Friday, August 26, 2011

PLEASE TO MEET YOU ..CAN YOU GUESS MY NAME

Now that voting is underway for the first OOY . We need to come up with a moniker for the trophy.After several great suggestions the law firm of Dewey, Cheatum and Howe has narrowed it down to 4 great choices. It's up to us to vote for the winning name. Below are the 4 finalists and a few facts about each . When it comes time to vote the poll will be listed in the left column of the blog.


The DUROCHER: Leo Ernest Durocher (July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by a manager. A controversial and outspoken character, Durocher's career was dogged by clashes with authority, umpires (his 95 career ejections as a manager trailed only McGraw when he retired, and still rank fourth on the all-time list), and the press.Durocher returned to the managerial ranks in 1966 with the Chicago Cubs. For the past four seasons, the Cubs had tried an experiment called the "College of Coaches," in which they were led by a "head coach" rather than a manager. However, at his first press conference, Durocher formally announced an end to the experiment by saying:"If no announcement has been made about what my title is, I'm making it here and now. I'm the manager. I'm not a head coach. I'm the manager."

FRANK CHANCE a.k.a. The PEERLESS LEADER: Frank Leroy Chance (September 9, 1876 – September 15, 1924) was a Major League Baseball player at the turn of the 20th century. Performing the roles of first baseman and manager, Chance led the Chicago Cubs to four National League championships in the span of five years (1906–1910) and earned the nickname "The Peerless Leader".Born in Fresno, California, Chance began his career in 1898 with the Chicago Cubs and played irregularly until 1902. In 1903 he asserted himself with a .327 batting average, 67 stolen bases and 81 RBI in 441 at-bats. Chance was the first player ever ejected from a World Series game, doing so in Game 3 of the 1910 World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics.Chance took over as Chicago's manager in 1905, taking the helm of a very good team. Although his playing time decreased towards the end of the decade, as a manager he proved inspirational. The Cubs won the NL pennant in 1906, 1907, 1908 and 1910, and won the World Series in 1907 and 1908. He left the Cubs after the 1912 season to manage the Yankess.


WILLIAM HULBERT: William Ambrose Hulbert (October 23, 1832 – April 10, 1882) was one of the founders of the National League, recognized as baseball's first major league, and was also the president of the Chicago White Stockings franchise.In his tenure as president from 1877 to his death in 1882, Hulbert ruled with an iron fist and took steps to insure league integrity and compliance with league rules.His first major act was expelling the New York and Philadelphia clubs from the league for failure to complete their 1876 schedules as required. While losing clubs in the two most populous cities in the United States was a serious blow, the expulsion sent a clear message that the lax adherence to league rules that had plagued the National Association would not be tolerated. Also in response to the New York/Philadelphia scheduling problem, Hulbert ended the practice of clubs determining their schedules through the club secretaries by declaring that the league itself would establish the schedule. Hulbert also instituted the practice of the league hiring of umpires to bolster public perceptions of league integrity.


HARRY CARAY:  Harry Caray, born Harry Christopher Carabina, (March 1, 1914 – February 18, 1998) was an American baseball broadcaster on radio and television. He covered four Major League Baseball teams, beginning with a long tenure calling the games of the St. Louis Cardinals, then the Oakland Athletics (for one year) and the Chicago White Sox (for eleven years), before ending his career as the announcer for the Chicago Cubs.Caray increased his renown after joining the North Side Cubs following the 1981 Season. In contrast to the "Sports Vision" concept, the Cubs' own television outlet,WGN TV, had become among the first of the Cable Television Superstations, offering their programming to providers across the United States for free, and Caray became as famous nationwide as he'd long been on the South Side and, previously, in St. Louis.The seventh-inning stretch routine became Caray's best-remembered trademark; after his death, the Cubs began a practice of inviting guest celebrities, local and national, to lead the singing Caray-style. The use of "guest conductors" continues to this day.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

VOTE FOR THE OWNER of the YEAR AWARD

I've been meaning to do this for some time. So now in our our 15th year in Wrigleyville. We will vote for the first OOY. To the left are the 4 Owners who recieved the most nominations. I was only going to post 3 owners but i had a tie and decided that both deserved consideration. here are the four worthy finalists and a comment by some who nominated them.

Mark3313:  I nominate Mark3313 he won 124 games this season. Need I say anymore.

Mdymond: I nominate Mdymond whose Salmonbellies went from 70 -92 to 91 - 70! Heck of a turn around for the year!!!---------I nominate SD Salmonbellies owner mdymond. From last to one game away from the playoffs, mdymond did it all with a 52 million dollar payroll.

Rbedwell: After looking through, I'll go w/Rbedwell. His team seems to be getting even better

Nwsheehy007: nwsheehy007 is who I nominate for the owner vote.--------I'll go with NWsheehy007 , His team just won their first Division Championship two years after winning it all.

Others receiving Nominations. Hshack, Sordie, Jmas410 ,Madmuldoon.

 I've also been wracking my alcohol soaked brain. Trying to come up with a name for the Award instead of OOY. I came up with names like The Cleatus Spoonybarger award or The Billy Martin Award. If any of you have a suggestion it will be appreciated.

So get out there and VOTE!!!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

THE WEEK IN WRIGLEYVILLE S-15 #8

TRADES
The SANTA FE SERGEIS traded Dion Rath to the CINCINNATI HOWLERS for Ivan Rosado
Santa Fe gets a power bat. The Howlers get a defensive CF'er who can't hit.


M L INJURIES
Omar Perez
Omar....Omar!!!! UGH!!! thats the sound coming from Houston. They went out and traded for this guy. And he has a Major injury. He will probably miss the start of next year.

Terrence Munoz
Another Catastrophic injury.... This Crabber suffered a shoulder aneurysm. But dont worry ...., Crabs have plenty of shoulders. I Think??

Al Pineda
Looks like Al will miss the Playoffs. And perhaps another World Series Ring to boot. The Moonbats feel cheated after giving this goldbricker a 4 Year 28 million contract extension.

Charlie Holt
EGADS!!! yet another terrible injury. This Hartford Ace will miss 9 months with Shoulder Surgery. He was having a rotten year anyways. Crushers probably won't misss him.

Rob Prinz
The Salmonbellies lost this guy down the stretch. He will be back in a week but will be a free agent. The Salmonbellies just missed the playoffs. RATS!!


INTERNATIONALS

Cesar Guerrero
Helena
Barking Moonbats
Age: 18B/T: R/R
Born: Nagua, DO
Position(s): C
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Moonbats had 11.3 million left for this future HRD Champ.


Jimmie Jose
Cincinnati
Howlers
Age: 18B/T: L/R
Born: Nagua, DO
Position(s): SS/3B/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Stocking up for next year


Tomas James
Cincinnati
Howlers
Age: 20B/T: S/R
Born: Jicome Esperanza, DO
Position(s): 3B/COF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

This cat will bash his share of Homers. AAA and possibly a callup.


Timo Chiba
Atlanta
Peachfuzz
Age: 20B/T: R/R
Born: Kyoto, JP
Position(s): SS
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

1.7 million for this AAA/ML 3rd baseman

The rest of the IFA were just end of season fillers.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Setting Your Own House on Fire or Spending on IFA's...which makes more sense?!?!?!

Contributed by: Swishnev23

The reason for this exercise is to analyze the International Free Agent (IFA) market and the amount of money that owners are spending to sign these players. I’m new to this game, and not very good at it, so I’m analyzing all kinds of data to try to find out what the best strategies are to win consistently. This season I thoroughly enjoyed the blog posts regarding the IFA’s but was a bit distressed over the initial analysis of the players in comparison to the amount of money owners, including myself, were spending. Therefore, I set out to find out if spending in the IFA market is worth it. I’m not a statistician/mathematician so some of the verbage and calculations could be off. I do have the rough data available so please send me a TC message if you’d like to analyze it yourself

I only analyzed the information from Season 1-10 because once I got around Season 9 the players were still so young that they weren’t providing much tangible information to the exercise. I also only analyzed the IFA signings for $5,000,000 or greater for reasons I will detail below. Any awards won during Season 15 were not included, either. Onto the numbers….

Financials: From Season 1 to Season 10 there were 158 IFA’s signed in our world for a total of $1,593,100,000. Yes, that’s 1.5 billion. That’s an average of $10,082,911 per player. To give a little bit of perspective, at the same time there were nine first round #1 draft picks signed for a total of $43,540,000, which is an average of $4,832,777 per player. I used the $5,000,000 cut-off during analysis because I figured that would be a legitimate amount to pay the first pick in the amateur draft. As you can see, the average IFA signing is for double that amount. There are some statistical outliers are there have been seven (7) players signed in the IFA market for more than $20,000,000 but I don’t feel that the quantity is large enough to greatly skew the data. Financially speaking, on average, we are paying double what we’d pay for the #1 pick in the amateur draft.

Player Performance: In grading player performance I used only awards that players could earn as a guide to how successful they were. I used the following awards as my guides: Rookie of the Year (ROY), All-Star Game appearances (ASG), Gold Glove Awards (GG), Silver Slugger Awards (SS), Most Valuable Player Awards (MVP), World Series Rings (WS), Cy Young Awards (CY) and Fireman of the Year Awards (FOY). My assumption was that if we were paying double what we’d normally pay for the #1 pick in the amateur draft then we’d want franchise changing players that would/could accrue multiple major awards. This analysis also does not take into account team needs/wants for each individual team which at times can outweigh the financial risk teams are willing to take on the open market.

From the 158 IFA’s in the study here is how it broke down:

ROY - 2 players
ASG - 81 appearances between 33 players
GG - 27 awards between 15 players
SS - 27 awards between 11 players
MVP - 4 awards between 3 players
WS - 32 rings between 25 players
CY - 1 award
FOY - 1 award

These statistics are what caught my attention because if we are spending these amounts of money on IFA’s then the return should be greater. We see that while 21% of the players in the study have made an All-Star Game appearance and nearly 16% of them have a World Series ring but only 1% have won an MVP award and less than 1% have won a Cy Young or Fireman of the Year Award. There was not an IFA for less than $15 million that garnered the MVP or Cy Young Award. The FOY Award winner signed for $8,200,000. Based on the data/bonus information, the IFA’s signed for $10,000,000+ were the recepients of these awards. Very few players that signed for $7,000,000 or less earned awards and none did so more than once.

I’ll leave you to make your own conclusion as to whether or not the budget you set aside for IFA’s is worth it because each team has its own needs that it needs to fill.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

THE WEEK IN WRIGLEYVILLE S-15 #7

TRADES
No trades this week


M L INJURIES
John Jodie
This Bench player will be on the DL for 2 weeks. Montreal will not miss him. he's batting under the Mendoza line.

Emmanuel Soto
On the otherhand the Prairie Dogs will probably miss Emmanuel "D" Soto. He will be on the DL for a month.

Don Nunnally
The Prairie Dogs lose their GG Centerfielder for 3 weeks. The P Dogs are starting to look like Lemmings.

INTERNATIONALS

Omar Arias
Fargo
Prairie Dogs
Age: 18B/T: L/R
Born: Cumana, VE
Position(s): SS
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Just a minor Pup


Eugenio Gutierrez
Vancouver
Totems
Age: 19B/T: R/R
Born: Aragua, VE
Position(s): SS/IF/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

5.5 million and a S/T invite for this defensive minor leaguer. Had a pile of prospect cash to burn.


Cesar Roque
Burlington
Coat Factory
Age: 18B/T: R/R
Born: Guayubin, DO
Position(s): P (P)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

2.4 million for this M L bullpen prospect. A little wild ......but nice splits.


Trenidad Cerveza
Scottsdale
Shock Squad
Age: 18B/T: L/L
Born: Los Llanos, DO
Position(s): P (SuA)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

This innings eater could be a good Mopup or Long relief.


Melvin Hukata
Charlotte
Sometimes
Age: 18B/T: R/R
Born: Tokyo, JP
Position(s): 3B
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Just a minor leaguer.. Sometimes your the nail....Sometimes your the Hammer.


Jose Cordero
Boise
Brown Sox
Age: 19B/T: R/R
Born: San Francisco De Macoris, DO
Position(s): 3B
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

1.8 million for this AA/AAA power hitter.


Ricardo Lopez
Tampa Bay
Stars
Age: 19B/T: S/R
Born: Sabana Grande De Boya, DO
Position(s): P (P)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

830k and a S/T invite for this prospect. Overall doesn't mean Crap. He may get a shot.


Vladimir Gonzales
Vancouver
Totems
Age: 18B/T: L/L
Born: Villa Union, MX
Position(s): RF/1B/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

I had 2 million left and was suprised to get this iffy prospect. Poor glove may be the reason!!


Enrique Toregas
Scottsdale
Shock Squad
Age: 19B/T: S/R
Born: El Seibo, DO
Position(s): SS
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

5 million for this defensive prospect. Poor eyesight may pose a problem. Still a nice pickup.


Willie Mesa
Charlotte
Sometimes
Age: 21B/T: L/L
Born: Boca Chica, DO
Position(s): P (SuA)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

669k for this nice young closing prospect. Hammertime!!!


Al Saenz
Cincinnati
Howlers
Age: 19B/T: S/L
Born: Tela, HN
Position(s): CF/3B/2B/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

1.2 million and a S/T invite for this AA/AAA prospect. Spend it if you got it!


Juan Rodriguez
Helena
Barking Moonbats
Age: 19B/T: R/R
Born: Villa Vazquez, DO
Position(s): 3B
View Hardball Dynasty Profile


AA/AAA slugger. worth 882k......

Thursday, August 11, 2011

THE WEEK IN WRIGLEYVILLE S-15 #6

TRADES
The ATLANTA PEACHFUZZ traded Ramiro Osoria and Joe Cunnane to the TAMPA BAY STARS for Don Hyzdu , Jeffrey Blackley and Claudio Schmidt
Tampa gets some ML bullpen help and a prospect.Atlanta gets 2 young M L Players and a prospect.

The SYRACUSE MOOSE traded R.J. Padilla to the TAMPA BAY STARS for Curtis Hutchinson
Tampa gets a DH. The Moose get a well traveled Relief pitcher.

The CHICAGO BLEACHER BUMS traded Jason Ross , Jorge Posada to the MADISON MUSKELLUNGES for Andres Ferrer and Timo Mahoney
Madison picks up a Young ML starting pitcher and next seasons CF'er. Chicago gets a veteran Starting pitcher and a prospect. 

The BOISE BROWN SOX traded David Cerda to the MADISON MUSKELLUNGES for Al Vincente , Howard McGehee and Victor Galarraga
Madison gets a young slugger. Boise gets 3 pitching prospects ..one is already on the DL.

The FARGO PRAIRIE DOGS traded Mike Tewksbury to the HELENA BARKING MOONBATS for Pablo Aramboles , Rickey Tucker and Bryan Buckley
Helena gets a Big Bat..Great just what they need. Fargo gets a DH that will be looking for free agent money next year. and 2 pitching prospects.

M L INJURIES
David Nunez
This cat is ready to come back off the DL. Little back pain is all.

Richard Nichols
Another Strain here. But this is an Elbow. He's ready to get back on the Prairie Dog Mound.

James Gonzales
This R-5 Pickup is on the 15. Probably not his last.

Catfish Lee
Ouch!!! This kid will miss the rest of the season. And it ruined any chance of a ML career.

Santiago Torres
This Howler is finished with his yearly stay on the DL. Now perhaps Torres can get back to work.

Kelvim Yamamoto
A broken arm will keep this salmonbelly out for 2 months. Not gonna help him in free agency next year.

Jaret Hoffman
This 32 year old has a strained Hammy. Must be feeling old.

Rich Ward
This 10 million dollar a year player was traded to Boise this year. A strained MCL will sideline him for 2 weeks.

Bennie Davis
Another strain.....Another 2 weeks. Just Peachy!!

Brady Sefcik
This is what I wrote last Week."Brady "Suffering" Sefcik is on the Major League DL for the 7th time. He will be back eaning his 5 mil in a couple of weeks." Suffering Succotash!!! He's back on the 15 day DL. Tampa may be rethinking that Extension.


Santiago Martinez
This Player is out a couple of weeks. The Moose will be Loose on the free agent market next year.

Del Lopez
This Moonbat Sprained a Wing. He'll be sucking blood in 2 months.

Ross Bush
This former 10th pick overall found himself on the market without a home. Charlotte picked him up on the cheap. Now he repays them by getting injured for a month.


INTERNATIONALS


Ubaldo Mairena
Chicago
Black Sox
Age: 18B/T: R/R
Born: Rancho Viejo, DO
Position(s): P (SP2)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Innings eater AA perhaps??


Alfredo Tejeda
Chicago
Black Sox
Age: 18B/T: L/L
Born: Navojoa, MX
Position(s): P (SP5)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

More Rookie pitching


Rafael Juarez
Chicago
Black Sox
Age: 18B/T: R/R
Born: Edo Anzoategui, VE
Position(s): P (P)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Again


Yuniesky Duran
Chicago
Black Sox
Age: 20B/T: R/R
Born: Boquete, PA
Position(s): P (SuA)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Only 6.4 million for this nice bullpen prospect.


Gus Matsui
Boise
Brown Sox
Age: 18B/T: R/R
Born: Tokyo, JP
Position(s): C
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Minor league Catcher


Willie Guerrero
Boise
Brown Sox
Age: 18B/T: R/R
Born: Boca Chica, DO
Position(s): LF
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

A Bat for AA/AAA


Tomas Aguilera
Burlington
Coat Factory
Age: 19B/T: S/R
Born: Haina, DO
Position(s): P (SuA)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

1.4 million for this Closer/Setup Prospect


Esmailyn Aviles
Burlington
Coat Factory
Age: 18B/T: R/R
Born: Hato Mayor Del Rey, DO
Position(s): SS
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

2.2 million for this nice defensive minor leaguer.


Al Carrasco
Charlotte
Sometimes
Age: 19B/T: S/R
Born: Yamasa, DO
Position(s): SS/IF/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

9.1 million for this M L defensive specialist.


Carlos Sojo
Chicago
Black Sox
Age: 19B/T: L/R
Born: Los Llanos, DO
Position(s): C
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

2.7 million for this DH prospect


Vic Sierra
Chicago
Black Sox
Age: 18B/T: L/L
Born: Chacao, VE
Position(s): P (none)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Chicago is loading up on the Rookie Pitchers. Draft musta been thin??

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

THE WEEK IN WRIGLEYVILLE S-15 #5

TRADES
The AUSTIN CITY LIMITS traded Michael Gardner to the HOUSTON COLT 45'S for Stuart Hausmann
Austin gets a Nice defensive Catcher. Houston picks up a prospect.

The BOISE BROWN SOX traded Patsy Hartman to the FARGO PRAIRIE DOGS for Brad Cogan
Boise picks up the often traded 3rd baseman Brad "main"Cogan. Fargo gets All-Star Hartman. Both players just needed a change of scenery.


The BOISE BROWN SOX traded Tyrone Beckto the INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS for Junior Izturis
Tyrone will be bashing homers in Indianapolis. Boise gets a catching prospect that will probably be a DH

The AUSTIN CITY LIMITS traded Horacio Mesa to the MINNESOTA MISFITS for Mat Herndon and Ryan Clark
Minnesota gets some needed bullpen help. Austin gets 2 prospects in return.

The INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS traded Omar Perez to the HOUSTON COLT 45'S for Tim Powell and Juan Mota
Houston picks up former ROY Perez. The Injuns get 2 nice prospects.

The BOISE BROWN SOX traded  Harry Saberhagen to the SCOTTSDALE SHOCK SQUAD for Jose Ethier and Harry Aguilera
Boise gets a nice prospect and a throw in player. Scottsdale gets an ageing starting pitcher.

M L INJURIES
Francisco Sanchez
Francisco "Sanche" Sanchez will miss a week with a sore shoulder. Aye Caramba!!

Brady Sefcik
Brady "Suffering" Sefcik  is on the Major League DL for the 7th time. He will be back eaning his 5 mil in a couple of weeks.

Bill Neagle
The bad news: This 15.8 million dollar pitcher is on the DL. The good news: "send me the Bill" Neagle will be back in a couple of weeks.

Jarrett Tice
Jarrett " Nice" Tice will miss 2 months with a leg fracture. Suprisingly he did not take a big hit on his numbers. It's all about attitude and medical budget!!

Johnny Goldman
Johnny "Be Good" Goldman broke a  finger. Whats going on in Atlanta ??? Broken Legs and Fingers. maybe desanders is a Bully!

Miguel Martis
Another fractured Finger? Miguel "Martyr" Martis took one for the team on a inside pitch! He will be resurected in 2 weeks.

INTERNATIONALS

Neftali Martin
Hartford
Crushers
Age: 20B/T: R/R
Born: Haina, DO
Position(s): SS/IF/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Just an extra rookie league player.


Pedro Martinez
Cincinnati
Howlers
Age: 19B/T: S/R
Born: Sabana Grande De Boya, DO
Position(s): 1B/LF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

just a S/T invite landed this slugger. Will spend most of his time at AAA. May get a shot at the Bigs.


Benito Seanez
Vancouver
Totems
Age: 18B/T: L/L
Born: Puerto Piritu, VE
Position(s): P (ClA)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Future looks bright I gotta wear Shades. May get a shot at Bigs??


Carlos Jacquez
Madison
Muskellunges
Age: 20B/T: R/R
Born: Don Gregorio, DO
Position(s): CF
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Speedy Minor Leaguer.


Jorge Campos
Scottsdale
Shock Squad
Age: 18B/T: L/L
Born: Monte Cristi, DO
Position(s): P (SP1)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

2.5 million for this future mop up guy.


Javy Ciriaco
Chicago
Black Sox
Age: 19B/T: L/L
Born: Santo Domingo, DO
Position(s): 1B
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

3.4 million for this slugging DH



Vicente Santos
Chicago
Black Sox
Age: 21B/T: R/R
Born: Villa Gonzalez, DO
Position(s): P (none)
View Hardball Dynasty Profile


Possibly a AA pitcher. Needs a DITR ferry for them splits........If Grandy doesn't get him first.