BREAKING NEWS!!!!
AP - (Cleveland) Update: Famous not-so-great pitcher Nick Morton has done it again! Despite pitching a brilliant game, this 25 year-old has just missed his (possibly only) shot at a win. I today's PM2 game, Morton pitched a brilliant eight innings of eight-hit ball. But despite his eight innings of brilliance, this famously hard-luck pitcher still could not find a win. Giving away in the ninth to an otherwise fantastic Antonio Ramirez, all Morton could do was watch the game slip away.... For Ramirez - former Classmate - gave away the games winning run.
Morton's record stands at an amazing 0-17. Should he lose the rest of his games, he will be the first Happy Jack pitcher to go oh-for-20+ in a season. This reporter, thinks he can do it.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Race to Mediocrity Update
Rough day for barely-adequate pitcher Nick Morton. The 25 year-old from Gilcrest, Colorado pitched against the Pittsburgh Steelheads and could not get out of the third inning. Morton gave up seven runs on six hits throwing 62 pitches. The Slut can hold his head high, though, as his opponent for this match - Torey French - had an equally horrid day, leading the way to an eventual Sluts win.
Morton's next stop on his quest for infamy will most likely be on 3/29 in the PM. Until then, we wish him godspeed.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Race to Mediocrity Update
Hard-luck pitcher Nick Morton has done it again. Morton pitched 5 2/3 innings against Wichita yesterday, and was actually pitching quite well (for him). That was until the sixth inning when Morton allowed a single, a SB 2B and the dreaded SB 3B. After the following HR, Morton's night was over. When the inning began, Morton had a 4-3 lead. By the end of the inning, the Sluts were losing 6-4.
Morton's record now stands at a deplorable 0-17. It is believed that this mediocre pitcher could be the first ever Happy Jack ML'er to go 0-for the season with at least 200 innings pitched. The once-thought-of-as-impossible 0-20 is within reach. Should Morton accomplish such a feat, his name will surely be recognized in Happy Jack for years to come. Look for the Chris Berman special later this year.
Morton's record now stands at a deplorable 0-17. It is believed that this mediocre pitcher could be the first ever Happy Jack ML'er to go 0-for the season with at least 200 innings pitched. The once-thought-of-as-impossible 0-20 is within reach. Should Morton accomplish such a feat, his name will surely be recognized in Happy Jack for years to come. Look for the Chris Berman special later this year.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Happy Jack Major League Leaders S7
Snapshot from around the World with 112 games played. This post will category leaders in major stats on a world-wide basis.
HR Leader: with 45. He Bang, he Bang!
RBI Leader: with 119.
AVG Leader: with .367.
SB Leader: with an amazing 73.
Runs Leader: with 113.
Wins Leader: Macho with 18.
Save Leader: at 35.
K Leader: Four-time Cy Young winner at 225 (next closest is 156. He's still got it).
ERA Leader: with 1.79 (with Valdes knocking at the door).
WHIP Leader: Presumptive S7 Cy winner . In fact, until he retires, pencil this 36 year-old in for the Cy Young.
HR Leader: with 45. He Bang, he Bang!
RBI Leader: with 119.
AVG Leader: with .367.
SB Leader: with an amazing 73.
Runs Leader: with 113.
Wins Leader: Macho with 18.
Save Leader: at 35.
K Leader: Four-time Cy Young winner at 225 (next closest is 156. He's still got it).
ERA Leader: with 1.79 (with Valdes knocking at the door).
WHIP Leader: Presumptive S7 Cy winner . In fact, until he retires, pencil this 36 year-old in for the Cy Young.
Race to Mediocrity Update
In today's PM game, not-terrible pitcher Nick Morton kept his ignominious streak alive. The third year Slut pitched six innings giving up 12 hits and six runs for the no-decision. Morton actually pitched "well enough" to leave the game with the lead. However, the Inbred Jeds managed to come back, robbing Morton of his first victory of the season. It appears Morton will have to wait at least one more start before improving on his 0-16 record.
Vegas Review Updated!!
We're young and we're ready. The rebuild has been slower than anticipated but we've stockpiled a bunch of young talent that is ready to burst onto the scene. We expect to contend for the division and hopefully do some damage in the NL playoffs.
Result: We're currently tied for the WC spots with two other teams at 61-50. One of us will be disappointed.
Catcher - Signed Mark Lee in the off-season. He's just keeping the seat warm for Charles Blankenship who'll start the season in AAA. Lee is a capable player so, if he's up to par, we bought Blankenship one more year in the minors. Vic Ortiz returns as a defensive catcher who'll spot Lee vs. the occassional lefty.
Result-Lee wasn't getting it done so he was dealt and Blankenship got the call. After a slow start, Charles is hitting .256/.341/.487 in 78 AB.
Firstbaseman - Steve Corino's career as a catcher has come to an end. His pitch calling never developed but he can still rake so he'll play 1B until Michael Evans is promoted. Evans is better right now but he can use some more minor league seasoning. Corino hit .319 and slugged .586 last season.
Result-In 288 AB, Steve has put up the following: .281/.357/.510. Despite that, we made a trade for David Stankiewicz(.313/.395/.535 in 217 AB). Steve was just sent to AAA to make temporary ML roster room. He'll be back shortly but if anyone should file a complaint over shoddy treatment, it's Steve.
Secondbaseman - Ol' Vic Seguignol made the transistion from CF to 2B last season. Vic can still play despite being our 2nd oldest position player(that belongs to Lee now) at 32. Vic hit .290 last year. Lenny Swann is chomping at the bit in AAA and will get the call sometime this season.
Result-Vic was traded yesterday. Lenny and Geoff Young have been splitting time at 2B. In 287 AB, Lenny has 28 SB but is only hitting .247 on the year.
Thirdbaseman - We'll probably go with a platoon between Luis Diaz and Brent Waters to start the season. Both can hit and have power but neither has much of an eye. Luis stroked 25 homers with a .272 BA in 523 AB last season. Brent slugged .564 in 259 AB. Someone will win the spot and the other will fill in at the infield/outfield corners.
Result-Both are performing adequately. Brent has 28 homers in 310 AB while Luis is hitting .267/.336/.440 in 266 AB. Both have also seen action in the COF spots.
Shortstop - Davey McKnight will start the season at SS. He won the GG in season 5 but fell off ever so slightly last year. Only 27, he's expected to rebound. Unfortunately, Davey should take a boat oar to the plate because he can't hit. His numbers from last year: .244/.298/.298. He'll be with the team for quite awhile but Brad O'Toole and Geoff Young are coming. May be this season. May be next. But they're on the way.
Result-Geoff got the call. Davey has hit surprisingly well vs. lefties(.291/.362/.403) and remains the starter when a southpaw is on the mound. Geoff starts vs. righties and gets time at 2B/3B. He's hitting .292 and getting on at a .366 rate.
Leftfield - A bit of a problem spot. Wayne Ramsey, Kenny Ripken and Matty Starr form some sort of a three-headed monster out there. Unfortunately, it's the type of monster that scares no one. They're adequate but LF should be better. That's why Diaz, Waters or O'Toole(until he gets his SS ratings) might see plenty of time in left.
Result-Obviously we weren't comfortable with this situation. So we traded for Blade Harris. After a slow start, he's hitting .280/.349/.551 with 24 homers in 336 AB.
Centerfield - Braden Burks is solid in center. He hit 22 homers and stole 26 bases last season. Only 24, we expect him to develop into a 30/30 man.
Result-Braden is playing exactly as expected. He's hitting .299 with 21 homers/28 SB in 395 AB.
Rightfield - Eugene Sinclair was signed to a one year deal as a FA. Only 24 and with 37 BL AB, Eugene has a ton of potential. On our current big league roster, he has the best eye and the 2nd most power(behind Waters). He's the big bat we need until Blankenship, O'Toole and Evans get the call.
Result-Another position that played out as expected. Geno is hitting .271/.340.518 with 25 homers in 240 AB.
Starting pitchers - Looks like we'll have to utilize 6 SP this year. Bonk Daniels will anchor the rotation. 27 and just acquired via trade, we're expecting big things from him. The next group, Alberto Alonso, Dusty Bates, Sean Cooper and Robb Morton, are aged 24-27 so we've got a young group. Bates is the only lefty so we're a little unbalanced. Andrew Worrell, 37, was brought back to finish up the rotation. He's pitched well and has shown no significant decline. However, his low stamina, along with Alonso's, pretty much force us into a 6 man rotation. Daniel Santangelo would be #2 in our rotation but we've decided he needs a few more innings in the minors. He should be in the bigs before the A/S break.
Result-Daniels has been the ace. 144 IP with a 3.74 ERA. Cooper leads the team with 10 wins despite his 4.76 ERA in 132 IP. Worrell has been a pleasant surprise with a 1.21 WHIP/4.12 ERA in 98 innings. Bates has been a fine #2 with a 3.83 ERA in 108 IP. Our #5 has been troublesome with Morton, Alonso and Octavio Benitez all getting starts. Benitez has been the latest to get a shot and he's done the best with a 4.41 ERA in 49 innings. Alonso and Morton have 5+ ERA.
Long relief - We have a ton of candidates and this is not yet set. Octavio Benitez, Sammy Keeler, Joe Flores, Dicky Dickey, D.T.Sullivan, John Oliver, Alex Saez and Tony Rodriguez all have big league experience(and contracts). All seem to have a fatal flaw that keeps them out of the rotation but they are good enough to spot start or relieve.
Result-A mess. I don't want to talk about it. Bah.
Short relief - There are 3 minor leaguers who are ready(Bret Kile, Cyrus Mullens and Keith Watson) but I'm not ready for them. We're going with a little more experience and have brought back Frank Leary(30), Mike Kirk(33), Jack Ulrich(29) and Brian Hong(37) this year. Kirk will close while the other three split set-up duties. It would not be surprising if all 4 were job hunting next year.
Result-Leary became the closer and has done a fine job with 30 saves in 32 opportunities. Opponents are hitting .185 against him and his WHIP is south of 1. Kirk and Ulrich have been adequate as set-up men while Hong was dealt. We recently added Eli Estrada and Jeff Service to the mix via trade. Both have done well in limited appearances.
Result: We're currently tied for the WC spots with two other teams at 61-50. One of us will be disappointed.
Catcher - Signed Mark Lee in the off-season. He's just keeping the seat warm for Charles Blankenship who'll start the season in AAA. Lee is a capable player so, if he's up to par, we bought Blankenship one more year in the minors. Vic Ortiz returns as a defensive catcher who'll spot Lee vs. the occassional lefty.
Result-Lee wasn't getting it done so he was dealt and Blankenship got the call. After a slow start, Charles is hitting .256/.341/.487 in 78 AB.
Firstbaseman - Steve Corino's career as a catcher has come to an end. His pitch calling never developed but he can still rake so he'll play 1B until Michael Evans is promoted. Evans is better right now but he can use some more minor league seasoning. Corino hit .319 and slugged .586 last season.
Result-In 288 AB, Steve has put up the following: .281/.357/.510. Despite that, we made a trade for David Stankiewicz(.313/.395/.535 in 217 AB). Steve was just sent to AAA to make temporary ML roster room. He'll be back shortly but if anyone should file a complaint over shoddy treatment, it's Steve.
Secondbaseman - Ol' Vic Seguignol made the transistion from CF to 2B last season. Vic can still play despite being our 2nd oldest position player(that belongs to Lee now) at 32. Vic hit .290 last year. Lenny Swann is chomping at the bit in AAA and will get the call sometime this season.
Result-Vic was traded yesterday. Lenny and Geoff Young have been splitting time at 2B. In 287 AB, Lenny has 28 SB but is only hitting .247 on the year.
Thirdbaseman - We'll probably go with a platoon between Luis Diaz and Brent Waters to start the season. Both can hit and have power but neither has much of an eye. Luis stroked 25 homers with a .272 BA in 523 AB last season. Brent slugged .564 in 259 AB. Someone will win the spot and the other will fill in at the infield/outfield corners.
Result-Both are performing adequately. Brent has 28 homers in 310 AB while Luis is hitting .267/.336/.440 in 266 AB. Both have also seen action in the COF spots.
Shortstop - Davey McKnight will start the season at SS. He won the GG in season 5 but fell off ever so slightly last year. Only 27, he's expected to rebound. Unfortunately, Davey should take a boat oar to the plate because he can't hit. His numbers from last year: .244/.298/.298. He'll be with the team for quite awhile but Brad O'Toole and Geoff Young are coming. May be this season. May be next. But they're on the way.
Result-Geoff got the call. Davey has hit surprisingly well vs. lefties(.291/.362/.403) and remains the starter when a southpaw is on the mound. Geoff starts vs. righties and gets time at 2B/3B. He's hitting .292 and getting on at a .366 rate.
Leftfield - A bit of a problem spot. Wayne Ramsey, Kenny Ripken and Matty Starr form some sort of a three-headed monster out there. Unfortunately, it's the type of monster that scares no one. They're adequate but LF should be better. That's why Diaz, Waters or O'Toole(until he gets his SS ratings) might see plenty of time in left.
Result-Obviously we weren't comfortable with this situation. So we traded for Blade Harris. After a slow start, he's hitting .280/.349/.551 with 24 homers in 336 AB.
Centerfield - Braden Burks is solid in center. He hit 22 homers and stole 26 bases last season. Only 24, we expect him to develop into a 30/30 man.
Result-Braden is playing exactly as expected. He's hitting .299 with 21 homers/28 SB in 395 AB.
Rightfield - Eugene Sinclair was signed to a one year deal as a FA. Only 24 and with 37 BL AB, Eugene has a ton of potential. On our current big league roster, he has the best eye and the 2nd most power(behind Waters). He's the big bat we need until Blankenship, O'Toole and Evans get the call.
Result-Another position that played out as expected. Geno is hitting .271/.340.518 with 25 homers in 240 AB.
Starting pitchers - Looks like we'll have to utilize 6 SP this year. Bonk Daniels will anchor the rotation. 27 and just acquired via trade, we're expecting big things from him. The next group, Alberto Alonso, Dusty Bates, Sean Cooper and Robb Morton, are aged 24-27 so we've got a young group. Bates is the only lefty so we're a little unbalanced. Andrew Worrell, 37, was brought back to finish up the rotation. He's pitched well and has shown no significant decline. However, his low stamina, along with Alonso's, pretty much force us into a 6 man rotation. Daniel Santangelo would be #2 in our rotation but we've decided he needs a few more innings in the minors. He should be in the bigs before the A/S break.
Result-Daniels has been the ace. 144 IP with a 3.74 ERA. Cooper leads the team with 10 wins despite his 4.76 ERA in 132 IP. Worrell has been a pleasant surprise with a 1.21 WHIP/4.12 ERA in 98 innings. Bates has been a fine #2 with a 3.83 ERA in 108 IP. Our #5 has been troublesome with Morton, Alonso and Octavio Benitez all getting starts. Benitez has been the latest to get a shot and he's done the best with a 4.41 ERA in 49 innings. Alonso and Morton have 5+ ERA.
Long relief - We have a ton of candidates and this is not yet set. Octavio Benitez, Sammy Keeler, Joe Flores, Dicky Dickey, D.T.Sullivan, John Oliver, Alex Saez and Tony Rodriguez all have big league experience(and contracts). All seem to have a fatal flaw that keeps them out of the rotation but they are good enough to spot start or relieve.
Result-A mess. I don't want to talk about it. Bah.
Short relief - There are 3 minor leaguers who are ready(Bret Kile, Cyrus Mullens and Keith Watson) but I'm not ready for them. We're going with a little more experience and have brought back Frank Leary(30), Mike Kirk(33), Jack Ulrich(29) and Brian Hong(37) this year. Kirk will close while the other three split set-up duties. It would not be surprising if all 4 were job hunting next year.
Result-Leary became the closer and has done a fine job with 30 saves in 32 opportunities. Opponents are hitting .185 against him and his WHIP is south of 1. Kirk and Ulrich have been adequate as set-up men while Hong was dealt. We recently added Eli Estrada and Jeff Service to the mix via trade. Both have done well in limited appearances.
Race to Mediocrity
Not so bad player
continues his historic streak. Slut Nick Morton is a major league pitcher in his third full season. The 25 year-old lefty has amassed a big league record of 19-43 in that time. 16 of those losses have come from this season. Amazingly, Morton does not yet have a single win this season.
In his last start, Morton pitched 7 2/3 inning giving up three hits and two runs. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough for the hard-luck pitcher to earn a win.
In his next start, Morton will once again try to avoid another "L." However, should the pitcher finish the season without a single win, it is believed he will be the first major league pitcher to start at least 20 games and never gain a "W." This reporter will be rooting for Morton to avoid his place in ignominy.
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In his last start, Morton pitched 7 2/3 inning giving up three hits and two runs. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough for the hard-luck pitcher to earn a win.
In his next start, Morton will once again try to avoid another "L." However, should the pitcher finish the season without a single win, it is believed he will be the first major league pitcher to start at least 20 games and never gain a "W." This reporter will be rooting for Morton to avoid his place in ignominy.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Smarter Than a One-Nut Monkey?
Buffalo (AP) - After selling off every marketable piece on the inherited ML roster, many in the land of ice and wings wondered whether the Nickels had enough left to pass Mike's 55 win 'tarded-up-owner threshold. As of right now, the Buffalo Nickels are playing at a .445 clip - good for a projected 70-92 season (despite being in the midst of a four game losing streak). When asked how they managed this, G.M. examinerebb responded "blind-ass luck". We'll dig a little deeper.
Free Agency
In an effort to make the team at least somewhat competitive, the front office went after some free agents who slipped through the normal signing period. They struck gold with first baseman Davey Torres. All he's done through 110 games is hit .327 with 25 homers - in a pitcher's park. Center fielder Davey Reynoso has also been a solid contributor, though he has now been relegated to platoon duty (more to follow on that front). Pitchers Ray Bates and Jim Flores haven't been spectacular, but they've done just enough to keep the Buffalo squad in games.
Trades
Most of the Nickels' trading was done before the season started, but the market heated up for their corner outfielders as the season went on. In each trade, Buffalo acquired an ML-ready replacement as well as a prospect. New left fielder Kennie Ripken has contributed 18 homers, including a team-leading 4 of the walk-off variety. Right fielder Willis Wynn hasn't contributed much with the bat, but helped to upgrade the defense. Starting pitcher Toby Simpson was acquired in one of the aforementioned preseason trades, but was immediately placed on the ML roster. He has responded by posting the best numbers of any member of the big league rotation.
Promotions
The front office identified some youngsters who had stalled in their development a couple of cycles into the season, and decided to bring them up to the majors to contribute in a platoon without improvement there, rather than in the minors. 23 year old catcher Lonnie Magee has cooled off quite a bit since he got the call, but has provided decent pop and pitch calling. 24 year old third baseman Orlando Vidal has struggled mightily at the plate, but finally has his average over .200 while playing excellent defense at the hot corner. Finally, 23 year old center fielder Greg Trachsel has been an absolute beast. He has 14 homers in only 137 at bats, all while playing outstanding defense (no errors, 3 "+" plays, no "-" plays).
The role players seem to be doing their jobs, a couple of players have exceeded expectations, and no one is flat-out terrible. That appears to be the recipe for turning a 120 loss team into a 70 win team. And with all the young talent in the system, the future looks bright for the Nickels in the coming seasons.
Free Agency
In an effort to make the team at least somewhat competitive, the front office went after some free agents who slipped through the normal signing period. They struck gold with first baseman Davey Torres. All he's done through 110 games is hit .327 with 25 homers - in a pitcher's park. Center fielder Davey Reynoso has also been a solid contributor, though he has now been relegated to platoon duty (more to follow on that front). Pitchers Ray Bates and Jim Flores haven't been spectacular, but they've done just enough to keep the Buffalo squad in games.
Trades
Most of the Nickels' trading was done before the season started, but the market heated up for their corner outfielders as the season went on. In each trade, Buffalo acquired an ML-ready replacement as well as a prospect. New left fielder Kennie Ripken has contributed 18 homers, including a team-leading 4 of the walk-off variety. Right fielder Willis Wynn hasn't contributed much with the bat, but helped to upgrade the defense. Starting pitcher Toby Simpson was acquired in one of the aforementioned preseason trades, but was immediately placed on the ML roster. He has responded by posting the best numbers of any member of the big league rotation.
Promotions
The front office identified some youngsters who had stalled in their development a couple of cycles into the season, and decided to bring them up to the majors to contribute in a platoon without improvement there, rather than in the minors. 23 year old catcher Lonnie Magee has cooled off quite a bit since he got the call, but has provided decent pop and pitch calling. 24 year old third baseman Orlando Vidal has struggled mightily at the plate, but finally has his average over .200 while playing excellent defense at the hot corner. Finally, 23 year old center fielder Greg Trachsel has been an absolute beast. He has 14 homers in only 137 at bats, all while playing outstanding defense (no errors, 3 "+" plays, no "-" plays).
The role players seem to be doing their jobs, a couple of players have exceeded expectations, and no one is flat-out terrible. That appears to be the recipe for turning a 120 loss team into a 70 win team. And with all the young talent in the system, the future looks bright for the Nickels in the coming seasons.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
NL Wild Card Race
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Happy Jack NCAA Bracket Competition
http://hjhbd.mayhem.sportsline.com
Bracket Name: Happy Jack
Password: blackbeard
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Bracket Name: Happy Jack
Password: blackbeard
You'll have to create a CBS Sportsline account if you don't have one. It's free, and you can choose not to receive any ads when you sign up. Registered blog users have an invite waiting in their mail box.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Say Hello to Our Blog
The formatting is complete, the sidebar is chock full of info, and we have a couple of posts. Suggestions for additions are always welcome. Enjoy!
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