NKOtB Part Two: Sacramento Shockers

The History: Boy is there history. bigking founded the Wichita Shockers and operated the franchise successfully for its first 8 seasons. The Shockers of Wichita finished below .500 just once, made the playoffs in 5 of their first 8 seasons and represented the American League in the World Series in Season 2.

After Season 8, mr_orange and his crew muscled in on the Wichita franchise. Unconfirmed reports had bigking behind on a loan he used to finance a free agent spending spree in Season 4. When mr_orange threatened to cut off his ear, bigking went to the authorities. He was immediately place in the witness protection program.

However, mr_orange legally acquired the franchise in bankruptcy proceedings after bigking changed his name and was re-located to Sacramento. After hiring defense attorney Clarence Darrow on the advice of Mexico City Bandejos owner dyuen, mr_orange was acquitted. The Federal Marshalls released bigking from witness protection after his testimony failed to convict mr_orange. King stayed in Sacramento, re-built his fortune as a traveling mascot and TV commercial star, and bought the team formerly in Oklahoma City at a steep discount.

The Outlook: King is the 4th owner is as many seasons for a franchise that has never made the playoffs. However, the team has won exactly 72 games in 3 of the past 5 seasons, so the cupboard isn't bare. Livan Suarez (.296, 41 HRs) returns to lead the offense. His brother Jose Suarez returns as leadoff man after stealing 76 bases last season. Edgar Romo had a breakout season at age 30 interrupted by elbow trouble, but returns. Former Wichita SS Walter Kingston was brought in to stabilize the IF. Finally, a bevy of young prospects litter the minors and could help in the coming years.

The Name - Well, this one comes as no surprise - see the picture.

Type A Free Agent Signings

Click on the table to make viewing easier.
Well it was a busy Hot Stove season as you can see above with a special focus on the Type A free agent signings.


Some of the most notables signings were the 77 million dollar contract over 5 years given to Phil Martin (SP) by his new team Scranton. Will his 89 ST, 80 CT, 82 RH be worth the price tag? Also, 2nd in career saves, Willis Gordon of Houston now will cash in his 27.6 million over 4 years contract and potentially finish his career as the #1 saves leader with his new team.

While the position player signees were not as spectacular Harvery Womack (SS) of Houston and Miguel Machado (C) of Kansas City bring that rare combo of exceptional defense as well as a big stick at normally weak offensive postions. Their defensive ratings while not shown in the table above were in the 80s for Harvey (ss) and in the 70s for Miguel (c). Will they be the key pieces to their team's pennat runs?

I'm sure it is sad for the fans to see these stars leave town. The owners had to make those tough financial decisions and will be rewarded with supplemental 1st rounds picks in the upcoming amateur draft later this season.

New Kids on the Block, Part One: Tacoma Truckers

The History: tmfran is the 8th owner is this troubled franchise's 11 years. That's the bad news. The good news is that he comes in on the heels of the relative stability of cincyredlegs ownership. redlegs had the team for three years, moving it back to Cincinnatti for the 3rd time and Ohio for the 4th time. The Truckers are now in Tacoma which should shorten what was a frightening travel schedule in a division that also contains Vancouver, Ottawa, and Kansas City.

The Outlook: While in the Cininnatti the team was briefly beloved after consecutive playoff trips in seasons 8 and 9. However, last year's team struggled badly, producing the worst record in franchise history (55-107).

Season 10 saw the team score nearly 200 fewer runs than the previous year after Gerald Pong left for Texas. The pitching staff crumbled even worse with the ERA balooning from 4.90 to 8.33. Young, athletic stars like Manny Corey, Roosevelt Gilkey, Mateo Figureoa, and href="http://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=804376" target="_blank">Jim Hughes will be counted on to provide offense, speed, and defense. But, can pitching coach Tim Fischer turn around a staff that struggled so mightily last season?

The Name: In steps tmfran, raised in Japan by a secret samuri society, the wonderkund left the secret, ancient arts for business. He became an acclaimed engineer and designed the Toyota Tacoma, Motor Trend's 2005 Truck of the Year. After an ugly departure from Toyota following a obscenity laced argument with Toyota CEO Katsuaki Watanabe in 2007 at a kereoke bar (they couldn't agree on the lyrics to Men At Work's, Man Down Under), tmfran headed for the Great Northwest. He settled in Washington State and became an avid fly fisherman. Two years of fishing found him itching to get back to work and he decided a baseball team is just what the Pacific Northwest needed. Naming the team the Tacoma Truckers is one last jab his bitter rival, Wantanbe.

Owner Profiles Spreadsheet

Here are the last two owner profiles I received. Also to sum up all of the profiles I have added a table beneath this that shows the owner details in a more succint form. Have a great season everyone.

dspahlinger - San Franciso Dolphins
1. I live in South Carolina but actually a suburb of Charlotte NC also lived in So.Calif. for 40 years
2. Just turned 70
3. Retired (was CEO & CFO in banking industry for 40+ years). Consequently have plenty of time to devote to HBD which has become a major hobby.
4. Married but wife is also busy with her friends. We do quite a bit of travel also. 2nd (very happy) marriage.
5. Admire Tony LaRussa. Big proponent of Bill James type stats. OBP much more important than BA, think WHIP better gauge of overall pitching ability than ERA etc.
6. Never had the talent to think of pro ball but as a kid (grew up in St.Louis in Musial years) could recite starting lineups for (then) all 16 ML clubs. Always been huge baseball fan.

jwendt - Sioux Falls Dakota
1. Chicago
2. 33
3. Project Manager - Mgmt & IT Consulting firm
4. Married - no kids
5. Hate Lou Pinella - too much yelling for a guy that hasn't really won that much
6. well getting cut from the HS freshman team ended that dream but I did get to work for major league team for awhile after college - 5 years later, my dream of being a GM died too. Then I went back to school and got a real job.

Sorry about the extra white space until the table.

Owner	Team	Location	Age	Job
DSMBA	KANSAS CITY BLUES	Denver, CO	39	CPA
DYUEN	MEXICO CITY BANDEJOS	Chicago	40	Attorney
JROOSTER35	CHEYENNE SEMINOLES	Cincinati, OH	26	Build Airplane Parts
HOCKEY_BRIAN	TOLEDO BOONSE FARMERS	Mt. Pleasant, Michigan	42	Sales Manager
HARTEL	AUGUSTA STORM	Geneva, OH	46	Management at Nuclear Power Plant
BUCK18	COLORADO MOUNTAIN OYSTERS	Packwaukee, WI	34	Sales Rep
HCOHENMB	VANCOUVER JETS	Memphis, TN	57	Physician
PIRATEFAN13	FRESNO OUTLAWS	Bowie, MD	37	USAF
TMFRAN	TACOMA TRUCKERS	St. Louis, MO	32	Security
SRIRAM12078	PAWTUCKET QUAHOG CRUSH	Arlington, VA	31	Consultant
MADMULDOON	NEW YORK HELLRAISERS	San Antonio, TX	46	Retired Oil Field Worker
BOSSMAO	SALEM GRAND SALAMIES	Portland, OR	53	Auto Parts Warehouse Sales
MR_ORANGE	BALTIMORE DEAD HOMIES	Cincinnati, OH	36	Youth Sports Director
REIGNY	SANTA FE FIREHAWKS	Reston, VA	41	Owner of Construction company
DBERUBE7	HELENA HOUND DOGS	Boston, MA	27	Marketing at professional theatre
BIGKING0505	SACRAMENTO SHOCKERS	Ripon, CA	30	Police officer working on MBA
SZAVSZA23	RICHMOND CONFEDERATES	Richmond, VA	36	Senior Buyer at Electronics company
DARRENMAYBEE	WASHINGTON D.C. HONOR AND COURAGE	Lynchburg, VA	34	Pharmacist
DSPAHLINGER	SAN FRANCISCO DOLPHINS	South Carolina, suburb of Charlotte, NC	70	Retired CEO and CFO in banking industry
JWENDT	SIOUX FALLS DAKOTA	Chicago, IL	33	Project Manager of IT Consulting Firm

Developer Chat Highlights

The newest Developer Chat is up today on WIS. I never looked at these too much before but they really do have some great info in them. Some of these are really long too. I decided to pull some highligts from today's for you to read and comment on. A lot of questions are on Free Agents, Contracts, and Arbitrations but I wanted to pull the questions most about daily game play and player ratings.
So read and stay competitive until the season starts.

QUESTION - RATINGS BY PLAYER TYPE
Are the ratings numbers generated randomly? I feel like certain categories should be linked, but get the impression that they're not when I see guys with 80 range and 20 speed. (usssalami - Rookie - 12:05 PM)

ANSWER
Ratings are generated based on player type and the ratings that matter are linked. Speed and range are not linked because it is not necessary to have great speed to have great range. Cal Ripken is a great example of this, he wasn't fast but he could position himself well enough to make a lot of plays.

QUESTION - DEFENSIVE PROJECTIONS
Are you satisfied with the rate at which young SS, 2B and CF progress defensively? A draftee at those positions with high projections (90+) typically needs 4+ seasons of minor league ball before they can legitimately field their position adequately at the big league level, and even then they still aren't close to their projections. Those positions in particular are hard to get a young ML caliber defender at, even though in real-life MLB, it’s where a majority of the young premier defenders play. (randallball - Hall of Famer - 12:10 PM)

ANSWER
We are going to be taking a look at a lot of different data for the next update and I think that this is one area in which we will be looking at. Thanks for bringing it up.

QUESTION - DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH
Any way you guys can limit the number of crappy DIRT prospects the system generates? What's the point of telling me that a prospects jumped from 30 overall to 40 overall when he's still a career AA player at best just like he was before he became a DIRT. (radek - All*Star - 12:26 PM)

ANSWER
Diamonds in the Rough aren't supposed to be great every time you get one. The majority of the players that will become DITR will see little improvement. However, on random occasions you can get a player who will become a ML caliber player. Keep in mind also that player's can go through the cycle more than once so that crappy guy you are describing might go through the process again and become great.

QUESTION - DRAFT RANKINGS
When ranking players for the amateur draft, if I see ten players (for example, pitchers with control under 30) who I want sent to the very bottom of the list (basically to ensure that I won't draft any of them). Is there a way to select all ten at once by hitting 'ctrl'? This would be much more convenient than having to select each player; drop him to the bottom; find the next player and repeat separately. It's kind of arduous and makes me spend less time altering my draft board. Thanks for listening! (wrecks42 - Prospect - 12:37 PM)

ANSWER
There is going to be a significant overhaul for the amateur draft ranking process that I think everyone will enjoy. It will make ranking your prospects much easier.

QUESTION - PTICHER RANKING IMPORTANCE
Is it more important to have a pitcher that has good splits (lefty vs. righty) or have a higher number on their #1 and #2 pitches? (bperkins - All*Star - 1:11 PM)

ANSWER
In the engine all of the ratings are considered and it is possible that having very high ratings in either category can diminish the penalty for the lower ratings in the other category. Personally, I like to look for pitchers who have higher effectiveness, but that is just my opinion.

QUESTION - CATCHER PITCH CALLING
Does a catcher's pitch calling affect anything other than OAV? Does it affect how many pitches a pitcher throws per inning? (sweetsalve - Hall of Famer - 1:11 PM)

ANSWER
No, it only affects OAV.

QUESTION - PITCHER EFFECTIVENESS
You wrote on here that ou prefer Pitcher's who have higher "effectiveness". What does that mean? What do you consider to be high effectiveness? (05nomar05 - Veteran - 1:49 PM)

ANSWER
Any pitcher whose VsRHB is >= 70 mainly.

QUESTION - PITCH CALLING EFFECT
So if the PC is a modifier of the pitch quality (and not RH/LH effectiveness), will a 60PC catcher and a P1 of 70 have the same effect as a 70PC catcher and a P1 of 60? (toddcommish - Hall of Famer - 1:55 PM)

ANSWER
It's a modifier on the pitcher's repertoire so all pitches are factored and the modified by the PC rating.

QUESTION - PROSPECT REACHING PROJECTIONS
Can a prospect that was mishandled early in development ever get to his projections if he is put in a good situation or are the progression points he missed gone for good? (kalikgod - Hall of Famer - 2:29 PM)

ANSWER
It's going to take a great deal of work but it's mathematically possible.

QUESTION - PITCHING COACH EFFECT
One of my Ace starters has his 5th pitch rated at 18. In 10 seasons I've had the best pitching coach in the world on couple of occasions but he did not drop that 5th pitch. Better yet, why is he even trying to throw this pitch knowing he has 4 better ones to chose from? (radek - All*Star - 3:24 PM)

ANSWER
A pitching coach makes the decision whether having a pitch helps or hinders a pitcher based on his overall number and grades of pitches. If it makes more sense to keep a pitch (a show-me pitch), then it won't be dropped.

QUESTION - DRAFT TALENT BALANCE
Why is there more major league talent for starting pitchers (mediocre) in the ametuer drafts? There are quite a bit low level ml prospects, but seems to be very few potential major league pitchers. (oddson - Hall of Famer - 3:53 PM)

ANSWER
Each season the distribution is different so one season might be heavy with high caliber 3B/1B while another season it might be a higher distribution of Relievers.

QUESTION - RELIEF PITCHING HOLDS
Can Holds be added as a pitching stat? It would really help with judging bulpens. (gratepool - Pro - 3:54 PM)

ANSWER
It makes sense to include it if it is possible.

QUESTION - HBD FUTURE GOALS
What is the next "major" step for HBD? When will 40 year old pitchers deteriorate at a more life-like pace? (blackmink18 - Hall of Famer - 3:57 PM)

ANSWER
I'm sure my opinion of the next major step is different than tzents, but I think that the next logical evolution of the game is to incorporate LIVE play. The next logical feature that will be implemented will either by the HOF and/or the Arizona Fall League. The 40 year old pitcher's deteriorating will be looked at in conjunction with the other data changes scheduled for the next update.

Owner Profiles Part 2

Hello again,

Here is the next installment of owner profiles from the Winter Meetings Q and A.
Hope you enjoy learning more about the fine, upstanding people your fellow owners are. Our mothers would be so proud.

DSMBA - KANSAS CITY BLUES
1. Denver, CO
2. 39
3. CPA
4. Married no kids
5. Lou Pinella gotta love Lou.
6. Early, played in high school. Unfortunately I was a much better football player (played Div II) but baseball was my love.


DYUEN - MEXICO CITY BANDEJOS
1. Chicago
2. 40
3. Attorney
4. Single but live with girlfriend who discusses with Jwendt's wife what losers we are for playing "robot baseball"
5. Ozzie Guillen of course. I hate Lou Pinella cause he is a Cubs bafoon who says nonsensical things but is cast as a genious when Ozzie says the same things and people call him an idiot. I hate Tony LaRussa because no matter what he does people says he is innovative and brilliant and hes not. Why would you ever bat a pitcher 8th?
6. When I started playing hardball again 3 years ago and hit a tapper back to the pitcher.

JROOSTER35 - CHEYENNE SEMINOLES
1. Cincinati, Ohio
2. 26
3. Single according to taxes. But have a g/f of 5 years we just recently got engaged.(Guess she would be my fiance then but i like the sound of g/f better.)
4. Build airplane parts at a factory. (3 classes away from graduating with a BS in Criminal Justice from University of Cincinnati, graduated from Police Academy but haven't found a job.
5. I like to argue and yell so it would have to be Lou Pinella
6. 5 years after high school when my high school g/f and i split up. During the HS years I was more worried about my the puntang than anything else. I Decided to pass up on miami hamiltons baseball team because i thought i would be able to walk on at UC. Never got that far cause i was too busy chasing the coooter What a dumb ass I was.

HOCKEY_BRIAN - TOLEDO BOONSE FARMERS
1. Mt. Pleasant Michigan
2. 42 soon to be 43
3. Sales Manager
4. Married with three boys 10 5 and 2 (my wife hates Wis)
5. Hate any yankee Manager most like Ozzie guillen
6. College ball when Iwas told I could walk on and maybe sit the bench did not want to put the work in to sit the bench

HARTEL - AUGUSTA STORM
1. Geneva Ohio
2. 46
3. Management at a Nuclear Power Plant
4. Married with 1 step child at home, two daughters on there own
5. Tony LaRussa
6. Never a dream, just a fan.

BUCK18 - COLORADO MOUNTAIN OYSTERS
1. Packwaukee, WI
2. 34
3. Sales rep
4. single
5. Don't really like or dislike any manager, I guess i would say i most dislike whoever is the manager of the yankees.
6. Well I new it before this but I would say senior year in college when i lost my starting possition to a freshman.

HCOHENMB - VANCOUVER JETS
1. Memphis Tennessee (and Long Island NY)
2. 57
3. Physician
4. Married with older kids and residing part of year in separate cities
5. Would emulate the manager of LA (formerly NY) if I could
6. In my mid30's despite having no real reason to believe there was a possibility

Owner Profiles from the Q and A

Hello fellow owners,
I received a great response so far to the Winter Meetings Owner Profile Q and A survey. Here are the responses I have gotten at this time. If you haven't done your yet and would like to you can still send it in and I will put it up in the next post.

Here are the questions again that were asked.
1. Location: City, State, or Region where you live
2. Age:
3. Occupation: your job, or student, or retired:
4. Relationshp: married?, married with kids?, or single:
5. Manager you are most like? Lou Pinella, Joe Torre, Tony LaRussa, or Bobby Cox:
6. At what point did your dream of really playing professional baseball die?

PIRATEFAN13 - FRESNO OUTLAWS
1. Bowie, MD
2. 37
3. Government
4. Married recently
5. Tony LaRussa definitely
6. After joining the USAF

TMFRAN - TACOMA TRUCKERS
1. St. Louis, MO
2. 32
3. Security
4. Married, 2 kids
5. I both love and hate Tony Larussa
6. Playing the game baseball stars on the old NES is as close to playing pro baseball as I made it.

SRIRAM12078 - PAWTUCKET QUAHOG CRUSH
1. Arlington, VA
2. 31
3. Consultant
4. Single though in a relationship involved enough to make HBD a little trickier
5. Like Cox, hate LaRussa, would take Francona over all of your choices.
6. When I discovered I was afraid of the ball

MADMULDOON - NEW YORK HELLRAISERS
1. San Antonio Texas ( From Couer D' Alene Idaho)
2. 46
3. Retired Oil Field Worker--- Student at UTSA
4. Single Grandfather with one Son and Grandson
5. Billy Martin Love his Passion,But hated his Demons
6. When I was 16-- was an all-state Catcher then a family tragedy occured .Which forced me to give up School and Childish Ways and Go to Work for my Family .Now I can continue my Childish Ways .

BOSSMAO - SALEM GRAND SALAMIES
1. Portland Or
2. 53
3. auto parts warehouse/sales
4. Married /w4
5. Like LaRussa he wins most with least - dislike Cocky Cox
6. American Legion ball when i blew out arm. They call it rotater cuff now....then it was put some ice on it kid.

MR_ORANGE - BALTIMORE DEAD HOMIES
1. Cincinnati, Ohio
2. 36
3. Youth Sports Director
4. Married with a 4 year old daughter (Mazzy)
5. Even though I dislike Pete Rose, probably him because I would like to bet on these games.
6. High school, when I decided I would rather be inside playing basketball, even when it was nice outside.

REIGNY - SANTA FE FIREHAWKS
1. Reston VA (about 12 miles west of D.C.)
2. Biological age is 41, but my wife will be the first to say I'm worse than a 3 yr. old.
3. Owner and Director of Construction of Precision Design/ Build Services LLC. ( a residential, commercial, and historical renovation comapny. I have also built on average 10-15 5,000 to 10,000 sq ft homes a year.)
4. I am married for 5 years (second marriage) to Brenda and I have a precocious 2 yr. old daughter named Jaelyn.
5. I am most like Connie Mack (3731- 3948 .486). Mack never had good teams (much like I do) but he refused to give up. (much like I do.... maybe his ex-wife and my ex-wife talked support payments). Oh... I can't stand Joe Torre.
6. My dream hasn't died yet. I'm actually a starting first baseman and occasional relief pitcher in the Northern Virginia Ponce DeLeon Baseball League. (If Robert Redford could do it in the natural, I can do it too).

DBERUBE7 - HELENA HOUND DOGS
1. Boston, MA
2. 27
3. Marketing at a professional theatre
4. Have live-in girlfriend
5. As a Red Sox fan, I have to say Terry Francona, but I have a appreciation for Joe Torre was well.
6. At what point did your dream of really playing professional baseball die?
Never played baseball growing up. I did play basketball when I was younger, but my talents were always in music, not sports.

BIGKING0505 - SACRAMENTO SHOCKES
1. I live in a small city called Ripon California. Its about an hour south of Sacramento and about and hour and a half east of San Fransisco
2. 30 almost 31
3. I am a police officer in the City of Ripon for now and am currently working on my MBA online.
4. I am married and have been for the last 3 years.
5. The manager I am most like would have to be Art Howe... I could get my teams to the playoffs but could not win anything :)
6. My dream died after my first year of playing baseball in college. I realized that a lot of people could through 90-91, and being only 5'10 that was about as much as I could get out of my arm. That and the fact that I blew out my shoulder that year. I liked to drink to much back then so I didnt take the best care of my body.

SZAVSZA23 - RICHMOND CONFEDERATES
1. Richmond,VA but I'm from Detroit orginally.
2. 36, 37 in Feb.
3. Senior Buyer at Circuit City(at least today)
4. Married with Kids.
5. Sparky Anderson rocks!!!
6. I played Minor League baseball for a year for the Dodgers back in the early 90's( I tore my knee up and the rest is History.)

DARRENMAYBEE - WASHINGTON D.C. HONOR AND COURAGE
1. Lynchburg, VA (but also lived in Oklahoma for a while)
2. 34
3. Pharmacist at a hospital (but also maintain the pharmacy computer system too)
4. Married for 5 years with one future Hall of Famer named Luke (14 months old now)
5. I still like old Lou Pinella.
6. I was the leadoff hitter and centerfield star for my championship winning tee-ball team. The next year my Dad wasn't the coach and somehow I didn't make the team. Go figure :)

Interview with a Champion - JWendt

Hello Jason, Champion of Season 10 with the Sioux Falls Dakota!

As always Darren Maybee, baseball analyst and blogger for the Windy City Musings, requested the first interview with a champion to start off season 11. It will help fill in the time until we see if Manny Ramirez signs with Mexico City.

DARREN
First of all, congratulations!
You have had a pretty strong team these past couple of seasons, what made it all click for you this season 10?

JASON
First - I want to thank all of Second City. For ten seasons this group has a been a blast to play with. We've had consistently excellent retention and the level of play gets better every year (not that I'm ready to concede the division to hockey_brian, dberube or goblkngld just yet!

Frankly, we just got hot at the right time. This was actually the fewest games my team had ever won in the pre-season. I faced elimination in the first round against Nashville and was lucky to escape.

DARREN
What critical trades or roster moves if any may have made a difference in winning?

JASON
I think adding Derrick Quinn before the season for Jim Hughes was a real key. Hughes is a nice SS but I needed a true leadoff man and Quinn really helped me out there.

DARREN
What was your greatest strength and weakness leading to the championship?

JASON
Well, the Dakota have always prided themselves on pitching, especially in the rotation. That was true again this year. The
bullpen also really stepped it up after some investments in that area. As for a weakness, this may have been one of my worst defensive teams in several years. Age the lack of a true CF took there toll.

DARREN
How much time on a daily basis did you dedicate to managing your team? Did it increase during the playoffs?

JASON
I make a point of spending 10 minutes in the morning everyday keeping an eye on the team. If I'm not busy, I'll usually log on after the PM cycle as well. So that's maybe 20 minutes a day. During some times like the draft or off-season that time goes up. Plus, when I can fit it in, I like to get a blog article up there every now and again, especially if it gives me a chance to give wang35, dyuen, or gtce a hard time about something.

DARREN
Do you change your game strategy by who you are facing or which parks you are in?

JASON
I never make a change based on ballpark. I will alter lineups and occasionally baserunning or steal settings based on an opponent's pitcher and catcher.

DARREN
Did you have any major injuries that almost made you give up?

JASON
I sure did. I lost my ace, Bartolo Gonzalez for 60 days with about 40 games to go in the season. I thought that really hurt my playoff chances. When I staged that miracle comeback in the first round I really thought that would be it. But Bartolo was back for the NLCS against the hated Bandejos. With him and a little help from the Green Fairy - I was off to the World Series!

DARREN
Did you think you have found the perfect "budget" formula?

JASON
I don't think there's a perfect formula for everyone. I've been fairly consistent spending about $90 on player payroll. If I don't have any compensation picks I've usually got enough prospect budget to find 1 or 2 useful parts in the Int'l market, but I can't usually afford a star.

DARREN
What one piece of advice would you give the newbies or those still struggling for that first playoff chance?

JASON
4 things
#1 - DEFENSE
#2 - DEFENSE
#3 - DEFENSE
#4 - Don't rush your prospects

DARREN
Lastly, what nickname would you like to have for Season 11 as the reigning champion? Sir J, J Master, J Rock, or J-Z and Beyonce?

JASON - AKA THE J
I'd love to have J-Z and Beyonce on the Dakota staff, perhaps in the marketing department, but I'll stick with THE J for a nickname.

Good luck to all!
Jason

DAKOTA WIN TITLE - CITY PLANS CELBRATION!

The Sioux Falls Dakota won the Season 10 Championship over the Richmond Confederates tonight. Paul Rhodes threw 7 shutout innings completing a post-season that saw him throw 45 innings while allowing just 31 hits and 10 earned runs (2.00 ERA) while striking out 44 and walking just 9. The Dakota were powered to the 8-3 victory with a 3-run shot off the bat of Larry Price in the bottom of the first. Joaquin Medrano put an exclamation point on the series with a grand slam in the 7th.

As the city of Sioux Falls and state of South Dakota rejoiced, plans for a championship celebration were made. The parade to honor the champs will begin 77 miles west of Sioux Falls at the Mitchell Corn Palace (pictured right). Rarely has Sioux Falls seen a celebration like the one planned. Liquor stores for 150 miles are sold out of Tullamore Dew and Branca Mentha, key ingredients in the naughty girl scout, the official drink of the World Champion Dakota. Dakota manager Esteban Valentin declined to comment due to his drunkeness.

Absinthe doesn't spray - Dakota don't care

The Sioux Falls Dakota learned that even when you shake it up, Absinthe isn't great for spraying on your teammates like Champagne. But, nobody cared in the locker room after Sioux Falls won the NLCS behind 7 shutout innings by ace Paul Rhodes.

Clubhouse prankster Paul Byrne secretly replaced the traditional clubhouse champagne with a spread of Czech Abisnthe (pictured right). Byrne did this in response to widespread reporting of team owner jwendt's obsession with green fairy. Manager Esteban Valentin was widely criticized for his decision to start Bartolo Gonzalez coming off an elbow injury. But all that talk is water under the bridge. The big question know is how is the clubhouse manager gonna get all that green stuff out of the carpet in the Sioux Falls home clubhouse?

Gridiron Greats?

Football teams don't usually play 7-game series, but that appears to be the case in this year's ALCS. The recap so far:

Game 1: Salem kicker Justin Lewis nails a 47 yard field goal with under a minute remaining as the Salamie defense allows just one long TD pass to Slick Black in their 10-7 victory.

Game 2: The Richmond option attack gets rolling with TD runs by QB Angel Mercedes (37 yards), FB Joel Peterson (2 yards), and 5'7 scatback Cody Hall (22 yards) while rolling up 284 rushing yards in a 21-7 win.

Game 3: Defense prevails on a cold, rainy day in Richmond. The 'Feds jump out to a 2-0 lead on a sack by star DE Dick Caruso in the 1st quarter. The special teams fail them though after P Doc Belle pins the 'Feds deep on a coffin corner kick and Richmond can't rush it out of end zone. Then Richmond long-snapper Alan Spencer sails one over the head of the punter for another safety with just 30 seconds to play. Salem wins 4-2.

Game 4: Salem kick Willie Morales hits three of four FG attempts to lead the Salamies to a 9-7 win.

Game 5: Willie Morales misses twice, including a 38 yarder that sails wide as time expires, giving Richmond the 9-6 victory on the 3 sacks by Dick Caruso leading to game winning FG.

Dakota manager phased by Absinthe

Sioux Falls Dakota manager the J, in the most important series of the season against heated rival and neighbor, the Doc, made a huge tacitcal error in game 2. He started one time ace Bartolo Gonzales, who was coming off a severe shoulder injury and making his first start in over 2 months. Bart was blasted by the Bandejos for 9 runs in 2 innings.

Sioux Falls well respected and only sports writer, Jimmy Olsen, blasted the J for this poor decision. After some crack investigation, it was determined that Doc was able to cloud J's mind by serving him repeated doses of the Green Fairy on New Year's Eve. In 1905 the Swiss government was convinced that it was absinthe alone that turned a law-abiding citizen into a homicidal maniac. After Jean Lanfray, a 31-year-old laborer, killed his pregnant wife and two children, the Swiss government banned the spirit. While Lanfray had sampled a bottle of absinthe before breakfast that morning, officials failed to take into consideration that he had also consumed Creme de Menthe, cognac and soda, more than six glasses of wine and a cup of coffee laced with brandy. "If you drink too much, something bad will happen." Luckily for the J it was only a baseball game.

Crownrifico owner questions physical fitness of fellow owner

San Juan Crownrifico owner wang35, already reeling from a 1st round playoff defeat at the hands of Burlington and mired in a battle with his fans over a "white-flag" trade, fired a shot across the bow of four of Second City's most successful owners. Wang referred szavsza, bossmao, dyuen, and jwendt as "heavyweights". When WCM corespondents pressed for details, Wang was heard muttering, "Have you seen these guys? The Crownrificos would be making money hand over fist if I could just get them to the hot-dog stands twice a year."

Angered by the quote, the teams PR staffs agreed to release this photo from the last Second City owners meeting. The owners in question are shown here in the workout gear, clearly making an effort to get in shape. The Crownrifico PR department is still hungover and failed to repsond to requests for further comment.

Championship re-makes start off with a shelling.

Virgil Chavez Richmond Confederates Age: 23 B/T: R/R Born: Birmingham, MI Position(s): P (SP1) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

23-year old Virgil Chavez is by all accounts a star in the making. The key words being 'in the making.' Chavez was lit up on the biggest of stages today by the Salem Grand Salamies. The Salamies touched Virgil for 6 runs in a 2nd inning that featured 4 singles, a double, a walk and a hit batsman. Chavez was lifted in before getting the 3rd out.

The Feds staged a dramatic rally in the fifth, plating 5 off Salem ace Greg Jameson. It was too little too late as the Salamies scored another 3 in the 7th to cruise to a 10-7 win and take a 1-0 series lead.

In the NL, the Sioux Falls Dakota pulled out a thriller in Game One, winning 3-2 behind Paul Rhodes and a strong bullpen effort. Game Two features the return of Dakota ace Bartolo Gonzalez, making his return from an elbow strain that's had him out for two months.

Hardball Dynasty's

Bartolo Gonzalez

Wreckless Jung ejected, Bandejos in another fight?

BOX SCORE LINK

Hardball Dynasty's

Brian Jung

Twenty Four year old Mexico City starter Brian Jung really came into his own in his 2nd big league season, winning 20 games. As an 18-year old, Jung signed with the New York BadFish (now Augusta) for $14 million. Scouts immediately recognized his talent, but coaches were just as quick to recognize his short temper. In fact, Jung left Japan after the short temper combined with the martial arts training given him by his father kept getting him in trouble.

Jung competed in martial arts throughout his youth until a tragic incident when the Kobra Kai Dojo, visiting from Southern California, met up with Jung at an event in Tokyo. In the semi-finals, Kobra Kai's Johnny Lawrence attempted to injur Jung with an illegal leg sweep. Jung won the match, but was disqualified from the tournament and banned from future competition when he paralyzed Lawrence in an unsanctioned rematch in the parking lot.

Jung turned his attention to baseball which led him eventually to Mexico City after the Augusta coaches ran out of patience for Jung's outbursts, including two fights with teammates. He seemed to have turned it around in Mexico City until game two of the division series. Coming to bat in a tie game (1-1) in the bottom of the 2nd, Jung was called out on strikes, and snapped. He lunged for the umpire. Only the quick actions of Bandejo 3rd base coach J.P. Springer kept Jung from attacking the ump. Second City commissioner was examining tapes of the incident to determine if a suspension was warranted. But the damage was done. The Bandejo bullpen was touched for 6 runs and the upstart Bulldogs squeeked out a victory evening the series and stealing home field advantage.