Colorado Rockies 6, Cincinnati Reds 3 in Strat-O-Matic 2020 season simulation game 37

05/07/2020

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Reds	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	9	1
Rockies	0	0	3	2	1	0	0	0	X	6	15	0

Lack of offensive punch continued to plague the Cincinnati Reds (16-21), who fell to the Colorado Rockies (15-21) by a 6-3 score at Coors Field.

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 sim Reds scored first in the top of the third on a single by Kyle Farmer, a successful sacrifice bunt by losing pitcher Anthony DeSclafani, and a run-scoring hit by Shogo Akiyama. But the Rockies unloaded on “Disco” in the bottom of the inning with three consecutive doubles and an RBI single by David Dahl to take a 3-1 lead. Colorado extended the lead to 6-1 before the Reds next crossed the plate.

In the top of the sixth, the first three Reds sim batters singled, and Nick Castellanos followed with a sacrifice fly to pull the Reds within three. But Freddy Galvis grounded into a double play to end the inning and the scoring for Cincinnati.

Matt Bowman, recalled from the minors recently by Redleg Nation readers, pitched his third consecutive scoreless relief outing since joining the sim Reds.

The Reds and Brewers were the only NL Central teams in action today, and both lost. The Reds are now 6.5 games behind first-place Chicago, and only one-half game ahead of last-place Pittsburgh.

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

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

C-Pinch Hit For Davis In 8th Inning

Standings following the May 7 games:

NL Central	WON	LOST	PCT	GB
Cubs	23	15	.605	0.0
Cardinals	20	18	.526	3.0
Brewers	17	21	.447	6.0
Reds	16	21	.432	6.5
Pirates	15	21	.417	7.0

The 2020 schedule as currently constituted has the Reds playing game 2 of the four-game series at Coors Field Friday against the Colorado Rockies. Wade Miley will pitch for the sim Reds, while right-hander Antonio Senzatela pitches for Colorado.

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.

All players’ batting stats

All players’ pitching stats

Batting and pitching player stats by team

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
BK	4	3	.571
Redsfan4life	2	2	.500
Doug Gray	1	1	.500
James Owens	1	1	.500
RedsEuphoria	1	1	.500
Tomn	1	1	.500
AirborneJayJay	0	1	.000
Don	0	1	.000
Jeff	0	1	.000
Mark Moore	0	1	.000
Tom Mitsoff	0	1	.000
VaRedsFan	0	1	.000
Melvin	0	2	.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.

NL Teams stand to lose out with a DH in 2020

Craig Edwards of Fangraphs looked at how having a DH for 2020 tends to harm National League teams. The Cincinnati Reds, however, weren’t one of those teams. As we’ve discussed before, the Reds seem to be a team that would benefit the most from the situation. Edwards used Jesse Winker as the Reds DH in the model and article, and with that option, it makes the Reds the second most beneficial team in the National League.

MLB teams expected to try and cut player payroll

Buster Olney had a tweet this afternoon noting that at least one MLB ownership group, which was unnamed, has instructed the front office to cut payroll for 2021. This isn’t entirely surprising given that revenues will be down for all teams in 2020, and probably 2021, too. We may take a bit of a deeper dive into this one in the near future.

At least one MLB ownership group has instructed its front office to cut its payroll in 2021. A lot of club execs expect others to follow. The youngest players (who are paid little, per CBA agreement) and the players with existing long-term deals won't necessarily be affected.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) May 7, 2020

MLB to send a formal plan to the MLBPA to get the season started

Earlier today we discussed that Major League Baseball seems set to send formal plans to the Major League Baseball Players Association within the next week about a plan to try and get baseball started back up again. There are a lot of things that still need to happen before that plan could be finalized, and some unknowns that could potentially derail it, too. But MLB is moving forward with what they know and can control and will see what the Players Association has to say about it soon enough.