Real Time Manager Career

boogeyboard1 · 12-29-2016, 03:55 PM

I have decided to start a real time manager career on OOTP 17. I'll be starting unemployed, and will sim 1 day every day. I started out by simulating from the MLB 2016 quickstart (with all the other leagues in it) up until today, December 29th. A lot happened since then. In this universe the Astros swept the Mets in the World Series, Sonny Gray and Noah Syndergaard won Cy Young, and Chris Davis (now for the Rays) and again Noah Syndergaard won MVP.

After finishing the sim, my first action had to be to get a job. First, I had to decide what my goals are for this career.

1. Make it to the major leagues
2. Make a ton of money

Sounds about right.

I had a lot of offers today, ranging from $550 salaries in Cuba to $150,000 salaries in AA. Obviously I'm not going to Cuba, so I looked into the $150,000 offer, which came from the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, KC's AA affiliate in the Texas League. They went 67-73 last year. The Royals have the #6 farm system in the league. Sounds good to me. So I signed the 2 year, $150,000/year deal.

There are two other members of the coaching staff here in Northwest Arkansas: the pitching coach and the hitting coach. I did not have any say in who my coaches would be, but they seem fine.

The pitching coach is Eduardo Salgado, who is 43 years old, and, like me, in his first coaching job. He was born in Mexico, and had a 10 year career as a pitcher there as well. He wasn't very good, amassing a -1.0 WAR as a pitcher for 7 different teams and going 46-77 with 2 saves and a 5.78 ERA in 138 starts and 124 relief appearances. Hopefully our pitchers will be better than he was. He did mention to me that he prefers working with veterans over younger players, which isn't great considering we're in AA, but perhaps we'll be able to work our way to the majors together and coach a very old team once we're there.

Brian Buchanan is the hitting coach. He's also 43 years of age. He was the hitting coach here last year, when the team batted .255. He likes to focus on power hitting, giving him higher development influence with 6 of the players on out team. He does have aspirations to be a manager one day, and he'd probably do a lot of bunting, stealing, and hit and runs if that were to ever happen.

Both Brian and Eduardo are signed through 2017, whereas I'm here through 2018. Ha.

The GM for the Royals is Dayton Moore. He hired me and will be in control of our roster. He seems to slightly favor prospects over veterans, and definitely likes building offensive teams over defensive teams. He especially likes power hitters. Hopefully he'll give Brian some good prospects to work with. He's pretty middle of the road when it comes to trading, except he has no loyalty to his players, so anyone could go at any time. The Royals were really good last year, winning the division with a 96-66 record before getting eliminated by the Astros in the Divisional Series, so it's more likely that we'll be losing prospects in trades than gaining them since we're a part of a win-now organization.

Our pitching staff as of today has 9 members. Leading off the rotation will be #19 Luke Farrell, a 25-year-old from Westlake, Ohio. He was drafted by the Royals in the 6th round out of Northwestern in 2013 and has been in our minor league system ever since. He doesn't have as much potential as a couple of the other pitchers on our team, but I think he earned the right to be the #1 starter after 2 good seasons in AA, making the Texas League All-Star Game this past season. His best pitch is his fastball, but his curveball and changeup are both ok as well.

#23 Erik Skoglund will be our #2. He's a 24-year-old from Sarasota, Florida, who was drafted in the 3rd round in 2014 out of University of Central Florida and has 2 star potential according to the OSA. Kansas City's head scout, Lonnie Goldberg, who's good at scouting the minor leagues, disagrees. He played most of last season for the Kansas City A+ team, but was called up to make 2 starts here in Northwest Arkansas too. He did well in A+ ball and went 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA in his 2 starts here. He's a baseball rat. His best pitch is his fastball, his slider his 2nd best, and he has work to do on his changeup.

Our 3rd starter is #24 Niklas Stephenson, a 23-year-old born in San Diego. Lonnie Goldberg and the OSA once again disagree on this guy's potential, with the OSA giving him 2 stars and Goldberg giving him 0.5 and says he's destined for a career in the minors. They both agree that his fastball is his best pitch. Goldberg actually thinks it's pretty good. His curveball and changeup are not as good. He's been in single-A for 4 years now, and he did well last season, putting up a 2.5 WAR, which is what prompted his promotion.

#29 Torey Deshazier is our 4th man. He's 23-years-old, from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2012. He made 1 start here in AA after a pretty good year in A+ and allowed 6 runs in 4 innings. He'll get another shot at it this year. His fastball and slider are both ok, and our scout thinks his changeup is ok too, but overall I don't think he'll be great.

#30 Kevin McCarthy is our 5th starter. He's usually a reliever, but there's no one else I trust to be a starter (not that I really trust him). He's a 24-year-old from Malverne, New York, and was drafted in the 16th round of the 2013 draft out of Marist College in New York. He didn't do well in 9 relief appearances in AA last year, but then put up a 0.8 WAR in A+ before tearing his labrum in early July and missing the rest of the season. He doesn't have great stamina, but his fastball, changeup, and slider are good enough to make me feel somewhat comfortable with giving him a shot as a starter, but I'd really appreciate it if Dayton Moore could send me someone else before the season starts.

So that's the starting rotation. I'll keep going through the roster in the coming days. There's no rush, considering the season doesn't start until April.

Eduardo, Brian, and I also decided we should get together every day during the offseason and watch whatever baseball game we can find, to build relations with each other and to discuss strategy for the season. The only games going on today were in Cuba, and we decided to watch the Holguin Cachorros at the Matanzas Cocodrilos.

The game started at 1:05 CST, and there seemed to be pretty good weather in Matanzas. Holguin was 24-17 going into the game, and Matanzas was 26-15.

Yoannis Yera got the start for Matanzas. He was 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA coming in. The lefty faced off against Manny Salvador, the shortstop for Holguin who entered the game batting .223 with 2 home runs and 10 RBI. He grounded out on the first pitch, hitting a high slider right back to Yera.

2B Yeison Pacheco came up next, having batted .277 with 5 homers and 19 RBI. Yera served him a fastball outside of the zone, which Pacheco hit in the air to right field. It was caught for the 2nd out in 2 pitches.

Yunior Paumier, the third baseman, hit 3rd. He was batting .330 with 3 homers and 15 RBI entering today's game. On the second pitch he slapped a high fastball into left field for a single.

1B Lerys Aguilera came to the plate. He'd been batting .339 with 11 HRs and 44 RBI. He grounded the ball to the shortstop on pitch #2, who threw to second for the final out.

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Luis Angel Gomez, another lefty, was the starter for Holguin. He'd gone 3-3 with a 5.36 ERA so far.

CF Victor Mesa Jr. was the first batter for Matanzas. He swung at a fastball outside on the first pitch. His average for the season coming in was .275, and he'd hit 4 homers. He then bounced a fastball down the middle to the shortstop, who threw him out at first.

Anibal Medina came up. The second baseman was hitting .304 with 4 home runs and 23 RBI. He fouled the third pitch off the head of the ump, who took a moment to clear his head. He worked a full count before hitting a home run that barely stayed fair in left field, giving Matanzas a 1-0 lead.

LF Yasiel Santoya stepped up to the plate, having hit .321 with 7 homers and 27 RBI to date. He flew out to left.

Yariel Duque, who lead the league in home runs with 13, also had 40 RBI and a .347 average entering the game. The third baseman swung and missed at Gomez's curveball for strike 3 to end the inning. 1-0 Matanzas.

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RF Geidis Soler led off for Holguin in the top of the 2nd. He'd hit .261 with 6 homers and 16 RBI entering the game. With the count full Soler hit a line drive up the middle for a single.

Yoannis Quintana, the center fielder who was hitting .273 with 5 homers and 20 RBI, came up next. Yera got him to ground into a 4-6-3 double play.

LF Alexis Levya was batting .287 with 4 home runs and 22 RBI. Yera dealt him a fastball with the count at 1-0, and Levya flew out to right for out #3.

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Up came RF William Luis for Matanzas. He'd hit .313 with 4 homers and 21 RBI. He grounded out to 3rd this time.

DH Yoandy Garlobo was next. He'd hit .290 with a homer and 14 RBI. With 3 balls and 2 strikes he singled to right.

1B Jefferson Delgado was hitting .200 with no home runs and 3 RBI. Gomez struck him out.

C Onel Vega was hitting .323 with a homer and 5 RBI. He worked a walk and pushed Garlobo to 2nd.

SS Julio Cesar Gonzales hit 9th for Matanzas and had hit .246 with a homer and 23 RBI coming into the game. He flew out to right field to end the bottom of the 2nd.

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C Franklin Aballe hit 8th and lead off the top of the 3rd. He'd hit .260 with 4 home runs and 18 RBI coming in and earned himself a base on balls.

DH Jose Castanada, who'd hit .260 with no home runs and 14 RBI for Holguin, watched the first pitch go by him for a wild pitch. Aballe advanced to 2nd base. He then hit a single to right field, and Aballe raced home. William Luis tried and failed to throw him out, and Castanada made it to 2nd base on the throw. The score was tied, 1-1.

Manny Salvador approached the plate for his 2nd chance. He flew out to right field for out #1.

Next, Yera hit hit Yeison Pacheco with a pitch.

Brian commented that the next batter, Yunior Paumier, was better than a lot of the guys on our team. Paumier promptly struck out, and we all laughed.

Aguilera struck out as well, and the top of the 3rd ended with a 1-1 tie.

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Mesa Jr. started the bottom of the 3rd by grounding out to short.

Gomez then walked Anibal Medina, and the next batter, Yasiel Santoya.

Yariel Duque hit a single to right and the bases were loaded with 1 out.

William Luis hit a long fly out to right, enabling Medina to tag up and score from 3rd.

Garlobo hit an easy ground out to the pitcher, but the Cocodrilos had a 2-1 lead.

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Yera allowed Soler to hit a single to start off the 4th.

Quintana flied out to center field.

Soler stole 2nd on the first pitch of Leyva's at bat. Leyva hit an RBI single to left field to tie the ballgame.

Franklin Aballe flew out to left for the 2nd out.

Castaneda singled up the middle, sending Leyva to 3rd.

Manny Salvador hit into a fielder's choice at 2nd base, making him 0-for-3 for the day. But the score had been tied up again.

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Jefferson Delgado led off with a single.

Gomez struck out Vega, sending him back to the bench.

Julio Cesar Gonzalez hit the ball into the left field corner, allowing him to make it to 2nd and Delgado to 3rd.

Mesa Jr. took a walk to load the bases.

Gomez threw a fastball to Medina with a 1-2 count, which Medina deposited into the bullpen in left-center for a grand slam.

Eduardo shook his head as the manager came to take Gomez out of the game. He'd gone 3.1 innings and allowed 6 runs on 6 hits (2 of them homers) and 4 walks. He was replaced by Carlos Olexis Gonzalez, who didn't have any wins or losses but had a 3.23 ERA in 30.2 IP for Holguin.

Now with a 6-2 lead, Santoya came to the plate and flew out to right.

Duque then lined out to center and the inning ended with Matanzas winning 6-2.

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Pacheco started off the 5th inning by hitting a homer to the exact same spot Medina hit his. Holguin inched closer but was still down by 3.

Brian perked up as Paumier came to the plate, but he struck out looking. Eduardo and I laughed again, but Brian said he was still 1-for-3 on the day and still better than anyone on our team.

Lerys Aguilera then hit another home run, again to the same spot as the last 2. The game got more interesting as the score was now 6-4, Matanzas still up.

Eduardo commented that neither pitcher had their best stuff today, and that there were probably plenty more runs to come in this game. At the same time, Geidis Soler worked a walk.

Yera walked the next batter too, Yoannis Quintana.

But then, Levya hit into a double play to end the Cachorros' effort in the 5th. But they'd scored 2 runs, and the score was closer than before.

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Luis grounded out to begin the bottom half of the 5th.

Garbolo then showed he might not be any better than Gomez today as he allowed Garlobo to hit a solo shot to left field, extending the Matanzas lead to 7-4.

Next, he walked Delgado.

Vega struck out, remaining hitless for the day.

In a Gonzalez vs. Gonzalez matchup, the pitcher won as the hitter flew out to left.

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Yera fielded Aballe's ground ball and sent it to first to get the 1st out in the top of the 6th.

Castaneda hit his 3rd single of the day. Yera can't get him out, Brian commented.

Salvador hit it hard, but right at the left fielder. Out number 2.

Pacheco hit a soft single to left center and Castaneda moved to 2nd base.

Brian's hero, as Eduardo and I had begun to call him, Paumier, flew out to left.

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Mesa Jr. popped out.

Medina hit a single between the third baseman and the shortstop.

Santoya hit into a 5-4-3 double play. At the end of the 6th, the score was 7-4, Matanzas.

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Yera had thrown 93 pitches, so he was taken out of the game in favor of Sandro Quevedo, who was 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA in 7 IP. Yera had gone 6 innings, allowing 4 runs on 10 hits and 3 walks, registering 3 Ks.

Quevedo struck out the first batter he faced, Aguilera.

Soler was retired for the first time today with a strikeout.

Quintana walked.

Levya grounded it to the third baseman, who threw it to 2nd for the final out.

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Duque hit a fly ball out to left.

Luis lined out to center.

Gonzalez walked Garlobo.

Delgado was struck out. Score still 7-4, home team winning. Brian got up to get some chips and dip.

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Franklin Aballe grounded out to 2nd.

They were saying on TV that computers showed that Matanzas had a 95.4% chance of winning. Eduardo agreed, but Brian said it was lower than that because Matanzas' closer had pitched yesterday. Eduardo said Brian should have faith in Matanzas' pitching. Brian said Eduardo should have faith in Yunior Paumier. We all laughed.

Castenada grounded out for the first time today, making himself 3-for-4.

Salvador popped out to 2nd for the third out. He was now 0-for-5.

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Onel Vega lined it to left for a single.

In Gonzalez vs. Gonzalez round 2, the batter was walked. That ended Gonzalez's night. He'd gone 3.2 innings with a run and 3 hits and 3 walks allowed, but was still responsible for both runners. Wilson Paredes was the new pitcher, and he'd gone 2-2 with a 2.84 ERA in 12.2 IP.

Mesa Jr. singled, loading the bases.

Demis Valdes came in to pinch hit for Medina. He'd gone 1-for-3 as a pinch hitter and for the season was hitting .352, but he struck out.

Santoya hit a sac fly to center, and the runner from third scored while the runner on 2nd moved to 3rd.

Enriquez singled, advancing everyone by a base, and the score was 9-4.

The inning finally ended when Luis flew out.

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Matanzas didn't need a closer in this situation, so Quevedo stayed in. Pacheco singled.

We all got excited when Paumier came up, and we all cheered when he finally delivered, hitting a 2-run homer to left.

That was it for Quevedo. He threw 2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits. Felix Fuentes came in, having gone 2-1 with a league leading 12 saves and a 2.60 ERA. He could earn the save today now that the score was 9-6.

He struck out the first batter, Aguilera.

Soler also struck out, and Holguin were down to their final out.

Quintana struck out too, and Matanzas got the 9-6 victory.

Sizeman21 · 12-30-2016, 01:06 AM

Loving this so far. Day by day stories are always fun to read about. Good work.

boogeyboard1 · 12-30-2016, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sizeman21

Loving this so far. Day by day stories are always fun to read about. Good work.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the first post.

boogeyboard1 · 12-30-2016, 11:05 AM

Time to go through what is currently a 4 man bullpen.

#22 Jake Junis is my only middle reliever at the moment, and he's still recovering from a partially torn collateral ligament, though he'll be ready in plenty of time for the beginning of the season. I wanted to put him in the rotation, as he's been a starter in the minors since he was drafted in round 29 in 2011, but I simply don't have enough confidence in his stuff. He did well in A+ last year, but then was called up to AA and made 3 starts for us, putting up an 0-2 record and a 7.94 ERA before getting hurt and missing the second half of the season. If one of my starters isn't doing well I still might give him a shot, but for now he'll be in the bullpen.

My first setup guy is #18, Mark Peterson, who is 26-years-old. A career minor leaguer who put up a 5.10 ERA in 50 relief appearances last year. Look for him to come up with similar figures this season.

#57 Matthew Murray didn't have a good year here last year, but I have no problem giving him another shot as our setup man considering his ratings. He was drafted in the 10th round in 2011, but now at 27 years of age it's clear he's not going to pan out. He has decent pitches though, so he'll be good minor league depth for the Royals organization. A sparring partner for guys with more potential.

#17 Sam Selman will be the closer for the Naturals, as he was last season, when he had 32 saves and a 2.52 ERA. The 26-year-old Austin, Texas native was a 2nd round pick in 2009. He's 26 now, and he won't be as good as the Royals hoped when they drafted him, but he did win a pitcher of the month award in August. I expect him to have a good year, could even get called up to AAA. The weakest part of his game is his control. Once he improves that he should definitely be ready to compete in AAA.

----------------------------------------------------

Brian, Eduardo and I watched another Cuban game today, again involving the Matanzas Cocodrilos, who were playing in Granma against the Potros. Matanzas entered the the 7:05 pm game with a 27-15 record, while Granma sat at 26-16. Today the 2nd and 3rd place teams were facing off for the first time this season.

Top 1

Mesa Jr. started off the day with an infield hit.

Valdes singled up the middle and Mesa Jr. moved over to 2nd.

Santoya followed that up with a sharp line drive past the 2nd baseman for a single. Mesa Jr. scored, and Valdes went to 2nd. 1-0.

Duque drilled it into the gap between the left fielder and the center fielder, and it rolled to the wall for a double. Valdes came around from 2nd base and scored, and Santoya ended up at 3rd base. 2-0.

Luis popped out to the 3rd baseman.

Medina flew out to the right fielder, but it wasn't quite deep enough for the runners to tag.

Delgado pushed one through the middle of the infield for a single, and both runners scored, with Duque just barely beating the throw home. 4-0.

The half inning ended with a fly out by Onel Vega.

Bot 1

Reyes hit a fly out to shallow center.

Benitez hit one past the 3rd baseman for a single.

Samon also hit a single.

Guerra hit one over the shortstop's head to load the bases with a single. His 50th hit of the season.

Aviles grounded out to the shortstop, but the runners advanced. 4-1.

Cespedes hit a long fly ball to center that was caught for the 3rd out. Still 4-1 Matanzas.

Top 2

Gonzalez flew out to center.

Mesa Jr. hit it hard to right, but it was caught.

Valdes hit one in the air to center. 3rd out.

Bot 2

Cedeno hit into a 5-3 out.

Ferrales popped it up in the infield. The 2nd baseman caught it.

Hidalgo popped out to the catcher.

Top 3

Santoya beat out a grounder for an infield hit.

Duque flew out.

Luis got drilled by a pitch.

Pena got his first K of the day as Medina struck out looking.

Delgado grounded it to the shortstop, who flipped it to 2nd for out number 3.

Bot 3

Reyes lined out to 3rd base.

Benitez lined it past 3rd base for a single.

Samon struck out swinging at a 2-2 fastball.

Benitez got picked off at first base. Nice move by Martinez, Brian commented. Three down.

Top 4

Vega hit a single.

Gonzalez hit a successful sacrifice bunt and Vega went to 2nd base.

Mesa Jr. hit a single to right that brought Vega home from 2nd. 5-1 Matanzas.

Valdes flew out to right. Cespedes made a nice catch.

Mesa Jr. stole 2nd base on the first pitch to Santoya, who then lined out to the 2nd baseman. But Matanzas extended their lead by 1.

Bot 4

Guerra singled up the middle.

Aviles hit a sac bunt, Guerra to 2nd.

Cespedes skied one to center for the out, but Guerra was able to tag up and go to 3rd.

Cedeno flew out to right to end the inning.

Top 5

Jose Armando Pena did not return to the mound. In 4 innings, he allowed 5 runs on 8 hits while getting 1 strikeout. Yanier Gonzalez relieved him. He had a 1-0 record and a 4.91 ERA in 22 IP.

Duque popped out.

Luis singled to center field.

Medina just got it past the shortstop for a single. Luis to 2nd.

Delgado grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end it.

Bot 5

Ferrales grounded out to the first baseman.

Hidalgo grounded out to the second baseman.

Reyes struck out looking at a 3-2 pitch.

Top 6

Vega singled.

Gonzalez struck out.

Mesa Jr. lined out to right.

Valdes struck out swinging.

Bot 6

Benitez flew out to center field.

Samon struck out in 3 pitches.

Guerra struck out in 5 pitches.

Top 7

Santoya hit into a ground out.

Duque hit it deep to right but it was fielded well, so only a single.

Luis singled too. Duque to 2nd.

Medina softly singled to center. Duque scored and Luis moved over 1. 6-1.

Delgado grounded out. Runners advance.

Vega flew out to right. Still 6-1.

Bot 7

Aviles grounds out.

So does Cespedes.

Cedeno hits a line drive for a single to left.

Ferales hits one hard to the gap but it is caught by the LF.

Top 8

Gonzalez flies out to left just before the warning track. Santoya was injured making the catch. He's gonna be out for 6 weeks. He went 2-for-4 today with an RBI and a run. He was replaced by Yoandy Garlobo.

Mesa Jr. hits a line drive that's caught by the shortstop.

Valdes grounds out, 5-3.

Bot 8

Martinez came out after pitching 7 innings, allowing a run on 6 hits and 4 Ks. He was replaced by another Martinez, this one called Maikel, who had a 9.00 ERA and a 2-0 record in 17 IP.

Hidalgo hit a fly ball that was caught at the warning track in center.

Reyes was hit by an 0-2 pitch.

Benitez struck out looking.

Samon hit a home run to left. 6-3.

Martinez came out after allowing 2 runs on 1 hit in 0.2 IP. Replacing him was Frank San Martin, who was 1-1 with a 6.23 ERA in 8.2 IP.

He got Guerra to ground out.

Top 9

Yanier Gonzalez's day was over. He went 4 innings and gave up a run on 6 hits, striking out 2. Yosibel Castillo stepped onto the mound, bringing with him a 1-0 record and a 1.83 ERA.

Garlobo, who was hitting .306 with 2 homers and 15 RBI, popped it up to the catcher.

Duque hit one to shallow right that was caught by the 3rd baseman.

Luis struck out swinging.

Bot 9

San Martin was done after a scoreless third of an inning. Royd Hernandez came in to close. He had a 1-0 record with 1 save and a 2.84 ERA in 9 games.

Aviles lined out to left.

Cespedes hit a homer to left center! Brian got excited as Granma made it a 6-4 game.

Cedeno flew out to right.

Ferrales hit a ground out to end the game. Brian was a little disappointed that it wasn't more exciting.

boogeyboard1 · 12-31-2016, 04:06 PM

I am going to hold off on introducing the starting lineup, because I haven't had time to set it yet and because it's a holiday. I'm also not going to watch a game because my coaches and I are spending time with our families. Happy new year everybody!

12-30-2016, 11:05 AM	#4
boogeyboard1 All Star Starter Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 1,129	December 30, 2016 Time to go through what is currently a 4 man bullpen. #22 Jake Junis is my only middle reliever at the moment, and he's still recovering from a partially torn collateral ligament, though he'll be ready in plenty of time for the beginning of the season. I wanted to put him in the rotation, as he's been a starter in the minors since he was drafted in round 29 in 2011, but I simply don't have enough confidence in his stuff. He did well in A+ last year, but then was called up to AA and made 3 starts for us, putting up an 0-2 record and a 7.94 ERA before getting hurt and missing the second half of the season. If one of my starters isn't doing well I still might give him a shot, but for now he'll be in the bullpen. My first setup guy is #18, Mark Peterson, who is 26-years-old. A career minor leaguer who put up a 5.10 ERA in 50 relief appearances last year. Look for him to come up with similar figures this season. #57 Matthew Murray didn't have a good year here last year, but I have no problem giving him another shot as our setup man considering his ratings. He was drafted in the 10th round in 2011, but now at 27 years of age it's clear he's not going to pan out. He has decent pitches though, so he'll be good minor league depth for the Royals organization. A sparring partner for guys with more potential. #17 Sam Selman will be the closer for the Naturals, as he was last season, when he had 32 saves and a 2.52 ERA. The 26-year-old Austin, Texas native was a 2nd round pick in 2009. He's 26 now, and he won't be as good as the Royals hoped when they drafted him, but he did win a pitcher of the month award in August. I expect him to have a good year, could even get called up to AAA. The weakest part of his game is his control. Once he improves that he should definitely be ready to compete in AAA. ---------------------------------------------------- Brian, Eduardo and I watched another Cuban game today, again involving the Matanzas Cocodrilos, who were playing in Granma against the Potros. Matanzas entered the the 7:05 pm game with a 27-15 record, while Granma sat at 26-16. Today the 2nd and 3rd place teams were facing off for the first time this season. Top 1 Mesa Jr. started off the day with an infield hit. Valdes singled up the middle and Mesa Jr. moved over to 2nd. Santoya followed that up with a sharp line drive past the 2nd baseman for a single. Mesa Jr. scored, and Valdes went to 2nd. 1-0. Duque drilled it into the gap between the left fielder and the center fielder, and it rolled to the wall for a double. Valdes came around from 2nd base and scored, and Santoya ended up at 3rd base. 2-0. Luis popped out to the 3rd baseman. Medina flew out to the right fielder, but it wasn't quite deep enough for the runners to tag. Delgado pushed one through the middle of the infield for a single, and both runners scored, with Duque just barely beating the throw home. 4-0. The half inning ended with a fly out by Onel Vega. Bot 1 Reyes hit a fly out to shallow center. Benitez hit one past the 3rd baseman for a single. Samon also hit a single. Guerra hit one over the shortstop's head to load the bases with a single. His 50th hit of the season. Aviles grounded out to the shortstop, but the runners advanced. 4-1. Cespedes hit a long fly ball to center that was caught for the 3rd out. Still 4-1 Matanzas. Top 2 Gonzalez flew out to center. Mesa Jr. hit it hard to right, but it was caught. Valdes hit one in the air to center. 3rd out. Bot 2 Cedeno hit into a 5-3 out. Ferrales popped it up in the infield. The 2nd baseman caught it. Hidalgo popped out to the catcher. Top 3 Santoya beat out a grounder for an infield hit. Duque flew out. Luis got drilled by a pitch. Pena got his first K of the day as Medina struck out looking. Delgado grounded it to the shortstop, who flipped it to 2nd for out number 3. Bot 3 Reyes lined out to 3rd base. Benitez lined it past 3rd base for a single. Samon struck out swinging at a 2-2 fastball. Benitez got picked off at first base. Nice move by Martinez, Brian commented. Three down. Top 4 Vega hit a single. Gonzalez hit a successful sacrifice bunt and Vega went to 2nd base. Mesa Jr. hit a single to right that brought Vega home from 2nd. 5-1 Matanzas. Valdes flew out to right. Cespedes made a nice catch. Mesa Jr. stole 2nd base on the first pitch to Santoya, who then lined out to the 2nd baseman. But Matanzas extended their lead by 1. Bot 4 Guerra singled up the middle. Aviles hit a sac bunt, Guerra to 2nd. Cespedes skied one to center for the out, but Guerra was able to tag up and go to 3rd. Cedeno flew out to right to end the inning. Top 5 Jose Armando Pena did not return to the mound. In 4 innings, he allowed 5 runs on 8 hits while getting 1 strikeout. Yanier Gonzalez relieved him. He had a 1-0 record and a 4.91 ERA in 22 IP. Duque popped out. Luis singled to center field. Medina just got it past the shortstop for a single. Luis to 2nd. Delgado grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end it. Bot 5 Ferrales grounded out to the first baseman. Hidalgo grounded out to the second baseman. Reyes struck out looking at a 3-2 pitch. Top 6 Vega singled. Gonzalez struck out. Mesa Jr. lined out to right. Valdes struck out swinging. Bot 6 Benitez flew out to center field. Samon struck out in 3 pitches. Guerra struck out in 5 pitches. Top 7 Santoya hit into a ground out. Duque hit it deep to right but it was fielded well, so only a single. Luis singled too. Duque to 2nd. Medina softly singled to center. Duque scored and Luis moved over 1. 6-1. Delgado grounded out. Runners advance. Vega flew out to right. Still 6-1. Bot 7 Aviles grounds out. So does Cespedes. Cedeno hits a line drive for a single to left. Ferales hits one hard to the gap but it is caught by the LF. Top 8 Gonzalez flies out to left just before the warning track. Santoya was injured making the catch. He's gonna be out for 6 weeks. He went 2-for-4 today with an RBI and a run. He was replaced by Yoandy Garlobo. Mesa Jr. hits a line drive that's caught by the shortstop. Valdes grounds out, 5-3. Bot 8 Martinez came out after pitching 7 innings, allowing a run on 6 hits and 4 Ks. He was replaced by another Martinez, this one called Maikel, who had a 9.00 ERA and a 2-0 record in 17 IP. Hidalgo hit a fly ball that was caught at the warning track in center. Reyes was hit by an 0-2 pitch. Benitez struck out looking. Samon hit a home run to left. 6-3. Martinez came out after allowing 2 runs on 1 hit in 0.2 IP. Replacing him was Frank San Martin, who was 1-1 with a 6.23 ERA in 8.2 IP. He got Guerra to ground out. Top 9 Yanier Gonzalez's day was over. He went 4 innings and gave up a run on 6 hits, striking out 2. Yosibel Castillo stepped onto the mound, bringing with him a 1-0 record and a 1.83 ERA. Garlobo, who was hitting .306 with 2 homers and 15 RBI, popped it up to the catcher. Duque hit one to shallow right that was caught by the 3rd baseman. Luis struck out swinging. Bot 9 San Martin was done after a scoreless third of an inning. Royd Hernandez came in to close. He had a 1-0 record with 1 save and a 2.84 ERA in 9 games. Aviles lined out to left. Cespedes hit a homer to left center! Brian got excited as Granma made it a 6-4 game. Cedeno flew out to right. Ferrales hit a ground out to end the game. Brian was a little disappointed that it wasn't more exciting.

12-29-2016, 03:55 PM	#1
boogeyboard1 All Star Starter Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 1,129	Real Time Manager Career I have decided to start a real time manager career on OOTP 17. I'll be starting unemployed, and will sim 1 day every day. I started out by simulating from the MLB 2016 quickstart (with all the other leagues in it) up until today, December 29th. A lot happened since then. In this universe the Astros swept the Mets in the World Series, Sonny Gray and Noah Syndergaard won Cy Young, and Chris Davis (now for the Rays) and again Noah Syndergaard won MVP. After finishing the sim, my first action had to be to get a job. First, I had to decide what my goals are for this career. 1. Make it to the major leagues 2. Make a ton of money Sounds about right. I had a lot of offers today, ranging from $550 salaries in Cuba to $150,000 salaries in AA. Obviously I'm not going to Cuba, so I looked into the $150,000 offer, which came from the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, KC's AA affiliate in the Texas League. They went 67-73 last year. The Royals have the #6 farm system in the league. Sounds good to me. So I signed the 2 year, $150,000/year deal. There are two other members of the coaching staff here in Northwest Arkansas: the pitching coach and the hitting coach. I did not have any say in who my coaches would be, but they seem fine. The pitching coach is Eduardo Salgado, who is 43 years old, and, like me, in his first coaching job. He was born in Mexico, and had a 10 year career as a pitcher there as well. He wasn't very good, amassing a -1.0 WAR as a pitcher for 7 different teams and going 46-77 with 2 saves and a 5.78 ERA in 138 starts and 124 relief appearances. Hopefully our pitchers will be better than he was. He did mention to me that he prefers working with veterans over younger players, which isn't great considering we're in AA, but perhaps we'll be able to work our way to the majors together and coach a very old team once we're there. Brian Buchanan is the hitting coach. He's also 43 years of age. He was the hitting coach here last year, when the team batted .255. He likes to focus on power hitting, giving him higher development influence with 6 of the players on out team. He does have aspirations to be a manager one day, and he'd probably do a lot of bunting, stealing, and hit and runs if that were to ever happen. Both Brian and Eduardo are signed through 2017, whereas I'm here through 2018. Ha. The GM for the Royals is Dayton Moore. He hired me and will be in control of our roster. He seems to slightly favor prospects over veterans, and definitely likes building offensive teams over defensive teams. He especially likes power hitters. Hopefully he'll give Brian some good prospects to work with. He's pretty middle of the road when it comes to trading, except he has no loyalty to his players, so anyone could go at any time. The Royals were really good last year, winning the division with a 96-66 record before getting eliminated by the Astros in the Divisional Series, so it's more likely that we'll be losing prospects in trades than gaining them since we're a part of a win-now organization. Our pitching staff as of today has 9 members. Leading off the rotation will be #19 Luke Farrell, a 25-year-old from Westlake, Ohio. He was drafted by the Royals in the 6th round out of Northwestern in 2013 and has been in our minor league system ever since. He doesn't have as much potential as a couple of the other pitchers on our team, but I think he earned the right to be the #1 starter after 2 good seasons in AA, making the Texas League All-Star Game this past season. His best pitch is his fastball, but his curveball and changeup are both ok as well. #23 Erik Skoglund will be our #2. He's a 24-year-old from Sarasota, Florida, who was drafted in the 3rd round in 2014 out of University of Central Florida and has 2 star potential according to the OSA. Kansas City's head scout, Lonnie Goldberg, who's good at scouting the minor leagues, disagrees. He played most of last season for the Kansas City A+ team, but was called up to make 2 starts here in Northwest Arkansas too. He did well in A+ ball and went 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA in his 2 starts here. He's a baseball rat. His best pitch is his fastball, his slider his 2nd best, and he has work to do on his changeup. Our 3rd starter is #24 Niklas Stephenson, a 23-year-old born in San Diego. Lonnie Goldberg and the OSA once again disagree on this guy's potential, with the OSA giving him 2 stars and Goldberg giving him 0.5 and says he's destined for a career in the minors. They both agree that his fastball is his best pitch. Goldberg actually thinks it's pretty good. His curveball and changeup are not as good. He's been in single-A for 4 years now, and he did well last season, putting up a 2.5 WAR, which is what prompted his promotion. #29 Torey Deshazier is our 4th man. He's 23-years-old, from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2012. He made 1 start here in AA after a pretty good year in A+ and allowed 6 runs in 4 innings. He'll get another shot at it this year. His fastball and slider are both ok, and our scout thinks his changeup is ok too, but overall I don't think he'll be great. #30 Kevin McCarthy is our 5th starter. He's usually a reliever, but there's no one else I trust to be a starter (not that I really trust him). He's a 24-year-old from Malverne, New York, and was drafted in the 16th round of the 2013 draft out of Marist College in New York. He didn't do well in 9 relief appearances in AA last year, but then put up a 0.8 WAR in A+ before tearing his labrum in early July and missing the rest of the season. He doesn't have great stamina, but his fastball, changeup, and slider are good enough to make me feel somewhat comfortable with giving him a shot as a starter, but I'd really appreciate it if Dayton Moore could send me someone else before the season starts. So that's the starting rotation. I'll keep going through the roster in the coming days. There's no rush, considering the season doesn't start until April. Eduardo, Brian, and I also decided we should get together every day during the offseason and watch whatever baseball game we can find, to build relations with each other and to discuss strategy for the season. The only games going on today were in Cuba, and we decided to watch the Holguin Cachorros at the Matanzas Cocodrilos. The game started at 1:05 CST, and there seemed to be pretty good weather in Matanzas. Holguin was 24-17 going into the game, and Matanzas was 26-15. Yoannis Yera got the start for Matanzas. He was 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA coming in. The lefty faced off against Manny Salvador, the shortstop for Holguin who entered the game batting .223 with 2 home runs and 10 RBI. He grounded out on the first pitch, hitting a high slider right back to Yera. 2B Yeison Pacheco came up next, having batted .277 with 5 homers and 19 RBI. Yera served him a fastball outside of the zone, which Pacheco hit in the air to right field. It was caught for the 2nd out in 2 pitches. Yunior Paumier, the third baseman, hit 3rd. He was batting .330 with 3 homers and 15 RBI entering today's game. On the second pitch he slapped a high fastball into left field for a single. 1B Lerys Aguilera came to the plate. He'd been batting .339 with 11 HRs and 44 RBI. He grounded the ball to the shortstop on pitch #2, who threw to second for the final out. ------------------------------- Luis Angel Gomez, another lefty, was the starter for Holguin. He'd gone 3-3 with a 5.36 ERA so far. CF Victor Mesa Jr. was the first batter for Matanzas. He swung at a fastball outside on the first pitch. His average for the season coming in was .275, and he'd hit 4 homers. He then bounced a fastball down the middle to the shortstop, who threw him out at first. Anibal Medina came up. The second baseman was hitting .304 with 4 home runs and 23 RBI. He fouled the third pitch off the head of the ump, who took a moment to clear his head. He worked a full count before hitting a home run that barely stayed fair in left field, giving Matanzas a 1-0 lead. LF Yasiel Santoya stepped up to the plate, having hit .321 with 7 homers and 27 RBI to date. He flew out to left. Yariel Duque, who lead the league in home runs with 13, also had 40 RBI and a .347 average entering the game. The third baseman swung and missed at Gomez's curveball for strike 3 to end the inning. 1-0 Matanzas. ------------------------------- RF Geidis Soler led off for Holguin in the top of the 2nd. He'd hit .261 with 6 homers and 16 RBI entering the game. With the count full Soler hit a line drive up the middle for a single. Yoannis Quintana, the center fielder who was hitting .273 with 5 homers and 20 RBI, came up next. Yera got him to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. LF Alexis Levya was batting .287 with 4 home runs and 22 RBI. Yera dealt him a fastball with the count at 1-0, and Levya flew out to right for out #3. ------------------------------- Up came RF William Luis for Matanzas. He'd hit .313 with 4 homers and 21 RBI. He grounded out to 3rd this time. DH Yoandy Garlobo was next. He'd hit .290 with a homer and 14 RBI. With 3 balls and 2 strikes he singled to right. 1B Jefferson Delgado was hitting .200 with no home runs and 3 RBI. Gomez struck him out. C Onel Vega was hitting .323 with a homer and 5 RBI. He worked a walk and pushed Garlobo to 2nd. SS Julio Cesar Gonzales hit 9th for Matanzas and had hit .246 with a homer and 23 RBI coming into the game. He flew out to right field to end the bottom of the 2nd. ------------------------------- C Franklin Aballe hit 8th and lead off the top of the 3rd. He'd hit .260 with 4 home runs and 18 RBI coming in and earned himself a base on balls. DH Jose Castanada, who'd hit .260 with no home runs and 14 RBI for Holguin, watched the first pitch go by him for a wild pitch. Aballe advanced to 2nd base. He then hit a single to right field, and Aballe raced home. William Luis tried and failed to throw him out, and Castanada made it to 2nd base on the throw. The score was tied, 1-1. Manny Salvador approached the plate for his 2nd chance. He flew out to right field for out #1. Next, Yera hit hit Yeison Pacheco with a pitch. Brian commented that the next batter, Yunior Paumier, was better than a lot of the guys on our team. Paumier promptly struck out, and we all laughed. Aguilera struck out as well, and the top of the 3rd ended with a 1-1 tie. ------------------------------- Mesa Jr. started the bottom of the 3rd by grounding out to short. Gomez then walked Anibal Medina, and the next batter, Yasiel Santoya. Yariel Duque hit a single to right and the bases were loaded with 1 out. William Luis hit a long fly out to right, enabling Medina to tag up and score from 3rd. Garlobo hit an easy ground out to the pitcher, but the Cocodrilos had a 2-1 lead. ------------------------------- Yera allowed Soler to hit a single to start off the 4th. Quintana flied out to center field. Soler stole 2nd on the first pitch of Leyva's at bat. Leyva hit an RBI single to left field to tie the ballgame. Franklin Aballe flew out to left for the 2nd out. Castaneda singled up the middle, sending Leyva to 3rd. Manny Salvador hit into a fielder's choice at 2nd base, making him 0-for-3 for the day. But the score had been tied up again. ------------------------------- Jefferson Delgado led off with a single. Gomez struck out Vega, sending him back to the bench. Julio Cesar Gonzalez hit the ball into the left field corner, allowing him to make it to 2nd and Delgado to 3rd. Mesa Jr. took a walk to load the bases. Gomez threw a fastball to Medina with a 1-2 count, which Medina deposited into the bullpen in left-center for a grand slam. Eduardo shook his head as the manager came to take Gomez out of the game. He'd gone 3.1 innings and allowed 6 runs on 6 hits (2 of them homers) and 4 walks. He was replaced by Carlos Olexis Gonzalez, who didn't have any wins or losses but had a 3.23 ERA in 30.2 IP for Holguin. Now with a 6-2 lead, Santoya came to the plate and flew out to right. Duque then lined out to center and the inning ended with Matanzas winning 6-2. ------------------------------- Pacheco started off the 5th inning by hitting a homer to the exact same spot Medina hit his. Holguin inched closer but was still down by 3. Brian perked up as Paumier came to the plate, but he struck out looking. Eduardo and I laughed again, but Brian said he was still 1-for-3 on the day and still better than anyone on our team. Lerys Aguilera then hit another home run, again to the same spot as the last 2. The game got more interesting as the score was now 6-4, Matanzas still up. Eduardo commented that neither pitcher had their best stuff today, and that there were probably plenty more runs to come in this game. At the same time, Geidis Soler worked a walk. Yera walked the next batter too, Yoannis Quintana. But then, Levya hit into a double play to end the Cachorros' effort in the 5th. But they'd scored 2 runs, and the score was closer than before. ------------------------------- Luis grounded out to begin the bottom half of the 5th. Garbolo then showed he might not be any better than Gomez today as he allowed Garlobo to hit a solo shot to left field, extending the Matanzas lead to 7-4. Next, he walked Delgado. Vega struck out, remaining hitless for the day. In a Gonzalez vs. Gonzalez matchup, the pitcher won as the hitter flew out to left. ------------------------------- Yera fielded Aballe's ground ball and sent it to first to get the 1st out in the top of the 6th. Castaneda hit his 3rd single of the day. Yera can't get him out, Brian commented. Salvador hit it hard, but right at the left fielder. Out number 2. Pacheco hit a soft single to left center and Castaneda moved to 2nd base. Brian's hero, as Eduardo and I had begun to call him, Paumier, flew out to left. ------------------------------- Mesa Jr. popped out. Medina hit a single between the third baseman and the shortstop. Santoya hit into a 5-4-3 double play. At the end of the 6th, the score was 7-4, Matanzas. ------------------------------- Yera had thrown 93 pitches, so he was taken out of the game in favor of Sandro Quevedo, who was 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA in 7 IP. Yera had gone 6 innings, allowing 4 runs on 10 hits and 3 walks, registering 3 Ks. Quevedo struck out the first batter he faced, Aguilera. Soler was retired for the first time today with a strikeout. Quintana walked. Levya grounded it to the third baseman, who threw it to 2nd for the final out. ------------------------------- Duque hit a fly ball out to left. Luis lined out to center. Gonzalez walked Garlobo. Delgado was struck out. Score still 7-4, home team winning. Brian got up to get some chips and dip. ------------------------------- Franklin Aballe grounded out to 2nd. They were saying on TV that computers showed that Matanzas had a 95.4% chance of winning. Eduardo agreed, but Brian said it was lower than that because Matanzas' closer had pitched yesterday. Eduardo said Brian should have faith in Matanzas' pitching. Brian said Eduardo should have faith in Yunior Paumier. We all laughed. Castenada grounded out for the first time today, making himself 3-for-4. Salvador popped out to 2nd for the third out. He was now 0-for-5. ------------------------------- Onel Vega lined it to left for a single. In Gonzalez vs. Gonzalez round 2, the batter was walked. That ended Gonzalez's night. He'd gone 3.2 innings with a run and 3 hits and 3 walks allowed, but was still responsible for both runners. Wilson Paredes was the new pitcher, and he'd gone 2-2 with a 2.84 ERA in 12.2 IP. Mesa Jr. singled, loading the bases. Demis Valdes came in to pinch hit for Medina. He'd gone 1-for-3 as a pinch hitter and for the season was hitting .352, but he struck out. Santoya hit a sac fly to center, and the runner from third scored while the runner on 2nd moved to 3rd. Enriquez singled, advancing everyone by a base, and the score was 9-4. The inning finally ended when Luis flew out. ------------------------------- Matanzas didn't need a closer in this situation, so Quevedo stayed in. Pacheco singled. We all got excited when Paumier came up, and we all cheered when he finally delivered, hitting a 2-run homer to left. That was it for Quevedo. He threw 2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits. Felix Fuentes came in, having gone 2-1 with a league leading 12 saves and a 2.60 ERA. He could earn the save today now that the score was 9-6. He struck out the first batter, Aguilera. Soler also struck out, and Holguin were down to their final out. Quintana struck out too, and Matanzas got the 9-6 victory.

12-30-2016, 01:06 AM	#2
Sizeman21 Major Leagues Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: The bleachers of Sportsman's Park Posts: 435	Loving this so far. Day by day stories are always fun to read about. Good work.

12-31-2016, 04:06 PM	#5
boogeyboard1 All Star Starter Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 1,129	December 31, 2016 I am going to hold off on introducing the starting lineup, because I haven't had time to set it yet and because it's a holiday. I'm also not going to watch a game because my coaches and I are spending time with our families. Happy new year everybody!