Dark Cloud's Moneyball Dynasty

[darkcloud4579]

GAME 1: HARTFORD 4 CINCINNATI 0 (@ Hartford)
GAME 2: HARTFORD 14 CINCINNATI 5
GAME 3: CINCINNATI 2 HARTFORD 1 (@ Cincy)
GAME 4: CINCINNATI 4 HARTFORD 2
GAME 5: HARTFORD 8 CINCINNATI 6
GAME 6: HARTFORD 5 CINCINNATI 3 (@ Hartford)

KNIGHTS WIN SERIES 4 GAMES TO 2

[darkcloud4579]

All in All, it was not a bad year. Am I disappointed that we didn't make it to the Series? Yes. But I think its better for a team like this because we'll bring back our core of players. Hartford won't and even if they do, I doubt they'll be that good again.

So, we're going to be good for the long haul and we've been good for a little while now. You obviously know what our first priority this off-season is - pitching. We have some young talent, a lot of it I protected on the 40-man roster, because they were Rule V eligible otherwise. So, we're going to have to do what we can to test out some of it.

If they're not going to pan out, then we can deal them. But the whole idea of this dynasty is to win with homegrown talent. At the end of the day, we've done a moderately good job of that.

Let's look at homegrown regular starters on the Silverhawks.
Homegrown is defined as players who were in our minor league system prior to playing in the majors.
* - indicates rookie in 2009

*3B Jaime D'Antona, 27
*OF Calvin Beamon, 25
1B Casey Kotchman, 26
*SP Victor Guertin, 26
RP Cory Van Allen, 25
OF Harold Clerk, 24 (1st pick of the 2005 draft)
*OF Moises Molina, 22 (2nd pick of the 2006 draft)

These young players were not bred in the Silverhawks organization, but were acquired via trade:

*2B Kai-Soo Pauk, 24
SS German Sachs, 29
SP Hector Garcia, 27
SP Jared Hughes, 26
SP Andre Alustiza, 21
C Omar Falcon, 27

Now consider that five of our active starters were rookies, that over half of our batting order consists of homegrown players. 13 of the players on our 25-man roster were under age 30 (and there might be more, I didn't look.

Despite all the wacky trades and all that, we're getting closer to where we want to be. I think that's commendable.

WHAT DO YOU READERS THINK?

[darkcloud4579]

D'ANTONA WINS MVP, ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
LAS VEGAS - Silverhawks third baseman Jaime D'Antona had a monster year. The 27-year old rookie won the Rookie of the Year in a landslide, after a monster year hitting 45 HR and 141 RBI - the latter a league lead.

"I've never seen a season like this before," said Team President Dark Cloud. D'Antona was the 2nd round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004. He was dealt from St. Louis to Nevada in a four player deal, for Gary Sheffield and a pitcher. "We had no idea that he'd be this good when we did this deal. It was a money saving deal when we dealt Sheffield. But hey, at least the deal looks more fair now, eh?" said Dark Cloud.

D'Antona is only the third rookie in baseball history to win the MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season, Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners was the last - but we all know he wasn't a real rookie.

"Jaime's season should go down in history. But we believe he's just getting started," said Hawks manager Cito Gaston.

Wes Bankston of the Chicago Cubs won the NL Rookie of the Year.

The NL Champion Cincinnati Reds Ben Johnsonwon the NL MVP, hitting 40 homers and 112 RBIs this season.

The AL Cy Young winner was Adam Adamek of the Hartford Knights, who had a monster year. He was 23-4 with a 2.54 ERA. The NL Cy Young winner was Rafeal Soriano of the Arizona Diamondbacks with 19-4, 2.38 ERA.

[Vris]

Your trades definitely seemed wacky, but if it's working for you (as it must be) then all seems well in Nevada.

[darkcloud4579]

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
We're going after relief pitching. Our starting really isn't all that bad. I mean, our team ERA sucks, to be sure - we were in the bottom half of the league last year. But, I still think that if we can get a relief corps that is halfway decent I figure we'll at least have a shot to do something meaningful next season - and when we get to crunch time we'll be less likely to have as many problems.

PLAYERS WE'RE TARGETING
MR Ugeth Urbina (16 appearances 1-1, 1.13 ERA for MIL/HAR in 2009)

I can't really see anyone that's out there we're willing to overpay for or anything like that and we're really only in need of pitching. So, I'm going to use what we have in the minors and there are plenty of prospects that I'm going to try out - and introduce you all to - in the next few days.

So, we'll see. I'll let you know how the other teams are doing in the off-season.

[darkcloud4579]

I've noticed in the new engine that players are slower to sign, it seemed like in the past I could always get all my signing done well before the 15th stage or so, not so in this version. That's a good thing, I guess that players are around longer and all that.

We've done some interesting things, that should shore up the club. But we haven't tweaked the team too much, so that'll be good for those of you that like a team to stay somewhat the same.

Stay tuned.

[darkcloud4579]

We went after pitchers who were starters that I thought might have a good run as relievers. I also acquired guys down on their luck, who I thought might be able to do well for us - though playing in altitude that might not have been a smart thing.

I also wanted a hitter off the bench who was a vet, that might give me some milage for the rookies/youngins I have.

All in all, I like what we did.

Here goes:

Johana A. Santana - This left-handed ace was under my radar. He gives us a "go-to" guy that we lacked last year in the Hartford series. He was an all-star the past two years with San Francisco and had a breakout year last season at 17-7.

We signed him to a $60m deal over six years. But if he can get us a title, it'll be worth every cent, especially considering how much we've saved over the past few years.

RF Manny Ramirez - At 37, he's getting close to over the hill fast. But I figured that if he can play in a DH role, he'll be fine for 30 HRs and in this league, that goes a long way.

The rest of the players we have are notables, but not notable in this league over the past few years.

MR Kerry Wood (Won a title with Hartford last year)
SP/MR Josh Beckett (Something of a journeyman after a notable career early)

RULE V DRAFT
Nothing notable, other than we had a ton of players that could've been taken. Only one, a 27-year old career minor league pitcher was taken by Washington.

[darkcloud4579]

SILVERHAWKS SIGN JOHAN A. SANTANA
LAS VEGAS - After the best regular season in franchise history, the Silverhawks are going big time in Year 6. The club signed SP Johan A. Santana to a six year deal worth $60.9 million. Santana, 31, is a three-time All-Star. He spent four years with the San Francisco Giants and went 17-7 with a 3.28 ERA and 212 strikeouts.

Santana went 61-36 from 2000-05 with the Minnesota Twins before signing a four year deal with the Giants. He was an All-Star the past two seasons in San Francisco, but said he's "glad to be back in the AL." He immediately became the top starter on the Silverhawks and should provide veteran leadership to the teams rising corps of young pitchers.

"We have an outstanding young crop of hurlers," said Dark Cloud.

HAWKS SIGN BECKETT, WOOD
LAS VEGAS - SP Josh Beckett and Kerry Wood were two of the best young pitchers of the early 2000s. They are now teammates on the Nevada Silverhawks. "We recognize talent when we see it. Though they've had some battles with injury and the like, I'm confident they'll be able to get it together with us," said Dark Cloud.

Beckett, 29, spent the past three seasons with the LA Dodgers. He was a starter for 2 1/2 seasons before moving to the bullpen last year. He was 17-23 with an ERA over 5.00 in his time there. He'll be in the bullpen for the Silverhawks. He's a great strikeout pitcher who I think is a huge upgrade for us," said manager Cito Gaston.

Wood, 32, was one of the most dominant young pitchers in the game during the late 90s. After being released by Washington, he signed was Kansas City last season and was traded at the deadline to the Hartford Knights, who won the World Series. "It'll be interesting getting my ring and being with the team we beat to get it," said Wood. "But maybe it'll serve as a little motivation to my new teammates."

He alternated between the bullpen and the rotation for the Knights, going 5-6 with a 5.24 ERA, 69 strikeouts in 31 games. He will also come out of the bullpen for the Silverhawks.


"They give us quite a 1-2 punch in middle relief," said Dark Cloud.

RAMIREZ INKS DEAL WITH SILVERHAWKS
LAS VEGAS - With 557 career homers, Manny Ramirez is likely headed to the Hall of Fame. But before he gets there, he'll grace the fans of Nevada with his sweet swing and crushing homers. "He's a sight, a hard worker and a great teammate," said Dark Cloud of Ramirez.

Ramirez, 37, will be the DH for the Silverhawks. His offensive numbers have stayed strong. He's had 90+ RBI for 13 straight seasons and has hit at least 25 homers in sixteen of the last seventeen seasons. "He'll be a nice, veteran bat for our club,"said Manager Cito Gaston.

After four straight All-Star seasons with the Texas Rangers, he was released after refusing assignment to the minors last season. He was signed by the eventual NL champion Cincinnati Reds and finished the year with 27 homers, 99 RBI and batted .278.

"Funny that we get two guys from teams that were in the World Series. Now, we want to get back and them with us," said Dark Cloud of the recent signings.

[darkcloud4579]

OFF-SEASON
With the signing of Johan Santana, the Silverhawks are back in the Top 10 of league payroll (9th) at $75 million. But when you consider that payrolls have simply gone down. At $75 million, the Hawks are within three other teams who are all spending between $1-3 million less.

We might run into a problem later when we're trying to sign our own players. But this is year six out of 10. It might soon become someone else's problem.

OFFENSE

1) S K. Pauk 2B
2) R M. Ramirez DH
3) R J. D'Antona 3B
4) R M. Molina CF
5) R H. Clerk LF
6) R G. Sachs SS
7) S L. Berkman RF
8) S M. Teixeira 1B
9) R O. Falcon C

Offensively, we've added to the top offense in baseball last year. With Ramirez, we're just adding to fray. The question is whether D'Antona can repeat his MVP performance of last season.

PITCHING

Santana's 17 wins added to our rotation makes the team even more fierce than before. We brought up Ryan Sweeney from the minors, to see if he can hack it in the majors. It's a huge question mark, but there are a number of guys, Brett Prinz, Jared Hughes are both poised and able to serve in the 5th spot.

Brandon Puffer (5-7, 3.52 ERA 37 saves) was acquired from Cincinnati yesterday for Virgil Destefano who simply didn't get the job done in the closer role last year. So we've upgraded there.

Starting Rotation
1) L J. Santana
2) R J. Foppert
3) R F. Rosario
4) R H. Garcia
5) L R. Sweeney

Mopup Reliever
1) R B. Prinz
2) R K. Wood

Middle Reliever
1) R J. Hughes
2) R J. Beckett
3) R K. Wood

Setup Reliever
1) R J. Hughes
2) R A. Alustiza

Closer
1) R B. Puffer

[darkcloud4579]

BOSS TO PURSUE "OTHER OPPORTUNITIES"
NEW YORK - In a move expected by no one, the New York Yankees were put on the open market today by principal owner George Steinbrenner who cited failing health and the team's recent woes on the field as a reason for the move.

"Things change in all sports and I guess its just time for me to move onto something else," said a more calm Boss than we've ever seen before. Steinbrenner has been one of the most colorful personalities in baseball, but has carried the Yankees torch of excellence.

The team most recently won the World Series in 2009, but last year's fourth place finish and the team's slow start in 2010 prompted some in the organization to notice the change in Steinbrenner's behavior.

Forbes magazine values the club at $915 million, but some estimates put the value of the club over $1 billion. Potential suitors have not been named.

The largest problem for Steinbrenner has been the nearly-dead deal that would've built the Yankees a new stadium in Manhattan. The team has sought to renovate Yankee Stadium for several years, but Steinbrenner has maintained the desire for a new, modern stadium for the aging park.

"The new owner can seek out whatever options he or she has," said one person close to the Yankees organization.

Yankees officials say they would like to consummate a deal by the end of the year, but no timetable has been released.

[darkcloud4579]

HARTFORD TO LEAGUE - LAST SEASON WAS NO FLUKE

HARTFORD - The defending World Series champion Hartford Knights are fighting the battle of respect. Despite one of the best records in baseball last year and knocking off the best team in baseball - Nevada - in the ALCS, en route to a title win against Cincinnati, the Knights are still looked upon as "lucky."

"You don't get lucky and win your division, your league and the World Series. Maybe a game. But to win 11 games or go home? Yeah right," said Manager Jerry Manuel.

The Knights are off to great start again this season. They lead the AL East at 16-6 and ended April with a 9-game winning streak. How are they doing it? By boasting one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball.

Reigning Cy Young winner Alan Adamek is back with a 2-1 record and a 3.08 ERA so far. But the real story of the Knights is Joe Kennedy. Acquired last season before the deadline from the Cubs, for the playoff push, he's been outstanding. The 30-year old southpaw is 3-1 with a 1.54 ERA, leading the AL so far this season.

They're also getting good performances out of rookie SP Antonio Martinez and closer Scott Williamson is picking up where he left off in the post-season, already with seven saves this season and an ERA just over 1.00.

The team's offense is at the bottom of the league in batting average, but with pitchers who can work on a run or two of support, one can only expect that when the team gets out of their hitting slump, the Knights will be even more fierce. "They're getting a lot of mileage out of guys who many people wrote off," said one AL General Manager.

SANTANA PAYING DIVIDENDS EARLY FOR 'HAWKS
LAS VEGAS - Silverhawks pitcher Johan Santana said he "felt the pressure" of his big contract on his shoulders when he pitched his first game in a Silverhawks uniform. So far, that hasn't shown up in his record. He's 4-0 with a 2.38 ERA in five starts so far this season. "He's showing everyone why he's one of the best in baseball," said new Silverhawks pitching coach Tom Henke.

Santana, 31, leads a pitching staff that is reversing a trend of former Silverhawks clubs - being good. The Silverhawks are in the Top 10 in ERA, HR, Walks and Runs allowed. As usual, the team's offense is among the Top 10 in the league in every major category, which explains why the 'Hawks have a share of the AL West lead with the resurgent Portland A's.

Reigning AL MVP Jaime D'Antona is already off on a tear with seven homers and a batting average at .293. Newly acquired closer Brandon Puffer leads the majors in saves with 8 saves so far this season. Ironically, the player he was traded for, CL Virgil Destefano is leading the NL in saves for Cincinnati.

[darkcloud4579]

Some error keeps the game locking up and not allowing me to simulate anymore days. I'm just going to sit on it until a patch comes out or until I can somehow diagnose the problem.

I've backed the league up, so we ought to be okay. But hopefully we'll get a fix soon.

[darkcloud4579]

From the Las Vegas Sun - May 23, 2010
DARK CLOUD SHOULD FINISH THE JOB HE STARTED
By Joe Columnn

Reports out of New York have Silverhawks President and Managing General Partner Dark Cloud, selling his stake in the club to a local owner, to take the same position with the New York Yankees at the end of the season. In theory, no one could begrudge him for such a move. After all, the guy came here, put a team in a city that no one thought would ever get one and now, we have a successful baseball team that should be good for years to come. He's also an East Coast guy and native of the NY Metro area.

But he should stay in Nevada. He came here and promised the fans of Nevada a World Series. While last season, we were close, the team fell short. Maybe this year will be the year the Silverhawks do it and with apologies to Boston, we realize that wanting a title in your sixth year is not like waiting over 100 years since your last.

But so what. The Silverhawks have a lot of potential to be the new juggernaut on the block. While tradition is important, what Dark Cloud needs to do, is come out and let the fans know all the rumors are not true and that he won't leave. Until he confirms it, we will only be left to speculate.

Make no mistake though, he should stay and finish the job he started and keep the Silverhawks at the top. He could be the Steinbrenner of the west. Why go back east?

[m0ng00se]

I haven't had a chance to read this from start to current, but it's scary how close it's started to my league I was doing. I had moved the Expos to Las Vegas and the ALW (didn't want two expansion teams in the same league). Then two expansion teams were added. The Washington Senators were reborn in the NLE and (my team) the Oregon Thunder were added to the ALW. I think I might have moved Texas to the ALC as well.

In the 2003 - 2004 sim (before the expansion) Bonds went bezerk... was #1 overall in hitting .416, in RBIs 172, in runs 180, in HOMERS 82, in Walks 178. He was aslo third overall in stollen bases at 42. No one else in the league was even close in the batting stats... no one else hit above .357 or 52 homers.

Unfortunately, when the season following the expansion occurred, things were messed up. Two of the NL West teams weren't playing any games...they maintained a 0-0 record for the first two weeks before I realized my league wasn't working. Not sure what I did wrong. I'll have to check out the trouble shooting forum to see if there are any clues there.

Anyway... looking forward to reading more on your league. It has been a fun read so far.

Keep up the good work.

[darkcloud4579]

When you expand, you have to change the schedule to reflect the new teams in the league. I used to have that problem in the ol' days too. It's a common thing that happens.

I have no idea why mine is being stupid, though since I didn't do anything differently than I had before. It's just being dumb and annoying.

Glad to know you're enjoying the dynasty, though.

[darkcloud4579]

I'm not sure what was causing the problem, but it was a Silverhawks @ Twins game that was causing the lockup. I could simulate all the other games of the day, but when we came to that day, it consistently froze up.

So I cancelled the game. Now its simulating fine. So, I wonder what the heck was going on.

Oh well, expect updates soon then. We're back in business it seems.

[m0ng00se]

Originally posted by darkcloud4579
When you expand, you have to change the schedule to reflect the new teams in the league. I used to have that problem in the ol' days too. It's a common thing that happens.

Oh, Duh!!! *smacking my self upside da head*

I knew I was missing a step. I had already started over so I will remember to do that this next time around. Thanks.

Glad to see you got past your troubles. Good luck with the rest.

[darkcloud4579]

MECHANIAL FAILURE AT 3M BALLPARK SCRATCHES THREE GAMES

MINNEAPOLIS - It wasn't rain that cancelled three games of a four game set between the Nevada Silverhawks and Minnesota Twins. Problems at the Twins' 3M Field caused games to be cancelled last Thursday and again on Saturday.

"There were an electrical problem that caused sparks. The league didn't want fans to be in danger, so the games were cancelled," said a spokesman for the Twins.

MLB officials say the games will be made up in a rare tripleheader on June 1st, before a homestand for the Silverhawks.

"It was a bit freaky, but we can always use some time off," said Manager Cito Gaston, whose team is 2.5 games ahead of the Texas Rangers in the AL West.

The Twins are in the basement of the AL Central, 11.5 games behind division leading Cleveland.

[darkcloud4579]

I had a player playing two positions. I wish the game would generate some sort of warning to tell you that, rather than just locking up. Seems a little silly.

[darkcloud4579]

MY FIRST AMATEUR DRAFT IN V.6

I have to say that I really like the fact that the game has the HS/college stats and has added to the draft in a way that before made it very difficult to draft.

Let's take a look at the newest members of the Silverhawks:

1st Round, 32nd pick: CF Jesse Wood