Upper Deck Franchise Rankings

  

			MVP/CY	SS	GG/FM/Rook	Awd Pts	PSP	STAND	MEAS	TOTAL	R Avg	P Avg	D Avg	D2 Avg	MZ TOT	Tot Avg	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	+/-' TOT
1	Trenton Thunder Mules	jcairns	7	10	8	56	29	32	32	149	7.7	6.3	4.3	4.7	23	5.8	69	41	77	68	37	67	74	433
2	San Francisco Ninja Bay Sox	zsiegri	4	11	3	41	32	31	30	134	7.1	6	15.4	13	41.5	10.4	36	30	34	6	35	-3	11	149
3	Philadelphia Athletics	grivfmd1	2	9	8	34	35	30	31	130	9.7	7	6.6	3.1	26.4	6.6	69	55	76	49	77	70	97	493
4	San Juan Queños	ACEROTHSTEIN	1	10	4	28	25	28	26	107	7.3	16	12.4	17.3	53	13.3	49	-1	11	-11	4	12	36	100
5	Minnesota Millers	dflom2008	4	6	9	37	7	25	18	87	8.4	23	15	16.1	62.5	15.6	8	-34	25	56	21	32	10	118
6	Wichita Mediocre Men	robmb	1	7	5	23	8	29	27	87	14.3	4.7	12.3	20.7	52	13.0	-49	-8	23	2	6	-14	26	-14
7	Salt Lake City Oil Slicks	flipdog0		4	8	16	11	27	29	83	9.6	15.1	15.4	7.7	47.8	12.0	50	18	-1	54	59	79	103	362
8	Detroit Cubs	boomer17	1	3	2	12	18	26	16	72	11.1	17	17.7	19.6	65.4	16.4	9	27	16	12	-17	-8	-1	38
9	Los Angeles Fresh	misterfresh		1	3	5	17	24	23	69	20.1	8	17.9	9.6	55.6	13.9	-7	-7	49	70	46	75	81	307
10	Boise gnoccas	sors	2	3	5	19	6	22	21	68	17.7	12.1	11.1	18	58.9	14.7	-2	20	26	-1	43	-30	17	73
11	Louisville Land Sharks	solowkoe	3	6	9	33	7	15	12	67	17.9	13.6	20	18.7	70.2	17.6	6	-17	14	5	42	17	8	75
12	Arizona Desert Dogs	Jtpsops		7	4	18	0	19	28	65	12.3	19.7	9.1	7	48.1	12.0	39	20	4	58	84	94	84	383
13	Jackson Jaguars	hcross22		5	5	15	5	20	25	65	14	16.1	11.1	13.1	54.3	13.6	20	34	20	32	8	46	20	180
14	St. Louis Yardbirds	hughnewitt		1	6	8	13	18	24	63	19.9	10.9	9.1	15.4	55.3	13.8	26	-23	-14	27	13	69	51	149
15	Kansas City A's	trubrewcrew		3	7	13	12	23	15	63	15.3	11.9	23.6	16	66.8	16.7	33	43	31	19	-5	-27	-1	93
16	Fargo Roadrunners	littlejim	2	3	6	20	5	13	17	55	22	14	15.4	13.9	65.3	16.3	48	19	-20	26	8	40	45	166
17	Montgomery Boll Weevils	carpediem33		7	4	18	3	17	14	52	8.6	23.9	19.3	18.1	69.9	17.5	25	-17	-4	-12	23	35	39	89
18	El Paso Thunder	soxfan_9		6	3	15	3	21	13	52	19.7	8.9	21.3	20.1	70	17.5	20	28	-7	-37	-47	5	27	-11
19	Washington D.C. Monuments	jrobert77		3	6	12	3	16	19	50	19.1	14.7	16.4	11.9	62.1	15.5	14	10	20	75	83	37	4	243
20	Hartford River Rats	sf33		1	4	6	0	14	22	42	13.3	21.4	12.6	8.3	55.6	13.9	26	21	30	14	61	74	92	318
21	Oakland Steroid Bashers	bobkordecki		6	6	18	2	10	11	41	18	20.7	17.4	15.3	71.4	17.9	-2	31	33	48	19	27	-31	125
22	Buffalo Honey Badgers	dmpark		1	5	7	0	11	20	38	27	10.6	11.4	10.3	59.3	14.8	56	25	25	49	29	13	30	227
23	Seattle Sloberknockers	auggieward		5	4	14	1	9	8	32	18.6	18.9	20	22.9	80.4	20.1	-19	-13	-32	22	59	-35	-14	-32
24	Boston Braves	mtg54			10	10	2	12	5	29	7	26.7	26.6	23.9	84.2	21.1	14	-44	-2	-19	8	-29	7	-65
25	Iowa City Express	texanboiler	1		4	8	6	6	7	27	25.1	19.1	17	19.7	80.9	20.2	36	9	-22	-7	27	22	-9	56
26	Rochester Red Wings	jwperry		2	3	7	0	7	10	24	17.3	25.6	14.7	16.3	73.9	18.5	25	-48	-13	26	37	56	24	107
27	Chicago Old Style	alogman1			4	4	6	8	6	24	23.4	17	17.4	25.9	83.7	20.9	-88	-13	15	2	-5	-52	-49	-190
28	Syracuse Syndicate	hatton98		1	2	4	1	5	9	19	25.3	17.6	15.9	19.1	77.9	19.5	12	26	-21	7	-24	30	22	52
29	Tampa Bay Lightning	jmaese		3	1	7	0	4	2	13	14.6	28.3	28.7	30.3	101.9	25.5	-56	-81	-104	-110	-32	-18	-24	-425
30	Omaha Royals	fsubwj		1	2	4	0	2	4	10	28.9	18.3	20.1	24.7	92	23.0	6	-38	-31	40	-5	-29	-2	-59
31	Pawtucket Terriers	burk			4	4	0	1	3	8	23.1	28	25.4	21.6	98.1	24.5	35	-6	12	-36	-15	-15	1	-24
32	Houston Colt 45's	andyr104		1	2	4	0	3	1	8	24.6	27	27.1	25.7	104.4	26.1	-41	-76	-43	6	35	-22	-35	-176

All Time Standings

P	TEAM	CURRENT OWNER	W	L	%	GB	PSW	PSL	PS%	WS	LCS	DCS	DIV	WC
1	Trenton Thunder Mules	jcairns	696	438	0.614	-	41	32	0.562	1	2	4	6	1
2	San Francisco Ninja Bay Sox	zsiegri	682	452	0.601	14	32	28	0.533	2	2	4	7
3	Philadelphia Athletics	grivfmd1	678	456	0.598	18	50	34	0.595		3	5	3	4
4	Wichita Mediocre Men	rmbmd	641	493	0.565	55	11	18	0.379				2	3
5	San Juan Queños	ACEROTHSTEIN	633	501	0.558	63	36	31	0.537	1	2	3	4	2
6	Salt Lake City Oil Slicks	flipdog0	607	527	0.535	89	17	17	0.500		1	1	4
7	Detroit Cubs	boomer17	600	534	0.529	96	29	21	0.580	1	1	3	4
8	Minnesota Millers	dflom2008	595	539	0.525	101	12	17	0.414				3	2
9	Los Angeles Fresh	misterfresh	593	541	0.523	103	21	16	0.568	1	1	2	1	3
10	Kansas City A's	trubrewcrew	593	541	0.523	103	13	11	0.542	1	1	1	2
11	Boise gnoccas	sors	593	541	0.523	103	9	12	0.429			1		3
12	El Paso Thunder	soxfan_9	585	549	0.516	111	4	6	0.400				1	1
13	Jackson Jaguars	hcross22	578	556	0.510	118	6	10	0.375				2	1
14	Arizona Desert Dogs	Jtpsops	577	557	0.509	119	0	0	0.000
15	St. Louis Yardbirds	hughnewitt	577	557	0.509	119	19	20	0.487		1	1	4
16	Montgomery Boll Weevils	carpediem33	577	557	0.509	119	4	9	0.308				1	2
17	Washington D.C. Monuments	jrobert77	574	560	0.506	122	5	8	0.385					2
18	Louisville Land Sharks	solowkoe	570	564	0.503	126	8	10	0.444			1	2	1
19	Hartford River Rats	sf33	561	573	0.495	135	0	0	0.000
20	Fargo Roadrunners	littlejim	558	576	0.492	138	6	12	0.333				4
21	Boston Braves	mtg54	556	578	0.490	140	3	4	0.429					1
22	Buffalo Honey Badgers	dmpark	546	588	0.481	150	0	0	0.000
23	Oakland Steroid Bashers	bobkordecki	543	591	0.479	153	1	3	0.250				1	1
24	Seattle Sloberknockers	auggieward	541	593	0.477	155	1	3	0.250				1
25	Chicago Old Style	alogman1	531	603	0.468	165	11	12	0.478			1	2
26	Rochester Red Wings	jwperry	528	606	0.466	168	0	0	0.000
27	Iowa City Express	texanboiler	512	622	0.451	184	8	11	0.421			1	1	1
28	Syracuse Syndicate	hatton98	512	622	0.451	184	2	3	0.400				1
29	Tampa Bay Lightning	jmaese	476	658	0.420	220	0	0	0.000
30	Houston Colt 45's	andyr104	449	685	0.396	247	0	0	0.000
31	Omaha Royals	fsubwj	447	687	0.394	249	0	0	0.000
32	Pawtucket Terriers	burk	435	699	0.384	261	0	0	0.000

Divisional Standings

DIVISION	W	L	W %	WC	DIV	DCS	LCS	WS	PSPTS	PSW	PSL	Runs	ERA	Field	+/-'
NL EAST	2,463	2,073	0.543	10	7	6	3	0	53	74	70	15.3	10.0	13.8	13.6
AL EAST	2,325	2,211	0.513	3	7	5	2	1	37	52	47	13.3	18.4	15.1	14.1
NL WEST	2,299	2,237	0.507	3	7	5	2	2	38	41	40	16.5	14.0	14.0	15.7
AL WEST	2,284	2,252	0.504	4	7	3	2	1	31	41	42	16.6	15.7	17.7	13.9
AL SOUTH	2,264	2,272	0.499	5	7	3	2	1	33	46	50	11.1	21.1	17.9	19.7
NL SOUTH	2,204	2,332	0.486	1	7	2	2	1	28	36	37	19.9	14.6	20.3	19.3
AL NORTH	2,158	2,378	0.476	2	7	3	1	1	25	41	38	15.0	23.4	18.2	18.4
NL NORTH	2,147	2,389	0.473	0	7	1	0	0	12	19	27	24.4	14.8	15.0	17.3

Up Close with Upper Deck Veteran grivfmd1

Finally got a chance to chat with Upper Deck founding member grivfmd1 but first he offered a little more insight.

1st a little background. I'm 61 and now the oldest in the clan as my 91 yr old father recently passed away. I do not know who shortened my handle to "griv" but the original handle (GRIVFMD1) stood for Grand Rapids (where I live in MIchigan) IVF (infertility and in vitro fertilization - what I do) MD (what I am) a nd 1(because I had used the GRIVFMD previously elsewhere).

1.) I notice you have "other" as your favorite sport, what might that be? I grew up in Westbrook Ct (grandparents - esp summer) on the coast near Saybrook and outside Hartford Ct (parents - winter). In High School I thought I was a hotshot in skiing and went to college in Maine to ski (in part). Discovered I was pretty average at alpine skiing and needed to take up cross country (I had run track in high school) to stay on the alpine team. Meanwhile my friends and I were beating each others heads at Small Boat Sailing (And Big Boat) in Essex, CT. Turns out we were all good at sailing. I eventually won a national championship and almost all the rest of the guys make their living from sailing (I do not). So my favorite sport is small boat sailing (usually with a second hand boat). The last few years my arthritis and job have kept me away from it.

2.) Who is your favorite all-time baseball player? Baseball was always my favorite team sport. Living on the water in coastal CT; I did not get to play it much. Could play D but could not hit. At night I could get the NYC radio stations (I'm old - no TV in the area and certainly no cable).

The Dodgers and Giants had recently moved to the west coast and thankfully the mets did not exist (yet). The Giants games were still on the NYC radio station. They had this rookie named McCovey and could he ever hit.

3.) Play any sports? No organized team sports - in part because I was not good enough. I could jump and get above the rim in Basketball but my hands were too small to palm the ball. Could not hit in baseball and was always afraid of hurting my knees, so no football. Ran track in high school from the 440 to the 2 mile. But mostly I skied (and taught skiing to earn money) and sailed (and taught /coached sailing to earn money)

4.) Whats your best fan moment? Best in-person sports moment? Got to see a no hitter, while I was working in Philadelphia. Was sitting in the upper deck of the old Vet and had a perfect view of the 3rd baseline. Hayes snagged a liner for the last out right along the line. But in my view he did not "save" the no hiiter, if he had missed it, it would have gone foul. Earlier that year I had decided to go to a NBA playoff game rather than the baseball game that night. Turns out that was the night Schmidt hit his last home run before retiring. Win some, loss some. Do not remember anything about the NBA game.

5.) Being that you are in several well established elite leagues, which one do you find the most difficult to win in? Which one is your fav? What do you think is most important to have a good world, competitive balance, good characters, a winning team, rules? I'm going to take these together. "Elite" is a relative term. What makes a league "elite", I'm not sure, and I have doubts about any of the rating systems, as I tend to view them as self-fulfilling. Is Cooperstown "elite"? I have 14 division titles in 21 seasons and 2 WS titles. Is No Quitters "elite"? 7 Division titles, 4 league championships but no WS. Does that make No Quitters "better". I do not know. I do know that respecting other owners counts, that the quality of a league is based more on ownership than the rules, and that competitive balance makes it more interesting. FWIW, my favorite league is No Quitters but that may be more because I started it (esp now that the Blue Crabs can not seem to win)

6.) If you could have one real life player in MLB transferred to your Upper Deck team, who would that be? Every league I 'm in I seem to be looking for Pitching and.or defense. The failings of the playoff teams are probably more based on the lack of a big stick than the lack of pitching or defense. So while I'm tempted to say Jared Weaver or Kershaw, I would probably be better off recruiting a power stick - like Cabrera of Detroit, Bruce or Votto of Cinci, Kemp of LA, Braun of Mil, or Harper of the Nats. Let'd go with Harper since he has the most "cheap years" left.

7.) If you could sit at a poker table or play a round of golf 3 other people who would they be and why? Well, I do not play poker or play golf but I doubt these guys would either. I am a history buff and much of history has to do with religon. While I would be described by most as agonistic, I would view myself as more of a Unitarian. The people I would love to talk to, to see what was in their minds at the time they lived, would be Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad. Though I would not mind being able to pick the brains of Luther or Constantine as well (for those less versed in history Constantine was the Roman Emperor who adapted christianity as the Roman state religion. To do so he needed a single "dogma" and called the Council of Nicene to get it (Nicean Creed). The upshot of the Council of Nicene was the adoption of the Trinitarian view of Christianity over the Unitarian view. I wonder how much of the rise of Islam is do to the eastern Christian churches (the churches outside of greece that Paul wrote to) being primarily Unitarian and never being totally comfortable with the Trinitarian view.

8.) Besides running your HBD teams, what are some of your other interests and hobbies? I sort of answered that in the last question. I am a history buff and read constantly, but seldom read a Novel. If I do it will be a historical novel. I run our practice 401k plan, so out of necessity have become versed in psychology and economics (from my prospective these are inseperable). While I have never beaten the DOW/S&P in their best years I have never had a down year either. For a long period I was a single parent, and like most parents have a lot of pride in how the Kids turned out (though of course this is still in process and you never know until they have raised their own kids). So far they have all adapted the approach to life that I have always been most comfortable with (and what led to my 1st divorce and my second solid marriage), which is NO DEBT. Something I strongly believe the country needs to rediscover (want to guess who I am NOT voting for in the next presidential election)

9.) Do you have any sports-related items on your bucket list that you have not yet done? The highest thing of my "bucket list" is quasi-sport. It is to descend into the Grand Canyon, stay overnight at the Phantom Ranch, and hike back out. However, to get reservations at the Phantom Ranch you need to book it 13 months ahead (1st of the month a year before). At present my work schedule does not allow this, even if my arthritis would. So this is on hold. Otherwise, like many I just try to visit as many ballparks as possible

10.) If there was one thing you could add/change about HBD, what would that be? There is no doubt on this one. "Advance Scouting" is not advance scouting (it should be scouting the other team before you play them and having your pitchers try to pitch to the other teams weakness and vice versa). When I discovered this did not exist I quickly moved my Advance Scouting budget to 0. The projections on players are self - fulfilling on any player with 2 or more years in the minors (and for younger players can be figured out by their draft position and the draft/scouting budgets of the team that drafted them in the year they were drafted). Since I do not trade much, I find Adv Scouting as presently constructed worthless. If it included what I originally thought it was, that I would pay for. HBD is missing the boat on this one.

Up Close with AZ owner jtpsops

Recently I sat down with founding Arizona owner jtpsops to find out a little more about him.

1.) Arizona team - check, Arizona St favorite college - check, Arizona resident?
Actually I live in Kitchener, Ontario, about 45 minutes southwest of Toronto. The Arizona thing is a bit hard to explain – as a kid, I was fascinated with the state and always wanted to visit. Not sure where it came from, but I’ve always had a thing for Arizona. I finally made it there for spring training about 5 years ago – it’s all I imagined it to be. I love it. As for the Sun Devils, when I was getting into college sports, I didn’t want to follow the crowd and pick one of the mainstream teams, so the Sun Devils seemed like a great choice. Plus they always have a strong baseball program.

2.) Baseball being your favorite sport, who's your team and favorite current or all-time player?
I was a big Cal Ripken Jr. fan as a kid for his work ethic and his passion for the game, and that led to me being a fan of the Orioles. Part of that was me being rebellious and not wanting to root for the “home town” Jays like everyone else. It was good in the mid-to-late 90s, but definitely not since.

3.) Play any sports?
I play softball every year (sadly the closest I can get to real baseball these days), as well as tennis, golf and volleyball. And I’m always down for a good game of rec football with the guys.

4.) Whats your best fan sports moment? Best in-person sports moment?
I’m a Broncos fan, so that OT win over Pittsburgh is up there. I became a fan in the late 90s right as they were winning their two Superbowls, so it was nice, but it didn’t really feel like “my” team yet. The O’s and Broncos haven’t given me much to cheer about lately, so the excitement of this season and winning that David-vs-Goliath matchup, especially in that fashion, was huge. As for in person, I’ve been blessed with some good opportunities, so there are a couple that are up there. I met Ripken at a ST game in Fort Lauderdale when I was 15 – he sat down and talked with me for a few minutes and signed a hat, which was just mind-blowing for me at the time. I also attended Game 3 of the ’92 World Series in Toronto. It was unbelievabley loud and the atmosphere was electric – it’s something I’ll never forget. Walking Augusta National for a practice round at the Masters and seeing a night Yankees-Red Sox showdown at Fenway are up there too. Absolutely magical.

5.) What sort of changes, if any, can we expect with the Desert dogs this season and how do you plan on passing up SF?
It’s hard for me to admit it, but I’m clearly still getting a grasp on the game. I’ve overvalued some guys and I’m sure I’ve mismanaged a bit, but I think I’m getting better. I probably have a long way to go to catch SF though – z has put together a really strong team. I’m hoping some young guys will come into their own this year, like SP Morris Ramirez. I’m going to be aggressive in FA, as usual, and hopefully that brings a piece or two that will help bridge the gap.

6.) Who's going to win this weekend's NFL Conference championships and who's taking the Super Bowl?
I’m going with the Ravens and the 49ers, with the Ravens winning. I picked the Ravens pre-season, so I’m sticking with them all the way. The 49ers are a great story though. It’s amazing what Jim Harbaugh has done with that team, and it’s nice to see Alex Smith and Vernon Davis get a little redemption.

7.) If you could have one real life player in MLB transferred to your AZ team, who would that be?
My team can hold their own offensively and defensively, but pitching has always been the black hole. I need a dominant, innings-eating ace, so probably Roy Halladay or Felix Hernandez.

8.) If you could sit at a poker table and have a roundtable discussion with 3 other people who would they be and why?
Cal Ripken would definitely top the list, simply because he’s my idol and I’ve “grown up with him” so to speak. I think he would have a lot of wisdom to share about the game – and business too, surprisingly. An odd choice, but I think I’d take Howard Stern second. I’ve heard him do a few serious shows in his time, and he’s actually an incredibly intelligent and well-researched man. I think it would be interesting to have an off the radio discussion with him and see what he had to add away from the cameras. Lastly, I’d go with Tim Tebow. A bit of a homer choice, but I’ve been fascinated by him and how he handles himself. He’s also incredibly invested in people and I think it would be valuable to sit down with him and find out how he’s able to make everything work together in his life. Plus having him and Stern together would definitely create some memorable moments, I’m sure.

9.) Besides simulation sports websites, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?
I’m a huge movie buff and my PS3 gets a lot of work. I also love writing in my spare time and have a handful of novels on the go. My goal is to one day be published, but that may be down the road a ways.

10.) Do you have any sports-related items on your bucket list that you have not yet done?
Some of the obvious ones that I think are on most sports fans' lists, like a Superbowl and perhaps a US Open (tennis) night session. On a more attainable scale, I’d like to visit the ballparks for every major league team. I’ve been to 19 parks so far, though 3 are no longer in use. I’m hoping to knock Busch and Kaufmann off the list this year.

11.) If there was one thing you could add/change about HBD, what would that be?
Given that I’m still learning the game, it’s hard to tell. I’ve suggested a few changes already, but some vets have kindly (and not-so-kindly) told me why they aren’t good ideas, and it made sense. Off the top of my head, I would like to see an easier transfer of funds between budget areas. I understand why the restrictions are there, but it would be nice to not have to wait 3-4 seasons to max out a particular budget area when you take over a team.

League Memo

After talking with the VC we have adjusted the Win requirements, we bumped up with 1 season req to 52 to .320 and lowered the season 2 req to .367 and lowered the 3 season req to .385 down from .400. I think it would be good if we can give owners a fair chance at rebuilding I know there were a couple franchises that were in bad shape and I figure it'd be better if we have a consistent owner who is willing to improve the team while still fielding a respectable team.