Archive for the ‘fun’ Category

Dynasty league updates 9-10 and Looking for players for A New 1969 Draft League and face to face league UPDATE Several 69 teams taken since posting…

Posted: September 10, 2021 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, entertainment, fun, gaming, online gaming, Sable Baseball

Here is the current state of the online and table top baseball leagues I run and ore are in. All current leagues are 162 game seasons with one 3 game series scheduled per week If you click on a team link you can see their stats, injuries, leaders etc.

Since our last update more teams have been taken in online leagues the face to face league is deep into the playoffs and a new online draft league is forming

Postseason Key

  • Z Clinched home field throughout playoffs
  • Y Clinched Division Title
  • X Clinched Wild Card home
  • W Clinched Wild Card away
  • V Clinched Playoff spot

League one All Futility League (all teams lost 96 + games) 2nd Season. Scheduled series time Thursday Mornings. This league is nearly finished.

Teams AL Division AWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
1970 Milwaukee Brewers y9168.572—–NoN/A
1970 Chicago White Sox w8574.5356Noaway
2002 Tampa Bay Devil Rays7584.47216YesE
2003 Detroit Tigers59100.37132NoE
Teams AL Division BWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
1970 Kansas City Royals v9663.604_____Yesn/a
2012 Minnesota Twins v9366.5853No+8
2008 Seattle Mariners8079.50314YesE
1973 Texas Rangers6990.43427YesE
Teams AL Division CWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
2009 Cleveland Indians7980.497—–NoN/A
1967 Kansas City A’s7782.4842NoE
1957 Washington Senators7386.4596NoE
2019 Baltimore Orioles7188.4478NoE

AL Leaders: Hitting:

Avg Mauer Min .353, OBP, Mauer Min .463, Slug Huff TB .600 Runs Harper .Mil 139, Hits: Harper Mil 218, 2B Ibanez Sea, 50, 3B Crowe Cle 15, SB Suzuki 54 , BB Mauer Min 118 HR Sievers Wash 46, RBI Sievers Wash 137

Pitching: Wins Hernandez Sea, 22, ERA Diamond Min 2.91, IP John Chi 274 2/3, K’s Hernandez Sea 239, Avg against Krausse KCA .208 WHIP Krause KCA 1.07 HR/9 Hyde Wash 0.27 Saves Yan TB 31

Division Winner automatically makes playoffs

Teams NL Division AWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
1998 Montreal Expos Z9262.610—–YesN/A
2009 Washington Nationals v9069.5667Yes+ 3
2001 Pittsburgh Pirates 8574.53512Yes2
1998 Florida Marlins7089.44027YesE
Teams NL Division BWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
2000 Philadelphia Phillies Y8076.513—–YesN/A
2012 Houston Astros7086.44910YesE
2017 San Francisco Giants7086.44910NoE
2015 Atlanta Braves6690.42314NoE
Teams NL Division CWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
1982 Cincinnati Reds8967.571_____Non/a
1993 New York Mets8772.5473 1/2No_____
1974 Chicago Cubs7782.48413 1/2NoE
1993 San Diego Padres7086.44919NoE

NL Leaders Hitting:

AVG Gwynn SD .361, OBP Giles Pit .450 Slug Giles Pit .623, Runs Giles Pitt 114, Hits Gwynn SD 189 2B Gwynn SD 56, 3B Guerrero Mon 15, SB Morgan Wash 45, BB Giles Pit 101, HR Murray Mets 34, RBI Ramirez Pit 114

Pitching Wins Hermanson Mon 29, ERA Hermanson Mon 1.82, IP Soto Cin 278 1/3, K’s Soto Cin 338, Avg against Soto Cin .197 WHIP Hermanson Mon 1.00 HR/9 Berenyi Cin 0.30, Saves Urbina Mon Zamora ChC 33.

The SD Jones memorial .500 teams league is a league (all teams were no better than 2 games over .500 or no worse than 2 games under) Initial season . Games are scheduled for Tuesdays. AM

Teams AL EastWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
1993 Boston8250.621—–Non/a
1957 Baltimore6864.51514Yes+2
1973 New York (A)6468.48518Yes2
1967 Washington5973.44723Yes7
Teams AL CentralWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
2010 Detroit v8646.652—–Yesn/a
1975 Cleveland5676.42430No10
1973 Minnesota5676.42430No10
1998 Chicago (A)4686.34840No20
Teams AL WestWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
2010 Oakland7953.598—-Yesn/a
2018 Los Angeles (A)6666.50013Yes_______
2017 Kansas City6567.49214No1
2005 Toronto6369.47716Yes3

AL Leaders Batting

Avg Carew Min .344, OBP Trout LAA .436, SLUG Trout LAA .637, Runs Cabrera Det 116, Hits Carew Min 188, 2B Cabrera Det 45, 3B Durham ChW, 16, SB Carew Min 49 BB Trout LAA 100 HR Howard Wash(A) 41, RBI Cabrera Det 125

Pitching

Wins Verlander Det 20, ERA Clemens Bos 2.39, IP Vernalder Det 256 2/3, K’s Blyleven Min 240, Avg against Cahill Oak .205, WHIP Darwin Bos 0.99, HR/9 Bibby Cle 0.35, Saves Valverde Det Russell Bos 27

Teams NL EastWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
1967 Pittsburgh8256.594______Non/a
2018 Washington8055.5931/2No+12
1957 Philadelphia6072.45519Yes8
1975 New York (N)5580.40725 1/2Yes14

Division winner skips wild card

Teams NL CentralWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
1996 Cincinnati7263.533_____Non/a
1975 St. Louis6864.5152 1/2Yes_____
2000 Colorado7068.5073 1/2Yes2
1973 Houston5973.44711 1/2Yes9
Teams NL WestWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
1975 San Francisco8250.621—–Yesn/a
2012 Arizona6765.50815Yes1
2007 Los Angeles (N)5775.43225Yes11
1982 San Diego5481.40029 1/2Yes15 1/2

NL Leaders Batting

AVG Clemente Pit .372, OBP Mitchell Cin .453, Slug Clemente Pit .604, Runs Larkin Cin 111, Hits Clemente Pit 207, 2B Cirillo Col 60, 3B Clemente Pit 21, SB Pierre LAD 69 BB Larkin Cin 100, HR Helton Col 29, RBI Helton Col 118

Pitching Wins Scherzer Wash 19, ERA Scherzer Wash 2.33, IP Scherzer Wash 262 2/3, K’s Scherzer Wash 309, Avg Against Scherzer Wash .207, WHIP Scherzer Wash 0.96, HR/9 Reed StL 0.34, Saves Face Pitt 32

3rd League All time any time Great Teams League (3rd season) Games scheduled Friday evenings. Two teams have been picked up since the last posting (oddly not the Orioles)

Teams AL EastWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
1970 Baltimore6534.657—–Yesn/a
1993 Toronto5643.5669No+6
1961 Yankees4947.51014 1/2No1/2
1999 Boston4158.41424No9
Teams AL CentralWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
2010 Texas5643.566—–Yesn/a
1954 Cleveland5049.5056No—–
2006 Detroit4755.46110 1/2Yes4 1/2
1974 Oakland4059.40416Yes10
Teams AL OtherWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
2009 New York (A)5346.535____Non/a
1977 Kansas City4848.5003 1/2No1/2
1924 Washington4260.41212 1/2No9 1/2
1967 Minnesota3960.39414Yes11

AL Leaders Batting

Avg Carew Min ,369 , OBP Olerud Tor .466, Slug Mantle NYY61 .659, Runs Jeter NYY09 87, Hits Jeter NYY09 150, 2B Olerud Tor 38, Triples Taylor Wash 16, SB Henderson Tor 54, BB Killebrew Min 79, HR Mantle NYY61 31, RBI Hamilton Tex 81

Pitching Wins Martinez Bos 15, ERA Martinez Bos 2.25, IP Johnson Wash 196 2/3, K’s Martinez Bos 285, Avg against Martinez Bos .201 WHIP Martinez Bos 0.90 HR/9 Martinez Bos .034 Saves Ward Tor 29

Teams NL EastWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
1975 Cincinnati5544.556—–NoN/A
2019 Washington Nats5148.5154Yes_____
1998 Atlanta4749.4906 1/2No2 1/2
1955 Brooklyn4554.45510Yes6
Teams NL CentralWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
1957 Milwaukee5346.535_____No+2*
1985 St. Louis5346.535_____No+ 2*
1971 Pittsburgh4653.4657Yes5
2003 Cubs4455.4449Yes7
Teams NL OtherWLPCTGBAvailableWCGB
2016 Chicago (N)7929.707—-Non/a
1977 Philadelphia4851.48522Yes3
2001 Arizona4554.45525Yes6
2007 Colorado4254.43826 1/2Yes7 1/2

NL Leaders Batting

Avg Kendrick Wash .369, OBP Morgan Cin .464, Slug Galarraga Atl .627, Runs Morgan Cin 91, Hits Kendrick Wash 146, 2B Kendrick Wash 34, 3B McGee StL 14, SB Morgan Cin 54, BB Morgan Cin 82, HR Campanella Bkyn, Aaron Mil 27, RBI Aaron Mil 89

Pitching Wins Nolan Cin 15, ERA Tudor StL 1.80, IP Tudor StL 174 2/3, K’s Johnson Arizona 226, Avg against Tudor StL .181, WHIP Tudor StL 0.82 HR/9 Buhl Mil 0.28, Saves Chapman Cubs16 27

There will be a new Draft league starting in October beginning in the 1969 season. Each player will select a franchise and one player to protect and the rest of the players will go in the draft.

Out of a max of 24 teams available here are the teams selected with the player they choose to protect all others go into the draft. All unlisted franchises are still available franchise with a * are teams that have been picked but the confirmation email has not yet been received

Players may join up until Sept 30th or until we reach 24 teams The draft is scheduled for the 1st week of October and will last one week. Teams will draft until they have 35 players or until we run out of players to draft.

At the end of the season each team will be able to protect 4-12 players based on their finish plus new rookies (IE Bowa Phi Blyleven Minn) who don’t count toward that total, all others go into the draft, draft order for the 1970 season will be based on the finish.

This league will play twice a week 5-6 games

UPDATE: This list has been updated for several teams now taken since the post went up

Team SelectedPlayer withheld from Draft
Oakland A’sNot announced
Chicago White SoxLHSP Tommy John
Baltimore Orioles1B Boog Powell
Atlanta BravesOF Hank Aaron
Cincinnati RedsC Johnny Bench
Los Angeles DodgersRHSP Don Sutton
Montreal ExposNot Announced
New York MetsRHSP Tom Seaver
Pittsburgh PiratesOF Roberto Clemente
St Louis Cardinals RHSP Bob Gibson
San Francisco GiantsOF Bobby Bonds
New York YankeesSP Fritz Peterson
Cleveland IndiansLHSP Sam McDowell
Washington SenatorsSS Ed Brinkman
Minnesota Twins2B Rod Carew

If you are interested in this or any other league contact me in comments.

The face to face league in Fitchburg MA has finished its regular season here are the final standings

Lynn DivisionWLPCTGBWCGB
Tampa Bay Rays 4119.683—-n/a
San Francisco Giants3525.5833 1/2Bye
St. Louis Cardinals3228.5337Home
Colorado Rockies2436.40014 1/2ELIM
Dan DivisionWLPCTGBWCGB
New York Yankees 3921.650—-n/a
Washington Nationals2833.45911 1/2Away
Seattle Mariners2734.44212ELIM
San Diego Padres1743.28321ELIM
Nationals and Mariners played a 61th game to break a tie for the final wild card spot

Here are the playoff results to date:

Wild Card Playin at St Louis

St. Louis Cardinals 8 Washington Nationals 5

Playoffs round one: best of five

Tampa Bay Rays defeat St. Louis Cardinals 3 games to 1

New York Yankees defeat defending WP champ San Francisco Giants games to one

World Series Best of seven

9/11 NYY at TB

On 9/25 at 1:30 PM at Zeda’s Pizza in Fitchburg MA our face to face draft league which first began playing in 1987 in Fitchburg Massachusetts will have it’s meeting to finalize the plans for our next season (2020) We currently have 8 teams in two divisions and would like to expand to at least nine or possibly 10. Anyone interested in joining is welcome to show up. Issues to be decided

  • Dues (currently $35 a season)
  • Number of games (currently 60 but may shrink to let us catch back up with MLB)
  • Number of weeks per month. (currently playing every other week, considering adding one extra week or more)
  • Date for draft (and / or expansion draft) and date to begin season.

New players are always welcome

The Agony of Choice Dynasty Protected Player Edition

Posted: September 4, 2021 by datechguy in dynasty baseball, fun, gaming, Sable Baseball, Uncategorized
Tags: , ,

My Dynasty face to face 2019 face to face league season is over as my Washington Nationals fell to St. Louis in the wild card game 8-5.

So now comes the decision making time. As the Wild Card team that lost the play-in game I am allowed to retain 10 players on my roster who are not subject to next years draft.

That number does not include any new rookies for the Washington Nationals ( my franchise) who have their 1st card this year. All of those players are protected automatically although I do have the right to release them to make room on my 35 man roster or if they are fringe players (% players or limited AB vs LH or RH) can be put on my five man AAA roster)

Any man who was on my roster last year who is a fringe player (as described above) can be retained even if they can’t be used in play. Any player who did not have a card last year due to injury or the COVID opt out who is currently on my roster CAN be retained but again I would have to commit a roster spot to them.

This season is a tad odd in one respoect. Because of the COVID the league was put on hold for a while so we will be starting our 2020 season at a point were we are deep into the actual 2021 season so we know if a player is having a good (or bad) year which will of course affect our decision to keep players.

As of this moment here are the players that will absolutely make my protected list:

Abreu 1b: Clutch Rating Incredible power both sides improved range over the previous season and having a strong year for a team heading to the playoffs

Othani: DH While he had a bad card last year his stats this year plus the potential of filling both a pitching and a batting slot next season demands I keep him here.

Lindor SS While he is having a disappointing season this year his numbers last year combined with excellent defense ratings at a key position guarantee his roster spot

Scherzer RHSP Jam Rating While his 2020 season was below avg he’s still better than a lot out there combine this with a jam rating and a strong 2021 and Scherzer makes the team

Molina C (H & R rating) A -3 arm behind the plate forgives a lot of sins among pitchers combine that with a H & R rating and you’ve got a key position covered.

Hand LHRP Hand led the league in saves last year with a 7-1 K-BB ratio and no HR’s given up he’s a keeper without a jam+ rating which he had the year before.

Rendon 3B Clutch rating: Rendon has a big dropoff over his Washington numbers and led the AL in double plays last year but his defense is still strong and that clutch rating still makes him worth a spot.

Devers 3B: Clutch rating With Rendon at 3B & Devers defense not existent one might think he was worth risking in the draft but his powerful bat at DH will complement Abreu & Rendon in a lineup and if Rendon’s decline continues he might even get the starting job next year.

That leaves me two spots left and here are the players who are fighting for them:

Whit Merrifield 2B. While is 2019 states particularly on defense are down his 2020 starts are still pretty good. the real question is: Do I want to spend a draft pick on a second baseman or would I rather keep Merrifield and save the pick for someone else.

Eddie Rosario OF Rosario was one of the heroes of the team last season after the Mookie Betts trade and it was his bat that put the team into the playoffs. His bat is not as impressive this year and the clutch rating is gone but he still has plenty of pop to play with.

Edwin Diaz RHRP Diaz is a pretty solid reliver but not at Hand’s level. Again his stats were down from 2018 but this year they are back up and running.

Eric Hosmer 1b: Clutch rating. Hosmer as always has solid numbers and if it wasn’t for Abreu he would likely have a spot sewn up. He certainly could make a RH DH to platoon with Devers

Javier Baez SS Baez was my #1 pick last season but while is defense shines his power numbers are down for 2020 even if they have recovered in 2021. He is unlikely to take the SS spot from Lindor in 2020 but if kept might be the man in 2021, but is that worth a roster spot.

Anthony Rizzo 1B A mainstay of my team, Abreu’s improved range means he has no chance to start and the degree of depth at 1st makes keeping him a luxury.

Deshields OF: Speed, defense and the ability to bunt (a rare gift these days) are all in his favor but I’m almost certainly going to find a better outfield in the draft even as last as the 7th or 8th round.

Longshots include Josh Reddick, Sergio Romo Adam Plutko and Wade Miley

I’ve got several weeks to make up my mind as to who to keep and who to toss. If you have any suggestions I’ll be happy to entertain them.= in comments.

Five Reasons Why Jersey’s Jack’s Next Machine Should be The Chosen

Posted: August 25, 2021 by datechguy in business, culture, entertainment, fun, pinball
Tags: , , ,
Christ about to deliver the Sermon on the Mount from the Chosen Season 2 finale

One of the great bits of fun about Pintastic each year is to see the new machines that are being released. Some are original, some are licensed. The question is to find a game that would not only make a good machine, but would have a good customer base to start with.

The answer of course is the Chosen. Here are five reasons why Jersey Jack Pinball should consider making a Chosen Machine.

5. Mutually beneficial to both parties

One of the goals of the folks at the Chosen is to expose this series and the message of Christ to as many people as possible, particularly those who might not be exposed to it. As a pinball company one of the goals at Jersey Jack is to expand the hobby exposing it to others. A Chosen Pinball machine would accomplish both. The message of Christ would be spread to a hobby base that while having some Christians like myself in it is not known as a faith base, while Jersey Jack with it’s line of G-PG machines would be an excellent entre to the hobby for those who would like the game.

4. Inexpensive licensing:

One of the biggest expenses for a game based on a movie or TV series is the licensing cost. The Wizard of OZ, the Hobbit and Pirates of the Caribbean all involved licensing costs.

The folks at the Chosen have been giving away the show in order to spread it to as many people as possible, that being the case it is likely that the license cost will likely be nominal for the very same reason.

3. Consistent with Jersey Jack Personal Beliefs:

Jack is known as a solid Catholic and a Knight of Columbus. In speeches at Pintastic NE he has talked about how his wife reminded him of this when deciding what games to make and use. You can’t find a product more in tune with those religious believes than a Chosen Pinball machines.

2. Ready Made Customer Base:

The first thing to consider when making a commercial product is “will it sell” “Is there a customer base for it?”

According to the Chosen website 75,346 people raised $10,000,000 to fund season one and 125,346 people (including 86% of those who funded season one) raised the ten million for season two. On the “Pay it forward” page as of this writing the first five episodes of season three are funded while 21,000+ people have kicked in to fund episode six so far. The chosen has managed to crowd fund $11.85 Million of the 18 million they’ve budgeted toward paying for season three. Over 257,000,000 people have watched the series so far and over 2000 fans showed up from all over the country to be part of the “Sermon on the Mount” scene that ended season 2 and will begin season three.

That’s what I call a customer base.

and finally the #1 reason why the Chosen should be Jersey Jack’s next machine.

  1. It’s practically designed for a Pinball machine!

Pinball machines these days are all about progress toward goals. The chosen is made for it.

Imagine a goal of collecting 12 apostles plus Mary Magdalene (most with video clips for them).

Progressive increases for bumpers are there like the size of crowds in Sychar or for the sermon on the mount, the lines in Syria, the fish in Simon’s boat) and we they haven’t even gotten to the potential stuff in season three like multiplication of the loaves and the fishes Those are made for the bumpers to increase.

Point to point goals. From miracles (Driving the demons from Mary, Simon getting the fish, curing the leper, healing Simon the Zealots’ brother) to meetings (Nicodemus meeting Jesus, getting through the crowd to the roof) traveling from city to city Capernaum, Cana, Syria, Caesar Philippi etc etc etc

Several potential mini-games (making Abagail’s toys,, Simon in a fight, preparing Shabbat dinner, finding Jesus in the crowd at Sychar or as a child in Jerusalem, escorting the taxes, plowing the field, even fixing the axel or fishing for food in season two ).

There’s even potential penalties (Roman taxes that subtract point) or arrests (John the Baptist or Jesus) and ducking the Pharisees.

Moreover there is potential for growth. A game that encompasses the first three seasons can potentially be followed by a 2nd doing seasons four and five as the really heavy stuff that might be tougher for such a game (the final arrest, scourging and Crucifixion are many year away.

The chosen is , as of now, the finest example of an excellent television with small non-cooperate control, combine that with Jersey Jack, the best new pinball makers also with the same small non-cooperate model and you have potential for a winner that will sell long after both men are gone.

It would be educational, inspiring, and most of all for a pinball game, fun!

The business of writing

Posted: August 14, 2021 by ng36b in fun
Tags: , , , , ,
My new book! Get it on Amazon (currently on Kindle and soon to be on paperback)

I’ve written all my life. As a young kid, I would often write letters to the editor for our local paper, typically to fight over points made by some previous idiot other citizen (which hasn’t changed all that much). I wrote plenty of essays and articles in high school and then college. I had to write plenty of manuals, white papers and technical descriptions for work in the Navy. I wrote over 200 pages for my thesis (which the Naval Postgraduate School controls, otherwise I’d give you a link).

It wasn’t until a few years ago I tried my hand at writing for actual money. I went ahead and published a book on Amazon talking about how to travel in the military. I knew it would never be a best seller, since it had a pretty narrow audience. The point in writing it was not to make a lot of money, rather, it was to learn about how to take an idea and compose it into a book that people other than my friends would be interested in reading and actually pay money to read. It did pretty well for being a simple eBook (and its still available if you want to read it).

Writing that book made me learn how to edit. My wife savagely removed every possible passive sentence from my written words. I learned how to edit out the boring parts, shaving sentences until it was all meat and no fat. I realized that readers don’t want long, incoherent run-on sentences (yes, William Faulkner, that means most of your novels suck), they wanted something interesting and meaningful.

But writing took a back seat for a while. In 2016 I spent 54 days in the NICU with our daughter, Rebecca, who struggled to survive from an early emergency birth, multiple heart defects and Down Syndrome. During that time, I found this blog, and since Peter was advertising for new writers, he said I could compete for a spot. So I wrote a piece about breastfeeding in public, which he was surprised hit a strong note with people. Eventually I made the cut and was able to regularly blog about things outside the Navy.

And then tragedy hit. Rebecca died. To add insult to injury, I was supposed to leave in a week to start house hunting for forever home, since the Navy would allow me to homestead to provide consistent medical care for Rebecca. Despite the agony, I went from planning a funeral to hunting for land to build a home. That journey became surprisingly epic in its own right. I learned some hard lessons about home building, the VA loan process, and city government. I nearly lost my house two or three times, yet somehow I was able to overcome those adversities and succeed.

So I decided to get back to my roots and write a book. By now, I realized people wanted to read stories. They wanted a hero to root for, someone who would overcome harrowing obstacles. But they also wanted this person to be relatable, which meant they had flaws that made it hard to succeed in their quest. People that face no challenges are boring and unrealistic.

That’s exactly what you get with my new book, “To Build a House: My surprisingly epic saga in custom home building.” It’s my tale about navigating the world of true custom home building: from picking a blank piece of land to signing forms, fighting the VA, signing builder contracts, sparring with the local city government, nearly pulling all my hair out, and yet in the end making it all work. Like a good movie, it has highs and lows. It doesn’t dwell too long in sad spots, but neither does it celebrate for long before new challenges appear.

The best part is that its all true. I couldn’t have made it up if I tried. I went back and checked timelines and emails to establish when things really happened. I don’t have to exaggerate, because it really was an epic saga to make it all work. Even better, it’ll be part of a series, because I had to stop the book at some point before it got too long. More “To Build” books will be coming.

Writing “To Build a House” taught me much about myself. I’m hoping the finished product will do the same for you.

This post represents the views of the author and not those of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, or any other government agency. “To Build a House” is available now on Amazon Kindle and will soon have a paper and audio-book version.

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