Post by Captain America on Mar 9, 2013 21:57:13 GMT -5
It's been too long since an actual roundtable has occurred, so I got BreakTheWalls, Styro and Steve together for some interviews to see what their thoughts are on important issues heading into the 1998 season. I have added my own thoughts in as well. Here we go!
1. Which team and players did you grow up watching as a kid, and which player in particular did you idolize back then?
Break:
I grew up as a Red Sox fan, with my first memory in baseball being Mo Vaughn riding a horse around Fenway celebrating his 1995 AL MVP. I got a book about him from my parents at the age of 6, and did a book report about him in 1st grade. He was my first favorite player until Nomar Garciaparra came up and Mo Vaughn left to eat 3 buffets in New York.
Styro:
As a kid, i started getting into baseball when i was about 9 and I remember when Jarrod Washburn and Troy Glaus were ballin early in their careers. In so cal, it's either you watch the Angel games or Dodger games, so i basically followed all Angels players, except Mo Vaughn. He pissed me off.
The player I idolized and to this day is my favorite athlete of all time is Ken Griffey Jr. He just had the whole package and that swing, Jesus. Loved his stance and his swing and his ability to do work during the steroid era without steroids. He was just disgusting in his prime.
Steve:
I was born in Atlanta and moved to Milwaukee when I was pretty young, so I stayed a Braves fan and a Brewers fan for a while. Still was a pretty big Braves fan in 1996, so the collapse against the Yankees was pretty painful. I can't explain it, but Jeff Blauser was always my guy. Dude was just a beast. I was also a big Sammy Sosa fan, even if he was a Cub. The Brewers in the 90s were pretty awful, so honestly nobody to really idolize from that period.
SNB914:
I've been a diehard New York Mets fan since 1998, when I was just 7 years old. Ironically right when Piazza got traded to the Mets was when I became a big fan. The players I grew up (and miss) watching in the late 90s and early 2000s include Piazza, Edgardo Alfonzo, John Olerud, Robin Ventura (I will never forget the "Grand Slam Single") Al Leiter, Rick Reed, John Franco and Turk "Rosin Bag" Wendell. God, I miss those Mets teams!
Piazza of course was the one I idolized throughout my childhood. In fact, I tried catching in middle school and high school baseball because of him, even though that did not turn out well for me. I was a much better outfielder back then. But Piazza was the best hitting catcher of all time, a true leader and always came through when it mattered most (aside from Game 5 of the 2000 World Series). He certainly helped me be a proud Mets fan when all my friends liked the Yankees.
David Wright is my favorite player of today, but as much as I like him, he will never get to Piazza's level. I actually met Piazza in January 2012 and paid $150 for his autograph. Although my "see you in Cooperstown in 2013" statement did not come true, I am anxiously awaiting his induction which I will be at.
2. Do you think it's better to be in charge of your favorite real life team in a sim league? Or is it better to run another team with less personal bias and less 90s players you were familiar with?
Break:
This is the first time I've ever gotten to run the Red Sox in a sim league, and I'm loving every second. Watching Clemens do what he should have done and stick with the Sox as a lifer is a fantasy I wish came true. Watching Nomar play his whole career here is going to be amazing.
Styro:
I think it is good to run a team with players you are familiar with because it makes thing funner, but picking a team with players you like in real life isn't the best idea. We tend to get attached to players based on what they did in real life and that can sometimes be the worst way to run a team. Angels are my team and I would have liked them, but I don't think i'd be having as much fun with them as I am currently having with the Expos. I'd probably be reluctant to trade everybody.
Steve:
I don't think it matters that much for me in terms of players, but that may just be because everyone on the Brewers blows in this time period. I am regretting the decision based on market size now, but I've grown so used to it in real life it really just feels natural here to have to work on a budget while the Yankees can spend a fortune on Mike Stanley.
SNB914:
This could go either way. Had James/JMase never chosen the Mets before me, it would have been a no-brainer for me to choose them. Those 90s Mets players are the ones I still feel attached to in a way and it would have been a lot of fun. It would have taken a few years, but I would have made the Mets into a powerhouse team for sure. I hope to see James do that with the Mets sometime soon.
But seeing how the Mets have turned out so far compared to my Rockies, I'm happy I have my Rockies. The icing on top is the fact that I now have Alfonzo, Huskey and Franco on the Rockies, plus I briefly had Doctor K last season as well. I will honestly admit that I traded for Alfonzo simply because he was my 2nd favorite player growing up.
On the other hand, running a team you are not a passionate fan of has been fascinating in itself. You learn a lot about those players back then and it requires you to think more about the decisions themselves, compared to the personal attachments possibly getting in the way.
3. How did you get to know people in this league before it got started? Which other leagues were you in before and who did you interact with then?
Break:
I know a few guys in the league from a baseball game I played from 2009-2012 called MLB Dugout Heroes, where I was one of the top players for a lot of the game's run. I met a lot of cool people and Colorado and Cincy are just a couple of them. I've known Cleveland since we were 11 and we go to the same college. Other than that I've met some of these guys in LBB or GABL but haven't really gotten to know a lot of them.
Styro:
I know erbes from BBS and about half of the other guys from over there as well. If you haven't been in BBS or UOSL fbb leagues then I probably don't know you and you're probably one of the guys i decided to troll. I've always interacted with Play since forever it seems. Other gm's like nanz, erbes, habes, broph and Steve as well in another baseball sim I believe.
Steve:
Pretty much everyone here I met through the original BBSBL, except for the one guy I actually know in real life who got me into it in the first place. A few of the guys like Ashes and Broph I knew from BBS. I've dabbled in other leagues here and there but never anything for too long.
SNB914:
It all started for me in 2010 when I discovered MLB Dugout Heroes, the greatest online baseball game ever in my opinion. Unfortunately, it no longer exists, but that was where I got to know Break (Boston), Danchevy and Stutter (Cincy), among others. I got to know D-Rowe (Cleveland) later on through Break and a few fantasy sports leagues. I eventually joined this Vent server with Break and a few others, including the original Rangers GM here.
As far as sim leagues go, Break and the other Vent people got me to join the Long Baller league in November 2011. I am the Yankees there and that's how I learned about OOTP and everything about it. A year later, Break told me about this league and once I knew the league would start in 96, I was sold and this has been a lot more fascinating than Long Baller ever was.
4. How would you evaluate your team's 1997 season and did it fall above, right at, or below your expectations?
Break:
I expected to make the ALCS again, but winning it was a great surprise. Too bad the curse continued, but I still have 6 years to fulfill my main goal in this league of winning it all before 2004.
Styro:
It fell way below expectations, I mean sweet Jesus. The team came out like absolute gang busters and then just came back from the all star break determined to crap all over the field. The pitching just fell apart in the second half as my offense got better with the additions of Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Vidro. I acquired Al Leiter to hopefully be a solid 5th starter but my pitching just crapped out towards the end. I ended up with a top 10 pick after being in first place most of the year, enough said.
Steve:
Pre-AS break, we definitely exceeded expectations. We were in 1st place in the AL Central, team was playing really great baseball. This, of course, raised my expectations for the rest of the season, so I went out and added some salary to my rotation. Naturally, my team fell apart in the second half of the season, leaving me with an inflated payroll and nothing to show for it. Pretty poor on my part I guess.
SNB914:
In a way, my Rockies' 97 season was right at my expectations if I look at it a certain way. 93 wins is a lot and something to be proud of, especially when considering the crooked numbers my lineup put up.
However, I did fall literally 1 game short and lost the play-in game to Atlanta, which devastated me after I spent a ton upgrading my pitching. Furthermore, I was embarrassed that my team let its once-large Wild Card lead disappear like it did and that the Giants were still ahead of me by a mile. I gotta do something major about that.
5. What was your biggest plan for this offseason?
Break:
Fill out the bullpen and get a third OF.
Styro:
My biggest plan this offseason was to set myself up with the best pick possible for the 1999 draft. That draft is loaded and I'm not winning anytime soon and that's probably why I got taken out back for Pedro. I wanted to get maximum value for him, but people just weren't biting so I settled for the best thing. In hindsight, maybe I should have kept him, but who knows; with the cash I'm about to get for this roundtable plus other cash opportunities, I might actually turn Fick and Buehrle into top notch studs. I haven't signed a free agent and I loved my draft, perfect offseason.
Steve:
Shed some salary. Didn't do it. I really need to move some of my bigger contracts or I'll be in the red before long. Guys aren't biting though
SNB914:
With all my infielders and outfielders (except for Burks who I will deal with in May 98) locked up long-term, my only big needs were catching and more pitching depth. I did not fulfill my pitching desires, aside from Franco, but I definitely plan on making a major trade for a better catcher before Opening Day.
6. If you could have just 1 person on your team that isn't already on your team, who would it be and why?
Break:
Pedro Martinez. Fucking hell I'd love to have him he's a beast.
Styro:
Ken Griffey Jr. for all the reasons stated in the first question. My favorite athlete of all time. If we make it to the 2009 draft, I will trade my team for Mike Trout though.
Steve:
Johan Santana. This guy is going to be absurd. My rotation is decent, but I don't have an ace like Johan. He's the kind of guy to anchor a playoff team for years. I really hate Play for a number of reasons, but #1 is his rotation I think.
SNB914:
Easily Mike Piazza. He was my favorite player growing up and the best catcher by far in this league, which is by far my greatest need right now. His numbers and ratings speak for themselves. Not much more really needs to be said. If he was on my team right now, my lineup would be literally unstoppable. Better than the Murderer's Row.
7. How do you like your team's chances in 1998?
Break:
I think I should make the playoffs again, but every year the clock ticks until Toronto plows his way past everyone.
Styro:
I love my chances...to go get a great hitter in the draft. I will absolutely suck and that is my intention as I have young hitting spects, Gil Meche and absolute garbage everywhere else should I'm hoping to stock up my farm system for the coming years. The only thing i will be paying attention to this season will be my minor leagues and the PD screen.
Steve:
I think we're a barely above-.500 team. We'll contend for the division for a while, tease the fans in Milwaukee like the Brewers love to do, and then fall apart in August. It makes it really tough that I can't add any salary whatsoever. I'm debating tearing it apart and just rebuilding. I tried to do that in 96, but the talent in this league was so thin that I could not get anything good for my guys. We'll see how this season starts. A few bad sims may lead me to take that route.
SNB914:
The sky is the limit for the Rockies' success as long as they don't fatigue too much in September and keep getting clutch hits in key situations. Being that I'm in Coors Field, I have no choice but to rely on my lineup to out-slug the opposition and hope that my pitching does good enough.
8. Which division do you think is the toughest and most competitive and why?
Break:
Definitely the AL East after last season. 4 teams could pry a spot away and even the Tigers are making moves!
Styro:
The American League East to me is the most competitive. I think last year three teams got 100 wins, or at least super close to it. The wildcard came down to the wire since the Yankees had like 159 wins or something like that. Those teams are always making trades and they are all active so to me that is the toughest and most competitive due to that combination of things.
Steve:
AL East. Obviously you have the Yanks and Red Sox there as two of the premiere teams in the league. But you also have the Orioles who just missed the playoffs after winning 100 games, which is pretty crazy. They won 100 damn games and still missed the playoffs. Three 100 win teams in the division. I don't see how there's any other answer to this question.
SNB914:
I could make a case for the NL West, being that the Giants are one of the best in the game, my Rockies have been very elite in months not named September and the Dodgers have been very solid themselves.
However, there is no real debate that the AL East is by far the best division and by miles. 3 teams won 100+ games in '97, and then the Jays have their insane minor league system?!!? That's downright scary.
Let me put it this way. If expansion ever occurs, the Rays will be struggling for a very long time.
9. What are your thoughts of the "Game" and "GM" awards system? Are the rewards payouts good as is or should they be the same amount?
Break:
I feel like everything is just fine as it is. I have enough banking to do as it is!
Styro:
I feel like MVP and Cy Youngs should be rewarded more, but I feel like overall the system is fine, except I hate the awards the game decides to hand out. I think other than league leaders, Award prizes should be handed out solely on what the GM's vote on.
Steve:
I honestly don't even know the payout difference, mostly because the Brewers have yet to have anyone win any. The game is notoriously bad for some of them though, especially since it will give Cy Young to a guy like Saito who shouldn't have even qualified for the AL last year. So I'd say the GM voting awards should be worth more than the game awards. That said, I don't really have a problem with them being the same amount. The player is getting recognized one way or another.
SNB914:
I like the systems overall, but I think the rewards payouts should be the same for both "Game" and "GM" awards, just to make it fair. The "Game" payouts themselves are fine as in my opinion, but again, the "GM" awards should be the same amounts.
10. What do you think about the draft? Are the time limits appropriate or should they be tinkered with?
Break:
I think everything went fine except the autoing before time limits ended. You can't be doing that especially in the first round.
Styro:
I think Erbes doesn't know what the fuck he's doing when he's running the draft. He keeps saying he wants lists, but when i did that shit last draft, he fucking auto'd through that shit anyways like a bitch. He'll co-sign a auto in the first two rounds but we out there waiting 2-3 hours for some 4th/5th round picks. It just doesn't make no damn sense, there needs to be some common sense utilized in my opinion, that might be too much to ask though.
Steve:
I still think we should have the draft midseason so that we can begin drafting at the start of the season and draft throughout. That way we have more time and can extend the time limits. Doing it in the offseason seems to make things a little more rushed.
SNB914:
The draft went as well it could have in my opinion. Obviously, there will be disagreements, and issues revolving time, but as long as everything is fair for everyone, then that's good.
I like the offseason timing for drafts so people can focus on that in particular, but I wouldn't be opposed to a midseason draft if the majority wants that.
11. What are your thoughts on a possible expansion? If 2 new owners are found, should expansion become a reality, regardless of what year it may occur in?
Break:
I love the idea of it. I want the Tigers out of the division before they rebuild! The D-Backs are my second favorite team in real life and I'd be annoyed if they don't happen here.
Styro:
I don't like the idea of expansion really. Nanz should be fired for one of the other gm's. I feel like if we expand by two teams we'll still have some of the inactives we already do have. We need to keep activity at a high level, not water it down.
Steve:
If we do expansion, it needs to be planned out well or it could be a disaster. I like the way GABL handled it with having foster teams for the new teams' players. This would require a few seasons of preparation for it though. If we do plan it out and we do get new GMs though, I definitely think we should move forward with it. Creates some new excitement for the league and makes things interesting.
I'm pretty indifferent on a move to the NL. On one hand, it would be keeping with reality which is usually a good thing. On the other hand, I do think it would be interesting if we broke from reality and saw how things played out (read: I don't want to face the Cubs rotation for the next 10 seasons).
SNB914:
I like sim leagues to be as realistic as possible with things like ratings, teams, divisions, alignment and awards, just to name a few. Eventually though, I think expansion should happen, again just to keep things realistic.
All in all, as long as people are active and contributing positively, we should look to do an expansion, if possible. However, I think we should not make too many other drastic changes. As the late Biggie Smalls once said, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Thankfully, there are no big D-Backs or Rays fans here, unless I'm mistaken. I know that if I was a fan of either of those teams, I would have been pissed if I didn't see those 2 teams ready for 1998.
12. What are your thoughts on the way Erbes has run this league for the first 2 seasons? Any suggestions or complaints in particular?
Break:
I think he's done a great job as a commissioner and he deserves more credit than he gets. Commish is gonna get hate for picking a good team right off the bat but haters gonna hate.
Styro:
He's done a good job simming and processing stuff, but that's about it. The rules he implements and the discipline he hands out makes no sense at all. Letting that overdraft slide the second time was pretty mind boggling to go along with half of the rules Erbes is coming up with mid-stride. How are you going to lower the cost of pd reversal by 4.5M? You decided the first system was so fucked up you lowered the price by 90%? What a fucking fail. He probably should have looked at everything more carefully from the beginning.
Steve:
Consistency, as everyone else has said. Always a good thing in running a league. Also, he has a habit of kind of alienating people which is never a good thing when you're commish. It's a thankless job and you'll always have someone mad at you, but he doesn't do himself any favors by telling people to "stfu" when they're having problems. Also, he really, really, really needs to stop using #frosting. It isn't a thing. It was never a thing.
SNB914:
I think Erbes has done a great job with sims, rewards stuff and being a commish altogether. He has gone out of his way to help everyone with all kinds of stuff and his efforts towards keeping everyone active have been amazing. I never felt this kind of fun with Long Baller, which is a much more dull league with little to no communication on those forums.
As others have said, Erbes has not been perfectly consistent with certain aspects (I was particularly upset with the way he handled the booting of D-Rowe before letting him back in and showing that he learned from it) in the first 2 seasons, but I'll give him a pass. People make mistakes, he's probably still learning stuff and with time, things here should keep improving.
13. Any final thoughts on what Danchevy did to get himself kicked out of the league?
Break:
As someone who's known him for a while it came as a pretty big surprise and I was extremely disappointed considering I stuck up for his character.
Styro:
No, no final thoughts. As soon as cincy bent over for that CC Sabathia deal while claiming a rebuild job in the same thread, had me wary from the beginning. That was scandalous and it goes to show Erbes' incompetence to let that deal go through in the first place. All the signs were there, all trades were bad trades from cincy's perspective and I think all three would have been approved if not for gm's speaking out.
Steve:
Ha. Final thoughts? Dude was a fool. He really thought it was a good idea to create a different account to trade with himself? Come on now. And then he either has no clue what an IP address is, or he thought that none of us knew what an IP address was. The fact that he never tried to defend himself was pretty damning. It's sad because he seemed like a pretty decent member of the league. Some people just need to win so badly that they'll stoop to pretty low levels. Like these guys at pub trivia we go to. We know they cheat by checking their phones. What's the fun in that? That's how I picture Danchevy. Sitting in the corner of a booth creating multiple accounts across platforms, thinking he's fooling everyone.
SNB914:
Again, I still can't believe all that stuff actually happened. I've known Dan for almost 2 years through online gaming and he never came across as someone who would do something like that, if he actually did. Of course, this evidence is overwhelming, but I still consider him a friend just because I've always gotten along with him very well. He's a nice guy if you really get to know him. Nonetheless, I was very disappointed it happened, especially because like Break, I had stuck up for Dan as well.
14. Finally, which GM's on the forums entertain you the most in particular?
Break:
Easily Styro and Game.
Styro:
To be honest, Erbes entertains me the most cause you never know when he's gonna make the next 16 year old MLB-ready player. He's always giving faulty advice to gm's and people just slurp that shit cause they assume he's knowledgeable cause he's a commish. Watching him post his opinions on players is just funny to me, cause i know someone is gonna come in and read it and then use that info in trade talks.
Steve:
Play is probably my favorite GM, because he's always a good GM and he's never afraid to speak his mind. Chris always entertains me with his inane banter. Waldo is great because you never know what he's going to post. One day it's a youtube video of Yogi Oki-Doki the yoga instructor, the next it'll be an absurd reference to Topanga. And Styro because he's Styro. And finally Game, because I swear he types with his toes or something. It's hilarious for some reason.
SNB914:
Styro at first annoyed me a bit, mostly because some of his original trolling was at my expense. But once Erbes PM'd me saying that Styro was just goofing off and didn't mean anything personally, I then looked at his posts a lot differently. I now find them quite funny more often than not.
Break's rages can be VERY entertaining most of the time. That "conspiracy on Boston" crap was nothing compared to other times where he has raged much worse. I'm not saying I make fun of him for it because I don't, but again, some of his rages are real funny due to the subject matter.
Other GM's whose posts I particularly enjoy reading are Erbes (minus all the frosted nonsense), Play (because he's always telling it like it is, which I do quite often myself), BigBuhner (great sense of humor), James (also, great sense of humor), Waldo (his personality and humor are literally one of a kind), and Stutter (who is real funny sometimes...you all will notice very soon, if you haven't already).
Not trying to leave anyone else out...I enjoy everyone's posts at all times, but those people just happen to make me laugh a little more often.
1. Which team and players did you grow up watching as a kid, and which player in particular did you idolize back then?
Break:
I grew up as a Red Sox fan, with my first memory in baseball being Mo Vaughn riding a horse around Fenway celebrating his 1995 AL MVP. I got a book about him from my parents at the age of 6, and did a book report about him in 1st grade. He was my first favorite player until Nomar Garciaparra came up and Mo Vaughn left to eat 3 buffets in New York.
It's true. All Mo Vaughn did in New York was eat and get more obese.
Styro:
As a kid, i started getting into baseball when i was about 9 and I remember when Jarrod Washburn and Troy Glaus were ballin early in their careers. In so cal, it's either you watch the Angel games or Dodger games, so i basically followed all Angels players, except Mo Vaughn. He pissed me off.
The player I idolized and to this day is my favorite athlete of all time is Ken Griffey Jr. He just had the whole package and that swing, Jesus. Loved his stance and his swing and his ability to do work during the steroid era without steroids. He was just disgusting in his prime.
Steve:
I was born in Atlanta and moved to Milwaukee when I was pretty young, so I stayed a Braves fan and a Brewers fan for a while. Still was a pretty big Braves fan in 1996, so the collapse against the Yankees was pretty painful. I can't explain it, but Jeff Blauser was always my guy. Dude was just a beast. I was also a big Sammy Sosa fan, even if he was a Cub. The Brewers in the 90s were pretty awful, so honestly nobody to really idolize from that period.
SNB914:
I've been a diehard New York Mets fan since 1998, when I was just 7 years old. Ironically right when Piazza got traded to the Mets was when I became a big fan. The players I grew up (and miss) watching in the late 90s and early 2000s include Piazza, Edgardo Alfonzo, John Olerud, Robin Ventura (I will never forget the "Grand Slam Single") Al Leiter, Rick Reed, John Franco and Turk "Rosin Bag" Wendell. God, I miss those Mets teams!
Piazza of course was the one I idolized throughout my childhood. In fact, I tried catching in middle school and high school baseball because of him, even though that did not turn out well for me. I was a much better outfielder back then. But Piazza was the best hitting catcher of all time, a true leader and always came through when it mattered most (aside from Game 5 of the 2000 World Series). He certainly helped me be a proud Mets fan when all my friends liked the Yankees.
David Wright is my favorite player of today, but as much as I like him, he will never get to Piazza's level. I actually met Piazza in January 2012 and paid $150 for his autograph. Although my "see you in Cooperstown in 2013" statement did not come true, I am anxiously awaiting his induction which I will be at.
2. Do you think it's better to be in charge of your favorite real life team in a sim league? Or is it better to run another team with less personal bias and less 90s players you were familiar with?
Break:
This is the first time I've ever gotten to run the Red Sox in a sim league, and I'm loving every second. Watching Clemens do what he should have done and stick with the Sox as a lifer is a fantasy I wish came true. Watching Nomar play his whole career here is going to be amazing.
Styro:
I think it is good to run a team with players you are familiar with because it makes thing funner, but picking a team with players you like in real life isn't the best idea. We tend to get attached to players based on what they did in real life and that can sometimes be the worst way to run a team. Angels are my team and I would have liked them, but I don't think i'd be having as much fun with them as I am currently having with the Expos. I'd probably be reluctant to trade everybody.
Steve:
I don't think it matters that much for me in terms of players, but that may just be because everyone on the Brewers blows in this time period. I am regretting the decision based on market size now, but I've grown so used to it in real life it really just feels natural here to have to work on a budget while the Yankees can spend a fortune on Mike Stanley.
SNB914:
This could go either way. Had James/JMase never chosen the Mets before me, it would have been a no-brainer for me to choose them. Those 90s Mets players are the ones I still feel attached to in a way and it would have been a lot of fun. It would have taken a few years, but I would have made the Mets into a powerhouse team for sure. I hope to see James do that with the Mets sometime soon.
But seeing how the Mets have turned out so far compared to my Rockies, I'm happy I have my Rockies. The icing on top is the fact that I now have Alfonzo, Huskey and Franco on the Rockies, plus I briefly had Doctor K last season as well. I will honestly admit that I traded for Alfonzo simply because he was my 2nd favorite player growing up.
On the other hand, running a team you are not a passionate fan of has been fascinating in itself. You learn a lot about those players back then and it requires you to think more about the decisions themselves, compared to the personal attachments possibly getting in the way.
3. How did you get to know people in this league before it got started? Which other leagues were you in before and who did you interact with then?
Break:
I know a few guys in the league from a baseball game I played from 2009-2012 called MLB Dugout Heroes, where I was one of the top players for a lot of the game's run. I met a lot of cool people and Colorado and Cincy are just a couple of them. I've known Cleveland since we were 11 and we go to the same college. Other than that I've met some of these guys in LBB or GABL but haven't really gotten to know a lot of them.
Styro:
I know erbes from BBS and about half of the other guys from over there as well. If you haven't been in BBS or UOSL fbb leagues then I probably don't know you and you're probably one of the guys i decided to troll. I've always interacted with Play since forever it seems. Other gm's like nanz, erbes, habes, broph and Steve as well in another baseball sim I believe.
Steve:
Pretty much everyone here I met through the original BBSBL, except for the one guy I actually know in real life who got me into it in the first place. A few of the guys like Ashes and Broph I knew from BBS. I've dabbled in other leagues here and there but never anything for too long.
SNB914:
It all started for me in 2010 when I discovered MLB Dugout Heroes, the greatest online baseball game ever in my opinion. Unfortunately, it no longer exists, but that was where I got to know Break (Boston), Danchevy and Stutter (Cincy), among others. I got to know D-Rowe (Cleveland) later on through Break and a few fantasy sports leagues. I eventually joined this Vent server with Break and a few others, including the original Rangers GM here.
As far as sim leagues go, Break and the other Vent people got me to join the Long Baller league in November 2011. I am the Yankees there and that's how I learned about OOTP and everything about it. A year later, Break told me about this league and once I knew the league would start in 96, I was sold and this has been a lot more fascinating than Long Baller ever was.
4. How would you evaluate your team's 1997 season and did it fall above, right at, or below your expectations?
Break:
I expected to make the ALCS again, but winning it was a great surprise. Too bad the curse continued, but I still have 6 years to fulfill my main goal in this league of winning it all before 2004.
Styro:
It fell way below expectations, I mean sweet Jesus. The team came out like absolute gang busters and then just came back from the all star break determined to crap all over the field. The pitching just fell apart in the second half as my offense got better with the additions of Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Vidro. I acquired Al Leiter to hopefully be a solid 5th starter but my pitching just crapped out towards the end. I ended up with a top 10 pick after being in first place most of the year, enough said.
Steve:
Pre-AS break, we definitely exceeded expectations. We were in 1st place in the AL Central, team was playing really great baseball. This, of course, raised my expectations for the rest of the season, so I went out and added some salary to my rotation. Naturally, my team fell apart in the second half of the season, leaving me with an inflated payroll and nothing to show for it. Pretty poor on my part I guess.
SNB914:
In a way, my Rockies' 97 season was right at my expectations if I look at it a certain way. 93 wins is a lot and something to be proud of, especially when considering the crooked numbers my lineup put up.
However, I did fall literally 1 game short and lost the play-in game to Atlanta, which devastated me after I spent a ton upgrading my pitching. Furthermore, I was embarrassed that my team let its once-large Wild Card lead disappear like it did and that the Giants were still ahead of me by a mile. I gotta do something major about that.
5. What was your biggest plan for this offseason?
Break:
Fill out the bullpen and get a third OF.
Styro:
My biggest plan this offseason was to set myself up with the best pick possible for the 1999 draft. That draft is loaded and I'm not winning anytime soon and that's probably why I got taken out back for Pedro. I wanted to get maximum value for him, but people just weren't biting so I settled for the best thing. In hindsight, maybe I should have kept him, but who knows; with the cash I'm about to get for this roundtable plus other cash opportunities, I might actually turn Fick and Buehrle into top notch studs. I haven't signed a free agent and I loved my draft, perfect offseason.
Steve:
Shed some salary. Didn't do it. I really need to move some of my bigger contracts or I'll be in the red before long. Guys aren't biting though
SNB914:
With all my infielders and outfielders (except for Burks who I will deal with in May 98) locked up long-term, my only big needs were catching and more pitching depth. I did not fulfill my pitching desires, aside from Franco, but I definitely plan on making a major trade for a better catcher before Opening Day.
6. If you could have just 1 person on your team that isn't already on your team, who would it be and why?
Break:
Pedro Martinez. Fucking hell I'd love to have him he's a beast.
Styro:
Ken Griffey Jr. for all the reasons stated in the first question. My favorite athlete of all time. If we make it to the 2009 draft, I will trade my team for Mike Trout though.
I think everyone would give up a ton for Trout.
Steve:
Johan Santana. This guy is going to be absurd. My rotation is decent, but I don't have an ace like Johan. He's the kind of guy to anchor a playoff team for years. I really hate Play for a number of reasons, but #1 is his rotation I think.
Johan is going to be a beast.
SNB914:
Easily Mike Piazza. He was my favorite player growing up and the best catcher by far in this league, which is by far my greatest need right now. His numbers and ratings speak for themselves. Not much more really needs to be said. If he was on my team right now, my lineup would be literally unstoppable. Better than the Murderer's Row.
7. How do you like your team's chances in 1998?
Break:
I think I should make the playoffs again, but every year the clock ticks until Toronto plows his way past everyone.
Styro:
I love my chances...to go get a great hitter in the draft. I will absolutely suck and that is my intention as I have young hitting spects, Gil Meche and absolute garbage everywhere else should I'm hoping to stock up my farm system for the coming years. The only thing i will be paying attention to this season will be my minor leagues and the PD screen.
Steve:
I think we're a barely above-.500 team. We'll contend for the division for a while, tease the fans in Milwaukee like the Brewers love to do, and then fall apart in August. It makes it really tough that I can't add any salary whatsoever. I'm debating tearing it apart and just rebuilding. I tried to do that in 96, but the talent in this league was so thin that I could not get anything good for my guys. We'll see how this season starts. A few bad sims may lead me to take that route.
SNB914:
The sky is the limit for the Rockies' success as long as they don't fatigue too much in September and keep getting clutch hits in key situations. Being that I'm in Coors Field, I have no choice but to rely on my lineup to out-slug the opposition and hope that my pitching does good enough.
8. Which division do you think is the toughest and most competitive and why?
Break:
Definitely the AL East after last season. 4 teams could pry a spot away and even the Tigers are making moves!
Styro:
The American League East to me is the most competitive. I think last year three teams got 100 wins, or at least super close to it. The wildcard came down to the wire since the Yankees had like 159 wins or something like that. Those teams are always making trades and they are all active so to me that is the toughest and most competitive due to that combination of things.
Steve:
AL East. Obviously you have the Yanks and Red Sox there as two of the premiere teams in the league. But you also have the Orioles who just missed the playoffs after winning 100 games, which is pretty crazy. They won 100 damn games and still missed the playoffs. Three 100 win teams in the division. I don't see how there's any other answer to this question.
SNB914:
I could make a case for the NL West, being that the Giants are one of the best in the game, my Rockies have been very elite in months not named September and the Dodgers have been very solid themselves.
However, there is no real debate that the AL East is by far the best division and by miles. 3 teams won 100+ games in '97, and then the Jays have their insane minor league system?!!? That's downright scary.
Let me put it this way. If expansion ever occurs, the Rays will be struggling for a very long time.
9. What are your thoughts of the "Game" and "GM" awards system? Are the rewards payouts good as is or should they be the same amount?
Break:
I feel like everything is just fine as it is. I have enough banking to do as it is!
Styro:
I feel like MVP and Cy Youngs should be rewarded more, but I feel like overall the system is fine, except I hate the awards the game decides to hand out. I think other than league leaders, Award prizes should be handed out solely on what the GM's vote on.
Steve:
I honestly don't even know the payout difference, mostly because the Brewers have yet to have anyone win any. The game is notoriously bad for some of them though, especially since it will give Cy Young to a guy like Saito who shouldn't have even qualified for the AL last year. So I'd say the GM voting awards should be worth more than the game awards. That said, I don't really have a problem with them being the same amount. The player is getting recognized one way or another.
SNB914:
I like the systems overall, but I think the rewards payouts should be the same for both "Game" and "GM" awards, just to make it fair. The "Game" payouts themselves are fine as in my opinion, but again, the "GM" awards should be the same amounts.
10. What do you think about the draft? Are the time limits appropriate or should they be tinkered with?
Break:
I think everything went fine except the autoing before time limits ended. You can't be doing that especially in the first round.
Styro:
I think Erbes doesn't know what the fuck he's doing when he's running the draft. He keeps saying he wants lists, but when i did that shit last draft, he fucking auto'd through that shit anyways like a bitch. He'll co-sign a auto in the first two rounds but we out there waiting 2-3 hours for some 4th/5th round picks. It just doesn't make no damn sense, there needs to be some common sense utilized in my opinion, that might be too much to ask though.
Steve:
I still think we should have the draft midseason so that we can begin drafting at the start of the season and draft throughout. That way we have more time and can extend the time limits. Doing it in the offseason seems to make things a little more rushed.
SNB914:
The draft went as well it could have in my opinion. Obviously, there will be disagreements, and issues revolving time, but as long as everything is fair for everyone, then that's good.
I like the offseason timing for drafts so people can focus on that in particular, but I wouldn't be opposed to a midseason draft if the majority wants that.
11. What are your thoughts on a possible expansion? If 2 new owners are found, should expansion become a reality, regardless of what year it may occur in?
Break:
I love the idea of it. I want the Tigers out of the division before they rebuild! The D-Backs are my second favorite team in real life and I'd be annoyed if they don't happen here.
Styro:
I don't like the idea of expansion really. Nanz should be fired for one of the other gm's. I feel like if we expand by two teams we'll still have some of the inactives we already do have. We need to keep activity at a high level, not water it down.
Steve:
If we do expansion, it needs to be planned out well or it could be a disaster. I like the way GABL handled it with having foster teams for the new teams' players. This would require a few seasons of preparation for it though. If we do plan it out and we do get new GMs though, I definitely think we should move forward with it. Creates some new excitement for the league and makes things interesting.
I'm pretty indifferent on a move to the NL. On one hand, it would be keeping with reality which is usually a good thing. On the other hand, I do think it would be interesting if we broke from reality and saw how things played out (read: I don't want to face the Cubs rotation for the next 10 seasons).
SNB914:
I like sim leagues to be as realistic as possible with things like ratings, teams, divisions, alignment and awards, just to name a few. Eventually though, I think expansion should happen, again just to keep things realistic.
All in all, as long as people are active and contributing positively, we should look to do an expansion, if possible. However, I think we should not make too many other drastic changes. As the late Biggie Smalls once said, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Thankfully, there are no big D-Backs or Rays fans here, unless I'm mistaken. I know that if I was a fan of either of those teams, I would have been pissed if I didn't see those 2 teams ready for 1998.
12. What are your thoughts on the way Erbes has run this league for the first 2 seasons? Any suggestions or complaints in particular?
Break:
I think he's done a great job as a commissioner and he deserves more credit than he gets. Commish is gonna get hate for picking a good team right off the bat but haters gonna hate.
Styro:
He's done a good job simming and processing stuff, but that's about it. The rules he implements and the discipline he hands out makes no sense at all. Letting that overdraft slide the second time was pretty mind boggling to go along with half of the rules Erbes is coming up with mid-stride. How are you going to lower the cost of pd reversal by 4.5M? You decided the first system was so fucked up you lowered the price by 90%? What a fucking fail. He probably should have looked at everything more carefully from the beginning.
Steve:
Consistency, as everyone else has said. Always a good thing in running a league. Also, he has a habit of kind of alienating people which is never a good thing when you're commish. It's a thankless job and you'll always have someone mad at you, but he doesn't do himself any favors by telling people to "stfu" when they're having problems. Also, he really, really, really needs to stop using #frosting. It isn't a thing. It was never a thing.
SNB914:
I think Erbes has done a great job with sims, rewards stuff and being a commish altogether. He has gone out of his way to help everyone with all kinds of stuff and his efforts towards keeping everyone active have been amazing. I never felt this kind of fun with Long Baller, which is a much more dull league with little to no communication on those forums.
As others have said, Erbes has not been perfectly consistent with certain aspects (I was particularly upset with the way he handled the booting of D-Rowe before letting him back in and showing that he learned from it) in the first 2 seasons, but I'll give him a pass. People make mistakes, he's probably still learning stuff and with time, things here should keep improving.
13. Any final thoughts on what Danchevy did to get himself kicked out of the league?
Break:
As someone who's known him for a while it came as a pretty big surprise and I was extremely disappointed considering I stuck up for his character.
Styro:
No, no final thoughts. As soon as cincy bent over for that CC Sabathia deal while claiming a rebuild job in the same thread, had me wary from the beginning. That was scandalous and it goes to show Erbes' incompetence to let that deal go through in the first place. All the signs were there, all trades were bad trades from cincy's perspective and I think all three would have been approved if not for gm's speaking out.
Steve:
Ha. Final thoughts? Dude was a fool. He really thought it was a good idea to create a different account to trade with himself? Come on now. And then he either has no clue what an IP address is, or he thought that none of us knew what an IP address was. The fact that he never tried to defend himself was pretty damning. It's sad because he seemed like a pretty decent member of the league. Some people just need to win so badly that they'll stoop to pretty low levels. Like these guys at pub trivia we go to. We know they cheat by checking their phones. What's the fun in that? That's how I picture Danchevy. Sitting in the corner of a booth creating multiple accounts across platforms, thinking he's fooling everyone.
SNB914:
Again, I still can't believe all that stuff actually happened. I've known Dan for almost 2 years through online gaming and he never came across as someone who would do something like that, if he actually did. Of course, this evidence is overwhelming, but I still consider him a friend just because I've always gotten along with him very well. He's a nice guy if you really get to know him. Nonetheless, I was very disappointed it happened, especially because like Break, I had stuck up for Dan as well.
14. Finally, which GM's on the forums entertain you the most in particular?
Break:
Easily Styro and Game.
Styro:
To be honest, Erbes entertains me the most cause you never know when he's gonna make the next 16 year old MLB-ready player. He's always giving faulty advice to gm's and people just slurp that shit cause they assume he's knowledgeable cause he's a commish. Watching him post his opinions on players is just funny to me, cause i know someone is gonna come in and read it and then use that info in trade talks.
Steve:
Play is probably my favorite GM, because he's always a good GM and he's never afraid to speak his mind. Chris always entertains me with his inane banter. Waldo is great because you never know what he's going to post. One day it's a youtube video of Yogi Oki-Doki the yoga instructor, the next it'll be an absurd reference to Topanga. And Styro because he's Styro. And finally Game, because I swear he types with his toes or something. It's hilarious for some reason.
SNB914:
Styro at first annoyed me a bit, mostly because some of his original trolling was at my expense. But once Erbes PM'd me saying that Styro was just goofing off and didn't mean anything personally, I then looked at his posts a lot differently. I now find them quite funny more often than not.
Break's rages can be VERY entertaining most of the time. That "conspiracy on Boston" crap was nothing compared to other times where he has raged much worse. I'm not saying I make fun of him for it because I don't, but again, some of his rages are real funny due to the subject matter.
Other GM's whose posts I particularly enjoy reading are Erbes (minus all the frosted nonsense), Play (because he's always telling it like it is, which I do quite often myself), BigBuhner (great sense of humor), James (also, great sense of humor), Waldo (his personality and humor are literally one of a kind), and Stutter (who is real funny sometimes...you all will notice very soon, if you haven't already).
Not trying to leave anyone else out...I enjoy everyone's posts at all times, but those people just happen to make me laugh a little more often.
