OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Northern League Baseball: A humorously depressing look 50 years into the future...

Nunyer · 03-10-2012, 02:37 PM

GM Journal

Pondering our upcoming free agents today...

The team is not going anywhere this season, so with the dog days of summer quickly fading into fall... it's time to really start looking ahead. I have some decisions to make regarding some of our veteran players. We're looking to get younger, to develop talent and stop Lerma's ten year fascination with overpaying for past performance. That said, we'd like to compete for the playoffs next year... So every player has to be looked at carefully. Our important potential free agents are as follows:

SP Ben Childs - Age: 34
Current salary: $600k
Initial demand: 2 years @ $700k

Childs has pitched pretty well this season, probably the 3rd best season of his 10 year career. His salary demand is very reasonable, and I would think he has another decent middle of the rotation type of season in the tank. I targeted mid-level starter prospects aggressively via trade before the deadline.. and what I got was a bunch of mid-level pitchers. Jose Mendez has the potential to be a #2 starter in this league, and Joe "Closer" Davis has shown flashes. Still, the farm system has little help for another two seasons and the upcoming free agent class appears light in this area. Childs might be the best value available for the middle/back of the rotation. I'll likely throw him a one year offer and go from there.

3B Don "Tricky" Nixon - Age: 27
Current salary: $595k
Initial demand: 4 years @ $750k

Nixon is having a career season in a contract year, how convenient for him. Tricky is batting 20 points better than his lifetime average and has already set his career best with 16 HRs. He's a plus defender at the hot corner and can fill in at 2B/SS in a pinch... and he bats left handed. I have decent depth on the IF with young players already with the big club or ones that should be contributing next year. But none of them bat left handed and most are probably better suited defensively to the middle infield. Even if I had to pay him exactly what he demands, I'd likely do it. Nixon will likely be back.

LF Felix Gonzalez - Age: 30
Current salary: $372k
Initial demand: 3 years @ $1.1m

Gonzalez is on crack, over one million per season? He has under performed all year. He got hot for about six weeks in late June and through July, but beyond that it's been ugly at the plate. He's hitting .243 and striking out too much. His only value on the team has been defensively. Gonzalez possesses a freakin cannon for an arm. He's tied for the team lead with six OF assists despite only playing in roughly 70% of the games. I'm playing him everyday down the stretch against RHP, hopefully somebody meets his demands in the off season and we can snag a decent supplemental draft pick. No way do I offer him an extension.

2B Bill Norie - Age: 31
Current salary: $160k
Initial demand: a shoulder that works

Poor Norie. I feel for the guy. He was a lunch bucket kind of player. Showed up everyday and did exactly what you wanted. Never the all-star type, at least he was dependable. He played stellar 2B for us this season and produced a lot of clutch hits. I probably was not going to resign him anyways, with the potential middle IF logjam looming next year... but I hated to see him get hurt. Last report I heard was May/June of next year for his return. If he's healed and we're facing some horrific injury situation, I'll bring him back in a heartbeat. But for now, happy trails and best of luck Bill Norie.

SP Evan Carroll - Age: 35
Current salary: $314k
Initial demand: who cares, I won't talk to him.

I didn't even know we still had this guy. He was awful in April, ERA north of 7.00 and opponents shelling him at a .320 average. I guess he cleared waivers , pitched uninspired ball in AAA for a few months then got hurt. I am guessing that his pro baseball career is finished. Eight NLB seasons, 61-53 record with a 4.34 ERA in 156 games, 138 of them starts.

A Glance at the market...

Our biggest need is a legit leadoff hitter, but there doesn't appear to be many solutions available on the upcoming market. There are a few other players that I will gladly blow some of Lerma's money on ...

C Rex "The Shark" Scott - Age: 25
Hits for average. Hits for power. Left handed bat. Plays solid defense. Very little to dislike about this kid. The only knock anybody has on him is that sometimes he'll get lazy and take a game off... but that hasn't hurt his career numbers. Good for .300 average with 30+ bombs. He makes Paul Webb instant trade bait if we can sign him. He currently plays for notoriously cheap ownership in Cincy, and they have a good half dozen solid players due for free agency. They have the budget room to sign maybe 2 or 3 of them. Let's hope The Shark isn't on that list.

CL Jesus "Dozer" Vazquez - Age: 26
Arguably the best closer in the game the last five seasons, Jesus is another Cincy player that might get turned loose on the market. I'll pursue him if he's out there and Eric Braun would likely become trade bait if he won't accept a setup role. I don't like paying premium dollars for bullpen guys, but Vazquez is a clear exception to that rule.

2B Cesar Delgado - Age: 30
Doesn't have ideal speed for a leadoff hitter, but Delgado is an OBP machine. He routinely is at or above .400 and is consistently in the top 10 in the league. Detroit has some budget room and might resign him. I'll be interested for the right contract, although initial rumblings around the league is that Delgado wants a massive payday in the range of five years and over $10 million. Might be why he hasn't signed an extension with the Machine yet.

03-10-2012, 02:37 PM	#104
Nunyer All Star Reserve Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Baseball Ned Flanders stares into your soul... Posts: 594	GM Journal Pondering our upcoming free agents today... The team is not going anywhere this season, so with the dog days of summer quickly fading into fall... it's time to really start looking ahead. I have some decisions to make regarding some of our veteran players. We're looking to get younger, to develop talent and stop Lerma's ten year fascination with overpaying for past performance. That said, we'd like to compete for the playoffs next year... So every player has to be looked at carefully. Our important potential free agents are as follows: SP Ben Childs - Age: 34 Current salary: $600k Initial demand: 2 years @ $700k Childs has pitched pretty well this season, probably the 3rd best season of his 10 year career. His salary demand is very reasonable, and I would think he has another decent middle of the rotation type of season in the tank. I targeted mid-level starter prospects aggressively via trade before the deadline.. and what I got was a bunch of mid-level pitchers. Jose Mendez has the potential to be a #2 starter in this league, and Joe "Closer" Davis has shown flashes. Still, the farm system has little help for another two seasons and the upcoming free agent class appears light in this area. Childs might be the best value available for the middle/back of the rotation. I'll likely throw him a one year offer and go from there. 3B Don "Tricky" Nixon - Age: 27 Current salary: $595k Initial demand: 4 years @ $750k Nixon is having a career season in a contract year, how convenient for him. Tricky is batting 20 points better than his lifetime average and has already set his career best with 16 HRs. He's a plus defender at the hot corner and can fill in at 2B/SS in a pinch... and he bats left handed. I have decent depth on the IF with young players already with the big club or ones that should be contributing next year. But none of them bat left handed and most are probably better suited defensively to the middle infield. Even if I had to pay him exactly what he demands, I'd likely do it. Nixon will likely be back. LF Felix Gonzalez - Age: 30 Current salary: $372k Initial demand: 3 years @ $1.1m Gonzalez is on crack, over one million per season? He has under performed all year. He got hot for about six weeks in late June and through July, but beyond that it's been ugly at the plate. He's hitting .243 and striking out too much. His only value on the team has been defensively. Gonzalez possesses a freakin cannon for an arm. He's tied for the team lead with six OF assists despite only playing in roughly 70% of the games. I'm playing him everyday down the stretch against RHP, hopefully somebody meets his demands in the off season and we can snag a decent supplemental draft pick. No way do I offer him an extension. 2B Bill Norie - Age: 31 Current salary: $160k Initial demand: a shoulder that works Poor Norie. I feel for the guy. He was a lunch bucket kind of player. Showed up everyday and did exactly what you wanted. Never the all-star type, at least he was dependable. He played stellar 2B for us this season and produced a lot of clutch hits. I probably was not going to resign him anyways, with the potential middle IF logjam looming next year... but I hated to see him get hurt. Last report I heard was May/June of next year for his return. If he's healed and we're facing some horrific injury situation, I'll bring him back in a heartbeat. But for now, happy trails and best of luck Bill Norie. SP Evan Carroll - Age: 35 Current salary: $314k Initial demand: who cares, I won't talk to him. I didn't even know we still had this guy. He was awful in April, ERA north of 7.00 and opponents shelling him at a .320 average. I guess he cleared waivers , pitched uninspired ball in AAA for a few months then got hurt. I am guessing that his pro baseball career is finished. Eight NLB seasons, 61-53 record with a 4.34 ERA in 156 games, 138 of them starts. A Glance at the market... Our biggest need is a legit leadoff hitter, but there doesn't appear to be many solutions available on the upcoming market. There are a few other players that I will gladly blow some of Lerma's money on ... C Rex "The Shark" Scott - Age: 25 Hits for average. Hits for power. Left handed bat. Plays solid defense. Very little to dislike about this kid. The only knock anybody has on him is that sometimes he'll get lazy and take a game off... but that hasn't hurt his career numbers. Good for .300 average with 30+ bombs. He makes Paul Webb instant trade bait if we can sign him. He currently plays for notoriously cheap ownership in Cincy, and they have a good half dozen solid players due for free agency. They have the budget room to sign maybe 2 or 3 of them. Let's hope The Shark isn't on that list. CL Jesus "Dozer" Vazquez - Age: 26 Arguably the best closer in the game the last five seasons, Jesus is another Cincy player that might get turned loose on the market. I'll pursue him if he's out there and Eric Braun would likely become trade bait if he won't accept a setup role. I don't like paying premium dollars for bullpen guys, but Vazquez is a clear exception to that rule. 2B Cesar Delgado - Age: 30 Doesn't have ideal speed for a leadoff hitter, but Delgado is an OBP machine. He routinely is at or above .400 and is consistently in the top 10 in the league. Detroit has some budget room and might resign him. I'll be interested for the right contract, although initial rumblings around the league is that Delgado wants a massive payday in the range of five years and over $10 million. Might be why he hasn't signed an extension with the Machine yet.