Luis_Rivera's 2007 Managerial Dynasty (redux)

[Luis_Rivera]

Copy/pasted from the one I screwed up...

I'm starting a dynasty, and I'm going to run it similar to how I ran this one a couple years ago.

What I plan on doing is simulating through 2006 with some '06 rosters that I found, and taking a bad, small market team and turning them around like I did with the Pirates.

The team I took after '06 was, as expected, the Royals.

[Luis_Rivera]

Here's how 2006 went... the standings are attached.

American League Gold Gloves
P Jake Westbrook (CLE)
C Joe Mauer (MIN)
1B Mike Sweeney (KC)
2B Adam Kennedy (NYY)
3B Casey Blake (CLE)
SS Derek Jeter (NYY)
LF Preston Wilson (OAK)
CF Scott Podsednik (CHA)
RF Ichiro (SEA)

National League Gold Gloves
P John Thomson (ATL)
C Guillermo Rodriguez (SF)
1B Josh Willingham (SD)
2B Josh Barfield (SD)
3B Scott Rolen (STL)
SS Troy Tulowitzki (COL)
LF Lastings Milledge (NYM)
CF Juan Pierre (CHN)
RF Jason Lane (HOU)

American League ROY
2B Howie Kendrick (LAA)
  G  AB	  H  2B  3B  HR RBI   R  BB   K  AVG  OBP  SLG   OPS  VORP
142 510 163  36   4  12  76  59  27  85 .320 .355 .476  .832  37.4

National League ROY
LF Luke Scott (HOU)
  G  AB	  H  2B  3B  HR RBI   R  BB   K  AVG  OBP  SLG   OPS  VORP
149 527 160  23   4  26  71  99  64 102 .304 .378 .510  .889  39.6

American League Cy Young
SP Jered Weaver
 G  GS   W   L  SV   ERA    IP  HA   R  ER  HR  BB   K VORP 
34  34  16  10   0  2.76 228.0 201  72  70  25  39 227 62.5

National League Cy Young
SP Carlos Zambrano (ATL)
 G  GS   W   L  SV   ERA    IP  HA   R  ER  HR  BB   K  VORP 
34  34  20   6   0  2.81 218.0 179  69  68  20  77 169  61.2

-This prompted me to take a look at AI settings and change trading from Average to Very Low. Zambrano was traded for Renteria and a prospect! I don't mind funky trades, God knows they happen in the majors, but I'd rather the AI not go hogwild.

Note: We had two triple crown winners this year... bizarre!

American League MVP
DH Jim Thome (CHA)
  G  AB   H  2B  3B  HR RBI   R  BB   K  AVG  OBP  SLG   OPS  VORP
161 555 181  15   3  57 135 125 113 113 .326 .443 .672 1.115  92.6

National League MVP
1B Ryan Howard (PHI)
  G  AB   H  2B  3B  HR RBI   R  BB   K  AVG  OBP  SLG   OPS  VORP
157 619 209  31   3  66 152 142  89 133 .338 .421 .717 1.138  98.8

I'll be taking over KC as I want to take a really bad team, preferably in the American League.

[Luis_Rivera]

I should start by saying that I'm doing some serious bargain basement shopping. I'm trying to wait out a couple bad contracts, let some young guys develop, not get into any long term contracts that I will regret, and stay somewhat not a trainwreck all at the same time. Should be interesting.

12/9: Signed IF Aaron Boone $780k/1
-Boone is versatile and should be a good off-the-bench guy.

12/12: Signed CF Eric Byrnes $1.87M/1
-Eric will be manning right field for us next season.

12/12: Signed SP Mark Mulder $690K/1
-Mark is a bargain because he's coming off a season with the typical injury problems... Still, that's pretty cheap even if he only starts 20 games.

Notable Signings: 12/13
-CIN re-signs SS Felipe Lopez $10.89M/2

Notable Signings: 12/14
-DET signs 3B Mark Bellhorn $24.84M/3
Quite a bit, although he did put up a 305/419/511 line last season.
-NYA signs CL Tom Gordon $5.76M/2
He's back after a season on the Reds

12/14: Traded MR Ryan Dempster and C Max Sapp (prospect) to ARZ for 2B Orlando Hudson
-They proposed this deal to me, and I was more than happy to accept. Dempster put up a 3.01 ERA last year, but had ****ty peripherals. Even if that was anything that I believed to be legitimate, then I'd rather have the every day 2Bman.

12/15: Signed OF Dave Roberts $850k/1
-Bargain basement cheap... can't get enough of it.

12/19: Signed OF Phil Nevin $1.68M/1
-Phil will provide some pop off the bench and he can play all 4 corners, if not all that gracefully.

12/19: Signed MR Mike Holtz $570k/1
-Cheap lefty bullpen help.

Notable Signings: 12/20
-TOR signs CL Joe Nathan $12.13M/2 + PO $12.13M

12/21: Signed SS Tony Graffanino $640k/1
-Tony will be my shortstop for the short term.

Notable Signings: 12/22
-OAK signed LF Milton Bradley $21.9M/5
Not an awful signing if they put him in CF... otherwise, well... it's bad anyway, but you get what I'm saying.
-BAL signed MR Kelvim Escobar $4.35M/3

12/27: Signed SP Bronson Arroyo $570k/1
-Bronson will step into a long relief role.

1/8: Signed SP Kerry Wood $2.84M/1 + TO $4M
-Kerry is coming off a year where he started 26 and pitched decently... I like this deal

1/13: Signed SP Kip Wells $570k/1
-Good price for a back end of the rotation guy.

Notable Signings: 1/13
-LAD signed 3B Nomar Garciaparra $23.97M/3
Ehhhhh not so good for a guy coming off a 299/336/401 season

Notable Signings: 1/22
-ATL signed an extension to CF Andruw Jones $61.46M over 4 years
Good signing for one of the premier CFs in the league

Notable Signings: 1/24
-DET signed an extension to SS Carlos Guillen $60.76M over 4 years
Good SS are hard to find

1/31: Signed SP Aaron Sele $570k/1
-See: Kip Wells signing

Notable Signings: 3/12
-BOS signed an extension to SP Curt Schilling $27M/2
He had some problems with the long ball last year but the K/BBis still beautiful... although this does extend him through age 43... not so good

[Luis_Rivera]

Lineup vRH
1) CF David DeJesus
-David gets on base plenty. I'm happy to have him as my leadoff hitter.
2) 2B Orlando Hudson
-I was pumped to get this trade offer. He should be a mainstay in my initial rebuilding plans.
3) 3B Alex Gordon
-Big fan of the prospects of watching Alex develop.
4) 1B Mike Sweeney
-After this year, I'll be off the hook for Mike's terrible contract.
5) DH Josh Willingham
-This is another position I'll be needing to improve when I can.
6) RF Eric Byrnes
-Eric tears the **** out of the ball against lefties, and does an adequate job against righties.
7) LF Shane Costa
-Shane is 25, and just a pure contact hitter. I'll hope to move him to the bench next year. He also needs to be platooned.
8) C Adam Donachie
-Adam is an awesome defensive catcher who is 23. He'll be getting his first full year in the majors this season.
9) SS Tony Graffanino
-Tony is simply a stopgap solution.

Bench
C John Buck
-I actually like him in real life, but he ssssssuuuuckkksssss in this particular league.
IF Aaron Boone
-Aaron provides some versatility and a decent bat off the bench.
IF Pedro Lopez
-Pedro was my rule 5 pick from the White Sox. He can play SS and 2B and he had a VORP of 31.1 in the minors last year at age 22.
OF Phil Nevin
-Phil will start in lieu of Costa vLH.
OF Dave Roberts
-One of my favorite real life players... he'll provide some speed off the bench.

Lineup vLH
2B Orlando Hudson
LF Eric Byrnes
1B Mike Sweeney
RF Phil Nevin
DH Josh Willingham
3B Alex Gordon
C Adam Donachie
CF David DeJesus
SS Tony Graffanino

[Luis_Rivera]

Rotation
1) Kerry Wood
-Kerry's my biggest free agent signing... As you read on you'll realize I'd better have some AAA pitching depth.
2) Mark Mulder
-Another cheap signing I was happy with.
3) Kyle Snyder
-I'm a very big fan of Kyle in real life. He actually had a pretty decent '06 putting up a 4.15 ERA in 34 starts.
4) Kip Wells
-Another of my cheap signings.
5) Aaron Sele
-Again, see: Kip Wells.

Bullpen
MR Jimmy Gobble
-Jimmy spent most of '06 in AAA but he put up some good numbers.
MR Luke Hudson
-Ditto Jimmy Gobble.
MR Bronson Arroyo
-Bronson will be my long relief/spot start guy. He'll probably get plenty of chances with my rotation.
SU Keith Foulke
-Keith is another fragile arm in my 'pen that sould be pretty effective if healthy.
SU Mike Holtz
-BIG weak spot on my team (one of many) is left handed bullpen pitching. Mike had a rough year with the Red Sox last year.
CL Andy Sisco
-Andy is my best reliever and he's only 24.

Payroll: $35,252,200
Fan Interest: 44/100

Expectations: Play close to an even record (gross!)

[MuertoDesagradecido]

I figured it out from the roster, but you might want to put which team you're taking in the first post. I'm also a bit confused as to what year this is - you say you simmed through '06 but the roster set you linked to starts in '07.

Either way, glad to see this one back again.

[Luis_Rivera]

Originally Posted by MuertoDesagradecido

I figured it out from the roster, but you might want to put which team you're taking in the first post. I'm also a bit confused as to what year this is - you say you simmed through '06 but the roster set you linked to starts in '07.

Either way, glad to see this one back again.

Ha... whoops! I copy/pasted the original first post, but that was before I decided to change to '06 rosters. I'll fix that.

[Luis_Rivera]

11-16; 5th place (4.5 GB CLE)

Hitting
It's pretty ugly for the most part. Donachie started off wicked hot but cooled pretty quick. Gordon is looking really good though.

Pitching
We've had some problems with the longball (uh, understatement) but I am encouraged by the performances of Snyder, Wells, and Wood. Sele's showed some promise but had a couple bad outings. Mr. Mulder is in danger of losing his spot in the rotation.

[Luis_Rivera]

Around the League
Philly has jumped out to the best record in the league on the heels of great Aprils from pitcher of the month Cole Hamels and Brett Myers.

1B Todd Helton (COL) hit his 300th HR on 4/2.

CL Mariano Rivera (NYA) signed a 2 year extension worth $9.2M that will keep him in New York through 2009.

CL Brian Fuentes (COL) signed a 3 year estension worth $10.5M over 3 years that will keep him in Colorado through 2010. He's been filthy thus far this year putting up a .84 ERA in 11 appearances.

AL Pitcher of the Month
Jered Weaver (LAA) (2)
Jered went 4-0 with a 1.64 ERA; 47/4 K/BB

NL Pitcher of the Month
Cole Hamels (PHI) (1)
Cole went 5-0 with a 3.02 ERA; 49/10 K/BB

AL Hitter of the Month
RF JD Drew (TOR) (1)
JD put up a 375/474/646 line
-JD was traded to the Jays in one of the strangest trades at the deadline last year. Toronto sent Roy Halladay and two prospects to LA for JD. Sure, Halladay had gotten off to a 3-14 start with an ERA in the high 4's but it was dumb to give up on him like that.

NL Hitter of the Month
3B David Wright (NYM) (1)
David put up a 437/474/709 line
-26.0 VORP in one month? Wowwww

[Dagrims]

Your team is horrible, but with your name on the dynasty, I'll be reading.

[pat]

A very easy read which makes me a fan. Good luck Luis.

Just wondering, why didn't you take Seattle? They finished 62-100.

[RoyalsBlue]

Like what you're doing, Luis.

One thing that made me do a spit-take was seeing the name Mike Sweeney and the words "gold glove" in the same sentence.

Best of luck with the Royals. Looks like you're trying to rebuild cheaply, almost like you're really working for the Glass family!

KUTGW!

[jaykno14]

I hope my Brewers can do as well in this dynasty as they are doing in real life (well I guess not as of late).

8-18 suggests Sal Bando might be running the team again.

[Luis_Rivera]

Thanks guys... I didn't take Seattle because I wanted a small market team.

The good news is that next year I'll be able to go after at least one high end free agent. I just need to pick the right one.

[Luis_Rivera]

5/11: Placed MR Jimmy Gobble on the 60-day DL; promoted SP Scott Olsen from AAA
-Jimmy tore a back muscle so he'll be out for a full calendar year. I've been lucky enough not to have any injuries to this point other than Donachie going out for a week. Oh well... not like this is knocking me out of contention or anything.
--------------------------
4-24 (15-40); 5th Place (13.0 GB MIN)

Hitting
Again, Alex Gordon is the only one who had a month that makes me very happy. I'll take that production from Byrnes, though. At the very least, Donachie is getting on base, and that's nice.

Pitching
Wood and Snyder are still having trouble with the long ball. Mark Mulder did save his job this month though. Foulke is about to steal Sisco's closer job, and Bronson Arroyo is about to be demoted, just an FYI.

[Luis_Rivera]

Around the League
The phillies are continuing their domination of the NL while the DRays sport the best record in the AL. The Royals are ****ing miserable. Don't worry, though, even if I get fired I'll set myself back up... I need time to fix this situation!

Injuries
Chad Billingsley (LAD), who has been fantastic in this, his rookie season, posting a 2.38 ERA damaged his miniscus on 5/6 and will be out 7-8 weeks.

The Padres were dealt a big blow on the 14th when their ace, Jake Peavy went down for the season with a torn labrum. This could mean bad things for his career, even.

Tigers ace, Jeremy Bonderman, who has posted a 2.48 ERA in 9 starts went down for 2 months with bone chips in his elbow.

3B Willy Aybar (LAD) went down on the 26th with a strained back and will be out for 7 weeks. Willy had put up a 323/376/444 line in 49 games thus far.

3B Eric Chavez (OAK) will miss 8 weeks with a strained PCL.

Milestones
CF Ken Griffey Jr. (CIN) had hit #2500 on 5/4.

On 5/8, CF Johnny Damon (NYY) collected his 2000th hit.

3B Chipper Jones (PHI), who was traded from Atlanta during the 2006 season for Bobby Abreu and a middle relief prospect got his 2000th hit on 5/12.

RF Gary Sheffield (NYY) got his 2500th hit on 5/20.

AL Hitter of the Month
1B Lyle Overbay (TOR) (1)
-Lyle keeps the HOTM in the Blue Jays organization batting .346 with 8 HR, 20 RBI, 20 R, and a .446 OBP.

NL Hitter of the Month
1B Ryan Howard (PHI) (4)
-Last year's MVP and triple crown winner takes May's NL HOTM hitting .303 with 11HR, 26 RBI, and 23 R.

AL Pitcher of the Month
Ruddy Lugo (TB) (1)
-Ruddy 22 years old in his second year. He had a solid May converting 11 out of 11 save opportunities with 12 strikeouts and didn't allow a run in 12.2 IP.

NL Pitcher of the Month
Roy Halladay (LAD)
-LA really made out with that trade for JD Drew getting one of the best pitchers in the league who had just happened to have a bad start to '06. Halldaday struck out 25 guys and put together an ERA of 1.09 in 41.1 innings to compile a 4-0 record in May. JP Ricciardi is an idiot.

[Luis_Rivera]

Here, I'll detail my first three picks of the 25 round draft.

1. RF Logan Aston - 21 YO
-Logan is probably the best hitter in the draft, with no real weaknesses in his potential. He can also play a very good right field, and if need be can manage at the other two outfield positions, although it is not preferable.

2. CL Bill Schiffer - 18 YO
-Bill has some lights out stuff, very good control, and he induces a lot of grounders.

3. LF Antonio Mona - 19 YO
-Antonio is a BURNER. He's going to require some more development at the plate, but he's only 19 so there's room.

[Luis_Rivera]

6/9: Placed CF Eric Byrnes on the 15-Day DL; Promoted CF Mitch Maier
-Mitch has been tearing **** up in AAA hitting double after double. Eric will be out for at least two weeks so I figured I'd call him up. FYI, this injury happened in our first win in 19 games.

6/13: Demoted SP Luke Hudson to AAA; Promoted SP Andrew Miller
-Andrew was our 1st round pick last year (you might know him as the Tigers' actual 1st rounder) and he's been pitching well in AAA. I'm going to slot him in Sele's spot in the rotation and bump him to the 'pen.
------------------------------------------------
5-22 (20-62); 5th Place (25.0 GB MIN)

This is ugly...

Hitting
Well, the good news is some of our guys are actually hitting like major leaguers at this point. Donachie looks absolutely awesome, while DeJesus played like I would expect him to. I'm just riding out Sweeney's contract at this point, but I'm ready to drop Willingham. He just sucks.

Pitching
Annnnd here's the real bad news. The pitching staff is just awful flat out all around. Miller is looking nice in his first three starts, while Snyder is looking like he will have a future here. The rest of 'em, gross. Oh, I should mention that Sisco lost his closers job to Foulke, and he proceeded to get zero saves.

[Dagrims]

Why don't you go to a four-man rotation and dump Sele? Kyle Snyder is a definite bright spot, and Wood and Mulder should improve.

[Luis_Rivera]

Wood should improve. Mulder's peripherals don't even look good, so I'm not as hopeful. I actually did move Sele to the 'pen when I brought up Miller.

I am, however entertaining ideas to replace Kip Wells in the #5 spot.