2024 @ The Half

[Pat]

2024 @ The Half


TEAM:

1. What has been your best move as a GM this season?

2. What has been your worst?

3. Has your team met, exceeded or failed to reach expectations?

4. What is your prediction for the 2nd half?



LEAGUE

1. Who has been the biggest surprise?

2. Who has been the biggest disappointment?

3. What are your predictions for the second half?

[Pat]

TEAM:

1. Seattle added a lot of new faces this year. Currently on the 25 man roster, six players were added via Free-Agency and two from trades. The biggest difference maker is OF Jamie Urmson. Signed in February to a two-year $26M contract the 38-year-old has far exceeded expectations. While he isn't the best option for CF defensively anymore the 16-year-vet is currently on pace for a career year at the plate. At the half, Urmson has 20 HRs and 51 RBI while being 2nd in the BLB in LF defensive efficiency. Other worthy mentions would be SP Pat Goldsmith and C Norm Deiwert.

2. I thought we landed the steal of Free-Agency with SP Willie "Hammerhead" Fajardo. Coming off Tommy John surgery at 34, I should have known better. The deal isn't terrible, and I assume he will probably opt out when the year ends, so $6M isn't a huge investment. However, the larger issue is we were counting on him to be a much needed RHSP option for the playoffs. Through six starts, he has just a 0.1 WAR and has given up seven homeruns in 33 innings. He is still striking batters out at a high rate but HR rate has more than doubled. Hopefully he is still rusty. The bigger loss here is the decision to pass on other RHSP options such as Dave Honea, Brendan Watts and/or Tom Calligan.

3. I can't say I expected to be leading the Bock by four games at this point but I did expect to contend for the division. At 52-30, we are currently on pace for the Pilots best season in franchise history. This was all part of the "plan" when we signed Ulloa/Nieto in 2022. In order to land those two sluggers their contracts were heavily front loaded for 2022 and 2023, with intentions of 2024 being our first season to truly contend for a Brewmaster's.

4. I think we can maintain the division lead unless Sully decides to pull off a blockbuster. However, I don't think Seattle will catch Washington for home field. The Bock looks stronger than the Stout for the first time in a long time and with the Bats 56-25, it seems unlikely the Pilots can make up the difference.



LEAGUE

1. Every time I look at the standings, I'm shocked to see Montreal in the thick of the DL wild card race. They are super young and have multiple candidates for Refreshing New Brew. Currently at 42-40, the Exports won just 53 games all of last season. Other worthy mentions, Carolina being relevant, Indy leading the Lager and Pawtucket leading the Ale. But those teams have been knocking on the door for a few seasons, while Montreal came out of nowhere.

2. A lot of candidates for this. Philly, Batavia and Baltimore being a combined 15 games under .500 is shocking. However, I think the biggest disappointment lies in California. The Kodiaks won 100, 98 and 95 games the past three seasons including a 2023 Playoffs upset of heavy favorite Kansas City to go to the DLCS. Currently 41-41, if the season ended today, the Kodiaks would miss the playoffs.

3. IL - #1 DC, #2 SEA, #3 PHO, #4 DVS, #5 CAR, #6 BAT -- DL #1 KC, #2 PIT, #3 PAW, #4 IND, #5 TOR, #6 MAI

[PaulC]

TEAM:

1. Seattle added a lot of new faces this year. Currently on the 25 man roster, six players were added via Free-Agency and two from trades. The biggest difference maker is OF Jamie Urmson. Signed in February to a two-year $26M contract the 38-year-old has far exceeded expectations. While he isn't the best option for CF defensively anymore the 16-year-vet is currently on pace for a career year at the plate. At the half, Urmson has 20 HRs and 51 RBI while being 2nd in the BLB in LF defensive efficiency. Other worthy mentions would be SP Pat Goldsmith and C Norm Deiwert.

2. I thought we landed the steal of Free-Agency with SP Willie "Hammerhead" Fajardo. Coming off Tommy John surgery at 34, I should have known better. The deal isn't terrible, and I assume he will probably opt out when the year ends, so $6M isn't a huge investment. However, the larger issue is we were counting on him to be a much needed RHSP option for the playoffs. Through six starts, he has just a 0.1 WAR and has given up seven homeruns in 33 innings. He is still striking batters out at a high rate but HR rate has more than doubled. Hopefully he is still rusty. The bigger loss here is the decision to pass on other RHSP options such as Dave Honea, Brendan Watts and/or Tom Calligan.

3. I can't say I expected to be leading the Bock by four games at this point but I did expect to contend for the division. At 52-30, we are currently on pace for the Pilots best season in franchise history. This was all part of the "plan" when we signed Ulloa/Nieto in 2022. In order to land those two sluggers their contracts were heavily front loaded for 2022 and 2023, with intentions of 2024 being our first season to truly contend for a Brewmaster's.

4. I think we can maintain the division lead unless Sully decides to pull off a blockbuster. However, I don't think Seattle will catch Washington for home field. The Bock looks stronger than the Stout for the first time in a long time and with the Bats 56-25, it seems unlikely the Pilots can make up the difference.



LEAGUE

1. Every time I look at the standings, I'm shocked to see Montreal in the thick of the DL wild card race. They are super young and have multiple candidates for Refreshing New Brew. Currently at 42-40, the Exports won just 53 games all of last season. Other worthy mentions, Carolina being relevant, Indy leading the Lager and Pawtucket leading the Ale. But those teams have been knocking on the door for a few seasons, while Montreal came out of nowhere.

2. A lot of candidates for this. Philly, Batavia and Baltimore being a combined 15 games under .500 is shocking. However, I think the biggest disappointment lies in California. The Kodiaks won 100, 98 and 95 games the past three seasons including a 2023 Playoffs upset of heavy favorite Kansas City to go to the DLCS. Currently 41-41, if the season ended today, the Kodiaks would miss the playoffs.

3. IL - #1 DC, #2 SEA, #3 PHO, #4 DVS, #5 CAR, #6 BAT -- DL #1 KC, #2 PIT, #3 PAW, #4 IND, #5 TOR, #6 MAI

Agreed! We seem to be at a standstill... Every sim is a middling 3/4, 4/3, etc. We have yet to build any momentum. Our complete lack of power seems to doom us in this new era of BLB Blast Ball. We have far too many games with 10+ hits (mostly singles and the odd double) and 2 or fewer runs. Hopefully with Morla's big week and the ageless Tom Wright we can turn this trend around...

And I'm not a big fan of including Deiwart in your best move as a GM... That dick was supposed to be in California this season... Damn player option... what was I thinking?!

[Pat]

Deiwert is such an interesting player. He has become a complete journeyman. I think his lack of contact has scared multiple GMs from giving him a long-term deal. He can’t keep this pace up but since he has been added to the lineup Seattle has averaged almost seven runs a game.!

[PaulC]

TEAM: California Kodiaks

1. What has been your best move as a GM this season?
Picking up AJ Ingle's arbitration of $10 million after a disastrous 2023 season that saw him get shelled nightly. On most nights he is the only part of our bullpen that performs with any consistency. We brought back some old faces and called up a few that 'were ready' from the minors and almost none of them has turned out... I'm blaming my computer generated scout... That dick!

2. What has been your worst?
My continued failure to land a big bat to sit behind Mike Morla. We have an offence that is a yearly leader (or close) in AVG, and OBP, but we never have the bat (other that a 75 year old Tom Wright) to do damage in the middle of the lineup.

3. Has your team met, exceeded or failed to reach expectations?
Failed to reach expectations. With Moir, Horning, and the call ups of Fiume and Redding, I figured our defence would vastly improve over last year. It's gotten better, and with those additions, we've gotten on base in large chunks this year... we just can't knock runners in... oh yeah... that bullpen!

4. What is your prediction for the 2nd half?
A huge second half from Morla and a GM induced improvement in the bullpen that carries us into the wildcard... and as last year proved, at that point, anything can happen.



LEAGUE

1. Who has been the biggest surprise?
Those dicks in Montreal... I figured they were a year or two away... and some shrewd contract taking (Gosser, for instance) has lead to them being ahead of schedule.

2. Who has been the biggest disappointment?
See Pat's post... I think it's safe to see that the first half of our season has been a huge disappointment. We are, however, still in the thick of things, and Montreal is just a syphilis outbreak (highly likely) from falling out of the race, leaving us in a dogfight for the last playoff spot.

3. What are your predictions for the second half?
IL - DC, SEA, PHO, CAR, DVS, BAT
DL - PIT, PAW, KC, TOR, IND, CAL

[PaulC]

Deiwert is such an interesting player. He has become a complete journeyman. I think his lack of contact has scared multiple GMs from giving him a long-term deal. He can’t keep this pace up but since he has been added to the lineup Seattle has averaged almost seven runs a game.!

Agreed... I had him on the bench for large parts of his time in California, but whenever he played, he hit the ball... hard!

[funclown]

TEAM:

1. What has been your best move as a GM this season?
Adding Hines from NY really gave us the depth we needed in our outfield. Signing RJ Green. Staying patient with our youngish starting pitchers. NOT trading Wanzer. NOT giving up the farm for a #1A Ace during the offseason. Turned out Marco Carrasco grew up.


2. What has been your worst?
This season not much, but might regret the Douglass signing long term. Also not landing Micah Wilson might bite us as me and Pat engaged in a small bidding war.


3. Has your team met, exceeded or failed to reach expectations?
Exceeded beyond a doubt. Judging by out PTY were over achieving right now.


4. What is your prediction for the 2nd half?
We made some moves to bolster our starting rotation. We now feel we have a 1-2-3 if we get to playoffs. Bullpen played better past few month, but they remain a concern. I guess our offense is simply draw walks and hit the long ball. It's a neat team. Not a lot of star power, but most are above average in some area being power, eye, defense ability. I even have a jokster for the first time I can remember. We slide back to 3rd place, make the playoffs and hope our road success continues.


LEAGUE

1. Who has been the biggest surprise?
Carolina and Montreal. Didn't see either coming this season. Think Carolina makes it. Montreal ? Has a shot for sure, but something tells me LA beats them out. Reason would be a better pitching staff.

2. Who has been the biggest disappointment?
Gonna go with KC. After a record setting season I expected some regression but seems the playoff upset hangover has affected they're performance more then I expected. On paper it's still a monster roster, yet they don't seem scary anymore. IL gonna say Philly as they went all in last season and doesn't seem the pieces fit.


3. What are your predictions for the second half?
Pittsburgh wins its first cup. Just cuz it's the BLB and wierd stuff happens.

[liquidcrash]

1. Best Move - Trusting the young guys. My offseason was more about the guys who left rather than who we brought in, but the moves have worked out for the most part. I gave two starting spots to rookies - CF Alexis Moran and 1B Dave Blackmon - and both guys have been key parts to the success so far. Moran has been a huge surprise at the plate (though he's cooling off) and Blackmon has been an above average guy at first. Combined with solid play from FA acquisitions Omar Baber, Ervin Ventura and RJ Cheek and we've done just fine despite losing some big time players.

2. Worst Move - As I mentioned in the first question, our offseason moves have worked out so far. So, I guess I'll say trading Dave Seibert? I thought that we'd be able to adequately replace him and I couldn't re-sign him anyway. But, I also kind of thought last year was his career year. instead, he's having a monster year for Phoenix and is doing his best to lift them to another title by himself sometimes. On my end, it's worked out and I really like the prospect I drafted, but it could still backfire come playoff time.

3. We've easily exceeded expectations so far. I thought we'd still be a top contender for the Stout and in the thick of the IL playoff race. We've done more than that so far - best record in the league at 56-25 and 13 games ahead of Carolina in the division. We'll almost certainly not keep up this pace, but we've put ourselves in great shape for another division title.

4. I think that we'll cool off, but still win the division title. I'll mark us down for a 103-59 record, but I wouldn't be surprised if we did a little bit worse. I could see someone getting hot and making it a little interesting, but I hope our division lead is safe.

LEAGUE

1. Surprises- Montreal looks way ahead of schedule - I didn't have them as a potential playoff team.

2. Disappointment - Hartford won the DL last year and they look almost done by the All-Star break. I know they lost some pieces, but I didn't think they'd be 15 games under .500. I always think Batavia is going to be a top contender in the Stout, so I'm surprised by their struggles.

3. Predictions - KC gets hot and wins the #1 seed in the DL. DC keeps the #1 seed in the IL, but barely. Bats win, I guess. One of these years we might as well.

[umd]

TEAM:

1. What has been your best move as a GM this season?

Free Agents/trades are starting to pay off. Stark, Marrero, Clemons, Lukomski, Pulido, Honea, Loya and Monk.

2. What has been your worst?

Nothing stands out as horrible though I probably need a middle IF for my bench and I haven’t addressed it at all.

3. Has your team met, exceeded or failed to reach expectations?

Injuries derailed our start but as guys come back we have the potential to be a wildcard team.

4. What is your prediction for the 2nd half?

As long as the youngsters like Tibbs, Flatland, Byrd, Fullem and the bullpen play well we should be OK barring a wave of catastrophic series of injuries which is always possible. If Ian James shows up Mid August and tears up the BLB we could have something special cooking. Though 88-90 wins is more likely if the bullpen doesn’t implode.


LEAGUE

1. Who has been the biggest surprise?
CAR, LAD and MOR. PAW to an extent.

2. Who has been the biggest disappointment?

CAL and HAR should be better.

3. What are your predictions for the second half?

KC quietly wins it all.

[Delandis]

TEAM:

1. What has been your best move as a GM this season?

I think the moral management in Baltimore has been pretty darn good. For us to be within spitting distance of a playoff spot after starting 2-17 is IMO, nothing short of amazing.

2. What has been your worst?

Paying Montreal to take an All-Star off our hands. I had a feeling that Gosser was just going through a rough spot and would bounce back. Plus, I gave him a 1st to boot. Not my best moment in negotiations.

3. Has your team met, exceeded or failed to reach expectations?

Honestly, probably a little worse but to be fair, I expect us to be competitive every year.

4. What is your prediction for the 2nd half?

It may be bold but I think we have the chops to catapult on up to the #5 or maybe even the #4 seed in the IL playoffs. I think Bruno is going to turn on the style in the 2nd half and launch 30+ bombs by the end of the year. CJ is going to run away with his first Stout Slugger and we probably are going get eliminated by Washington, but the ride should be fun.


LEAGUE

1. Who has been the biggest surprise?

Got to be Pittsburgh to me. They shaved off a ton of salary and talent and hasn’t skipped a beat.

2. Who has been the biggest disappointment?

I hate to say it but it has got to be Hartford. They played so well last year, but now there is a possibility they miss the dance this year.

3. What are your predictions for the second half?

KC is the not-so-quiet pick for everyone but I'm going to go say that Toronto makes it out of the DL again. I think they are still the most complete team in the DL, they are battle tested in the playoffs and I can see them making deep run as a wildcard.

[Pat]

The Baltimore turn around is the story of the season.