My pitching staff in the regular season put up the following stats:

G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	OAV	OBP	SLG	WHIP	ERA
82	82	0	0	0	0	550.3	691	314	245	6	110	171	.300	.334	.377	1.46	4.01
80	80	0	0	0	0	444.0	558	241	216	29	80	142	.301	.334	.421	1.44	4.38
84	0	0	0	4	4	113.3	107	48	45	5	28	26	.248	.299	.329	1.19	3.57
44	0	0	0	8	12	47.7	164	157	151	23	76	5	.566	.651	1.041	5.03	28.51
54	0	0	0	2	3	44.7	47	33	31	5	46	39	.269	.422	.394	2.08	6.25
46	0	0	0	2	5	35.7	24	18	16	2	17	24	.185	.282	.292	1.15	4.04
46	0	0	0	2	3	33.0	44	36	35	2	18	13	.314	.392	.457	1.88	9.55
48	0	0	0	4	6	32.3	48	24	24	3	22	14	.345	.440	.518	2.16	6.68
41	0	0	0	18	21	30.3	41	19	18	0	21	21	.313	.412	.366	2.04	5.34
36	0	0	0	2	3	29.0	34	20	18	0	19	2	.296	.404	.391	1.83	5.59
38	0	0	0	5	8	28.7	38	18	18	1	11	1	.314	.371	.438	1.71	5.65
39	0	0	0	0	3	28.7	47	34	34	6	17	18	.362	.430	.585	2.23	10.67
43	0	0	0	1	3	27.7	34	29	20	6	25	15	.288	.414	.483	2.13	6.51
681	162	0	0	48	71	1,445.3	1877	991	871	88	490	491	.309	.363	.430	1.64	5.42

Yet, we managed to squeak into the playoffs as the winner of a weak division. Going up against the best team in the league I had to face this pitching staff:

Player	SN	T	G	GS	CG	SHO	W	L	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	OAV	OBP	SLG	WHIP	ERA
Brown, Mordecai	1908	R	56	54	2	1	24	11	1	1	346.7	303	100	82	3	110	82	.231	.296	.278	1.19	2.13
Maddux, Greg	1994	R	53	53	3	2	23	7	0	0	346.3	274	83	76	7	67	221	.214	.257	.280	.98	1.97
Gooden, Dwight	1985	R	58	55	0	0	20	15	1	1	306.3	310	138	130	34	118	239	.262	.332	.379	1.40	3.82

along with an offense that stole 300+ bases and scored close to 800 runs.

Now, My offense was league best, scoring just over 950 runs, but my pitching staff allowed a league worst 991, and I expected to not only lose, but to have the series be filled with high scoring games.

These were the pitching lines for the series:

Player	%	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC	ERA
Scott Stratton, W (1-0)	100	9.0	1	0	0	1	2	0	98	0.00
Game Totals	100	9.0	1	0	0	1	2	0	98	---

Player	%	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC	ERA
Cy Young	93	6.0	2	0	0	1	2	0	64	0.00
Art Nehf	100	2.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	23	0.00
Fred Lasher	90	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	9	0.00
George Zuverink, W (1-0)	92	1.0	2	0	0	0	0	0	15	0.00
Mack Allison, SV (1)	90	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	12	0.00
Game Totals	93	11.0	7	0	0	1	2	0	123	---

Player	%	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC	ERA
Scott Stratton, W (2-0)	100	8.0	7	2	2	0	5	0	105	1.06
Rob Dibble, SV (1)	90	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	20	0.00
Game Totals	95	9.0	7	2	2	0	7	0	125	---

My pitching staff that allowed just over 6 runs per game and close to 1.8 baserunners per inning allowed 0.67 runs per game and a nearly identical 0.65 baserunners per inning as we swept the best team in the league (Though my team was 8-4 against his in the regular season).

Believe it or Don't!

Same team as above:

At the All-Star Break they were 34-47, they finished 88-74, meaning they went 54-27 in the second half. In other words, they played .420 ball for an entire half of the season (they were actually worse at game 71 with just 28 wins for a .394 W%) then run out at a .667 clip for the 2nd half (or .660 from game 71).

Believe it or Don't!

I don't have any splits from my players, but I'm sure there were some remarkable under-performances turning into expectations or expectations turning into over-performances from most of my team in those two splits.

I have a team in a 1920 prog.  We just got to the halfway mark, and every member of our pitching staff -- starter and reliever alike -- is going to the all-star game!  

Granted, it's a 12-team prog, and we only have 7 pitchers on the team.  But still!  The entire staff -- all-stars!

Believe It or Don't!

There are them what says the reverse forum jinx is hogwash, and them what swears by it.  Me, I don't claim to understand the inner workings of the various netherworlds, but I will say this.  By the typing of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.  Have I discombobulated you sufficiently?  Set a spell and listen.  There's an owner in a Champ's League I'm in, goes by the name of snotlips or somesuch, and I recently commented in the league forum about how well he was doing, as his team was 59-22.  Alas, I fear I have destroyed this team, as in the 17 nightmare games since they've gone 8-9, and will almost surely continue their downward spiral into oblivion (i.e., they'll miss the playoffs).

Believe It or Don't!

Posted by crazystengel on 11/27/2012 1:55:00 PM (view original):
There are them what says the reverse forum jinx is hogwash, and them what swears by it.  Me, I don't claim to understand the inner workings of the various netherworlds, but I will say this.  By the typing of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.  Have I discombobulated you sufficiently?  Set a spell and listen.  There's an owner in a Champ's League I'm in, goes by the name of snotlips or somesuch, and I recently commented in the league forum about how well he was doing, as his team was 59-22.  Alas, I fear I have destroyed this team, as in the 17 nightmare games since they've gone 8-9, and will almost surely continue their downward spiral into oblivion (i.e., they'll miss the playoffs).

Believe It or Don't!

Watch this, I'm going to send all of my teams on 10-game losing streaks with just a few keystrokes.

There is no forum jinx. Just like the Rule of 370 in football, or the fact that batting title winners tend to decline the following season in baseball... it's all perception.

A team that is 19-19 isn't going to draw comments in the forums. A team that's 59-22 will. Now, there is a 1% chance that team is really a true talent 59-22 team. But the other 99% of the time, they're playing over their head, and they're going to regress whether you point out their success or not. They only elicit a comment in the forums if they are playing so far over their head that someone notices!

This is why RBs falter after a 370-carry season... because they had to be really good to justify 370 carries. Probably over their head good. The next season they will naturally regress (most of the time). A batter has to have a really, really high BABIP to win a batting title. The next year, he will naturally regress. It's not because he's cursed. 

The Madden Curse is the same way. You only get on the cover by playing way over your head. When regression sets in, Madden gets blamed.

Now, if your true talent level is HOF-worthy, maybe you can overcome it. Calvin Johnson in the NFL. Ryan Braun and Justin Verlander in MLB. 

Well, that makes sense, jfranco.  But I suspect this "snotlips" fellow from my league is going to take offense to the suggestion that his 59-22 start was a fluke, and that his subsequent 8-9 record is a more accurate reflection of his managerial "skills" (however meager they may be).  Let's hope "snotlips" doesn't read this thread.

Posted by crazystengel on 11/27/2012 2:14:00 PM (view original):
Well, that makes sense, jfranco.  But I suspect this "snotlips" fellow from my league is going to take offense to the suggestion that his 59-22 start was a fluke, and that his subsequent 8-9 record is a more accurate reflection of his managerial "skills" (however meager they may be).  Let's hope "snotlips" doesn't read this thread.

You gotta look at the bright side. 90 wins makes the playoffs most of the time. 81 games to go, and you need to go 31-50 to have a good chance at the playoffs. Those 59 wins are banked. If you just play .500 you will win 98-99 games. 

A 14-hit shutout from a Champ's League today:

www.whatifsports.com/slb/Boxscore.aspx

Greg Maddux, W (15-5)	100	6.0	9	0	0	0	4	0	82	2.57
Fred Toney	100	2.0	3	0	0	0	0	0	24	4.71
Bobby Tiefenauer, SV (7)	100	1.0	2	0	0	0	1	0	15	1.16
Game Totals	100	9.0	14	0	0	0	5	0	121	---

All 14 hits were singles.  

The MLB record for most hits allowed in a shutout is 14.  It happened twice, most recently in 1928, and that one was more impressive than the simmed game above because:

A) One pitcher, Milt Gaston, threw all 9 innings.
B) 3 of the hits went for extra bases (2 doubles and 1 triple).
C) There were also 2 walks allowed.
D) You know the expression, "Even if I live to be 100, I won't see anything like that again"?  Milt Gaston did live to be 100 -- and no one ever allowed that many hits in a shutout again.

www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WS1/WS1192807102.shtml

Believe It or Don't!

In a 2012 draft league, Omar Infante has 11 HRs in 167 ABs, with a .311/333/.569 slash line. He had 12 all season in RL. Home park is Citi Field.

For comparison, Prince Fielder, Cody Ross & Carlos Gonzalez have the same amount of AB's and have yet to hit 10.

I'm probably going to jinx them, but I have a progressive team that has won 28 straight road games...believe it or don't...
29...30 in a row now...streak snapped at 31 road victories in a row...believe it or don't...anyone have a longer winning streak than that?

You'd figure a team that started out 20-1, and finished with the best Exp. Pct. in the league, would at least make the playoffs, right?  Well, you'd figure wrong.  A team in my Random Captain theme got off to the aforementioned hot start, finished with an Exp. Pct. of .602 (which translates to 98 wins), yet wound up with just 88 wins -- 1 game out of the wild card.  A league-worst 25-35 record in 1-run games didn't help!

Believe It or Don't!

Looking at the all-time fielding records in 4 of my long-running leagues covering 77 combined seasons, the most "+" plays attributed to a single player was 44, by 2006 Carlos Beltran.  In a single-season prog of mine, 1920 Dave Bancroft just shattered that mark -- with 52 "+" plays.

Believe It or Don't!