Worst to First - The Sequel - Page 55

NYY #23 · 01-15-2014, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by illeracula

Are the Phillies going to be just as good next season? 99 wins vs 78 is a lot of distance to gain.

Unless Ruben Amaro is the GM then give them a year or two and he will sign a bunch of aging stars to long term deals...

Who won the ROY did Mattingly have a chance? He looks like he put up pretty good numbers for a rookie.

Whats the draft pool looking like?

ROY was none other than Greg Walker:

Walker - .276/.316/.468, 24 HR, 80 RBI, 91 R, 3.8 WAR
Mattingly - .292/.318/.413, 8 HR, 84 RBI, 74 R, 1.7 WAR

I think he had a good year, probably runner up, but I do think Walker probably deserved it.

Unfortunately RAJ isn't around. They've got a pretty good team, and I think they'll stay good for a while. Frank Tanana (22-2, 2.60 ERA) is 28, and he's been tough to beat. The rest of the rotation is between 28-30, and their core offensive players (Leon Durham, Ellis Valentine, Steve Garvey, Ryne Sandberg, Ron Oester, Jim Rice and Terry Kennedy) are all between 22 and 29, except for Garvey at 33. They are going to be tough to overcome.

The draft pool wasn't bad this year, although not too deep. Orel Hershiser, Strawberry, and Andy Van Slyke went 1-3. Tony Gwynn went 5th, and a couple of pitchers look interesting - Sid Fernandez and Tom Candiotti. I'm definitely not thrilled with Mike Moore.

NYY #23 · 01-15-2014, 09:18 PM

Let's start with a brief offseason report, as the Expos made one move over the winter, signing shortstop Garry Templeton to a 4 year $2,160,000 contract. The fourth year in the contract is a team option. Templeton seems to have up and down years, and he's due for a bounce back year.

We received compensation picks for Bobby Grich and Jim Clancy, who signed elsewhere.

We started the year 11-9, but it's real early, so it's too early to get excited, or disappointed.

NYY #23 · 01-15-2014, 10:51 PM

The Expos went 16-12 for the month and moved into a tie for second place, just 1 1/2 games behind the Pirates.

We did lose Mike Moore for the year, but Moore was just 1-3 with a 9.68 ERA. With him pitching like that it may be a blessing in disguise, because Andy Hawkins is 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA.

Our bullpen has been great this year, led by closer Cecilio Guante, who has a 0.74 ERA and 12 saves.

NYY #23 · 01-16-2014, 06:39 PM

The Expos again went 16-12 for the month, and it's currently a two team race in the NL East, with the Expos trailing the Phillies by a game.

That's the good. The bad - we lost Larry Jaster for three months with an injury after he picked up his 200th career win, and 3B Hubie Brooks for the year.

We don't really have great backups for either, but Wayne Tolleson will fill in at third, and Floyd Bannister will join the rotation. They'll get first crack at replacing them, because I don't have many trade chips.

NYY #23 · 01-16-2014, 09:18 PM

We completed one deal at the trade deadline, sending LF Billy Sample to the Milwaukee Brewers and getting back catcher Rick Cerone. I turned down the deal twice before I changed my mind. Cerone is definitely an upgrade over our backup catcher.

We fell to 11-17 for the month, and into a second place tie with the Cubs, and three games behind the Phillies.

We sent Cecilio Guante and Hubie Brooks to the All-Star game.

NYY #23 · 01-16-2014, 10:37 PM

The Expos had a winning month going 15-13, but we lost another starting pitcher, Marty Bystrom for the season. That may be too much to overcome.

We've fallen to 4 1/2 games back of the Phillies, and we've got 4 games remaining against the Phils.

Our offense and bullpen are really going to need to step it up in September.

NYY #23 · 01-17-2014, 07:09 PM

It took 9 years for me to win the World Series with the Browns, and 8 with the Phillies, and I'll be entering year number 7 with the Expos. You have to go back to 1928 since I've been with a team this long.

Of course we choked in September, going 12-16. Our pitching couldn't get the job done without Marty Bystrom and Larry Jaster.

Don Mattingly did win the batting title hitting .350.

Following the season Mike Krukow decided to opt-out of his contract after going 15-11 with a 3.72 ERA. More great news…

Both my scout and hitting coach also decided to retire.

Montreal Expos - 57-105 (.352) 31 GB
1978 - Montreal Expos 57-105 (.352) 31 GB (Season Score - 1)
1979 - Montreal Expos 83-79 (.512) 11 GB (Season Score - 43)
1980 - Montreal Expos 82-80 (.506) 14 GB (Season Score - 22)
1981 - Montreal Expos 77-85 (.475) 15 GB (Season Score - 9)
1982 - Montreal Expos 78-84 (.481) 21 GB (Season Score - 1)
1983 - Montreal Expos 83-79 (.512) 12 GB (Season Score - 28)

Orcin · 01-17-2014, 07:53 PM

I hate it when my scout retires. You feel lost with OSA until you can hire a new one.

NYY #23 · 01-17-2014, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orcin

I hate it when my scout retires. You feel lost with OSA until you can hire a new one.

It's my number one pet peeve. "You know, the draft is in three days, but I've decided to retire. And take all my info with me. Good luck."

It's the one position where I feel like it takes time to build up trust too, and I feel lost for a while.

NYY #23 · 01-17-2014, 08:50 PM

The Expos picked 15th in the amateur draft, and with our first round pick we selected 3B Terry Pendleton. Starting pitcher Tom Browning was our first pick of the supplemental round, with our second pick in the supplemental round being 3B Mike Pagliarulo.

In the second round we selected shortstop Alvaro Espinoza, followed by relievers Wes Gardner and Calvin Schiraldi.

I hate drafting two third baseman, with Hubie Brooks on the team, but based on what was available there wasn't much choice.

NYY #23 · 01-18-2014, 03:45 PM

The Expos shipped off 3B Mike Pagliarulo to the Giants, and received back 21 year old SP Mark Gubicza.

Meanwhile, Gary Roenicke, Larry Jaster, and Mike Krukow were all offered arbitration, but declined.

In the free agent market we agreed to terms with a pair of pitchers. 33 year old Burt Hooton is out with an injury, and we signed him to a 1 year $400,000 contract, with a team option for a second year at the same price. In 1981 Hooton was 18-14 with a 3.83 ERA, so I'm hoping he can bounce back.

We also inked a deal with starting pitcher Roger Erickson for $150,000. He'll be out the next 8 months, but was signed for rotation depth when he comes back.

NYY #23 · 01-18-2014, 04:05 PM

Preparing to head into spring training we made one more move, this one within our division. The Expos shipped 3B Hubie Brooks, SP Floyd Bannister, and SS Alvaro Espinoza to the Chicago Cubs and received CF Reid Nichols and RF Ken Griffey, Sr.

We'll have a reunion with Griffey, and add some outfield help while trading our excess 3B. This means we are putting a lot of faith in Terry Pendelton, and hopefully that is warranted.

NYY #23 · 01-18-2014, 04:13 PM

The Expos started off the year with a dreadful 8-17 record. We've already seen Marty Bystrom suffer a setback, Ken Griffey Sr go down with an injury, and Garry Templeton go out.

At this point I'm wondering if I'll get out of Montreal, or end up moving to Washington and becoming the Nationals.

NYY #23 · 01-18-2014, 05:18 PM

The Expos had another losing month, going 13-15, and remain in last place in the NL East.

I'm growing more and more frustrated in Montreal by the day.

NYY #23 · 01-18-2014, 11:19 PM

The Expos finally had a winning month going 15-12, but spent most of the month without Don Mattingly.

Steve Sax also suffered another setback as well.

NYY #23 · 01-19-2014, 12:00 AM

The Expos remained quiet at the trading deadline this year. We went 13-14 for the month, so we returned to our losing ways.

Neal Heaton and Cecilio Guante were our lone All-Stars this year.

Tom Browning did capture the Pitcher of the Month Award after going 5-1 with a 1.50 ERA.

NYY #23 · 01-19-2014, 01:33 PM

The Expos went 18-10 for the month and climbed into second place in the NL East. There is still a 11 game gap with Philadelphia though, but at least things are looking up.

(As a side note, I realized that some of my strategies were out of whack. Our aggressiveness on the bases was way too high for example, probably since the Rickey Henderson era. That correlates to our hot month, but it could be a coincidence.)

NYY #23 · 01-19-2014, 02:22 PM

Another winning month for the Expos, as we went 17-11. Maybe things are finally starting to turn around?

This was our most wins in a season ever. Hopefully 8 is a lucky number in Montreal.

Montreal Expos - 57-105 (.352) 31 GB
1978 - Montreal Expos 57-105 (.352) 31 GB (Season Score - 1)
1979 - Montreal Expos 83-79 (.512) 11 GB (Season Score - 43)
1980 - Montreal Expos 82-80 (.506) 14 GB (Season Score - 22)
1981 - Montreal Expos 77-85 (.475) 15 GB (Season Score - 9)
1982 - Montreal Expos 78-84 (.481) 21 GB (Season Score - 1)
1983 - Montreal Expos 83-79 (.512) 12 GB (Season Score - 28)
1984 - Montreal Expos 84-78 (.519) 11 GB (Season Score - 32)

NYY #23 · 01-19-2014, 03:10 PM

The Expos were picking 21st in this year's amateur draft. With our first round pick we selected LF Dan Pasqua, trying to take as many of the Yankees from the 80's as I can apparently.

In the supplemental round we selected CF Reggie Williams, SP Bob Kipper, and MR Roger McDowell. Reliever Bob Patterson was our second round pick, followed by reliever Steve Ontiveros and reliever Rocky Childress. Catcher Jeff Hearon and CF Trench Davis finished off the draft for the Expos.

NYY #23 · 01-19-2014, 03:59 PM

There were two big prizes of the free agent market that I was interested in, both were starting pitchers, and both were Type A free agents. I've shied away from Type A up to this point, but I'm at the point where I couldn't resist.

Both pitchers signed on the same day, and both pitchers signed in Canada. Rick Reuschel bolted from our division rivals the Cubs and signed a 5 year $5,750,000 contract with the Blue Jays.

The Expos didn't want to be outdone though, and signed 2 time Pitcher of the Year Jon Matlock to a 4 year $7,000,000 contract.

Both pitchers are 35, although Matlock just turned 35 in January. The final year in each pitcher's contract is a team option with a buyout.

If Matlock pitches well in his 35, 36, and 37 year old seasons it'll be worth it for Montreal. His career low for WAR in a season is 5.9. He's also never made fewer than 32 starts in a year. With 264 career wins he'll get an opportunity to chase 300 in Montreal.

01-15-2014, 09:18 PM	#1082
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	5/1/1983 - Let's start with a brief offseason report, as the Expos made one move over the winter, signing shortstop Garry Templeton to a 4 year $2,160,000 contract. The fourth year in the contract is a team option. Templeton seems to have up and down years, and he's due for a bounce back year. We received compensation picks for Bobby Grich and Jim Clancy, who signed elsewhere. We started the year 11-9, but it's real early, so it's too early to get excited, or disappointed. Attached Images

01-15-2014, 10:51 PM	#1083
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	6/1/1983 - The Expos went 16-12 for the month and moved into a tie for second place, just 1 1/2 games behind the Pirates. We did lose Mike Moore for the year, but Moore was just 1-3 with a 9.68 ERA. With him pitching like that it may be a blessing in disguise, because Andy Hawkins is 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA. Our bullpen has been great this year, led by closer Cecilio Guante, who has a 0.74 ERA and 12 saves. Attached Images

01-16-2014, 06:39 PM	#1084
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	7/1/1983 - The Expos again went 16-12 for the month, and it's currently a two team race in the NL East, with the Expos trailing the Phillies by a game. That's the good. The bad - we lost Larry Jaster for three months with an injury after he picked up his 200th career win, and 3B Hubie Brooks for the year. We don't really have great backups for either, but Wayne Tolleson will fill in at third, and Floyd Bannister will join the rotation. They'll get first crack at replacing them, because I don't have many trade chips. Attached Images

01-16-2014, 09:18 PM	#1085
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	8/1/1983 - We completed one deal at the trade deadline, sending LF Billy Sample to the Milwaukee Brewers and getting back catcher Rick Cerone. I turned down the deal twice before I changed my mind. Cerone is definitely an upgrade over our backup catcher. We fell to 11-17 for the month, and into a second place tie with the Cubs, and three games behind the Phillies. We sent Cecilio Guante and Hubie Brooks to the All-Star game. Attached Images

01-16-2014, 10:37 PM	#1086
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	9/1/1983 - The Expos had a winning month going 15-13, but we lost another starting pitcher, Marty Bystrom for the season. That may be too much to overcome. We've fallen to 4 1/2 games back of the Phillies, and we've got 4 games remaining against the Phils. Our offense and bullpen are really going to need to step it up in September. Attached Images

01-17-2014, 07:09 PM	#1087
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	10/4/1983 - It took 9 years for me to win the World Series with the Browns, and 8 with the Phillies, and I'll be entering year number 7 with the Expos. You have to go back to 1928 since I've been with a team this long. Of course we choked in September, going 12-16. Our pitching couldn't get the job done without Marty Bystrom and Larry Jaster. Don Mattingly did win the batting title hitting .350. Following the season Mike Krukow decided to opt-out of his contract after going 15-11 with a 3.72 ERA. More great news… Both my scout and hitting coach also decided to retire. Montreal Expos - 57-105 (.352) 31 GB 1978 - Montreal Expos 57-105 (.352) 31 GB (Season Score - 1) 1979 - Montreal Expos 83-79 (.512) 11 GB (Season Score - 43) 1980 - Montreal Expos 82-80 (.506) 14 GB (Season Score - 22) 1981 - Montreal Expos 77-85 (.475) 15 GB (Season Score - 9) 1982 - Montreal Expos 78-84 (.481) 21 GB (Season Score - 1) 1983 - Montreal Expos 83-79 (.512) 12 GB (Season Score - 28) Attached Images

01-17-2014, 07:53 PM	#1088
Orcin Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Indiana Posts: 9,798	I hate it when my scout retires. You feel lost with OSA until you can hire a new one.

01-17-2014, 08:50 PM	#1090
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	11/1/1983 - Amateur Draft The Expos picked 15th in the amateur draft, and with our first round pick we selected 3B Terry Pendleton. Starting pitcher Tom Browning was our first pick of the supplemental round, with our second pick in the supplemental round being 3B Mike Pagliarulo. In the second round we selected shortstop Alvaro Espinoza, followed by relievers Wes Gardner and Calvin Schiraldi. I hate drafting two third baseman, with Hubie Brooks on the team, but based on what was available there wasn't much choice.

01-18-2014, 03:45 PM	#1091
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	12/17/1983 - The Expos shipped off 3B Mike Pagliarulo to the Giants, and received back 21 year old SP Mark Gubicza. Meanwhile, Gary Roenicke, Larry Jaster, and Mike Krukow were all offered arbitration, but declined. In the free agent market we agreed to terms with a pair of pitchers. 33 year old Burt Hooton is out with an injury, and we signed him to a 1 year $400,000 contract, with a team option for a second year at the same price. In 1981 Hooton was 18-14 with a 3.83 ERA, so I'm hoping he can bounce back. We also inked a deal with starting pitcher Roger Erickson for $150,000. He'll be out the next 8 months, but was signed for rotation depth when he comes back.

01-18-2014, 04:05 PM	#1092
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	2/10/1984 - Preparing to head into spring training we made one more move, this one within our division. The Expos shipped 3B Hubie Brooks, SP Floyd Bannister, and SS Alvaro Espinoza to the Chicago Cubs and received CF Reid Nichols and RF Ken Griffey, Sr. We'll have a reunion with Griffey, and add some outfield help while trading our excess 3B. This means we are putting a lot of faith in Terry Pendelton, and hopefully that is warranted.

01-18-2014, 04:13 PM	#1093
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	5/1/1984 - The Expos started off the year with a dreadful 8-17 record. We've already seen Marty Bystrom suffer a setback, Ken Griffey Sr go down with an injury, and Garry Templeton go out. At this point I'm wondering if I'll get out of Montreal, or end up moving to Washington and becoming the Nationals. Attached Images

01-18-2014, 05:18 PM	#1094
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	6/1/1984 - The Expos had another losing month, going 13-15, and remain in last place in the NL East. I'm growing more and more frustrated in Montreal by the day. Attached Images

01-18-2014, 11:19 PM	#1095
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	7/1/1984 - The Expos finally had a winning month going 15-12, but spent most of the month without Don Mattingly. Steve Sax also suffered another setback as well.

01-19-2014, 12:00 AM	#1096
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	8/1/1984 - The Expos remained quiet at the trading deadline this year. We went 13-14 for the month, so we returned to our losing ways. Neal Heaton and Cecilio Guante were our lone All-Stars this year. Tom Browning did capture the Pitcher of the Month Award after going 5-1 with a 1.50 ERA. Attached Images

01-19-2014, 01:33 PM	#1097
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	9/1/1984 - The Expos went 18-10 for the month and climbed into second place in the NL East. There is still a 11 game gap with Philadelphia though, but at least things are looking up. (As a side note, I realized that some of my strategies were out of whack. Our aggressiveness on the bases was way too high for example, probably since the Rickey Henderson era. That correlates to our hot month, but it could be a coincidence.) Attached Images

01-19-2014, 02:22 PM	#1098
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	10/1/1984 - Another winning month for the Expos, as we went 17-11. Maybe things are finally starting to turn around? This was our most wins in a season ever. Hopefully 8 is a lucky number in Montreal. Montreal Expos - 57-105 (.352) 31 GB 1978 - Montreal Expos 57-105 (.352) 31 GB (Season Score - 1) 1979 - Montreal Expos 83-79 (.512) 11 GB (Season Score - 43) 1980 - Montreal Expos 82-80 (.506) 14 GB (Season Score - 22) 1981 - Montreal Expos 77-85 (.475) 15 GB (Season Score - 9) 1982 - Montreal Expos 78-84 (.481) 21 GB (Season Score - 1) 1983 - Montreal Expos 83-79 (.512) 12 GB (Season Score - 28) 1984 - Montreal Expos 84-78 (.519) 11 GB (Season Score - 32) Attached Images

01-19-2014, 03:10 PM	#1099
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	11/1/1984 - The Expos were picking 21st in this year's amateur draft. With our first round pick we selected LF Dan Pasqua, trying to take as many of the Yankees from the 80's as I can apparently. In the supplemental round we selected CF Reggie Williams, SP Bob Kipper, and MR Roger McDowell. Reliever Bob Patterson was our second round pick, followed by reliever Steve Ontiveros and reliever Rocky Childress. Catcher Jeff Hearon and CF Trench Davis finished off the draft for the Expos.

01-19-2014, 03:59 PM	#1100
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	2/14/1985 - Oh Canada There were two big prizes of the free agent market that I was interested in, both were starting pitchers, and both were Type A free agents. I've shied away from Type A up to this point, but I'm at the point where I couldn't resist. Both pitchers signed on the same day, and both pitchers signed in Canada. Rick Reuschel bolted from our division rivals the Cubs and signed a 5 year $5,750,000 contract with the Blue Jays. The Expos didn't want to be outdone though, and signed 2 time Pitcher of the Year Jon Matlock to a 4 year $7,000,000 contract. Both pitchers are 35, although Matlock just turned 35 in January. The final year in each pitcher's contract is a team option with a buyout. If Matlock pitches well in his 35, 36, and 37 year old seasons it'll be worth it for Montreal. His career low for WAR in a season is 5.9. He's also never made fewer than 32 starts in a year. With 264 career wins he'll get an opportunity to chase 300 in Montreal.