so this year was going to be a long year.  pitching was weak.  i built my team solely around speed and hoped that it could be a game changer.  it was in how i managed, but not in the final results.  the pitching was just too weak.  often times i’d work hard, get a lead, but find the pen giving up the lead over and over and over.

i haven’t checked yet, and i’m not sure i want to know, but i’m pretty sure my team blew at least 10 saves during the course of the season.  if that’s the case, then i would have won 35 with a decent closer.  that would have been enough to challenge for the playoffs.

in the end, however, speed was all i had and i had a TON of it.  i’m waiting for the final stats to be tabulated, however unofficially the Tigers stole 158 bases as a team.  rajai davis was able to swipe 40 which should put him 3rd or 4th on the all time list for season leaders.  the bright spot was jacoby ellsbury.  he pilfered 46 bases to break the old record of 44 set by omar vizquel a decade ago.  he probably could have stolen more, but he went into a slump the back half of the year that he just couldn’t shake.  he finished the first half batting around .320 and ended the season around .280.  imagine if he had stayed up around .320 all year long.  i actually had visions of him taking 53-56 bases.  it didn’t happen, but he did get the record.  and the TEAM got the record.

i guess that’s all we could do this year is run.  next year will be different.  i’m not sure how potent the offense will be, but the pitching staff is already looking good.  tim hudson, cj wilson, phil hughes should anchor the staff well.  james mcdonald and john niese will be able to get some quality starts if they’re not traded.  carlos marmol had a fantastic year and will be closing many games.  sean marshall will be the perfect set up man for him.

we’ll need to fill a gap at catcher and find a new short stop.  jeter just was going to be too pricey at $33 next season and when the Tigers traded him for brandon boesch, rookie from detroit, he was batting around .340.  he went 2-for-july, august, and september and ended the season around .260.  had he stayed up, it would have been quite a coup.  instead it’s just an average, money-saving deal.

going into the FEAT, if things stayed as they are, the Tigers would need about 5 spots to fill and have nearly $145 to spend.  i have the feeling there will be some wheeling and dealing before we get to that, though.

-chief

first the voice of the new york yankees, bob sheppard. nicknamed “the voice of god” by reggie jackson, sheppard was the public address announcer for the yankees from 1951-2007.  his 57 years in the booth was a legacy of consistency and professionalism.

with his distinctive cadence and understated style became a hallmark in an era that usually goes over the top.  derek jeter asked to use the recorded voice of sheppard’s after the long time announcer retired.  bob was 99 years old at his passing.

once derek jeter retires, the voice of bob sheppard will forever be silenced.  i’ve been to yankee stadium.  i got to hear him (was there in 2003).

how i wish i could have been there in the 70’s to here him say, “the catcher, number 15, thurman munson, number 15.”  bob, you’ll be greatly missed.

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two days later, long time yankee owner, george steinbrenner had a massive heart attack.  steinbrenner was 80.  a lightning rod of attention and controversy, steinbrenner always had an opinion.  he was genuinely harsh and hard nosed when it came to business.  he was zealous for championships and determined that they could be manufactured with shrewd, calculated usages of his immense wealth.  when he bought the yankees in 1973, the purchase price was $8.8 million (after CBS bought two garages back from him at $1.2 million).  at his passing the ball club was valued around $1.6 billion.  the man new how to make money.

surrounded in controversy most of his time with the yankees, he brought the yankees back from a mediocre club to a revived dynasty.  from my friends and acquaintances i found myself often defending him.  they felt he destroyed baseball with outrageous salaries and a penchant for trying to “buy a pennant”.  my response has always been simple and straight forward:  there is no salary cap in baseball.  there should be, but there isn’t.  if you had unlimited funds and were determined to put together a championship baseball team, what would you do?

it seems most of the people i ask are much like those utopian leaders you hear about all over the world. they would keep the salary structure the way it was, not inflate salaries and donate all their profits to third world countries.  i don’t mind people hating the yankees, but don’t do it under the guise of “a greater good”.  you’re just being a hypocrite and we BOTH know it.

good bye, george.  i wish you hadn’t fired billy martin so many times, but i do thank you for bringing winning traditions back to the greatest professional baseball club of all time.

-chief

if you’ve been living under a rock, last week the detroit tigers pitcher retired the first 26 batters.  the 27th batter hit a ground ball to first base.  miguel cabrera flipped the ball to galarraga, covering first base, for the final out and sealed the perfect game.  right?  NO!  the umpire missed the call and gave the SAFE sign.  he could not be swayed in his decision.  it wasn’t until after the game that the umpire, watching the replay and realizing the batter was out by a full step, admitted the error of his call.  with tears in his eyes he said, “i cost the kid a perfect game.”

the debate then raged over why the major leagues are the last professional sports league in the world to move towards instant replay.  the debate over instant replay pulled in this 27th batter that should have been out.  if they could see that he was out, beyond any doubt, why not overturn the call anyway? galarraga wanted it overturned (though being a true professional and sportsman about the whole situation).  the umpire and umpire association said it should be overturned.  EVEN the hitter said it should be overturned.  but for bud.

bud selig stood his ground and said, through sources because he’s a coward with the spine of a jellyfish, “it’s unfortunate, but the call stands.”

really bud?  REALLY?  baseball was the number one sport years ago.  everyone talked or watched the sport forty years ago.  now baseball programs around the U.S. struggle.  once you could find a game going on any vacant lot.  every kid had a glove and every kid dreamed of the game.  now most are into basketball, soccer, or in texas, football.  The other sports have eclipsed baseball a long time ago and there appears to be no turning back.  the only lure baseball still has to the youngsters of today is the hope they could land a big, front loaded contract with a nice signing bonus.

as i stated at the beginning, i’m finding myself in a huge minority amongst zealous baseball fans.  in spite of alleged runs being changed innings later within a game because the umpires changed a ruling later, in spite of games like the Pine Tar incident having two innings COMPLETELY replayed, people are insistent on letting a horrid call stand on this game.  galarraga even retired the 28th batter.  it’s not like everything fell apart after that. having the opportunity for a great PR move, and bringing justice to an injustice, bud selig, wimp that he is, hid in his office and sent word that he was fine with the ruling on the field.  way to go, selig.  you’re a jerk of a commissioner and an example of the worst baseball has to offer.

among the casual fans whom i’ve discussed this, every one of them, EVERY ONE OF THEM,  has said the same thing i did:  overturn the call.  make it right.

another black eye for baseball and the former great game slips further away from being America’s great game. but hey, at least it’s still more popular than hockey.  but that’s only because if you’re south of the Canadian border, most don’t understand the rules.

-chief

i’m in that group, but i don’t think they’re one of the best bands ever. i think they ARE the best band ever.  they weren’t the greatest of musicians, but they knew how to craft a melody and align the lyrics that would turn the music world on it’s ear.  elvis may be the king of rock and roll, but the Beatles are the ones that solidified it’s position and then elevated the overall music quality.

elvis hit with a splash and brought about a lot of flash in the pan artists, but when the beatles came along, rock-n-roll was in a funk.  elvis was in the army and music nearly sucked.  the Beatles brought in their version of what america’s rock had started and took it to a whole new dimension.  if you’re not quite believing me yet, take a good hard look at rock-n-roll from 1960 until the Beatles hit the scene in america.  BORING.

while they may not have been the best musicians, i think we all owe george martin a huge thanks for getting ringo.  they were a big local band with pete best, but i don’t know they would have reached their pinacle with him as drummer.  not that ringo was great by any stretch, but he was better than best, pun definitely intended.

i stumbled across this little pie chart nugget this morning which is what prompted this Beatles post.  it’s a poignant reminder of how the Beatles approached all of their lives: with a simplistic humor that was immensely contagious to all of their listeners.

i’ve told my kids thousands of times not to do drugs.  i would never tell them otherwise.  but i always thought the Beatles music took a significant upturn when they progressed from the “gateway” drugs into the harder stuff.  it’s amazing they escaped from this era with their minds somewhat in tact.  many of the late 60s music stars lost their lives, figuratively and literally, in the world of substance abuse that is so deeply intertwined in all of rock music.

there are some who just don’t care about the Beatles or their music.  i don’t trust those folks.  they’re either idiots or egomaniacs proving themselves by standing against the tide.  i’m not one who encourages following for following’s sake, but the Beatles really did put out great music.  it’s been re-created by modern musicians in every flavor of music and regardless of style, it’s still magnetic.

while paul may have been lost in the world of silly love songs john was lost in some ethereal utopian dream.  both of their music lived well beyond the groups disbanding (curse you, yoko!).  george and ringo did ok on their own, but it was paul who continued to hit the charts with Wings and then with his solo stuff.

paul will always be my favorite musical artist and it’s amazing to me that he charges into his latter 6th decade with a zeal for writing and performing still.

NOW, what does all of this have to do with the FEBC?  well, nothing really.  but there was a time when we almost went a different route.  instead of the Fat Elvis Baseball Collective, we were almost the Beatles League.  the thought behind it was (tongue in cheek) there would be four divisions, just like the Beatles when they broke up.  instead, the FEBC is now in it’s 12th season and the Beatles are playing on my iPod rather than in a baseball league.

-chief

]]> http://fat-elvis.com/wordpress/ladies-and-gentlemen-the-beatles/feed/ 0 http://fat-elvis.com/wordpress/tabletop-baseball-games-a-dying-addiction/ http://fat-elvis.com/wordpress/tabletop-baseball-games-a-dying-addiction/#comments Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:29:46 +0000 -chief http://fat-elvis.com/wordpress/?p=925 i tried to get my son, who LOVES baseball, into my hobby.  i’ve been playing tabletop baseball games for over thirty years now.  in one format or another, they’ve occupied a great portion of my life.  the idea of me being able to manage the “big leaguers”, setting lineups, adjusting rotations, calling for a stolen base or hit and run in critical times, or simply making a defensive adjustment late in the game are all things that keep me coming back.  i’m the founder and commissioner of the Fat Elvis Baseball Collective, but it’s far from my first venture and probably won’t be my last in the world of tabletop gaming.

as i started this blog i mentioned that i tried to get my son into it.  he LOVES baseball.  maybe more so than me even (if that’s possible).  but he hated it.  it bored him.  give him a video game.  who cares if the scores are ridiculous?  who cares if stats are outrageous?  who cares if the results are preposterously unrealistic?  he doesn’t.  but i do.  my hunt for the next great game on the market continues year after year.

it started in 1979 when a friend of mine loaned me his 1978 set of Statis Pro Baseball (called Major League Baseball back then) by Avalon Hill.  the cards were based on the 1978 season.  my Yankees against anyone was a great game.  Guidry winning 25 games.  amazing.  Munson, the gritty, hard-nosed catcher, incredible.  the rest of that lineup.  i loved it. even now i want to dig it out and start flipping those fast action cards.  how realistic was it?  more so than today’s video games.  i’m sure it wasn’t as close to realistic as it COULD have been (there’s a newer version out that is touting extreme accuracy as it’s morphed into a more potent game).  but at the time, it was very cool.  not as popular as strat-o-matic.

i tried SOM.  whether it’s because i never gave it a GOOD try or maybe i overlooked some stuff or maybe i just needed to play against someone else who knew the game better than me.  i didn’t care for it.  the fact that there was a basic and an advanced version was automatically a turn off.  baseball should be full on from the get go.  here you could play kiddie ball (basic) or the real deal (advanced).  i think there was a play with bases loaded with on outs.  my batter hit into a double play, but i couldn’t find which players were out and if the run scored.  that was the end of that.

APBA was another one that crossed my path.  it bothered me that i couldn’t look at a card and tell whether the player was good.  allegedly if i had played the game long enough, i’d be able to figure it out.  it wasn’t enough to keep my interest and it hit the closet quickly (then eventually the trash can).

Longball was cool, though i never got through the rules in order to play this game that had Reggie Jackson donning the box cover.  oh, the pangs of an ADHD mind.  i’m sure it’s kept me from many fun activities and this game may have been one of them.  even as an adult i bought this game on ebay hoping to recapture my youth and finally figuring this game out.  now the H is gone from my ADHD body, but the ADD is still there and the “new” old game is setting in my office closet.

Sherco was cool with it’s field lay out.  with some “simple instructions” you could even design your own ball field.  but it did give you the 26 current stadium dimensions and using a string you could outline the “wall”.  then you could position players where you thought they’d be best suited for each play.  did they have enough range to get to where the ball would fall?  could they make the throw to keep the runner from advancing?  it all seemed too mathy and found it’s way to the dust pile.

Pursue the Pennant is the game that pulled me away from Statis Pro.  the beauty of the walls allured me much like the confines of cozy wrigley entice power hitters.  it’s still a thing of beauty and i only wish the game had been so popular it could have continued.  a former FEBC owner recently bought the rights to the games with promises to bring it back, but it remains a historical mark in the baseball game world for the last two years since his purchase.  i’m confident in my knowledge of this man that the game will never be revived — at least not by him.

after PtP went the way of a disbanded company, i fell in love (sort of) with Dynasty League Baseball.  over the years i’ve come to see it’s flaws and wrinkles.  whether it’s because i’m older now or just because there’s nothing on the market touting to be better, i’m inclined to stay with it.  whether it’s the roll of the dice or the various leagues i’m in (or have been in) — this game has become as much me as i’ve become it.  whether i’m playing a game with players from the 1970s, 1990’s, 2000’s, or 2010, i know how to “evaluate” the player and try to get the most of him in whatever situation i find myself managing.  when i first started playing i simply went by players reputations and hard stats.  but over the years i’ve become a numbers counter.  in a way it takes the mystique from the game.  even with all this knowledge, i still find myself with only one championship in 20 years worth of league play.  so knowledge isn’t everything.

i’m always looking, though.  several companies started up after PtP went under as they re-invented the game by building it backwards and figuring out the game engine.  one is free, another couple charge, but they’re all very similar.  each game out right now has it’s own little quirk that i like. for instance, Triple Play Baseball puts a dollar amount on each player’s card.  that’s the “value” of that player.  it’s for league play where a salary cap is involved.  the number is for beginning bidding purposes.  interesting.  i like it.

the latest game i’ve heard about is Ball Park Baseball.  it’s been around since the late 50’s and was even played by Bill James.  allegedly it’s the closest game to realistic results as any out there.  at least according to it’s followers.  and while i’d like to see if it’s true, the price is something ridiculous.  i tallied up the parts, cards, charts, ballpark cards, dice and for one season it’s something like $140.  even now that number makes me choke.  i guess i could get a couple of teams and the pertinent game parts and try it out.  but that’s like sniffing a cherry pie and deciding whether it’s going to be good or not.

what is your experience?  played any of these games?  played ones i didn’t mention?  when did your hobby begin?

i don’t know of any kids that play these games.  seriously, i don’t know of any.  they all love the video arcade games.  i can’t help but look at the stats and think, “that would NEVER happen.”  i tried playing my son in one of his games on play station.  somehow i’m a horrible baseball player/manager because i can’t remember which button is for home or second base.  it shouldn’t be about timing a joy stick.  it shouldn’t be about hitting the right button to throw the ball to the right base.  so i’ll stick to the table top games.

the only thing i know for sure is life without tabletop baseball gaming would be boring to me.

-chief

When he started trying to buy land in Brooklyn, he was met with the uncompromising hand of Robert Moses who was determined the site of the new Dodgers Stadiums would be in Flushing Meadows.  There are those that will debate on both sides of this issue.  Was Moses right in the Queens site being the place the Dodgers should have moved?  Was O’Malley acting responsibly and ethically in all of his dealings?  I’m sure the answer to both of these questions is ‘No’.

One thing that I thought was interesting in reviewing this story (which is MUCH more detailed than I’m going to go into here) is that O’Malley was intending on paying for the new Brooklyn Stadium with private financing (nearly unheard of in today’s baseball market).  Allegedly, anyway.

And the other thing I found fascinating was that it was going to be the first retractable domed stadium in the majors.  There would be openings on the sides to allow outdoor air and the roof was intended on being a clear geodesic design that would open in the center if weather permitted.

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An old joke often told in the Brooklyn area:

If you are in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and O’Malley and you have a gun with only two bullets, who do you shoot?

O’Malley twice.

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Robert Moses wouldn’t budge, O’Malley couldn’t get clearance and finally gave up.  In 1958 the Dodgers, who had played a handful of games in New Jersey during the 1957 season as part of a bargaining ploy, packed their bags and headed west. Fifty two years later it’s hard to think of the Dodgers as anything other than Los Angeles, but there was a time when Brooklyn had a team affectionately known as the ‘Bums’.

-chief

LEGEND

-chief

here we are, in the middle of week one of the league’s 12th season and i’m still without my set.  granted, i get a reduced rate due to some computer crunching and file manipulations, but this is past ridiculous.  frustrating is exactly the word i would use.  due to the reduced cost i pay, i’m generally last to get the cards shipped.  i’ve been promised the cards now for about four weeks.

meanwhile i’ve been ferociously attacking the last portions of the website to get it up to speed.  i believe i’m there.  sure there are minor things, but what needed to be done for the season’s start up has already been added to the site and games are starting to be played.  so all good on that front.  but i AM anxious to start playing games.  if for nothing else, i want to try out this new program called iScore for my iPhone.

iScore seems really cool.  i’m just wondering how easy it will be to utilize it for the league games.  if it’s easy, then that’s WAY cool because i can export all the files including box scores, score sheets, and statistics (hitting, pitching, and fielding).  that would be incredible.  it’s gotten rave reviews, but i’ll be putting it to the test over the next couple of weeks.  i’ll keep you informed.

-chief

both activities hit over the same weekend.  i spent most of last week prepping files for the league AND trying to work with all those that were in the church program.  then friday night got here and the talent show went off without a hitch.  great show and everyone had a terrific time.  you can always tell it’s a good time when no one wants to leave after it’s over.  we finished about 9:45 and there were still a lot of folks around at 11 when i finally got to leave.  hopefully we’ll have some videos to show to post up this week.

the auction went smoothly.  non-doc bob won the award this year for bringing up the first unavailable player.  usually it’s a player that’s already been taken.  and usually it’s by either ilan or mike (utley).  but the non-doc bob brought up a player that is currently under contract with another team.  so congrats to him! (in fairness, bob is in 4 leagues and i’m sure it’s easy to get confused between one league and the next.)

so now the long, busy weekend is over and i’m hoping to chillax this week.

-chief

Jeter, Wright, Castillo help anchor the infield.  we’re hoping Soto bounces back and that Rajai Davis stays consistent.  the rotation and bullpen are iffy at best.  the majority of games we win this year will be from our hitting, not our pitching.  and our hitting has it’s sketchy moments.  catcher is weak this year.  and there are really no solid guys in the corner spots of the outfield.  first base is non-existent at the moment and will be one of the areas the Tigers try to fix for the next several years.  in hindsight, trading Chamberlain and Votto for Teixeira and Hamels was a mistake.  we probably would have made the playoffs anyway and then this season would have been better off.  we would have had a firstbaseman still and since we didn’t have the money to justify extending Hamel’s contract we’d be in a slightly weaker position with pitching, but more money to work with overall.  ahhh, the follies of the Tupelo franchise continue.

-chief