The Highland Brewers - they told me it would be easy

VARoadstter · 11-29-2018, 02:43 PM

Every baseball fan has probably thought about what it would be like to be the GM of a major league franchise. Many of US have even thought that it would be a piece of cake! Just wave some money at a few guys, figure out what to sell at the concessions, and then PROFIT! What could go wrong?

Well, the posts that follow will test that theory. The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the downright OMFGWHATWEREYOUTHINKING. Please check back frequently to see how one dedicated, obsessed, franchise GM navigates his way through the challenges of making his team a champion.

VARoadstter · 11-30-2018, 01:33 AM

I was able to play the beta for a couple weeks. I'm so glad I did as it gave me the chance to make mistakes (lots of them). More than anything else, though, it gave me the opportunity to play a few seasons and see how various cards would perform. Judging by the number of teams where I see these guys playing, most of these guys are not secrets anymore:

Kelly Gruber (3rd/RF) - This is the one card I will have in any deck I have. In one game in the beta he went 8-8 for me. He hits home runs, hits for average, and plays 3rd pretty well. He runs about 2000 in the AH as I write this and I see him on a lot of teams.

Justin Smoak (1st) - He hits for average and gets enough walks to get his OBP to .350 while also contributing a few HR for a guy that cost all of 430 in the AH. What's not to love?

Rick Porcello (SP) - For a guy who cost less than 200 in the AH and has never finished a season for me with more than a 3.00 ERA, he is indispensable. I get a lot of his cards when I open packs. Next time you get him, play him.

Ichiro Suzuki (RF) - Yeah, everyone knows about Ichiro. I'm not talking about his super duper card (which I haven't owned yet), I'm talking about his Record Breaker SEA 2004 card. In real life he hit .372 that season. In the game he leads off for me a lot, hits .350 or better, and steals a few bases. A cheap leadoff guy who sets the table like no other. He can be had in the AH for 1000 to 2000 usually.

Steve Finley (CF) - His historical all-star card runs about 2000 in the AH. For that you get great defense (with a 100 outfield arm!) in CF, an OBP of .350 or greater, and a guy who hit between 15-30 HR for me each season in the beta. Nice to have, for sure.

AJ Minter (CL/RP) - I initially drew his gold card from a pack but in the game I had to get him from the AH for 2200. This guy is a rock. You want a closer to believe in? A lefty? This guy delivers for me. He usually finishes a season with a sub 2.00 ERA.

Mitch Keller (SP) - His Future Legend card goes for about 2500 in the AH. A wise investment as he was consistently among my best starters. I drew him in a pack in the beta but paid points for him in the game. He doesn't have the best stamina for an SP (69) so be sure your bullpen can handle the workload when he comes out after 6 innings. His ERA was always below 2.50 for me in the beta and he's still effective for me in the limited time he's been on my roster now.

zrog2000 · 11-30-2018, 11:35 AM

As soon as I read the last post, I went and bought Porcello. Thank you so much! Check out his first game. My team roughed up Bob Gibson in a 6-0 game.

stl jason · 11-30-2018, 01:03 PM

have to 2nd the AJ Minter recommendation...

he was the first gold card I got in beta (from the starter packs)... led the league in saves during rookie league with a sub 1.00 era... never had an era above 2 the entire beta for me

VARoadstter · 11-30-2018, 01:31 PM

One of my favorite things to do in OOTP is to watch games. In PT, that has changed to watching a lot of highlights. To that end, I was never a big fan of the generic ballpark. I have always been a fan of asymmetric layouts. There are a few nice ones to choose from (e.g. Fenway). I didn't want to go with the obvious choice but I do like a field that has more real estate in right field to give the speedy lefties a chance to log a few more triples each season.

So, in the end I decided to use Progressive Field, the home of the Cleveland Indians. Now, simply applying the 3D skin isn't enough - I have to go the Full Monty. I pulled up Google Maps and copied the Lat/Lon data so my sunrise/sunset and weather information would match. I also found the dimensions of the outfield fences online and copied that data into the game. I also found a resource for ballpark effects so I could modify the stadium to match the effects of Progressive Field in 2018. The effect is subtle as I wanted to use a real-world field instead of just making a bandbox or cavern for my team to play in. It's just one of those little things that makes the game more fun for me.

VARoadstter · 12-01-2018, 01:33 AM

I became a fan of baseball in the early 1980s. I grew up a few miles from the Mets AAA team and got to see them build towards the 1986 season. The Whitey Herzog led St. Louis Cardinals were our chief rival. Even so, I was a forever fan on Keith Hernandez. His defense was amazing to watch. He had a great swing and he was the perfect #3 hitter for Whitey's small ball team.

As it turns out, Hernandez and Herzog were not on the same page and the manager decided to ship him off to what he thought was the worst possible place to send him, New York. Little did he know that in 3 short years (the trade was done in the middle of the 1983 season). I recently discovered that Keith was seriously considering retiring after that season rather than play for the Mets. That would have just crushed me and I'm so glad he didn't.

This evening I had gained enough PP from selling my Aaron Nola card for 8000 that I was able to buy some packs. The funny thing is, I had an amazing run with those packs. I got a diamond Christian Yelich card (which is now up for auction), an gold Adam Ottavino card to add to my impressive bullpen, and the coveted Keith Hernandez 1979 Historical All Star. Here is Keith's stat line from the 1979 season:

Age 25

210 Hits /48 Doubles /11 Triples /11 Home Runs
116 Runs / 105 RBI
.344 AVG / .401 OBP / .513 SLG / .930 OPS

For those that don't remember him or don't care about 1980s baseball those numbers might look OK, but nothing spectacular. It's true that Keith was never a big home run threat. I get it. Even so, I was so much more excited to get his card than I was getting Yelich - maybe because I knew I would immediately sell Yelich and play Keith.

That's the kind of thing I love about baseball. That's also the kind of thing I love about OOTP - thank you for putting Keith into Perfect Team. Watching him perform for my team will bring me so much happiness.

VARoadstter · 12-02-2018, 01:08 AM

My roster has more or less stabilized. Turns out I couldn't sell Yelich for the price I was hoping for so he is now finally joining the team on the field. Here's what my lineup looks like, more or less, for opening day unless something interesting happens:

Ichiro Suzuki
Keith Hernandez
Christian Yelich
Bryce Harper
Eugenio Suarez
A J Pollock
Robinson Cano
Didi Gregorious
Wilson Ramos

My bench has some useful pieces:

Buster Posey
Ian Happ
Kelly Gruber
Steve Finley

My rotation is still a work in progress but will be something like:

Stephen Strasburg
Lefty Grove
Larry Dierker
Zach Wheeler
Mitch Keller

My bullpen is actually using a lot of low stamina guys with one exception. Most others recommend filling the middle relief with good starters. Here's what I'm running

A J Minter (Closer)
Tony Cingrani (Setup/Lefty Specialist)
Adam Ottavino (Setup)

Scott Alexander (MR)
Jace Fry (MR)
Joakim Soria (MR)

Brendan McKay (Long Relief/Emergency Starter)

In my entry pool group, there's one team that is spending unlimited money to amass a super team (two perfects, nine diamonds). There are a handful of team build similarly to mine (two diamonds, 13 gold). The remaining teams are more economical.

The strength of my team is pitching, particularly the bullpen. These guys have really been good all week. I've shuttled a lot of guys in and out and will continue to do so as I make judgement calls on the bottom of the rotation and perhaps a bullpen arm. Offensively, we hit a lot of home runs and have a good OBP. Compared to many other teams we aren't super fast but we are strong defensively. Aside from the big spenders I should be able to hang in there.

I spent $40 to get the level of talent I was looking for - perhaps I could have done it with $20 but I was in the moment and pulled the trigger on a second $19.99 bundle. Along the way, I collected 4 diamonds, of which I sold two. I would be happy to part with Yelich also if I could get the price I'm hoping for but it looks like the market isn't going to support it so I'll be playing him on opening day.

I don't keep a lot of extra guys on my reserve roster but I have a handful that are still capable of being swapped in:

J T Realmuto
Charlie Morton
Miguel Anjujar
Andrew Benintendi
Catfish Hunter
Monte Irvin
J A Happ
Rick Porcello

VARoadstter · 12-03-2018, 09:25 AM

Here we go. No more Beta. No more Preseason. This is the inaugural season and I'm excited. I tweaked my roster a bit more and have got my lineups, rotation, and bullpen set. Here's were we are:

Rotation:

RHP Stephen Strasburg
LHP Lefty Grove
RHP Larry Dierker
RHP Catfish Hunter
RHP Zack Wheeler

Bullpen:

LHP Brendan McKay - LR/Emergency Starter
RHP Mitch Keller - MR/LR
LHP Jace Fry - MR
RHP Joakim Soria - MR
LHP Tony Cingrani - Setup/Lefty Specialist
RHP Adam Ottavino - Setup/Closer
LHP AJ Minter - Closer

Lineup:

Vs RHP:

DH Ichiro Suzuki
1B Keith Hernandez
LF Christian Yelich
RF Bryce Harper
CF AJ Pollock
3B Eugenio Suarez
SS Corey Seager
2B Robinson Cano
C Buster Posey

vs LHP:

DH Ichiro Suzuki
1B Keith Hernandez
LF Christian Yelich
RF Bryce Harper
3B Eugenio Suarez
CF AJ Pollock
SS Corey Seager
2B Robinson Cano
C Wilson Ramos

Bench:

C Buster Posey/Wilson Ramos
2B Ian Happ
SS Didi Gregorius
CF Steve Finley
1B/SP Brendan McKay

McKay is interesting as he is a two way player. Having him on the roster means I can have a full bullpen and still be able to make lineup changes as needed. It's a nice to have but will be interesting to see how it affects the team during the season.

VARoadstter · 12-03-2018, 03:51 PM

Based on the teams I've been scheduled against I figured I'd have been no worse than 3-2 but my team is really getting out of the gate slowly. Zach Wheeler, in particular, took a beating in his first start. Neither my offense or pitching has been able to perform anywhere near expectations so far. Defensively, my team tends to be a little below average with Cano, Seager/Gregorious, and Suarez at the key infield spots. At least we aren't embarrassing ourselves in the field.

I will leave my lineups and pitching intact for at least the first month of the season and then take stock of where we are relative to the other teams. I still believe we will be a playoff team based on our talent and how they have performed during the preseason.

VARoadstter · 12-04-2018, 07:56 AM

It's been an interesting first month of the season. My team was getting absolutely hammered early. At our low point, we were tied for dead last in the league at a miserable 5-11. Yelich was particularly inept with a batting average of around .075 hitting in the #3 slot. I finally had to do something so I tweaked my rotation by bringing in Paxton to replace Catfish Hunter and stopped platooning Ramos and Posey. Ramos was and still is the one player on the team who had overperformed expectations. He still leads my team with 5 HR hitting 9th and only playing in 14 of our 26 games so far.

I was pleasantly surprised this morning to see the team had put together an 8 game win streak and started winning close games and now our record is 14-12. The heart of my lineup is still recovering (Yelich hitting .189, Harper hitting .181, Pollock hitting .197, and Suarez hitting only .188) and no one but Ramos is really hitting well. My pitching has recovered a little bit with ERAs now starting to come down a bit. Larry Dierker has been the best starter with an ERA of 2.20 but only has 2 wins. Thank goodness Minter is still dominating (1.59 ERA but only 3 saves).

Here's hoping for a good May.

VARoadstter · 12-05-2018, 12:59 AM

What a difference a day makes. Suddenly, the Brewers find themselves in first place in their division and tied for the second best record in the league at 34-17. Looking at our stats, the only thing that stands out is how mediocre our offense is and how dominant our pitching has become. The monthly breakdown is pretty stark, with the team only 14-12 in April but 20-5 near the end of May. Our home park does seem to favor us (19-7 vs. 15-10 on the road) and we are death against lefties (12-3 vs. 22-14).

We are still struggling to hit our weight offensively. Yelich, Harper, Pollock, and Suarez are the meat of the order and are hitting only .236, .229, .200, and .229 with all of 26 HR between them. At least Suarez is now my team leader in home runs with 9. The guys who are doing most of the work so far are Wilson Ramos (.270/.324/.540) with 7 HR and Keith Hernandez (.353/.407/.505) with 23 doubles.

Pitching is our strength, led by Lefty Grove (7-2, 2.57 ERA). AJ Minter is still mowing down batters late in games having gone 12-12 in save opportunities and sporting a 1.59 ERA. A few guys are not quite where they should be but on the whole the staff is locked in and providing us a chance to win every night while they wait for the offense to handle its share of the load.

VARoadstter · 12-05-2018, 11:43 PM

The Highlanders are 2nd in the Central Division at 46-32 after playing 78 games. We lead the wildcard race by 3 1/2. Having gotten off to a slow start followed by a torrid second month, we are in a decent position and I could see us being in the mix all season long.

My bullpen is 2nd with a 2.58 ERA, while my starters are 5th with a 4.03 ERA. We rank 4th in Runs Allowed. Lefty Grove (8-5 3.61) is still my most consistent starter but late edition James Paxton (6-2 3.20) could challenge him by season's end as the Ace. AJ Minter is still flawless (16-16 in save opportunities) with a 1.41 ERA.

Offensively, we are starting to move up the rankings and are now 3rd in HR, 5th in Runs Scored, but a lowly 13th in SB. This is a team after Earl Weaver's heart, with plenty of HR power and a decent OBP but not much in the way of speed. Keith Hernandez has been the anchor of the lineup, with the #2 BA (.353), #2 in hits (104), leader in Runs (58) and Doubles (32).

VARoadstter · 12-09-2018, 06:50 AM

We are going to the playoffs!

With a final record of 98-64, the Highlanders won the American League Central Division. With the second best record in the league, we will be playing against the Phoenix Firebirds who finished with a 96-66 record and have a formidable team.

Zeta My had one team that dominated all season, the Green Mountain Greenshirts, with an outstanding 118-44 record.

The Highlanders lineup received a number of tweaks over the course of the season and I'm reasonably happy with where things ended up. After we got off to a slow start, our offense built momentum all season to end up with one of the top lineups in the league. The signing of JD Martinez mid-season brought the final piece to the puzzle and I look forward to seeing what he can do over the course of a full season. Christian Yelich (.271/.338/.464 25 HR 113 RBI), Bryce Harper (.255/.413/.479 20 HR 100 RBI), and Keith Hernandez (.320/.389/.495 13 HR 67 RBI) were the team MVPs offensively.

Our pitching staff performed well all season long, with Lefty Grove (19-10 3.61 ERA) anchoring the starters. The bullpen was excellent all season, particularly in the end of games with AJ Minter (33 Saves 1.95 ERA) closing games effectively.

VARoadstter · 12-09-2018, 06:06 PM

Disappointing but that's how this goes. You put your best team together and let them play. The Firebirds demonstrated during the regular season that they had the upper hand in our meetings and it carried into the playoffs as well. We lost the Division Series 3-1. Good luck to the teams remaining.

Just wait 'til next year!

Oh, yeah, that means tomorrow. Cool

VARoadstter · 12-10-2018, 08:52 AM

Day one of season two starts today. The Brewers have been promoted to Silver and I see a lot of familiar faces in my new league. It looks like the top teams from my previous league are all here along with some new faces.

The team with the best record from Bronze, the Green Mound Greenshirts, are here and I'm in the same division as they are so I will certainly have to play for the wildcard. The Phoenix Firebirds, the team the took me out in the postseason, are also here.

Let's see how this goes. I may have a team that's good enough to be promoted at the end of the season judging by the records of the teams in the league.

VARoadstter · 12-17-2018, 09:18 AM

Finished season two by winning on the final day of the regular season to advance to the playoffs. I was eliminated in the wildcard game.

Promotion day has come again and the Brewers have been promoted to Gold League. Looking at the rosters of the other teams I suspect we will finish below .500. There are a few whales in my league which will get promoted to Diamond next week and then I can hopefully get back to being competitive again.

VARoadstter · 12-18-2018, 11:16 AM

Ok, we're through the first month of the season and the Brewers are actually holdning their own so far. We have a slim lead in our division and overall the roster has played admirably. Of course, I can't leave well enough alone so I'm in the process of restructuring the team so that assets that can bring a good price in the AH and not providing full value to the team (e.g. Brendan McKay) are being shipped off so that I'll have some points to use to fill in the weaker spots on the roster that need addressing. By the end of the day today, I should have a more purposefully built roster. Whether that translates into further success remains to be seen but I'm at least going to see what I can do to help the team compete all season.

VARoadstter · 12-18-2018, 07:57 PM

Something that becomes abundantly clear as teams promote to higher leagues is that the competition gets significantly tougher. Unfortunately, that means at some point players that performed well at one level are simply overmatched later on. Such has been the dilemma for the Brewers.

I spent a little bit of money on this team back in the beta and have opened somewhere around 60 packs (I think) since starting the team. Along the way I've had a few good pulls (Christian Yelich, Stephen Strasburg, Vern Stephens) and a lot of players who were great for a time but eventually were unable to keep up. Even so, I had a few assets lying around that were being under utilized. Today I began the overhaul that I hope will lead the Brewers to being competitive at the higher levels.

Step 1 - Pitching

Gone are the days of getting good numbers out of Kevin Appier, Jim Palmer, Lefty Grove, and Kerry Wood.

My new rotation:

Justin Verlander
Carlos Carrasco
Blake Snell
Stephen Strasburg
Patrick Corbin

My new bullpen:

James Paxton - LR
Larry Dierker - LR
Miles Mikolas - MR
Ken Giles - MR
AJ Minter - Setup
Adam Ottavino - Setup
Sean Doolittle - Closer

Next step, upgrading the regulars.

Orcin · 12-18-2018, 09:23 PM

I'm sure glad that you are in the other conference. Nice job on that rotation!

VARoadstter · 12-23-2018, 12:34 AM

Officially out of the playoffs and guaranteed to have a losing record, the Highland Brewers will be saying goodbye to a number of teams at the end of the playoffs that we've been in the same league with since the beginning. On the one hand, I was hoping to be able to keep up without having to invest any more money on the team. On the other, it's not the worst thing in the world to think about next season where my pitching may recover a bit after facing Trout and Betts game after game on a bunch of teams.

My overhaul of the pitching staff was just not successful. Carrasco ended up with an ERA of 5.87 and a 6-9 record. Strassburg, Snell, and Corbin fared a little better but none managed a winning record. Only Justin Verlander had a truly good season for the Brewers, with a respectable 12-7 record and a respectable 3.22 ERA. My bullpen took its lumps, too, but overall I suspect I will look elsewhere to improve my team's competitiveness. Once the season is over I should have 8000 or so PP in the bank. I think the plan will be to save up for a Betts or Trout upgrade but I may not have the patience to wait another full season before I pick up other players. We'll see.

Congratulations to those going to the postseason. I suspected at the start that this is about where my team would end up. I'll try to keep up with how the teams do after they move to Diamond.

Gold League, I'll see you again, soon!

11-29-2018, 02:43 PM	#1
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	The Highland Brewers - they told me it would be easy Every baseball fan has probably thought about what it would be like to be the GM of a major league franchise. Many of US have even thought that it would be a piece of cake! Just wave some money at a few guys, figure out what to sell at the concessions, and then PROFIT! What could go wrong? Well, the posts that follow will test that theory. The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the downright OMFGWHATWEREYOUTHINKING. Please check back frequently to see how one dedicated, obsessed, franchise GM navigates his way through the challenges of making his team a champion.

11-30-2018, 01:03 PM	#4
stl jason Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 10,112	have to 2nd the AJ Minter recommendation... he was the first gold card I got in beta (from the starter packs)... led the league in saves during rookie league with a sub 1.00 era... never had an era above 2 the entire beta for me __________________ Beer League dynasty thread - knock 'em back!

11-30-2018, 01:31 PM	#5
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	Break out of that same old, same old ballpark! One of my favorite things to do in OOTP is to watch games. In PT, that has changed to watching a lot of highlights. To that end, I was never a big fan of the generic ballpark. I have always been a fan of asymmetric layouts. There are a few nice ones to choose from (e.g. Fenway). I didn't want to go with the obvious choice but I do like a field that has more real estate in right field to give the speedy lefties a chance to log a few more triples each season. So, in the end I decided to use Progressive Field, the home of the Cleveland Indians. Now, simply applying the 3D skin isn't enough - I have to go the Full Monty. I pulled up Google Maps and copied the Lat/Lon data so my sunrise/sunset and weather information would match. I also found the dimensions of the outfield fences online and copied that data into the game. I also found a resource for ballpark effects so I could modify the stadium to match the effects of Progressive Field in 2018. The effect is subtle as I wanted to use a real-world field instead of just making a bandbox or cavern for my team to play in. It's just one of those little things that makes the game more fun for me.

12-01-2018, 01:33 AM	#6
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	Keith Hernandez I became a fan of baseball in the early 1980s. I grew up a few miles from the Mets AAA team and got to see them build towards the 1986 season. The Whitey Herzog led St. Louis Cardinals were our chief rival. Even so, I was a forever fan on Keith Hernandez. His defense was amazing to watch. He had a great swing and he was the perfect #3 hitter for Whitey's small ball team. As it turns out, Hernandez and Herzog were not on the same page and the manager decided to ship him off to what he thought was the worst possible place to send him, New York. Little did he know that in 3 short years (the trade was done in the middle of the 1983 season). I recently discovered that Keith was seriously considering retiring after that season rather than play for the Mets. That would have just crushed me and I'm so glad he didn't. This evening I had gained enough PP from selling my Aaron Nola card for 8000 that I was able to buy some packs. The funny thing is, I had an amazing run with those packs. I got a diamond Christian Yelich card (which is now up for auction), an gold Adam Ottavino card to add to my impressive bullpen, and the coveted Keith Hernandez 1979 Historical All Star. Here is Keith's stat line from the 1979 season: Age 25 210 Hits /48 Doubles /11 Triples /11 Home Runs 116 Runs / 105 RBI .344 AVG / .401 OBP / .513 SLG / .930 OPS For those that don't remember him or don't care about 1980s baseball those numbers might look OK, but nothing spectacular. It's true that Keith was never a big home run threat. I get it. Even so, I was so much more excited to get his card than I was getting Yelich - maybe because I knew I would immediately sell Yelich and play Keith. That's the kind of thing I love about baseball. That's also the kind of thing I love about OOTP - thank you for putting Keith into Perfect Team. Watching him perform for my team will bring me so much happiness.

12-02-2018, 01:08 AM	#7
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	Settling in on my opening day roster My roster has more or less stabilized. Turns out I couldn't sell Yelich for the price I was hoping for so he is now finally joining the team on the field. Here's what my lineup looks like, more or less, for opening day unless something interesting happens: Ichiro Suzuki Keith Hernandez Christian Yelich Bryce Harper Eugenio Suarez A J Pollock Robinson Cano Didi Gregorious Wilson Ramos My bench has some useful pieces: Buster Posey Ian Happ Kelly Gruber Steve Finley My rotation is still a work in progress but will be something like: Stephen Strasburg Lefty Grove Larry Dierker Zach Wheeler Mitch Keller My bullpen is actually using a lot of low stamina guys with one exception. Most others recommend filling the middle relief with good starters. Here's what I'm running A J Minter (Closer) Tony Cingrani (Setup/Lefty Specialist) Adam Ottavino (Setup) Scott Alexander (MR) Jace Fry (MR) Joakim Soria (MR) Brendan McKay (Long Relief/Emergency Starter) In my entry pool group, there's one team that is spending unlimited money to amass a super team (two perfects, nine diamonds). There are a handful of team build similarly to mine (two diamonds, 13 gold). The remaining teams are more economical. The strength of my team is pitching, particularly the bullpen. These guys have really been good all week. I've shuttled a lot of guys in and out and will continue to do so as I make judgement calls on the bottom of the rotation and perhaps a bullpen arm. Offensively, we hit a lot of home runs and have a good OBP. Compared to many other teams we aren't super fast but we are strong defensively. Aside from the big spenders I should be able to hang in there. I spent $40 to get the level of talent I was looking for - perhaps I could have done it with $20 but I was in the moment and pulled the trigger on a second $19.99 bundle. Along the way, I collected 4 diamonds, of which I sold two. I would be happy to part with Yelich also if I could get the price I'm hoping for but it looks like the market isn't going to support it so I'll be playing him on opening day. I don't keep a lot of extra guys on my reserve roster but I have a handful that are still capable of being swapped in: J T Realmuto Charlie Morton Miguel Anjujar Andrew Benintendi Catfish Hunter Monte Irvin J A Happ Rick Porcello

11-30-2018, 01:33 AM	#2
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	Cheap players who should play for every team I was able to play the beta for a couple weeks. I'm so glad I did as it gave me the chance to make mistakes (lots of them). More than anything else, though, it gave me the opportunity to play a few seasons and see how various cards would perform. Judging by the number of teams where I see these guys playing, most of these guys are not secrets anymore: Kelly Gruber (3rd/RF) - This is the one card I will have in any deck I have. In one game in the beta he went 8-8 for me. He hits home runs, hits for average, and plays 3rd pretty well. He runs about 2000 in the AH as I write this and I see him on a lot of teams. Justin Smoak (1st) - He hits for average and gets enough walks to get his OBP to .350 while also contributing a few HR for a guy that cost all of 430 in the AH. What's not to love? Rick Porcello (SP) - For a guy who cost less than 200 in the AH and has never finished a season for me with more than a 3.00 ERA, he is indispensable. I get a lot of his cards when I open packs. Next time you get him, play him. Ichiro Suzuki (RF) - Yeah, everyone knows about Ichiro. I'm not talking about his super duper card (which I haven't owned yet), I'm talking about his Record Breaker SEA 2004 card. In real life he hit .372 that season. In the game he leads off for me a lot, hits .350 or better, and steals a few bases. A cheap leadoff guy who sets the table like no other. He can be had in the AH for 1000 to 2000 usually. Steve Finley (CF) - His historical all-star card runs about 2000 in the AH. For that you get great defense (with a 100 outfield arm!) in CF, an OBP of .350 or greater, and a guy who hit between 15-30 HR for me each season in the beta. Nice to have, for sure. AJ Minter (CL/RP) - I initially drew his gold card from a pack but in the game I had to get him from the AH for 2200. This guy is a rock. You want a closer to believe in? A lefty? This guy delivers for me. He usually finishes a season with a sub 2.00 ERA. Mitch Keller (SP) - His Future Legend card goes for about 2500 in the AH. A wise investment as he was consistently among my best starters. I drew him in a pack in the beta but paid points for him in the game. He doesn't have the best stamina for an SP (69) so be sure your bullpen can handle the workload when he comes out after 6 innings. His ERA was always below 2.50 for me in the beta and he's still effective for me in the limited time he's been on my roster now. Last edited by VARoadstter; 11-30-2018 at 01:37 AM.

11-30-2018, 11:35 AM	#3
zrog2000 All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2018 Posts: 1,335	As soon as I read the last post, I went and bought Porcello. Thank you so much! Check out his first game. My team roughed up Bob Gibson in a 6-0 game. Attached Images Last edited by zrog2000; 11-30-2018 at 11:37 AM.

12-03-2018, 09:25 AM	#8
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	Opening Day Here we go. No more Beta. No more Preseason. This is the inaugural season and I'm excited. I tweaked my roster a bit more and have got my lineups, rotation, and bullpen set. Here's were we are: Rotation: RHP Stephen Strasburg LHP Lefty Grove RHP Larry Dierker RHP Catfish Hunter RHP Zack Wheeler Bullpen: LHP Brendan McKay - LR/Emergency Starter RHP Mitch Keller - MR/LR LHP Jace Fry - MR RHP Joakim Soria - MR LHP Tony Cingrani - Setup/Lefty Specialist RHP Adam Ottavino - Setup/Closer LHP AJ Minter - Closer Lineup: Vs RHP: DH Ichiro Suzuki 1B Keith Hernandez LF Christian Yelich RF Bryce Harper CF AJ Pollock 3B Eugenio Suarez SS Corey Seager 2B Robinson Cano C Buster Posey vs LHP: DH Ichiro Suzuki 1B Keith Hernandez LF Christian Yelich RF Bryce Harper 3B Eugenio Suarez CF AJ Pollock SS Corey Seager 2B Robinson Cano C Wilson Ramos Bench: C Buster Posey/Wilson Ramos 2B Ian Happ SS Didi Gregorius CF Steve Finley 1B/SP Brendan McKay McKay is interesting as he is a two way player. Having him on the roster means I can have a full bullpen and still be able to make lineup changes as needed. It's a nice to have but will be interesting to see how it affects the team during the season. Last edited by VARoadstter; 12-03-2018 at 09:28 AM.

12-03-2018, 03:51 PM	#9
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	First time through the rotation, 2-3 Based on the teams I've been scheduled against I figured I'd have been no worse than 3-2 but my team is really getting out of the gate slowly. Zach Wheeler, in particular, took a beating in his first start. Neither my offense or pitching has been able to perform anywhere near expectations so far. Defensively, my team tends to be a little below average with Cano, Seager/Gregorious, and Suarez at the key infield spots. At least we aren't embarrassing ourselves in the field. I will leave my lineups and pitching intact for at least the first month of the season and then take stock of where we are relative to the other teams. I still believe we will be a playoff team based on our talent and how they have performed during the preseason. Last edited by VARoadstter; 12-03-2018 at 04:02 PM.

12-04-2018, 07:56 AM	#10
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	Still finding our way It's been an interesting first month of the season. My team was getting absolutely hammered early. At our low point, we were tied for dead last in the league at a miserable 5-11. Yelich was particularly inept with a batting average of around .075 hitting in the #3 slot. I finally had to do something so I tweaked my rotation by bringing in Paxton to replace Catfish Hunter and stopped platooning Ramos and Posey. Ramos was and still is the one player on the team who had overperformed expectations. He still leads my team with 5 HR hitting 9th and only playing in 14 of our 26 games so far. I was pleasantly surprised this morning to see the team had put together an 8 game win streak and started winning close games and now our record is 14-12. The heart of my lineup is still recovering (Yelich hitting .189, Harper hitting .181, Pollock hitting .197, and Suarez hitting only .188) and no one but Ramos is really hitting well. My pitching has recovered a little bit with ERAs now starting to come down a bit. Larry Dierker has been the best starter with an ERA of 2.20 but only has 2 wins. Thank goodness Minter is still dominating (1.59 ERA but only 3 saves). Here's hoping for a good May. Last edited by VARoadstter; 12-05-2018 at 01:01 AM.

12-05-2018, 12:59 AM	#11
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	Turning it around What a difference a day makes. Suddenly, the Brewers find themselves in first place in their division and tied for the second best record in the league at 34-17. Looking at our stats, the only thing that stands out is how mediocre our offense is and how dominant our pitching has become. The monthly breakdown is pretty stark, with the team only 14-12 in April but 20-5 near the end of May. Our home park does seem to favor us (19-7 vs. 15-10 on the road) and we are death against lefties (12-3 vs. 22-14). We are still struggling to hit our weight offensively. Yelich, Harper, Pollock, and Suarez are the meat of the order and are hitting only .236, .229, .200, and .229 with all of 26 HR between them. At least Suarez is now my team leader in home runs with 9. The guys who are doing most of the work so far are Wilson Ramos (.270/.324/.540) with 7 HR and Keith Hernandez (.353/.407/.505) with 23 doubles. Pitching is our strength, led by Lefty Grove (7-2, 2.57 ERA). AJ Minter is still mowing down batters late in games having gone 12-12 in save opportunities and sporting a 1.59 ERA. A few guys are not quite where they should be but on the whole the staff is locked in and providing us a chance to win every night while they wait for the offense to handle its share of the load. Last edited by VARoadstter; 12-05-2018 at 01:01 AM.

12-05-2018, 11:43 PM	#12
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	Approaching the midpoint of the season The Highlanders are 2nd in the Central Division at 46-32 after playing 78 games. We lead the wildcard race by 3 1/2. Having gotten off to a slow start followed by a torrid second month, we are in a decent position and I could see us being in the mix all season long. My bullpen is 2nd with a 2.58 ERA, while my starters are 5th with a 4.03 ERA. We rank 4th in Runs Allowed. Lefty Grove (8-5 3.61) is still my most consistent starter but late edition James Paxton (6-2 3.20) could challenge him by season's end as the Ace. AJ Minter is still flawless (16-16 in save opportunities) with a 1.41 ERA. Offensively, we are starting to move up the rankings and are now 3rd in HR, 5th in Runs Scored, but a lowly 13th in SB. This is a team after Earl Weaver's heart, with plenty of HR power and a decent OBP but not much in the way of speed. Keith Hernandez has been the anchor of the lineup, with the #2 BA (.353), #2 in hits (104), leader in Runs (58) and Doubles (32). Last edited by VARoadstter; 12-05-2018 at 11:45 PM.

12-09-2018, 06:50 AM	#13
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	End of Regular Season We are going to the playoffs! With a final record of 98-64, the Highlanders won the American League Central Division. With the second best record in the league, we will be playing against the Phoenix Firebirds who finished with a 96-66 record and have a formidable team. Zeta My had one team that dominated all season, the Green Mountain Greenshirts, with an outstanding 118-44 record. The Highlanders lineup received a number of tweaks over the course of the season and I'm reasonably happy with where things ended up. After we got off to a slow start, our offense built momentum all season to end up with one of the top lineups in the league. The signing of JD Martinez mid-season brought the final piece to the puzzle and I look forward to seeing what he can do over the course of a full season. Christian Yelich (.271/.338/.464 25 HR 113 RBI), Bryce Harper (.255/.413/.479 20 HR 100 RBI), and Keith Hernandez (.320/.389/.495 13 HR 67 RBI) were the team MVPs offensively. Our pitching staff performed well all season long, with Lefty Grove (19-10 3.61 ERA) anchoring the starters. The bullpen was excellent all season, particularly in the end of games with AJ Minter (33 Saves 1.95 ERA) closing games effectively.

12-09-2018, 06:06 PM	#14
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	Out in the first round Disappointing but that's how this goes. You put your best team together and let them play. The Firebirds demonstrated during the regular season that they had the upper hand in our meetings and it carried into the playoffs as well. We lost the Division Series 3-1. Good luck to the teams remaining. Just wait 'til next year! Oh, yeah, that means tomorrow. Cool

12-10-2018, 08:52 AM	#15
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	Promotion Day Day one of season two starts today. The Brewers have been promoted to Silver and I see a lot of familiar faces in my new league. It looks like the top teams from my previous league are all here along with some new faces. The team with the best record from Bronze, the Green Mound Greenshirts, are here and I'm in the same division as they are so I will certainly have to play for the wildcard. The Phoenix Firebirds, the team the took me out in the postseason, are also here. Let's see how this goes. I may have a team that's good enough to be promoted at the end of the season judging by the records of the teams in the league. Last edited by VARoadstter; 12-10-2018 at 08:53 AM.

12-17-2018, 09:18 AM	#16
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	Going Gold Finished season two by winning on the final day of the regular season to advance to the playoffs. I was eliminated in the wildcard game. Promotion day has come again and the Brewers have been promoted to Gold League. Looking at the rosters of the other teams I suspect we will finish below .500. There are a few whales in my league which will get promoted to Diamond next week and then I can hopefully get back to being competitive again.

12-18-2018, 11:16 AM	#17
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	We don't suck Ok, we're through the first month of the season and the Brewers are actually holdning their own so far. We have a slim lead in our division and overall the roster has played admirably. Of course, I can't leave well enough alone so I'm in the process of restructuring the team so that assets that can bring a good price in the AH and not providing full value to the team (e.g. Brendan McKay) are being shipped off so that I'll have some points to use to fill in the weaker spots on the roster that need addressing. By the end of the day today, I should have a more purposefully built roster. Whether that translates into further success remains to be seen but I'm at least going to see what I can do to help the team compete all season.

12-18-2018, 07:57 PM	#18
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	Pitching Overhaul Something that becomes abundantly clear as teams promote to higher leagues is that the competition gets significantly tougher. Unfortunately, that means at some point players that performed well at one level are simply overmatched later on. Such has been the dilemma for the Brewers. I spent a little bit of money on this team back in the beta and have opened somewhere around 60 packs (I think) since starting the team. Along the way I've had a few good pulls (Christian Yelich, Stephen Strasburg, Vern Stephens) and a lot of players who were great for a time but eventually were unable to keep up. Even so, I had a few assets lying around that were being under utilized. Today I began the overhaul that I hope will lead the Brewers to being competitive at the higher levels. Step 1 - Pitching Gone are the days of getting good numbers out of Kevin Appier, Jim Palmer, Lefty Grove, and Kerry Wood. My new rotation: Justin Verlander Carlos Carrasco Blake Snell Stephen Strasburg Patrick Corbin My new bullpen: James Paxton - LR Larry Dierker - LR Miles Mikolas - MR Ken Giles - MR AJ Minter - Setup Adam Ottavino - Setup Sean Doolittle - Closer Next step, upgrading the regulars.

12-18-2018, 09:23 PM	#19
Orcin Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Indiana Posts: 9,850	I'm sure glad that you are in the other conference. Nice job on that rotation!

12-23-2018, 12:34 AM	#20
VARoadstter Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 211	Not Ready for Prime Time Officially out of the playoffs and guaranteed to have a losing record, the Highland Brewers will be saying goodbye to a number of teams at the end of the playoffs that we've been in the same league with since the beginning. On the one hand, I was hoping to be able to keep up without having to invest any more money on the team. On the other, it's not the worst thing in the world to think about next season where my pitching may recover a bit after facing Trout and Betts game after game on a bunch of teams. My overhaul of the pitching staff was just not successful. Carrasco ended up with an ERA of 5.87 and a 6-9 record. Strassburg, Snell, and Corbin fared a little better but none managed a winning record. Only Justin Verlander had a truly good season for the Brewers, with a respectable 12-7 record and a respectable 3.22 ERA. My bullpen took its lumps, too, but overall I suspect I will look elsewhere to improve my team's competitiveness. Once the season is over I should have 8000 or so PP in the bank. I think the plan will be to save up for a Betts or Trout upgrade but I may not have the patience to wait another full season before I pick up other players. We'll see. Congratulations to those going to the postseason. I suspected at the start that this is about where my team would end up. I'll try to keep up with how the teams do after they move to Diamond. Gold League, I'll see you again, soon! Last edited by VARoadstter; 12-23-2018 at 12:36 AM.