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Seattle Pilots (87-75; Wild Card Playoff Loss)
WHAT WENT RIGHT:
- Worst to First - After two straight seasons with the worst record in baseball, Seattle improved by 30 wins to make the post-season for just the 3rd time in franchise history. I don't know how many times that has happened in BLB history but to go from 57-105 to 87-75 is something I've never come close to doing in my BLB career.
- Signing the IFAs - I'm sure we would have still been a decent team had we spent the $74M elsewhere, possibly even a Wild Card team, but there is no denying that Ulloa/Nieto made us scary. Ulloa lead the IL in HRs and RBI at 58/128 while Nieto wasn't far behind at 38/101.
- Rookies, rookies, rookies! - This season saw the debut of 13 BLB rookies, which probably lead the BLB. RP Dave Williams didn't give up a run after May. 2B Colin Niebauer hit .293 with a 2.4 WAR in 85 games.
- Patchwork Bullpen - Despite ranking near the bottom of the positional strength all season long at RP, as well as playing multiple rookies, the Pilots pen somehow managed the 3rd best ERA in the IL. They also recorded the most innings.
WHAT WENT WRONG:
- Defense - Seattle finished 10th in the IL in defensive efficiency and errors.
- Lack of Rotation Depth - The Pilots finished 10th in the IL in SP ERA despite Enrique Bernardi, C.J. McVicker and Jayden Jones all finishing in the 2.84-3.39 range. Behind them there was 10 other pitchers to take the mound and none performed very well.
- Management - I didn't take into account the strategy control settings when choosing my latest manager. He doesn't budge on SP/RP hook and it cost us at least a few games this season. He had a great year but I might have to make change to have the level of control I prefer.
- No Eye - Despite finishing 1st in HR, etra base hits and slugging %, the Pilots only finished 2nd in runs scored. A lot of that had to do with the lack of walks, where Seattle finished 9th.
OUTLOOK FOR 1988
More of the same, with a few tweaks. Seattle doesn't have much financial wiggle room until 2024 when Ulloa/Nieto take major pay cuts. With that said, it seems unlikely the Pilots will be big players in Free-Agency aside from the typical minor league haul. A few players are on the trade block, a few more on the roster bubble but the team will look nearly the same. I'm hopeful the season together + a year of development + a possible change at manager can make us a Bock contender. I don't think we will have what it takes to make up 16 games to catch the Roadrunners, I just hope we can make it a bit more challenging for them...while holding off Windy City, Denver and Davenport from claiming the #2 spot in the division. We had a lot of things work out in our favor this season including FA signings, health, a deep 40 man, a few "contenders" surprise struggles, etc. It's unlikely we catch the same breaks so anything above .500 would still be a good season for the Pilots.
FINAL THOUGHTS
-Great off-season, surprise season and heartbreak playoff. Entering the off-season, Seattle had the worst record in baseball and the most amount of budget room (I think). The year could have gone a completely different way if Ulloa/Nieto didn't enter the market, or if I had just missed out on winning the bids as I did with the previous two seasons IFAs. Even after adding them, I thought the playoffs were a long shot. After two sub .500 months to start the year, Seattle was .500+ each month the rest of the way, including a 19-8 September, aided by a 40-man roster mostly of rental call-ups.
WHAT WENT RIGHT:
- Worst to First - After two straight seasons with the worst record in baseball, Seattle improved by 30 wins to make the post-season for just the 3rd time in franchise history. I don't know how many times that has happened in BLB history but to go from 57-105 to 87-75 is something I've never come close to doing in my BLB career.
- Signing the IFAs - I'm sure we would have still been a decent team had we spent the $74M elsewhere, possibly even a Wild Card team, but there is no denying that Ulloa/Nieto made us scary. Ulloa lead the IL in HRs and RBI at 58/128 while Nieto wasn't far behind at 38/101.
- Rookies, rookies, rookies! - This season saw the debut of 13 BLB rookies, which probably lead the BLB. RP Dave Williams didn't give up a run after May. 2B Colin Niebauer hit .293 with a 2.4 WAR in 85 games.
- Patchwork Bullpen - Despite ranking near the bottom of the positional strength all season long at RP, as well as playing multiple rookies, the Pilots pen somehow managed the 3rd best ERA in the IL. They also recorded the most innings.
WHAT WENT WRONG:
- Defense - Seattle finished 10th in the IL in defensive efficiency and errors.
- Lack of Rotation Depth - The Pilots finished 10th in the IL in SP ERA despite Enrique Bernardi, C.J. McVicker and Jayden Jones all finishing in the 2.84-3.39 range. Behind them there was 10 other pitchers to take the mound and none performed very well.
- Management - I didn't take into account the strategy control settings when choosing my latest manager. He doesn't budge on SP/RP hook and it cost us at least a few games this season. He had a great year but I might have to make change to have the level of control I prefer.
- No Eye - Despite finishing 1st in HR, etra base hits and slugging %, the Pilots only finished 2nd in runs scored. A lot of that had to do with the lack of walks, where Seattle finished 9th.
OUTLOOK FOR 1988
More of the same, with a few tweaks. Seattle doesn't have much financial wiggle room until 2024 when Ulloa/Nieto take major pay cuts. With that said, it seems unlikely the Pilots will be big players in Free-Agency aside from the typical minor league haul. A few players are on the trade block, a few more on the roster bubble but the team will look nearly the same. I'm hopeful the season together + a year of development + a possible change at manager can make us a Bock contender. I don't think we will have what it takes to make up 16 games to catch the Roadrunners, I just hope we can make it a bit more challenging for them...while holding off Windy City, Denver and Davenport from claiming the #2 spot in the division. We had a lot of things work out in our favor this season including FA signings, health, a deep 40 man, a few "contenders" surprise struggles, etc. It's unlikely we catch the same breaks so anything above .500 would still be a good season for the Pilots.
FINAL THOUGHTS
-Great off-season, surprise season and heartbreak playoff. Entering the off-season, Seattle had the worst record in baseball and the most amount of budget room (I think). The year could have gone a completely different way if Ulloa/Nieto didn't enter the market, or if I had just missed out on winning the bids as I did with the previous two seasons IFAs. Even after adding them, I thought the playoffs were a long shot. After two sub .500 months to start the year, Seattle was .500+ each month the rest of the way, including a 19-8 September, aided by a 40-man roster mostly of rental call-ups.
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