The Bright Side of the Bay: An Oakland Athletics Dynasty - Page 3

William Foster · 08-30-2009, 10:11 PM

Oakland 1 Game Out!
Decent Start has the A's just one game out of first place at 9-8

May 1st, 2010

Oakland, California -- The Oakland Athletics have jumped out to a decent start this season going 9-8 and are only 1 game back of the division leading Seattle Mariners. "Obviously this isn't exactly where we want to be," said GM Orloff. "But our younger players are developing and starting to come through and we believe that as the year goes on we'll only get better." The sentiment seems to be shared among most A's players who have created the atmosphere of nowhere to go but up in their clubhouse. A's rookies like SP Brett Anderson have been key to the A's hot start and will likely be key all season.

Aprils Hot Players:
SP Brett Anderson - 0-1, 2.73 ERA, 11 K, 13 IP
SP Dallas Braden - 3-1, 4.33 ERA
MR Guillermo Mota - 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 10 IP
CL Joey Devine - 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 SV
CF Ryan Sweeny - .404, 4 HR, 5 2B, 2 SB
DH Jack Cust - .288, 5 HR, 2 3B, 2 2B

Aprils Cold Players:
CF Rajai Davis - .057 in 17 AB
SS Cliff Pennington - .226, 0 HR, 4 RBI
SP Trevor Cahill - 1-2, 8.53 ERA

Injuries

SP Sean Gallagher returned from injury at the end of April. SP Trevor Cahill was temporarily sent back to the minors to make roster space for him. Gallagher was the A's most dominant starter for most of last season and his return will hopefully give a boost to the A's pitching rotation.

Signings

The A's have once again dipped into the international market for talent after signing highly coveted South Korean prospect 2B Jae-Ho Ch'oe in a big way. The A's announced a deal with 19 year old Dominican Free Agent SP Jesus Alvarez who is the biggest Carribean signing the A's have made since they signed SP Michael Ynoa in 2008. Alvarez brings 4 plus pitches and is already quite advanced for someone at the age of 19. He was assigned to extended spring training in Pheonix and is likely to start this year pitching for the A's rookie league team there but he has a good shot at moving quickly due to his being relatively advanced for his age.

Minor League Update

AAA Sacramento

CF Corey Brown has absolutely annihilated pitching in the PCL hitting .297/.388/.593 with 10 HR and 19 BB. Brown is making himself hard to ignore among the A's logjam of outfielders and may take his place in the Oakland outfield by July 2010.

AA Midland

2008 First Rounder 2B Jemile Weeks has been off to a very hot start for Double-A Midland hitting .339/.415/.504 with 12 XBH and 10 Stolen Bases. Weeks has been moving on pace with the A's plans and his ETA currently is as early as the end of 2010 if he can keep up his hot bat.

High A Stockton

SP Henry A. Rodriguez has been dazzling in Stockton so far. Striking out over a batter per inning with a 2.18 ERA and flashing the potential of his 94-96 MPH Fastball. He's 23 and likely to receive a promotion to Double-A sometime next month.

Low A Kane County

Baseball America's #2 Prospect A's Second Round Draft Pick SP Bill Morris has superbly pitched through his first full-season baseball season. Morris, 22, is 4-3 with a 3.02 and 46 K's in 44.2 IP. Morris projects as a front of the rotation starter thanks to developing another dominant offering last season and has the makings of an incredible starter for years to come.

Also on the team is Baseball America's #33 prospect SP Michael Ynoa who has mowed down competition with 58 K in 40.2 IP.

From the Horses Mouth...

"I haven't been myself all season to be honest. Am I mad about it? Sure but everyone who has ever played professional baseball understands that it can happen so I'm just gonna take it as it is." - Oakland Athletics Pitcher Trevor Cahill to reporters after getting sent down to Triple A Sacramento.

"Why am I hitting .219? I have no idea. All you are too hung up an on "all for nothing swing" that I don't even have man." - Athletics third baseman Eric Chavez on his slow start to the 2010 season.

"There are adjustments everyone has to make and the A's are one of the best organizations at making said adjustments on the field, off it, and around it." A's Manager Bob Geren talking to reporters about the finer points of saying absolutely nothing.

William Foster · 08-31-2009, 03:07 PM

A's In Limbo
The A's have fallen into 3rd place 4.5 games out from the division leading Texas Rangers after a 15-14 month

June 1st, 2010

San Fransisco, CA -- Its been a rough up and down month for the Oakland A's in May with a large winning streak superseded by a rash of injuries and a quick fall in the standings. Sitting at 24-22 the Rangers sat four and a half games better in a newly competitive AL West. The Rangers are led by young starter Neftali Feliz and young hitters Chris Young and Julio Bourbon. While the A's stars have slowly returned from injury it remains very unclear if they can stay in the race. Meanwhile the A's starting pitching appears to have utterly bombed rather then developed into a stable young staff.

"Its going to be a tough few weeks," said Manager Bob Geren. "Lets hope we can get through it!"

Mays Hot Players
SP Dallas Braden - 2-1, 1.37 ERA
CL Joey Devine - 3-0, 1.98 ERA
MR Guillermo Mota - 1-0, 1.02 ERA
RF Jack Cust - .302/.410/.675, 12 HR, 20 BB/19 K

Mays Cold Players
SP Sean Gallagher - 1-3, 7.99 ERA
SP Brett Anderson - 1-4, 7.09 ERA
3B Eric Chavez - .182/.260/.302

Injuries & Transactions

The A's suffered a rash of injuries throughout May. C Kurt Suzuki went down with a fractured shoulder blade and will miss 2 more weeks. C Anthony Recker was recalled from AAA Sacramento to replace his roster spot. However Recker was soon pressed into starting duty when C Landon Powell tore a thumb ligament and went down for 5 weeks. Lacking an inhouse option to backup Recker the A's claimed C Mitch Canham off waivers from San Diego.

SS Cliff Pennington went down with an intercostal strain for over a month. To replace him on the roster the A's signed SS Ronny Cedeno to a minor league contract to help replace him. Pennington had been unimpressive with the A's at the time of the injury.

CF Rajai Davis went down the next week with hamstring tendinitis.

SP Trevor Cahill was recalled from AAA Sacramento and SP Keven Correia was sent down. Cahill, 22, was recalled after several impressive starts in the coast league.

Awards

DH Jack Cust was awarded the AL Batter of the Month award in May for his excellent stats and performance. Cust slugged over 12 Home Runs and hit at a .307 clip during the month.

Minor League Update

AAA Sacramento

CL Andrew Bailey has been close to un-hittable this year for Sacramento going 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 12 Saves. He may be recalled as soon as mid-june.

AA Midland

LF Matt Spencer has been hot lately hitting .309/.372/.517 with 9 Home Runs in 211 AB. Spencer doesn't project as much and as a 24 year old repeating Double A his numbers aren't making him any kind of prospect yet. But he is likely to get a chance in Sacramento come July and it will be interesting to see how he handles it.

High A Stockton

LF Grant Desme is currently hitting .363 and knocking his way onto Prospect Radars again despite being old for his level. Desme may be recalled to Double A as early as July if he keeps up this torrid pace.

Low A Kane County

The twin aces SP Bill 'Mad Dog' Morris and SP Michael Ynoa have absolutely destroyed Midwest League pitching. Morris, 22, has gone 7-3 with a 2.27 ERA and 82 K in 83.1 IP. Ynoa, 18, for his part has gone 3-5 with a 2.21 ERA and 115 K in 77.1 IP. "Me and Michael have developed a kind of friendly rivarly," Said Morris talking to local press. "We bet with each other every time we pitch and we have a running bet on which one of us can make it to Double A first." Dubbed the A's Aces by Baseball America both of them have learned from each other while pitching at such a low level. "Bill helped me learn to throw my curveball better," said Ynoa. "I showed him a few things also though."

When asked which is more impressive Morris showed some rare humility. "We look at our stats and we see two very similar pitchers. But when it comes down to it Ynoa is 18 and doing this in the midwest league. Thats incredible by anybodies standard." said Morris.

William Foster · 08-31-2009, 04:44 PM

2010 MLB Draft Preview

June 14th, 2010

New York, New York -- The major league draft is upon us again. The draft is where teams search for the next major leaguers and restock their minor leagues. Again the draft is on television and again the main topic among pundits is draft reform. Possible institution of a world-wide draft including China, Central America, Asia, etc. has been talked about but not implemented with instructional leagues in various countries feeding into said draft. Its a hot topic among current CBA negotiaters.

The top prospect this year is SP Paul Bray out of Brown University. Nicknamed shortcut he is a virtual lock to be chosen first overall by the Chicago White Sox and he could even be in the majors as early as September if things break just right for the 21 Year Old. Other top prospects include LF Dan Wallace and RF Stephen Joyce. Wallace hit .308 with 11 HR in his final season with Oregon State University and projects to go high in the draft. Joyce, 21, out of Indiana University last year hit .312 and 13 HR. Scouts call him a "five-tool player with patience, speed, and a sweet well-developed stroke. Joyce ranks highly on many peoples draft boards.

Oakland A's Past 1st Round Picks

2009 - 1st Round 11th Overall
2B Juan Morales
Morales had a very good 2009 but has severely struggled in 2010 upon promotion to High-A Stockton. Hitting just .236 with 4 Home runs on the year it has been a bad year mentally and physically for Morales. Despite the poor year he still projects as a top of the order bat and his ETA if he can work the kinks out is late 2011.

William Foster · 08-31-2009, 06:02 PM

Oakland A's Add Toolsy Talent

Tuesday, June 15th 2009

The Chicago White Sox predictably selected SP Paul Bray with their pick. Bray, 21, received a record signing bonus upon being drafted and was signed almost immediately by the White Sox. He is likely to begin this year in Bristol but all scouts and sabermatricians think he could see Double-A by Years end knowing his talent.

The Oakland A's focus this draft was restocking the lower minors with impact talent after a draft last season which was described as "good early but poor in the middle rounds". Where as other teams mined the third through seventh round for talent the A's had a very comparably poor showing in those rounds and now have some catch up to play. Despite these concerns the A's system was #1 rated by Baseball America coming into the season and stands a good chance of remaining the #1 rated system for years to come if they can routinely restock the system with impact bats. With 7 picks in the top 100 Selections they stand a good chance of doing this.

Oakland Athletics Picks

First Round

19th Overall

Holding the 19th Pick of the Draft the A's decided to go for the toolsier project-able player over the more polished College Pitchers on their board and selected 3B Cliff Ward out of Chandler High School. Ward, 18, had an excellent season for the Millionaires hitting .333 with 16 HR and a 1,000+ OPS. At just 18 he is as many as 4-6 years away from impacting the Major League Level but scouts think with the right instruction he'll develop into a star hitter. He'll begin the year in the Rookie Arizona League and is likely to stay there for the duration of the year.

Supplemental First Round

34th Overall - Compensation for Ben Sheets

With the 34th Overall Pick in the Draft the Athletics went with Canadian C Charlie Hinton out of James Madison University. Hinton, 21, was rated the top College catcher in the draft by scouts and sabertmatricians alike. Hinton has been praised for a sweet line-drive stroke, a great eye, already well developed skills, and budding power. Hinton led the team in OBP and projects as the A's catcher of the future.

39th Overall - Compensation for Matt Holliday

With the 39th Overall Pick the A's selected SP Jorge Rodriguez out of Northeastern University. Rodriguez was coming off a breakout year for the Huskies in which he struck out 102 in 85 IP and had a 1.16 ERA. Rodriguez, 21, throws three pitches for strikes and can hit 95-97 with his fastball on a consistent basis. He's very well developed for his age and is a good bet to move quickly through the A's system and join the A's duo of starters Michael Ynoa and Bill Morris in the big club's rotation in 2-3 years.

2nd Round

52nd Overall - Compensation for Ben Sheets

The A's once again dipped into the college ranks with the 52nd Overall Choice and selected highly coveted CF Billy Matthews out of UMBC. Mathews is a stereotypical A's pick in that he put up great college numbers and can take a walk. However Matthews also brings an intense amount of athleticism to his game and is a good bet for 20 SB a year in the Big Leagues. Also well developed in comparison to most hitters in the draft Matthews will be treated with kid gloves for now until he proves himself at the lower levels.

61st Overall - Compensation for Matt Holliday

With the 61st Overall Pick the A's changed their pace and selected High School Slugging 1B Eric Vaughn out of Waterloo HS. Vaughn, 18, was at one point an early first round selection but an injury that will keep him out for all of 2010 caused his stock to fall and drop to the 2nd Round. The A's decided to take a chance on the slugging first baseman who received nothing but praise for his project-able power hitting stroke. Vaughn is a good bet for 30 Home Runs in the MLB if he recovers and the A's are satisfied with the pick regardless.

66th Overall

To close out the second round the A's picked another college pitcher in SP Fernando 'Headcase' Garza out of Central Michigan University. He reminds scouts of a young Barry Zito with his massive 12-6 Curve-Ball and a devastatingly explosive 96 MPH Fastball. Already well polished Garza will likely move a bit slower due to a bit of missed development time two seasons ago.

Third Round - 96th Overall

To start off the third round the Athletics picked up High School SP Craig Sinclair out of Orlando High School. Sinclair, 18, was a durable cheap option for two years but his stock only rose when he came to workouts flashing 95 MPH heat consistently for the first time. With recent success from the A's with SP Trevor Cahill in terms of high school pitchers Sinclair looks like a well calculated risk rather then a typical High School flamethrower who burns his arm out. He'll pitch the season for the Rookie League Arizona A's.

4th Round - 126th Overall

In the 4th Round the A's weren't expecting much talent to still be on the board but were surprised when OF/1B Tim Farmer was still on the board. For two years Farmer had been the second best hitter on his Holy Cross University Crusaders team and the A's were sufficiently happy to nab him in the 4th Round. Farmer is a very poorly developed player for a college player but Scouts like his raw power and he will get a chance to make himself into a prospect playing for the A's rookie league team this season.

5th Round - 156th Overall

By round 5 the A's were just looking for players with some impact potential and were surprised to find soft-tossing high-schooler SP John Robinson out of St. Louis High School still on the board. Robinson, 18, was dismissed by scouts for lack of speed on his pitches and was happy to be drafted this early and to receive slot money. While he relies on groundballs to get hitters out he does a great job with it and is one of the biggest sleepers in the A's Draft.

Athletics Picks Rounds 6-25:

6. 3B Julian Batista (St. John's University, NCAA)
7. CL Yoruki Inuoe (Raleigh High School, USHBA)
8. CF Jeff Schafer (University of Vermont, NCAA)
9. 1B Bryan Wimberly (Lewisburg Highschool, USHBA)
10. 1B Jeremy Seppings (Toledo Highschool, USHBA)
11. CL John O'Rogan (Hialeah High School, USHBA)
12. 1B Carlos Gonzalez (Birmingham Highschool, USHBA)
13. MR Roberto Flores (University of Oregon, NCAA)
14. LF Alonso Fernandez (San Diego State, NCAA)
15. OF Carlo Heathershaw (Wichita Highschool, USHBA)
16. C Robbie Raines (University of San Fransisco, NCAA)
17. OF Michael Briggs (USC, NCAA)
18. C Carlos Sanchez (TCU, NCAA)
19. MR Hwui-Ning Chao (Indiana University, NCAA)
20. 1B Kisho Hayashi (Vails Gate High School, USHBA)
21. MR Ryde Ray (University of Maryland, NCAA)
22. OF Lee Mondesi (Texas AM, NCAA)
23. RF Troy Lewis (St. Louis High School, USHBA)
24. 1B Sugita Yoshimura (St. Louis High School, USHBA)
25. OF Ron Hooper (Ohio University, NCAA)

William Foster · 09-01-2009, 01:57 PM

Well so much for that.. I'm not sure exactly what but SOMETHING got badly corrupted in my last save. I spent some of last night and this morning trouble-shooting the problem and despite being very good with computers managed to only screw things up worse. In essence I was forced to turn back to a backup copy I had about 3-4 months back in terms of gametime.. and to be honest after that I've just lost interest.

I will likely be making a new dynasty sometime next week after I get settled with a new work schedule in a similar format but I'll see. I'm sorry to the fans of this dynasty and most of all myself. If you have any suggestions on a good team to choose then I'd be happy to hear it. Sorry for ending this so prematurely.

metzrule3 · 09-01-2009, 02:42 PM

Sorry to see this end. How about trying the Mets?

TavesSoul · 09-01-2009, 02:45 PM

Very said to see this dynasty pass away, William Foster. Looks like you've run into my luck with Dynasty's so far. What exactly was happening with your save, out of curiosity. I just wonder if it's what recently was happening to my Pirates dynasty, until I finally figured out a fix for it.

This is also why I think this game definitely needs to let you save under different names every time you save. Then, you don't have to worry if your last save gets corrupted, as you have a second save that's like a month back.

08-30-2009, 10:11 PM	#41
William Foster Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 120	Oakland 1 Game Out! Decent Start has the A's just one game out of first place at 9-8 May 1st, 2010 Oakland, California -- The Oakland Athletics have jumped out to a decent start this season going 9-8 and are only 1 game back of the division leading Seattle Mariners. "Obviously this isn't exactly where we want to be," said GM Orloff. "But our younger players are developing and starting to come through and we believe that as the year goes on we'll only get better." The sentiment seems to be shared among most A's players who have created the atmosphere of nowhere to go but up in their clubhouse. A's rookies like SP Brett Anderson have been key to the A's hot start and will likely be key all season. Aprils Hot Players: SP Brett Anderson - 0-1, 2.73 ERA, 11 K, 13 IP SP Dallas Braden - 3-1, 4.33 ERA MR Guillermo Mota - 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 10 IP CL Joey Devine - 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 SV CF Ryan Sweeny - .404, 4 HR, 5 2B, 2 SB DH Jack Cust - .288, 5 HR, 2 3B, 2 2B Aprils Cold Players: CF Rajai Davis - .057 in 17 AB SS Cliff Pennington - .226, 0 HR, 4 RBI SP Trevor Cahill - 1-2, 8.53 ERA Injuries SP Sean Gallagher returned from injury at the end of April. SP Trevor Cahill was temporarily sent back to the minors to make roster space for him. Gallagher was the A's most dominant starter for most of last season and his return will hopefully give a boost to the A's pitching rotation. Signings The A's have once again dipped into the international market for talent after signing highly coveted South Korean prospect 2B Jae-Ho Ch'oe in a big way. The A's announced a deal with 19 year old Dominican Free Agent SP Jesus Alvarez who is the biggest Carribean signing the A's have made since they signed SP Michael Ynoa in 2008. Alvarez brings 4 plus pitches and is already quite advanced for someone at the age of 19. He was assigned to extended spring training in Pheonix and is likely to start this year pitching for the A's rookie league team there but he has a good shot at moving quickly due to his being relatively advanced for his age. Minor League Update AAA Sacramento CF Corey Brown has absolutely annihilated pitching in the PCL hitting .297/.388/.593 with 10 HR and 19 BB. Brown is making himself hard to ignore among the A's logjam of outfielders and may take his place in the Oakland outfield by July 2010. AA Midland 2008 First Rounder 2B Jemile Weeks has been off to a very hot start for Double-A Midland hitting .339/.415/.504 with 12 XBH and 10 Stolen Bases. Weeks has been moving on pace with the A's plans and his ETA currently is as early as the end of 2010 if he can keep up his hot bat. High A Stockton SP Henry A. Rodriguez has been dazzling in Stockton so far. Striking out over a batter per inning with a 2.18 ERA and flashing the potential of his 94-96 MPH Fastball. He's 23 and likely to receive a promotion to Double-A sometime next month. Low A Kane County Baseball America's #2 Prospect A's Second Round Draft Pick SP Bill Morris has superbly pitched through his first full-season baseball season. Morris, 22, is 4-3 with a 3.02 and 46 K's in 44.2 IP. Morris projects as a front of the rotation starter thanks to developing another dominant offering last season and has the makings of an incredible starter for years to come. Also on the team is Baseball America's #33 prospect SP Michael Ynoa who has mowed down competition with 58 K in 40.2 IP. From the Horses Mouth... "I haven't been myself all season to be honest. Am I mad about it? Sure but everyone who has ever played professional baseball understands that it can happen so I'm just gonna take it as it is." - Oakland Athletics Pitcher Trevor Cahill to reporters after getting sent down to Triple A Sacramento. "Why am I hitting .219? I have no idea. All you are too hung up an on "all for nothing swing" that I don't even have man." - Athletics third baseman Eric Chavez on his slow start to the 2010 season. "There are adjustments everyone has to make and the A's are one of the best organizations at making said adjustments on the field, off it, and around it." A's Manager Bob Geren talking to reporters about the finer points of saying absolutely nothing. __________________ Past Dynasties: The Bright Side of the Bay (Abandoned) Last edited by William Foster; 08-30-2009 at 11:36 PM.

08-31-2009, 03:07 PM	#42
William Foster Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 120	A's In Limbo The A's have fallen into 3rd place 4.5 games out from the division leading Texas Rangers after a 15-14 month June 1st, 2010 San Fransisco, CA -- Its been a rough up and down month for the Oakland A's in May with a large winning streak superseded by a rash of injuries and a quick fall in the standings. Sitting at 24-22 the Rangers sat four and a half games better in a newly competitive AL West. The Rangers are led by young starter Neftali Feliz and young hitters Chris Young and Julio Bourbon. While the A's stars have slowly returned from injury it remains very unclear if they can stay in the race. Meanwhile the A's starting pitching appears to have utterly bombed rather then developed into a stable young staff. "Its going to be a tough few weeks," said Manager Bob Geren. "Lets hope we can get through it!" Mays Hot Players SP Dallas Braden - 2-1, 1.37 ERA CL Joey Devine - 3-0, 1.98 ERA MR Guillermo Mota - 1-0, 1.02 ERA RF Jack Cust - .302/.410/.675, 12 HR, 20 BB/19 K Mays Cold Players SP Sean Gallagher - 1-3, 7.99 ERA SP Brett Anderson - 1-4, 7.09 ERA 3B Eric Chavez - .182/.260/.302 Injuries & Transactions The A's suffered a rash of injuries throughout May. C Kurt Suzuki went down with a fractured shoulder blade and will miss 2 more weeks. C Anthony Recker was recalled from AAA Sacramento to replace his roster spot. However Recker was soon pressed into starting duty when C Landon Powell tore a thumb ligament and went down for 5 weeks. Lacking an inhouse option to backup Recker the A's claimed C Mitch Canham off waivers from San Diego. SS Cliff Pennington went down with an intercostal strain for over a month. To replace him on the roster the A's signed SS Ronny Cedeno to a minor league contract to help replace him. Pennington had been unimpressive with the A's at the time of the injury. CF Rajai Davis went down the next week with hamstring tendinitis. SP Trevor Cahill was recalled from AAA Sacramento and SP Keven Correia was sent down. Cahill, 22, was recalled after several impressive starts in the coast league. Awards DH Jack Cust was awarded the AL Batter of the Month award in May for his excellent stats and performance. Cust slugged over 12 Home Runs and hit at a .307 clip during the month. Minor League Update AAA Sacramento CL Andrew Bailey has been close to un-hittable this year for Sacramento going 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 12 Saves. He may be recalled as soon as mid-june. AA Midland LF Matt Spencer has been hot lately hitting .309/.372/.517 with 9 Home Runs in 211 AB. Spencer doesn't project as much and as a 24 year old repeating Double A his numbers aren't making him any kind of prospect yet. But he is likely to get a chance in Sacramento come July and it will be interesting to see how he handles it. High A Stockton LF Grant Desme is currently hitting .363 and knocking his way onto Prospect Radars again despite being old for his level. Desme may be recalled to Double A as early as July if he keeps up this torrid pace. Low A Kane County The twin aces SP Bill 'Mad Dog' Morris and SP Michael Ynoa have absolutely destroyed Midwest League pitching. Morris, 22, has gone 7-3 with a 2.27 ERA and 82 K in 83.1 IP. Ynoa, 18, for his part has gone 3-5 with a 2.21 ERA and 115 K in 77.1 IP. "Me and Michael have developed a kind of friendly rivarly," Said Morris talking to local press. "We bet with each other every time we pitch and we have a running bet on which one of us can make it to Double A first." Dubbed the A's Aces by Baseball America both of them have learned from each other while pitching at such a low level. "Bill helped me learn to throw my curveball better," said Ynoa. "I showed him a few things also though." When asked which is more impressive Morris showed some rare humility. "We look at our stats and we see two very similar pitchers. But when it comes down to it Ynoa is 18 and doing this in the midwest league. Thats incredible by anybodies standard." said Morris. __________________ Past Dynasties: The Bright Side of the Bay (Abandoned)

08-31-2009, 04:44 PM	#43
William Foster Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 120	2010 MLB Draft Preview June 14th, 2010 New York, New York -- The major league draft is upon us again. The draft is where teams search for the next major leaguers and restock their minor leagues. Again the draft is on television and again the main topic among pundits is draft reform. Possible institution of a world-wide draft including China, Central America, Asia, etc. has been talked about but not implemented with instructional leagues in various countries feeding into said draft. Its a hot topic among current CBA negotiaters. The top prospect this year is SP Paul Bray out of Brown University. Nicknamed shortcut he is a virtual lock to be chosen first overall by the Chicago White Sox and he could even be in the majors as early as September if things break just right for the 21 Year Old. Other top prospects include LF Dan Wallace and RF Stephen Joyce. Wallace hit .308 with 11 HR in his final season with Oregon State University and projects to go high in the draft. Joyce, 21, out of Indiana University last year hit .312 and 13 HR. Scouts call him a "five-tool player with patience, speed, and a sweet well-developed stroke. Joyce ranks highly on many peoples draft boards. Oakland A's Past 1st Round Picks 2009 - 1st Round 11th Overall 2B Juan Morales Morales had a very good 2009 but has severely struggled in 2010 upon promotion to High-A Stockton. Hitting just .236 with 4 Home runs on the year it has been a bad year mentally and physically for Morales. Despite the poor year he still projects as a top of the order bat and his ETA if he can work the kinks out is late 2011. __________________ Past Dynasties: The Bright Side of the Bay (Abandoned)

08-31-2009, 06:02 PM	#44
William Foster Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 120	Oakland A's Add Toolsy Talent Tuesday, June 15th 2009 The Chicago White Sox predictably selected SP Paul Bray with their pick. Bray, 21, received a record signing bonus upon being drafted and was signed almost immediately by the White Sox. He is likely to begin this year in Bristol but all scouts and sabermatricians think he could see Double-A by Years end knowing his talent. The Oakland A's focus this draft was restocking the lower minors with impact talent after a draft last season which was described as "good early but poor in the middle rounds". Where as other teams mined the third through seventh round for talent the A's had a very comparably poor showing in those rounds and now have some catch up to play. Despite these concerns the A's system was #1 rated by Baseball America coming into the season and stands a good chance of remaining the #1 rated system for years to come if they can routinely restock the system with impact bats. With 7 picks in the top 100 Selections they stand a good chance of doing this. Oakland Athletics Picks First Round 19th Overall Holding the 19th Pick of the Draft the A's decided to go for the toolsier project-able player over the more polished College Pitchers on their board and selected 3B Cliff Ward out of Chandler High School. Ward, 18, had an excellent season for the Millionaires hitting .333 with 16 HR and a 1,000+ OPS. At just 18 he is as many as 4-6 years away from impacting the Major League Level but scouts think with the right instruction he'll develop into a star hitter. He'll begin the year in the Rookie Arizona League and is likely to stay there for the duration of the year. Supplemental First Round 34th Overall - Compensation for Ben Sheets With the 34th Overall Pick in the Draft the Athletics went with Canadian C Charlie Hinton out of James Madison University. Hinton, 21, was rated the top College catcher in the draft by scouts and sabertmatricians alike. Hinton has been praised for a sweet line-drive stroke, a great eye, already well developed skills, and budding power. Hinton led the team in OBP and projects as the A's catcher of the future. 39th Overall - Compensation for Matt Holliday With the 39th Overall Pick the A's selected SP Jorge Rodriguez out of Northeastern University. Rodriguez was coming off a breakout year for the Huskies in which he struck out 102 in 85 IP and had a 1.16 ERA. Rodriguez, 21, throws three pitches for strikes and can hit 95-97 with his fastball on a consistent basis. He's very well developed for his age and is a good bet to move quickly through the A's system and join the A's duo of starters Michael Ynoa and Bill Morris in the big club's rotation in 2-3 years. 2nd Round 52nd Overall - Compensation for Ben Sheets The A's once again dipped into the college ranks with the 52nd Overall Choice and selected highly coveted CF Billy Matthews out of UMBC. Mathews is a stereotypical A's pick in that he put up great college numbers and can take a walk. However Matthews also brings an intense amount of athleticism to his game and is a good bet for 20 SB a year in the Big Leagues. Also well developed in comparison to most hitters in the draft Matthews will be treated with kid gloves for now until he proves himself at the lower levels. 61st Overall - Compensation for Matt Holliday With the 61st Overall Pick the A's changed their pace and selected High School Slugging 1B Eric Vaughn out of Waterloo HS. Vaughn, 18, was at one point an early first round selection but an injury that will keep him out for all of 2010 caused his stock to fall and drop to the 2nd Round. The A's decided to take a chance on the slugging first baseman who received nothing but praise for his project-able power hitting stroke. Vaughn is a good bet for 30 Home Runs in the MLB if he recovers and the A's are satisfied with the pick regardless. 66th Overall To close out the second round the A's picked another college pitcher in SP Fernando 'Headcase' Garza out of Central Michigan University. He reminds scouts of a young Barry Zito with his massive 12-6 Curve-Ball and a devastatingly explosive 96 MPH Fastball. Already well polished Garza will likely move a bit slower due to a bit of missed development time two seasons ago. Third Round - 96th Overall To start off the third round the Athletics picked up High School SP Craig Sinclair out of Orlando High School. Sinclair, 18, was a durable cheap option for two years but his stock only rose when he came to workouts flashing 95 MPH heat consistently for the first time. With recent success from the A's with SP Trevor Cahill in terms of high school pitchers Sinclair looks like a well calculated risk rather then a typical High School flamethrower who burns his arm out. He'll pitch the season for the Rookie League Arizona A's. 4th Round - 126th Overall In the 4th Round the A's weren't expecting much talent to still be on the board but were surprised when OF/1B Tim Farmer was still on the board. For two years Farmer had been the second best hitter on his Holy Cross University Crusaders team and the A's were sufficiently happy to nab him in the 4th Round. Farmer is a very poorly developed player for a college player but Scouts like his raw power and he will get a chance to make himself into a prospect playing for the A's rookie league team this season. 5th Round - 156th Overall By round 5 the A's were just looking for players with some impact potential and were surprised to find soft-tossing high-schooler SP John Robinson out of St. Louis High School still on the board. Robinson, 18, was dismissed by scouts for lack of speed on his pitches and was happy to be drafted this early and to receive slot money. While he relies on groundballs to get hitters out he does a great job with it and is one of the biggest sleepers in the A's Draft. Athletics Picks Rounds 6-25: 6. 3B Julian Batista (St. John's University, NCAA) 7. CL Yoruki Inuoe (Raleigh High School, USHBA) 8. CF Jeff Schafer (University of Vermont, NCAA) 9. 1B Bryan Wimberly (Lewisburg Highschool, USHBA) 10. 1B Jeremy Seppings (Toledo Highschool, USHBA) 11. CL John O'Rogan (Hialeah High School, USHBA) 12. 1B Carlos Gonzalez (Birmingham Highschool, USHBA) 13. MR Roberto Flores (University of Oregon, NCAA) 14. LF Alonso Fernandez (San Diego State, NCAA) 15. OF Carlo Heathershaw (Wichita Highschool, USHBA) 16. C Robbie Raines (University of San Fransisco, NCAA) 17. OF Michael Briggs (USC, NCAA) 18. C Carlos Sanchez (TCU, NCAA) 19. MR Hwui-Ning Chao (Indiana University, NCAA) 20. 1B Kisho Hayashi (Vails Gate High School, USHBA) 21. MR Ryde Ray (University of Maryland, NCAA) 22. OF Lee Mondesi (Texas AM, NCAA) 23. RF Troy Lewis (St. Louis High School, USHBA) 24. 1B Sugita Yoshimura (St. Louis High School, USHBA) 25. OF Ron Hooper (Ohio University, NCAA) __________________ Past Dynasties: The Bright Side of the Bay (Abandoned)

09-01-2009, 01:57 PM	#45
William Foster Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 120	Well so much for that.. I'm not sure exactly what but SOMETHING got badly corrupted in my last save. I spent some of last night and this morning trouble-shooting the problem and despite being very good with computers managed to only screw things up worse. In essence I was forced to turn back to a backup copy I had about 3-4 months back in terms of gametime.. and to be honest after that I've just lost interest. I will likely be making a new dynasty sometime next week after I get settled with a new work schedule in a similar format but I'll see. I'm sorry to the fans of this dynasty and most of all myself. If you have any suggestions on a good team to choose then I'd be happy to hear it. Sorry for ending this so prematurely. __________________ Past Dynasties: The Bright Side of the Bay (Abandoned) Last edited by William Foster; 09-01-2009 at 02:02 PM.

09-01-2009, 02:42 PM	#46
metzrule3 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 22	Sorry to see this end. How about trying the Mets?

09-01-2009, 02:45 PM	#47
TavesSoul Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 168	Very said to see this dynasty pass away, William Foster. Looks like you've run into my luck with Dynasty's so far. What exactly was happening with your save, out of curiosity. I just wonder if it's what recently was happening to my Pirates dynasty, until I finally figured out a fix for it. This is also why I think this game definitely needs to let you save under different names every time you save. Then, you don't have to worry if your last save gets corrupted, as you have a second save that's like a month back. Last edited by TavesSoul; 09-01-2009 at 02:47 PM.