Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 1998

[#57 Bart Scott]

Baseball Mogul 2006 version 8.53
+30% revenue
Historical Rookies
Simulation Mode off

I'm the owner of the expansion Devil Rays and I'm starting to realize just how much I've been ripped off. Making this team good is going to be nearly impossible. We've got an awful stadium in Tropicana Field and we've got no new stadium in sight. The city is a retirement home. Why didn't I outbid Angelos for the Orioles the other year? Why didn't I buy the Diamondbacks instead? Those 28 owners extorted me out of my money. OK, well I've got to try to turn this joke of a team into a winner. My approximate budget is a mere $37.2 million (compare to the $149.8 million budget of the Yankees). Too bad my payroll is already at $38.7 million. I need to trim about 5 million from that monstrosity. How am I gonna put together a winner with this shoestring budget? I guess I gotta try to make this work.

Catcher - 30-year-old John Flaherty is an average player, but he's a bargain at $1.75 mil. However, his contract does run out at the end of the year, so he'll either be resigned or dealt by the deadline. Backing him up will be 28-year-old Mike Difielice, who is making the minimum. In the minors, I've got journeyman Tim Laker on a Minor League Contract. My catcher of the future Toby Hall is at rookie league. Let's hope he develops into a major leaguer within 3 years.
First Base - Here, I've got way too much talent. 30-year-old Paul Sorrento had a career high in homers (32) with Seattle last year, but I'm paying him $4.9 mil and his power is his only redeeming quality. 34-year-old Fred McGriff is a future Hall of Famer and is probably worth $5.1 mil. However, he is 34 and had his lowest homer total since his rookie year last season with Atlanta. However, I've got this 25-year-old kid in the minors named Scott McClain who can probably play in the majors right now. I'm probably going to deal Sorrento to make room for McClain. Maybe I can get a prospect or 2 out of him.
Second Base - Aaron Ledesma is a versatile player who can play anywhere except catcher and compete for a gold glove and he only makes the minimum. Miguel Cairo is good enough to be starting right now. Brent Abernathy may be the long-term answer at second base, if he develops.
Third Base - Wade Boggs is 39 years old, but still good enough to play. However, at $2.7 mil, he shouldn't be on my team, so I'll be trading him. This should be a good place to play Ledesma. Dave Silvestri is a utility player who makes the minimum. His contract runs out this year, but he should be easy to resign. He'll be a suitable backup to my infielders. Long-term, this should be Aubrey Huff's position, though he can also play in the outfield or at first. This is also Damian Rolls's primary position. He may be even better than Huff and he plays 2nd, 3rd, and the Outfield.
Shortstop - Kevin Stocker is in his prime and is one of the best defensive shortstops of his generation and he only makes $2.05 mil. I must have gotten a steal in that deal with the Phillies back in December. I only gave up some average player named Bob Abreu. Too bad, his contract expires at the end of the year, so he'll have to be resigned or dealt by the deadline. David Lamb may be our shortstop of the future. If he doesn't pan out
Left Field - Rich Butler is a pretty good hitter and a great fielder. His only problem is that his throwing arm is weak. Hopefully, its strong enough for him to hit the cutoff man. Kerry Robinson and Matt Diaz should be pretty decent players someday.
Center Field - Quinton McCracken is making the minimum and should start somewhere in the outfield. Randy Winn deserves to be playing in the majors and is better than McCracken defensively.
Right Field - Dave Martinez is making $3.3 mil here. He's not worth it and will probably be dealt, so I guess McCracken will play here while Winn plays in Center. Our 3 outfielders on the bench, Jerome Walton, Mike Kelly, and Bubba Trammell are all primary Right Fielders, but Walton can play all 3 Outfield spots and the other 2 can play in Left.

Offensive Depth Chart

C1 - John Flaherty
C2 - Mike Difelice
1B - Scott McClain
2B - Miguel Cairo
3B - Aaron Ledesma
SS - Kevin Stocker
IF - Dave Silvestri
LF - Rich Butler
CF - Randy Winn
RF - Quinton McCracken
OF - Jerome Walton
LF/RF - Mike Kelly
LF/RF - Bubba Trammell
DH - Fred McGriff

Batting Order

1 - CF Randy Winn
2 - 2B Miguel Cairo
3 - 1B Scott McClain
4 - DH Fred McGriff
5 - LF Rich Butler
6 - RF Quinton McCracken
7 - C John Flaherty
8 - 3B Aaron Ledesma
9 - SS Kevin Stocker

To Be Traded before the season

1B - Paul Sorrento
3B - Wade Boggs
RF - Dave Martinez

To be resigned or dealt before the deadline

C - John Flaherty
SS - Kevin Stocker
IF - Dave Silvestri
LF/RF - Mike Kelly

I guess I need to look at the pitching staff next. I think the offense should be fine as is.

Rotation - Wilson Alvarez is pretty good, but he costs $5.9 million, so I'll be dealing him. Tony Saunders is a 23-year-old potential ace in his second season. 25-year-old Bryan Rekar is a finesse pitcher, but he's got really good control and movement. 33-year-old Dennis Springer should do as our 5th starter. Scott Aldred is a mopup pitcher. 29-year-old rookie Rolando Arroyo should be a decent middle of the rotation pitcher. 24-year-old Jason Johnson is another rookie who will join our rotation. Looking around the minors, Dave Eiland is a former Major Leaguer who could be good in mopup. Victor Zambrano is a can't miss prospect, but he probably doesn't have the endurance to be a starter.
Closer - 33-year-old Roberto Hernandez is a star closer who is making $5.7 mil. Setup man Jim Mecir can probably take over this job, so I'll deal Hernandez.
Setup - 22-year-old rookie Esteban Yan has received trials the last few years at the Major League level with the Orioles. I think he's probably ready to be groomed as a closer-in-waiting
Middle Relief - Finesse pitcher Rick White is the most solid pitcher we've got here. Albie Lopez has a bit more endurance than the typical reliever, which makes him a decent option as our other middle reliever. Some minor leaguers on the verge of the Majors here are Eddie Gaillard and Tony Fiore. While we have alot of Starters in the minors, we are overloaded on relievers. I guess we'll look for offensive prospects.
Long Relief/Mopup - These spots go to Aldred and Eiland.

Rotation

1 - Tony Saunders
2 - Bryan Rekar
3 - Rolando Arroyo
4 - Jason Johnson
5 - Dennis Springer

Bullpen

Closer - Jim Mecir
Setup - Esteban Yan
Short - Rick White
Middle - Albie Lopez
Long - Dave Eiland
Alt. - Scott Aldred

To be traded

Wilson Alvarez
Roberto Hernandez

To be resigned or dealt before the deadline

Albie Lopez
Dave Eiland
Scott Aldred

Goals for this season

1.Make a profit, preferably between 5 and 10 mil.
2.Don't lose 100 games.
3.Build for the future

[#57 Bart Scott]

Trades

Montreal gets: 1B Paul Sorrento
Tampa Bay gets: RF Val Pascucci

Sorrento wasn't worth very much. In cash value, the highest offer was just $1 mil. Clearly everybody else knows just how overpaid he is. Well, Montreal needs the salary anyways, they're about 40 mil below budget.

Boggs is absolutely worthless, so I'm not going to be able to dump him on anybody. I guess he's gonna stick Ledesma on the bench and Silvestri in AAA. He'll be the 3 hitter then.

San Francisco gets: RF Dave Martinez
Tampa Bay gets: SP Orel Hershiser

It was difficult finding any takers for Dave Martinez, but the Giants offered a player who was $.7 mil cheaper and signed for 1 fewer year. Hershiser can still be an ace, especially on this team. He'll provide veteran leadership. This obviously knocks Springer out of the rotation and sticks Alrdred in the minors.

New York Yankees get: Wilson Alvarez
Tampa Bay gets: Jorge Posada

How can you go wrong trading for a catcher who is ready to play full-time? This bumps Flaherty to the bench and Difelice to the minors.

Boston gets: Roberto Hernandez
Tampa Bay gets: Trot Nixon

We got yet another Major League ready player out of this deal. Nixon will be our RF, with McCracken in Left. Boggs will move to DH, allowing Ledesma to play third. Butler will go to the minors, allowed Silvestri to backup our infield.

Depth Chart

C1 - Jorge Posada
C2 - John Flaherty
1B - Fred McGriff
2B - Miguel Cairo
3B - Aaron Ledesma
SS - Kevin Stocker
IF - Dave Silvestri
LF - Quinton McCracken
CF - Randy Winn
RF - Trot Nixon
LF/RF - Mike Kelly
LF/RF - Bubba Trammell
OF - Jerome Walton
DH - Wade Boggs

Lineup

1 - CF Randy Winn
2 - 2B Miguel Cairo
3 - DH Wade Boggs
4 - 1B Fred McGriff
5 - C Jorge Posada
6 - RF Trot Nixon
7 - LF Quinton McCracken
8 - 3B Aaron Ledesma
9 - SS Kevin Stocker

Rotation

Ace - Orel Hershiser
2 - Tony Saunders
3 - Bryan Rekar
4 - Rolando Arroyo
5 - Jason Johnson

Bullpen

Closer - Jim Mecir
Setup - Esteban Yan
Short - Rick White
Middle - Albie Lopez
Long - Dennis Springer
Alt. - Dave Eiland

Total Payroll - $22.5 mil

I guess I did too good a job of cost cutting. Let's hope the team plays like one paid 5 times as much.

[boomboom]

Nice write up, I hope it continues. Is #57 your lucky number?

[petrel]

Good luck! A Tampa Bay dynasty is very interesting; if I ever did a modern dynasty that's probably where I'd start.

--Pet

[Rongar]

Baseball Mogul 2006 version 8.53
+30% revenue
Historical Rookies
Simulation Mode off

I'm the owner of the expansion Devil Rays and I'm starting to realize just how much I've been ripped off. Making this team good is going to be nearly impossible. We've got an awful stadium in Tropicana Field and we've got no new stadium in sight. The city is a retirement home. Why didn't I outbid Angelos for the Orioles the other year? Why didn't I buy the Diamondbacks instead? Those 28 owners extorted me out of my money. OK, well I've got to try to turn this joke of a team into a winner. My approximate budget is a mere $37.2 million (compare to the $149.8 million budget of the Yankees). Too bad my payroll is already at $38.7 million. I need to trim about 5 million from that monstrosity. How am I gonna put together a winner with this shoestring budget? I guess I gotta try to make this work.

Catcher - 30-year-old John Flaherty is an average player, but he's a bargain at $1.75 mil. However, his contract does run out at the end of the year, so he'll either be resigned or dealt by the deadline. Backing him up will be 28-year-old Mike Difielice, who is making the minimum. In the minors, I've got journeyman Tim Laker on a Minor League Contract. My catcher of the future Toby Hall is at rookie league. Let's hope he develops into a major leaguer within 3 years.
First Base - Here, I've got way too much talent. 30-year-old Paul Sorrento had a career high in homers (32) with Seattle last year, but I'm paying him $4.9 mil and his power is his only redeeming quality. 34-year-old Fred McGriff is a future Hall of Famer and is probably worth $5.1 mil. However, he is 34 and had his lowest homer total since his rookie year last season with Atlanta. However, I've got this 25-year-old kid in the minors named Scott McClain who can probably play in the majors right now. I'm probably going to deal Sorrento to make room for McClain. Maybe I can get a prospect or 2 out of him.
Second Base - Aaron Ledesma is a versatile player who can play anywhere except catcher and compete for a gold glove and he only makes the minimum. Miguel Cairo is good enough to be starting right now. Brent Abernathy may be the long-term answer at second base, if he develops.
Third Base - Wade Boggs is 39 years old, but still good enough to play. However, at $2.7 mil, he shouldn't be on my team, so I'll be trading him. This should be a good place to play Ledesma. Dave Silvestri is a utility player who makes the minimum. His contract runs out this year, but he should be easy to resign. He'll be a suitable backup to my infielders. Long-term, this should be Aubrey Huff's position, though he can also play in the outfield or at first. This is also Damian Rolls's primary position. He may be even better than Huff and he plays 2nd, 3rd, and the Outfield.
Shortstop - Kevin Stocker is in his prime and is one of the best defensive shortstops of his generation and he only makes $2.05 mil. I must have gotten a steal in that deal with the Phillies back in December. I only gave up some average player named Bob Abreu. Too bad, his contract expires at the end of the year, so he'll have to be resigned or dealt by the deadline. David Lamb may be our shortstop of the future. If he doesn't pan out
Left Field - Rich Butler is a pretty good hitter and a great fielder. His only problem is that his throwing arm is weak. Hopefully, its strong enough for him to hit the cutoff man. Kerry Robinson and Matt Diaz should be pretty decent players someday.
Center Field - Quinton McCracken is making the minimum and should start somewhere in the outfield. Randy Winn deserves to be playing in the majors and is better than McCracken defensively.
Right Field - Dave Martinez is making $3.3 mil here. He's not worth it and will probably be dealt, so I guess McCracken will play here while Winn plays in Center. Our 3 outfielders on the bench, Jerome Walton, Mike Kelly, and Bubba Trammell are all primary Right Fielders, but Walton can play all 3 Outfield spots and the other 2 can play in Left.

Offensive Depth Chart

C1 - John Flaherty
C2 - Mike Difelice
1B - Scott McClain
2B - Miguel Cairo
3B - Aaron Ledesma
SS - Kevin Stocker
IF - Dave Silvestri
LF - Rich Butler
CF - Randy Winn
RF - Quinton McCracken
OF - Jerome Walton
LF/RF - Mike Kelly
LF/RF - Bubba Trammell
DH - Fred McGriff

Batting Order

1 - CF Randy Winn
2 - 2B Miguel Cairo
3 - 1B Scott McClain
4 - DH Fred McGriff
5 - LF Rich Butler
6 - RF Quinton McCracken
7 - C John Flaherty
8 - 3B Aaron Ledesma
9 - SS Kevin Stocker

To Be Traded before the season

1B - Paul Sorrento
3B - Wade Boggs
RF - Dave Martinez

To be resigned or dealt before the deadline

C - John Flaherty
SS - Kevin Stocker
IF - Dave Silvestri
LF/RF - Mike Kelly

I guess I need to look at the pitching staff next. I think the offense should be fine as is.

Rotation - Wilson Alvarez is pretty good, but he costs $5.9 million, so I'll be dealing him. Tony Saunders is a 23-year-old potential ace in his second season. 25-year-old Bryan Rekar is a finesse pitcher, but he's got really good control and movement. 33-year-old Dennis Springer should do as our 5th starter. Scott Aldred is a mopup pitcher. 29-year-old rookie Rolando Arroyo should be a decent middle of the rotation pitcher. 24-year-old Jason Johnson is another rookie who will join our rotation. Looking around the minors, Dave Eiland is a former Major Leaguer who could be good in mopup. Victor Zambrano is a can't miss prospect, but he probably doesn't have the endurance to be a starter.
Closer - 33-year-old Roberto Hernandez is a star closer who is making $5.7 mil. Setup man Jim Mecir can probably take over this job, so I'll deal Hernandez.
Setup - 22-year-old rookie Esteban Yan has received trials the last few years at the Major League level with the Orioles. I think he's probably ready to be groomed as a closer-in-waiting
Middle Relief - Finesse pitcher Rick White is the most solid pitcher we've got here. Albie Lopez has a bit more endurance than the typical reliever, which makes him a decent option as our other middle reliever. Some minor leaguers on the verge of the Majors here are Eddie Gaillard and Tony Fiore. While we have alot of Starters in the minors, we are overloaded on relievers. I guess we'll look for offensive prospects.
Long Relief/Mopup - These spots go to Aldred and Eiland.

Rotation

1 - Tony Saunders
2 - Bryan Rekar
3 - Rolando Arroyo
4 - Jason Johnson
5 - Dennis Springer

Bullpen

Closer - Jim Mecir
Setup - Esteban Yan
Short - Rick White
Middle - Albie Lopez
Long - Dave Eiland
Alt. - Scott Aldred

To be traded

Wilson Alvarez
Roberto Hernandez

To be resigned or dealt before the deadline

Albie Lopez
Dave Eiland
Scott Aldred

Goals for this season

1.Make a profit, preferably between 5 and 10 mil.
2.Don't lose 100 games.
3.Build for the future

Bart, I wish I could have gotten to you before you did your trading...I,too, am running the expansion Devil Rays, and they're doing fabulously with the very personnel that you disparage.

Mind you, I'm playing them at FAN level, in the PBP "Player" mode, that is, I do all the pitching and hitting, and have full control. Each game takes around 45mins to play, but if you want a stone-bonker certainty to win a World Series, that's the way to go.

I did the same thing with the '77 Blue Jays, they won something like 130 games, plus the World Series.

So, if you don't mind playing only one or two games per day, and you enjoy "pitching" strikeouts, and "hitting" homeruns, I can give you lots of advice about your present team (my version's been playing just over 2 months, something like 38-5, tops in BA (.401) and E.R.A. plus lots of other categories)

Anyway other than that, I'm clueless, I'm afraid - I don't like playing "manager" or "general manager" in the PBP mode, and I suck at simming, so my one claim to expertise is playing at that level(Fan) in that mode "Player"

[CatKnight]

Tampa Bay promises to be interesting! Good luck!

[#57 Bart Scott]

Nice write up, I hope it continues. Is #57 your lucky number?

Well, I'm a Baltimore Ravens fan and Bart Scott is #57. He's the best linebacker they've got now since Rey Lewis is getting old and is a shell of his former self.


Bart, I wish I could have gotten to you before you did your trading...I,too, am running the expansion Devil Rays, and they're doing fabulously with the very personnel that you disparage.

Mind you, I'm playing them at FAN level, in the PBP "Player" mode, that is, I do all the pitching and hitting, and have full control. Each game takes around 45mins to play, but if you want a stone-bonker certainty to win a World Series, that's the way to go.

I did the same thing with the '77 Blue Jays, they won something like 130 games, plus the World Series.

So, if you don't mind playing only one or two games per day, and you enjoy "pitching" strikeouts, and "hitting" homeruns, I can give you lots of advice about your present team (my version's been playing just over 2 months, something like 38-5, tops in BA (.401) and E.R.A. plus lots of other categories)

Anyway other than that, I'm clueless, I'm afraid - I don't like playing "manager" or "general manager" in the PBP mode, and I suck at simming, so my one claim to expertise is playing at that level(Fan) in that mode "Player"

I'm playing with Baseball Mogul 2006. Its Play-By-Play mode is a joke. I think it was revamped in Baseball Mogul 2007. I guess it probably isn't balanced too well, if its possible to be 38-5 with a .401 batting average with the 98 Devil Rays or to win 130 games with the expansion Blue Jays.

NOTE: I'm going to sim games 2 weeks at a time.

[#57 Bart Scott]

ATHLETICS (4/4, 4/6-4/7)

2-0 Tampa Bay
7-3 Tampa Bay
5-0 Tampa Bay

Hershiser pitched a complete game shutout on opening day. Saunders win his first start despite a home run by Oakland DH Kevin Mitchell (yes, the 1989 NL MVP; I thought he retired years ago) thanks to a 5-run rally in the 5th inning. Rekar shut out the punchless Athletics in game 3 as Kevin Stocker hit our first homer of the year. We sweep the Athletics in our first series.

@ Yankees (4/8-4/10)

7-1 Tampa Bay
7-3 New York
2-1 New York

I was starting to wonder how long we could go undefeated. Arroyo pitched 7 shutout innings (Springer blew the shutout in relief) and McGriff hit a home run. In the 2nd game, we finally lost as Chili Davis and Scott Brosius both homered for the Yanks. Joe Girardi and Chuck Knoblauch (who also drove in 3 runs) had 2 doubles apiece and Paul O'Neill had one of his own. The 3rd game was a pitcher's duel for 6 innings, then in the 7th, Trot Nixon drove in Fred McGriff. Orel Hershiser's shutout went into the bottom of the 9th and the Yanks tied the game with 1 out. Then Chili Davis walked. Hershiser was pulled for Mecir. Davis stole 2nd and 3rd. Scott Brosius was intentionally walked. Joe Girardi laid down an RBI bunt. Tim Raines pinch hit and drew an intentional walk. Chuck Knoblauch singled to center, scoring the winning run.

I called manager Larry Rothschild into my office and chewed out for allowing my pitching staff to blow a game. I told him to tell them to stop walking players unnecessarily. Hershiser still has yet to allow a run while he's been on the mound, though he does have a sole earned run against.

@ Boston (4/12-4/14)

7-4 Boston

Nomar & Troy O'Leary homered in this game and it was 6-0 before we knew what was happening. On the bright side, Trot Nixon tripled. Hernandez notched his third save of the year against us. Maybe we shouldn't have dealt him, considering how Mecir blew that game the other day.

The next morning, I turned on ESPN's Sportscenter.

Anchor: "Tampa Bay Devil Rays ace Orel Hershiser tore his ACL yesterday. According to newspaper report out of Tampa Bay, he tripped over some uneven pavement on the sidewalk on his way into church. An ambulance was called and they took him to the nearby hospital. He will miss the rest of the season."

He had been flown back to Tampa Bay after his last start so he could prepare for the Yankees. I'm tempted to sue the city of Tampa Bay for this nonsense. Their incompetence at keeping the sidewalk in good shape cost me my ace for the rest of the season. I called down to Durham to get Scott Aldred back to the majors. Springer is going to take Hershiser's place in the rotation.

6-2 Boston

We got out to a 2-0 lead, but Mike Benjamin, Troy O'Leary and Mo Vaughn homered as Boston won this one easily.

Following the game, San Diego called me and wanted to work out a trade.

San Diego gets: Rick White, John Webb, and Jon Switzer
Tampa Bay gets: Mark Langston and Jason Bay

In this deal, we traded a middle reliever and 2 hit-or-miss 18-year-old pitching prospects for Langston, who should be an adequate replacement for Hershiser and Bay, who is probably about a year from the Majors and will play at AA Montgomery once he gets healthy. I intend to move him up to AAA Durham this season if he plays well enough. 27-year-old rookie Eddie Gaillard takes White's spot in the bullpen. Langston will have to wait 4 days for his debut, which means he'll debut in the opening game of the Detroit series on the 18th and I'll restructure the rotation when that day comes to make it work.

4-0 Boston

We lose our 5th straight game as Steve Avery shut us out. Nomar and O'Leary homered. That makes it 2 homers for Nomar in the series (out of his 5 this year) and that makes it 3 out of 4 for O'Leary (1 in every game) against us this year.

AL East Standings

Boston 7-2
Baltimore (Wild Card Leader) 6-4
New York 5-4
Toronto 4-5
Tampa Bay 4-5

[#57 Bart Scott]

YANKEES (4/15-4/17)

8-4 New York
6-5 Tampa Bay
13-7 New York

The Yankees got out to an 8-0 lead in the first game and Tampa Bay scored 4 runs in a too-little-too-late 8th inning rally. Chili Davis hit his 2nd home run of the year (both against us) and Bernie Williams hit his first 2. In the 2nd game, we broke our 6 game losing streak as Esteban Yan picked up our first save of the year. The Yankees blasted Springer for 4 runs in the first inning. We picked up a run in the bottom of the first. The Yankees added another in the 5th. Fred McGriff homered for the second time this season to open the bottom of the 6th as we rallied for 4 runs to tie it. Stocker batted in McCracken in the 8th for the game winning RBI. Tino Martinez hit his first homer of the year and Darrell Strawberry hit his second. After the game, I found out that Mecir, the closer had dislocated his collar bone was out for the next 6 days. Apparently, he tripped on the sidewalk leaving the ballpark and the pavement dislocated the collar bone on his non-throwing shoulder. Too bad I can't blame the city for negligance on that one. In the third game, Saunders was hit hard and Langston got 2 innings that he shouldn't of in which he was blasted, as you'd expect from a tired pitcher. It'll now be 2 more days until he's ready. Tino Martinez hit another home run and Paul O'Neill hit his 2nd of the year as well. On the bright side, Randy Winn hit the first homer of his career. Hard to believe we've got 8 stolen bases, but only 4 home runs. In injury news, Rolando Arroyo has elbow inflammation and will be out for 5 days, long enough to miss a start. In other news, Dead-end Minor Leaguer Ramon Tatis strained his ankle down in Single-A Visalia.

TIGERS (4/18-4/19)

9-2 Tampa Bay
4-3 Tampa Bay

Amazingly, we got our first sweep since the opening series to get back to .500. McGriff's 3rd homer and Rekar's solid 26 outs in which he allowed 2 runs, only 1 earned won us the first game. Dave Eiland started the second game due to the Arroyo Injury. Down 3-1 in the 6th inning, McGriff hit his 4th homer to tie the game. McCracken batted in Ledesma for the winning run in the 7th and Eddie Gaillard won it in a 3 inning relief outing.

The New Rotation

Ace - Mark Langston
2 - Tony Saunders
3 - Jason Johnson
4 - Bryan Rekar
5 - Rolando Arroyo

BLUE JAYS (4/20-4/21)

7-3 Tampa Bay
6-3 Tampa Bay

It's official. We're now on a winning streak and are 9-7. McGriff hit another homer in the first game and was joined by Trot Nixon, who did so for the first time in his career. He raised his average from .149 to .196 with that 3-for-4 outing. In other news, Shawn Green hit a triple. It should be noted that Roger Clemens started this game and left this game down a run in the 6th. After the Jays tied it in the 7th, some middle reliever named Risley was shelled for 4 earned runs in the 7th after he got 2 outs in the 6th. Langston wins this one despite blowing a 1 run lead in the final inning he pitched. McGriff continued his homer streak for a 4th game in a row in the next game, as he hit his 6th of the year. Saunders took a shutout into the 9th and gave up 3 runs. Eddie Gaillard then came in to get 2 outs on 10 pitches for a save. Jose Canseco homered for Toronto in this game. He seems to be regaining his peak form as he's hitting .321 with 4 homers and 2 steals through 15 games. Maybe he's working out in the gym again. Every baseball team installed gyms in the 80s so their players could be more like him. Maybe he's just refocused now that he hit his wife and is on probation. Jessica's almost certainly going to divorce him. But shouldn't Bud Selig have suspended him? I guess the Feminists haven't lobbied him hard enough.

@ Orioles (4/22-4/24)

7-2 Baltimore
7-6 Baltimore

In the first game, McGriff's homer streak ended as Rafael Palmeiro hit his 13th home run of the year, while Brady Anderson hit his third and Harold Baines hit his 5th. Could Raffy make a run at the record of Roger Maris? He's running away with the home run title. In the 2nd game, Brady Anderson hit a grand slam for number 4 and Cal Ripken homered for number 5. However, we were still leading until B.J. Surhoff tied the game in the 8th and Raffy batted in the winning run in the 9th.

Colorado gets: Steve Cox, John Flaherty, and Brad Pennington
Tampa Bay gets: Dave Veres

For a mediocre 1B prospect, a backup catcher, and a replacement level reliever, we get a closer and he was immediately resigned to a 3-year extension at $1.1 mil. DiFelice is the replacement for Flaherty at catcher. Here's our revamped bullpen

Closer - Dave Veres
Setup - Jim Mecir
Short - Esteban Yan
Middle - Eddie Gaillard
Long - Albie Lopez
Alt. - Dennis Springer

Eiland is now in the Minors.

11-9 Baltimore

We took an 8-0 lead, fueled in part by a Randy Winn triple (his 2nd of his career) and a home run by Kevin Stocker (number 2). Baltimore rallied to tie by the end of the 8th, fueled in part by homers by Surhoff and Baines. We tied it in the 9th, but Veres blew the save. Baltimore went on to win in the 10th inning. 2 Miguel Cairo errors were responsible for 4 runs scoring for Baltimore. If he keeps this up, he'll be on the bench before long.

@ Blue Jays (4/25-4/27)

5-1 Toronto
4-3 Toronto
10-4 Tampa Bay

Clemens beat Langston in the first game. In game 2, Alex Gonzalez homered in the 4th for 2 runs, McGriff homered in the 7th to tie it (number 7), and added the lead run in the 8th. Veres blew his 2nd straight save since the trade in the 9th as he gave up a homer to Delgado and Mecir lost the game in Extra Innings. In game 3, all of Toronto's offense came through home runs as Canseco hit 2 (he's now got 9) and Delgado hit another for number 4. However, on 16 hits and 3 walks, we scored 10 runs and Jason Johnson got his first win of his career. By the way, Jose the wife beater is hitting .338 with 9 homers and 2 steals now through 21 games. He's tied for 2nd in homers behind Raffy, who is still at 13.

AL East Standings

Boston 15-7
Baltimore 12-11
New York 11-11
Tampa Bay 10-12
Toronto 10-12

By the way, we've scored and allowed exactly 105 runs thus far.

[boomboom]

I'm playing with Baseball Mogul 2006. Its Play-By-Play mode is a joke. I think it was revamped in Baseball Mogul 2007. I guess it probably isn't balanced too well, if its possible to be 38-5 with a .401 batting average with the 98 Devil Rays or to win 130 games with the expansion Blue Jays.

NOTE: I'm going to sim games 2 weeks at a time.


Also keep in mind, playing like the above with a .401 batting average is not very challenging...boardline cheating...but whatever floats anybodies boat is fine by me :)

(BTW: sometimes I cheat to make a player godly...but I don't post about it :D)

[LetsGoYanks]

Hey! St. Petersburg isn't a retirement home! I live here ya know!

[CatKnight]

Still struggling, but I think you're definitely back on the road to health!

[JustinB0716]

Anchor: "Tampa Bay Devil Rays ace Orel Hershiser tore his ACL yesterday. According to newspaper report out of Tampa Bay, he tripped over some uneven pavement on the sidewalk on his way into church. An ambulance was called and they took him to the nearby hospital. He will miss the rest of the season."


I knew there was a good reason not to go to church. Those ACL's are touchy things.