The Road to the World Series

"Two paths diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference."
--- Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken"


This weekend, the Mexico City Day Laborers will travel to the Richmond Chin Music to start the World Series. The two franchises traveled very different paths to this point. Chin Music was built largley through excellent drafting and trades (see my 12/3/08 post). As you see below, the Day Laborers were built almost exclusively through very high draft picks Which will you travel?


Mexico City Day Laborers (NL)

C - R.J. ("Whassap!") Mieses - Signed as an internationl free agent in season 7
C - Arlie ("Shoeshine") Kendall - Fifth-round draft choice (153 overall) in season 4
1B - Gerald ("Monster") Bennett - First-round draft choice (4th overall) in season 4
1B - Louis ("Strike the") Pose - Ninth-round draft choice (276th overall) in season 3
2B - Donald ("Robster Craws") Shibata - Acquired in the Rule 5 draft in season 8
2B - Lewis ("Sassa") Frascatore - Second-round draft pick (75th overall) in season 3
3B - Mateo ("I Say") Sojo - Drafted 1st overall in the season 6 draft
SS - David ("Ass-Munch") Giles - Acquired via trade in season 8 (a former 17th-overall pick)
SS - Pablo ("El Guante") Suarez - Drafted in the 7th round (212th overall) in season 3
LF - Ken ("The Franchise") Holbert - Drafted 1st overall in the season 7 draft
CF - Rob ("Mario Williams") Reese - Drafted 1st overall in the season 5 draft
RF - ("Dr.") Zues Osborne - Draft in tghe 1st round (12th overall) in season 2
OF - Benito ("Dorito") Guzman - International free agent signed in season 1

SP1 - Pedro ("Meet My") Johnson - Drafted 1st overall in season 3
SP2 - Hector ("Poodles") Soto - International free agent signed in season 1
SP3 - Davey ("Inkjet") Romero - Acquired via trade in season 8
SP4 - Harry ("Ass") James - International free agent signed in season 6
RP - John ("Boom'Boom") Henderson - Drafted in the 8th round (253rd overall) in season 4
RP - Rico ("Jill-wasn't") Jacquez - International free agent signed in season 4
RP - Joshua ("Engelbert") Wainhouse - An original Day Laborer
RP - Albie ("Over Here Sittin' in the Bench") Prieto - International free agent signed in season 3
RP - Carl ("Spackler") Spencer - Drafted in the 5th round (148th overall) in season 3
Cl - ("Kill") Bill Randolph - Acquired via trade from Chin Music in season 7

Does Defense Matter?

Does defense matter in determining a winning franchise? It's not terribly scientific, but the data below seems to indicate that it does. Of the top 10 defensive teams in the league each year, on average 6.4 make the playoffs:

Season 1 - 4 of the top 10 defensive teams in the bigs made the playoffs
2 - 7 of 10
3 - 7 of 10
4 - 7 of 10
5 - 5 of 10
6 - 5 of 10
7 - 7 of 10
9 - 8 of 10
10 - 7 of 10

More later.

Camp Track Record of Return Owners

As we approach the end of season 10, I thought it would be interesting to look at the league's history of how many owners return from season to season.

From season 1 to season 2, 22 of 32 owners returned.
From season 2 to season 3, 17/32 (our worst year for this)
From season 3 to season 4, 25/32
From season 4 to season 5, 27/32
From season 5 to season 6, 20/32
From season 6 to season 7, 24/32
From season 7 to season 8, 23/32
From season 8 to season 9, 28/32 (our best)
From season 9 to season 10, 24/32.

On average, we replace 8.67 owners per season. Also notable, simdog is on his third different franchise in Camp this season. I hate to say it, but I have been the only returning owner in my division, the AL South, for the past 4 seasons. Hang in there, yoker70 & zeb25! Thankfully, vegas9517 has already re-upped for season 11.

All-Time Winningest Franchises

As of the 12/3 pm game, the following are the winningest franchises in Camp:

1. Arizona Thunder Chickens 1080-533 (4 WS titles)
2. Tampa Bay Boozers 1029-584
3. Austin/Richmond Chin Music 981-632 (1 WS)
4. Louisville/Toledo Flame Throwers 954-659
5. Philadephia Athletics 932-681 (1 WS)
6. Toronto Greased-Up Deaf Guys 921-692 (1 WS)
7. San Francisco Slumpbusters 907-706

Gabriel Update

Two and one-half months ago (the last freaking post on this blog), it was speculated that Earl Gabriel might be entering his Camp swan song. At 39 years old, his skills have been in decline, exacerbated by a stress fracture in his pitching elbow in season 8. Whither Earl the Pearl now?

Entering into the final week of Camp season 10, we find Gabriel largely relegated to swing-starter role on the age-defying Thunder Chickens team. Gabriel is 7-0 with a 4.57 ERA in 42 games (7 of which are starts) and a WHIP of 1.51. The ERA is the highest of his career, the win total ties his lowest, and the WHIP bar far his worst. Nevertheless, he has added to his Camp-record win total, which now stands at 216 (against 44 losses, for an astounding 83% win percentage), 30 more than Abdul Wallace, 32 more than Matt Adams, and 38 more than Orlando Blanco.

While it appears that Gabriel is about to blow the horn on his career, he will nevertheless be remembered as the Gold Standard for starting pitchers in Camp. Farewell, Earl of Camp!