The 2012 Strat-O-Master League Chat Room

Look at akw talking all that trash now that his team won a few games. It's about time you started winning since you got the #1 pick every round in the draft and spent one of the highest salary cap dollar totals in the league. Good luck

Sunday, 10-26-14:

LAST NIGHT:

In a featured series, Eastbound topped Small Ball 2 games to 1. The 2nd place Down are 1 out in the East. The Wonders are tied for first in the Central.

In the other profiled match up, Pollard finally figured out Havana winning that series 2-1. The "Roos" are in 1st place - 1 up in the East, while the 2nd place Cigaros are 2 back in the West.

ARIZONA swept BOSTON. The DESERT are tied for 2nd place in the West - 2 games out. In the 7th inning of game 2, ARIZONA scored 7 runs en route to a 7-6 win.

5th Avenue won all 3 of their games holding the hapless District team to 8 runs in the series. The sweep puts the Green Team back over .500 with a 41-40 record in the East.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST NIGHT:

ARIZONA'S Adrian Beltre smashed 2 home runs giving him 30 for the season - 1 behind the leader.

Jake Peavy of misslonlyhearts lost his 3rd straight as his record fell to 12-7 - still the top win total in the league.

5th Avenue's Jonathan Papelbon picked up 2 more saves giving him a league high 27.

BLOCKBUSTER TRADE:

The Pittsburg Cubs Nats A's 2 and the NKP Zorros negotiated a blockbuster trade earlier today. Pittsburg sent Brandon Moss (8.74M) and Matt Lindstrom (1.34M) to the "Z's" for Fernando Rodney (6.17M) and B.J. Upton (5.31M). Both teams have been playing well as of late.

Also today, 4.06 million dollar starting pitcher Adam Wainwright was released by Havana. Wainwright went 4-6 for the Cigaros with a 6.04 ERA and had a 1.54 WHIP. Pittsburg has picked him up.

HALF WAY:

It's the half way point in the season. In our 12 team league, 4 teams currently reside in 1st place including 2 that are tied; 6 others are 4 or less out; another is only 6 games back. It is anticipated that the second half of the season will bring much excitement as the master strategists continue their ongoing quest to attain the title of "Strat-O-Master" in this inaugural season of the Strat-O-Master League.

TONIGHT'S FEATURED MATCH UPS:

A battle of 1st place teams from the West and Central will take place as NKP hosts Small Ball.

2nd place contenders Eastbound and ARIZONA will meet. The Down are 1 out in the East; the DESERT are 2 back in the West.

VVe picked up and plan to $tart Drevv Pomeranian$ tonight. Doe$ anyone like Pomeranian$ to make an impact on the Cigaro$ ?

Tuesday, 10-28-14:

TRANSACTIONS:

On Sunday, the 5th Avenue Green Team released 7.33 million dollar outfielder Michael Bourn. As if they don't have enough offense on their team, he was picked up on Monday by the Pollard Kangaroos. Come on FALCOLN29 - give us a break.

The Chad Billingsley saga came to an abrupt end on Sunday when he was dropped by 5th Avenue after just 2 starts. He went 0-1 - giving up 10 hits and 10 runs in 5.2 innings of work. His ERA was 15.90 with a WHIP of 2.65.

STANDINGS:

What a race in our 12 team league. With 87 games played and 54 percent of the season completed, 3 teams are in 1st place with 8 others 4 or less out. THERE ARE SOME GOOD PLAYERS IN THIS LEAGUE - MASTER STRATEGISTS FOR SURE. It seems like every series is a big one. Only Pollard has been able to hold the top spot in a division for an extended period of time. But they are only 1 game up.

MISCELLANEOUS TEAM STATS - BEST & WORST:

The Ballwin KAW's Gators have the best home record at 26-16. The Pittsburg Cubs Nats A's 2 are worst at 17-25.

The BOSTON BEES perform best on the road at 26-19. The District Arsenal don't like to travel as they are 12-30.

Ballwin and the NKP Zorros have the best inter-division record at 17-10. The Arsenal are worst at 7-20.

In intra-division play, misslonlyhearts nate's west and the Small Ball Wonders lead the pack at 34-26. The Arsenal are on the bottom at 26-34.

Small Ball also has the best run differential at +59. The Arsenal are on the bottom at -101.

RESPONSE TO GOLDEN TONGUE CONCERNING DREW POMERANZ:

The Havana Cigaros picked up .57 million dollar pitcher Drew Pomeranz today. Golden Tongue has solicited comments from league members concerning this blockbuster pick up. The Cigaros are currently in 2nd place - 1 game behind NKP. I have looked at Drew's card. As owner of the Zorros, all I can say is: I wish Golden Tongue wouldn't make acquisitions of this magnitude. It's very hard for me to sleep at night knowing that my team might have to face this guy sometime in the future . By the way Golden Tongue, if Drew doesn't work out, Chad Billingsley is available . Just kidding.

TONIGHT'S FEATURED MATCH UPS:

Hard charging Eastbound meets Small Ball. The Down are in 2nd place in the East - 1 game back. The Wonders are on top in the Central - 3 games up.

1st place NKP will square off with 2nd place Ballwin in a West vs. Central affair. The "Z's are 1 up; the Gators are 3 down.

Enjoy game 6 of the World Series tonight.

Wednesday, 10-29-14:

LAST NIGHT:

In a featured game, Eastbound took 2 of 3 from Small Ball. After a short lived stay in the basement of the East, the Down have railroaded their way back into a tie for 1st place. Small Ball remains on top in the Central by 3 games.

NKP bested Ballwin 2 games to 1 in the other featured match up. The Zorros are tied for 1st in the West, while the 2nd place Gators are 3 behind in the Central.

Havana smoked the BEES with a sweep. The total margin of victory for the 3 games was only 4 runs. The Cigaros have regained a share of the top spot in the West. The once mighty BEES have fallen from their hive into 3rd place in the Central - 5 games out. There were a number of transactions by both teams before the start of this series. It seems like the crafty Golden Tongue with his rotating door roster may have out strategized GARYCOOK this time.

Pittsburg won 3 from misslonlyhearts. Since making a major trade 3 nights ago, the Cubs Nats A's 2 have gone 7-2. Although still residing in the West Division cellar, they are now only 3 games from the top spot. nate's west dwell in the East Division's cellar - 4 games out.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST NIGHT:

Pollard's Mike Fiers won and is now 12-4 - tied for the second best win total in the league.

Felix Hernandez of Eastbound improved his record to 12-5.

5th Avenue's Jonathan Papelbon picked up his league high 28th save.

Adam Laroche of Pollard hit home run number 32 - 1 behind the leader.

MASTER STRATEGIST src5104:

What a move by the Pittsburg owner. In 9 games since his blockbuster trade with NKP, the Cubs Nats A's 2 have won 7 of 9 and gone from oblivion to only 3 games out in the West. Fernando Rodney has won 1 game and saved 3 others. B.J. Upton has clubbed 4 home runs. Meanwhile, Zorros' owner akw8319 is trying to find a bigger mask to hide his face as NKP is just 4-5 since the trade .

JUST WONDERING:

When the season began, I was sending "in box" messages to everyone whenever I wrote a post in this forum. Shortly thereafter, I was chided by Small Ball owner mastermosser46 - who apparently was being annoyed by his receipt of my daily mail. I accepted his criticism and quit sending the messages. I just wonder if he ever reads these posts. Maybe I should send him a message and ask if he does .

TONIGHT'S FEATURED MATCH UPS:

Pollard (East) meets NKP (West) in a battle of teams tied for 1st place in their respective divisions.

ARIZONA will play Small Ball. The 3rd place DESERT are only 2 out in the tight West Division. The Wonders are 3 games up in the Central with the leagues best record at 50-40.

Thursday, 10-30-14:

LAST NIGHT:

In a game featuring two 1st place teams, NKP took 2 of 3 from Pollard. The slumping "Roos" were held to just 13 hits in the series. They have now lost 8 of their last 11 falling into 2nd place in the East - 2 games back. The "Z's" are 1 game up in the West.

In the other match up of interest, Small Ball continued their winning ways with a sweep of ARIZONA. The DESERT were held to 5 runs in the series and now reside in the basement of the West Division - 4 games out. The 1st place Wonders maintained their top spot in the Central - 4 games up.

The stingless BEES were run over by the out-of-control Eastbound train. The Down allowed only 4 runs in the series as they took all 3 games giving them sole possession of 1st place in the East - 2 games ahead of the pack. BOSTON, meanwhile, is 5-12 in their last 17 games. They find themselves in 3rd place - a distant 8 games back in the Central.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST NIGHT:

In the second game of their series, it took Ballwin and 5th Avenue 18 innings to decide a winner. The Gators scored 3 in the top half of the 18th to win 5 to 2.

Havana's Edwin Encarnacion slammed 3 home runs to up his league leading total to 36.

Jake Peavy of misslonlyhearts won his league high 14th game of the season. He has lost 7 times.

TRANSACTIONS:

The free agent market has been busy lately as the master strategists attempt to "tweek" their teams into division winners. 5th Avenue, Havana, Pittsburg and Pollard were all engaged in some activity today. The most significant acquisition was made by the Cubs Nats A's 2 who picked up 3.61 million dollar starter Wandy Rodriguez.

TIME TO MAKE UP GROUND:

Inter-division play resumes today making the next couple of nights an ideal time to pickup ground on the front runners. Below is the inter-division record for each team along with their overall record in parentheses:

Eastbound 13-14 (51-42)
Pollard 15-12 (49-44)
5th Avenue 16-11 (46-47)
misslonlyhearts 10-17 (46-47)

Small Ball 15-12 (53-40)
Ballwin 17-10 (49-44)
BOSTON 15-12 (45-48)
District 7-20 (35-58)

NKP 17-10 (48-45)
Havana 11-16 (47-46)
Pittsburg 11-16 (45-48)
ARIZONA 15-12 (44-49)

TONIGHT'S FEATURED MATCH UPS:

The smoke filled "cabana" will be rocking tonight as 2nd place Havana will host 1st place NKP in a West Division contest. The Cigaros are only 1 game out.

In the Central, 1st place Small Ball is at 2nd place Ballwin. The Gators are 4 games back.

Speaking of the slumping Kangaroos:
1st 48 games: 30-18 .625 - 11 series won, 5 series lost
2nd 48 games: 20-28 .417 - 4 series won, 12 series lost
... and fading fast

Friday, 10-31-14:

LAST NIGHT:

In a West Division match up, the Cigaros burnt the Zorros by sweeping them out of 1st place. Havana now holds the top spot by 2 games, while NKP licks its wounds in 2nd place.

The Gators took a bite out of Small Ball's lead in the Central Division with a 3 game sweep of the Wonders. 2nd place Ballwin has moved to within 1 game of the front runner.

5th Avenue walked all over Eastbound en route to a sweep of their series. The 3rd place Green Team is just 2 games behind the Down for 1st place in the East Division.

Pittsburg roasted the DESERT winning all 3 games in yet another series sweep. The Cubs Nats A's 2 - who just 7 days ago had the second worst record in the league and were about to be eulogized - are now tied for 2nd place in the West Division - 2 games behind the leader. ARIZONA, who scored just 6 runs in the series, has fallen into last place - 6 games out.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST NIGHT:

Omar Infante and A.J. Pierzynski hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the bottom of the 9th inning giving BOSTON a 2-1 victory over the Arsenal in game 3 of their series.

Havana's Edwin Encarnacion slammed 3 home runs. He now has 39.

Reliever Casey Fien of Ballwin picked up his 7th win against only 1 loss.

5th Avenue's Jonathan Papelbon earned his 29th save of the season.

Starter Mat Latos of the Arsenal is now a dismal 5-15.

MASTER STRATEGISTS AT WORK:

After 96 games of Strat-O-Master League baseball, only 3 teams have a record below the .500 mark. Furthermore, only 1 team is not within reasonable striking distance of taking over the lead in its division - and only because that team had an unfortunate extended losing streak when play began.

DEVIL'S NIGHT :

The night before Halloween is commonly referred to as "devil's night". That certainly held true for 1st place teams in the Strat-O-Master League as each of them were swept by their opponents on their home field.

RESPONSE TO FALCON29's POST FROM LAST NIGHT:

It's nice to see someone other than me do a post in this forum. I think we all find it interesting when an owner cites something relative to the play of his/her team that most of us wouldn't otherwise know. However, I'm holding back my tears for the poor Kangaroos, as they have only been in 1st place for about 95 percent of the season. Between Mike Fiers (who despite a so-so card is 12-5) and David Ortiz (who has injury prone numbers but has only been injured twice) the "Roos" fans should be dancing in the streets of Pollard .

WORLD WAR III:

Two teams are on fire. Havana has gone 9-2 in their last 11 games, while Pittsburg is 11-2 in their last 13. Tonight the 1st place Cigaros are on the road to play the 2nd place Cubs Nats A's 2. It should be interesting as master strategists Golden Tongue and SRC5104 square off to be the top dog in the West Division. Despite playing at home, Pittsburg is the heavy underdog winning only 3 of 9 thus far against Havana.

Well then...
The Kangaroos continued their "up and down" season by taking 2 of 3 tonight and "leaping" back into first place in the East. All puns intended.
Oh, and mostly because Zorro seems to dwell on it, Mike Fiers won his 13th game tonight

"I can't consider myself a "master strategist" because I can't figure out how to make my team WIN on the road. The players are not a bunch of young punk rookies who need to take their teddy bears everywhere when they travel. I may force the players to run laps around the stadium after every road loss from now on... ~ "Coach Fidel Castro"