1998 Yankees.....and beyond?

[Highlander]

Thought it would be an interesting challenge to see if I could match/outdo the great 1998 Yankees team. 114 wins in the regular season and an 11-2 record in the Playoffs, including a sweep of the San Diego Padres in the World Series. Hopefully I won't let this team down!

A few other notes of how I am playing. I will be playing out each game using 1-pitch mode. I am in "career mode" with historical minors and will hopefully continue beyond the 98 season. I'm not doing a draft- new players will be put on the teams where they were originally drafted. As far as trades/signings, etc, I am taking a page out of luckymann's terrific simulations. I'm not sure I am doing this exactly like he did, but in general, I am only allowing myself 3 players that were not either part of the historical minors players or who were not Yankees at some point during their career. I can acquire a player before or after they were actually there. My goal is to do updates after each week of this 1998 season....future seasons may be less frequent. I am sure I will adjust how I report things as I go along.

[Highlander]

Weekly Report

Current Record- 2-3

Place in the Standings- Tied for 3rd with the Red Sox, 1.5 games behind Baltimore

Actual Record of the 1998 Yankees- 1-3

It wasn't a great start to the season, as the Yankees were swept in a 2-game series against the Angels. They were able to bounce back and win 2 of 3 against the A's to end up just a little better than the actual 98 Yankees. The difference in record is due to an extra game against Oakland. We had no off-day and ended up with an extra game against the A's.

We made a trade this first week as well and used our 1st of 3 allowed bonus players. Here's the deal that was made-

Yankees trade OF Daryl Strawberry, P Willie Banks, Minor League OF Chris Singleton and Minor League P Randy Flores to the Pittsburgh Pirates for P Esteban Loiaza, P Jon Lieber and P Ricardo Rincon

It seemed as though having all of Strawberry, Tim Raines and Chili Davis was a bit of overkill, especially with other OF like Shane Spencer and Ricky Ledee waiting in the minors. Banks was currently our 5th starter, which I wasn't a fan of. Hideki Irabu was probably the next best guy in AAA (we used him in our last game of the week...a 7-1 loss to Oakland) and longtime Yankee fans know how reliable "the fat toad" was (George Steinbrenner's words...not mine!). Singleton and Flores are both guys who had a decent season or two in the majors but never played for the Yankees despite starting in their minor league system.

On the other side of the deal, the guys we got should all be beneficial this season and going forward. Jon Lieber was a Yankee in 2004 and will step into the 5th starter spot in place of Banks. Loaiza was also on the Yankees in 2004 and will be sent to AAA to continue to develop. He will likely be the first guy we call up now if there is an injury, etc. Rincon is the first of the allowed "non-Yankees". I felt like we needed one more solid bullpen guy on the active roster and he should hopefully fit the bill.

Here's a look at our active roster as of today after that trade-

C- Jorge Posada, Joe Girardi
1B- Tino Martinez
2B- Chuck Knoblauch
3B- Scott Brosius
SS- Derek Jeter
OF- Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neill, Chad Curtis, Tim Raines, Chili Davis (mostly used as our DH but also has ratings as a catcher)
Utility- Luis Sojo, Dale Sveum

SP- David Cone, Andy Pettitte, David Wells, Orlando Hernandez, Jon Lieber
RP- Darren Holmes, Ramiro Mendoza, Graeme Lloyd, Mike Stanton, Ricardo Rincon, Jeff Nelson, Mariano Rivera


Down on the Farm

It's a good thing we have a strong team because our farm system is ranked dead last. We do have 2 prospects in the current top 100 and a couple of others that seem promising, but hopefully we can see a few more guys added to the farm system in the future.

Here's a look at our top 10 prospects with their age and minor league level-

#1- OF Shane Spencer- 26/AAA...#92 prospect in MLB
#2- 1B/3B Mike Lowell- 24/AAA....#94 prospect in MLB
#3- OF Juan Rivera- 19/Rookie League
#4- IF D'Angelo Jimenez- 20/AA
#5- P Zach Day- 19/AA
#6- 1B Nick Johnson- 19/High A
#7- OF Ricky Ledee- 24/AAA
#8- OF Marcus Thames- 21/Low A
#9- 2B/SS Homer Bush- 25/AAA
#10- P Randy Choate- 22/AA

Around the League

Lee Stevens of the Texas Rangers was the AL Player of the Week, hitting .474 with 2 HR and 10 RBI

Rico Brogna of the Phillies was the NL Player of the Week. He hit an amazing .650 on the week (13-20) with 2 HR and 7 RBI.

In injury news, the Orioles lost 2B Roberto Alomar for 6 months with a torn labrum.

A few teams scooped up the best of the available free agents still on the market- The Phillies signed 2B/3B Jeff Frye, OF Luis Polonia went to the Expos, P Alan Benes (unfortunately for him) will be pitching in Colorado for the season, the Orioles signed 1B/3B Dave Hansen and the ageless wonder IF Julio Franco was signed by the Marlins.

The Dodgers currently have the top prospect in the game in 3B Adrian Beltre. The Expos and Astros each have two of the top five- Javier Vazquez and Milton Bradley for Montreal and Lance Berkman and Johan Santana for Houston.


Looking ahead to the next week, the Yankees have a 3 game series with Seattle (starting right off with a game against The Big Unit) and then another 3 game series against Oakland. There's some big winning streaks coming up for the real life Yankees that we will need to match....definitely not going to be easy!

[Highlander]

Weekly Report

Current Record- 7-4

Place in the Standings- 1st Place, 1 game ahead of Toronto and Baltimore

Actual Record of the 1998 Yankees- 6-4

A 5-1 week kept us right on track. The only loss was a surprising slug fest between Randy Johnson and David Cone- a 12-6 score was definitely not expected in that game! We won the next two from Seattle and then swept the A’s in a 3-game series.

Highlights for the Yankees this week include…..

- David Wells pitched 6 shutout innings in a 7-3 win over Seattle to clinch the series and pick up his 2nd win of the season

- The 1st game of the A’s series ended up split between two days because of rain. El Duque worked the 1st 5 innings (he actually pitched on each day) and gave up no runs. He was replaced by Darren Holmes who pitched another 3 shutout innings. Lloyd gave up a run in the 9th to ruin the shutout, but it was a well-earned 8-1 win. Strangely, the runs were all scored by different players….with leadoff man Derek Jeter the only player who didn’t score.

- The second game of the A’s series happened right after the conclusion of game one and was another impressive 9-2 win. Bernie Williams went 3-3 with 2 walks, a double, a HR, 3 runs and 2 RBI.

- In the final game of the A’s series, the Yankees continued to pile on runs in a 12-4 win. Derek Jeter made up for not scoring in that game the day before by going 5-5 with a HR, 4 runs and 3 RBI.

- Not surprisingly, with the barrage of runs they put up against Oakland, the Yankees finished this week with the most runs scored in the league at 72.

- On the League Leaders lists, David Wells is currently 2nd in ERA at 1.35. Also, Chili Davis is one of 5 players in both leagues with a hit every game of the season so far. Three of them are on the Angels! (Tim Salmon, Jim Edmonds and Garrett Anderson)

Down on the Farm

The Clippers are off to a 3-1 start in AAA. New acquisition, Esteban Loaiza has one of the wins with 7 strong innings. Offensively, Shane Spencer is already pushing for playing time with the big club as he has 3 HR in his first 11 AB!

None of the other minor leagues have started up yet…I’ll mostly focus on Columbus and who may come up during the season….but I will mention the lower leagues at times.

Around the League

Edgar Martinez of the Mariners was the AL Player of the Week, hitting .538 with 4 HR and 7 RBI

Larry Walker of the Rockies was the NL Player of the Week. He hit .464 on the week with 2 HR and 8 RBI.

The last of the “bigger” free agents was signed this week. SP Alex Fernandez was signed by the Montreal Expos.


The other teams at the top of the standings along with the Yankees are-

AL Central- Kansas City Royals at 7-4, 2 games ahead of the White Sox

AL West- Anaheim Angels at 10-1, 2 games ahead of Texas

NL East- New York Mets at 7-5, a half game ahead of Philly and Atlanta

NL Central- Chicago Cubs at 9-4, 1.5 games ahead of the Reds

NL West- Colorado Rockies at 7-6, a half game ahead of pretty much every other team in that division!


This week sees the Yankees welcome the red hot Angels for a 3-game series and then another home series against the 5-7 Tigers. The Angels really seem to be playing way over their heads, so hopefully we can cool them off.

[Highlander]

Weekly Report

Current Record- 13-4

Place in the Standings- 1st Place, 1 game ahead of Toronto

Actual Record of the 1998 Yankees- 9-5

A 6-0 week and an overall 11 game winning streak! Definitely a surprise to sweep the Angels with how hot they had been and the Tigers didn’t put up much of a fight. Let’s see how long this streak can last!

Highlights for the Yankees this week include…..

- Jon Lieber got his first win as a Yankee, as he pitched 8.1 innings and gave up just 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks with 9 Ks.

- The 3rd game of the Angels series was a 10-4 win that had a few great games for Yankee players. Derek Jeter went 2-4 with a walk, a HR and 4 RBI. Jorge Posada went 3-4 with 2 HR, 3 R and 4 RBI. Ramiro Mendoza threw 3 shutout innings in relief of El Duque who was still a little tired from pitching on both days of that split game against the A’s last week.

- The last game of the week against the Tigers was a bittersweet one. It was a 12-3 victory with strong games from Derek Jeter (3 RBI), Chili Davis (2-4, 1 walk, 1 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI) and Scott Brosius (3-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI). David Wells picked up his 4th win of the season with 7 strong innings, but he was forced to exit the game due to an issue with his elbow. His diagnosis is still pending, but elbow issues are rarely minor things and Wells has been our best pitcher this season. All of our fingers are definitely crossed!

- Despite all our wins and pretty high run totals, the Toronto Blue Jays have actually scored more runs that the Yankees to this point in the season. They have 120 to our 115. We have allowed 8 runs less, however.

- On the League Leaders lists, Bernie Williams has moved to 2nd in WAR at 1.2. David Wells is still 2nd in ERA at 1.93 and now leads the league in wins with 4…..hopefully that elbow is going to be OK! Mariano Rivera is tied for first in saves with Mike Timlin of Seattle at 6.

Down on the Farm

The Clippers in AAA have stayed almost as hot as the parent club, as they now stand at 8-3. Offense is definitely their strength…..Homer Bush is hitting .375 with 6 steals, Shane Spencer is at .343 with 4 HR and 10 RBI, Clay Bellinger is hitting .368 with 4 steals, Mike Lowell has 3 HR and 10 RBI, and Mike Figga leads the team with 12 RBI. Pitching-wise, Esteban Loaiza is up to 3 wins with a 1.64 ERA, so if Wells has to go on the DL, he will hopefully be able to step in.

The Norwich Navigators got their season started in AA and sit at 3-3. Gabby Martinez, who can play most anywhere, is off to a sizzling start. He is hitting .542 with 11 steals in the 1st 6 games so far! Not surprisingly, he was named Player of the Week in their league.

The Tampa Yankees are also 3-3. They had a great performance by 2B Eric Knowles, who hit for the cycle in the very first game of the season. He ended up 5-7 with 5 RBI.

The Greensboro Bats are currently the polar opposite of the Yankees, as they have started out 0-6.


Around the League

Carlos Delgado of the Blue Jays was the AL Player of the Week, hitting .458 with 3 HR and 7 RBI.

Todd Helton of the Rockies was the NL Player of the Week. He hit .480 on the week with 4 HR and 8 RBI and 9 runs scored.

- Los Angeles Dodgers 2B Eric Young was signed to a 4-yr, 19.9 million dollar extension.

- This was a huge offensive week across baseball. Besides our own minor leaguer, Eric Knowles, both Fernando Tatis of the Rangers and Delino DeShields of the Cardinals hit for the cycle. The HR for Tatis was a grand slam! San Diego’s Greg Vaughn and Frank Thomas of the White Sox both hit 3 HR in a game and Willie Greene of the Reds had a 5-hit game. Some pretty impressive feats that may not all happen in a single season….never mind just one week!

The other teams at the top of the standings along with the Yankees are-

AL Central- Minnesota Twins at 8-9, .5 games ahead of the Royals

AL West- Texas Rangers at 12-5, .5 games ahead of Kansas City

NL East- New York Mets at 13-6, 3.5 games ahead of Atlanta

NL Central- Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals at 10-8, .5 games head of the Cubs

NL West- Colorado Rockies at 13-6, 1.5 games ahead of San Diego


This week sees the Yankees head to Toronto for a 3-game series and then go to Detroit for another 3 games with the Tigers. Another really hot team and a team looking for some revenge….could be a tough week. Especially depending on what the final prognosis is on David Wells.

[Highlander]

Weekly Report

Current Record- 15-8

Place in the Standings- 2nd Place, 1 game behind Baltimore and Toronto

Actual Record of the 1998 Yankees- 14-5

A couple of tough injuries (more on that below) and an offense that slowed way down led to a 2-4 week and put us behind the pace of the real 98 Yankees. Another hot streak will get us back in business, but we can’t afford any more injuries.

Highlights (and Lowlights) for the Yankees this week include…..

- The first game of the Toronto series was a disaster. Orlando Hernandez pitched 1 inning and then had to come out due to some arm soreness. While not a major injury, he was quickly diagnosed with a strained bicep that will keep him out of action for about 3 weeks. Our longer relief guys, Holmes and Mendoza, just didn’t have it and they both got knocked around for a 9-5 loss.

- After the injury to Hernandez, and knowing we were STILL waiting on a diagnosis on Wells, we decided to pull the trigger on a deal. We traded minor league pitcher, Zach Day, to the Cubs for Terry Mulholland. Terry was a Yankee back in 1994 and while he had a pretty rough year back then, he can be a solid swingman. We then had the opportunity to make another deal with the Brewers to get another former Yankees pitcher who should really help the bullpen. We traded minor league OF Marcus Thames to Milwaukee for Bob Wickman. Bob was a Yankee from 1992-1996 and was acting as the Brewers’ closer when we got him. He’s still only 29 so he can be a part of the Yankees for a number of years if we want him. I am hopeful that between these guys and another pitcher or two in AAA we can whether the injury storm no matter what happens with Wells.

- Bolstered by their new teammates, the Yankees came back in game two against Toronto with a 3-1 win. Jon Lieber came through again with 8+ innings of very solid work. However, our worst fears were realized after the game, as David Wells’s diagnosis came in….a damaged elbow ligament that would require reconstructive surgery. He will be out for just about 12 months. Ouch. Well, that puts (for now) both Terry Mulholland and Esteban Loaiza (who we will call up from AAA) into the starting rotation. Losing El Duque for 3 or so weeks hurts, but losing Wells for the season is a killer.
- In our 2nd game against the Tigers, we threw new acquisition Terry Mulholland into his first start. It didn’t go well. 5 ER in 4.2 IP. After the game, the decision was made to slide Terry back into a long relief role for now and try out a 4-man rotation. If we need an extra starter, he can slide back in, but for now it will be Cone/Pettitte/Lieber/Loaiza. When El Duque comes back we can see where things stand.

- To end the week on some good news, we did bounce back to beat Detroit in 10 innings in the final game by an 8-5 score. Paul O’Neill came through in a huge way, going 3-5 with a 3-run HR and 7 RBI overall. Loaiza pitched 6.1 solid innings, which made me feel better about the pitching situation……at least for now.

- On the league leaderboards Bernie Williams is currently 2nd in BA at .365, Chuck Knoblauch is 3rd with 7 steals, Bernie is 3rd in WAR at 1.3, David Wells remains 2nd in ERA at 1.93 until his IP level drops him off the list and Mariano Rivera is tied for 1st in saves with 7.

Down on the Farm

The Columbus Clippers are at 11-6, but will likely drop off with Loaiza moving up to the Yankees. We did send Ramiro Mendoza down to the Clippers for now, with the addition of Bob Wickman. He has moved into the closer role for them and will likely be back in NY sometime soon. Homer Bush remains red hot at the plate with a .462 average, including hitting for the cycle this week!

The Norwich Navigators are down to 4-8 on the season. Gabby Martinez remained hot with a .421 average on the week, “dropping” him to .488 on the season.

The Tampa Yankees are 7-6. Nick Johnson is off to a great start with 4 HR and 16 RBI. RP Craig Dingman was lost for the season with a partially torn UCL. He had pitched well in his 4 and at just 24, he still has a chance to do something.

The Greensboro Bats continue their struggles at 2-11. Erick Almonte is hitting .364 to lead the team, but the #2 hitter is at a paltry .227.


Around the League

Paul Sorrento of the Devil Rays was the AL Player of the Week, hitting .440 with 6 R and 5 RBI.

Todd Helton of the Rockies was again the NL Player of the Week. He hit .625 on the week with 4 HR and 10 RBI. He is currently leading all of baseball with a .451 BA, 12 HR, 28 RBI, 2.4 WAR and 1.364 OPS.

- Atlanta Braves pitcher Denny Neagle signed a 6 year/59M contract extension. The last year is a player option.

- P Mark Leiter of the Phillies was lost for the season with a torn rotator cuff. He had a rough year with a 5.57 ERA in 4 starts, but it’s always tough to lose a pitcher you counted on for innings.

- This was another huge offensive week across baseball. I’m not sure what is going on, but we again had a barrage of hits from multiple players. Gary Gaetti of the Cardinals hit for the cycle and much like Tatis last week, his HR was a grand slam. Barry Larkin of the Reds got 5 hits in a game against the Mets. They were all singles and it was much needed for him as he is still only hitting .215 on the season. Bill Mueller of the Giants also had a 5-hit day, going 5-5 against the Brewers.

- Ken Griffey Jr. hit a big milestone with his 300th career HR. It was a solo shot off of Greg Swindell of the Twins. It wasn’t enough for Seattle, though, as they lost the game 6-5.


The other teams at the top of the standings outside of the AL East are-

AL Central- Minnesota Twins at 11-12, 1.5 games ahead of the Royals

AL West- Texas Rangers at 17-6, 2.5 games ahead of Anaheim (just realized I had Kansas City here last week…should have been the Angels)

NL East- New York Mets at 16-9, 3.5 games ahead of Atlanta

NL Central- St. Louis Cardinals at 13-11, .5 games head of the Astros

NL West- Colorado Rockies at 18-7, 3.5 games ahead of San Diego


This week sees the Yankees with a full schedule, as they play a pair of 2-game series at home against Toronto and Seattle and then travel to Kansas City for 3 games.

[Highlander]

Well, this is unbelievable! Not only have these 98 Yankees lost Orlando Hernandez for a 3 week+ period and lost David Wells for the whole season.....now we have also lost David Cone for the season! I think I'm going to have to scrap this whole endeavor. I thought I might be able to overcome losing Wells, but now to lose Cone is just too much. I wanted to treat this as if I were going to continue playing past the 98 season, but the 98 season was also the main objective. I didn't want to just trade all the prospects away to make the team even better without regard to the future. Now, I am stuck.....

Apologies to anyone following along. I've got another project I've also been working on, so I guess I will just transfer my energy to that one and eventually start a new thread to report on that. Crazy what can happen in this game....both good and bad!