Better Call Billy
October 2054
The call Billy DePodesta was dozing in a deckchair by the side of his pool when the call came through. At first he wasn’t going to answer it. The press had been pestering him all day, seeking his reaction to the Des Moines Magpies reaching a franchise record 109 wins this regular season, their first campaign since his departure as general manager in which they chased a third consecutive State Capitals League title. All year long he had steadfastly refused to comment on the fortunes of his team, sorry, his former team, and he wasn’t going to start now. He had largely ignored the incessant ringing of his cellphone this afternoon, but this time he noticed the Richmond, Virginia area code on the incoming call and wondered who it might be. It was to prove a fateful call. “Billy. It’s Bryan. Do you have a moment?” Bryan? Bryan who? “I’m sorry, who is this?” “Billy! You haven’t been out of the game that long, you know, buddy! Bryan Huang here.” The penny dropped. Bryan Huang was the owner and chief executive of the Richmond Eagles. The 73-89 Richmond Eagles who had just missed out on the SCL playoffs for the sixth straight year. The 73-89 Richmond Eagles who had just yet again finished bottom of the Eastern League’s Central Division. The 73-89 Richmond Eagles who had effectively turbo-charged the Magpies’ current period of dominance by inexplicably, in hindsight, letting Billy acquire their all-star outfielder Earl Becker less than three years ago. Billy knew what was coming. “Bryan! Great to hear from you. Hope Jessica and the girls are doing well. Listen, I really don’t mean to sound presumptuous, but I’m enjoying my retirement immensely and I have no interest in returning to the professional game.” “I totally hear what you’re saying, Billy, really I do. But please, hear me out. I have a proposition for you. One which I hope you’ll find interesting.” “I’m really sorry, Bryan. My year off has recharged my batteries, but I’m happy doing my bit of broadcast work for BNN every now and again. Returning to full-time work is definitely off the agenda.” “Tell you what. I’ll outline the offer. If you’re not interested, you’re not interested; I’ll not badger you again. But I have a sneaking suspicion you might be.” Over the next five minutes, Huang summarised the offer: general manager of the Eagles. But not just any GM role. Full and complete control over all the club’s baseball matters. A 20% ownership stake. And the chance to buy out Huang’s remaining 80% stake at a huge discount in the offseason after he first won an SCL Cup Final Series for the club. Huang was absolutely right. Billy did find it interesting. |
October 2054
Where Eagles dare
There was a certain inevitability about the Des Moines Magpies triumphing over the Albany Firefoxes in the game seven decider in the Cup Final Series. The team that Billy built, doing what Billy built them to do: win it all. For the third consecutive year. The team that Billy built was the SCL’s best, for sure. But now Bryan Huang wanted him to build an even better one. That would be quite a challenge. Billy liked challenges. The Richmond Eagles had had a varied history up to this point. They had won the SCL championship just once, in 2033, and had lost the fall showcase on two further occasions, in 2031 and 2039. It was an underachievement for a team with such enthusiastic and committed fans. And the last half dozen seasons had been a particularly barren spell for the club, as they repeatedly failed to quality for the postseason. Billy had formally mulled over Huang’s offer for several weeks, but deep down he realised he had actually made his decision pretty swiftly. He had enjoyed his year out of the game, but the more he thought about it, the more he realised he wanted back in. Huang’s offer of complete control over all baseball operations was probably the part that clinched it for him. The Eagles team needed some serious rebuilding, and Billy could do it entirely his way. The morning after the Magpies completed their three-peat, he called up the Eagles front office and asked to speak to Huang. “Hello there, Mr DePodesta”, said Huang’s secretary. “I’m putting you through to Mr Huang now. I know he’s been very much hoping to get a call from you.” The line went quiet momentarily as the call was transferred, and then Huang came on the line. “Billy! Did you see the game last night? That’s some team the Magpies have. They are gonna take some beating. I’m just glad they’re over in the Western League. So - are you ready to try knocking them off that perch you put them on?” “I’m in.” Billy got on a flight to Virginia the very next day. What was the point in hanging around? There was work to be done. Huang personally came to pick him up from the tarmac like he was some visiting dignitary. “Welcome, welcome , welcome”, he said excitedly, shaking hands and giving Billy a huge bear hug. For an executive, his size and strength were impressive. But what else would be expected from a former outside linebacker? “How about we go straight to the front office complex so you can meet the team.” The front office was a newly refurbished suite of offices underneath the main stand at Richmond’s iconic ballpark, the Eagles’ Nest. Billy made a point of shaking the hand of every single person he met in every department. He wanted everyone to know that, no matter what their role, they had an equally vital part to play in bringing success back to the franchise. It would take him a little while to learn and remember all their names, but learn and remember them he would. Introductions done, Huang took Billy to the general manager’s office. Billy sat behind his desk. “You look like a natural fit there, Billy”, said Huang, grinning broadly. “I’m so delighted you decided to come here. I know I speak for our entire fan base when I wish you all the luck in the world.” “Thanks Bryan, I’m glad to be here”, Billy replied. The two men shook hands, and Huang left. Huang had arranged for a pile of briefing papers to be placed on Billy’s desk. Huang knew Billy would want to review them all. They presented a wide range of information about the club, the players, the staff, commercial activity, sponsorship and a plethora of financial details. Billy knew what he wanted to look at first of all - player contracts and payroll budgets. Arbitration hearings were fast approaching and some players would be becoming free agents shortly after. He had some important and rapid decisions to make for building the Eagles’ roster for next year. He had work to do. |
This is a sequel to my previous State Capitals League dynasty report, “The Magpies”. The SCL is a fictional league in MLB Manager 2017. I created the league and simmed nearly 30 years to build some history. I then took over the reins at Des Moines, and my time there formed the basis of the previous report. “The Magpies” also documents the origins and early years of the SCL.
“The Magpies” ended in late 2053 with Billy DePodesta’s sudden resignation after winning back-to-back SCL titles. After a further year of simming to fast forward the 2054 season, I have now engaged the ‘Manage Different Team’ option and have taken over as GM of the Richmond Eagles, which will be the subject of this dynasty report. Well, I hope I becomes a dynasty, anyway. Like last time I’ll be playing the game on mostly the default MLBM 2017 settings, although I’ve set both leagues to use the DH. Player ratings are on the 1-10 scale option, with overall/potential rating as stars. The AI’s trading preference is neutral. I play the game as a sort of “hands-on GM”. I control roster moves, lineups and team strategy, including setting the lineup to start each game. But then I sim my team’s games inning by inning, letting the AI make the in-game decisions about pitching changes and so on. Occasionally I’ll intervene to shuffle the fielding alignment if the AI makes what I consider to be a daft decision following a substitution. I’ve enjoyed experimenting with different dynasty report styles in the past, and will be trying something new for me here. I won’t be doing game by game or week by week posts; instead I’ll report back on our performances for each calendar month. Previous readers may recall that I play the game mainly on my train commute to work. This means that I don’t play it everyday necessarily, and as such there could sometimes be fairly lengthy gaps between monthly report posts appearing depending on my progress and my work commitments - for that I apologise in advance. When they arrive they’ll usually be fairly lengthy. I hope some of you read this and enjoy it. Please do feel free to comment as we go along! |
October 2054
Money, money, money
The club’s financial position is fairly healthy; Huang set a payroll budget of $200m for the current season, which puts the Eagles slightly below the SCL average. But there is a worrying pressure on that budget considering the team finished 73-89. Payroll spend this season has been $178m. With arbitration rises due for next year, Huang is unwilling to commit any money for free agents at present. There are 12 players due to leave to free agency next month which will open up $30m of payroll - although that will also open up a number of roster holes which will need to be filled. My assessment is that the roster is in poor shape and I can see why the team finished where it did. There are some very good players on the roster but on hefty contracts eating up too much payroll. Defensively the lineup is weak. The active roster has three first basemen despite us having an exciting and majors-ready prospect in the same position. The 25-man has no left-handed pitchers. So there is a lot of work to do to create a team that will contend, but there is a silver lining: we have a number of good prospects in the farm system and in June will add at least one more thanks to our high draft first round pick |
October 2054
1 Attachment(s)
Roster assessment - starting pitching
SP Ryan Hurley (age 37, RHP, 1.5*): 8-6, 2.84 in 2054 SP Scott Hale (age 32, RHP, 3.5*): 1-6, 4.82 SP Butch Davis (age 25, RHP, 4.5*): 17-9, 4.49 SP Manny Clemons (age 22, RHP, 2.5*): 6-16, 4.63 SP Fred Bowling (age 30, RHP, 1.5*): 10-10, 4.75 Three-time all-star Hurley and fellow veteran Hale lead the rotation, but are on eye-watering contracts. Hurley will earn $23m next year, while Hale is owed a whopping $65m over the next four years. Davis and Clemons are two good young right-handers who struggled at times, but are both still a year away from arbitration eligibility and I think will play an important role for us over the coming years. Bowling is departing as a free agent; I will be seeking a lefty to fill his spot. Shunnar Jabbar (age 20, SCL #16 prospect) and António Ramos (age 23, SCL #71 prospect) have promise but both are likely to remain in the minors for at least another year. Jabbar flopped in 7 relief appearances as a September call-up, but I feel was brought up prematurely and has the talent to become a good second or third starter if nurtured carefully. Roster assessment - bullpen CL Doug Bradley (age 37, RHP, 2*): 3-14, 6.16, 39 SV MR Chet Andrews (age 33, RHP, 0.5*): 0-2, 2.27 MR Paolo Barreirinhas (age 31, RHP, 1.5*): 7-9, 4.41 MR Jerry Hayes (age 36, RHP, 4*): 4-0, 5.29 MR Pancho Jaimes (age 35, RHP, 1*): 2-6, 3.01 MR Miguel Roa (age 29, RHP, 1.5*): 2-1, 3.77 MR Alejandro Suárez (age 35, RHP, 1*): 10-5, 3.44 Bradley, five times an all-star, has been one of the league’s best relievers since making his debut in 2039 and has exactly 400 career saves. But his advancing years seem to have finally caught up with him and his performances fell off a cliff this season. His 2054 numbers demonstrate the meaningless of the saves statistic. He is one of five of this group, along with Andrews, Barreirinhas, Hayes and Roa, whose contracts are up next month and who will be departing the organisation. The only hold-overs into next season will be the veterans Jaimes and Suárez, with the latter taking the role of long-man and emergency sixth starter. Two of those spots will probably be filled from within the organisation: LOOGY Mark Forrest (age 29, LHP, 0.5*: 1-1, 2.73) and rookie Wes Adams (age 21, RHP, 3*: no major league appearances). The other three places, which will need to include a closer and a lefty setup reliever, must be filled from free agency, as Jabbar and Ramos are the full extent of our pitching depth right now and they aren’t ready. I hope to restock the bullpen over the winter and from the draft over the next few seasons, but in the meantime this could be a real weakness in this team. |
October 2054
1 Attachment(s)
Roster assessment - catcher
C Pedro Rivas (age 30, RHB, 1.5*): .273/.322./.405, 12 HR in 2054 C Mike Williams (age 36, RHB, 1*): .159/.215/..269, 3 HR Rivas is solid with a bat in his hand but below par behind the plate. His is not a skill set that justifies the $14.7m we are for some reason set to pay him next season, but he will get a chance to prove to me his worth. Williams is also under contract next year, but has told me that he plans to retire and won’t play again next season; I won’t be trying to persuade him otherwise. I aim to find a cheap free agent to compete with Manolo Huerta (age 27, RHB, 1.5*), who’s currently on the minor league roster, to be Rivas’s backup. Roster assessment - first base 1B Robert Numbers (age 22, LHB, 3.5*): .220/.311/.403, 7 HR 1B Robbie Smith (age 28, RHB, 3.5*): .258/.317/.489, 29 HR 1B Pok-too Xiao (age 26, RHB, 2.5*): .265/.326/.394, 4 HR I’m loathed to criticise my predecessor, but I cannot understand why we have three out-and-out first basemen on the roster when our best prospect Ben Phipps (age 22, LHB, 2.5*) is another. Smith is a two-time all-star, although his contract (he’s due $68m over the next four years) looks rather excessive. Rookie slugger Numbers broke into the majors in August and will certainly get game time. Xiao is a good player who’ll hopefully have enough trade value to bring in a decent prospect or two. Roster assessment - infield 2B Bryan Brantley (age 27, RHB, 3.5*): .226/.318/.370, 16 HR 2B Bill Lloyd (age 24, RHB, 4.5*): .274/.327/.411, 13 HR 3B Reynaldo González (age 27, LHB, 4*): .234/.316/.406, 22 HR SS Ed Shelton (age 24, RHB, 1*): .330/.370/.468, 2 HR It’s a reunion with González, who played for me at the Magpies, but it could be brief as I plan to trade him if he can bring back a good return. He’s superb defensively and has lots of power with the bat, but doesn’t make contact enough, is hopeless against lefties, and is expected to earn a highly inflated $17m next year through arbitration. Fernando Garván (age 24, RHB, 3*) will be promoted to replace González on the roster. Garvan flopped as an infield starter during 2053, but the front office lost faith in him too quickly, and he was limited to a handful of September games this year. The concern with this group, González aside, is their defense, but I will probably just have to live with that for the time being. Roster assessment - outfield LF David Miller (age 41, RHB, 4.5*): .294/.405/.516, 24 HR LF Scott Reynolds (age 24, RHB, 1.5*): .194/.275/.250, 0 HR CF Warren Glass (age 32, RHB, 1*): .252/.320/.486, 6 HR RF Cy Cox (age 38, RHB, 2*): .213/.340/.305, 6 HR Miller is a phenomenon, who defied all logic of the ageing curve to turn in another excellent year. He’s a 10-time all-star and surely headed for the SCL Hall of Fame when he finally hangs up his cleats. After Miller, there’s little to write home about. Cox is another former Magpie, whose high walk rate no longer compensates for his lack of hitting and poor defense. He and Glass are two more players about to depart as free agents. José Arroyo, our first round draft pick this June (5th overall), struggled badly as a September call-up, but remains a fine prospect who can play across the outfield and will get another chance on the roster next year. |
October 2054
Eastern League, Central Division standings 2054
x-Albany Firefoxes 87-75 z-Columbus Heatseekers 84-79 Trenton Colts 82-80 Annapolis Mustangs 80-82 Indianapolis Wildcats 74-88 Richmond Eagles 73-89 The Central is the SCL’s only division containing six teams, and the Eagles finished rock bottom this season despite a decent run down the stretch. The Firefoxes become Eastern League champions but lost to the Magpies in the Cup Final Series. Columbus won the division in five of the previous six years before last. Trenton have been the least successful team, winning the division only twice in the SCL’s 38 year history. The Eagles have won it seven times in total, but only 3 times in the last 22 years. |
November 2054
1 Attachment(s)
Roster moves
Trades
Free agency
Financial outlook
News from around the league
|
December 2054
1 Attachment(s)
Free agency
Roster moves
News from around the league
|
January 2055
1 Attachment(s)
Free agency
Trades
News from around the league
|
February 2055
Roster moves
Free agency
News from around the league
|
March 2055
1 Attachment(s)
Season preview - Huang’s expectations
Barring unexpected injuries during spring training, our opening day roster is now set. BNN pundits are expecting us to have a tricky transitional season, and give us only a small percentage chance of grabbing a wildcard spot. That feels about right; we have too many weaknesses to contend this year, but the roster is young and improving. Bryan Huang wants us to try and “stay close” to .500. Season preview - pitching SP Ryan Hurley (age 38, RHP, 1*) SP Butch Davis (age 25, RHP, 4.5*) SP Manny Clemons (age 22, RHP, 2.5*) SP Adrián Cortéz (age 22, RHP, 2.5*) SP Haden Monroe (age 22, LHP, 1,5*) MR Wes Adams (age 21, RHP, 3.5*) MR Mark Forrest (age 29, LHP, 0.5*) MR Seth Middleton (age 30, RHP, 4*) MR Alejandro Suárez (age 36, RHP, 0.5*) MR Pancho Jaimes (age 35, RHP, 1*) MR Gerardo Rivera (age 33, LHP, 2.5*) CL Justin Dodson (age 36, RHP, 3*)
Season preview - offense C Pedro Rivas (age 30, RHB, 1.5*) C Jorge Flores (age 32, RHB, 1.5*) 1B Robert Numbers (age 22, LHB, 3.5*) 1B Robbie Smith (age 29, RHB, 3*) 2B Bill Lloyd (age 25, RHB, 4.5*) 3B Fernando Galván (age 24, RHB, 3*) SS Jesús Torres (age 24, RHB, 2.5*) SS Ed Shelton (age 25, RHB, 1.5*) LF David Miller (age 42, RHB, 5*) LF Scott Reynolds (age 24, RHB, 3*) CF Rory Simmons (age 30, LHB, 1.5*) RF José Arroyo (age 22, LHB, 2.5*) RF Ian Britt (age 28, RHB, 2*)
Season preview - financials
Free agency
News from around the league
|
April 2055
1 Attachment(s)
Record
Central Division standings Albany Firefoxes 16-12 Indianapolis Wildcats 14-14 Annapolis Mustangs 12-16 Richmond Eagles 11-17 Trenton Colts 11-17 Columbus Heatseekers 10-18 Month summary
Who’s hot?
Who’s not?
Noteworthy individual performances
Biggest worry
Trades and transactions
Roster moves
News from around the league
|
May 2055
1 Attachment(s)
Record
Central Division standings Albany Firefoxes 33-24 Annapolis Mustangs 33-24 Richmond Eagles 26-31 Columbus Heatseekers 24-33 Indianapolis Wildcats 24-33 Trenton Colts 23-34 Month summary
Who’s hot?
Who’s not?
Biggest worry
Trades and transactions
Roster moves
Noteworthy individual performances
News from around the league
|
June 2055
Record
Central Division standings Annapolis Mustangs 50-32 Albany Firefoxes 47-35 Columbus Heatseekers 36-46 Indianapolis Wildcats 36-46 Richmond Eagles 33-49 Trenton Colts 31-51 Month summary
Who’s hot?
Who’s not?
Trades and transactions
Noteworthy individual performances
Biggest worry
First year player draft
Roster moves
News from around the league
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July 2055
1 Attachment(s)
Record
Central Division standings Albany Firefoxes 67-44 Annapolis Mustangs 67-44 Columbus Heatseekers 48-63 Indianapolis Wildcats 47-64 Richmond Eagles 44-67 Trenton Colts 41-70 Month summary
Trades and transactions
Who’s hot?
Who’s not?
Noteworthy individual performances
Biggest worry
Roster moves
News from around the league
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August 2055
1 Attachment(s)
Record
Central Division standings Albany Firefoxes 80-59 Annapolis Mustangs 79-60 Richmond Eagles 62-77 Indianapolis Wildcats 60-79 Trenton Colts 54-85 Columbus Heatseekers 52-87 Month summary
Who’s hot?
Who’s not?
Noteworthy individual performances
Biggest worry
Roster moves
News from around the league
|
September 2055
1 Attachment(s)
Record
Central Division standings Albany Firefoxes 96-66 Annapolis Mustangs 88-74 Richmond Eagles 76-86 Indianapolis Wildcats 72-90 Trenton Colts 68-94 Columbus Heatseekers 59-103 Month summary
Who’s hot?
Who’s not?
Noteworthy individual performances
Biggest worry
Trades and transactions
Roster moves
News from around the league
|
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