Tuesday, May 28, 2013

NL North Questions & Answers


Offense Defense Pitching
Category Stat Rank Category Stat Rank Category Stat Rank
Avg. .277 6th Fielding % .987 4th ERA 3.97 5th
Home Runs 188 21st Double Plays 395 7th Strike Outs 1043 25th
Runs 801 15th + Plays 42 28th OAV .245 2nd
Steals 81 27th - Plays 38 21st Saves 43 17th



Darby Bukvich, 4 time MVP you traded for in S2 and it was debated on both sides due to his 0 makeup at the time of the trade. Did you expect this out of him before the trade? His contract is up this season and he's starting to show a little decline (although not near what people had thought with 0 makeup) will you be trying to resign him?

Darby is the best player I have ever had. He has carried this team for the past couple seasons with his 3 straight MVP seasons. I expected him to keep putting up big numbers as he aged because of his ratings. With having 95+ in contact, power, vL & vR, even if he lost 5 points in each due to decline he is still a monster. He could lose 15 points in each and still be an all-star. As far as this possibly being his last season as a Wolverine, that is going to be an internal battle for me. Detroit is aging and last season was a struggle to win the division. I fully expect Columbus to take the division this season. My minors are depleted so the time to rebuild is coming. At this point, I am not sure what I am going to do with Darby.

You've won the NL North 5 straight seasons posting a 474-336 record, what's your success? With all the success you've had in the regular season, you've managed to win only 1 playoff series in NCAA II, why do your teams win so well in the regular season but not in the playoffs?

I think my failures in the playoffs have come down to my starting pitching. I have never had a great staff and it is only getting worse. I haven't been able to matchup against the top teams aces when it comes playoff time. And as good as Darby is in the regular season, he seems to disappear in the playoffs. I'm not sure if it is coincidence or if makeup has something to do with it. He has a career .245 avg and .874 OPS in the Post season.

I know you're a big Wolverine fan in real life, what made you a fan and your favorite moment of the Wolverines? And from one fan to another, GO BLUE!!!

Michigan is the team I started rooting for when I was around 9 or 10. I'm not really sure why I picked them. One of my earliest memories is the 1992 Rose Bowl against Washington. As far as favorite moments, that's tough. The 2004 Michigan State 3OT game & the Notre Dame game 2 seasons have to be up there as well as the NCAA tourny run this past season.





Offense Defense Pitching
Category Stat Rank Category Stat Rank Category Stat Rank
Avg. .252 28th Fielding % .982 23rd ERA 4.14 11th
Home Runs 146 31st Double Plays 310 30th Strike Outs 1088 18th
Runs 652 31st + Plays 61 15th OAV .260 12th
Steals 122 20th - Plays 61 31st Saves 45 12th


Like you're divisonmate, you've only made 8 trades in 5 seasons? Is this typical for you?

You invest your budget into the draft and int'l market, is this the way you like to build a team?



Eight trades in five seasons, is that normal; I was asked. Not being able to rebut immediately I looked at the other teams under my management.

Unusual, yes; alarming, no. I’ve looked back roughly dozen seasons and I’ve ranged from zero trades to six per season. It appears that our managerial style produces on average fewer than three trades a season.

I prefer to build my team from the farm system. I’ve never signed a player to the budget crushing maxed out, nor have I emptied the farm for a player in his prime. I do however, plan this offseason to sign a few FA to hopefully fill out the order and rotation.

Of the limited trades I’ve made here is my favorite and my biggest regret.

Favorite: Traded Fernando Arrojo and Aaron Throneberry to Portland for Domigno Melendez.

This trade was a no brainer for me I had a surplus of young 3B types and wanted to move one to add some depth in the rotation. Melendez definitely fit the bill.

Biggest Regret: Traded Domingo Melendez, James Igarashi and $5 million to Oakland for Charlie McMillan, Don Bold and Justin Coleman.

Two future HOF players were swapped in this deal, who got the better deal? It depends if you need offense or pitching. The high premium that I now place starting pitchers, I would say Oakland did. Melendez saw only 63 innings in Iowa before heading West. Since the deal, he’s racked 75 wins, 11 complete games, nearly 800 strikeouts, a 3.50 ERA and won the ROY in season 1. McMillan on the other hand has been tearing it up at the plate. He spent seasons 1 & 2 in AAA and was eventually called to the bigs in season 3 where he has since racked up 97 HRs and 323 RBIs with only 195 strikeouts. Bold never saw the majors in Iowa and was eventually shipped back to Oakland in season 3. Coleman has been a subpar innings eater serving most of his time from the Hawkeyes bullpen.    






Offense Defense Pitching
Category Stat Rank Category Stat Rank Category Stat Rank
Avg. .257 23rd Fielding % .985 14th ERA 4.2 13th
Home Runs 228 8th Double Plays 346 20th Strike Outs 1108 11th
Runs 818 12th + Plays 71 9th OAV .261 13th
Steals 172 5th - Plays 21 4th Saves 57 2nd


I see you've finished 2nd 3 times behind the Wolverines in the NL North (Ohio State fans are use to this position) but managed to grab a wild card this season. What got your team over that hump and into the playoffs?

While we did finish behind M*ch*g*n the last three years Ohio State is starting to come to age. While acquiring prospects I targeted last season as the season to go for the playoffs. I picked up booker and dickey through free agency and brought up rookies miegis, Javier, Tavares, Mateo, Moore to bolster the lineup and staff. To finish 2 games behind that team up north and make the playoffs I look at this season as a success.

You've only made 4 trades in 5 seasons in NCAA II, is this common for you? How do you typically build a team?
I had to look at the four trades over five years. That surprised me as I usually tear a team down thru trades, stockpile prospects and picks then pick a season 3-4 seasons down the road to compete. This team had a lot of good young talent when I took over so it really was a matter of finding some pitching, filling in the holes and bringing the guys up for a run at the division.

Now that you team has made the playoffs last season, are they built to continue with that success?
Looking at this team I see about a four to five season window before I would tear it down and start over.

I see that you've currently got 3 active teams, all which are in worlds where hop is the commish; what makes his worlds the ones you play in?

I love hop's worlds. They are always run very well, start on time and have great owners that compete every season even if that means they are building for future season. I tried a different world a few season back and did not like it much at all.
And from a Wolverine fan to a Buckeye fan....GO BLUE!!!

From a buckeye fan all I have to say is this:

26-21 and 10-2

It's a great time to be a buckeye!


 
Offense Defense Pitching
Category Stat Rank Category Stat Rank Category Stat Rank
Avg. .247 31st Fielding % .984 15th ERA 4.41 16th
Home Runs 203 12th Double Plays 345 21st Strike Outs 1101 13th
Runs 709 26th + Plays 83 7th OAV .263 16th
Steals 192 3rd - Plays 29 12th Saves 34 29th
 

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