Worst to First - The Sequel

[NYY #23]

The Monks would even up the series at two games apiece with a 9-3 blowout win in Game 4. Cam Gross would pick up the win today with 5 2/3 innings pitched, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. Roland Fuller would pitch 2 1/3 shutout innings in relief, while Ben Patrick would allow a run in the ninth.

As the third catcher on the playoff roster Trent Carroll wasn't expecting much playing time. He's made just 5 starts in the majors, and picked up just 3 hits. He made his postseason debut yesterday with a pinch hit RBI double, and his second at-bat came in the seventh inning today where he hit a home run. His third at-bat came in the ninth when he hit a two run homer. It's a day that Carroll will never forget.

Vincent Dauphin would add a three run homer for the Monks, while Pat Thompson would add a solo shot.

[NYY #23]

The Monks were trailing the Dodgers 2-0 heading into the third inning when Vincent Dauphin and Alberto Vazquez led off the inning with back to back singles. An RBI double by Pedro Torres would cut the Dodgers lead in half, while a passed ball would tie the game, and an RBI single by Pat Thompson would give the Monks a 3-2 lead.

Lawrence Sutton would pick up an RBI single, Pat Thompson would score on a wild pitch, and Bryce Frederick would hit a two run homer before the third inning was over and the Monks would take a 6-2 lead.

Eddy Cook would struggle on the mound tonight though, giving up 4 runs in 4 innings, but the Monks would build enough of a cushion that our bullpen was able to hold on. Eddie Hill would pitch 3 scoreless innings out of the pen to pick up the win while Cristo Hernandez would pick up his fourth save to preserve the Monks 7-5 win.

With a 3-2 series lead the Monks need just one more win to win our first World Series title.

[NYY #23]

It would only be fitting for a Game 7 after the Dodgers win Game 6 by a score of 8-7. It's been a hard fought series that continues to go back and forth. The Monks would get decent starting pitching from Cipriano Castillo, who allowed 3 runs in 4 2/3 innings. His outing was too short though, and exposed the Monks' underbelly of the playoffs, our bullpen. Eddie Hill would allow 2 runs in 2 innings tonight, and Ray Jackson would allow 3 runs in 2/3 of an inning to hopefully finish the postseason with a 13.50 ERA. If we need him for Game 7 we're probably not going to win it all. It's a shame he's struggled so much in the playoffs though, because he was good in the regular season.

The Monks would go deep three times today with Julio Hernandez hitting a three run homer, Pat Thompson hitting a two run homer, and Lawrence Sutton hitting a solo homer.

It's time for a winner take all Game 7 tomorrow in San Antonio.

[NYY #23]

I didn't have too much confidence about Cam Gross at the start of the series, and definitely felt a little bit of dread heading in to Game 7 with him making a start in a winner take all game. My only consolation was that I didn't expect to win it all this year, and there is a part of me that would like to stick around San Antonio to see how things turn out. Although win or lose I will be back in San Antonio next year because I haven't met all of my goals that I've outlined.

But I don't want to get ahead of myself, we need to talk about Game 7 first, and I have to apologize to Gross for not having faith in him, because tonight he was fantastic. Gross would turn in six shutout innings while striking out 6 and allowing just three hits. He did everything he could to put the Monks in a position to win the game and the series.

Unfortunately for Gross and the Monks Ramon Gonzalez would prove just as dominant for the Dodgers and the game would head into the seventh inning scoreless. Ben Patrick would come on to pitch a scoreless seventh, and scoreless eighth.

With one out in the bottom of the eighth Bryce Frederick would hit a solo homer to give the Monks a 1-0 lead. That lead wouldn't last long though, with Enrique Gonzalez leading off the ninth inning with a solo homer off Cristo Hernandez off the Dodgers.

Game 7 would go to the bottom of the ninth tied at 1 run apiece. With one out in the inning Pedro Torres would hit a double to give the Monks hope. That would be followed by a walk to Pat Thompson, strikeout by Lawrence Sutton, and walk to Mauricio Maio. With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth with the score tied at one in Game 7 of the World Series Julio Hernandez would step to the plate.

Foul ball….foul ball…..foul ball…..foul ball…..foul ball…..and then a walk off single that would capture the World Series for the Monks!! What a great and exhausting series for the Monks.

[illeracula]

What a great series. That final at-bat had to be intense. Congrats on the win.

Who won the MVP of the series?
Pedro Torres wasn't mentioned much in the final 7 games, did the Dodger pitching have his number?

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by illeracula

What a great series. That final at-bat had to be intense. Congrats on the win.

Who won the MVP of the series?
Pedro Torres wasn't mentioned much in the final 7 games, did the Dodger pitching have his number?

Thank you! This one surprised me because I didn't think we were there just yet, but I'm happy.

MVP of the series went to Bryce Frederick, who hit .400 with 3 home runs and 6 RBI. Torres was pretty quiet in the World Series hitting .267 with no home runs and 4 RBI. He finished the postseason with 6 homers and 19 RBI while hitting .325.

Last year he hit .368 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI, so he seems to like the postseason spotlight.

[mirrf]

Bump

[mirrf]

Originally Posted by mirrf

Bump

Bump #2

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by mirrf

Bump #2

It's hard to believe that it's been a month. I wish I had a good excuse, but it's been a bunch of little things that seem to have kept me busy at night.

I know after the World Series won I upgraded to 18, but haven't moved forward yet. I'll make my best effort to get moving on this again this week though.

Thanks for bumping, and sorry for the long delay.

[mirrf]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

It's hard to believe that it's been a month. I wish I had a good excuse, but it's been a bunch of little things that seem to have kept me busy at night.

I know after the World Series won I upgraded to 18, but haven't moved forward yet. I'll make my best effort to get moving on this again this week though.

Thanks for bumping, and sorry for the long delay.

Take your time, I'm not trying to pester you. I'm only bumping this because I love following along.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by mirrf

Take your time, I'm not trying to pester you. I'm only bumping this because I love following along.

Oh, I didn't think you were trying to pester me. I think I was mostly amazed at how quickly a month had past. I've been wanting to get back to this though, and see how the Monks did with their follow-up season.

[NYY #23]

As we head into the offseason with the Monks after our World Series victory I wanted to check in on my original goals for when I took over the franchise:

- Move up at least one position on all-time winning percentage (currently that requires higher than .451 winning percentage)

While the Monks have been on the way up and have won 323 games since I arrived, the New Orleans Gators have been going in the wrong direction and have won just 274 games to push the Monks past the Gators on the list of all-time winning percentages.

- Get out of last place in playoff appearances (currently need to move from 1 to 5)

The Monks have now been to the playoffs 3 times, and need to head to the playoffs two more years while either the Mets or Gators needing to sit home. Both the Mets and Gators had losing years this season.

- Win World Series

This is now complete.

-Do this all without signing any major free agents (I'll go with no
player that will require a draft pick, no contract greater than $10
million)

I suppose with winning the World Series I can say this is complete now too.

So it looks like I'll be back in San Antonio for the next two years where we'll hopefully return to the playoffs both years. I wasn't expecting a World Series win just yet, but that means I'll get to enjoy my remaining time in San Antonio without a lot of pressure.

I expect this to be a quiet offseason for the Monks.

San Antonio Monks - 59-103 (.364) 45 GB
2060 - San Antonio Monks - 57-105 (.352) 47 GB (Season Score - 8)
2061 - San Antonio Monks - 76-86 (.469) 24 GB (Season Score - 368)
2062 - San Antonio Monks - 102-60 (.630) 1 GB, Lost Wild Card Series 3-2 to Carolina Knights (Season Score - 672)
2063 - San Antonio Monks - 88-75 (.540) - GB, Defeated Cleveland Indians 4-3 in Division Series, Defeated Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in LCS, Defeated Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 in World Series, Season Score - 969)

[NYY #23]

After winning the World Series the Monks were rewarded by a Gold Glove by Pedro Torres at first base, and that was it. Maybe that will provide us with a little bit of motivation for our young team heading into the 2064 season.

I don't want to be overconfident heading into the season, but I feel good about the team, and don't think we have too many holes. Our owner would like us to upgrade the shortstop position. I don't think Baltesar Gonzalez had a terrible season though, hitting .227 with 19 home runs and 58 RBI with a WAR of 2.3. We don't have a great option internally that is close to being ready.

That led to a trade with the Red Sox, sending Gonzalez along with 3B Vincent Dauphin (.234 in 83 games) and 19 year old centerfielder Jarrod Woods, our second round pick last year to acquire 29 year old Paterno Lita.

We also added a little bit of depth with the signing of 30 year old Doug Raymond to a one year $1.4 million contract. Raymond is looking to return from an injury plagued season with a one year contract to prove his worth.

Lita and Raymond are just about complete opposites. Lita hit .318 last year with a career high 9 home runs and 75 RBI, while Raymond hit .212 with 26 homers and 67 RBI. Lita is fast, Raymond is not. Lita is the likely starter, although there is room on the team for both.

[NYY #23]

Three players were elected to the Hall of Fame this year, bringing the total of Hall of Famers up to 51.



First up is closer James Murphy who was inducted into the Hall of Fame with 89.7% of the vote in his first year of eligibility. Murphy had a career record of 73-80 with 466 saves and a 2.53 ERA. A four time All-Star, Murphy won one Reliever of the Year Award during his career.



Since first appearing on the ballot in 2059 Rob Whitfield has seen his vote totals steadily increase. Last year with 72.6% of the vote it seemed inevitable that Whitfield would enter the Hall of Fame, and this year that happened, although with a surprising total of 85.6%. Whitfield was 165-103 during his career with a 2.97 ERA, striking out 2179 batters in 2506 1/3 innings. Whitfield won both a Cy Young Award and MVP during his 2048 campaign when he went 23-4 with a 2.19 ERA. I acquire Whitfield when I was with the Kodiaks, sending shortstop Gabriel Cook in exchange for Whitfield. Cook would finished with a career WAR of 16.4, while Whitfield helped us win the World Series in 2045 and 2046.



Then finally RF Mark Graves was elected to the Hall of Fame in his second year of eligibility. A .328 career hitter, Graves hit 275 with 1324 RBI while going to 7 All-Star Games, winning four Silver Slugger Awards, and winning one Championship.

CL James Murphy 89.7 (1st year) Inducted HOF
SP Rob Whitfield 85.6 (6th year) Inducted HOF
RF Mark Graves 79.5 (2nd year) Inducted HOF
RF Francisco Burgos 42.9 (5th year)
1B Ben Jones 29.2 (1st year)
SP Ipe Bekema 22.4 (3rd year)
RP Luis Antonio Sánchez 20.8 (1st year)
C Wayne Mathews 20.2 (3rd year)
C Manuel Batista 17.6 (5th year)
CL Myron Martin 13.8 (7th year)
CL Tynan Velásquez 13.1 (3rd year)
CL Bill Olson 12.5 (10th year) Dropped
SS José Salas 12.5 (1st year)
RF Gilberto Bruno 10.6 (4th year)
1B Javier Ledezma 10.6 (2nd year)
SP John Thomas 9.6 (2nd year)
SP Nick Seaton 9.3 (9th year)
CF Bill Dunbar 8.3 (2nd year)
SS Darren Kop 7.1 (1st year)
SS Carroll Henley 5.8 (1st year)
C Silas Miller 5.4 (5th year)
SP Clayton Kline 5.1 (1st year)

[NYY #23]

Heading into Spring Training the Monks made one final move, signing left fielder Andrew Ayers to a one year $780,000 contract. We're buying low on Ayers after he hit .171 with 12 home runs last year. Ayers hit .271 with 30 home runs just two years ago, and I believe a combination of bad luck and an injury in spring training set him back last year, but the cost is low regardless. Perhaps the only casualty was Pedro Barron, who we lost trying to pass through waivers. The 27 year old hit .242 with 8 home runs last year in 128 at-bats.

With an 18-12 record during Spring Training I believe we're ready to defend our title.

[NYY #23]

The Monks started off the season with a 18-6 month, just one game out of first place. Overall things are going well, and the Monks are on track to make the playoffs.

Paterno Lita has done well at shortstop so far hitting .315. His competition for the job Doug Raymond slid over to second base and is hitting .173 with 6 home runs and 16 RBI while allowing Alberto Vazquez to take over at DH. Vazquez is hitting .303 with 3 home runs and 11 RBI so far.

The other new addition isn't doing as well, as Andrew Ayers is hitting just .091. Maybe I'm wrong and he's no longer capable of playing in the majors. We'll give him a little while longer, but he doesn't have too long of leash with Ellis Price hitting very well in AAA.

[NYY #23]

I've been sitting on this post for the past few days, wanting to make sure I made the right choice before sharing. I feel like I'm making the right decision now, and ready to share. I've come to the realization that I'm both enjoying this league, and dreading what comes next. I've been doing this for a long time, and I don't know if I'm ready to start over with another team. It's been 31 teams now after the Monks won the World Series, and to be honest I'm just not looking forward to the 32nd team. Maybe there is only so much starting over you can take, and I've really been doing this for over seven years if you include the first dynasty attempt. It seems harder and harder with the league entirely fictional too to just pick up and start over with a new team.

So having said that I also can say that I also really enjoy this league, and this team as well. The Monks are a young team, a fun team, and for the time being a cheap team. That obviously won't last, and there will be some difficult decisions that have to be made on who to keep, who to let go, and who to sign to extensions. Most of those decisions are the type of decisions I'm not used to having to make, not really caring about the aftermath. It's no big deal to trade away those last few top prospects for that final piece or two because I won't be there when it matters. Figuring out how to stay under budget and keep the young stars together is usually someone else's problem as long as I win that World Series.

In short, a whole other set of challenges. I've set some teams up really well for after I leave, and others haven't been as lucky. For the near future the Monks should be in good shape, and I really want to stick around San Antonio longer. Maybe that'll be another few years, maybe another twenty years, I really don't have a plan, and really just want to wing it for a while in San Antonio and see what the aftermath brings.

At this point I feel like I've done everything I've set out to accomplish with this dynasty, and maybe it's just time to end it. I probably should have done that before the season began, but that's ok, it's close enough. Even though there is a part of me that would have liked to win with all of the teams, I'm happy with 31, and ready to move on.

I can't promise that I won't change my mind at some point and want to resume, only that for now I'm more excited to continue with the Monks and could use at least some time away. Because of that I'll make a copy of the league "just in case" I get the urge to pick this back up and try and take the Gators to the World Series. I'll plan on continuing with the Monks in a new thread and continuing there.

So having said all that, I want to thank everyone for following along, commenting, and giving me motivation to keep on going throughout all the years. It's been more fun than I could have imagined when I began, and I still find it hard to believe how invested in "fictional players" I've gotten through this dynasty. From Cano to Shufflebottom to Sisto, and many others in between. So thanks again to everyone, and hopefully you'll continue to follow along as I continue my adventures in San Antonio here.

[NYY #23]

If you asked me three months ago the odds of picking of picking this back up again I would have said less than 1%. But I did keep a clean copy of the league file just in case, knowing there was a chance, however small. I have to admit that the more time away the more I've felt like I've left things undone, and started to think it's only five teams. But I haven't really had the urge to react until one day when I just got a horrible trade offer.

Usually I just hit decline and move on when I get a horrible offer, but for whatever reason I took a closer look. I'd be giving up two top prospects, and getting back an overpriced, over the hill scrub. I thought wow, that would wreck our future, but it got me thinking.

What if you couldn't say no. What if you had to accept the trade being offered no matter what. No substitutions, no adding a prospect to even things out, you just had to accept the offer and deal with the consequences. That seemed like it would be the potential for a good equalizer. So I gave it a shot, and tried things out. I'll sometimes use WTF as an abbreviation for Worst to First, but I was thinking WTF for a whole other reason. It was both the worst thing ever, but also somewhat satisfying in a strange and unusual way.

You had to really work to improve the team, but you had to either be careful, or lucky. Acquire a top prospect and someone is going to come calling with an offer you can't refuse. After a few of those offers you can't refuse you can really suffer. For a while things would go well, then the hammer would drop. So I decided to add somewhat of a safety valve. Year 1 I could mark one player as untouchable, and each year I could mark one additional player untouchable.

If you bet right you can slowly build a core, but if you bet wrong and that player turns into a bust then you are out of luck. In doing some testing I have to admit I was impressed by some of the trades the AI made. They weren't afraid to poach my best prospects, or afraid to dump high priced veterans on me. It presented a new kind of challenge which was refreshing.

I do feel compelled to say that while there are five teams I haven't won a World Series with, I'm only committing to one of those teams now. Beyond that who knows. I'll cross that bridge once the Gators win a World Series. Hopefully this isn't a mistake, but at least now I feel good about starting this up again.

[NYY #23]

Let's meet Jyotirbhaga Sourabh, the top prospect in the New Orleans Gators organization. He's 23 years old, the #15 prospect in baseball, and the only player in the Gators' organization who is listed as untouchable. We're counting on him being the one building block that we're assured of keeping. Since I ended previously in May I'm going to pick up in May with the Gators after moving through November through May with the following transactions taking place:

1) The Reds sent 29 year old Jeff Stone and got back 29 year old Andy Webb (5-12, 6.54) and 19 year old right fielder Bill Holman. At the major league level we saw a gain of .8 WAR. However, we just traded away the 8th overall pick of the 2063 for a 29 year old backup catcher.

2) Next up was the Tigers sending 25 year old first baseman who hit .275 with 8 home runs and 27 RBI and a WAR of 1.7. Leaving New Orleans was 26 year old first baseman Juan Perez (.251, 14 HR, 1.1 WAR) along with 23 year old catcher Sergio Beltran, our first round pick of the 2061 draft. It was a lose-lose deal.

3) Then the Dodgers got in on the action sending 22 year old minor league catcher Joe Wolfe in exchange for 23 year old center fielder David Catron. Neither really is a prospect, so this one wasn't as bad as the previous two.

4) We tried to counter those moves with some free agent signings, although we were either outbid or the player wasn't interested in joining the Gators for our top 5 targets. So we welcomed 2B Hector Martinez (0.2 WAR, 1 year $890,000), 2B Norberto Gonzalez (-0.1 WAR, $1,3 million), and closer Pedro Navarro (2.1 WAR, $21 million). Yes, our big acquisition was a closer, but that was the only decent player who wanted anything to do with New Orleans.

5) Freddy Trevino became the latest member of the Gators after he hit .273 with 7 home runs and 31 RBI and a WAR of 0.5 for the Rays last year, and he was sent to New Orleans for 25 year old LF Ray Willis (-0.4 WAR) and 20 year old shortstop prospect Jamie Hutchence.

6) 25 year old 1B Bill Sharp was sent to the White Sox in exchange for 24 year old outfielder Cody Rich in another trade I didn't like.

7) In order to trim our roster down for the regular season we needed to waive a few players. That led to the loss of catcher Jacob MacSporran and shortstop Pedro Gallo on waivers.

----

Other than dreading those personal messages that could be trade proposals the Gators headed into Spring Training, and went 21-9, despite losing the only guy we can definitely keep (Jyortibhaga Sourabh) to a forearm injury that will have him out for just shy of three months.

The Gators started the season with a 12-12 record, much better than expected. One of the players doing much better than expected was Jeff Stone, who was hitting .394 with 6 home runs. Our goal is to acquire talent when we're ready to win, and we're going the wrong way so far. I'm not afraid to trade our best hitter if he can get us back someone decent, so we shipped off Stone and minor league pitcher Rodrigo Garcia to the Red Sox.

Coming back to New Orleans was a pair of similar 24 year old pitchers Brayden Dunshea and Alfredo Ruiz. Both are former top prospects who's shine has worn off. They're pitching in the majors, but not necessarily succeeding in the majors. They may actually be nothing more than bullpen arms, but we'll roll the dice hoping one turns into a legitimate major league starter.

[NYY #23]

The great unknown in New Orleans is when someone is going to come calling with a trade offer, but our minor league system doesn't have a lot of talent currently. Our young talent was further depleted after making a mistake. So despite starting the season better than expected with a 22-21 record I wanted to bring some young talent to the team and was willing to trade perhaps our most valuable commodity, SP Alex Terry. The 27 year old Terry (7-1, 1.53), 29 year old Cesar Flores (2-4, 5.54 ERA), and 25 year old first baseman Dave Gill (.295, 5 HR, 15 RBI) were traded to the Baltimore Orioles.

Coming back to New Orleans was 22 year old SP George Campbell (13th ranked prospect), 22 year old SP Barrett Lawrence (#51 prospect), 22 year old SP Jose Suarez (#21 prospect), and 22 year old LF Mike Conklin

Former prospect Brayden Dunshea was only with the team for about three weeks, but we lost Dunshea to the Marlins after accidentally waiving and designating for assignment. He was claimed by the Marlins. We also lost 33 year old third baseman Russell Gonzalez to the Royals, although that wasn't a big loss.