It costs around $70 because you have to purchase the version 15 CD-ROM ($50) then another $20 to access the codes for past seasons. But you just go to Strat-O-Matic's website to order. It's pretty simple to play.

" Just make sure Coleman stays in the dugout whenever it rain"

(grin) What is the name you had for this particular grin ? LOL

tkihshbt wrote:

I'm not sure yet if I'll order the '85 season. I might just skip '85 and '87 and play '86 then '88 and beyond.

The lineup changes have worked beautifully. We've scored 14 runs in the last two games against the Expos and McGee has shown some life. I got a gritty performance from Kurt Kepshire, who pitched into the sixth inning, but was Suppan-esque.

I called in Sutter for a two-inning save, mostly because my bullpen was taxed. With two outs, freaking Tim Raines hit an inside-the-park-home-run and tied the game. Luckily, Van Slyke saved my ass with a walk-off in the bottom of the ninth.

Actually, in those days the closer was often called upon to go two innings.  I can remember once when Jack Buck was interviewing Sutter pre-game after he had had a pretty rough outing, but a successful one, the night before.  I can still recall him saying, "Hell, Jack, I'm just a two inning pitcher."  At the time it seemed like a realistic, but self-effacing, concession.

I think he had come in with one or two outs in the 7th the night before.

Last edited by Mags (10/28/2010 10:52 am)

tkihshbt wrote:

Right. I try to be as authentic as possible, so I bring in Sutter for six outs if I can.

I can't wait to bring up Pendleton because Oberkfell and Van Slyke are killing me at third base.

I'm too slow these days to really understand how this all works but I was fascinated to read that you're getting production from David Green.  Some of us here will remember that he was heralded as the next Roberto Clemente when the Cards acquired him in the trade with Milwaukee.  He played CF for the AAA team the year before they acquired McGee and everyone talked about how he could really go get the ball.  It made sense, however, when they moved him to Right when he came back from an injury and McGee was giving them all the could ask for in center.

It then came as a big surprise, to me at least, when they started playing him first and moved Hendrick back to RF.  At the time, they blamed Green's struggles on his preoccupation with his family's situation in Nicaragua.  Later we learned that he had an alcohol problem and was probably a lot older than his "official" age.

Even though he was horribly inconsistent during his time in St. Louis, they more than got their money's worth out of Andujar.  As I recall, at the time they traded Tony Scott for him he was working out of the pen for Houston and they had pretty much given up on him.  I really liked Scott but it was clear that he wasn't going to be able to contribute on a winning team.

Van Slyke came up as an OF-!B and was hitting about .360 in AAA when they first called him up but he struggled.  He was obviously an exceptional outfielder but not as good as he later became.  Still, I don't think Whitey handled him well.

Who is your other catcher?  I think we were past Glenn Brummer by then.  It seems like it would have been either Nieto or Lavaliere.

Last edited by Mags (10/28/2010 10:31 pm)

I haven't seen the computerized version you're playing.  Back in the mid-late 80's I started playing Strat-o-Matic when it was cards and dice.  Myself and a bunch of friends would draft our own teams, one in the NL and one in the AL, divide each league into 2 divisions, and play full 162 game seasons.

Your discussion about Sutter got me wondering whether the current version accounts for things such as fatigue.  Obviously the cards did not.  We made up a few of our own rules and improvised.  For example, a pitcher would have a faitgue rating and once you reached the designated inning, certain spots on his card that had been an out became a hit.  We added a rule that if your relief pitcher had pitched his inning limit the night before, then his inning limit was reduced an inning the next night (and so on if you pitched him 3 straight nights).  We did the same thing with starters if they pitched on 3 days rest rather than 4.

I remember the big "improvement" around that time was when they rated the parks for hitting and power.  The Kingdome was a power hitter's paradise and the Astrodome was a pitcher's haven.  Everyone wanted guys who posted big numbers in the large parks, especially if your were in a City where it was easy to hit homers.  In 88, we were using the 87 cards.  I ended up with Atlanta as my NL city (old Fulton County Stadium) and drafted Clark to play 1B.  He had hit something like 35 HR in 87 despite missing a month or more due to injury.  I got lucky and Clark stayed healthy and he hit something like 54 or 55 HR for me and drove in close to 150.  That was the one year I actually won.

There's a good chance I used him wrong. He's been deactivated and only had two at-bats.

The bench is:

Landrum
Oberkfell
Howe
Van Slyke
Braun
Nieto
Brummer

"Even though he was horribly inconsistent during his time in St. Louis, they more than got their money's worth out of Andujar.  As I recall, at the time they traded Tony Scott for him he was working out of the pen for Houston and they had pretty much given up on him.  I really liked Scott but it was clear that he wasn't going to be able to contribute on a winning team."

I don't know if Andujar would have flourished under too many other managers in that era. Maybe Harvey Keunn, or Bob Lemon. He certainly never would have been able to do what he did under Billy Martin or Sparky or Dick Williams. I can't even imagine Andujar in this era being managed by La Russa.
If I recall, Scott was one of the drug guys. That's the irony of Whitey. You could be pretty much a certifiable nut like Andujar and Whitey would know exactly how much slack he could let out, but he didn't have any tolerance for the drug guys. I'm not saying that in an entirely complimentary way, BTW.

forsberg_us wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

"Even though he was horribly inconsistent during his time in St. Louis, they more than got their money's worth out of Andujar.  As I recall, at the time they traded Tony Scott for him he was working out of the pen for Houston and they had pretty much given up on him.  I really liked Scott but it was clear that he wasn't going to be able to contribute on a winning team."

I don't know if Andujar would have flourished under too many other managers in that era. Maybe Harvey Keunn, or Bob Lemon. He certainly never would have been able to do what he did under Billy Martin or Sparky or Dick Williams. I can't even imagine Andujar in this era being managed by La Russa.
If I recall, Scott was one of the drug guys. That's the irony of Whitey. You could be pretty much a certifiable nut like Andujar and Whitey would know exactly how much slack he could let out, but he didn't have any tolerance for the drug guys. I'm not saying that in an entirely complimentary way, BTW.

It's been a long time, but I would have swore that Andujar was a cocaine-user.  Didn't he participate in that big cocaine trial that happened around the mid-late 80's?  Sorry, I'm too lazy to look it up.

You're correct. Channeling Miss Emily Latella: "Never mind."

Last edited by artie_fufkin (10/29/2010 11:17 am)

Forsch has been kicked out of the rotation. Stuper's in and he's doing a super job.

This bullpen is absolute nails. If I wouldn't have to stop climbing out of holes, we would never lose. Jeff Lahti is eating righties up -- they are 2-for-31 against him. Allen is holding them to around a .100 average.

Horton is also brilliant. Lefties are 0-for-11 against him.

Sutter, though. Wow. He has one blown save (a game we still won) and he's unhittable. Neither lefties or righties can solve him right now. And he's not being used La Russa-style. If we're up, he's pitching the eighth and ninth. I've even brought him during the seventh. I love Sutter.

If I have a lead by the fifth inning, I consider the game over. Lahti, Allen, Horton and Sutter are that good.

In my most recent game with Andujar, he took a no-hitter into the seventh against Atlanta. Held on for a two-hit shutout.

That's the good news. Bad news: the offense still sucks. I've tried pushing every button I can and this team will not hit. I'm down to four productive hitters: Hendrick, Landrum, Herr and Porter. Ozzie mashes lefties, but sucks bad against righties. Lonnie and Willie are nearing lost cause territory. Green has fallen way, way off. Van Slyke seems like a good option, but he's killing me defensively and he's not hitting at all.

We lead the league in stolen bases and attempts, but our success rate is near the bottom -- just 64 percent. I feel like I have to constantly push it on the bases because otherwise we have zero chance of scoring. We're also terrible at the hit-and-run.

I think everyone knows my philosophy towards managing has a libertarian streak. Well, sometimes you need to be more Lyndon Johnson than Barry Goldwater. Example: we're trailing 3-1 late in a game against Cincinnati. Brummer singles with two outs to bring up the pitchers spot. I've got Braun, McGee, Nieto, Porter, Van Slyke and Oberkfell. Problem is that only two can bat right-handed. McGee can't hit lefties at all, so I roll the dice with Nieto. He walks! Two on, two outs and Ozzie's coming up against a lefty. He owns them and he delivers a base hit. Brummer scores and it's 3-2. David Green up and he singles. Now I have the option to send Nieto, but the computer tells me he's likely to be thrown out at the plate. So I hold him up since I've got my best hitter, Herr, coming up.

Herr pops out and we never rally again.

I was kicking myself afterwards because I should have pinch-ran McGee for Nieto and it cost me.