1990 Pirates...changing history

[JustinM]

The idea for this dynasty is simple: the Pirates started what had the potential to be one of the best teams in recent memory in 1990, including a trip to the National League Championship Series. After 1992, though, the team spiralled into disarray and it has yet to recover, losing in 12 consecutive seasons.

My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to keep the Pirates respectable after the critical 1992 season, hopefully to the present day and beyond.

Some ground rules: -20% injuries, -20% salary requests, +20% league revenue, as per SkyDog's gameworld tweaks. I also have his newgamestadiums.csv file installed, and his other tweaks (though the most important one, 2005stats.txt, won't come into play until 2005).

It will be interesting to see how I fare at this. It will be easy to make this team win; with players like Bonds, Van Slyke, Bonilla, and Drabek, the majors are already stocked with talent. People like Moises Alou, Tony Womack, Jon Lieber, Esteban Loaiza, and Tim Wakefield are in the farm system and on their way up, ensuring a future for the club.

The problem with the Pirates is money. Having talent in the system is one thing, but keeping it is entirely another.

Thus, onward I go, having learned from the recent success of the Oakland A's, that talent is a great thing to have, especially if you can recycle it.

[JustinM]

"PREASEASON" 1990

I saw fit to make some free agent signings right off the bat to increase the team's pool of prospects.

Signings:
1B Jay Gainer (61/91)
CF Jesus Tavarez (61/88)
SP John Burke (59/86)
RP Trevor Hoffman (74/87)

Yes, I realize the first three names on that list never amounted to a hill of beans in real life (and that's when you combined all three of them), but hey, they were cheap, and they have lots of upside. Let's see what the game does with them.

R=rookie, $=contract year, A=arbitration

Lineup:
1. 1B Gary Redus
2. SS Jay Bell
3. CF Andy Van Slyke
4. LF Barry Bonds ($A)
5. RF Bobby Bonilla ($A)
6. C Don Slaught
7. 3B Jeff King
8. 2B Jose Lind
9. Pitcher

Bench:
1B Sid Bream ($A)
OF John Cangelosi ($A)
RF Steve Carter (R)
IF Wally Backman ($)
C Mike LaValliere ($A)
RF R.J. Reynolds

Starting Rotation:
1. Doug Drabek ($A)
2. Neal Heaton
3. John Smiley ($A)
4. Bob Walk
5. Randy Tomlin

Bullpen:
CL Bill Landrum ($A)
SU Stan Belinda
SH Ricardo Rincon
MD Trevor Hoffman
LG Jerry Reuss ($)
ALT Jon Lieber

It's beginning to be readily apparent why the Pirates fell apart when they did. All these arbitration cases would've turned into full-blown contract disputes by the time 1993 or 1994 rolled around.

I'd list the minor leaguers on the roster, but there are A LOT of them. I'll give them until they have their arbitration hearings; if they don't improve, they disappear. Basically, none of them currently make enough money to warrant getting rid of them now, except some of the pitchers: Ted Power, Doug Bair, Walt Terrell, Bob Kipper. All of them were on the major league roster but I shuffled them down because I distinctly remember they had a knack for wrecking otherwise fine ball games. As soon as I can find a taker for their salaries, I'll dump them.

[JustinM]

APRIL 1990

April 1st, the following trade occurred...
To Toronto: CF Dave Gallagher
To Chicago White Sox: RP Frank Wills, RP Tom Henke, SS Tony Fernandez, LF George Bell, 3B Kelly Gruber
Why?: Actually, good question. It looks basically like Toronto dumped salary directly into Chicago and got a very-good-fielding-but-otherwise-average centerfielder out of it.

April 1-3 - at Los Angeles
L2-1, W7-6, W16-1
Doug Drabek pitched an 8-inning complete game in the first game of the series, but lost because the bats didn't wake up. Pitching staff pretty much blew up in the second game--Landrum got the win and Hoffman got the save with home run help from Bonds and LaValliere (?!). Smiley pitched a gem of a complete game in the last game, and got lots of help from the bats with homers from Redus, King, Bonds, and Bonilla.

April 4th, the following trade occurred...
To San Fransisco: SP Ted Power, SP Walt Terrell, RP Doug Bair, RP Bob Kipper
To Pittsburgh: RP Steve Reed
Why?: I just got rid of $6.7M of dead weight from the payroll, some of which I'd have been stuck with through seasons beyond this one, and I picked up a 73/90 RP prospect in return. Basically, it didn't take me as long as I thought it might to find a taker for those contracts.

April 4-6 - vs. San Diego
W6-5, W6-5, W5-3
Stan Belinda got the win in the first two games, Doug Drabek in the third. Landrum got saves in the first and third games. Bonds and Bonilla homered in the second game, and Van Slyke homered in the third.

Milestone - April 4
1B Jack Clark: 1000th RBI

April 5th, the following trade occurred...
To Montreal: 3B Rey Palacios, RP Larry McWilliams, C Bob Boone, SP Storm Davis
To Kansas City: 2B Rex Hudler
Why?: I have no idea what Montreal was thinking. "Let's get some decent-but-aging-and-overpaid players...when nobody comes to our games!" Kansas City didn't get much at all in this trade, but they got rid of almost $7M in salary.

April 8-10 - vs. Los Angeles
W5-4, W6-0, W6-3
This is going to sound like a broken record, but Heaton pitched a gem in the first game, getting Landrum a save, and Van Slyke got a home run. Smiley threw another complete game in game two, and Jeff King homered. In the third game, Bob Walk went 8 innings, Landrum got the save, and King homered for the second time in as many games. Things are going swimmingly for the Buccos.

April 8th, the following trade occurred...
To Seattle: LF Rickey Henderson, RP Rick Honeycutt, SP Bob Welch
To Oakland: 2B Brian Giles
Why?: Oakland was dumping salary. Unfortunately for them, they dumped the salaries of players they could still find very useful, and got jack-all in return for it. Good move Seattle, if they can afford the cost.

Milestone - April 10
3B Paul Molitor: 1000th run

April 10th, the following trade occurred...
To Detroit: SP Tom Browning
To Cincinnati: LF Tracy Jones
Why?: Detroit got rid of a serviceable left fielder for a serviceable starting pitcher. Seems pretty straight up in this case, except that Browning is making 10 times what Jones is making. Oops!

April 13-15 - vs. Los Angeles...I guess they stayed for another visit, after two days off in a row...
W4-1, W16-5, W12-8
Randy Tomlin took the hill in the first game, gave up 1 run in 8 innings, and handed it to Bill Landrum for the save. In the second game, Doug Drabek improved his record to 2-1 while Barry Bonds hit two homers and Don Slaught added one of his own. Bill Landrum got the win in the last game (though I'm not sure why), and there was one home run each from Gary Redus and Barry Bonds.

Milestone - April 15
CF Willie Wilson: 600th steal

Injury - April 18
SS Jay Bell: 44 days with a fractured foot...just peachy. He'd been batting .339 in the #2 slot for me so far this year. Rafael Belliard will take his spot in the lineup.

April 16-19 - vs. Cincinnati
L4-1, L3-2, L5-1, L7-2
Ouch. No more 11-game winning streak. Other than one home run in the second game by Barry Bonds, the bats just didn't show up in this series. The four big losers were Smiley, Walk, Tomlin, and Drabek. Moving rapidly on...

April 20-22 - at Houston
W4-3, L4-0, L3-2
In the first game, Neal Heaton pitched well and handed Landrum the save...but after that, Smiley and Walk lost their second game each in a row. Bobby Bonilla picked up a home run in the last game.

April 23-25 - vs. New York...no interleague play yet, so you know which team without my telling you, right?
L8-4, L13-1, W11-5
Let's see...Stan Belinda blew the first game, but at least Andy Van Slyke got a home run. In the second game, Heaton got credit for the loss, but it only happened because the defense committed three errors. The last game went better, though. Smiley got the win, and Redus and Bonds picked up home runs.

April 26-28 - vs. Montreal
W4-2, L8-4, L10-4
Ouch again. Dropping two to the Expos is unacceptable. Redus, Bonds, and Bonilla got home runs in the first game while Walk got the win and Landrum got a save. Then everything went downhill. In game two, Tomlin was the victim of unearned runs, but Jeff King smacked two homers. In the third game, Drabek got shelled badly, but Sid Bream of all people hit a home run.

April 30-May 2 - at San Fransisco
L5-3, W7-1, W8-3
Neal Heaton is slumping a bit, taking another loss in the first game, but Bonilla hit a home run. In the second game, John Smiley pitched a complete game, and Bob Walk went 8 innings in the last game to get the win.

April 30th, the following trade occurred...
To Minnesota: C Alex Trevino, RP Dan Schatzeder, SP Jim Clancy
To Houston: 1B Gene Larkin
Why?: It was really Clancy for Larkin in this case, but Houston dumped $5.05M of aging veteran salary onto Minnesota, who is already in the red. Minnesota could've made a smarter move, but they've been trying to unload Larkin ever since the season began.

So, at the end of April 1990...
The Pirates are 14-12 (not counting the two games in May), tied for second in the NL East, one-half game behind the Cardinals.

Team Leaders
ERA: John Smiley (2.68)
Wins: John Smiley (4-2)
Saves: Bill Landrum (7/7)
AVG: Barry Bonds (.396)
HR: Barry Bonds (9)
SB: Gary Redus (11)

Well, on to May...

[JustinM]

MAY 1990

May 3-5 - at San Diego
L1-0, L6-2, W9-4
I feel bad for Randy Tomlin in the first game. He pitched 8.2 innings of shutout ball only to see Stan Belinda come in and give up a homer to the first guy he faced. In the second game, Ricardo Rincon gave up 3 in 1 IP, and thus got the loss, and a well-deserved one at that. Finally the last game went the way a game should. Heaton got the win, and Redus and Bonilla contributed one HR apiece.

May 7-8 - vs. San Diego
L12-9, W4-3
Home/home series. John Smiley got the start in the first game and gave up SIX runs in TWO innings. Hey, John, try switching those numbers, and you'd help a lot more. Of course, San Diego's starter gave up 7 in 1.2 innings, but unlike us, they kept piling runs on after their initial outburst. In the second game, Bill Landrum blew his second save, but Rincon picked him up and got the win. Bonds and Bonilla tacked on home runs.

May 9-11 - vs. New York
W9-4, W7-4, L4-3
Belinda got a win in the first game, the third time he's been in the game at the right time. Bonds hit his 11th home run. In the second game, Drabek went 8 scoreless innings, handed the game to Trevor Hoffman who promptly gave up 4 runs. Thankfully, Landrum was there to stop the bleeding with his 8th save, and Redus got his 6th HR. In the last game, Landrum somehow got the loss even though he was charged with no runs. He should have gotten a blown save, instead, but a loss it shall be, I suppose.

Milestone - May 9
SP Frank Tanana: 200th win

Milestone - May 11
SP Rick Reuschel: 2000th strikeout

May 13-15 - at Chicago
L2-0, W3-2, W10-7
I just hate to see losses in low-scoring games when I have bats like these in this lineup. Smiley was the victim. In the second game, Walk won and Landrum saved. In the last game, things turned crazy as Tomlin gave up 7 runs in the third inning. Hoffman ended up being in the right place at the right time, though, and got the win, with Landrum getting his 10th save. Bonilla hit a home run.

May 16-18 - at Atlanta
W6-3, W8-1, L5-1
In the first game, Drabek pitched a fine game, Landrum got the save (his 11th), and Barry Bonds hit a HR (his 12th). Drabek also threw 123 pitches in 7.1 innings, telling me I need to lower the allowed pitch count a bit. Heaton got a complete game win in the second game, and Jeff King and Bonds hit home runs. In the third game, we just got beaten by Tom Glavine. The only run came from a Don Slaught homer.

May 18th, the following trade occurred...
To the Mets: RP Mark Huismann, RP Mark Ross
To Pittsburgh: 3B Kevin Morgan
Why?: Huismann and Ross are old. Well, not old old, but Ross, for example, is 32 and still qualifies as a rookie. Both of them are at or beyond their low peaks for sure. Morgan is 60/92 and is only 20 years old, so he could still be something. And it lowers my payroll by $630K.

Injury - May 18
SS Rafael Belliard: 101 days with a broken back. *sigh* Two weeks before Jay Bell can return, too. Wally Backman will start at shortstop now, and 1B Mark Ryal will take the spot on the roster, though if I never actually use him, it'll be better that way.

May 19-21 - at Chicago
W7-5, L9-3, L5-1
Bob Walk pitched a mediocre game in the first game, but the bats and Ricado Rincon picked up him, and Bill Landrum got the save. Bonds hit his 14th. Randy Tomlin got rocked in the second game, and Drabek was victimized in game three by a lack of offense.

May 23-25 - at San Diego
W1-0, L4-3, W4-3
In the first game, Neal Heaton got a complete game shutout. Starter John Smiley pitched a fine game in game two, only to have Stan Belinda wreck it in the 8th. In the last game, Bob Walk gave up only one earned run (and two unearned runs), but got a no decision as the bats didn't show up until Stan Belinda was in the game. Van Slyke hit a solo home run, but it was a Bonds two-run homer that won the game in the 9th inning.

Injury - May 24
SP Doug Drabek: 16 days due to a spiked Achilles tendon. !!! I hope there's a suspension for whoever did that...nevermind that he didn't even pitch in that game. Jon Lieber takes his spot in the rotation, and Tim Wakefield gets the call up to the majors. If he does better than Lieber, he'll stick. If they both do well, Tomlin will head back to AAA.

Milestone - May 25
LF Vince Coleman: 500th steal

May 27-29 - at Chicago
W7-1, W9-5, W5-2
Tomlin must've heard me talking. He pitched a complete game in game one, and despite 7 runs there were no homers. In the second game, Jon Lieber got his first MLB win in his first MLB start, and Redus, King, and Bonds knocked long balls (hmm...perhaps a poor choice of words). In the last game, Heaton tossed a good game, giving Landrum his 14th save.

Milestone - May 28
RP Dave Righetti: 200th save

May 31-June 2 - vs. Chicago
L6-2, L10-0, W8-3
Nothing much to say about the first two games other than that Smiley, Walk, and Reuss could've all pitched better. Tomlin pitched another gem in the last game, and Bill Landrum got the same. Van Slyke homered, his 5th.

Injury - May 31
SP Jon Lieber: 4 days with elbow inflammation...which means Wakefield will get a start. I'm not going to bother bringing someone up to take the roster spot, though.

Jay Bell is healed and back in the lineup, also, which is good considering Backman just got hurt for a couple days, too.

So, at the end of May 1990...
The Pirates went 16-10 (not counting the two games in June) and are now at 31-23 (counting the games in June), one game behind the Mets in the NL East.

Team Leaders
ERA: Neal Heaton (3.05)
Wins: Neal Heaton (6-2)
Saves: Bill Landrum (15/17)
AVG: Barry Bonds (.370)
HR: Barry Bonds (16)
SB: Gary Redus (20)

[JustinM]

JUNE 1990

June 3-5 - at San Fransisco
W4-3, L8-0, W6-1
In the first game, Tim Wakefield got his first major-league start and win and Landrum managed his 16th save. Neal Heaton got rocked in the second game. In the last game, John Smiley went 8 scoreless innings and hit his first double of the season. :)

Milestone - June 5
1B Gary Redus: 300th steal. It's always nice when your own team members pick up milestones.

June 6-8 - vs. Philadelphia
W4-1, W9-3, L3-2
Bob Walk gave up only 1 run over 8 innings in the first game, allowing Landrum to get a save. Even Randy Tomlin pitched well in the second game, a game in which Barry Bonds went 2-2 with a HR, 4 walks, 2 runs scored, and 3 RBI. Wakefield pitched well in the third game, but Terry Mulholland shut us down just a little bit more.

Milestone - June 5
LF Tim Raines: 600th steal

June 9-11 - vs. Chicago
L7-2, L6-5, W10-3
In the first game, Heaton and Landrum both got rocked, but Landrum wasn't in position for a save anyway. In the second game, Smiley's pitching was of dubious merit, but Rincon's single earned run and Jeff King's bat (with his 8th round-tripper) made sure that Rincon suffered the defeat instead of Smiley. Walk pitched well again in the closing game, getting his 6th win, while King and Jay Bell contributed home runs, their 9th and 1st, respectively.

June 10th, the following trade occurred...
To Texas: 2B Fernando Vina
To Seattle: C Geno Petralli, 2B Julio Franco, RP Craig McMurtry
Why?: Before I even looked at the standings, something told me this was a prospect-for-useful-veteran trade, prospect going to a struggling team while the veterans going to a team in the playoff hunt. I wasn't exactly wrong, as Seattle is well ahead of Texas in the AL West standings, but California's absolute dominance over that division makes the trade a dubious one for the Mariners. Oh well, at least Franco is still decent in 1990. It's only his 10th season, after all. :)

June 12-14 - vs. Philadelphia
W5-2, W7-6, W14-2
Bring out the brooms! In the first game, Tomlin got the win and Landrum the save. Ricardo Rincon picked up Wakefield and the win in game two, and Landrum got a save despite giving up two runs in the process, while Jeff King got his 10th HR. In the romp that was the last game, Heaton got the win while Redus (8th) and Bonds (18th) hit home runs.

June 15-17 - vs. St. Louis
W9-5, L10-9, L9-7
Doug Drabek returned and continued his unusually mediocre pitching in the first game, though he did get the win, and Landrum his 20th save. Bobby Bonilla hit his 9th HR. Bob Walk got knocked around a bit in the second game, but it was still anyone's game until the 11th inning when the ancient Jerry Reuss gave up a run, getting the loss. Bonds (19th) and Bonilla (10th) hit home runs. In the third game, Stan Belinda managed to give up 5 runs, all earned, in two-thirds of an inning. Where was the manager? Argh.

June 15th, the following trade occurred...
To Minnesota: 2B Rene Gonzales, RP Mark Williamson
To Baltimore: SS Dennis Hocking, 3B Gary Gaetti, RP John Candelaria
Why?: Baltimore gave up a mediocre-and-fading second baseman and a decent reliever for a shortstop prospect of dubious merit, a good-but-aging third baseman, and a good-but-even-more-aging reliever. I can only figure that Minnesota wanted to get rid of a couple old veterans and had to give up someone/anyone who hasn't turned 20 yet to get Baltimore to bite, and bite they did.

June 18-20 - at Philadelphia
L2-0, W11-1, W3-1
Smiley was once again the victim of a loss in which he pitched well but got no support at all. In the second game, the bats woke up for Neal Heaton, who pitched 8 scoreless innings. The last game saw Drabek get his 6th win, Landrum his 21st save, and Bonds his 20th HR. With that win, we're back into the NL East lead.

Milestone - June 20
RF Dave Winfield: 2500th hit. He's 38 years old now and in his 19th season. I think that gives him what they call an "outside" shot at 3000.

June 21-23 - vs. Houston
W12-4, W2-1, W6-3
Sweepstakes! In the first game, we walked all over the first three pitchers the Astros employed, with Van Slyke hitting his 6th HR, Bonilla his 11th, Jeff King his 11th and 12th, and Bonds his 21st. Wakefield, subbing for Bob Walk (who had a minor injury) was the beneficiary of the support. In the second game, Tomlin pitched a complete game four-hitter. To finish the sweep, Smiley went 7 innings and gave up only a single run, while Landrum got his 22nd save and Gary Redus hit his 9th HR.

June 22nd, the following trade occurred...
To Texas: 2B Mike Sharperson, SP Pedro Astacio
To Los Angeles: 3B Steve Buechele, SS Jeff Kunkel
Why?: This is really Buechele for Sharperson and Astacio, but Texas forced LA to take Kunkel off their hands. With a .209 batting average, I can't blame them. Incidentally, Astacio isn't happy being Texas's 6th starter. He thinks he could get a spot in the Pittsburgh rotation. (He's wrong, but he could be in the bullpen...)

Milestone - June 23
2B Lou Whitaker: 1000th run

June 24-26 - at New York
W9-6, W7-2, L2-1
This was an important series away from home, and it's good that we won it, because it extends our lead in the East. In the first game, Heaton got knocked around a bit, but Rincon got the win and Landrum his 22nd save. Drabek all but pitched a complete game in the middle game, going 8.2 innings (Trevor Hoffman pitched the final out). Bonds hit two homers, his 22nd and 23rd. Bob Walk pitched well in the last game, but Ron Darling completely shut us down, pitching a complete game and giving up only one unearned run in the process.

June 27-30 - at Cincinnati
L4-2, W7-2, L7-6, W12-10
Not much to say about the first game other than Tomlin lost again. He's 6-4, though, so it's still not getting bad. In the second game, Smiley pitched the way he's supposed to pitch, and he went above .500 to 7-6. In the third game, Heaton's pitching was mediocre, but Belinda suffered the loss in the 7th inning. We won't mention the pitching in the last game other than to mention that Belinda got the win by sheer fate, being in the right place at the right time, and Landrum got his 24th save despite giving up a run.

Milestone - June 28
RF Dave Parker: 2500th hit. He's also 38 and in his 19th season. Another "outside" shot at 3000.

June 22nd, the following trade occurred...
To Oakland: LF Luis Polonia, SP Chuck Cary
To the Yankees: C Jamie Quirk, RP Gene Nelson, RF Lance Blankenship
Why?: I haven't the foggiest idea, actually.

So, at the end of June 1990...
The Pirates went 19-11 and now sit atop the NL East with a 49-33 record, two games ahead of the Mets. We have the best team batting average in the NL, but the second-worst ERA. Hmm.

Team Leaders
ERA: John Smiley (3.47)
Wins: Neal Heaton (8-4)
Saves: Bill Landrum (24/26)
AVG: Barry Bonds (.352)...Jay Bell is batting .396, but doesn't have the 255 AB to qualify due to the injury
HR: Barry Bonds (23)
SB: Gary Redus (27)

[JustinM]

JULY 1990

This one's gonna get long from all the trades...

July 1-3 - at Houston
L8-7, L8-4, L6-5
Ouch. Hmm...anything worth mentioning...Redus hit HRs 10 and 11 and Bonds got his 24th. The first and last losses were due to Landrum blown saves. Argh.

July 3rd, the following trade occurred...
To the Yankees: LF Franklin Stubbs, RP Larry Andersen, SP Chris Holt
To Houston: RP Greg Cadaret, SP Tim Leary
Why?: Chris Holt may be a quality prospect. Aside from that, this was a bum deal for the Yanks, especially having given up Polonia just a few days ago.

July 4-6 - at New York
W4-3, W7-3, W10-5
Sweeping the Mets is never a bad thing. In the first game, Wakefield subbed for an injured Heaton and won, with Landrum getting his 25th save and Van Slyke his 7th HR. In the second game, Drabek pitched a fine game, winning his 8th with the help of Jeff King's 13th and Bonds's 25th HRs. In the last game, Ricardo Rincon won after Heaton went 7 scoreless innings, but the Pirates ran Julio Valera up the wall for 6 runs in the top of the 11th, including a leadoff HR by Jay Bell in that inning, his 2nd.

I think I'm going to keep Wakefield in the rotation, and allow Tomlin to be the "6th" starter.

July 6th, the following trade occurred...
To Kansas City: 1B Terry Francona, LF Glenn Braggs
To Milwaukee: RP Steve Farr
Why?: Because they wanted to, I guess. This is a boring trade.

1990 Home Run Showdown

FIRST ROUND (10 outs)

PLAYER HOMERS
Jose Canseco (OAK) 11
Andre Dawson (CHC) 9
Chris Sabo (CIN) 6
Gary Sheffield (MIL) 5
Don Mattingly (NYY) 4
Gary Carter (SFG) 4
Chili Davis (CAL) 3
Devon White (CAL) 3
Barry Bonds (PIT) 1
Ken Caminiti (HOU) 1

SECOND ROUND (5 outs)

PLAYER HOMERS
Jose Canseco (OAK) 5
Gary Sheffield (MIL) 3
Chris Sabo (CIN) 2
Andre Dawson (CHC) 1

FINAL ROUND (5 outs)

PLAYER HOMERS
Jose Canseco (OAK) 3
Gary Sheffield (MIL) 3

EXTRA INNINGS (3 outs)

PLAYER HOMERS
GARY SHEFFIELD 3
Jose Canseco 2

WINNER: Gary Sheffield

As for the All-Star Game...
Barry Bonds and Gary Redus started for the NL, and Jerry Reuss was on the team, but didn't play. Wait. Jerry Reuss? I'll never understand why. Oh well, no matter, as the NL won, 6-5.

July 12-14 - vs. St. Louis
W4-2, W1-0, L6-5
In the first game, Bob Walk went 7 scoreless for his 7th win, Bill Landrum got his 26th save, and Jay Bell hit his 3rd and 4th HRs. Tim Wakefield went 8 scoreless in the second game, and Landrum got his 27th save. In the last game, Smiley didn't pitch so well. :(

Milestone - July 13
SS Garry Templeton: 2000th hit.

July 13th, the following trade occurred...
To Cincinnati: RP Tony Fossas, RP Mark Knudson
To Milwaukee: 2B Luis Quinones
Why?: Booooooooooooooooooriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing...

July 15-18 - vs. Atlanta
L4-2, W7-5, L6-5, W7-6
Drabek lost in the first game, although Bonds got his 26th HR. Neal Heaton improved his record to 9-4 in the second game, while Van Slyke hit his 8th and 9th HRs. Belinda suffered his sixth loss in the third game, but got his sixth win in the last game of the series with help from homers by King (14) and Bonds (27). Bonds now leads the league in HRs.

July 15th, the following trade occurred...
To Seattle: LF Carmelo Martinez
To Philadelphia: RP Dave Burba
Why?: Burba's an okay prospect and Martinez is a solid left fielder, whom I'll bet that Seattle will use as a backup in their playoff run (in which they are reasonably close now). An entirely understandable trade.

July 19-20 - vs. St. Louis
W5-2, W4-2
Smiley got his 8th win, Landrum his 28th save, and Bonilla his 12th HR in the first game. In the second game, Drabek got his 9th win, and Landrum got his 29th save.

July 21st (but before the game that day), the following trade occurred...
To San Fransisco: RP Bob Patterson, C Mike LaValliere
To Pittsburgh: RP Kevin Rogers
Why?: It was mostly a salary dump, but Rogers will be a fairly good (81p) reliever one day, so it's not a waste of players for me. Tom Prince will now be my backup catcher, and Rogers is in AA.

But, Rogers is friends with Scott Erickson of Minnesota. Let's see...

July 21st (but before the game that day), the following trade occurred...
To Minnesota: 3B Bobby Bonilla, 2B Wally Backman
To Pittsburgh: SP Scott Erickson
Why?: Mostly a salary dump, but since Bonilla was playing RF anyway, I could easily move Moises Alou into that position without losing much in the way of skill. Backman's the harder one to replace, actually, as Carlos Garcia is forced into the backup role now before he's ready. Perhaps I can swing a third deal that will fix that situation. At any rate, Erickson is now my fifth starter, and Wakefield goes back to the alternate role.

So, I fix the infield...

July 21st (but before the game that day), the following trade occurred...
To St. Louis: RP Jason Christiansen
To Pittsburgh: 2B Geronimo Pena
Why?: Boring on the surface, but it completes the deal I've been trying to make.

Immediately, Jay Bell got hurt for a week, so Pena gets to play shortstop for a bit.

July 21-23 - vs. Houston
L7-5, W6-2, L7-6
In the first game, Heaton pitched poorly and lost. In the second game, Walk pitched a gem and won his 8th, giving Landrum his 30th save, and Jeff King his 15th HR. In the last game, Erickson pitched okay, but Jerry Reuss lost the game in the 10th. Geronimo Pena hit his first home run of the year, though.

Reuss is a liability, but I can't unload him on anyone because of his age and his contract. Well, sort of. There's always a market for these things...

July 24th, the following trade occurred...
To the Yankees: RP Jerry Reuss
To Pittsburgh: nobody and nothing
Why?: Duh? $2.05M of 40-year-old 0-3 pitcher out the door. I'd have just released him, but that incurs penalties!

July 25th, the following trade occurred...
To the Yankees: RP Bill Landrum
To Pittsburgh: $1M
Why?: $2.6M out the door when I have better relievers in the chute waiting for opportunities. Yeah, he's 30/35 so far this year in save opportunities, but he's also the lowest-rated pitcher in my bullpen. Mike Roesler takes over the closer's role, Steve Reed the middle relief role, and Vicente Palacios the long relief role. My wallet thanks me.

July 25-27 - vs. Montreal
L6-4, L9-2, L9-4
I was concerned when I saw those scores that the fault would lie with my new bullpen. Roesler is not pitching well, but the starters (Smiley, Drabek, and Heaton) were the losers in all three games, so it can't really be pinned on the bullpen.

Milestone - July 25
1B Jack Clark: 300th home run

July 25th, the following trade occurred...
To Cincinnati: LF Bo Jackson
To Kansas City: SS Mariano Duncan
Why?: Equally rated players, same age, VERY different salaries. This was a salary dump by Kansas City, and it helps that Jackson has a broken ankle.

July 25th, the following trade occurred...
To Los Angeles: RP Tom Henke
To the White Sox: SP Terry Wells, RP Mike Hartley, RP Dave Walsh
Why?: LA got a closer for three iffy players, and the White Sox got rid of salary...fitting, since they're 18.5 games out of first.

July 29-30 - at New York
L4-2, W10-3
Bob Walk lost the first game. Not much else to say about it. The second game was a welcome back party for Jay Bell, who went 2-for-6 with a double and 2 runs scored. Don Slaught added his third home run of the year to John Smiley's 9th win.

So, at the end of July 1990...
The Pirates went 11-12 (oh no!) but still sit atop the NL East with a 60-45 record, 4.5 games ahead of the Expos. We still have the best team batting average in the NL, but the second-worst ERA. Hmm. At least I made a profit that month.

Team Leaders
ERA: Scott Erickson (3.48)
Wins: John Smiley (9-8), Doug Drabek (9-6), Neal Heaton (9-6)
Saves: Trevor Hoffman (1/2)...nevermind that he's in AAA. The Landrum trade screwed this stat up.
AVG: Barry Bonds (.333)...Jay Bell is batting .369, but doesn't have enough at bats to qualify
HR: Barry Bonds (27)
SB: Gary Redus (30)

The remaining trades will be in the next post.

[JustinM]

Just a note...

I had a severe issue involving my connection and a bolt of lightning two weeks ago, and I am only now back online.

However, with all the new patches out between then and now, and Scorey on the verge of releasing an accurate 2005 roster, consider this dynasty on an indefinite hiatus. If I do update this thread again, I'll probably just start over anyway because of the patches. Otherwise, I'll start a new thread based on 2005.