Vol. IV,
Issue #3 - March 2016
**
New Article by Larry Braus dealing with the 2015 Cards
**
(We haven't heard from my good friend Lar, as I call him, for quite
some time, an
insightful article dealing with the new 2015 MLB set of cards as
you ponder
how to build your teams in your leagues going forward - welcome back Lar!! )
Comments from the Wolfman:
Larry and I go way back to the 1970's,
when we played together in various leagues around Chicago. Also
Larry did attend our early conventions as well and became part
of our extended SOM family who would visit with others during
those amazing summer weekends of great tournaments and friendly
sharing with good friends. Larry used to live in Florida,
but when Chicago is in your blood (and your are a die hard White
Sox fan) he just recently moved back and seems much happier with
his life.
He was
one of our early contributors in our first year of existence in
2013, when he sent us two great articles and although this
article might be a little bit late getting out, as it deals with
seasoned players who you could obtain perhaps in your leagues'
draft (which by now most leagues have already done), you might
wish to consider to trade for these once star players, to build
your team going forward.
Anyway, to read the previous articles that Larry has shared with our
members before, here are the direct links:
http://www.ultimatestratbaseball/USBN-1-2013/larrybraus-Jan2013.htm
(Larry has been involved with many SOM tournaments going back to
the National Conventions we did in the 1970's and thereafter, he
shares his views ...)
http://www.ultimatestratbaseball/USBN-10-2013/larrybraus-October2013.htm
( an interesting article
about who are Strat Gamers Really ....)
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Tips on How to Rebuild
your Team in your League
Needing to rebuild?
Here is a little food for thought.
Youth is not always the fastest fix in either strat or actual
baseball.
Never discount the comeback.
Think about it. How many people dumped on Alex Rodriguez last
year?
You could have picked him up almost for free in many leagues.
Would that card fit nice into your line-up now? Or at least on
your bench?
|
If you can get a year or 2 out of a card like that (remember-
it’s a card- you’re NOT inviting him to dinner) then it’s worth
the risk of a low pick.
Almost every player has that off-year. Sometimes its injury,
sometimes they just wear out. But those players who have had
success before are likely to find that success again- especially
if they are under 40.
And you don’t have to deal with that learning curve as a younger
player learns and develops.
Some decent bets for 2016 comebacks include- but are not limited
to-
Josh Hamilton
- He’s been down this road before. His
talent is off-the-charts. When he’s good he plays both ways and
gives you a good defender to boot. Guys like him will always
find a home in the majors somewhere.
Matt Cain:
Eats innings. Usually well balanced.
Perfect timing as he had surgery in 2015 and should be at full
strength this year. And he’s in a pitchers park.
Tim Lincecum: Remember
how good he was? I can’t think of a single reason why he can’t
regain that dominance. Certainly worth a chance. Watch where he
signs. He’s a fly-ball pitcher and would do well in a pitchers
park. Plus- despite the goofy wind-up he basically an old-school
“drop and drive” pitcher, meaning less wear on the arm.
Stephen Drew: Now
here’s a guy you can get really cheap. He has what we used to
call “features”. A middle infielder that hits left handed,
can take a walk, steal a base and hit the occasional HR. Who
knew he would be the better Drew brother?
A better start card than a baseball player.
Elvis Andrus: He
hasn’t peaked yet. If your league has not figured it out yet be
the one that does. He has some “1’s” in his future and the bat
is not bad.
Grady Sizemore:
He’s had
a few down seasons so he’s a real sleeper. But dig a little. A
lh hitter with a history of hitting LHP has a lot of value, as
many LH pitchers are better vs RHP (strat will NEVER get LHSP
right in my opinion) so left hand hitters that can hang with
LHSP have a lot of value.
He may well have turned into a mediocre player but if he returns
to form he can be a real steal.
Ichiro Suzuki:
Pride can
be a huge motivator. I personally don’t think Ichiro wants to go
out as a .250 hitter so you may want to position yourself for
his last charge. Then again the risk is he may not have that
last good year left (see Roberto Alomar) so don’t risk a whole
lot.
If it’s your last pick of the draft, all your needs are met and
any of the above are sitting there, consider taking the risk.
(Editor's Note
- or try to get these players via a simple or inexpensive trade
during the season, you just never know ...)
Larry Braus
(FINAL NOTES from the WOLFMAN:
We want to thank "Uncle Lar" as I call my old friend for coming
back, after over two years since his last article, to reach out
and share his Strat Wisdom with our members. If you feel like
chatting with "Uncle Lar" or to reach out to him send an email
to:
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Support the Cause
If you are enjoying
the content and information our newsletter shares with you, why
not support us with your helpful donation for our minor expenses
and time?
|
Contained inside this exciting issue of Ultimate Strat
Baseball Newsletter:
(to view the various interviews, articles, columns and special sections click on
the links {underlined}
and this will take you to the appropriate
webpage)
♦
RETURN TO NEWSLETTER MAIN PAGE
♦
INTERVIEW with
ROGER ERICKSON
,
Ex-MLB Pitcher, Roger Erickson, for the Minnesota Twins and New
York Yankees, talks with the Wolfman about his insights on the
game of baseball and what
experiences he had during his major league career, as we
continue to interview more ex-MLB players which we recognize
their names from their Strat-o-matic cards in past seasons.
♦
INTERVIEW/ARTICLE with KEN WENGER
, Ken is a volunteer
for the support group that works with Len Durrant and Gary
Simonds who have been producing cardsets that work with the SOM
Baseball Game for over 20 years that include computer
rosters/teams from the Negro Leagues,
Japanese Leagues and the National Association. Ken
talks about his experiences being a part of this team and what it takes to make these
computer card set images.
♦
ARTICLE with MARC PELLETIER
& WOLFMAN SHAPIRO,
Wolfman Shapiro now becomes Marc's student as he is guided to
work with Marc's system to build a playoff bound team for one of
the new 2015
based leagues that are be offered in Baseball 365. Marc
explains his blue print how to build a team and shares with us
key spreadsheets to show how he evaluates the players in the
2015 cardset. The Wolfman shares his feedback upon the Pelletier
system and how it will guide
him to draft his team for the on-line Baseball 365 league that he will
join in April.
♦
STRAT WISE with MARC WASSERMAN --
commissioner of the Cyber Baseball Association (CBA) continues
his new column sharing various perspectives on SOM Baseball. In
this issue he discusses about the coming of "Baseball Daily",
his many visits to the Game Company since he was young, and the
recent video inteviews done with Hal Richman, John Garcia and
Adam Rosen.
♦
ARTICLE with WOLFMAN
SHAPIRO, Wolfman
discusses a totally new Computer (CM) based league he joins
which is based upon
salaries for the players with a salary cap, plus has a big focus on
building your minor league
players. Through this league he participates in his first time
ever an on-line auction to add players for his team. He reports
about his experiences joining this league and the strategies
he used to build a team made for the playoffs plus ....
♦
SOM BASEBALL LEAGUE REPORT with WOLFMAN SHAPIRO
--
the editor of "The Ultimate Strat Newsletter" and 2012 CBA
Champion, talks to members members of various Strat-o-matic Baseball Leagues that he
has discovered on the internet about the history of their league
and their experiences. This is the first time we get to speak to a
League
Commissioner and their Champion in the same month as we find
out about the World Baseball League (WBL).
To read their interviews, click on the appropriate link below:
INTERVIEW with Jeff
Chaput, WBL Commissioner, P-VI
(Computer)
INTERVIEW with Ted Wesley,
WBL Champion, P-II
(Computer)
♦
SOM/MAJOR
LEAGUE BASEBALL WORLD NEWS with WOLFMAN SHAPIRO
, editor of "The Ultimate Strat Newsletter"
roams the world for interesting news linked to SOM or MLB. For
this month he shares some gems he found on the Strat-o-matic
website and SOM's facebook page, offers another "Stat of the
Week" bulletin by John Dewan talking about current relievers and
gives the first report of a Strat Tournament Player's Club
tourney held in early March in New Jersey.
♦
RECOMMEND
ON-LINE SOM RESOURCES
--
On-line Strat-o-matic and Baseball related websites
that offer amazing information, special tools and products to improve
your game play
that we strongly recommend. In most cases, we have had personal contact with
these sources who agree with the principle to work together and help promote each other.
♦
BOOKS TO
DIE FOR and Become a BASEBALL GURU
-- This page
is
specifically about special books we are finding that either will
expand your insights about the game of Baseball, help you in the
creation of your current league teams or with your replays and
learn more about the Strat-o-matic
Baseball Game and Game Company's
history. We
have a special arrangement with Acta Sports, who is a publisher
of a number of great baseball books (including Bill James
Handbooks) to offer for our members
a 10% discount. We will continue to add more books to this page in the future
as we uncover other gems our members should know about.
Contact Us for Questions or Submissions:
Wolfman Shapiro
Founder/Editor, the
Ultimate Strat Baseball Newsletter
email:
wolfman@ultimatestratbaseball.com
facebook:
www.facebook.com/wolfman.shapiro
twitter:
@StratBaseball4U
