Steamin' My Clams V2

This week I've run into a lot of false promises and attempts to mislead me. And I have to say its steamin' my clams!

Washington D.C.; after reading that the Crystal City Sports Pub was ranked #20 in the U.S by Sports Illustrated and #1 in D.C. we decided to check it out. Arriving at 3:45 we ordered a pitcher of beer and took a look around, there was a lot of TVs but there were a lot of suspicious charecters and plenty of soccer. Our waitress did not return til nearly 4:15 to take our order yet she was spotted talking on the phone, using the ATM and chatting with friends. So we decided to leave and venture out. We found zero food in the entire city and were forced to wait until nearly 6pm to eat stadium food for dinner! After we went to the ESPN zone and it closed at about 11:30! Who closes an ESPN zone at that hour? We crossed the street to Harry's where the beer was warm, and they knew it! The waitress said they get complaints constantly and were super impressed when I took a bag of ice and put it inside the pitcher instead of sending it back. (stole that from Hooters). Overall due to promises not fulfilled by Crystal City Sports Pub our night was not as great as it could have been.

Philedelphia, PA: After hitting nationals stadium we drove directly to Philly checked into our hotel and made our way to Genos and Pats steaks before the game. I got a cheesesteak at Genos which was fantastic, while I was enjoying it I got in line across the street at Pats "King of Steaks" Genos was superior! And Pat claimed to be the King? Outrageous the steak was tough and dry and there were no napkins! Which my friend Lagueux needed as steak was all over him. Again we were fooled.

NYC: We then drove to NYC for the Yankees vs. Reds the next day. While I was there someone tried to tell me the Yankees didn't suck. Clearly thats false.

Toronto Ont: So I flew to Toronto to keep a close eye on the Reds. Word on the street was that Bronson Arroyo was on the block and that he was an above average pitcher. I was shocked to see him get torched. I also was led to believe that Citgo Gaston was retired and in the Blujay hall of fame, yet he was coaching the team to victory! Why must everyone try to fool me?

Then the kicker, I get back to Boston to find that someone is trying to pass Tito Yoshii off as serviceable? Almost leading the league to believe that the bidding is about to begin on this chump? Also that 29 year old AAA/AA catcher Don Chen is on the block? who cares? Ok ok he's decent but I'm still ticked.

And to top it all off Coonja sweeps me in an attempt to fool us all that he's not trying to lose on purpose to gain a better draft pick and that he's even thinking about coming back next season. Outrageous.

I'm putting deception on notice! its unacceptable.

Steamin' My Clams

What's steaming my clams this week?

Losing on purpose to gain draft picks, tanking, throwing in the towel, giving up an entire season of HBD as part of a "strategy" to rebuild. Take BigThunder for example; in 7 seasons in Dale Murphy his worst year was 98 wins, he had 7 division titles but only managed to muster up one trip to the World Series. Now this season he has allowed his entire pitching staff to hit 0% and is losing games at a record breaking pace. This is not the first time BigThunder has tanked it, he once lost 132 games in a single season. How can someone with 11 world series titles be that awful? He's not, its my suspicion that this is part of his "strategy".

This type of losing on purpose by letting your pitching staff fail is the easiest to come up with an excuse for. I was out of town, couldn't get to a computer, family emergency... etc. However "Sandbagging" has no excuse except for patheticness.

Sandbagging is the second worst. Where you keep players who are rated in their 70's in the minors just to keep your ML team from winning. This is the kind of stuff that would get a real GM fired and owners booed out of town. For example the Baltimore Baltimore Mets. Currently there are 6 players in the 70's in the minors four of which are starting pitchers and three of those are 27 years old or older. Sure they're all having crap seasons in the minors but maybe they have lost all hope in ownership and are giving up on life. They may need to call the sim depression hotline. (p.s. You could put in a help ticket and have one of those Baltimores removed)

And the worst of all is adding awful players from FA list, try out camps, and Ints and adding them to your ML club. You generally see this after the allstar break when teams start to realize they are out of it and start trying to move up in the draft chart for next year. So keep an eye out for ridiculous scores and long losing streaks.

And now for the loser of the week; Provryan777 a six game slide this week drops his winning percentage down down down to .225. With 30 million dollars kicking around in payroll not being spent there are questions to exactly what is going on in New Britain. But with a loaded minor league system stocked with talent from his two previous losing seasons and what appears to be a #1 pick on the way. Maybe in a few years the simulated fans in New Britain will have something to cheer for.

It appears that 75% of this world is "rebuilding". Grow some balls Dale Murphy.

Draft Recap 1-10

With the draft complete and most first round picks signed lets take a look at the new prospects and where they will start the Professional baseball career.

1

Kevin Gil Boston Scrogg-Dawgs Age: 18 B/T: R/R Born: Newcastle, WY Position(s): 1B View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Kevin Gil a 18 year old 1B was the number 1 pick of the Boston Scrogg-Dawgs. Gill comes to Boston from Upton HS. Gill looks to be an all around 1B with power and a great eye should be a hard person to K on a pitch out of the zone. The Scrogg-Dawgs paid Gills 4 million dollar signing bonus which should be a bargin if he playes to his potential.

2

Kevin Howard New Britain Banchees Age: 18 B/T: L/L Born: Liberty, TX Position(s): P (SP3) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Kevin Howard a 18 year old pitcher was picked in the 2nd spot by the New Britain Banchees. Howard comes to New Britain from Hamshire-Fannett HS. Howard has 3 pitches: 4-Seam FB, Curveball, Slider all 3 pitches project to 60 or higher. Howard concern if there is any is his around 60 control. The Banchees paid Howard a 3,910,000 bonus if he developes like he should that bonus money will be money well spent.

3

Goose Rocker Syracuse Civil Suitors Age: 18 B/T: R/R Born: Lockport, IL Position(s): 2B View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Goose Rocker a 18 year old 2B was drafted in the 3rd spot by the Syracuse Civil Suitors. Rocker comes to Syracuse from Wilmington HS. Rocker has great power and should hit left handed pitchers well and be average every where else. The Civil Suitors paid Rocker 3,820,000 Roker power alone should make that signing bonus a moot point in time.

4

Oswaldo Nunez Seattle Free Swingers Age: 20 B/T: R/R Born: Huntington, IN Position(s): 3B View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Oswaldo Nunez a 20 year old RF converted into a 3B was drafted in the 4 hole by the Seattle Free Swingers. Nunez comes to Seattle from Ancilla College. Nunez contact and his ability to hit both left and right hand pitchers look a great pick at the 4th spot. The 3,420,000 bonus the Free Swingers paid him is a drop in the bucket to the numbers he should put up in a Free Swingers uniform.

5

Juan Plata Rochester Golden Breakers Age: 22 B/T: L/L Born: St. Louis, MO Position(s): RF View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Juan Plata a 22 year old RF was drafted in the 5 spot by the Rochester Golden Breakers. Plata comes to Rochester from Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Plata does bring strikeout concerns in low contact but does show around league average in all other aspects of his game. The 3,630,000 the Golden Breakers paid him probably will be worth it but his contact makes him a risky pick at the 5 spot.

6

Jose Olmeda Burlington Bimbos Age: 18 B/T: R/R Born: Skiatook, OK Position(s): 2B View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Jose Olmeda a 18 year old 3B converted to a 2B was drafted in the 6 spot by the Burlington Bimbos. Olmeda comes to Burlington from Bartlesville HS. Olmeda has average growth potential one weak spot which could have him fishing alot in the big leagues his his batting eye. Burlington paid Olmeda a 3,630,000 bonus as with any top 10 pick the bonus should not be a problem.

7

Tom Hall San Diego PADRES Age: 18 B/T: S/R Born: Flagstaff, AZ Position(s): P (SP1) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Tom Hall a 18 year old pitcher was the 7th pick of the San Diego PADRES. Hall comes to San Diego from Verde Valley HS. Hall has 4 pitches: 4-Seam FB, Slider, Curveball, & Change Up. Of the 4 the curveball looks the weakest and the 4-seam FB as his strongest. Hall looks to be a pitcher that gets hitter out by the fly ball which could be a problem in hitters parks. The 3,440,000 bonus Hall takes to the bank is water under the bridge to the Padres franchise since he should get enough wins in his first 2 season to make up that bonus money.

8

Wilson Greer Honolulu Tsunamis Age: 18 B/T: R/R Born: Denver City, TX Position(s): 2B View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Wilson Greer a 18 year old 2B was selected 8th by the Honolulu Tsunamis. Greer heads for Honolulu fromPlains HS. Greer packs some power and at or above league average in the rest of the batting areas. The 3,350,000 the Tsunamis paid Greer will melt in the Honolulu sun as the balls he hits fly out of the park in 30+ HR a year he delivers to the Island.

9

Tim Davenport Jackson Swing of Destruction Age: 18 B/T: L/L Born: Chandler, AZ Position(s): 1B View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Tim Davenport a 18 year old 1B was picked 9th by the Jackson Swing of Destruction. Davenport comes to Jackson from Westview HS. Davenport projected ratings make him a steal at the 9 spot for the Swing of Destruction. The 3,250,000 bonus Jackson paid him is pocket change to add another bat to the stable to firt there name of the Swing of Destuction.

10

Felix Frank San Juan Jibaros Age: 18 B/T: R/R Born: Westminster, CA Position(s): P (SP1) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Felix Frank a 18 year old pitcher was drated 10th by the San Juan Jibaros. Frank leaves the US from Redondo HS to head to maybe the 51st State in the union in time to play in San Juan, PR. Frank has 5 pitches: Slider, Curveball, Change Up, Cut FB, & 4-Seam FB. Franks last 2 pitches are a concern but the 3 others should be good enough to get enough hitters out. The 3,160,000 the Jibaros paid Frank in a bonus could make Frank a bust with is poor ability to get both left and right hands batters out on a regular basis.