14 October 2004

Vol. X No. 27

FIN 112-50 .691 -
QUI 109-53 .673 3
MOO 87-75 .537 25
NES 81-81 .500 31
MEA 72-90 .444 40
WIL 62-100 .383 50
PIO 31-131 .191 81

PYT 106-56 .654 -
NOI 104-58 .642 2
NOM 100-62 .617 6
DIR 92-70 .568 14
BEA 66-96 .407 40
GIA 62-100 .383 44
RAC 60-102 .370 46

 

 

 ISBL HOME    WEEK 27 DISKS & PAST FILES    FINANCES    AUCTION SITE    FORUMS    E-MAIL 

  DIAMOND CUP    MVP/CY    USAGE ISSUES    VIOLATIONS    NOTES    TRANSACTIONS    AUCTION    DL REPORT    POWS  

 

 FINNS WIN 2004 ISBL CHAMPIONSHIP

The St. Louis Finns are the 2004 ISBL Champs after defeating the Chicago Force 2-1 in Game 6 of the Senior World Series Tuesday at Jacobs Field. Finns right fielder Sammy Sosa broke a 1-1 tie in the top 3rd with an RBI single, and John Thomson pitched 6.2 innings of four-hit ball to lead St. Louis to its first ISBL title.

Finns shortstop Edgar Renteria was the offensive star of the series, as he hit a game-tying leadoff HR in the bottom 9th of Game 3, then hit a two-run blast in the bottom 10th to give St. Louis a 12-10 win. He finished the series with a .308 average and 6 RBI. Jim Edmonds hit 3 HR and drove in 9 to lead all batters. RECAP

Pythons Take Junior Crown

The Pittsburgh Pythons captured the 2004 Junior Circuit Championship Sunday with a 3-2 home win in Game 5 over the Albuquerque Sidewinders. The Pythons trailed 2-0 after six, but scored single runs in the 7th and 8th before Benito Santiago launched a long fly out to center with one out in the bottom 9th and Jody Gerut raced home from third to win the game and the series.

Pythons second baseman Jeff Kent led the charge for the Federal League champs, batting .429 with four homers and six RBI in the series, including a pair of HRs in Game 2, the second of which broke a 5-5 tie in the top 8th as Pittsburgh scored a 6-5 win. RECAP

Best Record Wins Out In All Four Positional Playoffs 

In the two promotional and two relegational series, the team with the better record took the series in all four instances. The tightest of the four tilts was in the Union Promotional Series, where the red-hot Chicago Bulldogs -- fresh from snatching the final playoff spot from the Cartersville Cyclones with a 7-0 series rout in the final week -- continued their winning ways and took the first three games from the Saskatchewan Prairie Fire. But the Fire battled back to win the next three to force a decisive Game 7 at Busch Stadium, scoring a 9-7 home victory Wednesday to earn promotion to the American League.

In the other series, the Manhattan Meat Possums scored a 12-2 home victory over the Alaska Willows in Game 6 to remain in the National League in 2005, the Washington Gridlock registered a 2-0 home win in Game 6 over the Lexington Legends to secure a place in '05 in the American League, and the Illinois Noise eked out a 2-1 away victory in Game 5 against the Las Vegas Nomads to earn promotion to the NL. 

NLRS RECAP     ALRS RECAP     FLPS RECAP     ULPS RECAP

Cyclones, Dirt Dogs, Beavers, Raccoons Advance In Cup Play

The Preliminary Round of the 2004 ISBL Diamond Cup saw the Cartersville Cyclones, Boston Dirt Dogs, Colorado Beavers and Arizona Raccoons win their respective series to advance to the First Round. The Cyclones needed three games to beat out the San Mateo Wolverines, including a 1-0, 11-inning away victory in Game 2 to force a decisive Game 3, in which they took an 11-1 lead through four innings on the way to a 13-9 home win.

The other three series were all two-game sweeps, as the Dirt Dogs bested the Louisville Sluggers, the Beavers topped the Piedmont Giants and the Raccoons got by the New York Underdogs. Each losing team earned $300k toward their 2005 coffers.

DIAMOND CUP PRELIM ROUND RECAPS

THE 2004 ISBL DIAMOND CUP -- FIRST ROUND

The random drawing for the First Round of the Diamond Cup, featuring the Preliminary Round winners, the Junior Circuit playoff teams and the bottom three teams from each Senior Circuit league, was held Wednesday. The first team listed is the home team for Game 1 and (if necessary) Game 3.
  • Sidewinders vs. Meat Possums
  • Pioneers vs. Pythons
  • Legends vs. Noise
  • Dirt Dogs vs. Beavers
  • Prairie Fire vs. Gridlock
  • Willows vs. Bulldogs
  • Cardinals vs. Cyclones
  • Nomads vs. Raccoons

The First Round losers will receive $500k toward their 2005 coffers. The First Round winners will advance to the Second Round of the Diamond Cup, which begins Tuesday, Oct. 19, joining the top four finishers from each of the Senior Circuit leagues. Again, a random drawing of opponents will be held at 9pm EDT next Wednesday.

 

RULES FOR THE 2004 ISBL DIAMOND CUP

  • Expanded rosters (up to 40 players).

  • ADDED: 15-Day Rule for DL is waived, players can return as soon as healthy.

  • First team to score two victories wins.

  • All series are 1-1-1, with no off days for travel.

  • Pairings and home-field advantage are determined by random lot.

  • ++Overused++ players ARE NOT eligible for the Diamond Cup.

  • <<Junior Draft>> players ARE eligible for the Diamond Cup.

  • Non-unlimited players are limited to 100% of their real-life PAs/BFs for the duration of the Diamond Cup. After each round, those players who have exceeded 100% will be farmed for the remainder of the Cup.

  • Playing these games head-to-head over NetPlay is strongly recommended, in the interest of both fairness and fun, as well as the money riding on advancing through to the next round. If you have problems getting NetPlay scheduled for your series, let STATS know.

2004 ISBL DIAMOND CUP SCHEDULE

  • Preliminary Round (Oct. 8-10) -- bottom 4 teams from each Junior Circuit league -- losers get $300k, winners advance to First Round.
  • First Round (Oct. 16-18) -- Preliminary Round winners join the rest of the Junior Circuit and the bottom 3 teams from each Senior Circuit league -- losers get $500k, winners advance to Second Round.
  • Second Round (Oct. 19-21) -- First Round winners join the rest of the Senior Circuit -- losers get $700k, winners advance to Quarterfinal Round
  • Quarterfinal Round (Oct. 22-24) -- losers get $1m, winners advance to Semifinal Round
  • Semifinal Round (Oct. 25-27) -- losers get $1.3m, winners advance to Final Round
  • Final Round (Oct. 28-30) -- loser gets $1.6m, winner gets $2m

MVP/CY YOUNG VOTING

MVP and Cy Young ballots are now posted for each league. Click on your league logo to get to the corresponding ballot. Only vote for your own league. Instructions can be found on each ballot. Voting is through Sunday, Oct. 24, at 5pm EDT. And yes, I will hound you to get your ballot in on time.

 

Status updated Monday 10/18, 7pm EDT

 

Already voted: NES, PIO, WIL, QUI, MEA, FIN

Still to vote: MOO

Already voted: CRO, FOR, BAN, ORA

Still to vote: GRI, LEG, CAR

Already voted: NOM, BEA, PYT

Still to vote: NOI, DIR, GIA, RAC

Already voted: SID

Still to vote: PRA, BUL, CYC, WOL, UND, SLU

NEW DISK CODING

1. Players who are Junior Draftees are marked as such: <<NAME>>. Don't bring them up for the playoffs, but you can bring them up for the Cup.

2. Players who are overused and mandatorily farmed are marked as such: ++NAME++. Don't bring them up.

3. Players who are placed on the DL, but were injured for less than 15 days, have had their return date amended so that they can't be brought up until those 15 days have passed.

 

Additionally, the usage and DL lists provided here each week will remain in place and continue to be updated. Hopefully that knocks out most of the violation buggaboos. 

 

USAGE ISSUES

The following players have exceeded 110% usage in the regular season. New postseason additions are in bold. They have been mandatorily farmed for the year, can not be traded, and are ineligible for postseason and cup play. These players are noted in your roster with the coding ++NAME++.

BATTERS
  • Lew Ford (WIL) -- 14% (NLRS)
  • Keith Lockhart (PRA) -- 13% (ULPS)
  • Russell Branyan (PRA) -- 13% (ULPS)
  • Juan Castro (BUL) -- 120%
  • Fernando Vina (LEG) -- 119%
  • Brian Daubach (LEG) -- 119%
  • Ben Grieve (GIA) -- 119%
  • Mo Vaughn (LEG) -- 117%
  • Javy Lopez (LEG) -- 117%
  • Danny Garcia (MEA) -- 116%
  • Ryan Freel (SLU) -- 116%
  • Rod Barajas (SLU) -- 115%
  • Ray Durham (UND) -- 115%
  • Kevin Witt (CAR) -- 115%
  • Kevin Mench (SLU) -- 114%
  • Adam Melhuse (GIA) -- 114%
  • Mendy Lopez (CAR) -- 113%
  • Eric Byrnes (BUL) -- 113%
  • Ramon Castro (PIO) -- 112%
  • Freddy Sanchez (NOI) -- 112%
  • Dustin Mohr (SLU) -- 112%
  • Austin Kearns (RAC) -- 112%
 PITCHERS
  • Juan Alvarez (SID) -- 26% (JRWS)
  • Pat Mahomes (NOM) -- 16% (FLPS)
  • Al Reyes (GIA) -- 145%
  • Tony Fiore (GIA) -- 143%
  • A.J. Burnett (CAR) -- 140%
  • Scott Strickland (GIA) -- 137%
  • Josh Hall (SLU) -- 132%
  • Tommy Phelps (Released) -- 129%
  • Justin Duchscherer (WIL) -- 128%
  • Chad Cordero (SLU) -- 128%
  • Aaron Taylor (Released) -- 126%
  • Ricardo Rodriguez (GIA) -- 123%
  • Grant Balfour (GIA) -- 121%
  • Jim Brower (GIA) -- 121%
  • Kiko Calero (CAR) -- 120%
  • Jeremy Affeldt (GIA) -- 119%
  • Gary Glover (GIA) -- 119%
  • Kazuhiro Sasaki (RAC) -- 119%
  • Cliff Politte (SLU) -- 118%
  • Jaime Cerda (SLU) -- 118%
  • Jeremi Gonzalez (GIA) -- 118%
  • Terry Adams (LEG) -- 116%
  • Terry Mulholland (UND) -- 116%
  • Rick White (GIA) -- 115%
  • Josh Towers (CRO) -- 114%
  • Julio Mateo (SLU) -- 114%
  • Mike Gallo (GIA) -- 114%
  • Rick Reed (RAC) -- 114%
  • Jim Mecir (PIO) -- 113%
  • Kevin Correia (NES) -- 113%
  • Andrew Good (PIO) -- 113%
  • Jimmy Gobble (WIL) -- 113%
  • Jason Isringhausen (NES) -- 113%
  • Adam Bernero (GIA) -- 112%
  • John Franco (LEG) -- 112%
  • Billy Koch (BUL) -- 112%
  • Pat Hentgen (CRO) -- 112%
  • Todd Van Poppel (CAR) -- 111%
  • Felix Rodriguez (LEG) -- 111%
  • Chris Reitsma (SLU) -- 111%
  • Nelson Figueroa (GIA) -- 111%
  • Danny Patterson (WOL) -- 111%
  • Mickey Callaway (LEG) -- 111%
  • Jason Boyd (DIR) -- 111%
  • Jesse Foppert (WIL) -- 111%
  • Seth McClung (CRO) -- 111%
  • Luis Ayala (RAC) -- 111%
  • Steve Kline (MEA) -- 111%
  • Carlos Reyes (CRO) -- 111%

RULE VIOLATIONS

  • NONE

BE CAREFUL TO KEEP PLAYERS ON DISABLED LIST FOR MINIMUM 15 DAYS. Check the DL listings below to be sure what date players are eligible to return. PLEASE NOTE: The game program allows players to be brought back before they've served 15 days. ISBL DOES NOT, so please consult the DL listings to ensure that you're bringing players back on the correct date.

CHECK YOUR MANAGER PROFILE

Remember what Troy always says. Recheck your manager profile weekly to make sure phantom zeros aren't popping into your usage limits. Check to see if you have injured players, or players eligible to be reactivated. Be sure to check that your roster is at 25, especially if you have acquired new players through trade or free agency, as the game tends to make all of these players active.

We would advise those of you that constructed preseason manager profiles (before the Week 1 disk was released) to double check them to ensure that playing limits are correct. The last preseason disk that was posted showed several players with settings of zero, and the CM will pass over many of these players when your team is away. You can see this on the final page of the profile where the players are listed. The playing limits were corrected to the actual usage numbers on the Week 1 disk. If you put together an MP using an older V9 disk, you can correct the playing limits this way:

  1. Click on the "Other Actions" button in the lower right corner of either the "Pitching," "Saved Lineup" or "Depth Chart" page of your Manager Profile.
  2. Click on "Generate Manager Profile."
  3. Uncheck everything EXCEPT "Generate playing time limits," keeping that one checked, and click OK. This should retain your other settings while ensuring that the playing time limits are correct.

Of course, once you've corrected these playing time limits, you can manipulate them as needed to make sure that players are used only in the specific roles you want them to play (i.e. if you have a pitcher rated both to start and relieve, and you only want him used as a starter, you can set his relief appearances to zero). Also, be sure to note that in Version 9, there's a new page for setting player-specific tendencies, as well as team tendencies.

PAY ATTENTION TO OPPONENT'S INSTRUCTIONS

If an owner takes the time to send you an MP and/or instructions as to how to install his pitchers/lineups, take care to use these. Seen a couple of instances this year where MPs have been sent, only to be ignored/looked over/forgotten by opponents. If they're sending you an MP, it means they have changes from what's on the disk that may affect their rotation, or player usage, or whatever. So use them. Otherwise, you're risking having to play the games over again. And might get fined for repeated occurances.

When your opponent has taken the time and care to create an MP for your series that week, make sure to import it into the database. If you're unsure that you're doing things correctly, please contact Micah, Troy or Tim for help. Some important things to consider:
  • Merely downloading the zip file from the e-mail doesn't install it. You have to go to Import Statistics (found in the game menu under Transfer), find the zip file, click it open and import it.
  • If you do this, and the initial import screen comes up, and you don't see your opponent's team name there highlighted, there's a problem. Contact your opponent or one of us to resolve this.
  • You need to make sure the new disk for the week is installed BEFORE you import the MP. Otherwise, when you install the new database, it will overwrite the new MP with the old one.

SOME ADDITIONAL DIRECTION ON PLAYING IN NETPLAY

When FTF players set their rosters to 25 (or make changes to their roster between weeks), whoever the host is won't have those handy, so you'll need to at least make whatever pre-series changes on your disk, generate an MP file with those changes (just like you would a file with played games to send), and send it to whichever of the two of you is hosting. That's an extra step we haven't had to contend with before with the NetMeeting, where you could just make the changes yourself or instruct your opponent to do so. And you can STILL instruct your opponent to do so, but you'll need to do that before you link onto the NetPlay, 'cause there's no way to get to the MPs once you've linked. Because of this, it's advisable that for the series, one team remains the host throughout, who will have made his changes and installed the MP (or made the changes as directed) of their opponent.
 
Switching between who is the home manager and who is the away manager is pretty simple if you're mid-series and already connected with one as home and one as away. The host needs only to click on "NetPlay" in the top menu line and then "Swap manager roles" to flip them.
 
As for changing options, this is done by the host. Make sure the settings for the host are "Human" and for away are "Remote." If for some reason, you get into the game and one party doesn't have control of, say, baserunning, have the host go in and fix it.

If you have any additional questions about V9 play, please direct them to stats@isbl.com.

TRANSACTIONS

  • NONE

You can track your finances, as well as your payroll ceiling, at the ISBL Finances page (http://www.isbl.com/isbl_2004/isbl_finances.htm).

AUCTION

  • NONE

If you want players put up for auction, you need to send an e-mail to stats@isbl.com by Thursday afternoon stating what players you want put on the board. Players will typically be put on the board at 9 pm Eastern Thursday night and stay there for 72 hours. If you are a new owner and need to set up an auction account, please contact stats@isbl.com.

DL REPORT

Please be sure to check if you have injured players. This lists only players already placed on the DL.

NOTE: Not sure if V9 handles DL'ed players the same as V8. With V8, you typically could call a player back up on the day listed as his last day on the injury line (i.e. if if said "Out from 4/20/2004 to 5/17/2004," it'd let you call him back up on the 17th), so that's what I've used here. If it turns out that it's one more day, let me know so I can start accounting for the extra day. Sorry if this causes any confusion.

These players were DL'ed during the past week and must remain there for at least 15 days:
  • ANY PLAYERS PLACED ON THE DL FOR THE PURPOSE OF PLAYING LAST WEEK'S POSTSEASON SERIES CAN RETURN AS SOON AS THEY'RE HEALTHY -- DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE 15-DAY RULE.
These players are eligible to come off the DL at some point (see below) this week:
  • Giles,M (PRA) -- OK to return
  • Osik (NOI) -- OK to return
These players were placed on the DL previously and are not eligible to come back this week:
  • NONE

POWs FOR WEEK 25

16 teams voted: PRA, CAR, BEA, BAN, GRI, NES, SID, PIO, FOR, ORA, DIR, CRO, MEA, WIL, FIN, UND

SENIOR BATTER: Eric Chavez (Gridlock)

Chavez,Er (GRI): 6 votes -- PRA, NES, PIO, ORA, CRO, WIL

Walker,T (GRI): 4 votes -- GRI, SID, FOR, MEA

Tejada (CRO): 4 votes -- BEA, BAN, FIN, UND

Giles,B (GRI): 2 votes -- CAR, DIR

Palmeiro,R (CRO): no votes

 

SENIOR PITCHER: Tim Wakefield (Quicksteps)

Wakefield (QUI): 9 votes -- CAR, BEA, BAN, FOR, ORA, CRO, MEA, WIL, FIN

Wolf (BAN): 6 votes -- PRA, GRI, NES, SID, DIR, UND

Weaver (PIO): 1 vote -- PIO

 

JUNIOR BATTER: Vernon Wells (Dirt Dogs)

Wells,V (DIR): 10 votes -- PRA, BEA, GRI, NES, SID, PIO, CRO, MEA, WIL, UND

Kendall (SLU): 4 votes -- BAN, FOR, ORA, FIN

McLemore (NOI): 2 votes -- CAR, DIR

 

JUNIOR PITCHER: Tim Hudson (Pythons)

Hudson,T (PYT): 7 votes -- CAR, BEA, BAN, PIO, FOR, ORA, FIN

Hampton (BUL): 6 votes -- PRA, NES, SID, DIR, MEA, UND

Myers,B (WOL): 3 votes -- GRI, CRO, WIL

 

POMs FOR SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

16 teams voted: PRA, CAR, BEA, BAN, GRI, NES, SID, PIO, FOR, ORA, DIR, CRO, MEA, WIL, FIN, UND

SENIOR BATTER: Albert Pujols (Meat Possums)

Pujols (MEA): 8 votes -- CAR, BEA, GRI, FOR, DIR, MEA, UND

Rodriguez,A (FOR): 6 votes -- PRA, BAN, NES, SID, PIO, ORA

Chavez,Er (GRI): 2 votes -- CRO, WIL

Mueller (FOR) & Williams,B (QUI): no votes

 

SENIOR PITCHER: Kerry Wood (Moose)

Wood,K (MOO): 7 votes -- CAR, BAN, GRI, FOR, ORA, CRO, FIN

Clement (QUI): 5 votes -- PRA, BEA, SID, DIR, UND

Wakefield (QUI): 4 votes -- NES, PIO, MEA, WIL

May (FIN): no votes

 

JUNIOR BATTER: Jim Thome (Sidewinders)

Thome (SID): 9 votes -- PRA, CAR, NES, SID, PIO, ORA, DIR, CRO, WIL

Soriano,A (BEA): 6 votes -- BEA, BAN, GRI, MEA, FIN, UND

Anderson,G (DIR): 1 vote -- FOR

Giles,M (PRA): no votes

 

JUNIOR PITCHER: Mike Mussina (Sidewinders)

Mussina (SID): 15 votes -- everyone but ...

Loaiza (BUL): 1 vote -- FIN

Hudson,T (PYT) & Zambrano,C (NOI): no votes

 

 

FOR 107-55 .660 -
BAN 106-56 .654 1
ORA 100-62 .617 7
CRO 85-77 .525 22
GRI 69-93 .426 38
LEG 61-101 .377 46
CAR 52-110 .321 55

SID 109-53 .673 -
PRA 102-60 .630 7
BUL 94-68 .580 15
CYC 93-69 .574 16
WOL 64-98 .395 45
UND 45-117 .278 64
SLU 37-125 .228 72