Themed Task July 19th 2020 to July 25th 2020

Lets have Some Fun

Writing/ Podcast

It is beginning of the season so lets hear some predictions about how this 2nd season of the SBL will go down in your 150 minimum word post (or your 5 min podcast). Tell us what you see happening, hope will happen or even speculate on something funny that could come up I look forward to hearing from Ya'll.

Graphic

Any prediction based graphic, who will win an award? Get the most homers... the sky is the limit

I think in a league with rosters like this, it's nearly impossible to get many trades done. Trades are done out of necessity. For the most part, the rosters are so small that it's fairly difficult to recognize any sort of weakness on your team and address that spot without taking a hit elsewhere. That's why teams in professional leagues typically give up future assets for players who could potentially help them in the now. Because there are only *really* four teams in each league - and because the gap between the teams are so small - there's no real reason for any team to be looking towards the future because everyone has a chance to a make a run at the title. In a 30-team MLB, you have the haves and the have-nots which presents the right amount of balance to have certain teams operate as buyers and others as sellers. At this current juncture, we simply don't have the depth or talent gap to function like that. I would like to see some teams take risks, maybe package a couple bats to add a potential ace and build up their rotation. I love when teams go all out in a certain direction - it's a big reason why I respect the Houston Rockets so much. Just go for it, be different, maximize your strengths and it will ultimately give you the best chance at winning.

In season 2 for the SBL, I think the league is still quite new so a big majority of the players are on a level playing field in terms of TPE so it will be very interesting to see how well players perform. I think in the SBL there it will be a tight race for the number one team just because of how level this playing field is, however, I still believe the sim can be very wonky and one team might be severely worse than the others. Personally, I am very excited to see the dual player matchups! I feel like everyone that has a pitcher and a fielder will get excited when both players face off and they will be torn on who to root for. Additionally, I strongly believe that one user may take home big awards for both their players, maybe an MVP and Cy Young or something within that realm. With the amount of dual players there are, I feel like a user sweeping up multiple awards is bound to happen. Overall I am still pretty fresh to SBL, so I am excited to see everything happen, but I can't wait to see how the league grows in terms of TPE opportunities, new events, all star games, maybe even a World Baseball Classic, or possibly a backyard pickup game! Two or Four players would get picked as captains and they select their teams backyard style and then have them play in a round robin knockout tournament in the offseason! I feel like that could be super fun!

In the SBLM, things are quite unique this season.  The best bats in the league moved on, and for the most part, were replaced by good young pitchers. Offenses will be slowed simultaneously by a decrease in batter ability and an increase in pitching quality.  Twill be interesting to see how it pans out.

In the SBL, the filler stars of s0 are not quite ready to give up their crowns. The incoming rookie class has some significant advantages, but they aren't as significant as you would think. The pitching of SBL s0 was good, and those good pitchers aren't intimidated by the Rocky Mitchell's of the SBL universe. The batter's aren't intimidated by the rookie pitchers either. Hewta Jones was unstoppable in s0, and wasn't planning on changing.  So while Kurtis McKenzie may be the most talented offensive player in the league, he's not just going to run away with the HR.title.

However, Indy will easily avenge their loss in the finals. Invaders out.

Nothing is received (or receives backlash) as well as a hard guarantee! So how about this: I think my guy Sure Thing, 3B/1B hybrid for the Pittsburgh Pioneers, will be a top-5 contact hitter in the SBLM, even with the uncapping guys or late S0 creates in the mix. It’s all I’m investing in, so I’m just going to take a gamble on the way I’ve invested and see if I can’t hit .400 or something stupid this season. I also think that Pittsburgh will cruise to a regular season dominant performance, but we’ll have an extremely close post-season series (as that’s when everything goes to chaos). From the pro standpoint, I’m less confident in Toronto’s status, even if I do like our batting. I think the standings will be exceedingly close because most teams drafted relatively evenly; I do worry that, for example, some pitcher-heavy teams won’t have bats that can help their great staff maintain a lead (or even generate runs to get the lead in the first place).

C.M. Wang is off to a good start in the SBLM and I expect Pitcher of the Year to come my way. I am here to make these GMs know that you don't pick me at 7th, you are not supposed to slack on me. I expect Trade Asset to be drafted higher next season or I don't even know -- Maybe I am unlikable, eh? As for team result, I expect Storm and Centurions to drop and for Mohawks and Pioneers to compete. Hey, you can call me bitter all you want but I just don't see them doing as good this season.

As for SBL, I am biased as the advisor of Bighorns, but if I am to look at things as fair as possible, I would say Invaders are likely the winner. I mean, OOTP is known for playoff surprises so I am not locking anything, but batting seems to be the winning side of this early SBL era and Invaders drafted the best in terms of batters. They just have too many threats and I don't see them getting slowed down too many time. They are the Pioneers up there in the big league and should be winning.

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For the SBL I think that Indianapolis looks great this season, I think that they should be treated as the favorites right now. They've got excellent team defense, some great power bats on the team, and a good rotation as well. I don't think my team is going to do too great based on how the season has gone so far, but we make the playoffs no matter what so maybe we can make a run there. In the SBLM I'm excited about Sherbrooke a lot. Pittsburgh may be the favorite again, but I think that we're developing something. It's cool that both of the leagues do look a bit different this season though, and it will be fun to see the next wave of SBLM players who go pro. Other than that I don't really know what to expect, a lot of the teams seem to be on even footing at this point which is good, but I'm guessing we'll see a bigger disparity between the teams as time goes on

It's probably going to come off as biased with being there for a second straight season, but Sherbrooke has a lot of quality bats returning to the team, and it's showing. The pitching staff may be entirely revamped, but Chien-Ming Wang is absolutely killing it so far. Definitely has been one of, if not, the best starting pitchers in the entire SBLM so far. Kobe Honda and Bobby Boucher are absolutely raking at the plate as well, with Wade Landry developing further into the leadoff hitter he was projected to be. The Mohawks have a big series coming up against Pittsburgh, so that is really going to determine who the frontrunner is in the SBLM this season.

In Dallas this year, we went with a much different approach to building our roster in the draft. Going pitcher heavy, I think we will see early on if it was a good bet or not. We have a defense first team, and will add more solid hitters in the next draft.

Originally my plan of hoarding pitchers looked to be genius, then the league adds a second player to every user. FML. But I'm still confident that we can be a very good team. We've been able to scratch out enough runs to keep us close to .500 and as we improve, the Drillers can surprise the so called experts.

I do believe all 4 clubs in the SBL are building with a long term approach and I can't wait to see who has the best strategy. Indianapolis looks very strong so far, although any team seem to be able to win every game.

I think for Cy Ducksworth the goal is to get some control and be the best pitcher he can be. The rotation seems crowded with the Pioneers so it's up to me to find a way to break through. I could see myself helping the reigning champs by playing in a role where I can be the emergency arm in both long relief, short relief, and emergency or backup starter in case there is a bad matchup or if there is something that I can do that other pitchers can't. Since my primary motivation for joining a team is most definitely taking part of a training camp, I am both happy and relieved that a team was willing to take a chance on me and that I can stick with them throughout the season. I can see myself winning a few games and losing a few games in relief, and maybe getting a start here or there. I could see myself racking up some saves and holds, and I would live to see the Pioneers back in the postseason, I want to say that my emergency arm is going to be a big factor to help hold the Pioneers throughout the season and get us to the promised land once again and the end of the day,.

Donne isn't signed yet, which worries me, but I can hope to stay active and show my value and hopefully a team will be kind enough to pick me up and I can be a rotational outfield or bench bat for them. My dream would be to pick up a big hit that helps my team win a few games - a couple of walk offs is all I can ask for,

I have a couple predictions for the upcoming season. While some of which may come as a surprise to some people, I believe that both of these are very likely options.

The 1st prediction that I have is that all 3 of Sure Thing, Dwigt Rortugal, and Obia LeChef will be in the top 5-7 in BA by the end of the season. The reason for this is that all 3 of them are contact hitters. So while they might not hit as many HRs as some players, they will make up for it with each of their incredible ability to hit balls in play.

My 2nd prediction is that Tracy Prezzy Jr. will win the SBL MVP. The reason for this is that is quite simple. Prezzy has been a dominant force thus far into the season and, while his stats might go down a little, I believe that he will still keep up his amazing season to win a much deserved MVP.

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Being that my first player was a complete waste and I missed all the fun experiences the league had to offer in the off-season, I am very excited for how this season will go. I am really curious to see how I will do on Pittsburgh, I am not a huge Baseball person but this league has been enjoyable for me from the get-go, and I think I have my GM and team to thank for that. Sensei is just looking forward to helping his team however possible and also trying to improve my draft stock and prove that I belong in the league just like everyone else.

I am not sure if I will go up right away or give it some time for me to enjoy wrecking it in the SBLM, depends how good and consistent my earning is, but I am sure I will be fine with it. Overall, like I said, I see the season going good, I am very excited for the season and cannot wait to see how it pans out. Go Pitty Go!

In terms of awards, for Pitcher of the Year, I'd say Wang is easily in the lead right now. Bridges has not performed up to expectations so far. Having a measly ERA, and not as close as many K's as Wang has. If he continues this kind of play for the whole season, his legacy is going to be legendary when we look back on this season. It will be a historic one for sure, however, I'm not sure it's possible to keep up this level of play for 100+ games in one season. I believe there will be other candidates that come up in the next 3-4 sims as we continue updating. I, myself, hope that Bridges takes that next step and breaks out for Pittsburgh.

As for the top teams this year, once again Sherbrooke and Pittsburgh look like they are on another level. Chicago has a completely different roster this season, and I fully expect them to come into Championship Contender status after this week's updates. Jermaine Cole has been superb for them, and Gustav is always a reliable asset. Pittsburgh, in general, has a lot of depth, which is I think they will win in the long run. Right now, their full team isn't even updated to their best potential. As they continue to earn, I believe they will just dominate the competition. Sherbrooke has a similar roster to last season, and they are looking to challenge for the Chip. Overall, I think this season is going to be crazy, and have a lot of impact on future years.

I think in the SBLM, there's going to be some good competition between all of the pitchers. A lot of great batters have moved on to the big leagues of the SBL, and a bunch of great pitchers are still down in the minors. I think after this week in the next update, things will change, however. There are some players who are getting a big boost from the draft declaration combine. Jermaine Cole, for example, is adding over 100 TPE to his next update. He already just had Player of the Week before that, so I expect him to turn into a top pitcher in the SBLM very soon.

Sherbrooke and Pittsburgh look to be the strong teams of the SBLM, while I think Chicago is going to be a contender as well.

For the league as a whole, I don't think the big stars of the SBL and SBLM will change a lot. The leagues are still very new. The active guys are still active, so they should remain up top.