The calendar has turned to May and the best team has finally cooled off a touch. The Miami Masters of Their Domain traveled to the Socratic League’s leading Seattle Pilots and last year’s Socratic League champion Brooklyn Bombers and dropped three of five games this sim. The Stockholm Sluggers are in second place in the Platonic League, 6.5 games back and a game and a half ahead of Pittsburgh. Ramapough is another 2.5 back and Cairo and Maryland are … ummm … tied for the #1 pick in the 2009 draft.

In the Socratic League, Seattle has opened up a lead of 3.5 games over the New York Knights. The surprising Marietta youngsters are only a game behind New York. Gainesville and Jersey City are tied for fourth, 2.5 further back. Last-place Brooklyn is only 6.5 games out of the wild card, so the Socratic League remains wide open.

In league news, Miami’s Richard “Wedge” Vuong and Seattle’s Frankie “The Little Ticket” Garnett were named Players of the Week. I’m not sure calling Vuong and Garnett good really qualifies as “news” though. I think we all knew that already. Also, that Tyler “Ex” Conn guy threw a three-hit shutout at Miami in a 1-0 victory on May 3. I think we all know he’s pretty good too.

In transactional news, nothing important happened. So, we’ll just move on.

The only injury this sim was to the snake-bit New York squad, who lost infielder Freddie Val for 1-2 weeks due to a strained abdominal muscle.

Rather than go through the games (although the 16-13 Seattle win over Miami on May 1 looks like a doozy), it’s time for one of the patented Shultz report on the minor leagues.

In AAA, the top team so far is the Pacific Coast League’s Sarasota Soup Nazis (MIA), sitting at 16-8. I know we’re all thrilled to know Matt has a deep AAA squad too. The Sodermalm Sorrow (STO) are in second, two games behind Sarasota. In the International League, the Danville Dans (CAI) and Nyack Rocklands (JCY) are tied for the division lead. Nyack has the top four hitters in the IL by batting average, so I’m guessing offense is their strength. The best hitters have been Nyack outfielders Crispin Ciprian and Randall Dehmer who are 1-2 in the IL in batting average, home runs, RBI, OPS, and VORP. The best pitcher in AAA so far is Brooklyn farmhand Erik Little, who is 4-0 in five starts with a 0.86 ERA. I know we’re all glad to hear Jeremy has another great pitcher coming.

In the AA Eastern League, the Peerskill Highlanders (JCY) are 16-8 and lead the San Angeles Celestial Teapots (RAM) by a game. In the Southern League, the New Brighton Shiny (PIT) are two games clear of the Marion Miners (CAI). The best hitter to date, by VORP, has been Pittsburgh international signee and centerfielder Aureliano Beltran who is hitting .344 and already has 9 doubles and 5 triples. The best pitcher, by a hair, has been New York’s Raymond Lantigua. Due to some very strange managing, the Cleveland Spiders have been trying to use a one-man starting staff. But, potential starter Lantigua has come into 8 games, thrown 38.1 innings, and is 5-0 with a 1.17 ERA and a 35:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The best starter who is actually starting has been Pittsburgh prospect Andres Alcaide, who is 4-0 with an identical 1.17 ERA in five starts.

In the A-ball Carolina League, the Everett Aquasox (SP) pace the league but lead the Daytona Dark Matter (RAM) and Pensacola Puffy Shirts (MIA) by only a single game. In fact, even last-place Bloomington is only five games out of first. In the Midwest League, the Ithaca Big Red (BRK) are two games up on the Las Vegas Low Rollers (NYK). The best hitter has been New York’s Dae-Ki Kim; the infielder is hitting a scorching .447. The best pitcher is Cairo’s Jose Lopez with 4 wins and a 0.72 ERA in five starts.

League file is posted. I’ll get the web pages updated tonight too. Next sim is Monday evening by Nate.

The Miami Masters of Their Domain continue to roll through the OEL campaign. Their 18-4 record, good for a sparkling .818 winning percentage, has allowed them to open up a full five-game lead on the Pittsburgh Pisces. Stockholm is a half-game behind Pittsburgh and Ramapough sits another two games out.

In the Socratic League, the Seattle Pilots now lead the league by 1.5 games over the Marietta Mammoths and the New York Knights. The defending champs in Brooklyn still are in last place, but still sit a mere four games out of first in this clumped, highly competitive division.

No major transactions or important league news this sim. Four injuries, with two major, one minor, and one very odd. The major injuries were to two starting pitchers, as New York’s David Nicholes is out 5-6 weeks with a strained tricep and Jersey City’s Joseph Diederich will miss 7 weeks with a strained bicep. Pittsburgh lost centerfielder Albert Guzman to back spasms, but only for one week. Meanwhile, Maryland’s closer Todd Oldenburg, on the disabled list due to a torn rotator cuff suffered last year, will have to stay there for an additional three weeks due to an “undisclosed injury” suffered “while punching a wall during a fight with his girlfriend.” No news on whether this also constitutes a violation of league player conduct policies.

Otherwise, it seems time to check in on the college and high school leagues, which have reached their midway point and which played their All-Star games this sim.

In college baseball, the best record belongs to the Frostburg State University Bobcats, who stand 16-6. Among the 20 college teams though, another six stand 14-8, so it’s still anyone’s title. The best hitter to date appears to be Great Lakes’ Duane Allen, who has hit 11 home runs in 19 games this season and has posted a 1.429 OPS. The pitchers are more tightly grouped, but freshman William “Crazy” Rogers of Elon University and Scott “Rocky” Norman of the University of Florida lead their leagues in VORP.

In high school baseball, the Issaquah High School Indians, this reporter’s alma mater, lead the race with a 16-6 record. Two teams are 15-7, including everybody’s favorite story, the St. Mary’s School for the Blind Schoolgirls. After experiencing considerable ridicule last year as they groped their way to a last-place 14-32 finish, the disabled girls have really turned things around this year. Their defense and pitching has improved markedly, thanks to the new “BeeperBall” used in their games. The audible chirps of the new baseball have made it much easier to locate and handle. In fact, the girls have won six of their last seven games and sit now just one game out of the division lead. Of course, attendance is down 40% as the constant noise drives all of the fans batty, but that’s a small price to pay for an improved record according to St. Mary’s GM Javier Ruiz.

The best prep hitter so far has been King Senior freshman third baseman Brent Louder, who has used a .545 batting average to post a league-leading 1.354 OPS and 31.2 VORP. The top pitcher has been Saint Mary’s starter Greg Phillips, who has a microscopic 1.96 ERA.

Good luck to all the players, whether sighted or blind, as they continue their seasons and as the seniors prepare for June’s amateur draft.

While going through the Pittsburgh minor leagues today, I determined that I have too many outfield prospects in A-ball. So, I need to trade one of three fledgling prospects. The three guys fighting for two spots are Donald “The Flying Dutchman” Oomsen, Alejandro Negron, and Labib bin Omran.

I don’t think any of them are superstars, or I’d make room for them. But, they all have their virtues and I think they’re better prospects than a lot of guys who will be selected in the middle rounds of the upcoming draft. So, I’ll trade your choice of the three for a fourth-round pick, this year or next, to the first taker.

[Later edit added]

And, Negron has now been traded to Stockholm for a 2009 fourth round pick. Good luck, Alejandro.

With the third sim of the year, the higher minors have started action and the season is in full swing. In the Platonic League, the Miami Masters of Their Domain continue to pace the OEL with an impressive 11-2 mark. The Stockholm Sluggers sit in the wild card berth, 1.5 behind Miami. Pittsburgh leads the also-rans, a game behind Stockholm.

In the Socratic League, the division is now led by the Seattle Pilots. The New York Knights are second, a mere-half game back. Gainesville is another half-game back in third. Surprisingly, last year’s division champs in Brooklyn are currently bringing up the rear, but all six teams are within three games of first place.

In league news, Miami’s Richard Vuong and New York’s Eric Guglielmo were named players of the week. This was the second consecutive such award for the two franchises, as teammates Michael Southwood and Albert Ramer won the initial weekly honor for 2008 last sim.

In transactional news, Miami signed international free agent starting pitcher Carl Shearing to a $1 million major league contract. Seattle signed ace William “World B.” Freeman to a reasonable four-year extension totaling $23.3 million.

No significant injuries, just some day-to-day stuff for a couple pitchers and Jersey City outfielder Axel Enriquez will miss a week with blurred vision.

On to the highlights of the game action!

On April 10, Cairo led Ramapough Mountain 4-3 going into the ninth inning. Ramapough seemed to grab victory with three runs in the top of the ninth, but saw Cairo come back with two in the bottom of the ninth and one in the eleventh to win the game. Also, Maryland broke Miami’s eight-game winning streak to start the season with a 6-4 win.

On April 11, Gainesville beat Jersey City 7-6 in 12 innings, winning on an RBI single by Reinaldo Salerno. Stockholm beat Pittsburgh 4-3 behind ex-Pisces pitcher Larry Casler. Seattle’s fifth starter Maximo Navarro kept his hot start, posting an ERA of 0.64 so far to start the season and leading Seattle to a 4-1 win over New York.

On April 12, New York roughed up Tyler Conn en route to a 9-1 win over Brooklyn. Jersey City reversed the previous day’s score and edged Gainesville 7-6, along the way beating frequent trade rumor target Hernando Desalvo. I hear he’s available again. Also, Ramapough’s James Fortner shut down Pittsburgh’s offense in a 6-1 win.

On April 13, Ramapough continued to thump Pittsburgh, this time 11-6. Gainesville shut out Jersey City 6-0 and Seattle topped Marietta 6-5 on a ninth-inning single by James Bray.

On April 14, Pittsburgh starter Tsukijirou “T-Rex” Tashiro avoided the sweep with a four-hit shutout of Ramapough. Robert Mullen led Miami to it’s 11th win in 12 games with a 5-1 win over Cairo.

On April 15, New York and Marietta played the game of the sim. New York tied the game at 6 in the eighth inning on a two-run bomb by Freddie Val. A leadoff triple in the bottom of the eighth by Mammoth Francis Decesare was wasted and the game moved into extra innings. In the tenth inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Knight Erwin Herrero lined one up the middle to give New York an 8-6 lead. But, Marietta star Kevin Grow responded with a two-out, two-run double to tie the game again. The game continued to move along to the bottom of the twelfth. With two outs and two on, New York brought in reliever John Burke. Unfortunately, Burke couldn’t find the strike zone on any of his eight pitches and Marietta walked its way to a 9-8 win, knocking the Knights out of a tie for first place.

The next sim will be Friday by Nate, up to April 21. I’ll try and get a schedule together and circulated too, so that we all know when various league events will be falling.

We’ve had the first 2008 regular season sim. Good to get the season going again.

After the first five days of action, there are three unbeaten teams left: the Miami Masters of Their Domain, the Stockholm Sluggers, and the New York Knights. They are all on pace for 162 wins. That would be a very impressive accomplishment.

We also have two winless teams: the Cairo Leveemen and the Maryland Poedamnedmonium. I really believe that this won’t last all season and they’ll get off the skid and win at least one game. (grin)

No transactions of note this sim.

Three injuries this sim. The defending champs sustained two of them, as ace Richard Ro is out 1-2 weeks and new starting catcher Karl Urick is out 5 weeks. Miami also lost starter Robert Mullen for 1-2 weeks.

Since it’s late, y’all will have to check the sim to get the rest of the story. League file is updated. I’ll do web pages tonight too.

Just starting this as a one-stop shopping site for 2008 season previews. Predictions, boasting, foreshadowing of doom? Drop it in here.

March 23, 2008 — PITTSBURGH — Apparently not content with their current haul of high draft picks, the Pittsburgh Pisces emptied their farm system in exchange for the Cairo Leveemen’s first-round pick, the #1 overall pick in this June’s draft. Pittsburgh is sending away AA 2B Gabriel Deleon, AAA SP Jose Leon, AAA SP David Abarca, and AAA 1B David Rosado as well as its fourth round pick (#48 in all).

“It’s a ton to give up to roll the dice at the top of the draft,” said Pisces Owner/GM Mack Shultz. “But, we have a very young major league roster, with only two position players older than 26, and an established starting rotation. We felt like we could give these guys up without hurting our long-term future.”

Gabriel Deleon may be the biggest prize in the package. The second baseman just turned 22 and has torn up rookie and short-season ball since his signing as an international prospect. “He plays great defense, runs well, and projects to be a tremendous hitter,” said Shultz. “But I’ve got this Jimenez kid playing second base in the majors who I’m pretty fond of already.” Deleon is the third-highest rated second base prospect in the game, according to the Baseball America rankings.

Jose Leon has been one of the Pisces’ top pitching prospects for years. He more than held his own in AAA last year at the tender age of 21 and has pitched well in Spring Training with the major league squad. “I don’t know if he’s ready this season for the majors or needs a few more months in the minors, but I expect Leon will start for a long time in the majors once he’s ready,” said Shultz.

David Abarca is another pitcher who threw well for AAA Imperial last year. The 24-year-old has a career ERA of just 3.09 in 150 innings in AAA. “David’s met every challenge we’ve thrown at him,” said Shultz. “At the very least, he’ll provide some starting pitching depth to Cairo, who is a bit thin in the upper minors.”

The final player, David Rosado, has been a source of dispute in the Pittsburgh organization over the years. “Rosado has steadily progressed through the system,” said Shultz. “He’s always been young for his level, but he held his own last year in AAA at 21. Some of our scouts love him, some aren’t as sure. In any case, we’re pretty deep in first basemen at the major league level, so we thought he could use a new home.”

Shultz refused to reveal who he intended to select with the top pick in the draft. “June’s a long way away and a lot of things can change between now and then. There’s one prospect in particular that we’ve had our eyes on for a couple years. We wouldn’t have made this trade if we didn’t really like his potential. But we have to see how the college and high school seasons play out and what other players declare for the draft on May 1.”

“The odd thing is,” said Shultz, “we aren’t as high on this draft as we were, for instance, on last season’s. But here we are staring at the possibility of five first-round picks. It’s funny how things turn out.”

We recently had a request from a team owner to make available the almanacs automatically generated by the game. The links below should enable you to download the zipped files. Each year’s almanac is between 35 and 60 MBs, so beware of that.

Here are the links:

2005 Almanac
2006 Almanac
2007 Almanac

Assuming for the moment that I actually managed to get the links to work correctly, you have to put the files in the right place in your game folder to get them to work. In your copy of the league folder, the unzipped folder needs to be in the following location:

OELv9.lg/news/almanac_200X

where X is either 5, 6, or 7 depending on the year at issue. Within that folder should be the contents of the zipped files (folders titled box_scores, coaches, game_logs, etc.) Be careful that you don’t inadvertently end up with an extra folder in the way while unzipping.

If it works correctly, then you should be able to access the almanacs in the Game / Almanacs menu. I think.

The OEL players continued to get ready for the 2008 campaign. I’ve heard many players are in the best shapes of their lives, that several pitchers have developed a new offering, and that more than one hitter has worked hard with the coaches during the offseason to correct a flaw in their swing. Will these changes pay off? With only four spring training games left, we’ll all know soon.

In league transactional news there is … uh … not much news. Some minor league signings and that’s about it.

In league injury news, some big names have gone down this sim with three stars now expected to miss some of the regular season. Jersey City’s George Pullum went down first with a strained back and will miss the first month or so of the season. Stockholm then lost high-priced free agent third base acquisition Constantino Martinez until sometime in June with a torn calf muscle. Finally, Miami shortstop Ben Towell strained his hamstring, but “fortunately” will only miss the first ten days or so of April. Quite a collection of All-Stars to go down. Interestingly, all three major injuries occurred running the bases. League sources expect a movement to “ghost runners” in the league’s future, to avoid such injuries.

(Just joking, Jeremy.)

(Perhaps the Martinez injury will make Michael a little less likely to grin at news of some other team’s injury or suspension in the future though.)

No other significant league news that I noted. The league file is updated and posted to the server. I updated the web pages over the weekend, and probably won’t do so again until next weekend. Nate’s got the next sim on Wednesday and the regular season will start on Friday.

Finally, make sure to get your roster down to 25 by Friday, or else risk me doing it for you. “This 5* guy looks like a candidate for release, right?”

We’re playing baseball in 2008 and it’s sweet. The first week of spring training has been played and life is good.

In transactional news, not only did OF G. Fernandez return to Ramapough Mountain, but the Indians added a slew of free agents. They also signed SP J. Fortner, MR D. Lozano, and MR S. Hawn to major league contracts. Fortner and Hawn were Type A free agents and signed the same day. Normally, we use first-signed to determine the order or draft pick compensation, but that didn’t help here. So, Nate and I flipped a coin and the team that owned Fortner will get the first draft pick.

In addition, Miami added 2B J. Arant on a major league minimum deal.

Unfortunately, as games return, so do injuries. The most significant was Gainesville star outfielder Reinaldo Salerno, who will miss 3-4 weeks with a pinched nerve suffered in a collision at a base. All of the other injuries will definitely heal during Spring Training. The guys with boo boos include Brooklyn’s W. Thorn, New York’s E. Klingbeil, Gainesville’s S. Castaneda, and Maryland’s F. Wolford.

Next sim will be Friday by Nate. League file is updated. I’ll also try and get the web pages updated tonight