Magnificent Double Play Combo

[Gneilos]

Not really sure if I should post this here (or anywhere really.) I just thought this was kinda amusing. Here's my current double combo.





Yes, they are both great at defense, but that was not what amused me so much, in fact it has nothing to do with their ratings at all. Can anyone find what is funny about this pair?

Anyway, my current plan is to build around these two, as long as team financials allow it (my team is in Portland Oregon, so that's a pretty small market.) My only concerns so far with this all are because of Burbidge, his approach at the plate is very frustrating to watch, he swings at everything, occasionally driving one deep, but his OPB did not even get over .300 until after the all star break. In addition, he may have reoccurring back issues. In late July he went day-to-day for a week with back soreness, then he missed most of September (and our embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Tiger's, in our first ever playoff appearance.) with chronic back soreness.

[Left-handed Badger]

I have to admit, I dream about such a middle IF combo. Burbidge could .200, and I would still trot these guys out. (yeah I am a freak about defense especially IF).

[jaa36]

I would guess they'll be magnificent for years to come.

[Gneilos]

In 2018 the Portland Rapids won the world series, with a stunning record of 134-28. This record shows that there are some issues with my game file, namely that teams are failing to promote their minor league prospects to the majors, leading to severe talent imbalances, (Portland 134 wins, Baltimore 123 wins, Seattle 35 wins, Toronto 13 wins?) So as you can see this problem has already caused serious issues, tainting our world series win, and possibly making it impossible to continue if things continue in this fashion. The 134 win season made led me to resolve to avoid taking any players in the rule 5 draft from here on out ( I had one season previously resolved to take no starting pitchers or position players due to the large amount of solid talent available.)

But anyway, here is my World Series winning teams roster, hopefully the games issues this past season will sort themselves out on their own or is a fixable issue.

Leadoff: CF Jose Estada, Age 25: One of Portland's most popular players, Estrada's speed on the base paths is able to mask the fact that hes' not really that good of a leadoff hitter (leauge leading 95 steals in 2018, but only a .351 obp.) He was acquired in the amateur draft in 2016, as the 20th overall pick, at the time he was scouted as having considerably better plate discipline than he has shown. His slash line (last season) was .301/.352/.446, his OPS+ was 101, and he was worth 7 WAR.

#2: RF Lawrence Ashley, Age 25: our first ever draft pick (#2 overall in 2012) Ashley never quite lived up to the expectations of his draft position. On draft day scouts said he was a potential hall of fame talent, capable of hitting .330, with 20+ home runs , and lots of stolen bases. His power never developed (career high 16 hr's) and his plate discipline proved to be below average, although he can steal loads of bases (over 80 last season). His slash line was .307/.350/.452, his OPS+ was 103, and he was worth 4.2 WAR.

#3: LF Christian Emery, Age 23: Rookie right fielder, who was moved to left field, despite iffy defense there, simply because we had no one to play there. First slugger to work their way though our farm system, his power rating of 70 is thebe st best in franchise history, but he did not show that as a rookie. Still hit 25 home runs, and finally gave us a middle of the lineup bat in the outfield,after years of semi leadoff hitters (high speed, relatively low OBP) or just plain bad hitters. He was acquired in the third round of the 2014 amateur draft. His slash line was .314/.353/.537, is OPS+ was 123 and he was worth 3.4 WAR. Emery was also rookie of the year.

Cleanup: 1st Base lamberto Capano, Age 31: By the teams standards Capano is their veteran slugger. In reality he was brought in at age 27 in 2015 in the rule 5 draft,and thus only has 4 years of major league experience. He is the rapids all time home run king with 137 and their single season home run king, with 44 this season breaking a record of 41 from 2012 held by a clearly roided Jarrod Saltalamacchia.) He's still arbitration eligible for the next couple seasons, but may already be declining (Contact seemed to fall from 60 to 55 last season.) I'll let you guys in on a little secret, we have no intention of ever offering him a long term deal, but our fans don't know that yet. Anyway his slash line was .326/.384/.606, his OPS+ was 147, and he was worth 6.4 WAR. Wow, looking at his numbers he really should have batted third.

5th: 2b Harry Burbidge, Age 27: Here he is, the first member of our magnificent doubleplay combo. He was of course the teams 1st round pick in 2015,26th overall (he was drafted by the Nationals in 2014, 13th overall, but luckily for us Washington was not able to sign him.) Burbidge seemed to have a bit of a breakout season offensively ,posting a slash line of .340/.409!?/.567, an OPS+ of 146, and 4.5 WAR. Unfortunately he only appeared in 73 games due to injuries, first suffering a herniated disc in late April, then suffering a hamstring strain during his rehab stint. Altogether, injures and rehab time kept him out of the rapids' lineup from late April until mid August. Hopefully he will be able to followup on his offensive breakthroughs over the course of a full season. His defense is of course fine, he won the gold glove at 2b in 2017.

6th: DH/1B/PH: Jeff Carne, Age 26: Our 3rd round pick in 2015, Carne had a big offensive season , going .333/.397/.588, with and OPS+ of 147, and 8.7 WAR, all of which was from batting, since he only appeared in the field twice all year (and 27 times total in his career.) We don' t expect him to hit such heights again, going forward .280/.340/.520 would be more reasonable. Might become our regular 1st baseman when Capano leaves, but most likely be to expensive to keep. He was forced to the bench as one of the greatest pinch hitters of all time during world series games in Atlanta.

7th: 3b Jospeh Nichols, Age 27: Our 3rd baseman was acquired in a trade for our former "back-up" catcher. This catcher was rated 4 stars, but was a good hit poor defense type, which is close to the opposite of what i look for in a catcher. So despite batting .337 in 700+ AB's for Portland traded him after arbitration upped his contract to 6+ million. Now back to Nichols. Nichols' is a solid defensive third baseman who hit .296/.375/.540, with an OPS+ of 130 and 8.1 WAR for the world champs. Not much more to say about him really, he can hit, and he's not in our long terms plans, as we seem to have suitable replacements in the minors.

8th: SS Kurt Stanford, Age 25: Here he is, Mr. Magnificent himself. Stanford had a career at the plate, in fact it was so good that I don't ever expect him to even come close to his level of production ever again. His slash line was .332/.399/.472, OPS+ was 121, and he was worth 8.2 WAR. He also was third on the team with 48 steals, and might actually be the best option to bat lead-off on the team.Oh yeah, he also won his 1st gold glove. Stanford was our 2nd round pick in the legendarily deep 2016 draft. Going forward I would expect Stanford to post an OPS+ of 85-100, along with continuing defense excellence.

9th: C Sergio Ramirez, Age 29: Solid all-around catcher, high contact bad and very good defense. He was acquired in the 2012 expansion draft, spent two years in our farm system, and then became to first player to work his way though our farm system to the majors. Unfortunately he was hurt for much of last year, and his time in Portland may be ending soon. In limited AB's his slash line was .328/.388/.500, with an OPS+ of 124, and 1.9 in less than 200 AB's.

All these players are either still playing on entry minimum level contracts or on 1 year contracts awarded though arbitration, and only Ramirez is likely to be eligible for free agency before 2020.