Those still playing: What are your storylines?

[Z]

I'm excited about this Maine team. Here's what we're playing for:

1.) The history. Six championships in Maine, but it's been 15 years since the last one. Legends like Teagan Corrigan, Tino Suarez, Gil O'Moore, and Kyoden Kubota (and Andrew) led that dynasty to one last title. We want one of our own.

2.) Our vets. 40-year-old closer Dae-hee Yi, one of the best southpaw relievers we've seen in the BLB. Beast, Rex Morgan, experiencing a resurgence at age 38. They've never won a title. And ...

3.) Raulo Gutierrez. At 39 years old, the three-time Guide and 1993 Pale Ale winner was enjoying maybe his best season before a strained hamstring knocked him out. To put in perspective how dominant he was, he finished the regular season with a 4.5 WAR--despite missing most of June and not pitching after July 31.

He could return in time for the DLCS or Brewmasters. He's 8-2 with a 2.93 ERA in 17 career postseason starts.

Can he give us a little more playoff excellence? Will he even get the chance--or is this it?

[Pat]

I'm not excited about this Washington team. Here's our three story lines:

1.) Was it just the manager? - The Bats have won five championships...all with Bill Sandidge in command. The 78-year-old retired after this past season and the Bats are on pace to miss the post-season for the first time since 1999. Without a lot of good coaching options available after the retirement the Bats were forced to hire within the organization promoting bench coach Youp Koen. With a demanding owner like Danny Martinez, who expects Championships every year, Koen could be a casualty if the Bats don't make it.

2.) Doodle, Shiraishi and The Crow - One of my All-Time favorites, the slugging catcher could have only two more weeks in a Washington uniform. C Mal Brady turns 34 this October and has a pending team option for $16.25M. With his physical skills starting to decline, he will be better suited next year playing 1B or DH. For those reasons, he likely won't be back. Like Brady, CL Clarence Ortiz is even older (38) and starting to decline. The future HOF closer has spent parts of 10 seasons, in two separate stints, playing for Washington during his 16 year career. Ortiz has seen his fastball decline from 99 in 2004 to 92 in Spring Training and now topping out at 89. The 38-year-old has an expiring $11M contract. Likely seeking another short-term deal that he won't be getting here. CF Heishu Shiraishi has been a starter for the past seven seasons but has an impending Free-Agency and has started to show decline at an earlier than expected age. Three of the more popular players in Bats history could have three more games left at home for Washington.

3.) The Ghost of the Virginia Colonials - From 1991-1999 the Bats finished 2nd to the Virginia Colonials eight times. In 2000 and 2001 the Bats won 101 games, finished first, and still lost to Virginia in the playoffs. In 2002, the Virginia steroid scandal happened and the Bats won the title, which eventually led to a three-peat. Virginia moved to Death Valley and the Bats were expected to dominant the Stout for the years to come. The Scorpions have already ran away with the division, are #1 in the Power Rankings, have the #4 farm system (Bats are #18) and they just called up the #1 prospect in baseball. It feels like the old days. If the Bats can make the playoffs and beat Death Valley, we can put the Ghost away...until next year.

[Pat]

Desperate times...desperate measures...

The Bats trail the Bulldogs by one game for the IL Wildcard.
The Bats have 10 straight road games, then three in D.C. against the best team in baseball.
The Bulldogs have seven straight home games.
The Bulldogs have been one of the leagues best teams since July.

I've made some big changes to my lineup and depth chart for the remaining two weeks, including removing unhappy OF Heishu Shiraishi completely out of both lineups. The long-time Bat is upset with contract negotiations, his play and his lack of playing time. There is almost no way he returns to Washington.

I also made a big change to the rotation and bullpen. I've likely shutdown SP Terry Bornemann for the rest of the season. The 12th overall pick in 2000, once rated as high as #12 best prospect, just isn't figuring it out at 26. The Bats have lost his last three starts, putting his season BLB record at 3-10. In his place...CL Clarence Orti will get two starts to finish out the regular season. With only three career BLB starts in his long career, this is a bit risky. But with extended rosters the bullpen is deeper and I think he's my next best option in the rotation after losing SP Travis Dufour and SP Nick Cortes to lengthy injuries. RP David Saucedo will be the closer for the near future.

Here goes nothin'.

[funclown]

Desperate times...desperate measures...

Yeah............

We just signed two veteran 1B and brought up AA 20 year old Catching prospect which never, ever happens in Pawtucket.

Right now Zak Gaston is trying to carry us and at least all of our pitchers are back?

[Pat]

Yeah............

We just signed two veteran 1B and brought up AA 20 year old Catching prospect which never, ever happens in Pawtucket.

Right now Zak Gaston is trying to carry us and at least all of our pitchers are back?

I've called up and singed a few randoms for defense, pinch hitting and pinch running as well...

[funclown]

I've called up and singed a few randoms for defense, pinch hitting and pinch running as well...

This all your fault. Had you let me take it last season I probably would of given up by now.

Sell! Sell! Sell!

[Carlos]

I've called up and singed a few randoms for defense, pinch hitting and pinch running as well...

I apologize in advance for claiming half of your AAA roster.


Sent from my mobile device.

[Pat]

I apologize in advance for claiming half of your AAA roster.

Don't think I haven't noticed.

[Carlos]

Don't think I haven't noticed.

You just happen to waive players I find use for on my roster. This last guy I nearly held back because I felt like I was just targeting your team. But now he's my starting shortstop.


Sent from my mobile device.

[umd]

1. Is this team for real? A 19 game lead in the Stout, a 5 game lead in the IL, and 103 wins with 11 games left in the season would lead you to think so. However, they have no track record of success and are the definition of a team that's been Frankensteined together through trades and Free Agency. This team is obviously not the 48 team win of my first season and the roster is only a shadow of the 69 win team from last year. Do they have what it takes to win? Or, is this a growth season and next year is the season they break through? The roster was built with a primarily two year run in mind and then a retool.

2. What does the playoff rotation look like? Did I make a mistake with Robby English in September instead of August? Right now on paper it would be hard to argue for or against any of our 6 starters. Brendan Lindsey (16-7 3.20), Alex Torres (11-3 2.86), and lefty Migdonio Manhos (8-4 2.47) are the logical first 3 starters. Then there's another lefty in Travis Hoffman (11-3 3.72) and Tony Wences (10-9 3.58) right there. That's leaving out Tommy Poe (7-2 2.67) and not even counting Coma (1-0 2.40) as possibilities. It's a nice problem to have, especially for a team that struggled with their rotation last season. Even with all the options, Pat may have been right and Robby English is the best of the bunch. I guess it'll take a run into the playoffs next season to find out for sure. If we lose this year, then the second guessing is probably warranted from the peanut gallery about Coma.

3. Is this team Hartford 2.0? When I took over Virginia and moved them to Vegas, they had a lot in common with Hartford. They were mired at the bottom of the league standings, devoid of BLB (right then) talent, with a few glimmers in the minors, and all their picks to build with. I figured what worked the first time could work again. So I started building DVS like my old HAR teams.

There are some eerily similar connections that could be complete stretches...

This DVS team has won 103 games. It's exactly the same record my (arguably) best Hartford team won in 1997.

Pitching -I built both teams around strong and match-up balanced bullpens first, then worked to draft or trade for a solid starting rotation. I always wanted 1-2 dominant guys at the front, but never wanted much letdown through the bottom 3 or 4.

Hartford 1997 - DVS 2005

Bullpen

CL Tim Godron - CL RJ Manning - Both were/are brilliant young (26 to 25) righty closers who were/are homegrown and drafted in the 1st round (1.18 to 1.16).

SU BT Ching - SU/CL Edgar Fajardo - Both were acquired in trades where I traded MR/CL for MR/CL after specifically searching high and low for the lefty I desperately needed for my bullpen.

LMR Mac Aaron - LMR Mac Aaron - The first time I got Mac Aaron as my lefty specialist, he came from Syracuse and was 25. He posted a 10-1 record in '97 with a 2.91 ERA 26.7 VORP and a 2.5 WAR. The second time I traded for Mac Aaron, he came from Dallas and he was 35. In 2005, he's 6-4 with a 3.02 ERA a 17.7 VORP and a 2.0 WAR.

Ukesson Kayra, Anibel Valencia, & Bart Rodriguez - Ron Kimpton, Don Atkins, & Bill Bonilla - All young or underappreciated, both sets of guys were either waiver claimed, FA through the minors, or home grown without much fanfare. However, each of them played well above what was expected of them.

Starting Rotation

Chuck Lindsey - Alex Torres - In 1997, Chuck Lindsey was our leader at 32. He was the franchise anchor and rock that I knew I could throw in our most important games. In 1997 he went 13-5 with a 3.98 ERA and a 3.9 WAR. He wasn't in his prime anymore, but he wasn't washed up yet either. When I gave Alex Torres his $20+ million contract at 36, I was paying him to be Chuck Lindsey. We needed a vet at the top of the rotation to protect the younger arms and throw the biggest games. Torres was a rock in LA and Baltimore in the playoffs and he gave us what we wanted this season at 11-3 with a 2.86 and 3.4 WAR.

Ricky Rangel - Brendan Lindsey - In 1997 Ricky Rangel was a New Brew and the future of our staff. He went 16-7 with a 2.65 ERA and a 2.6 WAR. Brendan Lindsey (not considering Coma) is the future of our staff in his second full season. He's gone 16-7 with a 3.20 ERA and 5.3 WAR.

Raul Gonzalez - Migdonio Manhos - I still consider RaGo my most influential trade ever. In 1995, I decided to go for it. I figured I had nothing to lose so I dealt away 1.1 Pat Wildfire Bryant, future Stout Slugger Alex Camilo, a 1st, and a handful of mid-tier prospects for Gonzalez, Rex Knight and Raul Valencia. A risky move at the time it proved to myself I could not get robbed and actually be successful when being aggressive. RaGo became our best starter and the Ace we paid for that was in his prime. He went 16-4 that season with a 2.77 ERA and a 2.8 WAR.

Manhos wasn't as big a risk as RaGo, but he was still a trade that could backfire badly. Manhos had a near 7.00 ERA in Maine and we gave up a young first round pitcher and a highly rated closer for. Lucky for us he's paid off this season. He's 8-4 with a 2.47 ERA and a 2.8 WAR and looks very much like the Ace he once was before inexplicably tanking in Maine.

Tony Marrero - Tony Wences - In '97, Marrero was projected as a mid rotation starter and possibly better. The problem was 1997 was his rookie year. Expected to contribute, Marrero excelled. He went 11-6 with a 3.50 ERA to add depth and balance out the rotation. Last year I took a big FA flyer on the young international Wences. He projected as a mid rotation starter and possibly better. Like Marrero, it's worked out. In his 2nd full season Wences is 10-9 with a 3.58 ERA and lends depth and balance to our rotation.

Brad Hayes - Travis Hoffman - Claimed off waivers from Denver in 95 as an after thought with some potential, the lefty Hayes was huge at the bottom of our rotation in 1997. Making the minimum, Hayes went 11-7 with a 3.01 ERA and a 2.1 WAR. Claimed off waivers in 2003 from New York, the lefty Hoffman has been huge at the bottom of our rotation 2 years later. He's 11-3 with a 3.72 ERA and 2.9 WAR.

JJ Garcia - Tommy Poe - Garcia was a throw in from Baltimore because we needed a starter due to injuries. He was decent in the bottom of the rotation in 97. Tommy Poe was a desperate stab at a waiver claim trade with Denver for a 4th to give us 2 sims of rotation help. If Poe gives us what JJ gave us the year we acquired him, then he's worth his 4th in the future.

Yeah, this is long. Once I really started looking at things there are a lot of similarities between these teams. There's even more with the hitters. But that's for another day (or not).

[Spectre]

I wish I could join this thread. This was arguably the worst season in franchise history.

[Delandis]

1. Kiefer Deserves A Playoff Opportunity:

We are definitely doing this for Erik Keifer. One of the best of this generation, he has been a personal favorite for years. Kiefer deserves to show what he can do in the playoffs. At 7-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 1.03 WHIP since coming over from Wilmington, it is obvious he is very motivated to doing his part to get us there. If we make the playoffs, we will pair him up with the standout performance that rookie hurler, Jimmy Whitworth is having this year and I think we have a good chance to win 2 playoff games against anyone.

2. Because We Had Very Few Options

-Really this whole thing really started on accident. After the horrible April we had I was really going to move everyone possible. However, in early May while not paying attention to the 18M he was owed on a PO, we resigned 33 year old shortstop, Dusty Simmons to what we thought as a very nice 2 year, 6M per extension. Following that self-inflected debacle, I worked frantically to drop some salary. We were able to move Trujillo but took on a massive contract with Sakamoto. However no one was really interested in Barrios, Kelch or Dunlap (and his 30 game hit streak). I even made a few offers to give draft picks to take them. I'm still waiting to hear back from a couple people on that.

I really wasn't too worried because I was confident that someone would take Hamilton despite the fact that he was on the DL. I was sure that the fact he was still #3 on the "GOSPEL TRUTH" Top Players List while injured coupled with his performance last year, would bring many suitors to the table. There were a few callers, but none were willing to pay the price that comes with a talent of Hamilton's caliber. Fast forward to September and Hamilton is putting up Stout Slugger numbers comparable to nearly any top slugger in the BLB.

Now stuck with massive payroll in June (even for us) that didn't look like it was going to move at all for a decent price plus we obviously were going to be a deep hole financially, we said fuck it and went all in. We made an offer to a division rival for Alvarez that would be near impossible to refuse. I could tell that most GM's quietly disagreed with the price tag but quite frankly, I believe that grabbing Alvarez from Philly and Sherrod from Maine was the REAL turning point for our season. Adding Keifer to the mix a month later, you have a team that goes from sub .500 on 6/20 to 21 games over .500 in September.


3. Doing it for Carlos

-A lot of owners, including myself (ok well, mainly me), gave Carlos a lot of shit for attempting this very thing a few years back. Carlos was certain that he could put together a group of aging stars and still be able to compete short term rather than wait on the lengthy and unpredictable full rebuild. Personally, I always like when GM's have a true "win now" attitude and throw caution to the wind. Now obviously it didn't work out too well for Denver, but I think that regardless of whether we make the playoffs or not, our performance this year proves that there is definitely more than one way to skin a cat in OOTP and maybe a few more people will go for it regardless of the big, scary monsters like Virginia and Windy City every once in a while.

[Pat]

I wish I could join this thread. This was arguably the worst season in franchise history.

For Norm Sutton to have a 2.89 ERA, 1.10 WHIP but also 12 losses and a -0.1 WAR is mind boggling.

[Lintyfresh85]

For Norm Sutton to have a 2.89 ERA, 1.10 WHIP but also 12 losses and a -0.1 WAR is mind boggling.

Have you seen his 4.70 FIP?

[Carlos]

[B]

3. Doing it for Carlos

-A lot of owners, including myself (ok well, mainly me), gave Carlos a lot of shit for attempting this very thing a few years back. Carlos was certain that he could put together a group of aging stars and still be able to compete short term rather than wait on the lengthy and unpredictable full rebuild. Personally, I always like when GM's have a true "win now" attitude and throw caution to the wind. Now obviously it didn't work out too well for Denver, but I think that regardless of whether we make the playoffs or not, our performance this year proves that there is definitely more than one way to skin a cat in OOTP and maybe a few more people will go for it regardless of the big, scary monsters like Virginia and Windy City every once in a while.

Let's just start this off by saying that Jake is gonna hate you for this.

I'm glad you're out there proving my theory. I didn't have the cojones to keep going at it (as evidenced by me trading everyone I acquired less than a year after the attempt) but I often wonder if I could have at least stayed competitive by going all in for a few years.

Your trades tell me you have those guts and a drive to get deals done. I've always hated chasing people around to make a trade. Sometimes I just wonder how some deals get done when I'm offering a player and only hear from the same two or three owners.

So congrats on your efforts. We will be on the sidelines heading into year six of the rebuild.


Sent from my mobile device.