28 and beyond - a pinstriped dynasty

[BaronA]

Johnson and Tex should fit nicely in your 4-5 hole next year. Where did Johnson come from? ha

[Mister_G]

Originally Posted by BaronA

Johnson and Tex should fit nicely in your 4-5 hole next year. Where did Johnson come from? ha

He just had a good season in 2013 in AAA. He had a few at-bats with the big club when the rosters got expanded so I put him on the roster for 2014 and the AI started him. All of a sudden hes hitting homers like crazy

[Mister_G]

December 1, 2014

Well the World Series really went down to the wire as the Brewers won their first title in the 7th game, a 12-inning thriller. First Baseman Hunter Morris was named World Series MVP. Congrats to the Brew Crew, but hopefully we can be there next season.

So arbitration came and went and the only player I offered a deal to was Michael Pineda. I know Pineda has shown zero signs in the past two years that he will be able to recover from injury and turn into the stud prospect he once was, but I'm going to give him one more chance. He was consistently mediocre the whole season, which basically made him our best pitcher. Speaking of pitching, I've had preliminary talks with the Reds about acquiring Mat Latos. Latos was great last season, but Cincy is near the bottom of the league attendance and has been very disappointing the past two years. With Latos only having one or two more seasons until he becomes a free agent I guess they'd be willing to part with him for the right package of prospects. It will take a lot, but at this point I am desperate for starting pitching, and there seems to be no number one guys on the free agent market.

Free agency has officially started, and I basically let everyone go, and that includes guys like David Robertson and Brett Gardner. I'm looking to get another starting outfielder as well as a shortstop to replace Jeter, unless I can bring him back. I also need to fill out the pen. I'll likely call up Alan Hardy to take one of those spots, he has been stellar in triple-A since we traded for him. Hal is giving me upwards of $250 million to play with so I should be able to restock the roster.

In other news, Albert Pujols received his fourth MVP and first with the Angels while Bryce Harper was named NL MVP and his teammate Stephen Strasburg received his second consecutive Cy Young Award, barely edging out Milwaukee ace Yovani Gallardo. On our end Cody Johnson was predictably named AL Rookie of The Year and Tex earned his 6th Gold Glove at first.



2014 Season Awards
AL MVP - LAA 1B Albert Pujols (.308/.403/.585, 43 HR, 129 RBI, 8 SB in 600 AB)
NL MVP - WAS LF Bryce Harper (.336/.422/.649, 41 HR, 116 RBI, 23 SB in 599 AB)
AL CY - SEA SP Felix Hernandez (16-12, 2.71 ERA, 229 K, 61 BB in 249.1 IP)
NL CY - WAS SP Stephen Strasburg (15-6, 2.55 ERA, 268 K, 39 BB in 219 IP)
AL ROTY - NYY LF Cody Johnson (.266/.350/.550, 43 HR, 104 RBI, 8 SB in 580 AB)
NL ROTY - MIA CF Chrisitan Yelich (.300/.371/.444, 15 HR, 77 RBI, 31 SB in 626 AB)
AL MOTY - BAL MA Luis Ortiz (97-65, AL Pennant)
NL MOTY - WAS MA Davey Johnson (104-58, NLCS)

Notes
November 2, 2014 - BAL CF Adam Jones (.274 BA, 28 HR, 77 RBI in 514 AB) sprains his ankle, will miss remainder of WS
November 5, 2014 - MIL defeats BAL 4-3 in WS, 1B Hunter Morris named WS MVP
November 7, 2014 - LAA fires MA Mike Scioscia
November 7, 2014 - NYM fire GM Ted Simmons and MA Terry Collins
November 8, 2014 - CHC fire GM Jed Hoyer
November 24, 2014 - CHC trades RF Corey Hart (.242 BA, 25 HR, 63 RBI in 418 AB) and $3 million to MIL for CF Logan Schafer
November 24, 2014 - TAM deals CL Jake McGee (4-7, 38 SV, 4.59 ERA) and $2.8 million to MIA for Minor League SP Austin Brice and Minor League 2B Rehiner Cordova

[Mister_G]

January 1, 2015

The off-season is off to a hot start, and I'm the one who started it. First day of the month I pulled off a trade for Mat Latos. As I mentioned earlier, the Reds are having some minor financial troubles and I guess they thought that they would' be able to afford Latos when he bedame a free agent so they traded him to us for a major haul of prospects. Yes I had to trade Angelo Gumbs and Dante Bichette Jr., along with Joba Chamberlain, but I'm all right with that. Joba struggled last year, while Gumbs spot on the big club is blocked by Cano, and I felt Bichette, a former 1st round pick of ours, was expendable due to the fact that we have a good deal of prospects at the hot corner, specifically Joe DeCarlo, Cody Gunter and Nate Mondou. Latos has been a stud pitcher with no help for his entire career. The 27-year old is 64-55 on his career with a 3.45 ERA. Last season he went 11-13 with a career-best 3.10 ERA in Cincinnati.



I also brought back Derek Jeter for one more year at $1 million. He really did have an awful season in 2014, but his leadership is key and myself and ownership just couldn't stand the possibility of seeing him retire elsewhere. I also signed Russell Martin to start at catcher. He didn't hit well last season in Pittsburgh, but the current and former Yankee has a hell of an arm behind the plate and will be needed until Gary Sanchez is ready for the bigs.

Our final signing so far this off-season was Coco Crisp. The man named after a breakfast cereal batted .228 last season with 12 homers and 41 stolen bases. Certainly not a superb stat-line, but we could use the speed and defense in the outfield. We got him for 2-years at $9.5 million. The second year is worth $5 million but relies upon Crisp getting 500 plate appearances.

I'm still looking to make plenty of moves, specifically we need to fill out the bullpen, get another shortstop and another outfielder, who can possibly start, though I plan on going with Zoilo Almonte, Crisp and Cruz in the outfield with Cody Johnson at the DH. Currently I have an offer out to Rafael Soriano, the former Yankee, to be our closer and am looking at a number of shortstops including Jed Lowrie and Ben Zobrist.

Notes
December 8, 2014 - PIT trades LF Starling Marte (.254 BA, 21 HR, 84 RBI) and player to be named later to LAA for RF Kole Calhoun
December 9, 2014 - BOS signs SP Colby Lewis (11-10, 3.45 ERA with STL) to 2-year deal potentially worth $37 million
December 10, 2014 - NYM sign CF Melky Cabrera (.304 BA, 11 HR, 46 RBI with TOR) to 5-year, $84 million contract
December 10, 2014 - BOS inks 2B Asdrubal Cabrera (.294 BA, 11 HR, 47 RBI with SFO) to 3-year, $41.4 million contract
December 12, 2014 - CWS sign 3B Chase Headley (.293 BA, 10 HR, 61 RBI with ATL) to $63.2 million deal
December 12, 2014 - CWS sign 3B Pablo Sandoval (.308 BA, 11 HR, 69 RBI) to 5-year, $99 million contract and plan to move him to 1B
December 14, 2014 - MIL inks SP Yovani Gallardo (21-9, 2.48 ERA) to 5-year, $85 million extension
December 16, 2014 - TOR signs SP Ryan Dempster (11-10, 4.32 ERA with BOS) to 2-year, $33.6 million contract
December 17, 2014 - TAM signs 1B Victor Martinez (.281 BA, 21 HR, 74 RBI with OAK) to 1-year $17.6 million deal with vesting option for year two
December 19, 2014 - TOR inks CL Brian Wilson (4-7, 38 SV, 3.39 ERA with SEA) to 3-year, $25.7 million contract
December 21, 2014 - HOU deals LF Robbie Grossman (.270 BA, 8 HR, 46 RBI) to CLE for two Minor Leaguers
December 23, 2014 - PIT trades MR Mark Melancon (2-6, 14 SV, 2.99 ERA) and cash to BAL in exchange for Minor League SS Luis Sardinas
December 23, 2014 - PIT trades 2B Neil Walker (.260 BA, 6 HR, 43 RBI in 439 AB) to LAD for SP Hyun-Jin Ryu
December 24, 2014 - MIA trades CL Mike Dunn (5-6, 36 SV, 4.44 ERA) to BAL for Minor League Catcher Tomas Nido
December 31, 2014 - COL agrees to terms with LF Josh Willingham (.240 BA, 35 HR, 92 RBI in 487 AB) on 3-year, $50.8 million contract, with the last year dependent on plate appearances

[Mister_G]

February 1, 2015

Our team is really coming together now. After trading for Mat Latos we had to provide some support in the bullpen. We did so by signing two veteran relievers. The first was Rafael Soriano, who last played for the Yankees in 2012 when he saved 42 games. Soriano will be the closer to start this season and we'll be paying him $5.5 million in each of the next two seasons. The 35-year old spent the last two years in Washington as the setup man for the Nats. Joakim Soria was the second reliever we signed to fill the pen. He had an awful year in Texas in 2014, but was consistent as the closer for Kansas City from 2007-2011, and we got him on the cheap.

Next up was shortstop Stephen Drew. Drew played last season in Detroit where he batted .242 with 8 home runs and 34 RBI in 285 at-bats. He's terrific defensively and will likely start for most of the season based on how Derek played last year. We signed him for just one year at $1.25 million. We have some prospects at short that will hopefully develop quickly, so we went with the short-term contract. Also, there wasn't too much out there in free agency this season.

Finally, I've got a 2-year, $13 million offer out there for Alex Rios. The 2-time All-Star still has a great arm and a live bat. He hit .258 with an OBP of .310, 15 HR, 78 RBI and 19 SB last season with the White Sox. If Rios accepts this deal, I'm likely done in free agency, unless a quality lefty starter is willing to sign a minor league deal.

In other news, the 2015 Hall of Fame Ballots were releases, and we'll have 4 legends enter the hall in July, including 3 first-ballot players; Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Mike Piazza. Jeff Bagwell just missed out with 68.4% of the vote on his 5th try, while Gary Sheffield highlighted the remainder of the players who made their first appearance on the ballot. Sadly, Don Mattingly only received 16% of the vote on his 15th try, so the former Yankee will not make it in.

By the way, I've made the decision, Joe Girardi gets one more year to turn it around. It's just very difficult to can the guy who won you your last World Series.

Notes
January 2, 2015 - CHC signs CL Rafael Betancourt (5-5, 29 SV, 3.45 ERA with COL) to 2-year, $17.2 million deal
January 8, 2015 - CWS ink SS Jed Lowrie (.264 BA, 12 HR, 51 RBI in 402 AB with OAK) to 3-year, $34.5 million deal
January 24, 2015 - LAD sign SP Clayton Richard (12-9, 4.16 ERA with CIN) to 4-year, $49.6 million contract
January 28, 2015 - HOU signs SP Homer Bailey (12-11, 4.52 ERA with CIN) to 7-year, $98.8 million contract

[Mister_G]

March 1, 2015

Looks like our lineup is set. Just signed free agent Alex Rios to a 2-year, $13 million deal. Rios is a career .275 hitter who has been consistent throughout his time in the bigs. We're hoping he can try to imitate his 2012 season when he batted .304 with 25 jacks and 91 RBI, but I'll settle for the 2-win player he's been the past two seasons. Barring any unexpected breakout spring trainings we have our roster.

Joe wants to go with the following lineup most of the time, while surprisingly trying out Mark Montgomery in the closer role…



I'm still pretty worried about Paul Maholm. Coming back from Tommy John surgery is serious business. I may go after Wandy Rodriguez for that final spot in the rotation if Maholm can't recover. A veteran lefty like Rodriguez would be preferable to Brett Marshall if we have to go that route. Anyway, Spring Training will be here in no time.

Notes
February 4, 2015 - BOS inks CL Huston Street (6-13, 28 SV, 4.46 ERA with SDG) to 3-year, $8.8 million deal
February 5, 2015 - CLE signs SP Jon Lester (10-14, 6.01 ERA with BOS) to 2-year, $12.4 million deal
February 7, 2015 - LAA signs SS Ben Zobrist (.222 BA, 6 HR, 38 RBI in 343 AB with TAM) to 2-year, $15 million deal
February 10, 2015 - PIT inks MR Mike Adams (3-1, SV, 3.13 ERA with SFO) to 2-year, $17.8 million contract
February 10, 2015 - ARZ signs CL Casey Janssen (2-3, 40 SV, 2.96 ERA with TOR) to 3-year, $46.7 million contract
February 10, 2015 - LAA signs MR David Robertson (8-9, 23 SV, 4.57 ERA with NYY) to 3-year, $32.2 million contract
February 12, 2015 - STL inks LF Jason Kubel (.236 BA, 14 HR, 46 RBI in 267 AB with NYY) to 2-year, $11.4 million deal
February 13, 2015 - CHC signs CL Joe Nathan (5-2, 21 SV, 3.28 ERA) to $15 million extension
February 24, 2015 - MIN signs CL Octavio Dotel (10-4, 32 SV, 2.06 ERA with HOU) to 1-year, $4.8 million deal
February 27, 2015 - MIL inks RF Delmon Young (.271 BA, 22 HR, 83 RBI in 550 AB with SEA) to 2-year, $9.9 million deal

[Mister_G]

April 1, 2015

A terrific spring for the Yanks has my expectations steadily rising. We went 19-4 during spring training, the best in the bigs. Our pitching was fantastic as David Phelps and Preston Claiborne were the only Yankees with an ERA above 4.00. Seeing as neither were likely to make the team anyway, it's a very encouraging stat. In terms of pitching though, I've decided to go with newly signed Wandy Rodriguez over Paul Maholm to start the season. Maholm will have to attempt to continue his rehab from Tommy John in the minors. Based on all of our injuries last year, however, I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a start with the big club in 2015.

Our lineup was potent as well, although A-Rod and Jeter struggled. That's something I expected, but A-Rod isn't going to accept being demoted and with Jeter, I think he can still contribute. Hector Sanchez also performed admirably, and will take Austin Romine's spot as the second catcher on the roster.

I'm ready to put 2014 behind me and move forward with this squad. Recently, Baseball America ranked us as having the 13th best farm system in baseball with 18-year old Dutch Sortstop Felipe Ewijk ranking as the 7th best prospect overall. Here's a look at the pre-season predictions, which are again very favorable and have us tops in the AL East…




Notes
March 3, 2015 - CLE signs LF Jonny Gomes (.294 BA, 19 HR, 53 RBI in 316 AB with BOS) to 2-year, $14.9 million deal
March 4, 2015 - LAD sign SP Tom Gorzelanny (11-7, 4.02 ERA with MIL) to 2-year, $9.7 million deal
March 8, 2015 - MIA inks SP Chad Billingsley (4-5, 5.06 ERA with LAD) to 3-year, $15.7 million deal
March 13, 2015 - KAN trades 1B Billy Butler (.341 BA, 21 HR, 105 RBI in 590 AB) to SFO for LF Shin-Soo Choo (.242 BA, 8 HR, 63 RBI in 550 AB), Minor League 2B Brett Boswell and $2.1 million
March 14, 2015 - TAM SP Jeremy Hellickson (16-8, 3.67 ERA) suffers a partial labrum tear and will miss 3 months
March 15, 2015 - ARZ RF Gerardo Parra (.292 BA, 8 HR, 50 RBI in 479 AB) breaks right kneecap, will be sidelined for 6 months
March 16, 2015 - SFO sign CL Sergio Romo (5-2, 44 SV, 1.48 ERA) to 3-year, $40.5 million extension
March 24, 2015 - MIL re-signs 3B Aramis Ramirez (.280 BA, 17 HR, 57 RBI in 425 AB) to 3-year, $36.7 million contract