Jim’s Corner
November 11, 2002
What a long strange trip it has been!
I have not written a Jim's Corner in almost a year. For the guy who loves to write, it just goes to show how electronics have changed our lives. Where I used to write a couple pages every three weeks, I now send out an eMail a week. Frankly, I prefer writing the couple pages as it adds to the 2500 pages or so of newsletters that spans TML history.
Regardless, the 2001 season has come to a glorious end. What a season it was! You should all have been in receipt of the final database for the season and I encourage you all to print or view reports to your heart's content. There is such a wealth of information available that it is almost an overload!
We did not start the season until June and finished in 5 months. Given the fact that we were using a new game that was unfamiliar territory to most of us, that was an incredible feat. The corresponding fact that we did not lose anyone makes it an even greater accomplishment.
I have to thank Scott Lagace for all the tireless work he does getting all the files I send him up on the web page. Scott has filled Kevin's shoes and kept us heading in the right direction. I also wish to thank Rich Goldberg, Pat Barry and Bill "Willie" Jelks for everything they do behind the scene to a) keep the league running smoothly and b) keep me in line. During the time that I was in the hospital, Rich did all the work and kept the communications open so well, that none of you knew how bad I actually was. I am fine now and the TML was always running smoothly. Rich, Pat and Willie pretty much headed up our Tech Support. Each of them took a lot of time to patiently answer game questions and to iron out schedule problems.
I am very pleased with Diamond Mind. No, it is not perfect, but a lot of my administrative fears have been blasted aside as we have moved through the season. There are things that, with experience, we are going to address (more on that later), but, all in all I am thrilled with the change to Diamond Mind.
The major change for us is that, for the first time since Mike Short stepped aside as tech support in Diamond Dreams, we have had a spot to go to within the company to help us out when we run into problems. Luke Kraemer (lead programmer for Diamond Mind) has bailed us out several times during the season. Luke, ironically, was an initial subscriber to Instant Replay back in 1981 and has been great!
The following teams have paid their dues for TML2002 and may trade:
NY, TG, CS, DY, AV, MV, KY, NA, BU
I ask that all dues checks ($5) be made out to Mike Ameen and mailed to me by the 25th of November. The dues are used solely to finance the Web Page, but are a matter of faith in the sustenance of the League.
Quoting Alfred E. Newman, $5, Cheap!
I am checking with Ed Faver regarding his status for TML2002. As far as I can see, with the change in his degree program, Ed is the only one that has run into a time crunch . I hope he isn't leaving us, but I certainly know what kind of workload he has.
TRADES/DRAFT/PLAYOFFS
Until the fines are assessed all trades are on hold. Trades have been reported between teams who have not paid dues and others have been reported involving draft choices. With potential overuse fines, these trades might have to be renegotiated. So stay tuned for the assessment. No trade is official until it is reported on the web site.
I will be conducting the lottery process to determine the order for the draft. The date for the draft has not been set but, if you are a wagering person, look for the end of January. (Not Super Bowl weekend though).
The Season ended and the final series reported determined the final playoff spot.
Here are the matchups for the first round of the playoffs:
MF-FM, NY-GC,
ZR-TG, MV-TR
Buffalo, New York, Zaca and Mudville will host games 1,2,6,7 (if necessary), Playoffs can start right now. I would like to get the first round started ASAP. Playoff limitations are in the constitution on the web page.
Millennium had the best record in the league the entire season and earned the number one spot. For Millennium, this represents their first Division title. Mudville won the Mantle for the 3rd time since 1993. Zaca captured their 9th division title and the 3rd in the last 4 years. For New York, their division title was the team's 9th, winning for the 4th time in the last 5. New York and Gotham are making their 5th trip in a row to the playoffs.
ALL STARS/Post Season Awards
Since all reports are viewable and printable within Diamond Mind, I would urge you to take advantage of this when choosing All Stars. Each manager should leave me an eMail with the following:
ALL STARS
– A starter and backup at each defensive
position. (No need to designate
positions for outfielders. Vote for 3
starting outfielders and 3 backups.
Please also vote for 5 starting pitchers and 3 relievers, but rank them
in preference order.
Player/Pitcher
of the Year – List 10 players (in order
of preference 1-10) and 3 pitchers (in order of preference 1-3) for the annual
best of breed.
These ballots are due back
to me NO LATER THAN 12/1/2002.
Failure to vote will result in the loss your 3rd round draft
choice (if available) next highest if not.
YES I WANT THEM BACK. So take a few moments to vote. (and send in your dues check if you haven’t.)
See above
TML 1952 has roared off to a wonderful start and, believe it or not, is almost 2/3 finished. Commack has dominated the Eastern Division as they hold a 7 1/2 game lead over Troy and 8 1/2 over Disney. Commack is the only team in the division playing .500 ball as everyone else is in contention for Ernie Banks.
On the other hand, the Northern has been a 4-way chase since the outset of the season. Currently McGraw holds down the top spot, but Andrew's Team, Rainier and Buffalo are within 3 games. Rainier has won the division in 1948, 1950 and 1951 and is looking to make it a trifecta.
Young Mickey Mantle of Disney has been dominating the offense all year pushed only by Stanley Frank Musial of Commack. Joe Dobson of Commack and Warren Hacker of Savannah are knotted up for the ERA lead while Robin Roberts of Beach City is 17-1. Well within Roberts' long shadow is the amazing Russ Meyer of Andrew's Team. Meyer is 13-0 heading down the stretch.
While this was all happening, we have kicked off TML1968, the 8th year in our 60's/70's series. Pitching has come to the forefront and, trust me, with all the offense over the past couple current seasons, the wealth of pitching is a jolt. I don't think there are more than a dozen unlimited starters in this batch.
Not much to report on yet in 1968 as we are just out of the gate. Watch the web site for updates.
No firm dates have been set for either of these drafts, but I am considering doing both drafts on December 7th during the day. If anyone has a problem with that day, let me know.
Danny Way is still open in 1929 and we are all filled up for 1939.
We will tentatively start both seasons in January.
There has been some discussion regarding parks, active roster sizes and the waiver list. I will address all of these next time (in three weeks). I would appreciate a formal proposal on rosters and waivers from Doug and Rocky (who first brought them up) and I will run with Darrell's ballpark proposal.
We will definitely use the ballparks in 1939 and 1929, so I would ask each manager to choose an existing (retro) ballpark for their teams. To be frank, I don't know anything (as of yet) regarding making your own parks. If someone DOES, let me know.
I would suggest that, if ballparks are adopted, that there be some contingency saying that you will be held to a park for a given timeframe so that you can't move to a pitcher's park when you have pitching and a hitter's park if you have hitting. When the discussion starts regarding parks, I would have no problem NOT limiting the number of teams that can use a specific park.
That's it for now. I promise that there will be another edition within 3 weeks.
‘Til the next time, have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Best/Jim