Post by steve on May 16, 2013 23:46:59 GMT -5
After a week's delay...
1. I have been in baseball sims with you off and on since 2007. You've known Spencer, Chris, etc. even longer. Tell me three fun facts about yourself that we don't already know.
Hmm....I think I had this exact question last time I did one of these. I'll try not to use the same fun facts (if they are actually fun)...
1. Went from the head high school boys basketball coach to the 7th grade boys BB coach in 1 season. Apparently I didn't know what I was doing, but was good enough to be a jr high assistant.
2. My father was my high school principal all 4 years at 3 different high schools.
3. If I win a 2nd WS with the Braves in this league, I'll have won 2 WS titles in every sim league I've been in...except the 1st BBSBL (did it even last 2 seasons?)
Those are pretty fun. The first version of BBSBL lasted a fairly long time. Passed from Duce to Crazymike to Bobby to Josh to me. You must be thinking of the next version, which yeah, didn't last very long. Regardless, I'm mostly amazed you maintained your dad as principal across 3 high schools. Fun stuff.
Matt's dad at work as principal.
2. This question gets thrown around a lot in these interviews, but what do you think of the current GM list here? Are you generally pleased, or are there guys who need to step it up? And since his name has already been mentioned a lot, what do you say about the state of the Indians, as well as GM accountability in general?
Meh, there's always issues with GM's in these leagues. For the most part I'd say we have a pretty good set of them here, except for a few who probably need to step it up. As far as the Indians go, it's a joke. At least try to field a decent team. Last I looked it just seemed like he found his worst guys in A ball and called them up to the bigs. Very few veterans at all, good or bad. I've tried the rebuild strategy in OOTP5 and never been successful. Too many glitches and prospects don't make it.
Yeah, I like the group of GMs we have here. I also have a pretty good first impression of Darell so I think he'll be a good add. I don't see the Indians ever being good though. That team is in complete shambles and I don't see it improving for a pretty long time.
3. We are apparently well enough off with GMs to expand. But, we had a lot of gripes when Erbes' plan for expansion was revealed. What are your thoughts on it? Do you agree with the grumbles, or does Erbes have it all figured out?
I'm not sure expansion is good for this league yet. We've got a few GM's who struggle to check in and run a team, so why add two more to the mix? As far as what his plans were, I think he's got a good blueprint, as well as a very good resource in Chris, since he's the one who put those plans together and ran the expansion in GABL.
I agree on both counts. I think it's an okay plan, but we'll see how it goes. There will be complaints regardless.
4. If you could compare Erbes to one fictional character, who would it be and why?
This one is tough. I'm gonna take a shot at this one since I'm currently watching a Simpson's rerun. Mr Burns. The dude has the power in the league and tosses it around, but acts like a complete tool at times.
I have honestly somehow never watched The Simpsons so I can't really judge this comparison. I'd probably go with Cheeseburger Eddie from The Longest Yard though.
Erbes on a Friday night, apparently
5. You and Play seem to have a pretty solid feud going. Is that all in good fun, or do you guys really hate each other?
Didn't realize it was a feud really. Just figured he was an attention seeking idiot who needed some attention, so I tried to help him out.
Hmm.
6. This is a pretty active league, partly due to the rewards system put in place by Erbes. I know you've always had qualms about these types of rewards. Have your thoughts changed at all now that you've been through 3.5 seasons with it?
It's got it's good parts and bad. Makes sense for injuries, PD reversals, etc, but other parts are extremes and may be too detailed. Also might be nice for commish (or banker(s)) to keep a closer eye on the total so we don't have any more over-spending issues. Going into the 2nd season it's happened?
Yeah, I like what it brings to the league in terms of compensating for some of the blatant glitches in the game . I'm never sure if my money is accurate though because it seems to be slightly disorganized. I'm hoping that gets better over time.
7. Now to your team. After winning the 1st BBSBL World Series title, the Braves have struggled to replicate that success. Is this the year you get back to the promised land, or is there something/someone standing in your way?
I'm not sure what to think of my team. We have the pitching, my park loves left-handed hitters, but my offense sucks sometimes. Besides, the way the injuries keep hitting my team, I just hope I make it through the season with a team to field and win games.
This question was a lot better before I waited a week to post this article. I still can't believe how many injuries you had this year though.
Matt's entire team this season
8. Obviously you are in it to win it this season. What happens afterwards? What is your plan for the next 5 seasons? Will you tank for Colby Rasmus in 2005?
I'm in it to win it as long as I've got Chipper and Maddux for sure, but have some other young guys I think I can buy some FA around and stay competitive for quite a few seasons.
Not going to make it a point to tank for Colby...I mean what has he done in the bigs so far besides suck and disappoint? That and I hate playing in OOTP leagues and losing. That just seems like a waste of time to me.
To be clear, the Colby part was a joke- there will be plenty of players going ahead of him in that draft. But yeah, I see this team competing for some time yet. Rebuilds in OOTP suck.
Yikes.
9. We've just passed the trade deadline. Teams are more or less how they will look come playoff time. What team is built the best for a deep playoff run? Who do you see winning it all this year? And more importantly, will the Rockies actually catch the Giants, or is Shale full of Schist?
AL wise it's hard to argue with the CWS and Boston right now. In the NL I'm going to give it a competitive run as well as I can, but I know Spencer is sitting there with his Giants and the team he's put together to win right now as well. Going to be a fun stretch run. Barring a big injury somewhere along the way, I think it will be two of the four teams I've mentioned squaring off for it all.
Boston and San Fran are certainly looking good, but Broph and Chris could easily get past them. We'll see if they can do it without their injured starters. And the Rockies did not catch the Giants. Can't wait to see Stutter's Youtube vid.
Probably something like this.
10. Frank Thomas. Ken Griffey, Jr. Who is the AL MVP?
If Griffey's stealing were to be used more, I'd say he's the runaway with the A range in CF, great bat and speed. With only 13 SB, it's a very close race. I'll give the edge to Big Hurt just because I was a White Sox fan for a while growing up.
Yep, both had crazy seasons, but it's tough to argue with what Frank did on the south side.
Shed a tear, Frank. You're our MVP
11. Now to the real-life Cardinals. Do you see them continuing their strong play (knowing they can't face the Brewers every game) and taking the division over the Reds? Where do you see their season ending?
As long as the pitching holds up in STL and everyone stays healthy, I think it's going to be a two team race all year long. I think the Cardinals offensive struggles will come around, and at some point in time they'll settle the bullpen down as well.
I'll say Cards win the division (barring huge injury to a major player) and bow out in the NLCS against the Nationals.
Cards look pretty good, but I still say the Central belongs to Cincy.
Unless Yuni B has something to say about it.
12. What do you think of the job Bud Selig has done in his tenure as commish? How do you compare Commissioner Bud Selig to Commissioner Jeffrey Erbes?
I've never been a big fan of Selig, I mean why is a guy who was associated with the Brewers in charge of the entire league? The ASG tie is the mess that sums up his stay in office.
Honestly, I don't think that Erbes can do much worse that Selig...as long as he keeps up his standing by his word. If he starts swaying things, random sims, etc, he might go downhill to Selig territory.
Bud is awesome. We're practically besties with how many times we've met. (it's twice)
Speak up. Bud's getting old.
13. What do you think of electing players to the BBSBL HOF based on their real-life numbers (e.g. Paul Molitor). Should they get in based on those merits, or should it be strictly based on sim numbers?
BBSBL hall of fame comes from BBSBL players. Everyone who was in the hall of fame when the BBSBL started is in the BBSBL hall of fame. The guys who overlap I'd say are in, just because OOTP likes to kill older players before it should.
I don't really care. It will be a lot more fun when we're actually voting for guys that were involved in the sim though.
14. If you could choose one real-life MLB player to make the HOF who has failed to make it in the past (or is banned), who would it be and why?
Personal favorite: Willie McGee. Was my favorite player growing up. Who was that big World Series against that he shined early in his career?
Other: Pete Rose. Another reason I'm not a fan of Bud Selig.
I'd say Shoeless Joe and Pete Rose.
This belongs at Cooperstown.
15. Encompassing all aspects of the experience, what is the best MLB park you have been to? Which park do you most want to visit that you've never been to?
This is a tough one. I've been to:
Atlanta
St Louis (2)
Chicago Cubs
Detroit
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
Boston
New York Yankees
Tampa
Texas
Visiting this summer:
Philadelphia
Baltimore
Washington.
So far I'd say my favorite stadium is either Boston or Pittsburgh. Beautiful stadiums, awesome experiences.
Favorite memory from a stadium: Cardinals vs Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Roger Clemens 300 win, 4000K game. Paid for the ticket it, but because my buddy and I had our Cardinal jersey's on, a few nice Yankee fans bought our food and drinks at the game all night long. Not what I was expecting in New York.
Yep, Boston and Pitt are both awesome. I like Busch too. I'd love to get to a game in San Fran or Baltimore though.
16. And finally, who is your favorite musician currently?
Current favorite musician? That's a tough one...I listen to all kinds of country music, so Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert and the likes.
Of all time?
I got hooked on the Eagles at some point in time, Bon Jovi always jumps out at me as well as Garth Brooks.
Hmm, I could definitely see you being a country guy. I think I know two Jason Aldean songs.
This is him.
That's it. Til next time. Thanks Matt!
Rounding the bases with Matt
1. I have been in baseball sims with you off and on since 2007. You've known Spencer, Chris, etc. even longer. Tell me three fun facts about yourself that we don't already know.
Hmm....I think I had this exact question last time I did one of these. I'll try not to use the same fun facts (if they are actually fun)...
1. Went from the head high school boys basketball coach to the 7th grade boys BB coach in 1 season. Apparently I didn't know what I was doing, but was good enough to be a jr high assistant.
2. My father was my high school principal all 4 years at 3 different high schools.
3. If I win a 2nd WS with the Braves in this league, I'll have won 2 WS titles in every sim league I've been in...except the 1st BBSBL (did it even last 2 seasons?)
Those are pretty fun. The first version of BBSBL lasted a fairly long time. Passed from Duce to Crazymike to Bobby to Josh to me. You must be thinking of the next version, which yeah, didn't last very long. Regardless, I'm mostly amazed you maintained your dad as principal across 3 high schools. Fun stuff.
Matt's dad at work as principal.
2. This question gets thrown around a lot in these interviews, but what do you think of the current GM list here? Are you generally pleased, or are there guys who need to step it up? And since his name has already been mentioned a lot, what do you say about the state of the Indians, as well as GM accountability in general?
Meh, there's always issues with GM's in these leagues. For the most part I'd say we have a pretty good set of them here, except for a few who probably need to step it up. As far as the Indians go, it's a joke. At least try to field a decent team. Last I looked it just seemed like he found his worst guys in A ball and called them up to the bigs. Very few veterans at all, good or bad. I've tried the rebuild strategy in OOTP5 and never been successful. Too many glitches and prospects don't make it.
Yeah, I like the group of GMs we have here. I also have a pretty good first impression of Darell so I think he'll be a good add. I don't see the Indians ever being good though. That team is in complete shambles and I don't see it improving for a pretty long time.
3. We are apparently well enough off with GMs to expand. But, we had a lot of gripes when Erbes' plan for expansion was revealed. What are your thoughts on it? Do you agree with the grumbles, or does Erbes have it all figured out?
I'm not sure expansion is good for this league yet. We've got a few GM's who struggle to check in and run a team, so why add two more to the mix? As far as what his plans were, I think he's got a good blueprint, as well as a very good resource in Chris, since he's the one who put those plans together and ran the expansion in GABL.
I agree on both counts. I think it's an okay plan, but we'll see how it goes. There will be complaints regardless.
4. If you could compare Erbes to one fictional character, who would it be and why?
This one is tough. I'm gonna take a shot at this one since I'm currently watching a Simpson's rerun. Mr Burns. The dude has the power in the league and tosses it around, but acts like a complete tool at times.
I have honestly somehow never watched The Simpsons so I can't really judge this comparison. I'd probably go with Cheeseburger Eddie from The Longest Yard though.
Erbes on a Friday night, apparently
5. You and Play seem to have a pretty solid feud going. Is that all in good fun, or do you guys really hate each other?
Didn't realize it was a feud really. Just figured he was an attention seeking idiot who needed some attention, so I tried to help him out.
Hmm.
6. This is a pretty active league, partly due to the rewards system put in place by Erbes. I know you've always had qualms about these types of rewards. Have your thoughts changed at all now that you've been through 3.5 seasons with it?
It's got it's good parts and bad. Makes sense for injuries, PD reversals, etc, but other parts are extremes and may be too detailed. Also might be nice for commish (or banker(s)) to keep a closer eye on the total so we don't have any more over-spending issues. Going into the 2nd season it's happened?
Yeah, I like what it brings to the league in terms of compensating for some of the blatant glitches in the game . I'm never sure if my money is accurate though because it seems to be slightly disorganized. I'm hoping that gets better over time.
7. Now to your team. After winning the 1st BBSBL World Series title, the Braves have struggled to replicate that success. Is this the year you get back to the promised land, or is there something/someone standing in your way?
I'm not sure what to think of my team. We have the pitching, my park loves left-handed hitters, but my offense sucks sometimes. Besides, the way the injuries keep hitting my team, I just hope I make it through the season with a team to field and win games.
This question was a lot better before I waited a week to post this article. I still can't believe how many injuries you had this year though.
Matt's entire team this season
8. Obviously you are in it to win it this season. What happens afterwards? What is your plan for the next 5 seasons? Will you tank for Colby Rasmus in 2005?
I'm in it to win it as long as I've got Chipper and Maddux for sure, but have some other young guys I think I can buy some FA around and stay competitive for quite a few seasons.
Not going to make it a point to tank for Colby...I mean what has he done in the bigs so far besides suck and disappoint? That and I hate playing in OOTP leagues and losing. That just seems like a waste of time to me.
To be clear, the Colby part was a joke- there will be plenty of players going ahead of him in that draft. But yeah, I see this team competing for some time yet. Rebuilds in OOTP suck.
Yikes.
9. We've just passed the trade deadline. Teams are more or less how they will look come playoff time. What team is built the best for a deep playoff run? Who do you see winning it all this year? And more importantly, will the Rockies actually catch the Giants, or is Shale full of Schist?
AL wise it's hard to argue with the CWS and Boston right now. In the NL I'm going to give it a competitive run as well as I can, but I know Spencer is sitting there with his Giants and the team he's put together to win right now as well. Going to be a fun stretch run. Barring a big injury somewhere along the way, I think it will be two of the four teams I've mentioned squaring off for it all.
Boston and San Fran are certainly looking good, but Broph and Chris could easily get past them. We'll see if they can do it without their injured starters. And the Rockies did not catch the Giants. Can't wait to see Stutter's Youtube vid.
Probably something like this.
10. Frank Thomas. Ken Griffey, Jr. Who is the AL MVP?
If Griffey's stealing were to be used more, I'd say he's the runaway with the A range in CF, great bat and speed. With only 13 SB, it's a very close race. I'll give the edge to Big Hurt just because I was a White Sox fan for a while growing up.
Yep, both had crazy seasons, but it's tough to argue with what Frank did on the south side.
Shed a tear, Frank. You're our MVP
11. Now to the real-life Cardinals. Do you see them continuing their strong play (knowing they can't face the Brewers every game) and taking the division over the Reds? Where do you see their season ending?
As long as the pitching holds up in STL and everyone stays healthy, I think it's going to be a two team race all year long. I think the Cardinals offensive struggles will come around, and at some point in time they'll settle the bullpen down as well.
I'll say Cards win the division (barring huge injury to a major player) and bow out in the NLCS against the Nationals.
Cards look pretty good, but I still say the Central belongs to Cincy.
Unless Yuni B has something to say about it.
12. What do you think of the job Bud Selig has done in his tenure as commish? How do you compare Commissioner Bud Selig to Commissioner Jeffrey Erbes?
I've never been a big fan of Selig, I mean why is a guy who was associated with the Brewers in charge of the entire league? The ASG tie is the mess that sums up his stay in office.
Honestly, I don't think that Erbes can do much worse that Selig...as long as he keeps up his standing by his word. If he starts swaying things, random sims, etc, he might go downhill to Selig territory.
Bud is awesome. We're practically besties with how many times we've met. (it's twice)
Speak up. Bud's getting old.
13. What do you think of electing players to the BBSBL HOF based on their real-life numbers (e.g. Paul Molitor). Should they get in based on those merits, or should it be strictly based on sim numbers?
BBSBL hall of fame comes from BBSBL players. Everyone who was in the hall of fame when the BBSBL started is in the BBSBL hall of fame. The guys who overlap I'd say are in, just because OOTP likes to kill older players before it should.
I don't really care. It will be a lot more fun when we're actually voting for guys that were involved in the sim though.
14. If you could choose one real-life MLB player to make the HOF who has failed to make it in the past (or is banned), who would it be and why?
Personal favorite: Willie McGee. Was my favorite player growing up. Who was that big World Series against that he shined early in his career?
Other: Pete Rose. Another reason I'm not a fan of Bud Selig.
I'd say Shoeless Joe and Pete Rose.
This belongs at Cooperstown.
15. Encompassing all aspects of the experience, what is the best MLB park you have been to? Which park do you most want to visit that you've never been to?
This is a tough one. I've been to:
Atlanta
St Louis (2)
Chicago Cubs
Detroit
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
Boston
New York Yankees
Tampa
Texas
Visiting this summer:
Philadelphia
Baltimore
Washington.
So far I'd say my favorite stadium is either Boston or Pittsburgh. Beautiful stadiums, awesome experiences.
Favorite memory from a stadium: Cardinals vs Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Roger Clemens 300 win, 4000K game. Paid for the ticket it, but because my buddy and I had our Cardinal jersey's on, a few nice Yankee fans bought our food and drinks at the game all night long. Not what I was expecting in New York.
Yep, Boston and Pitt are both awesome. I like Busch too. I'd love to get to a game in San Fran or Baltimore though.
16. And finally, who is your favorite musician currently?
Current favorite musician? That's a tough one...I listen to all kinds of country music, so Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert and the likes.
Of all time?
I got hooked on the Eagles at some point in time, Bon Jovi always jumps out at me as well as Garth Brooks.
Hmm, I could definitely see you being a country guy. I think I know two Jason Aldean songs.
This is him.
That's it. Til next time. Thanks Matt!
