Fixing the Marlins!

[ayaghmour2]

July 13th, 2018: Again, I had to boost the offer to Ignacio Apodaca.

The Padres offered me LF Taylor Kohlwey for Lane Adams. It really wasn't worth it. Kohlwey is basically the minor league version of Adams, but not as fast and less power. I politely declined.

But the good news came next. Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins accepted my deal. I traded a 1* and 31-year-old named Odrisamer Despaigne for a pair of stud young outfielders, Anthony Alford and Teoscar Hernandez.

I'll miss Despaigne a little, but not really. He went 3-8 with a 4.92 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 16 starts. He only struck out 40 in 78.2 innings. Alford, 23, was a 1.5/2.5 who was great in center and passable in the corners. He had blazing speed and was a solid hitter. He was hitting .296/.349/.429 in AAA Buffalo, so I sent him to New Orleans. He had 8 homers, 32 RBI's, and stole 11 bases. Hernandez, 25, was a 2/2.5 with good speed and was a great defender in RF, passable in LF and CF. He had nice power and made good contact, but struck out a bit. In AAA he was hitting .331/.404/.573 in 41 games, and hit .276/.321/.488 in 31 games with Toronto. I sent him to New Orleans as well.

Not going to lie, if the real life Blue Jays made this trade, I'd call for Ross Atkins' head like most of the bandwagoners do now.

More trade action, as the Phillies sent Aaron Altherr to the Mariners for RP Nick Vincent and CF Kyle Lewis. This didn't really make sense for the first place Phillies, or really the 3rd place Mariners. But hey, it's a trade.

I needed to temporary fill a rotation spot, so I brought Dillon Peters back up. He was 3-1 with a 3.31 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in AAA New Orleans. He'd fill in the #5 spot in the rotation, and probably wouldn't get a start until after the All Star break.

I didn't need to, but I also designated Isaac Galloway for assignment. He wasn't really going to be useful anymore with Dickerson, Alford, Brinson, and Hernandez all in AAA and on the 40-man roster.

Shelby Miller (1-3, 6.10 ERA, 1.65 WHIP) was on the mound as we hosted the Phillies in the last series before the All Star Break. We got to see Mark Leiter Jr. (1-2, 3.10 ERA, 1.28 WHIP).

Both pitchers went 6 innings, but only one got the win. And it wasn't Shelby Miller. He didn't get the loss, but his 6th innings yeilded 3 runs off 8 hits. He walked 3 and struck out 5. NicK Wittgren, however, fell to 5-2 in the 4-3 loss. He allowed 1 run in 1 inning off 2 hits a walk, but he struck out two.

Remember Adam Warren? Now he's a lockdown closer. With Philly, he's got a 1.61 ERA and earned save 11 today against his former team. Rhys Hoskins left the game with an injury, so Phillies fans are definitely holding their breath.

All our runs came from two Starln Castro homers. He was 2-for-4 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI's. The other Marlin to score? Miguel Rojas.

For some reason the Diamondbacks waived 3* SP Zach Godley. What were the D'Backs ever thinking? With his minimum contract, I could claim and our record was so bad that only the White Sox could steal him. Worst part is I knew I didn't have enough to work for a trade, so I had to hope the Sox didn't pay attention.

July 14th, 2018: Rhys Hoskins was diagnosed with a hamstring strain, and would be out for 5 weeks. Hopefully for the Phillies faithful, his won't be as bad as Heath Hembree's.

Guess what I got? Another offer for CL Drew Steckenrider. And it was so bad I didn't even bother considering the Angels offer.

Game 2 saw Adam Conley (3-7, 4.55 ERA, 1.44 WHIP) face Aaron Nola (8-6, 4.03 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) who we did beat earlier this year. We were just as lucky this time.

Adam Conley threw 6.1 scorless innings, followed by 1.2 from Jarlin the Marlin, and then a perfect 9th from Jorge De La Rosa for a team 5-0 shutout of the first place Phillies. Starlin Castro, J.T. Realmuto, and Lane Adams had 2 hits a piece. Adams and Castro doubled, while Realmuto hit his 5th homer of the year. Both Castro and Realmuto droce in 2, while all 3 guys scored. It was a nice series evening win aided by J.P. Crawford and Jorge Alfaro errors that lead to a run a piece. Kind of funny, but we scored single runs in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th. Talk about scattering 5 runs.

July 19th, 2018: All-Star rosters were announced! Representing the Marlins, 2B Starlin Castro! "All-Starlin" recieved 2,228,793 votes and edged D.J. LeMahieu (2,072,847) of the Rockies and Kolten Wong (1,999,811) a Cardinal. Before today's game, Casatro was hitting .303/.338/.483 with 16 HR's and 54 RBI's and is happy to represent his new team. This was his 5th All Star selection.

Apodaca got another raise, I was getting tired of this bidding war...

The Seattle Mariners offered me RHP Wyatt Mills for Dan Straily. Mills has middle relief potential, but I wasn't too interested in him. I thought I could possibly get more for Straily, and I held on to him.

Speaking of Straily (3-9, 5.20 ERA, 1.44 WHIP) he was on the mound against Jake Arrieta (8-4, 4.34 ERA, 1.28 WHIP) in the series decider. The day game ended 4-2 with both teams at 11 hits and an error a piece. Too bad the Phillies won 4-2. The biggest loss, however, was not the Marlins 65th on the season, but J.P. Crawford, who left the game hurt and has a pending diagnosis.

Straily sucked, maybe I should've traded him, allowing 4 runs in 3.2 innings off 7 hits and a walk, while striking out 4. Jarlin Garcia, Enny Romero, and Nick Wittgren finished off the game, allowing no runs in 5.1 total relief innings.

Miguel Rojas was the only starter to not record a hit. Adams lead the way with three hits, 1 of them a double. All-Star representative Starlin Castro doubled as well.

So there's the first half of the season. We finished an amazing 33-65, good for 27 and a half games behind the Philadelphia Phillies. Our .337 win percentage was only slightly better then the 32-65 (.330) Chicago White Sox. I'd use the All-Star break to facilitate trades. No one is safe...

July 16th, 2018: I managed to claim Zack Godley. He replaced Dillon Peters on the active roster. I was going to send Peters down today anyways, since I planned on recalling Wei-Yin Chen from he rehab. Godley, only 28, was a 3* SP who had a 8-4 record with a 3.22 ERA and 1.21 WHIP before his surprsing designation for assignment. They kept Jose Urena over him, but he really has turned it around, 2-0 with a 0.57 ERA in 7 relief appereances and 1 start. I feel like there were better moves, but I'm glad it happened. Godley will slot on top of the rotation, and should start our 1st game back.

The Yankees offered me 3B Gosuke Katoh for Steckenrider. I rejected it, since Katoh wasn't very good. I'm not putting him untouchable, since, as stated, no one is safe, but I wish someone would at least entice me to consider moving him.

Power Rankings! We're still at 29, although the White Sox jumped us, with only the Royals on our tail. We bested them 57.6 to 57.4. The Astros lead the league at 128.2, followed by the Cubs at 126.3 and the Twins at 116.8.

First shopped player was Chen. He had only 9 games left on rehab. No one offered anything, so I hoped, and placed him on waivers. I'd probably try dumping him again tommorow.

The next guy shopped was fellow starter Dan Straily. The offers piled in. Here are the highlihgts: CF Dalton Pompey from the Blue Jays. I didn't, however, need another OF, but the 1.5/2 LF looked nice. CL Jose Leclerc from the Rangers. The 2/3 relieverwas struggling in AA this year, but had nasty stuff. 1B Ryon Healy from the Mariners. He's on my fantasy team, and I really like him. My scout doesn't as much, just a 1.5 star. I ended up going back to the Blue Jays, who offered Thomas Pannone and Rowdy Tellez seperately, but I asked for them together. That worked. What about Ryan Borucki too? They'd think about it. Man, I'm really gutting the Jays if this works. I have to seperate real life me with 40-year-old fictional Marlins genearl manager me.

The day ended with a hopeless shopping of Martin Prado. He'd probably have to be dumped later as well.

July 17th, 2018: Today was the All-Star game, and I gave up on Ignacio Apodaca. I ended the International season with $3,110,000 spent, which equalled 62% of the cap. Successful season? Perhaps, who knows. All these guys are lottery tickets anyways.

Adding Borucki didn't work, so I asked what would work to finish it? A lot of half star guys showed up. LF Mike Donadio worked for me. OSA had him as a 1.5, but I had so much outfield talent in the system. Here's the return for Straily and Donadio: AA Starter Thomas Pannone (1/2), AAA 1B Rowdy Telez (1/2), and AAA SP Ryan Borucki (0.5/2) who had big league experience and would take up a 40-man roster spot.

Let's look at them individually. Pannone, who was suspended in real life, but not in game, doesn't have the movement but has amazing control. He'll be Dan Straily or a solid relief pitcher. Tellez is a great hitter and is solid at 1B. He's a lefty and reminds me a lot of Justin Bour. Borucki is very average, also profiling as a #5 or relief pitcher. It's not a great group of guys, but I didn't trade a valuable one to get them. It looks like a good deal for me.

The A's offered me a really good prospect Jorge Mateo, but sadly, they wanted Godley. I think Godley will be my ace, or at least #2 guy, for a while. He's too valuable, so I declined.

More deals to work out! CF Cameron Maybin was next to get shopped. He's more of a LF now, but his ratings look better in CF. Again, I got a lot of offers. None were really great. The Nationals offered me young 3B Drew Ward. A 2.5 star potential, he looked solid. I also asked for 4* 17-year-old Dominican catcher Farililn Turbi, and they thought about it.

Jorge De La Rosa was next. He recieved three offers, but nothing was interesting enough.

Last came SS J.J. Hardy. I just acquired him, but was willing to see if anyone else wanted him. None of the offers were worth it.

I also sent Alex Cobb to Jupiter for rehab and Isaac Galloway, who cleared waivers, to AA. Chen was brought back from rehab after a 1-0 record in 4 starts. He had a 1.99 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and struck out 24 in 22.2 innings. He allowed only 5 walks. As of now, he's the 4th starter.

Chris Sale (9-7, 3.61 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) and the American League took on Jacob deGrom (7-5, 2.69 ERA, 0.98 WHIP) at AT&T Park. Castro hit 9th, but was starting at 2B. He's the only NL starter who is less then a 4*. Honestly, he might be the worst rated player on either team, but his stats don't lie. He played the whole game, but went 0-for-3 in the NL's 4-1 win.

I ended the day with an offer for a minor league contract to 18-year-old Diarlin Jimenez. The former Indian stands at 6'5'' and would head to the DSL if signed. He's a 2* as a RP, but can start as well.

July 18th, 2018: The White Sox offered me CF Tito Polo for Lane Adams. Polo wasn't very good, but it inspired me to shop Adams later. The Nationals said no, so I added 34th ronder and 0.5* Jon Olson, and it made the deal work. I sent him and Maybin to the Nationals for 3B Drew Ward and C Frailin Turbi.

The 23-year-old Ward was headed to AA. He's got 2.5* potential and massive power. He strikes out a lot, and isn't the best defender, but his floor is a bench player in the big leagues who hits from the left side. Turbi joined the DSL club, and looks like a steal. With 4* potential and 78 power potential, he can be a force behind the plate. His bat will carry him to the bigs, but he's good enough defensively that he should always have a spot. He is projected to be an above average everyday player.

The Braves will lose 3B Ozzie Albies to a sprained ankle. The 21-year-old future star will miss about 6 weeks.

More trades? I started the day shopping Lane Adams. Nothing really stood out, and I kinda liked LA Swiftness.

Next to be shopped was the recently healthy Alex Cobb. Again, nothing too interesting.

Finally came the injured Brett Anderson, but no interest there as well. I ended the day by offering Jairo Labourt a minor league extention.

July 19th, 2018: Diarlin Jimenez inked his contract, and became the DSL closer. He's got great control and solid stuff, and could reach a rotation, but his stamina is a bit too low.

The Rangers offered me Leuri Mejia for Drew Steckenrider. Mejia wa a 3* potential CF, but I didn't have too much faith in him. He's just 17 and really far off. I held on to Steceksaurus.

I now looked to move angry players. I shopped lefty Enny Romero first, who was as angry as could be. Every offer sucked...

Nick Wittgren was next. He was actually good and just 27, so an offer would have to blow me away. The Phillies offered CL Victor Arano, and I added CF Zack Coppola and RP Manuel Urias. They would think about it. Arano has 3* potential, 1.5 for Coppola, and 3.5 for Urias. It could turn into a good deal.

Lastly came another good player, C J.T. Realmuto. I really didn't want to move him, but he hated it here, and I really couldn't blame him. As expected, I was flooded with offers. Mostly crappy ones, of course, but a few gems surfaced. CF Mallex Smith and CF Cedric Mullins lead the way. RP Keone Kela looked like a closer as well as did Nick Burdi. There were a lot of really good players available.

I started with the Rays. I wanted Smith, Blake Snell, and Daniel Robertson, but they weren't feeling it. I'd come back to them later.

The Rangers and Kela were the next big target. I added CF Delino DeShields Jr, but they didn't like that. Again, I'd come back later.

I went to the Orioles and asked for Mullins and SP Dylan Bundy and Keegan Akin. They'd think about it. My Assitant GM wans't too fond of it, but I thought it'd be worth it.

I ended my day adding Garrett Cooper back to the big league roster. He was hitting .288/.364/.488 in AAA and I didn't have too many options that weren't young, new, and filled with potential. This allowed Tellez to recieve everyday at bats in AAA as well.

We were ready to play the Rays, all rested for a great second half. It's a possibility that we'd see Nathan Eovaldi (6-8, 5.08 ERA), the guy we wanted to trade for Blake Snell (1-8, 5.10 ERA), and the season debut of Anthony Banda. Godley-Johnson-Miller were in line to start for us, all new acquistions since our origional Opening Day roster. Expect more trades in the coming weeks, with the deadline a little more then 10 days away.

[RubeBaker]

Good luck! I thought Orcin's "Extreme Makeover" of the 2012 Houston Astros was a challenge, but this makes that one look easy.

[ayaghmour2]

Thanks! That's actually kind of what inspired me to do this one, as it was one of the first dynasty reports I read.

Be ready for a lot of upcoming trades hahaha

[ayaghmour2]

July 20th, 2018: The Blue Jays asked me if I watned Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Umm, of course I do! And since they've let me steal their players before, I tried to make it happen. It really wasn't possible.

The Orioles accepted my offer, but I got cold feet. I didn't really want to move Realmuto yet. Blamed it on physical issues with Dylan Bundy.

The Phillies didn't want to part with three prospects for Nick Wittgren, so we went back to working on the deal. I added LF Nathan Lukes, who I just got from Tampa, and the deal worked. I moved him and Wittgren for CF Zack Coppola, CL Victor Arano, and SP Manuel Urias.

Here's the breakdown: Coppola, 24, is basically Lukes but better: more speed, better defense, and a slightly better bat. The lefty was sent to AA, where he was hitting .244/.318/.306 with 2 HR's and 20 RBI's. Arano, 23, joined Coppola in AA. Arano has killer stuff and will be a soild big league reliever, like Wittgren is now. He's a 1.5/3*, which is better then Wittgren who is 2.5. Urias, 17, may be the steal of the trade. He struggled in the GCL with the Phillies, but he is a future middle of the rotation starter. He throws from a 3/4 armslot and is above average across the board. His curveball has 87 potential, giving him the 2nd best curveball (Leudy Martinez has a perfect 100) in the entire system.

I wanted to replace Wittgren on the roster with Kyle Barraclough, but he is doing awful in AAA. He's 14 for 18 in save opportunities, but has a 5.87 ERA and 1.66 WHIP, which is still better then the 7.36 and 2.05 he posted in the bigs. I decided to add former Philly farmhand Tom Eshelman (2/2.5) to the big league roster instead. In 10 starts in New Orleans, he was 2-2 with a 3.09 ERA and 1.27 WHIP. He struck out 44 and walked 16 in 55.1 innings. He will take the 5th spot in the rotation, pushing Adam Conley to the bullpen. The former 2nd round pick of the Astros from Cal State Fullerton, Eshelman should make his MLB debut on the 24th against the Braves.

We started the 2nd half of the season with new acquisiton Zach Godley (8-4, 3.22 ERA, 1.21 with Arizona) as we faced Florida neihgbor Tampa Bay and Nathan Eovaldi (6-8, 5.08 ERA, 1.33 WHIP). Not positive, but I think our rotation is completely different then what we started the year with, with none of the same pitchers. I think we had Peters, Urena, Straily, Conley, and one other guy, and now it's Godley, Miller, Johnson, Chen, and Eshelman.

Godley's Marlin debut did not go as planned, allowing 4 runs in 3 innings off 5 hits and a walk. He did have 4 strike outs, but allowed 2 homers. Adam Conley came in mop up time, going 3 innings, allowing 2 hits and a walk. Maybe the pen is his spot. Down 4-3 in the 8th, Martin Prado hit a 2 run double to give us the lead, and the Justin Bour hit a 2 run homer off Daniel Hudson in the 9th. Up 7-4, Drew Steckenrider earned his 19th save with a perfect 9th.

We had a DH in an American League game, and all 9 guys who played got a hit. Miguel Rojas, Starlin Castro, Bour, and Rafael Ortega had 2 a piece, while Lane Adams, Garrett Cooper, Derek Dietrich, Realmuto, and Prado had 1. Ortega doubled and homered, and we had a bunch of single. Adams also picked up steal 24.

Back to the origional rotation, I don't think it contained Despaigne, but I didn't know who it could be. I remember recalling him for AAA. Brett Anderson and Alex Cobb signed on the 30th, a day after, so I don't know who had the last spot.

The Cardinals waived righty Preston Guilmet, and I placed a claim. He's a 2 star reliever, and I knew more trades would be in place, so he could be useful.

July 21st, 2018: The Tigers offered me Gerson Moreno, a reliever, for Steceksaurus, and as assistant Michael Hill said "This is not fair at all, we're not getting much in return!" Easy decline.

Could 1 win become 2? Brian Johnson (6-8, 4.66 ERA, 1.44 WHIP) took on Jacob Faria (6-8, 3.88 ERA, 1.33 WHIP) who lost to us in Miami earlier this season. We scored 3 in the top of the first, but that was it. The Rays scored 2 right after, but then 2 in the ninth, after Steceksaurus blew the save, his 5th of the year.

Now 2-8, Steckenrider allowed 2 runs because of 2 walks and a hit. The winning run actually came with Kevin Chapman on the mound. He came in with 1 out and the bases loaded, but walked in Daniel Robertson, ironically one of the guys I asked for in a Realmuto deal.

LF Derek Dietrich drove in all 3 runs with a base clearing double with 2 outs. Realmuto made his 6th error, but it had no effect in the game. Johnson pitched well, striking out 6 and allowing only 2 1st inning runs in 8 innings of work.

I grabbed Phillies lefty Adam Morgan off waivers who was designated for assignment after the Wittgren trade. Consider it the 4th player in the return if I recieve him from waivers. The sidearmer was 5-2 with 2 saves and a 3.79 ERA in 61.2 innings out of the pen. He struck out 72 and walked only 13. He's got really nice stuff.

Back to shopping angry Marlins! I started with RF Lane Adams. I liked what the Mariners were giving me, offering Ryon Healy. I asked for SP Jeremy Gabryszwski (former Blue Jay) and 1B Mike Ford as well. They still took it. CL Nick Rumbelow too? Sure, why not? They must really like Adams.

Let's break down this deal: We moved a 2* speedster, who I will miss, but we got him from waivers. We recieved 1.5* potential SP, a 1.5* 1B/3B, 1.5/2 1B, and a 2/2.5* reliever. All these guys were in AAA. I moved Healy to the majors where he belonged to be, but OOTP is not his biggest fan. Cooper is the new starting RF, and Healy will have bench duty. This looked like a steal for me, but who knows.

July 22nd, 2018: Opening day SP Dillon Peters, who was back in AAA, will miss 6 months with a ruptured bicep tendon. I'd probably eventually move him to the 60, but for now I stuck with the PCL disabled list. In better news, Jairo Labourt agreed to hang in the minors for one more year. Only 24, he was a 2/3.5* reliever that appeared in 6 games with the Tigers last year. In real life, he bounced around a ton in the offseason.

The Rays offered me LF Thomas Milone for Adam Conley. I guess Faria got hurt yesterday, and is out for the year with a torn rotator cuff. Milone isn't very good, but maybe Conley could still be sent their way. I went to win the series first.

Shelby Miller (1-3, 5.74 ERA, 1.69 WHIP) took on trade target Blake Snell (1-8, 5.10 ERA, 1.48 WHIP). Ignore his stats, he's a good pitcher. Ryon Healy got the start at DH to make his Marlin (almost Mariner) debut. Snell showed me why I wanted him, allowing only 1 hit in 7.1 scorless innings in route to the 4-2 Rays victory.

Miller was alright, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) in 6 hits. He allowed 7 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 5. Justin Bour and Martin Prado both made errorsm and Enny Romero gave up the last run in the bottom of the 8th.

We didn't go down without a fight, as the 2 runs came in the top of the 9th. Hernan Perez hit a two run homer off rookie Diego Castillo (never heard of him, but he's yet to make his debut in real life). Miguel Rojas was on base, and him, Perez, and former Ray Derek Dietrich had the only hits. We had more double plays (4) then hits. Wait, we turned 4 double plays, but did hit in to 3.

Starling Marte had 6 hits in 6 trips in a Pirates 9-3 win over the Reds. An angry Reds fan accused the Pirates of stealing signs, but who doesn't do that?

We were back home for two against the 4th place Braves. It looked like we'd face Zach Petrick (4-2, 3.68 ERA) and Scott Kazmir (3-8, 5.22 ERA). Perick has a service time glitch, listed with 7 years and 72 days, which I assume is his pro service, not Major Service totals. I fixed it the best I could, changing it to 72 days for Major Leauge and 40-Man Roster service, since he was a rookie this year, despite playing time in the *** and KBO.

The Preston Guilmet claim went through. In stints with Cleveland, Baltimore, Milwuakee, Tampa, and St. Louis, he had a 7.82 ERA in 25.1 innings. Yikes. This year did look better, but he did allow 4 runs (1 earned) in 2.1 innings. I left him DFA'd, and would shop a pitcher later.

Power Rankings! Back to 30th, behind the Royals (57.3). We were at 56.6.

Wei-Yin Chen made his season debut, taking on Petrick (4-2, 3.68 ERA, 1.07 WHIP). Chen was fine, allowing 3 runs in 6 innings off 6 hits, but he walked 5 and struck out 4. Jorge De La Rosa allowed 2 runs after, and then Heath Hembree allowed one that was unearned. We lost 6-2.

Half of our 6 hits were J.T. Realmuto, who was a perfect 3-for-3 with a 7th inning 2 run homer. Justin Bour doubled twice and scored. The last hit? Hernan Perez, who was 1-for-3.

I wishfully shopped Chen, but didn't expect anything. I was not let down...

De La Rosa was next. I got a few offers and decided to take a flier on the injured Martin Perez. I had the Rangers eat his salary, and sent him to the 60-Day DL. The 27-year-old lefty used to be good, but he'd miss 9 months. In 2013 at only 22, he was 10-6 with a 3.62 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. He hasn't really pitched at that level recently, but was passable. I really had nothing to lose, and worst case he just ate up innings in the pen. And the Rangers were paying for him.

July 24th, 2018: Preston Guilmet was officially added to the roster, and Adam Morgan was claimed as well. I'd deal with him later.

The Reds were the next team to offer an easily rejectable Drew Steckenrider trade. I really want a 1* potential outfielder for my closer.

Tom Eshelman made his season debut against Scott Kazmirr (3-8, 5.22 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) in an effort to salvage a split.

We lost 6-2 again, but Eshelman wasn't terrible. 4 run sin 5 innings isn't great, and he allowed 7 hits. He walked none, but only struck out 3. We did hit 3 doubles, courtesy of Garrett Gooper, J.T. Realmuto, and Hernan Perez. Starlin Castro even stole a base. But it didn't lessen the hurt of being swept at home, again.

Joe Panik of the Giants went 5-for-5 against the Mariners in a 6-0 shutout. He singled 4 times and took Shawn Armstrong deep for a solo homer. I had an off day ahead to work on lots and lots of trades.

July 25th, 2018: Cubs closer Brandon Morrow, who had 24 saves, will be out 2 months with an elbow strain. Maybe they'd want one of my relievers? He was having a really good season, and should be back for the postseason.

I shopped Enny Romero around, but didn't really get an offer I liked. I then went to shop Adam Conley. A few offers flowed in, but nothing to write home about. Julio Teheran was offered, and man was he struggling. 2-15 with a 5.87 ERA, and he costed a ton.

Lastly, I shopped Brian Johnson. I got offers, but just decided to call it a day. I wasn't running out of pieces to move and the ones I wanted to weren't very desirable. I sent Jarlin the Marlin down to AAA to make room for fellow southpaw Adam Morgan.

We were able to stay home, and had 4 against the Nats, then off to Atlanta for 3. The trade deadline was during day 2 of the Atlanta trip. We'd see a bunch of random arms for the 2nd place and struggling Nationals, Jeff Manship (4-2, 4.50 ERA), Tanner Roark (7-4, 4.64 ERA), and Carlos Villanueva (5-9, 5.66 ERA), and Jesse Chavez (1-3, 5.02 ERA). We avoided temporary ace Gio Gonzalez. They were 10 games out and without Stphen Strasburg for the year, and most likely Max Scherzer and Joe Ross as well. Daniel Murphey was also out for the year, and the Nats looked really vulnerable, tied with Colorado at 53-48 for the 2nd wild card spot.

[ayaghmour2]

This one is probably going to be long, with the trade deadline approaching. Lots and Lots of trades were considered and made...

July 26th, 2018: My day started with a pair of trade proposal. One from my trade happy counterpart Jerry Dipoto and the Mariners. The other, Jeff Luhnow and the reigning champion Astros.

The Mariners wanted Justin Bour. They offered 17-year-old CF Arturo Guerrero. He's a half star, so this was a very, very easy decline. Gotta give him props for having the balls to make that offer.

The Astros, like most, offered for Drew Steckenrider. 22 year old Jake Meyers was just as useless as Guerrero, so another easy decline.

We hosted the Nats at home for four and we lead with Zack Godley (8-4, 3.49 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) and they sent Jeff Manship (4-2, 4.50 ERA, 1.54 WHIP).

It wasn't close. We were shut out 9-0 and Washington out hit us 11-6. We had 2 errors, both Miguel Rojas. It only costed us 1 run, but it was late in the game.

Godley struggled again, allowing 4 in 3 with 4 hits and 4 walks. He also struck out a pair. Enny Romero gifted his former team 4 runs (3 earned) in his 2 innings of work. His counterpart Joe Thatcher pitched 1.2 scorless innings. Yikes. Preston Guilmet gave up the last run in 1.1 innings in his Marlins debut.

Hernan Perez had 2 hits and a stolen base. Garrett Cooper and Rafael Ortega both doubled. That's about it. Well, we did leave 18 men on base which doesn't really make sense considering we had 6 hits and 3 walks. I guess they must've been left multiple times.

Let's see, trade time! I started by shopping the rehabbing Alex Cobb, who was a free agent at years end. The Mariners offered RP Dan Atavilla and I also wanted a bit more, but they wouldn't budge. I'd take what I could get, and added Altavilla, a 1.5* RP. It wasn't a great deal, but it was better then losing him for nothing. I sent him to AA and called it a day.

July 27th, 2018: I had two more offers today, one from Baltimore and one from the Dodgers.

The O's offered CF Josh Hart for Kevin Chapman. Chapman was actually good, so it was an easy decline. Even though he's 30, he's got only a year plus of service time so I'd have the lefty under control for a while. Easy decline.

The Dodgers offered me CF Saige Jenco for Tom Eshelman. Jenco just isn't good, and why would I move a 24 year old starter? Ugh, I wanted some good offers, but the AI is allergic to that.

The Mariners and Nationals were busy though, and the M's sent Mike Leake to the Nats for Matt Adams and minor leaguer Logan Gray. Leake was having an awful year, but the Nationals needed starting pitching and the Mariners needed a 1B (they traded me two minor league guys in Ryon Haely and Mike Ford). I don't think I'd get to see Leake this series.

Game 2 saw southpaw Brian Johnson (6-8, 4.49 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) take on Tanner Roark (7-4, 4.64 ERA, 1.43 WHIP). I made an executive decision and benched Miguel Rojas for J.J. Hardy. I kept Hardy in the two spot, as he was hitting .281/.361/.444 since joining us from Seattle.

Another bad game for the pitchers. Johnson wasn't awful, but he allowed 3 in 5.2 innings. He only allowed 4 hits and a walk, and did strike out 6, but was charged with the loss. Adam Morgan, in his Marlins debut, allowed 4 runs off 3 hits and a walk in 0.2 innings.

6 hits were scattered through the line up, as our scoring was a 2 run homer by Justin Bour, his 25th of the year. I hear the screams of "trade Bour, he's good" but he's basically the only interesting thing about this team. I'd porbably cave, but for now I really loved watching him hit bombs. Trading him would hurt a bit, but I haven't felt anything about most of the scrubs I've dealt. Although I did have a soft spot for LA Swiftness.

Let's see, the Nationals still needed a starter and Wei-Yin Chen can pretend to be one. Obviously, I'd have to eat salary, as they wouldn't even give me a useless half star scrub. Even with all the salary covered, same result. So I thought big: use Realmuto as bait. It didn't work to well, as I felt like I was really hurting myself.

I spent a good deal of time making this deal to dump Chen work. It's a crazy one, but I needed to be freed from his payroll:

Miami Sends
SP Wei-Yin Chen (30% of salary retained)
SS Jose Devers
RF John Norwood
3B James Nelson

Washington Sends
LF Christopher De La (that's actually his name, didn't forget any letters)

And before you ask De La is not a 5* stud, he's a 0.5* LF, but I need one of those in the DSL. The good thing is Devers, Norwood, and Nelson aren't too special. Norwood is a 1.5, and the other two are 0.5. Devers is liked, as he was one of the guys we got for Stanton, but specs others like that you don't are perfect for salary dumps. Norwood had marginal talent, but as OF I was filled with those.

I was not ready to pay Chen $20,000,000 next year and the $22,000,000 the year after (then $16,000,000 player option he was bound to accept). $6 million, $6.6 million, and then $4.8 million was much, much better. I called up Yonny Chirinos, acquired with the Rays, just as a spot start with Conley pitching today. He'd enter the rotation after, but Chirinos, who was fully rested, would start tommorow.

Honestly, I'm a litle harsh on De La. He has an amazing eyer (82 potential), but doesn't make much contact. He's got average speed and will be an average LF. He's a lefty as well, so he actually could make the big leagues, but he had a lot of work and time in front of him.

July 28th, 2018: I know I'm ripping apart the organization, but I'm actually brining back really good, quality players, and hopefully the fan base realizes that.

The Dodgers wanted Steckenrider really bad, offering Aneurys Zabala. He wasn't awful, so they at least tried, but a 3* RP isn't enough for a 4* RP. Zabala did look nice though.

The Mariners offered me RP Michael Koval for SS Miguel Rojas. Koval isn't worth it, but I kept that in mind that someone wanted Rojas.

The Dodgers will be without Kenley Jansen for the rest of the year. He had 22 saves and a 2.38 ERA on the year.

As mentioned previously, Yonny Chirinos to make his Malrins debut. He was 4-8 with a 7.11 ERA in 14 starts for the Rays. He faced the guy I just traded, Wei-Yin Chen (0-1, 4.50 ERA, 1.83 WHIP). That's how desperate they are for starting pitching...

We lost again, 8-1. I don't know how Chen did so good. He went all 9 and allowed only 1 run. He did strike out just 3 and allowed 8 hits, but it was just him being happy for leaving Mimai, despite it's beautiful, beautiful wheather.

Can't falut Chirinos too much. In 4 innings he allowed 5 runs, but only 2 were earned. He struck out 2 and allowed 8 hits. Not great, but our 3 erros did make a difference. The 1st causing 3 runs of Chirinos, the next causing 1 on Morgan, and the last 1 on Romero. 3 runs were earned, 5 were not.

The culprits? Bryan Holaday, Justin Bour, and Martin Prado. Bour at least got a hit. I think I needed to dump Prado. Rafael Ortega had 2 hits, but we didn't have a single extra base hit.

I went to dump Prado. He was the 30th ranked third basemen, so he literally couldn't upgrade any team.

Good thing the Diamondbacks were without Jake Lamb, and Prado is actually better then replacement Daniel Descalso. I dumped Prado, keeping 65% of his salary with veteran minor league catcher Tomas Telis. I got minor leaugue catcher Audry Perez and 3B Henry Castillo. Perez's pure purpose was replacing Telis, while Castillo was semi-interesting. He's a solid defender, has 1.5 potential, decent speed, and a passable bat. He's not great, but he's honestly as good as Martin Prado.

Sidenote: I found my favorite player, and offered him a minor league deal. He's 36 and not good anymore, but his identity will be revealed later.

I replaced Prado with the hot Teoscar Hernandez, who we acquired in a package for Odrisamer Despaigne would replace him on the roster and would start in RF and hit leadoff against righties, while cleanup against lefties. I looked in the trade log, and honestly more then 50% of the trades involve Miami. I was seriously wheeling and dealing.

He's hitting .376/.321/.488 in the 31 games in the majors this year, with 5 HR's, 14 RBI's, and a steal. In AAA New Orleans he hit .333/.431/.729 in 13 games with 3 homers, 14 RBI's, and 6 seals. In 41 games with AAA Buffalo, the Jays affiliate, he hit .331/.404/.573 with 9 HR's, 24 RBI's, and 5 steals. He's raked everywhere.

July 29th, 2018: Would more tradeds flow in as the deadline approaches? The White Sox offered me CF Logan Taylor of LHP Kevin Chapman. Taylor can't hit. Easy decline.

The Reds offered me 25-year-old C.J. McElroy for 24-year-old Tom Eshelman. Easy declne again.

The Cardinals were without Brett Cecil wih a fractured elbow. He had a 4.91 ERA this year in 47.2 innigns. Maybe I'd throw one their way.

Chirinos went back to New Orleans and I brought Jarlin the Marlin back. I have 4 lefties in the pen now, so I'd fix that situation soon, but for now Garcia was a nice replacement.

We looked to avoid the sweep with Shelby Miller (1-4, 5.23 ERA, 1.62 WHIP) to defend the home turf and Jesse Chavez (1-3, 5.02 ERA, 1.28 WHIP). Teoscar lead off in RF against the righty. The Nationals announced before the game that Joe Thatcher was designated for assignment. It really was a lose lose trade.

Miller allowed 5 in 6 off 10 hits and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts and the Nats completed the 4 game road weep with an 8-4 win. I don't even want to know how many we've lost in a row...

Drew Steckenrider had a rough outing in a non save situation. He allowed 3 off 4 hits, and only manage 2 outs. He really doesn't do well in low leverage situations. I wanted to check, but I wan't able to seperate the stats by leverage, or even inning.

We did manage 11 hits, and both Bour and Realmuto were showing off for potential suitors with 3 hits in 4 trips. Realmuto ripled and Bour hit a 2 rin homer, giving him 26 on the campaign. Rafael Ortega had 2 singles and Teoscar Hernandez started his Marlins career 1-for-5 with 2 strike outs and was even caught stealing. Not the ideal start, but not much was ideal as of now.

Aaron Judge hit 3 homers for the Yankees in a 10-8 win over Kansas City. He's got 32 on the year, tied for third behind his teammate Giancarlo Statnton, who had 37. Bour was 3rd in the NL, behind Carlos Santana with 29. It's easy to tell where hte power is.

So we were swept at home in 4 games, and now had to head to Atlanta for 3 with the Braves.

On the plane ride, despite being in the air, I used my phone to make some deals. I quiety shopped Starlin Castro around, using only whispers when spearking. Frankie Montas looked good, but not good enough. Nothing else was too exciting.

The Sox intrigued me, offering Reynaldo Lopez and CF Charlie Tilson spereately, but were fine with it as a package. SS Tim Anderson was also suggested and added, but that was too much. I added SP Tyler Danish and SS Tyler Saladino, but my Assitant GM still wasn't satisfied. I ignored his advice, knowing it was enough. I saved myself over $10,000,000 and added a bunch of talent, and Castro was able to return to the Windy City that he loved so much.

Let's break down the package: Headliner 1, 24-year-old SP Reynaldo Lopez (1.5/3). He's pitched soild in the big leagues, and looked like a #2 or #3 potential. 25-year-old Charlie Tilson (1.5/3) was next. He's got gold glove potential in CF with brilliant range and speed. The Former Cardinal 2nd rounder is a career .264/.308/.357 hitter in the majors, tallying 93 (only 1 last year) games with the White Sox. 23-year-old starter Tyler Danish (1.5) is a Florida Native who can be a decent spot starter or long reliever. He has nice stamina and throws from a 3/4 arm slot on the right side. Lastly was the 29-year-old Tyler Saladino (1.5), Castro's immideate replacement. Saladino was an excellend defender at SS, and with practice, the rest of the infield. He's got great speed and a decent bat. He'll be arbitration eligible, and is a career .231/.281/.329 during the past 3 seasons with the SoutH Siders. They don't have his super cool stash on the face gen, I'm dissapointed. Saladino will replace Rojas at SS.

That was enough for the day, on to Atlanta for 3 losses.

July 30th, 2018: It's the Trade Deadline Eve, and the 29 other GM's were very interested in making deals.

But first, the big reveal! The Marlins added 36-year-old veteran Aaron Hill on a minor league deal, with the expectation of him being groomed into a coach or front office member. And yes, he's actually my favorite player. Technically not my favorite Major Leaguer, that would be Aaron Sanchez (who will probably eventually be a Marlin), since Hill doesn't have a contract. I remember watching Sanchez pitch after we drafted him, and followed him ever since. When healthy, he's the best righty who's 25 or younger in the majors. Dont't @me.

The Reds offered me Jeter Downs, since he met my requirements. I got a bunch of those today. He's a 5*, but wouldn't be hate, and I hate Derek Jeter. Moving on...

I got 3 more offers, Thomas Hackimer, Manny Machado, and Jonathan Schoop. I don't always mention these, but I think it's funny the Orioles wanted to move their middle infield tandom.

Two trades not involving me were made. First, the Twins sent LF Robbie Grossman to the Giants for RHP Chris Stratton. Nothing to see here. Next, the Rays sent RHP Nathan Eovaldi to the A's for a reunion with LF Matt Joyce. Again, nothing to see here. Only I make cool deals.

The Braves welcomed us with top prospect Mike Soroka's debut. We countered with the 1 start veteran Tom Eshelman (0-1, 7.20 ERA, 1.40 WHIP). Saladino hit leadoff and Hernandez was clean up. I did miss my All-Starlin, but I wanted him to leave my payroll. I think were down under 40 million now. Waiting for the CBA suit now...

Soroka's debut was rained on, as the Marlnis scored 3 off him and 3 off mop up reliever Sam Freeman. Eshelman allowed only 1 in 6, giving us a 6 game victory and breaking our long losing streak.

Three Marlins had 3 hits! The Marlins only had 11 hits. Bour, Ryon Healey, and Rafael Ortega with the luck of a trio of hits. Healy, who I got from the Mariners is hitting .364 since enjoying the beautiful Miami Beaches. He was a triple away from the cycle. Bour also homered, as well as Teoscar Hernandez. Realmuto added a double, but was hurt running the bases. We even lose when we win...

Well, maybe the problem with the physical was Realmuto... If you remember, I had a deal in place for him, but chickened out.

Thankfully, it was just knee inflammation. It's not a major injury, but to be save, I placed him on the DL. He'd stay a Marlin, despite being angry.

In a move to give the fans something to watch, I claimed SP Yovani Gallardo. You was 7-6 in 21 stars with Milwaukee, wokring a 3.44 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. He did walk 48 while striking out 69, which were both concerning.

Back to the trading board... I shopped LF Derek Dietrich. He's been at third base right now. I needed a replacement Catcher, so I'd look at that first. Offers floodded in. CF Mallex Smith was really intriguing. So was RF Stephen Piscotty and RF Hunter Renfoe. None of the deals made too much sense, so I'd hang on to the 29-year-old nicknamed Dietz.

Adam Conley was up next. I didn't like the return, so I held on to the 28 year old.

Lastly came LHP Enny Romero, who I aquired from the Nationals earlier in the season. Nothing here either.

I would need to actiavte a catcher tommorow to back up Bryan Holaday.

July 31st, 2018: The Trade Deadline was today. I've made too many trades to count, so I have no clue what to do after the deadline.

Tampa made the always expected crappy offer for Steceksaurus. The Reds joined in that practice.

The only actio so far was the Royals sending SP Burch Smith to the Tigers for SP Tyler Alexander.

Chad Wallach, who was optionable, got added to the 40 to be the temporary J.T. Realmuto replacement. My minors was thin with catcher depth, and he's probably the only passable guy for the big leagues. He debuted with the Reds last year, but went just 1-for-11, while striking out 5. His OPS+ is a laughable -51.

Zach Godley (8-5, 3.75, 1.28 WHIP) would hopefully not suck against lefty A.J. Minter (3-2, 2.08 ERA, 1.00 WHIP). Wallach was not in the lineup, but could join off the bench.

Godley sucked, moving his Marlins ERA down, yes down, to 11.00. He gave up 3 in 3 off 5 hits and 3 walks. Jarlin The Marlin gave up 2 in 2 and Heath Hembree allowed a run in the 8th. We gave a good fight, but were topped 6-4.

Teoscar Hernandez was hit well, going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Bryan Holaday and Ryon Healy hit homers, and Justin Bour doubled. Hernandez and Tyler Saladino also picked up steals.

Here comes the final shopping...

I started with my most expensive player, Justin Bour and his astronomical $3,400,000 contract. I guess his nickame is Papito, wonder how that started.

There were a lot of good players available, including 3 4.5* relief pitchers. Eric Hosmer was even offered.

I wanted Jordan Montgomery and Chad Green for Bour, but the Yankees refused. I liked the Angels Cam Bedrosian, but nothing else to add to him, and even though he was great, it wasn't enough. Sadly, most offered players were outfielders or just not good enough. Lucas Sims, Sean Newcomb, and Max Fried, all braves minor league starters worked for me, but not them. We were far enough apart for me to quit talks. I decided to stop the shopping, and keep Bour in Miami. Just 2 more shoppings, at most, to go.

Utility man Hernan Perez came next. I grabbed him around Opening Day off waivers from the Brewers. Sadly, I only got two offers, LF Yasmany Tomas and SP Tyler Chatwood. I didn't want to add salary.

One more to go...

Who should it be? Why not the guy everyone wanted, Steckesaurus. The offers kind of sucked. Frankie Montas was the only guy that I really liked. There were good guys, but not what I envisioend as headliner in a Steckenrider swap. The A's didn't want to add anything to him, so talks fell apart.

And with that, the Marlins remained quiet on deadline day. I didn't really have anyone else who I needed to move, and what we now have looks much better then what we had. I could add a bit in the upcoming free agency, and actually had a better active roster then I started with. And the farm looked nice.

August 1st, 2018: The wild month of July was over, and it was on to the Dog Days of August. A 9-16 July, tied for 2nd most wins in a month, brought us to a 35-74 record, good for 1st in the MLB draft, half a game ahead of the White Sox. Win them some games Starlin! We were an insurmountable 31 games behind the Phillies, who had a nice 65-42 record and 6.5 game lead.

Carter Capps, who was outrighted today in real life, is out for the rest of the year. This is a torn elbow ligament to add to his lenngthy medical record. The 3/3.5* righty was 3-2 in 40.2 innings of relief work. He was pitching well, working a 2.66 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with 47 strike outs, but 19 walks.

Hoping to earn a series win, Brian Johnson (6-9, 4.50 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) faced veteran righty Brandon McCarthy (7-4, 3.92 ERA, 1.41 WHIP). Say hello to Chad Wallach, today's catcher, who was making his Marlins debut behind the plate. He was 0-for-3, and we dropped the series to the home Braves 9-2.

Johnson allowed 5 runs in 4 innings, giving up 6 hits and a walk. He struck out 3 and allowed 2 balls to leave SunTrust Park. I miss when he looked like an ace. Enny Romero gave up 3 more in 2 innings and Adam Morgan allowed 1 in 2 innings. He didn't like being a Marlin, already with a 11.57 ERA.

Ryon Healy, who I'm a big fan of, had another good game, going 3-for-4 with 2 doubles, a run scored, and one driven in. See? I added MLB talent. Like him Marlins fans, like him. Because I do. Derek Dietrich also added a double of his own, and Rafael Ortega and Perez stole a base.

The Braves Ryan Schimpf had a interesting stat line. The slugging 2B, who is now hitting .192, wen 2-for-2 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored. He drove in 4 runs, 3 on a 3 run homer and 1 on a solo shot.

We headed to Philadelphia where we'd face the first place Phils for 3, before returning home to host the Cardinals for 3 before an off day. If you remember, we swept the Cardinals, the only sweep we've been on the good side of.

Looking ahead we would most likely see Ben Lively (2-2, 5.05 ERA), Jerad Eickhoff (0-2, 5.40 ERA), and Mark Leiter Jr. (2-4, 4.30 ERA). We should've gave them starting pitching as well. Although we gave them a pair of arms for the pen. They could actually be legit.

Below are a few screenshots of our current stats. I've had a ton of guys register at bats, and there would me more new guys coming later. A decent of those guys, however, are out of the orgnaization.

[ayaghmour2]

August 2nd, 2018: My claim of Yovani Gallardo went through. I left him designated for assignment so he can be fully rested tommorow.

Adam Conley (4-7, 4.06 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) opened up the series aginst the Phillies. He faced Ben Lively (2-2, 5.05 ERA, 1.21 WHIP). Looking at the lineup, only origional Marlins are Justin Bour and Derek Dietrich. J.T. Realmuto was on the DL, but most of these guys playing were acuqisitions of mine, not the previous regime. I've definitely left my mark on this roster.

And it looked like it worked today, we dominated the first place Phillies 9-1. Conley was pretty good, going 6 allowing just 1 run off 5 hits and 3 walks. He only struck out 2, but he got a lot of ground outs. Preston Guilment finished the game, going the last 2 while picking up his first save. He allowed 2 hits and got a strike out. His ERA with us, 1.17.

Rafael Ortega was the only starter without a hit. Starting pitcher Adam Conley doubled and went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Tyler Saladino lead the way with 3 hits in 4 trips, including 2 doubles, a walk, and a pair of runs scored and driven in. Justin Bour hit a 3 run homer, his 28th of the season. Ryon Healy doubled and Teoscar Hernandez picked up a stolen base.

Nick Wittgren, who we traded to the Phillies, helped his old club out, allowing 3 runs off 4 hits in 2 innings. He walked 2 and struck out 2.

Another 5-hit game... Kevin Pillar of the Blue Jays was a perfect 5-for-5 in a 10-7 victory over the Mariners. He doubled, hit a grand slam, and then followed it with 3 singles. He drove in 5 in the game.

I placed a claim on lefty outfielder Jarrett Parker. Ironically, he was waived yesterday in real life. In OOTP world, he's hitting .219/.314/.382 in a lefty "paradise" known as AT&T Park. The power hitter should have much more success in Miami.

August 3rd, 2018: That was quick, Parker's claim was executed, and he would join the team. Him and Gallardo were added to the active roster while Jarlin the Marlin and Garrett Cooper were optioned to AAA New Orleans. Gallardo will be used for long relief, while Parker will fill in off the bench and switch off with Hernan Perez in LF.

Maybe we could steal another win off Jerad Eickhoff (0-2, 5.40 ERA, 1.73 WHIP) with Shelby Miller (1-5, 5.59 ERA, 1.68 WHIP) on the mound. The powerful Parker will hit 5th and play RF today.

We faught well, but it wasn't enough, as we fell 5-3. Miller was good until a 3 run 6th that he couldn't finish. His final statline was 5.2 innings, 5 hits, 4 runs, 4 walks, and 4 strike outs. Lot's of 4's as he earned his 6th loss. Kevin Chapman had a round 8th, allowing 3 hits including a J.P. Crawford solo shot, but he struck out 2.

We had 7 hits, 2 for Saladino, Parker, and Healy, with Bryan Holaday picking up the last one. Parker doubled while Saladino doubled and hit a solo shot in the 3rd.

August 4th, 2018: Former Marlin Marcel Ozuna's season ended today with a torn ankle ligament. He was having an amazinng season, hitting .324/.370/.534 with 20 HR's, 65 RBI's. It's a huge blow to the Cardinals who have fallen all the way down to last place after looking really good earlier in the year. That's what happens when you let the Marlins sweep you.

Game three of four saw former Philly farm hand Tom Eshelman (1-1, 4.09 ERA, 1.18 WHIP) take on Mark Leiter Jr. (2-4, 4.30, 1.30 WHIP). Today's game sucked, we only had 2 hits and were shut down 5-0.

Eshelman struggled, allowing 5 runs and 9 hits in 3.1 innings. He didn't walk any, but struck out (2) the same amount of hitters that hit homers. Yovani Gallardo made his Marlin debut with 1.2 solid mop up innings and Adam Morgan, another ex-Philly, tossed 3 shut out innings. Both guys struck out 3.

I didn't want to use one of Eshelman's options, but another rough start and I might have to.

Kevin Pillar, a recent 5 hit game recipiant, now has a 20 game hit streak.

August 5th, 2018: We looked to pick up a split, with Zach Godley (9-6, 3.91 ERA, 1.32 WHIP) taking on Aaron Nola (10-8, 3.79 ERA, 1.21 WHIP). Godley gave up 7 in 2 innings, so you can assume the outcome of today's game...

We lost, and by a lot, 9-4. Gallardo was touched up for 2 runs in 2.1 mop up innings, but Heath Hembree (1.2) and Preston Guilmet (2) kept the Phillies run total at 9. Guilmet even struck out 4.

Ryon Healy, maybe the hottest hitter in the league right now, smashed his 3rd homer as a Marlin in a 3-for-4 game. he scored twice, and is now hitting .500 since the trade with the Mariners. He's defintely better then my scout says. Bryan Holaday was the only other Marlin with more then 1 hit, as he hit two, two baggers. At least we didn't get swept.

We returned home to host the struggling St. Louis Cardinals. We would see last year's minor league player of the year Jack Flaherty (1-2, 6.99 ERA), Carlos Martinez (7-6, 3.47 ERA), and Miles Mikolas (3-10, 7.71 ERA). Could we pull of another sweep?

August 6th, 2018: The Angels offered me a waiver trade, but I said no. I've made too many trades. I might need a little help with that.

For the first time all season, a Marlins player won an award! Ryon Healy won player of the week in the NL. He hit .600 (15-for-25) with 3 homers, 7 RBI's, and 7 runs scored. If he can do that in real life, I'd be estatic. Minor leaguer Braxton Lee won the Southern League player of the week.

The Giants lost SP Tyler Beede for the season with forearm inflmmation. His rookie season wasn't going as planned, so maybe he was pitching through it at first.

And of course, we were last in the power rankings.

Could Brian Johnson (6-10, 4.73 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) lead us to another sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals and Jack Flaherty (1-2, 6.99 ERA, 1.66 WHIP). Derek Dietrich was tired, so I let J.J. Hardy get a start at 2B. Most of my team was tired, but my backup 2B, Miguel Rojas, was playing SS. Hardy is the superior defender, but I want him to get reps at second.

We were down ealry, 3-0 after the top of the 6th, but we scored 1 in the bottom to bring the deficit down to 3. With Flaherty still in the game in the 8th, He put the first runner on, and pinch hitter Bryan Holaday gave him a nice exit with a 2 run homer. Neither team scored in the 9th, and it was on to the 10th, game tied. Steckenrider finished the 9th, and pitched a perfect 10th, giving him 4 K's in two perfect innings. Hernan Perez walked it off, with a 2 run shot off Luke Gregerson with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, capping a heoric 5-3 victory.

Perez was the obvious game MVP, going 3-for-5 with 3 runs driven in. All my tired guys pinch hit, so I might have to force them to be benched tommorow. Johnson struck out 5 in 5, allowing just 3 runs.

Earned a new achievement, "Walk Off" with Perez's walk off homer.

I've noticed OOTP doesn't do well in the new edition with benching tired players, so hopefully that can be fixed later on.

A bunch of good players were on waivers, but I kind of assumed they were attempting to be traded.

August 7th, 2018: Mariners starter Erasmo Ramirez tore his UCL partially, and will miss 7 months. He's been relatively productive for Seattle, going 5-5 with a 3.89 ERA.

Miguel Rojas has a knee contusion, so he's off to the DL. I had to manually bench Tyler Saladino, Derek Ditetrich, and Teoscar Hernandez, so I'd have a very small bench today. Rafael Ortega was tired as well, but I needed to have some sort of bench.

I called up top prospect Brian W. Anderson and added him to the 40 man roster. He's a 2/2.5* who was hitting .296/.382/.428 in 92 games in AAA New Orleans. He'd be the new third basemen, pushing Healy to the bench. Obviously, it wasn't my choice to bench Healy, but Anderson was the most helpful bat in AAA.

Today's game would be weird, I had Healy at 3B, Anderson at 2B, Parker in RF, and Hardy at SS with basically just Chad Wallach on the bench. Adam Conley (5-7, 3.92 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) got the start against Carlos Martinez (7-6, 3.47 ERA, 1.26 WHIP).

Luckily we only needed 1 pinch hitter, but we also only had 1 run. Conley went 6, but allowed 5 hits and 2 runs, which was enough for the Cardinals to beat us for the first time all year, 2-1.

We didn't do too much offensively, only managing 4 hits. Hernan Perez doubled. Bour was charged with an error as well. Anderson drove in the tired Ortega for the only run of the game.

Kevin Pillar's streak is already over, going 0-for-2 against the Red Sox, ending the streak at 21. He did walk twice, however, but he was held hitless in the 8-7 loss.

Jose Ramirez was quite the opposite, going 5-for-5 in a 7-3 Indians victory over the Twins. He was a triple away from the cycle, with a double and three run homer, followed by 3 singles.

August 8th, 2018: So I guess the two good players really were on waivers, as Brad Peacock and Collin McHugh joined the staff from the Astros.

Peacock (2.5) was 7-1 with 4 saves and a 3.21 ERA with the Astros. He struck out 45 and had a nice 1.15 WHIP in 47.2 innings. He could also start.

McHugh (3) was 11-4 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He was owed $5,000,000 this year, but I didn't have to pay most of the contract. He's also a leader, so he's probably a keeper on the roster. They did extend him, 3 years, $32,200,000, but I was willing to pay that on an actual good starter.

I caved, and sent Eshelman down to AAA so Collin McHugh could start today. I really wanted to win this series. My 40 was full, so I transfered Peters to the 60. Peacock would stay put for now.

I manually benched the tired Ortega for today, and for some reason J.J. Hardy was in CF to replace him. I shuffled the line up a bit so Hardy could play 2B. He was slowly learning the position.

McHugh took the start (11-4, 3.49 ERA, 1.17 WHIP) against the struggling Miles Mikolas (3-10, 7.71 ERA, 1.78 WHIP). I think he misses Japan a little.

McHugh only went 4 innings, allowing 7 hits and 3 runs, while walking and striking out a pair. We were up 4-3 in the 8th, but the Cardinals got two runs off 3 hits off pitcher Kevin Chapman. It was his first loss and blown save of the year, as we fell 5-4.

Middle infielders Saladino and Hardy both got two hits. 2 singles for the former, 2 doubles for the latter. Saladino also picked up a steal. Chad Wallach and Justin Bour doubled as well.

Get a load of this: Yovani Gallardo, who threw a inning of relief work, hit for himself, and homered off Alex Reyes. I now have two pitchers with homers this season.

So we couldn't replicate the magic we had earlier in the year, and we fell to 37-80 on the year. Tommorow was a day off for the tired Marlins to recover.

August 9th, 2018: Recently claimed Jared Parker was headed to the DL with a knee contusion. I called up Anthony Alford, who was hitting .393/.481/.539 since coming over from the Blue Jays in 22 games. The speedy Alford will hit leadoff and man center.

J.T. Realmuto will be ready to return tommorow, so I'd probably DFA Chad Wallach, send Brian Ellington down, and move Brad Peacock to the active roster.

The Mariners had an injury of their own, losing CF Dee Gordon for the rest of the year with a fractured elbow. The speedy Gordon, a former Marlin, ended his first year as a Mariner with 33 steals and a .268/.293/.347 triple slash.

His teammate, Jean Segura, has now hit in 20 straight. He had 2 hits in a 3-1 loss to the Astros.

We had 3 games ahead of us, 3 against the Mets at home, and then 3 more in Atlanta. It'd be nice to come away with 3 divisional wins, but I was realistic. We were looking at the deGrominator Jacob deGrom (9-5, 2.53 ERA), The Dark Knight Matt Harvey (9-7, 3.62 ERA), and the always hurt Zack Wheeler (4-8, 5.44 ERA).

[ayaghmour2]

August 10th, 2018: I made the moves, activated J.T. Realmuto, designated Chad Wallach, optioned Brian Ellington, and added Brad Peacock to the 40-man roster. Wallach hit only .167/.286/.222 in 18 at bats. I didn't want him to be claimed, but I couldn't keep him on the 40.

The Mets were in town and Shelby Miller (1-6, 5.68 ERA, 1.67 WHIP) greeted the deGrominator (9-5, 2.53 ERA, 0.99 WHIP). We got degrominated. Wait, we didn't? We did the degrominating? Well, not exactly.

deGrom wasn't sharp, allowing 5 runs off 8 hits in just 4 innings. Miller was sharp, allowing just 1 run despite giving up 8 hits in 6 innings. He struck out 5 and walked 1. We won 5-2, and Steceksaurus earned save 20 with a 20 pitch 9th in which he struck out the side.

I had such little faith in our team I accidentally left the game and assumed we lost when the sim finished...

We had 11 hits, and Rafael Ortega was the only position player who started to fail to record a hit. Tyler Saladino tripled, but the other 10 hits were singles. Brian Anderson stole a base and went 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored and a walk. Anthony Alford, Justin Bour, and Saladino had 2 hits a piece as well.

Wilson Contreras, who looks like he could win MVP this year, went 5-for-5 in a 9-4 Cubs W over the Nationals.

August 11th, 2018: I got some shocking news, Yovani Gallardo loves it here. He even wants an extension. He's looking for $2,000,000 for next year. It was managble, and I gave him what he wanted. I actually had over $17,000,000 in extension money, and Gallardo can eat innings in the pen or rotation and can be easy to deal. And he's good for hitting bombs if needed.

Remember Brett Anderson? He's awful now after his injury, but he's healed. I sent him to the GCL to rehab and he's not even good enough for the rotation. I'm half hoping (since this is a game and not real life) that he gets injured again since he's not on the 40. I'm just going to forget about him until he becomes a problem.

Anyways, Zach Godley (8-7, 4.44 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) really needed to bounce back against Gotham's Dark Knight (9-7, 3.62 ERA, 1.31 WHIP). Neither starter did too well, but man did Godley get unlucky. A Justin Bour error accounted for 6 runs and we ended up losing 9-5. We should've won 5-3...

Godley left with 2 outs in the 4th, and allowed just 5 hits, but 8 runs were plated. 3 walks and 3 strike outs were also part of his line. Gallardo pitched well, 2.1 scorless mop up innings. He's waiting for that extension...

Teoscar Hernandez and Bour homered. 1 run doesn't make up for 6 though... Saladino and Perez doubled. Saladino and Hernandez had a pair of hits each, the most on the team. Godley even got in on the action, 1-for-1 with an RBI.

Adam Morgan left the game with an injury.

August 11th, 2018: Those darn Nats claimed Chad Wallach. That takes away my only minor league catching depth. I was rather thin on catching in the minors to start with based on numbers, so this may hurt a bit.

The rubber match of the series saw Brad Peacock (7-1, 3.21 ERA, 1.15 WHIP) make his first start of the season against Zack Wheeler (4-8, 5.44 ERA, 1.48 WHIP). Peacock pushed Conley to the pen.

We needed a series win, but the Mets had other ideas, as they topped us 5-3. Peacock gave up 3 runs, and Preston Guilmet and Kevin Chapman gave up unearned runs, both courtesy of a Brian Anderson error. Guilmet left with a tired arm, and should miss just the upcoming series against Atlanta.

He did drive in a run in a 1-for-4 game, but these errors were starting to kill us. J.T. Realmuto and Ryon Healy both doubled, and Hernan Perez hit his 7th homer. The young Anthony Alford and the older Rafael Ortega stole bases.

Atlanta was the destination, as we'd face the 4th place Braves for 4th. We'd see Brandon McCarthy (8-5, 3.83 ERA, I accidentally typed 9 at first, fortelling what would happen), Mike Soroka (0-3, 9.60 ERA), and Aaron Blair (0-1, 7.20 ERA).

August 13th, 2018: Chad Wallach officially left the organization, and joined the Nationals. We're out of last in the power rankings, now at 51.0 in 29th ahead of the 45.5 White Sox.

Collin McHugh (11-4, 3.60 ERA, 1.21 WHIP) opened the series against McCarthy (8-5, 3.83 ERA, 1.35 WHIP). I typed 9 again. I better not be cursing myself...

I think I cursed McCarthy instead. He had a really, really werid game. He allowed 13 hits and 8 runs through 8+ innings. 4 in the 1st, then 5 scorless innings, 1 in the 7th, and for some reason they brought him back for the 9th, where he allowed 3 more runs. We won 8-2.

McHugh was awesome, going 7 allowing just a single run and 5 hits. He walked and struck out 4, picking up the win. For some reason Brian Johnson came in during the 9th. He's started all year, and gave up a run off 3 hits and a walk. I think Conley might be back in the rotation, but I'd have to look. Don Mattingly makes too many moves with the rotation.

I think Justin Bour was mad about the error. In 5 trips he doubled and hit 3 singles while driving in a run and scoring. Brian Anderson was a double away from the cycle, as he went 3-for-5 with 3 runs scored and driven in. Hernan Perez and Anthony Alford both singled twice in 5 trips. Bour even stole a base, his second of the year. He's actually not that slow, but don't get me wrong, he's not fast at all.

Jean Segura's 23 game hit streak was ended today in a loss to the A's. The M's fell 5-2.

I've seen a bunch of catchers better then Wallach that have gone unclaimed, and for some reason the Nationals wanted my guy.

August 14th, 2018: Heath Hembree suffered back tightness, and will head to the DL for just about a week. Adam Morgan would join him with bicep tendinitis, but he would be sidelined a bit longer. I checked the rotation, Conley did decide to replace Johnson in the rotation, and Conley actually has the better numbers. Only problem is now I didn't have a rested guy for today. I called Eshelman up temporarily, as well as Brian Ellington.

The Orioles would miss Dylan Bundy for the rest of the year with a ruptured finger tendon. So maybe it was his physical that failed. What a fiasco there.

Brett Anderson is out 4 days with an injury. It's only a matter of time before he falls apart.

So Eshelman (1-2, 6.28 ERA, 1.53 WHIP) will get the spot start since he's rested against Mike Soroka (0-3, 9.60 ERA, 1.67 WHIP). Soroka lost to us earlier in the year, and Eshelman is 1-1 against Atlanta. He only has 1 MLB start not against the Braves.

Eshelman lasted 5 innings, allowing 5 hits and 2 walks, but just 2 runs while striking out 3. The bullpen was solid through 4 relief inninfs, allowing just 1 hit, but 4 walks. With help from a 4 run 5th, we managed a 6-2 win and won the series before it ended. Could we pick up another road sweep?

The only starting position player to not record a hit? 0-for-3 Tyler Saladino, but he walked twice. Anthony Alford, Hernan Perez, and Derek Dietrich all recorded 2 hits. Teoscar Hernandez doubled and drove in 3 while Anderson picked up a steal. Saladino also made an error, but it didn't hurt us.

Wilmer Flores went 5-for-6 as the Mets obliverated the hometown Orioles 19-1.

I didn't really know what to do with Eshelman, so I just kept him in the rotation for now.

August 15th, 2018: Could we finish the sweep? Two players with a connection, Shelby Miller (2-6, 5.19 ERA, 1.65 WHIP) and Aaron Blair (0-1, 7.20 ERA, 2.00 WHIP) took the mound. They were both part of the mega Braves-Diamondbacks swap. Would this be as dramatic as the Cardinals game 3? Short answer, I'll try to make it as dramatic as possible...

The Marlins started off good, with a Teoscar Hernandez 2 run single to give us a nice quick 2-0 lead. Fast foward to the 5th, and Dansby Swanson drove in two on a double off the pitcher he was traded for as well, Shelby Miller. Miller settled down, and pitched 6 solid, allowing 5 hits and 2 runs with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. He'd recieve neither a win or loss, just like Blair. On to the pens...

Hernandez and Rafael Ortgea drove in runs off Daniel Watts with RBI singles to give the Marlins a nice 4-2 lead in the top of the 8th. Enny Romero, who pitched the 7th, came back for the 8th and struck out the side, giving him 4 in the game. He'd be in line for the win. We got a 9th inning hit, but it wasn't enough to score, so Drew Steckenrider was ready to shut the door and finish off the sweep.

Dramatic 9th? You bet...

Steckesaurus had 3 batters in mind: Tyler Flowers, Nick Markakis, and Johan Camargo. Up until today, I swore his name was John Camargo. Yikes.

Steck got Flowers to fly out to Alford in center, and the first out was a piece of cake. Markakis got the count to 1-2, before lining out to the second basemen Derek Dietrich. 2 outs.

Could we pull of our 2nd sweep of the year? All that was in front of us was Johan Camargo. He took a pitch, and then hit a dribbler to the pitcher Steckenrider. Steckenrider set his feet and threw the ball to Bour for the final out-- wait, is the ball in right field!?!?! DID HE JUST MAKE AN ERROR ON A THROW THAT EVERY MAJOR LEAGUER BUT JON LESTER CAN MAKE! The answer, might surprise you, yes. Camargo had a wide round around 1st, but retreated back to the base.

Oh man...

Next comes the rookie Austin Riely. Riley got the count to 2-2 before he lined a single between Anderson and Saladino, and Camargo raced around 2nd all the way to third. Oh man. Please, please stop...

Another member of the big Shelby Miller trade Ender Inciarte stepped in. Inciarte took the first pitch high. Come on man... Steckesaurus threw an outside pitch, but we got a lucky call to even the count at 1-1. On the 1-1 pitch, Steck laid a meatball for Ender, and he ripped it between Alford and Hernandez. Uh oh...

Camargo easily scored, Riely was racing around third, attempting to tie the game. Hernandez grabbed the ball and used all 68 of his outfield arm to launch the ball to Holaday behind the plate. Oh man, oh man, oh man...

Riley slid into home plate as Holaday was placing the tag. Bang bang play at the plate. The umpire paused, then screamed "OUT!!!!!" Brian Snitker was not happy, as he came out on the field to complain, but it did not matter. The Marlins held on 4-3! I didn't even care about the stats in this game, we swept another series, and it was on the road as well!!!

We got to party all night, with an off day tommorow!!!

August 16th, 2018: So we partied all night, and then got on a flight to the nations capital.

3 in D.C., then an off day, and back home for two against the Mets. Looking ahead to the upcoming series, we'd see Mike Leake (6-8, 5.72 ERA), Tanner Roark (8-5, 4.75 ERA), and former Marlin Wei-Yin Chen (1-3, 5.08 ERA). Don't think he had a good start after stomping us.

But hey, who cares! We got a sweep! Pop the champange, this is our World Series pt. 2!

[ayaghmour2]

August 17th, 2018: Zach Godley (8-8, 4.46 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) and the Marlins visited Mike Leake (6-8, 5.72 ERA, 1.53) and the Nationals. Former Marlin Cameron Maybin was hitting 7th and playing CF for the hometown Nationals. We even had a bit of a winning streak going on here as well.

We put up 3 in the first, but Maybin drove in 2 against his former team in the bottom, and the Nats added 1 more. Lots of scoring occurred, as the Nats topped us 9-6.

So you think Godley pitched awful, which he kind of did, but 5 of his 6 runs were unearned. He allowed 7 hits and walked 4 in 3 innings, but he should've been out of both the 1st and 3rd innings much earlier then he was. Kevin Chapman struggled, allowing 3 runs off 5 hits and a walk in 0.2 innings, and he picked up the loss. Both outs, however, were strike outs. Brian Johnson came in relief in the 4th, but was injured after just 1 out and 2 pitches. He's day-to-day with wrist soreness, but I'd probably place him on the DL.

J.T. Realmuto made one of the errors, but he went 3-for-4 and stole his 9th base on the season. Anthony Alford hit his first Marlins home run, and Derek Dietrich hit his 10th on the year. Justin Bour doubled and drove in 2.

Ender Inciarte of the Braves went 5-for-7 in a 17-14 loss against the Rockies. In a game that should of taken place in the hitter friendly Coors Field, it actually was played in Atlanta. He singled 3 times, doubled once, and even tripled. He also struck out and grounded out.

I sent Johnson to the DL, and would activate SS Miguel Rojas from the DL tommorow. I was back down to 7 pitchers in the pen. I generally like 8, but sometimes the extra bat can help in the NL.

August 18th, 2018: Miguel Rojas was activated from the DL, and will head to the bench with fellow infielder J.J. Hardy. I decided to get Ryon Healy's bat in the lineup by teaching him LF. It'll be an interesting little experiment.

We faced former Marlin lefty Wei-Yin Chen (1-3, 5.08 ERA, 1.27 WHIP for game two. Brad Peacock (7-2, 3.42 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) took the mound for us, as Healy made his debut in LF. Rojas got the start at SS for today.

Peacock was hit hard, allowing 7 runs in 3.1 innings as we took the loss 7-3. The pen was solid, with Yovani Gallardo, Adam Conley, and Preston Guilmet combining for 4.2 scorless innings, with only Gallardo (3) allowing hits. Guilmet struck out 4. Chen got his second win of the year, both against us. He went 6, allowed just 2 runs off 4 hits, and struck out 3.

We only had 5 hits, but 4 were for extra bases. Alford, Realmuto, and Rojas doubled, while Teoscar Hernandez tripled. The single was courtesy of the 2B Derek Dietrich.

August 19th, 2018: Yovani Gallardo agreed to his 1-year, $2,000,000 extension. He's been a good mop up guy, appearing in 6 games, with a 1.74 ERA. If you ignore his 1.84 WHIP, he's been amazing...

Adam Morgan will be out another 1-2 weeks, as he suffered a setback during his rehab. He would've been eligible to come off the DL in 3 games at the minimum.

We looked to avoid the sweep, and had the 31-year-old Colin McHugh (12-4, 3.48 ERA, 1.21 WHIP), our de-facto ace against Tanner Roark (8-5, 4.75 ERA, 1.42 WHIP).

It was a rough game... McHugh allowed 5 runs, Enny Romero allowed 2, and the now struggling Kevin Chapman allowed 3. He's allowed 6 runs in his last 0.2 innings, and 8 (7 earned) in his last 3.1 innings (5 appearences). We lost 10-4, as the Nationals made quick work of the visiting Marlins.

Brightside: 10 hits. Bour, Dietrich, Realmuto, and Tyler Saladino had 2 a piece, while the last 2 went to rookies Anthony Alford and Brian Anderson. Bour and Dietrich both doubled, but the rest of the hits were singled. Realmuto now has 10 steals on the year, as he swiped another bag, but was also caught once. He's 10-for-14 on the year, pretty decent for a catcher.

Luckily, we'd get a nice day off tommorow and be able to return home to host the Yankees for two (might have said Mets last post).

August 20th, 2018: Best way to spend an off day when you can't make trades? Check the power rankings of course. Leading the pack were the Phillies, at 129.7 followed by the last two world series winners, the Cubs (127) and Astros (122.6). Go all the way down and you'll see the Braves in 29th (57.8) followed by the Marlins (53.6).

Really didn't know what else to do except look at our team stats. Bottom 5 in the NL for all hitting stats except strike outs (3rd, 911) and stolen baess (6th, 79). On the pitching side, bottom 5 in everything, but Bullpen ERA (7th, 3.78) and Home runs allowed (138, 8th). Our pytagorean is 44-82, while our real record is 41-85, pretty close.

Things look better on the farm. The New Orleans Baby Cakes are leading their division with a 71-53 record. The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are 66-59, 4 games out of 1st. The Jupiter Hammerheads are 74-51 and in 1st place. The Greensboro Grasshoppers are 66-58, but 12 games out of 1st and in 2nd place. The Batavia Muckdogs are 34-22 and leading their division. The Miami GCL Marlins are 37-22, but 5 games out and in 3rd place. Lastly, the only minor league team not having success, the DSL Marlins are 33-39, in 8th place, and 24 games out of first.

August 21st, 2018: We got the Yankees at home for two. The first matchup is between one of my fantasy sleeper picks Jordan Montgomery (6-4, 4.14 ERA, 1.33 WHIP) and Shelby Miller (2-6, 4.95 ERA, 1.60 WHIP). Giancarlo Stanton (.234/.345/.579, 48 HR's 100 RBI's) was welcomed back home. Take out Justin Bour from the line up and he has more homers then my starting 8. Even with his 29 we only have 64.

Stanton made his return known, hitting 2 solo homers in a 5-2 Yankee win. Miller allowed 4 in 5.1, and Enny Romero gave up the ginal run after allowing a walk and a hit without getting an out.

Our two runs were courtesy of a Justin Bour solo shot and Shelby Miller's RBI single which brought home Realmuto. Bour ranks 4th in the NL, one behind Scott Schebler's 31.

August 22nd, 2018: Could we really go 0-for-5 on after the sweep? We'll see later, but first, OF Jarrett Parker started rehab at A Greensboro. I'd keep the lefty down there until rosters expanded in a little more then a week.

Tom Eshelman (2-2, 5.59 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) took the mound in a game that would determine if he'd be sent back down to AAA. Mashiaro Tanaka (11-10, 4.14 ERA, 1.09 WHIP) was his opponent.

We lost 7-2, and were swept in a quick 2 game home series. Stanton hit another homer off Eshelman in a 3 run 1st. Luckily for him, those were all the runs he gave up in 5 innings. I guess he could stick around. Preston Guilmet allowed 2 runs off 2 hits (1 homer) without recording an out. Gallardo allowed 2 in the last 2 innings, but struck out 3.

Not too much offense, Ryon Healy and Justin Bour both picked up 2 singles. I think Healy in LF is done, he hasn't really gotten any progress there, and he'd switch with Brian Anderson. Anderson had better outfield ratings, but was also a better 3B.

AAA starter Nathan Bannister tossed a 4-0 shutout against the Memphis Redbirds. Bannister, acquired from Seattle, is a combined 8-4 with a 3.64 ERA in 21 appearences (16 starts) between New Orleans and Tacoma, Seattle's AAA club.

Well, this kind of sucked. We were able to stay home, with Atlanta coming home for 3, then an off day, 2 in Boston, and another off day on August 30th. We'd be looking at Scott Kazmir (4-10, 5.43 ERA), Devan Watts (3-3, 3.05 ERA), and Mike Soroka (1-4, 8.76 ERA).

[ayaghmour2]

August 23rd, 2018: Righty Heath Hembree was sent to start his rehab assignment in AAA New Orleans. I'd keep him here at least until rosters expanded, but he could have a longer trip depending on how many innings and how good those innings he pitch are.

The ice cold Zach Godley (8-8, 4.42 ERA, 1.48 WHIP) welcomed Scott Kazmir (4-10, 5.43 ERA, 1.53 WHIP) and the Braves. As a Marlin, Godley has made 6 starts and his 0-4 with a 10.70 ERA and 2.89 WHIP. He's walked (18) more hitters then he's struck out (14) and has allowed 33 hits.

Godley allowed a 1st inning run and I feered the worsed. He did, however, fix things up, and finished 6 innings, allowing just 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 9 Braves hitters in a game I would've expected more frequently then I've got him. Too bad we only scored 1 run, and the Braves came away with a 2-1 win.

Our only run came off Justin Bour's 31st homer of the year with 2 outs in the 1st. Him and J.T. Realmuto were the only Marlins with more then a single hit. Every player to record an a bat for us this game struck out at least once. Even both pinch hitters. Yikes.

August 24th, 2018: Three more against the Braves, but first, some very, very sad move. My favorite pitcher Aaron Sanchez tore his rotator cuff and will miss the rest of this year and most of next year. Through 20 starts he was great, 6-4 with a 3.31 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 79 strikeotus in 108.2 innings. They really, really limited his innings, as he was averaginh less then 6 innings per start. I know it's a game, but I'm still sad.

Brad Peacock (7-3, 4.34 ERA, 1.32 WHIP) was tasked with today's start against the struggling rookie Mike Soroka (1-4, 8.76 ERA, 1.66 WHIP) who was 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA against the Marlins this year. Let's hope for 0-3!

To his credit, he pitched well, allowing only 3 runs off 7 hits and a walk in 7.2 innings while striking out 4. But 0-3 he is, as Brad Peacock went 7 shut out, with 10 strike outs, 2 walks, and 5 hits, and then Kevin Chapman and Drew Steckenrider threw scorless 8th and 9th innings. Steckesaurus got save 22 as he struck out the side, completing a 3-0 shutout.

We weren't great offensively, but it was enough to win. We hit 7 singles and J.T. Realmuto tripled. Teoscar Hernandez stole a base and Derek Dietrich was hit twice. Peacock had an RBI, and the Realmuto triple in the 8th off reliever Arodys Vizcaino accounted for the other 2.

And I earned two achievements! "Corner Painter" for Peacock's 10 strike outs, and "1-2-3, Struck out the Side" for Steckenrider recording a save while striking out the side. Nice!

Tim Anderson of the White Sox went 5-for-6 in a 15-0 plummetting of the Tigers. Anderson doubled once, hit three singles, a triple, and grounded out.

August 25th, 2018: With the series tied at 1, Colin McHugh (12-5, 3.66 ERA, 1.23 WHIP) took on Brandon McCarthy (8-7, 4.51 ERA, 1.43 WHIP) in game three of the series. I gave the ice cold Anthony Alford a day off, and lead off with lefty Rafael Ortega.

Ortega was 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI, so managerial win for me. Real life win for me as well, since Ortega (2) acounted for more runs then the Braves (1). We rallied for 15 hits, and came away with just 6 runs, but it was enough, so we'll take it.

McHugh only went 4 innings, allowing 4 hits and a run with a wlak and 4 strike outs. He had 93 pitcheds, so Don Mattingly pulled him early, leaving Adam Conley (6-8) to pick up the win with 2 scorless. Derek Dietrich was the only hitter with an at bat to not record a hit, but that's since he was hit by another pitch, and left the game. Pitchers must really hate him...

McHugh, Alford, and Hardy all had a hit in one at bat, and McHugh and Hardy scored as well. Brian Anderson and Hernan Perez doubled while Tyler Saladino swiped a base. Justin Bour was charged with his 10th error of the year, a lot for a first basemen.

August 26th, 2018: Happy birthday me! Not so happy day for Charlie Tilson, who fractured his hand and will miss 5 weeks. I may end up placing him on the 60-Day DL if I have to free up space for Brett Anderson. Derek Dietrich was diagnosed with an elbow contusion, and will miss 1-2 weeks. Ironically, I've dealt with that exact same injury for the same reason, and that's about the amount of time I missed.

I'd porbably regret it, but I called up Kyle Barraclough from AAA. I wanted an extra arm, and I had a lot of injured OF's in the minors, so I couldn't really grab one.

Shelby Miller (2-7, 5.11 ERA, 1.54 WHIP) took on Daniel Watts (3-3, 3.05 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) and his former team, looking to finish off a home series victory. Honestly, don't know if we have any of those this year.

Three runs in the 2nd looked nice, but allowing 1 in the 3rd and 2 in the 8th was not. Miguel Rojas made 2 an errors, and one lead to an uneraned run charged to Miller. Miller went 8, allowing 5 hits, 3 runs, walked 2, and struck out 4. We should've won 3-2 in regulation, but had to kick in to extras. Enny Romero pitched a perfect top of the 10th, and Mauricio Cabrera entered th ebottom of the 10th. He faced J.T. Realmuto who was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in the game. He took a 2-1 pitch and completely destroyed it, way over the fence and giving the Marlins a walkoff victory! We won 4-3, winning 3 of 4 against the Braves in Miami.

Hernan Perez, who is repalcing Dietrich at second, went 1-for-4 with a three run homer. Anthony Alford and Ryon Healy picked up the last two hits, as we only managed 6.

We had a nice day off that we could use to travel to Boston before we started a quick 2 game series. The projected starters are Rick Porcello (4-3, 3.76 ERA) and Drew Pomeranz (7-6, 4.24 ERA). Today, however, was a happy birthday.

August 27th, 2018: Like I've said before, when you can't make a traded, the best way to spend an off day is looking at Power Rankings! Last week's leading Phillies fell all the way to 5th (111.2), while the Cubs (126.1) and Astros (119.3) both went up one. We bounced up to 29th (61), passing the Royals (58.8). We're on the Braves (62.3) tail for 28th.

Checking the standings, we're 44-88 with a one and a half game lead on the 45-86 Royals.

August 28th, 2018: Lefties Brian Johnson and Adam Morgan started rehab assignments in AAA New Orleans. Both will work out of the pen, although the AAA season will end soon, but the Baby Cakes are going to play in the postseason, easily winning their division.

2 against Boston, a day off, and then we'd be in another country to take on my favorite team.

Tom Eshelman (2-3, 5.55 ERA, 1.52 WHIP) got the ball against Rick PorcellO (4-3, 3.76 ERA, 1.00 WHIP). This could be Eshelman's last start of the season.

He certainley hopes not, but 4 runs (3 earned) in 6 innings isn't the best. He allowed 7 hits and just 1 walk, but only struck out 1. Luckily, we put up 4 against Porcello in 6, so the game was tied when he left. Kevin Chapman didn't like that, so he let the Red Sox score 1 in the 7th. Joakim Soria went to close out the game in the 9th, but he dealt with some trouble. 5 hits including a Rafael Ortega 2 run triple and J.J. Hardy's RBI single gave us a nice 7-5 lead. Steckesaurus came in for the 9th, allowed a hit, but struck out 2 en route to his 23rd save on the season. The winning pitcher? Kyle Barraclough! So maybe he found himself? Maybe? He's a 3* reliever, but has absolutely no control.

We hit a ton of homers, as Healy hit two out of the park and Bour added one of his own. J.J. Hardy made the error.

Change of plans, Johnson is in the rotation as Ryan Borucki will miss 6 days and head to the AAA DL.

I made some line up changes, shifting Brian Anderson to 2B and Hernan Perez to LF. Anderson did fine in LF, and can learn the position more in the future, but teaching him 2B is helpful as well. Perez is much better in LF then at 2B, so it should maxamize our defensive efficency.

August 29th, 2018: 17-year-old Manuel Urias, who I acquired from the Phillies, surprisingly retired today. I don't know why, he actually had good potential, but I guess he didn't feel it anymore.

Who's down for another road sweep? Zach Godley (8-9, 4.27 ERA, 1.46 WHIP) took on Drew Pomeranz (7-6, 4.24 ERA, 1.33 WHIP) at historic Fenway Park.

Godley was back to pitching bad, lasting only 3 innins while allowing 7 hits and 4 runs. Adam Conley (3) and Enny Romero (2) threw shut out innings to finish the game, but we only managed 2 runs (1 earned) off Pomeranz who lasted only 3.2 innings himself due to 6 walks. Their pen allowed just 1 hit the rest of the game, as they earned a split with a 4-2 win.

We had 10 walks, but only 4 hits. Realmuto was the only of our 6 hitters to not walk, and he was 0-for-5. Anderson hit his 3rd double, and had half the team hits.

Time to travel back home, and host the majors only foreign team.

August 20th, 2018: 22nd round pick this year Chris McGrath tore his labrum, ending a nightmarish campaign for the 22-year-old. He threw 18.2 innings, but allowed 22 hits and 21 earned runs while striking out (20) just one more hitter then he walked (19). His WHIP? 2.20. Not the best way to start professoinal ball, but the Marist College alumn does have 2.5* potential. He could be an up and down reliever that sticks around in the big leagues, but bounces team to team.

The Royals were officially eliminated from the playoffs today. I thought we'd be the first one out, but I guess not.

Alex Cobb, who we sent to the Mariners for RP Dan Altavilla ruptured his UCL and will miss 14-15 months. He's a free agent at years end and will probably have trouble signing another deal.

Looking ahead, we'd likely see Colt Hynes (2-6, 8.94 ERA), Marco Estrada (6-8, 4.86 ERA), and former Marlin Dan Straily (4-12, 5.73 ERA) in our 3 game duel with the 2nd place team in the AL East.

After Toronto, the Phillies would come in to town, and then we'd have an off day before starting a road trip. Roster will expand to 40 men during the homestand, so I will periodically bring guys up to fill in roster spots with the big league club. Other then the rookie clubs, most seasons ended either the 3rd or the 4th, and most of my farm teams were going to be participiating in the playoffs, so I couldn't completely deplete the farm and bring up all 15 guys at once. I'd have to deal with the Brett Anderson situation eventually, which may just end up in releasing him, although his rehab out of the pen was going well.

Below are some helpful statistics as August nears a close:

[ayaghmour2]

August 31st, 2018: Orioles rookie Tanner Scott will miss 4-5 months with an arthritic elbow. We faced him earlier in the season, and he finished the year with a 6.06 ERA and 3-6 record.

We opened the 3 game series against the Blue Jays with Colin McHugh (12-5, 3.62 ERA, 1.23 WHIP) against southpaw Colt Hynes (2-6, 8.94 ERA, 1.82 WHIP). Anthony Alford and Teoscar Hernandez would get a shot at their former team. I kind of want the Blue Jays to make the playoffs, but I also want to win.

We pitched great, as McHugh allowed just a single run and 2 hits in 5 innings. He struck out and walked 3 Blue Jays, and improved to 2-1 with the Marlins in a 4-1 victory.

Alford went 1-for-4 and Hernandez went 2-for-4, scoring twice. J.T. Realmuto went 2=for-4 with a double and a pair of RBI's. Miguel Rojas also doubled, and Hernan Perez and Ryon Healy picked up the other RBI's. Hernandez stole a base, while Alford was caught trying.

Robinson Cano went 2-for-3 against the A's in a 7-4 Mariners loss, but recorded his 2,500th hit of his career.

Tommorow, rosters would expand!

Sidenote: August was our best month of the year, as we went 11-15. All the trades I made actually made us better.

September 1st, 2018: Rosters expanded today, but I wasn't quite sure how many moves I'd make. I decided I'd recall Heath Hembree from his rehab assignment. His first outing was rough, but the last two he went 3.1 innings, allowing just 1 hit, and struck out 3. I also recalled Jarrett Parker from his rehab assignment in A Greensboro. Parker would hit 5th and play LF.

Brad Peacock (8-3, 3.86 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) hosted Marco Estrada (6-8, 4.86 ERA, 1.41 WHIP) with Parker back in the lineup.

Let's just say today was bad. The Blue Jays lost Marco Estrada and Roberto Osuna to injury, and the Marlins lost 10-1. Peacock allowed 4 in 4 off 4 hits. He struck out 5 and walked 2 as well. Preston Guilmet allowed 4 in 0.1 innings, and Adam Conley allowed 2 in the final 2.2 innings.

We scattered 5 hits, and the only big event was Brian Anderson's homer. Parker was 1-for-3 with a walk in his return to the lineup.

The Nationals Howie Kendrick went 6-for-7 as the Nationals edged the Brewers 9-8. Kendrick singled, singled, singled, flied out, doubled, singled, and then singled again in the 13 inning affair. The game was 2-2 heading into the 9th, then both teams scored single runs in the 9th and the 11th. The 13th was crazy, as Milwaukee scored 4 runs, but the Natoinals rallied back for 5. The Nats outhit the Brew Crew 23-13. The trio of
Trea Turner, Anthony Rendon, and Raudy Read had three hits a piece.

September 2nd, 2018: Both us and the White Sox were officially eliminated from postseason contention after yesterday's results.

The Angels lost Garrett Richards for the rest of the year with a torn flexor tendon. He was 12-4 with a 3.15 ERA this year.

We sent Shelby Miller (2-7, 4.78 ERA, 1.46 WHIP) out in the rubber match to face Jaime Garcia (3-1, 4.78 ERA, 1.57 WHIP). I guess we wouldn't see Straily. I gave the ice cold Tyler Saladino a day off in favor of veteran J.J. Hardy. In a hard faught matchup, we came out on top, winning the series with a 6-5 win. Anthony Alford walked it off with a double off his former team. The former college QB went 3-for-5 with a run scored, 2 RBI's, and a pair of doubles. We hit a lot of doubled, as Hernandez, Parker (2), and Hardy (2) all doubled. 7 of our 10 hits were two baggers, the rest singles. Anderson and Alford (2) stole bases.

The Jays suffered another pitching injury, with Garcia leaving in the 1st inning. Miller wasn't great, allowing 5 in 5 off 9 hits. He didn't walk anyone, but only struck out 3. Brian Ellington, Kevin Chapman, and Kyle Barraclough struck out 2 a piece in single innings. Drew Steckenrider struck out the side, but needed 28 pitches with a hit and walk involved, earning the win. He's now 4-8 on the year. He also made an error, as well as catcher J.T. Realmuto.

September 3rd, 2018: Today, New Orleans, Jacksonville, and Greensboro's reglar seasons ended today. Jupiter ended yesterday, but they were headed to the playoffs.

Power Raknigs! We were now up to 28th, ahead of Milwaukee and Atlanta!

Philadelphia came to town, and Tom Eshelman (2-3, 5.34 ERA, 1.48 WHIP), a former Phillies pitcher, faced Nick Pivetta (3-3, 3.04 ERA, 1.37 WHIP).

Eshelman was great, and bested his former team with 7 scorless innings. In the 5-1 victory, he allowed 6 hits, a walk, and struck out 4 with exactly 100 total pitches. Yovani Gallardo allowed the only run in 2 innings to end the game.

We hit well, recording 10 hits. Alford, Brian Anderson, and Miguel Rojas had pairs of hits. Alford had two singles, Anderson two doubles, and Rojas one of each. Teoscar Hernandez hit a 3 run homer in the 5th off Pivetta, and Justin Bour drove in the other two. Ryon Healy made an error, but it didn't lead to a run.

September 4th, 2018: So all my non-rookie teams were in the playoffs except Batavia, but they had one more game left in the regular season and could make the playoffs still, just half a game out of first. It looked like it could be a while for callups to occur.

Anyways, Zach Godley (8-10, 4.46 ERA, 1.48 WHIP) took on Ben Livey (5-4, 5.45 ERA, 1.27 WHIP). Both pitchers lost to the opposing team this year. Brian Anderson, still at 2B, has done a good job learning it, increasing his versatility.

This one was rough. Godley was good, allowing just a single run in 7 innings. He walked 3, but allowed just 2 hits and struck out 6. We had a 3-1 lead going into the 9th, but Steckesaurus blew his 6th save of the year, allowing 2 runs off 2 hits and a walk in the 9th. We couldn't score in the 9th, so it headed to extras. Kevin Chapman struck out the side in the 10th, but also allowed 3 hits, a walk, and 2 runs. We couldn't score in the 10th, and lost 5-3.

Justin Bour had a single and double, while Tyler Saladino had a pair of singles. Anderson and Healy doubled like Bour. The former drove in 1 run, the latter 2.

September 5th, 2018: Lot's of moves before the rubber match in the series, as I activated Derek Dietrich from the DL. Ryan Borucki and Jarlin Garcia were activated from the AAA DL, which lead to the call ups of Brian Johnson and Adam Morgan from their rehab assigments.

I caved, and designated Brett Anderson for assignment, but if he was claimed I could revoke the waiver assignment, since he wasn't on the 40. I would, however, then be forced to place him on the active roster, or attempt to waive him again.

Could we win another series? Let's see, as Colin McHugh (13-5, 3.56 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) dueled Vince Velasquez (4-3, 3.56 ERA, 1.13 WHIP), a pitcher I considered around deadline time.

So McHugh was perfect, but only through 0.2 innings, before leaving with an injury. Luckily, we've got a big pen. Adam Conley tossed 4.2 scorless innings, striking out 4 and allowing 2 hits. Gallardo added 0.2 more, followed by Brian Johnson, who struck out 4 and walked 1 in 2 innings, right after being recalled from rehab. Preston Guilmet finished the fame with a shaky 9th where he allowed 1 hit and 2 walks, but it completed a 6-0 team shutout of the first place Phillies. Yes, the now 49-91 Marlins won a series against the 83-56 Phillies. We might have been at home, but all are sweeps were on the road.

We had 10 hits, 2 a piece for Anderson, Herandez, and Realmuto. Anderson and Hernandez doubled, while the former drove in one, the latter a pair. Hernan Perez hit a solo shot and drove in another run. Anthony Alford didn't get a hit, but he picked up stolen base number 4.

McHugh would be fine, as he left the game for precautionary reasons. The durable righty just has a sore elbow, as the x-rays were negative for a rotator cuff tear.

I think, for the first time all year, the Marlins are 7-3 in their last 10. Honestly, I don't know if before this little run we ever had a 10 game span with a winning record. We'd rest tommorow, before heading to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates. I'd hopefully have more callups soon, but I want my Minor League teams to win rings.

September 6th, 2018: It took a little shuffling, but I called up 1B Mike Ford and SP Reynaldo Lopez from AAA. I had two guys come off the DL, so instead of sending guys down, I brought them up.

Since joining us in a trade with Seattle for Lane Adams with Ryon Healy and Nick Rumbelow, Ford hit .321/.413/.505 in AAA New Orleans. He had 5 HR's, 22 RBI's, and walked (17) more then he struck out (16). He's not much more then a bench player, but he's got a great eye and a solid bat.

Reynaldo Lopez, who came from the White Sox as a part of the package for All-Star Starlin Castro, was 5-8 with a 4.22 ERA in 21 starts for the Sox. In AAA New Orleans, he was much better, 2-2 with a 2.82 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 8 starts. He struck out 37 and walked 11. In his big league career with Washington and Chicago, he's 13-14 with a 4.49 ERA in 204.2 innings. He's walked 70, struck out 163, and has a 1.38 WHIP.

Ford will backup Bour and 1B, while Lopez will be available out of the pen.

The Rays and Orioles are now eliminated from the playoffs as well.

We headed to Pittsburgh in preperation for a long roadtrip. We'd see them for 3, and then head to the Big Apple for 4. Against Pittsburgh, we'd see Trevor Williams (9-8, 4.75 ERA), Joe Musgrove (1-6, 4.35 ERA), and Steven Brault (7-0, 3.61 ERA).

[ayaghmour2]

September 7th, 2018: The Padres and Braves joined us as teams eliminated from the playoffs. I wish OOTP sent these out the day they happened, but I always find out the day after, so techinically they were eliminated yesterday.

Sidenote: I found out why Brett Graves was the only non-25 man roster player who was on the 40. Graves was the Marlins Rule-5 pick, but OOTP doesn't have the Rule 5 setting on for current games, so he just was on the 40-man roster, but not forced on the active roster.

We were welcomed into Pittsburgh by Trevor Williams (9-8, 4.75 ERA, 1.56 WHIP) who faced off against Brad Peacock (8-4, 4.16 ERA, 4.16 WHIP).

9 innings wasn't enough, as the game was tied 2-2. Francisco Cervelli walked it off with an RBI single of Preston Guilmet, as we dropped the opener. The run was charged to Steckenrider.

Peacock was solid, striking out 6 in 5.2 innigns. He allowed 7 hits, 2 walks, and just 1 run.

Both teams had 10 hits, and Tyler Saladino went a perfect 3-for-3 with a solo shot. Brian Anderson doubled twice, and Ryon Healy was responsible for the last run with a solo shot. Mike Ford also had a pair of hits, but was caught stealing.

September 8th, 2018: The Yankees will be without Gary Sanchez for the rest of the year with a broken kneecap. He wasn't having the best season, but it's a big blow to their offense.

Brett Anderson cleared waivers, but refused to be demoted. I decided to release him.

Shelby Miller (2-7, 5.06 ERA, 1.49 WHIP) was on the mound against Joe Musgrove (1-6, 4.35 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) for game 2. Today's game had the same score, but it was scorless through 8. Both teams scored a pair of runs in the 9th, and then we took a 2-1 lead in the 10th. Too bad Josh Bell hit a walk off two run double off Enny Romero, ending the game there.

Miller left injured after tossing 6 shutout innings, striking out 3 and walking 1, while allowing 5 hits. Steckenrider gave up another run, blowing the save in the 9th. Kyle Barraclough struck out the side in the 8th, but walked 1 and allowed a hit.

Teoscar Hernande and Brian Anderson picked up RBI's. Hernandez doubled, Anderson's was off a single. J.T. Realmuto made his 11th error of the season. He's got his ERA down to 4.05 in the majors, so maybe sucking the minors helped him out.

September 9th, 2018: Miller just had a blister, and luckily he's good to go for his next start.

We tried to salvage a game from this road series with Tom Eshelman (3-3, 4.34 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) took on Steven Brault (7-0, 3.61 ERA, 1.42 WHIP). Please no more 3-2 losses in the 10th.

I got my wish, it was a 4-2 loss in 9...

Eshelman allowed 4 runs off 6 hits in 3.2 innings. He struck out 4. Brian Johnson pitched 2.1 solid mop up innings, allowing no runs, just like the rest of the pen. Steven Brault is now a perfect 8-0 on the season.

J.J. Hardy had a nice game, going 3-for-4 with a double and run scored. Anthony Alford was 1-for-4 with a run scored, one driven in, a double, and a steal. Anderson picked up 2 singles and drove in a run as well. Teoscar Hernandez was the only Marlin hitter who started to not record a hit.


It hurt to get swept...

The Red Sox Mitch Moreland hit 3 homers in a 10-4 win over the Astros.

All the minor league teams were still in the playoffs, so we'd head to New York for four without the extra reinfocements.

September 10th, 2018: Back at the bottom in the power rankings with 56.7. The Indians (120.3) are leading the pack.

We saw Noah Syndergaard (11-10, 3.10 ERA, 1.09 WHIP) face off against Zach Godley (8-10, 4.29 ERA, 1.44 WHIP). The skid continued, as 11 hits lead to just 1 run, while 6 hits lead to 4 Mets runs.

Godley was out-godded by Thor, as he fell to 0-7 with the Marlins. He allowed 4 runs off 4 hits and 2 walks in 3 frames. He struck out 4. Adam Conley (2), Brian Ellington (2), and Preston Guilmet (1) pitched scorless frames.

J.T. Realmuto stole his 11th base, and hit 3-for-4 with a double. Godley himself picked up 2 hits in 2 trips. Anderson went 2-for-5 with a double, and Tyler Saladino drove in a run in a 2-for-4 effort. Ryon Healy scored the only run after doubling.

Jake Odorizzi and the Twins shut out the Yankees 6-0. Odorizzi went the distance, striking out 7 Yankees in the process.

September 11th, 2018: The Cubs cruised to an NL Central Division Crown, the first team to clinch their division. At 93-51, they one their 24th division title.

We got to see Justin Dunn make his major league debut against Colin McHugh (13-5, 3.54 ERA, 1.21 WHIP). We lost another close one, 3-2 as runs in the 8th and 9th cost us the game. Steckenrider got the loss, now with 10 on the year out of the pen.

McHugh pitched great, just 1 run in 6.2 innigns. He allowed 5 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 4. Barraclough was back to himself, allowing the run in the 8th.

Justin Bout was 2-for-4 with a run scored and two driven in and hit a solo shot off Dunn, the only run he allowed. Teoscar Hernandez doubled and went 3-for-4. Hernan Perez stole his 5th base of the campaign.

September 12th, 2018: The Giants were officially eliminated from the playoffs.

We faced Jacob deGrom (10-7, 2.75 ERA, 1.03 WHIP) in game 3 of the series. Brad Peacock (8-4, 3.96 ERA, 1.32 WHIP took the mound for us. This game went 10, but we grabbed 4 runs in the top of the 10th, giving us a nice 7-3 lead. Of course, we tried to blow it as Preston Guilmet allowed a run, making it a save situation. Drew Steckenrider got the ginal 2 outs, and picked up his 25th save.

Peacock pitched great, 6 innings with 3 unearned runs. He struck out 6 and allowed 6 hits, and walked 2. Brian Anderosn and J.T. Realmuto both made errors in the 3 run 3rd.

Anthony Alford was great, going 3-for-5 and scored twice. he stole 2 bases as well. Jarret Parker was 2-for-5 with a solo home run, and Derek Dietrich had a solo shot of his own. Brian Anderson hit is 11th double in a 1-for-3 game where he walked and scored. Miguel Rojas drove in 2 runs.

Lead by Mike Leake, the Nationals shut out the Phillies 8-0. Leake Struck out 5, but allowed just 2 hits and a walk.

September 13th, 2018: Matt Harvey (11-9, 4.00 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) took on Shelby Miller (2-7, 4.69 ERA, 1.45 WHIP) in the final game of the series. I was hoping we could pull off the split. And we did with a 4-2 victory.

Miller went the distance, allowing just 4 hits and 2 runs with a walk and 4 strike outs. He obviously earned the victory, now 3-7.

Tyler Saladino had a great game, going 2-for-4 with a run scored, 3 driven in, and a 2-run homer. Teoscar Hernandez and Brian Anderson both doubled. Anderson seems to double all the time lately.

We were on to Philly for 3 and then back home for two with Washington before a day off. Jupiter was eliminated from the playoffs today by the Charlotte Stone Crabs, so I was able to move some guys up for the 2nd round of the playoffs for Jacksonville and New Orleans.

The first, Jarlin the Marlin, was back on the active roster for the Philadelphia series. Next to earn the call up was Lewis Brinson. He's now at 4.5 potential, and will return to the majors where he started the year. He struggled in the short time, but his AAA stats were great. He hit .283/.336/.473 with 12 HR's, 84 RBI's, and 15 steals. "Sweet Lew" will hit fourth and play LF.

The only remaining guys in the minors were pitchers Ryan Brocuki, Yonny Chirinos, and Brett Graves, 1B Garrett Cooper, LF Alex Dickerson, and the injured CF Charlie Tilson. I'd make sure they were up before the year ended, but I didn't want to rush anyone up, even if it was just temporary.

[ayaghmour2]

September 14th, 2018: We started the series in Philadelphia with Tom Eshelman (3-4, 4.83 ERA, 1.41 WHIP) getting another start against his former team. Jake Arrieta (13-5, 3.27 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) was on the mound for the Phillies, turning in a solid opening campaign for them. Lewis Brinson was in the lineup today, his first at bats in the big leagues since April.

Eshelman struggled, allowing 5 in 5 during the 5-1 loss. He allowed 6 hits, 3 walks, and struck out 3. Enny Romero, Reynaldo Lopez (Marlin Debut), and Brian Ellington finished the game with scorless innings a piece.

We didn't hit too much, Jarret Parker got a pinch hit double in the 6th. J.T. Realmuto drove in Brinson on a single for the only run of the game.

More good piching, Astros Dallas Keuchel pitched a 5-hit shutout at Minute Maid Park against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The former Cy Young winner is now 12-8 on the season.

September 15th, 2018: I grabbed an extra arm, Brett Graves, from AA. Due to injury, he only appeared in 16 games between A+ Jupiter and AA Jacksonville, but was 2-0 with a minscule 1.27 ERA. He struck out 19 and walked just 14.

Milwaukee and Seattle will watch the postseason from home, both being eliminated.

Zach Godley (9-11, 4.47 ERA, 1.45 WHIP) took on Nick Pivetta (3-4, 3.87 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) in today's matchup. Against us, Pivetta is 0-2, and against them Godley is 0-1. Both have ERA's north of 6.50.

Let's just say Godley isn't what I expected. He only lasted an inning, allowing 5 hits, 4 runs, and 3 walks. Brightside? He struck out the side, eventually. Pivetta, on the other hand, was two outs from a complete game shut out, as the Phillies shut us out 7-0. We had two hits, a pair of singles courtesy of SS Tyler Saladino.

The Padres young OF Manuel Margot went 5-for-5 in a 9-8 victory over the Texas Rangers. He doubled, and singled four times.

September 16th, 2018: The Dodgers may not have clinched the West, but they're heading to the playoffs no matter what. They have a 9 game lead over Arizona, so while it isn't guaranteed, it's a likely possibility they'll pick up another NL West title.

We finished the series with Colin McHugh (13-5, 3.45 ERA, 1.21 WHIP) taking on Ben Lively (6-4, 5.30 ERA, 1.27 WHIP).

The bats were lively today, recording 15 hits and 7 runs in a nice 7-3 victory to end this torturous road trip.

McHugh was as great as usual, going 7 innings, allowing only 1 run off 6 hits. He walked 1 and struck out 3. Yovani Gallaro allowed the other 2 runs on a walk and a homer.

All 9 starters recorded hits, and Justin Bour lead the way with 4. He scored twice and drove in a run while adding a double and triple, just a homer away from the cycle. Brian Anderson drove in 2 in a 3-for-5 day. Tyler Saladino homered, while Anthony Alford and Jarret Parker joined Bour with doubles of their own.

The Twins Eduardo Escobar went 5-for-5 against the Royals in a 10-8 victory. He was a triple away from the cycle, with 3 singles, a double, and homer.

We were back home for two against the Nationals before taking a day off.

September 17th, 2018: The fresh new power rankings had the Marlnis (59.4) ahead of just the Royals (53.8). The new first place team is the Angels (122.8). They are now 89-61 and just 2.5 games behind the Astros and they have a 4 game lead over the Red Sox for the 2nd wild card.

Brad Peacock (8-4, 3.66 ERA, 1.32 WHIP) took on former Marlin Wei-Yin Chen (3-3, 4.18 ERA, 1.26 WHIP).

Peacock strutted his best stuff, tossing 6 scorless innings in a 3-0 team shutout, while Chen left with an injury. Steckenrider picked up the save, his 26th, while Kevin Chapman (9), MLB debutee Brett Graves (1), Jarlin Garcia (4), and Kyle Barraclough (3) picked up holds.

We only had 6 hits, and Jarret Parker and Derek Dietrich had 2 a piece. Dietrich doubled, while Parker drove in all 3 runs with a home run. Brian Anderosn doubled as well, while Ryon Healy singled for the last of the 6 hits. Both of them scored on the homer.

September 18th, 2018: Quick sweep? Shelby Miller (3-7, 4.42 ERA, 1.36 WHIP) took on Mike Leake (10-8, 4.53 ERA, 1.32 WHIP).

Shelby was awesome, as we shut down the Nationals 6-0, pulling off the 2-game sweep without allowing a National to touch home plate. Miller tossed 7 scorless, followed by 2 from Brian Johnson. Miller struck out 5, Johnson 3, although Miller also made an error.

All 8 postiion players recorded at least 1 hit, and Anthony Alford (2), Bryan Holaday (4), and Justin Bour (34), hit home runs. Holaday, Teoscar Hernandez, and Derek Dietrich doubled, while Jarret Parker went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI's.

Tommorow we had an off day before hosting the Reds, and our final callups would official join the roster.

September 19th, 2018: Alex Dickerson, Ryan Borucki, Yonni Chirinos, and Garrett Cooper joined the big league club, with 39 members in the clubhouse. Charlie Tilson is still hurt for at least a week, so he didn't recieve a callup, yet.

Dickerson is nothing more then a 4th ouftielder, but he has a .245/.309/.445 batting line with 15 HR's and 52 RBI's. He's good in LF, but he really doesn't have a defining feature other then batting from the left side. He came over in exchange for bench piece Johnny Giavotella in a deal with San Diego.

Broucki, a former Blue Jay, started two games for them this year, going 1-1 with a 4.05 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. The 24-year-old is a promising southpaw, who with a little more polish, can be a solid #4 starter. Borucki was part of the 5-player Dan Straily deal.

Chirinos, the former Rays farmhand, struggled with them in 14 starts, and even made a spot start for the Marlins, tossing just 4 innings, but allowing only 2 runs off 8 hits. He's got pinpoint control, and can be a back of the rotation starter. He has a lwoer ceiling then Borucki, but a higher floor. He was one of two prospects acquired for Brandon Guyer.

Cooper doesn't need much explaining, as he spent around the half of the season in Miami. He hit .230/.292/.345, but started the season off extremely hot.

Borucki and Cirinos are headed to the pen, while Dickerson and Cooper could get at bats off the bench.

Only three more series left in 2018. Sitting at 54-98, it would take a miracle to avoid 100 losses. We'd host Cincinatti for our final home series of the year, then head to Washington for 3 before an off day. Our last series is 3 against the Mets, with the season ending September 30th.

Looking ahead to the four with the Reds, we'd see Anthony DeSclafani (6-7, 4.47 ERA), Brandon Finnegan (12-2, 3.82 ERA), Sal Romano (3-6, 4.29 ERA), and Kyle Bartsch (3-9, 4.56). It's righty, lefty, righty, lefty.

We're almost at the home stretch, with just 10 more games. 10-0 to finish the year?

[ayaghmour2]

September 20th, 2018: I teared up a little, as Aaron Hill announced his retirement. He'll finish his career with a .266/.323/.417 batting line with 162 HR's and 695 RBI's with the Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Red Sox, and Giants. Eventually I might turn him into a coach so I can hire him.

The first of four in our final home series took place with Tom Eshelman (3-5, 5.28 ERA, 1.46 WHIP) facing the Reds and Anthony DeScalafani (6-7, 4.47 ERA, 1.35 WHIP).

Eshelman gave up 3 in the first (all unearned), and then settled down to finish the 6th with no more blemishes. Considering the error was on him, he almost had no one to blame, but himself. He finished with just 5 hits and 2 walks allowed, while striking out 7. Kevin Chapman pitched a perfect 7th and 8th, earning a hold, which means Steckesaurus came in for the 9th. He allowed 2 hits, but didn't allow a run, picking up save 27 in a 6-3 victory to open our final homestand.

He had 13 hits, and all 8 starting position players recorded at least 1, with Miguel Rojas picking up 3, including a double, while scoring twice. Jarret Parker was 2-for-5 with a run scored, 2 driven in, and his 3rd homer as a Marlin. Brian Anderson added a double and drove in a run as well. Anthony Alford picked up a steal, but also made an error as well.

The Yankees Didi Gregorious recorded 5 hits off the Red Sox ina 16-0 domination. He singled for all 5 hits, and was eventually walked in the 8th.

September 21st, 2018: That win was enough for the Yankees, as they clinched the AL East with the shut out against the 2nd Place Red Sox. At 95-57, they have a 10.5 game lead over Boston.

Zach Godley (8-12, 4.71 ERA, 1.50 WHIP), who must hate being a Marlin, took on Brandon Finnegan (12-2, 3.82 ERA, 1.26 WHIP). We got Finnegan for his season debut way back in May, and he was nearly unhittable. Three runs in the 1st was not a good way to start the game, especially considering 2 was all we could muster all game. The Reds took game 2, 6-2, giving us loss number 99.

Godley was God awful, allowing 4 runs in just 1.2 innings of work. 3 hits, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts were accounted to his totals, as he drops to 0-9 with a 8.92 ERA as a Marlin. With Arizona, 8-4 with a 3.22 ERA. Tale of two teams...

J.T. Realmuto, who homered, and Brian Anderson were the only Marlins with multiple hits. Our 2nd run came off a Jarrett Parker solo homer, his second homer in as many games. Derek Dietrich hit his 17th double of the year.

September 22nd, 2018: Houston, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles all clinced their divisions, the AL West, NL East, and NL West respectively. The Phillies were a surprise contendor, and they benefitted from all the key injuries in our Nation's capital.

The White Sox weren't fond of the staff in charge, firing both GM Rick Hahn and manager Rick Renteria. I hate how OOTP works firings, since neither would get fired in real life, especially Renteria, who they just signed. Hahn, in perticular, is a great GM, and has full confidence in the actualy ownership in Chicago. But in this world, both are looking for new jobs.

Looking to avoid the century mark for losses, Colin McHugh (14-5, 3.35 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) took on Sal Romano (3-6, 4.29 ERA, 1.32 WHIP). 100 losses were guaranteed, too many games left this year.

But we'd be free for just one more. The Reds put up 4 in the 2nd, but stayed quiet the rest of the game. Slowly, but sureley, we socred 1 in the 2nd, 2 in the 3rd, and 1 more in the 4th to tie it up. Finally, we got 1 in the 8th, and Drew Steckenrider preservede the 5-4 lead. The Reds lossed both Romano, and Robert Stephenson to injury.

McHugh went just 4, allowing 5 hits and 4 runs, while striking out 2. Brian Johnson, Brian Ellington, Kevin Chapman, Kyle Barraclough, and Steckenrider all pitched an inning, with just Barraclough, who got the win, allowing a hit. Ryan Borucki faced one batter, but walked them, and then Chapman came in.

We only had 5 hits, but we made them count. That and we walked 10 times. Tyler Saladino hit a homer in his only official plate appearence, walking once, and hitting a Sac Fly for his 2nd RBI. Jarret Parker tripled and scored as a pinch hitter in the 8th, with Anthony Alford driving in the go ahead run.

A little milestone, as Justin Verlander won game #200 with a 6-2 Astros victory over the Angels. He's pitching like Verlander this year, 12-9 with a 4.96 ERA. See, he's not as good as his seond half, which is obvious, but most bandwagon fans really seem to think he's the best pitcher in the game.

September 23rd, 2018: Minnesota and Cleveland both clinched playoff spots. One would win the Central, the other be the Wild Card.

We'd finish our last series at home with at least a split, but Brad Peacock (9-4, 3.40 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) wanted to reach 10 wins. He'd face Kyle Bartsch (3-9, 4.56 ERA, 1.43 WHIP).

We had a nice 2-1 lead heading into the 8th, after 7 strong innings by Peacock. He was in line for his 10th win, but we decided to use 4 pitchers in the 8th, and have 3 of them charged with a run. Borucki faced 1 batter again, and decided to hit him, before Brett Graves allowed a hit, then Jarlin Garcia came in to get a fly out. With 2 runners on, Kyle Barraclough allowed a walk, and then struck out Cliff Pennington. Eugenio Suarez had a 2-run single, and then another run came in, giving the Reds a 4-2 lead. We wouldn't go down easily, as Justin Bour tied up the game against rookie Jimmy Herget with a 3 run shot. Derek Dietrich doubled off Austin Brice, scoring the go ahead run, giving us a 5-4 lead heading into the 9th. Steckenrider finished the 9th, and earned his 29th save.

We had 11 hits, with both Bour and Alford recording 3 a piece. Bour homered twice and tripled, driving in 3 and scoring twice. Alford scored once and stole a base as well, while doubling twice. Dietrich doubled again, and so did Mike Ford as a pinch hitter. Lewis Brinson and Dietrich had a pair of hits.

Fun Fact: With 36 homer runs and counting, Bour ranks 6th for most homers in a single season as a Marlin. He won't reach #1, 59 for Giancarlo Stanton last year, but he broke his tie with 2007 Miguel Cabrera and 2011 Stanton who both had 14. He could reach 3rd, which is a three way tie with 37. The three, well two, sluggers are 2017 Marcell Ozuna, 2012 Stanton, and 2014 Stanton.

More 5-hit madness, as I think Joe Panik has done it a 2nd time. You could say the Cardinals had a "Panik Attack" in this 11-9 loss against San Frnacisco. Panik was a triple away from the cycle in a perfect 5-for-5 day with 2 doubles, a homer, a walk, and 3 singles. I double checked, and Panik had 5 hits on July 24th. I wonder if anyone has had multiple 5 hits games during a seaosn...

I tried looking it up, but didn't have much success finding an answer.

Anyways, we were off to the Nation's Capital for three against the third place Nationals. After taking 3 of 4 in our final home seriers, we'd try to pick up a road series win, facing Mike Leake (10-9, 4.59 ERA), Tanner Roark (10-10, 4.84 ERA), and Hyun-jin Ryu (5-9, 5.60 ERA).

September 24th, 2018: You'll never guess where we rank in the power rankings? 24!!! I don't think we've been above 27 all year. We were ahead of Atlanta, San Diego, Oakland, Seattle, the Whtie Sox, and Kansas City. This is really reassuring for the future, as we've show a lot of improvement since the trade deadline.

Shelby Miller (4-7, 4.10 ERA, 1.34 WHIP) opened the series agaisnt Mike Leake (10-9, 4.59 ERA, 1.32 WHIP). Alex Dickerson was in the line up today, his first start as a Marlin.

Whelp, there's loss 100, as we failed to score a run, despite 9 hits. The Nationals had just 1 more, but 3 more runs, as Leake, now 6-2 with a 1.89 ERA after coming over from the Mariners, pitched well.

Miller allowed just 2 runs off 7 hits and 2 walks in 6 innings. He struck out 6, but allowed 2 home runs. The last run was charged to Kevin Chapman in the 8th.

Not too happy with the hitting, we had only one extra base hit, an Anthony Alford double. Him and Derek Dietrich both recorded 2 hits, but it doesn't really matter when you don't score.

September 25th, 2018: The Houston Astros officially clinched the AL West, so I guess a few days back it was a playoff spot, not the division. They'd look to defend their World Series.

Tom Eshelman (4-5, 4.67 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) would take on Tanner Roark (10-10, 4.84 ERA, 1.43 WHIP) as we looked to score a run in game 2. We waited all the way till the 8th, but put up a 2 spot. Too bad the Nats already had 5, as they took game 2 5-2.

Eshelman left with an injury, but looked good in 3.2 innings. I was scared for the diagnosis. Brian Johnson and Reynaldo Lopez gave up 2 runs a piece, which costed Eshelman the loss. Johnson did double, so I guess there is that plus.

Lewis Brinson and Bryan Holaday doubled as well, but Brinson was the only Marlin with more then 1 hit. Him and Derek Dietrich drove in the runs in the 8th.

Mookie Betts went 4-for-6 at Fenway Park in a 13-12 loss against the Baltimroe Orioles. Betts hit for the cycle, but it was still not enough to win the game. His home run came off closer Zach Britton in the 9th.

September 26th, 2018: The Angels clinched the wild card, so the 5 teams in the AL are set. Houston, LA, Cleveland, Minnesota, and New York would represent the American league.

In the NL, the Diamondbacks clinched the Wild Card, with the Pirates being eliminated from the playoffs. The Rockies, Natoinals, Mets, and longshot Reds were competing for the 2nd wild card spot.

Could we play spoiler today? Oh God, probably not...

Zach Godley (8-13, 4.92 ERA, 1.53 WHIP) would possibly have his last start in Miami against Hyun-Jin Ryu (5-9, 5.60 ERA, 1.53 WHIP).

Two runs were all we could manage, as the Nats finished the sweep with a 7-2 win.

So Godley went 2 innings, allwing 7 hits and 7 runs. His Marlins career so far consists of an 0-10 record and 10.02 ERA. What happened to him? Adam Conley, Johnson, and Yovani Gallardo went 3-2-1 to finish the game, each allowing a hit, but no runs.

We only had 3 hits: Alford, Tyler Saladino, and Bour. None were signles. Alford doubled, Bour tripled, and Saladino hit a solo homer. The last RBI came from Teoscar Hernandez, who was 0-for-3 with a hat-trick, but hit a sac fly to score Alford. All four of those guys are in the top 4 in the lineup.

Tommorow would be an off day, before we finished the season against the Mets, who needed to win all three games to have a chance to make the playoffs.

September 27th, 2018: The longshot Reds were eliminated, so the race is down to 3 for the NL Wild Card.

With the season almost over, all I could do was look to the offseason. I offered 2B Elizer Alvarez, who I acquired from the Phillies, a minor league extnesion. I didn't want to lose Jeremy Gabryszweski, so I'd have to make sure to remember to add him to my active roster when free agents filed. I'd release an upcoming guy, say J.J. Hardy, and replace him with Gabryszewski. Erick Mejia also earned a minor league extnesion, as well as B.J. Lopez.

Just three more game, all against the Mets. Projected starters for them are Corey Oswalt (0-0, 6.75 ERA), Jacob deGrom (11-9, 3.01 ERA), and Zack Wheeler (8-11, 4.82 ERA). For the last game, I'd probably play all or most of my backups.

[ayaghmour2]

September 28th, 2018: Charlie Tilson was activated from the DL, and I brought him up for the final 3 games. He'll start in CF.

Colin McHugh (14-5, 3.49 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) faced the deGrominator, Jacob deGrom (11-8, 3.01 ERA, 1.04 WHIP) to open game 159 and our final series of the year. Tilson hit leadoff. McHugh got a no decision his last start against the Mets, but he pitched really well. deGrom is 1-1 against us. He ended up leaving the game after the 5th with an injury.

McHugh was solid, allowing just 1 in 7 innings. He allowed 6 hits and walked 1, but didn't record a single strikeout. Sadily we only got 1 in regulation, so he headed to extras tied 1-1. In the 11th, Garrett Cooper hit a pinch hit, 2-run homer on none other then Paul Sewald. Kevin Chapman got two outs in the bottom half of the 10th, so he was on for the win. Steckenrider pitched earlier in the game, so then Reynaldo Lopez instead came on for the save. He had a perfect 11th and a strikeout, finishing off the Mets 3-1.

We only had 5 hits as a team. Alex Dikerson doubled, and Justin Bour recorded the 1st RBI.

The A's Matt Olson was 4-for-5, hitting for the cycle, in a 12-3 victory over the Angels.

September 29th, 2018: Just two left as Brad Peacock (9-4, 3.24 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) would face Corey Oswalt (0-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.20 WHIP). It was a close game, but we fell 6-5.

Peacock allowed 4 runs (3 earned) off 5 hits and 2 walks in 5.2 innings. He struck out 4, and J.J. Hardy made the error which cause the unearned runs. Kevin Chapman and Preston Guilmet allowed the last two runs.

We only had 8 hits, and half of them were Jarret Parker. All four hits were singles. Derek Dietrich doubled and Justin Bour hit his 37th homer run, tied for 3rd most in a single season for a Marlin. Him and Parker both drove in 4 runs.

September 30th, 2018: Uh oh, Tom Eshelman has a herniated disk in his neck. While missing just 1 game doesn't hurt, it's a significant recovery time, around 2 to 3 months. This shouldn't decrease his pitching ability, but it's definitely a blow for the 24-year-old. Eshelman has all the tool to be a solid starter, so hopefully he recieves little to no setback.

This game is extremely important for the Mets, who must win. They started Zack Wheeler (8-11, 4.82 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) against Yonny Chirinos (4-9, 6.89 ERA, 1.61 WHIP). I used a very different lineup today: CF Lewis Brinson, 3B Brian Anderson, 2B Tyler Saladino, 1B Justin Bour, RF Garrett Cooper, SS J.J. Hardy, C Bryan Holaday, LF Alex Dickerson, P Chirinos. We fell 5-3.

Cirinos allowed 4 in 6 off 8 hits, a walk, and 2 strikeouts. Bour did not recieve homer 38, as he only singled.

After 162 games, the Marlins finished 58-104, 37 games out of first place. Only the Royals (56-106) had a worst record, so we'd pick #2 overall.

It was a long season, but there are a few bright spots. First, we played much better after the trade deadline. Most wins in a month? 12, and in September. 2nd most? 11, in August. I got instant returns on the myriad of trades I made. Another plus, our bullpen was ranked 2nd in ERA for the NL, and we didn't strike out too much. We still had Justin Bour and J.T. Realmuto, along with newcomers Colin McHugh and Brad Peacock who are solid veterans that can be moved, or still be effective when we can compete.

There's a lot of young guys with big league experience that have bright futures. Injury aside, Eshelman looks like a solid guy both now and in the future. Possible #2 guy Reynaldo Lopez looked fine with the Sox in the rotatoin, and really good in the pen for us. He needs to work on his change up, but then he can't start in the big leagues at a very high level. 3B of the future and presesnt Brian Anderson looked really good in his second taste of big league action. He's gonna keep getting better and he produced at an above average level. The whole young outfield, Brinson-Alford-Hernandez looked good as well, despite Brinson's early struggles. They aren't fully ready for the bigs, but when they are, watch out. It could compete with the Yelich-Ozuna-Stanton outfields of past.

One more bright spot, the farm. I wasn't able to sign first round pick Ethan Hankins, but Cal Conley, the over slot 10th round signee, has first round talent, and has everything you look for in a second basemen. He had a really good year on the GCL Marlins as well. Throught the trades and all the other draft picks, we really added a lot of young talnet to the organization that was barren. I can see us having a solid ranking for minor league system next year. 2nd Rounder J.P. Gates, a SP who plays a little 1B, had solid seasons from both sides. He's got a really bright future with possible ace potential. Last one I want to highlight is Frailin Turbi, who looks like one of the best young catchers in the game. We acquired him from the Natoinals, and while he is just 17, is upside is unmatched in the organization. Hall-of-Famer may be a stretch, but he's a perrenial All-Star with big league power.

Below I'll leave you with the final statistics on the season.

[ayaghmour2]

Here's a rundown on the 2018 Postseason

AL WILD CARD GAME
Los Angeles Angels (93-69) 1
Cleveland Indians (99-63) 0

LAA (7-6)

NL WILD CARD GAME
Washintgon Nationals (86-76) 1
Arizona Diamondbacks (90-72) 0

WSH (6-4)

ALDS
Los Angeles Angels (93-69) 3
New York Yankees (102-69) 0

LAA (8-4), LAA (8-7), LAA (8-1)

Minnesota Twins (100-62) 3
Houston Astros (101-61) 1

MIN (4-3), HOU (6-4), MIN (15-13), MIN (3-0)

NLDS
Washington Nationals (86-76) 2
Chicago Cubs (109-53) 3

CHC (9-0), CHC (7-4), WSH (8-5), WSH (8-5), CHC (4-3)

Philadelphia Phillies (95-67) 1
Los Angeles Dodgers (100-62) 3

LAD (3-2), LAD (15-6), PHI (6-5), LAD (10-4)

ALCS
Los Angeles Angels (93-69) 3
Minnesota Twins (100-62) 4

LAA (3-0), MIN (10-4), LAA (8-5), LAA (9-3), MIN (9-0), MIN (4-0), MIN (4-3)

NLCS
Los Angeles Dodgers (100-62) 4
Chicago Cubs (109-53) 1

LAD (10-4), LAD (12-6), CHC (5-1), LAD (8-2, LAD (3-2)

WORLD SERIES!!!
Los Angeles Dodgers (100-62) 3
Minnesota Twins (100-62) 4

LAD (18-7), MIN (3-0), LAD (6-5), MIN (3-2), LAD (9-2), MIN (10-3), MIN (8-4).

The Minnesota Twins won their 4th World Series title!

[ayaghmour2]

So Bruce Sherman decided to bail, selling the team to Tim Kucera. Kuchera just wants to make money and won't give me any to spend. And he's demanding, great.

Good thing though, he doesn't care if I make the playoffs until 2023, so I don't have too much pressure, which is nice.

My budget is set to $92,000,000, and as of now I have a payroll of $68,780,001.

The Cardinals and Padres also got new owners for themselves.

The Royals fired Ned Yost and Dayton Moore, the Braves fired Brian Snitker, who I offered to me my GCL manager, the Padres fired A.J. Preller, and the Giants fired Bobby Evans. Yost and Snitker were the only managers.

Putting the Roster Together:

I had a lot of moves to make, I needed to vacate two 40 man roster spots to activate my 3 60-Day DL players.

I started with my arbitration eligible guys, and there were a ton. I'll list them all out, and the 1-year extension (if any) I offered them, or if I traded them:
SP Adam Conley ($935,000)
SP Shelby Miller (Traded for C Raudy Read)
SP Brad Peacock ($2,660,000)
RP Heath Hembree ($888,000)
RP Adam Morgan ($820,000)
RP Enny Romero (DFA)
C Bryan Holaday ($735,000)
C J.T. Realmuto ($3,050,000)
1B Justin Bour ($8,230,000)
SS Miguel Rojas ($1,270,000)
SS Tyler Saladino ($675,000)
LF Derek Dietrich (Traded for RHP Robert Gsellman)
LF Jarret Parker (Traded for OF Carlos Tocci)
LF Hernan Perez (DFA)

Upcoming Free Agents
SS J.J. Hardy (Released)

Award Winners
NL Gold Glove at Pitcher: Colin McHugh

AL Rookie of the Year: SP/RF Shoehei Otani (LAA)
NL Rookie of the Year: SS J.P. Crawford (PHI)
AL Cy Young Winner: SP Jose Berrios (MIN)
NL Cy Young Winner: SP Yu Darvish (CHC)
AL MVP: SS Francisco Lindor (CLE)
NL MVP: 1B Carlos Santata (PHI)

All 6 of these guys made the playoffs

Coming up next, free agency! I won't cover every move, but I'll highlight the big ones and ones involving the Marlins, as well as the Rule-5 Draft, and any trades that make have taken place.

[ayaghmour2]

Free Agents filed, and below are the big names:
1B Daniel Murphey
SP Chris Sale
3B Josh Donaldson
SS Manny Machado
1B J.D. Martinez
RF Bryce Harper
C Yasmani Grandal
CF Charlie Blackmon
SP Clayton Kershaw
2B Brian Dozier

I'd be surprised if any would become Marlins. To make the offseason go faster, I'll use a "calender" to display how the offseason progressed. I had only $12,870,771 for free agents, so I guess nothing major move would occur.

The demands were crazy, 5 players, Harper, Blackmon, Donaldson, Machado, and Kershaw demanded over $40,000,000 a piece. Sale wanted a little bit less. Some of these initial demands were crazy.

November 30th, 2018: The Braves re-qcuire Lane Adams, and also recieve RHP Michael Koval from the Mariners for RHP Julio Teheran. White Sox also acquire LHP Anthony Kay and LF Raphael Gladu for 1B Casey Gillaspie.

December 1st 2018: Mets send C Kevin Plawecki to the Astros for 2B Tony Kemp.

December 3rd, 2018: The Marlins added SS Alcedis Escobar and 2B Eduardo Nunez to minor league deals with major league options. The Yankees ink Charlie Blackmon to a 5-year, $127,000,000 contract. The Blue Jays sign Brian Dozier for a 4-year, $92,800,000 contract with an opt out after year 2. The Jays also signed Cuban Free Agent Luis Vasquez to a 6-year, $94,800,000 with an opt-out after year 2 as well.

December 4th, 2018: Busy day started with C Yasmani Grandal joining the Red Sox on a 5-year, $119,400,000 contract. They then sent C Christian Vasquez and CF Danny Mars to the Angels for RHP Luke Bard. The Nationals sent 1B Howie Kendrick to the Twins for RHP Jeremy McKinney, C Mitch Garver, and cash considerations. Lastly, Arizona sent C Tomas Telis and RHP Kai-Wei Lin to the Dodgers for CF Andrew Toles.

December 5th, 2018: We sent minor league 2B Elisezer Alvarez to the Diamondbacks for SP Taylor Widener. Alvarez would be available for seleciton in the Rule-5 draft, so I grabbed an ineligible young SP with solid upside.

December 7th, 2018: Josh Donaldson joined former rival Boston on a 5-year, $97,200,000 contract with a 135 game vesting option for year 5. I designated Rafael Ortega for assignment to add CF Magnerius Sierra from the Rule-5 draft.

December 8th, 2018: Clayton Kershaw returned to the Dodgers on a 6-year, $179,700,000 contract. Chris Sale decided to kiss his arm goodbye with a 4-year, $121,700,000 to sign with the Mets. There is, however, an opt-out after year 1.

December 9th, 2018: Rafael Ortega was claimed by the Rockies. Manny Machado signed a 5-year, $163,800,000 contract with the Tigers. The last year is a player option. I casted my Hall of Fame ballot, which included Barry Bonds, Roy Halladay, Todd Helton, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Juan Pierre, Mariano Rivera, Omar Vizquel, Billy Wagner, and Michael Young.

December 10th, 2018: Kevin Gausman and A.J. Cole agreed to minor league deals with big league options.

December 11th, 2018: Dallas Keuchel signed a 6-year, $128,800,000 deal with the Angels. The Mariners traded 1B Dan Vogelbach to the Royals for RHP Jake Junis. I traded Alex Dickerson to the Phillies for 1B Darick Hall, which freed up a 40-man spot for 3B Drew Ward.

December 12th, 2018: The Winter Meetings started with the bombshell of Bryce Harper signing a 7-year, $131,100,000 contract with the Phillies. Fresh off the division title, they wanted to go all the way. J.A. Happ returned to the Blue Jays on a 3-year, $24,600,000 contract. The final year is a 25 start vesting option. Wilson Ramos also is now a Phillie, inking a 4-year, $37,400,000 contract. I made a big move of my own, sending 1B Justin Bour and LF Carlos Tocci to the Cubs for SP Tomas Hatch and C Chase Smartt. It's a big move, but Smartt is a future star behind the plate with massive power, while Hatch will be a useful member of the rotation. I added RP Nick Rumbelow and CF Braxton Lee to the 40, protecting them from the Rule-5 draft.

Devember 13th, 2018: A.J. Pollock returned to Arizona on a 6-year, $66,600,000 contract, the final a team option. Cuban Free Agent Jorge Medeles for a 3-year, $29,300,000 contract. The Nationals sent C Max Stassi to the Rays for LHP Jhenderson Hurtado and LF Mallex Smith. I sent SP Sandy Alcantra to the Cubs for SP Alex Lange.

Devember 14th, 2018: 2B Logan Forsythe joined the Royals for 5-years, $91,000,000 contract. Japanese Free Agent RF Tsuneki Kaza to a 6-year, $55,000,000 contract. The Dodgers traded RHP Ty Madden to the Braves for RHP Trevor Gott. I traded C J.T. Realmuto and 2B Eduardo Nunez to the Dodgers for SP Mitchell White, RF D.J. Peters, and SS Jeremy Arocho. All thre prospects are 3* potential or higher, a really nice return for Realmuto. Isan Diaz got Realmuto's roster spot.

December 15th, 2018: I finished the Winter Meetings sending CF Monte Harrison to the Brewers for 3B Lucas Erceg. I'd probably lose Harrison to the Rule-5 Draft.

December 17th, 2018: Thw Rule-5 Draft was today. The Angels swapped RHP Chris Rodriguez to the Padres for LHP Joey Lucchesi and cash. I didn't take anyone in the draft, but I didn't lose anyone either.

December 20th, 2018: The Phillies sent LF Nick Williams to the Tigers for RHP Burch Smith.

December 25th, 2018: I sent SP Zack Godley to the Yankees for SP Jordan Montgomery. Montgomery is better then Godley ratings wise, and Godley didn't like Miami. Merry Christmas Marlins Fans!

December 26th, 2018: A little late gift came in the form of RP David Phelps, who got a 1-year, $1,300,000 contract. He's a solid righty out of the pen for a bargain. Sam Dyson joined as well, on a 1-year, $1,600,000 contract. One more move, I added lefty Brent Suter on a $900,00 contract.

December 27th, 2018: The Astros signed SP Cole Hammels to a 4-year, $56,400,000 contract. The final season is a 25 start vesting option. I sent Brian Johnson to the Indians for SS Yu-Cheng Chang, to make room for Suter.

December 28th, 2018: Jonathan Lucroy joined the Dodgers on a 5-year, $74,000,000 contract, with a 120 game vesting option in the final year. The Angels sent 2B Nolan Fontana and CF Torrii Hunter Jr. to the A's for RHP Frankie Montas. To make room for Dyson, I sent Brett Graves to the Rangers for 1B Ronald Guzman.

December 29th, 2018: J.D. Martinez is heading to the A's on a 4-year, $49,200,000 contract. Drew Pomeranz is now a Ranger, inking a nice 7-year, $111,300,000 contract, the final a 180 inning pitched vesting option. The A's sent RHP Lou Trivino to the Phillies for SS Jonathan Guzman. I designated Garrett Cooper for assigment, making room for David Phelps.

I'd start 2019 next time, taking the team up to the preseason.

[ayaghmour2]

As the calender turns to 2019, the Marlins will be observing which remaining free agents they can bring on bargain contracts, while tinkering with the roster as needed.

January 1st, 2019: The 2018 World Series Champion Minnesota Twins replace Brian Dozier with Daniel Murphey. Murphey will make $11,400,000 this year, then if he plays 135 games, will make $12,900,000 next season.

January 3rd, 2019: The Cardinals sign Brian Duensing to a 1-year, $4,200,000 contract.

January 6th, 2019: The Indians sign RF Andrew McCutchen to a 4-year, $33,600,000 contract.

January 14th, 2019: To free up a 40-man roster spot, we sent RHP Preston Guilmet to the Cubs for LHP Randy Rosario. Rosarior is as good as Guilmet now, and has 3* potential. He looks like a future lefty you can rely on in the 6th.

January 17th, 2019: We signed LHP Jerry Blevins to a 3-year, $9,600,000 contract. The final year is a 40 IP vesting option. In his career, the 35-year-old has a 3.48 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with 9.5 K/9. Blevins will set up Drew Steckenrider next season. He's a 3.5* RP, with amazing stuff, great movement, and solid control.

January 19th, 2019: The Pirates signed SP Charlie Morton to a 3-year, $39,900,000 contract. The final year is a vesting option, which requires 180 innings.

January 22nd, 2019: The Padres added LF Michael Brantley to a 4-year, $43,200,000 contract.

January 23rd, 2019: The only guy to get elected to the Hall-of-Fame was CL Mariano Rivera, who recieved 94.4% of the votes. Other notables included 1B Todd Helton (72.3), Roy Halladay (71.6), and Barry Bonds (67.3). Edgar Martinez, in year 10, was dropped with just 61.4%. There were a bunch of guys who didn't qualify for next year.

January 29th, 2019: Today was a busy day as the preseason began. I added team leader and former face of the Twins 1B Joe Mauer. The 6-time All Star should give Marlin fans something to look foward to. He's a career .306/.388/.437 hitter with 140 HR's and 936 RBI's. His deal is just 1-year, $2,770,000, a bargain for a player of his caliber. Next new Marlin is 2B Ian Kinsler, who signed a 1-year, $5,230,000 contract. Now 36, Kinsler will join an NL team for the first time in his career. He's a career .273/.339/.444 with 255 HR's and 910 RBI's. I also added hard throwing lefty Jake Diekman to a 1-year, $3,800,000 contract. Diekman, 32, has been good the last few years, and owns a career 3.42 ERA and 11.0 K/9. He has some control problems, but he's also a great clubhouse influence. Lastly, I reunited with SS Adeiny Hechavarria. The former Marlin signed a 1-year, $2,400,000 contract. He's known for his glove, but his a decent hitter as well. Martin Perez and Dillon Peters were both sent to the 60-Day DL to make room for Mauer and Diekman.

The Brewers added CL Justin Wilson to a 2-year, $15,300,000 deal, but today was all about the Marlins. Also, our first game this year will take place April 4th against the Reds, and we finish August 6th with the Giants.

January 30th, 2019: 2B Asdrubal Cabrera is joining the Angels on a 3-year, $35,000,000 contract. The last year is a $10,600,000 team option with a $2,200,000 buyout. This is who they replaced Kinsler with. Speaking of Kinsler, I designated Adam Morgan for assignment to make room for Kinsler.

Febraury 2nd, 2019: I lost Adam Morgan to the Cardinals.

February 3rd, 2019: Big trade, I sent 1B Mike Ford and LHP Braxton Garrett to the Rays for 2B Brandon Lowe, C Edgardo Rodriguez, CF Bryce Brown, and 3B Kevin Paldo. Lowe is the 2B of the future, who could take over if I move Kinsler, or just for next year. Rodriguez is another nice, young catching prospect to add to the farm. Brown is a speedy OF whose floor is 4th OF, but his ceiling is everyday player at either of the three spots. Lsatly, Paldo, has major power potential, and looks like he can be a solid everyday starter at 3B. I really like this deal for myself, and I was able to add Hech to the 40-man roster.

I wasn't necessarily "done" with the roster, but it looked like it was in pretty good shape.

The rotation was looking like Jordan Montgomery-Brad Peaock-Colin McHugh-Tom Eshelman-Adam Conley, much better then last year. Then pen would be highlighted with Drew Steckenrider in the 9th, Jerry Blevins, Jake Diekman, and Sam Dyson to set up, with David Phelps and hopefully 2nd half Kyle Barraclough. Reynaldo Lopez could force himself into the rotation, or stay in the pen.

The lineup looks improved as well, and would be as followed: CF Anthony Alford, 1B Joe Mauer, RF Teoscar Hernandez, LF Lewis Brinson, 2B Ian Kinsler, 3B Brian Anderson, C Raudy Reed, SS Adeiny Hechavarria. There would be a lot of spring battles for positions, but the bench as of now is C Bryan Holaday, 1B Ryon Healy, SS Tyler Saladino, CF Charlie Tilson.

February 11th, 2019: Like I said, not done. I saw Brad Brach lingering on the market, and got the All-Star reliever on a nice bargain. Brach will make $3,800,000 and has that same amount in a team option next year, with a $1 million buyout. I released Yovani Gallardo to make room for Brach. Kind of wish I didn't extend him, but I didn't know how many new arms I'd get at affordable rates. Brach will have the 8th, before Steckesaurus closes off games.

February 12th, 2019: The Indians send C Yan Gomes and 1B Henderson De Oleo to the Pirates for RHP Wilfredo Boscan.

February 17th, 2019: Phillies owner David Montgomery passed away, with his son David Jr. taking control of the organization. It's a sad day in Philly, as many mourn the loss of their beloved owner that helped spark a spending spree to get the Phillies to the playoffs.

February 21st, 2019: The Blue Jays sent CF Anthony Alford to the Royals for LHP Brian Flynn and RHP Heath Fillmyer.

February 28th, 2019: Today is the first day of spring training, and I invited 18 non-roster players to join the big league organization. I'll do a quick rundown of the Spring in the next post, and then start the much awaited 2019 season! In case anyone is interested, the Marlins are projected to finish in 4th, with a 76-86 record. I'd be happy with that.

[ayaghmour2]

I'm not going to do a game-by-game recap of the spring action, but I'll keep you updated with news around the league, injuries, and other interesting notes.

March 5th, 2019: Early season injury as the Phillies lost Jake Arrieta for the season with a torn flexor tendon. That's a huge blow to their rotation.

March 11th, 2019: The Twins added RP Jeurys Familia to a 1-year, $1,860,000 contract. It's a bargain for someone of his caliber.

March 17th, 2019: The White Sox lost former Marlin A.J. Ramos for the year with a torn ulnar collateral ligament. He joined on a 1-year, $990,000 contract in the offseason.

March 18th, 2019: Tom Eshelman has a herniated disc, and will miss 6 days. I placed him on the DL just to be safe.

March 22nd, 2019: The Nationals will be without Anthony Rendon for 5 weeks with a sprained ankle.

March 24th, 2019: Madison Bumgarner inked a 4-year extension with the Giants that's worth a total of $63,200,000. The final year is a player optoin.

March 28th, 2019: Eshelman rejoined the roster, and will be back in the rotation. The Tigers lost Jaime Garcia for the rest of the season. He joined the Tigers in the offseason on a 1-year, $3,120,000 contract.

March 31st, 2018: The Giants added RP Daniel Hudson on a 1-year, $1,760,000 bargain contract.

August 1st, 2018: I set up my active roster today. I'll list it below.

SP Adam Conley (2/2)
SP Reynaldo Lopez (2/2.5)
SP Collin McHugh (2.5/2.5)
SP Jordan Montgomery (2.5/3)
SP Brad Peacock (3/3)
RP Jerry Blevins (3.5/3.5)
RP Kevin Chapman (2.5/2.5)
RP Jake Diekman (3/3)
RP Sam Dyson (2.5/2.5)
RP Brian Ellington (2/2)
RP David Phelps (2.5/2.5)
RP Drew Steckenrider (3.5/3.5)
CL Brad Brach (4/4)
C Bryan Holaday (0.5/0.5)
C Raudy Read (1.5/2)
1B Joe Mauer (2.5/2.5)
2B Ian Kinsler (2.5/2.5)
3B Brian Anderson (2/2.5)
SS Adeiny Hechavarria (2/2.5)
SS Miguel Rojas (1.5/1.5)
SS Tyler Saladino (1.5/1.5)
LF Lewis Brinson (3/4)
CF Anthony Alford (2.5/3)
CF Charlie Tilson (2/2)
RF Teoscar Hernandez (2/2)

This roster definitely looks better then last year! We're ready to start the 2019 season!

[ayaghmour2]

April 4th, 2019: A big Opening Day started with Mark Melancon and Ryan Madson to big league deals. Melancon will make $5,600,000 this year and Madson will make $6,200,000 with a 40 games finished besting option for next year.

OSA doesn't have too much faith in our system, ranking them 25th out of 30. Lewis Brinson leads the way, ranked 38th. Other notable additions include LHP Trevor Rogers (108th), RHP Mitchell White (140th), RHP Jorge Guzman (159th), RHP Taylor Widener (177th), 2B Brandon Lowe (185th), and 3B Lucas Erceg (186th).

I placed claims on C Jett Bandy and SP Adalberto Mejia.

We started our season in Cincinnati, facing the Reds and former Marlin farmhand Luis Castillo. He faced new Marlin, and new ace Jordan Montgomery. The new look Marlins had only 1 player in the Opening Day lineup as last year, LF Lewis Brinson. And the result was difference, 4 runs in the 1st inning and then 1 more in the 2nd. The scoring stopped there, but all we allowed was a pair of runs in the 4th and 7th. We took the Opening Day game 5-4. In my tenure, the Marlinls have never been over .500, this feels, different. Yet nice.

In his Marlins debut, Montgomery tossed 6.1 innings, allowed 6 hits and 4 runs. He walked 3 and struck out 4, but picked up the win. Drew Steckenrider, Kevin Chapman, and Jerry Blevins all revieced holds, and Brad Brach finished the game, earning his 1st save in his Marlins debut. No reliever gave up a hit, but Blevins, in a debut of his own, allowed a walk.

The offense wasn't great, but the top 4 did their part. Anthony Alford, Joe Mauer, and Lewis Brinson had 2 hits, while Teoscar Hernandez in the 3 spot had 1. The cleanup hitter Brinson drove in 3 on a homer, while the top two hitter Alford and Mauer drove in runs as well. Adieny Hechavarria scorred and doubled in his return to the Marlins.

After the game I decided to make a claim on LF Ben Gamel. I saw former Marlins Lane Adams, Jarret Parker, Brian Johnson, Johnny Giovatella, and Jose Urena on waivers as well.

Carlos Correa had a nice opening day, a 5-hit blitz against the Angels in a 6-5 win in Anaheim as ther Astros started their year with a win in extras.

April 5th, 2019: We had a day off to celebrate being over .500. Hopefully it will last all season, that'd make my job really easy. Aaron Nola tossed a 5-hit shutout as the Phillies beat the Nats 7-0.

April 6th, 2019: My Ben Gamel claim didn't go through, but I got Adalberto Mejia and Jett Bandy.

Mejia, 25, is a 2/2.5 with a lot of stamina. The southpaw will replace SP Adam Conley on the active roster and pitch 5th in the rotation.

Bandy, 29, is a 2.5* catcher who will cause Bryan Holaday to be DFA'd. He's a great defender and has decent pop, so he can make an impact. Bandy will backup Read for now.

The Cubs got a bargain, adding LHP Andrew Miller, a hold out, on a 1-year, $10,100,000 contract. The dominate multi-inning guy will close for the Cubs in a pen without a lefty.

More importantly though, 1 win into 2? Brad Peacock took on Tyler Mahle in game 2 after both teams got a rest.

Peacock was great, allowing 6 hits in 6 innings, but giving up just 1 run. He walked 1 and struck out 3. Steceksaurus, Chapmna, and Blevins picked up holds, while Brach got another save. I really like this combo of relievers, as they've been near perfect, just 3 walks and no hits. We scored a pair of runs in the 4th and 7th, and won the ball game 4-1. Are we good or are the Reds bad? Or are we just super lucky? Don't care, I'm enjoying the 2-0 start.

Joe Mauer and Charlie Tilson, as a pinch hitter, hit homers. Mauer's was a solo shot, where Tilson drove in C Raudy Reed. Brian Anderson recorded the last RBI with a single. He also stole a base, but made an error. Hech doubled, his 2nd already, but also made an error. Both are generally really good fielders.

I was a bit confused, but the Yankees waived OF Aaron Hicks. Despite his $3,640,000 contract, I placed a cliam. He's too good to let pass through.

April 7th, 2019: Good thing the Cubs snagged Miller, as fellow RP Carl Edwards Jr. is out for the rest of the year with bone chips in his elbow. It's a big loss for a Cubs team who is bound to compete this year.

But, who cares about the Cubs? The Marlins can start the year off with a road sweep! Colin McHugh took on Cody Martin in the final game at Great American Ballpark. Bandy was in for the start to give Read a day off.

CAN YOU SAY SWEEP!?!?!?!?! 16 hits lead to 89 runs in a 9-3 crushing of the hometown Reds. The Marlins came in to town and said "We're winning every game this series" and the Reds couldn't stop it.

McHugh was great, going 7.1 innings, allowing 2 runs off 5 hits, while walking a pair and strikng out 6. Brian Ellington finished the last 1.1 innings, allowing a solo home run, his only hit, and he struck out a hitter. All three Reds runs were solo shots. One was Joey Votto, the other two, Scoot Gennett. He loves hitting homers in bunches.

The offense was working, as we had a bunch of homers of our own. Hernandez, Alford, Bandy, and Ian Kinsler all hit homers. Hernandez was 4-for-5 with 2 RBI's and runs scored. Alford also doubled, along with Bandy, Brian Anderson, and Lewis Brinson. Kinsler drove in 3, Brinson 1, Alford 2, and Bandy 1. Joe Mauer was the only position player who started to not get a hit, but he scored a run. Bandy and Anderson had 3 hits, so pretty much everyone got in on the action today.

So I'm still in shock, but the next series is going to be rough. We're headed to Philadelphia to take on the 3-0 Phillies. We were 3-0 on the road, while they were 3-0 at home. Something would have to change.

April 8th, 2019: Someone else claimed Aaron Hicks...

Reynaldo Lopez took on Tyson Ross to start the series in Citizens Bank Park. It's weird seeing Bryce Harper in a Phillies jersey, but I might have to get used to it.

Oh. My. God.

Lopez was great, Ross wasn't. Lopez went 6.1 innings, Ross went 4.2. Lopez allowed 4 hits, Ross 7. Lopez allowed 0 runs, Ross 5. Lopez walked 1, Ross 4. Wait, Ross walekd 1? Well, no-one is perfect... Lopez did strike out 6, 1 more then Ross, and Lopez earned the win in a 5-0 shutout. Ellington boucned back with 1.2 solid innings with 3 strike outs, and former Phillie Jake Diekman made his Marlins debut with a scorless 9th.

We kept hitting homers, with Anderson, Hernandez, and Mauer all hitting home runs, which accounted for 4 of the 5 runs. Mauer had the two run shot, while Brinson grabbed the last 3BI off a single. Raudy Read doubled, and everyone, but the struggling Kinsler picked up hits. 4-0? Who would've thought...

April 9th, 2019: There's no way we can go 5-0 right? Adalberto Mejia made his Marlin debut against Ranger Suarez, who was making his MLB debut. He was really bad in AA and AAA last year, but with Arrieta out I guess this was the replacement...

We can't possibl be 5-0, can we? Wait, we can! Yeah, April Fools joke (it's April 1st while I right this...)

Great, 3 runs in the 2nd and 2 in the 4th. The best strategy to be 5-0 is to allow the other team to take a 5-0 lead. It's so crazy, it just might work...

We put up 2 more in the 5th, and then something just clicked. Kinsler, Hernandez, and Brinson started the raylly and then Mauer, Anderson, and Hechavarria continued it. Hech had the 2 RBI's in the 5th, and then him, Teo, Brinson, Mauer, and Anderson picked up a run driven in a piece in a 5 run 6th. The pen was perfect, as Sam Dyson and David Phelps brought the game to the 7th. Kevin Chapman came in and threw one pitch. And then the flood gates opened. There was a 69 minute rain delay in the 3rd, and the umpires eventually decided to call the game. That meant a 7-5 win, and we were 5-0!

Guess who got the loss for the Phillies? Nick Wittgren. Thanks man, appreciate it.

So I thought I was going crazy with OOTP, but Daniel Murphey (now a Twin) and J.D. Martinez (now an Athletic) had 5 hit games. I knew this must be real OOTP life because of all these 5-hit games. I haven't be missprinting, the Marlins are 5-0, with all the wins on the road.

Bryan Holaday luckily cleared waivers, and was sent to AAA to be called upon later if needed.

April 10th, 2019: Could we sweep another series? We'll see, as Jordan Montgomery (1-0, 5.68 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) takes on Aaron Nola (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.56 WHIP). Nola threw 100 pitches on opening day and was dealing. Kind of like Opening Day in real life this year, except with a little more then 30 less pitches...

Well, the magic ran out today, as the Phillies topped us 2-1.

Montgomery wasn't great, but we didn't give him the run support needed. He allowed 7 hits in 5 innings, walking 1 and allowing 2 runs. Bright spot: 5 strike outs. Diekman, Steck, Chapman, and Blevins finished the game, with just Diekman allowing a hit. Steckesaurus struck out the side in the 7th, and Belvins walked a pair.

Not too much to mention offensively. Brinson and Bandy had a pair of hits, and Alford and Hernandez doubled. Charlie Tilson pinch ran and stole a base. He's been a nice weapon off the bench. I was hesitant of not giving him everyday at bats, but I think he's going to do well in this role.

This is sad, but I got the "On A Roll" achievemnt for winning 5 in a row. I guess we didn't do that last year, which is I guess kind of impressive.

Wow, not thte start I expected. We'd head home to take on the Braves for one, then an off day, then two more. The Philly would pay us a visit for three. At 5-1, we are tied with the Cubs for best record in the majors. Kind of shocking how poorly the Cubs played against the Marlins in real life, as Miami was able to split the series, as opposed to getting swept like I did in this OOTP universe.

Anyways, we'd be looking at Mike Soroka (0-1, 3.00 ERA), Sean Newcomb (0-0, 1.29), and Zach Petrick (1-0, 0.00 ERA). Plenty of familiar faces as we faced a division foe. Was this stretch a stroke of luck? Or are the Marlins actually a decent team? I'm guessing the former, but I prefer the latter much, much more. Considering the farm doesn't look that good, I'm hoping this team is actually really good and I can coast into the playoffs this year, but where's the fun in that? A quick turn around? No pain? Seems fun...