The Franchise Progress Thread - Page 3

ajenko80 · 07-04-2011, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orcin

Ah ha! Here you are mate. Good to see you. I hope you are enjoying this game as much as I am. I started MLB 2011 with the Astros. Yes, I am a masochist.

2011 Astros progress:

I sent Nelson Figueroa through waivers (he cleared) and signed Carlos Torres to be the fifth starter. Torres went to Japan this season in real life. Figueroa accepted the assignment to Oklahoma City (AAA).

I also signed 1B/OF Micah Hoffpauir to a minor league contract with a 30-day ML option. He will be called up as soon as a I can clear a spot. Hoffpauir is also in Japan this season in real life. He will be a good left-handed bat off the bench and could push Wallace a little.

I am trying to dump 2B Bill Hall's contract for a prospect. The Phillies should be interested with the injury to Utley. I am close to a deal that would send Hall and $500K to PHI for SP Perci Garner. The Phillies are asking for a prospect in the deal from my side, and I won't do that (yet).

Scout Bobby Heck has already uncovered two top international pitching prospects, so my decision to up that budget is paying off.

I signed several bargain free agents, including MR Brad Kilby (L) who has replaced Fernando Abad (sent to AAA) as the lefty specialist. I had to sneak a few players through waivers to clear room on the 40-man roster, and I lost MR Sammy Gervacio to Washington making room for Kilby.

The team on the field is true to form. We were just swept at home by the Marlins and are now 3-6 on the season. To add injury to insult, Michael Bourn came up lame while running the bases. The injury is not yet diagnosed. I am holding my breath.

Caught redhanded

MizzouRah · 07-04-2011, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orcin

Ah ha! Here you are mate. Good to see you. I hope you are enjoying this game as much as I am. I started MLB 2011 with the Astros. Yes, I am a masochist.

2011 Astros progress:

I sent Nelson Figueroa through waivers (he cleared) and signed Carlos Torres to be the fifth starter. Torres went to Japan this season in real life. Figueroa accepted the assignment to Oklahoma City (AAA).

I also signed 1B/OF Micah Hoffpauir to a minor league contract with a 30-day ML option. He will be called up as soon as a I can clear a spot. Hoffpauir is also in Japan this season in real life. He will be a good left-handed bat off the bench and could push Wallace a little.

I am trying to dump 2B Bill Hall's contract for a prospect. The Phillies should be interested with the injury to Utley. I am close to a deal that would send Hall and $500K to PHI for SP Perci Garner. The Phillies are asking for a prospect in the deal from my side, and I won't do that (yet).

Scout Bobby Heck has already uncovered two top international pitching prospects, so my decision to up that budget is paying off.

I signed several bargain free agents, including MR Brad Kilby (L) who has replaced Fernando Abad (sent to AAA) as the lefty specialist. I had to sneak a few players through waivers to clear room on the 40-man roster, and I lost MR Sammy Gervacio to Washington making room for Kilby.

The team on the field is true to form. We were just swept at home by the Marlins and are now 3-6 on the season. To add injury to insult, Michael Bourn came up lame while running the bases. The injury is not yet diagnosed. I am holding my breath.

I REALLY love the new injury diagnosis system.. I never want to progress to the next day now for the fear of what my team medical staff might say about an injury.

Good luck!!!

Orcin · 07-04-2011, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orcin

Michael Bourn came up lame while running the bases. The injury is not yet diagnosed. I am holding my breath.

Michael Bourn Injury Diagnosis
You have just been informed by your team trainer that Michael Bourn has been diagnosed with a strained rib cage muscle. He is day-to-day for about 5 days.

YES!!!!

ajenko80 · 07-04-2011, 11:24 AM

End of regular season 2014

Pittsburgh Pirates
92-70

Finished five games back from the Cincinnati Reds

Beat out the Washington Nationals for the National League wild card.

The Pirates are headed back to the playoffs.

This season has taken me into early morning and with work in a few hours, the playoffs will have to wait for the morning ( will give me time to think about my playoff rosters through the day tomorrow)

md5423 · 07-04-2011, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajenko80

End of regular season 2014

Pittsburgh Pirates
92-70

Finished five games back from the Cincinnati Reds

Beat out the Washington Nationals for the National League wild card.

The Pirates are headed back to the playoffs.

This season has taken me into early morning and with work in a few hours, the playoffs will have to wait for the morning ( will give me time to think about my playoff rosters through the day tomorrow)

Haha that happens to me quite often

I often play until like 5 or 6 am and not even notice it

Orcin · 07-05-2011, 09:08 AM

2011 Astros (8-8 after 16 games)

Michael Bourn came back from his injury and promptly tweaked a hammy in the first game. He will be DTD for another week.

I signed Bourn to a 3-year extension for $26 million. Now I need to work on an extension for Pence. I don't really want either one of these guys going to arbitration.

Carlos Lee has 4 HRs in 15 games played, but he is only hitting .235. Still, I will take 30+ HRs and a .250 BAVG right now and be happy.

The starting pitching has been very good. Free agent signee Carlos Torres has looked good in two starts. He is "fragile" though, so I am not getting excited about him being anything other than a fifth starter.

I can't get anyone to take Bill Hall for a decent prospect. I have mostly tried teams with money and need for a second baseman. There is still plenty of time to shop him before Keppinger and Barmes return from the DL (3-4 weeks).

Hoffpauir is now on the major league club. I sent Matt Downs to AAA.

I claimed C Ryan Budde off waivers from Toronto. I waived 2B Wladimir Sutil to make room on the 40-man and the Cardinals claimed him. I still have plenty of other crappy 26-year-old non-propsects to move, so no big loss.

Managing the minor league system on a daily basis in a big chore. I very quickly delegated the promotions/demotions and lineups/p-staff to the MiLB managers.

Mister Twist · 07-05-2011, 09:51 AM

Still building up history in my historical-with-fictional-players league that i started from 1871. Was just rushing through waiting to take over the Dodgers in 1947 when 1B Quincy King came along and did this:

Career Span: 1915-1934, Boston Red Sox

Career BA-- .342
Career OBP-- .474
Career wOBA-- .482
Career HR-- 719
63 HR in 1929

I can't imagine historical simulation getting much better than that!

In other news, the St. Louis Browns have dominated the league, appearing in 11 out of 33 World Series and winning 7, including 3 of the last 5. The Cincinnati Reds have appeared in 7 but only won 1, and faced the Browns 6 times including their 1 win.

Oh, and that one year the Reds won the Series? 1919.

I love this game.

Stirner · 07-05-2011, 11:22 AM

I'm just starting 2012 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. In this game, I've decided to just act as the General Manager, so I have my manager setting my lineups. While I don't get to familiarize myself with the players as much, I do find myself having more fun because I'm not micromanaging everything.

Anyway, when I took over the Diamondbacks in 2011, they had a pretty poor farm but a semi-talented twenty-five man roster. I'm used to playing as teams with loaded farms (Pittsburgh and Kansas, sometimes Boston). Thus, I made it my goal to get Arizona's farm system into the top five within my first year through trades (very low/hard/neutral), international scouting, and drafting. Baseball America ranked Arizona as the second best farm system.

Here's my top eight prospects:

RHP Shelby Miller -- Acquired by the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 12, along with LHB Daniel 'Dirty Dan' Descalso. Miller is a power pitcher, featuring a mid to upper nineties fastball with two complementing side offerings: a plus-plus (7/8 potential) change and a plus curveball. The twenty-one year old can struggle with his command at time, so he'll probably be spending his first full year in Triple-A Reno this season. MLB COMP: Josh Beckett

RHB Matt Jordin -- Jordin was the Diamondback's first round pick (3rd overall) in the 2011 Amateur Player Draft. The 5'8, 185 pound catcher isn't built like your typical ballplayer -- or catcher for that matter -- but has an advanced feel for hitting and defense behind the plate. In thirty games of Single-A ball last year, the 18 year old catcher (then 17) managed to hit .263/.368/.377 with 2 home runs. MLB COMP: Michael Barrett

RHP Jarrod Parker -- Parker was already in Arizona's system before I took over, and he was the team's top prospect. Nowadays though, Parker is the third best prospect in the system. Like Shelby, Miller has an advanced feel for pitching for his age (23). He induces a lot of weak, groundball contact thanks to a recently developed sinker to add to an already vast repertoire of pitches. MLB COMP: Tim Hudson

RHB Jin Guao -- If Guao had remained in Taiwan, he would probably be the Lebron James of the country's baseball league. He's an extremely talented and athletic corner infielder with powerful howitzer cannon for an arm. His arm isn't the only thing that's "plus" about him either. He can hit. And boy, can he hit the ball far. Like any 18 year old, Guao has a long way to go before he reaches the show. When he does get called up, watch out. He could shatter any number of home run records. MLB COMP: Travis Fryman

RHP Stetson Allie -- Could you throw over a hundred miles per hour before you could buy a six pack of beer? Stetson Allie could. The 6'2, 225 pound native of Olmstead Falls, Ohio is built like a pitcher. In his initial taste of pro ball, Allie managed to strike out 245 batters while 85 in 160 innings of work. "I have a lot to prove," Allie told Baseball America. "The Pirates traded me after drafting me, so I'm making it my mission to prove to them and their fans that the reason they are bottom feeders is because they don't know a good talent when they see one. Arizona does. I'm in Double-A to start the season here, but it's a real shame that I don't get to strikeout 'Curves' in the Eastern League." MLB COMP: Joba Chamberlain

LHB Ryan Wheeler -- Like Parker, Wheeler was already in the system when I arrived. However, Wheeler is one of the few prospects I would deem 'untouchable'. Why? Well, Wheeler knows what he has to do when he goes up to the plate and that's get on-base. The 23 year old first baseman gets on-base about 36% of the time, while putting the ball in play about 29%. Lacking true home run power, Wheeler hits a lot of balls to the gap. Average defensive first baseman. Future DH? MLB COMP: Nick Johnson

RHB Jose Iglesias -- Mark my words: Jose Iglesias is going to be one of the best defensive shortstops in the history of baseball. When he was twenty-one and with the Red Sox, Keith Law said "watching him take infield practice is like watching baseball porn". Baseball porn will be coming to Chase Field then. While Iglesias' glove is far beyond his bat right now, he is expected to be able to put up a decent line in the majors. Probably will never bat above the mendoza line or hit twenty home runs, but .280/.330/.370 isn't out of the question. MLB COMP: Orlando Cabrera

RHB Matt Davidson -- Davidson doesn't have one tool that really stands out. Maybe his arm? However, a third baseman needs to do more than get the ball across the diamond. Unlike Guao, Davidson is a one-dimensional fielder. Like Guao, however, he has good power. Unfortunately for Davidson, he has a long swing which will probably prevent him from ever hitting for average. Combined with inability to hit breaking balls (.200 average in Single-A) and you have a guy who looks more like a dud than a bud. MLB COMP: Andy LaRoche

***

I made a lot of trades and waiver claims over the course of the season (too many to accurately recall), so I'll just go over the main ones:

Claimed Dustin McGowan off of waivers from Toronto. McGowan managed to go 10-7 with a 3.84 ERA and 108 strike outs. I signed him to a three-year extension valued at 17 million with a team option for 2015 for 10 million with a $500,000 buyout.

Claimed Warner Madrigal, Cedrick Bowers, Joey Devine, and Jeremy Jeffress off of waivers. The four relief pitchers are in my bullpen to begin 2012. Devine is the only one of the four (and the only pitcher in my bullpen) to be signed long term. He has a four year contract valued at a little under 3 million total.

Traded J.J. Putz to Boston for Oscar Tejeda, Felix Doubront, and Stolmy Pimentel. Putz is currently the set-up man for Boston's closer, Daniel Bard. I also traded Kelly Johnson to St Louis for Shelby Miller and Daniel Descalso. Stephen Drew went packing to Pittsburgh for Stetson Allie. And finally, Chris Young's contract was sent to the Seattle Mariners for the cheaper and very similar center fielder, Franklin Gutierrez.

In the off-season, I claimed Jose Iglesias off of waivers from Boston (they had signed another Jose and needed to make room for him). Then I signed Javier Vazquez to a one year, 3.5 million dollar deal. He brought along friends Juan Pierre, Mark DeRosa, and Joe Inglett.

***

Current rotation and bullpen looks like this:

RHP Ian Kennedy
RHP Dustin McGowan
RHP Daniel Hudson
RHP Javier Vazquez
LHP Joe Saunders

RHP Warner Madrigal
LHP Cedrick Bowers
RHP Joey Devine
RHP Bryan Shaw
LHP Joe Paterson
RHP Jeremy Jeffress
RHP Kam Mickolio (closer)

Starting lineup:

C Miguel Montero
1B Brandon Allen
2B Daniel Descalso
3B Ryan Roberts
SS Alex Gonzalez
LF Gerardo Parra
CF Franklin Gutierrez
RF Justin Upton

Bench:

C Konrad Schmidt
IF Tony Abreu
IF Joe Inglett
OF Juan Pierre
Util Mark DeRosa

***

I'm expected to play .500 ball. I have the fifteenth overall pick in the Amateur Draft this year, but I won't draft again until nearly thirty picks later. For the foreseeable future, my offense is going to be carried by Justin Upton. He came eerily close to a 40-40 season in 2011. He finished with 38 home runs and 38 stolen bases before being sidelined with injury for the last week of the season.

I know this was a long post and I apologize, but I love talking (or typing about?) what I've done with MLB teams.

Metsman · 07-05-2011, 05:13 PM

My New York Mets are 46-49. I just made a major trade to shake up the organization. I dealt Jose Reyes, Francisco Rodriguez, and Chris Young to the Texas Rangers for Martin Perez, Roman Mendez, Jurickson Profar, Barret Loux, and Author Rhodes. After this trade my farm system is now the 3rd ranked in the game!

Stirner · 07-06-2011, 12:02 AM

I just finished the 2012 season with my Diamondbacks (see the earlier post). I thought this season would be a loss at first. In our first few games, we gave up an average of 17.4 runs. Thankfully, things calmed down as the season carried on, but we still ended up dead last in mainstream-land's favorite pitching stat: ERA (4.88). We half a run worse than the Florida Marlins.

On offense, we managed to score nearly five runs a game. The team finished with a collective OPS of .757 thanks to sluggers Brandon Allen and Justin Upton. I'm not going to devote any time to typing about Allen's season because while it was remarkable (46 home runs always is), Justin Upton stole the show:

.330/.435/.729/1.163 -- 66 HRs and 160 RBIs. 205 OPS+ and a historically high WAR of 13. He ran away with the MVP award and challenged for the triple crown all season long. If his average had been eight points higher, he would've won it. Somewhere in a prison cell, Barry Bonds cried.

Overall, we managed to go 77-85. That was good enough for fourth place in the NL West. The Dodgers actually managed to play worse with a 73-89 record. We have the ninth overall selection in the 2013 Amateur Player Draft. I'm going to be looking for a speedy, great glove outfielder in this draft. Not to be alarmed, I will be choosing the best available player with the lowest demands with this pick. After that, my budget gets thrown out the window and I just choose the best player.

I also improved my farm system this year. I now have the number one ranked farm system in the majors according to Baseball America. I have to thank my new scout Billy Beane (fired by Oakland after 2011). Beane found me several top amateur free agents that could contribute to this team in some form or another. Like last time, here's a breakdown of my top prospects:

RHP Ricardo Diaz -- When you are eighteen and slated to begin your professional career, there are two things that quickly come to mind: you are a pitching prodigy, or you are in a dumb organization. Ricardo is the former. This 6'3, 230 pound 18 year old from Mexico is jaw dropping good. "When I first saw him pitch, I thought I was watching a guy that's already played in some major league circuit," said catcher and fellow top prospect, Matt Jordin. "He's filthy; plus everything ... fastball that can touch 100, devastating curve and slider and change that's combined effectively with arguably the best splitter and fork of all-time. I wouldn't be surprised if he made it to the Majors before me, and I'm in Triple-A to start the season." MLB COMP: Roger Clemens

RHB Matt Jordin -- Being the second best in this organization is something common for Jordin. Last year, he was Arizona's second best prospect behind Shelby Miller. Since, Miller has graduated and an even better pitching prospect has taken his place. "I don't let it bother me," said Jordin. "I play baseball to have fun. If I get paid for it and make the majors to potentially gross millions, great. If not, then that's great too because I got to live out my dream of playing professionally." The 19 year old catching prospect's advanced bat has allowed him to move up the organizational ladder quickly. Beginning the year in Single-A last year, Jordin made an immediate impact and quickly reached Double-A. In Double-A, Jordin smacked the ball around some more: .263/.376/.434/.810 with five home runs while throwing out nearly 40% of would-be base stealers. In an interview with Baseball America, General Manager Kyle Rome had this to say about Jordin: "We are overjoyed to have a player of Jordin's caliber in our system. Currently, he's blocked by Miguel Montero, so we've received some inquires about him. Rest assured, Jordin is going to debut as a Diamondback and hopefully remain a Diamondback as he carves himself a Hall of Fame career." MLB COMP: Joe Mauer

RHP Joe Davis -- Last year's draft class wasn't particularly strong in any one area. Instead, it had a few gems everywhere. One of those gems was a starting pitcher out of the University of Florida named Joe Davis. Davis doesn't profile as your typical pitcher. He doesn't go for strikeouts. Instead, he pitches to contact and induces a lot of groundballs thanks to a great sinker and change combo. If his slider ever develops, he'll probably rack up his fair share of Ks. For now, he remains as a groundball pitcher that profiles to starter that's already in the NL West. MLB COMP: Aaron Cook

RHP Jarrod Parker -- He had a decent FIP of 4.25 last year in Triple-A. His peripherals are great and the scouting report is great too. So what's keeping Parker in Triple-A for the third straight year? Results. "Yeah, everyone says I pitched well last year. It's true. I did, but I got a lot to work on if I want to make the majors like [Shelby] Miller. I'll keep trying. The brass has insured me of a rotation spot with my name on it if I pitch well." Jarrod Parker told Baseball America. The 24 year old is running out of time. MLB COMP: Derek Lowe

RHB Jin Guao -- Very raw. Needs to make a plan up at the plate. The ceiling on his power potential is still high. "Just needs to make a few adjustments," scout Billy Beane told Baseball America. "When he makes those adjustments and remembers, 'hey, I'm playing in America now' then he'll do well. Until then, he's not going to look very good up at the plate." MLB COMP: Adrian Beltre

RHP Roman Mendez -- He was claimed off of waivers from Texas by Arizona in the off-season. Mendez throws hard and has sharp breaking stuff, but he is prone to giving up the long ball or two. Right now, he projects more as a quality bullpen arm than a starting pitcher. MLB COMP: Jonathan Broxton

RHB Matt Helm -- He's the only outfielder on this list. Helm doesn't have one dominant tool. Instead, he combines every element of the game; speed, power, discipline, contact, and defense into his everyday play. While he projects more as a future first baseman than a left fielder, Helms is still twenty-two and has plenty of time to develop in Double-A. MLB COMP: Conor Jackson

SHB Randy Berry -- "When I was younger, everybody told me to give up on my dreams ... to not try because I'd only be disappointed. Coming from a ghetto suburb of Chicago, I'd like to think I've done my part and proved everyone wrong. When you try, good things come to you." Randy Berry was selected out of High School with Arizona's twenty-first round pick. "When I found out Arizona had drafted me, I was happy. I was going to be playing professional ball." In his first taste of the Arizona Fall League, Berry didn't do so well. In nine games and thirty at-bats, he only managed one hit and his final at-bat: a grand slam deposited into the bleachers in deep center. "When I hit that ball, my entire outlook on life changed. Since I was struggling, I was thinking everyone from the ol' neighborhood was right. Fortunately, I got a meatball right down the center of the plate and was able to turn on it. The rest is history." In his repeat of AFL ball last year, Berry got 110 at-bats and hit seven home runs. He also walked 46 times and struck out only 37. His average was above .300. The twenty year old has an interesting story and a long way to go until he makes the majors, but everybody is rooting for him to succeed in Single-A South Bend. MLB COMP: Ryan Doumit

There's also a 17 year old I signed out of Mexico in late September last year. He's a lefty and is rated with 8/8 defense in right field due to a strong cannon arm (8/8). He has some speed too, but probably won't swipe a lot of bases because he doesn't get the greatest of jumps. He has average contact, gap and power. However, his ability to avoid striking out and his willingness to take a walk make him a someone to watch. If he develops as expected, he'll look a lot like Trot Nixon.

***

Current rotation:

RHP Dustin McGowan
RHP Ian Kennedy (agreed to a five year deal to avoid arbitration)
RHP Shelby Miller
RHP Daniel Hudson
LHP Felix Doubront

Bullpen:

RHP Warner Madrigal
LHP Cedrick Bowers
RHP Juan Gutierrez
RHP Joey Devine
RHP Jeremy Jeffress
LHP Joe Paterson

RHP Kam Mickolio (closer)

Lineup:

C Miguel Montero/Konrad Schmidt (platoon)
1B Brandon Allen
2B Tony Abreu/Jacob Elmore (platoon)
3B Ivan DeJesus, Jr.
SS Jose Iglesias
LF Gerardo Parra
CF Franklin Gutierrez
RF Justin Upton

Bench:

IF/Util Joe Inglett
OF Jordan Parraz
OF David DeJesus

***

Not really related to my franchise, but it's cool anyway. Since being traded to Pittsburgh, Stephen Drew has recaptured the magic of his 2008 season. He's a free agent after this year and wants a 162 million/7 year contract to resign with Pittsburgh. Probably will demand more on the open market.

EDIT: Just realized that if my pitchers develop as I expect them to, I'm going to be dishing out several hundred million to three guys very soon.

Ricardo Diaz (Clemens)
Shelby Miller (Beckett)
Jarrod Parker (Lowe)
Joe Davis (Cook)
Ian Kennedy

No lefty there... but man, that's talent if they all develop that way. In some ways, I think it rivals the Braves' rotations of the 90s. Thoughts?

rktaker · 07-06-2011, 11:37 AM

I'm in 2012 with the mets my first year didn't go so well i was 72-90

no i'm 23-18 and carrasco is out for the season now

Metsman · 07-06-2011, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rktaker

I'm in 2012 with the mets my first year didn't go so well i was 72-90

no i'm 23-18 and carrasco is out for the season now

Did you keep Reyes? and did you trade anybody or make any big changes?

rktaker · 07-06-2011, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metsman

Did you keep Reyes? and did you trade anybody or make any big changes?

Yes I kept him and beltran for 6 years I believe i'm trying to get rid of bay however but no one will take him probably because he's a bench player right now and Wright got traded for Braun and pagan also got traded

megamanmatt · 07-07-2011, 05:52 AM

Just started a game as the Twins. First game against the Jays my Twins are down 9-4 going into the top of the 9th. Casilla walks, Valencia homers. Down 9-6. The Jays bring in Rauch now and Span gets a single. Tolbert grounds out then Mauer and Morneau walk. Young pops out. Final out, Jim Thome at the plate....grand slam. Easily one of my favorite comeback wins, if only because Thome made it possible.

ajenko80 · 07-07-2011, 07:26 AM

Pittsburgh Pirates 2015 Season

Batting Order v Right Hander
CF Andrew McCutchen-
C Miguel Mendez
LF Andrew Lambo
2B Neil Walker
1B Daniel Murphy
SS Jeremy Pittman
3B Pedro Alvarez
RF Alex Presley

Rotation
Jonathon Niese
Aneury Rodriguez
Jeff Locke
Julio Teheran
James McDonald

Notes:
Locked down McCutchen for the next 5 years. Got in early and it only cost me 9 million a year!!

Miguel Mendez was an Gold Glove winner at catcher in his first full season last year.

Andrew Lambo has been a beast, his 2014 season line .340/.382/.612
38 HR

Jonathon Niese was an 18 game winner for me last season and has been solid starter for the last 2 seasons.

On the back of a 92-70 season and a first playoff appearance since 1992, I'm hoping to make improvements to the rotation and bullpen in the off season. But with little money for free agents (900,00!!) I'll have to acquire them in trades methinks. With the 3rd best farm system at least I have some trade bait.

(9th May 2015, started season slowly 15-19. Promoted Julio Teheran to the majors and he is struggling)

Big T · 07-08-2011, 12:49 AM

Got my first 100/100 score and an OOTP GOD........

(OOTP realistic injuries, Hard Trading, Stats Only)

Managing the 2020 Jays, coming off 8 straight below .500 years and not a lot of budget room due to poor attendance was fortunate to have some young blood in Las Vegas over the past few years to go from 73-89 to 90-72 and make it to the wild card.

After taking out the 95-67 Angels 3-1 in the Divisional Series, took out the AL Central Pennant winning White Sox in 7 games despite the Chicago's ace Carlos Manuel (17-5, drafted 8th overall in 2014 out USC) putting up a no-hitter in game 6.

We went on to the World Series facing the 113-49 Pittsburg Pirates. A staff the bolstered Jameson Taillon (20-3 2.28) Tommy Hanson (17-5 2.66) and Johnny Barbato (20-5 3.36) Offensively the Pirates had Brock Holt (.314 36 HRs 116 RBIs) Akio Matsumoto (.279 22 88) and Felix Murillo (.308 21 84) and easily swept us 4-0 to become the World Champions.

My Jays team had young studs Juan Salgado (14-12 3.34), Jude Ankers (15-9 3.23) and CL Ron Lee (8-2 2.15 28 svs), but were missing veteran Kyle Drabek (3-3 3.69 ERA and the ace of the staff the last 4 years) due to torn flexor tendon when he went out in May for 13 months.

My owner was quite pleased with the increase of attendance by over nearly 1 M butts in the seats that he raised our budget for the upcoming season by 10 M after being the 30th ranked player payroll (65M) in the MLB. Depending on how bad I get beat up in arbitration, I expect to have 15-20 M to spend on free agency...

BTW: the aformentioned Carlos Manuel, James Taillon were awarded Cy Young's and Brock Holt was the National League MVP.

And I got 25 M to spend on Free Agents...

Orcin · 07-08-2011, 08:50 AM

2011 Astros (9-10 after 19 games)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orcin

Managing the minor league system on a daily basis in a big chore. I very quickly delegated the promotions/demotions and lineups/p-staff to the MiLB managers.

I spent a little more time looking at what the AI did to the minor league rosters and lineups and.... no... that just won't do. I grabbed control of the minors back from the AI managers.

So, I have the past three evenings (just a few hours free time this week) going through each affiliate and setting the system up to suit myself. I don't know too many of the players so I had to do some research online. I have learned a lot about the Astros minor league farm teams. There's not much to get excited about, but this is essentially a fictional league after 2011 so I have to discard all pre-conceived notions of failure and watch these players develop (or not).

I made a decision to sign a few free agent position players to minor league contracts just to fill out the upper minor league depth charts. Who knows... I might hit on someone for next season. The really good news about this club is the lack of long-term contracts. I don't have big money to throw around but I can afford to take chances on a variety of cheap players since I don't have prospects occupying AAA lineup spots.

I offered Pence a 4-year deal at $50 million and he is considering it. I also made a waiver claim on Cardinals' reliever Eduardo Sanchez. I was surprised when the Cards put him out there. My scout (Bobby Heck) really likes him.

Orcin · 07-08-2011, 12:27 PM

I also have a 1946 historical league in which I manage every game for the St. Louis Cardinals. I play this one when I want to win.

I received this email after my most recent game...

Stan Musial Has Accident
Stan Musial, St. Louis first baseman, will be out of service for 4 days. According to club officials he had an unfortunate off-the-field accident and suffered an undisclosed injury while doing work on his farm.

So far this year Musial is batting .369 with 2 home runs, 11 RBIs and 15 runs scored.

__________

WTF? What is Stan doing working on his farm?

I am just glad he didn't have a more serious injury!

Thank goodness for the reserve clause... I need to force a "no farm work" condition in his next contract. Of course, maybe he wouldn't NEED to work on his farm if I paid him more money.

md5423 · 07-09-2011, 01:46 PM

just started a Cubbies dynasty! Please take a look!
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...s-dynasty.html

Orcin · 07-17-2011, 10:44 AM

Houston Chronicle
May 24, 2011

The Houston Astros (19-29) unloaded a large amount of payroll on the New York Mets (21-26) today in return for two excellent young prospects.

The fourth-place Mets obviously still consider themselves contenders despite their slow start and are looking for reinforcements. Going to the Mets in the deal are closer Brandon Lyon, 2B Bill Hall, and minor-league C J.R. House. The Mets were most interested in Lyon (3.20 ERA) and House (hitting .380 at AAA). The veteran Hall, a good defensive player, might be preferable to young Ruben Tejada, who is only hitting .191 at second base for the Mets. The Mets will take on $6 million of pro-rated 2011 salary in the deal and assume the $5.5 million due to Lyon in 2012.

The Astros will receive SP Jeurys Familia (age 21) and 3B Jefry Marte (age 19), both of whom are currently playing for the Savannah Sand Gnats in the South Atlantic league (A). The Astros will initially assign both players to the Lexington Legends in the same league in order to minimize the disruption to their season.

Familia is from the Dominican Republic and sports a 4-1 record with a 2.51 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in 9 starts for Savannah. Astros scout Bobby Heck says Familia is "the kind of player scouts drool over. A bonafide ace who will one day chew up big-league hitters and spit 'em out." Heck rates Familia as a five-star prospect with stuff and control potential off the charts.

Marte, also from the Dominican, is a four-star prospect at a position of desperate need in the Astros farm system. Marte is hitting .271 with 5 HRs and 19 RBIs in 37 games at Savannah. He is a right-handed hitter with decent speed, good defensive skills, and power to reach the Crawford boxes at Minute Maid Park. Heck says Marte "has the potential to be a substantial contributor to a winning club. He has tremendous power potential and should be a capable defender at the third base position".

The move clears two spots on the 40-man roster for the Astros, which will presumably be used to protect young players from the Rule 5 draft or sign additional free agents. The extra money will certainly come in handy with the draft approaching and the Astros holding the #9 selection.

GM's comments:
The trade was completed on the "hard/neutral" setting. Mets GM Sandy Alderson said it was barely fair after considering the offer for two days. Familia was the Mets #3 prospect and Marte was their #10. I tried but the Mets would not part with either of their top two prospects: SP Jenrry Mejia and SS Wilmer Flores.

The catcher in the deal on my side was J.R. House, not Towles who is still on my MLB roster. House was signed as a free agent in April and was catching at OKC (AAA). The Mets would do the deal on the spot with Towles, but I wanted to keep him and tried House instead. Towles is a better defensive catcher and I think House is hitting way over his head.

07-05-2011, 11:22 AM	#48
Stirner Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 45	I'm just starting 2012 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. In this game, I've decided to just act as the General Manager, so I have my manager setting my lineups. While I don't get to familiarize myself with the players as much, I do find myself having more fun because I'm not micromanaging everything. Anyway, when I took over the Diamondbacks in 2011, they had a pretty poor farm but a semi-talented twenty-five man roster. I'm used to playing as teams with loaded farms (Pittsburgh and Kansas, sometimes Boston). Thus, I made it my goal to get Arizona's farm system into the top five within my first year through trades (very low/hard/neutral), international scouting, and drafting. Baseball America ranked Arizona as the second best farm system. Here's my top eight prospects: RHP Shelby Miller -- Acquired by the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 12, along with LHB Daniel 'Dirty Dan' Descalso. Miller is a power pitcher, featuring a mid to upper nineties fastball with two complementing side offerings: a plus-plus (7/8 potential) change and a plus curveball. The twenty-one year old can struggle with his command at time, so he'll probably be spending his first full year in Triple-A Reno this season. MLB COMP: Josh Beckett RHB Matt Jordin -- Jordin was the Diamondback's first round pick (3rd overall) in the 2011 Amateur Player Draft. The 5'8, 185 pound catcher isn't built like your typical ballplayer -- or catcher for that matter -- but has an advanced feel for hitting and defense behind the plate. In thirty games of Single-A ball last year, the 18 year old catcher (then 17) managed to hit .263/.368/.377 with 2 home runs. MLB COMP: Michael Barrett RHP Jarrod Parker -- Parker was already in Arizona's system before I took over, and he was the team's top prospect. Nowadays though, Parker is the third best prospect in the system. Like Shelby, Miller has an advanced feel for pitching for his age (23). He induces a lot of weak, groundball contact thanks to a recently developed sinker to add to an already vast repertoire of pitches. MLB COMP: Tim Hudson RHB Jin Guao -- If Guao had remained in Taiwan, he would probably be the Lebron James of the country's baseball league. He's an extremely talented and athletic corner infielder with powerful howitzer cannon for an arm. His arm isn't the only thing that's "plus" about him either. He can hit. And boy, can he hit the ball far. Like any 18 year old, Guao has a long way to go before he reaches the show. When he does get called up, watch out. He could shatter any number of home run records. MLB COMP: Travis Fryman RHP Stetson Allie -- Could you throw over a hundred miles per hour before you could buy a six pack of beer? Stetson Allie could. The 6'2, 225 pound native of Olmstead Falls, Ohio is built like a pitcher. In his initial taste of pro ball, Allie managed to strike out 245 batters while 85 in 160 innings of work. "I have a lot to prove," Allie told Baseball America. "The Pirates traded me after drafting me, so I'm making it my mission to prove to them and their fans that the reason they are bottom feeders is because they don't know a good talent when they see one. Arizona does. I'm in Double-A to start the season here, but it's a real shame that I don't get to strikeout 'Curves' in the Eastern League." MLB COMP: Joba Chamberlain LHB Ryan Wheeler -- Like Parker, Wheeler was already in the system when I arrived. However, Wheeler is one of the few prospects I would deem 'untouchable'. Why? Well, Wheeler knows what he has to do when he goes up to the plate and that's get on-base. The 23 year old first baseman gets on-base about 36% of the time, while putting the ball in play about 29%. Lacking true home run power, Wheeler hits a lot of balls to the gap. Average defensive first baseman. Future DH? MLB COMP: Nick Johnson RHB Jose Iglesias -- Mark my words: Jose Iglesias is going to be one of the best defensive shortstops in the history of baseball. When he was twenty-one and with the Red Sox, Keith Law said "watching him take infield practice is like watching baseball porn". Baseball porn will be coming to Chase Field then. While Iglesias' glove is far beyond his bat right now, he is expected to be able to put up a decent line in the majors. Probably will never bat above the mendoza line or hit twenty home runs, but .280/.330/.370 isn't out of the question. MLB COMP: Orlando Cabrera RHB Matt Davidson -- Davidson doesn't have one tool that really stands out. Maybe his arm? However, a third baseman needs to do more than get the ball across the diamond. Unlike Guao, Davidson is a one-dimensional fielder. Like Guao, however, he has good power. Unfortunately for Davidson, he has a long swing which will probably prevent him from ever hitting for average. Combined with inability to hit breaking balls (.200 average in Single-A) and you have a guy who looks more like a dud than a bud. MLB COMP: Andy LaRoche * I made a lot of trades and waiver claims over the course of the season (too many to accurately recall), so I'll just go over the main ones: Claimed Dustin McGowan off of waivers from Toronto. McGowan managed to go 10-7 with a 3.84 ERA and 108 strike outs. I signed him to a three-year extension valued at 17 million with a team option for 2015 for 10 million with a $500,000 buyout. Claimed Warner Madrigal, Cedrick Bowers, Joey Devine, and Jeremy Jeffress off of waivers. The four relief pitchers are in my bullpen to begin 2012. Devine is the only one of the four (and the only pitcher in my bullpen) to be signed long term. He has a four year contract valued at a little under 3 million total. Traded J.J. Putz to Boston for Oscar Tejeda, Felix Doubront, and Stolmy Pimentel. Putz is currently the set-up man for Boston's closer, Daniel Bard. I also traded Kelly Johnson to St Louis for Shelby Miller and Daniel Descalso. Stephen Drew went packing to Pittsburgh for Stetson Allie. And finally, Chris Young's contract was sent to the Seattle Mariners for the cheaper and very similar center fielder, Franklin Gutierrez. In the off-season, I claimed Jose Iglesias off of waivers from Boston (they had signed another Jose and needed to make room for him). Then I signed Javier Vazquez to a one year, 3.5 million dollar deal. He brought along friends Juan Pierre, Mark DeRosa, and Joe Inglett. * Current rotation and bullpen looks like this: RHP Ian Kennedy RHP Dustin McGowan RHP Daniel Hudson RHP Javier Vazquez LHP Joe Saunders RHP Warner Madrigal LHP Cedrick Bowers RHP Joey Devine RHP Bryan Shaw LHP Joe Paterson RHP Jeremy Jeffress RHP Kam Mickolio (closer) Starting lineup: C Miguel Montero 1B Brandon Allen 2B Daniel Descalso 3B Ryan Roberts SS Alex Gonzalez LF Gerardo Parra CF Franklin Gutierrez RF Justin Upton Bench: C Konrad Schmidt IF Tony Abreu IF Joe Inglett OF Juan Pierre Util Mark DeRosa *** I'm expected to play .500 ball. I have the fifteenth overall pick in the Amateur Draft this year, but I won't draft again until nearly thirty picks later. For the foreseeable future, my offense is going to be carried by Justin Upton. He came eerily close to a 40-40 season in 2011. He finished with 38 home runs and 38 stolen bases before being sidelined with injury for the last week of the season. I know this was a long post and I apologize, but I love talking (or typing about?) what I've done with MLB teams. __________________ "If man puts his honor first in relying upon himself, knowing himself and applying himself, this in self-reliance, self-assertion, and freedom, he then strives to rid himself of the ignorance which makes a strange impenetrable object a barrier and a hindrance to his self-knowledge."

07-06-2011, 12:02 AM	#50
Stirner Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 45	I just finished the 2012 season with my Diamondbacks (see the earlier post). I thought this season would be a loss at first. In our first few games, we gave up an average of 17.4 runs. Thankfully, things calmed down as the season carried on, but we still ended up dead last in mainstream-land's favorite pitching stat: ERA (4.88). We half a run worse than the Florida Marlins. On offense, we managed to score nearly five runs a game. The team finished with a collective OPS of .757 thanks to sluggers Brandon Allen and Justin Upton. I'm not going to devote any time to typing about Allen's season because while it was remarkable (46 home runs always is), Justin Upton stole the show: .330/.435/.729/1.163 -- 66 HRs and 160 RBIs. 205 OPS+ and a historically high WAR of 13. He ran away with the MVP award and challenged for the triple crown all season long. If his average had been eight points higher, he would've won it. Somewhere in a prison cell, Barry Bonds cried. Overall, we managed to go 77-85. That was good enough for fourth place in the NL West. The Dodgers actually managed to play worse with a 73-89 record. We have the ninth overall selection in the 2013 Amateur Player Draft. I'm going to be looking for a speedy, great glove outfielder in this draft. Not to be alarmed, I will be choosing the best available player with the lowest demands with this pick. After that, my budget gets thrown out the window and I just choose the best player. I also improved my farm system this year. I now have the number one ranked farm system in the majors according to Baseball America. I have to thank my new scout Billy Beane (fired by Oakland after 2011). Beane found me several top amateur free agents that could contribute to this team in some form or another. Like last time, here's a breakdown of my top prospects: RHP Ricardo Diaz -- When you are eighteen and slated to begin your professional career, there are two things that quickly come to mind: you are a pitching prodigy, or you are in a dumb organization. Ricardo is the former. This 6'3, 230 pound 18 year old from Mexico is jaw dropping good. "When I first saw him pitch, I thought I was watching a guy that's already played in some major league circuit," said catcher and fellow top prospect, Matt Jordin. "He's filthy; plus everything ... fastball that can touch 100, devastating curve and slider and change that's combined effectively with arguably the best splitter and fork of all-time. I wouldn't be surprised if he made it to the Majors before me, and I'm in Triple-A to start the season." MLB COMP: Roger Clemens RHB Matt Jordin -- Being the second best in this organization is something common for Jordin. Last year, he was Arizona's second best prospect behind Shelby Miller. Since, Miller has graduated and an even better pitching prospect has taken his place. "I don't let it bother me," said Jordin. "I play baseball to have fun. If I get paid for it and make the majors to potentially gross millions, great. If not, then that's great too because I got to live out my dream of playing professionally." The 19 year old catching prospect's advanced bat has allowed him to move up the organizational ladder quickly. Beginning the year in Single-A last year, Jordin made an immediate impact and quickly reached Double-A. In Double-A, Jordin smacked the ball around some more: .263/.376/.434/.810 with five home runs while throwing out nearly 40% of would-be base stealers. In an interview with Baseball America, General Manager Kyle Rome had this to say about Jordin: "We are overjoyed to have a player of Jordin's caliber in our system. Currently, he's blocked by Miguel Montero, so we've received some inquires about him. Rest assured, Jordin is going to debut as a Diamondback and hopefully remain a Diamondback as he carves himself a Hall of Fame career." MLB COMP: Joe Mauer RHP Joe Davis -- Last year's draft class wasn't particularly strong in any one area. Instead, it had a few gems everywhere. One of those gems was a starting pitcher out of the University of Florida named Joe Davis. Davis doesn't profile as your typical pitcher. He doesn't go for strikeouts. Instead, he pitches to contact and induces a lot of groundballs thanks to a great sinker and change combo. If his slider ever develops, he'll probably rack up his fair share of Ks. For now, he remains as a groundball pitcher that profiles to starter that's already in the NL West. MLB COMP: Aaron Cook RHP Jarrod Parker -- He had a decent FIP of 4.25 last year in Triple-A. His peripherals are great and the scouting report is great too. So what's keeping Parker in Triple-A for the third straight year? Results. "Yeah, everyone says I pitched well last year. It's true. I did, but I got a lot to work on if I want to make the majors like [Shelby] Miller. I'll keep trying. The brass has insured me of a rotation spot with my name on it if I pitch well." Jarrod Parker told Baseball America. The 24 year old is running out of time. MLB COMP: Derek Lowe RHB Jin Guao -- Very raw. Needs to make a plan up at the plate. The ceiling on his power potential is still high. "Just needs to make a few adjustments," scout Billy Beane told Baseball America. "When he makes those adjustments and remembers, 'hey, I'm playing in America now' then he'll do well. Until then, he's not going to look very good up at the plate." MLB COMP: Adrian Beltre RHP Roman Mendez -- He was claimed off of waivers from Texas by Arizona in the off-season. Mendez throws hard and has sharp breaking stuff, but he is prone to giving up the long ball or two. Right now, he projects more as a quality bullpen arm than a starting pitcher. MLB COMP: Jonathan Broxton RHB Matt Helm -- He's the only outfielder on this list. Helm doesn't have one dominant tool. Instead, he combines every element of the game; speed, power, discipline, contact, and defense into his everyday play. While he projects more as a future first baseman than a left fielder, Helms is still twenty-two and has plenty of time to develop in Double-A. MLB COMP: Conor Jackson SHB Randy Berry -- "When I was younger, everybody told me to give up on my dreams ... to not try because I'd only be disappointed. Coming from a ghetto suburb of Chicago, I'd like to think I've done my part and proved everyone wrong. When you try, good things come to you." Randy Berry was selected out of High School with Arizona's twenty-first round pick. "When I found out Arizona had drafted me, I was happy. I was going to be playing professional ball." In his first taste of the Arizona Fall League, Berry didn't do so well. In nine games and thirty at-bats, he only managed one hit and his final at-bat: a grand slam deposited into the bleachers in deep center. "When I hit that ball, my entire outlook on life changed. Since I was struggling, I was thinking everyone from the ol' neighborhood was right. Fortunately, I got a meatball right down the center of the plate and was able to turn on it. The rest is history." In his repeat of AFL ball last year, Berry got 110 at-bats and hit seven home runs. He also walked 46 times and struck out only 37. His average was above .300. The twenty year old has an interesting story and a long way to go until he makes the majors, but everybody is rooting for him to succeed in Single-A South Bend. MLB COMP: Ryan Doumit There's also a 17 year old I signed out of Mexico in late September last year. He's a lefty and is rated with 8/8 defense in right field due to a strong cannon arm (8/8). He has some speed too, but probably won't swipe a lot of bases because he doesn't get the greatest of jumps. He has average contact, gap and power. However, his ability to avoid striking out and his willingness to take a walk make him a someone to watch. If he develops as expected, he'll look a lot like Trot Nixon. * Current rotation: RHP Dustin McGowan RHP Ian Kennedy (agreed to a five year deal to avoid arbitration) RHP Shelby Miller RHP Daniel Hudson LHP Felix Doubront Bullpen: RHP Warner Madrigal LHP Cedrick Bowers RHP Juan Gutierrez RHP Joey Devine RHP Jeremy Jeffress LHP Joe Paterson RHP Kam Mickolio (closer) Lineup: C Miguel Montero/Konrad Schmidt (platoon) 1B Brandon Allen 2B Tony Abreu/Jacob Elmore (platoon) 3B Ivan DeJesus, Jr. SS Jose Iglesias LF Gerardo Parra CF Franklin Gutierrez RF Justin Upton Bench: IF/Util Joe Inglett OF Jordan Parraz OF David DeJesus * Not really related to my franchise, but it's cool anyway. Since being traded to Pittsburgh, Stephen Drew has recaptured the magic of his 2008 season. He's a free agent after this year and wants a 162 million/7 year contract to resign with Pittsburgh. Probably will demand more on the open market. EDIT: Just realized that if my pitchers develop as I expect them to, I'm going to be dishing out several hundred million to three guys very soon. Ricardo Diaz (Clemens) Shelby Miller (Beckett) Jarrod Parker (Lowe) Joe Davis (Cook) Ian Kennedy No lefty there... but man, that's talent if they all develop that way. In some ways, I think it rivals the Braves' rotations of the 90s. Thoughts? __________________ "If man puts his honor first in relying upon himself, knowing himself and applying himself, this in self-reliance, self-assertion, and freedom, he then strives to rid himself of the ignorance which makes a strange impenetrable object a barrier and a hindrance to his self-knowledge." Last edited by Stirner; 07-06-2011 at 12:09 AM.

07-07-2011, 05:52 AM	#54
megamanmatt Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Lakeville, Minnesota Posts: 2,416	Thome ftw! Just started a game as the Twins. First game against the Jays my Twins are down 9-4 going into the top of the 9th. Casilla walks, Valencia homers. Down 9-6. The Jays bring in Rauch now and Span gets a single. Tolbert grounds out then Mauer and Morneau walk. Young pops out. Final out, Jim Thome at the plate....grand slam. Easily one of my favorite comeback wins, if only because Thome made it possible. __________________ "The Minneapolis Lakers moved to Los Angeles, where there are no lakes; The Oilers moved to Tennessee where there is no oil; the Jazz moved to Salt Lake City where they don't allow music; The Oakland Raiders moved to Los Angeles and then back to Oakland, no one in Los Angeles seemed to notice." Note to self: Princess Kenny was really off-putting.

07-08-2011, 12:49 AM	#56
Big T Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 3,878	Got my first 100/100 score and an OOTP GOD........ (OOTP realistic injuries, Hard Trading, Stats Only) Managing the 2020 Jays, coming off 8 straight below .500 years and not a lot of budget room due to poor attendance was fortunate to have some young blood in Las Vegas over the past few years to go from 73-89 to 90-72 and make it to the wild card. After taking out the 95-67 Angels 3-1 in the Divisional Series, took out the AL Central Pennant winning White Sox in 7 games despite the Chicago's ace Carlos Manuel (17-5, drafted 8th overall in 2014 out USC) putting up a no-hitter in game 6. We went on to the World Series facing the 113-49 Pittsburg Pirates. A staff the bolstered Jameson Taillon (20-3 2.28) Tommy Hanson (17-5 2.66) and Johnny Barbato (20-5 3.36) Offensively the Pirates had Brock Holt (.314 36 HRs 116 RBIs) Akio Matsumoto (.279 22 88) and Felix Murillo (.308 21 84) and easily swept us 4-0 to become the World Champions. My Jays team had young studs Juan Salgado (14-12 3.34), Jude Ankers (15-9 3.23) and CL Ron Lee (8-2 2.15 28 svs), but were missing veteran Kyle Drabek (3-3 3.69 ERA and the ace of the staff the last 4 years) due to torn flexor tendon when he went out in May for 13 months. My owner was quite pleased with the increase of attendance by over nearly 1 M butts in the seats that he raised our budget for the upcoming season by 10 M after being the 30th ranked player payroll (65M) in the MLB. Depending on how bad I get beat up in arbitration, I expect to have 15-20 M to spend on free agency... BTW: the aformentioned Carlos Manuel, James Taillon were awarded Cy Young's and Brock Holt was the National League MVP. And I got 25 M to spend on Free Agents... Last edited by Big T; 07-08-2011 at 01:08 AM. Reason: Additional info

07-04-2011, 11:24 AM	#44
ajenko80 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 83	End of regular season 2014 Pittsburgh Pirates 92-70 Finished five games back from the Cincinnati Reds Beat out the Washington Nationals for the National League wild card. The Pirates are headed back to the playoffs. This season has taken me into early morning and with work in a few hours, the playoffs will have to wait for the morning ( will give me time to think about my playoff rosters through the day tomorrow)

07-05-2011, 09:08 AM	#46
Orcin Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Indiana Posts: 9,878	2011 Astros (8-8 after 16 games) Michael Bourn came back from his injury and promptly tweaked a hammy in the first game. He will be DTD for another week. I signed Bourn to a 3-year extension for $26 million. Now I need to work on an extension for Pence. I don't really want either one of these guys going to arbitration. Carlos Lee has 4 HRs in 15 games played, but he is only hitting .235. Still, I will take 30+ HRs and a .250 BAVG right now and be happy. The starting pitching has been very good. Free agent signee Carlos Torres has looked good in two starts. He is "fragile" though, so I am not getting excited about him being anything other than a fifth starter. I can't get anyone to take Bill Hall for a decent prospect. I have mostly tried teams with money and need for a second baseman. There is still plenty of time to shop him before Keppinger and Barmes return from the DL (3-4 weeks). Hoffpauir is now on the major league club. I sent Matt Downs to AAA. I claimed C Ryan Budde off waivers from Toronto. I waived 2B Wladimir Sutil to make room on the 40-man and the Cardinals claimed him. I still have plenty of other crappy 26-year-old non-propsects to move, so no big loss. Managing the minor league system on a daily basis in a big chore. I very quickly delegated the promotions/demotions and lineups/p-staff to the MiLB managers.

07-05-2011, 09:51 AM	#47
Mister Twist Bat Boy Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 14	Still building up history in my historical-with-fictional-players league that i started from 1871. Was just rushing through waiting to take over the Dodgers in 1947 when 1B Quincy King came along and did this: Career Span: 1915-1934, Boston Red Sox Career BA-- .342 Career OBP-- .474 Career wOBA-- .482 Career HR-- 719 63 HR in 1929 I can't imagine historical simulation getting much better than that! In other news, the St. Louis Browns have dominated the league, appearing in 11 out of 33 World Series and winning 7, including 3 of the last 5. The Cincinnati Reds have appeared in 7 but only won 1, and faced the Browns 6 times including their 1 win. Oh, and that one year the Reds won the Series? 1919. I love this game.

07-05-2011, 05:13 PM	#49
Metsman Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 26	My New York Mets are 46-49. I just made a major trade to shake up the organization. I dealt Jose Reyes, Francisco Rodriguez, and Chris Young to the Texas Rangers for Martin Perez, Roman Mendez, Jurickson Profar, Barret Loux, and Author Rhodes. After this trade my farm system is now the 3rd ranked in the game!

07-06-2011, 11:37 AM	#51
rktaker Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 29	I'm in 2012 with the mets my first year didn't go so well i was 72-90 no i'm 23-18 and carrasco is out for the season now

07-07-2011, 07:26 AM	#55
ajenko80 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 83	Pittsburgh Pirates 2015 Season Batting Order v Right Hander CF Andrew McCutchen- C Miguel Mendez LF Andrew Lambo 2B Neil Walker 1B Daniel Murphy SS Jeremy Pittman 3B Pedro Alvarez RF Alex Presley Rotation Jonathon Niese Aneury Rodriguez Jeff Locke Julio Teheran James McDonald Notes: Locked down McCutchen for the next 5 years. Got in early and it only cost me 9 million a year!! Miguel Mendez was an Gold Glove winner at catcher in his first full season last year. Andrew Lambo has been a beast, his 2014 season line .340/.382/.612 38 HR Jonathon Niese was an 18 game winner for me last season and has been solid starter for the last 2 seasons. On the back of a 92-70 season and a first playoff appearance since 1992, I'm hoping to make improvements to the rotation and bullpen in the off season. But with little money for free agents (900,00!!) I'll have to acquire them in trades methinks. With the 3rd best farm system at least I have some trade bait. (9th May 2015, started season slowly 15-19. Promoted Julio Teheran to the majors and he is struggling)

07-08-2011, 12:27 PM	#58
Orcin Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Indiana Posts: 9,878	I also have a 1946 historical league in which I manage every game for the St. Louis Cardinals. I play this one when I want to win. I received this email after my most recent game... Stan Musial Has Accident Stan Musial, St. Louis first baseman, will be out of service for 4 days. According to club officials he had an unfortunate off-the-field accident and suffered an undisclosed injury while doing work on his farm. So far this year Musial is batting .369 with 2 home runs, 11 RBIs and 15 runs scored. __________ WTF? What is Stan doing working on his farm? I am just glad he didn't have a more serious injury! Thank goodness for the reserve clause... I need to force a "no farm work" condition in his next contract. Of course, maybe he wouldn't NEED to work on his farm if I paid him more money.

07-09-2011, 01:46 PM	#59
md5423 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 556	just started a Cubbies dynasty! Please take a look! http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...s-dynasty.html

07-17-2011, 10:44 AM	#60
Orcin Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Indiana Posts: 9,878	Houston Chronicle May 24, 2011 The Houston Astros (19-29) unloaded a large amount of payroll on the New York Mets (21-26) today in return for two excellent young prospects. The fourth-place Mets obviously still consider themselves contenders despite their slow start and are looking for reinforcements. Going to the Mets in the deal are closer Brandon Lyon, 2B Bill Hall, and minor-league C J.R. House. The Mets were most interested in Lyon (3.20 ERA) and House (hitting .380 at AAA). The veteran Hall, a good defensive player, might be preferable to young Ruben Tejada, who is only hitting .191 at second base for the Mets. The Mets will take on $6 million of pro-rated 2011 salary in the deal and assume the $5.5 million due to Lyon in 2012. The Astros will receive SP Jeurys Familia (age 21) and 3B Jefry Marte (age 19), both of whom are currently playing for the Savannah Sand Gnats in the South Atlantic league (A). The Astros will initially assign both players to the Lexington Legends in the same league in order to minimize the disruption to their season. Familia is from the Dominican Republic and sports a 4-1 record with a 2.51 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in 9 starts for Savannah. Astros scout Bobby Heck says Familia is "the kind of player scouts drool over. A bonafide ace who will one day chew up big-league hitters and spit 'em out." Heck rates Familia as a five-star prospect with stuff and control potential off the charts. Marte, also from the Dominican, is a four-star prospect at a position of desperate need in the Astros farm system. Marte is hitting .271 with 5 HRs and 19 RBIs in 37 games at Savannah. He is a right-handed hitter with decent speed, good defensive skills, and power to reach the Crawford boxes at Minute Maid Park. Heck says Marte "has the potential to be a substantial contributor to a winning club. He has tremendous power potential and should be a capable defender at the third base position". The move clears two spots on the 40-man roster for the Astros, which will presumably be used to protect young players from the Rule 5 draft or sign additional free agents. The extra money will certainly come in handy with the draft approaching and the Astros holding the #9 selection. GM's comments: The trade was completed on the "hard/neutral" setting. Mets GM Sandy Alderson said it was barely fair after considering the offer for two days. Familia was the Mets #3 prospect and Marte was their #10. I tried but the Mets would not part with either of their top two prospects: SP Jenrry Mejia and SS Wilmer Flores. The catcher in the deal on my side was J.R. House, not Towles who is still on my MLB roster. House was signed as a free agent in April and was catching at OKC (AAA). The Mets would do the deal on the spot with Towles, but I wanted to keep him and tried House instead. Towles is a better defensive catcher and I think House is hitting way over his head.