PANZER ACE 2000+ WIN CHALLENGE .... UPDATE

[Jablowmi]

Through 69 games, amazingly close so far:

[b:723b956c03]Sykes - 39 wins (C)[/b:723b956c03]
[b:723b956c03]Panzer - 38 (E)[/b:723b956c03]
[b:723b956c03]Outta LF - 38 (W)
Seanreflex - 38 (W)[/b:723b956c03]
Penngray - 37 (W)
Jablowmi - 35 (C)
IMB - 35 (C)
TRich - 34 (C)
Moodywoody - 34 (E)
Fletch - 32 (E)
Abner - 29 (E)
BJS - 23 (W)

Should be a dog fight - not many freebies on the waiver wire......

[Sykes25]

[quote:5324e20b63="Jablowmi"]

Should be a dog fight - not many freebies on the waiver wire......[/quote:5324e20b63]

Got that right. I have over 6m in the bank unused right now. Nothing worth spending money on ATM until an injury pops up.

[Outta Leftfield]

I'm going head to head with Panzer tonight. We're both 43-32. Panzer has been leading his division for a while. I just nipped into the lead last night, after battling back from a rocky start. Sykes is leading the whole league at 45-32. I would say the whole league has been pretty streaky--it's taken a while for any clear trends to emerge.

My team got off to a tough start--good hitting but bad pitching--but it has been hot lately, due to some unlikely SP pickups turning out surprisingly well (check out Show and Whitson--Dravecky's not so surprising). Panzer has started to put some distance between himself and his division, as has Sykes, but there are two teams right on my tail.

Here's my team. You can scroll to Panzer's (Monty Panzer's Trojan Rabbits) or Sykes (Hoboken Ace Dunkers.)

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/80s/team/team_other.html?user_id=72920

I know there's a way to post the standings page for a league. Not sure if this will work or not. If the link doesn't work, maybe somebody can tell me how to do it?

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/80s/league/standings.html?user_id=72920

[Jimmy_C]

Thanks Outta...the standings link worked great.

You know, I look at Panzers team...and If I started the season against a team in my division that looked like his I probably wouldn't think to worry much about it. Boy...thats an eye-opener!!

[Outta Leftfield]

I'm glad the link works--what I did was to add my team's ID number (back to the "?user" after the html on the league standings page. I guess that would work to post any league's standings....

And I know what you mean about Panzer's teams. They don't look on the face of it like intimidating teams, but it's hard to argue with the results. I think he's using some form of "complex platooning" that I don't quite understand. Complex platooning is what Bill James called the platooning used by Stengel and Earl Weaver--it's more than simple lefty/righty platooning. Everybody on the team has a role, and they are called on to perform that role when the moment arrives. Others are selected for other specific spots. For example, a certain player will play against RHP in a certain park, but not in another park. That's probably why he has 16 hitters on his roster, and has--for example-- two LH 1B's who look fairly similar to me (Evans and Davis), but who probably have very differnt roles. Kemp has been with the team since day one and has a .971 OBP, but has only 31 AB in 11 games. Something is going on here that obviously works, but I can't quite fathom how it works in practice. I'm pretty sure if I tried to imitate it, his approach would blow up in my face. :shock:

Perhaps Panzer would care to elaborate? :D

[Jimmy_C]

I love the batting order...that classic leadoff hitter...GEORGE FOSTER!! I remember seeing George at the end of his career when he was with the Mets...wobbly legs and all.

Sooooo...I have George on one of my teams and just slid him up to the leadoff spot. Why not...right? :roll:

[Panzer ace]

OL,
Looks like you figured out my strategy. Miss on 10 of my top 12 on the draft, get top pick in waivers, get bad cards with Rogers, Bosio and a few others, start 0-3 and PRESTO..lead the divsion. :o Just the way I drew it up :roll:
I have been scrambling to put together a line up and staff. I have had to try several cheaper players to get the job done. As a byproduct of that, I have a team with some depth. I have been shuffling some guys in based on the park and the pitchers. I think I have some solid cards with several players that gives me some flexiblilty. I have tried to trade Kemp for a roll player or middle RP. No takers. I dont know if no body thinks he is any good or people just dont want to trade with me. Maybe everyone just thinks I HAVE to cut him eventually. I have had very little communication from others in the league since it started. :? What has surprised me most is the lack of counter offers and lack of 'chat'. Outside of Abner , IMB (whom I have played with before) and OL, I have not gotten much of a response from anyone else. I thought there would be more 'banter' in an 'All-star' league. There have been some messages that went back and forth between other teams (some about me) where a reply was routed to me(on accident, I think).
Jimmy,
Foster IS a little odd to leadoff. He has led off vs LH because Browne was hurt for 15 games and Foster, believe it or not, has the least power and best OB% vs LH of the first 7 guys in my line up :shock: Not much speed, but great OB%.

[bjs73]

[quote:267877c57a]I have had very little communication from others in the league since it started. What has surprised me most is the lack of counter offers and lack of 'chat'. Outside of Abner , IMB (whom I have played with before) and OL, I have not gotten much of a response from anyone else. I thought there would be more 'banter' in an 'All-star' league.[/quote:267877c57a]

I've thrown a couple of tracks on my Sherman team early so I've been pretty low key in the league. :oops:

I'm in one of those situations where early on I practiced patience because I didn't believe that my cards were [i:267877c57a]that[/i:267877c57a] bad. Honestly, other than the pitching, I still don't believe that some of my guys are on terrible years. Lynn should be pushing a .480 slugging or better but he's not. Tartabull started hot and then got very cold.

After I lost 9 straight games early and then went on to lose just about every series except for maybe *2* that I can recall, the wheels fell of the bus for me and the team has been in cruise control for a while.

As far as trades go, you made me a couple of offers very early for guys that I wasn't ready to deal yet. Honestly, though, none of your offers came with any commentary on what you were looking for or why. Just blank.

The strangest offer for me was the first one when you wanted to give me HoJo for Gamble and Vandeberg. At that point, you had only given HoJo *1* AB. :?: I think I declined at that point since Gamble was my OBP leader and Vandeberg was looking good at the time but I replied in my response by saying that "I wanted to see him get more AB's first." Now that I think about it in hindsight, you probably thought that I meant Gamble getting more AB's but that's not correct.

I wanted to see you give HoJo some playing time before I would revisit the trade. I scanned his boxscores trying to find why you wanted to deal him but could only surmise that you may have let HAL chose your 3B/DH option for a series or two and he never played him. Therefore, you may have considered he was on a bad card and decided to deal him? Honestly, I would have probably loved to have been able to draft HoJo outright for Wrigley but the chips didn't fall that way.

The problem for me was I had data and performance figures rolling in for my two guys but HoJo had no data at all. I never got a response so I let it drop and you waived him not too long after that anyway.

Kemp for Carmelo tapped into my cash a little too much at the time and I really didn't have a place for Kemp. At the time, I was deciding on whether I was going to keep McGwire or pick up a lefty bat for 1B and create a platoon there with Carmelo. I was in the market for some pitching just then.

The last deal you offered: M. Young and Gleaton for Carmelo and M. Clear put me in the same boat as the Kemp deal. Gleaton was going to the waiver wire anyway and Clear wasn't looking too hot either. So, essentially it was Carmelo for Young. However, I [i:267877c57a]did[/i:267877c57a] offer you a counter - asking for Jeff Robinson instead of Gleaton.

You never did reply to that one. :?: It showed that you read it but you neither accepted it or rejected or countered or even replied. After 48 hours without a response on your end, I recinded the offer and that was it.

Now to me that is all odd. At least I gave you a response on your offers with either a definitive answer or a one liner reply and even a counter.

Don't get me wrong here. You've got my respect. Your sustained success in this game speaks for itself. You and Abner are definitely the two top dogs in this game. I just thought that I'd hear something more from you (anything) on some of these offers that you made and perhaps would have at least made a decision on the counter offer I made you. :?

[Panzer ace]

bjs,
My comments had more to do with 'banter' or 'chat' than trades. I have sent some messages and trade offers out. I sometimes get a resonse on the trade offers, but rarely a counter offer. Yours was one of 2 I have recieved. That is fine, I dont expect counter offers in most leagues. I am just surprised by the lack of talking. I guess I just expected more messages like your note about Brett when he got hurt. :lol: I am sorry I didnt get back to you about your counter offer. I was working a lot that week and just didnt do much with my teams.

PS. I dont think your Shermans just threw a track, I think they drowned in the Channel. :cry: You have had the worst luck in the league. Bad cards and bad results with good cards. Not much went right early.

[seanreflex]

Hey Panzer,
I've been rather quiet in the league --- I'm a bit humiliated actually :oops:

I started out 37-17 in this league (feeling like the 27 Yankees). Since I've gone 6-18 (now feeling like the 78 Red Sox, 14 game lead on July 1st).

I can't figure out what to do to get back on a winning track here. I'm about to start offering some trades. I'm on the ropes, have dropped out of the division lead, and at this point aren't even in the playoff picture!!

I'd take any constructive criticism that you, Abner, BJ or any of the other vets are willing to offer. I also wish I'd taken Kemp when you offered :(

And I thought that was MY message on Brett. Losing him for the season hasn't helped me at all !! That is a HUGE bat to take out of the lineup. Gaetti has been respectable though, I'll give him credit.

Don't count the Warthogs out just yet. They will fight to the bitter end!

Sean