Worst to First - The Sequel

[NYY #23]

While I have been doing this a long time I did make a copy and clear history after the 2011 season, so the current league has a blank Hall of Fame. It will remain blank after the Hall of Fame voting, but there are a couple of players that are close -

SP Yu Darvish (183-117, 3.11 ERA) 73.9 % of the vote
SP Vance Worley (184-118, 3.09 ERA) 59.9 % of the vote
1B Joey Votto (.306, 286 HR, 893 RBI, 47 WAR) 57.8 % of the vote

There were a couple of my former players who are on the Hall of Fame ballot and will stay past this year-

SP Rich Harden - 41.5
C Willin Rosario - 18.1
CF Carlos Gonzalez - 7.7
SP Tim Lincecum - 6.6
SS Troy Tulowitzki - 5.2

Then a couple who fell off the ballot -

CL Chris Archer - 3.8
LF Yoenis Cespedes - 3.5

[NYY #23]

One of my owner's goals was for the team to acquire a MVP award winner, which I would like to do, but I'm not a big fan of my owner, or his penny pinching ways. If he wants to give us a small budget, we can only do so much. But Carolina acquired our MVP award winner today, bringing aboard LF Dean Richmond, who won an MVP award in 2022. He's on the downside of his career now at 36, hitting .278 with 10 home runs and 36 RBI last year for the Cubs, but we were able to acquire him for a low level reliever, Gustavo Pineda. He'll see some at-bats at DH most likely, and I don't expect too much, but "Mission Accomplished".

The Knights also welcomed new starting catcher Mike Blevins to the team after he agreed to a 3 year $22.8 million contract. He's been healthy throughout his career, but the third year is a vesting option which triggers with 500 plate appearances. I feel like I've gotten burnt by injuries so much in Carolina, I'm going to use obtainable vesting options whenever possible.

One other signing that I think I forgot to mention was SP Sixto Jimenez, who signed a one year $1 million contract. Jimenez was 5-7 with a 4.62 ERA last year in 15 starts and gives us a little starting pitcher depth.

[NYY #23]

I've been doing this worst to first journey for over five years now between round one and round two, although I would hope I would be finished if I never lost my round one version. That's a really long time, although I am determined to finish round two (hopefully sometime soon).

While I'm excited to really get started with OOTP 16 and the Carolina Knights the next few weeks are going to be rough for me with travel. I've taken a couple brief hiatuses in the past, and I think it's time to do that again with this dynasty. It never seems to work out too well when I stop and start for whatever reason.

I'm going to concentrate on a couple of my other leagues when I have a chance to play, and be back in two or three weeks to resume my Worst to First mission, and hopefully figure out what I'm doing in Carolina. Until then, thanks for reading, and I'll be back soon.

[rjl518]

have to admit...I cant stop following this dynasty...you have one of the best NYY#23...keep it going and go Carolina Knights...oh and your welcome by the way for the playoff idea...

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by rjl518

have to admit...I cant stop following this dynasty...you have one of the best NYY#23...keep it going and go Carolina Knights...oh and your welcome by the way for the playoff idea...

Thank you, and thank you for the playoff idea as well. I almost regret putting this on hiatus last night, because my plans tonight got changed, but I will be out of town more than in the next couple weeks, so I'll stick with my original plan, and hopefully come back strong in Carolina!

[NYY #23]

I don't want to say I have high expectations in Carolina this year, but I do expect to do better than last year. While my owner has a goal of playing .500 ball I have my own goals this year, and I'd like to see a couple of players take a step forward among SP Eric Wilder, 1B Chris Lynn, CF Ramon Feliz, and SP Tim Rogers. Feliz played well in spring training, well enough to win a job to start the season, but he was demoted after hitting just .160. He's still just 20 years old, so I'm not exactly worried, but he's hitting just .143 in AAA. We'd really like to see him be ready to take over center field next season.

Eric Wilder and Tim Rogers are my back of the rotation pitching prospects. One of them really needs to show something this year. Then finally there is 25 year old 1B of the future Chris Lynn. He hit just .221 last year as a rookie with -1 WAR. Out of all the players I'm watching he's gotten off to the best start, hitting .306 with 2 home runs and .8 WAR.

Our big pitching prospects are at the lower levels, Matt Moore (Rookie), Ferri Boere (AA), Jose Ruiz and Phi Clark (A) with Miguel Vazquez, Maceo Cafasso, Juan Perez, and Ricardo Fabian in our international complex.

So I'm not as worried about playing .500 ball this year, just seeing enough prospects develop that I'll be able to escape from Carolina.

[ShagVT]

he's back!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by ShagVT

he's back!

I know it's only been a little bit, but I've missed this one. Hopefully a short little break will allow me to figure things out in Carolina, but I'm looking forward to seeing what 16 offers.

[NYY #23]

Dean Richmond has been a headache since he's arrived, complaining about playing time and his role on the team while hitting .159. Maybe the Astros' owner wants them to acquire an MVP award winner too, because they had interest in acquiring Richmond.

We got back reliever Brandon Patton (2-0, 1 SV, 3.71 ERA, 26 2/3 IP), along with 24 year old 2B/3B Jose Hernandez (hitting .225 in AAA), and 28 year old OF Raul Gonzalez (hitting .240 in AAA).

Going back to Houston along with Richmond was 20 year old catcher Zhu Hor and 26 year old minor league starting pitcher Randall Campbell. None of the players involved in the trade could really be considered top prospects, although I think Hernandez is the best of the bunch, and closest to the majors.

That trade also allowed us to deal another malcontent, SP Sixto Jimenez, who is 2-3 with a 7.90 ERA to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for 27 year old center fielder Thad Bass. Bass is having a good season this year, hitting .301 with 5 home runs and 6 stolen bases in limited playing time. We'll give him a chance to play a little bit more.

[St Louis]

I obviously havn't read all the pages but I was wondering what minor league set up are you using and also are you using the players ratings based off OOTP Development System or Real Stats?

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by St Louis

I obviously havn't read all the pages but I was wondering what minor league set up are you using and also are you using the players ratings based off OOTP Development System or Real Stats?

I've been all over the place with minors since I've started, but I've settled on five levels (AAA, AA, A, Short Season A, and Rookie A). I've been following that for about 20 game years now, right about the time that the real players ran out of the draft, and it feels like it's working well. I have used player ratings based on OOTP Development System since the beginning. I like to do that because of the unpredictability. I think most players follow a similar path, but I enjoy seeing the surprises that pop up.

[NYY #23]

Whenever a player request a trade I try to accommodate them. This trade demand I found to be a little bit ridiculous though, as SP Toby Dyer requested a trade because he's not interested in being part of a rebuilding project. Maybe he should have done his homework a little better before signing with the team with the worst record in baseball during the offseason.

But after starting off 1-4 with a 4.33 ERA I sent Dyer along with CF, and impending free agent, Young-woong Yu, catcher Fred Abbott, and SP Eric Wilder to the Washington Nationals. Wilder continues to pitch well in AAA, but struggle in the majors (0-1, 8.10 ERA).

Coming back to Carolina is LF Lorenzo Ojeda (.294, 2 HR), SP Daniel George (1-3, 4.56 ERA in AAA), and 2B prospect Joe Hanna. Ojeda will move into the starting lineup, and George will get a shot in the rotation. He's the #27 prospect in baseball, and has a higher ceiling than Wilder.

[NYY #23]

It was a busy month for the Knights with three trades and on the field Carolina was 11-18. The team feels much different than when the month began though. With Thad Bass and Lorenzo Ojeda on board our outfield looks quite a bit better:



Daniel George also had an impressive debut for Carolina with 8 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits and striking out 6. Hopefully that's a good sign, at least for a last place team.

[NYY #23]

The Carolina Breakers had the number one overall pick in the draft and selected 20 year old SP Alan Davis with our number one pick:



We didn't draft again until the fourth round where we selected CF Damon Carpenter, and added CF Gary Clotworthy in the fifth round. We'll begin negotiations with all three players, although I expect we'll be able to sign them.

On the field we lost 3B Domingo Salazar to injury, and started the month with a 6-7 record.

[NYY #23]

This month let's take a look at our future in Carolina:



With the top ranked minor league system in baseball I think that there is hope for the future. We've built up a nice stable of young arms, and even better a stable of young arms at AAA. They should arrive in the majors about the same time as catcher Manny Rodriguez and Jose Hernandez, who will likely end up at second base.

If all goes well we'll be able to supplement some of those prospects with players such as Thad Bass and Lorenzo Ojeda and we can have a shot at contending, finally. Unfortunately we did lose one of our top prospects to injury, CF Ramon Feliz, for the next nine months.

The Knights were able to sign all of our draft picks, as expected. Our owner also did a mid-season check in to remind me that he's not too happy with me. He'd like us to play .500, acquire a MVP award winner, improve our draft record, and of course build our team up to a playoff winner. Unfortunately I think he's going to end up disappointed this year.

[rjl518]

oh...btw...congrats on 100,000 views...one of the best dynasties on the board...dont stop until your mission is completed...even though you might not be done until the year 3000...lol

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by rjl518

oh...btw...congrats on 100,000 views...one of the best dynasties on the board...dont stop until your mission is completed...even though you might not be done until the year 3000...lol

Thanks man. 100,000 is pretty crazy. I definitely won't stop now, even if it's the year 3000. Who knows, it feels like I'm 100 years away with Carolina.

I was thinking earlier when they next expansion should/would occur and whether I could finish before that happens.

I'll be back home tomorrow, and resume the journey.

[NYY #23]

I wasn't expecting to make a deal in July, and I really struggled over this one before pulling the trigger.

We received a trade proposal from the Indians that would send C Reyes Gonzalez and 19 year old prospect Matt Moore to Cleveland and get back LF Brad Peet. Peet is having a good season in Cleveland, hitting .266 with 11 home runs, 39 RBI, and has a 2.0 WAR.

Matt Moore is currently the #3 prospect in baseball, and is 3-2 with a 4.35 ERA for our rookie team. There is a lot to like about Moore, but he's not without risk. Of course, all prospects carry risk, but Moore is currently primarily a two pitch pitcher, injury prone, and currently projects to be a borderline starter. If he develops that changeup he has front of the rotation potential. At worst he could be a good bullpen arm.

I needed a little bit more than Peet though, and asked for 1B prospect Ernesto Solis and CF prospect Luke McCoy. We also added 23 year old SP Taylor Rogers and veteran SP Myeong-hun Yu to the deal.

Both Solis and McCoy will head to AAA, with C Octavio Lopez added to the roster. I'll keep an eye on Moore, but hopefully I didn't make a big mistake trading him away.

[NYY #23]

Another losing month in Carolina, as the Knights went 10-16 for the month. Brad Peet has gotten off to a fast start hitting .385 with 3 home runs in 5 games. I'm looking forward to the return of Thad Bass because I think we'll have a decent outfield.

We're getting close to calling up SP Tim Rogers, who is 8-3 with a 2.90 ERA in AAA. It feels like things are getting close in Carolina.

The Knights were snubbed with no All-Star selections.

[NYY #23]

No matter how close I think this team is to turning things around we continue to lose games. We did finish with our best month of the year, although that was just 12-15 (.444 winning percentage).

Down in AAA Gabriel Diaz hit for the cycle this month, while Winston-Salem officially clinched a playoff spot. Roberto Hernandez was named the Batter of the Month for Winston-Salem after hitting .294 with 8 home runs, 22 RBI, and 17 runs scored.

With roster expansion we'll be calling up SP Tim Rogers, RP Ron Bush, and 1B Nicholas Hammond, along with some non-prospects. Hopefully they'll show enough to earn a job for next season.