Welp, we finally made it! My buddy Jeff and I have played out 85 games of our full season with the 2001 set, so it's time to provide the All-Star Break update. Bad weather and player strikes have delayed the progress of this season, but we grinded out an astonishing 25 games over a 30 hour period this past weekend to finally reach the halfway point. I am still trying to recover from this binge, as I lost my mind quite a few times (more on that coming up... it's a doozy!)
To recap, Jeff and I are playing out a 162 game season with the 2001 set (not the complete set, just the cards we own). We hand roll every pitch and swing, and manually track stats. With a pen. And paper. (My pen has been thrown/spiked at least 100 times - part of the reason we do stats like this is that computers are expensive and I can't take my anger out on them). I previously posted the preview of the season and an update at the 1/4 mark. I'm too lazy to link them here so just scroll down and find them if you want to read it again.
Through 85 games, I have a slim 44-41 lead. The 25 game set over the weekend was not kind to me - I went 11-14 as my pitching went to shit but that's life I guess. Sometimes you give up 3 homers in a game on your advantage, what can you do? (Answer: never start Juan Guzman. EVER! Even if there's a fire!)
Because I'm a narcissist, I'll post my stats first, starting with the hitters:
And here are Jeff's stats - again, hitters first:
Something to note: an asterisk next to a player's name means that player was dropped - literally speaking in one case (I know, I'm such a tease. Just read on!). Here are some notes on the stats that are worth sharing:
Johnny Damon leads the league in average. Who would've thought? Although a red-hot Pudge is closing in fast. He tore me up the last couple series. Unfortunately, Greek God Erubiel Durazo hits behind him, so I can't just walk him whenever I feel like it.
Yes, you read that right... Juan Pierre did indeed hit a home run. He can't on his own chart, but he did on my pitcher's chart. Why am I starting a pitcher who gives up a bomb? I'm glad you asked! I'll discuss later.
I recently benched Tatis and am starting Jerry Hairston in his place. Better for me defensively, plus Jerry has provided a nice spark to my offense.
Alex Rodriguez is really effing good, and he's actually clutch (unlike real life, AM I RIGHT???)
Jeff's hitters have combined to get out 205 times on their own chart, or 2.41 times per game. My hitters have done it 157 times, 1.85 times per game. But I assure 150 of them have been with guys in scoring position.
Hey Joe, why did you drop your entire bullpen and replace them with relievers that are significantly worse? Look at the stats, they all struggled and I need to shake things up. Can't tell you how many games they've lost for me. Actually I could tell you - it's 15. They are responsible for 15 of my 41 losses. So good riddance to them. Even Urbina, who's stats aren't that bad, had to go - he was getting pummeled at the end.
Tav and Matt Morris have saved me... they have been fantastic (24/34 quality starts, plus Tav saves my bullpen). Randy Johnson has been the exact opposite. His season could be over soon.
Jeff's starting rotation continues to struggle (except for one notable game that I will touch on in a bit). Chan Ho Park was supposed to carry the rotation and be the ace, but I have been hitting him hard. I'll thank myself for reverse-jinxing him - I picked Park to win the Cy Young.
Although, there have been moments of bad pitching, Jeff's bullpen has been pretty reliable. Multiple times, Jeff Nelson has come in in the 6th inning, tossed 3 scoreless, and handed the ball to Tom Gordon to shut the door. Sucks the life right out of you.
Look at this Rob Bell cat!! 5-0 in 5 starts - one of the only reasons I've maintained my lead.
Yes, I picked up Tanyon Sturtz and dropped him the next game after he served up a go ahead 2-run blast in extra innings. At least his card remained in one piece...
... Unlike Scott Strickland, who now looks like this:
Don't worry, I have plenty of other copies of him. I even added him back to my team - that's how desperate I am for good bullpen work. Not this card though, an actual fully attached card.
Now that we've covered some of the interesting stats, it's time to delve into notes on the overall season (thoughts, trends, things we've noticed that we didn't realize before, etc.) and the best moments over the second quarter - especially these last 25 games.
Jeff threw a no hitter!!!!! First time in our length Showdown career that this has happened. Unbelievably, it was Travis Harper who started it with 6 innings of no hits and only 2 walks allowed. Nelson went the next 2 and Gordon finished it off. It was a close game too (2-0 final), so stakes were high. Plus I had Tav on the hill, who was saddled with the tough loss. I only got the advantage 3 times the whole game (2 walks and an out). Even more frustrating, the walks were by Stynes and Erstad who both single at 7 and only walk on 5-6. Ichiro made the out on his advantage.
JUAN PIERRE HIT A HOME RUN!!!
An unfortunate and tragic incident befell fan favorite Mark Grace...
He got out on his own chart with runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. Single probably scores 2 and cuts the lead to 1. Instead he got out, was murdered in the dugout, and had his ashes spread throughout the field. I literally own like 10 of this card so I just popped a new one in the sleeve and carried on like nothing had happened.
Since we're on this topic, lets discuss the other ways I punished my players. Mark Wohlers was added to my bullpen after the purge of the guys I drafted, and immediately brought in some swag and confidence to a reeling team. He's a +5 control, on at 15 reliever, who I would primarily use as a multi-inning weapon in certain matchups. He started out really good, and then just bombed towards the end. His career was cut short after he "fell" off a third floor balcony at Jeff's apartment complex (He didn't fall - I dropped him from the balcony. I literally dropped him off my roster). I actually don't know what happened to the card - we didn't go looking for it after. I'd like to think that a little kid picked it up, fell in love, and is now playing Showdown and will join the blog someday. Or the card got eaten by a squirrel.
I ran Chris Stynes under hot water to try to "heat him up." He's been in quite the funk - gotten out 10 times on his own chart over the last 25 games. That's a lot - it's not like he gets the advantage all that often.
In a moment of madness, I tossed A-rod to the ground after an unclutch out on his chart. Fans were shocked, outraged, scared, sad, and everything in between. I did apologize and rub the card off, and he proceeded to smash a walk-off 3-run bomb of Tom Gordon later in the day. Never again will I treat him so badly.
Interesting trend we noticed... low control pitchers suck! Both Jeff and I have always valued low control pitchers with good charts over higher control pitchers with better charts. For example, I drafted Jamie Wright (+3 control, 1-15 out, no doubles) and Bruce Chen (+2 control, 7 innings, 1-17 out) and Jeff drafted Ryan Dempster (+3 control, 1-17 out) and Hideki Irabu (+3 control, 1-16 out but 17-19 single and 20 double). This did not go well. We were noth basically hoping for 5 innings out of them and turn it over to the bullpen but every inning was a struggle. Just look at the numbers (Wright: 5.44 ERA, 1.88 WHIP; Chen: 6.71 ERA, 2.18 WHIP; Dempster: 8.18 ERA, 2.11 WHIP; Irabu: 9.97 ERA, 1.97 WHIP). I still have Randy Johnson (+3 control, 1-17 out), but he has been getting tattooed recently, and now boasts a 6.71 ERA and 1.75 WHIP. He is close to being cut.
My replacements for Wright and Chen: unsung hero Rob Bell (+6 control, 1-14 out, 19 2B, 20 HR) and Juan Guzman for one start (+4 control, 1-16 out, 20 HR). Guzman was bad and will probably be replaced but Rob Bell has been a revelation: 5-0 in 5 starts, 3.10 ERA and 1.52 WHIP.
Jeff's replacement has struggled: Tony Armas (+4 control, 1-16 out) has a 6.50 ERA and 1.93 WHIP, Dotel (+6 control, 1-14 out, 19 2B, 20 HR) had a 9.96 ERA and 2.00 WHIP before being dropped, and his replacement Shawn Estes (+5 control, 1-14 out, 20 2B) has a 8.10 ERA and 2.50 WHIP.
We both agree that the higher control is worth the worse chart, even a chart that gives up a home run. The stats don't necessarily back it up, but these type of pitchers seem to be more capable of getting on good runs then low control pitchers with good charts, since it's so hard to consistently get the advantage. What do you guys think?
Time for first-half awards! MVP is obviously A-rod (318/444/682 slash line, 33 bombs, 87 RBIs). He leads the league in HRs, RBIs, runs, OBP, SLG, OPS and plays great defense. Cy young is close between Tav and Morris. Morris is 10-3, but Tav has more quality starts, has thrown 28 more innings, and saves the pen. I'll lean towards Tav. Rolaids Relief is Jeff's entire bullpen. JC and Kaz have the best numbers (in fewer innings) while Nelson and Gordon are workhorses. Tough call.
Please feel free to chime in - questions, comments, predictions for the second half (who will win the season? Will A-rod continue his MVP season? How many more cards will Joe rip to shreds?) I'd love to hear any feedback you may have.
Until next time!
Joe,
