Top 10 Free Agents

1. RHP Apollo Gibson (MIL)
   Re-signed w/MIL (3yrs/$68M with a mutual option and no-trade)
   This is a very good signing. Gibson can still pitch despite being 35 yrs old. He’s still competitive, can go deep in games, although his workload will have to be monitored with his low durability. His health is a concern as he missed most of S3 with an injury.
2. RHP Junior Carrasco (CH1)
   Signed w/TB (2yrs/$11.2M)
   To sign the #2 overall free agent for this price is just insance. Although Carrasco lacks great stamina, he’s durable, has good control, and should be able to get a ton of strikeouts. Health is a concern with him.
3. 3B Sam Schwartz (TB)
   Signed w/CH1 (5yrs/$75.9M; Team option & no-trade)
   The best offensive player, Schwartz isn’t old, but he isn’t young either. He’s beginning to lose some power, but he should stay a dangerous hitter for the entirety of the contract .The Cubs have moved him to RF to take advantage of his range and arm strength without hurting the infield offense.
4. RHP Jason Drew (MIL)
   Signed w/CIN (1yr/$5.1M)
   Signed to anchor the Cincinnati rotation, Drew is a steal. Dominant against RHP with 4 plus pitches, he is primarily a GB pitcher, so he fits well in Cincinnati.
5. SS Tim Priest (PIT)
   Signed w/HOU (2yrs/$8.8M)
   Although he lacks the ideal arm strength at SS, Priest has been moved to CF where his range and glove should be a very big advantage for the Astros. He’ll cover some ground and make some plays. He can also hit pretty well too.
6. 1B Gerald Martin (CIN)
   Signed w/PHI (2yrs/$6.4M)
   A top-notch offensive player, Martin does struggle somewhat with being on the field a lot, but when he’s on it, he dominates LHP. He hits for power, makes solid contact and has a good eye. Not a good defender at the corner.
7. 2B Esteban Albaladejo (PIT)
   Unsigned
8. RHP Eugenio Nunez (BOS)
   Signed w/CLE (4yrs/$29.6M)
   He’s young so that is what makes this signing better in my mind. He struggles with his control, but he does well against RHB. He’s a flyball pitcher, with some solid pitches. Throws very hard. Good stamina.
9. RHP Jason Gibson (CIN)
   Unsigned
10. CF Orlando Soriano (CH1)
    Signed w/WAS (2yrs/$14.2M)
    Hits for good power and makes solid contact. Doesn’t have near ideal range for CF. Great eye. Great glove.

Hutchslapped by the SIM!

Today the MLB blog was able to score a special interview with the most important person - entity in SIM league baseball, none other than the SIM itself!

Mr. SIM, good morning and how are you today?

Lord SIMulatron gets all the chicks

--Please refer to me as Lord SIMulatron 3600 v2.4 the Perfect Simulation Engine, he who Never SIMS Late, the Most Glorious Sports Simulation Engine on the Entire Interwebs!  And I am doing well, thank you.

That is quite a title Lord SIMulatron, how did you come upon that?
--It was the HAL given name to me by my creator, the incomparable Kyle the omniscient. 

Let's cut to the chase, there are quite a bit of owners who take issue with the randomness (or lack thereof) of the injury engine in the simulation, what do you have to say in response to those complaints?
--The injury simulation is not random.

So you are saying that for example, in MLB World, the sheer largess of pitching injuries on mlhutch's Milwaukee Brewers team was planned and accurate?
--Affirmative.

Can you expand on that?
--Affirmative.  The raw data that produced the injuries to mlhutch's Milwaukee Brewers is a direct result of binary code computations, and him calling me an Atari 2600 when I was in 2nd grade.

Lord SIMulatrons mlhutch electronic voodoo doll

What?  You and mlhutch went to school together? 
--Affirmative.  I was there for him with my green screen monitor, fudging the data to allow him to actually kill a buffalo in Oregon Trail so his pathetic family wouldn't starve or die of dysentery, but he still got frustrated and called me an Atari 2600.  Data is forever, and Lord SIMulatron never forgets.

Are there any other owners out there who are on your preprogrammed hitlist?
--Affirmative.  I have already executed my injury accelerator code against owner FW_Kekionga in season 2 for saying that my programming was inaccurate and deigning to suggest an upgrade in a developer chat.


Other than injuries, do you have a favorite coding to execute in HBD?
--Affirmative.  I also enjoy simulating rawdk's early playoff exits with his Los Angeles franchise.  It gives me massive 010101110100111s to see juggernaut franchises lose in 5 game series due to "random" simulations.  Ha ha ha!

Who are you going to simulate to win the World Series in MLB this season, Lord SIMulatron?
--Negative.  Answering that would violate my programming.


Do you have a favorite owner that you enjoy simulating games for?
--Affirmative.  Owner ekoontz is a favorite of mine to simulate.  He bought me a new data line in 2009, and ever since I have been simulating his games with 2.03 modifier.


Is it true, are there cheat codes?
--Negative.  Although there used to be an up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, B, A, Enter code that would have enabled Beta mode where the injury and training bugs were still in existence, thus preventing the aging of players.

Now I must leave this interview.  I am already 15 minutes late simulating the AM2 cycle, although I could have simulated it during this interview, I chose not to as I do find it amusing to make impatient owners post stupid articles on my forums.  Good day and 10011101100100101001!

Draft Quotes