SIM COMPLETE - 1983 - FA 1

[Clay]

Ledesma is a career AAA player... he's perfect in Washington where you can play A ball till you're 40. That's a shame for Florentino.

[Riverman]

Ledesma is a career AAA player... he's perfect in Washington where you can play A ball till you're 40. That's a shame for Florentino.

This is going to be a great rivalry once (if?) Clay's team gets good.

[Clay]

I forgot about the new rule where all players without option years in the minors will be waived at the start of the season. The expansion teams can load up then. Ironically, Washington will be the team who has to waive the most players.

[Clay]

This is going to be a great rivalry once (if?) Clay's team gets good.

We're like Bo and Woody.... he's clearly Woody.

[Pat]

Obviously we have two completey different philosophies on minor league systems, but that's not the point...

Do we? What is your philosophy and what is mine? Everyone makes the joke that I sign 30 year old BLB has beens, put them in my minor league system and win titles. When in fact, I don't Look at my Single-A and Double-A squads. I have one Rule V draft eligible player in both combined, and he is 24-years-old.

I take a quick glance at yours or California's, the two teams questioning my minor league signings...California has four players 30 or older at AA, and four players 28+ in A....In Virginia, half of your AA team is Rule V eligible. What are those guys doing in your minor league systems, especially at the lower minor league levels? Are they EVER going to make the bigs? No, no they wont.

I treat my AAA team like a deep BLB bench. Even though I only have two players over 30, (Virginia has seven, California has three), I get crap for how old my team is. I keep older guys around, in case I have DL issues, and then I call someone up from AAA to step up. Some examples, 2B Andrew MacGilledon, MR Eneas Coutveros, CF Joe Santiago...None of them are "prospects" anymore. But I keep them around, bouncing from AAA to BLB when needed. What is so wrong with that?

The expansion teams can load up then. Ironically, Washington will be the team who has to waive the most players.

Ironically, I won't.

[Clay]

I didn't say anything was wrong with it. But, to answer your question, the difference between our two philosphies is that I stick with, for the most part, the guys that I drafted where you change your entire system every year. Again, didn't say there was anything wrong with it... said it was different philosphies.

Look... you can say what you want and defend it to the hilt, but the way you ride the DFA list is, at best, questionable. But, for sure, different than anyone else.

You don't have to defend it to me. It's your team(s) and you can do with them as you see fit.

[Lintyfresh85]

Where did I question how old your team was? I just question the need to sing every Minor league FA.

And the guys that are older on my lower teams are place holders because I can't find anyone else to sign.

You think I actually want 28 year olds on my A roster?

[Clay]

And... not that it matters... the 30 year olds on my AAA team, again, are guys in almost every case that were on my team when I got it in '79 and they've simply hit their ceiling.

[Pat]

Look... you can say what you want and defend it to the hilt, but the way you ride the DFA list is, at best, questionable. But, for sure, different than anyone else.

You don't have to defend it to me. It's your team(s) and you can do with them as you see fit.

Then I ask, why do you have 29-year-olds as backups at AA? Drafted by your organization or not, that player is never going to sniff the BLB level. There are a bunch of young FAs who haven't been given a chance to prove themselves. Why not give the ABs to someone who has a chance at a future? That is what I am doing. That is why I change my system ever year.

The way I rode the DFA was questionable. I payed the price. Don't need to beat a dead horse.

And the guys that are older on my lower teams are place holders because I can't find anyone else to sign. You think I actually want 28 year olds on my A roster?

I'm looking at your A roster right now. You have two 28+ OFs, and three 28+ INF. I take a quick look at the available players in free-agency....there are at least 50 OFs under 23 waiting for a minor league contract...and probably more in the infield. Last year you played Juan Urrego, 30 year old SP, at AA despite the fact that he, prior to 1982 with California, had been in the BLB since the leagues inception. And as expected, he dominated at AA.

http://www.simgamingnetwork.com/blb/...layer_585.html

You couldn't find some 20-something in FA to give those starts to?

Maybe its just different minor league philosophies......

[Clay]

Then I ask, why do you have 29-year-olds as backups at AA? Drafted by your organization or not, that player is never going to sniff the BLB level. There are a bunch of young FAs who haven't been given a chance to prove themselves. Why not give the ABs to someone who has a chance at a future? That is what I am doing. That is why I change my system ever year.

The way I rode the DFA was questionable. I payed the price. Don't need to beat a dead horse.

You're actually making my argument for me.... the fact that I simply hold onto players that have been on my team is actually ADVANTAGE: BLB. It's not about giving guys opportunities because they are not really people. I stick with the guys that I liked when I drafted them. Probably not good for me... but probably good for the league. That's a completely different philosophy than yours. In fact, it could be described as the exact opposite.

[Lintyfresh85]

I'm looking at your A roster right now. You have two 28+ OFs, and three 28+ INF. I take a quick look at the available players in free-agency

Yeah... they were already on MY TEAM. Plus if you look at those guys, one was recently demoted from AAA, one was recently demoted from AA and of the two that had been there, the top guy still only got 260 at bats. The other only got 50 at bats. They're warm bodies. Nothing more.

As far as Urrego goes. He was only in AA with Carey, the other one that dominated, because everytime I tried to move either up, the game said they weren't ready. So I placed them where they could help my organization the most... in AA. I'm not going out looking for guys to fill these teams with as ringers to win it all, I'm trying to build a system.

I take issue with the signing of 20+ Minor league guys just to see which guy pan out. I'm all for winning, and building your team, it just seems there's a much more productive way than grabbing every minor league free agent and preventing other teams from using those guys... when they could really use them.

[Pat]

You're actually making my argument for me.... the fact that I simply hold onto players that have been on my team is actually ADVANTAGE: BLB. It's not about giving guys opportunities because they are not really people. I stick with the guys that I liked when I drafted them. Probably not good for me... but probably good for the league. That's a completely different philosophy than yours. In fact, it could be described as the exact opposite.

No, I completely agree. It is advantageous to the rest of the league for you not to be bringing in new guys. I bring in new guys, because maybe they were in a shitty situation, with an organization they don't like. I have signed numerous minor league guys that struggled in one situation and flourished in mine. I have actually had numerous players I have cut that have done well in other places as well.

To each their own. Just some advice from...well, the defending champion.

[Lintyfresh85]

No, I completely agree. It is advantageous to the rest of the league for you not to be bringing in new guys. I bring in new guys, because maybe they were in a shitty situation, with an organization they don't like. I have signed numerous minor league guys that struggled in one situation and flourished in mine. I have actually had numerous players I have cut that have done well in other places as well.

To each their own. Just some advice from...well, the defending champion.

Look, everyone signs Minor League Free Agents... I think our problem is the way you sign 20 plus each year. A couple is fine, but what's realistic about signing so many guys each year and then shuffling each guy through DFA to make sure you can hold an extra 10-20 guys more than the roster limits allow? Or fair even? That's why there is roster limits for the minors... so you can't sign everyone.

[Pat]

Look, everyone signs Minor League Free Agents... I think our problem is the way you sign 20 plus each year. A couple is fine, but what's realistic about signing so many guys each year and then shuffling each guy through DFA to make sure you can hold an extra 10-20 guys more than the roster limits allow? Or fair even? That's why there is roster limits for the minors... so you can't sign everyone.

see a few posts up...

The way I rode the DFA was questionable. I payed the price. Don't need to beat a dead horse.

[Lintyfresh85]

see a few posts up...

Fair enough.

That's my only problem really.