Christopher Quinn, 2B - Page 2

bcimmet · 01-04-2004, 06:55 PM

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Pirates)

OCTOBER 6, 2004

We’ve been eliminated from contention. I wouldn’t have stayed on the post-season roster anyway, but my loyalty to the team is such that I wanted us to win so badly. We ended up going 14-18 in September and October, which was simply not enough to hold on. Houston, which overtook us and went on to the playoffs, ultimately won the World Series over Boston.

I’ll likely start next season back in AAA..

My numbers for the year:

Code:

YEAR TEAM     GP    AB    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI    R   BB    K  SB  CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
2003 PIT,A    23    91   39    3   4   2   14   19    7   15   6   5  .429 .480 .615 1.10
2003 PIT,AA   87   362  127   25   4   6   52   74   27   47  35   5  .351 .401 .492 .893
2003 PIT,AAA  17    66   27    1   1   0    1    8    3    2   6   0  .409 .411 .455 .866
2003 PIT       8     1    0    0   0   0    0    2    0    1   0   0  .000 .000 .000 .000

Not the best rookie debut, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. All I have to do is be 1000% better next year than I was this year, and I’ll win the MVP.

Again, I have to pay attention to what’s going on with our team for next year. These are the numbers for the people still with the Pittsburgh organization at the end of the 2004 season:

Code:

MAJORS (2004)    GP  AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI   R  BB   K  SB CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS   Signed
F. Porras       125 484 145 25  0 19  77  70  29  49   0  0  .300 .338 .469 .807  arbitr.
J. Batton        87 166  39  7  1  2  12  19   6  30   0  0  .235 .259 .325 .584       FA
J. Bowden        29  88  20  4  3  1  10  12  11  20   2  0  .227 .327 .375 .702    -2006
C. Quinn          8   1   0  0  0  0   0   2   0   1   0  0  .000 .000 .000 .000  auto-re

MINORS (2004)    GP  AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI   R  BB   K  SB CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS   Signed
D. Bauza   AAA   97 297  83 14  2  5  34  36  10  67   8 10  .279 .309 .391 .700  auto-re
J. Bowden  AAA   54 205  63 10  0  1  17  31  21  31  19  4  .307 .377 .371 .748    -2006
B. Tyrell  AAA   53  69  16  2  0  2   7   4   2   8   0  0  .232 .264 .348 .612   minors
C. Quinn   AAA   17  66  27  1  1  0   1   8   3   2   6  0  .409 .411 .455 .866  auto-re

I want to be confident about at least landing the starting job in AAA. (I should have no competition for the starting job in AA, but I hope it doesn’t even come to that.) Batton, Bauza and Bowden (the three Bs) all have more experience than I do. Bowden has a lot more. He just keeps getting hurt. On the other hand, he’s got two years left on a contract that pays him about $2.1mil each year. And there’s always a chance that we’ll sign a new player. We only resigned one player to an extension this season, Cruz Moreno (SP). He was a 20-game winner for us this year (20-10, 3.64), and made the All-Star Team. The club has a good deal of money left for signings ($32mil for extensions and $17.5mil for free agents next year), and our fan interest and attendance has been getting better.

Of course, I’ll probably end up in Plainfield again, but it’s still worth knowing what’s out there.

I don’t feel like I was part of a big league team. It’s odd – players always say that when you reach the show, it’s a new game, it’s a new world. I didn’t feel it. The clubhouse wasn’t any fun. September was a bad month for Pittsburgh, losing too many games to stay in contention for the playoffs. Everyone was frustrated, pitchers, hitters. We couldn’t get it right, like when we lost that game to Philly because our spectacular closer gave up a 3-run homer. What are you going to do? At least in the minors, there’s not as much pressure, and you can relax a bit. I joined the roster in September, yes. But seven people came up from AAA for September, and I had only known them for a few weeks anyway. I was very alone. In Wilkes-Barre, certainly, and then even in Kingston, I felt like I was part of a team. In Plainfield, all they want to do is get out of Plainfield. And in the bigs, it’s really a job, not a social event. Or maybe that’s just because I was new. I’ll have to see...

I’m spending more of this winter focusing on my game. It looks like I may have a career at some point. I’m only 20 years old, and I feel I’ve aged a decade since this whole thing began.

bcimmet · 01-05-2004, 02:55 AM

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Pirates)

MARCH 1, 2005

Spring Training! I’m actually at the facility in Augusta, GA, working out with the major league team. There’s sixty-three of us here, all vying for spots on the ILB roster. Some of these guys are guaranteed spots – the guys were the regular starters, the big names, the veterans from last year. Others are a combination of AAA players, free agents, non-roster invitees, and so on. I’m on a minor-league contract, but if I make the opening day squad, I’ll be signed to a major league minimum deal ($300k for the year). It’s the same competition as last year; we didn’t pick up any free agent second basemen. I’m anticipating Porras getting the starting nod with Joe Bowden as his backup. I’ll probably share time with Bauza in AAA.

I’m torn whether I’d like AAA better than the bigs. Less pressure, but lamer attitude. In AAA, they care more about personal growth than about winning. In the bigs, it’s all about winning. I’m torn.

I’ve gotten to know one of the other young-ish players. Fonzi Sato is several years older than I am, but he was last year’s NL Rookie of the Year, hitting 35 homers with 124 RBI in his first full season. We’ve been throwing and taking batting practice together, which is fun. It’s making the time here more festive. I’ve also been talking a lot with Bob Temples, our closer. It’s sort of like an uncle, more or less. He’s got two nephews who are about my age, and he doesn’t get to see them too often. I think that’s what drew him to talking to me in the first place. It’s nice to be bonding with some of the major players. You know that Sato and Temples are going to be on the roster next year. I wonder if there’s anything with them putting a good word in for me...

We did sign four free agents: Joe Perreault, a 37-year old starter with 180 career wins for Kansas City, Oakland, the Mets and Anaheim, but last year had his worst pro season, going 7-15 with a 5.93. He’s in town, and should be a good shot at a #4 or #5 starter in our rotation; Kyle Heckard, a utility player who has been with Montreal, Houston and the Yankees over the last six years (career average .269, 40 HR, 189 RBI in 574 games). Heckard is primarily a third baseman, but saw action at six positions last year; Francisco Gonzalez, a first baseman journeyman who has played for Kansas City, St. Louis, Oakland and Boston, and has accumulated stats worth one full season (.238, 16 homers, 97 RBI in 299 games); pitcher James Bodnar (15-16 in the minors, 5-4 in the majors with a 5.70 ERA with Florida).

bcimmet · 01-05-2004, 10:10 AM

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Pirates)

APRIL 1, 2005

It’s for real. I made the cut. I’m on the opening day roster of a major league baseball team! I am bubbling over, even more than when I was called up last fall. This is too much. I beat out eight other second basemen for the backup job on the big-time roster. I’m riding the bench behind Freddie Porras, yes, but I’m here. I get to wear #18 every day for this club.

I haven’t paid a lot of attention to that Prospect Ranking, not since I hit #1 last season. But this is weird: I’m at number 22 now. I have no idea how they judge that kind of thing, but it’s strange to think that I’ve dropped that much. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer before the list is meaningless to me. I checked it today to look at our new crop of rookies. None of them seem to be a star in the making, but I’ll keep my eye out. I checked up on some of the others I came up with in the class of 2003: Ernesto Torres and Odon Palacios haven’t gotten out of A-ball in Montreal and Baltimore (respectively) yet. They were both traded away our first year. Chris Gerner is still a buddy of mine, but he hasn’t done that well at AAA Atlanta. Maybe this will be his year. And it was looking like Larry Plemmons, a pitcher still with our organization, was going to crack the bigs soon – last year in AAA, he was 2-0 with 9 saves and 1.98 ERA. It looked great. Instead, he’s pitching for Wilkes-Barre this year. And my good friend “Otter” Landreneau – he’s on the AAA roster this year. It’s nice that the Pirates organization hasn’t given up on him. He’s got skills, it’s just a matter of making himself known.

On the major league roster, there’s three left-handed hitting bench people: Francisco Gonzalez, who is a first baseman by trade, James Micco, our backup catcher, and me. Micco is actually a switch hitter. I’m definitely the best runner on the club, which will mean more times in the game as a pinch-runner than anything else.

Our season opener was at Wrigley Field, against the Cubs. We won the game, but I didn’t make an appearance. I watched Freddie Porras at second base. He’s a good player. He came up in Cleveland’s system, broke through in 2003, and mid-season was traded to us for a couple prospects. The last two years, he has had great campaigns. In 2003, he played 159 games, hit .295 with 19 homers, 89 RBI and 51 doubles, best in the NL. Last year, he missed 37 games, but still turned in a .300 average with 19 homers and 77 RBI. And he hit second in the order. He has no speed on the basepaths, though. He has attempted ZERO steals since getting traded to Pittsburgh.

So far, Freddie and I haven’t really talked much. We take fielding practice together, but not much else. He’s got his own crowd. The horror news as far as the rest of the team is concerned is that Cruz Moreno, our All-Star #1 pitcher, tore an arm muscle in the 8th inning, and left the game. We haven’t heard the news yet on him, but it doesn’t look good.

APRIL 3, 2005

Last night, I got into the game, and scored the go-ahead (and ultimately, the winning) run for us against Chicago. Pio Pena had started for us on the hill, but he was pulled in the 7th inning when his turn at bat came around. Fred Skates had been hit by a pitch, and with us down 3-2, Manager Lemon thought it best to make a move. Francisco Gonzalez (they call him “Zipper” of all things) hit a screaming double, and Skates went to third. Lemon then pulled Zipper off second, and put me there. He figured that I’d be a better candidate to score that go-ahead run if the moment came around. And it did. Ryan Ankey, our shortstop (maybe he’s who I should take fielding drills with) hit a short double to left (the outfield was pulled to right), and Skates and I scored easily. We won the game, and have started the season 2-0.

The word on Moreno is that he’s on the DL, and probably out for the year. It’s going to take surgery to repair this thing, and months of rest before even attempting rehab.

APRIL 8, 2005

Made my first major league start today against Houston. I batted 6th in the order. I finished the game 0-4, which is nothing to write home about: 2nd inning, ground out to second with the bases empty; 4th inning, line out to third with a man on second; 6th inning, ground out to second base with the bases empty; 7th inning, ground out to third with no one on. Nothing interesting at all. Four chances in the field, no errors, one double play.

The sad news is that Otter was let go. They told him that he wasn’t going to make it to the pros in this organization. There are too many other outfielders whose numbers are simply better. They asked him if he wanted to play in A-ball, make a small living as a ballplayer, but he said no. Now he’ll be able to head back home to Canada, and live with his girlfriend, and have the family he was dreaming of. I hope to stay in touch with him, and certainly any time I’m on a road trip to play the Expos, I’ll visit.

Otter was a good example of a bad player. What I mean is this: He never really showed the potential to crack the majors. But he showed up every day. He was in the gym. He was on the field. He took batting practice like the rest of us, and shagged flies in the evenings. He drank coffee in the morning, beer at night, and he was always a good friend. I can’t imagine a better person to have on the team, if the team was built on a foundation of good attitude and friendship.

bcimmet · 01-05-2004, 10:10 AM

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Pirates)

MAY 7, 2005

Got my first major league hit today. I started in place of Freddie to give him a day off. I came up with two on and two out in the first inning and singled. I didn’t drive anyone in, and Ben Madujano (Jan) struck out looking at a questionable slider. I singled again in the 6th, and scored on Jan’s 3-run shot.

Incidentally, the hit was off Clayton Tevis, who used to pitch for Pittsburgh. I never met him here, but he was 21-21 during three seasons here (2002-2004). This is a good story: He came up in 1993 with San Francisco. And between 1993-1997, he appeared in 68 games (starting 41), and had a 11-25 record with an ERA of around 5-something. Not that great. He gave up baseball for two years, and in 2000, signed a minor-league deal with Pittsburgh. Two-plus seasons in the farm system, and they brought him back to the majors, where he was decent (although nothing stellar) for three years. And now he’s back in San Francisco where he began his career, which is just a nice, well-rounded story.

Enough of that.

Two days ago, Bill Tyrell was let go. There’s a decent chance that someone else will pick him up. He’s a solid middle infielder, and there’s some weakness in those positions, particularly in the AL East. It’s a small sigh for me to know that there’s less competition behind me in the organization. It makes me feel more secure where I am.

JUNE 1, 2005

Still not playing on any regular basis, but I’ve got a few numbers to speak of. I’ve included my 2004 stats for comparison.

Code:

YEAR TEAM     GP    AB    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI    R   BB    K  SB  CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
2004 PIT       8     1    0    0   0   0    0    2    0    1   0   0  .000 .000 .000 .000
2005 PIT      23    13    3    0   0   0    0    6    1    2   1   0  .231 .286 .231 .516

And here’s something weird: I have a rookie card! I saw it on eBay! Apparently, someone has collected every baseball card in the world, and is selling them. Why bother? I’m packaged in with a whole slew of other newbies. I saw another web site that projected the value of your card, based on a variety of stats. This has been used to question certain purchases over the years of much more substantial sales. Anyway, the computer had some trouble with mine because I have so many zeroes on the stat sheet. But my value is a whopping eighteen cents! Hooray!

JUNE 24, 2005

I have a hitting streak! Two games, but it’s a streak! I was 2-4 with a double and a run scored, after starting in the 7-hole against Colorado. Tonight, I came in in the late innings of a 21-2 washing (we were the ones washed), and singled up the middle. Crossing the fingers for the next game! (Which might be in two weeks, but whatever!)

bcimmet · 01-05-2004, 10:11 AM

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Pirates)

AUGUST 1, 2005

Ortiz was signed to a huge extension -- $10mil a year for the next five years. This comes after a month in which he hit .203 with two home runs. This is his contract year, and Pittsburgh commits fifty million dollars to this guy? Yes, he’s had some good years, but is a 35-year old outfielder really our cornerstone for the next five years? Oh, this is worrisome...

There was talk of making some other moves, but it doesn’t look they were able to pull the trigger on anything. As a result, we’re hovering in the bottom end of this division.

OCTOBER 6, 2005

Season’s over. We finished 82-80, good for fifth place in the NL Central. Nothing close to a playoff position. Not the most exciting rookie season for me. For Jorge Sanchez, though, it was a great rookie campaign. Our regular first baseman hit .278 with 49 homers and 123 RBI despite a dismal September, and won the Rookie of the Year honors. He missed making the All-Star team, which was something of a snub, but finished the year in the top ten in slugging, homers, RBI, and total bases.

Freddie Porras slipped a little this past year, hitting just .251 with 19 homers and 66 RBI. He’s up for arbitration, so he’ll probably come back again next year. I just don’t get the feeling that they’re ready to commit to me on a regular basis. I have to improve my hitting, particularly against southpaw pitching. (Speaking of southpaw pitching, we had ZERO lefty hurlers on the staff at the end of the season. And our righties weren’t so hot, combining for an ERA of about 5.00.)

We have a lot of potential holes in the roster for next year, and it’s not looking good for any big-time trades or off-season acquisitions. I’m up for an automatic re-sign, so unless Pittsburgh actively gets rid of me, I’m here for the next two years at least.

My numbers for the year:

Code:

YEAR TEAM     GP    AB    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI    R   BB    K  SB  CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
2005 PIT      67    74   20    5   0   0    4   23    5   11   2   1  .270 .325 .338 .663

bcimmet · 01-06-2004, 11:39 AM

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, San Diego Padres)

FEBRUARY 27, 2006

Pack it up and ship it away! Pittsburgh did decide to actively get rid of me. I have been traded to San Diego! I got packaged up with Eddie Varada (prospect first baseman) and Ramon Corpuz (prospect shortstop – we used to hang together in Wilkes-Barre and Kingston) in exchange for Rodolfo Fons, a first baseman. Why Pittsburgh is trading away for a starting first baseman when Jorge won the Rookie of the Year and hit 49 dingers – I don’t understand.

Changes galore in San Diego. Their second baseman of the last three years, Guy Caswell, was not given a new contract, so there’s a big hole there on the right side of the infield. Caswell was pretty solid for this team -- .280 average over three complete seasons with no major injuries.

There’s so much to learn here. New players, new plays, new coaches, new manager. Our skipper is this funny guy named Andy Prosky. Someone did an anagram of his name, came up with SPARKY WONDER, and now that’s what everyone calls him. Sparky.

I’m moving to San Diego soon – they’ve helped me find an apartment near the ball park. Part of me is very excited about this prospect, but San Diego was a pretty crappy team last year, going 64-98, and never even coming close to anything. The upside is that I’m still in the National League, so I’ll be familiar with pitchers and all.

bcimmet · 01-06-2004, 11:40 AM

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, San Diego Padres)

APRIL 1, 2006

Not completely sure what all the signals are yet, but I’m in the park and ready to go. I’ve still got #18 on my back, which is a nice thing... And Sparky’s got me penciled in to bat leadoff! It’s my first pro start at leadoff!

As for this team, I’m again the youngest member of the current roster by a good three-year margin. I did see Jorge Martinez who I remembered from Pittsburgh – He was the starting catcher in Pittsburgh from 1996-2003, and had a .300 average with 59 homers and 396 RBI during that span. Here (so far), he’s a backup. He missed a good chunk of 2004 with an injury, and only made it back to the majors in 2005 for 18 games as a late-season pick-up by Colorado. But now he’s with San Diego.

We have more Asian representation on this team (2) than I had in Pittsburgh (1). Catcher Tenrou Tsuyoshi (Yoshi) and third baseman Takehiko Motoyuki (Yuki) pretty much stick together. Both speak some English, but both are somewhat scared by American life in general.

I’ve been hanging out some with pitcher Broderick Lemus (scheduled to start on opening day) and infielders Hershel Grogan and Matt Miller. Hersh and Matt have both been with the Padres organization for a while, so they’re showing me around town and all. Good stuff.

I finish the game 1-3 with two strikeouts. I wasn’t part of any of the scoring, but we won the game 7-4. If this San Diego team is anything like last years, this will be the end of our above-.500 life.

APRIL 2, 2006

3-5 with a run and caught stealing once. We win another game, and 2-0 is apparently a rather foreign concept to these guys. They’re running around screaming “Unbeaten! Unbeaten!” Hersh put a cardboard box on his head, and started dancing around the locker room, looking like a complete jackass.

APRIL 19,2006

I have found my new favorite opponent: Los Angeles. After going 0-4 in the first of the three-game series, I went 7-8 with two homers and five RBI in the next two games.

That’s right – little Christopher Quinn hit a major league homer. Twice. In back-to-back games.

Three weeks into my first full season on an ILB roster, and I’m at .338 with two homers and six RBI (thank you Dodgers). Also 14 runs scored and four stolen bases.

The team is 8-10, so that whole unbeaten dance has stopped... Thank you Milwaukee for beating us. I couldn’t take Hersh in a cardboard box one more day.

MAY 18, 2006

My first game against the Pirates wasn’t as exciting as I had hoped. I ended up going 0-3 with two walks and two runs scored. Yes, good, but I wanted more... The second game wasn’t any better, going 0-3 with nothing else to speak of except an embarrassing strikeout in the 8th inning. We lost both games. Glad I’m able to help Pittsburgh finally move up in the standings.

Hersh got sent down to AAA San Jose. Not entirely sure why – he’s a good player, and he was an every day player in 2004. Yuki is the starter at third base, but he doesn’t play every inning, and Hersh was a solid backup.They brought up a switch-hitting third baseman from AA San Luis Obispo. He hits equally poorly from both sides of the plate. Maybe Hersh will be back before long.

Matt Miller and I are still hanging around together. He brings his X-Box on the road, and we find more fun in that than the bars... We’ve been creating fantasy teams (usually based on the Padres), and tweaking the players to be better or worse than they are to suit our fantasies. Of course, I’m a .100 hitter on his team, and he’s the same for mine. But I’ve hit 83 home runs and have a .582 batting average for my fantasy San Diego club. And that’s just through 32 games. Nice...

Of course, some people hate those who edit their players to make them better. I say that it’s fun, and who the hell cares?

bcimmet · 01-06-2004, 12:08 PM

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, San Diego Padres)

JUNE 1, 2006

Finally a good game against my old club. I hit leadoff, went 2-5 with a homer and two RBI. We won in the ninth, coming back from a run down to steal it 5-4.

Life in San Diego is a lot more fun than life in Pittsburgh. I suppose that goes without saying. California, Pennsylvania. You do the math.

JULY 6, 2006

So the All-Star break came and went. I didn’t get a call, which is no surprise. I am having a solid year, which is a comfortable surprise. I haven’t been demoted to the bench. I’m hitting fairly well, and I feel like I’m a solid contributor to this club. I’m not having a Rookie of the Year season, but I’m playing. And that’s really what matters. I’m trying to help San Diego become a competitive team, and every time I’m able to lead a game off with a hit (in 81 games so far, I’m 28-75, .373, in leadoff at-bats) I’m doing my part.

Here are my season stats so far:

Code:

YEAR TEAM     GP    AB    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI    R   BB    K  SB  CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
2006 SD       78   317   82   12   1   7   26   57   36   54  16   5  .259 .339 .369 .708

It’s definitely a step forward from last year in Pittsburgh.

We made a couple questionable trades last month – shipping off two ILB starting pitchers for prospects and backups. Goodbye to Bill McDonagh was 5-1 for us after we acquired him from Houston, and then goodbye. He’s 3-2 so far for the Mets. And Chris Clancy, after going 5-16 last year, was struggling this year with a 4-6 record until we shipped him away to Minnesota. He’s 2-0 since the trade.

We’re apparently trying to trade first baseman Jose Varnado. He’s split his career with Atlanta and San Diego, he’s been an all-star, he’s a decent hitter – but he’s just not worth re-signing to anything new. He’s getting $8million plus this year, in the final year of his contract. And after two all-star seasons, this year he’s hitting around .275 with 11 homers and 40 RBI. Not impressive. If we can trade him, even for prospects, at least we’re getting something. I’m sure we won’t re-sign him for next year.

I’m up for arbitration at the end of this seasons. My agent thinks I’ll be worth about two million, which would be fantastic. Mike Miller’s a free agent after this year, and hopefully they’ll have the sense to re-sign him... He’s a solid player, offensively and defensively. Plus he’s a good teammate in the middle infield.

I checked the stats on my old team – Freddie Porras is having a nice year, hitting .291 with 13 homers so far. Joe Bowden got let go, but he’s since been picked up by Minnesota.

bcimmet · 01-06-2004, 03:16 PM

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Minnesota Twins)

JULY 14 2006

So it happened like this. I was in the locker room after we finished sweeping the series against Montreal (I was 4-14 with three doubles and four RBI in the series). I’m talking with Miller about a possible poker game that night. He makes a joke about some of the guys on our club should put their contracts in the poker pot as bets. He thinks there’s going to be a lot of movement on this roster in the next two weeks, what with the deadline on July 31. I ask him whether he thinks I’m safe – see, Miller’s been here for many years, and he knows the team. I only met the GM once at a party, and he probably doesn’t even know my first name. He knows my .270 average, my 17 stolen bases (team-high!), but nothing else. Miller thinks I’m safe. They like me. I’m playing well. I’m playing well AND I have potential, which is great.

Yeah, but then I get home, and turn on ESPN. The ticker at the bottom is scrolling by, and all I see drift off the left side of the screen is “...for 2b Christopher Quinn.” And then it shifts to news about hockey.

Nice. I’m sitting here in my hotel room, not knowing what the hell is up, getting ready for just another poker game, and I see my name on ESPN in what looks like the end of a statement about a trade. I try to find another channel, but nothing else is sports right now. I dial up my computer to get online and see if I can – this is ridiculous! I have to scout around to find out what’s happening with my career? Are you kidding me?

I’m staring at ESPN (I disconnected my computer thinking that they might call me), and just as the baseball scroll is coming back, my phone rings. It’s the GM’s third assistant from the left or something, and the word is I’m going to Minnesota. They play in Chicago tomorrow, so I’m flying there instead of with the Padres back to the west coast.

Now I have to say, Minnesota is currently on a five-game winning streak, and leading the AL Central by three games over Detroit and Kansas City (tied, and one game behind Oakland in the Wild Card). I’m going from worst to first. Well, not worst – the Dodgers were six games back of us in the NL West.

Here’s the detail of the trade: San Diego gets pitcher Lawrence Eggleston, an all-star in 2004 (17-3, 3.84) but 9-18 with a 5.95 since then; also prospect shortstop Vinnie Falcon, currently hitting .281 in A-ball. I take my rookie season to Minnesota, where I’m actually going to compete with Tod McNerney and my old teammate from Pittsburgh teammate Joe Bowden for a starting spot. I’ll also reunite with my old teammate from the Padres Chris Chancy, who was traded to Minnesota earlier this year.

McNerney is hitting .302 with six homers and 28 RBI as the regular starter. Bowden was a spot starter, and has only appeared in 10 games this season. Also on the active roster is Manny Ramirez, a second baseman a couple years older than I am. He’s not had much of a career yet, though... McNerney just got off the DL, and Bowden has been sent back to AAA since the trade. I’m penciled in as the leadoff man... I just have to show up, do my job. Read the pitches, hit the ball...

My numbers with San Diego up until the trade:

Code:

YEAR TEAM     GP    AB    H   2B  3B  HR  RBI    R   BB    K  SB  CS   AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
2006 SD       84   345   93   15   1   7   30   63   39   58  16   5  .270 .344 .380 .724

JULY 15, 2006

Finished the first game 2-3 with a run scored. We won, too, which is the major thing. McNerney came on and replaced me in the seventh, and grounded into a double play. I’m slated to start again today... It’s exciting to think that I was brought to a division leader, and given the starting job.

JULY 19, 2006

I took a 12-game hitting streak into my birthday. So far with Minnesota, I’m 16-20. Unbelievable. Our lead in the AL Central is six games, and we’ve won 10 straight... Today is against Texas.

And for a birthday present, I sat on the bench. We scored six runs in the bottom of the 9th and still lost the game 9-6. McNerney played second and batted leadoff. He went 0-4 with two strikeouts.

12-game hitting streak. 16-20 with the club. And I rode the pine.

Happy Birthday, rookie.

JULY 21, 2006

I was honored with my first ever Player of the Week award. I went 18-23 for the week with seven runs scored. Just one RBI, and all the hits were singles. Still, I’ve been a big boost to Minnesota in their chase for the division title. My mother asked me today if a player who was with more than one team during his rookie season could still be considered for Rookie of the Year. I said probably not...

bcimmet · 01-06-2004, 04:15 PM

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Minnesota Twins)

AUGUST 1, 2006

These guys are making good moves. Minnesota’s GM Pete Wijkstrom and manager Walter Hugg are doing very bold things... At the deadline, they made two trades, one with Cleveland and one with Colorado. We sent backup outfielder Victor Bennett (.267, one homer, 5 RBI) and two minor league infielders to Cleveland in exchange for Leonard Holloman, who I have to imagine will go straight into the 3- or 4-spot in the lineup. Holloman is a young player (29), a two-time all-star, and in the last three years has averaged .320-35HR-118RBI a season. He’s arbitration eligible at the end of the year, but I think they’ll re-sign him. Our other trade was to send Tod McNerney to Colorado in exchange for two infield prospects. So overall, we basically lost our backup second baseman and our backup right-fielder for an all-star first baseman. Big-time improvement.

We’ve also re-signed four potential free agents: Michael Acheson (1b/dh, .271-12-42), starting pitcher Francis Hawkinson (4-2, 3.56 this year, partially in relief), left-fielder Juan Acuna (.269-8-49 this year so far), and reliever Mason Sherlock (2-2 with a 7.88 this year, but 45-53 with 103 saves and 4.51 ERA in his Minnesota career, spanning 14 seasons). The only question mark to me is Acuna, who hasn’t really represented his worth as a $3million-plus player. We still haven’t re-signed Terry Miller, our right-field all-star who has hit around .300 with 35-45 homers each of the past three years, and is en route to the same this year. He’ll cost a pretty penny. And our shortstop, Paul Valasquez, will also be expensive to keep... It will be interesting to see how this team develops. It looks like, as we enter the home stretch, this is our roster, more or less (with stats as of August 1):

Code:

vs. RHP         AVG  HR RBI  SB      PITCHERS
Quinn, 2b      .300   7  31  23      Bechtol     12-7   4.52
McKown, c      .324   5  35   0      Moorhouse   13-7   3.29
Holloman, 1b   .319  28  74   1      Hasan       10-8   4.06
Miller, rf     .285  23  76   0      Chancy      8-7    5.62
Acheson, dh    .270  12  42   3      Hawkinson   4-3    3.86
Acuna, lf      .276  11  62   0      
Tye, 3b        .274  33  77   0      Acosta (cl) 1-0-28 1.29
Trahan, cf     .299  10  62   0      
Valasquez, ss  .267   5  23  14

Looks pretty solid for the run toward a title. We’re nine games in front of Kansas City, and are currently tied with Texas for the best record in the AL.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2006

How quickly things can change... We went into a major slump in August, and going into today’s game, held a one-game lead over Detroit. I’ve been hitting fairly well – my average is up to .311, and I’m close to 100 runs and 30 steals, which are terrific milestones.

Today, against the White Sox, we’ve lost five of six, and are trying to turn things around. I actually hit my second homer in as many games, and we win 9-7. But the down side is that after the game, some pain in my elbow wouldn’t go away. I tried just working it out, just shaking it out. After icing didn’t help, I had the team doctor look at it. And now I’ve been asked to take two weeks off to let what seems to be hyperextension heal. So I’ll watch as our team either rides into success or dribbles further into failure... I’m on the DL until probably the end of the month.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2006

Despite a recent 3-game skid, we managed to extend our lead over Detroit to three games in my absence. I’m back from the DL now, and face Anaheim today. First inning, I single and steal second to open the game. I score a run, but we trail 4-2. But in the sixth, I single again, loading the bases for Trahan – who hits a three-run double down the line, and we lead the game 8-6. We won the game, and I was 4-5 with a stolen base and two runs scored. Nice return to the lineup. Acosta got his 36th save, and his era is at a microscopic 1.20. This guy is an excellent closer.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2006

With our eighth straight win, we clinch the American League Central. I’m going to the post-season! Of course, in the clinching game, I was a rollicking 0-5 with two strikeouts. But we’re going to be in the playoffs. First round, we’ll either face AL-East leading Toronto, AL-West’s Texas or the Wild Card team, which at this point, could be either Detroit or Oakland.

bcimmet · 01-08-2004, 09:36 AM

Due to some bug in the game, I ended up stuck on two rosters at the start of the 2007 season, with stats from each version of the player compiling into one file.

I managed to bring the league into OOTP, edit things, and resume, but before completely figuring out how to do that, I ended up getting my player a little messed up, and signed to yet a third team.

So rather than try and explain how poor up-and-coming Christopher Quinn was mysteriously let go by Minnesota, signed by Texas, then let go by Texas and signed by Boston all within the first two days of the season, I have decided to end the story here, and pretend that Christopher Quinn was hit by a cement mixer.

Funeral services will be held tomorrow. In lieu of flowers, please send your 5-star prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates Single-A facility.

Thank you.

StacyDlacy · 01-08-2004, 10:02 AM

Oh how SAD! Please do another dynasty. Maybe Chris' son or little brother or something. Maybe the little brother could want to play baseball and the parents are afraid to let him go out into the big bad world of bars, floozies and cement mixers.

PotatoPeeler · 01-08-2004, 11:58 AM

Yeah, I agree, please do another. You're a good writer. I was enjoying the career of Christopher Quinn.

01-04-2004, 06:55 PM	#21
bcimmet Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New York City Posts: 65	The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Pirates) OCTOBER 6, 2004 We’ve been eliminated from contention. I wouldn’t have stayed on the post-season roster anyway, but my loyalty to the team is such that I wanted us to win so badly. We ended up going 14-18 in September and October, which was simply not enough to hold on. Houston, which overtook us and went on to the playoffs, ultimately won the World Series over Boston. I’ll likely start next season back in AAA.. My numbers for the year: Code: YEAR TEAM GP AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2003 PIT,A 23 91 39 3 4 2 14 19 7 15 6 5 .429 .480 .615 1.10 2003 PIT,AA 87 362 127 25 4 6 52 74 27 47 35 5 .351 .401 .492 .893 2003 PIT,AAA 17 66 27 1 1 0 1 8 3 2 6 0 .409 .411 .455 .866 2003 PIT 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 Not the best rookie debut, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. All I have to do is be 1000% better next year than I was this year, and I’ll win the MVP. Again, I have to pay attention to what’s going on with our team for next year. These are the numbers for the people still with the Pittsburgh organization at the end of the 2004 season: Code: MAJORS (2004) GP AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Signed F. Porras 125 484 145 25 0 19 77 70 29 49 0 0 .300 .338 .469 .807 arbitr. J. Batton 87 166 39 7 1 2 12 19 6 30 0 0 .235 .259 .325 .584 FA J. Bowden 29 88 20 4 3 1 10 12 11 20 2 0 .227 .327 .375 .702 -2006 C. Quinn 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 auto-re MINORS (2004) GP AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Signed D. Bauza AAA 97 297 83 14 2 5 34 36 10 67 8 10 .279 .309 .391 .700 auto-re J. Bowden AAA 54 205 63 10 0 1 17 31 21 31 19 4 .307 .377 .371 .748 -2006 B. Tyrell AAA 53 69 16 2 0 2 7 4 2 8 0 0 .232 .264 .348 .612 minors C. Quinn AAA 17 66 27 1 1 0 1 8 3 2 6 0 .409 .411 .455 .866 auto-re I want to be confident about at least landing the starting job in AAA. (I should have no competition for the starting job in AA, but I hope it doesn’t even come to that.) Batton, Bauza and Bowden (the three Bs) all have more experience than I do. Bowden has a lot more. He just keeps getting hurt. On the other hand, he’s got two years left on a contract that pays him about $2.1mil each year. And there’s always a chance that we’ll sign a new player. We only resigned one player to an extension this season, Cruz Moreno (SP). He was a 20-game winner for us this year (20-10, 3.64), and made the All-Star Team. The club has a good deal of money left for signings ($32mil for extensions and $17.5mil for free agents next year), and our fan interest and attendance has been getting better. Of course, I’ll probably end up in Plainfield again, but it’s still worth knowing what’s out there. I don’t feel like I was part of a big league team. It’s odd – players always say that when you reach the show, it’s a new game, it’s a new world. I didn’t feel it. The clubhouse wasn’t any fun. September was a bad month for Pittsburgh, losing too many games to stay in contention for the playoffs. Everyone was frustrated, pitchers, hitters. We couldn’t get it right, like when we lost that game to Philly because our spectacular closer gave up a 3-run homer. What are you going to do? At least in the minors, there’s not as much pressure, and you can relax a bit. I joined the roster in September, yes. But seven people came up from AAA for September, and I had only known them for a few weeks anyway. I was very alone. In Wilkes-Barre, certainly, and then even in Kingston, I felt like I was part of a team. In Plainfield, all they want to do is get out of Plainfield. And in the bigs, it’s really a job, not a social event. Or maybe that’s just because I was new. I’ll have to see... I’m spending more of this winter focusing on my game. It looks like I may have a career at some point. I’m only 20 years old, and I feel I’ve aged a decade since this whole thing began.

01-05-2004, 10:10 AM	#24
bcimmet Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New York City Posts: 65	The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Pirates) MAY 7, 2005 Got my first major league hit today. I started in place of Freddie to give him a day off. I came up with two on and two out in the first inning and singled. I didn’t drive anyone in, and Ben Madujano (Jan) struck out looking at a questionable slider. I singled again in the 6th, and scored on Jan’s 3-run shot. Incidentally, the hit was off Clayton Tevis, who used to pitch for Pittsburgh. I never met him here, but he was 21-21 during three seasons here (2002-2004). This is a good story: He came up in 1993 with San Francisco. And between 1993-1997, he appeared in 68 games (starting 41), and had a 11-25 record with an ERA of around 5-something. Not that great. He gave up baseball for two years, and in 2000, signed a minor-league deal with Pittsburgh. Two-plus seasons in the farm system, and they brought him back to the majors, where he was decent (although nothing stellar) for three years. And now he’s back in San Francisco where he began his career, which is just a nice, well-rounded story. Enough of that. Two days ago, Bill Tyrell was let go. There’s a decent chance that someone else will pick him up. He’s a solid middle infielder, and there’s some weakness in those positions, particularly in the AL East. It’s a small sigh for me to know that there’s less competition behind me in the organization. It makes me feel more secure where I am. JUNE 1, 2005 Still not playing on any regular basis, but I’ve got a few numbers to speak of. I’ve included my 2004 stats for comparison. Code: YEAR TEAM GP AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2004 PIT 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 2005 PIT 23 13 3 0 0 0 0 6 1 2 1 0 .231 .286 .231 .516 And here’s something weird: I have a rookie card! I saw it on eBay! Apparently, someone has collected every baseball card in the world, and is selling them. Why bother? I’m packaged in with a whole slew of other newbies. I saw another web site that projected the value of your card, based on a variety of stats. This has been used to question certain purchases over the years of much more substantial sales. Anyway, the computer had some trouble with mine because I have so many zeroes on the stat sheet. But my value is a whopping eighteen cents! Hooray! JUNE 24, 2005 I have a hitting streak! Two games, but it’s a streak! I was 2-4 with a double and a run scored, after starting in the 7-hole against Colorado. Tonight, I came in in the late innings of a 21-2 washing (we were the ones washed), and singled up the middle. Crossing the fingers for the next game! (Which might be in two weeks, but whatever!)

01-05-2004, 10:11 AM	#25
bcimmet Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New York City Posts: 65	The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Pirates) AUGUST 1, 2005 Ortiz was signed to a huge extension -- $10mil a year for the next five years. This comes after a month in which he hit .203 with two home runs. This is his contract year, and Pittsburgh commits fifty million dollars to this guy? Yes, he’s had some good years, but is a 35-year old outfielder really our cornerstone for the next five years? Oh, this is worrisome... There was talk of making some other moves, but it doesn’t look they were able to pull the trigger on anything. As a result, we’re hovering in the bottom end of this division. OCTOBER 6, 2005 Season’s over. We finished 82-80, good for fifth place in the NL Central. Nothing close to a playoff position. Not the most exciting rookie season for me. For Jorge Sanchez, though, it was a great rookie campaign. Our regular first baseman hit .278 with 49 homers and 123 RBI despite a dismal September, and won the Rookie of the Year honors. He missed making the All-Star team, which was something of a snub, but finished the year in the top ten in slugging, homers, RBI, and total bases. Freddie Porras slipped a little this past year, hitting just .251 with 19 homers and 66 RBI. He’s up for arbitration, so he’ll probably come back again next year. I just don’t get the feeling that they’re ready to commit to me on a regular basis. I have to improve my hitting, particularly against southpaw pitching. (Speaking of southpaw pitching, we had ZERO lefty hurlers on the staff at the end of the season. And our righties weren’t so hot, combining for an ERA of about 5.00.) We have a lot of potential holes in the roster for next year, and it’s not looking good for any big-time trades or off-season acquisitions. I’m up for an automatic re-sign, so unless Pittsburgh actively gets rid of me, I’m here for the next two years at least. My numbers for the year: Code: YEAR TEAM GP AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2005 PIT 67 74 20 5 0 0 4 23 5 11 2 1 .270 .325 .338 .663

01-06-2004, 12:08 PM	#28
bcimmet Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New York City Posts: 65	The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, San Diego Padres) JUNE 1, 2006 Finally a good game against my old club. I hit leadoff, went 2-5 with a homer and two RBI. We won in the ninth, coming back from a run down to steal it 5-4. Life in San Diego is a lot more fun than life in Pittsburgh. I suppose that goes without saying. California, Pennsylvania. You do the math. JULY 6, 2006 So the All-Star break came and went. I didn’t get a call, which is no surprise. I am having a solid year, which is a comfortable surprise. I haven’t been demoted to the bench. I’m hitting fairly well, and I feel like I’m a solid contributor to this club. I’m not having a Rookie of the Year season, but I’m playing. And that’s really what matters. I’m trying to help San Diego become a competitive team, and every time I’m able to lead a game off with a hit (in 81 games so far, I’m 28-75, .373, in leadoff at-bats) I’m doing my part. Here are my season stats so far: Code: YEAR TEAM GP AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2006 SD 78 317 82 12 1 7 26 57 36 54 16 5 .259 .339 .369 .708 It’s definitely a step forward from last year in Pittsburgh. We made a couple questionable trades last month – shipping off two ILB starting pitchers for prospects and backups. Goodbye to Bill McDonagh was 5-1 for us after we acquired him from Houston, and then goodbye. He’s 3-2 so far for the Mets. And Chris Clancy, after going 5-16 last year, was struggling this year with a 4-6 record until we shipped him away to Minnesota. He’s 2-0 since the trade. We’re apparently trying to trade first baseman Jose Varnado. He’s split his career with Atlanta and San Diego, he’s been an all-star, he’s a decent hitter – but he’s just not worth re-signing to anything new. He’s getting $8million plus this year, in the final year of his contract. And after two all-star seasons, this year he’s hitting around .275 with 11 homers and 40 RBI. Not impressive. If we can trade him, even for prospects, at least we’re getting something. I’m sure we won’t re-sign him for next year. I’m up for arbitration at the end of this seasons. My agent thinks I’ll be worth about two million, which would be fantastic. Mike Miller’s a free agent after this year, and hopefully they’ll have the sense to re-sign him... He’s a solid player, offensively and defensively. Plus he’s a good teammate in the middle infield. I checked the stats on my old team – Freddie Porras is having a nice year, hitting .291 with 13 homers so far. Joe Bowden got let go, but he’s since been picked up by Minnesota.

01-06-2004, 03:16 PM	#29
bcimmet Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New York City Posts: 65	The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Minnesota Twins) JULY 14 2006 So it happened like this. I was in the locker room after we finished sweeping the series against Montreal (I was 4-14 with three doubles and four RBI in the series). I’m talking with Miller about a possible poker game that night. He makes a joke about some of the guys on our club should put their contracts in the poker pot as bets. He thinks there’s going to be a lot of movement on this roster in the next two weeks, what with the deadline on July 31. I ask him whether he thinks I’m safe – see, Miller’s been here for many years, and he knows the team. I only met the GM once at a party, and he probably doesn’t even know my first name. He knows my .270 average, my 17 stolen bases (team-high!), but nothing else. Miller thinks I’m safe. They like me. I’m playing well. I’m playing well AND I have potential, which is great. Yeah, but then I get home, and turn on ESPN. The ticker at the bottom is scrolling by, and all I see drift off the left side of the screen is “...for 2b Christopher Quinn.” And then it shifts to news about hockey. Nice. I’m sitting here in my hotel room, not knowing what the hell is up, getting ready for just another poker game, and I see my name on ESPN in what looks like the end of a statement about a trade. I try to find another channel, but nothing else is sports right now. I dial up my computer to get online and see if I can – this is ridiculous! I have to scout around to find out what’s happening with my career? Are you kidding me? I’m staring at ESPN (I disconnected my computer thinking that they might call me), and just as the baseball scroll is coming back, my phone rings. It’s the GM’s third assistant from the left or something, and the word is I’m going to Minnesota. They play in Chicago tomorrow, so I’m flying there instead of with the Padres back to the west coast. Now I have to say, Minnesota is currently on a five-game winning streak, and leading the AL Central by three games over Detroit and Kansas City (tied, and one game behind Oakland in the Wild Card). I’m going from worst to first. Well, not worst – the Dodgers were six games back of us in the NL West. Here’s the detail of the trade: San Diego gets pitcher Lawrence Eggleston, an all-star in 2004 (17-3, 3.84) but 9-18 with a 5.95 since then; also prospect shortstop Vinnie Falcon, currently hitting .281 in A-ball. I take my rookie season to Minnesota, where I’m actually going to compete with Tod McNerney and my old teammate from Pittsburgh teammate Joe Bowden for a starting spot. I’ll also reunite with my old teammate from the Padres Chris Chancy, who was traded to Minnesota earlier this year. McNerney is hitting .302 with six homers and 28 RBI as the regular starter. Bowden was a spot starter, and has only appeared in 10 games this season. Also on the active roster is Manny Ramirez, a second baseman a couple years older than I am. He’s not had much of a career yet, though... McNerney just got off the DL, and Bowden has been sent back to AAA since the trade. I’m penciled in as the leadoff man... I just have to show up, do my job. Read the pitches, hit the ball... My numbers with San Diego up until the trade: Code: YEAR TEAM GP AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2006 SD 84 345 93 15 1 7 30 63 39 58 16 5 .270 .344 .380 .724 JULY 15, 2006 Finished the first game 2-3 with a run scored. We won, too, which is the major thing. McNerney came on and replaced me in the seventh, and grounded into a double play. I’m slated to start again today... It’s exciting to think that I was brought to a division leader, and given the starting job. JULY 19, 2006 I took a 12-game hitting streak into my birthday. So far with Minnesota, I’m 16-20. Unbelievable. Our lead in the AL Central is six games, and we’ve won 10 straight... Today is against Texas. And for a birthday present, I sat on the bench. We scored six runs in the bottom of the 9th and still lost the game 9-6. McNerney played second and batted leadoff. He went 0-4 with two strikeouts. 12-game hitting streak. 16-20 with the club. And I rode the pine. Happy Birthday, rookie. JULY 21, 2006 I was honored with my first ever Player of the Week award. I went 18-23 for the week with seven runs scored. Just one RBI, and all the hits were singles. Still, I’ve been a big boost to Minnesota in their chase for the division title. My mother asked me today if a player who was with more than one team during his rookie season could still be considered for Rookie of the Year. I said probably not...

01-05-2004, 02:55 AM	#22
bcimmet Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New York City Posts: 65	The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Pirates) MARCH 1, 2005 Spring Training! I’m actually at the facility in Augusta, GA, working out with the major league team. There’s sixty-three of us here, all vying for spots on the ILB roster. Some of these guys are guaranteed spots – the guys were the regular starters, the big names, the veterans from last year. Others are a combination of AAA players, free agents, non-roster invitees, and so on. I’m on a minor-league contract, but if I make the opening day squad, I’ll be signed to a major league minimum deal ($300k for the year). It’s the same competition as last year; we didn’t pick up any free agent second basemen. I’m anticipating Porras getting the starting nod with Joe Bowden as his backup. I’ll probably share time with Bauza in AAA. I’m torn whether I’d like AAA better than the bigs. Less pressure, but lamer attitude. In AAA, they care more about personal growth than about winning. In the bigs, it’s all about winning. I’m torn. I’ve gotten to know one of the other young-ish players. Fonzi Sato is several years older than I am, but he was last year’s NL Rookie of the Year, hitting 35 homers with 124 RBI in his first full season. We’ve been throwing and taking batting practice together, which is fun. It’s making the time here more festive. I’ve also been talking a lot with Bob Temples, our closer. It’s sort of like an uncle, more or less. He’s got two nephews who are about my age, and he doesn’t get to see them too often. I think that’s what drew him to talking to me in the first place. It’s nice to be bonding with some of the major players. You know that Sato and Temples are going to be on the roster next year. I wonder if there’s anything with them putting a good word in for me... We did sign four free agents: Joe Perreault, a 37-year old starter with 180 career wins for Kansas City, Oakland, the Mets and Anaheim, but last year had his worst pro season, going 7-15 with a 5.93. He’s in town, and should be a good shot at a #4 or #5 starter in our rotation; Kyle Heckard, a utility player who has been with Montreal, Houston and the Yankees over the last six years (career average .269, 40 HR, 189 RBI in 574 games). Heckard is primarily a third baseman, but saw action at six positions last year; Francisco Gonzalez, a first baseman journeyman who has played for Kansas City, St. Louis, Oakland and Boston, and has accumulated stats worth one full season (.238, 16 homers, 97 RBI in 299 games); pitcher James Bodnar (15-16 in the minors, 5-4 in the majors with a 5.70 ERA with Florida).

01-06-2004, 11:39 AM	#26
bcimmet Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New York City Posts: 65	The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, San Diego Padres) FEBRUARY 27, 2006 Pack it up and ship it away! Pittsburgh did decide to actively get rid of me. I have been traded to San Diego! I got packaged up with Eddie Varada (prospect first baseman) and Ramon Corpuz (prospect shortstop – we used to hang together in Wilkes-Barre and Kingston) in exchange for Rodolfo Fons, a first baseman. Why Pittsburgh is trading away for a starting first baseman when Jorge won the Rookie of the Year and hit 49 dingers – I don’t understand. Changes galore in San Diego. Their second baseman of the last three years, Guy Caswell, was not given a new contract, so there’s a big hole there on the right side of the infield. Caswell was pretty solid for this team -- .280 average over three complete seasons with no major injuries. There’s so much to learn here. New players, new plays, new coaches, new manager. Our skipper is this funny guy named Andy Prosky. Someone did an anagram of his name, came up with SPARKY WONDER, and now that’s what everyone calls him. Sparky. I’m moving to San Diego soon – they’ve helped me find an apartment near the ball park. Part of me is very excited about this prospect, but San Diego was a pretty crappy team last year, going 64-98, and never even coming close to anything. The upside is that I’m still in the National League, so I’ll be familiar with pitchers and all.

01-06-2004, 11:40 AM	#27
bcimmet Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New York City Posts: 65	The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, San Diego Padres) APRIL 1, 2006 Not completely sure what all the signals are yet, but I’m in the park and ready to go. I’ve still got #18 on my back, which is a nice thing... And Sparky’s got me penciled in to bat leadoff! It’s my first pro start at leadoff! As for this team, I’m again the youngest member of the current roster by a good three-year margin. I did see Jorge Martinez who I remembered from Pittsburgh – He was the starting catcher in Pittsburgh from 1996-2003, and had a .300 average with 59 homers and 396 RBI during that span. Here (so far), he’s a backup. He missed a good chunk of 2004 with an injury, and only made it back to the majors in 2005 for 18 games as a late-season pick-up by Colorado. But now he’s with San Diego. We have more Asian representation on this team (2) than I had in Pittsburgh (1). Catcher Tenrou Tsuyoshi (Yoshi) and third baseman Takehiko Motoyuki (Yuki) pretty much stick together. Both speak some English, but both are somewhat scared by American life in general. I’ve been hanging out some with pitcher Broderick Lemus (scheduled to start on opening day) and infielders Hershel Grogan and Matt Miller. Hersh and Matt have both been with the Padres organization for a while, so they’re showing me around town and all. Good stuff. I finish the game 1-3 with two strikeouts. I wasn’t part of any of the scoring, but we won the game 7-4. If this San Diego team is anything like last years, this will be the end of our above-.500 life. APRIL 2, 2006 3-5 with a run and caught stealing once. We win another game, and 2-0 is apparently a rather foreign concept to these guys. They’re running around screaming “Unbeaten! Unbeaten!” Hersh put a cardboard box on his head, and started dancing around the locker room, looking like a complete jackass. APRIL 19,2006 I have found my new favorite opponent: Los Angeles. After going 0-4 in the first of the three-game series, I went 7-8 with two homers and five RBI in the next two games. That’s right – little Christopher Quinn hit a major league homer. Twice. In back-to-back games. Three weeks into my first full season on an ILB roster, and I’m at .338 with two homers and six RBI (thank you Dodgers). Also 14 runs scored and four stolen bases. The team is 8-10, so that whole unbeaten dance has stopped... Thank you Milwaukee for beating us. I couldn’t take Hersh in a cardboard box one more day. MAY 18, 2006 My first game against the Pirates wasn’t as exciting as I had hoped. I ended up going 0-3 with two walks and two runs scored. Yes, good, but I wanted more... The second game wasn’t any better, going 0-3 with nothing else to speak of except an embarrassing strikeout in the 8th inning. We lost both games. Glad I’m able to help Pittsburgh finally move up in the standings. Hersh got sent down to AAA San Jose. Not entirely sure why – he’s a good player, and he was an every day player in 2004. Yuki is the starter at third base, but he doesn’t play every inning, and Hersh was a solid backup.They brought up a switch-hitting third baseman from AA San Luis Obispo. He hits equally poorly from both sides of the plate. Maybe Hersh will be back before long. Matt Miller and I are still hanging around together. He brings his X-Box on the road, and we find more fun in that than the bars... We’ve been creating fantasy teams (usually based on the Padres), and tweaking the players to be better or worse than they are to suit our fantasies. Of course, I’m a .100 hitter on his team, and he’s the same for mine. But I’ve hit 83 home runs and have a .582 batting average for my fantasy San Diego club. And that’s just through 32 games. Nice... Of course, some people hate those who edit their players to make them better. I say that it’s fun, and who the hell cares?

01-06-2004, 04:15 PM	#30
bcimmet Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New York City Posts: 65	The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Minnesota Twins) AUGUST 1, 2006 These guys are making good moves. Minnesota’s GM Pete Wijkstrom and manager Walter Hugg are doing very bold things... At the deadline, they made two trades, one with Cleveland and one with Colorado. We sent backup outfielder Victor Bennett (.267, one homer, 5 RBI) and two minor league infielders to Cleveland in exchange for Leonard Holloman, who I have to imagine will go straight into the 3- or 4-spot in the lineup. Holloman is a young player (29), a two-time all-star, and in the last three years has averaged .320-35HR-118RBI a season. He’s arbitration eligible at the end of the year, but I think they’ll re-sign him. Our other trade was to send Tod McNerney to Colorado in exchange for two infield prospects. So overall, we basically lost our backup second baseman and our backup right-fielder for an all-star first baseman. Big-time improvement. We’ve also re-signed four potential free agents: Michael Acheson (1b/dh, .271-12-42), starting pitcher Francis Hawkinson (4-2, 3.56 this year, partially in relief), left-fielder Juan Acuna (.269-8-49 this year so far), and reliever Mason Sherlock (2-2 with a 7.88 this year, but 45-53 with 103 saves and 4.51 ERA in his Minnesota career, spanning 14 seasons). The only question mark to me is Acuna, who hasn’t really represented his worth as a $3million-plus player. We still haven’t re-signed Terry Miller, our right-field all-star who has hit around .300 with 35-45 homers each of the past three years, and is en route to the same this year. He’ll cost a pretty penny. And our shortstop, Paul Valasquez, will also be expensive to keep... It will be interesting to see how this team develops. It looks like, as we enter the home stretch, this is our roster, more or less (with stats as of August 1): Code: vs. RHP AVG HR RBI SB PITCHERS Quinn, 2b .300 7 31 23 Bechtol 12-7 4.52 McKown, c .324 5 35 0 Moorhouse 13-7 3.29 Holloman, 1b .319 28 74 1 Hasan 10-8 4.06 Miller, rf .285 23 76 0 Chancy 8-7 5.62 Acheson, dh .270 12 42 3 Hawkinson 4-3 3.86 Acuna, lf .276 11 62 0 Tye, 3b .274 33 77 0 Acosta (cl) 1-0-28 1.29 Trahan, cf .299 10 62 0 Valasquez, ss .267 5 23 14 Looks pretty solid for the run toward a title. We’re nine games in front of Kansas City, and are currently tied with Texas for the best record in the AL. SEPTEMBER 3, 2006 How quickly things can change... We went into a major slump in August, and going into today’s game, held a one-game lead over Detroit. I’ve been hitting fairly well – my average is up to .311, and I’m close to 100 runs and 30 steals, which are terrific milestones. Today, against the White Sox, we’ve lost five of six, and are trying to turn things around. I actually hit my second homer in as many games, and we win 9-7. But the down side is that after the game, some pain in my elbow wouldn’t go away. I tried just working it out, just shaking it out. After icing didn’t help, I had the team doctor look at it. And now I’ve been asked to take two weeks off to let what seems to be hyperextension heal. So I’ll watch as our team either rides into success or dribbles further into failure... I’m on the DL until probably the end of the month. SEPTEMBER 19, 2006 Despite a recent 3-game skid, we managed to extend our lead over Detroit to three games in my absence. I’m back from the DL now, and face Anaheim today. First inning, I single and steal second to open the game. I score a run, but we trail 4-2. But in the sixth, I single again, loading the bases for Trahan – who hits a three-run double down the line, and we lead the game 8-6. We won the game, and I was 4-5 with a stolen base and two runs scored. Nice return to the lineup. Acosta got his 36th save, and his era is at a microscopic 1.20. This guy is an excellent closer. SEPTEMBER 30, 2006 With our eighth straight win, we clinch the American League Central. I’m going to the post-season! Of course, in the clinching game, I was a rollicking 0-5 with two strikeouts. But we’re going to be in the playoffs. First round, we’ll either face AL-East leading Toronto, AL-West’s Texas or the Wild Card team, which at this point, could be either Detroit or Oakland.

01-08-2004, 09:36 AM	#31
bcimmet Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New York City Posts: 65	sad, sad story Due to some bug in the game, I ended up stuck on two rosters at the start of the 2007 season, with stats from each version of the player compiling into one file. I managed to bring the league into OOTP, edit things, and resume, but before completely figuring out how to do that, I ended up getting my player a little messed up, and signed to yet a third team. So rather than try and explain how poor up-and-coming Christopher Quinn was mysteriously let go by Minnesota, signed by Texas, then let go by Texas and signed by Boston all within the first two days of the season, I have decided to end the story here, and pretend that Christopher Quinn was hit by a cement mixer. Funeral services will be held tomorrow. In lieu of flowers, please send your 5-star prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates Single-A facility. Thank you.

01-08-2004, 10:02 AM	#32
StacyDlacy Minors (Single A) Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 91	Oh how SAD! Please do another dynasty. Maybe Chris' son or little brother or something. Maybe the little brother could want to play baseball and the parents are afraid to let him go out into the big bad world of bars, floozies and cement mixers.

01-08-2004, 11:58 AM	#33
PotatoPeeler Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Rapid City, SD Posts: 3,639	Yeah, I agree, please do another. You're a good writer. I was enjoying the career of Christopher Quinn. __________________ 培傑西 I have never taken a lesson on how to talk on TV in my life. - Tim McCarver Guns have only two enemies; rust and liberals. The world is a comedy to those that think; a tragedy to those that feel.