OOTP5-- Hangin' The Halos

Chief Rum · 03-04-2003, 10:08 PM

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

Chief Rum · 03-04-2003, 10:43 PM

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

Chief Rum · 03-07-2003, 01:58 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-07-2003, 02:10 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-07-2003, 03:41 AM

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

DolphinFan1 · 03-07-2003, 04:18 AM

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.

Chief Rum · 03-07-2003, 04:27 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-07-2003, 06:07 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-07-2003, 05:35 PM

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

Chief Rum · 03-07-2003, 05:58 PM

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

Chief Rum · 03-07-2003, 07:21 PM

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

Chief Rum · 03-08-2003, 12:13 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-08-2003, 01:49 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-08-2003, 02:43 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-08-2003, 03:34 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-15-2003, 02:11 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-15-2003, 03:36 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-15-2003, 07:26 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-16-2003, 12:58 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-16-2003, 02:38 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-16-2003, 05:28 AM

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

korme · 03-16-2003, 06:35 PM

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.

korme · 03-16-2003, 06:39 PM

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..

DolphinFan1 · 03-17-2003, 02:23 AM

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.

Chief Rum · 03-17-2003, 02:35 PM

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

Swaggs · 03-18-2003, 11:40 PM

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).

lynchjm24 · 03-19-2003, 05:21 PM

Good dynasty - except for the Bobby Meachum bashing.

Chief Rum · 03-21-2003, 08:55 PM

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

Chief Rum · 03-21-2003, 09:06 PM

The Standings

Game Date: June 1, 2003 (remember, the schedule is crewed up and Opening Day was actually April 30, 2003)

AL West

Code:


Team			 W    L   PCT   GB

Oakland			17   11  .607   --
Anaheim			17   12  .586  0.5
Texas			15   14  .517  2.5
Seattle			13   16  .448  4.5

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:


Team			 W    L   PCT   GB

Minnesota		16   12  .571   --
Detroit			15   13  .536  1.0
Cleveland		15   14  .517  1.5
Chicago			11   18  .379  5.5
Kansas City		10   20  .333  7.0

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:


Team			 W    L   PCT   GB

Boston			21    6  .778   --
New York		17   11  .607  4.5
Toronto			13   16  .448  9.0
Baltimore		12   16  .429  9.5
Tampa Bay		 8   21  .276 14.0

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:


Team			 W    L   PCT   GB

San Francisco		22    8  .733   --
San Diego		16   12  .571  5.0
Arizona			17   13  .567  5.0
Los Angeles		15   15  .500  7.0
Colorado		14   15  .483  7.5

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:


Team			 W    L   PCT   GB

Chicago			19   11  .633   --
Cincinnati		18   11  .621  0.5
Milwaukee		12   16  .429  6.0
Pittsburgh		12   17  .414  6.5
St. Louis		11   18  .379  7.5
Houston			10   22  .313 10.0

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:


Team			 W    L   PCT   GB

Philadelphia		17   13  .567   --
Florida			14   14  .500  2.0
New York		13   15  .464  3.0
Atlanta			13   16  .448  3.5
Montreal		11   18  .379  5.5

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

Chief Rum · 03-21-2003, 10:17 PM

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

Chief Rum · 03-21-2003, 10:43 PM

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

Chief Rum · 03-22-2003, 12:26 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-22-2003, 01:53 AM

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

DolphinFan1 · 03-22-2003, 02:10 AM

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.

Chief Rum · 03-22-2003, 02:20 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-22-2003, 03:40 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-22-2003, 05:12 AM

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!

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.

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

Chief Rum · 03-22-2003, 05:37 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-22-2003, 05:58 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-23-2003, 04:21 AM

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:


Cur  B-4   Team			Pts (B-4)	Dif

1    (1)   Tampa Bay 		149 (128)	+21
2    (2)   New York Mets 	115 (106)	 +9
3    (7)   Detroit		103  (85)	+18
4    (5)   Anaheim		 93  (94)	 -1
5    (3)   Cleveland		 90 (102)	-12
6    (6)   Colorado		 79  (93)	-14
7    (4)   San Francisco	 79  (97)	-18
8   (20)   Milwaukee		 77  (31)	+46
9   (14)   Chicago Cubs		 76  (41)	+35
10   (8)   Pittsburgh		 65  (68)	 -3
11   (9)   Texas		 63  (66)	 -3
12  (10)   Toronto		 61  (60)	 +1
13  (16)   Philadelphia	 	 55  (40)	+15
14  (11)   San Diego		 48  (59)	-11
15  (12)   Oakland		 37  (54)	-17
16  (18)   Seattle		 33  (35)	 -2
17  (15)   Chicago White Sox	 30  (40)	-10
18  (13)   Los Angeles	 	 30  (44)	-14
19  (22)   Cincinnati		 30  (23)	 -7
20  (17)   Florida		 29  (38)	 -9
21  (21)   Minnesota		 22  (24)	 -2
22  (19)   Arizona		 22  (34)	-12
23  (24)   New York Yankees	 15  (20)	 -5
24  (28)   Kansas City	 	 13   (0)	+13
25  (23)   Atlanta		 11  (21)	-10
26  (25)   Montreal		 10  (19)	 -9
27  (26)   Baltimore		  9  (19)	-10
28  (27)   Boston		  9  (14)	 -5
29  (30)   Houston		  2   (0)	 +2
30  (29)   St. Louis		  0   (0)	  0

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

Chief Rum · 03-23-2003, 07:16 PM

The Standings

Game Date: July 1, 2003 (two months into the season)

AL West

Code:


Team			 W    L   PCT   GB

Oakland			31   24  .564   --
Seattle			31   25  .554  0.5
Anaheim			29   27  .518  2.5
Texas			26   31  .456  6.0

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:


Team			 W    L   PCT   GB

Cleveland		31   24  .564   --
Minnesota		26   30  .464  5.5
Detroit			25   31  .446  6.5
Chicago			24   31  .436  7.0
Kansas City		18   39  .316 14.0

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:


Team			 W    L   PCT   GB

Boston			42   13  .764   --
New York		35   21  .625  7.5
Toronto			32   25  .561 11.0
Baltimore		27   29  .482 15.5
Tampa Bay		15   42  .263 28.0

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:


Team			 W    L   PCT   GB

San Francisco		32   25  .561   --
Los Angeles		32   26  .552  0.5
San Diego		29   27  .518  2.5
Arizona			28   30  .483  4.5
Colorado		25   31  .446  6.5

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:


Team			 W    L   PCT   GB

Chicago			37   20  .649   --
Cincinnati		32   25  .561  5.0
St. Louis		28   29  .491  9.0
Pittsburgh		22   35  .386 15.0
Milwaukee		21   34  .382 15.0
Houston			22   37  .373 16.0

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:


Team			 W    L   PCT   GB

New York		32  25  .561   --
Atlanta			32   24  .571  0.5
Florida			29   27  .518  3.5
Philadelphia		29   29  .500  4.5
Montreal		24   32  .429  8.5

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

Chief Rum · 03-23-2003, 10:30 PM

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

Chief Rum · 03-23-2003, 11:18 PM

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

Chief Rum · 03-24-2003, 12:18 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-24-2003, 03:08 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-24-2003, 03:45 AM

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.

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

DolphinFan1 · 03-24-2003, 04:07 AM

Great job. This is good stuff. You're getting me to care about baseball again, (a little).

Chief Rum · 03-24-2003, 04:18 AM

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

Chief Rum · 03-24-2003, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DolphinFan1
Great job. This is good stuff. You're getting me to care about baseball again, (a little).

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

Chief Rum · 03-24-2003, 06:02 AM

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!

). 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

03-07-2003, 07:21 PM	#11
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 03-07-2003 at 07:27 PM.

03-08-2003, 12:13 AM	#12
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 03-08-2003 at 12:15 AM.

03-08-2003, 01:49 AM	#13
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 03-08-2003 at 01:51 AM.

03-08-2003, 02:43 AM	#14
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-08-2003, 03:34 AM	#15
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-04-2003, 10:43 PM	#2
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-07-2003, 01:58 AM	#3
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-07-2003, 02:10 AM	#4
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-07-2003, 03:41 AM	#5
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 03-07-2003 at 03:54 AM.

03-07-2003, 04:18 AM	#6
DolphinFan1 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Connecticut	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. __________________ GM of the Milwaukee Muscle Men of the ZFL. The 1st team in ZFL history to have a perfect losing season. I am on a quest to show that the Dolphins can win the Super Bowl. Or should I say Front Office Bowl, with FOF2K7. The revival of an old favorite, FOFC Wrestling Dynasty

03-07-2003, 04:27 AM	#7
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-07-2003, 06:07 AM	#8
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 03-07-2003 at 06:08 AM.

03-07-2003, 05:35 PM	#9
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-07-2003, 05:58 PM	#10
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-15-2003, 02:11 AM	#16
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-15-2003, 03:36 AM	#17
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-15-2003, 07:26 AM	#18
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-16-2003, 12:58 AM	#19
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-16-2003, 02:38 AM	#20
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-16-2003, 05:28 AM	#21
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-16-2003, 06:35 PM	#22
korme Go Reds Join Date: May 2001 Location: Bloodbuzz Ohio	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.

03-16-2003, 06:39 PM	#23
korme Go Reds Join Date: May 2001 Location: Bloodbuzz Ohio	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..

03-17-2003, 02:23 AM	#24
DolphinFan1 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Connecticut	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. __________________ GM of the Milwaukee Muscle Men of the ZFL. The 1st team in ZFL history to have a perfect losing season. I am on a quest to show that the Dolphins can win the Super Bowl. Or should I say Front Office Bowl, with FOF2K7. The revival of an old favorite, FOFC Wrestling Dynasty

03-17-2003, 02:35 PM	#25
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-18-2003, 11:40 PM	#26
Swaggs Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000	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). __________________ DOWN WITH HATTRICK!!! The RWBL Are you reading In The Bleachers?

03-19-2003, 05:21 PM	#27
lynchjm24 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Hartford	Good dynasty - except for the Bobby Meachum bashing.

03-21-2003, 08:55 PM	#28
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-21-2003, 09:06 PM	#29
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	The Standings Game Date: June 1, 2003 (remember, the schedule is crewed up and Opening Day was actually April 30, 2003) AL West Code: Team W L PCT GB Oakland 17 11 .607 -- Anaheim 17 12 .586 0.5 Texas 15 14 .517 2.5 Seattle 13 16 .448 4.5 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: Team W L PCT GB Minnesota 16 12 .571 -- Detroit 15 13 .536 1.0 Cleveland 15 14 .517 1.5 Chicago 11 18 .379 5.5 Kansas City 10 20 .333 7.0 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: Team W L PCT GB Boston 21 6 .778 -- New York 17 11 .607 4.5 Toronto 13 16 .448 9.0 Baltimore 12 16 .429 9.5 Tampa Bay 8 21 .276 14.0 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: Team W L PCT GB San Francisco 22 8 .733 -- San Diego 16 12 .571 5.0 Arizona 17 13 .567 5.0 Los Angeles 15 15 .500 7.0 Colorado 14 15 .483 7.5 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: Team W L PCT GB Chicago 19 11 .633 -- Cincinnati 18 11 .621 0.5 Milwaukee 12 16 .429 6.0 Pittsburgh 12 17 .414 6.5 St. Louis 11 18 .379 7.5 Houston 10 22 .313 10.0 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: Team W L PCT GB Philadelphia 17 13 .567 -- Florida 14 14 .500 2.0 New York 13 15 .464 3.0 Atlanta 13 16 .448 3.5 Montreal 11 18 .379 5.5 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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 03-21-2003 at 09:50 PM.

03-21-2003, 10:17 PM	#30
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-21-2003, 10:43 PM	#31
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-22-2003, 12:26 AM	#32
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 03-22-2003 at 12:31 AM.

03-22-2003, 01:53 AM	#33
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready. Last edited by Chief Rum : 03-22-2003 at 01:54 AM.

03-22-2003, 02:10 AM	#34
DolphinFan1 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Connecticut	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. __________________ GM of the Milwaukee Muscle Men of the ZFL. The 1st team in ZFL history to have a perfect losing season. I am on a quest to show that the Dolphins can win the Super Bowl. Or should I say Front Office Bowl, with FOF2K7. The revival of an old favorite, FOFC Wrestling Dynasty

03-22-2003, 02:20 AM	#35
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.

03-22-2003, 03:40 AM	#36
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	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 __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.