Halfway Home - 1983 Edition

[Clay]

85 games in... thoughts.... observations.... ???

-- It's really nice having three competitive races for a change. Hell, it's way too early to even call Philly out of it in the Stout, so there are really four. It will make the trade deadline a completely different dynamic....

-- It's hard to believe that we're finally so close to the Wildcard year. When Indy and Mississippi were announced, it seemed so far away... but the expansion draft will be here before you know it....

-- From the Colonials Camp, we are actually, I think, better than our record indicates. We knew we weren't going to have any pitching and I was right. I did hope to at least have Rich Mathis as a #2/#3 type guy, but lost him in ST. We're getting just about exactly what I expected out of Harcourt. O'Hegarty has been a beyond pleasant surprise. Danny Nelson. if he can continue to be healthy, is starting to look like Danny Nelson again. I could have two 30 HR guys this season - which is something for an IL team.

-- Kinda bittersweet to see some ex-Colonials playing so well in new homes. Jim Coker and Joe Sargentini are doing for their new teams, what I would have dreamed for mine. Maybe the DL pitching is a factor, maybe not... it's nice to see them playing well though.

-- I'm starting to finally feel like I'm developing a farm system. Only took 4 years.

-- I know the economics in the league have come under fire, but I kind of like what they've created. It really shows you the quality ownership we have to see some of these teams that are forced to sell off talent, continue to play well with younger players.

-- Should be some amazing races for awards, titles and leads down the stretch....


85 Game Prediction for the Championship....

Washington over Maine (4-2)

Great pitching puts both teams in the dance.

[Guest]

I need a Wild Card now :(.

[Sully]

After my deal goes through, I'm going with...

Davenport over Denver (4-3)



I'm very happy with where my team is right now. I wanted to hold on to Dealba, but the return was just too much to pass up on. My minors is stacked with some great young hitters, and I've had a few surprises this year at the BLB level. John Handley, Ryan Berose, and Feliciano Angeles are playing much better than expected. Campoveroe is having an awful year, but I'm confident he'll be back to his old self next year, and we'll be right in the thick of things. John Gorrie is still John Gorrie.

I didn't like the idea of dealing away some important fixtures on my championship team, and I thought we'd fall further than we have. However, the future looks very bright in Wilmington, and a lot closer than I had originally anticipated. Right now, the focus is on adding some young pitching talent.

[spot]

Los Alamos is in the hunt.


I didn't expect to compete this year, but the addition of Pateshall at the start of the season gave me a very strong starting rotation that has kept this team close all year. With my recent trade activity it's obvious that I am making a run now rather than wait until after expansion where there's no telling what will happen to teams long range plans.

Tardif has been a joy to watch and I am looking forward to seeing him outperform his salary the next few years!

[Guest]

For an actual analysis:

The team so far is surpassing all of my expectations. I thought I was at least a year away and had no chance of competing this year, but my team has proven me wrong. It's amazing what happens when you get a good pitching staff together. Abe is being Abe, Drewery is showing no signs of age, and Delclos, while I thought he would be good, is way better than I thought he would be. Santos is also excelling, and to think I got him right before free agency ended. The bullpen is holding up as it usually has, althought I'd like for Gaskin and Crowder to get their shit together.

The hitting is decent right now, save the bottom 3 in the order. I really need Clapp and Dupuis back. Gremades and Buzzell are doing what they do, and McGee has exploded offensively. Coker has been a great addition and is a perfect leadoff hitter, sort of like my own Brian Roberts, but a LF instead of a 2B. Haydon seems to be warming up, and Brenton/Arrigon/Vargas suck.

I'm hoping everyone can hold up and we can make a real run at this and possibly sneak into the playoffs.

[Jistic]

I am very excited about the Playboys future. We have been hemorrhaging All-Stars every year, losing them to free agency. and losing talent from our minor leagues via Rule V. We barely won our division last last year, it was time to rip off the band-aid and give this team a real future. Being a small market team we can't compete with the big boys for free agents so we needed to clear up cap room and rebuild our minor league system.

We made sure Simmonds isn't going anywhere, we added a ton of picks and BA top 100 prospects. We have so many good SP prospects that when the time comes can replace our big boys, or parlay them into hitters. WE've also completely revamped our minor league relief pitching situation as well.

I see us getting right back in the mix in a few years. I can already see the light turning on for Tilbrook and Broadbridge. We have a stud catcher in AAA that is so good we might even trade Jared Kirby in the near future. But I like the flexibility we have.

[Lintyfresh85]

Honestly... I cannot believe how far we have regressed as a team this year.

O'Rogan: 20+ VORP last year... this year he was to be my ace... absolutely bombed and tried to slip him through waivers... he's in Washington now.

Toapanta: Also provided a huge spark in the SP department last year. Another bomb... Thankfully at 24 he still had options left and he's been good at AAA. It'll be a while before he's back.

Walkup: My star last year went down in August in with a ruptured tricep. He's soon to be back, but he signed a minor league deal with me this offseason which tells me his ratings will be crap when he comes back.

My entire bullpen has sucked this year. Mainly because they're all pissed off for playing for California. Attitude really can screw a team up. They are just NOW starting to get out of their funk.

Offensively. Tim O'Fay has to be the worst 8 million dollar player ever. Like I said earlier he only gets about 4 bats a week.

Alan Star, my C, was an all-star last year after I brought him in off the streets. He's garbage again and won't be back.

My main problem is that I have too much left handed hitters. I get destroyed by anyone with a decent lefty.

Thankfully Joe Viret, Ed Smith, Tim Murcott, Brooks George and Duane Collins have stepped up and continued to build on their years.

Now for the good news.

My minors have been extremely solid so far this year.

While the hitting has been good, it's the pitching that has been carrying us. How long will that last? Who knows... but I can't complain about how they've played so far.

So 1983 is/was a waste of a year... but as long as we continue to build into something resembling a team I'll be happy.

[Ryan]

It was nice to spend much of the first half over .500, something I didnt expect coming into the season. We're gonna fall back to earth some here in the second half after some trades, but thats fine.

My bullpen has been fun to watch, but the starters are just not that good.

My offense is really weak. I have no impact offensive players, which really hurts us, and makes our weakness in the rotation that much more obvious.

Overall though, its fun building this team. We have some cash, so its tempting to use some of it on a "quick fix" FA, but thats just not gonna work for us right now.

Hopefully we can build a good farm and use some of that cash to cover any weaknesses, but we'll have to see how things work out for us.

[Pat]

My pitching has and will continue to carry me. I have the #1 pitching in all of the BLB. I already have four 10-game winners, and they all have sub 3.00-ERAs. My bullpen has also been coming on as of late, with the #2 ERA in the IL.

Then there is my hitting....2B R.A. Grounds, RF Gary Lippincott, and INF Jorge Taracena are all having awful years at the plate. Grounds has never shown he can hit that well, but I was expecting big things from the kid. Lippincott is my leadoff hitter and has struggled from opening day. Taracena appears to have hit the wall, and might be down after this year.

Only thee hitters are having career years, LF Steve Bing, SS Jack Dynes and C Keita Uchiyama. Besides that, everyone is having a down year. Plus, recently added 3B Chaim Lamberts is hitting .186 in Washington.

As long as my SP stays healthy, I should be able to hold off Philadelphia in the Stout. I think I match up better against Carolina and Los Almos than I do with Davenport and that powerful offense.

My farm system is rated #2 in all the league, and my AA and A teams are competing for playoff spots.