"Vive les Expos!": A 1994 Montreal replay

[TheKenoshaKid]

"I feel sad about the whole story, the way Montreal turned out. That’s the best city I ever played in and my memories of the fans are incredible." - Pedro Martinez, starting pitcher

"...the best team I ever managed no question about it." - Felipe Alou, manager


I think we can all agree that the 1994 strike was a dark chapter in baseball history. On August 12, the day of the strike, San Diego's Tony Gwynn was hitting .394. San Francisco's Matt Williams was sitting at 43 home runs, on pace to match Roger Maris' record of 61. The Texas Rangers were leading the AL West with a losing record, with the last place Angels just 5.5 games behind! Who knows what would have happened if the strike had never taken place...

But, to me, the greatest "what if?" story of 1994 was the Montreal Expos. In 1993, Montreal finished 94-68, 3 games back of the Phillies. If they would have won the division, it would have been just the 2nd postseason appearance in franchise history. (They lost the 1981 NLCS to the Dodgers)

By the time the 1994 season ended, Montreal was 74-40 and led the NL East by 6 games. Their winning % of .649 was the best in all of baseball. This could have been their year...they could have saved baseball in Montreal. But the strike ruined all that, and the Expos never again made the playoffs, moving to Washington after the 2004 season. Heartbreaking.

So now that I finally have OOTP 13, I will be replaying the 1994 season as the Montreal Expos. I'll see if I can change history and get Montreal the world series victory it deserved.

GAME SETTINGS:

- Neutralized stats
- 3-year recalc (double weight of current year)
- Injuries high (realistic), Fatigue normal
- Trades very low, hard, favor prospects (as the season moves along I'll gradually increase the frequency up to normal)
- I handle roster moves, lineups, pitching, substitutions. Computer manager handles minor in-game stuff and strategy.


Rosters coming up in next post...

[TheKenoshaKid]

(note: all ratings 20-80, scouting accuracy set to "normal")

STARTING ROTATION:


#13 JEFF FASSERO, LHP (Age 31)
STU:55, MOV:65, CON:55, VEL:91-93
Sinker:65, Slider:55, Forkball:60
1993(MON): 12-5, 149.2 IP, 140 SO, 2.29 ERA



#44 KEN HILL, RHP (Age 28)
STU:40, MOV:65, CON:55, VEL:87-89
Fastball:45, Slider:35, Changeup:40, Forkball:50
1993(MON): 9-7, 183.2 IP, 3.23 ERA



#42 KIRK RUETER, LHP (Age 23)
STU:45, MOV:60, CON:60, VEL:87-89
Fastball:45, Cutter:45, Curveball:40, Changeup:55
1993(MON): 8-0, 14 GS, 85.2 IP, 2.73 ERA



#37 PEDRO MARTINEZ, RHP (Age 22)
STU:60, MOV:60, CON:50, VEL:95-97
Fastball:65, Cutter:50, Curveball:45, Slider:55, Circle Change:65
1993(LAD): 10-5, 65 G, 2 GS, 107.0 IP, 119 SO, 2.61 ERA



#27 BUTCH HENRY, LHP (Age 25)
STU:45, MOV:60, CON:65, VEL:89-90
Sinker:50, Curveball:40, Slider:35, Changeup:50
1993(COL/MON): 3-9, 16 GS, 103.0 IP, 6.12 ERA




BULLPEN



CLOSER
#57 JOHN WETTELAND, RHP (Age 27)
STU:60, MOV:65, CON:60, VEL:94-96
Fastball:65, Curveball:60, Slider:55, Changeup:40
1993(MON): 85.1 IP, 113 SO, 43 SV, 1.37 ERA



SETUP
#51 MEL ROJAS, RHP (Age 27)
STU:50, MOV:60, CON:55, VEL:87-89
Fastball:50, Slider:45, Forkball:50
1993(MON): 88.1 IP, 10 SV, 2.95 ERA



MIDDLE/SETUP
#54 TIM SCOTT (Age 27)
STU:45, MOV:75, CON:50, VEL:89-90
Fastball:50, Slider:45, Changeup:40, Splitter:45, Forkball:45
1993(SDP/MON): 71.2 IP, 3.01 ERA



MIDDLE
#34 GIL HEREDIA (Age 28)
STU:50, MOV:60, CON:75, VEL:89-90
Fastball:50, Slider:50, Changeup:45
1993(MON): 20 G, 9 GS, 57.1 IP, 3.92 ERA



MIDDLE
#31 JEFF SHAW (Age 27)
STU:45, MOV:55, CON:60, VEL:86-88
Sinker:50, Slider:40, Splitter:50
1993(MON): 55 G, 8 GS, 95.2 IP, 4.14 ERA



MIDDLE/LONG
#71 SCOTT ALDRED (Age 25)
STU:50, MOV:50, CON:50, VEL:89-90
Fastball:55, Curveball:55, Changeup:45
1993(COL/MON): 8 G, 12.0 IP, 9.00 ERA


(position players in next post...)

[TheKenoshaKid]

STARTERS



CATCHER
#24 DARRIN FLETCHER, LHB (Age 27)
CON:55, POW:50, EYE:45, SPD:20
ABIL:80, ARM:35
1993(MON): 133 G, 396 AB, 9 HR, 60 RBI, .255 AVG, .699 OPS



FIRST BASE
#30 CLIFF FLOYD, LHB (Age 21)
CON:55, POW:45, EYE:45, SPD:55
RNG:55, ERR:30, ARM:50, DP:50
1993(MON): 10 G, 31 AB, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .226 AVG, .548 OPS



SECOND BASE
#3 MIKE LANSING, RHB (Age 26)
CON:45, POW:30, EYE:40, SPD:65
RNG:55, ERR:55, ARM:55, DP:65
1993(MON): 141 G, 491 AB, 3 HR, 45 RBI, .287 AVG, .721 OPS



THIRD BASE
#5 SEAN BERRY, RHB (Age 28)
CON:50, POW:55, EYE:50, SPD:55
RNG:50, ERR:45, ARM:50, DP:45
1993(MON): 122 G, 299 AB, 14 HR, 49 RBI, .261 AVG, .813 OPS



SHORTSTOP
#12 WIL CORDERO, RHB (Age 22)
CON:55, POW:50, EYE:45, SPD:55
RNG:75, ERR:40, ARM:70, DP:70
1993(MON): 139 G, 475 AB, 10 HR, 58 RBI, .248 AVG, .695 OPS



LEFT FIELD
#18 MOISES ALOU, RHB (Age 27)
CON:60, POW:55, EYE:40, SPD:50
RNG:45, ERR:65, ARM:35
1993(MON): 136 G, 482 AB, 18 HR, 85 RBI, .286 AVG, .824 OPS



CENTER FIELD
#9 MARQUIS GRISSOM, RHB (Age 26)
CON:55, POW:45, EYE:45, SPD:75
RNG:75, ERR:55, ARM:55
1993(MON): 157 G, 630 AB, 19 HR, 95 RBI, .298 AVG, .789 OPS



RIGHT FIELD
#33 LARRY WALKER, LHB (Age 27)
CON:65, POW:65, EYE:60, SPD:55
RNG:50, ERR:45, ARM:65
1993(MON): 138 G, 490 AB, 22 HR, 86 RBI, .265 AVG, .841 OPS



BENCH



BACKUP CATCHER
#25 LENNY WEBSTER, RHB (Age 29)
CON:50, POW:45, EYE:50, SPD:20
ABIL:65, ARM:45
1993(MON): 49 G, 106 AB, 1 HR, 8 RBI, .198 AVG, .519 OPS



FIRST BASE/PINCH HITTER
#39 RANDY MILLIGAN, RHB (Age 32)
CON:50, POW:45, EYE:60, SPD:25
RNG:35, ERR:25, ARM:35, DP:35
1993(CIN/CLE): 102 G, 281 AB, 6 HR, 36 RBI, .299 AVG, .857 OPS



INFIELD
#4 JEFF GARDNER, LHB (Age 30)
CON:45, POW:25, EYE:50, SPD:35
RNG:55, ERR:35, ARM:55, DP:50
1993(SDP): 140 G, 404 AB, 1 HR, 24 RBI, .262 AVG, .693 OPS



OUTFIELD
#22 RONDELL WHITE, RHB (Age 22)
CON:50, POW:50, EYE:45, SPD:55
RNG:55, ERR:45, ARM:40
1993(MON): 23 G, 73 AB, 2 HR, 15 RBI, .260 AVG, .732 OPS



OUTFIELD
#80 CURTIS PRIDE, LHB (Age 25)
CON:50, POW:50, EYE:60, SPD:60
RNG:70, ERR:75, ARM:30
1993(MON): 10 G, 9 AB, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .444 AVG, 1.556 OPS



UTILITY
#7 LOU FRAZIER, SHB (Age 29)
CON:45, POW:20, EYE:50, SPD:75
iRNG:50, iERR:45, iARM:45, iDP:55
oRNG:50, oERR:65, oARM:30
1993(MON): 112 G, 189 AB, 1 HR, 16 RBI, .286 AVG, .689 OPS



REST OF 40-MAN ROSTER:

SP Gabe White(L)
RP Denis Boucher(L)
RP Joey Eischen(L)
RP Heath Haynes(R)
RP Rod Henderson(R)
RP Brian Looney(L)

C Tim Laker(R)
C Joe Siddall(L)
C Tim Spehr(R)
1B Oreste Marrero(L)
1B Tim McIntosh(R)
2B Juan Bell(R)
2B Freddie Benavides(R)
3B Frank Bolick(S)
LF Derrick White(R)


final preseason wrapup and notes in next post...

[TheKenoshaKid]

TRANSACTIONS SO FAR:

JAN 03: The Tigers traded C Chad Kreuter to the Giants for RF Willie McGee

JAN 14: The Orioles traded 3B Tim Hulett to the Angels for CF Dwight Smith

JAN 15: The Reds traded CF Jacob Brumfield to the Giants for C Kurt Manwaring and 1B J.R. Phillips

MAR 16: The Yankees traded 1B Jim Leyritz to the Cardinals for 2B Luis Alicea

APR 01: The Cubs traded 1B Eddie Zambrano to the Twins for RP Mark Guthrie.

(nothing earth-shattering here...)


MY MOVES:

APR 03: Waived & DFA'd the following players: C Tim Laker, C Tim Spehr, 2B Freddie Benavides.

APR 04: Claimed RP Rod Nichols off waivers. (I'll know if I get him or not on the 5th. He has option years left, so he'll probably start in AAA)


PRESEASON PREDICTIONS:



Wow! We're projected to have the best record in baseball, and the only team projected to win 100+ games. So I guess you could say expectations are kinda sorta high...


FINAL NOTES:

We start the season in Houston for a 3-game series. Probable starters:
Mon 4/4: Jeff Fassero(L) @ Kyle Drabek(R)
Tue 4/5: Ken Hill(R) @ Darryl Kile(R)
Wed 4/6: Kirk Rueter(L) @ Greg Swindell(L)

HOUSTON'S TOP 5 PLAYERS (according to my scout):
1B Jeff Bagwell
SP Shane Reynolds
2B Craig Biggio
SP Pete Harnisch
RP Tom Edens

Moises Alou is out for 3 days with a strained back, so for the first few games my lineup will look a little different. Here's what I'm going with opening day:

Grissom, CF
Cordero, SS
Walker, RF
Fletcher, C
Milligan, 1B
Berry, 3B
Floyd, LF
Lansing, 2B
Fassero, P

When Alou recovers, he'll play left and bat 3rd. Floyd will then probably move to 1st base.

[TheKenoshaKid]

NEWS:
- Cardinals 1B Greg Jeffries went 5-5 in St. Louis' win over the Cincinnati Reds.

- Yankees LF Luis Polonia went 5-6 against the Rangers. New York lost to Texas 6-7 though.

(huh, two different players got 5 hits in one day. I wonder how many times that's happened?)

[captaincarl]

Felipe Alou and this team showed that you don't need a left-handed specialist, or left-handed pitcher at all, in the bullpen to succeed. All you need are effective pitchers who get batters out.

Have fun!

[TheKenoshaKid]

NOTES:
- I claimed RHP Rod Nichols off waivers. He'll head to AAA.

- Laker, Spehr, and Benavides all passed through waivers. I re-added Laker and Benavides to the 40-man roster. All 3 will go to AAA.


MLB NEWS:
- Milwaukee SP Cal Eldred shut out the Oakland Athletics.

TOMORROW:
MON: Kirk Rueter(L)
HOU: Greg Swindell(L)

[TheKenoshaKid]

MLB NEWS:

- Red Sox SP Roger Clemens shut out the Detroit Tigers (6 H, 2 BB, 7 K)

- Twins RF Kirby Puckett collected his 2000th hit in the 3rd inning (double). Minnesota won 8-6.