2007: A Contender Emerges
Posted 06-23-2013 at 01:31 PM by IndiansGuy57
Part 2: Winning the Division
As the 2007 season began, the Cleveland Indians were in fairly good shape. LF Matt Murton, a waiver-wire pickup, appeared to be a better player than the incumbent, aging OF David Delluci, and other upgrades like 3B Van Pope seemed poised to contribute.
A few days into the season, Rookie League CL Jessie Cochran, signed as a minor league free-agent in January, took a quick step forward, with his ratings improving to 9/4/11 and his upside increasing to 9/14/17. Not bad for an 18 year old.
Three weeks into the season, I made two more big trades, shoring up weaknesses in my lineup and bullpen by sending a host of major- and minor league players to obtain 1B/3B Kevin Youkilis, RP Okijima and 1B Kendry Morales. Most of the minor-league throw-ins I obtained became useless, with one notable exception: 17-year old RF Angel Castillo. He had a 21/21 rating -- no real upside initially but unusually strong for such a young player. More on his progress in a future posting.
The Indians started hot. With a 17-9 record, they held first place on May 1, with Fan Interest rising from the mid-40s to 51/100. Fan Interest would increase further to 57/100 within two weeks. In the minors, on May 31 AAA SP John Danks pitched a perfect game!
The Indians had a 37-18 record on June 1, and a big trade with Cincinatti netted 3B Edwin Encarnacion, providing some badly-needed power. In June I also continued the process of revamping my personnel, hiring a new team Doctor -- the one I fired has never been rehired by anyone since -- as well as several minor league coaches and managers, and a new Scout, Bill Harris, who became the Head Scout.
With the 13th pick in the June draft, I obtained the SS I prized, 20-year old Daniel Richardson, a rare combination at his position of HR power and excellent fielding ratings, who would ascend the minor leagues quickly. Altogether, six of my 10 picks would prove useful. I also traded for the best-rated SP in the draft, Orlando "Biceps" Silva, whose career course would take some bizarre twists.
As the season progressed the Indians run of success continued, despite injuries to stars like Grady Sizemore. At the All-Star break their record stood at 63-27, 11 ahead of the White Sox. Before the July 31 trade deadline I unloaded the team's remaining expensive, multi-year contract players, including LF Delucci and SP Jake Westbrook, though I had to take on the contracts of several marginal players in their final contract years. The Indians would pay a heavy short-term price for those salary dumps, but the moves would pay off in the longer term. And one talent-for-talent trade in July would bring in a promising outfielder, Andrew McCutcheon.
The rest of the regular season was a pleasure to watch. The Indians were 83-34 by early August, 20 games ahead of the White Sox, and Fan Interest had soared to 77/100. Cleveland clinched the AL Central on September 4, and 3B Encarnacion's ratings jumped to star status (from 66/72 to 74/78). RP David Quinowski, a throw-in from a pre-season trade, had showed why he would eventually become a star, and 3B Van Pope had flashed a good glove and provided steady run production. A solid pitching staff, lead by ace CC Sabathia, helped counter a lineup which, despite strong seasons from CF Grady Sizemore and DH Travis Hafner, had several holes.
The Indians finished 112-50, but the post-season proved disappointing. They edged the Red Sox 3-2 in the first round of the playoffs, but No. 2 SP Fausto Carmona developed Dead-Arm Syndrome, and failing to recognize the need to put the team's starting-rotation ducks in a row, the Indians fell to the Yankees, the eventual World Champs, in the second round in five games.
2007 marked a good start to building a dynasty, but I wasn't satisfied. I demoted Manager Eric Wedge -- a poor handler of young players -- to Bench Coach and replaced him with Rookie League Manager Ramon Benetiz, the Indians manager to this day. Wedge would eventually be dismissed and replaced by another Indians minor-league manager, Pael Maribi, who I had hired in June.
Another busy off-season was set to begin.
Still to come: more deals, contract moves, a first major free-agent signing and a dramatic fall in Fan Interest.
Some notes on gameplay:Pitching
-- I use a 5-man starting rotation and 7 pitchers, including one SP, in the bullpen. This gives the computer manager maximum flexibility to mix and match during a game. RPs with talent but low Endurance ratings are best used as set-up men.
I don't use the SP in the bullpen as a spot starter 20% of the time, as most all computer managers do. And I never use a starter on less than 100% rest. This means sometimes promoting a AAA SP for spot starts if the SP in your bullpen isn't rested.
-- Managing your starting rotation is crucial. Your top starter should be 100% rested on Opening Day and, if you make it to the playoffs, for the first game of the post-season. The rest of the rotation should also be 100% rested on the day they're scheduled to pitch at the start of the regular season and in the playoffs.
BTW, you only need four SPs for the first round of the playoffs -- put your 5th starter in the bullpen for the first round.
-- You need to set pitch counts for each pitcher in your organization. Left to its own, the computer manager will frequently work talented RPs to the point of exhaustion. I set a 112-pitch limit for all major-league SPs, with a 22-27 pitch limit for relievers depending on their Endurance.
In the minors, I limit all Rookie League starters to 80 pitches per start -- this forces the computer to use a variety of pitchers -- with 85-pitch limits for SSA SPs, 90-pitch limits for A and AA, and 95-pitch limits for AAA. Remember to adjust the pitch counts temporarlly if you promote an AAA SP for a spot start.
Also, I use a 6-man rotation for all minor-league teams. This provides one more starter with an opportunity and ensures your minor-league SPs never pitch if they're not 100% rested.
-- The only sure way to protect a tired RP from use is to temporarily stick him in the starting rotation. If you do, the computer won't use him regardless of the situation. If you don't have a free spot in the 6th starter slot, you can remove the SP who pitched the previous day and reinsert him after the RP is rested.
As the 2007 season began, the Cleveland Indians were in fairly good shape. LF Matt Murton, a waiver-wire pickup, appeared to be a better player than the incumbent, aging OF David Delluci, and other upgrades like 3B Van Pope seemed poised to contribute.
A few days into the season, Rookie League CL Jessie Cochran, signed as a minor league free-agent in January, took a quick step forward, with his ratings improving to 9/4/11 and his upside increasing to 9/14/17. Not bad for an 18 year old.
Three weeks into the season, I made two more big trades, shoring up weaknesses in my lineup and bullpen by sending a host of major- and minor league players to obtain 1B/3B Kevin Youkilis, RP Okijima and 1B Kendry Morales. Most of the minor-league throw-ins I obtained became useless, with one notable exception: 17-year old RF Angel Castillo. He had a 21/21 rating -- no real upside initially but unusually strong for such a young player. More on his progress in a future posting.
The Indians started hot. With a 17-9 record, they held first place on May 1, with Fan Interest rising from the mid-40s to 51/100. Fan Interest would increase further to 57/100 within two weeks. In the minors, on May 31 AAA SP John Danks pitched a perfect game!
The Indians had a 37-18 record on June 1, and a big trade with Cincinatti netted 3B Edwin Encarnacion, providing some badly-needed power. In June I also continued the process of revamping my personnel, hiring a new team Doctor -- the one I fired has never been rehired by anyone since -- as well as several minor league coaches and managers, and a new Scout, Bill Harris, who became the Head Scout.
With the 13th pick in the June draft, I obtained the SS I prized, 20-year old Daniel Richardson, a rare combination at his position of HR power and excellent fielding ratings, who would ascend the minor leagues quickly. Altogether, six of my 10 picks would prove useful. I also traded for the best-rated SP in the draft, Orlando "Biceps" Silva, whose career course would take some bizarre twists.
As the season progressed the Indians run of success continued, despite injuries to stars like Grady Sizemore. At the All-Star break their record stood at 63-27, 11 ahead of the White Sox. Before the July 31 trade deadline I unloaded the team's remaining expensive, multi-year contract players, including LF Delucci and SP Jake Westbrook, though I had to take on the contracts of several marginal players in their final contract years. The Indians would pay a heavy short-term price for those salary dumps, but the moves would pay off in the longer term. And one talent-for-talent trade in July would bring in a promising outfielder, Andrew McCutcheon.
The rest of the regular season was a pleasure to watch. The Indians were 83-34 by early August, 20 games ahead of the White Sox, and Fan Interest had soared to 77/100. Cleveland clinched the AL Central on September 4, and 3B Encarnacion's ratings jumped to star status (from 66/72 to 74/78). RP David Quinowski, a throw-in from a pre-season trade, had showed why he would eventually become a star, and 3B Van Pope had flashed a good glove and provided steady run production. A solid pitching staff, lead by ace CC Sabathia, helped counter a lineup which, despite strong seasons from CF Grady Sizemore and DH Travis Hafner, had several holes.
The Indians finished 112-50, but the post-season proved disappointing. They edged the Red Sox 3-2 in the first round of the playoffs, but No. 2 SP Fausto Carmona developed Dead-Arm Syndrome, and failing to recognize the need to put the team's starting-rotation ducks in a row, the Indians fell to the Yankees, the eventual World Champs, in the second round in five games.
2007 marked a good start to building a dynasty, but I wasn't satisfied. I demoted Manager Eric Wedge -- a poor handler of young players -- to Bench Coach and replaced him with Rookie League Manager Ramon Benetiz, the Indians manager to this day. Wedge would eventually be dismissed and replaced by another Indians minor-league manager, Pael Maribi, who I had hired in June.
Another busy off-season was set to begin.
Still to come: more deals, contract moves, a first major free-agent signing and a dramatic fall in Fan Interest.
Some notes on gameplay:Pitching
-- I use a 5-man starting rotation and 7 pitchers, including one SP, in the bullpen. This gives the computer manager maximum flexibility to mix and match during a game. RPs with talent but low Endurance ratings are best used as set-up men.
I don't use the SP in the bullpen as a spot starter 20% of the time, as most all computer managers do. And I never use a starter on less than 100% rest. This means sometimes promoting a AAA SP for spot starts if the SP in your bullpen isn't rested.
-- Managing your starting rotation is crucial. Your top starter should be 100% rested on Opening Day and, if you make it to the playoffs, for the first game of the post-season. The rest of the rotation should also be 100% rested on the day they're scheduled to pitch at the start of the regular season and in the playoffs.
BTW, you only need four SPs for the first round of the playoffs -- put your 5th starter in the bullpen for the first round.
-- You need to set pitch counts for each pitcher in your organization. Left to its own, the computer manager will frequently work talented RPs to the point of exhaustion. I set a 112-pitch limit for all major-league SPs, with a 22-27 pitch limit for relievers depending on their Endurance.
In the minors, I limit all Rookie League starters to 80 pitches per start -- this forces the computer to use a variety of pitchers -- with 85-pitch limits for SSA SPs, 90-pitch limits for A and AA, and 95-pitch limits for AAA. Remember to adjust the pitch counts temporarlly if you promote an AAA SP for a spot start.
Also, I use a 6-man rotation for all minor-league teams. This provides one more starter with an opportunity and ensures your minor-league SPs never pitch if they're not 100% rested.
-- The only sure way to protect a tired RP from use is to temporarily stick him in the starting rotation. If you do, the computer won't use him regardless of the situation. If you don't have a free spot in the 6th starter slot, you can remove the SP who pitched the previous day and reinsert him after the RP is rested.
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