Worst to First - The Sequel

[NYY #23]

The hits just keep coming as the Knights lost our number two starter Daniel George to injury, and he'll be out the next 6 months with shoulder inflammation. We called up Keung Choe to replace him in the rotation.

We've dropped 3 of 5 games to start the month.

[NYY #23]

Just two days after being recalled from AAA Keung Choe made his season debut and went 6 strong innings, allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 7 and walking just 1. Not a bad debut for Choe, who turned it over to Andrew David for a three inning save.

With Carolina we can't have the good without the bad though, and Mike Blevins is now going to miss the bulk of the season after being hit by a pitch.

[NYY #23]

August was a rough month for Carolina as we went 9-20 as injuries mounted and the long season began to catch up to us. Our starting pitching struggled as our younger arms have now thrown more innings than they have in the past.

Offensively it wasn't a good month either, with only Juan Mendoza (.357) hitting this month, although Nicholas Hammond (6) and Pete Woolford (7) displayed some power to go along with their low average.

We'll make some call-ups for September, and hopefully end 2031 strong.

[NYY #23]

I always seem to go month to month when I do this worst to first dynasty, usually to end my misery, but at a certain point with a team I'll move a little bit slower and go day by day, simming one day at a time. This year, despite our losing record, I've reached that point with Carolina. I always feel more invested in the team that way, even if I usually do the updates month to month. Maybe it's turning the corner, admittedly pretty slowly, but there are at least things that keep me interested in Carolina.

Today Carolina celebrated our second straight extra inning win, but today was all about Pete Woolford, who was 3-6 at the plate, connecting on three home runs and driving in all of our runs. These are the rare things that are nice to see, and despite our .422 winning percentage, or 28th place in the power rankings, these are the things that give me hope. Woolford will likely never be a high average guy, but if he can play good defense, hit 20+ home runs a game, and have a 2.7 WAR season that's a good start.

[NYY #23]

Today was the day that the Carolina Knights were officially eliminated from the playoffs, bringing our streak of missing the playoffs to seven seasons. That seems like a long time, so I went ahead and took a look at how other teams have fared, with their last playoff appearance, and last World Championship in parenthesis. (I only went back to 2012 because the current league file has all history before 2012 erased, and I didn't want to pull up the external hard drive.)

One additional note, teams with the asterisk are the teams that I haven't won a World Series with.

Arizona Diamondbacks - 2023 (2020 World Champions)
Atlanta Braves - 2029 (2016 World Champions)
Baltimore Orioles - 2030 (2029 World Champions)
Boston Red Sox - 2030 (2024 World Champions)
Carolina Knights - 2024 (None)
Chicago White Sox - 2030 (2030 World Champions)
Chicago Cubs - 2030 (2014 World Champions)
Cincinnati Reds - 2028 (2026 World Champions)
Cleveland Indians - 2027 (2013 World Champions)
Colorado Rockies - 2030 (None since 2012)
Detroit Tigers - 2015 (None since 2012)
**Houston Astros - 2030 (None since 2012)
Kansas City Royals - 2024 (None since 2012)
**Los Angeles Dodgers - 2030 (2018 World Champions)
**Los Angeles Angels - 2028 (None since 2012)
Miami Marlins - 2030 (None since 2012)
Milwaukee Brewers - 2022 (2022 World Champions)
Minnesota Twins - 2026 (2018 World Champions)
Montreal Expos - None (None)
New York Mets - None since 2012 (None since 2012)
New York Yankees - 2030 (2028 World Champions)
Oakland A's - 2021 (None since 2012)
Philadelphia Phillies - 2030 (2019 World Champions)
Pittsburgh Pirates - 2030 (None since 2012)
San Diego Padres - 2026 (2012 World Champions)
**San Francisco Giants - 2025 (None since 2012)
Seattle Mariners - 2030 (2023 World Champions)
St Louis Cardinals - 2029 (None since 2012)
**Tampa Bay Rays - 2019 (None since 2012)
**Texas Rangers - 2028 (2027 World Champions)
Toronto Blue Jays - 2015 (None since 2012)
Washington Nationals - 2024 (None since 2012)

[NYY #23]

The Knights finished the month 10-16 in September and fell to 29 games back. With a .414 winning percentage and five games remaining we need to win just one more game to improve on last year's record. We do play Baltimore and Tampa Bay though, who we have struggled against, so you never know -



September was a poor month for Kevin Mackelvie, who was 0-5 with a 8.14 ERA. Overall he's done ok this year going 7-15 with a 4.47 ERA in 155 innings. We'd be better off with him in the bullpen though, which may be his role next year.

We did activate Millard Allen from the disabled list and he should get to make one final start this year.

[NYY #23]

Another year in Carolina, another budget cut, this time another $7 million. I was counting on having just under $20 million to work with, but we'll enter the offseason with just under $10 million to spend. That wasn't the only thing that was cut, as my owner renewed my contract, reluctantly, and gave me a pay cut as well from $1.2 million to $700,000. He's not too happy with my progress right now, and once again I think that he would have fired me if I didn't have the box checked. I'm not too happy with him either though, after cutting my budget by $40 million in four years.

We will be saying goodbye to catcher Mike Blevins, who's $7.6 million option failed to vest. Hopefully we'll be able to put that money to better use.

Carolina Breakers - Expansion
2024 - Carolina Breakers - 94-68 (.580) - GB (Defeated Seattle Mariners 3-1 in Division Series, Lost to Boston Red Sox 4-2 in LCS, Season Score - 99)
2025 - Carolina Breakers - 81-81 (.500) 4 1/2 GB (Season Score - 18)
2026 - Carolina Breakers - 86-76 (.531) 10 GB (Season Score - 38)
2027 - Carolina Breakers - 79-83 (.488) 18 GB (Season Score - 1)
2028 - Carolina Breakers - 73-89 (.451) 13 GB (Season Score - 3)
2029 - Carolina Breakers - 57-105 (.352) 46 GB (Season Score - 1)
2030 - Carolina Knights - 65-97 (.401) 32 GB (Season Score - 1)
2031 - Carolina Knights - 68-94 (.420) 28 GB (Season Score - 12)

[NYY #23]

This has been a relatively quiet offseason for the Carolina Knights, without enough money to go after the big free agents, and not really too much money to go after some of the more useful role players. None of my top targets were interested in Carolina, so we shifted strategy and tried to target popular players. If they can help put fans in the seats it can't hurt.

Our acquisitions include:

SP Steven Johnston (28) - last year Johnston was 10-17 with a 4.04 ERA in 185 innings.
RF Cesar Rodriguez (33) - hit .251 last year with 15 home runs and 46 RBI
RP Ivan Cortez (29) - last year was 14-6 with a 2.96 ERA in AAA and is looking to get back to the majors
RP Roberto Camacho (35) - pitched just 3 innings for the Mets last year and didn't give up a run
RP Carl MacGruder (33) - was 2-7 with a 6.70 ERA in 88 2/3 innings last year
SP Robbie Simmons (37) - 4-5 with a 2.98 ERA last year

We didn't break the bank for any one player, and spread around the money while handing out a couple minor league contracts. I don't know how it'll work out on the field, but our attendance is projected to be up 37.6%.

Carolina also fired our manager Ron Crawford this offseason. We promoted 56 year old Marvin Hilliard from the minors, and hopefully he'll be a better fit for the team.

Two players were elected to the Hall of Fame this offseason, 1B Joey Votto and SP Vance Worley. I had no ties to either player, but I'll be rooting for SP Rich Harden to get in.

1B Joey Votto 77.7 (3rd year) Inducted HOF
SP Vance Worley 75.4 (3rd year) Inducted HOF
3B Will Middlebrooks 58.8 (1st year)
SP Rich Harden 55.8 (3rd year)
SP Madison Bumgarner 51.5 (3rd year)
CL Al Alburquerque 50.8 (2nd year)
C Buster Posey 50.4 (2nd year)
3B Evan Longoria 43.5 (3rd year)
CL Craig Kimbrel 41.9 (1st year)
CL Sean Doolittle 16.9 (1st year)
CL Aroldis Chapman 12.3 (1st year)
C Wilin Rosario 9.6 (3rd year)
SP Dontrelle Willis 7.7 (3rd year)
CL Cory Gearrin 5.0 (3rd year)
CF Carlos Gonzalez 3.8 (3rd year) Dropped
CL Kenley Jansen 3.5 (3rd year) Dropped
SP Wade Miley 2.3 (2nd year) Dropped
C Cobus Waasdorp 1.9 (2nd year) Dropped
SP Lance Lynn 0.8 (1st year) Dropped
SP Steven Helton 0.0 (1st year) Dropped
RP Chris Sale 0.0 (1st year) Dropped

[Trebro]

Vance Worley really ended up with a better career than Bumgarner? Wow. Love this game sometimes. (Okay, a LOT of the time.)

Sorry to hear of your Carolina troubles. I hope it turns around soon, to at least a over .500 team.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by Trebro

Vance Worley really ended up with a better career than Bumgarner? Wow. Love this game sometimes. (Okay, a LOT of the time.)

Sorry to hear of your Carolina troubles. I hope it turns around soon, to at least a over .500 team.

Thanks, I feel like we've got to be turning the corner in Carolina soon.

Although I don't want to take away from Worley, Bumgarner's biggest problem was injuries. He was one of the better pitchers in the AL for Baltimore, and then Houston. His first major injury came in 2019, his second in 2021, and then he finally tore his labrum in 2022 after going 12-13 with a 3.56 ERA, which finally ended his career at the age of 32. His problems really started when he signed a six year $138 million contract with the Dodgers as a free agent. He went from durable to an injury problem pretty quickly.

Worley had a nice run for the Padres, and I'm sure being in Petco certainly helped him out. He won his first Cy Young in 2016 when he went 23-4 with a 2.41 ERA, although it was the third time he won 20 games in his career, and he was runner up in two of those seasons. He won his second Cy Young the next year where he went 17-5 with a 2.26 ERA.

They actually were pretty close stat wise, but really Bumgarner had just 10 full seasons.

Worley: 184-118, 3.09 ERA, 2591 1/3 IP, 2478 K, 1.17 WHIP, 140 ERA+, 59.4 WAR
Bumgarner: 158-89, 2.94 ERA, 2169 IP, 2000 K, 1.10 WHIP, 140 ERA+, 59.6 WAR

[NYY #23]

After two and a half seasons in our rotation it was time for Kevin Mackelvie to move on. He had a bad spring and I needed the spot. Last year he was 7-16 with a 4.44 ERA, so there was interest around the league. The Phillies offered the most appealing player, 1B/OF Paul Swisher, Jr.

Swisher will be playing for his fourth team in four years, although he's been fairly respectable, averaging .254 batting average, 23 home runs, 77 RBI, and 2 WAR. He's also displayed leadership abilities, and is well respected by his teammates.

That deal left us needing to cut our Spring Training roster by one player. What began as trying to move Thad Bass in a deal turned into something a lot more complex. It was a big deal with the Cardinals and we sent:

RF Lorenzo Ojeda (.282, 2 HR, 34 RBI)
CF Thad Bass (.238, 9 HR, 31 RBI)
CF Damon Carpenter (prospect - A)
SS Augusto De La Torre (prospect - A)
SP Millard Allen (1-2, 3.78 ERA)

I'm certainly not down on Allen, although he did have a bad spring. Without him being included we couldn't get the deal done, and I was able to include two other good prospects to avoid having to deal another pitching prospect, Alan Davis. The cost in players was very high, but we are also saving $24 million.

Saving money wasn't the reason behind the deal though, it was acquiring 22 year old shortstop Ricardo Martinez, the National League Rookie of the Year last year. He hit .327 with 12 home runs, 12 triples, 75 RBI, and 82 runs scored. His WAR last year was 6.3.

Another factor in the deal was the play of last year's number one draft pick, CF Steve Walker, who hit .394 with 2 home runs, and 6 RBI in Spring Training. As a college outfielder we moved him quickly through the system, and he may struggle a little bit, but I believe he's ready. We also have plenty of money to add a player if necessary. I didn't expect to make such a big move before Opening Day, but I believe we'll be a better team this year because of it.

[NYY #23]

The Carolina Knights opened up the season at home against the Texas Rangers and had a good start to the season. Opening Day the Knights rolled to an 8-1 victory. New addition Cesar Rodriguez was the offensive hero doubling, homering, and driving in 4 runs.

We followed that up with a 13-4 drubbing in which we pounded out 20 hits. Paul Swisher Jr, Ken Blake Ricardo Martinez, and Roberto Contreras would each pick up three hits. Rookie centerfielder Steve Walker would add a three run home run and drive in 4 with Ferri Boere picking up the win.

While Carolina ended up losing the third game of the series we did get a solid start from Steven Johnson in his debut as he went 7 innings and allowed just 1 run on 6 hits. The bad news was we lost closer Kurt Wilson for the season with an elbow injury.

It was a good start to the season, minus the injury, but it left me optimistic about our season.

[NYY #23]

Week one is in the books in Carolina, and so far there is a lot to like as we got off to a 4-2 start. We've gotten good hitting, good pitching, good defense, and I'd feel really good, except we've had two major injuries so far.

After losing closer Kurt Wilson in our first series we lost new shortstop Ricardo Martinez in our second series when he was hit in the face with a pitch. Injuries are a part of the game, but I hope our next injury is to a less critical member of the team.

I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but this year at least feels different for the Knights.

[NYY #23]

The Carolina Knights ended up finishing the month with a 10-14 record, back where we've grown accustomed to being, last place. We are only four games out of first place, so I'm trying not to panic just yet.

We did lose another player to injury though, RF Cesar Rodriguez. We did try and add some depth this month, signing catcher Mario Nesta to a minor league contract, and agreeing to terms with reliever Mark Carver on a two year contract. He had a rough debut giving up 3 runs without retiring a batter, but hasn't given up a run since. Last year Carver was 5-3 with a save and 2.79 ERA in 109 2/3 innings. I'm hoping he'll help fill the void left by Kurt Wilson, but we did lose reliever Jason Ivey to a waiver claim by the Cubs. I didn't think anyone would claim him after he went 0-2 with an 8.53 ERA.

I've been really pleased with the play of Paul Swisher, Jr. He had a great month hitting .326 with 7 home runs, 15 RBI, and 14 runs scored. His 1.4 WAR in April is approaching his career high of 2.4 WAR that he had last year.

[NYY #23]

A 16-3 win put the explanation point on a streak that saw the Knights winning six of seven games, pulling us over .500 and one game behind Tampa Bay.



I'm hoping that we'll be able to keep things up and at least play .500 ball this year. One player that I'm keeping a close eye on is Steven Johnston. He's just 1-2 with a 5.18 ERA. If things continue to go well I may be calling up Alan Davis and giving him a shot in the rotation.

[NYY #23]

The highs and lows of baseball, all within a 24 hour period. Yesterday I was optimistic about our chances this year, today I'm not after Ferri Boere went out after7 innings with a back injury and he'll miss the next five months. His season is over and just 41 2/3 innings and a 2-1 record and 3.67 ERA.

For now he'll be replaced in the rotation by 25 year old Norberto Gomez, who was off to a hot start in AAA going 3-1 with a 2.78 ERA. You may remember him from last year when he went 0-2 with a 11.91 ERA. He's not a prospect, and likely won't amount to anything except rotation depth, but maybe we can get a few decent starts out of him.

[NYY #23]

After going 16-12 in May the Carolina Knights are now at 26-26 on the season , four games behind Tampa Bay. We've been struck by a series of injuries though and currently have Paul Swisher, Jr., Kurt Wilson, Ferri Boere, Cesar Rodriguez, and Jose Turcios on the disabled list.

Turcios is a new name, and has forced his name onto my radar. He's not necessarily a prospect, or a top prospect at a minimum. He's just a guy that has had success at every level he's played at in the minor leagues, hitting between .280-.300, with between 10-20 home runs, playing solid defense , and has demonstrated good leadership qualities. He was hitting .315 in AAA with 5 home runs and 26 RBI, so we gave him an opportunity to play in the majors. He was hitting .455 when he went down with injury. Hopefully he can bounce back and stick around as a backup infielder.

[Trebro]

Man, the injury bug has really hurt you in Carolina. Hard to progress when you have no money for depth.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by Trebro

Man, the injury bug has really hurt you in Carolina. Hard to progress when you have no money for depth.

It sure has. I don't know if it helps or not, but it makes me want to fire my trainer. I don't know if it's OOTP 16, or it's just bad luck, but I don't ever remember hating my cheapskate owner this much. That's the worst part about Carolina, not having money to do anything.

[ShagVT]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

It sure has. I don't know if it helps or not, but it makes me want to fire my trainer.

You could fire him just on the principle of the thing ... baseball staff has certainly been fired historically for lesser reasons.