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Strat Versus Life
by
Larry Steinberg
Manager of the Chicago Mob
If I had a dollar for every time I heard, or said myself that Strat-O-Matic is not realistic I could retire a rich man. Numerous times, we have all experienced games or seasons where players just performed "unrealistically". My stud pitcher is 5-12 with a 5.00 ERA, or my banjo hitting second baseman just hit 3 HR's in a game. But what about over the long haul?
Frank Thomas announced his retirement before the start of the 2010 season. Frank was a Mobster for his entire career. He had seasons where he outperformed his real life stats and seasons were he inexplicably sucked for my team. But overall, how did his lifetime stats compare with his Strat stats? Below are The Big Hurts lifetime stats for The Chicago Mob and in real life total stats. What do you think?
FRANK THOMAS
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Life |
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I think anyone would agree that this is very close. If I didn't put Strat or Life before each row most people would not be able to tell the difference. The only real discrepancy to me is the SF column. The difference in SB and CS is just a function of how I used Frank. And what's with that one time I sacrifice bunted with him. I must not have been lucid at the time!
Ivan Rodriguez did not retire and as of late April 2010 is hitting .400 for the Nationals! He was not protected in the expansion draft and was selected. I have an 18 year data base to compare real life with Strato. Let's look.
IVAN RODRIGUEZ
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It looks like he suffered a bit offensively, but considering I had a pitchers park (Si 1-4) for most of his career with me, it is not surprising. Still, look at his extra base hits. And I think I hear the theme from The Twilight Zone playing when looking at his RBI's and DP's! Interesting that sac fly's is again just over half of what his real life SF's are, just like Frank Thomas. Maybe the boys at Strat-O-Matic should look into this.
Curt Schilling played his entire year with The Chicago Mob. How does he compare?
CURT SCHILLING
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I'm not sure what to make of this. He played more games in real life due to the fact that he relieved more often early in his career and I hardly used him as such. In fact, I had drafted him as a cardless future and didn't play him until about his 3rd year in the bigs. Still, the IP's are very close. He gave up 93 more HR's than in real life. I had a pretty HR neutal park (1-8) for most of his career. He also gave up about 230 more hits in 44 more IP's. Given that, it isn't surprising that he gave up more runs in Strat than in real life. What seems very realistic to me is the W/L record. It comes to a .028 difference in the W/L percent. Overall, I have to conclude that while not as close as the hitters, Curt's Strat life was not out of line with his real life stats.
So, what does this all mean? Besides that I'm a statistics geek and should be putting my spare time to better use. I can't say. I have more players that I could compare. These are the three that I have the most data for. I have a lot of seasons of Brian Roberts, Jay Buhner, Lance Johnson, Derrek Lee, Carlos Baerga, John Smiley, Richard Dotson and more that I can't think of. We could do computer simulation replays, but I don't think it would be as accurate as physically playing the games in a league setting. The one thing I will say is that Strat-O-Matic, over time, is accurate. Remember also that a good percentage of these games were played with dice, cards and charts. There may be high and low blips, but then again, many players have one or two great seasons and a few crummy seasons over their careers. I wonder how accurate other games are over careers.
Thank you for reading.
Larry Steinberg
2005 PLAYOFF AND WORLD SERIES RECAP...ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE MINNEAPOLIS MARVELS.....
Marvel-Mad Dog showdown pits father against son face to face as Will, Adrienne, John and Kathy arrive in Minnesota for a family holiday get together
Friday night- after dinner and presents are exchanged, The Marvels and Mad Dogs face off - Pedro Martinez vs
VS.
Carlos Zambrano in the Homerdome.
Tension builds as both aces make it through the respective orders the 'first' time around. Score knotted at 0-0 after 3. An unexpected longball from Mike Lieberthal in the 4th and three in the 5th keyed by Helton's 2B and Pujols 2 run single make it 4-0 after 5. martinez pitches a 5-hitter through 8. The Mad dogs send the tying run to bat in the 9th with 2 outs, but Calero nails down the save for the shaky Marvel bullpen.
Game # 1 Final Score 4-1 Marvels win.
Saturday morning - Before heading to the UMinnesota vs UNLV basketball game, followed by the obligatory Mall of America visit (Kathy got John on the roller coaster, so it's gotta be true love), and dinner in Minnesota's version of SOHO, The Mad Dogs and Marvels squeeze in an early game.
It's Oswalt vs Penny, and neither manager is expecting another pitcher's duel and homerless game.
The MadDogs break through in the first. After a BB, the left side of the Marvel infield seizes up. As expeted of Chavez and Everett- they get to the balls, but a pair of boots allows the Mad Dogs to take a 1-0 lead. The Marvels answer with 4 in the second and 4 in the 4th, and cruise to a 10-2 victory.
The bottom of the Marvel order does the damage as Griffey/Relaford, Lieberthal, and Everett combine for 9 hits (in 13 AB's), 5 rbi's and 5 runs scored, to cause some muttering from the opposing bench.
Sunday morning - Following a late night finished off by the annual watching of "A Christmas Carol" (the George C Scott edition for this family!), and setting up the John/Kathy/Will/Adrienne gift of a TIVO to the their technologically deprived parents, The Marvels and MadDogs take the field early.
Colon vs Pavano in a must win for the Mad Dogs. Mad Dogs manager Will announces that Lidge and his 11 untouched innings will be ready as early as necessary as the teams move to the slightly more spacious Mad dog pound.
Lidge DOES get into the game, but not until the Marvels rough up Colon for 4 runs as the Marvels jump out to a 4-0 lead through 2 1/2 IP. The Mad Dogs claw back to 4-3 after 4, and Lidge shows his all-star stuff (4IP-2H-0R-1BB-5K) but the Mad Dog bats stay cold, and it's 4-3 Marvels after 7. Will P pulls Lidge int he 8th, and Griffey greets Gregg with a solo HR. The flood gates open in the 9th as Isringhausen can't find the plate, walks 3, hits a batter and gives up 3 ugly runs. Pavano completes the game.
Marvels win Game # 3 by the score of 8-3.
Game 4 Minnesota Marvels vs the Michigan Card...er Mad Dogs. Will this Team of Destiny come back like the Red Sox of the recent past?
Martinez vs Zambrano in a reprise of the game 1 pitching duel.
Both pitchers settle in and it's 0-0 after 5IP. Lightening strikes in the Marvel 6th as Will had predicted in his earlier email- Bonds BB, Helton 2B, Pujols 3-run HR.
Martinez pitches shut out ball until tiring with 2 outs in the 7th (Martinez final line in 14.2ip-9h-1r-3bb-12k). The Mad Dog manager pushes all the right buttons, but the Mad Dogs fail to deliver with 2 outs again. Helton adds a 2 run shot in the 8th. Morneau manages a one out solo shot in the 9th and the marvels win 5-1 to sweep the disappointed Mad Dogs.
Lack of offense in the middle of the Mad Dog order foiled the strategy of staying close and using a superior bullpen and superior managerial skills to steal games late. 3-4-5 hitters, Ramirez-Morneau-Barrett combined for, 9 hits in 44 AB's with 3 rbi's and 3 runs and 3 extra base hits among them. The marvel trio, Bonds-Helton-Pujols did not disapooint with 16 hits and 10BB's in 54 plate appearances, 12 rbi's, 13 runs scored and 8 extra base hits among them.
The weekend ended with Sunday brunch at Minneapolis landmark Ike's Bar & Grill (think of Perkins "tremendous 12" breakfast on steroids! as the first dish served to the table is a Caramel sticky bun which the menu recommends is "as big as your head"- definitely true IF you happen to Barry Bonds!). The Mad Dog manager slightly downcast after the series and criticizing his team in front of the general public, perked up considerably after eating the equivalent of 3 breakfasts following the games. JOPO wouldn't have minded seeing one of his progeny win it all, but as is always the case in baseball - Ther's always next year!
Michigan vs Mississippi
Well, since the other series has been completed, I'll at least give everyone the quick rundown of the Mad Dogs
vs. Big Orange series as well.John and I played the games head-to-head last week when I was in Nashville on business, and the Mad Dogs
pulled out a 4-2 series victory, including two victories over the incomparable Randy Johnson.Since the box scores are on my brother's computer, he'll send them out when he's got a chance. I just wanted
to let everyone know that our series is done and we're ready for the finals, where I hope to give my dad a good
kick in the nuts! That's a figurative kick, by the way. I'll only literally kick him in the nuts after Bonds and Pujols
go back-to-back for the 17th time.Anyway, the Polumbos will all be getting together in Minnesota this coming weekend for some holiday cheer,
and we'll be playing our games then. Stay tuned, and go Mad Dogs!Will
Stallions at Marvels
Game 1 is over early as the Marvels run over Chris Carpenter and score 10 runs in the first 3 innings. Pedro gives up a 1st inning HR to Palmeiro, but exits after 5 IP with a one-hitter and a 12-2 lead. The teams combine for 8 HR’s (5 by Minny) with the final count 14-6 in favor of the home team.
Game 2 starts differently as Radke and Oswalt cruise through the first three innings before the Stallions use the long ball to take a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th. In the bottom of the 6th, Minnesota bats around and the Stallions throw the ball around (Drew and Sledge throw the ball away trying to nail advancing runners) and score 6 runs to take a commanding 7-3 lead. The Stallions manage to bring the tying run to the plate in the 9th, but Gonzalez who had already hit 2 HR’s in the game grounds to SS for the final out and the Marvels hold on to win 7-4.
11 HR’s in 2 games as the teams leave the cozy Marveldome for another of the league’s smaller venues. Hope Nick’s scoreboard operator has enough fireworks on hand.
The Mighty Stallions have been corralled for yet another year. With the image of Robert Duvall on the beaches of Vietnam watching the Stallion bullpen being blown to smithereens ,the 05 season ends.
3 games…67 runs 80 hits 37 walks 19 homeruns I just love the crack of the bat and those little fireworks that strat provides.
Marvels win 2 getting 32 runs on 43 hits 18 walks and 11 HR E.Chavez goes 9-15 with 4 HR’s and only 7 rbi…thank goodness he was hitting 1st or 2nd…Pujols also gets 7 rbi D.Easley hits 2 hr’s
Stallions outscored the minn team getting 35 runs on only 37 hits with the help of 19 walks we only hit 8 hr’s in the 3 games by 7 different players
Game-1 @ Stallions - Game # 3 -- Marvels join the rest of the world and jump all over J.Weaver in the 1st start off with a walk. a 2b then an IBB to YA. Helton follows with another walk before AP hits a grand slam 5-0
Weaver settles down until the 4th when chavez hits a 2out 2run Hr 7-0
Bottom of the 4th Drew 1b Palmeiro hits an enhanced hr 7-2
5th inning leadoff hr by Helton then an out then hr by future Stallion Griffey jr 9-2
Bottom of the 5th…Stallions 2b..walk..1b..3 run triple by JD Drew…9-6
6th inning…2 outs walk to Chavez then I pushed the wrong button YA-HR 11-6
Bottom of the 7th the Stallions come back 1b..2b..Ryan comes in to pitch Nevin in to bat walks…Bang another GSHR by J.Guillen 11-10
8th inning stop me if you have heard this before 2 outs 1b then chavez –HR 13-10
Bottom of the 9th…Sanders reaches on error Joltin Joe Crede makes it close with his HR. Munson and Gonzalez follow with outs and the good guys lose
Game—2 (Game # 4) Stallions pitching was at its best behind ace C Carpenter…we hold Marvels to only 1 run in the 1st. Carp does have a downer of a 4th giving up 2 walks a single and a Griffey 3 run HR 5-0
Like our namesake Rocky Balboa the stallions need to be bruised before fighting back. In the 4th against famous met ace Pedro sluggers Jolbert Cabrerra and Shannon Stewart both go deep closing the gap 5-2
Carpenter last until the 6th..1b 1b-error..Ohka comes in to pitch..Promptly throws a wild pitch (seems to happen a lot with relief pitchers).W.Harris singles in another run 7-2
Bottom of the 6th like in real life Pedro is gassed..a walk 2 outs later 1b sb..then back to back doubles 7-5 bottom of the 7th with PM still pitching 1b..k..bb..Ryan comes in ..Nevin comes in 1b..guillen 1b Marrero ph Urbina comes in Sledge comes in walk…the wheels are spinning now. Joltin Joe 2bs clearing the bases..7-11
Stallions get a meaningless run in the 8th just because we could and win this one 12-7
Game 3... the final game …Stallions weakness all year long comes to head as the bullpen pitches 3 innings allows 8 hits and 10 runs including 3 HR
Once again minn scores in the 1st on a D Easley easy HR they get 2 more in the 3rd on 3 hits and a IBB 3-0
Stallions wait until the 5th vrs R.(I shot by myself) Oswalt.. with 2 outs a walk a 1b and V.martinez hits a 3 run HR another walk and a double make it 3-4
8th inning is when the fun starts..up to now pretty boring pitchers duel. Between oswalt and radke..
Lots of managing here..hence the loss…Griffey walks..Harris pr which causes me to bring a -3 hold guy Arroyo.. it works when willie is thrown out at 2nd. With 2 out stairs ph and singles and the f**king E Chavez hits anther F**king HR 5-4
Bottom of the 8th just because we can Palmeiro walks and Sanders hits a magnificent 2 run HR
5-6 and visions of traveling North go thru the Stallion faithfull.
9th inning Ayala comes in for the save..gets the 1st guy..then 1b then 2b then Taverez comes in for the save..the 1b then 1b then balk now 8-6 marvels
Bottom of the 9th Martinez with a 1 out 2b.Ryan comes in Marrero comes in 1b Nevin comes in hbp..Guillen gets a single and an error by Ryan 8-8
10th inning with J.Tavarez still on the mound F**king Chavez leads off with another f**king HR..in shock I leave him in and Easley hits yet another HR Harang comes in. walk..1b..sf 11-8
Bottom of the 10th… Gonzalez leads off with a walk.. Ledwzma comes in restovich comes in HR how about that. Can I manage or not. Martinez –go. Marrero 1b nevin 1b..Guillen go runners on 2 and 3 the chicken that he is R.Polumbo thru his stooge HAL walks the almighty Reggie Sanders..with the bases loaded 2 outs runners running the MIGHTY JOE CREDE strikes out. See ya next year.
Have fun next series may the best Polumbo win
Thanks,
Nick Romano
FENWAY AT MINNESOTA
GAME 1: Matchup between future Hall of Famers Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens. Fenway took an early 2-0 lead, and Clemens was cruising after 4.
Jones led off the 5th with a single. The Marvels pulled a Tony LaRussa and PH for Lieberthal with supersub Bard who walked. Everett sacrificed both to scoring position with BJ Upton pinchrunning at 2B hoping for a play at the plate. Former Miner Eric Chavez hit an Earl Weaver special to deep CF and the Marvels took the lead for good and a 5-2 win. Each team managed 5 hits, but plenty of BB's created opportunities for both teams.
GAME 2: Oswalt vs Hudson. Trivial point, but all 4 starters have worn the Marvel uniform. Hudson the goat of last year's world series, and Clemens with over 300 lifetime wins as a Marvel. The Marvels jump out to a 2-0 lead early in this one, as Hudson exits in the 4th. The game stayed close to the end as the Marvels batted 2-13 with runners in scoring position, leaving 11 on and getting a runner thrown out at the plate. However, Cabrera, Giles, and Blalock were a combined 0-17 in the two games, and the Faithful fell 3-1.
Games 3-4-5 move to Las Vegas where both teams should see more offense, and a distracted (father to be any minute) looks to send the series back to Minnesota.
2004 PLAYOFF AND WORLD SERIES RECAP...
SIN CITY SURIVES A TOUGH CHALLENGE TO DEFEAT
THE MINNEAPOLIS MARVELS
4 GAMES TO 3 IN THE WORLD SERIES...2004-05 WORLD SERIES
In a great 7 game series Sin City wins the GUSSOMO World Series. The series went
back and forth.Game 6 and 7 were phenomenal. In game 6, Jose Hernandez hits a go ahead
HR in the top of the 10th. in the bottom of the 10th, Andrew Jones and Barry Bonds go back
to back against Wagner to send it to a game 7. Game 7 looked like it was going to be no
contest with Sin City out to a 7-2 lead. But HR's by Pujols and Lieberthal tied the game up
after eight. In the bottom of the 10th, Leiberthal comes up with 1 out and a man on third. He hits
a double in the gap and the winning run is thrown out at the plate. Sin City then gets 2 in the top
of the 11th on a HR by Sheffield.Wagner gets 2 quick outs in the bottom of the inning but then
issues a walk to Boone. Giambi pinch hits for Rey Ordonez and lofts a weak fly to center. Edmonds
grabs it for Sin City's first World Championship. Ralph and I played the series by phone. It definately
added to the excitement. Hopefully next year I will be back in the series again.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Congrats to Sin City. It was a blast, although I'm starting to look like the Yankees, and Barry is
grumbling in the clubhouse. For the record the final out was a BP HR off Wagner's card. Normally,
the fans are turned on to blow the balls out of the Dome when the home team is batting, but the
groundskeeper (subsequently retired) must have forgotten as the 1-14 HR (off of pinch hitter,
Giambi's bat) became a 16 out to end the game. As it was, that would have only tied the game,
and I'm not sure I could have taken much more excitement in one afternoon!All in all great fun and a reason to come back next year as we try to break up the Bounty Hunters!
Ralph
Sin City has beaten Concord 4 games to 1 to move into the World Series. The first 2 games were split in Concord and then Sin swept all 3 games at home to advance.
Minneapolis defeated the Aurora Borealis 4 games to 0 in their semi-final round match-up to advance to the World Series (again).
2003 PLAYOFF AND WORLD SERIES RECAP
BUSTER'S BATTALIONS WINS IT ALL!
GAME 7 - Martinez vs. ?
Buster feels great that his squad has forced a game 7, but is disheartened when Pedro is announced
as SP after 14 scoreless innings against him. Desparate times call for desparate measures, and
Kevin Appier is given the ball for the last game of the year. His response to the challenge, a quick
out followed by a double and 2 walks.Getting back to desparate times philosophy, Chris Hammond is summoned from the pen. He quiets
the rally allowing a run-scoring groundout, followed by a whiff.Hammond and Pedro cruise to Buster's 3rd inning AB's. After a Daubach out, Pedro gets rattled
when Larue's squib clanks off Vidro's glove. Alfonzo looks at 4 straight balls, Hunter responds with
a run-scoring single, and then Cliff Floyd drives in 2 with a base-hit, and Buster leads 3-1. Marvels
threaten in the 5th on a Bonds 2b and Pujols walk, and Julio France marches to the plate
for Palmeiro. He sends a drive to CF, and Torii Hunter makes the grab. Buster goes 1-2-3 in their
half of the 5th, and send Vicente Padilla out to start the 6th inning. He responds by immediately
walking Vidro and Lawton, followed by a successful sac, and Andrew Jones grounds a chopper
to 3rd. Alfonzo smartly takes the sure out allowing a run to score. Ramon Martinez comes up to hit
for Jeffrey Hammonds, but only makes contact with air, score now 3-2. Buster goes quietly in
their half, and Padilla responds in the 7th by retiring Bonds,Giambi and Pujols. Larue starts things
off right in the 7th for Buster with a leadoff single, and pinch-running Rivas immediately swipes
2nd. But Pedro composes himself and gets 3 easy outs to end the threat. Brendan Donnelly takes
the hill to face the Marvels in the 8th, and he registers 3 quick strikes on Julio Franco. Jose Vidro
steps to the plate, Donnelly glances into the dugout to see Buster chomping on a MilkBone, and
could it be?, is that his paw sticking out, or is he pausing to lick his pads? A quick visit to the mound,
and yes, Buster is breaking tradition by issuing a free pass to the tying run. Moeller goes down
swinging, and the Marvels counter by sending Relaford to bat for Guzman. Buster counters with
Buddy Groom, who induces a weak fly to left to end the inning. Berkman starts things off right with
a lead-off walk in their half, but Kent dp's and Garciaparra follows with another out. Groom takes
the mound for the 9th. Andruw Jones up, and he strikes him out. Ramon Martinez tries to get on for
Bonds, but grounds out to 3rd. And up steps Barry. He works a full count off Groom, who winds
and delivers.........Strike 3.
Buster comes back to take 3 straight, and win the trophy.
A great, great series featuring 5 shutouts and a 15 inning game.
Roy Halladay gets to visit Micky and Donald in Orlando as series MVP, and promises to take along his good buddies Torii Hunter, Chris Hammond & Buddy Groom.
Contact
the Commissioner
Copyright © 1999-2000 G.U.S.S.O.M.O.
All Rights Reserved: Jeff Fleischman