View Full Version : Conquering Coors?
In terms of sports fandom, geography runs thicker than uhh...water? So when Denver finally got a major league team in the Rockies, I dropped the White Sox, a team I had loved for life and latched on firmly to the new kids in town. So without any other motivation than wanting to see the Rockies beat the bigger, better, evil stepbrothers out in the NL West I will be playing as the Rockies on mogul difficulty for the first time. My goals are to construct a winning team, enjoy some postseason success and eventually save up enough cash to construct a replacement for Coors Field with at least the same fan amenities, but a much more pitcher friendly design.
With that in mind, I need to cut costs for now. Alright, I admit it I'm a cheapskate. Big numbers scare me. Big numbers next to long term contracts scare me more. So my initial moves as GM, while probably giving ample cause to write me off as certifiably insane, are made with the goal of dumping payroll and securing young talent. I am specifically hoping to assemble a great outfield defense.
April 1, 2004
Tampa Bay receives
Shawn Cacon (SP), Shawn Estes (SP), Dennis Stark (SP), Ron Belliard (2B)
Rockies receive
Rocco Baldelli (CF), Carl Crawford (LF)
I gave away 4 expiring contracts to pick up the two players who will hopefully help my soon to be supbar (who am I kidding, terrible) pitching staff keep the pitch count under 200 at coors. I'm a sucker for Rocco.
St. Louis receives
Todd Greene (C)
Rockies receive
Bo Hart (2B)
Another expiring contract for a hopefully solid 2B. Although I didn't specifically mention it, my middle infield defense also is something I am hoping to work on.
Cleveland receives
Preston Wilson (CF), Bobby Estalella (C), Garret Atkins (3B), Jeromy Burnitz (LF)
Rockies receive
Jody Gerut (RF)
The last piece of my (hopefully) future gold glove outfield defense.
Mets receive
Todd Helton (1B), Royce Clayton (SS)
Rockies receive
Jose Reyes (SS)
Umm, yeah certifiably insane. The thing is though it seems like there are 10000 good 1b in the draft every year so I'm not overly concerned. Yet.
Watch out now I'm about to take a (salary) dump on the hated dodgers.
Los Angeles receives
Larry Walker (RF), Denny Neagle (SP),Charles Johnson (C), Vinny Castilla (3B), Mark Sweeney (RF), Steve Reed (RP), Turk Wendell (RP), Jeff Fassero (SP), Jesus Sanchez (RP), Vladimir Nunez (RP)
Rockies receive
Dave Ross (C), Edwin Jackson (SP)
Yeah this trade was all about payroll. Realism schmealism.
Mets receive
Scott Elarton (SP), Nelson Cruz (RP), 2 million big ones
Rockies receive
Ty Wiggington (3B)
Was hoping to get a decent young 3B. This was about the best I could do at this point.
Somewhere in here I signed a few scubs off the free agent market to keep my roster at its minimum level.
Opening day lineup
1. Carl Crawford (LF)
2. Jose Reyes (SS)
3. Rocco Baldelli (CF)
4. Jody Gerut (RF)
5. Dave Ross (C)
6. Ty Wiggington (3B)
7. Bo Hart (2B)
8. Luke Allen (1B)
Bench
Aaron Miles (RF)
Jared Cortesi (CF)
Rene Reyes (RF)
Clint Barnes (SS)
Kit Pellow (C)
Greg Vaughn (LF)
(AAA) Jerry Sullivan (3B)
Luke Allen is a natural RF but my (poor) scouts are pretty high on his hitting ability so I'll try him at first and hope he can play the position at least servicably. I have no 1B on the roster.
Opening day rotation
1. Jason Jennings
2. Joe Kennedy
3. Chin Hui-Tsao
4. Edwin Jackson
5. Vinnie Zapulla
Vinnie is one of those free agent scrubs. My rotation sure does stink.
Opening day bullpen
Closer Brian Fuentes
Setup Javier Lopez
Short Adam Bernero
Middle Jason Young
Long Alexis Ocampo
Alt Jose Fejos
(AAA) Ben Santarelli (SP)
I'm hoping eventually to have a thriving AAA system. Not now. Both members of my AAA club are free agent pickups.
Expectations for the year? Not much. I'm hoping to make back that 2 million I spent on Ty Wiggington. I want to win 40 games and hopefully watch as some of my young position players develop into young superstars. I'm also planning to infuse my farm system, scouting and medical staff with some much needed cash.
Up Next:
April
April Fools runs all month long for these guys
April 6th
Opponent: @Diamondbacks
W1-0, W8-5, L5-7
We start off the season on a good note and surprisingly its the pitching that gets it done:
COLORADO ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
J. Jennings 8.0 4 4 0 0 0 3 116 0.00
B. Fuentes 1.0 0 2 0 0 0 0 23 0.00
TOTALS 9.0 4 6 0 0 0 3 139
In game two it's the Rocco Baldelli show:
COLORADO ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
R. Baldelli (CF) 6 5 0 2 1 2 1 0 .556
Those performances are the highlights of the month.
April 9th
Opponent: @Dodgers
L4-12, L6-7, L0-3
Ahh now we are meeting my low expectations for the season. Way to get my hopes up then crush them in such a brutal fashion team.
April 12th
Opponent: Diamondbacks
W1-0, L3-6. L0-11
Hah, shut you out at Coors! No wait I was just kidding, stop stop!
Edwin Jackson's heel is sore on the 15th and he is going to sit for four days. Ben Santarelli will come up from AAA to soak up some innings as the bad starter that day.
April 16th
Opponent: @Cardinals
L3-7, L1-5, L1-3
The third game is a heartbreaker. We outhit them 8-7 but couldn't manufacture a run to save our lives. A solo homer by Jody Gerut is our sole run of the game.
April 20th
Opponent: Dodgers
L2-9, L4-5, W3-1
The middle game is another tough loss. The lineup is really having trouble stringing an inning together.
April 23rd
Opponent: Astros
L2-12, L4-9, W9-3
Nothing close about these games.
April 26th
Opponent: Marlins
W4-2, L2-11, L2-3
We continue to be the gracious hosts, dropping 2 of 3 to the visiting fish. Is it so wrong of me to be jealous of the success that the rockies brothers in expansions have enjoyed so much more success in the same time frame. Yes? Alright then.
Ty Wiggington sits the last 2 games due to a broken toenail. Aaron Miles fills in adequately at 3b for the games.
April Record 7-15
We started off on a good note but things turned sour pretty quickly. Still we are on a pace to win quite a few more games than my minimum expectations.
Player of the month
Rocco Baldelli .341/.402/.500 with 4hr, 9 runs and 11 RBI.
Pitcher of the month
Brian Fuentes 0.00 in 6IP and a perfect 5/5 on saves. His WHIP doesn't match up with the other stats and expect him to come crashing down to earth in a big way soon.
Disappointment of the month
Jody Gerut/Ty Wiggington (tie)
Gerut was brought in to be a solid contributor in the field and the lineup. His play in right field has ben flawless, but he hasn't hit his groove with the bat: .188/.290/.250 with 7 runs and 8rbi.
Wiggington wasn't a victim of such high expectations but his 10 errors in April put him on a pace to tie his total from 2003 by the middle of May. Play better please. Thanks.
Up Next:
Will April showers bring May flowers? aka another terrible month in Rockieland
Signs of improvement
Coming off a 7-15 month it doesn't take much to show signs of improvement, but here in Denver, every little bit helps.
April 30th
Opponent: Braves
W8-6, L3-6, W5-2
Ahh nothing too interesting here except we reverse the trend of stinking up coors.
May 4th
Opponent: @Expos
W3-2, L1-2, L1-3
Ok first game we manufactured a run in the top of the 9th with 2 outs in the following way:
Carl Crawford was intentionally walked.
Carl Crawford stole second.
Bo Hart was intentionally walked.
Rocco Baldelli walked.
Jody Gerut hit an infield single to third, scoring a run.
Did I mention this was with 2 outs? Did the Expos pinch-manage Jimy Williams? What was going through his mind as he called some of these brilliancies? When I read this recap, I started to think long and hard about sliding the intentional walk slider for my pitchers allllll the way down to less. Right now I have it all the way up on more because of Coors and what have you. Scary.
Game 2 was almost a repeat of game 1. This time they were more prepared though. Top of the 9th 2 outs Carl Crawford comes up and:
Carl Crawford was intentionally walked.
Carl Crawford was caught stealing second.
AHA!!!!!! That was their angle. They figure the best chance of getting an out there is a caught stealing. Pretty sneaky.
Oh yeah hey guy who bought expos for 5 bucks? Fire your manager.
May 7th
Opponent: @Cubs
L4-14, L0-1, L1-3
The middle game involved more 2 out intentional walk madness in the top of the 9th leading to a bases loaded situation, unfortunately for me we did not come through with the clutch hit to make them pay.
May 11th
Opponent: Pirates
W10-0, W11-9, L4-5
Jason Jennings pitches a shutout in game one:
COLORADO ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
J. Jennings 9.0 2 1 0 0 0 10 121 3.40
May 14th
Opponent: Phillies
W9-4, L7-8, L5-10, L4-11
In the second game Brian Fuentes and Carl Crawford combine to blow it with an outfield error and subsequent home run losing the lead and eventually the game when we can't get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the ninth. I order Carl the Tom Emanski Defensive Drills video and slap Fuentes upside the head.
May 18th
Opponent: @Reds
W5-0, W9-8, L 2-12
Tsao and Young combine for the shutout in game one. Game two on a hunch I checked the recap to make sure my manager wasn't doing anything too crazy. To my relief, he didn't. I'll leave those sliders alone for now.
May 21st
Opponent: @Mets
W5-2, W5-0, L4-5
Joe Kennedy joins the shutout club, making it a gruesome twosome of him and Jennings who coincidentally are also my 1 and 2 starter:
COLORADO ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
J. Kennedy 9.0 2 1 0 0 0 6 118 4.80
May 25th
Opponent: Padres
L0-6, L5-6, W7-6
Maybe I'm just imagining things, but we seem to lose alot of one run games. Carl Crawford is out for 17 days with a finger stress fracture after the last game. I put Rene Reyes at left cross my fingers and push him to the bottom of the order.
May 28th
Opponent: @Giants
W2-1, L1-3, W5-2
We end the month with some promising signs. Three consecutive good outings by this pitching staff is nothing to sneeze at. And we took 2 of 3 from an NL west rival. Edwin Jackson makes his second trip to the DL in the season. This time its 6 days with a strained lower back. Toughen up Edwin.
May Record 12-16
An improvement, and I'm still on pace to go way over my pessimistic minimum wins expectation. Yay rockies.
Player of the month
Rocco Baldelli continues to put up the big numbers for this team: .343/409/.483 with 6HR 26 runs and 34 RBI.
Pitcher of the month
Jason Jennings has been as consistent as I can possibly expect: 10 starts leading to a 3-5 record with a 3.76 era. He has pitched 3 complete games with 1 shut out.
Disappointment of the month
Bo Hart after an excellent april was moved to the 2 slot. He didn't take well at all to the change. All his numbers dropped, but he did pick up alot more runs and rbis. He will stay there until Crawford recovers and then I will have to reconsider my lineup.
Next up:
Can we build on the limited success of May?
Survey says? a big fat no
You know, I kinda thought we would start terribly and steadily improve through the year. So much for that plan.
May 31st
Opponent:@Padres
L4-6, W4-3, L1-3
Nothing much to say here. Our offense seemed out of synch, hitting into 5 double plays during the three game series.
June 4th
Opponent: Giants
W7-5, L2-5, L3-4, L5-10
The third one was an 11 inning game. Yorvit Torrealba homered in the top of the 11th to give the bad guys a 1 run lead. In the bottom of the 11th, we threatened thanks to some intentional walks and steals, but couldn't get the big base hit in the end. So much for clutch hitting. Ty Winnington breaks a toenail and Aaron Miles fills in for the last 2 games
June 8th
Opponent: @The Hated Yankees
W6-2, L0-7, L5-16
Muhahaha, we took a game off that. Take that! The next two games were a disappointment but not a surprise. Umm, yeah right before his start Edwin "I like the DL" Jackson, went on the DL for 6 days with elbow tendonitis. As a result his start went to Santarelli who didn't have his best stuff:
COLORADO ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
B. Santarelli 4.2 14 3 4 13 13 4 115 13.50
Ehh who am I kidding, that was his best stuff. I know what I want for Christmas, errr draft day. Starting pitching and loads of it please.
June 11th
Opponent: @Those lovable Devil Rays
L0-11, L2-12, W12-2
At least all the games were close. Jennings had his worst start of the year by far in the second game. Kennedy seems to be the only pitcher on my staff who wants to win. I guess he has the pedigree for it. Jody Gerut sits out game 3 with a broken toenail.
June 15th
Opponent: The almost as hated Red Sox
L7-12, L1-12, L2-4
Boo hiss. Not even one game off them. Admittedly it was the bottom half of my rotation for them. Vinnie pitched admirably but not admirably enough against Derek Lowe in game 3.
June 18th
Opponent: Orioles
W8-0, W5-2, L3-4
It's all Jennings getting his second shutout of the year in game one. Meanwhile, Edwin Jackson manages to strain his knee while watching the game from the dugout and will be out 15 days. Darn you scuba steve!! Yeah the offense showed up too. The staved off the sweep due to a BJ Upton pinch hit home run in the top of the ninth. Ouch.
June 22nd
Opponent: @Brewers
W2-0, L0-4, L4-5
The shutout was a combo effort of Santarelli filling in for Jackson and Fuentes coming in in the ninth to slam the door.
In the third game we made noise in the ninth, scoring a run and putting the tieing run in scoring position before they could finally close us out.
June 25th
Opponent: @Indians
L2-9, W4-1, W1-0
I owe Mr. Santarelli an apology. Santarelli and Fuentes combine again for the shutout in the third game. This time Santarelli goes 8.2 innings. Did I mention that he is oa:50/p:51? I'm just gonna assume that its because of the great defense I put behind him. Good job gm man.
June Record 9-17
Maybe we were overachieving in May. At this point I still have dreams of a possible .500 month by the end of the year. The young players are developing nicely, so its conceivable.
Player of the month
Despite missing some of June Crawford came back with a vengeance. He has raised his average above .300 for the first time this year and is putting up some great numbers in the leadoff spot.
.315/.384/.424 with 5HR 36 runs and 24 RBI.
Pitcher of the month
Ehh, I'm just gonna have to give it to Santarelli. I won't bore you with his stats because they suck, but he started 3 games this month, went 2-1 and in his 2 wins gave the bullpen a much needed rest. The fact that his loss was terrible won't taint it.
Disappointment of the month
Shame on you Mr. Jackson. Over the first three months you have spent a total of 31 days on the disabled list.
Next up:
July, All-Stars, and probably belated trade stuff
Midsummer classic, oh yeah and some other stuff happened too
Welcome to July, tied for the middlest month of the year. We are on pace for the number 1 pick in the draft, but well ahead of my predicted wins still.
June 29th
Opponent: Brewers
L1-5, L0-6, W5-4
Ehh, we do face the top of their rotation so I guess we should lose. Kennedy wins the third game to pick up his 9th win of the year. Hes way ahead of the curve on this team.
July 2nd
Opponent: Tigers
W8-4, W8-3, W9-6
SWEEP, SWEEP!!!! Yes I know its the Tigers, quit raining on my parade.
July 5th
Opponent: @Giants
W12-2, L3-4, L6-8
No no no that is not how you do it. Remind me to check my pythagorean stuff at the end of this season. These blowout wins and close losses don't seem to be balancing out. Ty Wiggington blew the second game with a throwing error in the bottom of the 9th. The last game wasn't as close as it appears. We mounted a 4 run comeback in the 9th from down 8-2.
July 8th
Opponent: @Padres
W15-3, L3-4, W9-6, L6-7
Carl Crawford hit our first grand slam of the season (sad I know) in the first game. You know these one run losses start to eat at you after a while. The Padres deserved the second game. They played a great top of the 9th to manufacture the winning run. Ehh, I feel like after this team gels, we will be the ones coming out on top when it comes down to being able to create a run in those situations.
The last game was infuriating. Jose Reyes was caught stealing third to end the game. I made him write "I will not steal third with 2 outs" 100 times on the blackboard and rechecked that my steal slider is all the way on less. Check.
July 12th All Star Break
Most of my guys get a mini-vacation, but not Rocco. He is voted a starter for the AL. Congratulations Rocco.
I screwed up here, and didn't erase the box score from the all star game in a previous sim, so I can't tell you what happened as for some reason it didn't overwrite the old one. ARGHHHH. I'll assume Rocco went 5/5 with 5hr and was voted the MVP as the NL crushed the AL 17-0. Oh yeah we can also assume he won the Home Run Derby. Fair enough? Carry on.
July 15th
Opponent: Giants
L5-7, W11-6, L5-9, W7-5
We come back from the break with a split against the giants. Game 1 is a ten inning affair, with a 2 run homer in the top of the 10th providing the difference. Game 4 was more dramatic and had an obviously better outcome. Losing 5-4 going into the bottom of the 9th, the inning starts error single, ground out and Rocco nails one over the right field fence to win the game.
July 19th
Opponent: Padres
L7-9, L3-4
They complete the 2 game sweep with a 12 inning marathon in the second game. A Sean Burroughs solo shot in the top of the 12th provided the difference as once again we couldn't get the hit even after getting a runner in scoring position.
July 21st
Opponent: @Evil Dodgers
L4-0, L7-2
Can't speak, too angry.
July 23rd
Opponent: @Diamondbacks
L2-4, W6-3, W4-0
Tsao is the starting pitcher on the shutout, but Fuentes comes in for the last 1/3 inning to keep the membership in the Rockies shutout club down. Good job Brian.
July 25th
Opponent: Dodgers
L11-3, L7-5, L5-1, L7-6
Ouch. Blown out in three straight games then blowing the last. The second game looks closer than it was. Again we have a 4 run 9th to make it look respectable. Hey guys? People are only gonna remember the Ws and Ls. Game 4 is frustrating. The manager leaves Kennedy out a tiny bit too long. He allows 1 run in the first 7 innings, but that last 1/3 of an inning was brutal, giving up the remainder of the 6 runs then. At that point we called on the bullpen to stop the bleeding, but whoops, too late!
July Record 12-16
I always feel like this team just doesn't know how to win the close games. I hope they learn because thats going to be critical if we ever do start making the playoffs.
Player of the Month
Jody Gerut has really turned things around. Patience payed off and he is now hitting .291/.373/.472 with 18HR 52 runs and 70
RBI.
Pitcher of the Month
I guess I gotta go back to Brian Fuentes. So far this season he has an era of 2.29 and is 1-2 with 23 saves in 25 chances.
Disappointment of the Month
Ty Wiggington, he of the 10 April errors, after settling down in May and June is back to his old tricks. He now has 7 errors including some that have cost us close games. For shame Ty.
Random Trade Reports
I'm kinda tapped out on trades, but the computer has been busy all year. Sorry for not updating, it slipped my mind.
April 8th Mets trade (SP) Scott Elarton and (RP) Matt Ginter to Tampa Bay for (3B) Damian Rolls. I guess the Mets got the better of this. All the contracts are expiring, but Rolls will probably be contributing for them this year.
April 18th Reds trade (LF) Stephen Smitherman, (SP) Brandon Clausen, (C) Corky Miller, (SP) John Bale, (CF) Mark Budzinski to Seattle for (RP) Ron Villone, (LF) Randy Winn, (C) Pat Borders. Hmm, well the Mariners dumped some salary and picked up a decent young catcher. Game, Mariners.
April 19th Mets trade (2B) Pablo Ozuna, (SP) Jeremy Griffiths to Boston for (SP) Ramiro Mendoza. Boston dumped a hideous contract of a player who was in AAA for 2 non contributors. Unfortunately this one goes to the Red Sox. And the Mets continue to dump former Rockies on other teams.
May 3rd Royals trade (C) Benito Santiago, (2B) Carlos Febles, (CF) Rontrez Johnson to Boston for (RP) Edwin Almonte, (3B) Mark Ellhorn, (SP) Robert Person. I think the Red Sox win again because of Johnson. He gives them a potential pinch runner/hitter and a backup for Damon.
May 11th Mets trade (LF) Shane Spencer, (C) Vance Wilson, (SP) Jason Middlebrook, (RP) John Franco, (2B) Jay Bell to Pittsburgh for (SP) Josh Fogg, (1B) Carlos Rivera, (RP) Jose Mesa, (RP) Joe Beimel. Carlos Rivera is the best part of the trade, but he is a 1b so that tempers things a little. Mets win.
July 11th Anaheim trades (RF) Jeff Davanon to Royals for (1B) Mendy Lopez and (RF) Brandon Berger. Berger is a non factor here, and I like Davanon better so Royals win.
July 23rd Mets trade (1B) Carlos Rivera to Tampa Bay for (C) Pete LaForest and (SS) Rey Sanchez. Wow I really hate this trade for the Mets. Were they so desperate for a catcher? Couldn't they have just player Rivera there if Piazza is hurt briefly? Piazza isn't hurt. Go D-Rays!
July 26th Texas trades (1B) Brad Fullmer, (SP) Robert Ellis, (SP) Tony Mounce to Montreal for (2B) Henry Mateo, (RP) Dan Smith, (LF) Matt Cepicky. Heres the deal. Cepicky looks like he can develop into something good, but that 69 health isn't ever gonna get better. Low health sucks (see Mr. Jackson on my rotation for an example). Winnar Expos for getting Fullmer.
July 29th Arizona trades (RP) Oscar Villareal to Giants for (LF) Carlos Valderrama. Hmm...I'll say Arizona wins because of the whols 69 health thing on Carlos.
July 29th Phillies trade (LF) Jason Michaels to Royals for (RF) Matt Stairs and (SS) Tony Graffanino. The payroll issues make Royals the winner here.
July 31st Florida trades (3B) Damion Easley, (SP) Justin Wayne, (RP) Alan Levrault, (2B) Abraham Nunez, to Reds for (SP) Scott Randall, (SP) Josh Hall, (C) Javier Valentin. I call it a draw because well the players involved aren't interesting.
July 31st Florida trades (RP) Toby Borland, (SP) Scott Randall to Houston for (SS) Jose Vizcaino, (RF) Orlando Merced, (1B) Mike Lamb. Draw (manager's decision)
Phew, that wraps up July. Next year I might try to remember to do the trades as we go. Also gotta delete the old all star game box scores.
Next Up:
The dog days of summer(is that August)
We're almost average!
For the month of august as you will see. For the year? not so much.
July 30th
Opponent: Diamondbacks
L2-3, W4-2, L6-10
Another one run loss. Tsao pitched well, but Webb pitched better. They almost blew it letting me get runners on first and third with 1 out in the 9th, but we couldn't get anything to get the third base runner home. Come on guys, think clutch. Ahh and Tsao kicks off the month with a bang by going out for 13 days with a foot stress fracture.
August 3rd
Opponent: Cubs
L1-4, W6-5, L2-6
Thats more like it, if you wanna lose lose badly. We almost blew the win. We let them score three in the top of the 9th to take a 5-4 lead but managed to score one in the bottom of the 9th and win it in the 10th on an RBI single.
August 6th
Opponent: Reds
W7-2, W10-3, L9-10
We lose the last one in the 11th. Ken Griffey Jr.'s solo shot gives them the one run lead. Bo Hart gets caught stealing 3rd to end the game in the bottom of the 11th. I ask Jose Reyes to explain to Bo why that is a bad thing.
August 9th
Opponent: @Phillies
L5-10, L2-5, W12-2, L5-9
Nothing terribly interesting here except Jose Fejos will miss 5 games with a pulled quadricep.
August 13th
Opponent: @Pirates
L1-5, W3-2, L2-3
The win was an extra inning affair with three consecutive singles in the top of the 10th scoring the winning run. The last loss wasn't really that close. We had a lucky inning to score the two runs and other than that our entire lineup was shut down.
August 17th
Opponent: Mets
L8-12, L0-9, W7-0
Continuing my pattern of highlighting the good, Kennedy and Young combine on the shutout allowing only 5 runners during the game. The other pitching performances? Not so spectacular.
August 20th
Opponent: Expos
W8-4, L4-10, L5-12
Hmm, feeling pretty low here. Yes I will have to reaffirm that that trade was good for the expos. Fullmer came through with 8 RBI in the two wins for the expos.
August 24th
Opponent: @Braves
W8-5, W10-2, L3-6
The highlight of the series is Edwin Jackson making his rotator cuff sore after the second game of the series. He's out for 5 games. So far hes in the running for the crybaby award. Will I get in trouble if I give him a trophy for that? Hes not an 11 year old kid so seems ok to me.
August 27th
Opponent: @Marlins
W3-1, W2-1, W5-0
Whats that? Another sweep? And against the defending World Champions no less. We must be pretty good. Also three great pitching performances. The first two coming from free agent scrub pickups and the last a complete game shutout for Jennings. He held them to 5 hits and walked none. Not too shabby Jason.
August Record 13-14
Yay, almost .500 on the month. The pitching has been way above expectations.
Player of the month
Jody Gerut again. He's putting up the numbers I had hoped for now at .300/.384/.506 with 25HR, 69 runs and 99 RBI.
Pitcher of the month
As the only pitcher with an era under 4.00, I have to give it to Brian Fuentes. I don't think he was particularly good this month but neither was anyone else. He is 2-2 with a 2.92 era and has saved 26 games in 29 chances.
Disappointment of the month
Well, I would say that my entire staff except for my closer having a 4.00+ era would qualify. Good, moving on...
Well right now I'm on pace for the #2 pick in the draft. I would prefer a strong finish and something to build on rather than my draft position.
Next up:
The stretch run
The Stretch Run
Yeah its come down to a tight race. Only one game separates us from Tampa Bay. For the number one pick in the draft. A dubious distinction at best, I'm hoping to avoid that for now. Lets get to it.
August 31st
Opponent: @Giants
W7-3, W5-3, L5-6
In game 3, Fuentes blows a 2 run lead in the bottom of the 9th, then Lopez comes on to complete the blowing in the 10th. Try harder bullpen. Sweeping the Giants would have been something I could really hang my hat on for the season and we were actually one out away from it as he retired the first two before blowing it.
September 3rd
Opponent: @Padres
L0-14, W7-5, L4-5
The bullpen blows it again in game three. Lopez gives up the winning run without retiring a batter in the ninth.
September 7th
Opponent: Giants
L1-3, W5-4
The second game its our turn to push some unearned runs across the plate as we score 3 in the bottom of the ninth with small ball and as the result of errors. I take this as a small victory as I feel like we have been on the losing side of these games far more often.
September 9th
Opponent: Padres
W3-0, L7-16, L4-10
Jennings 2 hits them in game one and walks only one. He needed to be that masterful as my defense loads the bases in the 8th with three consecutive infield errors before Jennings lays the law down.
September 13th
Opponent: @Diamondbacks
W4-0, L8-9, L3-5, W12-3
We split the series while outscoring them by a combined 27-17. Thats not efficient at all. Edwin Jackson scatters 9 hits for the shutout in game one. Ever since I threatened the crybaby award he has been on best behavior.
September 17th
Opponents: Dodgers
L9-12, L3-5, L0-6
I really hate the Dodgers. I'll just laugh at LA about losing Shaq. And having to put up with Kobe. Haha!
September 21st
Opponents: Diamondbacks
W10-1, W5-3, L1-11
Boring, next?
September 24th
Opponent: Cardinals
W8-6, L12-15, L4-5
The 8-6 game had some hilarity in the pitching:
COLORADO ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
E. Jackson 8.0 7 1 1 2 2 6 116 4.53
J. Young 0.0 4 0 1 4 4 0 11 6.35
B. Fuentes 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 13 3.63
So it took Young loading the bases AND allowing the grandslam to make it a 2 run game without retiring a batter to convince my manager to go to the closer. I'm glad he gave up the slam then.
Game two is equally strange. First, in the box score, my pitchers have pitched a total of 13 innings, while St. Louis has a total of only 9. huh. Theres definitely a pitcher missing as I scored a run that doesn't show up on the totals. Next, Todd Greene, the catcher I traded to the Cards went off on me with a vengeance, hitting 3 HR and driving in 5. Hey Todd, sorry man its just business.
Game three also went to extra innings and again our inability to manufacture a run hurt us. Oh well.
September 27th
Opponent: @Dodgers
L2-6, L0-6, L3-4, W6-4
Ok if my calculations are correct, we managed just two wins against the Dodgers this year. I'm officially depressed. The 3-4 loss came off a run scored in the bottom of the ninth as follows:
Adam Bernero came in to pitch for the Rockies.
Shawn Green walked.
Larry Barnes reached first on a fielding error by the catcher.
Paul Lo Duca singled to left, scoring a run.
For a team that I was hoping to build around good defense, I sure do lose alot of games off of errors. Dave Ross isn't the worlds fair at catcher but goodness. And one of these days I would like Crawfords superior arm to come into play on one of these situations. Just venting. Did I mention I hate the dodgers?
October 1st
Opponent: @Astros
W9-3, W5-3, W6-5
And with that we hit the daily double, a sweep and a winning record in a month. And lock up the number 2 pick in the draft. Well that was locked up a while ago as the rays finished an abysmal 58-104. Our record for those who are not counting was a stellar 66-96. Oakland has the same so I'm not really sure if we get number 2 or not. We will see.
Yearly Awards
First the team only awards
Player of the year
Rocco Baldelli was a rock in center and in the 3 hole. His final numbers were .325/.392/.460 19HR 104 Runs 98 RBI and 17 Steals. If my entire team was Rocco Baldellis, I would have waayyyy to many center fielders. And I'm sure hes not a good pitcher.
Pitcher of the year
As the only starter with a winning record, Joe Kennedy gets the nod. His 32 starts led to a 16-10 record and a 4.48 era. Really the wins are all that look good though so lets move on.
Disappointment of the year
Luke Allen takes the cake. My scouts loved this guys hitting proficiency so I stuck him at first. I expected some hiccups in the field, but he was actually stellar at first. No the disappointment was in the lineup: .221/.349/.367 12HR with 52 runs and 43 RBI. I should probably have cut bait with him at first earlier in the season, but I stuck it out hoping he was in a Gerut type of slump. Nope.
League Awards
NL Home Run Leader Jim Edmonds 49
NL Batting Title Randall Simon .340 (Rocco Baldelli 3rd .325, Carl Crawford 8th .314)
NL RBI Leader Albert Pujols 148
NL Stolen Base Leader Juan Pierre 66 (Carl Crawford 8th 26)
NL ERA Leader Jeff Weaver 2.61
NL Strikeout Leader Kerry Wood 243
NL Wins Leader Kevin Millwood, Jeff Suppan 19 (Joe Kennedy 5th 16)
NL Saves Leader Jason Isringhausen 40 (Brian Fuentes 9th 31)
AL Home Run Leader Alex Rodriguez 60
AL Batting Title Shannon Stewart .358
AL RBI Leader Jason Giambi 185
AL Stolen Base Leader Alex Sanchez 52
AL ERA Leader Pedro Martinez 2.29
AL Strikeout Leader Pedro Martinez 240
AL Wins Leader Curt Schilling, Javier Vazquez 21
AL Saves Leader Mike MacDougal 42
Sorry wait until after the playoffs for the biggie awards.
Up next:
Playoffs
The playoffs (and I'm not invited)
Alright baseball fans. Its time for the playoffs. Will what appears to be the unstoppable Red Sox juggernaut once again be thwarted? Yours truly hopes yes. Lets find out
Round one matchups
Red Sox (116-46)
vs.
Twins (86-76)
I hope Twins in 5 with a heartbreaker in the last game.
I predict Red Sox in 3.
Yankees (109-53)
vs.
Angels (89-73)
I hope Angels in 3.
I predict Yankees in 4.
Astros (99-63)
vs.
Braves (91-71)
I couldn't care less what happens, but I'll say Braves in 5 just because.
Phillies (94-68)
vs.
Dodgers (90-72)
Please, please, please a Phillies sweep. But probably not, more likely a 5 game series to Phillies.
Round one results
Red Sox sweep: 8-1, 5-0, 5-2
Angels win in 5: 4-1, 0-11, 7-9, 4-2, 4-3
Braves win in 4: 9-6, 4-5, 9-8, 5-3
Dodgers win in 5: 3-1, 3-6, 7-5, 1-7, 3-2
I'm hoping for an Angels Braves series, but with my luck I'm staring down the barrel of a Red Sox Dodgers Matchup. Actually I think it will be Red Sox Braves after a Red Sox Sweep in ALCS and Braves win in 6 in NLCS.
Round two results:
Boston sweeps: 9-0, 15-5, 10-0. 7-5
Braves win in 4: 5-3, 3-7, 3-1, 3-1, 4-3
Its an all Boston series! Oh wait Atlanta Braves. Well, lets just play it out
Boston sweeps: 4-1, 13-4, 6-2, 4-3
Aww shucks. A most dominating performance. And yet something tells me the virtual Boston fans found cause to boo Nomar during the playoffs at some point. Alright 2004 is in the books, and it goes down as an unmitigated disaster in terms of everything but money. I made alot of money. I like money. I've got 21 million in cold hard cash just waiting to continue to stay in my bank account until I can afford Mile High Stadium Jr.
Up Next:
The big awards, draft goodness, and no free agents please
Quick Awards Update
AL Cy Young Pedro Martinez
AL MVP Jason Giambi
AL Rookie of the Year Jermaine Clark
AL Gold Glove P Roy Halladay
AL Gold Glove C Damian Miller
AL Gold Glove 1B Paul Konerko
AL Gold Glove 2B Warren Morris
AL Gold Glove 3B Eric Chavez
AL Gold Glove SS Miguel Tejada
AL Gold Glove LF Melvin Mora
AL Gold Glove CF Darin Erstad
AL Gold Glove RF Ichiro Suzuki
NL Cy Young Josh Beckett
NL MVP Rafael Furcal
NL Gold Glove P Mike Hampton
NL Gold Glove C Michael Barrett
NL Gold Glove 1B Todd Helton
NL Gold Glove 2B Marcus Giles
NL Gold Glove 3B Edgardo Alfonzo
NL Gold Glove SS Rafael Furcal
NL Gold Glove LF Carl Crawford
NL Gold Glove CF Rocco Baldelli
NL Gold Glove RF Richard Hidalgo
But wheres the NL Rookie of the Year? Beats me. Whoever had him must have released him, and caused him to be deleted. It looks like it was the padres since on their history it says they had a Rookie of the Year in 2004. Boo. And where's the Wiggington love for 3B gold glove? Yeah just kidding, he sucked it up. Congrats to Rocco and Carl for contiuing to be the only Rockies winning anything. Good job guys.
Alright, The draft stuff has to come later. I wanted to make sure I got the awards done so If I save and it crashes and loses my transactions I would have it recorded.
Next Up:
The draft (for real this time)
The big bad draft preview
Welcome to the show. Without further ado, the top 10 players in the draft, sorted by (+/- 0) scouting.
1. Tito Tortosa (SP) oa88/p96 Average power but great movement.
2. Quentin Olson (SP) oa84/p94 Top power pitcher in the draft.
3. Jose Castilla (SP) oa83/p94 The control master of the draft with decent power.
4. Miguel Becerra (SP) oa83/p93 Good all around stats.
5. Nolan Delworth (RP) oa83/p92
6. Cam Anderson (SP) oa82/p93
7. Frederick Garfield (SP) oa80/p93
8. Martin Deyle (RP) oa81/p92
9. Luis Dabino (SP) oa78/p90
10. Cal Pantelides (RP) oa78/p88
I'm rooting for a TB mistake with the top pick as there is a significant dropoff from Tito to the rest. I've seen some atrocious first picks in this game, heres hoping to a continuation:
January 17, 2005
The first ten picks of the draft with some scouting.
1. Ramon Yunta (C) Tampa Bay oa69/p85 A slow average catcher with decent power.
2. Tito Tortosa (SP) Colorado I'm hoping the average power is compensated for by the good defense I put behind him. I'm very happy he fell to me. He will probably be the ace on opening day.
3. Julio Navarette (C) Oakland oa68/p85 A poor contact hitter and average catcher.
4. Quentin Olson (SP) Baltimore I like this pick as it breaks the average catcher trend.
5. Jose Castilla (SP) Mets After some strnge hiccups, things appear to be going to form.
6. Miguel Becerra (SP) Cleveland
7. Corey Andrews (2B) Detroit oa 69/p91 He has the bat, but the fielding is poor.
8. Zach Zimmerman (RF) Toronto oa70/p85 He has the tools in all the parts of his game.
9. Nolan Delworth (RP) Arizona
10. Juan Cerezo (CF) Milwaukee oa70/p91 Looks like a future power hitter. His range and arm are fine, but he is error prone.
The rest of my picks.
Jose Jimenez (SP) oa73/p88 He'll be in my rotation opening day, no more free agent scrubs thank you very much.
Anthony Keaney (SP) oa67/p86 AAA fodder and hopefully a future member of my rotation
Hank Kaiser (1B) oa64/p80 He needs some developement, but he looks like his stats will be good in everything but speed.
Alan Baker (LF) oa63/p72 He will be in AAA and might see some PT if Crawford gets injured. Probably not.
Cordell Fras (SP) oa63/p75 With some luck, he might get into my bullpen in the next year. Beyond two years and I'm really hoping pitchers like Cordell Fras are not on my staff.
I didn't really meet my needs at 1B so its trade time.
Seattle receives
(RF) Luke Allen
2 milllion
Rockies receive
(1B) Vernon Mcdonald oa70/p85 (turns into p94 after arriving)
Luke Allen was my RF turned 1B experiment gone awry last year. Sickeningly Mcdonald probably now has inside track for rookie of the year as he will get the playing time and the benefit of playing in Coors. I'll be writing in for Tito unless he really sucks it up.
Cubs Receive
(SP) Edwin Jackson, (SP)Chin-hui Tsao, (RP)Adam Bernero, (SP)Jason Young, (SS) Clint Barmes
Rockies Receive
(SP) Steve Nance oa77/p91 (actually its 91 in my farm system, forgot to write down what it was before the trade)
Nance is a young healthy pitcher who will soak innings. The guys I gave up were in contract years and asking too much to do way too little, so away they go.
Well I'm tapped out on trades, and ready to play through until spring training.
The case of the missing rookie of the year has been solved. It was the padres Shane Victorino, who is no longer in the league. All we will ever know about Shane is that he played in 118 games and hit .245 with excellent speed on the baspaths, swiping 18. Nice to know you Shane.
Lets check the opening day roster and see how they did in the spring.
Opening Day Lineup
1. Carl Crawford (LF) .333 9 runs 8 RBI
2. Bo Hart (2B) .326 2 HR 8 runs 9RBI
3. Rocco Baldelli (CF) .300 1HR 5 runs 10 RBI
4. Jody Gerut (RF) .294 1HR 9 runs 12 RBI
5. Vernon McDonald (1B) .262 4HR 15 runs 9 RBI
6. Jose Reyes (SS) .279 1HR 8 runs 6 RBI
7. Ty Wiggington (3B) .235 9 runs 6 RBI
8. Dave Ross (C) .167 8 runs 9 RBI maybe he should get som credit for scoring 8/12 times he got on base. Nope.
The bench isn't very good, and once again we are filling a few roster spots with scrubs. AAA consists of Hank Kaiser. Alright, well the lineup will just have to get it done on its own this year. Right guys?
Opening Day Rotation
1. Tito Tortosa 1-0 3.80 .229 oba
2. Jason Jennings 1-0 2.45 .120 oba (it won't last)
3. Steve Nance
4. Joe Kennedy 2-2 4.12 .234 oba
5. Jose Jimenez 2-0 3.14 .246 oba
Theres a slight improvement from last year there.
Opening Day Bullpen
Closer Brian Fuentes 4.24 .215
Setup Javier Lopez 2.04 .131
Short Jose Ledesma (FA scrub) 3.68 .120
Middle Anthony Keaney 5.73 .283
Long Tony Berry (FA scrub) 4.50 .236
Alt Cordel Fras 4.23 .217
Ehh, next year I promise no FA scrubs will be allowed to play a role on my team. Some of the draftees that I had wanted to spend some time in AAA will have to learn in the big show. Still I'm much more optimistic about this year. My rotation is better, my lineup is better (after a year of developement), my bullpen is about the same and my bench is approximately the same. In my estimation a much better team. I'm hoping for 81 wins, and start to win back some of the fans we angered last year. As a concession I'm lowering ticket and concession prices again.
Next Up:
A new dawn for the Rockies franchise
Oh yeah hey guy who bought expos for 5 bucks? Fire your manager.
Well, we did win the pennant last year, Lobst... er, Vale. I think my manager did a fine job. He plays more of an AL style of ball, which I encourage... we just have to get our weaker hitters and our pitchers advancing the runner.
It looks like you have a nice young nucleus of hitters... doesnt look like you have any power hitters besides Gerut and maybe MacDonald... also, power pitchers seem to have good success at Coors...
Thanks for reading, and good luck with the Rockies
Chris
But first some news about the free agency sweepstakes
White Sox were spending like money was going out of style. They picked up Rafael Furcal and Jose Valentin to back him up at a grand total of 28.3 mil a year. Furcal is signed for 6 years, Valentin wisely only 4 years. They also get some pitching help in Damian Moss and Johan Santana. Adrian Beltre gets a lucrative deal to man the hot corner for them.
Texas wins the Nomar sweepstakes 17.9/7 and also pick up Bret Boone and Fransisco Cordero. Eric Chavez (MIL), Carlos Beltran (TOR), Orlando Cabrera (CHC) round out the 15+ million dollar position players.
In other news, St. Louis builds on its already formidable team by locking up Pedro for the next 7 years at 19.9. Russ Ortiz(FLA) is the only other pitcher to crack the 15mil barrier.
Sorry about the lack of details. My stupidity has led to the auto text printouts being from like 4 sims ago and having nothing to do with what actually happened. I've corrected the problem and next year, the free agency period will be covered better.
Up Next
Opening day
April, beautiful April
April 6th 0-0
Opponent: @Dodgers 0-0
L4-7, W9-1, L1-7
Tortosa pitches reasonably well in his major league debut allowing 4 runs over 7 innings pitched. He leaves with a 4-0 deficit, but we tie it in the top of the 8th to spare him the loss as the bullpen collaborates to lose the game in the bottom of the 9th. Rene Reyes hits the pinch hit grand slam to give us all of our runs. Jennings gets the complete game in the second game, and the offense clicks so we win going away. Nance has a Rockie major league debut allowing 7 runs, 5 earned in his 7 innings. That combined with a dud performance in the lineup equals a 2-1 series victory for the hated dodgers.
April 9th 1-2
Opponent: @Padres 2-1
L3-5, W8-2, W18-5
Holy bats batman! In the shellacking, everyone who steps to the plate for the Rockies gets at least 2 hits and accounts for at least a run via an RBI or a run scored. Including starting pitcher Tortosa who goes the distance for the win. Dave Ross strains his forearm in the excitement and will miss 5 days. Kit Pellow will catch those days for me.
April 12th 3-3
Opponent: Dodgers 3-3
W7-4, W11-6, L2-7
Taking 2 of 3 off the Dodgers feels like a sweep to me. Joe Kennedy pitches the loss. In a reversal of fortune he is the losingest pitchers on the rockies so far. Ok it's early.
April 16th 5-4
Opponent: @Pirates 6-4 (Wild Card Leaders)
L5-6, W10-3, L2-3
A Jose Reyes error led to the 2 unearned runs that were the difference in game one. Game three Jennings picks up his first loss as the Pirates bullpen collaborates to shut us down over the final four innings.
April 20th 6-6
Opponent: Padres 4-8
W3-1, W7-6, L0-6
We were close to dropping 2 of 3 here. Down three going into the bottom of the ninth in game 2, the Padres send out Rod Beck to shut us down. I would like to say we manufactured our runs but that would be a baldface lie. It was gorilla ball all the way:
Rod Beck came in to pitch for the Padres.
Greg Vaughn pinch hit for Brian Fuentes.
Greg Vaughn homered over the right field fence.
Carl Crawford homered over the center field fence.
Aaron Miles hit an infield single to first.
Rocco Baldelli homered over the left field fence for two RBIs.
I'll take it anyway.
April 23rd 8-7
Opponent: Reds 10-6 (Wild Card Leaders)
W10-9, W4-3, W4-3
I haven't even looked at the box scores and I'm giddy. Three one run wins in a row, a sweep, and we are now in the lead of the wild card race. I know its April.
I notice in the box score from game one that it was Tortosa with the very shaky start, but he is outhitting Dave Ross on the season. Maybe I should let Ross take a start? The last game is another dramatic ninth inning comeback from down 3-0. This time we get it done with about 50 gajillion singles. Well more like 6 but I like that we put together an inning like that without relying on the long ball.
April 26th 11-7 (Wild Card Leaders)
Opponent: Mets 11-7 (Wild Card Leaders)
L2-7, L2-4, L4-5
Ow make it stop. Our bullpen is just terrible. I don't know what to say. Brian Fuentes and Javier Lopez look like good relievers until you see their stats.
April 29th Big Ole Trade
Detroit sends Carlos Pena(1B), Elmo Morgan(RF), Brandon Inge(C) to Los Angeles for Jason Grabowski(RF), Chad Hermansen(LF), Robert Iacovetta (RP), Robin Ventura (3B), Carlos Alvear (SS), Ron Coomer (1B), Koyie Hill(DH)
LA gets rid of some payroll and picks up some decent players. In return Detroit gets a great rookie reliever in Iacovetta. None of these players will start right now for either team. I would call it a draw, but I'm biased. Winner: Detroit for not being the Dodgers
April Record 12-10 2.5 games out of the wild card and 3 games out of division lead.
Player of the Month
Jody Gerut wins it: .310/.390/.575 5HR 18 runs and 18 RBI.
Pitcher of the Month
Jason Jennings in a landslide. My former ace has taken well to his demotion to the #2 role. In 5 starts he is 3-1 with a 2.29 era. His WHIP of 1.175 isn't even that bad.
Disappointment of the Month
Brian Fuentes has been terrible, terrible I say. In 9 appearances he is 0-1 with a 7.88 era. He is also 2/4 on saves. He was pretty solid for me last year, and I expect the same this year. I'll give him time, since I have no other options.
Division Leaders
NL East Phillies 16-7
NL Central Cubs 17-6
NL West Giants 16-8
NL Wild Card Mets 15-8
AL East Red Sox 17-7
AL Central Twins 13-10
AL West Rangers 15-9
AL Wild Card Yankees 14-8
We are competitive like I hoped and could make a run at something as the players continue to develop.
Up Next:
May
Mayday
Heh, I don't really know, I'm simming as I go but that title sounded good so I'm sticking with it.
April 30th 11-10
Opponent: Marlins 5-16
W2-1, W4-3, W8-5
Game one contributed to Jennings masterful April as he went all the way for the win. Game two almost is a complete game for Nance as he goes 8.2, but gives up the tying runs and is pulled. We end up going 11 to decide it.
May 4th 14-10
Opponent: Braves 10-16
L1-6, W7-1, W9-3
Game two is a complete game for Tortosa and game three is Jennings continuing to just win baby. We are now on top of the wild card standings again tied with Arizona. We've beat up on the dregs of the east, can we play with the big boys?
May 7th 16-11
Opponent: @Cubs 19-10 1st NL Central
W8-4, L1-9, L4-6
Well I think thats a definitive maybe. Jimenez has just been terrible. I didn't expect great, but I did expect at least as good as last years scrub free agent dudes. That was the bottom half of our rotation going there.
May 11th 17-13
Opponent: Brewers 17-14
W8-5, L3-5, W5-4
In the first game Tortosa has a Rockie start, but Roger Clemens who has found his way to the Brewers has a Rockier start. Game 2 we both score all our runs by the fifth then trade goose eggs for the remainder. Game three was a testament to why I want my defense to be reliable. Our offense was bouyed by 4 unearned runs off of 2 brewer errors. It actually goes extra innings and we score our only earned run in the bottom of the tenth with no outs.
May 14th 19-14 1st place NL West
Opponent: Expos 11-22
L4-5, L9-13, W5-2, W8-0
Bad news in game two as Jody Gerut is out for 25 days with something or other. Rene Reyes will take over for the time being with some lineup shifts. The other bad news is we split with the Expos. The shutout belongs to Jason Jennings, who is having a monster year.
May 18th 21-16
Opponent: @Astros 14-24
W10-2, W10-2, L3-7
Nance grabs the complete game in the first, and Jimenez is there to stink it up in the final game.
May 21st 23-17 Wild Card Leader
Opponent: @Phillies 26-15 1st NL East
L1-2, W15-2, W3-1
Game one is extra innings as Fuentes comes on to blow it in the bottom of the tenth. Compounding the bad news is Bo Hart will sit for 5 days with a finger blister. Aaron Miles will fill in at second, but way down in the lineup. Nance pitches the complete game in the third. He has been very solid in my third spot so far.
May 25th 25-18 Wild Card Leader
Opponent: Giants 25-19
L7-12, L1-7, W8-3
Well, it seems a little late in the year to be playing the giants for the first time. No real interesting games here. Oh and Hideo Nomo no hit those darn Yankees for the Tigers on the 25th. You go Nomo.
May 27th Trade Madness
Baltimore trades Brian Roberts (2B), Jose Morban (SS), Norton Archibald (3B) to St. Louis for Kevin Ohme (RP), Osborne Mcnally (2B), Danny Haren (SP)...hmm...so one batch of pine riders goes for another batch of pine riders. I take it back, I suppose Roberts could be starting, so St. Louis wins.
May 28th 26-20
Opponent: @Diamondbacks 27-20 1st NL West
L2-7, L0-3, L7-10
Randy Johnson pitches masterfully in game 2 striking out 14 in the shutout. Ehh it happens, wish it hadn't happened to us.
Game three the bullpen allows 6 runs in the 8th to give them 10-0 lead. We try valiantly in the top of the ninth putting up a 7 spot, but lets be realistic here. Bullpen, try to keep us in the game ok?
May Record 14-14 Overall 26-24
Ok so the title applies. After a great start against the non divisional foes, we completely drop the ball in the games that matter. Very disappointed right now. The NL West is wide open so those division games are critical.
Player of the Month
I must have lit a fire under Dave Ross when I compared his hitting to Tortosa in an unfavorable light. He has had a sizzling May to bring his totals to: .333/.401/.701! 13HR 32 runs and 36 RBI. I promise he was sucking in April.
Pitcher of the month
Steve Nance came on strong in May and now has numbers that are comparable with Jennings. 10 starts 5-2 2.74 era. His WHIP is worse but I'll take the results.
Disappointment of the month
My bullpen can't keep us in the close games. I have my sliders set so I use the bullpen as little as possible and they are still blowing games for me. This has got to improve if we want to seriously make a run at the playoffs this year.
Division Leaders
NL East Phillies 32-18
NL Central Cubs 29-21
NL West Diamondbacks 30-21
NL Wild Card Dodgers 29-22
AL East Yankees 31-19
AL Central Tigers 28-22
AL West Rangers 31-20
AL Wild Card Red Sox 32-20
Up Next:
June
June Bugs me
May 31st 26-23
Opponent: @Giants 28-22
L2-4, L2-3, L1-2
I don't know what to say. Game two goes 12 innings, so I can't blame the bullpen too much, but the fact remains that we lost so I will. Game 3 Jennings pitches well and goes the distance, but Schmidt and a handful of Giants relievers pitch better and we now are the proud owners of a 6 game skid and are in the basement of the NL West.
June 4th 26-26
Opponent: Diamondbacks 31-23 NL Wildcard Leader
W8-4, W11-0, L4-7, W6-1
Just win I thought we might not win again, we have a great 4 game series against the diamondbacks. Kennedy and Berry combine on the shutout. Jimenez is in on the loss as usual and Tortosa pitches 8 2/3 of the final win.
June 8th 29-27
Opponent: @Devil Rays 19-37
L2-3, W5-2, L4-7
Dropping two of three to the Drays with all due respect to Lobsteve really stinks right about now. I'm about to head into Yankee Stadium right now and some momentum would have been nice. The only good news is Jody Gerut will return to start against the hated Yankees.
June 11th 30-29
Opponent: @Yankees 35-24 AL Wild Card Leader
L3-6, L0-1, L6-10
We are playing terrible ball now. I can't wait for the All Star Break and to top things off Ty Wiggington is out for 15 days now. Tortosa pitched 8 1/3 on the 1-0 loss. He pitched well enough to get the win, but the bats wouldn't cooperate for him that day. Can things get worse?
June 15th 30-32
Opponent: Red Sox 40-23 AL East 1st Place
L1-6, L3-24, L7-11
I will now light myself on fire. 24-3? My position players have regressed badly this year to top things off. Just Win Kennedy is now giving no effort in any of his starts. The 24-3 debacle was mostly him.
June 18th 30-35
Opponent: Orioles 33-32
W5-2, W16-4, L3-4
At this point I'll take it, but the loss was partially due to an unearned run in the top of the 8th. I really want to see a return to fundamentally sound defense.
June 22nd 32-36
Opponent: @Cardinals 34-33
L0-4, L6-7, W8-5
The two losses can best be described as Pedro, then bullpen. I'll give them Pedro, but at some point will Fuentes at least pretend he can pitch for me?
June 25th 33-38
Opponent: @Indians 36-36
L3-4, W5-2, L3-4
Sorry for the minimal recaps here but I'm getting furious at the inability of my team to generate any momentum against anyone. It's also frustrating to open box scores and see winning runs scored in 9th innings and later by the opposing team. This month has been an unmitigated disaster. But Ty Wiggington is back! Good old Ty, that should turn everything around right now.
June Record 9-17 (Overall 35-41)
Just about the only thing that didn't go wrong this month was constant injuries. Wow. Just wow.
Player of the Month
Vernon McDonald my rookie first baseman now leads the team with 18 HR. Barring Injury, he is a lock for 100 RBI as he is sitting on 65 at the end of June.
Pitcher of the Month
My ace is now pitching like one. In 16 starts Tortosa is 8-2 with a 3.17 era. He also is allowing a stingy .200 oba. If he gets his walks down, he will be the complete package.
Disappointment of the Month
I've been neglecting to mention it, but all world center fielder has had a terrible year: .263/.337/.368 with 7HR and 47 runs and 37 RBI. Will he pull himself out of it? I hope so because he was a huge part of my offense last year and losing his production has been a big blow.
Next Up
July, all-stars, and hopefully improvement
Much needed break
I don't know what happened in June, we just completely fell apart. After limping into July, I'm hoping for a big turnaround after the break.
June 29th 34-40
Opponent: Cardinals 37-36
L9-16, W4-2, W8-6
Nothing of note here except Ty Winnington's triumphant return to the lineup in game one results in him doing his best Edwin Jackson and immediately going back to the DL for 2 days with something or another. Well there is something of note. We won a series. Alright, 5 more of those and we are back to .500.
July 2nd 36-41
Opponent: Twins 33-44
L4-7, W7-6, L1-9
I'm hoping that the pitching staff just gets some much needed R&R over the break, since nobody is doing well now.
July 5th 37-43
Opponent: @Diamondbacks 46-37 1st NL West
W5-3, W4-1, L2-5
I probably could have guessed that the two wins were Tortosa and Jennings. In the third game, Nance pitches well, but a Jose Reyes error leads to 3 unearned runs which provide the difference.
July 8th 39-44
Opponents: @Giants 47-37 1st NL West
W3-2, L1-4, L4-9, L4-6
One step forward two steps back. Except this time its even more. We win a close extra innings game with our #4 starter, a feat that I am thrilled about then our 2 top starters drop the ball in the final two games. To complete the devastation Dave Ross is out for 40 days now with a fractured foot. And his overall has dropped 3 points to 79 as a result.
July 12th Home Run Derby
Its the Albert Pujols show as he wins every round and beats Jorge Posada in the finals 5-1.
July 13th All Star Game
As is typical, its a pitchers duel, with the sole run being scored in the bottom of the tenth with 2 outs for the AL win. Oh wait, thats not so typical. Dave Ross and Jose Reyes are voted starters, but obviously Dave Ross doesn't play. Jose Reyes goes 0-4 leading off for the NL. I'll give the MVP to Manny Ramirez as he goes 3-5 and drives in the only run of the game. Sad.
July 15th 40-47
Opponent: Diamondbacks 49-41
W8-6, L1-9, W11-4, W6-5
Game one is 11 innings. We won, but Tortosa again has a Rockie start. Game two its Jennings turn to have one as he gives up all of the runs. Fuentes tries his best to blow the last game, giving up 2 runs and the lead to them in the top of the 9th, but our team, undaunted comes back and gets 2 in the bottom half. Take that Fuentes.
July 19th 43-48
Opponent: Giants 52-39 1st NL West
L3-9, L1-6
I really don't understand the problem. Anyway Bo Hart is out for 5 days. Caring factor? Next to none now. This abortion of a season needs to end now.
July 21st 43-50
Opponent: @Padres 44-48
L2-4, L2-4
Disgusting, we can't even beat the bad teams anymore. Jose Reyes is out for 2 days now.
July 23rd 43-52
Opponent: @Dodgers 56-41 1st NL West
L1-3, W4-3, W8-4
Joe Kennedy who is losing a ton of games this year pitches the first and loses again despite pitching well. Jose Jimenez wins his 2nd game of the year. Only took him 3 months. And Tortosa gets the win in the third game. Up next is a 4 game homestand against the Padres. If there ever was a chance to gain some momentum, this is it.
July 26th 45-53
Opponent: Padres 48-49
W2-0, W10-6, W3-1, W4-2
The team responds. Incidentally, this series brings us to 49-53. We have scored 505 runs and allowed 499 runs. Pythagorean projects us out to 52-50, so I don't feel completely terrible, just only mildy terrible about this year. Jennings goes the distance in game one allowing one hit. I wouldn't mind more of those outings from him during the rest of the season. I think Jimenez has been taking steroids. He gets his second consecutive win in game 4 in a complete game.
July Record 14-14 (Overall record 49-55)
We are all but out of the playoff race at this point. We are ten games back of the dodgers in the wild card race and our most productive player is out for the next 20 days still. The pitching has been erratic, the closer and setup have been inexplicably bad. I'm hoping for moral victories now. I guess .500 is just barely in reach still.
Because of my disappointment in the year so far, its time for fast forward through to the playoffs. This team hasn't done anything of interest of late (that 4 game sweep was immediately followed by 2 losses to the dodgers that would have been reported in the next month)
Next Up:
Fast-forward, Playoffs
It's the Playoffs!
Well not yet. The good news is we did finish exactly at 81-81. How? I don't know, but we must have played pretty well over the past months. No big milestones for any Rockies though.
But enough about the Rockies, lets finalize the playoff matchups with a one game playoff between 90-72 San Francisco and Arizona to see who the NL Wild Card will be.
October 4th Diamondbacks 13 Giants 9
Alright so we can get to the series
DIVISION PLAYOFFS
Rangers(96-66) defeat Red Sox(91-71), 3-0
Indians(93-69) defeat Yankees(98-64), 3-2
Diamondbacks(91-72) defeat Cubs(90-72), 3-0
Dodgers(91-71) defeat Phillies(89-73), 3-2
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Indians defeat Rangers, 4-1
Dodgers defeat Diamondbacks, 4-3
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Indians defeat Dodgers, 4-2
Well the hated Dodgers didn't win. Hurray.
The Awards
AMERICAN LEAGUE (2005)
Cy Young Felipe Mena (DET)
Player of the Year: Mark Teixeira (TEX)
Rookie Of The Year: Felipe Mena (DET)
Gold Glove (P): Karl O'Brien (TEX)
Gold Glove (C): Josh Bard (CLE)
Gold Glove (1B): Kevin Witt (DET)
Gold Glove (2B): Brandon Phillips (BOS)
Gold Glove (3B): Joe Crede (CHW)
Gold Glove (SS): Rafael Furcal (CHW)
Gold Glove (LF): Garret Anderson (SEA)
Gold Glove (CF): Darin Erstad (ANA)
Gold Glove (RF): Richard Hidalgo (BOS)
NATIONAL LEAGUE (2005)
Cy Young A.J. Burnett (MIL)
Player of the Year: Eric Chavez (MIL)
Rookie Of The Year: Tito Tortosa (COL)
Gold Glove (P): Tito Tortosa (COL)
Gold Glove (C): Brandon Inge (LAD)
Gold Glove (1B): Travis Lee (ARI)
Gold Glove (2B): Matt Kata (ARI)
Gold Glove (3B): Edgardo Alfonzo (SFG)
Gold Glove (SS): Jose Reyes (COL)
Gold Glove (LF): Geoff Jenkins (MIL)
Gold Glove (CF): Rocco Baldelli (COL)
Gold Glove (RF): Jody Gerut (COL)
Go Rockies! For an 81-81 team we are pretty well represented in the awards. Of course, for a 79-83, the Brewers are also well represented.
Rockies Player of the Year
I'll give it to Jody Gerut. In addition to his gold glove, he put up the best offensive numbers of the year for this team. Take a look at them and you will see why we were 81-81 (this team plays 81 games in coors)
.295/.374/.523 29 HR 86 runs and 100 RBI
Hopefully next year my player of the year can put up some bigger numbers.
Rockies Pitcher of the Year
Tito Tortosa. Ehh the top three starters all have very close numbers, but he gets the edge because he leads the team in strikeouts and the gold glove thing.
33 starts 17-9 with a 3.59 era and 153 strikeouts. He also managed 10 complete games.
Disappointment of the Year
Brian Fuentes please step forward. 6.27 era and just completely unreliable this year after a pretty solid 2004. My scouts can't tell me what has changed, but he might be on the trading block soon.
Bill James Stat of the Year
Pythagorean projected us to win 84 games last year. I'll take this as a positive as eventually things will balance out.
Random Leaderboard News of the Year
Rockies were the top 6 and 7 of the top 10 receivers of intentional walks. Yeah the opposing pitchers fear us. For some reason. You know this seems suspiciously like it could be a bug. A strange coincidence that I have my pitchers set to intentionally walk frequently and it seems that opposing pitchers do it instead. Anyway, I'm not complaining, since they do it in weird situations.
Next up:
Trades, draft, trades, uhh spring training
Draft away
First up the top 10 draft picks in no particular order but the right one:
1. Expos Miguel Martinez (C) Much better than last years #1 Catcher
2. Astros Rick Breckenridge (P) No power but great control and movement.
3. Royals Webster Young (CF) Rocco Baldelli without the arm.
4. Twins Paul Flaxman (P) Top power pitcher of the draft
5. Blue Jays Gaspar Rivas (P) Solid Starter
6. Devil Rays Bill Pollard (P) A slightly worse version of Rick Breckenridge.
7. Marlins Fred Kruni (P) See above
8. Padres Ward King (P) See above
9. Pirates Chad Holmberg (P) Hmm...average power, average movement and excellent control. I'm not so sure about this one.
10. Reds Corey Lane (3B) A peak 83 player who hits for average and power.
Now without further ado, the Rockie class of 2005:
Wade Briggs (SP) oa77/p92 Hes got great control and power but average movement. Excellent health and endurance to soak up innings for me. He will definitely be in the rotation.
Jose Sera (SP) oa73/p82 Umm...a much worse version of Breckenridge. He might be in the rotation. Definitely he will be pitching at the major league level this year
Joey Marr (RP) oa69/79 Hes a high endurance relief pitcher with good control and good movement. He probably is in bullpen this year.
Charlie Pier(LF) oa65/p76 Hes a prospect. I'm hoping that his peak will go up in my farm system and he develops into a passable backup at left. Last years guy in this position doesn't look like he will pan out.
Adolfo Salinas(RP) oa 59/p79 A worse version of Joey Marr. He'll hopefully develop into a reasonable middle or short reliever in AAA.
Bill Shearer(RF) oa60/p72 He has the arm, and the fielding for RF and an excellent eye. As for the other stuff, that isn't there yet and probably never will be. Meh.
Trade Time
Expos Receive Dave Ross (C), 1M in exchange for Miguel Martinez (C)
My scouts are telling me that that broken foot did more damage than is apparent. He had a career half year last year and tailed off badly after coming back from the injury. Miguel has a ton of upside and is 10 years younger.
Astros Receive Jason Jennings(SP), Joe Kennedy (SP), and Brian Fuentes (RP) for Rick Breckenridge (SP)
Brian was giving me heart attacks, Joe had a career year in 2004 and then just was Mr. Anti-Clutch in 2005. Jason Jennings has been great, but its a contract year and he is looking for a big extension that I'm not willing to commit to. I'd rather trade him now and get some value for him than wait. If I needed him to win this year, oops.
Yeah thats it for trades for now.
Tomorrow:
Pretty please can we go over .500
Semi-random scouting report
Heh, I realised I haven't been giving much detail about the developement of my players. Oops, my bad. Yeah, I guess you would call MacDonald a power hitter.
Carl Crawford basically hasn't improved at all over 3 years of being in my system. The others have developed well, even if the results on the field don't show it. Now you can see this McDonald character in all his glory. I guess hes a power hitter for now. That was his role on the small ball team last year and will continue to be his role this year.
I like the 96 health on my top 5 starters. I'm hoping for big innings from them this year.
Originally posted by Crispy984
...Lobst... er, Vale. Ehh, my bad. I guess I should have prefaced my dynasty with many apologies to Lobsteve for my blatant ripoff of his style. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all though...
Oh yeah, am I doing something wrong by just starting out loading 2004 rosters from the Lahman database? Some of the roster (specifically payroll) information that I see in other dynasties seems vastly different.
In Other News
Umm, yeah well the free acency stuff didn't seem to have a txt file. So again details are sketchy. Most notable is there is very bizarre 23 million dollar man in baseball. Felipe Mena the AL Rookie of the Year (signed as an undrafted free agent) and AL Cy young winner is now pitching for the Cubs as a 23 million dollar one year rental.
Honestly he has to be bugged, here are his stats (+/-0)
End:72
Con:100
Pow:50
Mov:100
oa91/p92
He went 19-4 last year for detroit with a 1.50 era and a whip that I'm gonna roughly calculate at approximately .75. Oh and one measly strikeout. Bugged. He went from a career 7+ era pitcher in AA to that. Detroit must be rocking with the farm system.
In other more slightly realistic news, reigning AL MVP Mark Teixeira is now a Cleveland Indian for the next 5 years at 20.2 M a year.
Boo hiss, and back in magical fairy land, a Mena clone is the one year pitcher rental for Texas. Think the EXACT same stats as Pena, but slightly worse results as the Angels rookie free agent signing last year. Hes making 18M this year for his efforts.
Now I'm starting to get worried, further down the list of free agent signings is a reliever with the same type of weird stats but a 20 endurance. What the heck happened to my game? And before anyone asks, no I didn't touch commisioner mode, but yes I have been saving my game since for the purposes of writing this dynasty I've been simming a game at a time instead of months at a time and things move much slower.
Well, despite this unfortunate turn of events, we will continue.
The three players mentioned above are the only 15+ M dollar men.
Next up
Opening day, lets hopefully play the Cubs on Mena's day off during this season
Opening day
Can you smell it in the air? No? Well it's opening day anyway and our lineup order looks a little different this year.
Opening Day Lineup
1. Carl Crawford (LF) .318/.362/.386 1HR 7 runs 7 RBI
2. Jose Reyes (SS) .275/.315/.529 3HR 7 runs 7 RBI
3. Vernon McDonald (1B) .329/.414/.518 2HR 16 runs 19 RBI maybe poised for a breakout year
4. Jody Gerut (RF) .333/.413/.641 3HR 8 runs 9 RBI I guess McDonald kept stealing all his RBIs by cleaning the bases before he could get up to hit
5. Rocco Baldelli (CF) .333/.395/.410 0HR 7 runs 6 RBI
6. Ty Wiggington (3B) .333/.413/.463 1HR 10 runs 11 RBI
7. Bo Hart (2B) .294/.357/.412 0HR 10 runs 6 RBI
8. Miguel Martinez (C) .258/353/.403 2 HR 7 runs 9 RBI
Bench
Rene Reyes (RF)
Aaron Miles (2B)
Greg Vaughn (LF)
Chris Pieber (C)
Kit Pellow (C)
Charlie Pier (LF)
(AAA)Alan Baker OF
(AAA)Bill Shearer OF
(AAA)Hank Kaiser 1B
I know what you're thinking. Greg Vaughn is still alive? Apparently. Although he is in a contract year. And won't be resigned. In other buggy news, he apparently was playing for the Rockies back in 1989. And here I thought that was the Zephyrs I was watching back then. My mistake.
We also now have that thriving AAA system I've been dreaming about. On to the pitching
Opening Day Rotation
1. Tito Tortosa 2-0 3.68 .195 oba
2. Steve Nance 1-0 3.68 .214 oba
3. Rick Breckenridge 1-0 5.54 .314 oba yowsah!
4. Jose Jiminez 3-1 4.86 .248 oba
5. Wade Briggs 2-0 3.38 .213 oba
Bullpen
Closer Javier Lopez
Setup Jose Sera
Short Joey Marr
Middle Anthony Keaney
Long Cordel Fras
Alt Tony Berry
(AAA) Adolfo Salinas
(AAA) Jorge Erdos
(AAA) Jose Ledesma
I didn't want to show the bullpen numbers because they are discouraging. I didn't mention it specifically last year, but the bullpen woes were mostly Fuentes. Lopez actually turned in a decent year: 2.47 era .212 oba in more IP than Fuentes. I was hoping that he would take over the closers role and perform better than Fuentes. His spring numbers are positively 2005 Fuentes like. Boo. I'll continue to leave the sliders set in a way to try to avoid going to the bullpen ever. Alright starters I'm hoping for 162 complete games got it?
Speaking of bullpens: In spite of my inexperience on Mogul difficulty, on fan, I have still never had a successful bullpen apart from filling my entire pitching staff with good starters. I don't know why, but even relievers with 93/93 just stink for me. I don't know if this is a shared experience, but if you have noticed me ignoring relievers in the draft despite my bullpen woes, this is why. So, I'm not ignoring my needs, just addressing them in a way that has been successful in the past for me.
Prediction for the upcoming year
Honestly, I have no idea. In terms of the ratings I can get on the standings screen, we are second in the division with an overall of 73 to the Dodgers 77. But, a big part of our ratings deficit comes from our lackluster bench, which isn't really critical in my strategy at this point. Our pitching and defense rank first in the division by a large margin and our lineup is second to the dodger. Take from that what you will, but I will go with mood:cautiously optimistic for now.
Counteracting this, is the dreaded feeling that some weird pervasive bug has invaded my game and we are under attack from a group of super accurate knuckleballers from mars. It adds a bit of randomness, as facing this Mena guy 3 times in the season could be the difference between a playoff berth and another disappointing year. Enough with the analysis.
Next up:
Play Ball!
Division rivals galore
In stark contrast to last year, we start the season with 18 games against NL west rivals. Its a good chance to get a jump start on the season, but with a young team, I woul prefer some warmups in less important contests first. Lowering ticket prices to 14.00 now. I like seeing the big numbers for attendance.
April 5th 0-0 1st NL West
Opponent: Padres 0-0 1st NL West
L2-7, W6-2, W4-3
Tortosa has a rare bad outing in the first, while Nance and Breckenridge both go the distance in the final two games. Just for consistency's sake, Carl Crawford goes 3/5 in each game.
April 9th 2-1 NL Wild Card Leader
Opponent: Dodgers 2-1 NL Wild Card Leader
L4-9, W4-3, W4-1
Jimenez, who had shown big signs of improvement by the end of last year, returns to his early season form. Tortosa also returns to form, picking up the complete game in the third game. Carl Crawford streak of 3/5 games is broken in game one as he only goes 1/5. Tough luck, but he does have a 6 game hitting streak going now.
April 13th 4-2 1st NL West
Opponent: @Padres 3-3
W3-2, W11-6, W4-2
DiMaggio's streak is safe, as Carl goes hitless in game two. In other news, Jose Jimenez pitches well in game three to give me some justification for the limited faith I have put in him. And I don't want to jinx anything but 4 of my bullpen pitchers have a 0.00 era. Only 2 of them have any innings pitched but I'll take it.
April 16th 7-2 1st NL West
Opponent: @Diamondbacks 4-5
L0-3, W5-2, W6-5
I know I'm just inviting the baseball gods to punish me for mentioning this, but lots of these close games we are winning are the direct result of the bullpen stepping up. Game one is Webb shutting us down.
April 20th 9-3 1st NL West
Opponent:@Dodgers 3-7
W3-1, L2-4, W8-5
Game two is of note as the first close game that the bullpen has blown. Its Sera giving up 2 in the 8th to hand the game to the Dodgers.
April 23rd 11-4 1st NL West
Opponent: Diamondbacks 7-9
L6-8, W5-4, W13-10
Tortosa has another off game in the loss. Whats gotten into Tito? And I finally figured out what happened to Joe "Just Win" Kennedy last year. Steve Nance stole his mojo. Thats the only explanation. Last year it really did seem like if we won a close game, Nance was the starter. And Joe Kennedy was that way the year before. Anyway, relevancy? The 5-4 win is a Nance start, although he is gone before the game is decided in extra innings. Game three they win the who can use more pitchers battle 7-4, but the scoreboard goes to us.
April 26th 13-5 1st NL West
Opponent: Expos 7-12
W15-3, L3-12, L3-4
Wha happened???? I admit I was thrilled to come out of those 18 division games on top and be able to finish up with a sweep against a truly terrible team. Yikes, my guys can't get motivated to play games against non-division rivals? Briggs has the worst start of his young career in game two, and Tortosa will have a losing April after dropping the third game going 8 innings in the loss.
April Record 15-7 1st NL West
Division Leaders
NL East Phillies 16-8
NL Central Reds 17-6
NL West ROCKIES 15-7
NL Wild Card Cubs/Astros 13-10
AL East Yankees 14-10
AL Central Twins 14-9
AL West Rangers 13-10
AL Wild Card Royals 13-9
Random Mena Update
He has stunk it up this year. 1-2 with an 8.80 era. Thats what you get for trying to exploit a bug Cubs. Shame on you.
Cheaters never win, unless they are from Texas report of the day
The Texas version of Mena has been better. 2-0 with a 2.89 era
Player of the month
The rest of his stats have been fairly typical, but leading the team with 21 runs and 23 RBI is Jody Gerut.
Pitcher of the month
If you had put the over under on number of times a bullpen pitcher won this award over the course of the season at 1/2, I would cheerfuly have taken the under and called you a sucker. Whoops. Javier Lopez after a terrible spring has been almost perfect. He has 8 saves in 8 chances and a 0.00 era. Almost perfect? His oba is .069 so I can't say perfect. Sorry Javier. Also his WHIP is pretty nice 5/9 whatever that is.
Disappointment of the month
I was looking to the starting pitching to be the rock on which this season was based. Steve Nance is 4-0 but nobody really is putting up great numbers.
Joe "Just Win" Kennedy is just winning for the Astros now. And hes not relying on great run support. He leads all starters in the majors with a 0.89 era. I guess he got some new mojo.
Next Up:
May
May
April 30th 14-7 1st NL West
Opponent: Phillies 16-7 1st NL East
W13-10, W9-7. L8-11
The starting pitching continues to be missing. Lucky that the offense is in high gear to at least salvage two. The bullpen continues to outpitch the starters.
May 4th 16-8 1st NL West
Opponent: @Marlins 9-16
W6-5, L4-6, W5-3
Sorry I missed it earlier, but back on April 8th, the Dodgers and Angels swapped 7 players total. The Dodgers got killed in the trade, picking up 4 nobodies, 3 of whom they immediately release, while giving up a good young SS in the process.
The only noteable thing from this series, is Lopez picks up 3 er in the last game to end his scoreless streak, and blow his first save.
May 7th 18-9 1st NL West
Opponent: @Cardinals 12-16
W12-7, W5-3, L5-8
I expected the game 3 loss. It was Pedro who lost a little bit, but shut us out for 8 innings before the Cardinals bullpen came on to let us tie the game at 5-5 before our bullpen eventually blew it in the top of the 10th. Lopez is in what I'll call a slump at this point. He has allowed 5 er in his last two outings.
May 11th 20-10 1st NL West
Opponent: Astros 14-18
W6-5, W15-11, W13-2
We are allowing more than 1 unearnerned run every other game. This 100 team defense rating isn't all its cracked to be. In what should surely be a milestone, McDonald picks up 10 RBI in the middle game:
COLORADO ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
V. McDonald (1B) 5 5 0 4 3 10 0 0 .314It isn't a milesone, but it is a heck of a game. If the starting pitching was clicking the way I had hoped, we would be having a very special season here. I certainly couldn't have hoped for the offensive production we are getting. Oh and if you don't believe me about it being a potential milestone, check here: http://baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_rbi1.shtml. Under fun facts you will find the following:
...at least ten RBIs in a game — a feat rarer than a perfect game or four homer game
The dodgers make a trade with the phillies that essentially amounts to gold glove catcher but light hitting Brandon Inge for a couple of pitching prospects with peaks in the low 80s.
May 14th 23-10 1st NL West
Opponent: Pirates 15-20
W8-7, W8-4, W9-1
Nothing too interesting here. A few more unearned runs in the second game. I don't really know what to do about it. I might have to look for a better fielding 3B in the offseason.
May 18th 26-10 1st NL West
Opponent: @Mets 18-19
W6-4, W3-2, W5-0
And with that we all of a sudden have a 9 game winning streak. And the starting pitching showed up. Improbably it's Jimenez on the shutout.
May 21st 29-10 1st NL West
Opponent: @Braves 18-21
W9-4, W7-2, L2-3
Game one is a close affair until we open the floodgates in the top of the 8th, batting around to score 6 runs on 7 hits. Game two is never close as we score early and often, and Tortosa pitches well. The last game is a 2-2 tie going into the bottom of the ninth, but a one out solo shot off of Sera by Chipper Jones ends it. Heh, I knew the streak couldn't last forever, and that must at least double any streak we previously had. I can't remember winning 6 in a row...but that could just be a glass is half empty thing on my part.
May 25th 31-11 1st NL West
Opponent: @Cubs 26-17 NL Wild Card Leader
W6-3, W4-1, W6-5
Mister, I don't know what you've done with my team, but you can keep them. The first two games are complete games giving my bullpen a rest so when Briggs struggles in the third, the bullpen is able to come on and staunch the bleeding. To further the luck factor we avoided all bug pitcher Mena. He might not be having the same year, but he still scares me.
In a large trade Oakland essentially swaps Bobby Kielty (RF) for the Mets Jason Phillips (1B). Both are in contract years, and both are minimum salary guys, but Jason Phillips is by far the better hitter. He does suffer from that 69 health thing. But, assuming his health holds out for the year, Oakland just got a steal.
May 28th 34-11 1st NL West
Opponent: Giants 27-20 NL Wild Card Leader
L1-4, W3-0, W4-2
Jesse Foppel outduels Tortosa in game one as both starters go the distance. Nance gets the shutout in game two and Breckenridge gets the complete game in game three. The real winner? My bullpen who gets three days in a row off.
May Record 22-5 (Overall Record 37-12 1st NL West)
All I can say is wow. I don't really keep track of such things since I normally sim at a much faster pace, but I don't recall offhand ever seeing a month this good. Plus, we haven't had a single injury this year. Not even a broken toenail. I do focus on good health guys, but this is unprecedented.
Player of the Month
Vernon McDonald. 10 RBI game aside, he has been solid all year for me. .314/.422/.578 15 HR 45 Runs and 48 RBI.
Pitcher of the Month
Would you believe Rick Breckenridge has 9 wins at the end of May? I wouldn't either. He does though in 10 starts he is 9-0 with a 3.40 era.
Disappointment of the Month
Cancelled this month.
Division Leaders
NL East Phillies 30-21
NL Central Reds 31-20
NL West Rockies 37-12
NL Wild Card Cubs/Dodgers 28-22
AL East Baltimore 32-20
AL Central Royals 28-21
AL West Rangers 31-19
AL Wild Card Indians 27-22
Mena continues to struggle, while the Ranger's Mena continues to flourish.
Up Next
June
End:72
Con:100
Pow:50
Mov:100
oa91/p92
Download the latest patch! This was fixed in V7.02 I beleive. (It wont screw up your save game)
Originally posted by Crispy984
Download the latest patch! This was fixed in V7.02 I beleive. (It wont screw up your save game)
I am running the unofficial 7.09 patch though. Have been basically since the day after it was released.
Probably no updates of my dynasty today. I've had bigger fish to fry. But I couldn't sleep last night because I kept wondering if the fact that everyone in the game is left handed makes things a little different than expected. So first thing when I got up this morning I spent like 30 minutes editing a league down to two teams with identical hitters and fielders, planning on running a full season and seeing if some positions got more fielding chances than expected because of the abundance of lefties.
It didn't work, I got some weird error, and actually the scheduler didn't put any games on the schedule. So, plan B was just sim 2004 and get some averages for each position. I don't have the results in front of me now, but it seemed to me at a glance that Clay is doing something towards righty/lefty splits in the future as the outfield chances were cf>rf>lf with each difference being a pretty decent margin. A superficial glance at actual MLB fielding statistics looks more like cf>lf>rf.
So at least for now, I'm thinking defense at 3b, ss and lf may be slightly overrated while defense at 1b, 2b and rf might be slightly underrated in this game. I would like to come up with a good way to analyze the statistics I got for the infielders. About the best I can think of is to take some statistics from real life, and try to compare them to the game ones.
Also, I read some article that leads me to believe that generally accepted lineup principles might not necessarily be optimal. So I'm thinking about either restarting with an AL team, or restarting with a DH in the NL so I can have full freedom to adjust my lineup. (One of the findings was that it is rarely optimal to have your worst hitter bat 9th).
pogue_mahorsey
07-21-2004, 06:59 PM
Interesting work on the lineup and fielding question. Personally, I go for some "traditional" things like a raging arm in RF with good range, and in left I tend towards range over arm. CF, of course, I shoot for both.
When it comes to infield defense, it seems to me that teams get a good boost from a 2B with range, so I try to field that position as if it were a SS. At 3B and 1B, I typically favor hitting over range, but I still shoot for high fielding, and a good arm at 3B.
As to the lineup question, I tend to put a fast guy with average at the 9 slot, and generally my worst hitter is in the 7 or 8 slot. The idea being that if there's a close-to-perfect game going, I might have a shot with a decent hitter as the last out, with the potential of turning the lineup over.
Where's the article you mentioned?
http://www.techcentralstation.com/092002A.html
I wish he gave a few more details. The article is very short. He does give a list of rules for how to arrange your lineup, based on an empirical ranking of their hitting ability. Supposedly, setting your order in this way will produce near optimal results over the course of the season. But if you wanted to actually try this out, you would have to come up with a way of ranking your position players hitting ability using I guess the scouting scores.
I guess if we could actually move the pitcher around in the lineup, there would be other potential benefits of having your pitcher up in the order if you had a great hitting bench and a decent bullpen combined with some light hitting defensive oriented players in your lineup.
On the defensive front, I simmed another season with computer managers when I got home and got different results. This time left fielders had more chances than right fielders. Obviously one season is not enough to really judge. Its a pain to do because when you output fielding stats, there is no way to sort them by position (as position is not printed). So you end up having to do alot of work by hand. I know people play out of position sometimes during the year, but with the computer controlled teams thats a rarity. So it would be safe to output their natural defensive position. If so I could just sort in excel by that and a couple of formulas and copy pastes later have all the information I wanted. Anyway, I think to get any statistically valid information about the defensive stats I would need to sim alot more seasons, and without being able to use excel to quickly do things I don't think it is doable.
egswanso
07-22-2004, 09:43 AM
Originally posted by vale
http://www.techcentralstation.com/092002A.html
I wish he gave a few more details. The article is very short. He does give a list of rules for how to arrange your lineup, based on an empirical ranking of their hitting ability. Supposedly, setting your order in this way will produce near optimal results over the course of the season. But if you wanted to actually try this out, you would have to come up with a way of ranking your position players hitting ability using I guess the scouting scores.
I guess if we could actually move the pitcher around in the lineup, there would be other potential benefits of having your pitcher up in the order if you had a great hitting bench and a decent bullpen combined with some light hitting defensive oriented players in your lineup.
On the defensive front, I simmed another season with computer managers when I got home and got different results. This time left fielders had more chances than right fielders. Obviously one season is not enough to really judge. Its a pain to do because when you output fielding stats, there is no way to sort them by position (as position is not printed). So you end up having to do alot of work by hand. I know people play out of position sometimes during the year, but with the computer controlled teams thats a rarity. So it would be safe to output their natural defensive position. If so I could just sort in excel by that and a couple of formulas and copy pastes later have all the information I wanted. Anyway, I think to get any statistically valid information about the defensive stats I would need to sim alot more seasons, and without being able to use excel to quickly do things I don't think it is doable.
i havent read that article yet, but i've read others that talk about optimal lineups, the end result is no more then a win or two a year, so it would only matter for the teams that lose out by a win or two. I'm trying to remember where i read these articles, but sorry, i cant.
He claims that the difference between the optimal lineup and the worst lineup is about 4 games on average with a worst case of a difference of 5.5 games between them. But hes projecting records based on something akin to pythagorean projections so I think there is also some relevance as to whether your team is winning alot of blowouts and losing alot of one run games (as my team seemed to be doing last year). In that case the difference could be much more significant.
In any case, I've kinda abandoned this dynasty. I really hate playing in Coors, and it will be a while before I can afford to upgrade the stadium in the manner that my plan was. For fun I simmed a couple of seasons out without doing too much to the lineup. McDonald hit 79 HR in the second year which was kinda the straw that broke the camels back as far as continuing to play in coors. I think the game really overcompensates with some of the stadium effects and coors takes the cake in that regard. (When playing as other teams I have seen Arod end up with the rockies and jack 80+ in one year). It is way too much and too ridiculous trying to get good pitching results with numbers like that being possible.
egswanso
07-26-2004, 07:46 PM
i dont disagree with you re: the difficluty of getting good pitchers in denver... it took about 15-16 years for my denver team to produce pitchers who could play there, although it can be done. My 2019 team had a no. 1 starter going 20-7 with a 2.29 ERA (270ip), no. 2 at 15-8, 3.59, and a no. 3 at 16-14, 4.47; bullpen also strong, with a closer w/i 26sv and a 1.99, and set-ups with 2.06 (63g), 2.76 (51g), and 2.79 (40g). 4th & 5th starters had ERAs over 5 though.
it also took me fiddling with dimensions to find the right balance between hitting and pitching. Still trying to find it in Mexico City & Guadalajara.
Somewhat unrelated to this dynasty, but I decided to make a new Colorado dynasty, but this time with no holds barred offense as my goal. I started by realigning the league into geographical based 5 team divisions (My division is pretty weak: texas, houston, colorado, san diego, arizona), and we are in the DH league since coors was made for DH.
Anyway thats just an aside, just look at what we inflicted on the 2010 HR derby:
FIRST ROUND (10 outs)
PLAYER HOMERS
Geraldo Valentin (COL) 7
Derrick Krahling (COL) 7
Lukas Young (COL) 6
Jose Velazquez (COL) 6
Osborne Reilly (PIT) 5
Miguel Sevilla (ATL) 5
Aubrey Huff (NYY) 4
Jody Gerut (ATL) 3
Quimby Fernsworth (MIL) 3
Perry Sperling (COL) 1
SECOND ROUND (5 outs)
PLAYER HOMERS
Lukas Young (COL) 5
Derrick Krahling (COL) 3
Geraldo Valentin (COL) 2
Jose Velazquez (COL) 1
FINAL ROUND (5 outs)
PLAYER HOMERS
Lukas Young (COL) 4
Derrick Krahling (COL) 4
EXTRA INNINGS (3 outs)
PLAYER HOMERS
LUKAS YOUNG 3
Derrick Krahling 2
WINNER: Lukas Young
I know the numbers aren't that great, but 5 players in the derby and no non rockies left after the first round. Geraldo Valentin is a freak of nature. He was called up as a rookie 21 year old first baseman in the middle of his first year out of the draft and finished the year with 32 HR. Not too bad, but it gets much more insane.
Year 2 67 HR
year 3 73 HR
year 4 70 HR
year 5 40 HR at the break (in the past he has been a slow starter usually having around 20-25 at the break and crushing things in the second half). He will, barring injury, have 300 before his 26th birthday which is next april 8th. Except for speed he is the complete package. He strikes out a ton, but walks almost as much (avg 130 BB/150 K). He hits for average (career avg .324)
I'm a little bit anxious about what type of salary hes going to want. I've always given myself a rule that I won't pay a first baseman more than the league minimum, but this guy could end up with 1000 HR if he stays in the friendly confines of coors.
Anyway, when I saw the HR derby, I just had to laugh, my stockpiling of power has payed off apparently. Ehh and I found out during this dynasty that its really cheap to convert random 1b to any position you need. Defense seems to be somewhat insignificant in this game, and if you pick the people to convert right (young with room to grow), they tend to pick up on the defensive end pretty quickly.
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