Mantle World HBD

Where Are They Now? - Part 2

2012-01-06T14:57:00.000-05:00

Continuing on: we're taking a look back at the first 10 draft picks from 10 and 5 seasons ago to see how those draftees panned out.

Season 13:

Miller Jordan (P - Rochester Rochy Road Rochstars) - now in his seventh major league season, he has returned to the franchise that originally drafted him after spending his first six ML seasons in Albuquerque. A bust as a first overall pick, he's only produced a 57-64 career record with a 1.49 WHIP and a 4.73 ERA. No awards on his resume.
Brett Parent (P - San Diego Seagulls) - also in his seventh major league season, he's also now pitching for Rochester after spending his first six ML seasons in Minnesota / Cincinnati. Only slightly better than Miller Jordan at 70-62 career record, with a 1.35 WHIP and a 4.47 ERA. He has won a Silver Slugger as a P, and has a World Series ring.
Al Furcal (P - Charlotte Moose Hunters / St Louis Owls) - did not signed a major league contract after being drafted out of high school. He passed on the big bucks to attend the University of Miami, where he blew his elbow out in his sophmore year. Currently serving a 5 to 10 year sentance in the Florida penal system for drug trafficking.
Carson Bottalico (CF/2B - Chicago Old Style / New Britain Blood Brothers) - now in his seventh major league season, he is currently the starting second baseman for the Cincinnati Mini Men. He is entering the prime of his career with .293/.388/.512 (.900 OPS) with 150 career home runs, 468 RBIs and 711 runs scored. He's also stolen 266 bases in his career. He's made one All Star appearance and won a Silver Slugger at 2B.
Wilkin Lira (P - Durham Bulls) - now in his seventh major league season, he joined the Little Rock Cigars this season after spending his first six seasons in Durham. Splitting his time between starting and relief, he's put up career numbers of 47-36, with a 1.44 WHIP and a 4.93 ERA. No awards.
Jermaine Earley (P - Arizona Wildcats / Albuquerque Roadrunners) - now in his eighth major league season, he's currently a starter for New Britain. He's put up decent career numbers of 87-51, with a 1.34 WHIP and 4.19 ERA. He's made three All Star appearances to date.
Midre Paz (P - Boise Spuds / Milwaukee Suds) - now in his ninth major league season as a member of the Milwaukee starting rotation, he's put up a mediocre 73-89 record despite a respectable 1.33 WHIP and 3.94 ERA. No awards.
Tomas Rodrigo (P - Baltimore Blast / New York Pick Pockets) - now in his sixth major league season, he is currently a member of the Kansas City Blues starting rotation. Career record of 63-56 with a 1.45 WHIP and 4.55 ERA. No awards.
Ruben Rijo (P - Vancouver Fighting Skeletons) - now in his fifth major league season, recently joined the Durham Bulls after being unemployed for the first part of the current season. Another first round bust, he's compiled a career record of 28-41 with a 1.59 WHIP and 5.69 ERA.
Reese Edwards (C - Boise Spuds / Milwaukee Suds) - now in his eighth major league season with the Suds, he's been durable yet average hitter with little power. Career numbers of .279/.358/.331 (.689 OPS), he only has 35 career home runs in over 2,800 ABs.

Season 18:

Rich Hood (P - Cincinnati Porkers / Buffalo Blizzard) - now in his second major league season, he's off to a spectacular start for the Blizzard. In 50 ML starts over 305 IP, he's compiled a 21-10 record with a 0.98 WHIP and 2.47 ERA. He was AL Rookie of the Year and made an All Star appearances in his first full season.
Ross Lennon (P - Kansas City Blues) - now in his third major league season with Kansas City, his career is also off to a solid start. A record of 30-21 with a 1.24 WHIP and 3.61 WHIP in 74 starts. He also has one All Star selection on his resume.
Albert Laffey (P - San Francisco Oles) - now in his third major league season with San Francisco, he's put up a career mark of 45-37 with a 1.30 WHIP and 3.87 ERA. No awards to date.
Rafael Cervelli (1B - Colorado Springs Mile High Marines) - now in his third major league season with the Mile High Marines, he's been an offensive force with .303/.392/.539 (.931 OPS), 91 career home runs and 287 RBIs. He was AL Rookie of the Year and selected to the All Star team in his debut season.
Brian Rigdon (3B - Oklahoma City Power Failure) - now in his third major league season, his offense has been improving steadily. With career numbers of .266/.355/.410 (.765 OPS) and 36 home runs at age 23, his power and overall offensive production have been improving each season. No awards to date.
Luther Lush (RF - Trenton Titans) - now in his fourth major league season, he's put up .270/.348/.373 (.721 OPS) with only 28 home runs in over 1,750 career ABs, which is pretty weak for a corner outfielder. At age 27, it might be too late for him to live up to the expectations as a top 10 draft pick. No awards.
Rodney George (RF - San Francisco Oles) - now in his second major league system, both as a member of Colorado Springs, he has struggled in limited action. In just over 500 career PAs, he's put up numbers of .209/.288/.397 (.685 OPS) with 20 home runs and 56 RBI's. At age 23, it might still be too early to rule him a first round bust, but he has a lot of work to do to justify his top 10 draft selection. No awards.
Brandon Doerr (P - Charlotte Moose Hunters / St Louis Owls) - now in his second major league system, he's a reliever out of the Pittsburgh Pandas bullpen. In 191 IP, he's beel solid with a .236 OAV, 1.18 WHIP and 2.96 ERA. No awards.
Scotter Blank (P - Washington D.C. Metros) - currently in his rookie season as a member of the Jackson Bootleggers starting rotation, he's been solid in 12 starts with a 5-5 record, .223 OAV, 1.15 WHIP and 3.97 ERA.
Clem Watkins (CF - Jacksonville Seminoles / Atlanta Blue) - now in his third major league season with the Blues, he's been medocre with a .261/.321/.395 (.716 OPS), 36 home runs and 140 RBI in over 1250 ABs. Combined with sub-par defense in center field, at age 25, he could also be falling into bust-land.

Where Are They Now? - Part 1

2012-01-06T11:17:00.000-05:00

With the season 23 amateur draft coming up, I thought it might be fun to take a look back at the first 10 draft picks from 20 and 15 seasons ago to see how those draftees panned out.

Season 3:

Jim Aurelia (P - drafted by Charlotte Minors / Boston Minutemen) - solid career with a 226-135 record and 3.81 career ERA. Still active as a member of the St. Louis Hill bullpen. Five All Star selections and one Cy Young Award in his trophy collection. Should get serious consideration for the HOF upon retirement.
Gene Hayes (P - Jacksonville Seminoles / Atlanta Blue) - long but somewhat mediocre career with a 188-177 career record and 4.31 ERA. Three All Star selections and one World Series ring. Still kicking around as a member of the Scranton Apollos pitching staff.
Greg Wolf (CF - St. Louis Perfectos / Oakland Polish Hammers) - solid career with .282/.365/.473 (.838 OPS), with 327 career home runs, 1,297 RBIs and 1,436 runs scored. Two All Star appearances, three Silver Slugger Awards as a center fielder, and a World Series ring. Currently being disrepected by being forced to toil in AA in the San Diego Seagull system.
Darryl Morgan (MIF - Toledo Mud Hens / Pittsburgh Pandas) - enjoyed a 12 season major league career, finishing with a respectible .279/.342/.447 (.789 OPS) along with 263 home runs, 1,065 RBIs and 1,144 run scored. Also stole 282 career bases. One All Star appearance, a pair of Gold Gloves as a second baseman, a Silver Slugger as a shortstop, and one World Series ring. Currently owns a moderately successful beer distributorship in his hometown of Greenfield, WI.
Lawrence Brown (2B - Durham Bulls) - spent his entire career as a member of the Durham Bulls. Carrer numbers of .303/.372/.584 (.956 OPS), with 611 home runs, 1,746 RBIs, 1,543 runs scored. Six All Star appearances (one All Star Game MVP), and one Silver Slugger as a 2B. Elected to the Hall of Fame in season 23.
Joel Baldwin (P - Cincinnati Red Stockings / New Britain Blood Brothers) - ten year career, with a 102-80 record and a 4.91 ERA. No awards, no rings. Currently works in a tattoo parlor in St. Louis.
Luis Soriano (P - Colorado Prarie Dogs / Albuquerque Roadrunners) - 13 year career, with a 151-158 record and 4.69 ERA. One All Star appearance, one World Series ring. Currently attending law school, with the intent of becoming a mass tort litigation lawyer specializing in pharmaceutical cases.
Todd Ward (3B/SS - Anaheim DeadPools / San Diego Seagulls) - unimpressive 4 year career. .274/.330/.408 (.738 OPS). One All Star selection. Left organized baseball to pursue a musical career. Currently touring Europe with his death metal band, "Toxic Phlegm".
Alex Colon (P - Colorado Springs Mile High Marines) - enjoyed an 8 year career as a reliever for Oklahoma City. 1.34 WHIP and a 4.24 ERA. No awards, no rings. Now working as an advanced scout for the Power Failure.
Glenallen Davis (P - Louisville Beaners / Little Rock Cigars) - mediocre 5 year career, with a 52-66 record and 5.84 ERA. No awards, no rings. Currently employed as a Subway "sandwich artist" in Covington, KY.

Season 8:

Bill Hewson (3B - Tuscon Plateau / San Diego Seagulls) - has enjoyed what should be a Hall of Fame career with the Mighty Men (now Mini Men). .305/.370/.562 (.932 OPS), 550 home runs, 1,657 RBIs, 1,300 runs scored. Six All Star appearances (with one All Star Game MVP), four NL MVP awards, three Gold Gloves at 3B, three Silver Slugger awards at 3B, and one World Series ring he's got the hardware to merit a first-ballot election to the HOF upon retirement.
Sean Mailman (RF - San Juan Crazy Latinos / Pittsburgh Pandas) - now in his twelvth ML season and currently playing with the St. Louis Owls, he's had a solid career. .275/.347/.513 (.860 OPS), with 393 home runs, 1,123 RBI's and 1,493 run scored. He's also stolen 472 bases. Three All Star selections, one AL MVP award, three Silver Sluggers at RF, and two World Series rings.
Kip Sosa (3B/SS - Oklahoma City Power Failure) - 13 major league seasons, all with OKC. .272/.340/.478 (.818 OPS), with 387 home runs, 1,238 RBIs and 1,157 runs scored. His only hardware is a Silver Slugger at 3B. Currently playing out the final year of his contract in AAA for the Power Failure.
Omar Siquieros (1B - Durham Bulls) - currently in his 13th major league season, all as a Bull. .298/.383/.577 (.960), with 527 home runs, 1,385 RBIs and 1,280 runs scored, he's an offensive machine. Rookie of the Year, six time All Star, one NL MVP award, two Gold Gloves at 1B, and one Home Run Derby championship. He should also garner some serious HOF consideration upon retirement.
Scott Hall (RF/CF - Baltimore Blast / New York Pickpockets) - now in his 13th major league season, currently as a member of the Little Rock Cigars. .286/.364/.536 (.900 OPS) with 250 home runs, 981 RBIs and 1,288 runs scored. He's also stolen 707 bases in his career. Three All Star selections, one Gold Glove in RF, three Silver Sluggers (one in RF, two in CF). one Home Run Derby championship, and one World Series ring.
Omar Espinoza (CF/RF - Rochester Rockets / New York Apples) - now in his 10th major league season, currently with the Apples after spending the first half of his ML career in San Diego. .291/.356/.468 (.824 OPS), with 182 home runs, 687 RBIs and 758 runs scored. One All Star appearance and one World Series ring. A solid career to date.
Alex Cortes (2B/CF/RF - New York Metros / Washington D.C. Metros) - now in his 11th major leagues season, he's had a decent but unspectacular career. .273/.348/.425 (.773 OPS) with 183 home runs, 708 RBIs and 954 runs scored. One All Star selection and two Silver Sluggers (one at 2B and one at CF).
Dave Heredia (2B - Hartford Hell Cats / Rochester Rochy Road Rochstars) - now in his twelvth major league season, most of which as a member of the Scranton Apollos. .284/.344/.465 (.809 OPS), with 218 home runs, 819 RBIs and 972 runs scored. He's also stolen 235 career bases. One Gold Glove at 2B.
Marco Thompson (C - Tampa Bay Legends / New Britain Blood Brothers) - never signed after coming out of college. Rumored to have undergone transgender surgery and is now living as "Marcia Thompson", a dental hygienist in Butte, MT.
Juan Fernandez (P - St. Louis Cardinals / St. Louis Owls) - the first pitcher selected in the season 8 draft, he is now in his twelvth major league season, currently a member of the Detroit Tigers rotation. A mediocre career, with a 125-126 record and 4.16 ERA. One All Star selection.

Season 23 Hall of Fame Voting Results

2011-12-15T09:07:00.000-05:00

Here are the complete results for Hall of Fame voting for season 23:

Erick Hatcher - 24 (Elected)
Lawrence Brown - 22 (Elected)
Sherm Roberts - 20 (Elected)
Russ Feller - 18 (Elected)
Domingo Pizzaro - 9
Paul Ishii - 7
Rob Becker - 6
Derek Taylor - 3
Joseph Yoshii - 3
Albert Lecuona - 3
Philip Ray - 1
Howie Curtis - 1
Jim Tatum - 1
John Blake - 1
Esteban Tejada - 1
Victor Vargas - 1
Fausto Sanchez - 1
Marc Holmes - 1
Cam Lincoln - 1
Carlos Gonzalez - 1

Commissioner's Challenge Award (S22)

2011-11-16T10:22:00.000-05:00

The "Commissioner's Challenge Award" is given to the team that had the most wins during the season without making the playoffs.

I'm happy to announce the season 22 winner of a $5 WIS Gift Certificate is repsher of the Detroit Tigers, whose 86 wins was a mere two games short of earning a post-season appearance.

1) 86 wins - Detroit Tigers (repsher)
2) 85 wins - San Diego Seagulls (ericsomsel)
3) 83 wins - New Britain Blood Brothers (malewell)
4) 80 wins - Trenton Titans (KGS77)
5t) 79 wins - San Francisco Oles (evegoe)
5t) 79 wins - Washington D.C. Metros (jmaese)
7) 78 wins - Charlotte Moose Hunters (jmil397)
8t) 77 wins - Scranton Apollos (tecwrg)
8t) 77 wins - Milwaukee Suds (battmann)
10) 76 wins - Oakland Polish Hammers (goodtymes31)
11) 74 wins - Little Rock Cigars (shanklsa)
12) 73 wins - Buffalo Blizzard (sir_slamalot)
13) 71 wins - Jackson Bootleggers (rugrat)
14) 70 wins - Sacramento Sunshine (hbdgirl)
15t) 67 wins - Durham Bulls (bertrand93)
15t) 67 wins - Oklahoma City Power Failure (coneheads)
17) 65 wins - Albuquerque Bleeding Noses (tedwmoore)
18) 64 wins - Monterrey Sugar Kings (drichter)
19) 63 wins - Colorado Springs Mile High Marines (brendanjod)
20) 78 wins - Jacksonville Seminoles (mbooker)

Season 22 Hall of Fame Voting Results

2011-09-16T10:56:00.000-04:00

Here are the complete results for Hall of Fame voting for season 22:

Felix Ellis - 20 (Elected)
Julio Lee - 14
Sherm Roberts - 12
Bart Kirby - 11
Erick Hatcher - 10
Lawrence Brown - 9
Domingo Pizzaro - 7
Russ Feller - 6
Bey Meacham - 5
Sal Stark - 3
Stew Frazier - 2
David Santayana - 2
Albert Lecuona - 2
Jay Carmona - 2
Derek Taylor - 2
Cookie Holt - 1
Matt Flair - 1
Steve Burks - 1
Philip Ray - 1
Marc Hodges - 1
Jim Tatum - 1
Raul Santos - 1
Cam Lincoln - 1
Odalis Lopez - 1
Miguel Vazquez - 1
Fausto Sanchez - 1

Updated Win Minimum Rules Adopted

2011-09-09T09:34:00.000-04:00

After a fair amount of discussion in the World Chat that the original Win Minimum rules were too weak, and therefore ineffective, it was proposed that the rule be changed from 110 wins over two consecutive seasons to a four season rule of 55/120/185/260. What this means is that there would be a minimum of 55 wins required each season. A minimum of 120 wins over any two consecutive seasons. A minimum of 185 wins over any three consecutive seasons. And finally, a minimum of 260 wins over any four consecutive seasons. Failure to meet these minimums would result in forfeiture of a franchise for an owner.

Yes - 21 votes (77.8%)
No - 6 votes (22.2%)
No preference - 5 votes (not included)

Results: PASSED - rule to be adopted starting in season 22, with season 22 as the first of the four seasons

Commissioner's Challenge Award (S21)

2011-08-15T12:22:00.000-04:00

The "Commissioner's Challenge Award" is given to the team that had the most wins during the season without making the playoffs.

I'm happy to announce the season 21 winner of a $5 WIS Gift Certificate is tomq of the Chicago Black Sox, whose 89 wins was a mere two games short of earning a post-season appearance.

1) 89 wins - Chicago Black Sox (tomq)
2) 87 wins - Rochester Rochy Road Rochstars (indiansrck27)
3) 86 wins - Minnesota Mighty Men (raidersfan)
4) 82 wins - Milwaukee Suds (battmann)
5) 81 wins - Washington D.C. Metros (jmaese)
6) 80 wins - Little Rock Cigars (shanklsa)
7t) 78 wins - Jacksonville Seminoles (mbooker)
7t) 78 wins - Scranton Apollos (tecwrg)
9) 76 wins - Charlotte Moose Hunters (jmil397)
10) 75 wins - San Diego Seagulls (ericsomsel)
11) 74 wins - Sacramento Sunshine (hbdgirl)
12t) 73 wins - Colorado Springs Mile High Marines (brendanjod)
12t) 73 wins - Vancouver Fighting Skeletons (diryn)
14) 72 wins - Scottsdale Fighting Artichokes (MikeT23)
15) 71 wins - Albuquerque Isotopes (sculley)
16) 69 wins - Jackson Bootleggers (rugrat)
17) 67 wins - Buffalo Blizzard (sir_slamalot)
18) 66 wins - Oklahoma City Power Failure (coneheads)
19t) 60 wins - Monterrey Sugar Kings (drichter)
19t) 60 wins - Pittsburgh Pandas (silentpadna)

Season 21 Hall of Fame Voting Results

2011-06-14T14:51:00.000-04:00

Following up on what I did last season, I sent a ticket to WIS to get the vote totals of the Hall of Fame voting for this season. Here are the results:

Kevin Mullins - 21 (Elected)
Julio Valenzuela - 21 (Elected)
Brent Meche - 17 (Elected)
Julio Lee - 14
Bart Kirby - 12
Domingo Pizzaro - 11
J.D. Acosta - 9
Andy Scott - 4
David Santayana - 3
Bey Meacham - 3
Cam Lincoln - 2
Miguel Vazquez - 2
Bob Mays - 2
Albert Lecuona - 1
Marc Holmes - 1
Fausto Sanchez - 1
Stephen Ball - 1

Season 21 - Minimum Win Requirements

2011-05-31T13:27:00.000-04:00

In season 19, we adopted a win minimum rule of 110 wins over a rolling two-season period. Season 20 was the first season that this took effect, so season 21 is where the rubber starts to meet the road. Nobody is in any grave danger of falling short, but the purpose of this post is to document the targets for each franchise for the upcoming season.

AL North

Detroit (repsher) - 16
Chicago (tomq) - 18
Scranton (tecwrg) - 23
Kansas City (rbedwell) - 32

AL East

Baltimore (reps) - 8
Durham (bertrand93) - 24
Pittsburgh (silentpadna) - 32
Buffalo (sir_slamalot) - 50

AL South

Richmond (dgtrache) - 9
Jacksonville (mbooker) - 30
Jackson (rwright) - 45
Charlotte (jmil397) - 48

AL West

Colorado Springs (brendanjod) - 26
San Francisco (evegoe) - 26
San Diego (ericsomsel) - 39
Scottsdale (MikeT23) - n/a *

NL North

New York (jonas1102) - 11
Minnesota (raidersfan) - 19
Milwaukee (battmann) - 39
Trenton (KGS77) - 40

NL East

Boston (neilg) - 9
Rochester (indiansrck27) - 20
New Britain (malewell) - 21
Washington (jmaese) - 30

NL South

Florida (welsh5) - 25
Little Rock (shanklsa) - 28
Oklahoma City (coneheads) - 40
Monterrey (drichter) - 48

NL West

Albuquerque (sculley) - 23
Oakland (goodtymes31) - 40
Vancouver (diryn) - 43
Sacramento (hbdgirl) - n/a *

* Please note that as first season owners, both Scottsdale (MikeT23) and Sacramento (hbdgirl) are not at risk from the MWR this season, but S21 is the first of their two rolling seasons.

Commissioner's Challenge Award (S20)

2011-05-13T14:38:00.001-04:00

The "Commissioner's Challenge Award" is given to the team that had the most wins during the season without making the playoffs.

I'm happy to announce the season 20 winner of a $5 WIS Gift Certificate is malewell of the New Britain Blood Brothers, whose 89 wins was a mere one game short of earning a post-season appearance.

1) 89 wins - New Britain Blood Brothers (malewell)
2) 86 wins - Durham Bulls (bertrand93)
3) 84 wins - San Francisco Oles (evegoe)
4) 82 wins - Little Rock Cigars (shanklsa)
5t) 80 wins - Jacksonville Seminoles (mbooker)
5t) 80 wins - Washington D.C. Metros (jmaese)
7) 79 wins - Sacramento Boo A's (lightmn13)
8t) 78 wins - Kansas City Blues (rbedwell)
8t) 78 wins - Pittsburgh Pandas (silentpadna)
10) 75 wins - Portland Poltergeists (selmer)
11t) 71 wins - San Diego Seagulls (ericsomsel)
11t) 71 wins - Milwaukee Suds (battmann)
13t) 70 wins - Oakland Polish Hammers (goodtymes31)
13t) 70 wins - Oklahoma City Power Failure (coneheads)
13t) 70 wins - Trenton Titans (KGS77)
16) 67 wins - Vancouver Fighting Skeletons (diryn)
17) 65 wins - Jackson Bootleggers (rwright)
18t) 62 wins - Charlotte Moose Hunters (jmil397)
18t) 62 wins - Monterrey Sugar Kings (drichter)
20) 60 wins - Buffalo Blizzard (sir_slamalot)

Waiver Wire and Minor League Pitching Staff Rules Adopted

2011-05-03T12:47:00.002-04:00

Two additional rules for Mantle World were proposed, voted upon, and adopted for implementation starting in season 21. The two rules are described below:

1) "Waiver Wire Rule" - After the trade deadline has passed, teams may have no more than 7 players on the waiver wire at any one time. This does not include players who have been released (who automatically show up on the waiver wire). This is for true waivers only. First violation will result in a warning. Second violation will result in being removed from the world.

2) "Minor League Pitching Staff Rule" - Each franchise is expected to keep healthy pitching staffs at all minor league levels. If a violation is noticed, the owner will be given four days from notification to get their minor league staffs in order. If still not addressed, the owner will be on probation and if the problems are still not corrected after seven days, the owner will be removed from the world unless he can show that meaningful steps were taken to attempt to address the situation.

Both rules passed by receiving over 60% of the votes cast (excluding any votes of "no preference"). They will start to be enforced during season 21. Full voting results can be found at:

http://mantleworldhbd.blogspot.com/2010/07/proposed-rules-and-voting-results.html

As commissioner, I do not intend to actively police all 32 teams to ensure that these rules are constantly being enforced. I am looking for other owners in the world to bring any perceived violations to my attention if and/or when they see violations occurring. At that time, I will take over responsibility for addressing enforcement with the violating owner.

I will remind all owners of these rules at the beginning of each season. I intend to also document these rules with the purpose of informing all potential incoming new owners of these rules in our recruitment thread in the "HBD Classifieds" forum. Should we ever have the need to bring in a mid-season replacement, those owners will also be informed directly by me of these rules to make sure they understand the expectations.

Finally, concerning the "Minor League Pitching Staff Rule", I will consider extenuating circumstances because I know that sometimes "real life" gets in the way and we cannot be as attentive to our teams as we want. As long as the explanation for violation seems reasonable, I will take that into consideration as part of the process. However, blatant violation of the rule without a reasonable explanation will be subject to full enforcement of the rule as described above.

Misusing Numbers in New and Interesting Ways

2011-03-25T13:31:00.000-04:00

I recently had a couple of days in which I had WAY too much free time on my hands, so I decided to compile some stats on which teams have scored and allowed the most runs over the course of Mantle's first 19 seasons. Don't think it's very meaningful other than as a useless piece of trivia, but it's kind of fun to review.

First, over 19 seasons, a total of 518,946 runs have been scored at the Major Level. Going by current franchise names, the leaders are:

Most Runs Scored (Seasons 1 through 19):

Detroit Tigers - 18,106 runs
Chicago Black Sox - 17,685
Albuquerque Isotopes - 17,614
Portland Poltergeists - 17,589
Florida Lockdown - 17,534

Fewest Runs Scored (Seasons 1 through 19):

Oklahoma City Power Failure - 14,637 runs
San Diego Seagulls - 14,725
Oakland Polish Hammers - 14,893
Jacksonville Seminoles - 15,007
Valcouver Fighting Skeletons - 15,076

Fewest Runs Allowed (Seasons 1 through 19):

Detroit Tigers - 14,479 runs
Florida Lockdown - 14,685
Minnesota Mighty Men - 14,907
New York Apples - 14,953
Kansas City Blues - 15,142

Most Runs Allowed (Seasons 1 through 19):

Charlotte Moose Hunters - 18,673 runs
Jackson Bootleggers - 18,604
San Diego Seagulls - 18,584
Albuquerque Isotopes - 18,278
Boston Minutemen - 17,725

So after I had all these numbers, it was simple enough to then calculate the Expected Win Percentage for each franchise in Mantle over the first 19 seasons to see who the biggest over-achievers (actual wins above expected wins) and who the biggest under-achievers (actual wins below expected wins) were. The results were somewhat surprising:

Over-Achievers (Actual Wins above Expected Wins):

Jackson Bootleggers - +86 wins
Boston Minutemen - +52 wins
Baltimore Blast - +41 wins
Sacramento Boo A's - +35 wins
Pittsburgh Pandas - +26 wins

Under-Achievers (Actual Wins below Expected Wins):

Detroit Tigers - (-67 wins)
Portland Poltergeists - (-53 wins)
Florida Lockdown - (-52 wins)
Monterrey Sugar Kings - (-33 wins)
Chicago Black Sox - (-28 wins)

It was this last category that I found most surprising. The Detroit franchise, which through 19 seasons has (a) the most wins in all of Mantle, (b) scored the most runs in all of Mantle, and (c) allowed the fewest runs in all of Mantle, is (statistically speaking) the biggest under-achieving team in the history of Mantle.

In fact, of the five winningest teams in Mantle history, four of them are on the under-achiever list. The only "outlier" from this group would be the Scranton Apollos, who have the third most wins in Mantle history (1,719) and come in at +9 wins above expectations. That must say something about their stellar ownership.

Season 20 Hall of Fame Voting Results

2011-03-21T10:42:00.002-04:00

On jonas's prompting, I sent a ticket to WIS to get the vote totals of the Hall of Fame voting for this season. Here are the results:

Bart Kirby - 14
Brent Meche - 13
Domingo Pizzaro - 12
J.D. Acosta - 10
Julio Lee - 10
Stan Hunt - 9
David Santayana - 7
Andy Scott - 7
Albert Lecuona - 5
Tom Daly - 4
Bey Meacham - 4
Miguel Vazquez - 3
Jay Carmona - 3
Lawrence Rhodes - 2
Horace Gulan - 2
Steve Burks - 1
Philip Ray - 1
Julio Valenzuela - 1
Cookie Holt - 1
Sal Stark - 1
Jim Tatum - 1
Stephen Ball - 1

Commissioner's Challenge Award (S19)

2011-02-14T09:00:00.001-05:00

The "Commissioner's Challenge Award" is given to the team that had the most wins during the season without making the playoffs.

I'm happy to announce the season 19 winner of a $5 WIS Gift Certificate is rwright of the Jackson Bootleggers, whose 89 wins was still 5 games short of earning a post-season appearance.

1) 89 wins - Jackson Bootleggers (rwright)
2t) 86 wins - Detroit Tigers (repsher)
2t) 86 wins - Florida Lockdown (welsh5)
4) 82 wins - Jacksonville Seminoles (mbooker)
5) 79 wins - Chicago Black Sox (tomq)
6t) 76 wins - Charlotte Moose Hunters (jmil397)
6t) 76 wins - Milwaukee Suds (battmann)
8t) 75 wins - Rochester Rochy Road Rochstars (indiansrck27)
8t) 75 wins - Oklahoma City Power Failure (coneheads)
10) 73 wins - Sacramento Boo A's (lightmn13)
11t) 72 wins - San Diego Seagulls (ericsomsel)
11t) 72 wins - Oakland Polish Hammers (goodtymes31)
13t) 69 wins - Colorado Springs Mile High Marines (brendanjod)
13t) 69 wins - Little Rock Cigars (shanklsa)
15) 67 wins - Vancouver Fighting Skeletons (diryn)
16t) 63 wins - Buffalo Blizzard (sir_slamalot)
16t) 63 wins - San Francisco Oles (evegoe)
18) 61 wins - Trenton Titans (KGS77)
19t) 60 wins - Kansas City Blues (rbedwell)
19t) 60 wins - Washington D.C. Metros (jmaese)

Minimum Win Rules Adopted

2011-01-01T09:12:00.000-05:00

After a couple of weeks of voting, Mantle World has adopted a rule that mandates that a franchise must win a minimum of 110 games over two consecutive seasons, starting in season 20. Failure to win 110 wins over two seasons will result in an owner leaving Mantle.

Owners who fail to meet the requirements and leave Mantle can be considered for reinstatement in Mantle after one season away, though there will be no guarantee that they will be able to return or be able to take over the franchise of their choice.

Any replacement owner that comes in after the regular season has started will be exempt from the rule for that season only. Any replacement owner that comes in before the regular season has started may be considered for exemption at the discretion of the commissioner.

The commissioner will send a sitemail at the beginning of each season to all owners reminding them of how many wins they need in the upcoming season to meet the minimum win rule requirements. A copy of this sitemail will also be sent to WIS via a ticket as documentation of the rule in the unlikely event of an owner being unwilling to leave despite failing to meet the requirements. Hopefully, that never happens.

Mantle Season 18 Power Rankings

2010-11-25T20:14:00.000-05:00

For what it's worth, HBD owner knucklebones runs an internet radio show in which he covers HBD news and various worlds. He's assisted by another HBD owner, tomjames, who puts together Power Rankings for various worlds and publishes them on their website. Last night (11/24/2010), Mantle was covered by knucklebones on his radio show and the Mantle Power Rankings were discussed.

If you're interested, you can listen to the radio show here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/knucklebones/2010/11/25/this-week-in-mantle

Actual news about Mantle starts at around 20 minutes into the show.

If you just want to view the Power Rankings, you can see them here:

http://hbdnews.blogspot.com/2010/11/mantle-season-18-final-power-rankings.html

Commissioner's Challenge Award (S18)

2010-11-20T14:20:00.000-05:00

Our first full regular season as a private world has just completed, and the season 18 playoffs are now underway.

As I mentioned when we became a private world, I was instituting the "Commissioner's Challenge", which would go to the team that had the most wins during the season without making the playoffs.

I'm happy to announce the first winner of a $5 WIS Gift Certificate as mbooker of the Jacksonville Seminoles, whose 87 wins was still 7 games short of earning a post-season appearance.

1) 87 wins - Jacksonville Seminoles (mbooker)
2) 86 wins - Norfolk Fatheaded Statheads (silentpadna)
3t) 83 wins - Jackson Bootleggers (rwright)
3t) 83 wins - Chicago Black Sox (tomq)
3t) 83 wins - Charleston Loggerheads (sir_slamalot)
6) 82 wins - Florida Lockdown (welsh5)
7t) 80 wins - Milwaukee Suds (battmann)
7t) 80 wins - Vancouver Fighting Skeletons (diryn)
9) 78 wins - Sacramento Boo A's (lightmn13)
10t) 72 wins - San Francisco Oles (evegoe)
10t) 72 wins - Monterrey Sugar Kings (drichter)
12) 70 wins - Portland Poltergeists (selmer)
13) 69 wins - Kansas City Blues (rbedwell)
14) 68 wins - Little Rock Cigars (shanklsa)
15) 67 wins - Trenton Titans (KGS77)
16) 65 wins - Oakland Polish Hammers (goodtymes31)
17) 63 wins - San Diego Seagulls (ericsomsel)
18) 62 wins - Charlotte Moose Hunters (jmil397)
19) 61 wins - Washington D.C. Metros (jmaese)
20) 55 wins - Cincinnati Porkers (kevinkevinra)

Old Faces, New Cities

2010-08-31T08:39:00.000-04:00

The offseason between seasons 17 and 18 have seen some changes, both in ownership and in franchise locations, all the National League. The American League has returned completely intact and unchanged.

First, our new owners.

First, Mantle is glad to welcome back longtime (and original) owner sir_slamalot, former owner of the Burlington/Buffalo (now Cincinnati) AL franchise, who is now the owner of the former Dover franchise in the NL East. Slam returns after a self-imposed two season hiatus and has relocated the team to it's new home and name, the Charleston Loggerheads.

Secondly, Mantle also welcomes back owner lightmn13, who has reclaimed his previous Anaheim franchise (S17's Salt Lake City franchise) after being away for one season, and has relocated them upstate as the Sacramento Boo A's.

A couple other owners have taken advantage of our first rollover as a private world to relocate their franchises to new cities as well.

jmaese has relocated his team from St. Louis to our nation's capital as the Washington D.C. Metros; drichter has taken his Texas team south of the border as the newly rechristened Monterrey Sugar Kings; and in a last minute surprise move, shanklsa has moved the Louisville franchise to Arkansas as the Little Rock Cigars.

Playing With Numbers in Dangerous Ways

2010-08-10T22:40:00.000-04:00

Numbers can be dangerous when used incorrectly. Which is probably what I'm doing now. But just for kicks this afternoon, I looked at all the playoff teams in the AL and NL and the games they played against each other this season. I then applied the Pythagorean Win formula for each series to "predict" a winner of each series, all the way through to the ALCS and NLCS. Didn't do the World Series because my two "winners" didn't play each other this season.

Yeah, I know. The ten games each team played agaisnt their opponent is a small sample size. So there's probably very little merit to the following. But here goes:

AL Play-In, Richmond vs. Scranton

Head to head, Scranton outscored Richmond in their season series by a narrow margin, 57-53, to give the Apollos an expected winning percentage of .536.

Prediction: Scranton in 5.

AL Play-In, Norfolk vs. Portland

Head to head, Norfolk trounced Portland in their season series by a very convincing 75-44, to give the Fatheaded Statheads an expected winning percentage of .744.

Prediction: Norfolk in 4.

NL Play-In, Texas vs. Minnesota

This was interesting. Take away their 10 game season sweep against Louisville, and the Long Horns were a .500 team during the regular season. But they apparently matched up well against the Mighty Men, outscoring them in their season series by 54-46 for an expected winning percentage of .579.

Prediction: Texas in 5.

NL Play-In, Albuquerque vs. Salt Lake City

As division rivals, they probably knew each other pretty well. But in their 10 game season series, the Isotopes outscored the Snowflakes by a 66-58 margin, giving them an expected winning percentage of .564.

Prediction: Albuquerque in 5.

ALDS, Detroit vs. Scranton

Two longtime AL North rivals face off in the second round, but it's hardly a close series. Detroit trounced Scranton in the regular season by outscoring them 60-32 for an expected winning percentage of .779.

Prediction: Detroit in 4

ALDS, Baltimore vs. Norfolk

Probably the most anticipated matchup of the entire post season, as the 120 win Blast take on their division rivals and winners of 109 games, Norfolk. As one might expect, the Blast are not going to be slowed down, as they outscored the Fatheaded Statheads by 46-36 during the regular season for an expected winning percentage of .620.

Prediction: Baltimore in 5

NLDS, New York vs. Texas

The Long Horns run of good luck finally runs out. The Apples outscored them 53-40 in their head-to-head matchups during the regular season for an expected winning percentage of .637.

Prediction: New York in 5

NLDS, Rochester vs. Albuquerque

Not even close. Rochester ran all over Albuquerque 61-30 in the regular season for an expected winning percentage of .805.

Prediction: Rochester in 4

ALCS: Detroit vs. Baltimore

The 1 seed versus the 2 seed. Baltimore outplayed and outscored the Tigers by a 46-39 margin for an expected winning percentage of .582.

Prediction: Baltimore in 6

NLCS: New York vs. Rochester

Another matchup of 1 seed versus 2 seed, but this time the 2 seed has the upper hand. Outscoring New York by a margin of 44-37 during the regular season for an expected winning percentage of .586, the Rochy Road Rochstars bring home the hardware.

Prediction: Rochester in 6

So there you have it. A World Series between the Baltimore Blast and the Rochester Rochy Road Rochstars.

Remember, you heard it here first.

"Win Minimum" Rule Defeated in Narrow Vote

2010-07-26T07:00:00.001-04:00

Mantle World's first order of business after going private was to vote on whether or not we wanted to adopt a rule on minimum number of wins required in order for an owner to retain their franchise.

Commissioner tec instituted a voting policy that would require any world rule that was to be adopted would have to (a) receive at least 24 votes from current owners (in which the owners would vote either "yes", "no", or "no preference"), and (b) there would need to be at least 60% "yes" votes between the yes's/no's cast (i.e., the "no preference" votes would be excluded).

The results of the win minumum rule voting was:

Yes - 17 (56.7%)
No - 13 (43.3%)
No Preference - 2 (excluded)

So by a narrow margin of only one vote, adoption of a "win minimum" rule, starting in season 18, has been defeated. It will not be revisted again this season. It can be brought up again for discussion and voting again during season 18 (for adoption in season 19) if desired.

It's Official! We're Now a Private World!!!

2010-07-14T19:53:00.002-04:00

Mantle World was notified by Site Staff on July 5, 2010, that we were eligible to become a private world. We voted, and by a vote of 21 private, 4 public, and 7 no preference, we elected to go private, with me (tecwrg) as commissioner.

Site Staff was notified of our final decision two days ago, and we officially became a private world this morning.

More to come.

Tec's Useless Trivia - v17

2010-07-08T13:21:00.002-04:00

Here are cumulative standings for each division through Mantle World's first 16 seasons:

AL North	W	L	Pct	GB
Detroit Tigers	1519	1073	0.586	0
Chicago Black Sox	1434	1158	0.553	85
Scranton Apollos	1431	1161	0.552	88
Kansas City Blues	1415	1177	0.546	104

AL East	W	L	Pct	GB
Cincinnati Porkers	1367	1225	0.527	0
Norfolk Fatheaded Statheads	1324	1268	0.511	43
Baltimore Blast	1219	1373	0.470	148
Durham Bulls	1178	1414	0.454	189

AL South	W	L	Pct	GB
Richmond Generals	1289	1303	0.497	0
Jacksonville Seminoles	1273	1319	0.491	16
Jackson Bootleggers	1193	1399	0.460	96
Charlotte Moose Hunters	1105	1487	0.426	184

AL West	W	L	Pct	GB
Portland Poltergeists	1453	1139	0.561	0
San Francisco Oles	1353	1239	0.522	100
Colorado Springs Mile High Marines	1322	1270	0.510	131
San Diego Seagulls	1002	1590	0.387	451

NL North	W	L	Pct	GB
Minnesota Mighty Men	1402	1190	0.541	0
Trenton Titans	1324	1268	0.511	78
Milwaukee Suds	1303	1289	0.503	99
New York Apples	1288	1304	0.497	114

NL East	W	L	Pct	GB
St. Louis Cards	1252	1340	0.483	0
Dover Drop Bears	1222	1370	0.471	30
New Britain Blood Brothers	1171	1421	0.452	81
Rochester Rochy Road Rochstars	1157	1435	0.446	95

NL South	W	L	Pct	GB
Florida Lockdown	1519	1073	0.586	0
Texas Long Horns	1353	1239	0.522	166
Louisville Beaners	1281	1311	0.494	238
Oklahoma City Power Failure	1238	1354	0.478	281

NL West	W	L	Pct	GB
Salt Lake City Snowflakes	1304	1288	0.503	0
Vancouver Fighting Skeletons	1293	1299	0.499	11
Oakland Polish Hammers	1246	1346	0.481	58
Albuquerque Isotopes	1234	1358	0.476	70

And if that's not enough trivia to digest at one sitting, lets also take a look at the post season history of each team in Mantle through it's first 16 seasons. The following lists number of division titles, number of wild card appearances, number of LCS titles, number of WS titles, and the number of different owners that each franchise has been managed by:

AL North	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Detroit Tigers	7	7	1	1	2
Chicago Black Sox	2	3	1	1	1
Scranton Apollos	5	2	0	0	1
Kansas City Blues	2	9	1	1	3

AL East	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Cincinnati Porkers	9	0	1	1	3
Norfolk Fatheaded Statheads	5	1	2	2	6
Baltimore Blast	1	2	1	0	1
Durham Bulls	1	1	0	0	1

AL South	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Richmond Generals	5	1	1	1	1
Jacksonville Seminoles	6	1	2	1	3
Jackson Bootleggers	4	0	1	1	1
Charlotte Moose Hunters	1	0	0	0	7

AL West	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Portland Poltergeists	9	2	2	0	2
San Francisco Oles	4	1	2	1	1
Colorado Springs Mile High Marines	3	2	1	1	1
San Diego Seagulls	0	0	0	0	4

NL North	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Minnesota Mighty Men	6	4	1	0	1
Trenton Titans	3	4	0	0	2
Milwaukee Suds	5	2	1	1	5
New York Apples	2	2	1	1	3

NL East	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
St. Louis Cards	4	2	0	0	3
Dover Drop Bears	7	1	2	0	7
New Britain Blood Brothers	1	0	0	0	5
Rochester Rochy Road Rochstars	4	1	0	0	9

NL South	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Florida Lockdown	10	3	7	3	1
Texas Long Horns	4	3	1	0	3
Louisville Beaners	1	3	1	0	1
Oklahoma City Power Failure	1	1	0	0	5

NL West	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Salt Lake City Snowflakes	5	0	1	0	3
Vancouver Fighting Skeletons	3	5	0	0	6
Oakland Polish Hammers	3	0	1	0	2
Albuquerque Isotopes	5	1	0	0	3

Season 16 Hall of Fame Class

2010-03-16T12:23:00.013-04:00

Mantle World is proud to introduce it's first two members of the Mantle Hall of Fame: pitcher Harry Mateo, inducted as a member of the Tacoma (now Anaheim) franchise, and first baseman Quentin Keller, inducted as a member of the once and again current San Francisco franchise.

Here is a brief biography of each of the inaugural members of the Mantle Hall of Fame:

Hardball Dynasty's

Harry Mateo

A veteran of 18 major league seasons, Mateo retired after season 15 with an impressive resume. Six All-Star appearances, 3 Cy Young awards, and three Silver Slugger awards as a pitcher. He retired with a lifetime W/L record of 192-114 and an ERA of 3.21 to go along with a 1.19 WHIP. To prove that those three Silver Slugger awards were no fluke, he also hit .209 with 5 home runs and 64 RBI's in his career.

Initially a member of the AL's New York Pork Loins, he was traded three times in season 1 of Mantle. First, he was traded in the pre-season to the Cincinnati Red Stockings in a two for one deal, and then a few weeks later traded back to the Pork Loins as part of a three-for-three deal. Finally, a few weeks after that he was once again traded, this time to the Tacoma Baymen as part of another three-for-three transaction. Once he arrived in Tacoma, he finally settled in for a long and productive career with the Baymen.

The highlights of his career in Tacoma were seasons 8, 9 and 10, in which he won back-to-back-to-back National League Cy Young awards and appeared in his one and only World Series (in season 8). Over those three seasons, he went 54-23 with a 2.22 ERA and a very impressive 1.06 WHIP. It was also during his time in Tacoma when he made his only three post-season appearances (seasons 7, 8 and 9), accumulating a record of 5-1 with a 2.02 ERA (and 1.14 WHIP) in 8 career post-season starts.

His career in Tacoma came to an end in the pre-season of season 11, when he was traded from Tacoma to the Salem Oles as part of a five man deal. He spent two seasons as an Ole, highlighted by the only 20 win season of his career when he posted a 21-7 record in season 11.

Free agency came calling for Harry after his two seasons in Salem as he signed a three year deal with the San Diego Seagulls. But his best days were behind him, as he could only produce a record of 19-23 in San Diego before being granted his release. His career ended with a lone appearance for the AAA Syracuse Sluggers before announcing his retirement.

Harry was inducted into the Mantle HOF with 25 votes.

Hardball Dynasty's

Quentin Keller

A veteran of 15 major league seasons, Keller retired after his playing career ended after season 14. His resume includes 7 All-Star appearances, 2 MVP awards, one Gold Glove as a first baseman and a total of four Silver Slugger awards (2 as a left fielder and two as a first baseman. He retired with a lifetime batting average of .318 with 477 home runs and 1,414 RBI's. He also finished with a lifetime .446 OBP, .592 SLG, and 1.038 OPS, as well as holding the career record for walks with 1,497 free passes earned.

Initially a member of the NL's Chicago Bleacher Bums, he was traded in the middle of season 2 from Chicago to the San Antonio Soggy Bottom Boys in a 3 for 1 deal. Quentin shined in his three seasons as a Soggy Bottom Boy, winning back-to-back AL MVP awards in seasons 3 and 4. His two MVP seasons saw him put up stats of .337 AVG, with 119 home runs and 284 RBI's.

However, fate came calling in season 5 when he was traded from San Antonio to the San Francisco Oles in a late season deal. Appearing in only 20 regular season games for the Oles, he bashed 8 home runs and knocked in 16 down the stretch to lead them into the post-season. It was in that same season in which he made his only World Series appearance, and Keller played a key role in the Oles season 5 World Champiosnhip.

Keller played for the Oles both in San Francisco and also for three seasons after they moved to Salem before becoming a free agent and signing with the Washington D.C. Bullets. But his time in Washington and Rochester (after the franchise moved) saw him in a rapid decline, and he was released in season 14. Unable to find any takers for an aging superstar who was well past his prime, he retired in season 15.

In his career, Keller appeared in the playoffs in six different seasons, playing a total of 36 post-season games. He compiled a career post-season record of .283 AVG with 6 home runs and 32 RBI's, along with a .948 OPS.

Quentin was inducted into the Mantle HOF with 22 votes.

Tec's Useless Trivia - Season 16 Version

2010-03-02T13:30:00.005-05:00

Here are cumulative standings for each division through Mantle World's first 15 seasons:

AL North	W	L	Pct	GB
Detroit Tigers	1426	1004	0.587	0
Kansas City Blues	1358	1072	0.559	68
Chicago Black Sox	1353	1077	0.557	73
Scranton Apollos	1328	1102	0.547	98

AL East	W	L	Pct	GB
Tampa Bay Turnip Greens	1298	1132	0.534	0
Norfolk Fatheaded Statheads	1211	1219	0.498	87
Baltimore Blast	1121	1309	0.461	177
Durham Bulls	1091	1339	0.449	207

AL South	W	L	Pct	GB
Richmond Generals	1216	1214	0.500	0
Jacksonville Seminoles	1184	1246	0.487	32
Jackson Bootleggers	1107	1323	0.456	109
Charlotte Moose Hunters	1034	1396	0.426	182

AL West	W	L	Pct	GB
Portland Poltergeists	1369	1061	0.563	0
San Francisco Oles	1284	1146	0.528	85
Colorado Springs Mile High Marines	1251	1179	0.515	118
San Diego Seagulls	940	1490	0.387	429

NL North	W	L	Pct	GB
Minnesota Mighty Men	1312	1118	0.540	0
Trenton Titans	1266	1164	0.521	46
Milwaukee Suds	1233	1197	0.507	79
New York Apples	1184	1246	0.487	128

NL East	W	L	Pct	GB
St. Louis Cards	1180	1250	0.486	0
Dover Drop Bears	1134	1296	0.467	46
New Britain Rock Cats	1090	1340	0.449	90
Rochester North Stars	1084	1346	0.446	96

NL South	W	L	Pct	GB
Florida Lockdown	1457	973	0.600	0
Texas Long Horns	1258	1172	0.518	199
Louisville Beaners	1209	1221	0.498	248
Oklahoma City Power Failure	1162	1268	0.478	295

NL West	W	L	Pct	GB
Anaheim angeldynasty	1216	1214	0.500	0
Vancouver Fighting Skeletons	1205	1225	0.496	16
Oakland Polish Hammers	1166	1264	0.480	50
Albuquerque Isotopes	1145	1285	0.471	71

And if that's not enough trivia to digest at one sitting, lets also take a look at the post season history of each team in Mantle through it's first 15 seasons. The following lists number of division titles, number of wild card appearances, number of LCS titles, number of WS titles, and the number of different owners that each franchise has been managed by:

AL North	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Detroit Tigers	7	6	1	1	2
Kansas City Blues	2	9	1	1	3
Chicago Black Sox	2	3	1	1	1
Scranton Apollos	4	2	0	0	1

AL East	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Tampa Bay Turnip Greens	9	0	1	1	2
Norfolk Fatheaded Statheads	4	1	1	1	6
Baltimore Blast	1	1	1	0	1
Durham Bulls	1	1	0	0	1

AL South	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Richmond Generals	5	1	1	1	1
Jacksonville Seminoles	5	1	2	1	3
Jackson Bootleggers	4	0	1	1	1
Charlotte Moose Hunters	1	0	0	0	7

AL West	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Portland Poltergeists	8	2	2	0	2
San Francisco Oles	4	1	2	1	1
Colorado Springs Mile High Marines	3	2	1	1	1
San Diego Seagulls	0	0	0	0	4

NL North	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Minnesota Mighty Men	6	3	1	0	1
Trenton Titans	3	4	0	0	2
Milwaukee Suds	5	2	1	1	5
New York Apples	1	2	1	1	3

NL East	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
St. Louis Cards	4	2	0	0	3
Dover Drop Bears	6	1	2	0	7
New Britain Rock Cats	1	0	0	0	4
Rochester North Stars	4	1	0	0	9

NL South	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Florida Lockdown	10	3	7	3	1
Texas Long Horns	3	3	0	0	3
Louisville Beaners	1	3	1	0	1
Oklahoma City Power Failure	1	1	0	0	5

NL West	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Anaheim angeldynasty	5	0	1	0	2
Vancouver Fighting Skeletons	3	4	0	0	6
Oakland Polish Hammers	3	0	1	0	2
Albuquerque Isotopes	4	1	0	0	3

Santos Canseco No-Hits Salem

2010-01-29T12:47:00.002-05:00

Hardball Dynasty's

Santos Canseco

Congratulations are in order to Durham Bulls starting pitcher Santos Canseco, who hurled his first career no-hitter in todays PM game versus the Salem Oles. Santos only needed 110 pitches to toss his no-no, allowing only three walks in Durham's 5-0 victory over the Oles in front of a packed house at Durham's Athletic Park on Bart Kirby Bobblehead day. He was perfect for the first 6 1/3 inning until he issued back-to-back walks to Pablo Ordonez and Mitch Ledee, but worked his way out of trouble by inducing a ground out by Keith Higginson and then whiffing Al Rosado to end the inning. The only other runner to reach base for Salem was John Blake on a ninth inning walk.

Bulls owner betrand93 celebrated Canseco's feat by immediately raising the price of all Santos Canseco items in the Bulls gift shop by 33%.

Jonas's Drunken New Years Eve Rant

2010-01-01T10:33:00.001-05:00

jonas1102 Apples 1/1/2010 6:38 AM Probably a bad idea, but I just found her on facebook.
jonas1102 Apples 1/1/2010 6:26 AM laksjfkladshkjthawkjhjkanmfasncx,m
jonas1102 Apples 1/1/2010 6:25 AM Goddamnit. Give me a baby so I can punch it.
jonas1102 Apples 1/1/2010 6:25 AM I hate all of you. Just because you all would be classified as everyone. And I hate everyone right now.
jonas1102 Apples 1/1/2010 6:22 AM DOOOOOOOOOO IIIIIIIIITTTTTTTT!!!!!
jonas1102 Apples 1/1/2010 6:22 AM Do it!!!!!
jonas1102 Apples 1/1/2010 6:22 AM Anyway, my team is so much more dominant than youralls teams it's not even funny. Give me the ****ing world series title now. DO IT! GIVE IT TO ME.
jonas1102 Apples 1/1/2010 6:21 AM I'm sure I'll read this tomorrow and be ****sed that I sent it out. But GOD DMAN. I mean, ****.
jonas1102 Apples 1/1/2010 6:20 AM Uggggggggh.
jonas1102 Apples 1/1/2010 6:19 AM It's five in the ****ing morning, did she think I wasn't actually seriously interested? I've been talking with her for 8 hours or so. I blame tec. *******.
jonas1102 Apples 1/1/2010 6:16 AM All I got to say is **** you, **** your mother and **** all dumbass chicks. Seriously.

Around The League (A.L. South)

2009-09-25T11:15:00.002-04:00

Jacksonville Seminoles (AL)
mbooker
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Seminoles are the only team above .500 in the division and therefore have the largest lead (5 games) over the 2nd place team in their division. Sanford and Collier are getting it done as always.

Majors
Best Bat: Cesar Urbina
Best Arm: Ahmed Sanford

Minors
Best Bat: Blake Jackson
Best Arm: Esmailyn Martinez

Jackson Bootleggers (AL)
rwright
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

If the Bootleggers don't reach 80 wins this season, it'll be the 10th straight season they will have failed to do so. Mired in the Mississippi mud.

Majors
Best Bat: Cam Lincoln
Best Arm: Sam Atchley

Minors
Best Bat: John Leonard
Best Arm: Bryan Silvestri

Charlotte Moose Hunters (AL)
jmil397
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

In Charlotte, the moose is still loose. The Hunters just can't seem to get any traction. It's looking like another 100+ loss season is possible.

Majors
Best Bat:Johnny Olson
Best Arm:Louis Hennessey

Minors
Best Bat:Jerome Judd
Best Arm:Alberto Cordero

Richmond Generals (AL)
dgtrache
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Generals continue the rebuilding efforts. A $19 million payroll won't win you too many games, but based on dgtrache's history, we know there's a plan.

Majors
Best Bat:Marino Tejera
Best Arm:Gil Wallace

Minors
Best Bat:Darby Moss
Best Arm:Vin Villalona

Around The League (N.L. North)

2009-09-23T15:53:00.005-04:00

Minnesota Mighty Men (NL)
raidersfan
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

After a 3-game winning streak, the Mighties find themselves in a tie for first with the New York Apples at 17-10. Minnesota won 98 games last year to win the division and it looks like they'll be in contention again this season.

Majors
Best Bat: Bill Hewson
Best Arm: Don Yoshii

Minors
Best Bat: Junior Gonzalez
Best Arm: Jorge Lucano

New York Apples (NL)
jonas1102
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Original owner, jonas1102, returns for his 2nd season at the helm of the Apples and he has his club playing very well after their worst season in history last year when they won just 52 games.

Majors
Best Bat: Scott Rose
Best Arm: David Moore

Minors
Best Bat: Steve Baez
Best Arm: Harry Blanco

Trenton Titans (NL)
KGS77
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Titans have the co-leaders in their sight, but they'll need to play better at home to keep them there. .500 on the road is manageable, as long as you're playing well at home.

Majors
Best Bat: Sherm Roberts
Best Arm: Mickey Sosa

Minors
Best Bat: Pedro Acevedo
Best Arm: Jung-Lee Kyung

Boise Spuds (NL)
battmann
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

After a lot of success in the early years of Mantle World, the Spuds franchise hasn't played in the deep end of the pool in a while. So far this season, the Spuds are still in the shallow end.

Majors
Best Bat: Allie Perkins
Best Arm: Luis Henriquez

Minors
Best Bat: Edwin Hammond
Best Arm: Midre Paz

Around the League (A.L. North)

2009-09-22T14:01:00.002-04:00

Scranton Apollos (AL)
tecwrg
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Apollos currently find themselves in familiar territory atop the AL North. Scranton is looking for their 3rd straight division title while continuing to chase their 1st World Championship.

Majors
Best Bat: Pat Masao
Best Arm: Tex Keagle

Minors
Best Bat: Bernie Moreno
Best Arm: Bruce Bennett

Chicago Black Sox (AL)
tomq
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Black Sox look to rebound from a season ago when they finished last in the division. 5 games up on 3rd place Detroit should have the Windy City faithful feeling "easy breezy" for now.

Majors
Best Bat: Derek Taylor
Best Arm: Dick Orosco

Minors
Best Bat: Sparky Jacquez
Best Arm: Ahmed Randall

Detroit Bad Seeds (AL)
the Benders
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Detroit has some ground to make up early and it doesn't look like a 90-win season is attainable, but they'll make a run. They need their pitching and hitting to get in sync.

Majors
Best Bat: Jim Maas
Best Arm: Cesar Moreno

Minors
Best Bat: Troy Murray
Best Arm: Kareem Kelly

Wichita Wranglers (AL)
tropicana
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

It's a struggle right now in Wichita, but like Detroit, the talent is pretty good. Expect this race to get closer as the season progresses.

Majors
Best Bat: Julio Valenzuela
Best Arm: Garry Donatello

Minors
Best Bat: Benny Pena
Best Arm: Vladimir Piedra

The Home Stretch - National League

2009-07-31T00:16:00.002-04:00

The Minnesota Mighty Men have a 17-game lead in the A.L. North led by Dicky Gibson's 14 wins and Bill Hewson 132 RBIs. The rest of the division will by vying for draft position as it appears no one else in the division is in the hunt for a wild card spot.

In one of the tightest races, the Syracuse Sluggers hold a 3-game advantage over the Kansas City Monarchs. Kansas City is also just 2 games out of the 2nd wild card spot. 24-year old Dennys Franco is a strong Cy Young candidate for the Sluggers with his 14-4 record and 2.65 ERA. Erick Hatcher is having another stellar season for the Monarchs, hitting .347 with a 1.027 OPS.

In the closest division race, the Louisville Beaners have a 2-game lead over the Florida Lockdown while the Texas Long Horns have slipped a little bit and are now 8 games off the pace. However, both Florida and Texas currently hold the wild card spots. Even, the 4th place Oklahoma City Power Failure are still in the wild card hunt, just 4 games out of the last spot. At 14-4, Matt Post is the only Beaners pitcher with double-digit wins. Carlos Gonzalez leads the Lockdown with 52 HRs and 147 RBIs. Carlos Aguilera has already posted his 6th straight season with 110+ runs, 110+ RBIs and 45+ HRs.

In the N.L. West, the Vancouver Fighting Skeletons are the only team with playoff aspirations and they currently sit just 1-game behind the Sluggers for the 3rd seed. Vancouver has 3 pitchers with 10 plus wins and ERA's under 4.00 with Al Ramirez leading the trio at 13-5 with a 3.91 ERA.

The Home Stretch - American League

2009-07-30T23:53:00.002-04:00

With about 35 games to go, we take a look at the playoff picture around the leagues.

In the A.L. North, the Scranton Apollos have regained the lead in the division after briefly falling behind the Wichita Wranglers. Jesus Abreu sits at 14-3 for Scranton despite a 4.86 ERA. Wichita is 4 games up on division rival the Detroit Bad Seeds in the Wild Card race as the division attempts to return 3 teams to the playoffs like they've done multiple times in the league's history.

The Norfolk Tobacco Farmers are cruising to a 2nd straight division title in the A.L. East. Mark Parker leads the T-Farmers with 13 wins and a 3.01 ERA. The Buffalo Blizzard postseason hopes are fading having won just 5 of their last 15. The Blizzard are now 4 games out of the 2nd wild card spot.

The Jacksonville Seminoles have pretty much sewn up the A.L. South and are destined to be the #4 seed in the A.L Playoffs as they are well behind the other 3 division leaders in the playoff race. While Vance Collier is getting all the accolades for his 15-3 record, Ahmed Sanford has been virtually untouchable at 10-2 with a .89 WHIP and 2.43 ERA.

In the A.L. West, the Colorado Springs Mile High Marines have a comfortable division lead, leaving both the Portland Poltergeists and Salem Oles to battle for a wild card spot. Portland is just 1 game out and Salem is only 3 back of the last wild card spot. Colorado Springs is getting another monster season out of reigning A.L. MVP Alfredo Valentin.

Season 13 Division Predictions: N.L. East

2009-06-23T01:02:00.002-04:00

Kansas City Monarchs (NL)
Neilcor
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 1st Place (91-61)
Season 13 Prediction: 1st Place

The Skinny:
I'm so boring - I always pick Neilcor and his band of Merrie Monarchs to win this division. I'm tired of it, but I see no reason for that to change this season. Kansas City did sign a couple new arms in Kevin Ma and Willis Anderson, however, it's the same cast of characters for the most part. Erick Hatcher should surpass 400 HRs this season and his young sidekick Geoffery Blair is off to a good start as well. 19-game winner Jim Aurilia would've had a Cy Young Award on his mantle last season if it weren't for Ned "Will you please just retire already" McInerney. Carmine Holmes hopes to find whatever it was he lost between seasons 11 & 12.

Breakout Performer: C/DH Juan Sosa (the only guy under the age of 60 on the ML roster).

Syracuse Sluggers (NL)
jmaese
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 2nd Place (85-77)
Season 13 Prediction: 2nd Place

The Skinny:
jmaese and the Metros headed upstate to Syracuse in the offseason and picked up a new nickname on the way. While the city and team name are new, the offensive firepower is familiar. Philip Ray and Russ Feller are back to lead this offense, but we definitely see the potential in 21-year old 2nd year man, Omar Flores. One of the best young arms in the league, Dennys Franco leads the pitching staff. Franco's strung a couple good seasons together and is starting to come into his own (3-0 this season). If Scott Everett can perform as he did last season, this team should be in the hunt for a wild card spot.

Breakout Performer: SP Jack Farrell

Chicago Old Style (NL)
alogman1
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 3rd Place (66-96)
Season 13 Prediction: 3rd Place

The Skinny:
Having not reached the 70-win plateau since season 8, the Old Style have accumulated some high draft picks and those players are starting to crack the starting lineup at the major league level. Rookies Ricardo Garces, Napoleon Conti and Jose Morlan are all off to pretty good starts and they've got the Chicago fans chirping. The pitching is lagging behind the hitting, but Darren Evert and Chico Rodriguez are both promising prospects and should win their share of ballgames.

Breakout Performer: 3B Ricardo Garces

Rochester North Stars (NL)
russilini
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 4th Place (38-124)
Season 13 Prediction: 4th Place

The Skinny:
38 wins, the number of games Washington DC/Rochester won last season is not easy to swallow. It's also not difficult to surpass. This team's better than last season and may even be good enough to climb out of the cellar. 22-year old rookie Christian Hardy will join a couple elder statesman we all know and love in 38-year olds J.R. Barkley and J.P. McEnroe, in the starting rotation. Offensively, the North Stars are not quite at the level of the other teams in this division. They'll need big seasons out of free agent signees Andy Battle and Howie Curtis. Still, it looks like the team is headed in the right direction and they're now just 25 wins away from passing last season's total.

Breakout Performer: SP Christian Hardy

Season 13 Division Predictions: A.L. East

2009-06-23T00:07:00.003-04:00

Norfolk Tobacco Farmers (AL)
winmyron
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 1st Place (95-67)
Season 13 Prediction: 1st Place

The Skinny:
Historically speaking, the A.L. East has always been one of the weaker divisions in the American League. Division winners typically needed around 85-89 wins to earn the pennant. In season 12 and now season 13, it appears that's starting to change. The Tobacco Farmers look like the team to beat again this season, after winning 95 games and advancing to the ALCS last season. winmyron has put together a great pitching staff that could compete with Jacksonville's as the best in the league. Damaso Lopez, Mark Parker and Nash Phillips were all very effective last year and that should continue in season 13. However, as good as the pitching is, the offense is better. Norfolk leads the A.L. in hitting so far this season by an astounding 14 pts (.304 team ba) over the nearest competitor. They've also scored 36 more runs than any other A.L. team. Lawrence Rhodes and Josias Johnson (.405 ba) have a lot to do with the early offensive success.

Breakout Performer: INF Andres Rodriguez

Buffalo Blizzard (AL)
sir_slamalot
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 2nd Place (84-78)
Season 13 Prediction: 2nd Place

The Skinny:
The Blizzard have always relied heavily on pitching and that's largely in part due to 3-time Cy Young winner, Vitas Henley and their excellent bullpen. However, they've been missing quality starters at the end of their rotation for a few seasons now. This offseason, they signed Theo Roa and will also have Chuck Wilson for a full season to try to put some punch back in the rotation. The offense will be helped by the return of Chris Presley who missed the final 50+ games of season 12 with a hamstring tear. Junior Nunez will also see his role expand in season 13.

Breakout Performer: RP Travis Malone

Baltimore Blast (AL)
Reps
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 3rd Place (74-88)
Season 13 Prediction: 3rd Place

The Skinny:
When you search "the real deal" in the HBD Forum, a photo of Bruce Payne is what you'll find. Bruce Payne's RBI and HR totals just keep climbing and climbing every season. And this season, he'll have some help from A.L. Rookie of the Year (yes, I'm already giving out the award) John Kim. This duo reminds me of that old A's tandem - the Bash Brothers - without the 'roids. The pitching staff is very good and very young. Once guys like Ismael Salinas and Herman Whiteside get some major league seasoning, this team may be the team to beat in the A.L. East in a few seasons.

Breakout Performer: LF John Kim

Durham Bulls (AL)
bertrand93
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 4th Place (71-91)
Season 13 Prediction: 4th Place

The Skinny:
Both Durham and Baltimore have been starting to get the pieces in place to change their fate and neither team is that far off, but I think Baltimore may be a little closer at this point. 24-year old Humberto Aguilera is a future all-star/Cy Young winner, while veteran Johan McInerney hopes to rebound from his 1st losing season in his career. Milt Leiter is also a valuable piece to the rotation. Offensively, Bart Kirby (614 career HRs) has given way to Omar Siqueiros (113 HRs in 2 seasons) and Lawrence Brown (424 career HRs).

Breakout Performer: SP Dennys Ratliff

Season 13 Division Predictions: N.L. West

2009-06-22T00:25:00.002-04:00

Vancouver Fighting Skeletons (NL)
diryn
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 3rd Place (74-88)
Season 13 Prediction: 1st Place

The Skinny:
Sometimes I look at a division and immediately know who is the team to beat. The N.L. North is not one of those divisions. The N.L. North appears to be a crapshoot. The Fighting Skeletons probably have the best pitching in the division. Al Ramirez is a proven starter and winner and 24-year old Earl Scheffer has all the makings of a very good #2 or #3 starter. The offense isn't the best in the division, but there's enough pop to stay afloat in the division. Vancouver will rely on Victor Vargas and Edgardo Pichardo to drive in the bulk of the runs here.

Breakout Performer: SP Earl Scheffer

Arizona Wildcats (NL)
sculley
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 4th Place (73-89)
Season 13 Prediction: 2nd Place

The Skinny:
The biggest change with this franchise was the relocation from Honolulu to Arizona, however, with that change is a renewed hope. Offensively, Norberto Oropesa is hoping to top 100 RBIs in his 2nd full season as he fell just short of that mark in his rookie campaign. The Wildcats are in need of a pure power hitter as Jesse Haney is the closest to it in this lineup, but he's currently on the DL. Victor Swindell is the ace on this pitching staff, but we think Del Johnson will eventually need to crack the rotation if Arizona wants to hang in this race.

Breakout Performer: RP Del Johnson

Anaheim angeldynasty (NL)
lightmn13
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 1st Place (89-73)
Season 13 Prediction: 3rd Place

The Skinny:
The angeldynasty won the division by a comfortable margin last season, however, their pitching staff is completely different in season 13. 3/5 of the rotation is elsewhere due to free agency and 14-game winner Willie Jose is out for the season with a torn labrum. That leaves 17-game winner Malachi Rogers and he's posting an 0-fer so far in season 13 (0-3 in 4 starts). Offensively, I think Carlos Barcelo is a future MVP in the making. He and Lou Combs should provide enough punch to keep Anaheim in the race.

Breakout Performer: SP Benny Sojo

Oakland Polish Hammers (NL)
goodtymes31
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 2nd Place (79-83)
Season 13 Prediction: 4th Place

The Skinny:
goodtymes31 has made it clear that he's building for the future, but until the Polish Hammers are able to move guys like Marc Wasdin and Norm Henry, this is still the best offense in the division. They don't necessarily have the best pitching in the division, but if Osvaldo Mantalban can get on track and Harry Cairo can continue to throw strikes, they have as good a shot as anybody.

Breakout Performer: 1B Ted Gonzales

Season 13 Division Predictions: A.L. West

2009-06-21T23:42:00.002-04:00

Portland Poltergeists (AL)
selmer
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 1st Place (98-64)
Season 13 Prediction: 1st Place

The Skinny:
The A.L. West is looking like a 2-horse race between Portland and Colorado Springs and I'm giving the advantage to the Poltergeists. The offense is so powerful, Portland has the #2 and #3 all-time home run hitters in Kevin Mullins who currently stands at 566 and Charles Costello who has 544 career bombs. Not to mention, Felix Ellis will probably break 400 home runs this season and will easily surpass the 500 home run mark when all is said and done. Domingo Pizzaro and Paul Ishii lead this pitching staff, but it's Anthony Martin who's off to the best start (3-0).

Breakout Performer: RP Mac Sakamoto

Colorado Springs Mile High Marines (AL)
brendanjod
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 2nd Place (90-72)
Season 13 Prediction: 2nd Place

The Skinny:
Much like Portland, Colorado Springs has no shortage of offensive power and it starts with the reigning A.L. MVP Alfredo Valentin. Valentin went off last season for 72 HRs and 197 RBIs. At just 25-years old, Valentin has already spent 7 seasons in the big leagues and he's approaching 300 career home runs. The Mile High Marines aren't all about offense though and they went out and traded for Harry Holzemer to shore up the pitching staff. With Holzemer and the steady Paulie Kolb, the Marines will definitely give Portland a run for the division title.

Breakout Performer: CF Eddie Price

Salem Oles (AL)
evegoe
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 3rd Place (77-85)
Season 13 Prediction: 3rd Place

The Skinny:
The Oles have a healthy offense as well, led by 24-year old Mitch Ledee and perennial all-star Harry Martinez, but what seems to be holding them back is the pitching depth. 150-game winner Malcolm Reese and Jack Fleming have struggled out of the gates, but both are quality starters. From there though, the staff tails off a bit although Ted Chiasson and company are still serviceable. Shane Matthews is proving to be the real deal at closer

Breakout Performer: RP Shane Matthews

San Diego Seagulls (AL)
ericsomsel
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 4th Place (53-109)
Season 13 Prediction: 4th Place

The Skinny:
After winning just 53 games last season, it's no surprise that San Diego is rebuilding. 37-year old Harry Mateo may be a good trading piece for contenders as the trade deadline rolls around. The 3-time Cy Young winner still has a good arm and would like to get to 200 wins (currently at 174), but that's not likely to happen in San Diego. Offensively, Don Jerzembeck has driven in and scored at least 100 runs in each of his last 2 seasons, but he's off to a horrendous start (.195 ba) which is not good for a team that needs all the production they can get.

Breakout Performer: RP Travis Zentmeyer

Season 13 Division Predictions: N.L. North

2009-06-17T22:19:00.003-04:00

Minnesota Mighty Men (NL)
raidersfan
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 1st Place (95-67)
Season 13 Prediction: 1st Place

The Skinny:
Minnesota won the division by a comfortable margin last season and I expect the pennant to remain here in Minnesota in season 13. Don Yoshii pitched in an incredible 102 games last season and could very well be the team's most valuable player. What a great situation to be able to turn to a relief pitcher who threw 192 innings while winning 10 games and saving 8. Having said that, the offense is awesome and very young. 25-year oldBill Hewson had an RBI for every game in season 12 and I expect guys like 23-year old Roger Heath and 25-year oldMiguel Mateo to bust out in season 13.

Breakout Performer: SS Miguel Mateo

New York BullDog (NL)
coach25
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 2nd Place (79-83)
Season 13 Prediction: 2nd Place

The Skinny:
Besides Minnesota, the other 3 teams in the NL North all finished within 5 games of each other and I had a hard time deciding where these teams should be placed, but I kept going back to New York due to their pitching. Pedro Cruz is a steady presence at the top of the rotation and has a 3.46 ERA in his 2+ big league seasons. Peter Suzuki continues to work out of the bullpen as the closer, but he'll be in the rotation before all is said and done, much like that other New York pitcher, Joba Chamberlain. Offensively, the team will be led by 24-year old 30/30 candidate, Matt Bryant.

Breakout Performer: OF Jimmy Womack

Trenton Titans (NL)
KGS77
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 3rd Place (78-84)
Season 13 Prediction: 3rd Place

The Skinny:
Sherm Roberts has carried this team for a long time and he doesn't appear to be slowing down. The two-time MVP is coming off one of his best seasons batting .359 with 116 RBI and 133 runs scored in season 12. With the help of Cory Kennedy, this team should score a lot of runs which should be enough to keep them out of the basement in the division. The rotation isn't great, but we look forward to seeing 22-year old Jung-Lee Kyung in his first full season in the bigs. Kyung has great control and a nice fastball and should have a long career for the Titans.

Breakout Performer: CF Chet Wheeler

Boise Spuds (NL)
battmann
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 4th Place (74-88)
Season 13 Prediction: 4th Place

The Skinny:
Boise appears to be readying themselves for a run a few years down the line. They've got some great young arms in the rotation already such as 25-year old Chad Stevenson and 23-year old Gabe Roberts. Offensively, Greg Wolf needs to put up better numbers than he has recently for this team have a chance to contend. The Spuds have already suffered a tough break when 24-year old right fielder Allie Perkins tore a hamstring in spring training.

Breakout Performer: OF Bip Helton

Season 13 Division Predictions: A.L. North

2009-06-17T21:08:00.006-04:00

Detroit Bad Seeds (AL)
the Benders
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 3rd Place (84-78)
Season 13 Prediction: 1st Place

The Skinny:
Detroit finished just 6 games above .500 last season which was the fewest wins the Bad Seeds have ever had in a season in their history which is pretty impressive. With the acquisition of Rex Frederick, I like Detroit as the favorite in the A.L. North. The pitching staff is aging, but I think it's the best in the division. The offense will once again be led by Sammy Shumpert, but he'll get a bigger hand this season from 24-year old Goose Sveum.

Breakout Performer: C/DH Goose Sveum

Wichita Wranglers (AL)
tropicana
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 4th Place (83-79)
Season 13 Prediction: 2nd Place

The Skinny:
There wasn't a lot of activity in Wichita in the offseason outside of a couple veteran free agent signings in Steve Burks and Cam DeRosa, but I like this squad with or without the added veterans. Look for Tony Galvez to be the offensive leader for the Wranglers. On the mound, Brent Meche is 24 wins shy of 200, but it'll be interesting to see if the 38-year old gets there as that will require he play at least one more season.

Breakout Performer: RP Lenny Wheeler

Scranton Apollos (AL)
tecwrg
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 1st Place (102-60)
Season 13 Prediction: 3rd Place

The Skinny:
After a surprising and impressive run in season 12, tecwrg is loving that I have his Scranton Apollos finishing in 3rd place in season 13. The Apollos love playing under the radar, but it'll be hard to sneak up on anyone after winning 102 games last season. Regardless, I think the Apollos overachieved in season 12. Jesus Abreu and Danys Bravo combined for 30 wins last season and I don't think they'll duplicate that feat. The offense, led by Pat Masao and Dan King is still very good and will allow the pitching staff some room to make mistakes.

Breakout Performer: 1B/DH Leo Strong

Chicago Black Sox (AL)
tomq
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 2nd Place (92-70)
Season 13 Prediction: 4th Place

The Skinny:
The Black Sox will have their work cut out for them this season after finishing 2nd the previous season. The best hitters for Chicago, Derek Taylor and Pedro Gonzales, don't have a lot of pop which may lead to a lack of run production for the Sox. The team ERA was in the top half of the league last year, but there isn't a lot of starting pitching depth behind newly-acquired ace, Alan Hitchcock. However, the bullpen has some very good arms which should provide some wins if the starters can leave them with the lead.

Breakout Performer: RP Jack Abercrombie

Season 13 Division Predictions: N.L. South

2009-06-15T00:09:00.002-04:00

Florida Lockdown (NL)
welsh5
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 1st Place (102-60)
Season 13 Prediction: 1st Place

The Skinny:
Since we started with the Season 12 World Series winner's division, we'll move to the runner-up, Florida Lockdown's N.L. South division. It was a pretty quiet offseason for the Lockdown and that's understandable for a team that won 102 games last season. You don't need/want to do too much tinkering to a team that won 7 more games than any other team in the N.L. The ageless wonder, Ned McInerney, is back to lead the pitching staff and he's looking to become the 1st or 2nd pitcher in Mantle World history to reach the 200-win mark. McInerney is 4 wins behind Clay Runyan (they both won their openers this season) and they're both in excellent health and could pitch another season or two.

Breakout Performer: RP Clarence Shipley

Texas Long Horns (NL)
drichter
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 4th Place (85-77)
Season 13 Prediction: 2nd Place

The Skinny:
The NL South was the best division in baseball in season 12 if you go by division wins (365) and the Texas Long Horns finished in 4th place with 85 wins last season. So, this offseason they did a smart thing. The Longhorns went shopping for pitching and brought in some solid veterans led by Gerald Krause and Joel Baldwin. Neither one has the stamina they used to have, but they will keep this team in ballgames.
The offense is absolutely loaded and it starts with Gary Blake who's 3rd all-time in career batting average at .338.

Breakout Performer: 2B Victor Ugueto

Louisville Beaners (NL)
shanklsa
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: T-2nd Place (89-73)
Season 13 Prediction: 3rd Place

The Skinny:
For Louisville to contend in this division, they're really going to need 24-year old Roland Fitzgerald to stay healthy. "Fitz" had a solid season 12 (.331, 39 HRs, 1.036 OPS) and he'll have to repeat those numbers to keep the Beaners in the playoff conversation. One thing is certain, if Louisville can get to the 9th inning with a lead, the opposition can start the bus. Joseph Yoshii, the most dominant closer in Mantle history, is just 7 saves away from surpasing Andy Scott as the all-time saves leader.

Breakout Performer: SP Matt Post

Oklahoma City Power Failure (NL)
coneheads
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: T-2nd Place (89-73)
Season 13 Prediction: 4th Place

The Skinny:
Two things need to happen for Oklahoma City to contend: Mateo Estrada and Chico Pulido have to pitch like they did in season 11 (33 wins combined) and not like they did last season (15 wins combined); and Kip Sosa needs some offensive help (cue breakout performer Willis Bonilla). And let me give a shout out to 17-game winner Sammy Piedra. We'll be watching to see if Piedra can have that type of success again this season.

Breakout Performer: RF/1B Willis Bonilla

Season 13 Division Predictions: A.L. South

2009-06-14T15:34:00.004-04:00

Jacksonville Seminoles (AL)
mbooker
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 1st Place (89-73)
Season 13 Prediction: 1st Place

The Skinny:
mbooker's club finally won the coveted World Series championship last season so there's no better place to start the predictions than in Jacksonville.
The Seminoles return the great pitching staff that led them to their first championships and it seems like this core might be together for a couple more seasons as Ahmed Sanford is the only starter over the age of 30. Cesar Urbina should be an MVP candidate this season.

Breakout Performer: SP Rodney Hurst

Jackson Bootleggers (AL)
rwright
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: T-2nd Place (79-83)
Season 13 Prediction: 2nd Place

The Skinny:
We've been patiently waiting on the Bootleggers and think this might be the season they climb another rung on the ladder. Carmine Byrd and Sam Atchley are a great 1-2 punch on the hill and Todd Webster is a superb closer. If Pablo Ordonez can take his game to the next level and improve upon his OPS, Jackson might be a playoff contender.

Breakout Performer: SP Sam Atchley

Richmond Generals (AL)
dgtrache
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: T-2nd Place (79-83)
Season 13 Prediction: 3rd Place

The Skinny:
Richmond is going to rely heavily on Sammy DaSilva to win games this season as the pitching staff is not very deep with the departures of Richmond stalwart Gerald Krause, JP McEnroe and Clay Runyan. The Generals offense will be led by building-block Marino Tejera, but it's pretty apparent that the Generals are looking to rebuild for the future. That could make Tejera trade-bait later in the season.

Breakout Performer: LF Marino Tejera

Charlotte Moose Hunters (AL)
jmil397
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 12: 4th Place (56-106)
Season 13 Prediction: 4th Place

The Skinny:
After 3 straight seasons at the bottom of the division, the Moose Hunters should have a chance to climb out of the cellar this season. In order to do so, Charlotte is going to have to swing the bats better this season. There aren't any superstarts, but they've got a handful of pretty solid players including 25-year old Warren Gibson. 23-year old Juan Fernandez will lead the staff and hope to improve upon his 10 wins last season.

Breakout Performer: RP Goose Pickering

Tec's Useless Trivia . . . Updated!!!

2009-06-08T21:08:00.005-04:00

Thought I would update this since two seasons have gone by since the first time I posted this. Here are cumulative standings for each division through Mantle World's first 12 seasons:

AL North	W	L	Pct	GB
Detroit Bad Seeds	1165	779	0.599	0
Wichita Wranglers	1149	795	0.591	16
Chicago Black Sox	1113	831	0.573	52
Scranton Apollos	1038	906	0.534	127

AL East	W	L	Pct	GB
Buffalo Blizzard	1049	895	0.540	0
Norfolk Tobacco Farmers	890	1054	0.458	159
Baltimore Blast	863	1081	0.444	186
Durham Bulls	854	1090	0.439	195

AL South	W	L	Pct	GB
Richmond Generals	1030	914	0.530	0
Jacksonville Seminoles	912	1032	0.469	118
Jackson Bootleggers	890	1054	0.458	140
Charlotte Moose Hunters	867	1077	0.446	163

AL West	W	L	Pct	GB
Portland Poltergeists	1106	838	0.569	0
Salem Oles	1033	911	0.531	73
Colorado Springs Mile High Marines	962	982	0.495	144
San Diego Seagulls	739	1205	0.380	367

NL North	W	L	Pct	GB
Minnesota Mighty Men	1029	915	0.529	0
Trenton Titans	1019	925	0.524	10
Boise Spuds	1009	935	0.519	20
New York BullDog	935	1009	0.481	94

NL East	W	L	Pct	GB
Syracuse Sluggers	923	1021	0.475	0
Kansas City Monarchs	913	1031	0.470	10
Chicago Old Style	851	1093	0.438	72
Rochester North Stars	840	1104	0.432	83

NL South	W	L	Pct	GB
Florida Lockdown	1227	717	0.631	0
Texas Long Horns	992	952	0.510	235
Louisville Beaners	944	1000	0.486	283
Oklahoma City Power Failure	910	1034	0.468	317

NL West	W	L	Pct	GB
Anaheim angeldynasty	982	962	0.505	0
Arizona Wildcats	966	978	0.497	16
Vancouver Fighting Skeletons	956	988	0.492	26
Oakland Polish Hammers	940	1004	0.484	42

And if that's not enough trivia to digest at one sitting, lets also take a look at the post season history of each team in Mantle through it's first 12 seasons. The following lists number of division titles, number of wild card appearances, number of LCS titles, number of WS titles, and the number of different owners that each franchise has been managed by:

AL North	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Detroit Bad Seeds	6	5	1	1	1
Wichita Wranglers	2	8	1	1	2
Chicago Black Sox	2	3	1	1	1
Scranton Apollos	2	1	0	0	1

AL East	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Buffalo Blizzard	9	0	1	1	1
Norfolk Tobacco Farmers	1	1	0	0	5
Baltimore Blast	1	0	0	0	1
Durham Bulls	1	0	0	0	1

AL South	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Richmond Generals	5	1	1	1	1
Jacksonville Seminoles	2	1	2	1	3
Jackson Bootleggers	4	0	1	1	1
Charlotte Moose Hunters	1	0	0	0	7

AL West	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Portland Poltergeists	8	1	2	0	2
Salem Oles	4	1	2	1	1
Colorado Springs Mile High Marines	0	2	0	0	1
San Diego Seagulls	0	0	0	0	4

NL North	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Minnesota Mighty Men	4	2	0	0	1
Trenton Titans	3	3	0	0	2
Boise Spuds	5	2	1	1	5
New York BullDog	0	1	0	0	3

NL East	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Syracuse Sluggers	3	1	0	0	3
Kansas City Monarchs	5	1	2	0	4
Chicago Old Style	1	0	0	0	3
Rochester North Stars	3	1	0	0	8

NL South	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Florida Lockdown	10	2	7	3	1
Texas Long Horns	2	2	0	0	3
Louisville Beaners	0	3	0	0	1
Oklahoma City Power Failure	0	1	0	0	5

NL West	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Anaheim angeldynasty	4	0	1	0	2
Arizona Wildcats	4	1	0	0	3
Vancouver Fighting Skeletons	1	4	0	0	6
Oakland Polish Hammers	3	0	1	0	2

Mantle World Season 12 World Series Prediction

2009-05-23T09:55:00.003-04:00

Jacksonville Seminoles vs. Forida Lockdown

Initially, I was prepared to put my prediction behind the Jacksonville Seminoles. I've always appreciated their pitching and stand by the belief that pitching wins championships. However, with the ease that the Florida Lockdown have carved up their opponents, I'm going to have to take the Lockdown to win their 4th championship. Florida is just locked in right now, they have a good balance of offense and pitching and I think it may be a little too much for the Seminoles. If Jacksonville is going to win the series, again, it's going to have to be on the shoulders of their pitching staff. However, they can't have any offensive lapses in games like they had against Norfolk.

Prediction: Florida wins series, 4-2.

League Championship Series Playoff Predictions

2009-05-18T23:44:00.002-04:00

American League

Jacksonville Seminoles vs. Norfolk Tobacco Farmers

I'm very impressed with what the Norfolk Tobacco Farmers have done so far in the playoffs. I thought they'd get through the first round, but I didn't think they would take out Portland in round 2. After dropping a close game 1 in the series, they went on to win the next 3 games by a total of 5 runs. I'd have to go with Pablo Rodriguez as the MVP of the last round as he was the winner of game 2 and pitched 2.2 scoreless innings to earn the save in game 4.

As for Norfolk's opponent, the Jacksonville Seminoles did exactly what I thought they'd do to this point. They won both of their series by a total of 3 games to 1, just like I predicted. As I noted early on, Jacksonville's pitching is the difference maker. In their 8 playoff games, the Seminoles have given up 20 runs for a 2.5 runs per game average. They won't lose too many games giving up just 2 to 3 runs a game. Now, Jacksonville's offense hasn't been piling it on, but they are averaging 4.75 runs per game thus far in the playoffs. Luther Taylor really took it to the Apollos in the DCS as he was 7-15 with 4 runs scored and 5 runs batted in.

As much as I'd like to see my division rival Norfolk get to the World Series, I have a lot of respect for mbooker and his club and I think it simply might be his time to get a ring.

Prediction: Jacksonville wins series, 4-2.

National League

Florida Lockdown vs. Kansas City Monarchs

Here's an interesting fact: If the Florida Lockdown don't win the World Series this season, this will be the club's longest drought without winning it in their history. Hard to believe, but true. With 3 rings in 11 seasons, the Lockdown make sure they don't lease out their stadium for other events come playoff time. While they hadn't reached the LCS since season 9 until now, they hope history repeats itself because that was the last time they won the whole thing.

Meanwhile, neilcor and his Kansas City Monarchs are hoping and praying that I pick Florida to advance. I've tried my best to get rid of the Monarchs by picking against them in each of the first 2 rounds, but they just keep pinning my predictions up on the bulletin board and Patsy Owens has taken it personally. Owens lit up the Mighty Men going 10-20 with 6 runs scored and 12 runs batted in (in only 4 games)!

Unfortunately for the Monarchs, their defying run stops here. When welsh5 and the Lockdown smell blood, it's as good as done. I'm predicting an all-Florida final, just as it was in season 9. Will Jacksonville get revenge or will the Lockdown continue to own the Sunshine State? We will soon find out...unless my predictions are WRONG!

Prediction: Florida wins series, 4-3.

Division Championship Series Playoff Predictions

2009-05-16T10:38:00.004-04:00

American League

Jacksonville Seminoles vs. Scranton Apollos

Scranton has risen from the dead this year to finish with the best record in the American League (102-60) after 6 straight 4th place finishes followed by a 3rd place finish last season (although 91 wins in season 11 proves they were on the right track). In this Championship Series, however, offensive leaders Pat Masao and Dan King will have their work cut out for them though with the Seminoles pitching staff (previously discussed). While Luther Taylor and Alex Maradona didn't have the offensive numbers they had last season, I still expect piching to trump hitting and believe Jacksonville will advance.

Prediction: Jacksonville wins series, 3-1.

Norfolk Tobacco Farmers vs. Portland Poltergeists

Norfolk has done a great job advancing through the first round of the playoffs after their first ever division title. Nash Phillips went 7 strong innings to shut the door on the Mile High Marines in Game 5 of the opening series. In Portland, the Poltergeists are foaming at the mouth waiting for their first series to get underway. The Poltergeists offense may simply be too much for the Tobacco Farmers to handle. 5-time Most Valuable Player, Kevin Mullins and Felix Ellis are just two names out of an offense that scored the 2nd most runs in the American League this season.

Prediction: Portland wins series, 3-2.

National League

Anaheim angeldynasty vs. Florida Lockdown

Whenever I see that the Florida Lockdown are in the playoffs, I feel like the World Series trophy sort of gravitates toward them. They have the most dominant pitcher in the league this year in Ned McInerney and they had 4 guys drive in over 100 runs with 2 others that missed by just 2 and 3 RBI. The Anaheim angeldynasty rolled through the first round of the playoffs, but I struggle to believe they can take the Lockdown. Harry Holzemer is going to have to have a better showing than he did in round 1 and Emmanuel Montanez is going to need to stay hot in the lineup if they want to have any chance to advance.

Prediction: Florida wins series, 3-0.

Kansas City Monarchs vs. Minnesota Mighty Men

The Mighty Men continue their dominance of the NL North with their 4th straight division title. The Mighties had 7 pitchers win at least 10 games, including Cristian Torres who was just 12-10, but had little run support as his ERA was a solid 3.11. The offense was led by 24 year-old MVP candidate Bill Hewson who drove in 164 runs while clubbing 63 home runs. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Monarchs advanced through the first round on the strength of their pitching which was magnificent in holding the Louisville Beaners to just 6 runs in their 3 1st round wins. We know how good 19-game winner Jim Aurilia is, but if the rest of the pitching staff holds up like they did in the first round, Kansas City will be a tough out.

Prediction: Minnesota wins series, 3-2.

We're Baaaack! Playoff Predictions Round-By-Round

2009-05-12T22:05:00.012-04:00

A.L. Division Play-in Series:

Jacksonville Seminoles vs. Chicago Black Sox

The key to this series is very simple. Can Rob Becker and Chicago's offense score enough runs against Jacksonville's big 3 starting pitchers? In a short playoff series, there are no breaks when you're facing Ahmed Sanford, Vance Collier and Gene Hayes. If Chicago can stay in games late, the Seminoles bullpen has been shaky, blowing 20 saves this season.

Prediction: Jacksonville wins series, 3-1.

Norfolk Tobacco Farmers vs. Colorado Springs Mile High Marines

This is a really intriguing matchup. Colorado Springs scored 100 more runs than Norfolk during the regular season, led by MVP candidate Alfredo Valentin who crushed 72 home runs and was three shy of 200 RBI. However, the Tobacco Farmers offense was far from anemic and I give the edge to their pitching staff as all five Norfolk starters won at least 13 games and Peter Pong saved 37 of 40.

Prediction: Norfolk wins series, 3-2.

N.L. Division Play-in Series:

Anaheim Angeldynasty vs. Oklahoma City Power Failure

Two teams. Identical records. Neither team closed out the season well. Both teams are fairly even in offense and pitching. The one statistic that sticks with me though is the Power Failure's league-leading 30 wins in 1-run games. I'm guessing that Harry Holzemer and Sammy Piedra will be the Game 1 starters and I'm predicting the team that wins this game will win the series, 3-2.

Prediction: Oklahoma City wins series, 3-2.

Kansas City Monarchs vs. Louisville Beaners

The only thing that may prevent the Beaners from getting to the Division Championship Series are the 6th, 7th and 8th innings. The Beaners middle relievers make Paula Abdul look stable. The starters need to eat up innings and hand the ball directly to Joseph Yoshii. By the way, is it just me or did everyone else think J.R. Barkley retired like 6 seasons ago? Kansas City needs either Jim Aurilia or Hector Cordero to win two games to advance to the next round.

Prediction: Louisville wins series, 3-2.

Looking Out for Number One

2008-12-30T22:14:00.003-05:00

With the season 11 draft just around the corner, I thought this would be a good opportunity to take a look back on the number one draft picks for the first ten seasons of Mantle with a brief synopsis of the career to date of each pick and my grade. Dissenting opinions are welcome to comment.

Season 1: Mike Florie, 2B - selected by vachedawg, Cheyenne Fighting Bovines (now Portland Poltergeists)

Hardball Dynasty's

Mike Florie

Mike Florie was the first ever draft pick in Mantle world. He was given his first taste of big league action in season 2 by Portland, and spent season 3 split between AAA and the majors before being traded in season 4 to San Antonio. He's been a very durable though unspectacular major league player ever since. Since first seeing full time action with the Soggy Bottom Boys, he's been traded two more times: first to Tacoma in season 6, and then to Salem in season 11. He's made one All-Star team, in season 9 for Tacoma. In over 1200 games to date, he's a lifetime .281 hitter with 141 home runs and 610 RBI. He's also stolen 191 bases in his major league career. He's been a solid major league player, but for a number one draft pick more should have been expected from him.

Grade: B

Season 2: Al Ramirez, SP - selected by lefty32, Seattle Geoducks (now Vancouver Fighting Skeletons)

Hardball Dynasty's

Al Ramirez

Despite a number of franchise changes, Ramirez has spent his entire career with the now Fighting Skeletons. He made it to the majors at the end of season 3, and has been there ever since as the anchor of the pitching staff. With 244 career starts under his belt, he has a lifetime record of 102-75, with an ERA of 3.81, OAV of .258 and WHIP of 1.31. He also has one 20-win season on his record (21-8 in season 9) and three All-Star appearances. He's certainly lived up to his expectations as a number one pick.

Grade: A

Season 3: Jim Aurilia, SP - selected by nova20147, Charlotte Miners (now Kansas City Monarchs)

Hardball Dynasty's

Jim Aurilia

Like Ramirez, Aurilia has spent his entire career with the franchise that drafted him. Unlike Ramirez, Aurilia has not exactly lived up to his billing as a number one draft pick. In 229 appearances (181 starts), he's only amassed a career record of 69-54 with a 4.35 ERA, .250 OAV and 1.38 WHIP. He has yet to make an All-Star appearance, but is still relatively young at age 26 and still has a number of seasons ahead of him. One could say that the jury is still out as he still has potential for a very solid and productive career.

Grade: B

Season 4: Vance Collier, SP - selected by mbooker, Jacksonville Seminoles

Hardball Dynasty's

Vance Collier

After a brief but impressive minor league career, Collier was promoted to the majors in season 6 to stay. He struggled a bit in his rookie season, but has been spectacular ever since. Only 26 years old, he has already compiled a record of 84-36 in 163 career starts, with a 3.52 ERA, .241 OAV and 1.23 WHIP. He's made one All-Star appearance in season 9, and has posted three consecutive 18+ win seasons for the Seminoles. His current numbers in season 11 are his best to date. The Seminoles certainly cannot be disappointed with their number one pick.

Grade: A+

Season 5: John Blake, SS - selected by brendanjod, Colorado Springs Mile High Marines

Hardball Dynasty's

John Blake

Blake made an immediate impact in his rookie season in season 6, when he crashed upon the scene with a .335 AVG, .404 OBP and .598 SLG performance in 53 games upon his promotion from AAA. He also contributed 12 home runs and 45 RBI's in that span. He's settled down some in the following 4+ seasons, but still has compiled career numbers of (.288 AVG, 128 HR, 394 RBI) in almost 700 major league games. Still only 26 years old, he's made two All-Star appearances and has a long and bright career still in front of him. He looks like a keeper.

Grade: A

Season 6: Louis Haney, RF - selected by rwright, San Antonio Soggy Bottom Boys (now Jackson Bootleggers)

Hardball Dynasty's

Louis Haney

Haney was rushed to the major leagues after a brief but hugely spectacular career in San Antonio's minor league system. He struggled greatly in his first 3+ seasons in the majors, including season 9 when he inexplicably appeared in only 25 games despite not being injured. One can only speculate that inactivity of that nature can only have stunted his development. Now in season 11 he seems to be coming into his own, but still only has lifetime numbers of .235 AVG, 64 home runs and 201 RBI's in 363 games. He's also stolen 90 bases in 111 lifetime attempts. Only 25 years old, the jury is still out on him as to whether he will live up to the expectations that rwight may have had when he made Haney his number one pick.

Grade: B

Season 7: Edgardo Cortes, SP - selected by rwright, San Antonio Soggy Bottom Boys (now Jackson Bootleggers)

Hardball Dynasty's

Edgardo Cortes

Another victim of rwright's mismanagement of his minor leagues, Cortes spent three seasons in the Jackson farm system and stuggled due to apparent misuse. Promoted to the majors in season 10, he's struggled even more at the big league level, posting an 8-8 record despite a 6.46 ERA, .280 OAV and 1.52 WHIP. He's only 22 years old and has plenty of time to right the ship. Whether he ever does depends on how he's used going forward. A change of scenery may be the best option for him to reach his potential.

Grade: C

Season 8: Bill Hewson, SS - selected by ardthomp, Tucson Plateau (now Colorado Ligers)

Hardball Dynasty's

Bill Hewson

Traded by Colorado to Minnesota after only one season in the minors, including a brief but impressive stint in the majors, Hewson quickly rose through the Mighty Men's farm system and made it to the majors in season 10 at age 22. He's immediately made a nice contribution to Minnesota's offense. In 187 career games at the major league level, he's posted numbers of (.290 AVG, 49 HR, 146 RBI) with a .548 SLG. Drafted as a shortstop, he's now successfully splitting his time between 2B and 3B. He looks like he is destined to have a very production major league career in front of him.

Grade: A

Season 9: Tyrone Hamilton, SS - selected by ericsomsel, Colorado Ligers

Hardball Dynasty's

Tyrone Hamilton

Much like Hewson, Hamilton had a brief and very successful taste of major league action with the Ligers before being traded to Florida. In 54 career major league games in season 10, he posted numbers of (.322 AVG, 10 HR, 51 RBI) with a .395 OBP and .576 SLG. He's now spending his time in AAA for the Lockdown where he is tearing it up. It will be difficult for welsh5 to keep him in the minors if he continues to tear the cover off the ball. Overall, Hamilton looks to be a superstar in waiting.

Grade: A+

Season 10: Rob Tomlinson, C - selected by Reps, Baltimore Blast

Not signed. A wasted selection. For his efforts, Reps gets compensated with the 47th pick in the season 11 draft.

Grade: F

Season 11: ???, selected by ericsomsel, Colorado Ligers

Tec's Useless Trivia

2008-12-23T14:19:00.001-05:00

Ten is a nice round number. In fact, that's how many completed seasons we have under our belt in Mantle. Since I'm bored today, I decided that I would calculate the cumulative standings for our 32 franchises through the first 10 seasons of Mantle. So here goes:

AL North	W	L	Pct	GB
Detroit Bad Seeds	985	635	0.608	0
Wichita Wranglers	973	647	0.601	12
Chicago Black Sox	942	678	0.581	43
Scranton Apollos	845	775	0.522	140

AL East	W	L	Pct	GB
Buffalo Blizzard	877	743	0.541	0
Durham Bulls	716	904	0.442	161
Atlanta Fonda Yews	712	908	0.440	165
Baltimore Blast	710	910	0.438	167

AL South	W	L	Pct	GB
Richmond Generals	859	761	0.530	0
Charlotte Moose Hunters	752	868	0.464	107
Jackson Bootleggers	739	881	0.456	120
Jacksonville Seminoles	731	889	0.451	128

AL West	W	L	Pct	GB
Portland Poltergeists	911	709	0.562	0
Salem Oles	872	748	0.538	39
Colorado Springs Mile High Marines	776	844	0.479	135
Colorado Ligers	649	971	0.401	262

NL North	W	L	Pct	GB
Sioux Falls Canaries	860	760	0.531	0
Trenton Titans	859	761	0.530	1
Minnesota Mighty Men	840	780	0.519	20
Montreal Mother Canuckers	781	839	0.482	79

NL East	W	L	Pct	GB
Washington D.C. Commuters	762	858	0.470	0
New York Metros	743	877	0.459	19
Kansas City Monarchs	732	888	0.452	30
Chicago Old Style	730	890	0.451	32

NL South	W	L	Pct	GB
Florida Lockdown	1024	596	0.632	0
Texas Long Horns	814	806	0.502	210
Louisville Beaners	766	854	0.473	258
Oklahoma City Power Failure	734	886	0.453	290

NL West	W	L	Pct	GB
Honolulu Hula Dancers	835	785	0.515	0
Tacoma Baymen	814	806	0.502	21
Vancouver Fighting Skeletons	805	815	0.497	30
Oakland Polish Hammers	764	856	0.472	71

And if that's not enough trivia to digest at one sitting, lets also take a look at the post season history of each team in Mantle through it's first 10 seasons. The following lists number of division titles, number of wild card appearances, number of LCS victories, number of WS titles, and the number of different owners that each franchise has enjoyed:

AL North	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Detroit Bad Seeds	5	5	1	1	1
Wichita Wranglers	2	7	1	1	1
Chicago Black Sox	2	2	1	1	1
Scranton Apollos	1	1	0	0	1

AL East	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Buffalo Blizzard	8	0	0	0	1
Durham Bulls	1	0	0	0	1
Atlanta Fonda Yews	0	1	0	0	4
Baltimore Blast	1	0	0	0	1

AL South	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Richmond Generals	5	1	1	1	1
Charlotte Moose Hunters	1	0	0	0	7
Jackson Bootleggers	4	0	1	1	1
Jacksonville Seminoles	0	1	1	0	3

AL West	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Portland Poltergeists	6	1	2	0	2
Salem Oles	4	1	2	1	1
Colorado Springs Mile High Marines	0	0	0	0	1
Colorado Ligers	0	0	0	0	4

NL North	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Sioux Falls Canaries	5	2	1	1	4
Trenton Titans	3	3	0	0	2
Minnesota Mighty Men	2	2	0	0	1
Montreal Mother Canuckers	0	1	0	0	2

NL East	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Washington D.C. Commuters	3	1	0	0	7
New York Metros	2	1	0	0	3
Kansas City Monarchs	4	0	1	0	4
Chicago Old Style	1	0	0	0	3

NL South	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Florida Lockdown	8	2	6	3	1
Texas Long Horns	2	1	0	0	3
Louisville Beaners	0	2	0	0	1
Oklahoma City Power Failure	0	0	0	0	5

NL West	Div	WC	LCS	WS	Owners
Honolulu Hula Dancers	4	1	0	0	2
Tacoma Baymen	3	0	1	0	1
Vancouver Fighting Skeletons	1	4	0	0	6
Oakland Polish Hammers	2	0	1	0	2

N.L. West Division Predictions

2008-12-19T16:48:00.002-05:00

The Oakland Polish Hammers cruised to a division title last season as they went from 4th place in Season 9 straight to 1st place (as predicted by yours truly in last season's division predictions). Tacoma took notice and got busy improving their team in the offseason. Was it enough to overtake the Polish Hammers?

Oakland Polish Hammers (NL)
goodtymes31
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 10: 1st Place (90-72)
Season 11 Prediction: 1st Place

The Skinny:
While Tacoma is vastly improved, the Polish Hammers still have the best team in the N.L. West (although not showing it currently). Repeating as division champs may depend on whether they decide to keep or trade their veteran players. goodtymes31 has mentioned that his team is getting old and he's looking to get younger. Currently, several of Oakland's veteran players are sitting on the trade block wondering if they'll be wearing a different uniform in the coming weeks. Assuming the majority of the team stays together, I think Oakland wins the division again. If the team is dismantled, they'll be overtaken by Tacoma.
The offense is led by 3B Steve Burks, 2B Norm Henry and 1B/DH Keith Grahe. All three players hit 25+ home runs and drove in at least 105 runs. Burks and Grahe are both over 30 and on the trade block so, as I noted, losing these players would have a major effect on where this team finishes. The rotation also has a its horses on the trade block. 3 starters (Lefty Murphy, Marshall Wagner and Rex Frederick) and closer George Van Hekken are all fit to be dealt if the right offer comes along. With the unimpressive start (3-11) to the season, these players may be getting closer to relocating.

Tacoma Baymen (NL)
dalailama12
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 10: 2nd Place (79-83)
Season 11 Prediction: 2nd Place

The Skinny:
The Baymen really put in a solid effort to get this thing turned around in a hurry and they didn't have to trade the farm to do it so it was a productive and successful offseason in my opinion. I've discussed these deals previously, so here's a quick recap. Tacoma was involved in 2 big trades this offseason - both with the Salem Oles. The initial trade brought in pitcher Derek Fiore, super slugger Carlos Barcelo and veteran DH Harry Hudson. As I noted, Hudson was then traded back to the Oles in a deal that brought shortstop Sammy Montanez and catcher Carlos Vargas to Tacoma. These players will certainly add some offensive punch to a sluggish lineup. Haywood Karl and Lou Combs were the RBI leaders in Season 10, but neither player hits for a high average. The new additions will certainly help the team batting average.
Normally, trading away a 3-time Cy Young winner (Harry Mateo) might sting a bit, but the Baymen received a solid starter in return (Derek Fiore) in addition to the offensive talent. With Fiore, Harry Holzemer and Bey Roberts taking the hill every 5 days, the rotation is pretty good. Combine that with the new-look lineup and I see a lot of wins for the Baymen.

Vancouver Fighting Skeletons (NL)
diryn
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 10: t-3rd Place (78-84)
Season 11 Prediction: 3rd Place

The Skinny:
With new ownership in place, the former San Diego Padres moved so far north they left the country. Now situated in Vancouver and with a new nickname (the Fighting Skeletons), the team looks to build upon last season's disappointment. Maybe it was time for new ownership to step in as this franchise slipped from 95 wins to 84 to just 78 last season.
While every season brings new promise, I just don't see Vancouver finishing any better than last season. Ownership seems aware of the situation and appears content to look toward the future. Several players have been called up from AAA to fill roles and the remaining veterans simply don't have what it takes to contend. Stewart Buckley and Jeffrey Sellers will lead the offense, however, neither player will make a franchise.
The rotation still has a couple excellent pieces in 14-game winner Geraldo Feliz and 3-time all-star Al Ramirez. Hamish Kinney is also great out of the bullpen. Teams in need of a pitcher down the stretch may want to hit up Vancouver if they slip out of contention early as I suspect they might.

Honolulu Hula Dancers (NL)
powerman
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 10: t-3rd Place (78-84)
Season 11 Prediction: 4th Place

The Skinny:
Here's another team relocating, possibly in an effort to escape from their past. While the team had one owner previous to the new ownership (powerman), the franchise moved just about every 3 seasons as if they were on the run from the law.
This season, they have a new home in beautiful, sunny Honolulu. While the team may enjoy the weather and fresh locale, there may not be much enjoyment on the field. Last season's best pitchers came out of the bullpen to win 11 games (Macbeth Smith) and 9 games (Blaine Hunter) respectively. When your best pitchers are getting 20 wins combined out of the bullpen, you may be in for another long season. I realize Yamid Guerrero also won 11 games as a starter, finishing 11-12, but he simply doesn't have the stuff to win more than 10-11 games a season. My point is, at least Hunter and Smith had winning records.
The offense has a couple solid veterans in Miguel Vazquez and David Santayana, but there's really a lack of punch in the lineup. It comes as no surprise to me that Santayana was the only player to drive in more than 80 runs last season. Hopefully, powerman can build up the Hula Dancers farm system and return this team to respectability.

A.L. West Division Predictions

2008-12-18T15:26:00.002-05:00

Quite frankly, the A.L. West is loaded with offensive talent and the pitching looks pretty good this season as well. So when I look back at some of the records from Season 10, I'm a little surprised to see that only Portland won more than 83 games. This season, it looks like a couple of the teams are ready to step up to the bar that was set by the Poltergeists last season.

Portland Poltergeists (AL)
selmer
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Season 10: 1st Place (94-68)
Season 11 Prediction: 1st Place

The Skinny:
I think Portland will have more competition in winning the division than they had last season, but I still see Portland at the head of the class. In fact, I'm picking Portland to represent the A.L. in the World Series. This offense will be too much for most teams to handle. It all starts with 5-time MVP, Kevin Mullins. Mullins is only 28 years old which means he's probably due for 3-4 more MVP awards before he's done. His top competition for the award could potentially come from his teammates. Lawrence Rhodes, Damaso Rojas, Felix Ellis and Charles Costello are all capable of driving in 120-130 runs a season. With guys like Greg Wolf and James Ritchie setting the table, there will be plenty of opportunities for all of players noted above to drive in runs.
The pitching staff isn't the strongest I've reviewed, but they'll only need 3 good starters come playoff time. Season 9 Cy Young winner, Domingo Pizzaro, hopes to return to form after a disappointing 13-9 season last year. Pizzaro won 43 games the previous 2 seasons so 13 wins was well below his own expectations. Unlike Pizzaro, Anthony Martin was pretty happy with last season's record as he went 12-4. Martin has a nasty sinker and if he can control it, he's difficult to hit. The biggest change to the Poltergeists pitching staff is at the closer position. With Nick Smith signing with Texas, Portland turns to Richie Carter to get the big outs at the end of the game. Carter's been a great setup guy for the Geists and he'll now get an opportunity to be THE MAN.

Salem Oles (AL)
evegoe
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Season 10: 2nd Place (83-79)
Season 11 Prediction: 2nd Place

The Skinny:
Salem's not off to a great start, but I believe they'll turn it around once they get a couple more home games under their belt and once they develop better chemistry. The Oles made a blockbuster deal with Tacoma in the offseason acquiring 3-time Cy Young winner Harry Mateo and Mike Florie, a steady presence at the hot corner. One of the players they traded in that deal, Harry Hudson, has since been traded back to Salem from Tacoma in a deal that sent Sammy Montanez and Carlos Vargas to Tacoma. Hopefully Hudson hadn't sold his house yet! The Oles also managed to retain Quentin Keller this offseason by signing him to a new 1-year/$3 million deal. While his rookie campaign was solid, the Oles are expecting much more from 22-year old Mitch Ledee this season. Ledee was hitting .425 in AAA ball last year before being called up to the bigs where he batted .264 with 19 home runs in 109 games. Sal Stark and Harry Martinez are two other names worth mentioning as they both had huge numbers for Salem last season.
The acquisition of Harry Mateo gives Salem a big lift in the #1 starter slot. This allows pitchers Malcolm Reese and Jack Fleming to slide down in the rotation and gives them a better opportunity to win games. The bullpen has several good arms should the starters get pulled early. 37-year old Jorge Diaz and Dennis Marte will vie for the closer's role.

Colorado Springs Mile High Marines (AL)
brendanjod
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Season 10: 3rd Place (75-87)
Season 11 Prediction: 3rd Place

The Skinny:
I'm not quite sure what went wrong in Colorado Springs last season because it looks like they have a pretty good team. Maybe the best talent is simply on the Oregon teams. The MH Marines spent most of the offseason extending the contracts of their own talent including shortstop John Blake, closer Midre Bonilla right fielder Kane Banks and Alfredo Valentin to name a few. The 23-year old Valentin saw a significant dip in his batting average last year although his production wasn't too far off his previous seasons. If he can get his average back up and Howie Curtis and Marc Holmes can continue to drive in runs, I don't see any reason why this team can win 83-85 games.
Okay, maybe I see one reason: pitching. Seriously though, the pitching staff isn't too bad, but it's not quite at the level of the Oregon teams. Paulie Kolb was another one of those players who received a contract extension at the beginning of the season and it's about time he stepped up his game. Kolb's been a .500 pitcher year in and year out, but his ratings tell me he should be better. The other starters are very similar to Kolb. That's too much Kolb. I do really like the guys in the bullpen and they'll probably see there fair share of work. Tony Sojo is a future fireman of the year candidate and Ruben Ortega and Midre Bonilla (discussed above) are also very good.

Colorado Ligers (AL)
ericsomsel
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Season 10: 4th Place (61-101)
Season 11 Prediction: 4th Place

The Skinny:
The Ligers continue to be a work in progress. Like some of the other teams I've discussed (the Old Style and the Commuters come to mind), they've been rebuilding a team that's struggled through changes in ownership. ericsomsel's in his 3rd year running the franchise and after back-to-back seasons of 60 and 61 wins, we have to believe there's some talent being accumulated in the minor leagues.
There are some nice pieces in the majors such as Harry Cairo and J.C. Sager, but I wouldn't be surprised to see these guys get traded for even younger talent. The Ligers did bring in a couple players, signing Stew Frazier away from Scranton and J.D. Acosta away from Kansas City. They should help garner a few wins for Colorado, but the writing is on the wall for these veterans. You're here for the beer!