Mlb After The 1994 Strike/Steroids Scandals

[RegentLynx2]

This is my fictional universe which combines a completely fictional storyline with real historical player elements.

This League is run under the premise that the steroids scandal broke much sooner in history, the early 1990's, and was treated seriously by the stewards of MLB as soon as it was discovered instead of being swept under the carpet for years like it has been in actual MLB history. This coupled with the MLB strike of 1994 completely disillusioned the fans to the point that MLB was forced to take drastic measures to save itself. It was decided by the owners at the 1994 Winter Meetings that it was necessary, in order to placate the fans, too completely ban anyone who had ever tested positively for steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. Also, since this would put some teams at too much of a competitive disadvantage, it was deemed necessary to pool all the players who survived the suspensions into an inaugural draft pool and begin MLB afresh with an inaugural draft in early 1995.

This sim was started using bp's “MLB 1994 Quick Start” which can be downloaded from PadreFan's excellent mod site;

http://web.mac.com/sixwilsons/OOTPMods/Main.html

A heart felt thank you goes out to all the modders out there and people like PadreFan who host these mod files which greatly enhance the OOTP Baseball experience. Thank you indeed.

At any rate, once this Quick Start was downloaded and set up I simply simmed through 1994 without any influence on my part and then once I reached 1995 PreSeason I released all players for the inaugural draft and took off from there. I know I should have probably taken the time to make 1994 a partial season due to the real life Players strike but I was in a hurry to get started and took the fastest, easiest route. I have left all career stats and league history as is, did not erase Career leaderboards etc. I feel if any records where there from players who subsequently will be banned a mental asterisk can be added to the record by the observer. So, as a result of the 1994 sim, 1995 begins with real MLB history up until 1994 and then a false, simmed season by the sim engine for 1994.

The suspensions will be handled in this sim by myself arbitrarily deleting any player who has ever been popularly rumored to have used steroids. Drastic, I know, but these players will be deleted whether or not they are actually innocent or guilty in real life. This purging will take place right before the 1995 inaugural draft. Also, in every subsequent year the same thing will take place with that years amateur draft pool under the assumption that they were caught and banned from baseball early in their minor league careers, and thus, it is as if they never made the Major League level..

Since I am a huge San Francisco Giants fan (I know, Barry, Barry, Barry) this is the team I will take charge of during the sim and make all player/personnel/strategy decisions for in the hopes of finally bringing the World Series trophy to San Francisco.Not even Barry can dampen my love for the team of my childhood, I've been a Giants fan since I was 10 years old (see the Berman quote in my signature)..........And yes, one can by a Giants fan without liking Barry.

February 02, 1995; It was announced before today's inaugural Player draft, the list of players banned from baseball for life due to performance enhancing drug convictions. So, without further adieu, here's the list of the first MLB Players to be banned under the 1995 Performance Enhancing Drugs Initiative;

1.)Eric Gagne
2.)Gary Sheffield
3.)Kevin Brown
4.)Roger Clemens
5.)Chuck Finley
6.)Andy Pettite
7.)Kenny Rogers
8.)Dwight “Doc” Gooden (Actually banned for other illegal drug convictions.)
9.)Dustin Hermanson
10.) Dave Stewart (Suspended for other drug violations other than performance enhancers)
11.) Benito Santiago
12.) Eli Marerro
13.) Sandy Alomar Jr.
14.) Mark McGuire
15.) Rafael Palmeiro
16.) Jose Hernandez
17.) Ken Caminiti
18.) Jason Giambi
19.) Barry Bonds
20.) Sammy Sosa
21.) Raul Mondesi
22.) Jose Canseco
23.) Daryl Strawberry (Suspended for other drug violations other than performance enhancers)

[RegentLynx2]

I know there is a lot of room for much gnashing of teeth over my list of Banned for Life players since I am solely responsible for coming up with the list without much research, mainly relying on my memory from years of reading baseball news.

Who do you think does not belong on the list and also who did I egregiously overlook?

[RegentLynx2]

Some League Settings which this sim will employ are;
Basically all current MLB rules such as Designated Hitters/Length of Schedule etc will be adhered to.
Injuries and Player Fatigue will be set to Average
Trade Options set to;
AI Trading Frequency-Average
Trading Difficulty-Hard
Trading Preference-Neutral
Amateur Draft will be held the first of November of each year
League Expansion will occur as it did in real life

For the inaugural draft of 1995 I used the games “Random Draft Order” button to generate the draft order.

Thus, the draft order for the 1995 inaugural draft;

Colorado
Houston
New York Mets
Seattle
New York Yankees
Cincinnati
Los Angeles
California
Boston
St. Louis
San Diego
San Francisco
Montreal
Milwaukee
Cleveland
Texas
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Florida
Atlanta
Minnesota
Chicago Cubs
Oakland
Baltimore
Toronto
Detroit
Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals

[RegentLynx2]

MLB owners and GM's met today in New York to hold the historic Reallocation Draft. The first time in MLB history such an event has taken place.

The draft results for the First Round of the Draft were as follows;

1.)Colorado-P Pedro Martinez
2.)Houston-P Jason Isringhausen
3.)New York Mets-P Roy Halladay
4.)Seattle-1B Jeff Bagwell
5.)New York Yankees-Ken Griffey Jr.
6.)Cincinnati-RF-Manny Ramirez
7.)Los Angeles Dodgers-Johan Santana
8.)California- P Matt Morris
9.)Boston-Vladimir Guerrero
10.) St. Louis- P Jason Schmidt
11.) San Diego- P Kelvim Escobar
12.) San Francisco- P Randy Johnson
13.) Montreal- 3B Scott Rolen
14.) Milwaukee- P Justin Thompson
15.) Cleveland- P Bill Pulsipher
16.) Texas- P Hideo Nomo
17.) Philadelphia- P Jon Lieber
18.) Pittsburgh- P Kerry Wood
19.) Florida-Bobby Abreu
20.) Atlanta- P Brad Radke
21.) Minnesota-P Shane Reynolds
22.) Chicago Cubs- P Derek Lowe
23.) Oakland- P Mike Mussina
24.) Baltimore- P Greg Maddux
25.) Toronto- P Ismael Valdez
26.) Detroit- SS Alex Rodriguez
27.) Chicago White Sox- P Mike Thurman
28.) Kansas City- 1B Todd Helton

[RegentLynx2]

Here is the draft list for the first ten rounds of the Draft (sorry, it's in reverse order which is the way the game produces the Draft Log;

Round 10
Round 10, Pick 1 - Kansas City Royals: RF J. Burnitz
Round 10, Pick 2 - Chicago White Sox: LF J. Cruz Jr.
Round 10, Pick 3 - Detroit Tigers: MR R. Bailey
Round 10, Pick 4 - Toronto Blue Jays: C J. Valentin
Round 10, Pick 5 - Baltimore Orioles: MR D. Wall
Round 10, Pick 6 - Oakland Athletics: MR O. Olivares
Round 10, Pick 7 - Chicago Cubs: SP V. Santos
Round 10, Pick 8 - Minnesota Twins: 1B B. Hamelin
Round 10, Pick 9 - Atlanta Braves: SP J. Robertson
Round 10, Pick 10 - Florida Marlins: CL G. Roberts
Round 10, Pick 11 - Pittsburgh Pirates: C B. Petrick
Round 10, Pick 12 - Philadelphia Phillies: MR S. Parris
Round 10, Pick 13 - Texas Rangers: 3B D. Palmer
Round 10, Pick 14 - Cleveland Indians: CL K. Foulke
Round 10, Pick 15 - Milwaukee Brewers: CL T. Hoffman
Round 10, Pick 16 - Montreal Expos: SP R. Ortiz
Round 10, Pick 17 - San Francisco Giants: 3B M. Williams
Round 10, Pick 18 - San Diego Padres: SS R. Aurilia
Round 10, Pick 19 - St. Louis Cardinals: LF M. Kinkade
Round 10, Pick 20 - Boston Red Sox: MR B. Scanlan
Round 10, Pick 21 - California Angels: LF S. Stewart
Round 10, Pick 22 - Los Angeles Dodgers: CL A. Benitez
Round 10, Pick 23 - Cincinnati Reds: MR S. Wojciechowski
Round 10, Pick 24 - New York Yankees: SP C. Schilling
Round 10, Pick 25 - Seattle Mariners: LF A. Martin
Round 10, Pick 26 - New York Mets: CL B. Ayala
Round 10, Pick 27 - Houston Astros: CF M. Benard
Round 10, Pick 28 - Colorado Rockies: SP M. Redman

Round 9
Round 9, Pick 1 - Colorado Rockies: C M. LaValliere
Round 9, Pick 2 - Houston Astros: MR G. Swindell
Round 9, Pick 3 - New York Mets: 3B G. Ingram
Round 9, Pick 4 - Seattle Mariners: SP Z. Smith
Round 9, Pick 5 - New York Yankees: SS C. Ripken Jr.
Round 9, Pick 6 - Cincinnati Reds: SS J. Bell
Round 9, Pick 7 - Los Angeles Dodgers: RF K. Puckett
Round 9, Pick 8 - California Angels: 2B J. Cora
Round 9, Pick 9 - Boston Red Sox: C D. Fletcher
Round 9, Pick 10 - St. Louis Cardinals: 3B B. Bonilla
Round 9, Pick 11 - San Diego Padres: RF T. O'Leary
Round 9, Pick 12 - San Francisco Giants: 2B T. Phillips
Round 9, Pick 13 - Montreal Expos: MR S. Fernandez
Round 9, Pick 14 - Milwaukee Brewers: 1B F. McGriff
Round 9, Pick 15 - Cleveland Indians: MR W. Banks
Round 9, Pick 16 - Texas Rangers: MR G. Harris
Round 9, Pick 17 - Philadelphia Phillies: SP M. Leiter
Round 9, Pick 18 - Pittsburgh Pirates: 2B B. Gates
Round 9, Pick 19 - Florida Marlins: 3B M. Franco
Round 9, Pick 20 - Atlanta Braves: 3B G. Jefferies
Round 9, Pick 21 - Minnesota Twins: 3B T. Zeile
Round 9, Pick 22 - Chicago Cubs: SP J. Wright
Round 9, Pick 23 - Oakland Athletics: CF L. Johnson
Round 9, Pick 24 - Baltimore Orioles: RF K. Gibson
Round 9, Pick 25 - Toronto Blue Jays: RF J. McDonald
Round 9, Pick 26 - Detroit Tigers: SP J. Rosado
Round 9, Pick 27 - Chicago White Sox: SP C. Loewer
Round 9, Pick 28 - Kansas City Royals: 2B J. Samuel
Round 8
Round 8, Pick 1 - Kansas City Royals: SP D. Cone
Round 8, Pick 2 - Chicago White Sox: SP S. Erickson
Round 8, Pick 3 - Detroit Tigers: SP S. Trachsel
Round 8, Pick 4 - Toronto Blue Jays: MR B. Wegman
Round 8, Pick 5 - Baltimore Orioles: LF C. Davis
Round 8, Pick 6 - Oakland Athletics: 2B L. Whitaker
Round 8, Pick 7 - Chicago Cubs: SP M. Perez
Round 8, Pick 8 - Minnesota Twins: SP K. Tapani
Round 8, Pick 9 - Atlanta Braves: SP J. Ericks
Round 8, Pick 10 - Florida Marlins: SP B. Moehler
Round 8, Pick 11 - Pittsburgh Pirates: SP S. Hitchcock
Round 8, Pick 12 - Philadelphia Phillies: SP J. Hesketh
Round 8, Pick 13 - Texas Rangers: SP J. Key
Round 8, Pick 14 - Cleveland Indians: C S. Hatteberg
Round 8, Pick 15 - Milwaukee Brewers: RF P. O'Neill
Round 8, Pick 16 - Montreal Expos: LF B. Anderson
Round 8, Pick 17 - San Francisco Giants: CL R. Nen
Round 8, Pick 18 - San Diego Padres: SP A. Miranda
Round 8, Pick 19 - St. Louis Cardinals: SP M. Gubicza
Round 8, Pick 20 - Boston Red Sox: SP B. Swift
Round 8, Pick 21 - California Angels: SS K. Stocker
Round 8, Pick 22 - Los Angeles Dodgers: 3B L. Gomez
Round 8, Pick 23 - Cincinnati Reds: SP J. Bullinger
Round 8, Pick 24 - New York Yankees: C M. Macfarlane
Round 8, Pick 25 - Seattle Mariners: SP J. Morris
Round 8, Pick 26 - New York Mets: SP D. Neagle
Round 8, Pick 27 - Houston Astros: RF T. Gwynn
Round 8, Pick 28 - Colorado Rockies: SP J. Moyer
Round 7
Round 7, Pick 1 - Colorado Rockies: SP B. Tollberg
Round 7, Pick 2 - Houston Astros: SP A. Benes
Round 7, Pick 3 - New York Mets: C E. Taubensee
Round 7, Pick 4 - Seattle Mariners: CF R. Thompson
Round 7, Pick 5 - New York Yankees: SP A. Burnett
Round 7, Pick 6 - Cincinnati Reds: 1B M. Tucker
Round 7, Pick 7 - Los Angeles Dodgers: SP D. Coggin
Round 7, Pick 8 - California Angels: SP S. Woodard
Round 7, Pick 9 - Boston Red Sox: SP G. Rusch
Round 7, Pick 10 - St. Louis Cardinals: C D. Nilsson
Round 7, Pick 11 - San Diego Padres: C M. Barrett
Round 7, Pick 12 - San Francisco Giants: C K. Manwaring
Round 7, Pick 13 - Montreal Expos: SP M. Clark
Round 7, Pick 14 - Milwaukee Brewers: SP R. Dempster
Round 7, Pick 15 - Cleveland Indians: SP N. Figueroa
Round 7, Pick 16 - Texas Rangers: SS D. Jackson
Round 7, Pick 17 - Philadelphia Phillies: 1B J. Olerud
Round 7, Pick 18 - Pittsburgh Pirates: MR A. Osuna
Round 7, Pick 19 - Florida Marlins: 1B S. Casey
Round 7, Pick 20 - Atlanta Braves: 1B D. Mientkiewicz
Round 7, Pick 21 - Minnesota Twins: RF D. Justice
Round 7, Pick 22 - Chicago Cubs: RF C. Wilson
Round 7, Pick 23 - Oakland Athletics: SP T. Gordon
Round 7, Pick 24 - Baltimore Orioles: SP C. Nagy
Round 7, Pick 25 - Toronto Blue Jays: SP B. Tomko
Round 7, Pick 26 - Detroit Tigers: 1B G. Colbrunn
Round 7, Pick 27 - Chicago White Sox: RF T. Tarasco
Round 7, Pick 28 - Kansas City Royals: MR J. Navarro
Round 6
Round 6, Pick 1 - Kansas City Royals: SP C. Lidle
Round 6, Pick 2 - Chicago White Sox: 2B C. Knoblauch
Round 6, Pick 3 - Detroit Tigers: CF J. Edmonds
Round 6, Pick 4 - Toronto Blue Jays: LF R. Myers
Round 6, Pick 5 - Baltimore Orioles: SS E. Alfonzo
Round 6, Pick 6 - Oakland Athletics: RF R. Sanders
Round 6, Pick 7 - Chicago Cubs: 2B M. Loretta
Round 6, Pick 8 - Minnesota Twins: 2B J. Cirillo
Round 6, Pick 9 - Atlanta Braves: LF B. Higginson
Round 6, Pick 10 - Florida Marlins: LF R. Jefferson
Round 6, Pick 11 - Pittsburgh Pirates: 1B C. Floyd
Round 6, Pick 12 - Philadelphia Phillies: C J. Lopez
Round 6, Pick 13 - Texas Rangers: SP T. Ritchie
Round 6, Pick 14 - Cleveland Indians: 3B P. Nevin
Round 6, Pick 15 - Milwaukee Brewers: C T. Houston
Round 6, Pick 16 - Montreal Expos: 2B D. DeShields
Round 6, Pick 17 - San Francisco Giants: SP J. Burkett
Round 6, Pick 18 - San Diego Padres: 2B G. Pena
Round 6, Pick 19 - St. Louis Cardinals: SS C. Gomez
Round 6, Pick 20 - Boston Red Sox: LF P. Munoz
Round 6, Pick 21 - California Angels: RF J. Hammonds
Round 6, Pick 22 - Los Angeles Dodgers: CF D. Sanders
Round 6, Pick 23 - Cincinnati Reds: MR J. Suppan
Round 6, Pick 24 - New York Yankees: 2B J. Bell
Round 6, Pick 25 - Seattle Mariners: MR V. Eshelman
Round 6, Pick 26 - New York Mets: MR K. Rueter
Round 6, Pick 27 - Houston Astros: 2B C. Biggio
Round 6, Pick 28 - Colorado Rockies: LF L. Gonzalez
Round 5
Round 5, Pick 1 - Colorado Rockies: SP E. Hanson
Round 5, Pick 2 - Houston Astros: SP S. Ontiveros
Round 5, Pick 3 - New York Mets: SP P. Astacio
Round 5, Pick 4 - Seattle Mariners: C M. Tettleton
Round 5, Pick 5 - New York Yankees: MR B. McDonald
Round 5, Pick 6 - Cincinnati Reds: C T. Hundley
Round 5, Pick 7 - Los Angeles Dodgers: LF S. Mack
Round 5, Pick 8 - California Angels: SP B. Jones
Round 5, Pick 9 - Boston Red Sox: 3B E. Martinez
Round 5, Pick 10 - St. Louis Cardinals: 1B A. Galarraga
Round 5, Pick 11 - San Diego Padres: SP C. Holt
Round 5, Pick 12 - San Francisco Giants: SS R. Clayton
Round 5, Pick 13 - Montreal Expos: SP P. Schourek
Round 5, Pick 14 - Milwaukee Brewers: SP S. Estes
Round 5, Pick 15 - Cleveland Indians: 2B B. Boone
Round 5, Pick 16 - Texas Rangers: C C. Hoiles
Round 5, Pick 17 - Philadelphia Phillies: SP D. Drabek
Round 5, Pick 18 - Pittsburgh Pirates: RF M. Lawton
Round 5, Pick 19 - Florida Marlins: SP S. Sanders
Round 5, Pick 20 - Atlanta Braves: SP J. Hamilton
Round 5, Pick 21 - Minnesota Twins: SP A. Sele
Round 5, Pick 22 - Chicago Cubs: SP A. Fernandez
Round 5, Pick 23 - Oakland Athletics: SP A. Leiter
Round 5, Pick 24 - Baltimore Orioles: SP B. Tewksbury
Round 5, Pick 25 - Toronto Blue Jays: 3B M. Grudzielanek
Round 5, Pick 26 - Detroit Tigers: SP H. Fajardo
Round 5, Pick 27 - Chicago White Sox: SP D. Weathers
Round 5, Pick 28 - Kansas City Royals: CF B. Butler
Round 4
Round 4, Pick 1 - Kansas City Royals: SS B. Larkin
Round 4, Pick 2 - Chicago White Sox: C M. Stanley
Round 4, Pick 3 - Detroit Tigers: RF K. Mitchell
Round 4, Pick 4 - Toronto Blue Jays: SP B. Saberhagen
Round 4, Pick 5 - Baltimore Orioles: 1B W. Clark
Round 4, Pick 6 - Oakland Athletics: 3B W. Boggs
Round 4, Pick 7 - Chicago Cubs: SS W. Cordero
Round 4, Pick 8 - Minnesota Twins: SP J. Rijo
Round 4, Pick 9 - Atlanta Braves: RF A. Cole
Round 4, Pick 10 - Florida Marlins: SS J. Valentin
Round 4, Pick 11 - Pittsburgh Pirates: SP K. Millwood
Round 4, Pick 12 - Philadelphia Phillies: SS T. Fernandez
Round 4, Pick 13 - Texas Rangers: SP D. Jackson
Round 4, Pick 14 - Cleveland Indians: SP K. Appier
Round 4, Pick 15 - Milwaukee Brewers: 3B R. Ventura
Round 4, Pick 16 - Montreal Expos: C D. Daulton
Round 4, Pick 17 - San Francisco Giants: CF L. Dykstra
Round 4, Pick 18 - San Diego Padres: CF S. Finley
Round 4, Pick 19 - St. Louis Cardinals: SP D. Wells
Round 4, Pick 20 - Boston Red Sox: SP K. Gross
Round 4, Pick 21 - California Angels: 1B T. Martinez
Round 4, Pick 22 - Los Angeles Dodgers: SP J. Smiley
Round 4, Pick 23 - Cincinnati Reds: SP J. McDowell
Round 4, Pick 24 - New York Yankees: SP J. Fassero
Round 4, Pick 25 - Seattle Mariners: SP D. Martinez
Round 4, Pick 26 - New York Mets: SS H. Bush
Round 4, Pick 27 - Houston Astros: 1B J. Franco
Round 4, Pick 28 - Colorado Rockies: 3B K. Seitzer
Round 3
Round 3, Pick 1 - Colorado Rockies: 2B R. Alomar
Round 3, Pick 2 - Houston Astros: SS J. Valentin
Round 3, Pick 3 - New York Mets: 2B R. Durham
Round 3, Pick 4 - Seattle Mariners: RF J. Felix
Round 3, Pick 5 - New York Yankees: 1B M. Vaughn
Round 3, Pick 6 - Cincinnati Reds: 3B A. Ramirez
Round 3, Pick 7 - Los Angeles Dodgers: 1B N. Garciaparra
Round 3, Pick 8 - California Angels: CF A. Jones
Round 3, Pick 9 - Boston Red Sox: CF R. Lankford
Round 3, Pick 10 - St. Louis Cardinals: RF T. Salmon
Round 3, Pick 11 - San Diego Padres: MR A. Telemaco
Round 3, Pick 12 - San Francisco Giants: SP T. Glavine
Round 3, Pick 13 - Montreal Expos: CF J. Nunnally
Round 3, Pick 14 - Milwaukee Brewers: LF G. Jenkins
Round 3, Pick 15 - Cleveland Indians: CF D. Erstad
Round 3, Pick 16 - Texas Rangers: LF M. Alou
Round 3, Pick 17 - Philadelphia Phillies: 3B T. Fryman
Round 3, Pick 18 - Pittsburgh Pirates: LF T. Hollandsworth
Round 3, Pick 19 - Florida Marlins: 2B B. Mueller
Round 3, Pick 20 - Atlanta Braves: 2B E. Young
Round 3, Pick 21 - Minnesota Twins: C J. Posada
Round 3, Pick 22 - Chicago Cubs: LF D. Young
Round 3, Pick 23 - Oakland Athletics: LF D. Hosey
Round 3, Pick 24 - Baltimore Orioles: MR D. Kile
Round 3, Pick 25 - Toronto Blue Jays: 2B L. Castillo
Round 3, Pick 26 - Detroit Tigers: SP B. Arroyo
Round 3, Pick 27 - Chicago White Sox: MR W. Van Landingham
Round 3, Pick 28 - Kansas City Royals: SP S. Karl
Round 2
Round 2, Pick 1 - Kansas City Royals: 1B T. Helton
Round 2, Pick 2 - Chicago White Sox: 3B J. Thome
Round 2, Pick 3 - Detroit Tigers: C I. Rodriguez
Round 2, Pick 4 - Toronto Blue Jays: CF J. Damon
Round 2, Pick 5 - Baltimore Orioles: C M. Piazza
Round 2, Pick 6 - Oakland Athletics: 1B F. Thomas
Round 2, Pick 7 - Chicago Cubs: MR J. Washburn
Round 2, Pick 8 - Minnesota Twins: LF B. Giles
Round 2, Pick 9 - Atlanta Braves: MR C. Vargas
Round 2, Pick 10 - Florida Marlins: SP P. Wilson
Round 2, Pick 11 - Pittsburgh Pirates: CF C. Beltran
Round 2, Pick 12 - Philadelphia Phillies: LF A. Belle
Round 2, Pick 13 - Texas Rangers: 1B L. Walker
Round 2, Pick 14 - Cleveland Indians: SS D. Jeter
Round 2, Pick 15 - Milwaukee Brewers: CF B. Williams
Round 2, Pick 16 - Montreal Expos: SP J. Smoltz
Round 2, Pick 17 - San Francisco Giants: LF C. Delgado
Round 2, Pick 18 - San Diego Padres: LF R. Klesko
Round 2, Pick 19 - St. Louis Cardinals: CF J. Gonzalez
Round 2, Pick 20 - Boston Red Sox: SP W. Alvarez
Round 2, Pick 21 - California Angels: C M. Sweeney
Round 2, Pick 22 - Los Angeles Dodgers: 2B Q. Veras
Round 2, Pick 23 - Cincinnati Reds: SP M. Hampton
Round 2, Pick 24 - New York Yankees: SP P. Quantrill
Round 2, Pick 25 - Seattle Mariners: SP A. Ashby
Round 2, Pick 26 - New York Mets: CF K. Lofton
Round 2, Pick 27 - Houston Astros: LF R. Greer
Round 2, Pick 28 - Colorado Rockies: MR J. Jacome
Round 1
Round 1, Pick 1 - Colorado Rockies: SP P. Martinez
Round 1, Pick 2 - Houston Astros: SP J. Isringhausen
Round 1, Pick 3 - New York Mets: SP R. Halladay
Round 1, Pick 4 - Seattle Mariners: 1B J. Bagwell
Round 1, Pick 5 - New York Yankees: CF K. Griffey Jr.
Round 1, Pick 6 - Cincinnati Reds: RF M. Ramirez
Round 1, Pick 7 - Los Angeles Dodgers: SP J. Santana
Round 1, Pick 8 - California Angels: SP M. Morris
Round 1, Pick 9 - Boston Red Sox: RF V. Guerrero
Round 1, Pick 10 - St. Louis Cardinals: SP J. Schmidt
Round 1, Pick 11 - San Diego Padres: SP K. Escobar
Round 1, Pick 12 - San Francisco Giants: SP R. Johnson
Round 1, Pick 13 - Montreal Expos: 3B S. Rolen
Round 1, Pick 14 - Milwaukee Brewers: SP J. Thompson
Round 1, Pick 15 - Cleveland Indians: SP B. Pulsipher
Round 1, Pick 16 - Texas Rangers: SP H. Nomo
Round 1, Pick 17 - Philadelphia Phillies: SP J. Lieber
Round 1, Pick 18 - Pittsburgh Pirates: SP K. Wood
Round 1, Pick 19 - Florida Marlins: RF B. Abreu
Round 1, Pick 20 - Atlanta Braves: SP B. Radke
Round 1, Pick 21 - Minnesota Twins: SP S. Reynolds
Round 1, Pick 22 - Chicago Cubs: SP D. Lowe
Round 1, Pick 23 - Oakland Athletics: SP M. Mussina
Round 1, Pick 24 - Baltimore Orioles: SP G. Maddux
Round 1, Pick 25 - Toronto Blue Jays: SP I. Valdez
Round 1, Pick 26 - Detroit Tigers: SS A. Rodriguez
Round 1, Pick 27 - Chicago White Sox: SP M. Thurman

[RegentLynx2]

The things which immediately jumped out at me about the Draft were;
1.)Alex Rodriguez being picked so late in the first round, not until the 26th pick by Detroit!
2.)Jason Isringhausen being picked 2nd!!! Come on, what's up with that?

As far as my picks for the Giants, I didn't always pick the best available player but rather chose to pick some of my favorite players. After all, this sim is meant to be fun and managing your favorite players is definitely the way to go for me.

[rem]

Originally Posted by RegentLynx2

2.)Jason Isringhausen being picked 2nd!!! Come on, what's up with that?

Isringhausen was a phenom back in the day.

[RegentLynx2]

Originally Posted by remangiii

Isringhausen was a phenom back in the day.

Yeah, that's true, when I think of him I think of a Closer and I can't imagine any GM taking a Relief Pitcher with the 2nd Pick in a Reallocation Draft but I'm sure as a Pitching Phenom he was projected to be a dominant Starting Pitcher back in the day.

[RegentLynx2]

1995 Spring Training is complete. The Giants came through pretty healthy. On Opening Day, April 02, 1995 only two player's are on the Disabled List, 1B-Carlos Delgado who is out for an estimated 1-2 weeks with the flu and SP Rick Helling who is quite a bit more serious as he will miss at least 5 months with a ruptured disc in his back.

The Giants don't have an opening game scheduled until April 4th at Houston.

Preparing for the season opener it is obvious there is not much depth in the outfield roster. There are really no batters available in the Free Agent Market just a smattering of mediocre Relief Pitchers.

I did manage to put in a waiver claim today on CF Otis Nixon who was put on waivers today by the Phillies, we'll see if the claim goes through? Really could use some outfield depth as currently there are only 3 OF's on the roster;
LF-Kerry Robinson
CF-Lenny Dykstra
RF-Jay Buhner

Luckily several other players on the roster can also play an outfield position besides there assigned position;

2B Bip Roberts can also play LF
1B Jeff Conine can play LF

2B Tony Phillips can also play CF and RF

Opening Day 1995 has finally arrived.
Break out the bats and the balls--the new season is here! The grass is green and the stadiums are refurbished for the start of a new season.

Baseball is back in the MLB!

Only one game on tap today:

The Mets beat the Marlins 6-5 behind Pedro Astacio who only gave up 2 runs in 7 innings.

Monday, April 03, 1995;
A full slate of games scheduled today. Some of the highlights of today were;


1.)The Rangers beat the Yankees 9-1 behind an outstanding pitching performance by Hideo Nomo who pitched a complete game giving up only the one run on 2 hits with 11 K's.
2.) Larry Walker of the Rangers went 2 for 3 with a HR and 3 RBI's

Tuesday April 04;
Opening day for the Giants though it's not the Home Opener as they must travel to Houston to take on the Astros. Here are the Giants Lineups and Pitching Staff as of this Opening Day;







Looking at the lineup it's obvious that Delgado's bat will be missed over the next couple of weeks. The lineup should be bolstered quite a bit upon his return.

[RegentLynx2]

Tuesday April 04, 1995;

Opening Day in Houston
In a tight fought battle with the Astros the Giants fell in the bottom of the ninth when with one out and runners at first and third Astros CF Marvin Benard hit a ground ball towards second off of reliever Billy Wagner which was fielded by Tom Foley. Both runners were running on contact and Foley made the choice to try and get the runner at the plate since the opportunity wasn't real good for a double play. Runner SAFE, 4-2 (Groundball, 4). The Astros were very happy to walk away with the 4-3 victory. Giants starting pitcher Randy Johnson gave a mediocre performance, especially by his standards, as he went 6 innings giving up 3 runs on 5 hits with only 3 K's. Astros C Tony Eusebio hit the games only home run, a two run shot in the 3rd inning off of Johnson.


In other news from around the League;

Hrbek Bangs Out 5 Base Hits
"It was like I was hitting little league pitching," said Kent Hrbek after his 5-hit performance against the Twins. "No offense meant to Minnesota, but I could see the ball that well. But this wasn't a kid league park, it was Fenway Park"

The Boston first baseman had a fantastic day at the plate, knocking out 5 hits in 5 at-bats and pacing his club to a 10-7 victory.

His manager elaborated after the game to the press, saying, "Kent worked the entire offseason on trying to shorten his swing and stay inside the ball and the hard work is paying off in base hits."

"That's what I'm trying to do," Hrbek said. "Be quick to the ball and let it travel a little farther so I get a better look at it."

K. Hrbek singled in the 1st, singled in the 3rd, doubled in the 5th, singled in the 6th and singled in the 8th.

[RegentLynx2]

Waiver Wire Update;

OF Amos Otis decided to retire from baseball rather than going through the waiver process.

Put in a new claim, for LF John Cangelosi who was waived by the Mets yesterday.

[RegentLynx2]

Interestingly enough my actual opinion on the whole performance enhancing drugs issue would prevent me from even beginning this sim. I think the whole issue in real life has been blown totally out of proportion. I think it would be in the best interest of everyone involved to simply move on. First of all in the time frame when most players have been linked to steroids/HGH etc. there was simply no testing in baseball for these substances. In essence, it was not even against the rules. Secondly, as the Mitchell Report and other sources have shown the problem was more widespread than at first believed and involved many players not just a select few who for several years now have been unfairly persecuted, yes, though I'm not a big fan of his, I'm mainly talking about Barry Bonds who has been on the receiving end of basically a witch hunt. He was set up for many years to be “the fall guy” for this entire generation which has been extremely unfair. What was not publically realized for years is that steroids were/are much more than a methodology for big, hulking sluggers to beef up and thus, hit more crowd pleasing homeruns. The fact is that pitchers benefitted just as much if not more than hitters. Many of these substances main benefit is their ability to help players heal quicker from injuries. Throwing curve balls, sliders etc is not a natural act for the human body. It puts an incredible amount of strain on these athletes arms and for this reason I've believed for quite awhile now that the enhanced healing benefits of these substance perhaps actually help pitchers more than any other group in baseball.

Also, the big issue for me is that I don't think the record book has been tainted in any way at all. I think most fans realize there is really no way one can compare eras favorably. Every era has had it's issues and points of contention regarding fairness etc. It's the real world people, baseball is not a safe haven or a perfect world set up for our enjoyment. When talking about different eras it must be remembered, for example, their was the gambling scandals involving the White Sox et al during the Dead Ball Era. What about the so called Golden Years when Babe Ruth was such a dominant figure? Did he play in a fair environment? Don't forget he was not facing the best competition that could be fielded at the time due to the segregation in baseball, when as hard as it is to believe, people of color were not allowed in MLB. Some of the best talent in the game at the time played in the Negro Leagues not against Babe Ruth and the other stars of MLB. Many people feel that the 50's and 60's was the hallowed era, but let's not forget, especially during the sixties many players were openly using amphetamines in hopes of obtaining a competitive edge.

In essence, I think most fans agree that the only real way to judge players historically is to simply compare them to their peers. How well did each player do compared to their competition? This is the only fair and true benchmark we have for judging each player's “greatness” as ball players. Judging players actual talent against players from other era's is simply futile, it can't be done. What we do know is that Ruth, Cobb, Williams, Mays, Aaron, Schmidt, Bonds et al were great ballplayers. Who would win a duel between Roger Clemens and Babe Ruth? It's impossible to ever know. We do know however that these guys were absolutely dominant against their competion.

So why did I choose this rather preposterous and rather daft premise to base this Dynasty report on? Simply because I was trying to come up with a set of parameters which would make for a fun, engaging sim experience for myself. There is no way, in real life, that baseball would ever simply start over with a complete reallocation draft but the idea does make for a good, fun simulation scenario. Thus, the answer is, I was simply trying to come up with a new fun idea for a sim, nothing more, nothing less.

[RegentLynx2]

Glavine Pitches A Gem

The Giants shut out the Astros today behind a gem of a performance by Tom Glavine who pitched eight really strong innings, shutting out the Astros on only 2 hits. Robb Nen pitched a perfect ninth inning for his first save of the year in his first save opportunity. The Giants Kerry Robinson hit the games only home run, a solo shot to lead off the 6th inning off of Steve Ontiveros.

In other news from around the League;

Toronto's Molitor Down with Injury
Toronto fans held their breath as Paul Molitor left yesterday's Mariners-Blue Jays contest with an injury. After the game, the team's medical staff said that the 38-year-old first baseman had suffered a strained groin muscle while running the bases. It's estimated that he will be out 2 weeks.

[RegentLynx2]

The claim for LF John Cangelosi went through and was approved. The Giants are glad to welcome this newest addition, should provide much needed depth on the outfield roster. To make room for him on the active roster 3B Scott Leuis was waived and designated for assignment.

[RegentLynx2]

Several games have transpired since the last news update. After splitting the short two game series with the Astros the Giants travelled to Florida for a four game series against the Marlins. They won the series opener 5-4 then lost two in a row, 4-9 and 3-8. They will complete the series today needing a win in order to prevent the Marlins from taking the series, hopefully we can get out of Florida with a split before returning home for the home opener against the Astros on the 11th.

Thus, the Giants open the season with a 2-3 record, 2 games behind the 3-0 Rockies.

A big loss was suffered in the last game against the Marlins as CF Lenny Dykstra sustained a hairline fracture of one of the small bones in his hand and will now be out at least two weeks. This leaves Tony Phillips as the teams only available CF and currently there is no help available on the Free Agent market or the waiver wire. So, currently Phillips will move into CF with Jay Buhner taking Phillips place in RF. Unfortunately it's still a week before Delgado will be able to return to the Lineup, so right now, two very important cogs are missing from the lineup.

In other news from around the League;

Mussina Strong Arms Tigers in Shutout
Oakland pitcher Mike Mussina put on a show today and walked away with a 6-0 shutout victory over the Detroit Tigers, throttling them on 6 hits. He just cruised through their lineup, fanning 8 and walking 3 in a strong outing.

"He was very efficient and he hit his spots," his manager said. "He stayed down in the zone and stayed away from the middle of the plate."

Currently the Divisional Leaders are;

AL
East-Boston at 3-1
Central-Milwaukee at 3-2
West-Texas at 3-1

NL
East-Atlanta at 2-2
Central-Both Chicago and Pittsburgh at 4-1
West-Colorado at 3-0

If anyone out there is interested, at any point, about learning how your favorite teams or players are doing just post your requests here and I'll gladly look up any info as the sim moves along.

[RegentLynx2]

Well, the Giants unfortunately lost both today's game and the series to Florida. The Giants could only muster 4 hits in today's 2-0 loss. Marlins P Brian Mohler went a good strong 7 innings giving up only 3 hits while striking out 4. Marlins releivers Bruce Ruffin, Latroy Hawkins, Mariano Rivera finished the job without any complications.

From around the League;

Cordero Picked Best Player
His teammates, fans, peers and even the SION sportswriters all agreed that Wil Cordero was worthy of the National Player of the Week Award.

During the week the Chicago shortstop compiled a .560 batting average (14-25) with no home runs, 4 runs batted in and scored 5 runs.

Potent Bat Pays Off, Blowers Player of the Week
It was announced today that California third baseman Mike Blowers has been acclaimed by the American as the Player of the Week for his outstanding play last week.

Blowers posted a .550 batting average as he collected 11 hits in 20 at-bats, 3 home runs and 7 RBIs.

Wells Fires Shutout in Cardinals Victory
David Wells of the St. Louis Cardinals was in command from start to finish in his 3-0 shutout win over the Montreal Expos. He struck out 8, walked 1 and allowed 2 hits.

"I felt strong the entire game," Wells said. "I felt like I had my good stuff. It was just one of those games when everything was working."

Baseball Writers of America Release First Team Power Rankings Of Young Season

[RegentLynx2]

April 15, 2007;

Delgado was activated from the Disabled List today and hopefully will be able to jump start the team as the Giants are currently suffering a seven game losing streak which has dropped them to 3-8 which is 5.5 games behind the first place Dodgers.

Other teams have suffered some bad news too recently;

Friday, April 14th, 1995: Bad News for Toronto, Johnny Damon Injured
A blow for Johnny Damon today -- team doctors confirmed he will miss 4 weeks with a scratched cornea. Damon suffered the injury making a defensive play. Although officials from the Toronto Blue Jays are confident he'll make a full recovery, doubts will persist about Damon's ability to return fully fit with an injury of this nature.

In the current season, Damon has put up a .220 batting average with 9 hits, 3 home runs, 10 RBIs and scored 6 times.

Saturday, April 15th, 1995: Macfarlane Out 4 Weeks with Injury
Mike Macfarlane and the New York Yankees got a bad break in today's game against the White Sox as the team confirmed he will miss 4 weeks with a strained back muscle. The Yankees catcher suffered the injury running the bases. The team doctor is confident he'll make a full recovery.

Presently Macfarlane is batting .114 and has collected no home runs, 1 RBIs, .262 OBP and scored 1 run.

[RegentLynx2]

April 15, 1995;
Thankfully the Giants ended their 7 game losing streak today beating the Reds in 15 innings 13-12! Actually the Reds starting pitcher Jim Bullinger pitched well, he went 7 full innings only giving up one run and left the game with his team ahead 8-1 going into the 8th inning. The Giants starter Esteban Loaiza however, was chased early as he lasted only 3.1 innings giving up 7 runs on 6 hits. The Reds bullpen was atrocious as they pitched a subsequent 8 innings giving up 12 runs!!! The game ended in the bottom of the 15th inning as Reds closer Troy Percival walked in the winning run with only one out in the inning. A horrific end to a disastrous outing as far as the Reds bullpen goes. In his return game from injury Carlos Delgado of the Giants was the Player of the game as he went 4 for 8 with 3 rbi's. Surprisingly enough for such a high scoring game there were only three homeruns, Reds Todd Hundley and Brian Hunter hitting a pair and also Giants LF Kerry Robinson hit one out.

[Who Killed Kenny?]

Originally Posted by RegentLynx2

here's the list of the first MLB Players to be banned under the 1995 Performance Enhancing Drugs Initiative;

1.)Eric Gagne
2.)Gary Sheffield
3.)Kevin Brown
4.)Roger Clemens
5.)Chuck Finley
6.)Andy Pettite
7.)Kenny Rogers
8.)Dwight “Doc” Gooden (Actually banned for other illegal drug convictions.)
9.)Dustin Hermanson
10.) Dave Stewart (Suspended for other drug violations other than performance enhancers)
11.) Benito Santiago
12.) Eli Marerro
13.) Sandy Alomar Jr.
14.) Mark McGuire
15.) Rafael Palmeiro
16.) Jose Hernandez
17.) Ken Caminiti
18.) Jason Giambi
19.) Barry Bonds
20.) Sammy Sosa
21.) Raul Mondesi
22.) Jose Canseco
23.) Daryl Strawberry (Suspended for other drug violations other than performance enhancers)

I think it is interesting that you chose to ban some players that didn't start taking steriods until the late 90's. Didn't Barry Bonds only start in 1999? And Clemens like in '97? It would be an interesting discussion to wonder what would happen to the careers of players who took steriods in the later years if this ban actually took place. Would Kyle Farnsworth still be so enormous and have 'roid rage?

It sounds like a fun dynasty! Have fun!

[RegentLynx2]

The Giants decided to address this upcoming off season possible Free Agent situation by trying to address a few players.

1.) The Giants managed to come to terms with 1B Carlos Delgado with both sides agreeing to a $31,390,000 package which will keep Degado in San Francisco for the next three years.

2.) When SP Tom Glavine was approached he indicated he was not interested in hearing any offers as he plans to test the Free Agent market this coming off season.

3.) Lenny Dykstra when approached also indicated he was not interested in hearing any offers as he plans to test the Free Agent market this coming off season.

4.) SP John Burkett agreed to a three year package at $3,825,000 per season.

5.) Utility player Jeff Conine agreed to another 2 years at $2,540,000 per season.

6.) Utility guy Bip Roberts also agreed to a two year deal valued at $1,025,000.

Once the aforementioned 3B Scott Leius completed the 10 days on the Designated for Assignment list he refused to be demoted to the Minor Leagues. Thus, he was promptly traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for LF Todd Dunwoody who was sent to our AAA Minor League affiliate Fresno. Who knows he could come in handy at some point given the lack of outfield depth on our roster.

Sunday, April 23, 2007;
CF Lenny Dykstra is now eligible to come off of the DL, hopefully to provide further spark as the Giants are currently struggling with a 5-13 record, 10 games behind the first place Dodgers.

Looking around the League we find;

Thursday, April 20th, 1995: Isringhausen Hurt, Out of Lineup 1-2 Weeks
Watching Jason Isringhausen getting helped off the field today at Astrodome, fans of the Houston Astros feared the worst. The news wasn't quite as bad as initially feared, but the starting pitcher will miss 1-2 weeks with a tender elbow. "We feel we've dodged a bullet. When you see a guy break down like that, you worry right away," a team spokesman said. Isringhausen suffered the injury throwing a pitch in the game against the Rockies.

Friday, April 21st, 1995: White Sox Stanley Smacks 5 Hits!
Getting 5 hits in a game doesn't happen every day. Chicago's Mike Stanley had a very special day against the Red Sox when everything came together for him. He really swung the bat with authority, getting 5 hits in 6 at-bats. However, it was Boston that picked up the victory. They topped the White Sox 9-8 at Comiskey Park II.

"I'm just out there to try and help the team win," Stanley said after the game, "I had some real good at-bats today. I made good, solid contact and luckily no one caught 'em. I had a great day, but the loss kinda put a damper on the day."

Disappointed or not, he still gets his name written in the record books.

M. Stanley hit an RBI single in the 1st, hit a two-run home run off B. Swift in the 3rd, singled in the 5th, hit an RBI double in the 6th, hit an RBI single in the 8th and flied out in the 11th.

A look at his 1995 stats shows Stanley with a .177 average, 3 home runs, 9 RBIs and 8 runs scored. He has played in 15 games.

Friday, April 21st, 1995: Pirates Lawton Sidelined for 8 Weeks
Matt Lawton at first refused to leave today's Philadelphia-Pittsburgh game after he suffered a herniated disc while colliding with a player at a base. But his manager convinced him not to be foolish. "I'm a competitor," the feisty Pittsburgh right fielder said. "I'll play through just about anything." Given time to reflect on the situation, he knew it was in his best interest to get immediate treatment. The injury is expected to keep Lawton out of action for 8 weeks.

Thus far this season in 16 games Lawton is batting .367 with 3 home runs, 10 RBIs and 9 runs scored. He has 22 hits in 60 at-bats.

Meanwhile back to the Giants Front Office

Tuesday, April 25th, 1995: Minor Transaction with the California Angels;
The rumor has been going on for a while now, but today it was made official. The San Francisco Giants sent 33-year old reliever Mike Henneman to the California Angels for 35-year old second baseman Bill Pecota.

Officials from both teams seem to be pleased with the deal.

Thursday, April 27th, 1995: Quevedo Strong Arms Giants in Shutout
Ruben Quevedo had the San Francisco Giants dancing to his tune today with a sparkling 9-0 shutout performance for the Florida Marlins. He gave up 5 hits and collected 2 walks and 5 strikeouts.

San Francisco hitters were bewildered throughout the game by his delivery.

The opposing manager said, "When you face a guy who hides the ball like he does, it takes a couple of at-bats to try to find his release point. We just never figured him out."

Well the first month of the 1995 season is complete;

The Giants show a little improvement as they finish the month 10-15 which is 6.5 games behind the first place Dodgers.

Of special encouragement was the play of rookie LF Kerry Robinson
San Francisco Rookie Biggest Vote-Getter in NL
Kerry Robinson of the San Francisco Giants has been selected the top Rookie in the National.

In April he stacked up 27 hits, 5 home runs, 15 RBIs and 11 runs scored. He hit .342 with a .419 OBP.

Further news around the League;

Monday, May 1st, 1995: Lloyd Feeling Bad, Sidelined
Oakland reliever Graeme Lloyd hasn't felt well lately and now has been diagnosed with the flu. He's expected to be day-to-day for 2 weeks.

To date this year, he has registered 1 save, no wins and 1 loss with a 7.36 ERA. Lloyd has made 7 relief appearances, worked a total of 7.1 innings and surrendered 12 hits. He has fanned 3, issued 4 free passes and held opposing clubs to a .364 batting average.

Monday, May 1st, 1995: Osuna, Pittsburgh Reach Agreement on Extension
Antonio Osuna and Pittsburgh have come to an agreement keeping the closer in a Pirates uniform for another 3 years.

The deal is worth $6,360,000 and a formal press conference has been scheduled for tomorrow.

This year Osuna has chalked up 9 relief appearances, worked 15 innings, struck out 15 and issued 11 walks. He has 3 saves with a 1.80 ERA and a 1-0 won-lost mark.

Here are the League Standings after one month;




Stat Leaderboards after one month;