NL East Questions and Answers

 

 

 

 

	Offense				Defense				Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Avg.	.252	28th		Fielding %	.986	7th		ERA	4.02	8th
Home Runs	221	9th		Double Plays	336	24th		Strike Outs	1124	4th
Runs	758	20th		+ Plays	48	24th		OAV	.248	4th
Steals	104	23rd		- Plays	38	19th		Saves	51	6th

You've only won your division once in 5 seasons, but have played in 2 world series in the same time span. What do you think limits your team (for lack of better word since you make the playoffs) in the regular season but allows you to make deep runs in the playoffs.

I have 2 real good pitchers, actually Lira is even better than real good. My back of rotation and bullpen has held me back. Once I get to the playoffs, I can shorten the rotation and hope to get 3 or even 4 starts out of my top 2 in a five game series. 4 or 5 in a seven game.

Only 4 trades in 5 seasons so far, is it just the world here that limits trading or are you usally quiet on the trade front?

I thought it was more. I acquired a great ML team with little in the minors. Without prospects, the trade market can be tough. I also trade less than the average owner in general. I am probably one of those people who over values what they have.

3 out of your 4 active teams you've been with since the start. What's the best and worst thing about a new world?

Best and worst are the same, that season 1 team. You can get a collection of studs, stiffs, and anything in between. It's fun to look over an organization and evaluate when you think you can win.

You lost out on the wild card by 1 game last season, what's the plan to get back into the playoffs for the Terrapins this season?

Probably hit the FA market although trading is also a possibility, the ML team is running out of time before I have to tear down and rebuild.

I see that you budget 0 for Int'l, is it just for this world or do you budget 0 in all your worlds for Int'l and why?

Just here because of the cost of my ML team. I would always prefer to be in the IFA market, but when you can't afford to play it you might as well pull the money out and use it elsewhere.

	Offense				Defense				Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Avg.	.253	27th		Fielding %	.984	15th		ERA	4.05	9th
Home Runs	171	28th		Double Plays	307	31st		Strike Outs	1128	2nd
Runs	715	25th		+ Plays	54	19th		OAV	.251	6th
Steals	139	14th		- Plays	34	16th		Saves	45	12th

You brought up Santiago Toca to the majors halfway through the season last year, is this the beginning of the youth movement for the Yellow Jackets with some of the higher draft picks in prior seasons?

I think we are ready to move forward with some of the younger players. Aaron Forster and Ricardo Cubillan should be in the Majors for most of the season. With Toca and Dickey Parnell already up, I think we are well positioned to make the playoffs next year. I will probably try to add a few decent free agents as well.

Two of your 3 active teams are in NCAA and NCAA II where you're an original owner of both. What led you to the NCAA theme?

When NCAA was formed, I was looking for an opportunity to take on a second team. It seemed like a great idea for a theme and I have enjoyed the league since its beginning. That's why when NCAA II was formed, I jumped on.

All 4 of your World Series titles are with your team in Mantle, what's the biggest reason for your success with this team?

the first title really came out of nowhere. I had a decent team, but did not expect to win. For the later titles, I was able to keep a good core team for about seven years. It coincided with a rebuilding effort and I had some good luck with the draft and internationals in the years leading up to that run. Of course, once you are in the playoffs its a crap shoot. You can see that during that run there were a couple of times that I lost in the first or second round.

	Offense				Defense				Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Avg.	.255	25th		Fielding %	.987	4th		ERA	3.81	2nd
Home Runs	193	19th		Double Plays	381	13th		Strike Outs	1112	9th
Runs	739	22nd		+ Plays	88	5th		OAV	.252	7th
Steals	149	12th		- Plays	37	17th		Saves	43	17th

What's the one thing owners don't realize about being a commish?

It's not easy!

What drives you to run 4 worlds?

This is one of the most fun games I've ever come across. However, after about a year or so (real life) I was pretty soured on how one or two bad apples could completely ruin a world. I also love college sports and realized I could kill two birds with one stone by starting my own world with enforceable rules and do an NCAA theme.

Billy Beane came about after WIS started allowing public worlds to be taken private. Well a lot of us were long time owners who left Maris because they wouldn't let us take it private awhile back. Once they started allowing it, they also allowed me to start Beane if it was comprised of Maris veterans and 8 rookie owners.

I was interested in having a MLB theme and brought it up to WIS and they were interested in having another MLB themed world as long as I was the one to run it.

NCAA II came about completely on a whim. I sold it to WIS during a time of complete moratorium on new worlds but was able to point out my track record of quick rollovers and stable worlds and sold it to them as a stable revenue stream.

The worlds you do run are arguably the best in HBD, why?

Tough question, but appreciate the nice thought. I take a lot of pride in how I run the worlds. We have a rule set which has been revised over the years into a really solid set which we absolutely stick to and is enforceable. I think that's #1. I also believe most people in my worlds see how other worlds have been run into the ground and/or take months to rollover. I can't imagine sitting in rollover for 30+ days waiting for owners. That sounds miserable. I'm rambling, but the point is I think people respect what we've built in these worlds and everyone has bought in to the overall vision which really helps.

Last season was the first time you've won your division in NCAA II, how difficult was the wait?

Hmm, it wasn't THAT difficult. I don't like losing, who does? But I do enjoy the rebuilding process. Go back and look at my trades from season 1. I literally turned over 80% of the roster, if not more. I was dealt a really poor hand, but I spent a lot of time reshaping the roster and had a blast. It also helped I had a couple other teams in my other worlds doing well. If I only had one team and it was rebuilding I think it would make it much more difficult.

What's the best piece of advice you could give a new owner?

Get a mentor. There are plenty on the forums willing to help. Secondly, don't do anything until you kind of know what you're doing. Thirdly, don't get frustrated. HBD is a huge game and you'll always be learning something new.

 

 

 

	Offense				Defense				Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Avg.	.255	25th		Fielding %	.986	7th		ERA	4.76	25th
Home Runs	146	31st		Double Plays	345	21st		Strike Outs	1090	17th
Runs	637	32nd		+ Plays	53	21st		OAV	.279	27th
Steals	129	17th		- Plays	39	22nd		Saves	43	17th

 

 

 

In seasons 2 & 3 you made back-to-back world series appearances and winning 211 games; what made your team so dominate?

 

Starting Pitching. I had a really good rotation that kept opponents scoring down in a hitters park. Unfortunately they were older pitchers.

Last season you made some trades and began to rebuild, what led to this decision after winning 405 games the previous 4 seasons?

 

I didn't have a pitching staff to work with anymore. My pitchers got old, and/or filed for free agency. I looked and seen that there wasn't going to be much available in the market and I didn't have the cash to spend on 2nd tier pitchers anyway. I thought it was a good time to start trading off some of the younger hitters to free up cash and gain some prospects.

You're the commish of Pine Tar, what something other owners might not realize about being commish?

 

I'm not really sure how to answer this. I guess before I was a commish, I thought that the commish had more power over what happens in the world, like schedules and some other little things. Really commissioners don't have much power at all about the game and depending on customer support it can be a pain in the rear to enforce your own private world rules. It's still fun though and if it's a good world with good owners, such as a world like this, then it's a rewarding experience. I have no desire to find out what it's like to be the commish of a bad world though. That must be a pain.