Saturday, June 25, 2011

5th and FINAL Power Rankings of Season 19

1. Boston EliteDucks(103-47)--With the #1 seed all locked up Boston will just stroll on into the playoffs. Will the repeat?
Previously Ranked: 2nd(+1)

2. Louisville Sluggers(103-47)--With their magic number at 1 the Sluggers hope to get it out of the way and then gear up for the playoffs!
Previously Ranked: 1st(-1)

3. Buffalo Wings(90-60)--The Wings have clinched their division. They still have something to play for though trying to get the bye over Salem.
Previously Ranked: 3rd(E)

4. New Orleans Freebeads(91-59)--The Freebeads are still mathematically in the race for the division and they don't have the wild card wrapped up yet, but it would be a huge upset if they don't end up the 5 seed.
Previously Ranked: 5th(+1)

5. Salem Senators(88-62)--The Senators will look to wrap up their division soon and then zero in on trying to get the first round bye.
Previously Ranked: 8th(+3)

6. Salt Lake City Buzz(87-63)--The Buzz are trying to fend off the Boise Browncoats for the AL West division title. At stake is a first round bye possibly and the loser COULD be on the outside looking in.
Previously Ranked: 7th(+1)

7. New York Torrones(82-68)--Mathematically New York hasn't clinched, but it's just a matter of time before they win this division for the 5th time in the last 6 seasons.
Previously Ranked: 10th(+3)

8. Boise Browncoats(85-65)--Boise has faltered here in the past week or so, but if they can get it together they should be able to make it into the playoffs.
Previously Ranked: 4th(-4)

9. Florida Fire Sailfish(82-68)--Florida has also faltered some in the last week, but they are incredibly talented and it wouldn't be a surprise to see them make a run at the wild card. Bottom line is that one very talented team in the AL isn't going to make it into the playoffs.
Previously Ranked: NR

10. Toronto Toros(80-70)--Talk about a team that is not playing well. The Toros fell from 6th on the power rankings and out of the teams considered for the rankings had the least amount of wins since the last rankings. Goldenboy69 needs a late push to avoid a nasty collapse.
Previously Ranked: 6th(-4)

Dropping out Iowa City Lets Play Two

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Slam Dunk MVP's???!!!

Craig Velandia and Rich White are both having superb seasons. Velandia has won the Player of the Week Award 4 out of the 6 weeks. That is just incredible. He also leads Addicted Users in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS, runs scored, home runs, and walks. In addition to that he's top 5 in RBI's, HBP's and hits. Thats for BOTH leagues. He is just playing out of this world and in my humble opinion is the slam dunk MVP in the National League.

Rich White is having an absolutely incredible season in his own right. In just his 3rd full season for Toronto White has been truly dominant. He leads the Majors in RBI's. He also is in the top 5 in the American League in home runs, triples, runs scored, stolen bases, slugging, and OPS. I think White has the AL MVP award wrapped up as well barring a complete diseaster in the last 15 games or so.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

20 questions with joshoakley

1. What should we call you?
Josh (I know, right?)

2. Any hobbies or favorite pastimes besides HBD?
I've always excelled at the bar room sports like darts and shuffleboard... If you can consider those hobbies. Love softball, which keeps me busy during the weekdays.

3. How did you fall into HBD?
I was deep into Hoops Dynasty with some friends and started to hear rumblings about HBD. I was quietly hoping they would take the HD model and create something around baseball. Once the site went live, I grabbed a team in Williams.

4. How many teams do you run? How many hours per week do you pour into your teams?
I have two now. The other is in Kinsella that I just picked up. I don't think I need two (for some reason it feels like I'm cheating on my team here with the Kinsella team) but my addiction is kinda outta hand right now. Maybe spend 30-45 minutes a day here.

5. Married? Children?
Married for just over a year now. Children down the road.

6. City/State you live in? Hometown where you grew up?
Born and raised in Los Angeles. Well, kinda. I grew up in the Pasadena area and now live in North Hollywood, but everyone just says L.A. anyway.

7. Occupation? Do you check in on your teams often during the workday?
I work for Fox Sports Net on the programming side. Primarily working with outside producers to bring content to all the FS regions. I check in with both teams about three times a day. Hard not to when I'm in front of a computer all day. Sometimes it's more.

8. Who is your all time favorite baseball player?
This is a tough one. I'm forever a Dodger fan and when I was growing up, it was Steve Sax. Through the years, its been different Dodgers. For a while, Gagne was the #1 reason to be at a Dodger game. Even though he's not a player, Vin has a big place in my heart. Outside of Dodgers, I loved Don Mattingly (give him time, he will be a great manager) and Ken Griffey Jr.

9. What makes you laugh?
My wife, Louis CK, farts, cat videos, old episodes of The Simpsons, SNL Digital Shorts, that Christmas Shoes song, Tosh.0, Deadspin.

10. Top 3 all time movies?
The Big Lebowski, Goodfellas, Swingers.

11. What popular song past/present do you most identify with?
Straight Outta Compton - NWA

12. Real baseball team you grew up loving? Still in love with them?
Dodgers. Was in the Blue Crew Fan Club as a kid.

13. Tell me 2 things you wish you knew about particular AU owners?
What their full names are and what their favorite credit card number is (don't forget the expiration date! :)

14. You're fairly quiet as an AU owner. Why?
I'm not really one to chime in on the boards unless I feel it's absolutely necessary or it directly involves my team.

15. What is your GM philosophy?
Batters: Batting Eye and splits. Pitchers: Control, a strong #1 & #2 pitch.

16. Any special meaning for your WIS nickname? Your AU team name?
I think my nickname is pretty obvious. As for my team name, when I think of New Orleans, I think of beads. And you get free beads during Mardi Gras for showing boobs. I don't know...my 13-year-old self named the team.

17. Who is/was your favorite AU owner? Why?
Don't really have a favorite. I do respect everyone who has stuck around all these seasons. We have a really strong core of owners who make it fun.

18. Which MLB Commissioner do you admire or identify with most? Why?
None really.

19. General pet peeves about the HBD game?
Coach hiring would be up there. The down time between seasons also drives me crazy.

20. If I was AU Commish for a day I would...
...be so drunk with power I'd pass out.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Rieber Column on MLB realignment

Bud Selig's reign as baseball commissioner has brought us -- for better or worse -- interleague play, the wild card, the World Baseball Classic and instant replay.
Now it seems a near-certainty that a second wild card will be added in each league and that some sort of modest realignment will take place in time for the 2012 season.
Realignment, as ESPN.com first suggested, would seem to be as simple as moving the Houston Astros into the American League West.
While we appreciate most of Selig's innovations, we'd like to see baseball go deeper with realignment.
A lot deeper. Like a 500-foot home run.
It's time to say goodbye to the American and National Leagues. It's time to abandon a structure that was established in 1903 and serves no purpose today except to prop up memories and record books with a bunch of dusty, useless numbers.
What baseball needs to do is realign geographically. Learn the positive lessons of interleague play -- that fans like to see teams play against their neighbors from not just the same city, but also from just down the road.
It's not only the two-team cities (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles) that would benefit. It's regions that have teams a short drive or quick flight apart and could develop rivalries that would grab hold of fans' attentions for generations to come.
Why should the Phillies, for example, face the Mets 18 times a year but face the Yankees only every so often during interleague play? Here's why: Because the American League came in as an upstart to the established National League in 1903 and the NL titans didn't want to play them during the season.
(Yes, that's the reason. Because we've always done it that way.)
Wouldn't Mets fans love the chance to try to score tickets for a Mets-Red Sox game at Fenway Park every year? Why don't Cincinnati and Cleveland or Kansas City and St. Louis get to fight each other for a division crown? Wouldn't the Giants and A's be able to stir up a nice, groovy Northern California rivalry if they were in the same division?
Wouldn't baseball make more money?
The first place we saw this idea during the current debate was on ESPN.com, where former Reds and Nationals general manager Jim Bowden posted a realignment scheme on his blog. We liked it so much that we copied it here with just some minor tweaks (see chart).
"I just wanted to put it out there: Has the time come where we look at the two leagues and interleague play?" Bowden, who also co-hosts the "Inside Pitch" show on Siruis/XM radio, said in a telephone interview.
"Really, we've eradicated the American and National Leagues," he said. "We're really just Major League Baseball right now. And the question comes: Is there a better way to move forward? If we're going to talk about one team moving from one league to another, is it time to take a deep breath and say, 'Would it make more sense at this point to geographically align and get less travel and a better schedule and have one rule instead of a DH and non-DH?' Is it the time?"
Selig would say it's not time because he knows it would be too much to do in one collective-bargaining season. But MLB's current thought of creating two 15-team leagues with three five-team divisions by 2012 is going to have unintended consequences that we hope will lead to more radical changes down the road:
Under one plan MLB is considering for 2012, teams would play 72 games in their division, 60 games against the 10 other teams in their league and 30 interleague games. An interleague game would be required nearly every day because of the uneven number of clubs in each league.
The howling from AL clubs about losing their DH 15 times a season instead of the current nine will only get louder and could lead to both leagues finally adopting or abandoning the DH.
Once that happens, there will be no difference between the leagues. And no reason to keep them around.

MLB EAST
Atlantic Division
---------------
Yankees, Mets,Blue Jays, Phillies, Red Sox

Southeast Division
---------------
Braves, Marlins, Nats, Orioles, Rays

Central Division
----------------
Indians, Pirates, Reds, Tigers, Twins

MLB WEST
Midwest Div
----------------
Brewers, Cards, Cubs, Royals, White Sox

Western Div
----------------
Astros, D'Backs, Mariners, Rangers, Rockies

Pacific Div
----------------
Angles, A's, Giants, Dodgers, Padres

Sunday, June 19, 2011

20 questions with Evan43

1. What should we call you?
Evan

2. Any hobbies or favorite pastimes besides HBD?
Movies, Sports (mostly watching these days), Hanging out with my girls

3. How did you fall into HBD?
I've been on the site for almost ten years. I was a real big into SimLeague Baseball. I switched over to GD for awhile until HBD came out. I joined the day they launched game.

4. How many teams do you run? How many hours per week do you pour into your teams?
I am at 4 teams right now. I just had to let one go due to time and normal family chaos. In total I spend a few hours a day checking. It just depends on the time of the season for my teams.

5. Married? Children?
My wife has three beautiful girls. The youngest is almost four; she is my girl. She always makes me laugh. Just a whirlwind of energy.

6. City/State you live in? Hometown where you grew up?
I live in central Arizona. I moved out here about 8 years ago. I grew up in Akron, Ohio, and went to college in Canton, Ohio.

7. Occupation? Do you check in on your teams often during the workday?
I work in retail. I check my teams on my droid phone as much as I can. I have to hide out in my office. I used to be able to check on my computer, but WhatIf is a blocked site now. I think I had a small hand in putting it on the company's radar. All those GD recruiting classes probably did me in.

8. Who is your all time favorite baseball player?
I love baseball. Especially the history of the game. So I have a lot of players I like. But, growing up and even now, my favorite player is Dale Murphy. I can really get worked up when I start talking about Murphy not being in the HOF. I also have to say Chipper Jones is a close second to Murphy.

9. What makes you laugh?
I love to joke around and be a smart ass. My little girl Aurelia makes me laugh all the time. I also love to watch tv and movies that me laugh.

10. Top 3 all time movies?
I think I could write an essay on this question. I did a few times in college. I am big movie buff. So to make a short answer long... Casablanca is the best movie ever made. I really like films of Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen, the Marx Brothers, Wes Anderson and the Cohen Brothers, just to name a few. So at this moment... Casablanca, Annie Hall & Chinatown.

11. What popular song past/present do you most identify with?
Something from The Killers or Simon & Garfunkel

12. Real baseball team you grew up loving? Still in love with them?
I have always been a hopeless Atlanta Braves fan. I grew up with the Cleveland Indians, so they will always have a small piece of my baseball heart.

13. Tell me 2 things you wish you knew about particular AU owners?
Where everyone is from. And does anyone else think of their players as if they are real players from time to time?

14. You're fairly quiet as an AU owner. Why?
Not a big board guy usually. I love to read whats going on, but not big on chiming in. Plus, checking at work doesn't always allow for it. The blog in this world in one of the best around.

15. What is your GM philosophy?
Win. I have a difficult time waiting and rebuilding. Splits are king. Know your players and their strengths. Every roster spot should fill a role in the machine.

16. Any special meaning for your WIS nickname? Your AU team name?
My nickname is my first name and my high school jersey number. The name Browncoats comes from an old tv show Firefly.

17. Who is/was your favorite AU owner? Why?
I can't pick just one. This truly is a great world with a very solid group of guys. I do have to give a little love to MGreenwell. He left this team in amazing shape with a boatload of talent.

18. Which MLB Commissioner do you admire or identify with most? Why?
Happy Chandler. He was the players' commissioner. He helped set up a pension fund. He also allowed Branch Rickey to sign Jackie Robinson.

19. General pet peeves about the HBD game?
Coach hiring is weak. The lack in amount of talent is the draft is stupid. DITR should happen after players sign; not the all-star break. A late pick should turn into Jake Peavy or Albert Pujols. I not saying it should happen for every team every season, but it never happens. That is unrealistic.

20. If I was AU Commish for a day I would...
Do as little as possible. This a such a great world. The commish doesn't need to do much.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

ALTON BUCKLEY SLAMS #700

Vancouver's own, Alton Buckley became just the 2nd player in AU to hit 700 home runs on Friday, June 17 during the PM cycle. Unfortunately the Villians were unable to pull out a win, but they still had something to celebrate! Congratulations to Mr. Buckley for reaching this outstanding milestone.

Friday, June 17, 2011

4th Power Rankings for Season 19

1. Louiville Sluggers(89-37)--Louiville continues to cruise through the regular season. As a team, they have a league high batting average and on-base percentage. Anything short of the ALCS will be a major disappointment for this team. (Anything short of the World Series will be a major disappointment for davidbutler9).
Previous Rank: 1st(E)

2. Boston EliteDucks(84-42)--The EliteDucks are steamrolling their way to the NL playoffs. They lead AU in walks and are in the top 5 in least amount of strikeouts. Being the defending champs anything short of the NLCS will be a major disappointment for Boston.
Previous Rank: 2nd(E)

3. Buffalo Wings(72-54)--The Wings offense is led by Gerardo Espinoza who is having an MVP type season. The very good pitching staff is led by rookie of the year candidate Sean Waters. Waters is also a serious Cy Young candidate. This team keeps getting stronger and stronger as the season goes on.
Previous Rank: 5th(+2)

4. Boise Browncoats(75-52)--The Browncoats currently own the 2nd seed in the AL. They are still in a fight for their division with the upstart Salt Lake breathing down their necks. Boise's defense continues to help out the pitching staff recording the 4th most double plays in AU.
Previous Rank: 6th(+2)

5. New Orleans Freebeads(73-53)--New Orleans is playing some excellent baseball over the past week. They have leapfrogged Florida to take over 2nd place in the AL South. They have a very good rookie, Alving Espinosa, hoping to win rookie of the year. The pitching staff has a great anchor in closer, Guillermo Sivilla.
Previous Rank: 8th(+3)

6. Toronto Toros(71-55)--The Toros have slugged themselves to the AL North division lead and are lead by MVP candidate Rich White who has just been phenomenol for Toronto. The resurgent Al Canseco has been key for Toronto as well.
Previous Rank: 7th(+1)

7. Salt Lake City Buzz(71-55)--The Buzz have riden a 13 game win streak into the power rankings for the first time this season. They not only have risen to the top wild card spot, they also are contending for the division. Salt Lake's top offense in AU is lead by Trent Crane.
Previous Rank: NR

8. Salem Senators(72-54)--Salem has sputtered a little bit having only posted the 2nd fewest wins out of the teams in contention for the power rankings. That will happen some with a team that rely's so much on their pitching and defense. Walt Paul has been awesome as the anchor of the bullpen for grissom.
Previous Rank: 3rd(-5)

9. Iowa City Lets Play Two(70-56)--Iowa City's offense has been led by silver slugger choices Babe Denny and Claude Seaton. Their pitching staff has been led by innings eater Bret Powell and by closer Teddy Benson.
Previous Rank: 10th(+1)

10. New York Torrones(67-59)--The Torrones continue to play very well at home. They have been a sub-.500 team this season on the road, but the good news is they only have 12 more games on the road. That should bode very well for them going down the stretch playing more games at home.
Previous Rank: NR

Dropping out: Minnesota Twinkies and Florida Fire Sailfish

Thursday, June 16, 2011

20 questions with brentnet

1. What should we call you?
My name is Brent... that was probably tough for most people to guess based on my screen name.

2. Any hobbies or favorite pastimes besides HBD?
I'm into quite a bit of things. I'm an assistant coach for our local HS basketball and cross country team. My newest hobby is amateur/indie filmmaking (see: www dot forthreemovie dot com)

3. How did you fall into HBD?
I think I read something Bill Simmons about WIS SimBaseball being like crack. It was except I got sick of getting beat by Bob Milacki in the playoffs.

4. How many teams do you run? How many hours per week do you pour into your teams?
I'm kind of the oddball hear. I've been here for 19 seasons with one and only team. Having more than one team feels like being in some strange Mormon/Big Love-esque marriage to me. I usually check my team right away in the morning and over my lunch break. I usually miss the PM2 shift. I don't know what the hourly breakdown is. Much more during coach signing/free agent signing/draft obviously.

5. Married? Children?
Yes - 1 kid (who turns 1 tomorrow!)

6. City/State you live in? Hometown where you grew up?
Perham, MN. Other than college, I've lived here since I was 12.

7. Occupation? Do you check in on your teams often during the workday?
I work IT... I do from time to time. Depends on what kind of day I'm having (aka - do we have any servers down and/or are people able to get their email)

8. Who is your all time favorite baseball player?
Kirby Puckett

9. What makes you laugh?
My team... the last three or four years before this year.

10. Top 3 all time movies?
Godfather 1 & 2
Scarface
Swingers

11. What popular song past/present do you most identify with?
Oh boy. All of my favorite kinds of music is music that probably shouldn't speak to a nearly 30-year old white guy living in Minnesota. My favorite band is still A Tribe Called Quest.

12. Real baseball team you grew up loving? Still in love with them?
Minnesota Twins - probably less this season than in past seasons, but yeah, they are my second favorite sports team (how embarrassing is it that the MN Timberwolves are my favorite team?)

13. Tell me 2 things you wish you knew about particular AU owners?
Nothing in particular. Just interested in knowing more about everyone.

14. You're fairly outspoken as an AU owner. Why?
I'm never mad. I just like to debate sometimes. I don't like to be called out when I don't like I'm wrong.

15. What is your GM philosophy?
Used to be grab sluggers that nobody wanted. I'm talking like 0-99-20-88-50 kind of guys. Use platoons to my advantage with that sort of thing. Then they changed the engine on me and I was (pardon my french) effed for about five seasons. I'm now trying to build a more balanced team. I don't mess with the IFA market. I don't do much trading anymore because nobody is seemingly willing to give up fifty cents on a dollar. My goal is to build a team of pitching and good hitters at the tough spots to find good hitting and fill in the gaps through free agency. My goal this past offseason was to fix my bullpen (which I did). Next year, I'm hoping to fix the rotation. Oh... and if I have money after the transaction deadline, I like to go grab old players that I used to have just because it's fun.

16. Any special meaning for your WIS nickname? Your AU team name?
When I made my first website, it was called brentnet.us. I've had the name for like 10 years now. Team name is pretty generic.

17. Who is/was your favorite AU owner? Why?
I don't know if I have a favorite. I know being in the same division for 19 years (which is really like 5-6 years, right), goldenboy and I have had some great battles.

18. Which MLB Commissioner do you admire or identify with most? Why?
NOT BUD SELIG! He tried to contract my beloved Twins.

19. General pet peeves about the HBD game?
Coach hiring sucks. I wish they could fix the timing issue... sometimes it takes two weeks to fill. You take a three day weekend away from a computer and come back and find out that your financials are set. I like the game, but I think the pre-season stuff is still pretty rough. Here's my biggest thing: GET AN APP! If I could get WIS on iPhone or Android, I'd be the happiest man alive.

20. If I was AU Commish for a day I would...
Make a new rule where everyone has to trade their two best prospects to me... kind of like PNA.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

20 questions with bbwinnow

1. What should we call you?
Brendan

2. Any hobbies or favorite pastimes besides HBD?
I play Pokémon a lot (the video games, not the trading cards) and I used to play softball at my old school. I was a pitcher and I sucked.

3. How did you fall into HBD?
I used to be a SLB guy, but I discovered HBD pretty early on. I took over my brother's team when he left the old Stargell world.

4. How many teams do you run? How many hours per week do you pour into your teams?
At one point I had three teams, but this is my only current team. I generally spend 30 minutes per day on HBD during the regular season, more in the offseason.

5. Married? Children?
No.

6. City/State you live in? Hometown where you grew up?
I live in Conway, MA (a bit closer to Boston than NYC) and have lived there since 2003. I have lived in western Massachusetts for nearly my entire life.

7. Occupation? Do you check in on your teams often during the workday?
Currently unemployed. I quit my job six months ago since I didn't have time for both it and college.

8. Who is your all time favorite baseball player?
David Ortiz. Though that's a bit obvious considering what he did in 2004. Seriously, three walk-off hits, two of them HRs, in 6 games?

9. What makes you laugh?
Watching reruns of old TV shows and seeing how stupid they seem all these years later.

10. Top 3 all time movies?
I don't watch movies all that much, and I really don't have favorites.

11. What popular song past/present do you most identify with?
"How Far We've Come" by Matchbox Twenty. It kind of fits who I am, and considering the "world is ending" theme of that song, it might mean more than that to people who thought it would end last month (during a Red Sox-Cubs series, no less!) or next year.

12. Real baseball team you grew up loving? Still in love with them?
Red Sox! They feel a bit different to me now that they won in 2004 and 2007.

13. Tell me 2 things you wish you knew about particular AU owners?
how the heck kevmax100 had 16 straight seasons in first or second place before I finished ahead of him in season 17.

14. You're fairly outspoken as an AU owner. Why?
I'm just surprised I managed to win my division at 80-82 last season. I guess I'm following in the steps of csherwood, taking the worst team in AU and turning it into a better yet not good enough team.

15. What is your GM philosophy?
Trade away prospects for guys that can win a title for me immediately. Of course, with all the Type B free agents I've had these last two seasons, I'm not quite sure which guys to keep. I'll be an 100-win team by season 21 if I keep this up.

16. Any special meaning for your WIS nickname? Your AU team name?
"Let's Play Two" comes from both the classic Ernie Banks quote and from my "Let's Play" video game walkthroughs on YouTube (though I won't give my YT username here.) My name here, bbwinnow, reflects my HBD tendencies, though this may be a coincidence since I started with SLB.

17. Who is/was your favorite AU owner? Why?
Csherwood, though he left well before I joined. There are interesting parallels between his team and mine, including two players that have played for both me and the 'Traps.

18. Which MLB Commissioner do you admire or identify with most? Why?
Bud Selig. This might be a surprise to most, but since he gave the Red Sox a chance to win in 2004 by introducing the wild card ten years earlier...

19. General pet peeves about the HBD game?
Owners who sign a lot of bad players or minor league FAs to long-term contracts then bolt after a season. On that note, guys who don't check their minors.

20. If I was AU Commish for a day I would...
institute a $20M prospect payroll cap.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

20 questions with diabeticrock

1. What should we call you?
Chris, but Rockstar works just fine ;)

2. Any hobbies or favorite pastimes besides HBD?
Enjoy writing (have a 2nd book coming out this summer) and spending time traveling

3. How did you fall into HBD?
Honestly, I don't really recall. I think I may have used one of those coupons for the college bball game during March Madness a few years ago

4. How many teams do you run? How many hours per week do you pour into your teams?
Currently I have three teams, and HBD is an adjective for PROCRASTINATION. I'd get a lot more work done if I didn't spend 18 hours a day studying the stats of my #5 starters.

5. Married? Children?
Single and any kids found richer fathers.

6. City/State you live in? Hometown where you grew up?
Temporarily back in Southeastern Michigan/Detroit, my hometown, after spending the previous 4 years in New York City. Probably heading out west to SoCal later this year.

7. Occupation? Do you check in on your teams often during the workday?
I run a charity (Diabetic Rockstar) and website (same ".com"), along with nationwide charity events, publishing endeavors (like the upcoming book), etc etc.

8. Who is your all time favorite baseball player?
Always had a thing for Kirk Gibson

9. What makes you laugh?
Is "Dumb people" an acceptable answer? I think one of the greatest joys in life is being able to find the humor in every thing.

10. Top 3 all time movies?
I'd have to probably include Swingers...Empire Records is a great, great movie...and for the hopeless romantic in me, lets go with Say Anything

11. What popular song past/present do you most identify with?
This is too hard....I am a music addict; I think my I-Tunes is up to 5,000 songs...I seriously have a song for every emotion, moment, feeling, whatever you can think of. I find a lot of myself in the very first Taking Back Sunday album, of all things, and even in some of Harry Chapin's first record.

12. Real baseball team you grew up loving? Still in love with them?
The Tigers,baby.

13. Tell me 2 things you wish you knew about particular AU owners?
1) What their weakness is, IE, the kind of player they can never say no too, and how old they all really are....Cause I swear I'm being toyed with by 12 year-olds, sometimes


14. You're fairly outspoken as a AU owner. Why?
Thats just me. I'm opinionated, vocal, stubborn, and always always fight for what I believe in....

15. What is your GM philosophy?
Offensively I'm a speed and makeup guy, pitching a groundball/pitch 2 type of guy.... My philosophy changes each time I lose, however

16. Any special meaning for your WIS nickname? Your AU team name?
I've kind of adopted "diabetic rockstar" as my alter-ego, or more appropriately as the persona I aspire to be. Its all about living life to the fullest.

17. Who is/was your favorite AU owner? Why?
Oh, none of you haha. You're all pains in my ass. But I guess Torrone, we've always had some good division battles, and now in other worlds too

18. Which MLB Commissioner do you admire or identify with most? Why?
Honestly, I don't identify with MLB commissioners in my lifetime, at least not to the point I can name more than one or two. The beauty of the game, unlike in other sports, is that the basic rules and structure never changes. Its always throw the ball, hit the ball, run around the bases...


19. General pet peeves about the HBD game?
I wish that there was a way to protect players from bad managers. Example, I just was a replacement owner and the previous guy had trotted out a 13 man MLB roster for the first 20 games. Its been 45 games and I still havent been able to use my #1 or #2starters because they are STILL at "0/0" fatigue and have no options, and aren't worth anything in the trade market right now. There has to be a way to protect players from their own selves, somehow, or give the commissioner additional ways to fix glaring mistakes

20. If I was AU Commish for a day I would...
Good question. I think a good commish lets people have passionate debates without becoming part of the debate. A good commish doesn't take sides, or argue vehemently for his/her point. The commish is the rep for all owners, just just a few.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

3rd Power Rankings of Season 19

1. Louisville Sluggers(72-31)-The Sluggers jump back into the top spot in the power rankings. They are powered behind an excellent lineup scoring runs in bunches fielding very well and still with a top 10 pitching staff.
Previously Ranked: 2nd(+1)

2. Boston EliteDucks(68-34)-Boston is thumping the rest of the competition in the NL. They are in the top 5 in runs scored and ERA. They have a great team cruising that doesn't look like it can be stopped right now.
Previously Ranked: 1st(-1)

3. Salem Senators(60-42)-Salem is riding an 11 game winning streak into these power rankings. They have a pitching staff that continues to excel and is backed up by the majors 2nd best fielding team. Their bats continue to hold them back a little, but with pitching like they have, you don't have to score many runs.
Previously Ranked: NR

4.Florida Fire Sailfish(61-42)-The Fire Sailfish continue to play very good baseball. Their pitching staff is now in the top 5 in ERA and they are backed by a capable defense. Florida has the 3rd best record in the majors and the misfortune of being in the AL South.
Previously Ranked: 6th(+2)

5. Buffalo Wings(57-45)-The Wings continue to pitch very well and their offense is starting to wake up it seems. They have moved up in their overall rankings since the last power rankings. If that continues then it could be a nice race for the 2nd seed in the NL.
Previously Ranked: 8th(+3)

6. Boise Browncoats(59-43)-Boise continues to just play very good, solid baseball. They are in the top 10 in fielding to help their pitching staff.
Previously Ranked: 5th(-1)

7. Toronto Toros(56-46)-The Toros have the best offense in the league slugging the most homers and doubles along with driving in the most runs. Great power in gb69's lineup.
Previously Ranked: 3rd(-4)

8. New Orleans Freebeads(58-45)-New Orleans has a very good offense. They are still waiting for their pitching staff as a whole to get it together a little more, but they are doing just enough to keep them in games.
Previously Ranked: 10th(+2)

9. Minnesota Twinkies(53-50)-The Twinkies have an awesome offense that is the 4th best in the league. They slug with the best of them and are one of the hottest teams in AU right now. only the Salem Senators have won more games over the past week. They are held back by a less then stellar pitching staff and a poor team defense.
Previously Ranked: NR

10. Iowa City Lets Play Two(55-48)-Iowa City continues to play behind a good pitching staff that is in the top 10. If they can get an offensive presence before the trade deadline then they may be able to make a push in the playoffs if they win their division.
Previously Ranked: 9th(-1)

Dropping out: New York Torrones, Philadelphia Chases Aces

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

20 questions with rigbystarr

1. What should we call you?
Rigby

2. Any hobbies or favorite pastimes besides HBD?
Sports in general. I watch the Pirates with my 2 year old son everytime they're on.

3. How did you fall into HBD?
I played APBA growing up. One day I was reading a forum on the APBA board and WIS was mentioned, I checked it out and I've been hooked since.

4. How many teams do you run? How many hours per week do you pour into your teams?
I have 3 teams, at one time I had 6. I put about an hour a day into my 3 teams.

5. Married? Children?
I'm a single father.

6. City/State you live in? Hometown where you grew up?
I'm from a little town, Ellwood City, it's just outside of Pittsburgh.

7. Occupation? Do you check in on your teams often during the workday?
Manager at Sears, I check my team while I'm taking a break.

8. Who is your all time favorite baseball player?
Roberto Clemente, he was always my hero.

9. What makes you laugh?
my son Max

10. Top 3 all time movies?
The Big Chill-you have to watch it at least twice to get it. Apocolypse Now- A dark Vietnam flick. Magnolia-it actually rains frogs.

11. What popular song past/present do you most identify with?
Here I go Again-Whitesnake.

12. Real baseball team you grew up loving? Still in love with them?
I am an avid Pirates fan. I attended game 3 of the 1975 NLCS against the Big Red Machine; the PIrates lost. I also attended game 4 of the 1979 World Series with the Pirates down 3 games to 1, they won that one and the Family went on to win the series.

13. Tell me 2 things you wish you knew about particular AU owners?
Anyone, how do you win a world series!?

14. You're fairly quiet as a AU owner. Why?
Good question, I don't know. I tend to send private messages rather than participate in world chat.

15. What is your GM philosophy?
Build within, probably because I'm a Pirates fan.

16. Any special meaning for your WIS nickname? Your AU team name?
Pittsburgh was taken so I decided to take the Penguins to Lake Erie. Rigby Starr, Can anyone guess how I came up with that handle?

17. Who is/was your favorite AU owner? Why?
jgarrity3, he wins with 120M payroll and never misses a beat. I know, he's in my other world, Stargell at Monument Park, but he's my biggest rival.

18. Which MLB Commissioner do you admire or identify with most? Why?
Peter Uberoth, he knew how to run a business.

19. General pet peeves about the HBD game?
Missing an event due to RL, rule 5, draft, coach hiring, etc.

20. If I was AU Commish for a day I would...
Hand it over to someone else.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

goldenboy69 first inductee into Owner's HOF!!!!

Congratulations to goldenboy69 for the being the first inductee into the Addicted Users Owner's Hall of Fame!!! goldenboy69 is the only 3-time world series winner in the world. He has won 8 division titles and 6 wild card berths for the most post season appearances as well. During those 14 playoffs he has won 3 ALCS's as well. He has succeeded in the minor leagues as well the playoffs a collective 24 times and winning the AAA world series once as well as the HiA world series once.

Additionally gb69 has been an excellent commissioner for Addicted Users. I'm not sure anyone would dispute his leadership and committment to this world. This world continue's to strive under his guidance and should continue to do so for many seasons hopefully.

Again, congratulations to gb69 for being very first member of this elite HOF!!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

20 questions with rockydawg

1. What should we call you?
Geoff

2. Any hobbies or favorite pastimes besides HBD?
Golf, fishing, walking my hounds, cooking/grilling and
aggravating my wife.

3. How did you fall into HBD?
Found it on a google search. Tried one season of a sim league, but the depth of HBD was what attracted me to the game. Used to play a little ball back in the day ( star pitcher on my T-ball team ) and lived and died baseball. So building a team from the ground up and developing players was very appealing. This was my 2nd world , Hunter was my first. I guess I became an Addicted User.

4. How many teams do you run? How many hours per week do you pour into your teams?
Got 4 teams right now. Spend about 8-10 hours a week. The wife thinks it is more.

5. Married? Children?
Married with 3 dogs ( Rocky, Marley and Kona) and 4 cats ( George, Koshka, Sammy and Sahara ) If anyone wants a cat I will give them Sahara and include a lifetime supply of food...the catch is a no-return policy:)

6. City/State you live in? Hometown where you grew up?
Reside in Raleigh, North Carolina at present. Born in Cleveland grew up in Erie, Pa

7. Occupation? Do you check in on your teams often during the workday?
I have been in retail for 33 years and rarely check during the workday.

8. Who is your all time favorite baseball player?
Have a few.
Willie Mays / Buddy Bell / Omar Vizquel / Tony Blair
Also Josh Gibson...just from the stories my Granfather used to tell me about him.

9. What makes you laugh?
My animals. They are always doing something you would not expect.

10. Top 3 all time movies?
Cool Hand Luke
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Outlaw Josey Wales

11. What popular song past/present do you most identify with?
Any Bob Seger tune.

12. Real baseball team you grew up loving? Still in love with them?
The Cleveland Indians. Started following them close when I was 10 way back in 1970. They was pretty bad. Listened to almost every game and when they were on the west coast would listen in bed with my ole transistor radio with a ear piece so my parents would not hear. Used to go to the old stadium when only a few hundred fans would show up.

13. Tell me 2 things you wish you knew about particular AU owners?
their passwords so I can change their lineups when they play me? Or I would just settle on where everyone is from.

14. You're fairly outspoken as a AU owner. Why?
I would not say I am outspoken, but do speak up if I feel strongly about an issue,

15. What is your GM philosophy?
What share my secrets on how to never win a World Series...well ok. I like pitching. Strong D and PC catchers. Good D up the middle. Power on the corners when I can. Although my philosophy does differ slightly in some of my other worlds. I don't really get into the International market much in this world and don't really sign to many "A" type FA.But that may change.

16. Any special meaning for your WIS nickname? Your AU team name?
My oldest dog is named Rocky...after Rocky Colavito. He was a rescue as all my animals are. He is 14 now. So all my teams name have Dawg in it...or will soon ( took over a team in mid season in Gibson world and have yet to change the name

17. Who is/was your favorite AU owner? Why?
Kinda hard to say, I have played with a lot of great owners in this world from the day I joined. I did not even have a full season when I joined and got a lot of great advice which I very much appreciated.

18. Which MLB Commissioner do you admire or identify with most? Why?
Kenesaw Mountain Landis....great name and he was described once by Ban Johnson as a "wild eyed nut".

19. General pet peeves about the HBD game?
Coach hiring...would also like to see more former players be coaches.
DTR's....just once would like to see one at least be a utility player.

20. If I was AU Commish for a day I would...
have 10 cent beer night!!!!