4 November 2004

Vol. X No. 30

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 30 DISKS & PAST FILES    FINANCES    AUCTION SITE    FORUMS    E-MAIL 

  DIAMOND CUP    MVP/CY    USAGE ISSUES    VIOLATIONS    NOTES    DL REPORT  

 

 QUARTERS: Possums Beat Finns To Make Final Four

The Manhattan Meat Possums, who finished 18 games under .500 in the regular season and barely avoided relegation, scored a 3-2 Game 3 victory in 10 innings Sunday at St. Louis to knock the 2004 ISBL Champion Finns out of the Diamond Cup. Larry Walker slapped a one-out single to right in the top 10th off Aquilino Lopez to score Carlos Beltran from second for the go-ahead run, and Eddie Guardado held off the heart of the Finns' order in the bottom frame to put the Possums into the Semifinal Round.

The other three Quarterfinal Round series all ended early, as the Chicago Force swept the Los Angeles Nessmen, the Toronto Crown Royals went 2-0 against the Chicago Bulldogs and the Wilmington Quicksteps made quick work of the South Carolina Cardinals.

DIAMOND CUP QUARTERFINAL ROUND RECAPS


MVP/CY YOUNG RESULTS

Force's Mueller Edges Gonzo & Javy For AL MVP

In the closest vote amongst the eight ballots, Chicago Force third baseman Bill Mueller edged teammate Luis Gonzalez and Lexington Legends catcher Javy Lopez to be named the ISBL 2004 American League MVP. Mueller, who batted .322 while leading all AL batters with 132 runs scored, placed first on three ballots (including that of the Force) and garnered 71 points. Gonzo, who batted an AL-leading .368 with 34 HRs and 114 RBI, got two first-place votes and finished with 68 points. Lopez, who batted .333 with an AL-best 46 HRs, received the two remaining first-place votes and finished third with 62 points.

The other balloting nail-biter was in the Federal League, where Illinois Noise second baseman Bret Boone scored a three-point victory over Boston Dirt Dogs first baseman Carlos Delgado to win MVP honors. Click the league logos below for full results.

 

MVP: Barry Bonds

CY: Pedro Martinez

 

MVP: Bill Mueller

CY: Barry Zito

 

MVP: Bret Boone

CY: Tim Hudson

 

MVP: Jim Thome

CY: Brandon Webb

 


THE 2004 ISBL DIAMOND CUP -- SEMIFINAL ROUND

Draw Ensures NL-AL Matchup In Cup Final

The random drawing for the Semifinal Round of the Diamond Cup was held Wednesday. The first team listed is the home team for Game 1 and (if necessary) Game 3.
  • Force vs Crown Royals
  • Quicksteps vs Meat Possums

There was a one-in-three chance that the draw would pair the two AL teams and the two NL teams in separate series, and that's exactly what happened, ensuring that the Diamond Cup Final will be an interleague affair.

The Semifinal Round losers will receive $1.3m toward their 2005 coffers. The winners will advance to the Diamond Cup Final, which begins Thursday, Oct. 28. The random drawing for home-field advantage in the Final will be held at 9pm EST 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

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.


DL REPORT

FORGET THE DL, YOU DON'T NEED TO BE DISABLING ANYBODY.

 

 

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