Strat-o-Musings
Michael J. Rivet, Jr.
February 25, 2001
The
Personalities of the Game . . ..
My friend
Josh is one those ultimate survivors. In the six seasons I've played
strat-o-matic with him this past season was one of the first he finished much
below .500. This guy could take the most motley bunch of guys and make a run at
the playoffs. In fact, after one season in which he brought a losing record to
the playoffs and another team with 90 wins had to stay home we had to change how
the playoffs are determined. Anyway, I mention Josh because don't recall ever
beating him in a face-to-face game. I know I've won a couple - I just don't
recall them. He has had better teams but I know that's not 100% it because I
watched him take apart an eventual league champ in six games. Now, that we play
using the computer he can't use his Jedi mind tricks on me.
After all
the analysis is done, the draft is over, and the season has started. You pick
your roster, rotation, line-ups and your strategy. Your starters give up
nothing, relievers throw lights-out and you've got the hitters with all the
right tools. Then catastrophe! Your dice go cold. Next thing you know you're
raiding your sister's (wife's now that we're older) Yatzee dice after feeding
your last two to the dog. It's around now that Alvaro Espinoza is given to your
1-year-old to do "as she pleases." Remember Alvaro? Always played 5
positions therefore you could pinch-hit for one because you always had Alvaro
to cover in case the game went extras. He'd even oblige every so often and hit
.300 in about 100 AB's - more than enough because I never let him bat. In three
seasons he had about 10 hits. Well, to this day the only card missing from my
sets is Espinoza.
On
Lunch-Time Strato . . .
I didn't
purchase my first IBM/Microsoft based machine until 1998. So having started in
1994 and playing almost all of my games by mail I spent a lot of time alone
with my cards. I went back to college from 1995 to 1997 and my cards went with
me. I've secretly played games in class, during lunch, dorm lounges, and
anywhere the wind could blow my cards around. Though I do remember a blustery
April morning where a particularly sharp blast of Utica air went through my
notebook and a couple of cards ended up in a mud puddle.
I bet you
do or did this too. You have that certain way you organize your cards:
ineligibles face down on the bottom, then the bench, the bullpen, and the
rotation on top with the current starter on top - until a reliever comes in and
he goes on top. And you have your line-up. If you're playing out a mail game
you have both teams out. I usually put my d20 on top of the team of the pitcher
who isn't up that inning. I like to make my scorecard in black and then write
in the results in red.
So I'm sitting
in the employee lounge - I can get 3 innings in on my morning break and then I
try to finish it at lunch - and someone starts a conversation with you. Or,
worse they ask you what you're doing. Do what I do: 1) smile at them but don't
answer; or 2) start explaining - eventually they'll go away. When you work a
mind-numbing, data-entry job any diversion during the day was welcome.
Invariable though, I'd get to the 7th inning where most managers
start their strategies. It would take my whole afternoon break to play the 9th.
And if the game went extra's? I'd either have to agonize over the outcome until
I got home or roll dice at my desk. Hey, when you got your first programmable
calculator didn't you make it do random numbers? For different dice sizes?
Eventually
I got one of the guys at work interested enough in strato to listen to the
exploits of my team, trades that were going on, etc. I'd give him game updates
as the day went on. Oh, then you finish the series at home so the next day you
occupy your time figuring out your stats. This is a whole other ritual for
another time. At least at work I had access to the copy machine and a
spreadsheet program. Keeping that window hidden on my machine passed a lot of
time as I'd sneak peeks at how who was doing what.
On
trashing talking and Press Confrences . . .
All three
of my leagues do some amount of trash talking. It all depends on the style of
the league. On of my leagues - the All-Star Strat League - takes this too the
extreme and encourages it. The league web-sites maintains a newsletter and the
commissioner will post the stories like MLB posts their headlines. In fact,
Dave, Jr. goes so far as to stir the pot if not enough is going on. From
trades, to name changes, "contract talks," and rivalries are grist for
the mill.
The key is
to make your article or e-mail sound as plausible as possible with a touch of
humor. Some guys like to interject some invective and take it to a raunchy or
obscene limit. As this is all "fantasy" I prefer the humorous
approach . Recently, I had drafted Travis Fryman in the first round of the
draft beating out an owner who really wanted him and was a favorite player.
Well, after a month or so of listening to overtures for him I finally made the
deal. At this point I felt the need to justify the move and so an article was
born. Obviously, Fryman wasn't happy because Garciaparra was team captain and
wouldn't relinquish that role to his now road roomate. So, after a pillow fight
and an after practice wrestling match Fryman walked out of camp leaving me no
choice but to trade him. Even they guy I traded Fryman to thought it was
hillarious.
Trash
talking is a little more appropriate during on-line chats. Here again it's
important to not get personnable and keep it actual game performances - of
either the cards or the owner. It's too easy to cross a line or go overboard
here so BE CAREFUL. Don't get thrown out of a league because you hurt too many
people's feelings! Get to know your fellow owners. Like Phil Trygar says,
"you'll eventually forget the season but not the people you played
with."
Strat-o-matic
can be a wonderful creative outlet for those who played and weren't any good,
those who coach, and those who follow MLB.
On
Future Musings . . .
Upcoming
topics: The ART of the team logo/emblem, Tales from the Lunch Table, early days
with the basic rules, my current project the New York Fall League, on
communication in Mail Leagues, and more memories and experiences of playing
strat-o-matic.
Thanks to
SOM World for printing my first article in issue #70!
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