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.

Week 3 Power Rankings

In week 2 power rankings the Pawtucket Punishers was the top rated AL team with the Texas Muddobbers holding the top spot for the NL. New Britain was holding onto the season 9 top draft pick spot. Now with most teams playing around 54 games its time to take a look at how the Power rankings shake out for week 3. So without no further ado hee is week 3 power rankings.



1. Philadelphia Eagles 40-14
2. Pawtucket Punishers 41-13
3. Chicago Black Sox 41-13
4. Hartford Whalers 35-19
5. Cincinnati Suds 34-20
6. Texas Muddobbers 29-25
7. Arizona Big Like a Can of Pepsi 32-22
8. Honolulu Tsunamis 31-23
9. New York Donkey Show 30-24
10. New Orleans Rising Sun 32-22
11. Syracuse Civil Suitors 27-27
12. Salt Lake City Morons 30-24
13. Monterrey Churros 27-27
14. Rochester Golden Breakers 31-23
15. Vancouver Renegades 34-20
16. Buffalo Revenge 28-26
17. Scranton Schrutes 22-32
18. Washington D.C. Monuments 26-28
19. Milwaukee Beasts 27-27
20. St. Louis Arches 26-28
21. Jackson Swing of Destruction 22-32
22. Los Angeles La' Beckham 21-33
23. Atlanta Knights 25-29
24. Richmond RiverDogs 22-32
25. San Juan Jibaros 23-31
26. Burlington Bimbos 23-31
27. Baltimore Baltimore Mets 22-32
28. San Diego PADRES 15-39
29. Seattle Free Swingers 18-36
30. Boston Scrogg-Dawgs 21-33
31. New Britain Banchees 14-40
32. Little Rock Pebbles 15-39




Week 3 has some changes a new top team and a new last place team. Will we see a Philadelphia Eagles vs Chicago Black Sox world series which the rankings suggest we should see. Will the Little Rock Pebbles hold on to that last spot in the rankings and get the number 1 draft pick in season 8. Only time will tell but until week 4 rankings them are your team to catch or not to catch.

Week 2 Power Rankings

With most teams playing around 28 games so far its time to take a look at this week power rankings. We did see some changes some for the good some for the bad. So without no further ado here our your week 2 power rankings.



Week 2 power rankings.


1. Pawtucket Punishers 24-4
2. Philadelphia Eagles 20-9
3. Texas Muddobbers 18-10
4. Chicago Black Sox 18-10
5. New Orleans Rising Sun 19-9
6. Syracuse Civil Suitors 18-11
7. Hartford Whalers 19-9
8. Cincinnati Suds 20-9
9. New York Donkey Show 17-12
10. Arizona Big Like a Can of Pepsi 17-12
11. Vancouver Renegades 20-8
12. Monterrey Churros 15-13
13. Honolulu Tsunamis 14-14
14. Scranton Schrutes 11-17
15. Salt Lake City Morons 15-13
16. Richmond RiverDogs 13-15
17. Buffalo Revenge 12-16
18. Los Angeles La' Beckham 10-18
19. Washington D.C. Monuments 11-17
20. Milwaukee Beasts 12-16
21. St. Louis Arches 13-15
22. Jackson Swing of Destruction 10-18
23. Baltimore Baltimore Mets 12-17
24. San Juan Jibaros 12-16
25. Burlington Bimbos 10-18
26. Rochester Golden Breakers 14-14
27. Atlanta Knights 11-17
28. Little Rock Pebbles 11-17
29. San Diego PADRES 8-20
30. Boston Scrogg-Dawgs 12-16
31. Seattle Free Swingers 8-21
32. New Britain Banchees 8-21




This week the power rankings suggest we should see a world series matchup between the Pawtucket Punishers and the Texas Muddobbers. The power rankings also suggest that the New Britain Banchees will get the number 1 draft pick in season 9.

MVP Race of The Early Season

MVP RACE - [Through 19-20 Games]

Hector Johnson - Leading the League with 13 HR's and 28 RBI with a .395 Average through 20 games.

Jesus Guzman - Leads the League in Hits with 25RBI's with a .389 Average through 20 games.

Stuart Griffin - Top 5 in average (5th), hits (3rd), runs (2nd), with 7SB's and Top 10 in Slugging (7th) and OBP (10th) through 19 games.

- LFoussekis

Week 1 Power Rankings

Every Saturday the goal is to update each logo with the teams current record and slide them up and down by record. Also I plan on also do a weekly power ranking of all 32 teams. Just a reminder that power rankings my be different then current record. So don't be surprised to see teams with losing records higher in the rankings then teams with winning records. The power rankings will hold more true with team records as the season goes on.


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Week 1 has come and gone with most teams playing about 10 games. We will now reveal the first ever Dale Murphy power rankings. So without further ado we reveal the first ever Dale Murphy World power rankings.





1. Texas Muddobbers 7-2
2. Honolulu Tsunamis 9-1
3. Pawtucket Punishers 7-2
4. Chicago Black Sox 7-2
5. Arizona Big Like a Can of Pepsi 7-2
6. Philadelphia Eagles 7-3
7. New Orleans Rising Sun 7-3
8. Cincinnati Suds 8-2
9. Little Rock Pebbles 7-3
10. Hartford Whalers 6-3
11. Monterrey Churros 5-4
12. Baltimore Baltimore Mets 6-4
13. Syracuse Civil Suitors 4-6
14. Boston Scrogg-Dawgs 6-3
15. Rochester Golden Breakers 5-5
16. Los Angeles La' Beckham 3-7
17. St. Louis Arches 5-4
18. Jackson Swing of Destruction 3-7
19. Richmond RiverDogs 4-6
20. Salt Lake City Morons 3-6
21. Vancouver Renegades 6-4
22. New York Donkey Show 4-6
23. Scranton Schrutes 4-5
24. Buffalo Revenge 4-6
25. San Juan Jibaros 4-5
26. Burlington Bimbos 2-7
27. San Diego PADRES 2-8
28. Atlanta Knights 4-5
29. Seattle Free Swingers 2-7
30. Washington D.C. Monuments 2-7
31. Milwaukee Beasts 2-7
32. New Britain Banchees 1-9




The power rankings suggest that we should see a world series matchup between the Texas Muddobbers and the Honolulu Tsunamis. The Power ranking suggest the sesaon 9 first round draft pick spot should go to the New Britain Banchees. We now wait until next Saturday to see how the power rankings change or stay the same.

Texas Strikes First

Hardball Dynasty's

William Kondou

With the season only a couple games old the Texas Muddobbers made the first huge International signing of the season. The Muddobbers have signed 19 year old pitcher William Kondou from Osaka, JP. Kondou signs with the Muddobbers with a 3 year 981,000 contract with a 15 million dollar signing bonus. Kondou appears headed to the Muddobbers ML team in time as possibly the teams closer. We contacted manager lilcoch about this signing and this is what he had to say.

Tell us what you liked about Kondou to make the signing ?

I liked everything about Kondou.

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Is there anything that made you think twice about signing Kondou as the bidding war went on ?

Not really, after waiting all last season for a great prospect and not landing one. I was ging all out for this one.

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What scout found Kondou ?

Santiago Rodriguez

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When do you expect him to make his ML debut ?

I would say 2 seasons from now

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Do you expect him to live up to the 15 million he got in a signing bonus ?

I think so, I think he will be my closer for a longtime.

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Does Kondou have a place with the Muddobbers forever or could you see him being traded in time ?

I won't say forever, I would have to great offer to trade

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We thank manager lilcoch for his time in answering our questions and wish him luck with his new pitcher.

Season 8 set to get going.

Now that spring training is over and teams prepare to start the season. Lets take a crack at predicting the playoff teams of season 8.

AL Playoff Teams

AL South = Little Rock Pebbles (1)

AL East = Philadelphia Eagles (2)

AL West = Arizona Big Like a Can of Pepsi (3)

AL North = Pawtucket Punishers (4)

Wild Card = New Orleans Rising Sun (5)

Wild Card = New York Donkey Show (6)

NL Playoff Teams

NL East = Hartford Whalers (1)

NL North = Milwaukee Beasts (2)

NL South = Texas Muddobbers (3)

NL West = LA / or Vancouver (4) both teams score the same in ranking process

Wild Card = Cincinnati Suds (5)

Wild Card = Chicago Black Sox (6)

At the end of the season we will look back on these predictions to see how well my predictions are. Rankings show some close races coming up in season 8. The NL west should be the closet of the 8 divisions according to my prediction. Only time will tell so LETS PLAY BALL

Top 10 Free Agent Signings

Now that free agency is over and spring training has begun its a good time to take a look at the top 10 free agents signings of season 8. So without further ado here is my top 10 list starting at number 10.

10

Alvin Flynn Monterrey Churros Age: 29 B/T: R/R Born: Davenport, IA Position(s): DH/CIF/2B/COF View Hardball Dynasty Profile

DH Alvin Flynn who signed with the Monterrey Churros. Should help in drive in some runs for the Monterrey Churros. The 29 year Flynn pros are has some power, and hits both lefties and righties well, he also has a decent glove to allow him to play in the field. However one con that sticks out in Flynn's game is his contact rating making him a slight risk of going down on strikes alot during the season.

9

Jerry Bird Texas Muddobbers Age: 29 B/T: S/R Born: Ogallala, NE Position(s): P (ClA) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

P Jerry Bird who signed with the Texas Muddobbers. Should help pick up some innings coming out of the Muddobbers bullpen. The 29 year old Bird pros are he does well getting both lefties and righties out, he also has some good speed on his pitches, and keeps the ball on the ground which keeps the ball in the park. Bird does come with some risk with his control. The control problem could result in loss of innings and putting more runners on base in late innings.

8

Ryan Johnson San Diego PADRES Age: 28 B/T: S/L Born: Fresno, CA Position(s): P (SP5) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

P Ryan Johnson who signed with the San Diego PADRES looks to fill in as the number 5 starter in the rotation. The 28 year old Johnson pros are he has good control, decent speed on his pitches, and keeps the ball on the ground alot. His cons are he could struggle vs both lefties and righties if the defense doesn't help him by getting to more of the ground balls he should serve up.

7

Junior Mercado Texas Muddobbers Age: 29 B/T: S/R Born: Eldorado Culican, MX Position(s): P (T4A) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

P Junior Mercado who signed with the Texas Muddobbers will probably be seen in the Muddobbers starting rotation. The 29 year old Mercado looks to be a well rounded pitcher with no real glarring issue of concern.

6

Luis Beltre Milwaukee Beasts Age: 33 B/T: S/R Born: Fantino, DO Position(s): P (T2A) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

P Luis Beltre who signed with the Milwaukee Beasts will probably be in the Beasts starting rotation. The 33 year old Beltre pros are he has decent control, he does well at getting both lefties and righties out, and has decent speed on his pitches. His cons are has a tendency to allow hitters that make contact to get the ball in the air which could result in some unwanted HR.

5

Matty Reyes Monterrey Churros Age: 32 B/T: R/R Born: Jicome Esperanza, DO Position(s): CF/IF/OF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

CF Matty Reyes who signed with the Monterrey Churros will look to roam the outfield in Monterrey. The 32 year old Reyes pros are he has good power, and should hit both lefties and rigties well, and has a good eye to draw some walks. Reyes cons are he lacks in contact, and lacks in speed. I would bet he doesn't assume the leadoff role if he makes the everyday lineup in Monterrey.

4

Stuart Griffin Arizona Big Like a Can Pepsi Age: 30 B/T: L/L Born: Bridgeport, CT Position(s): CF/OF View Hardball Dynasty Profile

CF Stuart Griffin who signed with the Arizona Big Like a Can Pepsi looks to roam CF in Arizona and maybe hit leadoff. The 30 year old Griffin pros are he has decent power, hits lefties and righties well, and has a great eye, and great speed which should make him a good leadoff hitter option. Griffin cons is his contact which could have heading back to the dugout more often then he would like.

3

Walt Harris Cincinnati Suds Age: 28 B/T: R/R Born: Immokalee, FL Position(s): 1B/COF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LF Walt Harris who signed with the Cincinnati Suds looks to be already awarded the 1B job in Cininnati. The 28 year old Harris looks to be an all around hitter with power we could see him batting in the 3 or 4 spot in Cincinnati.

2

Donald Suzuki Syracuse Civil Suitors Age: 32 B/T: R/R Born: Hyogo, JP Position(s): C/IF/OF View Hardball Dynasty Profile

C Donald Suzuki who signed with the Syracuse Civil Suitors looks to be behind the plate for the Civil Suitors. The 32 year old Suzuki pros are all around good hitter with average power. His only glarring con is his pitch calling skills which could force the Civil Suitors into playing him at 1B to get his bat into the lineup.

1

Vladimir Duran Arizona Big Like a Can Pepsi Age: 29 B/T: R/R Born: St. Croix, VI Position(s): SS/IF/OF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

SS Vladimir Duran who signed with the Arizona Big Like a Can Pepsi looks to sure up the middle of in the infield in Arizona. The 29 year old Duran has good ratings in every aspect you would want in a SS. The only problem the Arizona franchise may wish for his that his glove would be a little better, but all in all he has to bloster there lineup and defense.

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