In Front of the World's Greatest Fans - a St. Louis Cardinals Dynasty

[5cards]

Of all the teams in major league baseball only one can make the claim of having the "world's greatest fans". That honor belongs to fans of the St. Louis Cardinals. Cardinals Nation, the "best fans in baseball", believe in hard-nosed gritty play. It doesn't matter if you wear Cardinal colors or those of another team - if you play hard and make great plays, you'll be a hit in the stands. Very rarely do they ever boo someone on the field; even former players who return with another team often get a warm reception. Many players settle in St. Louis because, in part, they find the atmosphere so warm and friendly. Even players who wind up on other teams often keep a home in St. Louis or the surrounding area just because they enjoy the environment so much.

One of the things that I love the most about OOTP is that you can start fresh and have the results be totally different than before. So, as with my previous dynasties, I am going to take over the St. Louis Cardinals and see if I can establish my own legacy among the storied legacies of Branch Rickey, Bing Devine, and Walt Jocketty. Should this game fail, a backup crash, or whatnot, I'll take it as a sign that I need to choose a different team.

There are some differences and improvements from my last dynasty, though. In the spirit of Orcin I am going to try and give you a bit more of a personal perspective behind things. For those of you who want to see how teams and players are doing, I'm going to try and give you that ability to look in on things. And, better still, for those who want to leave comments you will be able to do so in a way that does not disrupt progress.

How am I going to do this, you may ask?

In Front of the World's Greatest Fans

Welcome to the blog I have created for the explicit purpose of this dynasty. There's not much there just yet - but there will be soon. The blog is where the GM's diary will be posted - a diary that will contain my thoughts, reactions to news, and things of that sort. News and game results will be posted both here (in rather straight-laced fashion) and in the blog (where you can enjoy my commentary, thoughts, and details).

The blog will also hold a few other things: First, it will hold the game almanac files for people to peruse and see how things are going. Second, there will be a MVP vote at the end of each game season to allow readers to decide who the league MVPs should be for the season. (More on this will be forthcoming once we approach that point.)

What am I trying to accomplish here? I'm all for reading dynasties - and trust me, I read many here - but I also want dynasties to be interactive. I want people to be able to leave comments on blog posts without fearing that they'll mess up the thread. I want readers to enjoy the story from a fan's perspective - root for your favorite team, ask me why I did what I did, all of that.

It's a grand experiment, I confess, and it'll be interesting to see the results. Please feel free to leave me feedback - things you like, things you don't.

[5cards]

March 27, 2012

BNN Newsflash - Cardinals Name New GM

St. Louis (BNN) - Following weeks of waiting as the St. Louis Cardinals conducted a search for their new General Manager the club today announced that they had chosen 38-year old Martin Osterman to be the team's new GM. Osterman was a dark horse in the candidate search but impressed team owner Bill DeWitt Jr. according to inside sources. One source tells BNN that DeWitt was most impressed by Osterman's knowledge of Cardinals history and lore as well as a resume that contains an MBA from Indiana University and managerial experience with a Forbes-20 company.

Osterman is set to take over duties in the next day or two as the club prepares to defend it's amazing 2011 World Series title. DeWitt has publicly stated that the team's goal is to win the championship once more. Sources tell BNN that Osterman is not expected to make any moves at the managerial level so close to the start of the season. However, all club management should treat the 2012 season as a one-year audition.

This will prove to be quite a unique challenge for the Cardinals, who have lost slugger Albert Pujols to free agency, Hall-of-Fame-bound manager Tony LaRussa to retirement (along with much of LaRussa's staff), and 2011 Postseries hero Chris Carpenter starting the season on the DL with an uncertain future. However the Cardinals will enter this year's draft with several picks in the first one hundred and a minor-league system that is starting to gradually recover from being depleted in the past few years. However, given that the Cubs and Astros both have seen changes in management this past off-season it is hoped that the Cards will still be able to compete in what is considered to be the weakest division in baseball.

[mpejkrm]

Excited for this! Looks a lot nicer than mine... haha.

Sometimes I feel people don't comment because they mess up the flow, yeah, but I don't really care. This is a really smart idea and I look forward to it.

[5cards]

Just to update - all the analysis work and the opening journal entries have been posted. Much of it is carry-over from the previous dynasty since very little has actually changed and I feel my opening analysis is still valid.

Just as a quick reference - the blog contains an RSS feed for those who wish to follow with a feed reader, and it also contains an e-mail subscription list where you can get an e-mail when it updates. I'll probably be spending 70% of my time posting at the blog and 30% posting here, but I will still be around.

[NYY #23]

Nice idea. I like the RSS feed to follow along. Good luck!

[5cards]

​BNN News Update
March 28, 2012

Play Ball! 2012 Season Starts in Japan

The baseball season starts today as the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics will face off in Japan. This continues a recently-started MLB tradition that begins the season a week earlier for two selected teams in an overseas venue that is meant to wow and impress a foreign crowd.

In preparation for the season, BNN has released it's 2012 predictions. They can be found here.

[5cards]

BNN News
Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Cardinals Trounce Marlins

The St. Louis Cardinals opened the new Marlins Ballpark in grand style, giving the home team a housewarming present in the form of a 7-1 defeat. Adam Wainwright pitched a complete game, giving up one run on four hits and walking two. He struck out six Marlins and the only damage done to him was a solo home run by Jose Reyes in the eighth inning.

Matt Carpenter and Yadier Molina both had doubles with runners on and Matt Holliday hit his first home run of the season out of the yard as Marlins ace Josh Johnson was victimized not just by the Cards offense but by poor defense. With one out in the third and a runner on first, Johnson misplayed a ground ball by pitcher Adam Wainwright. One out later, Molina would double in both of them to open the scoring. Then, with the score 4-0 in the fifth, two men out and a runner on first, Hanly Ramirez would mishandle a ground ball hit by Matt Holliday. The next batter, Carlos Beltran, would single to score both of them.

Box Score

Blog

[5cards]

BNN News
Saturday, April 7, 2012

San Diego Wins Oswalt Lottery

San Diego (BNN) - The San Diego Padres have announced today that they have signed free agent Roy Oswalt to a one-year contract valued at $4.8 million. Oswalt, 34, had been one of the last major free agent pitchers who had not yet signed as of the start of the season.

[5cards]

Week in Review
Monday, April 9, 2012

This is my first attempt at my new format, so I strongly encourage and welcome comments and feedback either here in the thread, through PMs, or on the blog.

Overall
Team Record: 3-1, .5 GB, 2nd
Power Rating: 136.0, 9th, -
Fan Interest: 86
Owner Mood: Normal
Total Attendance: 0
Attendance per Game: 0/46,861

Week's Record: 3-1

Game Log
4/4: STL 7, MIA 1

4/6: STL 4, MIL 1
4/7: STL 8, MIL 6
4/8: STL 7, MIL 9


Players of the Week
AL: 1B Adrian Gonzalez, BOS, .625, 2 HR, 5 RBI
NL: C Brian McCann, ATL, .667, 2 HR, 8 RBI

Major News
4/7: Milwaukee RF Ryan Braun is injured in a collision at base in the Brewers' 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Diagnosis is a bone bruise with a recovery time of two months.

4/8: Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia will miss the season after suffering a partially torn UCL in the Yankees' opening day game against Tampa Bay. Recovery is estimated at 8-9 months.

4/9: Seattle 2B Dustin Ackley will be out for 4-5 months following a collision at base that left him with a fractured elbow.

Performance News
Mat Latos (CIN) pitches the first shutout of the season, stopping Miami 9-0. He gives up two hits and strikes out 11.

Dan Haren (LAA) shut down Kansas City, allowing three hits and striking out five as the Angels won 5-0.

GM's Blog Post

Upcoming Schedule
4/9: @ CIN: Westbrook vs. Bailey
4/10: @ CIN: Wainwright (1-0, 1.00 ERA) vs. Arryo
4/11: @ CIN: Garcia (1-0, 1.13 ERA) vs. Latos (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
4/13: vs CHN: Lynn (1-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Dempster (0-0, 2.25 ERA)
4/14: vs CHN: Lohse (0-0, 4.91 ERA) vs. Maholm (1-0, 3.38 ERA)
4/15: vs CHN: Westbrook vs. Samardzija

[5cards]

BNN News Update
Friday, April 13, 2012

Reds and Lee Reach One-Year Accord

Cincinnati (BNN) - Free agent first baseman Derek Lee and the Cincinnati Reds have reached an agreement today where the 36-year old Lee will play for the Reds for $5 million. Neither side was available for comment at the time of this press release.

Blog Link: GM Response

[mpejkrm]

I like it! I really enjoyed the format you used in your last dynasty and will probably switch to that for mine (although it would leave screenshots without a place). Really enjoying the blog aspect! Keep it up!

[5cards]

Thanks, mpejkrm! My greatest worry is people not checking the blog for parallel stuff. I guess if you boil it down, this thread is now the "nuts and bolts" of the dynasty - key news, the raw numbers, etc. - and the blog is a place for my commentary and feedback. Thus I am able to provide both but you can have one without the other (though I really don't recommend it since both seem to go together).

[5cards]

Week in Review
Monday, April 16, 2012

Overall
Team Record: 6-4, 2 GB, 2nd
Power Rating: 112.0, 11th, -
Fan Interest: 86
Owner Mood: Normal
Total Attendance: 132,746 (21st) (+6.1%)
Attendance per Game: 44,249/46,861

Week's Record: 3-3

Game Log
4/09: STL 5, CIN 3 (12)
4/10: STL 1, CIN 10
4/11: STL 3, CIN 8
4/13: CHN 3, STL 2
4/14: CHN 3, STL 4
4/15: CHN 2, STL 3

Players of the Week
AL: LF Delmon Young, DET, .522, 2 HR, 9 RBI
NL: C Rod Barajas, PIT, .550, 2 HR, 7 RBI

Major News
4/10: Texas right fielder Nelson Cruz swatted three home runs as Texas beat Tampa Bay 7-6. Cruz had five runs and five RBI in the game and was 4-for-4.

4/11: Justin Verlander picked up his first shutout of the year, shutting down Tampa Bay 4-0. Verlander allowed 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 10.

4/11: Braves CF Michael Bourn will miss four months with post-concussion syndrome following an injury sustained when he crashed into the wall at Citi Field during a 1-0 loss to the Mets. Bourn was hitting .500 (5 for 10) when he was injured.

4/12: Right Fielder Nick Swisher has signed an extension with the New York Yankees. The deal is worth $82 million over 5 years - an AAV of $16.4 million per year. So far this season Swisher is batting .130 with 1 HR and 4 RBI.

4/16: The Phillies suffered a blow today when it was announced that Cliff Lee will miss the season. Lee suffered a torn rotator cuff during the second inning in a 12-1 victory over the New York Mets.

GM's Blog Post

Upcoming Schedule
4/17: vs CIN - Latos (2-0, 1.13) vs. Westbrook (0-1, 6.00)
4/18: vs CIN - Cueto (2-0, 2.84) vs. Wainwright (1-0, 1.96)
4/19: vs CIN - Leake (2-0, 0.66) vs. Garcia (1-1, 3.12)
4/20: vs PIT - McDonald (1-1, 6.75) vs. Lynn (1-1, 3.86)
4/21: vs PIT - Morton (0-0, 1.17) vs. Lohse (0-0, 4.30)
4/22: vs PIT - Correa (0-0, 27.01) vs. Westbrook (0-1, 6.00)

[5cards]

BNN News Update
Monday, April 16, 2012

Craig Activated from DL, Robinson Sent to Minors

St. Louis (BNN) - Outfielder Allen Craig was activated from the DL today and will be returning to the Cardinal bench in time for tomorrow's series opener against the Cincinnati Reds. Craig, who started the season on the DL following offseason knee surgery, hit .315 last season for the Cardinals. To make room for him on the 25-man roster, the Cardinals have sent outfielder Shane Robinson back to the team's AAA affiliate in Memphis. Robinson, in limited duty off the bench, was 2 for 5 with a solo home run this year and hit .299 last season for the Memphis club.

[5cards]

Week in Review
Monday, April 23, 2012

Overall
Team Record: 7-9, 6 GB, 4th
Power Rating: 73.8, 19th, --
Fan Interest: 86
Owner Mood: Normal
Total Attendance: 248,763 (21st) (-0.6%)
Attendance per Game: 41,461/46,861

Week's Record: 1-5

Game Log
4/17: CIN 8, STL 3
4/18: CIN 4, STL 3
4/19: CIN 2, STL 1 (11)
4/20: STL 2, PIT 5
4/21: STL 6, PIT 4
4/22: STL 0, PIT 4

Players of the Week
AL: 3B Evan Longoria, TAM, .524, 1 HR, 7 RBI
NL: 1B Jim Thome, PHI, .458, 3 HR, 10 RBI

Major News
4/19: Ivan Nova, starter for the Yankees, pitches a shutout against Minnesota in a 4-0 victory. Nova allows five hits while striking out 7.

4/22: Jamie Moyer shuts down Milwaukee 7-0. Moyer gives up just five hits and a walk.

GM's Blog Post

Upcoming Schedule
4/23: @ CHN - Garcia (1-2, 3.78) vs. Maholm (1-2, 3.52)
4/24: @ CHN - Lynn (1-1, 2.57) vs. Volstad (2-0, 1.84)
4/25: @ CHN - Lohse (0-1, 5.23) vs. Garza (1-3, 3.33)
4/27: vs MIL - Greinke (2-1, 2.01) vs. Westbrook (0-3, 6.75)
4/28: vs MIL - Gallardo (2-2, 3.58) vs. Wainwright (2-0, 2.10)
4/29: vs MIL - Marcum (1-1, 3.92) vs. Garcia (1-2, 3.78)

[5cards]

BNN News Update
Thursday, April 26, 2012

Cards Score 12 in Fourth, Break Skid

Chicago (BNN) - The St. Louis Cardinals broke their three-game losing skid in style today, putting up 12 runs in an eventual 17-3 rout of the Chicago Cubs. Tied 3-3 going into the fourth, the Cardinals opened the inning with six straight hits and a walk before the first out was recorded. By that time pitcher Jeff Samardzija had been chased from the game. One walk later, scoring another run, and Kerry Wood would be run from the game. Randy Wells would record the second out in the midst of three hits, a wild pitch strikeout that saw Kyle Lohse make it safely to first, and another walk to plate a run. Then he would be pulled for Shawn Camp, who would survive the inning unscathed.

During that fateful inning the Cardinals brought up seventeen batters, nearly batting around twice. They would hit seven singles, two doubles, and have four walks during that inning as well.

[5cards]

Week in Review
Monday, April 30, 2012

Overall
Team Record: 11-11, 6 GB, 2nd
Power Rating: 94.0, 13th, ++
Fan Interest: 90
Owner Mood: Normal
Total Attendance: 370,129 (21st) (-1.4%)
Attendance per Game: 41,125/46,861

Week's Record: 4-2

Game Log
4/23: STL 2, CHN 3
4/24: STL 5, CHN 6
4/25: STL 17, CHN 3 <--Talk about a breakout!
4/27: MIL 4, STL 5 (10)
4/28: MIL 3, STL 7
4/29: MIL 1, STL 6

Players of the Week
AL: RF Jose Bautista, TOR, .591, 4 HR, 7 RBI
NL: 3B Chase Headley, SDP, .417, 3 HR, 9 RBI

Major News
4/25: Roy Oswalt shuts out the Washington Nationals. In the 4-0 win, Oswalt allows three hits while striking out six.

4/26: Reds SS Brandon Phillips rocks San Francisco with a 6-for-6 day in an 8-7 Reds victory. He has four singles and two doubles in the extra-innings game.

4/28: Arizona's Justin Upton has the first 20-game hitting streak of the season after going 2-for-4 against the Marlins in a 9-8 loss.

4/30: Angels reliever Scott Downs is done for the season after suffering a torn labrum in a game on 4/26. Estimated recovery time is 8-9 months.

GM's Blog Post

Upcoming Schedule
5/1: vs PIT - McDonald (2-1, 5.04 ERA) vs. Lynn (1-2, 4.07)
5/2: vs PIT - Correia (2-1, 3.68) vs. Lohse (1-1, 4.94)
5/3: vs PIT - Lincoln (0-1, 4.50) vs. Westbrook (1-3, 5.40)
5/4: @ HOU - Wainwright (2-0, 1.93) vs. Norris (3-2, 4.94)
5/5: @ HOU - Garcia (2-3, 2.87) vs. Harrell (1-2, 4.94)
5/6: @ HOU - Lynn (1-2, 4.07) vs. Lyles (1-2, 3.45)

[5cards]

Week in Review
Monday, May 7, 2012

Overall
Team Record: 17-11, 3 GB, 2nd
Power Rating: 129.3, 1st, ++
Fan Interest: 90
Owner Mood: Good
Total Attendance: 488,688 (15th) (-2.4%)
Attendance per Game: 40,723/46,861

Week's Record: 6-0

Game Log
5/1: PIT 2, STL 11
5/2: PIT 0, STL 2
5/3: PIT 3, STL 8
5/4: STL 6, HOU 2
5/5: STL 6, HOU 4
5/6: STL 2, HOU 1

Players of the Week
AL: 1B Paul Konerko, CHW, .417, 5 HR, 10 RBI
NL: LF Carlos Gonzalez, COL, .480, 4 HR, 12 RBI

Major News
5/2 - Philadelphia has locked up SP Cole Hamels for four more years. The deal has a total value of $64 million or $16 million per year.

5/2 - Ervin Santana of the Angels shut out the Twins today in a 13-0 demolishing. Santana gave up just four hits and two walks while striking out 7.

5/2 - Paul Konerko hit home run number 400 in a 10-9 victory over the Indians.

5/4 - Cincinnati starter Bronson Arroyo blanked Pittsburgh today in a 7-0 win. He gave up 5 hits and 2 walks along with four strikeouts.

GM's Blog Post

Upcoming Schedule
5/7: @ ARI - Lohse (2-1, 3.82) vs. Saunders (0-3, 4.88)
5/8: @ ARI - Westbrook (2-3, 4.81) vs. Kennedy (1-3, 4.95)
5/9: @ ARI - Wainwright (3-0, 2.18) vs. Hudson (5-0, 1.35)
5/11: vs. ATL - Hanson (3-1, 3.16) vs. Garcia (3-3, 3.29)
5/12: vs. ATL - Jurrjens (3-2, 2.21) vs. Lynn (2-2, 3.08)
5/13: vs. ATL - Minor (2-3, 3.48) vs. Lohse (2-1, 3.82)

[mpejkrm]

None of the blog post links are working for me. I can still view them by going to the front page, but just a bit annoying.

[5cards]

Hmm, thanks for making me aware of that... I'll see what I can do to fix it one way or another...