Bored

And once again a conference tournament eliminates any reason to even bother playing the regular season. Georgia has no business being in the national tournament.

I actually erased the league but I'm pretty sure I remember your pitching being the issue but also you have little to no power in your line up. Funny thing about that simulation though...I forgot to turn the DH option on. Whoops! So I ran another simulation with the DH option on and here's what it turned out. East Hillsdale 80-82 Oakland 79-83 Salisbury 78-84 Boston 67-95 Central St. Paul 95-67 Montreal 83-79 Tijuana 81-81 Bronx 70-92 West Anchorage 91-71 Moreno Valley 85-77 Woodside 82-80 Ohio 81-81 Again this probably all means nothing. This was again with the original drafted rosters and a few teams have already made several changes. One interesting thing is how well the two auto drafted teams in the West have faired.

It's not over yet but it is looking like Georgia will be stealing a bid. I'm guessing Villanova or Oregon will be the odd team out.

The importance of the Ratings Percentage Index has been greatly devalued in the last two years by the tournament committee. Before 2006 not a single Top 30 school in the RPI had been left out the tournament but in the last two years three schools in the Top 30 have been sent to the NIT (Missouri State and Hofstra in 2006, Air Force in 2007). Nevertheless the RPI is still used to consider who gets into the tournament and I was curious to see which schools for each year since the creation of the RPI in 1994 were the lowest rated RPI team to get an at large bid and how they faired in the tournament. Or maybe I just needed an excuse for an entry and am not really interested in this at all. You make the call! 1994 George Washington (#61 in RPI, 10 seed) -def. 7 seed UAB 51-46 -lost to 2 seed Connecticut 75-63 1995 Minnesota (#66 in RPI, 8 seed) -lost to 9 seed Saint Louis 64-61 1996 California (#52 in RPI, 12 seed) -lost to 5 seed Iowa 74-64 1997 Georgetwon (#57 in RPI, 10 seed) -lost to 7 seed UNC Charlotte 79-67 1998 Western Michigan (#58 in RPI, 11 seed) -def. 6 seed Clemson 75-72 -lost to 3 seed Stanford 83-65 1999 New Mexico (#74 in RPI, 9 seed) -def. 8 seed Missouri 61-59 -lost to 1 seed Connecticut 78-56 2000 Pepperdine (#52 in RPI, 11 seed) -def. 6 seed Indiana 77-57 -lost to 3 seed Oklahoma State 75-67 2001 Oklahoma State (#49 in RPI, 11 seed) -lost to 6 seed USC 69-54 2002 Wyoming (#63 in RPI, 11 seed) -def. 6 seed Gonzaga 73-66 -lost to 3 seed Arizona 68-60 2003 N.C. State (#53 in RPI, 9 seed) -lost to 9 seed California 76-74 2004 Air Force (#70 in RPI, 11 seed) -lost to 6 seed North Carolina 63-52 2005 N.C. State (#63 in RPI, 10 seed) -def. 7 seed Charlotte 75-63 -def. 2 seed Connecticut 65-62 -lost to 6 seed Wisconsin 65-56 2006 Seton Hall (#58 in RPI, 10 seed) -lost to 7 seed Wichita State 86-66 2007 Stanford (#63 in RPI, 11 seed) -lost to 6 seed Louisville 78-58

The importance of the RPI has been greatly devalued in the last two years. Before 2006 no RPI Top 30 team had ever been left out but in the last two seasons the committee has left out three RPI Top 30 teams.

Gregg Zaun, C

Apparently I was mistaken about the roster limit as people have been able to add to their roster without releasing a player. When I saw the rule the FAQ for 28 man rosters my assumption was that you could have up to 28 players with 3 injured players but there is no 25 man limit. The brief waiver period is already over so it is a free for all now to pick up players. In the interest of fairness I'm going to hold off on adding anyone until most of you are aware you can do this. I ran a quick simulation using Strat-O-Matic with the original drafted 25 man rosters. To run it as quick as possible I let the computer decide the line ups and rotations including for my own team. Also didn't bother matching up the schedule as that would have taken forever and I didn't run a playoff. But here were the final standings. East Oakland 86-76 Salisbury 86-76 Boston 76-86 Hillsdale 68-94 Central Montreal 96-66 St. Paul 81-81 Bronx 75-87 Tijuana 75-87 West Anchorage 89-73 Moreno Valley 86-76 Ohio 78-84 Woodside 76-86 I would take all of this with a grain of salt but I was surprised by how poorly Al's team faired.

An additional feature that I just found is if you click on a player's name on your roster screen to view their player card there is a Strategy Settings option for each player. You can set things such as having a slow or quick hook for a starter or to avoid using someone against a left or right handed hitter/pitcher.

There's no way they will delay the selections as that gives one less day for school's fan bases to plan where to travel. Also the pointless play in game is on Tuesday so that gives little time for those two schools to prepare if they do not know who they are playing until Monday night.

Georgia/Kentucky has been postponed due to damage to the Georgia Dome. I would have to think they will need to cancel the tournament and give their automatic bid to Tennessee (regular season means something!) because they still have the semis and finals to finish by Sunday and they would only be able to do that by having the winner of the UGA/UK game play two games in one day tomorrow, if they can even continue the tournament.

Bad day for the Pac-10 bubble teams as all three lost. I still think Arizona is safe as I think the committee will reward them for the schedule they played although I really thought Stanford would have a lot tougher time with them tonight but they were able cruise in the second half. That should secure a 3 seed for the Cardinal and probably a trip to Anaheim to start to the tournament.

Matt Belisle, SP

Well I can't force it so guess you got me there. Maybe Cena will be willing to pick a different one.

One cool feature I didn't think would included is you can set a depth chart for your line ups. Please note although you have until 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST on Monday to set your line ups, rotations, and manager settings you only have until Midnight EST/9:00 PM PST on Sunday to set your ballpark so don't forget. I would like everyone who hasn't to announce their ballpark in this thread as to avoid two people having the same park. Here's who have already put in claims for these stadiums: Oakland - Oakland Coliseum Boston - Fenway Park Salisbury - Memorial Stadium Montreal - Olympic Stadium Anchorage - Fulton County Stadium Ohio - Cleveland Stadium Woodside - Yankee Stadium

The draft link will be up on the league homepage 30 minutes before the draft starts.

Well that really sucks. Jonny Gomes, OF

Just a reminder the draft is Thursday at 9:00 PM EST/6:00 PM PST. Let me run through a few more things I haven't covered. In the Player Set Browser for pitchers you'll see a category "End." which is for endurance. For example you'll see Bob Ojeda has a S7* endurance rating. The S stands for Starter and the number is his endurance rating and for starters they range from 5 to 9 and for relievers they range from 1 to 4. The asterisk on his rating means that he is capable of pitching on three days rest if needed. No starter in the set has 9 endurance rating and eight have an 8 endurance rating which includes Roger Clemens and Dwight Gooden. Also should note when it comes to relievers, you do not have draft a true closer to be your closer as you can assign any reliever to be your closer. I would strongly suggest downloading the Excel file for the Player Set Browser because in that file you can see which players can play multiple positions. If a player played even just one game at a position in 1986 he has a rating for that position but be careful not draft someone out of position and expect to start them like George Brett who played two games as shortstop in '86 but has 4e48 defensive rating (see the post earlier in the thread for a breakdown on defense ratings) at short. One final thing, ignore the salaries listed in the Player Set Browser as that is for auto draft leagues which have a salary cap and there is no cap for live draft leagues.

Alexei Ramirez, 2B

Nothing like saying you're out of ideas by reposting an old blog entry but that's what I'm resorting to. Actually I probably would have come up with something over the weekend but I was near death (or at least felt like it) with the flu so putting together semi-coherent thoughts wasn't an option. The weekend after next will be what I believe to be the best time of the sports year and that is the first two rounds of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. This week however is one of the worst time's of the sports year with Conference Championship Week. Conference tournaments primarily accomplish two things, 1) Render the conference regular seasons meaningless and 2) Weaken the overall field of the national tournament. They are a pox on humanity and should be eliminated. So I now present to you a Bored "classic" entry from 2/27/06, Conference Tournaments are the Tool of the Devil!

Bracket Project Update Last Eight In New Mexico Syracuse Oregon Ohio State Arizona State Illinois State Massachusetts Kentucky Last Eight Out VCU UAB Virgina Tech Villanova Mississippi Western Kentucky Maryland Dayton

Jeff Keppinger, SS/3B

Thank God we have conference tournaments to ruin a season of hard work and help weaker teams qualify for the national tournament. What would we do without them? TV Schedule for the Week of 3/10 - 3/16 MONDAY CAA Championship: William & Mary vs. George Mason, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN MAAC Championship: Rider vs. Siena, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN2 WCC Championship: Gonzaga vs. San Diego, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN Southern Championship: Elon vs. Davidson, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN2 TUESDAY Summit League Championship, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN Horizon League Championship: Cleveland State vs. Butler, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN Sun Belt Championship, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN2 WEDNESDAY Big East First Round: Syracuse vs. Villanova, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN Big East First Round: West Virginia vs. Providence, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, ESPN Big East First Round: Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN NEC Championship, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN2 Big East First Round: Marquette vs. Seton Hall, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN Big Sky Championship, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN2 Pac-10 First Round: Washington vs. California, 9:00/6:00 PM, FSN Pac-10 First Round: Arizona vs. Oregon State, 11:00/8:00 PM, FSN THURSDAY Big East Quarterfinals: Georgetown vs. TBD, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN Big XII First Round: Nebraska vs. Texas Tech, 12:30 PM/9:30 AM, ESPN2 Big East Quarterfinals: Connecticut vs. TBD, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, ESPN Big Ten First Round: Penn State vs. Illinois, 2:30 PM/11:30 AM, ESPN2 Pac-10 Quarterfinals: USC vs. Arizona State, 3:00 PM/Noon, FSN Big Ten First Round: Minnesota vs. Northwestern, 4:30/1:30 PM, ESPN2 Pac-10 Quarterfinals: UCLA vs. TBD, 5:30/2:30 PM, FSN Big East Quarterfinals: Louisville vs. TBD, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN ACC First Round: Georgia Tech vs. Virginia, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN2 Big East Quarterfinals: Notre Dame vs. TBD, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN Pac-10 Quarterfinals: Washington State vs. Oregon, 9:00/6:00 PM, FSN Big XII First Round: Texas A&M vs. Iowa State, 9:30/6:30 PM, ESPN2 Pac-10 Quarterfinals: Stanford vs. TBD, 11:30/8:30 PM, FSN FRIDAY Big Ten Quarterfinals: Wisconsin vs. TBD, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN ACC Quarterfinals: North Carolina vs. TBD, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN2 ACC Quarterfinals: Virginia Tech vs. TBD, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, ESPN2 Big Ten Quarterfinals: Michigan State vs. Ohio State, 2:30 PM/11:30 AM, ESPN Patriot League Championship: Colgate vs. American, 4:30/1:30 PM, ESPN2 Big East Semi-Final #1, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN ACC Quarterfinals: Duke vs. TBD, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN2 Big East Semi-Final #2, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN ACC Quarterfinals: Clemson vs. TBD, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN2 Pac-10 Semi-Final #1: 9:00/6:00 PM, FSN Pac-10 Semi-Final #2: 11:30/8:30 PM, FSN SATURDAY Conference USA Championship, 11:30/8:30 AM, CBS American East Championship: Hartford vs. Maryland-Baltimore, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN2 Big Ten Semi-Final #1, 1:30 PM/10:30 AM, CBS ACC Semi-Final #1, 1:30 PM/10:30 AM, ESPN Big XII Semi-Final #1, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, ESPN2 Big Ten Semi-Final #2, 3:30/12:30 PM, CBS ACC Semi-Final #2, 3:30/12:30 PM, ESPN Big XII Semi-Final #2, 4:30/1:30 PM, ESPN2 Pac-10 Championship, 6:00/3:00 PM, CBS Atlantic-10 Championship, 6:00/3:00 PM, ESPN MAC Championship, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN2 Mountain West Championship, 7:00/4:00 PM, Versus Big East Championship, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN WAC Championship, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN2 Big West Championship, 11:00/8:00 PM, ESPN2 SUNDAY SEC Championship, 1:00 PM/10:00 AM, CBS ACC Championship, 1:00 PM/10:00 AM, ESPN Southland Championship, 1:00 PM/10:00 AM, ESPN2 Big Ten Championship, 3:00 PM/Noon, CBS Big XII Championship, 3:00 PM/Noon, ESPN

Referring to my previous post, one player who was not included was Kevin Seitzer as that year in only 116 plate appearances he hit .323/.440/.448. I think part of the reason why they chose not include him, and leads to my next tip about the game, is his balance rating. The balance rating (labeled "BAL" on the Player Set Browser) refers to the player's platoon split. They range from 9R to 9L. A player with a 9R rating kills righties but is relatively useless against lefties and vice versa for a player with 9L rating. Players with an E balance rating hit/pitch evenly against both righties and lefties. Seitzer's card in 1986 had a 1R rating so if they had included him a team could take advantage of his great rate stats with a small sample size and use him as an everyday player. Now they did not eliminate every player who played great in a relative small amount of paying time but it seems the majority of them have very large platoon splits. An example is Johnny Grubb, a DH/OF for the Tigers, who hit .333/.412/.590 in 243 plate appearances, with only 15 plate appearances against left handed pitchers and he has a balance rating of 8R. So if you draft Grubb and try to play him everyday he certainly won't come anywhere close to his .333/.412/.590 line as he'll do nothing against left handed pitchers.

On the computer version of Strat-O-Matic there's an option that can be put in place to prevent a player who didn't play much in a particular year from being overused while replaying that season. It appears there is nothing on this Sporting News version to prevent this so I believe it is possible to have a player who say had only 200 plate appearances in 1986 and have them be an everyday player. Now it has been my experience that with Strat that it will mimic real life in some ways where a player with big numbers in a small amount of playing time will typically regress to the mean when they are given more playing time but it doesn't happen all the time either. I did notice that they didn't include every single player from 1986 so they selectively took out some players who had ridiculous rate stats in very small amounts of playing time. I'll come up with some examples later as right now I'm sick and am gonna go pass out for a while.

Nate Robertson, SP