How to win 93 games

DMZ has been running some 2008 season simulations on the computer for the Mariners. He got a 93-win season in one of those sims. In case you are interested, here is how he did it. In short, he didn't know pity, or fear, or remorse and he absolutely did not stop until the M's won. An excerpt:

Essentially, if you imagine a manager who’s memorized Earl Weaver on Strategy, operating without any kind of conscience or restraint, given control of a team with no consequences, that was the season.

SP: Standard rotation. I skipped #5 Batista every chance I could unless there was a chance for some funny business. Then I’d use him in relief, because I was a jerk.

RP: Putz/Morrow/O’Flaherty/Green/RRS/Baek. I was super-aggressive about farming guys out if they were tired: if I had to burn Baek for 60 pitches picking up after a Silva disaster, he went to Tacoma and someone else came up. In real life, of course, there’s no way teams do this just so they can get away with carrying 11. I threw bench players out there in blowouts if they were far enough ahead or behind. I had no conscience at all.

And I entirely disregarded roles. I pitched Putz in the sixth to get out of rallies. Three runs up in the ninth, anyone who hadn’t pitched in a while came in and hucked the ball across the plate until it got close.