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OOTP5-- Hangin' The Halos
I am a dynasty-writing machine...
As much as I enjoy TDCB, I got turned off by the repetitiveness of the game. It just didn't immerse me the way I wanted it to. It didn't have preseason rankings or conference recruiting rankings or more than one all-conference team. Maybe I would have been more into it if I had started my dynasty off with UCLA, my favorite team, but I don't think so. That's a game that is meant for private solo play and maybe a good online league (if done right). A dynasty, though, is harder to do. And then there's MTW and the Polish march to glory. That will go on as long as I can do it. The only thing working against it now is that I am in so many wars that each year seems to take at least an hour or two to complete and even longer to write up. So I'm moving slowly there. So I downloaded OOTP5 today. I never really enjoyed v4's solo game much. It just had too many holes. But I heard a lot of good things about 5. It seems to have stronger and more realistic financials, the player development is a little more lifelike, and now that my Angels have won a World Series, their talent level is actually recognized in the rosters being produced for the game. Now, as most people here know, I love my Angels. They were my first sports love, and if push comes to shove, they will be my last. I can't think of much more that I would enjoy that telling you all of my effort to take that improbably World Championship of 2002 and build a high-level team from it, and turn Anaheim into one of the haves, instead of the havenots. And what really surprises me is the paucity of OOTP5 dynasties. Even given its buggy start, I think TDCB had about 5-10 dynasty threads started for it within the first work. OOTP so far has just an interactive dynasty and a "manager mode" historical dynasty (I am really looking forward to reading that, vtbub). But, surprisingly, no simple solo play modern season and settings OOTP5 thread yet. So let me be the first to introduce you to this aspect of the game, and to some of the things I hold most dear in my heart--my Angels and the game of baseball. Chief Rum |
Well, it's a good idea at least. Maybe this is why there aren't many dynasties yet...
Apparently the rosters that are currently available (the real ones) are still in beta form and are kinda rough. The guy doing them seems to be really dedicated, and he is having a more final version scheduled to be completed and released Sunday. This will also include coaches and managers and such, which are not currently in the roster set. So I am going to hold off on this until I have the updated roster set and the managers, coaches, etc. Also, this will allow for patch 5.01 to be completed for v5, sceduled for tomorrow (Wednesday). That will get any little bugs out of the way and maybe get some more tweaks toward realism. Still, rest assured that I will be returning to this. Chief Rum |
The rosters currently under development look like they are going to be great. The guy doing them seems really dedicated, and this isn't the first set that he has done.
That said, even Sunday's deadline for a new update is looking iffy for what I want to do. Truth be told, it seems likely to me that this roster set won't be completed to my satisfaction until Opening Day (and I'm not talking about the pseudo-Opening Day in Japan on March 24, but the real Opening Day near the very end of March). Fortunately, I have come up with a compromise I like. There are still dedicated makers of rosters for OOTP4, and one such set was just completed a few days ago. So I downloaded the updated King of Diamonds roster set, which was accurate up to March 1, I believe (and close to that if not exact), and then I converted the league to an OOTP5 League. So here we are. As I said, I will be running my Anaheim Angels, and attempting to build on the wonderful and magical season of last year. Was it a fluke? Can Anaheim sustain a high-revenue team? Is the curse truly broken, or did it just take a one-year hiatus? Come join me as I discover the answers to these questions and more, in what I believe is still the first solo OOTP5 dynasty. Chief Rum |
Now, first off, I wanted to talk a little bit about the set up for this dynasty.
It is, of course, modeled after the real MLB, or as close as I can come to it. There are some salary differences, and the financials are hugely simplified, but for the most part this seems to be at least relatively comparable to real life settings. The rosters will no doubt have some inaccuracies, and probably some misreadings of pl;ayers' talents and what not, but as I have said, this seems to be the most accurate and readily available source of rosters that I could find. Entire 25-man rosters are present, and it seems that each organization has at least 20 and probably closer to 30 prospects/journeyman/etc. serving as minor league filler as well. I am leaving the financials, markets and loyalties as they are, with a $30M max for held cash. I considered raising it to impossible to reach levels (since there is technically no reason for real life teams to not spend that money), but I fear that that will encourage AI misspending errors. It seems more likely to me that the computer-run teams will function better if they have some permanent limit on their budget, even if it would be impossible for them to spend all that money in one season. There is no salary cap in place, so outside of the cash maximum and the normal limits of not going too far into the negative, there are no real caps on spending. I have left coaches and scouts on. The managers are not in place, no doubt because the owners of the teams themselves are considered to be the managers. They do have a team tendency list, however, so there is some degree of tailoring a team for a certain style of play. As has been trumpeted as a primary new feature of version 5, this can also be specificially set for individual players. The amateur draft is currently set at 6 rounds. I don't know if I will need more, but only time will tell. It was originally set at 5, but my experience with online leagues is that that usually wasn't enough to keep the minor leagues supplied. But 7 rounds was often too much. So, I went with 6. I have gone with the much more difficult Talent Only settings. So not only am I viewing players through a scout's eyes, but I am also only viewing their basic talents, forcing me to use those talents, perhaps their individual descriptions, and, of course, their performance on the field, as the sole indicators of their worth. And now I will introduce you to the franchise that is the Anaheim Angels. Chief Rum |
A History of the Angels
How can one appreciate a franchise if one does not know of its history? And only be understanding the history of the Angels can you truly understand why they can be at times so maddening and tragic. In 1961, famous cowboy crooner Gene Autry went to a convention of owners in St. Louis with the purpose of acquiring radio rights to the new franchise being granted to the Los Angeles area. Autry was a business entrepreneur on top of also being a retired film star, and one of his significant holdings was a string of Southern California radio stations. After Los Angeles Dodgers' owner Walter O'Malley shut out Autry's stations for the rights to broadcast Dodgers games, Autry was intent on securing the broadcast rights of the new team. Instead, through a confluence of timing, childhood dreams, and influence int he right places, Autry surprisingly came home as the new owner of the Los Angeles Angels, along with the replacement Washington Senators squad (today the Texas Rangers), the first ever expansion teams in MLB history. Autry's best decisions in the early days were letting his baseball men do the work for him. He had two of the best in the business in manager Bill Rigney and general manager Fred Haney. They went to work right away on assembling what is still the best expansion team in the history of baseball. Using a mix of kids and veterans, the Angels put together a major league record 71 wins in 1961. In 1962, they followed it up with a third place finish in the American League, and they were even in first place as late as the All Star break. This was a team of characters like Bo Belinsky and Dean Chance, and of young stars to be like Leon Wagner, Lee Thomas, Jim Fregosi and Buck Rodgers. Sadly, they would never quite hit that pinnacle of success after the early years, as a minor league system suffered from still being to brand-spanking new, and without a free agent system in place with which to replace fading talents or changing needs and needs. As it turns out, the only thing truly significant for the Angels after that amazing 1962 season was their move to Anaheim. They had played 1961 in crowded, little Wrigley Field (the LA version), and then rented out space with the Dodgers' in their new stadium at Chavez Ravine. But Autry and the Angels chafed under the financial restrictions of renting out to the crosstown rival and local favorite Dodgers, and in 1965, they engineered a move to Anaheim, where they and the city built a beautiful new ballpark in the as yet little developed Orange County. Anaheim Stadium would soon become known as the Big A, noting the huge A with a halo which set high up in its left-centerfield bleachers. The new park was incredible and the local crowds enthusiastic, but the teams continued to be lackluster, as the Angels wavered between giving their kids a chance and going for fill in the hole veterans for the quick fix. This would come to be a signature pattern in the franchise's history, as the innate sense of building through the system for most baseball men battled with their desire to "Win One For The Cowboy" (and sooner, not later). The best thing that can be said about those early years was that in 1972, the Angels pulled off one of the more daring trades in history--and it paid off bigtime. The trade involved several players, but the signature members of the deal was Angels' All Star SS Jim Fregosi to the Mets and a young fireballer with control problems named Nolan Ryan to the Angels. Those Angels teams would continue to suck through most of the 70s as well, but Ryan was a constant. He pitched four of his seven no-hitters, including a perfect game, in his time with the Angels, and he also set the major league record for strikeouts in a season with 383 in 1974. The homespun Texan with the 100-mph fastball was the only player worth seeing on those mid-70s teams. By the late 70s, though, things began to change. For one thing, the hiring of respected baseball man Harry I. Dalton in 1972 to revamp the minor league system and build from within finally began to bear fruit in the mid-70s, as young stars like Frank Tanana and Carney Lansford began to arrive on the scene. The second thing that hit was the arrival of modern free agency, as we have come to know it today. It was in its early stages in the 70s, but Autry came to play, because he wanted to win so much. He signed big time players like Don Baylor and Bobby Grich and Lyman Bostock, and he approved the acquisitions of players like Dan Ford and Rod Carew. Back then, amazingly enough, the Angels were the big spenders in baseball, with only the Yankees really matching them in that. It finally all came together in 1979, when former Angels and prodigal son Fregosi returned to manage for his beloved Angels. Behind the flashing heat of Ryan fastballs and the power of an MVP season by Baylor, the Angels finally broke through and won their first ever division crown, winning the AL West. They would lose to the Orioles in the ALCS and starting a march to postseason futility that would not end until 2002. The Angels now had a team that could contend, but one of their old stars was leaving town. Nolan Ryan was fed up with his treatment by current GM Buzzie Bavasi and didn't feel the Angels were the place for him anymore. He wanted to return to his ranch in texas, and play closer to his boyhood home of Arvin. So just a month after their first ever postseason visit, the Angels had lost the premier power pitcher in the game. Autry always said that his one mistake was not making it clear to Bavasi the true importance of retaining Ryan, even if it meant making him the game's first millionaire-per-season player (an honor the Astros did not fail to give Ryan to entice him to sign with them). Disputes such as this with Ryan and a rash of injury and consistency problems kept the Angels down for the next two years, but in 1982, they returned to power. Skippered by the much-travelled and well-thought-of Gene Mauch, the Angels returned to the top of the AL West. They were led by former Yankee superstar Reggie Jackson and incumbent stars like Lynn, Baylor and Carew. In the 1982 ALCS, they met the fearsome Brewers, featuring big bats like Cecil Cooper, Gorman Thomas, Robin Yount, Ted Simmons and Paul Molitor. They took the first two games of the best-fo-five game series and headed to Milwaukee prepared to return with a ticket to the World Series against the Cardinals. But it all fell apart. After the Brewers made it 2-1 Angels' series lead, Mauch made what ownership considered to be critical gametime decisions with his handling of his relievers, and the result was two close losses to give the Brewers the series. The Angels had come so close, and yet not made it. The troubles of that postseason would eventually lead to Mauch resigning the following season, but the reason for the Angels' downfall had a lot more to do with an aging roster and the fact that they continued to follow the policy of trading their future away for quick fix veterans. A couple prime examples of this came in 1980, when they sent Lansford to the Red Sox for All Star shortstop Rick Burleson--who would hurt himself and never play as strongly again--; and in 1981, when they made the much ripped on deal of sending a young Tom brunansky to the Twins for reliever Doug Corbett. Corbett barely made an appearance with the Angels before succumbing to injury, while Brunansky became one of the power-hitting focal points of two World Championship teams in Minnesota. Jackson and Carew were just too old to keep it up, and a rift had developed between Angels' star Baylor and management. Toss on the usual assortment of injuries and a general lack of quality pitching, and you have some lost seasons in 1983 and 1984. Out with the old, in with the new. In 1986, the Angels were a team in flux, but with just the right mix of talant. Guys like Baylor, Carew, Lynn and Jackson were gone, to be replaced by Bob Boone, Doug DeCinces, Briam Downing, Mike Witt, and young stars like Gary Pettis, the amazing young Wally Joyner and star closer Donnie Moore. Mauch, having unretired himself the year before, had returned to the sideline to lead this team. That year, the Angels returned to the postseason--and the pinnacle of what would become the best known curse west of Chicago's Wrigley Field. The Angels took the Red Sox--themselves ill-fated but a series later--to 3 games to 1 in the best of 7 series, and they had them pinned right there in Anaheim for the fourth victory. Mike Witt had been pitching a masterful game, but when he gave up a quick hit to begin the ninth, Mauch decided to call on his superb young closer, Moore, to hang onto the two-run lead. Moore would get the next two outs before reserve outfielder Dave Henderson would come to the plate. He had two strikes on Hendu, as he would later be known, and the Cowboy was just a strike away from that long-desired visit to the World Series. The next pitch is history...Henderson got a hold of a Moore fastball and punched it into the left field seats. Tie ball game. The Red Sox would go on to win that game in extra innings, and a dejected Angels team barely put up a fight in the last two games at Fenway. Moore was devastated. He was vilified by Angels fans for failing to nail it down, and Mauch took more than a little blame himself for going with Moore when Witt, his ace and best pitcher, had pitched a fantastic game up to that point. Moore was never the same again, losing his confidence and then succumbing to injuries. Finally in 1988, unable to take the pressure of having cost the Angels and their fans a chance at the ultimate prize, among other serious personal issues which included a divorce, Moore shot his wife and then tragically took his own life in an attempted murder-suicide. The organization was as devastated by this development as Henderson's homerun. Time and baseball's economic realities were finally catching up with the Angels in the late 80s. Autry and his wife of the past decade, Jackie Autry, were certainly well off, but you can only run a cl;ub at a loss for so long. And Autry, now in his eighties, had spent a lot of money on his free agents and his team in his time as the owner. The piper was calling. With Autry beginning to become to old and infirm to take an active role in the club's decisions and activities, Jackie Autry began to exert a more frugal influence, facing the reality of a dismal set of cricumstances for the Angels' finances, and the Autry's by connection. They began to stay away from signing the big free agents and became known for using unwise trades to bring in stars that were past their prime to try and get them over the hump. Gary Gaetti, Von Hayes, Dave Parker, Cecil Fielder--the list was seemingly endless. They became known as a team with some good pitching (this was the time of a great young trio of Chuck Finley, Mark Langston and the inspirational one-armed Jim Abbott), and some developing players, but mostly retreads and has-beens everywhere else. As a result, they saw little success in the late 80s and early 90s, as first the A's and then the Twins and then the Bluejays became the forces of the American League. Finally in the early to mid-90s, the minor league development Jackie Autry required the organization to pursue as a means of keeping costs down began to bear fruit. Tim Salmon was the 1993 Rookie of the Year. Gary Disarcina would man SS for a decade. Young stars like Jim Edmonds and Garrett Anderson and Troy Percival began to come out of the system and give the team some legitmicacy. Off the field, though, it was too late to save the Autrys. In 1996, Jackie Autry, painted into a corner by the club's poor finances, sold the team to local heavyweight, the Disney Corporation and its entertainment empire. And in 1998, Gene Autry, the beloved Cowboy, was laid to rest, having never witnessed an Angels World Series. But the curse was not through. In 1995, the Angels put their best team yet on the field. Salmon, Anderson and Edmonds formed one of the best outfields in baseball. Veteran star closer Lee Smith and young Percival headed a powerful bullpen. Chili Davis lent veteran leadership and pwer from his DH spot. Finley and Langston led a solid rotation. And the Angels were 13 games up in the AL West. But a Disarcina thumb injury and a team-wide slump which would become a signature of the team late in seasons and pennant drives led to one of the most infamous collapses in baseball history. In a little over a month, the Seattle Mariners caught and passed the Angels for first place. The Angels had to win thir last five games just to force a playoff with the M's, and then they watched as lanky Randy Johnson shut them down and finished off the second most disappointing end-to-a-season in Angels history. And the trend was set. The Angels threatened again in 1997, only to watch injuries to Finley and young prospect Todd Greene--on top of drug possession charges against sparkplug leadoff hitter Tony Phillips--derail them again in September. And in 1998, when another bad September saw them fall just short again. 1999 was to be a year of new hope, for the Angels had raised eyebrows by adding the huge bat of former AL MVP Mo Vaughn to their lineup via a large chunk of Disney money. All this did was set them up for the fall. In fact, that's how the season started, with Vaughn badly spraining his ankle going after a foul ball in the dugout of the first inning of his first game ever as an Angel. That ankle would hinder him for the rest of the season. That and injuries to Salmon and Edmonds led to losing, which in turn led to bitter clubhouse in-fighting and bickering. It finally got to be too much in September of that year, when fiery manager Terry Collins stepped down, saying he just couldn't do it anymore. GM Bill Bavasi, the acknowledged architect of much of the current champion Angels, would step down at the end of the season. But there is always new hope in a new season. The Angels turned heads by hiring the well-regarded, cerebral former Dodgers' backstop Mike Scioscia, allowing Finley to leave for the Indians, and trading away the malingering Edmonds (or so it was rumored). They made way for new stars like slugging Troy Glaus and gutsy Darin Erstad. 2000 was a pinnacle season for the Angels on offense. Anderson had the first real MVP-level season of his career. Salmon played most of the season and added consistency to the lineup. Glaus crushed an AL third base record 47 HRs. And Erstad had one of the best single seasons in hsitory for a leadoff man, hitting .355 with 101 RBIs (a record for a leadoff hitter) and 241 hits. But the pitchiung wasn't there, and the Angels finished just outside again. Then in 2001, their pitching began to arrive, as young arms like Ramon Ortiz and Scott Schoenweiss and Jarrod Washburn displayed their stuff. But the offense was MIA, with Erstad and Salmon going through horrible year-long slumps. Vaughn never came to bat for the Angels once in 2001, having season-ending surgery on an injured bicep in sprinmg training, an injury many thought he should have taken care of closer to the end of the 200 season. Despite this, the Angels rode the pitching and the bats of Anderson and Glaus to within range of the wildcard before having another one of those mythical September collapses. All setting the stage for last season... Chief Rum |
I'm not a big fan of baseball anymore, since the '94 strike, but I'm reading. You have made it interesting so far. I am a fan of the Red Sox and I liked reading your history of the Angels. Especially your recap of the '86 League Championship Series. Sorry. Keep up the good work.
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Thanks, DolphinFan. My plan is to make this half dynasty & stats, half story with an emphasis on making the players as real as possible. I have some plans on how to do this; giving a history of this team was the first way I thought of making them more real. I hope the rest of this suits what you are looking for.
Sorry you got turned away from baseball. I know that's easy to do with all the problems it has now. I myself couldn't find it in my heart to do it. I just love baseball, and my Angels, too much. Don't worry about '86. I can hardly blame the BoSox for doing what they could to win, and besides, they suffered as much as we did, and on a bigger stage just a couple weeks later, with the infamous Buckner. It was a cruddy season all around for AL postseason squads (this was back when there were only two, of course). Chief Rum |
2002, The Year of the Halo
I don't know that mere words alone can conceptually grasp the sheer volume of the Angels' accmplishment in 2002. You could probably stack the deck against them in a worse manner, but it would still take some doing before you could catch what real life was doing. Consider that the Angels, for all their contending for the wildcard as late as August 2001, still ended up with a 75-87 record and 41 games out of first place in the AL West. They were third baseball's best division. One team had just set the MLB record for wins in a season. The other is in the midst of at least a three-year run of 100+ win seasons. And none of them are the Yankees or the Red Sox, looming as they always do in points farther eastward. Their catcher was the slowest player in baseball. Their shortstop got by more on spunk than on talent--in a league dominated by great SSs. Two of their team leaders were coming off of the worst years of their careers. The pitching staff was riddled by injury questions from the year before. Their star 1B was proving to be a big, expensive pain in the ass, and not shedding the punds the way he should either. Their star closer was threatening to leave the team at the end of the season, and the centerfielder was uncertain about his future as well. So what happened? Well, GM Bill Stoneman made the right decisions, for one. He signed Aaron Sele to give the rotation another legit arm--and one that had proven durable. He traded from the farm system's depth of pitchers for massive DH Brad Fullmer, just two seasons off of a 32 homerun season. And he sent Moo Vaughn packing to the Mets, and even got them to send him a decent pitcher in return in Kevin Appier. And then after adding a key bit part here or there, he let Scioscia have them. The team started 6-14. Washburn, the surprise Opening Day starter, was bombed in the opening game of the season on national TV by Cleveland. Salmon got off to one of his notorious slow starts. The offense wasn't hitting and the pitchers weren't effective. But Scioscia said, "Don't count this team out! I know they're good. Just wait and see." We scoffed, insisting that the Angels curse, the Curse of the Cowboy, was greater than any enthusiasm from a naive young manager like Scioscia, no matter how much we like him and his style. We should have listened. We should have felt the magic, but we were so used to the losingl, to the heartbreaks, that we didn't know what anything else could feel like. The Angels got red, red hot, and I mean blazing. They ran off streaks of 8 and 10, separated by just one loss (which is particular notable in a season in which the A's would later set their own standards with an amazing 21-game winning streak). They raced to the end of April and then sped through May. The Mariners had the lead, but the A's were yet to be found, and the Angels were dogging their heels. And so it went on for a good while yet. And what began to stand out was how they personified a team. They weren't individuals. They went out day after day to get a win, never looking beyond the last out of the game they were playing in. Each night, it seemed, it would be a different hero. One-run games, extra innings, walk-off homeruns, you name it, the 2002 Angels did it all. Yeah, they scored the runs. And yeah, they pitched well, too. Their bullpen was phenomenal. But what really made the Angels stand out was their gutsy play, their no-nonsense attitude, and the little ball Scioscia emphasized to them each and every day. By the end of July, the Angels were suddenly moving past the Mariners, something that was considered unheard of after the M's amazing 116-win 2001 season. They had a lead of a small handful of games and they were maintaining it. But the A's are known as a second-half team, and in this they did not disappoint. From August 10 to September 2, the Oakland A's did not lose a single game. They set an AL record for consecutive wins with 21 games. They were untouchable. And the most amazing thing? At the end of it all, the Angels, who had been two games up when it began, were still only two games out when it ended. Everyone talked about the A's then. And that only made the Angels' accomplishment stand out even more. They stepped up when the competition did, and they almost kept up with another team's record-setting pace. After some tight series in Anaheim and Oakland, the A's did end up maintaining the small lead they had gained. But by then the Angels had pulled far ahead of the other wildcard contenders for that extra playoff spot. One late day in September, the Angels crushed the Rangers and clinched a playoff spot. The champagne flowed, and in typical fashion, one of the first things inspirational leader Dairn Erstad did was call lost souls of Angels' past who were never able to reach the heights this team just did, but who deserved to be there all the same. Guys like Gary Disarcina, out of baseball with an elbow injury. Chuck Finley, soon to be in the playoffs himself for the Cardinals. Bill Bavasi, the long-since resigned architect of this team. It wasn't enough to just make the playoffs, though. The Angels wanted more. And just like before the season began, no one gave them the chance. The Yankees were coming to town, and there was no stopping them. That magic the Angels claimed to have--the Yankees insisted they had the patent on that. And it seemed for a second like maybe they did, when Williams crushed that homerun off of Brendan Donnelly to win Game 1, or when Soriano hit his tater off of rookie phenom Frankie Rodriguez in the middle of Game 2. But the Angels came back to win a back-and-forth Game 2 behind homeruns by Glaus and Anderson and tie the series on its way to Anaheim. I was in the stands for that Game 3. The Thunderstix were out in full force, and the crowd was literally a sea of waving, thrumming, loud-beating red. The Yankees are still the Yankees, though, and they jumped out to a 6-1 lead off of a nervous Ortiz. Never did I have a doubt, though, and I watched as the Angels mounted an inescapable comeback, ticking off a run every inning and pushing closer and closer to the Yanks. And then in the eighth inning, the flood gate broke and four Angels streamed across the plate. 9-6 Angels, and a 2-1 series lead. This seemed to finally be the piece of the puzzle needed to deflate the confident Bronx Bombers. The Angels set records for scoring in a single inning in Game 4, and sent the richest and most storied and powerful franchise in baseball back to the Big Apple for good. In the ALCS, the Angels matched up with the Twins, and as with the Yankees, they struggled early on in front of the tough Metrodome crowd. Washburn struggled a little (not much, but enough), and Joe Mays was untouchable, as the Twins went up 1-0. The next one was very iffy for Angels fans, because the aging Appier did not look good against the Yankees, and they needed a win from him big time. And he came through! He mixed and matched his pitches and fooled the Twins' hitters all night. He didn't seem to have anything on them, but the Twins could never seem to put the bat in the right place. The Angels had tied it up. And that got things going once again. The Angels used momentum from Game 2 to take them through games 3 and 4 in Anaheim. They were up 3-1, that same series count as 16 years ago, when Dave Henderson burned the tragic name of Donnie Moore into the hearts of Angels fans everywhere. Is this where the curse would strike, most cruelly? Dare fate tempt them in mucht eh same way again. At first it seemed it might. The Twins jumped out to a quick lead in Game 5, and the only one on the Angels seeming to keep pace was Adam Kennedy, the scrappy second baseman little known for his power, whom had nonetheless managed to slug two homeruns early in the game. Still the Angels were down when Kennedy came up again in the seventh inning with two on. And he promptly tied playoff history by hitting his third homerun of the day! The flood gates opened then, and the Angels put across another record-setting inning fo scoring runs. By the end of it, the Twins, themselves a magical Cinderella story, were dead and buried. Somewhere in the sky, the Cowboy smiled. The Angels were in the World Series. If you thought the Angels would quit after reaching to heights the organization had never seen before, then you just haven't been paying attention to the Angels. Their opponents were none other than the red hot Giants, whom had dispatched a very strong Cardinals team (along with Finley and Edmonds) with frightening ease. And taking centerstage was the game's most dominant hitter, Barry Bonds. He may be the game's most dominant hitter, ever, any time period. Bonds sent the first hittable pitch he saw into the stratosphere above right filed in Anaheim, and the stage was set for one of the most dominating individual performances in World Series history. Bonds' hot start, and some fine pitching by Jason Schmidt, kept the Angels bats quiet, and the Halos started off down 1-0 again, just like in the other series', and seemingly just like everything they have attempted to do in their 42-year history. Game 2 was high-scoring and a nailbiter, a true casual fan's game. The Angels continued to show their knack for timely hits when Glaus and Salmon both homered to give them the lead for good late in the game. Series tied, 1-1, and onward to city by the bay. The Angels seemed to keep rolling with this in Game 3, when they obliterated the Giants for a 2-1 series lead. And they were looking good for getting their third victory in Game 4, when the Giants picked up a key hit here and there and eeked out a close, equalizing win. And then the Giants got the Angels back, defeating them in a demoralizing double-digit victory in the last game at Pac Bell. The Angels' bats were seemingly in a morass, and they carried this with them back to Anaheim. While the Angels' bats lay dormant, the Giants continued to pound. The Giants were up 6-1, with just nine outs left until a championship was in their grasp. And so began the greatest comeback in the history of the World Series. No team had ever come back from such a large deficit so late in an elimination game--until the Angels, that is. The very spirit of the comeback was entirely embodied in the fierce battle Scott Spiezio put up in the seventh inning, when he fouled off 13 straight pitches, and then deposited the fourtheenth in the stands. It may have been the single greatest at bat in recent World Series memory. And by a player of so little reknown. The Angels whittled away. Spiezio. Erstad. Glaus. And all of a sudden, after two innings, the Angels were suddenly up 7-6, and the greatest comeback ever was complete. Game 7 was almost brutally anticlimactic, as the Giants showed how difficult it is to come back from a comeback such as the one from the night before. Rookies John Lackey, Rodriguez and Donnelly combined on a brilliantly-pitched game, and made Anderson's bases-clearing double in the fourth stand up. Angels win, 4-1, and the World Series is theirs! The Angels of 2002 were nearly magical. And it is only against the backdrop of their truly tragic history that one can appreciate the amazing fact that they succeeded against some tall odds, both real and, some might say, unreal. Can I take that team and build on this? Is it possible to build on this? I really don't know if the Curse has indeed been banished, or if it is merely transforming itself into another frightening form, laying in wait for the unsuspecting fans of the Angels. Chief Rum |
There's so much information available in this game, I'm not even sure where to start on bringing everyone up to speed. So I figured I would go from screen to the next and pretty much decide what's important. I will begin with franchise information and then work my way down to the players.
The Anaheim Angels Organization The Angels, of course, play in Anaheim. Their Market level is Average and Fan Loyalty Good, which would seem to put us somewhere in the middle of the whole market-loyalty scheme. Ticket prices are currently at $10, and I don't have the know-how yet to justify changing them, so they will remain there. We brought in about 2.3 M in attendance last year, which seems very solid to me, but once again these are probably actual numbers and will likely have no bearing at all on our actual attendance this year. Our average attendance last year was 28,464, so we have some room to grow. Our home, the recently renovated Edison International Field of Anaheim, seats 45050 at max capacity. We brought in about $70 M last year in revenue, including $12 M in playoff funds, but like attendance, this likely will ahve no effect on our final numbers beyond what it is doing now (setting our available money for free agency and contract extensions). The attendance figures were good for 14th last year. Our Local TV deal brings in $10 M and is good through 2006. The national deal gives us $13 M until 2005. So our broadcast revenue is about $23 M, which I believe is somewhere in the middle of the pack. Everyone gets $13 M from the national deal, but oddly enough, the deal seems to end in 2005 for some teams, and in 2006 for others. Weird. I was blown away by the Yanks' Local TV money: $41 M. Our fan interest is 91, tops in the major leagues. I can't say this surprises me much, considering we just won the World Series. I am sure it is going to be a struggle to keep that interest that high. The payroll right now is at a much more manageable level, at just over $57 M, good for 14th in the majors. The Yankees are at the top, with an amazing $125 M, but they are far up on #2, the Mets, at $84 M. The Devil Rays are bringing up the rear at $24 M. So excluding the Yankees, the range of normal teams' payrolls is "just" $60 M, which seems to make for a more appropriate range of payroll differences. We don't have any of the Top 25 highest paid players. Hopefully I will be able to keep that distinction in place for a while. Our highest paid player is SP Kevin Appier, at $7.35 M per year. This is still well behind the 25th player on the list, the Phillies' OF Bobby Abreu at $8.96 M. The Yankees have an amazing four players on the list, all $9 M+. Cash levels were interesting to check out. They generally followed high-revenue, high-cash patterns, but it seemed to be more complicated then that, especially in the middle. The Angels begin with $10 M in cash, which is a level they share with several midmarket squads. The Yankees and Mets are highest at $20 M, with the Dodgers and Cubs behind them at $15 M. The Devil Rays, again, bring up the rear at $4 M, and the Padres just ahead of them at $4.49 M. There are many teams at $5 M, once again mostly lower end revenue squads. Abberations like the big market Red Sox at $10 M and the at least midlevel Astros at $5 M confused me, so that I wasn't sure what the real basis for the individual cash levels were. We have $22.55 M available for contract extensions, and $10.96 M for free agents, although the latter doesn't matter much since we're at Opening Day, 2003, now. Edison International appears to be a slight pitchers ballpark, with most of the park factors a shade under the league average. There is a definite bias toward right-handed HR hitters, and against left-handed HR hitters. I'm not sure wht the right-handed HR hitters get this bias, but I know the high fense in RF is the main deterrent against left-handed power hitters. Triples are extremely plentiful here, another oddity, considering there are no unusual breaks in the outfield wall or sharp corners or what not, and the outfield, while not small, is not particularly expansive. Like all teams, we have three minor league squads. Our AAA team is the Salt Lake City Stingers. Then we have the Arkansas Travellers at AA, and the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes at A, just up the freeways a bit from Edison. Chief Rum |
The Coaches/Scouts
In real life, our manager is Mike Scioscia, a tough-as-nails former catcher for the Dodgers who is known to be a calming influence and a reasonable personality. But this is one area where the game to an extent depart from reality. Since I am essentially acting in the role of manager and GM, Scioscia has been reduced to a fluff reference on the Team Pages, and real life GM Bill Stoneman is now just our scout. Here are the guys we have in place: Mickey Hatcher, Batting Coach: The former scrappy utility reserve followed his buddy Mike to Anaheim, and is now a well-regarded hitting instructor. He is 48, and his contract calls for $260K through the end of this year. His skill as a Batting Coach is Excellent (which I think is pretty high on the scale), and his employment preference is that he "just wants to work". Bud Black, Pitching Coach: Black is another former major leaguer, although he was a higher quality player than Hatcher was. He is being paid a little more at $340K, and his contract takes him to 2004, next year. He is 45, and his skill as a Pitching Coach is Excellent, matching Hatcher in their chosen disciplines. Like Hatcher, he just wants to work. Bill Stoneman, Scouting Director: Stoneman, yet another former major leaguer at 49 years of age, is another guy who looks solid at his job. He is Good in spotting both Pitching and Hitting Talent, and it's nice to have a guy around who can be at least reasonably good at both. He is also signed to a nice contract at $280,000 through 2005. He says he wants a challenge, and I'm not sure we will provide it anymore, but he doesn't have a sayso in who he works for until 2005. Mike Brumley, Salt Lake City Manager: Our AAA manager seems to be a decent type, if not spectacular. Brumley is just 39 years old, and he is Good at developing hitters. He could be better with pitchers, rating as Decent there. He carries a surprisingly high contract with him, at 360K, and it runs through 2005. That alone might mean I will want to release him at some point in the near future. Brumley just wants to work. Doug Sisson, Arkansas Manager: Man, am I lucky to have this guy aboard. Sisson is our highest paid of our on-field management staff, at $420K through next year, and he deserves it. He rates as Excellent in both developing hitters and pitchers. He is a craggy veteran at 60, and he wants to win. I'll try to keep him as long as I can. Bobby Meacham, Rancho Cucamonga Manager: Our Single A manager is no one to write home about, with Average skills for both developing hitters and pitchers. Fortunately, he is cheap at $240K per year through 2004. He is 42 years old, and apparently Greed is his main motivation. Given that, and his relatively low skills, expect that I will want to dump this guy sometime soon. The total cost of the Coaches and Scouts is $1.9 M per year, and only Hatcher's contract is up at the end of 2003. Chief Rum |
I am going to go from position group to position group and show my options for my final 25-man roster. The first group will be the rotation, followed by the bullpen, catchers, corner infielders, middle infielders, and then outfielders and the DH.
For pitchers, I will have a talent listing that will show five letters, a dash, and then a number. The talent listing is, in order, his ability to stop hitters from Getting Hits, Getting Doubles, Getting Homeruns, Getting Walks, and then his ability to Get Strikeouts. The dash is merely a separator between the talent ratings and his velocity, on a scale of 1-10. 1 is probably a knuckleballer, 10 is a fireballer, 100 mph guy. 7 seems to be the general average, your low-90s guy. The talent scale runs from Poor (P) to Fair (F) to Average (A) to Good (G) to Brilliant (B). It should be noted that this is just talent--the actual ratings of a pitcher is currently hidden from me, as I chose when I decided to go with the Talent Only setting. There is also a stars scale for general excellence, which runs from 0 to 5 stars. If these stars are colored blue in the game, it indicates the player is still developing. I will signify this by adding a '+' after still-developing players. The Rotation Jarrod Washburn-- 3.5 stars 28 years old, Throws Left, Talent GAGAA-7 2002 stats: 18-6, 3.15 ERA, 59 bb/139 k Experience: 6th year in majors Contract: $2.71 M/2003 (arbitration eligible) Comments: Last year's ace is, of course, a lock for the rotation. He throws four pitches, and has shown himself to be a pitcher who keeps excellent command. He keeps balls on thr ground (65%) and let's his defense make the plays, although he does put up solid strikeout numbers. Intangibles: He's loyal to the team, and has some team leader abilities. He is consistent, and comes through in the clutch often. Ramon "L'il Pedro" Ortiz-- 2.5 stars 30 years old, Throws Right, GGAGG-7 2002 stats: 15-9, 3.77 ERA, 68 bb/162 k Experience: 4th year in majors Contract: $1.69 M/2004 Comments: The slight Ortiz was often compared to a young Pedro Martinez in his early days, which earned him his nickname. He hasn't proven to be that good after all, but he still has the best pure stuff of the starters on the stuff. He racks up the strikeouts pretty good, but he gives up a lot of homeruns. He's no stud, but few teams can do better after their ace. Intangibles: Ramon is the loyal, quiet type. He wants to win, but no more than the average player. His consistency is average, and so is his clutch performances. John Lackey-- 5+ stars 24 years old, Throws Left, GGGGG-6 2002 stats: 9-4, 3.67 ERA, 36 bb/69 k Experience: 2nd year in majors Contract: $300K minimum/2003 (automatic) Comments: Lackey has the best pure talent on the major league staff currently, and acquitted himself well in his rookie season. He is regarded as a future #1 starter, with great instincts and determination. He also has better stamina than either Washburn or Ortiz. He may jump up to the #2 starter this year. Intangibles: Lackey's best quality is coming through in the clutch, a skill he displayed last year in Game 7 of the World Series. He is also a consistent player. He brings little to the mix personally, as he isn't particularly loyal nor does he exhibit any team leader abilities. Kevin Appier-- 2.5 stars 35 years old, Throws Right, AGAAA-7 2002 stats: 14-12, 3.93 ERA, 64 bb/132 k Experience: 15th year in the majors Contract: $7.35 M/2004 Comments: Despite getting up there in age and just not being the same sort of pitcher he was in his more ballyhooed younger days, Appier still gets the job done effectively, ixing and matching his four pitches and getting by on veteran savvy now as much as pure stuff. Intangibles: He has some team leader skills, as the younger pitchers on the staff look up to him. He also a pretty consistent pitcher, and is decently loyal. Having already won the big one, he doesn't worry about that anymore. Aaron Sele-- 2.5 stars 32 years, Throws Right, GGGGA-5 2002 stats: 8-9, 4.89 ERA, 49 bb/82 k Experience: 11th year in majors Contract: $5.6 M/2004 Comments: Sele may be a concern this year, as he is coming off of an injury to his shoulder, and a subpar 2002 besides. Only time will tell if he can return to the skills he had prior to 2002, or if this is just the beginning of his decline. He still seems to have excellent control, and gets by using that and changing speeds effectively. Like Washburn, he induces a lot of ground balls. He was a consistent winner prior to coming to the Angels before 2002. Intangibles: As another veteran who has been there and done that, Sele is another guy the young pitchers on this staff look up to. He has a penchant for being very inconsistent on the mound, though. He is as loyal as the next guy. And that is almost certainly the starting rotation for the foreseeable future. There are other options, of course. Matt Wise is listed as a middle reliever right now, but he can start and might even be pretty good. Scott Schoenweiss was a long time starter who was bumped to the pen by lackey last year. He still wants to start and could if needed. Rookie phenom Frankie Rodriguez could also start, but that is very unlikely, as he should be far more valuable coming out of the pen. At AAA, the Angels also have Mickey Callaway and Steve Green. Callaway started for a bit last year, when Sele went down with his shoulder injury and pitched well. But he is a longtime career minor leaguer that the game doesn't really hold in high esteem. Green has pitched in majors in spots, and is regarded as the guy with better potential in the bigs. Hopefully, though, I won't ever need to explore these other options. Chief Rum |
The Pen
The Closer Troy Percival-- 5 stars 33 years old, Throws Right, BGBAB-8 2002 Stats: 4-1, 40 sv, 1.93 ERA, 25 bb/68 k Experience: 9th year in majors Contract: $5.6 M/2004 Comments: I don't really need to go into specifics here, I think. Percy is still one of the best closers in the game. He throws heat and racks up the strikeout. He has the command and control you would expect from a bulldog like him. Intangibles: This guy is a locker room star. He is a great leader. He is loyal to the team. He has good consistency, and he is great in the clutch. The guy does it all. There really are no other options here, and I refuse to consider any others until it becomes necessary. As the heir apparent, Rodriguez is clearly the next option should it be necessary, but there are several relievers on staff who could probably do better than a passable job at it, given a chance. Middle Relief Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez-- 5+ stars 21 years old, Throws Right, BFBAB-9 2002 Stats: 0.00 ERA in just 6 IP Experience: 2nd year in majors Contract: $300K minimum/2003 (automatic) Comments: The game comments say he has the perfect makeup to be dominant out of the pen. I don't have any real reason to doubt that. He is the heir apparent for when Percival calls it quits, and he may just have the talent to be better than Percy when it's all said and done. The Angels will be tough to beat with a lead in the eighth inning. Intangibles He made it clear last year that he is every bit the clutch performer Percival is. You don't put together the kind of postseason run he did last year and not have that quality in spades. Otherwise he doesn't bring much to the table. He's not a team leader type, nor is he possessed of any sense of team loyalty. His consistency is average. Brendan Donnelly-- 3 stars 31 years old, Throws Right, GFGAA-8 2002 Stats: 1-1, 1 sv, 2.16 ERA, 19 bb/54 k Experience: 2nd year in majors Contract: $300K minimum/2003 (automatic) Comments: Donnelly rounds out the Angels' power trio in the pen. After a lengthy tenure int he minor leagues, Donnelly finally put it all together and reached the bigs--and then succeeded like he had always been there. Like Percy and K-Rod, he has closer level stuff, although doesn't have quite the same demeanor as the other two. Still, he has the command of the zone and the outright heat that he needs to succeed. Intangibles: Donnelly is very inconsistent, which is probably something you would expect from a guy who took a decade to reach the majors. He doesn't really bring much to the locker room. He isn't very loyal or have any team leader abilities. Ben Weber-- 4 stars 33 years old, Throws Right, AABFA-7 2002 Stats: 7-2, 7 sv, 2.54 ERA, 22 bb/45 k Experience: 4th year in majors Contract: $300K minimum/2003 (arbitration) Comments: Weber put it all together last season after a couple seasons getting his talents under control. Like Donnelly, he is also a late bloomer. He is described as a very reliable reliever, who mixes his pitches and changes spped very well. Intangibles: It's not just the similarity on ages and arrival time in the bigs. Weber seems to have almost the same type of makeup as Donnelly. For all his stated reliability, he is described as being very inconsistent. He does have some loyalty to the team, unlike Donnelly, but he has no team leader abilities at all. Lou Pote-- 3 stars 31 years old, Throws Right, GGGAA-6 2002 Stats: 0-2, 3.24 ERA, 26 bb/32 k Experience: 5th year in majors Contract: $1 M/2003 (arbitration) Comments: Pote is another of the Angels' surprisingly array of cheap, quality relievers, which is a big reason why they had the best bullpen in baseball last year. In real life, Pote actually was allowed to leave, and he signed with a team in Japan. As long as he's here, though, he will combine the usual mix of good command and control to keep his team in the game. Intangibles: It's amazing how similar this guy is to Weber. You could cut and paste. He has the same level of average loyalty to the team, and he also has consistency problems. It's never good to have so many inconsistent relievers, but let's face it, if Donnelly, Weber, and Pote are all this inconsistent, at least one of them should always be doing well. Scot Shields-- 3 stars 27 years old, Throws Right, GAAAA-5 Stats: 5-3, 2.20 ERA, 21 bb/30 k Experience: 3rd year in majors Contract: 300K minimum/2003 (automatic) Comments: Shields is a younger pitcher that makes it a little easier for the Angels to consider moving some of the older guys if they have to. He has a lot of the same skills as Pote and Weber, and with his nothing fastball, he needs them, too. He mixes his pitches well and he has good control. He does get tapped for the longball on occasion. Intangibles Not only is Shields younger than most of the rest of the pen, but he also has some team leading ability. Otherwise, he isn't too far off from Pote, with just a touch of loyalty for the team, and once again, a lot of inconsistency. That is the current major league roster, but the Angels have a lot to choose from to back them up in AAA as well. I haven't decided yet what the makeup of the major league roster will be, but these guys might get a chance. I have already mentioned possible starters like Callaway and Wise. Former starter Schoenweiss, the only lefty in the pen last year, is also at AAA and ready to contribute in any way. In a jif, the Angels can also even call on minor league vets like Mark Lukasiewicz and Bart Miadich. But with a pen like this, I don't expect to need many of these guys, so they may end up as trade bait. All of the pitchers in AAA can contribute to a major league staff somewhere right now. Chief Rum |
The Catchers
Now that I have reached the hitters, things really don't change much with the talents. Basically, you need to look at them as the opposite of pitching. So now, instead of Avoiding things, it's your skill at producing them. So the talent skills are listed as follows: Batting Average (Getting Hits), Hitting Doubles, Hitting Triples, Hitting Homeruns, Drawing Walks and then Avoiding Strikeouts. The triples are a new category for hitters that aren't reflected for pitchers. I will then follow this with a dash, and then their speed and stealing ability separated by a forward slash, on the A-E scale (A being best), and whether or not they are a Spray, Normal, or Pull hitter. I will also include defensive ratings in the followup column of information. Ben Molina-- 2 stars 28 years old, Bats/Throws Right, AAFFFB-E/E (Pull) 2002 Stats: .245, 5, 47, .596 OPS Defense Ratings at C: D Range, .991 Field, C Arm Experience: 5th year in majors Contract: $1.45 M/2005 Comments: Bengie kinda got the shaft in these ratings, at least defensively. In real life, he threw out the highest percentage of runners in the AL last year, and he won the Gold Glove. He is also highly regarded as a handler of pitchers. Hitting seems to be dead on. He only has a touch of power, he's tough to strikeout, and he may be the slowest runner in the league. Intangibles: Ben is loyal to the team, and he has average consistency. He doesn't really have any team leader skills to speak of in the game, although I know that in real life is highly thought of by his fellow catchers and by the pitchers, especially the Latin American ones like Ortiz and Rodriguez. Jose Molina-- 2.5 stars 27 years old, Bats/Throws Right, GAFFAA-E/E (Normal) 2002 Stats: .271, 0, 5, .626 OPS (just 71 ab) Defense Ratings At C: D Range, 1.000 Field, C Arm Experience: 4th year in majors Contract: $300K minimum/2003 (arbitration) Comments: Jose has a little bit better of a bat than his brother, Bengie. According to this game, he is just as good of a backstop as well, although in real life, it should be noted that Jose was actually a catcher before Ben (who was converted in the minor leagues). Anyway, Jose may have more upside because of being able to make better contact with the ball. Intangibles: He has average consistency, and next to no team leader skills or team loyalty. Catching, at least by this game's standards, is probably subpar for the Angels. In real life, the Molina brothers form an interestingly effective duo, and are generally there for defense only. Here, their defense isn't good enough to justify doing that. But my options are limited. The two other catchers in the organization are too far off to contribute at the major league level just yet. We do have Shawn Wooten, who can catch if the need arises. But there is a reason he's a DH by general trade. As for which one starts, you got me. I may even start off playing them split time and letting whichever one plays better get more playing time. Chief Rum |
The Corners
First Base Scott Spiezio-- 2.5 stars 30 years old, Bats Switch/Throws Right, AGAGAG-D/B (Pull) 2002 Stats: .285, 12, 82, .807 OPS Defense Ratings At 1B: A Range, .998 Field Experience: 8th year in majors Contract: $2.98/2003 Comments: Spiezio is the kind of player that epitomizes these Angels. No one thinks he's all that great, but I will bet some eyebrows were raised reading this if they noticed him .807 OPS last year. He's a smart hitter who makes contact, and he has some pop. Defensively, he is one of the best 1B in the league, and he can also play four other positions besides. Intangibles: The game description says that he is well-liked in the clubhouse, and this is reflected a little in that he has some team leader abilities. As he showed in the World Series last year, he is also great in the clutch. He does suffer from some severe bouts of consistency, though, and he is not really known for being loyal to the team. I have no other natural 1B on the roster, and even Spiezio came up as a 2B when he was a rookie with the A's. Not that that has hurt his development at 1B none. If I need him to, Wooten once again can play at 1B, and he's actually a decent fielder there. Darin Erstad also still has skills at 1B from starting there for a season earlier in his career. And at AAA, we have a decent hitting career minor leaguer type in Larry Barnes, who can also be called upon quickly if needed. Third Base Troy Glaus-- 4.5 stars 26 years old, Bats/Throws Right, AGFBBF-C/B (Pull) 2002 Stats: .250, 30, 111, .805 OPS Defense Ratings at 3B: C Range, .953 Field Experience: 6th year in majors Contract: $4.5 M/2004 Comments: Glaus is coming off of an off year, but there seems little doubt that he can and will bounce back to form. He has immense power, and the ability to one day break 50 HRs in today's era of pwer. He is also exceptional at drawing the walk. He could do better making contact with the ball, but he does enough to get by. Defensively, he's average at best at 3B. Intangibles: In the clubhouse, Glaus makes as big an impact as he is physically big (6'5", 229 lb). He has some team leader ability, and he does feel some loyalty to the team. He is yet another of the guys that has proved to be great in the clutch, and he is fairly consistent. There are few negatives about this young, unassuming star. Once again, we hit a sort of wall for backups. The corner infield is obviously not a particularly deep spot. Wooten is once again the best backup option here, and Spiezio can play 3B as well as Glaus can if need be (but then we would need a 1B). After that, the rest of the franchise's 3B are at Single A. Jose Nieves, a natural 2B, could be shipped up from AA in an emergency, but there's a reason he's at Arkansas and not in the bigs. Chief Rum |
The Middle Infield
Second Base Adam Kennedy-- 2.5 stars 27 years old, Bats Left/Throws Right, AGGFFG-C/C (Normal) 2002 Stats: .312, 7, 52, .794 OPS Defense Ratings at 2B: C Range, .984 Field Experience: 5th year in majors Contract: $350K/2003 (arbitration) Comments: Kennedy probably isn't going to be a regular .300 hitter, but he can make contact with the ball. In fact, he has to, because he doesn't really have the patience to wait on it. That said, he's hard to fan, and he has solid gap power. He is average at 2B, but he makes the routine plays. Intangibles He's not a team leader, and isn't any more loyal to the team than then average player, so Adam isn't going to do it much in the clubhouse. He lets his playing do the talking. He has good consistency and he is durable, playing a lot of games every year. Despite the three-homerun game against the Twins int he 2002 ALCS, Kennedy is not really known for being a clutch player or for having much fence-reaching power. Chone Figgins-- 2+ stars 25 years old, Bats Switch/Throws Right, AABPFG-A/C (Spray) 2002 Stats: .167 (just 12 ab) Defense Ratings at 2B: C Range, .941 Field Experience: 2nd year in the majors Contract: $300K minimum/2003 (automatic) Comments: Figgins isn't considered a big time prospect, but he could be a sleeper. He happens to do some things well that some Angels aren't so good at, like running fast. He is a speed burner, although his baserunning skills need work. He doesn't look like he will ever be a great hitter, but he has the skills, plate discipline and speed to eventually do a fair job of leading off for this squad. Defensively, he will get to most of the plays Kennedy will. The difference, though, may be that he seems more likely to screw it up once he gets to it. He might be sent back down to AAA to make way for depth in other areas. Intangibles: Chone (pronounced like "Shon") happens to do one thing bad that is rare on the Angels. He actually suffers in the clutch. This was actually a bit obvious from some baserunning blunders he made as a pinchrunner in the playoffs last year. He does have good consistency, though, and he has average team loyalty. He has no team leader skills. Kennedy is clearly the starter right now, since Figgins is likely not ready for more than a backup role. He really is a strong candidate to be sent down to make room for pitching depth, most likely. There are plenty of candidates to backup 2B behind Kennedy in any case, with the two SS and established major leaguers David Eckstein and Benji Gil each able to play 2B. Spiezio can also play there. Nieves and AAA middle infielder Alfredo Amezaga can be brought up in a hurry if needed. Shortstop David Eckstein-- 3 stars 28 years old, Bats/Throws Right, GAGFAG-B/B (Spray) 2002 Stats: .293, 8, 63, .751 OPS Defense Ratings at SS: B Range, .971 Field Experience: 3rd year in majors Contract: $300K minimum/2003 (automatic) Comments: Can you believe that a guy so critical to the team's success is still playing for the league minimum? The Ecks-Factor does it all. He bunts, he runs, he steals, he plays defense, he hits for the gap, he makes contact in droves, and every now and then he'll surprise you and hit a grand slam. Even Barry Bonds was learning something from Eckstein's approach to the game (they played together on the touring All Star team in Japan). He is a fan and clubhouse favorite. Intangibles: For all the intangibles the game description hints that David has, he doesn't really get a lot of respect for his personality. He isn't listed as having any team leader ability and I think that's just an egregious error. But if I changed his ratings, I would have to change a whole lot of others to justify it. I agreed to take these rosters pretty much as is, so I will. He is listed as having good consistency. In lesser errors, it also indicates he has little team loyalty or ability in the clutch. Benji Gil-- 2.5 stars 30 years old, Bats/Throws Right, GAAFAF-D/E (Normal) 2002 Stats: .285, 3, 20, .738 OPS (in 130 ab) Defense Ratings at SS: C Range, .953 Field Experience: 8th year in majors Contract: $810K/2005 Comments: Can you believe that both of the MLB's Benji's are on the same team? Gil is a nice bench player to have, since he is versatile as a utility infielder, and is almost good enough to start. He can make contact, and even has some pop. He is patient at the plate as well. Surprisingly, he's actually a middle infielder who is not very good on the basepaths. For all the positions, he plays, he is really quite average in the field. Intangibles: Gil's character sheet is a virtual copy of Eckstein's at least in the game. Keep in mind that, in real life, Eckstein is, IMO, much different than what it says in the game, but it suits Gil to a tee. He has the same good consistency, but really brings little else to the table. For all the options that there are at 2B, there are seemingly few at SS. Gil is a certain major leaguer, unlike Figgins, so a readily available and able backup will always be on hand. Amezaga at Salt Lake City can also play SS if needed. Chief Rum |
Heh...you guys probably thought I went away or got bored with this dynasty before it got started. :)
Actually, I was never more into it. But I'm a big fan of reality, and I had the opportunity to add 144 additional prospects to the rosters I had, including three good ones for the Angels. It actually took me all week to get it done, thanks to difficulties with the import/export feature on OOTP5. I want bore anyone with the details, but let's just saw it was rather more exhaustive than I thought it would be, and I had to do a lot of trila and error before I finally found a decent enough work-around to actually use. Anyway, the rosters have probably changed a little, mostly with the additions. I also moved some other players around that were already in the game, but to the correct rosters. I did NOT make any of the more recent additions from real life, however (no Lofton on Pitt--still a free agent; no Rogers of Minnesota; no Richard for Cust trade). I will say that of the 144 additions I made to the league, 15 of them are on the Top 100 list (none for the Angels, though), so I would say that's a fairly significant addition of talent. One thing is for sure--I won't forget any of the names of the 144 because I have been staring at them for a friggn' week. It should be an interesting sidenote to one day look back and check on what happened to them all (assuming I get far), and see if it was worth it for all the work I did. :) I have also made two fun personal additions. I work with a guy named Kevin Waldinger who was drafted by the Tigers last year out of college. He hurt his throwing shoulder and is rehabilitating it, and he never signed with the Tigers. He plans on re-entering the draft. I'm not sure how to add him to the rookies, though, so I created a fictional player and put him at the Single A level. I made him a 3-star talent, which means he should get a shot, but he ain't a lock. My cousin Chris Cunningham was also drafted last year, although he decided to forgo signing (don't ask, long story). He was drafted as a catcher from Arizona by Pittsburgh. I also have him set up as a three-star prospect, although the Pirates are already overvaluing him. I thought it would be fun to look in on these two occasionally and see how they are doing. It helps that it is the Pirates and Tigers, of course, since they aren't powers. The last thing I want to do is give the Yankees or the Dodgers an unnecessary additional solid prospect. Otherwise, it's back to where I was. I am about to do outfielders. Once I wrap them up and go over my lineups and some other little things, we will finally be prepared to start off the season. I hope you enjoy. Chief Rum |
The Outfield/DH
Left Field Garrett Anderson-- 2.5 stars 30 years old, Bats/Throws Left, GGFGFG-C/B (Normal) 2002 Stats: .306, 29, 123, .871 OPS Defense Ratings in LF: B Range, .993 Field, C Arm Experience: 9th year in majors Contract: $5.03 M/2005 Comments: Can't a guy get any respect? I mean, here's a guy who has been about as consistent as anyone in the past eight seasons, and last year he was a legit MVP candidate. And he gets 2.5 stars? Weird. Still, his talent seems to grade out well. I just hope I'm getting something closely approximating what a fine player GA is, rather than some warped OOTP version of him (odds are for the latter :( ). Intangibles: Not surprisingly, his consistency is good. They should have a higher ratings just for him. 150+games per year, like clockwork, and he never seems to have an off year. He is also listed as a great team leader. I'm not sure I would say that, although I do know his example is much followed. He is considered to have pretty much no loyalty or need for a winning team or anything but average ability in the clutch. Centerfield Darin Erstad-- 3 stars 28 years old, Bats/Throws Left, AGFAAG-B/B (Normal) 2002 Stats: .283, 10, 73, .702 Defense Ratings in CF: A Range, .995 Field, C Arm Experience: 8th year in majors Contract: $5.68 M/2004 Comments: I don't know if we got burned on GA's actual talent, but we may be making up for it with Erstad. Yes, Erstad is good. He brings qualities to the table that few major leaguers possess, that are harder to measure. But I don't know if I would have made him this good. It seems more and more likely that 2000 was the fluke rather what he was really capable of doing. Still, he is versatile in the game, and in real life he has shown his abilty to do much of what he is given credit for here. He can hit, hit for power, play great defense and leadoff with speed. Intangibles: As I said, though, his best qualities in real life might be off the field. The fiery Erstad is considered a great leader even among great leaders. He is the spirit of this team. So it comes as no shock that he is graded as a great leader in the game. He has average loyalty and consistency as well, but no other notable character ratings. Rightfield Tim "Kingfish" Salmon-- 2.5 stars 34 years old, Bats/Throws Right, GGFGBF-D/B (Normal) 2002 Stats: .286, 22, 88, .883 OPS Defense Ratings in RF: C Range, .989 Field, A Arm Experience: 12th year in majors Contract: $5.46 M/2003 Comments: This guy is the epitome of the quiet leader and veteran. He has always been a stand up guy, so it makes sense he would play such an important role on a team like this. Salmon still has good power and gets the bat around just fine, although his defense is starting to suffer from his advancing age. He is fantastically patient at the plate as well, serving him well in front of the ultra-contact hitting GA and free swinging Glaus. Intangibles: Another Angel, another great leader. Where as Erstad is the spirit, the Kingfish is its heart. He is also great in the clutch, is fairly consistent, and has decent loyalty to the team. He's pretty much the kind of player every manager dreams of. Backup outfielders are actually in flux right now. For one thing, the obvious choice here is veteran Eric Owens, but the game has him at AAA. In his place on the big league squad, the computer has placed youngsters Robb Quinlan and Nathan Haynes. While both are solid, I am of the opinion you need to go with at least one veteran, so figure one of these guys will get sent down to make room for Owens. Designated Hitter Brad Fullmer-- 2 stars 28 years old, Bats Left/Throws Right, ABAGPA-D/D (Pull) 2002 Stats: .289, 19, 59, .888 OPS Defense Ratings at 1B: C Range, .987 Field Experience: 7th year in majors Contract: $492K/2003 Comments: Here's another guy the computer is essentially giving the shaft to. He's currently at AAA, but he will probably at least platoon at DH, if not outright start there every game. He generates good power and makes contact, even if he never walks. He's actually passable at 1B, but if you have Spiezio around, why bother handing Fullmer a glove? Intangibles: Fullmer has little loyalty and average ability in the clutch. He does have some leader ability, and he is also consistent. Shawn Wooten-- 2 stars 30 years old, Bats/Throws Right, GAFAPA-E/C (Pull) 2002 Stats: .312, 8, 32, .793 OPS Defense Ratings at C: E Range, .993 Field, D Arm Comments: If Fullmer gets platooned at all, it will be with this guy. Wooten's sole claim to fame thus far has been that he went to high school with Jason Giambi. Actually, Wooten has some good hitting ability. He makes contact and he has some pop. As a catcher, Wooten makes a great designated hitter. Intangibles: Wooten doesn't bring as much to account as some others on the team, with minimal loyalty and no team leader skills. He does have average consistency. Chief Rum |
Of course, the organization doesn't stop at the major league level. And OOTP5 is set up to make the minor leagues more important than they ever have been before.
For one thing, now we have more accurate minor league reports, that make different suggestions for when a player is ready for advancement. Also, the addition of minor league records (I have been surmising that this must be done by playing the major league schedule, but against the minor league teams of the major league opponents) and the record keeping of year-by-year minor league stats would seem to suggest that there has been a move to make them more relevant as well. Finally, as pertains directly to this dynasty, statistics are the primary way I will be judging players' advancement in this, a No Talent ratings league. So minor league stats will become even more critical. I am fortunate that the cupboard is not bare for the Angels' organization (which is an accurate reflection of the real life system, which has also improved by leaps and bounds in recent years). According to the minor league system rankings, we are currently 11th in the league with 63 points. I would explain to you what the points mean, but I haven't a clue myself either. All I know is that more is better. The top minor league system belongs to, not surprisingly, Tampa Bay, which has had the "joy" of picking at or near the top of the draft board pretty much since the year of its inception. They had four players in the Top 30, and two in the Top 10. Their score was 128 points, more than double mine (although I still don't know exactly what that means). They were followed by Cleveland, San Francisco, the New York Mets, and Detroit. Perhaps as the season goes on I will be able to provide more descriptions of the future stars of the league. As for Anaheim, we appear to have five players listed in the Top 100, although minor league system rankings seem to only go up to five players (I only counted 91 players listed on the screen for all 30 teams, so nine players listed in the Top 100 are apparently not even mentioned in the rankings report). The best of the bunch is easily AA 1B Casey Kotchman, ranked 13th overall. He is joined by four starting pitchers, reflecting an organizational strength. They are Bobby Jenks (54th), Johan A. Santana (59th), Joe Saunders (60th) and Chris Bootcheck (78th). Here's a team-by-team look at our minor leagues... AAA Salt Lake City Stingers Manager: Mike Brumley Develop Hitters: Good Develop Pitchers: Decent The Stingers' roster currently carries 16 players of note. The roster is predominantly fringe major leaguers or overdeveloped minor leaguers waiting for a shot. The great thing about the depth here is that we seem to have a ready call up or emergency plan in case of a massive rash of injuries or a trade offer we can't pass up. The bad news is that most of it is, indeed, fringe talent and our true talented prospects are mostly at least a year away from helping the big club. There are a handful of relievers available in veteran minor leaguers like Mark Lukasiewicz (2.5 stars) and Bart Miadich (2 stars), major league vets like Scott Schoenweiss(2.5 stars) and the aging Rich Rodriguez (1 star), and a good replacement starter in Matt Wise (2.5 stars), who could start for some other teams. Schoenweiss, who also can start, would likely get the call up if I decide to bring up a reliever (and I am pretty sure I will). The list is no less full of fringe major leaguers amongsth hitters. Veteran catcher Sal Fasano (1 star) is on hand in case of injuries to either of the Molina brothers for longer than a DL-less visit to the bench. OF Eric Owens (1 star) is the veteran outfielder who will likely be called up to serve as the primary outfield backup for the big squad, and of course there is DH Brad Fullmer, pretty much assured of an immediate promotion back to the majors. The team is also further buoyed by other longtime Angels minor leaguers as 1B Larry Barnes (1 star), LF Elpidio Guzman (1 star), and RF Jeff DeVanon (1 star). Among developing (i.e. 25 and under) talents, we only have a handful, as I noted. Only one such pitcher, SP Steve Green (2+ stars), is at AAA, and with Wise and Schoenweiss also more likely to get the call to fill holes, he is several injuries away from a legit shot at the bigs. There is a nice young talent in the OF in RF Mike O'Keefe (4+ stars), being groomed to one day take over for Tim Salmon. O'Keefe has tremendous power and a nice swing. He is the most talented of the three players I added to the Angels' organization during my one-week hiatus from this dynasty. We also have SS Oscar Salazar (2.5+ stars) and SS Alfredo Amezaga (1+ star) present for middle infield depth (and Salazar, who has better power than most middle infielders, may one day start). It is also likely that in the reshuffling of the major league roster, 2B Chone Figgins (2+ stars), CF Nathan Haynes (2.5+ stars), and LF Robb Quinlan (2 stars) will be dropped to Salt Lake City. Figgins and Haynes are mostly decent-hit speedsters, while Quinlan is a fringe major leaguer who may get the reserve outfield nod over Owens. Quinlan was another player added during my absence. AA Arkansas Travellers Manager: Doug Sisson Develop Hitters: Excellent Develop Pitchers: Excellent With the exceptional skills of Manager Sisson, our AA team should serve as the boost which will get most of our prospects tot he major leagues eventually. And fortunately, many of our best ones are currently doing time here in Arkansas. 1B Casey Kotchman (4.5+ stars), the top prospect in the organization, mans first place here as he works his way up to perhaps a starting spot in Anaheim as soon as 2004. He has the good swing and power, and he is tremendous at hitting for the gaps. This seems reminiscent of old Angels' fan fave 1B Wally Joyner. Fireballers Bobby Jenks (4.5+ stars) and Joe Saunders (4.5+ stars) head what amounts to a Diamondback-ish power twosome in Arkansas's rotation. They are ably supported by Chris Bootcheck (2.5+ stars) and Richard Fischer (3.5+ stars), the last of the three additions to the Angels' organization. That foursome alone, and supported by vet minor leaguer Elvin Nina (1 star), will likely rack up the wins for Arkansas. The pen isn't so deep, with veteran minor leaguer Doug Nickle (1 star) and Derrick Turnbow (2+ stars) being the only relievers present to lend any significant support. After Kotchman, the lineup at AA is pretty weak, featuring a bunch of players who are just about to turn too old to be prospects anymore. C Wil Nieves (1.5+ stars) is probably too old at 25 now to expect that he will be able to earn a spot in the majors ahead of the Molinas or Fasano and too lightly talented to hold off some more talented Single A catchers. Natural centerfielders Julio Ramirez (1.5+ stars) and Barry Wesson (1.5+ stars) are mostly there just for support. Vet minor league 2B Jose Nieves is present for absolute emergencies higher up, but he's not going anywhere either. This team can win a lot, but it's probably going to have to depend on that great starting pitching and the offensive prowess of Kotchman alone. And Saunders is reportedly close to moving up to Salt Lake City. A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Manager: Bobby Meachem Develop Hitters: Average Develop Pitchers: Average Meachem isn't really all that great, and he's a greedy bastard besides, but we're going to have to just live with him for now. As you would expect, the Single A team is entirely peopled by younger prospects, all of whom have a decent chance to see Anaheim in an official capacity, but none of whom are stars int he making (at least not yet). There is, once again, some pitching strength, albeit not as deep as AA. Johan A. Santana (2.5+ stars) is on the Top 100 Prospects List and Joe Torres (3+stars) is actually said to be more talented, at least by our scout, Bill Stoneman (who is a good judge of talent). With organizational mediocrity present throughout the other levels at our backstop position--including the major leagues--it is somewhat of a relieve to have two nice young talented catchers in Jared Abruzzo (2.5+ stars) and Jeff Mathis (2+ stars). Both are high-quality receivers. Abruzzo gets the edge because he has a slightly stronger arm and makes better contact with the ball. Defensive whiz and gap-hitter SS Brian Specht (3+ stars) could be the future at that position when Eckstein gets a little older. He is already as good a defender as most major league shortstops and has the talent to develop into a better hitter as well. 3B Dallas McPherson (2.5+ stars) guards the line to Specht's right and some decent hitting talent that might get him to the majors someday, but his path isn't likely to be as easy as Specht's will be. So there you go. An in-depth look at the Angels' future stars. Chief Rum |
The Final 25
Well, it is now time for me to prepare for the season, get my final roster in and set up lineups. So who's going in? Most of you know the givens. Here they are... My five projected starters are easy to pick in Jarrod Washburn, Kevin Appier, John Lackey, Aaron Sele and Ramon Oritz. So that's five. Troy Percival and Francisco Rodriguez are locks for the pen, to go to seven. The others on the current staff are also returning from last year in Brendan Donnelly, Ben Weber, Lou Pote and Scott Shields. That brings me to 11 pitchers, and I think I want to carry at least 12. More on that in a second. Ben and Jose Molina are easy choices at catcher, bringing the total to 13. Scott Spiezio, Troy Glaus, David Ecksteion and Adam Kennedy round out the starting infield, and utility player Benji Gil is a lock for a spot. That moves us up to 18 players. In the outfield, Garrett Anderson, Darin Erstad and Tim Salmon are the starters, and Shawn Wooten is a lock to be ont he roster, if not start, since he will see time at DH and also has the versatility to serve in several other backup positions in the infield. That moves us up to 22, with three spots contested. Currently, those three spots are being held by youngsters Nathan Haynes, an outfielder; 2B Chone Figgins, and older minor leaguer Robb Quinlan. Brad Fullmer is definitely moving up to the major league squad, so I will send him up and send Figgins down. With Schoenweiss's versatility to both start and relief and the fact that he's a lefty, he is the obvious choice for the 12th spot. I will bring him up and send down Haynes. Both Haynes and Figgins accepted the reassignments without question. So the last 25th spot is between Quinlan and the veteran Owens at AAA. Quinlan is the better talent, but I don't know how developed he is at this point, since he is just 26. Owens is more of a proven player, even if he's proven to be nothing better than shitty. He's a good defender who can play all four outfield positions, he has some speed with which to pinchrun, and he has the bat control and plate discsipline to be a good pinch hitter. Plus, he's 32, and I would rather blow off a year as a reserve by a veteran like him than to start the clock on Quinlan, who might develop into a decent player still. Pitching Staff Mostly I went with the computer recommendations, since they didn't differ too much from what I anticipated to march out there. Here's the rotation, and order of starts: Washburn Appier Ortiz Sele Lackey My closer is, of course: Percival The setup men are: Rodriguez Schoenweiss (this last mostly for his left-handedness) The middle relievers are: Weber Pote Donnelly Schoenweiss The mop up relievers are: Shield Donnelly Starters & Lineups SS Eckstein CF Erstad RF Salmon LF Anderson 3B Glaus DH Fullmer (R)/Wooten (L) 1B Spiezio C JMolina (R)/BMolina (L) 2B Kennedy When the DH isn't used, they are simply removed from the lineup. This isn't really what the computer told me to do with the lineups--I pretty much copied the Angels' most common lineups from last year, so I guess we'll see which way works better. Chief Rum |
OMG...as you all know, I have been struggling immensely with the player export/import option. That's basically where I was for the last week. I thought I was done with the problems. Well, how naive of me. :(
For some reason, exporting the rosters, editing them, and then re-importing them causes the "stage of the game" to change, but not the date. I should be at Opening Day 2003. Somehow, in importing this roster set, I have been bumped back to before free agency, but with the same rosters. Basically, it's like I am about to begin free agency, but on Opening Day, so I have to wait 30 days before I play a game. And since the game date didn't reset when the stage of the game did, I will be watching the entire first month of games wiped out while we finish "free agency". After all the work I have done, this is extremely frustrating. I am considering my options. Here's what I have come up with: 1) Run "free agency" and simply begin games when it finally lets me. Pros: I have already done this, and can load up that league file whenever I want to. I already know the first games are voided, but otherwise everything seems to be fine. Cons: Incomplete season, with resulting lesser stats and lesser revenues for teams. 2) Run "free agency" (obviously, there seems to be no way of avoiding this) and edit the schedule to begin the day after free agency. I think this would work, but I'm not sure. Pros: I get a whole season in, with revenues. Cons: I have to go back and add my personal players again (the two guys I know) and re-do my lineups & stuff (which took a little bit). And I don't know how the game will handle a postseason ending in late November. Right now, I am leaning toward 2. While I'm not looking forward to the work I'll have to do (really not that much, but I hate having to repeat stuff I just did), I really think it's important that the whole season be played, especially for the finances of the clubs. Also, since when the game moves over to a new season, it begins in January of the next year, I don't think I will have a problem with the season advancing a further month into the year. So for now I will go with this. If anyone cares, I also posted about this problem at OOTP, although I doubt I'll get any helfpul responses before I wrap up my chanegs and start this up again. Chief Rum |
Well, okay, after exploring the possibility of doing option #2, I discovered even more problems with importing and re-importing, and basically I would be going back to square one just about if I start over.
I am extremely disgusted with this to the point of wanting to just drop the whole thing, but I'm too stubborn, having spent so much time trying to get these rosters set up and transferred over. So I'm going with Option 1. The season will be a month short unless it allows me to add series after the season, in which case I will attempt to duplicate the missing April schedule. I'll try that in a second. Assume, though, that like everything else involved with this, that that won't work and we will be having an imitation 1995 league (the year shortened by a month following the 1994 strike). Back in a bit. Chief Rum |
Chief, tonight TotalMinors v1 comes out and has a massive amount more players, and correct speed/steal and accurate defensive ratings.. so you could use that!
Or, if you want to keep yours, just add 30 games for each team at the end of the year.. it can be done, as long as you start adding before the scheduled games are finished, or it will send you to the playoffs! Good luck. |
Ok, I just read that TotalMinors v1 will not have a ton of prospects added (probably nothing near the 144 + 2 guys you made), but it is mainly adjusting the things I mentioned above and real-life player ratings -- So Garret Anderson will probably get something better than 2.5 stars..
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Chief Rum,
I think it is a good idea to go with idea #1, as much as I'd like to forget '94-'95. At least it should save you some work. As a dynasty writer myself, I understand how much time is involved in it. Try to save as much as possible. By the way, keep it up. I'm reading. |
Thanks for the advice, guys.
Shorty: Yeah, I have been keeping tabs on GeForce's rosters. They aren't yet what I'm looking for, though. When they are complete, with the additional prospects, I will probably download them and play a solo league or two with them. But, yeah, I'm going to stick with adding games to the season and go from there. In fact, that's what I have been doing for the past day or so (in my free time, of course). DolphinFan1: Thanks, dolphinfan. I plan to. As I just noted to Shorty, I will have a complete season after all. It will just last a month later into the year. :) I have actually completed the first month of play, and am still working out just what and how much I want to present. My goal is to always keep the readers in tune with what and how the Angels are doing, but I also want to immerse a little in the baseball world as well. So I will likely return later with reports both about the team and the major events of the past month in baseball. I have added the exact same April schedule to the end of the season (it took a bit of switching back and forth, but I did it), so we're set and moving on. The All Star game is now August 9. Too bad I had already played a handful of games before with this set, or otherwise generating a new schedule would have been much, much easier. Talk to you guys soon. Chief Rum |
Wow Rummy!!!
You deserve more posts for the length of some of these babies. Keep up the good work, I'll be following along (albeit a bit behind). ;) |
Good dynasty - except for the Bobby Meachum bashing.
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Thanks, Swaggs and jim, I appreciate the comments. I'm just glad I finally got to the point where I could get this going again--it has been a busy week. :)
Sorry for the Meacham bashing, Jim, but he really does suck in this roster set. :) I still haven't really decided what to present about the baseball world at the end of the first month of play, so I guess I'll throw it all out there. I'll start with a status report on all-things-Angels and then move on to league happenings. Chief Rum |
The Standings
Game Date: June 1, 2003 (remember, the schedule is crewed up and Opening Day was actually April 30, 2003) AL West Code:
This started off with the Rangers getting really hot, but our squad and the A's picked it up as we were supposed to do, and overtook them near the end. The Mariners, of course, are also expected to be good (a notion not offput by the fact they themselves are still just three games below .500), so you can expect that we are probably again in baseball's best division. AL Central Code:
No surprise with Minnesota on top here. Detroit's early success is a surprise, of course, and they should be an interesting team to watch. Chicago is doing horribly bad for their supposed talent level. AL East Code:
Boston has the best record in the majors right now, so Sox fans of the world rejoice. They are just off to a phenomenal start. It's significant to note that the powerful Yanks would be tied for the AL West lead right now and ahead of the Twins int he AL Central, were they in either of those divisions. Instead, they are already 4.5 games out. Toronto and Baltimore, fringe teams that might have hoped to put up respectable seasons, have to be especially glum right now, since they are already almost 10 games back, and they haven't played that bad. Tampa Bay (and probably a common Red Sox victim) is the worst team in MLB. NL West Code:
Wow, how about that NL West! They really seem to have taken their success from last year and pushed it up to another level. The Giants seem to be trying to prove that they can do it without Baker and Kent, and they have second-best record in the MLB right now. San Diego has been one of the surprise teams so far, and Arizona is right there. LA and the Rockies are hovering at .500 and not out of the game yet. NL Central Code:
So early, and this is already a two-team race? And that two-team race doesn't include the Cards or the Stros? Go figure. Cubbies and Reds--should be a good one. The odd starts of St. Louis and Houston should be interesting side stories, as they attempt tp return to the level of their respective talents and make the NL Central--as usual--one of the most interesting divisions to watch every year. As for the Cubs, they and the BoSox seem to be doing their best to bust the baseball curse gods. NL East Code:
This must be the underachiever's division. Montreal's suckiness is expected, but what are the Mets' and Braves' excuses? It's nice to see Florida off to a decent start, but it's sad that a .500 record is so close to first, held by another possibly underachieving team in the Phillies. Chief Rum |
Anaheim The Team
According to the latest power rankings, we are at the lofty level of #4, with 114 points. The Red Sox are on top, with 146 points. They are followed by the Giants at 135, and our division leader, the A's, at 116 points, just a shade ahead of us. Here are where we stand in major categories, with MLB rank in parentheses: Team AVG: .248 (17th) Team HRs: 25 (20th) Team Runs: 129 (19th) We are definitely underacheiving on offense. We finished higher in all of the above last year except for homeruns. One stat not listed above is walks. In real life, this was an area the champion Angels excelled it, but we are currently 26th overall in the MLB. Also against what we usually do, we are tops in the majors right now with 30 SBs. Team ERA: 3.68 (4th) Team AVG Allowed: .239 (5th) Team Runs Allowed: 111 (3rd) We're doing quite well on the mound, and abviously, it is the key to what current success we can claim to have. The only major area we aren't in the top half of the league is homeruns allowed, where we are 18th. I guess the key will be to get the offense going and keep the pitching up to par. Financials We have started off very well financially, as our league-top Fan Interest of 91 has made its impact. After 16 homedates, we have pulled off something I didn't think was possible in real life--we have sold out all 16 games at 45,022-seat Edison International. Our attendance, currently at about 720,000 is second in the majors, behind only the Rangers at 728,000. The Giants did pass us up for FI, using their hot start and last year's Series visit to get to 92. The Cubs have also taken advantage fo their start and are tied with us at 91. Our attendance average last year, BTW, was 28,464, and we still have ticket prices at $10. I have given thought to raising it, since we're selling out, but I have a personal policy of not jacking up the price in midseason. Transactions & Injuries We made no additions to the major league roster, nor did we suffer any significant injuries. Chief Rum |
The Major League Squad
The Rotation Jarrod Washburn (4-3, 3.00) and Aaron Sele (2-1, 2.72) are off to fine starts, but surprisingly, they are alone in this respect amongst our starters. Apparently our good ERA is being carried by these two and the bullpen. Kevin Appier (3-3, 6.07) has been horrible, and is only at .500 because of some fortuitous run support (5.7 runs/game). Ramon Ortiz (1-4, 5.04) is losing games both with his pitching and a lack of support, and young star John Lackey (2-1, 5.04) should also be doing better. The Bullpen Troy Percival has been amazing, with no earned runs allowed in 9 appearances and 11.1 IP. He is, of course, 9 for 9 in save opportunies. Opposing hitters are hitting just .083 against him. In setup and middle relief roles, K-Rod (1.42) and Brendan Donnelly (1.20) are apparently trying to outpitch him. They have the most innings pitched on the relief staff. In fact, Ben Weber (1.29) and Lou Pote (1.35) are also pitching phenomenally. Scot Shields (3.38) only looks bad on this team, and Scott Schoenweiss (5.87), the lone lefty, is the only guy we fear to put on the mound right now. The Infield The platoon of the Molina brothers is hitting about as well as expected, and neither brother has distanced himself from the other yet. Jose Molina (.207, 2, 10) bats against righties and provides some pop, while Ben Molina (.275, 0, 4) seems to be hitting more consistently. 1B Scott Spiezio (.308, 3, 8) is one of the few players off to a good start in the Angels' lineup. 3B Troy Glaus (.163, 6, 22) is still producing the power numbers, but he has been godawful getting the bat on the ball. He has only four hits (17) more than walks (13). SS David Eckstein (.288, 1, 9) is making contact and even producing a little power. He is also leading the team in runs scored with 17 and second in stolen bases with 6. The bad news is his OBP is just .336 and he has been caught stealing 5 times. 2B Adam Kennedy (.224, 1, 10) is off to a miserable start. The Outfield/DH If anyone symbolizes the Angels' awful offensive start, it is last year's MVP candidate LF Garrett Anderson (.238, 1, 6). He is markedly behind his usual production in almost all categories. CF Darin Erstad (.229, 2, 13) is also off to a bad start, although he at least is producing some surprising power, and he leads the squad with 7 stolen bases. RF Tim Salmon (.265, 4, 18) has cooled off a little after a hot start, but he remains the Angels' most consistent producer. The platoon at DH took a detour when the game seemed to ignore Brad Fullmer for a bit. I corrected that, but Shawn Wooten, who bats against lefties, still has a 2-to-1 at bat lead. They are both doing decently. Fullmer (.250, 2, 3) has been good in spots for his 40 at bats, and Wooten (.308, 2, 14) has been great in his spots. If Wooten keeps up the good play, I may be forced to get him more time. Chief Rum |
The Minor Leagues
It has been a good month for the Angels' minor league squads. We had a couple decent free agent prospects become available, as some of the other teams made odd decisions to drop them, and added them to our roster. And then we had significant talent jumps to two of our best prospects. We added AAA 1B Matt Whitney and AA SP Chris Waters to the system after they were released by the Indians and Braves, respectively. Waters, an AAAGA talent with 5 velocity and two pitches, was good enough to get to #8 in our system. He is a 3.5 star prospect. Whitney isn't as highly regarded, but at 2.5 stars he isn't bad either. He's an FBAAAA player. Both players are just 22 years old. As of June 1, we have jumped from 13th to 5th in the league in farm system rankings. Here's a team-by-team look at our minor leagues. AAA Salt Lake City Stingers (15-14) Bill Stoneman, my scout, has pretty much been telling me all month that 2B Chone Figgins, SS Alfredo Amezaga and LF Robb Quinlan should be in the bigs if there's room on the roster. Figgins and Quinlan, of course, started out on the top 25, before I chose to demote them. Figgins (.284, 1, 14) has put up some surprising power numbers. Amezaga (.323, 1, 7) has the best average on the team. Quinlan (.283, 6, 12) is second on the team in homeruns. None of the three are considered to have high potential and none of them are on the Angels' Top 10 prospects list. The only Top 10 prospect, in fact, is RF Michael O'Keefe (.278, 7, 21), the Stingers' leading power producer. The 24-year-old seems to be progressing just fine. New addition Whitney (.275, 4, 12) seems to be handling his release by the Indians just fine. Although several other hitters are at least doing competently, the only other real standout is 31-year-old veteran catcher Sal Fasano (.214, 5, 13), who isn't hitting for average but is producing surprising power. Considering catcher is not a strong point for the big club, this bears watching. Pitching has not gone so hot in Salt Lake. A 26-year-old vet and one of those considered for rotation spots after the vets is Mickey Callaway (2-1. 0.89) is off to an amazing start, having allowed just 24 hits in 40.2 IP. I don't expect Callaway, a 1.5 star player, to keep it up. The only pitching prospect is Steve Green (2-1, 4.10, 37 K in 37.1 IP) and he has done passably well. Matt Wise (2-2, 4.71, 31 K in 36.1 IP) is another of the veteran options for the rotation after our top five. He's done just okay. AA Arkansas Travellers (16-13) The AA team has had two promotions from Rancho Cucamonga, the addition of Chris Waters, and Stoneman has been letting me know about the possibility of advancement for three other players. So this has been a team in flux. It also has five of the Angels' Top 10 prospects. Stoneman is letting me know that veteran reliever Doug Nickle (2-1, 1.08, 16 IP) can pitch at AAA, and I might do that just to get a better pitcher up at that level. Nickle is a 27-year-old veteran who is only around for insurance purposes. 2B Jose Nieves (.281, 3, 13) is another older vet (27) that I am keeping around for insurance. Stoneman has been advising from the very beginning that our #3 prospect Joe Saunders (3-2, 2.94, 37 hits allowed in 49 IP) may be ready for the jump to AAA, but he also might not. So I'm playing it cautious with him. C Jared Abruzzo (.270, 6, 18 at Rancho Cucamonga) got good news twice recently, as scouts reassessed his talent in making contact and drawing walks. He jumped from AAFAPG to GAFAFG, and to #7 on our list. And then at the end of the month, he proved good enough to jump to Arkansas. He will be making his debut there this month. This, of course, is great news at a position, once again, we aren't strong at. SS Brian Specht (.260, 6, 20; .313 at Rancho Cucamonga) was promoted early on and has handled it well. He actually isn't supposed to have the power he is displaying so far at Arkansas. Ironically, Abruzzo's jump in ability and Waters' addition actually dropped Specht from the Angels' Top 10 prospect list. #2 prospect 1B Casey Kotchman (.306, 1, 8) is making good contact, which is a talent of his, but his power numbers thus far are rather disappointing. Lightly regarded 26-year-old RF Barry Wesson (.296, 9, 27) is knocking the snot out of the ball. I couldn't begin to tell you why, nor why Stoneman hasn't asked me to promote him yet. #4 prospect Bobb Jenks (1-0, 3.93, 18 IP) was the lone victim of serious injury in the Angels' organization, missing a week with a tight shoulder. It hasn't stopped him from putting up a solid ERA on a staff full of Top 10 Angels' prospects. #8 prospect Chris Waters (1-2, 4.97) hasn't gotten in his groove yet since his release by the Braves, with a high WHIP (46 hits & 12 walks in 38 IP) and some control problems (15 K to 12 walks). #9 prospect Richard Fischer (2-3, 4.88), one of the 144 players added, is doing okay but could pitch better. A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (13-16) Except for the promotions of Abruzzo and Specht, the Quakes' lone excitement was the apparent increase in talent to SP Joe Torres, who was on the fringe of the Angels' top prospects before the talent jump. Scouts say Torres' current and potential ability to avoid hits and homeruns, and his ability to rack up the strikeouts, have improved, moving up to #5 on the Angels' prospect list, a significant jump. Torres went from AAAAG to GAGAB. Stoneman is suggesting he might (or might not) be ready for a jump to AA, but Torres' stats (1-4, 6.10) indicate he should stay put for a while yet at least. The jump of Abruzzo and addition of Waters also bumped SP Johan A. Santana (2-2, 2.09, 25 hits allowed in 38.2 IP) from the Angels' top prospect list, along with Specht, but from his stats he is clearly not letting that get to him. C Jared Mathis (.225, 3, 11) was learning 1B before Abruzzo's promotion. Now he can return to catcher, where he is much more comfortable. 3B Dallas McPherson (.343, 1, 12) is doing very well, and is regarded as a mediocre prospect with some possibility for a major league career. RF Julio Ramirez was demoted from AA, which is terrible news for the 25-year-old, 2-star prospect. He is doing well, hitting. 435 in limited at bats at Rancho Cucamonga (and also not bad at Arkansas, with .284, 2, 13), but a demotion at this point in his career can only mean he will likely be on the cutting block soon. The Angels' Top 10 Prospect List 1. SP John Lackey-- majors (2-1, 5.04) 2. 1B Casey Kotchman-- AA (.306, 1, 8) 12th best prospect in MLB 3. SP Joe Saunders-- AA (3-2, 2.94) 64th best prospect in MLB 4. SP Bobby Jenks-- AA (1-0, 3.93) 62nd best prospect in MLB 5. SP Joe Torres-- A (1-4, 6.10) 26th best prospect in MLB 6. RF Michael O'Keefe-- AAA (.278, 7, 21) 7. C Jared Abruzzo-- AA (just promoted; .270, 6, 18 at A) 41st best prospect in MLB 8. SP Chris Waters-- AA (1-2, 4.97) 9. Richard Fischer-- AA (2-3, 4.88) 10. Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez-- majors (1-0, 1.42) (It should be noted that the Top 100 MLB prospects list is compiled by an average scout--Stoneman, who puts together our Top 10 list, is supposed to be better). Also on the Top 100 list, but not on the Angels' Top 10: SP Johan A. Santana-- A (2-2, 2.09) 57th best prospect in MLB SP Chris Bootcheck-- AA (3-1, 4.15) 83rd best prospect in MLB Chief Rum |
Major League News
Offensive League Leaders-- American League The Yankees' Bernie Williams leads the American League with a .362 average. The surprise is that right behind him is the Tigers' Dave Justice at .358. In real life, of course, Justice chose to retire when faced with this year's constipated free agent market, but here in the game, he chose that extra month in the schedule to sign with Detroit, and is no doubt a big reason why the Tigers have overachieved to this point. Minnesota's Bobby Kielty (.357), Chicago's Magglio Ordonez (.351) and Minnesota's (again) A.J. Pierzynski (.349) fill out the top five. Young catcher Josh Phelps is displaying early power, with an AL-leading 10 HRs. Rebounding veterans Frank Thomas of the White Sox and Juan Gonzalez of the Rangers are tied with 9. And BoSox slugger Manny Ramirez has 8. Thomas leads the AL with 27 RBIs, and Phelps is right behind him with 26. Ramirez has 25. Williams and Minnesota's Doug Mientkiewicz are tied with 24. Ramirez has an AL-best 1.072 OPS, followed by Justice (1.067) and Gonzalez (1.054). Offensive League Leaders-- National League Colorado's injury-prone veteran rightfielder Larry Walker is off to an amazing start, with an easily MLB-leading .414 average. The Reds' Sean Casey and the Mets' Cliff Floyd are at .364. Three players are hitting .361-- Giants' Rich Aurillia, Mets' Mike Piazza, and the Rockies' Todd Helton. Three players are tied for the homerun lead in the NL with 10. Two of them are Barry Bonds and Piazza, which is no shock. But I could give you a thousand guesses and you still wouldn't come up with Pittsburgh's young leftfielder Craig A. Wilson. One of the shockers of the year so far, Wilson came into the season having hit a solid 29 HRs in 526 career at bats. Still, this is far beyond what was expected from him, and it should be cool seeing how long he keeps it up. Aurillia and Floyd have hit 9 HRs each. Piazza seems to be making a bid for the Triple Crown, at least early on. Of course, he'll need Walker to cool off considerably. Still, he leads the league with 31 RBIs. Edgardo Alfonzo, always a decent power hitter, is nevertheless a surprise at 28 RBIs for his new team, the Giants. He is tied with the resurgent Ken Griffey Jr. of the Reds and the usual Sammy Sosa. Walker and Wilson both have 27 RBIs. Everyone else can put up all sorts of league numbers, but is there ever any doubt here? Bonds even overcame Walker's terrific average jump to post the league's highest OPS at 1.223. Walker is second at 1.211, and Piazza is third with 1.193. Pitching League Leaders-- American League Some things never change. Boston's Pedro Martinez is far ahead of his competitors with a 1.74 ERA. An Oakland starter is second--and he's not named Zito, Mulder or Hudson. Ted Lilly has a 2.41 ERA. Seattle's Freddy Garcia is back to his familar self at 2.55. Another surprise after Garcia is Detroit's new ace Mike Maroth, with a 2.58 ERA. He is another reason the Tigers have surprised. The Angels finally make an appearance, as Aaron Sele nabs the fifth slot with his 2.72 ERA. Martinez (5-0) and Garcia (5-1) lead the AL in wins. There are serveral pitchers with 4 wins, including Jarrod Washburn. Boston's Tim Wakefield and Oakland's Tim Hudson are the only 4-0 pitchers. Martinez, in perhaps an even more legitimate charge at a Triple Crown than Piazza, is far ahead of the pack with 64 Ks. Texas ace Chan Ho Park is second with 38. The Yanks' Mike Mussina has 37, where he is tied with Tampa Bay's free agent pick up Chuck Finley, still going strong at 40. Garcia is fifth with 35 strikeouts. Chad Fox is riding Boston's success to the league lead in saves, with 12. Troy Percival is second with 9, where he is tied with Oakland's Keith Foulke and Baltimore's Buddy Groom, a surprise. Pitching League Leaders-- National League The Braves have made the decision that John Smoltz should be starting and it's coming up aces. He leads the NL with a 1.90 ERA. Former Braves farmhand Odalis Perez continues to show up his former employers via a 2.15 ERA for the Dodgers. Matt Morris of the otherwise pitiful Cards has a 2.61 ERA, and the Padres' surprising surge is partly fue to Brian Lawrence (2.68 ERA). The Dodgers log in with their second pitcher in the top five, with Kevin Brown (2.81 ERA). Brown also had a notable start I will get into a little later. Kurt Ainsworth (5-0) and Jason Schmidt (5-1) are pitching strongly for the NL's best team, the Giants. They are joined atop the win column by the Cubs' current best Matt Clement (5-1). Four pitchers have 4 wins, including Smoltz, the only one of the four that is undefeated. A pair of Diamondbacks lead the NL in Ks. The Big Unit, Randy Johnson is no shocker at 61 Ks, but if you said Schilling for the second spot, not so fast. Converted reliever Byung-Hung Kim gets the honors with 51 Ks. Young stars Mark Prior (48) of the Cubs and Roy Oswalt (47) of the Astros follow Kim. And Brown is fifth with 46 Ks. Strangely enough, given Kim's appearance on the starters' leader list, his replacement, veteran Greg Swindell, a veteran converted starter, is leading the NL with 11 saves. Philadelphia's Jose Mesa has 9 saves, where he is tied with the Cubs' offseason acquisition, Mike Remlinger. Trevor Hoffman of the Padres and Vladimir Nunez of the Marlins have 7 saves each. League Awards Players of the Week-- AL April 30-May 3-- 2B Alfonso Soriano (NYY) May 4-10-- RF Mark Quinn (KC) May 11-18-- C Josh Phelps (TOR) May 19-24-- LF Carlos Lee (CHW) May 25-31-- CF Bernie Williams (NYY) Players of the Week-- NL April 30-May 4-- SS Rich Aurillia (SF) May 4-10-- 1B Sean Casey (CIN) May 11-18-- C Michael Barrett (MTL) May 19-24-- LF Barry Bonds (SF) May 25-31-- LF Craig A. Wilson (PIT) American League Batter of the Month for April: C Josh Phelps (TOR) Phelps hit .321, with 10 HRs and 26 RBIs. American League Pitcher of the Month for April: SP Pedro Martinez (BOS) Martinez went 4-0, with a 1.65 ERA and 53 Ks. He walked just 7 batters. National League Batter of the Month for April: C Mike Piazza (NYM) Piazza hit .366, with 10 HRs and 31 RBIs. National League Pitcher of the Month for April: SP John Smoltz (ATL) Smoltz went 3-0 in 6 starts, with a 1.51 ERA (says a bit about the Braves' offense, eh...). He had 29 Ks, and limited opponents to a .196 average. Significant Achievements The big one happened early in April... The Dodgers' Kevin Brown showed he is back by tossing a no-hitter against the powerful offense of the Philadelphia Phillies on May 2. He struck out seven and walked 2 in the 2-0 victory. At 38 and coming off of an injury, this start and his general play has shown that Brown intends to return to his former status as an elite player in the game. The Cubs' powerful slugger Sammy Sosa crushed his 500th homerun on May 1 to finish off a march he didn't quite complete last year. He hit it off of Astros' pitcher Wade Miller. At 34, Sosa looks like he may have a ways to go on the career homerun charts. The Mariners' ageless DH Edgar Martinez collected his 2000th hit with a single off of Kansas City's young pitcher Runelvys Hernandez on May 23. The 40-year-ol may be in his final season. The Astros' longtime first baseman Jeff Bagwell also got his 2000th hit, and did so in fine fashion, drilling a two-run homerun off of Arizona's power pitching ace Randy Johnson. Bagwell is 35, so it should be interesting to see if he can put up good enough numbers to reach 3000. Four pitchers threw shutouts, including Brown, two hitters had five hits and two other hitters had three-homerun games. Chief Rum |
Great detail and thanks for the league news. I know this is an Angels' dynasty, but it's nice to see how the BoSox are doing. Keep up the good work.
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Thanks, DolphinFan. I plan to. :)
This particular section is longer than usual, since I have an unusually large transactions to detail bvecause of the extra free agent period, and I also have to do the free agent draft, which is one month sooner because of the delay. So it's tough to say right now if I will be going into this much detail every month. I did plan to run this dynasty slowly, though. The Red Sox are just amazing right now. It's going to be a lot of fun seeing if they can keep it up, although we all know they have the money and talent to do it. Winning 21 of your first 27 games is incredible. Chief Rum |
Major League Transactions
Obviously, I'm not going to talk about every single transaction. They are just too numerous, especially with the extra free agent period. Also, some transactions may not seem so important now, but down the road, who know? So I'm going to go over the ones that seem important and then go from there. The Extra Free Agent Period As I have said numerous times now, the game for some reason installed an extra 30-day free agency period. While this played havoc with my schedule and caused other issues, I have to admit that if there was a remaining free agent class that needed it, this is the one. We all know how the uncertainty of today's baseball economics has resulted in an inordinate number of seemingly high-quality players waiting to get a call from just about anyone. This was a chance for the AI to right a wrong from real life, I guess. Here's a day-to-day breakdown of the major signings. The money amounts quoted are per year. The only players listed are those that are either notable for their own real life accomplishments or who have definitely made an impact on their teams so far this year: April 2 (also Day 2) White Sox sign SP Kenny Rogers to a two-year, $902K contract. April 3 Indians sign CL Jeff Shaw to a three-year, $3.64 M contract. Bluejays sign SP Mac Suzuki to a four-year, $575K contract. April 4 Mets sign RF Al Martin to a three-year, $1.03 M contract. April 5 Giants sign CF Chad Curtis to a five-year, $3.41 M contract. April 6 Cubs sign CF Alex Ochoa to a three-year, $4.82 M contract. Padres sign C Darrin Fletcher to a four-year, $882K contract. 1B Eric Karros was released by the Cubs after he refused an assignment to the minor leagues. April 7 CF Tom Goodwin was released by the Cubs after he refused an assigment to the minor leagues. The Cubs seem to be making odd roster decisions, a complaint I have heard about the AI in OOTP5. April 8 Cubs sign MR Marc Wilkins to a four-year, $1.45 M contract. April 9 Dodgers sign CF Kenny Lofton to a four-year, $2.89 M contract. Royals sign 2B Randy Velarde to a two-year, $1.03 M contract. Devil Rays sign CF James Mouton to a four-year, $986K contract. April 10 Astros sign MR Russ Springer to a four-year, $1.71 M contract. April 11 Devil Rays sign CF Tom Goodwin to a five-year, $1.06 M contract. 2B Luis Sojo was released by the Rangers after he refused an assignment to the minor leagues. Why is this significant? Because the stupid AI just signed him to a contract a few days ago. Otherwise it's not worth mentioning. April 12 Devil Rays sign SP Chuck Finley to a one-year, $5.79 M contract. Braves sign MR J.D. Smart to a three-year, $885K contract. April 13 Royals sign MR Cory Bailey to a four-year, $866K contract. April 14 Tigers sign LF Dave Justice to a three-year, $5.93 M contract. Tigers sign C Tony Eusebio to a four-year, $3.93 M contract. Devil Rays sign MR John Rocker to a four-year, $2.19 M contract. Braves sign MR Yorkis Perez to a four-year, $1.45 M contract. April 17 Devil Rays sign 1B Steve Cox to a three-year, $1.12 M contract. April 29 Diamondbacks sign 1B Eric Karros to a four-year, $1.06 M contract. It's tough to say the significance of the moves above. I don't know what the releases are doing to the Cubs' bottom line, for example. Still, it's clear that some teams made some significant additions. Rogers and Finley are both good pitchers, and Suzuki is off to a good start for Toronto. The retired Jeff Shaw comes back in this game and has done well with the Indians. Cory Bailey for the Royals is also pitching very well in relief. Both Justice and Eusebio are doing well for the Tigers, so they have made key additions there. The Dodgers' Lofton signing is having its effect, and so is the Mets' deal with Martin. Of course, we'll see how it pans out by the end of the year. Pre-Opening Day Trades There were also some trades during the free agency period. I actually couldn't tell you just yet of their significance. So I'm going to look at them and let you know if there's anything important here. April 4 Cubs get: 1B Morgan Burkhart Royals get: SS Ramon E. Martinez 3B Ivanon Coffie Commentary: This deal may seem insigificant to you, but it seems to be having a bearing on the respective teams involved. Burkhart is apparently starting at 1B for the Cubs and is hitting .315, with 6 HRs and 15 RBIs. He is 31 and apparently a late-bloomer. Martinez was converted to 2B and has gotten some starts there for the Royals. He has, however, done poorly (.173 in 75 ab). Coffie is a one-star prospect of questionable value currently at the Royals' Single A club. April 14 Tigers get: 1B Greg Colbrunn MR Matt Thornton Mariners get: LF Bobby Higginson Commentary: Colbrunn (.294, 1, 18) seems to be yet another key addition to the Tigers' surprising run. Thornton is a once-promising relief prospect who is probably a career minor leaguer now that he is 26 and still at AA. Higginson is off to a great start with the Mariners (.382, 1, 10 in 76 ab). He should be playing more with numbers like that. Some bigger contracts exchanged here, with Colbrunn at $6.56 M and Higginson at $4.59 M. April 29 Expos get: CF Ruben Mateo Reds get: SP Tony Armas Jr. CL Scott Downs Commentary: This one is a little hard to figure, although neither team is really losing out just yet. Call me again in three or four years, though. Mateo is starting for the Expos in CF and playing solid (.282, 4, 8). I have to think the Expos could have gotten more for a solid starter like Armas Jr. (3-1, 3.93), though. Downs is a veteran minor leaguer at 27, but he once was a good prospect and he's tearing it up at AA (1.47 ERA). Money shouldn't be an issue, as both Mateo and Armas are arbitration eligible, but not signed to big multi-year contracts. Indians get: LF Henri Stanley Astros get: SP Brian Tallet 3B Corey Smith Commentary: Man, talk about a rip-off. I'm not sure what the Astros were thinking. Maybe adding up the stars? Stanley (.274, 6, 15) is a five-star prospect and is probably going to be heavily featured in the Indians' lineup for the foreseeable future. Stanley, one of the players I added, is a great all-around power talent and is a patient hitter. Tallet is actually a solid starting pitcher at three-stars, but he isn't worth Stanley, and his early stats are horrible (0-5, 9.11). At least he's young like Stanley. Smith is a decent enough addition as a two-star Single A 3B to help justify the trade, but not quite. He is just 21 and is doing well in A (.343, 4, 16). White Sox get: 2B Pokey Reese Pirates get: MR Lorenzo Barcelo MR Josh Stewart Commentary: And I thought the Astros got the shaft. At least they got a couple serviceable young players. The Pale Hose got Reese, a vet second-sacker whose best days are almost certainly behind him. He is currently hitting .238 with no HR and 6 RBI. Barcelo isn't doing so hot either (2-3, 5.91), but at least he's young (25) and has talent. He's just off to a bad start. Stewart is another fine talent as well, a 3.5 star, 20-year-old prospect at Single A. Chief Rum |
Major League Transactions-- Part 2
This is where I have put the transactions that have occured since Opening Day, April 30. There are some oddities here, as the AI adjusts itself to the rosters it has been given. At the very least, it's interesting to watch. May 4-- Cut Day I guess it is setup for somewhere near the beginning of each season where the AI will cut some deadweight from its major and minor league rosters. This day ended up being that day. A lot of players received their walking papers today, It seems to be an average of 2-3 per team, not counting Anaheim, of course. So over 60 players were cut on May 4, including a few that had just signed contracts during the extra free agent period! :rolleyes: Here's list of the more important/interesting cuts: Baltimore: SP Scott Erickson Cleveland: CF Marquis Grissom (just signed) Cleveland: MR Terry Mulholland Detroit: 3B Craig Paquette Minnesota: LF Curtis Pride (just signed) Oakland: MR Satoru Komiyama (just signed) Oakland: MR Mike Morgan Seattle: CF Tim Raines (just signed) Texas: MR Rusty Meacham (just signed) Atlanta: SP Chris Waters (good prospect subsequently signed by me) Atlanta: MR Chris Haney Atlanta: SP Mike Hampton?!? Montreal: MR Ariel Prieto (just signed) Montreal: MR David Lundquist (just signed) Montreal: SP Britt Reames New York (N): MR Graeme Lloyd Chicago (N): SP Alan Benes Cincinnati: SP Andy Benes (bad week for the Benes's) Cincinnati: LF Chuck Knoblauch (just signed) Cincinnati: SP Pete Harnisch Cincinnati: SP Jimmy Haynes (Cincy made a lot of odd moves...) Cincinnati: MR Jose Rijo Cincinnati: MR Dennis Cook Milwaukee: MR/CL Curt Leskanic Pittsburgh: SP Saloman Torres Pittsburgh: MR Pat Mahomes Pittsburgh: MR Scott Sauerbeck Pittsburgh: MR Matt Herges Pittsburgh: MR Mike Holtz St. Louis: SP Cal Eldred St. Louis: SP Joey Hamilton Colorado: MR/CL Todd Jones San Diego: MR Chuck McElroy (just signed) San Francsico: C Scott Servais This is just a significant sampling of seemingly solid or ptentially solid contributors. I have to think some significant contracts were also released, which would be a terrible financial burden on the releasing clubs. And none of them are of the "refused a minor league assignment" variety. I hope this is addressed in a patch. Releases such as this would actually continue throughout the month, although none of the other "cut days" even begins to approach the list from May 4. Day-by-Day Transaction List Here's a list of the important transactions of the month of May, with commentary. May 4 Signings Pirates sign MR Curt Leskanic to a one-year, $570K contract. Commentary: Lesakanic hasnt done all that well (10.22 ERA). Did Milwaukee know something? Trades Padres get: 3B Tony Batiste Orioles gets: SP Jake Peavy SP Justin Germano Commentary: This is an interesting move that I have to think will backfire on the Padres. Batiste is a nice power hitter, and he's signed for under a $1 M until 2007! He's also just 29, which surprised me (he seems like he's been around forever in my mind). He's off to a decent start (.237, 4, 17) as well. What I don't get, though, is why? The Padres gave up two very good pitching prospects, including the major league-ready Peavy, for this guy, and they still have Sean Burroughs, one of the most talented 3B in the league. Of course, Batiste can also play SS...Peavy (1-3, 4.68) is doing okay, and he's a 4-star talent. Germano is a 4.5-star talent, and has a 2.43 ERA at Single A right now. May 10 Trades Brewers get: 3B Brandon Larson Reds get: MR Valerio de los Santos MR Manny Parra Commentary: The Brewers, who also let Leskanic go, must have more relievers than they know what to do with. At 27, Larson is no longer a bonafide prospect, but he's doing okay (.290, 1, 7) in part time duties. de los Santos (1-0, 5.06) is a 3-star talent reliever who is probably pitching close to what he does. Parra is a 3-star reliever prospect at Single A. May 11 Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) Devil Rays: LF Greg Vaughn Indians: SP Dave Burba Rangers: MR Mike Magnante Diamondbacks: MR Mike Jackson Braves:2B Delino Deshields Commentary: Really surprised by the release of Vaughn and Jackson. Yeah, they're old, but they have been effective for a damn long time. Releases (straight) Indians: 1B Matt Whitney Expos: 1B Jose Offerman Cubs: SP Mike Sirotka Reds: MR Scott Sullivan Pirates: SP Dennys Reyes Pirates: RF Matt Stairs Commentary: Once again, quite surprised by some of these. Whitney is the other released prospect I signed. Stairs still has good power. Sullivan has a lot left. Sirotka, it seems, too. May 18 Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) Diamondbacks: 1B Eric Karros Commentary: LMAO! Releases (straight) Orioles: SP Omar Daal White Sox: SP Masato Yoshii Commentary: Wow, can the O's really afford to just let Daal go? Not in real life. Yoshii was just signed by the White Sox during the extra free agency period. Signings Bluejays sign 3B Craig Wilson to a one-year, $300K contract. Bluejays sign MR Scott Sullivan to a one-year, $380K contract. Commentary: Wilson has apparently started many games for the Jays at SS since his signing and is doing well (.302, 2, 14 in 43 ab). This is NOT the Pirates' Wilson, but a 2.5 star vet utility type player (probably the guy I was thinking of when I first sqw the Pirate's Wilson's name on the leaderboard). Sullivan hasn't appeared for the Jays yet, but he is indeed a 3-star reliever whom the Reds never should have cut. May 24 Trades Arizona gets: CF Jay Payton Colorado gets: SP Miguel Batiste SP Edgar Gonzalez Commentary: I guess this was a hole-filling trade for both teams. Payton is no longer the dynamite prospect he once was, but he's a decent enough outfielder with some pop. He's off to a bad start (.233, 2, 9 in 60 ab). Batiste was a significant member of the DBacks rotation the past couple years, but maybe Kim's conversion has changed that? He's doing okay (2-2, 4.45). Both Payton and Batiste are 2.5-star talents in their early 30s. Batiste does carry a $3 M contract, which may expalin why the Diamondbacks also included solid prospect Gonzalez, a 3.5-star talent at AA. May 25 Release (refusal of minor league assignment) Bluejays: C Greg Myers Mets: 3B Jay Bell Commentary: Myers was hitting .302 as a backup to Phelps. Why send him out? Bell may not be the same player he once was, but I doubt the Mets have better backup otpions for their infield. Signings Orioles sign MR Steve Reed to a one-year, $300K contract. Royals sign SP Mike Hampton to a minor league contact. Commentary: Reed is a 2.5-star veteran reliever who should be a good addition to most teams. He has a 3.86 ERA in 3 appearances so far with the O's. I'm surprised it took this long for someone to sign Hampton, listed as a 1.5 star-talent. And he has rewarded the Royals by going 0-2 with a 6.97 ERA in two starts. :rolleyes: May 28 Release (refusal of minor league assignment) Padres: 1B Dave Hansen Commentary: Can the Padres afford to give up a nice bench hitter like Hansen, hitting .435 in 23 ab? Well, maybe they can, considering they are playing well. They also ship out veteran Brady Anderson a couple days later, but I don't think anyone would question that move--he's way over the hill. June 1 Release (refusal of minor league assignment) Phillies: MR Dan Plesac Braves: 1B Andres Galarraga Commentary: Maybe it's just me, but I think these guys can still play. Plesac is 41, but he's still a 2.5 star reliever, and he's putting up decent numbers (4.91 ERA in 9 appearances, 1-0, 1 sv). Galarraga is also 41, but he's just a 1-star now. Still, I think he would still have something to offer. He was hitting .243 with 1 HR and 4 RBIs in limited at bats. Signings Cubs sign 1B Dave Hansen to a one-year, $388K contract. Commentary: So if the Pads don't need Hansen, how come the first place Cubs signed him? Chief Rum |
Injury News
Here were the significant injuries of the first month of play: May 3 Yankees: 2B Alfonso Soriano strained his medial collateral ligament in his knee while running the bases, putting him down for 4 weeks. This has to hurt the Yanks, since Soriano was just wrapping up a Player of the Week campaign. He still has yet to return. May 7 Indians: CF Alex Escobar tore a rib cage muscle diving for a catch, which will shelf him for 8-9 weeks. This one hurts, since Escobar is one of the best prospects in the majors and was expected to be a huge player for the Indians this year. May 9 A's: 1B Scott Hatteburg got beaned hard apparently and suffered a broken jaw. Ouch! That one must have made a Sportscenter highlight and probably led to a brawl or two. Hatteburg is out 3 weeks. In fact, he just came back. May 14 Yankees: LF Hideki Matsui is going to have to wait a little to assault the major leagues. He got hit by a pitch which broke his hand, knocking him out for 4 weeks. He was off to a good start, too, at .340, 4, 15 in 50 ab. Diamondbacks: CF Steve Finley broke his knee making a catch! Broke his knee?!? He's out for the season. Ouch! Now I see why the DBacks went and got Payton. I have to admit, that's a nice touch. The AI saw a problem and went out and fixed it. The aging Finley was hitting .289, with 2 HRs and 7 RBIs when his season crash-landed today. Dodgers: Darren Driefort tried to fend off a comebacker and only served to break a finger, putting him out for 5 weeks. Driefort, coming off more serious injury problems than a broken finger, was doing well, with a 3.86 ERA in 3 starts. May 18 Mets: 3B Ty Wigginton tore a bicep muscle on a routine throw to first, so he's out for 8 weeks. This means that the later release of Jay Bell makes even less sense. Wigginton was making the most of a chance to start, hitting .279, with 4 HRs and 11 RBIs. May 26 Orioles: SP Rodrigo Lopez suffered a torn triceps tendon, shelving him for 3-4 weeks. Actually, I think he got lucky with just missing that time--that shit sounds bad! Damn shame for Lopez and the O's, too, since he's off to a great start (3-2, 2.78). Chief Rum |
Prepping For The Amateur Draft
Most months, the listing of the injury news will probably be the end of it, and I'll move on. This month, however, we have the amateur draft to take care of. The game won't let me move forward past June 1 without doing it (which, of course, is at it should be). Here is the draft order (which I actually had to edit to model last year's ascending records): 1) Detroit 2) Tampa Bay 3) Milwaukee 4) Kansas City 5) San Diego 6) Chicago Cubs 7) Baltimore 8) Pittsburgh 9) Texas 10) Colorado 11) Cleveland 12) New York Mets 13) Cincinnati 14) Toronto 15) Florida 16) Philadelphia 17) Chicago White Sox 18) Montreal 19) Houston 20) Los Angeles 21) Seattle 22) Boston 23) Minnesota 24) San Francisco 25) St. Louis 26) Arizona 27) Anaheim 28) Atlanta 29) Oakland 30) New York Yankees It should come as no surprise that we are near the end of the list, coming off the season we are. I'll just be looking to get the best talented players I can at the position. It's always tough to judge right away how teams did. In reality, the answer to that question won't be answered for years, even decades in some limited cases. Fortunately, OOTP5 gives us at least a little bit of a way of judging things, by presenting us with the Minor League System rankings. I thought it would be neat to compare before and after rankings listings to see what we could come up with for the big winners and losers in this thing. Here's the current minor league systems ranking list, with points in parentheses: 1. Tampa Bay (128) 2. New York Mets (106) 3. Cleveland (102) 4. San Francisco (97) 5. Anaheim (94) 6. Colorado (93) 7. Detroit (85) 8. Pittsburgh (68) 9. Texas (66) 10. Toronto (60) 11. San Diego (59) 12. Oakland (54) 13. Los Angeles (44) 14. Chicago Cubs (41) 15. Chicago White Sox (40) 16. Philadelphia (40) 17. Florida (38) 18. Seattle (35) 19. Arizona (34) 20. Milwaukee (31) 21. Minnesota (24) 22. Cincinnati (23) 23. Atlanta (21) 24. New York Yankees (20) 25. Montreal (19) 26. Baltimore (19) 27. Boston (14) 28. Kansas City (0) 29. St. Louis (0) 30. Houston (0) Wow, glad I'm not the Cards, Stros or Royals! This is where I'm leaving off. I'm just glad I was able to get to this point, since I wasn't sure how much I would throw out there. I hope the wealth of information will help immerse you readers into the baseball world I am playing in. It's time for Chief to get some shuteye, and then he works tomorrow (today!) in the daytime, but when he returns, he'll see how far he can get. Assuming I get to it, I will provide a quick glimpse of what this draft has to offer, then I'll do the draft itself, with play-by-play explanations of my picks, of course, and then I'll wrap it up with draft highlights and take a look at who imnproved the most via the farm system rankings list. And then it's on to June! Good night. Chief Rum |
The 2003 Amateur Draft
The Players The story of this draft seems to be three shortstops and a whole lot of power. The top three hitters in the draft--David "Boss" Myers, James McNulty, Robert Vanhoose--all play one of the most challenging positions in the game--and is traditionally a weak hitting spot. Are we seeing the introduction of the next round of Nomar, ARod and Jeter. Maybe... Myers is a college kid, 21 years old, and can seemingly do it all. He has a good stroke, hits for the gaps and has tremendous power. He even has a great eye, plays good defense with range and is fast. He could be the next A-Rod. McNulty, 19, comes to the draft from juco. He has many of the same strengths as Myers, with a good stroke and great power. He doesn't hit for the gaps as well, though, and he isn't nearly as solid on defense. McNulty is more like a Cal Ripken with more power and less durability. Vanhoose, just 18, is straight out of high school. He doesn't have the outright power that McNulty and Myers have, although scouts indicate he should develop 20-homerun pop. He is as good with the stick as the other two, and he hits for the gaps better than McNulty, and is as fast as Myers. Where he makes his mark is on D. He might be the best defensive SS to come out in some time. He has awe-inspiring range and a great glove. Vanhoose looks like a carbon copy of Jeter at the plate, and The Wizard in the field. Power is the name of the game for hitters in this draft. Besides Myers and McNulty, five other hitters have 40+ HR potential, and six others have 30+ ability. Oddly enough, this seems to be countered by a lack of a truly brilliant stick man, like a Gwynn or a Boggs. There are no future .350 AVG hitters in this group, at least from first glance. Pitchers is much more of a mixed bag. While there are probably two or three pitchers that will get most of the attention, you could go as deep 10-20 pitchser before coming to an appreciable difference in this draft. There are no ace prospects, but the depth of solid prospects is impressive. The hitters should go first, but once they're gone, it seems likely that pitchers will dominate the rest of the first round and probably a bit into the second round as well. As I said, I am just looking at the best available talent for my spot, and with 26 teams ahead of me, who knows who that will be. I must admit that I am keeping my eye on a MR who does have the brilliant ability that is lacking int he top starters, and he also has some ability to start. Will he fall to me? We'll see... The Draft 1. Detroit: SS Dave Myers Commentary: Myers will be the cornerstone for the Tigers' franchise for a long time. 2. Tampa Bay: SS Robert Vanhoose Commentary: McNulty was rated ahead of Vanhoose but the scouts, but I actually agree with Tampa Bay. Great pick. 3. Milwaukee: SS James McNulty Commentary: Sure, he might be the third SS taken in the draft, but he is still also the third player taken. McNulty should be gracing the Brewers' middle-lineup in short order. 4. Kansas City: RF Joe Houde Commentary: The shortstops were easy. This was the pick I wanted to check out. And I think the Royals reached a bit with Houde. He should be a fine player with great power potential, but there were others out there who brought more to the table than he does. 5. San Diego: C Michael Matthews Commentary: It's hard to go wrong taking a player at a very difficult position to fill, even in a draft with some decent depth at the position. Matthews is a good defensive catcher and is a patient hitter with power. 6. Chicago Cubs: C Pasqual Sanchez Commentary: The Cubs are clearly thinking along the same lines as the Padres. Matthews and Sanchez were clearly the best of the catcher crop. Matthews is probably the better pick with his defensive skills, but Sanchez has the bigger upside as a hitter. 7. Baltimore: CF Tadimasa Shinzo Commentary: Wow, I don't know what to make of this one. Shinzo is a decent enough player, but I had him projected as a mid-second-rounder at best. This is so far beyond a reach, I don't know what to say. Shinzo surprised a few when he ignored the Japanese pro league, and applied for the MLB draft after he completed secondary schooling in Japan. Shinzo should be handy with a stick and be a good gap hitter. He has good speed and defense, and a plus-arm. 8. Pittsburgh: SP Kenneth Stiffler Commentary: It took eight picks before the first pitcher went off the board. While Stiffler is highly regarded amongst the rather large group of above average starting pitchers, I think his pick here is a little bit of a reach, among these pitchers. Stiffler is a late bloomer at 24 (just turned). He is a slow-ball control guy, and Pittsburgh better hope he is ready to make a quick trip through the minors. 9. Texas: LF David Berge Commentary: Berge is as good as any of the several solid power prospects still left on the board. Berge has the potential to be a league-leader in power, and he is also a patient hitter. He is, however, devoid of speed or any hint of defensive ability. At least the Rangers can play him at DH. 10. Colorado: SP Lee Crank Commentary: Crank is another bit of a surprise among the pitchers, although I feel better about him than Stiffler. He's 23, and looks to be a good control pitcher with some zip. 11. Cleveland: 1B Michael Steffy Commentary: I think Cleveland getting Steffey here is a great pick. My scouts had him as the best hitting prospect after the shortstops. He has great power and patience, reminding me of McGwire. He is also a solid defensive first baseman. His age, 22, may have caused him to drop a few spots. 12. New York Mets: SS Dante Hildreth Commentary: The top three shortstops were obvious, but Hildreth was a nice compensation choice for a team looking for a potentially great SS, but without the high pick. He doesn't make as good contact, and he's a bit of a free swinger, but he his power and plate discipline are on a par with top pick Myers. He is also a good gap hitter and an above average fielder. 13. Cincinnati: SP Bradley Greer Commentary: High school pitcher Greer falling all the way to the Reds was a stroke of luck. Greer was the best pitcher on our board. He can hit the mid-to-upper-90s with his heater, he keeps the batters off the basepaths, and he can throw it by them, too. 14. Toronto: SP James Birmingham Commentary: Birmingham is another risky move. Like Stiffler, he is 24 and is going to need to rave throught he minor leagues to hit his potentials. He does have good velocity and control. 15. Florida: SP Jermaine Kincade Commentary: "The Spider" is a decent pick for this spot, especially in light of the riskier picks made in pitching so far. He is good at keeping the hits down and the ball in the park, and he can throw it with some heat. 16. Philadelphia: CF Alberto Padua Commentary: Padua is a real nice pick at this spot. He doesn't quite have the patience or power that Steffer or Myers has, but he is above average in both categories. He hits for the gap, he has speed, he is a smart baserunner, and he is an excellent defender with great range. He should become one of the best defensive centerfielders in the league, and in above average offensive player. 17. Chicago White Sox: SP Anthony Sala Commentary: Sala is really sort of average for the most part, but he also has few holes in his game. He goes deep into games, he has decent velocity, and he does all the little things as well, on top of just being 20. His best talent is keeping the ball down and in the park, the two areas where he is excellent. 18. Montreal: SP Moises Montiel Commentary: Maybe the Expos just aren't used to picking this low in the first round, and thought it was the second round. This isn't a very good pick at this point, according to my scouts. Montiel might have even been a reach at this point in the second round even. He is decent, no doubt about it, but he has some control problems and he's already 22. 19. Houston: SP Jay Buckman Commentary: Buckman is an okay pick at this point. He's young (18), he's a southpaw, he has good control and he keeps it in the park. He also has few real weaknesses, although he falls short of brilliant in most areas as well. A good functional pick with some upside. 20. Los Angeles: SP Ronald Stangl Commentary: Stangl is a pick along the lines of Stiffler, Crank and Birmingham, with the caveat that this pick is low enough for him to be more seriosuly considered. He has good talent, but he's 23, and he gets by more on wiles and command than he does on blazing speed, a commodity he does not have much of. 21. Seattle: SP Christian Mendoza Commentary: Mendoza is a fine pick here. He has some problems with allowing homeruns, but he has good control and the ability to get the K. While he may struggle with wall shots, he otherwise keeps the ball down. 22. Boston: SP Ben Baker Commentary: It's nice to see how well I called how this draft would go, since pitchers have been going all over the place after the initial run at the top hitters. Baker is a middle-ground pick. He's older and has the same potential pitchers as the other older picks. He does have some heat, can get some strikeouts and has great control. That, and the fact he's slightly younger at 22, makes Baker a much less risky pick than the other older pitchers. 23. Minnesota: SP Thomas Charleston Commentary: From what I can tell, it should be a crime that the Twins can get a nice pitcher like Charleston here. Charleston looks like he could match Greer, and those two seemed like the odds on best pitchers in the pack. Like Greer, he produces the rare combination of talent of being good at limiting both hits and walks, and he can go after hitters for the strikeout. He is also just 20. 24. San Francisco: SP Ricardo Canao Commentary: Wow, Canao makes it seven starting pitchers in a row, and ten of the last eleven. Heck, since Stiffler became the first pitcher taken at pick #8, twelve of the seventeen picks since have been used on pitchers. Canao is another older pitcher, at 23, but he might prove to be an interesting pick. He throws five pitches, a rarity, and he has good control. 25. St. Louis: SP Moses Grider Commentary: I sometimes wonder if I am in a time warp and the same pitcher just keeps on getting drafted, over and over. Grider is also 23, and like many of the others, he is a well-rounded pitcher with high marks for control and limiting the longball. 26. Arizona: CF George Marquez Commentary: Marquez finally breaks the monotony of pitchers. He is also a solid pick for this spot. He is one of the few remaining hitters with a probably potential of becoming a .300-type of hitter. He should also hit for some power and have a good eye, although these areas are not as strong as his contact hitting. He isn't very fast nor is he more than an average defender. 27. Anaheim: MR David LaBoy Commentary: There really was little doubt I would make this pick. The only question was ascertaining LaBoy's actual talent level. I was fine leaving it to Stoneman's expertise, but I was suddenly calling into question just which report available to me was Stoneman's. Is the Available Players Report Stoneman's? How about the sorted screen in the draft section? Or the individual player report? Or the HTML player report? How about before or after a switch to SP? You may find this hard to believe, but I found seemingly different ratings for each of the above. It was quite maddening. If LaBoy is who I think he is, he is an excellent reliever with some ability to start, ability I plan to build up. He keeps the hitters off the bases with control and keeping the hits scattered. He is great at keeping it in the park, and can get the K if he wants to. This is all true, if I picked the right report (I think I did). 28. Atlanta: SP David Woodward Commentary: Woodward is a good pick for near the end of the first round. He limits the hits, and doesn't hurt himself with walks. He is 21, so he has room to grow. He throws for good speed and has five pitches. 29. Oakland: SP David McCall Commentary: McCall is a decent enough pitcher, and certainly could be good. But I think he's a reach here. He gives up a little too much on the power ends and to the gap. He does have good control. 30. New York Yankees: SP Simeon Pedrosa Commentary: Like Woodward, Pedrosa is a nice pitcher at this point, with five pitches and youth (18). He doesn't have too many real holes in his game, which is a luxury at this point. And that's the end of the first round. Now I will merely list the Angels' remaining picks in the rest of the five-round draft. Stoneman provies the star ratings. 2nd round: MR Jeremy Tetrault (4.0 stars) 3rd round: MR Omar Ramirez (4.0 stars) 4th round: 2B Bennie Brant (3.0 stars) 5th round: MR Aurelio Rius (2.5 stars) As you can see, I went heavy with MRs, even considering my plan to convert LaBoy into a starter. This probably won't win me any accolades with the farm system report, but I didn't really feel that what was available elsewhere was really going to help me. I actually was hoping to pick up more hitters than just Brant, but the quality of those dropped off the charts after the first two rounds. I'm not too deep in the farm system in bullpen arms, though, so the addition of the above relievers (not including LaBoy) should revitalize the system's pen depth. The New Farm System Rankings Code:
Definitely some interesting results from this. For one thing, you must recall that this is done by an average scout and who knows what is accurate right now. So we should take this with a grain of salt. Tampa Bay managed, amazingly enough, to widen their league lead by adding Vanhoose, the 8th best prospect according to the average scout. Even allowing for the inaccuracies possible by such a scout, it is clear the Devil Rays have the best farm system in the majors. New York's addition of power prospect SS Hildreth proved positive, as they also made a jump in points and maintained their second place system spot. Detroit added top pick SS Myers, of course, who came in as the 9th best prospect (yes, behind Vanhoose), and used that to jump from 7th to 3rd, and up 18 points. Anaheim (yes, us) also managed to move up a spot to 4th, even though we lost a point. It should be noted that before I converted LaBoy to a starter (and jumping him to 21st overall on the prospect list), we were down at 9th. Cleveland actually dropped two spots to fifth, and lost 12 points, despite adding nice power prospect 1B Steffey. Milwaukee (20th to 8th, +46) and the Chicago Cubs (14th to 9th, +35) were the big winners, according to the average scout. This seems to be primarily because they added McNulty (2nd overall) and Sanchez (5th overall) to their farm systems. Los Angeles dropped the most in ranking, moving from 13th to 18th, and losing 14 points. San Francisco (-18) and Oakland (-17) took the biggest falls in points. Chief Rum |
The Standings
Game Date: July 1, 2003 (two months into the season) AL West Code:
Oakland has just managed to maintain its lead. Seattle is playing to its talent finally and made a big push this month. With respect to Pythagorean records (records based on rus scored vs. runs allowed), Oakland is actually overachieving quite a bit, while Seattle is going strong. We at Anaheim had a very up and down month. We lost six in a row to start it and then won five in a row to get back in the race. Then we seemed to hover, and now we're on a losing bend again. It has been frustrating. Texas has had a good run, but now it seems to be falling back a little. This one is still wide open. AL Central Code:
Cleveland has a lot of young talent, and I checked it out--they aren't doing so good. If you have been reading, you also know that big time prospect Escobar missed this month to injury. So they seem to be getting by on what's left from their previous good teams, and the parts they traded for. They have made a strong push and now hold a nice lead over what is showing itself to be a miserable division. The Twins seem to be underachieving, and Detroit has cooled off considerably from their start. In Pythagorean record, the White Sox are up there with Cleveland, but they haven't been so lucky--maybe they'll make a run. Kansas City is utterly miserable, and will be out of it by midseason if they don't have a phenomenal July. AL East Code:
Wow, what an interesting division. Well, the race doesn't look like it will be interesting, though. Boston is simply putting on a show. They are like the M's in '01 or the Yanks in '98. Simply unbeatable it seems. At home, they are 21-3! New York, meanwhile, is almost sad, as easily the second best team in the league but 7.5 games back. Toronto--the third place team--would be in first in either of the other divisions. They have made a very strong push since May. Baltimore's decent season is being lost a little here. And Tampa Bay is already out of it. NL West Code:
The Giants took a nosedive in June after having the second-best record in the MLB after May. They did just manage to hold onto the top spot, although the tough NL West tightened up considerably. Los Angeles got hot, and now they're right on San Fran's back. San Diego continues to play above expectations. Arizona is just a shade under .500 and Colorado isn't far out either. Wow, this should be a tough race. NL Central Code:
Chicago continues, with Boston, to be one of the two stories of the year, although, unlike Boston, Chicago’s Pythagorean record (a MLB-high +7) indicates that they have been pretty lucky. Will it hold? With a solid June, they distanced themselves from Cincy, which itself is still playing solidly. St. Louis was very strong in June after a poor start, so they may still come into play. Pittsburgh’s Pythagorean record indicates they are a bit better than they are showing, but right now, they are practically out of it. Milwaukee is ni much the same situation. The anti-story of the year is the demise of the miserable Astros, who continue to underachieve. NL East Code:
This division officially woke up after a bad May. The Mets and Braves both had great months, leapfrogging Philly and Florida for the top two spots. Florida is gamely holding onto third, although their Pythagorean record suggests that they may be a biut lucky. Philly continues to underachieve, despite its offseason acquisitions. And Montreal is, well, still Montreal. Chief Rum |
Anaheim The Team
AFTER THE SECOND MONTH OF THE 2003 SEASON We are now 12th overall in the power rankings, which is a drop of eight spots from where we were at the end of May. We actually did most of the dropping in the first week when we went on that six-game losing streak. We were 22nd after that week , but have built ourselves back up a bit. It should be noted this rankings don't include our two most recent losses, part of the month of June, but not yet a part of the rankings for the new week. We have 99 points. The top team is, of course, Boston, with 148 points. They are followed distantly by their AL East rival, the Yankees, with 121 points. The Cubbies are third with 119, Oakland fourth with 108, and the New York mets are right behind them and charging up hard with 107 points. Here are where we stand in major categories, with MLB rank in parentheses: Team AVG: .254 (20th) Team HRs: 51 (21st) Team Runs: 255 (22nd) This remains our problem. Although some players are rounding into form, we have others that are simply not keeping up the pace. It may come to the point soon where I am forced to do something to affect this area, be it a trade or bringing up some kids from the minors. We are second to last in walks, so this is still a huge problem. Team ERA: 4.08 (9th) Team Average Allowed: .249 (9th) Team Runs Allowed: .241 (5th) This remains the strength of our team. We have three starters doing well, and the whole bullpen is still pitching phenomenally. The numbers have dropped a little, though, so it's now a concern as to which will happen first--our hitting will improve, or our pitching will deteriorate. Financials We may not be in first, nor are we playing particularly well, but the fans continue to show faith in us that they never had in the past. We are now third in Fan Interest, but it is still 91. San Francisco (93) and the Cubs (92) are ahead of us. We are still second in attendance, now with 1,261,000, and with 28 homedates all sold out. Oakland, surprisingly, is the only team ahead of us, with 1,282,000. We are projected to finish with about 3.6 M fans at Edison this year, which is just mind boggling. Hopefully we can keep it up. Transactions & Injuries Once again, we made no moves involving the major league injury, nor suffered any injuries that required using the major league disabled list. Chief Rum |
The Major League Squad
AFTER THE SECOND MONTH OF THE 2003 SEASON The Rotation Jarrod Washburn (6-4, 3.36) is proving to be every bit the ace I need him to be. He has been one of the most consistently solid players on the team. Fifth starter John Lackey (3-5, 4.13) is making a bid to move higher up in the rotation. Aaron Sele (2-5, 4.94) has had a horrific June, compared to his hot May (2.72 ERA on June 1), but he is still putting up the third best starting numbers on the staff. Ramon Ortiz (3-6, 5.14) is right behind him, but nevertheless pitching way below his abilities. Kevin Appier (5-4, 6.35), despite his winning record, is in danger of losing his spot in the rotation. If he doesn't pitch markedly better in July, he will almost certainly be moved to the pen. The Bullpen I guess no one's perfect--Troy Percival allowed someone to score off of him. :) Percival (14 sv, 1.33) is dominant as usual. He has succeeded in 14 of 16 save opportunities, and his only problem is that he isn't getting the opportunities. Francisco Rodriguez (4-1, 2.65) continues to do well as Percival's primary setup man. Ben Weber (1-0, 1.50) and Brendan Donnelly (2-0, 1.29) continue to be fantastic middle relievers. And Scot Shields (0-1, 2.31) and Lou Pote (1-0, 3.38) make for great depth and mop up work. The lone standout deficiency remains lefty Scott Schoenweiss (0-1, 5.27). The Infield Nice defense is a good reason to keep a catcher, but there has to be a point at which you just have to say that enough is enough. Both of the Molina brothers are doing very poorly at the plate. Jose Molina (.208, 2, 14) combines a low average and only a little power, with surprisingly ineffective work behind the plate. Runners are going at will on him, as he has only thrown out 3 of 21 runners. Ben Molina (.214, 0, 8) is producing even less at the plate, since he adds no power to the mix. He is holding his own defensively at least (5 of 13 runners thrown out). But I may have to go with DH Shawn Wooten here, because he is hitting the ball too well to platoon anymore, and the Molinas have just been awful. Scott Spiezio (.298, 4, 16) continues to be one of the more consistent hitters on the team. we could use more power from him (and he should be capable of more), but with so many underachieving more, I can't complain here. One of those is 3B Troy Glaus (.176, 12, 34), in the throes of a horrific slump. Fortunately, he is hitting homeruns and producing power the few times he makes contact. SS David Eckstein (.246, 2, 13) is the lifeblood of this offense, so his slump this past month was a big part in keeping the offense punchless. We need him to revitalize his bat and this offense with it. He also needs to be more careful on the basepaths (9 SB, but 8 CS). 2B Adam Kennedy (.238, 2, 18) is turning himself into a candidate for demotion. With my leadoff hitter slumping and Figgins doing well at AAA, it might be time soon for a change here. The Outfield/DH LF Garrett Anderson (.296, 7, 29) has rebounded from a bad May to become the consummate team-carrier he normally is. His power numbers still need to take a little bit of an upturn, but I am confident that will happen. CF Darin Erstad (.243, 3, 24) is inching up with his average, but it isn't coming fast enough. He is still producing a touch more power than expected, at least, and he does lead the team with 12 SBs, which getting caught just five times. RF Tim Salmon (.281, 10, 35), in his walk-year, is making it very hard to decide what to do with his contract. He is an older player and I have a ready replacement in O'Keefe down in Salt Lake City, but, pure and simple, the Kingfish has been the lone bright light on offense all season. He leads the team in RBI, runs scored and doubles, he's second in hits and homeruns, and fourth in average. Only Spiezio and GA are anywhere near him in OPS (.883). DH is a platoon, but Shawn Wooten (.316, 6, 28) is doing his damnedest to make it not so. His team-leading average is the main reason I am considering using him at catcher, defensive liabilities be damned. Platoon mate Brad Fullmer (.245, 2, 10) seems stuck in a rut and really needs to start the ball rolling before I have to do something about it. Chief Rum |
The Minor Leagues
We didn't make any additions or cuts to the minor league rosters this past month, although we did use the disabled list a bit and made some promotions. After jumping from fifth to fourth following the draft, we had the mystifying occurrence of watching our system inch up to third and then second best farm system in the league just before the end of the month, only to watch it drop back down to fourth after the final week's sim. Go figure. We have 95 points in the farm system ranking sheet. Tampa Bay is still on top with 139, despite the fact that Vanhoose actually lost some power talent. Detroit moved up to second now, with 103 points. It's like they finally figured out that Myers, the top pick, is actually pretty good. We are actually tied with third place Cleveland, which also has 95 points. For reasons I haven't looked too deeply into, the Mets dropped from 2nd all the way to 6th. Here's a team-by-team look at our minor leagues. Sal Lake City Stingers (33-23) The Stingers have really heated up, and many players are doing well now. This, of course, does nothing except amp the pressure to get some of these guys up to the bigs. Of the 20 notable players on the Stingers' roster, no less than 8 of them are being pushed to move up to the majors by scout Bill Stoneman. That is simply amazing. 2B Chone Figgins and SS Alfredo Amezaga are still being pushed for advancement after Stoneman presented their names at the end of May. LF Robb Quinlan, a final cut from the Top 25 and pushed for advancement by Stoneman after May, is apparently now out of favor. Figgins (.333, 1, 34) is just playing great ball. His average leads the team. He is third in hits (65), tied for second in RBIs (34), has 15 doubles and 7 triples in 195 at bats, and has a .390 OBP. His .887 OPS is the second-higest on the club and he also has 13 SB. Amezaga (.331, 2, 12) is still riding his strong May. He missed almost all of June when he pulled his anterior cruciate ligament on June 8. He remains an option, but there still plenty of other talented players at or better than he is at the middle infield positions. Quinlan (.256, 8, 20) is still producing some power, but it seems clear that he slumped a little in June. This is probably the reason Stoneman is cool on him right now. Among the hitters, Stoneman has added Top 10 player and RF Michael O'Keefe, LF Elpidio Guzman and SS Oscar Salazar to the list of major league-ready players. O'Keefe (.323, 10, 38) is clearly the best hitter on the team right now. He seems to be coming into his own, especially as the vaunted power hitter he is expected to one day be. His OPS of .946 is dominating at this level. Guzman (.302, 3, 20) is actually just getting a shot with Amezaga on the DL. He wasn't a starter before that. He is a one-star talent and at best a backup in the bigs, IMO. I figure when he goes back to being just a AAA backup, Stoneman will stop pushing for him to advance. I did use the opportunity to get him some starts at 3B--might as well make him more versatile. Salazar (.294, 4, 34) played SS in place of Amezaga, while Guzman covered Salazar's usual 3B spot. Salazar is a decent-sized prospect at 2 stars, and he is run-producing more than expected. Still, there doesn't seem to be a spot for him in the near future. The only other notable performer at the plate is veteran minor league 1B Larry Barnes (.332, 4, 26), a shade behind Figgins for the best average, and tied with O'Keefe with 70 hits. He is probably not going to ever make it to the bigs, though, and is only around for insurance. Last month's minor league pickup Matt Whitney (.225, 6, 19) isn't doing so well, and C Sal Fasano (.202, 7, 21) is proving he won't be the answer if I continue to have major league backstop problems. CF Nathan Haynes (.264, 5, 28) is doing decently well, and has 14 SB, but he's in a long line of potential future Angels. Pitching is still a weaker point in Salt Lake, although it's not as bad as it was in May. Stoneman is pushing the talents of SP Matt Wise and Steve Green, and of MR Bart Miadich. Wise (5-2, 3.84) has bounced back from a subpar May to show off the skills that made me consider him for the rotation. With Appier and maybe others trying to pitch their way out of the major leagues, he will certainly be in the mix if it keeps it up. Green (4-3, 4.10) will also likely be in the mix. Miadich (1-0, 2.84, 1 sv) could go up if I move Schoenweiss, but he has only 12.2 IPs, so I'm not quite ready to do that yet. It's much more likely I would move a starter up, but as bullpen filler. I'm surprised that Stoneman still hasn't gotten on the bandwagon for SP Mickey Callaway (6-1, 2.06). Callaway continues to be Salt Lake's best starter. The rotation will get a jump when promoted AA starters Chris Bootcheck (8-1, 2.06 at Arkansas) and Elvin Nina (3-3, 5.21, 54 K in 46.2 IP) arrive. They have just been promoted. Bootcheck is a decently-regarded prospect who was pitching great in AA. Nina is a career minor leaguer type who was moved mostly because Stoneman said he could be, and we had too many starters at AA as it was. Veteran MR Doug Nickle was promoted from AA at the beginning of June, but he hasn't done so well (7.88 ERA in 8 IP). In fact, the bullpen in general has been bad outside of Miadich. Arkansas Travellers (33-23) The Travellers were originally doing the best of our minor league teams, and they continue to do so. Making it more surprising is the fact that they are still somewhat of a roster in flux. I have already mentioned Bootcheck and Nina moving up now to AAA, and Nickle's promotion at the beginning of June. C Jared Abruzzo's promotion from A was announced last month, and second-round pick MR Jake Tetrault also went straight to Arkansas after signing his first pro contract. Finally, one of our best minor league pitchers and the #10 member of the Angels Top 10 list, SP Richard Fischer, had to be shelved on June 21 because of bone chips in his elbow. He is expected to miss five weeks, so it is likely he will miss all of July as well. Stoneman still has not given his big okay to the advancement of #3 prospect Joe Saunders, whom he said we might consider at AAA last month. He has added recently promoted SS Brian Specht to the list of "on the fence" AAA prospects, though. So with big months, we could see both of these players making the jump. For now, though, they will stay at Arkansas. Saunders (6-3, 2.80) is pitching wonderfully, racking up 60K and allowing just 52 hits in 80.1 IP. Specht (.251, 8, 30) has stepped into Arkansas's lineup like he was meant to be there. The only lasting indication of his recent promotion is the slightly lagging average. He continues to produce far more power than expected. Fischer (3-4, 4.83) wasn't pitching particularly well when he got shelved. Among the other top pitching prospects the Angels have here, you already know that Bootcheck was pitching wonderfully and got bumped up to AAA. What's really funny about that is that he isn't on the Angels' Top 10 list like most of the rest of the rotation was, including Saunders and Fischer. #4 prospect Booby Jenks (2-1, 3.65) is keeping the scores low, even though he--a power pitcher--has strangely low strikeout totals (28 Ks in 56.2 IP), and has allowed more hits (59) than IP. #9 prospect Chris Waters (3-5, 5.35) continues to struggle with his adjustment to Arkansas after being dumped by the Braves. In the bullpen, lightly-regarded Derrick Turnbow (0-1, 4.02) has pitching decently well, and Tetrault (1-0, 2.70, 14 Ks in 13.1 IP) is making an impact early in his career. Tetrault would have more IP by now, except the game wasn't pitching him from the top setup man position for some reason. He has seen a lot more time now as a middle reliever, but I am considering giving him a run at closer, an organizational weakness below the major league level. In the batter's box, fringe major leaguer Barry Wesson (.273, 11, 43) has cooled off considerably, although he is still putting up very solid numbers. Top hitting prospect and #5 overall Angels' prospect 1B Casey Kotchman (.298, 5, 23) is still underachieving quite a bit in the power department, although he continues to do well with average. C Jared Abruzzo (.255, 2, 13), the #8 prospect, is doing decently, but he obviously still has some things to learn down here after being promoted last month from Rancho Cucamonga. The two Nieveses continue to hold down spots. Insurance veteran minor league 2B Jose Nieves (.296, 10, 30) remains as one of the Travellers' more consistent hitters, and fringe catching prospect Wil Nieves (.261, 4, 12) took him bump over to DH well, when management asked him to make room for Abruzzo. Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (33-23) How weird is that, eh? All three minor league teams have the same record. The Quakes had a ways to go, so they clearly had a good month. I have to think the addition of four new prospects, including top pick David LaBoy had to help in that respect. Stoneman continues to suggest that #6 prospect SP Joe Torres (4-4, 4.86) is on the fence for possibly moving up to AA. His stats don't agree, though. I will allow that Torres is doing a bit better than he was in May. No one else is close to ready, according to Stoneman. LaBoy (2-1, 3.13, 30 Ks in 31.2 IP) seems to be making the transition from JUCO ball and from being a reliever to becoming a starter quite well. He is now the Angels' #2 prospect behind only John Lackey at the major league level. Fellow draftee relievers Omar Ramirez (1-1, 2 sv, 5.00) and Aurelio Ruiz (1-0, 1 sv, 4.77) are still learning the ropes, but they aren't doing so bad considering their youth and the fact that they were third and fifth round choices. Johan A. Santana (4-4, 3.04, 60 Ks in 77 IP) is apparently taking it personally that additions such as LaBoy's drafting bumped him from the top prospect list himself. He has been dynamite. C Jared Mathis (.269, 9, 36) has blossomed now that Abruzzo is at Arkansas and Mathis is the fulltime backstop. He is the squad's best hitting prospect right now. 3B Dallas McPherson (.328, 5, 23) continues to show that he is at least great at making contact and getting the basehits. CF Julio Ramirez (.373, 6, 17) continues to play like his demotion from Arkansas to the Quakes was a mistake. The new addition, fourth-rounder 2B Bennie Brant (.210, 0, 3), is struggling to make the transition to the pros right now. The Angels Top 10 Prospect List 1. SP John Lackey-- majors (3-5, 4.13) 2. SP David LaBoy-- A (2-1, 3.13) 22nd prospect in MLB 3. SP Joe Saunders-- AA (6-3, 2.80) 75th best prospect in MLB 4. SP Bobby Jenks-- AA (2-1, 3.65) 65th best prospect in MLB 5. 1B Casey Kotchman-- AA (.298, 5, 23) 15th best prospect in MLB 6. SP Joe Torres-- A (4-4, 4.86) 34th best prospect in MLB 7. RF Michael O'Keefe-- AAA (.323, 10, 38) 8. C Jared Abruzzo-- AA (.255, 2, 13--.270, 6, 18 at A) 64th best prospect in MLB 9. SP Chris Waters-- AA (3-5, 5.35) 10. Richard Fischer-- AA (3-4, 4.83--currently on DL) (It should be noted that the Top 100 MLB prospects list is compiled by an average scout--Stoneman, who puts together our Top 10 list, is supposed to be better). SP Johan A. Santana-- A (4-4, 3.04) 66th best prospect in MLB SP Chris Bootcheck-- AAA (8-1, 2.06 at AA) 94th best prospect Chief Rum |
Major League News
AFTER THE SECOND MONTH OF THE 2003 SEASON Offensive League Leaders-- American League It's clear who the leader of Boston's attack is. Manny Ramirez apparently had one of the best months in history, raising his average some 70 or so points to .401. He is far, far ahead of the pack. Last month's hitting leader, the Yanks' Bernie Williams is second at .346. Ramirez's support man Jeremy Giambi is third at .343. Last month, two Twins were in the top five in batting. They are both off the list now, but they have been replaced by teammate Corie Koskie, 4th at .337. Chicago's Frank Thomas is tied with Koskie. It's just scary what Ramirez is doing right now. He is also easily ahead in HR, with 20. The Rangers' stud SS Alex Rodriguez is tied with Thomas at 15 HR, for secondd. Texas teammate Juan Gonzalez is at 14. Three players, including Angel Troy Glaus and last month's homerun leader, the Jays Josh Phelps have 12 HR. Do I need to say it? Yes, he leads the RBI leaders as well. Ramirez has 58, well ahead of Thomas at 50. Has anyone been this dominant so far into the season? I mean to be so far ahead in all three Triple Crown categories! The guy I feel sorry for? Frank Thomas--man, this guy is doing great, but you just wouldn't know it next to Ramirez. The Yankees' Jason Giambi makes an appearance in third place with 47. Phelps and Boston's Kevin Millar are tied at fourth with 44 RBIs. Ramirez was just ahead of the OPS leaders after May. Now he's far ahead, with a Bonds-like 1.247 OPS. Thomas is second with 1.056. Koskie, surprisingly, is third at 1.028, just ahead of Jason Giambi at 1.026. Offensive League Leaders-- National League Larry Walker was hitting .400-plus ball for the Rockies after May. He has fallen off the pace a bit, dropping to third at .363. The new leader is the Astros' Lance Berkman at .381. Veteran hitter Roberto Alomar with the Mets snuck up on Walker to snag second with a .364 average. The Marlins' Cliff Floyd and the Mets' Mike Piazza return to the top five batting list with .352 and .351 averages respectively. Piazza leads the way in HR, with 19. Braves slugger Gary Sheffield is second with 17. Three players are tied at 16-- the Giants' Barry Bonds, Floyd, and the still surprising Craig A. Wilson, who continues to play a strong leftfield for the Pirates. Piazza may not be where Ramirez is, or even Thomas, but he's not having a bad year so far. He also leads the NL in RBI, with 52. Reds' longtime slugger Ken Griffey Jr. is right behind him with 51. Floyd is at 49, and the Cubs' powerful outfielder Sammy Sosa has 48. Two players--Wilson and Sheffield--are tied with 45. OPS is a much more competitive category right now in the NL. Triple Crown candidate Mike Piazza leads with 1.176. Longtime OPS champ Bonds is right behind him with 1.172. And batting leader Berkman is at 1.145. Floyd, at 1.134, is the only hitter real close to the top. Pitching League Leaders-- American League Pedro Martinez, the BoSox's slim ace, is still at the head of the pack for ERA, although he took quite a hit from May in dropping to a 2.38 ERA. Minnesota's Rick Reed is right behind him now with a 2.44 ERA. Detroit might have fallen off the pace, but Mike Maroth is still going strong with a 2.50 ERA. The Yankees' Mike Mussina and Mariners' Freddy Garcia bring up the rear of the top five with 2.80 and 2.90 ERAs. Garcia (9-2) leads the way for wins. He is immediately followed by Martinez (8-2) and Mussina (8-4). Five pitchers have 7 wins, including Reed and Maroth. Martinez is pulling away from the pack for strikeouts. He has already passed the century mark with 105 Ks. Mussina is second with 68. The Rangers' Chan Ho Park falls from second to third with 63. Garcia is fourth with 61, and the Jays' Kelvim Escobar has 58. Chad Fox is still on top of the saves list for the Red Sox, with 19. A group of three are just behind him with 18, including the Orioles' Buddy Groom, the Yankees' Mariano Rivera, and the Mariners' Kazutoshi Sasaki. Two pitchers are tied for fofth with 14 saves, including the Angels' Troy Percival. Pitching League Leaders-- National League You know, John Smoltz was already at the top of his game after last month. Now he's put into overdrive for the Braves. The elder statesman is putting up an amazing 1.46 ERA. The Expos' Orlando Hernandez is trying to show the Yankees they made a mistake in letting him go. He is second with a 2.16 ERA. Odalis Perez is third with a 2.42 ERA for LA. Brian Lawrence and shocking converted reliever Clay Condrey are leading the way for the Padres and each own a 2.73 ERA, good for fourth place. Smoltz isn't just leading the league in wins. He's 9-0. Perez (8-3) and Lawrence (8-4) are right behind them, although not with the same track record of success. Like the AL, five pitchers have 7 wins on their resumes for 2003 so far. Arizona's Randy Johnson remains in the strikeout lead with 84. The Cubs' young stud Mark Prior is second with 88. Roy Oswalt is still on the list, hurling 80 Ks for the miserable Astros. And the DBacks are apparently trying to corner the market on strikeouts, with Byung-Hung Kim and Curt Schilling joining the Big Unit on the strikeout list with 72 and 71 total. Former Braves' setup man Mike Remlinger is proving to be a fine closer for the Cubs, with 20. The Cards' Jason Isringhausen has 16 saves for his squad as they try to return to respectability. Three closers have 14. The group includes last month's leader, the DBacks' Greg Swindell and another top five closer from May, Florida's Vladimir Nunez. The surprise addition is the Braves' new closer Ray King. League Awards Players of the Week-- AL June 1-7-- 1B Jason Giambi (NYY) June 8-14-- C Chad Kreuter (TEX) June 15-21-- RF Jeremy Giambi (BOS) June 22-28-- LF Manny Ramirez (BOS) Players of the Week-- NL June 1-7-- SS Tony Womack (ARI) June 8-14-- LF Cliff Floyd (NYM) June 15-21-- SS Jimmy Rollins (PHI) June 22-28-- RF Gary Sheffield (ATL) American League Batter of the Month for June: RF Manny Ramirez (BOS) Tell me you weren't expecting this! He hit .462, with 12 HR and 33 RBI. American League Pitcher of the Month for June: SP Mike Mussina (NYY) Moose went 5-1, with a 2.32 ERA and a shutout. National League Batter of the Month for June: LF Lance Berkman (HOU) At least someone is doing well in Houston. Berkman hit .418, with 5 HRs and 21 RBIs. National League Pitcher of the Month for June: SP John Smoltz (ATL) I'm sure this one was as shocking as Ramirez's award. ;) The numbers--wow. 5-0, 0.96 ERA in six games. Smoltz has won this ward two straight months. Significant Achievements Boston's Derek Lowe flirted with a no-hitter against Seattle on June 1, before settling for a one-hit shutout. As if the Red Sox need help, Todd Walker got six hits against the Angels on June 4. The hated Barry Bonds collected his 2500th hit on June 10. He's old, but at the rate he's going, he'll probably pass 3,00 easily on his way to 5,000 by the time he's 43. Pete Rose, take that! The Rangers' Ismael Valdes and the Cards' Woody Williams both had one-hit shutouts going in June. Valdes's came on June 22, against Seattle again, which apparently had a bad month facing tough pitchers. Williams' gem came against Cincy on June 23. Chief Rum |
Major League Transactions
FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE, 2003 Here I will go day-by-day to show the major decisions and trades and what not of the teams in the month of June, the second of the delayed 2003 season. Day by Day Transaction List Early June Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) Cubs: 1B Dave Hansen (June 2) Orioles: LF B.J. Surhoff (June 4) DBacks: 3B Matt Williams (June 7) Braves: MR Roberto Hernandez (June 8) Commentary: How stupid is this? Hansen was signed on June 1, and then released the next day. :rolleyes: Those others seem to be major releases, too. June 8 Releases White Sox: SP Kenny Rogers Commentary: Another oddity. Rogers may have been the premier starting pitcher in the second round of free agency. He was 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA, so he wasn't doing too bad. Of course, he hadn't pitched since May 14, when he got blown out. I know this guy was signed to a multi-year contract. Signings Diamondbacks sign LF B.J. Surhoff to a one-year, $300K contract. Tigers sign SP Lance Davis to a minor league contract. Commentary: Well, at least someone is getting use out of Surhoff. He has seen sporadic starts for the DBacks since his pickup. Davis hadn't pitched until his signing by the Tigers, and maybe they shouldn't have in the first place (1-2, 7.66 in 5 GS). June 15 Signings Padres sign MR Mike Timlin to a one-year, $319K contract. Commentary: Timlin was cut by the Red Sox after he refused assignment. The Padres signed him immediately. It hasn't paid dividends yet, though (6.75 ERA with Pads). June 22 Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) Braves: 1B Julio Franco Dodgers: SP Andy Ashby Padres: MR Jesse Orosco Commentary: No, none of these guys were lighting it up, but they were all surprises to an extent, since they all played some decent-sized roles for their old teams. The aging Franco was batting .289, with 1 HR and 8 RBI in 39 games. I have seen much worse than Ashby's 2-3, 5.24 ERA in 6 starts. Well, okay, Orosco was pitching horribly (7.45 ERA in 22 appearances). June 23 Trades Devil Rays get: 3B Herbert Perry Rangers get: RF Wes Bankston SP Lloyd Lorenzon Commentary: Isn't it sad when you can trade away a bit part like Herbert Perry, and yet he's good enough to man the third spot in the lineup for the other team? Man, the D-Rays suck. Perry is coming off of a decent enough season (.276, 22, 76 in '02), but if I were them I would have kept the two decent prospects. Perry, 33, is hitting just .215, with 2 HR and 13 RBI. Bankston is a 2.5 star talent who is hitting .275, 10, 26 at A, and Lorenzon a 3-star talent who is 3-2, 2.63 at A. Lorenzon was the second pick of the second round in this year's draft, and Bankston is one of my "added" players. Chief Rum |
Great job. This is good stuff. You're getting me to care about baseball again, (a little).
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Injury News
Here were the significant injuries of the second month of play: June 3 Diamondbacks: CF Jay Payton tore a thigh muscle running the bases. He will be out 5-6 weeks. What makes this so laughable and painful is that fact that the DBacks acquired Payton last month from the Rockies to replace Steve Finley--who is out for the year with a broken knee. Payton was hitting .239-2-10 at the time of the injury. June 7 Brewers: MR Luis Vizcaino has bone chips in his elbow, and the surgery will knock him out for 5 weeks. This might be good news for the hapless Brewers--Vizcaino was contributing a 9.26 ERA to the cause when he got hurt. June 9 Rangers: LF Kevin Mench strained his anterior cruciate ligament running the bases. He was provodong the Rangers with decent power at the time (6 HR, 19 RBI), although he was hitting just .237. He's out for 6 weeks. June 12 Mets: SP Jason Middlebrook suffered a fractured hand off of a comebacker. Middlebrook (3-2, 4.03) had been contributing nicely to the Mets' resurgence into first place in the NL East, so this hurts. He's down 8-9 weeks. June 19 Padres: C Darrin Fletcher broke his hand in a homeplate collision, putting him out for 3-4 weeks. The injury is a slight derailment for the veteran Fletcher, who took advantage of the second free agency period to sign a nice deal with San Diego. He was hitting .276-7-19 as the Padres' regular backstop. June 20 Red Sox: 3B Bill Meuller broke his hand when he got beaned in a game and will miss 6 weeks. There must be a run on hands going on right now. Meuller had seen a lot of time as a sometime starter at 3B for the Sox, and spot starter elsewhere. He was hitting .301-4-14 at the time of the injury. June 25 Cubs: MR Dave Veres pulled an elbow ligament pitching, and will miss 3 weeks. Veres has been a key reliever for the surprising Cubbies, going 1-2 with a 4.44 ERA in 26 games. June 27 Yankees: CF Bernie Williams pulled a back muscle running the bases, and will miss three weeks. This should be a slight bump in the road for what has otherwise been a very good year for the supremely talented Williams. He is hitting .346, second in the AL, and has 8 HR and 32 RBI. June 28 Devil Rays: LF Carl Crawford broke his knee trying to make a catch, and will miss the rest of the season! Damn, that's gotta hurt. Crawford is an up-and-comer for the Devil Rays, and they certainly don't need this. He was called up in mid-May and had been doing fine, starting every day, when he got hurt. He was hitting .306-2-6 when he got hurt. Expos: SP Orlando Hernandez pulled a rotator cuff while pitching, and will be out for 3 weeks. It must be a bad day to be a good player on a bad team. Hernandez is enjoying a fine season outside of this. He is 4-4 with an NL 2nd-best 2.16 ERA. June 29 Athletics: Tim Hudson broke his jaw when he was hit by a line drive while pitching, and will miss 3-4 weeks. Bad luck for the A's, who also saw starting 1B Scott Hatteburg go down for a time last month for the same thing (but after getting hit by a pitch). Hudson is off to one of his usual bad starts (4-3, 5.47), but it looks like his belated comeback will be on hold for a month. June 30 Red Sox: SP Robert Person was diagnosed with bone chips in his shoulder, which is apparently a more serious place for them to be. So he's out for the season, and the Red Sox may have hit their first real road bump. Person, signed to a one-year contract in the preseason, was 4-2 with a 4.09 ERA when he got hurt. Chief Rum |
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Wow, great compliment. I wouldn't want to turn you on to the dark force. Please don't take the Person news too hard. :) And keep on reading. Thanks. Chief Rum |
A Look At The Angels and Upcoming Free Agency
I figure now, after two months, is as good a time as any, to take a look at the Angels' situation with upcoming free agents and with arbitration eligible players. Actually, things may even be more intense than usual, because I haven't figured out how to push the trading deadline back. Hopefully the game will figure this out, but I'm guessing it won't. So if I want to trade anyone because they will be let go, I may have only a limited time to do it. We currently have $31.7 M or so for extensions. We will actually likely have more, the way things are going financially, but the game isn't working off of our projections, just what we did last year (the year that wasn't played in OOTP's system). The payroll is currently at $61.1 M. Using some very conservative figures, I have estimated that our revenue will be in the ballpark of $67 M at the end of the year, not counting playoff revenue, God willing. If my estimates are indeed conservative as I suppose, we could be above $70 M even without playoff revenue. That means our cash levels will rise at least $5-6 M and probably higher. So I would say that is a relatively healthy situation. If I want to exploit it or take some risks, it will depend on how this team plays in the very near future. I think I generally run toward more conservative anyway, but it's always tough when you're dealing with guys you have a real life connection to. Potential Free Agents These players will be free agents at the end of this year if they are not signed to an extension: RF Tim Salmon SS Benji Gil DH Brad Fullmer RF Eric Owens I'll get the easy ones out of the way first. Gil is a nice enough backup making $870K per year, and he's versatile enough to keep around. But I have backups galore in the minor leagues ready to play his role, and they'll do it for the league minimum. He's looking for $1.1 M per year for 3 years, and I just can't see giving that to a backup as a mid-market team. I will probably put him on the trading block immediately. It would be nice Fullmer would make this hard on me, but with Wooten doing so well, and a couple nice looking hitters at AAA, it seems hard to justify bringing him back. His current salary is $492K per year, and I expect he'll want a big raise. So Fullmer will be leaving, too, unless he pulls off something phenomenal over the rest of the season. As with Gil, Owens is an okay backup who has the misfortune of playing for a team with plenty of potential backups in the wings. He is only playing for the minimum, but he will want at least a little more, I'm sure, and they guys I would bring up would also make the minimum. Removing these three from next year's payroll saves me $1.72 M, and if I replace them with minimum-making players, still saves me more than 800K. Now the big one: I am torn on what to do with Salmon. He is a personal favorite of mine and has been an Angels his entire career. He's one of the few guys in the lineup still producing on a day-to-day basis. But he's older (34) and signed to a big contract ($5.46 M). I have a nice replacement at AAA in O'Keefe, and Salmon is looking for a four-year, $5.75 M contract. With this game's notorious treatment of older players and quickly vanishing skills, I just don't think I can commit to that kind of contract. So, as much as I hate to do it, I will have to let the Kingfish go. I will put him on the trading block with the others, but it will be with the expectation that I would only move him for a dynamite deal. This year isn't over for the Angels just yet, and I want to milk him for all he's worth. So not signing Salmon frees up $7.12 M in payroll. Arbitration Eligible Here are the players that are eligible for arbitration: SP Jarrod Washburn SP Ramon Ortiz SS David Eckstein MR Lou Pote 2B Adam Kennedy C Benji Molina MR Scott Schoenweiss 2B Jose Nieves MR Ben Weber DH Shawn Wooten C Jose Molina RF Jeff DaVanon SP Matt Wise RF Julio Ramirez As you can see, I have a LOT of players going to arbitration next year. Some are fairly straight foward. Washburn is making $3.93 M this year. He wants an extension for $5.22 M for three years, but I'm betting he'll only get $4.5 or so from arbitration, so I'm going to keep him on arbitration for now. Ortiz is making $2.39 M this year, and "L'il Pedro" wants current Washburn money for an extension. Sorry, Ramon, but you're going to have to give me better than a 5.00 ERA for that. He will probably be a shade over $3 M, I am guessing. So so far, if my guesses are right, we have a gain of about $1.3 M in payroll from arbitration. I'll bump it up to $1.5 in my estimations to give myself more leeway. Eckstein is making $2.18 M this year, and I see him landing at about $3 M in arbitration. He's asking me to offer rather than giving me a figure, which I hate, but since I doubt he would except less than a $3 M contract, I will probably leave him as is. With another little bump in estimates, that puts me at about $2.5 M-plus on this year's payroll. Pote is an interesting situation. He is making $915K per year, and he's just a reliever, so I suspect he will return for cheap, probably in the $1.3 M range or so. He says he'll test the market, but of course I know I have him for at least one more year if I want. I may or may not keep him. It depends on how he holds up. I have other options for the pen, and can probably afford to let him go, but he has pitched well, and I might want to consider keeping this bullpen together as long as possible. So if I keep him, that puts us at about $3 M over the payroll. Kennedy is making $671K per year, and he is looking for a shade over $1 M for an extension. That's probably right around where his arbitration case will end up as well, I would imagine. He hasn't impressed me, but since I can keep him for a while yet, he's not looking for much, he's young, he could still develop more, he has starter-level talent, and Gil is going to be gone, I figure I will keep him. At worst, he can be a key infield backup and insurance case. That puts us at $3.4 M above the payroll. Benji Molina is drawing in 458K per year. This one is a tough one for me to judge right now. I haven't even really decided if I want to throw Wooten into this spot just yet. But Molina isn't graded out as the defensive stud he is in real life, and he never could hit worth a lick. Even though he only wants about $25K more for an extension, I don't know that I'll want to pay that. But I doubt anyone will take him in trade, so I'll have all season to figure this one out. Schoenweiss is only making $350K, and he had the cajones to actually ask for $1.2 M or so for an extension. He's got to be kidding me. He can probably get 900K or even 1M in arbitration, too, so unless he wows me the rest of the way here, expect Schoenweiss to be given his walking papers. Nieves is also making $350K, but he's willing to resign to a minor league contract. Since this guy doesn't even play in the majors and is a one-star talent, I don't think I need to worry about a raise. The question will be, if I let Gil go, will I need to keep this guy around for insurance? I'm thinking with Eckstein and Kennedy at the major league level, and Figgins and Salazar and Amezaga ready to contribute down at Salt Lake, I can afford to lose Nieves's almost minimum contract. Now comes the tough part--the guys making minimum hitting arbitration for the first time (or at least I think that's how it works). These are the guys whose salaries will likely fluctuate the most, and there are a couple good ones here. With Molina still in flux, we can count Nieves and Schoenweiss as gone, which frees up $700K in payroll. That drops us to $2.7 M above payroll, which I will give another generous bump up to $800K to cover our asses liberally. Weber is first up from the min sal guys. Weber has been one of the best cheap relievers in the league now for three years, and he isn't giving me any help with his extension offer ("let me hear your offer! :rolleyes: ). He's a four-star talent, and it will actually take some research to figure it out, research I'll do later when I actually start making contract offers. I figure he'll get something in the $2 M range, but I'm pulling that out of my ass. So I'll add $3 M to my estimate. No way am I letting him go--he's just too good. So we take a jump up to $5.7 M above our current payroll. Wooten was the next guy I was worried about, with him doing as well as he is. Surprisingly, he is only looking for $680K for 2 years for an extension. I'm inclined to even sign him to that, but he's 30 years old, so he doesn't have any more developing to do. That number won't go up based on his ratings, and I'm not sure how much the computer takes stats into account when doing this. I won't be letting him go, which is certain. I will tentativel allow that he will probably get close to 700K in arbitration, if his extension offer is any indication, and I will allow for a full $1 M just in case (or 700K above his current salary). So now the estimate is up to $6.4 M above the current payroll, and beginning to approach what I am letting go to free agency ($7.2 M). The second Molina is in no better a spot than the first. Jose is making less money right now, but he has a half-a-star talent edge on his brother. Apparently it's good enough for him to ask for almost a million in an extension. I don't even know which Molina I'm going to keep. I'm certainly not going to keep both, not if Wooten works out, and if I feel comfortable enough with some of my minor league stopgap possibiltiies (Fasano at AAA, Wil Nieves at AA, heck, maybe even Abruzzo), I may cut them both. So for now, I will leave this up in the air for later in the season. DaVanon can't even break into the regular lineup of my AAA team, and I have plenty of others to use as outfield depth, or I could find better for min sal cheap in free agency. So he's a goner at the end of the year. That frees up $300 K, and drops the estimate down to $6.1 M. Wise is an interesting possibility. If Appier continues to imitate a guy falling apart from age, Wise is probably going to be the guy who gets first crack at his rotation spot--and that could be soon. I don't plan on letting Wise go, in any case. He is a two-star talent who could be a serviceable four or five starter. He was asking for about $1.3 M for an extension, and I figure he will get at least $1 M in arbitration. So I'll estimate $1.3 M for him, and move us up to $7.4 M. Ramirez is much like DaVanon, although at least he is playing well in the minor leagues. There's just no reason to keep him, though, so he's gone, too. That frees up another 300K, and drops us down to $7.1 M. I'll bump the estimate up again to $7.5 M just to allow for misreadings of the arbitration values. Conclusion Well, what do you know? We'll be letting go about $7.2 M in free agency, and we're allowing for $7.5 M in arbitration increases. So our payroll should stay roughly the same, although that's allowing that the Molina-times-two situation is yet to be resolved. That will either cost us an additional 500K or an additional 200K or a gain of 700K or so in our available funds. I don't think a range of a million around that figure will matter much, so I feel I can safely ignore it for now. If things go forward as I hope they will, my entire rotation and everyone but Schoenweiss will return. Wise would likely take Schoenweiss's position, and if I move a guy like Appier, then Green, Callaway or Miadich will also be ready to be called up from Salt Lake. Catcher would have Wooten, likely with one of the Molinas backing up. O'Keefe would be in RF, replacing Salmon. Kennedy would be on the roster in some form, so I would essentially be keeping my starters everywhere except at RF and DH. Figgins could take Gil's spot and maybe have a crack at the 2B starting job. And Quinlan would get the backup outfield spot, and probably get first shot at the DH spot. All this for the same money, essentially. I think it's a good plan, and it allows me with a lot of flexibility for improving myself in the offseason through trades if I like. Chief Rum |
Simming July, 2003...
I figured I would start tossing these posts out there, so the readers will at least get the sense of progress. I don't know if my series of monthly posts is enough to convey the sense of a passing season. Chief Rum |
It was an exciting and difficult month. It took quite a while to get through it, and yet this still just gets us to the halfway point. Wow!
I have a lot to go over, so I'll see how far I can get tonight. Chief Rum |
The Standings
Game Date: August 1, 2003 (halfway through the delayed 2003 season) AL West Code:
Oakland has begun to pull away and looks to be incommand of this division. The Angels and Seattle are two of the better teams in the AL right now, but they are just short on the consistency they need to make a push at Oakland. Texas remains a solid looking team in a tough division. AL Central Code:
Does someone really want to win this division? It seems so sad that there is all this great competition in the west and east, but this division sits in the middle, just plainly sucking. Minnesota has gotten back into it and has tied Cleveland. Chicago is playing closer to their talent and staying close. Detroit turned it around after a bad June. And Kansas City continues to be one of the league's two main whipping boys. AL East Code:
Boston continues to be the best team in MLB, and New York is almost certainly the second best. It's definitely interesting to watch these two mortal enemies battle each other for this division, even if visits to the playoffs for both seem to be practically guaranteed. Toronto was looking very good after June, but a bad month and being in the same division as the Red Sox have essentially removed them from the race entirely. Baltimore also had a bad month after flirting with respectability, and now they are way out. Tampa Bay is the second whipping boy. NL West Code:
Welcome to the league's tightest division. Less than 10 games separates first from last and no one is out of it. LA continues to surge, as they have finally overtaken San Francisco, the division leader up until now. San Francisco remains just behind them. Arizona is just at .500, but they are still very much in range of first. Is San Diego's early success dying a slow death toward reality or did they just have a bad month? We'll see... Colorado is probably the best last place team in the league. NL Central Code:
Chicago still has the best record in the NL, but Cincy doesn't seem willing to give this one up without a fight. They remain close. St. Louis now seems fully back, and is beginning to creep up on Cincinnati. The big improvement of the month came from Houston, which finally seemed to figure out it had too much talent to stay down for as long as it had. The Astros still have a long way to go, though. The Pirates seem to have settled into a team out of contention, and Milwaukee is bringing up the rear now--as originally expected. NL East Code:
Atlanta and New York were the two hot teams in the NL East in June. Only Atlanta kept it up. So now the Braves are back on top and with a bit of a lead. The Mets came back to Earth a bit, but still managed to hold on to second. They lead a group of three working to break from the pack and approach the Braves. The Marlins looked like they were going to fall out of it last month, but they have rebounded. Philadelphia continues to be one of the year's bigger disappointments, although they do have a .500-plus record. Thanks to Milwaukee, Montreal doesn't have to carry the worst record in the NL. Chief Rum |
Anaheim The Team
The Angels have been wavering from 6th to 14th in the power rankings for most of the month. It seems fitting they should end it at 10th, right in the middle, with 96 points. Several games have been played since the last power rankings (they come out on Mondays and it is currently a Saturday), but overall there seems to be little difference. The Red Sox weren't quite so hot in July, so they dropped to 133 points and not so commanding a lead in the rankings, but they are still on top. The A's actually have the second spot, with 127. The A's record is just a shade better than the Yanks at this point, but the Yankees are a little back with 116 points. They are just ahead of the Cubs, the best NL team, with 115 points. And the surging Dodgers take the fifth spot with 106 points. Here are where we stand in major categories, with MLB rank in parentheses: Team AVG: .255 (20th) Team HRs: 89 (13th) Team Runs: 410 (17th) The average hasn't improved, nor has our horrible plate patience (29th in the league in walks taken), but we are finally seeing improvement here. It seems obvious that the big reason is a jump in HRs. We were in the bottom third of the league in taters, but a powerful July has us in the league's top half and inching toward the top ten power teams. That is almost certainly responsible for a corresponding jump in runs scored, where we are now just about average, as the league goes. I will go into more specifics about the power renaissance when I go over the individual player performances. Team ERA: 4.18 (12th) Team AVG Allowed: .250 (8th) Team Runs Allowed: 375 (7th) Of course, we have also seen the trend of steadily declining pitching performances continue, as we have slid further from the top. The ERA is now out of the top ten, and average allowed and runs allowed are inching closer as well. I'm hoping we can reverse this trend, of course. While such a decline is not welcomed, it is still quite certain that pitching remains the team's strength at the moment. Financials As Oakland pulls away a bit, and we waffle with our consistency, it should be no surprise that fan interest is beginning to take a hit. It is small, dropping from 91 to 90, but it is still a big red flag. OOTP5 (along with previous versions of the game) does not handle fan interest very well, IMO. That said, this particular decrease is understandable, considering that it approximates a lagging of interest that would be present in real life fans whose expectations of a repeat championship season are being tested by a team several games out of both first and the wildcard. Our fan interest of 90 is now 4th in the league. San Francisco (92) and the Chicago Cubs (93) are both still ahead of us. The surprise (or not) is Boston, which improved only slowly early on from tehir success, but finally jumped past the top three teams to 94 in FI, the top figure in the league. Are diehard BoSox fans beginning to believe after all? Or is this just another of the Bambino's cruel jokes? Our FI may be declining, but it hasn't hurt us in attendance just yet. We are still selling out our games, and have sold out all 43 homedates so far this season. In fact, the indomitable persistence of our fans has finally proven too much for other teams like Oakland and Texas to contend with, and we have passed them to become the top team in attendance in the league. The Cowboy is probably rolling in his grave at that one. The attendance figures for Anaheim now stands at about 1,936,000 for the season. Chief Rum |
Transactions & Injuries
FOR JULY, THE THIRD MONTH OF THE 2003 SEASON The first couple months, I simply placed this section under the Anaheim The Team section. I didn't have anything to report essentially, because I suffered no major injuries nor did I make an changes to the 25-man roster. Well, that changed in July, big time. In fact, it turned this particular sim into a marathon session, taking more than an hour-and-a-half to go through just one month. And this is just for the Angels...I'm not even sure just yet what big trading news might have come down for the trading deadline, which I was unable to change from July 31 (it is effectively a month earlier than usual). Before I get into the month's day-by-day Angels' transactions, I thought I would explain something about my approach to trading in this dynasty. I currently recognize that the trade AI may have some flaws in it. As a result, I had to be prepared for at least two different scenarios--the situation where they offer me squat for good players (which is easy--I just turn them down, of course, like anyone would), and the situation where they offer me far more than they should for what they are asking. The second one is the problem--if you wait long enough, you will eventually get some ridiculous offer that is pretty much a straight rip-off for you. Who knows why the AI does this? This seems to be a difficult aspect to program, so I am not surprised that the AI doesn't always make the smartest decisions. So I am trying to approach this realistically. With every trade offer, I ask myself, "Is this a deal that might be proposed by an actual real life GM, given what we know about these players?". If I feel the balance is too far in my favor, I will turn it down, simply from the belief that the AI doesn't know what the heck it's doing. As it turned out, I had to employ that a few times this month. On July 1, pursuant to what I went over with my upcoming contract decisions and whatnot, I placed several players on the Trade Block. Here they are, with a quick reason assessment: SP Kevin Appier--poor performance; old; big contract MR Scott Schoenweiss-- no future with team C Ben Molina-- hoping another team will make my choice between the Molina brothers easy C Jose Molina-- " " 2B Jose Nieves-- no future with team SS Benji Gil-- FA at end of year LF Jeff DaVanon-- no future with team CF Julio Ramirez-- no future with team RF Tim Salmon-- FA at end of year RF Eric Owens-- FA at end of year DH Brad Fullmer-- FA at end of year Now here's a Day-To-Day account of the activities and commentaries from this month: July 1 Placed the above players on the trading block. Later that day, I got a fierce message from Salmon, asking me what was up with putting him on the trading block. He was pissed, and said if i didn't want him, get him out quick. Well, since I only intended to move Salmon if I get bowled over for a deal, I figured that was a longshot, especially with my plans to decline every trade offer that was too far out of whack. So I removed him from the trading block, apologized to my monitor, and cowered in the corner while the sim continued. July 3 I received my first trade offer today. Baltimore offered me MR Kerry Ligtenberg for Fullmer, straight up. I actually considered this one, since I think a real GM might deal a quality, but older reliever for a young, power-hitting DH. In the end, I allowed this offer to expire because I felt that, as good as Ligtenberg is (a four-star reliever), I didn't really need another reliever right then. I wanted to see if I could get prospects or help in other areas for Fullmer. July 6 I received a trade offer from Montreal today. The Expos wanted to send me young star SP Javier Vazquez for LF Robb Quinlan and MR Omar Ramirez. Quinlan, of course, is at AAA and was probably a fringe major leaguer. Ramirez is a decently-talented reliever, but he was just a third rounder (and a low one) and he's in Single A. I just couldn't conceive of the Expos trading one of the best young pitchers in the game for a fringe major leaguer and a decent prospect. So I turned it down. July 8 Fate through a wrench in my plans, and suddenly turning down the Vazquez deal for altruistic reasons may have been visionary. :) Regular CF Darin Erstad broke his finger trying to make a catch. The injury seemed small to me, but then I have never tried to hit a 95-mph fastball with a broken finger either. The computer somberly (well I thought it was somber...) informed me that Erstad would miss seven weeks. He isn't expected back until September! And suddenly I realized that while I had some good depth, I did not have an obvious replacement of potentially starter quality in my system. It really threw my expectations out of whack, because I thought my depth was extraordinary. It took just one injury to strip that illusion away. I had to do something. My options were to immediately pursue a trade, check out the free agents, or try to swing it with a backup OF or a call up. I discounted option one because I feel that the trade AI is even more faulty when the player initiates the trade talks. I didn't feel I could fairly pursue that option. I also discounted two, because the season isn't going as well as I thought it would and I need to keep payroll down, even if it would just be for under four months. So that left me with my internal options. The only legit players I could start in the OF besides Salmon and GA (already starting) was middle infield backup Benji Gil and backup outfielder Eric Owens. The season is not going as well as I like, but I certainly wasn't going to throw the season away by giving these two mediocre to poor backups legit starts for two months. Fullmer could play OF, but he is horrible in the field. I couldn't do that. That left me with call ups. There was one obvious one--Michael O'Keefe. He seemed ready and he was hitting the crap out of the ball at Salt Lake. But if there's one thing I hate, it's bringing up good kids and blowing their first cheap season on a short season of play. O'Keefe's ETA was 2004, and i decided to keep it that way. My other options were Jeff DaVanon, Elpidio Guzman, Nathan Haynes, and Robb Quinlan. I rejected DaVanon and Guzman right away on the grounds that they were backup material at best. That left me with Haynes and Quinlan. I decided on Quinlan. Stoneman wasn't telling me either player was ready for the bigs, but he had said so of Quinlan in the past. Quinlan is also an older prospect (26) who can no longer really improve at AAA, while Haynes (23) still had some potential development to do. And Quinlan was the last cut from the final 25 before the season started. So I promoted Quinlan, with the intent to give him this tryout and see how he does. This may be his one chance, outside of being a backup to prove that he is worth more than that. I moved Garrett Anderson to CF to replace Erstad in the field, and Quinlan will start in LF to replace GA. July 14 The Yankees came in with an offer today. They would send MR Randy Choate, a young lefty approaching arbitration, and minor league starter Simon Pedrosa, their top pick in the 2003 draft (but last overall pick in the first round), for Fullmer. Choate is a four-star reliever and Pedrosa a 2.5 star talent. Fullmer was a 2.5 star talent as well. I decided this wasn't as farfetched as I first thought it. For one, Choate is a reliever--unless they're closers, they just aren't as valuable. And Pedrosa might be a first round pick, but he was really just an okay pick. Fullmer is a young (28), power-hitting DH who has the ability to hit 20+ HRs in any given year. So I asked myself if it was understandable that a team might offer a very solid, but young reliever and a decent pitching prospect for a 20-25 HR hitter who himself is young and cheap, and I decided, yes, that is within the realm of reason. Then I looked at the deal itself. I was inclined to reject it on the same notion as the Ligtenberg offer, the fact I didn't really need another reliever. But then I noticed Choate was a lefty. My only southpaw in the pen is Schoenweiss, and he is by far my worst reliever and on the trade block himself. So I decided to do it. I sent Fullmer to the Yanks for Choate and Pedrosa. I sent Pedrosa to Rancho Cucamonga and promoted Choate to the major league squad. Not needing Schoenweiss anymore, I then attempted to send him down to AAA. He agreed to the assignment, and I replaced Fullmer's spot amongst the hitters with Elpidio Guzman. While I had no illusions Guzman was anything more than a backup, I figured, he, too, could get a shot at some PT to see how he does, since he is also a veteran minor leaguer who was probably on his way out. Choate had just over a 3.00 ERA in about 25 IP when I acquired him. Fullmer still hadn't really come out of his slump in his increasingly limited at bats, with about a .250 average and a couple homeruns in about 110 ABs. July 17 Over the course of three days, I received two notices from the team's medical personell that Erstad wasn't healing as fast as expected. The first time he was bumped back a week. The second time it was two weeks! So Erstad's original target of seven weeks became out for 10 weeks (from his injury on July 8). July 27 The Dodgers approached me about Schoenweiss, now laboring at Salt Lake City. They offered veteran 3B Ron Coomer and pitching prospect SP Jonathon Figueroa. Coomer has apparently come to the point of falling apart. He is 36, and signed to approximately a $500K contract all the way to 2006, when he would be 39. The game description said he was likely on the verge of retirement. Figueroa was a nice prospect I added to the game (one of the 144). But I didn't know just how nice until I checked him out. He was rated as a five-star prospect, one of the more elite prospects in the league. To the Dodgers, Schoenweiss was probably a potential starter, which had been his primary role prior to June, 2002. As a seemingly decent lefty with starting and relief ability--and being decently young at 29, cheap heading toward arbitration, and a three-star talent. So while Figueroa was quite a find for Schoenweiss, Coomer with his potential salary weight contract was a huge negative. I decided that Coomer's negative aspects did enough to bring Figueroa down to the level where this could be considered an acceptable offer. Then I took a closer look at the trade and decided to reject it on the grounds that I didn't need another good pitching prospect enough to take on Coomer's remaining contract (at least to risk that he might not retire). July 30 Today was the big day. On the eve of the trading deadline, I received no less than five different trade offers for my available players. I'll go over the offers and what I did with them one-by-one. TRADE OFFER #1 Milwaukee offered me slugging 1B Richie Sexson for Quinlan and my top hitting prospect 1B Casey Kotchman. Spiezio is holding down the first base job just fine. Acquiring Sexson would thus be unnecessary. Sexson was also doing pretty poorly. He was also being paid near $3 M per year. Kotchman is my best hitting prospect. And Quinlan was holding is own in LF, with Erstad still almost two months away from returning. This was an easy one for me to turn down. TRADE OFFER #2 Texas offered me struggling SP John Thomson and low-end 1B prospect Joseph Hartl for SP Kevin Appier. I knew this one was a thinker right away. First of all, Texas is a division rival--and it's never a good idea to trade inside your division. Second, Appier had actually started to turn it around, lowering his ERA to 5.21, and had been solid most of the month of July. Third, Thomson was struggling badly with a 6.38 ERA. But in the end, this was about the future. Appier has a $4.84 M contract that runs through 2005. He's also 35, and up until recently, had been pitching pretty poorly. Thomson was doing badly this year, but he's just 29. He pitched well in Colorado of all places in 2001 (and not too bad with the Metsk the next year either). His contract calls for a $2.39 M contract, and he is arbitration eligible, so I can cut him without further loss at the end of the season. Hartl, a fourth-round pick in this most recent draft, is just a two-star talent, but the game called him a sleeper prospect. So I bit. I sent Appier and his contract and the risk away to Texas, for a pitcher doing badly (but with the potential to do better) and a marginal-decent prospect. No matter what Thomson gives me, I think it could be a great move. Now I just have to cross my fingers that Appier won't come back to haunt me in the near future (or his absence from my still inconsistent rotation). I switched Thomson onto the MLB roster to take over Appier's spot and I sent Hartl to Rancho Cucamonga. I really wanted to elevate Matt Wise instead, but I thought Thomson might refuse a minor league assignment. And besides, he is supposed to be better than this. If he does well over the last half of the season, I might even keep him. :) TRADE OFFER #3 Montreal continues to push Vazques. They sent me an offer of SP Javier Vazquez--still young, still good-- for power prospect RF Michael O'Keefe and MR Omar Ramirez, one of they guys they asked for last time. Well, at least this one is more even. But with me considering the Thomson deal at the time and still a lot of depth in pitching in the minor leagues, and a definite need to keep O'Keefe around to replace Salmon, I knew I couldn't do this deal. I turned the Expos down again. TRADE OFFER #4 Seattle offered me veteran MR Jeff Nelson and minor league SP Greg Wooten--no relation to Shawn that I know of--for SP Kevin Appier. This was the competition with the Texas trade. And it wasn't really much of one. Nelson is a fine reliever, one of the better ones in the league. But considering I turned down the younger (and maybe better) Ligtenburg earlier in the month, completed the Choate deal, and still was pretty deep in the pen, I didn't see a need to move Appier to Seattle. Making the deal look even worse was the fact that Wooten is a one-star talent 29-year-old vet minor leaguer at Seattle's AAA club. While he was doing well at AAA, gimme a break! Also, the Nelson thing is personal. In real life, Nelson acted like a bitch about being snubbed for the All Star game last year, and then prior to the ALDS, he said the Yankees were going to sweep us easy. I can't stand the guy. So fuck 'im. :) Obviously, I went with the Texas offer for Appier. TRADE OFFER #5 The Astros were apparently looking for pitching depth as they tried to get back into the NL Central race. They offered veteran minor league slugger LF Jason Lane and Single A prospect C Oscar Leon for MR Scott Schoenweiss. To be honest, considering that Schoenweiss was a three-star talent southpaw with starter ability, I thought this might be a reach. But when you're up against the deadline and you just don't want or need a guy around anymore, you get what you can for him. It was the Astros' lucky day, and I accepted the offer. Lane is just a one-star player, but he isn't without possibilities. He had hit 18 HRs so far for Houston's AAA squad and I remembered from real life as being a guy with some skills. He also has good speed and is a decent outfielder. And he is just 26. I figured if Quinlan played himself into a larger role (and he is currently doing well), Lane might be handy as a bat off the bench and as a backup outfielder after Owens leaves (a role Quinlan was to fill next year). I put him at AAA. Leon is no one special, but he kinda reminds me of Hartl in the Texas deal. A two-star prospect at Single A, Leon is just another guy to add to the mix and see what he can do. I don't have many hitters on my Single A team anyway. Leon was a fifth round pick in this last draft. And that's where it ended. My month ended with Erstad hurt and Quinlan in the lineup, Appier gone to Texas and replaced by John Thomson, Schoenweiss gone to Houston and replaced by Randy Choate from the Yankees. So we had an exciting roster turnover-filled month. Chief Rum |
The Major League Squad
HALFWAY THROUGH THE 2003 SEASON The Rotation Thank God for Jarrod Washburn (8-6, 3.43). Without him, my rotation would seem hopeless right now, I think. Ramon Ortiz (6-7, 4.71) had his first real solid month of the year. Hopefully this is a sign he's getting things back under control and will return to the solid strikeout pitcher he was last year. John Lackey (4-7, 5.03) had a horrible month, as his ERA dropped almost a whole run. I need him to regaint he form he had earlier in the year. Aaron Sele (4-7, 5.56) has followed his amazing 2.72 ERA May with two straight 7.00+ ERA months, and is basically now in the same position as Appier was last month. I just can't afford to keep a guy in the rotation pitching like this. Kevin Appier (6-6, 5.21) had his first effective month, but I think I explained enough why I felt it necessary to move him. I am hoping John Thomson (3-8, 6.41) will rebound from his first half struggles. If not Matt Wise waits in the wings at AAA, among others, and I will use him. The Bullpen Troy Percival (21 sv in 25 opps, 1.06) continues to be absolutely dominating. It's so wonderful having a guy like that around. Of course, this bullpen as a whole continues to dominate. I don't know where I would be without these guys saving the starters' butts so often. Frankie Rodriguez (5-2, 2.16) has become the workhorse of the relief staff, with 58.1 IP. Ben Weber (4-1, 2.00) continues to put up effective work at middle relief, and he now has the best ERA besides Percy. Brendan Donnelly (2-0, 2.04) is just behind Weber and also has a couple of saves. Since coming over from the Yanks, Randy Choate (4-0, 3.07) has done well, making me wonder how I got by with Scott Schoenweiss as my lefty out of the pen. Lou Pote (3-0, 3.86) has seemingly settled in around a 3.00 to 4.00 ERA, and is doing well. I guess now that Schoeny is gone, someone has to take over the role of worst reliever, and in that case, it has to be Scot Shields (0-2, 5.79) doing mop up work. In his defense, he only appeared in one game in July (entering which his ERA was just fine), and he got blown out in that game. That went directly to a two-run increase in his ERA. The Infield Could I possibly have two worst offensive catchers than the Molina brothers? Ben Molina (.227, 1, 12) at least seemed to get a little better last month. Jose Molina (.193, 2, 16), supposedly the more talented one, is hitting the skids. It is time for what I suggested I would do last month. Defense be damned, Shawn Wooten will be the Angels' regular catcher for at least this month. Ben Molina seems to be the steadier of the two brothers, so he will backup. Scott Spiezio (.286, 7, 33) isn't hurting the team at 1B, but he isn't really helping them either. I know he's more capable of offense than he is showing, so I hope he turns up the power a notch. He and Wooten split lineup time replacing Erstad at the #2 spot in the order. On the opposite side of the field, Troy Glaus (.219, 21, 64) finally woke up, hitting .306 with 9 HRs and 30 RBIs on the month. I think this is far more indicative of his abilities, and his improvement was a big reason the Angels did a little better in the league rankings for power and runs scored. David Eckstein (.259, 5, 27) inched his way back toward respectability after his bad June, but he still has a ways to go. He does have 17 SBs now. Adam Kennedy (.224, 3, 27) seems like he's been put her to test me. I have been thinking over bringing up Figgins, who is doing great at AAA, for some time now, but I haven't worked out a spot for him yet. I am also not sure if I want to blow a cheap year on him yet. The Outfield/DH Darin Erstad (.236, 3, 25) only got a handful of games in before breaking his finger. Judging by his performance thus far, this might be a good thing. His subtraction may also have a lot to do with the Angels' increase in run production. Garrett Anderson (.269, 13, 45) moved over to Ersty's spot in CF. He has produced more power this month, but at the cost of average. He should be able to produce both at the same time. Tim Salmon (.290, 16, 57) continues to test my resolve on the decision to not sign him to an extension. Man, losing this guy is going to hurt if O'Keefe ain't all he's cracked up to be next year. One way to deaden that pain, though, may be Robb Quinlan (.299, 3, 16). He is doing surprisingly well since he was called up to replace Erstad in the lineup. I don't think it's out of the question that he can continue to perform at this level either, since he is a decent 2.5 star talent. He's making a case for sliding over to DH when Erstad comes back, rather than a return ticket to Salt Lake City. Shawn Wooten (.298, 9, 41) continues to be one of our most consistent hitters, and now he'll get a shot behind the plate. While he does that, Jose Molina will compete with recent call up Elpidio Guzman for the DH duties until Erstad returns. Chief Rum |
The Minor Leagues
HALFWAY THROUGH 2003 SEASON Between the fluctuations on the major league staff, some more disabled list use in the minor leagues, another round of promotions and the trade additions, our minor league system was almost in as much flux as the major leagues. AAA SS Alfredo Amezaga was returned to the lineup from the DL at the beginning of the month, but the list was not empty for long. Salt Lake City’s veteran backstop Sal Fasano broke his hand on July 1. He did prove to be a quick healer and is just now getting off the DL, having missed just one month. Arkansas’s rotation was hit by a switcharoo of injuries in the middle of the month. SP Bobby Jenks pulled a bicep tendon on July 20 and will be on the shelf for 4 weeks. This is his second injury of the year, although his first one did not require a visit to the DL. He was soon replaced, though, by Richard Fischer, who came back from bone chips in his elbow on July 24. Fischer had missed most of June and July with the injury. As noted. Quinlan and Guzman weren’t the only players to get promoted. The big news was the promotion of #3 prospect Joe Saunders from Arkansas to Salt Lake City. He was just moved up near the end of this month. Elvin Nina, sent to AAA with Chris Bootcheck at the beginning of the month, was sent back down to Arkansas to make room in Salt lake City’s rotation. Fasano will get a rude welcome when he returns from the DL, because he will be sent to Arkansas instead of back to Salt lake Coty. That’s because #7 prospect C Jared Abruzzo continues his shocking rocket climb through the system and will now debut in Salt Lake City as the AAA squad’s new catcher. In addition, 3B prospect Dallas McPherson got the nod to move up to Arkansas from Rancho Cucamonga. Trade acquisitions SP Simeon Pedrosa, 1B Jason Hartl, and C Oscar Leon have all been added to Rancho Cucamonga’s roster. We did lose some skills in player development. AAA 3B Oscar Salazar’s talent in average dropped, and so did A MR Omar Ramirez’s ability to avoid walks. 1B Matt Whitney came a big step closer to permanent DH status by losing both range and momentum at his position. He is now virtually worthless at the position and slow as hell. The Angels now feature the second best farm system in the major leagues, behind only Tampa Bay. I don’t know what caused the rise from fourth to second (which was gradual, stopping briefly at third place before moving on), but something apparently agrees with the system ranker. It can’t be the trade acquisitions—I don’t think any of the new Angels made the Top 100 list and the ranking improvement before most of the trades anyway. Here’s a team-by-team look at our minor leagues: Salt Lake Stingers (47-36) Stoneman has penciled in four names for possible advancement, down from his eight last month. Bart Miadich, Oscar Salazar and Steve Green were removed from the ready to play majors list for whatever reason, and Elpidio Guzman was promoted to the big ball club. Two of the four names that remain should be familiar, since Stoneman has been pushing them since the beginning of the season. 2B Chone Figgins (.319, 2, 45) continues to have a fine season at AAA. His double-play partner SS Alfredo Amezaga (.325, 2, 20) seems none the worse for wear for having missed most of June with a pulled anterior cruciate ligament. #6 prospect RF Michael O’Keefe (.339, 16, 64) continues to be the true talent and star he looks to be. Stoneman is still recommending his promotion as well. SP Matt Wise (7-3, 3.23) is the last name on Stoneman’s list, and as you know by now, I have been trying to get him into the major league rotation to see what he can do. The rest of the roster is as filled as ever. With Quinlan and Guzman in Anaheim, it is handy that the Angels acquired Houston’s LF Jason Lane (.253, 18, 53). Lane isn’t too talented, but apparently he can hit the smack out of the ball. The underrated Larry Barnes (.331, 6, 46) continues to chug along. #7 prospect Jared Abruzzo will debut this month at C for Salt Lake after going .258-5-28 in 217 at bats at Arkansas. Pitching will also receive a boost with the overall of #3 prospect Joe Saunders (7-5, 2.66 at Arkansas), although the rotation has always been solid with Wise, super minor leaguer Mickey Callaway (8-1, 2.17) and Steve Green (4-8, 4.79). Last month’s promotion, Chris Bootcheck (2-0, 6.41) is still learning the ropes at AAA. Arkansas Travellers (42-41) Arkansas had a bad month, record-wise, although that should be expected with the injury and promotion problems it has had. Abruzzo and Saunders are gone to Salt Lake, but plenty of talent returns. Top hitting and #5 Angels prospect 1B Casey Kotchman (.279, 7, 38) continues to not produce at the power level that is expected of him, and his average is dropping. SS Brian Specht (.285, 8, 36) are eerily similar to Kotchman’s but the difference is that he is hitting according to his listed talents. Stoneman suggests that Specht is still on the fence for a possible promotion to AAA (not that there’s room for him). C Wil Nieves (.258, 5, 23) may find his prospects at catcher for the Angels dimming now. Abruzzo leapfrogged him to Salt Lake, and the Angels added Oscar Leon to Single A, where he will share time with another solid catching prospect Jeff Mathis. And now vet Sal Fasano is coming to Arkansas. 3B Dallas McPherson (.227, 3, 7) has struggled some, especially with his average, since his mid-month promotion, but he should come around. He was hitting .333-7-28 when he was moved up. Veteran minor leaguer LF Barry Wesson (.261, 12, 57) hasn’t really done so hot since May, but he continues to be the one major power source on the squad. With Saunders and Bootcheck gone to AAA, and Jenks and Fischer doing stints on the DL, the touted rotation has had more problems than expected. Jenks (2-3, 4.31) still hadn’t really found his groove when he got hurt again, and Fischer (3-5, 4.63) is still trying to find his again after coming back from injury. Chris Waters (3-7, 5.07) has been healthy all year, much to the disappointment of Arkansas fans. Elvin Nina (3-4, 4.94) will return to AA to help out a little this month. Second round pick Jeremy Tetrault (2-2, 2 sv, 3.97) is getting a crash course at closer and is holding up pretty good. Derrick Turnbow (1-1, 3.25) also continues to pitch well in middle relief. Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (48-35) It’s amazing how a few trades and a draft can fill up a roster so quick. The Quakes’ roster is still decently full, despite losing guys like Specht and Abruzzo and McPherson as the season has gone on. Jeff Mathis (.278, 10, 51) remains the one solid bat who has been around all season. He leads the team in most hitting categories. 2003 draftees 2B Bennie Brant (.224, 9, 23), 1B Jason Hartl (.207, 8, 24) and C Oscar Leon (.172, 0, 6) are around now to provide support. Brant, of course, has been around since June. Leon’s numbers look bad, but part of the reason seems to be that the Astros misplaced him at AA for a while, where he did equally bad. CF Julio Ramirez (.332, 9, 31) continues to play out the string toward free agency. Pitching is all of a sudden a strength now. Top 10 prospects Johan A. Santana (4-7, 3.23) and Joe Torres (6-7, 4.65) are both thought of as possibly headed to AA soon. The best pitcher, however, continues to be 2003 first round draft pick David LaBoy (5-1, 2.57). Another 2003 first rounder, Simeon Pedrosa (2-4, 5.86) is still trying to find his groove. Third round pick Omar Ramirez (3-1, 2 sv, 2.84) is doing well, but fifth rounder Aurelio Ruiz (2-1, 1 sv, 5.31) hasn’t been so hot. The Angels’ Top 10 Prospect List 1. SP John Lackey—majors (4-7, 5.03) 2. SP David Laboy—A (5-1, 2.57) 17th best prospect in MLB 3. SP Joe Saunders—AAA (just promoted, 7-5, 2.66 at AA) 70th best prospect in MLB 4. SP Bobby Jenks—AA (2-3, 4.31—currently on DL) 65th best prospect in MLB 5. 1B Casey Kotchman—AA (.279, 7, 38) 13th best prospect in MLB 6. SP Joe Torres—A (6-7, 4.65) 31st best prospect in MLB 7. RF Michael O’Keefe—AAA (.339, 16, 64) 8. C Jared Abruzzo—AAA (just promoted, .258, 5, 28 at AA, .270, 6, 18 at A) 62nd best prospect in MLB 9. SP Chris Waters—AA (3-7, 5.07) 10. SP Richard Fischer—AA (3-5, 4.63) (It should be noted that the Top 100 MLB prospects list is compiled by an average scout--Stoneman, who puts together our Top 10 list, is supposed to be better). Other Angels prospects on MLB Top 100 list SP Johan A. Santana-- A (4-7, 3.23) 69th best prospect in MLB SP Chris Bootcheck—AAA (2-0, 6.41) 88th best prospect in MLB Chief Rum |
Major League News
HALFWAY THROUGH THE 2003 SEASON Offensive League Leaders-- American League For all the commanding lead Boston's Manny Ramirez had in the Triple Crown categories, it was surprising to see him come down to Earth so suddenly. He droped from .401 to .352 over the course of July, and even lost the top spot to his teammate Johnny Damon, hitting .353. Finishing off an impressive trio, Jeremy Giambi rounded out the Boston trio of outfielders and batting leaders with a .343 average. Jeremy's brother, massive Yankees' 1B Jason Giambi was fourth with a .338 average, and Minnesota's Corie Koskie was fifth at .336. It seems likely that New York's Bernie Williams's injury put him below qualifying plate appearances; he had been first and then second the previous months. I don't know what is more amazing: that the Angels' own Troy Glaus is now tied for the AL lead with 21 homers, or that Ramirez only hit one homerun in July after hitting 12 in June. Alex Rodriguez is third with 18. His teammate Juan Gonzalez is tied with Chicago's Jose Valentin with 17 HR. The one Triple Crown lead Ramirez was able to maintain after his phenomenal June was in RBI. He's still leading the AL, now with 75. Jason Giambi has 68, and Glaus 64 to follow him up. Chicago's Frank Thomas is tied at 61 with the surprising Dmitri Young of the Tigers. Ramirez also still leads in OPS, with 1.088, although that's a bit of a drop from last month. Jason Giambi is second at 1.070. Toronto's Carlos Delgado is a surprise third in OPS with a 1.058 OPS. Offensive League Leaders-- National League Houston's Lance Berkman continues to put on an amazing show at the plate, flirting with .400 as late as halfway throught he season. He is far in the batting lead at .388. A pair of Rockies hold the next spots. Todd Helton is second at .351, and Larry Walker is third with .340. Walker's average continues a precipitous fall that began shortly after he finished the first month of the season batting well over .400. A pair of second basemen rbing up the rear. Jeff Kent gives the Atsros another bat in the top five with .334, and the Mets' Roberto Alomar is fifth with a .333 average. Future Hall of Fame slugger Barry Bonds had an incredible July, slugging 15 homeruns in the month alone to move up to a major league lead 31 HR on the season. The Cubs' ever present slugger Sammy Sosa is second with 26. Mike Piazza of the Mets led the way after last month, and now he's third at 24. The Braves' Gary Sheffield has 23 HR. Ken Griffey Jr. of Cincy and the Dodgers' Shawn Green pair it up with 21 HRs each at the back end. Sheffield also had a great month for RBIs, and he leaped out to the lead with 81. Bonds and Sosa have matching 74s behind him. Kent has 71, and Griffey has 67. Surprisingly, the leader after last month, Piazza, had just 10 ribbies in July and he's now a bit off the pace. Bonds' great month pushed him up once again into the upper echelons of historic OPS's. He leads the league with 1.263. Batting leader Berkman is second with 1.172, and Coors Field-aided Helton is third at 1.132. Pitching League Leaders-- American League Boston's Pedro Martinez had his second straight downer month, but it was still enough to hold onto the ERA lead at 2.71. Minnesota's Johan A. Santana is right behind him with an imprssive 2.71. Andy Pettitte of the Yanks is a new addition to the ERA ranks with 2.99. Oakland's Mark Mulder follows with 3.07, and Roger Clemens shows that age is not yet an issue, as the 40-year-old is fifth int he league with a 3.21 ERA. Seattle's Freddy Garcia is pulling away a little in wins, with a 13-3 record. Mulder (11-5) and the Yankees' Mike Mussina (11-5) are tied for second in wins. Four pitchers have ten wins, including Martinez and Pettitte. Martinez remains far out front for strikeouts with 144. The Rangers' Chan Ho Park is second with a distant 90. Mussina has 89 Ks, good for third. Kelvim Escobar of the Jays has 87, and Mulder is fifth with 86 Ks. The Yankees' Mariano Rivera has surprisingly passed up Boston's Chad Fox for the save lead, 26 to 24. Fox is now tied with two others-- Keith Foulke of Oakland and the M's' Kazutoshi Sasaki. The continually surprising Buddy Groom is fifth with 22 saves for the Orioles. Pitching League Leaders-- National League John Smoltz is having a season for the ages. The veteran Braves' starter now has a misiscule 1.34 ERA and is far, far ahead of everyone. The Dodgers' Odalis Perez is second with 2.59-- a whole run and a quarter back of Smoltz. Brian Lawrence of the Padres is third with a 2.73 ERA. He is followed by NL East aces Randy Wolf of the Phils with a 2.89 ERA, and Florida's young Josh Beckett at 2.93. Smoltz has company with him at a league-leading 11 wins, but he's the only one who is undefeated. Perez matches him, but with an 11-4 record. They are joined by Chicago's Matt Clement at 11-3. The Padres' Adam Eaton is fourth with a surprising 10-5 record. Several pitchers have 9 wins. Up until now, Randy Johnson of the DBacks has had a Martinez-esque strikeout lead. He is still in the lead now at 151. But his lead is no longer so inviolate, as the Cubs' Mark Prior is not far behind with 130. Johnson's teammate Byung-Hung Kim is third with 118 Ks, and followed closely by Houston's Roy Oswalt with 115. Beckett is fifth with 111. Chicago's Mike Remlinger remains on top of the saves list, with 27. Jason Isringhausen is proving invaluable to the Cards' attempt to re-enter the NL East race. He has 25 saves. Arizona's Greg Swindell has 23 saves, and Florida's Vladimir Nunez 22. The Braves' Ray King andEric Gagne of the Dodgers are fifth with 20 saves each. League Awards Players of the Week-- AL June 29-July 5-- 3B Corie Koskie (MIN) July 6-12-- 3B Troy Glaus (ANA) July 13-19-- SS Jose Valentin (CHW) July 20-26-- RF Chris Richard (BAL) Players of the Week-- NL June 29-July 5-- RF J.D. Drew (STL) July 6-12-- LF Barry Bonds (SF) July 13-19-- LF Lance Berkman (HOU) July 20-26-- 2B Jeff Kent (HOU) American League Batter of the Month for July: CF Johnny Damon (BOS) Okay, yeah, Damon hit .405, with 3 HR and 23 RBI in July. I still think Glaus should have won. American League Pitcher of the Month for July: Johan A. Santana (MIN) Santana maneuvered himself amongst the best pitchers in baseball by going 4-0 with a 1.50 ERA and a shutout in six starts. National League Batter of the Month for July: LF Barry Bonds (SF) This one was even easier than Ramirez last month. Bonds hit .348-15-35...that's in a month, people. National League Pitcher of the Month for July: John Smoltz (ATL) Wow, you know how hard it is to win one of these things? Can you then imagine what it must be like to win THREE IN A ROW?!? Smoltz was just 2-0 in his five games, but his ERA was all of 1.07 for the month. Significant Events There were a lot of intersting key events, but there was only one big one. Roger "The Rocket" Clemens racked up his 300th career win on July 29, going 7 IP and allowing just two runs in an 8-2 victory over the Mariners. I don't think I have to stress just how incredible it is in this day and age to see a pitcher get 300 wins. Greg Maddux of the Barves will likely do it, too, but after that we may not ever see another 300 game winner again. The White Sox's ace Bartolo Colon came within a hit of no-hitting the Royals on July 7, and the Twins' Joe Mays duplicated the near miss against Detroit on July 15. At least one Detroit hitter was hitting on another day, though. Veteran outfielder Ray Lankford hit for the cycle against Toronto in an Independence Day game. Some other siginificant events was Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki's 7 hits against Detroit on July 9, and Colorado's Ben Petrick's 8 RBIs against the DBacks on July 26. Three hitters got collected their 200th career hits this month: Texas's Ruben Sierra got a fourth inning single against Boston on July 9; John Olerud of the Mariners got his with a single against the A's on July 18; and Cleveland's Omar Vizquel also got his hit off of Boston, this one a single on Luly 30. Chief Rum |
Major League Transactions
This particular set of transactions will only be releases and signings, and then I will follow it with important contract extensions, which the AI signed on the last day of the month. Trades, as in the trade deadline deals, will be dealt with in another post, including commentary. Day by Day Transaction List July 8 Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) Mets: RF Al Martin Commentary: I don't know who returned that would make the Mets want to let loose this guy. Martin was doing surpisingly well (.294, 7, 26). July 13 Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) Bluejays: SS Mike Bordick Astros: CF Craig Biggio Mariners: SP Jamie Moyer Phillies: CL Jose Mesa Commentary: You see, now this is just upsetting. I really hope Markus (designer of OOTP) realizes the ridiculous AI decisions that are being made. No taking into account of stats or of the historical significance of a player. No attempt to trade these players if they refuse assignment. Utterly deplorable and potentially able to give me an unfair (and undesired) advantage, because I don't do stupid things like this. Bordick (.294, 4, 15) was a part-time starter for the Jays. Biggio (.244, 3, 18) hasn't been doing too well, but he's a full time starter, and we all know he would never, ever, ever be outright released byt he Astros. Moyer (4-8, 3.90) doesn't have a great record but he's having a very solid year. And Mesa (1-3, 3.04, 16 sv) was among the NL save leaders! Releases Oakland: MR Larry Leubbers Commentary: I can't tell why this was done either. Leubbers was 0-1, with a save and a 4.09 ERA in 19 appearances. July 20 Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) Brewers: LF John Vander Wal Commentary: Yeah, I'll bet the Brewers can afford to throw away even semi-decent players. Vander Wal was hitting .239, 7, 28 as a near full-time starter. July 21 Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) Rangers: LF Ruben Sierra Commentary: Yeah, that's how it works. He gets his 2000th hit and then a few days later he gets the boot, despite putting up decent power numbers (.223, 10, 36) as a fulltime starter. At least the AI waited until after he got to 2000. Usually they make this decision just before such a milestone has been reached, thereby making even more sense of course. :rolleyes: July 27 Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) White Sox: C Sandy Alomar Jr. Orioles: 3B Jeff Conine Commentary: Another day, two more releases of veteran full time starters. Alomar was hitting .279, with 1 HR and 27 RBI. Conine's release was downright diabolical, considering he was putting up .277, 10, 35. Signings Pirates sign 3B Jose Hernandez to a one-year, $380K contract. Commentary: Hernandez hasn't played yet this year. So why is this significant? Because he is a 2.5 star talent, and he was just released a few days before this--by the Pirates. Contract Extensions The AI did its main contract extensions today, although it will do another final round in a month. Here are the more significant signings, by team: Yankees sign 1B Jason Giambi (.338, 16, 68) to a 7-year, $12.88 M contract. Yankees sign SP Mike Mussina (11-5, 3.44) to a 3-year, $8.91 M contract. Yankees sign 3B Robin Ventura (.258, 9, 43) to a 3-year, $3.52 M contract. Yankees sign DH Brad Fullmer (.250, 3, 14) to a 3-year, $599K contract. Yankees sign SP Roger Clemens (7-6, 3.21) to a 1-year, $798K contract. Commentary: Wow, the Yankees really opened up the vaults. Giambi and Mussina are both among the top 30-40 paid players in the game (Giambi probably top ten). And they still had enough left over to give cotnracts to start Ventura and former Angel Fullmer. I guess it's kinda nice to see Clemens sign an extension, although I still think he may retire at the end of the year. Devil Rays sign SP Chuck Finley (2-11, 4.84) to a 1-year, $315K contract. Commentary: As an Angels fan, you have to know I love the Chuckster. But this deal just doesn't make sense. I know a lot of those losses are from the D-Rays being a very poor team, but it's not like a 4.84 ERA is anything to write home about. Why would Tampa Bay want to keep around an old guy on a bad team? Bluejays sign SP Kelvim Escobar (4-6, 4.17) to a 3-year, $2.65 M contract. Bluejays sign RF Frank Catalanotto (.294, 6, 41) to a 3-year, $2.14 M contract. Commentary: Rats, the rest of the league says. I'm sure most of us would have liked a shot at one of the better young strikeout pitchers in the league in Escobar. White Sox sign SP Bartolo Colon (7-4, 3.42) to a 3-year, $4.10 M contract. White Sox sign 1B Paul Konerko (.223, 9, 39) to a 3-year, $3.59 M contract. Commentary: Colon's signing was not welcomed by league GMs either. Konerko is having an offseason, but that also has to be considered a key signing. Indians sign MR Bob Wickman (1-2, 5.59, 2 sv) to a 4-year, $3.28 M contract. Commentary: Wow, this sure looks like a bonehead signing. Wickman has a nice enough talent rating (4.5 stars), but he's 34, not being used as the closer he once was, and he's pitching horribly. A's sign CL Keith Foulke (4-1, 1.96, 24 sv) to a 3-year, $5.13 M contract. A's sign MR Jim Mecir (1-3, 3.55, 1 sv) to a 3-year, $2.30 M contract. Commentary: You see, Philly? This is how you treat a closer doing good work. You DON'T release him! The A's are definitely taking care of their bullpen here. Expos sign 3B Fernando Tatis (.185, 10, 33) to a 3-year, $1.88 M contract. Commentary: You think maybe the Expos could have spent this money better? Mets sign SP Al Leiter (8-6, 3.69) to a 1-year, $4.63 M contract. Mets sign MR David Weathers (3-2, 2.43) to a 4-year, $1.97 M contract. Commentary: The Mets probably did well to sign Leiter when they did. If I was Leiter, I would be firing my agent over this one, since all you have to do is look at decently effective older pitchers like Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Chuck Finley to see that Leiter might have been worth a multi-year contract in the free agent market. Phillies sign SP Kevin Millwood (6-5, 3.11) to a 3-year, $4.28 M contract. Commentary: Another quality pitcher is off the block. Signing Millwood was a smart thing for the Phillies, considering his youth and effectiveness--and the fact they gave up just a backup catcher for him. Cubs sign C Damian Miller (.243, 8, 34) to a 3-year, $2.39 M contract. Commentary: I sure hope the Cubs know what they are doing. This guy shouldn't have been an All Star in 2002, and he doesn't seem worth even this money. Reds sign 3B Aaron Boone (.237, 10, 45) to a 3-year, $2.65 M contract. Reds sign 1B Sean Casey (.297, 10, 45) to a 3-year, $2.14 M contract. Commentary: The Reds are smart to ink their corner spots for a few years. Boone seems to be sacrificing average for power now, but he is a good hitter. Casey is probably the best "professional" hitter on the team. Astros sign RF Richard Hidalgo (.256, 16, 49) to a 3-year, $3.59 M contract. Commentary: The Astros seem convinced Hidalgo is back. These aren't the numbers he put up in his great season a few years ago, but he is in line to do much better than the past two years. The Astros are banking it will continue for at least three more years apparently. Brewers sign SP Todd Ritchie (6-8, 3.89) to a 3-year, $817K contract. Commentary: This is a pretty good contract for the Brewers, who are getting an underrated pitcher. Ritchie should have waited for free agency, where he could have gotten more money and gone to a better team. Pirates sign SP Jeff D'Amico (3-5, 5.11) to a 3-year, $1.88 M contract. Commentary: Not much to say here. D'Amico is a bit of a risk, but he's a solid talent who is clearly underachieving. He's also young, and the contract is the kind that fits well for a small-market team like the Pirates. Dodgers sign SP Hideo Nomo (4-7, 4.78) to a 3-year, $855K contract. Dodgers sign 1B Fred McGriff (.269, 12, 44) to a 1-year, $638K contract. Commentary: The Nomo contract could go either way. He's signed to a decent amount for what he produces, but it's a multi-year contract to a 34-year-old pitcher. McGriff's signing, like Clemens's with the Yanks, is a nice extension given that the player in question is doing quite well in spite of his age. Padres sign CF Mark Kotsay (.283, 4, 23) to a 3-year, $3.59 M contract. Commentary: This will be one to watch. Kotsay is a good young player coming off his best year in 2002. He has not proven himself over the long haul, though, and he's not off to a great start. So this could either be a risky move or great foresight. Chief Rum |
good read, Chief.
No matter what it is, you always have a knack for writing a good dynasty. |
Thanks, Shorty. I do seem to have a style that draws people on. Bully for me, I guess. :)
Have fun in Florida. Maybe I'll have a world championship by the time you get back. ;) Chief Rum |
Trade Deadline Deals
These are the trades I removed from the Major League Transactions. Although I am calling them trade deadline deals, it is actually all the deals made in July. The Angels trades already gone over above are not included. Here's a day-to-day look at the trades in July: July 17 Arizona gets: SS Barry Larkin Cincinnati gets: 1B Jesus Cota Commentary: An obvious trade a decent prospect for veteran help deal. Larkin is playing younger than his age (39) with .258-7-37 stats as a fulltime starter. Cota is a 2.5 star talent Single A player who is just 21 years old. Larkin still seems to have the skills and the leadership ability to contribute, while Cota could develop into a solid keeper of a player. July 23 Tampa Bay gets: SP Chuck Smith SP Mike Jones Milwaukee gets: C Pete LaForest Commentary: Interesting deal in that neither team seems to be doing it for this year. Smith is a decent enough pitcher (4-6, 4.67), and I am sure lowly Tampa Bay can use a decent starter, but I think this deal was made for Jones, a three-star talent pitching wonderfully at Single A. Still, I have to think this deal was a reach for Tampa Bay because they gave up LaForest (.176, 9, 29). Sure, he's hitting badly but he has the ability to do better there, he's just 25, he's a 3.5 star prospect, he plays a tough to fill position (and one the Brewers aren't particularly deep at), and he was among the team's power sources (sadly enough). Kansas City gets: SP Brian Tallet 1B Shunso Matsuo Houston gets: SP Chris George Commentary: The Tallet hot potato continues on its merry way. I have to think the Astros didn't exactly improve much upon their horrible Stanley-for-Tallet (4-10, 5.58) deal earlier in the year with Cleveland, although they did cut salary, and George (6-8, 4.98) has better upside. Matsuo is a decent bat, a 2.5 star talent with some power and great plate patience. He makes up fpr Tallet's shortcomings compared to George, although it should be noted that Tallet still does have above-average talent. July 27 Baltimore gets: SP Ryan Dempster 1B Markus Folse Cincinnati gets: SP Rodrigo Lopez Commentary: Cincinnati is gearing up for a run at the Cubs here, I would imagine. Lopez (5-5, 4.11) is solid, young (27) pitcher who was pitching well in a hitter's league. Dempster (4-8, 6.10) is actually listed as having the same talent level as Lopez (2.5 stars), but he is clearly performing worse. I would guess he has the upside to put up similar numbers, and he is 26 and cheap (playing for the minimum whereas Lopez has reached arbitration). Folse is a decent hitter, and has climbed the ladder very quickly. He was drafted in the fourth round this year, and he is already at AAA, although he's not doing so hot. His outlook is as an all-around average hitter. Basically, the O's got a slightly younger, cheaper pitcher of similar talent and a decent hitting prospect in exchange for the better performing Lopez. This might be a winner for both sides. Baltimore gets: 3B Todd Zeile New York (A) gets: RF Keith Reed SP Mike Paradis Commentary: I don't really understand this one. I guess Baltimore needed a 3B. Zeile (.300, 3, 17) was getting at best part time starts for the Yanks. He still seems to be a productive player, but he's 37 and his contract is almost $2 M until 2006. In return, the Yankees get a couple of relatively marginal players (Reed could play his way into a starter), but the big thing for them was moving Zeile's contract. The Orioles better hope he kicks ass for them. July 30 Kansas City gets: LF Gabe Kapler Colorado gets: C Mike Tonis Andres Blanco 1B Shunsho Matsuo Commentary: Another one of those "not sure what to make of it"s. Kapler (.308, 5, 38) is having a nice year and he's young, but his approaching arbitration, he's just a 2-star talent player, and he's been hitting in stats-inflating Coors Field for half of his games. On top of that, Kansas City isn't playing for anything but pride now. Sure, they can use a decent young player like Kapler, but why give up three prospects for him? And then there are those prospects. The best is Blanco, a 2.5 star talent who is just 19. Tonis has good talent, but he's 24 and at Single A, so his value is limited. Matsuo had just arrived to KC in the Tallet deal, and now moves on to his third team since being drafted in the third round this year. Detroit gets: CF Roosevelt Brown Chicago (N) gets: SP Preston Larrison Commentary: The haves are just eating up the have nots. I can't understand this one either. I guess the Tigers really needed a CF. Brown (.268, 4, 8) looks like a decent player and he's young. He can hit for power and he's well-rounded at the plate. He was only seeing limited time with the division-leading Cubbies anyway. But it's a crime to be able to send a guy who is probably just a decent starter for a good, young prospect in Larrison. Larrison is a 3.5 star talent who is doing very well in AA--meaning while the Tigers continue to waffle, new centerfielder and all, the Cubs could be adding a well-above-average pitcher to their rotation by 2005. July 31 Texas gets: 1B Hee Seop Choi LF Ramon Lopez 3B Pedro Farina Chicago (N) gets: MR Rudy Seanez Commentary: Chicago decided it needed pitching help to keep the Reds off their backs, so they went to get a nice reliever in Rudy Seanez (3-1, 2.84, 1 sv). The question is, did they pay too much? Choi looks like he will develop a nice major league stroke with some power. He isn't doing so hot in AAA right now, but he was murdering AA pitching and he is a three-star talent. Lopez and Farina, the Cubs' last two picks in the 2003 draft, are mostly forgettable Single A prospects, but that does hit at depth, too. I think the Cubs could have gotten close to as good a reliever from other teams for much less. Chief Rum |
Injury News
Here were the significant injuries of the third month of play. The injury to Erstad is not listed here: July 3 Rangers: 1B Rafael Palmeiro broke his ankle while running the bases, which will put him out for 7-8 weeks. Ouch, I'll bet that made the highlight reel. The veteran slugger was doing well, too (.302, 6, 32), although his power numbers seem low. This will be a huge block out of his season. July 9 White Sox: 3B Joe Crede was injured while running the bases, and apparently the injury progressed to the level of an inflamed posterior cruciate ligament. He had to sit three weeks to rest his knee up, although he just returned from the injury. He is hitting .274, with 8 HR and 32 RBI. July 11 Marlins: SP Mark Redman apparently wrenched his back through an awkward pitching motion and herniated a disk. He is going to miss 5 weeks. He was 2-6, with a 4.32 ERA at the time of the injury. July 13 Astros: SS Julio Lugo strained his anterior cruciate ligament while running the bases, and will be out 5 weeks. Like the Astros can afford to lose anyone in their attempted charge back toward respectability. He was doing decently (.240, 6, 19). Cardinals: SP Woody Williams tore a bicep muscle while on the mound, and will miss 4-5 weeks. This must be a bad day for former NL East powers trying to get good again. Williams hasn't had much luck, at 3-8, but he had a 4.16 ERA. July 28 Twins: CL Eddie Guardado ruptured a bicep tendon while pitching. He will be out for 3-4 weeks. Guardado (0-2, 3.21, 17 sv) is one of the AL's better closers. July 30 Brewers: C Pete LaForest broke his hand in a homeplate collision, and will be out for about 4 weeks. Wow, such irony. LaForest, of course, was just dealt from Tampa Bay, and is a solid up-and-coming young player who has shown good power this year (.176, 9, 29). The funny thing is that back in Tampa, the D-Rays are using a platoon, and one of its members, Hector Ortiz, also broke his hand in a homeplate collision just a few days before. I decided Ortiz, a platoon and fringe major leaguer, wasn't important enought o mention in these lists (at least until the LaForest injury came up). Chief Rum |
Simming August, 2003
CR |
The 2003 All Star Game
One of the changes I made to the schedule when I worked out how to fix it was to move the All Star game back to early August. I moved it to August 9 (a Sunday, LMAO). The game was played at at Pac Bell Park, so pitchers hit. Here are the All Star rosters (with stats after four months): **- starters NL Pitchers ATL SP John Smoltz (14-1, 1.78) **LA SP Odalis Perez (13-5, 2.42) CHC SP Matt Clement (12-6, 4.41) STL SP Jason Simontacchi (11-8, 3.46) PHI SP Randy Wolf (12-5, 2.85) CHN SP Kerry Wood (12-4, 4.42) ATL SP Paul Byrd (9-7, 3.44) STL CL Jason Isringhausen (4-4, 1.86, 27 sv) LA CL Eric Gagne (9-0, 1.06, 25 sv) NL Hitters NYM C Mike Piazza (.273, 27, 74) **FLA C Ivan Rodriguez (.262, 22, 67) MIL 1B Brooks Kieschnick (.346, 4, 21) **COL 1B Todd Helton (.387, 24, 83) HOU 1B Jeff Bagwell (.305, 24, 85) **HOU 2B Jeff Kent (.341, 23, 93) NYM 2B Roberto Alomar (.316, 10, 61) PHI 2B Placido Palanco (.308, 8, 49) **CHN 3B Mark Bellhorn (.289, 23, 72) **SF SS Rich Aurillia (.290, 17, 63) **SF LF Barry Bonds (.323, 39, 93) HOU LF Lance Berkman (.369, 21, 75) **PIT CF Brian Giles (.298, 19, 75) ATL RF Gary Sheffield (.313, 26, 100) CHN RF Sammy Sosa (.303, 34, 88) **COL RF Larry Walker (.325, 17, 78) AL Pitchers SEA SP Freddy Garcia (16-3, 2.94) OAK SP Mark Mulder (16-5, 2.64) NYY SP Andy Pettite (12-4, 3.34) **BOS SP Pedro Martinez (14-6, 2.62) NYY SP Mike Mussina (15-7, 3.38) OAK SP Barry Zito (12-6, 3.14) DET SP Mike Maroth (11-6, 3.98) SEA MR Arthur Rhodes (2-1, 0.89, 4 sv) NYY CL Mariano Rivera (4-1, 0.74, 33 sv) OAK CL Keith Foulke (4-1, 2.24, 33 sv) AL Hitters OAK C Mitch Meluskey (.313, 7, 56) **NYY C Jorge Posada (.263, 13, 61) **NYY 1B Jason Giambi (.335, 21, 87) TOR 1B Carlos Delgado (.282, 19, 64) **BOS 2B Todd Walker (.305, 9, 59) **MIN 3B Corie Koskie (.330, 7, 63) OAK SS Miguel Tejada (.314, 19, 72) BOS SS Nomar Garciaparra (.332, 14, 71) **TEX SS Alex Rodriguez (.297, 23, 64) **BOS LF Manny Ramirez (.362, 31, 105) **BOS CF Jason Damon (.313, 4, 51) BOS RF Jeremy Giambi (.350, 13, 69) DET RF Dmitri Young (.311, 8, 82) ANA RF Tim Salmon (.282, 22, 74) **CHW RF Magglio Ordonez (.309, 21, 67) Commentary: We got screwed, of course. I wish I wouldn't have simmed right through the entire month, as I think now I would have preferred to have stats at the break, rather than after four months, and I could have taken a look at who was close, but no cigar (Percival and Glaus come immediately to mind...Washburn, too--and that's just on the Angels). The Game Here's are the inning by inning highlights: 1st Inning Perez is excellent to start, getting Damon and Jason Giambi to strike out looking to open the game. Ramirez got a shallow single, before A-Rod grounded out to third. no runs, 1 hit, no errors Martinez has a one-two-three inning, getting Kent to line out, striking Rodriguez out looking, and throwing it by a swinging Helton for out number three. no runs, no hits, no errors National 0, American 0 2nd Inning Perez gets a quick two outs again, getting Ordonez to fly out and striking out Posada swinging. But then he ran into trouble. Koskie singled to center, and then Walker doubled to deep right-center, scoring Koskie. Martinez, the pitcher, then struck out swinging to end the inning. 1 run, 2 hits, no errors Martinez walks Bonds to open the inning. He gets Giles striking out looking, though. With Walker at the plate, Bonds is thrown out attempting to steal by Posada. This is bad news, because Walker proceeds to double to the gap in right-center. Aurillia grounds out to end the threat. no runs, 1 hit, no errors American 1, National 0 3rd Inning Perez got into trouble right away, when he beaned Damon to open the frame. Damon then stole second. Jason Giambi lined out, and then Ramirez grounded out to second, moving Damon to third. Rodriguez squeaked out an infield hit, scoring Damon. Ordonez struck out swinging to end the inning. 1 run, 1 hit, no errors Martinez is just chugging along. He put the NL down 1-2-3 again. Bellhorn grounded out. Perez struck out looking. And Kent struck out swinging. no runs, no hits, no errors American 2, National 0 4th Inning Simontacchi came into the game for Perez. Why didn't they just pinch-hit for Perez? Simontacchi walked Posada, and Koskie got his second hit of the day, a single to left-center, moving Posada to second. He got Walker to ground into a double play, though, and then Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning. no runs, 1 hit, no errors Sigh...Maroth in for Martinez, and another pinch hit opportunity ignored. Maroth ran into immediate trouble, as Pudge Rodriguez doubled down the left field line. Helton flew out to shallow left, but then Bonds doubled down the right field line, scoring Rodriguez. The damage done, Maroth induced groundouts from Giles and Walker. 1 run, 2 hits, no errors American 2, National 1 5th Inning Simontacchi got the NL's first 1-2-3 inning. Damon grounded out to short, Jason Giambi struck out looking and Ramirez flew out to shallow left. mo runs, no hits, no errors Aurillia opened the inning with a single to the left-center gap off of Maroth. The Detroit pitcher erased that with a Bellhorn double play, though. Then Simontacchi grounded out to second. no runs, 1 hit, no errors American 2, National 1 6th Inning Isringhausen replaced his teammate Simontacchi, and the third obvious pinch hit opportunity of the game is lost. ARod flies out to right-center, but Ordonez laces a single to left with one out. Pudge throws Ordonez out trying to steal second, and then Insringhausen got Posada to fly out to right-center to put the AL down. no runs, 1 hit, no errors Foulke replaces Maroth. Foulke proceeds to put up the AL's 3rd 1-2-3 inning. Kent and Pudge watched the ball go by for third strikes, and Helton grounded out to second. no runs, no hits, no errors American 2, National 1 7th Inning Koskie is just hot right now. He gets his third hit of the game with a dribbler down the third base line. Walker then sacrificed him over to second base. Delgado, pinch-hitting for Foulke, lines out to third, getting the NL close to out of it. Isringhausen doesn't play it easy, though, walking Damon to put runners at first and second. Garciaparra bats for Jason Giambi, but he grounds out to second. no runs, 1 hit, no errors Rhodes replaces Foulke on the mound, and Jeremy Giambi replaces his brother at 1B. Bonds deposits a ball into San Francisco Bay behind rightfield to tie it up, much to the excitement of the hometown fans! Rhodes strikes out Giles swinging, but Walker then comes up and singles to right. Sammy Sosa pinch hits for Aurillia, but before he can get the bat on the ball, Walker steals second. Posada's throw goes errant into the outfield, and Walker moves on to third. As it turns out, Sosa never did get the bat on the ball, as he struck out looking. Bagwell was sent up for Bellhorn, and Rhodes grooved another pitch--Bagwell got all of it and powered a two-run homer over the left field wall to give the National League the lead. Pettite replaced Rhodes, and got pinch hitter Piazza (for the pitcher) swinging. 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error National 4, American 2 8th Inning Byrd replaces Isringhausen on the mound. Piazza stays in the game in place of Pudge, and Sosa takes over in right for Walker. Polanco takes over Bellhorn at 3B, and Alomar goes in at SS for Aurillia. Meluskey, pinch-hitting for Ramirez, hits a bouncing comebacker back to Byrd for the first out. Tejada bats for ARod and singles to right. Gagne replaces Byrd. Salmon pinch hits for Ordonez, but he goes down swinging for the second out. Posada then hits a short single to left, moving Tejada to second. Dmitri Young, in for the hot Koskie, grounds out to second to end the threat. They should have left in Koskie. no runs, 2 hits, no errors Meluskey moves into right for Ordonez, and Salmon replaces Ramirez in left. Tejada takes over for ARod at SS, and Young goes to third for Bellhorn. Kent draws a walk from Pettite, and then Gagne sacrifices him over to second. Sheffield pinch hits for Kent, but grounds out to short. Berkman bats for Bonds and draws a walk to put two runners on. Alas, Giles ends the threat with a deep fly to center. no runs, no hits, no errors National 4, American 2 9th Inning Kieschnick replaces Helton at 1B, and Berkman goes to left for Bonds. Gagne gets Walker to ground out to second. Then the Dodger closer blew pitches by Pettite (who should have been pinch hit for--did they have anyone left?) and Damon, both swinging, to end the game. no runs, no hits, no errors Final: National 4, American 2 Hometown star Barry Bonds takes the All Star Game MVP, going 2-for-2, with a run-scoring double and a solo homerun, putting up two ribbies. Isringhausen got the win, and Byrd got a hold and Gagne a save in support. Rhodes earned the loss for giving up the winning rally in the bottom of the seventh. Chief Rum |
The Standings
Game Date: September 1, 2003 (four months into delayed 2003 season) AL West Code:
Oakland didn't put much further distance on Anaheim and Seattle, but then they didn't lose any ground either and a month of baseball has passed. It's beginning to approach panic time for Anaheim and Seattle. The fact that even Texas isn't an easy out doesn't help. AL Central Code:
There are two ways to view this division right now. The first is that this is clearly the worst division in baseball. No other division leader is anywhere near as low as Minnesota. The second way to view this is that it might end up being the most exciting race in baseball. Chicago is finally beginning to play with some skill. Minnesota and Cleveland have been decent all year. Even Detroit isn't out of it. Kansas City is, though. AL East Code:
How's this for excitement? The Yankees were making noises that they could still catch the Red Sox, and here we are, four months into the season, and look who's on top? Both teams are pretty much assured of being in the playoffs, so this is just for pride now--but if you think it means nothing to the fans of these teams, then you have never been to New York or Boston. At one point, Toronto looked like a potential contender, but sadly time has proven otherwise. Baltimore has steadily wavered between Toronto and Tampa Bay all year. The Devil Rays are actually playing a little bit better, not that you would notice. NL West Code:
This division is still one of the tightest and quality-filled divisions in the league, but San Diego and Arizona have largely marched backwards over the past 30 days. The result is that it is now probably a two-team race between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Arizona's drop from just outside of first to last place is rather shocking, even given that last place in thge NL West is not that bad. Colorado is just keeping its place in line. NL Central Code:
Chicago is keeping the hounds off, but just barely. They hold a decent lead, but six games isn't enough just yet. Cincy has done well to stay with them, and St. Louis has played great ball since the first month of the season. They are right there. Houston moved themselves to approaching decent last month, but they unfortunately stayed in place for this last one. Pittsburgh may be overtaken by a Milwaukee team that is playing better now than earlier in the season. NL East Code:
As in the NL Central, this one may not be over yet either. Atlanta has a similarly shaky lead, although they have been playing very well since May. New York and Philly are just outside, and even Florida could make it interesting. Montreal is, of course, pretty much done. AL Wildcard Code:
I put up five teams out of courtesy to my format, but this didn't need more than one entry. I don't exactly take a lot of pride in currently being second int he wildcard either. This is about as sure a thing as you could get, I guess--the loser of the AL East divisional race will be the AL wildcard. Right now, of course, that's Boston. NL Wildcard Code:
Now, this wildcard race is more like it. LA and Cincy are dueling it out on top and for their respective divisions. New York and St. Louis are still very much in range, and Philly right behind them. Seven teams are within 10 games of the wilcrad-leading Dodgers. Chief Rum |
Anaheim The Team
We just can't seem to make any headway on Oakland. We have been way too inconsistent, winning in spurts, but then going through horrible stretches of losses as well, which nearly erase what good we did with the previous victories. We even flirted with .500 again before we reasserted ourselves in the end. The Angels dropped from 10th to 12th in the power rankings this month, but we still have 96 points. We're listed third of three teams with 96 points actually, so I guess we're anywhere from 10th to 12th. The stunning Yankees comeback has them far ahead of everyone else in the power rankings, with 130 points, even if they are just a shade ahead of second place Red Sox in reality. Boston has 116 points, just ahead of Oakland with 115. The NL division leaders hold 4 thru 6, with Atlanta (109) just ahead of Chicago and San Francisco (both 107). Here are where we stand in major categories, with MLB rank in parentheses: Team AVG: .257 (19th) Team HRs: 125 (8th) Team Runs: 546 (15th) We seem to be locked into just a shade over a quarter for our average, but power keeps sooming up. Once in the ranking 20s, we are now in the top ten in power. I thought that it was just Glaus's offensive explosion in July, but no one player can do this--it seems to be a team effort. Correspondingly, our runs scored have inched up and now we're right smack in the middle in the most obviously key offensive stat. Team ERA: 4.16 (11th) Team AVG Allowed .253 (9th) Team Runs Allowed: 492 (5th) After two months of steadily declining pitching numbers, we finally stalled the fall. We didn't exactly climb, but we held up at least. The ERA dropped a couple points, and we went up a ranking spot. Average allowed increased three points, unfortunately, but the ranking drop was mild (just one spot). And in runs allowed, we actually improved significantly, jumping from 7th to 5th (a spot we haven't really held since early in the season). If hitting continues to improve and pitching maintains status quo, maybe we can still make a race out of this thing. Financials Our fan interest has gone down again, one more point, to 89. We are still fourth in FI, though, so relative to the league we seem to have lost little. Further solidifying this point is that we are still selling out our homedates. After 58 games, we stiull haven't had an available seat in the place. We have 2.611 M in season attendance right now, and seem to be on our way to 3.6M+. The only team with higher right now is division rival Oakland, with 2.655. In fact, just two-thirds of the way through the season, we are already just $1.5M or so short of a certain profitable season. Transactions & Injuries Last month, I gave this its own post, but since we are past the trading deadline, this isn't as information filled as in July. Still, there was more action here than in the first two months. First of all, the amazing saga of Darin Erstad's incredible broken finger continues. Erstad broke his finger on July 8 and was expected to miss 7-8 weeks. A few days later, these estimates got bumped back one and two weeks, putting him down for a grand total of 10-11 weeks. Well, the team medical personnel have informed me that the finger is remaining bothersome, and if you can believe it, I received two more emails extending his expected return--once again by a total of three weeks. So now Erstad is likely out for 13-14 weeks total. He is currently listed as being five weeks away from returning, which basically means he comes back for the last 2-3 weeks of the season at best. :( The bad news doesn't end there. The Shawn Wooten at catcher experiment hit a bump in the road, when he went down with a bruised cheekbone in a homeplate collision. The injury, which happened August 16, is expected to put Wooten down for 2-3 weeks. This has left me with some dreadfully poor choices to fill out my lineup. Elpidio Guzman and Jose Molina were supposed to be trying to prove they deserved to be kept on after 2003, and neither were doing particularly well at it. So now I was forced to play them both--regularly. Ouch. Fortunately, Wooten is almost recovered from his injury and should be back a couple games into the September sim. In the meantime, career minor league Larry Barnes was brought up to hold Wooten's spot. He was the choice because he isn't regarded as a player with much future prospects (so a cheap year may be wasted), he was doing well at AAA, and he plays 1B, the position Wooten was serving as a backup to. Chief Rum |
The Major League Squad
THROUGH FOUR MONTHS OF THE 2003 SEASON Rotation Jarrod Washburn (11-8, 3.44) has been amazingly consistent on an otherwise hapless rotation. He hasn't had higher than a 4.00 ERA in any one month yet this season. I hope he keeps it up. John Thomson (5-11, 5.78) has rewarded our decision to pick him up by outpitching everyone buyt Washburn. He had a 3.89 ERA in August, and has lowered his ERA almost a run. John Lackey (7-9, 4.85) rebounded somewhat from his horrible July, and got his ERA below 5.00 again. Still, I expected better from this guy, and he has a long way further to go before my confidence will be restored. Ramon Ortiz (9-9, 5.01) returned to his early season poor form, and posted his third 5.00+ ERA in the past four months. A good July led me to hope he might be on his way back to respectability, but instead he had his worst month yet in August (5.82). Aaron Sele (7-9, 5.21) had his first solid month since his amazing May. But the two months in between were so horrible that it barely makes an impact. Still, it's nice to see him closer to a 5.00 ERA. The Bullpen Troy Percival (2-2, 1.45, 28 sv) was jobbed for an All Star spot. This guy should have been in it. He continues to amaze. Almost as amazing is his setup cohort Francisco Rodriguez (5-2, 1.93). Rodriguez has already racked up 74.1 IP in 53 games, and he has had a sub-1.50 ERA in each of the past two months. Unfortunately, a couple of the Angels' other bullpen aces had pretty bad months. Ben Weber (4-1, 2.61) and Brendan Donnelly (2-0, 2.59) were both well below a 2.00 ERA when August began. They both suffered from 5.00+ ERA's this month. Lou Pote (3-0, 3.48) and new Angel Randy Choate (4-0, 2.94) did a lot to cover up for the August problems of Weber and Donnelly. Scot Shields (0-2, 5.79) surprisingly didn't see any mound time from his mopup spot, so he was unable to improve an ERA that tanked off of one horrible performance in July. Otherwise, he has been pretty solid this year. The Infield Shawn Wooten (.293, 9, 44) seemed to play well at catcher before his injury. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to further evaluate him. So now September will be another test month for him. Jose Molina (.212, 4, 29) returned from DH duties to take over behind the plate after Wooten got hurt. And, believe it or not, he actually had a solid August, at least for what he has put up. He's above the Mendoza line again, and displayed some of the same limited power he showed in May. Just when I was lamenting the team's need for Scott Spiezio (.296, 13, 50) to step it up with power, he has his best overall month. He hit almost half of his HRs, with 6 in August, and he matched his season-high for RBIs in a month with 17. He also hit .326. Troy Glaus (.227, 28, 81), across the way at 3B, wasn't quite the team-lifter he was in July, but he still had his second best month yet of the season, and his average continues to inch its way back up to respectability. He still ranks among league leaders in the power categories. David Eckstein (.254, 5, 32) continues to just hold par. He should be a better hitter than this, and I still hope he can get the average up to the .280-.290 area. He has 19 SB as the Haloes' leadoff hitter. Adam Kennedy (.224, 3, 31) continues to show he shouldn't be in a major league lineup. Were it not for the fact that I don't want to blow a cheap year for Figgins, AK wouldn't even be starting right now. He has two months to turn it around. The Outfield/DH All I wanted Rob Quinlan (.312, 5, 31) to do was play solidly while we wait for Erstad to return. Instead, he is playing himself into a factor on this team and maybe even beyond 2003. If Erstad were back in the lineup tonight, Quinlan would be at DH, no questions asked. It's amazing how quietly Garrett Anderson (.280, 22, 68) sneaks up on you. He had a great August (.311-9-23) to pump his stats back up to near-league-leader status. Another month like this, and he will be up with Glaus in the power numbers, but with average--which is about where a star like GA is supposed to be in the first place. Our lone All Star, Tim Salmon (.282, 22, 74) is to the offense what Washburn is to the rotation. Seriously, you could set a watch to this guy. I'm glad to have him aboard right now, and I really wish he didn't want to have a whole four years in his extension. Thanks to the Wooten and Erstad injuries, DH has been a sore spot in the lineup for most of the past month and even longer. Elpidio Guzman (.253, 3, 9) was splitting time there with Jose Molina, before Molina had to go back to catcher. Since Wooten will be back shortly, these guys will continue to split time at DH while awaiting the eventual move of Quinlan to the spot. Chief Rum |
The Minor Leagues
THROUGH FOUR MONTHS OF THE 2003 SEASON We dropped from the second best farm system to the third, but our points (102) have stayed about the same. Basically, Detroit leaped us to get back into second place with 107. Tampa Bay is still on top with a lower, but still commanding 115 points. It was another busy month of DL, promotion/demotion, and player development in the Angels' minor league system. On the injury front, it was fortunately a good month. We didn't suffer any minor league injuries, and Bobby Jenks and Sal Fasano returned from their injuries during August. So we have a full system once again. Fasano went down to Arkansas to make room for catching prospect Jared Abruzzo. Those matching roster changes were made at the beginning of the month. Abruzzo is notable for having jumped from A to AAA in four months, and three weeks later, he was joined by another. SS Brian Specht made the jump to AAA on August 25, showing another amazing rise through the Angels' system. Two of the Angels' best pitching prospects, Joe Torres and Johan A. Santana, also proved ready to move to AA after being on the fence for a couple months. Santana went up August 18, while Torres was just promoted today. They may soon be joined by top 2003 draft pick David Laboy, who is on the fence for the next step up. At Arkansas, top hitting prospect Casey Kotchman and the just-returned Jenks may also be ready for Salt Lake. There were also two demotions besides Fasano's but neither figures to be too critical. Stoneman recommended I send Barry Wesson down to Rancho Cucamonga because of poor performance, and I myself sent Elvin Nina down to the same club to make room for Torres and Santana in Arkansas's rotation. Since both are career minor leaguers, I don't figure to be hurt by this too much. Maybe their skills have risen, but overall our prospects had a bad month with overall talent development. Jenks suffered a drop in his talent to avoid hits, Jared Mathis's talent in hitting doubles took a hit, and just acquired Yankees prospect pitcher Simeon Pedrosa had a fall in his talent for avoiding homeruns. We did get an increase in Chone Figgins' talent at avoiding strikeouts, though. Here’s a team-by-team look at our minor leagues: Salt Lake Stingers (65-45) Well, the Stingers are certainly playing well, even with a roster constantly in flux for having to support some injury problems at the major league level, and also taking on a bevy of Arkansas talent. Stoneman is still pushing for the major league debuts of SS Alfredo Amezaga, 2B Chone Figgins, RF Michael O'Keefe, and SP Matt Wise. To that list, he has re-added MR Bart Miadich. Amezaga (.304, 2, 35) is playing just well enough for me to consider letting Adam Kennedy go altogether. Benji Gil's removal is all but certain, but I was still considering keeping Kennedy as a backup. If Amezaga keeps it up and AK continues to suck, I may even make the decision to drop AK at the end of the year and use Amezaga as my primary middle infield backup. My only concern in that respect is the possibility that Figgins might not translate well to the major league level. Of course, if Figgins (.328, 2, 55) can't make it as a major leaguer, he sure ain't showing it at Salt Lake. He continues to display a good stroke, great speed (27 SB) and surprising gap power (.864 OPS). O'Keefe (.321, 24, 86) remains a prominent figure among AAA stat leaders this season and is still in line to start in RF for the Angels next year (where hopefully he could be a ROY candidate). Wise (10-5, 3.97) is still biding his time waiting for a shot at the rotation. I will certainly be considering it for next year at the very least. But I have an awful lot of other starting pitchers already on the major league squad that I need to make decisions on first. Miadich (2-3, 4.14, 10 sv) has bounced back from a poor July to put up respectable numbers again. He is also taking a part time role as a closer and is doing decently there. Of course, our major league pen is so deep that your guess is as good as mine for when Miadich will get the chance to move up to Anaheim. The Stingers's roster is full of players with a shot at moving up, or playing their way into a role next year. Even now, Guzman may yet secure a backup outfield spot with the Angels next year, and that would be bad news for Jason Lane (.266, 21, 68) the low-end Astros vet minor leaguer we got in the Schoenweiss deal. Lane and O'Keefe are currently the primary power sourcdes on the Stingers' roster. Fringe prospects with marginal futures at the major league level are still trying to prove their worth. Speedster CF Nathan Haynes (.280, 9, 54) has shown good power and speed (26 SB). He is still considered a possible future starter. The versatile Oscar Salazar (.262, 6, 50) is on course for a future backup spot somewhere. And Matt Whitney (.219, 11, 42), the prospect picked up from the Braves, continues to royally suck for whatever reason. Among the recent promotees, Abruzzo (.242, 2, 16) is off to a rough start as he tries to adjust to AAA pitching. The just promoted Specht (.292, 0, 2) is doing well, but he has just 24 ab so far. How Stoneman can continue to ignore Mickey Callaway (10-2, 2.46), I couldn't tell you. He's performed on par with some of the best pitching prospects in the minor leagues. Steve Green (7-11, 4.48) continues to hover on the edge of respectability. Two of the Angels' recent promotees are filling out the rotation and aiming for Anahaim. Chris Bootcheck (6-0, 3.08) is pitching very well now after a bad start. And Joe Saunders (1-1, 6.46) is still considered to be one of the Angels' top pitching prospects, despite the rough stats. Arkansas Travellers (54-56) If any team has been hurt by the constant demotions and promotions, it is this one. The Travellers have also the bulk of the minor league injuries in the Angels' system as well. Kotchman and Jenks are on the edge to join some of their former Traveller teammates up in Salt Lake, although I'm not sure either truly deserves just yet. Kotchman (.268, 8, 46) seems to be getting worse, and his supposed power has still not come on display. Jenks (2-4, 3.81) has had two injuries this year, including a stint on the DL, and I think he could use more time to. With Wesson (.249, 12, 59) sent down to Rancho Cucamonga and Kotchman basically being punchless, the lone seeming power source on the Travellers is fringe major leaguer Jose Nieves (.268, 16, 54), surprisingly enough. That does not bode well for Arkansas hitters. Dallas McPherson (.229, 5, 18) continues to struggle at AA in his first full month here, and fringe catching prospect Wil Nieves (.245, 8, 33) has yet to impress. Specht and Abruzzo barely stopped for pots of coffee on their way up to Salt Lake in the fast lane. For pitching, former Braves' prospect Chris Waters (7-8, 4.39) is still just getting by at AA. Richard Fischer (4-8, 5.14) may be back from injury, but he isn't really pitching like it. Santana (0-2, 11.00) hasn't done well in his first two starts since he got promoted. And Torres has just arrived to take over the fifth spot. In relief, Derrick Turnbow (1-1, 2.57, 3 sv) lends a steady hand if not a real future as a pro. Second round pick Jake Tetrault (3-5, 6.47, 5 sv) has hit a very bad stretch, and isn't doing well at all. Perhaps the problem is that he is splitting roles between closing and middle relief. Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (63-47) The Quakes' best offensive talents have been stripped of them for the benefit of Arkansas and Salt Lake, but they are still doing very well. We'll see if they can also survive the loss of Torres and Santana to AA, and perhaps Laboy soon as well. The best remaining hitter at Rancho is Jeff Mathis (.291, 11, 58), the only hitter to stay in A all season so far. Mathis, of course, suffered a talent drop this month. Demotee CF and free-agent-to-be Julio Ramirez (.351, 12, 45) continues to crush Single A pitching--too bad he doesn't do this at higher levels. The addition of Wesson should help the offense, even if Wesson won't like it. The three fringe minor leaguers (all 2003 draftees) continue to try to increase their respective worths. Fourth round pick Bennie Brant (.213, 0, 15) made very little progress in August. C Oscar Leon (.172, 0, 11) is still trying to get above .200. And 1B Jason Hartl (.224, 1, 12) seems to be the "best" of the trio. The only thing these guys got going for them is youth, it seems. The strength of the team has been the rotation. Losing Torres (8-10, 4.32) and Santana (4-8, 3.30) doesn't figure to help much, but at least veteran minor leaguer Nina (5-5, 4.57) was added to help out with depth. He should do well against Single A hitters. Top 2003 pick Laboy (7-2, 2.03) continues to amaze, and Stoneman has tabbed him as a possible promotee in the near future. Trade pickup Pedrosa (4-7, 4.94) is still trying to get into a groove (and he isn't being helped at all by losing some talent). In the pen, the Angels' two Single A 2003 draftees are imrpoving a bit. Third rounder Omar Ramirez (4-1, 2.67, 2 sv) has done very well since a bad July. Aurelio Ruiz (4-2, 5.09, 1 sv) may not look so hot, but his numbers after last month were simply atrocious. The Angels' Top 10 Prospect List 1. SP John Lackey-- majors (7-9, 4.85) 2. SP David Laboy-- A (7-2, 2.04) 20th best prospect in MLB 3. SP Joe Saunders-- AAA (1-1, 6.46; 7-5, 2.66 at AA) 70th best prospect in MLB 4. 1B Casey Kotchman-- AA (.268, 8, 46) 12th best prospect in MLB 5. SP Joe Torres-- AA (just promoted; 8-10, 4.32 at A) 29th best prospect in MLB 6. RF Michael O'Keefe-- AAA (.321, 24, 86) 7. C Jared Abruzzo-- AAA (.242, 2, 16; .258, 5, 28 at AA; .270, 6, 18 at A) 59th best prospect in MLB 8. SP Chris Waters-- AA (7-8, 4.39) 9. SP Richard Fischer-- AA (4-8, 5.14) 10. MR Francisco Rodriguez-- majors (5-2, 1.93) (It should be noted that the Top 100 MLB prospects list is compiled by an average scout--Stoneman, who puts together our Top 10 list, is supposed to be better). Other Angels prospects on MLB Top 100 list SP Johan A. Santana-- AA (0-2, 11.00; 4-8, 3.30 at A) 66th best prospect in MLB SP Chris Bootcheck-- AAA (6-0, 3.08; 8-1, 2.06 at AA) 86th best prospect In case you didn't notice, SP Bobby Jenks, formerly the #4 prospect for the Angels, dropped off both the Angels' top list and the MLB Top 100 list for losing some talent in the always critical avoiding hits area. Chief Rum |
Major League News
THROUGH FOUR MONTHS OF THE 2003 SEASON Offensive League Leaders-- American League Boston's Manny Ramirez is apparently doing an on-again, off-again thing, because he took the harsh drop of July (.401 to .352) and used it to motivate him to climb up to a league-leading .362. His teammate Jeremy Giambi is second with a .350 average. They outdistanced the next group by a bit. That group starts off with a couple of Yankees, Jeremy's brother, Jason Giambi at .335, and Bernie Williams at .333. Williams was a regular on these lists until last month, when an injury forced him below the number of plate appearances needed to qualify for the batting title. He has apparently re-qualified. Rounding out a list of Yankees and Red Sox, Boston's Nomar Garciaparra makes his first visit of the year to the top five batters with a .332 average. When you see the AL HR leaders' list, you not only cease to wonder at the Angels' meteroic rise up the power charts, but you even begin to wonder why the heck they aren't higher than eighth. Ramirez leads the way with 31 HR, but Anaheim's Troy Glaus isn't far behind him with 28. No one else is particularly close to these two. A pair of Rangers sit at 23. One is Alex Rodriguez, but you would never guess the other...Carl Everett! Three players sit at 22, including the Angels' Garrett Anderson and Tim Salmon. Ramirez appears inclined to win the Triple Crown with leads like these, and now four months into the season, it's a heck of a lot more legitimate. His 105 RBI are far ahead of anyone else in the AL. Jason Giambi is second with 87. The surprising third place player is Detroit's Dmitri Young, with 82. That puts him just ahead of Glaus at 81. Four players are tied for fifth with a distant 74, including Salmon. Ramirez is going for four! He is almost a full 100 points above the next player, with a 1.150 OPS. That next player is Jason Giambi, with a 1.057 OPS. These two are the only players above 1 OPS. Giambi's brother Jeremy is third with a .998 OPS. He is tied there with Toronto's Carlos Delgado. Offensive League Leaders-- National League Houston's Lance Berkman seemed like a sure thing with his average the past couple months. Not so fast, though. Colorado's Todd Helton leaped past him and then some, moving up to .387. Being so close to .400 four months into the season is remarkable, and brings up memories of Tony Gwynn and Jon Olerud going for it this late in the mid-90s. Still, you have to wonder how legit it would be if Helton hit .400 playing half his games in offense-happy Coors Field. Berkman is second down at .369. These two are far ahead of the pack. Berkman's teammate Jeff Kent is hitting .341, which is good for third. Atlanta's Chipper Jones is fourth at .333, and Helton's Rockies mate Larry Walker is fifth at .325. Is it a real shock to find that the Giants' Barry Bonds and the Cubs' Sammy Sosa are 1-2 in HR? I didn't think so. Bonds has 39, and Sosa, 34. The Dodgers' Shawn Green is another full step back at 29. His heels are dogged by three hitters at 27 HR-- Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr., Philly's Jim Thome, and the Mets' Mike Piazza. The Braves' Gary Sheffield is really producing the runs. He leads the NL with 100 RBI--the only guy in MLB who is within 12 of Ramirez and his incredible season. Bonds and Kent share second with 93. Another pair, Griffey and Sosa, sit at 88. Bonds is still the king of OPS, leading all of the majors with a 1.274 OPS. Helton is second at 1.177, just ahead of his batting title competition, Berkman, at 1.167. No one else is near these three, though. Pitching League Leaders-- American League Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez continues to dazzle, putting up a league-leading 2.62 ERA. And that's not counting the four flawless innings in the All Star game. Oakland's Mark Mulder is right on his ass, though, with a 2.64 ERA. The Mariners' Freddy Garcia is far behind the top two at 2.94, but is a good deal ahead of Mulder's teammate Barry Zito at 3.14. The Yankees' Andy Pettite wraps it up at 3.34. Garcia (16-3) and Mulder (16-5) lead the AL in wins. New York's Mike Mussina is third with 15 wins (15-7). A pair of Boston pitchers fill out the top five in wins with Martinez (14-6) and Derek Lowe (13-5). Martinez is so far ahead of everyone else here, he can barely be seen from the pack. He has reached a solid 200 K just two-thirds of the way throught he season. The Rangers' Chan Ho Park is second with 122, and Mussina is right on his tail with 121. Toronto's Kelvim Escobar has 109, and Garcia is tied with Chicago's Bartolo Colon with 108. New York's Mariano Rivera and Oakland's Keith Foulke both have a league-leading 33 saves. The difference is Rivera's subterranean 0.74 ERA, which makes Foulke's still great 2.24 look positively pedestrian. Boston's Chad Fox has 31 saves. The M's Kazutoshi Sasaki is fourth with 30, and the Angels' own Troy Percival rounds out the top five with 28. Pitching League Leaders-- National League I guess John Smoltz had an off-month--you know, maybe something around a 2.50 ERA? :) He's up to a still league-dominating 1.78 ERA for the Braves. The Dodgers' Odalis Perez should be proud to be within a run of Smoltz, at 2.42. San Diego's Brian Lawrence continues to go on strong at 2.75. A pair of Philly pitchers are witness to their team's returnt o the fringe of NL East playoff possibilities-- Randy Wolf at 2.85, and followed closely by Kevin Millwood with a 2.89 ERA. Smoltz still leads the way with wins (14-1), although he finally picked up a loss along the way. Perez is second with a 13-5 record. No less than six pitchers sit at 12 wins, including Wolf and Lawrence. Arizona may have hit a cold spell,b ut it doesn't seem to be because of their strikeout pitchers. Randy Johnson leads the NL with 188, teammate Curt Schilling is at 163 and third, and former reliever Byung-Hyun Kim is fifth with 146. Interspersed among them is Chicago's Mark Prior, second with 165, and Florida's Josh Beckett, tied with Kim for fifth. But the real shocker is the Reds' Scott Williamson--who is slated to relieve and has been a reliever in real life for some time. Apparently the AI made a change, converted him into a starter like the DBacks did with Kim, and now he's fourth in the league in strikeouts with 148 K. How's this for weird? The leader of the NL is still Mike Remlinger with 28. But he's no longer a Cub--he's now a Dodger! No, there was no trade I didn't announce--this is AI stupidity at its finest. More on that in the transactions section, although I am guessing you can figure it out already. Jason Isringhausen os the Cardinals is second with 27. The Braves' Ray King has 26 saves to nab third, and Florida's Vladimir Nunez is tied at 25 with none other than...the Dodgers' old closer Eric Gagne. I did a little checking just for fun. Gagne IS actually still the Dodgers' closer--and the league-leader in saves, Remlinger, is the primary middle reliever in the pen. LOL! Also for the curious-seekers-- trade deadline acquisition Rudy Seanez is the Cubs' closer now. League Awards AL Player of the Week July 27-August 2-- RF Dmitri Young (DET) August 3-9-- RF Jermaine Dye (OAK) August 10-16-- CF Carl Everett (TEX) August 17-23-- LF Manny Ramirez (BOS) August 24-30-- 1B Doug Mientkiewicz NL Player of the Week July 27-August 2-- CF Brian L. Hunter (HOU) August 3-9-- 1B Jeff Bagwell (HOU) August 10-16-- CF Preston Wilson (COL) August 17-23-- CF Jim Edmonds (STL) August 24-30-- LF Albert Pujols (STL) American League Batter of the Month for August: LF Manny Ramirez (BOS) Ramirez wins his second Batter of the Month award in 2003, with a .398 average, 10 HR and 31 RBI. American League Pitcher of the Month for August: SP Mark Mulder (OAK) Mulder was amazing, winning all five of his decisions, and throwing two shutouts on way to a 1.28 ERA in August. National League Batter of the Month for August: 1B Todd Helton (COL) You can't really blame them for this one. Helton was incredible, and much of August was taken up by his 40-game hitting streak, the longest streak I can remember since Pete Rose got up to 44. Helton hit. 495 for the month! He also hit 4 HR and drove in 28 runs. National League Pitcher of the Month for August: SP Grant Roberts (NYM) Who? Yeah, I don't know either. Probably another one of the Mets' seemingly endless pitching prospects. Anyway, Roberts went 4-0 in six games, and had a ridiculously good 0.89 ERA with a shutout. It would take something like that to finally strip the award from Smoltz, who won the first three this year. Significant Events There was really not that much to say about August outside of Helton's amazing run to a 40-game hitting streak. Okay, I take that back--there wasn't even a hitting streak! :rolleyes: Stupid OOTP5. Yeah, Helton was fantastic in August, but I couldn't help but notice three separate dates suring the streak which had a big fat '0' beside hits for Helton in that game. Even so, the .495 average in a month is still quite worth mentioning. In other news, the Padres' Ryan Klesko set a new single-game NL record for walks with 5 on August 21. But that's nothing. How about this game? The Yankees' Robin Ventura set an AL-single-game record for RBIs with 11 on August 22! He had a grand slam, a three-run homer, and a bases clearing triple by the fifth inning. But it was the bases loaded walk in the eighth that got him the rcord-breaking 11th ribbie. He walked two other times in the game as well, and scored five runs in a 22-5 victory over the Orioles. Two milestones were reached this month. Chicago's Frank Thomas collected his 2000th hit on August 17, and he did it with style. He crushed a three-run homer off of Baltimore's new pitcher Ryan Dempster to do it. Near the end of August, Texas's Rafael Palmeiro finally achieved a milestone held off a bit earlier in the year by injury. He hit homerun number 500 off of Minnesota's Eric Milton on August 27. As the game suggests, it seems very likely Palmeiro will shortly be headed to Cooperstown. Chief Rum |
Major League Transactions
With trades out of the way, I suspect this will be a significantly smaller section. That said, the computer has already shown an amazing ability to pull off incredibly stupid releases, so I wouldn't put it past them to do some more. After all, we already know about Remlinger. Day by Day Transaction List August 10 Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) Cardinals: 1B Tino Martinez Commentary: Yeah, that makes sense. You're trying to make a run to catch the Cubs and Reds, and you decide to just drop a nice solid starter like Martinez (.252, 8, 43). Okay, he isn't going to win MVP, but he's decent and even capable of much better. Why release a full time starter? Releases Cubs: MR Mike Remlinger Dodgers: MR Paul Quantrill Commentary: Next to these deals, the Martinez deal almost makes sense. Remlinger was (and still is) leading the NL in saves with 28. He also has a 2.28 ERA. So releasing him sounds like a great idea. Meanwhile, as if anticipating to make room, the Dodgers release the perfectly serviceable Quantrill (4-3, 4.38, 1 sv). Hmm...what on Earth is the AI thinking?!? August 17 Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) Yankees: SP Roger Clemens Commentary: LMAO! The Rocket got 300 and now he's gone, eh? What really sucks is that he is 8-6, with a 3.30 ERA. I don't care how old you are, that's just a pitcher you don't cut loose. I sure hope Markus fixes this kinda stuff before I got too far into this career, but this sort of thing can absolutely ruin a dynasty like this. Releases Orioles: SP Rick Helling Commentary: I ain't seeing this one either. Sure, Helling isn't doing that great (7-4, 5.09), but he's holding his own at least. Certainly, lowly Baltimore can't do much better at all five rotation spots, can it? August 24 Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) Rangers: Ed Sprague Commentary: Sprague is another example of a release that just isn't too likely. The Rangers are in a tough division and need what help they can get. The real life counterparts wouldn;t freely sacrifice a veteran hitting .275-8-31 in part-time duty. August 31 Signings Dodgers sign MR Mike Remlinger to a one-year, $346K contract. Rewind laugh track (and what's funnier...that he was released, or that it took three weeks for another team to pick him up for a touch over the minimum?) I only wish I hadn't decided to adhere to the rule that I can't go after guys in mid-season that were released against all logic by the faulty AI. Chief Rum |
Injury News
Here were the significant injuries of the fourth month of play. The injury to Wooten is not listed here. August 2 Devil Rays: SP Jorge Sosa ruptured an elbow ligament while pitching and will miss 5 weeks. I'm a little surprised, because that sounds like a lot more serious of an injury than to miss just over a month. Still, maybe this is all a part of Tampa Bay's curse, since Sosa is 2-10 with a 7.80 ERA--they could have used him going away for a lot longer. Rangers: SP Kevin Appier also ruptured an elbow ligmanet while pitching, and also will miss about 5 weeks. HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh man...that's great...(tears in my eyes) August 4 Giants: 3B Edgardo Alfonzo pulled a tricep muscle throwing the ball, and that will shelve him for 6 weeks. Alfonzo (.267, 8, 52) is having a decent year, so you have to figure this hurts the Giants in their tough division matchup with the Dodgers. August 26 Cardinals: SS Edgar Renteria broke his hand after getting hit by a pitch, which will put him down for around 5 weeks. Renteria (.222, 3, 33) is doing amazingly bad for a starter (Adam Kennedy anyone?), so this is probably a wash for the Cards, depending on who they have to replace him. August 27 Red Sox: 1B Kevin Millar pulled his achilles tendon while running the bases, and will miss 3 weeks. Is this what the BoSox fans mean about a curse? Just now, when the Yankees are right on them and even passing them, they lose one of their better power hitters. Millar is putting up .243-13-63. August 31 Cardinals: 2B Fernando Vina is diagnosed with bone chips in his shoulder, and he's out for the season! Ouch...the Red Sox ain't cursed--the Cards' middle infield is! Unlike Renteria, the loss of Vina (.285, 1, 27) will probably sting a little more. Chief Rum |
Simming September
CR |
Great dynasty!!! I love the depth that you're putting in to it! Keep it up!:)
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Hey, thanks, tucker. I always encourage the readers to speak up and let me know how I am doing. What they like and what they don't like. I'm not above tailoring my dynasty to the readers' needs. :)
I'm glad you enjoy the depth. My purpose is to immerse the reader in the baseball and Angels' world, with the hopes you might actually begin to care about these guys. :) Keep reading. Chief Rum |
The Standings
Game Date: October 1, 2003 (one month left in the delayed 2003 season) AL West Code:
Unfortunately, the Angels did not have a great September, faltering again with their consistency. This has essentially taken them out of the AL West race, which of course also means they will be out of the playoffs altogether. Oakland actually didn't play well either, allowing the Angels to stay back about the same amount of games (10.5 to 11), but another month turns off the calendar. Seattle took advantage of Oakland's bad turn to pass up the Angels and even move within distant striking distance of the A's. Oakland still has a nice lead with just a month left, but it's a little less certain now. The best team in the division last month was Texas, of all teams. They are now just behind us, and all four teams in the division are at .500 or above. It's sad to say that not only are we virtually elminated from the playoffs, but we may end up in last place! AL Central Code:
This remains one of the more exciting races in baseball right now. Cleveland has moved ahead a little, taking over for Minnesota again, but the Twins are right behind them. Chicago remains in third and just outside. Detroiut is keeping pace with the leaders now, but they aren't moving any closer, so they are as good as done. Kansas City was passed last month by Tampa Bay, and is now the worst team in baseball. AL East Code:
The back-and-forth race between bitter rivals Boston and New York continues. Boston has retaken first and have a slight lead on the Yanks. By record, these two teams are the best in baseball. Toronto continues to stick around .500, which, of course, gets them nothing in this division. Baltimore and Tampa Bay are just playing out the string. NL West Code:
The Dodgers have opened a slight lead, but this one is far from over. Not only is San Francisco just behind them, but what had been a two-horse race has become a little more than that, with Colorado playing well and closing in. Even San Diego made gains on the leaders and is not out of it. The only team seemingly not doing anything is mystifying Arizona, which entered the season as one of baseball's best teams. NL Central Code:
Despite odd moves like releasing Remlinger, the Cubs are still atop the division. The difference, though, is that the Reds and Cards have now nearly halved the distance to the division-leaders, and this is one of the best races in the league now. The other half of the division is similarly pathetic. They are just trying not to end up last, I'm sure. NL East Code:
Last month, the Braves had opened up a little lead, but it seemed likely the pack of NL East teams might bring them back. That has not turned out to be the case, as Atlanta has even managed to extend its lead a little. While it's far from over, the Braves are sitting on the most secure lead in the National League now. New York and Philly are playing solid ball, but they just haven't bumped it up to the level needed to reach Atlanta. Florida is right behind them, but probably too far out. And, believe it or not, Montreal hasn't played bad recently, and is one of the better last place teams in baseball. AL Wildcard Code:
Once again, I mostly put this up for posterity. This has been in the hands of the AL East and decided for a couple months now. It should be noted that Seattle's hot run has actually put a small dent in the Yankees' lead, but too little, too late. It's too bad that third place in the AL wildcard doesn't mean anything, because it would have been fun to see five teams within three games of each other competing for the right to be third. NL Wildcard Code:
Now for the most exciting rave in baseball--or the race to most mediocre. Cincy and St. Louis are right there for the NL Central division title, but right nwo they are also dueling each other for the wildcard. The Giants are as close to the wildcard as they are the NL West division lead. And a group of five other teams are within 10 games of the wildcard spot. This race is going to bear a lot of watching. Chief Rum |
Anaheim The Team
Well, this month was pretty bad for us. It wasn't really our record--we were only three games below .500, after all--but the fact that we had a chance to stay in it like the M's did, and we blew it. And now we're flirting with .500 and last place. That's just not what I envisioned for the ballclub this year. Of course, everything is relative, considering we are still ahead of most AL teams, and we are above .500 after all. I just think we're better than that. In the power rankings, we seemed to revolve around 12th and 18th (usually closer to 18th). We're right in the middle now, at 15th, with 92 points. Boston is back on top of the rankings with 126 points and the rival Yanks are just behind them at 122. The Cubs are still trying to put the naysayers to bed, and having the NL's best record is helping to do that. They are third with 108 points. One of the Cubs' closest competitors in the NL Central, St. Louis, is 4th with 105 points, and faltering AL West division-leading Oakland is 5th with 103 points. Here are where we stand in major categories, with MLB rank in parentheses: Team AVG: .257 (18th) Team HR: 151 (t-9th) Team Runs 653 (18th) The average is the same, but we bumped a spot as someone else passed us on the way down. Still, the real life Angels led the league last year in average, so this is pretty disappointing. Our power numbers faltered a little, but we're still solid there. The real problem was just in simply producing runs, where we dropped from a right-smack-in-the-middle 15th to 18th--closer to where we were when we were slumping offensively at the beginning of the season. Team ERA: 4.18 (11th) Team AVG Allowed: .255 (10th) Team Runs Allowed: 607 (6th) Overall, the pitching numbers fell a bit. We added a couple points in ERA, which is relatively small, but we also had added two points to the average allowed, which is more significant. Our runs allowed rose from 5th in MLB to 6th. So combining that with our offensive slump, you can see why we had a sub-.500 record i September. Financials This is where we took a hit. Before, we were skirting the edge of first and staying close enough to not see a huge drop. Well, our bad September apparently opened the eyes of our fans and we took a much more precipitous drop in fan interest, down to 83. This also drops us down to 7th in the MLB. Our string of sold out homedates also ended. We're still drawing 40,000 plus, but not every seat is filled anymore. I suspect this will drop even further this month, even if we put in a good month. We are just too far out of first to reverse what has started. We are still second in attendance, so don't entirely buy the woe is me bit. We have already assured ourselves of a profit this year--every cent gained the rest of the way goes into the team's coffers. And we have almost reached 3 M fans, an incredible achievement for us. Transactions & Injuries We went back to a quiet month in this area. Shawn Wooten returned to the lineup a couple days after the month began, and Darin Erstad remains on the DL (but will return inside of a week, God willing). Since the game doesn't realize that I have simply added another month of play after September, they expanded to 40-man rosters. The result of this is that I don't have to send Larry Barnes down to make room for Wooten. I like that, since Wooten was the backup 1B, and I want him more rested playing catcher. Now Barnes can spell Scott Spiezio if needed. I didn't bring anyone else up, although I thought about it. In the end, it came down to either relatively worthless minor league vets who wouldn't make an impact with us, or prospects I didn't want to waste the year on. Chief Rum |
Great job, Chief. I was worried when the Yankees passed my Sox in the standing. But when I saw your last update I see my Sox back on top. Hopefully to stay. I really enjoy your depth with your Angels and the rest of the league.
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The Major League Squad
THROUGH FIVE MONTHS OF THE 2003 SEASON The Rotation I knew even as I wrote about Jarrod Washburn's consistency last time that I was jinxing him. Sure enough, he had his worst month of the year, with a 4.63 ERA. Still, Washburn (13-10, 3.64) is having a fine year and remains the best pitcher on staff. John Thomson (6-13, 5.33) still has the worst ERA of the five starters, but that just doesn't properly state how he's done. Remember, he had a 6.38 ERA when he was traded to the Angels. He has now put up a sub-4.00 ERA two months in a row. Aaron Sele (10-11, 4.92) had his second straight solid month and has gotten his ERA below 5.00 on the season. John Lackey (9-10, 4.82) still isn't dominating like he think he can and one day will, but he didn't hurt himself too much this month, also putting up a sub-5.00 ERA. But he didn't do it by too much. The real disappointment is Ramon Ortiz (9-13, 5.15), who had his fourth 5.00+ ERA in five months. I am giving serious consideration to allowing Wise to take Ortiz's spots for the rest of the month. The Bullpen Troy Percival (4-3, 1.38, 30 sv) continues to be dominant. What was disappointing was that he only got three save opportunities in September, and he blew one of them. So it wasn't exactly a banner month for Percy or the Angels. Francisco Rodriguez (5-3, 2.31) wasn't as untouchable as he was in July and August, but he still did pretty damn good. Brendan Donnelly (2-1, 2.36) rebounded from a bad August to be untouchable again in September. Randy Choate (5-0, 3.18), Lou Pote (3-0, 3.78), and Ben Weber (4-1, 3.72) all struggled this month. For Weber, usually one of the more reliable relievers, this is two straight very poor months. I am guessing that the struggles of these three guys and K-Rod's slightly more touchable stats were a big part of why leads didn't survuve to reach Percival this month. Mop up reliever Scot Shields (0-2, 5.28) did actually get in a game last month, but he didn't pitch enough to fix his ERA. The Infield Shawn Wooten (.303, 12, 58) returned from his minor injury to become a steady bat in the #2 spot of the lineup. He is exactly as expected--a nice hitting catcher with little to no actual catching ability, it seems. Still, he seems to be about as good as the Molina brothers behind the plate, and he's a heck of a lot better with a bat in his hand. Scott Spiezio (.277, 16, 57) still has good looking numbers, but he had an awful September, easily his worst month of the season. He hit just .192, although he did hit 3 HR. Troy Glaus (.231, 35, 100) enjoyed a virtual carbon copy of his August, producing power aplenty and increasing his average by a few points. David Eckstein (.26, 5, 40) is doing his damndest to get down to the level of his doubleplay partner. In Eckstein's defense, he was limited by a day-to-day injury from late August through most of September. So I hope we will see his average climb to a more appropriate level. Meanwhile, Adam Kennedy (.218, 3, 35) continues to chug along, making doing badly with consistency an utter art form. The Outfield/DH Garrett Anderson (.292, 25, 77) had an interesting month. He was actually red hot, hitting .348 for the month. But he displayed his worst power numbers since May, hitting just 3 HR and driving in 8 RBI. This is after three straight months in which he never hit less than 6 HR, no4 drove in less than 16 runs. Robb Quinlan (.303, 11, 47) is really hitting his groove, now that he knows he'll be up for the rest of this year and probably next year as well. Had he been brought up earlier, he might be a candidate for ROY. Heck, whatd o I know? He might be considered anyway. In any case, he had his most HR this past month with 6. Tim Salmon (.277, 23, 79), like several other Angels, had his worst month, although it shows what level he has been playing it when you realize he stiull hit .250. His truly bad performance was in producing power, where he and GA must have been quite a punchless pair. He had just 1 HR and 5 RBI. Jose Molina (.226, 7, 42) may be playing his way into a backup spot on next year's team with his second straight solid month. No, he'll never fool anyone that he's Woten at the plate, but he is suppsoedly not without some talent--and I'm pretty sure I'll need to keep at least one of the Molina brothers as a backup catcher. Chief Rum |
Thanks, DolphinFan. Yeah, it has been staying tight on top of the AL East. No matter how it ends up, though, you guys are going to the playoffs. I mean, you haven't clinched a spot yet, but you might as well have.
Keep reading. Chief Rum |
The Minor Leagues
THROUGH FIVE MONTHS OF THE 2003 SEASON While we struggled at the major league level, the minor leagues seem to be coming along fine. Detroit had passed us up last month in the rankings and dropped us to third, but then they dropped again and hard. Technically, the whole list seems to have taken a step backwards, but some dropped further than others. So now we have the second best farm system once again. Like I said, there seemed to be an overall drop in the farm system points. Tampa Bay, still tops for farm systems, dropped from 118 points to 113. Despite moving up to second, we dropped from 103 points to 100. And Detroit went from second and 107 points to all the way down at 89 points. San Francisco (88) and Philadelphia (84) rounded out the top five farm systems. We signed three new prospects that were oddly dropped by other teams. None of them are elite prospects, but they lend further depth at least. SP Matt Bruback is a 24-year-old 2.5-star talent at the Double A level. Enrique Cruz is also a 2.5-star talent, plays 2B and is at AAA. SP Dennis Ulacia is a 22-year-old, 2-star talent currently at AAA. Bruback was released by the Cubs, Cruz by the Brewers, and Ulacia by the White Sox. We did get one bit of huge bad news, though. SP Mickey Callaway (10-2, 2.52 at AAA) tore a tricep muscle while pitching, and the devastating injury has apparently ended his career. :( No, Callaway had an iffy future, what with being 28 and a 1-star talent, but the guy was just putting up some phenomenal pitching numbers. I really wanted to give the guy a shot at the bigs, at least maybe out of the pen, and see how he does. But now I'll never know what I lost. Callaway is on the DL right now, but I suspect he will retire at the end of the year. Single A CF Julio Ramirez suffered a broken league as well, putting him out for five weeks near the end of September. Since that should take him to the end of the season, and he is a free-agent-to-be (at least once I release him), he has probably batted his last with the Angels and their affiliates. There wasn't much in the way of promotions. Elvin Nina lit it up at Rancho Cucamonga, and Stoneman suggested I bring him back up to AA. Of course, Nina, a fringe major leaguer, can perform to an extent on all three minor league levels. Anyway, I decided "why not?" and moved him back to AA. There's no room in the rotation, so I stuck him in middle relief and mop up work. Here’s a team-by-team look at our minor leagues: Salt Lake Stingers (80-55) Wow, we're the Yankees of AAA! Well, it seems like it anyway. Stoneman still has five players listed for possible promotion, although he has dropped his interest in Bart Miadich for Steve Green, another pitcher he was propping earlier in the season. I wonder on what these decisions are based? There must be some consistency to it, since the other four (Chone Figgins, Alfredo Amezaga, Michael O'Keefe, Matt Wise) are all the same as in previous months. It's just a lot of fun to see how Figgins (.318, 3, 63) is doing. He has 162 hits, 40 doubles, 12 triples and 35 SB. He has an .846 OPS. I can't wait to give him a shot in the bigs. I am, of course, as excited about O'Keefe (.337, 32, 113) as I am Figgins. O'Keefe is one of the most dominating hitters in minor league ball. But that's old news--I have been giving O'Keefe props all season. Amezaga (.295, 2, 41) and Wise (13-6, 4.11) continue to position themselves for future careers with the Angels. Wise's career just might start today (I haven't decided yet). Green (9-11, 4.28) is back on Stoneman's good side, but his stats have stayed relatively the same the entire time. To be honest, Miadich (3-4, 4.60, 12 sv) hasn't changed much either statistically. Recent AA promotees Brian Specht (.288, 4, 16) and Jared Abruzzo (.276, 4, 27) seem to be settling in better at the AAA level. They will probably be on Stoneman's list next year. Nathan Haynes (.281, 13, 71) is beginning to look like he's about to turn this into a productive season, but Oscar Salazar (.255, 6, 55) seems to have regressed a little. The surprise of the month, though, is Matt Whitney's return to prominence after a seeming year of malingering. He used a hot month to get to .251-18-61. Pitching-wise, with Callaway done and Wise and Green already covered, there is little else to talk about except for recent promotees Chris Bootcheck (8-1, 3.25) and #3 prospect Joe Saunders (4-2, 5.31). Obviously, Bootcheck is handling the transition a bit better than Saunders. Arkansas Travellers (66-69) The Travellers seem to be walking in place, as they always seem to be just a game or two below .500. Stoneman is still pushing Bobby Jenks and Casey Kotchman as soon-to-be AAA players, but he hasn't given the full green light yet. He is also, of course, noting that Nina can play at AAA, mimicking what he said about Nina and AA when I had him down at Rancho. Jenks (4-6, 3.78) seems to be pitching better and better as the months go by, and I anticipate he will indeed be in Salt Lake soon. Kotchman (.263, 9, 52) is still doing poorer than I think he should, given his talent, no matter what Stoneman thinks about a potential move up to AAA. I hope he's one of those oddities that actually gets better as he moves up, because right now, I don't really have a lot of confidence in my top hitting prospect. Dallas McPherson (.239, 7, 27) is the only other hitter really worthy of note (read: has a future), and he's still coming around since his promotion from Rancho. We do still have some vets around, like Sal Fasano (.261, 17, 38), Wil Nieves (.246, 8, 42) and Jose Nieves (.269, 18, 64). Pitching remains the key in Arkansas. Just about every major pitching prospect in the Angels' system has seen time at Arkansas this year. Chris Waters (9-9, 4.17) has been here all year and finally seems to be improving. No such like with Richard Fischer (4-11, 6.07), whose troubles are just mystifying. Johan A. Santana (2-4, 5.70) and Joe Torres (2-1, 5.06) are still learning how to pitch to AA hitters, but they'll get there. Heck, they're already doing better than Fischer. In the pen, Jeremy Tetrault (4-7, 5.56, 9 sv) is still trying to get back into form after a bad July knocked him off course. His partner Derrick Turnbow (2-2, 3.05, 4 sv), however, continues to impress. Nina, Bruback and Ulacia are also now around to help out, so Arkansas has pretty much a full staff in place. Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (76-59) The Quakes are doing a much more effetcive job of imitating Salt lake than Arkansas is. Stoneman is still hinting that first round pick David Laboy is nearing readiness for AA, and to that list he has added third round pick Omar Ramirez. Both pitchers are doing extremely well in their parts of the staff. Laboy (10-2, 2.17) has simply been dominant since joining the Quakes. The Angels #2 prospect will probably be in Salt Lake by midseason next year the way he's doing right now. Ramirez (4-3, 2.61, 3 sv) is the leader of the pen, and looks to be a fine reliever. Jeff Mathis (.301, 14, 69) really has turned it on and is now having a very solid season. He is the lone remaining starter on the Quakes from the beginning of the season. Ramirez (.352, 13, 54) may be done for the year and as an Angel, but another vet minor leaguer Barry Wesson (.389, 7, 30) is just killing the ball right now, much like he was at the beginning of the season in Arkansas. Will he cool off here, too? It's hard to say if the Mediocre Three hitters are actually getting better or if they are re-asserting their natural skills. But for what it's worth, these guys did improve a touch--not much, but a little. Bennie Brant (.208, 2, 20), the Angels fourth round pick, is hitting for a little more power. Oscar Leon (.207, 0, 26) enjoyed a fine September, getting above the Mendoza line and more than doubling his RBI production. Jason Hartl (.236, 1, 19) was doing the best of the three, and continues to do so, inching his average up toward respectability. With Santana, Torres and Nina all at Arkansas, Laboy has been going it with only one other legit member of the rotation: former Yankee farmhand Simeon Pedrosa (6-10, 4.97) is still trying to find his form in pro ball, but he seems to be getting better. Fifth round pick MR Aurelio Ruiz (4-3, 4.96) is also seeing some improvement in his numbers. The Angels' Top 10 Prospect List 1. SP John Lackey-- majors (9-10, 4.82) 2. SP David Laboy-- A (10-2, 2.17) 20th best prospect in MLB 3. SP Joe Saunders-- AAA (4-2, 5.31; 7-5, 2.66 at AA) 65th best prospect in MLB 4. 1B Casey Kotchman-- AA (.263, 9, 52) 15th best prospect in MLB 5. SP Joe Torres-- AA (2-1, 5.06; 8-10, 4.32 at A) 32nd best prospect in MLB 6. RF Michael O'Keefe-- AAA (.337, 32, 113) 7. C Jared Abruzzo-- AAA (.276, 4, 27; .258, 5, 28 at AA; .270, 6, 18 at A) 56th best prospect in MLB 8. SP Chris Waters-- AA (9-9, 4.17) 9. SP Richard Fischer-- AA (4-11, 6.07) 10. SP Bobby Jenks-- AA (4-6, 3.78) (It should be noted that the Top 100 MLB prospects list is compiled by an average scout--Stoneman, who puts together our Top 10 list, is supposed to be better). Other Angels prospects on MLB Top 100 list SP Johan A. Santana-- AA (2-4, 5.70; 4-8, 3.30 at A) 67th best prospect in MLB SP Chris Bootcheck-- AAA (8-1, 3.25; 8-1, 2.06 at AA) 86th best prospect in MLB Chief Rum |
Major League News
THROUGH THE FIVE MONTHS OF THE 2003 SEASON Here we are. Five months into the season means we're coming down the homestretch, and the guys near the top are probably having the best seasons of anyone in the league. Offensive League Leaders-- American League Boston's amazing Manny Ramirez decided he didn't want to do the on-again, off-again thing, so he remained "on" this month. The result? A commanding lead in the AL batting race. He is on top at .354. It's actually stunning how far ahead of the rest he is. The Yankees' Bernie Williams is a very distant second at .332. A pair of Ramirez's teammates--Jeremy Giambi and Nomar Garciaparra share third at .329. A little bit behind them is Minnesota's Corie Koskie, who has flirted with the edge of the list all season. Ramirez led all four major categories listed here, and he may be approaching the amazing feat of a Triple Crown--which hasn't been achieved since past Sox great Carl Yasztremski did it in 1967. Ramirez still leads in HRs with 39, although his lead doesn't feel as safe as AVG is. Our own Angels' Troy Glaus remains his primary contender for the power prize, with 35 HR. Texas's Alex Rodriguez is the only other player within 10 of Ramirez, at 31. Toronto's Josh Phelps sits at 27, and three players are tied at 26-- ARod's teammates Carl Everett and Juan Gonzalez, and Chicago slugger Magglio Ordonez. Checkmate. Ramirez has 122 RBI-- and he's pulling away. The Yanks' Jason Giambi is way back at 102, and Glaus is right behind him at 100. The Tigers' Dmitri Young continues his fine year with 98, and new face Erubiel Durazo checks in with 93 for the A's. Well, Ramirez only needs the first three to secure a Triple Crown, but what the hell! :) Ramirez is way in the lead here, too. This is amazing-- how can one player so easily dominate a league? I am reminded of Barry Bond's dominance in recent years. Nothing else really approaches it. Ramirez is at 1.146 to lead the AL in OPS. Toronto's Carlos Delgado and Jason Giambi are the only two others above 1 OPS, and that just barely (1.004 and 1.001 respectively). ARod leads those in the triple numbers, with .978. Offensive League Leaders-- National League Wow, could we see a Triple Crown and a .400 season in the same year? Even tainted by Coors Field, how can you ignore the significance of the Rockies' Todd Helton sitting at .379 with a month to play? He's just a fine month away from a possible .400 average. Not surprisingly, he is way, way ahead of everyone else. Houston's Lance Berkman is second down at .339, where he is tied by teammate Jeff Kent. Another Rocky, Larry Walker, sits right behind them at .338, and the Braves' Chipper Jones is fifth, down a little further at .329. Bonds may not be heading for a Triple Crown or a .400 season, but I doubt anyone is climbing. He is far ahead in the major league lead for HRs with 49. His and McGwire's duelling buddy, the Cubs' Sammy Sosa sits at second with 41 HR. The Reds' Ken Griffey Jr. has been proving all season long that his career of dominating isn't quite over yet. He is third with 36. Philadelphia's big offseason signing Jim Thome is next with 35, and the Dodgers' Shawn Green sits at 34. Now for a rave where the winner isn't already decided. Once again, Bonds leads the way with 117 RBI, but he has some company. Griffey Jr. has 115, the Braves' Gary Sheffield--the RBI leader after August-- has 112, and Kent is fourth with 110. You have to think that any of the four can end up on top with a good month. You'll never guess who shares fifth place with Sosa at 106. That's right, the Rockies' Charles Johnson?!? I don't need to go into too much depth here. We all know who leads. Bonds is at 1.280, in traditional dominating fashion. The amazing Helton is second at 1.149. Another big drop brings us to Sosa (1.069) and Berkman (1.068). Pitching League Leaders-- American League Last month, Pedro Martinez almost seemed human, rising up to 2.62 in ERA and almost allowing himself to get caught from behind. But, hey, he wouldn't be Pedro if he wasn't a little bit of a tease, right? The Boston ace stepped it up again, and now he's back in commanding lead with a 2.32 ERA. Mark Mulder of the A's-- the other contender-- sits at 2.62, Martinez's old ERA. The Mariners' Freddy Garcia hasn't budged one bit, still sitting at third with a 2.94 ERA, and Mulder's teammate Barry Zito also hardly moved, jumping up just two points while retaining fourth with a 3.12 ERA. Far back of Zito, Chicago's Mark Buehrle is at 3.41-- and even he's ahead of the pack by a bit. Garcia's got Pedro's number for wins, though. The Seattle ace leads the league in wins at an incredible 21-4. Mulder (19-7) and Martinez (19-6) share second. Gee, any guess who the top three pitchers in the league are? :) The Yankees' Mike Mussina, himself flirting with the leaders all year long, is a close fourth at 18-8. Behind the top guys a bit, Pedro's teammate Derek Lowe (15-6) and Moose's teammate Jeff Weaver (15-8) are tied for fifth. Martinez could get a Triple Crown of his own if he can catch Garcia for the wins lead. He has no worries here. He's almost 100 up on the next guy with 240 K. Chicago's Bartolo Colon is that guy, with 148. Garcia and Texas's Chan Ho Park are third with 144 K. Mussina brings up the rear with 140. The Yanks' Mariano Rivera and Oakland's Keith Foulke have been duking it out for the saves lead since July. They are still knotted up at 39. They better be careful to keep it up, though--the Mariners' Kazutoshi Sasaki is just behind them with 38, and Boston's Chad Fox is just another step back at 37. More distantly, Baltimore's surprising Buddy Groom sits at fifth with 32. Pitching League Leaders-- National League The Braves' John Smoltz reasserted himself after an "off month" in August, and is still putting up an amazing 1.63 ERA. Let's face it-- this might be the most dominating performance by a National league starting pitcher since Bob Gibson's incredible 1968 season (when he had a major league record 1.12 ERA from a higher mound). You have to give some credit to Odalis Perez of LA for keeping up the pressure. He's at a just as dominating 2.03 ERA. Far, far below the clouds holding Smoltz and Perez, Philly's Kevin Millwood heads the rest of the pack with a 3.01 ERA. The Cards' Matt Morris in next with a 3.07 ERA, and the Padres' stunning Brian Lawrence has a 3.09 figure. Perez and Smoltz are also duelling for wins, but this time, Perez (18-5) has the edge over Smoltz (17-1). Four players are tied at 14, including Morris and Lawrence. The strikeout list remains the same and in the same order--including the three DBacks' hurlers. The Big Unit, Randy Johnson is on top with 224. The Cubs' young flamethrower Mark Prior is next with 210, and Johnson's cohort in Arizona, Curt Schilling is the third NL pitcher above 200 K, with 201. That group will soon be joined the Reds' Scott Williamson, fourth with 199, and the Diamondbacks' Byung-hyun Kim wraps up the Arizona power trio with a fifth-place 179 K. Now that former saves leader Mike Remlinger has been reduced to a middle relief role for the Dodgers, his former division rival, the Cards' Jason Isringhausen has taken the save lead with 33. Remlinger's new teammate Eric Gagne is tied with Florida's Vladimir Nunez for second with a close-behind 32. Atlanta's Ray King is tied for fourth with 30, but I'm pretty sure you won't get the other guy--Milwaukee's Jayson Durocher. Man, he must have saved ALL of their wins! League Awards AL Player of the Week August 31-September 6-- LF Shannon Stewart (TOR) September 7-13-- SS Alez Rodriguez (TEX) September 14-20-- SP Jose Contreras (NYY) September 21-27-- DH Josh Phelps (TOR) NL Player of the Week August 31-September 6-- RF Sammy Sosa (CHC) September 7-13-- RF Larry Walker (COL) September 14-20-- 1B Jeff Bagwell September 21-27-- LF Moises Alou American League Batter of the Month for September: SS Alex Rodriguez (TEX) No offense to A-Rod, but .297-8-24 is really not that great a month. It looks like it was a poor one for the league in terms of individual dominance. Or the POW logic is screwed up (fifty-fifty shot). American League Pitcher of the Month for September: SP Jose Contreras (NYY) It shouldn't be a surprise that this guy would win it, after becoming the first pitcher on the year to win the POW award this past month. The Cuban "rookie" went 5-0, with a 0.91 ERA and 1 shutout. National League Batter of the Month for September: LF Luis Gonzalez (ARI) .407-7-19. Now that's more like it. Sure ARod's power numbers are slightly better, but hitting .400 in a month is an accomplishment (which is why Helton's year-long flirtation is so incredible). National League Pitcher of the Month for September: SP Odalis Perez (LA) It seems fitting that Perez should finally win this award. He was also 5-0, but with an incredible 0.62 ERA. Significant Events Whereas August was relatively boring, September had a lot of major events going for it. There were two huge items of note. One was the arrival of an anticipated future star in Colorado's Jeff Francis. The powerful southpaw ace-to-be announced his arrival with, of all things, a NO HITTER in just the second start of his career! Francis no-hit the Pirates on Sept. 26, struck out 9 batters, walked just 2, and even got his first hit as a batter, in a 13-0 blowout. I suppose Colorado shouldn't have blown a cheap year by bringing him up this late in the season, but, wow, how can you pass up on this? The second happened on Sept. 18 in Cincy-- and was considered by some to be long, long overdue. Griffey Jr., once on the fast track to catch Hank Aaron's career homerun record of 755, finally collected his 500th dinger, jolting a solo shot off of the Mets' Al Leiter. A couple other milestones were reached this month. Walker got his 2000th hit on Sept. 7, smacking a double off of the Brewers' Dave Pember. And on Sept. 7, Arizona's Mark Grace got his 2500th hit, a single off of Houston's ace Roy Oswalt. Try this one for incredible-- the greatest debut in baseball history? Now, not Francis. He missed it by a game. No, I'm talking about Boston's hot catching prospect Steve Lomasney. He did nothing short of hitting a cycle in his first ever game on Sept. 24, a 21-1 rout of the hapless Royals. He got 5 hits altogether, adding a second HR for emphasis. He also scored 5 times and drove in 7 runs. The funniest thing about it? Boston has yet to play him again! Lomasney's wasn't the only cycle of the month, though. Chicago's veteran backup outfield Armando Rios was getting some more starts in September, and he made the most of it. He also hit for the cycle, this one coming on Sept. 28 against Detroit, in a 9-6 White Sox victory. He didn't have as dominating a day as Lomasney, though (4 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBI), but who in Chicago is complaining? I have been remiss in not closely following the career leader boards. I mistakenly assumed I would get notices as the higher up guys passed up notables on the career lists. So it was not too obvious until I just looked right now that Bonds just passed his longtime idol Willie Mays in career HR. Bonds now has 662, to Mays' 660. Sosa is up to 540 now, and his 500th of his career seems like a distant memory rather than just the first homerun of the year this year. He has passed several Hall of Famers, and now sits between Mick and Mike-- Mantle at 536, and Schmidt at 549. Griffey has padded his homerun totals a little and actually moved past Rafael Palmeiro, who hit his 500th homerun late last month. Griffey is now tied with Eddie Murray at 504, and Palmeiro has 503. Another to keep an eye on-- the Dodgers' Fred McGriff is at 490 right now, although he's going to need a very good October to make it happen this year. Back to Bonds. Barry is still a bit behind Rickey Henderson in walks, but he did just move past Babe Ruth for second on the list. He now as 2067, eclipsing Ruth's 2062 career free passes. Henderson, who actually is still playing, is up at 2179 walks. You will recall that Roger Clemens got his 300th win--he is now at 301 (and staying, since no one has signed him since he was released by the Yanks). The Braves' Greg Maddux, in the midst of another one of his usual fine years, has 287 wins, and will probably break 300 next year. Strikeouts features two great chases, both of which can happen this month, although one is currently and pathetically derailed. Johnson is fast approaching 4000 K. He is at 3970 K for his career, and 30 more fans in 5 or 6 more starts should be a cinch for the powerful and gangly lefty. The sad story is back on Clemens though. He got 300, but he hasn't gotten 4000 yet. He sits at 3982, and I am certain if someone were to sign him right now, he would get to that number this year as well. But I fear no one will do so (stupid AI), and The Rocket may indeed walk into the sunset at the end of the year just short of this great achievement that no one else but Ryan and Carlton (and soon Johnson) have achieved. I had resolved to not sign the players that were ridiculously released by their teams, for fear I was benefiting from pure AI stupidity. That said, I am now out of the race (essentially) and can only sign free agents to contracts for the length of this remaining season. So I am considering forgoing my own little rule, and signing Clemens to give him those starts he needs to accomplish this great feat. I haven't checked what he wants, nor have I really decided yet to do this-- but I am giving it serious consideration. 18 strikeouts--that's all he needs! Chief Rum |
Do it. The point of the rule as I understand it is to prevent you from exploiting the AI's poor decisions for your own benefit. This would be for Clemens' benefit.
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I agree with Katon. You said you are already out of the playoff race so you wouldn't be taking advantage of the AI to win anything. Also I think someone else would have already signed him by now and it's clear no one will. IMO.
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Go for it. If you can help Clemens add another accolade to his career, and it's not going to help you, then there's nothing wrong with signing him.
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go for it. If it won't get you into the playoffs, than you might as well
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Thanks for the support and suggestions, guys.
It wasn't going to take much to convince me, since I don't think this will get me in the playoffs. I'm not mathematically eliminated yet, but 11 GB with a month to go is pretty hard to overcome. Plus, the game description of Clemens basically says be careful about using him. Of course, he also has an 8-6 record, with a 3.30 ERA, so who know what I'll get? As long as he gets 18 K. It also helped that Clemens would sign for the minimum, $300K (he actually asked for $300K, not a minor league contract, interestingly enough). I'm pretty sure that's graded over the whole year, too, so I am pretty much paying him one-sixth of $300K ($50K, for you math nuts out there). Welcome to the Angels, Mr. Clemens. Chief Rum |
League Transactions & Injury News
I decided to combine these two for this month, although I suspect even in this current form, this will be shortlived. I have given some thought to moving to a day-by-day telling of major events, which would replace the transactions, injuries, and significant events sections, as well as major happenings with the Angels as well. I would still stop every month to give a standings report and a general progress report on the franchise, the major league squad and the minors, and then, of course, the league leaders and award winners. So, we'll see if this may be the last of these particular types of posts. I think the other way will do a lot more for getting a sense of things moving along than the stop-and-go fashion in which I have things going right now. DAY BY DAY TRANSACTION LIST September 7 Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) Mariners: DH Edgar Martinez Giants: C Benito Santiago Commentary: Another week, another round of solid vets hit the waiver wire. Considering the M's are making a run at the A's, you would think they would want to keep around a consummate professional hitter like Martinez (.279, 13, 61). Even at his age (38), Santiago (.262, 8, 38) is still putting up numbers that equal many other catchers in the league. Releases Devil Rays: SP Chuck Smith Commentary: I guess that settles in with the LaForest deal with Milwaukee. It was about the prospect pitcher they get more than Smith. Still Smith didn't do too bad-- 5-7, 4.81, 109 K in 129.1 IP. He probably deserved better than this-- and especially from Tampa Bay of all teams. Signings Bluejays sign 3B Matt Williams to a one-year, $303K contract. Commentary: Finally, a released vet gets signed. The Jays apparently needed a decent bat at third, and Williams has been stewing since his release by Arizona in early June. He hasn't really paid much immediate dividends, though (.205, 3, 17). September 14 Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) Orioles: SP Pat Hentgen Commentary: Hentgen's numbers on the year-- 2-17, 7.52 ERA. What the heck took them so long? September 28 Releases (refusal of minor league assignment) Devil Rays: CF Tom Goodwin Commentary: Goodwin (.247, 4, 22) probably deserved it, but I thought the AI only sent people down to make room for other players. Does Tampa Bay really have its entire expanded (40-man) major league roster filled up right now? DAY BY DAY INJURY LIST September 2 Mets: SP Tom Glavine got his teeth knocked out in a bar fight. The injury is only day-ti-day for two days, but come on, that's hilarious! :) September 11 Dodgers: MR Guillermo Mota tore his tricep muscle while pitching. That's the same injury that ended Callaway's career. "Fortunately" for Mota, he's only done for the season. Too bad for the Dodgers, too, since Mota (4-1, 3.98, 1 sv) was doing pretty good. September 12 Astros: CF Brian L. Hunter dislocated his shoulder trying to make a catch, and that will pretty much shelve him for the rest of the regular season. Well, he's listed as out 9-10 weeks, but who are we kidding? He was doing decently (.301-3-30) and getting regular starts. September 13 Red Sox: C Jason Varitek broke his finger in a home plate collision, putting him down for 4 weeks. This was no doubt key in getting Lomasney a chance to play (one he capitalized on by having that amazing cycle and two-homer day in his debut). Varitek (.283, 7, 58) is no creampuff himself and one of the better hitting catchers, so this probably hurt the Sox a little. September 17 Rangers: MR Tood Van Poppel suffered a fractured elbow, which will knock him out for 8 weeks (i.e. for the rest of the season). This is probably a blessing for the Rangers, since Van Poppel (4-1, 6.55, 1 sv) hasn't exactly been Mr. Put Out The Fire this year. September 18 Marlins: SP Josh Beckett suffers from bone chips in his elbow, and this will shelve him for 5 weeks. Well, this is a big one, although Beckett (13-7, 3.10) certainly should be able to get in a start or two at the end of the year. But he won't be there to help the Marlins catch the Braves in the NL East or nab the wildcard. They were already on the outside looking on with him healthy. September 24 Cubs: MR Rod Beck also has bone chips in his elbow, but apparently he has more in there than Beckett--he's out for 7 weeks, which should mean his 2003 is done. I suppose Beck (3-2, 5.25) could come back for the playoffs. Chief Rum |
Some other quick notes to toss out there. It is my plan to promote Matt Wise up to the pros as well to take a rotation spot, so two current starters will be displaced (with Wise and Clemens taking a turn every fifth day).
The other note is that I will do my first day-by-day major events post next, where I will detail the month of October, which will feature the wrap up of the season and of the playoff races. It was my plan to detail how the races were going to turn out that led me to do this in the first place. Chief Rum |
Simming October
NEWS, EVENTS & INJURIES OF THE LAST MONTH OF THE 2003 SEASON Day By Day October 2 How's this for big news? The Cubs' SP Kerry Wood suffered a ruptured elbow ligament against the DBacks today. Wow, this could have a huge effect on both the races and on the playoffs themselves, since Wood (12-5, 4.33) is certainly out for the regular season, and probably for the playoffs, too. October 4 Roger Clemens gets his first start with the Angels. The good news is that he only allowed two runs in eight innings of work. The bad news is he didn't get a single flippin' strikeout! WTF! October 5 The Devil Rays released SP Nick Bierbrodt today. He hadn't pitched in the majors, but he is a 2.5 star talent who is just 25. He's also a lefty. It seems to me they should have kept him. He was 10-7 with a 3.36 ERA at AAA. Playoff Race Update No division leader's magic number has fallen below 10 yet. Oakland is the closest at 16. That means, of course, that with 16 combined of either Oakland wins or Seattle losses, and the A's will have clinched the AL West title. Oakland: 7.5 up on Seattle Minnesota: 1 up on Cleveland, 2.5 up on Chicago Boston: 3 up on New York Los Angeles: 3 up on San Fran, 6 up on Colorado Chicago: 3 up on both St. Louis and Cincy Atlanta: 6 up on Philly, 8 up on New York Wildcards Disappointingly, they don't list magic numbers for the wildcards yet (if ever). New York is 13.5 games up on Seattle in the AL, which has me thinking they have already clinched a playoff spot, regardless of what happens with Boston and the AL East lead. In the NL, it's still tight. St. Louis and Cincy are tied on top, and four other teams are within 7 games of them. October 7 After three months on the shelf for a lousy broken finger, CF Darin Erstad has finally returned to full health and the starting lineup. This will bump Quinlan to the DH spot for the remainder of the season. Livan Hernandez of the Giants suffered a strained back while pitching, which will knock him out for 2-3 weeks. This could be critical, as Hernandez (13-7, 4.33) is one of the Giants' most dependable starters, and they are still trying to catch first in the NL West or the wildcard. October 8 This must be the day of the cycle. Both Arizona's 2B Junior Spivey and the Mets' 1B Tony Clark hit for the cycle today. Spivey got hive hits, including an extra single, against the Marlins. He got the most difficult hit--the triple--in the ninth inning. Clark just had the four hits, in a game against the Dodgers. Both players drove in and scored three runs apiece. October 9 Clemens racked up four K against his old teammates, the Yankees today. 14 more to go. October 12 Playoff Race Update Once again, no division leader's magic number has been reduced to single digits, but we're getting close. Oakland is now down to 11. AL West: Oakland is 6 games up on Seattle. AL Central: Minnesota is pulling away slightly--they are 3 games up on Cleveland and Chicago. AL East: This one really will go to the last day, I think. The Yanks use a good push to get back to a tie with the Red Sox. NL West: The Dodgers are up 2.5 on the Giants. Colorado is now at 7.5 GB and is pretty much out of it. NL Central: The Cubs are pulling away a little. The Cards are at 4 GB, and the Reds 5. NL East: Philly is making a late run at Atlanta--the Braves' lead is down to 3. The Mets sit at 6 GB. AL Wildcard: I'm calling it--an AL East team (to be determined) has clinched this spot. NL Wildcard: The Cards are on top alone right now--barely. Cinsy and San Fran are a game back, and Philly is 2.5 back. New York is 5.5 back, and Colorado 6. Wow! Helton and Ramirez update: Todd Helton is still sitting at .379 average. He's going to really need to go on a tear to reach .400. Manny Ramirez is still handily leading average and RBI, but Troy Glaus is proving to be a bit of a gnat in Ramirez's quest for the Triple Crown. Ramirez has 42 HR, and Glaus has 40. October 14 Clemens notches two strikeouts against Tampa Bay to get to 3988 K for his career. Man, he needs to pick up the pace. At most, he has three starts left. October 19 Playoff Race Update Now, we're getting somewhere. Almost all of the races have been reduced to single digits. Oakland is still the closest to clinching. They now have a magic number of just 4. But the Cubs have continued to pull away in the NL Central, and their number is at 5. The Dodgers are at 6, and Minnesota at 7. All of these teams have expanded their leads since last week. In the NL East, the Braves have managed to keep the Phillies at bay, and they are still 3 games up (magic number of 8). The Yanks are still right on the Red Sox tail, just 1 GB. The magic number is 10. Could a wildcard race possibly get tighter? The Cards and reds are tied now for the wildcard, and Philadelphia is just 0.5 GB of the two. The Giants sit at 2 GB. I bumped Clemens up a spot to face Texas. He struck out 3, so he has 9 K to go, with maybe two starts left on short rest. October 22 SP Darren Driefort suffered a pulled elbow ligament while pitching, disabling him for 2-3 weeks. This could, of course, affect the Dodgers deep into the playoffs. Driefort is 7-8, with a 4.43 ERA. The Cubs clinched the NL Central today. They did it in style, with their power pitcher Mark Prior facing off with Arizona's Randy Johnson. The Cubs lit up the Big Unit, and won 12-1 in front of the hometown fans at Wrigley. The victory was keyed by separate three-run dingers by Mark Bellhorn and Damian Miller. This is the Cubs' first playoff visit since 1998, and first NL Central title since 1989. Oakland clinched the AL West today, defeating the Mariners 2-0 at Safeco Field. They did it behind the amazing pitching of rookie stud/September callup Rich Harden, who did nothing less than throw a one-hitter at the M's. The lone hit was by Dan Wilson in the fifth inning. This is Oakland's second straight AL West title, and its fourth consecutive visit to the playoffs. October 23 Clemens again, in another shifted start. He's pretty much going the second I get him rested enough to do so. Today, he went up against Detroit and got his first win as an Angel. But he only struck out 2. :( He is still 7 K away. October 25 The Twins backed into the AL Central title today. They lost 5-3 to Baltimore at Camden--their second loss in a row, but both Chicago and Cleveland, tied for second lost their games today, allowing the Twins to take the division. This is the Twins second straight AL Central title. The Braves also backed into their division today, but considering they had won five straight going into today, I hardly think you can blame them. They lost 4-2 to the Giants, but their streak had put the Phillies on the brink of elimination. The Phils tried to stave it off by taking Colorado to extra innings, but the Rockies took it in 10, 4-3. The Braves celebrated on the road at Pac Bell. The Braves have not failed to win the AL East since 1991, making this their incredible 13th straight division title. October 26 Playoff Race Update Four division races and a wildcard spot have been decided. The only remaining races are in the AL East, which is all for pride; the NL West; and the still supertight NL Wildcard. There are just four days remaining in the season. Boston has put on a good run and gotten up to four games up on the Yanks. They have clinched a tie at the very least, with their magic number at 1. Boston plays two at home against Seattle, and then two on the road at Oakland. The Yanks are on the road for two with the White Sox, then they come home to finish off with the Indians. Los Angeles hasn't quite put away San Francisco as expected. They do still have a nice lead at this point, three games up. The magic number is 2. The Dodgers host the Mets for two games, and the Giants host the Braves. But if it isn't decided by then, the last two games are mano-y-mano in Pac Bell. Wouldn't that be great? The Giants, who have won six straight, lead the wildcard right now, with a 1.5 game lead over the Phillies, and a 2 game lead on top of Cincy and the Cards. I'm not even going to try and break this one down except day-by-day. Helton and Ramirez update: Helton hit .500 last week, and was named the POW. This has gotten his average up to .385, but it may be too late with just four games left. Ramirez is also putting his achievement at risk. Glaus has tied him with 45 HR! The Days Events: Clemens went on short, short rest this time--he was still fatigued from his last start. But I needed to throw him out there today to give him a shot at starting in three more days, on the last day of the season. He lasted just 4 innings against the Bluejays, and he struck out 3. He is 4 K away from 4000! The Yankees beat the White Sox, 6-1, and the Red Sox lost to the Mariners, 12-6, so the Bronx Bombers live to fight another day. The magic number remains at 1. The Dodgers clinched the NL West with a tense 4-3 extra-inning victory over the Mets at Chavez Ravine. Los Angeles had to face the Mets' young ace Grant Roberts, and had the upperhand 3-2 going into the ninth. But Jason Phillips crushed a solo shot out of the park with two outs to tie it up. The Dodgers won it in the bottom of the tenth in workmanlike fashion. Mike Kincade was walked by Mets' closer Armando Benitez, and replaced by pinchrunner Cesar Izturis. Izturis stole second, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Adrian Beltre. After an intentional walk to Dodgers' slugger Shawn Green, Benitez gave up a deep fly to left by Daryle Ward. Izturis tagged up and scored the winning run without a throw. The Dodgers went into the game knowing a win would get them the title, because the Braves thrashed the Giants 20-9 earlier in the day. It is the first playoff for the Dodgers since 1995, and first NL West title since 1988. The Giants' loss to the Braves has tightened things up for the wildcard. Philadelphia lost to the Rockies, 13-6, and the Cards fell to the NL Central champ Cubs, 5-1, to stay 1.5 and 2 games back respectively. The Reds maintained the pressure on the Giants, though, beating Milwaukee 7-2 to move within one. Neither Ramirez nor Glaus hit a homerun today, so they are still knotted at 45. Helton went 3-for-5, raising his average to .387. October 27 The Yankees are amazingly resilient. The Red Sox are...umm...choking? Seattle shut out Boston 7-0, while the Yankees handed the White Sox another five-run loss, this time 7-2. The Yankees are now just 2 games back, and the magic number is still at 1 for Boston. San Freancisco continues to give the other wildcard contenders a shot at the ring. They got squashed again by the Braves, this time 10-2. Cincy could have tied them, but fell in a tough one to Milwaukee, 1-0. They are still a game back. Philadelphia won an exciting game over Colorado in the bottom of the ninth at Veterans Stadium. The score was tied 3-3, and Dan Miceli was pitching for the Rockies. Bobby Abreu stroked a single to right-center, then amazingly stole second and third base! Pat Burrell then knocked another basehit into center, and Abreu scored to give the Phillies a backs-against-the-wall 4-3 victory to move within 0.5 games of the Giants. The Cards also staved off elimination with a tight game at Busch against the Cubbies. Notched at three at the end of the ninth, they went to extras. In the bottom of the twelfth, Edgar Renteria hit a two-out solo homerun down the leftfield line off of Kyle Farnsworth to give the Cards a season-extending 4-3 victory. They are now just 1 game back of the Giants. The Giants play two against the Dodgers at Pac Bell. St. Louis plays two at Montreal, and Cincinnati hosts Florida for two. Philly has October 28 off (quirk of the extended schedule), but they play Milwaukee at home on the last day of the season. Randy Johnson struck out 7 in a bid to get to 4000 himself. He fell just short, with 3997 K. Hopefully he will come back for another year. Helton went 2-for-4, but his average remained at .387. The longshot just got longer. Like the rest of the Red Sox, Ramirez was held without a homerun today, but fortunately for him, Glaus didn't even get a hit, despite the fact his teammate slit up Toronto 12-3. October 28 Heh...this is fun...:) The Yankees keep their hopes to catch their hated enemy Red Sox alive by defeating the Indians at Yankee Stadium, 3-1. The Red Sox failed once again to stave off the Yanks, falling in an extra inning heartbreaker to the AL West champ A's at Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland, 1-0 in 10 innings. The Yankees are now just a game behind the Red Sox with one game to play. The NL Wildcard is now officially nuts. The Giants finally broke their bad string of play, defeating the Dodgers 5-3. But the Cards kept right on their tail, beating Montreal on the road, 6-3. And so did the Reds, beating Florida 8-0 behind the pitching of Scott Williamson. So the Cards and Reds are still just a game back of the Giants. And the Phillies' with their off day, fell back by 0.5 games because of the Giants' victory, so basically we have a three-way tie at one game back of the Giants. Not helping matters is that the Giants suffered a major injury to one of their relievers. MR Lance Painter was diagnosed with bone chips in his elbow, and will miss the rest of the season and the playoffs, if the Giants ever get there. Painter was 1-1, with a 5.40 ERA. Ramirez and Glaus both went homerless today. Does it count as a Triple Crown if one of the stats ends in a tie? They are still tied for the league lead at 45 HR. Helton went 2-for-4 to move his average up to .388. While his run has been incredible, I just don't think it's possible for him to reach .400 now. October 29 I'll go game-by-game for the important stuff. I'll start off with the Angels. I doindeed have Clemens starting again, on short rest again. He must be incredibly tired. Nevertheless, I went under team tendencies, put Clemens individual hook to the slowest possible, put the team's hool on starting pitchers to the slowest possible, and I ordered the pitchers to not pitch around players. Will this be enough for Clemens to get the 4 K he needs? God, I hope so. The Angels are playing the White Sox. Here we go... Alas, it did not work. The Rocket went longer (5.1 IP), but he only struck out 1 batter. That puts him three short and tied with the Big Unit. Just watch--they'll both retire this way, at 3997 K. :rolleyes: Oh, and P.S. Glaus did not hit a homerun--history is in Ramirez's hands... ...and he fell short, also going homerless. So I guess it's up to historians as to whether his season constitutes a legitimate Triple Crown. The Red Sox continued to choke, BTW, losing 7-4 to Oakland, so the Yanks have a chance to catch them... ...and incredibly enough, they do! They beat Cleveland 5-2 to move in a tie with Boston for the AL East lead, and pull off an amazing four game comeback in four days. I doubt these guys will play a playoff, since they're both assured of being in the postseason, but it sure as heck would be fun to see them do it. Maybe OOTP will anyway. The Colorado game was anticlimactic, because the AI chose to sit Helton down at the end of the year, maybe acknowledging that he could not reach .400 no matter how good a day he had. So Helton finishes the season with an amazing .388 average, even if it's short of that almost mythical .400 mark. Now to that wacky wildcard in the NL. It's still in the Giants' hands. If they can beat the Dodgers today, they will win the wildcard, no matter what the Reds, Cards and Phillies do. LA's Hideo Nomo (5-15, 4.98) goes against SF's Damian Moss (8-13, 4.74)... ...and the Giants finally lock it up on the final day of the season, and in front of the hometown crowd. They defeat the Dodgers 6-4, and the rest of the games are meaningless. One notable injury occurred, although no one but the player is going to feel its impact. Texas's SP Ismael Valdes suffered a ruptured disc in his back while pitching, and is "out for the season". Hopefully he will return as good as new next year, but, damn, that's a rough way to end the year. October 30 You see, every now and then, OOTP actually improves upon real life. This is one such instance-- they are making those bastards in the AL East play this one! The Yankees and Red Sox, knotted up at 102-60 and atop the AL East and the AL Wildcard, will duke it out at Yankee Stadium in a one-game playoff. Boston's Casey Fossum (14-8, 4.61) will go up against Andy Pettite (13-8, 3.94). You know what the real question is? If Ramirez hits a homerun, does it count? Hmmm... And here's the sim... The Yankees jump out to a 3-0 lead through three innings, scoring two runs in the second and a run in the third, all pretty much with small ball tactics. Then in the top of the fourth, the Sox exploded, scoring five runs, keyed by a two-run Doug Mirabelli homerun, a Nomar Garciaparra triple and a Lou Collier double. Manny Ramirez drew a walk and scored. 5-3 Red Sox. Rondell White would open the bottom of the fourth with a solo shot, though, to inch it closer to 5-4 after four innings. The score remained that close until late, when the BoSox broke it open. Garciaparra got a double in the eighth, and was later driven in by a pinch hit basehit. Then in the ninth inning, Kevin Millar smashed a three-run homerun to put the Red Sox up far for good, and that's how it ended. The Red Sox win, 9-4, and take the AL East crown. The division title is Boston's first since 1995. New York has now reached the playoffs nine years in a row, although it is their first visit as the wildcard team since 1996, the year they won their first world championship of the 90s. And the first regular season of this dynasty is officially in the books! Chief Rum |
Great job Chief. I like the detail. Go Sox!
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That sucks that Clemens didn't get it:(
Oh well, great dynasty! :D |
Rum,
If I EVER need a paper to be written, I'm coming to you man. You can make 2 sentences worth of information turn into a 5 page paper. You rock :) Neuqua |
DolphinFan1: Thanks. I prefer the detail, too. The Sox are going great right now, huh? So what do you think? Does it count as a Triple Crown if you share the lead in one of the categories?
tucker342: Yeah, it does suck that Clemens fell short. It will be interesting to see if he and Johnson return next season or not, but since this game doesn't consider the significance of achievements like this, I would have to think they won't. :( Neuqua: So, what are you saying, Neuq? I am the master of the bullshit paper? :) I hope I haven't just been giving out two lines of information here. ;) Chief Rum |
Chief, I think it should still count as a triple crown even if you share in one of the catergories. He still led the majors and no one had more than him. I wonder what the game will do.
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I figure I'll acknowledge it as such. As for the game, I'm not sure it recognizes the Triple Crown, although it would be nice if it would. I'm pretty sure Ramirez will get the MVP, of course.
Chief Rum |
Actually, Yaz's 1967 triple crown was also a tie. Harmon Killebrew hit just as many homers.
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Really, Katon? Good. :)
I have never heard Yaz's '67 campaign referred to as anything else but a Triple Crown season. The legitimacy of it has never been questioned to my knowledge, although I suppose it would have been interesting to read the sports media's take on it the day after the 1967 season ended. So, as far as I am concerned, Manny Ramirez just completed a Triple Crown season and had one of the alltime best seasons in the history of baseball. It will be interesting if he can use that to break the great curse this year. Chief Rum |
Final 2003 Season Standings
AL West Code:
As you can see, the downward turn our team started to take in September did not really reverse itself for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, Texas just continued its roll and passed us and then some. So, embarrassingly enough, the world champion team I took over, I subsequently led to a last place and sub-.500 finish. :( Oakland, of course, took the division, and really finished strong. Seattle made a run, but eventually ended up closer to Texas than to Oakland. Still, you can't fault a 90-win season. AL Central Code:
It may have made for an exciting division race, but once again the AL Central brings up the rear when it comes to all around divisional strength. Seattle and New York both would have won this division. Our own last place Angels would have been tied for tied. Minnesota once again gets the golden rod for being master of a big pile of crap. Chicago and Cleveland tie for second, but they were inconsistent all year. Detroit just went downhill after a good start. And only a really poor October by Tampa Bay saved Kansas City from the ignominy of finishing with baseball's worst record. AL East Code:
I don't need to talk too much about this division, since how it ended up was well covered in the October day-by-day news events. Needless to say, Boston and New York easily finished with the best records in baseball. Toronto did well to finish at .500. Baltimore showed flashes of solid play, but were eventually undone by inconsistent play. And as mentioned, Tampa Bay managed to drop itself down to first overall draft pick status. NL West Code:
Los Angeles and San Francisco ended up staging a two-man show for this division, but for much of the year, this was one of baseball's deepest and tightest races. Dodgers won the two-team tug-o'-war, but the Giants just managed to sneak into the playoffs via the ultracompetitive NL wildcard. Colorado and surprising San Diego finished just outside of contention. Arizona was a division contender early on, so its mystifying drop to the end of the division is going to be something I'll be interested in checking out. Like the Angels, the DBacks, just two seasons removed from a world championship, were expected to be much better. NL Central Code:
This is just weird. I saw it developing during the season, and I thought things would even up, but they never did. This division remains a seemingly uncomfortable combination of two three-team groups, a strong one and a weak one. The strong one is highlighted by Chicago, tied with Atlanta for the NL's best record, and backed up by St. Louis and Cincy, both prime competitors for the wildcard right down to the last day. The weak one is a group of teams only saw .500 for brief moments at the beginning of the year. Milwaukee and Pittsburgh never seemed to even make a move to mediocre status, and Houston, the shocker of the year, was just horrid for most of the season. As with Arizona, the story of Houston, a supposed title contender, should be an interesting one. NL East Code:
I suppose it shouldn't come as a shock to see the Braves on top again, but they really weren't expected to return to this level. Credit the Braves' AI for making the key decision of returning Smoltz to the rotation. Philadelphia, for how close it came to getting into the playoffs, has to consider this season a vast disappointment. They were widely thought to be the best team in this division at season's start, but they waffled with inconsistency for much of the year. By the time they turned it on, it was too late to catch the Braves and just enough to get them maddeningly close to the wildcard. New York is the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of baseball. On one hand, you could say the season was a success because they did better than last year's horrible season. On the other hand, they still supposedly have some of the best talent in baseball, and one of its highest payrolls--and they ended up here. For last place teams, you can't do much better than Florida and Montreal. There weren't too many easy outs here. AL Wildcard Code:
While the result of the wildcard was never in doubt even as soon as halfway through the season, Seattle should be commended for getting as close to New York as they did. Texas's strong finish was also a big eye opener, showing how strong things are out west. The next four teams, including the Angels, are examples of just not quite getting it together to push it to the next level. NL Wildcard Code:
When wildcard proponents designed the system, this was the kind of year they envisioned. Will we ever again see as competitive and as challenging a wildcard playoff race as we witnessed in this league this year? San Francisco was strong all year, but they were still very lucky to get that last spot into the postseason. Cincy dogged the Cubs heels from the very beginning, and the Phillies finished very strong. The Cards, like the Phillies, are a tale of what might have been. They were something else after their horrible start. The fact that there were six teams within nine games of the Giants shows how parity thrived in the NL this year. Chief Rum |
2003 Season Leaders
Normally, this section follows the Angels' personal team stats and story, including the minor leagues. For the end of the season, though, I decided to bump this up in the postranking a bit, and include other key stats as well. Here we go. Offensive League Leaders-- American League The Triple Crown quest of Boston's Manny Ramirez was indeed successful, and average was one are where he utterly dominated. He was easily the AL batting champion, finishing with a .346 average. Second went to Minnesota's Corie Koskie at .329. Koskie is an enteresting story, since he was always ont he fringes of the league leaders and never had a truly dominant batting average, but when it came down to the end, he stayed consistent while others who had been ahead of him fell behind him. To me, this is a sign of a damn good hitter. The next two are surprises, since they haven't been in the Top 5 all season long, but they are hardly unknown in these rankings usually. They are the Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki at .320 and John Olerud at .318. Ramirez's teammate, Nomar Garciaparra, was there, too, tied with Olerud for fourth. Here are the top ten batters: Code:
As noted in the events of October, Ramirez vied with the Angels' Troy Glaus for the homerun title, and it ended up in a dead heat at 45. No one else was really close. A pair of Rangers came next, with Alex Rodriguez at 37, and the surprising Carl Everett fourth with 36. Toronto's Josh Phelps, who started off the first month of the year leading this category, finished fifth with 33 dingers. As with average, this one was really n contest for Ramirez. He finished with 139 RBI on the year. Glaus was once again on his tail, albeit distantly. The slugging third baseman finished with 121 runs driven in, tying him with New York's Jason Giambi. Phelps was fourth with 115, and Oakland's Eric Chavez rounds out the top five with 111. Ramirez is on top of OPS as well, with an easily out on top 1.118. Jason Giambi is the only player above 1 OPS, and that's barely (1.005). Toronto's Carlos Delgado has remained solidly at third in this category for some time now. He ended up at .989. ARod was fourth with .980, and Koskie fifth at .972. Here are some other category leaders: Runs: 123 by Johnny Damon and Ramirez (BOS); Tejada (OAK), 116 Hits: 196 by Garciaparra and Ramirez (BOS); Suzuki (SEA), 193 Doubles: 49 by Koskie (MIN); Garciaparra (BOS) and Greg Colbrunn (DET), 48 Triples: 17 by Aaron Rowand (CHW); Christian Guzman (MIN), 15; Mike Cameron (SEA), 14 Walks: 133 by Jason Giambi (NYY); Delgado (TOR), 125; Robin Ventura (NYY), 117 Stolen Bases: 47 by Damon (BOS); Suzuki (SEA), 39; Derek Jeter (NYY), 36 Extra Base Hits: 90 by Ramirez (BOS); Glaus (ANA), 88; Alfonso Soriano (NYY), 81 Total Bases: 378 by Ramirez (BOS); Glaus (ANA), 319; Garciaparra (BOS), 318 On Base Percentage: .452 by Jason Giambi (NYY); Ramirez (BOS), .450; Koskie (MIN), .436 Slugging Percentage: .668 by Ramirez (BOS); Rodriguez (TEX), .597; Delgado (TOR), .556 Offensive League Leaders-- National League The Rockies' Todd Helton's dominance of this category the past few months has been well-documented. He was far ahead of everyone in all of the majors with an amazing .388 average. That's incredible even for a Coors Field hitter. His teammate Larry Walker, and the first month batting leader, finished second at .337. Lance Berkman of the Astros seemed to lead the league in hitting for much of the season, bridging the gap between Walker at the beginning and Helton at the end. He ended up at .333. Cincinnati's Sean Casey was fourth with a .329 average, and he was followed by the Braves' Chipper Jones, at .326. Here are the top ten batters: Code:
San Francisco's brooding slugger Barry Bonds held onto this one, finishing with 55 HR. Philadelphia's Jim Thome surged forward a bit to tie Chicago's Sammy Sosa for second with 49. Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. tied with Houston's Jeff Bagwell for fourth with 38 taters. The Braves' Gary Sheffield has led the NL in runs driven in for some time, so it's no surprise that he finished on top with 137. Griffey and Bagwell also tied in RBI, but this time at second place with 129. Thome and Bonds tied for fourth with 126. Bonds was the OPS god as usual, finishing with a league-leading 1.231 OPS. Thanks to his terrific average, though, Helton was able to provide Bonds with some semi-close company, at 1.184. Thome and Sosa tied at 1.094, and the Pirates' Brian Giles was fifth at 1.063. Here are some other category leaders: Runs: 133 by Bonds (SF); Walker (COL), 132; Sosa (CHC) and Cliff Floyd (NYM), 130 Hits: 224 by Helton (COL); Casey (CIN), 196; Berkman (HOU), 185 Doubles: 63 by Helton (COL); Berkman (HOU), 58; Ray Durham (SF), 50 Triples: 13 by Juan Pierre (FLA); J.D. Drew (STL) and Juan Encarnacion (FLA), 12 Walks: 168 by Bonds (SF); Thome (PHI), 149; Giles (PIT), 132 Stolen Bases: 50 by Luis Castillo (FLA); Roberto Alomar (NYM) and Rafeal Furcal (ATL), 44 Extra Base Hits: 105 by Helton (COL); Bonds (SF), 102; Berkman (HOU), 93 Total Bases: 407 by Helton (COL); Bonds (SF), 381; Sosa (CHC), 364 On Base Percentage: .488 by Bonds (SF); Helton (COL), .479; Thome (PHI), .457 Slugging Percentage: .743 by Bonds (SF); Helton (COL), .705; Sosa (CHC), .662 Pitching League Leaders-- American League Boston's Pedro Martinez has pretty much been incontrol of this all year. And, true to form, he ended up far ahead of the pack in the AL with a 2.36 ERA. Oakland's Mark Mulder was second with a 2.76 ERA, and he was closely followed by the Mariners' Freddy Garcia at 2.81. Then there is another siazble jump before we get to the next pitcher, Mulder's teammate Barry Zito, at 3.14. The White Sox' Bartolo Colon is fifth with a 3.34 ERA. Here are the top ten pitchers: Code:
Garcia easily led the AL in wins, with a 25-34 record. Martinez and Mulder tied for second with 22 wins apiece. New York's Mike Mussina was fourth, carrying a 20-10 record. After that, there is a short fall before you reach five pitchers tied with 17 wins each. Martinez had this one locked up early. The only question was if he would finish over a 100 K ahead of the next pitcher. He finished with 281 strikeouts. For the record, he did not beat #2 by 100. Colon came in with 187 K. Texas's Chan Ho Park was third with 174 K, where he was just ahead of Garcia with 173. Mussina was fifth with 167 total strikeouts. For much of the last half of the year, Oakland's Keith Foulke and New York's Mariano Rivera fought for the saves title. It ended up falling to Foulke, with 44 saves. Rivera was second with a close-behind 42. Boston's Chad Fox and Seattle's Kazutoshi Sasaki finished tied for third with 41 saves. So it was close up top. The step down to fifth was more significant, with the Rangers' Ugueth Urbina checking in with 36 saves. Here are some other category leaders: Innings Pitched: 270.2 by Martinez (BOS); Garcia (SEA), 269; Brad Radke (MIN), 267.1 Opponents' Average: .207 by Garcia (SEA); Martinez (BOS), .211; C.C. Sabathia (CLE), .226 Complete Games: 12 by Radke (MIN) and Roy Halladay (TOR); Colon (CHW), 11 Shutouts: 4 by Colon (CHW) and Martinez (BOS); 3 pitchers with 3 Quality Starts: 29 by Martinez (BOS); Mulder (OAK), 28; Mark Beurhle (CHW), 25 Hits Per 9 IP: 6.8 by Garcia (SEA); Martinez (BOS), 7.0; Sabathia (CLE), 7.6 Walks Per 9 IP: 1.8 by Radke (MIN), Mussina (NYY), and Martinez (BOS) K Per 9 IP: 9.3 by Martinez (BOS); Jeremy Affeldt (KC), 7.4; Sabathia (CLE), 7.0 Save Pct. (min 20 SVO): 91.9 (34 of 37) by Buddy Groom (BAL); Sasaki (SEA), 91.1 (41 of 45); Foulke (OAK), 88.0 (44 of 50) Holds: 13 by Francisco Rodriguez (ANA); Kerry Ligtenberg (BAL), 11; Cory Bailey (KC), 10 Reliever ERA: 1.60 by Rivera (NYY); Sasaki (SEA), 1.64; Percival (ANA), 1.76 Pitching League Leaders-- National League The Braves' John Smoltz was dominant for most of the season before he got serious competition from the Dodgers' Odalis Perez in this category. Smoltz held off Perez with a 1.94 ERA. Perez finished at 2.06. Florida's Josh Beckett, who missed the last month and change of the season, ended up third with a 2.98 ERA. The Cards' Matt Morris and Brian Lawrence of the Padres were next, with 3.08 and 3.09 figures, respectively. Here are the top ten pitchers: Code:
Perez did take wins, and then some--he was the NL's only 20-game winner this year, with a 22-7 record. Smoltz, for all his incredible 19-3 record, finished one-short of 20, good for second in the league. The Giants' Jason Schmidt was third at 18-12. He was followed by Morris (17-7) and Lawrence (17-12), tied for fourth. What do you know? The strikeout race went right down to the wire. And sure enough, Randy Johnson of Arizona ended up on top again. But just barely, he had 251 K on the year, beating out Cincinnati's Scott Williamson and the Cubs' Mark Prior by just one strikeout (they had 250K each). His teammate Curt Schilling also made a run and ended up fourth with 247. The pack was back considerably from that foursome. The best of the rest was another Diamondback, Byung-hyun Kim, at 211. After just seeming to tag along most of the year, Florida's Vladimir Nunez pushed it into high gear and finished atop the NL save leaders with 39. He just edged out the Cards' Jason Isringhausen and LA's Eric Gagne, who each had 38 saves. Two of the next three are shockers. Milwaukee's Jayson Durocher made a splash by getting 37 saves and finishing fourth. And another surprise, the Reds' John Riedling, tied with longtime stalwart Padre closer Trevor Hoffman for 35 saves. Here are some other category leaders: Innings Pitched: 241.2 by Larwence (SD); Vincente Padilla (PHI), 241; Roy Oswalt (HOU), 239.2 Opponents' Average: .186 by Smoltz (ATL); Perez (LA), .191; Beckett (FLA), .205 Complete Games: 7 by Padilla (PHI); Schilling (ARI), 6; 4 pitchers with 4 Shutouts: 3 by Padilla (PHI); 5 pitchers with 2 Quality Starts: 27 by Perez (LA); Smoltz (ATL) and Prior (CHC), 25 Hits Per 9 IP: 6.0 by Smoltz (ATL); Perez (LA), 6.1; Beckett (FLA), 6.7 Walks Per 9 IP: 1.3 by Greg Maddux (ATL); Schilling (ARI), 1.4; Perez (LA) and Tomo Ohka (MON), 1.8 K Per 9 IP: 11.1 by Williamson (CIN); Johnson (ARI), 10.6; Prior (CHC), 10.2 Save Pct. (min 20 SVO): 93.3 (28 of 30) by Mike Remlinger (LA); Isringhausen (STL), 92.7 (38 of 41); Gagne (LA), 88.4 (38 of 43) Holds: 23 by Mike Matthews (MIL); Mike Crudale (STL), 22; Feliz Rodriguez (SF), 21 Reliever ERA: 1.03 by Gagne (LA); Isringhausen (STL), 1.64; Shuey (LA), 2.22 League Awards AL Player of the Week September 28-October 4-- CF Aaron Rowand (CHW) October 5-11-- CF Carl Everett (TEX) October 12-18-- CF Carlos Beltran (KC) October 19-25-- 2B Orlando Hudson (TOR) NL Player of the Week September 28-October 4-- 1B Jim Thome (PHI) October 5-11-- 1B Jim Thome (PHI) October 12-18-- CF Brian Giles (PIT) October 19-25-- 1B Todd Helton (COL) Note: There may be a P.O.W. for the final four days of the season, but I don't know this just yet, since I will have to sim the postseason to see it. And I haven't ran the postseason yet. :) For the same reason, I am also as yet unaware of the Players of the Month (assuming any will be rewarded). Chief Rum |
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