Ted Williams Memorial League

I hadn’t checked my email in a while, but Travis asked me to post this. A bit late, but it’s a great idea. Be sure to check out the comments!

The background

As I posted before, the TWML Forums went down. At the time, it wasn’t known how “down” they were. Turns out that my hosting company had a major outage. Not only did they completely blow away all messages on the TWML forums… they blew away their backups, too.

Yeah. Sunnuva.

So, five and a half years of league history was essentially erased. This was pretty devastating. The league file is okay, but man…

Insult to injury

So, a couple days after this all went down, my old school machine I used to run the league on (the only setup that seems to run the league well) finally kicked it. It’s many many years old, was revived not that long ago with a new hard drive, but finally died. Luckily, the hard drive was not part of the problem, so I was able to retrieve all data.

Gonna geek out here for a second—before I can start simming, I just have to get my hands on an old PowerPC-based Mac so I can pull the league file out of the virtual machine archive. My brothers each have one, so just a matter of paying one a visit.

Where my mind already was

Before this even happened, I was stressed about the league. The blog hadn’t been updated since the Free Agent Draft. I hadn’t done a podcast since the Hall of Fame announcement. The player database hadn’t been updated with the last three drafts. I had started and abandoned a league Twitter account a few times. I checked league email hoping not much came in so I’d have time to sim.

Since the league started, I’ve gotten a house, gotten two new jobs (each with more and more responsibility), picked up some side work, gotten married, HAD TWO KIDS… free time is getting hard to come by.

I felt terrible, since I just couldn’t devote the time to the league that I used to. It’s too bad, because this league has been so awesome for me. No need to explain‚Äîyou know how much I love it.

Now what?

Here’s the thing. I could barely sim before. I certainly can’t build up to where we were again and start simming again. I announced a while ago on the blog that my role as Commissioner would end after 25 seasons. I also followed up with an update on the forum (that of course has now been blown away). Well, I’ve got to update that plan:

I’m going to finish the 2017 season. Then I will hand off my duties as Commissioner. Then, the much-discussed “version 2″ of the league is will be developed and start.

The thing that has bugged me the most about starting up again is the picks traded thread. It’s lost. This will be very hard to re-create. I haven’t started crawling through email to build this up again. And essentially, trading can’t happen until this list is restored.

Unless… I just ignore it for now. So, that leads me to the second announcement.

For the remainder of this season, trading of picks will not be allowed. This is just simply to allow us to start playing again and sort out the data loss as we head into “version 2″ of the league.

I apologize, guys. It was getting very difficult to run this league. But after this‚ÄîI just can’t restart again. What is “version 2″? I have no idea. That is for someone in the league to figure out and take the initiative on. I’ll, of course, assist that person as much as possible, with priority #1 being rebuilding the pick traded list, if needed. I will also make the league file available for anyone to do whatever they please with.

Now, I need to go throw up.

I’ve had this sim completed and ready to post since Saturday morning. Of course, my hosting company broke the forum but have yet to fix it yet. Well, time to turn to the blog.

You have no idea how frustrated I am by this latest issue. These were supposed to be done. I’m at wit’s end. The worst thing is, I’m kind of getting the silent treatment from them now. It looks like it is time to permanently give it back. I’m looking into options Tuesday.

But until then… the sim (I’ve turned comments on so we can discuss):

POWs: Billy Marty and Odie Hernandez
Marshall Foland Fans 15 Rats
Carolina wins 7 straight (and counting…)
Nishinomiya wins 6 in a row (and counting…)
Plympton Wins 6 Straight
Dick Medellin improves to 8-0
Jim Blain out 5 weeks; Doc Ringgold out 3

Current Date : Saturday, 7/15/2017

  The Kid Standings :
  (Name              W   L   PCT    GB   AVG   ERA)

   41 Division
   Plympton         59  35  .628    --  .275  3.99
   Rock Rapids      47  47  .500    12  .288  5.02
   Dublin           46  48  .489    13  .261  4.87
   Seattle          34  60  .362    25  .255  5.66 

   9 Division
   Rhode Island     55  39  .585    --  .269  4.14
   Carolina         49  45  .521     6  .267  4.45
   Transilvania     45  49  .479    10  .264  4.50
   Toughtown        35  59  .372    20  .271  5.47 

   406 Division
   Springfield      58  36  .617    --  .275  4.28
   Patrone          51  43  .543     7  .280  4.49
   Las Vegas        46  48  .489    12  .272  4.57
   Homestead        39  55  .415    19  .254  4.65 

  Splendid Splinter Standings :
  (Name              W   L   PCT    GB   AVG   ERA)

   66 Division
   Philly           57  37  .606    --  .261  3.63
   Nagano           46  48  .489    11  .226  3.06
   Long Beach       41  53  .436    16  .234  3.98
   New York         40  54  .426    17  .233  4.43 

   344 Division
   Nishinomiya      63  31  .670    --  .265  3.45
   Chicago          50  44  .532    13  .247  4.25
   Fall River       46  48  .489    17  .255  4.31
   San Francisco    32  62  .340    31  .229  4.53 

   521 Division
   Dakota           55  39  .585    --  .259  3.10
   Long Island      49  45  .521     6  .266  3.85
   Denton           45  49  .479    10  .258  3.56
   Oregon           40  54  .426    15  .237  4.34 

  The Kid Wild Card :
  (Name              W   L   PCT    GB   AVG   ERA)
   Patrone          51  43  .543    --  .280  4.49
   Carolina         49  45  .521     2  .267  4.45
   Rock Rapids      47  47  .500     4  .288  5.02
   Dublin           46  48  .489     5  .261  4.87
   Las Vegas        46  48  .489     5  .272  4.57
   Transilvania     45  49  .479     6  .264  4.50
   Homestead        39  55  .415    12  .254  4.65
   Toughtown        35  59  .372    16  .271  5.47
   Seattle          34  60  .362    17  .255  5.66 

  Splendid Splinter Wild Card :
  (Name              W   L   PCT    GB   AVG   ERA)
   Chicago          50  44  .532    --  .247  4.25
   Long Island      49  45  .521     1  .266  3.85
   Fall River       46  48  .489     4  .255  4.31
   Nagano           46  48  .489     4  .226  3.06
   Denton           45  49  .479     5  .258  3.56
   Long Beach       41  53  .436     9  .234  3.98
   New York         40  54  .426    10  .233  4.43
   Oregon           40  54  .426    10  .237  4.34
   San Francisco    32  62  .340    18  .229  4.53

NEWS:

Monday 7/10/2017 :

The Kid-Player of the Week :
2B Odie Hernandez (PWC) !!
He batted .571 in 21 AB, with 3 HR and 9 RBI.

Splendid Splinter-Player of the Week :
1B Billy Marty (CHI) !!
He batted .500 in 22 AB, with 2 HR and 14 RBI.

Tuesday 7/11/2017 :
DUB: Marshall Foland strikes out 15 againts Rhode Island.

INJURIES:

Saturday 7/8/2017 :
ORE: Emil Bivens was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis : Sore Elbow.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 1-2 weeks.

Sunday 7/9/2017 :
DUB: Cory Wilson was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis : Blister On Finger.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 5 days.

DUB: Johnny Pelzer was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis : Blister On Finger.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 6 days.

DEN: Alvarez Eastham was injured being hit by a pitch.
Diagnosis : Bruised Jaw.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 1-2 weeks.

Monday 7/10/2017 :
CS2: Duke Belanger was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis : Blister On Finger.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 5 days.

RRR: Doc Ringgold was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis : Ruptured Tricep Tendon.
He will be OK in about 3 weeks.

Tuesday 7/11/2017 :
DUB: Marshall Foland was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis : Tender Elbow.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 1-2 weeks.

CS2: Les Bremer was injured being hit by a pitch.
Diagnosis : Concussion.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 1-2 weeks.

FRB: Lum Moore was injured while throwing a ball.
Diagnosis : Blister On Finger.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 4 days.

ORE: Bob Pidgeon was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis : Blister On Finger.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 5 days.

Thursday 7/13/2017 :
DAK: Jim Blain was injured while pitching.
Diagnosis : Torn Tricep Muscle.
He will be OK in about 5 weeks.

Friday 7/14/2017 :
ORE: Pid Brown was injured while running the bases.
Diagnosis : Pulled Hip Muscle.
He is day-to-day, but full recovery will take 5 days.

Round 1:

1. HOM: SP Kitty Huskey
2. SEA: 2B Johnny Orman
3. LBL: 1B Roger Rivera
4. LBL (via ORE): CL Brain Wright
5. TTS: SS Pascual Scott
6. DEN: CF Hillis Cummings
7. PAT: C Edgar Belmont
8. DUB: CL Oscar Jarrard
9. NAG (via FRB): C Fred Gonzalez
10. ORE (via NAG): LF Lynn Rose
11. NYM: SP Mickey Stockman
12. FRB (via CHI): SP Rod Strub
13. ORE (via SPR): 2B Ernie Moore
14. LII: CL Brian Williams
15. LBL (via TRA): CF Gus Lopez
16. ORE (via PHI): LF Lew Abramowitz
17. SEA (via SFH): CL Billy Melton
18. CS2: 2B Chris Goodman
19. DUB (via LVA): RF Jock Degraff
20. PAT (via PWC): C Juan Salcedo
21. TTS (via RIR): CL Dick Williams
22. RRR: SP Les Buckner
23. RRR (via DAK): SP Rebel Lopez
24. VAN: CF Willie Lytle

Round 2:

1. DUB (via HOM): CL Bob Lamb
2. SEA: MR Pat Bryant
3. PAT (via LBL): CF Ben Tao
4. ORE: SP Dale Birdsong
5. TTS: CF Al Wynkoop
6. DEN: SS Hal Sepe
7. PAT: C Tony Pena
8. DUB: MR Roger Dietrich
9. FRB: 2B Lou Deming
10. DAK (via NAG): MR Conrad Mcanally
11. NYM: LF Gerry Smith
12. FRB (via CHI): 1B Jason Oppenheimer
13. HOM (via SPR): RF Val Wilson
14. PWC (via LII): C Mel Crawford
15. TRA: RF Jim Althoff
16. FRB (via PHI): SS Buttercup Simoneau
17. DUB (via SFH): MR Bill Knee
18. CS2: CF Dolph Rodriguez
19. FRB (via LVA): SS Bernie Mcmillin
20. PWC: SP Craig Moore
21. DAK (via RIR): 1B Jeff Smith
22. FRB (via RRR): C Chick Norvell
23. DAK: 3B Vance Legette
24. VAN: 2B Jack Winship

Round 3:

1. HOM: 2B Chris Lappin
2. SEA: MR Bruce Shew
3. PAT (via LBL): RF Lefty Tull
4. ORE: SP Keith Wicks
5. TTS: C Gus Demasi
6. DEN: CF Ron Lopez
7. PAT: SP Charlie Harrold
8. DUB: 3B Jackie Reiff
9. PAT (via FRB): SP Steve Renzi
10. NAG: SP Stan Kuhn
11. NYM: SP Julio Ashton
12. CHI: RF Neil Gonzalez
13. LVA (via SPR): SP Heinie Jones
14. LII: LF Lou Bradley
15. TRA: SS Deacon Perez
16. SFH (via PHI): 1B Walter Hernandez
17. PWC (via SFH): MR Ducky Dukes
18. CS2: SS Wayne Gonzalez
19. PWC (via LVA): MR Gary Jones
20. PWC: MR Gene Gilham
21. VAN (via RIR): SS Stan Hernandez
22. PAT (via RRR): MR Billy Martinez
23. DAK: C Jack Martinez
24. VAN: SP Clarence Thompson

Round 4:

1. HOM: SP Mike Eubanks
2. SEA: SP Pussy Jones
3. FRB (via LBL): 2B Woody Taylor
4. ORE: MR Greg Parker
5. TTS: RF Leo Stewart
6. DEN: SS Nate Laurel
7. PAT: RF Rags Watanabe
8. DUB: SP Ernie Paden
9. FRB: SP Buzz Garcia
10. NAG: MR Welcome Dingman
11. NYM: SP Bobby Kost
12. CHI: 3B Ben Hernandez
13. SPR: SP Dory Batres
14. LII: SS Earl Sparks
15. LVA (via TRA): MR Juan Baity
16. FRB (via PHI): MR Brad Houchin
17. SFH: CF Ron Lobo
18. CS2: C Milt Hockenberry
19. TRA (via LVA): MR Lefty Palmer
20. NAG (via PWC): LF Pete Rumble
21. FRB (via RIR): C Lynn Wasserman
22. RRR: MR Lyle Sanchez
23. DAK: SS Monte Brookins
24. VAN: SP Camilo Armour

Round 5:

1. HOM: SP Hooks Parrish
2. SEA: SP Mark Redwine
3. LBL: SP Ruben Blackston
4. ORE: MR Paul Yokum
5. TTS: C Earl Meza
6. DEN: SP Kurt Quintero
7. TRA (via PAT): C Roy Davis
8. DUB: CL Danny Albury
9. NAG (via FRB): 1B Rafael Makowski
10. TRA (via NAG): MR Doug Fitchett
11. NYM: 2B Ricky Demuth
12. CHI: RF Matt McNear
13. SPR: MR Doug Gerdes
14. LII: SP Harry Graham
15. TRA: MR Dave Johns
16. NAG (via PHI): 2B Norwood Dearth
17. SFH: CF Herman Boatright
18. CS2: CL John Seaman
19. LVA: 1B Marlan Brock
20. PWC: RF Glenn Jack
21. RIR: SP Don Kaufmann
22. RRR: MR Jim Maltby
23. DAK: SP Paul Barns
24. VAN: CF John Johnson

Round 6:

1. HOM: SP Whitey Nemec
2. SEA: MR Kent Hernandez
3. LBL: SP Lefty James
4. ORE: 3B Larry Nelson
5. TTS: MR Willis Pilcher
6. DEN: 1B Jim Cameron
7. PHI (via PAT): LF Sterling Kron
8. DUB: MR Mark Allen
9. FRB: SS Andy Brent
10. NAG: SP Tim Vanhook
11. NYM: SP Ben Boykin
12. CHI: C Darren Winkler
13. SPR: MR Don Derby
14. LII: CF Billy Ely
15. TRA: C Dixie Taylor
16. PHI: 2B Freddy Bate
17. SFH: SP Britt Slama
18. CS2: MR Ival Camara
19. LVA: RF Dave Monson
20. PWC: CF Luis Moldon
21. RIR: CF Jerry Board
22. RRR: SP Wattie Whiteman
23. DAK: RF Mark Deberry
24. VAN: SP Ray Oliveri

Round 7:

1. HOM: MR Ron Entwistle
2. SEA: CF Babe Floyd
3. LBL: SP Whitey Leonetti
4. ORE: 2B Lou Gonzalez
5. TTS: 2B Gus Reece
6. DEN: SP Curt Casselman
7. PHI (via PAT): 2B Pete Scheer
8. DUB: C Pop Herold
9. FRB: RF Sam Worm
10. NAG: MR Kitty Mikels
11. NYM: 2B Billy Fackler
12. CHI: SP Ival Brown
13. SPR: 2B Andy Benoit
14. LII: C Buddy Chavez
15. TRA: MR Dave Harrison
16. PHI: 3B Dan Katzman
17. SFH: 2B Kid Kalinowski
18. CS2: 3B Derek Books
19. LVA: SP Earle Robert
20. PWC: 2B Beau Carlisle
21. RIR: 3B Brian Gilmore
22. RRR: MR Ken Patillo
23. DAK: 1B Jack Baughman
24. VAN: SP Gordie Gooding

Round 8:

1. HOM: LF Bobby Anglin
2. SEA: LF Carl Sanchez
3. LBL: 1B Ike Escalera
4. ORE: 1B Guy Wolfe
5. TTS: C Babe Benford
6. DEN: C Lou Dan
7. PHI (via PAT): SP Al Hernandez
8. DUB: LF Guy Griffin
9. FRB: C Andy Ackermann
10. NAG: SS Rick Morissette
11. NYM: C Al Yetter
12. CHI: MR Shawn Lindstrom
13. SPR: 1B Hi Nicolas
14. LII: 1B Ryne Hernandez
15. TRA: LF Chuck Sanchez
16. PHI: MR Art Davis
17. SFH: 1B Greg Kepley
18. CS2: 3B Bryce Liberatore
19. LVA: 3B Rube Linscott
20. PWC: 1B Glenn Martinez
21. RIR: MR Anthony Patel
22. RRR: 3B Al Cox
23. DAK: RF Pat Chiaramonte
24. VAN: 2B Tony Crumpler

Another year, another terribly boring Free Agent Draft. Go figure, the most action came from World Series runner up Rhode Island. With the Rats getting older, there were some minor holes to fill. Playoff veterans Rock Rapids also added a couple pieces to shore up their roster.

Round 1 Signings:
Rhode Island : C Ryan Christianson, for 3.000.000 per year, over 3 years.
Rhode Island : LF Al Toups, for 3.000.000 per year, over 3 years.
Rock Rapids : P Dave Boltz, for 3.000.000 per year, over 1 year.
Rock Rapids : C Rich Carnes, for 2.000.000 per year, over 3 years.
Homestead : P Gordie Dibella, for 2.000.000 per year, over 2 years.
Long Beach : P Guy Rodriguez, for 1.700.000 per year, over 2 years.
Oregon : P Cal Munoz, for 800.000 per year, over 3 years.

Round 2 Signings:
Fall River : P Orber Moreno, for 200.000 per year, over 1 year.
Rhode Island : P James Anderson, for 100.000 per year, over 1 year.

Round 3 Signings:
Fall River : 1B Wade Toliver, for 1.200.000 per year, over 1 year.
Rhode Island : RF Jim Mcnamee, for 1.000.000 per year, over 1 year.
Fall River : SS Myron Waller, for 1.200.000 per year, over 1 year.
Plympton : 1B Ralph Pizano, for 100.000 per year, over 1 year.

Round 4 Signings:
Long Beach : 2B Bubbles Baker, for 1.000.000 per year, over 1 year.
Plympton : P Samuel Exley, for 100.000 per year, over 1 year.

Round 5 Signings:
None.