Worst to First - The Sequel

[NYY #23]

The Kodiaks completed one trade this month sending shortstop Ben Anderson and SP prospect Toshikuni Imai to the Rangers in exchange for shortstop Aaron Norton. This was a deal that the Rangers proposed, and Norton is a little bit better defensively and capable of playing multiple positions. He's hitting .269 with 4 home runs, and I think he'll help solidify our bench.

On the field the Kodiaks had a little bit of a rough month going 10-13 and falling 9 games out in the NL West. We are still in the thick of the Wild Card race though, just a 1/2 game behind the Colorado Rockies. I'm hoping we can have a bounce back August.

We did lose one player, reliever Lucas Heath, to a waiver claim by the Royals. He just got caught in a roster crunch and we needed a roster spot. He was 1-3 with a save and 4.50 ERA in 38 innings this year.

Vancouver sent two players to the All-Star Game this year: 3B Alfonso Robles and RF AC Bancroft.

Around the league Emilio Horne of the Gators reached 2000 career hits this month.

[NYY #23]

A 16-11 month has the Kodiaks back in the playoff hunt, two games behind the Rockies for the final playoff spot, who were an even better 17-9 for the month. September will be an important month for the Kodiaks.

Steven Davis pitched a perfect game for the Blue Jays this month. Last year Davis won the Cy Young Award after going 23-3 with a 2.67 ERA.

Sloan Stewart of the Rangers saved the 300th game of his career this month.

[NYY #23]

Things went downhill in September for the Kodiaks as we went 10-16 for the month. We haven't officially been eliminated from the playoffs, but we'd need a miracle to reach the playoffs.

I already anticipate some budget problems for next year. With our budget 34th in the league we have three players who are expecting big arbitration raises - CF Danny White, RF AC Bancroft, and 3B Alfonso Robles. It's nice they have all had success this year, but it's going to cost us and cause some problems.

Sad news out of Washington as Ricardo Moreno injured his elbow and will be out for the next fifteen months. It's the fourth major injury from our former Expos' ace. He's never been the same since going 10-10 with a 3.19 ERA 2037. He's won just 6 games in the 6 years since that time.

This was a big month for milestones:

1B Jeremiah Harris (34), Twins - 2000 hits
2B Pete Woolford (36), Pirates - 400 home runs
RF Jose Cavazos (40), Rays - 2000 hits, 400 home runs
SP Merlin Cashmann (42), Mariners - 200 wins

23 year old Jorge Gomez set the single season hit record with 235 for the Rockies.

[NYY #23]

Despite going 5-1 to end the season the Kodiaks came up short, and our offseason now begins. Despite coming up short of the playoffs I'm really pleased with our performance this year. My goal was to get above .500, and with 85 wins that was a success.

The fact that we had the ability to do more was a plus, and being eliminated on October 3rd is a step in the right direction, especially looking at our fellow expansion teams:

New Orleans Gators 60-102
San Antonio Texans 63-99
Mexico City Conquistadors 69-93

We'll enjoy the playoffs, then the real work will begin. Unfortunately I expect money to be tight, or non-existent. I'm hoping for a budget increase, or we may need to free up some salary.

[NYY #23]

Congratulations to the Montreal Expos, who defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 to capture the World Series. Howard McDonald was named World Series MVP after hitting .450 with 3 home runs and 6 RBI.

On the home front my owner is pleased with our progress, and my performance. He increased our budget slightly, although it still looks like we'll be in a budget crunch. He also extended my contract for 4 years.

The first casualty of our budget crunch is reliever Carl Denton. I overpaid last year on a one year deal, and despite having a fine season where he went 3-2 with a 1.64 ERA in 66 innings I can't afford to pay him $7 million, so he'll be non-tendered.

We'll also be non-tendering Carlos Longoria to save about $2 million. Pablo Martinez isn't happy with his role on the team, and went 3-2 with a 2.79 ERA last year in 51 2/3 innings, making 6 starts. We'll save about $2 million by non-tendering him.

Hopefully we can rely on our young bullpen depth in the minors, or sign a veteran to a cheap deal to make up for their loss.

Vancouver Kodiaks - 68-94 (.407) 39 GB
2041 - Vancouver Kodiaks - 62-100 (.383) 39 GB (Season Score - 1)
2042 - Vancouver Kodiaks - 73-89 (.451) 29 GB (Season Score - 29)
2043 - Vancouver Kodiaks - 85-77 (.525) 10 GB (Season Score - 59)

[NYY #23]

The Hall of Fame voting results are in, and two players were elected to the Hall of Fame, pitcher Bernie Brown and 3B Chris McKinley. Neither player crossed my path.





Results:

SP Bernie Brown 83.7 (5th year) Inducted HOF
3B Chris MacKinley 77.7 (2nd year) Inducted HOF
SP Will Shaw 68.4 (6th year)
SP Jason Threlfall 67.0 (4th year)
1B Jesús Espaillat 58.9 (1st year)
RF Martín Castro 46.8 (2nd year)
2B Robbie Raines 37.6 (1st year)
SP Luis Varerla 37.6 (1st year)
1B Augusto Rodríguez 14.2 (1st year)
SP Lee Hull 8.9 (1st year)
CL Bob Kirby 8.2 (2nd year)
C Joe Craft 8.2 (1st year)
SP Daniel Hicks 7.4 (9th year)
SP Scotty Bodhe 7.4 (1st year)
3B Brett Lawrie 5.7 (10th year) Dropped
2B Brian Moore 5.3 (4th year)
CL Aaron Shaw 5.3 (2nd year)
SP Jason Crowe 4.6 (6th year) Dropped
RF Miguel Vásquez 4.6 (1st year) Dropped
SP Mark Clark 4.3 (6th year) Dropped
SP Jorge Costello 3.9 (1st year) Dropped
SP Bill Smith 2.5 (3rd year) Dropped

While the Kodiaks are in the middle of the offseason we're looking at adding a few free agents to round out our roster. They won't be major acquisitions though, just role players on one year deals.

1B Toby Armstrong was the Kodiaks only award winner, winning a Gold Glove.

[illeracula]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

23 year old Jorge Gomez set the single season hit record with 235 for the Rockies.

Does this date back to the original 1901 start or is from a more recent period? Either way pretty impressive for 23 year old...

Tough luck with the Kodiaks this season and good luck figuring out the budget for next season.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by illeracula

Does this date back to the original 1901 start or is from a more recent period? Either way pretty impressive for 23 year old...

Tough luck with the Kodiaks this season and good luck figuring out the budget for next season.

That's actually a good point. I did create a copy of the league and erased the league history prior to the 2013 season. If I remember correctly it was because I was having problems moving to OOTP15 when I did it, and having trouble converting. I do have a version from 1901-2012, but I haven't gone back and looked in a long time. I do wish I had the complete history in one file, and maybe when I am done I'll go back and combine the records, but we'll see.

Thanks - I was pretty pleased with how things turned out with the rest of the offseason, and I'll get my notes cleaned up tomorrow. I think we'l be close to being a playoff team at least, although getting to a team that is capable of winning it all will be challenging.

[NYY #23]

The Kodiaks made a trade today sending a pair of our top pitching prospects, Haramala Randadhir and Jim Eoff to the New Orleans Gators in exchange for LF Flint Reed. Reed is a former number one overall pick, is just 24 years old, and hit .220 with 9 home runs in 46 games last year after making his major league debut.

Reed was ranked as the #69 prospect in baseball, while Ranadhir was ranked #87 and Eoff was ranked 60th. With Jesus Concepcion and Cesar Delgado in AAA I felt we could deal from a position of strength, although I acknowledge I gave up a lot, but I feel that the addition of Reed will give us a solid outfield.

The Kodiaks also came to terms with catcher Antonio Tovar on a one year $1.9 million contract. The 35 year old hit .220 with 18 home runs, provided solid defense and was worth 1.1 WAR. We also welcomed back reliever Dan Lindner on a more team friendly one year $1.4 million contract.

[NYY #23]

As the Kodiaks head into Spring Training we put the final touch on the 2044 roster. 30 year old second baseman Lorenzo Moreno was signed to a one year $3.1 million contract. Moreno had a good year last year hitting .293 and was worth 2.9 WAR. He plays solid defense and provides an upgrade over Aurelio Sanchez.

The next deal we made was the signing of Carl Denton to a one year $2.7 million contract. Denton was a player I didn't want to non-tender, but luckily we were able to get him to come back for less.

Then finally we added reliever Toshimichi Ota on a minor league contract.

I'm pretty pleased with the offseason. We needed to find a way to get better without spending a lot of money, and I feel we were able to upgrade three positions. Hopefully that'll be enough to get us into the playoffs.

[NYY #23]

I was worried about our outfield heading into this season and we went out and made a trade for Flint Reed. That hasn't worked out yet though with Reed hitting the disabled list along with centerfielder Danny White. Despite the injuries the Kodiaks finished April with a 16-11 record and are currently sitting in first place.

Around the league there was a pair of no-hitters this month with Nick Seaton pitching a no-hitter for the Expos, and Jack Gaston pitching a no-hitter for the Cardinals.

Juan Gomez earned his 300th save for the Astros, and Mathew Morris hit safely for 30 games in a row for the Indians.

[NYY #23]

It was a rough month in Vancouver as the Kodiaks went 11-16 for the month. Injuries have really taken a toll on us with 1B Tony Armstrong the only starter who has avoided the disabled list.

If it wasn't for our pitching and defense it would be a lot worse. We did call up top pitching prospect Cesar Delgado who has started 1-2 with a 3.26 ERA.

This month Jason Clair hit his 500th career home run for the Chicago White Sox, becoming the first player since Joe Kaiser did it in 2040. The next may be 35 year old Jeremiah Harris of the Twins, who hit his 400th home run this month.

Albert Rivera reached 2000 career hits for the Rays this month. Bertolameu Henrich also made the news this month when he struck out 16 batters in a game for the Expos.

[NYY #23]

The Kodiaks were picking 21st in the amateur draft, and went with the best available player selecting closer Arthur Harrington with our first round pick. In the second round we selected reliever Clarence Moore, with centerfielder Jeff Hayes, centerfielder Glen Hawkins, and reliever Chad Connolly rounding out our top five picks.

Vancouver went 6-7 to start the month and completed one trade sending starting pitcher Al Rigden to the Texans in exchange for 25 year old catcher Don Barber. We wanted a spot in our rotation for Jesus Concepcion, and the 35 year old Rigden netted us a catching prospect. Rigden has been pretty reliable for us, and was 4-5 with a 2.94 ERA at the time of the trade. It's the second time we've traded Rigden in the last three years,

Around the league Silas Miller went deep three times in a game for the Giants. Bobby Richardson hit for the cycle for Mexico City, and Dennis Gunter hit his 300th career home run for the Dodgers.

[NYY #23]

I feel like the Kodiaks are stuck in a rut, going 13-14 in June. Injuries continue to plague us, and it seems like we can't stay healthy. But despite the struggles the Kodiaks are just two games out of the final Wild Card.

Which complicates things a little bit, because 1B Toby Armstrong, 3B Alfonso Robles, LF Ronaldo Lopez, 2B Lorenzo Moreno, RP Carl Denton, C Antonio Tovar, 3B Bob Williams, RP Dan Lindner, and RF Fernao Dimas will be free agents after this season. While we have just over $22 million that we can use on extensions, Robles alone wants an extension for $20 million. Tovar $5 million, Moreno $4 million, and it gets worse after that.

So I plan to give it two weeks and decide if we're going to be buyers or sellers. I'd hate to lose players for nothing, but we'll see how the next two weeks go before deciding.

[NYY #23]

The Kodiaks made a change after losing the first two games of the month and fired Manager Rafael Rosendin. We named Fytor Anacoreta the interim manager, who was managing our rookie team. So far the team has responded well, going 7-1.

That leaves the Kodiaks 5 1/2 games out of first place, and tied for the last Wild Card game. The jury is still out on whether we will sell off any players that will be free agents after the season. Even though we're in the race for the Wild Card I don't feel like we're capable of winning the World Series, but I do know anything can happen once we reach the playoffs.

I'll give it another week or two before making a final decision.

We did agree to a one year $885,600 extension with SP Rob Whitfield, buying out his first year of arbitration. We also agreed to a three year $4 million extension with RF Fernao Dimas. He's been solid as a fourth outfielder.

Curt Anderson of the Mets pitched a no-hitter with a 6-0 win over the Rockies.

[NYY #23]

The Kodiaks got hot, going 18-6 for the month and moving us into first place in the NL West. Despite moving into first place I decided to make a trade that hopefully will help us this year, and in the future.

The Kodiaks sent 3B Alfonso Robles, 1B Toby Armstrong, and prospects SP Albert Brown, SS Carlos Valdes, and 2B Felix Caballero to the Brewers in exchange for 1B Steven Borden and 3B Will Alvarez.

Both Robles and Armstrong are expiring contracts, and Brown is the big name prospect. He's either seventh or eighth on our starting pitcher depth chart, so I think we can absorb his loss. Borden is arbitration eligible after this season for the first time in the offseason, and is hitting .274 with 11 home runs and 53 RBI while providing solid defense. Alvarez is under team control through next year and is hitting .230 with 6 home runs this year. It's a down year for Alvarez though, and last year he was worth 5.2 WAR, and the year before 6.2 WAR.

It's a risk, but it's a risk that I'm willing to take.

[NYY #23]

After such a good month in July the Kodiaks struggled going 13-14 in August. We suffered a rash of injuries, losing Flint Reed, Antonio Tovar, Michael Leslie, Jim Barnard, and Fernao Dimas to injury. We still finished in first place though.

We've gotten good production out of Will Alvarez (.270, 1 HR, 7 RBI) and Steven Borden (.276, 2 HR, 5 RBI). We'll call up some reinforcements, and hopefully be able to maintain our lead.

[NYY #23]

With a 15-11 month the Kodiaks end the month in good position to reach the playoffs. Good position, but not great. We lead the Dodgers and Mariners by a game in the decision, and hold a half game lead over the Pirates and Cardinals in the Wild Card standings. With the Expos clinching the NL East we can win the NL West, get one of the three Wild Card spots, or finish out of the playoffs.

We have four games remaining, one at home against the Dodgers, and three on the road against Mexico City. We'll hopefully be able to survive our injuries and head to the playoffs.

The Kodiaks did agree to terms with 2B Lorenzo Moreno on a four year $8 million contract, and reliever Dan Lindner on a one year $1.2 million contract.

[NYY #23]

The Kodiaks limped into the postseason after a 5-4 win over the Dodgers, and then getting swept three games in a row against Mexico City. That leaves us tied with the Mariners with an 87-75 record in the NL West. We'll have a one game playoff against Seattle to determine who wins the division, and who wins the Wild Card.

Phillies catcher Tomas Flores hit career home run number 300 this month.

[NYY #23]

It wasn't a must win game for the Kodiaks, but it was a game that would make things easier if we won. A win would mean a bye in the first round, while a loss would send us on the road for the Wild Card round.

24 year old Jesus Concepcion was making the start for the Kodiaks, and Concepcion would go 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits, and strike out 8. He'd leave the game with a 3-2 lead though compliments of a first inning home run by Antonio Tovar, and RBI double by Danny White, and an RBI single by Steven Borden.

The bullpen would take over in the sixth with Terry Brown, Jeff Gibbons, Greg Burris, and Keith Hahn getting into the action. Hahn would earn his 48th save of the year and the Kodiaks will enjoy a bye and a Division title after the 5-3 win.