Padres of the ORGCBL--Obscure Reference, Gathering Crowds, Baseball League from '83 forward

[Augetout]

Obscure Reference (Gathering Crowds) Baseball League’s Padres from ’83 onward.

The ORGCBL began with a fantasy draft (with historical players) before the 1983 season.

Disclosures:
1. I am taking full advantage of my ‘arrival knowledge’ i.e. the scouting is 100% accurate, and I know that Maddux, et al, will be HOF players. On the negative side, so do all the other teams…


2. I have the trade settings on the most difficult.


3. I have the financial settings at accurate, which for those scoring at home means my Padres have a difficult time paying players once they are done with arbitration.


4. I have it so I cannot be fired---I cannot see the logic in putting so much ‘work’ into building the ‘perfect’ team so I can end up coaching the ChiSox… (no offense intended for any ChiSox fans out there in OOTP land).


5. I have the players set on their stars being reset each year based on real world performance---see #1 for the why.


Thus far, the seasons have gone pretty much as expected: In ’83, my Padres were lucky to avoid losing 100 games---this was necessary in order to stockpile future stars such as the aforementioned Maddux, etc.

In ’84, San Diego managed to win 94 games but fell 1 game short of the NL West title (to the hated Dodgers, no less).

In ’85 we made the playoffs, and yes I realize the irony in my ‘dynasty’ Padres arriving in the playoffs a year late, but lost in the NLCS, to the Phillies.

I’m blowing thru the first few seasons, yes, but there is a method to the madness.

In ’86, the Padres won 107 games and a World Series trophy. That it was against the Twins was a small measure of ‘revenge’ for the ’87 Twinkies beating my then 3rd favorite team, the Redbirds.

In ’87, San Diego won 102 games, but we were swept out of the NLCS by a Redbirds team that really didn’t belong in the same stadium as my Padres, sigh.

In ’88, my Padres won 114 games, and the NLCS rematch with the Cardinals, then beat a good Seattle (yes, that Seattle) team in the World Series for a 2nd trophy-hoisting in the 6 seasons I have been the Manager/GM (take THAT, Whitey Herzog—to be fair he was 1 for 3 with the Redbirds).

Which brings us to the ’89 season, which the game engine predicts will be another successful year for San Diego’s anti-Dodger dynasty. All with a payroll that is in the bottom half of the league.

I highly doubt any one of us who has played OOTP extensively has much of a challenge ahead of them in building a team from scratch, regardless of settings financial or otherwise. For me, then, the challenge is to maintain the ‘dynasty,’ taking advantage of ‘arrival knowledge’ while being hamstrung by game variables and (of course) the financial constraints of having chosen to run the Padres.
As such, the initial (1983) fantasy draft was more about stockpiling future talent than current talent---kudos to the game developers in anticipating that strategy and having some teams dilute the talent by using the same (basically) strategy as I planned on using. From there, it has been about trading talent in the downward spiral caused by the ‘most difficult’ trade settings, and guessing correctly on which team would end up with the first draft pick in the next draft. Thus far it has been a successful strategy, as witnessed by the 1989 Padres starting lineup:

C: Mickey Tettleton, switch-hitting (still young) power hitting catcher, acquired via trade after I decided that Tony Pena’s performance was not matching his hefty (for the Padres) $1.6 million salary. Tettleton’s backup is promoted too soon Jim Leyritz (this due to Atlanta’s odd refusal to part with Steve Lake, who I wanted strictly for defense and sentimental reasons). On a plus note, I had traded Steve Lake to the Braves a couple years prior, and thus with their refusal to return him to me I avoided overpaying twice.

1B: Fred McGriff. ’88 was McGriff’s 1st year with the Padres. He was acquired via trade from the KC Royals that sent the great but way too expensive Ryne Sandberg to KC. This caused a need to get rid of drafted 1B Mark Grace, (who went to the Mariners, joining Paul Molitor, who had been traded a year earlier.

2B: Roberto Alomar’s rookie season for the ORGCBL was ’88, and San Diego is hoping for big things for this season. He was drafted by the Padres (as in the real world).

SS: Ozzie Smith was returned to the Padres via the initial fantasy draft, and while he has been being paid too much relative to other SS in the league, he has (despite his absurdly not high enough defensive ratings) played solid defense (other than that one 5 ERROR game in ’86), and has basically been a .300 hitter despite his real world stats. He is a free agent after ’89, and given his high salary/lowering performance I am not sure he will be a Padre in ’90. One wonders if the 2 World Series he won with the Padres will be enough for him to wear a brown hat in Cooperstown…

3B: Edgar Martinez (probably a year or 2 early). Terry Pendleton manned the left corner for San Diego from ’83-88, but the drop off in defensive abilities (I am hoping that even a year or two early version of E-Mart will match up with the ‘meh’ performance of Pendleton’s years) the move made sense, as the Padres’ payroll needed the help.

LF: Barry Bonds---I drafted Bonds out of college. In fact, I traded for the pick(s) so I would have a shot at drafting Barry Bonds. Truth be told, it was a bit of a bummer on a couple of levels: I had Vince Coleman and the west coast version of the ‘white rats’ ran roughshod over the rest of the league, and I (still?) have a bad taste in my mouth from the post-steroids version of Bonds…

CF: Ken Griffey Jr.-----I drafted Griffey, and as with the pick used for Bonds, I had to pull off multiple trades just to have that pick. ’89 is his rookie year. As such he is hitting 7th, at least temporarily. I was sad to part with Willie McGee, but geez, I have ‘the kid.’
RF Tony Gwynn. I drafted Mr. Padre in the initial fantasy draft as it wouldn’t seem right for him to be on any other team.

One small problem: Gwynn, Griffey, Bonds, and McGriff, pretty much the heart of the batting order, are all left-handed hitters, which makes San Diego somewhat vulnerable to lefty pitchers, especially lefty specialists in the late innings. Ozzie, Alomar, and Tettleton are all switch hitters, but the first 2 are top of the lineup guys and Tettleton is not good enough to push any of the big four backwards in the lineup (in fact, Tettleton is hitting in the 8 hole). E-Mart will help as time goes by, but ’89 might be a little tougher for my Padres, offensively. Good thing the rotation is (bias alert) probably the best in the league:

SP1: Orel Hershiser---I drafted Hershiser in the initial fantasy draft in a fit of addition by addition and by subtraction (I have him, AND the Dodgers do not). Sadly, ’89 is probably his last year as a member of the Padres, as he will be a free agent, wants a long-term deal at $3.8 million per year (over 15% of my payroll), and will see his performance drop (not horribly, but still) quickly to a point where trading him away would be impossible. I could trade him this year, but my fans have ‘poor’ loyalty level, and such actions have a direct impact on attendance, merchandising, etc., which in turn runs a large risk of negatively affecting my budget.

SP2: Greg Maddux. I drafted him way to early in the initial fantasy draft, and waited patiently for his arrival in the big leagues. Maddux did not disappoint, having a ‘decent’ rookie year in ’87 (13-6 w/ 3.14 ERA), before heading right to ‘ace-land’ in ’88, with a Cy Young runner up 22-4, 2.07 ERA (he was robbed in the voting, imho), campaign. Fun note: Maddux will only begin to be arbitration eligible after the ’89 season, but for some unknown reasons the owner who keeps telling me to save money wants me to sign him to an extension well ahead of time (one benefit of having a ‘no fire’ clause/setting is that I will be ignoring that particular request).

SP3: Tom Candiotti. As with Hershiser and Maddux, I drafted Candiotti in the initial fantasy draft, (probably a bit early). He will never be ‘great’ but he has been solid and/or good, and is relatively cheap ($2.2 million per year on his extension he signed last year).

SP4: Tom Glavine---I traded a prime Jimmy Key, some other players and some draft picks to get my hands on Glavine. He spent ’88 as a rookie #5 starter, and was 3rd in the RoY voting (another mugging, imho).

SP5: John Smoltz (rookie). I traded for the draft pick, and used it to take Smoltz. He only spent 2 years in the minors, and frankly he should have been promoted in the 2nd year---I simply had no room for him in the rotation until the roster expansion in September, at which time he announced his presence in the league by going 4-1 with a 1.57 ERA in his 5 starts. It made parting with Higuera (former #2 starter) a little easier (his arm went to hell in the ‘prime’ timeline, and his ratings will suffer as a result, although it pays to note that by not having historical retirements or historical injuries, there is still, even in 1988, an occasional Pete Vuckovich sighting, and even a Mark ‘the Bird’ Fidrych sighting or two when perusing minor league rosters).

In the bullpen:

Closer: Tom Henke. I drafted Henke in the initial fantasy draft and suffered through his ‘early’ years. Given that his performance in ’88 was relatively close to his real-world numbers, I am hoping ’89 is the first truly dominant year he’ll have.

Stopper: Greg Olson. I drafted Olson---like the other players I drafted outside of the initial fantasy draft, I had to trade for the pick and then use it on Olson.

Setup: Doug Jones. I drafted Jones in the initial fantasy draft, and suffered through the ’83-87 seasons watching him flounder in the minors. He was solid in his ’88 rookie campaign, and is less than pleased to not be the closer…

Middle Reliever/Lefty: Ken Dayley. I fear Dayley’s best days are behind him, but he’ll be ok for (at least) ’89. As I play the games manually (at bat by at bat, not pitch by pitch) I can report that he is better in high leverage situations (runners on base) than he is with a clean inning.

Middle Reliever: Roger McDowell. I traded for McDowell during the ’85 season, and he has been ‘meh’ throughout his tenure.

Long reliever/emergency starter: John Cerutti. I drafted Cerutti in the initial fantasy draft, and he has been only a little more ‘meh’ than McDowell. At the time there was no realistic expectation that I would be able to reassemble 3/5 of the Braves 90s rotation---that’s my story and I’ll stick to it.

Going back to the ‘too many lefties in the everyday lineup’ problem, it pays to note that I parted with a boatload of prospects to acquire the draft picks needed to have Frank Thomas and Mike Piazza (a year late, if baseball reference dot com is to be believed) in my minors with impending arrival dates of next season. This of course suggests that I will need to part with Fred McGriff, and Mickey Tettleton in order to make room. I will also need to have Andy Benes be ready to be 1990’s #5 starter (chances are very good that will work out) to replace the free agent-departing Orel Hershiser. I have traded for my beloved backup infielder Jose Vizcaino, who might serve as an adequate stop-gap replacement for Ozzie Smith, who will also be leaving via free agency unless his salary demands come down significantly. All that, and I need to acquire the #1 draft pick so I can add Chipper Jones to the Padres, so I will have someone to replace E-Mart once his salary demands are worse than his defense…

Errors (or features, depending on perspective) I have noticed:
1. I could not find the setting to make it so the owner could not ‘take over’ my draft budget, which in turn made it impossible for me to sign draft pick Andy Benes. While that was less than fun, Andy Benes showed up as a free agent, and while he was unwilling to negotiate with the Padres as a draft pick, he was perfectly willing to sign a minor league deal as a free agent---with the Padres.

2. The occasional wildly foul ball that ends up being a groundout is both amusing and frustrating.

3. In the World Series, the game tends to get who is ahead (in games won) incorrect.

Karma bummer: Dave Dravecky escaped his real-world cancer diagnosis, but despite the injury setting not being historically accurate, he still managed to blow out his arm and as such his virtual career will end pretty much in sync with his actual career…
Karma bummer (or not?) #2: Pete Rose retired early in the ORGCBL, thus this past off-season was enshrined in the HOF despite NOT being the all time hits leader, and (I assume) before issues with his gambling were known---heck, I even voted for him.

At any rate, the ORGCBL (Obscure Reference, Gathering Crowds, Baseball League) just had Opening Day festivities for the 1989 season, any my Padres are 0-1 thanks to closer Tom Henke blowing a 2 run lead in the top of the 9th against the heretofore lowly San Francisco Giants, sigh…

Updates on this particular dynasty will not come on a daily basis, but I hope any/all who bother to read the entries gain some semblance of enjoyment out of reading about the Padres’ struggle to become and then maintain a dynasty, despite having a fan base that barely knows they exist, and an owner who is ahead of time in the ‘moneyball’ expectations of continuously reloading with a low budget…

Cheers,

Augetout

[Augetout]

April 8, 1989

Financial concerns have been a part of baseball for a long, long time, and of course the challenges rose exponentially once players gained the right to become free agents. I would guess balancing today’s ‘moneyball/buyers and sellers at the trading deadline’ baseball world with the decidedly less chaotic environment in the 1980s (and early ‘90s at the very least) was a bit of a challenge for the development team.

Having said that, it’s April 8th, and the Chicago Cubs rightfielder, Darryl Strawberry, who won the NL MVP in 1985, and other than a snub in ’88 has been an All Star each season, is already on the trading block. Aside from the balancing of the eras, it seems having the players’ star ratings reset each year based on real-world performance is having the effect of creating some way-overpaid players, and some huge bargains—both in odd fashions fairly frequently. Strawberry’s example is both anecdotal and apt, in that he is 27, already has an MVP, and has averaged over 40 HRs and 100 RBI for the past 4 seasons, but because his real-world performance downgraded him to a 3 star player, his $5,235,000 salary is so high that the Cubbies are looking to unload him…

The same real-world-caused star downgrading made it difficult for me to trade Willie Mcgee (ironically to the Yankees who gave up on him in the real-world), despite him having 2 batting titles (last one in 1987), and having hit .335 with a .374 OBA, and 62 SBs (scoring 102 runs while hitting mainly 5th in the order), last season…

I’m not griping---just noticing.

In game 2 of the 1989 season, the Padres eked out a 4-3 win against the Giants, with the fans wondering why Padres Manager Au Getout allowed Ken Dayley to pitch in the 8th inning (up 4-1, lefties coming up, and Dayley being the only usable lefty in the ‘pen, is the answer), as he allowed 2 runs making a semi-close game into a nail-biter.

In game 3, the home fans got a taste of why fan favorite Willie McGee was traded to make room for a rookie centerfielder named Griffey. He hit his first major league HR (and his 2nd), while Bonds homered in his 3rd consecutive game, as the Padres cruised to an 11-5 victory over SF.

In game 4, San Diego travelled to Houston and a return to nail-biting games, but managed to prevail, 1-0. Glavine pitched a complete game shutout, and new 3B Edgar Martinez got his first RBI of the season.

On a side note, I did some math and decided that Greg Maddux’s extension demands, which was initially a 10 year contract averaging $3.8 million/year (I extended it to 13 years, taking advantage of arrival knowledge and raising the average price tag to a tick over $3.9 million per year), was far cheaper to sign onto now than if I had waited until his arbitration ran out, as I normally do-----heck, he will likely (he is currently ‘pondering’) sign for $100k more per year than Orel Hershiser wants, but his performance will be far, far more impressive in the years to come. I hope the owner is ‘along for the ride’ or the Padres’ dynasty will be impossible to maintain---all while the GM (well, me) will have to go to the winter meetings and explain to the press how I managed to chase away a bunch of future hall of famers…

No takers on the origin of the 'obscure reference,' eh? I figured some of my fellow 'oldsters' would get it right away...

[Augetout]

For context on the Maddux extension comments, it should be noted that Fernando Valenzuela is making $6.25 million per year--------and due to real-world star resets, is now a vastly overpaid pitcher...

[Augetout]

Short update: It's April 13th, 1989, and the Padres are sitting (tied) in first place with a 6-3 record.

Maddux signed his extension, thus providing my Padres with a relatively inexpensive (roughly $3.9 million per year) ace.

Gwynn strained his shoulder, thus exposing a roster weakness (the only other guy I have on the roster who can play right field is utility guy Jeff Kunkel), thus I was forced to trade for a backup rightfielder (my minor league teams are a bit light in rightfield talent, given Gwynn's presence on the big club).

I found that Baltimore had, for whatever reason, decided that their former 1st round pick (amateur draft) Dante Bichette was not starting material, and thus was available to trade for. I parted ways with pinch hitter Lenny Harris and an obscure minor league player, and Bichette is now a Padre---happy to be on the bench, no less, (at least temporarily).

Fun (I hope) facts in the ORGCBL history books:

Maddux had a 62 inning scoreless streak to begin the '88 season (last season). That's an MLB record for those scoring at home.

Hershiser had a no-hitter in '85.

The Padres have had 4 batting titles since the beginning of the league in '83, and only one has been named Tony Gwynn! (Mattingly won 1 in '84 before being traded, and Willie McGee won 2 before being traded to make room for 'the kid'). This with the presence of Kirby Puckett on the Pirates...

It's '89 and Dave Winfield is retiring at the end of the year... It's a bit early, imho and historically speaking, but such is how things go in a league where historical retirements and injuries are turned off.

[Augetout]

April 23rd, 1989:

The Padres, thus far and in a word, are ‘scuffling.’ 11-7 and tied for the league lead in HRs (a first on any day of a given season since the dynasty began in ’83), the lineup has thus far been spotty at best. The bullpen has been, despite the high talent level, a bit of a mess.

Fun and not so fun stats for early in the ’89 season:

1. Fred McGriff has as many strikeouts as games played (18).

2. Until about a week ago (in the season) the #1 and #2 hitters were hitting .320------if we add their batting averages together… Ozzie has since rebounded to a .300+ average, and Alomar is up to .260

3. Gwynn has yet to get to .300


4. Bonds has 5 HRs

5. New catcher Mickey Tettleton has 3 HRs a double and 4 singles, and a batting average of .151


6. Henke’s ‘breakout’ season thus far has him with an ERA of 7.50, 3 saves, 3 blown saves and 3 losses…

7. Rookie stopper/closer Gregg Olson has 1 save, 1 blown save and 1 loss-----the only reliever with a save and without a blown save is setup Doug Jones, with 1 save…


It’s late April of ’89 and the Padres are in 2nd place, despite the ‘scuffling.’

[Augetout]

Sunday, May 7th, 1989

The Padres’ scuffling has at least temporarily come to an end. At 22-10, San Diego holds a 2.5 game lead over the ‘rebuilding’ Dodgers (their words, not mine).

Edgar Martinez has signed a relatively team-friendly long term contract (roughly $1 million per year—sometimes it pays to pay early and/or before they hit their prime), and my stockpiling of draft picks (thank you, Madden football games?) has resulted in me acquiring, at this early stage of the ’89 season, what looks like the #1 pick in the upcoming draft, which can be translated to ‘Chipper Jones will be a Padres player.’

Thus things are moving along nicely in San Diego. The rotation is dominating as per the design, and a waivers claim netted me left-handed reliever Mitch Williams. This in turn allowed me to part ways with Ken Dayley before his performance turns south and adding to my future bullpen depth by acquiring minor leaguer Jeff Brantley.

The bullpen still looks like a mess, statistically, but they have been pitching better of late, for the most part.

Offensively, the Padres are doing pretty well, if not outstandingly. Alomar’s sophomore season, currently at .277 with a .356 obp and 10 SBs, is shaping up to be solid if not great. Bonds is starting to come into ‘Bonds-like’ territory, hitting .294 with 7 HRs. McGriff has 8 HRs and a .420 OBP. E-Mart (Edgar Martinez) is at least a year away from entering his prime, but his .268 with a .354 OBP ‘scuffling’ is still a bit better (offensively at least, than his predecessor’s numbers typically were. Ozzie is his normal over=performing solid self, offensively. Gwynn has yet to crack .300 but at .296 he will arrive any day now… Rookie Griffey Jr. is crunching the ball, hitting .321 with 5 HRs and a .505 SLG. Tettleton has gotten his average up to .198 with a .311 OBP, but is showing signs of becoming the 30 HR threat he should be.

All in all, provided the Cubs don’t begin turning their season around (as I have their #1 pick), my Padres should sail into the playoffs (and hopefully World Series) with the full knowledge that Frank Thomas, Piazza, Andy Benes, and Trevor Hoffman are waiting in the wings, and that management is going to draft future hall of famer Chipper Jones.

On the negative side, the trade deadline festivities might be a bit boring this season, as no significant roster (or draft) needs are left to fix, barring significant injuries.

[Augetout]

Friday, May 23rd, 1989

San Diego, at 30-15, hold a 2-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds. The Chipper Jones sweepstakes still has the Cubbies (I own their #1 pick) holding a slim advantage over the Rangers.

Not surprisingly, the Padres are thriving in large part due to their outstanding rotation.

Hershiser is 6-2 with a 2.04 ERA thus far.

Maddux is 5-3 with a 2.49 ERA.

Candiotti is 7-1 with a 2.84 ERA

Glavine is 4-3 with a 2.77 ERA

Rookie John Smoltz is 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA

The bullpen is thus far a bit lacking in the ‘shut-down’ department:

Closer Tom Henke has 8 saves (4 blown saves), and a 4.35 ERA

Stopper Gregg Olson has 5 saves and a 4.96 ERA

Setup Doug Jones has a 3.86 ERA

Middle Reliever (newly-arrived) Mitch Williams has a 4.50 ERA (only 2 innings pitched thus far).

Middle Reliever Roger McDowell has a 3.72 ERA

Long Reliever/emergency starter John Cerutti has a 5.68 ERA.

It’s been weird in that the bullpen hasn’t had to enter as many (or as early) as in other seasons, but when they have been called upon, the results have been less than stellar.

Leadoff hitter Ozzie Smith is a solid .298 w/ a .377 OBP, although the normally fearless Padres have seen a significant downturn in SB efficiency (Ozzie included).

#2 hitter Roberto Alomar is a solid .294 with a .363 OBP, and is the most prolific thief in the lineup with 16 SB (in 18 tries).

#3 hitter Tony Gwynn, who in reality is the 2nd #2 hitter (or 3rd leadoff hitter), is a bit light on RBI (17), but has his average up to .321 with a .367 OBP.

Cleanup hitter Barry Bonds is at .284 with a .346 OBP, to go with 7 HRs, 31 RBI, and 12 doubles.

#5 hitter McGriff is (only) hitting .257, but with a .393 OPB, 10 HR, 42 RBI and a .507 SLG his OPS is an almost awesome .899.

#6 hitter Edgar Martinez is hitting a solid .272 with a .375 OBP----the OBP alone makes parting with Terry Pendleton before his MVP year a bit easier to swallow.

#7 hitter is rookie Ken Griffey Jr. and while he has ‘cooled off’ of late, he is still hitting .299 with a .352 OBP, with 6 HRs and 25 RBI. Not too shabby for a rookie or a 7 hitter…

#8 hitter Mickey Tettleton has his average up to .192!!! With a .303 OBP despite being walked occasionally to bring the pitchers’ slot up, I can only grit my teeth and remember that Piazza is coming next season (or at worst, the season after that).

On the whole, the Padres rank 1st (thus far) in B.Avg, OBP, OPS, WAR, wOBA, Runs scored, hits, extra-base hits, and bases on balls, while ranking 2nd in SLG and HRs. Heck, we’re only 8th in SBs, so the west coast ‘white rats’ are adapting to the new paradigm.

On the pitching side, San Diego is 2nd in ERA, starters’ ERA, and least HRs allowed, with the only glaring negative stat being bullpen ERA, where the Fryars rank 10th with a 4.76 ERA. Given the talent in the bullpen, methinks that the time is soon when the bullpen will stop giving any runs up for an extended period of time, which will serve to improve the already good .667 clip San Diego is presently playing at.

Defensively, despite the game’s poor treatment of Ozzie Smith’s greatness (one wonders what he did to deserve a 55 defensive rating), and the game’s poor treatment of Ken Griffey Jr.’s defensive prowess (he is also a 55 defensively), the Padres are 3rd in defensive efficiency. I imagine the (only) +2.4 on zone rating is mainly due to Edgar Martinez at 3B, and the aforementioned screwing over of Ozzie and the Kid.

[Augetout]

April 2, 1990

With all apologies, I decided to sim the rest of the 1989 season. While the ‘blame’ lies with me, I am blaming the instrumental playlist I created on Amazon for the lack of patience, along with the need to put my worries to rest regarding the ‘whether I won the Chipper Jones sweepstakes’ issue (I did, but it wasn’t easy to pull off).

At any rate, the Padres in the 1989 season of the Obscure Reference, Gathering Crowds, Baseball League (ORGCBL) from ’83 onwards project, were truly dominant, winning the World Series for the 2nd straight year over the Seattle Mariners (for the 2nd straight time).

It took a bit of work, but I was able to wrangle the #1 pick, thus I was able to draft Chipper Jones #1. With my other first round picks, I laid the groundwork for continued success in the ‘dynasty’ department, by drafting Catcher Ivan Rodriguez, SP Mike Mussina, along with relievers (currently SPs) Mariano Rivera and Bob Wickman.

As predicted, I lost Orel Hershiser to free agency. Having traded Andy Benes in the process of acquiring the #1 pick, I signed SP Tom Browning to a minor league contract with plans to make him my #5 starter, but soon thereafter lost him to the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft (my fault for not making the right roster moves quick enough to protect him). I signed Danny Darwin for a bargain, but for the first time I decided I should probably see if the Free Agents had anything to help me out, with Fernando Valenzuela (now a nice bargain) fitting the bill.

A series of offseason trades ensued. Namely, I needed to trade Fred McGriff and his $4 million plus arbitration contract, both to save some dimes, and to make room for Frank ‘the Big Hurt’ Thomas, who like his rookie predecessor Ken Griffey Jr. will spend his rookie season hitting deep in the lineup.

Speaking of lineups, with opening day upon the Padres:

1. Ozzie Smith (at $3.5 million being wildly overpaid), is the leadoff hitter again. He should be good for a .290 BAvg. with a .350+ OBA while STILL being ridiculously under-ranked defensively.

2. Roberto Alomar is about to become a perennial MVP candidate, and he’ll hit #2.


3. Tony Gwynn hits 3rd in this weird ‘2 leadoff hitters and a #2 hitter, or 1 leadoff hitter followed by 2 #2 hitters depending on perspective’ lineup. He has yet to become the .330+ hitter he should be, but one assumes that he’ll have his share of good at bats this coming season.

4. Ken Griffey Jr. is in the cleanup slot.


5. Edgar Martinez is set to be the .300+ doubles machine he is destined to become, and hits #5 in this lineup to help the matchups against late inning lefties.

6. Rookie Frank Thomas will hit 6th, at least initially. His OBA should be no worse than when he was hitting in a far less outstanding (real-world) ChiSox lineup, which should offset his rookie 2.5 stars…


7. Barry Bonds is hitting 7th----sheesh! My humble guess is that he’ll be one of the few 7 hitters in the history of baseball to get 100+ RBI. As an aside, and to keep stress levels low in the Padres Front Office, I signed Bonds to a 10 year extension, which while initially a bit on the expensive side, should be a bargain for at least the last half of his contract.

8. Catcher Mickey Tettleton, who incidentally (once the sims started) exploded for 41 dingers to lead the NL, will hit 8th (again). I pity (not a lot, but a little) opposing teams.


The starting rotation, won’t be quite as dominant as last year, but in the decade of the 1990s, it looks like 1990 will be the ‘worst’ year, and still will be pretty damned good.

1. John Smoltz moves to the #1 slot due to him being the ‘only’ 4 star starter on the team (currently). Last year, in the 5 slot, Smoltzy went 17-3 with a 1.97 ERA…

2. Greg Maddux is (again) in the #2 slot. All he did was go 19-8 with a 2.22 ERA, again missing out on the Cy Young by a whisker.


3. Lefty Tom Glavine moves up to the #3 slot. Last year’s #4 starter went 15-10 with a 3.25 ERA but his 2.5 stars will make the #3 slot a bit dicey.

4. Tom Candiotti (also 2.5 stars initially this season) is the #4 starter, if for no other reason than I didn’t think it fair to relegate him to the 5 slot. Last season he racked up a 20-8 record with a 3.02 ERA. At $2.5 million for the foreseeable future, he is a rather large bargain.


5. Former Dodger and cause of ‘FernandoMania,’ Fernando Valenzuela is the #5 starter. His 3 stars warrant a higher slot, but we all know the Dodgers abused his arm so much that leaving him in the 5 slot just makes sense.

In the bullpen, I had/have a bit of a problem, in that I currently have 1 too many bodies. I am leaning away from entering the sweepstakes for the #1 pick, as neither Manny Ramirez (cannot replace Bonds) nor Shawn Green (cannot replace Gwynn) interests me enough to bother. I might (later in the season) take a look at figuring out where Nomar Garciaparra is likely to fall in the draft and make moves to be there, but for now I have too many relievers, no real needs on the rest of the roster, and no real market to deal in, so 7 relievers (trendsetter?) it is, for the 1990 Padres.

Closer: Tom Henke seems to pitch far better when the games are being simulated, sigh, but he is supposed to be a sub-2.00 ERA game shortening pitcher. Hope springs eternal.

Stopper Gregg Olson. His rookie season was pretty good, with a 2.35 ERA and 19 saves in his ‘stopper’ role, which amounts to a 2nd closer for my Padres. More of the same should come this season.

Stopper #2: Randy Myers. I acquired Randy Myers during the Chipper Jones sweepstakes, and it (should) be nice to have an excellent lefty in the bullpen once again.

I signed Larry Andersen for a 2nd Padres stint, as a setup guy. He SHOULD be a sub-2.00 ERA guy locking down the 7th inning of games on a regular basis. If that doesn’t pan out, he will probably be the one I trade away.

Rookie Jeff Brantley will be a middle reliever in 1990. In judging my team-building skills, it would seem that I have created quite the bullpen pipeline for San Diego. Mike Fetters is (finally?) up to AA and might be ready for prime time by next season. Trevor Hoffman will play for the single A Marlins this season, at least initially, and is a future HOF’er. Finally, as mentioned before, recently drafted Mariano Rivera will play his first year in the minors, so the future is bright bullpen-wise in Padres land.

Danny Darwin and one of the Greg Harris’ are middle relievers, long relievers (shouldn’t have much of a need for that sort of thing, but still) and emergency starters (doubleheaders are the bane of my rotation’s existence). The market is so light for relievers that I cannot see getting anything in return for either of them, thus on the roster they are.

The OOTP ‘gods’ predict 1990 will be a relatively rough season for my Padres---oh hang on, they preseason predictions have updated, thus things (should) be a bit easier. Instead of the initial 97 wins with a 2-3 game margin in the NL West, it is now expected that we’ll rack up 103 wins and cruise to a 10 game-cushioned NL West title over the improving Astros (who have been quite active in the free agent market).

Preseason predictions have my #7 hitter having a monster year at .304 w/ 38 HRs and 52 SBs, and ironically he is the only Padres player making the preseason top hitters predictions, hmmm.

Smoltzy is the only Padres starter to make the preseason top pitchers deal, which is a bit annoying (especially since he is ranked behind former Padres pitcher Orel Hershiser, now with the Expos). Speaking of the Expos, they are expected to rack up 101 wins, which given THEIR free agent signings makes some sense. They signed: SP Hershiser (they’ll regret the $4.7 million per year soon enough), and despite him not cracking Montreal’s starting lineup, they signed Randy Ready to a $2.5Million/year deal. Actually, I guess it only seemed like the Expos were signing every big free agent during the offseason.

Sidenotes: Todd Benzinger (acquired via trade) will be a pinch hitter and 1B backup, and Jose ‘Wales’ Vizcaino will spend his rookie season backup 2nd, Shortstop, and 3rd… Dante Bichette will be the 4th outfielder, although I would guess that sooner than later he will start to demand a starting job, which will force me to trade him away.

All in all, I am looking forward to the 1990 season, which should be fun to watch, given that the lineup might contend for both the HR and SB title all while biding our time waiting for Frank Thomas to become, well, Frank Thomas, and watching Bonds become his best pre-roids Bonds, and Griffey continuing on his path to 500+ HRs----oh, and Gwynn being Gwynn, Alomar being Alomar, and in general causing fits for opposing teams’ managers.

[Augetout]

April 16, 1990

The offseason deals caused a bit of a glut in the Padres bullpen, thus on opening day I traded Roger McDowell to the Yankees for a switch-hitting backup 1B in Todd Benzinger.

Less than a week later, I decided to futz with the roster some more, trading SP Valenzuela to the Texas Rangers for backup outfielder and left-handed pinch hitter, Darryl Hamilton. Benzinger didn’t look like the answer for pinch hitting, and the trade cleared a roster spot for rookie Mike Mussina, all while venting a little of my frustration at starting the season 0-4.

Since then the Padres have rebounded a bit, and now on April 16 sit at 7-6 while dealing with a couple of DTD injuries in the starting rotation (Candiotti missed a start, and the game had Maddux wreck ‘his new Maserati’ which might result in him missing a start).

In other Padres news, the rotation has yet to live up to expectations---yes I know it’s still rather early in the 1990 season, but I am not used to seeing ERAs north of 4.00 for 3 of my 5 starters at any point in a season. The bullpen has been a bit of a mess as well, although I should mention that Tom Henke’s normal early-season woes have been mitigated a bit (he’s only blown 1 save so far).

The Padres’ problems reside mainly in the offensive area, with rookie Frank Thomas only managing to his .178 thus far, with no HRs, and Mickey Tettleton having another non-banner April by hitting .171, also no HRs.

Then again, Griffey only has 1 HR, and the team in general just hasn’t seemed too interested in scoring many runs until the last series against the at least a year away San Francisco Giants (Sheffield and Palmeiro are just babies right now, and will be 5 star players next year or the year after).

Baseball is a marathon rather than a sprint, though, so while a 7-6 record is nothing to be proud of, my feelings are more pity directed towards whoever we play for the rest of the season than anything else, as Thomas is not going to keep hitting sub-.200 for much longer, Tettleton will soon start hitting, and my pitching staff will soon start pitching like they are supposed to be pitching, which will make for some ugly scores in games to come (from other teams’ perspective).