Posts Tagged ‘gaming’

If My Dynasty 1971 Draft League’s Season Ended Today…

Posted: September 22, 2023 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, gaming, online gaming
Tags: , ,

…then the playoffs would look like this:

AL Division Winners:

  • East: Kansas City Royals (2 1/2 games up)
  • West Oakland A’s (5 games up)

Wild Card Teams

  • 1st Wild card: Baltimore Orioles +6 G
  • 2nd Wild Card Washington Senators +5 G
  • 3rd Wild Card California Angels (1 game up)

Playoffs:

  • Wild Card game: Angels at Senators
  • Division games: Baltimore at Kansas City , Washington or California at Oakland (best of 5)
  • AL Pennant Series (Best of 7)

NL Division Winners

  • NY Daytraders (Mets) (up 8 games)
  • West Division Los Angeles Dodgers (up 13 1/2 games)

Wild Cards

  • 1st Wild card Chicago Cubs (+4)
  • 2nd Wild Card Atlanta Braves (+ 1 1/2)
  • 3rd Wild Card Philadelphia Phillies (11 games up)

Playoffs:

  • Wild Card Games Phillies at Braves
  • Division Games Chicago at New York, Philadelphia or Atlanta at Los Angeles (best of 5)
  • NL Pennant Series (best of 7)

World Series (Best of 7)

Top Draft picks

  • 1st Cincinnati Reds (-1)
  • 2nd Pittsburgh Pirates (- 1 1/2)
  • 3rd Montreal Nos Amours (-4)

There are however 69 games left to the season and anything is possible although the absolute collapse of the NL 2nd division (the highest winning percentage of a non-playoff team is St. Louis at .386) suggests that the NL playoff races are pretty much done and the only real question is can either Philly or Atlanta pass the cubs to get that 1st round bye?

In the AL it’s more complicated. All the division races are still races and 3 teams are within 5 games of the last wild card (2 teams within 3 games) and even the worst team in the league (NY Yankees) has a .402 winning percentage and is only 10 1/2 games out of the wild card.

My own team (Milwaukee) is out of it technically only 7 1/2 out but with 4 teams to pass thus I’ve already traded:

  1. My starting CF Tommie Agee (Mets)
  2. My starting LF Frank Howard (Orioles)
  3. My Starting SS Ron Theobold (Royals)
  4. My Starting 3B Phil Gagliano (Orioles)
  5. My #2 starter SP Ray Lamb (Orioles)
  6. My Closer Ken Sanders (Mets)

For these players I have acquired:

  • 2 1st round picks
  • 1 3rd round picks
  • 1 5th round pick
  • 1 sixth round pick
  • Ken Berry CF (Gold glove in 72 & good offensive year)

How will this end? I have no idea but given how the NL is doing and the fact that I play every game to win no matter what I might have a lot fewer keepers that I hoped for.

I still have available to trade:

  1. My starting 2B (Ron Hunt)
  2. My starting Catcher (Jack Haitt)
  3. My new Starting 3B (Jose Pagan)
  4. My #3 Starter George Stone
  5. My #4 starter Rookie Jim Slaton
  6. Middle Reliver Jim Ray
  7. Middle Reliver Bob Miller

Slaton will likely be expensive as he has a long MLB career ahead of him

I also have the following players who either have long MLB careers ahead of them or have good cards for next year available

  1. OF Mike Jorgenson (long career)
  2. P Bob Reynolds (good stats in 1972)

They will likely go cheap since I don’t expect to have room to protect them even if I crater.

My needs are draft picks or a solid power hitter for next year.

A Good Investment vs a Bad One

Posted: June 16, 2023 by datechguy in economy, gaming
Tags: , , , ,

My son sent me this link concerning a kickstarter campaign here is a screen shot of it’s progress:

With 15 days to go this project is funded nearly 5x beyond what it needs.

Of course in fairness the original Groo dice game was not only hilarious but easy and fun to play so a revival makes sense. I still have my copy from when I owned a comic book store in the 1980’s I remember it fondly and highly recommend it. Based on the response there are plenty of other people who think the same so I suspect this will be a moneymaker for Steve Jackson games.

On the other hand there are some investments that simply don’t pay off:

Those are fully stocked store shelves of this merchandise, as if no one had touched them for weeks. Nobody wanted a Pride chew toy for their pet, nobody wanted Pride children’s wear, or transgender-themed children’s toys (I had to look up what Kidd Kenn was in the blue and pink box on the last in the sequence — a rap star), nobody wanted a Pride baking kit, nobody wanted LGBTQ+-themed liquor, or LGBTQ+ cups to put them in. Notice that the liquor is already on sale. Nobody wanted rainbow kid boots.

That’s shelf space that could have been used for merchandise that people wanted to buy, and in retail, efficient use of shelf space for things that sell is the name of the game. They pay people to determine those things. These items at Target Kearny Mesa were all displayed prominently at the front of the store, no back of the store decision for them. You’ve heard of “dead-naming”? Well, this was “dead-spacing.”

UnexpectedlyTM of course.

The reality is that both of these items are dealing with a niche market. The difference is that the makers of the Groo game aren’t pretending that their market is bigger than it is so they will show a profit. These guys at Target, not so much.

Dynasty 1996 Short Season 16 team, Draft League AL West The Story so Far…

Posted: May 12, 2023 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, gaming, online gaming
Tags: , , , , , ,

You’ve now gotten a glimpse of the AL east in my Dynasty 16 team short season (80 games once a week) league. Lets continue with a look at the AL West. (Current as of 5/11/23 Noon EST)

WestWLPCTGB
Toronto95.643——
Minnesota106.625____
Seattle 85.6151/2
Chicago67.4622 1/2

Toronto: 9-5 1st place (tie)

The good news : Ellis Burkes is tearing it up with a .393 avg 4 HR and 15 RBI’s He is in the AL Top three in Avg, Slugging, OBS, HR & RBI. Pat Mears has been a pleasant surprise hitting .302 with a pair of triples while Brian McRae has scored 12 runs with only 14 hits. Meanwhile Troy Percival has been lights out 5-5 in save chances and their Team ERA of 3.24 is tops in the AL and 2nd in the Majors.

The Bad News: No team has swung and missed more than Toronto with 136K’s in 14 games and Cecil Fielder (8K .174 avg) and Ed Sprague (17K’s .184) have only one HR between them in 51 AB. With the glove their .976 fielding is 2nd to last in the AL only Cleveland has done worse with the normally sure handed Mike Lansing with 4 errors in 14 games

Didn’t see that coming: Toronto Relievers Kent Bottenfield, Mike Jackson, Tory Percival and Jim Poole combined have appeared in 14 games, pitched 20 1/3 innings and have yet to give up an earned run

Medical Report: Rusty Greer was hurt early in the season and won’t be back for this homestand and isn’t expect back until the team hits LA although there is an outside chance he makes the last game in Minnesota, The prognosis on John Valentin who went down during the Seattle series is much better as he’s expected to be able to make the the Atlanta Series before the team hits the road for six.

Coming Attractions: Toronto has two more against Cleveland and hosts Atlanta for a pair before going on a six game road trip ending in LA but starting with a critical four games at Minnesota.

Minnesota: 10-6 1st place (tie)

The good news : Their +23 run differential is the AL’s best fueled by Johnny Damon whose .451 avg and 1.237 OPS both lead the majors Chuck Knoblauch .354 1 HR 11 RBI, and Mark Whiten .295 2HR 12 RBI are big reasons for it. Ben McDonald 3-0 with a 1.73 leads the league.

The Bad News: Brad Radke 5.21 ERA and no decisions in three starts. Javy Lopez has disappointed with the bat .191 1 HR 8 RBI and the glove he and Brian Johnson have a combined 25 stolen bases and 4 errors between them with only 5 caught. Whiten is wowing with the bat but already has 2 errors in the outfield and Jason Giambi .220 1 HR 7 RBI .270 OBP, and Garret Anderson .182 0 HR 1 RBI 1 R scored have underperformed.

Didn’t see that coming: Pedro Martinez 2-1 3.94 ERA

Medical Report: They feel fine

Coming Attractions: Minnesota’s home stand continues with Florida in for 2 and a huge 4 game series with Toronto interrupted briefly for a pair in St. Louis before they come back home for 3 vs the Yanks

Seattle: 8-5 .615 3rd place 1/2 GB

The good news : Albert Belle has been a monster at the bat hitting ,339 with 6 HR and 13 RBI. A-Rod only has 3 HR but has driven in 10. Jeff Cirillo his hitting .333 and has an OBP over .400

The Bad News: Dan Naulty has a 1.08 ERA but with an 0-2 record with only a 50% save rate (1 in 2 chances) Ken Griffey Jr. .214 1 HR 5 RBI

Didn’t see that coming: Randy Johnson in the bullpen 1-0 1.29 ERA 3 saves in 4 chances

Medical Report: Daren Oliver who was hurt in his 2nd start will be available for the final game of their series with Boston but with a record of 0-1 and an ERA of 10.29 the question is, will he come back to the rotation?

Coming Attractions: Seattle faces Boston and Pittsburgh on their current homestand before traveling for 4 against the White sox in Chicago and a pair in Houston before they see home again.

Chicago : 6-7 .313 4th place 2 1/2 GB

The good news : Marty Cordova has been a pleasant surprise with his .351 avg he and Steve Finley both have six doubles tied for 3rd in the AL Frank Thomas line is .300 4 HR 10 RBI with a 1.004 OBS. Alex Fernandez is making other teams earn their way on as his 1.57 walks per nine innings demonstrates. Steve Finley already has 2 outfield assists and Robin Ventura and Omar Visquel have only one error in 113 chances and the White Sox are tied for the fewest runs given up in the majors.

The Bad News: Unfortunately while giving up the fewest runs Chicago is also dead last in the AL in hits, batting avg (.242) and OBP. .311. White teams don’t score runs on Chicago they sure can run against them as Mike Macfarlane has caught only 1 of 11 runners trying to steal 0.91.

Didn’t see that coming: Mark McGuire .132 0 HR 2 RBI BUT .353 OBP 13 walks (3rd in league)

Medical Report: Every is healthy just not contributing much

Coming Attractions: Chicago has a nine game homestand with the Yanks coming in for 3 Cincy for two and then four huge games vs Seattle before hitting the road.

UPDATE: Had Baltimore coming attractions for Chicago, fixed.

Dynasty 1996 Short Season 16 team, Draft League AL East The Story so Far…

Posted: May 10, 2023 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, gaming, online gaming
Tags: , ,

It’s been a while since I’ve done a top to bottom eval of one of my leagues so let’s look at my once a week 1996 draft league currently in progress. Lets start with the AL East.

EastWLPCTGB
Boston76.538——
New York (A)76.538____
Cleveland58.3852
Baltimore511.3133 1/2

Boston: 7-6 1st place (tie)

The good news : Jose Canseco is tearing up the joint hitting .367 (4th in the AL) and driving in 16 (1st in the League) on 4 HR and 3 doubles. Mo Vaughn has 7 HR leading the majors and a .424 OBP. One the mound Turk Wendell has yet to give up a run in 5 1/3 innings of relief.

The Bad News: Starting pitching Roger Pavlik is 0-2 7.94 with batters hitting .326 against him. Donovan Osborne isn’t wowing anyone with a .313 avg for batters and a 6.17 ERA

Didn’t see that coming: Roger Clemens 2-1 3.57 ERA

Coming Attractions: Boston has three at Seattle before coming home for a pair against San Diego and a critical 4 game series vs the Yankees

NYY: 7-6 1st place (tie)

The good news : Andres Galarraga & Juan Gonzalez are both part of a six way tie or 3rd in AL Homeruns with 4 each. the joint hitting .367 (4th in the AL) Todd Stottlemyre is 3-0 tied for the MLB lead in wins, leads the AL in ERA (1.03) all while 3rd in Innings pitched. Jeff Juden in 6 relief appearances has yet to give up an earned run (WHIP 0.87).

The Bad News: Joey Hamilton (0-2 8.36 ERA WHIP 2.00 .361 avg against) has been bad but Andy Pettite (0-3 13.89 ERA WHIP 2.91 and batters hitting .426 ) has been much worse and are the reason why the yanks don’t have a lead in this division and was likely the prime driver in the trade of Mariano Rivera to Atlanta for John Smoltz (yes you read that right).

Didn’t see that coming: The Rivera / Smoltz trade should rank 1st but Bernie Williams stat line is interesting. He only has 10 hits .244 10 for 41 but has 10 RBI on those ten hits.

Medical Report: Pete Harnisch got hurt in his very first start and won’t be available against the White Sox but will be back for Houston unless they won’t to hold him for the big 4 game series vs the Red Sox

Coming Attractions: The Yanks have spent a lot of time on the road with three more vs the Pale Hose but they have a quick pit stop at home for a pair at Houston before heading to Fenway park for a critical series vs the Red Sox.

Cleveland: 5-8 .385 3rd place 2 GB

The good news : Bobby Higginson was a late draft pick but he’s been hitting like a first round pick batting .393 (3rd in AL) with 13 RBI (2nd in AL) all without a single HR. Jim Thome leads the AL with a .479 OBP and Edgar Martinez leads all the majors with 15 walks and Benito Santiago currently injured is part of that 6 way tie for 3rd in HR..

The Bad News: Cleveland has a team ERA of 5.85 2nd to last in the majors and three pitchers with ERA’s over 10 including Charles Nagy who in three starts has an ERA of 10.80 ERA an Avg against of .378 Their team is also dead last in the AL in Home Runs (9)

Didn’t see that coming: Despite the 2nd worst ERA in the Majors and the AL’s worst fielding percentage (.970) they are only 2 games out of first.

Medical Report: Both Kevin Appier and battery mate Benito Santiago went down vs the yanks and won’t be back in time for Toronto but they should both be around for St. Louis

Coming Attractions: The Tribe has three north of the border with Toronto and a part at home against St. Louis before heading to Baltimore for 4 games a stretch which give them their best shot to threaten for first.

Baltimore : 5-11 .313 4th place 3 1/2 2 GB

The good news : Hard to find good news here but the O’s lead the majors in fielding with a .993 avg and of teams with 15 attempts against them have the best caught stealing rate .462. They are also 2nd in the AL in walks as a team (59) Meanwhile while their starting pitching with the exception of Rheal Cormier (1-0 2.45 in 18 1/3 innings) has been suspect Jay Powel, Lee Smith and Randy Myers all have ERA’s of 2.08 or lower and are a perfect 4-4 in save situations.. The only good news at the plate is Quilvio Veras 3rd in the AL in Runs scored and tied for 4th in walks while Quinton McGracken who acquired with Mike Hampton for Danny Darwin and team leading hitter Brady Anderson has matched Anderson’s .333 batting avg and team lead in OBP since joining the club.

The Bad News: Baltimore is dead last in ERA (5.99) Last in the AL in slugging (.376)2nd to last in the AL in homers 2nd to last in avg .249 Starting pitchers Mike Hamption (6.00 ERA) Doug Drabek (8.36 ERA) Mike Mussina (9.82 ERA) Danny Darwin (12.10 ERA before being dealt to Houston) and Jimmy Key (ERA 13.50) have not benefited from the solid gloves of the team.

Didn’t see that coming: Pitchers Doug Drabek, Danny Darwin and Mike Hampton are a combined 5-5 at the plate with 4 RBI’s

Medical Report: Baltimore remains two starters down. Jimmy Key was lost after his 2nd start. He won’t be back to face LA but should be back in time for the end of the Cleveland series. Musinna will miss the entire homestand but will be able to make the trip to Florida.

Coming Attractions: Baltimore starts a six game homestand with 2 vs LA and 4 vs the Tribe before heading off to Florida for a pair then three in Seattle .

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