Worst2First: A Race between the Royals and Pirates (PIRATES Edition)

[Koprnkc]

The first month of the season is in the books, and we go 13-11, 4 games behind the division leading Chicago Cubs.

April's Spotlight Player: Brook Kieschnick .304 / 6 / 18


I believe this is the Pirates first month ever over .500 since I started this dynasty. Pedro has been average for us, as have a few other, so there is some hope that we can actually improve once they hit their stride.

[Koprnkc]

Amuary Telemaco Throws a NO-No!


Decided to play out this game and #5 starter Amuary Telemaco throws a no hitter, and had he not walked the pitcher Vazquez in the 3rd inning, he would have pitched a perfect game. My first No hitter ever in OOTP. Man I was I feeling it, as I had to face Bordick and Pride in the ninth and both were hitting over .300 hitters. Bordick hit a scorching liner to lead off the 9th, that Gold Glover Benji Gil laid out for and caught.

[Koprnkc]

We play .500 ball through the month of May, going 14-14, behind division leading Chicago Cubs who are currently on a 9 game win streak.

May's Spotlight Player: Jason Varitek .350 / 0 / 3


We get Bill Selby back off the D.L. and send Ryan Minor back down to AAA.

After pitching his No-No Amuary Telemaco suffers severe shoulder inflammation in his throwing shoulder and is lost for 4 months. We put him on the 60 day D.L. and call up rookie SP Rocky Coppinger.

We get Orlando Merced back from the D.L. and send LF Bubba Trammell down to AAA. Trammell is pressing for regular playing time with the parent club at his current developement rate.

Another solid month. Martinez still has not pitched like the $50 million dollar pitcher we were hoping to get. SP Hill has been up and down, with a 2-6 record, be he had no run support early, and was the victim of hard luck. Chicago is on a 9 game tear, we need to heat up to catch up, I wont be satisified with .500 this year.

[Koprnkc]

We manage to stagger through June with a 11-16 record, now 9 games behind division leading Chicago Cubs.

June's Spotlight Player: Pedro Martinez 3-1 / 1.86 / 1.18


Ray Durham suffers a Groin Strain, and is lost for 6 weeks. We call up rookie Carlos Guillen to take his spot.

Pedro is finally starting to pitch like he is being paid. Our batters are just struggling right now. Dye only has 8 HRs, as does Johnson. We have lost Ray Durham again, he was really giving us a spark at the #2 hole. Luickly Guillen is putting up the same kind of numbers as Durham was. If Guillen or Durham could play Short like Gil, I would have a great middle infield dou, alas, they do not, so Gil keeps on plugging away with his .200 average.

[Koprnkc]

The Pirates 1998 Draft class:

SP Rick Ankiel
MR J.D. Smart
MR Lou Pote
MR Dan Murray
3B Ewards Guzman

A very weak draft class to be had. Ankiel and Smart will start in AA, the rest in A ball.

[Koprnkc]

Another bad month knocks us out of the playoff race pretty much, as we stagger through July 10-18, 12 games behind division leading Chicago Cubs.

July's Spotlight Player: Mark Johnson .297 / 9 / 23


We demote SP Ken Hill to AAA and call up Rick Ankiel. Hill just wasnt getting the job done, and Ankiel was a bid to stay in playoff contention. It has not worked out.

2B Ray Durham comes off the D.L. and 2B Carlos Guillen gets sent back down to AAA.

SP Jamey Wright comes off the D.L. and SP Scott Eyre gets sent back down to AAA.

The wheels have totally fallen off this month. The Mashers of Johnson, Dye & Kieschnick are not getting it done at all. Dye is batting .273 with only 13 HRs, and the other 2 are batting under .250. It was a rough month in Pittsburgh.

[Koprnkc]

We go 8-20 in August. Any playoff hopes died long ago, and we are now 17 games behind the front running Chicago Cubs.

August's Spotlight Player: Orlando Merced .333 / 3 / 8


We loss 1B Mark Johnson to a shoulder injury for 2 weeks and place him on the 15 day D.L., and call up Ryan McGuire from AAA.

We then promptly loss RF Jermaine Dye for 4 weeks to an Intercostal Strain and place him on the 15 day D.L., and call up LF Bubba Trammell.

Bubba Trammell promptly gets injury 11 days later with a Sports Hernia and we loss him for 6 weeks. Since September call ups are here, we place him on the 15 day D.L.

Injuries, lack of production from Johnson, Kieschnick and Dye in the lineup, Pedro being an a fat signing bust, our season has quickly went in the toilet. Well Pirates fans, there is always the 1999 season to look forward to.

[Koprnkc]

We finish the season on somewhat of a high note, going 15-12, 17 games behind first place Houston and Chicago.

September's Spotlight Player: Rick Ankiel 3-0 / 2.52 / 1.21


What a big disappointment 1998 was for us. Martinez was terriable, the outstanding offense we thought we would have, never came to being. And we struggled in general with injuries.

On to 1999!

[Koprnkc]

Just a bump as we get ready to head into 1999

[Koprnkc]

The 1998 N.L. Awards are announced:

GOLD GLOVE WINNERS:


Rookie Of The Year:
Enrique Wilson .273 / 17 / 93
Montreal Expos

Cy Young:
Osvaldo Fernandez 20-6 / 2.86 / 1.14
Philadelphia Phillies

Silver Slugger Award:
David Ortiz .300 / 52 / 118

World Series
Seattle Mariners over the L.A. Dodgers 4 games to 3 games.
Seattle Mariners in the World Series.


Nice to see Gil get his 3rd straight gold glove at shortstop. Yeah, he barely hits .200, but he has saved countless runs. He can also chalk up saving our only high light this season, Telamaco's no hitter.
San Fransico Giants

[Koprnkc]

The National League's 1998 Hitting and Pitching Leades:
Hitting

Pitching

[Koprnkc]

After much thought, we nix the idea of blowing up the roster, and decide to make a few moves to improve a key area or two, in the off-season.

We send off 30 year old SP Steve Parris (1-4 / 10.50 / 2.33) to Philly for 23 year old 3B Troy Glaus (.224 / 5 / 18).

We then ship 27 year old 2B Ray Durham (.297 / 14 / 55), 28 year old 3B Bill Selby (.232 / 9 / 44), 29 year old 1B Kevin Young (.287 / 7 / 30) and minor league 1B Ryan Jackson (.298 / 18 / 64 in AA) to the Toronto Blue Jays for 24 year old LF Jose Cruz (.287 / 20 / 69).

Trading Parris cost us some pitching depth, but he was never going to really crack our starting rotation. Glaus gives us a solid 3B.

Cruz cost us alot, but we need someone who could play CF, and we had nobody left in the minors. Losing Durham hurts, but Guillen is ready to step in at second. Selby never panned out for us, and Young was blocked by Mark Johnson. We gave up alot, so, our depth may become an issue if the injury bug bites us as bad as it did last season.

[Koprnkc]

The 1999 Pittsburgh Pirates season opener is here! Lets take a look at the roster assembled for the 1999 season.

Catcher
Jason Varitek (.285 / 12 / 56)
Angelo Encarnacion (.258 / 2 / 28)

Encarnacion lost his job to the rookie Varitek midway through the season last year. Varitek performed well, and Encarnacion actually improved after his at bats became more limited. We are hoping for bigger things out of Varitek this season.

Firstbase
Mark Johnson (.256 / 22 / 66)
Ryan McGuire (.245 / 0 / 12)

Johnson missed 45 games last season, and still managed to knock out 22 HRs. McGuire becomes the back up after the trade of Kevin Young to Toronto. McGuire looks like a Johnson clone, so, with less power. He also can play all 3 outfield positions, so he gives us versitility on the roster.

Secondbase
Carlos Guillen (.348 / 7 / 28)
Carlos Garcia (.247 / 5 / 36)

We took a gamble on handing the starting secondbase job to Guillen. Durham played solid in the field, and could really hit, his problem was injury. Garcia is a nice sub, and can handle the starting role in a pinch if injury jumps up. We have 2 more good young middle infielders, so, Guillen has to produce from day one, or see someone else take the job.

Thirdbase
Troy Glaus (.225 / 17 / 65)

Glaus gets handed the starters job at thirdbase, taking the place of departed GM favorite Bill Selby. Selby did not produce, enough offense at third. Glaus has to improve upon his numbers, or it was a wash of a trade.

Shortstop
Benji Gil (.200 / 11 / 34)
Orlando Cabrera (.297 / 2 / 49 in AAA)

You have to be asking. Really? A .200 hitter starts at SS for the Pirates. Yep, Gil is a GM favorite, and has won 3 straight Gold Gloves. He doesnt hit much, but he makes outstanding plays in the field. Cabrera has been waiting to take over the shortstop position, but, he will have to wait longer. Unless Gil hits .100, he is our man. Cabrera will see plenty of playing time though.

Leftfield
Brooks Kieschnick (.237 / 28 / 71)
Bubba Trammell (.481 / 0 / 9)

Injuries killed Kieschnick's season, and after hitting 44 HRs in 97, dropped to 28 in 98. He also drove in over 40 less runs then in 97. We need his stick, along with Dye and Johnson's to power this offense. Trammell is a decent 5th outfielder, and can play both corner positions.

Centerfield
Jose Cruz (.287 / 20 / 69)
Todd Dunwoody (.261 / 4 / 20 in AAA)

Cruz comes in as our centerfielder. He cost alot to bring into the fold, so, expectations are high. Dunwoody gets his first real shot at the Majors. He can play center and first, so he needs to perform well if he wants to stick.

Rightfield
Jermaine Dye (.285 / 21 / 75)

Dye's numbers really dropped off his second season. Combined with the injuries slumps of Kieschnick and Johnson, and the team struggled to score runs. We need a bounce back season from Dye if we hope to contend.

Starting Rotation
Pedro Martinez (10-14 / 4.48 / 1.35)
Jamey Wright ( 7-11 / 4.24 / 1.37)
Chad Ogea ( 7-12 / 4.82 / 1.42)
Amaury Telemaco ( 3-3 / 1.71 / 0.98)
Rick Ankiel (5-4 / 3.70 / 1.21)

Martinez did not live up to his contract. Wright put up decent numbers, but could not get the run support. Ogea struggled off and on, and was too up and down. Telemaco pitched a No hitter, and then promptly went on the D.L. his next start, and we lost him for the year. Ankiel was solid after joining the rotation from the June F.A. draft.

Middle Relief
Gary Wilson (1-1 / 4.39 / 1.14)
Carlos Almanzar (0-1 / 4.35 / 1.55)
Dan Miceli (3-2 / 5.09 / 1.53)
Ugueth Urbina (0-0 / 0.00 / 1.50)

Alot of high whips in the middle relievers. Wilson has been solid since joining the bullpen 2 seasons ago, he actually lowered his whip. Miceli needs to bounce back to his form of 1997. Rookies Urbina and Almanzar have high expectations on them. We are going to miss Mike Dyer, who left via free agency.

Set Up
Jon Lieber (2-0 / 3.07 / 0.95)
John Ericks (3-5 / 3.61 / 1.24)

After failing so many times as a starter, and unable to trade him, Lieber looks like he might have found a spot as a set up man. Ericks is just nails for us in the 8th. IF we can get to the 8th with a lead, we have a good chance of winning the game.

Closer
Jason Christiansen (6-8 / 4.31 / 1.84 / 32 saves)

Still blows to many saves. But he looks like he is starting to regain his form that he showed in 1996 when he was putting up lights out numbers until injury shelved him for the rest of the year. We are hoping for continued improvement.

Owner expects .500 ball for the year. I am hoping for .500 ball myself. We start behind the 8 ball though, as Dye and Wright are already injured. I am hoping this is not a sign of things to come, or we just might have to blow this team up.

[Koprnkc]

Opening month of the season we go 13-12, tied for first place with 2 other teams.

April's Spotlight Player: Rick Ankiel 3-0 / 2.01 / 1.05


We get SP Jamey Wright back, and send SP Rocky Coppinger back down to AAA.

We get OF Jermaine Dye back, and place SS Benji Gil who suffers torn ankle ligaments, and is out for 4 weeks on the 15 day D.L.

We then get word that Jose Cruz has suffered damage to his thumb ligaments, as a result of playing to much Playstation, and have to place him on the 15 day D.L.

We started off hot, but cooled off the latter part of the month. We need to get more consistant. The division is wide open, waiting for a team to step up and take control.

[Koprnkc]

We catch fire in the month of May, going 21-8, jumping out to a 2 game lead over the Houston Astros.

May's Spotlight Player: Carlos Guillen .305 / 0 / 9


No Roster moves.

Team is pitching and hitting right now, but Houston is keeping up the pressure.

[Junior19]

Glad to see this still going - I'll be following along with the KC thread.

[Powderguy]

GL man, this may be your season. Enjoying reading this

[Koprnkc]

Originally Posted by Junior19

Glad to see this still going - I'll be following along with the KC thread.

Thanks for the kind words. Alot going on, but the dynasty will not until we get a champion, or to present day.

[Koprnkc]

Originally Posted by Powderguy

GL man, this may be your season. Enjoying reading this

Yep, thinking last seasons swoon may help for the stretch run as there are several stud arms in the upcoming draft.

[Koprnkc]

We keep up our winning ways, going 16-9 in the month of June, stretching our lead out to 6 games over the Astros.

June's Spotlight Player: Jason Varitek .321 / 3 / 17


We loss RF Jermaine Dye for 5 weeks due to a strained groin. We call 3B Ryan Minor to take his roster spot.

The team is hitting on all cyclinders right now, and with the draft we should get a top arm to help the rotation.