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The Yankees Suck and
Other Notes from 2009
Drew Gallagher,
11/05/09 |
Gentlemen,
We just finished up our 25th season of the Altered
States League and in a quarter century of playing this
ridiculous (and entertaining) game I don’t know that
I’ve ever seen a more unlikely team capture the crown
than the 2009 Dodge Polaras squad. Seriously, look over
that roster and tell me how he did it. But ultimately
the question is moot because he did do it so
congratulations to Matt on his first ASL crown! It could
not have happened to a nicer guy. Also, kudos to
substitute draftman Danny O for picking up such nuggets
as $1 Ben Zobrist on draft day to point the Polaras in
the right direction. (Trivia question: Which owner threw
Zobrist back into the draft? Hint: He jumped off a
building and broke his leg soon thereafter.)
Not to diminish Matt’s accomplishment but
congratulations are also due to The Chicken for turning
around that moribund squad he inherited in two years to
take second place. I’ll go out on a limb and argue that
Winterburn never would’ve had that team in
contention…ever. In the win now era of sports, the
pressure is on the Three-Headed Owner to try to turn
Stu’s team around by October of 2010. Otherwise heads
will roll. Which might be a good thing because then
we’ll actually know which of the three owners to contact
for trades.
The Question Marks cashed for a second year in a row
(don’t tell his wife) and have a nice core of young
players returning for 2010 or, as Mark refers to it, the
last year with lovechild Nick Markakis under contract
for less than $50.
Jamie kissed his sister by finishing fourth and one spot
ahead of the 1st reserve pick but at least he got money
instead of the second overall pick which I’m certain
I’ll turn into Warner Madrigal. Dale somehow managed to
make up a 13-point deficit over the last couple of weeks
to claim the coveted number one overall draft pick. He
has sent playoff shares to Carlos Pena, Adam Jones and
Jose Guillen for bailing on the last month of the
Drewers’ season.
In housekeeping matters, any questions or concerns you
have going into 2010 should be sent to Jamie so he can
include them in the winter survey. Please don’t be
alarmed if Jamie doesn’t respond to your e-mails
immediately, he’s probably procreating (again). At this
rate, Jamie may be the first owner ever to populate a
league exclusively with his own offspring. He could even
use the ASL and simply change it to the All Schlesinger
League.
I have glimpsed the potential keeper lists for 2010 and,
my friends, I would not recommend it without first
consulting your physician. It’s so bad that I won’t even
let me six-year old near the computer screen for fear he
might get nightmares. “Daddy, is Manny Delcarmen really
a keeper?” “Go to bed son. Santa comes in less than two
months.”
That being said, what fun would it be without some
preliminary predictions for 2010…
Pitching-wise no one can hold a flame to The Tumors who
return a $4 bullpen (Francisco is likely to get a
contract) with Bailey and Francisco. He also has AL CY
Young award winner to be Zach Greinke in the fold.
Offensively he has Ellsbury, Juan Rivera and Aaron Hill
so it looks like a money team. Probably the early
November favorite for the 2010 title provided he doesn’t
keep Carlos Gomez and Brett Gardner. |
The Question
Marks have a nice offense to build around Evan Longoria
(contract year? $25 easy) and 2010 is the last year
before I go for $50 Nick Markakis. Pitching is better
than most.
Perk has a decent start on offense with Kendry Morales
(look at his numbers, they are sick and probably worthy
of Roto MVP of 2009), Alex Gordon and Sin Soo Choo
(bless you) who leaves after 2010 to fulfill his Korean
military service (I’m not making that up). His pitching
sucks but that’s a recurring theme here.
The Chicks have a leg up on the rest of the league
(except Chris) by having Aardsma in the coop. I made a
trade this season where I threw in Nick Punto. Who
throws in a sub $5 closer? Two heads may be better than
one but I’ve got my doubts about three heads…
Our defending champion has Nelson Cruz and….and….a
winner’s check from 2009. Hope he can stretch it out for
a couple of years.
Yardbirds’ owner Rick Franz was recently heard saying:
“A day without Gordon Beckham is like a day without
sunshine.” The fact that he has three or four $1
outfielders to go with Mr. Beckham makes it an
interesting squad for 2010. Morneau and Cano make it a
little more pricey but the offense is there. His
pitching sucks but I think you are all starting to get
the gist.
Marty said that he saw Mauer, ARod and Crawford all as
keepers. He’s got a pitching staff better than most so
maybe tying up nearly $120 in salary on the other three
won’t be so bad. But better than most means he has two
or three pitchers worth keeping.
Jamie has Soria and Verlander so another team with
pitching that goes two deep.
The Three-Headed Owner has Andrus and Adam Lind and
David Aardsma heading into 2010. Not a bad start and
better than the team Stu left him with, but then you
remember that he traded Aardsma and it all starts to
fall apart…
Is Rajai Davis for real? Scott hopes so. If LaPorta and
Butler produce as expected the offense has a nice start
to it.
And I just realized that I forgot to look at Dale’s
team. I know his team would look a lot better with
Zobrist and Cliff Lee but he does have the number 1 pick
in the reserve draft.
Projected Order for money spots as of 11/5/09:
1. The Drewers!
2. The Tumors
3. The Question Marks
4. (tie) The Yardbirds, Perk and The Chicks
It’s November and to quote the late, great John Mittl:
“I like my team!” (pitching be damned)
Congratulations again to Dodge. Bidding for Danny O’s
services at 2010’s draft begins at two pitchers of
Yuengling and an appetizer (if you can throw in a
leftfielder for the Sox all the better).
Happy Trading!
Drewer |
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TENTATIVE
2010 DRAFT DATE:
Saturday, April 10th, 2010
Start time: 11:00AM
Location: The Third Rail Restaurant & Bar
404 Main Street, Blandon, PA 19510
Since some people forget every year:
You must draft 23 players for $260
(2) C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, IF, (5) OF, DH, U, (9) P |

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2010 ASL
ROSTER FREEZE:
Saturday, April 3rd, 2010
Noon
You may retain up to
13 players. You must also note any contract extensions at that time.
You may submit your freeze list early - you can change it as
many times as you like up until the dead-line. However, once you submit
your list, you may no longer make any trades until after
the draft. If you have more than (5) s3 rookies, you
will not have to cut down to the maximum of (5) until
draft day. |
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ASL TRADING RULES:
Draft Day thru noon on August 31st: During the trading
period, teams may accept only TWO "asterisk" players total throughout
the year and those must be from different teams. On the flip-side, a team
may trade AWAY as many "asterisk" players as they like (but no two
"asterisk" players to the same team.)
"Asterisk" players are
any players auction drafted for $20 or over, any players FAAB drafted for $60 or
over, players of any salary in the final year of their contract, and players
traded to the National League.
Restricted Trading, 12:01 p.m. on August 1st thru noon August 31st:
You may trade with
any team +/- 5 points in the standings (based on the most up
to date standings on the front page of the All-Star Stats
web-site. "Live" standings will not count, as there
will be no way to verify it later.) Also, all teams
that have less than 40 points may all trade freely with each other.
The asterisk rules will apply during this
period. |
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ASL "Win/Loss" Records,
1985-2009
Several years ago, when Jerry Heath was still
in the roto business, researching the science of Rotisserie, he
came up with a Won/Loss method to determine the "value" of
players, in terms of their impact on the standings.
He would survey the final standings of hundreds of league. If a
player was on a first-place team, he got a win. If he was on a
last-place team, he got a loss. If he was on a team that
finished between first and last, he had no record.
For example, if Pedro Martinez was drafted in 100 leagues, and
was on 35 pennant-winners, and 5 cellar-dwellers, he would have
a 35-5 "record." It usually turned out that the best players,
purchased for the best value, had the best won-loss records.
Using Heath's W-L formula as a starting point, I thought I would
create all-time standings for ASL franchises. Pennant-winners
would achieve an 11-0 record (in a 12-team league). Second-place
teams would have a 10-1 record. Last-place teams 0-11, etc.
Using that method, here's what I came up with: |
|
Team |
Owner |
Seasons |
|
Titles |
|
$* |
|
W |
|
L |
|
T |
|
Pct. |
|
Nicklebockers |
Steve Nickel |
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
20 |
|
2 |
|
0 |
|
.909 |
|
Chicken |
Mike Drago |
19 |
|
7 |
|
12 |
|
158 |
|
50 |
|
0 |
|
.760 |
| Rob
Sox |
Rob Schwartz |
15 |
|
3 |
|
9 |
|
121 |
|
42 |
|
1 |
|
.742 |
|
Mystery Tramps |
Gerry Kahle |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
8 |
|
3 |
|
0 |
|
.727 |
|
Malignancies |
C. Malinowski |
15 |
|
5 |
|
9 |
|
118 |
|
47 |
|
0 |
|
.715 |
| Jon
DeLoreans |
Jon Finglass |
8 |
|
1 |
|
5 |
|
61 |
|
26 |
|
0 |
|
.701 |
|
Dr.K's |
Nelson Kohn |
3 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
21 |
|
11 |
|
1 |
|
.656 |
| Black
Sheep |
Rich Ziemba |
11 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
76 |
|
44 |
|
0 |
|
.633 |
| Snyde
Remarks |
Steve Snyder |
12 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
82 |
|
48 |
|
1 |
|
.630 |
|
Gerry's Kids |
Gerry Orlando |
6 |
|
1 |
|
2 |
|
38 |
|
26 |
|
2 |
|
.594 |
|
Atomic Bombers |
Tom Serpe |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
6 |
|
4 |
|
1 |
|
.590 |
|
Fan Club |
J. Schlesinger |
3 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
19 |
|
14 |
|
|
|
.576 |
|
Dodge Polaras |
Matt Dodge |
9 |
|
1 |
|
3 |
|
55 |
|
42 |
|
2 |
|
.567 |
| Wine Drives |
Drew Wine |
2 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
12 |
|
10 |
|
0 |
|
.545 |
|
Rug Burns |
S. Winterburn |
8 |
|
1 |
|
2 |
|
47 |
|
40 |
|
1 |
|
.540 |
|
C.C.Bandits |
G.Ciambruschini |
4 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
23 |
|
20 |
|
1 |
|
.535 |
|
Drewers |
D. Gallagher |
25 |
|
1 |
|
7 |
|
136 |
|
135 |
|
2 |
|
.502 |
|
Grossouts |
Mike Gross |
2 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
10 |
|
11 |
|
0 |
|
.476 |
|
City Slickers |
Marty Slickers |
9 |
|
1 |
|
4 |
|
47 |
|
52 |
|
0 |
|
.475 |
|
Question Marks |
Mark Bennett |
9 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
46 |
|
52 |
|
1 |
|
.469 |
|
DeCoys |
P. DeCoursey |
11 |
|
1 |
|
4 |
|
55 |
|
65 |
|
1 |
|
.458 |
|
Daley Doubles |
Dale Scott |
11 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
54 |
|
66 |
|
1 |
|
.450 |
| AL
Bees |
Al Walentis |
8 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
39 |
|
48 |
|
1 |
|
.448 |
|
CarboKusics |
Gary Warner |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
13 |
|
19 |
|
0 |
|
.406 |
|
K-9s |
Kori Walter |
5 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
22 |
|
33 |
|
0 |
|
.400 |
|
Morris Minors |
Dave Morris |
13 |
|
|
|
4 |
|
56 |
|
84 |
|
3 |
|
.400 |
|
Yankee Clippers |
Rich Scarcella |
8 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
33 |
|
53 |
|
2 |
|
.384 |
|
Yardbirds |
Rick Franz |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
21 |
|
34 |
|
0 |
|
.382 |
|
Salary Caps |
Mike Capilo |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
12 |
|
20 |
|
1 |
|
.378 |
|
Perk & Beans |
Jon Perkins |
10 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
41 |
|
68 |
|
1 |
|
.376 |
| Danny
Ozarks |
Dan Haughney |
10 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
41 |
|
69 |
|
0 |
|
.372 |
| Mittl
Infielders |
John Mittl |
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
41 |
|
69 |
|
0 |
|
.372 |
|
R-Huskies |
Scott Metcalfe |
5 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
20 |
|
34 |
|
1 |
|
.370 |
| DARS |
A. DeRossa |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
12 |
|
30 |
|
0 |
|
.286 |
|
Nickerbockers |
John Nickerson |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
8 |
|
0 |
|
.273 |
|
Rosas/Dirt |
Paul Rosa |
4 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
12 |
|
32 |
|
0 |
|
.273 |
|
1-Armed Bandits |
Jamie Yousaitis |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
11 |
|
31 |
|
1 |
|
.262 |
| 3
Sheetz 2 Wind |
Stu Sheetz |
4 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
10 |
|
34 |
|
0 |
|
.227 |
|
R.Grumlings |
Darryl Grumling |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
17 |
|
60 |
|
0 |
|
.220 |
|
Borders Lions |
Chuck Border |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
|
8 |
|
1 |
|
.182 |
|
Highway Robbers |
Rob Webster |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
4 |
|
18 |
|
0 |
|
.181 |
|
Jay/Americans |
Jay Finglass |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
|
19 |
|
0 |
|
.136 |
|
Gonads |
Ed Mazur |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
10 |
|
0 |
|
.091 |
|
Snyder's Sliders |
Rod Snyder |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
10 |
|
0 |
|
.000 |
|
Nellie Foxes |
Dave Fox |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
11 |
|
0 |
|
.000 |
| Wolf
Gang |
Jeff Wolf |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
|
22 |
|
0 |
|
.000 |
|
46
Different
Ownerships |
| 25
Seasons |
Most Years
without a
Top 4 Finish |
| John
Mittl |
10 |
|
D. Grumling |
7 |
| Rick
Franz |
5 |
| Jamie
Yousaitis |
4 |
|
A. DeRossa |
4 |
Most Years
w/o Pennant |
| Dave
Morris |
13 |
| Steve
Snyder |
12 |
| Rich
Ziemba |
11 |
| Dale
Scott |
11 |
| Danny
Haughney |
10 |
| John
Mittl |
10 |
| Jon
Perkins |
10 |
|
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2010 FAAB$
The Dead-Line for FAAB bidding is every Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
The last week of free-agent
pick-ups is Sunday, 9/27. Any bids in September must be bids of at
least $5. (So if you have $4 or less after August, you may NOT
submit a bid!) |
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A.S.L. MENTIONED IN
BASEBALL WEEKLY
In the 10/11-17/00 issue of Baseball Weekly (Page 40),
John Hunt ran a story called "This Season's Greatest Fantasy
Finishes". Hunt wrote: "...[in] the Altered States
League... Drew Gallagher won after a 15-year drought (not long, since
he's a Red Sox fan.) Gallagher's team won thanks to Mark McLemore's
steal of second base in the final game. He won the league by one
point, finishing in a tie for first in stolen bases. The
second-place team happened to finish one behind the co-leaders in steals
- meaning that steal made the difference. (McLemore was
Gallagher's final pick, 'and the closing bid happened to come as I
was going to get another beer,' he said.)" |
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Mike Drago Pre-Draft Power Rankings!
I take the value each team has compiled going
into the draft, then add the dollars left (minus inflation rate) and
come up with a dollar value each team could expect to come out of the
draft with. The "average" team, of course, would emerge at
$260. A juggernaut would be around $300. Cellar-dwellers, like one of
the early Drewer teams, around $200. |
|
2003 |
Power
Rank |
|
Actual
Finish |
|
Drewers |
288 |
|
T8 |
|
Chicken |
274 |
|
1 |
| DeCoys |
268 |
|
12 |
| Rug
Burns |
260 |
|
5 |
|
Malignancies |
254 |
|
2 |
| City
Slickers |
247 |
|
11 |
| Perk
& Beans |
223 |
|
3 |
|
Gerry's Kids |
221 |
|
6 |
| Daley Doubles |
211 |
|
10 |
| Dodge
Polaras |
211 |
|
7 |
| K9s |
210 |
|
4 |
|
Question Marks |
190 |
|
T8 |
|
|
| 2002 |
Power
Rank |
|
Actual
Finish |
| Malignancies |
331 |
|
1 |
| Rugburns |
300 |
|
6 |
| DeCoys |
293 |
|
2 |
| Gerry's Kids |
258 |
|
4 |
| Question Marks |
258 |
|
5 |
| K9s |
246 |
|
8 |
| Chicken |
229 |
|
10 |
| Drewers |
222 |
|
9 |
| Daley Doubles |
209 |
|
12 |
| Perkolators |
206 |
|
7 |
| City Slickers |
199 |
|
3 |
| Dodge Polaras |
182 |
|
11 |
|
| 2001 |
Power
Rank |
|
Actual
Finish |
| Malignancies |
282 |
|
8 |
| Daley Doubles |
281 |
|
3 |
| Gerry's Kids |
269 |
|
1 |
| Beltin Jons |
265 |
|
T9 |
| Rug Burns |
264 |
|
2 |
| K9s |
263 |
|
7 |
| Drewers |
255 |
|
T9 |
| Chicken |
249 |
|
6 |
| Dodge Polaras |
246 |
|
5 |
| Question Marks |
233 |
|
12 |
| City Slickers |
219 |
|
4 |
| DeCoys |
205 |
|
11 |
|
|
| 2000 |
Power
Rank |
|
Actual
Finish |
| Malignancies |
288 |
|
2 |
| Chicken |
282 |
|
3 |
| Drewers |
274 |
|
1 |
| Perkolators |
263 |
|
6 |
| Mystery Tramps |
250 |
|
4 |
| Salary Caps |
249 |
|
8 |
| Daley Doubles |
249 |
|
10 |
| Rug Burns |
236 |
|
12 |
| Gerry's Kids |
236 |
|
5 |
| Gonads |
211 |
|
11 |
| K-9s |
209 |
|
7 |
| Rosas/Dirt |
192 |
|
9 |
|
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ROTISSERIE ACCORDING TO JON
FINGLASS
by Drew Gallagher, 1999
"I’ll just keep you a minute…":
TRANSLATION: Honey, put on a pot of coffee.
OR: Honey, can we go visit your
parents right now?
"They love his experience…":
TRANSLATION: The ubiquitous "they" are his parents. Experience,
which is defined by Bubba Smith who is 32 and has never played above AA, is
rarely loved by the major league skipper who couldn’t find the
"prospect" at spring training with a map. "Has your friend ever played rotisserie before…":
TRANSLATION: Does he know that Joe Charboneau has retired? Does he know that
"having a good September for Wichita" is not one of the eight scoring
categories?
"Davey Johnson loved this guy when he was with the Orioles…":
TRANSLATION: We all know that Davey Johnson managed the Orioles in the
mid-90s. However, few remember that Davey used to "play" for the
Orioles in the early 70s and that is when he "loved this guy". Please
remember that players eligible for the Hall-of-Fame or broke in with Dwight
Evans have little rotisserie value currently. "Rob and I were discussing this…":
TRANSLATION: Although Rob may have been on the phone at one time that evening
with Jon, he probably wasn’t listening, let alone agreeing that Tom Neidenfuer
only played well for Jonathan.
"For whatever reason, he only plays well for me…"
TRANSLATION: Please trade with me because I am psychologically dependent upon
my rotisserie team and subsequently the players I had 10 years ago. Pity is the
great motivator here! "We’re not even in the same stratosphere…"
TRANSLATION: I’ve been playing this game for 15 years and have yet to make
a fair trade and am sure as hell not going to make one now! (Consolation prize:
You AREN’T in the same stratosphere as Jonny Boy!) "That’s interesting, but let’s just tweak it a little bit…"
TRANSLATION: Take out anything on my side of value and you add to your side
of the already overwhelmingly one-sided deal and I’ll grin. "If no one wants to trade now, that’s fine. We know who they’ll
be coming to during the season and overpaying for…"
TRANSLATION: Editor’s Note—This phrase has sexual undertones that we are
not comfortable delving into.
"Just a few short orders of business before the draft…":
TRANSLATION: Go to the hotel’s front desk immediately and advise them that
you will be staying for another night. "I was Michael’s best man, but…"; "I liked Pete, but we
just didn’t play well together…"; "Greg’s a great guy, but…";
"Don’t get me wrong, I liked Morris, but…" "Nickel’s
one of my best friends, but…" "Jay’s my brother, but…"
TRANSLATION: In gambling lingo this is known as a trend. |
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