My Cardinals are in mid-season form...

[pgjocki]

It's only the 3rd game of the season but this just made me chuckle:

Top of the 8th and I have LHP Matthew Liberatore pitching in relief:

- 1st batter ground out to short, 1 out
- 2nd batter gets a single
- 3rd batter gets a single, runners on 1st and 2nd

Change pitcher and bring in LHP John King (oh the Cardinals have way to many left hand relievers in the bullpen - real life issue)

- 4th batter fly out to center, 2 outs
- 5th batter walk, bases loaded
- 6th batter walks, 1 run scores, bases still loaded
- 7th batter walks on 4 pitches, 1 run scores, bases still loaded
- 8th batter, walks on 4 piches, 1 run scores, bases still loaded

Change pitcher to LHP Steven Matz (whom I'm convinced is only on the roster because he is owed $12 million as this guy is a shell of his former self)

- 9th batter, immediate Wild Pitch and 1 run scores, runners at 2nd and 3rd
- still 9th batter and he walks, bases loaded
- 10 batter, walks on 4 pitches, 1 run scores, bases still loaded
- 11th batter, ground ball to 2nd base, fielders choice inning over

5 runs on 1 hit and I went through 3 relief pitchers to get 3 outs. I might DFA both John King and Matz after the game. I haven't finished the game as I needed a mental break from watching the score go from 2-1 to 7-1 in a half inning.

[rink23]

I'd say for the last 15 years, I have played as the Cardinals starting the season with the new edition of OOTP a few weeks of the season starting.
With how this campaign is shaping up, I just might go with a different team because playing as the Cardinals is likely to be quite painful.

[Orcin]

I agree that playing this roster under the delusion that it can somehow be a contender would not be a good experience. There are really two options:

1. Play the Cardinals' opening day roster through to the All-Star break and then see what could realistically be done at the deadline. If you wanted to have more fun, you could pretend that all players are willing to forego their no-trade clauses to go to a contender.

2. Do option #1 before starting the season.

I think a complete teardown of this roster might be fun. However, like a renovation on an older home, there is likely a lot of rot in the sub-structure too. Essentially, you are playing the long game in a fictional world.

[pgjocki]

What's interesting is that with the current build VSII starts off in Memphis and the outfield is lined up as :

LF: Noot
CF: Siani
RF: Walker

Which leaves Contreras, Burleson, Donovan, Gorman fighting for slots on 1B, 2B, and DH so one of these guys is already the odd man out.

That doesn't even address the fact that I have no idea how to get AB's for Baker and Helman or why he's even on the roster.

Knowing that the real opening day roster is going to have VSII on it actually complicates everything a little more sorta in that he slots in as the starting CF pushing Siani to completely unnecessary as both Burleson and Donovan can play outfield to give one of the starters a rest day.

Right now I haven't called up VSII but I'm only 9 games in so I'm moving slow.

I really want to blow this team up because I think they have a bunch of borderline average to good players but very few good to great guys and almost no great to superstar at this point.