The 2012 Strat-O-Master League Chat Room

Tuesday, 11-11-14:

LAST NIGHT:

2nd place Eastbound stunned 1st place Pollard with a 3 game sweep closing the gap in the East to 1 game.

Ballwin took no prisoners as they smoked the Cigaros in a series sweep. We have a new sheriff in town as the Gators took over 1st place in the Central by 1 game. It's been a long time since we saw a name other than Small Ball holding the top spot in that division. 1st place Havana still maintains a solid 3 game lead in the West.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST NIGHT:

Alex Rios rifled a 1 out double in the bottom of the 12th inning to give Ballwin a 5-4 walk off win over Havana in game 2 of their series.

Down by 1 run with 2 outs and nobody on in the bottom of the 9th, NKP had four straight batters hit safely - capped by John Jaso's 3 run homer - resulting in a 5-2 victory over BOSTON in game 2 of that series.

misslonlyhearts' Jake Peavy is now 16-9. He is tied for the league lead in wins.

Kris Medlin of Ballwin won for the 15th time against 9 losses.

Eastbound's Clayton Kershaw won his 15th game. He has lost 11 times.

Jonathan Papelbon of 5th Avenue picked up save number 34 to tie him for the lead in that category.

NEVER SAY DIE:

The District Arsenal is 6-2 in their last 8 games. Despite their unlucky start, I never had the feeling that they threw in the towel. The Arsenal have done a number on me winning 7 of 12 games.

THE CONTROVERSIAL TRADE:

Golden Tongue has taken some heat via "in box" correspondence today. The Havana owner asserts that he did not conspire with src5104 to upgrade the talent on his team. I take him at his word. Thus, all Golden Tongue did was to accept a really good deal. As I said two nights ago, it would be nice to hear from the Pittsburg owner. It's obvious why Havana agreed to the trade. I would have done so too. The question is, what motivated src5104 to be involved in such an absurd deal?

TONIGHT'S FEATURED MATCH UP:

In the hotly contested East Division, misslonlyhearts will play at Eastbound. 3rd place nate's west is 2 games out of 1st, while the Down are just 1 back.

The only conspiracy in our league is the one with ALL THE OWNERS against ME. Any fool could see there's no collusion because I wouldn't have given up Wainwright to him for free earlier in the season. Now Pittsburgh has Wainwright and Keppinger for Rodney. If Rodney and Posey were so valuable, they wouldn't have been passed around the league so many times like a cheap dirty whore.

I have now won the championship of this league by DEFAULT. It has been universally recognized that the team I had was too GREAT and required a trade reversal. I WIN !!!

...I have now won the championship of this league by DEFAULT. It has been universally recognized that the team I had was too GREAT and required a trade reversal. I WIN !!!

Well I was on your side until this. If it makes you feel better to pat yourself on the back and gloat over something you haven't done or earned, then your problems go a lot deeper than SOM. How old are you, 12?

The post that Pollard is referring to wasn't meant to garner support or acceptance from any of the league managers. I succeeded with my intent, which is clear.

If Pollard wants to side with other managers who whine about a fair trade, then so be it. I WILL act like an adolescent when I say, "They started it". And yes, these managers have brought me DOWN TO THEIR LEVEL. This is the greatest case I have ever witnessed of other participants being SORE LOSERS, especially because I hadn't even "won yet", like Pollard is claiming. However, if the shoe fits, wear it...

Here are the payrolls (roster value) and record of every team...

Pollard............$123,250,000....71-61.....6th in payroll
Eastbound........$133,770,000....70-62.....2nd in payroll
misslonlyhearts..$132,130,000....70-62.....3rd in payroll
5th Avenue.......$110,380,000....64-68....10th in payroll

Small Ball........$124,000,000....70-62.....4th in payroll
Ballwin KAW's...$139,020,000....68-64.....1st in payroll
Boston Bees......$123,680,000....67-65.....5th in payroll
The District.....$109,410,000....52-80....11th in payroll

Havana..........$108,410,000....71-61....12th in payroll
NKP..............$122,780,000....67-65.....7th in payroll
Pittsburg........$113,180,000....62-70.....9th in payroll
ARIZONA........$114,160,000....62-70.....8th in payroll

My team is DEAD LAST in payroll. What am I doing wrong? Really?

Wednesday, 11-12-14:

LAST NIGHT:

In a headliner match up involving East Division teams, misslonlyhearts went 2-1 against Eastbound. This series featured two extra inning games - the Down winning game 1 in 12 innings and nate's west taking game 2 in 13 innings. Both teams are now tied for 2nd place just 1 game out. Pollard - who has held 1st place in this division for nearly the entire season - must be feeling the heat as they try to hold on for their playoff life.

Havana - mired in controversy over a recent trade - is made of teflon as they swept their division rival and one of their most vociferous critics - ARIZONA. The Cigaros - tied with the best record in the league at 71-61 - upped their lead in the West to 4 games. Meanwhile, the last place DESERT fell to 11 back.

Small Ball's absence from 1st place was short lived as they swept the lowly District team. The Wonders retook 1st place in the Central by 1 game. The Arsenal are 18 out in the same division.

In a Central Division match up, BOSTON just keeps buzzing back to life as they swept Ballwin out of their one day occupation of 1st place. The resilient BEES are in 3rd place - 3 games back. The Gators tumbled to 2nd place - 2 behind the leader.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST NIGHT:

BOSTON starter Kris Medlen won improving his record to 15-10.

Reliever Junichi Tazawa of Havana is now 10-4.

5th Avenue's Jonathan Papelbon saved 2 games and now has 36 for the season.

TRANSACTIONS:

Taking the high road with his actions but not with his words, Golden Tongue returned two of the players he received in his recent controversial trade with src5104.

Havana sent Buster Posey (9.79M) and Aramis Ramirez (7.85M) back to Pittsburg in exchange for Wilin Rosario (3.69M) and Dioner Navarro (2.12M).

GUILTY PARTY?

We finally heard from the Pittsburg owner via the "in box" concerning his involvement in a controversial transaction with Havana. After trying to rationalize the appropriateness of last Sunday's exchange of players that was detrimental to his team, src5104 stated that he has made worse trades. Considering that assertion, I think the animosity being directed at Golden Tongue may be misplaced. Perhaps src5104's apparent incompetence makes him the person at fault in this matter. That doesn't justify the unseemly rants made by Golden Tongue, but he was being criticized about the trade - conceivably without just cause. Based on the success of his team, it seems likely that the Havana owner is a very competitive person. Presuming Golden Tongue did nothing other than to accept a trade that was favorable to the Cigaros, his being on the defensive doesn't surprise me. Like the song from the 1960's says, maybe we should all just "give peace a chance".

TONIGHT'S FEATURED MATCH UPS:

Three significant inter-division series will play out this evening.

In the East, Pollard goes to Eastbound. Beset by major injuries, the Kangaroos have staggered as of late seeing their 1st place lead dwindle to just 1 game. The 2nd place Down have an opportunity to knock Pollard out of its roost and become the new head honcho in their division. Eastbound is 8-7 against the "Roos" this season.

In the Central, 1st place Small Ball is on the road against 3rd place BOSTON. The BEES are a series sweep away from a tie for 1st place. Small Ball and BOSTON are 6-6 against each other.

In the West, Havana has a chance to deliver a knockout punch by taking the series from 2nd place NKP. The Cigaros - up by 4 games - could hammer the final nail in the coffin of the Zorros. The series is tied thus far at 6 games apiece.

Rosario was one of my Top 10 draft picks. Posey didn't get drafted until the waiver period. Doesn't that tell you something? Or are you deliberately being obtuse and ignorant, akw8931?

I don't even understand how to increase my payroll without making an "uneven" trade. I have to accept it because the computer didn't draft me high priced players like the other teams? I'm being forced to keep a team with a small payroll because the other teams were just "blessed"? If someone tried to hold me back like that to my face in real life, I would probably kill them. The team managers in this league don't understand principles.

I only wish my "rants" were as cute as akw8913's sarcastic, snide remarks...

Thursday, 11-13-14:

LAST NIGHT:

In the main event, Pollard - for the time being - staved off an attack to unseat them from the top of the East Division by defeating the Down 2 games to 1. The Kangaroos now find themselves 2 games up on both Eastbound and misslonlyhearts.

BOSTON swept Small Ball. The persistent BEES - sometimes down, but never out - completed their comeback march to the top of the Central Division as they are now tied for 1st place with the Wonders.

2nd Place NKP is still breathing after taking 2 of 3 from 1st place Havana. Each game was decided by 1 run. The Cigaros have a 3 game lead over the Zorros in the West.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST NIGHT:

Adam Jones pounded a 2 out double in the bottom of the 13th inning giving ARIZONA a 3-2 walk off win over Pittsburg in game 2 of their series.

Havana's Edwin Encarnacion hit home run number 47 tying him for the league lead in bombs.

Felix Hernandez of Eastbound won for the 17th time. He's lost 8.

Pollard's Mike Fiers was a winner. His record stands at 15-6.

Reliever Junichi Tazawa of Havana now has 11 wins against 4 losses.

5th Avenue's Jonathan Papelbon saved 2 games giving him a league leading 38 for the season.

STRAT-O-MASTER LEAGUE COMPETITION:

We asked for master strategists to join our league and that's what we got. With 83% of the season completed, 8 of 12 teams are either in 1st place or within 3 games from the top. In the East, 2 games separate the top 3 teams. In the Central, 1 game separates the top 3 teams. Havana holds a 3 game lead in the West. It doesn't get much better than that folks.

The best winning percentage among the teams is only .541 - a clear indication that no one has truly dominated this league. The District Arsenal - who got off to an unfortunate horrendous start losing 17 early season games in a row - has never played out the string. They have gone 16-12 in their last 28 games.

As we close out the season, keep the pedal to the metal and make the master strategist who ultimately wins this competition earn the title of "Strat-O-Master".

ROSTER FINALIZATION:

No more roster changes after game 142. As such, once the games begin on Saturday night, your roster will be frozen. So, if you need to fine tune, now is the time to do it.

TONIGHT'S FEATURED MATCH UP:

Small Ball hosts Ballwin in a Central Division contest. The Wonders are tied for 1st place, while the Gators are just 1 game back.

Friday, 11-14-14:

LAST NIGHT:

In the Central Division, Small Ball - feeling the heat from BOSTON - spanked Ballwin 3 games to none. The Wonders remain tied for 1st place with the BEES - 4 games up. The 3rd place Gators fell to 4 games back.

In another Central match up, BOSTON took 3 from the District. The BEES swarmed to their third straight series sweep as they maintained their 1st place tie with Small Ball. The 4th place Arsenal are a woeful 19 games behind.

In the East, Pollard is on the run as they lost 2 out of 3 to misslonlyhearts. The mighty Kangaroos stronghold on 1st place has dwindled to just 1 game. nate's west took over sole possession of 2nd place - 1 game out.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST NIGHT:

Here in crunch time BOSTON has swept (what I believe is a Strat-O-Master League record) three straight series. They were 1-6 before going on this recent rampage.

In game 1 of their series, misslonlyhearts scored 19 runs on 22 hits against Pollard's suspect pitching staff. In a 7 run 4th inning, the first 9 batters for nate's west reached base safely. misslonlyhearts put crooked numbers on the scoreboard in 5 separate innings. In 0 innings of work, the Kangaroos' Chris Seddon gave up 4 runs on 5 hits.

5th Avenue held Eastbound to a total of 3 runs in winning their series 2 games to 1.

BOSTON allowed only 6 runs in their sweep of the District.

Havana's Edwin Encarnacion swatted 3 home runs as he took over the league lead in that department from Pollard's Adam Laroche. Encarnacion now has 50 dingers to Laroche's 48.

Felix Hernandez of Eastbound is on his way to a 20 victory season after picking up number 18 last night. He has lost 8 times.

5th Avenue's Jonathan Papelbon saved his 39th game of the season.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO "SAINT" DAVID ORTIZ?

Since nominating David Ortiz to sainthood because of his miraculous ability to evade injury despite a high risk injury number on his card, he has been hurt 4 times and has free fallen from 1st place to 10th place in the Strat-O-Master League's home run derby. Ortiz now trails the leader by 13. Oh how the mighty have fallen. I think we'll withdraw that nomination.

TONIGHT'S FEATURED MATCH UPS:

At the top of the list, two teams tied for 1st place in the Central Division battle it out. After winning 9 straight in their cozy home park (including 3 over the Wonders), BOSTON must now travel to meet Small Ball on their home turf. The BEES are only 31-38 away from Progressive Field while the Wonders are 42-27 at home.

In the West, 2nd place NKP - 4 games out - is on the ropes again and 1st place Havana gets another opportunity to administer the knockout punch.

Eastbound and misslonlyhearts will meet in an East Division encounter. The 3rd place Down are 2 games back. 2nd place nate's west is just 1 behind the leader.

So since I took the time a week ago to tabulate all of our injury statistics for your amusement, here are the injury leaders from the last week's worth of (21) games:
Pollard Kangaroos-55
Small Ball Wonders-40
5th Avenue Green Team-23

And here are the overall totals to date:
Pollard Kangaroos-183
Pittsburg Cubs Nats A's 2-143
Eastbound and Down-131
Small Ball Wonders-128
5th Avenue Green Team-121
Ballwin KAW's Gators-115
NKP Zorros-109
Havana Cigaros-97
ARIZONA DESERT-93
misslonlyhearts nate's west-58
BOSTON BEES-42
The District Arsenal-38

Individually, here are the current leaders:
Giancarlo Stanton, Pollard Kangaroos - 49
Jon Jay, Ballwin KAW's Gators - 42
St. David Ortiz, Pollard Kangaroos - 38

Why did I have to go and open my mouth? I'm such a dope!