Around the World

[jaykno14]

I got the idea about a month and a half ago to start a league where I tried to take every team to the World Series and win it. It is definitely going to take some time, but as long as it doesn't overwhelm me, I thought I'd give it a try.

Now, there are some catches to this idea. Say I am with a team and I am not able to get them a World Series within oh, ten years, I don't think I should continue to go with that team. I am going to give myself a 15 year period in which I can attempt to get them to the promise land, and if I don't I will move on to the next worse team.

My plan is to start with the worst team after each World Series win. I plan on building these teams so that they are still good when I leave them, therefore I have a need for building throught the Minor Leagues. I am halfway through my first season in this dynasty, so I will have updates soon, though I am not sure when.

[jaykno14]

American Standings  
  
East  
Team         W    L   PCT   GB     
Boston       95   67  .581  -        
New York (A) 84   78  .519  11.0     
Toronto      82   80  .506  13.0     
Baltimore    71   91  .438  24.0     
Tampa Bay    61   101 .377  34.0   
              
Central   
Team         W   L    PCT   GB     
Minnesota    88   74  .543  -     
Kansas City  86   76  .531  2.0     
Chicago (A)  84   78  .519  4.0     
Cleveland    76   86  .469  12.0    
Detroit      76   86  .469  12.0  
              
West         
Team         W   L    PCT   GB    
Seattle      95   67  .586  -    
Oakland      87   75  .537  8.0 
Texas        74   88  .457  21.0    
Anaheim      73   89  .451  22.0

National Standings   
                   
East            
Team          W    L   PCT   GB     
Philadelphia  85   77  .525  -     
New York (N)  82   80  .506  3.0     
Atlanta       77   85  .475  8.0     
Montreal      77   85  .475  8.0     
Florida       75   87  .463  10.0   
                    
Central         
Team          W    L   PCT  GB    
St. Louis     87   76  .534  -     
Milwaukee     86   77  .528  1.0     
Pittsburgh    82   80  .506  4.5     
Houston       81   81  .500  5.5 
Cincinnati    75   87  .463  11.5    
Chicago (N)   72   90  .444  14.5   
                   
West              
Team           W    L   PCT   GB   
San Diego      92   70  .568  -  
San Francisco  90   72  .556  2.0     
Los Angeles    88   74  .543  4.0     
Arizona        80   82  .494  12.0     
Colorado       70   92  .432  22.0

Playoffs:
Divisional Series:
Oakland (2) against Boston (3)
Minnesota (2) against Seattle (3)
San Francisco (0) against St. Louis (3)
Philadelphia (1) against San Diego (3)
League Series:
Seattle (3) against Boston (4)
St. Louis (4) against San Diego (2)
World Championship:
St. Louis (1) against Boston (4)
WINNER : Boston

And the first team of this dynasty (a.k.a. first worst team) is...THE Tampa Bay Devil Rays! Who woulda thunk it?

Hello TAMPA!

[jaykno14]

Now that I have my team chosen, I am going to go ahead and post some important things that happened in the 2004 season (i.e. Transactions, Awards, League Leaders, etc.) and then I will post the stats for the 2004 Devil Rays. Brace yourself when that comes up.

These next few posts are for imformative intentions only so there will be nothing special about them, just copied and pasted from the almanac out of OOTP6.5.

[jaykno14]

2004 League Trades

Major Transactions: Trades
 
4/6/2004: Trade between Toronto and Tampa Bay :
Tampa Bay gets :
1B Josh Phelps
Toronto gets :
P Jeremi Gonzalez
P James Houser
$1,300,000 cash.
 
4/19/2004: Trade between Cincinnati and Detroit :
Detroit gets :
CF Jermaine Clark
Cincinnati gets :
SS Omar Infante
C Mike Rabelo
 
5/17/2004: Trade between Montreal and Florida :
Florida gets :
1B Nick Johnson
$1,200,000 cash.
Montreal gets :
CF Eric Reed
P Josh Johnson
 
6/27/2004: Trade between Texas and Tampa Bay :
Tampa Bay gets :
2B David Newhan
Texas gets :
SS Aneudi Cuevas
 
7/12/2004: Trade between Texas and Cincinnati :
Cincinnati gets :
LF Jason Jones
Texas gets :
P Brandon Claussen
 
7/14/2004: Trade between Pittsburgh and Baltimore :
Baltimore gets :
LF Rob Mackowiak
CF Carlos Cobo
Pittsburgh gets :
P Kyle Lohse
 
Trade between Toronto and Pittsburgh :
Pittsburgh gets :
2B Fernando Vina
LF Mike Galloway
$2,300,000 cash.
Toronto gets :
P Frank Castillo
 
Trade between Baltimore and San Diego :
San Diego gets :
1B Rafael Palmeiro
Baltimore gets :
C Yamid Haad
1B Fernando Valenzuela
 
7/30/2004: Trade between Kansas City and Tampa Bay :
Tampa Bay gets :
LF Aaron Guiel
3B Cristian Barrientos
Kansas City gets :
C Pete Laforest
 
Trade between Kansas City and Tampa Bay :
Tampa Bay gets :
2B Ruben Gotay
SS Andres Blanco
RF Osvaldo Doriva
Kansas City gets :
P Rob Bell
 
Trade between Colorado and Detroit :
Detroit gets :
3B Andy Tracy
Colorado gets :
C Maxim St. Pierre
2B James Douglas
 
Trade between Baltimore and Pittsburgh :
Pittsburgh gets :
RF Jay Gibbons
Baltimore gets :
1B Randall Simon
 
Trade between Pittsburgh and Cleveland :
Cleveland gets :
CF Tike Redman
Pittsburgh gets :
1B Michael Aubrey
C Garry Fender
 
Trade between San Diego and Oakland :
Oakland gets :
1B Brian Buchanan
$100,000 cash.
San Diego gets :
LF Nick Swisher
P Robert Batt
 
Trade between Detroit and Baltimore :
Baltimore gets :
2B Brent Abernathy
C Nathan Farkas
Detroit gets :
P Eric Dubose
 
Trade between San Diego and Florida :
Florida gets :
CF Henri Stanley
San Diego gets :
1B Jason Stokes
 
Trade between Florida and Detroit :
Detroit gets :
1B Larry Sutton
Florida gets :
LF Curtis Granderson
CF Masujiro Matsusuke
 
7/31/2004: Trade between Florida and Tampa Bay :
Tampa Bay gets :
P A.J. Burnett
Florida gets :
P Doug Waechter
 
Trade between Kansas City and Toronto :
Toronto gets :
2B Tony Graffanino
$1,100,000 cash.
Kansas City gets :
CF John-Ford Griffin
RF Marcus Clukey
P Danny Core

[Lawley]

Very cool idea, ill be reading and posting!

[jaykno14]

League Leaders

League Leaders: AL
 
# TOP 10 AVG         AVG 
1 I. Suzuki (SEA)    .385 
2 J. Olerud (SEA)    .328 
3 J. Conti (TEX)     .326 
4 J. Patterson (KCA) .325 
5 A. Phillips (NYA)  .323 
6 M. Ramirez (BOS)   .320 
7 J. Gerut (CLE)     .318 
8 J. Jones (MIN)     .318 
9 B. Williams (NYA)  .317 
10 L. Ford (MIN)     .316
 
# TOP 10 OPS        OPS 
1 M. Ramirez (BOS)  1.017 
2 M. Ordonez (CHA)  .952 
3 I. Suzuki (SEA)   .934 
4 J. Olerud (SEA)   .920 
5 J. Patterson (KCA).918 
6 M. Teixeira (TEX) .918 
7 J. Gerut (CLE)    .912 
8 C. Delgado (TOR)  .907 
9 J. Giambi (NYA)   .907 
10 E. Chavez (OAK)  .900
 
TOP 10 Hits         Hits 
1 I. Suzuki (SEA)   237 
2 B. Williams (NYA) 190 
3 M. Ramirez (BOS)  184 
4 R. Winn (SEA)     182 
5 A. Huff (TB)      180 
6 J. Damon (BOS)    176
7 J. Olerud (SEA)   173 
7 J. Conti (TEX)    173 
9 M. Cuddyer (MIN)  171 
9 A. Berroa (KCA)   171
 
# TOP 10 2B         2B 
1 J. Gerut (CLE)    52 
2 V. Wells (TOR)    48 
3 M. Cuddyer (MIN)  46 
3 B. Mcmillon (OAK) 46 
5 J. Damon (BOS)    43 
6 D. Young (DET)    42 
7 J. Conti (TEX)    41 
7 A. Huff (TB)      41 
9 A. Phillips (NYA) 40 
10 M. Ramirez (BOS) 38
 
# TOP 10 3B         3B 
1 C. Beltran (KCA)  15 
2 J. Damon (BOS)    14 
3 M. Young (TEX)    13 
4 J. Conti (TEX)    12 
5 J. Clark (DET)    11 
5 A. Soriano (TEX)  11 
7 V. Guerrero (ANA) 10 
7 R. Winn (SEA)     10 
9 C. Crespo (BOS)   9 
9 R. Baldelli (TB)  9
 
# TOP 10 HR          HR 
1 J. Gonzalez (KCA)  43 
2 M. Ramirez (BOS)   39 
3 T. Glaus (ANA)     37 
4 C. Delgado (TOR)   34 
5 M. Teixeira (TEX)  33 
5 E. Chavez (OAK)    33 
7 A. Rodriguez (NYA) 32 
7 M. Ordonez (CHA)   32 
9 J. Lopez (BAL)     31 
9 J. Giambi (NYA)    31
 
# TOP 10 RBI         RBI 
1 M. Ramirez (BOS)   135 
2 J. Gonzalez (KCA)  129 
3 A. Rodriguez (NYA) 113 
3 B. Mcmillon (OAK)  113 
5 E. Chavez (OAK)    111 
6 A. Huff (TB)       106 
6 I. Rodriguez (DET) 106 
8 T. Glaus (ANA)     102 
8 M. Teixeira (TEX)  102 
10 E. Durazo (OAK)   98
 
# TOP 10 RUNS        RUNS 
1 A. Rodriguez (NYA) 121 
2 I. Suzuki (SEA)    118 
3 E. Chavez (OAK)    115 
4 M. Ramirez (BOS)   113 
4 J. Damon (BOS)     113 
6 V. Guerrero (ANA)  106 
7 V. Wells (TOR)     104 
8 B. Sellier (OAK)   102 
8 R. Winn (SEA)      102 
8 T. Glaus (ANA)     102
 
# TOP 10 SB        SB 
1 I. Suzuki (SEA)  100 
2 J. Damon (BOS)   77 
3 E. German (OAK)  68 
4 N. Hall (TOR)    61 
5 C. Beltran (KCA) 54 
6 A. Soriano (TEX) 51 
7 D. Jeter (NYA)   46 
8 N. Punto (MIN)   44 
9 R. Baldelli (TB) 41 
10 A. Berroa (KCA) 39

League Leaders: NL
 
# TOP 10 AVG        AVG 
1 T. Walker (CHN)   .333 
2 E. Renteria (STL) .330 
3 A. Cintron (ARI)  .325 
4 A. Dunn (CIN)     .325 
5 L. Overbay (MIL)  .319 
6 T. Helton (COL)   .318 
7 C. Jones (ATL)    .317 
8 M. Byrd (PHI)     .316
9 C. Baerga (ARI)   .314 
10 F. Sanchez (PIT) .314
 
# TOP 10 OPS         OPS 
1 B. Bonds (SFN)     1.134 
2 S. Sosa (CHN)      1.064 
3 T. Helton (COL)    1.058
4 A. Dunn (CIN)      1.044 
5 R. Klesko (SDN)    1.031 
6 B. Giles (SDN)     1.025 
7 L. Berkman (HOU)   .971 
8 C. Jones (ATL)     .943 
9 A. Pujols (STL)    .942 
10 L. Gonzalez (ARI) .942
 
# TOP 10 Hits       Hits 
1 E. Renteria (STL) 200 
2 A. Cintron (ARI)  194 
3 M. Byrd (PHI)     193 
4 L. Overbay (MIL)  182 
5 T. Helton (COL)   181 
5 B. Clark (MIL)    181 
7 R. Furcal (ATL)   179 
8 A. Pujols (STL)   178 
8 O. Cabrera (MON)  178 
10 C. Chen (LAN)    175
 
# TOP 10 2B          2B 
1 L. Overbay (MIL)   59 
2 C. Floyd (NYN)     45 
3 L. Lopez (MON)     44 
3 A. Pujols (STL)    44 
5 C. Patterson (CHN) 40 
5 C. Ansman (ARI)    40 
5 D. Hocking (COL)   40 
8 T. Helton (COL)    39 
8 R. Klesko (SDN)    39 
8 B. Clark (MIL)     39
 
# TOP 10 3B          3B 
1 K. Matsui (NYN)    14 
1 C. Porter (STL)    14 
3 A. Cintron (ARI)   13
3 L. Berkman (HOU)   13 
5 C. Patterson (CHN) 11 
6 T. Sledge (MON)    9 
6 E. Renteria (STL)  9 
6 M. Byrd (PHI)      9 
9 R. Vazquez (SDN)   8 
9 R. Mateo (PIT)     8
 
# TOP 10 HR          HR 
1 B. Bonds (SFN)     53 
2 S. Sosa (CHN)      52 
3 K. Pellow (COL)    46 
3 T. Helton (COL)    46 
5 J. Thome (PHI)     44 
6 R. Klesko (SDN)    42 
7 B. Giles (SDN)     40 
8 A. Dunn (CIN)      37 
8 J. Edmonds (STL)   37 
10 L. Gonzalez (ARI) 36
 
# TOP 10 RBI        RBI 
1 B. Bonds (SFN)    127 
2 R. Klesko (SDN)   124 
2 K. Pellow (COL)   124 
4 T. Helton (COL)   118 
4 R. Stratton (SFN) 118 
6 B. Giles (SDN)    117 
7 L. Gonzalez (ARI) 114 
8 A. Pujols (STL)   111 
9 J. Drew (ATL)     108 
10 S. Sosa (CHN)    106
 
# TOP 10 RUNS       RUNS 
1 B. Bonds (SFN)    135 
2 B. Giles (SDN)    120 
3 R. Klesko (SDN)   118 
4 A. Dunn (CIN)     117 
5 T. Helton (COL)   111 
6 J. Thome (PHI)    110 
7 S. Sosa (CHN)     106 
8 L. Gonzalez (ARI) 105 
9 J. Payton (SDN)   103 
9 A. Pujols (STL)   103
 
# TOP 10 SB          SB 
1 R. Furcal (ATL)    78 
1 S. Podsednik (MIL) 78 
3 L. Castillo (FLO)  69 
4 J. Reyes (NYN)     65 
5 J. Pierre (FLO)    63 
6 O. Cabrera (MON)   59 
7 M. Cameron (NYN)   49 
8 R. Durham (SFN)    45 
8 E. Renteria (STL)  45 
10 M. Byrd (PHI)     44

[jaykno14]

Awards

MVP:
American: LF Manny Ramirez, BOS, (575 AB, .320 AVG, 39 HR, 135 RBI, 113 R, 184 Hits, 1.017 OPS)
National: LF Barry Bonds, SFN, (510 AB, .306 AVG, 53 HR, 127 RBI, 135 R, 156 Hits, 1.134 OPS)
 
Cy Young:
American: Pedro Martinez, BOS, (Record: 23-9, 3.32 ERA, 262.2IP, 299 Ks, 67 BB)
National: Jason Schmidt, SFN, (Record: 18-5, 2.79 ERA, 228.2IP, 252 Ks, 68 BB)
 
Gold Glove:
AL:
Pitcher: Eric Thompson, KCA
Catcher: Ben Molina, ANA
First Base: Travis Hafner, CLE
Second Base: Esteban German, OAK
Third Base: Eric Chavez, OAK
Shortstop: Michael Young, TEX
Leftfield: Carlos Lee, CHA
Centerfield: Rocco Baldelli, TB
Rightfield: Jeff Inglin, DET
NL:
Pitcher: Jose Acevedo, CIN
Catcher: A.J. Pierzynski, SFN
First Base: J.T. Snow, SFN
Second Base: Jose Vidro, MON
Third Base: Scott Rolen, STL
Shortstop: Orlando Cabrera, MON
Leftfield: Geoff Jenkins, MIL
Centerfield: Andruw Jones, ATL
Rightfield: J.D. Drew, ATL

[jaykno14]

Originally Posted by Lawley

Very cool idea, ill be reading and posting!

Thanks. Happy to know you'll be reading. I have been trying to think of something to write about for a while about and this just popped into my head. I am hoping to get as many teams as possible to the WS.

[jaykno14]

2004 Devil Rays Part One: Hitting

Manager: Lou Pinella
Record: 61 Wins, 101 Losses, .377 Winning Pct.
Home Record: 32 Wins, 49 Losses
Away Record: 29 Wins, 52 Losses
1 Run Games Record: 25 Wins, 28 Losses
X-Innings Record: 9 Wins, 12 Losses
Record vs LHP: 15 Wins, 32 Losses
Record vs RHP: 46 Wins, 69 Losses
Payroll: $34,637,000 (29th)
Fan Interest: 41/100 (29th)

Batting AVG: .240 (30th)
Homeruns: 152 (21st)
Walks: 461 (30th)
Stolen Bases: 129 (20th)
Runs Scored: 657 (30th)

Our hitting definitely looks to be the achilles heel of the team. I am going to look to get some batting average and on base percentage type guys this offseason and kind of shy away from the 'big boppers'.

Player         #  Pos Birthday   Bats  Throws AVG  HR RBI SB OPS 
CATCHERS                                                
Toby Hall      44 C   10/21/1975 Right Right  .149 2  15  0  .390 
INFIELDER                                                        
Josh Phelps    17 1B 5/12/1978   Right Right  .276 29 96  0  .835 
David Newhan   68 2B 9/7/1973    Left  Right  .263 11 36  3  .777 
Joe Randa      16 3B 12/18/1969  Right Right  .244 6  54  0  .646 
Julio Lugo     23 SS 11/16/1975  Right Right  .240 8  46  14 .602 
Jared Sandberg 29 3B 3/2/1978    Right Right  .167 5  24  0  .518 
Jerry Hairston 15 2B 5/29/1976   Right Right  .244 2  13  6  .654
Damian Rolls   10 2B 9/15/1977   Right Right  .215 1  16  8  .555 
OUTFIELDER                                                 
Aubrey Huff    19 RF 12/20/1976  Left  Right  .309 27 106 1  .903 
Rocco Baldelli 5  CF 9/25/1981   Right Right  .278 7  47  41 .713 
Aaron Guiel    45 LF 10/5/1972   Left  Right  .295 15 65  2  .869 
Josh Hamilton  2  CF 5/21/1981   Left  Left   .230 2  8   5  .679 
Doug Clark     74 LF 3/5/1976    Left  Right  .236 2  13  7  .679 
Jose Cruz jr.  22 LF 4/19/1974   Both  Right  .217 13 40  18 .685

CATCHER:
Wow. That's all I can really say. I mean as a Brewer fan he makes Bob Uecker look like an all star. Luckily he is only arby eligible and he won't get much money. Probably as little as he could get. Definitely will sign a veteran here, although he
will be cheap.

FIRST BASE:
Josh Phelps had a decent year ringing in 96 RBIs and hitting 29 HR. We would like a little higher OPS at 1B but I think as a 26 year old, he is a pretty good bargain at first. If the right trade does come up though, just like anyone on this team, he will be traded.

SECOND BASE:
David Newhan was acquired during the season for Aneudi Cuevas, a shortstop in our orginization. Newhan hit at a below average level, and if a replacement can be found for a bargain price in free agency, he could be replaced.

SHORT STOP:
I thought SS was supposed to be the position with one of your best all around players? It was the opposite for us. Lugo struck out 132 times, something I do NOT want out of my SS position. Lugo is arby eligible so I doubt he will be making much money next year for us, that is if he is even with us by the end of the year.

THIRD BASE:
Here we are again in the same position. Who do these guys think they are? Joe Randa was the 3B for the D'Rays last year, and thankfully, him and his $3.75 million contract have left us for free agency. Don't let the door hit ya' on the way out Joe. Jared Sandberg is only 26 and has some decent power talent so he will most likely be sent down to AAA for a year and we'll see what he can do. This is another need for us, although we could look at moving Huff here and using one of our OF prospects in RF.

OUTFIELD:
This is the one area that this team has some talent in. It is STACKED. With three prospects in the top five here, we also have three guys who gave us the best offense at the ML level. Aubrey Huff was no doubt our best offensive hitter and is thankfully signed through 2006. Baldelli had a down year, but I am expecting him to breakout next year for us as a leadoff guy to set up Huff and Phelps. Guiel was traded for in July and hit 15 HR in his first full time role at the major league level. I am going to try and shop Jose Cruz Jr. because of his $3 million contract, but if there are no takers, I will happily keep him to come off the bench. One guy that may be in the majors next year is Josh Hamilton, a guy who could move Baldelli to right and then move Huff to 3B. Thats the plan right now anyway. We'll have to wait and see.

[UngratefulDead]

This is a good idea. Combines the fact that it can be pretty damn fun to do your best to rip of the AI teams with a challenging way to go about doing it.

[jaykno14]

Originally Posted by UngratefulDead

This is a good idea. Combines the fact that it can be pretty damn fun to do your best to rip of the AI teams with a challenging way to go about doing it.

As much as I want to avoid that, I think that there may be some that make people wonder, "What the heck?". I am going to be trying to avoid that circumstance as much as possible.

[UngratefulDead]

Originally Posted by jaykno14

As much as I want to avoid that, I think that there may be some that make people wonder, "What the heck?". I am going to be trying to avoid that circumstance as much as possible.

Yeah, it's pretty hard to resist. I got tired of coming up with house rules to try to handicap myself and just went all-out building a dynasty and it turned into one of my favorite leagues to play. I averaged 110 wins a season or something, but it was still fun.

[jaykno14]

Originally Posted by UngratefulDead

Yeah, it's pretty hard to resist. I got tired of coming up with house rules to try to handicap myself and just went all-out building a dynasty and it turned into one of my favorite leagues to play. I averaged 110 wins a season or something, but it was still fun.

Yeah well I know that there will definitely be deals that I just rip off the AI, but like you said, when I do that, it might hurt me a few years down the road when I actually have that team. So it'll definitely have its effects.

[Cubsgnrlmngr]

Cool Idea. I'm listening to this. Read it all so far!

[jaykno14]

2004 Devil Rays Part Two: Pitching

Pitching ERA: 4.72 (23rd)
Opponents AVG: .269 (23rd)
HRs Allowed: 224 (30th)
Walks Allowed: 539 (15th)
Runs Allowed: 840 (23rd)

The Pitching wasn't much better than the hitting this year. One thing that is intriguing is that We only allowed 539 walks. The only thing is that that stat doesn't mean squat if you give up 224 home runs.

Pitching:
Player              #  Role Birthday   Bats   Throws ERA  W  L  S WHIP 
STARTERS                                                
A.J. Burnett        34 SP   1/3/1977   Right Right   3.85 6  9  0 1.33 
Carlos Reyes        43 SP   4/4/1969   Both  Right   4.03 12 15 0 1.22 
Jeremy Affeldt      48 SP   6/6/1979   Left  Left    4.54 6  7  0 1.51 
Ted Lilly           31 SP   1/4/1976   Left  Left    5.25 9  10 0 1.36 
Bartolome Fortunato 96 SP   7/27/1980  Right Right   5.42 2  7  0 1.50 
RELIEVERS 
Yo****aka Mizuo     68 CL   1/23/1974  Left  Left    1.88 3  1  1 1.19
Chad Gaudin         50 MR   3/24/1983  Right Right   5.83 4  3  4 1.68 
Danys Baez          28 MR   9/10/1977  Right Right   3.72 3  5  1 1.27 
Bobby Seay          27 MR   6/20/1978  Left  Left    4.42 2  3  2 1.62 
Lance Carter        38 MR   12/18/1974 Right Right   4.75 4  5  3 1.41 
Travis Harper       58 MR   5/21/1976  Right Right   6.00 1  1  1 2.00

STARTING PITCHERS:
A.J. Burnett was acquired for P Doug Waechter on the last day before the deadline this July. The only problem is that the previous management didn't retain him, letting him go to Free Agency. I will see what he is asking for but I won't go over $4 million. Reyes is 35 and is well known around the Tampa area. Then I look and see what he is making this year. Management extended him for three years. That's not the amazing part of the deal. He is set to make $5.75 million a year! I can't believe they gave him a deal like that. Instead of going after a guy that is eight years younger and had a better season, they go after him, who probably had his final good season. Wow. Jeremy Affeldt was claimed off of waivers and he will probably have a chance to earn a spot in spring training with us after a decent year in the rotation. Lilly was also claimed off waivers in July and he will also get a chance with us because of his semi-cheap $1.3 million contract. Fortunato is the sixth best prospect in our system and will probably go down to AAA to work on his movement some. We will most likely need two starting pitchers this offseason, guys that can be a stop gap for Barratt and Fortunato.

RELIEF PITCHERS:
You****aka Mizuo was claimed off waivers after he came to the US from Japan. He is 30 years old and will most likely be our closer next year. the rest of the bulpen wasn't very good. Baez was decent in middle relief role but he is making over $3 million. Not what I want a RP to make. Carter will probably get another chance to be the setup guy in our bullpen with his cheap contract. Seay could also be a setup guy moving Carter to our number one reliever. I will get some guys off waivers or some cheap guys off of the market to battle with the guys I got right now next spring.

[jaykno14]

2004 Devil Rays Part Three: Top Prospects

Batters	 
#  Name              Age Pos  Con  Pow	Eye Spd R  Level   AVG	 HR  RBI	                                      
1  1  Delmon Young   19  LF   7    7    7   3   3  A       .281  15  64
2  Josh Hamilton     23  CF   7    6    6   4   4  Majors  .230  2   8	   
5  Jonny Gomes       23  RF   5	   8    7   4   3  AAA     .304  36  95
7  B.J. Upton        20  SS   6    4    7   5   5  AAA     .289  1   8	   
8  Ruben Gotay       21  2B   7    4    7   2   3  A       .292  13  75
10 Carlos Maldonado  25  C    6    6    7   1   3  AA      .217  11  48	 
  
Pitchers	 
#  Name	               Age Role	Stu  Con  Move Level  Rec    ERA   IP     HA   BB  K	   
3  Jon Switzer         25  SP   7    8    8    AA     11-11  3.42  189.2  168  72  156	   
4  Matthew Anderson    19  MR   8    7    6    AAA    0-0    0.00  0.0    0    0   0	   
6  Bartolome Fortunato 24  SP   8    5    7    Majors 2-7    5.42  94.2   95   47  106	   
9  Jon Barratt         19  SP   6    8    5    A      9-9    3.85  170.2  198  42  127

Prospects are and always have been a big, big part of the Tampa Bay Organization. The reason for that is because they have always sucked. Switzer will probably be up at the ML level by June or July if the case turns up. The thing that this team is filled with is outfielders. Huff will become a third baseman and I will use some of the other OF as trade bait for a position we are in need at.

[jaykno14]

Free Agency: Days 1-6

Day 1:
I am going to have five posts containing every six days of free agency and the major happenings. I will give you the offers that I have given to players and then their reactions. Also, there will be trades during free agency posts too. There may be a few that happen. My needs I feel I have this offseason follow:

-(1) Catcher
-(2) Second Base
-(1) Short Stop
-(2) Third Base
-(2) Starters
-(3) Relievers

That is one team with quite a few holes. Every spot in the IF may be changed this offseason and at least 3/4 of the spots will definitely be different. There will also be a new catcher. I found Tim Redding on my AAA roster and I decided to bring him up as a fifth starter. I did the same with Jason Standridge and he is my fourth starter for now. These two are going to be the money saving guys for the first year and who knows, maybe they'll surprise and earn a spot when we're actually trying to win something.

I am going to begin with the waiver wire before I do anything, that is what I believe is a small market's team second best friend behind the June Amatuer draft. It helps being the worst team in the league so that we get first dibs. The first name I see that interests me is of co use from a position that I don't even have a real need at: CF Dave Roberts. I feel Roberts could help us along in my first season here and he could help a guy like Baldelli or Hamilton along. The next guy is a guy that I would like to have because it WOULD feel a need. That is Rod Barajas. He is an average defensive catcher and does have some power, but doesn't seem to hit for contact too well. If we were able to get Barajas he would most likely be the starter at catcher come April. The WW is also a good way to get young potential prospects easily and it is a decent way to build up the farm system without trading away big league stars and having to wait for the annual draft to come around. P Joe Kennedy and P Mike Maroth are a guys that we are going to attempt to claim and put in the minor leagues to develop a little more. Maroth could attempt to be in the rotation this spring, and at 27 he will be able to compete for a spot. I tried claiming P Tim Drew too, to compete for a bullpen spot. I have also tried to claim 26 year old OF Mike Restovich from the Twins although he would have to make the team because he is out of option years. The last guy I have attempted to claim is OF Eric Valent, who has option years left if he needs to be sent down.

So now that we may have a catcher for '05, I will concentrate on the other 10 needs we have in our orginization through trades and free agency. I am not afraid to trade any of the players in the orginization, considering that we are coming off of a 101 loss season. There must be some problem with the players we have here right now. Our top three hitting prospects are outfielders so our OF can be expendable, although a lot of the guys out there right now are the only talent on the team. I may try to trade them for talent that we need. I am surprised to see Carl Crawford in the minors and his ratings are horrible. I don't know why they are like that but oh well. A few guys that are interesting to me in free agency are IF/OF Frank Catalannotto, who is a guy I would consider for second base. I would only be willing to give him about $3.5 million for three or four years though, and I doubt he'll want that. I can try I guess. At third base I am going to go for someone that will cost me less than $1 million because I am pretty sure that is where Huff will be next year, and we'll do some shifting in the OF. I decide to offer 3B Greg Norton a 1 year 300,000 contract, playing it safe. There really are no short stops that interest me so I don't offer any of them a contract. Because I like to get low risk high reward relievers I decide to offer 34 year old LHP Vic Darrensburg a $570,000 dollar contract for two years and 29 year old RHP Brian Meadows a $670,000 contract for two years also.

Waiver Wire
OF Dave Roberts
C Rod Barajas
P Joe Kennedy
P Mike Maroth
P Tim Drew
OF Mike Restovich
OF Eric Valent

New Offers
IF Frank Catalanotto-$3,500,000 for four years
3B Greg Norton-$300,000 for one year
P Vic Darrensburg-$570,000 for two years
P Brian Meadows-$670,000 for two years

Day 2:
Reactions
Catalanotto-Best offer received
Norton-Best offer received
Darrensburg-Best offer received
Meadows-Best offer received

Wow I must admit I wasn't expecting to go 4/4 on my first try. I thought Catalanotto would want a better contract but who knows we'll have to wait and see. Two new guys on the Waiver Wire are 2B Bobby Hill and Mark Ellis two guys who have some option years left.

Waiver Wire
OF Dave Roberts
C Rod Barajas
2B Mark Ellis
2B Bobby Hill
P Joe Kennedy
P Mike Maroth
P Tim Drew
OF Mike Restovich
OF Eric Valent

No new offers today

Day 3:
3B Greg Norton-SIGNED for $300,000/1 year
P Vic Darrensburg-SIGNED for $570,000/2 years
P Brian Meadows-SIGNED for $670,000/2 years

TRADE between Tampa Bay and Houston :
Tampa Bay gets :
P Brandon Backe-4.95 career ERA
P Fernando Nieve-12-12, 3.72 ERA at AA last year
Houston gets :
OF Carl Crawford-.269 career average

Backe will almost for sure be in the rotation after a strong performance in 2004 for the Astros. Nieve will start out at AAA and at 22 he could be a decent pitcher for us in the future. Crawford leaving opens up a spot on the 40 man roster, which will be replaced by Backe.

I have removed my claims from P Tim Drew and OF Dave Roberts.

Reactions
IF Frank Catalanotto-Best offer so far

Waiver Wire
C Rod Barajas
2B Mark Ellis
2B Bobby Hill
P Joe Kennedy
P Mike Maroth
OF Mike Restovich
OF Eric Valent

Around the MLB
Montreal : 2B Jose Vidro, 6,094,400 per year, for 3 years.
Seattle : LF Billy Mcmillon, 5,061,600 per year, for 2 years.
Montreal : P A.J. Burnett, 6,244,500 per year, for 3 years.
Chicago (A) : 1B Greg Colbrunn, 3,049,500 per year, for 2 years.
Cleveland : 2B Miguel Cairo, 2,645,000 per year, for 2 years.

Day 4:
My PR Director says fans are happy with acquiring Brandon Backe so my fan interest has "increased notably".

-Tampa Bay minor league P Jorge Sosa has been DFA'd to clear a spot on the 40 man roster.
-Tampa Bay minor league C Carlos Maldanado has been DFA'd to clear a spot on the 40 man roster.
-Tampa Bay 2B Damian Rolls has been DFA'd to clear a spot on the 40 man roster.
-Tampa Bay minor league OF Jason Ramano has been DFA'd to clear a spot on the 40 man roster.

We have CLAIMED OF Mike Restovich off waivers and has been placed on the 40-man roster and placed on the 25-an roster
We have CLAIMED SP Mike Maroth off waivers and has been placed on the 40-man roster and assigned to AAA Durham
We have CLAIMED SP Joe Kennedy off waivers and has been placed on the 40-man roster and assigned to AAA Durham
We have CLAIMED 2B Bobby Hill off waivers and has been placed on the 40-man roster and assigned to AAA Durham
We have CLAIMED 2B Mark Ellis off waivers
We have CLAMIED C Rod Barajas off waivers and has been placed on the 40 man roster and placed on the 25 man roster
We have CLAIMED OF Eric Valent off waivers and has been placed on the 40-man roster and assigned to AAA Durham

Doug Clark was claimed off waivers by KC and taken from us.

Reactions
Catalanotto-Best offer so far

Around the MLB
Texas : LF Lance Berkman, 8,458,800 per year, for 5 years.
Los Angeles : 2B Alfonso Soriano, 4,362,300 per year, for 3 years.
Kansas City : 2B Mark Loretta, 2,463,400 per year, for 2 years.
Arizona : P Freddy Garcia, 2,162,000 per year, for 3 years.
Kansas City : P Tony Armas jr., 1,231,200 per year, for 3 years.
Toronto : P Justin Speier, 3,084,900 per year, for 2 years.
Texas : CF Armando Rios, 644,100 per year, for 3 years.
Cincinnati : P Todd Ritchie, 456,000 per year, for 2 years.
New York (N) : P Robb Nen, 1,472,000 per year, for 2 years.

Day 5:
Reactions
Catalanotto-Best offer so far

Around the MLB
San Diego : P Matt Morris, 8,142,000 per year, for 7 years.
Toronto : C Jason Varitek, 4,155,200 per year, for 5 years.
Los Angeles : P John Wasdin, 3,378,700 per year, for 5 years.
Chicago (A) : 3B Aaron Boone, 1,457,700 per year, for 3 years.
Pittsburgh : SS Rich Aurilia, 1,656,000 per year, for 3 years.
Seattle : SS Ihachirou Kuemon, 2,418,200 per year, for 2 years.
Kansas City : LF Bubba Trammell, 655,500 per year, for 2 years.
Pittsburgh : RF Ray Lankford, 678,500 per year, for 3 years.
Oakland : C Javier Valentin, 414,400 per year, for 2 years.
Pittsburgh : P Troy Percival, 1,023,000 per year, for 2 years.
Philadelphia : SS Chris Gomez, 414,400 per year, for 3 years.
New York (N) : P Vladimir Nunez, 946,000 per year, for 2 years.
Chicago (A) : P Bobby Jones, 345,000 per year, for 3 years.
Florida : P Dan Miceli, 375,800 per year, for 2 years.

Day 6:
Reactions
Catalanotto-Best offer so far

Around the MLB
Cleveland : 3B Troy Glaus, 6,992,000 per year, for 4 years.
St. Louis : C Mitch Meluskey, 2,382,600 per year, for 2 years.
Chicago (A) : 2B Roberto Alomar, 1,914,000 per year, for 2 years.
St. Louis : P Pat Mahomes, 4,541,500 per year, for 5 years.

[Jestor]

The White Sox moves in this universe are pissing me off

Good deal grabbing Backe though.

[Magatsu]

I'm really glad that you found the time and inspiration to start another dynasty.

This won't be easy i guess. Imagine that everytime you win one WS your old team (and after 5, 10 or 20 WS wins there are many of your old teams) will be your worst enemy.

So: GOOD LUCK

I'll be definitely following. This will be interesting.

M

[jaykno14]

Yeah right now I can't say I am going to be able to finish this, but I want to get as far as possible into it. If I were to finish it it would take me at least up till Next November or so, but the thing that made me want to try this is to see how far I can go. If I can do it with all 30 teams then I'd think that would be pretty good. Am I saying I'm going to do it with all 30 teams? No. But I'll do my best to do so.