We invite you to join the Schmidt Family.  After all, a man who doesn't join Schmidt isn't really a man at all...



Schmidt is a world of tradition; a world of quality.  
We believe in America.  We believe in opportunity.  We believe in simulated baseball.  

And we will make you an offer this day.  We are not so heavy-handed or clichéd as to say 'an offer you can't refuse,' but we counsel you that it is in your best interest to accept.  

**Our organization offers a straightforward incentive:  the TWO new franchise GMs with most-improved record over last season each receive gift certificates to fully cover the subsequent season in Schmidt.**

Schmidt rarely has so many opportunities for entrance and advancement in the organization, but we currently field SEVEN open franchises that need quality leadership.  R-E-S-P-E-C-T, vision, ambition, good humor, sobriety (optional), wisdom, love and stick-to-itiveness.  


AVAILABLE FRANCHISES

1.  AL South (formerly the Florida Jaguarundi)  (claim pending)



"Leave the gun; take the cannoli."  

Like Clemenza, a quality franchise with a long tradition of prosperity and success…  and playing second fiddle, caporegime to bigger fish in the Family superstructure.  Initially groomed by the legendary GM opie5, this franchise has made the playoffs 8 of the last 9 seasons and been unceremoniously bounced by the Montreal juggernaut.  The juggernaut, however, is showing cracks, and it's time for this loyal caporegime to 
challenge the established order in the AL.  

It's not personal.  It's business.  

There are significant resources to aid your power grab.  2B Neifi Cairo is about as studly as they come.  SP Dennis Dillon is your classic finesse ace.  And there's still young and cost-controlled players on the roster, too.  


2.  NL East (formerly New Britain Monarchs)  (reserved)



"I'm smaaaart!  I can handle things."  

And how did that work out for you, Fredo?  (Very nice butterfly collar, sir.)  This franchise was a rising star in the organization, until previous owner Jtpsops got careless (got a little too caught up in the extracurriculars Vegas has to offer?) and missed the chance to avoid arbitration on 2 franchise players, who got seriously peeved and are now free agents.  

Jtpsops, for his part, got equally peeved and sulked away from a still very good franchise that now has a total bounty of awesome departing Type A free agents yielding draft compensation.  It's a cornucopia of draft compensation, to say nothing of the talent that remains on the roster.  
Coming back you've got rising star SP Eddie Crisp, a young CF who's over-the-top gold glove-worthy and no slouch at the plate, Doug Rodgers, and a selection of carefully selected veterans at reasonable prices, like one of the best leadoff hitter in Schmidt history, Rudy Kimbrel.  And there's young muscle, like young SS Yadier Bennett.

Plus draft pick #12, and a collection of compensation picks coming from several Type A F.A.s, and you're looking at a chance to put your stamp on the future of this franchise right away.  

Don't break our hearts, Fredo.  Get it together.  Don't ever take sides against the Family again.  We still love you.  And we definitely love the butterfly collar and suit!  Lovely.  


3. NL South (formerly Little Rock Climbers)  (claimed)



"I have much respect for your father.  But your father, his thinking is old-fashioned...  Now let's work through where we go from here."

Uh-huh.  This "respectful" SOB has been lurking and preparing for a power grab for some time.  How much talent do you think you can accumulate over 11 straight losing seasons under GMs who knew what they were doing?  Yeah, there's talent, and last season it broke through with a playoff appearance.  And there's more coming after that.  

It's still a young team, with good fixtures in the lineup and quality pitching.  Observe: ace Troy Wade, MVP-in-waiting Ramon Hyun, spark plug RF Julian Mateo, rising SS/3B Brent Miceli, and much more...

There are no bad contracts and lots of promise.  Are you cutthroat enough to topple the established order in the NL South?  It's getting complacent and needs a good toppling… 


4. NL East (formerly Cleveland Diesel Legends)  (claimed)



"You don't buy me out; I buy you out!  Do you know who I am???"

Yeah, we know, Moe.  You're Moe Greene, and you've been losing money.  Six seasons of losing records…  were you skimming off the top?  No, you were biding your time.  Last season this team broke through and hit .500 with solid talent still under franchise control, and more of it coming up the pipe.  

Take a look:  future MVP 3B Rick Barclay (still just a kid!, already 86-rated), bizarrely-talented reliever Esteban Bautista (can you possible convince the Sim to push a reliever toward 200 innings?  Here's your chance to try), staff ace Ricardo Rodrigo (99 groundball rating is a rarity indeed), rising star RF Jason Meyers, and a good crop of prospects coming up, like Victor Riske, Tomas James, David Durazo and (my personal favorite) smallball SS Moose Weatherford.  

Moe's not just posturing.  He's a player, and he knows it.  


5. NL North (formerly Trenton Continentals franchise)  (claimed)



"Thank you for inviting me on the occasion of your [simulated baseball league rollover]!"

Ah, lovable, loyal, brutal Luca.  No doubt, he's an imposing presence.  But it's a thin line between the deadliest guy in the Family and…  (well, see above photo).

Must you sleep with the fishes?  Is this a foregone conclusion?  Of course not.  But let this image remind you of what's at stake here.  Stay motivated.  Stay cautious.  Stay hungry.  

This franchise has the pieces to compete right away and dominate in an historically WEAK division:  perennial MVP-candidate Everth Ramirez, veteran ace Bryant Knotts, a quality cast of consistently above-average players up and down the lineup, and rising stars on the farm, like Wilt Brocail and Stefen Brito.


6. NL North (formerly Ottawa Wolverines)  (claimed)



So, how are the pipes, Johnny?  Are you just one big break away from renewed glory?  

You can act like a man!  "What do I do, Godfather?"  You know what to do!  Take the studs you were gifted and build a more complete team around them.  Nothing bad about this team— no albatross contracts or anything, and virtually no contract obligations— it's just not yet a complete cast of characters.  3B Charlie Jacobsen is pretty sweet (if you ask me) and cost-controlled for another 4 seasons.  Catcher Julio Mercado is a bit of a freak in the best way.  And Max Burnett could play CF or be an oddly adequate SS and bat a mean leadoff.  

Did I mention you're also looking at the #3 pick in the upcoming draft?  Aw yeah…  

Like Johnny, there's good material here to launch a strong rebuild.  We'll scrape the polyps off your vocal chords, and drop a severed horse head wherever you need it dropped.  


7.  NL West (formerly Seattle Thunderbird franchise)  (claimed)



"That's my family, Kate.  That's not me."  

Oh, please.  That's TOTALLY you.  You're as cold and calculating and brutally efficient as any mobster in history or imagination.  Sure, you've taken a few lumps recently (see above photo), but we know you well enough to know this is just a plot device leading to something big.  

This franchise won SIXTEEN straight division titles under Schmidt legend aaron_clarke.  Last season kelly_mccann's SF franchise finally got on top of this juggernaut.  However, SF did it with a collection of rent-an-aces that have since walked.  Smart money says the former Seattle franchise is the favorite again.  Right?  I guess that depends on you, Gentle Reader, and how you would guide this proud regime.  Cushiest position the Family has to offer, but that comes with high expectations.  

I'm not even going to start walking you all through the roster pieces here.  Just take a look at the rotation of Cy Young-worthy SPs, or the dominant lineup fixtures that all look like they should get all-star honors on a regular or semi-regular basis.  Yeah, it's an expensive roster, but you get what you pay for.  

And don't even get us started about the farm.  This team has serious staying power.  Oy.

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A little bit about Schmidt:

We are a league of mostly experienced owners who will joke and have fun.  We keep drama to a minimum.  Most owners have won at least one World Series in Hardball, and we routinely swap strategies and compare notes.  

New or inexperienced GMs are quite welcome.  We have a history of offering lots of advice and support to newcomers to help learn the game quickly.  We recommend, however, that inexperienced owners refrain from trades during their first season as they learn the game and how to evaluate talent.  Talk to your neighbors and you'll learn many smart strategies for team building and finding talent that don't pit you head-to-head with more experienced GMs in trade negotiations.  Heck, ask the commish about ways to target free agents and stockpile draft compensation picks; mobilize your cash efficiently and you can have 6 or 7 first round draft picks most every season.  

Schmidt has a minimum win requirement (MWR) to discourage blatant tanking.  In simulated baseball, every franchise is given equal financial resources and there's no excuse for fielding a ML team that is intentionally uncompetitive— that just ruins the fun for your fellow members.  The bar is set at 50 wins in any single season and 120 wins over two seasons, which is totally manageable even for GMs focused on rebuilding.  Putting this in perspective, even the Chicago Cubs of recent memory clear the bar easily.  Your first season in Schmidt cannot count against the MWR, so even if you take over a team that needs some adjustments, or needs to be patient exiting a couple expensive contracts, you shouldn't be penalized for that.  

Bump this. Great world, no drama. 

Don't I remember you from my Gridiron Dynasty days?  Warner World?

Yes  indeed.

good humor, good competition, low drama

great world

Happy holidays from Schmidt!

Bump