 |
| ||||||
Q: Who is blownranger?
BR: Dave G. 50 years old. Sr. Systems Analyst for regional healthcare provider in Austin, TX. Graduated from Univ of Kansas in '80.
Q: How did you learn about whatifsports.com?
BR: From a friend.
Q: Which games of ours have you played?
BR: Used to play Hoops Dynasty with mixed results. Just HBD now, and just this one team. It boggles my mind that folks can juggle so many franchises.
Q: Besides sports, what are some of your other interests and hobbies?
BR: Poker, Military History
Q: Which five people, past or present sit at your dream roundtable discussion?
BR: Chester Nimitz, Phog Allen, John Cusack, Winston Churchill, Bob Uecker.
Q: Who are your favorite players of all-time?
BR: Doug Rader, Jeff Bagwell, Frank White
Q: Which are your favorite teams of all-time?
BR: '80 Astros
Q: Did you play baseball or basketball (or other sports) growing up?
BR: Played Little League baseball, football, basketball, and soccer. Pared it down to soccer and running track in high school.
Q: What is the top sports-related thing you want to do in life that you have not yet done?
BR: Either attend an EPL soccer game, or see the Astros win the World Series.
Q: What would you consider your greatest WIS moment?
BR: Winning the Season 3 World Series after being down 3-0.
Q: In Hardball Dynasty, how do allocate your budget?
BR: I've punted International scouting because the bidding wars are insane; therefore my prospect budget is also low. Always heavy in Advanced Scouting and Training. Pretty strong in Medical and Coaching. HS/College scouting fluctuates depending on my current player payroll needs.
Q: How do you approach off-season events with players such as arbitration and free agency?
BR: I tend to offer arbitration players what they're asking since there's some thought that it makes them happier and more likely to stick around as FAs. As for Free Agency, I'm not a big player, although I have signed some decent starting pitchers. If I think a guy is truly a keeper, I tend to offer a long-term deal earlier than I have to, figuring I'll come out ahead in the long run.
Q: What is your general strategy for hiring/re-hiring coaches?
BR: My coaching budget has always been in the "upper middle class" range, and the key ratings of my coaches usually reflect that - slightly above the World median. I care about some staff positions more than others.
Q: How do you finalize rosters at each level? What role does spring training play in your decision making?
BR: I think teams in real baseball that put any stock in Spring Training stats are making a huge mistake, and I carry that same philosophy into HBD. ST has never affected a single roster decision. As for the minors, I'm more concerned that my key prospects are progressing at the pace I want than I am in whether I'm fielding a competitive team at each level.
Q: What is your basic strategy for setting your starting lineups and pitching rotation?
BR: I've stuck w/a five-man rotation at the big league level, and 5 or 6-man in the minors. I don't mess much with the minor league batting orders, but I'm very hands-on during every cycle in trying not to throw any pitchers who aren't 100%. I'm not adverse to a platoon situation if the L/R ratings call for it.
Q: What do you believe are the most important individual player ratings for performance?
BR: For pitchers, I look for good L/R numbers and the lack of any terrible pitches. I'll take three pitches in the 60's and no bad ptiches over two kick-ass pitches and a bad pitch. I would just as soon my pitchers have good control, but I've never considered it THE key rating like so many others do. It's tougher to put a finger on what I look for in hitters. I've seen guys succeed with good contact/eye ratings and lousy L/R numbers, but I've also seen the reverse. If you're a hitter with decent numbers across the board and a good glove, I'll employ you.
Q: How do you approach in-season player events like the draft, international prospects, waivers and promotions/demotions?
BR: If I get one legitimate prospect in the draft, I'm happy. Two prospects makes me esctatic. I will prioritize a few dozen players, but that's about it. I no longer do much with international players. I used to find a decent player on waivers every now and then, but not so much any more. I try to be patient with my key prospects, and stick pretty much to a level-per-season approach.
Q: Do you think your strategy will be conducive to building a multi-season dynasty? Or, do you feel that your team may be great for a couple seasons, but then must rebuild?
BR: I wouldn't call it a dynasty, but my approach has yielded consistent results so far. I think that's going to be tougher as everyone learns the nuances of HBD.
Q: Do you have any favorite players from any of your HBD teams?
BR: It wasn't hard to recognize Danny Lincoln as my franchise's future when I opened the package prior to Season 1, and he certainly has not disappointed. Juan Fernandez and Max Izquierdo are also favorites.
Q: How much time do you spend on your Hardball Dynasty teams? How much do you think is necessary to be competitive?
BR: I'm very hands-on at every cycle. Even with just one franchise, I probably average 30 minutes per cycle, so 90 minutes a day, and every now and then I'll take stock of the organization's Big Picture and spend 2 or 3 hours making sure everything's in order. I don't know if it's necessary, but it's what I do.
Q: Who are the users you respect the most?
BR: I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge kbrick and the outstanding job he does as Commish. If I started listing the others, I'd undoubtedly forget someone, so just suffice to say that I'm really glad I've been in the Evangeline World since its inception. The World is stable, competitive, and manned with owners who care about fielding a good product.
Q: What is your favorite aspect of HBD?
BR: I hate to cop out, but I would really have to point to the entire package. The ability to take a shot at running your own baseball organization in a framework that is a helluva lot more realistic than I would have thought possible is pretty damn thrilling.
Q: What is your least favorite aspect of Hardball Dynasty? As it is still a relatively new game, if you could change three things about HBD, what would they be?
BR: The clunky Roster Management screen is without a doubt the worst aspect of HBD. That is definitely my biggest beef with the game. The ability to assign baserunning aggressiveness to individual players would be nice. I'd like to see a good pitching coach occasionally convice a pitcher to drop a bad ptich. (I've heard that this happens, but I've never seen it).
Q: If you were in one of our games, which sport would you play? At which position? And, what would you be rated?
BR: I'd be an HBD bench coach with no patience or discipline.
No comments:
Post a Comment