville. Edwardsville continues their slide and have now lost 12 in a row. They're probably out of it. Columbia continues to play well after they started the season 4-11 and Alton had a nice week. Breese is playing two against Staunton and three against Belleville this week. Could be a big series.

Player of the Week:

John McNeal (LF) -- O'Fallon Immortals
7 for 16 (.438), 5 HR, 9 RBI

[hopeful1212]

Week 6 Standings

1st Half Standings (June 14th, 2010)

               W   L   PCT  GB     This Week
Belleville    19  11  .633  --        5-0
Breese        18  12  .600   1        2-3
Alton         17  13  .567   2        3-2
O'Fallon      15  15  .500   4        4-1
Columbia      14  16  .467   5        2-3
Staunton      14  16  .467   5        3-2
Jerseyville   13  17  .433   6        0-5
Edwardsville  10  20  .333   9        1-4

We've got a new leader. Belleville had a tremendous week, going 5-0 including 3-0 against Breese. Alton keeps hanging in there and they'll get their chance this week, playing two against Belleville and three against Breese. Meanwhile at the bottom of the league, Edwardsville continues to sink. They snapped their losing streak at 13, but have already started a new 3 game losing streak. Jerseyville also had a very bad week and likely took themselves out of the race. There's just 20 left to play in the first half, so not much time to make your move!

Player of the Week:

Ryan Carl (3B) -- Alton River Hawks
11 for 21 (.524), 3 HR, 17 RBI

[hopeful1212]

Week 7 Standings

1st Half Standings (June 21st, 2010)

               W   L   PCT  GB     This Week
Belleville    22  13  .629  --        3-2
Breese        21  14  .600   1        3-2
Alton         20  15  .571   2        3-2
O'Fallon      18  17  .514   4        3-2
Columbia      17  18  .486   5        3-2
Jerseyville   15  20  .429   7        2-3
Staunton      15  20  .429   7        1-4
Edwardsville  12  23  .343  10        2-3

Not much movement in the standings this week as the top five teams all went 3-2. Basically, the bottom of the division just drifted lower. With 15 to go in the first half, it looks like a three horse race between Belleville, Breese, and Alton, although it's still conceivable that O'Fallon or Columbia could get really hot and win it. There's no match-ups between the top three this week, so we'll just have to see who's better at beating up on the lower placed teams.

Player of the Week:

Reed Smith (C) -- Jerseyville Beasts
10 for 22 (.455), 1 HR, 6 R, 5 RBI