Home of the 2007 Minnesota Twins

hallofamer2000 · 10-26-2007, 11:28 PM

Hey. This is my first team with OOTP 2007. I haven't played this in a while. So, I'm starting a dynasty with the Minnesota Twins, starting in 2007. I might make some stupid moves as I am not used to the differences between this game and the old version, and Baseball Mogul. I will be using Melo updated version of CubbyFan's roster. The thread/game will have real players but fake people (GMs, owners, managers, etc.)

January the 15th, 2007

There's nothing more comfortable than sleeping in a warm bed on a winter morning. Then why the **** did that jerk call me at 5:30 in morning! I fell out of bed and crawled over to my cell phone. It was George.

George Nixon was an old friend of mine from high school. We were unseperable for those four years, and another four at Harvard. We joined the same frat, had the same friends, took the same classes. Then why is he owner of the Minnesota Twins, while I'm the GM of the Georgia Storm, an independant league baseball team that plays other teams on the east coast? It's pretty simple really. George is a lucky bastard.

It was about thirteen(ish) years ago, when we were both 21. We were on the way to our softball league's championship game, when we stopped at 7-11. We got the usually junk: chips, Coke, beer. At the register, George looked at the man behind the register and said, "Two lotto tickets, please."

This is probably where George and I differ. He's an idiot and I'm not. Every single week he buys 2 or 3 lotto tickets, hoping to hit the jackpot.

"You're an idiot"

"Why?"

"Every week you spend $3 on a lotto ticket. You might as well be using it as toilet paper. You're never gonna win. Chances are one in a trillion."

"So you're saying there's a chance!?" (Remember, it's 1994)

"If you save that $3 each week, at the end of the year you have about $150 bucks. 10 years later that's $1,500. In fifty years when you want to retire, that's $7,500 extra bucks you'd want to have."

"Who cares? Like Robin Williams said in that movie, "Carpe Diem! Seize the day!" (Once again, this is 1994, when people actually liked Robin Williams)

So of course the next morning he calls me and rubs it in my face. To sum it up, a few nice investments and an oil strike here or there, and he owns the Twins.

But back to reality.

"So Don, how's the whatchamacallit, Georgia Peaches job going."

"It's the Storm and you know that."

"Yeah, yeah right. Whatever. Hey, I got an idea. Work for me."

"I told you for the hundreth time, no!"

"Come ooooooon!"

"No. I don't want some do-nothing job where you pay be only cause I'm your friend. And why'd you call me at 5:30 in the morning anyway?"

"Like you say Don, we waste one-third of our life sleeping."

"Good-bye George," I said as hung up the phone and I crawled back to bed for the few hours of happiness I had left. The phone rang again.

"Son of a..." I said as I picked up the phone again. "What do you want?"

"Wanna be GM?"

dynastyman · 10-26-2007, 11:38 PM

lol good start much better then the start of my dynasty i started today

hallofamer2000 · 10-26-2007, 11:52 PM

January the 16th, 2007

In life, there are always those pleasant surprises to go along with the crap. For every pink slip you get, there's a Christmas puppy from your parents to go a long with it. For every regret, there's a chance you take that works out. George was taking a chance on me. I didn't know how to feel about this. You know how I feel about unnecessary risks and odds. Of course I took the job; it's been my dream to be a major league GM. And the pay isn't too shabby either. The Storm gave me only a fraction of what George gave me.

"WHAT?! FIRE JOHNNY WU FOR SOME GUY THAT CAN'T EVEN WIN IN THE INDY LEAGUE?! PATHETIC!" -hunterfan11111

"BUM! WHAT A BUM! I BET HE'LL TRADE JOHAN 4 SOMEONE LIKE KEI IGAWA" -johanpedroboof08

That's what the blogs were saying. The radio shows were even worse. But hey, it could be worse. I could be in New York and have to deal with idiots like Mike Lupica.

This morning I got on a the 7:30 from Georgia to Minnesota. I love flying. Isn't it so crazy how your thousands upon thousands of feet in the air, going hundreds upon hundreds of miles per hour, and you barely feel a thing. The lady next to me looked afraid. What an idiot.

The portly fellow to her right was reading some Grisham novel. I usually can't read on airplanes, but this time I had to. For five hours straight I was reading scouting reports and stats for pretty much every player in the organization. To be honest, before this job, I couldn't tell the difference between a Boof and a Swarzak. If you asked me, I probably would have said they were types of fish.

George said he would given be complete control of the team, and not second-guess anything that I did. He said the goal this year was the playoffs, then eventually the World Series? Never thought you'd hear an owner named George say that, eh?

Once I got off the plane I saw three messages on my phone. One was my mom, the other way my neighbor who was watching my dog from me, and the other one....was from the Yankees GM, Nick Stuartson.

"Give me a call. I want Boof." He was obviously not one for words. I got his number from George and called him back as soon as possible.

"Hey, welcome to the majors," he said.

"Thanks. You're not getting Boof."

"Yes I am."

"I'll give you Scott Baker."

"Goodbye."

What a strange fellow.

hallofamer2000 · 10-27-2007, 12:34 AM

January the 28th, 2007

It's been quite an interesting experience being a GM. I get booed and cursed in the streets all the time. But, I suppose they have a valid point. I'm only there because I'm friends with the owner.

Johnny Wu was his name. The last GM of the Twins. I met him a few times before, and boy was he good. He had a hell of a presense when he entered the room. From his $10,000 custom made Italian suit which he wore with pride, to his greasy hair with a flip in the front, to the souls of his shiny black shoes. Those clothes described him perfectly. Slick and suave.

Man could he speak. When he spoke, you couldn't concentrate on anything else. His deep voice was so captivating, I can tell why he was so successful.

But this isn't the only reason he was successful. He was talented. You gotta be good to get Johan Santana for nothing, and Pedro Liriano and Boof Bonser for A.J. Pierzynski. But for some reason, he and George never got along. I never knew why. I never bothered to asked cause I knew I wouldn't get a straight answer. But this would eventually catch up to George.

Later in the night I got a call from George.

"Pettitte is done for the year. Take advantage."

The New York Yankees are an interesting organization. Year after year they make the playoffs, and year after year their payroll increases. Do they sign a bunch of free agents to ridiculous deals? Yes. Is it an unfair advantage? Yes. But you have to be doing something right if you're making the playoffs every year.

Scott Baker isn't that great. He's 25, struggled, and doesn't have that great of a peak. Another guy the Yankees liked is Glen Perkins. He's worse than Perkins, but teams fall in love with leftys solely because they're leftys. That's one the most overrated things in baseball: handedness. If a lefty has excellent numbers versus leftys, it's fine to make them face only leftys. But if they have lousy numbers against them and your only bring him in because he's a lefty facing a lefty, you have a problem. That's what the Yankees do with Mike Myers. I was able to get a decent amount for them. OF Bronson Sardinha, 1B Eric Duncan, and RP/SP Darrell Rasner. Nobody special, but they're better than Baker and Perkins in my opinion.

majormet · 10-27-2007, 01:16 AM

This is great thus far, solid writing style, actually very Grisham like.

Good luck with the Twins.

hallofamer2000 · 10-28-2007, 01:32 AM

March the 28th, 2007

Boy does time fly by. I can't believe Spring Training is already over. I wasn't as active as I wanted to because, well, I wasn't sure of who I had. I'm getting sort of an idea and I'm narrowing down my Opening Day Roster. However, I did get a team to take Ramon Ortiz. I can't believe I was able to get the Blue Jays to give me Jesse Litsch for him.

The pitching was pretty much set before Spring even started. Johan Santana, Boof Bonser, Matt Garza, Kevin Slowey, and Darrell Rasner. Juan Rincon, Dennys Reyes, Pat Neshek, Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain to Joe Nathan.

Some positions were set already, while others weren't. Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond behind the plate. Morneau at first. Castillo at 2nd. Barlett and Punto on the left. Luis Rodriguez and Jeff Cirillo as backups in the infield. Rondell White will DH. Tyner in left, Hunter in center, and Cuddyer in right. Ford as backup.

I had to make a few minor releases to make enough room in the minor league levels, nothing major though.

I'm working on a long-term extension with Michael Cuddyer, and talking with Torii Hunter.

Sorry I'm really not saying much, but nothing really is happening right now.

hallofamer2000 · 10-29-2007, 12:18 AM

April the 15th, 2007

Good morrow all. What a wonderful day to be a GM. My Twins started the season 11-2, the pitching is doing well, and I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico.

Bad puns aside, this team is absolutely pounding every team it faces, even with a few early injuries hurting them.

On the second game of the season, Nick Punto hurts his back on an awkward slide into first base (I hate this, it's counterproductive), and then a few days later, makes it even worse on a diving play. Now that he's out for 2 months, and I have to find someone that can play it somewhat competantly for 2 months. Jeff Cirillo and Luis Rodriguez have shown that they can do it, as did Glenn Williams for one game. The Yankees GM gave be a good deal for a cheap replacement in Andy Phillips, with me not really giving up anything.

Also, rookie Kevin Slowey hurt his arm, but he's be back in a few days.

But I digress....Letting Jason Tyner lead off has quickly become a great decision by Manager Tim Henderson. He's hitting .356/.400 from the top, leading the team with 10 homers......in bizarro world. Not but seriously, he's good. Meanwhile Justin Morneau (.365/5/12) , Joe Mauer (.568/4/15), and Michael Cuddyer (.346/1/9), have been in the middle of every big rally. Meanwhile, Rondell White, is just plain bad. No one would take his 3 million dollar contract off my hands, so he started the year as the DH. This could end soon.

The pitching has started off beyond fantastic. Santana has been Santana (3-0, 3.05), Slowey was great when he was healthy (1-0, 1.26), Silva has been surprisingly good (1-0, 2.84), Garza has been solid (0-0, 4.15), and Boof has struggled (1-2, 7.82). The bullpen has been incredible as well. Nathan already has 6 saves, and Dennys Reyes is the only reliever with a ERA over 2.15.

However, I have to give the early season surprise award to Darrell Rasner. The Yankee reject has been fantastic so far. After being solid in long relief, he got Slowey's start, and promptly threw a 1-run CG.

A few minor transactions occurred in case your interested. After Punto got DL'ed (15 day), I called up 29 year Aussie Glenn Williams for a cup of coffee, but had to send him down the next day when Slowey got injured. I didn't want to DL him because he was only suppose to miss 9-10 days, so I sent down Williams for 26 year old SP Jesse Floyd, who pitched out of relief with Rasner briefly starting.

Wu called be yesterday. That call can't be typed because of the graphic nature. What's his problem with me? It's not like I wasn't qualified to take his job. Oh wait....

The Yankees just gave A-Rod a nice 4-year extension yesterday. A-Rod said he'd get rid of all his opt-outs for it. It's not like he would have opted out anyway, right?!

George came into my office the Wednesday. He was not alone today; his cousin with him. They apparently had been close ever since their pre-school days. She was tall, blonde, and looked like she was out of one of those old time movies with a cigarette in her mouth, and a fur around her neck. Money was her name, but George called her Sarah, Sarah Jones.

She and her fake caterpillar eyebrows danced over to my desk and sat down.

"How ya doing? How's Hunter's legs feeling?" he opening off with.

"Good, good."

"This is my cousin Sarah. She came up from the Long Island for the weekend."

I looked at her. I looked at the dead mink around her neck. I looked at her curled hair. She's the type I couldn't stand to be around for three minutes.

"Can we leave now?" she said to George. "He bores me."

"A minute, a minute."

Ugh......I hate her even more. And I hated George for even being associated with her. She said the sexiest thing I ever heard. She looked at me with her fake eyes and fake hair and fake smile and said:

"You know, Bronson Sardinha is really tearing up AAA."

10-26-2007, 11:28 PM	#1
hallofamer2000 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 51	Home of the 2007 Minnesota Twins Hey. This is my first team with OOTP 2007. I haven't played this in a while. So, I'm starting a dynasty with the Minnesota Twins, starting in 2007. I might make some stupid moves as I am not used to the differences between this game and the old version, and Baseball Mogul. I will be using Melo updated version of CubbyFan's roster. The thread/game will have real players but fake people (GMs, owners, managers, etc.) January the 15th, 2007 There's nothing more comfortable than sleeping in a warm bed on a winter morning. Then why the **** did that jerk call me at 5:30 in morning! I fell out of bed and crawled over to my cell phone. It was George. George Nixon was an old friend of mine from high school. We were unseperable for those four years, and another four at Harvard. We joined the same frat, had the same friends, took the same classes. Then why is he owner of the Minnesota Twins, while I'm the GM of the Georgia Storm, an independant league baseball team that plays other teams on the east coast? It's pretty simple really. George is a lucky bastard. It was about thirteen(ish) years ago, when we were both 21. We were on the way to our softball league's championship game, when we stopped at 7-11. We got the usually junk: chips, Coke, beer. At the register, George looked at the man behind the register and said, "Two lotto tickets, please." This is probably where George and I differ. He's an idiot and I'm not. Every single week he buys 2 or 3 lotto tickets, hoping to hit the jackpot. "You're an idiot" "Why?" "Every week you spend $3 on a lotto ticket. You might as well be using it as toilet paper. You're never gonna win. Chances are one in a trillion." "So you're saying there's a chance!?" (Remember, it's 1994) "If you save that $3 each week, at the end of the year you have about $150 bucks. 10 years later that's $1,500. In fifty years when you want to retire, that's $7,500 extra bucks you'd want to have." "Who cares? Like Robin Williams said in that movie, "Carpe Diem! Seize the day!" (Once again, this is 1994, when people actually liked Robin Williams) So of course the next morning he calls me and rubs it in my face. To sum it up, a few nice investments and an oil strike here or there, and he owns the Twins. But back to reality. "So Don, how's the whatchamacallit, Georgia Peaches job going." "It's the Storm and you know that." "Yeah, yeah right. Whatever. Hey, I got an idea. Work for me." "I told you for the hundreth time, no!" "Come ooooooon!" "No. I don't want some do-nothing job where you pay be only cause I'm your friend. And why'd you call me at 5:30 in the morning anyway?" "Like you say Don, we waste one-third of our life sleeping." "Good-bye George," I said as hung up the phone and I crawled back to bed for the few hours of happiness I had left. The phone rang again. "Son of a..." I said as I picked up the phone again. "What do you want?" "Wanna be GM?" Last edited by hallofamer2000; 10-26-2007 at 11:56 PM.

10-26-2007, 11:52 PM	#3
hallofamer2000 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 51	*January the 16th, 2007* In life, there are always those pleasant surprises to go along with the crap. For every pink slip you get, there's a Christmas puppy from your parents to go a long with it. For every regret, there's a chance you take that works out. George was taking a chance on me. I didn't know how to feel about this. You know how I feel about unnecessary risks and odds. Of course I took the job; it's been my dream to be a major league GM. And the pay isn't too shabby either. The Storm gave me only a fraction of what George gave me. "WHAT?! FIRE JOHNNY WU FOR SOME GUY THAT CAN'T EVEN WIN IN THE INDY LEAGUE?! PATHETIC!" -hunterfan11111 "BUM! WHAT A BUM! I BET HE'LL TRADE JOHAN 4 SOMEONE LIKE KEI IGAWA" -johanpedroboof08 That's what the blogs were saying. The radio shows were even worse. But hey, it could be worse. I could be in New York and have to deal with idiots like Mike Lupica. This morning I got on a the 7:30 from Georgia to Minnesota. I love flying. Isn't it so crazy how your thousands upon thousands of feet in the air, going hundreds upon hundreds of miles per hour, and you barely feel a thing. The lady next to me looked afraid. What an idiot. The portly fellow to her right was reading some Grisham novel. I usually can't read on airplanes, but this time I had to. For five hours straight I was reading scouting reports and stats for pretty much every player in the organization. To be honest, before this job, I couldn't tell the difference between a Boof and a Swarzak. If you asked me, I probably would have said they were types of fish. George said he would given be complete control of the team, and not second-guess anything that I did. He said the goal this year was the playoffs, then eventually the World Series? Never thought you'd hear an owner named George say that, eh? Once I got off the plane I saw three messages on my phone. One was my mom, the other way my neighbor who was watching my dog from me, and the other one....was from the Yankees GM, Nick Stuartson. "Give me a call. I want Boof." He was obviously not one for words. I got his number from George and called him back as soon as possible. "Hey, welcome to the majors," he said. "Thanks. You're not getting Boof." "Yes I am." "I'll give you Scott Baker." "Goodbye." What a strange fellow. Last edited by hallofamer2000; 10-26-2007 at 11:55 PM.

10-28-2007, 01:32 AM	#6
hallofamer2000 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 51	*March the 28th, 2007* Boy does time fly by. I can't believe Spring Training is already over. I wasn't as active as I wanted to because, well, I wasn't sure of who I had. I'm getting sort of an idea and I'm narrowing down my Opening Day Roster. However, I did get a team to take Ramon Ortiz. I can't believe I was able to get the Blue Jays to give me Jesse Litsch for him. The pitching was pretty much set before Spring even started. Johan Santana, Boof Bonser, Matt Garza, Kevin Slowey, and Darrell Rasner. Juan Rincon, Dennys Reyes, Pat Neshek, Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain to Joe Nathan. Some positions were set already, while others weren't. Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond behind the plate. Morneau at first. Castillo at 2nd. Barlett and Punto on the left. Luis Rodriguez and Jeff Cirillo as backups in the infield. Rondell White will DH. Tyner in left, Hunter in center, and Cuddyer in right. Ford as backup. I had to make a few minor releases to make enough room in the minor league levels, nothing major though. I'm working on a long-term extension with Michael Cuddyer, and talking with Torii Hunter. Sorry I'm really not saying much, but nothing really is happening right now. Last edited by hallofamer2000; 10-28-2007 at 01:39 AM.

10-29-2007, 12:18 AM	#7
hallofamer2000 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 51	*April the 15th, 2007* Good morrow all. What a wonderful day to be a GM. My Twins started the season 11-2, the pitching is doing well, and I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico. Bad puns aside, this team is absolutely pounding every team it faces, even with a few early injuries hurting them. On the second game of the season, Nick Punto hurts his back on an awkward slide into first base (I hate this, it's counterproductive), and then a few days later, makes it even worse on a diving play. Now that he's out for 2 months, and I have to find someone that can play it somewhat competantly for 2 months. Jeff Cirillo and Luis Rodriguez have shown that they can do it, as did Glenn Williams for one game. The Yankees GM gave be a good deal for a cheap replacement in Andy Phillips, with me not really giving up anything. Also, rookie Kevin Slowey hurt his arm, but he's be back in a few days. But I digress....Letting Jason Tyner lead off has quickly become a great decision by Manager Tim Henderson. He's hitting .356/.400 from the top, leading the team with 10 homers......in bizarro world. Not but seriously, he's good. Meanwhile Justin Morneau (.365/5/12) , Joe Mauer (.568/4/15), and Michael Cuddyer (.346/1/9), have been in the middle of every big rally. Meanwhile, Rondell White, is just plain bad. No one would take his 3 million dollar contract off my hands, so he started the year as the DH. This could end soon. The pitching has started off beyond fantastic. Santana has been Santana (3-0, 3.05), Slowey was great when he was healthy (1-0, 1.26), Silva has been surprisingly good (1-0, 2.84), Garza has been solid (0-0, 4.15), and Boof has struggled (1-2, 7.82). The bullpen has been incredible as well. Nathan already has 6 saves, and Dennys Reyes is the only reliever with a ERA over 2.15. However, I have to give the early season surprise award to Darrell Rasner. The Yankee reject has been fantastic so far. After being solid in long relief, he got Slowey's start, and promptly threw a 1-run CG. A few minor transactions occurred in case your interested. After Punto got DL'ed (15 day), I called up 29 year Aussie Glenn Williams for a cup of coffee, but had to send him down the next day when Slowey got injured. I didn't want to DL him because he was only suppose to miss 9-10 days, so I sent down Williams for 26 year old SP Jesse Floyd, who pitched out of relief with Rasner briefly starting. Wu called be yesterday. That call can't be typed because of the graphic nature. What's his problem with me? It's not like I wasn't qualified to take his job. Oh wait.... The Yankees just gave A-Rod a nice 4-year extension yesterday. A-Rod said he'd get rid of all his opt-outs for it. It's not like he would have opted out anyway, right?! George came into my office the Wednesday. He was not alone today; his cousin with him. They apparently had been close ever since their pre-school days. She was tall, blonde, and looked like she was out of one of those old time movies with a cigarette in her mouth, and a fur around her neck. Money was her name, but George called her Sarah, Sarah Jones. She and her fake caterpillar eyebrows danced over to my desk and sat down. "How ya doing? How's Hunter's legs feeling?" he opening off with. "Good, good." "This is my cousin Sarah. She came up from the Long Island for the weekend." I looked at her. I looked at the dead mink around her neck. I looked at her curled hair. She's the type I couldn't stand to be around for three minutes. "Can we leave now?" she said to George. "He bores me." "A minute, a minute." Ugh......I hate her even more. And I hated George for even being associated with her. She said the sexiest thing I ever heard. She looked at me with her fake eyes and fake hair and fake smile and said: "You know, Bronson Sardinha is really tearing up AAA." Last edited by hallofamer2000; 10-29-2007 at 12:19 AM.

10-26-2007, 11:38 PM	#2
dynastyman Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 42	lol good start much better then the start of my dynasty i started today

10-27-2007, 12:34 AM	#4
hallofamer2000 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 51	*January the 28th, 2007* It's been quite an interesting experience being a GM. I get booed and cursed in the streets all the time. But, I suppose they have a valid point. I'm only there because I'm friends with the owner. Johnny Wu was his name. The last GM of the Twins. I met him a few times before, and boy was he good. He had a hell of a presense when he entered the room. From his $10,000 custom made Italian suit which he wore with pride, to his greasy hair with a flip in the front, to the souls of his shiny black shoes. Those clothes described him perfectly. Slick and suave. Man could he speak. When he spoke, you couldn't concentrate on anything else. His deep voice was so captivating, I can tell why he was so successful. But this isn't the only reason he was successful. He was talented. You gotta be good to get Johan Santana for nothing, and Pedro Liriano and Boof Bonser for A.J. Pierzynski. But for some reason, he and George never got along. I never knew why. I never bothered to asked cause I knew I wouldn't get a straight answer. But this would eventually catch up to George. Later in the night I got a call from George. "Pettitte is done for the year. Take advantage." The New York Yankees are an interesting organization. Year after year they make the playoffs, and year after year their payroll increases. Do they sign a bunch of free agents to ridiculous deals? Yes. Is it an unfair advantage? Yes. But you have to be doing something right if you're making the playoffs every year. Scott Baker isn't that great. He's 25, struggled, and doesn't have that great of a peak. Another guy the Yankees liked is Glen Perkins. He's worse than Perkins, but teams fall in love with leftys solely because they're leftys. That's one the most overrated things in baseball: handedness. If a lefty has excellent numbers versus leftys, it's fine to make them face only leftys. But if they have lousy numbers against them and your only bring him in because he's a lefty facing a lefty, you have a problem. That's what the Yankees do with Mike Myers. I was able to get a decent amount for them. OF Bronson Sardinha, 1B Eric Duncan, and RP/SP Darrell Rasner. Nobody special, but they're better than Baker and Perkins in my opinion.

10-27-2007, 01:16 AM	#5
majormet Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 2,536	This is great thus far, solid writing style, actually very Grisham like. Good luck with the Twins.