NL South Questions & Answers

	Offense				Defense				Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Avg.	.264	17th		Fielding %	.986	7th		ERA	4.59	20th
Home Runs	235	7th		Double Plays	371	17th		Strike Outs	1105	12th
Runs	832	11th		+ Plays	65	12th		OAV	.267	17th
Steals	162	7th		- Plays	24	8th		Saves	48	10th

For the last 3 seasons Jackson has finished 2nd in the NL South division, is this the year you expect to make the push for 1st and if so, what's the plan to get you over that hump?

I thought we would get to the top of the division last season. We folded late, losing like 9 of the last 10 games, eight of the losses by one run. We are looking for a couple of FAs this off-season to get us over the top.

You only currently have 2 active teams, NCAA and NCAA II. What draws you to the NCAA theme?

Two teams are plenty for me to keep track of with my schedule. These leagues are well run and have a great group of owners. I wish my current schedule would allow me more time to "chat it up"

In NCAA II I believe you've only made 3 trades in 5 seasons. How do you like to build your team up; through the draft, International, ect.?

My original team was young but did have some talent. As that talent developed the plan was to add a few FAs to build a contender.

	Offense				Defense				Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Avg.	.258	21st		Fielding %	.984	15th		ERA	4.18	12th
Home Runs	188	21st		Double Plays	319	28th		Strike Outs	1098	14th
Runs	750	21st		+ Plays	63	14th		OAV	.257	10th
Steals	208	2nd		- Plays	28	11th		Saves	65	1st

You won your division for the 1st time in 5 seasons, what brought the success this season?

In all honesty, I think I got a bit lucky. I thought my team was still 1 year away from being good. We got hot at the end of the year and some of the teams ahead of me dropped off. Luck or Sim gods, whatever you prefer.

What can we expect with your team in the future with making the World Series this year and not even having S3 #1 overall draft pick, S4 #9 overall draft pick, and S5 #4 overall pick in the majors yet?

This team should get better every year for the next couple of years.

In S3 you had the #1 overall draft pick and S5 you had the #4 overall draft pick; how'd you turn around the success so quickly to making the World Series in S5?

A great deal of prayer, fear of being bounced out and a very solid bullpen. Also, I changed my catching around and started to put more stock in pitch calling than I had in the past. I may be wrong, but I think it made a difference.

What do you contribute your run in the playoffs last season too?

All really good and deep bullpen to help make up for shortcomings in the rotation.

All 4 of your active teams are in hop's worlds, what's the draw to playing in these worlds?

That's easy, hop and the owners he attracts. I started in Maris where the BS was an issue. The group that hop brings in, makes it fun. Also, hop is always there to remind me if my LoA pitching staff is in tatters, LOL. Thanks hop!

	Offense				Defense				Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Avg.	.259	20th		Fielding %	.988	2nd		ERA	3.83	3rd
Home Runs	185	23rd		Double Plays	331	25th		Strike Outs	1121	5th
Runs	674	28th		+ Plays	92	4th		OAV	.250	5th
Steals	101	25th		- Plays	17	2nd		Saves	35	26th

All 4 of your active teams are in worlds run by hop. What makes his worlds stand out to you?

HOPS WORLDS ARE GREAT FOR MANY REASONS, BUT THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT TO ME ARE THE FACT THAT WE HAVE NO WORLD CHAT DRAMA AND THAT WE HAVE LOW TURNOVER/QUICK ROLL OVER EVERY SEASON. I HONESTLY DON'T KNOW HOW HE DOES IT.

S4 Little Rock finished first in the division with 95 wins; last season you dropped to 3rd with 85 wins. What was the difference in the drop and can we expect Little Rock to make a push back to winning the division this season?

I PRETTY MUCH HAD THE SAME TEAM IN S4 AND S5. I THINK A FEW OF MY PLAYERS JUST HAPPEN TO HAVE CAREER YEARS IN S4 AND CAME DOWN TO EARTH IN S5. JOAQUIN CABRERA IS A GREAT EXAMPLE. IN S4 HE PUT TOGETHER ONE OF THE BEST RELIEF SEASONS I HAVE HAD FROM A PLAYER, BUT IN SEASON 5 HE HAD THE WORST SEASON OF HIS CAREER TO DATE.

I see you're a big player in the International Market, signing a player in each season to a big contract (S1: $15M, S2: $22M, S3: $18M, S4: $29.9M, S5: $27.5M). What draws you to the international market?

WHEN I HAVE A YOUNG INEXPENSIVE TEAM, I LIKE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE INT MARKET IN ORDER TO TRY AND STRIKE GOLD WITH A BIG TIME PROSPECT. ONCE I GET TO THE POINT WHERE I CAN'T TRANSFER $20M, I USUALY GIVE UP ON INT FA AND JUST FOCUS ON GETTING TALENT VIA THE DRAFT.

Getting to know the new owners

1). Who is Amerith?
Married to the best wife and have an adorable daughter who thinks she's grown up already though she has a long way to go. Currently working in telecommunications which while not the greatest job, is in a fact a job so can't complain there.

2). What are your interests and hobbies?
I would have to say that reading is my number 1 hobby. I like most things outdoors that allow me to unplug from the world from a few hours to a few days. Hobbies include trying to stay in relative shape and hanging out with family and friends.

3). What are your favorite sports teams and which one is #1?
I only really follow two sports which are baseball and football. I'm a March Madness fan but not too much outside that month lol

Favorite Baseball team - Tampa Bay Rays
Favorite Football team - New York Jets (yeah yeah)

4). Who is your favorite WIS player?

This one is a tough one since I took a break from WIS for a few years but of the two current HBD teams that I am managing I'd have to say my favorite player is Jacob Person 1B (World Alexnader).

The team I took over was terrible, still is but should better, and as a mid-season call up who's only 25 he hit .350 with 24 Hrs, 73 RBIs, with a OPS of 1.107 so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do over the course of a full season.

5). If you were a player what sport would you play, at what position, and what rating?

If I were a player I'd play football and play Free Safety and let's face it if I had a rating that was worthy of playing professionally, I'd be in the NFL.

6). Best piece of advice for HBD?

Don't follow how I build teams, seriously. I've only won 2 division titles and 1 of those was on a sub .500 team that was a take over. I love the game but patience was my Achilles heel.

Since I've come back though I've decided that patience is the key to this game. If you have a team that can win now then go for it but if not and you have pieces in the minors do some stop gap work short term.

I also don't believe in $100 mil payrolls for teams. I think too much gets sacrificed for a chance to win now especially if you have a team that's getting older.

7). The most over-rated and under-rated ratings?

The most over-rated rating IMO is Speed. While a high speed is great it requires a player to be able to get on base and have a decent base running stat to be useful.

Most under-rated rating IMO is durability. It's great to have players with great hitting stats but if their durability sucks or you don't plan right then come end of season it can really bite you.

8). Favorite and least favorite part of the game?

Favorite part of the game is trying to figure out the draft. I'm in a unique position of having the overall number 1 pick (first for me) and this pick will have huge implications down the road for the franchise.

Least favorite part of the game is taking over a team and having a good player decide he's leaving because of the previous owners inability to sign them long term and they were arb'd 3 times. I wish there was a way for a player to give a new owner a short window to try and sign them.

9). Who are the owners you respect and/or enjoy the most?

Wow, this one is a hard one as I've played with a lot of owners and taking a break from the game makes it hard to remember them all. Coonja76 stands out in my mind because we were in DoubleDay together and he dominated the division we were in regardless of how good my team was. Helps to remember him given that I've run into him again in World Alexander and thankfully he's in the other league this time.

As far as owners i enjoy the most, the ones who are low on drama but don't mind friendly banter. I come to WIS to escape drama, not find new sources of it. I don't mind trading some friendly trash talk but as long as it's in game directed I'm fine with things.

10). The thing that may surprise us about you?

Things that may surprise you about me? I'm not likely to win a World Series lol

In all seriousness I'm pretty laid back and don't take much too heart though I am very competitive and when my teams sucks I only have myself to blame. I may banter with people and talk some trash but at the end of the day there are very few people I actually dislike in WIS.

AL South Questions and Answers

	Offense				Defense				Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Avg.	.269	15th		Fielding %	.982	23rd		ERA	5.36	31st
Home Runs	200	13th		Double Plays	385	12th		Strike Outs	1018	27th
Runs	795	16th		+ Plays	48	24th		OAV	.294	32nd
Steals	125	19th		- Plays	33	15th		Saves	43	17th

NCAA and NCAA II are you only active worlds, what's the appeal for you to play in the NCAA theme worlds?

I think it is hard to find a person to manage a good league, I have been in a few open leagues and was very discouraged with the fighting in the chat rooms which led me to NCAA. Hop was in one of those leagues with me and he put the offer out there to join NCAA and I jumped on it. After seeing how well run it was when he asked me to join NCAA II it was a no brainer. I am sure there are other well run leagues but for me 2 teams are enough to handle but overall the appeal to these 2 leagues is simply Hop.

You've finished 3rd in your division the last 2 seasons, what moves will it take to get Texas A&M competing for that division title?

As with every season I have a pretty good offence but my pitching is horrible, so for me to make a move this season will take better pitching and the hopes that the MVP from a couple of seasons ago doesn't get hurt.

Is this the season we see S4 #3 overall draft pick Joe graves get the call-up?

Joe Graves had a great season last year in AA, but I want to make sure he progresses so he will start this year in AAA with Tanyon Skinner make his ML debut. If Skinner plays well then I won't be in a hurry to rush Graves but if Skinner fails and Graves is hitting lights out in AAA, then there is a strong possibility that we will see him this season.

	Offense				Defense				Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Avg.	.261	19th		Fielding %	.976	30th		ERA	5.95	32nd
Home Runs	173	27th		Double Plays	405	5th		Strike Outs	958	31st
Runs	737	23rd		+ Plays	52	23rd		OAV	.292	31st
Steals	154	10th		- Plays	49	27th		Saves	32	32nd

You're starting your 2nd season in NCAA II, what have you seen here that's different than the other worlds?

I'm starting my first full season here I took over the team last season with 17 games to go. So haven't been here long enough yet. I will say that was the quickest rollover I've seen.

Wichita has only 1 division title in their history, finishing 4th the last 2 seasons; what's the plan to get them their 2nd division title and how far away is that plan?

I would say focus on the draft and international free agents. The team is a complete rebuild. 4 to 5 seasons later should be competing for the playoffs.

Last season you took a reliever #1 overall, I took a reliever #2 overall. Most advice is that is too high to take them in. What led you to taking your reliever #1 overall and what are your plans with the #2 overall pick this year?

As told you last season it wasn't my draft. I took over the team with 17 games left in the season. You will have to ask the owner who took those players what their thoughts were. For this years draft I will take the best high school player that I see.

	Offense				Defense				Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Avg.	.271	12th		Fielding %	.982	24th		ERA	4.41	16th
Home Runs	178	25th		Double Plays	429	3rd		Strike Outs	1125	3rd
Runs	845	8th		+ Plays	47	26th		OAV	.273	25th
Steals	147	13th		- Plays	38	20th		Saves	54	5th

	Offense				Defense				Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Avg.	.273	10th		Fielding %	.983	21st		ERA	4.83	26th
Home Runs	174	26th		Double Plays	372	16th		Strike Outs	1065	22nd
Runs	787	18th		+ Plays	65	12th		OAV	.272	23rd
Steals	152	11th		- Plays	40	23rd		Saves	44	14th

You've finished 2nd the last 3 seasons by 9, 5 and then 3 games. You're closing the gap to the division title, what will get you over that hump and winning it this season?

- Pitching...and a bit more offensive support from the role players. My starting pitching took a step backwards last season as the rookies couldn't quite bring it to the table. I had high hopes for Alex Perez after his great rookie campaign (17-5, 3.25 ERA) but a shoulder problem shut him down last season...I fully expect him to bounce back. I need more offensive production from other players outside of Ted Halman, Shannon McCartin and Ricardo Ramirez.

You currently have 7 active teams, how do you manage them and what makes NCAA II different from the other worlds?

- It was 8 teams at one point but I had to give up one team (my beloved Twins in the MLB) because I didn't reach the minimum win level to stay. The only tough part about handling so many teams is when they start rolling over around the same time..there are times when I can't remember is this team at budget distribution or is it that one..wait, no they are free agent signings. You get the point. I like NCAA II (also a member of the original NCAA), it has a lot of good people in it and the commish does a bang up job of keeping people in line..no drama!!!

You've only made 1 trade total in 5 seasons and that was back in season 1. Why the lack of trades?

- I am really not much of a trade guy. Prefer the draft and free agency. I have been burned a couple of times on trades. In the back of my mind, I am thinking "What if I trade this guy and he starts to play out of his mind and has MVP type numbers??" Probably why I am reluctant to give up my top prospects.

It looks like season 3, #6 overall draft pick David Pettitte got the call up this season. He was drafted as 2B but now listed as RF. Where do you plan on playing him and what are you expecting out of him his first season?

- I did call up Pettitte. In my opinion, he doesn't have the range or glove to play 2B, he is better suited for a corner outfield spot. I considered 3B for him but his arm isn't there (not that it is any better for RF). I have actually moved Ricardo Ramirez to the hot corner from RF to make room for Pettite. I am expecting him to hold his own offensively and give enough support to Halman, McMartin and Ramirez.