OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - St. Louis Cardinals: Re-tooling of a Champion

beamon05 · 09-20-2007, 04:27 PM

May 1, 2007

Well nobody said being the GM of a baseball team is easy, and I can see why. I was definitely hoping for a fast start to the season, but things have not worked out as planned to this point. We slumped to a 11-15 record in April, but it's not all bad. Yes, we'd definitely like our record to be much better, but there's plenty of time left.

First up, the negative. Our offense has been woeful. We rank last, or very close to it in all the main offensive categories. Our team batting average is less than .220, and you obviously can't win many games with a stat like that. Jim Edmonds has been our best hitter this month, but even he is struggling. He hit 8 home runs and knocked in 20 in April, and while he's on pace for over 40 home runs, that .211 batting average is not getting it done. And he's not alone in struggling. David Eckstein has rewarded us for signing him to an extension by batting .180, and has been moved to the bottom of the batting order. Wilson Betemit has been solid coming off the bench, and I think he might start taking at-bats away from Eckstein soon. So Taguchi and Chris Duncan also are performing well in limited chances, so you might see their playing time increase real soon. Also, our back end of the bullpen has not been performing up to task. Jason Isringhausen is 1-4 with an ERA approaching 8.00, and has been taken out of the closer's role, with his spot being taken by Tyler Johnson.

On the plus side, our starting pitching has been outstanding. Chris Carpenter received the NL Pitcher of the Month award, going 5-0 with an ERA of 2.76, and 49 IP. Despite Kip Wells and Anthony Reyes going down for two weeks at a time, our starters ERA is the best in the league, at just a shade above 3.00. Because of our terrible offensive production, only Carpenter has a winning record, but hopefully things will even out when our hitters start producing.

Like I said, it's early, but you don't want to fall into a hole and have to battle your way back to the top for the remainder of the season. I know our offense is capable of more than they've showed to this point, so I expect them to start heating up soon and help get our record above .500.

Record: 11-15, 5 GB of the Cubs

P.S., thanks for reading, Andy!

09-20-2007, 04:27 PM	#5
beamon05 Bat Boy Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 15	Looking Back at April May 1, 2007 Well nobody said being the GM of a baseball team is easy, and I can see why. I was definitely hoping for a fast start to the season, but things have not worked out as planned to this point. We slumped to a 11-15 record in April, but it's not all bad. Yes, we'd definitely like our record to be much better, but there's plenty of time left. First up, the negative. Our offense has been woeful. We rank last, or very close to it in all the main offensive categories. Our team batting average is less than .220, and you obviously can't win many games with a stat like that. Jim Edmonds has been our best hitter this month, but even he is struggling. He hit 8 home runs and knocked in 20 in April, and while he's on pace for over 40 home runs, that .211 batting average is not getting it done. And he's not alone in struggling. David Eckstein has rewarded us for signing him to an extension by batting .180, and has been moved to the bottom of the batting order. Wilson Betemit has been solid coming off the bench, and I think he might start taking at-bats away from Eckstein soon. So Taguchi and Chris Duncan also are performing well in limited chances, so you might see their playing time increase real soon. Also, our back end of the bullpen has not been performing up to task. Jason Isringhausen is 1-4 with an ERA approaching 8.00, and has been taken out of the closer's role, with his spot being taken by Tyler Johnson. On the plus side, our starting pitching has been outstanding. Chris Carpenter received the NL Pitcher of the Month award, going 5-0 with an ERA of 2.76, and 49 IP. Despite Kip Wells and Anthony Reyes going down for two weeks at a time, our starters ERA is the best in the league, at just a shade above 3.00. Because of our terrible offensive production, only Carpenter has a winning record, but hopefully things will even out when our hitters start producing. Like I said, it's early, but you don't want to fall into a hole and have to battle your way back to the top for the remainder of the season. I know our offense is capable of more than they've showed to this point, so I expect them to start heating up soon and help get our record above .500. Record: 11-15, 5 GB of the Cubs P.S., thanks for reading, Andy!