Virtual Baseball Season/Franchise Updates

[Slumberland]

I'm 41-50 with the Mets on the PS3 going into the All-Star break, tied for last place with the lowly Nationals.  I've played every inning of every game.  It's been tough... pitching's good (with a surprisingly strong showing so far from Boof Bonser who made a spot start on account of injuries and just kept giving me reasons to keep him there) but I have a lot of trouble scoring runs.  Playing with everything on defaults, which means All-Star difficulty, and using all the analog pitching/hitting/fielding mechanics, which are pretty swell.

My team has been seriously shaken up, and I don't mind robbing the CPU when it lets me because the game is so damn tough.  Not that you can always abuse the other GM's, but here and there it happens.  Boston for some reason was super eager to take Johan Santana (who I just cannot pitch with for some reason) in exchange for both Jon Lester and Clay Buccholz.  The Nationals quickly soured on Bryce Harper, so I was able to nab him to be a most excellent 4th outfielder.  Reyes is gone, bringing back Austin Jackson to patrol centerfield and Victor Martinez who is a marked improvement over Josh Thole behind the plate.  I got Nick Punto (I love switch-hitters) to make do at shortstop, and K-Rod was shipped west after various embarassing meltdowns (including a key role in losing a 7-run lead to the Brewers that was one of the most ridiculous games I've ever played, but hey this stuff happens) and Detroit's Joel Zumaya is slinging heat for us as our new closer.  St. Louis is reportedly shopping Pujols, but I've got nothing that even mildly interests them.

Anyway, having fun, even if it's driving me nuts sometimes.

[Mike_S]

Awesome that you've played every game!

I finally played the three-game set with the Yanks last night.  Won the first 9-2, then blown out in the second and third games.  We're 6-9, 3 GB in the jumbled East going into a 3-Game set against the Orioles.

[Mike_S]

Had an uneventful 4-1 loss to the Orioles, but followed it up with an easy 7-3 win and then a GREAT tight game which we won 3-2.

We're now 8-10, 2 GB in a very jumbled East division.  Next up, 2 games against Minnesota who are last in the Central.  Our pitching has been fantastic so far, but we need more consistent hitting.

[Mike_S]

Had 3 great games today.

Led Minnesota 3-1 going into the 8th in a tight game.  Then set-up-man Mark Young, after two strikeouts, walked a man and gave up a homer and it was 3-3.  In the last of the ninth Rafael Furcal hit a rare homer and we won it 5-3 for our third straight win.

In the second game our fifth starter, rookie Earl Harrell gave us a great gritty performance (after pitching horribly last time out in his first-ever start).  We led 3-1 after 6 after getting a lot of hits, but we were just unable to cash in any more than that despite plenty of baserunners.  In the top of the seventh, with two on and two out for Minnesota, Jose Vidro came up.  He has been a thorn in our side for the Twins throughout the long franchise, but this season he is pretty old and struggling at a .150-ish clip so far.  We went to reliable reliever Pat Rodriguez to force him to bat lefty, his weaker side.  Wouldn't you know Vidro drilled one to center field that bounced around for a 2-run triple and the game was tied at 3.  With 2 strikes on the next hitter, Rodriguez unleashed a wild pitch and Vidro came home to make it 4-3!  We were deflated.  For good measure, Vidro delivered a 2-run hit in the 9th and we lost it 6-3.

Then played the first of a key three-game set against traditional-nemesis Toronto.  John Brogna pitched for us, our #1 starter who has been a little wild this season so far.  Gabe White, a long-time #1 starter, pitched for the Jays.  In the first we loaded the bases with 2 out.  Matt Slattery our first baseman delivered a hit to score a run, but speedy Gary Cox was somehow called out at the plate for the third out -- so we led 1-0 at the end of the inning instead of leading 2-0 and still batting.  White then settled down and was brilliant the rest of the way.

For us, Brogna was super-duper-sharp, disposing of the first nine hitters with mostly weak grounders before finally giving up a hit to start the 4th.  Unfortunately, he then lost it, giving up another hit, then a double, and a walk.  It was 1-1, 1 out, bases loaded.  Brogna then somehow regained form, and struck out the next two hitters to leave 'em loaded.  It was super-sweet, and he was also sharp the rest of the game.

The game flew along, 1-1 into the last of the 8th.  With two out, and Cox on first, our best hitter Larry Henderson delivered a clutch Fenway double off the monster, and Cox sped home to make it 2-1 after 8.

Now we faced a decision -- Brogna had given up 1 run on 4 hits through 8 innings, but he was tiring and starting to get a little wild.  Closer Glen Bradley had 5 saves without giving up a run yet this season, but it felt weird taking the game away from Brogna.  Regardless, we went to the bullpen and in came Bradley.

The first player singled, bringing up their best two hitters.  Bradley got a grounder to first for the first out, but the runner moved to second.  Their cleanup hitter delivered a deep fly to right, but Bobby Brown our RF ran it down for the out.  Two outs, with the tying run now on third.  The next batter had an ridiculous long at-bat that eventually ended with a walk.  Somehow the next guy grounded to second for the final out, and we had held on for the 2-1 win.

We're now 10-11, 2 GB of the Yankees who now lead the jumbled AL East.  We have 2 games left with Toronto before going on a road trip as the 2014 season nears its halfway point.  Our pitching has continued to be among the best in the league.  Our hitting is still pretty weak though; our team Batting Average is going up a little bit, but our power hasn't been there lately and we still have two hitters under .200 at the end of the lineup.

[Ted]

Very cool.  Love the story about Vidro, Mike.  Also, is it starting to look like Brogna is past his prime and how does that make you feel?  Thanks as always for sharing.

[Mike_S]

Brogna is definitely not past his prime age-wise.  I think he's 23 years old, in his second season with us.  The thing is that he started last season 5-0 and was dominant.  He gave up only 1 earned run through 3 starts!!  But he finished 5-4 for the season with an ERA around 3.00 (which was actually kind of bad after his phenomenal start).  Somewhere in there he started getting really wild and losing his consistency -- he wasn't horrible or even bad, just far from dominant.

That has continued into this season, where he's now 3-1, but he just hasn't been dominant too often, and has been wild a lot even when effective.  This past game was his 5th start, and the first he really pitched super-well.  He got the first 9 outs, then he recovered from his bad inning during the 4th by striking out 2 guys and leaving the bases loaded.  He finished having given up only 4 hits through 8 innings.  This was the type of game he had early last year.

I don't really know what to do except ride it out.  He's clearly our best pitcher when on, he's just on-and-off.

[Mike_S]

Got in 3 more games today.

#2 starter Kevin Moore pitched great, and we broke open a 2-2 tie in the 7th to beat Toronto again, 5-2.  Moore is 4-1 and has been our most steady pitcher this season.  And we're finally back to .500 at 11-11!!

#3 starter Pete Whiteside has been workmanlike and consistent so far this season -- but he gave up 3 right away in the first inning this time and we ended up getting blown out as Toronto avoided the sweep with an 11-3 win.

Then we started a road trip at Detroit, who have some good HR hitters but are not strong overall.  Steve Hickey pitched great, but the Tigers scratched out single runs in the 4th and 5th.  Gary Cox, our #3 hitter, got a fly-ball HR in the 6th at he hit the opposite-field foul pole, and it was tied at 2.  In the 8th we got 1st and 3rd, but could not score against some awesome relief pitching for Detroit.  Our bullpen got the key outs to keep the game going, but finally the Tigers scored in the last of the 10th to win it 3-2.  It was an intense game and a tough loss, although our hitting was just unable to earn us this win despite outstanding pitching.

At the half-way point of 2014 we stand at 11-13, 4GB of the somewhat-hot Yankees in the AL East.  Strong pitching, mediocre hitting, etc., etc., etc.

[Ted]

Oh wow, I don't know why, but I thought Brogna was this old vet #1.  I wonder who I was thinking of.  I thought he was like a 10 year guy or something.

[Mike_S]

No, I cleaned house on my staff and have few older players left, particularly on the pitching staff -- save for Scot Shields who will be gone either during or after this season. :-(

[Mike_S]

Played some more, and our bats -- and team as a whole -- are coming alive!

We won the second game at Detroit, 6-2 behind a good performance by Earl Harrell our fifth starter.  But he had to be pulled leading 4-2 with men on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs in the 5th inning, leaving him one out shy of getting his first Major League win.  We hit very well, as some of our lesser guys started getting their averages up a bit.

We then returned home for a brief 3-game home-stand.  The first two games were against Seattle who are not that strong.

John Brogna pitched the first, and was not that sharp.  He walked a lot, and gave up a few hits, but as is his typical style lately, he still got the key outs and kept the runs to a minimum.  We were hitting like crazy again but not able to convert a lot of runs; in particular two key outs on the bases hurt us.  It felt like we should have been way ahead, but it was only 2-1.  Brogna gave up 2 in the top of the 6th and we were somehow down 3-2, but then we answered back with a pair of our own and led 4-3 through 6.  I cannot emphasize enough that it felt like we were dominating and should have been up 6-3 or maybe 7-3, so there was a little nervousness with only a 1-run lead.  Brogna left after 7, leaving it to the bullpen.  Unfortunately our setup man Mark Young gave up a 2-run bomb and then fell to pieces, and the Mariners won it 7-4.  It was the second time in a row that when we lost a game, it felt like we should have won.

Kevin Moore who is turning out to be our ace pitched the second game against the M's.  He was not his sharpest, but got out of trouble whenever he got into it.  For the third straight game our bats were hot, but we also left a lot of runners on base.  Moore left after 7 1/3, giving up only 1 run.  Young got through the 8th unscathed, and we went to our closer Glen Bradley fpr the 9th leading 4-1.  Bradley to this point had 7 saves, and had not given up a run all year.  He gave up a hit and a walk, but got two outs.  The next guy doubled, knocking in a run, which made it 4-2 with men on 2nd and 3rd!  Somehow Bradley got the next guy to ground to short, and we held on for a closer-than-it-should-have-been 4-2 win.

The final game of the home-stand was against Kansas City who are also fairly weak this year.  Unfortunately, they got 3 in the first against Pete Whiteside, and their starter Bruce Alexander was very sharp.  They led 5-1 when we scratched out a run in the last of the 6th to make it 5-2.  Then suddenly in the last of the 7th we came alive!  Two walks, a hit, an error, and a sacrifice fly made it 5-4 with 2 outs.  Another hit tied it at 5!  Then Marty Slattery, our first-baseman who has been showing signs of coming out of a hitting slump, blasted a 2-run double and we led 7-5!  It felt like our best win of the season!

But we weren't out of the woods yet.  Young pitched the 8th, and there was a man on first with 2 outs.  Their #2 hitter singled to center, but we somehow gunned out their runner at 3rd to end the inning!!  The bad news was that left their 3-4-5 hitters for the 9th inning, all good power hitters, and all lefties.

I wondered whether to call on Bradley, our usual closer, or go to Jeremy Affeldt who's more of a Lefty specialist, to pitch the 9th.  I went with Bradley, who was 8-for-8 to this point in converting saves.  The first batter singled, and the next guy homered, and the game was tied again, 7-7!  Bradley let two more guys on base in the 9th, but retired the side with no further damage.  We threatened in the 9th but didn't score, and it went to extra innings. 

Not much happened in the 10th, but when the Royals had their LH-hitting 3-4-5 hitters scheduled for the 11th, I went to Affeldt.  He got them in order.  In the last of the 11th we got a walk, and then on a hit-and-run play, Larry Henderson of COURSE delivered a double to left-center to bring home the winning run of an 8-7 masterpiece!


We're now back to .500 at 14-14.  The bad news is that the Yankees and Angels have been red-hot, and both have great records to lead their division.  So we're 5 GB of NY in the East, and 4 GB of Texas (who Anaheim just passed in the West) in the Wildcard race.  There are 20 games remaining in the 2014 season, and we are headed for a long road trip; the first few games will be against decent-or-worse teams, and the last few will be against the playoff leaders including the Yanks.

[Mike_S]

Got in 3 more games.

First a 2-game set in Cleveland.  Not much to say other than the Indians played like the HH dynasty they are.  They scored 5 runs before we even got an out in the 1st inning en route to a 14-2 thrashing, and then crushed us again 9-3.

Then the first of a critical 2-game set in Toronto, a near must-win game.  John Brogna gave up a run in the first, and was again in and out of trouble all game due to wildness, but somehow some way didn't give up another run in 7 innings of work.  We scratched out a run in the 4th, another in the 5th, and FINALLY put a bunch of hits together in the 6th to break it open as we went on to win, 8-1.

There was an interesting side note in this one: In the third inning, our second baseman Henry Cooper suffered a minor injury.  Then in the fourth inning, our first baseman Marty Slattery also suffered a minor injury.  I can't remember if we've ever had two injuries in the same game before.  But the interesting part is that Rafael Furcal can play many positions, and is both our backup middle infielder and also our backup first baseman!  So with need for two backups, we had nobody familiar with playing first base on the roster!!  We through our 25th man in there -- an obscure outfielder we rarely use -- and wouldn't you know on the very first throw to first he dropped the ball!!  But he did fine from then on as we went on to win.  We don't really have any prospects ready to fill in, so we'll probably have to suffer with this for a game or two until somebody comes back.

We're at 15-16, 6 GB of the Yankees in the East and 4 GB of the Rangers in the Wild Card with 17 games to play in 2014.  We have another at Toronto and then one at lowly Oakland before heading into 4 huge games -- 2 each at New York and then in Texas.  It would be awesome to win the next two and go in with some momentum.

[Mike_S]

Second game at Toronto: We played very well, and Kevin Moore who's been our top starting pitcher pitched well again, but we couldn't close them out.  Then the bullpen blew up, and we ended up losing 6-4 in a game it felt like we should have won. 

Single game at Oakland, who are last in the west.  This felt like an important game to win going into our key four-game stretch.  Pete Whiteside pitched his best game of the season, in and out of trouble the whole way, but we just couldn't hit.  Down 2-1 going into the ninth it felt like it was going to be a bad loss, but then we somehow strung 3 hits together with one out against their closer to tie it up!  Then we exploded for 4 in the 11th inning to put them away, 6-2.  A very satisfying win.

Now into NY (first place in the east) for 2 games, then Texas (first place in the wildcard) for 2 more. 

First game at NY: Steve Hickey, our fourth starter, battled.  He gave up only 1 run through 4 innings.  With 2 out and one on in the fifth, we managed back-to-back homers low in our batting order for a surprising 3-1 lead.  With 2 out in the last of the fifth, NY loaded the bases and knocked out Hickey.   A double then tied the game, but we gunned the third runner at the plate to preserve a 3-3 tie.  Both bullpens were then fantastic.  Pat Rodriguez, our middle reliever, gave a great performance.  In the 8th we got a man to second with none out, but couldn't bring him home as a possible HR was caught at the wall. 

In the last of the 9th the Yanks got a double with one out, and had their great hitters coming up.  We made the early call to Glen Bradley, our closer.  He fanned Albert Pujols and then got Marty Rice (another long-time HR hitter) on a fly to right to get out of the jam and send it to extra innings.

We did nothing through the 12th, but Bradley was phenomenal in his longest outing of the season.

Finally in the 13th, Larry Henderson delivered a 2-run Homer to put us up 5-3.  The Yanks got a man on in the bottom half, but Bradley finished out a 4.2 inning masterpiece for his first win of the season (to go with his 8 saves).

We're now 17-17, 4GB in the East behind NY with one more game to play in NY.  We're 3GB in the wild card race, and will go to Texas, the wild card leader, next.  There are only 14 games total left in the season...We'll have our fifth starter Earl Harrell going in NY, but then back to Brogna and Moore to hopefully make it really interesting against Texas.

[Mike_S]

2 more games played today...

Second game at NY: Scratched out runs in the first, second, and third innings for a 3-0 lead, but that vanished in a hurry.  5th Starter Harrell couldn't get through the third, our middle relief wasn't much better, and the Yanks coasted to a 7-4 victory.

Needing a win badly, we turned to #1 starter John Brogna going against Wild Card leader Texas.  John Kane, at 4-0, pitching for Texas.  The Rangers lead the AL in most hitting categories, and are surprisingly in the top 2-3 in most pitching categories as well.

After breezing through the first two innings, Brogna got roughed up badly in the third.  A ton of hits, a walk, and a key error led to 6 Texas runs, and with Kane pitching well against us, it felt like it was over.

We scratched out one run in each of the fourth and fifth innings, using our running game, then out of nowhere cracked a 2-run homer in the 6th to chase Kane and close the gap to 6-4.  Brogna was not his sharpest, but was fighting and keeping us in it.

Then with two out in the seventh, Gary Cox singled and Larry Henderson delivered a super-duper-clutch 2-run Homer to tie it at 6!! 

In the top of the 8th, slow-footed DH Rich Gibson got a hit with one out.  I debated pinch-running for him, but elected to leave him in since we might need his bat again in the 9th (or 10th).  Another hit got him to second, then came the second out.  Jeff Wallace singled, but Gibson wasn't going to have a chance to score, and I thought the decision to leave him in would end up biting us badly.  But slumping Mike Appier ALSO singled, and two runs came home to give us an 8-6 lead!!

Then in the bottom of the ninth, the Rangers top of the order coming up.  Jeremy Affeldt starts the inning, just to get their leadoff batter who's a left-handed hitter.  He walks him.  Glen Bradley, our closer (who just had the tremendous outing a few games ago) comes in to try to get the meat of their order.  He gets one out, but then gives up a single.  2-on, one-out.  Their cleanup hitter is up and hits a line-shot to right field.  Our RF Pete White gets there, but DROPS THE BALL, his first error of the season and our fourth of the game (!), so the bases are now loaded with only 1 out.  Their #5 hitter flies to right (and White holds this one) and a run comes home, so it's now 8-7, men on first and second, and 2 out.  Chipper Jones, now 42-years-old, but still hitting well and a traditional Red Sox KILLER comes to the plate.  Bradley somehow gets him to pop up, which preserves the 8-7 win!!

We're 18-18, 4GB of NY in the East, 3GB of Texas in the Wild Card race.  12 games left.  Game 2 at Texas will feature Kevin Moore (who has been our top pitcher this season and has an ERA around 1.78 so far) against old friend and long-ago Red Sox #1 starter Stan Sheridan who will pitch Texas.

[Ted]

Keep fighting!

[Mike_S]

How has nobody posted in this for over a year ? :-)

Mid-way through 2015.  Still haven't made the playoffs yet.  It feels like the best team we've ever had, but the bullpen is our undoing.

I've been doing more diligence over the draft, and have been minding my time while the guys develop in the minors.  The result is that we have developed 4 Rookie of the Years, all of who are currently in the lineup (3B, C, LF, and CF).  We hit great, though a little more power would be nice, and our fielding is below average.

I also have spent a ton of time orchestrating trades for top pitching prospects, and it really has paid off in our starting rotation, which is the best we've ever had.  However these trades have left us really thin in the bullpen, and also in the minors where we have very few non-pitching prospects right now.

We are currently 9-13, about halfway through 2015.  The bullpen (other than our closer) is our weakness, and it has cost us 4 of the last 5 games.  We just had an important 2-game set with Tampa, and the bullpen blew both games badly.  In the first we were up 3-0 in the 7th when our starter tired and started to walk batters; I pulled him and we  ended up losing 7-3.  Then in the second game of the series  we led 2-0 after 5.  We then gave up 2 each in the 6th, 7th, and 8th, 1 more in the 9th, and despite delivering a ton of clutch hits and scoring a ton, eventually lost 8-7 in 11 innings.

I am scouring the league and our minor league system for bullpen help right now, it feels like we should be contending for the playoffs.  Unfortunately I need to find 2-4 reliable relievers without giving up anything significant...

Anybody else playing baseball seasons or dynasties this year ?