Turn Of The Century (2001 Florida Marlins)

[seanpatin]

Baseball America (Apr. 1, 2001) - Just 4 years off their most recent World Series title, the Florida Marlins' franchise has been purchased by the multi-million dollar enterprenuer, Sean Patin. In a press conference earlier today, Mr. Patin had this to say:
"I have been very interested in purchasing an MLB team for quite a while now and this week we had been negotiating deals and today we finally pulled the trigger on one. I am very excited to be the new sole owner of the Florida Marlins. The team has a solid group of youngsters who should be able to lead us to another championship within the next couple of years. I hope you'll all come to the ballpark and watch us win one on opening day on Monday, April 2."



Current Payroll Budget: $35.7M
Current Team Payroll: $67.9M
*looks to me like we might need to make a few moves to lower that payroll so we can make some money this season*


Trades
To Florida: C Raul Casanova and 2B Rickie Weeks
To Milwaukee: C Charles Johnson, P Vladimir Nunez, P Franklyn Gracesqui, and P Vic Darensbourg
Charles Johnson was a huge salary dump at $6.5M and Nunez was a good pitcher, but didn't have the stamina to start and wasn't as highly valued as a long reliever. In return, I pick up a great prospect in 2B Rickie Weeks. He will likely be the successor of next year's free agent Luis Castillo. Also, Raul Casanova has a shot at gaining the starting role behind the plate, unless Mike Redmond beats him out, but in that case he will still likely fill in from the bench. The fans were glad to hear that we got rid of Nunez is what local reporters are saying (also the newspapers)


MLB Lineup:
1. 2B Luis Castillo - (87/87); a prototypical leadoff batter
2. CF Preston Wilson - (89/89); speed=#2 spot, lots of POP
3. 3B Mike Lowell - (89/89); top hitter in a potent lineup
4. LF Cliff Floyd - (88/88); should knock in the 3 ahead of him
5. RF Kevin Millar - (85/85); switched from 1B to RF
6. 1B Derrek Lee - (87/93); Millar moved so Lee could play
7. C Mike Redmond - (80/80); ratings seem misleading, he's worse
8. SS Alex Gonzalez - (81/82); youngster with decent bat
9. (Pitcher)

Bench:
OF Eric Owens - (72/72); lost starting job after .293, 6 HR, 29 SB
IF Andy Fox - (74/74); hasn't seen frequent time in 3 years
OF Jeff Abbott - (73/73); another aging vet on the bench
IF Dave Berg - (76/76); third 30+ bench guy
C Raul Casanova - (75/75); recent acquisition from Milwaukee
OF Lyle Mouton - (74/74); 788 career ABs in 8 seasons=bench

Rotation:
1. Matt Clement - (94/94); 5.14 ERA last year needs improvement
2. A.J. Burnett - (92/94); wants to be the ace for the D-Rays
3. Brad Penny - (89/93); 8-7 in first season, should improve
4. Ryan Dempster - (86/92); All-Star representative last year
5. Josh Beckett - (87/97); 20-year old will anchor rotation

Bullpen:
CL - Antonio Alfonseca (83/83); 45 Saves last year was a fluke
SU - Braden Looper (82/85); future closer, possible mid-late '01
SH - Armando Almanza (81/82); solid relief pitcher
MD - Dan Miceli (80/80); also found a spot on the trading block
LN - Jesus Sanchez (75/75); 5.11 career ERA, but potential
AT - Chuck Smith (80/80); how long can he hold off Dontrelle?

Minor Leagues
AAA Hitters:
1. OF Ryan Thompson - (71/71); career minor-leaguer at 33
2. OF Chad Mottola - (69/69); 29-year old likely to miss out on MLB
3. 3B Mike Gulan - (63/63); another Social Security check
AA Hitters:
1. OF Ryan McGuire - (66/66); same as Mottola
2. C Ramon Castro - (71/73); could play on the bench someday
A Hitters:
1. OF Abraham Nunez - (62/79); future MLB player, but where?
2. C Matt Treanor - (59/72); decent young catcher
R Hitters:
1. OF Chris Aguila - (62/82); likely to spend a few years in FLA
2. C Josh Willingham - (61/85); potential future starter
3. 2B Rickie Weeks - (63/96); traded for him for a reason

AAA Pitchers:
1. Johnny Ruffin - (77/77); likely to be playing somewhere else by year's end
2. Ricky Bones - (74/74); scouts say give him a chance... NO!
3. Joe Strong - (65/65); he is 38-years old.... retirement?
4. Gary Knotts - (69/74); could play a few seasons in the bigs
AA Pitchers:
1. Dontrelle Willis - (83/100); debut next year, need to trade one of the current starters
2. Tommy Phelps - (62/74); has potential to be a reliever
3. Blaine Neal - (72/82); Braden Looper's competition in a few years
4. Nate Robertson - (62/82); no room=alternate, long relief, or trade
5. Jason Grilli - (57/61); Mr. Terrible played in the bigs last season
A Pitchers:
1. Kevin Olsen - (66/70); not going to be quite good enough
2. Nate Teut - (60/77); another starter with potential
3. Nate Bump - (66/78); could pitch for me in the next couple years
4. Hansel Izquierdo - (57/69); no interest in him
R Pitchers:
1. Benito Baez - (63/71); could find a place in the bullpen someday
2. Logan Kensing - (46/83); what the **** am I gonna do with him?
3. Justin Wayne - (59/79); same as above!


FINANCES:
Cash - $3,369,872
Payroll - $53,762,000
Budget - $32,217,345

Tickets: $17.00
Hot Dogs: $3.00
Beer: $4.00
Ice Cream: $2.50
Pay TV

[seanpatin]

Opening Day
Florida Marlins 8
Texas Rangers 0
*Clement opens the season going 8.2 innings while striking out 9, walking 3, and giving up 7 hits. He is 1-0 now after his 132-pitch outing. Millar went 2 for 4 with 1 HR, 3 R, and 1 RBI. Wilson and Lowell both knocked in 2 runners.*


April 2 Trade:
To Seattle: OF Bobby Bonilla and 2B Fernando Vina
To St. Louis: 3B Ed Sprague
*Seattle gets two solid players, while St. Louis receives a 3B to replace Craig Paquette. Nice deal by Seattle to meet St. Louis' needs yet pick up some solid players.*

April 3 Trade:
To Cincinnati: SS Ramon Martinez
To San Francisco: P Mark Wohlers
*Giants pickup a setup man that Cincinnati didn't need with their full bullpen*

MARLINS/RANGERS SERIES:
W 8-0, W 13-2, W 6-1
*A team ERA of 1.00 through the first series is impressive by the young pitching staff. Millar finished the series with 2 HRs while going 7-for-14. Penny and Burnett both improved to 1-0 along with Clement.*

April 9 Trade:
To Cleveland: P Rick Bauer
To Baltimore: P Steve Reed and C Einar Diaz
*Baltimore picks up two contributors for this season, while Cleveland will have to let Bauer develop. He won't equate to the quality and consistency of Reed and Diaz though.*

MARLINS/ASTROS SERIES:
L 3-2, W 6-3, W 2-0, W 9-5
*Lost the first game, but regained our composure and swept the last 3 games. Looper came on in the 7th of Game 1 and gave up 3 runs to earn the loss. Dempster had pitched 6 shutout innings to that point. Millar hit HR #3 in game 2. In game 4, Penny picked up his second win of the year (2-0).

April 11 Trade:
To Florida: OF Nick Swisher
To Oakland: P Jesus Sanchez and OF Ryan Thompson
*Swisher should develop into a solid OF while Thompson and Sanchez were useless to my future plans.*

MARLINS/MARINERS SERIES:
L 3-0, L 10-6, W 8-1
*John Halama shut down my hitters in Game 1. In Game 2, Mr. Josh Beckett (thinks he could be the White Sox #2 starter) gives up 8 runs in 5.2 IP. #2 my ***! Game 3, we show our pride and prevent the sweep as Millar hits another 2 HR to move his season total to 5.*

MARLINS/YANKEES SERIES:
L 9-1, L 7-6, L 6-1
*Prevent the sweep against the Mariners so we can get swept by the Yankees. Andy Pettitte struck out 10 in 9 IP to win game 1. Game 2, Preston Wilson hit 2 HRs, but another bad relief appearance led to loss #5. Dempster struck out 10 in 6 IP in game 3, but gave up 3 runs and when your team scores only 1, you usually tend to lose.*

April 16 Trade:
To Chicago Cubs: P Tim Wakefield and OF Dante Bichette
To Boston: P Jeff Fassero and P Francis Beltran
*Wakefield could possibly pitch well if given the chance and Bichette is 37, so they are close to being done. Neither looks to play a whole lot except in AAA. Boston gets Jeff Fassero to take over in case of bullpen injuries? I don't know. Francis Beltran has good potential, but the other 3 are ages 34, 37, and 38!*

[seanpatin]

MARLINS/TWINS SERIES (April 17-19):
W 1-0, W 6-5, W 6-2
-- A sweep over the Twins at home will hopefully help boost the Marlins NL-low 20,522 average attendance. Brad Penny was injured with shoulder tendonitis for 7 days. In game 1, Josh Beckett pitched a 124-pitch complete game shutout. In game 2, the bullpen held strong after Dempster gave up 5 runs. Alfonseca picked up his first save of the season. Game 3 happened to be A.J. Burnett's second win of the year and Kevin Millar drove in another 2 runs on 2 doubles.

April 18 Trade
To Florida: OF Tim Raines and OF Willie Harris
To Baltimore: OF Preston Wilson and OF Eric Owens
*Got rid of two quality bats to pick up two quality prospects. Not only did I need to get rid of the $5.2M Wilson who strikes out 100+ times nearly every year, but Owens was getting paid $1.6M to ride the pine on most days. They should be able to contribute this season in Baltimore.*

MARLINS/RED SOX SERIES (April 20-22):
W 3-2, W 6-5, W 7-6
*In game 1, Pedro Martinez was knocked out after 5 IP. Lowell hit his 5th home run of the season. In game 2, Lowell hit number 6. Beckett pitched excellent for 7 innings, allowing just 1 earned run. Matt Clement moved to 3-0 in the 7-6 win to end the series.*

April 22 Trade
To St. Louis: 3B Ty Wigginton, OF Tsuyoshi Shinjo, 1B Jorge Toca, and SS Rey Ordonez
To New York Mets: P Andy Benes and P Kevin Joseph
*The newspaper reports say Cardinals fans were glad to hear Benes is gone. The Cardinals pick up 2 good ballplayers for the left side of their infield and get rid of Benes, who was off to a terrible start despite a misleading 2-1 record.*

[seanpatin]

MARLINS/TWINS SERIES (April 23-26):
L 10-9, L 12-4, L 4-2, L 8-3
*Another sweep of the team and what better time for me to make a move and free up some more payroll space.*

April 27 Trade
To Florida: P John Patterson and 1B Erubiel Durazo
To Arizona: P Antonio Alfonseca, 1B Derrek Lee, and SS Dave Berg
*Durazo is an OBP machine and if you know my philosophy, it closely resembles that of the Moneyball book based on Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics. Patterson is a perennial prospect who is at A-ball now (1-1, 3.50 ERA, .169 OBA, 19/8 K/BB ratio). Alfonseca was my closer, but I expected Looper to replace him by year's end even though he hasn't been impressive thus far. Derrek Lee was tough to get rid of (87/92), but his $2.5M contract that was up this year might as well bring me something since I probably couldn't resign him anyway. Durazo will be an upgrade for my organization if you look at my plans. Dave Berg was really just a nobody that the Diamondbacks wanted to be involved and will seemingly take over at SS for them.

MARLINS/ORIOLES SERIES (April 27-30):
L 9-1, L 6-5, W 9-5, W 8-2
*Finish out April splitting with the O's. In Game 2, three players hit HR's (Lowell, Floyd, Abbott), but the pitching couldn't hold on to the lead. Game 3 was Brad Penny's 3rd win despite his ERA inflating to 5.04. He is currently 3-0. Game 4 was led by the bats of Lowell and Floyd once again. They each homered along with Kevin Millar. Baltimore now has a .320 winning percentage after playing us like they were World Series contenders or maybe our own team playing like cellar-dwellers.*

INTERESTING FACT --- On April 29, 2001 Craig Biggio and Bobby Bonilla both recorded their 2000th hit.

April 30 Trade
To Oakland: P Jimmy Haynes, OF Mark Sweeney, C Jesse Levis, and OF Dave Krynzel
To Milwaukee: OF Mike Edwards and 3B Ramon Castro
*Milwaukee came away with two quality prospects in return for one above-average OF prospect and an above-average SP. Although Oakland got better now, Milwaukee got the better long-term result from this deal.*


APRIL HITTING STATS
1. 2B Luis Castillo - .320 AVG, 21 R, 16 SB, .412 OBP
2. SS Alex Gonzalez - .265 AVG, 14 R, 3 HR, 12 RBI, .302 OBP
3. 3B Mike Lowell - .271 AVG, 11 R, 8 HR, 23 RBI, .345 OBP
4. RF Kevin Millar - .351 AVG, 19 R, 8 HR, 25 RBI, .427 OBP
5. 1B Erubiel Durazo - .370 AVG, 17 R, 10 HR, 28 RBI, .490 OBP
6. LF Cliff Floyd - .193 AVG, 14 R, 5 HR, 17 RBI, .248 OBP
7. C Mike Redmond - .159 AVG, 6 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .242 OBP
8. CF Jeff Abbott - .240 AVG, 5 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .269 OBP
9. (Pitcher)

(NOTES) - the 6 through 8 hitters need to improve drastically or look for a job somewhere else. Floyd currently looks like he could be heading West. Abbott was a replacement after Preston Wilson was traded and hasn't fared too horrid, but a starting quality CF would be nice to have. Mike Redmond is currently the worst-hitting catcher in baseball. Casanova might soon take over behind the plate and if he can't handle the job, then another trade is likely.

APRIL PITCHING STATS
1. Matt Clement; 3-1, 4.15 ERA, .236 OBA, 36/21 K/BB
2. A.J Burnett; 2-2, 3.20 ERA, .253 OBA, 23/13 K/BB
3. Brad Penny; 3-0, 5.04 ERA, .262 OBA, 17/9 K/BB
4. Ryan Dempster; 1-3, 2.93 ERA, .230 OBA, 45/24 K/BB
5. Josh Beckett; 1-2, 5.54 ERA, .245 OBA, 14/11 K/BB

CL- Braden Looper; 2-1, 0/2 SV, 5.65 ERA, 17 K
SU- Armando Almanza; 2-1, 10.93 ERA, 20 K
SH- Dan Miceli; 1-0, 1.35 ERA, 9 K
MD- Blaine Neal; 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 K
LN- Ricky Bones; 0-0, 1.23 ERA, 1 K
AT- Chuck Smith; 0-1, 12.27 ERA, 3/4 K/BB


APRIL AWARDS
Player of the Month: 1B Erubiel Durazo (.370 AVG, 10 HR, 28 RBI, .490 OBP)
Pitcher of the Month: Ryan Dempster (1-3, 2.93 ERA, .230 OBA, 45/24 K/BB)
Minor League Player of the Month: OF Nick Swisher (.374 AVG, 4 HR, 21 RBI, .467 OBP)
Minor League Pitcher of the Month: Dontrelle Willis (3-0, 2.61 ERA, .177 OBA, 28/8 K/BB)


TEAM STATS
Record: 15-12 (.556) 3.0 GB
Pythagorean: 15-12 (.556)
Average: .250
On-Base Percentage: .322
ERA: 4.44
Runs Scored: 138
Runs Allowed: 126

LEAGUE/TEAM LEADERS
Batting Average
L - Corey Koskie (MIN - .425)
T - Erubiel Durazo (.370)
Home Runs
L - Mark McGwire (STL - 15)
T - Erubiel Durazo (10)
Runs Batted In
L - Gary Sheffield (LA - 34)
T - Erubiel Durazo (28)
Runs Scored
L - Troy Glaus (ANA - 29)
T - Luis Castillo (21)
Stolen Bases
L - Luis Castillo (FLA - 16)
T - " "
Wins
L - Tim Hudson (OAK - 5), Darryl Kile (STL - 5)
T - Matt Clement (3), Brad Penny (3)
Earned Run Average
L - Ramon Martinez (PIT - 1.89)
T - Ryan Dempster (2.93)
Runners Per 9 Innings Pitched
L - Brian Lawrence (SD - 9.42)
T - A.J. Burnett (11.90)
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings Pitched
L - Randy Johnson (ARI - 12.80)
T - Ryan Dempster (10.13)
Saves
L - John Rocker (ATL - 10), Scott Williamson (CIN - 10), Billy Koch (TOR - 10)
T - None


Next Month's Goals/Plan:
1. Find a Closer who will perform for the team down the stretch.
2. Raise Team On-Base Percentage to .330 (+.008).
3. Stay in the Hunt for the NL East Division Title.