Brunch on the veranda with waldo!

1. I don't typically do repeats, but I can make an exception in this case. Let me switch it up for fun. Ask me a question.

In no particular order what are your top three 90s heart throbs and why? You can use this list as a guide:
nyc.barstoolsports.com/random-thoughts/the-definitive-list-of-hot-chicks-from-the-90s/

Or this group if you're into that sorta thing #judgefreezone
www.buzzfeed.com/whitneyjefferson/100-forgotten-heartthrobs-of-the-80s-and-90s

I was a big Nikki Cox fan but it's hard to NOT pick Jennifer Love Hewitt. Always gotta go with JLH, hell I'd be all over her still. Gorgeous



2. Let's re-visit what we talked about last time: bbsblthree.proboards.com/index.cg....play&thread=912

You seem to have far exceeded even your own expectations, winning your division and getting to the World Series. What do you think was the main reason for your success? Is there more to come?

Bringing in Offerman and White and calling up Maggz, I knew our offense was gonna be loaded and as it turned out, we ended up hitting the most HR in league history…SMASH SMASH
img.gawkerassets.com/img/17lxaa1yj8y1ngif/original.gif

But the key to last year was acquiring my closer Mike Munoz from KC and signing Rheal Cormier. Munoz was nails in the 9th inning and Cormier changed the entire outlook of my season. I threw in a bid just to see what the market was and I ended up landing a grizzled #2 man who knew how to bring it. Once he starting rattling off W’s, I switched to a 4-man rotation and our team finally started chaining together wins.

The only caveat with this approach is the injuries that come with it. Cormier had a 10 week injury which undid $4M of TIA’s I put into him. The same thing happened with Belle. Belle took PD hits in consecutive weeks which undid another $4M I had spent on him. Any other player I would have just let it be, but I was not going to let history really repeat itself with him and have an $18M turkey on my squad. On top of that I had to unload Burrell (had my testies squeezed by play but that’s okay) and give up my 2000 1st to fix it all. Thanks to the Commish and the rules in place, I was at least able to stop some of the bleeding because it was situations like these that made me reluctant to join OOTP5 in the first place.

Yeah you had rough string of PDs. I am not looking forward to that with all my youth.

3. Let's keep this track going, you sure called it with Maggz. Dude had a beast season, won ROY and a GG. What's his ceiling? Where would you put his value amongst the league?

You bet! Maggz was one of the top 5 hitting prospects in the game before 98 and was walking into a loaded lineup his rookie season, so I was expecting big things. If his home runs progress beyond 6 and with a little bit of sprinkles I think he can be a top 10 OF.

Sexy.

4. So what's the plan now? Any moves in mind? Maybe a little more pitching? Do you feel you can stand pat and go the distance?

The plan this year is to compete and make another run at the title. We are literally bringing back the same offense and pitching staff, our fan interest and revenue have skyrocketed, and we have a modest payroll so expect good things. The Brew Crew is definitely going to tango with us all season so we could definitely use another arm or two. However, other than Hundley and Sheff (which I was not going to pay that money for), I wasn’t too hot on this free agent market, so if I do add any pieces, I will do so through trades.

You can probably repeat some success by keeping it the same, but I think you'll need a little help to leapfrog the Red Sox again.

5. Which teams do you see as your main competition in the AL this season and why? If you can make it past them again, who do you expect to meet from the NL?

Like I mentioned above, the Brewers will be tough in the Central but the foe I most fear are the Red Sox…Their pitching staff is lethal with Pedro and the combo of Knoblauch, Nomar, Manny is very similar to Durham, Thomas, Belle. If we go back to the Fall Classic I would expect it to be a reunion and meet up with the Giants.

Pedro is filthy. Don't see them losing again.

6. Thomas was trumped for the MVP this time around. Will he ever get there again? How much money do you expect him to command in two seasons? Is he a White Sock for life?

This Todd Helton guy is really ruining all the fun. Yes I think The Big Hurt has one more left in him. It really depends on the guys hitting in front or swapping him and Belle to boost his RBI totals. In regards to his walk year, I plan to make a career long commitment to Frank so he can gallop into the Elysian fields with Albert. I’m expecting a cozy 5-year deal for $12M.

Going to be very difficult to beat out Helton I'd imagine. Dude is probably going to win MVPs for the next 3-5 years. As for that contract, I'm hoping he turns you down!

7. Give me the top 5 most valuable players in the league and why.

Sheffield – The man with the services most in demand this year. Sheffield brings a freakish amount of power, patience and versatility to and left side of the infield OR outfield. Make your pick!

Thomas – The Big Hurt is the nucleus of my offensive charge, my sun and stars, the moon of my team. He won MVP in 1997 and sniffed the prize in 1998 with 47 HR 125 RBI and 132 Runs. A true grown-ass-man.

Griffey – The one guy Frank trailed in homers to last season and I’m shocked he doesn’t hit more home runs given his ratings. I am also bummed he didn’t hit the FA market because I would have parted Lake Michigan to land him.

Manny – One of the few guys that can go toe to toe with Frank in production numbers, Manny rakes every season, is 26 and is an incredible value at $4.5M. I am very curious to see what he asks from Boston this year.

Pedro – I don’t know why he is a #4 starter (maybe the playoffs?) but Pedro is the best pitcher there is in baseball. He put up a sub 2 ERA in the AL East and his presence on an already loaded Boston team makes the Bo Sox a frightening adversary in the playoffs.

No way Sheff is on this list. Where is Helton?



8. Give me a sentence on each division in the league. It can be about anything that's on your mind in terms of the competition, the GMs, etc.

AL EAST
This division is Boston’s with Baltimore nipping at their toes. I don’t think Jah had to pay over $20M for guy who isn’t even a top 5 SP but he’s got the cash reserves and needs to capitalize on this window with the Yankees blowing up their offense.

AL CENTRAL
If I don’t add any pitching, I see the Central being a close race between the Brewers and my squad all the way to the finish. KC and Minnesota are playing possum and Lord knows where Cleveland is going.

AL WEST
Oakland is going to be scary good this year with the addition of Kent, their 1-5 and Van Poppel leading the pitching staff. I wouldn’t count out Seattle grabbing a wild card spot. They still have elite talent (Griffey, Arod, Unit, Schilling) to add around and compete with.

NL EAST
I think Philly has got this locked up but if the Expos beef up their rotation they can make it interesting along with the Braves.

NL CENTRAL
Houston is going to take this division again but I can see the Cubs making a play for the Wild Card.

NL WEST
The defending champs, San Francisco is the best team in the NL and winning the division should be a little easier with Burks leaving Colorado.

9. So last time around you called out the Indians. Anything change with that opinion? Especially in light of the most recent trade attempt..

No not at all. I don’t know what is going on over there but this guy is like Helen Keller on roller skates. Tanking like that isn’t good for the health of the league and should be addressed. There is no curse in elvish or jive on how bad his record was last year (it was the worst record in MLB history dating back to the year Van Gogh shot himself in a wheat field) and he should make a field trip to Gumnut Cottage if he pulls this tomfoolery again.

LOL

10. What's your favorite TV show and why?

After Family Matters and the Cosby Show it must be Game of Thrones. There is nothing else on television that can match its scale, source material and ensemble cast. Emilia Clark is the best thing to happen to prepubescent boys since Emma Watson and Joffrey’s depravity knows no bounds. The only dud on this show is Shae (Tyrion’s wench), just something about her acting that bothers me and makes me droopy.

If only it we had this in the 90’s:


Emelia Clarke is so hot as a brunette. Still hot in the show, but as a brunette, hot damn.



11. Which team has the brightest future in the league and why?

Although we share the same city, I must say the Cubs. They are competitive now, loaded with young talent and have the market size to support a sustainable future, they just need to get that fan interest up fast. I like Oakland a lot too, but Broph will have more challenges supporting a team with a large payroll for multiple seasons.

Yeah Cubs will be nasty. Just not this year.

12. Conversely, which team has the worst future and why?

Indians. They had the worst record of the last century, make head scratching moves and should consider getting into the casino business.

Still, they do have Pujols.

13. What do you think your window is? Any team in your division that worries you?

I think my window is 5 years. My core players are all in the prime of their careers, cash is flowing, Belle and Frank will be with me into their mid thirties, and when ready, K-rod will be the best closer in the game. I only see the Brewers as a threat as their team is quite balanced but hopefully realignment happens soon!

I'll give you another three years. Unless Frank Thomas wants to take his talents to South Beach...

14. How do you feel about the recent rule changes? Any other rules you'd like to see changed?

The new rules are fine with me, nothing major has changed and I liked the additional rewards added. I would even be open to expanding rewards to multi-year achievements or milestones. Just throwing ideas out there but having a player break the home run record (career or in season), your team scoring over 1000 runs, your team finishing above .500 for five straight years, or adding fan interest if one of your players has been on your team over 10 seasons/gets 3000 hits could make things interesting. Even opening up a Hall of Fame committee for retired players would be fun too. The more incentives to have talent on your MLB roster and not tank, the better.

I would prefer to see more of these kinds of rewards implemented instead of post pads because monitoring the stats or your team and players shows real engagement and activity as opposed to just pushing random keys for 2 hours… seems like a waste of everyone’s time.

I like those suggestions. Post pads need to stay though.

15. And finally, make your predictions. Who plays in the World Series and who wins it all?

White Sox/Giants rematch! But instead of Whitney, someone more fitting can close out the 1990’s.


We shall see!