1996 at the Break

[umd]

Just remember who moved him from Hartford when its time to vote, ok?

This is where I mention that I got back two all-stars in return. Don Castor has been no Knight, but he's younger and has played pretty well himself since coming to the DL. JJ Garcia has been nothing short of spectacular and pitching like a #1 for the time being.

[Clay]

I'm confused, 70% on the road?

Did you mean his #'s are 70% at home?

Hmmm, looks like I did mention it.

Hey don't get all Clay-ish on me. You guys are still the team to beat this year. But your bullpen is way worse than last year. Gadget is good but he's not ready for the big time just yet, and you've (finally) had some injuries at the BLB level (and in the minors now that I took a look, ouch) that will seriously impact your team come playoffs. Couple those issues with the fact that Carolina, Hartford, and LA are all REALLY GOOD teams this year, I think this year is the best we've had in years to challenge and the dethrone the king. IF I was (were?) Batavia, I'd be buying, not selling.


AND BTW, Loren Wallace WAS awesome and would still be awesome if he didn't get hit with the dreaded injury bug just three years into his big league career. It wasn't like he was fragile but all of that running into the wall, making spectacular catches caught up with him early in his career (you wouldn't know anything about that). Outside of Doorbell or Chavez, he's probably the only guy to hit .350+ and 30 HR in a season and not win the Stout Slugger that year.

First, I'm just busting balls. BUT...keep in mind this "down IL" that make my numbers deceiving are the same ones that Knight is putting up these historic numbers against.

And, as far as playoffs, you may not remember because its been awhile. I have great pitchers who will move to the 'pen come playoff time. This is a great regular season team, but it become exponentially better in the playoffs.

I'm just having dialogue. Its all in fun.

Sidenote: Yes, my BLB injuries hurt, my minor league injuries have been devastating. Guys I'm really excited about have taken major hits this year.

[Delandis]

This is where I mention that I got back two all-stars in return. Don Castor has been no Knight, but he's younger and has played pretty well himself since coming to the DL. JJ Garcia has been nothing short of spectacular and pitching like a #1 for the time being.

[Delandis]

keep in mind this "down IL" that make my numbers deceiving are the same ones that Knight is putting up these historic numbers against.

HA!

Your insignificant logic doesn't work on me sir!

[Clay]

Philly knows who Philly is. Perhaps they're delusions, but before the year I thought we were roughly a .500 team and so far that's just about what we've been. If you know something I don't know about an imminent crash I'd like a bit more of a heads up. Thanks.

I have an Excel file with the next 4 seasons' results. I'll forward it to you.

No, I was just point out to Matt that the two teams ahead of him are not playoff teams compared to his. I know you know what you have.

[Clay]

HA!

Your insignificant logic doesn't work on me sir!

What's insignificant logic?

[Delandis]

What I can say is that Baltimore has been really trying hard to improve the team. When I saw how much Knight was impacting our team performance, I really started to work the phones. Most teams have said that we are submitting pretty decent trade offers, but we haven't found anyone that is willing to take that next step and just make the trade.

So with that being said, if I made you an offer, its still available!!!

[BradZ]

What I can say is that Baltimore has been really trying hard to improve the team. When I saw how much Knight was impacting our team performance, I really started to work the phones. Most teams have said that we are submitting pretty decent trade offers, but we haven't found anyone that is willing to take that next step and just make the trade.

So with that being said, if I made you an offer, its still available!!!

Hmm, my phone is collecting dust.

[Jimmy]

This is where I mention that I got back two all-stars in return. Don Castor has been no Knight, but he's younger and has played pretty well himself since coming to the DL. JJ Garcia has been nothing short of spectacular and pitching like a #1 for the time being.

That JJ Garcia pickup was stellar. You snatched him from me while I was working. Talks had stalled but I had a nice counter....... and poof. Gone like a fart in a breeze. Well done.

[Delandis]

That JJ Garcia pickup was stellar.

Yep.

A lot of people have been trying to get JJG over the years, but I always felt like he was being undervalued.

That is what is one thing I like about GM'ing Baltimore with this funky park. Its very tough to tell how much is the park inflating hitting #'s and pitching #'s. It should get a bit easier when we make a few more adjustments to the park dimensions this off-season.

[Ryan]

It's was no secret coming into the 1996 season that we'd be bad, but I was hoping we wouldn't be this bad. Standing at 23-59, we've actually had a bit of a hot streak the last few weeks, playing close to .500 ball.

On the offense we've struggled, but we've gotten good performances from Free Agent pick ups Shawn Ray and Luis Miguel Rodriguez, and Ivan Garcia has stepped it up a bit, after two down years. Carlos Bamentos has been a solid mid-season pick up as well.

The pitching has just been abysmal, outside of reliever Doug Standish. Jonathon Ward has picked it up as of late, but don't expect wonders in the rotation from this guy, as he's more of a reliever.

At this point, the whole team is infected, and there is no cure. We knew it would be tough, so we're prepared to be awful for the next couple years. Hopefully the second rated farm system in the BLB will get lucky and churn out a couple of stars to help boost Indy back to the top of the Pilsner. In otherwords, .500 here we come!

[Jimmy]

So lets talk LA for a bit.

We are on a roll right now. We had some huge decisions to make this year and some of them are paying off. Some moves had people scratching their heads. A couple in particular I can think of. But I think I've done well on the major acquisitions.

Where is the division at? One trade away. But, that's the way of things in the DL. I am respectful of owners abilities to bring ridiculous trades to life. But regardless of whatever other teams do, we will not be joining the '96 arms race.

So the Dinos go into the second half, lurking. How far will we go? No idea. There are some bold predictions going around. I'd like to see how this team looks in July and August before I say anything.

[Carlos]

At the break, pitching is still the problem.

We've tried. We traded for Olivo, Brode, O'Moore and Hill in the past two seasons and nothing has improved.

O'Moore is doing better as a reliever for us. Olivo is settling back into being a closer. Brode had a fine first half after a terrible second half last season. Hill is about 50-50 in his short time here.

We thought Jones and Soto would continue to improve, but they've been stagnant.

Denver still doesn't have a true ACE or any starters you'd call top of the rotation guys. It's disheartening because the lineup can hit. Our little band of merry men do the job. They get on-base, hit for average and also knock balls out of the park.

But it's tough to win games 6-5.

After all the years drafting good pitchers, I'm just not sure any young ones can really perform in Denver. None have for a consistent amount of time.

Going back and looking at our all-time career pitching leaders: Dean, Soto, Lang, Murillo, Erwood, Irigaray...those men either started performing after they left Denver or completely fell off a cliff while in Denver.

Just disheartening. And you guys wonder why I keep taking older guys. Nothing seems to work in the rotation.

[Ryan]

At the break, pitching is still the problem.

We've tried. We traded for Olivo, Brode, O'Moore and Hill in the past two seasons and nothing has improved.

O'Moore is doing better as a reliever for us. Olivo is settling back into being a closer. Brode had a fine first half after a terrible second half last season. Hill is about 50-50 in his short time here.

We thought Jones and Soto would continue to improve, but they've been stagnant.

Denver still doesn't have a true ACE or any starters you'd call top of the rotation guys. It's disheartening because the lineup can hit. Our little band of merry men do the job. They get on-base, hit for average and also knock balls out of the park.

But it's tough to win games 6-5.

After all the years drafting good pitchers, I'm just not sure any young ones can really perform in Denver. None have for a consistent amount of time.

Going back and looking at our all-time career pitching leaders: Dean, Soto, Lang, Murillo, Erwood, Irigaray...those men either started performing after they left Denver or completely fell off a cliff while in Denver.

Just disheartening. And you guys wonder why I keep taking older guys. Nothing seems to work in the rotation.

Because you're the Anti-Pat?

[Carlos]

Because you're the Anti-Pat?

I take them and offer them up for trade.

I'm the seller. Pat's the buyer.

So, yeah, anti-Pat.