Photo: Doug Gray

Atlanta Braves 5, Cincinnati Reds 1 in Strat-O-Matic 2020 season simulation game 30

04/29/2020

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Braves	0	2	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	5	13	0
Reds	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	2

Great American Ball Park could not contain four longballs off the bats of the Atlanta Braves (18-15), as the visitors knocked off the home-standing Cincinnati Reds (13-17) by a score of 5-1.

That was the result today as Strat-O-Matic games of Glen Head, N.Y., continued its announced plan to simulate the entire 2020 Major League Baseball season on a day-by-day basis for as long as actual game play is on hold.

Help set the lineup, batting order for the simulated Reds:

Have you ever dreamed of your opportunity to “manage” the Reds? Now is your chance. Learn more below!

The Braves did all of their damage against Sonny Gray, who heretofore had been the most consistent starter for the sim Reds. But today was not his day, as four of the Braves’ five runs came via solo homers. Cincinnati took the early 1-0 lead in the first inning on doubles by Jesse Winker and Nick Castellanos, but they had only three more hits the remaining eight innings. Atlanta pitching retired the final 13 Reds batters in a row.

The sim Reds remain winless in deciding games of three-game series. They split the six-game homestand with three wins and three losses.

Despite the loss, the Reds did not lose any ground in the standings. Pittsburgh was the only team in the NL Central to win today, as they knocked off the Cubs to take two of three from the division leaders.

Here is the sim Reds box score, as provided by Strat-O-Matic:

C-Pinch Hit For O’Day In 8th Inning

A-Pinch Hit For Gray In 5th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Sims In 7th Inning

Standings following the April 29 games:

NL Central	WON	LOST	PCT	GB
Cubs	20	11	.645	0
Cardinals	16	15	.516	4
Brewers	13	17	.433	6.5
Reds	13	17	.433	6.5
Pirates	12	19	.387	8

The 2020 schedule as currently constituted has the Reds off Thursday, then hitting the road Friday for the first of a three-game series in the nation’s capital against the Washington Nationals. Trevor Bauer will pitch for the sim Reds, while righthander Stephen Strasburg will pitch for the Nationals.

Help set the lineup, batting order for the simulated Reds:

Have you ever dreamed of your opportunity to “manage” the Reds? Now is your chance.

Strat-O-Matic has agreed to allow Redleg Nation to submit the Cincinnati Reds’ lineups for each day’s simulated game. We want all of our readers who want to participate to get involved.

Here is how it will work:

In each wrap up of that day’s simulated game, Redleg Nation will post the opposing starting pitcher for the next game. You will know who the pitcher is and whether he is left-handed or right-handed, and you can use that information in creating a lineup for the next game, and submitting it in the comments below. “Splits” such as performance vs. left-handers or right-handers are replicated in the Strat-O-Matic game algorithm, and therefore should be considered.
We will accept lineups from every reader who wants to submit one. The lineup that will be submitted to Strat-O-Matic each day will be the one that receives the most positive replies (in effect, “yes” votes) from readers other than the submitter. In case of ties:
- First tiebreaker: Lineup submitted by the reader who has had the fewest number of opportunities as a “manager.”
- Second tiebreaker: Lineup submitted earliest in the comment thread. (So get your lineup in “early” each day.)
What is “early?” Redleg Nation posts these articles daily between 5 and 6 p.m. Eastern time. Strat-O-Matic’s deadline for us to submit a lineup for the next day’s game is midnight. On most days, we’ll do this before “bedtime,” which is typically between 10:30 and 11 Eastern time.

Have fun with this! If you have any questions, please post them in the comment string below. Here are the “managerial records” of our Redleg Nation participants to date:

Commenter/ “Manager”	WON	LOST	PCT
Gonzo Reds	2	1	.667
Peter Onte	2	1	.667
Redsfan4life	2	2	.500
BK	1	1	.500
Doug Gray	1	1	.500
James Owens	1	1	.500
RedsEuphoria	1	1	.500
Tomn	1	1	.500
AirborneJayJay	0	1	.000
Mark Moore	0	1	.000
Jeff	0	1	.000
Melvin	0	1	.000
VaRedsFan	0	1	.000
Tom Mitsoff	0	1	.000

About Strat-O-Matic

Strat-O-Matic has been in the sports simulation business since the 1960s. A USA Today article contained this explanation:

Strat-O-Matic and other baseball simulations use statistics from the previous season to create “cards” for each player on a roster. The team managers select the batting order and the starting pitcher. From there, a series of dice rolls and calculations determines the outcome of each at-bat.

Strat-O, as it’s known to longtime players, first gained its immense popularity as a board game. The company has since expanded to a downloadable Windows version and one that’s played online. A few years ago, it introduced Baseball Daily – a new iteration that combined the player cards from the previous season with statistics from the real season being played at the same time.

Unlike many video games, the Strat-O-Matic results are based on algorithms that account for players’ performance based on statistics that their statistical experts project for each player in the 2020 season. It’s not a game played with a joystick that relies more on the skill of the person with the video game controller in his or her hand.

The simulation software will keep comprehensive statistics for all teams for the season, so we’ll be able to track year-to-date leaders in many statistical categories. Our current plan is to provide statistical leader summaries here at Redleg Nation each Sunday. You can follow the season at Strat-O-Matic.com, where they plan to post the results from each day’s schedule at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

News/Notes from around baseball

One of the things we would have during the season in the game threads was a section comprised of news and notes for the day. While there’s a lot less going on these days in the baseball world than usual for this time of year, there still are some things that are worth highlighting. When there are, we’ll be adding them to these daily simulation threads.

The Cincinnati Reds 1990 World Series re-airs tonight

Fox Sports Ohio will be re-airing the 1990 World Series beginning tonight. At 7pm ET tonight, and every night over the next four at the same start time, Fox Sports Ohio will be replaying the 1990 World Series that saw the Cincinnati Reds decimate the Oakland Athletics and sweep them to bring home the last World Series victory that the team has to their name.

The 1990 World Series re-airs over the next four nights on FOX Sports Ohio! Join us as we relive the Reds' wire-to-wire title!

? Tonight, 7 p.m. ET: Game 1
? Thursday, 7 p.m. ET: Game 2
? Friday, 7 p.m. ET: Game 3
? Saturday, 7 p.m. ET: Game 4#RedsReplay | @FOXSportsCincy pic.twitter.com/0PxXJ7jKdT

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 29, 2020

Manny Ramirez wants to return

There may not be a job awaiting a 47-year-old Manny Ramirez in Major League Baseball, but he isn’t eying a return to the Majors. No, instead he is eying a return to Taiwan where he played in 2013 when he was 41. That season he played in 49 games and hit .352/.422/.555. The last time Ramirez played professionally was when he played in the Dominican Winter League in 2014, hitting .313/.409/.510 when he was 42-years-old and playing for Aguilas. I don’t want to speak for anyone else, but I want to see this happen.

Manny Ramirez told the Taiwan Times he seeks to play this year in the Taiwan League. Played there in 2013 after “retiring” in 2011. Misses being in the batters box. Turns 48 next month.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 29, 2020