We’re up to the end of May, and clearly I shouldn’t have said anything about injuries last time, as they popped up in this sim, hitting the division leaders hard.

Luckily for Miami, they are no longer the leader of the Platonic League. The Pittsburgh Pisces went 4-0 on the sim and now lead the division by 1.5 games over Miami. Ramapough Mountain is 4.5 back, while Stockholm is 7 games back and has won four in a row itself. Cairo has edged a game ahead of Maryland.

In the Socratic League, Brooklyn has expanded its lead to two games, with the Bombers a scorching 8-2 over their last ten games. New York is second and Jersey City is a half-game back in third. Seattle has moved into a tie with Gainesville for fourth place, although both are 7.5 games out of first. Marietta has lost five in a row and is in last place.

In league news, Miami’s John Fine and Gainesville’s Dan Rushing (who I have to give a nickname to one of these days) took home Player of the Week honors. Jersey City’s Brendan Townsend also had a monster game, going 5-5 with a double, two home runs, and 6 RBI. No major transactions, other than the big Miami-Gainesville trade.

Now, on to the injuries. Two season-enders for the division leaders as Brooklyn lost shortstop Tony Martinez to a ruptured Achilles tendon and Pittsburgh lost closer Vincent Furness with a torn rotator cuff. The toll doesn’t end there though, as Stockholm lost young stud George Mullikin for three weeks to a strained calf and Pittsburgh lost outfielder Oscar Woodworth for a week with a strained back muscle. Gainesville’s Cary Buteau and Ramapough’s Fabio Punal are day-to-day with other maladies.

On May 26, Manuel “Hollywood” Martinez homered and drove in five to lead the Indians to a 10-6 win over Marietta. Cairo scored eight in the second inning in a 14-7 win over Jersey City. Brooklyn’s Freddie Mendes won his seventh game of the year in a 2-1 thriller over Maryland.

On May 27, Jersey City used Townsend’s big day to beat Miami 15-7. Pittsburgh scored 13 runs in the fifth and beat Marietta 16-2. Jermaine Schaefer drove in Juan Favela with a one-out, bases-loaded single in the ninth as Cairo topped New York 8-7.

On May 28, New York got revenge as Alfonso Reyes’s two-out, two-run home run in the ninth propelled the Knights to a 6-5 win. Miami also got revenge, thrashing the Skeeters 14-4. Pittsburgh’s T-Rex Tashiro won his ninth game of the season in a 5-3 win. Ramapough scored six in the eighth to beat Brooklyn 8-6.

On May 29, Pittsburgh’s Gaby Duran became the OEL’s first 10-game winner as the Pisces completed their sweep with a 5-0 win. Tyler Conn recorded his ninth win of the year in a 3-2 squeaker over the Indians. Stockholm’s Mark Peters hit two home runs and drove in all of the Sluggers’ runs in a 4-3 win over Gainesville. Seattle’s Frankie Garnett hit his 17th bomb of the year to lead the Pilots’ 5-2 over Maryland.

On May 30, in the only game of the day, the Bombers got back to their roots with 20 base hits and thumped the Skeeters 13-2.

In high school baseball, Ridgemont High won the first national championship over Plantation 4 games to 2. In the NCAA, the University of Washington swept Elon and will now face SFI Riksby, who beat Adams College in the decisive fifth game.

League file is posted. Next sim will be Monday and will take us into June. Good luck everyone.

• Maryland
  1st Round Pick
  Shusake
• Marietta
  $7 MM
  Wilson
  Mercedo

Busy afternoon, so this will be brief.  The Miami Masters of Their Domain and the Gainesville Purple Porpoises agreed to the following trade today.

To Gainesville:
2B/3B/SS Edward Redding
MR Joseph Lamas
C Carlos Colon (AAA)
$1.5 million cash
 
To Miami:
MR George Torres
OF Calle Bengtsson (AAA)
MR Arturo Rodriguez (A)

So I had a long flight from London to Atlanta and I decided to do some elementary Statistical analysis on how many runs teams score and allow and their W’s and L’s with those runs.  Here is some of what I found:

• Brooklyn has 5 wins when only scoring 2 runs…the rest of the league has 6 combined (Ramapough Mountain has 2 of those)
• Pittsburgh needs the most runs to win they have 23 W’s when they score 7 or more runs (they only have 5 wins when scoring less than 6 runs) – Miami is second with 18 wins in this category
• Brooklyn needs the least amount of runs to win as they have 12 wins when they have scored 3 or less runs (second highest is Marietta and Ramapough Mountain with 5 each)
• Cairo only has 6 games when they have scored 7 or more runs, they are 4-2 in those games (the second fewest is Brooklyn with 7 games – all wins)
• Gainesville and Pittsburgh both have 4 wins when giving up more than 7 runs, the most in the league
• No one has won a game in which they only scored 1 run (no 1-0 games this season)
• Probably the oddest team is Stockholm who is 7-1 when giving up 4 or 5 runs (most teams have losing or close to .500 record in that group

Ok that is just a glance that kept me busy for a few hours on the plane ride.  I will look through it further and see if anything else is of interest.

Two quick reminders.

1. You can’t trust the draft picks shown in the game. First, the game screws things up. Second, our free agent compensation rules aren’t exactly the same as the game. If you’re wondering what picks you have, check the Traded Draft Picks page.

2. If you do put together a draft list, remember to copy it to all rounds of the draft. Otherwise, the game won’t follow your list in rounds 2 and later.

This note brought to you by your friendly neighborhood commissioners.

Sorry for the delay in reporting, but that meddling daughter of mine got in the way with her “soccer practices” and her desire to “go home” at the end rather than toughen up and sleep on the field. Whiner.

First, since they’re apparently too damn lazy to announce it themselves, Marietta traded $7 million, outfielder James Wilson, and AA reliever Francisco Mercedo to Maryland for the #2 overall pick and outfielder Hiichirou Shusake.

In the Platonic League, the leaders stumbled a bit as Miami, Pittsburgh, and Ramapough Mountain all posted losing sims. Miami still leads Pittsburgh by a half-game and the fading Indians are three games out. Stockholm continues to sit fourth, but luckily Michael can bask in the Phillies’ performance tonight and ignore the pitiful showing to date by the supposed 2007 World Champions. Maryland and Cairo are again tied in last place.

In the Socratic League, Brooklyn has claimed first place, with Jersey City and New York tied for second a half-game back. Gainesville remains fourth, four games out. Seattle is six back and Marietta brings up the rear. It also appears to me that the Socratic League basically is kicking the snot out of the Platonic League right now, as every SL team is at or above .500 over the last ten games.

No league news, other than the Pisces’ Alberto Jimenez being totally awesome and hitting for the cycle. (Sorry, the late report apparently makes me a bit goofy.)

No significant league transactions, other than the various trades reported on the blog or above.

Ramapough Mountain was the only team to suffer injuries, as two pitchers got banged up. Ace Matt Truesdell is day-to-day for two weeks while Huey Pfeffer is out for a one to two weeks. That sucks.

On May 21, Brooklyn scored one in the ninth and one in the tenth to beat Pittsburgh 5-4. But, the most striking comeback was when Gainesville scored five in the eighth to tie the game and then used a two-run home run in the ninth by someone named Sam Still to top Cairo 11-9.

On May 22, Cairo’s David White went 5-5 with a home run, but saw the Leveemen lose 7-5 to Gainesville. Cairo had lots of comapny though as the Socratic hosts won all six games against the Platonic visitors.

On May 23, Cairo got some revenge, scoring five in the ninth to avoid the sweep and beat Gainesville 6-3. Pittsburgh used Jimenez’s cycle and James Dominy’s two home runs and six RBI to beat Brooklyn 13-1.

On May 24, Tyler Conn threw eight more shutout innings as Brooklyn stopped Maryland 5-0. Gainesville’s Orlando Ruiz and Pittsburgh’s Darren Schmeltzer each hit two home runs in leading their teams to victory. Jersey City scored in the top of the tenth and beat Cairo 4-3.

But, in the game of the sim, New York led Stockholm 4-0 behind a crusing Chad Gomez as the game entered the bottom of the seventh. But, the Sluggers scored four in the seventh and one in the eighth to take a 5-4 lead as the game entered its final inning. The Knights rebounded though with four hits and three runs in the top of the ninth to lead 7-5. Unfortunately for the Gotham faithful, the Sluggers captialized on two walks, a key error, and two hits to score three of their own and prevail 8-7.

On May 25, Gainesville’s promising rookie Russell Frederickson threw eight shutout innings in leading the Purple Porpoises to an 11-2 thrashing of the Masters of Their Domain. Ramapough Mountain, down to its final out, pulled victory from the jaws of defeat with a three-run home run by Todd Stewart and topped the Mammoths 8-6.

In NCAA Baseball, in the conference finals, the University of Washington has claimed a 2-0 lead over Elon University while Adams College and SFI Riksby are tied at one game apiece. In the high school champioship, Plantation and Ridgemont are tied at one game each.

Good luck everyone in Friday’s sim, which might get delayed until Saturday morning.

• MD’s 2nd Round Pick
• James Wallner MR (A)

• 1.6 Million Dollars
• Pitt’s 2nd Round Pick
• Tracy Snider

Miami and Seattle agreed today to swap two players who were once believed to have great potential but have failed, thus far, to live up to that potential.  Both teams are optimistic that a change of scenery will help the players.

The deal, which is unlikely to significantly affect any of the division or wildcard races, will send one of Miami’s AAA pitchers, SP James Lineberry, to Seattle in exchange for major league reserve infielder Agustin Moreno.

In the tenth sim of the year, no major league injuries occurred for the second straight sim.

Miami and Pittsburgh have used long winning streaks to edge past Ramapough Mountain. Miami went 5-0 on the sim and is in first place, one game ahead of the Pisces who are riding a seven-game winning streak. The Indians are now in third place, 2.5 games out of first. Stockholm sits in fourth, 7.5 games out. Maryland is ten out and leads Cairo by a game.

In the Socratic League, New York has a one-game lead over Brooklyn. Jersey City is in third, a game behind the Bombers. Gainesville is fourth, five games out of first, and leads Seattle by two games. Marietta brings up the rear, ten games out of first.

In the only league news of the sim, Jersey City’s Gonzalo Fernandez and Miami’s Richard “Wedge” Vuong took home Player of the Week honors. Jersey City inked free agent outfielder Orlando Amell to a one-year, $680,000 contract.

On to the game action.

In the only game of May 16, Miami hammered Jersey City 9-2. Robert Mullin held the Skeeters to one run over seven innings, striking out eight.

On May 17, Nathan indeed brought his namesake Funk by holding Ramapough Mountain to two hits over seven innings in the Bombers’ 5-0 shutout. Richard Ro limited Marietta to one run over eight innings as the Pisces prevailed 4-2. New York scored seven in the fourth en route to a 12-5 blowout of Stockholm.

On May 18, Seattle scored two in the seventh and four in the eighth to come from behind and beat Maryland 6-4. Ramapough Mountain broke out for five in the first and held on for a 5-2 victory over Brooklyn. Jersey City’s Eric Pellham threw seven shutout innings in the Skeeters’ 4-0 win over Cairo.

On May 19, Pittsburgh’s Gaby Duran hit a solo home run, limited the Mammoths to two runs over eight innings, and became the OEL’s first eight-game winner in a 10-4 victory. Richard Vuong led a 18-hit attack with four hits and four RBI in Miami’s 15-3 thrashing of Gainesville. Alfonso Reyes also racked up four hits and four RBI in New York’s 18-2 thumping of Stockholm. Tyler Conn continued his remarkable year with eight shutout innings in Brooklyn’s 7-0 win over the Indians. Cairo and Jersey City went to extra innings before the Leveemen’s Baldo Santana hit a two-out, two-run triple in the tenth for a 6-4 win.

On May 20, Miami topped New York 8-4 and Stockholm beat Jersey City 7-5 in the only games of the day.

In the NCAA, all four division leaders now lead by three or more games with just one game to play. The playoff teams will be Elon University, the University of Washington (playing at a .711 clip!), SFI Riksby, and Adams College. SFI Riksby used an 8-2 streak to pass the suddenly slumping Cornell, who is just 3-7 over their last ten games. The Big Red will now have to wait until next year.

In high school baseball, one game remains but there is still a playoff race to decide. Ridgemont leads Shermer by an insurmountable two games, but Plantation High School leads Danville by just one game. Plantation hosts North Springs (18-27) while Danville travels to King Senior High School (17-27). Only the division winners make the playoffs.

League file is posted. Next sim will be Wednesday.

We’re past the Ides of May and it looks like it may be a long season with vigorous playoff races.

In the Platonic League, just when people began to count them out, the Ramapough Mountain Indians use a 3-2 sim to hold onto the division lead. Miami and Pittsburgh are tied for second, a mere-half game back, although Miami is ahead on winning percentage. Stockholm is 4.5 games out of first and Maryland leads Cairo by a game.

In the Socratic League, the New York Knights reclaim the division lead, having won eight of their last ten games. Brooklyn and Jersey City are tied for second, also a mere-half-game out of first. Gainesville sits just 2.5 games out of first. The Seattle Pilots, in a 2-8 tailspin, are 6.5 out of first and only a game ahead of the rebuilding Marietta Mammoths.

Pittsburgh’s Gary Croce and Marietta’s Derrick Batie won Player of the Week honors. Stockholm signed veteran third baseman Ray Bullington to a half-million dollar, one-year contract. Miami bought out the arbitration years of closer William Carner with a three-year contract extension at $1.7 million per season.

No major league injuries this sim. Hurray!

In game action …

On May 11, young Stockholm hurler Michael Pellerin returned to form, holding Jersey City to two hits in eight innings in the Sluggers’ 4-1 victory. New York’s William Byrd drove a two-run double down the left field line in the 11th inning and the Knights held on for a 6-5 win when Miami’s potential tying run was thrown out trying to go from first to third on a two-out single to left field. A two-run eighth-inning home run by Todd Stewart led Ramapough to a 4-3 victory over Seattle. More curious tactics in that one, as young Pilots slugger James Bray was asked to lay down a sacrifice bunt with runners on first and third and nobody out. The bunt successfully moved the potential winning run to second, but the tying run was stranded on third when the next two batters were retired.

On May 12, Martin Hernandez held New York to two hits over eight innings as Miami won 3-1 despite recording just three hits of their own. Seattle’s Joel Rivas scored three times and drove in three in the Pilots’ 12-6 thumping of Ramapough Mountain.

On May 13, the Sluggers crushed Gainesville’s vaunted pitching staff with 18 hits in a 14-3 blowout. Ramapough Mountain nipped Marietta 6-5 as Mallard “Dirty” Hoar recorded his fourth loss of the season.

On May 14, Gaby Duran became the first pitcher to win seven games in Pittsburgh’s 10-4 topping of Seattle. Hernando Desalvo threw eight shutout innings in Gainesville’s bounce-back 7-0 win over Stockholm. Billy Lowry struck out 12 Leveemen over seven innings in New York’s 4-1 win. Maryland edged past Brooklyn 3-2 in 10 innings on Alex Rolfes’ two-out RBI triple.

On May 15, Abe Nix gave up just one hit in seven innings as the Knights cruised to a 12-1 win over Cairo. Jersey City’s James Pilla got revenge on his old team with eight shutout innings and 11 Ks in Jersey City’s 7-2 win over Miami. He now has two of the top five pitching performances this season. Brooklyn returned the extra-inning favor to Maryland, winning 5-3 in 12 innings. Pittsburgh used seven runs in the seventh to rally to a 10-6 win over the Pilots. The big hit of the sim may have been delivered in Ramapough Mountain when Jacobo Xiquena hit a three-run bomb in the ninth inning off John Pellerin to beat Marietta 7-5.

League file is posted. I’ll update the web pages sometime this weekend. If we stay on track, the amateur draft will be two weeks from today. Make sure to get your draft list in the game in order before then.