Historical Challenges - Colorado Rockies Franchise

Dr.K · 07-08-2014, 12:35 PM

In response to an earlier post regarding how many titles have you won?

It got me to thinking about comparing stats to others. Recently I was able to compare by GOD Reggie Smith with another Reggie Smith from another universe and was pleased to see he was not only a beast in my dynasty but someone else's.

But my next thought was, what was his challenge with Reggie? I wonder how the other simmer would fare with the same time-frame and settings as me? Who would come out on top? Or what could we share or learn about the challenge? My 1969 to 1982 Boston Red Sox taught me that Reggie Smith is undervalued (or OOTP sim engine loves Reggie) and that the Boston front office was clearly smoking the good stuff as they sucked in the 70's.

It would be great to have challenges, with historical drafts on and be able to compare scores (with the same settings) as well as stories.

Markus responded to the The Wolf that this indeed would be in OOTP 16 which is fantastic!

So in the meantime, I am listing some challenges with historical drafts, OOTP engine on, no coaching, stats only.

This is with the Rockies as this is a team whose history is quite young yet has enough moments of drama and iconic players to do a GM challenge around.

Colorado Rockies - 1995-1998
"The Blake Street Bombers" challenge. Manager Don Baylor and the fans are pleased, new free agent Larry Walker has arrived in town. The new free agent joins Andres Gallaraga, Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks, Vinny Castilla and the group become the "Blake Street Bombers". Expectation is high in Colorado. Which free agent pitcher or trade is going to make the difference. Can you blast to victory and bring home a world Series title? Todd Helton should be up in 1997 will you keep Gallaraga?

Colorado Rockies - 1999 -2008
Pitchers Graveyard challenge. Coors field is a hitter park and the team still has some stars, with Helton and Walker. Can you lead the franchise to glory with so little help coming from the farm system? Tulo and Matt Holiday are years away. Do you stay a slugging team or go pitching speed defense? Do you trade the often injured All Star Larry Walker to get more prospects? Is this going to be your worst pitching disaster of all time? Can you get to the World Series before Dan O'Dowd did?

Colorado Rockies - 2009- Pres
"Turn this thing into a winner" Homegrown Matt Holiday has departed. Manager Clint Hurdle is under the microscope after a poor 2008. Turn this team into a winner. There is some young pitching talent in Umbaldo Jiminez and Jorge De La Rosa and a new young star in the making in Troy Tulowitzski. Is it time to let go of Todd Helton while he has value? What will happen to attendance is Helton goes?

If anyone has done any ot these challenges or a Rockies Historical it would be good to hear them.

canaveral · 07-08-2014, 03:35 PM

I've often wondered how many managers have attempted an historical replay with the Rockies in that pitchers' graveyard.

I actually did set up one recently beginning in 2011 and played through just 1 year so far. With so many teams needing pitching, and the Rockies going through so many trying to find the right ones to fit, several deals were surprisingly pulled off.

-the Angels' Alberto Callaspo was brought in to handle 3rd.
-Harang came in from San Diego to eat some innings but finished a miserable 7-14 with a 6.84 ERA.
-hard-throwing Kenley Jansen was picked up from the Dodgers for Eric Young and gained 24 saves but with a 4.29 ERA.
-and in the biggest move, maybe I cheated by grabbing Goldschmidt from an unsuspecting Arizona instead of Morneau to eventually replace Helton; Colorado gave up Millwood, Cook, and Giambi.

Helton was still good for .298, 25 HR, 92 BB. Carlos Gonzalaz of course led the way with .317, 46 HR, 127 RBI. Seth Smith also excelled at .304, 22 HR, 114 RBI. Tulo was severely injured early so Alfredo Amezaga was brought up to adequately handle SS along with Herrara.

Best pitchers were Jimenez at 16-8, 3.21 and Matt Belisle in middle relief for 101 IP,
7-5, 3.65.

Dr.K · 07-08-2014, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canaveral

I've often wondered how many managers have attempted an historical replay with the Rockies in that pitchers' graveyard.

I actually did set up one recently beginning in 2011 and played through just 1 year so far. With so many teams needing pitching, and the Rockies going through so many trying to find the right ones to fit, several deals were surprisingly pulled off.

-the Angels' Alberto Callaspo was brought in to handle 3rd.
-Harang came in from San Diego to eat some innings but finished a miserable 7-14 with a 6.84 ERA.
-hard-throwing Kenley Jansen was picked up from the Dodgers for Eric Young and gained 24 saves but with a 4.29 ERA.
-and in the biggest move, maybe I cheated by grabbing Goldschmidt from an unsuspecting Arizona instead of Morneau to eventually replace Helton; Colorado gave up Millwood, Cook, and Giambi.

Helton was still good for .298, 25 HR, 92 BB. Carlos Gonzalaz of course led the way with .317, 46 HR, 127 RBI. Seth Smith also excelled at .304, 22 HR, 114 RBI. Tulo was severely injured early so Alfredo Amezaga was brought up to adequately handle SS along with Herrara.

Best pitchers were Jimenez at 16-8, 3.21 and Matt Belisle in middle relief for 101 IP,
7-5, 3.65.

What position did you finish in year 1?

I am playing the Blake Street Bomber Challenge and the pitching is terrible!

canaveral · 07-09-2014, 03:08 PM

Colorado stayed above .500 for much of the season, even briefly poking into 1st place a couple times, then sagged to 3rd at 77-85. They finished 13 GB division leader San Diego, a surprise though Mat Latos was still there, and 9 GB the Giants... Team ERA was 4.90.

canaveral · 07-12-2014, 02:45 PM

Update for 2012 - The Rockies exploded out of the gate for a phenomenal 26-4 start and basically coasted their way to an NL West 1st place finish at 110-52, a big 20 games ahead of runner-up San Francisco. They stumbled in the playoffs first round, losing 3 straight to Miami.

Carlos Gonzalez was in the running for the Triple Crown, only losing out the last week to teammate Tulowitzki by 4 rbi's (I guess I should've backed Tulo off, but wanted to see what would happen). Gonzalez hit .370, 50 HR, 137 RBI.

Seth Smith and Wilin Rosario also knocked in 100 RBI's each as the team collectively batted .298 with 222 HR and 960 runs scored.

I couldn't believe the team ERA was #1 for a while, though ending up 9th at 4.03. Aaron Harang made up for a disappointing 2011 by going 24-8, 4.13. Ubaldo Jimenez was 18-3, 3.03. What seemed to make a big difference was the relief corps posting a huge number of strikeouts, led by Kenley Jansen's 41 saves, 2.02 ERA, and 124 K's in 84 innings. As a team, the Rockies struck out 1463 batters.

Curiously, the Rockies finished 16th in defensive efficiency, yet 2nd in zone rating.

For an interesting aside, the Cardinals traded Albert Pujols for Stephen Strasburg and Andruw Jones [Strasburg has 4-star potential, but after a mediocre 2011, is still in Triple A; trading is set on low and hard, no finances]. The Cards then turned around 3 weeks later and sent Strasburg and Nick Punto to the White Sox for Edwin Jackson [current 4-star rating]. And then that same day, the White Sox sent Strasburg with Alexis Rios to Tampa Bay for Desmond Jennings [4-star potential]... Whew.

Dr.K · 07-12-2014, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canaveral

Update for 2012 - The Rockies exploded out of the gate for a phenomenal 26-4 start and basically coasted their way to an NL West 1st place finish at 110-52, a big 20 games ahead of runner-up San Francisco. They stumbled in the playoffs first round, losing 3 straight to Miami.

Carlos Gonzalez was in the running for the Triple Crown, only losing out the last week to teammate Tulowitzki by 4 rbi's (I guess I should've backed Tulo off, but wanted to see what would happen). Gonzalez hit .370, 50 HR, 137 RBI.

Seth Smith and Wilin Rosario also knocked in 100 RBI's each as the team collectively batted .298 with 222 HR and 960 runs scored.

I couldn't believe the team ERA was #1 for a while, though ending up 9th at 4.03. Aaron Harang made up for a disappointing 2011 by going 24-8, 4.13. Ubaldo Jimenez was 18-3, 3.03. What seemed to make a big difference was the relief corps posting a huge number of strikeouts, led by Kenley Jansen's 41 saves, 2.02 ERA, and 124 K's in 84 innings. As a team, the Rockies struck out 1463 batters.

Curiously, the Rockies finished 16th in defensive efficiency, yet 2nd in zone rating.

For an interesting aside, the Cardinals traded Albert Pujols for Stephen Strasburg and Andruw Jones [Strasburg has 4-star potential, but after a mediocre 2011, is still in Triple A; trading is set on low and hard, no finances]. The Cards then turned around 3 weeks later and sent Strasburg and Nick Punto to the White Sox for Edwin Jackson [current 4-star rating]. And then that same day, the White Sox sent Strasburg with Alexis Rios to Tampa Bay for Desmond Jennings [4-star potential]... Whew.

Wow, I take my hat off, to get your team era that low in that ballpark, great numbers from Gonzalez, Harang, Jiminez and Jansen! I am finishing the "blake street bomber challenge" and the pitching has been terrible. So hard to watch my games as we regularly blow leads. The Rockies challenge any year is tough. What did Tulo hit?
]

canaveral · 07-13-2014, 01:39 PM

Tulo stayed healthy this time for a big 158 games played and hit .318 with 141 rbi, 127 runs, 41 hr, 36 doubles, and a 7.5 WAR.

By the way, the Rockies outscored their opponents by 252 runs for the year with starting pitchers Jimenez, Harang, Lucas Harrell (brought in from the Astros for Iannetta, Jason Hammel, and Ryan Spilborghs), Chacin, DeLaRosa, and Nicasio.

07-12-2014, 02:45 PM	#5
canaveral Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Space Coast FL Posts: 194	Strasburg peddled 3 times - in 3 weeks Update for 2012 - The Rockies exploded out of the gate for a phenomenal 26-4 start and basically coasted their way to an NL West 1st place finish at 110-52, a big 20 games ahead of runner-up San Francisco. They stumbled in the playoffs first round, losing 3 straight to Miami. Carlos Gonzalez was in the running for the Triple Crown, only losing out the last week to teammate Tulowitzki by 4 rbi's (I guess I should've backed Tulo off, but wanted to see what would happen). Gonzalez hit .370, 50 HR, 137 RBI. Seth Smith and Wilin Rosario also knocked in 100 RBI's each as the team collectively batted .298 with 222 HR and 960 runs scored. I couldn't believe the team ERA was #1 for a while, though ending up 9th at 4.03. Aaron Harang made up for a disappointing 2011 by going 24-8, 4.13. Ubaldo Jimenez was 18-3, 3.03. What seemed to make a big difference was the relief corps posting a huge number of strikeouts, led by Kenley Jansen's 41 saves, 2.02 ERA, and 124 K's in 84 innings. As a team, the Rockies struck out 1463 batters. Curiously, the Rockies finished 16th in defensive efficiency, yet 2nd in zone rating. For an interesting aside, the Cardinals traded Albert Pujols for Stephen Strasburg and Andruw Jones [Strasburg has 4-star potential, but after a mediocre 2011, is still in Triple A; trading is set on low and hard, no finances]. The Cards then turned around 3 weeks later and sent Strasburg and Nick Punto to the White Sox for Edwin Jackson [current 4-star rating]. And then that same day, the White Sox sent Strasburg with Alexis Rios to Tampa Bay for Desmond Jennings [4-star potential]... Whew. Last edited by canaveral; 07-12-2014 at 02:48 PM.

07-08-2014, 12:35 PM	#1
Dr.K Major Leagues Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: UK Posts: 367	Historical Challenges - Colorado Rockies Franchise In response to an earlier post regarding how many titles have you won? It got me to thinking about comparing stats to others. Recently I was able to compare by GOD Reggie Smith with another Reggie Smith from another universe and was pleased to see he was not only a beast in my dynasty but someone else's. But my next thought was, what was his challenge with Reggie? I wonder how the other simmer would fare with the same time-frame and settings as me? Who would come out on top? Or what could we share or learn about the challenge? My 1969 to 1982 Boston Red Sox taught me that Reggie Smith is undervalued (or OOTP sim engine loves Reggie) and that the Boston front office was clearly smoking the good stuff as they sucked in the 70's. It would be great to have challenges, with historical drafts on and be able to compare scores (with the same settings) as well as stories. Markus responded to the The Wolf that this indeed would be in OOTP 16 which is fantastic! So in the meantime, I am listing some challenges with historical drafts, OOTP engine on, no coaching, stats only. This is with the Rockies as this is a team whose history is quite young yet has enough moments of drama and iconic players to do a GM challenge around. Colorado Rockies - 1995-1998 "The Blake Street Bombers" challenge. Manager Don Baylor and the fans are pleased, new free agent Larry Walker has arrived in town. The new free agent joins Andres Gallaraga, Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks, Vinny Castilla and the group become the "Blake Street Bombers". Expectation is high in Colorado. Which free agent pitcher or trade is going to make the difference. Can you blast to victory and bring home a world Series title? Todd Helton should be up in 1997 will you keep Gallaraga? Colorado Rockies - 1999 -2008 Pitchers Graveyard challenge. Coors field is a hitter park and the team still has some stars, with Helton and Walker. Can you lead the franchise to glory with so little help coming from the farm system? Tulo and Matt Holiday are years away. Do you stay a slugging team or go pitching speed defense? Do you trade the often injured All Star Larry Walker to get more prospects? Is this going to be your worst pitching disaster of all time? Can you get to the World Series before Dan O'Dowd did? Colorado Rockies - 2009- Pres "Turn this thing into a winner" Homegrown Matt Holiday has departed. Manager Clint Hurdle is under the microscope after a poor 2008. Turn this team into a winner. There is some young pitching talent in Umbaldo Jiminez and Jorge De La Rosa and a new young star in the making in Troy Tulowitzski. Is it time to let go of Todd Helton while he has value? What will happen to attendance is Helton goes? If anyone has done any ot these challenges or a Rockies Historical it would be good to hear them. Last edited by Dr.K; 07-08-2014 at 12:42 PM.

07-08-2014, 03:35 PM	#2
canaveral Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Space Coast FL Posts: 194	I've often wondered how many managers have attempted an historical replay with the Rockies in that pitchers' graveyard. I actually did set up one recently beginning in 2011 and played through just 1 year so far. With so many teams needing pitching, and the Rockies going through so many trying to find the right ones to fit, several deals were surprisingly pulled off. -the Angels' Alberto Callaspo was brought in to handle 3rd. -Harang came in from San Diego to eat some innings but finished a miserable 7-14 with a 6.84 ERA. -hard-throwing Kenley Jansen was picked up from the Dodgers for Eric Young and gained 24 saves but with a 4.29 ERA. -and in the biggest move, maybe I cheated by grabbing Goldschmidt from an unsuspecting Arizona instead of Morneau to eventually replace Helton; Colorado gave up Millwood, Cook, and Giambi. Helton was still good for .298, 25 HR, 92 BB. Carlos Gonzalaz of course led the way with .317, 46 HR, 127 RBI. Seth Smith also excelled at .304, 22 HR, 114 RBI. Tulo was severely injured early so Alfredo Amezaga was brought up to adequately handle SS along with Herrara. Best pitchers were Jimenez at 16-8, 3.21 and Matt Belisle in middle relief for 101 IP, 7-5, 3.65.

07-09-2014, 03:08 PM	#4
canaveral Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Space Coast FL Posts: 194	Colorado stayed above .500 for much of the season, even briefly poking into 1st place a couple times, then sagged to 3rd at 77-85. They finished 13 GB division leader San Diego, a surprise though Mat Latos was still there, and 9 GB the Giants... Team ERA was 4.90.

07-13-2014, 01:39 PM	#7
canaveral Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Space Coast FL Posts: 194	Tulo stayed healthy this time for a big 158 games played and hit .318 with 141 rbi, 127 runs, 41 hr, 36 doubles, and a 7.5 WAR. By the way, the Rockies outscored their opponents by 252 runs for the year with starting pitchers Jimenez, Harang, Lucas Harrell (brought in from the Astros for Iannetta, Jason Hammel, and Ryan Spilborghs), Chacin, DeLaRosa, and Nicasio.