Worst to First - The Sequel - Page 96

NYY #23 · 01-15-2015, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HerbertMcHoover

Cano is back!

I couldn't resist! I tried to be somewhat frugal in the expansion draft, which left us with a fairly large chunk of money to work with, and I don't like leaving too much money unspent either.

NYY #23 · 01-17-2015, 03:34 PM

Carolina did better than expected in Spring Training with a 16-12 record. As we head into our inaugural season our owner expects us to play .500 ball, and I think that we are capable of doing that, at least if all goes well.

We'll need to win the AL South to advance to the postseason, as only division winners will qualify. The other change is interleague play has been abolished since the schedule can work without it.

Let's see what happens in Carolina.

Name: 2024-04-01.png
Views: 495
Size: 220.4 KB

Name: 2024-04-01.png
Views: 495
Size: 220.4 KB

NYY #23 · 01-19-2015, 10:37 AM

I've completed our first month in Carolina and it has been much better than I expected for an expansion team. Divisional placement certainly helps our chances being paired with two relatively weak teams (Texas and Tampa Bay), but Baltimore will be a tough team to get past.

One good month doesn't mean much on it's own, but I'm at least encouraged by our play. Toin Shibasawa has been a positive addition so far and has won the Rookie of the Month after hitting .291 with 6 home runs, 22 RBI, and 14 runs scored.

1B Mario Martinez has been a good surprise, hitting .330 with 2 home runs after being selected in the 23rd round in the expansion draft.

Name: 2024-05-01.png
Views: 484
Size: 305.2 KB

Name: 2024-05-01.png
Views: 484
Size: 305.2 KB

illeracula · 01-19-2015, 03:05 PM

Good Luck... hopefully they can keep it up the solid play and maybe you can sneak into the playoffs, that would be an exciting first year... and with Cano on the hill in the post season anything is possible...

Hopefully at the end of the year you won't regret dropping the wild-card

NYY #23 · 01-19-2015, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by illeracula

Good Luck... hopefully they can keep it up the solid play and maybe you can sneak into the playoffs, that would be an exciting first year... and with Cano on the hill in the post season anything is possible...

Hopefully at the end of the year you won't regret dropping the wild-card

Thanks! I do hope I don't regret dropping the wild-card!

I didn't expect to be worrying about that yet, but the team is playing well so far. I'd love to be able to sneak into the playoffs, because you are right, anything can happen once you get there. It would be nice to knock off a team quickly too!

NYY #23 · 01-20-2015, 07:29 PM

Another month in Carolina and the Breakers again finished with a winning record (15-14). At the top of the rotation Vicente Cano has been very good going 8-2 with a 2.12 ERA. We'll continue to chase the Orioles, but at this point in time I do think the Orioles are a better team. We're holding our own in second place though, and we'll see what happens. And of course I'll continue to debate whether I made a mistake eliminating the wild card or not...

Name: 2024-06-01.png
Views: 461
Size: 309.7 KB

Name: 2024-06-01.png
Views: 461
Size: 309.7 KB

rjl518 · 01-20-2015, 08:28 PM

ill be honest with you...i dont think that MLB would remove playoff teams...since there is more money to be made with more teams in the playoffs...

unfortunately...the playoff setups that ootp is a bit limited...thats why i went to four 8 team divisions and 12 playoff teams...the top three in each division make it...3 vs 2 in a best of three...the winner playes 1 in a best of five and so on...

since you did eight 4 team divisions...its a little more difficult to setup because in order to work, you could have just division winners, just like you said, or take the top two in each division and play a best of three or something, but i think that takes away from winning the division...just my humble opinion my good friend...

NYY #23 · 01-20-2015, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjl518

ill be honest with you...i dont think that MLB would remove playoff teams...since there is more money to be made with more teams in the playoffs...

unfortunately...the playoff setups that ootp is a bit limited...thats why i went to four 8 team divisions and 12 playoff teams...the top three in each division make it...3 vs 2 in a best of three...the winner playes 1 in a best of five and so on...

since you did eight 4 team divisions...its a little more difficult to setup because in order to work, you could have just division winners, just like you said, or take the top two in each division and play a best of three or something, but i think that takes away from winning the division...just my humble opinion my good friend...

You are absolutely right about them never eliminating a playoff team, but I just despise the idea of a one game wild card. I don't have any problems with using a wild card, but deciding it based on one game seems stupid after they play 162. Although I do realize I could set it at whatever length I want.

I definitely appreciate the input. While I'm currently regretting the decision because I'm in second place, but I've seen some crazy things happen once you reach the playoffs. At this point I feel it's better to go with the challenge of having to win the division, and I think I'm ok with that. I think I'm in the home stretch with this dynasty, so I'm ok with making it a little bit harder for the last few teams.

NYY #23 · 01-21-2015, 06:41 PM

With the first pick in the amateur draft we had the ability to select any player that we liked. While I liked the bats of CF Jose Cavazos, CF Donald Matthews, C Josh Straw, and SS Nicholas Benton I had concerns about their defense, and was worried they wouldn't be able to stick at the position we selected them. 3 of the 4 fielded like designated hitters, while Cavazos should be able to hold down a corner outfield spot, but he wasn't too fond on Carolina.

Because of that we went with the best available player who I thought we'd be able to sign, SP Logan Cameron. He's a potential ace, if all goes well. In the second round we selected 23 year old shortstop William Arthur. We selected reliever Andrew David in the third round, starting pitcher Kevin Mackelvie in the fourth round, and reliever Jason Walker in the fifth round.

NYY #23 · 01-21-2015, 07:14 PM

The hazards of trying to field a competitive team from the start is it's harder to build through the draft, meaning we had to make the most of our recent draft. I don't expect to get another top pick in Carolina, so it was important to sign our top picks. We were able to sign four of our top five picks, falling short on fifth round pick Jason Walker.

While we did sign top pick Logan Cameron, he did go down with an injury just 3 2/3 shutout innings into his career which will cause him to miss the rest of the year. Hopefully it's just a blip.

On the field we suffered our first losing month, going 12-15. That prevented us from taking advantage of the Orioles "down" month where they were just 15-12.

Name: 2024-07-01.png
Views: 460
Size: 310.8 KB

Name: 2024-07-01.png
Views: 460
Size: 310.8 KB

NYY #23 · 01-22-2015, 07:59 PM

Carolina was hot in July with a 17-9 record. More importantly perhaps we took 8 out of 9 games with the Orioles and have closed the gap to 3 1/2 games.

Despite our success on the field the Breakers had just one player who was selected for the All-Star team, Vicente Cano.

While we don't have the money to dabble in the international amateurs, our scout uncovered 16 year old Jose Garcia in the Dominican Republic. He's still a long way away, but he's get front of the rotation potential, and is perhaps the best prospect my scout has uncovered.

Toin Shibasawa returned from injury and was awarded Rookie of the Month after hitting .309 with 5 home runs, 18 RBI, and 17 runs scored.

Name: 2024-08-01.png
Views: 443
Size: 314.7 KB

Name: 2024-08-01.png
Views: 443
Size: 314.7 KB

rjl518 · 01-22-2015, 08:01 PM

could an expansion team make the playoffs in their first year??? if there is ONE guy who can pull this off...its YOU NYY#23

NYY #23 · 01-22-2015, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjl518

could an expansion team make the playoffs in their first year??? if there is ONE guy who can pull this off...its YOU NYY#23

Thanks! I'm surprised everything seems to be coming together, and playing Baltimore so much, and beating them, really helped. I'd love to make the playoffs this year though!

NYY #23 · 01-23-2015, 09:00 PM

Adrian Jackson allowed a pair of runs over 8 innings today as Carolina beat the Yankees 4-2 to move into first place. It's a narrow 1/2 game lead, but it's a historic accomplishment in Carolina. I don't know if it can last, if we'll be able to win the division, but I'm pleased with our 73-55 season so far.

NYY #23 · 01-23-2015, 09:15 PM

Things continue to go well in Carolina after a 17-10 month which sees us 1/2 game ahead of the Orioles.

We'll call up some reinforcements in September, and see what happens. We still have a thin minor league system though, so we don't have too many options in our system.

rjl518 · 01-23-2015, 10:41 PM

Wild Cards??? you dont need no stinkin' Wild Cards!!!

NYY #23 · 01-23-2015, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjl518

Wild Cards??? you dont need no stinkin' Wild Cards!!!

Let's hope not!

illeracula · 01-24-2015, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYY #23

Things continue to go well in Carolina after a 17-10 month which sees us 1/2 game ahead of the Orioles.

We'll call up some reinforcements in September, and see what happens. We still have a thin minor league system though, so we don't have too many options in our system.

pretty impressive expansion team you have... here is hoping for a strong September, hopefully you can hang on.

NYY #23 · 01-24-2015, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by illeracula

pretty impressive expansion team you have... here is hoping for a strong September, hopefully you can hang on.

Thanks! This has been a pretty fun team, and I think this has been my favorite expansion team I've ever ran. I'll definitely credit a little bit of luck though, because it seems like every move I've made has worked out, which is pretty rare. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a strong September too!

NYY #23 · 01-25-2015, 02:27 PM

Name: 2024-09-27.png
Views: 410
Size: 301.1 KB

With just three games left in the regular season Carolina holds a 3 game lead over the Orioles, with 3 games left to play….against the Orioles.

We'll need to win just one game against the Orioles, or face game #163 against the Orioles. Let's hope we can get the job done.

01-17-2015, 03:34 PM	#1902
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112	4/1/2024 - Carolina did better than expected in Spring Training with a 16-12 record. As we head into our inaugural season our owner expects us to play .500 ball, and I think that we are capable of doing that, at least if all goes well. We'll need to win the AL South to advance to the postseason, as only division winners will qualify. The other change is interleague play has been abolished since the schedule can work without it. Let's see what happens in Carolina.

01-19-2015, 10:37 AM	#1903
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112	5/1/2024 - I've completed our first month in Carolina and it has been much better than I expected for an expansion team. Divisional placement certainly helps our chances being paired with two relatively weak teams (Texas and Tampa Bay), but Baltimore will be a tough team to get past. One good month doesn't mean much on it's own, but I'm at least encouraged by our play. Toin Shibasawa has been a positive addition so far and has won the Rookie of the Month after hitting .291 with 6 home runs, 22 RBI, and 14 runs scored. 1B Mario Martinez has been a good surprise, hitting .330 with 2 home runs after being selected in the 23rd round in the expansion draft.

01-19-2015, 03:05 PM	#1904
illeracula Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Delaware Posts: 3,931	Good Luck... hopefully they can keep it up the solid play and maybe you can sneak into the playoffs, that would be an exciting first year... and with Cano on the hill in the post season anything is possible... Hopefully at the end of the year you won't regret dropping the wild-card __________________ --- Check out my OOTP dynasty, the DelMarVa Baseball League: DelMarVa Baseball League. and the spin off: DelMarVa Baseball League - 2037 WBC Tournament - Won by Team USA - New England. DelMarVa Baseball League - 2039 WBC Tournament - Won by Team USA - New England..

01-20-2015, 07:29 PM	#1906
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112	6/1/2024 - Another month in Carolina and the Breakers again finished with a winning record (15-14). At the top of the rotation Vicente Cano has been very good going 8-2 with a 2.12 ERA. We'll continue to chase the Orioles, but at this point in time I do think the Orioles are a better team. We're holding our own in second place though, and we'll see what happens. And of course I'll continue to debate whether I made a mistake eliminating the wild card or not...

01-20-2015, 08:28 PM	#1907
rjl518 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Born in Shea Stadium, lives in LoanDepot Park. Posts: 6,238	ill be honest with you...i dont think that MLB would remove playoff teams...since there is more money to be made with more teams in the playoffs... unfortunately...the playoff setups that ootp is a bit limited...thats why i went to four 8 team divisions and 12 playoff teams...the top three in each division make it...3 vs 2 in a best of three...the winner playes 1 in a best of five and so on... since you did eight 4 team divisions...its a little more difficult to setup because in order to work, you could have just division winners, just like you said, or take the top two in each division and play a best of three or something, but i think that takes away from winning the division...just my humble opinion my good friend... __________________ My Threads: MLB Project 32 by SFGiants58 "Colon looking for his 1st hit of the year and he DRIVES ONE! Deep left field! Back goes Upton! Back near the wall! ITS OUTTA HERE!!! Bartolo has done it!!! THE IMPOSSIBLE HAS HAPPENED!!! This is one of the great moments in the history of baseball! Bartolo Colon has gone deep!" ---Gary Cohen. (May 7, 2016) (Petco Park) NYM 6 @ SD 3

01-21-2015, 06:41 PM	#1909
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112	6/15/2025 - Amateur Draft With the first pick in the amateur draft we had the ability to select any player that we liked. While I liked the bats of CF Jose Cavazos, CF Donald Matthews, C Josh Straw, and SS Nicholas Benton I had concerns about their defense, and was worried they wouldn't be able to stick at the position we selected them. 3 of the 4 fielded like designated hitters, while Cavazos should be able to hold down a corner outfield spot, but he wasn't too fond on Carolina. Because of that we went with the best available player who I thought we'd be able to sign, SP Logan Cameron. He's a potential ace, if all goes well. In the second round we selected 23 year old shortstop William Arthur. We selected reliever Andrew David in the third round, starting pitcher Kevin Mackelvie in the fourth round, and reliever Jason Walker in the fifth round.

01-21-2015, 07:14 PM	#1910
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112	7/1/2024 - The hazards of trying to field a competitive team from the start is it's harder to build through the draft, meaning we had to make the most of our recent draft. I don't expect to get another top pick in Carolina, so it was important to sign our top picks. We were able to sign four of our top five picks, falling short on fifth round pick Jason Walker. While we did sign top pick Logan Cameron, he did go down with an injury just 3 2/3 shutout innings into his career which will cause him to miss the rest of the year. Hopefully it's just a blip. On the field we suffered our first losing month, going 12-15. That prevented us from taking advantage of the Orioles "down" month where they were just 15-12.

01-22-2015, 07:59 PM	#1911
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112	8/1/2024 - Carolina was hot in July with a 17-9 record. More importantly perhaps we took 8 out of 9 games with the Orioles and have closed the gap to 3 1/2 games. Despite our success on the field the Breakers had just one player who was selected for the All-Star team, Vicente Cano. While we don't have the money to dabble in the international amateurs, our scout uncovered 16 year old Jose Garcia in the Dominican Republic. He's still a long way away, but he's get front of the rotation potential, and is perhaps the best prospect my scout has uncovered. Toin Shibasawa returned from injury and was awarded Rookie of the Month after hitting .309 with 5 home runs, 18 RBI, and 17 runs scored.

01-22-2015, 08:01 PM	#1912
rjl518 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Born in Shea Stadium, lives in LoanDepot Park. Posts: 6,238	could an expansion team make the playoffs in their first year??? if there is ONE guy who can pull this off...its YOU NYY#23 __________________ My Threads: MLB Project 32 by SFGiants58 "Colon looking for his 1st hit of the year and he DRIVES ONE! Deep left field! Back goes Upton! Back near the wall! ITS OUTTA HERE!!! Bartolo has done it!!! THE IMPOSSIBLE HAS HAPPENED!!! This is one of the great moments in the history of baseball! Bartolo Colon has gone deep!" ---Gary Cohen. (May 7, 2016) (Petco Park) NYM 6 @ SD 3

01-23-2015, 09:00 PM	#1914
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112	8/24/2024 - Adrian Jackson allowed a pair of runs over 8 innings today as Carolina beat the Yankees 4-2 to move into first place. It's a narrow 1/2 game lead, but it's a historic accomplishment in Carolina. I don't know if it can last, if we'll be able to win the division, but I'm pleased with our 73-55 season so far.

01-23-2015, 09:15 PM	#1915
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112	9/1/2024 - Things continue to go well in Carolina after a 17-10 month which sees us 1/2 game ahead of the Orioles. We'll call up some reinforcements in September, and see what happens. We still have a thin minor league system though, so we don't have too many options in our system.

01-23-2015, 10:41 PM	#1916
rjl518 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Born in Shea Stadium, lives in LoanDepot Park. Posts: 6,238	Wild Cards??? you dont need no stinkin' Wild Cards!!! __________________ My Threads: MLB Project 32 by SFGiants58 "Colon looking for his 1st hit of the year and he DRIVES ONE! Deep left field! Back goes Upton! Back near the wall! ITS OUTTA HERE!!! Bartolo has done it!!! THE IMPOSSIBLE HAS HAPPENED!!! This is one of the great moments in the history of baseball! Bartolo Colon has gone deep!" ---Gary Cohen. (May 7, 2016) (Petco Park) NYM 6 @ SD 3

01-25-2015, 02:27 PM	#1920
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112	9/27/2024 - With just three games left in the regular season Carolina holds a 3 game lead over the Orioles, with 3 games left to play….against the Orioles. We'll need to win just one game against the Orioles, or face game #163 against the Orioles. Let's hope we can get the job done.