I Don't Know What I'm Doing: The Snap Wilson Dynasty

Snap Wilson · 04-17-2007, 01:36 PM

OK, with some time set aside, I'm finally taking a crack at playing OOTP 2007. I've decided to follow the recommendations in Rasnell's easy-to-follow thread and walk in the footsteps of my favorite manager, Whitey Herzog.

I've downloaded the Lahman database and put it in it's own folder. Okay, so New Game, Historical League, Path to Database, and we're going with 1980, the year Whitey took over the Cards. Import Complete History? Sure, why not?

Hmmm, this is going to take a while.

...

...

I'll go throw in some laundry.

...

...

Okay, back and it's... still going. Let's see, dishes are done, bills are all paid... I guess I'll go get some lunch.

...

...

Hey, 56%! Nearly there! I wonder what's on TV?

...

...

Maxwell Smart, truly a comic genius. How we doing? 72%. My laptop's fan sounds like turbine engine. Another episode of Get Smart should do it.

...

...

Okay, done! Ah, the league as it was in 1980. Remember the Montreal Expos? Good times. Next step.

Rasnell recommends no minor leagues yet, so I shall go without until I'm comfortable with the setup. Next step.

Recalc player ratings, check. Automatically expand league, okay. Hold expansion draft, sure. Enable automatic import of financial settings... I don't know what that means, but it sounds good. Next step.

Some stuff about player faces and whatnot. Rasnell says ignore this for now, so I will. Next step.

Okay, I put my name in and... what do I do about the birthdate? Should I put in my real birthday? That means I'll be coaching the Cardinals at the age of nine. Hmmm. I'll add twenty years to my fictional manager's birthday.

Select team: The St. Louis Cardinals, baby!

Okay, play in Commissioner Mode... Rasnell says no. I may change that if I make it far enough to save Les Expos. Starting year is already in there. Next step is Start Game. Okay.

Alright, Rasnell says go into the Game Setup and turn off the scouting and coaching system. Done. He says disable injuries. Hmmm. I don't think I'd feel the realism without injuries. I'll do it for now, and when I feel comfortable with the interface, I'll turn them back on.

Everything else he says is up to my preference. Hmm, okay. I set all the Ratings from 1-100 (I like detail) and set it to show ratings past the max. I set the overall/potential from 20-80 instead of stars. 20-80?

Save box scores and game logs... sure. Keep the news logs, injury logs, transaction logs... why not? I've got a big hard drive.

Like Rasnell, I delete players that don't make The Show. Alright, what else? I set the Amateur Draft to November 1st. That it? Can we get started? Let's get started.

CatKnight · 04-17-2007, 02:02 PM

Yeah, it can be a bit intimidating at first. I'm still figuring out what I'm doing myself.

Good luck!

Snap Wilson · 04-17-2007, 02:10 PM

Wow, there's a lot of stuff to look at here. I'll start at the beginning, I guess, and look at my roster:

Code:

Pos	Name			Age	OV/Pot
SP	Bob Forsch		29	68/69
SP	John Fulgham		23	66/69
SP	John Martin		23	49/51
SP	Silvio Martinez		24	42/49
SP	Pete Vuckovich		27	71/71
MR	Pedro Borbon		33	46/46
MR	Don Hood		30	35/35
MR	Jeff Little		25	40/40
MR	Donnie Moore		25	52/52
MR	Jim Otten		28	40/48
CL	Mark Littell		26	44/46
C	Terry Kennedy		23	37/37
C	Ted Simmons		30	80/80
1B	Keith Hernandez		26	76/76
2B	Tom Herr		23	51/51
2B	Ken Oberkfell		23	63/63
3B	Ken Reitz		28	22/22
3B	Mike Ramsey		25	22/22
SS	Garry Templeton		23	80/80
LF	Dane Iorg		29	25/25
CF	Leon Durham		22	41/41
RF	Bernie Carbo		32	32/32
RF	Bobby Bonds		33	37/37
RF	George Hendrick		30	53/53

Ugh. Whitey really did a great job with this team. How the heck did he get them a championship by 1982? Looking at some of these names, I can only imagine the volume of drugs that must have been flowing through the St. Louis clubhouse. Look at that pitching staff. The words that spring to mind are, "crap sandwich." The lineup isn't that much better. Bright spots are Ted Simmons and Keith Hernandez (who I'm going to try and hang on to). Wait, Tommy Herr only has a 51 potential? Denied! And is it too late to sterilize Bobby Bonds? (Ha ha, I kid... and yeah, too late.)

But before this dynasty progresses any further there is absolutely ONE trade that has to be made.

The Cardinals trade: 2B Ken Oberkfell for SS Ozzie Smith.

This dynasty would not move forward without the Wizard of Oz.

Somebody named Dave Davis said it was a good deal while my manager said we should have added a prospect. I didn't really see anyone on San Diego worth adding, so...

Whoah! E-mail!

Okay, I've been welcomed to the Cards, I have to earn the fans respect, yada yada. The fans are slightly disappointed in losing Oberkfell, and slightly happy to have Ozzie. Whatever. Ozzie projects out to a 65/65, which is just ridiculous. It's Ozzie, people! He's a Hall of Famer!

And yes, the real trade was Garry Templeton for Ozzie, but Templeton rates an 80/80, so I can probably get a heck of a lot more for him.

Snap Wilson · 04-17-2007, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CatKnight

Yeah, it can be a bit intimidating at first. I'm still figuring out what I'm doing myself.

Good luck!

Thanks!

legendsport · 04-17-2007, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snap Wilson

And yes, the real trade was Garry Templeton for Ozzie, but Templeton rates an 80/80, so I can probably get a heck of a lot more for him.

Ship Templeton to San Fran and you can get Jack Clark early - and stick him out in RF where he'd be a heckuva lot better than Bernie Carbo...

Snap Wilson · 04-17-2007, 03:32 PM

Okay, time to find me a third baseman. There aren't any worthwhile free agents available. After some menu-jumping I manage to find the "Find Players" menu. Time to give the AI a test.

George Brett for Garry Templeton? No, they're not having that. Just thought I'd check.

Paul Molitor? Milwaukee says no. Ron Cey's too old. Hmmm... I decide to look at center fielders. Hold the phone, a 21-year old Rickey Henderson? Oh my.

The opposing general manager says he needs to think about it. Okay... he says he'll let me know in a few days.

Well, he let me know the next day, and the answer was no... unless I threw in another player. 30-year old middle reliever Don Hood was acceptable to him and me, so consider it done!

The Cardinals acquire: Rickey Henderson, LF
The Athletics acquire: Garry Templeton, SS and Don Hood, MR

Snap Wilson · 04-17-2007, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by legendsport

Ship Templeton to San Fran and you can get Jack Clark early - and stick him out in RF where he'd be a heckuva lot better than Bernie Carbo...

Think I may have gotten a better deal than that already!

The hunt for a third baseman continues. After trying way too hard to make several deals, I decide to break the bank and offer up Ted Simmons.

There's no way he can get me George Brett, so I go after Paul Molitor instead. The Milwaukee GM is at least listening. After days of negotiations we settle on the following:

St. Louis acquires: Paul Molitor, 3B
Milwaukee acquires: Ted Simmons, C and Mark Littell, CL

Littell wasn't that great and Donnie Moore can move into our closer role if need be, or we'll go bullpen by committee. Terry Kennedy will start for us at catcher and Steve Swisher will back him up. If I can swing getting a decent defensive center fielder (Rick Manning, maybe) and get an adequate backup at first and second, I'll consider the team ready to go.

While all this has been going on, some other trades have taken place. The most notable is the Red Sox sending Carlton Fisk to the hated Yankees for Graig Nettles. Both players are up there, Fisk at 32 and Nettles at 35, but somehow I think Carlton has a little more left in the tank.

Snap Wilson · 04-17-2007, 04:19 PM

Okay, one final deal:

I see a young Dale Murphy out there with bewilderingly poor ratings (41/57) and decide to take a shot at him. I offer up George Hendrick. Atlanta wants more, suggesting some players including 38-year old Darrell Knowles. Okay, twist my arm.

St. Louis receives: Dale Murphy, CF
Atlanta receives: George Hendrick, RF and Darrell Knowles, MR

I think that will do for my roster right now. Here it is:

Code:

Pos	Name			Age	OV/Pot
SP	Bob Forsch		29	68/69
SP	John Fulgham		23	66/69
SP	John Martin		23	49/51
SP	Silvio Martinez		24	42/49
SP	Pete Vuckovich		27	71/71
MR	Pedro Borbon		33	46/46
MR	George Frazier		25	54/54
MR	Jeff Little		25	40/40
MR	John Littlefield	26	39/41
MR	Donnie Moore		25	51/51
MR	Jim Otten		28	39/48
C	Steve Swisher		28	21/21
C	Terry Kennedy		23	39/39
1B	Keith Hernandez		26	77/77
2B	Tom Herr		23	51/51
3B	Ken Reitz		28	22/22
3B	Paul Molitor		23	76/76
3B	Mike Ramsey		25	22/22
SS	Ozzie Smith		25	76/76
LF	Dane Iorg		29	25/25
LF	Jim Lentine		25	22/22
LF	Rickey Henderson	21	76/76
CF	Dale Murphy		23	41/57
CF	Leon Durham		22	41/41
RF	Bernie Carbo		32	32/32

I just noticed that the computer released Bobby Bonds for me. I didn't ask it to do that. Arrrggh.

Snap Wilson · 04-17-2007, 05:23 PM

The Cleveland Indians signed Bonds to a 3-year, $3 million dollar deal. Wow. Vaya con dios, man.

I'm thinking now that playing without injuries and fatigue might stretch the limits of credibility here. I don't want to be able to start my catcher for 162 games, so I decide to turn it on but keep both settings low, and hope it doesn't futz me up too much.

I start my sim progression towards spring training, getting trade offers and accepting one of them:

St. Louis acquires: Richie Zisk, RF
Texas acquires: Dane Iorg, LF

Zisk hits for some power and will make a nice right-field platoon with Durham.

I make it to Spring Training without any more interruptions.

So, what's the best way to handle Spring Training, anyway? Anything special I should do here?

Snap Wilson · 04-17-2007, 05:49 PM

I just set it to sim to our next game. I'm not sure how it handles Spring Training, but whatever. It pauses with a trade proposal that I think is worthwhile, catcher Joe Nolan for Bernie Carbo. I tweak it so that I don't have to bring anyone else up from reserve.

St. Louis receives: Joe Nolan, C and Jeff Burroughs LF
Atlanta receives: Bernie Carbo, RF and Steve Swisher, C

Nolan will start at catcher and Burroughs gives us some pop off the bench.

I manage to sim all the way to Opening Day. Hoorah. We played some spring training games. Not sure what purpose they served. Anyway, on with the action.

Snap Wilson · 04-17-2007, 07:14 PM

Opening Day is against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hey, didn't these guys win a World Championship last year? They have a loaded lineup. Bill Madlock, Mike Easler, Willie Stargell, Dave Parker... yikes. It's Blyleven vs. Vuckovich. Let's get it on!

I decide I'm going to manage this one, just to see the PBP and... holy cow. Just as immersive as every other menu in the game.

My Cardinals win 6-3 with Molitor and Murphy hitting home runs and Tommy Herr going 3-for-4. Pete Vuckovich earned the W pitching eight innings, allowing three runs on nine hits and three walks, striking out five. Donnie Moore earned the save because I forgot to warm up George Frazier. Oops.

A lot to keep track of here, and so many options. But I like the PBP, lots of fun.

Jestor · 04-17-2007, 11:29 PM

The Wizard of Oz was what made me a Cardinals fan when I was a kid. Granted, I didn't stay a fan of St. Louis, but I'll always love Ozzie

Snap Wilson · 04-18-2007, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jestor

The Wizard of Oz was what made me a Cardinals fan when I was a kid. Granted, I didn't stay a fan of St. Louis, but I'll always love Ozzie

I grew up in the Loo so I'm unfortunately afflicted, but I wasn't quite as much of a diehard after he retired, until the recent resurgence. Ozzie remains my favorite athlete of all-time. Just incredibly fun to watch and probably the smartest player (in terms of ballplaying intelligence) that I've ever seen. As good as the recent St. Louis teams have been, I still prefer Whitey's teams from the '80s. Ozzie, Willie, Vince (before his troubled Mets days), Tommy Herr, Jack Clark, Joaquin Andujar, John Tudor, Joe Magrane, Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith... personality across the board.

Snap Wilson · 04-18-2007, 02:53 AM

The Cards roll off to a nice start, winning five of their first six against Pittsburgh and Philly, including a game pitched by Steve Carlton. That's how you know this is just a game, BTW... the real Steve Carlton used to kill the Redbirds.

Are we hitting? Oh yes, we are hitting. Lookee here:

Henderson: .333
Molitor: .348 (with four doubles and a home run)
The Murph: .375
Hernandez: .429/.528/.714 (He's Keith Hernandez!)
Herr: .333

Only Ozzie is really struggling, with a .167 average, but he's Ozzie Smith. He ain't going anywhere.

Vuckovich has been are lone pitching bright spot, with a 1.57 ERA in his two starts, including one shutout. Donnie Moore's pitched four scoreless innings in relief so far. But it's early. We'll see what everyone's made of.

Defensively, we've been pretty shiny. Rickey and 'Bull' Durham have made several stellar plays in the outfield, and our infield has been solid. Hernandez has a couple of errors already, though.

I appear to have a bug, though, if anyone knows about it. In the primary PBP screen, I'm not seeing the score anywhere. There's a scoreboard in the upper left-hand corner, but there are never any numbers on it. No balls, strikes or outs, either. Is this a known issue?

Radsmats · 04-18-2007, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snap Wilson

Rickey and 'Bull' Durham have made several stellar plays in the outfield.

...

I appear to have a bug, though, if anyone knows about it.

Clearly, you have two bugs. Durham was barely adequate defensively as a DH ...

The other bug, the blank scoreboard, is addressed over in the tech support section somewhere ...

darkenigma510 · 04-18-2007, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radsmats

Clearly, you have two bugs. Durham was barely adequate defensively as a DH ...

The other bug, the blank scoreboard, is addressed over in the tech support section somewhere ...

Cool avatar! RIP Expos.

darkenigma510 · 04-18-2007, 01:16 PM

Great dynasty by the way. Nice to see some new people try a stab at OOTP Dynasty writing!

Snap Wilson · 04-18-2007, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radsmats

Clearly, you have two bugs. Durham was barely adequate defensively as a DH ...

Hehehehe. Yeah, his defense is way off. He's rated as a 90+ in right with a 90+ arm, and he's made a ton of what the PBP tells me are great defensive plays. I know the Cubbies played him some in center field, but that was in the day where managers did crazy things like that. Pete Incaviglia played some center with the Rangers, for chrissakes.

Hernandez only gets a 51 at first base. I imagine they're basing the defensive ratings off of numbers, but that is strange. Hernandez makes a lot of good plays during the game as well, although I'm starting to suspect the PBP just randomly assigns certain putouts to be "great plays."

Quote:

The other bug, the blank scoreboard, is addressed over in the tech support section somewhere ...

Yes, asked and answered there, thanks!

Snap Wilson · 04-19-2007, 11:12 AM

Let's reflect on the month that was April, shall we?

Standings
The Cards had a good April, going 13-5. They're leading the National League East, three games up on Les Expos. Last year's champs, the Pirates, are last in the division at 5-13. The Astros are a game up on the Padres in the NL West.

The Milwaukee Brewers lead the AL East, a game and half ahead of the Orioles. Harvey's Wallbangers have been quiet so far except for Cecil Cooper (.365/.397/.622) and newly-acquired Ted Simmons (.354/.392/.583) who they inked to a three-year extension. Don't say I never did nothin' for you, Milwaukee. It's pitching that has the Brewers at the top of the league, as they're first in almost every category. Larry Sorenson is 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA and Paul Mitchell is 3-0, 2.60 to go along with a fine assortment of hair care products, and closer Bill Castro hasn't allowed a run in seven save opportunities. Who needs Rollie Fingers, anyway?

Out in the AL West, it's a dogfight as the Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers are tied for the division lead with the Kansas City Royals only half a game back. Remember when the Royals were good? Fun times all around.

But you didn't come here to read about the AL. Let's talk some Redbirds baseball.

Team Rankings
Batting Average - .308 (1st)
On Base + Slugging - .814 (1st)
Runs Scored - 102 (2nd)
Home Runs - 10 (8th)
Earned Run Average - 3.89 (4th)
Starters ERA - 3.79 (2nd)
Relievers ERA - 4.19 (7th)

If we're not quite Harvey's Wallbanger's we're at least Snap's Slap-Hitters. A rundown of how our position players are doing:

Catcher: Joe Nolan (.310/.323/.362) He is what I would refer to as a "good singles hitter." Doesn't do much else, unfortunately. Only one walk and three extra base hits, all doubles. Plus, he's easier to run on than Mackey Sasser (base stealers 21/27). Aw, that was mean.

I traded backup Terry Kennedy to the Gigantes for catcher Dennis Littlejohn. Neither can hit their weight, but Littlejohn has some fielding skillz (83 abi/83 arm) so I'll use him against the more run-happy teams around the league.

First Base: Keith Hernandez (.333/.429./.542) 'Nuff said. And the best part is, computer players don't do drugs. Go Keith!

Second Base:Tommy Herr (.333/.367/.514) Showing some nice extra base pop with five doubles and a league-leading four triples. We like him.

Third Base: Paul Molitor (.324/.407/.500) Molitor's only negative is that the game keeps referring to him as "The Ignitor," which is one of the ten worst nicknames ever. I may need to do some database tweaking here.

Shortstop: Ozzie Smith (.222/.290/.238) This game is severely cheating my man Oz. His potential has fallen to 55, which is just wrong. Look how long he played! Doesn't the game recognize if you play that many games at a position, that you have to be really damned good at it? I'm getting upset here. Anyway, Ozzie is my shortstop for the long haul. And I'm not above cheating to make him a good player. Don't make me do it, OOTP!

Left Field: Rickey Henderson (.316/.402/.355) A fine leadoff hitter. I've also stolen nine bases with him, but been caught stealing six times. I've been atrocious with the base stealing, btw. I'm the master of running on pitchouts. I really need to start picking my spots better, so that Baseball Prospectus will stop sending me angry e-mails.

Center Field: The Murph (.339/.397/.482) The Murph abides, baby. He got hurt making a play in the field and is on the shelf for a couple of weeks, so Durham is filling in for him. Speaking of whom...

Right Field: Leon 'Bull' Durham (.348/.392/.652) Read those numbers again. Guess which player leads the Cards with five home runs and 19 RBIs? He's tied for the league lead in the latter category. And he's part of a platoon, for chrissakes. The Bull has been the biggest surprise this April, earning the Rookie of the Month award. His overall/potential has jumped from 41 to 58. All this with his crazy fielding ratings. Just don't wave a red cape in front of him. He doesn't like that.

The other side of the platoon, Richie Zisk, has been holding up his end of the bargain as well (.400/.455/.467). Right field has been a real strength for us in the early going.

Next post: It's Vuke's world, we're just living in it.

Snap Wilson · 04-19-2007, 01:12 PM

Mound Jockeys Galore

Pete Vuckovich, 4-0, 2.84 ERA With his 25/5 strikeout-to-walk ratio, his 0.95 WHIP, and his fantastic Fu Manchu, Vuke earned National League Pitcher of the Month honors for April. The Big Serb has been great, everything a staff ace should be. The real Vuckovich was one of my favorite pitchers, a great character, and he could have had a much better career if he had taken care of himself. Hopefully the game is kinder to his career than reality was.

Bob Forsch, 1-1, 4.13 ERA Been a little wonky thus far.

John Fulgham, 1-2, 7.33 ERA He's had one good start and three not-so-good starts. I have hope for him, though. He's struck out ten batters and hasn't walked anyone, and his WHIP is a not-too-bad 1.37. He just needs to stop giving up the longball (five dingers allowed already).

John Martin, 2-0, 2.18 ERA With Forsch and Fulgham struggling, the back end of our rotation has really picked it up. Martin is a lefty who keeps the ball down and uses his fielders. Can't ask for more from your #4 starter.

Silvio Martinez, 2-0, 2.08 ERA Pitched well and won both of his starts. If he keeps it up, we may need to move him up in the rotation. Pitch smart. Pitch S-Mart.

Jim Otten, 0-0, 2.70 ERA He's pitched well so far in the long-relief role, the only guy who's pitched double-digit innings out of the bullpen so far. I keep wanting to call him Don Otten.

Donnie Moore, 1-0, 1 SV, 2.08 ERA Our most effective reliever at this point, I need to do a better job of getting him into key situations.

Here's the rest:

Pedro Borbon, 0-1, 5.40 ERA
Jeff Little, 0-0, 1 SV, 5.79 ERA
John Littlefield, 2-1, 7.72 ERA
George Frazier, 0-0, 4 SV, 4.50 ERA

Pretty sad, isn't it? Both of Littlefield's wins are the vultured variety. Frazier's my closer of the moment, but he's pretty rickety. He hasn't blown a save opportunity yet, though.

I'm not really a believer in the whole closer philosophy. I think you should get your best pitchers in the game any time the score is close, in whatever inning he's likely to help you the most. Saving a reliever (especially a good one) for "save opportunities" is a misuse of talent, and having any pitcher that's incapable of pitching at least two innings at any time is a waste of a roster spot.

Having said that, closers can be fun, but only if you have an interesting one. Sparky Lyle, Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers, Dan Quisenberry, Bruce Sutter, Dick Radatz, Eckersley, Mariano Rivera, etc. Watching them with the game on the line made for great theater.

In any event, unlike the White Rat, I haven't run off to get a Rollie Fingers or a Bruce Sutter just yet. Maybe I'll experiment with the whole player import thing and create my own.

04-17-2007, 01:36 PM	#1
Snap Wilson Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 92	I Don't Know What I'm Doing: The Snap Wilson Dynasty OK, with some time set aside, I'm finally taking a crack at playing OOTP 2007. I've decided to follow the recommendations in Rasnell's easy-to-follow thread and walk in the footsteps of my favorite manager, Whitey Herzog. I've downloaded the Lahman database and put it in it's own folder. Okay, so New Game, Historical League, Path to Database, and we're going with 1980, the year Whitey took over the Cards. Import Complete History? Sure, why not? Hmmm, this is going to take a while. ... ... I'll go throw in some laundry. ... ... Okay, back and it's... still going. Let's see, dishes are done, bills are all paid... I guess I'll go get some lunch. ... ... Hey, 56%! Nearly there! I wonder what's on TV? ... ... Maxwell Smart, truly a comic genius. How we doing? 72%. My laptop's fan sounds like turbine engine. Another episode of Get Smart should do it. ... ... Okay, done! Ah, the league as it was in 1980. Remember the Montreal Expos? Good times. Next step. Rasnell recommends no minor leagues yet, so I shall go without until I'm comfortable with the setup. Next step. Recalc player ratings, check. Automatically expand league, okay. Hold expansion draft, sure. Enable automatic import of financial settings... I don't know what that means, but it sounds good. Next step. Some stuff about player faces and whatnot. Rasnell says ignore this for now, so I will. Next step. Okay, I put my name in and... what do I do about the birthdate? Should I put in my real birthday? That means I'll be coaching the Cardinals at the age of nine. Hmmm. I'll add twenty years to my fictional manager's birthday. Select team: The St. Louis Cardinals, baby! Okay, play in Commissioner Mode... Rasnell says no. I may change that if I make it far enough to save Les Expos. Starting year is already in there. Next step is Start Game. Okay. Alright, Rasnell says go into the Game Setup and turn off the scouting and coaching system. Done. He says disable injuries. Hmmm. I don't think I'd feel the realism without injuries. I'll do it for now, and when I feel comfortable with the interface, I'll turn them back on. Everything else he says is up to my preference. Hmm, okay. I set all the Ratings from 1-100 (I like detail) and set it to show ratings past the max. I set the overall/potential from 20-80 instead of stars. 20-80? Save box scores and game logs... sure. Keep the news logs, injury logs, transaction logs... why not? I've got a big hard drive. Like Rasnell, I delete players that don't make The Show. Alright, what else? I set the Amateur Draft to November 1st. That it? Can we get started? Let's get started. Last edited by Snap Wilson; 04-17-2007 at 01:40 PM.

04-17-2007, 02:10 PM	#3
Snap Wilson Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 92	Wow, there's a lot of stuff to look at here. I'll start at the beginning, I guess, and look at my roster: Code: Pos Name Age OV/Pot SP Bob Forsch 29 68/69 SP John Fulgham 23 66/69 SP John Martin 23 49/51 SP Silvio Martinez 24 42/49 SP Pete Vuckovich 27 71/71 MR Pedro Borbon 33 46/46 MR Don Hood 30 35/35 MR Jeff Little 25 40/40 MR Donnie Moore 25 52/52 MR Jim Otten 28 40/48 CL Mark Littell 26 44/46 C Terry Kennedy 23 37/37 C Ted Simmons 30 80/80 1B Keith Hernandez 26 76/76 2B Tom Herr 23 51/51 2B Ken Oberkfell 23 63/63 3B Ken Reitz 28 22/22 3B Mike Ramsey 25 22/22 SS Garry Templeton 23 80/80 LF Dane Iorg 29 25/25 CF Leon Durham 22 41/41 RF Bernie Carbo 32 32/32 RF Bobby Bonds 33 37/37 RF George Hendrick 30 53/53 Ugh. Whitey really did a great job with this team. How the heck did he get them a championship by 1982? Looking at some of these names, I can only imagine the volume of drugs that must have been flowing through the St. Louis clubhouse. Look at that pitching staff. The words that spring to mind are, "crap sandwich." The lineup isn't that much better. Bright spots are Ted Simmons and Keith Hernandez (who I'm going to try and hang on to). Wait, Tommy Herr only has a 51 potential? Denied! And is it too late to sterilize Bobby Bonds? (Ha ha, I kid... and yeah, too late.) But before this dynasty progresses any further there is absolutely ONE trade that has to be made. The Cardinals trade: 2B Ken Oberkfell for SS Ozzie Smith. This dynasty would not move forward without the Wizard of Oz. Somebody named Dave Davis said it was a good deal while my manager said we should have added a prospect. I didn't really see anyone on San Diego worth adding, so... Whoah! E-mail! Okay, I've been welcomed to the Cards, I have to earn the fans respect, yada yada. The fans are slightly disappointed in losing Oberkfell, and slightly happy to have Ozzie. Whatever. Ozzie projects out to a 65/65, which is just ridiculous. It's Ozzie, people! He's a Hall of Famer! And yes, the real trade was Garry Templeton for Ozzie, but Templeton rates an 80/80, so I can probably get a heck of a lot more for him. Last edited by Snap Wilson; 04-17-2007 at 02:11 PM.

04-19-2007, 11:12 AM	#19
Snap Wilson Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 92	Let's reflect on the month that was April, shall we? Standings The Cards had a good April, going 13-5. They're leading the National League East, three games up on Les Expos. Last year's champs, the Pirates, are last in the division at 5-13. The Astros are a game up on the Padres in the NL West. The Milwaukee Brewers lead the AL East, a game and half ahead of the Orioles. Harvey's Wallbangers have been quiet so far except for Cecil Cooper (.365/.397/.622) and newly-acquired Ted Simmons (.354/.392/.583) who they inked to a three-year extension. Don't say I never did nothin' for you, Milwaukee. It's pitching that has the Brewers at the top of the league, as they're first in almost every category. Larry Sorenson is 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA and Paul Mitchell is 3-0, 2.60 to go along with a fine assortment of hair care products, and closer Bill Castro hasn't allowed a run in seven save opportunities. Who needs Rollie Fingers, anyway? Out in the AL West, it's a dogfight as the Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers are tied for the division lead with the Kansas City Royals only half a game back. Remember when the Royals were good? Fun times all around. But you didn't come here to read about the AL. Let's talk some Redbirds baseball. Team Rankings Batting Average - .308 (1st) On Base + Slugging - .814 (1st) Runs Scored - 102 (2nd) Home Runs - 10 (8th) Earned Run Average - 3.89 (4th) Starters ERA - 3.79 (2nd) Relievers ERA - 4.19 (7th) If we're not quite Harvey's Wallbanger's we're at least Snap's Slap-Hitters. A rundown of how our position players are doing: Catcher: Joe Nolan (.310/.323/.362) He is what I would refer to as a "good singles hitter." Doesn't do much else, unfortunately. Only one walk and three extra base hits, all doubles. Plus, he's easier to run on than Mackey Sasser (base stealers 21/27). Aw, that was mean. I traded backup Terry Kennedy to the Gigantes for catcher Dennis Littlejohn. Neither can hit their weight, but Littlejohn has some fielding skillz (83 abi/83 arm) so I'll use him against the more run-happy teams around the league. First Base: Keith Hernandez (.333/.429./.542) 'Nuff said. And the best part is, computer players don't do drugs. Go Keith! Second Base:Tommy Herr (.333/.367/.514) Showing some nice extra base pop with five doubles and a league-leading four triples. We like him. Third Base: Paul Molitor (.324/.407/.500) Molitor's only negative is that the game keeps referring to him as "The Ignitor," which is one of the ten worst nicknames ever. I may need to do some database tweaking here. Shortstop: Ozzie Smith (.222/.290/.238) This game is severely cheating my man Oz. His potential has fallen to 55, which is just wrong. Look how long he played! Doesn't the game recognize if you play that many games at a position, that you have to be really damned good at it? I'm getting upset here. Anyway, Ozzie is my shortstop for the long haul. And I'm not above cheating to make him a good player. Don't make me do it, OOTP! Left Field: Rickey Henderson (.316/.402/.355) A fine leadoff hitter. I've also stolen nine bases with him, but been caught stealing six times. I've been atrocious with the base stealing, btw. I'm the master of running on pitchouts. I really need to start picking my spots better, so that Baseball Prospectus will stop sending me angry e-mails. Center Field: The Murph (.339/.397/.482) The Murph abides, baby. He got hurt making a play in the field and is on the shelf for a couple of weeks, so Durham is filling in for him. Speaking of whom... Right Field: Leon 'Bull' Durham (.348/.392/.652) Read those numbers again. Guess which player leads the Cards with five home runs and 19 RBIs? He's tied for the league lead in the latter category. And he's part of a platoon, for chrissakes. The Bull has been the biggest surprise this April, earning the Rookie of the Month award. His overall/potential has jumped from 41 to 58. All this with his crazy fielding ratings. Just don't wave a red cape in front of him. He doesn't like that. The other side of the platoon, Richie Zisk, has been holding up his end of the bargain as well (.400/.455/.467). Right field has been a real strength for us in the early going. Next post: It's Vuke's world, we're just living in it. Last edited by Snap Wilson; 04-19-2007 at 11:26 AM.

04-17-2007, 02:02 PM	#2
CatKnight All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 1,199	Yeah, it can be a bit intimidating at first. I'm still figuring out what I'm doing myself. Good luck!

04-17-2007, 03:32 PM	#6
Snap Wilson Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 92	Okay, time to find me a third baseman. There aren't any worthwhile free agents available. After some menu-jumping I manage to find the "Find Players" menu. Time to give the AI a test. George Brett for Garry Templeton? No, they're not having that. Just thought I'd check. Paul Molitor? Milwaukee says no. Ron Cey's too old. Hmmm... I decide to look at center fielders. Hold the phone, a 21-year old Rickey Henderson? Oh my. The opposing general manager says he needs to think about it. Okay... he says he'll let me know in a few days. Well, he let me know the next day, and the answer was no... unless I threw in another player. 30-year old middle reliever Don Hood was acceptable to him and me, so consider it done! The Cardinals acquire: Rickey Henderson, LF The Athletics acquire: Garry Templeton, SS and Don Hood, MR

04-17-2007, 05:23 PM	#9
Snap Wilson Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 92	The Cleveland Indians signed Bonds to a 3-year, $3 million dollar deal. Wow. Vaya con dios, man. I'm thinking now that playing without injuries and fatigue might stretch the limits of credibility here. I don't want to be able to start my catcher for 162 games, so I decide to turn it on but keep both settings low, and hope it doesn't futz me up too much. I start my sim progression towards spring training, getting trade offers and accepting one of them: St. Louis acquires: Richie Zisk, RF Texas acquires: Dane Iorg, LF Zisk hits for some power and will make a nice right-field platoon with Durham. I make it to Spring Training without any more interruptions. So, what's the best way to handle Spring Training, anyway? Anything special I should do here?

04-17-2007, 05:49 PM	#10
Snap Wilson Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 92	I just set it to sim to our next game. I'm not sure how it handles Spring Training, but whatever. It pauses with a trade proposal that I think is worthwhile, catcher Joe Nolan for Bernie Carbo. I tweak it so that I don't have to bring anyone else up from reserve. St. Louis receives: Joe Nolan, C and Jeff Burroughs LF Atlanta receives: Bernie Carbo, RF and Steve Swisher, C Nolan will start at catcher and Burroughs gives us some pop off the bench. I manage to sim all the way to Opening Day. Hoorah. We played some spring training games. Not sure what purpose they served. Anyway, on with the action.

04-17-2007, 07:14 PM	#11
Snap Wilson Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 92	Opening Day is against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hey, didn't these guys win a World Championship last year? They have a loaded lineup. Bill Madlock, Mike Easler, Willie Stargell, Dave Parker... yikes. It's Blyleven vs. Vuckovich. Let's get it on! I decide I'm going to manage this one, just to see the PBP and... holy cow. Just as immersive as every other menu in the game. My Cardinals win 6-3 with Molitor and Murphy hitting home runs and Tommy Herr going 3-for-4. Pete Vuckovich earned the W pitching eight innings, allowing three runs on nine hits and three walks, striking out five. Donnie Moore earned the save because I forgot to warm up George Frazier. Oops. A lot to keep track of here, and so many options. But I like the PBP, lots of fun.

04-18-2007, 02:53 AM	#14
Snap Wilson Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 92	The Cards roll off to a nice start, winning five of their first six against Pittsburgh and Philly, including a game pitched by Steve Carlton. That's how you know this is just a game, BTW... the real Steve Carlton used to kill the Redbirds. Are we hitting? Oh yes, we are hitting. Lookee here: Henderson: .333 Molitor: .348 (with four doubles and a home run) The Murph: .375 Hernandez: .429/.528/.714 (He's Keith Hernandez!) Herr: .333 Only Ozzie is really struggling, with a .167 average, but he's Ozzie Smith. He ain't going anywhere. Vuckovich has been are lone pitching bright spot, with a 1.57 ERA in his two starts, including one shutout. Donnie Moore's pitched four scoreless innings in relief so far. But it's early. We'll see what everyone's made of. Defensively, we've been pretty shiny. Rickey and 'Bull' Durham have made several stellar plays in the outfield, and our infield has been solid. Hernandez has a couple of errors already, though. I appear to have a bug, though, if anyone knows about it. In the primary PBP screen, I'm not seeing the score anywhere. There's a scoreboard in the upper left-hand corner, but there are never any numbers on it. No balls, strikes or outs, either. Is this a known issue?

04-18-2007, 01:16 PM	#17
darkenigma510 All Star Starter Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: The Wild West Posts: 1,353	Great dynasty by the way. Nice to see some new people try a stab at OOTP Dynasty writing!

04-19-2007, 01:12 PM	#20
Snap Wilson Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 92	Mound Jockeys Galore Pete Vuckovich, 4-0, 2.84 ERA With his 25/5 strikeout-to-walk ratio, his 0.95 WHIP, and his fantastic Fu Manchu, Vuke earned National League Pitcher of the Month honors for April. The Big Serb has been great, everything a staff ace should be. The real Vuckovich was one of my favorite pitchers, a great character, and he could have had a much better career if he had taken care of himself. Hopefully the game is kinder to his career than reality was. Bob Forsch, 1-1, 4.13 ERA Been a little wonky thus far. John Fulgham, 1-2, 7.33 ERA He's had one good start and three not-so-good starts. I have hope for him, though. He's struck out ten batters and hasn't walked anyone, and his WHIP is a not-too-bad 1.37. He just needs to stop giving up the longball (five dingers allowed already). John Martin, 2-0, 2.18 ERA With Forsch and Fulgham struggling, the back end of our rotation has really picked it up. Martin is a lefty who keeps the ball down and uses his fielders. Can't ask for more from your #4 starter. Silvio Martinez, 2-0, 2.08 ERA Pitched well and won both of his starts. If he keeps it up, we may need to move him up in the rotation. Pitch smart. Pitch S-Mart. Jim Otten, 0-0, 2.70 ERA He's pitched well so far in the long-relief role, the only guy who's pitched double-digit innings out of the bullpen so far. I keep wanting to call him Don Otten. Donnie Moore, 1-0, 1 SV, 2.08 ERA Our most effective reliever at this point, I need to do a better job of getting him into key situations. Here's the rest: Pedro Borbon, 0-1, 5.40 ERA Jeff Little, 0-0, 1 SV, 5.79 ERA John Littlefield, 2-1, 7.72 ERA George Frazier, 0-0, 4 SV, 4.50 ERA Pretty sad, isn't it? Both of Littlefield's wins are the vultured variety. Frazier's my closer of the moment, but he's pretty rickety. He hasn't blown a save opportunity yet, though. I'm not really a believer in the whole closer philosophy. I think you should get your best pitchers in the game any time the score is close, in whatever inning he's likely to help you the most. Saving a reliever (especially a good one) for "save opportunities" is a misuse of talent, and having any pitcher that's incapable of pitching at least two innings at any time is a waste of a roster spot. Having said that, closers can be fun, but only if you have an interesting one. Sparky Lyle, Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers, Dan Quisenberry, Bruce Sutter, Dick Radatz, Eckersley, Mariano Rivera, etc. Watching them with the game on the line made for great theater. In any event, unlike the White Rat, I haven't run off to get a Rollie Fingers or a Bruce Sutter just yet. Maybe I'll experiment with the whole player import thing and create my own.