Hardball Heaven

noreply@blogger.com (ricogarion) — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 23:19:00 +0000

Hardball Heaven,
I am very excited to enjoy this upcoming season. I have taken my baseball for granted but now I want to enjoy each and everyday. So sorry if my negligence has in any way made me a bad owner, I seem to have my health issues under control. I appreciate the Heaven and all my friends here so let me work to make this experience the best it can be.
Juan *BLIND SQUIRRELS*

Hardball Heaven Reunion II in St. Louis

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 05:11:00 +0000

Here are some pics from this summer's trip to St. Louis. We stepped it up a notch this year by getting more time to visit and taking in a couple of games from arguably the best baseball town in the majors, St. Louis.

Anyone recognize these faces?

This pic was during Friday night's game, which was excessively hot, but watching baseball with a Budweiser in hand couldn't have been better!

Juan (Blind Squirrels) and Ed (Champs)

What a treat to have these two together on the same trip! These guys are fun and have A LOT to say!
I do mean that in a good way fellas!

Ok, same type of picture as above, BUT from a different angle and includes Yours Truly.... Baseman!

Our view from Friday Night's game from the cathedral, Busch Stadium

I know, I know, where are the pics of the entire group? Well, I wasn't able to get a pic of all of us at once, but we did do a group photo. I believe Ed did and once he gets up and around to feeling better, I am sure he will share it with you all.

Let's just say, this was a fantastic baseball weekend and St. Louis is a great town period. Some of the events that happened......ahem Juan.......will live on in infamy during future trips for certain. Let's just say that Juan and his crew experienced some nightmarish, but funnier than you can imagine experiences on this trip. We laughed our asses off! Plus, getting to know Tommy (Hitters), Mike (Ageless), Randy (HH) and Ed (Champs, 1st meeting) even better than before was a great experience. Others liked hearing our story that we were in the same fantasy league for quite some time and meeting up like we did.

So, that leaves us for future meetings. We all discussed trying to get together in Denver next year for a Rockies weekend. Let me tell you that Coors Field is an excellent place to take in a game, but also the beauty of the state of Colorado is a cut above anywhere else we could meet up! Hopefully, by meeting more on the western side of the country more could make it like maybe Timmy? Chad is already here. Plus, if you need a free B&B, there is the Porcher Palace! Can't speak for Chad, but would have room here. So, save, save, save to try and make a HH Reunion III happen. You wouldn't regret it!

BASEMAN

Different Places Different Faces

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Fri, 10 May 2013 04:06:00 +0000

It is no secret to the members of this league that one of my passions is watching my girls grow in life. Raissa, my youngest, has been a particular point of pride as she has provided me with countless "proud Dad" moments on the softball field. She just completed her junior year of college and this past Saturday, May 5th, she along with the rest of the Berea Mountaineer girls softball team finished runner-up in the conference tournament. A rare achievement for their program. Raissa is their lead-off hitter and had a good weekend with several hits, rbi's, and runs scored. Over the course of 6 games she played Catcher, 1B and RF. She is the primary catcher for the team but has established herself as a "plug and play" type player that can be slotted in several positions depending on the situation.

Raissa doing chemistry in the sand
between games

Raissa is also an honor student having made the Presidents list every semester she has been in college. She has learned time management and knows the value of using softball as a release from the study grind and vice-versa. She is active on campus and was invited to join Mortar Board (some type of honor society) as a Soph even though you must be a Junior to be selected. You see she had enough credits to be classified a Junior the last half of her Sophomore year.

Her goal in life is to work with animals in some capacity and is majoring in Biology. This summer she is doing an internship at Wildlife Images, a wildlife rehabilitation center, in Grant Pass, Oregon. To say she is loving it would be an understatement.

Her are 2 recent pictures of her taken 48 hrs apart.

The first one was taken Saturday during the tournament in Danville, Ky.

The 2nd was taken Monday in Grant Pass, Or. at Wildlife Images. Feeding "Rascal" the racoon.

The "tough as nails" girl on the left morphs into the"kindhearted caregiver" on the right. Who wouldn't be a proud Dad of an individual such as this.

You guys on the left coast take care of her this next 8 weeks. You're a hell of lot closer to her than I am ... lol

Randy

Harball Heaven Reunion II

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 05:22:00 +0000

Meet Me in St. Louis

No, I am not talking about Judy Garland's 1944 theatrical production of "Meet Me in St. Louis", but am actually sending a precursor to what is hopefully our 2nd Hardball Heaven Reunion! Just looking at the image of Busch Stadium above with the skyline and the Gateway Arch in the background has me rearing to go to St. Louis this summer!

We need to make this happen again fellas and if you "Save the Date" now, WE CAN make this a reality! I am proposing that we try to meet on the weekend of June 21-23. Now this is just a proposal, but now is the time to start thinking about possibilities to get the most of us going. I know summer schedules can get filled up, but if we commit now to a date, then the more likely people are to make it. If this date is not possible, then let me know soon, so I can throw other dates out there. Plus, it would be nice if we are able to spend a little more time having conversation then just at the game like we did in Cincinnati, two summers ago.

I'm all in and ready to roll! How about you! I will also be trying to contact as many of you as I can personally to check your status if nothing is heard. The Cincinnati trip was excellent, but this one can be even better! I hope to hear from as many of you as possible!

So, Meet Me in St. Louis!!!

Mark

Ageless...... Priceless....

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 00:35:00 +0000

Many of us have commented from time to time that Hardball Heaven is special. Many times it is difficult to rationally define why that is.

Sometimes it is undeniably obvious.

Today I get a knock on the door and Mike (Ageless) is standing there with a box in his hand. By nature, Mike is a very reserved individual. He would much rather leave an anonymous package on your doorstep than to accept the accolades for a good deed.

He will not appreciate this post.

Mike walks in the house with this box and hands it over to me and says "Here, you need to deal with this. You might want to check it first and make sure it is right"

At that he was ready to leave. I glanced in the package and couldn't believe my eyes! " Mike! What have you done?!"

He couldn't resist hesitating long enough to capture my reaction. His stoic expression was belied by the gleam in his eye and the glow of satisfaction that encompassed him. Then just as quickly as he came he was ready to go but not before he made sure there was no evidence of what he invested in this little project.

"Gotta go take care of a couple of projects" and off he went acting as though he was dropping off something he found abandoned at the side of the road.

This picture isn't great but I think you can get the jest of what he delivered today.

Personalized trophies for the League Champions for 2003 to 2012 including Rick Hill awards for 2011 and 2012

Now my job is to get some addresses and do a little shipping and see that these get to their rightful owners. Be prepared to cooperate. I will not rest till all are delivered including Reds.

Why is Hardball Heaven so special?

People like Mike Jones............. that's why!!

Ten Years and Counting......

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 05:41:00 +0000

2003 Oh the events that consumed us way back then. George "W" was President, "Baghdad Bob" and the Iraqi regime was decimated, the space shuttle Columbia lifted off never to return, and the "Terminator" became Governor of California after a recall vote. The Federal deficit was a whopping 6.8 billion (with a "b")

Tampa Bay defeated Oakland in the Super Bowl. The low budget Marlins defeated the mega budget Yankees in the World Series. March Madness ended with Syracuse knocking off Kansas and LSU and USC were co-champs of the NCAA football. Yep.. no such thing as BCS way back then.

We said goodbye to Johnny and June Carter Cash, Bob Hope, Katherine Hepburn, Gregory Peck and Mr Rogers.

And HELLO to Hardball Heaven !!

I won't go over that 1st season again as I have done so elsewhere in this blog. Looking back it is hard to believe that 10 years have passed and for the most part the more things changed the more they stayed the same.

6 Managers have been here all 10 years. Randy Stovall, Tommy Coleman, Mike Jones, Tim Weyel, Kerm Yerman and Ed Spinelli.

9 years - Mark Porcher, Juan Torres and Stephen Arsenian

6 years - Steve Champion, Peter Alden and Rick Hill

4 years - William Stansifer

and the new kid on the block Chad Armstrong has completed 2 years.

Excluding the 2 one and dones from that 1st season there have only been 16 people to grace the fields of Hardball Heaven. An amazing feat in and of itself.

Thought I would go back and do some cumulative stats to see how things shook out our first decade. Hope you enjoy.

I remain safely on top in total wins but there is a real battle for 2nd between Stars and Baseman. Champs and Utica are also in a real battle for 7th place.

The battle between Stars and Baseman intensifies at the winning % level as they are separated by only .001 point. A good season from Ageless or Squirrels could catapult them to 6th place.

Stars is the undisputed regular season finish leader with 2 1st place finishes and 4 2nd place finishes. Baseman and Hardballers both have 3 regular season 1st place finishes to their credit.

When it comes down to showtime there is no better than Baseman as his 5 (count em ) League Championships put him clearly ahead of the pack at playoff time.

As we embark on a new season, decade and keeper format I can't help but wonder what will be the fate of Hardball Heaven 10 years from now?

Long Live Hardball Heaven!!

Foster Parenting

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 04:03:00 +0000

Being a Foster Parent

As I mentioned last summer in the personal post segments that we were enjoying, my wife Anna and I were foster parents. In all we have been able to support 5 kiddos in almost a year now. Four of them were temporary placements, except for Alex in the photo above. He came into our home late last February after having spent one month in NICU and another month with a family, who wasn't able to provide the time necessary to meet his medical needs. We then provided care for Alex, who was on oxygen and having withdrawals from cocaine in his system. This was going to be a task, but we had been called to do foster parenting. Despite many nights of little sleep due to the detriment of the drugs, the reward of having Alex in our home is so worth it. There's nothing like coming home to a child that is waiting to see you. We hope to adopt him in the upcoming year, but foster parenting if full of trials and tribulations. Biological mom has relinguished her rights, but not his biological dad. It's a long story, so without going into great detail, we still have the upper hand in the court system even as foster parents due to dad's unwillingness to cooperate within the past year. But, his dad continues to fight for custody despite only seeing Alex for 5 minutes ever. He wants custody or a near relative. We have been blessed with a foster agency that has many resources and does all it can to support the parents, a judge that is favorable toward foster parents, and friends that are praying for us. We also now have a voice in any new court cases. Alex has bonded to us, and we want him to be our official son!

So, to my Hardball Heaven family, I ask you to pray for us and that the Lord look favorably upon our family. The next 6 months or so may very well be an emotional roller coaster. We didn't go into foster parenting looking to adopt (unless the opportunity came about), but in this case it is really in Alex's best interest being that he has really only known us in his life. Life wouldn't be the same without this little guy.

Ok, now that is serious and emotional rant if I ever would say, but since we are like family in HH, I had to share with you all. I will however try and get a baseball related post out during the long winter months before SPRING TRAINING finally arrives! Can't wait! Randy, we are coming for you this season!

BASEMAN

The "Hall of Shame"

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 03:23:00 +0000

Podcasters have been spending a lot of time on the baseball Hall of Fame voting for this year. All the debate is over whether or not Bonds and/or Clemons should be voted in. There have been arguments for letting them in and arguments against letting them in. Thanks to them, NO ONE was voted in this year.

Which is fine by me. I know you can't erase the stats that the "roid boys" put up. Sooner or later the baseball world will have to acknowledge them even if they have to use an asterisk. But nothing says they have to get in as soon as they become eligible. Make them pay. Make them pay dearly.

In fact let me suggest a penalty.

Pete Rose is the epitome of a baseball player. He gave 110% as a player and still made time for his fans. I know from 1st hand experience that you can read in this post. What he did was wrong. Egregious even. What Pete did was so terrible that he was banned from baseball. They have tried to erase his existence and deny him any association with baseball whatsoever.

His crime? He bet on his damn self. Maybe he bet on other things as well who knows ... and who cares. Did he ever throw a game? Was that even an accusation? HELL NO! He played hard on the field and apparently played hard off the field.

And for that he was not even in the discussion of Hall of Fame. Not this year, not any year.

He eventually came clean on his transgressions. Did jail time. Has had some of the best years of his life that could have been spent promoting the game he loved ripped from him like a bad spleen.

Pete has been out of baseball since 1989. 24 years for anybody that has trouble with simple math.

Pete has paid his dues. He has paid penance.

Bonds and Clemons had great careers and accomplished great things. No they didn't bet on themselves, but they did bet that if they juiced up they could improve their performance and their marketable value. They both shamelessly accepted acknowledgments for feats they performed "under the influence" .

To date neither has chosen to come clean.

So, I think the bench mark has/is being set. At a minimum they should be denied consideration to the Hall of Shame for 24 years. and counting......

When, and only when, baseball decides to come to its senses and admit one of the greatest players of all time in Pete Rose will the final penalty for Bonds and Clemons be set. They should not receive one less day for their transgressions than Charlie Hustle himself.

So I ask you MLB.... how much is enough?

Gettin Ready to Get Ready.....

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 23:09:00 +0000

What to do, what to do? I am officially in Fantasy No-Mans Land. Football is over. Made the playoffs in one and got bumped 1st round. Lost the championship game in the other. Now the wait is on for baseball.

The long and boring wait.

This hiatus is self imposed of course. I chose a few years back to forego fantasy basketball as the overlaps were just too much. For better or worse I have opted for quality over quantity. 2 baseball leagues and 2 football leagues and a break. That is my annual fantasy calendar in a nutshell.

Saw Mike (Ageless) this morning. " I guess you are all ready for the draft" he remarked.

"No not yet, but I am doing some reading and listening to a few podcasts." I replied.

And then we started talking a little about keepers and so forth and whether everyone would return this season. Good to see that I am not the only one that is starting to get baseball on the brain.

Of course there is Mark (Baseman). He has been talking about putting up a blog post. Really looking forward to that. So I know he is starting to do a little prep.

I am sure that others of you are starting to do a little pre-prep prep as well. These are the days that leave us wanting.

Here is an interesting article

MLB releases 2013 schedule with new wrinkles

Astros' move to AL creates all-season Interleague; World Baseball Classic returns

Houston to the AL West. As if they weren't looking bad enough where they were. That should be interesting.

Looks like we have 12 good weeks before the season begins. I will keep an eye on when Yahoo opens up the league signups. Meanwhile everyone needs to be looking at who your keepers will be. Remember 2 players per team. I will do a more detailed keeper post soon so everyone will be on the same page. We may have to do some things a little different with the draft in order to handle the keepers but should be no big deal.

Not too early to start thinking about a Hardball Heaven Reunion again this season. Somebody needs to be working on that.

Here's to the off-season

Randy

2012 - The Year That Was(n't).....

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 03:48:00 +0000

I will take a little liberty as commish of the league to use this blog post as a clearing house for some of the events of this past year. On a personal level I have already labeled 2012 as the "lost year". It seems that all year long there was some uncontrollable pressing issue that dominated both my time and attention leaving almost no opportunity for personal endeavors.

After a fairly normal January things quickly started heading south in February. My staffing level at the 911 center dropped to a critical level..... then....... I had one go on workers comp for 4 1/2 months. How does one wind up on workers comp from a 911 center you ask? All it takes is a little ingenuity and shitty work ethic. So overtime began to flow like wine with me trying to do my part to cover shifts as well. Then people started getting worn out. Me included. Then people started copping attitudes about everything from pats on the back to co-workers work ethics to you name it. Trying to keep things afloat while training new telecommunicators was probably the most difficult task I have encountered since my post Wal-Mart days.

This was the spring that I was going to make a concerted effort to attend more of Raissa's ball games. I think I saw 2 all season.

Behind the scenes my mother-in-law's health was steadily deteriorating. This meant that Rita was spending copious amounts of time trying to attend to her mother while still working full-time. As the summer progressed the pressures on her and her general state of exhaustion became a more prominent staple of our day to day living. Every free moment she had was spent with her mother, every free moment I had seemed to be not all that free.

Then about midway in November her mother fell at home which culminated in her passing on 12/14. I am sure I don't need to tell anyone what the last month has been like.

So now with 13 days left in 2012 I guess things have finally reached a point where they can smooth out. I am fully staffed at the 911 center with everyone back on a regular schedule and back to a generally good attitude. Rita can finally begin to relax and get back to a more normal routine. We have had to have her sister move in with us as she is not able to fully take care of herself but overall it could help as she is able to watch Robbie while we are at work.

But of course 2012 was also momentous on a personal level as I finally won a league championship and I can not tell you how therapeutic Hardball Heaven was so many times this year. When everything around me seemed to have a storm cloud around it, Hardball Heaven was the beautiful rainbow that allowed me to escape if only for a couple of hours a day.

I know others of you have expressed from time that the league proved to be "good medicine" when things weren't going so well on the outside. The league is not a league without the people in it and I will affirm once again that I think our league is a wonderful collection of super individuals.

2013 has to be a better year even if only in relative terms. At least from a real life perspective. But I think I am beginning to experience the "curse of winning the championship" in fantasy terms. Simply put, winning once only intensifies the desire to win again. I have already begun to prepare for the next baseball season. Last season is going to be hard to top, 2 leagues, 2 regular season 1st place finishes, 2 league championships.

I did it once..... there is no reason why I can't do it again............... or is there?

For those of you who read the blog, Thanks for indulging me as I begin to purge myself of the less enjoyable aspects of this last year.

Randy

Mid Season Pitching

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 19:32:00 +0000

This is the last (maybe) of the mid season posts. This one will look at some pitching stats. These may not be nearly as conclusive but should offer a little insight into how each team compares.

How Much Can You Eat?

Unlike the hitting categories, pitching is not about how many innings you can pitch, but rather how well you manage the innings against your opponent. There is hardly a week that goes by that at least one if not several managers will purposely sit pitchers due to matchups or just to preserve leads in categories.

Below is a chart that is listed in order of innings pitched for the season. Also I have included # of pitching decisions. Pitching decisions is the combined total of W's, + L's + Saves. I decided to do it this way because RP are a very integral part of our pitching stats and can get L's so we might as well count the S's as well.

Win% is the total of Win's + Saves / # Decisions. Maybe not the best way to measure pitching success but at least it makes for an interesting comparison. The last column is Pitching Roto Standing (Pit Roto) The highlighted teams are thop 6 teams in each category/

As you can see, there is very little correlation between innings pitched and Win% or Pitching Roto Standings. This seems to me to support the argument that pitching categories is all about managing outcomes and not about seeing how many starts you can manage.

It is interesting to compare the #1 in pitching, Baseman and the #2 in Zonk. Baseman obviously manages his outcomes well with minimal innings while Zonk has managed to enjoy good success with maximum innings.

The last 2 stats that I will share are only slightly more conclusive to overall pitching success. K/BB ratio and K/9. The highlighted teams are the top 6 (actually 7 due to tie for 6th place) in the Pitching Roto Standings.

Pretty amazing to see TFP leading both of these lists. Having experienced 1st had his K to BB splits it is no wonder he is in the top 6 in Pitching Roto. He has almost reached the magical # of 9 K's per 9 innings.

My expert analysis.......

I am convinced that nothing can replace day to day managing of your pitching stats. There is no "one size fits all", that I can see, to pitching success. For best results though, I think you need to maintain around a 55% win rate, maintain a 2.7:1 K:BB ratio and achieve at least 7.5 K/9 ratio. Anything under those #'s will find you scrambling each week to gain wins in the pitching categories.

I would be interested in anyone else's interpretation of these #'s and maybe whether they are even relevant at all.

Mid Season Hitting

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 16:53:00 +0000

Ok, I know this is a little late. I had worked up a couple of mid season stat lines then lost interest in posting them. Actually due to the hours I have been working and having to deal with some very stressful personnel issues, I about lost interest in everything. But after having a couple of days off and finally seeing the fruits of my efforts over the last few months starting to pay dividends, I am refreshed and ready to post again.

These stats are through Week 11. (Mid Season)

Step up to the Plate!

"Cant't get a hit if you don't step to the plate" With the "all you can eat" nature of our offensive categories it only makes sense to me that the more AB's one can have the better chance you have at accumulating stats. The following chart pretty much bears that out with one notable excpetion.

The teams are listed in order of total season-to-date at bats with # of hits, batting average and the last column has the mid season Offensive Roto Standings (Off Roto)

Maybe it should come as no surprise that 5 of the top 6 Offensive Roto Leaders are also in the top 6 in AB's. The one notable exception being Stars whose league worst batting average has largely nullified his efforts to maximize his at bats. Conversely, Panties top 6 batting average has helped him overcome a slightly less # of AB's to land him 5th in overall offensive roto points.

Bang for the Buck

I have always found the ratio of Runs and RBI's to Hits to be interesting. This year the ratios are consistent (actually almost identical) with previous years. Season-to-date the average Runs per week is 28, RBI's is 27 and Hits is 54. That is essentially a 1 to 1 ratio. 1 hit = 1 Run or RBI. That has consistently been the base line ratio year after year. So how does that ratio translate on a team by team basis? Who is getting the most Bang for their Buck? (or productivity per hit if you will)

The following chart is listed in order of productivity per hit. Essentially are your hits producing over or under the 1 Run or RBI baseline?

8 of the 12 teams in the league get at least 1 Run or RBI per hit on average. It is interesting that SoS leads the league in hitting productivity but is last in AB's and therefore Hits as well. Also it is worth noting that Hitters is last in productivity but what he seems to lack in quality he more than makes up for in quantity as he leads the league in both AB's and Hits.

3 of the top 6 in Hits exceed the 1:1 ratio, a rather rewarding combination.

Ok, So What's Your Point?

Well maybe there isn't one. You will have to be the judge of that. To me it further demonstrates the delicate balance between AB's, Hits, AVG, Runs, and RBI's in order to achieve a competitive stance across the board. Are you conceding too much productivity through lost AB's? Is your team AVG dragging down your overall productivity? Is their a consistent noticeable gap between Run's and RBI's on weekly basis? Are you getting Hits but have little to show for it?

I would suggest that if you are experiencing one or more of the above issues then the 1st place to look is at AB's and then make sure that you are balanced between those who score Runs and those that get RBI's.

or not.......

Hope you find these #'s as interesting as I did.

Randy

Why We Love H2H.............

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 00:59:00 +0000

or NOT... depending on which end of a close matchup you wind up on.

I love the thrill of watching the stats accumulate each week. Back and forth up and down. One minute you're up.... go take a leak and come back and "poof" things have turned around. Actually can get rather nerve racking if you spend much time watching stattracker.

Maybe you just check it once or twice a day and miss all the ups and downs that transpire throughout the day but even then it often amazes at how things can change from one day to the next.

Then there is Sunday. " I just need one more of this or 2 more of that"... "If only my opponent can have an off day today". Or maybe it goes more like this.. ."Why did I start that sorry so-and-so" ....."Leave it to (insert name here) to stink it up just when I needed it most". "Sonofabench!.... why didn't I have him in the lineup today?" There always seems to be a few categories up for grabs on Sunday just to keep us on our toes.

We all know that the requisite number of stats needed to win each week is exactly equal to "1" better than your opponent. Some teams seem to be consistently good in certain categories. Play Baseman and you better plan on keeping the ERA low. Go against Tenn with less than 65 hits and you may as well concede the category. TFP and Champs can steal bases at will. And so on and so on.

Ever since I have been keeping stats I have tried to determine a winning formula that, if achieved, would almost guarantee I win more than I lose over the course of the season. The most logical approach that I have been able to come up with is determining what the average stat line for the league is and then know that I have to have the ability to meet or exceed it each week. It amazes me that there is almost no change from season to season. Not very scientific I know.

What happens when you have a 2.20 ERA like Ageless did last week, which is way better than league average, only to be out done by Baseman who had a 1.58? Well, the same thing that happens when Cliff Lee throws 10 shutout innings and doesn't get a W..... IT SUCKS! But at least you know you played well enough to win but things just didn't break your way. You can only hope that over the course of the season things like that will balance out in the end.

So here at mid season it seems like an appropriate point to see which side of the "breaks" your team has been on so far. What I have done is figured the average stat line for the league for the season to date. Here is how it breaks down.

Now lets compare each team week by week to this line and see how you would have fared. Keep in mind that if you beat a category then you played well enough to win that category for that week. I have listed the teams in order of winning %.

And just to save you trouble of looking it up yourself, here is how it compares to the "actual" league standings.

What'choo talkin' about Willis!

Well I guess what it all boils down to is this. Hardballers, TFP, Stars, Utica and Squirrels ain't got much to complain about. Looks like their standings in the league mirror their overall performance.

Hitters and Baseman are pretty much on course as well.

On the other hand....... Zonk and Panties must be stroking the baseball gods pretty regular as they are both way higher in the standings than their overall performance suggests.

Meanwhile..... Champions, Ageless and SoS must just plain not be living right. If they will make their amends to the baseball gods they should see a few more breaks go their way in the 2nd half.

This comparison demonstrates (in my eyes at least) the importance of consistency. Racking up 87 K's in one week works wonders in the roto standings but only gets you 1 point, for 1 week, in H2H. Hopefully this provides some ray of hope for some of you while others may want to take a moment to reflect on their current situation as we enter the 2nd half.

I know this is an incredibly long post but one that I have been wanting to do for a long, long time. Hope you find it interesting and am looking forward to some feedback.

Roto Standings Thru Week 11

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:50:00 +0000

Weekly roto leader was Ageless with 85 pts. Hitters led the hitting with 55 pts and Zonk led the pitching with 50 pts.

Here is your mid season roto standings.

Still working on some other mid season spread sheet ideas.

Still working way the hell too much too so hopefully I will be able to get time to get some more posts up. Meanwhile, some of you can feel free to work something up for the blog as well :)

Randy

How's That 1st Round Pick Working For Ya?

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 18:21:00 +0000

No single event is more anticipated than the annual draft. More collective time and effort is focused on this one 1 1/2 hr to 2 hr time frame than most entire weeks during the season. And no pick is more important in the draft than that all important 1st rounder. The goal is simple. Make the best possible pick to anchor your team on your quest for league supremacy.

Some managers think that nothing is a better predictor of final season outcomes than the original draft results. I do not happen to fall in to that general mindset. I have always contended that you can not win the league on draft day but you can go a long way toward complicating the process with an ill prepared draft strategy. My theory is that nothing is more crucial to league success than daily team management. The ability to stay on top of everything from injuries and slumps to hot streaks and changing roles is the key to a successful season.

And of course a little personal intuition can come in handy too from time to time.

So, with that in mind and inspired by Stars "Biggest Bust" poll, I decided to go back and compare just how well all that pre-draft blood, sweat and tears has paid off for us.

First, let's go back to draft day and recall who those all important 1st round picks were. I have them listed in the order they were drafted and which team drafted them and then put their year-to-date "rank" (not O-Rank) in the final columns as a comparison.

Brace yourself........

Kemp, Tulo, and Ellsbury have spent appreciable amounts of time on the DL so it is easy to attribute their performance (or lack thereof) to injury. But did you really intentionally invest a first round pick in someone you anticipated being injured? I think not.

So what's A Gonzalez, Pujols and Fielder's excuse?

Looks like the 2 picks performing closest to their perceived value are Braun and Votto. Both of whom have subsequently been dealt away

So just who IS the top player in the league? What SHOULD that 1st round have looked like?

So glad you asked. As of today (6/19/12) your top 12 performers by "rank" are as follows. Notice the original draft positions of players (2.9= Round 2 pick 9)

Ha! After hours of podcasts, mock drafts, expert analysis articles and a half dozen cheat sheets thrown in for good measure, the #1 starting pitcher was sitting there on the waiver wire the whole time.... who knew? I am sure Timmy was also thinking "stud" all the way when he nabbed Kipnis in the 14th as well.

Ok, enough of the fun. It's not even officially mid-season yet and there is a lot of baseball to be played. Before things are over Pujols could very well be back in the top 12 along with several others drafted in the 1st round. But the fact remains that if you were counting on Tulo to take you to the promised land this season then you are probably in a world of shit right now. (ooops.... sorry about that Chad... lol)

Maybe that 1st round pick ain't so crucial after all ........

Speak your piece or forever hold your mind .. (or something like that)

Roto Standings thru Week 10

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 00:27:00 +0000

Weekly roto leader was Tenn Hitters with 98 points. Champs was tops in offense with 64 pts while Sultan of Swat led the pitching categories with 52 pts.

One more week and we will be able to do some mid season recaps.

Very competitive league as always.

Roto Standings through Week 9

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 12:51:00 +0000

The weekly roto champ was Champions with 95 pts. Hardballers led the way offensively with 59 pts while Hitters led the pitching (that sounds odd) with 49 pts.

After Baseman makes his post concerning hitting having more overall effect than pitching he moves into the top spot in pitching. That's practicing what you preach... lol

With mid-season right around the corner I intend to post some mid-season stat comparisons. If any of you have any ideas of some things you would like to see just let me know and I will see what I can do.

Roto Standings thru Week 8

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Tue, 29 May 2012 18:12:00 +0000

The week 8 roto king was Sultan of Swat with 97 points. Offensively the Tenn Hitters ruled the roost with 70 of the 72 possible points. Pitching leader this week was Baseman with 58 pts.

Here is where things stand year-to-date,

I updated my spreadsheet to reflect what is on the Head-to-Head stats page. There were a couple of minor +1 or -1 that were the result of Yahoo stat corrections after the match was complete. ERA's got a little wonky on my spreadsheet since everything is rounded to the nearest hundredth on Yahoo but the leftover is figured in on the y-t-d stats so I got those corrected too.

Everyone have a good week. Still looking for some more chatter on the message boards.

Roto Standings thru Week 7

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Mon, 21 May 2012 23:56:00 +0000

Week 7 saw Ageless One set the pace with 95 points for the week. He led the league in hitting roto points with 59pts. He is now the #1 hitting team in roto points.

Stars led the way in pitching roto points for the week with 44pts. It is also worth noting that both he and TFP logged a whopping 81 2/3 innings each for the week!

How much do you think inter-league play affects player performance?

Some things I wonder.....

Should you tank a SP for a poor performance when normally he has done acceptably well against league/division opponents?

Will Pujols benefit from batting against pitchers he is more familiar with?

Is there such a thing as a "solid closer" anymore?

I wonder......

Roto Standings thru Week 6

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:51:00 +0000

Week 6 Roto King was Panties as he scored 104 pts. Ageless had an outstanding offensive week with top honors in Runs, HR's and RBI's and 2nd place in Hits and Average.

Here's how things things shake out after 6 weeks.

Hope everyone has a great week this week. !

Roto Standings thru Week 5

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Tue, 08 May 2012 23:08:00 +0000

Have had to endure another learning curve on posting tables to the blog. I think I have it figured out now.

Not going to be heavy on the commentary as it is still early. I would encourage some of you to sound off in the comments section. (Mainly to let me know someone is looking at these things.)

Now that I have figured out how to make this work again maybe I can start putting up some more charts and stuff for your viewing pleasure :)

Sound off..!!

Roto Standing thru Week 4

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Fri, 04 May 2012 02:58:00 +0000

I guess it is time to start posting the Roto Standings. We have finished the 1st 4 weeks so we can see who was quick out of the gate.

The most common disclaimer I hear time and again on podcasts is "small sample size". No doubt 4 weeks is a small sample size when it comes to roto standings so take these results with a grain of salt.

BUT..... if you are wondering why you are where you are in the standings, this may provide a clue.

Are you "under" or "over" your roto results in the league standings?

Randy

Keeper Format Suggestion

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:57:00 +0000

Lots of interest has been shown in converting to a keeper format. I have spent literally hours reading tons of info on keeper league formats. Keeper formats are as varied as the # of leagues who employ them. There is no "one size fits all". There are however some basic elements that reappear over and over in most leagues (depending on draft format). I will try and address each element of my proposal with a brief explanation of rationale and how it addresses the overall goals of our league.

First question is how many players to keep? There is no magic number here. My main concern on this issue is not how many players we keep but how many players are available for the draft. Ideas that have been floated is 1, 2 (any player), 2 (1 hitter, 1 pitcher). Initially I liked the 2 (1 hitter, 1 pitcher) idea but trying to incorporate that in an overall keeper format has its problems. As a result I have concluded that 2 (any player) keepers is something that can be managed easily and not overly tax the available draft pool of quality players.

Next is who is available to be kept? Obviously you can not keep a player you don't have so final rosters from the previous season will serve as the base. I reiterate "final" rosters. This will be the players you own at the close of championship tournament play. Yahoo maintains final rosters from season to season so it is pretty easy to look back and see who you will have to pick from. Also it appears that when you join the league each year Yahoo will import those players for you to choose your keepers from.

On this same topic comes the question "Can I keep Albert Pujols ad infinitum?" There may be differences of opinion here but I think the answer to this question is an emphatic "NO". If you own Pujols (as I do) you got him by luck of the (draft) draw not by virtue of shrewd drafting or waiver wire work. Additionally, in order to insure every manager has an equal chance at drafting premier players on draft day there must be a mechanism for making those players available.

Herein lies the minor complexity of a keeper format. With the emphasis on "minor". This ain't rocket science. So follow along with me.

A popular format that leagues use is allowing a player to be kept but you forfeit a draft pick 2 rounds higher than the round he was drafted in the previous season. ( I gotta admit that sounds complex) But to present that in a more understandable light, let me expound. Each player has a value (or cost if you will) that is based on the previous seasons draft results. In this format a players value would increase (appreciate) by 2 rounds each season. A player drafted in round 10 of season A would have a value of round 8 in season B. If you chose to keep this player then he would become your 8th round pick for this years draft. This pick would be pre-loaded prior to the draft and in round 8 of the live draft you would essentially be skipped with your keeper auto-inserted into your roster.

That should sound simple enough. But look what it does. Players drafted in rounds 1 and 2 of season A have "appreciated" to free agency. Players drafted in round 3 of season A have appreciated to round 1 of season B. I took D Pedroia last year in the 3rd round. I love him as a player and would love to keep him but do I really want to make him my 1st round pick? I think not. Therefore I must release him to free agency. Get the idea? The top players will be available on draft day with few exceptions. The competitive balance of the league is in tact as no team can camp out on a stud player forever.

But what if I want to keep a player I obtained off waivers and was undrafted? What is his cost? This presents an issue that reaches not only WW pickups but late round draft picks as well. Since we ARE talking about keepers and therefore players that we obviously think are valuable then there needs to be a "minimum" value assigned to all players. (Yahoo has a provision for this) Here again there could be some debate on what that value should be but I have determined that a minimum value of round 10 would be appropriate and equitable.

But what if I got "2" players off waivers that I want to keep? Ah... astute one... since you only get one pick in the 10th round then you will need to designate 1 of them as your "9th" round pick.

As you can see this format creates some interesting pre-draft decisions. Consder this. I drafted Pedroia in the 3rd round last year and Ian Kennedy in the 21st (last overall pick of the draft) Now.... do I want to keep Pedroia as my 1st round pick or Kennedy as my 10th round pick? For me this is a no-brainer. I keep Kennedy in the 10th and take my chances on redrafting Pedroia on draft day.

Even with a minimum value of 10 you can find yourself in the catbirds seat if you make a great pickup. In 2006 in the other league I play in I picked H Ramirez up off the WW about week 3 of the season. Actually picked him up as a backup for SS. Before the season was over he was my #1 SS. Under this format here is how his value would have worked

2006-undrafted, 2007 round 10, 2008 round 8, 2009 round 6 2010 round 4, 2011 round 2, 2012 free agent. Pretty sweet huh? And just in case you think getting H Ramirez in any round other than the 1st from 2007 on is grossly unfair..... let me remind you. "I" picked him up off the WW, "I" took the gamble by addiing him to my roster. Any other manager in the league could have done it just as well. But be that as it is, 2011 would be the last season I could keep him "if" I was willing to make him my 2nd round pick. All good things must come to an end.

Obviously the Ramirez example is an extreme one and not likely to happen often but the potential is always there. More often than not I can see this type thing happening.... I took Kennedy in the 21st last year, this year I keep him in the 10th, next year the 8th? (maybe) 2014 the 6th? probably not. Hopefully I have snagged another up and comer by then.

Next seasons draft values are determined on draft day this season, Going back to Ramirez consider this.Panties drafted Ramirez in the 1st round. We all know how his season went and one could see a scenario where Panties may have opted to cut bait and drop him. Now suppose he did and somebody else picked him up off the WW. Did Ramirez value drop to 10 because he was picked up of WW. Absolutely not. His base value was round 1 and the team that picked him up should know that when he picked him up. Ramirez might could have helped him win the championship but he was not going to be available as a keeper.

As you can see using this value system not only has draft day implications but inseason implications as well. Make a trade with someone for one of their late round picks or maybe even a player they picked up off WW and now YOU are the proud owner of a potential 10th round pick. (Kerm you gotta be slobbering at the mouth at the thought of this)

I may have made it sound more complicated than it is ( I certainly hope not) but in short. Keepers can be kept at previous draft value + 2 rounds. Simple...

Now lets compare this to the goals for a Hardball Heaven keeper league.

Keeps competitive balance intact. .... check

Allows all managers a chance to assemble a good team on draft day....... check

Provides a mechanism for cycling players back to draft pool.... check

Rewards managers for being clever not lucky........ check

Simple to understand and implement...... implement --check, understand? well you all tell me.

I have my asbestos britches on.... go ahead and let your opinions flow... lol

Randy

SUPER GRANDPA!!

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:23:00 +0000

In true Hardball Heaven fashion, one of our precious members has obtained a degree of notoriety. Though not mentioned specifically, our own Juan Torres is the proud father/grandfather of the subjects of this news report.

(added pic of the amazing one himself)

I certainly congratulate Juan on not only this rather unique experience but also for the fact that all involved are healthy and doing fine.

Watch and be amazed !!

Hope everyone is beginning to think baseball. Still waiting for some of you to confirm your return to the league.

Hardballers

Knock-Knock.....anybody listening?

noreply@blogger.com (Randy Stovall) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:06:00 +0000

Looking outside at the 1st accumulation of snow we have had all season it is a little hard to imagine that we are a little over 10 weeks away from opening day. The "Boys of Summer" are still in full hibernation mode. No need for gloves or bats, cleats or uniforms. The time for slumber sits heavily upon us.

Unless of course you are still plugging away in your fantasy football league. My season ended abruptly at the end of regular play. My big accomplishment this season was to insure myself 1st pick in next years draft... lol. GAWD FANTASY FOOTBALL IS SO FICKLE!!!!

Seriously, no amount of preseason study or planning is going to help you one iota in football. Think you made a big grab on draft day? Just wait till the 1st snap of the season and your so-called stud winds up with a hammy, or groin .... or TURF TOE for crying out loud! As much as I like football as a spectator I must admit that I get more and more disillusioned with the fantasy aspect of it each and every year. Maybe some of you did better or have a magical winning formula, but me, I have conceded that I am a fantasy football ignoramus.
And have the results to prove it!

Some of you I know do fantasy basketball as well. I gave that up about 3 years ago to provide a little respite before embarking on the grueling baseball season. Funny, my 1st league championship was in a basketball league so maybe I should be doing that instead of football. Not really though as I am also beginning to lose interest in the NBA even as a spectator. NCAA..... now that's a different story! GO BIG BLUE and every other team with a ".Ky" at the end of it.

I really feel a little lost this time of year. Baseball podcasts haven't started yet except for the occasional update about this or that trade. Baseball blogs are spending most of their time talking about prospects that probably won't even see the bigs this season or spend time rehashing this or that off season trade. No real projections yet. Mock drafts, what there are of them, are useless. In short, these are not the days for the avid baseball fan.

And then of course.... there is the snow.

This is not to say that I am not getting emotionally charged with sports. Far from it. As previously mentioned, NCAA basketball is alive and well and exhilarating! As of today Kentucky is home to 3 top 15 teams! Gotta love it! All the diehard Big Blue fans are convinced this is the year they reclaim the national championship. Not sure I see that happening yet but if Callipari can continue to get them to buy into his program and improve their skills, then by March Madness time... who knows..... just could happen.SEC play has started and the real tests begin for the 'Cats. L'ville always has its hands full in the Big East, especially with Syracuse ranked #1. (Kerm, you gotta be lovin that!) Murray State??? Bet ya never heard of them have ya? Watch em. They are gonna rain on somebody's parade before it is over.

With the NFL playoffs in full swing there is plenty to get pumped up about there. I guess in the NFL today there are basically 2 camps. Those that like Tebow and those that don't. For the record, I am in the "like" camp. Actually I am a "johnny-come-lately" as I didn't like him at all in college. Course I really didn't know much about him then. All I knew was that he played for Florida and that was all I needed to know about him to not particularly like him. When he went to the NFL I was surprised a little when they started telling about his morals and ethics and strong Christian principles. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all. And now as "Tebowing" has become a national phenomenon all I can do is stand in awe of an individual that is that strong and well founded in their faith. Say what you want, the press has made this a big deal, not Tebow. He is just doing what he has always done and now he is getting "praised" or "persecuted" based on where people stand. As a quarterback he pretty much sucks but somehow the Broncos keep winning. Divine intervention? You be the judge. All I can say is I would rather be playing with him than against him and I believe he has inspired his whole team.

So I sit here and look out the window again, inch of snow on the ground, not much but definitely far from baseball weather. Raissa is back in college from the Christmas break and starts softball practice next week. Their first game is scheduled for February 24th. Shit it is gonna be dead of winter then! She is pretty excited about her teams chances this season. They picked up some good freshmen and have lost a couple of attitudes from last year's team. I am looking forward to seeing her play a little more this season.

I hope everyone is planning on returning to the league this year. Would be nice to get a little confirmation from as many of you as possible. I hope to fill a little of my boredom with a podcast soon. I need to familiarize myself again with all the ins and outs of podcasting. I interviewed Juan last year and it was a wonderful session of about 30 mins and then after it was all done I realized that for some reason it didn't record. I ain't going through that again. I am gonna study a little harder on how to make better podcasts and then hope to feature each manager in the league at some point.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Hope everyone is looking forward to a great year this year. Congrats to Juan on the new additions! See everyone on the field soon.

Till the call is sounded.....

Randy