------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | International Replay Baseball League - Founded October 30, 1973 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ***************** IRBL NEWSLETTER # 935 ***************** 3-9-14 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ...................................... IRBL Menu Program Update When you installed this LRD, the IRBL Menu Program should be updated. Please exit and restart the IRBL Menu Program, select menu option <5> and verify that you see this new version and date: Program version: 10.00.03 Last update: 3-9-14 Then verify that the listed values for the Hard drive letter or DMB game directory matches what is on your computer. If not, then select options <1> or <2> to change the setting to match what you have. The update was required to work with the new IRBL schedule. ...................................... PLAYER TRANSACTIONS: The DODGERS traded EDWIN JACKSON to the BRAVES for LYLE OVERBAY. The METS traded MICHAEL YOUNG to the PIRATES for MARK DEROSA, BRIAN OMOGROSSO. The RED SOX released MATT ANTONELLI, LUIS RODRIGUEZ, OMAR VIZQUEL, MIKE EKSTROM, ANGEL GUZMAN, JEFFREY MARQUEZ, KYLE WALDROP. The DIAMONDBACKS traded LUCAS DUDA, JEFF FRANCOEUR to the ANGELS, the MARLINS for GABY SANCHEZ, MATT BELISLE to the DIAMONDBACKS and the ANGELS traded JON JAY to the MARLINS. The PADRES traded JERED WEAVER to the PIRATES for JOSE ALVAREZ, ALEX WOOD. The PADRES traded BRIAN BOGUSEVIC to the BRAVES for JOSE RAMIREZ. The INDIANS traded OMIR SANTOS to the PIRATES for GIL VELAZQUEZ. The PIRATES traded BOBBY LAFROMBOISE to the ROYALS for ZACH DUKE. The PIRATES released GEOFF BLUM, JEFF SUPPAN. The BRAVES traded GREG REYNOLDS to the CARDINALS for JASON ISRINGHAUSEN. The METS released BRANDON ALLEN, BRIAN SCHNEIDER, DALLAS BRADEN, TRYSTAN MAGNUSON, SERGIO MITRE. The NATIONALS released MICHAEL HOLLIMON, JEFF LARISH, JASON REPKO, MITCH ATKINS, DANYS BAEZ, JOSH IRBL # 935 3-9-14 2 BUTLER, PHIL DUMATRAIT, DUSTIN MOSELEY. The PHILLIES released LUKE HUGHES, ADAM LOEWEN. The RAYS released LARS ANDERSON, DARREN FORD, WILLIE HARRIS, BRANDON HICKS, CARLOS LEE, ERIK HAMREN, BEN SHEETS, DOUG SLATEN. The RED SOX traded ERIC STULTS to the REDS for TREVOR PLOUFFE, JUAN NICASIO. The ROYALS released JASON BARTLETT, JOSH BELL, BRANDON BOGGS, JUAN DIAZ, HIDEKI MATSUI, BRYAN PETERSEN, ALI SOLIS, MATT PALMER, ANEURY RODRIGUEZ, ANTHONY SLAMA. The GIANTS released LEYSON SEPTIMO. The CUBS released COLE GARNER, KRISTOPHER NEGRON, LENDY CASTILLO, TOMMY HOTTOVY, KEVIN WHELAN. The ANGELS released CEDRIC HUNTER, LUIS A. JIMENEZ, CHE-HSUAN LIN, EVAN CRAWFORD, RANCISCO M RODRIGUEZ, ANDREW TAYLOR, JUSTIN THOMAS. The ORIOLES traded JACOBY ELLSBURY to the METS for MARK TRUMBO. The PADRES released BROOKS CONRAD, ADAM KENNEDY, JUAN RIVERA, MATT FOX, AARON HEILMAN. The BREWERS traded BEN FRANCISCO, JERRY HAIRSTON JR. to the ORIOLES for MANUEL CORPAS. The RED SOX released MAURO GOMEZ, MITCH MAIER, OSVALDO MARTINEZ, TODD COFFEY, BRAD PENNY. The CARDINALS released ANDRES BLANCO, DIORY HERNANDEZ, ANDREW BRACKMAN, ERIC HACKER, SHAWN HILL, JESSE LITSCH, CLAUDIO VARGAS, RANDY WOLF. The METS traded LATROY HAWKINS to the ORIOLES for DELLIN BETANCES, MILES MIKOLAS. The BLUE JAYS released FRED LEWIS, NATHAN ADCOCK, ENERIO DEL ROSARIO, STEVE EDLEFSEN. The DODGERS traded JHONATAN SOLANO to the CUBS for PEDRO VILLARREAL. The METS released MAX RAMIREZ, MARK DIFELICE. The ORIOLES traded ALEXI OGANDO, TAIJUAN WALKER to the PHILLIES for FELIX HERNANDEZ, JOE THATCHER. The BLUE JAYS released BILL BRAY, SCOTT ELBERT, JEFF FULCHINO. The INDIANS released ROBINZON DIAZ, TYLER GRAHAM, LUIS MARTINEZ, D.J. CARRASCO, MICHAEL CROTTA, LUCAS FRENCH, GRAHAM GODFREY, J.D. MARTIN, CHAD REINEKE, SCOTT RICHMOND. The PADRES traded BRANDON INGE, SHANE ROBINSON to the DODGERS for BROCK IRBL # 935 3-9-14 3 HOLT, CASPER WELLS. The DODGERS released EDGAR V. GONZALEZ, ARMANDO GALARRAGA, BRAD MILLS, BRETT SINKBEIL. The BREWERS released KEVIN MATTISON, SERGIO ESCALONA, COLE KIMBALL, RYAN VERDUGO. The PADRES released ANTHONY REYES. The ANGELS released J.R. TOWLES. The BRAVES released DENNY BAUTISTA, JUAN CRUZ, JASON ISRINGHAUSEN. The ROCKIES released NICK JOHNSON, CLINT ROBINSON, TRAYVON ROBINSON, BRYAN AUGENSTEIN, STUART POMERANZ, RICH G. THOMPSON, KYLE WEILAND, ADAM WILK. The BLUE JAYS released BOBBY WILSON. The ATHLETICS released BRETT CARROLL, JUSTIN CHRISTIAN, MIKE MCCOY, FREDDY SANCHEZ, BRANDON WOOD, JOE BEIMEL. ...................................... The following teams are without permanent managers: Play your road series against these teams: GIANTS : Frank Kelley (TGM) ASTROS : John Parker (TGM) MARLINS : Ian Roach (TGM) NATIONALS : Gerry McDonald (TGM) ATHLETICS : Al Fabrizio (GM) TWINS : Chuck Hixson (TGM) BLUE JAYS : Chip Hopkins (TGM) ORIOLES : Ricky Diaz (TGM) The following teams have temporary managers who will be playing the home series for the team plus road series against the above other teams who do not have a game playing manager: PADRES : John Mattfeld (TM) CARDINALS : Bill Mattfeld (TM) CUBS : Carmen Corica (Mgr) (1) ROYALS : Ricky Diaz (TM) RAYS : Ian Roach (TM) (1) : Jim Lee (TGM, off-season only) Carmen Corica (Mgr, during season) ...................................... 2014 IRBL Schedule: Due Interleague series that the Major Leagues started having throughout the season, the IRBL schedule is more balanced this year. All IRBL teams play 81 road games and 81 home games over 42 series. Therefore, there will be no eries needed where there are no days off between series. There are IRBL # 935 3-9-14 4 also some series dates where some teams have no series scheduled. You will find the post-season schedule at the bottom of the SCHEDULE.Y14 file. ...................................... My thanks again to Gerry McDonald for volunteering and preparing the 2014 IRBL schedule. This is the 17th straight year that Gerry has completed this time consuming task and I appreciate the effort. ...................................... Included with this newsletter are the following items so you can prepare your 2014 season team instructions (refer to IRBL Rule # 15): 1) Starting Pitchers Rotation forms for all teams (PITCHING.Txx) 2) Inactive List forms for all teams (INACTIVE.Txx) 3) Team Instructions forms (INSTRUCT.Txx) 4) Player Usage forms for all teams (PLAYERUF.Y14) xx: IRBL team code number Edit the files using Windows Notepad. Start Notepad by selecting "Start- Programs-Accessories-Notepad". Then open Windows Explorer, navigate to the RESULTS.Y14 folder and drag any of the files into the Notepad window. Be sure not to use the [Tab] key to align columns. Instead, use the [spacebar] to insert spaces to align columns. Please do not use a word processing program (such as Word, Wordpad, Works or WordPerfect) because these programs will modify the format of the file and will insert special characters that will be time-consuming for me to remove. ...................................... Please use the following guidelines when filling out the forms: 1) Starting Pitchers Rotation form: Fill in the pitcher's initials (2 capital letters only) next to each game number. At the bottom of the page, list each pitcher's full name, the initials used, indicate if he throws "L" or "R" and the number of starts he is scheduled IRBL # 935 3-9-14 5 for using the following format: T GS - -- BOUCHER, DENIS (DB) L 25 DELUCIA, RICH (RD) R 30 GROOM, BUDDY (BG) L 30 JONES, JIMMY (JJ) R 27 MILITELLO, SAM (SM) R 11 PUGH, TIM (TP) R 8 ROBINSON, RON (RR) R 2 WILLIAMS, MIKE (MW) R 29 When typing the above chart, make sure that you do not exceed 60 lines on the page or 80 characters on a line (refer to the line and column counter in the lower right corner of the editing screen). 2) Inactive List form: Place an "XX" (use capital letters only) in the appropriate box for each player on the Inactive List for each series. There must be exactly 25 players on the "Active List" for each series (i.e., 25 boxes next to a player's name in each column that do not have a "XX"). At least four pitchers (in addition to the scheduled starting pitchers) must be on the "Active List" for every series. 3) Team Instructions: Edit this file to contain your starting lineups for all your road and home series (including all lineups stored in your Computer Manager profile). If you leave out your home series lineups, your instruction package will be considered incomplete. If you list a player in every lineup who cannot play 162 games, you must include a note indicating which games he will be sat out and who will replace him. When typing this page, make sure that you do not exceed 60 lines on the page or 80 characters on a line. 4) Player Usage Form: The PLAYERUF.Y14 file contains a filled out form for each team. You can select and copy your team's form to a file (use file name PLAYERUF.Txx) using the directions detailed in IRBL Rule # IRBL # 935 3-9-14 6 21A. 5) Computer Manager: Create your profile following the guidelines in IRBL Rule # 15 and export the file to the C:\IRBL\RESULTS.Y14 directory naming the export file MP-xx (where xx is your IRBL team code number) (if your number is less than 10, then precede it with a "0") (i.e, the DODGERS file would be MP-03) (the DMB procedure is Transfer-Export statistics, select your team, select nothing on the next two screens, navigate to the RESULTS.Y14 directory and type in your MP-xx file name) NOTE: Remember to set the "AB vs LHP" or "AB vs RHP" to zero for the players who cannot enter the game vs a LHP or vs a RHP (per IRBL Rule # 15A1C) (some people forget to do this). NOTE: The computer manager will ignore pitchers who are not listed in the "Relief" pitcher profile and will use "ineligible" pitchers ahead of such "eligible" pitchers if no other relief pitcher is available. Therefore, if you want a pitcher (starter or reliever) to ever to be used in relief, you must list him in the "Relief" pitcher profile (and set him to "ineligible" in the games that you do not want him to relieve). Prepare the above detailed files and then select "Create ZIP file of Team Instructions Files set" from the IRBL Menu Program. If you are using 64-bit Windows, double-click the "Create IRBL team instructions zip file.bat" batch file in the RESULTS.Y14 folder. This will combine the files into one file called INSTRUxx.ZIP (where xx is your IRBL team number). Send me this INSTRUxx.ZIP file via email. The 4 files are summarized as follows: 1) INSTRUCT.Txx 2) PITCHING.Txx 3) INACTIVE.Txx 4) MP-xx.ZIP ...................................... NOTE ABOUT MY REVIEW OF THE TEAM SEASON INSTRUCTIONS: IRBL # 935 3-9-14 7 As I indicated the past 11 years, I will no longer perform a detailed review of all team season instructions to verify that every plan is sufficient so that no player would be overused because it is just too time consuming. There are IRBL Rules that penalize you for over-using players (such players cannot be used in the post-season and you are penalized in next year's draft) so be sure you are carefully planning and monitoring your players' usage during the season. What I will do is make sure that the instructions are as easy to read as possible (i.e., upper and lower case instead of all capital letters, separate line items for each special instruction and separate sections for road and home instructions). ...................................... SPECIAL DIRECTION REGARDING HOME SERIES INSTRUCTIONS: It is a struggle every year getting every manager to provide the home series instructions that cover all lineup changes and which players replace which players. The main purpose of preparing those instructions is so they will be available in case a manager cannot play his home series. A secondary benefit is that it provides each team with a plan that will prevent (if followed) any player overuse (and resulting penalties). The intent was not to make more work for the vast majority of the managers who will play all their home series just for protection against the few who fall behind or drop out. This is what I have accepted over the past 9 years and will accept again this year: If you don't want to prepare a home series plan and want to adjust player usage on your own during home series, if you state at the bottom of the instructions that you will complete all your team's home series, then you can leave out the home instructions. I would then expect you to either do what said (or submit home series instructions before you leave the IRBL). If you you do want to give your word to do this "no matter what" IRBL # 935 3-9-14 8 (regardless of any family, medical or financial emergencies), then please provide a complete home series plan. ...................................... All the team instruction files will be distributed shortly after the instructions receipt deadline. ...................................... DEADLINES: Mar. 23 - Team instructions to be received by League Office and all managers within your league Apr. 1 - First series of 2014 season ...................................... Files included on LRD # 935: --------------------------- INACTIVE.Txx --> Inactive List Forms INSTRUCT.Txx --> Team Instructions file IRBLROST.TXT --> IRBL Rosters MANAGERS.TXT --> Manager Address List NEWSL935.xxx --> Newsletter # 935 PITCHING.Txx --> Starting Pitchers Rotation Sheets PLAYERUF.Y14 --> Player Usage Forms for all teams SCHEDULE.Y14 --> IRBL NL and AL league schedule File Extension Legend (xxx): --------------------------- T1C --> Viewable one column newsletter text format TXT --> Viewable text format ...................................... BK