Around the World

[Lobsteve]

Hey, someone has to go first after all. And I'm back...baby.

I'm trying to do something a little different here, and so follows my:
Concept: To take each team in the league to the World Series and win it all. Having won I must switch to whichever team is the worst in the league and repeat the process. Of course the point here isn't to just buy up the best players and go for the title in one year, that's no fun. I prefer to build up a franchise and leave behind a stable team that could possibly win again the next year. So, because I enjoy marking out: Bring it on!

Team #1 has been selected almost entirely at random to be the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. I've never been down to Florida. I hear it is quite hot. Hot enough that frogs prefer to be belly. (Has anyone figured out the frog yet? I kinda like his hat. He has earned his place as my paper-weight du jour.)

Random Note: I'm using Cpnwhateverhisnameis' rosters from August of 2003. I acutally would have used a DB from BBM2K3 if it would have worked. But obviously, until the lack of earnings bug is repaired starting in 2003 will be de rigeur.

Let the Season Begin!

To be honest, I don't know who half the players around here are. Welcome to Tampa, where even the residents don't know what's going on. After a successful (and top secret) Spring Training my crack staff (consisting entirely of Muppets I Have Known) sit down behind closed doors and consider our players.

Please Pass the Trade Sauce

APRIL 1, 2003
White Sox receive Jason Standridge (SP), Carlos Reyes (SP) and Brandon Backe (SP)
Devil Rays receive Felix Diaz (RP)

Minor league trades. Standridge is the only one I remotely regret giving up. On the other hand Diaz could fit into the pen before opening day. But I think it more likely that he'll be in AAA for a few seasons first.

APRIL 1, 2003
Dodgers receive Rey Ordoñez (SS), Chris Truby (3B), Jason Smith (SS) and Terry Shumpert (2B)
Devil Rays receive Rickey Henderson (LF)

And apparently I'm now a HUGE mark for Henderson. He still seems to have good stats in this DB, so why not. Certainly better than Ordonez who I wasn't planning on starting at shortstop in the near future anyhow. Henderson fits right in at the DH spot with solid 80s except for his speed. If he plays to those stats he might even be the best batter on the team.

April 1
Opening Rosters

C Toby Hall
1B Travis Lee
2B Antonio Perez
3B Jared Sandberg
SS Julio Lugo
LF Carl Crawford
CF Rocco Baldelli
RF Aubrey Huff
DH Rickey Henderson

Pitching Rotation
1 Joe Kennedy
2 Jeremi Gonzalez
3 Jim Parque
4 Victor Zambrano
5 Rob Bell

CL Lance Carter
ST Bobby Seay
SH Jesus Colome
MD Delvin James
LG Jon Switzer
AT Jorge Sosa

I can't say I'm exactly thrilled, so expect changes to come as the season begins. I'm particularly leery about those SPs. Hey! Guys! Learn how to pitch! See, now that's how you make an inspiring speech to your crew. Learn from that. Boo-yeah!

Random Injury Report
Seth McClung (RP) - Bruised Foot (15 Days)
Ben Grieve (RF) - Bruised Foot (240 Days)...Uh, Nurse Piggy? Could we maybe reevaluate that one...Maybe?
Josh Hamilton (CF) - Bruised...Ok, that had better be something other than...FOOT!! (240 Days) Are you kidding me? I'm thinking he may also have bruised his brain. Mmmmm, Brains.

[Lobsteve]

April 2nd, 2003: Slammin' Sammy launches #500.
April 3rd, 2003: Our home opener agains tht eJays doesn't go so well: shut out 4-0. Rickey is our star going 2-3. And at 424 years old mind you.
April 4th, 2003: First win of the season as we take revenge on those scabby Canadians (HEY! Who made me write that!) of the Toronto persuasion 13-8. Happy 13, devilish 8. Please pass the pitchers.
April 5th: Bernie Williams notches his 1000th RBI. Good for you Bernie. Now, kindly stop helping those infernal Yankees.
April 7th: The 8-zillion dollar man hits #300 over the fence. And yet (remember he's still with texas) the team is still the most disgusting thing on the planet...ok, they're 3-4 it may be a bit early.
April 17th: Hapless pitcher #5 Mr. Rob Bell is out for 6 days with an elbow inflamation. Does it matter? Not according to anyone I know.
April 21st: Doug Glanville just hit for the cycle and Tony Womack stole #300. Good for you guys.
April 30th: Trade Time!
Blue Jays receive Al Martin (RF), Pete LaForest (C), Dewon Brazelton (SP), Ben Grieve (RF) and Marlon Anderson (2B)
Devil Rays receive John Wasdin (SP)

The only way to tell if I managed to work this one will come when we see if Wasdin can keep up his amazing 1.80 ERA. Admitedly in only 5 innings, but that takes the cake from most of my current staff, so I take it for giving up alot of people who head scout Fozzy Bear doesn't like at all and Ben Grieve who is making 5mill-plus to play footsie with Nurse Piggy.

April 2003 Summary
Overall Record: 12-14 (Tied for 3rd in the division with Baltimore, 4.5 Games back of Boston.)
Random Division Leaders: Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, Braves, Brewers, and Giants.
Best in the League: Barry Bonds is hitting .424. A whole whack of people are running around with 11 home runs, none of them are Bonds. Esteban Loaiza has a miniscule 1.64 ERA and Rocky Biddle of the Expos, of all places, leads with 5 wins.

Devil Rays Player of the Month: Rickey Henderson. .367 average, a single home run and ditto a stolen base. Add in 15 RBI and that's a fantastic 744 year-old. Especially with hitting coach Sam the Eagle reporting that time has really eroded his skills. Sucks to you Sam.

Devil Rays Pitcher of the Month: You'd vaguely hope that this would be one of the starting five, but no such luck. Even the bullpen is less than inspiring. But I suppose Lance Carter had better have it with a 3.00 ERA and 5 saves in just 9 innings of work. I'm not quite sure what to say about that.

With the trade Josh Wasdin is now pitcher number 5, and could conceivably move up with some good work. Rob Bell is throwing in the minors and I don't want to hear any more of his sad work.

The Minor League Look
It's slim pickings down on the farm, but journey man vetran catcher Hector Ortiz is swinging a hot bat with .327 and 5 doubles, which is nice for a catcher. And the only other fellow of note is a relief pitcher Brian Stokes has a 2.66 ERA over 20.1 innings having saved 4.

[Lobsteve]

May 5th: Our former Blue Jay has turned into a horned toad in one game allowing 5 runs in 3 innings. 76 pitches in that small amount of time as well. I hope this wasn't a huge mistake. PS: We lost 8-3 to Cleveland.
May 6th: Raul Mondesi has just hit for the cycle. Raul Mondesi? I could see thrown out at each base, but hit for the cycle? Well, you take what you can get.
May 8th: Aubrey Huff will be out for 13 games, he busted his hand, not badly, but you know how it goes. Jason Pridie, king of the AAA outfield with his 1.000 fielding percentage is called up to fill in the 8th spot in the order. He likely won't hit .333 like Huff in his short stay. Come on, show a little pride.
May 9th: I take back any snide puns I may have made on Mr Pridie's behalf. First major league game? 3-for-4. Of course all he did was get on base, everything else was a donut, but you gotta think that it's somewhat impressive. Oh, we lost 5-3 to the Orioles.
May 10: Mr. 'Don't Call Me Finished' Wasdin made me look good today. 8 innings, 2 runs, I'll allow it. And we even managed to score 3 ourselves. Take that Baltimore. In other news Mr Sammy 'I got more hits than you' Sosa singles for hit 2000.
May 11th: Master Barry 'I got more hits than Sammy' Bonds singles for hit 2500. I hate you Barry. That's right, that'll teach him.
May 13th: The hit parade continues as Jeff Bagwell of Houston also hits number 2000, I presume it was a single. In news that matters we shut out Cleveland 10-0 with Jim Parque pitching. SHUTOUT! SHUTOUT! SHUTOUT!
May 15th: SHUTOUT! SHUTOUT! SHUTOUT! No, that wasn't a continuation of the last game this time Carlos Zambrano puts the oposition to shame, mind you it was only Kansas City (winning score, 2-0). Hero of both games Jon 'I have more Pride that you' Pridie who has a homer in each game and is hitting .409 since being called up. I didn't think he'd even knock a single one out of the park.
May 18th: And it's 500 home runs for Rafael 'Really! I don't use that Blue Pill (tm)!' Palmeiro.
May 28th: Random note, don't play the Angels. They just aren't human. We did take one game of 4 off them, but they racked up a total of 38 runs against my sad little pitching staff. Ow! OW! I say! Oh yeah, Aubrey Huff is back. Pridie wound up hitting .215 in his 15 (I forgot to switch back :P) games with 3 homers. Not bad, shows good promise.


Ah, May Showers
Overall Record: 26-27, 3rd in the East, 11.5 games back of Boston.
This Month: 14-13. Just good enough to miss being struck by lightning. But I sense (No, I don't have any spidey senses) that it was a close thing.

Random 'Best in the League': Boston leads the AL with a 37-15 record and San Fran has a 36-17 record in the NL.

Tampa's Player of the Month: Reserve catcher Javier Valentin leads the club with a .375 average waaaaay up from last month. Javier receives a plush bag of monkey kibble from Rodents R Us.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: We return to the bullpen with a tie between Lance Carter and Jesus Colome who both had outstanding months both dropping their ERA to the sub 2.70 mark making them the standouts of the staff. Well done boys, have a cookie.

Eye on the Farm: My farm team is horrible. I weep for them.

[Lobsteve]

Some Time Last Month, The 30th if you care: The first computer trade occured. Anaheim and Detroit swapped a bunch of nogoodniks. The total number of games appeared in between all 8 players involved in the trade (3 to Anaheim, 5 to Detroit) is all of 37.

June 3rd[: We just helped Seattle pad it's lead atop the majors as they completed the three-game sweep. Kudos to their pitching. My 'Rays didn't have anything going at all. It was so bad that it sent head coach Kermit running around flapping his gangly little matchstick-arms squeaking something about 'Who hired this team!' It wasn't me man. Wasn't me.

June 7th: We were able to break up our losing streak into two manageable chunks by beating Toronto 6-1 before they slapped up aroung the rest of the way. I blame it all on Aubrey Huff who injured himself the first game. John Pridie substituted again, but it just isn't the same without the Huffer.

June 10th: Our first interleague series. About time the Mets showed us who is boss by smocking us 2 out of the 3 games. Wait. The Mets? Oi. Lots of free agents signed this past week, no body that I'd ever have wanted. And to top things off #3 pitcher Jeremi Gonzalez seperates his shoulder and is out for 23 days. I swaped in some farm guy (Travis Harper) and reshuffled the starting five to stick him near the bottom.

June 14th: The Huffer returns from injury to post an astounding 0 hits in 3 games. I think we might be in a slump, another 1-win series as interleague play continues, this time it's the Phillies who are in town to school us. I beg your pardon? Yes, you're right, this is obscene.
In other news, Roger Clemes pitched himself to win 300. I could not personally care less.

June 15th: The second computer trade has been made as the Twins and Cardinals make a 6 player swap. This one makes more sense than Comptuer Trade #1 as, though only one player has any major league games this year, at least the rest of them actually look to be having a good season int he minors.

June 17th: It's almost like an evil conspiracy now. We travelled across the block (well?) to play the Marlins and headed back without a win. I don't even know who to point the finger at, and I don't have enough to go around. I hope it's just an NL thing because interleaue play is over...for now.

June 21st: It's officially not just an NL thing as we only manage to sneak one game past the Red Sox. The only good thing about this series was that the fans actually came out to the ballpark. This will likely continue all week as the Yankees are in town next. Advertising secretary Scooter considers changing our signs to read 'Come see the other team and we promise to win in the future...honest.'

June 22nd: Computer Trade #3 occurs as Atlanta sends two aging bench warmers (Roberto hernandez and Cory Aldridge) to Pittsburgh for a bunch of young bench warmers (Ian oquendo, Joe Beimel, Duaner Sanchez and Rob Mackowiak.) In summation, Hee hee hee, Duaner.

June 24th: Nothing like a random turnaround. We just took all three games off the visiting Yanks. Everything worked, especially the pitching. I think it was a fluke. Must have been.

June 28th: Ow. Ow. Ow. Woo! That would represent our series in Boston. 13-5 loss. 15-12 loss. 15-5 loss. Win! 7-6. Is it too late to start all over again? Probably.

June 29th: Today is Milestone day. Roger Clemes caps off the month by throwing his 4000th K and later the same day Jim Thome knocks in one more run for an even thousand RBI.

July 2nd: We can't even beat the Yankees. I imagine they were out for revenge as we sauntered into their home town and the sauntered right back out a little more stooped over than we went in. Four straight losses will do that.

The June Recap Police
If there were police they'd be dragging the entire team off to the slammer.
Overall Record: 34-48.
June Record: 8-19. We are now dead last in the AL East, big surprise. I won't even mention how far behind. It's just depressing.

Random Worst Teams: Surprisingly we aren't at the bottom of either league. Cleveland beats us out in the AL with a 31-49 record, even so they are closer to their division title that we are. And in the NL the Mets lead everyone in futility at 25-58...and we still couldn't beat them.

Tampa's Player of the month: Mr Aubrey Huff receives a slap upside the head with a salmon for now being one of only two players with a +.300 average (.328) Julio Lugo is 2nd on the team with .303.

Tampa's Pitcher of the month: This time it HAS to go to Jim Parque who is the only guy with a winning record (7-6). He is also the only starter (not counting Jeremi Gonzalez who just returned from injury and almost didn't play at all in June) with a sub 4.00 ERA (3.24).

The Triple-A Dance: There is only one player really deserving of mention, in that I wouldn't be reluctant to call him up if needed, ie, no other competition in AAA at his position. And that is releiver Brian Stokes. Sub 4.00 ERA and 11 saves. Well done Brian, you almost make us look good. Not quite. But almost.

[kennybear]

i like the way you are writing this. keep it up

[TwinswillWin]

No surprise your in a though division and you have developing players.

[Lobsteve]

Thanks Kenny. I do tend to change my writing style as I go along, though from year to year it seems to stay somewhat the same. This time I feel like I'm ignoring the stats more than I would like, it's all about the stats after all. We'll see what I come up with next year.

Twins: Tough? Yes, it's a little difficult. But really we've been doing quite well, until my next update...which I am just about to post. If you have a weak stomach it might be best to look away.

Lobsteve.

[Lobsteve]

July 5th: I think I must have done something wrong in a previous life. The Blue Jays shelacked us 14-5 in the middle of our wee series (we only managed to sneak the last game 1-0, otherwise it was a bust). I shuffled up the lineup for the beginning of the month, which mainly consisted of moving Aubrey Huff up to the 3rd spot. This drops underacheiver Antonio Perez down to the 8th spot and gives Rickey 'All My Hair Is White' Henderson a bit more protection at DH in 4th. It payed off very well as the Huffer has 2 homers in 3 games.
July 3rd Victor Zambrano (unreliable pitcher number 4) is out for 15 days with the Severe Elbow Tendinits Of DOOM! I don't know who much of the Severe, or of the Doom there is if he's only out for 15 though. The moral of the story is that 8-2 AAA pitcher Chad Gaudin (ie: the only AAA starter with an ERA less than 5) gets his chance.

July 8th: The only update that matters is that July 7th Aubrey 'Huffer' Huff gets named, forever more, 'Mr. Grand Slam' as he toasts one said Grand Slam in the bottom of the 9th to beat Florida 5-2. (The other two games were too depressing to mention.)
Oh, and 2000 hits all around for John Olerud (on the 5th) and Frank Thomas (on the 8th). Coincidentally Mike Mussina got strikeout #2000 as well.

All-Star Break 2003!
July 9th: The 'I can hit the ball farther than you, I know I can' Contest. This year it's the Carlos Delgado and Barry Bonds show. They finnished 1-2 in all three rounds with Delgado taking the final 7-4. Overall it was a tie with 20 dingers each.

July 10th: The 'Amazingly can't end in a tie this time' Game.
The NL took over in the last two innings with 7 runs to win 10-4. And I hereby randomly name Sammy Sosa as All-Star MVP for his two HRs and 3 RBI. Yay.
Of course the only thing that really matters is if any Devil Rays made it to the big game. Well, that's an easy one to answer: Yes we did. One. The Self-proclaimed Oldest Fart In Baseball, Mr Rickey Henderson did an admirable job of warming the bench for the AL side. They would have won if he had started. Seriously.

July 14th: Inter-League Play Part 3. You'd think that playing the Expos we'd have half a chance, expect that Montreal is in second place over there in the NL east. Yes, that's right, 2nd. So, just to be consistent we won 1 game of 3, just like the last unpteen series. Next up? Atlanta. Great.
Big AAA trade between Pittsburgh and Toronto. The only thing I noticed is that Al Martin (who I shipped off to Toronto at some point...at least I think it was me) is among them. NEXT!
In a trade that actually might mean someting, Minnesota ships Dustan Mohr (RF) to the Yankees for Mike Thurman (RP). Mohr seems to have been the backup RF for the Twins while Thurman didn't get any playing time for NY. Good move my the Twins I think.

July 17th: Predictably we take one game of three from Atlanta. Did I mention the consistency? More injuries in 3 days than there have been all year. Rocco Baldelli is out with a finger blister. 5 days?!?! Come on Rocco, suck it up. He's been replaced by prospect George Lombard who's only quality is speed. I have no other CFs. Don't worry, I've already made a note for the draft. Next up, John Wasdin (unreliable pitcher #5) is out for 7 days with rotator cuff (and I can't help thinking of a potato peeler) soreness. However, Zambrano is 2 days away from being healthy and the #5 spot is 3 days away, switchy-switchy.

July 22nd: After a two game split with visiting Anaheim we break our three-game series trend against the Rangers by winning 2. In the last game against Texas (which we lost 12-4) George Lombard (hitting .381 by the way in his replacement role) connects for his first home run of the year and first Grand Slam of his career. Sucks to be him though as Baldelli is healthy again. After Lombard swatted away Mr. 'Grand Slam' Huff struck out.
Minnesota and Pittsburgh make a 9 player trade. The Twins lose their marbles a bit though as they give up 7 players for Craig Wilson (a decent RF mind you) and some pitcher. Notables going to the Pirates are Doug Mientkiewiczeaasdfals;dkjfa, Denny Hocking and Alex Prieto all capable of starting....for me.
Anaheim and Baltimore essentially switch pitchers in a 5 player swap. Ben Weber (1.65 ERA, Stats wise a young Greg Maddux....if Greg was a reliever) goes to Baltimore and Anaheim gets Kurt Ainsworth (2.10 ERA). Uh, Anaheim got hosed. Sure, they got Jack Cust as well, but...wow. Weber stats are currently: Control-93, Power-70, Movement-100. 85 Overall. Have I mentioned the Wow?

July 26th: Like I wanted to see more of the Angels. Though, we did win 2 of 3. And had our highest scoring game of the year in a 15-9 win. I guess I'll allow it.
In Trade Deadline Madness news Atlanta and San Diego trade nobodies.

July 31st: It's all about the trade dealine. Never mind Jim Parque and Young Master Wasdin both getting shutouts, lets analyze the big moves made by other teams.
Oakland moves catcher Adam Melhuse to Cincinnati for Wilton Guerrero. A minor leaguer goes with each.
Trade Winner: Likely the Reds.
Trade Rating: Bleah.

You know what, it turns out that the quality of weed out in Seattle is really good. It must be as the Mariners send Edgar 'Best DH Evah!' Martinez and 5 others to Boston for Jorge 'Who?' De La Rosa and Scott 'Ok, This might be a fair trade after all' Williamson.
Trade Winnder: It might be a tie. Edgar will likely retire soon and Williamson could really improve the Seattle bullpen.
Trade 'Holy SMOKES!' Rating: Yowsah!

As we move east Toronto and the Cubs switch up 4 players. Greg Myers (C) and Tanyon Sturtze (SP) to Chicago. Alan Benes (RP) and Tom Goodwin (CF) to the Jays. This has to be a Myers for Goodwin trade, and if so it doesn't really make that much sense. Carry on.
Winner?: Call it a draw.
Mark Out Rating: I actually recognized all these players.

Finally, as the deadline looms, Anaheim and St. Louis pull the trigger one last time. By the way? I think Seattle is shipping out some of the green...no, not that green, the other green...to St. Louis. To the Cardinals, Brad Fullmer. To Anaheim 5 players (3 AAAers, Chris Widger (C) and Wilson Delgado (SS) both playing well off the bench). Ok, so you're thinking: Good for St. Lou. 5 essential nobodies for a starting DH...Oh, wait, there aren't any DHs in the NL, and we all know Brad ain't the best 1B out there. (Not that the Cards playing Tino Martinez is the best choice ever, he's almost older than Rickey H.) But here's the kicker: FULLMER IS INJURED FOR ANOTHER 118 DAYS!
Winner, now: Anaheim.
Winner, Later: St. Lou.
Randomness Rating: What?

Did we even play in July?
July Record: 11-15
Overall Record: 45-61. Yeah, we're last in the East. But there are worse teams in the AL, namely the Twins. Hmmm, that's not inspiring at all. How about the NL? Ah, the Mets, Reds and Padres, good, keep making us look like we can play ball.

Random Wild Card Hopefulls: Really close in the AL with the Yankees, Angels, Jays, As, Rangers and Orioles all within 4.5 games of each other. In the NL Houston, St.Louis, Arizona and Montreal are within 5.5 games with Colorado and Milkwaukee 9 back. In both Central divisions the teams are better off trying for the division win. Especially in the AL.

Tampa's Player of the Month: Gotta be Mr. Grand Slam. Huff doubled his HR output in a month and is hitting .308. That's good enough for me.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: Uh, lets go with Lance Carter, who, even as the closer has the only winning record on the club at 3-2. A 2.31 ERA and 17 Saves with only one blown kinda makes this a no-brainer. 2.31, by the way, is .99 better than everyone else on the team.

August 5th: Never again will Mr. Grand Slam be player of the month. 5 games. 3 hits. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I'm so embarassed about this month we're going to:
The August Grand Finale
August Record: 10-19. And we were lucky to get that.
Overall Record: 55-80. We're now the worst team in the AL. Good Grief.

Random Best in the League: Boston is 7 games away from everyone else at 89-45. That looks very good from 34.5 games behind them.

Players of the month? Not bleedin' likely. NEXT!

[Lobsteve]

September 2nd: Split two games with Oakland to start the month. Mr. Grand Slam hit a homer each game. It's a good way to start the month.

September 5th: Back to the win 1, lose two formula as we got Marinated. Joe Kennedy (Unreliable pitcher #1) is out for 6 days. Chad Gaudin is called up for the second time.

September 9th: Did I mention our Formula. The one that has left us in dead last? Yeah. John Wasdin is out for the rest of the season (26 days). The silly twit broke his wrist. I'm not entirely sure how to replace him....Ok, how about Chris Flinn (Who? I don't know either.) for two days, then Kennedy comes back and takes back Unreliable Pitcher slot #1 and Chad Gaudin moves down to be Unreliable Pitcher #4. Clear as mud? Yes indeed.
There were also a smattering of 2000th hits from nobody I particulary care about.

September 13th: We broke the formula, by some fluke taking 2 games from Boston. It sure wasn't the pitching. Oi.
Hey, Steve Finley has 300 steals now. I have only one question, who is Steve Finley?

September 17th: Chris Flinn gets to stay around for more than one start as he leads us past the Yankees 3-2. Who'd a thunk it. Other than that it was a very forgetable 4 games.

Skipping to the end...
Season Recap!

Overall Record 66-96. That just ain't right.

Tampa's Player of the Year: This one has to go to Mr. Grand Slam. It was my mistake to keep Aubrey down in the lineup, he had a fantastic rookie year finishing with a .292 average and 19 HRs. he probably would have done even better if I wasn't such a dolt.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Year: Closer Lance Carter is the only pitcher to finish with an ERA less than 3. With 28 saves he has secured himself a job next year.

The rest of the League

AL Division Titles: Boston, Chicago and Seattle locked up their respective divisions.
AL Wildcard: Toronto edged out the Yankees by a single game.

NL Division Titles: Atlanta, Houston and San Francisco will raise banners.
NL Wildcard: St. Louis was also 1 game behind Houston for the division and beat the Cubs by 1 game to make the playoffs.

Individual Titles
Bonds hit 63 HRs to take the NL HR title while Delgado swats 59 in the AL. Bonds also takes the NL Batting title with a .376 average. Juan Gonzalez (.349) leads in the NL.
Pedro will likely win the Cy Young as he led both ERA and wins (2.25 and 21 respectively). Close behind is Curt Schilling (2.51 and 20).

[Lobsteve]

The Playoff Edition

I'm a huge mark for the playoffs. It's where baseball really shines. And awaaay we go.

Round 1

Seattle (95-67) vs. Toronto (88-74)
Predition: Seattle
Results
Game 1: Seattle 3-2 Toronto
Game 2: Seattle 6-2 Toronto
Game 3: Toronto 5-4 Seattle
Game 4: Toronto 4-6 Seattle
Seattle Wins 3-1

Boston (108-54) vs. Chicago (80-83)
Prediction: Uhhhh, the Red Sock please.
Results
Game 1: Boston 1-0 Chicago
Game 2: Boston 4-3 Chicago
Game 3: Chicago 3-6 Boston
Boston Sweeps 3-0

Atlanta (96-66) vs. St. Louis (91-75)
Prediction: Be Brave.
Results
Game 1: Atlanta 3-4 St. Louis
Game 2: Atlanta 6-4 St. Louis
Game 3: St. Louis 4-6 Atlanta
Game 4: St. Louis 1-3 Atlanta
Atlanta Wins 3-1

San Francisco (94-68) vs. Houston (92-74)
Prediction: Too close to call.
Results
Game 1: San Francisco 3-2 Houston
Game 2: San Francisco 6-1 Houston
Game 3: Houston 2-1 San Francisco
Game 4: Houston 6-7 San Francisco
Giants Win 3-1

Round 2

Boston vs. Seattle
Prediction: Boston in 5
Results
Game 1: Boston 7-4 Seattle
Game 2: Boston 2-10 Seattle
Game 3: Seattle 4-3 Boston
Game 4: Seattle 2-5 Boston
Game 5: Seattle 1-4 Boston
Game 6: Boston 3-1 Seattle
Boston Wins 4-2

Atlanta vs. San Francisco
Prediction: San Fran in 7
Results
Game 1: Atlanta 2-3 San Francisco
Game 2: Atlanta 4-3 San Francisco
Game 3: San Francisco 3-1 Atlanta
Game 4: San Francisco 2-4 Atlanta
Game 5: San Francisco 0-2 Atlanta
Game 6: Atlanta 3-5 San Francisco
Game 7: Atlanta 6-5 San Francisco
Atlanta Wins 4-3 by 1 run in the bottom of the 10th in game 7.

WOLRD SERIES!

Boston vs. Atlanta
Prediction: The curse continues, Atlanta in 7.
Results
Game 1: Atlanta 9-6 Boston
Oh yeah, that stupid rule where the All-Star winning league gets home-field in the series that matters, I forgot about that.
Game 2: Atlanta 5-9 Boston
Did someone forget to order pitching for the final?
Game 3: Boston 10-3 Atlanta
Grand Slam for Kevin Millar.
Game 4: Boston 7-1 Atlanta
The End of the Curse! Awesome game by Pedro.
Game 5: Boston 2-3 Atlanta
The curse remains!
Game 6: Atlanta 8-2 Boston
Mike Hampton with the complete game win.
Game 7: For all the marbles...

Atlanta 4-6 BOSTON!!!!!!
The Curse is broken! So much for the Bambino! Manny Raminrez wins it all but single-handedly with two HRs and 4 RBI.

Free-Agent Madness

Having made 8 million this past year I feel somewhat confident, but I refuse to put up with any nonsense from the amazing underacheivers on this team.

Carl Crawford wants 3.7 for 3 years, up from .3. Hmmm, how about playing the benefit of the doubt card? Alright. Granted.

Rocco Baldelli humbly requests an even 8.1 mill over 7 years. Up from his .3 for the rookie year. And he did have a good one. Gotta sign this kid, did someone say franchise? Maybe.

Backup SS B.J. Upton wants a raise for hitting .171. GET YOUR BLOATED BOTTOM OUT OF MY OFFICE!

AAA sensation (?) Jason Pridie wants 3.5 for two years after being called up twice during the season. Curse these young players and their expectations. Alright, granted, I can always trade him.

Wes Bankston wants .37. Wes who? Next!

Jonny Gomes wants half a mil for his 84 peak. I gues I can afford that, he may even get to play next year.

Speedy LF Jason Tyner wants more than Gomes. Out! Out!

Jim Parque. Jim Jim Jim Jimmy Jim. Wasn't that 21 losses this year? It was! And yet you want 2 million. Good riddance.

Jorge Sosa, 6.33 ERA. Bye.

Ah, Pitcher of the Year Lance Carter has a reasonable request, 3.2 for seven years. Now there's a loyal fellow. Signed.

Not even my scouts like Seth McClung, and neither do I.

Elsewheres: Vlad Guerrero is up for grabs for 17.9, very tempting if I could afford it. Bankruptcy isn't an option here. Vald and Jim Thome head the list of Free-Agents. There are some other good ones out there, but nothing in my ~1mil price range.

The Big Awards Show

Copied directly from the news wire, here are this year's winners.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Cy Young: Pedro Martinez (BOS)
Player of the Year: Alex Rodriguez (TEX)
Rookie Of The Year: Rocco Baldelli (TB)

Gold Glove (P): Esteban Loaiza (CHW)
Gold Glove (C): Einar Diaz (TEX)
Gold Glove (1B): Scott Spiezio (ANA)
Gold Glove (2B): Todd Walker (BOS)
Gold Glove (3B): Aaron Boone (NYY)
Gold Glove (SS): Alex Rodriguez (TEX)
Gold Glove (LF): Randy Winn (SEA)
Gold Glove (CF): Darin Erstad (ANA)
Gold Glove (RF): Aubrey Huff (TB)

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cy Young: Curt Schilling (ARZ)
Player of the Year: Barry Bonds (SF)
Rookie Of The Year: Tim Olson (ARZ)

Gold Glove (P): Kirk Rueter (SF)
Gold Glove (C): Damian Miller (CHC)
Gold Glove (1B): Todd Helton (COL)
Gold Glove (2B): Ray Durham (SF)
Gold Glove (3B): Jose Hernandez (PIT)
Gold Glove (SS): Rich Aurilia (SF)
Gold Glove (LF): Phil Nevin (SD)
Gold Glove (CF): Andruw Jones (ATL)
Gold Glove (RF): Raul Mondesi (ARZ)

First of all, I totally called the Cy Young for Pedro. So there.
But now forget everything else because the league officials are going through drug testing ASAP. Two TBs in the AL awards?!?!?! See, that's how you cap a bad year. So I'm not infinitely glad I resigned Rocco 'The King, 2003' Baldelli. And how about Mr. Grand Slam showing the gold. But seriously, are you telling me there weren't any better RFs out there? I thought for sure Ichiro would have taken it. Not that I'm complaining. At all.

Draft Preview

The top ten draft picks as sorted by their peak ability (which, I hope, is the right way to do this).

1: Ian Unger (1B) OA: 79 P: 94
2: Britt Brodsky (SS) OA: 69 P: 93
3: Ben Thomas (LF) OA: 68 P:92
4: Toby Hayes (C) OA: 67 P: 92
5: Rico Lizaur (2B) OA: 67 P: 91
6: Brian Voskoboynik (P) OA: 81 P: 90
7: Julio Guerra (P) OA: 80 P: 90
8: Juan Alemao (P) OA: 78 P: 90
9: Dennis Morlaes (2B) OA: 61 P: 90
10: Charlie Ardoin (P) OA: 89 P: 89

[Lobsteve]

The Draft

The Top Ten Picks Overall

1: (NYM) Rico Lizaur (2B) OA:67 P:90
2: (TB) Ian Unger (1B) OA: 79 P: 94
I have to think that he's the best of the draft. He could start right away and has that disgustingly high peak. Definately a power hitter.
Contact: 74
Power: 93!
Speed: 54
Eye: 82
Fielding: 68 - This worries me.
Think: John Olerud in his prime minus the D.
3: (SD) Toby Hayes (C) OA: 67 P: 94
4: (CIN) Julio Guerra (P) OA: 80 P: 90
5: (CLE) Brian Voskoboynik (P) OA: 81 P: 92
6: (MIN) Britt Brodsky (SS) OA: 69 OA: 88
7: (FLA) Charlie Ardoin (P) OA: 79 P: 89
8: (PHI) Wheeler Knoll (CF) OA: 69 P: 82
9: (DET) Juan Alemao (P) OA: 78 P: 92
10: (PIT) Steve Bolin (P) OA: 79 P: 88

And now just the rest of the TB picks. I ain't going through all 8-zillion draftees.

32: (TB) Mark Samuels (SP) OA: 74 P: 82
Lots of Closers to pick from, but I have a closer. Samuels is the pick of the 80+ peak pitchers left.
Endurance: 102
Control: 91
Power: 76
Movement: 79
Defense: 51
Think: Maybe a Tom Glavine? Certainly more power than a Maddux. Whatever.

62: (TB) Luis Caccia (SP) OA: 66 P: 79
Still more closers than you can shake a stick at. Had to go with one more SP just because we proved so weak there last year.
Endurance: 78
Control: 83
Power: 74
Movement: 81
Defense: 50
Future Role: 3-4 hole in the rotation.

92: (TB) Wes Martin (CF) OA: 61 P: 70
I did say I needed another CF, so here he is. There was another one with more peak ability (72, not much more) available this round, but Martin seems to have the better skills.
Contact: 68
Power: 65
Speed: 89
Eye: 84
Fielding: 89
Future Role: Possible transfer to LF and the leadoff spot?

122: (TB) Henry Berry (C) OA: 56 P: 67
Everyone needs a young catcher in AAA somewhere. Berry is only 20 years old and has alot of defensive talent.
Contact: 51
Power: 66
Speed: 59
Eye: 67
Fielding: 82
Future Role: Defensive Mainstay.

152: (TB) Dirk Sims (P) OA: 59 P: 65
The only reliever I'll pick this draft, and a well rounded one at that. Not a bad pick this late in the draft I think. He won out over other players due to his defense.
Endurance: 59
Control: 70
Power: 80
Movement: 64
Defense: 60
Future Role: Middle Relief, if he makes it at all.

Random Free-Agent News
Jim Thome and Mr. Guerrero didn't last long on the F-A list.
Thome goes to the White Sox for 19 mill a year while Vlad winds up in Seattle (for some reason. What they'll do with Ichiro I just don't know) for 17.9.

[Lobsteve]

Pre-Season 2004

Trades

MARCH 1, 2004
Cubs receive Hector Ortiz (C), Jeff Liefer (1B) and Carl Crawford (LF)
Devil Rays receive Jae-kuk Ryu (SP)

Liberate that salary! Carl Crawford and his 3.7 million are out of my hair. Apparently I had more catchers than I needed as well as moving Ortiz really makes no difference to my depth behind the plate. Jeff Leifer being gone leaves room for Mr. #2 (Draft Pick Ian Unger) to either slide onto the bench or even into the starting role if he proves himself in AAA in the first months of the season.
In return Jae-kik 'Koo-Koo' Ryu I can very well see as being a starter with impressive power in a few years, maybe even next year. (OA: 63 P: 82)

MARCH 1, 2004
Astros receive Travis Harper (SP), Matt White (SP), Mark Malaska (SP) and Felix Diaz (RP)
Devil Rays receive Adam Everett (SS)

None of these pitchers have a peak over 70. So why should I keep them hogging resources down in the minors which I can use to pay Rocco 'I have 8million more than you' Baldelli. I can't honestly see myself missing any of them, even my last pick in the draft has the potential to be better.
And how can I turn down the offer of Adam Everett? Ok, so he hasn't played so well in the majors so far (give the guy a break, it's hard to hit more than .200), but he has been ripping up the AAA with a .306 average. That's enough promise to entice me. (OA: 69 P: 71)

MARCH 1, 2004
Indians receive Gerardo Garcia (SP) and Jon Switzer (SP)
Devil Rays receive Brian Tallet (SP)

Just a trade for salary room. Both Garcia and Switzer's contracts are up this year, and they seem to think they are better than they are. I have to call this a fair trade. Garcia is a sure bullpen player in a few years, maybe Switzer as well.
Brian Tallet is a fairly instant addition to my weak pitching staff. Having dropped Parque, Tallet fits nicely into the lower end of the rotation, but probably won't be a keeper in the long run. Likely I'll let his contract run out as I develop draft picks.

Free-Agent Nonsense
First time I've ever searched a free-agent list so completely, and I found some gold in thar them hills.

Nugget #1: Laynce Nix. Ditched by Texas last fall this young CF comes with a peak of 98 and the Fozzy 'Head Scout' Bear seal of 'Superstardom' written all over him. Not fantastic AAA numbers from last year, but nothing to sneeze at, he can only get better. So, .3 for 2 years, we'll see.

Nugget #2: Jeremy Brown (C). A fantastic defensive catcher (P: 80, currently 96 Fielding). I wasn't going to sign him, but then I check my lineup and found that starting catcher Toby Hall is, somehow, out for 76 days! So suddenly I could use another catcher. .6 for 3.

Random Injury Report

It's just catcher Toby Hall who is on the DL. 76 days with a torn knee ligament. I swear I never got the memo that this happened. Honestly.

Opening Day Lineups
(* = Rookie. + = My draft pick. Stats are 2004 pre-season)

Starting Lineup
1. George Lombard (LF) .367 OBP
2. Rocco Baldelli (CF) .333 AVG
3. Mr. Grand Slam (RF) .308 AVG
4. *Jason Pridie (DH) .447 OBP
5. Julio Lugo (SS)
6. Jared Sandberg (3B) 13 RBI in 18 GP
7. Antonio Perez (2B) 8 2B in 20 GP
8. Travis Lee (1B) .275 AVG
9. *Jeremy Brown (C) .488 OBP

Riddin' the Pine
Damian Rolls (IF)
*Jonny Gomes (OF)
*Matt Diaz (OF, 1B)
*Josh Hamilton (OF)
Javier Valentin (C)

Starting Rotation
1. *+Mark Samuels - 26 Ks in 25 IP
2. Jeremi Gonzalez - 5.68 ERA
3. Joe Kennedy - 1-1
4. Victor Zambrano - 3.32 ERA
5. Brian Tallet - 0-2

Bullpen
CL. Lance Carter - 1 save.
ST. Bobby Seay - 1-0
SH. Jesus Colome - .225 OBA
MD. John Wasdin - 1-1
LG. Rob Bell - 0-1
AT. *+Luis Caccio - .284 OBA

Random Comments: Uhhhhh, is it too soon to start worrying about my pitching staff? I certainly hope not, because if anything is going to go wrong this year it for sure is that starting 5. And right after them the bullpen. Then after them the AAA pitchers. Man it's a sad state of affairs. I don't think Samuels can pull it out on his own, I'll be impressed if he wins 10. Not fair to toss a kid right into the fire like that, oh well.

Hey! You forgot the AAA!

Couple people to look out for down on the farm.

1. Ian Unger (1B), obviously. 'The Future' was quite hot in the spring, .281 AVG, .414 OBP and 3 HR. But I'll give him a bit of time first. (Honestly, he probably doesn't need it.)

2. Laynce Nyx (CF). Fozzy's Superstar Pick Of The Spring hit .318. Not bad.

3. Chris Flinn (SP). 2-0 record. 2.63 ERA. Only 4 runs allowed. Wow, he might be (rather suddenly) the only good prospect around.

[Lobsteve]

April 2nd
Opponent: The Hated Yankees
L7-4, W10-5
I don't know where exactly we're opening the season, but after these two days we have a -week- of travel time. So, a week, that must mean we're in Africa? No, wait, I know, we're taking baseball to Russia. I mean they wouldn't go to Japan again would they?

April 11th
Opponent: The 1-3 Orioles.
W7-0, W10-5, L2-1
Rocco Baldelli isn't really pulling his weight in the 2 spot yet as he's hitting a mediocre .211. Can't really complain yet, but didn't I sign him for 8 mill. Yes, yes I did. I hate not getting my money's worth. SO GET ON IT! PS: Why is my pitching half-decent? I can't explain it.

April 15th
Opponent: Once more unto the Yankees (4-2)
L7-2, L12-8, L6-1, W6-1
All those losses were a bit of a slap in the old face, but after the first one it was really the Baldelli, Huff coming out show. Baldelli in particular went 5-for-5 in the 12-8 loss with 4 RBI. But I take back what I said about my pitching, they're just as good as last year.

April 18th
Opponent: Chicago White Sox (4-5)
W12-1, L8-1, L9-1
Fantastic game from Brian Tallet in the win. 7.2 innings, 6 strikeouts, fantastic. The 1 earned run is just an added bonus. It could very well be time to shift the starting 5 around....actually, the bullpen isn't so hot either. Things to think about.

April 22nd
Opponent: Baltimore Orioles (3-10)
W2-1, L6-4, L4-3
I think next time somone had better point out to the Os that they were 3andf'ing10. Where do they get off...er, how do they go around beating such a superior team. Pitching. It's all about pitching.

April 25th
Opponent: Again, the White Sox (7-8)
W10-3, L5-3, W7-1
Fantastic pitching in the two wins. Mark Samuels -finally- got his first win of the season, thanks to the bats for backing him up this time, in his previous 3 losses he had a total of 7 runs in support of his efforts (not that they were great efforts). Joe Kennedy had the other win allowing the only run on a homer. For recording the only loss of the series, and an abysmal outing it was, Jeremi Gonzalez is relegated to the farm. John Wasdin gets the nod in the starting rotation (spot 2) and 'Koo-Koo' Ryu is up from the farm to take middle relief, not sure for how long though.
In an unrelated note, there hasn't been a single milestone reached by anyone in the league so far. Weird.

April 29th
Opponent: World Series Champions, the Bo Sox (13-7)
L10-1, L6-5, W2-1
Extremely lucky to even come away with a win here. I was impressed that the second game was as close as it was, tied at 4 after nine, we scored 1 playing small-ball (a walk, single (runner to 3rd), steal of 2nd, intentional walk, and another walk) to head into the bottom of the 10th where Jesus Colome blew it allowing 2. Why my closer wasn't brought on I'll never know.
John Wasdin shows up and gets the win the next day with 7.2 strang innings. This time Lance Carter is brought in for the save.
Finally there are a couple milestones to note. Luis Gonzalez (ARZ) gets hit number 2000. And Manny 'I lead even pitcher's stats' Ramirez hits for the cycle, because he didn't have anything else better to do.

April Recap
Which obviously means we need new hats.

Record: 9-12 Really? I thought it was a better month than that.

Random Early Leaders
Avg: Manny Ramirez, .435!!! All the top 10 is +.350
HR: Manny Ramirez, 10 along with Jim Thome, Matt Lawton and James Loney.
RBI: Manny Ramirez, 32
ERA: Manny...DOH! Woody Williams, 1.31
Wins: A big stack at 4 led by Boston teammates Pedro and Jeff Suppan. Uh, you think they're doing well?

Tampa's Player of the Month: Rocco 'Eight, that's right, eight' Baldelli coasts in here, mainly because no one else can break .300. Rocco is at .322, which is apparently enough this month. But he hasn't really been scoring runs (8) or batting them in (6), so he will have to work harder to keep this title next month.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: Joe Kennedy, come on down. A pitcher with a winning record? No brainer here (though John Wasdin, presuming he keeps up the strong work, will be a contender next month), 3-1, 2.56 ERA. It makes me happy.

Keep Watching the Farm!

No need to keep you waiting, the obvious question is: How is Ian Unger doing? Very well thank you very much: .316 Avg. 28 RBI. 25 Runs. Walked 26 times, with a .472 OBP and a phenomenal .633 SLG%. Strangely only 8 HRs. He's only made 2 errors in 30 games as well, much better than expected.

Free-Agent Laynce Nix is also doing well with a .343 average in limited appearances, only 35 at bats.

As for the pitching, only Chris Flinn seems to be of note with a 3.10 ERA and .176 OBA, but despite his three starts he has yet to be involved in a decision which is rather peculiar. The guy has thrown 20.1 innings, which is almost 7 a game, has allowed a mere 9 runs, 3 a game average and his offense hasn't managed to win him a game? That be crazy.

May 2nd
Opponent: Oakland (10-12)
L6-4, L8-2, L9-7
Man, what a lousy three games, I'm packing up my toys and going home...except we were home, which only makes it worse.

May 6th
Opponent: Texas (15-10...seriously?)
L3-1, L10-2, W9-6
Certainly not a memorable series. Mark Samuels is out for 6 days with a rotator cuff injury. Chris Flinn will come up from the farm to replace him. Likely Samuels will stay on the farm for the rest of the year as he really could have used some time to season.
Milestones: Jeff Kent (HOU) got his 1000th run. And in other 1000 news Carlos Delgado (TOR) did the same with RBI.

May 9th
Opponent: Anaheim (11-17)
W7-4, W9-5, W7-5, L4-3
Well, I'm impressed. Mainly by Carter coming in and saving three games in a row, that takes some doing. We even had various good deeds from all through the lineup, it wasn't a one person show.
Had two trade offers not worth mentioning. The AI seems to think it's doing me a favour offering some unknown, mediocre AAA fellow for the best player on my bench, and then turns right around and offers a pitcher who'll never make the bigs for someone who was in the starting five...ok, I did consider that last one since it was Jeremi Gonzalez they wanted.

May 13th
Opponent: Texas, again. (20-11)
W6-4, W4-0, L10-2
And we were doing so well until Brian Tallet allowed seven runs. Way to let the side down Brian.
More trades offered, all of them just insulting to my intelligence.
Joe Kennedy now shows up int he top-10 for wins with 5. Must be a slow year.
1500 RBI for Sammy S.

May 16th
Opponent: Cleveland (20-15)
L7-1, L7-2, W7-2
That sobbing sound you heard through the first two games was me washing the desk in my office. Fortunately Joe Kennedy came in and let me know that water stains that kind of wood shortly after his complete game win.

May 20th
Opponent: The Red Sox (26-14)
W5-0, L8-7, L3-1
For a minute I thought we had the Sox's number this year, good go of it last series, and then a shutout to start off this one. Success is so short-lived with the best team in baseball though. And who let Manny Ramirez out of his cage anyways?

May 23rd
Opponent: The Indians (24-17)
W13-7, L10-4, L10-3
Man, things were so good. Rocco Baldelli hits a grand salami to lead the way to 13. But then, BAM, the better team starts coming through, what's with that?

May 27th
Opponent: The Twins (17-24)
W5-4, L3-1, W9-8
The last game was Lance Carter's first blown save of the year as the opposition scored twice in the top of the ninth. Otherwise a pleasant enough series which shows we can hold our own...as long as the other team isn't very good.

May 30th
Opponent: New York Yanks (24-23)
L14-3, L20-8, W12-10
Uh, I don't know what to say about this one. Who threw out the pitching staff and replaced it with trained monkeys? I mean, 20-8?!?! Honestly?
But who cares, Mark Prior just threw a no-hitter, lets talk about that instead, much better.

Who mentioned May?
This Month: 12-16
Overall Record: 21-29
You know, I had dreams of .500 this year, but apparently that has been squashed. And outside shot maybe, but not likely. At the moment we're 5th (read: Dead Last) in the AL East, 11 back of Boston.

Random Hitting: The top ten is slacking off just a bit, but everyone is still right around .350 or higher. Ramirez still leads the race with .389. Shannon Stewart (NYYanks) is 10th with .346. That's some crowd. Which got me thinking about the triple crown, so I went back and checked, and in 2003 Barry Bonds pulled it of. 63 HR, .376 AVG and 149 RBI each of which led the NL. And then Pedro took what might as well be the Pitcher's triple crown: 2.25 ERA, 284 Ks and 21 Wins to top the categories in the AL. So far no one looks close to doing the same this year.

Devil Rays Player of the Month: So many mediocre performances to choose from, but I think that this month I'll give it to Mr. Grand Slam Huff. He leads the team with 33 RBI and that's really pretty good. If he increases his pace just a bit he could hit 100.

Devil Rays Pitcher of the Month: Joe Kennedy. It's a no brainer again this month...even if it wasn't last month...His ERA rose a bit to 3.79 this month, but he still has the best record (7-1) during my stint with the D-Rays of any pitcher and the only one to stick around in any top 10 category for any length of time. Go Joe!

Crazy Little AAAs.

Mark Samuels is doing much better with AAA batters as he has a 4-1 record and a 3.68 ERA, never mind a .214 OBA. So what I'm saying is, patience.

Ian Unger is still setting a torrid pace. He's up to 54 RBI in 57 Games, that's a fantastic rate. Up to 18 HRs as well, which seems low for someone with so much power and such a good eye, no complaints though.

[Lobsteve]

June 3rd
Opponent: Minnesota (21-28)
L6-4, L4-3, W17-4, L5-4
HEY! Spread those runs around, we only get so many, it's a pakage deal! 17, good grief, what were they thinking. Just to make like more complicated, Chris Flinn is out for 16 days with a busted foot, so Mark Samuels will get one start, then the rest will go to Victor Zambrano who is just coming back from injury himself. 17. Oi.

June 6th
Opponent: Baltimore (27-26)
W1-0, L12-3, L7-1
It would seem that the minors were better for Samuels than I would have thought. He's the fellow on the end of the complete game, 7-hit, win. Ok, he can have another shot. Zambrano does come back though, just to the long-relief spot in the 'pen instead.

June 10th
Opponent: San Francisco (34-23)
L8-5, W5-4, W10-4
I have to admit that I was worried after the first game, but apparently my amazing motivational speech the next morning was enough to turn the team around...if I had made such a speech. Mark Samuels is up for his second win in a row as the bats pull him through in the 10-4 rout.

June 13th
Opponent: Colorado (33-26)
L11-8, L9-5, W6-1
What a bizare series. Game 1 we were hitting all over the place (14 in all) but couldn't score when it counted. Game 2 I thought would be money with Kennedy on the mound, but he only lasted 4 innings. Then Chad Gaudin showed up and improved his record to 2-0 when I was sure we were going to be dead in the water after the first.
Trade Talk. Milkwaukee wanted catcher Hector Ortiz from the Cubs it seems. So they give up Travis Driskill(SP), Keith Ginter (3B) and Brady Clark (LF) to get him. Not a bad trade really. it could have been straight up for Ginter though who is having a good year and giving up Clark who is having a superb AAA this year seems excessive.
Who got the best of it?: It's close, but I think the Cubs if they don't use Driskill.
Important?: Not really.

June 17th
Opponent: San Diego (28-34)
L5-4, W7-0, W2-1
So much for 3 in a row for Samuels in the loss. He does pick up a no-decision though as our bullpen is capable of losing this one all on it's own thank you very much. Oh, John Wasdin with the shutout and Joe Kennedy with the other victory also pitched.
In other news, Philly really wants me to take Jimmy Rollins off their hands, I've had three offers in the past two weeks. I DON'T Want Your Stinkin' SS.com.org.fu.

June 20th
Opponent: Arizona (39-27)
W4-3, W2-0, W6-1
HA HAA! When did we turn into a team that could play with the big boys? I'm not going to say a word in criticism in case I jinx it. That first game was a strange one though, we scored our runs in the top of the first and that was it. Also weird was no one had more than a single hit, and everyone but the pitcher had a hit. Never seen that before. Brian Tallet picks up the shutout and Mark Samuels continues the 'I'm back from the farm and loving it' streak with another great performance.

June 24th
Opponent: Toronto (33-36)
W5-3, L7-2, L6-3
The streak continued, and then was stepped on in no uncertain terms. Thanks Joe Kennedy for your uninspired 'Hey, I can allow 6 runs as well as anyone else' performance. I expect that from Chad Gaudin, but not Joe.
Another trade to mention, P Corwin Malone goes to the Angels for Calvin Ott (LF) and Jose Molina (C)
Trade Winner: The W.Sox just slapped Anaheim around on this one. If they play Molina (which the 'Heim hasn't been doing) they have an excellent catcher whereas Anaheim doesn't get much.
Why'd they do that? Rating: 3.141952

June 27th
Opponent: The Marlins (34-38)
W7-4, L5-2, L6-0
The Inter-state rivalry begins, and we lose it. Drat. Samuels picked up his first loss in game 2. And then John Wasdin earned a trip to the bullpen with the second loss. Chris Flinn is back from the minors to take his spot in the rotation.

July 1st
Opponent: Toronto (38-37)
L7-2, L7-6, L11-3, L7-3
My goodness, I think i know what I'm drafting when I wind up with the 1st pick. Either that or it really is trade time. But who's going to give me something for nothing I ask you? I don't want to talk about it.

Oh June, what will I do with you?
Monthly Record: 12-15
Overall Record: 33-44
So close to a .500 record for the month, but then those darned Jays. Have I mentioned the last in the division status that we still enjoy?

Random Worst in the League: While we're bad, we're not, quite, as bad as everyone else. Kansas City (30-47), Montreal (32-46) and THEN Us and Pittsburgh tied at (33-45). It hurts.

Tampa's Player of the Month: This month it's HR leader Jared Sandberd who really has come into his own. 21 Homers to lead the team, as well as a team leading .300 AVG. He's even managed a couple stolen bases, just to round it all out.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: Hmmmmm, well I guess it should really be rookie Mark Samuels with his 3-2 record for the month, but no one was fantastique this month, so lets just ignore them. Very good.

The Kids: Ian Unger is up to 25 HRs, and 79 RBI with a .312 average. He'll be called up next year, but this year he finishes up the AAA season.

Laynce Nix is back up over .300 at .319. I still say they have him leading off as all his other numbers are rather low. Too bad he doesn't have the speed for it since his .414 OBP is certainly leadoff materiel.

[meinknotyou]

Nice thread, I'm liking this so far, keep it up!

[Lobsteve]

Thanks for the kind words Meink.

Lobsteve.

[Lobsteve]

July 4th
Opponent: The Marlins (37-42)
W3-1, W1-0, W3-1
Hahahaaaa! Take that you nasty fish. And allow me to dance on your graves. Thank you Misters Flinn, Kennedy, and Gonzalez. Wait. Gonzalez? Yes he was up for a game while Gaudin was out with injury. And because I'm a nice guy (who likes results) Gonzalez stays for a bit longer. Not much hitting, obviously, in these games, but it's nice to come out on top.
And in other news Atlanta and Minnesota make a nothing trade, the only player of note being Critian Guzman. NEXT!

July 7th
Opponent: Baltimore (38-43)
W6-3, L2-1, W5-3
This almost qualifies as a serious tear. Don't you hate it when everything is clicking along and you know it's only a matter of time before the bottom drops out from underneath you again? I fear those days are coming.

July 11th
Opponent: New York Yankees (43-40)
L5-4, W5-2, L15-6, L5-4
Ok, something weird is going on here. The ALl-Star Game doesn't show up on the schedule, but is played on the tenth all the same, and I can only pull up the box score for it and not the one for my game that took place on the same day. Most annoying, this is what we get for progress I suppose. Forget the horrid series with the Yanks (where we lose Chris Flinn for 15 days and Brian Tallet for 8, I don't know who I'm going to call up), lets talk all-stars.
As for the HomeRunDerby (somehow also held in conjunction with regular games) Jim Thome beat out Juan Gonzalez 5-2 in the final. Barry Bonds and Carlos Delgado did not appear, which shows something. Strangely all 4 players in the second round have first names that begin with 'J'. Jim, Juan, Jason Giambi and Jim Edmonds. Coincidence?
The All-Star game was a bizarely low-scoring affair which the NL wins 5-1. Jared Sandberg (3B) makes the only appearance among my players, actually getting VOTED in to start at third. He also leads off and ignominiously leads off the game by getting hit by a pitch!

July 18th
Opponent: Baltimore (41-46)
W6-3, L2-0, W6-2, W7-5
Alright, so John Wasdin replaced Tallet and Chad Gaudin was brought back from the farm to fill in for Flinn and...Where did they suddenly learn to pitch? Gaudin, Gonzalez and Wasdin, all people I had relegated to the bottom of the heap accounted for all three of those above wins. My question is, COULDN'T THEY HAVE FIGURED THIS OUT SOONER! Acursed So-And-Sos! For the love of an oxen!
By the way, there was a long break between these two series where the All-Star game was -obviously- supposed to go. I'm watching you Clay.

July 20th
Opponent: Those Darned Yankees (48-43)
W4-3, L4-0
Ok, that was a perfectly acceptable little series. Boring. But acceptable. But the exciting thing is that 1B Travis Lee is out for 5 days, that means that Ian Unger gets his first start in the Majors.

July 22nd
Opponent: Minnesota (44-49)
W6-1, L9-3
Ok, Unger is not having a good time. Back down he goes. Sorry kid, maybe next year.

July 25th
Opponent: Toronto (52-43)
L6-5, L11-1, L8-0
And there goes the neighbourhood. Laynce Nix is in for Roccor Baldelli, but though he's hitting and getting on base no one is cashing him in. Gros Soupir.

July 29th
Opponent: Kansas City (38-59)
L9-6, L7-0, L10-7
And now we're the worst team in the league, if only that every other team has beaten us, we're still barely ahead by record. Kansas was my only hope, but we couldn't keep up. Disgusting.

August 1st
Opponent: Toronto (56-45)
W12-0, L6-3, W6-2
12-0, the one day that everything worked right. It will go down in Tampa Bay legend. Legend I tell you.

The July Recap Show
Monthly Toils: 12-15
Yearly Spoils: 46-59 (Dead. Last. In the division.)

Randomness: Boston is tops again this year with a 66-38 record. Atlanta is only a game behind though. Tight races for the wildcards between Oakland, Toronto and New York and between Arizona, San Fran and Philly. Manny Ramirez continues to hit lights out (.364)

Tampas Who of the the What?: For making the mysterioius disapearing All-Star Game Jared Sandberg gets this month's nod. Very good. And now next year you will be nowhere. I have forseen it.

Tampas Where of the Then?: If it's alright to shoot a wounded horse, can my pitching staff be slaughtered en-masse? Hmmm, no, that sounds expensive. Let me think about it.

The Big Trade Show (TM)

The trading began in earnest on the 21st as Anaheim and Arizona (apparently we're going alphabetically) swap four. David Eckstein, to whom the Angels gave all of 8 games, will get a chance to start in Arizona. While Anaheim and assortment of Beltran Perezs, Danny Bautistas and Lyle Overbays.
Trade Winner: Arizona. In 11 games Ecksteain is already hitting .347.
Why Would The Do That? Factor: 8.63

Next up, Detroit and Boston swap a bunch of fairly good talent. Detroit gets Anastacio Martinex, Steve Woodard, Damian Jackson and Doug Mirabelli. Boston, having cleaned the bench, refills with Danny Patterson, Jeremy Bonderman and Carlos Pena.
Winner: Detroit. Like changing the bench around makes any difference to Boston.
How's that?: I don't know why they'd give up Mirabelli though.

Because one Lyle Overbay is too many, Anaheim immedeately ships him off to San Diego with two others for a whole mess (5) of nobodys.
Winner: A tie. No one here is making an impact that's for sure.
Who's that? Factor: Who IS that!

Making this trade show a dismal bore this year, Toronto and Oakland finish things off with a four player deal that doesn't offer even the most remote of interest levels. Toronto gives up a bench left-fielder and a AAA pitcher and receives almost the same AAA pitcher and a bench 2B.
Winner: The fans who can know ignore this trade.
Whatever: Yes, Whatever indeed.

[Lobsteve]

August 4th
Opponent: The Boston 'Prepare for the worst' Red Sox
W5-4, W4-1, L5-0
It's a good thing I was prepared for the worst, because otherwise my happy dance up in the skybox would have been very strange indeed. Fantastic 4-1 win from John Wasdin. 9 Ks over 8 innings allowing just a single home run to count in 6 hits and a mere 3 walks. Very impressive. Where's that quality on a start-by-start basis though? Maybe it will come with time.

August 8th
Opponent: Seattle (56-51)
L9-4, L16-2, W8-4, W12-3
You know what Seattle's problem is? Too many Vladimir Guerreros. I forgot they'd picked him up, and man is he good. At least against us. Just to make it fiar Seattle also grabbed Gary Sheffield, who is DHing, you know, 'cause there wasn't enough power. Unfortunately they've relegated Ichiro to being the backup outfielder. Which is silly. He should be starting somewhere. This of course explains why they aren't doing very well this year despite all the talent.

August 12th
Opponent: The Red Sox (68-42)
W8-4, L9-5, L3-0, L8-1
In our one win we had a total of ten hits. One of them was a home run, SEVEN of them were doubles. Seven. 7. Good thing we got it out of our system, because nobody hit very well the other three games, that's for certain.

August 15th
Opponent: Texas (62-51)
L6-5, W11-2, L5-1
Who'd have thought Texas had gotten some pitching? Not me. Which is why it came as such a surprise. Only Perez was without a hit in the win, and there were only a couple without multiple hits as we racked up a total of 21. Mr. Grand Slam was perfect in the 5-1 loss going 4-for-4, not that it helped.

August 19th
Opponent: Anaheim (51-67)
L12-9, L3-1, W8-6
Could this have -been- a more mediocre series? Wouldn't have taken much to make it so.

August 22nd
Opponent: Oakland (65-55)
L6-4, L5-0, W8-7
Ah, there's a mediocre series as well, FROM US! Oakland played very well. It was only the bats waking up that got us the win.

August 25th
Opponent: Seattle (65-58)
L4-3, W3-2, W5-2
Ok, I have to have a bit of a rank here, because our loss was handed to us by a total of FOUR HITS! FOUR FLAMING HITS. All in the fifth inning as well. How did they do that! Well here's how, and it only makes the blood boil more, so goes the inning: Strikeout, Single, Walk, 3-run homer, Single, Strikeout, Walk, Error by 3B (bases loaded), WALK! CURSE YOU!, Pop out. And there you have it.
Oh, and to make things better, Chris Flinn is out for 140 days with some sort of severe tendonitis of the elbow. Great. Jeremi Gonzalez is the replacement.

August 29th
Opponent: Oakland (68-58)
W4-1, W1-0, W9-3
Ok, I really needed a series like this. It takes such a weight off my mind when we can beat someone. It also guarantees that we'll finish the month at the very minimum right on .500. Jeremi Gonzalez really picked it up in his first game in replacement allowing just the 1 run in 8 innings of work.

September 2nd
Opponent: Baltimore (64-66)
L4-1, L8-4, W4-2
Welcome to nothing goes right land. Gonzalez, having had 1 start, is out for 14 days with A Strained Knee. Then Mark Samuels is done for 4 days with Shoulder Bursitis. Quite the platoon of walking wounded. Gaudin fills in for a bit for Samuels while Koo-Koo Ryu comes in for Gonzalez. When Samuels is better they'll switch with Ryu going down to the 'Pen.

In Review: The August Story
Record for the Month: 14-14
Overall: 60-74 IT BURNS!

Randomized: Manny Ramirez is fading while Albert Pujols is stepping up, leading two of the three Triple Crown categories with a .340 average and 46 HRs.
August 31st: Justing 'Who AM I?' Pope pitches a No Hitter for the White Sox. Which is AMAZING for a guy with a 7.44 ERA. Seriously.

Devil Ray of the Month: Hmmm, how about random props to Toby Hall who I forgot all about at the bottom of AAA and is now back in the majors hittin .300. You go Toby.

Devil Ray of the Month PT.2: It's Lance Carter with his umpteenth title for his team best 3.11 ERA and 26 saves. He may do even better than last year if he can pick up a few in September.

Wow, I forgot all about the farm last month
Back on the farm, 4 games in the bigs has helped Ian Unger as he is now hitting .331 with 40 HRs and a whack (119) of RBI. He's also walked almost a quarter (112) of his 417 At Bats. He's the real deal, just need experience.

Catcher Jeremy Brown (relegated because of Toby Hall) is now furiously lighting up the minors with a .400 average and .571 OBP. Yowsah. Yowsah. And, Yowsah.

September 5th
Opponent: Detroit (67-66)
L7-1, W7-6, W5-4
The loss proves that Koo-Koo isn't quite ready to start yet. Sorry Koo-Koo. The rest were too close to call. We won the second on our final out in the bottom of the 15th, and the 3rd in the bottom of the 10th. Tense. Heros are Toby Hall with the 15th inning homer to win. And George Lombard with the tenth inning Single.

September 9th
Opponent: The Yankees. Again. (75-62)
L6-3, L7-4, W8-3, L8-5
And the pitching is already prepared for the off-season or something. That must explain it. WAKE UP!

September 12th
Opponent: Kansas 'Worst team in the league[/i] City (56-83)
L5-3, L7-5, L5-4
I don't want to talk about it.

September 16th
Opponent: The Red Sox (87-56)
L14-5, W3-1, L8-5
Until Joe Kennedy pitched that 4-hitter I didn't think we'd win another one 'til next year.

September 19th
Opponent: Toronto (81-65)
L10-9, L6-1, W6-3
I don't think I've ever had a team give up on me quite this early in September. Couldn't you guys just suck it up a little? Especially the pitching. It isn't really so much filling me with hope for the future.

September 22nd
Opponent: Kansas 'We'll Get You Yet' City (62-86)
W8-1, W6-5, W5-4
Oh no you won't! Another excellent 1-run-allowed game from Kennedy. Apparently my 'Is this golf you're playing?' speech helped alot. Or it could be that the Royals have just mellowed out.

September 26th
Opponent: Toronto (85-66)
L5-4, L15-8, L8-0
Maybe I should never praise them again. We're supposed to be playing spoiler here, but we seem to be playing batting practice.

Sepetember 29th
Opponent: Boston (94-62)
L14-1, L4-0, W4-3
Well, it -could- have been worse. I could have fallen asleep earlier and missed out 4-0 loss. Hmmmmm, I think I need a futon in here.

October 3rd
Opponent: Detroit (79-80)
W11-6, W7-3, L4-1
I don't think we need to talk about this. In fact, the more we ignore that we're still playing regular season games in October the better off we will be.

Season Recap
September/October Record: 12-18
Overall Record: 71-91

Tampa's Player of the Year: This is going to be rather random, but I think that Jared Sandberg with his team-leading 37 dingers has to have it. Very good then. He also led with 113 RBI. His contract isn't even up, so expect even better next year.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Year: Forget it, you're all fired. Get out of my clubhouse.

Minor Leaguer of the Year: No brainer, it's Ian Unger. Yay. And next year, I expect to see that .331 average in the bigs. Get to it.

[Lobsteve]

The Playoff Edition

Round 1

Texas (87-75) vs. Yankees (92-70)
Prediction: New York in 4
Results
Game 1: Texas 10-4 New York
Game 2: Texas 2-5 New York
Game 3: New York 3-1 Texas
Game 4: New York 7-4 Texas
New York win 3-1

Red Sox (98-64) vs. White Sox (88-76)
Prediction: Boston in 3
Results
Game 1: Boston 5-4 Chicago
Game 2: Boston 11-4 Chicago
Game 3: Chicago 11-3 Boston
Game 4: Chicago 2-0 Boston
Game 5: Boston 6-10 Chicago
Chicago UPSETS 3-2 The curse is back.

Atlanta (104-58) vs. Giants (90-72)
Prediction: Atlanta in 3
Results
Game 1: Atlanta 2-0 San Francisco
Game 2: Atlanta 6-4 San Francisco
Game 3: San Francisco 7-6 Atlanta
Game 4: San Francisco 8-4 Atlanta
Game 5: Atlanta 0-4 San Francisco
The Giants win 3-2

Colorado (95-67) vs. The Cubs (89-73)
Prediction: Colorado in 5
Results
Game 1: Colorado 6-5 Chicago
Game 2: Colorado 3-5 Chicago
Game 3: Chicago 1-4 Colorado
Game 4: Chicago 8-3 Colorado
Game 5: Colorado 8-14 Chicago
The Cubs win 3-2

Round 2

New York Yankees vs. Chicago White Sox
Prediction: Yankees in 6
Results
Game 1: Chicago 9-6 New York
Game 2: Chicago 1-6 New York
Game 3: New York 4-8 Chicago
Game 4: New York 4-3 Chicago
Game 5: New York 6-2 Chicago
Game 6: Chicago 14-3 New York
Game 7: Chicago 4-6 New York
Yankees win 4-3

San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago Cubs
Prediciton: Cubs in 7
Results
Game 1: Chicago 5-8 San Francisco
Game 2: Chicago 3-1 San Francisco
Game 3: San Francisco 3-4 Chicago
Game 4: San Francisco 3-0 Chicago
Game 5: San Francisco 2-5 Chicago
Game 6: Chicago 5-10 San Francisco
Game 7: Chicago 6-5 San Francisco
Cubs win 4-3

The World Series BABY!

Chicago Cubs vs. New York Yankees
Prediction: Chicago in 6 Why not.
Results
Game 1: New York 2-9 Chicago
Didn't the NL win the All-Star Game this year? Ah well, everything else is messed up, why not this.
Game 2: New York 9-3 Chicago
Game 3: Chicago 8-1 New York
Game 4: Chicago 12-4 New York
Game 5: Chicago 6-5 New York
Cubs Win! Cubs Win! Cubs Win!
Another curse bites the dust!

[Lobsteve]

Do we even want to know about the Free-Agents?

(C) Toby Hall would like 5.4 million for 5 years. He's good, but I don't think that good. On the other hand, do I have the talent to fill the void: Probably. 'Bye.

Year-Round Bench 3B Damian Rolls wants 1.9 for 4 years. I'm not inclined to agree. It's just not worth losing money to pay for a guy who's only benefit on the bench is that he is consistent.

(2B) Antonio Perez, who has started the past little while, is now also gone. 1.2 million may not seem like much, but he's not worth it. a .236 average without contributing much in the way of run support. I'll hesitate a moment here, but he's gone.

Jeremi Gonzalez is also on his way out. 5.2 million for 4 years, fine, whatever, you are an occasional starter, but with a 5.17 ERA, I really don't care.

Victor Zambrano is also gone, for the same reason of Gonzalez. Too much wanted for too little given.

John Wasdin is an entirely different case. I resign him at 1.8 million for seven years and call that a fair deal. Of course he has a long way to go before I say he's a competent starter, and by that time he may be retired.

John Colome who, to be fair, broke the 4.00 ERA barrier for the first time in his career wants 1.5 million. I want to see nothing but the back of his head. I did say I was firing my entire pitching staff, I seem to be well on the way.

Bobby Seay wants 1.1 to blow saves (all he seems to do), Bye.

Though Chris Flinn has had some good games, he's had far more bad ones. But he only wants .44 for a couple years, so I guess I can give him a little more time.

Doug Waechter, who will never make it out of the minors, and hasn't pitched well even there, is gone.

Brian Stokes, for whom I have some hope, stays for .59 and 3 years. Probably too much to spend, but why not.

Other Free-Agents
Carlos Delgado is the top ranked F-A and he wants 14.3 million. Lance Berkman is up for grabs, but it doesn't look like he played last year. Tim Hudson and Barry Zito are interesting on the pitching side, but not much else.
I don't think I need any of these people, certainly can't afford it.

Draft Preview
As Ranked by the National Scouting Bureau of Nonsense.
Sorted by Peak Ability.

1: Sid Beebe (LF) OA: 86 P: 94
2: Jim Kellen (P) OA: 83 P: 93
3: Luis Mena (CF) OA: 72 P: 93
4: Neil O'Malley (P) OA: 80 P: 91
5: Rob Simms (P) OA: 75 P: 91
6: Quincy MacPhee (P) OA: 80 P: 90
7: Adolfo Gibernau (P) OA: 80 P: 90
8: Jerry Wills (RF) OA: 63 P: 90
9: Bruce Anslow (P) OA: 80 P: 89
10: Jules Adams (P) OA: 78 P: 89

Doesn't look like it'll be as good a draft as last year. At the moment I think I'm in line for Neil O'Malley, or thereabouts. Which wouldn't be a bad pick at all. I do plan on taking a pitcher first. Then a second baseman. Then more pitching.

The Draft

1: MON Sid Beebe (LF) OA: 86 P: 94
I would have loved to have picked first. This kid is good.

2: KC Jim Kellen (SP) OA: 83 P: 93
Definately the pick of the starters.

3: MIL Quicy MacPhee (RP) OA: 80 P: 90
I'm not sure if he'd have been my pick at 3rd overall, but certainly a very decent closer.

4: MIN Luis Mena (CF) OA: 72 P: 93
Well, at least all this picking out of order leaves me O'Malley. Who I will now pick.

5: TB Neil O'Malley (SP) OA: 80 P: 91
The oldest and most well-rounded player available in the first round. At 26 his time to develop is limited, but he's almost a power already. In four years in the minors he's pitching consistently under 3.00. Impressive.
Endurance: 104
Control: 94
Power: 82
Movement: 93
Defense: 50
Future Role: #2 Starter behind Mark Samuels.

6: ANA Adolfo Gibernau (RP) OA: 79 P: 91
Almost ready to go for them now. Again, not my 6th ranked player, but whatever.

7: SD Bruce Anslow (RP) OA: 79 P: 92
See, why wouldn't you take him over Adolfo?

8: CLE Jules Adams (RP) OA: 78 P: 90
I like the name Jules. Don't tell my wife.

9: STL Jose Balbo (2B) OA: 63 P: 82
The Cards must see something I don't. This guy should be a 3rd rounder.

10: NYM Ross Presti (1B) OA: 68 P: 88
He's no Ian Unger.

The Rest of the Rays

35: TB Scott Zimmerman (3B) OA: 58 P: 78
I know I had wanted a 2B, but I couldn't find any with the level of defense I wanted. In fact Zimmerman was the -only- defense-minded infielder with enough skills to make it. It's a thin draft this year, that's for sure.
Contact: 63
Power: 70
Speed: 58
Eye: 67
Fielding: 100
Future Rolls: A Rock on the Hot Corner.

65: TB Rick Gistinelli (RP) OA: 68 P: 77
Looks like a solid pick up to me. I was actually surprised to see anyone this good left in the 3rd round. Someone's been asleep at the switch.
Endurance: 21
Control: 79
Power: 94
Movement: 70
Defense: 50
Future Role: Setup man, then Closer.

95: TB Leo Makitten (SP) OA: 65 P: 73
Not the greatest pitcher, but fairly well rounded which is more than can be said for the others I looked at, bunch o' duds, and I have those already.
Endurance: 89
Control: 81
Power: 72
Movement: 81
Defense: 64
Future Role: Long Relief

125: TB Ed Cogswell (SP) OA: 62 P: 69
Having looked at almost everybody, I was going to be happy with anyone who could throw under 5.00 in AA. Ed can do that.
Endurance: 83
Control: 81
Power: 74
Movement: 75
Defense: 76
Future Role: Goodness only knows.

155: TB Chad Lerner (1B) OA: 50 P: 70
All I wanted in a 6th round is someone who -might- be able to play a game a the major-league level in 10 years. Lerner might make it. At 18 he obviously still has alot to learn.
Contact: 52
Power: 69
Speed: 66
Eye: 69
Fielding: 75
Future Role: Bench Warmer.

[kennybear]

this has to be the best written dynasty i have read. keep it up, i look forward to seeing how this ends up. we want more

[mooseman74]

I second that....great writing fellow Canuck! :)

[Lobsteve]

Help! I've been rated! :)


we want more

And more you shall have. But not immedeately, but certainly later today. Presuming I do not burst into flames. It can happen.

With the fire-extinguisher handy,
Lobsteve.

[Lobsteve]

How About the Hall?

Of fame? Good question. Lucky entry number 2 is Roger Clemens with a solid 100% of the vote. The Rocket (Still waiting for the Pocket Rocket to show up) finished with a so-so 317 wins and a ho-hum 4218 Ks. I suppose it'll do, but couldn't he have done any better?

And the standard Pre-Season Trades?
Yes, those happened as well. But first let me mention who won stuff last year. Don't rush me, you...you!

2004 Individual Achievements

Various Categories
AL
HR: Jim Thome (CHW) with 58.
AVG: Felix Escalona (BAL) hit .333, which surprises me with it's lowness, better hitters seem to have slumped rather alot near the end. Ie: Mr. Ramirez.
RBI: Jason Giambi (NYY) 168. That's alot of runs.
ERA: Pedro (BOS) once more with 2.57
K: Who is this Pedro guy? 264
Wins: Freddy Garcia (SEA) breaks up the tri-fecta with 21
Saves: A tie with CHW's Billy Kock and CLE's Bob Wickman, both with 39

NL
HR: On the other end James Loney (LA) hit 58 to tie Thome.
AVG: Albert Pujols (StL) with .340 which is more like it.
RBI: Albert strikes again with 146.
ERA: Curt Schilling (ARZ) leads with 2.64
K: Mark Prior (CHC-as though you're surprised) with 253.
Wins: Wade Miller (HOU) Ironically the team rhymes with what I was going to say. Only 17, slow year in the NL...
Saves: ...Until you get to John Smoltz (ATL) with 43.

Individual Awards
Again, straight from the newswire to your living room.

AMERICAN LEAGUE (2004)
Cy Young: Pedro Martinez (BOS)
Player of the Year: Alex Rodriguez (TEX)
Rookie Of The Year: Bobby Crosby (OAK)

Gold Glove (P): Andy Pettitte (NYY)
Gold Glove (C): Jason Varitek (BOS)
Gold Glove (1B): Scott Spiezio (ANA)
Gold Glove (2B): Orlando Hudson (TOR)
Gold Glove (3B): Jared Sandberg (TB)
Gold Glove (SS): Alex Rodriguez (TEX)
Gold Glove (LF): Garret Anderson (ANA)
Gold Glove (CF): Darin Erstad (ANA)
Gold Glove (RF): Aubrey Huff (TB)

NATIONAL LEAGUE (2004)
Cy Young: Curt Schilling (ARZ)
Player of the Year: Andruw Jones (ATL)
Rookie Of The Year: Clint Barmes (COL)

Gold Glove (P): Kirk Rueter (SF)
Gold Glove (C): Henry Blanco (ATL)
Gold Glove (1B): Todd Helton (COL)
Gold Glove (2B): Ray Durham (SF)
Gold Glove (3B): Jose Hernandez (PIT)
Gold Glove (SS): Rich Aurilia (NYM)
Gold Glove (LF): Phil Nevin (SD)
Gold Glove (CF): Andruw Jones (ATL)
Gold Glove (RF): Jose Guillen (LA)

Very much by the form-book as far as the Cy, MVP and ROYs go. Strangely, Crosby was almost immedeately released from Oakland and signed by Pittsburgh. Why wouldn't hang onto the ROY?
Well deserved ROY from Barmes in the NL, he had a fantastic year, but I don't know if he'll keep it up, his stats seem strangely low for such a good player. Of course, my scouts could be liers.

As for my boys, I was surprised and elated. Happy to see Mr. Grand Slam get two in a row. Only 4 errors all year from him. Also 4 DPs and 18 Assists from RF, sweet action.
On the other hand the GG for Mr. Sandberg is a bit of a surprise. I wouldn't have called him a fantastic defensive 3B, but there you go.

Alright -NOW- we can get to the trades.

Trades, again

A trio of player perforation this time, all involved in getting rid of salary for the end of the year. It's never too late to plan ahead.

First of Dirk Sims, Chris Flinn and Rob Bell are all off to the defending champions for a single player, that player being Juan Cruz. In four years in the majors Cruz has yet to throw anything higher than a 3.64 ERA which is certainly good enough to crack my team. I'm hoping he'll make a strong long-reliever/alternate starter.
Trade Winner?: Hopefully me. Non of the players I gave up are ready to play just yet, if at all, certainly none of them performed for me, but Cruz seems to be a solid guy.
Fun Factor: Sucks to be you Flinn! Oh wait, Defending Champs.

Secondly Travis Lee and Matt Diaz are off to join the Brew-Crew, and thus make room for my youngsters (never mind that their contracts were up). In return SS Enrique Cruz (why am I trading for players named Cruz?) steals the second half of Lee's round-trip ticket. I'm not all that impressed with this Cruz, but he could be a good defensive replacement, which is something I certainly think that I'm missing. He has also played fairly well in the minors, which is nice, though seems to mean nothing at all.
The Win Goes To: Milkwaukee. Lee is ready to start now, and Diaz isn't bad off the bench, but it was a trade that had to be made, and in the long run it balances out. You can tell I'm rationalizing.
What's that? Factor: 5.338

Lastly I swap catchers with Cleveland. They get Javier Valentin. I get George Sagum. Another move to make room for the younger players on my team. Valentin never put up the numbers to be a starting catcher, not even the numbers to be a backup really.
Sagum was Clevelands 4th rounder (98th overall) this past January and doesn't have any numbers yet, obviously. However, in his AA career he had all of 5 errors over 3 years. Not bad. Did I mention the defense? Gotta have the D.

Opening Day Lineup Card
Stats are from Spring Training
*=Rookie +=My Draft Choice

Starting Lineup
1: George Lombard (LF)
2: Rocco Baldelli (CF) .313 with 14 RBI
3: Mr. Grand Slam (RF) .323 with 17 RBI
4: Jason Pridie (DH/RF) .330 and 21 RBI
5: Jared Sandberg (3B) Final year of his contract.
6: +*Ian Unger (1B) Smoking .348 with 8 HR and 17 RBI.
7: Julio Lugo (SS)
8: Adam Everett (2B) Better at 2nd than Short.
9: Jeremy Brown (C)

The Bench
*Laynce Nix (CF)
*Enrique Cruz (SS)
*Josh Hamilton (OF)
*Jonny Gomes (OF)
+*Henry Berry (C)

Starting Rotation
1: +Mark Samuels
2: Joe Kennedy 3.78 ERA
3: +*Neil O'Malley .240 OBA and 35 K in 49 IP.
4: Delvin James
5: Brian Tallet

Bullpen
CL: Lance Carter
ST: +*Rich Gistinelli 4.95 ERA, .211 OBA
SH: *Brian Stokes
MD: John Wasdin
LG: +Luis Caccia .219 OBA
AT: Juan Cruz

I'm worried because of the lack of a spring winning record among any of my pitchers. Even Lance Carter blew his one save chance. Could be rough this year. Either that or Samuels and O'Malley play like they're on drugs.

Random AAA Peoples

Oh, wait, there's a winning record. From Koo-Koo Ryu of all people. 3-0, 3.67 ERA and a .189 OBA with 41 Ks in 34.1 IP. And I'm not starting him because I think he needs more AAA time. Maybe a rethink on that one?

Chad Gaudin also with a winning record, 3-2.

George Sagum was rocking with the bat. Team high .370 in the spring but with a measely 5 RBI. Not good enough to crack the starting lineup yet.

Scott Zimmerman didn't make an error at 3rd in the spring....predictably.

Ok, hold on, we're off to the races. As a teaser, we start off agains the Yankees again. And once again we seem to be playing on the far side of the moon as after our 2-game season opening square-off we wait a week before playing again.

[Lobsteve]

Two-Thousand and Five (2005)

April 2nd
Opponent: New York Yankees (0-0)
L6-5, L5-2
What a way to start the year. In bizarro world Ian Unger is walked 3 times in his first 5 at-bats as a full-time player. For a guy that you've never seen play before that seems a little over-cautious.

April 11th
Opponent: Baltimore Orioles
W6-2, W5-0, L4-2
O'Malley picks up his first career win in his first career anything taking us to that 6-2 victory. Next up Delvin James, who I never thought would cut it, pitches the 8 innings for the shutout. Should have been a complete game in my mind. Brian Tallet doesn't turn out too badly either, but doesn't make it. Sorry Brian.
Over in Milestone land: Mike Piazza crosses the plate for the 1000 time, and Kevin Brown pitches win #200.
And next door in Trade City the Mets and Diamondbacks swap 5 players. To Arizona: Jeff Duncan (CF) and Vance Wilson (C). The other way go: Craig Counsell (3B), Greg Valera (P) and Brad Cresse (C). Of the lot only Cresse inspires me that he might do greater things.
Trade Winner: The Mets, just because of Cresse. And really this is Cresse for Wilson, and B.C. is far better.
Trade Rating: 7/10 Smart move by NY.

April 15th
Opponent: New York Yankees
W5-4, L3-2, L9-7, L7-3
The scores belie the fact that none of these games were really that close. It was the Mr. Grand Slam show for us though. He's up to a .350 average so far and had multiple-hit games in all but the last of the four. By the way, Brian Tallet is injured. So up comes Koo-Koo Ryu.

April 18th
Opponent: Chicago White Sox (6-3)
W11-3, W3-2, W6-0
Koo-koo had a great first outing allowing the 3 runs in that first victory. Having set the standard Samuels and Kennedy both follow suit to complete the sweep. Ian Unger isn't doing so well as we would like, he's hitting under .200, though it goes up and down so early in the year. And he has yet to hit his first homer. On the other hand he has a .400 OBP and 3 runs and 2 RBI so it's not all bad.

April 22nd
Opponent: Baltimore Orioles (6-7)
W9-8, L2-0, L8-4
How peculiar. I don't know exactly where the batting went, but we certainly weren't doing anything spectacular after that first game. All the same, it could have been worse. On the other hand, Brian Tallet is back in. But George Lombard is out for 15 days. So it's now Laynce Nix's time to shime. He's playing out of position, one spot over at LF, and then there's the pressure of the leadof spot. But he's been hitting .500 off the bench and is certainly the best OF I've got. So in he goes.

April 25th
Opponent: Those Crazy White Sox (7-8)
L5-4, L4-3, W4-3
Game 1, catcher Jeremy Brown is out for a month. I let Henry Berry take over for essentially two games because the injury always takes place before it's announced and we lose both. (It couldn't possibly have anything to do with leadoff man Laynce Nix not having a hit.) So in comes George Sagum and he promptly wins the game by hitting a solo shot in the top of the 10th. It's the winning shot because Lance Carter almost blows the whole thing by giving up 2 in the bottom half. GAH! Oh, and Ian Unger got a HR somewhere that I didn't notice.

April 29th
Opponent: Boston Red Sox (12-8)
W8-2, W8-5, L10-3
Game 2. Mark Samuels. TEN STRIKEOUTS!!! Holy breakout performance Batman! I hope that's what it is anyways. And then in Game 3 Ian Unger swats in all 3 of our runs going 1-for-2 with 2 walks as well. That-a-boy. Unfortunately it's a kick in the pants for Joe Kennedy who allows 7 runs. Great.

El Summary of April

The Record: 10-12 Could have been .500, but then there's this little issue of losing the last game of the month (you haven't seen it yet, it's part of the first series of May). Drat.

Random Early Leaders: Baltimore, Cleveland and Anaheim in the AL. Atlanta, Chicago and Colorado in the NL. Amazingly, in the Al there are all of 5 teams (that's 5. Of 14) who don't have a .500 record. Obviously we're one of them. It's all really close as well. We're 2 out. Detroit is 3 out. Oakland only 1. The whipping boys so far have been KC and Toronto both at 7-15.

Tampa's Player of the Month: Julio Lugo is really benefiting from having Ian Unger infront of him in the lineup. He's hitting .324 at the moment and has all of 6 RBI (which is great mind you, but he's 7th in the lineup, what do you want?) and has 2 homers. And seeing as how everyone else seems to be underacheiving for thier position it seems only fair that Lugo gets the kudos this month.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: Rookie Rich Gistinelli is doing phenomenal in the setup spot. He's won 3, lost none and has a fantastic 1.86 ERA in 9.2 innings of work. Oposing batters are only managing to hit .194 against him which is even nicer to see. He's also got 10 Ks to his credit. He's really making everyone else look very good.

Eye on the three As.

Chad Gaudin is 4-0 in the AAA so far with a 3.95 ERA. Much better that he's ever done before.

Wes Martin is also doing quite well with a .299 average and 22 RBI in 30 games. 100% stealing bases as well. 6 of 6.

[Lobsteve]

May 2nd
Opponent: Oakland (10-12)
L10-5, L7-6, L6-2
Really. Bad. Series. Gistinelli and Wasdin both pick up their first losses in relief. In the second game we allowed 1 earned run...of 7. That's not good.

May 5th
Opponent: Texas (13-12)
L4-3, L14-7, W4-3
I would have sworn we were doing better than this last month. What's with these strong western teams? It's like they actually know how to play. It's almost like cheating.

May 9th
Opponent: Anaheim (19-9)
L12-1, L7-0, L3-2, L4-3
I should mention that Anaheim is better than everyone so far. And it looks like it could be their year. We didn't have a chance in a single one of those games. Our pitchers were out classed on a match-up-by-match-up basis, out batters could hold their own if it wasn't that they weren't facing people like Jarred Washburn throwing fantastic 10K, 6hit games. Anaheim has to be an early favorite to win it all.

May 13th
Opponent: Texas (15-16)
L7-4, L11-1, W18-8
So here I am lamenting the fact that we're going to be the worst team in baseball if we keep this up any longer (and we probably will be, if we keep this up any longer) when the new millenium sets in and we score 18 runs. Of course we also allowed 8, which means that we have to go on scoring at this phenomenal rate to keep our pitching in it. That ain't right. By the by, Carter blew his first same of the year in that first loss. Idiot.
MASSIVE trade between the Phillies and the Twins. Eleven players. 11. Biggest trade in the history of this dynasty.
To Minneasota: Ichiro Hayashi (RF), Kevin Sefcik (CF), Juan Saavedra (C), Greg Jones (SP), Juan Acevedo (SP) and McKay Christensen (LF). Lots of good kids just went missing from the farm, they're all in this trade, Hayashi, Sefcik, Saavedra, that must be the Phillies future right there.
To Philadelphia: Matt LeCroy (1B), Mike Fetters (RP), Lew Ford (CF), Rich Dwight (2B) and Kevin Young (1B). Forget everyone else, this is all about Matt LeCroy. Fetters and Young are 40 and 36 years old respectively and Dwight ain't going nowhere. Lew Ford is respectable, but LeCroy is an instant starting first-baseman for the Phillies.
Trade Winner: All depends how the youngsters Philly gave up turn out. But for the moment I have to give the nod to Philly for picking up LeCroy. If they don't use him though they lose out on this one because they gave up ALOT. (PS. Lew Ford ain't no slouch here either. Good depth.)
ELEVEN F*****G PLAYERS! Rating: 15.2/10.

May 16th
Opponent: Cleveland (17-18)
L4-3, L6-3, W15-3
It's official. We can't take a series off of anybody this month. It makes me want to burn things. After such a good start as well. Only Sagum and Lombard didn't get a hit in that 3rd game by the way. And O'Malley threw 10 Ks for the win. With 2 dingers in the win Mr. Grand Slam has cracked the top ten for said category with 12.

May 20th
Opponent: Boston (21-19)
L7-1, L16-1, W4-2
MAKE IT STOP!!! Would somebody PLEASE play a game to take away this seering pain that I get every time I look out of the owner's box!!!
On an entirely different topic, Detroit traded Steve Woodard (RP) to Seattle for John Mabry (RF) and Gavin Davidson (SP)
Winner: Not Seattle, they got HOSED! Why? Because Mabry is actually talented. Unlike Davidson and Woodard.
Idiot Rating: VERY high.

May 23rd
Opponent: Cleveland (20-21)
W5-2, L9-7, L4-2
Well, we reversed the trend thanks to Mr. O'Malley, who then promptly injured himself and will miss his next start. Curse your wee gizzard!

May 27th
Opponent: The Twins (21-22)
L11-2, W6-5, W11-7
I don't know what it is that we can't hold our oposition below 4 runs with any consistency. I'd like to just blame the pitchers and be done with it but obviously some of the fault has to lie in the defense in the field. This will likely take time to improve. I hate waiting.

May 30th
Opponent: The Yankees (23-24)
W7-2, L5-4, L12-3
I don't ahve anything to say. What a pathetic way to go out. Says so much for a month where we did manage to pull out 1 strong game a series, if that.
Oh yeah, just to make things better: 1. Adam Everett is out for 69 days. Replaced by Enrique Cruz. Not a good switch, but I have no other choice. 2, and even worse. Mr. Grand Slam is out for 18 days. Josh Hamilton gets his shot to play RF. Why not Laynce Nix? Well, he can't hog -all- the spotlight.

So, did you hear about May? It stank.

May Record: 9-19.
Overall Record: 19-31. A far cry from almost .500.

Random Individual Leaders: Bobby Kielty (CHW) is leading the average with .410. Jim Thome (CHW) and Jason Giambi (NYY) are tied with 21 homers. Wade Miller (HOU) has a stellar 1.71 ERA. And Horacio Ramirez (ATL) and Dan Pasiornik (SD) are tied with 8 wins each.

Tampa's Player of the Month: I want to give it to Ian Unger, and so I will. He's hitting .277 now with a .454 OBP which is best on the team. Only 3 homers, but he's gone nuts with the RBI with 20, having crossed the plate 22 times himself.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: Neil O'Malley is the only guy with a winning record (4-2) in the starting rotation. He's got 58Ks in 63.1 innings, issuing a mere 12 walks. All that plus he's got a 4.69 ERA which is, sadly, best of my starters.

Show me the AAA.
Chad Gaudin is doing great in AAA, too bad he can't manage the same when I call him up to the majors (1 game, 18.00 ERA up with us, 6-1 record, 3.94 ERA in AAA). Oh well. We can always use a good pitcher in AAA.....if it mattered. Maybe I'll try and trade him.

[Lobsteve]

June 3rd
Opponent: Minneasota (24-25)
W8-4, L9-8, W4-0, W3-2
Good way to start the new month. Very good. Delvin James gets the shutout pitching all 9 innings. Very good. Ian Unger has a 4 game RBI streak going now. We'll see how it plays out.

June 6th
Opponent: Baltimore (33-20) 1st, AL East
L2-0, L5-3, L15-2
I knew I shouldn't have mentioned Unger's streak. I'm sure he can start another one, but it only goes to show...something. I was looking at my starter's ERAs, would you believe they are -all- over 5? You would? Yeah, so would I.

June 10th
Opponent: San Francisco (27-30) 4th, NL West
W9-1, L4-2, L6-5
I'll take that one good game and savour it. Savour it good. It was the Delvin James show as he pushes his ERA below 5, hopefully putting on a clinic worthy of inspiring the entire crew. Didn't quite work DJ. Better try again.

June 13th
Opponent: Colorado (39-20) 1st, NL West
L6-2, W8-4, L8-6
Close games in the last two, both came down to the last two innings. Exciting to watch. Painful to read the result.

Another big trade, this one a mere 7 player deal as Texas really wants SP Jason Jennings as they give Colorado 6 players for his services. Those 6 would be: SP Ricardo Rodriguez, 1B Joe Coleman, RP Aaron Fultz, C Todd Greene, RP Brian Shouse and RF Shane Spencer. Honestly, that seems like alot to get a pitcher who is just having his breakout year. Don't know if it's a trade anyone but the computer could have made.

Trade Winner: Colorado. You just can't go around giving up 6 players and expect to win out.
What's With All These Big Trades Rating: 7/10

June 17th
Opponent: San Diego (33-29) 2nd, NL West
W10-7, W5-4, L4-0
Why, it's the Ian Unger show in game 1 for one simple reason, the Padres messed up. Never load the bases for Mr. Unger. It's a rule. Maybe unwritten, but look what happens. You walk Baldelli, Hamilton and Zimmerman to lead off the 6th, then there's just nothing left for Ian to do BUT swat one over the right field fence. You didn't even give him a choice! Oh, and the next day give him a 2-run dinger as well, kinda anti-climatic though.

June 20th
Opponent: Arizona (21-45) 5th, NL West
L4-1, L3-2, L2-1
It really wasn't fair that the Diamondbacks had a worse record than us. I'm glad we were able to straighten that out. Gotta be fair. BLEAH!

June 24th
Opponent: The Jays (36-33) 2nd, AL East
L3-1, W7-1, W6-4
No outstanding performances here, but a solid series against a better team. See, this is the sort of thing that we need to consistently put together. That 7-1 game was particularly impressive to me. By the way, Mr. Grand Slam (Huff) is back from injury and is 7th in average at .344. That's a good way to come back.

June 28th
Opponent: Florida (37-35) 2nd, NL East
W7-6, W7-1, L5-3
And the rivalry begins again. Round 1 goes to me (oh, and my team). We would have taken the whole thing except for that pesky little Dontrelle Willis and his shutting down of the bottom half of my lineup.

July 1st
Opponent: Toronto (38-37) 4th, AL East
L5-4, L13-7, L11-7, L8-3
Ouch, what a difference a week makes. Apparently dipping to 4th in the division has made Toronto angry. Why they had to take it out on us I couldn't say. That's really too much though, they could have kept it down though.

INJURIES! Just to make my life tougher: Delvin James is out for 16, Brian Tallet for 23, and Jeremy Brown for 11. All with stress fractures. Juan Cruz comes out of the bullpen to replace James. Koo-Koo Ryu is up from the minors to fill in for Tallet. Ditto for George Sagum to replace Brown. What a way to start July.

TRADE! A small one this time though. San Diego and Oakland swap 2 players each. Nothing interesting (SP Jaret Wright, RP Scott Linebrink to Oakland and RF Matt Allegra, SP Bert Snow to the Padres), just an exchange of minor leaguers.
Trade Winner: It's a tie.
Yawn Factor: YAAAAAAAAWN!

June Hurts (so does love)

For The Month: 10-17
For the Year: 29-48
Yes, we are dead last in the AL, even behind Kansas City. 2nd to last in all of baseball tied with Montreal and just ahead of Arizona.

Random Division Leaders:
AL East: Baltimore (47-30)
AL Central: Chicago (44-31)
AL West: Anaheim (46-31)

NL East: Atlanta (42-35)
NL Central: Chicago (51-26)
NL West: Colorado (50-26)

And the wildcards are rather interesting. In the AL there are 3.5 games seperating Detroit and Seattle with Boston, Toronto, Minnesota and New York sandwiched in between.
But over in the NL Houston has a 4.5 game lead over the Sans, Diego and Francisco, with LA 9.5 back and Cincinnati and hated Florida somehwere in the middle.

Tampa's Player of the Month: It's going to be two months in a row for Ian Unger. That Grand Slam was very impressive, a very mature at-bat for a rookie. He's also up to 36 RBI and 30 runs. the amazing stat though is the 69 bases on balls, which equals his 69 hits which leads to a .447 OBP. Man that's good. He must look pretty freakin' scary. It must be the 98 Power (He's up to 95 Overall out of his Peak of 100).

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: Lance Carter has 10 saves in 11 chances and is proving himself worth every penny with his 2.54 ERA.

I do enjoy mentioning the AAA
Wes Martin is really the only guy derserving of mention. .301 average, up from last month with 61 RBI and 16 steals in 24 attempts. Otherwise the AAA has had a dull month.

[Lobsteve]

July 4th
Opponent: Das Marlins (39-40) 2nd, NL East
L6-2, W5-1, L6-5
And the season series winds up in a 3-3 draw. I don't know what that means. Neil O'Malley had the complete game win this time. He's proving to be a very good little rookie, not all the time, but often enough for me to notice. I still think that the ROY goes to Ian Unger (at least it better), but O'Malley should get some votes.

Milestone: Kerry Wood just had 19 strikeouts in a game. That's alot of Ks.

July 7th
Opponent: Baltimore (50-31) 1st, AL East
L6-4, L6-4, L7-2
Ok, lets face it, we didn't really have much of a chance here, but I would have liked to see the games a little closer than they were.

July 8th - Random Pre-All-Star Game
Opponent: It's the Yankees.
Result: Here's a shock, we lose 8-5

All-Star Break

July 9th - Home Run Derby


Wait....Something is still wrong. Apparently we're playing the Yankees over the all-star break as well. I thought we just had a couple games stradling the break, but I can see the results of the game we played through the All-Star Logo (and yes, I am using 7.03). Oh, and I don't like the results either. Well, lets carry on as if it makes sense.

Derby: Carlos Delgado makes his return to the Derby this year and goes on to beat Adam Dunn 5-3 in the final. A-Rod took the first round with 8 while Delgado, Dunn and Todd Helton followed up with 6 each. And from there on it's the Delgado, Dunn show. 1-2 in the second round but Delgado leades it 6-3, and then the final. Delgado obviously takes the overall with 17 dingers total.

July 10th - All-Star Game

Next up is the annual 'It will never end up in a tie again' event. Jason Pridie makes an appearance for us, but apparently we're also playing in New York at the same time, so...that's just weird. Quick! To the result! The NL wins 9-6. Good game, wish you could have been here. Pridie makes an appearance with 2 at bats but his only other contribution is a strikeout.

Ok, there's another All-Star bug that I will post as well in the Bug Forum, but all the good pitchers are in as Bench players rather than as Pitchers. So instead of seeing Pedro start the All-Star Game he is riding the pine. It's strange.

Random Trades
I won't mention any dates because with all this confusion it'll just make things more...confusing.

The Dodgers ship SP Jonathan Figueroa off to Montreal for SP Tim Drew, 2B Waldo Cremelle (So where's Waldo?) and 1B Joe Vitiello. In essence Figueroa for Cremelle Montreal messed up. Waldo has a 97 peak and will be a superstar in a few years. Figueroa is only good for a couple more.
Trade Winner: LA, by a country mile.
Elsewhere!: I immedeately went to see if I could pick up Cremelle for cheap, but LA isn't a dumb as Montreal apparently as they want far too much. Or, at least more than I can spend. (ie: Ian Unger)

Slightly post All-Star Houston and Cleveland make a trade. SP Kirk Saarloos goes to Cleveland for RP Jack Cressend and RF Theodore Sparks. As far as being Saarloos for Cressend it's a fair trade.
Winner: It's a tie, Sparks is just AAA fodder.
Who Cares Factor: 10/?

And one more for the road.
St Louis wants 2B Robinson Cano from the Yankees and they're going to give up 5 players to get him. I don't know why. Cano is good, but not 3B Bill Selby, RF Eli Marreo, C Rob Bowen, P Scotty Layfield and LF Kerry Robinson good.
Winner: The Yanks. Don't know how they got so much for so little.
**** Yankees Rating: A sideways 8/10.

PS: For those who don't get that, a sideways 8 is the symbol for infinity. HA! Take -that- cutting remark you Yankees!

July 11th
Opponent: The Yankees
The All-Star game kinda ruined this for me. I could go find the results, but I don't want to see how badly we lost. Certainly the last game on the 11th we got roasted 14-7, but as for the middle two (the first being recorded before the break), one must be a win becaus it's only our second of the month and the other a loss, but I'm to scared to find out exactly what. Lets just ignore the All-Star induced craziness and carry on.

July 18th
Opponent: Baltimore (54-33) 1st, AL East
L3-0, L9-8, W5-3, W3-2
And I thought it was going to be a bad month (it's been a bad month). But then we almost win in that 9-8 game, and then follow up that good effort with two wins. I can live with that, for the moment.
In injury news, Jeremy Brown is back at catcher, and Delvin James is back in the rotation, but Juan Cruz stays as he's doing better than most. Oh, and Laynce Nix gets to keep the leadoff spot, he's doing much better than George Lombard.

July 20th
Opponent: Because I haven't seen the Yankees enough.
L11-6, L10-3
I should amend that to be: Because I haven't LOST (!**#$#$!) to the Yankees enough. PITCHING!! WHERE'S THE FLAMING PITCHING!!!!

July 22nd
Opponent: Minnesota (47-46) 3rd, AL Central
W17-8, W17-3
That'll cure what ails you. And hey, it's the Ian Unger Show! With your host, IAN UNGER!! Game 1: 3-for-3 with 3 bases on balls, 3 runs and 2 RBI. Phew. But it only gets better. Game 2: 4-for-4 with 2 doubles, 2 BBs, 3 runs scored and, to just top off the best two games of his young career, SEVEN RBI! Seven. (Pssst, seven.)

July 26th
Opponent: Toronto (47-48) 4th, AL East
L9-7, L4-3, W4-2
Close games, but, let me put it nicely, my relief corps was off shagging the puppy. You just can't win when the people coming in to back up your starters allow 7 runs in 2 games. Which, incidentally, lost us both of them. Good outing by Kennedy to finish up though.

July 29th
Opponent: Kansas City (39-58) 5th, AL Central (Ya think?)
L5-4, L2-0, L8-7
It's official, we really are the worst team in the league. Arizona is a little worse in the NL, but not by much. It's enough to make me defect to Canada, I hear Vancouver could use a team.

August 1st
Opponent: The darned Blue Jays again.
W6-5, W3-0, W7-6
They say every dog has it's day, and here is ours. It was close though, it took a Jonny Gomes pinch-hit Grand F'ing Slam to win that last game. (Which is OUTSTANDING!) It may have been close, but you bet I'll take it.

Uh, how about July?
One for the Month: 9-18
Two for the Show: 38-66
Did I mention the dead last in the AL? I think I did.

Worst in the league? You bet it's Random:
AL
Well, there's us at 39-66
Then Oakland is at 40-64
Oh, and Kansas City with 44-59

NL
Man, they're ALL better than me!
Arizona is on the bottom with 37-70 (ok, technically worse than me at the moment)
Followed by Montreal with a 42-64
Next is Milwaukee at 42-63

That's just depressing.

Tampa's Player of the Month: I think Mr. Grand Slam (who hasn't had one since being thus named) needs some love. So he's player of the month. Certainly it's not too far off, he leads the team in both Average (.308) and RBI (64). Good job G-S.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: You know who's the only starter with a winning record? Why it's Neil O'Malley. Good for you Neil, show em what 8-5 means!

Gotta shout out to the AAA
Oh man, I just used the colloquial 'Shout Out'. I'm so embarrassed.

Well, maybe if I should loud enough they'll all start following Wes Martin's lead and begin hitting .319 with 83 RBI and 91 runs. I can hope.

THE BIG Trade Show!

First up is the Cubs and Twins.
To the Twins: SS Nate Frese, P Bobby Shea (HEY! When I give you a pitcher I expect you to keep him!), P Dustin Moseley and 3B Augie Ojeda.
To the Cubs: C A.J. Pierzynski and P Jon Pridie.
Winner: The Cubs, well done by Chicago to pull this one off. Not a blockbuster, but certainly a good move to solidify their bullpen and bench.
The No Rating Rating: Correct.

If you were the Yankees, would you make a trade with the Phillies? I didn't think so. But these Yankees would. In fact they'd send P Sean Henn off to neverland for 3B David Bell, P Jim Mecir, and 1B Carlos Mejino. Ok, it's a nothing trade.
Winner: Somebody must have won this one, but I can't see it.
Did I mention the Infinity?: Yes, I did.

Pretty boring trading deadline so far, and lets keep it up.
To St. Louis: 3B Pedro Feliz, P Dustin Hermanson (Didn't he play for St. Louis at one point already?).
To San Francisco: 1B Todd Sears.
Analysis: Who cares.
Winner: St. Lou. Hermanson can still play.

The last trade of the year belong to Toronto and Boston. Boston ships future starting pitcher Ulysses Nason out of the country for a tri-fecta of mediocrity in P Webster Hulett, SS Chris Woodward and RF Dewayne Wise.
Winner: Toronto. You go Canada (I hate you Toronto, but (pause) you're our only hope).
Did I say Mediocrity?: You bet I did.

[Lobsteve]

Whooops: August was going along great, until Crimson Editor crashed and lost the first half (and a bit) of the month. Did you really miss anything? No, not really. Here, I'll point out the highlights: Jared Sandberg. Grand Slam. Ian Unger. First time over .300. That nicely sums up. On we go. I'll be saving more often now.

August 22nd
Opponent: Oakland (43-77) 4th, AL West
W7-5, W10-3, W11-5
It's amazing what happens when everything goes right. We got good pitching, good hitting and the only thing that was missing was a bit better defense, but with our best streak of the year at three in a row who's going to notice? But the best part is we're no longer the worst in the league. (Dance.) However, it can't all be good luck. Jared Sandberg is out for 11 days. Scott Zimmerman (Mr. 100 Defense) is the obvious replacement. Scott's hitting well off the bench as well at .296.

August 25th
Opponent: Seattle (66-57) 2nd, AL West
W15-0, L9-3, L5-2
The losses don't surprise me anymore, I think I have become numb. So lets talk about the win, or, as it will ever more be know, the Two Grand Slam Game. To start it off: Single, Single, Walk, Jason Pridie. Left Field Fence. Later. And that was the top of the first. 4 runs, 5 hits and 2 left on.
Then, just to cap it off in the seventh: Pop Out, Error by Mr. Boone, Double, Walk (they walked Scott Zimmerman an untested bench player to get to Ian Unger, not a good move because...), ...BAM. That left field fence really took a beating.
And if that wasn't enough Mr. Juan Cruz pitched a 5-hitter. You know, just to round things out.

August 28th
Opponent: Oakland (44-82) 4th, AL West
L5-2, L14-13, L6-2
Seriously? 14-13? We can't play better than that? I guess turnabout is fair play. We sweep them, they sweep us. It's all more of the same down here on the bottom of the heap.

I Hear August Sucked?

And you wouldn't be far off.
For the Month: 10-18
For the Year: 48-84. We have to win another 12 to get to 60, the mark every team is 'supposed' to reach. Gonna be rough.

Random Top Ten Report
Average
Not even close, A-Rod is .03 ahead of everyone at .380. The way things go I don't imagine he'll win it, but it's not close at the moment.

Home Runs
No that close hear either. James Loney is 8 clear of the field with 50.

ERA
Still not close, Matt Moris is waaaay ahead with a 2.19.

That wasn't very random.

Tampa's Player of the Month: Laynce Nix has taken over the leadoff role with authority. He's hitting .318 and has a .401 OBP making George Lombard a mere shadow. Applause for the Nix.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: Just because he anchored The Game With Two Grand Slams (oh, and he has the lowest ERA on the team at 3.44), Juan Cruz gets this months award.

I hate the AAA: It's still the Wes Martin show. He's far and away the best in AAA, everyone else is just borderline. Kinda sad really. I had better draft wisely this year.

September 2nd
Opponent: Baltimore (84-47) 1st, AL East
L6-3, W9-4, W8-4
Hey! We won a game! Hey! We won another game! What's going on? It must be self-respect or something. I guess I can allow that.

September 5th
Opponent: Detroit (74-59) 1st, AL Central
L10-6, L10-3, L9-5
Whooops, there goes the neighbourhood. I think the best option, really, is to hide under the carpet in my office.

September 9th
Opponent: For the last time, the Yankees.
L11-1, W5-3, W8-2, W6-5
WHOA! Game 3, leadoffer Laynce Nix hits a Grand Slam. Who'd a thunk it? Oh yeah, pitching was great.

September 12th
Opponent: Kansas City (66-73) 5th, AL Central
L10-8, W8-0, L4-3
Well, Lance Carter blew number one allowing 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth. Oi. Joe Kennedy had the complete game shutout. Yay! and then it all fell apart in the bullpen for a second time as we lose the last one. We still need 6 wins to get to 60.

September 16th
Opponent: Boston (74-69) 3rd, AL East
W9-6, W12-4, L3-2
I don't know how we've had Boston's number recently, but we have. And now we only need 4 more wins.

September 19th
Opponent: Toronto (75-71) 2nd, AL East
L8-7, W6-1, W6-5
2 more wins needed. And if we're suddenly beating Toronto I have high hopes for the rest of the month. From now on it's all about playing spoiler.

September 22nd
Opponent: The Royals (73-75) 3rd, AL Central
W8-1, W8-7, W8-7
There's no more holding our breath. Ian Unger led the way to 60 in game two with perfect hitting (3-3) and 5 RBI. We made it, with room to spare. Now we have to play spoiler, let's stick it to the man.

September 26th
Opponent: Toronto (77-74) 3rd, AL East
L12-11, L3-0, L13-6
The only problem with playing spoiler is that the teams you're playing are generally pretty desperate. Case in point: Toronto.
Would you believe Laynce Nix is in the top ten in Average? .333. You bet.

September 29th
Opponent: Boston (80-76) 3rd, AL East
L8-5, L8-5, W7-4
Didn't thing we were going to win another one for a while there. Too many hungry teams. That wild-card race is pretty tight.

October 3rd
Opponent: Detroit (90-69) 1st, AL Central
L5-1, L10-7, W4-3
Let's just get it over with. What a sad year. Big recap in the next post.

[kennybear]

Help! I've been rated!


i could not help it steve


we still want more:D

[Lobsteve]

Just a quick Year End Recap

Overall Record: 63-99
(Record for September and October: 15-15. Hey! September may have been my first winning month at 14-13. Wow.)

Tampa's Player of the Year: You know what, I'm going to give it to Ian Unger, though it was close between him and Laynce Nix. Laynce did phenomenally well in as the leadoff man a third of the way into the season and has earned his role at the top of the batting order. Unger had a great Rookie year with a .298 average, .444 OBP, 19 home runs and an awesome 97 RBI. Add to that 138 walks (in 531 at bats) compared to 158 hits and you have a great player. I think so at least.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Year: What a miserable bunch. But this year the award goes to the only man to (and probably the first to in this dynasty) get to 13 wins. Neil O'Malley finished with a 13-8 record on a team where the oposite is usually true. Sure, he finished with a 5.24 ERA, but who cares, the kid is to the good.

Random Team Bests
AVG: .327, Laynce Nix.
HR: 32, Jason Pridie
OBP: .444, Ian Unger
SB: 13, Rocco 'Mr. 8-Mill' Baldelli
RBI: 106, Jason Pridie
R: 118, Jason Pridie
E (fewest): 2, Jeremy Brown
Defensive%: 100, Rocco Baldelli

ERA (SP): 4.41, Juan Cruz
ERA (RP): 3.83, Lance Carter
IP: 228.1, Neil O'Malley
K: 136, Mark Samuels
BB (fewest): 46, Juan Cruz
W: 13, Neil O'Malley
L (most, why not): 22, Joe Kennedy

League Bests
American League
Avg: .366, A-Rod (Tex)
HR: 50, Jim Thome (CHW)
RBI: 146, Jason Giambi (NYY)
SB: 58, Juan Pierre (KC)
ERA: 2.97, Barry Zito (CHW)
K: 277, Pedro (BOS)
W: 19, Barry Zito (CHW)
SV: 40, Armando Benitez (BAL)

RANDOM NOTE: Ian Unger was 3rd in OBP behind only A-Rod (.464) and James Loney (.463). Jason Pridie was fifth with .439. (Jack Cust broke up the TB duo with a .443.)

National League
Avg: .333, Bobby Abreu (PHI)
HR: 61, James Loney (LA)
RBI: 140, James Loney (LA)
SB: 45, Luis Castillo (FLA)
ERA: 2.25, Matt Morris (SF)
K: 312, Kerry Wood (CHC)
W: 18, Russ Ortiz (ATL)
SV: 42, Ugueth Urbina (FLA)

The Playoff Edition
Where Size Matters

Round 1

Baltimore Orioles (102-60) vs. Chicago White Sox (88-74)
Prediction: Baltimore to sweep.
Season Series: Chicago, 5-1
Results
Game 1: Baltimore 11-13 Chicago
Game 2: Baltimore 1-3 Chicago
Game 3: Chicago 2-9 Baltimore
Game 4: Chicago 3-5 Baltimore
Game 5: Baltimore 12-0 Chicago
The Orioles Win 3-2.

Detroit Tigers (92-70) vs. Seattle Mariners (87-75)
Prediction: Seattle in 5.
Season Series: Tie, 3-3.
Results
Game 1: Detroit 9-8 Seattle
Game 2: Detroit 3-4 Seattle
Game 3: Seattle 9-3 Detroit
Game 4: Seattle 6-8 Detroit
Game 5: Detroit 1-3 Seattle
The Mariners Win 3-2.

Colorado Rockies (99-63) vs. Houston Astros (93-69)
Prediction: Houston in 4.
Season Series: Colorado, 4-2
Results
Game 1: Colorado 7-8 Houston
Game 2: Colorado 6-4 Houston
Game 3: Houston 0-13 Colorado
Game 4: Houston 5-6 Colorado
The Rockies win 3-1.

Chicago Cubs (102-60) vs. Atlanta Braves (88-74)
Prediction: Chicago in 4.
Season Series: 5-1
Results
Game 1: Chicago 5-0 Atlanta
Game 2: Chicago 4-1 Atlanta
Game 3: Atlanta 1-4 Chicago
The Cubs Sweep.

Round 2

Baltimore Orioles vs. Seattle Mariners
Prediction: Seattle in 6.
Season Series: Baltimore, 6-3.
Results
Game 1: Baltimore 12-1 Seattle
Game 2: Baltimore 7-4 Seattle
Game 3: Seattle 3-8 Baltimore
Game 4: Seattle 5-4 Baltimore
Game 5: Seattle 9-8 Baltimore
Game 6: Baltimore 5-9 Seattle
Game 7: Baltimore 2-5 Seattle
The Mariners Win 4-3.

Colorado Rockies vs. Chicago Cubs
Prediction: Chicago in 7.
Season Series: Chicago, 4-2
Results
Game 1: Chicago 4-9 Colorado
Game 2: Chicago 1-0 Colorado
Game 3: Colorado 10-8 Chicago
Game 4: Colorado 3-5 Chicago
Game 5: Colorado 5-12 Chicago
Game 6: Chicago 1-4 Colorado
Game 7: Chicago 2-3 Colorado
The Rockies Win 4-3.

The Big SHOW!

The Seattle Mariners vs. The Colorado Rockies
Prediction: Seattle in 5.
Season Series: Didn't Happen
Results
Game 1: Colorado 11-10 Seattle
Game 2: Colorado 12-8 Seattle
Game 3: Seattle 9-0 Colorado
Game 4: Seattle 2-4 Colorado
Game 5: Seattle 9-10 Colorado
The ROCKIES WIN 4-1!!

WOW.



The Tiny Free-Agent Debacle

Jared Sandberg would like 6.7 mil over 5 years. I'm sure you would. How about 6.4 for 7? Alright. Alright....and yet I hesitate. Pssst, remember, you can trade. The thing is, 27 errors over at the ever important third base. Pssst, you can trade. Oh, yeah, right.

Julio Lugo needs 5.3 to continue warming the bench. Fired.

Laynce Nix would like to earn 6.6 for the next 7 years. How can I say no to a face like that? Never mind being the complete player.

Mr. Grand Slam wants to bankrupt me and make 9.4 for 7 years. Man, that's a little rough there Aubrey. Have some shame man. Well, alright, but prepare to be traded (seriously).

A hundred curses! Jason Pridie wants 13.7 for 4 years. No! A hundred times no! There has to be a line drawn somewhere. And 10+ is mine.

Jonny 'I can hit a grand slam too' wants a hefty bundle. Out the door Jonny.

George Lombard? Did I mention cheap? No. But I have now. Resigned at $650000 until he retires.

Joe Kennedy, he of the 22 losses, wants 3.4 million to continue to lose more than likely. Get lost Joe.

Elsewhere...
Strangely enough Jason Pridie (now close to signing with Anaheim) edges out Andruw Jones for the honor of being top Free-Agent.
Freddy Garcia and Roy Halladay highlight the pitching end of things. It's all quite unnerving.

League Awards

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Let's all chant together please, Unger, Unger, Unger, Unger.

Cy Young: Barry Zito (CHW)

Come on, get into it. UNGER. UNGER. UNGER. UNGER.

Player of the Year: Alex Rodriguez (TEX)

HEY! You in the Back! LOUDER!! UNGER! UNGER! UNGER! UNGER!

Rookie Of The Year: Ian Unger (TB)

Chanting always works.

Gold Glove (P): Esteban Loaiza (CHW)
Gold Glove (C): Geronimo Gil (BAL)
Gold Glove (1B): Scott Spiezio (ANA)
Gold Glove (2B): Todd Walker (BOS)
Gold Glove (3B): Corey Koskie (MIN)
Gold Glove (SS): Alex Rodriguez (TEX)
Gold Glove (LF): Raul Ibañez (KC)
Gold Glove (CF): Darin Erstad (ANA)
Gold Glove (RF): Cody Ross (DET)

WHAT! No Gloves for little Tampa? Why no Glove?

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cy Young: Matt Morris (SF)
Player of the Year: Andruw Jones (ATL)
Rookie Of The Year: Nic Jackson (CHC)

Gold Glove (P): Kirk Rueter (SF)
Gold Glove (C): Javy Lopez (LA)
Gold Glove (1B): Todd Helton (COL)
Gold Glove (2B): Pokey Reese (COL)
Gold Glove (3B): Jose Hernandez (PIT)
Gold Glove (SS): Miguel Tejada (SD)
Gold Glove (LF): Nic Jackson (CHC)
Gold Glove (CF): Andruw Jones (ATL)
Gold Glove (RF): Aaron Guiel (SF)

Draft Preview

1: Waldo Dimmick (SP) OA: 92 P: 98
2: Jim Caldwell (SP) OA: 83 P: 94
3: Reginald Levin (SP) OA: 80 P: 92
4: Ethan Ward (1B) OA: 80 P: 92
5: Toby Martin (SP) OA: 82 P: 91
6: Jeremy Raftery (SP) OA: 77 P: 90
7: Gil Turner (SP) OA: 78 P: 89
8: Carlos Nunes (RP) OA: 80 P: 88
9: Nathan Wieger (RP) OA: 78 P: 88
10: Ross Ramus (RP) OA: 79 P: 88

A pitcher top-heavy draft, and the first five are FANTASTIC. Personally I am torn between Dimmick, Martin and Caldwell as to who is the best in the draft. Currently it looks like I draft in the 3rd spot, but it's hard to tell if I counted right or not. Right now, if I drafted first I would take Dimmick, just on stats alone. But I imagine some shrewd AI will take that option away from me. We'll see what happens in the next post.

[Lobsteve]

Let's Talk Rookies

And the winners are:

1: OAK - Waldo Dimmick (SP) OA: 92 P:98
Waldo is the real deal. He'll be rookie of the year this year baring some bizarre fluke. He's already the best pitcher in the A's linup. I look forward to signing him one day. FAR down the road.

2: ARZ - Jim Caldwell (SP) OA: 83 P: 93
Going by the book so far. I didn't want Caldwell myself. (Though I did want Dimmick. After the draft I tried to organize a trade. Oakland wouldn't even bite.)

3: TB - Toby Martin (SP) OA: 81 P: 94
He's going to be good, maybe not right away like Dimmick, which is what I kinda need, and certainly not ever at the same level, but he's quite a solid little pitcher. Young as well at 19 with a great AA ERA of 2.95. In my opinion the 2nd best pitcher in the draft.
Endurance: 105
Control: 94
Power: 81
Movement: 94
Defense: 50
Future Role: 3rd after Samuels and O'Malley. He might be there to start this year.

4: MON - Reginald Levin (SP) OA: 80 P: 90
I really messed it up for everyone else didn't I. They all want to draft in order this year.

5: STL - Ethan Ward (1B) OA: 73 P: 90
Don't expect any D from this kid. Good hitting maybe.

6: NYM - Carlos Nunes (RP) OA: 80 P: 87
Far and away the best RP. If he had the endurance to match he would have gone 3rd or 4th.

7: MIL - Gil Turner (SP) OA: 78 P: 87
Not bad. Right where he was supposed to go. A solid pitcher.

8: NYY - Nathan Wieger (RP) OA: 78 P: 90
I think my scouts are wrong about this guy as far as his peak goes. Of course, it is +-2.

9: PHI - Jeremy Raftery (SP) OA: 77 P: 90
He should have gone earlier. I guess it was just a matter of priorities.

10: PIT - Ross Ramus (RP) OA: 79 P: 87
Quite the pitcher heavy top-ten. Can't say I blame anyone as there are alot of good pitchers in that top ten. Not many out of it though.

33: TB - Len Krull (CF) OA: 66 P: 84
I couldn't resist the caliber of this kid's defense. Even so he has a .304 average and generaly decent stats everywhere, but it's a defensive pick for sure (strangely he's the biggest in the draft at 237 lbs and 6'5").
Contact: 66
Power: 76
Speed: 73
Eye: 76
Fielding: 100
Arm: 96
Range: 87
Future Roll: Either a defensive fill in for ever, or the mainstay in CF once Baldelli is gone. Toss up between him and Nix though.

63: TB - Esteban Seda (RP) OA: 66 P: 77
Sadly, this is the last half-decent pitcher in the draft. I should have taken a reliever in the 2nd round instead, but as I say the lure of the defense was too much for me. Still, I'm not going to find another reliever this good any further down, so I'd better take him now.
Endurance: 53
Control: 81
Power: 68
Movement: 86
Defense: 54
Future Role: Middle relief. Maybe short.

93: TB - Perry McNabb (2B) OA: 57 P: 65
We're running out of quality players. Actually that was true after about #20. Maybe even earlier. All that Perry is good for is defense and speed, and he hasn't used his speed much at all in double-A.
Contact: 50
Power: 64
Speed: 85
Eye: 65
Fielding: 87
Future Role: Pinch runner/defensive replacement.

123: TB - Adam Kiley (SP) OA: 57 P: 69
We're really getting down to the dregs. Though his stats don't look too bad, his performance in AA just is above par. Not good enough Adam.
Endurance: 80
Control: 82
Power: 72
Movement: 65
Defense: 64
Future Roll: Trade Fodder or Long Relief.

153: TB - Alberto Abarca (2B) OA: 50 P: 71
Insert filler text here.
Contact: 50
Power: 64
Speed: 95
Eye: 64
Fielding: 67
Future Role: Dung Beetle.

[Lobsteve]

Pre-Season 2006

A Single Trade

The other teams apparently have heard about my players. They won't give me a sainted thing, even for my stars. What a crazy world. So now I'm stuck with several people who are overpaid, I can't release them, and can only hope that somebody comes around to their senses.
But I did sneak one through the goal: Relievers Ed Cogswell and Brian Tallet are off to Detroit in exchange for starter Luis Alonso. So-so pitchers for a might-be-better-than-so-so pitcher. Alonso has yet to drop below the 6.00 ERA mark in the majors, but I have hope. And his one start last year was a win. Never mind that he allowed 5 runs in 6 innings. Pshaw I tell you.

Well, how about Free-Agents

I really gotta look at that list more closely. Players with talent were signed right after the draft, and now there be nothing. NOTHING. (Well, there are a couple interesting people, but I don't want to touch them until I can trade a little salary away.)

Opening Day Roster Card
As usual, Stats are from the pre-season.
*=Rookie +=One of my draft picks.


Starting Lineup
1: Laynce Nix (LF) .314 Avg
2: +Ian Unger (1B) .506 OBP, .361 Avg 1 BB/Game
3: Rocco Baldelli (CF) .357 Avg
4: Mr. Grand Slam (RF) .333 Avg
5: Jared Sandberg (DH) .375 OBP 7 RBI
6: Adam Everett (2B)
7: Enrique Cruz (SS) .296 Avg
8: +*Scott Zimmerman (3B) 40 Assists in 20 games.
9: Jeremy Brown (C) .442 OBP

Das Bench
George Lombard (OF) To Be Traded
Josh Hamilton (OF)
+*Wes Martin (OF)
+*Chad Lerner (1B)
+*Henry Berry (C)

Starting Rotation
1: +Neil O'Malley - 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA and .127 OBA
2: +Mark Samuels - 5.12 ERA
3: +*Toby Martin - 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA and .171 OBA
4: *Luis Alonso - 0-and-2
5: Juan Cruz

The 'Pen
CL: Lance Carter - 1.17 ERA, .117 OBA
ST: Rich Gistinelli - .197 OBA
SH: Brian Stokes - 1-0
MD: Luis Caccia
LG: Delvin James
AT: +*Leo Makitten - 1-0, 3.52 ERA

The Little Ones

Jae-Kuk Ryu always seems to do well in the spring. 2-1 this year.

John Wasdin was nuts in his one start in training with a 1.29 ERA and .045 OBA.

[cheeze]

i want more!!! Now!!! :D This is pretty entertaining nice work.

[Lobsteve]

Hall-Of Fame Peculiarness

Actually, I honestly couldn't say how peculiar it all is. They look like they might actually deserve it. In either case, a BIG year for the HOF with 7 players being inducted (later).

Greg Maddux (100%, 2010) 308 Wins and career 3.02 ERA. 2914 Ks. 105 CGs and 36 ShOs.
Tom Glavine (92%, 2010) 267 Wins, 2390 Ks
Rafael Palmeiro (81%, 2012) 574 HR.
Kevin Brown (79%, 2013) 205 Wins, 2397 Ks.
Larry Walker (78%, 2013) .311 Avg, 367 HR, 1284 RBI.
Barry Larkin (77%, 2014) .295 Avg.
Fred McGriff (76%, 2014) 1529 RBI adn 482 HR.

That little bit of business out of the way we are ready to begin (no fanfare, please, it hurts)

2006

April 8th
Visitors: Boston (0-0) Duh.
L10-4, L4-1, W7-4, L8-6
Uh, I don't want to play Boston anymore. Actually, I'm not sure we can play with anyone anymore, and to be entirely honest, I don't know where the problem lies. A pretty down way to start the season huh? On the upswing, Toby Martin got his first win of his career. And our first win of the season.
At least we didn't start off the season in South Africa like Toronto and Baltimore did.
In bizarre transaction news, apparently Anaheim has too much money. The only non injury notes in the transaction screen since March 2nd are the Angels signing and releasing players. Seriously. That's 13 in all. And apparently no end in sight.

April 11th
Hosts: Toronto (0-2) 4th, AL East
W5-2, L5-2, L7-2
As delighted as I am to have given Toronto their first two wins of the year, I am so disgusted with the pitching effort in the two losses that I have to pull my hair out and drag Lake Ontario on the way back south. Ian Unger had a great series with 2 hits in each game.

April 15th
Hosts: Boston (6-1) 1st, AL East
W18-13, L9-3, L4-2
Toby Martin is still perfect at 2-0, unfortunately his ERA is above 9. A 13 run game will do that of course. Then our batters all had a hit (except Henry Berry). In fact everyone (except Berry) had multiple hits and multiple RBIs with Ian Unger leading the way with 4.
In Transaction news Anaheim performed catch and release #14.
And Nomar hit 4 dingers in a game.

April 18th
Hosts: New York (2-7) 4th AL East
L9-3, L9-4, L7-5
And the Yankees found their stride. Great timing guys.

April 22nd
Visitors: Toronto (4-8) 4th, AL East
L8-4, L9-2, L4-1
We can officially not make it to .500 for the month. I think I saw a pitchfork sticking out of my back a little while ago, someone doesn't like me.

April 25th
Visitors: The Yankees (8-7) 3rd AL East
L5-2, L16-10, W5-3
After game two Jeremy Brown is out for 52 days, so in comes George Sagum. On the pitching side Makitten is in and Alonso is out of the 4th spot in the rotation. Which immedeately pays off with the win.
PS: Anaheim - 16 catch and releases.

April 29th
Visitors: Texas (12-7) 2nd, AL West
L8-6, W6-2, L5-1, L9-5
Forget the series, it sucked. The news is: A trade that didn't happen at the beginning of the season.
So, off go Delvin James, John Wasdin and Ernie Hayne (and 3-mil, which oddly shows up in the transaction screen as $-14656,000,000....Dig that) to Minnesota for 3B Cy Delen.
Now, the Twins offered this trade, so I don't feel guilty for taking the defensively gifted Delen. He even has a half-decent bat.
I only feel bad about losing Delvin, he wasn't too bad a pitcher, but I certainly don't miss Haynes or the Wasdinator who would never again have snuck into my lineup from the farm.
Trade Winner: Me, obviously. Why would I lose when I'm rating this thing?

April Recap
Also Known As: STOP THE PAIN!! I CAN'T TAKE IT!!

The Record: 5-19.
I should have written out FIVE rather than just using the number, it looks better in a 'we aren't dead last' kinda way.

Forget the players of the month. They all sucked (well, actually Laynce and Ian are doing really quite well as a 1-2 duo).

Random Insane Batting Averages and ERAs: Ok, so get this, the batting averages in the top ten range from .529 (Randy Winn...I know, I know) down to .463 (Mike Sweeney). That's insane, even after a mere month.
ERAs are no less queer with Steve Trachsel leading with 0.77 and rolling on down to Odalis Perez at 2.00. THAT AIN'T NORMAL!

May 2nd
Hosts: Kansas City (10-12) 3rd, AL Central
L5-4, W9-5, L3-1
Sigh. Goodness knows what I'm going to do with this lot. We haven't one more than one game in a series so far, and that will get me almost exactly last place.

May 5th
Visitors: Cleveland (7-17) 5th, AL Central
W7-5, W10-8, W6-4
Wow, what a difference a day makes. Apparently all my clubhouse ranting has payed off. That's right, the good GM knows how to take credit for his players coming out of a slump. However briefly.
Two Grand-Slams in two games. Game 1 Mr. Baldelli slaps one out for 4. Game Mr. Grand Slam, finally, lives up to his nickname as he wins us the game.
Well, at least we can beat Cleveland.

May 9th
Visitors: Kansas City (14-14) 4th, AL Central
W9-1, L4-1, W12-7
Ok, I don't know what you've done with my team, but YOU CAN KEEP THEM! I like this way of doing things much better. Of course it won't last, we're playing the dregs of the AL at the moment, and in a week or so the best of the AL will go back to playing us.

May 13th
Hosts: Cleveland (7-23) 5th, AL Central
L7-6, W8-3, L8-6
Great, the streak is over. Back to the normal win one, lose two. How can we sweep one week and lose two the next? I don't get it. I think my team hates me.

May 16th
Visitors: Oakland (12-23) 4th, AL West
L9-8, L8-7, W9-5
In the win an interesting tidbit of interest: #1 overall pick loses to #3 overall pick. Thats right, we face Waldo Dimmick for the first time and Toby Martin beats him straight up as we win our standard 1 game per series.

May 20th
Hosts: Texas (23-15) 1st, AL West
W9-7, W4-3, L3-1
What do you know, my bullpen actually won us two games. I didn't think that could happen seeing as how they've lost us half of them so far.

May 23rd
Hosts: Oakland (14-27) 4th, AL West
L9-4, L10-2, L7-4
Note to self, Waldo Dimmick can freakin' pitch. Not against Martin this time. Which must be good luck for him as he smoked us in that 10-2 loss. Man, what an arm. We got 1 home run (for both our runs) and 5 other singles and that was it.

May 27th
Visitors: Baltimore (27-17) 1st, AL East
L9-4, L8-2, L7-3
I could have guessed this one would be ugly. Baltimore is doing ridiculously well. Leo, Makitten is out for 20 days now, which Koo-Koo Ryu is up from the farm.

May 30th
Hosts: Minnesota (32-14) 1st, AL Central
W7-6, L12-0, L15-5
What do you mean predictable! I resemble that argument!

May: The Horror Continues

Monthly: 11-15
Yearly: 16-34
Well, it could only get better, and it did. A bit. By the way, even with the bit of better, we're still the cellar-dwelers of the AL. And the NL.

I can't bear to name any players of the month. This year may be entirely devoid of them.

NEXT!

[Lobsteve]

Well, that morning double-post deserves a WHOOPS! But, here's the -real- second post.

June 2nd
Hosts: Baltimore (32-18) 1st, AL East
L4-0, W8-3, W9-4
Bet you didn't think we could do that. Neither did I, of course. Game 2: Mr. Grand Slam shows off his unique nickname for the second time this year. Makin up for the fact that it took him so long in between the first and second. And hey, Koo-Koo wan the third, showing off his talent and making people wonder why he keeps getting stuck in the minors.
Jared Sandberg is injured for 12 days and no one will likely notice. Replaced by Wes Martin as DH.
Quick little trade between the Pirates and Royals. KC gets Michael Cuddyer for 3 minor leaguers. Who cares? Somebody I'm sure.
Winner?: Probably KC, but I can't tell.
Michael Cuddyer Factor: Yo!

June 6th
Visitors: Toronto (27-25) 4th, AL East
W4-3, L3-0, W6-5
A fantastic Brandon Duckworth shutout breaks up our streak, even so, I am vastly impressed that we were able to start off the month so well at all.
On the injury front Laynce Nix and Adam Everett are out for a few days, no worries.

June 10th
Visitors: Los Angeles (36-21) 2nd, NL West
L8-4, L7-1, W4-3
Man, these guys are good. I have this horrible feeling that we are only playing good teams this year. Maybe it's all in my mind, and maybe there's something to that, but there you have it.
Ian Unger single handedly supplied the win batting in 3 runs in a 3-for-3 night. What a guy.

June 13th
Visitors: Arizona (24-37) 5th, AL West
W4-0, L8-6, W2-1
Ok, game 1, Mark Samuels pitches a two-hitter for his first official win of the season. A beautiful outing in which he also picked up 10 strikeouts for the complete game.
Close one in Game 2, but Chad Gaudin blew the game, allowing the winning runs in the eigth. For crying out Chad!
Another pitchers duel in game 3 where Brad Radke and Koo-Koo duel for innings back and forth (before Lance Carter comes in for the save in the top of the ninth). Koo-Koo allowed 7 walks (one which scored) and also stuck out 7 while Radke didn't allow an earned run and nearly matched Koo-Koo blow-for-blow.

June 17th
Hosts: San Francisco (33-27) 3rd, NL West
W4-3, L4-3, L1-0
Congrats to the bullpen for losing both games in the ninth. Could you BE any more inconsistent.

June 20th
Hosts: San Diego (48-17) 1st, NL West
W5-3, L5-0, L3-2
I can't believe that the Padres are ontop of their division, but apparently they deserve to be there. Really tough pitching, even in our win.

June 24th
Visitors: Baltimore (38-30) 3rd, AL East
L5-0, L11-0, L7-2
Man, that was one angry Oriole. They even trashed the locker room on the way out! The curs!
Big Trade between Colorado and Pittsburgh. Massive. Huge. Ok, really not that great.
Pittsburgh picks up both SP Eric Haber and RF Chad Rose. These two will both be stars somewhere down the road. These kids are good. Not much major league experience, but very talented.
To the rockies go SP Dave Williams, CF Alex Romero, RP Grant Balfour and C J.R. House. Which is all but meaningless since only Grant Balfour is worth picking up. So, Balfour for Haber and Rose. Probably worth it.
Winner: Gotta be close to a tie. Balfour is probably a match for the other two.
I Wish It Was Me factor: I really wish I'd thought of this one.

June 27th
Visitors: Florida (28-43) 5th, NL East
L8-6, W5-0, L11-10
The two losses both occured in extra innings capping a really close series and continuing the nasty little rivalry we have going. I'm glad to see the schedule keeps us going at it.

July 1st
Hosts: White Sox (39-34) 4th, AL Central
W12-3, L10-4, L5-2, L6-0
And so goes our shot at a .500 month. It really was looking good for a while wasn't it? And poof, there goes another little slice of whatever.

June Record: 11-15
Overall: 27-51
We're now 2nd to last behind Seattle in the AL. And tied for 2nd to last overall with Milwaukee. As much as I want a high draft pick to add to my roster, I would much rather somehow wind up in fourth in the division and, through some fluke, begin to push for the wildcard.

[Lobsteve]

July 4th
Hosts: Montreal (36-42) 4th, NL East
W5-4, W11-3, W9-6
Man that first game was close. It was one of those bizarre ones where though the teams are the among the worst in baseball the combination makes for outstanding, on the edge of your seat ball. As usual in these games in was the Ian Unger show as he went 4-5 with 2 HR and 3 RBI. All the way down the lineup, on both sides, everyone got a hit...well, not the pitchers, they never get a hit...what an exciting game.
Ian Unger is now 7th in both average (.345) and homers (24).
Trade news: The Cubs and Pirates swap minor-leaguers. (Julian Tavarez and Steve Ott to Pitt for Steve Smyth.
Winner?: The Pirates get the advantage in numbers.

July 7th
Visitors: Toronto (39-42) 4th, AL East
W14-4, W6-1, W7-6
In game 1 Mr. Grand Slam is at it again for number 3 on the year. Seriously. Number 3.
Game 2 featured Mr. Neil O'Malley and his 8 innings of doom as he shut down the Jays hitters when it counted.
I thought we were up against the wall in game 3 when Toronto scored 3 in the seventh and 2 in the eigth, but then Carter snuck in to silence the ninth.

July 11th
Visitors: The White Sox (45-38) 4th, AL Central
W4-1, L18-3, W8-0
Well, there were three fantastic pitching performances in a row, unfortunately only two of them were for my 'Rays. Toby Martin had the first win and threw all nine innings, allowing only 5 hits, 3 bases on balls and struck out 10. Great.
Then the shelacking.
Next Juan Cruz hurls a complete game shutout with 6 hits, and 6 Ks. Beautiful.

The All-Star Break: Where It Belongs
Yes, it's great to have the game in the right place. I just hope that the crazy amount of pitchers on the bench will somehow have cured itself as well. But first...

...The Derby of the Home Runs.

Ian Unger didn't get the Home Run nod. I'm a little disapointed I must say. However, former Ray Jason Pridie is there, just to rub salt in the wound, fortunately he's out in the first round after knocking out just 3.
Moving on to the second round are Reed Johnson (8), Joe Crede (5), Sid Beebe (5) and Josh Phelps (4)
And apparently Johnson used up all his luck in round one as he only manages another 2. Same with Sid Beebe. Not that Crede or Phelps manage much more with their 3 each.
The Final Round! (Or is it)
No, it isn't. Crede and Phelps will need extra innings after managing just one HR each.

The REAL Final Round
Fortunately it doesn't go any further as Crede takes it 3-2.

This was likely the lost scoring Derby in history. The winner only totaled 12 with 10 enough for second. Bleah.

The Game of the All-Stars

The NL wins, for what seems like an eternity in a row, this time 5-4. Not too much of interest. And again: PITCHERS ON THE BENCH! Oi.

BIG NEWS!: Ian Unger is selected for the All-Star game! Of course he's riding the bench, and of course he doesn't wind up playing, for such is karma, but here is the first appearance of his career. Many more to come I am certain.

July 18th
Hosts: Toronto (40-48) 4th, AL East
L4-0, W5-1, L10-0, W15-4
Ok, so the post all-star break is immedeately a little hit or miss. But one person it agreed with was Mr. Unger. And he's definately Mr. Unger from now on, especially after the following performance in that last win:
AB: 6
H: 5
BB: 0
R: 5
HR: 5
RBI: 7
-That- is crazy good. Mr. Unger is now 4th in average and 3rd in dingers.

July 20th
Hosts: The White Sox (49-41) 3rd, AL Central
L10-8, 11-1
We're .500 since the break. And that's about our best ever. Strangely they sub the sub .200 Jared Sandberg in for Unger in the first game. Sure he goes 4-5, but whatever.

July 22nd
Hosts: Boston (49-44) 3rd, AL East
L7-2, W9-8
How. Are. We. Doing. This? I don't think I've ever seen a month like this. Man it's good. Too good to be true. Huh! Huh?

July 25th
Visitors: Detroit (52-43) 3rd, AL Central
L5-3, L10-5, W9-1
Woo! 1 win in 3. Has the bubble burst? We'll see. We need one more win to ensure a .500 month.

July 28th
Visitors: Boston (51-47) 3rd, AL East
W3-1, W5-4, L8-6
Back on the lovely road of .500 post All-Star Game. It would be nice to get above that mark, but we face Baltimore next and we don't exactly have the best record against them.
Random Kudos to Mark Samuels for the 3-1 win. You go Mark.

August 1st
Hosts: Baltimore (59-42) 1st, AL East
L6-5, W5-4, W7-5, L13-2
Let me tell you about that 7-5 win which put us over .500 for the post break part of the month. We're down 4-2 in the eigth when all heck breaks loose. A single and two walks gets to Laynce Nix who reaches on an error by the pitcher and two runs score leaving 2 on. Which brings Mr. Unger to the plate. Will he win the game? Of course. How? With the bunt? Not so much. With the long-ball obviously. That'll be 3 of the best if you don't mind. And we lead 7-4. Rich Gistinelli allows one run and that's all she wrote.

We Can Finally Resume A Month
For the Month: 17-10 (Best month on record)
For the Year: 44-61
We're 3rd from the bottom of the AL still, but the best month in my tenure has pushed us to a tie with HATED Florida for 5th from last in all of baseball.

Tampa's Player of the Month: Can it be any doubt that with Top Tens in: Average (3rd), Hits, Homers, Total Bases, Walks, Runs, On Base Percentage (1st), Slugging (3rd), Production (2nd), Mr. Unger is by far A) The best player on the team and B) Certainly the best player of the month.

Pitcher of the Month: Neil O'Malley is at the head of the class with a record of 9-10, the 9 wins being what sets him apart. Plus, his 3.62 ERA is tops along with his 129 Ks.

Random Division Leaders
American League
East: New York (62-42) But Baltimore is only 1.5 behind.
Central: Kansas City (62-43) with Minnesota and Detroit 1 and 1.5 games back.
West: Texas (53-52)
Wild Card: A tie between Baltimore and Minnesota at 61-44 with Detroit a mere .5 games behind.

National League
East: Atlanta (58-48)
Central: Chicago (62-44)
West: San Diego (78-27) 16 games ahead of LA. Wow.
Wild Card: LA is just 4 ahead of Houston at 63-44.

The Regular Sized Trade Show
Really stupid quiet this year. I trade to move Jared Sandberg, but there were no takers. So I'm stuck with his salary and lack of production till the end of the year. Man, I should have kept Pridie instead.

Elsewhere:
To Boston: Terrence Long (CF) and Frank Menechino (2B)
To Oakland: Carlos Pena (1B)
Analysis: Uh, Boston? Pena is injured for another 120 days. You know, you still have a shot at the wildcard if you would have actually improved your team?
Winner: Yeah, Oakland.

To Florida: Nick Hutton (SS)
To Oakland: Michael Tejera (SP) and Chip Ambres (CF)
Analysis: Uh, Oakland? Why would you make such a smart move and then such a stupid one? Hutton is worth two Ambres and three Tejeras.
Winner: Clear advantage to Florida, to my great disgust.

Only one other trade, and we've come a complete circle:
To Boston: Adam Pitt (RF)
To Oakland: Jamal Strong (CF) and Webster Hulett (SP)
Analysis: This one doesn't matter at all except that it just proves that no one knows what is going on over in Boston. I guess they're already trying to rebuild for next year, but I can't see how these deals actually help them.
Winner: Me, because I enjoy the trade talk.

[Lobsteve]

August 6th
Visitors: Texas (53-52) 1st, AL West
L10-1, W4-2
What a peculiar little series. Whatever. But have you noticed how strange it is for Texas to be on top of the West with their record? And second is 3 games back of them.
Oh, the bad news. Laynce Nix is out for 12 days. Josh Hamilton is his replacement.

August 9th
Visitors: Anaheim (50-55) 2nd, AL West
L11-6, L6-1, L8-7, L5-4
We should have won the last two. We really should have. But Lance Carter blew both of them. Allowing 3 runs in the ninth in game 3 and another 2 in game 4. HEY! Lance! Wake up!
Well, it was good for Anaheim.

August 12th
Hosts: Oakland (53-59) 3rd, AL West
W9-1, L5-4, W14-4
Mr. Unger is in a bit of a slump, only one HR in the past 7 games, plus he isn't hitting nearly as much for whatever reason. Must be the intimidation of facing the West? I don't get that.

Auguest 15th
Hosts: New York (67-48) 2nd, AL East
W7-4, W10-7, W8-6
And against the Yankees none the less, a team in our very division. I'm impressed. And Mr. Unger is back hitting like he should. Even Lance Carter, perpetual scapegoat this year, is in form this series.

August 18th
Visitors: Seattle (38-79) 4th, AL West
W7-6, L5-2, L13-7
You know, all you can do, really, is just shake your head and keep on keeping on. You'd think, facing a team that has been struggling all year, we'd take the golden opportunity to improve our record. Instead it seems much easier to try and ignore them and just watch as Ichiro single-handedly has, it seems, more hits than the rest of both teams combined...that may be an exageration.

August 22nd
Visitors: The Yankees (68-53) 2nd, AL East
W6-3, W8-4, L5-3
In furtherance of my previous comments, then how is it we can go from very so-so, to fighting it out with a team right in the middle of the wild-card/division leader race. It don't make no sense. Well, psychology never does.

August 26th
Hosts: Seattle (41-82) 4th, AL West
W8-2, W3-0, W14-8, L7-5
So! There's the team that should have showed up against the Mariners last week, but apparently couldn't find the time to stop mowing their lawns during the homestand.
It's the Mr. Unger show again as he cleans up agains Mariner pitching with at least 2 hits in each game. Plue 2 homers.

August 29th
Hosts: Anaheim (62-64) 2nd, AL West
W5-4, L8-7, W8-7
That's what they call a tight series. All games were won in the last two innings, if not the ninth.

I hear it was a good month
And it was. Another +.500 month, which is good since it didn't start out that way. Will we make it 3 in a row? I hope so.
The Monthly Record: 14-12
The Overall Record: 58-72

Tampa's Player of the Month: Rocco Baldelli has passed Mr. Unger in the batting title race (Rocco is #3, while Ian is #5 now) and has had an outstanding month, picking up the slack where Mr. Unger slumped off a little.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: Oh, lets give Toby Martin some love for his winning record of 11-7. YAY!

Random 4 Big Category Leaders
Average: Cliff Floyd of Detroit leads with .368. Baldelli is at .348 tied for 2nd with Todd Helton of Colorado, and then Carlos Delgado (BAL) and Mr. Unger are tied in 4th with .341.

Home Runs: A tie with 43 between Todd Helton and Cliff Floyd. Mr. Unger isn't so far back with 39.

ERA: Chris Reitsma of San Diego is well in the lead with 2.20

Wins: San Diego shares both the pitching categories as Jerome Williams leads with 19 wins. 3 ahead of Baltimore's Freddy Garcia and LA's James Crawford who both have 16.

[GM24]

(Ian Unger, July 18th 2006)
AB: 6
H: 5
BB: 0
R: 5
HR: 5
RBI: 7



Mr. Unger is the only player in MLB history to ever hit 5 homeruns in one game. You should be very proud.

Just curious, is this feat listed under player transactions, or in a newspaper headline?

[kennybear]

lets start the chant now for Ian Unger


m.v.p
M.V.P
M.V.P M.V.P M.V.P.

[Lobsteve]

is this feat listed under player transactions?

It never even occured to me to look, but I've gone back and had a gander now, and yes it it.


Milestone Jul 18 , 2006 TB Unger, Ian 5 Home Runs In 1 Game

Kenny: The new chant has been noted and will apear in this year's awards show.

Lobsteve.

[Lobsteve]

September 2nd
Hosts: Toronto (62-69) 4th, AL East
L4-3, W7-6, L6-4
Rocco Baldelli is out for 14 days. His has been an injury filled year it would seem. Bad luck for Rocco. But good luck for Josh Hamilton who has been doing well filling in here and there.

September 5th
Hosts: Baltimore (77-57) 1st, AL East
L9-0, L7-6, W8-7
I was going to make a comment about how close our games have become, but then we were shut out and I thought better of it, but I'm really not far off, look at all these close games. And so many lost by the bullpen. I think I have my Draft Priority set.

September 8th
Visitors: Detroit (76-60) 3rd, AL Central
L3-0, W4-3, L3-1
I really shouldn't have mentioned the 'Close Games Theory of Tampa', because look what happened. They scored early, we came back late. Not very reassuring baseball.

September 12th
Visitors: Baltimore (82-58) 1st, AL East
L13-6, L9-8, W12-11
See, close games. Bad pitching. But close.

September 16th
Hosts: New York (81-62) 2nd, AL East
W3-2, L6-2, L7-1
This month isn't going at all as I had hoped. Though, it could be another July where we don't win till the second half. I hope. Come on, the fans want three winning months in a row!

September 20th
Hosts: Detroit (82-64) 2nd, AL Central
L10-4, W5-4, W7-5
To begin with, I find out that Scott Zimmerman is out for the rest of the season. Not good news at the hot-corner. Then of course we lose astronomically. But it seems that people like Cy Delen at third, or maybe his appearance is a rallying cry: "Don't Let Cy Look BAD!"

September 23rd
Hosts: Boston (69-80) 4th, AL East
L4-2, L4-2, W16-10, L5-4
I had been hoping for almost exactly the opposite to happen. If we had one several we would have closed on Boston for 4th in the division, and then with a little luck we would have caught and passed them to get out of the divisional cellar. Too bad you can't set goals for these guys. I'd even offer to pay them more....actually, no, I wouldn't. We're already losing 7+ million this year. Which is, not surprisingly, mostly because of Jared Sandberg.

September 26th
Visitors: Minnesota (90-63) 1st, AL Central
L2-1, L5-2, W4-3
With that second loss went our chance at .500 for the month. Thus with the first went our chances at +.500. Mind you, it was all a pipe dream anyways (and Mr. Unger has picked a weird time for a slump, by the way) as in any case we would have to sweep...the Yankees.

September 30th
Visitors: New York (85-70) 2nd, AL East
W8-5, L11-1, W4-3, W3-2
Didn't think that was possible. So, if we hadn't been such lazy butts the rest of the month .500 was well within our goal. Instead we finish at 12-16. But there is one small series in October to deal with.

October 3rd
Visitors: Boston (75-84) 3rd, AL East
W5-4, W8-4, W6-3
HEY! Get this! A perfect month! 3-0. I'll take it.

Wrap Up The Season And Ship It...Nowhere
The Season's Record: 73-89
Which is our best season so far. Only 2 wins improved over 2004, but you can't complain when you're as bad as us. That September really let me down, I though we could catch Boston there, and if we caught Boston, Toronto wasn't so far ahead. We could have finished 3rd. As it is we wind up 9th from the bottom of baseball. I fear what this will do to my draft. My beautiful draft!

Tampa's MVP: Mr. Unger, please step forward...But WAIT! We have a tie!!! Mr. Baldelli, the best hitter in all of baseball when all was said and done (.353), you too deserve an award! TIE!

Tampa's Cy Young: Toby Martin leads all pitchers with a 13-8 record, by far the best...ok, not by far, but good enough. Still he had a 6.23 ERA, which was worst among my starters. But I like him.

Random Statistical How-Dos
American League
Avg: Rocco Baldelli!!! (TB) .353
HR: Darnell McDonald (BAL) 58 - Mr. Unger was 6th with 47
RBI: Carlos Delgado (BAL) 160 - Mr. Grand Slam is 4th with 137
SB: Juan Pierre (KC) 51
ERA: Andy Pettitte (BAL) 3.03
K: Pedro (BOS) 229
W: Freddy Garcia (BAL) 20
SV: Kelly Wunsch (CHW) 42

Uh, Baltimore?

National League
Avg: Todd Helton (COL) .340
HR: Todd Helton (COL) 52
RBI: Jason "Curse his gizzard!" Pridie (LA) 144
SB: Luis Castillo (FLA) 58
ERA: Tony Armas Jr. (FLA) 2.51
K: Kerry Wood (CHC) 327!!!
W: Jerome Williams (SD) 20
SV: Jay Witasick (SD) 51

[Lobsteve]

I Do Like The Playoffs

Round 1

Baltimore Orioles (99-63) Vs. Chicago White Sox (91-71)
Prediction: Baltimore to sweep.
Results
Game 1: Baltimore 1-8 Chicago
Game 2: Baltimore 8-3 Chicago
Game 3: Chicago 6-7 Baltimore
Game 4: Chicago 9-11 Baltimore
The Orioles Wing 3-1.

Minnesota Twins (94-68) Vs. Anaheim Angels (88-76)
Prediction: Twins in 5.
Results
Game 1: Minnesota 11-8 Anaheim
Game 2: Minnesota 15-0 Anaheim
Game 3: Anaheim 1-10 Minnesota
The Twins Sweep.

Houston Astros (94-68) Vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (95-67)
Prediction: Dodgers in 4.
Results
Game 1: Houston 3-5 Los Angeles
Game 2: Houston 5-7 Los Angeles
Game 3: Los Angeles 4-6 Houston
Game 4: Los Angeles 8-9 Houston
Game 5: Houston 2-6 Los Angeles
The Dodgers Win 3-2.

San Diego Padres (105-57) Vs. Atlanta Braves (89-73)
Prediction: Atlanta in 5.
Results
Game 1: San Diego 7-3 Atlanta
Game 2: San Diego 8-0 Atlanta
Game 3: Atlanta 4-5 San Diego
The Padres Sweep.

Round 2

Baltimore Orioles Vs. Minnesota Twins
Prediction: Minnesota in 7
Results
Game 1: Baltimore 6-3 Minnesota
Game 2: Baltimore 6-0 Minnesota
Game 3: Minnesota 1-2 Baltimore
Game 4: Minnesota 3-1 Baltimore
Game 5: Minnesota 8-4 Baltimore
Game 6: Baltimore 5-6 Minnesota
Game 7: Baltimore 6-5 Minnesota
The Orioles Win 4-3.

Los Angeles Dodgers Vs. San Diego Padres
Prediction: San Diego in 5
Results
Game 1: San Diego 6-5 Los Angeles
Game 2: San Diego 7-8 Los Angeles
Game 3: Los Angeles 10-7 San Diego
Game 4: Los Angeles 7-2 San Diego
Game 5: Los Angeles 2-4 San Diego
Game 6: San Diego 7-5 Los Angeles
Game 7: San Diego 4-1 Los Angeles
The Padres Win 4-3.

THE! World Series
This year the two best teams in baseball meet in the finals. Justice has been served. Let the finals begin.

Baltimore Orioles Vs. San Diego Padres
Prediction: San Diego in 7
Results
Game 1: Baltimore 3-5 San Diego
A very wishy-washy game from both teams. To sum up: boring.

Game 2: Baltimore 3-12 San Diego
Totally dominated by the Padres, no room for Baltimore to get anything going.

Game 3: San Diego 1-2 Baltimore
The Orioles get a homer in the top of the ninth to win.

Game 4: San Diego 7-4 Baltimore
Miguel Tejada = Grand Slam to win and put the Padres a win away from the title.

Game 5: San Diego 2-1 Baltimore
SAN DIEGO WINS! They win by playing small-ball. No power, but a series of well executed plays that put together two runs to take the series 4-1.

Free-Agents And Their Ilk
Adam Everett gets 1.7 million for 7 years and Jeremy Brown gets thrown to the wolves. For once I don't have to agonize over anything.

In other Free-Agent news, the top position player up for grabs is Jose Reyes a ridiculously talented shortstop. I'm thinking of grabbing him myself. 3.9 mill for 3 years....it's practically a bargain. I think.

Russ Ortiz heads the list of pitchers, but though very good he isn't very inspiring at 11.3 million.

And Now: Individual Awards

AMERICAN LEAGUE (2006)

Let the chanting begin! MVP. MVP.

Cy Young: Johan Santana (MIN)

MVP! MVP! MVP! MV...WHAT THE ****!

Player of the Year: Carlos Delgado (BAL)

Well. Chanting can't always work. Maybe next year I'll get a cauldron as well.

Rookie Of The Year: J.J. Davis (ANA)

Gold Glove (P): Esteban Loaiza (CHW)
Gold Glove (C): Joe Mauer (MIN)
Gold Glove (1B): Carlos Delgado (BAL)
Gold Glove (2B): Lou Collier (DET)
Gold Glove (3B): Zack Perrine (TOR)
Gold Glove (SS): Alex Rodriguez (TEX)
Gold Glove (LF): Raul Ibañez (KC)
Gold Glove (CF): Torii Hunter (MIN)
Gold Glove (RF): Aubrey Huff (TB)

Mr. Grand Slam? What an insult to the actual defensive players I have on the team.

NATIONAL LEAGUE (2006)

Cy Young: Dan Pasiornik (SD)
Player of the Year: Todd Helton (COL)
Rookie Of The Year: Cliff Lenox (PIT)

Gold Glove (P): Adrian Gropman (CIN)
Gold Glove (C): Mike Matheny (STL)
Gold Glove (1B): Lyle Overbay (SD)
Gold Glove (2B): Pokey Reese (COL)
Gold Glove (3B): Jose Hernandez (PIT)
Gold Glove (SS): Miguel Tejada (SD)
Gold Glove (LF): Nic Jackson (CHC)
Gold Glove (CF): Andruw Jones (CHC)
Gold Glove (RF): Shawn Green (SD)

Draft Preview

1: Jim Green (1B) OA: 83 P: 97
2: Dave Thompson (SP) OA: 92 P: 97
3: Chris Davis (2B) OA: 67 P: 92
4: Joe Kaulentis (SP) OA: 76 P: 90
5: Jaime Burr (RP) OA: 79 P: 90
6: Walt Heine (RP) OA: 78 P: 90
7: Terry Cooney (RP) OA 77 P: 89
8: Theodore Lokam (SP) OA: 80 P: 89
9: Tom Wroblewski (RP) OA: 77 P: 89
10: Alex Diamon (C) OA: 68 P: 88

[Lobsteve]

Pre-Draft Signing
Ok, you knew I couldn't resist. -I- knew I couldn't resist. So why bother? Jose Reyes is now in Tampa for 3 years at a 3.9 million dollar salary. Good numbers from this kid last year, in both the majors and AAA. In fact, he likely would have won rookie of the year for the Mets if he had played more. As it is he played enough to ruin his rookie status, but not enough to gain any credibility; though apparently enough to ask for 3.9 million.

THE Daft Draft

1: SEA - Dave Thompson (SP) OA: 92 P: 97

2: MIL - Jim Green (1B) OA: 83 P: 97
I honestly though Green would go first since there hasn't been a position player his highly ranked since Mr. Unger.

3: CIN - Theodore Lokam (SP) OA: 80 P: 89
What strange out of order pick. Kaulentis was still available and is certainly the better pitcher. Actually, I take that back, Kaulentis -will- be the better pitcher in 5 years.

4: CLE - Terry Cooney (RP) OA: 77 P: 89
And why hasn't Chris Davis been snapped up yet? To me it looks like the AI only wants people who can make an immedeate contribution. Maybe it just sorts players differently than I do.

5: ARZ - Jaime Burr (RP) OA: 79 P: 90
Reading through the picks I was getting worried that there wouldn't be any RPs to pick from come my turn.

6: MON - Juan Damian (RF) OA: 72 P: 86
I don't understand this one as Montreal digs rather deep down to grab Damian. Admitedly the best OF in the draft, but still...

7: PHI - Tom Wroblewski (RP) OA: 77 P: 89

8: SF - Grant Zaretsky (3B) OA: 67 P: 78
This one seems like a strange pick to me.

9: TB - Oscar Calvo (RP) OA: 78 P: 86
After all that I had to do a bit of digging to pick out this kid, but I'm glad I did. I would have ranked him about 16th or so to start with, but his last two years of AA have held 1.61 and 1.11 ERAs in some sort of middle relief role. Corresponding OBAs as well. I think I've found the underdog of the draft.
Endurance: 25
Control: 83
Power: 96
Movement: 84
Defense: 50
Future Role: Closer.

10: BOS - Walt Heine (RP) OA: 78 P: 90
I suppose I could have taken this guy instead, but I'm really not sure he's any better. Could be in the long run I suppose, but I'll take my chances.

For those who are curious 2B Chris Davis (who should have been picked up earlier) goes 11th to Oakland, finally.

39: TB - Luis Ballesteros (RP) OA: 70 P: 78
Not much pitching talent outside of that first round. But Luis isn't all that bad and has a solid 3.5ish ERA in his AA career which is plenty good. The kind of pitcher who can come into the game in the 5th or 6th and hold the fort until the closer is ready.
Endurance: 25
Control: 77
Power: 78
Movement: 84
Defense: 51
Future Role: I'm unsure wether he'll be a middle reliever or the setup/short relief man. Time will tell.

69: TB - Nick Leominster (C) OA: 60 P: 86
The highest peak left in the draft at this point, and I'm surprised he hasn't been snapped up ealier on. Maybe no one needs a catcher? Not much of a hitter, but good solid defense.
Contact: 57
Power: 72
Speed: 51
Eye: 67
Fielding: 94
Future Role: Backup catcher unless his batting is better than expected.

99: TB - Al Tyler (LF) OA: 55 P: 81
Al will need alot of time to improve, but I'm willing to see where he'll get to.
Contact: 62
Power: 71
Speed: 67
Eye: 65
Fielding: 89
Future Role: Defensive Replacement.

129: TB - Pete Rothmann (RP) OA: 57 P: 72
Not really a reliever, and not really a starter he could be a good long reliever if he sticks to it. Or he could be a huge flop. He'll get one chance in a while, and that's it.
Endurance: 57
Control: 68
Power: 89
Movement: 57
Defense: 57
Future Role: AAA Super-Human?

159: TB - Kerry Scanlon (RF) OA: 57 P: 70
Seriously, this is the best of the rest. And apparently the rest don't hit more than .187. Eh. Whatever.
Contact: 52
Power: 72
Speed: 72
Eye: 68
Fielding: 76
Future Role: Trade Fodder, somehow.

Post-Draft Signing

Apparenlty right after the draft is the time to chuck out all sorts of good stuff. And I'll take some of that. Like Cristian Guerrero, a mediocre out-fielder, but possibly a good kid to sweeten a trade deal with. So he's inked at $480,000 for 3 years.

Post-Draft Trades
To Anaheim: Jared Sandberg (3B) Enrique Cruz (SS).
To Tampa: Mark Lukasiewicz (RP)
Lets face it, with Sandberg holding me back in the bling department, and not performing, he was assured of a Kicking Out Of Tampa With The Biggest Boot Available award. Then poor Enrique was a) Eliminated by the signing of Jose Reyes, b) The only way anyone was interested in a pakage with Sandberg.
Mark 'No One Can Pronounce Your Last Name, Let Alone Spell It' Luckaseiwicz is a veteran (34, 7 seasons) reliever who has had his up and downs. He's got a couple more years in him, but only one with me as I'll release him after his contract is up this year. 2 million? Are you nuts?

To Baltimore: Pete Rothman (RP), Adam Kiley (SP), Luis Alonso (SP)
To Tampa: Juan Morcillo (SP)
I'm sure it seems a bit strange for me to chuck out all those pitchers, but it does make a bit of sense since none of them are going to amount to much. I don't for a minute imagine Morcillo will either, but he's certainly a good bit better than that ex trio of mine.

The Hall Of Fame
Randy Johnson (100%) 2011 - Ended with a 3.20 ERA which isn't shabby, and then there's the 4601 Ks and .207 OBA. Apparently he's good or something.

Craig Biggio (79%) 2014 - 992 RBI in the end. Should have stuck around for another year craig.

Randomness
Both the Cubs and Angels have too much money obviously. They've both been signing and releasing players like it's been going out of style. In particular Beau Kemp has been hired and fired by the Cubs 9 times (and once by Anaheim) since January at an average of 3.5 million a pop. Dig that crazy free-agent pool.

Opening Day Lineups

Starting Lineup
As usual, all stats are pre-season.
+=My Draft Pick *=Rookie

1: Jose Reyes (SS) .373 Avg, .424 OBP
2: Laynce Nix (LF) .340 Avg, .446 OBP
3: +Mr. Unger (1B) .385 Avg, .476 OBP and 16 RBI.
4: Rocco Baldelli (CF) .351 Avg, .412 OBP.
5: Mr. Grand Slam (RF) .338 Avg, 13 RBI
6: +Wes Martin (DH) .280 Avg, 9 RBI, 19 Runs.
7: Adam Everett (2B) .278 Avg
8: +Scott Zimmerman (3B) .298 Avg, 8 RBI
9: George Sagum (C) .250 Avg, .400 OBP

The Bench
Josh Hamilton (OF) 19 RBI.
+Perry McNabb (IF)
Cy Delen (3B)
+Henry Berry (C)
George Lombard (OF)

Starting Rotation
1: +Neil O'Malley
2: +Mark Samuels - 3.88 ERA, 3-0, 1 CG
3: +Toby Martin
4: Juan Cruz - 1 and 0, but only 2 starts
5: Luis Caccia - 2 and 0 in 4 games.

Bullpen
CL: Lance Carter
ST: Mark Lukasiewicz
SH: +*Oscar Calvo - 2-0, 3.93 ERA, .167 OBA
MD: +Rich Gistinelli
LG: +Leo Makitten
AT: Chad Gaudin

Triple A
Uh...QUICK! Look behind you!!

[Lobsteve]

Just one more trade, please.
To Cleveland: Brian Stokes (RP), Cristian Guerrero (RF), Kerry Scanlon (RF), George Lombard (LF)
To Tampa: Noland Trevor (SP)
I just couldn't take George Lombard lousing up my bench any more. And to a certain extent, the same goes for Scanlon in the minors. Guerrero...well, too bad bud, you're officially a journeyman. And the 'screw you, Stokes' chant carries throughout the clubhouse for some reason.
This Trevor fellow hasn't had much experience for what the Indians sold to me as a 'veteran', he's 26 and has 1 year of big-league experience, and that only 1 game. But it was a win. That counts.

MMVII

April 2nd
Vs. Toronto, In Milan, Italy...?
L9-8, L3-0
Game 1: We're an inning from the win, up 8-7 as the bottom of the ninth comes around. Oscar Calvo has been having a great rookie outing, putting together two great innings. The 7th to stop the bleeding as Toronto charges abck and the 1-2-3 8th. Then Lance Carter comes in. He allows a single and picks off the runner. Then a triple to Richard Hidalgo. Not good. Then he hangs a ball to Zack Perrine who swats it back to center field to win the game.
Record: 0-2 (5th)

April 11th
Vs. The Orioles (3-1) 2nd.
L6-5, L3-2, L3-1
........
Record: 0-5 (5th)

April 15th
Vs. Toronto (5-1) 2nd.
L5-2, L7-4, L7-6, L13-1
Well, for crying out loud! It only took 9 games. And a combination of Juan Cruz going nuts and making everyone ground out until 1 run in the ninth and Rich Gistinelli bailing him out to do it. Nine freakin' games.
Oh, and Lance Carter and Mark Lukaseiwhatever, both 0-2 with a 16.20 and a 10.13 ERA respectively.
Record: 1-8 (5th)

April 18th
Vs. Cleveland (4-5) 4th.
L10-1, L8-5, W5-3
What a sad start to the season. So much for continuing what success we had last year. I imagine we'll hit about 55 wins this year? If we're lucky.
Milestone: Vladimir Guerrero just crssed the plate for the 1000th time.
2-10 (5th)

April 22nd
At Baltimore (11-2) 1st.
L8-5, W6-1, L9-7
Juan Cruz is looking to be our MVP as he has two of our 3 wins, and both times he allows just 1 run. All this from the 4th spot in the rotation.
Milestone: Barry Bonds gets hit #3000.
Record: 3-12 (5th)

April 25th
At Cleveland (8-7) 3rd.
L9-8, W6-5, L4-0
I just don't know what to do. There are so many non-problems I can't figure out where the trouble is. The middle of our lineup is doing fine. Mr. Unger and Laynce Nix are having a bit of trouble getting started, but not are still not doing badly. Jose Reyes is having a great time at the top of the lineup. Scott Zimmerman is having a career year near the bottom. Mark Samuels and Juan Cruz are doing quite well and Toby Marin and Neil O'Malley are still having solid innings, though allowing runs. The Luis Caccia experiment is almost over though and my closer and setup man are definately not having a good start.
So maybe that's the problem right there? But HOW DO I FIX THAT?!

OK, Ok. Calm down. Lets figure this out.

First: Caccia must go. So, lets give some of the little guys a chance, but not a starting lineup chance. Leo Makitten to 5 in the rotation and Juan Marocillo to Long Relief.
And Second: Revolve the short relief. Calvo to close. Lukawhichever to short and Carter to setup.

I don't imagine for a second it will help, but it's worth a shot.

By the way. Record: 4-14 (5th)

April 29th
At: New York (10-10) 3rd.
W8-3, W2-1, W2-1
I didn't honestly think a shakeup would work. But Juan Cruz leads the way to the 8-3 win with Morcillo getting 3 innings of shutout work in. Then Neil and Mark put their heads together and come up with back-to-back 1 run, 7ish K performances. Even Mr. Unger is back with a 3-run shot in our 8-3 romp.
Record: 7-14 (4th)

An April Shower

Ray of the Month: Scott Zimmerman deserves some love for his career start to the season. A .317 average and 9 RBI are fantastic for him. And of course he's putting together his usual flawless fielding performance.

Devil of the Month: How can it NOT be Juan Cruz. Mr. Steady with a 3-0 record and a 2.15 ERA. I don't remember where he came from (a quick look shows I fed someone to the cubs for him) but I'm glad he's here.

Random Bad Starts
Just so I don't feel so bad down here on my own, here are the rest of the under-acheivers.

The Red Sox are a mere 5-17 with a worse ERA and Average than my team. That's impressive.

Detroit is at the bottom of the Central with a 9-12 record. Mind you, that's only 5.5 games back.

The West is a horror show. Anaheim is on top at 16-7 while Seattle (9-13), Oakland (8-14) and Texas (also 8-14) are well behind.

Just to change things around, Montreal is not at the bottom of the NL East, it's Philadelphia instead with a 8-13 record.

Pittsburgh and the Cubs are bringing up the rear in the central division at 7-15 and 8-14.

Arizona rounds out this list of Random Mediocrity with a 9-14 record.


May 2nd
Vs Seattle (9-13) 2nd.
L3-2, W10-4, W11-3
All around fantastic performances from my team. Juan Cruz has 4 straight wins now, in five starts, his first game of the year being a no-decision. Perfect.
Record: 9-15 (4th)

May 5th
At Oakland (10-15) 3rd.
L2-1, L8-5, L16-5
The last game shall evermore be known as the night of errors as we allow 5 unearned runs. Which is entirely disgusting. Does this mean I'm going to have to rearange the entire lineup every month? I hope not. The only hope for me is if we win a few.
Record: 9-18 (4th)

May 9th
At Texas (10-18) 4th.
L6-5, W17-10, W7-6, L2-1
Should have been a 3-1 series for us, but Lance Carter is rapidly losing his influence as he blows Juan Cruz's lead in game 1 and loses.
Just because he can, Mr. Unger leads the way in the Ridiculously High Scoring Game (Of Science). What? Leads the way? Hmmm, that's a bit of an understatement. Allow me to demonstrate:


TAMPA BAY ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
I. Unger (1B) 4 4 1 5 3 8 0 0 .303

It isn't 5 dingers of course, but it'll do.
Record: 11-20 (4th)

May 13th
Vs Oakland (15-16) 2nd.
W11-0, L5-3, W6-5
Listen, you just can't allow two runs in the top of the 14th and expect to win. That's the moral of this story.
Oh, in game 1 everyone had two hits, and Layncelot had 3.
Milestone: Magglio 'Of the many Gs' Ordonez gets his 1000th run.
Record: 13-21 (4th)

May 16th
At Minnesota (16-19) 5th.
L3-2, W9-6, L4-1
I'm not quite sure what happened here. We were up in both losses, but then the Twins came back. You can't do anything about that sometimes. Of course if I was the manager instead of...whoever the manager is. I think I said Kermit...I think I would have charged the mound and beat the snot out of the oposing pitcher.
For just thinking that I think I will impose a two game suspension.
Record: 14-23 (4th)

May 20th
Vs The Yankees (18-22) 3rd.
W5-4, L8-5, L5-3
I was really hoping that we would do better than this, but when it counted we just couldn't beat New York's bullpen, which of course makes things harder.
Milestone: Nomar Garciaparra bats in run number 1000.
Record: 15-25 (4th)

May 23rd
Vs Minnesota (21-20) 4th.
W5-4, W6-3, W2-1
Hoo-Yeah!
Just to keep the streak alive, Juan 'Hey, I don't -count- no-decisions' Cruz has won 5 in a row and is a perfect 5-0.
After all this you take what you can get.
Record: 18-25 (4th)

May 27th
Vs The White Sox (23-20) 2nd.
L4-2, W6-0, W7-4
Mark Samuels gets the credit for the 6-0 shutout, and a complete game I might add as well.
Milestone: Chipper Jones gets hit #2000.
Record: 20-26 (4th)

May 30th
Vs Toronto (22-25) 3rd.
W7-6, L8-6, W4-0
Take that you scurvey...Jays. Neil O'Malley gets the shutout this time, along with 8 Ks in his complete game effort.
Record: 22-27 (4th)

Someone had better yell MAY!

The Month of May: 15-12
With so many losing months, I can count all the winning ones on both hands. Maybe even one, but I'm too lazy to check. Not that I could. Well, maybe I could, but I don't want to.

Ray of the Month: Laynce Nix has had a stellar month, raising his average to .349 and his OBA to .464. Apparently hitting second agrees with him as he also has 25 RBI which puts him about 4th on the team, but it's still very good for him.

Devil of the Month: Since coming into the closer's spot, Oscar Calvo is a perfect 5-and-0 in save opportunities and has only 1 loss to his name in any case. And 1 win.

Random Division Leaders

American League
East: Baltimore (37-13) 12 games ahead of New York
Central: Chicago (27-22) .5 ahead of the Twins
West: Anaheim (32-18) 7 ahead of Texas
Wildcard: Minnesota (27-23) is a couple up on New York and various others.

National League
East: Atlanta (31-19) Florida is 4.5 behind.
Central: Houston (32-17) 1 game back is St. Louis
West: Los Angeles (32-16) Colorado is 5 back.
Wildcard: St.Louis (31-18) is ahead of the Rockies by 3.5 games.

[Lobsteve]

June 3rd
At Chicago (27-22) Leading the Central.
L7-5, W10-6, W9-6, L8-6
Juan Cruz wins -again- in game 3. He's up to 6-0 now when involved in a decision. Even if the bullpen didn't take over for him during undecided games he'd still likely be about 8-2.
Record: 24-29 (Tied 3rd)

June 6th
At Baltimore (39-14) 1st.
W6-2, W8-2, W6-1
Whoa, whoa, whoa. What did we just do? Excuse me, I need to add eye-drops to my corneas, just to clear up the sight.
No, it's still the same.
Game 1: Neil O'Malley, complete game. But Toby Martin is injured for 5 days, in comes Koo-Koo Ryu, now scheduled for game 3 of the series.
Game 2: Mark Samuels, complete game.
Game 3: Koo-Koo seems to have the mojo for these random starts. 1 run over 8.1 innings. But back down he goes. But to make things worse Jose Reyes is out for 25 days. That's alright, Adam Everett is eager to step up, but he isn't a leadoff hitter, so the shuffle is in. Everett drops down tot he 8t spot. And everyone else up one.
Hey! It looks like last year's lineup.
Record: 27-29 (3rd) 3 games back of the wildcard lead.

June 10th
Vs Colorado (30-27) 2nd.
L9-0, W9-7, W5-1
No! Not 9-0, not today! With a score like that it can only mean one thing: Juan Cruz has picked up his first loss of the year. It makes you wonder about life...
In that last game, young master O'Malley struck out 10 and allowed only 4 hits in his complete game.
Record: 29-30 (2nd)

June 13th
Vs San Diego (30-29) 2nd.
L9-7, L4-0, W5-3
The Padres were taking my bullpen to school until Juan Cruz came in to show them how it was really done. Of course, as usual, he ran into a no-decision, but the 'pen did hang on. Mr. Unger is out for 4 days, and in our win his replacement, Cy Delen, knocks in 4 of our 5 runs.
Record: 30-32 (2nd) Only 13 back of Baltimore! ;)

June 17th
At Arizona (23-29) 5th
L6-3, L3-2, W6-4
Ok, we should have taken more than one game off of the D-Backs, but we got next to no hitting from the middle of the order through games one and two. The pitching was mostly solid and if we could have picked up a run or two from our big guns I think we would have won through.
What might have been.
Record: 31-34 (2nd) If you believe it.

June 20th
At San Francisco (28-38) 4th
L3-1, L4-1, W6-2
Still rough outings from my big hitters. It may just be the NL parks, but that's just a lousy excuse. Juan Cruz lost his second in game one. Oi.
Record: 32-36 (2nd)

June 24th
At Boston (22-47) 5th
W5-0, L2-1, L12-5
One game where the hitters didn't show up, then a game where the pitching didn't show up. And strangely it was Juan Cruz who allowed 6 runs for his, by my count, 3rd loss, but apparently I can't count at all as his record stands at 6-2.
We should have swept this one.
Milestone: A-Rod (still with Texas) gets his 500th home run.
Milestone: Matt Clement (STL) pitches a no-hitter.
Record: 33-38 (3rd)

June 27th
Vs Atlanta (44-28) 1st
L5-4, W11-2, W1-0
The game of interest was the last one. Mark Samuels allowed hits aplenty, but the defense held firm and didn't allow a runner to round third. Indeed only one runner even made it to third. In the end it was a pitching mistake that won us the game. And hey, we played small-ball:
Bottom of the ninth.
Mr. Unger grounds out to third.
Josh Hamilton walks.
Mr. Grand Slam lays down a sac-bunt.
Wes Martin is intentionally walked.
Cy Delen (pinch hitting) reaches on an error to load the bases.
Len Krull comes in to pinch hit...
...AND WALKS!
We Win.
Record: 35-39 (3rd)

July 1st
Vs Boston (26-49) 5th
L4-2, L5-2, L12-2, W12-1
Why can't we freakin' beat Boston? They really have our number so far. It's annoying. Even more annoying is that Juan Cruz is out for 36 days. Koo-Koo will fill in for him of course, but it isn't quite the same. Cruz has been a game breaker for us during the first half of the season.
Also annoying is that the losses to Boston ruins our chance at +.500 for the month and a shot a .500 on the year. Curse your gizzards, Boston.
Record: 36-42 (3rd)

June wasn't so bad.

Monthly Recording: 13-14
Excuse me, I have to shake a fist or two in Boston's direction once more.

Ray of June: Mr. Grand Slam leads the team with 65 RBI from the 5th spot in the order. Along with a .320 average and 16 homers he is The Man for June.

Sun Devils: Mark Samuels and Neil O'Malley are really rolling along. Their ERA are ridiculously close at 3.27 and 3.25. The records are equally close at 8-5 and 7-4. Each has 7 complete-games, but Mark has two more shutouts with 3. Still, too close to call. It's a tie.

I forgot about the AAA!
I did.
I'm sorry.
I'll probably do it again.

Luis Caccia, having been slapped down early on in the year, is having not a bad time down on the farm. 3-1 with a 3.70 ERA.

My early season trade for Noland Trevor is looking good as well. Trevor (you can't call a guy Noland, seriously) is up to a 7-3 record with a 3.77 ERA and an impressive .192 OBA.

[Lobsteve]

July 4th
At Atlanta (47-32) 1st
L8-1, L7-4, L6-1
Lets face it, when you start off the month against two of the best teams, first the Braves, then the Orioles up next, it's going to be a rough go of it. But, still, with Jose Reyes back and everyone in the order back where they belong, I had been hoping for better.
Record: 36-45 (3rd)

July 7th
At Baltimore (51-30) 1st
L7-6, L3-2, W6-5
Now that's what I call a close series. Up in the sky-box it's hard not to sit on the edge of your seat until the last out has been recorded. The first two came down to the final out, and game 3 went 11.
But this losing streak isn't doing much for my standing in the division.
Record: 37-47 (4th)

July 11th
At Toronto (37-46) 3rd
L5-3, W6-2, W8-1, L7-4
I can't say the past 3 series were the best road-trip ever. And certainly not the best way to lead into the all-star break, but the two wins against Toronto did alot to cheer me up. Now it all depends how we do after the break.
Record: 39-49 (4th)

July 12th - Home Run Derby
Not that exciting a Derby to be honest. So I'll just do a quick recap.
Round 1: A-Rod (7), James Loney (7), Sid Beebe (7) and Tripper Johnson (6) all move on.

Round 2: James Loney and Sid Beebe are tied with 5 and move on to the final. A-Rod doesn't live up to the hype and swats but 2. Tripper is a bit better with 3.

Finals: Whooops, it's a tie, 2-2.

Extra "Innings": In the end Sid Beebe ekes out a one homer win 5-4. Ok, maybe it was a bit exciting. The finalists are separated by just the winning run overall: 19-18.

July 13th - The 'I Hate Ties' Game
As I recall, the AL has yet to win one of these events in recent memory. Well, this is their year. They score 4 runs over the last 3 innings to win 7-6.
Now, with a score like that you'd assume that there was a T-Bay fellah slapping hits all over the place. Well you'd be wrong. Mr. Unger observes this one from the bench. And, strangely, as usual, so does Mark Samuels. Great that they were both selected, but could we get a little playing time. Just because? Gros soupir.

July 18th
Vs Baltimore (54-33) 1st
W9-8, W8-5, L4-3, L7-3
Mr. Unger, fresh off his pine-ridding day comes back all ready to tear into the Orioles, which he does with 3 hits per game. Unfortunately the pitching isn't quite so thrilled and the bullpen sits back on their laurels to lose game 3, and Leo Makitten twiddles his thumbs all the way through the 7 runs.
Post All-Star Milestones:
Howie Clark of Toronto hits for the cycle.
Mark Prior has 18 Ks in a game.
And John Rocker records save #200.
Record: 41-51 (3rd)

July 20th
Vs Toronto (40-51) 4th
W2-1, L5-3
Way to not put distance between us and Toronto.
Record: 42-52 (3rd)

July 22nd
At the White Sox (46-47) 4th
W4-2, L9-3
I guess I can't complain -that- much. We are .500 since the break. That has to count for something. And we are getting some good outings from the pitching staff. Ok, I'll call it good.
Record: 43-53 (3rd)

July 25th
At Boston (35-60) 5th
W5-4, W2-0, W8-6
Great win by O'Malley in game 2, 8Ks, 9IP, 0R. It all adds up to Super, especially as he cracks the top-ten for ERA with 2.96. But the poor sap goes and hurts himself the next day and is out for a week. Noland Trevor is in for a start.
Record: 45-54 (3rd)

July 29th
Vs Detroit (55-42) 2nd
L3-2, W3-0, L4-3
We needed two to have a chance at .500 for the month, and the hitters just didn't come through in the clutch. Never mind that Lance Carter blew another for us by losing game 1 when we needed 1 more out. He'll be gone next year for sure, it I can't trade him now.
Record: 46-56 (4th)

August 1st
Vs Boston (36-65) 5th
L1-0, W10-8, W9-8
Trevor had a fantastic first outing in game 1, allowing just the one run. Unfortunately Jeff Suppan had an even better game as he shut us out entirely.
Record: 48-57 (4th)

What a July

Monthly Record: 12-15
A lousy start got us off on the wrong foot. We should have done better but I guess the competition was just too stiff.

Lets Talk Batters: And if we were going to do that we would have to mention Mr. Unger. He's taken over the team lead in homers this month with a solid 22, has 73 RBI, a .433 OBP and a .319 average. Here's hoping for a great second half.

Did I Mention Pitchers?: How can I not say Neil O'Malley? He broke into the ERA top-ten for the first time in his career with 2.96. Has a 10-6 record. 121 Ks in 155 innings of work. He's the king of the rotation.

Let's not forget the AAA again
There actually isn't much to say since many of the best of them were up with the big club this month. Luis Caccia is still chugging along. And you know about Trevor. And there isn't much else to say.

[Lobsteve]

THE BIG TRADE SHOW!
Lots to talk about this time, including one of my own. ONWARDS!

First off, mine:
To Anaheim: Lance Carter (RP) (and his 3 million dollar salary).
To Tampa: Francisco Rodriguez (RP) and $1million.
Rodriguez has been languishing in AAA for the past couple years, and that should come as a surprise to everyone. I call this a good trade as they are almost equal in skill, but I get the younger, and cheaper, player. Rodriguez winds up in the setup spot for me and has already had one good inning of work (no runs).
Carter hasn't been performing well this year and the time has come for him to get lost. Hey, without him bloating my expenses we might break even this year.
Winner: Me, as usual.
Why?: Age+talent-salary.

To Baltimore: Ray Grigorian (RF), Edwin Almonte (RP) and Jerry Hairston (2B)
To The Mets: Kerry Ligtenberg (RP), Cliff Pedley (LF) and Zachary Barker (C)
Analysis: This is actually a pretty big trade. Baltimore gets some very solid players, much to my disgust. Going back to the Mets the players aren't as good, but Ligtenberg is still a good reliever.
Winner: Even so, Baltimore gets the most out of this one.

To Seattle: Gary Matthews (CF)
To New York Mets: Jorge De La Rosa (SP), Zack Filichia (CF), Paul Hudson (RP) and Ichiro (RF)!!!!
What in the name of...well, if they had saints in Japan it would be one of them. Look at it this way: Gary Mattews for Ichiro. Is that a good deal for anyone to make? Mind you, Seattle has Vladimir Guerrero still (having won that sweepstakes. Also, in a bizarre twist, Gary Sheffield playing in AAA. So, admitedly WAY overloaded with superstar RFs. But it just goes to show the wackey ways of the AI. If it were you or me we would have switched Ichiro to Center, the Sheff to left and traded Randy Winn instead and never have picked up Matthews. Ah well.
Winner: The Mets, not that they didn't deserve it after getting hosed by Baltimore
What In the @#$^! Factor: 11.

To Seattle: Luis Gamez (SS) and Kevin Correia (SP)
To San Francisco: Ted Lilly (SP)
Not an unfair trade. But the Giants get a better deal in Lilly and Seattle does with Correia. Not that it really makes a difference.
Winner: San Fran.

To Milwaukee: John Maine (SP), Luis Alonso (SP), Tito Archuleta (RP) and Ozzie Selin (CF)
To Baltimore: Danny Kolb (RP) and Wes Helms (3B)
Winner: Hard to pick a winner out of this one, but I have to give the edge, again to my disgust, to Baltimore. Helms is still a ridiculously good 3B and Kolb isn't a bad RP either. Sure, the Brew Crew get a couple decent pitchers, and that almost makes up for getting Alonso. But Selin is just AAA filler.

To Minnesota: Henri Stanley (CF) and Jimmy Barret (SP)
To Houston: Bobby MacMillan (SP), Stephen Randolph (RP) and Cesar Souza (3B)
When you take into account that Henri Stanley is probably better than all three of the players going the other way, this trade makes no sense. But if you look at salary it looks a little better. Stanley's contract is up this year and he's, for sure, going to be asking alot.
Winner: If the Twins can afford to keep Stanley they really did get the better of this deal.
Marching Band Factor: Souza.

To Montreal: Jeff Tam (RP), Carlos Zambrano (SP) and Felix Pie (CF)
To Chicago Cubs: Hector Almonte (RP), Jonathan Figueroa (SP) and Matt Cepicky (LF)
Look at this one as Felix Pie for Matt Cepicky and Zambrano for Almonte and it about matches up. Tam is hit-or-miss and Figueroa is a bit so-so as far as actual numbers go. But Pie will be a great CF and Cepicky is currently very good. Hard to compare Zambrano and Almonte to one another, though they are at around the same overall level.
Winner?: I'm going to give it to the Expos since Pie is signed through 2012 still, which is a big deal for a team like that which doesn't come into money all that often.

To Houston: Scott Rolen (3B)
To Texas: Ron Villone (SP), Jeff Kent (2B) and Colin Porter (CF)
No two ways about this one, Texas Got Hosed. Rolen is signed at 4 million for the rest of his career and is still very good. While Villone's contract runs out this year, and he's 36 anyways, and Kent is 39 and sure to be retiring after this season. Porter is just useless.
Winner: A decisive victory for Houston.

To Anaheim: Rudy Schenker (RP) and Frank Clark (RF)
To Florida: Julio Ramirez (CF)
Clark is the filler in this trade as it is really Schenker for Ramirez, and that's a close one to call. Ramirez would make a fabulous lead-off DH and Schenker a brilliant setup man.
Winner: Florida. I couldn't decide until I looked at it this way. If they were in the draft right now, who would I pick. Say they were ranked #1 and #2, and you had the first pick; you'd have to pick Ramirez, he's just that bit better that will give him an Edgar Martinez kinda career.
Random Mention Of Edgar Rating: 15.2

[Lobsteve]

August 4th
Vs New York Yankees (52-52) 2nd
W6-3, W9-8, W11-2
New York must be wondering who turned out the lights. Strange though that we could play so very wishy-washily against Boston and so well against New York.
I have to mention this as it was a first for me. Never in all my days have I seen a AAA player injured while in AAA, but it finally happened. Noland Trevor is injrued for 6 days.
Milestone: Eric Gagne = 200 Saves.
Record: 51-57 (3rd)

August 8th
Vs Anaheim (69-38) 1st
L6-4, L5-4, W4-1, L8-6
Well, we managed to put one game together against the best in the west. The rest we had only one of the two halves in gear.
Record: 52-60 (3rd)

August 12th
At New York Yankees (54-56) 2nd
W11-10, L2-1, W14-5, L8-5
What a weird series. We win game 1 with 5 runs in the ninth. We lose game two because even though Martin has a fantastic complete game he can't match Odalis Perez. Then the guns come out firing and we win game 3 in the first 4 innings. And then the last game is ripped away as it's the Yankees turn to score 5 late in the game.
Record: 54-62 (4th)

August 15th
At Oakland (47-66) 4th
L7-5, W2-1, L7-2
This is disgusting. We're playing our hearts out against the good teams, but barely even trying against the worst in the league. Makes me want to put by boots to someone, but I just can't pick one person.
By the way, the Juan Cruz show is back in town (thanks to a Mark Samuels injury) and he picks up the win with a great 1-run outing.
Record: 55-64 (3rd)

August 19th
Vs Texas (64-54) 2nd
W13-2, L2-1, L4-2
The Texas pitching (bet you didn't think anyone would praise them again) was too much for us in the last two. That's all there is to it. Bit of a shuffle in pitching land: Samuels is back, now #3 in the rotation behind Cruz. Martin moves down to 5th behind the surprising Ryu and Leo Makitten is relegated to the minors, not that he doesn't deserve it.
Record: 56-66 (4th)

August 22nd
Vs Seattle (52-68) 4th
W14-2, W7-6, L6-0
Just as I was going to say that Seattle was spending too much on their outfield and didn't have enough to pay for decent pitching they go and shut us out and shut me up.
Record: 58-67 (4th)

August 25th
At Anaheim (80-43) 1st
W8-5, L5-4, W3-2
How do you like that Anaheim! Whu-pah! Of course, we likely would have lost game 3 if it wasn't for The Juan Cruz Show.
Record: 60-68 (4th)

August 29th
At Seattle (54-72) 4th
L3-2, L9-3, L12-1
One little win. That was all I ask. A single victory to ensure we don't have to beat the Orioles on the 31st to be at .500 for the month. One little effort against the third worst team (never mind that we're the 5th) in the american league. WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU PEOPLE!
Record: 60-71 (4th)

And In Summary

Monthly Accounting: 14-14
Ok, so we did beat Baltimore to get to .500. But it was a close thing. Ok, it wasn't close, we hammered them 10-1. EVEN SO: We could have done it sooner.

Tampa's Player of the Month: Guess how many RBI Mr. Unger has now. Huh? Come on, make a guess. Not even close. 95. That's how many. Of course, Mr. Grand Slam has 98, but that's a tight race. The league lead is far out of reach mind you, Dallas McPherson of Anaheim has 142!
So who is the player of the month? Eh. Who cares. 95 RBI! He'll make 100 this year! Not that he didn't last year.

Pitcher of the Whatever: Uh. Neil O'Malley? Alright. I have an alibi in place in case I'm wrong.

Triple-who?
Who cares. That's who.

Actually, Leo Makitten is doing really well down there. So is Caccia, still. Yada. Yada. Yada.

September 2nd
Vs Baltimore (82-49) 1st
W10-1, L5-3, L6-0
The shutout is completed by Andy Pettitte. He of the otherwise shbby year. Well, not too shabby, his team is waaaaaay up there.
Record: 61-73 (4th)

September 5th
Vs Kansas City (73-60) 3rd
W3-0, L8-6, W3-2
As we were losing 8-6, Mr. Unger knocked in RBI 100 on the year. What an ignominious way to go.
Record: 63-74 (4th)

September 9th
At Toronto (64-73) 3rd
L8-7, W2-1, W12-10, L9-4
Well, the grudge match for 3rd in the East winds up in a stalemate. We'll have to find some other way to stymie the Jays.
Two points of interest.
Game 1: Rocco Baldelli is a single away from the cycle. A single, he had 2 doubles, but didn't have the sense to pull up on the second one. Probably better that he didn't.
Game 3: Mr. Unger? Only 7 RBI. Just 7. He must have been shocked that he kept it down to such a reasonable level.
Record: 65-76 (4th)

September 12th
At Detroit (81-58) 1st
L4-3, L5-1, W2-1
Well, we got a win. Mr. Unger got another 2 RBI and Samuels got the complete game. Otherwise, I can't really blame the detroit fans for not showing up.
Record: 66-78 (4th)

September 16th
At New York Yankees (75-68) 2nd
L6-0, W8-7, L4-3
When did the Yankees figure out how to play against us? They must be involved in the wildcard race or something. Yup, 6 games back. I don't think they can make it, they should just roll over. Sit New York. Sit.
Record: 67-80 (4th)

September 19th
At Boston (51-95) 5th
W2-1, W3-2, L7-3
Forget the Yankees, when did we figure out how to beat the Red Sox? Only Pedro took a game off of us, and that was mostly the bullpen messing things up once again.
We're going to need a few more series like this to stomp on last years record though.
Record: 69-81 (4th)

September 22nd
Vs Detroit (88-60) 1st
L8-5, W10-3, W5-4
Wow. Double wow. Now, I expect this all year long next season guys.

Guys?
Record: 71-82 (3rd)

September 26th
Vs Boston (52-99) 5th
L1-0, W7-2, L5-1
Well this was backwards. We lost to everyone else and beat Pedro.
Record: 72-84 (3rd)

September 29th
Vs The Yankees (84-72) 2nd
W1-0, W6-3, L6-4
Well, there goes last years record. You know, it does my heart good to see things actually improving, albeit slowly. For the longest time I was beginning to wonder if the long, cautious (and really, what else would you call it) approach to doing this would ever pay off. Losing seasons are tough on everyone.
Record (74-85) 3rd

October 3rd
At Kansas City (88-71) 2nd
L8-5, L3-0, W4-1
Though, if this is the rate we're improving at, I estimate the World Series will be in our hands in approximately 125 years. Well, that may be an exageration. How about 120?
Final Record: 75-87. 3rd, AL East.
September Record: 13-14
Best team ERA in the East at 4.41. I never would have thought that.


Season Recap
Well, an improvement is an improvement, no matter how small (2 games) it is. And we moved up another spot in the division, take -that- Toronto. We will draft 11th I believe. Out of the top 10 for the first time.

Tampa's MVP
You know I'm going to say Unger. So why do I type this.

Tampa's Cy Young
Mark Samuels has been very good all year long. and his 15-9 record is the best among my pitchers. So up you get Mark, take your medicine like a good boy.

Individual Awards
(In brackets is Tampas Leader)

American League
AVG: Cody Ross (Det,RF) .346 (Laynce Nix, .334)
HR: Dalla McPherson (Ana,3B) 59 (Mr. Unger, 38)
RBI: Dallas McPherson (Ana,3B) 182 (Mr. Unger, 121)
SB: Juan Pierre (KC,CF) 65 (Jose Reyes, 27)
ERA: Juan Alemao (Det) 2.75 (Mark Samuels, 3.63)
K: Pedro Martinez (Bos) 243 (Neil O'Malley, 175)
W: Freddy Garcia (Bal) 19 (Mark Samuels, 15)
SV: Armando Benitez (Bal) 49 (Oscar Calvo, 21)

National League
AVG: Albert Pujols (StL,LF) .357
HR: James Loney (LA,1B) 64
RBI: James Loney (LA,1B) 154
SB: Ichiro (NyM,RF) 39
ERA: Roy Oswalt (Hou) 2.53
K: Rob Simms (Fla) 291
W: Esteban Loaiza (LA) 19
SV: Billy Wagner (Hou) 41

[Lobsteve]

Who wants Playoffs?! I do! I do!

Divisional Series

Baltimore Orioles (101-61) vs. Texas Rangers (91-71)
Prediction: Baltimore in 4.
Results
Game 1: Baltimore 2-1 Texas
Game 2: Baltimore 6-5 Texas
Game 3: Texas 4-5 Baltimore
The Orioles Sweep!

Anaheim Angels (101-61) vs. Detroit Tigers (96-66)
Prediction: Anaheim in 5.
Results
Game 1: Anaheim 7-9 Detroit
Game 2: Anaheim 2-1 Detoirt
Game 3: Detroit 8-3 Anaheim
Game 4: Detroit 6-4 Anaheim
The Tigers Wins 3-1.

Los Angeles Dodgers (107-55) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (95-67)
Prediction: LA to sweep.
Results
Game 1: Los Angeles 4-2 St. Louis
Game 2: Los Angeles 5-2 St. Louis
Game 3: St. Louis 8-5 Los Angeles
Game 4: St. Louis 4-1 Los Angeles
Game 5: Los Angeles 7-9 St. Louis
The Cardinals Win 3-2.

Houston Astros (101-61) vs. Atlanta Braves (93-69)
Prediction: Atlanta in 4.
Results
Game 1: Houston 6-2 Atlanta
Game 2: Houston 8-2 Atlanta
Game 3: Atlanta 4-3 Houston
Game 4: Atlanta 3-7 Houston
The Astros Win 3-1.

Recap: MAN! Was I wrong.

Conference Finals

Baltimore Orioles vs. Detroit Tigers
Prediction: Baltimore in 6.
Results
Game 1: Baltimore 9-0 Detroit
Game 2: Baltimore 4-1 Detroit
Game 3: Detroit 10-0 Baltimore
Game 4: Detroit 8-6 Baltimore
Game 5: Detroiet 1-2 Baltimore
Game 6: Baltimore 9-5 Detroit
The Orioles Win 4-2.

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros
Prediction: St. Louis in 7.
Results
Game 1: Houston 4-3 St. Louis
Game 2: Houston 5-11 St. Louis
Game 3: St. Louis 6-4 Houston
Game 4: St. Louis 6-7 Houston
Game 5: St. Louis 4-7 Houston
Game 6: Houston 9-2 St. Louis
The Astros Win 4-2.

The World Series

The Baltimore Orioles vs. The Houston Astros
Prediction: Baltimore in 5.
Results
Game 1: Houston 2-4 Baltimore
->Carlos Delgado drives in all 4 runs.
Game 2: Houston 0-8 Baltimore
->Taylor and Kolb combine for the shutout.
Game 3: Baltimore 4-7 Houston
->Save to B. Wagner.
Game 4: Baltimore 4-6 Houston
->DH J. Lane with 3 RBI to win it.
Game 5: Baltimore 5-2 Houston
->Freddy Garcia with the win.
Game 6: Houston 5-3 Baltimore
->All done in 3 innings.
Game 7: Houston 5-3 Baltimore!
->Eigth inning: Baltimore 1. Houston 3. Wagner closes.
The Houston Astros WIN the World Series!

Free-Agent Land

Well, I couldn't do it. I couldn't sign anyone. Josh Hamilton won't make 6 million to sit on the bench. Mark Lukasiewicz won't bit pitching from the 'pen for 3 million. And, worst of all, the hardest decision to make, Juan Cruz won't be gracing the rotation for 4.5 million.
Sorry guys, the purse strings just aren't that loose.

Notables
Alex Rodriguez hasn't made enough cash, so wants another 21.5 million for seven years. Likely to be signed by Baltimore.

Michael Restovich wants 17.8 million for not doing much. The Twins want him.

You can also get Todd Helton for 12.8 mill, and Detroit is after him.

On the pitching side, Roy Oswalt won't take less than 15.2. Apparenlty the Bo Sox can afford that.

League Awards

Live! From a remote town by the Missouri river. It's the League Awards Show! With your host: Steven Van Licktenstein.

AMERICAN LEAGUE (2007)

Cy Young: Juan Alemao (DET)
Player of the Year: Dallas McPherson (ANA)
Rookie Of The Year: Webster Mack (KC)

Gold Glove (P): Jose Lima (TEX)
Gold Glove (C): Walter Duffy (BOS)
Gold Glove (1B): Rick MacTavish (TOR)
Gold Glove (2B): Antonio Perez (ANA)
Gold Glove (3B): Zack Perrine (TOR)
Gold Glove (SS): Alex Rodriguez (TEX)
Gold Glove (LF): Byron Gettis (KC)
Gold Glove (CF): Darin Erstad (ANA)
Gold Glove (RF): Cody Ross (DET)

HELP! I've been robbed! Robbed of all my GOLD!

NATIONAL LEAGUE (2007)

Cy Young: Roy Oswalt (HOU)
Player of the Year: James Loney (LA)
Rookie Of The Year: Wheeler Knoll (PHI)

Gold Glove (P): Neil Krupnik (ARZ)
Gold Glove (C): Geronimo Gil (ATL)
Gold Glove (1B): Cliff Lenox (PIT)
Gold Glove (2B): Ray Durham (PIT)
Gold Glove (3B): Aaron Boone (MIL)
Gold Glove (SS): Angel Berroa (HOU)
Gold Glove (LF): Robby Hammock (ARZ)
Gold Glove (CF): Torii Hunter (HOU)
Gold Glove (RF): Chad Rose (PIT)

Draft Preview
OR: Players I Won't Get To Pick

1: Jamed Endreson (SP) OA: 77 P:92
2: Lewis Grigg (SP) OA: 77 P:90
3: Sam Corcoran (SP) OA: 77 P: 90
4: Ernie Miller (SP) OA: 78 P: 88
5: Wil Bailey (RP) OA: 79 P: 88
6: Don Carmichael (SP) OA: 77 P: 88
7: Arinori Akiyama (CF) OA: 71 P: 88
8: Harry Rees (SS) OA: 61 P: 88
9: Noah Winslow (SP) OA: 78 P: 86
10: Josa Alonzo (SP) OA: 78 P: 86

[Lobsteve]

The Draft Extravaganza

1: CLE - Lewis Grigg (SP) OA: 77 P: 90

2: SF - James Endreson (SP) OA: 77 P: 92

3: BOS - Sam Corcoran (SP) OA: 77 P:90

4: MIL - Ernie Miller (SP) OA: 78 P: 88

5: OAK - Wil Bailey (SP) OA: 79 P: 88

6: SEA - Arinori Akiyama (CF) OA: 71 P: 88

7: CIN - Don Carmichael (SP) OA: 77 P: 88

8: PIT - Wayne Conti (LF) OA: 70 P: 86

9: TOR - Noah Winslow (SP) OA: 78 P: 86

10: PHI - Jose Alonzo (SP) OA: 78 P: 86

Top-Ten: A Review
Only one pick out of the pre-ranked top-ten players. And not that far out either. Not surprisingly it's the weakest of the bunch who doesn't get picked: Harry Rees.
Strangely James Endreson isn't picked first. I presume it's an experience thing as James is 4 years older than first pick Lewis Grigg.

11: TB - Adam Bradley (RP) OA: 75 P: 88
The best RP in the draft. I could have picked Harry Rees and made him the next underated shortstop to win the ROY, but I don't think I want to. Obviously I'm still concerned with my relief pitching. I should have counted last year, but I expect they lost as many games as the starters last year. (I may exagerate.)
Endurance: 22
Control: 87
Power: 82
Movement: 81
Defense: 50
Future Role: Short relief/Setup

41: TB - Freddy Ramires (2B) OA: 68 P: 83
Not a bad second pick as second picks go. Where this kid will shine is with the bat rather than on the field, though I expect he can hold his own. Think: A bit like Ichiro, but with a bit better balanced with his power game.
Contact: 81
Power: 70
Speed: 81
Eye: 80
Fielding: 70
Future Role: Starting Second baseman or Leadoff DH.

71: TB - Michael Mann (SP) OA: 63 P: 79
Kind of a weak starter, he does have good AA numbers and the potential to become something of a threat, even if it's just out of the bullpen in long relief. Think: Juan Cruz of recent fame.
Endurance: 61
Control: 74
Power: 70
Movement: 78
Defense: 72
Future Role: Heck, with D like that maybe I'll move him to first ;)

101: TB - Dave Tutschulte (RP) OA: 61 P: 77
I think that picking people whose name you know you will never be able to spell if asked is good karma. We're in the fourth round now, and talent is slowly getting scarcer and Dave here is the best I can find. Which isn't too bad. But I'm not going to go around dancing because I was able to steal this kid.
Endurance: 51
Control: 72
Power: 83
Movement: 65
Defense: 50
Future Role: Middle relief

131: TB - Henry Swan (C) OA: 61 P: 70
I had to pick somebody, and I was enticed by the fantastic defense that Henry posesses. Gotta have the D.
Contact: 67
Power: 62
Speed: 50
Eye: 96
Fielding: 100
Future Roll: Back-up catcher.

161: TB - Ulysses Canty (C) OA: 53 P: 64
Best player left in the draft. Again picked because of his defense. Really, he's practically the mirror image of Swan, but a few points poorer here and there.
Contact: 52
Power: 62
Speed: 51
Eye: 96
Fielding: 100
Future Role: Likely trade fodder.

The A-Rod Sweepstakes
The only real question is who would pay too much for the ShortStop of the Millenium. Well, it's Baltimore. They didn't waste much time either, signing him on the 10th of Novemeber. 6 years (through 2014) at 21.5 million dollars. What's that sound I hear? I think A-Rod is beginning to chortle like Dr. Evil. I hear he even shaved his head. Surprisingly though, this deal doesn't give Baltimore the highest payroll in baseball. In the American league they do spend a 1.5 million more than the Yankees, but the Dodgers have everybody's number with a $202.3M payroll. Ouch! (I had a look. There are people in their minor league system making between 2 and 6 million. Just sitting there.)

Amidst all the signging and releasing as the wealthy teams just give away money, I make...
A Single Trade

To Atlanta: Zack Neidhard (CF), Ulysses Canty (C), Alberto Abarca (2B) and Henry Berry (C)
To Tampa: Carlos Duran (CF)
And there goes Canty. As promised. And there goes Berry to give someone else a chance to ride the bench (and hit better than .192). I only feel guilty about letting Abarca go, but someone had to sweeten this deal.
In Duran-Duran I get depth in my outfield which is nice to have as I seem to be staring at too many infielders on my bench and AAA. Good bat on this guy in a little while, but hopefully we won't rely on him too much in defensive roles.

Opening Day Lineups

Batting Order
All but unchanged from last year:

1: Jose Reyes (SS)
2: Laynce Nix (LF)
3: Mr. Unger (1B)
4: Rocco Baldelli (CF)
5: Mr. Grang Slam (RF)
6: Wes Martin (DH)
7: Adam Everett (2B)
8: Scott 'I was robbed of my Gold Glove' Zimmerman (3B)
9: George Sagum (C)

The Bench
Cy Delen (3B)
Len Krull (CF)
Perry McNabb (IF)
Al Tyler (OF)
Nick Leominster (C)

Starting Rotation
1: Toby Martin
2: Neil O'Malley
3: Mark Smuels
4: Luis Caccia
5: Leo Makitten

Bullpen
CL: Oscar Calvo
ST: Adam Bradley
SH: Francisco Rodriguez
MD: Rick Gistinelli
LG: Chad Gaudin
AT: Juan Morcillo

AAA
Back on the farm to start the season are perennial call-ups Koo-Koo Ryu and Noland Trevor.

[Lobsteve]

The Year is 2008.
The place? Tampa Bay.
The Hope? That we learn how to play with the big boys.

April 2nd
Vs Toronto
W7-0, W3-2
Isn't that just how you've always wanted to start a season? Toby Martin stymies the Jay's hitters with a well crafted 5-hitter. Then Neil O'Malley puts together 7.2 innings of stellar work with 11 strikeouts allowin just two solo shots. Then the relief takes over as Bradley faces two batters, walking 1 and causing another to line out. Then Oscar Calvo steps up and finishes them 1-2-3.
Perfect, you might say, but there's one fly in the ointment. Mr. Grand Slam has been involved in a horrible accident. One so vile I don't even know what it is. He tears his rotator cuff and is done for the year (245 days). CRISIS! And of course the thing that makes it all worse is that I didn't resign Josh Hamilton, the incumbent outfield replacement.
Well, first things first, is there anyone on the free-agent list? Of course not. They've all be snapped up long ago.
Well? Can I make a trade? With what? Even the offers I get for my stars are jokes as far as they go. And I don't have the money (two years of losing cash in a row) to go out and buy up anyone.
So obviously I have to pluck someone out of my reserves. A quick look shows two people who could fill that RF spot. Current DH Wes Martin and Len Krull. Both are centerfielders by trade, but could be switched over with just a little loss in the quality of their defense. Krull has the better defense, but Martin has the better bat. But if it was Martin, who would be DH? No one is ready, and so the decision is made, Len Krull takes over in right field.

So here are the changes to the lineup:
5: Wes Martin (DH)
6: Adam Everett (2B)
7: Len Krull (RF)

Also, Frederico Ramires (2B) is called up from the farm to fill the extra spot on the bench.

April 11th
Vs Cleveland (2-0) 2nd.
W4-0, L6-5, L9-6, W16-2
Mark Samuels gets in on the act with his first shutout, which is done in 2-hitter style. Then the bullpen gives up 3 in the 8th to lost game 2, while Leo Makitten shows he may not be ready yet by giving up 8 runs in 5 innings to lose number 3. Back at the top of the rotation everything goes right. And I'd like to share a couple lines from the box score:

TAMPA BAY ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
J. Reyes (SS) 5 3 1 4 0 1 0 2 .480
L. Nix (LF) 6 4 0 4 2 4 1 0 .407
I. Unger (1B) 5 5 1 3 2 6 0 0 .375
These guys are nothing but trouble. Never mind Toby Martin striking out 6 and only allowing 5 hits in his complete game.
Early trade between St. Louis and Texas.

To Texas: Jared Hoecker (SP), Jonathon Potts (C), Ricardo Sirota (RF) and Nick Schroeder (3B)
To St. Louis: Bart Priddy (SP)
Alot of people to give up for one starter. Especially a 4-5 starter. Mind you, none of those other guys are going to be in the lineup anytime soon.
Winner: Call it St. Louis. If Priddy holds up it's a savvy trade.

April 15th
At Toronto (1-4) 4th
L6-4, L4-3, L14-4, L4-3
Hold the freakin' phone. What the hey nonny-no happened here? Well, except for the 14-4 game, we lost all the other three in the final two innings. A combined total of 8 runs in the 8th and 9th in three games. Guess who the whipping boys are? Of course, 14-4 is no good either, and Luis Caccia has incured my ire by allowing 6 runs to get us off to a bad start. So down he goes and in comes Noland Trevor.

April 19th
At Baltimore (7-3) 2nd
L9-4, W2-1, L3-2, W6-5
Mr. Unger had a particularly good series, getting his hits at critical times for us. Noland Trevor had his first appearance in the final game, but wasn't able to pick up the win as we went to 11 innings to settle up the bill. Calvo gets the win with Gistinelli picking up the save.
Great small ball in our 2-1 win. We scored both runs in the 7th, which also marked the first time in the game where there were more than 2 baserunners in an inning. Mr. Unger tripled and was brought home by an error which allowed Baldelli to reach first. Wes Martin used the sac-bunt, Baldelli to second. Len Krull singles (he's playing pretty well as Mr. Grand Slam's replacement), Baldelli to third. Adam Everett popped out. And, finally, Zimmerman slaps an infield single to third to drive in Rocco. (And then George Sagum struck out.)

April 22nd
At Cleveland (7-5) 1st
L9-4, W8-2, L5-2
Well, Leo Makitten got hiself bi***-slapped in game 1. 6 runs in 3.1 innings. And Chad Gaudin allowed another 3 in 2 innings. Not a good day for the arms on the staff. Then we let them score 4 in the 8th to win it in game 3. What a trip. Let's not go into Indian country again.

April 25th
Vs Baltimore (11-6) 2nd
W5-3, W7-0, L6-1
We're having a good time at home aren't we. Trevor got the shutout, striking out 5 on just 114 pitches going all the way. Of course, the next day Leo Makitten just lies on his back and purrs (you knew something like that was coming eventually) while the Orioles knock in 5 in 5 innings. Leo, you're done.
In fact, you're so done that you're gone.
To Los Angeles: Luis Caccia (SP) and Leo Makitten (SP)
To Tampa Bay: Edwin Jackson (SP)
Well, we've seen how poorly Caccia (8.38 ERA) and Makitten (7.71 ERA) have done so far this year, and their moving on is entirely justified. They annoy me.
Young Edwin 'The Boy Scout' Jackson has yet to play in the bigs, mainly due to the fact that LA has more good pitchers than you could shake a stick at in a month of Sundays. Anyhow, he also has yet to have a losing season in AAA which was rather inspiring to me. He will fit in at the 5th spot in the rotation for now, and we'll see how he does.
You handle who won!

April 29th
Vs Anaheim (17-2!!!) 1st, everywhere.
W4-3, L3-1, W3-1
Anaheim? Welcome to my house. These are my asscociates, Mr Martin, and Mr. Samuels. Unfortunately, Mr O'Malley couldn't be here today. Boys? Show the angels out. Thank you.

April: Month of the home game
Record: 11-12 with one more game to play, vs Detroit. We are currently tied with Toronto for 3rd in the division and only 3 back of Baltimore for the wildcard.

Tampa's Player of the Month: Len Krull. The man of whom I expected nothing has wormed his way into the 5th spot in the batting order and is hitting .284 and LEADING the team in RBI with 22. He's even 2nd in team HRs with 6.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: Three way tie. Mark Samuels has the insance 1.80 ERA. Neil O'Malley has the strikeouts with 39 (10 more than anyone else on the team). And Toby Martin is getting the bounces with a 3-1 record.

Random I Forgot To Mention The Hall Of Fame Spot
Only a couple are mentioned this year: Robbie Alomar will be inducted in 2012 (91%) while Mike Piazza gets the not in 2016 (76%) and is the first catcher on the list.

[Lobsteve]

May 2nd
Vs Detroit (10-11) 3rd
W7-4, L5-2, W5-4
Oh, so -this- is where Josh Hamilton wound up. Welcome back Mr. Hamilton. By the way, you're no Ian Unger. How do I know this? Because Mr. Unger won game 1 with a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 12th. So there.
Yeah, I'm just upset that I couldn't sign him.

Trade
To Cleveland: Tony Blanco (3B)
To Boston: Dwight Rogala (SP) and Noman Shigio (C)
Three year veteran for two of this year's draft picks (4th and 5th rounders). Is it a good move? Not particularly. Blanco is a run of the mill thirdbaseman, but Rogala has the potential to be an above average pitcher, especially for having been picked in the 4th round, though Shigio may just be another average catcher. Probably not worth it for the Indians.
Winner: Boston. A quality prospect for an average 3B.

May 6th
At Anaheim (19-6) 1st
W3-2, W11-6, L12-8
Rocco Baldelli was rocking in the last two games. A grand slam in game 2, plus two dingers in the losing effort. Good outings from all my pitchers except for Noland Trevor who allowed a total of 7 runs in game 3, including 6 in the bottom of the first. Not a good first inning for either squad, mind you, as we had 4 runs in the top of the inning.
PS: We're above .500 (15-14) for what seems like the first time ever.

May 9th
At Texas (13-16) 2nd
L4-1, W10-5, L4-3
One highlight, Laynce Nix. 5 RBI in the win. And a 4-hit performance in game 3. But bleah pitching all around.

Trade
To Florida: Brad Nelson (1B), Alejandro Machado (SS), Yancy Stofan (CF), Kenny Baker (RF) and Zach Cheatham (C)
To Milwaukee: Ichiro Akiyama (SP) and Josh Wilson (3B)
Gee guys, that's alot of bench depth to swap around. Make sure no one gets hurt.
Winner?: Nobody cares.

May 13th
Vs Oakland (11-21) 4th
W2-1, L5-4, W3-0
1: Mark Samuels, complete game 7-hits (1 HR) and 2 BB. Das Goot.
2: Noland Trevor, flush. 5 runs. 4 innings. Game Over. Not So Goot.
3: Edwin "The Boy Scout" Jackson, complete-game, 2-hitter (5 walks) 4 K, shutout. 1st win as a Ray. Das Very Goot.

May 16
Vs Texas (16-19) 2nd
L6-5, W5-1, L5-2
Not great hitting. Not great pitching. Not a great series. Well, Neil 'I'm a leprechaun!' O'Malley had a good win. Praise where praise is due of course.

May 20th
At Oakland (15-23) 4th
W5-2, L5-4, W9-3
That's a weird switch. A good game out of Noland 'My names were revered at birth' Trevore, and a bad one out of Toby Martin. And then another good one, as is become usual, from Mr. O'Malley. But this back and forth, win-one, lose-one deal is wearing thin. I'd actually like to start gainint ground somewhere.

May 23rd
At Seattle (17-23) 3rd
L4-2, L13-4, W4-3
The second loss comes curtesy of the Trevor Express. 8 runs they got off of him this time. He's immedeately put out to pasture in the bullpen and switched for Juan Morcillo. It seemed like the right thing to do. In game three The Boy Scout struck out 10 to get his second win.

May 27th
At New York Yankees (18-26) 5th
W10-8, L5-4, W6-1
And the ding-dong struggle continues. Of course, we may wind up over .500 for the month, or perhaps not. It's going to be close. Currently we sit at 12-11 and play our closest division rivals (as things stand now), Toronto, next. We're 3rd. They're a half game behind. It'd be nice to have some space.

May 20th
At Toronto (23-23) 4th
L8-1, W5-1, L4-0
That is not how you get space. Not even a little.
On the positive side. The Boy Scout had his second straight 10K performance. He goes up to #4 in the rotation.

Back-And-Forth. The May Story
Monthly Recording: 13-14 (after a loss to New York on the 31st)
Overall Record: 25-26.
**** Yankees. That's right. By the way, I think I've seen enough of the West to last me for another year. Man that as a long month. Out to the Pacific. Back to the Atlantic. Back to the Pacific. Up to Toronto. Oi. No wonder it's back and forth. Or at least it woulnd't be a wonder, if such travel was taken into account.

Ray of the Month: Jose Reyes. My leadoff man is leading the team in Average and is tied with Laynce Nix for OBP (.410). Strangely though, he's behind DH Wes Martin in stolen bases (7 to 13). Mind you, Jose was caught 7 times while Martin seems to just be sneaking over while no one is looking.

Devil of the Month: It's almost Edwin 'The Boy Scout' Jackson. Almost. Unfortunately for the Boy Scout there's this fellow, Oscar Calvo by name, who is tearing things up out of hte bullpen. 9 saves (5 this month). A 2-1 record, the loss from his only blown save, which happened in April and he leads the team with a 1.50 ERA. Good boy. Don't slack off.
Runners Up: The Boy Scout for his 2 10 K performances. And Mark Samuels for leading baseball with a 2.15 ERA (which was down at 1.80 for a couple games).

Random Division Leaders
American League
East: Baltimore (32-30)
Central: Kansas City (30-20)
West: Anaheim (35-14)
Wildcard: Texas (29-22)

National League
East: Florida (30-20)
Central: Chicago (31-19)
West: Tie. LA and San Diego (31-20) with Colorado (30-20) but a half-game back.
Wildcard: San Diego (31-20)

[Lobsteve]

Trade
To Milwaukee: Marlon O'Leary (RF), Benji Trevor (SP) and Jeff Suppan (SP)
To Boston: Ichiro Akiyama (SP) and J.J. Hardy (SS)
Hmmm, I guess that the Brewers didn't really get along with Akiyama.
Alot of talent in this trade. The lowest rated player has a peak of 74, and that's Akiyama. Hardy is a talented SS. I wouldn't give up Reyes for him, but it's a close thing. Young, years remaining on his contract and alot of talent.
And in return the Brewers get two pitchers who could easily fit into the starting rotation and a very decent backup outfielder.
Winner: Milwaukee, two quality pitchers beats a good shortstop.

June 2nd
Vs New York Yankees (20-30) 5th
L8-5, W8-1, W16-7
Mark Samuels picked up the complete game win there in game two, allowing only 3 hits, 2 walks, and, obviously, only one run. He also struck out 5.
The Boy Scout tried, he really did, but he couldn't have 3 10K performances in a row. Instead he'll have to settle for 6 in 4 innings. Sadly he also allowed 5 runs in those 4 innings and didn't get the win either. But still, not bad.

June 6th
Vs Seattle (25-26) 3rd
L3-0, W9-4, W4-2
We had one bad inning in this seires, the 6th of that first one, where the Mariners grabbed their three-run win. Otherwise, I'm one happy GM.

June 10th
Vs Colorado (32-23) 3rd
W8-7, W5-4, W7-1
Two really close games to start. Colorado almost came back in game 1 and then we scored two in the ninth to win game two. And then there's The Boy Scout. Another win for E. Jackson as he goes 8 allowing just the one run and striking out 7.

June 13th
Vs Arizona (27-32) 4th
W4-3, W3-0, W5-2
Are you all getting this? Our winning streak is now at 8 games. I'm not sure I entirely believe it, but that's the way it goes.
A rash of injuries has jostled my starting rotation around. Samuels and O'Malley are both out with nagging little injuries. But O'Malley is back and will start the next game from the third spot, and then will switch up on spot to let Samuels take that spot back. Just to make it all clear as mud.

June 17th
At Los Angeles (40-23) 1st
L7-3, W6-2, L4-1
Well, that streak didn't last too long. Let us never mention streaks again. It only leads to trouble.

Trade
To Philadelphia: J.R. House (C), Doug Davis (SP), Shane Spencer (RF) and Andy Sheets (2B)
To Colorado: Hank Marinkovich (RP) and Toby Caridad (RP)
This isn't the trade of the year by any means, buit the Phillies didn't do themselves any favours. What do they gain? Nothing. Spencer and Sheets are way past their prime, and House and Davis don't deserve the time they've had in the bigs.
That's not to say that Marinkovich or Caridad are any good. But they aren't hideous either, they could make so-so relievers.
Winners: The fans in Colorado who no longer have to live with that foursome.

June 20th
At San Francisco (26-37) 5th
W5-1, L4-1, L3-1
I thought we come in and be giant killers, but instead the Giants killed us.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Ha.

June 24th
At New York Yankees (29-39) 4th
L4-2, L6-5, W6-2
After a bad run, and after having been quiet for a little while, Mr. Unger says Enough Is Enough! And does so in style.
What do you call style, you ask?
Why 2 homers and 5 RBI.
Sha. Zam.

The Year of Trades Continues
To Atlanta: Rich Gereben (CF), Wade Boyd (RF), Nicolas Kiernan (SP), Jason Simontacchi (SP) and Matt Ginter (RP)
To St. Louis: Freddy Gallagher (RP)
Wow, this Gallagher guy must be pretty good to give up 5 players. Is he? Well, he is good. Not quite John Smoltz good, not enough power, but still pretty good. Still, he's more of a middle reliever, and I can't see giving up so much for a middle reliever.
And what do they give up? WAY TOO MUCH! Gereben alone is at least as valuable a player as Gallagher. Toss in Simontacchi who has put up some very good numbers in his career and the Cards are a few short of a deck.
Winner: Atlanta all the way. I'd take Gereben over Gallagher every day of the week.

June 27th
Vs Florida (37-34) 1st
W3-2, W4-3, W3-2
Tightly fought series, and As The Rivalry Turns, we now have a solid lead. TAKE THAT FLORIDA!
Solid pitching from O'Malley, Samuels and The Boy Scout.

July 1st
Vs Baltimore (45-30) 1st
L7-2, L4-3, W5-4
Well, we're not quite ready to play with some of the big boys yet. This was supposed to be the series that pulled us to within a half-game of the Orioles, and instead we drop back to 4.5 away. Oh well. It's all in a lifetime.
PS: Game three is won by Len Krull with a grand slam in the ninth.

It almost smelled like summer. But it was only June.

Monthly Record: 16-9. Best. Month. Ever.
Overall: 42-34. Not only are we well over .500 for the first time, but we're 2nd in the division, and within striking distance, and a mere ONE-POINT-FIVE games behind Texas for the wild-card, which is a very doable margin.

TB Player of the Month: Laynce Nix has been steadily hauling along. .322 avg. 6 homers. .399 OBP, 46 R and 38 RBI. Good enough Laynce.

TP Pitcher of the Month: Forget of the month. Get your chanting voices warmed up, because in a few months we may be yelling for Mark Samuels. Right now he's leading the ERA category with a 2.34 and has the team best 8-4 record. Keep going Mark. Keep going.

Random Category Leaders
Average: Khalil Greene (LA) .364
Homers: Sid Beebe (Mon) 32
ERA: Mark Samuels (TB) 2.34
Wins: Sidney Ponson (LA) 11

TB Ahead
Obviously Mark is ahead in ERA, but what else are we doing?

Laynce Nix leads with 34 doubles. 6 more than Joe Mauer of Minnesota.

Wes Martin and Jose Reyes are tied for 5th with 15 steals.

Wes Martin has 9 sacrifice hits for a tie in second. And Jose Reyes is tied for 5th in the same category with 6.

Toby Martin and Mark Samuels are tied for second with 6 complete games.

Neil O'Malley, Toby Martin and Mark Samuels are workhorses as told by innings pitched. Toby is 10th with 109.1. Mark 6th with 111.2 and Neil 4th at 114.2

Along with ERA Mark Samuels leads baseball with a .201 OBA. Toby Martin is 9th at .226.

Same story with Opponent Slugging%. Mark Samuels leads baseball with .308. Martin is 6th (.344).

Come on Mark, leave a category for someone else. He leads in Opponent On-Base Percentage with .266.

Plus Mark has allowed only 9.27 runners/9IP, only one below 10. Toby Martin is among these, 8th at 10.78.

Samuels is also tied for first with 12 quality starts and is alone in quality start percentage at 85.7.

[Lobsteve]

July 4th
At Florida (37-40) 1st
W3-0, W5-2, L5-3
Could have been all three except that Juan Morcillo messed up an allowed 5 runs. Oh well.
The best was game one. We scored two off a Mr. Unger home run in the top of the first, and then nothing. Seriously, nothing. Oh sure, there were a couple hits here and there, but both pitchers were solid all the way through until the ninth when Florida puts a reliever in and we promptly get one more run to Seal The Deal.
Oh, and the pitcher for the shutout? Mark Samuels.
And there's already been a trade, but we'll save it for the Annual Big Trade Show. As usual.

July 7th
Vs Minnesota (42-38) 3rd
W5-0, W4-3, W3-1
A shutout for Toby martin as Mr. Unger AGAIN swats a two-runner to begin the game. Oh, wait, the homer was later. He TRIPLED in a run to start the game.
O'Malley, solid outing in game two. But he doesn't get the win. Why? SEVENTEEN INNINGS! No kidding. 17. And how do we win? Len Krull gets a sitting fastball from Vic Webster and launches it over the left field fence.
I've heard Mark Samuels is a good pitcher. 3-1.
Hey, we're now 1 game from the division lead and 2 UP on Texas for the wildcard.

July 11th
Vs Toronto (34-50) 5th
W5-2, L4-3, L4-1, L7-4
Wow, something went wrong. Not the best way to run into the All-Star Break is it? Laynce Nix was the only person having a good time, multiple hits in every game. Looks like everyone is just waiting for the break instead of playing. Oh well. You win some, you curse your players in others.

July 12th - The Home Run Derby
It's the Dallas McPherson (Anaheim) and Sid Beebe (Montreal) show!
Round One: Dallas: 12! Sid: 7. Also moving on are James Loney, again (LA) and Geoff Jenkins (Det) with 7 and 5 respectively.

Round Two: Well, almost nothing to say for the filler in this round, it's all about D&S. Dallas: 5. Sid: 5.

Final Round: I'll make it quick, Dallas shot his bolt in round 1. Sid: 5. Dallas: 1. And the Derby winner is from CANADA. Technically.

July 13th - The Game Of The Stars. All Of Them.
Big win for the AL with an 11-8 showing. A bit of a swing from one team to another in this one as the AL scores all their runs in the first 5 and the NL in the last 5.
Tampa gets one player through to the All-Star game. Just one. And if you had to pitck one it would clearly be Mark Samuels. And fortunately for the selection committee, it is Mark Samuels. Otherwise it was an angry letter for them. ANGRY!
But does the best pitcher in baseball at the moment get to start the All-Star game? No. That would make sense. In a game that saw seven pitchers, did the best pitcher in baseball, at the moment, see a single inning? No.
Get my secretary! It's angry letter time!

Let me see, how to start.

Dear Office Of the Commisioner...
-No, that's not right.

Sir.
-No, too terse.

How about...
You useless son of a boll-weevil,
-That's the one.


July 17th
At Minnesota (44-43) 3rd
W4-3, L14-12, L5-3, W4-3
We're still hanging onto that wildcard spot. Tied with Boston now though. Only two and a half months left. I don't know if I can take the stress.
Bad pitching in games two and three. For sure and that.

July 20th
At Toronto (40-52) 5th
L4-2, L3-1
What are we doing wrong against Toronto? I officialy hate them. Especially after they scored 3 against Samuels. That only raises my ire. IRE!

July 22nd
Vs Boston (50-43) Tied 2nd. With me.
W3-2, W7-2
This is what you would call an important series. Gotta put Boston behind us. And we did, a little. Hey, even Juan Morcillo was playing well this time as he wins game 2. Couple more tough ones to come though. Next up are the Orioles, and then back in Boston. Gotta beat these guys. Gotta do it.

July 25th
At Baltimore (57-38) 1st
L5-4, L8-1, L9-2
Well, we did I nice job of blowing that opportunity. The ninth inning loss in game one is particularly hard to swallow. And then Samuels had his worst game of the year it looks like in game 3. Oi.
We're still the wildcard leader though. Barely.

July 28th
At Boston (52-46) Tied for 2nd.
L2-1, L4-2, W7-2
No. Nonononononono. No. Another opportunity, squandered. Pissed away like water. Dripping through our hands like the sands of time.
Excuse me, janitor? The floor of this skybox is a bit wet. I hope my tears corode right on through the floor.

August 1st
Vs New York Yankees (47-54) 4th
L7-3, L8-7, L10-6, L4-3
It only goes to show, you need a good catcher. George Sagum has been injured for the past 16 days (which I probably should have mentioned) and apparently the pitching staff isn't too thrilled with the second string. At least I hope that's what the problem is. Otherwise we've ruined our best chance in recent memory.

This Thing Called July

Record for the Month: 12-16
It all fell apart after the All-Star Break didn't it? Right around the time Sagum got injured. Of course, you might also say that having only three days off (and that was the break) all of July might take it's toll as well. Maybe that was it. It still sucks.

Overall: 53-52
We're 4 games back of Boston for the wildcard now. I think we can catch them as long as we turn this skid around.

Tampa's player of the month: Jose Reyes continues his dominance at the top of the lineup. .320 average and a .383 OBP.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: Yeah, it's Mark Samuels again. Like everyone else he had a rough end to the month, but he still leads baseball with a 2.55 ERA. Hand in there Mark.

I Keep Forgetting the AAA, and I'm Not SORRY!
One pitcher under a 4.00 ERA and that is Luis Ballesteros. By the way, I have one SP in AAA. Guess where the upcoming draft will focus?

And I don't have a single batter hitting over .300. Sad.

NOTE TO SELF: Round 1: Starting pitcher. Round 2: Hitter.

[Lobsteve]

The Not As Big As You'd Think
Trade Show

July 2nd
To Milwaukee: Mike Lieberthal (C), Ramon Cascos (2B), Jose Recio (3B) and Nick Solomon (CF)
To New York Yankees: Pablo Cruz (SP) and Bill Hall (SS)
Well, the Brewers are likely well rid of Cruz and Hall. No real big-league time and not likely to get any more.
And the Yankees lose: An over-the-hill catcher. A 2B who can't play D. A 3B who can't hit. And...A simply fantastic CF. Solomon is fast, can put up the on base numbers and has a simply phenomenal glove (100). A perfect leadoff man.
Winner: The Brewers. The Yanks messed this one up.

July 15th
To Los Angeles: Bill Hall (SS), Hector Mercado (RP), Jason Grove (RP), Geraldo Avante (C), Tim Ariakis (LF), Nick Ford (RP), Jesse Foppert (SP), Jose Tobias (RF) and Tom Seaward (2B)
To New York Yankees: Miguel Salinas (RP), Victor Zambrano (SP), Cesar Izturis (SS), Reggie Abercrombie (RF) and Fausto Keiva (2B)
If you're thinking that's alot of players you wouldn't be far off. Let's say it all together: THAT'S ALOT OF PLAYER! 14 total.
There's only one way to sum this up. Let me point out the players worth having going either way, and give them a 1-5 * rating.
Jason Grove ****
Nick Ford ****
Jesse Foppert **
Nick Ford ***
LA Gets, Overall: ***.5 Probably closer to **** mind you, but alot of good relievers there and you can't play all of them.
Miguel Salinas ****
Victor Zambrano ***.5
Cezar Izturis ****
Reggie Abercrombie *****
New York Gets: ****.5 And almost all of that is Abercrombie, the perfect DH.

Winner: New York. Like I say, LA can't use all those RPs, but New York gets a good RP in return, plus a fantastic RF, a proven SS and a solid starter. Excellent trade for the Yankees.
Addendum: LA Promptly releases Tom Seaward and Hector Mercado.

July 20th
To Minnesota: Vernon Bronson (RP) and Matt Holliday (LF)
To Colorado: Virgil Zukowski (RP), Merlin Bauman (1B), McKay Christensen (LF), Jimmy Barrett (P), Augie Ojeda (3B), Robb Nen (RP) and Nate Frese (SS)
Well, this trade is all about Robb Nen. In my mind you could have traded just him for both Bronson (remember that Simpson's with Bronson Missouri? HA!) and Holliday. And then they aren't worth it at all.
Winner: Colorado. Though they get alot of nothing around him, the loss of Nen makes the Twins look stupid.
Addendum: Colorado immedeately releases Virgil Zukowski and Jimmy Barrett.

July 27th
To Atlanta: Yancy Sebesta (C), Wes Paul (RP) and Jared Templin (RP)
To Cincinnati: Adam LaRoche (1B), Wade Boyd (RF) and Britt Tettelbach (RP)
Ok, to begin with, LaRoche is almost Ian Unger materiel. Seriously, he's some sort of good. And Tettelbach isn't anything to sneeze at. But Atlanta only gets this Templin kid in return. Bad move.
Winner: The Reds, by a long margin.

July 29th
To St. Louis: Kelvin Wismer (1B), Rudy Zaczek (RP), Jeff Benson (SP), Justin Huber (C) and Jayson Werth (RF)
To Anaheim: Freddy Gallagher (RP) and Karl Bentley (3B)
This one is almost a tie. It's Wismer, Zaczek and Huber for Gallagher and Bentley, and....
Winner: ...I think St. Louis gets just a little more out of this trade. Not much, just a little.

July 30th
To Boston: George Lombard (LF) and Kerry Scanlon (RF)
To Cleveland: Wes Adams (RP)
Lombard hasn't gotten any better since I kicked him out years ago. And Scanlon is no better. Neither is Adams really.
Winner: The LACK of Interest Police. Yes, they have police for that.

July 30th
To Texas: John Olerud (1B), Frederico Salgado (RF), Cam Lance (C) and Jamie Walker (RP)
To Arizona: Chad Bradford (RP), Ramon Nivar (CF), Rick Mailer (RP) and Ricardo Sirota (RF)
I'm surprised Olerud is still playing. And he isn't playing badly either, but this will be his last season (19th). Salgado for Nivar is the real deal here. And both of them are good. Salgado ready now and Nivar a couple years from now. So...
Winner: Call it a tie. I don't care.

[Lobsteve]

August 5th
Vs Anaheim (78-26) 1st, everywhere.
W5-2, W7-4, L4-2
Just to make life interesting, after game 1 we get bad news. 1: Mark Samuels will miss his next start as he's out with a short injury. But the real blow is 2: Laynce Nix is out for 22 days. The only replacement I have is Al Tyler off the bench. There is a more complex version where Carlos Duran becomes DH and Wes Martin takes left. But I'll give Al a shot first. And so far he isn't doing too well. But we're winning...and losing.
Mr. Unger wins game 2 in the 11th with a three-run bomb.

August 9th
Vs Boston (59-49) 2nd
W10-8, W7-1, W4-2, L7-3
Coming back from injuries doesn't seem to be Mark Samuels strong point. That loss there is his as he allowed 5 runs. Not the same Mark we've been seeing all year long.
But back to game 1. The Game Of Marathons. Like 16 innings before Frederico Ramires singles in two runs. Seriously, sixteen innings. That's alot of ball.

August 12th
At Seattle (51-59) 3rd
W5-1, W8-4, L11-2
Toby Martin's turn to have a lousy game for the loss. These guys are supposed to be better than this. Well, no one can be perfect all the time.

August 15th
At Texas (59-55) 2nd
L7-2, L7-2, L4-3
What the hey-nonny-no is going on here? We have a chance to catch Boston, again, or at the very least keep up, and instead we lose more ground.

August 19th
At Kansas City (55-62) 4th
W7-3, W5-0, W9-2
Oh, -there's- my top three starters. Gald to have them back. That's three straight complete games, by the way. Just to make things surreal. I guess they decided that after so many botched performances it was time to make a run of some sort at Boston and that wildcard spot.

August 22nd
Vs Oakland (51-70) 4th
W3-2, W9-6, L3-2
For game 2 we had a second-baseman playing centerfield as Rocco was injured. Good grief. And then we lose game 3. And apparently Boston is hauling a** as we dropped another game on them. We're at 4 games back.
We.
Can.
Do.
It.

August 25th
At Chicago White Sox (50-75) 5th
W4-3, W7-4, L2-1
Well, we gained on Boston this time. We're two games out. And we play them next!

August 29th
At Boston (69-58) 2nd
W6-3, L3-1, W7-2, L8-5
Back and forth. And back. And forth. To sum up: still two games back.
And, Mark Samuels is back up over 3.00 in ERA. That's it, you can't get hurt ever again Mark. And if you do.....

September 2nd
Vs Chicago White Sox (54-78) 5th
L4-3, L6-2, W5-1
Good game from O'Malley to finish it off, but I'm still disapointed. Jose Reyes was injured for the whole thing, and will be for the next series as well. Scott Zimmerman fills in at the leadoff spot, but he isn't being nearly as successful.
PS: No end of the month recap, but we were 16-12 in August, and are now 70-64 overall, still 2 games back in the wildcard chase with one series against the Red Sox to come later this month.

September 5th
Vs New York Yankees (59-74) 4th
W10-0, L11-1, W6-1
Mark Samuels drops back down below 3.00 in a big way with a 2-hitter in game one. Mr. Unger is also 3-for-3 with 4 RBI to lead the team.

September 9th
Vs Toronto (57-80) 5th
L4-2, W15-2, W8-4, W10-4
Shaky start to things, but then the bats came alive, with the highlight being Carlos Duran smoking a grand slam in the ninth to win game 3. Good way to get your first career homer.
Amazingly, after all that, we're still .5 behind Boston.

September 12th
At New York Yankees (63-76) 4th
W5-3, W4-3, W2-0
WOOOO! Back in the saddle and in the lead. Now 1.5 ahead of Boston, and 1 ahead of Texas who have somehow gotten back into the mix after being 5 games back for weeks.

September 15th
At Detroit (81-61) 1st
L6-4, L5-1, L4-1
Well, we actually almost won game 1 until a combination of Samuels giving up two and Oscar 'Call Me The Grouch' Calvo gives up 4 in the bottom of the ninth. Is a single save when we need it too much to ask? Now we're one back of Texas.

September 19th
Vs Baltimore (89-56) 1st
L6-0, L6-1, W4-3
Man, the Orioles are really good. Mark Samuels got one game off of them which should make him the Cy Young candidate right then and there. Still we're just 1.5 games back of Texas and Boston. I'll allow it.

September 23rd
Vs Boston (80-69) 2nd - This could be big.
W8-3, W3-2, W12-8
I think these were the most tense games I have simulated with this dynasty. We're back in the wildcard lead and I could not be happier. Unfortunately, now we play the Orioles again. BUT, I was wrong, we have one more series vs the Red Sox to end the season in October. Wow.

September 26th
At Baltimore (95-58) 1st
L5-4, W4-2, W9-7
Phew. Didn't think we could manage it. But we're still in the wildcard lead, and that's what counts here. Come on playoff appearance.

September 30th
Vs Kansas City (71-85) 4th
L3-1, W2-1, L9-1
No! O'Malley! This was -not- the time to allow 7 runs! Now we're two games out of the wildcard spot and are faced with the prospect of sweeping Boston to get into the playoffs.

October 3rd
At Boston (87-72) 2nd - Where fate will be decided.
Game 1
Mark Samuels vs. Sam Corcoran
Tampa WINS 6-4. 1 game back.
No kidding. It's Boston's relief corps that blow this one as we take two off of them for the win.

Game 2
Edwin Jackson vs. Pedro
Tampa WINS 5-2. Tied for the Wild Card.
Adam Everett provides the offence with 3 RBI and The Boy Scout out-duels Pedro 8Ks to 6 for the win.

Game 3 - It all comes to this
Juan Morcillo vs Derek Lowe
AUGH! It's agony time. Do I start Toby Martin on short rest? Or do I risk the season on Morcillo?
Just hit the frackin' button.
TAMPA BAY WINS 9-7!!!!!!
WE'RE IN THE PLAYOFFS BABYYYY!
(I couldn't watch mind you, I had to cover my eyes to press F12, and even then it took a minute to peak.)
And what did it take to get there? Thirteen innings. We're tied at 7 at the end of the ninth, Morcillo having given up 5 in the 3rd and then Rodriguez and Gistinelli giving up one each. All this while we pick up....well, let me just post the score here:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Devil Rays (TB) 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 2 9 22 1
Red Sox (BOS) 0 0 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 7 12 0
So we get to the top of the 13th and the following occurs:
Wes Martin walks.
Adam Everett singles and Martin goes to 3rd.
George Sagum grounds out and the runners advance, Martin scores. What a time to let the run go through. Play was to HOME Bo. Sox.
Jose Reyes then singles, scoring Sagum.
And to wrap it up Nix flies out.

Today's Closer? Koo-Koo Ryu. We're running out of pitchers. But he's good. Strikeout to the first batter. Then one of those 13th inning plays: Robinson Cano lines out to center and Rocco Baldelli comes up throwing as Walter Duffy has taken off from first. Mr. Unger to make the play....HE GOT HIM!

For Obvious reasons, I immedeately saved the game.

[Lobsteve]

Tampa's Year In Review
Overall record: 88-74 which put us exactly 1 game into the playoffs over Boston for our Best Year Ever.

Tampa's MVP: A career year from Jose Reyes puts him at the top of the list. He let the team in both average, OBP and steals (.343, .408 and 29). His average was good enough to get him into the top ten in baseball as well. YAY!

Tampa's Cy Young: With a little luck this will be the AL's Cy Young as well as Mark Samuels has been a force to be contended with all year long. His list of top tens is as long as your arm. I've got my chant warmed up. Do you?

Team Leaders
Avg: Jose Reyes, .343
HR: Mr. Unger, 36
OBP: Jose Reyes, .408
RBI: Mr. Unger, 105
SB: Jose Reyes, 29
Runs: Jose Reyes, 105

ERA (SP): Mark Samuels, 3.00
ERA (RP): Rich Gistinelli, 3.18
IP: Toby Martin, 238.0 (very close here. O'Malley had 236.1 and Samuels 237.1
K: Neil O'Malley, 187
Wins: Mark Samuels, 17
OBA: Edwin The Boy Scout, .207
CG: Toby Martin, 12
ShO: Tie. Toby Martin and Mark Samuels, 3
Saves: Oscar Calvo, 31

Stats Leaders, Everywhere Else
American League
Avg: Dallas McPherson (Ana, 3B) .357
HR: Dallas McPherson (Ana, 3B) 71
RBI: Dallas McPherson (Ana, 3B) 208! Triple crown, and probably the most RBI ever. Good Grief.
SB: Alexis Palencia (Oak, 2B) 41
ERA: Brian Tollberg (Oak) 2.98
K: Pedro (Bos) 246
W: TIE Jim larson (Ana) and David Waterville (Ana) 21
Saves: TIE Troy Percival (Ana) and Eric Gagne (Tex) 44

National League
Avg: Rene Reyes (Col, RF) .337
HR: Jason "I still curse your name" Pridie (LA, RF) 52
RBI: Jason "Who Curses My Name?!" Pridie (LA, RF) 154
SB: Luis Castillo (Fla, 2B) 58
ERA: Jason Jennings (Mil) 2.79
K: Rob Sims (Fla) 352
W: Sidney Ponson (LA) 21
Saves: Bruce Anslow (SD) 36

Playoff Preview
I thought I'd just post what the teams in the playoffs have done this year, and so complare the matchups.


Won Lost Pct. RScored RAllow Avg ERA
Anaheim 125 37 .772 1130 671 .307 3.89
Tampa Bay 88 74 .543 735 667 .275 3.87

Baltimore 100 62 .617 904 653 .278 3.70
Detroit 98 64 .605 943 760 .280 4.38

Los Angeles 110 52 .679 1031 710 .294 3.89
Atlanta 87 75 .537 879 810 .270 4.55

Milwaukee 100 62 .617 880 664 .267 3.78
San Diego 89 74 .546 871 710 .276 4.43

I was going to do a big 'Guess The Winner And Get A Draft Pick Named After You Contest' as has been done elsewhere. But I don't think I need to mark out that much, so I'll let it go....either that or do it next year!

The Playoffs
Round 1

Anaheim Angels Vs Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Prediction: We've played Anaheim very well this season, well enough that this could be closer than you'd think. But on the other hand, this is an entirely different playing field. I have to give it to the Angels in 4. (Cue the chanting in the background.)

Resultus
Game 1: Toby Martin (15-12) vs David Waterville (21-5)
Anaheim 6-1 Tampa Bay.
We were totally shut down by Waterville. Only three hits did he allow.

Game 2: Neil O'Malley (13-10) vs Ervin Santana (11-0)
Anaheim 11-0 Tampa Bay
Man, that wasn't even close was it. We got 6 hits in this time. I'm kinda hoping for Mr. Unger to start shell-shocking people though. It hasn't happened.

Game 3: Mark Samuels (17-9) vs Jeremy Bonderman (16-6)
Tampa Bay 5-2 Anaheim
That's the way to play! Smoke it by them some more Mark! Laynce! Reyes! More RBI! WHOOOO!

Game 4: The Boy Scout (13-7) vs Jim Larson (21-5)
Tampa Bay 3-4 Anaheim
Hey! Exactly as predicted. Freakin' close though. Well, not that close. The Angels had all their runs by the 4th inning and we were playing catch up, and it just didn't happen is all. In the bottom of the ninth we were felled 1-2-3 by Troy Percival. We did make a few million off it though. Hooray for sellouts!

Baltimore Orioles Vs Detroit Tigers
Prediction: Baltimore in 4
Results
Game 1: Baltimore 3-5 Detroit
Game 2: Baltimore 10-1 Detroit
Game 3: Detroit 3-2 Baltimore
Game 4: Detroit 3-6 Baltimore
Game 5: Baltimore 2-1 Detroit
The Orioles Win 3-2

Milwaukee Brewers Vs San Diego Padres
Prediction: Brewers in 4
Results
Game 1: Milwaukee 1-0 San Diego
Game 2: Milwaukee 8-2 San Diego
Game 3: San Diego 6-8 Milwaukee
The Brewers Sweep!

Los Angeles Dodgers Vs Atlanta Braves
Prediction: LA in 4
Results
Game 1: Los Angeles 0-3 Atlanta
Game 2: Los Angeles 8-5 Atlanta
Game 3: Atlanta 4-3 Los Angeles
Game 4: Atlanta 7-8 Los Angeles
Game 5: Los Angeles 8-14 Atlanta
The Braves Win 3-2.

League Champs

Anaheim Angels Vs Baltimore Orioles
Prediciton: Anaheim to sweep.
Results
Game 1: Anaheim 5-4 Baltimore
Game 2: Anaheim 6-3 Baltimore
Game 3: Baltimore 11-9 Anaheim
Game 4: Baltimore 4-13 Anaheim
Game 5: Baltimore 4-5 Anaheim
The Angels Win 4-1.

Milwaukee Brewers Vs Atlanta Braves
Prediciton: Brewers in 6.
Results
Game 1: Milwaukee 5-3 Atlanta
Game 2: Milwaukee 9-7 Atlanta
Game 3: Atlanta 6-9 Milwaukee
Game 4: Atlanta 1-10 Milwaukee
The Brewers Sweep!

The World Series Of Baseball

Anaheim Angels Vs Milwaukee Brewers
Prediction: Anaheim in 7.
Results
Game 1: Anaheim 5-4 Milwaukee
->Angels score 2 in the bottom of the 9th.
Game 2: Anaheim 2-1 Milwaukee
->Dallas McPherson with a 2-run shot.
Game 3: Milwaukee 2-7 Anaheim
->Not even close.
Game 4: Milwaukee 5-4 Anaheim
->J. Larson blows it in the 7th.
Game 5: Milwaukee 5-4 Anaheim
->Deja Vu? Waterville blows it in the 7th.
Game 6: Anaheim 11-1 Milwaukee
->No fooling around here. Though the Brewers do well to keep McPherson off the board.

The Anaheim Angels are the Wolrd Series Champs!

[meinknotyou]

This is the only diary I've really cared to follow! Awesome job!

[SouthernYankee]

Good job!

Maybe next season you'll beat those Angels.

[Lobsteve]

The Awards Gong Show

Ladies, and Gentleman, lend me your chants!

Live! From New York! It's Thursday Afternoon and it's AWARDS TIME!

AMERICAN LEAGUE

MARK! MARK!! MARK!!! MARK!!!!

Cy Young: Jim Larson (ANA)

NO MARK!!?!?! Alright, alright, I'll admit that Larson had the more impressive season. 3.09 ERA, .206 OBA, a whack of wins etc. Fine fine fin. Where's my buffalo gun?

Player of the Year: Dallas McPherson (ANA)
Rookie Of The Year: Len Krull (TB)

WHAAA?! I can't hardly believe it. I didn't even know Lenny was a contender, not that I keep track of that sort of thing (not that I can). Well, this almost makes up for the lack of Cy Young. Unfortunately it also puts me in a big of a quadry, because Mr. Grand Slam will, most likely, be back next year, unless he's so depleted by injury that he can't play. So where do I put Krull? Oi.

Gold Glove (P): Fred Duvall (MIN)
Gold Glove (C): Joe Mauer (MIN)
Gold Glove (1B): Merlin Nearly (KC)
Gold Glove (2B): Jerry Hairston (BAL)
Gold Glove (3B): Zack Perrine (TOR)
Gold Glove (SS): Alex Rodriguez (BAL)
Gold Glove (LF): Byron Gettis (KC)
Gold Glove (CF): Darin Erstad (ANA)
Gold Glove (RF): Cody Ross (DET)

No Gold Gloves? What kind of slight is this! Eh, whatever.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cy Young: Sidney Ponson (LA)
Player of the Year: Jason Pridie (LA)
Rookie Of The Year: Walter Paddock (COL)

Gold Glove (P): Gil Turner (MIL)
Gold Glove (C): Juan Tello (MIL)
Gold Glove (1B): Allen Cody (STL)
Gold Glove (2B): Ray Durham (PIT)
Gold Glove (3B): Pete Jensen (SD)
Gold Glove (SS): Anderson Machado (MIL)
Gold Glove (LF): Nic Jackson (COL)
Gold Glove (CF): Wheeler Knoll (PHI)
Gold Glove (RF): Jason Pridie (LA)

The Resigning Parade
Only one person needed a contract this year, and that was Francisco Rodriguez. I didn't sign him. I have enough talent for that short relief spot that he is no longer needed, and I can put that 1.4 million to better use elsewhere.

Big Free-Agents
Adam Dunn seems to think he's worth 18.5.
Clint Barmes wants 17.5.
Albert Pujols needs 14.7 for loan payments.
Nomar wants 13.8 for 5 years, and he's 38 years old?? Doesn't play like it though, he hit .304 last year, making 5 straight years of +.300 ball, and only 3 times in his career under that, including the injured 2001.
Troy Percival heads the short list of good pitchers available at 6.1.
Kaz Ishii is next at 5.8...
..Followed by Barry Zito at 5.7. I considered Barry for a minute, but if I don't want that Rodriguez guy at 1.4, how can I go out and sign someone for five times that.

The Usual Crazy Draft Preview
1: Joe Boston (SP) OA: 94 P: 100!!!!
2: Jose Volonte (LF) OA: 93 P: 98!!!
3: Scott Dole (RF) OA: 78 P: 97
4: Wade Duckworth (SP) OA: 83 P: 95
5: Guillermo Brook (1B) OA: 70 P: 91
6: Jose Aguila (SP) OA: 75 P: 90
7: Maury Claydon (RP) OA: 78 P: 90
8: Enrico Salinas (RP) OA: 77 P: 89
9: Stan Havard (SS) OA: 70 P: 88
10: Rafael DeLeon (CF) OA: 67 P: 88

Now THAT'S a top 2. Boston and Volonte should sweep the ROY awards, presuming they are drafted in different leagues. I will be watching them all year long.

Let's Mention the Hall Of Fame now
This year our psychic predicts the following:

Barry Bonds will be inducted in 2013 at 100%. He finished with 767 homers.

'Slammin' Sammy Sosa will also be inducted in 2013, he with 92%. Sammy finished with 643 dingers, and a World Series Ring, which Bonds never got.

Next is Frank Thomas in 2015 with 80%.
Jeff Bagwell in 2015 with 81%.
Mike Piazza in 2016 with 76%.
Gary Sheffield in 2016 with 78%
And finally, Mike Mussina in 2013 with 85%.

Off-Season Needs: My Shopping List
1: Another Starter
2: More depth in the outfield
3: A more reliable backup catcher
There's always more, but these are the three I think I can reasonably address.

The Draft
Well, we know who will go 1-2, but let's confirm and share the rest of the top ten, in which there are a couple surprises.

1: TOR - Jose Volonte (LF) OA: 93 P: 98
-> Well, that's a bit off. They must have made a deal with...

2: ARZ - Joe Boston (SP) OA: 94 P: 100
-> I bet they will both witn ROYs next year.

3: SF - Scott Dole (RF) OA: 78 P: 97
-> Going to be great, but not the immedeate contributor like the first two.

4: OAK - Wade Duckworth (SP) OA: 83 P: 95

5: PIT - Nicholas Leising (RP) OA: 79 P: 87
-> HEY! You're drafting out of the predicted order!!! Not that there is any order, I'm just saying. They did likely pick the best RP available.

6: CHW - Maury Claydon (RP) OA: 78 P: 90

7: MON - Theo Campbell (RP) OA: 78 P: 87

8: NYY - Zach Lynne (RP) OA: 79 P: 90
-> Strangely not initially listed in the top ten. Obviously some oversight.

9: SEA - Enrico Alinas (RP) OA: 77 P: 89

10: PHI - Will Gurler (RP) OA: 78 P: 87

Alot of people picked out of my initial order, which could come to my advantage if any of those top ten are still around come my pick...

24: TB - John Wold (CF) OA: 72 P: 87
Excellent defensive player who will be able to contribute with the bat in a couple years. Not an instant fix for my OF woes, but that should be ok with Mr. Grand Slam back in the lineup this year. By the way, Rafael DeLeon was still around come this pick, but, even though listed in that top ten, he isn't as good as anyone else.
Contact: 79
Power: 70
Speed: 87
Eye: 75
Fielding: 100
Future Roll: Starting CF, or wherever he wants.

54: TB - David Halick (SP) OA: 70 P: 79
I almost went and drafted another, almost identical, CF, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. 1: It doesn't address any of my current needs. 2: Because of that it makes no sense.
Endurance: 95
Control: 86
Power: 77
Movement: 83
Defense: 57
Future Roll: 4-5 hole starter.

84: TB - Enrico Saavedra (2B) OA: 60 P: 83
This kid has a looong way to go before he'll ever make it to the lineup, even to the bench, but I think I have the time to give him a chance at least. He seems to have the potential to be a very decent all-round player.
Contact: 64
Power: 68
Speed: 74
Eye: 65
Fielding: 68
Future Roll: Back up 2B?

114: TB - Gene 'Inigo' Montoya (CF) OA: 64 P: 74
How can I not draft a kid who instantly has a nickname? Huh! Huh?
Contact: 67
Power: 64
Speed: 93
Eye: 66
Fielding: 85
Future Role: Pinch Runner/Defensive Replacement/Comic Relief.

144: TB - Johns Hank (1B) OA: 57 P: 76
Welcome to the trade-fodder portion of our draft. Ie: Lets see whatever teams will release these players, thus saving me the pain and money to do so myself.
Contact: 67
Power: 75
Speed: 51
Eye: 74
Fielding: 60
Future Role: Chips for the path around the stadium. Bring forth the chipper! BWAAAAAAMMFFPPH!

174: TB - Nick Lett (2B) OA: 50 P: 73
Lett me call up the chipper again.
BWAAAAAMMFFPPHHHHHHH!!!
Contact: 62
Power: 64
Speed: 89 - Hey, I thought this kid was bad. Yup, still is, you need to get on base to run.
Eye: 79
Fielding: 62
Future Role: BWAAAAAAMMMPHH!

[Lobsteve]

A Few Thoughts About Tampa

Things To Improve
Going through that list I made last post, here's what's happened:
1: Depth in the outfield.
-> Accomplished with my first round pick and the return of Mr. Grand Slam. Wasn't too hard was it?

2: Depth in starting pitching.
-> I think I did alright with my second round pick, I would like to shore it up even more with a free-agent signing or a trade of some sort.

3: Better backup catcher.
-> Well, I haven't done anything with this yet. But I still seem to need someone to be an adequate backup for George Sagum. Nick Leominster will be very good one day, but he does need alot of time in the AAA first, and since Henry Swan, my one AAA catcher, is ready either, I need someone else.
Free-Agent Johnny Estrada is one possibility, especially as he's asking a mere $560,000. He hasn't had much experince, playing only a couple full seasons in his 8-years of major-league play. He does have some good AAA numbers though.
However, I'll see what I can get in a trade first before making any decisions.

This Years Troubles
I have three problems this year. Yes, three. Of corse, it may work out to my benefit. Jose Reyes, Mr. Unger and Mark Samuels all need to be resigned. Currently they are asking for the following:
Jose Reyes - 14.5M for 5 yrs.
Mr. Unger - 12.0M for 6 yrs.
Mark Samuels - 12.0M for 5 yrs.

That could really break the bank. Of course, if they all play out of their heads for their contracts, then I really could be in a good spot.

So, What To Do

First off, let's sign that Estrada guy. Better than anything I'm going to get in a trade. And, hey, does anyone find it strange that there are no biters for Aubrey Huff? I must have signed him for too much. I hope he'll perform, because that 9mill is putting a hole in my pocket. So, anyways, Johnny Estrada (C) is signed till the end of his career at $530,000. Very good.

Ok, and some trades, just to make things interesting.

To San Francisco: Dave Tutschulte (RP), Chad Guadin (SP) and Nick Lett (2B)
To Tampa Bay: Nate Downes (SP)
I don't think I gave up that much here, but Downes is certainly going to be a quality player. OA: 72 P: 86 at the moment, which even with my +-2 scouting is good enough. A 'control and movement' pitcher with excellent defense. Only thing to really worry about is his health (only 75), but that's up to fate.
Winner: Well, I think I may regret losing Tutschulte for some reason, but Downes is worth it. I win!

To Cincinnati: Hank Johns (1B), Carlos Duran (CF) and Henry Swan (C)
To Tampa Bay: Oscar Montanes (SP)
Filler space here.
Just cleaning up all those late round picks for a pitcher with wicked control. Which hopefully I can leverage into a win here and there.
Random Winner: Probably a tie, but I like to win. So I do.

The Too Much Money Police
Apparently the cops served Boston and Arizona with 'get rid of your cash' summons, because they've been doing the free-agent dance all the way to opening day. I count....No, forget it, there are too many to count.

Opening Day Lineups
As usual, stats are from spring training.

Batting Order
1: Jose Reyes (SS) .389 Avg
2: Laynce Nix (LF) .466 OBP
3: Mr. Unger (1B) 18 RBI, 18 Games
4: Mr. Grand Slam (RF) .327 Avg
5: Rocco Baldelli (CF) .338 Avg
6: Wes Martin (DH) .293 Avg
7: Adam Everett (2B)
8: Scott Zimmerman (3B)
9: George Sagum (C)

Ze Bench
Perry McNabb (IF)
Len Krull (CF) .291 Avg, 17 RBI
Frederico Ramires (2B) .325 Avg
Cy Delen (3B) .274 Avg
Johnny Estrada (C)

Starting Rotation
1: Toby Martin - 2 GS, 1-0, 4.15 ERA, .200 OBA
2: Neil O'Malley - 2 GS, 1-0, 4.67 ERA
3: Mark Samuels - 3 GS, 1-0, 6-33 ERA
4: Edwin 'The Boy Scout' Jackson - 3 GS, 1-0, 3.70 ERA
5: Juan Morcillo - 3 GS, 1-1, 5.32 ERA

The Pen Of Bull
CL: Oscar Calvo - HEY! Who let this guy start a game?!?!
ST: Adam Bradley - 12.0 IP, 17 K
SH: Rich Gistinelli - Again, a man with no starting ability starting. 2 games!
MD: Luis Ballesteros - ANOTHER Game Started by a reliever.
LG: Jae-Kuk 'Koo-Koo' Ryu - 2 GS, 1-0, 4.61 ERA
AT: Esteban Seda - 4 GS (even though he's more 'middle-relief' materiel), no wins, or losses.

Down in the 'A. Eh?
Noland Trevor (SP) 5 GS, 3-0, 4.32 ERA .194 OBA
Oscar Montanes (SP) 5 GS, 2-0, 5.17 ERA
Michael Mann (SP) 1 GS, 1-0, 4.70 ERA
Chad Lerner (1B) .293 Avg, 14 RBI
Nick Leominster (C) .277 Avg
John Wold (CF) .295 Avg, 16 RBI
Gene 'Inigo' Montoya (CF) .241 Avg

[Lobsteve]

2009

April 8th
Vs Boston
W10-1, L4-2, W10-6, L9-5
Well, that was a so-so start. Of course, Boston was all ramped up to get back at us for stealing the wildcard last year. Yeah, that's it.

Trade
To Los Angeles: Yancy Sebesta (C), Wes Bower (SP), Eric Livshits (RF), Juan Mestas (RP), Sergio Ramirez (RP), Jose Sota (1B), Kelly Johnson (SS) and Juan Gomez (2B)
To Atlanta: Waldo Cremelle (2B) and Marcus Tursi (CF)
Cremelle for Johnson. That's it. Seriously. Ok, ok, Mestas and Ramirez aren't too bad, but nothing in comparison. Cremelle was picked 31st overall in 2005 and is now a fantastic (97 OA) 2B. Johnson has been sitting in AAA since 2003 and finally got onto the bench with Atlanta last year, but his peak is at 95.
Winner?: Atlanta. But LA got all those other players? Not really, because there is a post-script. Here it is:
PS: LA releases the following players they got in the trade the next day: Livshits, Sota, Sebesta and Bower. So there.

April 11th
At Toronto (2-0) 2nd
W9-3, L13-2, W18-2
Give your head a shake to clear all those runs out and you look back on a fairly nice series.
To cap it off in style Mr. Unger was 5-5 in game 3 with a Grand Slam.

April 15th
At Boston (3-4) 5th
W3-2, L2-0, L5-1
And there goes George Sagum, out for 6 days. We will soon see if Johnny Estrada can take the pitchers by the hand and lead them to victory.

April 18th
At Baltimore (5-4) 2nd
W6-4, L4-3, L93
Well, I was kinda hoping that we'd have a reversal of fortunes against the Orioles this year. Mind you, one win is practically a reversal. But dang is Baltimore tough.

April 22nd
Vs Toronto (7-5) Tied 1st
W11-6, W4-1, W10-2
Mr. Grand Slam is OFFICIALY back. Mind you, he's only hitting a sad .163 and has been relegated to the 6th spot in the lineup, but the namesake that he hauled out from the soles of his boots (more likely some svelte sneaker) to win game two was beeeeuatiful.
PS: Jose Reyes is hitting .418. Good enough for 4th in baseball.

April 25th
Vs Baltimore (10-7) 3rd
L5-3, L7-2, L4-0
Well *THAT* was unimpressive. I don't know what it is about the Orioles that is so soothing to my pitchers, but they seem to go into some trance and start lofting in these soft little pitches that the Baltimore hitters, obviously, just eat up.
Message of the series: WAKE UP!

April 29th
Vs Anaheim (9-10) 2nd
W8-5, L3-1, L6-3, L7-6
Well, that certainly was pathetic. If I hadn't already saved because it was the end of the month I already would have started over again. Silly Angels.

And the final accounting...for April
Record: 10-13
4th in the division, not at all what I was hoping I must say. But there you go.

Tampa's Player of the Month: Clearly it's Jose Reyes who is playing best for his contract with a stunning .388 average from his leadoff spot. Man, he's really going to make it tough to kick him out at the end of the season. I think maybe I'll go into debt next year instead.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: Oscar Calvo has been perfect in the 6.2 innings he's seen thus far into the year. He's also picked up two saves while allowing but 2 hits and striking out 8. If he keeps this up all year (a wild hope) I would dance around the clubhouse like a monkey.

We Care About AAA
HELLO! Nate Downes is perfect in the AAA with a 3-0 record, 3.43 ERA. Yowsa. As it were.

John Wold is having a good start with a .342 average with 6 homers, 22 RBI and a .408 OBP.

Chad Lerner is also having a good time down on the farm with a .313 average. Also with 6 dingers he has added 14 RBI.

Duck and Cover. May is next.

[Lobsteve]

May 2nd
At Detroit (12-10) 3rd
W4-3, L6-4, W6-4
Let me tell you something, when game two goes 16 innings, and you score 1 in the top of it and then the oposition slaps your remaining reliever around for 3...it's disapointing. Yes indeed.
Very good game three from Mr. Unger. 3-for-5 with a homer for 2 RBI.

May 5th
Vs Chicago White Sox (13-11) 2nd
W4-2, L6-3, L4-3
I still think we should have won game 2. But Oscar Calvo allowed his first runs of the season, 3 in an inning. He doesn't get the blown save though, since we were tied when he came in, so he's still perfect, in a way.

May 9th
Vs Detroit (14-14) 3rd
W7-4, W8-3, L7-2
Well played series until Neil O'Malley lost his mind there in the last game. Mind you, he did hold on for 7 innings. And there weren't any big innings for the oposition, just a couple here, a couple there.

May 13th
At Chicago White Soc (16-14) 2nd
L9-8, L4-3, W5-3
It's weird, after having such a good year, Mark Samuels is struggling witha 5.43 ERA and an even 2-2 record. I was hoping for a career year from him. Of course it may make it easier to sign him again, but I want to make the playoffs again, but how to you sit down and talk to a player around here? You just can't light a fire under these guys.
Couple that don't need it though: Jose Reyes is second in baseball with a .382 ERA and Toby Martin is tied for first with Freddy Garcia of Baltimore with 6 wins.

Trade
To San Diego: Royce Ring (RP)
To New York Mets: Miguel Ascencio (SP), Lukas Broderick (RP), Rick Treseder (LF), Ozzie Jones (2B) and Jose Toledano (RF)
Well, if you ask me, The Mets Got Ripped Off! They give away a 81-rated RP for a bunch of players, none of who are rated above 72. Come on NY, you know you aren't going to use these guys.
Winner: San Diego.

May 16th
Vs Seattle (16-19) 3rd
L3-0, W6-5, L4-1
We had to go 16 to get our win. That's a hard-won game. But I have to give the props to Seattle, they have assembled a ridiculous squad of pitchers. Ridiculous because my guys can't beat them. It just ain't right.

May 20th
At Anaheim (21-17) 2nd
W7-4, L4-3, L9-8
Two close games without Jose Reyes. He had to go and hurt himself. It's amazing what a difference that lack of On-Base% makes. Even so, we were close. But this very slow start is making me nervous.

May 23rd
At Seattle (19-22) 3rd
L4-3, L5-3, L5-3
Nothing pleases me more than trying to help the Mariners get a solid bead on their division leaders of course, but the curses around our half of the clubhouse afterwords kinda made the paint blush a little. So that means I have to spend a grand or so repainting them for Seattle. Man those guys are stingy.

May 27th
Vs New York Yankees (18-26) 4th
W13-1, L4-2, L8-2
This is a case of 'One step forward, two steps back'. You'd think that after shelacking the Yanks, with Mr. Unger leading the way with a Grand Slam and 5 RBI, we could come out motivated for the next couple games and take them as well. Aparently that is an incorrect assumption. I may just have to release everyone at the end of the year just out of form, to show my annoyance you understand. Well, I suppose there is still hope.
I just had a look at my End-Of-Contractors' and they all want MORE! Ok, Reyes and Mr. Unger likely deserve more to be entirely honest, and I like their faces. But Samuels? His demand is up 1.3M from the pre-season and he's having an atrocious year. Listen Mark, I have no problem hucking you out into the cold. Just keep that in mind....not that it's cold down here.

May 30th
At Minnesota (24-22) 2nd
W7-3, W7-5, W7-0
Our first really good series of the month, and the month is over. But I have to say that it's a really nice sight to see all the cylinders ticking over. Good pitching, which led to good batting, which led to good something else, which led to the wins. Yay.

Let's Talk About May, Baby.
This Month: 11-15
This Year: 22-28
ALl that is good enough for 4th in the division, a mere 2 games ahead of the Yankees, 9 back of division leading Baltimore, and 6.5 back of the wildcard leading Blue Jays. The what? Blue Jays. The What? Blue Jays.

Tampa's Player of the Month: Jose Reyes really is having a field day up there in the leadoff spot. .374 Avg, .423 OBP, 8 HR, 10 SB, 26 RBI and 41 runs himself. If I had a whole team playing like this we'd be unstopable. We'd also be broke. His current wish is for a 16+ million dollar contract.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: Toby Martin is finally living up to the hype. He's 8-3, his 4.23 ERA notwithstanding.

Almost forgot the three As. Aphrodite. Aristotle. Atmosphere.

Chad Lerner (.314), John Wold (.329) and 'Inigo' Montoya (.292) are playing strong onthe farm. Montoya in particular has really picked up his game, indeed far beyond where I would ever have expected it to be in his first year.

On the pitching side: Nate Downes is still perfect. 6-0 with 1 no-decision. He has a 3.42 ERA and a stellar .211 OBA. If it wasn't just his first year in AAA I probably would have called him up by now.

[Lobsteve]

In an act only calculated to raise me ire, Crimson editor crashed at the end of June and though Norton tried to save it even the most valiant efforts were not enough and the best month of 2009, so far, was lost.

Highlights: A 7 game win-streak. Mark Samuels first shutout of the year. Mr. Unger launching a Grand Slam.

Just a quick recap
Monthly Record: 15-11
Overall Record: 37-41
Which leaves us 4th in the division, 7.5 games back of Baltimore. 7 back of second place Boston. 5 back of Toronto. And 4.5 ahead of New York. Now that's a list.

Tampa's Player of the Month: went to Mr. Unger. He leads the team with 57 RBI and 17 homers.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: Again it goes to Toby Martin who is still tied for the lead in wins with 11. Of course he really has the rest of the team to that since he has a 4.41 ERA.

In the AAA...
...Nate Downes is still perfect. 9-0 in 12 starts. 3.02 ERA and a .185 OBA.

...Chad Lerner and John Wold are doing very well also. Yay.

And now you know. Know that my computer hates me. At least it didn't corrupt my save-game. That would have been punishable by death.

July 4th
At Florida (29-49) 5th
W6-2, L10-3, L10-8
Well, my relievers did a good job flushing game three down the drain. They allowed 6 runs in the last 3 innings. Yeah, you don't win many games with that sort of thing going on.

July 7th
Vs Toronto (44-37) 3rd
W5-2, W8-1, W3-1
And that's that. From being shelled by our state-rivals, to hosting Toronto and allowing just 16 hits over 3 games, the best being a 3-hitter by O'Malley to finish it off.

July 11th
Vs Cleveland (38-45) 5th
L10-2, W5-4, W8-6
Weird that we can play so well against a team that is supposed to be so much better, and then turn around with Mark Samuels (who really should be playing better) on the mound and give up 10 runs. And then have two really close games that were still up for grabs in the 8th. Makes my head spin.

July 12th - The Derby goes LONG!
Do you know what really ticks me off? That years ago I didn't resign Jason Pridie. And here he is again making me eat that decision as he makes it through to the second round of the derby with 7 dingers. Also moving on are Todd Linden (KC) and Jerry Wills (ARZ) both with 9. And perennial favorite Dallas McPherson (ANA) also with 7.

The second round is a little less interesting, McPherson gets the best of everyon with 5 and it's close for second as Wills sneaks past the other two with 3.

As tradition requires it's a 1-homer difference in the final as McPherson wins 3-2.

Totals: McPheron 15-14 Wills

July 13th - All-Stars Ahead!
I don't remember who has the lead in these things, all I can say here is that the NL probably deserved better as they doubled the number of hits from the AL (14-7), but only eeked out a 9-7 win in the most interesting 10-inning all-star game ever.

Mr. Unger attends his third All-Star game, and though he wasn't voted in he starts anyways, that-a-boy. He goes 1-for-3 with a walk, 2 runs and a homer for 2 RBI of his own. That's close to the best line for the AL except for Dallas McPherson who was 3-for-4 and pinch-hitter J. Gomes who ripped a Grand Slam to tie it in the bottom of the ninth.

Toby Martin also went to the game for us and even got a couple of innings work in where he allowed a single run and only 3 hits. Pretty good for the slug-fest which the All-Star game usually turns into.

Strangely absent was Jose Reyes and his baseball leading average of .354.

July 18th
At Toronto (45-43) 3rd
W13-6, W6-4, W7-3, L6-4
Gee Toronto, I don't know what to tell you. If Seda hadn't gift-wrapped game 4 for you, you really would have been between a rock and a hard place. Man, we've really had these guys' number this month. Too bad we don't play them next until the end of August.

July 20th
At Cleveland (41-49) 5th
L4-3, W8-2
Toby Martin is still rolling. That 8-2 victory is his 13th on the year.

July 22nd
At Boston (55-38) Tied for 1st
L7-3, L5-4
DANGIT! Boston is playing really well, I have to admit. And that only makes it worse of course.

Until now there haven't been any trades in July, watch for the one that happened today in the annual Big Trade Thing.

July 25th
Vs Kansas City (54-41) 2nd
W9-5, W7-4, W10-5
*Insert Evil Laugh Track*
I was actually going to be haranguing my players from a soapbox at the end of the month encouraging them to make that playoff run, but if we keep playing like this I may not have to.

July 28th
Vs Boston (58-40) 2nd
L7-6, L3-0, W9-5
Curse you Boston, you AND your unhealthily strong team. It just can't be good for them to be that good. That's right.

August 1st
At New York Yankees (47-54) 5th
W6-4, L5-2, W4-1, W5-3
Now that's how you end a month. There's nothing like smacking the Yankees around, who really don't be seem to be doing a very good job of making money for what should be the richest team in baseball. The only low-light is that Toby Martin missed win #15 by losing game 2.

The End of July
Monthly Record: 16-11
Overall Record: 54-51
We're catching up, be were still behind the loggerhead for first between Boston and Baltimore by a good 9.5 games. We've put Toronto behind us though, and that's a plus, but it's a long way from that wildcard spot.

Tampa's Player of the Month: It's not really fair to everyone else with how well Jose Reyes is playing. The only categories he isn't leading are HR and RBI and seeing as how he's never hit for power, and is in the leadoff spot, neither of those are surprising. Way to earn that contract, now just lead us to the playoffs please.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: Best all-around pitcher on the club right now is Oscar Calvo. 17 saves and a 2.17 ERA with 41Ks in 37.1 innings of work. That's really very good.

The 'Let's See How Nate Downes Is Doing This Month' Segment

And the answer is: Not So Freakin' Good. He hasn't had a win since June and is now 9-2 in 16 games. Kinda sad really, would have been nice to see him go perfect for the year, but I guess that was just a pipe dream.

The BIG? Trade Show

Seeing as how there were all of two trades in July I guess it's not really fair to call it BIG. But the show must go on.

July 22nd
To San Francisco: Yance Anderson (RP), Oscar Villarreal (SP) and Willard Mengkry (RP)
To San Diego: Harry Raydmanov (LF), Eric Byrnes (CF), Kelvin Backman (2B) and Erick Threets (RP)
In 'the Trade Down by the Bay' there is only one good player: Eric Byrnes. Everyone else might as well learn how to cook, because they'll be hosting the players barbecue out of the dugout for a long time to come.

I admit, that made no sense.

Winner: San Diego.

July 30th
To Los Angeles: Wes Raymond (2B), Vincent Cabrea (SP), Carl Litvak (SP), Jose Monreal (C), Fred Abbott (P), George Connors (1B) and Carlos Guillen (SS)
To Toronto: Carlos Juradu (SP), Luis Caccia (SP) and Kelly Johnson (SS)
Does anyone find it ironic that a guy named Jose Monreal is playing for Toronto? I thought so.

Winner: LA for getting Carl Litvak. Good for them.

[Lobsteve]

August 4th
Vs Anaheim (67-38) 1st anywhere
L5-4, L7-4
By the way? Anaheim? Best in baseball. And not by just a little bit.

August 9th
Vs Oakland (51-54) 2nd
W5-4, L1-0, W6-3, W10-1
Ok, so Juan Morcillo, having recently lost, like everyone else, to Anaheim, is injured for 17 days. Mr. Nate Downes! Your time has come. And he starts NEXT!

August 12th
At Seattle (47-65) 3rd
W6-1, L4-1, W4-2
Touch DOWNES!!
Sorry, I couldn't resist. 8 innings, 7 hits, 1 walk and just the one run while striking out 5. How's that for your first game in the majors? Shwing!

August 15th
At Baltimore (72-43) 1st
W12-3, L9-6, L1-0
It's Laynce Nix with the Grand Salami in game 1 (and hey, nobody could do any wrong in that game).
Nate Downes loses his 2nd major-league start, but still pitches ridiculously well, allowing 1 run over 7 innings and just 3 hits. He was a little wild this time, walking 6 but he made up for that by striking out 6 as well. It was just that, in the end, the offense let him down, not that they could do anything against Freddy Garcia pitching out of his head like he was.

August 18th
Vs Texas (41-76) 4th
W5-0, W4-3, W5-3
Toby Martin gets win #16 and, oddly enough, his first shutout of the year in a 4-hit performance.
Downes! We have a man Downes! Apparently two games was too many for Nate Downes (and sorry for the pun, but you won't hear any more for a while) as he developed Severe Elbow Tendinitis and is out for 133 days. Koo-Koo Ryu will get a start in before Juan Morcillo comes back. Maybe more if he does well.

August 22nd
Vs Baltimore (76-45) 1st
W9-5, L4-0, W6-3
We stuck it to Freddy in game one. That'll teach him to out-pitch Nate Downes (and injure him. That's right, it's all Freddy's fault). And hey, to get two wins out of this series is nothing but a bonus.

August 26th
At Texas (41-82) 4th Last everywhere
W9-0, W8-2, W13-3, W4-1
As long as it isn't Anaheim, I love travelling out west. At least this year. Anaheim is the only team out there over .500. Which is kinda sad.
We are 9 games out of the wildcard spot, chasing Boston still, who are .5 back of Baltimore for our division lead as well. Gonna be tight.
PS: A look at the news shows that the Yankees haven't won in 18 games. That's a LONG time. I'll keep an eye on them.

August 29th
At Oakland (61-65) 2nd
W8-3, L4-1, W4-2
Do you know what happened there? I accidentally thought about our 6 game winning strak. NEVER THINK ABOUT THE STREAK!
Have I learnt NOTHING!

The Yankees finally won one.

Texas is officially eliminated from playoff contention. Duh.

We play Boston twice next month for a total of 7 games. Unfortunately we also play the Orioles twice, and we all know how we do against them. Will we go twice in a row to the dance? It should be quite the run.

What a gorgeous Summer!
Monthly Record: 18-8
Overall Record: 71-59
We seem to be stuck in 3rd. Toronto is WAY back, 7.5 games behind us, but Boston is 9 ahead and Baltimore 9.5. We have to catch one of them to make the playoffs.

Tampa's Player of the Month: Jose Reyes, would you stop playing so well. I can't pay you this much. He leads baseball with a .351 average. Is first on the team in stolen bases with 22 and 2nd on the team in both homers (22 to Mr. Unger's 28) and OBA (.405 to Laynce Nix's .408). That's too good.

Tampa's Pitcher of the Month: I want to give it to Nate Downes for two stellar starts. But can you give a player a monthly award for one win and one no-decision? Sure, why not, I do all sorts of strange things.

Double A Plus and Extra A for Good Measure
I happened to stare closely at David Halick and the guy has a good record at 8-2, but that's over 23 starts! That makes for 13 no-decisions and with a 4.27 ERA what do you think most of the outcomes were? Yeah, I thought so as well.

I really think that John Wold is going to be my Next Big Thing (see, I still haven't learned anything about fate). At the moment in his first year on the farm, he's hitting .315, which isn't phenomenal, but he has 117 RBI. Never mind the 121 Runs. Also 27 stolen bases to round out his character.

Return of the Random Division Leaders
AL
East: Close race with Baltimore (81-50) leading Boston (80-50) by just that half-game. Man I want to stick it to these guys.

Central: A three horse race for the lead between Kansas City (70-60), Minnesota (68-62, 2 games back) and Detroit (68-64, 3 games back). My gut says that KC will hold on.

West: No contest, Anaheim (86-44) leads everyone by a disgusting margin (23.5 games between them and second) and is the best team in baseball.

NL
East: Tight between the Mets (70-60) (The Mets?) and Atlanta (69-61, 1 game back). I pick Atlanta to win.

Central: Not that close here, Milwaukee (75-56) leads but the Cubs (69-61, 5.5 back) could conceivably make a run. Hey, if we could make it so could they.

West: Again not that close between Los Angeles (79-51) and San Diego (73-58), but San Diego leads the wildcard race all the same.

September 2nd
At Toronto (64-67) 4th
W5-4, L5-2, L5-2
That was a very disapointing series, and one that does not bode well for our chances come the end of the month. To cap it all off Mr. Grand Slam is injured for 12 days. Not a crisis with Len krull just chomping at the bit to get in, but annoying nonetheless.

September 5th
At New York Yankees (55-79) 5th
L8-7, L5-4, W6-2
Are you kidding me? Toby Martin is the only man to get a win in the past 6 games, winning both the first game of the Toronto series and this last one against the Yankees. WHAT IS GOING ON!

September 8th
Vs Kansas City (72-64) 1st
W7-6, L2-0, L11-6
Looks like we're going to be playing for third. 12 games back of Boston, even if we could somehow sweep all 7 games against them we have to best their record by 6 games to get into the playoffs and we are rapidly running out of time.

September 12th
Vs New York Yankees (58-82) 5th
L6-4, W5-4, W5-4
As pleased as I am to get a couple wins, we actually lost half a game on Boston. See, my little peons, THIS is why you have to PLAY HARDER in April. Hmmm? Hmmm!
To make it worse Laynce Nix is done for the year, out 37 days with some injury or another. So John Wold will get one start and a day off before Mr. Grand Slam gets back and Len Krull takes over in the two-spot.

September 16th
At Baltimore (89-54) 1st
L3-2, L3-1, L4-1
I'd say we're all but officially done. We're 14.5 games back now and there isn't any light at the end of the tunnel.

September 19th
At Kansas City (80-66) 1st
L5-2, L8-2, W3-1
Well, we now need to win every last one of our games. But mathematically....nah, we're over the barrel.

September 23rd
At Boston (81-58) 2nd
W2-1, L7-5, L4-1, L5-4
And we're officially done. Done like dinner. Done at the hands of our worst enemies. Doomed to lose money hand over fist because I have too many stars to resign. Excuse me, I need to wallow in self pity for the rest of the season.
The one bright light is that Toby Martin won #20. First of my pitchers to ever reach that mark.

September 26th
Vs Minnesota (78-75) Tied for 2nd
L7-0, W3-1, L10-6
Toby with win 21.

September 30th
Vs Baltimore (100-55) 1st
L5-0, W4-3, L9-2, L6-5

October 3rd
Vs Boston (95-64) 2nd, Wildcard winners
W2-0, L9-7, W8-6
And the season is done with. I'll still wallowing in self-pity. WHY! Why can't we win?!

Only one thing that really wants mentioning:
Monthly Record: 10-21
Overall Record: 82-80
Just squeaked over that .500 like. Skin of our teeth like. Sad, very sad, well, there's always next year. Bleah, we don't even get a good draft position out of this diasater.

[TwinswillWin]

Happy Birthday Lobsteve. your ... :confused: I don't know Happy I don't know how old you are birthday.

[BBMogulLover21]

Yeah Lobsteve.... Happy Something'ish Birthday.... just wanted to tell you I have been reading your dynasty from the start and love to read it keep up the great work!

[Lobsteve]

Took me about 5 minutes there to realize I'd put my birthdate in my profile. Well thank you, guys. Very kind you you. And it is a happy day.

[kennybear]

we wany more



i hooked steve, we want more please

pretty please

with sugar on it.


can you tell i had my 8 year old niece this weekend and need my fix:D

[Lobsteve]

Relax Kenny. More is on the way. Just too much going on this weekend to fit in a normal update.

[Lobsteve]

I missed this one...
On August 13th Laynce Nix hit for the cycle, the first of my players to ever do that.

Free-Agent Madness!
Well, I must have lost my mind, I resigned everybody. Well, not quite everybody, but very close.

Mr. Unger is signed for 7 years at 12.2M.
Jose Reyes gets 7 years as well at 19.9M to become the highest paid player on the team.
Wes Martin is also signed for 7 years, he at 4.6M.
Cy Delen is chucked out in the cold to break up the streak of signings.
And finally Mark Samuels gets a 7 year contract at 8.1M, which really makes me crazy because he didn't play so well last year.

It's Getting a Little Draftee In Here

Come on, you couldn't expect the dynasty to pass by wihtout a 'draft' pun.

Here are the top ten with their age and most recent AA stats. For batters: Avg, HR, RBI. And for Pitchers: Record, ERA, OBA

1. Tex - Joe Nelson (SP)
OA: 86 P: 95 (24: 14-0, 3.52, .244)

2. Cin - Jerry Grist (SP)
OA: 83 P: 95 (20: 13-2, 1.98, .247)

3. SF - Britt Spalding (RP)
OA: 83 P: 94 (22: 9-2, 1.69, .188)

4. Arz - Jose Sweeney (SP)
OA: 81 P: 95 (22: 13-6, 2.06, .210)

5. NYY - Vinnie Klotz (SP)
OA: 77 P: 93 (21: 14-2, 2.93, .241)

6. Sea - Perry Sharp (RP)
OA: 82 P: 90 (20: 12-0, 2.34, .226)

7. ChW - Ben Kempler (SP)
OA: 79 P: 92 (25: 13-4, 3.02, .195)

8. Pit - Tim Sparkes (RP)
OA: 78 P: 88 (24: 8-3, 2.04, .224)

9. Cle - Wil Fras (C)
OA: 76 P: 92 (24: .280, 9, 44)

10. Hou - Sid Narovlansky (1B)
OA: 70 P: 94 (22: .261, 8, 52)

Tampa's Draftees. AKA: The Doorstops.

20. TB - Andy Freyr (RP)
OA: 75 P: 83 (23: 13-3, 1.69, .190)

They were fools not to pick Andy. FOOLS! Did I mention their general foolishness? I hope so, it would be a shame if I forgot. Of course, it would have been nice if I'd had a higher pick, lots of good starters up top there, and none down here. Of course, it would also have been nice if I'd had a lower pick ;)
Endurance: 23
Control: 88
Power: 79
Movement: 92
Defense: 60
Future Role: Setup man.

50. TB - Maury Carlson (SP)
OA: 70 P: 79 (24: 13-6, 3.71, .256)

Yeah, there suddenly wasn't much left. In fact I'm pretty sure Maury was the winningest pitcher left, if not in the draft in this round.
Endurance: 83
Control: 81
Power: 71
Movement: 83
Defense: 60
Future Role: Alternate for a while, then 4th or 5th starter?

80. TB - Chad Bowers (RF)
OA: 62 P: 88 (19: .275, 6, 42)

Not much of anything in this kid yet, but he is very young. I'm actually surprised that he hadn't been picked up earlier in the draft with that fantastic potential. Maybe they know something I don't.
Contact: 61
Power: 72
Speed: 79
Eye: 71
Fielding: 75
Future Role: Only time will tell. Possibly the best 3rd rounder ever.

110. TB - Jose Roca (CF)
OA: 55 P: 83 (21: .273, 1, 32)

You knew I was going to take a position player eventually. You didn't? WHO ARE YOU TO DOUBT THE POWER OF ROCA! Or, at least the speed of Roca. And maybe the Eye of Roca. Power would be the last on my list actually. PS: 27 SB last season.
Contact: 68
Power: 58
Speed: 95
Eye: 89
Fielding: 65
Future Role: My first leadoff DH.

140. TB - Pat Prywes (LF)
OA: 58 P: 72 (20: .189, 3, 20)

Yeah, he isn't that great offensively. Definately not great. But on the defense, now you're talking, I like the smell of that, 90s across the board. But, let's be serious, he's going to be traded. Why? Because though defense is great, he'll never crack the lineup to use it with a .189 average.
Contact: 50
Power: 71
Speed: 60
Eye: 66
Fielding: 90
Future Role: Right on through the chipper.

170. TB - Vincent Mistry (C)
OA: 61 P: 68 (23: .280, 2, 19)

These late rounds are tough. Stupid MLB, if you were clever I could ahve traded away my late rounds for first round picks LONG ago. But I guess not in the wonderful world of baseball. Hey! Selig! Might want to duck! Yeah, just like that!
Contact: 58
Power: 72
Speed: 53
Eye: 68
Fielding: 70
Future Role: This guy is all but gone.

One Problem. No Cash
With my maniacal free-agent signings, we're going to be hard pressed to make any money this coming year. So what do I do? Immedeately sign more free-agent pitchers.

Neil Willoughby (SP), 7 years, 2.2M
Dustin McGowan (SP), 7 years at 1.9M

To be honest, I couldn't pass these guys up. Neil is a former round-1 pick (admitedly 30th overall by the Dodgers) and both have a peak of 81, good minor league numbers and a couple fantastic starts in the majors.

Ok, adding more salary really isn't the best idea of the new decade (it's 2010, remember), so something has to go back out the window as well. And here it comes. The blockbuster-salary-moving-machine.

To New York Mets: Mr. Grand Slam (RF) and Mark Samuels (SP)
To Tampa Bay: Wes Wilde (C)
This isn't really a good trade for me in anything other than salary. I ditch a total of 17.5 mill, which almost pays for Jose Reyes' salary. Now we're talking.
Wes Wilde is a defensive catcher with fairly good contact and power numbers which could improve...but probably not much. The salary involved here was really too much to interest many people.
Winner: I finally lose one, the Mets can have it though.

And there are still plenty of good free-agents out there as well, but, seeing as how I'm flirting with debt already, I see no reason to do anything suicidal.

Speaking of Suicide...How about these trades?

Alright, so we're on the eve of spring training, and I decided to shake things up. I mean shake things up.

To Detroit: Oscar Montanes (SP), Noland Trevor (SP), Pedro Albano (CF) and Vincent Mistry (C)
To Tampa Bay: Cordell Presti (CF)
I'm not entirely sure where this Pedro Albano guy came from. I suspect I drafted him. And if that's so: MAN DOES HE SUCK! Bye bye Pedro. Don't come back.
I'm kinda sad about losing 'My first name is:' Noland, but he keeps getting edged out by better pitchers, and so it goes.
Presti is the, future, MAN in the outfield. Insane defense, and he can actually hit the ball, a nice change from the OFs I've been drafting. I wonder where the Tigers found him, and I wonder if I can borrow that rock next year.
Winner: MEEE! Because Presti will max out at 95. Bite me Detroit. (Sorry to those who are Detroiters. Detroitians. Detroiters.) (And for everyone else snickering, don't worry, I'll get around to making fun of your team as well. And in turn you can make fun of my team.)

To Anaheim: Pat Prywes (LF), Rocco Baldelli (CF) and Perry McNabb (2B)
To Tampa Bay: Armando Escuda (RP) and 1 million dollars. MWA!
Escuda is a monster as a RP. will peak at 86 and is already at 100 movement and 86 control. So he's almost a complete pakage, if he can pick that power up a bit he'll be even better. As it is he'll be a good short reliever I think. Great number in AAA and a few games in the majors.
And now you're probably wondering if I'm losing it, trading away Rocco like that. Yeah, I probably am. But he's also making alotta money, his contract is up this year, and I have SO many good young outfielders who need building up into the next big thing. Rocco has had his couple good years and will probably begin to decline....at least he'd better.

Opening Day Lineups

Batting Order
1. Jose Reyes (SS)
2. Laynce Nix (LF)
3. Mr. Unger (1B) .339 avg in the spring.
4. Wes Martin (DH)
5. John Wold (CF) .317 avg and 5 HR
6. Len Krull (RF)
7. Adam Everett (2B) .375 Avg.
8. Scott Zimmerman (3B)
9. George Sagum (C) .324 Avg.

Benched
Frederico Ramires (2B)
Al Tyler (OF)
Gene 'Inigo' Montoya (CF)
Chad Lerner (1B)
Johnny Estrada (C)

Starting Rotation
1. Toby Martin
2. Neil O'Malley
3. Edwin Jackson
4. Niel Willoughby
5. Dustin McGowan

The 'Pen
CL: Oscar Calvo
ST: Armando Escuda
SH: Adam Bradley
MD: Luis Ballesteros
LG: Jae-kuk 'Koo-Koo' Ryu
AT: Juan Morcillo

Random AAA members
...

...Uh....let me try that again, something wrong obviously.

Random AAA Members
...

No, it did it again. Musn't be anyone worth mentioning.

[kennybear]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Lobsteve
[
Jose Reyes gets 7 years as well at 19.9M to become the highest paid player on the team.



holy cow he asked for 139.3 mil over 7 years. i have never seen a player ask for so much in mogul 2005. damm, do you think he can loan me $5. for lunch:D

[Lobsteve]

Jose Reyes declines to share out any of his wealth, even to adoring fans...

...apparently he's saving up to buy Antigua.

It was a typo though, he's only making 18.9M. Sorry. So that $5 is -really- out of reach now. HA!

Here's the list of top salaries in 2010:

Dallas McPherson (Ana) 22.8 OA: 100, and he's won freakin' everything.
Dennis Morlaes (LA) 22.2 OA: 100, last year's MVP
Alex Rodriguez (Bal) 21.5 OA: 100, Alex who? ;)
Cody Ross (Tex) 20.9 OA: 100, 3 straight Gold Gloves
Andruw Jones (ChC) 19.5 OA: 90, I think I've heard of him. Plus he's won 2 MVP awards.
Then comes Reyes, and a bunch of other people.

[Lobsteve]

Pre-Script
I've, not really randomly, but decided none-the-less, decided that I'm only going to take 10 years, maximum, per team, only a world series win cutting that time short. That way I might actually get on to another team :)

Two Thousand And Ten

April 2nd
At Baltimore (In New Zealand)
W4-2, W5-3
Both John Wold and Len Krull have good first games as the new superstars. And Mr. Unger started the season as usual by being walked 4 times. Man that guy gets alot of walks.
And then we carried on and beat the Orioles a second time. I don't know what happened there, but for once we are leading the division, and I like it.

April 11th
Vs Boston (2-2) 2nd
L5-4, L4-1, W11-4
I think there's been a mistake made somewhere. Boston got good. Especially with that starting pitching.
Even so, we're stuck in a three-way tie for first with Boston and New York. But, of course, it's ridiculously early.

April 15th
Vs Baltimore (3-3) 4th
L4-0, W9-8, L11-4, W6-4
Hmmmm. Yes. Hmmmm.
Don't know what happened in game one. We were shut down entirely, managing only two hits. Which isn't nearly enough I should think.
We were behind in game 2 as well until we decided enough was enough and scored 5 in the bottom of the eigth.
And then in game four (The Game Of 19 Innings) things were weird. We went through the entire bullpen to get to Juan Morcillo who pitched the last 4. Finally Wes Martin doubled and Len Krull homered to end the 6-hour marathon.

April 18th
Vs Kansas City (5-4) 2nd
W8-4, W7-5, L13-6
Ooof. That last one hurt. And then I made the mistake of looking at the pitching screen. The best ERA? Toby Martin's at 4.something. Yikes. And yet we're only .5 back of Boston.

April 22nd
At Boston (8-5) 1st
W6-1, W5-4, L4-0
Curse you Boston! Ruin my perfect road record! Not that they didn't have help from my batters who refused to hit any of the offerings served up to them. We still managed 8, but half of that was a combination of Len krull and Laynce Nix.

April 25th
At Kansas City (7-8) 3rd
W6-4, L7-0, W8-6
In that loss we got 1 hit. ONE. The single single from Adam Everett. And not a single base-runner extra.

April 29th
At New York Yankees (12-8) Tied 1st
L3-1, L4-3, W3-1
We should have done better. We really should have. We've been so good at allowing one loss to two wins so far, and the Yankees break that streak up for us. Thanks New York, I really needed that. *kick*

April Showers

Record: 12-9 and we're 1 game out of the division lead and actually lead the wildcard race. A game ahead of a whole whack of people.

TPotM: Would anyone care to take a guess as to what Mr. Unger's On Base Percentage is? You'd be wrong. It's a stunning .505. And it was higher than that before the Yankee series. No kidding. He's also second on the team (tied strangely with Jose Reyes) with 12 RBI (Wes Martin has 13). And that's good enough.

TPiotM: Early in the year it's time for the relievers to take an award or two. This month it's the entire short relief corps. They handing the starters their hats with their ERAs. Oscar Calvo leads the way (0.77, a perfect record 0-0 with 7 of 7 saves). Armando Escuda is second (1.42 ERA and a 1-1 record. And Adam Bradley is doing well to rebound after last year with a 1.45 ERA, 2-0 record and 20Ks in 18.2 innings.

Let's Mumble About AAA

After having made that big scene to begin with...

...Rich Gistinelli is throwing well in the minors with a 1.80 ERA. This is actually his first year in AAA.

...Nick Leominster is hitting .295, and that's about all he has going.

...Enrico Saavedra is over .300 at .302, but what is beautiful are his 19 RBI.

[Lobsteve]

Onwards to May

May 2nd
Vs Oakland (16-6) Best in the AL (LA is 20-3)
L4-1, W5-3, W8-2
Who is 2nd in the AL? You don't own me, Oakland.
Tired cliches asside, we really took it to them. But is anyone surprised to see Len Krull and Jose Reyes leading the team with 5 HRs each? Ok, Krull, that's fine, he's already been proving to launch the long-ball. But Reyes? The guy is barely supposed to be able to hit doubles. Maybe it's a good thing I signed him up. Even if we will be broke.

TRADE!
May 1st
To San Diego: Andy Fuller (SP) and Rich Dwight (2B)
To Philadelphia: Warner Kelly (CF), Hector Mercado (RP), Harry Rees (SS) and John Loeb (SP)
Not really much in this one. Mostly Dwight for Rees, which is pretty even. When I saw it I was hoping for a blockbuster. Sigh. What might have been.
Winner: Likely the Phillies, just because they received more players. Dwight and Rees are almost interchangeable anyways.

May 5th
At Texas (8-17) 4th and tied for dead last with Montreal.
L4-1, W4-1, W2-1
Ok, forget the games, though I can't figure out why we lost game one, I need to talk injuries.
On the 4th Neil Willoughby goes down for 15 days, Juan Morcillo is in the 4th spot for the duration. Couple starts in it for him anyways.
Then the next day Dustin McGowan is out for 5 days as well, so Nate Downes is out of the farm for a single start.
Not real critical injuries, admitedly, but vastly annoying.
PS: In that last win, Neil O'Malley went a bit nuts and struck out 10, but let Calvo come in for the final out to get the save. Sneaky.

May 9th
At Seattle (12-16) 3rd
L4-3, L8-1, L5-4, L5-1
WHAT THE FROGGIN' HEY-NONNY-NO!?!?!?!
And what's that swishing sound I hear? Oh, that's Downes and Morcillo getting their USELESS DERIERES kicked out of the starting rotation. Thanks for nothing you useless slobs. SLOBS! Even worse, we've slipped down to 2.5 games from teh wildcard (only 1 from the division lead).

May 13th
Vs Texas (11-20) 4th
W5-2, W8-4, W7-5
Hey, how about David Halick, Juan Morcillo's replacement in the rotation, getting that last win. I was sure it was a loss, but he pulled it out. Good for him. He may even get another start out of it, because I'm such a nice guy.
By the way, we're also back in first in the division as we snuck a half-game ahead of New York.

May 16th
At Cleveland (19-16) 2nd
L3-2, L4-3, W1-0
It took Neil O'Malley to pitch a complete game shutout to save our hides in this series. From the strength on the 1-2 punches in the other divisions, it's beginning to look like we had better win our own if we want a sniff of the playoffs this year.

May 20th
Vs New York Yankees (22-18) 1st
W3-2, L9-1, W8-6
The ding-dong struggle for AL East supremacy continues. I have to say though, that I am ridiculously happy with my relief pitching so far this year. They really are going nuts out there in the pen, and we're finally to the point where we can turn the game over to them with an easy heart.

May 23rd
Vs Cleveland (21-20) 3rd
W3-0, L2-1, L2-0
We really needed a couple more wins to solidify our hold on the top of the division. Instead the Yankees leap-frog us again to take over.

May 27th
Vs Detroit (18-25) 5th
W4-3, L8-3, W9-6
We lost a game to Detroit? Well, I guess only one is alright. But altogether it was much too close a series. I almost had to worry for a minute. I hate worrying.

May 25th: Trade Time
To Chicago Cubs: Alex Diamond (C), Phil Blanco (1B), Alejandro Machado (SS) and Wes Danbury (CF)
To Florida: Leo Kung (1B), Jose Ginez (SP) and Nate Rossell (RF)
The only player of any worth in this one (in my ever humble opinion) is Jose Ginez, and he hasn't even posted anything very good in the majors, just a 11.58 ERA. That's not nearly good enough to deserve to be the focus of a trade.
Winner: Since Ginez is the only one with enough potential to punch through a wall, Florida wins.

May 30th
Vs Baltimore (23-24) 3rd
W9-2, L4-2, W13-3
Mr. Unger really should stop showing off. My only wish would be that he would take over games more often. Just like in game three he hit 4-for-5, scoring 4 times, hitting 3 homers and cashing in 6 RBI. If he did that every game....well, no one can do that every game...but a little more often and I would have to break out the chanting again.

May Flowers
Monthly Record: 15-12
Overall Record: 27-22
That wound up being a pretty good month. I would have liked a few more wins against people like, oh, say the Mariners, but you can't have everything...but you can try.
Currently we're a single game back of the wildcard spot, and 1.5 back of New York for the division. I think in the end we can take them as we have the BEST FROGGIN' ERA IN THE ENTIRE AL (3.66). And we're only behind Arizona (3.34) in ALL OF BASEBALL. Take THAT.

Player of the Month: With that great game to end the month Mr. Unger almost catches Jose Reyes for the coveted monthly award. The highest payed guy on the team is hitting .321 with 11 HR and 12 SB, all of which lead the team. He's not doing to badly with a .385 OBP either.

Pitcher of the Month: Toby Martin (and Neil O'Malley and Edwin Jackson) really picked up his game and now leads the starters with a 3.13 ERA. (The others are close behind at 3.22 and 3.63. Hey, even Neil Willoughby is doing well after his injury at 3.92.)

AAA Whatnot of the Month
...Rich Gistinelli is still smoking hot on the farm with a 2.83 ERA and .165 OBA. Add in 30 Ks in 28.2 innings and if it weren't for the bullpen doing so well without him he'd be back up already.

...In other news I wonder if anyone else will play as well as Rich. Those late-in-the-round picks are slowly killing me.

RANDOM Close races

We're not the only one chasing a division leader, it seems like everyone is in a battle this year.

...Kansas City is only 1 game back of Minnesota.

...Anaheim leads Oakland by one and a half.

...Atlanta is close to the Mets, only back a 2-spot.

...Milwaukee and San Diego are both 3 games back of their respective division leaders: Cincinnati and LA.

...Of course, with such close division races, there are ALOT of teams in contention for the wildcards. On the one hand I kinda wish that these races will stay close, but on the other hand I'd really like to crush anyone else. Well, it's all up to fate anyways.

[Lobsteve]

June 3rd
At Detroit (20-29) 5th
W8-4, L6-5, L2-1, L5-2
Well, I guess we have to give them a few wins on their own turf. But we don't have to like it.

June 6th
At Boston (23-30) 5th
L5-4, L9-8, L3-0
Wow, 0-6 to start the month. That's bad. That's really bad. We're suddenly 3rd in the division, 4.5 back, and even 3 back in the wildcard race. That's pretty bleak, and we're about to start the interleague non-sense against the best team in baseball, the LA Dodgers.

June 10th
Vs Los Angeles (37-20) 1st, everywhere.
W6-3, W4-3, L6-0
As soon as the LA bus arrived, we all shouted: 'Hey! Look over there!' They were so distracted that we were able to sneak two games by them before they knew what happened. Evil, I know.

June 13th
Vs San Francisco (27-32) 4th
L4-3, W13-3, W5-4
It was Laynce Nix's turn to go a little crazy towards the 13 runs. Two home runs were his contribution. One for 3 RBI, and a Grand Slam to cap it off.

June 17th
At San Diego (39-23) Tie 1st.
W2-1, L10-6, L10-4
Not a good series for the relief pitching. Specifically Adam Bradley who managed to pick up both losses. He probably should have stayed in bed.

More Trades that you can shake a stick at.

June 15th
To Florida: Juan Bunuel (RP), Tony Blanco (3B), Nick Hessenauer (SS), Matt Lawton (RF) and Javier Vazquez (SP)
To Cleveland: Rafael Furcal (SS), Len Christie (RP), Ian Cloutier (SP) and Nate Rossell (RF)
I'd say Cleveland got the shaft in this one. In return for two quality pitchers in Bunuel and, especially, Vazquez, who has another two-three good years in him, they get a single, half-decent, not-ready-yet RF. Not a good move.
Winner: Florida applies the cleats to the Indians.

June 17th
To Boston: Phil Duvaut (CF), Andrew Andersen (SP) and Lance Carter (RP)
To Atlanta: Daryl Comstock (RP), Adam Melhuse (C) and Frank Menechino (2B)
Only one quality player in this mess: Daryl Comstock. And even so, he needs more experience before he can play everyday...or so the scouts say. And they're probably right since he has a 14.35 ERA this year. Why don't I ever play against these guys?
Winner: Uh, must be Atlanta, but what a boring trade.

June 20th
At Arizona (36-30) 3rd
W7-5, W11-5, W6-3
Whoops. There goes Mr. Unger again. 5-for-5, 3 runs himself, 2 HR and 7 RBI in game two. And wait! He's finally caught Jose Reyes for the team lead in homers at 14. About time someone from the middle of the lineup did that.
Even better is that we're back in the hunt. 2 back of the wildcard spot and 1.5 back of the division lead.

June 24th
At Toronto (32-37) 4th
L7-4, L2-1, W4-1
Well. That's just horrible.

June 27th
Vs Montreal (26-46) 5th, and looking like my next team...if I ever get out of Tampa.
L3-2, L4-3, W7-4
We LOST to FROGGIN' MONTREAL! I am ever so pissed.

July 1st
Vs Toronto (37-38) 4th
W4-2, L5-4, L5-4, W4-3
What we needed to do, was grind them under our left heel. Instead we were ground directly into the grass ourselves. Not from a standpoint of the games not being close, because they were close, but from a view of: WE COULD BE .5 GAMES OUT OF FIRST!

Have you noticed there's been alot of yelling this year? I think this is what happens when you start to get good. Frustration!

I hate JUNE!
Monthly Record: 11-16
Overall Record: 40-38
This had better be my only sub-.500 month, I tell you what. We remain 2.5 back of Baltimore for first in the division, and the wildcard is further away at 5 games, with Kansas City leading the pack. We still have the best ERA in the AL at 3.90, though there are 3 NL teams ahead of us.

Player of the Month: Mr. Unger leads the team with 49 RBI, 15 HR (tied with Reyes), is second to Nix with a .311 average and leads in OBP with .440. All that plus random fantastic nights leads him to player of the month.

Pitcher of the Month: Neil O'Malley has cracked the top ten in all of baseball in ERA (3.22) and Wins (with a record of 9-4). That's a good way to lead the staff.

AAA Player of the Month: Oh, wait, it's all off, Rich Gistinelli's bubble has popped and he's up over a 4.00 ERA. That's the life of a reliever.

[Lobsteve]

July 4th
At Montreal (30-49) 4th
W9-2, L7-1, L6-5
Why do we keep losing to Montreal of all teams? I just don't get it. COuld we maybe put in a -little- effort. I mean, it's Montreal!
In another losing effort, Neil Willoughby is done for the year, just about anyways, 92 days with Severe Elbow Tendinitis. Ouch. For the moment David Halick is getting a chance to prove himself. If he doesn't work out it's Nate Downes. And if he fails it's Koo-Koo time.

July 7th
At Boston (38-43) 5th
L3-2, L4-0, W11-5
We drop below .500 for the first time this year, and then Mr. Unger brings us back to the even mark with another ridiculous outing. A perfect 4-4, a walk, 4 runs, 3 Homers and 5 RBI.

July 11th
At Baltimore (46-37) 1st. Think this is an important series?
L7-4, L13-8, L6-4, L15-1
Well....It -was- an important series. Now it's just a nail in the coffin. We're going to need an insane second half to catch back up to the Orioles. Or anyone for that matter as we've slipped to 4th in the division with Boston nipping at our heels.

But Now it's Home Run Time!

July 12th - Home Run Derby

A four-way tie in the first round with 9s everywhere for A-Rod (Bal), Miguel Cabrera (Min), James Loney (LA) and Alex Romero (Col).

The second round belongs to Cabrera and Romero who manage to clear the other two (who are at the bottom with 3 each) with Miguel slipping 5 out of the park and Alex a good 4.

And so it goes. And goes. And goes. It's extra innings time as the two finalist tie 3-3 in the final round. But Alex Romero is apparently tired of being out there and parks 6 of the best to tear Cabrera a new you-know-what as he wins 6-2. Overall it's a win for Romero as well, 22-19.

July 13th - The All-Star Game

Not even close this year as the AL drops the HAMMER on the NL 16-2. Yeah, exactly. The capper is Jose Volonte dropping a Grand Slam over the right field fence in the ninth to really end things.

In a bit of annoying poetic justice, guess who starts in RF for the AL? Yup, Rocco Baldelli. I had it coming. Probably.

And then to anger me even further only Jose Reyes gets to go from my boys. And he doesn't get to play. We are not amused.

July 18th
Vs Boston (40-47) 5th
W2-1, W5-4, L14-3, W10-7
Two things of note...
...Toby Martin must have been feeling really good in game one, because he pitched 10 innings to get the win, leaving in the 11th so that Calvo could close. 10 innings? That's nuts.
...Jose Reyes is out for 11 games and we have to rely on Chad Lerner, a firstbaseman to a) Leadoff. b) Play shortstop? So there's a need that needs to be filled right there.

July 20th
Vs Baltimore (53-38) 1st
L9-4, L10-2
Here's a shock, we still can't beat Baltimore. Which really gets my goat since we did so well to beat them to open the year. Where did that magic go?

July 22nd
At Detroit (37-56) 5th
L9-1, L4-3
Great. Now we're losing to Detroit as well. And to top it off, Laynce Nix is done for 25 days. Cordell Presti will take his place just because he can play defense. He better learn how to hit really quickly as well.

July 25th
At Toronto (50-45) 2nd. HEY! That's supposed to be my spot.
W2-1, L7-5, L4-0
And apparently we don't really want it back. It doesn't help that George Sagum is out for 17 days. Great. Make my July better that it already is George. I dare you.

July 29th
Vs Chicago White Sox (49-48) 3rd
L9-1, W9-6, W4-0
PERFECT GAME! PERFECT GAME! PERFECT GAME!!!!!!!!!
DAVID HALICK!!!!!!
INCOHERENT!!!!!
ME!!!!
PERFECT!!!!

*LONG. Deep. breath.*

Forget words, here's the box-score:


Chicago White Sox at Tampa Bay Devil Rays
July 29, 2010

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
White Sox (CHW) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Devil Rays (TB) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 x 4 8 0

CHICAGO ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
P. Lopez (DH) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .286
J. Peralta (SS) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286
T. Hayes (C) 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .317
M. Giles (2B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .307
R. Johnson (CF) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .255
T. Joyce (RF) 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .257
A. Dreyfuss (LF) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .247
J. Munoz (3B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .208
M. Hessman (1B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267
TOTALS 27 0 0 0 0 0 7 0


CHICAGO ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
B. Kempler 7.2 8 2 0 4 4 4 115 6.40
M. Claydon 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2.20
TOTALS 8.0 8 2 0 4 4 4 116

TAMPA BAY ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
C. Lerner (SS) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
J. Reyes (SS) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291
C. Presti (LF) 3 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 .240
I. Unger (1B) 4 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 .311
L. Krull (RF) 3 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 .247
W. Martin (DH) 3 2 1 1 0 2 0 0 .277
J. Wold (CF) 3 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 .258
F. Ramires (2B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .210
S. Zimmerman (3B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .287
J. Estrada (C) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .210
TOTALS 30 8 2 4 0 4 4 0

2B: W. Martin (17)
3B: W. Martin (3)

TAMPA BAY ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
D. Halick 9.0 0 0 0 0 0 7 106 4.95
TOTALS 9.0 0 0 0 0 0 7 106

WP: D. Halick (5-3)
LP: B. Kempler (7-12)

Attendance: 29,360
Time: 2:14

That almost makes up for these two lousy months.

August 1st
Vs Toronto (54-47) 2nd
W9-7, L7-3, W10-5
Not a bad way to end the month, but who cares. PERFECT GAME! What a high.

In review, we suck.
Month: 10-17
Year: 50-55
And did I say we suck? Yes? Good because we're in last place in the division. But we're not quite out of the wildcard hunt, only 5.5 back. In theory we could make it. We need to ride the PERFECT GAME! high to a fantastic August and September though.

Player of the Month: David 'Perfect Game' Halick. No, I'm not confused. Just wait till you see the other categories.

Pitcher of the Month: David 'Perfect Game' Halick. Seeing as how you never know when you'll see another one, I'm going to milk it for all I'm worht.

AAAer of the Month: This segment is rated 'PG' for PERFECT GAME! Mr. Halick lends class to his former AAA-mates by winning this one as well. It's a PERFECT SWEEP of the RANDOM MONTHLY AWARDS!!!

Next is the Trade Show.

PS: It's slow this year.

[Lobsteve]

Ye Olde Big Trade Shew

Took a while for things to get going, but then they really got going.

July 19th
To New York Yankees: Al Trantham (RP) and Joel Guzman (SS)
To Los Angeles: Will Forelli (RF), Bobby Jenks (SP), Jason Michaels (CF) and Rob Bowen (C)
Nobody involved in this trade is particularly bad, but nor are they particularly good. Trantham, Guzman and Michaels all have potential talent, but as close as they are to that peak, they just don't have the numbers to back it up. Altogether a very average bunch who could bolster a bench, but wouldn't do much for as starters.
Winner: I'm going to say that the Yankees may have gotten a bit better of this exchange, but not by much.

July 26th
To Montreal: Sid Brown (CF), J.J. Hardy (SS), Mark Hickey (P) and Vincent Belanger (P)
To Boston: Bobby Privitelli (P) and Juan Damian (RF)
I'm glad to see Hickey and Hardy move out of Boston, but to have Juan Damian, the 6th overall pick in 2007, step in doesn't do my heart any good. I can't understand why the 'Spos would give him up either. He's still 2 years away from his contract expiring AND they don't really get anything in return. Instead they trade away a guy who's ERA has steadily been rising since he was drafted (.244, .292, .312, .314) and must have been the backbone of their lineup with 90+ RBI in each of the past 3 years, INCLUDING 90 already this year and 130 in 2008. What a dumb move.
Winner: Much to my disgust, it's Boston. They get Damian, essentially for free, for the next two years.

July 27th
To Minnesota: Taneo Hamasuna (SS), Josh Herrick (RF) and Wilson O'Callaghan (1B)
To Baltimore: Spence Coerr (RP)
The Orioles give up a couple of minor-leaguers and a tallented RF to get a pretty good reliever. I'm not convinced it's a great move, but they certainly shore up their short-relief corps, if it was ever weak.
Winner: Almost close enough to call a draw...in fact, yeah, lets call it a draw, otherwise we might not have one.

July 28th
To Detroit: Ricky Gutierrez (2B) and Toby Wright (3B)
To Cleveland: Rob Bell (P) and Brent Clevlen (RF)
Here's the unchallenged 'Nothing Trade of the Show (tm)'.
Ricky Gutierrez? He's retiring in two months.
Toby Wright? He'll never make it out of the minors.
Rob Bell? Fired more than watergun during a water-fight on watergun day.
Brent Clevlen? Who?
Winner: Cleveland, just for picking up the guy with the name closest to the city they play in.

July 30th
To Milwaukee: Reginald Rice (2B)
To Pittsburgh: Valerio De Los Santos (RP), Joseph Ferroni (C), Andrew Nemerovski (CF) and Jason Simontacchi (SP)
Good on Milwaukee to pick up Double-R. He's going to be a strong second-baseman very soon. The Pirates don't get much in return mind you. Ferroni is a good defensive catcher though, and Nemerovski is a pretty good offensive producer. Put them together and you almost have a complete player.
Winner: Milwaukee

July 31st
To St. Louis: Ichiro Suzuki (RF) and Lucas Heller (SP)
To Texas: Kelvin Wismer (1B), Kevin Giannini (SP) and Chris Sommer (SS)
True, Ichiro's numbers have really declined in the past couple years, but he's still got to be better than alot of people. And Heller is icing on the cake for the Cards. Giving up Wismer makes it a pretty fair trade though since he's a solid prospect.
Winner: I'm a big mark for Ichiro, so the Cards win this one.

[cheeze]

where are you lobsteve!

[Lobsteve]

Sorry for the slow updates. We're moving (Sunday) and packing has taken over my life. I'm working towards a quick update tonight maybe, but then probably nothing until late next week, presuming my ISP gets it's Rear-In-Gear (tm) and hooks us up promptly, something they are not notorious for doing.

Hang in there.

Lobsteve.

PS: To ease the Pain Of Waiting (not-tm) go back and reread the boxscore from the perfect game. I just did, it's good stuff.

[cheeze]

oh, alright then, movings a pain. Good luck with that. and i just noticed you had some dynasties in the old baseball mogul sections, ill read some of those to ease the pain.

[Lobsteve]

Season Recap
We suck.
76-86 suck. Fallen from second to fourth in the division suck.

Playoff Summary
Short and sweet because it pains me to look to closely at it.

Divisional Series
Anaheim over Toronto 3-2
Baltimore over Minnesota 3-2

Milwaukee over the Mets 3-1
Atlanta over Los Angeles 3-1

League Finals
Anaheim crushes Baltimre 4-1

Milwaukee does the same to Atlanta 4-1

The World Series
Anaheim over Milwaukee 4-3. Not really as close as it sounds. Let's move onwards to the exciting stuff...

Free-Agents

Going...Going...Gone!: George Sagum, Chad Lerner, Koo-Koo Ryu and Rich Gistinelli are all out.

Sometimes it stays the same: Scott Zimmermand is on at 8.8M a year for the rest of his life...er, just 7 years. Very good. I really just signed him for his defensive skills. I'm actually rather shocked that he hasn't won a gold glove yet. In 5 full years with me he's only made 12 errors at the hot corner. That's gotta be good enough.
Neil O'Malley will also be around for another 7 years, he at 7.6M. A bit overpriced, maybe, but I hear he's importing a leprechaun, so things may look up.

AWARDS

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Cy Young: Jim Kellen (KC)
Player of the Year: Miguel Cabrera (MIN)
Rookie Of The Year: John Wold (TB)

WHOOO! HOOOO! Why, it's Wold-tastic! Numbers? Alright. .259, 10, 17, 59, 65 and .319. (Avg, HR, SB, R, RBI, OBP, just in case you were wondering. He also had 29 doubles.) And, most importantly, he had a single error all year out there in center field. Plus 357 put-outs. I don't know if that's alot or not mind you. A well deserved award I think. (That also makes the 4 ROYs in 8 years: Baldelli, Mr. Unger, Len Krull and now Wold.)

Gold Glove (P): Fred Duvall (MIN)
Gold Glove (C): Joe Mauer (MIN)
Gold Glove (1B): Jim Dandridge (SEA)
Gold Glove (2B): Len Boury (CLE)
Gold Glove (3B): Zack Perrine (TOR)
Gold Glove (SS): Alex Rodriguez (BAL)
Gold Glove (LF): Miguel Cabrera (MIN)
Gold Glove (CF): Wheeler Knoll (NYY)
Gold Glove (RF): Cody Ross (TEX)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cy Young: Joe Boston (ARZ)
Player of the Year: Jeff Francoeur (ATL)
Rookie Of The Year: Lew Hawkins (HOU)

Gold Glove (P): Neil Krupnik (ARZ)
Gold Glove (C): Geronimo Gil (ATL)
Gold Glove (1B): Casey Kotchman (MON)
Gold Glove (2B): Dennis Morlaes (LA)
Gold Glove (3B): Pete Jensen (SD)
Gold Glove (SS): Anderson Machado (MIL)
Gold Glove (LF): Garret Anderson (LA)
Gold Glove (CF): Chris Berry (SD)
Gold Glove (RF): Jeremy Hermida (FLA)

And now an entirely new, sleep-deprivation-inspired feature.

2010 Draft Picks, Post Season recap.

I'm sure you're all wondering how the top five picks did last year. So am I.

#1: Joe Nelson didn't have much luck out there in Texas as he only managed a 8-13 record with a nasty 6.22 ERA. Hey, Tex, leave him in AAA for a year next time. (92o/94p)

#2: Cincinnati's Jerry Grist spent the year in the bullpen, appearing in 41 games and starting 6. He amassed a 4-2 record with a 4.42 ERA in 91.2 innings. Not spectacular, but a solid way to begin his career. He also somehow managed to pick up 4 saves and blew 1. Bizarre. (86o/93p)

#3: Britt Spalding seems to have had the most luck of the top-5. He appeared in 65 games out of the bullpen in some sort of short relief for the Giants and picked up a 6-1 record while managing a 3.55 ERA and saving 1 and blowing 1 over 101.1 innings. (86o/92p)

#4: Jose Sweeney started 26 games for the Diamondbacks and only pulled out an 8-10 record and a 4.85 ERA. I think there's probably something to be said for keeping these kids back for just a little while first. (84o/93p)

#5: Vinnie Klotz didn't fair much better for the Yankees than any of the other top-5 starters did for their teams. He started all of his 33 appearances and racked up a dismal 9-16 record and a 4.60 ERA. However, he did also manage 7 complete games and 2 shutouts (likely all nine of his wins right there). (84o/93p)

Back at the farm...
I am mildly intrigued by top Free-Agents Anderson Machado (but what would I do with another SS, especially one with a 20.9M request), Jeff Francoeur (Like I need another RF for 23.3M), and Jim Kellen (who might be a good pitching pickup, but would surely bankrupt me with 11.1M).

Quick! To the Draft!

Did I mention the Draft?

As usual, here are the top ten with their age and most recent AA stats. For batters: Avg, HR, RBI. And for Pitchers: Record, ERA, OBA

1: Mon - Trent Koblin (SP)
OA: 83 P: 94 (22: 12-8, 2.86, .234)

2: Fla - Scott Dare (SP)
OA: 80 P: 93 (19: 8-7, 3.78, .215)

3: Hou - Eric D'Anorade (SP)
OA: 79 P: 93 (25: 11-4, 4.17, .215)

4: Det - Wheeler Strubbe (RP)
OA: 79 P: 90 (20: 4-3, 1.26, .218)

5: Cle - Victor Gibson (RP)
OA: 78 P: 91 (20: 3-3, 2.83, .178)

6: NyY - Derek Duffy (SP)
OA: 79 P: 92 (23: 13-3, 2.90, .235)

7: Phi - Juan Flacon (2B)
OA: 77 P: 86 (23: .309, 11, 50)

8: ChC - Jaime 'The Seattle Special' Garcia (RP)
OA: 79 P: 90 (21: 9-1, 2.77, .167)

9: Col - Jonathon MacGrefor (1B)
OA: 77 P: 87 (22: .236, 16, 51)

10: Oak - Norman Carrie (RP)
OA: 78 P: 87 (21: 6-4, 2.51, .258)

12th? Who wants to draft 12th!

12: TB - Chad Ackley (RP)
OA: 79 P: 87 (23: 12-0, 2.92, .248)

Combine those numbers with a perfect 18-0 save record and I think I'm in love. He also had 65 Ks in 64.2 innings, the only pitcher in the draft so far to manage a K/IP. He's bounced around between A and AA the last few years, but he's in AAA for sure now. I won't claim he's the next...the next...the...Oh forget it.
Endurance: 22
Control: 87
Power: 86
Movement: 90
Defense: 51

42: TB - Ivan Pulanco (2B)
OA: 64 P: 92 (21: .321, 12, 53 RBI)

A BIG jump in his peak rating the second after being drafted. Our AAA staff is great...apparently. He has the best Average of any position player available in the first round in the past two years (.321 and .304), which is great. He has a long way to go mind you, especially on the defensive side, but he provides a future star in the middle infield.
Contact: 69
Power: 73
Speed: 70
Eye: 68
Fielding: 64

72: TB - Wesley Cru...Murphy (C)
OA: 67 P: 79 (25: .233, 10, 23)

A catcher a year keeps the doctor away. Thus goes the ancient wisdom of the diamond. Plus, he was the highest ranked player by my scouting team.
Contact: 60
Power: 79
Speed: 62
Eye: 69
Fielding: 94

102: TB - Zack Abercrombie (RP)
OA: 64 P: 78 (22: 7-0, 5.25, .269)

Certainly not the best numbers ever, but he's perfect in his AA career with a total 10-0. I couldn't pass up the chance to see if he could pull the same thing off in AAA. I'm a sucker for streaks.
Endurance: 52
Control: 74
Power: 79
Movement: 70
Defense: 50

132: TB - Orlando Correa (2B)
OA: 61 P: 74 (23: .245, 1, 24)

I'm still trying to get some good depth up the middle, but I'm not sure if this guy will be able to provide it. Besides, the 5th and 6th rounders are usually just chipper fodder anyways.
Contact: 64
Power: 73
Speed: 72
Eye: 68
Fielding: 66

162: TB - Curtis Quinlan (SS)
OA: 50 P: 76 (24: .230, 1, 27)

I think I like this guy better than my fifth rounder, he's a speedy little SS. Maybe it's just that he's a year older? I dunno, I guess I'll just trade him and hope for the best...as usual.
Contact: 64
Power: 65
Speed: 81
Eye: 68
Fielding: 64

F-A Pickup Sticks
A quick move on the free-agent market. Gavin Thomas (a talented 2B, 72o/85p) was available and I moved quickly to pick him up at $330,000 for two years. He was origianlly picked by Montreal as the first pick in the 6th round in 2005 and has been steadily improving in AAA ever since. Ok, now I have too much depth in the middle.

To come once we're settled in our new place:
...Many trades as we shuffle and try to get good players at low cost for a run at the series.
...Even more trades.
...And the biggest blockbuster of all.....the starting lineups.

[Lobsteve]

The Lineup Shuffle.
OR
The 'You Can't Do That!'
But I Did Anyways.
Section

Agents of Freedom

Wait...I was sure I signed somebody. Hold on....Yes I did, and I already mentioned Gavin Thomas. So why am I mentioning it again? Because I can.

I wouldn't call Gavin a phenom, yet (74oa/85p), but he does have the potential. This signing was made almost entirely on the basis of his AAA stats which have risen steadily every year to the point where he hit .302 last year. I see him with a year of development in AAA then taking over for Adam Everett. If the move comes sooner than that, fine.

I promised you trades.
OR
May 1st, the day the roof fell down.

To Arizona: Nate Downes (SP), Curtis Quinlan (SS), Orlando Correa (2B) and Al Tyler (LF)
To Tampa Bay: Pedro Henriquez (3B)
Summary: I know you all think I'm pulling an AI picking up a great 3B when I already have one. It's just that Pedro isn't for 3B, he's my new DH. The dude has peaked out at 86 already, is signed through next year and still hasn't played a full season. Let me show you the stats:
Contact: 91
Power: 82
Speed: 67
Eye: 80
And he can field as well, I just don't see that happening with Zimmerman on third right now. But as a DH, now there's something to write home about.

What do I give up. A 6th round pick in Quinlan who I would probably never use. A guy made superfluous by my free-agent signing in Correa an extra outfielder who has only hit above .200 once from the bench. And then I'm sad to see Downes go. He had a couple good starts. Too bad he couldn't stick.

Winner: Come on, I don't pick up a 86oa 3B and lose this trade.

To Baltimore: Wes Martin (CF) and Esteban Seda (RP)
To Tampa Bay: Chris Curtis (SP)
Summary: I would have liked to have kept Seda around, but Martin and his 4.6M sallary aren't that big a draw all on their own. Martin had to go. His salary was weighing me down, and he'd be sitting on the bench this year with Henriquez filling the DH slot. 4.6 is too much to sit on the bench. I just hope I didn't make Baltimore any stronger.

To that end I did get away with a pretty good starting pitcher in Curtis. Great AAA numbers, though he did lose his only game in the bigs alowing 4 runs in 6 innings. Which isn't really that bad. 12-2 in AAA though which is much better. Stats?
Endurance: 89
Control: 92
Power: 71
Movement: 80
Defense: 74 - And for a pitcher...wow! I don't think I've ever seen a pitcher that high up in the D. Cool.

Winner: Depends where the O's put Martin I guess. But for the moment it's a draw until we see what happens.

To Baltimore: Neil Willoughby (SP) and Wes Wilde (C)
To Tampa Bay: Umberto Almagro (SP)
Summary: If I had realised that it was Baltimore again I probably wouldn't have pulled this trade. Willoughby is really too talented to let go to a division rival, but his salary was beginning to choke me seeing as how I likely wouldn't put him in the starting rotation for a month or so. So off go Willoughby and another of my myriad of catchers (ok, I only have 3 now). In return I get a very talented youngster who has pitched all of two games in the majors. Umberto was drafted in 2008, started and won a game in 2009 and ditto in 2010. In total he has allowed only 3 runs in the majors, that'll do. Good AAA record in 2010 as well, but at most he'll be filling in at long relief this year.
Winner: Baltimore. I shouldn't have given them Neil W, a mistake on my part. I hope it won't come back to haunt me.

Before Pre-Season

I've been giving some thought to talented Free-Agent J.J. Hardy. But do I really want another short stop? I'll think about it again after the the spring. I guess it all depends on how well the 34-year-old Adam Everett can do. If Frederico Ramires can show that he's better then Adam would be out, I could trade his 1.whatever-million dollar contract away and then sign Hardy to fill in the bench. It's not a bad plan.
Plenty of time to make the decision as well since nobody seems to want to even talk with Hardy.

Well, as I cogitate over that one, here's another trade:
April 1, 2011
To Detroit: Michael Mann (SP) and Luis Ballesteros (RP)
To Tampa Bay: Aaron Erlec (SP)
Summary: Neither Mann or Ballesteros have managed to break the 4.00 mark in their AAA ERAs, which is hardly inspiring. Erlec, on the other hand, has never gone above 3.31. Ok, he has also never amassed a winning record until this spring training, and is really quite the tenderfoot. But he was the 34th (8th in the second round) pick in this year's draft, that has to count for something.
Endurance: 84
Control: 95
Power: 68
Movement: 94
Defense: 76

Opening Day Lineups
Games/Avg/HR/RBI for batters and
Innings/Record/ERA/OBA for pitchers.

Starting Lineup
1. Jose Reyes (SS) 14/.378/3/6
2. Laynce Nix (LF) 12/.314/2/8
3. Mr. Unger (1B) 18/.407/3/18
4. Len Krull (RF) 22/.302/3/17
5. Pedro Henriquez (DH) 21/.295/2/19
6. Scott Zimmerman (3B) 22/.301/1/15
7. John Wold (CF) 20/.301/4/19
8. Adam Everett (2B) 18/.318/0/8
9. Johnny Estrada (C) 17/.283/3/7

Bench
Frederico Ramires (2B) 16/.354/1/9
Cordell Preti (OF) 22/.259/3/15
Gene 'Inigo' Montoya (CF) 19/.273/1/13
Gavin Thomas (2B) 16/.296/3/6
Nick Leominster (C) 17/.298/1/11

Batting Summary: The year of the Mr.? Mr. Who? Mr. U. That's not a typo, by the way, he did hit .407 in spring training, his best ever. Oh, and some guy named Jose did pretty good as well.
The big problem is this: Now that Ramires has outperformed Everett in the spring, do I go ahead and make the move? Adam may be older than he looks. And the kid is good. I just don't know.

Starting Five
1. Toby Martin - 26.2/2-0/3.04/.167
2. Neil O'Malley - 16.1/0-1/6.06/.269
3. Dustin McGowan - 34.2/3-1/4.41/.262
4. Juan Morcillo - 59.1/1-4/5.61/.255
5. Edwin Jackson - 21.2/1-0/4.98/.207

Bullpen
CL. Oscar Calvo - 10.2/0-0/5.06/.238
ST. Adam Bradley - 17.0/2-0/3.71/.150
SH. Chad Ackley - 19.1/1-1/5.12/.256
MD. Armando Escuda - 13.0/0-0/4.85/.235
LG. Umberto Almagro - 39.2/3-0/4.76/.247
AT. Maury Carlson - 18.1/2-0/4.91/.276

Pitching Summary: It'll be quite the year to keep a close eye on the staff. On the verge of seeing alot of AAA or playing time for another team are: Juan Morcillo, Armando Escuda, Maury Carlson and, strangely, Oscar Calvo. Though I expect Calvo will straighten up and fly right in the long run, the rest of them had better watch where they step.

And the AAA

Hitting
Not really that much going on down there, only two players really distinguished themselves in the pre-season.

Chad Bowers (RF) 22/.298/3/15
Odds of being called up: Slim. He's got alot of people to get through. Never mind that my current starters are all generally quite healthy.

Wesley Murphy (C) 18/.326/1/6
Odds of seeing action: Pretty good since he's the 3rd catcher. If either Estrada or Leominster go down he's the man with the...plan? That doesn't sound right.

Also appearing in AAA this year are: Jose Roca (CF), Enrico Saavedra (2B) and Ivan Pulanco (2B). Where did I get all these second basemen?

Pitching
Much better stuff from the pitchers, for once.

David 'Perfect Game' Halick - 38.1/1-1/3.99/.201
Odds of starting: Pretty darned good. Right now he'd be my second choice, mainly because I want another PG.

Zack Abercrombie - 25.2/1-0/4.91/.206
Odds?: Not very good. I only mentioned him here because he has never recorded a loss in AA and now he continues the streak here in Spring training.

Aaron Erlec - 22.1/2-0/3.22/.173
Odds.: Now that's some good pitching. He's the #1 choice to fill in during injuries.

Also Pitching: Andy Freyr and Chris Curtis.

[Lobsteve]

Welcome to 2011...and, The FUTURE!

I did it.
For the first time ever in any of my dynasties I actually paid to kick a player off my team. So long Adam Everett. I don't know if it was worth 2.5 mill to chop you or not, but it is done. Actually, I probably saved money. I would have had to pakage him with a good 8M before anyone would come sniffing around. Immedeately after I sign J.J. Hardy.Who's stats run something like this:
Contact: 83
Power: 72
Speed: 79
Eye: 79
Fielding: 84
I'd call him an all-round pakage, almost the perfect bench-player. Better if he had a bit more speed, but that can't be helped. He's peaked out at 83 now.Pretty good numbers in the bigs, his best year being with the Brewers back in 2007 when he hit .298. The next year he hit .348 in 15 games for Boston and has hovered around the .290 mark off the bench ever since. He's signed for 6 years at .61M

Let's Start the Season Already.

I mean really started, not the 2 hour delay that there was...not that anyone can tell.

April 8th
At New York Yankees (strangely 0-0)
W9-0, W7-2, W9-1, L5-4
Now that's the way to start a season, at least until Juan Morcillo blew it in game 4 there, but even so. It's really too much, here's the blow-by-blow of our best start EVAH!
Game 1: Now that's how you come out of the gates. Toby Martin has the 3-hit, 3-walk, 6-K complete game. Frederico Ramires is 3-4 and drives in 3. Mr. Unger is 2-5 with an RBI and we're off to the races.

Game 2: Three days, two complete games. It's Neil O'Malley getting the show on the road this time with a 7-hitter, 0-walks, 6-K and just a single HR in the bottom of the ninth to account for both Yankee runs. In other news Ramires is hitting the pants off of everyone (3-5 tonight), but it's Jose Reyes with the 4 RBI.

Game 3: We really don't have enough pitchers who can go the distance, so why shouldn't McGowan pitch all nine? 7-hits, 0-walks and a thundering 10-Ks as he allows but one run in the fourth. The Yanks also commit 2 errors as we cruz with Len krull leading the way.

And then the breakdown in game 4. But it's all in a road-trip. We're .5 up on Baltimore to lead the east, the first time we've done that at the beginning of a season.

April 11th
Vs Toronto (2-1) Tied for 2nd.
W7-6, W10-2, L1-0
That first game scared me. The Jays gave us quite a run, but a Johnny Estrada double in the bottom of the twelfth settle their hash. Then Toby Martin went the distance in his second start as well. What a guy. But 1-0? Someone made a mistake, I TOLD Mr. Unger to win this one. Hmmm, maybe it's because Kermit down there in the dugout keeps REPLACING MR.UNGER WITH CORDEL PRESTI!!!!! *kick* *jab* *jab* *chokeslam*.

Milestone: James Loney (LA's stellar 1B) just knocked in RBI #1000. It's disgusting, the kids only 26 and is 2 HR away from 400 as well. We'll see if LA resigns him when his contract expires in 2012. He'll be expensive.

Injury: 3rd overall pick in this years draft, Eric D'Anorade just blew out his knee. 220 days later....

April 15th
Vs New York Yankees (2-5) 5th
W3-2, W6-5, L7-3
Those bottom two guys in my rotation are looking to be trouble. Morcillo allowed 4 runs in 5 innings in game 2 as we finally prevailed in 13. And then 'The Boy Scout' goes and lets some R. Lizaur guy knock in 5 runs! Including a grand slam in the 6th!
Positioning various swords of Damocles over various Pitchers necks, we carry on. And to make things more interesting Chad Ackley (short relief) is out for 4 days. The only one of my short relievers who was working out. He won't be replaced though, Armando Escuda is doing equally well from Middle Relief and can act as a substitute.

April 19th
Vs Baltimore (6-4) 2nd, 1 back of us.
L8-1, L2-1, W3-0, W5-4
Baltimore immedeately goes to work and decimates Toby Martin, then sneaks a win from O'Malley. Our spirits are down. We can't compete with their strong pitching! But then hope dawns from an unsuspecting hero as Dustin McGowan throws a NO-HITTER! Cue the BOX-SCORE!


Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Devil Rays
April 18, 2011

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Orioles (BAL) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Devil Rays (TB) 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 x 3 7 1

BALTIMORE ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
A. Webster (CF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 .271
J. Brown (C) 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 .146
A. Rodriguez (SS) 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 .315
M. Teixeira (DH) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .245
C. Delgado (1B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .188
N. Wade (RF) 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .234
W. Helms (3B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .235
C. Allen (LF) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .100
B. Sagum (2B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
TOTALS 27 0 3 0 0 0 9 0


BALTIMORE ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
D. Dyre 7.0 6 2 1 3 3 5 105 5.40
B. Anslow 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 2 19 6.10
TOTALS 8.0 7 2 1 3 3 7 124

TAMPA BAY ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
J. Reyes (SS) 4 3 0 2 1 1 0 0 .396
L. Nix (LF) 3 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 .239
I. Unger (1B) 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .340
C. Presti (1B) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .091
L. Krull (RF) 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .226
P. Henriquez (DH) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .319
S. Zimmerman (3B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .217
J. Wold (CF) 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .196
F. Ramires (2B) 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .340
G. Thomas (2B) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .222
J. Estrada (C) 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .226
TOTALS 29 7 2 3 1 3 7 0

HR: J. Reyes (2)

TAMPA BAY ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
D. McGowan 9.0 0 3 0 0 0 9 127 1.04
TOTALS 9.0 0 3 0 0 0 9 127

WP: D. McGowan (3-0)
LP: D. Dyre (0-3)

And then Juan Morcillo allows his usual four runs but is saved certain death by my hands because Laynce Nix bails him out with 4 RBI.

In an annoying twist Len Krull is out for 7 days, at the end of the series, with a sore rotator cuff. Not that he was doing so spectatcular, but still, he'll be missed. Cordell Presti gets the replacement job because of his defense (and that it will keep him off 1B), but is moved down to 6th in the order because of his batting. Frederico Ramires moves to the clean up spot.

Milestone: Don't miss this one, James Loney just hit HR #400. Remember, he's only 26. Clint Barmes (Colorado's ROY of 2004 and now ALSO playing for LA) just hit #300, but he's 31 years young, he's also making 17.5M.

April 22nd
At Toronto (6-6) 3rd, 2 back of us.
L8-1, W8-7, L9-2
It's time I went and had a heart-to-heart with my dear manager. To sum up: Bad things happen when MR. UNGER does NOT START!! You half-wit amphibian!

April 25th
At Baltimore (10-7) Tied for 2nd with us.
L12-0, W3-2, L4-2
Dustin McGowan, from no hitter to 10-run bust. Incidentally, the only reason we avoided a no hitter against us there was Laynce 'Saver Of Dying Children' Nix casually bopping a few past the defense.
On another note, 'The Boy Scout' is down in AAA after that last 4-2 loss. 7.77 ERAs just don't cut it around here. In his place is Aaron Erlec, because 1) He's good. 2) I like my long relievers the way they are, down in the 'pen winning games.

April 29th
Vs Boston (11-7) Tied 1st with Baltimore.
L5-1, L6-3, L5-3
It's official, we can't beat Boston. And even the return of Len Krull from injury can't bolster our slumping side. So very promising it was, so very promising.

End of the month
Record: 11-12
3rd in the division and 1 back of the wildcard. Those loses at the end of the month really killed us. Of note is that our team ERA, for the first half of the month hovering around 3.00 is now a full 1 higher at 4.00.

Surprises
...Frederico Ramires is hitting .306 to lead the team. Hasn't had many dingers, but is doing very well.
...J.J. Hardy is going well off the bench at .300 and a .462 OBP.
...Enrico Saavedra is taking a big old bite out of AAA pitching with a .339 average, 5 homers, 21 RBI and a .402 OBP. Best AAA performance I've had in years.
...Andy Freyr is a perfect 3-0 in AAA.
...Zack Abercrombie STILL has yet to record a loss as he's 1-0 down on the farm.

Low-lights
...Pitching has been ridiculously spotty, especially during the second half of the month. Actually, make that everyone but the long-relievers, they're doing fine. But the rest, I see why my team-ERA is so high.
...Edwin Jackson needs singling out for his 7.77 ERA, maybe he needs trading?
...Scott Zimmerman, while playing near perfect D, is only hitting .217.
...Johnny Estrada is even lower at .210.

[Lobsteve]

May 2nd
At Anaheim (9-13) 4th
L12-3, L4-3, L4-2
That would be 7 in a row. Flush.
And I'm a little mad. Just a little.
No, that's not fair. I must be honest with my feelings. I will make a trade and the players will know my anger.

May 3rd, 2011
To Cleveland: Juan Morcillo (SP) and Edwin 'The Boy Scout' Jackson (SP)
To Tampa Bay: Jason 'Not Tiger' Woods (SP)
Please note that I didn't do something stupid, like trade them to a division rival, which I have done in the recent past. Woods has all of one game major league experience, but he's already better than those two scrubs I chucked out into the cold.
Winner: It better be me.

May 6th
At Chicago White Sox (20-5!!!) 1st in baseball.
L2-0, W6-3, L9-1, W3-1
As it turns out, only certain people got the message I was trying to send. Looks like about half of them are still clueless to me, but we'll see how it goes. Woods is currently in the 4th hole in the lineup and promptly lost game 3 of this series allowing 6 runs. Better luck next time.

Milestone: To challenge LA's West-Coast-HR-Dominance Dallas McPherson (of Anaheim) launches #300 at age 30. He's making 27.8M Phew.

May 9th
Vs Kansas City (6-21) 5th
L4-1, W3-2, W5-3
I tried to rush the mound in game 1 to get at Toby Martin, but a security guard didn't think I could survive the fall from the skybox and restrained me.

May 12th
Vs Chicago White Sox (23-9) Still the best.
L5-3, L6-4, W4-2
We should have won game 2, but Oscar Calvo walked up to it and shot it dead by allowing 3 runs to blow his first save of the year.
Toby Martin allowed just 4 hits in our win.

May 16th
At Toronto (19-15) 1st
W4-1, L7-1, W5-1, L2-0
It's weird how we can go around not getting some pitchers run support. Erlec is suffering from this. He's pitched at least two strong games that he should have won if it hadn't been for the hitting, of which game 4 above is one. Great outing from Woods in G3 though, great stuff.

May 20th
At Boston (20-17) 3rd
L3-2, W18-5, W6-1
Usually when we have an 18-5 type of score it's Mr. Unger providing a good chunk of those runs. Not this time. This time It's the Pedro Henriquez show as he goes 4-6 with 7 RBI including a Grand Slam. How do you like that? AND he didn't strike out one...well, that isn't so big...actually, no one from our side got struck out.

May 23rd
Vs Toronto (22-19) Tied 1st with Baltimore.
W4-2, W13-11, W3-1
Let's face it, the Blue Jays deserved this one, the scabby little monkeys. Frustrating me early in April, and here is their come-uppance, just in time. Laynce Nix had the Grand Slam in the second game, and the top of the ninth got a -little- exciting. Here's the recap:

Armando Escuda is in to pitch and immedeately walks Corky Miller.
Joe McEwing singles advancing the runner to 2nd.
Ben Dunckel singles, scoring a run (13-8). Runners on 1st and 2nd.
Alex Prieto grounds out. (1)
Rafael Rhea flies out to left and McEwing goes to third. (2)
Joe Rhodes walks and in comes Oscar Calvo.
Immedeately Justin 'Good Canadian Kid' Morneau singles to left for two runs (13-10). Runner on 1st and 3rd.
Jose Volonte singles in another run (13-11) and still runners on 1st and 3rd.
Nomar 'Like there are two people named Nomar' Garciaparra walks.
Nicholas Scanlon pinch hits for Corky Miller (who you may recall walked to start it all off), and Scanlon strikes out.

Kinda anti-climatic at the end there.

May 27th
Vs Oakland (25-18) 1st
L9-2, L8-4, W11-7
On a complete tangent, why do other teams keep offering me trades that are along the lines of: Please, take my 63peak 1B for your 92peak 2B. That sounds fair. My theory is that the AI only looks at overall. It's just a theory mind you, their scouting is probably wonky anyways. heh.

Milestone: It's the Adam Dunn week as the 31-year-old launches RBI 1000 and HR 400 within two days of each other.

May 30th
Vs Seattle (25-22) 3rd (tough in the west this year!)
L9-8, W11-2, W5-0
Two stellar games from Martin and O'Malley close out the month and put us right at .500 for the year.

End of the Month Hoo-Ha.
May Record: 15-13
The Year: 26-26
We began to pick up our winning ways again as we went 8-5 in the last half of the month.

Who's Batting?
...Laynce Nix is up at .346 with a .439 OBP and 19 RBI.
...Frederico Ramires is adjusting well to the cleanup role as he's hitting .307 with 2 homers and 23 RBI.
...Pedro Henriquez is also doing well at .302 with 5 dingers and a .375 OBP.
...Gene 'Inigo' Montoya is slapping along with a .600 average...ok, ok, ok, he's only had 5 at-bats.
...Enrico Saavedra is still on a tear in AAA with a .335 avg, 10 HR and 41 RBI.

Who's Pitching?
...Toby Martin has his ERA down to 3.09 and leads the way with 67Ks in 87.1 innings.
...Jason 'Not Tiger' Woods has had several stron outings and has an even 2-2 record.
...The Short relief corps has stepped up their game and all are below 3.00 in ERA (Calvo-2.53, Bradley-2.81 and Ackley-2.16).
...Umberto Almagro has amassed a 2-0 record AND snuck in two saves as well. Not bad for long-relief.
...Andy Freyr is 4-0 in AAA with a 2.89 ERA, if he's not careful he may wind up in the Bullpen.
...Zack Abercrombie still has NO LOSES to his credit. He's now 2-0 in AAA.

[Lobsteve]

June 2nd
At Texas (28-22) 2nd
L10-2, W9-7
Some excellent work by my relief corps, yes, the entire corps since half of them came out, in game two there. After 'Not Tiger' allowed 5 runs in 5 innings Ackley, Bradley and Calvo (the ABC of relief) pitched an inning and a bit each to shut down the Rangers.
Frederico Ramires has really been behind the offence in the past few games and is become the next star on the team.

June 6th
At Kansas City (20-31) 5th
L5-0, W7-4, W11-1
That first game would have been respectable if Toby Martin hadn't let that grand slam sneak through there in the 6th. Disgusting. Jose Reyes tied the score for us though as he lofted a G-S himself in game three.

June 5th - Trade
To Pittsburgh: Jim Ulrik (CF), John Johnson (RP), Frank Clifford (RP) and Alejandro Machado (SS)
To Chicago Cubs: Ross Ramus (RP) and Jason Simontacchi (SP)
Summary: I think the Pirates got ripped off. Ramus is more of a pitcher than both of the relievers they got in return. Heck, he's probably even more of a CF and SS than those guys they go.
Winner: Cubbies.

June 10th
Vs San Francisco (28-28) 3rd
L10-3, W5-4, W7-3
In game two the ABCs of pitching became the CBA as they appear in reverse order to win it it 13. We really didn't deserve it mind you since San Fran kept getting the lead by a run or two and then we'd sneak it back, and eventually Layncelot saved our bacon by singling through the hole for the winning run.

June 7th - Big Trade
To Chicago Cubs: Benhi Trevor (SP), Bernie Chavez (SP) and Dave Krynzel (CF)
To Milwaukee: Ben Oukherman (3B), Jason Simontacchi (SP), Yorvit Torrealba (C), Freddy Soltanovich (CF) and John McDonald (SS)
Summary: The Cubs are at it again! And this time it's really very fair. It's a Trevor and Krynzel for Soltanovich and Oukherman with a couple others thrown in for flavour. And that's a fair trade. Trevor and Oukherman are young prospects with a mid-80s peak. While Krynzel and Soltanovich have peaked out around late-80s, early-90s and are about ready to come into their own.
Winner: It's a tie!

June 13th
Vs Los Angeles (30-27) 2nd
W14-1, L6-5, L7-4
Hey! We usually win those ~14 inning games! What happened! Other than it being a total ****-shoot when it gets that late mind you.
Game one was great though, 7 runs in both the 2nd and 4th. That'll break your oponent any day of the week, but not the next one.

June 17th
At Colorado (28-34) 4th
L5-4, L9-4, L8-6
Wait, just a sec, I'm getting a message from the locker-room. The players don't like playing in Colorado. Hmmm, that SEEMS OBVIOUS! *!!#$! We'll see if that dislike extends to all NL parks in just a moment.

June 20th
At San Diego (29-38) 5th
L9-6, W10-1, L7-5
Yup, that would be all NL parks. &%(^@#%!
WEIRD stuff in game 2. I forgot that Toby Martin had picked up an injury and was out for 10 days or something. I had meant to swap in David 'Perfect Game' Halick, but it slipped my mind. Now, I have to perfectly good starters in the bullpen, but who fills in for Martin? OSCAR-FROGGIN-CALVO! He pitches one inning and is pulled. What is this? The All-Star Game? And then it's like they worked down the bullpen because those long-relievers showed up in the last 4 innings?!?! Oi. Oi oi oi.
Mr. Unger did cash in a grand slam though. There is good everyone.

It might as well be July, by the way, because the trades continue:
June 19th
To Philadelphia: Jose Ciocca (RP), Marcus Shearer (2B) and David Ingram (CF)
To Florida: Orlando Ogarrio (1B)
Summary: So, my gregarious NL cousins want a first-baseman do they? And a half-decent first baseman at that...a half-decent backup! Er. Really it's not much of a trade. Ogarrio was bench warming in Philly anyways, so shipin ghim out makes little difference to them. Though they could have tried to pick up a somewhat good player I would have thought, instead they get very little.
Winner: Florida.

June 24th
Vs Detroit (37-31) 2nd
L5-2, W7-1, W8-7
Let's repeat that again for those managers in the back who didn't hear it: BAD THINGS happen when you DON'T START MR. UNGER! And hence that loss. Sure, it could have been a sentimental move to see Cordell Presti start against his older brother Ross, but to lose the game because of it. *gros soupir*.

June 27th
Vs New York Mets (36-35) 2nd
L14-4, W4-2, W3-1
Uh, David Hallick had a bad night and immedeately flew to the Bahamas for four days to have his elbow looked at...riiiiight. I'd run too after a start like that.
And then, to round it all off, McGowan pitches a 3-hitter. Why can't everyone else do that?
Speaking of trips to the Bahamas, Laynce Nix is out for 7 days. Gene 'Inigo' Montoya is rewarded for playing well off the bench with 6 starts.

July 1st
At Baltimore (40-34) 1st, 3.5 ahead of us.
W2-0, L1-0, L7-6
That was highly annoying. But in the end we're still close enough to rip them up....somehow. Great show by Jason 'I'm not Tiger, really' Woods in our win. But a poor effort by Toby Martin in his return as he allows the game tying Grand Slam that sends us to extra innings where we lose.

All About A Month
June Record: 12-13 A losing month?!?!
Overall: 38-40
Well, we're tied for second with Boston, 4.5 back of the Orioles, and an even 4 back of the wildcard spot which is currently led by Seattle (42-36). We have alot of ground to make up.

BotM: That Batter Of The Month, in case you wanted to know. And it goes to Frederico Ramires who leads all hitters with a .319 average. He only has 35 RBI though which is a little annoying compared to my top three, but they are the top three for a reason.

PotM: Oscar Calvo, after a slow start to the year, makes a return to his previous form, lowering his ERA to a measely 1.72. He's racked up 11 saves as well. Good enough.

AAA Stars
...Enrico Saavedra continues his tear and with a .324 average will, hopefully, be the first AAA prospect of mine to hit above .300 in the past few years.
...Chris Curtis is now 11-4 with a 3.51 ERA. Pretty good.
...Andy Freyr is garnering alot of attention from teams with trades on the brain. His 2.69 ERA and 6-1 record are very tempting.
...The Zack Abercrombie story continues. He's now 3-0 this year in AAA and show no sign of letting up. His .206 OBA may have something to do with it.

And a last trade in June:
June 30th
To Toronto: Julio Tortosa (2B)
To Milwaukee: Norman Richardson (2B) and Alan Wismer (SP)
Summary: The Jays and Brewers swap mediocre second-baggers. No one notices, or really cares.
Winner: My typing.

[Lobsteve]

July 4th
At Montreal (29-49) 5th. Dead last everywhere.
L4-0, L2-1, W5-2
You would have thought surely, surely we could beat the Expos. HA! Our NL-park curse seems to be continuing in a colassal manner. Maybe more chunks of Olympic Stadium were falling.

July 8th
Vs Oakland (43-37) 2nd.
W6-5, W6-0, L6-2
Man, Neil O'Malley is really stinking it up recently, I can't remember the last time he had a good outing, maybe it was just his first one in April. I tried to deal him but no one wants a guy with a $7M contract, which seems a bit hypocritical. He may snap out of it though, he does have a good ERA (3.60) and should probably be doing better.

July 11th
Vs Anaheim (42-41) 4th. Notice how everyone in the west is +.500?
L6-4, L6-5, W6-3
I posted the following notice in the locker room after this series: Maybe you bunch of slack-jawed yokels would actually try to play against the teams you should beat? Please observe the electro-shock instructions attached to your lockers and try to snap yourselves back into coherent baseball players.

July 12th
A Derby Of Unethical Proportions
And I don't know why.

Yes, it's the All-Star Break. This year brought to you by my Left Index Finger (tm).

As usual Dallas McPherson makes an appearance and Anaheim's superstar makes no mistake in getting on to the second round.
Round 1 Winners
Jerry Wills (Arz) - 6
Chris Snelling (ChW) - 5
Dallas McPherson (Ana) - 5
Darnell McDonald (Hou) - 5

Then it's a 6-5-4-3 affair with Snelling taking the win and McPherson joining him in the finals.

And in those very same finals, Dallas McPherson, who was only a run behind Snelling in round two, manages to stick to consistency and finish secodn with 1 HR to Snelling's 2. Overall it was Snelling with 13 and McPherson with 11.

July 13th
I'll Have a Side-Order of Superstars.

In grand tradition no one would ever think of playing a Tampa player in an All-Star game as the AL went on to win 10-8 in an almost exciting game. I say almost because Eric Gagne got the win. Please 'mark out' as you see fit.

But it hurts when you have three players at the game (John Wold, Toby Martin and Oscar Calvo) and not one of them gets a single second of work.

Wait. Just wait. I'm lying to my glorious public. Toby Martin did get an inning. He held the fort for Mr. Gagne in the bottom of the ninth, throwing all of 11 pitches and retiring the side in an uneventful manner.

Edit
Hmmm, How did I miss this? Martin picked up the first (and likely only) save of his career by closing it out. There's a puzzler.
/Edit

July 18th
At Texas (47-40) 1st
L4-3, L7-0, W10-6, L5-4
One glimmer of hope to start the second half, but otherwise the clouds are almost entirely without any silver lining of any sort.

July 20th
At Seattle (49-42) 2nd
L5-0, W9-2
Back and forth, and back and forth. Grand Slam from Reyes in the top of the third in game two. And then Toby Martin mopped up the rest.

July 22nd
Vs New York Yankees (43-50) 4th
L7-6, W11-1
And forth and back, and forth and back.
Seems to be the story of the month so far, we just can't seem to gain any ground anywhere, anyhow, on anywho.

July 25th
Vs Baltimore (57-38) 1st, 12 ahead of us.
W4-3, L7-3, L5-3
A good showing in the first game obviously led to far too much complacence for the rest of the series. Yes, we certainly wouldn't want to get too overconfident in our ability to stink up the joint.

July 28th
At New York Yankees (47-51) 3rd
W8-3, W8-5, W7-4
Let me describe the process of this sweep. 1. Wold. 2. Krull. 3. A deadly trio of Reyes, Nix and Unger. It's very simple really, which doesn't explain why we can't manage it more often.
PS: Dear Yankees, leave 3rd alone, it's mine.

August 1st
At Detroit (47-54) 3rd
W10-2, W14-1, L7-6
The bats went a little crazy. Just a little. For two straight nights everyone had at least one hit. And even in the loss it was a close thing. All this results in one bit of news: We're only 3.5 back of the wildcard spot.

Summer's Over
July's Record: 13-13 Barely back to .500
Overall Record: 51-53, 2nd in the division, and, as I mentioned, 3.5 back of Anaheim for the wildcard spot. I just have to beat the entire West division (Oakland is 1.5 back and Seattle just 2) to get to the playoffs.

Player of the Summer: Laynce Nix has been in and out of the top-10 in average as our best hitter. Currently at a cool .331 he is a linch-pin in the roster. Well done Laynce. The check is in the mail.

Pitcher of July: Dear Pitching Staff of the Devil Rays: Shape up or you don't eat. Signed: Management.

AAA Report
...Enrico Saavedra continues his streak of being mentioned in the AAA standouts with a .323 avg and 86 RBI. 20 HRs help as well.
...Zack Abercrombie remains undefeated, notching another win in July to go to 4-0. The legend continues.

[Lobsteve]

The Amazing Trade Show
Hosted By the Expos

July 8th
To New York Mets: Phil Valle (SP), Lukas Pontaut (CF), Carlos Marquina (2B), Jerry Reuter (SP) and Jose Losada (C)
To Montreal: Kerry Thompson (SS), Tike Redman (RF) and Otis Stauffer (LF)
Summary: That's actually a pretty good move by Montreal. Thompson and Redman are likely pretty good coming off the bench, and they ditch a whole whack of people glogging up their AAA system. Why the Mets want any of them is beyond me as well.
Winner: By about 4 players to 2...whatever that means, the Expos.

July 28th
To Montreal: Daniel Cabrera (RP), Elvis Crawford (C), John Denning (RP), Danny Kolb (RP), Andy Pettitte (SP), Nicholas Hammond (3B), Miguel Barreiro (RF), Raul Ibanez (LF), Carlos Cistaro (SS) and Otis Murray (1B)
To Baltimore: Reginald Levin (SP) and Maury Devereaux (3B)
Summary: Wow, who's in charge over there in Montreal, because they really have no clue. The biggest trade yet, 10 players (of which there are two pretty good ones in Crawford and Denning) for 2. But Baltimore gets what they want, a STELLAR Starter in Reginald Levin. Like they needed anymore help in the form of a player peaked out at 91. Grrrr.
Winner: Montreal has one good trade then they go and blow it. Baltimore gets the best of this one.

July 30th
To Colorado: Andy Wilde (SP), Osborne Quinn (C), Bobby Shilzony (RF), Bobby Privitelli (SP) and Trevor Hopkins (RP)
To Boston: Niel Alexander (C) and Walter Paddock (RF)
Summary: You just have to facepalm a little when you get to the bottom of this one. Walter Paddock is just disgustingly good (93oa). And Colorado lets him go. Just lets him slip through their fingers while he has another year and a bit left on his contract. The kid could have been a contender.
Winner: Boston.

July 31st
To San Francisco: Elvis Crawford (C)
To Montreal: Alan Toles (RP), Ed Zahler (SP) and Agustin Borja (2B)
Summary: A last move by this years Big Trade Show Hosts. Seems silly to me to give up Elvis seeing as how he's a fantastic catcher. I hope they got something good in return....Toles? Nope. Zahler? Nope. Borja? Well...Maybe. He has to develop a little more first. Personally I would have kept E.C. and carried on.
Winner: The Giants stick it to our hosts.

July 31st
To Anaheim: Scott Kazmir (P)
To St. Louis: Mike Lamb (SS), Perry McNabb (2B) and Rudy Schenker (RP)
Summary: I personally hope that this move will skuttle the Angels and make them catcheable when I want to take the wild-card spot.
Ooo, they god rid of Schenker, he was a pretty good reliever, that's a good start. McNabb and Lamb are alright off the bench as well, making yourselves weaker Anaheim. I can taste it...Oh, whoops, Kazmir is as good as Schenker right now, and will likely be better next year. I guess all I can hope is that they stick him in the minors for now.
Winner: Anaheim for the future possibilities.

[Lobsteve]

A bit of change to my style of writing as an experiment for these last couple of month. I'll post the results, and then have a month-end summary rather than a running one. Just thought I'd give something different a try.

August 4th
At Boston (45-60) 5th
W4-1, L8-0, W5-3
3 back of Anaheim.

August 8th
At Minnesota (51-56) 2nd
W2-1, W7-6, L13-10
1.5 back of Anaheim.

August 12th
Vs Boston (48-64) 5th
L4-3, L2-1, W2-1, L7-2
3 back of Anaheim.

August 15
Vs Cleveland (52-61) 3rd
L7-5, W4-0, W8-7
4 back of Oakland.

August 18th
Vs Toronto (58-60) 3rd
L4-2, L5-4, L7-1
5 back of Oakland.

August 22nd
At Cleveland (54-64) 4th
L4-3, W3-2, W12-3
4 back of Oakland.

August 25th
At Toronto (62-62) 2nd
W4-3, W5-2, W5-0
Toby Martin, 1-hit, complete-game shutout. 4 strikeouts.
3 back of Oakland.

Milestone!: Dave Thompson of Seattle pitches a perfect game. Drafted by Seattle in '07 he's 12-11 on the year with a 4.59 ERA.

August 29th
Vs Minnesota (58-68) 3rd
W7-1, L6-3, L7-3, W5-3
6 back of Oakland.

End of August
August Record: 14-14
Overall Record: 65-66

The Team: We're 6 out of the wildcard, the entire western division still ahead of us. Oh, and forget about us winning the east, Baltimore is 15.5 games ahead and could very well clinch tomorrow barring some untold disaster of epic proportions.

The Batter: Laynce Nix is just on another planet compared to the rest of the team. The only guy solidly over .300 at .313 he's certainly good protection for everyone around him. MVP.

The Pitchers: The pitchers almost don't deserve mentioning to be entirely honest. But I will anyways. Neil O'Malley has 14 wins now (14-11) which is tied for 4th in baseball. Both he and Toby Martin are in the top-10 for ERA as well which is very impressive.

The Young-uns.
...Enrico Saavedra continues to merrily roll along and crossed the 100 RBI mark this month. He's currently hitting .324 with 22 dingers.
...Ivan Pulanco is quietly hitting .283 and has a whopping 87 RBI. That's pretty good for someone who I haven't noticed yet.
...The Legend is over. Zack Abercrombie's 'I will never record a loss' streak is over at 15. He's now 4-1 on the year.

September 3rd
Vs Texas (72-58) 1st
L4-2, W8-5, W3-0
6 back of Texas.

September 5th
Vs Anaheim (71-61) 3rd
W5-1, W8-0, W6-2
Aaron Erlec gets the complete-game shutout.
4 back of Oakland.

Spetember 8th
At Oakland (74-62) 2nd
L3-0, W8-6, L4-3
Sorry, I thought about the streak.
5 back of Oakland.

September 12th
At Seattle (75-63) 3rd
L10-9, W4-2, W8-6, W11-8
Laynce Nix is done for the season with a bad back. Cordell Presti in to replace him. Various lineup shuffling to hide Presti's bad bat.
4.5 back of Oakland.

September 16th
Vs Boston (64-80) 5th
W5-4, W4-3, W6-5
16 inning marathon to win game 3. Mr. Unger with the RBI single to win.
3 back of Oakland.

September 19th
At Baltimore (91-56) 2nd only to LA.
W7-3, L3-2, L10-0
Jose Reyes with the game 1 grand-slam.
4 back of Texas.

September 23rd
Vs New York Yankees (70-78) 4th
W2-1, W9-0, W2-1, W7-1
G2: John Wold is 4-4 with 2 HR and 3 RBI.
G2: The Toby Martin Special, 9 innings, 4-hits, no runs.
G3: Neil O'Malley, complete-game.
G4: Dustin McGowan, complete-game.
2.5 back of Texas.

September 26th
Vs Baltimore (93-60) 1st. 5 back of LA.
L6-5, W5-4, W9-5
John Wold with a 3-4, 3-run homer effort in game 3.
With that one win, Baltimore clinched.
1.5 back of Oakland.

September 29th
At Boston (66-90) 5th
L2-1, W4-3, W5-4
1.5 back of Texas or Oakland, they're tied.

October 3rd - Where fate is determined.
At New York Yankees (75-83) 4th
L2-1, still a faint hope.
L6-4, and we're done, two back and one to play. The Yankees have successfully played spoiler and earned my wrath.
W5-3, too little, too late.

The Season Roundup
September and October: 22-9 Our best close to a season ever. And man was it tense. I almost considered 'save-scumming' until I made it, but that would have left me feeling cheated. What an emotional thrill-ride a run for the playoffs is.

Overall Record: 87-75, only one game worse than our 2008 Wild-Card year. If we hadn't had those slumps in the middle...well, what might have been.

Pythagoras says?: For those who believe... .549 and we finished at .537. .549 would have got us to the playoffs as well. Curse you mathematics, why must you keep ruining my life!

Tampa's MVP: In a year where most of my 'stars' were sub-par, one man rose above the rest to lead the way, Laynce Nix (and his .308 average, 21 homers, 3 steals, 85 RBI and .395 OBP) we salute you.

Tampa's Cy: The Cy is a tie this year. Toby Martin, Neil O'Malley and Dustin McGowan all deserve it for cracking the top-10 in wins (16-17-16 respectively). That's a top three you can be proud of.

But the news always gets worse
Along with the midseason slump on the field the box-office also took a hit and we are now in the hole to the tune of $24,000. We're in good company though, half the league is broke.

It's Playoff Time In The City.

AL Wild Card Showdown
Anaheim and Texas are tied for the wild-card at 88-74, and it's the usual one-and-done to see who'll carry on.

October 4th: Anaheim 7-5 Texas. Not even close. Anaheim belted out 6 in the bottom of the 4th to snatch the lead and they never looked back.

Divisional Series

The Baltimore Orioles (97-65) vs The Anaheim Angels (89-74)
Prediction: Baltimore in 4.
Results
Game 1: Baltimore 4-3 Anaheim
Game 2: Baltimore 13-3 Anaheim
Game 3: Anaheim 2-1 Baltimore
Game 4: Anaheim 11-12 Baltimore
Game 5: Baltimroe 4-1 Anaheim
The Orioles win 3-2

The Chicago White Sox (96-66) vs The Oakland Athletics (90-72)
Prediction: The battle-hardened As in 5.
Results
Game 1: Chicago 4-7 Oakland
Game 2: Chicago 0-4 Oakland
Game 3: Oakland 3-8 Chicago
Game 4: Oakland 7-2 Chicago
The Athletics win 3-1

The Atlanta Braves (92-70) vs the Los Angeles Dodgers (96-66)
Prediction: LA to sweep.
Results
Game 1: Atlanta 1-13 Los Angeles
Game 2: Atlanta 0-8 Los Angeles
Game 3: Los Angeles 0-5 Atlanta
Game 4: Los Angeles 7-5 Atlanta
The Dodgers win 3-1

The Arizona Diamondbacks (104-58) vs The Milwaukee Brewers (89-73)
Prediction: Arizona to sweep.
Results
Game 1: Arizona 20-6 Milwaukee <-!!!! Up 10-6 going into the bottom of the 8th the Diamondbacks calmly rattle off 10 runs.
Game 2: Arizona 9-6 Milwaukee
Game 3: Milwaukee 1-9 Arizona
Arizona Sweeps! And I'm right for once!

League Championships

The Baltimore Orioles vs The Oakland Athletics
Predicion: Who do I hate more? Hmmmm, how about Baltimore. So, Oakland in 6.
Results
Game 1: Baltimore 8-11 Oakland
Game 2: Baltimore 6-9 Oakland
Game 3: Oakland 3-2 Baltimore
Game 4: Oakland 4-11 Baltimore
Game 5: Oakland 4-6 Baltimore
Game 6: Baltimore 1-5 Oakland
The Athletics win, as predicted, 4-2.

The Los Angeles Dodgers vs the Arizona Diamondbacks
Prediction: In a series for the ages, Arizona in 7.
Results
Game 1: Arizona 9-15 Los Angeles
Game 2: Arizona 5-4 Los Angels
Game 3: Los Angeles 1-7 Arizona
Game 4: Los Angeles 6-0 Arizona
Game 5: Los Angeles 3-9 Arizona
Game 6: Arizona 14-1 Los Angeles
The Diamondbacks win 4-2 in an incredible series.

The World Series Of Baseball!

The Oakland Athletics Vs. The Arizona Diamondbacks

Prediction: Anybody's series come the 7th game.

Results

Game 1
Arizona 3-4 Oakland
Oakland scores 4 in the first three innings and Arizona can't come back agains the pitching of Waldo Dimmick, though they make it close by scoring 2 in the bottom of the 8th.
Oakland leads 1-0

Game 2
Arizona 4-5 Oakland
Again Oakland went up early with a 3-0 lead after the 4th. Arizona came back with a lazy 4 in the 6th, but Oakland finally puts sealed on this one with a couple of RBI singles to start the 8th.
Oakland leads 2-0

Game 3
Oakland 1-4 Arizona
Tied 2-2 after nine it goes one inning longer until Arizona crafts 3 runs in the top of the 10th as they load the bases and then get a 2-run single.
Oakland leads 2-1

Game 4
Oakland 9-4 Arizona
The As got to the D-back pitching early on and didn't let up the pressure. It looked like it might be close when the Oakland 'pen let 3 cross the plate in the last two innings, but all was well in the end.
Oakland leads 3-1

Game 5
Oakland 6-3 Arizona
Fours runs in the bottom of the 8th seal this one for the Athletics. First they loaded the bases, then the Arizona pitcher walked in TWO runs (which effectively lost them the series right there) and a 2-run single sealed the deal.
Oakland Wins! Oakland Wins!

PS: The series between the D-Backs and Dodgers was better.

[Lobsteve]

Almost Forgot Categories

AL Leaders
Avg: Todd Heltom (Det,1B) - .342
HR: Tie - Dallas McPherson (ANA,3B) and Sid Beebe (ChW,LF) - 52
RBI: Toby Hayes (ChW,C) - 161
SB: Eric Mackins (Min,2B) - 50
ERA: Toby Martin (TB) - 3.22
W: Waldo Dimmick (Oak) - 21
K: Rob Simms (NYY) - 267
SV: Wil Bailey (Oak) - 45

NL Leaders
Avg: Alex Romero (Col,CF) - .338
HR: Alex Romero (Col,CF) - 56
RBI: Dennis Morlaes (LA,2B) - 153
SB: Sergio Santos (Arz,SS) - 44
ERA: Vince Hughes (Atl) - 3.06
W: Joe Boston (Arz) - 21
K: Scott Dare (Fla) - 305
SV: Joseph McGill (Cin) - 40

But we didn't even chant!

The awards are out and...well you'd better just see it right from the press:

AMERICAN LEAGUE (2011)

Cy Young: Toby Martin (TB)
Player of the Year: Anderson Machado (OAK)
Rookie Of The Year: Darryl Steinmentz (ANA)

Gold Glove (P): Fred Duvall (MIN)
Gold Glove (C): Joe Mauer (MIN)
Gold Glove (1B): Todd Helton (DET)
Gold Glove (2B): Len Boury (CLE)
Gold Glove (3B): Barry Hammack (KC)
Gold Glove (SS): Jose Reyes (TB)
Gold Glove (LF): Miguel Cabrera (MIN)
Gold Glove (CF): John Wold (TB)
Gold Glove (RF): Cody Ross (TEX)

NATIONAL LEAGUE (2011)

Cy Young: Jose Alonzo (PHI)
Player of the Year: Dennis Morlaes (LA)
Rookie Of The Year: Marcus Pearl (MON)

Gold Glove (P): Gil Turner (MIL)
Gold Glove (C): Luis Albo (CIN)
Gold Glove (1B): Casey Kotchman (MON)
Gold Glove (2B): Dennis Morlaes (LA)
Gold Glove (3B): Pete Jensen (SD)
Gold Glove (SS): Kelly Johnson (CIN)
Gold Glove (LF): Len Cheeseman (NYM)
Gold Glove (CF): Rocco Baldelli (ARZ)
Gold Glove (RF): Tony Heaney (COL)

You didn't miss that did you? A Cy Young and 2 gold gloves? Man, maybe going into dept was worth it!
Toby Martin (who we couldn't resign, curses and is now with San Diego for 12.7M) had a 3.22 ERA a 16-9 record, 10 CG, 4 ShO, a .207 OBA and struck out 189 in 246 innings. That and he picked up the save at the ALl-Star game. I think I mihgt miss him.

Jose Reyes had only 5 errors last year, his best showing ever. That's a .994 fielding % and his 292 put-outs and 65 double-plays only help. He also managed 3.52 assists/game.

John Wold was on a different planet. He played in 154 games and had only 2 errors all year. 9 assists and 2 double-plays from center are fairly standard but he also amassed 373 put-outs. ROY last year, All-Star and Gold Glove this year.

The Other White-Draft

As usual the AA stats are as follows: for batters: Avg, HR, RBI. And for Pitchers: Record, ERA, OBA

1: Fla - Rich Lindquist (SP)
OA: 83 P: 94 (24: 9-7, 2.79, .177)
I think it's necessary to note that this guy is by no means the best player in the draft. Florida is nuts.

2: KC - Luis Mauri (SS)
OA: 60 P: 95 (24: .252, 13, 60)
Random Comment: Howzat?

3: Pit - Geronimo Macias (SP)
OA: 79 P: 90 (21: 8-2, 3.25, .221)

4: Det - Nicolas McCloskey (SP)
OA: 79 P: 92 (23: 7-0, 3.63, .241)

5: Bos - Bruce 'Double-B' Bennett (SP)
OA: 79 P: 92 (26: 17-4, 3.47, .232)

6: SD - Adrian Viray (SP)
OA: 79 P: 91 (22: 12-1, 3.37, .244)

7: Mon - Sean Wilson (RP)
OA: 79 P: 89 (23: 4-0, 1.62, .160)

8: Min - Nick Soltanovich (SP)
OA: 78 P: 88 (22: 8-7, 3.27, .234)

9: Hou - Jerry Wolfe (3B)
OA: 66 P: 89 (25: .253, 7, 32)

10: Phi - Nathaniel Stevens (RP)
OA: 78 P: 89 (22: 4-0, 2.02, .175)

My Picks

19: TB - Harvey Carey (CF)
OA: 77 P: 93 (25: .318, 3, 35)
I made this fellow my first pick mainly as a replacement for the debt-loss of Len Krull. Of course he probably can't fill in immedeately, but whatever, it's still a good move. Also, he has the best average of any top-20 draftee.
Contact: 86
Power: 79
Speed: 77
Eye: 79
Fielding: 74
Future Role: Starting CF.

49: TB - Phil Isnard (SP)
OA: 71 P: 81 (25: 10-1, 3.77, .272)
What? You don't like the name Phil Isnard? You don't think it conveys a certain je-ne-sai-quoi? Hmmm, that's strange.
Endurance: 89
Control: 86
Power: 66
Movement: 79
Defense: 78
Future Role: 4th in the rotation.

79: TB - Lucas 'Crocodile' Dundee (CF)
OA: 58 P: 86 (23: .258, 6, 48)
Ok, ok, ok. I admit that I couldn't resist the name 'Dundee'. Some things are worth more than stellar talent.
Contact: 64
Power: 67
Speed: 79
Eye: 72
Fielding: 66
Future Role: Kicking up the lizard-skin boots on the bench.

109: TB - John Young (CF)
OA: 63 P: 74 (23: .332, 1, 24)
What is it with me and center-fielders? I think I must have just been picking whatever was best left, because, though better than 'crocodile' this guy is nothing really special other than a whole lot of speed. Actually, I take that back, I've kinda excited about a guy who could actually steal a bunch of bases.
Contact: 78
Power: 60
Speed: 95
Eye: 96
Fielding: 69
Future Role: Leadoff DH?

139: TB - Pablo Matutes (SP)
OA: 63 P: 73 (20: 9-5, 4.58, .261)
Do I really need to explain why I randomly selected a pitcher in the 5th round? Man these late rounds are sad.
Endurance: 77
Control: 79
Power: 66
Movement: 74
Defense: 58
Future Role: Being paid by someone else.

169: TB - Zack Ruhnke (SS)
OA: 50 P: 79 (23: .227, 5, 35)
I'm genuinely unimpressed. He did have a good year back in 2008, but that was a long time ago. Trade!
Contact: 62
Power: 66
Speed: 81
Eye: 73
Fielding: 72
Future Role: Practicaly gone already.

Trade-Tastic
Barely a second later....

January 17
To Atlanta: Pablo Matutes (SP), John Young (CF) and J.J. Hardy (SS)
To Tampa Bay: Jaime Hoyos (SP) and One Million Dollars.
Summary: Of course, when I say a second I mean about half an hour of finnicking with various deals. And man did I pull a dandy. So long late-rounders (though why I held on to Ruhnke I'm not sure, must have been a brain----), adieu Mr. Hardy, even though you played pretty well even a $.6M salary is too much for my ever so light coffers. Those same coffers made it back onto the right side of the ledger as well thanks to this trade, nice to have a few extra bucks around so that I won't go into dept until the second week of the season. OH! And this Hoyos guy, get an eye-full: Drafted 56th overall this year (26th pick of round two) he really is very talented at 72oa/81p.
Endurance: 106
Control: 89
Power: 71
Movement: 94
Future Role: Probably a #3 starter.

Where Are They Now
Last year I had to release three players who I really intended to keep. So where did they go? Let's see.

Toby Martin: Now in San Diego for 12.7M a year he had a 2-0 spring training with a 3.67 ERA. He's also the only player with the last name 'Martin'. Now -that's- a big deal.

Len Krull: A hundred-and-five curses. Lenny is in Florida of all places, making 8.8M a season. He hit .310 in the spring this year with a mere 3 dingers in 18 games. But why Florida of all places? Amazingly, he's the only player named 'krull', but there are 4 other Lens out there.

Armando Escuda: Hmmm, he's still a free-agent. And only wants $.62 a year. A solid spring, 1-0, 1.80 ERA and .118 OBA. I wonder if it's worth picking him up again now that I'm solvent.
Nah.

Opening Day Lineups

Starting Lineup (Avg, HR, RBI)
1. Jose Reyes (SS) .356, 2, 12
2. Laynce Nix (LF) .345, 3, 11
3. Mr. Unger (1B) .367, 2, 15
4. Frederico Ramires (2B) .310, 2, 12
5. Pedro Henriquez (DH) .321, 3, 18
6. John Wold (CF) .330, 1, 15
7. Chad Bowers (RF) .312, 2, 15
8. Johnny Estrada (C) .294, 1, 8
9. Scott Zimmerman (3B) .284, 0, 11

Batting Thoughts: Uh, best 1-through-7 in baseball....until opening day that is. I think the Zim and Johnny E are getting a little long in the tooth though. It might be time to let them go and let some others fill their spaces.

The Bench
Gene 'Inigo' Montoya (CF) .277, 0, 9
Gavin Thomas (2B) .273, 1, 10
Cordell Presti (OF) .278, 2, 15
Enrico Saavedra (2B) .322, 2, 14
Nick Leominster (C) .304, 0, 8

Starting Rotation (Record, ERA, OBA)
1. Neil O'Malley (1-0, 2.70, .118)
2. Dustin McGowan (3-1, 4.26, .179)
3. David Halick (1-1, 5.34, .244)
4. Jaime Hoyos (1-0, 3.71, .227)
5. Maury Carlson (1-2, 7.33, .314)

Starting Thoughts: Halick and Carlson really have to prove themselves. I've got all sorts (ok, just a couple) of kids just itching to take those spots.

The Bullpen (Record, ERA, Saves/Blown)
CL: Oscar Calvo (0-1, 3.10, 0/0)
ST: Adam Bradley (0-1, 7.45, 1/0)
SH: Chack Ackley (1-0, 4.43, 0/0)
MD: Andy Freyr (0-0, 9.00, 0/0)
LG: Jason 'I'm not Tiger' Woods (2-0, 4.13, 0/0)
AT: Chris Curtis (2-0, 4.03, 0/0)

[Lobsteve]

The Kids Down On The Farm
Pitchers

...Umberto Almagro had a great spring caping it with a 3-0 record and 2.66 ERA.
Will he get to play?: Probably. He's the next guy to get a chance at starting.

...Zack Abercrombie ended his undefeated streak at 14 last year, but he's back again this spring with a 0-0 record and 2.79 ERA.
Will he play?: Probably given how sucky the short relief looked in the spring.

...Phil 'You Don't Like My Name?' Isnard. With a newly acquired nickname Phil was off to a torrent of starts in the spring, 3-0, 3.72 ERA and 20 Ks in 29 innings. The only reason he isn't the first in line for a starting spot is that he's just out of AA.

...Aaron Erlec probably deserves to play, but didn't have the showing last year, or this spring (0-1, 7.15 ERA) to deserve it. He'll have to wait until the more talented players get their shot.

People Not Batting .300
Also known as everyone in AAA...

...Jose Roca (CF) Still needs a few years (62oa/85p)

...Ivan Pulanco (2B) Didn't live up to his AA numbers last year. (69oa/93p)

...Wesley Murphy (C) Wasn't he supposed to be alot better than this? (69oa/79p)

...Harvey Carey (CF) WAIT! There's someone over .300 in the spring. Tsk, that wasn't suppose to happen Young Master Carey. .356 is for the big boys. (77oa/93p)

...Lucas 'Crocodile' Dundee (CF) This was expected. He doesn't really have anything going for him except the name, plus he keeps wandering around the dugout saying 'That ain't a bat. -This- is a bat.' It's just disturbing. (58oa/86p)

...Zack Ruhnke (SS) Remind me again why I kept this guy? (50oa/79p)

It Begins, 2012
My Final Season With The Rays

April 8th
Vs New York Yankees (Unsurprisingly 0-0)
L5-3, W4-1, W3-0, L4-2
That first game was a real kick in the teeth I have to say. O'Malley nees to carry the staff this year and immedeately goes out and allows 5 runs in 5 innings. Not a good start.

April 11th
At Boston (1-1) Tied for 3rd
W3-2, W7-4, L3-1
And already tragedy strikes, Neil O'Malley is out for 6 days with a blister. Ok, he'll only miss one start, and it hardly qualifies as a tragedy, but melodrama never hurt anyone. So Almagro is in for one start and we'll see how he does.

April 15th
At New York Yankkes (5-2) 1st
W9-6, W7-5, W3-2
After that close series with the Yankees we are a game ahead in the East. Who'd 'a thunk it? Really close games though. Game 1 we win with a RBI single by Pedro Henriquez (his 4th RBI on the night) in the top of the ninth. Game two it's the top of the ninth again when everything falls apart for the Yankees as everything goes right in a nice exibition of 'small-ball'. And then in the third game we actually put up our 3 in the first few innings and rode it out, though Calvo let in 1 in the ninth to make it scary.

April 18th
At Toronto (4-5) Tied for 4th, 2.5 back.
W13-5, L2-1, W8-3
It's a run-fest. Well, if you ignore that middle game of course. An oodle of runs scored by the middle three in the lineup, Unger, Ramires and Hendriquez. Ramires, by the by, is 8th in baseball with a .412 average. How about that?

April 22nd
Vs Boston (6-6) 3rd
L4-3, L4-2, W4-1
After a two week road trip, after turning the corner and sticking it to all the teams we could, especially those in our division, we come back home and...lose. Could we maybe show our fans a little love? They're the ones coughing up the $20 to get in to see us win. And we lose. If it weren't for that last game heads would likely have roled.
All the same, we contrive to remain .5 games ahead in the east.
Also, Dustin McGowan is out for 5 days, so Umberto Almagro is up for another start.

April 25th
Vs Toronto (5-10) 5th. 4.5 back.
W6-3, W3-2, W2-0
There we go. Please the populace you tired lackeys.
Almagro has a great 6-3 win, much better than his last outing and showing much promise. He'd probably be starting full-time now if it weren't for the good seasons that seem to be abound this year.
Jaime Hoyos gets mentioned on late-night sports-shows all over the place as he throws a 4-hit shutout. Very nice. 5 strikeouts as well.

Milestone of ANNOYANCE: And across the state, Len Krull just hit for the cycle with the Marlins.

April 29th
Vs Anaheim (10-9) 3-way tie for 1st.
W8-3, W4-3, W7-5, L7-4
Man, we were really rocking until Dallas McPherson and Troy Glaus came uncorked and lobbed in 5 runs. We had them all tied up in knots for the first 3 games, and then they had to go and show why Anaheim has been a perennial powerhouse.

And That's The Month
The Record: 16-7
And that's also our best start ever. But don't tell anyone that, it could be....well, I won't say it, but it rhymes with duck. Currently we're two games ahead of Boston, which is very nice indeed. We also have the best ERA in all of baseball at 3.15, and a correspondingly nice, though only second (to Minnesota, .304) batting average of .291.

Around the Clubhouse
Great performances over the month
...Awesome work from 2-3-4, and 5-6 as well, in the lineup. Laynce Nix is hitting .310 with a .423 OBP. Mr. Unger is had a career month with a .365 average, 6 homers, a .434 OBP and 13 RBI. Right behind him is Frederico Ramires with another .365 Average, only 2 dingers, a .396 OBP and a decent 8 RBI. Team leader in RBI though is Pedro Henriquez at 22 in the 5 spot. And behind him is John Wold who is hittime and even .300 to save the bottom of the order from thinking too much.

...Cordell Presti is doing well as -everyone's- defensive replacement with a .345 average and no errors.

...I should mention the pitching again. Strangely Neil O'Malley is the only one above a 4.00 ERA. But the best of all is the 'pen. Oscar 'Grouch?' Calvo has yet to allow a run and has racked up 9 saves. Adam Bradley has the highest ERA in the 'pen at 2.77, but also has the most innings pitched at 13, and the most Ks at 12. Man these guys are good.

AAA Report
...Umberto Almagro has been up and down to the big club so often that he hasn't even had a chance to get a AAA start in.

...Zack Abercrombis started off in his old ways, winning one, but then lost only the second game of his career and now stands at 1-1.

...Phil Isnard is doing well in AAA with a 3-0 record.

...On the batting side of things, Harvey Carey is going strong with a .349 average, .420 OBP and has 6 RBI.

[Lobsteve]

May 2nd
At Cleveland (11-11) 3rd
W4-3, W7-1, W4-3
Bookended by those two 4-3 wins, there was this great performance by Maury Carlson. An 8-inning 5-hit stretch that made me ridiculously happy. And then there's this Ramires fellow. A single RBI in game 1 wasn't enough. He had to go on and post 3 in the other two games. That's what we need.
But, to rain slightly on my parade, on the bad news front, David 'Perfect Game' Halick is out for 14 days with something annoying. And I wish I could say that Almagro was coming back up to fill his shoes, but he out for 24 days! So in comes Phil Isnard and we'll give him a start and see how it goes.

May 5th
Vs Detroit (10-14) 4th
W6-0, W9-4, L9-4
Dustin McGowan has a very nice complete-game shutout happen, and then promptly declares a sprained writs and is down for 7. Of course all my replacements from AAA are out of action (by the way, Isnard had a great first start in game two) so James 'Really, not Tiger' Woods is up from the pen while McGowan sits on his duff.
Mr. Unger singlehandedly led the team in games 1 and 2. A grand slam in the 4th of game one, then a 3-run shot in game two to seal it. Nice.
By the way, we're 4 ahead of Boston, and, believe it or not, have the best record in all of baseball at 21-8, a half-game ahead of the Brewers who are at 20-8

May 4th - Trade Time
To Toronto: Lukas Webster (C), Leo Kung (1B) and Rich Terry (SP)
To Florida: Wilfredo Ocampo (LF), Jose Santa (RP), Wil 'The Only Swedish Baseball Guy' Olesen (SS) and Carlos Juradu (RP)
Summary: This is hardly a blockbuster. The only two who deserve to be playing at a major league level are Terry and Juradu, and as far as that goes it's a pretty fair trade. The others might see some bench time, but are definately AAA filler for the most part.
Winner: Jose Santa. Why? Because a day after this trade happened Florida shipped him back to the North Pole where he can forget this ever happened.

May 9th
Vs Cleveland (12-16) 3rd
W4-1, W8-3, W3-2
Immedeately I had a problem. Phil Isnard hurt himself and is out for 14 days. In case you're keeping score, that's 4 starters injured out of the 10 I have on my roster, including AAA. So Chris Curtis is up from long relief to replace Isnard, but that leaves me with just short relievers, so I bring Aaron Erlec up from the farm to fill in at long relief. PS: 3 days until Dustin McGowan is back.
On the plus side 'Not-Tiger' had a great first start, winning game 3 for us. Add onto that the usual good performances from Carlson and O'Malley and we had a very good three days. Oh, and some guy who's name starts with the letter 'U' had a few of something that starts with 'R'.

May 13th
At Detroit (11-19) 5th
L6-5, L7-6, L7-5
Now that's a bad series. Chris Curtis started it off with a lousy performance. Oscar the Grouch lost us game two by allowing a homer in the bottom of the tenth against the first batter he faced, and then Neil O'Malley fell asleep on the mound in game three....apparently.
All this ruined perfectly good outings by Reyes, Mr. Unger and Ramires. Curses.

May 16th
Vs Texas (18-17) 4th. Does it disturb anyone that all of the West is above .500?
L6-5, L6-4, W6-5
It was looking bad there. Really bad. Bad enough that you could see the grass wilting. But then, in the bottom of the twelfth (after I had finally remembered to restore the starting rotation to it's former self) Chad Bowers smacked a walk-off home-run over the left-field fence, calmly sauntered around the bases, and went home.

May 20th
At Anaheim (20-18) 2nd
W11-2, W9-6, W6-3
After all this was said and done, I can just picture the Anaheim managerial team pacing around the locker room mumbling to themselves, 'Don't tick off Mr. Unger.' They walked him 3 times in the first game. Not even intentional walks, just walks. I think Mr. U was feeling a bit peeved, so he went out and dinged them for a total of 6 RBI and 3 homers. Just to keep them interested. Elsewheres, Neil O'Malley has repented his sins and put in a 10K performance in that 11-2 win. About time.

May 23rd
At Texas (22-19) 2nd.
L9-4, L8-6, W10-6
Every year it seems that at least one team has our number, no matter what we try and do against them. And this year it seems to be Texas' turn. I think it's time for a well placed doping scandal....wait, I don't have the money for that.
PS: We're only 2.5 games ahead of Boston, mainly due to their streak of 9 wins in a row. I hope that by mentioning this they will choke. CHOKE!
PPS: To Boston. Psych. Psych psych psych psych. Signed, Super-Psych.
PPPS: Overhead in Boston, 'Psst, I think they may be trying to psych you out!' And then they're replaced by....Andre Agassi?
PPPPS: Yoink!

Anyways...

May 27th
Vs Baltimore (23-21) 3rd, 6 games back.
L5-4, W3-0, L6-4
To sum up: AAAAARGH! Ah, David 'Perfect Game' Halick pitches a 4-hitter with 11Ks. AAAAARGH!!
This results in: 1.5 ahead of Boston, who were briefly super-psyched...for a game...and then carried on winning.

May 30th
At Chicago White Sox (22-24) 1st?!?!?!
L6-1, L14-7, L11-1
WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE HOLY HAND-GRENADE IS GOING ON !?!?!?!?
The only solace is that the Super-Psych really kicked in and we're still 1.5 up. But this is just un-acceptable.

End Of the WHAT?
Oh, the month. Record: 13-13 (30-20)
Pretty disapointing considering our excellent start. All the same we remain 1.5 ahead of Boston and at the very top of the AL, though we've slipped to 3rd in baseball behind Atlanta (32-18) and Milwaukee (34-16).
We still have the best team ERA in the AL at 4.09 and second only to Anaheim (.298) in team average at .289. Oh! And the best Bullpen rating in all of baseball at 82. Take that!

Around the Clubhouse

...Laynce Nix has taken off like a rocket and is now hitting .352 with 8 homers, a .459 OBP and 30 RBI. Very nice.

...Mr. Unger isn't far behin at .335 with 12 dingers, a .413 OBP and a team high 33 RBI.

...Frederico Ramires is also doing well still as he's hitting .319, he's slipping a little, but not much.

...Cordell Presti has now taken over the RF position in place of Chad Bowers, primarily due to batting average. Presti is at .328 off the bench with 5 stolen bases while Bowers is only hitting .216 and has managed a pathetic .290 OBP, the worst of any starter.

...Despite all the injuries things are still going well in pitching land. Only Jaime Hoyos has a losing record and as a result he has been dropped to the 5th spot.

...The most pleasant surprise has been Maury Carlson who has a 5-2 record to go with his 3.45 ERA.

...Oscar Calvo is up to 16 saves, but has also blown 1. He does have the best ERA in the 'pen after the collapse at the end of the month at 2.55.

Around the AAA
...Harvey Carey continues to lead wiht a .308 average among my young guns. The young guns who apparently don't have any guns to speak of.

...Phil Isnard is cruising along with a Abercrombie-esque record of 4-0, a 4.12 ERA and .210 OBA.

...Umberto Almagro finally got a couple starts down on the farm and wound up with a no-decision and a loss. What's going on down there?

...Well, now I can't use the term Abercrombie-esque anymore. The 'I Can't Lose' poster-boy is now 2-4. Not good Zack, not good. But with a 4.98 ERA it was bound to happen.

[Lobsteve]

June 2nd
At Baltimore (28-22) 3rd, 2 games back.
L2-1, L6-4, W8-7
Wow, we were almost in real trouble there. WAIT! We -ARE- in real trouble here! We can't win a 2-1 game. We can't beat our way out of a burlap sack in game two. And then we barely sneak out a win because Jose Reyes goes nuts and is 3-for-3.

Trade - June 1st
To Detroit: Ryan Church (RF)
To Arizona: A.J. Burnett (P), Chris Carpenter (CF), Theodore Devries (RF), Warner Marshall (C) and Abraham Trombley (3B)
Summary: Let's break this down.
1. Church is a half-decent RF with a 84 peak, but he doesn't have the stats to prove it yet.
2. Burnett is 35 and DONE.
3. Carpenter, Devries and Marshall don't belong in the bigs...unless Arizona has THE BEST farm-system.
4. Rombley has a peak of 79 but is at 71 now and has stats worse than Church.
To conclude? This Trade Stinks.
Winner: No one.
Post-Script: Marshall, Devries and Burnett are all released a day later. Go figure.

June 6th
Vs Boston (29-23) 3rd, 1.5 back...still.
W3-0, W3-0, L5-3
So this Neil O'Malley guy comes in and says, 'Listen guys, we need to settle down. Boston is too close, lets hurt them.' And then, leading by example, goes out and throws a 3-hit, complete-game, 6-K, shutout.
Well Dustin McGowan nods his head a little and mumbles, 'This Neil fellow has some good ideas.' And, inspired perhaps, goes and throws a 4-hit, complete-game, 6-K, shutout.
So the next day we're doing well, tied at three after the 7th-inning stretch. 'Perfect Game' Halick is looking pretty good, sure he's given up 6 hits for 3 runs, but he's struck out 7 and is doing alright as long as we can get another run. Well, after 113 pitches he's done after the 8th. Adam Bradley steps in and throws two PERFECT innings, but we're still tied at 3. Well, might as well give it to Calvo and hope. Well, hope is foolish because Calvo ruins it by allowing two runs and neatly collecting his 5th loss.
And now we're tied with Baltimore for first. The team we can't beat. Grrr.

June 10th
Vs San Francisco (34-23) 1st
L6-4, L12-3, W4-2
Would someone explain to the Giants that they aren't supposed to do as well in AL parks as they do over in that strange league they belong in?

June 13th
Vs Arizona (28-33) 5th
W5-1, W3-2, L8-6
Oscar Calvo vaguely redeems himself by pitching the 10th and 11th innings in game two and not allowing a run. How about that.
Jaime Hoyos is officially out of the starting rotation with his 2-6 record in favour of Umberto Almagro. I believe that that should work much better.
Unfortunately we are now 1 back of Baltimore, but lead the wild-card race by 2.5 over Oakland.
But, proving that not all is hopeless, LA smashed Baltimore 14-2. Things like that make me do little dances.

June 17th
At San Diego (30-30) 3rd
W6-3, W3-2, L5-3
Game two is a weird crapshoot that lasts 15 innings. We're tied at 1 after 9. And though there's a bit of excitement, nothing really happens until the 15th. We're up first and Wold singles, Presti singles, Estrada sacrifices them both over. Saavedra gets the intentional walk. Andy Freyr strikes out and Gavin Thomas (who got some solid playing time in this series) singles in two. We're up 3-1.
Then in the bottom half Andy 'Shoulda Pinch-Hit For Me' Freyr allows a single before 'Not Tiger' Woods comes in to pick up the last out and the save. Weird.

June 20th
At Colorado (31-34) 4th
W6-1, W3-2, W16-6
That last one is our first Really Big Win of the year I think. Player of the game...well, there's about 5 of them. Here are their lines:

TAMPA BAY ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
J. Reyes (SS) 6 2 0 2 1 2 1 0 .290
L. Nix (LF) 5 4 1 3 1 3 0 0 .327
F. Ramires (2B) 6 2 0 2 1 3 0 0 .303
J. Wold (CF) 6 4 0 4 2 4 0 0 .303
C. Presti (RF) 4 2 1 1 0 3 1 1 .348
Note that right there are 15 of 16 RBI.

Trade - June 18th
To Minnesota: Terry Moore (RP) and Rob Bell (SP)
To Cleveland: Frank Steger (2B), Miguel Salcido (RF) and Adam Spivak (1B)
Summary: This is one of those trades where you find out who won 5 years down the road. Moore needs another couple years to be a good reliever. And Adam Spivak needs about 4 years of solid minor-league play before he ever gets close to his 91 peak.
Winner: Time.

June 24th - Battle for the Top, Pt.2
Vs Baltimore (39-29) 2nd, 2 games back.
W9-5, W3-0, L5-4
1. It's a slobber-knocker! Two heavyweights trading punches as we finally wrest control in the 6th and stick it to them the rest of the way.
2. Dustin McGowan throws the 3-hit, complete-game shutout. Very nice.
3. We scored 4 in the first and were looking to run away with it, but instead we were shut down entirely. Still, we pick up another game on the Orioles, which is always good news.

June 27th
Vs Montreal (31-40) 4th
L6-5, L9-8, L10-8
I was going to say that the big difference this year was that we were pulling out these games against lesser teams whereas we hadn't been able to stick it to the lower ranks in past season. And then the Expos come along and rip 3 extra-inning games off us in a row. My joy-o-meter is rather low.

July 1st
At Minnesota (30-43) 4th
L6-4, W10-7, W10-0, W9-6
The signature game here is the third one. First off, Umberto Almagro pitches 8.2 stellar innings allowing just 5 hits, 5 walks for the shutout that he shares with Andy Freyr who throws three quick strikes to the last batter.
The Other bonus here is that EVERYONE got at least one hit. And only 2 players didn't have an RBI (their names are expunged from this record so they don't get embarassed).

Glossing right over the usual end of the month stuff (We're 15-11 for June and 46-32 overall a mere 1.5 games ahead of ever-hated Baltimore.) we're now at...

[Lobsteve]

July 4th
At New York Mets (46-32) 2nd
W8-2, W4-1, W13-2
It's pitching-fest 2012!
1. Dustin McGowan only throws 95 pitches as he allows 1 hit over 7 innings before turning it over to 'Not Tiger'.
2. 'Perfect Game' Halick throws smoke past the Mets allowing 1 homer and only 5 hits as he cruises to the complete-game win.
3. After a series of shaky starts Maury Carlson is back on track allowing 5 hits and 2 runs in 5 innings before turning it over to Woods and Curtis to shut down the Mets the rest of the way.

July 7th
Vs Boston (40-41) tied for 3rd. 9 games back.
L15-9, W12-1, L6-0
All sorts of homers are counted in game one, but none of them are from us as Umberto Almagro has his worst big-league start.
Neil O'Malley with the 1-run performance.
And then it's almost game one all over again. Not a good series.

July 11th - Last series before the break.
Vs Minnesota (33-50) 5th
L2-1, L6-2, W5-2
The Twins pitching was really sticking it to us this time with two really impressive performances before Almagro makes up for his last start by ripping through the oposing lineup for 8.2 innings allowing just 5 hits and a single two-run homer.

July 12th - The Home Run Derby

You know, when I first drafted Mr. Unger I thought that he'd be a perennial Derby Contender, but so far he hasn't had a single appearance. But this Dallas McPherson guy, has he even missed one?

Round 1
It's flashback time, Nomar, now playing in Toronto, is back in the Derby! He doesn't take it, but he does well in the first round:
1. Alex Romero (Col) 11
2. Dallas McPherson (Ana) 9
3. Nomar Garciaparra (Tor) 7
4. Waldo Cremelle (Atl) 7

Also noteable is Albert Pujols (SD) with 6. A-Rod (Bal) 4 and the resurgent Hee Seop Choi (KC) 3.

Round 2
No witty remarks from me. It wasn't very close.

1. Waldo Cremelle 5
2. Alex Romero 2
3. Nomar 1
4. Dallas 1

Finally

Alex Romero makes a comback from his poor showing in round two to win it all 3-2 over Cremelle. Totals are: Romero - 16 and Cremelle - 14.

July 13th - Can You Handle No Ties?

You know, I've always felt sad that I didn't wind up with more All-Stars. Well, today it all turns around. Appearing at the All-Star Game for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays:

John Wold receives 937,654 votes and starts at LF..though I can't understand why, he's a CF after all. Whatever, he's there. He also goes 2-for-5 uneventfully.

David 'Perfect Game' Halick (who, by the way, leads the majors in ERA is at the games! He even picks up two innings of work allowing 1 hit, 2 walks, a run and strikes out a couple. Nicely done.

Dustin McGowan is also out rubbing people's faces into the dirt. He gets in a single PERFECT inning, retiring all three batters he faces with 16 pitches.

However, conspicuously absent is Neil O'Malley who is tied for first in the AL, and tied for 2nd overall in wins with 11. Please pass me that large stick, I must have words with the selection committee.

And, obviously because of the great influence exerted by my guys, the AL smushes the NL 5-2. Boo. Ya.

July 18th
At Boston (44-44) 4th. 7.5 games back.
W5-3, W10-1, W9-8, L4-2
It's time fore revenge as my All-Stars stick it to the Red Sox in the first three games, nicely making up for that travesty at the beginning of the month. McGowan looked particularly good in the 10-1 win.

July 20th
At Minnesota (38-52) 3rd
W6-5, L5-3
These weird little back and forth series always bug me. I want a clear winner. I want to stomp on my oponents and....well, just genearlly know who has cleaned up.

July 22nd
At New York Yankees (46-47) 3rd, 9 games back.
W9-8, W3-2
Not a bad little tangle. But my oh my are my pitchers having their work cut out for them. Of course it's all their own fault for the most part, but still. The bullpen especially, lots of extra inning games this past month.

July 25th
Vs Kansas City (36-59) 5th
L12-8, L8-7, W8-1
After a series like that all you can realistically do is to sit down and hang your head and thank whatever powers that be that Baltimore only managed to keep pace.

July 28th
Vs New York Yankees (48-50) 3rd, 10 games back.
W9-5, W7-1, W4-1
A hard fought battle from Woods to start it all off, then two awesome performances from Halick and Carlson. I'm so happy I'll overlook that we only gained one game on the Orioles. Sometimes that stuff is secondary.

August 1st - Tangle for the Top, Pt.3
At Baltimore (58-43) 2nd, 3 games back.
W8-4, W8-0, L6-2, W11-2
Yeah, that's how it's done. That's how you seal (or it would be if I hadn't just noticed, well after I wrote this, that there are two more tangles with Baltimore ahead of us) the season series. Will that make the difference in the end? Who knows. But it's a great way to go out if we falter. Sticking it to the team that has given us so many troubles over the years. Kudos to O'Malley for that 4-hit shutout. To Mr. Unger for two 3-run shots at apropriate times. Oh, and an Anti-Kudo to James Woods for messing up the sweep.

It seems like a good place to pause
For a Monthly Recap
Record: 18-9 for July, 64-41 overall. That leaves us 2nd in all of baseball to the Brewers (67-38). And we're 5 up on Baltimore, best ERA in the AL, best average in the AL (3.96 and .298)...actually, best average anywhere.

The Return OF...
The Player Of The Month
I just have to single out someone, and it's Jose Reyes. He's earning his salary again after a slow start hitting .323 with 20 homers, 26 steals (3rd in baseball), a .406 OBP and 51 RBI. Plus he's tied for 5th in baseball with 7 sacrifice hits, and 4th in baseball with 89 runs.
Now, mind you, I have 8 of 9 starters with 50 RBI or over. Only Scott Zimmerman is lower with 38, and he's still playing well with a .308 average. And no one has an average of under .270, that mark held by DH Pedro henriquez. To say that I'm thrilled is an understatement.

And the Pitcher of the Month
It's a tie. It has to be. David Halick leads baseball with a 2.54 ERA and Neil O'Malley leads baseball with 14 wins.

To Sum Up: Better get ready to chant.

Quick AAA Update
...Ivan Pulanco has raised his average to .307 which makes me happy.

...Harvey Carey continues to roll along at .346, hasn't done much else though.

...Phil Isnard is now 8-1 in the minors, that's worth noting. If it weren't for Almagro, he'd likely be in the starting rotation. That's the rubs though.

...This is the last time Zack Abercrombie will ever be mentioned in these updates, he's now 6-5 and would be traded if the deadline hadn't passed.

[Lobsteve]

The Big Trade SHOE.

Show. It's a Show.

July 13th
To Anaheim: Dwight Rogala (SP) and Xavier Mackins (SS)
To Boston: Sergio Ramirez (SP) and Wil Nieves (C)
Summary: Rogala could be quite the work horse, but there isn't anyone here who deserves to be better than a low-paid bench-filler.
Rating: Dud.

July 16th
To Milwaukee: Luis Deferr (SS), Luis Catalano (RF) and Kevin Kunz (RP)
To Detroit: Frank Dorton (RP), Juan Tello (C), Prince Fielder (1B), **** Groves (LF) and Herman Colangelo (3B)
Summary: Detroit gets a fantastic deal in picking up both Tello and Groves who are both first rate players. In return the Brewers get very little in Deferr and Kunz, but do pick up a future starting RF. That seems very little for what must be their starting catcher and left-fielder.
Winner: Detroit boxed the Brewers. Maybe now I can be #1.

July 21st
To Texas: Barry Hammack (3B)
To Kansas City: Cam Lance (C), Sean Lagomarsino (RP), Bobby Jenks (SP), Carlos Salgado (2B), Jamal Strong (CF) and Lucas Ahloe (P)
Summary: Hammack is a very good defensive third-baseman, but doesn't have the offensive numbers to be considered a superstar at the position. Of course those may come in time and if they do he'll be among the best. And to get him the Rangers didn't really have to give up anything at all, just a bunch of AAA prospects and a few bench-duds.
Winner: Bad trade by KC, they should have gotten something in return instead of a bunch of do-nothings.

July 30th
To Anaheim: Len Christie (RP), Pete Grayfer (1B), Gil Babinski (SP) and Tom Georges (3B)
To Cleveland: Phil Aiken (RP), Enrique Cruz (SS), Trent Zeylikovick (SP) and Andrew Kormos (1B)
Summary: Not much in this trade, I'd have to call it pretty equal. It hinges on Phil Aiken who still has room to grow. Should he get to that peak of 81 I think he could be a respectable reliever, which means...
Winner: ...a slight edge to the Indians in this one.

July 31st
To Colorado: Bob Jensen (SS), Bruno Cortesi (SP) and Sid Blanco (2B)
To Seattle: Matt Kata (2B) and Roberto Luna (3B)
Summary: Bob Jensen is a quick little SS and Seattle may have been a little loony to give him up if it weren't that Matt Kata is fantastic. I'm not sure if it's worth giving up the future, but for the now the 35-year-old Kata is gold.
Winner: If only temporarily, Seattle.

July 31st
To Philadelphia: Sam 'George's Son?' Costanza (RF), Pedro Barreiro (LF) and Jason Davis (SP)
To New York Yankees: Nolan Zilberfayz (SP), Brian Bruney (RP), Warner Kelly (CF) and Luis Nalerio (3B)
Summary: If this worked out how I read it, Steinbrenner (sp?) will be screaming 'Costanza!!!' for years to come. Sam is going to be a superstar. That's all there is to it. Ok, it might take until he's 30, but if he gets there the Yankees will be idiots to have let him go (68oa/90p). And then, as though to make a bad thing worse, they let go Barreiro. Ok, sure he hasn't done that well this year, but would you let a guy go who had hit +.300 last year and the previous two years in AAA? I didn't think so.
Ok, but surely the Yankees got something in return...right? You'd think so, wouldn't you. But you'd be wrong. The Yanks got hosed.
Winner: The Phillies reap the rewards here.

[Lobsteve]

The Amazing 'Hurry Up and Get To The Playoffs' Sim

Yeah, I tore through August and September. I just couldn't wait to get to the post-season for the second time. So here are the results:

August: 15-12
Kinda a rougher month. We're really having troubles with the Western Division teams, though we did stick it to everyone else, which is some sort of consolation.

September: 18-10
Much more satisfactory. The Orioles were much like wheat to our sickle which is always good for moral.

October: 2-1
We finished up with the Yankees and somehow lost a game. I don't know what's going on, somebody wasn't paying attention I'm sure.

Overall: We're a total of 98-64, the best season by 10 Ws. Never mind that, we won our division, which makes me very happy (though we did manage to lose 4million and are now 3.3 in the hole, not good). We were also 2nd in the AL in batting average (.288 to the White Sox's .293) and first in the AL with a 4.08 team ERA.

Player of the Year: Jose Reyes and Mr. Unger both had fantastic years, for me it's hard to pick which was better. Unger finished with 40 homers, but Reyes had a career high in steals at 35. I'll make my pick Mr. Unger because I can.

Pitcher of the Year: I didn't have a single pitcher with a losing record this year...oh, wait, Jason Woods, eh, who cares. But far and abot the rest, and quite the surprise as well, is Maury Calrson with tied O'Malley for best record with 17-8 and had a very nice 3.83 ERA. I'm bursting with pride; maybe I do know what I'm doing.

Forget The Rest, What About The Playoffs!

Divisional Series

Milwaukee Brewers (101-61) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (90-72)
Results
Game 1: Milwaukee 5-4 Arizona
Game 2: Milwaukee 3-2 Arizona
Game 3: Arizona 2-1 Milwaukee
Game 4: Arizona 2-1 Milwaukee
Game 5: Milwaukee 2-1 Arizona
The Brewers Win 3-2.

Atlanta Braves (91-71) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (91-71)
Results
Game 1: Atlanta 5-8 Los Angeles
Game 2: Atlanta 9-3 Los Angeles
Game 3: Los Angeles 3-9 Atlanta
Game 4: Los Angeles 3-4 Atlanta
The Braves Win 3-1.

Chicago White Sox (96-66) vs. Baltimore Orioles (92-70)
Results
Game 1: Chicago 4-5 Baltimore
Game 2: Chicago 7-6 Baltimore
Game 3: Baltimore 6-5 Chicago
Game 4: Baltimore 4-17 Chicago!
The White Sox Win 3-1.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays (98-64) vs. Texas Rangers (93-69)
Results

Game 1: Tampa Bay 5-6 Texas
This one is really tragic, we were so close to coming back, so very close. We were down 4-0 after the stretch and we put together those five beautiful runs, only to see Adam Bradley give up the losing run in the top of the ninth.

Game 2: Tampa Bay 1-3 Texas
Not even close. McGowan tried, he really did, but no one could get him any run-support. Lord only knows why.

Game 3: Texas 4-8 Tampa Bay
Here's the point where it's necessary to bust out the bottle of hope and spray liberally. If we can sneak both games in Texas we're sitting pretty because O'Malley is generally pretty strong if we can get back to him. David 'P-G' Halick was just strong enough, and Jose Reyes provided the runs that were missing in the first two with 5 RBI.

Game 4: Texas 9-3 Tampa Bay
It's a bust. We'll have to settle for the 'Division Champs' screen. To sum up: We deserved better. In retrospect, I should have started O'Malley here instead of hanging my hat on being around in game 5. C'est la vie.

Leagues Whatevers

Chicago White Sox vs. Texas Rangers
Chant: Go Sox Go!
Results
Game 1: Chicago 2-9 Texas
Game 2: Chicago 7-4 Texas
Game 3: Texas 8-0 Chicago
Game 4: Texas 1-12 Chicago
Game 5: Texas 2-4 Chicago
Game 6: Chicago 1-6 Texas
Game 7: Chicago 1-8 Texas
The Rangers Win (Boo!) 4-3.

Milwaukee Brewers vs. Atlanta Braves
Chant: Oh, Oh, we, Oh.
Results
Game 1: Milwaukee 3-2 Atlanta
Game 2: Milwaukee 6-3 Atlanta
Game 3: Atlanta 4-5 Milwaukee
Game 4: Atlanta 1-2 Milwaukee
The Brewers SWEEP!

Da Series

The Milwaukee Brewers vs. The Texas (Boo!) Rangers
Chant...louder: Go Brewers! Go Brewers! It's Your Birthday....
Results
Game 1: Texas 2-5 Milwaukee
Game 2: Texas 5-7 Milwaukee
Game 3: Milwaukee 6-0 Texas
Game 4: Milwaukee 9-1 Texas
The BREWERS SWEEEEEEEEP!!

That was very satisfying.

Free-Agents
Yeah, they're all gone: Thomas Gavin, Laynce Nix, Pedro Henriquez, nick Leominster and Oscar Calvo. I need to figure out the financial side to this game, because I think it's clear that I haven't.

AWARDS

Yeah, it's in caps because I cleaned up.

Player of the Year: Jose Reyes (TB)
Gold Glove (SS): Jose Reyes (TB)

So apparently the conflict of Unger over Reyes is solved :) And for those of you who are just shaking their heads saying, there's another underrated SS winning the MVP, go soak your heads, Reyes is gold.

And to top it off:
Gold Glove (3B): Scott Zimmerman (TB)
He finally got it. The best glove at third in the majors ever since he started playing full time, and he finally picks up a gold glove. It does my heart good.

But that's it?!
Yes, it's my final act as manager of Tampa Bay. But let me recap the 10 years:

2003: 66-96, 5th
2004: 71-91, 5th
2005: 63-99, 5th
2006: 73-89, 5th
2007: 75-87, 5th
2008: 88-74, AL Wildcard
2009: 82-80, 3rd
2010: 76-86, 4th
2011: 87-75, 2nd
2012: 98-64 1st

I'm happy with that. I can safely move on saying that the Rays are a better team than when I came....if only I could have made them some money.

[Lobsteve]

But Wait! The Thread Is 'Around The World'
So Who Is Next?

Well, the battle for futility was a tough one this year, it came down to one game seperating the two worst. Was it Montreal? No, sorry, the 'Spos actually finished fourth in the NL East at 69-93.
Ok, so it must be Colorado. Not so much, they were a surprising 81-81, though they still contrived to finish last in the NL West.
How about Detroit? They've been pretty lousy. Yes, but not quite lousy enough. But here's a hint, they were fourth in the AL Central at 60-102.
So it's not an NL team? Sadly no, but it was close, Pittsburgh really tried for me. They fumbled around and scrapped by at 57-105. That's pretty bad.

But not as bad as our 56-106 w....losers.

The winner of the 'Who Gets Lobsteve' sweepstakes is...

The Kansas City Royals!

The what with the who? What did Kansas City derserve to get you? Let me explain:

2003: 79-84, 2nd
2004: 65-97, 5th
2005: 81-81, 3rd
2006: 90-72, 3rd
2007: 90-72, 3rd
2008: 76-86, 3rd
2009: 89-73, 1st (What?)
2010: 85-78, 2nd
2011: 62-100, 5th
2012: 56-106, 5th

So, as we see from Chart A, their demise is a recent occurance, and, not surprisingly, it is directly related to their financial woes. They are currently 27 million in the hole. 27. Twenty-Seven. Million. That's the worst in baseball. I'm lucky I have ten years to turn this one around. And even worse, the fans are mad. Rioting in the streets mad. Cynical mad. 40 games out of first mad.

So, the first thing to do is pricing. I mean, who charges 5 bucks for a hot dog. Honestly. Well, lets get that to some semblance of sanity.
Snort, Pay TV, you silly monkeys.

WHOA! My operational expenses are frozen at 0 (silly AI) until I'm out of debt. Gee, I hope I don't need any scouting. A HUNDRED CURSES!

Ok, after all that disapointment...

Let's Meet The Team!
A Look At All The Positions

NOTE:
For Batters: Name (OA/P) Age: Contract$-Expiration Year AVG/HR/RBI Random Comments.
For Pitchers: The same except it's Record/ERA/OBA
All stats are from 2012.

Catchers
1. Kyle Sprague (84/84) 24: .3M-2014 .277/21/90
2. Scott Varney (69/77) 25: .3M-2016 .150/1/1
3. Norton Scoortis (67/68) 29: .3M-2013 .176/0/2
Summary: Not alot of talent after Sprague, something that is reflected in the number of games played. Kyle played 136 of them last year while the other two spent a few seconds backing him up. Good thing Sprague is still signed for another two years though, I hate the thought of replacing the entire starting lineup.
Staying For Sure: Sprague
Couldn't Hurt to Keep: Maybe Varney.
Gone For Sure: Scoortis definately, and Varney if he so much as looks at me funny.

First Basemen
1. Hee Seop Choi (79/79) 34: 4M-2014 .289/28/88
2. Nicolas Hembree (75/78) 27: .3M-2013 .256/0/21
Summary: There isn't much to summrize. Choi tied his career high average last year and generally put together numbers that don't match his fading quality. Certainly this was his peak and I don't see him toping it; and obviously his salary makes him one of the first to be traded when the time comes. Unfortunately Hembree isn't good enough to take over as a starting 1B, but he may have to do if I can't pick one up somewhere.
Staying: Probably Hembree, I have to have a backup.
Take the Money and GET LOST: Choi.

Second Basemen
1. Roger 'Double-R' Rogers (79/82) 24: .3M-2017 .247/12/54 The 2012 ROY and 32nd overall pick.
2. John Budovsky (65/78) 26: .3M-2017 .282/5/68 (AAA numbers) 4th round pick in 2012.
3. Kevin Bedrick (62/68) 26: .3M-2017 .256/0/37 (AAA numbers) 6th rounder, 2012.
Summar-who?: Honestly, who picks three 2B in the same draft. For crying out loud. And doubly so because they're all the same type, good power, well balanced hitters, defense could be better. Well, as far as it goes, Double-R is the only one I need. The others can go...do whatever it is they do, though I may hang onto Budovsky for a little while longer.
The Future?: Double-R.
Buh-Bye: Bedrick.
AAA Fun: Budovsky.

Third Basemen
1. Bobby Souza (65/65) 27: .3M-2013 .170/1/12
2. Ted O'Niell (65/70) 22: .3M-2016 .309/10/46 (AAA numbers)
3. Zack Bartell (65/69) 24: .3M-2016 .172/1/5
Summary: Someone must have been released for Souza to be in the starting lineup. I think I'm right. Man, what a bunch of layabouts. Definately must have a new 3B.
Gone, Gone and Gone: I don't want any of these guys....well, actually O'Niell's AAA numbers are impressive...too bad he'll never amount to anything.

Short Stop
1. Adolfo Rufo (82/82) 31: 10.1M-2013 .260/8/54 The DH.
2. Luis Mauri (78/96) 25: .3M-2017 .243/0/11 2012's #2 overall pick.
3. Jack Wilson (80/80) 35: 9.6M-2014 .000/0/0
Summary: Ok, your team is 8-zillion dollars in the tank, so where do you put your $9.6M short-stop? Oh, in the minors. I should have known. So instead of Mauri gaining valuable AAA experience and maybe becoming the ROY this year (because it's only a matter of time before he's very very good)....well, you know the story.
Drop That Breifcase! NO!: So long Rufo and Wilson. 19.7M in between those two.
The Future, Part 2: The New Zealand Connection.

Right Fielders
1. Noah O'Callahan (77/84) 22: .3M-2017 .192/2/10 2012's 3rd rounder.
Summary: Not enough players here to summarize. I guess, once again, someone left last year. No other explanation for it. Noah will be good in the long run though, he may just need more than 35 games to prove it.
A Keeper: O'Callahan

Center Fielders
1. Nelson Leak (93/93) 27: 5.4M-2013 .283/16/76
2. Juan Pierre (82/82) 35: 5.2M-2015 .305/2/20
3. Jamal Strong (77/77) 35: 2.5M .227/3/4
4. Alano Veleca (70/80) 25: .3M-2015 .143/0/0
5. Nick 'Dr. Robot' Drobot (65/75) 23: .3M-2017 .261/6/32 (AAA numbers) 2012's 5th rounder.
Summary: 13.1 million invested in three people, two of whom are running out of time in baseball. And though Pierre is still a very talented leadoff man...well, he's a very talented leadoff man. Drobot looks like a very good 5th-rounder, too bad he'll only see bench time, if any. But Veleca might be the real deal. At least he's someone I can hang my hat on.
Too Rich For My Blood: Leak (Sad to have to give him up), Pierre and Strong.
Give 'Em a Chance: Veleca and Drobot.

Left Fielders
1. Ben Trantham (78/78) 27: .3M-2015 .245/6/20
2. Scott Novichkoff (62/66) 24: .3M-2015 .282/11/76 (AAA numbers)
Summary: The problem here isn't that Novichkoff can't field, it's that Trantham can't field. Suffice to say I need a new left-fielder.
No -YOU- Novichkoff: Bye Scott.
Keep Him Until He Rots Or Breaks OUT: Trantham.

The Starting Five
1. Brian Voskoboynik (93/93) 29: 6.4M-2014 8-13/4.84/.283
2. Scott Goldstein (86/86) 28: .3M-2015 10-12/4.95/.311
3. Carlos Bergasa (78/79) 26: .3M-2014 4-21/6.55/.323
4. **** Spencer (79/79) 29: .3M-2013 4-16/5.23/.299
5. Paul Smith (74/78) 25: .3M-2016 5-20/8.12/.347
Summary: Seriously? That's the starting 5? No wonder we're in trouble. A total of 31 wins between them.
Worth Keeping: Goldstein is the only one who -maybe- deserves to stay. Vokoboynik is good, but the money. Oh the money.
Come Back When You Win SIX!: Bergasa, Spencer and Smith. Adieu.

The Bullpen
CL. Luis Pinedo (85/86) 27: .3M-2014 7-2/3.35/.247 And 17 saves out of 20 attempts.
ST. Rudy Zaczek (81/81) 35: 4.8M-2013 3-4/5.06/.266 2 saves, 6 blown.
SH. Andrew Silberstein (79/79) 29: .3M-2013 3-10/5.10/.276
MD. Sean Lagomarsino (78/78) 32: 3M-2015 1-0/4.58/.280
LG. **** Kure (78/78) 29: .3M-2014 0-1/6.14/.298
AT. Bobby Jenks (78/78) 32: .81M-2013 1-3/6.65/.320
Summary: Well, there's my best pitcher, Young Master Luis. He's so far and away from the rest that I expect him to be begging for about 10 mill next year. Well, maybe 8. Possibly 7. But it'll be high.
Finders Keepers: Obviously I must keep Pinedo, really none of the rest are that horrible, but not really that great either.
Losers Weepers: But in the long run I find it hard to bite the bullet and pay certain people alot of money, like Mr Zaczek, Mr Lagomarsino and Mr Jenks.
Should I Stay Or Should I Go?: **** 'I Got No Cure' Kure can stay and so can Silberstein, I got nothing against them except their ridiculous ERAs, hey, we'll always need depth in AAA.

The Rest of the Starters
1. Al 'Ball' Baring (66/78) 23: .3M-2015 0-0/1.29/.286 (7 innings)
2. Adam Petersohn (65/67) 25: .3M-2014 6-6/4.90/.254 (AAA numbers)

The Rest of the Relievers
1. Esteban Taffarel (70/78) 27: .3M-2013 0-0/0.00/.429 (1.2 innings)
2. Herb 'J.S.' Bachman (80-80) 27: .3M-2015 1-0/2.57/.197 (21 innings)

And To Sum Up: I don't know why Bachman is down in AAA. I would have presumed some season ending injury, but nothing like that ever happened. He -SHOULD- be the setup man, but apparently he has annoyed management.

[Lobsteve]

My First Draft In KC

It's a different world when you have the first overall pick. The stress is quite amazing...well, it could be.
What am I looking for....talent mostly. I'd like a fairly even balance of pitchers and position players, but really I'm for anything that will get the team somewhere.
So, without wasting any more space with pre-amble...

1. KC - 23: Stan Mach (RF) OA: 78 P: 93
AA Stats: .283 avg, 4 HR, .394 OBP, 63 RBI
The top ranked player by almost everyone...however, as we know, my scouts are carp...I'm a bit dubious about his defensive ability, but what can you do. I'm going to declare him the best player in the draft and carry on.
Contact: 81
Power: 78
Speed: 89
Eye: 85
Fielding: 68
Think: A younger Juan Pierre.

2. Pit - 25: Tim 'Tom' Jones (SP) OA: 78 P: 89
AA Stats: 14-5 record. 2.75 ERA.

3. Det - 25: Daniel Adams (CF) OA: 66 P: 89
AA Stats: .300 avg, 10 HR, 35 RBI

4. Fla - 20: Vincent Bronstein (SP) OA: 78 P: 91
AA Stats: 12-4, 4.52 era, 164 Ks

5. Mon - 22: Oliver Durgan (2B) OA: 78 P: 86
AA Stats: .322 Avg, 36 RBI

6. StL - 26: Andrew Shuler (RP) OA: 78 P: 89

7. Min - 18: Travis Comstock (RP) OA: 78 P: 89

8. NYY - 25: Rico Toribio (RP) OA: 78 P: 89

9. Tor - 23: Chris Berman (LF) OA: 75 P: 90

10. Hou - 22: Alberto Cello (RP)OA: 78 P: 86

The Rest Of The New Royalty

31. KC - 18: Quentin 'Q' Larson (SP) OA: 66 P: 86
AA Stats: 9-7 record, 3.65 ERA, .226 OBA
Sadly we're already down to the 'Who's the best pitcher left?' phase where you hunt through about twenty players before saying, forget it, we'll just go with the highest peak. Q will need a couple years in AAA first I imagine, then a stint in the bullpen before getting his starting shot. But he's got plenty of time being a mere 18.
Endurance: 97
Control: 93
Power: 78
Movement: 71
Defense: 50
Future Role: #3 starter 4 years down the road.

61. KC - 23: Juan Caxias (1B) OA: 62 P: 85
AA Stats: .231 avg, 12 homers, 49 RBI
Another one that will have to pay his dues down on the farm to begin with. A pain of course because I really could use a 'Mr. Unger' type first baseman right now.
Contact: 65
Power: 78
Speed: 78
Eye: 71
Fielding: 67
Future Role: If his D picks up, starting 1B. Otherwise, DH?

91. KC - 20: Alex Pottersley (C) OA: 63 P: 75
AA Stats: .155 avg, 19 RBI
I didn't make this pick for his hitting...obviously. He is a great defensive catcher, the best defense left in the draft as of the fourth round, so I ignored the horrible hitting and signed him up. I'm not sure why.
Contact: 50
Power: 80
Speed: 62
Eye: 66
Fielding: 85
Future Role: Backup catcher.

121. KC - 23: James Denisoff (RP) OA: 59 P: 75
AA Stats: 5-8 record, 5.32 ERA.
More like a middle reliever, I don't know wether I will try and let him develop, or chuck him out into the cold. Why did I make the pick then? This guy is 6'10", 222lbs. That's a big boy. He'd be the biggest on the team if Choi hadn't been sucking back those Whoppers (tm) and become bloated to the tune of 235.
Endurance: 54
Control: 74
Power: 84
Movement: 60
Defense: 50
Future Role: Ladder.

151. KC - 20: Marty Franklin (RF) OA: 60 P: 78
AA Stats: .277 avg, 45 RBI
A fairly typical 6th round pick, made easy because he could certainly have been a 4th or 5th round pick.
Contact: 50
Power: 77
Speed: 84
Eye: 66
Fielding: 65
Future Role: Probably Trade Fodder.

[Lobsteve]

Before I carry on, I forgot to mention two AAA relievers in my introduction to the team. Meet Jonathon Anderson (69/80) and Adam McCafferty (66/71). Mr. Anderson could be quite useful. Mr. McCafferty is out on the next ship...presuming that there are any ships available.

Obviously the first thing that needs doing is alot of trades. But, to keep things somewhat normal, I'm going to allow myself just 4 before the beginning of the season. It'll just be ridiculous otherwise.

January 17th, 2013 - The Purge Begins
To New York Mets: Hee Seop Choi (1B), Adam McCafferty (RP), Esteban Taffarel (RP) and Bobby Jenks (SP)
To Kansas City: Upton Rinenberg (RP)
Summary: We all know why I'm chucking people out (and if you want to be picky I'm getting hosed left, right and center), so lets focus on what I'm getting in return. Rinenberg is a so-so reliever who hasn't really had much of a chance to prove himself in the majors. His rookie year in 2009 was a bust and he hasn't had much time up since. So far the only real thing he has going for him is a single playoff appearance where he allowed one hit and got one strikeout in an inning's work.
Stats: 77oa, 83p
Endurance: 28
Control: 83
Power: 78
Movement: 96
27 years old, 5th season, making .3M through 2014.

To Tampa Bay: Rudy Zaczek (RP) and Bran Voskoboynik (SP)
To Kansas City: Cordell Presti (CF)
Summary: This was one of those sneaky deals where I went back to my old office to 'pick up some files' and walked back out with Presti's contract, whistling merrily all the while. Then the current 'Rays management stormed the league offices and, well, I just had to give them some more financial woes. Life sucks.
Stats: 86oa, 86p
Contact: 82
Power: 77
Speed: 84
Eye: 78
Fielding: 95
27 years old, 3rd season, .3M through 2014.

To New York Yankees: Adolfo Rufo (SS), Adam Petersohn (SP), Zack Bartell (3B) and Ted O'Niell (3B)
To Kansas City: Scott Brunot (1B)
Summary: Brunot is going to hate me. He's very much still a prospect who needs to be slowly brought along...but I just don't have the personnel. Sorry Scott, it's the starting lineup for you, ready or not.
Stats: 69oa, 85p
Contact: 75
Power: 75
Speed: 61
Eye: 95
Fielding: 78
20 years old, Rookie season, .3M through 2017.

To New York Mets: Juan Pierre (CF), Kevin Bedrick (2B), Scott Novichkoff (LF) and Norton Scoortis (C,1B)
To Kansas City: Walter Steve (2B)
Summary: I do feel a little sorry for Steve. Mainly because his parents are clearly dyslexic and reversed his first and last names on his birth cirtificate. It's more a tragedy than anything else. Shakespeare would have loved it.
As for my going back to the Mets, they were the only team that would offer me something for the pleasure of taking my rejects.
Stats: 75oa, 78p
Contact: 82
Power: 67
Speed: 86
Eye: 77
Fielding: 68
28 years old, third season, .3M through 2015.

The Opening Day Lineups

WAIT! Hold on to the cows! I don't have a Third Baseman! So, I'd better have just one more trade, it could be worse, I could have sold everyone to the Angels for Dallas McPherson.

May 1, 2013
To Toronto: Nick Drobot (CF), John Budovsky (2B), Bobby Souza (3B) and Nelson Leak (CF)
To Kansas City: Chris Berman (3B,LF)
Summary: It's amazing what you can get when you give up something in return. I originally tried to get a trade to work by fishing with Jack Wilson, well, that didn't work well at all. No one wanted anything to do with him (as, obviously, neither do I), but you toss Nelson "93" Leak into the mix and it's a whole different story. Offers to the Left. Offers to the Right. Some offers even came up and beat me on the nose with a dead fish to get my attention. Well, when they start doing that, you can hardly refuse. So I got an outstanding 3B who still has room to grow up. Best of all, he has never hit lower than .300 in his AA career. I can deal with that.
Stats: 75oa, 90p
Contact: 88
Power: 78
Speed: 72
Eye: 79
Fielding: 68
23 years old, Rookie - drafted 9th overall this year, .3M through 2018

Ok, NOW the rosters.

The usual. * - rookie. All stats are from the spring.

Starting Lineup (Avg, HR, RBI)
1. Cordell Presti (CF) .314/3/17
2. Roger 'Double R' Rogers (2B) .292/0/12
3. Noah O'Callahan (LF) .258/5/20
4. Kyle Sprague (C) .107/0/7 Hmmm, uninspiring.
5. Ben Trantham (DH) .312/3/16
6. *Stan Mach (RF) .302/2/19
7. *Scott Brunot (1B) .296/3/14
8. Luis Mauri (SS) .259/9/22
9. *Chris Berman (3B) .333/3/15

To Review: Great stuff from the three-rookies in the spring there. They showed up alot of people.
I'm not sure aabout Sprague, he had the most homers of anyone on the team last year and he goes...107 and 0? That doesn't sound right. Trantham seems to be responding well to the DH treatment, I hope it sticks.

The Starting 5 (Record, ERA, OBA)
1. Scott Goldstein (0-0, 3.77, .259)
2. Carlos Bergasa (2-0, 3.86, .246)
3. **** Spencer (2-1, 5.76, .286)
4. Paul Smith (2-0, 4.94, .245)
5. Quentin Larson (0-2, 6.27, .313)

In Summary: Larson clearly isn't ready yet, but I have no one else of quality to replace him with.

The Bullpen (Record, ERA, Saves)
CL: Luis Pinedo (0-0, 1.00, 6)
ST: Sean lagomarsino (0-2, 11.12, 0)
SH: **** Kure (0-0, 3.28, 3)
MD: Andrew Silberstein (3-0, 1.23, 0)
LG: Upton Rinenberg (1-0, 3.86, 0)
AT: Herb Bachman (0-1, 8.25, 1)

Let The Yelling Begin: Who throws so bad that their ERA is over 11 in the spring? I mean honestly, that stinks. If anything goes wrong this year I can see exactly where the problem will be coming from. I hope my starters can go 8.

A Random Note: There are some REALLY good free-agents still out there. People with peaks of 90 and OAs of 89. Now, on the one hand I could go and pick them up for relatively cheap. On the other hand, I'm not supposed to, being in debt and all. It's kinda frustrating. My concience says no, but my 'I hate being last' side say yes-yes.

[Lobsteve]

There will now be a slight delay in postings as I ditch my current rig for a newer model. Don't worry, I won't forget to backup my files, I've messed that up too many times before.

Lobsteve.

[CaseyWebNet]

I stopped by the old forums for a second and ended up reading your dynasty for an hour and a half. Keep it rolling Lobsteve! You were always my favorite dynasty guy.

[Lobsteve]

Hey! Casey! Good to see you are still alive.

In other news: Sorry this took so flappin' long. I got addicted to, in this order, Knights of the Old Republic (Is good), and Medieval: Total War (May be better). But here it is, the first two months of 20whatever I'm in.

In other other news, I happened to see a T-Bay game on the other day and wondered why Mr. Unger wasn't playing first. It's just more proof that my brain is applesauce.

April 2013

April 5th, Opening Day At Kauffman Stadium
Kauffman Stadium? Who names these things?
Vs Cleveland, unsurprisingly 0-0.
Scott Goldstein (0-0) Vs. Mark Buehrle (0-0)
We WIN 3-2.
I kid you not. That's a good way to start off:
a) The Season.
b) The Season Under the New Manager.
c) Stick it to the Man.
We start it off with two runs in the first. Cordell Prestie gets things going the right way with an infield single. Double-R follows up with a single of his own which Noah O'Callahan repeats and Presti hauls around the corner and slides home. Kyle Sprague redeems himself for a lousy spring by single home Double-R. And then Trantham lines out, Mach flies out and Brunot grounds out.
Well that's just fine.
Of course the Indians come right back and score two in the top of the 2nd.
At this point it settled nicely into a long pitcher's duel with pretty much nothing happening but for strikeouts, each starter finishing with 6.
Top of the 8th and Lagomarsino, he of the 11+ ERA, to warm up the crowd for Pinedo. And he to redeems his spring foibles. Sure, he allows a double, but strikes out one to make it up.
So, we're back up in the bottom of the 8th. Mauri grounds out. Chris Berman makes me look smart by doubling through the hole in right field. Presti makes me glad I stole from Tampa by singling in Berman. And then we neatly load the bases only to have it be for nought. Still, we lead.
And Pinedo is in, my super-star. And to summarize: K, BB, K, K. And done.

April 7th
Vs Cleveland (0-1) Duh.
L8-5
Too bad we couldn't go two in a row to start things off. Bergasa gave up all the runs, and didn't even manage a strikeout in his 5.1 innings of work.

April 11th
Vs Minnesota (2-1) 1st.
L6-3, W8-3, W9-1, L8-7
The lack of Medical funding is beginning to show early on. Sprague is out for 6 days and then Mauri is done for 6 as well. At least the second one give a chance for 9million-dollar wonder Jack Wilson to get some time in before I ship his sorry sack out of town. On the other side of the ball, Quentin 'Q' Larson goes nuts in his complete game, 1-run, win. Very nice for the young pitcher.

April 15th
At Cleveland (3-3) Tied for 2nd.
L7-6, L2-0, L7-1
Uh, that's not a good way to go on the road. I think I would like a formal apology from the Indians for smacking us so badly. It's embarassing.

April 18th
At Detroit (4-5) 3rd.
L6-2, L3-1, W17-6
I guess it only goes to show that you can stab the cleats into a team for only so long before they snap and give you a taste of your own medicine.

April 22nd
At Minnesota (8-5) 1st.
W5-2, L6-1, L7-3
After that win I thought we'd have the Twins in a bind all year long...well, speaking of wishful thinking, I should have stuck with Tampa, they're cruising at the top of the east with a 12-3 record. What a team I did build.

April 25th
Vs Detroit (7-8) 4th
W11-7, W13-2, W11-3
Yes, those are not typos. We're a) back, and b) in the saddle. And a good place it is to be. Game 1, 5 RBI by Berman. Game 2, 5 RBI from O'Callahan. And in game three we had 3 ribbies from both Presti and Berman. Now, this is all fantastic, but how about the bottom of the top of the rotation there? About time they showed up for more than a couple innings of work. Especially Bergasa and Spencer in the final two games of the the series.

April 29th
Vs Oakland (5-14) 4th
W3-2, L8-7, W6-4
Game one was a 15 inning affair in which Double-R just snaked a scrifice bunt to get Steve Walker (who inexplicably managed to rip off a tripple earlier in the inning) home for the winning run. Though I must admit we were lucky to be able to tie it in the bottom of the ninth...and then were unlucky not to win it outright with the bases loaded for two batters.

The only real bad news here is that catcher Kyle Sprague is injured for 14 days. Which means that Scott Varney had better be ready. I'm dubious.

The End Of The Month
We're now 10-11 and tied for 2nd in the division (and since we actually have one game left in april we could wind up at .500, something they haven't seen in KC for some time now). Our pitching seems to have found itself in the past few games, and our batters have raised their level to where they are among the best in the AL (actually, 6th) and certainly above the league average, which is very nice to see.

Even better is this: we are projected to make a profit of almost 25 million. That will still leave a little bit of debt to go, but it's amazing what a little trimming of the fat can do.

Player Of The Month: Well, I was going to say Noah 'The Ark' O'Callahan for his team leading 20 RBI. But he's only hitting .197 (Whaaaat!)
Then i was going to mention Cordell Presti for running away in the steals department...albeit with just 4.
But then I noticed DH Ben Trantham. I think it's critical to point out that the whole point of the DH is to hit. And Trantham is doing that. He's hitting .390, which is amazingly only good enough for 5th in baseball. Cap that off with 16 RBI, 3 homers and a .429 on-base average and you have your player of the month.

Pitcher of the Month: I feel that I need to single out **** Spencer for being the only starter to post an ERA below 4. Spencer is at 3.08 with a 2-2 record. And though that may not sound stellar, it's certainly good enough around here. On the other hand, he has alowed 20 walks in his 26.1 innings of work, however, he has balanced that nicely with 26 strikeouts. I approve.

Early ROY?: Don't start chanting yet. But rookie 3B Chris Berman is hitting .349 with 4 homers a .411 OBA and 19 RBI. So, like I say, don't start chanting yet, but if you wanted to maybe start warming up your voices, humming, shouting a few 'mi-mi-mi's, that might be in order.

In the AAA
...A .308 average for Alano Veleca leads the way.
...Al 'Ball' Baring is undefeated in 3 decisions and 7 games started. He has a 4.65 ERA.

[Lobsteve]

May 2nd
At Toronto (9-14) 5th
L3-1, L3-0, L7-2
I'm very disapointed in our lack of run production in Toronto. I'm not sure what happened there...probably something to do with the Jays' pitching I would guess...but boy did we come unhinged.

Milestone: Mr. Unger (of various fame) has just hit his 300th Home Run.

May 5th
At New York Yankees (11-14) 4th
L4-0, W10-1, L6-4
Not a very good road trip at all is it.

May 9th
At Boston (14-15) 2nd (Tampa is 6 games ahead in the east).
L13-12, L12-7, W9-5
I can't believe we lost 13-12. That's quite the slobberknocker if there ever was one. It looked like an all-star game for crying out loud.

May 12th
Vs New York Yankees (14-17) 3rd
W12-4, W5-4, L7-2
We hit Mach speed in game one as Stan recorded his first career Grand Slam. Welcome to swats-ville.

May 16th
Vs Texas (19-14) 3rd.
W7-3, L4-1, L9-3
Why is it that the AL West is so darned tough? Anaheim is at 22-16, Texas now at 21-16 and Seattle is just behind them at 21-17. Only Oakland is having a rough year at 11-26.
But, on an entirely random note, Tampa is cleaning up on a massive scale at 27-10.

May 20th
At Oakland (11-26) 4th
W3-0, W7-4, L2-1
Hey! A shutout! But, as they say in those tense military thrillers: 'Get me a positive ID on that Shutout!' Well, it's really quite plain to see, we cleaned the clocks of our worthy opponents with Paul Smith picking up the complete-game, 4-hitter. From unexpected places comes...something.
Speaking of Random Things: Mr. Unger is hitting .375 (5th in baseball, 2nd in the AL) and has 17 homers, which is tied for 3rd. Also, Neil O'Malley and Dustin McGowan are making good showings on the ERA list.

May 23rd
At Texas (23-17) It took all of a week for them to move up in the world, 1st.
L3-0, L6-3, L10-3
Not surprisingly we got mauled by the Rangers. I think we all saw that one coming.

May 27th
Vs Chicago White Sox (23-20) 3rd
L6-2, W4-3, W10-3
I thought our pitchers were supposed to be push-overs? Well, whoever said that is fired. Right now. Out of the clubhouse. Yeah, you, you scabby daughter of a cucumber salesman. Hmmm, I probably shouldn't rough up my secretarial staff like that.

May 30th
Vs Detroit (15-31) 5th
W10-9, L6-5, W6-3
For a minute I thought we had swept these guys until I saw that the 6 was not really a 3. Just for a minute.
Oh, and Scott Varney had a home-run and 4 RBIs just in time for me to replace him with the now-healthy Kyle Sprague. Good timing.

The May Mop Up
For the Month: 11-15
Overall: 21-27, 4th in the division, 6.5 back of the lead and 4.5 back of 3rd. Hey, at least Detroit is worse.

To Sum Up: I can't get rid of some of this dead weight. Nobody wants Jack Wilson or Jamal Strong for either love or money. I have this haunting fear that I'll have to put up with them until their contracts run out in 2-3 years. That's a long time to put up with a total of 12.1Million just sitting on the bench. Wilson is hitting .270, and Strong .189. I hope they trip and fall over their arthritic hips.

Puh-layer of the month: To take that bad taste from my mouth, Ben Trantham is continuing on his 'I am a ridiculously good player' tour hitting .355 with 7 dingers and a .393 OBA. He even decided to go and steal a base, which he did with much success.

Pit-cher of the Month: Luis Pinedo, closer par-excellence is really the only deserving member of the crew. Sure, he's blown 2 of 8 save opportunities (though he did save the rest) and is 0-3 overall, but he is also far and away the best pitcher on the team. To be the only guy with an ERA below 3 and the only one with more Ks than IPs, well, that says something about his intestinal fortitude. PS: He's only allowed four walks as well.

[Chipper_Jones]

Glad to see you're back lobsteve :) This dynasty rules ...

[Lobsteve]

...And it smells great.

June 3rd
At Chicago White Sox (26-23) 3rd
L11-5, W5-3, L9-5, L5-2
And with that series I'd say our chances of winning the division have moved very nicely from slim to 'Not Until You Shoot Your Pitchers'. Yes, todays rand is all about the pitching, and how they BITE. What they bite is an entirely different topic, but I'm sure it isn't very good. But what a bunch of beau-nasty slugs.

June 6
Vs Boston (25-29) 4th
L15-5, L14-6, W6-4
I would like to point out that this is not how a winning season is built. I would have thought that we would be on par with the 4th placed team in the east, enough at least to make the games interesting, but apparently I was off smoking, not that I smoke, out back when the topic of 'How Can We Lose To Boston' was discussed and some interesting ideas put forth. Item A was: let them score three big innings in the middle of the game. Item B being: might as well let them spread the runs out over 7. Well, at least we accomplished some goals there.

June 6th - Trade Time
To Boston: Wayne Conti (LF) and Orlando Ramirez (RF)
To Pittsburgh: Jose Romero (1B)
To Recap: The outfielders were, apparently, starting for the Pirates in spite of their mediocre stats and mid-70s peaks. Whereas Romero was warming the bench for Boston at 82 overall.
Winner: Pittsburgh gets a very good 1B for a couple of guys who will certainly not be of any immedeate benefit to the Red Sox. Good deal for Pirate-town.

June 10th
Vs Montreal (20-36) Would you believe they're 3rd? No? Neither do I.
W15-13, W12-8, W4-3
I must admit that I expected to beat Montreal. I didn't expect to have to go to the 11th twice to do it though. And I certainly didn't expect things to be so close. So who is the scapegoat this time? Well, it's still the pitching staff. I should see if there's anything I can do about these guys, like hiring a hitman.

PS: The word on the street is that Anaheim has too much cash. They just performed the Amazing Catch And Release (tm) on no less than 6 individuals in a span of 3 days. That's quick work.

June 13th
Vs Florida (32-27) 2nd
L7-3, W10-3, W10-9
Even though O'Callahan and Strong both had three-run homers - one in each of the last two games - I still think that the first game was our best overall. The pitching wasn't phenomenal, but the releivers were much better than in the rest of the series and the bating was uniformly good. And yet we lost. Well, there's no such thing as perfection I guess. But I tell you one thing: the Marlins can come back anytime, but they have to get in line behind the 'Spos.

June 13th - Trade
To Atlanta: Junior Mutley (3B) and Scott Ehrlich (1B)
To Pittsburgh: John Young (CF) and Spence Giannini (SP)
Summary: Well, I think this is a GREAT move, seeing as how we play Atlanta next. And it is a great move for the Pirates. Young will be a very good CF and it makes sense for them to grab him having given up their starter in the Boston trade. A speedy CF built on the Juan Pierre mold (perhaps this is the first example of Clones in baseball?) is a good thing. And this Giannini fellow is having a career year...though it will likely be his last at the age of 34. He may get a few more Moyer-esque years in, but I think this is his last best shot. On the other hand, Atlanta gets two ho-hum average players who I can't see being much good. The only plus for them is the dumping of a little salary, which they were in need of doing.
Winner: Pittsburgh, making them 2-for-2 on the year.

June 17th
At Atlanta (20-42) 5th
W2-1, L6-4, W13-2
A good little series here. Stan Mach was 3-for-3 in game one, not that any of his hits ammounted to anything. Goldstein was pitching great and had the game wrapped up in the 6th when then relievers game in and messed up the win for him. And Kyle Sprague spiked a Grand Slam in the 7th inning to seal the deal in the last game. Very nice.

June 20th
At Philadelphia (24-41) 3rd
W7-4, L11-4, W7-6
A nice little road trip, all being said and done. The relief corps actually did something right in games 1 and 3. And by right I mean just barely hung on..just in case that was unclear.

June 24
Vs Chicago White Sox (39-29) 2nd
L8-4, L10-0, W3-0
Before we began this series I made a massive pitching change....I switched Paul Smith and **** Spencer around in the rotation. Yes, a one spot move, it's huge. I actually wanted to make a trade, but no one was fooled by the stuff I was selling. Of course, then Smith rewarded my brilliance with the shutout. BWA!

June 23rd - Trade
To Los Angeles: Lamond Gerstman (SP), Vincent Harrah (C) and John Myers (2B)
To Cincinnati: Chris Burke (2B), Orlando Rivero (RP) and Tony 'Night of the Living Swing' Batista (3B)
In Review: Well, Batista and Harrah are non-entities in this trade. Batista hasn't been out of the minors since 2006, and Harrah is a below par rookie.
But these other guys. Wow. Double wow.
Gerstman will be a #2 or #3 starter in 2 years. A solid one at that. And John Myers has a good chance at being a great defensive 2B, though he does have quite a lot to work on as it stands now. But if he isn't rushed (just to sound like the scouting report) he'll be a solid player.
In return the Reds get some immedeate help in Burke as an offensive second baseman and in Rivero who could be a very good closer or setup man.
Winner?: I have to call this one a tie. If the young guys who got sent to the Dodgers were peaked out right now there wouldn't have been a trade because it would be so equal. Maybe LA by a hair in the long run.

June 27th
Vs Milwaukee (40-33) 3rd
L11-1, L6-5, W11-10
Well -that- didn't go well at all. Between games 1 and 3 the two starters went a combined 5.1 innings! The Brewers are no longer welcome in this town. Would someone please release the hounds.

July 1st
Vs Baltimore (36-38) 4th
L2-1, L19-2, W8-7, L9-5
Well, the win salvaged our June, putting us one up on the right side of the ledger when all was said and done. Unfortunately I just can't get over the 19-2 loss. I don't know why, it has something to do with my chronic anger problem. And Rage-Ahol.

End Of The Month
For the month: 14-13
Overall: 35-42, safely fourth in the central division.

Hey, a winning month can't be all bad can it? Of course not. We had some good times. Unfortunately too few of them included the pitching staff. So as we approach July I offer my pitchers the following message: Watch Your Backs.

Player of the Month: For his daring under fire...no, no, that doean't sound right. For his Grand Slam Shot, Kyle Sprague gets his first PotM call. He's hitting .270 overall which isn't as stellar as others mind you, but he came through with the bases-loaded and that's doing something right.

Pitcher of the Month: I will randomly award this...award to Sean Lagomarsino for the unheralded feat of having a 3.71 ERA, the lowest on the team, and the biggest differential between wins and losses with +2 (3-1 record). It's a dark day for your pitching staff when the long-reliever gets the glory.

Around the AAA
...Al 'Ball' Baring is 6-1 with a 4.71 ERA...and that's the best of the lot.

Random News From Across the League

...I may have mentioned that Tampa is cleaning up in the East, 7.5 games ahead of New York and leading all sorts of everyone with a .293 team average and 3.74 team era.

...The Yankees are still in wild card contention though. It's really a two-horse race at the moment with the White Sox at 44-33 and the Yanks at 43-36. The Angels are third at 40-38.

...Minnesota is leading the central and, as usual the toughest place to be is in the West where only Oakland is below .500....oh, wait, that's off, Seattle is 2 games under as well.

Over on the other side of....of...Baseball, the national league is generally uninteresting.

...The Mets are running away (almost Tampa-like) with the east posting a 51-28 record and being 11 games ahead of Florida.

...In the West the Giants are 3 and a half legs up on the Rockies at 47-30.

..And, in the most competitive division since the AL West, the NL Central as 4 teams over .500 and all within 3 games of the lead. Stay tuned as the most uninteresting race in all of baseball unfolds. Currently Houston has the lead.

[Lobsteve]

July 4th
At San Diego (40-39) 3rd
W8-4, W5-3, L4-2
Welcome to the city by the...Diego, where apparently we have garnered some sort of 'luck'. Or MAYBE, just maybe, the Padres aren't really that good. Though it did take 14 innings to win game 1, and a 3 run ninth to win game two, these are considerations. On the other hand, they did have to come back with 4 in the 7th to win game 3. There you have it.

July 7th
At Detroit (27-53) 5th
W10-5, W11-0, L13-8
I think this, as much as anything else, goes to show how inconsistent my pitching is. Senor Larson, 5th man in the rotation, saunters out and throws a very well done 5-hit shutout. Which is just amazing for a guy with a 5.18 ERA. Then, Mr. #1, Scott Goldstein takes the hill, by all accounts a much better pitcher, facing the same lineup, and gets shell-shocked. Disturbing. Though I hear that this is the kind of thing that makes the Baseball THE Baseball.

July 11th
At Baltimore (41-43) 3rd
W3-2, L7-5, L7-2
Right, so game one had me so wound up that the losses still don't matter to me. Each side grabs a run in the first and we settle in for a pitching duel. 8.2 innings for Carlos 'The Assassin - Go Ahead, Accuse Me Of Racial Stereotyping!' Bergasa and 4 Ks. And 5 innings before the defense failed him and allowed an unearned run. Alex Rodriguez (Yes, THAT Alex Rodriguez) reaches on an error and then is brought home with a triple before the Tigers SOMEHOW ground into a double play to end the inning. And the the duel continues. Bergasa's oponnent C. 'The Author Is Too Lazy To Look Up My First Name' Wang rolling along with 5Ks and 5BBs until he's pulled at the end of the 7th. Finally we come to the top of the ninth. The fateful ninth. Charlie Ardoin is on to pitch for the Orioles. Leadoff man Luis Mauri walks and promptly steals second. Chris Berman stikes out. Cordell 'I Strike More Fear Than Mr. D. Vader.' Presti is intentially walked. Double-R lays down the sac-bunt to advance the runners. Nicolas Hembree pinch hits for Noah 'My Avg. Stinks' O'Callahan and is also intentionally walked. (PS: Baltimore? If the guy is hitting .231, it's probably safe to pitch to him.) And then it's hero time: Ben Trantham steps up and...singles. Two runs score! And then Stan Mach struck out. Ouch.
(PS: 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth. I don't know why we pulled Bergasa other than to give Luis Pinedo a quick 'how's it going' and a strikout.)

The Royals FIRST All-Star Break

It's getting harder to get amped up for these things....

....Or is it?

July 12th - The Home Run Whatnot

Ok, this is what I wanted to see all along, Mr. Unger in the Derby. Was that too much to ask? Apparently not, because there he is. But there're two other familiar faces as well, Dallas 'Again?' McPherson of Anaheim. And Jason 'Why Didn't Lobsteve Resign Me?' Pridie of Pittsburgh.

Memo To Jason Pridie: It's because You're A GREEDY SNOT!!! Sorry. (16.5 million a year. Sheesh.)

Round 1
Not surprisingly the familiar faces are 1-2-3 after the first round. Pridie with 8, McPherson with 7 and Mr. Unger with 6. They are joined by Edwin Encarnacion with finishes with 5. A nice little sequence.

Round 2
Encarnacion, and especially Pridie (Take that!) seemed to have show their bolt in round one and both finish with just 1 in the second round. But the other two seem determined to make a duel out of it and Mr. Unger tops off McPherson by 1 taking the second round 5-4.

The FINAL Round
I have to hand it to Mr. Unger, he really tried, but McPherson just knows how to win these things, it's like falling off a log to him by now. And so he takes it 3-2. I have to say that this was the best Derby yet. What class that guy Unger brings to the feild, what grace! What dignity! Who is the genius who drafted that guy?

July 13th - The All-Star Game

First