Union League Predictions - Updated by Poulas
I have division winners staying the same.

In the Atlantic, Newark should run away with the division by at least 6 games and probably more. Looking for 93 or so wins from the Eagles.

In the Continental it is all about Detroit, especially after the Ruth trade.

I think the only race will be in the Pacific where the division is not quite 'up for grabs', but there can be suprises. KC is still the best team, but all three other teams can really compete. I'll stick with KC, but I am not loving it!

Union League Predictions?
Mood:  quizzical
Topic: Prognostications
I've posted my predictions for the LL--anyone care to go on record about how the UL will finish?

Exhibition Season 2006
Topic: Exhibition
The Pre-Season is over, controversy still rages on, but it's time to crown the best of pre-season, make prognostications of the pennant race, and start the Regular Season -- the games count now! Play Ball!

Newark Eagles and Houston Colt .45's Take Top Honours!

                    2006 ATL Exhibition 

Legends League            W    L   Pct   RF   RA
 Houston Colt .45's      35   11  .761  265  189
 Mudville Nine           28   18  .609  238  217
 Oakland A's             26   20  .565  174  164
 Cincinnati Reds         24   22  .522  259  230
 Baltimore Orioles       24   22  .522  234  200
 New York Giants         23   23  .500  231  263
 Chicago Cubs            23   23  .500  188  208
 Boston Red Sox          21   25  .457  211  220
 Saint Louis Stars       21   25  .457  209  211
 Toronto Blue Jays       20   26  .435  221  225
 Pittsburgh Pirates      18   28  .391  184  232
 Brooklyn Dodgers        14   32  .304  169  216

Union League              W    L   Pct   RF   RA
 Newark Eagles           35   11  .761  275  195
 Chicago White Stockings 29   17  .630  251  184
 Washington Nationals    24   22  .522  263  250
 Cleveland Spiders       23   23  .500  213  214
 Boston Braves           23   23  .500  196  195
 Orix Blue Wave          23   23  .500  186  224
 San Francisco Seals     22   24  .478  232  208
 Saint Louis Cardinals   21   25  .457  205  232
 Kansas City Monarchs    20   26  .435  178  215
 Tokyo Giants*           19   27  .413  192  216
 New York Yankees        18   28  .391  194  235
 Detroit Tigers          18   28  .391  260  285

George Giles wins Exhibition Season Batting Crown and Boog Powell wins the Home Run Crown!

Giles,G     45L  .378    Powell,B   NYL  20
Hill,P      NEU  .374    Gonzalez,J NYL  16
Aaron       SLU  .366    Bonds,Ba   45L  15
Gwynn       BJL  .359    Robinson,F BOL  15
Gehrig      WNU  .358    Aaron      SLU  15
Wells,W     CRL  .354    Gehrig     WNU  14
Smith,C     CCL  .343    Allen,D    WSU  13
Leonard,B   NEU  .342    McCovey    DTU  12
Baker,F     MNL  .333    Matsui,H   TGU  12
Charleston  45L  .332    Keller     WNU  12

While Buck Leonard wins the RBI Crown and Jelly Gardner wins the Stolen Base Crown!

Leonard,B  NEU  54   Gardner,J 45L  27-12
Allen,D    WSU  50   Poles     WSU   22-5
Aaron      SLU  48   Benjamin  SFU  22-12
Charleston 45L  47   Bell,CP   CRL   21-4
Gehrig     WNU  43   Henderson BJL   19-7
Robinson,F BOL  42   Hill,P    NEU   17-3
Powell,B   NYL  41   Lyons,J   KCU   17-6
Keller     WNU  41   Vargas    WSU   15-5
Gonzalez,J NYL  40   Lopes     NYL   14-4
Bonds,Ba   45L  39   McGraw,J  CRL   14-6

On the mound, Larry Jackson won the ERA Crown and Smokey Joe Williams was crowned the Strikeout King.

Jackson,L   OAL  1.80     Williams,SJ SFU  84
Jenkins,Fe  OAL  2.15     Paige, S    NEU  77
Seaver      BDL  2.20     Rogan       SLL  74
Lopat       BBU  2.25     Vance       CRL  69
Marichal    BBU  2.53     Ryan        BJL  66
Hooton      BDL  2.66     Bragana     CCL  62
Donovan,D   OAL  2.70     Schilling   MNL  62
Chance,D    BWU  2.72     Redding     CRL  53
Young       BWU  2.79     Clemens     DTU  53
Williams,SJ SFU  2.81     McDonald,W  NEU  52

Eppa Rixey wears the Wins Crown, and Tom Henke gets the Saves Crown.

Rixey        MNL  7-2   Henke        45L  12
McDuffie     NEU  6-0   Rivera       NEU  11
Williams,SJ  SFU  6-1   Eichhorn     BWU  11
Clarkson     45L  6-1   Benitez      BOL  10
Jenkins,Fe   OAL  6-2   Quisenberry  OAL  10
Paige, S     NEU  6-3   Kaku,G       CSU   9
Ward,M       CRL  6-3   Face         CCL   8
Rusie        45L  5-0   Olson        SLU   7
Crawford, S  NEU  5-0   Hoffman      SLL   7
Blackwell    MNL  5-1   Nen          MNL   7

Please post all your Exhibition Season articles as comments here. Thank you.

Controversy: What the League Veto of The Gehrig Trade Means
Topic: Trades
An important event is playing out right now in the ATL, and like all pivotal events in any organization it doesn't come without controversy. A lot has been said about the pros and cons of the trade that precipitated this event, and a lot has also been said about the motives of those involved with voting for or against the trade. I will try to cut through all that and assess why the League vetoed the trade, and what that means for the direction of the League.

I invite everyone to post comments to this thread, but I caution that this is an esoteric thread about Ideals, and not a political rant for or against the trade, nor is it a platform for statistical subterfuge. This is a thread about what the League Veto means to the League.

I think several other trades have a direct bearing on this one, three trades especially, and I will try to put them in a coherent light regarding this trade, and then come to a conclusion.


First, The Vetoed Gehrig Trade, for reference:
To StL Stars:
Lou Gehrig 1B
Mitsuhiro Adachi SP

To Washington:
Jim Whitney SP
Steve Reed CL
Edgar Martinez DH
Vic Harris LF
Norm Cash 1B
Gil Hodges 1B

The Other Trades:

TRADE 1:
To Boston:
Joe Morgan 2B
Ken Singleton RF

To NY Mets:
Larry Doyle 2B
Babe Ruth RF

The single worst trade in the short history of the ATL. However, even this trade had its vocal proponents which just highlights that consensus is always difficult to achieve. I think this trade has a lot of bearing on The Gehrig Trade for those who voted Nay. The argument here in favour of the trade was that Morgan and Singleton, batting first and second in the Boston lineup, would produce more Runs than Ruth batting 3rd or 4th, and Doyle batting 8th. Sim results were produced to substantiate this claim, and the Boston owner proclaimed himself very happy with Morgan & Singleton instead of Ruth & Doyle. However, most opinion on the fate of Boston before and after this trade took a 180 degree turn. The Ruth Trade was quickly labeled "The Curse," and the Boston owner was heard from a handful of times over the next few months before he disapeared completely. I think some of the owners took notice of the ultimate effect -- a Lost Owner. Whether that was good or bad for the League is a point open to debate, and will not be debated here. The point is, that perhaps this trade more than any other had influence on The Gehrig Trade. At the time, several owners expressed opinions offlist that I should intervene and nullify the trade. The WatchDog Clause had not yet been given the jurisdiction over all trades, and I was not yet ready to enact Landesian Laws for the fledgling league. However, the inaction on the part of the League at this juncture may have fueled the response to this year's Gehrig Trade. Joe Morgan is a hall of famer, and a great second baseman, but he is not a unique talent at second base. Rogers Hornsby, Eddie Collins, Nap Lajoie, and Martin Dihigo would all take exception to Morgan eclipsing them.

TRADE 2:
To Cincinnati:
Dan Brouthers 1B
John McGraw 3B

To Washington:
Lou Gehrig 1B
Reds 2nd Round Pick (Lip Pike)

As mentioned at the time, this appears to have more value for Washington than Cincinnati. However, McGraw is a unique third baseman -- a hall of famer with exceptional skills and large 'legend' factor. Baseball would not be the same if it were not for Muggsy McGraw. Brouthers is a superstar of his time, but so was Lip Pike on the other side of this equation. Lou Gehrig is alone as a unique talent at first base in Baseball history. Some players come close, Jimmy Foxx probably the closest, but Gehrig is alone on the top of the first base heap. Still, Brouthers is capable of putting up Gehrigian Numbers in a good year. Problem is, Gehrig puts up those numbers in an average year. It does seem that Gehrig's abilities are not being appreciated, and this trade lay the foundation for The Gehrig Trade.

TRADE 3:
To C.Cubs:
Ty Cobb CF

To Detroit:
Babe Ruth RF

Ruth for Cobb, again controversial but involving two unique talents. Cobb had been sought after in other trade talks in the first ATL season, but was "untouchable." This is the first time Cobb has been traded. Is Cobb as good as Ruth? Of course not: there is only one Bambino. However, just as McGraw is no Gehrig, Cobb is no Morgan. Cobb for Ruth is a swap of two unique talents, two unique individuals, two unique baseball legends. There is a lot of fantasy 'worth' backing up both players, not only stat lines.


Conclusion

I think the direction this points the League in is one of appreciation of unique players for the intangibles they bring to the league. I don't think the League Veto is a mark against either owner involved in the trade, or even a decision against the relative balance of the trade as compared to others. No. I think the League Veto declares that unique players, those that are integral to the greater glory of the history of baseball, should be treated with a bit more respect than your everyday run-of-the-mill star player. That big trades like Ruth-Cobb increase the prestige of the League, and hence owner enjoyment, while trades like Gehrig-for-Bunch-O'-Guys is somehow perceived as detracting from the shine on the League by dulling the value of one of its brightest stars.

Back to Baseball
Mood:  not sure
There's been a lot of talk about just about everything other than games lately, and I, for one think we are the poorer for it. So lets bring the focus back to the games, where it belongs, shall we?

The first half of the exhibition schedule is in, and the second has begun. We are just a week away from the start of the season! My fearless predictions for the Legends league follow:

Legends League
-------------------
East--Boston Red Sox

This team has it all, from Shoeless Joe to the Beast to Greg Maddux. Adding SS Ross Barnes was a bold stroke, and a brilliant one. They'll win in a walk, but Baltimore might give them some "moments" along the way, and the Birds remain a serious Wild Card contender.

Central--Pittsburgh Pirates

OK, this is my own team, but the fact remains that they are defending Champs and remain well equipped to take on the season. They've lost the Batting Champ and that will hurt. His replacement, Nr. Turkey Stearnes, won't hit .349 as Jess Burkett did, but with Ed Delahanty in the lineup for a full year maybe the next batting champ will wear a Pirates uniform again. But regardless of batting championships or lack thereof, with the best staff in the league the Bucs will remain tough to beat in the Central. Any team that boasts Babe Ruth in its lineup cannot be discounted, and the Cubs may just be the surprise team of the league this year. They have a solid rotation and a good lineup. They are Wild card competitors at the least.

West--St. Louis Stars

The league's most controversial team is also the Best in the West. Whether or not the disputed Gehrig trade goes through in its current form, this team has still collected superstars like Steinbrenner on a meth binge. That should translate into winning this division handily. They have a big time lineup that is at least on a par with Boston's, and enough pitching to get the job done. Houston and Mudville should win their share of games however, and it's quite possible the Wild Card will come from this division.

I Do have Projections John!
Mood:  on fire
Now Playing: https://www.angelfire.com/blog/atb/Poulas_Projections.htm
Just not sure how/where to post them!

It's Time To Play Ball!!!
Mood:  cool
Topic: Exhibition
The exhibition season is finally upon us! We had the usual mass movement of players from the draft and pre-season trading, all of which made things very interesting. All sorts of players, from HOFers to reserves, switched teams. Of course, even more trades are on tap-- Orix and the Cubbies just pulled one off as a matter of fact. Now we'll start to see how things will play out. Any predictions out there?

In any case, this looks to be another great season with a full slate of 24 owners, so I just want to wish everyone good luck--except when they play against the Bucs, of course!

Pitching?
Topic: Exhibition
The second game of this Tuneup Tournement was held in the stormy confines of Korakuen Kyujo. Rain delays of 12 & 75 minutes prolonged the contest. Mudville put their Japanese ace, Kazuhizu Inao (that's him over here), on the mound against Tokyo's Jiro Noguchi. It was a scoreless duel until the 6th when the Nine broke out for 3 runs in 3 batters. Lenny Dykstra singled, Bill Monroe doubled him home, and then Larry Walker sent one into the rainclouds. In the 8th the Giants* manufactured a run on a pinch-hit single by switch-hitter Yoshinori Hirose. The speedy Hirose challenged the arm of Ivan Rodriguez, and won second base. Hisanori Karita then bunted him over to third, where Tetsuharu Kawakami brought him in with a flyball to Joe Kelley in left. But that was all the scoring for either club, as Inao pitched 8 strong innings - 2K, 2W, 7H, 1ER. Tokyo sent 4 pitchers to the mound, they allowed 8 hits, struck out 3 and didn't allow a walk.

Perhaps all is not lost.

WJ Trade
Topic: Trades
How bad was it?

I honestly had Kinder as my #1 coveted pitcher, and Adams has been a stud in all my sims.

Pitching, Pitching, Pitching
Topic: Exhibition
Tokyo played a couple games against Mudville last night. Mama mia! The pitchers on both teams got tagged, but Tokyo's hurlers were hurlin', if'n ya catch my drift. 15-5 I think the first game's score was. Masaichi Kaneda pitched for Tokyo -- he of the most career wins in Nippon history. That's him over there. I think there was close to 35 hits in the game. I hope that was just pre-pre-season stiffness 'cause it'll be a loooong season if it's double-digit scores against my best pitchers.

Walter Johnson . . . hmmm . . .