Author Topic: The 2108 WBA Cup (Read 12040 times)

Huckleberry · « **on:** March 07, 2017, 05:16:03 PM »

Okay, I need to start preparing for this thing as though it's going to happen. With that in mind, here are the ground rules I am planning to use for the tournament

Thanks to the combined efforts of all the world's greatest 22nd Century physicians and trainers, there will be no injuries at The WBA Cup. No, you can't hire these people for your professional WBA team. I will have to remember to turn injuries off globally before and back on after the tournament. But this prevents a team that has been building for multiple seasons from having everything wrecked by a tournament where they're not even controlling the teams.
The tournament will be held every 4 years. That will work out to roughly once every real life year. This keeps it from getting stale and keeps me from getting tired of managing it if and when OOTP has issues with it.
The AI will manage lineups and rotations, and if possible (meaning if the software supports the option) I will have the AI select the rosters as well. If the software does not support that option then I will select rosters by myself for nations that don't have a WBA team and for nations with a WBA team I will give the team from that nation with the best record the option of selecting that roster. The best record part only applies to the USA and Brazil. This is partially why rule #1 is in effect so owners will feel no need to hold out players from their own nation when selecting rosters.
Due to this solo game and thread I ran for a little while last year before getting tired of the manual maintenance I already have logos, uniforms, and jerseys for the USA, Germany, Italy, and Japan. While I can probably get the other 12 done before the tournament in late April or early May it would be helpful if anyone could volunteer. This should obviously be a one-time thing as we certainly aren't going to change uniforms every time the tournament comes around.
Also because of that thread I have a schedule and format already worked out for this tournament. It will be 16 teams with 4 pools of 4 teams each; the pools will play a double round robin with a game every other day. The winner of each pool will advance to the best 2-of-3 semifinals, then the best 2-of-3 WBA Cup Finals. I'll let OOTP handle any pool tiebreakers, with the dreaded 3-way tie being a decent possibility in such a short "season."

Now, with all that said, here are the nations who will participate in the inaugural WBA Cup in January 2108. Teams were selected based on the number of total active professional baseball players with two exceptions. Indonesia and Russia declined their invitations and were replaced by South Korea and Germany. The nations were then divided into Pools A and B for the Americas Region and Pools C and D for the Intercontinental Region. Then they were seeded 1-8 based on number of professional players.

AMERICAS REGION

Pool A

1. The United States
4. Colombia
5. Dominican Republic
8. Venezuela

Pool B

2. Brazil
3. Mexico
6. Canada
7. Argentina

INTERCONTINENTAL REGION

Pool C

1. China
4. Nigeria
5. Italy
8. Germany

Pool D

2. India
3. Japan
6. Pakistan
7. South Korea

claphamsa · « **Reply #1 on:** March 07, 2017, 05:28:09 PM »

the french protest lack of inclusion!

Huckleberry · « **Reply #2 on:** March 07, 2017, 05:36:17 PM »

Hahaha, I knew that was coming.

France only has 23 active professional players, something I'm addressing moving forward with the player origin percentages. I'll make a post on that later.

claphamsa · « **Reply #3 on:** March 07, 2017, 05:39:32 PM »

Quote from: Huckleberry on March 07, 2017, 05:36:17 PM

Hahaha, I knew that was coming.

France only has 23 active professional players, something I'm addressing moving forward with the player origin percentages. I'll make a post on that later.

50%!

Echo127 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 07, 2017, 07:20:54 PM »

Cool. Looking forward to this.

AndyHustle · « **Reply #5 on:** March 07, 2017, 07:29:29 PM »

Would not mind helping out with logos and uniforms.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #6 on:** March 08, 2017, 08:25:02 AM »

Logos are just the flags of the nations.

Also, breaking news from the WBA, due to the discrepancy in active pros per nation (because the IBL has so many more nations - plus China's huge share - the lower seeds in the IBL are at a disadvantage for now until my revised player origin percentages work their way into the system) the structure has been changed. All teams were seeded 1-16 overall and then divided into four selection pods. A random draw was conducted where each group received one team from each pod. The groups are as follows:

Group A

Brazil
Dominican Republic
Argentina
Pakistan

Group B

India
Mexico
Venezuela
Italy

Group C

China
Colombia
Nigeria
South Korea

Group D

The United States
Japan
Canada
Germany

The winners from Group A and Group B will meet in one semifinal with the winners of Groups C and D meeting in the other.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #7 on:** March 08, 2017, 09:55:14 AM »

Brief synopsis of player origin percentages:

Originally the idea was to base the player origin percentages on nation population and baseball quality. For the ABL that was pretty much done. For the IBL it was based much more on population because I recently noticed that I completely forgot to do the final adjustment for baseball quality. Oops.

I have now recalculated these baseline player origin percentages for each league. I used the OOTP baseball level number and then regressed a bit toward a new mean for every nation based on the concept that this league is in the future where baseball has become the most popular sport on the planet. That used to be the only input but from this point moving forward it is the first input and exactly half of the story.

The other half is an adjustment based on the number of team-seasons the nation has over the last 8 years of the WBA. As an example, the United States have 40% of the team-seasons in the ABL over the last 8 years as there have been 4 American teams each year. On the other hand, Puerto Rico has 2.5% of the team-seasons over that same period as the Coqui moved to Puerto Rico for the 2106 season (because the next draft is the 2108 draft I'm including 2107 locations starting now). The USA's baseline percentage is 32.88% which is averaged with this 40% for the new percentage of 36.44%. Puerto Rico's 0.74% baseline is averaged with the 2.5% for the 2108 draft for a total of 1.62%. As you can see, once a nation has had a team for a full 8 seasons their player origin percentage will be maxed out. So, for the 2108 draft here are the player origin percentages for each nation with a WBA team:

ABL -

The United States - 36.43%
Brazil - 18.24%
Mexico - 11.60%
Dominican Republic - 7.10%
Argentina - 6.73%
Puerto Rico - 1.62%

IBL -

India - 8.78%
England - 6.70%
South Korea - 6.52%
France - 6.06%
Germany - 5.71%
Pakistan - 5.27%
Singapore - 5.00%
Italy - 3.79%
Scotland - 3.17%
Australia - 2.58%

And here are the full percentages:

ABL -

Spoiler: show

IBL -

Spoiler: show

Huckleberry · « **Reply #8 on:** March 08, 2017, 10:06:28 PM »

The Dominican Republic today unveiled their uniforms for the 2108 WBA Cup in Santo Domingo, modeled by hometown hero Juan Barajas:

Huckleberry · « **Reply #9 on:** March 09, 2017, 12:39:32 PM »

Today in Rio de Janeiro the Brazilian national team revealed their uniforms for the 2108 WBA Cup. Jaguars second baseman Prazeres Matos was chosen to model for the ceremony.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #10 on:** March 09, 2017, 03:49:11 PM »

Argentina's 2108 WBA Cup uniforms were released today, and young catcher Juan González of the Buenos Aires organization tried it on.

Later today Pakistan is expected to publicize their uniforms, which will complete the Group A reveals.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #11 on:** March 09, 2017, 04:13:12 PM »

Closing out Group A is Pakistan, who today invited recent Karachi 1st round draft pick Tariq Ali Khan to demonstrate the inaugural look.

APMP · « **Reply #12 on:** March 09, 2017, 05:24:45 PM »

Here's hoping like every other uniform worn by an Indian team, the baseball one is based on the traditional cricket blues.

Karachi_GM · « **Reply #13 on:** March 09, 2017, 06:18:54 PM »

Tariq looking good.

Karachi_GM · « **Reply #14 on:** March 09, 2017, 06:21:03 PM »

Quote from: APMP on March 09, 2017, 05:24:45 PM

Here's hoping like every other uniform worn by an Indian team, the baseball one is based on the traditional cricket blues.

Blue? Indian? Vive Pakistan. Go Pakistani Green.

APMP · « **Reply #15 on:** March 09, 2017, 07:08:14 PM »

Quote from: Karachi_GM on March 09, 2017, 06:21:03 PM

Quote from: APMP on March 09, 2017, 05:24:45 PM
Here's hoping like every other uniform worn by an Indian team, the baseball one is based on the traditional cricket blues.
Blue? Indian? Vive Pakistan. Go Pakistani Green.

A healthy Indo-Pak rivalry is always a good thing.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #16 on:** March 10, 2017, 06:03:57 AM »

Quote from: APMP on March 09, 2017, 05:24:45 PM

Here's hoping like every other uniform worn by an Indian team, the baseball one is based on the traditional cricket blues.

They'll be loosely based on this picture:

from this page about a 2015 international baseball competition. But since I'll only be making home jerseys they will be white.

APMP · « **Reply #17 on:** March 10, 2017, 06:09:15 AM »

Not bad. Throwback to 1992 dark blues.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #18 on:** March 10, 2017, 07:30:31 AM »

Today in Mumbai the Indian Baseball Federation unveiled their 2108 WBA Cup uniforms to the world, kicking off the Group B uniform ceremonies. Superstar first baseman Ahvana Subbarayudu showed off a very large version of the uniform.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #19 on:** March 10, 2017, 09:03:40 AM »

Mexico's uniforms were released today in Mexico city with Aztecs third baseman Fernando Barrera receiving the honor of modeling the outfit for the assembled media.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #20 on:** March 10, 2017, 11:35:27 AM »

The first nation to reveal their uniforms which does not have a WBA team nearby, Venezuela, was able to use Seoul star Juan Hernández thanks to 22nd century teleportation technology. He'll be back in London in plenty of time to help the Crushers against the Monarchs.

squaredrive · « **Reply #21 on:** March 10, 2017, 11:49:00 AM »

big thumbs up on mexico unis!

Huckleberry · « **Reply #22 on:** March 10, 2017, 12:08:37 PM »

Haha, yeah. The ones where I have real-life WBC unis to steal from look sharp and go quickly. The others, well I'm not a graphic designer by trade if you haven't noticed.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #23 on:** March 10, 2017, 01:42:31 PM »

The Italian Baseball Federation held a press conference in Rome today to reveal their uniforms for the upcoming WBA Cup. Rome Generals third baseman Eligio Sciama modeled for reporters.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #24 on:** March 10, 2017, 03:24:44 PM »

I'll just keep going and try to get these knocked out now that I'm in the groove.

Pin-zhen Chan of the Singapore Merlions traveled to Beijing today to help unveil China's uniform for the tournament.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #25 on:** March 10, 2017, 03:46:56 PM »

Colombia's former WBA team is now in Puerto Rico, but it was São Paulo who allowed Luis Hernández to travel to Bogotá for the ceremony.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #26 on:** March 10, 2017, 05:06:47 PM »

The third team from Group C, Nigeria, is shown below worn by Brisbane's Tamirat Sifiye.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #27 on:** March 10, 2017, 05:24:54 PM »

Seoul catcher Sung-tae Lee donned the colors of South Korea today to unveil the national team's uniform for the WBA Cup.

Only Group D remains for uniform releases.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #28 on:** March 10, 2017, 06:00:34 PM »

Senators catcher Chris Boone modeled the United States uniform for the WBA Cup today in Washington.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #29 on:** March 10, 2017, 06:30:35 PM »

The Karachi Falcons franchise has their second national uniform model as the loaned out Toshikuni Hashimoto to the WBA teamless Japanese Baseball Federation.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #30 on:** March 10, 2017, 06:48:19 PM »

Santo Domingo second baseman John Pottle traveled to Ottawa to help unveil the Canadian uniform today.

Bob_Meteors · « **Reply #31 on:** March 10, 2017, 08:42:20 PM »

I'm loving these uniforms!! Really well done.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #32 on:** March 10, 2017, 08:55:32 PM »

The final uniform for the tournament was revealed in Berlin as Black Forest sent minor league catcher Clemens Dannenberg to appear before the media.

capn81 · « **Reply #33 on:** March 10, 2017, 10:24:59 PM »

Great stuff

Huckleberry · « **Reply #34 on:** March 16, 2017, 11:29:47 PM »

Still not sure, of course, if the AI will be selecting teams, but I got the idea to run a potential roster preview for each nation. Let's start with the Dominican Republic as I'll go in the same order as the uniform releases.

Dominican Republic Roster Preview

Roster size will be 25 (injuries are off for the tournament so that makes sense to do). I will run the preview using a 14 position player, 11 pitcher split. I considered 15/10 as the format will mean that teams will likely only use 3 starters but for now we'll roll with 14/11. Locks and possibilities are based on current injury status so of course something could change.

Starting Pitchers

Locks: Jorge Romano (Mexico City), Álex Burgos (São Paulo)

The two guys who seem certain to make the squad arrive on this list for the exact opposite reasons. Romano has a history of success and is still one of the most talented arms in baseball, but has scuffled to start the year. Most observers don't feel like this will prevent him from being selected. Burgos, meanwhile, would have been on the possibilities list before the year but has been nothing short of sensational for the Toucans so far this season. If he performs anywhere close to this well for the rest of the year he will be a lock for the squad.

Possibilities: Claudio Morán (New York City), Javier Durango (New York City), Sergio Navarro (New York City)

A trio of New York City Empire pitchers round out the possibilities. Most feel at this point that Morán has a spot sewn up but some aren't so sure and are waiting to see if he can remain solid all season. Durango should make it if 4 starters are brought to the tournament while Navarro at this point will likely be on the outside looking in unless an unfortunate injury occurs to someone above him in the pecking order. If he doesn't make it as a starter, though, it's likely he is still brought along as part of the bullpen as the Dominicans lack depth in relief.

Relief Pitchers

Locks: Juan Barajas (Santo Domingo), Pedro Morán (Mexico City), Orlando Mojica (Los Angeles - AAA), Raúl Ordóñez (Karachi - AA)

As mentioned, the Dominican bullpen is weak to the point that two minor leaguers seem almost certain to make the roster. In fact, the weakness is such that the SP possibilities mentioned above are all locks to make the team at least as relievers, and this still leaves the Dominican squad with only 9 pitchers.

Possibilities: Miscellaneous Others

While there are a few other Dominican arms at the AA level or above scattered throughout the WBA, none are tantalizing prospects. It will be interesting to see how the staff is filled out for January.

Catchers and Infielders

Locks: C Jesús Pérez (Washington - A), C José Orty (Washington - R), 1B Pedro Alejandre (Rio de Janeiro), 2B José Estrada (Scottish), SS Ramón Montés (Mexico City), 3B José Gonzáles (São Paulo)

Even weaker than the bullpen are the catching ranks as there are only two professional catchers from the Dominican Republic. Emergency catcher tryouts will be held at training camp before the tournament. The starting infield appears set although the left side is much more prolific at defense than they are at the plate.

Possibilities: There's also not much depth here. There are no other currently healthy major league infielders to choose from, or any greater than one-star current minor leaguers.

Outfielders

Locks:

CF Jorge Vallés (Mexico City), RF Ángel Ramos (Buenos Aires), CF Jorge Ortíz (Los Angeles)

None of these three "locks" have been terribly productive at the major league level, but besides the only possibility listed below, these are the only major league Dominican outfielders as well as the only ones rated higher than one star. When viewed in combination with the rest of the roster, though, it's clear that the Dominican Republic will field an excellent defense, competent starting pitching, and a superstar closer. Their hopes to be competitive will be based on low-scoring ballgames in the tournament.

Possibilities: LF Aquilino Correa (Scottish)

Correa would be a lock to make the roster as at least the first bat off the bench, but the question is whether or not the 42-year-old veteran will retire after the 2107 season and before the WBA Cup. After him the outfield depth mimics the infield for the Dominicans, no other major leaguers and no other greater than one-star players.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #35 on:** March 17, 2017, 08:08:10 AM »

Brazil Roster Preview

Brazil is one of the deepest nations in the tournament with hundreds of active players, so picking the roster will be more difficult in some ways as plenty of talented players will be left off the squad.

Starting Pitchers

Locks: Gaudêncio Brigham (Florida)

After exploding onto the scene last year, Brigham appears at this time to be the only lock to make the rotation after leading the ABL in ERA in 2106. As we'll soon see, though, he is not the only lock for lack of options.

Possibilities: Tolentino Goulart (Mexico City), Zuleide Rainha (Paris), Ivo Cantinho (Washington), Zeusef Longle (Buenos Aires), Guonçale Gaula (Rome), Murilo Michalis (Mexico City)

The Brazilian federation will certainly have their choice of several solid options for starting picthing, and those listed here would all do their country proud. Longle seemed to be a certainty prior to the season but has struggled so far this year. Every player listed here has a 2107 FIP below 4.00 at the major league level this season, and many will lobby to be on the roster out of the bullpen if not selected for the rotation. Some are curious to see if playing in the IBL will work against Rainha and Gaula. I mean, really, who could imagine Brazilian athletes traveling to Europe in order to play their sport professionally?

Relief Pitchers

Locks: Eurico Unas (Los Angeles), Matias Alavedra (Santo Domingo)

Unas has somewhat quietly put together a Hall of Fame caliber career in Los Angeles, never having posted an ERA above 2.75, averaging 38 saves per year, and striking out 14.8 batters per 9 innings lifetime. I say quietly only because he has yet to win a reliever of the year award, but his value is certainly well understood by the Stars. Behind him, Alavedra seems like the only other certainty for the Brazlian bullpen.

Possibilities: Feliciano Pgo (Buenos Aires), Domynguos Belsar (Mexico City), Bráulio Lagrifa (Santo Domingo), Jacome Espada (Black Forest), Arcibaldo Carapeos (Washington)

While all excellent performers, those on this list of possible selections will have to battle with the starting pitcher options above who don't make the rotation. Carapeos had a track record of success before this season, but his 2107 struggles find him squarely on the bubble.

Catchers and Infielders

Locks: C Nazario Brazo (São Paulo), SS Vinícius Caruma (Buenos Aires), UT Prazeres Matos (Rio de Janeiro)

Another competitive area for Brazil, Brazo seems to have a starting position locked up based on his plus-plus defensive skills while Caruma has burst onto the scene in the ABL this season and figures to be the starting shortstop. Matos' power combined with his ability to play multiple infield spots competently and even the corner outfield without too much embarrassment make him a roster spot lock in all likelihood. Behind them will be a battle for the remaining infield positions.

Possibilities: C Tilmão Argolo (Rio de Janeiro), C Josse Rus (Rio de Janeiro - AAA), C Tilmão Cerigo (Los Angeles), 1B Lopo Sobaran (Rome), 1B Santos Pina (Florida), 2B Prospero Calaa (Brisbane), 2B Jurdão Brito (New York City), SS Samuel Bravo (Puerto Rico), 3B Christovão Neri (Santo Domingo), 3B Manuel Cumbrera (Los Angeles)

As I said, a battle. Sobaran is another player who seemed like a lock before 2107 struggles, and now he and Pina are battling the possibility that Matos is used as a first baseman on the national team. Calaa is a star but he is still yet to return from a major ACL injury and along with the other aging Brazilian second baseman Brito their spots may be threatened by younger players who can play at any infield position such as Neri. No matter what happens in the end we know there will be hurt feelings and a lot of discussion in Brazil over who was snubbed.

Outfielders

Locks:

RF Pio Seixas (Santo Domingo), CF Sebastião Henriques (Los Angeles), LF Victor Ledesma (Mumbai)

The Brazilian starting outfield seems settled, but Henriques is based on a bit of projection as many are still waiting for his bat to develop as anticipated. Either way he provides excellent defense in centerfield.

Possibilities: RF Francisco Reyes (New York City), RF Botol Ranho (Buenos Aires), RF Tiago Celestino (Mumbai), CF Quintiliano Foito (Puerto Rico)

Yet another player who seemed like a lock before the year, a bit of a disappointing performance along with a minor injury have pushed Reyes into this category. In fact, if the tournament had been a year earlier he would have been the right field starter, pushing Seixas over into centerfield. He is still the heavy favorite for one of the outfield spots while Ranho and Celestino figure to battle for the final position if Brazil goes with 5 outfielders, with Foito an outside possibility if Brazil chooses to go defense with the final selection.

APMP · « **Reply #36 on:** March 17, 2017, 11:27:11 AM »

Celestino is currently patrolling RF for Mumbai while Twinkletoes battles age.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #37 on:** March 17, 2017, 11:38:37 AM »

Thanks, copy and paste error.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #38 on:** March 17, 2017, 04:22:23 PM »

Argentina Roster Preview

Drawn in the same Group as their bitter Brazilian rivals, Argentina has some star power but very little depth. Most pundits don't figure them to have a chance at advancing to the knockout stage.

Starting Pitchers

Locks: Ottavio Amico (Washington)

As the only current Argentine major league starting pitcher, Amico will be their #1 starter at the tournament.

Possibilities: Edgardo Grancagnola (Rome - AAA), Folco Lipari (Puerto Rico - AAA), Pedro Pereira (Los Angeles - AA), Edgar Rossellino (Los Angeles - AA)

This will be a battle of young arms, and I see these as the 4 most likely to get the call.

Relief Pitchers

Locks: Roberto Flores (São Paulo), Pedro Bruno (Puerto Rico)

While Flores has been a bullpen stud for years, there are whispers that Argentina may try him in a starting role at the tournament. If they do so that would leave Bruno as their only major league arm relief option.

Possibilities: Ánibal Vega (Mexico City - AAA), Mauro Rivera (São Paulo - AA), Miscellaneous Others

Vega and Rivera seem the most likely options, but the pickings are pretty slim here for Argentina. There are only 18 active Argentine relievers and 5 of them are not even under contract with an organization.

Catchers and Infielders

Locks: SS Piero Folena (Rio de Janeiro), 2B Marco Consiglio (Washington)

Folena is a star who has bounced back after an injury-riddled 2106 season, while Consiglio is a lock just based on major league experience and a decent performance so far this year.

Possibilities: C Vicente Ortíz (Los Angeles - AAA), C Gennarino DaVinci (Florida - AA), C Montay Mauri (São Paulo - AA), SS Virgilio Bertoni (Rio de Janeiro - AAA), SS Alfonso Romero (Washington - AA), Miscellaneous Others

There are no good options behind the plate and after Folena it's not much better around the infield. This will be a tough tournament on the Pampas.

Outfielders

Locks: LF Rafael Gallegos (Mexico City - AAA)

Gallegos is the best option in the outfield, but he has struggled to stay on the major league roster as his good plate discipline hasn't translated elsewhere offensively.

Possibilities: A bunch of career minor leaguers.

Man, it's making me worry about some of these other nations. This could get ugly in the first WBA Cup. That's okay, we're growing the game!

Huckleberry · « **Reply #39 on:** March 17, 2017, 08:39:40 PM »

Pakistan Roster Preview

Rounding out Group A is Pakistan, and they also appear to have little chance of advancing and can focus on improvement and growing the game locally.

Starting Pitchers

Locks: None

Pakistan has no major league starters.

Possibilities: Ghulam Abbasi (Mumbai - AAA), Zulfikkur Magsi (Mumbai - AAA), Abdul Hakim Hasni (London - AA), Tariq Ali Khan (Karachi - AA), Amirr Chatha (Mumbai - A)

All minor leaguers, even 2107 draft pick Ali Khan has a chance to make the rotation.

Relief Pitchers

Locks: Sarfaraz Chauhan (Scottish)

Although he struggles with control, Chauhan is the only experienced major league pitcher from Pakistan.

Possibilities: Mudasser Kundi (Singapore - AAA), Miscellaneous Others

There are only 5 relievers from Pakistan, so in all likelihood Kundi will be on the roster as well as whatever members of the starters list above don't make the rotation.

Catchers and Infielders

Locks: C Abdul Salam Salarzai (Mumbai - AAA), C Aga Din (Rome - A), 3B Hafiz Yusaf Khel (Singapore), 1B Naim Memon (Singapore - AAA), SS Shah Chishti (Karachi - AA)

Salarzai and Din are the only available full time catchers, Khel is the only star caliber infielder from Pakistan, and Chishti's utility in the field and developing contact abilities make him an obvious choice.

Possibilities: Miscellaneous Others

There are no other Pakistani infielders above the Single A level. There are a couple of promising prospects, though, so we'll see if they show enough development this year to make the squad.

Outfielders

Locks: CF Aziz Ahmadzai (Scottish), RF Hyat Hashemi (Mumbai - AAA), CF Daud Khorasani (Puerto Rico - AA)

The defending IBL Rookie of the Year, Ahmadzai is clearly the best and most famous player from Pakistan. A year after leading the IBL in hits he's on pace to do so again. Hashemi and Khorasani are the only other outfielders above the Single A level, and Khorasani offers outstanding defense in centerfield in addition to good gap power. Ahmadzai is likely to slide over to right field while Hashemi moves across to left.

Possibilities: A bunch of career minor leaguers.

Pakistan will need a lot of breaks to stay competitive overall, but the outlook indicates they'll be battling Argentina to stay out of last place in the group while the Dominican Republic is the only real possible challenger to Brazil to win it.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #40 on:** March 17, 2017, 09:08:37 PM »

Just a heads up to everyone, the WBA Constitution states that there is to be no simming ahead, so every time I am going to do so for some reason I notify y'all. In order to see how this is going to work, I'm intending to import a copy of the league into OOTP 18 as soon as it comes out next Monday. I will then see how the tournament can be set up, and once it's set up I will quick sim until it's time to select teams and run a trial run or two on the tournament, including once it's over to make sure players return to their proper teams. All teams, including mine, will be set to AI control before I simulate even a day.

If anyone has any concerns about this please feel free to post here about it, including if you have any ideas for settings I could change to make the simulation less like our actual league. I've thought about maybe changing the statistical settings to something ridiculous in the test copy league. Something like super dead ball era or whatever, and then resetting them to what we have this year before the tournament trial runs. Or I guess I could even leave them changed because the point is making sure the tournament runs correctly from a structural and logistics standpoint.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #41 on:** March 18, 2017, 05:33:20 PM »

India Roster Preview

India leads off Group B, and they are roughly equal with Brazil in the number of available professional players.

Starting Pitchers

Locks: Harmage Partha (Buenos Aires), Khamurti Preetish (Scotland)

Although neither Partha nor Preetish are the highest rated starters from India, they are easily the most accomplished at the top level of the WBA. Partha's start to the 2107 has been unbelievable as he currently sits at 11-0 with a 1.76 ERA after his first June start.

Possibilities: Cirayu Rasiah (Seoul), Kamal Sobha (São Paulo), Samant Tasneem (Singapore), a few others

There is surprisingly little depth here for India considering their number of players overall. Rasiah is the top rated starter at 4.5 stars but has not shown out well at the major league level. Sobha is 39 years old and may retire before the tournament.

Relief Pitchers

Locks: Balya Virendra (Paris), Rajindar Kasavaraju (Rio de Janeiro), Jagannathan Surendranath (Paris)

All outstanding and successful pitchers, India's bullpen should be considered a stength relative to most teams heading into the tournament.

Possibilities: Amoghadarsana Ullas (Mumbai), Amit Gorawala (Mumbai - AAA), Dasaketu Koppola (Rome), Chajju Mangalampally (London - AAA)

The depth behind the three star relievers is a hair light, but most of these guys are capable. Koppola may end up missing out as he has lost his slider recently and is struggling bigtime in Rome this season. Depending on the size of the rotation India chooses to go with, a couple of the starter possibilities may take bullpen roles.

Catchers and Infielders

Locks: C Ravinder Potla (London), C Akrura Puli (Scottish - AAA), 1B Ahvana Subbarayudu (Mumbai), 3B Arjun Bhoola (Scottish), 2B Beni Mokate (Rome)

Subbarayudu is the worldwide superstar slugger while Bhoola is a star in his own right. Mokate seems assured of a spot due largely to his ability to play shortstop if necessary.

Possibilities: C Amitdhvaja Sruti (Scottish), 1B Ghanaram Tuhin (London), 2B Atisi Rasiah (Black Forest), 3B Aticanda Subramanya (Black Forest), Bahadur Garlanka (Scottish - AAA)

Sruti is hoping a third catcher is on the roster while Tuhin will likely be a bat off the bench. Subramanya and Garlanka are included as defensive replacement options, each being a wizard in the field.

Outfielders

Locks: RF Dhritiman Sangha (Black Forest)

Sangha, while not the most talented Indian outfielder, has been the most productive and has the fewest question marks. Behind him are several players who offer tantalizing potential but are dealing with one issue or another.

Possibilities: LF Rajminder Omarjeet (Paris), RF Vasantha Yudhajit (Karachi), CF Indradu Minakshi (Black Forest), LF Vasantha Saswata (Seoul), RF Bhuvanacandra Dwijen (Brisbane - AAA)

Omarjeet's production has simply never matched scouts' expectations, Yudhajit offers great defense in right field but struggles at the plate, Minakshi is currently struggling with post-concussion syndrome and is expected to miss the entire season, Saswata struggles making contact at the plate, and Dwijen's power that is always on display in batting practice and simulated games has not yet transitioned to real game situations. There is a lot of talent here and the ultimate roster selections will be interesting to watch.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #42 on:** April 05, 2017, 09:22:08 AM »

So after all that work (ha, didn't actually take too long) on uniforms it turns out that tournament teams don't have uniforms in OOTP18, at least not yet. Oh well, other than that tournaments are working perfectly so this is definitely a go in January 2108.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #43 on:** April 20, 2017, 09:16:53 AM »

Is there anybody in the league who can design a logo for the WBA Cup?

APMP · « **Reply #44 on:** April 23, 2017, 07:56:32 AM »

I'm not much of a graphic artist, so I say we repurpose one of these:

Huckleberry · « **Reply #45 on:** April 23, 2017, 03:03:50 PM »

I like the U-18 one.

APMP · « **Reply #46 on:** April 23, 2017, 06:17:58 PM »

Quote from: Huckleberry on April 23, 2017, 03:03:50 PM

I like the U-18 one.

Yeah the U18 and U23 ones are my favorites because they resemble cup trophies.

APMP · « **Reply #47 on:** April 23, 2017, 06:19:16 PM »

Though I'm sure Brisbane would really love the U15 one if the tournament was ever hosted in Sydney...

Bob_Meteors · « **Reply #48 on:** April 24, 2017, 05:29:09 AM »

Lol totally! But actually I like the U23 one and the U18.

Huckleberry · « **Reply #49 on:** April 24, 2017, 06:04:41 PM »

By the way, see this thread:

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/showthread.php?t=277550

If they don't get this corrected soon then there's unfortunately a possibility that the only way y'all will be able to follow the first WBA Cup is via screenshots.

Here's a look at the tournament logo in-game:

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Author Topic: The 2108 WBA Cup (Read 12040 times)

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