Better Know An Owner: Joseph Lucey

I am Joseph Lucey also known as jjirish70 the owner of The Pitch Factory. I'm 38 and live in Norfolk, Va. I am an original owner in the Wailing Onion and am proud to say I am in the best world at WIS.

First, I still consider myself a beginner and, to the owners that run more than one team, kudos. I barely find the time to manage the one I have.

I am engaged, and we have been together for 7 years. She makes me watch the scene from Step Brothers over and over. For the life of her, she can not understand why I do this "fake game". To her, I say "Go buy another pair of shoes." I have an 8 year old...he's interested but he asks a thousand questions a minute and I do not think he can imagine being interested in a game with no graphics or a controller. To him I say, "Read a book." Now the youngest, less than 2...he could care less what I'm doing as long as I read out loud. To him I say, "Find your older brother. I just told him to read a book." (Just kidding)

I am a sports junkie. I'm not as bad as I use to be. I can't stay awake until the end of a Monday night game now (Editor's Note: Pretty weak.). I am a Fighting Irish fan (Editor's Note: Again, pretty weak.), born Irish Catholic and all I know is to root for the Irish. I thought the Gerry Faust years were bad and ever since Holtz left, my Saturdays have been tough. On Sundays, I'm a San Diego Chargers fan, In the Spring, I root for the Seattle Mariners because by the time summer and fall roll around they are no longer in the picture (much like my Pitch Factory). And the sport I love to watch is hockey. Playoff hockey is by far the best. I have no explanation for me being a Maple Leafs fan since 95.

I was born in Yuma, Az. father was in the Army I served in the Navy got out in 94' was in the golf business for 9 years and have been in the car business for 6.

The goal for Burlington this year is the playoffs. I might even have a chance if I do not let the AI run the team for the second half, eh?

Better Know an Owner: Meet Your Leader

Editor's Note: This is the latest edition in our newest blog series. My plan is to feature the longest tenured owners and work my way to the noobs. Today, we meet mark3313, who looks nothing like what I was expecting. He seems to have aged REALLY well for a 38 year old. I'm just wondering who the creepy guy in the background is.

Well, I've procrastinated long enough and should probably introduce myself to those who don't already know me. I'm Mark Roberts, owner of the San Francisco Oogle Birds; if you can't find my team, locate Ralph's Portland team, during the season, and look below it. As commissioner of this league, I should have booted Ralph to the AL long ago :)

Anyway, I am a 38 year old baseball fanatic -- go Giants. I've been married to the most beautiful woman for six years and we have three amazing children (ages 4, 3 and almost 2); proof positive that someone, somewhere, may not like the Giants, but they like Giants' fans. I grew up in the Bay Area and, after stops in Colorado, Texas and LALA land -- aka dodger country -- have come home to raise my family.

My favorite player growing up was Eddie Murray. I remember watching This Week in Baseball when I was 6, the age I really fell for baseball, and seeing this story on Murray, who was a rookie. He had a cartoon bird logo on his helmet and was hitting home runs from both sides of the plate; what was not to like?

On a final note, at the risk of sounding sentimental or "sappy", I'm really proud of this league. Wailing Onions has been nothing but fun (ok, sometimes frustrating) and that's due to the incredible group of owners we've had here. I feel very fortunate to be a part of this league.

POST-SCRIPT: In case anyone was wondering, Oogle Birds refers to an episode of the Rocky and Bullwinkle show. The rare bird lays golden eggs which predict the future.

Better Know an Owner: madmauldoon

Editor's Note: This is the latest edition in our newest blog series. My plan is to feature the longest tenured owners and work my way to the noobs. Here we meet madmuldoon. He's just what some of us were expecting...

Hello fellow Onions....my name is Patrick Maher and i am 47 going on 20. I was born a poor black child (oops...that was from a movie, lets try again)...I was born in Couer d'Alene, Idaho and at the age of 6, moved to Anchorage, Alaska. On the outskirts of Anchorage, there is a suburb called Muldoon. Thats were I lived and thats were i got my nickname that has follwed me everywhere.

I spent most of my formative years in Alaska and summers in Stevensville, MT with my grandparents. When I got tired of the isolation, I (started chasing skirts, ha!) moved to the thriving metropolis of Missoula, MT. Here, I latched on to a traveling Oil Exploration Crew (called Doodlebuggers). When the oil biz went bust, I decided to go to college, graduating with a degree in geophysics. I went to work on the drilling rigs of Exxon and retired in 2005. Now I live in San Antonio, TX, and occasionaly help my little brother in his resturants. I am mostly going fishing or chasing women (They seem to run faster than i remember).

I was married once for about eight months .Then I sobered up and got divorced (it was her idea for me to quit drinking, so ladies be careful what you ask for). I have a grown son from a wild week in Utah and he is my greatest accomplishment. He is happily married to a wonderful young lady, and they have a son. I love being a grandpappy. The three of us go fishing all the time and isn't that what life is all about?

It was my son's idea to buy me this newfangeled contraption called a "computer." I never would have imagine (nor would my family) that i would find something i enjoy so much sitting at a desk. I was always happy outdoors, laying in a hammock, reading books by Louis Lamour, Stephen King , J.R.R. Tolkein, Mark Twain and Robert W. Service. Or building model rockets in my workshop and getting together with my rocket club, and partying and blasting our latest creations in to the air.

I love baseball always have since little league and HBD is incredible .This is not an easy game and that is another reason i love it. I enjoy this game and the people in it. But what I love most is writing articles in the Wrigleyville Blog (Mark3313's other league). I get to be a humorist like Twain or Hank Williams or Robert W Service but not nearly as good. So lift up my glass in a toast to all who battle and toil in this "Game Of Our". *sniff sniff*

Better Know An Owner: Rich Hill

Better Know An Owner is our ongoing series featuring owners in the league. Today, Rich Hill.

Hi, I’m purplehaze54, or better known in other circles as Rich Hill. I was born and raised in Kentucky until my junior year of high school when we moved to Southern Indiana. I got my start in “fantasy baseball” at the early age of 13 where a friend of mine had ownership of a coveted “Strat-O-Matic Baseball” game. A simple roll of the dice for each batter would give you your results; and many times, you had to check one of the 100 charts to see if an error, steal, double play, etc. had occurred. And you had a card for each player on the team…I was in heaven -- Johnny Bench, George Foster, Lou Brock!

Moving forward, I served in the U.S. Navy for 4 years (got to see a lot of places & things I’ll never see again) from 1972 – 1976. After leaving the Navy, I was hired by ALCOA, which at the time was Aluminum Company of America and have been here for 33 years. For the past 40 years, I’ve been involved, in some way, with music. I’ve recorded in Nashville (as you can tell, nothing came of that) when I was in the service and also been a member of many bands, performing locally in southern Indiana. I think that I’m in the final stages of my music “career” – it’s hard to find a bar that wants you to play from 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. – if you’re my age, you’ll understand (10 p.m. is my bedtime EDITOR’S NOTE: 9:30 is my bedtime and I’m 32 -- JP). I’ve been married to the same lucky woman for 36 years and we have been blessed with two beautiful daughters, ages 30 and 28. And those 2 beautiful daughters are engaged to be married next year……for those of you who don’t know, it is traditionally the bride’s parents who pay for the wedding! So, I will accept donations!

Finally, I am an extremely proud papaw to my 5 year old grandson. Thank God it’s my job to spoil him and not discipline him…I don’t have the energy anymore.

See ya’ll out on the field!

Better Know An Owner: Part 3

Let's welcome the owner of the...New Orleans Missouri?

aaronwayne
Let's give him a warm welcome, as he just completed his first HBD season in the BIG LEAGUE, going a respectable 76-86 for a first-time owner. He does have a ridiculous record in SimLeague games -- 31795-31526. Yeah, he's played 63,000 SimLeague contest, winning 10 championships. Fun fact: aaron has been a WIS'er since 2001.

Better Know An Owner: The Noobs Part II

When we were looking for owners, I reached out kpmclave. I got Kevin to sign on and he recommended a WIS friend of his from another world. That WIS friend is...

AndyT13
Augusta Waves

Andy comes to the Wailing Onion with 14 HBD seasons under his belt. He has two current teams, including the Waves and both are in their first seasons. Andy is 1184-1084 all-time, with six playoff appearances and four division titles. No fun fact about him since, well, I don't know him and his owner card is pretty normal. Allegedly, Andy is a native Central New Yorker, like myself and kpmclave. We don't have a stat on this, but I'm willing to bet that Syracuse leads the league in owner hometowns.

Better Know an Owner: Me

My intention is to keep the blog updated all season long. One of the ways I want to do this is with some new content. Many of us (well over half) have been here since day one, yet we only know each other by our aliases and team names. So, I offer myself up in the first profile in our new series, Better Know an Owner.

If you haven't figured it out already, my name is Jared Paventi. I'm 32 years old, married and I live in my hometown of Syracuse, NY. That's me, off to the right, at a friend's wedding. Thanks to many of those green bottles of Yuengling, I don't remember much about that evening.

I have mentioned all of my jobs in the past as reason for the blog getting neglected. Let me explain. I'm the director of communications and information technology for the Alzheimer's Association, Central New York Chapter, which is my primary job. I'm also an adjunct professor at Bryant & Stratton College's Syracuse campus, where I teach graphic design. And, just because I like to keep things interesting, I'm a contract writer for Demand Media. I'm a graduate of St. Bonaventure University, a small Catholic college in Upstate New York that is best known for producing NBA hall of famer Bob Lanier and for a NCAA basketball scandal in 2003 or 2004. I have a master's from Syracuse University.

When I'm not working or tinkering with my HBD squad, I read, cook, drink overpriced beer and watch a lot of college basketball. I had the opportunity to have a career in sports communications. I worked extensively at both colleges in their athletic departments, with Syracuse University paying for my master's. In the end, I chose to have a stable relationship where I didn't have to move every few years for a new job. And, I have most of my weekends off. So, no regrets there.

I started out by playing Hoops and Grid dynasty. I tried one season of Hardball and walked away. I wanted to get back in and was inline to be part of a first-time owners league. The league's plans fell apart and mark was there to pick us all up with the WO. I had a team Wrigleyville, another mark creation, but gave it up due to time.

If you are on Facebook or Twitter, go ahead and friend me.

Better Know an Owner: The Noobs P.1

A new season brings new faces. In the first installment of our new series, Better Know an Owner, we'll spotlight our new owners who have joined the Wailing Onion.

In the American League

Little Rock Outlaws
sandshark21
A welcome to the world of Hardball Dynasty to the shark. This is his first entry to the game.

Memphis Where My Pitches At?
andersaa
anders takes Tampa Bay and moves to my old digs in Memphis. Enjoy that zero rated park! Anyhow, anders is a member of seven worlds, with five seasons under his belt. He has one division title and two playoff appearances. anders led teams are 414-396. Fun fact...anders is also the owner of the Seattle Beer Farts.

Norfolk Subs
caseroc
caseroc moves the New Britain franchise to warmer climates. He has two seasons and one playoff appearance to his record. His owner record is 170-154. Fun fact...caseroc is the owner of the Indy 500s.

In the National League

Jacksonville Panhandlers
kpmclave
Austin moves to Northeast Florida for season eight under kpmclave's management. The most experienced owner of the new class at 2944-2564, mclave has played 34 seasons of HBD, with 19 playoff appearances. In the post-season, he has 15 division titles and three World Series titles. He's a member of five different worlds. Fun fact...kpmclave is a Bruce Springsteen fan but seemingly hates everything released after The Rising album. It's a sore spot with him.