Worst to First - The Sequel

[NYY #23]

Another bad month for the Kodiaks who went 7-20 for the month. Let's call it the curse of Oliver Bell, although Bell has struggled in Cleveland going 2-5, Clayton Kline is 3-4, and Nick Jennings is on the disabled list. I can't regret the trade too much, but that did seem like the turning point of our season.

We'll expand our rosters in September and take a look at some of the pretty non-intriguing guys on our 40 man roster.

[NYY #23]

The Kodiaks free fall to last place was complete as we finished with a 62-100 record, three games behind Mexico City. We may be bad, but we were fast, leading the league in stolen bases. We'll take a look at our offseason plans after the World Series where the 106 win Expos will try and repeat.

There were a couple of September milestones, 40 year old John Spence of the Royals hit the 300th home run of his career, while 37 year old Manuel Lopez of the White Sox picked up his 2500th career hit.

[NYY #23]

Congratulations to the World Champion Carolina Knights. There are at least a couple familiar names still on the roster:



The Expos were upset by the Cardinals in the Division Series, while the Knights knocked off the Cardinals in an exciting seven game series.

Meanwhile, I'll turn my attention to the offseason. We started off with some disappointing news when Scouting Director Scott Richmond announced his retirement. He's been with me for a while now, and it's hard for me to find a Scouting Director I trust. We'll begin looking for a replacement, but the list of candidates isn't top notch.

I received my updated owner goals, and he seems pretty hands off -

• Don't suck completely (2042)
• Upgrade centerfield (2043)
• Find a top prospect (2043)
• Build top 7 farm (2045)
• Improve draft record (2045)
• Reach the playoffs (2044)

I don't have a problem with any of the goals really, so that's a plus. We have about $30 million to spend in free agency this offseason. We'll use that to help fill our 24 holes. I expect a hectic offseason, and I don't think anybody is untouchable on this team. Despite being a team leader and having a decent season 3B Leon Martinez is going on the block. The thought of a poor fielding, speedy third baseman is just too much to wrap my head around.

Now it's time to get to work.

Vancouver Kodiaks - 68-94 (.407) 39 GB
2041 - Vancouver Kodiaks - 62-100 (.383) 39 GB, Season Score - 1

[illeracula]

"Reach the playoffs (2044)" That is a fast turnaround how do you feel about that? Three seasons to, what, gain 20 games? You have the talent in the organization to do that?

I will be curious how this off season goes. Good luck.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by illeracula

"Reach the playoffs (2044)" That is a fast turnaround how do you feel about that? Three seasons to, what, gain 20 games? You have the talent in the organization to do that?

I will be curious how this off season goes. Good luck.

That's definitely an ambitious goal. That's going to require a lot going right. The talent level in the organization is severely lacking from top to bottom.

I'm looking forward to this offseason though. There are a couple of different directions that I could take, and I've slept on a deal that could set off a series of moves. It may be time for a big shakeup though.

[NYY #23]

I've been going back and forth long enough, and I've decided to kick the offseason off with a bang in Vancouver with a pair of trades that see five players hit the road. Let's start with the most unpopular trade first. Going to the Angels are:

SP Logan Howard (10-9, 2.49 ERA, 224 1/3 IP)
LF Takahashi Tanaka (.252/.297/.421, 18 HR, 70 RBI)
MR Hector Rafael (0-2, 3.86 ERA, 16 1/3 IP)

Howard is obviously the big name, our All-Star, and at 27 years old he's heading to arbitration for the first time after a 6.1 WAR season. There is no reason to trade Howard unless we're getting a good return, but he's our best trade chip. Tanaka is a nice hitter, at the right age (26), but defensively he was a mess this year. I didn't expect much defensively, but I expected a little bit more than we got. He's probably the perfect DH though.

Coming back to Vancouver:

CF AC Bancroft (.304/.351/.557, 30 HR, 106 RBI)
SP Brett Coyle (5-1, 2 SV, 2.55 ERA, 74 IP)
3B Jeffrey House (.292, 11 HR, 56 RBI in single A)

Bancroft is 25 years old and led the league in WAR (7.9), doubles (52), and triples (11). He's young and talented, and is a solid all-around player. He's not a star defensively, but held his own so far during his career. Coyle is 26 years old and had success at every level as a starting pitcher, except the majors. And after pitching in the bullpen last year Coyle was moved into the starting rotation where he went 6-1 with a 1.94 ERA in 9 starts, so I think he's capable of starting. While House is at least a couple of years away from the majors he's strong defensively and capable of handling the hot corner.

Our second trade was with the Reds and we shipped off:

3B Leon Martinez (.290, 1 HR, 55 RBI, 49 SB)
C Terry Wilson (.258, 30 HR in AAA)

With the trade of 25 year old Martinez we moved a lot of our top young players, and paired him with a veteran catcher who I don't feel comfortable with using behind the plate, despite his solid bat.

We received:

SP Alejandro Lucero (4-10, 4.19 ERA in AA)
2B Aurelio Sanchez (.256, 3 HR, 24 RBI in AAA)
MR Terry Brown (4-4, 13 SV, 2.89 ERA in AA)

Sanchez was the top name coming back and I think could step in as our everyday second baseman as soon as next year. Lucero was a former top prospect who saw his stock plummet after a tricep injury. He's pitched much better as a starter than a reliever, and my scout likes him more than anyone else, but I think he's worth taking a shot on.

There is still quite a bit of work to do this offseason, but I'm happy with the way things started at least.

[G-Force]

62-100 is as good a time as any to break it all down! Good luck!

GH

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by G-Force

62-100 is as good a time as any to break it all down! Good luck!

GH

Thanks! That's about how I felt. It's hard to get much worse then losing 100 games, so I might as well go for it!

[NYY #23]

The Kodiaks completed a trade with the Atlanta Braves to acquire 23 year old pitching prospect Michael Leslie. Leslie was rated the 21st best prospect in baseball and was 6-1 with a 3.15 ERA in AA. Going to Atlanta was 23 year old centerfielder Peter Lugo, 25 year old right fielder Carlton Haynes, and 29 year old starting pitcher Felipe Galvan.

I view Leslie as our ace of the future, but we're in need of an ace of the present. Because we have some money available we went out and signed 31 year old starting pitcher Matt Moore to a six year $159 million contract. The last year of the deal is a team option for $25 million. Moore is coming off two consecutive 5 WAR seasons and he went 12-7 with a 2.69 ERA last year with the Diamondbacks in 197 1/3 innings. Hopefully he'll provide stability atop our rotation while the younger pitchers develop, although it's a pretty expensive bet.

We also filled out third base with 26 year old Alfonso Robles on a one year $950,000 contract. He was non-tendered by the Red Sox after hitting just .237 last year, but before being traded to Boston had four straight seasons with Los Angeles where he had a 2.7 WAR or higher. He's a good buy low candidate who I hope will have a good bounce back seasons.

In award news the recently acquired AC Bancroft was named AL MVP, and former Expo Bertolameu Henrich was named NL Cy Young winner after going 19-5 with a 1.93 ERA.

We've got a few more things we're working on, but we'll see how things work out the rest of the offseason.

[NYY #23]

It's Hall of Fame time, and two players were elected to the Hall of Fame this year, Manuel Moya and Jay Bell. Neither player crossed my path during their career.





A look at the full results:

SP Manuel Moya 88.1 (2nd year) Inducted HOF
SP Jay Bell 85.8 (4th year) Inducted HOF
SP Will Shaw 66.3 (4th year)
SP Jason Threlfall 64.0 (2nd year)
SP Bernie Brown 61.3 (3rd year)
SP Jason Crowe 14.2 (4th year)
SP Bill Smith 13.0 (1st year)
CL Luis Avilan 12.6 (9th year)
2B Brian Moore 9.2 (2nd year)
SP Estêvão Prostes 9.2 (1st year)
SP Daniel Hicks 8.0 (7th year)
SP Mark Clark 8.0 (4th year)
CL Mark Meyer 6.1 (4th year)
SP Brett Anderson 6.1 (10th year) Dropped
3B Brett Lawrie 5.7 (8th year)
SS Kevin Lorenzo 5.4 (1st year)
SP Máximo González 3.8 (2nd year) Dropped
SP Gregorio López 2.7 (3rd year) Dropped
SS José Martínez 1.9 (1st year) Dropped
CL Jared Smith 0.8 (1st year) Dropped
RP Dave Johnson 0.4 (1st year) Dropped

-----

On the Vancouver front the Kodiaks agreed to terms with one free agent, shortstop Jose Olvera. We signed Olvera to a one year $850,000 contract after Olvera became a minor league free agent. Not a major acquisition, but we'll give him a shot as backup middle infielder.

[NYY #23]

As we head into Spring Training the Kodiaks look much differently than they did at the end of the year. We continued to add players to round out our roster including:

LF - Ricardo Vargas - signed a one year $2.1 million contract after hitting .243 with 14 home runs and 60 RBI. We expect he'll provide some veteran leadership and is capable of playing both corner outfield positions.

SP - Rodrigo Gonzalez - we signed the 29 year old as a minor league free agent after he went 11-11 with a 3.83 ERA in AAA. He's never made it to the majors yet, but he'll get an opportunity to win a job this spring.

RP - Man-Keung Zhao - the 22 year old from Taiwan signed as a minor league free agent, but I think he's got a future in the bullpen

SP - Merlin Cashmann - signed a one year $2.8 million contract after going 7-14 with a 4.43 ERA in 174 2/3 innings last year. He's a veteran at 41 years old, but he'll help fill out the rotation while we wait for the next wave to arrive

SP - Al Rigden - we signed the 33 year old to a one year $1 million contract. He was just 9-16 with a 5.76 ERA last year in 198 1/3 innings. Last year was the worst of his career, so we hope he can bounce back. He's durable though and should be able to provide veteran leadership and 200 innings.

C - Alonso Navarro - another minor league free agent who is strong defensively and hit .319 with 26 home runs in AAA.

MR - Alex Bell - his name should be familiar from Montreal, but we signed Bell to a one year $4.7 million contract. He's been a solid reliever and he may get a chance as our closer

I'm optimistic that we'll be improved this year, but I think we've got a ways to go before we're competitive.

[NYY #23]

One month into the season and the Kodiaks are a dreadful 9-15. That .375 winning percentage is actually less than last year's .383 winning percentage.

While the season is still in its early stages there are a couple of warning signs that have me worried. MVP AC Bancroft is hitting just .238 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI. After being worth 7.5 WAR last year he's worth -0.1 WAR so far. While it is early my biggest concern is his big drop in contact, power, and eye ratings over the offseason. I hope it's just a bad start, but I'm afraid it's more than that.

When you sign a pitcher to a six year $159 million contract you expect good things. He's just 2-2 with a 4.75 ERA, and in three of those starts he didn't make it out of the fifth inning. His ratings are down, and my scout things he's washed up and should be pitching out of the bullpen.

Maybe it's just panicking, or maybe it's just a new scout. It seems like everybody is trending downward though. And things are heading south in the clubhouse as well.

Former Expo Christian Lee picked up career hit number 2500 for the Twins. Hector Sanchez of the Padres hit career home run number 300 this month.

[NYY #23]

After going 11-17 for the month I'm not feeling too good about how things are going in Vancouver. I didn't expect to win the division, but I expected us to be close to .500.

Unfortunately things just didn't work out, although I don't regret trying. The problem with doing a dynasty report is you air your dirty laundry so to speak. I do think It's important to fail fast though so I'll try and get some value our of our players on short term contracts.

Around the league two players reached 2500 career hits - Ben Holland of the Marlins and Hector Sanchez of the Padres.

[JaBurns]

Defensive efficiency is improving! That is usually a good sign. Look for any port in a storm.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by JaBurns

Defensive efficiency is improving! That is usually a good sign. Look for any port in a storm.

That is true! That's usually does go a long way to making the team better. Hopefully things will start to click soon!

[NYY #23]

I seem to remember my time in Carolina with the Knights as having to constantly deal with a cheapskate owner. I was surprised when shopping Matt Moore they were the only team to bite. They offered 25 year old centerfielder Richard Williams, who made his major league debut last year and was quickly sent down after hitting .242. He's the definition of a non-prospect, but getting out from Matt Moore's contract could be important. The warning signs are on the wall, although I waited to pull the trigger.

Moore turned in his best start of the year, a seven inning three hitter, and I went back to the Knights who asked for more. They wouldn't make the deal unless I included 2B Eric Wilson, who is hitting .289 with 12 stolen bases this year. It wasn’t a popular trade, and I admit I feel low dealing away a player so soon after signing him to a big contract.

So doing my best Marlins impression we shipped off SP Merlin Cashmann and C Bob Whaley to the Mariners. Cashmann is our best pitcher going 5-4 with a 2.28 ERA so far, but he's 41 and signed for 2042 only. He'll do the Mariners more good than the Kodiaks. Bob Whaley is having a decent year this year with a 370 OBP, 7 home runs, 30 RBI, and 2 WAR. I didn't want to trade him, but his inclusion allowed us to get a higher return.

Coming back to Vancouver is 24 year old centerfielder Felicidade Baltar, who is hitting .374 with 14 home runs in AA. He was ranked #54 on the top prospect lists before the season. We also added SP Thomas Elliott who turned 24 earlier this year and is pitching in AA. If all goes well he could be a #3 starter someday. We also added 23 year old reliever Christian Lopes. He's also in AA and I think he has a future in the big leagues.

I was pleased to learn that the clubhouse was happy that Bob Whaley was traded. One things for sure, the Kodiaks are playing our best ball of the year since the deals, going 9-4 on the field so far in June.

The Kodiaks were picking third in the amateur draft and I went against my scouts wishes and selected shortstop Gabriel Cook. He's coming out of college and looked like the best available player to me. We paid the Matt Moore tax in the second round, and didn't pick again until the third. We took a chance on centerfielder Josh Todd in the third round, drafted reliever Jason Browning in the fourth round, and reliever Jim Green in the fifth round.

[NYY #23]

Something interesting happened on our way to dumping off everybody valuable. The Kodiaks went 16-11 in June. I don't regret making the moves. It seems like Bob Whaley was the clubhouse cancer, and he's hitting just .167 in Seattle. While Matt Moore is pitching very well in Carolina he's now pitching out of the pen. I'm still regretting my decision to sign Moore, but still think if I had it to do over I would have done the same thing based on how he looked then.

We kicked off July by making one trade, swapping 32 year old reliever Wilson Diaz with the Phillies for 32 year old reliever Lucas Heath. The pitchers are really pretty similar, right down to their unhappiness with their current team. The one plus is Heath is under control beyond this year.

[NYY #23]

I've really been pleased with Brett Coyle (7-4, 3.34) since we acquired him in the offseason. He's 27 years old and having success as a starter, but he's not untouchable. The A's need pitching help and sent a proposal to acquire Coyle. We landed on a deal that I'm happy with sending Coyle, reliever Alex Ball, 1B Steve Flores, and minor league starting pitcher Gerardo Solis to the A's. Ball will be a free agent after this year, but giving up Flores was tough because I don't have anybody ready to take his place.

However, we were able to land SP Cesar Delgado who is ranked as the #12 prospect in baseball, along with a trio of minor league relievers - Estaban Delgado, Keith Hahn, and Jesus Concepcion along with minor league 1B Wilson Perez.

That wasn't our only trade of the month though as we swapped SS Jeremy Briggs in exchange for LF Felipe Duran. We then shipped off LF Ricardo Vargas to the Cubs in exchange for 1B Toby Armstrong.

Then finally we shipped off the expiring contracts of SP Al Rigden, SP Joe Hamilton, and closer Andy Smith to Toronto in exchange for shortstop prospect Jim Barnard and reliever Daniel Dobson. While Smith was under contract through 2043 we wanted to get value where we could from expiring contracts.

Throughout all the turmoil the Kodiaks went 10-13 for the month. More importantly we're starting to develop a decent minor league system.

In milestone news around the league Jim Houlbrook hit career home run number 300 for the Minnesota Twins, and Jason Clair picked up career hit number 2500.

I also wanted to check in on one of my former Montreal pitchers, Jose Ledesma. After going 20-4 with a 2.25 ERA Ledesma cashed in with a six year $105 million contract with the Blue Jays. He struggled away from Montreal though, going 10-13 with a 5.03 ERA his first year, and moved into the pen this year after seven poor starts.

[NYY #23]

Vancouver had our second winning month of the year going 14-13 this month. I've been really pleased with the performance of Michael Leslie who went 2-2 with a 2.72 ERA in August after going 1-0 with a 1.25 ERA in July. I wasn't convinced he was ready for the majors after going 2-9 with a 4.54 ERA to start the year, but it's hard to argue with the results.

[NYY #23]

Vancouver finished with 73 wins this year, 11 more wins than last year. Things didn't really goes as planned this year with a couple of moves not turning out as I expected, but luckily we were able to recover and deal Matt Moore to the Knights. That's the type of contract that isn't always easy to move, so I don't feel it's a repeatable strategy. Moore has done well in Carolina though, going 4-2 with 2 saves with a 2.18 ERA in 66 innings while pitching exclusively out of the pen, although according to rumors Moore has demanded a trade from Carolina.

Checking in on another traded pitcher, Logan Howard was 9-10 with a 3.81 ERA in 33 starts for the Angels. Most of his stats look similar to last year, except for the big jump in ERA.

One bit of news for Vancouver that made fans happy was signing AC Bancroft to a one year $900,000 extension to avoid arbitration.

One thing that I've tried to get better at is paying closer attention to other teams and players around the league. It's definitely harder with all fictional players, so I feel that it makes things a little bit easier trying to improve. I'm going to try and make a little more effort to show things around the league at the high level.

Let's take a look at the top hitters in the league:



And the top pitchers in the league: