Strat-O-Musings
Michael J.
Rivet, Jr.
September, 2001
Today I bought the Baseball Weekly, something I've done on
and off again since the publication debuted. Every year at this time the final
season statistics come out for each league. Oh, sure, ESPN.com has had the
stats updated - to the minute - since the season started. There is nothing like
having the paper between your fingers, engrossed in the stats, fumbling with
your pencil as you try to find all your players, making guesses as to how SOM
will rate the abilities of the players and working towards the annual draft.
These days there are many publications available that profess to predict how
the ratings will turn out, many fan sites of comparisons and commentary, and
many ways to interpret the data. Every player of this game I ever have taken
the time to discuss the subject with has had their own way of coming to the
measure of a player - what they look for.
The great players are easy - everyone wants Bonds - and
except for a start-up league I'll bet he's already taken and has been since the
first draft round ever held by your league. And, I'll wager, someone with the
first pick in the coming draft is agonizing over whether they should take
Pujols or Ichiro. Sounds like my kind of problem. Even as the round progresses
the picks of the first round are easily predicted. But the mettle of a player
comes as you approach the middle rounds when the obvious talent is gone and the
prospects and rookies are left; especially, those long on talent and short on
performance. This is where preparation research and gut instinct make the
measure of the owner even more so than those risky mid-season trades.
I can't give any real advice except my thoughts on the
subject. But you need to know your style, make a plan (and stick to it!!!), be
prepared, and go for it. In real time drafts, never under-estimate the power of
suggestion and psychological warfare. In those days when players actually
gathered in the same room for a draft, I used to leave stray cards out on the
table for all to see. These were my emergency choices for when the pickings got
sparse. Oh, not my pickings because I had made my wish list made weeks before.
These were for those guys who ran out prematurely. Oh, they'd be players that
looked good at first - usually relief pitchers - but had a deceptive HR in an
undesirable spot. I'd usually get at least one person with this one. Those were
the good old days. Now I content my self with mid-draft trades that seem to make
no sense until the last round or two rolls around and I'm able to pick up that
high priced free agent no one could afford and thought I couldn't either. You
can only do this in salary cap leagues.
The Legends of Cooperstown Hall of
Fame/Past season League
I'd like to give some credit out to Phil Trygar and Larry
Denicola. One night they were sitting around discussing the possibilities of a
Hall of Fame list. The problem, as we all know, is that you can only really get
6-8 teams together and the distribution of players at the positions is not
proportional to what is actually needed. As the story goes it was Larry who
thought of adding a past season into the mix and then Phil who made it happen.
Obviously, I heard all this second hand and many people gave support along the
way. I now have the privilege of playing in the 16 team Legends of Cooperstown
league. We added 24 Negro League home-made cards to the Hall of Fame mix.
We just completed our 35 round draft. We laughed, we cried,
we fell down, it was good. I believe it was Phil who likened the draft to child
birth. We've both referred to the constitution as the Magna Carta. But, man,
this is gonna be some league! Win or lose how can you not have fun with a
line-up that includes Mantle, Kaline, and Doby? Or, a rotation of Koufax,
Bunning and Jenkins? I've never had a team with so many tools and managerial
options. At the same time, my bench is weak and the bull-pen thin. These are
good teams but not supper teams. Oh, Phil has a '1' at every position.
This will be played as a 160 game winter league. Every April
we will vote on the Past Season to use on the coming season - '54 is my guess
since one of our members (the good doctor himself) has already made it
available to the league. Currently we are playing the pitching rich (hitting
poor) 1967 season. It contains very few third-basemen and catchers that can
hit. You'll find many good pitching cards however. And, strangely enough, many
future managers: Dierker, Lefbvre, Torborg, Regan, Torre, and many others. As
the winter drags on I will try and bring you some of the stories of the season.
I've been watching playoff baseball since Bucky Dent popped
one over the Green Monster. What a day! If it wasn't for the magic of video
replay I'd barely remember it. Then there was the '79 World Series between
Pittsburgh's "We are Family" and the hated Oriole's of Weaver,
Palmer, et al. I think Stargell hit a homer and that the Pirates came back from
a 3 games to 1 deficit. I think. I do remember Kent Tekulve and John
Candelaria. After watching Tekulve pitch I always pitched sidearm in the
pick-up games in the park. I remember the ALCS battles that the Kansas City
Royals (remember when they were in the 7 team AL West?) versus the New York
Yankees. In 1980 the Royals finally won to go on and lose to the Phillies (that
one's for you Phil!) In the strike-shorted '81 seasons my Yanks made it back to
the World Series by winning the first half of the season in the crazy format to
make a little excitement after the labor strife. They promptly were swept by
LA. From there my memory fades. I believe it was Baltimore again in '82 or '83,
the Tigers in '84, the A's 88-90, then Toronto took a couple sandwiched by the
Twins, the Phillies again in '93 (losing), somewhere in there the Braves
started their 10 year streak, then the lost 1994 season, and of course 1995 -
New York and Seattle in the newly created ALDS. Game 5. Cone comes back on
three days rest. Showalter goes one inning too long with Cone as Seattle takes
a 4-2 lead. Enter Randy Johnson. Pinella has everyone available to pitch.
Johnson shuts down NY and it ends Mattingly's long quest to go to the World
Series. He came after the 1981 sweep and was forced into retirement in the
winter before the 1996 Team of Destiny.
So much was left out of there. The baseball playoffs have
been a part of my life for 20 or so seasons. Don't tell me baseball isn't
important to me. Baseball has taken a whole new meaning for me since 9-11-01. I
have relished every pitch, every 3 and 1/2 hour game, and spent many a late
night trying to catch every game televised. I even predicted Oakland against
St. Louis in the series. So much for that prediction. The Yankees continue to
make history every game they play. But are there heroes in this story? Only the
NYPD police working OT as security at the stadium keeping 56,000 New Yorkers
secure enough to enjoy their team play. We have a world where idle pursuits can
still go on, where little boys can dream of chasing down a small white spheroid
of leather. Where the biggest enemy is the Seattle Mariner upstarts - hated
since 1995 when that five game series brought baseball back from labor relation
hell. Where the talk around the water cooler is if Mussina can bring the
Yankees back from the dead against the young and talented Oakland Athletics.
After this Series I'll be back here to talk about this
historic series - the 38th for New York and the first for Arizona.
So many stories so little time. 54% of inter-net respondents pick New York. 29%
pick them to win in 6 games. 26% pick Arizona in six. Memories will be made. No
heroes will be created though and these aren't your role models. They are men
playing the game they love and being well paid for it from the sale of tickets
to those of us most interested in their exploits. It is Entertainment - no
more. But how we love this pursuit of sport! Thank God we are all still here to
see it!
On Future Musings . . .
Next month will be my 10th column and will
concern itself with the MLB playoffs, the LOC, stories from the drafts of two
of my leagues - one expanding, or maybe something that comes up. The season
runs through Spring, Summer and Fall to rest in the Winter. Young boys (and
girls!) grow a lot in a season and adults find hope, happiness and live their
dreams. You never know where it will take you.
(I know I may have mess up my play-off memories above
but that was my point.)
Stratomusings is a (mostly) monthly column.
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