Worst to First - The Sequel - Page 4

NYY #23 · 05-24-2012, 10:53 PM

A pitching duel between Tom Glavine and The Only Nolan resulted in a1-1 tie through 9 innings.

We started off the tenth with a Nolan single, followed by two flyouts. A Nate Colbert groundball to short should have ended the game, but an error by Bill McKenchie extended the inning. A Nick Swisher walk, followed by a passed ball gave us the lead. Jack Dittmer singled on the next pitch to plate two more runs and give us a 4-1 lead.

The Pirates went down in order in the bottom of the tenth as we held on for the win and now trail 3-2 in the series.

Nolan went 10 innings to pick up the win, allowing only 5 hits.

NYY #23 · 05-25-2012, 08:35 PM

Coming back from a 3-0 deficit is pretty tough, but the last two games gave me some hope. Jim Clancy was on the mound tonight, and after giving up 1 run in the second and 4 in the fourth hope was lost. A 12-4 blowout to end our season.

Losing is never fun, but this hurt much less than last year. One final thought - Jim Clancy's numbers in the playoffs - 0-2, 10.22 ERA, 12 1/3 IP, 18 H, 11 BB. Carlos Beltran 1-26 in the postseason.

mikezone13 · 05-26-2012, 06:20 AM

Hard luck, as they say 'there's always next year'!

NYY #23 · 05-26-2012, 05:37 PM

My coaches took losing the World Series harder than me, as my hitting coach, pitching coach, and scouting director all retired. Also retiring was shortstop George Stickland.

For our replacements, Candy Nelson agreed to become our scouting director. Stephen Glendenning is our new hitting coach after 5 years as hitting coach for the White Sox, and Frank Selee is our new pitching coach, after 4 years managing the Giants.

The draft results went as followed, strictly drafting the best available player:
1B Sean Casey
SS Ryan Theriot
CF Herb Adams
3B Andy High
C Javier Valentin

I do worry about bringing aboard a new scouting director just one day before the draft, but I guess there wasn't much choice.

On the plus side, I won my second straight Manager of the Year award.

History:
St Louis Browns - 54-86 (.386) 28 GB
1902 - St. Louis Browns 69-71 (.493) 20 GB (Season Score - 35)
1903 - St. Louis Browns 69-71 (.493) 11 GB (Season Score - 36)
1904 - St. Louis Browns 89-65 (.578) - GB, Lost World Series 4-3 to Pittsburgh Pirates (Season Score - 94)
1905 - St. Louis Browns 88-66 (.571) - GB, Lost World Series 4-2 to Pittsburgh Pirates (Season Score - 78)

NYY #23 · 05-27-2012, 12:53 PM

I've been working on a trade with the Giant for about three years now, but we never could make the right match before now. We worked out a deal for RF Tom Brunansky (.221, 35 RBI, 35 R) , and SP Harvey Haddix (23-14, 2.30 ERA) in exchange for 2B Jack Dittmer (.268, 71 RBI, 57 R) and SP Jim Clancy (12-17, 3.12 ERA). We also brought aboard 2B Ross Barnes in a reserve roster deal for second base insurance.

We also swung a deal with the Superbas, sending outfielder Deron Johnson in exchange for shortstop Bucky Dent. In another exchange of veterans, we sent RF Raul Ibanez to the Boston Beaneaters in exchange for 35 year old first baseman Luke Easter. And finally we sent first baseman Greg Brock to the New York Giants for right fielder Del Young. We also signed free agent second baseman Mel Roach to a contract. Roach was an undrafted 19 year old who I don't expect much out of.

A lot of deals, and I hope that in the end we are a better team.

I don't know how accurate the preseason predictions are, but if they are accurate we are in trouble, with a 74-80 sixth place prediction. We were 15-9 in spring training though, and my owner expects a return to the World Series, as do I.

German Barranca, JC Romero, Carlos Beltran, and Rick Peters will all start the season on the disabled list.

NYY #23 · 05-27-2012, 11:18 PM

With 2/3 of my starting outfield on the DL, along with my starting second baseman April wasn't a great month. After losing 3 of our first 4 games we went on a 5 game winning streak, then dropped six straight. We ended with a 5-8 record for the month.

The biggest surprise so far this season has been second round pick Ryan Theriot whose strong spring training won him a spot on the roster, and is hitting .328 and is now our starting shortstop.

NYY #23 · 05-28-2012, 12:56 PM

A 17-11 month has the Browns within striking distance, as we now sit just 3 1/2 games back. Things are remarkably tight up top though, and it would be nice to go on a nice long winning streak.

Our offense is really struggling to score some runs, but I believe that our offense is better than they have been playing.

NYY #23 · 05-28-2012, 01:44 PM

After a 16-10 month I decided to stand pat and make no moves at the deadline. At this point I'm not even sure what I would target. For better or worse this is our team for the rest of the year.

NYY #23 · 05-28-2012, 02:09 PM

At one point during the month the Browns pulled to within 4 games of first place, but losing 6 of our last 7 games left us 8 1/2 games back.

I have to say that I'm not enjoying my time in St. Louis, as a sixth year with the Browns appears likely.

NYY #23 · 05-29-2012, 07:15 PM

The Browns went 17-9 in September and are playing well heading into the final six games of the season. We now stand 4 1/2 games back behind the White Sox, with seven games left, four against the White Sox, two against the Tigers, and one against Cleveland.

Another interesting end to the season for the Browns.

NYY #23 · 05-29-2012, 11:26 PM

Obviously reading the season wrap-up means that we didn't finish the season how we wanted. After winning the first two games against the White Sox, and it looked like we could pull off a miracle.

Unfortunately, the White Sox swept both ends of a doubleheader which eliminated us from the postseason. I don't want to place too much blame on injuries, but it was a rough year and it was obvious a couple of my moves didn't really pay off this year.

The Pirates ended up winning their third straight World Series.

We ended up losing four players to retirement:
SS Rich Morales
LF MikeDonlin
SS Gil Garrido
C Mike Lieberthal

In the draft we ended up selecting 2B Nellie Fox with our top pick. LF Hector Cruz was our second pick, catcher John Russell our third pick, shortstop Dan Coogan our fourth pick, and catcher Bill Freehan our final pick.

St Louis Browns - 54-86 (.386) 28 GB
1902 - St. Louis Browns 69-71 (.493) 20 GB (Season Score - 35)
1903 - St. Louis Browns 69-71 (.493) 11 GB (Season Score - 36)
1904 - St. Louis Browns 89-65 (.578) - GB, Lost World Series 4-3 to Pittsburgh Pirates (Season Score - 94)
1905 - St. Louis Browns 88-66 (.571) - GB, Lost World Series 4-2 to Pittsburgh Pirates (Season Score - 78)
1906 - St. Louis Browns 85-69 (.552) 3 GB (Season Score - 41)

CarolinaSoxfan · 05-30-2012, 01:03 PM

This is great stuff. Can you post how the other players are doing around the league? Curious to see who the best players have been in the league etc.

NYY #23 · 05-30-2012, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CarolinaSoxfan

This is great stuff. Can you post how the other players are doing around the league? Curious to see who the best players have been in the league etc.

Thanks. Here is a look at the AL Award winners:
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NL Award winners:
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And a couple of other players that seemed to stand out in the early years - Rogers Hornsby:
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Dick Allen:
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Clayton Kershaw:
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Home Run Baker has just entered the league in 1904, and has made a big impact so far with three straight Outstanding Hitter Awards.

I've noticed a couple of oddities too. Dan Micelli, the relief pitcher from the 90's and 00's who only made 9 starts in his career is a starter for the Highlanders, going 13-9, 7-3, and 21-16 in three years.

There have been five no hitters so far:
Buttons Briggs (1904)
Scott Baker (1904)
Roger Wolff (1905)
Mike Mussina (1905)
Jason Vargas (1906)

Rogers Hornsby has the longest hitting streak at 31 games. If there is anything specific you want to see let me know.

NYY #23 · 05-30-2012, 08:24 PM

I'm trying not to panic after a slow start. It seems like the bad Browns teams started fast, and the good Browns team start slow. I don't think we are quite as bad as things appear, but with the Browns I am starting to get to the point where I just don't know what to think.

We've been terrible in one run games, and Carlos Beltran and Joe Mauer both seem like slow starters. This deadball era also throws me off with a league average of .250. I'm going to see what May brings before making additional changes or comments.

NYY #23 · 05-30-2012, 09:45 PM

Our pitching and defense are doing pretty well, but our offense is really starting to struggle, causing us to finish 14-14 in May. I don't have a whole lot of options.

I am calling up young 3B Andy High and 2B Nellie Fox. My scout thinks they are ready for the majors, and quite frankly my starting second baseman is hitting .180 and my third baseman is hitting .229. It's not like they can do much worse, and their potential is fairly decent.

NYY #23 · 05-31-2012, 07:08 PM

At least that's how I feel right now. If you look at our pythagorean record we would be in a first place tie. Yet we sit in sixth place, a .500 team who finished the month by losing four straight one run games.

Amongst the mysteries of my team:

-Why Joe Mauer has gone from a 6.1 WAR two seasons ago, to 3.2 WAR last season, and 0.3 WAR this season?
-Carlos Beltran has dropped from 3.0 WAR to 2.9 WAR to -0.5 WAR

Ratings wise I feel like I've built a decent team. You couldn't tell by the product on the field though.

One minor move this month, sending Curt Blefary to the Philadelphia Athletics for 33 year old first-baseman Babe Borton. It didn't look like a bad proposal with Blefary down in the minors. I'm hoping Borton can provide a decent lefty platoon option at first base, and at least Borton is a popular player.

scott1964 · 05-31-2012, 07:21 PM

Borton should do good for you. In my league he is a decent hitter.

NYY #23 · 06-01-2012, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scott1964

Borton should do good for you. In my league he is a decent hitter.

I hope so, although I have pretty low expectations at this point.

NYY #23 · 06-01-2012, 09:02 PM

Early in the month we completed a deal with the Reds that shipped off right fielder Nick Swisher and shortstop Bucky Dent to the Cincinnati Reds for third baseman Terry Pendleton. Swisher never really worked out for us, and Pendleton never worked out for the Reds. Another roll the dice type moves…

For the month of July we finished 15-12, thanks to a 7 game winning streak to end the month.

I'm encouraged by the early returns on Pendleton -
Pre-trade: (.190/.242/.241)
Post-trade: (.277/.299/.301)

Before the winning streak I was ready to blow up my team, but I'm hoping that we can turn things around.

(I screwed up and advanced to the next week before taking a screen shot, so that will have to wait until next month...)

NYY #23 · 06-01-2012, 10:18 PM

We've managed to crawl back to 5 games over .500, but this has been a painful season. We finished the month with a 3 game losing streak, and we now sit 14 games behind the Highlanders. I guess if there is any solace I can look at the Pirates who went from 3 time World Series winner to 60-62.

As my pitching gets older I'm wondering if I didn't miss my opportunity with the Browns. Maybe this was all a badly executed plan, or lack of a plan. Maybe St. Louis is just cursed, or maybe I'm a little too rusty when it comes to OOTP. Either way, I feel like I've failed in St. Louis and that I'm going to have to change the title of this thread to worst to first to worst again…

The offseason can't arrive soon enough.

05-24-2012, 10:53 PM	#61
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	10/16/1905 - World Series Game 5 A pitching duel between Tom Glavine and The Only Nolan resulted in a1-1 tie through 9 innings. We started off the tenth with a Nolan single, followed by two flyouts. A Nate Colbert groundball to short should have ended the game, but an error by Bill McKenchie extended the inning. A Nick Swisher walk, followed by a passed ball gave us the lead. Jack Dittmer singled on the next pitch to plate two more runs and give us a 4-1 lead. The Pirates went down in order in the bottom of the tenth as we held on for the win and now trail 3-2 in the series. Nolan went 10 innings to pick up the win, allowing only 5 hits.

05-25-2012, 08:35 PM	#62
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	10/17/1905 - World Series Game 6 Coming back from a 3-0 deficit is pretty tough, but the last two games gave me some hope. Jim Clancy was on the mound tonight, and after giving up 1 run in the second and 4 in the fourth hope was lost. A 12-4 blowout to end our season. Losing is never fun, but this hurt much less than last year. One final thought - Jim Clancy's numbers in the playoffs - 0-2, 10.22 ERA, 12 1/3 IP, 18 H, 11 BB. Carlos Beltran 1-26 in the postseason.

05-26-2012, 05:37 PM	#64
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	11/1/1905 - Season Wrap-up My coaches took losing the World Series harder than me, as my hitting coach, pitching coach, and scouting director all retired. Also retiring was shortstop George Stickland. For our replacements, Candy Nelson agreed to become our scouting director. Stephen Glendenning is our new hitting coach after 5 years as hitting coach for the White Sox, and Frank Selee is our new pitching coach, after 4 years managing the Giants. The draft results went as followed, strictly drafting the best available player: 1B Sean Casey SS Ryan Theriot CF Herb Adams 3B Andy High C Javier Valentin I do worry about bringing aboard a new scouting director just one day before the draft, but I guess there wasn't much choice. On the plus side, I won my second straight Manager of the Year award. History: St Louis Browns - 54-86 (.386) 28 GB 1902 - St. Louis Browns 69-71 (.493) 20 GB (Season Score - 35) 1903 - St. Louis Browns 69-71 (.493) 11 GB (Season Score - 36) 1904 - St. Louis Browns 89-65 (.578) - GB, Lost World Series 4-3 to Pittsburgh Pirates (Season Score - 94) 1905 - St. Louis Browns 88-66 (.571) - GB, Lost World Series 4-2 to Pittsburgh Pirates (Season Score - 78) Attached Images

05-27-2012, 12:53 PM	#65
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	4/1/1906 - Year 6 begins I've been working on a trade with the Giant for about three years now, but we never could make the right match before now. We worked out a deal for RF Tom Brunansky (.221, 35 RBI, 35 R) , and SP Harvey Haddix (23-14, 2.30 ERA) in exchange for 2B Jack Dittmer (.268, 71 RBI, 57 R) and SP Jim Clancy (12-17, 3.12 ERA). We also brought aboard 2B Ross Barnes in a reserve roster deal for second base insurance. We also swung a deal with the Superbas, sending outfielder Deron Johnson in exchange for shortstop Bucky Dent. In another exchange of veterans, we sent RF Raul Ibanez to the Boston Beaneaters in exchange for 35 year old first baseman Luke Easter. And finally we sent first baseman Greg Brock to the New York Giants for right fielder Del Young. We also signed free agent second baseman Mel Roach to a contract. Roach was an undrafted 19 year old who I don't expect much out of. A lot of deals, and I hope that in the end we are a better team. I don't know how accurate the preseason predictions are, but if they are accurate we are in trouble, with a 74-80 sixth place prediction. We were 15-9 in spring training though, and my owner expects a return to the World Series, as do I. German Barranca, JC Romero, Carlos Beltran, and Rick Peters will all start the season on the disabled list.

05-27-2012, 11:18 PM	#66
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	5/1/1906 - The ups and downs of April With 2/3 of my starting outfield on the DL, along with my starting second baseman April wasn't a great month. After losing 3 of our first 4 games we went on a 5 game winning streak, then dropped six straight. We ended with a 5-8 record for the month. The biggest surprise so far this season has been second round pick Ryan Theriot whose strong spring training won him a spot on the roster, and is hitting .328 and is now our starting shortstop. Attached Images

05-26-2012, 06:20 AM	#63
mikezone13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 533	Hard luck, as they say 'there's always next year'!

05-28-2012, 12:56 PM	#67
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	6/1/1906 - Turning things around A 17-11 month has the Browns within striking distance, as we now sit just 3 1/2 games back. Things are remarkably tight up top though, and it would be nice to go on a nice long winning streak. Our offense is really struggling to score some runs, but I believe that our offense is better than they have been playing. Attached Images

05-28-2012, 01:44 PM	#68
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	8/1/1906 - A quiet deadline After a 16-10 month I decided to stand pat and make no moves at the deadline. At this point I'm not even sure what I would target. For better or worse this is our team for the rest of the year. Attached Images

05-28-2012, 02:09 PM	#69
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	9/1/1906 - A rough end to the month At one point during the month the Browns pulled to within 4 games of first place, but losing 6 of our last 7 games left us 8 1/2 games back. I have to say that I'm not enjoying my time in St. Louis, as a sixth year with the Browns appears likely. Attached Images

05-29-2012, 07:15 PM	#70
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	10/1/1906 - Finishing strong The Browns went 17-9 in September and are playing well heading into the final six games of the season. We now stand 4 1/2 games back behind the White Sox, with seven games left, four against the White Sox, two against the Tigers, and one against Cleveland. Another interesting end to the season for the Browns. Attached Images

05-29-2012, 11:26 PM	#71
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	11/1/1906 - Season wrap-up Obviously reading the season wrap-up means that we didn't finish the season how we wanted. After winning the first two games against the White Sox, and it looked like we could pull off a miracle. Unfortunately, the White Sox swept both ends of a doubleheader which eliminated us from the postseason. I don't want to place too much blame on injuries, but it was a rough year and it was obvious a couple of my moves didn't really pay off this year. The Pirates ended up winning their third straight World Series. We ended up losing four players to retirement: SS Rich Morales LF MikeDonlin SS Gil Garrido C Mike Lieberthal In the draft we ended up selecting 2B Nellie Fox with our top pick. LF Hector Cruz was our second pick, catcher John Russell our third pick, shortstop Dan Coogan our fourth pick, and catcher Bill Freehan our final pick. St Louis Browns - 54-86 (.386) 28 GB 1902 - St. Louis Browns 69-71 (.493) 20 GB (Season Score - 35) 1903 - St. Louis Browns 69-71 (.493) 11 GB (Season Score - 36) 1904 - St. Louis Browns 89-65 (.578) - GB, Lost World Series 4-3 to Pittsburgh Pirates (Season Score - 94) 1905 - St. Louis Browns 88-66 (.571) - GB, Lost World Series 4-2 to Pittsburgh Pirates (Season Score - 78) 1906 - St. Louis Browns 85-69 (.552) 3 GB (Season Score - 41)

05-30-2012, 01:03 PM	#72
CarolinaSoxfan Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 245	This is great stuff. Can you post how the other players are doing around the league? Curious to see who the best players have been in the league etc. __________________ Read About My Historical Replays using Out of the Park Baseball Get Out of the Park Baseball Historical Mods What if Alex Rodriguez Had Been Traded to the Boston Red Sox? An OOTP Alternate History Simulation

05-30-2012, 08:24 PM	#74
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	5/1/1907 - Another slow start I'm trying not to panic after a slow start. It seems like the bad Browns teams started fast, and the good Browns team start slow. I don't think we are quite as bad as things appear, but with the Browns I am starting to get to the point where I just don't know what to think. We've been terrible in one run games, and Carlos Beltran and Joe Mauer both seem like slow starters. This deadball era also throws me off with a league average of .250. I'm going to see what May brings before making additional changes or comments. Attached Images

05-30-2012, 09:45 PM	#75
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	6/1/1907 - Breaking even in May Our pitching and defense are doing pretty well, but our offense is really starting to struggle, causing us to finish 14-14 in May. I don't have a whole lot of options. I am calling up young 3B Andy High and 2B Nellie Fox. My scout thinks they are ready for the majors, and quite frankly my starting second baseman is hitting .180 and my third baseman is hitting .229. It's not like they can do much worse, and their potential is fairly decent. Attached Images

05-31-2012, 07:08 PM	#76
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	7/1/1907 - If it wasn't for bad luck... At least that's how I feel right now. If you look at our pythagorean record we would be in a first place tie. Yet we sit in sixth place, a .500 team who finished the month by losing four straight one run games. Amongst the mysteries of my team: -Why Joe Mauer has gone from a 6.1 WAR two seasons ago, to 3.2 WAR last season, and 0.3 WAR this season? -Carlos Beltran has dropped from 3.0 WAR to 2.9 WAR to -0.5 WAR Ratings wise I feel like I've built a decent team. You couldn't tell by the product on the field though. One minor move this month, sending Curt Blefary to the Philadelphia Athletics for 33 year old first-baseman Babe Borton. It didn't look like a bad proposal with Blefary down in the minors. I'm hoping Borton can provide a decent lefty platoon option at first base, and at least Borton is a popular player. Attached Images

05-31-2012, 07:21 PM	#77
scott1964 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Denver Posts: 5,561 Blog Entries: 19	Borton should do good for you. In my league he is a decent hitter. __________________ This just feels more like waiting in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles. PETA.....People Eating Tasty Animals.

06-01-2012, 09:02 PM	#79
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	8/1/1907 - Finishing the month strong Early in the month we completed a deal with the Reds that shipped off right fielder Nick Swisher and shortstop Bucky Dent to the Cincinnati Reds for third baseman Terry Pendleton. Swisher never really worked out for us, and Pendleton never worked out for the Reds. Another roll the dice type moves… For the month of July we finished 15-12, thanks to a 7 game winning streak to end the month. I'm encouraged by the early returns on Pendleton - Pre-trade: (.190/.242/.241) Post-trade: (.277/.299/.301) Before the winning streak I was ready to blow up my team, but I'm hoping that we can turn things around. (I screwed up and advanced to the next week before taking a screen shot, so that will have to wait until next month...)

06-01-2012, 10:18 PM	#80
NYY #23 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 13,112 Blog Entries: 17	9/1/1907 - Ready for the season to end We've managed to crawl back to 5 games over .500, but this has been a painful season. We finished the month with a 3 game losing streak, and we now sit 14 games behind the Highlanders. I guess if there is any solace I can look at the Pirates who went from 3 time World Series winner to 60-62. As my pitching gets older I'm wondering if I didn't miss my opportunity with the Browns. Maybe this was all a badly executed plan, or lack of a plan. Maybe St. Louis is just cursed, or maybe I'm a little too rusty when it comes to OOTP. Either way, I feel like I've failed in St. Louis and that I'm going to have to change the title of this thread to worst to first to worst again… The offseason can't arrive soon enough. Attached Images