Series 01 has been completed. League file attached.
Results not submitted:
First half:
Clowns @ Canons (*)
Second half:
Bodega Cats @ Rabid Dogs
Isotopes @ Pale Hose
Anunnaki @ French Terriers (**)
(*) - Backup results submitted
(**) - Notified in advance
Automatic farmings due to overuse: None!
Transactions:
1. Chinook sign Andres Chaparro, release Zac Veen.
2. Being Don Mattingly sign Garrett Mitchell and Oswald Peraza, release Hunter Harvey and Thomas Saggese.
3. Red Knots sign Rico Garcia.
4. NRIs sign Luke Raley, release Tyler O'Neill.
Series 01 has been completed. League file attached.
Heh ... it happened again!
NOTE - Injuries for some reason were turned OFF for the first series. I don't know why that setting was changed. It is now back to using player ratings. Ah, I remember now, injuries are turned off now for the postseasons. So I need to remember to enable it in the offseasons!
And again!
NOTE - I neglected to change all catchers' injury ratings that are Very Prone and Prone to Normal. I just did this.
Rules to remember:
1. Yes DH in NL (and of course the AL).
2. Three-batter minimum rule (or end of inning) for RP.
3. Four teams from each league advance to postseason.
4. 26-man active rosters.
5. Yes to no-pitch IBB.
6. Using replacement-level system in September.
7. 10-day IL.
Results not submitted:
First half: None!
Second half:
Chinooks @ Canons
(*) - Backup results submitted
(**) - Notified in advance
*** - Ownerless team
Automatic farmings due to overuse: None!
Transactions:
1. Retreivers sign Shane Bieber and Garrett Hampson.
2. Anunnaki sign JT Brubaker.
Series 01 has been completed. League file attached.
Results not submitted:
First half:
Clowns @ Canons (*)
Second half:
Bodega Cats @ Rabid Dogs
Isotopes @ Pale Hose
Anunnaki @ French Terriers (**)
(*) - Backup results submitted
(**) - Notified in advance
Automatic farmings due to overuse: None!
Transactions:
1. Chinook sign Andres Chaparro, release Zac Veen.
2. Being Don Mattingly sign Garrett Mitchell and Oswald Peraza, release Hunter Harvey and Thomas Saggese.
3. Red Knots sign Rico Garcia.
4. NRIs sign Luke Raley, release Tyler O'Neill.
Series 00 has been completed. League file attached.
Rules to remember:
1. Yes DH in NL.
2. Three-batter minimum rule (or end of inning) for RP.
3. Four teams from each league advance to postseason.
4. 26-man active rosters.
5. Yes to no-pitch IBB.
6. Using replacement-level system in September.
7. 10-day IL.
8. Five teams per league advance to the post-season.
The away teams to open the season to not submit yet an MP are Rabid Dogs, Hen House, and Canons.
Results not submitted: N/A
(*) - Backup results submitted
(**) - Notified in advance
Automatic farmings due to overuse: None!
Transactions: See website*.
Long Term Contracts Signed:
1. Pale Hose - Paul Skenes - $73
2. Isotopes - Ronald Acuna - $40
3. Rainiers - Tarik Skubal - $34
4. Bodega Cats - Junior Caminero - $30
* - Heroes also submitted a $2 claim on Connor Norby, but they had a better overall 2024 record than the Pirates.
Injuries (> 3 days):
None
Away team MPs ready for Series 01: Don't risk it, ask the other team's manager about this! Except for me. The Clowns MP is ready.
Again, rules of game play:
1. Do not play a series as the home team without first receiving a season start MP from the visiting team owner. Check the message board especially for posted MPs. After Series 01, please e-mail visiting owner if MP not listed as ready. The key is communication. Talk to your opponent!
2. Always check the opposing team's rotation; pitchers should not start tired unless stated otherwise by manager.
3. Honor system here; do not restart games once they've started unless there is an obvious mistake discovered immediately upon starting (e.g., see #2 above, you accidentally let a tired pitcher start for opposing team)
4. You must have 25 or 26 active players at all times. No more. No fewer than 25.
Reminder - we are sticking to home-and-away six-game series each week against the same opponent.
Deadlines - 1st half deadline for first three games is Friday, March 20th, 10 PM EDT. Deadline for 2nd half is Monday, March 23rd, 10 PM EDT.
Series 01 league file has been posted and the League File link on the website has been updated.
Don't forget to set Usage and Rotation Size for your starting rotation. Also, double-check with your saved lineups that the top text (e.g., vs. LHP) matches the Versus parameter (either Left or Right) below the saved lineup. Might want to check Use in DH Games as well.
The 2024 World Series was a clash of titans. The American League’s Higglytown Heroes won 118 games and led the majors in runs allowed, while the Delaware Red Knots won 104 and paced the National League in both runs scored and runs allowed. With teams this evenly matched, you’d expect a tight series. Which we got; but no one would have predicted what actually happened.
Things began on Halloween night in Higglytown, with the Red Knots sending Yusei Kikuchi (16-8 in the regular season) against the majors’ win leader, Dylan Cease (22-2). Alex Bregman struck first for the visitors with an RBI double in the fourth, but Hero Carlos Santana evened the score with a blast in the bottom of the frame. There things stood until Delaware’s Marcel Ozuna (remember his name) launched a bomb to break the deadlock in the 8th and send the visitors to a 2-1 victory.
The Red Knots looked to extend their series lead behind Kutter Crawford (16-7). They looked poised to do just that as they chased Heroes starter Chris Sale (18-5) in the second. Marcel Ozuna extended the Delaware lead to 4-1 with a dinger in the 4th. But Higglytown battled back with two of their own in the 4th, and then took the lead on an Ian Happ round tripper in the 6th. The Higglytown bullpen held on to preserve a 7-5 win that evened the series.
The proceedings moved to Delaware, where the Heroes tried to continue their momentum behind Bailey Ober (19-5), while Red Knot Hunter Greene (10-6) looked to thrill the home crowd with his mound ministrations. Delaware again built a 4-1 lead behind – what else – an Ozuna longball, but the Heroes once again fought back, levelling the score on a Christian Walker roundtripper. But as nature abhors a vacuum, so Marcel Ozuna abhors a tie game, and his 5th inning smash gave Delaware a 5-4 lead. Relief aces Brant Hurter and Joel Payamps would do the rest and shift the series lead back the Red Knots’ way.
Delaware looked to extend that lead behind righthander Bryan Woo (7-5), while Higglytown pinned its hopes on the left arm of Sean Manea (17-6). Three Heroes blasts put the visitors on top 3-2 going into the seventh until…well, you know. Ozuna hits his fifth home run in 14 AB, sending the Red Knot faithful into delirium, and Delaware to another 5-4 triumph.
With a series end on the line, both teams turned to Game 1 aces Cease and Kikuchi. Another pitching duel ensued, with a scoreless game until the teams traded runs in the 6th. The Heroes grabbed a spark of life on a Max Muncy pinch hit RBI single in the 7th, and held on to win 2-1 and send the series back to Higglytown.
The Heroes turned back to lefty ace Sale for Game 6. Once again, Red Knots bats got to Sale, opening up a 3-0 lead through two. On the other side, Delaware’s Crawford was marvelous, taking a perfect game into the 5th. Higglytown broke up the perfecto and brought the game to 3-2, but an Oniel Cruz blast gave the visitors an insurance run. The Heroes narrowed the lead, and Higglytown hopes soared when Trevor Story opened the bottom of the 8th with a triple. But Red Knot Daniel Hudson notched two clutch strikeouts and got Ramirez to line out to snuff the threat. Delaware sent Payamps to the mound in the 9th to close the 4-3 lead and the series. But a little magic remained in Higglytown, as Muncy slammed a shot to right to tie the game, and doubles by Wilyer Abreu and Yainer Diaz produced an improbable 5-4 decision to force a deciding Game 7.
The rubber match featured a rematch of Greene and Ober. Both hurlers had shaky outings in Game 3, but this was a different story. Happ put the home team ahead with a 3rd inning longball, but Alex Bregman evened the tally with an RBI double the next inning. From there, both teams threatened but could not break through – Hero Alex Call nabbed Ozuna at the plate in the 6th, and Red Knot Collin Snider caught Cesar Tovar napping at second in the 8th. Higglytown’s Kris Bubic held the Delaware bats at bay, and the game went to the bottom of the ninth tied 1-1. Fans around the country watched from the edge of their seats as Hero Muncy took a Snider splitter deep to right, to walk off the series for Higglytown.
Words cannot do justice to this series – three games were 2-1, three were 5-4, and the remaining game was just a two run margin. The longball reigned supreme, as the teams combined for 20 roundtrippers, led by five from Delaware’s Ozuna. Mike and the Red Knots deserved a victory, and Higglytown was fortunate to prevail.
As would be expected, the pitching was splendid. Yusei Kikuchi led Delaware with only three runs in 13.2 innings, while Brant Hurter threw 4.2 dominant, scoreless innings. For Higglytown, Dylan Cease tossed 12.2 innings with only two runs, and relievers Bubic, Cade Smith, Joe Jimenez, and Justin Martinez surrendered only three over 16.2 innings.
At the plate, Red Knot Marcel Ozuna reigned supreme, posting a 1.259 OPS, with 5 HR, 7 runs, and 8 RBI. Had Delaware prevailed, he would have been the runaway series MVP, and indeed, he grabbed several votes as it is. But in the end, MVP honors went to Max Muncy, who put up a 1.311 OPS and closed the series with the game winning hit in Game 5, a 9th inning, game tying HR in Game 6, and the series winning blast in Game 7.
The 2024 ALCS pitted two titans, with Higglytown having won 118 regular season games, and Portland winning 105 (and that’s with bad luck, as they underperformed their pythag by 11 games). Pitching was the focus for both clubs, with each holding opponents to barely three runs a game.
The festivities kicked off on a balmy Higglytown evening, with home town ace Chris Sale (18-5) facing off against Portland’s Tyler Glasnow (8-7). Ian Happ put the home team up with a homer in the first, but NRI Christian Yelich played longball to even the score in the 4th. The Heroes reclaimed the lead on a passed ball in the 7th, and a blast by Hero star Jose Ramirez sealed the 6-2 Higglytown victory.
Portland looked for revenge, sending Max Fried (15-7) against Sean Manea (17-6) in a battle of portsiders. This time the visitors took the lead in the first, but an Alex Call tater staked the Heroes to a 2-1 advantage in the second. Higglytown added runs in the next two innings, but the game remained very much in the balance until Christian Walker broke things open with a grand slam, to propel Higglytown to an 8-1 decision.
Portland headed home with hopes of reversing the series momentum, and with good reason – they had the league’s best regular season home record, at 63-18. Draft Kings was predicting a pitcher’s duel with NRI ace Cole Ragans (18-8) opposing league wins leader Dylan Cease (22-2). The under was indeed the right play as both hurlers were splendid. Higglytown’s Carlos Santana plated one on a double in the first, but that was the only scoring until a dinger by Hero Ramirez in the 6th. Cease and two Higglytown relievers made that hold up, scattering seven baserunners to take a 2-0 win, and to send the series to the brink.
Facing elimination, Portland turned to late season call-up Rhett Lowder to turn the tide. Higglytown countered with 19 game winner Bailey Ober, but it was Lowder who came out of the box hot, surrendering only one hit over five innings, as the home nine rode bombs by Jose Iglesias and Teoscar Hernandez to take a 2-0 lead. The series seemed destined to head to game five until Ian Happ smashed a two-out, two-run roundtripper to tie the game in the 7th, and a Wilyer Abreu blast gave the Heroes the lead in the 8th. The NRI put two men on in the bottom of the 8th, but Hero Joe Jimenez got Iglesias tom end the rally and retired the side in the final frame to secure the series for Higglytown.
As is often the case with sweeps, only one game was lopsided, and a couple of plays the other way would have had the series tied – or Portland ahead – after four. Indeed, the difference for the Heroes was a few extra feet on their flyballs, as 15 of their 19 runs scored on home runs. The pitchers were the real stars, with Portland’s Lowder and Ragans turning in dominant performances, matched by Higglytown’s Sale, Manea, and Cease. The Hero bullpen was outstanding, surrendering only one run in 14 innings of work.
Standouts were harder to spot at the plate, but NRI star Mookie Betts hit .353 (and saw time at three positions in the field), and Hero Ian Happ launched two key home runs in limited playing time. But it was Higglytown stalwart Jose Ramirez who took series MVP honors, hitting .313 and slugging .750, with two homers and six RBI.
rs were harder to spot at the plate, but NRI star Mookie Betts hit .353 (and saw time at three positions in the field), and Hero Ian Happ launched two key home runs in limited playing time. But it was Higglytown stalwart Jose Ramirez who took series MVP honors, hitting .313 and slugging .750, with two homers and six RBI.
The Pale Hose plan to cut the following players (updated salary). If anyone wants one of these guys at this price and thinks the player may go for more in the pre-season auction, reach out and we can discuss a trade ... :
Bliss, Ryan 2B ($3)
Booser, Cam MR ($3)
Bradley, Taj SP ($26)
Ellard, Fraser MR ($3)
Fletcher, Dominic RF ($9)
Kirby, George SP ($51)
Massey, Michael 2B ($10)
Moll, Sam MR ($10)
Nunez, Nasim SS ($4)
Paris, Kyren CF ($25)
Pillar, Kevin CF ($5)
Poche, Colin MR ($9)
Rodgers, Brendan 2B ($6)
Vaughn, Andrew 1B ($57)
Waldron, Matt SP ($5)
Also interested in trading CF Trent Grisham ($21) who hit .235/.348/.464, 34 HR in 577 plate appearances for either a 1B or RF ...
Series 27 has been completed. League file attached.
The regular season has concluded.
The postseason:
AL - (1) Heroes vs. (4) Being Don Mattingly ; (2) Anunnaki vs. (3) NRIs
NL - (1) Red Knots vs. (4) Canons ; (2) Retrievers vs. (3) Hen House
Results not submitted:
First half
Rabid Dogs @ Hermits
Charlie @ Rogers
Canons @ Wagstaffs
Chinook @ Hen House
Second half
Hermits @ Rabid Dogs
Anunnaki @ Pale Hose (*)
Rogers @ Charlie
French Terriers @ Isotopes
Wagstaffs @ Canons
Hen House @ Chinook
(*) - Backup results submitted
(**) - Notified in advance
If I overlooked any results, please let me know ASAP!
Automatic farmings due to overuse: N/A rest of season. Fuck yeah!
Reminder - you can undo any changes I made to your active roster aside from those farmed for PT overuse. Just want to ensure your MP is mostly ready should you not update it for the next series.
