To Catch a King

Breaking news! Moments ago, in the fifth inning of a scoreless game between the Canaries and the Blue Legs, Old Hoss Radbourn served up a pitch right over the plate for the Birds' third baseman, George Davis, who smacked a solo shot for his second homer of the season. It was also Davis's fifth career bomb, which moves him into a tie with King Kelly for most home runs in league history.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

One day after socking the Haymakers 18-5, the Blue Legs left their bats at home and suffered a ten-run loss to the Canaries. Behind the masterful moundsmanship (yeah, it's a word) of Pud Galvin, the Canaries triumphed 10-0. Galvin's shutout was the first one hurled this season and only the fourth in the three-season history of this league. (He joins Cy Young, Jack Chesbro, and teammate Tim Keefe in that exclusive club.) With four very strong starts under his belt, Galvin looks to be joining the conversation for Pitching MVP, which thus far has seemed like a two-man race between Cy Young and Old Hoss Radbourn.

Yikes

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes, well, you just scratch your head and wonder what the hell happened. Last night, with a share of first place on the line, the Blue Legs rolled to an 18-5 win over the Haymakers. The Legs' Old Hoss Radbourn had a bit of an off-game on the mound, but he looked like Sandy Koufax compared to Rube Waddell and Jack Chesbro, whose combined ineptitude allowed the Blue Legs to score a league-record 18 runs and a 13-run margin of victory -- not surprisingly, also a record. Jimmy Collins, third baseman for the Blue Legs, hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the victory.

Halfway Home

Damn, these baseball games zip along way faster than my hockey games. Part of it has to do with the underlying Strat-O-Matic game mechanics, but the other key factor is that I'm just not tracking stats to the same degree as I am with hockey. Consequently, I can play through a ball game in a half hour, whereas a hockey game tends to take me that amount of time per period.

I'm already halfway through Season 3 of my baseball league. Each team has now played 10 games. The Haymakers are in first, with a 6-4 record and a spiffy +11 run differential. The Blue Legs are 5-5 and -10 (poor John Clarkson is the major culprit here) and the Canaries are bringing up the rear at 4-6 but with a not-so-bad -1 differential. The Haymakers' Cy Young and the Legs' Old Hoss Radbourn are the frontrunners for Pitching MVP, and Dan Brouthers of the Legs and Buck Ewing of the Canaries seem like strong candidates for Positional MVP. I also have my eye on journeyman pitcher Candy Cummings (I know, it sounds like a name better suited for a very different industry) of the Blue Legs, who has stepped up to become a solid #2 starter behind Radbourn, and Cap Anson of the Haymakers, whose quiet consistency has helped his team post a league-leading 41 runs through 10 games. There's still a lot of baseball yet to be played, but it's clear that several players are having standout seasons. 

Usurpers

Season 3 of my nineteenth-century Strat-O-Matic baseball league is going along very well, and an interesting race is starting to shape up.

Back in Season 1, the Blue Legs' starting catcher, Mike "King" Kelly, won the MVP award after crushing four home runs (for context, that was more than the Haymakers hit as a team, and the same number that the Canaries hit). All the more remarkable was the fact that he did it in only 16 games. (Starting with Season 2, I expanded to 20 games per season.) After Season 1, however, Kelly's performance fell off sharply. Since that magical run, he's hit only one more bomb. Still, he's the all-time leader through 2.5 seasons of play with five career homers.

Slowly, other players have been catching up. Honus Wagner, George Davis, and Buck Ewing -- all currently teammates on the Canaries -- are all now up to four homers apiece. Will Kelly regain his power to put some distance between himself and these potential usurpers, or will another player claim his throne as the home run king?

Quarantine Fun

We're trying to do our part with social distancing during these challenging times, and fortunately we have plenty of options. Over the weekend, the boys and I made more progress on our sci-fi Shattered Realm campaign, continued painting 40k models (some of which will be repurposed for the aforementioned campaign), and even got to jump back into our transcontinental, Skye-based Saltmarsh campaign with Matt's family!

Now that all the boys' extracurricular activities have been cancelled, we're been looking around for fun, educational stuff that they can do at home during the week. I have a fiendishly awesome idea...more to come in a future post...

Pitchers & Parity

It's been a bit of an odd start for my nineteenth-century baseball league. We've had only one home run through six games (Frank Chance, first baseman of the Canaries, who's better known for his contact than his power) and we've also seen the league's first-ever triple play (the Canaries' catcher, Buck Ewing, had the dubious honor of hitting into that one). All three teams are tied at 2-2, with a +3 run differential for the Canaries, a +4 for the Haymakers, and an eyebrow-raising -7 for the Blue Legs.

What's the story with that -7 run differential? It all comes down to one man: John Clarkson. Last year's Pitching MVP has allowed 13 runs over his two starts. The rest of the Legs' staff has allowed a total of six. Moreover, Clarkson alone has surrendered 34% (!!!) of all the runs scored in the league thus far.

Aside from Clarkson, great pitching has been the story of the season. Among the other top starters in the league, Cy Young (Haymakers) is sporting a 1.89 ERA and Tim Keefe (Canaries) is even better at 1.80. Old Hoss Radbourn (Blue Legs), Mickey Welch (Haymakers), and Pud Galvin (Canaries) have only started one game each, but all three hurled complete-game masterpieces, allowing two runs or less. This year's race for Pitching MVP is going to be an exciting one, and I guess the only guy who's out of the running is the guy who won it last year!

Plaaaaay Ball!

Season 3 is underway! On Opening Day, the defending champion Haymakers hosted the Blue Legs, with Cy Young and John Clarkson toeing the rubber in a marquee pitching matchup. Young held up his end of the bargain, but Clarkson -- last year's Pitching MVP -- labored through four ineffective innings. He left with the score 7-1 in favor of the home team, and although Kid Nichols pitched four scoreless frames in relief for the Legs, the Haymakers emerged with a 7-3 triumph. Newly acquired slugger Sam Thompson went 3-5 with 3 RBI to help defeat his former team. Next up, the Blue Legs will hold their home opener against Tim Keefe and the Canaries.

MLB may be on hiatus, but it's great to have baseball in some form this spring!

Pre-Season Deals

My three old-timey baseball teams -- the Blue Legs, the Canaries, and the Haymakers -- are gearing up for their third season of play. Based on the experiences of last year, I worked out a couple of trades to address areas of need.

Blue Legs trade Sam Thompson to the Haymakers for Wee Willie Keeler
In this blockbuster deal, both teams are trying to shore up some of their weaknesses. The Blue Legs hit for tremendous power (their 19 home runs in two seasons is exactly the same as the number of home runs hit by the Canaries and Haymakers combined over that time period), but last season they scored the fewest runs in the league. The Legs need to get more men on base to take full advantage of their power. They're also a relatively slow team, by the standards of nineteenth-century baseball, so they can use a bit more speed on the basepaths. Enter Wee Willie Keeler! Keeler, who's spent the past two seasons as the Haymakers' leadoff man, is an on-base machine, boasts superior defensive skills in the outfield, and has outrageous speed. On the Legs, he'll slot into the two-hole behind fellow burner Billy Hamilton (not to be confused with a current MLB star of the same name!). In return for this great all-around player, the Haymakers get Sam Thompson, who has neither speed nor defensive skills, but he can absolutely crush the ball. Thompson, who won the Playoff MVP award two seasons ago with the Legs, immediately becomes the top power threat on the Haymakers, who have hit the fewest home runs in the brief history of this league.

Blue Legs trade Joe McGinnity to the Canaries for Vic Willis
This trade is less exciting, as it's a swap of relief pitchers. For the purposes of parity (see my last baseball post), this trade helps to eliminate some of the pitching imbalance between these teams, as McGinnity is superior to Willis in game stats. How, then, to justify this trade from the Legs' perspective? McGinnity -- the Legs' erstwhile closer -- blew some save opportunities in the second half of the season. I can easily envision the Blue Legs losing confidence in him and seeking out the services of another proven closer in Vic Willis. 

Spring Training

What to do when there's a pandemic raging outside? Well, I guess we could play Pandemic, but that seems rather on the nose.

At the moment, I'm gearing up for the third season of my nineteenth-century Strat-O-Matic baseball league. And unlike modern baseball, these hardy, mustachioed lads aren't suspending their spring training because of a stupid virus. It takes more than that to bring down the likes of King Kelly! Wait, didn't he die of pneumonia at the age of 36?

I digress.

I have a couple of trades in mind, but first I decided to take a look at the pitching. I admit that I didn't do a very rigorous analysis of the game cards before my first season. Compared to the ginormous spreadsheet I put together to analyze every aspect of my hockey players' Strat stats, my approach to baseball was primitive indeed. Pitching was the biggest area of uncertainty. I have only 15 pitchers in this league (five per team), so I thought it wouldn't be too onerous a task to dig into the numbers and try to rank them with a bit more confidence.

It turns out that the Blue Legs have best collection of pitching talent -- not surprising, as they surrendered the fewest runs in the league last year. The Canaries have two elite hurlers (Tim Keefe and Al Spalding) and three lousy arms behind them, and they ended up allowing the most runs in the league. Cy Young's Haymakers, the defending champs, were smack-dab in the middle. I need to see if I can swing a couple of trades that will be mutually beneficial for each team, but also balance out the pitching staffs a bit. Time to get to work!

Season 2 Awards

It was another dominant season by the Vics, and they cleaned up once again in the individual player awards. Dealing with this seemingly overpowered team will be the subject of a future post, but for now, let's see who won the trophies!

Scoring Title: Cyclone Taylor (Victorias)
Although Frank McGee scored a record 18 goals during the regular season, he nevertheless finished five points behind Taylor (16 G, 16 A) in the scoring race. Taylor's 32 points were a single-season record and seven more than his league-leading total from Season 1.

Forward MVP: Frank McGee (Comets)
McGee racked up 18 goals and 27 points; to put those numbers in perspective, he had five more points than the next-highest forward (Bruce Stuart of the Bulldogs) and eight more goals than the next-highest forward (Alf Smith of the Thistles). The dude was dominant. This one-eyed wonder carried the Comets on his back and led them to their first playoff series.

Defenseman MVP: Cyclone Taylor (Victorias)
Taylor led the league in points (32) and plus/minus (+13), despite missing a game-and-a-half to injury. Mike Grant of the Comets had a very strong season -- his 19 points (4 G, 15 A) put him in a tie for fifth in the scoring race -- but Taylor is hands-down the best defenseman and best overall player in the league.

Goaltender MVP: Bowse Hutton (Victorias)
Offense was way up this year, with teams averaging 3.27 goals per game compared to 2.84 last season. As a result, goalies really took it on the chin. In Season 1, all four goaltenders had a save percentage of .900 or better, but this season only Hutton (.923) managed that feat. His 2.50 GAA (goals against average) was also best in the league.

Rookie of the Year: Moose Goheen (Thistles)
In an admittedly weak year for rookies, Goheen was the clear choice. Though he mustered only four points (2 G, 2 A) in nine games, he led all rookies in scoring and his +4 rating was the highest on the Thistles (no small accomplishment on a team with a dismal -14 goal differential); his plus/minus, in fact, was in the top ten in the entire league.

Playoff MVP: Cyclone Taylor (Victorias)
I was tempted to give this award to a Comet, even though they lost the series. Taylor was the only Vic who distinguished himself. He had a league-high seven points (4 G, 3 A) over the three games, and the next three players behind him were all Comets: Mike Grant (1 G, 5 A), Frank McGee (3 G, 2 A), and Billy Gilmour (3 G, 2 A). Moreover, the Comets' Percy LeSueur (.907 save percentage) outplayed Bowse Hutton (.898). There's no way the Vics win this championship without Taylor.

So, that makes four out six trophies for the Vics. The Comets and the Thistles each claimed one, and the Bulldogs were shut out of the festivities. Gord Roberts's magical season seems like a very long time ago indeed!

On second thought...

The conclusion of that game just didn't sit well with me. It wasn't the right ending. Even though I said I wouldn't replay it, I did. I replayed the entire third period.

So, let's try this again!

Heading into the third, it was (still) 3-2 in favor of the Vics. Now, in this alternate timeline, Frank Rankin scored his second of the game to push the home team's edge to a pair of goals. Compared to the original third period, the pace of play this time around was slow and choppy, with lots of turnovers and fewer scoring chances. Bowse Hutton wasn't called upon to make tons of tough saves, mainly because the Vics didn't hand the Comets a couple of gift-wrapped power plays late in the game. The score remained 4-2 until the final minute, when Mike Grant's shot from the point gave Billy Gilmour a juicy rebound that he buried in the back of the net. Though it was Gilmour's second tally of the game, it was too little, too late, as the Vics held on for a 4-3 triumph and claimed (again) their second consecutive Strat Cup championship.

Strat Cup, Game 3 (Part 2)

I won't bury the lede: The Victorias are Strat Cup champions for the second year in a row.

The full story is a bit more complicated. Before the second period closed out, Blair Russell scored to pull the Comets within one. In the third, both goaltenders were tested but did not yield another goal; Bowse Hutton in particular was outstanding, finishing with 40 saves on 42 shots. His performance was overshadowed by a couple of penalty calls late in the game. With the Vics clinging to a 3-2 lead and the clock ticking away, Marty Walsh was called for a penalty. Then, with less than a minute to go in regulation, Taylor was sent to the box. The game mechanics don't account for context, so these penalties -- incurred in the waning moments of the game with the offending team maintaining a one-goal lead and on the verge of winning a championship -- strike me as a bit unrealistic. Walsh and Taylor are not, in game terms, penalty-prone players, and one would think they'd be on their best behavior in that situation anyway. No one wants to be the guy who cost his team the title because he took a bone-headed penalty at the end of the game. 

As such, the last few minutes were kind of unsatisfying in how they turned out. I don't think it's worth winding back the clock to replay the second half of the third period in the hope of obtaining a more realistic outcome, however, so I'll just imagine the home team's fans raining boos and insults upon the referees and then erupting in exultation when their team kills off back-to-back penalties to seal the win.

I'll have more to say about Season 2 after I digest the stats. For now, congrats to the Victorias -- the first dynasty of my little historical hockey league!

Strat Cup, Game 3 (Part 1)

One way or another, this is the last tilt of the season. At the end of the game, either the Comets or the Victorias will hoist the Strat Cup!

The Comets came out shooting, peppering Bowse Hutton with an astounding 17 shots in the first period alone. The Vics' netminder was equal to the task, preserving a scoreless tie until, late in the frame, Cyclone Taylor scored to put the Vics on top. And then, less than a minute later, he scored again. In the veritable blink of an eye -- in Strat-O-Matic terms, it was on consecutive cards from the Action Deck -- Taylor had given his team a two-goal lead.

Reeling from this sudden onslaught, the Comets came out flat in the second. Vics winger Frank Rankin tallied to make it 3-0, and then several crucial plays unfolded in a matter of minutes. First, Frank McGee missed a wide-open net (the game mechanic in that situation gave him a 90% chance of scoring with no opportunity for the goalie to make a save), choking in a crucial moment that could have put his team back in the game. At the other end of the ice, Fred "Steamer" Maxwell of the Vics had a breakaway but failed to score on Percy LeSueur. After these two close calls, Taylor took a penalty. On the ensuing power play, Billy Gilmour scored to breathe some life into a dejected Comets team. (As an interesting side-note, both of these teams feature potent power plays, but this was the first goal in the entire series that either team had scored with a man advantage.)

Tomorrow night I'll play through the second half of the game...and a champion will be crowned!

Strat Cup, Game 2 (Part 2)

The teams traded chances for the remainder of the second period. Early in the third, McGee scored to knot the game at three goals apiece. Each team failed to score during a third-period power-play opportunity, and the clock expired with the score tied.

Overtime!

This was the first-ever overtime game in the two-season history of this league. Since this is old-timey hockey, we allow ties. When a regular-season game ends with a tie, each team earns a point in the standings. There's none of that modern shootout crap! But when it comes to playoff games, there has to be a winner and a loser. Tonight, for the first time, we went into an extra time.

And it was decided very quickly. Less than two minutes into the overtime period, McGee scored to clinch the come-from-behind victory for the Comets. Now the championship series is tied at one game each, with the third and final game to be hosted by the Victorias. 

Strat Cup, Game 2 (Part 1)

Now skating on friendly ice, the Comets were hoping for a better start than they had in Game 1. It didn't materialize. The Vics came out shooting, holding a 14-8 advantage after the first frame; they also led 2-0 on goals from Hobey Baker and Dubbie Bowie. Early in the second, Frank McGee feathered a perfect pass to linemate Billy Gilmour, who buried the shot to cut the home team's deficit in half. As we approached the middle of the period, Comets captain Harry Trihey struck to tie the game; hobbled defenseman Jack Marshall even notched an assist on the play. The tie was short-lived, however, as less than a minute later, Cyclone Taylor -- who else? -- beat Percy LeSueur to give the Vics a 3-2 advantage. With thirty minutes still remaining, I expect to see a fair bit more scoring before it's all said and done! Will the Comets come back to force a winner-take-all Game 3, or will the Vics hoist their second Strat Cup in as many seasons?

Strat Cup, Game 1 (Part 2)

The Comets picked up their game toward the end of the second period. Frank McGee scored at the buzzer to get his team on the board. In the third, the teams traded chances until Mike Grant beat Bowse Hutton for the Comets' second goal of the game. From there, it was a mad dash to the finish, with Hutton denying McGee in the final minute to seal the win for the Victorias. The final score was 3-2.

Game 2 shifts the action to the Comets' home, where they'll be joined by a recovering Jack Marshall. According to the injury line on the card I had pulled, Marshall should miss another full game -- but it's the championship series, damn it, and hockey players are tough! In a must-win game, Marshall is going to play hurt and try to give his teammates an emotional lift. They'll need a victory on home ice
to force a decisive Game 3.

Strat Cup, Game 1 (Part 1)

The Comets are making their first postseason appearance, and it has not been an auspicious debut thus far. Disaster struck early in the first period when stud defender Jack Marshall went down with an injury and had to leave the game. During the regular season, Marshall played the second-most minutes on the club, trailing only Mike Grant, and his absence rips a gaping hole in the Comets' blueline. To make matters worse for the challengers, Cyclone Taylor scored on the very play when Marshall was injured, putting the Comets in an early hole. The team was forced to move versatile forward Blair Russell -- their third-leading scorer -- back to defense, while double-shifting forwards Jimmy Gardner and George Richardson. The Vics did not fail to take advantage of the Comets' woes, as Dubbie Bowie scored later in the first to give the defending champs a 2-0 edge. Comets sniper Frank McGee, meanwhile, was held in check throughout the period by Hobey Baker and registered only a single shot on goal. Midway through the second, Billy McGimsie scored to give the Vics a commanding three-goal lead at the halfway point of the game.

Playoff Matchups

So, yeah, I'm having way too much fun with Season 2 of my Strat-O-Matic hockey league. The regular season has now concluded, and we're moving on to the championship series between the first-place Victorias and the second-place Comets! In answer to the question no one asked, here's a position-by-position breakdown of the two teams before they start to duke it out...

Forwards

• Comets: It all starts with Frank McGee; the Comets' dynamic sniper tallied an astounding 18 goals in 12 games this year. (For the sake of comparison, last year Cyclone Taylor led the league with 11 goals in 12 games.) McGee is an unstoppable scoring machine, notching 44% of the Comets' goals this season. He's received valuable support on the top line from defensively adept winger Blair Russell and crafty playmaker Billy Gilmour. Captain Harry Trihey, power forward Jimmy Gardner, and the newly acquired George Richardson give the Comets some secondary scoring, but can they carry load the if McGee is contained or -- hockey gods forbid! -- injured?
• Victorias: The Vics spread out their attack among a variety of skilled players, with no forward scoring more than 8 goals this year. Top offensive threats include Hobey Baker, Frank Rankin, Marty Walsh, and Billy McGimsie. Dubbie Bowie and the aforementioned Baker remain two of the best defensive forwards in the business, as well. It's a great mix of quantity and quality. 
• Advantage: Even

Defensemen

• Comets: If it weren't for Cyclone Taylor, the Comets' Mike Grant would be winning all the awards for defensemen; he is unequivocally the best two-way blueliner in the league, and also finished comfortably among the top ten players in points scored (racking up more points than star forwards like Alf Smith and Tommy Dunderdale). The steady Jack Marshall gives the Comets another elite shutdown defender, while Graham Drinkwater and rookie Phat Wilson give them added depth.
• Victorias: The Vics have Cyclone Taylor and...some other guys! The league's most dynamic playmaker patrols the blueline alongside the likes of George McNamara and Art Farrell. When Taylor went down with an injury, the Vics shifted captain Hobey Baker back to defense and he outplayed the everyday defensemen. 'Nuff said.
• Advantage: Comets

Goaltending

• Comets: According to the Strat-O-Matic game stats, Percy LeSueur is the worst goaltender in the league. In terms of actual performance, he was the third-best (out of four) goalie in Season 1 and the second-best in Season 2. He can absolutely steal a game on occasion. However...
• Victorias: Bowse Hutton is hands-down the best goalie in the game, both in terms of game stats and actual performance over the past two seasons. He won last year's Playoff MVP award, and may well be the most important player in this postseason as well.
• Advantage: Victorias 

Special Teams

• Comets: After leading the league in both power play percentage and penalty killing percentage for most of the season, the Comets slipped to second in power play. Even so, they're very dangerous, with McGee, Grant, Russell, etc., making for a dynamic group that can seemingly score at will when they're firing on all cylinders. Their penalty kill -- led by Russell, Grant, and Marshall -- got smoked in their final regular-season game, but they maintained their status as the top unit.
• Victorias: The Vics languished at the bottom of the league in penalty killing for much of the campaign, but climbed into second place by the season's end. Baker and Bowie make a great tandem, but the team is thin on defensive defensemen. Their power play, meanwhile, was consistently in second place until overtaking the Comets toward the end of the year. Taylor and Walsh absolutely feast on goaltenders during power plays.
• Advantage: Even 

My prediction? I'm thinking the Vics will win in three games, with each team victorious at home. If the Vics win, the most likely MVP is Taylor, and if it's the Comets, then McGee would be the obvious choice. Watch out for Mike Grant as the dark horse.

It all starts tonight!

Cheated By the Old Ones!

Still waiting for Matthew's return from his swim meet, Nathaniel and I played Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu, and, sadly, failed to save the world from the eldritch evil of the Old Ones. It was, nevertheless, a fun and memorable session.

Having elected to play roles that we had never tried before, Nathaniel was the magician (an "inventory management" type of character) and I was the occultist (a character who uses telekinetic powers to move cultists and monsters around the map). We started out auspiciously enough, arriving in Arkham and then making our way to Dunwich to close the Old Ones' portal there in short order. Next, I traveled to Kingsport (side note: I re-read all the Lovecraft stories not long ago, and I really don't recall this town figuring into any of the Cthulhu Mythos tales) while Nathaniel returned to Arkham. We spent several turns trying to amass enough clues to close another gate -- work that was interrupted by the devastatingly bad luck of getting two "Evil Stirs" cards on consecutive draws in the same turn -- all the while keeping the local cultist populations in check. Meanwhile, cultists were massing in Innsmouth, as neither of us had yet visited that accursed town. I managed to close the gate in Kingsport and met Nathaniel in Innsmouth, where we had to fumble a bit with our inventories to arrange clue cards so that I could close the gate there and he could go back to Arkham to deal with the final portal. Nathaniel took off for Arkham as I stayed behind in Innsmouth just long enough to close the portal. It was three down and one to go, but the Old Ones had another trick up their sleeves. Just as Nathaniel was reaching the outskirts of Arkham, we pulled the last two "Evil Stirs" cards on two consecutive turns; as a result of the ensuing dice rolls from the second card, we ended up with a flood of cultists appearing out of nowhere to enact more of their nefarious rituals. The odds of that happening were less than 3%, but the chain reaction of consequences set off by those roles ended the game before we could take another turn. We needed perhaps one more turn apiece to win the game, but the Old Ones certainly have a way of twisting fate to serve their evil designs!