Sunrise in San Diego- Executive Decisions

[royals19]

Quote: Originally Posted by nascarfreak24ny

Dude this is awesome, im about to pop the show back in, and I think I may have asked you this before, but what settings are you playing on? no payroll and 30 team control? if it is 30 team, how do you get a free agent class like that? Ive been trying to do the same thing, but do you just not resign anyone then the game tries to do it at the end of FA and you have to approve everything? Im dyin to know so i can try something similar. Thanks and if AC is reading this, have you heard anything from scott? not tryin to bug or anything but i was wondering if the thread being closed meant the project was over? thanks

Thanks dude!

Yup, I have budgets off because the way the payroll system works is really unrealistic which is something that is going to be fixed in the show next year. I also have 30 team control on and to keep the realism, I only let teams negotiate with players after December 5th or whatever it is. I mean Justin Verlander signing a 10 year 250 Million dollar deal with the Tigers the day after the playoffs ends is completely unrealistic.

During the offseason, I basically just run the Padres and play commissioner and let the moves go through. I try to negate anything that will give teams an overwhelming edge or wouldn't make sense for that team.

[royals19]

Now, as Spring Training progressed, it became overly apparent that the quality of the arms that we had wasn't very impressive which is rather frightening but that's a different story for a different day.


Our rotation race has been taken down to several candidates for that 5th spot highlighted by the three amigos. With any one good outing, any of these guys could win the spot but no one has overwhelmed us yet. The only starter to put up a good outing for that 5th spot is Nathan Eovladi but he needs better command to be consistently good.

Now we featured Jason Adam in the image above for a specific reason. We sent him up against the Angels and he stunned us with his stuff. I mean the dude is hitting 98 and dropping hammers left and right. At one point he struck out Mike Trout looking on a curveball. He gassed Albert Pujols and got Mike Trumbo to whiff at a wave pitch. But the fact of the matter is, we aren't sure where he profiles. He lacks a 3rd pitch but has great stamina so it appears he'll be destined for AAA.

But now enough of the pitching, let's take a look at another major issue we've got looming over us. Center Field



We dealt Hunter Pence to the Royals after a peak year for max value in Wil Myers, Jason Adam and Ryan Vurdugo. That left us a gaping hole in center but we turned to no other than Cameron Maybin. Maybin has put his career on the line for the success of this team but was whisked away by McGovern because he wasn't earning his pay check.

But with McGovern incapacitated, General Manager Damon Oppenheimer is giving Maybin a chance to earn his spot as the face of the franchise. Speaking from a front office stand point, this is Maybin's last year to prove he can be a star. We've got Byron Buxton who's just ironing some technicalities out in AAA Tuscan and should be ready later in the year. Basically it boils down to this, "Will we trade Cameron Maybin or another outfielder to create room for Buxton?"

That my friends, is a question whose answer is in the not too distant future. Now on to explaining the Pence trade before that becomes an issue down the road.

Basically, in lamens terms, the hope is that Maybin's defense will equal Pence's offensive production which isn't too far fetched considering the defensive metrics he put up in AAA last season. The offense will come along but in order to keep his job, Maybin needs to be a leadoff hitter and hit .300 which isn't an unrealistic expectation considering the skill set present.

[royals19]

Now, beyond the on field issues, we're dealing with a gutted front office. Basically, it's Damon Oppenheimer and a handful of scouts running the show. But under Oppenheimer, that simply isn't going to fly, we need a General Manager, we need scouts and we need VPs to replace the ones who are incapacitated at the moment.

Before we get to the story, let me just start out by saying, we want to get home grown talent and quit relying on the free agent market to build our team. We want an organization that can relate to the people in the city and it all starts here in the front office.

So with that, let's go back to PETCO park on a rainy March day....

Quote: Originally Posted by Oppenheimer

You could have it all Billy. We're willing to give you 6 annually and the money is flowing like oil down here. This is your chance, to build that World Series dream of yours.

Damon Oppenheimer stood under the overhang with Billy Beane looking out onto the Padres field, where they had just won their 3rd consecutive world title.

Quote: Originally Posted by Billy

I remember coming to watch the Padres play when I was a kid... You know, Oakland's been real good to me... If you want me here, your going to have to sweeten the pot a little.

Quote: Originally Posted by Oppenheimer

.... What exactly are you asking?

Quote: Originally Posted by Beane

I want San Diego to have a first round pick, every single year. I want to hire my own people and I want to run this team my way.

Quote: Originally Posted by Oppenheimer

As long as you don't go starting that "moneyball" crap the job is yours.

Quote: Originally Posted by Beane

Moneyball's been cashed in a long time ago, it's time to move on.

And with that, Billy Beane became the 4th GM the Padres have had during the era of winning.

[AC]

According to Hiroyuki Nakajima, he's the sexiest GM in the league

[royals19]

Quote: Originally Posted by ACMilan99

According to Hiroyuki Nakajima, he's the sexiest GM in the league

From the same source, "I am dissapointed by America's lack of bathtubs."

[royals19]

And now we're back yet again with more news on the rotation battle. Since we've come to you last, we've really been pushed down to two candidates for that spot. The first is Kyle Drabek, acquired from the Blue Jays in that Roy Halladay-Cliff Lee blockbuster. He has a nice mix and could very well be a front of the rotation guy if he can show more command and the ability to get guys out.


We were really impressed with his work out of the pen so we placed him in the rotation to give us a glimpse of what he could do. The first outing was impressive, 5 innings 5 strikeouts no runs...

At that point Billy Beane thought he had his man but unfortunately, that just wasn't the case. Drabek would go on to get rocked in his second outing, not even getting through 2 innings before we had to pull him. We'll send him down to AAA and see if he can figure out his stuff. He should be in line to help us in the bullpen whenever we need it but losing out on this job severly crippled his chances of winning a slot in the rotation here in San Diego.

Instead of Drabek, we checked in on one last candidate before we flew back to San Diego to play the Royals in our annual exhibition game, Noah Syndergaard. Syndergaard was also acquired in the same deal Drabek was and has the stuff to eventually front a rotation, the only thing holding him back though is his experience.



But in the last game of Spring Training against Texas, Syndergaard threw an absolute gem, going 5 innings of 1 hit ball and striking out 6. Command is still a slight issue but should iron its self out this year. If Syndergaard struggles then we'll platoon him and long man Chris Dwyer in that 5th spot or we'll bring up something from AAA.

Finally, we get to shake off the cobwebs and get the season cranked up. It's getting tiring having to find PT and make roster decisions. Now we can finally get to some real action! Well, after we pick up the season preview of the San Diego Padres from Baseball America....

[AC]

Quote: Originally Posted by royals19

I spy me an inverted W. Tommy John, here Syndergaard comes lol.

[royals19]

San Diego Padres

Three consecutive World Series, the San Diego Padres have dominated the baseball world for three consecutive years. Something that has been unheard of since the Braves and Yankees teams of the 90s and early 2000s. Rewind to the 2012 season. The Padres were coming off another losing season and then owner John Moores decided to make a change. Moores hired George McGovern to run the team who in turn hired Theo Epstein. However, those weren't the only major additions that year, the Padres acquired Hunter Pence, Chase Utley and Cliff Lee in their push to the playoffs. The Padres would do the same thing the next two years, dealing off prospects and established players to build a balanced organization. And now today, that team built by McGovern and Epstein stands tall over the rest of baseball. Despite trading for all these stars, the Padres have one of the deepest farm systems in baseball luckily through the draft yielding talents such as Roy Hobbs, Isaah Booth and Nicky Gutierrez. It's hard to imagine this team not winning for the forseeable future.

TOP 10 PROSPECTS
1. Wil Myers- OF
2. Max Fried- SP
3. Byron Buxton- OF
4. Aaron Sanchez- SP
5. Roy Hobbs- OF
6. Lucas Giolito- SP
7. Rymer Liriano- SP
8. Zach Eflin- SP
9. Isaah Booth- OF
10. Nicky Gutierrez- SP

BEST TOOLS
Best Hitter for Average- Byron Buxton
Best Power Hitter- Roy Hobbs
Best Strike Zone Dicipline- Cory Spangenberg.
Fastest Baserunner- Greg Milcot
Best Athlete- Luis Brinson
Best Fastball- John Wall
Best Curveball- Max Fried
Best Slider- Nicky Gutierrez
Best Control- Max Fried
Best Defensive Catcher- Austin Hedges
Best Defensive Infielder- Cory Spangenberg
Best Infield Arm- Cory Spangenberg
Best Defensive Outfielder- Rymer Liriano
Best Outfield Arm- Rymer Liriano

PROJECTED 2019 LINEUP
Catcher- Austin Hedges
1st Base- Yonder Alonso
2nd Base- Jedd Gyorko
3rd Base- Joey Gallo
Shortstop- Cory Spangenberg
Left Field- Rymer Liriano
Center Field- Byron Buxton
Right Field- Roy Hobbs
#1 Starter- Clayton Kershaw
#2 Starter- Felix Hernandez
#3 Starter- Max Fried
#4 Starter- Lucas Giolito
#5 Starter- Aaron Sanchez
Closer- John Wall