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Qeltar · 04-23-2018, 09:53 PM

My first time playing the game, I decided to tackle a challenge head on: rebuilding the Miami Marlins. I started with, well, a mess. 1- or 2-star starters, 2 good bullpen arms, a couple of hitters, and that's it. Unhappy clubhouse, barren farm system, a total disaster. To add to the fun, one of the 2 good bullpen arms went down to injury in early April for a month.

Bruce Sherman's goals for me were to play .500 ball this year (cough) and to sign a Cy Young winner by 2020 (a stupid goal, which IMO basically translates as "pay for an overpriced free agent you'll be stuck paying as he accelerates over the hill.")

I set to work. Lots of trial and error but I made some pretty shrewd trades (nothing too abusive) and gutted the entire farm system. Evaluated every player in the minors, which took hours. Shuffled around the keepers, shopped for trades, released the guys who would never be anything. Dug through all the free agent coaches to find ways to improve the minors, also took hours. Found captains and leaders to deal with the morale problems at all levels.. this included a controversial trading away of JT Realmuto for a "captain" catcher.. it was just the only way I could think of to do it at the time at the MLB level. Never thought of signing a free agent captain until later (I did this for the minors.) Got rid of most of the overpriced veterans, in some cases right before season-ending injuries.

I now have a number of good prospects. The relief corp is in amazing shape, in fact, I have more setup guys and closers than I know what to do with and may trade some away. Rotation is "okay" but not great. Position players are spotty but offense is decent. I traded for Willie Calhoun and for some reason he has gone bananas, currently slashing 375/420/633 and running away with RoY...

All levels have "content" or close morale. Attendance is actually up over last year. Team is at 41-41 -- my personal goal was 65-97 (.400 ball). All first 5 rounds guys signed. Sitting on $45mil in cash for free agents and extensions. Player payroll ranks 30th of 30 in the league.

So Mr. Sherman sends me his "mid-season review of goals." He says I have done an "okay" job with the team record, but "there is room for improvement." LOL. The real Marlins are 5-16.

Then he says he was pleased with the progress I made towards getting a Cy Young winner (the RP I got will not win a Cy Young).

And he concludes saying he's "ecstatic" with the progress (as it has said in the Owner section most of the year) but... "That being said, when I look at the team's history on and off the field, my overall impression doesn't rank quite as highly." Really?

BTW, for all my trouble, I have a reputation of "Poor." Maybe that's related.

Anyway, just musing, not really intended as a rant or request for advice or anything. But is it possible that the game isn't taking into account well enough the state of a team when setting goals or evaluating them? The real Bruce Sherman would give a kidney for the team I have assembled. The owner of a rebuilding team shouldn't care about the current year's record anyway.

04-23-2018, 09:53 PM	#1
Qeltar Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2018 Posts: 382	Now that's gratitude for ya! :) My first time playing the game, I decided to tackle a challenge head on: rebuilding the Miami Marlins. I started with, well, a mess. 1- or 2-star starters, 2 good bullpen arms, a couple of hitters, and that's it. Unhappy clubhouse, barren farm system, a total disaster. To add to the fun, one of the 2 good bullpen arms went down to injury in early April for a month. Bruce Sherman's goals for me were to play .500 ball this year (cough) and to sign a Cy Young winner by 2020 (a stupid goal, which IMO basically translates as "pay for an overpriced free agent you'll be stuck paying as he accelerates over the hill.") I set to work. Lots of trial and error but I made some pretty shrewd trades (nothing too abusive) and gutted the entire farm system. Evaluated every player in the minors, which took hours. Shuffled around the keepers, shopped for trades, released the guys who would never be anything. Dug through all the free agent coaches to find ways to improve the minors, also took hours. Found captains and leaders to deal with the morale problems at all levels.. this included a controversial trading away of JT Realmuto for a "captain" catcher.. it was just the only way I could think of to do it at the time at the MLB level. Never thought of signing a free agent captain until later (I did this for the minors.) Got rid of most of the overpriced veterans, in some cases right before season-ending injuries. I now have a number of good prospects. The relief corp is in amazing shape, in fact, I have more setup guys and closers than I know what to do with and may trade some away. Rotation is "okay" but not great. Position players are spotty but offense is decent. I traded for Willie Calhoun and for some reason he has gone bananas, currently slashing 375/420/633 and running away with RoY... All levels have "content" or close morale. Attendance is actually up over last year. Team is at 41-41 -- my personal goal was 65-97 (.400 ball). All first 5 rounds guys signed. Sitting on $45mil in cash for free agents and extensions. Player payroll ranks 30th of 30 in the league. So Mr. Sherman sends me his "mid-season review of goals." He says I have done an "okay" job with the team record, but "there is room for improvement." LOL. The real Marlins are 5-16. Then he says he was pleased with the progress I made towards getting a Cy Young winner (the RP I got will not win a Cy Young). And he concludes saying he's "ecstatic" with the progress (as it has said in the Owner section most of the year) but... "That being said, when I look at the team's history on and off the field, my overall impression doesn't rank quite as highly." Really? BTW, for all my trouble, I have a reputation of "Poor." Maybe that's related. Anyway, just musing, not really intended as a rant or request for advice or anything. But is it possible that the game isn't taking into account well enough the state of a team when setting goals or evaluating them? The real Bruce Sherman would give a kidney for the team I have assembled. The owner of a rebuilding team shouldn't care about the current year's record anyway. Last edited by Qeltar; 04-23-2018 at 09:54 PM.