1. Montreal Expos, 11-3: With an offense this good, who needs pitching? Unfortunately for the NL, they have some pitching, too.
2. Anaheim Angels, 11-3: Their pitching has been dominant, while their offense has been average. They’ll be very scary when Travis Murphy starts hitting.
3. Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-5: Excellent pitching, despite the usual slow start from Tejada, and likely player of the week performance from Pascual Martin have this team on top in likely the toughest division.
4. New York Yankees, 10-4: Spectacular offense and solid pitching have helped the Yankees burst out of the gate, but the jury is still out until they play a winning team.
5. Florida Marlins, 9-5: The offseason was good to this team and the new additions have been performing well, especially on the mound.
6. Kansas City Royals, 8-6: The defending AL champs offense has returned. Unfortunately, Season 4 Cy Young Stephen Fischer doesn’t seem to realize that these games count now.
7. Philadelphia Phillies, 8-6: Jorgensen doesn’t look the same after last season’s injury and the pitching has not been performing as well as expected. But never count this team out.
8. Minnesota Twins, 9-5: The young hitters are tearing it up. If the pitching can find some consistency, the Twins will be tough.
9. Atlanta Braves, 8-6: The Big Three haven’t quite gotten their homer swings in groove yet and the pitching has been hit and miss. Sophomore slump for Dee Dee?
10. Portland Beavers, 7-7: Last season’s AL #1 seed has been slow to get going at the plate. However, their biggest woes have been in the bullpen where they have already blown 5 saves.
11. Cincinnati Reds, 7-7: Jeffries DL stint got the offense off to a slow start, but the pitching is one of the league’s best staffs.
12. Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-6: Sasser and Kubinski have looked like Koufax and Drysdale, but unfortunately the rest of the team has been rather ordinary despite the league’s highest payroll.
13. Texas Rangers, 8-6: The big spenders in free agency have gotten solid contributions from the new arrivals and have the look of a contender.
14. San Francisco Giants, 8-6: Clapp seems to have bounced back from last season and O’Donnell has been pounding the ball. Unfortunately, the pitching has been all over the place.
15. New York Mets, 8-6: Hernandez and Stankiewicz look like the best 1-2 starting combo in baseball and this team appears ready to compete.
16. Detroit Tigers, 8-6: Another team with good young hitting and inconsistent pitching. Danny Diaz has looked like a batting practice pitcher.
17. Seattle Mariners, 7-7: Without base stealing monster Butch Hampton, one of the better pitching staffs would have almost no run support.
18. Charlotte Knights, 6-8: The Knights need Javier and Jorgensen to start hitting or Mordecai’s brilliance will continue to be wasted.
19. Toronto Blue Jays, 7-7: Their offense has provided adequate contributions. Their biggest problem is that Martin Kielty is unable to start every game.
20. Chicago Cubs, 7-7: With very little offense, it’s taken some monumental pitching efforts to get this team to .500.
21. Washington DC Nationals, 6-8: If only this team could score some runs, then these great pitchers would be able to win some games.
22. Boston Red Sox, 6-8: A decent offense combined with a pitching staff with a lot of AAA quality parts will make for a long season in Fenway.
23. Oakland Athletics, 7-7: The A’s have had an anemic offense and a mediocre pitching staff. The .500 start is an anomaly.
24. Baltimore Orioles, 5-9: Last season’s trading central has calmed down this season, but so far all we’ve seen is mediocre offense and pitching, except from Lombardi and McMartin who have been good.
25. Chicago White Sox, 6-8: The stripped down White Sox still have a little pop in their bats, but the starters all look like a collection of bad Rule 5 pick-ups.
26. Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-9: Unfortunately cloning has not been approved for human use and the Pirates will have to settle with having only one Clyde Redmond and Orlando Guerrero.
27. St. Louis Cardinals, 4-10: Losing Padilla to injury didn’t help, but the bats are under performing just as much as the arms.
28. San Diego Padres, 5-9: The Padres look like a team in flux as the new management begins the process of bringing in their type of ballplayers. Wait until next year.
29. Milwaukee Brewers, 5-9: Combine a below average offense with a below average pitching staff and you get the Brewers.
30. Houston Astros, 4-10: The league’s 2nd highest payroll and 4 wins does not look like a sound investment strategy. Sell!
31. Tampa Bay Rays, 4-10: With the trade of Julio, the fire sale is complete. The Rays are prime candidates in the #1 pick derby.
32. Cleveland Indians, 3-11: The offense has fallen flat and the pitching has gotten rocked. Hey Rays! Game on!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Kinsella Member Interview - Lomac
Through our first four seasons, lomac has led the Philadelphia Phillies franchise to be the most successful in all of Kinsella. With their 400 regular season wins and 2 World Series championships, they are the envy of rival GMs. Lomac was kind enough to give his some of his time and answer some questions to let us know the man behind the success. Here he shares with us some of his family info, sporting favorites, and HBD philosophies.
Kinsella Blog (KB): Who is Lomac?
Lomac:
My name is actually Timothy(Tim). I'm one month from my 33rd birthday. I am married with two young sons(one 4 years old the other 3 months) We all live in Aiken,S.C. I use to play under the Tcmac08 user name but a couple of years back I had to go on hiatus from WIS for about a month(cruise and an annual camping/hunting/fishing trip) At the time I had a GD team and a HBD team. The coach that I recruited to babysit my Camp team did not want to babysit my HBD team so I devolped my split personality and let a family friend babysit the HBD team. Lomac is actually derived from my 4-year old's first and last name.
KB: Which WIFs games have you played?
Lomac:
I started out playing Gridiron Dynasty with the hopes of one day earning the chance to coach at the University of South Carolina. My first forray was in Wilkinson world where I struggled mightily while learning the game. After I got the hang of things I moved on to Camp where after a little success I did reach my goal of coaching the Gamecocks. Then HBD came around. I juggled GD and HBD for a few more seasons but soon realized that I was having more fun playing with my fake baseball players than my fake football players so I dropped GD. I have been in three worlds: More Cowbell, Camp and Kinsella. Of the three the only one that I didn't really enjoy was Camp and that was mainly because I didn't really trust some of the owners.
KB: Besides sports, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?
Lomac:
Well I love to fish and spending time with my family. I usually try to go out camping once or twice a year. The family also enjoys going to a local Drive-in once a month to check out the double feature. Also enjoy reading when I find the time.
KB: Who are your favorite players of all-time?
Lomac:
Well some of my favorites have already been named by overeasy but many of them are worth repeating so here goes:
Baseball: Nolan Ryan-in a word unhittable.
Basketball: Magic-he did things with the ball that no man his size should of been able to do. Haven't really watched much NBA since he and Bird left.
College Basketball: Johnny Dawkins-man was fast and quick. A lethal combination
NFL: Tie between Joe Montana and Barry Sanders. If the game is on the line and I had my pick of QBs it would be Joe. (BTW My wife would also say Joe Cool because like overeasy she shares his birthday.) I could watch Barry Sanders highlights all day for 5 days and still come away amazed on the 6th day.
KB: Which are your favorite teams of all-time?
Lomac:
'95 Braves-showed the heart and killer instinct that the previous ones didn't
'84 49ers-made even more magical because I watched the Super Bowl with my uncle,a diehard Dolphin fan. Still point out to him everytime I see him that Marino never made it back
'91-'92 Blue Devils-Didn't make many NBA guys but these boys could play college hoops
KB: What's your favorite sports moment?
Lomac:
Right now I have to say being at Turner Field in '04 when Randy Johnson threw his perfect game. My pregnant wife and I were sitting three rows up from the visitors dugout and got to see Johnson's expression get more and more intense from the sixth inning on. After the game we gave the man a standing ovation. My wife told me that she didn't understand why I was so enthused because the Braves had just lost. I told her that I hate they lost but perfect games just don't happen everyday. She still doesn't understand.That will be my favorite moment until my son hits his first homer or scores his first TD. After that it will be a distant second.
KB: What is the top sports related thing you want to do in life that you have not yet done?
Lomac:
Watch my Gamecocks win the SEC title in Atlanta. Also would love to go parachuting(wife is firmly against this though)
KB: What would you consider your greatest WIFS accomplishment?
Lomac:
Winning the world series as a sixth seed. Thought that was pretty cool.
KB: Do you have any favorite players from any of your HBD teams?
Lomac:
Neil Hill from my Blowfish team in More Cowbell and Del Wilhelm from my Philly team in Kinsella
KB: What is your favorite aspect of HBD?
Lomac: Ultimate fantasy baseball team as you don't have to worry about a player just mailing it in. You can decide how you want to build the team either through the draft, free agency or trading for players. And if you're in a world with good owners the fun factor is increased
KB: What is your least favorite aspect of Hardball Dynasty?
Lomac:
All the clicking to just make one move. It would be much easier and less time consuming to be able to do similar moves with multiple players at the same time.
Coach Hiring. Usually I don't have a problem with it but just got shafted by a coach that I was leading on the whole time. Didn't even get a chance to counter which would of been easy to do as I was only beat out by a few pennies.
Also would like to be able to fire coaches. My bullpen guy would of been gone quick last season
KB: In Hardball Dynasty, how do allocate your budget?
Lomac:
I'll usually cut my international and one of my prospect scouting down to zero. Try to get my advance scouting to the max as soon as possible. Picking towards the end of the first round for the most part I am also able to keep my prospect budget level close to the minimal. Coaches budget is usually set between 12 and 13 million. Also like to get my training and medical fairly high as soon as possible. Player salary is fluid depending on the age of my players.
KB: How do you approach off-season events with players such as arbitration and free agency?
Lomac:
I usually offer about 500,000 to 1 million less than what the player is asking for in arbitraton. So far it's given me about a 50% success rate. In free agency I'm never really a player for the big names as I can't really afford to lose my #1 pick. I usually hang back and go after a few key roll players.
KB: What is your general strategy for hiring/re-hiring coaches?
Lomac:
I'll usually rehire all the coaches that want to return and promote all that want t be promoted if the spot is available. Anything to keep from wading into the coach hiring waters. When hiring I'll send out as many offers as possible and hope they sign quick.
KB: What is your international player/ rule 5/amateur draft strategy?
Lomac:
I rarely play the international game after the first season. Rule 5 in a good world is not going to amount to much. In the player draft I try to rank about 50-60 players by talent. The players I draft rarely make my big league squad as I mainly use them as trade bait to get more major league ready guys.
KB: If you were in HBD, what position would you play? And, what would you be rated?
Lomac:
A CF with decent glove and range.(range85 glove 81 speed 80)I'd lead the league in drag bunts for base hits.(45 0 20 20 78 with a 80 bunt rating) Every now and then I'd put a charge in the ball and line it over the pitcher's head.
KB: Thanks for taking the time to open up with us. Good luck this season defending your title!
Kinsella Blog (KB): Who is Lomac?
Lomac:
My name is actually Timothy(Tim). I'm one month from my 33rd birthday. I am married with two young sons(one 4 years old the other 3 months) We all live in Aiken,S.C. I use to play under the Tcmac08 user name but a couple of years back I had to go on hiatus from WIS for about a month(cruise and an annual camping/hunting/fishing trip) At the time I had a GD team and a HBD team. The coach that I recruited to babysit my Camp team did not want to babysit my HBD team so I devolped my split personality and let a family friend babysit the HBD team. Lomac is actually derived from my 4-year old's first and last name.
KB: Which WIFs games have you played?
Lomac:
I started out playing Gridiron Dynasty with the hopes of one day earning the chance to coach at the University of South Carolina. My first forray was in Wilkinson world where I struggled mightily while learning the game. After I got the hang of things I moved on to Camp where after a little success I did reach my goal of coaching the Gamecocks. Then HBD came around. I juggled GD and HBD for a few more seasons but soon realized that I was having more fun playing with my fake baseball players than my fake football players so I dropped GD. I have been in three worlds: More Cowbell, Camp and Kinsella. Of the three the only one that I didn't really enjoy was Camp and that was mainly because I didn't really trust some of the owners.
KB: Besides sports, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?
Lomac:
Well I love to fish and spending time with my family. I usually try to go out camping once or twice a year. The family also enjoys going to a local Drive-in once a month to check out the double feature. Also enjoy reading when I find the time.
KB: Who are your favorite players of all-time?
Lomac:
Well some of my favorites have already been named by overeasy but many of them are worth repeating so here goes:
Baseball: Nolan Ryan-in a word unhittable.
Basketball: Magic-he did things with the ball that no man his size should of been able to do. Haven't really watched much NBA since he and Bird left.
College Basketball: Johnny Dawkins-man was fast and quick. A lethal combination
NFL: Tie between Joe Montana and Barry Sanders. If the game is on the line and I had my pick of QBs it would be Joe. (BTW My wife would also say Joe Cool because like overeasy she shares his birthday.) I could watch Barry Sanders highlights all day for 5 days and still come away amazed on the 6th day.
KB: Which are your favorite teams of all-time?
Lomac:
'95 Braves-showed the heart and killer instinct that the previous ones didn't
'84 49ers-made even more magical because I watched the Super Bowl with my uncle,a diehard Dolphin fan. Still point out to him everytime I see him that Marino never made it back
'91-'92 Blue Devils-Didn't make many NBA guys but these boys could play college hoops
KB: What's your favorite sports moment?
Lomac:
Right now I have to say being at Turner Field in '04 when Randy Johnson threw his perfect game. My pregnant wife and I were sitting three rows up from the visitors dugout and got to see Johnson's expression get more and more intense from the sixth inning on. After the game we gave the man a standing ovation. My wife told me that she didn't understand why I was so enthused because the Braves had just lost. I told her that I hate they lost but perfect games just don't happen everyday. She still doesn't understand.That will be my favorite moment until my son hits his first homer or scores his first TD. After that it will be a distant second.
KB: What is the top sports related thing you want to do in life that you have not yet done?
Lomac:
Watch my Gamecocks win the SEC title in Atlanta. Also would love to go parachuting(wife is firmly against this though)
KB: What would you consider your greatest WIFS accomplishment?
Lomac:
Winning the world series as a sixth seed. Thought that was pretty cool.
KB: Do you have any favorite players from any of your HBD teams?
Lomac:
Neil Hill from my Blowfish team in More Cowbell and Del Wilhelm from my Philly team in Kinsella
KB: What is your favorite aspect of HBD?
Lomac: Ultimate fantasy baseball team as you don't have to worry about a player just mailing it in. You can decide how you want to build the team either through the draft, free agency or trading for players. And if you're in a world with good owners the fun factor is increased
KB: What is your least favorite aspect of Hardball Dynasty?
Lomac:
All the clicking to just make one move. It would be much easier and less time consuming to be able to do similar moves with multiple players at the same time.
Coach Hiring. Usually I don't have a problem with it but just got shafted by a coach that I was leading on the whole time. Didn't even get a chance to counter which would of been easy to do as I was only beat out by a few pennies.
Also would like to be able to fire coaches. My bullpen guy would of been gone quick last season
KB: In Hardball Dynasty, how do allocate your budget?
Lomac:
I'll usually cut my international and one of my prospect scouting down to zero. Try to get my advance scouting to the max as soon as possible. Picking towards the end of the first round for the most part I am also able to keep my prospect budget level close to the minimal. Coaches budget is usually set between 12 and 13 million. Also like to get my training and medical fairly high as soon as possible. Player salary is fluid depending on the age of my players.
KB: How do you approach off-season events with players such as arbitration and free agency?
Lomac:
I usually offer about 500,000 to 1 million less than what the player is asking for in arbitraton. So far it's given me about a 50% success rate. In free agency I'm never really a player for the big names as I can't really afford to lose my #1 pick. I usually hang back and go after a few key roll players.
KB: What is your general strategy for hiring/re-hiring coaches?
Lomac:
I'll usually rehire all the coaches that want to return and promote all that want t be promoted if the spot is available. Anything to keep from wading into the coach hiring waters. When hiring I'll send out as many offers as possible and hope they sign quick.
KB: What is your international player/ rule 5/amateur draft strategy?
Lomac:
I rarely play the international game after the first season. Rule 5 in a good world is not going to amount to much. In the player draft I try to rank about 50-60 players by talent. The players I draft rarely make my big league squad as I mainly use them as trade bait to get more major league ready guys.
KB: If you were in HBD, what position would you play? And, what would you be rated?
Lomac:
A CF with decent glove and range.(range85 glove 81 speed 80)I'd lead the league in drag bunts for base hits.(45 0 20 20 78 with a 80 bunt rating) Every now and then I'd put a charge in the ball and line it over the pitcher's head.
KB: Thanks for taking the time to open up with us. Good luck this season defending your title!
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