Worst to First - The Sequel

[NYY #23]

The Phillies finished 61-93 last season, and are coming off their fourth straight losing season. They haven't been to the World Series in 12 seasons, after coming off back to back World Series Championships. They beat my Browns those two years of course, but things haven't been great in Philly.

The owner expects a .500 team, and is mad, and the market size, fan loyalty, and fan interest are all in rough shape.

Their offense scored the 5th most runs in the league, while their starters gave up the most runs in the league, and the Phillies had the worst defense in the league.

I feel that the Phillies have a solid, young top 3 to work with for the pitching staff, with Tom Zachary (16-18, 3.98), Highball Wilson (4-7, 3.38), and Joe Coleman (7-4, 3.36) all younger than 27 and going through growing pains currently. 18 year old Waite Hoyt was the Phillies top pick last year, and is recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Offensively Mike Greenwell, Bill Harbridge, and Hank Blalock form a solid core, but defensively we've got some big issues, and need to get stronger up the middle.

My initial thoughts are that Rich Rollins will shift from second base to third base, Blalock from third to first, and Spider Wilhelm can man shortstop. Bill Harbridge is better equipped to play right field, so we'll be looking for a new catcher, second baseman, and center fielder. At this point I'm willing to sacrifice some offense for defense at those positions.

Picking first in the amateur draft I was left with an interesting choice. I'd rank the top three players in the draft starting pitchers, and the choice came down to Peek-A-Boo Veach, John Smoltz, or Tom Seaver. Looking at ratings Veach should be the top choice, but it's really hard to completely forget the "name" players. In the end I can't bring myself to draft Veach over Seaver, so we'll draft Seaver and shortlist Veach and Smoltz to subject myself to future torture.

The second round my scout was pushing for Tim Wakefield, but there is nothing like adding a knuckleball pitcher to a team who already has a poor catcher. I went with second baseman Will Rhymes instead.

Shortstop Tim Foli was our third round pick, followed by relievers Masanori Murakami and Scott Maine.

Eddie Collins won another Outstanding Hitter Award after hitting .387 with 2 home runs and 64 RBI. It's hard to believe that at 25 this is his 5th Outstanding Hitter of the Year award.

Babe Ruth won the NL Outstanding Hitter Award, hitting .287 with 30 home runs and 94 RBI. He also added a Gold Glove.

[NYY #23]

A couple moves in the offseason -

- We traded reliever Art Stokes to the Cleveland Indians for catcher Jack Redmond.

- I explored, and passed on a trade for Babe Ruth. The Braves would have taken a deal of Mike Greenwell, Hank Blalock, Tom Seaver, Highball Wilson, and Henry Smoyer.

- We traded 2B Bill Doran and RF Alonzo Powell to the St Louis Cardinals for CF BJ Upton. Upton had success last season in a limited bench role, but he'll get a chance to start for us in center because of his glove.

- We failed to sign draft pick Masanori Murakami.

I also noticed that the Braves are taking a page from the future Marlins playbook, and rebuilding after a World Series win. Jack Farrell and Carlos Santana were both dealt for minor leaguers, as was Frank Motz and Charlie Lindstrom. Jerry Gil, Dan Haren, Austin Romine, and Al Nichols were all released.

[NYY #23]

As expected, things in Philly are rough, going 5-12 for our first month. The early returns appear that our defense has improved, but we still can't score runs, and are given up too many runs. I don't really expect much this first season though.

Since I planned on watching Babe Ruth get to number 1 with the Braves, but left town a World Series winner sooner than expected, I figure I'll still continue until Ruth gets to the top spot. It won't be as fun, but what can you do. With a big jump this month it shouldn't take too long anyway.

Career Home Run List
1. Cy Williams - 106
2. Dick Allen - 99
3. Home Run Baker - 91
4. Chipper Jones - 77
5. Rogers Hornsby - 72
6. Manny Jiminez - 72
7. Babe Ruth - 69

[NYY #23]

Things went well in May for the Phillies, as we went 17-10. Don't go out and buy your World Series tickets just yet though, as we've still got a lot of red flags that indicate our hot May is only temporary success.

A big part of our success was Tom Zachary, won the Pitcher of the Month award after going 6-0 with a 2.35 ERA. Will Rhymes won the Rookie of the Month for the second straight month, hitting .298 with 2 home runs, and 18 RBI.

Russ Bauers picked up career win number 200. And Joe Hesketh returned from injury to pitch again for the Indians, only to get injury after 5 starts. Hesketh will miss the next 12-13 months.

Babe Ruth has now moved up to 5th on the all-time home run list:
Career Home Run List
1. Cy Williams - 107
2. Dick Allen - 99
3. Home Run Baker - 91
4. Chipper Jones - 83
5. Babe Ruth - 73

[scott1964]

Babe Ruth hit 58 HR in 1921 in my league.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by scott1964

Babe Ruth hit 58 HR in 1921 in my league.

Babe never seems to have really big seasons for me!

[NYY #23]

June was more of what I expected in Philly, going 10-18. Our defense at the infield corners is really weak, so Lance Niekro earned a promotion to the majors, and I'm going to start exploring trades for Blalock. With Rich Rollins out with an injury, our third base problem may wait until the offseason.

Career Home Run List
1. Cy Williams - 107
2. Dick Allen - 100
3. Home Run Baker - 91
4. Chipper Jones - 86
5. Babe Ruth - 79

[NYY #23]

Another losing month placed the Phillies back into last place, but the good news is that we are only 9 1/2 games back. We are definitely seeing a lot of parity this year, which bodes well for our future (I think).

The Cardinals powerhouse in the NL appears to have fallen apart, while the Braves continue to break up. I noticed that the Cardinals released Barry Bonds today. Bonds has had a rough stretch, hitting in the low .200's the past five years. BALCO wasn't around in the 20's and Bonds never developed like he could have. He still could provide some pop off the bench though.

Eddie Collins won another Batter of the Month award this year, and is hitting .416 this season. He's definitely a special player, and I'm half tempted to trade half my team to get him, and the other half of my team to get Ruth.

It certainly would be a fun team to watch at least.

Career Home Run List
1. Cy Williams - 109
2. Dick Allen - 100
3. Home Run Baker - 91
4. Chipper Jones - 87
5. Babe Ruth - 84

Collins is 39th on the career hit list, but I have a feeling he'll be at the top of that list before too long.

[NYY #23]

Another losing month, which saw two free agent pickups, Barry Bonds and Jason LaRue, two former players are coming to Philadelphia. I talked about Bonds last month, but since signing Bonds has hit .250 with 2 home runs and 10 RBI. I like having a good defensive catcher on my roster, and LaRue will function well in that role. He's no longer a starter, but one of those players you develop an attachment too.


Career Home Run List
1. Cy Williams - 109
2. Dick Allen - 101
3. Home Run Baker - 91
4. Chipper Jones - 89
5. Babe Ruth - 85

Collins moved up to 37th on the career hits list with 1600 career hits.

[NYY #23]

My first year is over in Philadelphia, and we ended with a perfect month, going 1-0 in October. Of course we had a losing month in September, going 9-13, and finished with a 69-85 record, good for last place in the NL. The Cubs won the NL after a one game playoff with the Braves - who snuck into a last day tie (sounds familiar?), but lost to the Cubs, who went on to lose to the Indians 5 games to 2.

Of course the good news in all of this is that we improved by 8 games, and the NL was pretty closely bunched together, so it should mean it is easier to move up in the standings.

The Phillies will have a new skipper next season, Hector Cruz. Cruz was a former manager of the Reds, who I hired as bench coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, where he won 3 World Series. He spent the past three seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics, going 81-73 in his last season.

Both John McGraw and Gene Conley announced their retirement following the season. Former player Chipper Jones won the NL Outstanding Hitter Award, hitting .332 with 16 home runs and 94 RBI. Another former player, Tommy Hanson, put it all together this year to win the Outstanding Pitcher Award - going 22-9 with a 2.80 ERA.

Two Phillies won the Gold Glove this year, 2B Will Rhymes and LF Barry Bonds.

And former Cardinals hurler Sam Weaver was immortalized in the Hall of Fame after going 243-220 for his career.



And finally, Starlin Castro collected career hit number 2000, and Mike Cuellar of the Senators won his 200th game of his career.

Career Home Run List
1. Cy Williams - 110
2. Dick Allen - 101
3. Home Run Baker - 91
4. Chipper Jones - 90
5. Babe Ruth - 90

Collins moved up to 4 spots to 33rd on the career hit list and became the first player to hit .400 in a season, hitting .406. He now holds 3 of the top 4 spots for best batting average in a season, and 5 of the top 10. His 11.03 WAR this season also sets a record.

The Phillies drafted second overall, and there was one guy we really wanted, Eddie Cicotte, who was drafted first overall by the St. Louis Browns, who continue to haunt me.

It felt like a pretty weak draft class to me, which never helps improve. I'm not too fond of anybody we picked, but we went with the best available.

Draft results:
SP - Al Downing
1B - Joe Hauser
SS - Hanley Frias
MR - Kevin Olsen
MR - Brad Pennington

A look back at last year's #1 pick dilemna -
Tom Seaver - 14-16, 3.86 ERA, 94 ERA+
John Smoltz - 2-5, 5.37 ERA , 75 ERA+, tricep injury
Peek-A-Boo Veach - 18-19, 3.29 ERA, 111 ERA+

While Veach had a better season this year, Seaver didn't do much worse. Smoltz definitely had a rough start to his career, and I was pretty tempted to pick him, so it looks like Seaver over Smoltz was a wise choice.

Philadelphia Phillies - 61-93 (.396) 27 1/2 GB
1921 - Philadelphia Phillies 69-85 (.448) 11 1/2 GB (Season Score - 17)

[NYY #23]

We made one trade in the offseason, sending Hank Blalock to the Senators for RF Doug Loman. Loman can play all three outfield positions, so he should be a good addition as a fourth outfielder.

On the field we started out in last place, with the worst defensive efficiency and the most runs allowed. Our offense hasn't been too great either, tied for sixth in most runs scored. It's early though.

[NYY #23]

The Phillies went 15-13 for the month, and currently sit 4 games back, despite our losing record for the season (22-24).

We feature a terrible offense, terrible pitching, and a terrible defense, so what more can you ask for. Tom Seaver went down with an injury as well. Joe Hauser has been playing well this season, hitting .307 with 4 home runs and 39 RBI, and has won the Rookie of the Month award two months in a row.



Around the league, Jack McDowell became just the third pitcher to win 300 games in his career. Toad Ramsey of the Philadelphia Athletics and Monte Ward of the Pirates each won their 200th game.

Babe Ruth has moved up to third on the career home run list.
Career Home Run List
1. Cy Williams - 110
2. Dick Allen - 101
3. Babe Ruth - 99

As Babe Ruth moves up the career home runs list, I also have been paying close attention to Eddie Collins and the career hit list. Of course I'm the guy who traded the player who is #3 on the all-time hit list, and #24 too. Cubs fans should be happy if Castro turns out this well in real life.

Career Hit List
1. Dick Allen #- 2911
2. Red Murray - 2573
3. Jerry Mumphrey #- 2527
4. John McGraw - 2403
5. Rogers Hornsby - 2291
6. Larry Gardner #- 2257
7. Home Run Baker - 2224
8. Ken Hubbs #- 2128
9. Starlin Castro #- 2081
10. Art Wilson - 2014
11. Bill Hinchman - 2000
12. Manny Jimenez #- 1943
13. Lou Clinton - 1937
14. Gus Williams #- 1899
15. Joe Cunningham - 1857
16. Eddie Murphy #- 1854
17. Cy Williams - 1851
18. Geronimo Berroa - 1828
19. Chipper Jones #- 1807
20. Dave Altizer - 1775
21. Pablo Sandoval #- 1755
22. Honus Wagner #- 1749
23. Tom Sexton #- 1742
24. Hal McRae #- 1722
25. Willie Davis #- 1719
26. Eddie Collins, Sr. #- 1703

[NYY #23]

We finished another winning month going 14-13, but still sit under .500 for the year after our rough opening month. Both our number 1 and number 2 starter are on the DL, and I'm beginning to have my doubts about Tom Seaver. When healthy he was 1-8 with a 4.44 ERA. Meanwhile, Peak-a-boo Veach is 13-5 with a 2.40 ERA. To make matters worse, Seaver is in the midst of an ongoing feud with shortstop Henry Smoyer, as the two have gotten into a shoving match in the dugout earlier this month.

Last year we took a chance on free agent Barry Bonds, who appeared to have not much left in his tank after being released by the Cardinals. Bonds has rewarded my faith with his best season in at least six years, hitting .280 with 10 home runs and has replaced Mike Greenwell in the starting lineup.

From 1901-1921 there were six players who hit for the cycle (Sandy Amoros, Gene Martin, Bill Hinchman, Barry Bonds, Larry Ray, and Dustin Ackley). This month two players hit for the cycle, Pat Donahue and Philly's own Joe Hauser, who also picked up another Rookie of the Month award.



With 5 more home runs Babe Ruth will move up to number 1 on the all-time home run list. It should be just a month or two for the 23 year old.

Career Home Run List
1. Cy Williams - 110
2. Babe Ruth - 105

Eddie Collins moved up two slots on the career hits list.

Career Hit List
1. Dick Allen #- 2911
2. Red Murray - 2573
3. Jerry Mumphrey #- 2527
4. John McGraw - 2403
5. Rogers Hornsby - 2291
6. Larry Gardner #- 2264
7. Home Run Baker - 2224
8. Ken Hubbs #- 2133
9. Starlin Castro #- 2115
10. Art Wilson - 2014
11. Bill Hinchman - 2000
12. Manny Jimenez #- 1957
13. Lou Clinton - 1937
14. Gus Williams #- 1936
15. Eddie Murphy #- 1863
16. Joe Cunningham - 1857
17. Cy Williams - 1851
18. Chipper Jones #- 1839
19. Geronimo Berroa - 1828
20. Pablo Sandoval #- 1793
21. Honus Wagner #- 1781
22. Dave Altizer - 1775
23. Tom Sexton #- 1765
24. Eddie Collins, Sr. #- 1741

[NYY #23]

The Phillies finished our third straight winning month, but fell to 8 1/2 games back. It's still pretty tight from the top to bottom in the NL, and the AL as well. I won't quite call it a house rule, but one of the guidelines that I like to use is I like to trade with teams that are either rebuilding or in win now mode, and trade accordingly. I just feel better trading a veteran to a team trying to win now, or trying to pick up a veteran from a rebuilding team. Unfortunately with things so bunched together there was just one team in rebuilding mode, the Chicago White Sox. We just didn't match up well, so we didn't make any moves at the deadline.

There's really no interesting names that have been cut lose, except 43 year old Dick Allen, who is 89 hits away from 3000. If Joe Hauser wasn't playing so well it might be worth it to pick him up and have him start everyday and see how close he could get to 3000.



We have a new career home run leader, as Babe Ruth hit home run number 111 in his career to move into first place. Both Mike Morse of the Detroit Tigers and Ed Spiezio hit for the cycle, making it the second straight month two players have hit for the cycle during the same month.

Eddie Collins moved up one slot on the career hit list this month.

Career Hit List
1. Dick Allen #- 2911
2. Red Murray - 2573
3. Jerry Mumphrey #- 2527
4. John McGraw - 2403
5. Rogers Hornsby - 2291
6. Larry Gardner #- 2277
7. Home Run Baker - 2224
8. Starlin Castro #- 2144
9. Ken Hubbs #- 2134
10. Art Wilson - 2014
11. Bill Hinchman - 2000
12. Manny Jimenez #- 1979
13. Gus Williams #- 1970
14. Lou Clinton - 1937
15. Chipper Jones #- 1883
16. Eddie Murphy #- 1867
17. Joe Cunningham - 1857
18. Cy Williams - 1851
19. Pablo Sandoval #- 1838
20. Geronimo Berroa - 1828
21. Honus Wagner #- 1806
22. Tom Sexton #- 1786
23. Eddie Collins, Sr. #- 1777

[NYY #23]

The Phillies had our fourth straight winning month going 16-11 and moved 6 games above .500. Our offense has started clicking as we now have scored more runs than any other team in the league, and our pitching and defense are starting to improve (a little).

There are signs of life from Tom Seaver who has steadily been improving after bottoming out in June when he went 0-3 with a 5.06 ERA. In July Seaver was 4-2 with a 3.40 ERA, and in August 4-2 with a 2.65 ERA. He is just 22, so I really should have shown a little more patience.



Brad Nelson of the Senators had a 33 game hitting streak stopped, while teammate Gus Triandos had a 32 game hitting streak end on the last day of the month. It's not hard to see why the Senators went 19-9 for the month and are in the midst of a 10 game winning streak. They are the second and third longest hitting streaks of all-time, trailing only Rusty Staub who had a 39 game hitting streak.

Lee Grissom of the Cubs picked up career win number 200.

With 40 hits this month Eddie Collins moved up another slot on the career hits list. I am beginning to think that Collins will be the first player to reach 3000 career hits.

Career Hit List
1. Dick Allen #- 2911
2. Red Murray - 2573
3. Jerry Mumphrey #- 2527
4. John McGraw - 2403
5. Rogers Hornsby - 2291
6. Larry Gardner #- 2277
7. Home Run Baker - 2224
8. Starlin Castro #- 2144
9. Ken Hubbs #- 2137
10. Art Wilson - 2014
11. Bill Hinchman - 2000
12. Manny Jimenez #- 1998
13. Gus Williams #- 1975
14. Lou Clinton - 1937
15. Chipper Jones #- 1911
16. Eddie Murphy #- 1879
17. Pablo Sandoval #- 1877
18. Joe Cunningham - 1857
19. Cy Williams - 1851
20. Geronimo Berroa - 1828
21. Honus Wagner #- 1827
22. Eddie Collins, Sr. #- 1817

[NYY #23]

There is a lot of different ways to build a team, but there are certain things that I like to do, such as build a strong defensive team. It's always nice to have a strong pitching staff too, but I haven't done that with the Phillies yet, and our offense is carrying us.

I've also made just 3 minor trades since taking over, so we haven't shook things up too much. We did have two straight amateur drafts where we went with starting pitching, and I've been very pleased with last year's second round pick, Joe Hauser.

So as we head into the offseason I will probably continue to watch things develop slowly. The amateur draft seemed pretty weak this season, and with the first pick we selected Tony Gwynn ----Jr.

The rest of the draft was:
SP - Bill Laskey
LF - Scarborough Green
MR - Frank Barron
RF - Fabian Gaffke

Barry Bonds won the Batter of the Month award in September, hitting .292 with 6 home runs, 25 RBI, and 23 runs scored. Bonds added another Gold Glove as well, joining RF Bill Harbridge as the Phillies Gold Glove winners. Reliever Freddie Tolivar announced his retirement. Tolivar was 16-19 with a 4.03 ERA and 6 saves.

Joe Hauser won the NL Rookie of the Year award after hitting .332 with 15 home runs, 118 RBI, and 93 runs scored.

Manny Jimenez collected the 2000th hit of his career, while Camilo Pascual of the Browns won the 250th game of his career, and announced his retirement after the Browns beat the Giants to win the World Series 4-3.

Pitcher Ed Willett became the latest player elected to the Hall of Fame. With 16 pitchers inducted, we are awaiting the first hitter to be inducted to the Hall of Fame.



Eddie Collins moved up 2 slots to 20th on the career hit list. There are 8 active players ahead of Collins on the list.

Career Hit List
1. Dick Allen #- 2911
2. Red Murray - 2573
3. Jerry Mumphrey - 2527
4. John McGraw - 2403
5. Rogers Hornsby - 2291
6. Larry Gardner - 2287
7. Home Run Baker - 2224
8. Starlin Castro #- 2144
9. Ken Hubbs #- 2137
10. Manny Jimenez #- 2023
11. Art Wilson - 2014
12. Bill Hinchman - 2000
13. Gus Williams #- 1985
14. Chipper Jones #- 1943
15. Lou Clinton - 1937
16. Pablo Sandoval #- 1914
17. Eddie Murphy #- 1890
18. Joe Cunningham - 1857
19. Cy Williams - 1851
20. Eddie Collins, Sr. #- 1848

Philadelphia Phillies - 61-93 (.396) 27 1/2 GB
1921 - Philadelphia Phillies 69-85 (.448) 11 1/2 GB (Season Score - 17)
1922 - Philadelphia Phillies 80-74 (.519) 7 GB (Season Score - 52)

[yougo1000]

I see Starlin Castro on the all-time hit list. What has he done in his career?

[scott1964]

Watch out for Joe Hauser, he is my leader in HRs.

[ShagVT]

Originally Posted by yougo1000

I see Starlin Castro on the all-time hit list. What has he done in his career?

My guess is 2100 hits, 1200 strikeouts, and 12 walks. But really that's just a guess.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by scott1964

Watch out for Joe Hauser, he is my leader in HRs.

That would be nice. He's got some good home run potential, but it hasn't quite developed yet.