GWJ OOTP League Thread

3 sim weeks ago my team was something like 7 games over .500 and within spitting distance of the final wild card spot. After going 3-15 over the next 3 sims I'm just hoping to finish .500. What the hell happened?

New file! San Diego is the first to clinch a spot in the playoffs, although that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

As a sidenote and a pleasant change, of the eight teams set to make the playoffs if they started right now, three are in the bottom half of the league in payroll, and another is right on the halfway mark.

What's the process for the game picking up uploaded files? I uploaded an hour or so ago and I see that Burke missed another week cause it doesn't seem to have worked out.

You may have uploaded just after I had already imported all the files.

My changes didn't seem to take either.

Are you both updated to the latest version?

yes, but I didn't get my changes in until 8:30ish pacific time so maybe it was too late.

I had imported by 1:30 AM EST, so that's a surprise. Huh.

I also uploaded before 1 am est, but I've been working so much I can't say for certain that I had updated so I'll give that a shot. I remember starting the process though so I should be good.

Down to the last week of the season. Who's getting in, and who's getting left behind?

Ugh, injuries just tore me up this season. Most of my hitters I was expecting to help out the batting average definitely did not produce like I wanted them to. There will definitely be a few changes to the roster during the offseason. Ah well, my quest for .500 baseball continues!

Yeah, I wasn't expecting much this season, looks like that's what I'm getting.

I do have hopes for building Atlanta back up bit by bit over the next few seasons though!

I have no idea why Denver is still in the hunt for the wildcard (albeit barely). Maybe if they had played like this after the All-Star break I would not have decided to burn down the team.

Showed SD clinch a playoff spot even though LA was up 3 games. Bug?

Bill Bonney wrote:

Showed SD clinch a playoff spot even though LA was up 3 games. Bug?

No - they've at least clinched one of the wild cards. Technically so has LA, but since they're currently in the division lead, they're not shown on the wild card standings.

New file! Guess what everybody! We've got not one, but TWO one-game play-ins!

Well, sort of. Detroit and Pittsburgh are facing off for the final NL wildcard place. Meanwhile, San Diego and Los Angeles will play to decide who wins the SL West.

That sim can happen Sunday, like usual late at night. However, if people are interested, we can postpone the game to Wednesday and make it a live simulation.

Ouch - Memphis manages to make the playoffs but we lose our starting SS and CF for 5+ weeks. This should prove to be a short postseason.

I'm sure no one really cares about the Detroit-Pittsburgh game except me and I'm perfectly happy simming it ASAP, even as soon as Saturday night so we can move the season along into the playoffs.

SD and LA can decide when they want their game to be.

Sat/Sun night is fine for me (LA). Don't want to hold up the league.

I'm good with running it whenever.

I don't think we've had a Game 163 in league history. Detroit ANNIHILATED Pittsburgh 15-1, while LA clinched the SL West title with a 3-2 victory over San Diego.

So, playoffs! Here's the brackets for the Divisional Series -

Northern League:
Detroit (86-77) v. Philadelphia (95-67)
Vancouver (92-70) v. Seattle (93-69)

Southern League:
Las Vegas (92-70) v. Los Angeles (108-55)
San Diego (107-56) v. Memphis (90-72)

So, the playoff sim schedule! In order to ensure everyone gets a chance to set their lineups and what not, we are going to skip the sim Monday, and will begin simming the playoffs on Wednesday. As usual, the sim schedule will stay the same (Sun-Mon-Wed-Fri), but I will be simming two games at a time, until all series are finished.

Oops, sorry guys for sh*tting the bed in that DET-PIT game.
It's a fitting way for us to end the season.

I need to regroup this offseason. Best of luck to everyone in the playoff.

Well, I didn't finish worse than last year, but the .500 season still eludes me. I finished dead last in all the offensive stats that matter (avg, on base), but my pitching, bullpen, and defensive efficiency were fairly consistent all season. I'm really thinking that all I need is a couple more bats and I should be good to go. We'll see what I can do in the offseason.

Good luck to everyone in the playoffs!

New file! Roll on the playoffs! No details tonight, just the update. Every series is at 2-0.

New file!

San Diego advances with a thorough 4-0 series victory over Memphis. Las Vegas takes advantage of home cooking to even their series with Los Angeles at 2-2, while Seattle does the same on the road, knotting their series with Vancouver at 2. Lastly, Detroit is still clinging to life vs. Philadelphia, winning a make-or-break Game 4 to put the series at 3-1.

If I recall correctly, both Philadelphia and Detroit are AI controlled teams right?

Can someone with more analytic skills than me (I'm looking at you, Pred) do a write up on those two teams and their meteoric rise as part of the end of the year write up? Maybe focus on their off-season moves and maybe their new/maturing prospects that came into their own this season? There are 4 human managers in NL East who are somewhat baffled.

New file! It's a Game 7!

Well, for Seattle and Vancouver it is. LA rounded back into form and finished off Las Vegas 4 games to 2, and Philly offed Detroit 4-1.

The advantage is firmly in Seattle's corner, they can throw their #1 starter out there fresh, while the only rested pitches Vancouver has are from the back of the rotation.

Novocain wrote:

If I recall correctly, both Philadelphia and Detroit are AI controlled teams right?

Can someone with more analytic skills than me (I'm looking at you, Pred) do a write up on those two teams and their meteoric rise as part of the end of the year write up? Maybe focus on their off-season moves and maybe their new/maturing prospects that came into their own this season? There are 4 human managers in NL East who are somewhat baffled.

Both teams have turned in pretty astonishing turnarounds this season, improving by 17 (Detroit) and 23 (Philly) games. Only Philly's payroll is over the $100M mark, which most likely means both teams did it through the draft.

Philly's top 2 pitchers were both acquired in the draft. They have 5 position players rated 5* or better, four were draft picks (two from the expansion draft, two from the amateur draft) and the last one was claimed off waivers.

Now, how Detroit's done it is much more confusing. They still have ZERO pitching, but managed enough offense to get by. They've got one of the game's best closers, two really good players, one of which was a expansion draft pick, the other they just signed to a fat FA contract. The rest of it looks like smart roster management, finding guys who might not look great at a glance, but are actually quite skilled (C Sergio Monveal is a 3* talent but has batted .341 and .325 the last two seasons). I mean, you look at Chris Crockett and tell me if you think he's actually a 2 1/2* player. Not to me he isn't.

I'll try and go a little more in-depth at the end of the year, but it really just looks like shrewd management from here. Good drafting, no ludicrous albatross contracts for aging veterans, and getting good seasons out of your best players.

Ahh... I love the smell of Game 7 in the morning.

New file! Seattle and Vancouver decided it should taken seven games to finally figure out who's going to head off to the LCS, and thanks to a five-run 6th inning, the team from British Columbia is moving on. Rookie pitcher Bob Dale was spectacular, throwing a complete game, surrendering just two runs on six hits as Vancouver booked their place in the next round.

The LCS will feature:

Vancouver v. Philadelphia
San Diego v. Los Angeles

All eyes are on the battle of the West Coast titans, of course. Two 100-win teams, who battled all year for the #1 spot, trying to decide who is best for yet another season. The season series finished 10-6 in favor of Los Angeles, but the playoffs are always a whole new ball of fun.

I'm starting to plan for next year. I'm looking for a top flight starting pitcher, and I have a few assets that I'd be willing to consider trading:

24 year old LF Pedro Rivera, a 4.5 star (potential 5 star) player who's a great leadoff man.

25 year old 2B Carlos Martinez, 1.5 star (potential 4.5 star) player, great defensively, also some potential pop in the bat (16 HR potential)

22 year old SS Rick Stanton, 1.5 star (potential 3.5 star) player, mostly a gap hitter (currently 19 gap hitting, 13 HR potential)

Woooooo new file! Roll on the LCS!