OOTP5 Manager Career

[Ben E Lou]

<center>THE SETUP</center>
Alright boyz, the time is ripe for Ol' SkyDog to finally do a "serious" OOTP5 career. The CD release is out of the way, and it is Spring Break here in DeKalb County, which means that I have oodles of free time during the day this week to play while She Who Must Be Obeyed is at work.

I started with fictional players, and a 30-team MLB setup, and simmed the 1950-'99 seasons yesterday to give me 50 years of history and records. The most notable bit of recent history is that Detroit has won 4 of the last 6 World Series'.

I take over a struggling Atlanta franchise in 2000. Here is the 4-1-1 on me as a manager:

Birthday: 12/23/68
Basic Skill: Balanced
Special Skill: Negotiation
Difficulty: Hall of Fame

Here's the situation in Atlanta:

Mood: 75
Chemistry: 90
Owner Type: Normal
Owner Expectation: Play .500 ball in 2000!
Team Market: Below Average
Fan Loyalty: Very Good
Fan Interest: 37

On the field, this bunch has stunk for a while. We've lost 95+ games for four straight years, and haven't been to the postseason in 9 years. We did have a nice four-year playoff run in the mid 80's, culminating with a world title in '87.

Currently, our highest-paid player ($7.03M) is Jessie "Ugly" Meng, an aging career Braves' star. Meng, the #2 overall pick in '82, has relied on speed and a little bit of pop throughout his career, but his speed has faded (7 for 20 SB last season) and he's now 36. His ratings stand at 6/5/9, and last year his numbers were .244/22/86/.753OPS. We really have no current stars on the team. Here's our history in totality:

Year Wins Losses PCT Pos Attendance Revenue Payroll Profit/Loss
1999 66 96 0.407 5 2426607 "$53,180,905 " "$54,928,871 " "($1,747,966)"
1998 64 98 0.395 5 2524767 "$54,507,134 " "$59,077,651 " "($4,570,517)"
1997 67 95 0.414 4 2361356 "$54,850,729 " "$57,330,493 " "($2,479,764)"
1996 65 97 0.401 5 2559743 "$57,282,068 " "$65,749,805 " "($8,467,737)"
1995 78 84 0.481 5 2586989 "$58,906,216 " "$68,854,527 " "($9,948,311)"
1994 83 79 0.512 3 2949885 "$69,134,868 " "$73,898,563 " "($4,763,695)"
1993 83 79 0.512 4 3411200 "$73,942,043 " "$60,558,181 " "$13,383,862 "
1992 82 80 0.506 3 3557550 "$76,341,701 " "$61,904,158 " "$14,437,543 "
1991 87 76 0.534 1 3640146 "$81,329,639 " "$61,678,470 " "$19,651,169 "
1990 85 78 0.521 2 3634614 "$76,110,632 " "$59,945,974 " "$16,164,658 "
1989 83 79 0.512 2 3585637 "$76,107,860 " "$75,723,431 " "$384,429 "
1988 86 76 0.531 2 3642750 "$79,737,994 " "$73,737,991 " "$6,000,003 "
1987 100 62 0.617 1 3642850 "$85,537,436 " "$68,114,097 " "$17,423,339 "
1986 92 70 0.568 2 3642629 "$85,344,016 " "$74,150,543 " "$11,193,473 "
1985 96 66 0.593 1 3643099 "$76,865,419 " "$77,309,077 " "($443,658)"
1984 98 64 0.605 1 3626241 "$78,790,697 " "$72,279,137 " "$6,511,560 "
1983 82 80 0.506 2 3597968 "$74,624,677 " "$70,708,308 " "$3,916,369 "
1982 90 72 0.556 1 3428887 "$75,810,844 " "$60,096,743 " "$15,714,101 "
1981 66 96 0.407 5 3488166 "$73,220,984 " "$61,993,075 " "$11,227,909 "
1980 84 78 0.519 3 3643119 "$74,989,643 " "$79,551,384 " "($4,561,741)"
1979 96 66 0.593 1 3582825 "$79,582,840 " "$74,770,989 " "$4,811,851 "
1978 96 66 0.593 1 3062308 "$69,116,418 " "$65,556,013 " "$3,560,405 "
1977 88 75 0.54 2 2893676 "$66,095,366 " "$65,478,194 " "$617,172 "
1976 87 75 0.537 3 2688064 "$63,136,932 " "$72,769,226 " "($9,632,294)"
1975 89 73 0.549 2 2660601 "$67,029,395 " "$59,313,274 " "$7,716,121 "
1974 85 77 0.525 3 2724651 "$60,821,569 " "$50,534,766 " "$10,286,803 "
1973 79 83 0.488 3 2905452 "$61,898,270 " "$52,672,601 " "$9,225,669 "
1972 84 78 0.519 2 2816529 "$60,207,539 " "$43,883,813 " "$16,323,726 "
1971 88 74 0.543 2 2493337 "$53,416,360 " "$43,459,291 " "$9,957,069 "
1970 76 86 0.469 4 2486832 "$57,509,428 " "$47,984,915 " "$9,524,513 "
1969 74 88 0.457 3 2550330 "$59,026,799 " "$53,231,340 " "$5,795,459 "
1968 75 87 0.463 4 2846161 "$67,065,723 " "$66,573,148 " "$492,575 "
1967 84 78 0.519 3 3011780 "$69,049,358 " "$66,117,914 " "$2,931,444 "
1966 82 80 0.506 4 3455681 "$73,524,534 " "$81,799,416 " "($8,274,882)"
1965 85 77 0.525 2 3640574 "$80,115,649 " "$75,304,608 " "$4,811,041 "
1964 95 67 0.586 1 3642992 "$81,821,245 " "$77,835,260 " "$3,985,985 "
1963 90 72 0.556 1 3634834 "$75,943,714 " "$79,149,228 " "($3,205,514)"
1962 81 82 0.497 1 3578972 "$79,547,931 " "$72,696,307 " "$6,851,624 "
1961 84 78 0.519 2 3481986 "$73,374,546 " "$48,642,721 " "$24,731,825 "
1960 97 65 0.599 1 3102276 "$69,633,127 " "$52,586,164 " "$17,046,963 "
1959 75 87 0.463 5 2640705 "$59,516,127 " "$52,787,653 " "$6,728,474 "
1958 71 91 0.438 4 2719581 "$67,884,503 " "$62,841,831 " "$5,042,672 "
1957 76 86 0.469 4 3057435 "$72,650,430 " "$55,134,117 " "$17,516,313 "
1956 73 89 0.451 3 3421126 "$76,421,376 " "$62,240,188 " "$14,181,188 "
1955 81 81 0.5 5 3614933 "$81,792,854 " "$66,149,255 " "$15,643,599 "
1954 87 75 0.537 3 3640624 "$81,225,080 " "$73,126,423 " "$8,098,657 "
1953 94 68 0.58 1 3642930 "$83,052,312 " "$71,773,031 " "$11,279,281 "
1952 88 74 0.543 2 3640936 "$79,485,597 " "$69,970,879 " "$9,514,718 "
1951 93 69 0.574 1 3274192 "$73,575,068 " "$60,535,446 " "$13,039,622 "
1950 74 88 0.457 3 3189969 "$70,764,932 " "$60,745,980 " "$10,018,952 "

[GrantDawg]

Wow. All I can say is "Bobby Cox, cira 1988."

[Ben E Lou]

<center>THE STARS OF THE GAME</center>

Here is the lowdown on a few of the elite players in the current universe.

RF Jose Cabello--Milwaukee, Age 32--6/10/5
Cabello holds the single-season home run record, with 65 in '96. He looks to still be in his prime, as he had his best all-around season in '99--.300/62/150/1.024OPS. He has hit 53+ homers five times in his career, and already has 515 career dingers. The lifetime record is 567, so Cabello should shatter that number and set a new standard. He is a 6-time All Star and 4-time MVP. He's also a very good defensive right fielder, as his two Gold Glove awards testify.

2B Laurence Tobar--Florida, Age 29--7/10/7
Tobar has 5-star talent. In five full seasons, he's hit 189 home runs, including 50 to go along with a .303 average in '99. He's also fast--he stole 26 bases last year. He is a 3-time All-Star.

LF Albert Evans--Chicago(N), Age 34--9/7/6
Someone forgot to tell this guy that performances aren't as consistent in OOTP5. For the past seven seasons, he's hit 28-35 homers each year, his average has ranged from .301 to .349, and he has stolen 24-36 bases. His last four years have been virtual carbon copies:
1996: .320/34/102/30SB
1997: .349/33/109/35SB
1998: .324/35/108/36SB
1999: .340/33/104/31SB

He owns the NL record for hits (221 in '97), and is a 2-time MVP and 6-time All Star. He's been in the league's top 5 in base hits seven times.

Larry Gutowski--3B,Minnesota, age 33, 9/5/6
Gutowski has been a right-handed Wade Boggs. He has 8 straight .300+ seasons under his belt, with his career home run high being only 16. He's a three-time All-Star, and won the MVP Award in '99, hitting .365 with 15HR, 97 RBI. He's won three batting titles, and holds the career record for hits in a season (222). His lifetime .324 average is 2nd on the career list. (The leader is at .326).

SP Raul "Goldie" Grajeda-Detroit--age 36--10/7/8/9
Goldie Grajeda has been a big part of Detroit's four recent World Championships, with 12 career postseason wins. He's led the league in ERA twice, in WHIP twice and in K's once, and has one Cy Young Award. He's got 202 career wins, and a lifetime 3.29 ERA. He's still going strong, with 40 wins in the last 2 seasons.

SP Pedro Diaz--Montreal--Age 34--10/8/9/7
This guy is just dominant, as his four career No-Hitters attest. He has a current streak of six straight seasons with an ERA under 3.00, including a 20-5, 2.07 effort in '99 that earned him his third Cy Young Award. He's been either 1st or 2nd in WHIP for the past six seasons. He was 27 before he earned a spot in a major league rotation, so he only has 146 career wins, but right now, he's the best of the best on the hill.

There are certainly other very talented players in the league, but these six were worthy of individual mention.

[Ben E Lou]

POSITION REPORT: Catchers

Theodore Barrett (6/6/7) looks like a serviceable starter. With all the needs this team has, I'll have to put up with his "D" throwing arm for now. His contract runs out after this year. He has a lifetime .753 OPS, and is 32 years old. He'll be spelled from time to time by 27-year-old Antonio Aguiar (4/5/5). Aguiar hit .308 at AAA last year, and has a "C" throwing arm. He is a one-star player, so I don't mind bringing him up to be a backup. The only prospect worth mentioning at this point is 20-year-old Luis Pierce (Avg/Fair/Avg). Pierce is rated a three-star talent, but hasn't done much in the minors in two seasons. He has yet to hit his first minor-league homer.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Barrett is in his contract year, and my best prospect, Pierce is several years away from being ready, if he'll ever be. If Barrett gives me a solid year, I may be forced to keep him around longer. He is making $2.907M this year.

[Ben E Lou]

POSITION REPORT: First Base

27-year-old Benny Conde (4/4/3) would be the starter if I can't sign a FA. He's yet to get an at-bat in the bigs. Conde is a switch hitter and is somewhat intriguing actually. He's hit over .300 in each of his last four years in the minors, with his OPS .788 or better. His last three seasons have been at AAA. The only other 1B has never played above AA, and looks to have no future in the bigs.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: If I don't have enough money to fill all my needs (a STRONG possibility), Conde might have at least earned himself a look at 1B.

[Ben E Lou]

POSITION REPORT: Second Base

Pedro Salo (6/4/8) was ok offensively as the starter last year (.268-8-58-.719OPS). However, with his "E" range at 2B, the 28-year-old is a defensive liability. Another option is Eddie Lopez (4/5/4). The 25-year-old had a .569 slugging percentage last year in 65 major league at bats, and is rated Good in power. his "C" range and .995 fielding percentage would be an improvement from Salo. 21-year-old Alan "The Hammer" Dye (Good/Good/Good) is a big prospect, rated the #16 prospect in all of baseball, but isn't quite ready yet (4/4/4). He hit .243 last year at AAA, and will probably remain there at the start of this year. Dye can also play SS, but is better defensively at 2B ("B" range, .995 FPct). 34-year-old Steve Fulmer ("B" range) can also play 3B and SS, and will therefore likely earn a roster spot as a utility player/defensive replacement.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Clearly, "The Hammer" is the future here. He's rated 4/4/4 right now, so he should be ready by the beginning of next year at the very latest. Lopez looks like he can hold things down until then. I'll see if I can trade Salo for a decent player at another position of need.

[Ben E Lou]

POSITION REPORT: Third Base

Anthony Schuster (6/6/6) has been the starter for the past four seasons. He's coming off of a breakout-type year for him .261-24-98, and is in the last year of his contract at age 30. He's good defensively as well ("B" range"). He'll be backed up by 35-year-old Samuel Charneco (6/4/5). Charneco is a 3B/LF who gives us a fair right-handed bat off the bench. He's never been a full-time starter, but has a lifetime average of .267 in 1,342 at bats. There are no prospects worth mentioning at 3B.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: If Schuster has another year like he did in '99, we'll be just fine here, but probably won't be able to afford to re-sign him after this year, when his contract runs out.

[Anrhydeddu]

Great to see this and a superb format.

[Ben E Lou]

POSITION REPORT: Shortstop

Speedy 28-year-old switch-hitter Charles Wilson (5/5/9) returns for the final year of his contract. Wilson has stolen 40+ bases each of the last three seasons. Defensively, he's nothing special, with a "D" range and .968 pct. Backup John Blakemore (4/5/6) has "C" range and is also fast (B speed, B stealing). Blakemore may steal a few starts against left-handed pitching. We have TWO four-star prospects at SS, 25-year-old Ricardo Cazares (Good/Good/Avg) and 21-year-old Robert Pauli (Good/Fair/Avg). Cazares, the #73 prospect in the land, might just be ready now. His current ratings are 6/4/5, and he hit 87 with a .744 OPS in AAA last year. Like Wilson, he has "D" range. Pauli, on the other hand, (#92 prospect), has "B" range, but needs some seasoning. He hit .256 with a .619 OPS in A-ball.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Interesting situation here. I prefer a good defensive shortstop. If all goes according to plan, I'll let Wilson play out his contract this year, go with Cazares for the next few years while grooming Pauli, then be able to trade Cazares when Pauli is ready.

[Barkeep49]

Really enjoying this.

Question though: What have you placed as the maximum cash a team can have?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by Barkeep49
Really enjoying this.

Question though: What have you placed as the maximum cash a team can have? $10M. I haven't fooled around with this setting much. Should I change it?

[Ben E Lou]

POSITION REPORT: Left Field

The aforementioned Jessie "Ugly" Meng (6/5/9) has been a fixture here as the starter since 1985, but the time of this 36-year-old being productive appears to be almost up. He's signed to a $7.03M contract through 2001. Three-star prospect Jacobo Sousa (Avg/Avg/Avg) was called up to AAA mid-way through last year, and his .261 the rest of the way at that level. The 24-year-old is probably at least a season away from being ready to be an impact player. I like his "B" range at LF. Andres Cobo (5/2/7) can play all three outfield positions and has a "B" range. He's been a career backup. Finally, there's mega-prospect Sidney "Tumbleweed" Sutton (Good/Brl/Brl). This 24-year-old, the #5 prospect in the land, looks to be realer than Real Deal Holyfield. He was the #2 overall pick last year, and hit 20 homers with an .838 OPS in 101 games in A-ball. He was called up to AA, and responded by hitting 6 homers in 130 at bats, and turning in a .896 OPS. He's a left-handed hitter who actually has better range at RF (C) than LF (D), but his future with us looks to be in left field, due to the presence of another prospect in RF who has a much better throwing arm. ("A" as opposed to Sutton's "C")

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Wisdom would dictate trading Meng away now, while I might be able to get something for him, to free up some money to help fill other needs. I'd be willing to start Cobo if I can trade Meng.

[Ben E Lou]

POSITION REPORT: Center Field

Joseph Dyke (6/2/6) has started in CF for the past three seasons. He's a good baserunner ("B" in both speed and stealing). He's signed through the end of next season. He's average defensively (C range, .992, C arm). Alberto Iglesias (Avg/Fair/Avg) has hit a ton in the minors, and can play all three positions with "B" range. His best pct. is at CF though (.990). This 23-year-old switch-hitter batted .318 in AAA last year. In Michael "Superfly" Sylvain (Good, Brilliant, Good), we have a 5-star mega-prospect. Superfly Sylvain hit .309 in '98 at AA, but over two months in '99 due to injury. He'll start this year in AAA, but this 21-year-old, with 4/4/4 current ratings, could see the bigs before the year is over. He's a five-tool talent, with B speed, A stealing ability, an "A" arm and .998 pct in CF. Superfly also has Great team leader skills. Sylvain is baseball's #13 prospect.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Dyke and/or Iglesias will do just fine until Superfly is ready.

[Ben E Lou]

POSITION REPORT: Right Field

30-year-old Antonio Mejia (6/3/5) has been the primary starter for the past two seasons. He's got "A" stealing ability, and A range in RF. He is a decent #2 hitter, but nothing special. We've got yet another big prospect here, 4 1/2 star talent Bryan Heasley (Good, Good, Avg). Heasley was a 5th-round draft choice, but his outlook has brightened in four years of A ball. At age 22, he's still got time to develop. He's currently rated 3/3/3. He's got an "A" arm.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Mejia is cheap ($819K) and signed through the end of next year. We'll try to keep him around until Heasley reaches the bigs.

[Barkeep49]

While I am by no means an OOTP expert most of the people I've read have set the cash between 20-30 with many favoring 25 million. I guess it creates some good competition for free agents, while not allowing the computer, or player, to spind willy nilly. I've been playing at 20 for my current league and am very pleased with what happens.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by Barkeep49
While I am by no means an OOTP expert most of the people I've read have set the cash between 20-30 with many favoring 25 million. I guess it creates some good competition for free agents, while not allowing the computer, or player, to spind willy nilly. I've been playing at 20 for my current league and am very pleased with what happens. Alrighty. I'll change it to 25 then. I've never read an OOTP dynasty. I hope I haven't screwed up everything by setting it to $10M for the quick-sim.

There you have exhibit "A" on why I dislike the kind of customization present in OOTP. If the developer would just tweak the settings himself to make everything balance out properly, such discussions would be unnecessary. As OOTP stands, they can always be a little lax with the game engine, because "the users can experiment until they get it right." :rolleyes: I don't buy games to do experiments. I buy games to PLAY them!

[Ben E Lou]

POSITION REPORT: Starting Pitchers

32-year-old lefty Jimmy Cobbs (8/8/9) looks like the best of the bunch. Cobbs went 12-7 with a 3.07 ERA last year, and has led the league in strikeouts in each of the past two seasons. He's a steal at $2.47M, but is in the last year of his contract. On the other hand, 33-year-old Roberto Medina (8/7/6) has never lived up to his scouting reports in his nine seasons in the bigs. His career-best season to date is a mediocre 13-13 with a 4.79 ERA. He's signed for $5.28M through 2001. Another solid-ratings, poor-performance guy on our staff is 32-year-old James Shultis (7/6/6). Shultis has been a spot starter for most of his career, but was in the Atlanta rotation last year, going 7-14 with a 5.40 ERA. He's only costing $560K, and his contract runs out after this season. The rest of the veterans are one-star talents with little hope.

As far as starting pitching prospects, 25-year-old Samuel Figueroa (Avg/Good/Bril) is the best we have. This 4-star lefty, rated the #86 prospect in the game, might be ready for the bigs. His current ratings are 5/6/8, and he's had two solid seasons at AAA (6-8, 3.20 and 11-8, 3.31). The only other promising-looking prospect is 23-year-old Willie "The Fireball" Prahl (Good/Avg/Avg). The Fireball has had two seasons in AAA, and has looked VERY good. His current 6/5/4 ratings also indicate that he may be ready.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I'd like to get a FA or trade for one solid starter, so I don't have to rely on both Figueroa and The Fireball in the rotation this year.

[Ben E Lou]

Gotta run for a bit. The saga will continue later this evening though.

[Ben E Lou]

POSITION REPORT: Relief Pitching

Howard Boykins (8/6/8), a 25-year-old lefty, has pitched over 80 games in relief each of the past two seasons. He had a 3.69 ERA in '99. He looks to be a mainstay in the 'pen for quite some time. 33-year-old lefty Milford Holley (8/8/8) is my bet to be the closer this season. He has a 3.85 lifetime ERA, and had a 3.09 in '99. John Honda (7/7/7), age 29, got his first full season in the majors last year, and responded with a 2.51 ERA. He's signed through '02. 25-year-old righty Tomas Nieves (8/6/8) had a nice rookie campaign last year, with a 4.22 ERA in 74 2/3 IP. 28-year-old lefty Henry Mukai (8/8/6) was the closer last year. He had 29 saves and a 3.77 ERA. Santiago Martines (8/7/5), a 32-year old right-hander, appeared in 78 games and had a 3.89 ERA.

A great bullpen prospect is 21 yo Joshua Dinger (Brl/Avg/Good). Dinger's ratings are already 7/5/6, and he looks ready for the Show. He's a five-star talent, and probably the closer of the future.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: The 'pen looks solid and deep.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2000 FREE AGENCY PERIOD REPORT</center>

TRADES
I trade away 2B Salo and LF Meg to Minnesota for 2B Rodney Campbell (6/5/7). Campbell is a very good defensive second basemen ("A" range, .980 flding pct.) with a .266 career average in 3 1/2 seasons in the bigs. He's eligible for arbitration. This deal frees up a good bit of cash for free agents, as well as gets me the kind of 2B I like.

DESIRES
I have $15.26M available to sign FA's now. I'd like to sign a left fielder, a first baseman and a starting pitcher. For $5M each, I figure three-star talent is what I can afford to go after. I make offers to three guys. All three are the best offers on Day 1.

The first to accept is 1B Emil "Space" Romero (5/6/4). This 34-year-old is a risk at $4M for 2 years. He's out 6-7 weeks with a torn abdominal muscle currently. He hasn't been a full-time starter since '98. I'm hoping he can recover his '96 form: 23 HR, 97 RBI, .315 avg. He's got "A" range at 1B, and is a left-handed hitter. He has three Gold Gloves in his resume'.

Next to sign with us is SP Elliot Feder (8/6/7). 30-year-old Feder inks a 4-year deal for $6M per year. He had a 14-13 record with a 3.86 ERA in '99, and in his five seasons in the bigs, he has a 60-61 record with a 4.39 ERA. He's got "A" endurance as a starter, and shoudl help stabilize the rotation.

Finally, I get in a bidding war and have to overpay for 33-year-old LF Ferdy Puente (5/5/6), signing him to a 2-year deal for $5.2M per year. Puente is a good all-around player, with "A" range at both LF and CF, with "B" speed and stealing ability. He had a subpar 1999, hitting .230 with 11 homers. If he can return to his '98 form (24 HR, .296 avg), I'll be VERY pleased. At any rate, he will likely out-perform the now-traded Meng, plus he's cheaper.

POST-FREE AGENCY THOUGHTS
Well, I now feel like I have a workable player at every position. I think we're good enough to approach .500.

[Swaggs]

Off to a good start--I'll be watching. :)

[oykib]

Originally posted by SkyDog
POSITION REPORT: Starting Pitchers

32-year-old lefty Jimmy Cobbs (8/8/9) looks like the best of the bunch. Cobbs went 12-7 with a 3.07 ERA last year, and has led the league in strikeouts in each of the past two seasons. He's a steal at $2.47M, but is in the last year of his contract. On the other hand, 33-year-old Roberto Medina (8/7/6) has never lived up to his scouting reports in his nine seasons in the bigs. His career-best season to date is a mediocre 13-13 with a 4.79 ERA. He's signed for $5.28M through 2001. Another solid-ratings, poor-performance guy on our staff is 32-year-old James Shultis (7/6/6). Shultis has been a spot starter for most of his career, but was in the Atlanta rotation last year, going 7-14 with a 5.40 ERA. He's only costing $560K, and his contract runs out after this season. The rest of the veterans are one-star talents with little hope.

As far as starting pitching prospects, 25-year-old Samuel Figueroa (Avg/Good/Bril) is the best we have. This 4-star lefty, rated the #86 prospect in the game, might be ready for the bigs. His current ratings are 5/6/8, and he's had two solid seasons at AAA (6-8, 3.20 and 11-8, 3.31). The only other promising-looking prospect is 23-year-old Willie "The Fireball" Prahl (Good/Avg/Avg). The Fireball has had two seasons in AAA, and has looked VERY good. His current 6/5/4 ratings also indicate that he may be ready.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I'd like to get a FA or trade for one solid starter, so I don't have to rely on both Figueroa and The Fireball in the rotation this year.

One reason for your pitchers' subpar performances might be your crappy defense. Having both your second baseman and Shortstop rated "D" has got to be a real killer. I haven't really tried out my OOTP5, yet. I'll post my dynasty soon, as well.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by oykib
One reason for your pitchers' subpar performances might be your crappy defense. Having both your second baseman and Shortstop rated "D" has got to be a real killer. I haven't really tried out my OOTP5, yet. I'll post my dynasty soon, as well. I agree. I've definitely upgraded my defense in trading and free agency. We'll see the results.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2000 AMATEUR DRAFT REPORT</center>

DRAFT POSITION: 1

DRAFTEES
1. SP Hipolito “The Terminator” Dominguez. (Good/Good/Good) This 22-year-old 5-star lefty looks like he’s almost ready for the Show now. He’s rated 6/4/6. He’s a Great Leader, and looks like he’ll be a workhorse with his “A” duration. I’m looking forward to seeing him terminate hitters. Post draft ranking: (29th)
2. 1B Tyler Poulson. (Good/Avg/Avg). He’s and 18-year old left-handed hitter who is loyal and consistent. First base is a rare position where I didn’t have a prospect, and he was the best-available position player. Easy decision. I can deal with his “D” range at first base.
3. 1B/3B Cruz Muniz. (Fair, Brilliant, Average) He’s got “B” range at both positions, and has the potential to be a big bopper. He’s 21.
4. RP Lucas Fernandez. (Good, Brilliant, Average) This 20-year-old lefty will probably be in the bigs fairly quickly. He’s rated 6/6/3 right now and fields his position well. (B)
5. SP/RP William Bent. (Good/Avg/Good) He’s 19 years old. His duration as a starter is only “E”, but gives him more value in my book. I’ll stick him in a minor league rotation and see what happens.
6. LF Tobias Hachiro. (Fair/Avg/Fair) Hachiro’s potential value to us would be as a speedster/defensive replacement. He’s got “A” range, is a switch hitter, has “A” speed and “B” stealing ability. He’s only 19 years old. I’d like him to learn another outfield position in the minors.
7. SS Roger Googe. (Fair/Poor/Fair) Another potential defensive replacement. He has “A” range at both 3B and SS, with a .982 fielding pct at SS.

POST-DRAFT TOP TEN MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEMS
1. Philly
2. Chicago
3. Atlanta
4. Texas
5. Montreal
6. Seattle
7. Pittsburgh
8. Cincinnati
9. Los Angeles
10. Tampa Bay

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2000 SPRING TRAINING REPORT</center>

Sunday 3/2/2000 :
SPRING TRAINING NEWS:

Cosme Reynoso has good pitching sessions!
Cosme Reynoso has improved his control!
Douglas Diez has good pitching sessions!
Douglas Diez has increased his throwing velocity!
Hipolito Dominguez loses some stamina.
Hipolito Dominguez has poor pitching sessions.
Hipolito Dominguez has lost some throwing velocity.
Hipolito Dominguez has lost some control.
Tyler Poulson displays more power in batting practice!
Cruz Muñiz has good batting practice sessions!
Lucas Fernandez loses some stamina.
Lucas Fernandez has poor pitching sessions.
Lucas Fernandez has lost some throwing velocity.
Lucas Fernandez has lost some control.
Joshua Dinger has good pitching sessions!
Joshua Dinger has increased his throwing velocity!
Joshua Dinger has improved his control!
Tobias Hachiro showed good strike zone judgement!
Roger Googe showed good strike zone judgement!
William Polly displays more power in batting practice!
Michael Sylvain has good batting practice sessions!
Michael Sylvain displays more power in batting practice!
Benito Gutierrez has good batting practice sessions!
Benito Gutierrez showed good strike zone judgement!
David Bischoff has good batting practice sessions!
David Bischoff showed good strike zone judgement!
Alberto Iglesias displays more power in batting practice!
Willie Prahl has good pitching sessions!
Willie Prahl has increased his throwing velocity!
Bryan Heasley has good batting practice sessions!
Bryan Heasley displays more power in batting practice!
Bryan Heasley showed good strike zone judgement!
Alan Dye displays more power in batting practice!
Alan Dye showed good strike zone judgement!
Carlos Villar has increased his throwing velocity!
Jacobo Sousa has good batting practice sessions!
Earl Nakamura displays more power in batting practice!
Alvin Garofalo has good batting practice sessions!
Alvin Garofalo displays more power in batting practice!
Alvin Garofalo showed good strike zone judgement!
Nathaniel Waldrop displays more power in batting practice!
Robert Falconer displays more power in batting practice!
Robert Pauli showed good strike zone judgement!
SPRING TRAINING COMMENTS
Well, I’m certainly disappointed to see Dominguez have a weak spring. The flip side is that Superfly Sylvain is lookin’ good!

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2000 MAJOR LEAGUE LINEUPS AND ROTATIONS</center>

Batting Order vs. RHP
1. SS Wilson (5/5/9)
2. LF Puente (5/5/6)
3. C Barrett (6/6/7)
4. 3B Schuster (6/6/6)
5. 1B Romero (5/6/4)
6. 2B Campbell (6/5/7)
7. RF Mejia (6/3/5)
8. CF Dyke (6/2/6)

Batting Order vs. LHP
1. SS Wilson (5/5/9)
2. LF Puente (5/5/6)
3. C Barrett (6/6/7)
4. 3B Schuster (6/6/6)
5. 2B Campbell (6/5/7)
6. RF Mejia (6/3/5)
7. 1B Romero (5/6/4)
8. CD Dyke (6/2/6)

Pitching Rotation
1. Cobbs (8/8/9)
2. Medina (8/7/6)
3. Feder (8/6/7)
4. Shultis (7/6/6)
5. Figueroa (5/6/8)
Closer: Mukai (8/8/6)

Strategy
Offensively, we're going to run a LOT. We've got lots of speed. I've pumped up base stealing for all those guys. With the depth of our bullpen, we're going to have a somewhat quick hook.

Outlook
With improved defense and pitching, on paper this looks like a squad that can finish .500 or better.

[Anrhydeddu]

If the developer would just tweak the settings himself to make everything balance out properly

Balance out properly for a 1910 season with average stadium size under 20,000 and no TV revenues or for the 2003 season with average stadium size well over 50,000 and huge TV contracts? :)

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by Anrhydeddu
Balance out properly for a 1910 season with average stadium size under 20,000 and no TV revenues or for the 2003 season with average stadium size well over 50,000 and huge TV contracts? :) My point exactly. If weird stuff like the 1910 season wasn't an option, then things could be made to balance out for modern-day baseball. ;)

[Ben E Lou]

<center>APRIL 2000</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 9-17
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 9-17
CURRENT STANDING: Last place. 9 ½ games behind division-leading Mets.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The bullpen is doing great. Highest bullpen ERA is Honda’s 3.38. SP’s Cobbs (3.82), Feder (4.32) and Shultis (4.28) have done well enough. Medina (8.14) is getting shelled, and rookie Figueroa (5.08) has room to improve.

Emil Romero had a very good month, batting .413 with 14 RBI’s. Ferdy Puente, on the other hand, is stinking it up with a .182 average. I drop Puente down to #7 in the order, and move Dyke (.250, 7 SB) up to #2. Looking at our team stats overall, what stands out is that we’re 29th in MLB in home runs, and 4th in stolen bases. Otherwise, we’re middle-of-the-road in most other numbers.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:
Monday 4/10/2000 :

Santos Saavedra seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff...Santos Saavedra has lost some movement on his pitches...

Monday 4/17/2000 :

Joshua Dinger's pitches have more bite now, the movement has improved!Daniel Oxendine seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...Alvin Garofalo has lost some power...

Monday 5/1/2000 :

Stephen Dills has lost a step. His speed drops to D ...Stephen Dills has lost some momentum, his range at CF drops to D ...Benny Conde has lost some momentum, his range at 1B drops to D ...Daniel Davila is getting faster, his speed increases to D ...

Dinger is lighting it up at AAA, but no one in the major league bullpen is struggling. I may just make a trade before this post is over. None of the decreases are of any importance.

AAA NOTES
As mentioned above, Joshua Dinger has a 1.29 ERA, a 0.71 WHIP and 22 K’s in 14 IP. His ratings are up to 8/5/6. I think he’s ready. I’ll try to trade closer Mukai and a position starter for a big bat. 2B Alan “The Hammer” Dye is hitting .337, but his ratings are still 4/4/5. I’ll keep watching him.

AA NOTES:
The Terminator Dominguez has struggled a bit early: 1-2, 5.28 ERA. RF Heasley is hitting .377, but with no HR’s. The computer says he’s ready for AAA. I promote him.

A NOTES:
Unheralded 22-year-old 3B William Polly is hitting .310 with a .899OPS. I’ll watch him.

INJURIES:
None this month.

KEY E-MAILS:Bryan Heasley has made notable progress
learning his new position, Leftfield.
I would rate his skills as "D" right now.He’s a big prospect already. Nice to have another position he can play if necessary.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
I’ve now got a relationship with a girl named Blaney.

TRADES
I trade Closer Mukai and Shortstop Prospect Cazares to St. Louis for SS Eduardo Fuensanta (6/8/5). 33-year-old Fuensanta has “A” range at SS, and has hit 27-33 homers each of the past seven seasons. He’s in the next-to-last year of a contract paying him $8.19M per year. I’ll drop him in the cleanup spot and hope that improves my offense. He should certainly improve the defense. Then, I trade SS Wilson to Cleveland for two (avg/avg/avg) talent young pitching prospects. Their names are Chad Alejo and Bill Hicks. Hopefully one will turn into something good. Here’s the new lineup vs. RHP:

1. CF Dyke (6/2/6)
2. LF Puente (5/5/6)
3. C Barrett (6/6/7)
4. SS Fuensanta (6/8/5)
5. 1B Romero (5/6/4)
6. 3B Schuster (6/6/6)
7. 2B Campbell (6/5/7)
8. RF Mejia (6/3/5)[/b]

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: Cecil Sanders, TX (6-0, 1.52) and Ronald Smith, SD (1-1, 0.90)
Batters Of The Month: RF William Harris, TX (.340, 12, 30, 1.191) and RF Elmer Connors, StL (.364,13,27,1.325)

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTH
Thursday 4/6/2000 :

Emil Romero has 4 hits against New York (N).

Tuesday 4/11/2000 :

Charles Wilson has 4 hits against San Diego.

Wednesday 4/12/2000 :

James Shultis fans 11 batters against San Diego.

Friday 4/28/2000 :

Anthony Schuster has 4 hits against Florida.Anthony Schuster crushes 2 homers against Florida.Anthony Schuster scores 4 runs against Florida.

Saturday 4/29/2000 :

Theodore Barrett has 5 hits against Florida.

Sunday 4/30/2000 :

Jimmy Cobbs fans 13 batters against Florida.

[Anrhydeddu]

SkyDog: Lol. Good thing it's not up to me since I would only have the option to do historical leagues instead of the silly modern-day crap. ;) :D :D (But don't you agree that because of this, both you and I can be reasonably satisfied?)

[Ben E Lou]

<center>MAY 2000</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 16-12
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 25-29
CURRENT STANDING: Fourth place. 7½ games behind the division-leading Mets.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
Oops. I forgot to insert Dinger into the closer slot, and he only got one appearance. (1.0IP, 2K, SV). The front four of the rotation have all settled in now. (3.20, 4.39, 3.51, 3.70 ERA’s.) Figueroa is still struggling (2-6, 5.93).

We’ve risen to #20 in team homers, with Schuster and Fuensanta having 10 each. On the whole, the hitting has improved. RF Mejia (.233) is the only regular hitting under .240. Dyke and Puente have 27 SB’s between the two of them at the top of the order, but their OBP’s stink (both are under .300). 1B Romero has cooled off, and is down to .313. The problem has been left-handed pitching. He’s only hit .212 with a .515 OPS against lefties. Conde has hit .368 in 19 at bats vs. lefties up to now, so I’m going to a strict platoon situation at 1B.


PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:
Monday 5/8/2000 :

Steve Fulmer plate discipline seems to have faded...

Monday 5/15/2000 :

Chad Alejo has worked out more, his duration raises to C ...

Monday 5/22/2000 :

Gregory Priolo seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...Jacobo Sousa has gained more power!

Monday 5/29/2000 :

James Shultis has worked out more, his duration raises to B ...Douglas Diez seems to have improved his pure stuff! Cruz Muñiz increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!

Sousa’s power increase crowds an already crowded outfield prospect picture. He’s now up to 3 ½ stars, and is hitting .316 in AAA. Diez is now a 4 ½ star guy, with a 2.96 ERA in AAA, and 4/3/7 ratings. Muniz increasing his contact to average could be BIG news. He’s now Avg/Brl/Avg, and up to 3 ½ stars. The decreases are all insignificant players.

AAA NOTES
2B Alan “The Hammer” Dye is down to .303, and still 4/4/5. CF Michael “Superfly” Sylvain is hitting .272, and is up to 5/4/4. The scouting report says he’s probably ready right now to test his mettle in the majors. Major league starting CF Joseph Dyke only has a .276 OBP in the #2 slot, and Superfly looks just as fast as Dyke (Both are B,B). I’ll give Superfly one more month to develop at AAA, and call him up July 1st if all is still going well. RF Heasley has proven himself ready for AAA. He’s hit .273 this month.

AA NOTES:
Hipolitor “The Terminator” Dominguez has dropped his ERA to 3.82, from 5.28 at the end of April.

A NOTES:
Unheralded 22-year-old 3B William Polly is down to .280. Nothing to see here.

INJURIES:
Again, none this month.

KEY E-MAILS:
I received no e-mails for note besides guys looking for extensions. I’m not talking contracts during the season. We’ll do these at the end of the regular season.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
Blaney and I have been dating for four months now. I decide to pop the question. She doesn’t want to marry me yet.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: Ciro Esparza, TB (2-0, 0.93) and Michael Federico, COL (3-0, 1.29)
Batters Of The Month: 3B Phillip Dileo, ANA (.374, 9, 33) and legendary RF Jose Cabello, MIL (.398, 7, 20). (Cabello may be on his way to his best all-around season yet. He’s hitting .372 with 18 HR’s and 49 RBI)

TEAM NEWS Friday 5/5/2000 :
Rodney Campbell hits a 468-foot homerun!!
Jimmy Cobbs strikes out 12 against Florida.

Thursday 5/11/2000 :
Eduardo Fuensanta crushes 2 homers against Arizona.
Eduardo Fuensanta has 5 RBI against Arizona.

Tuesday 5/16/2000 :
Jimmy Cobbs strikes out 12 against Pittsburgh.

Thursday 5/18/2000 :
Rodney Campbell has 4 hits against Pittsburgh.
Anthony Schuster slams 2 homers against Pittsburgh.

Sunday 5/21/2000 :
Theodore Barrett hits a 455-foot homerun!!

Monday 5/22/2000 :
Anthony Schuster was named Player of the Week!
He batted .478 in 23 AB, with 5 HR and 11 RBI.

Tuesday 5/23/2000 :
Roberto Medina pitches a 2-hit shutout against Philadelphia!!

Monday 5/29/2000 :
Roberto Medina was named Player of the Week!
He won 2 games, with one shutout, pitched 16.1 innings
with an ERA of 0.00, fanning 8.

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
Boston’s SS Bill Curley got his 2,000th hit this month.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2000 AMATEUR DRAFT REPORT</center>

Oops. I set the draft to June at the beginning of they year. I didn’t think it would force a draft THIS June. Oh well. Henceforth, the draft will be in June. Since I have the #1 pick, I decide to change the draft to “Serpentine” to give a little better balance in this one.

DRAFT POSITION: 1

DRAFTEES
1. C Walter Mcdonald (Good/Brl/Brl) This 23-year-old 5-star right-handed hitter is a great find at a position that I have no strong prospects. He’s got a “C” arm. He becomes the #11 prospect in the game.
2. SP Jim Decker. (Avg/Avg/Good). Decker, a 19-year-old righty, fields his position well (“A” range). Could crack the rotation one day.
3. CF/RF Joseph Gillenwater (Avg/Avg/Fair). Gillenwater has “A” range at both CF and RF, and a “C” throwing arm. He’s an 18-year old lefthanded hitter. With a little development, he could become an impact player in the bigs.
4. RF/LF Randy Wheeler (Fair/Avg/Avg). He could be a good utility OF/defensive replacement/pinch runner. Wheeler is rated “B” at LF, “A” at RF and has an “A” arm. He’s also got “B” ratings at speed and stealing. He looks like the kind of guy I like to have on the bench.
5. SP/RP Dean Sipe (Avg/Good/Good). 23-year-old Sipe has “E” endurance as a starter and “A” defensive range.
6. MR Bobby Day (Avg/Good/Avg). 19 years old. “A” fielding. “B” holding runners.
7. 2B/SS Lawrence Burgan (Fair/Fair/Fair). Burgan is a 19-year-old good-field, no-hit kind of player. He is a left-handed hitter. Could earn a spot as a utility infielder evenutually.

POST-DRAFT TOP TEN MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEMS
1. Atlanta
2. Seattle
3. Chicago (A)
4. Cincinnati
5. Baltimore
6. Philadelphia
7. LA
8. Texas
9. Milwaukee
10. Pittsburgh

[Ben E Lou]

<center>JUNE 2000</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 15-13
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 40-42
CURRENT STANDING: Fourth place. 9 games behind the division-leading Mets.

INJURIES DURING MONTH:
LF Puente misses a week this month.
SS Fuensanta goes down with a ruptured biceps tendon on June 20th. His recovery time is listed at 4 weeks. Backup John Blakemore becomes the starter.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The front four now all have ERA’s of 3.52 or less, and Figueroa has lowered his to 5.09 as well. 21-year-old closer Joshua Dinger has been dominant. He had 10 saves in the month, and has an ERA of 1.80. Opponents are only hitting .231 against us, best in the majors.

1B Conde has been a nice upgrade in the platoon against left-handed batters. He’s hitting .341.

MID-SEASON TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 1B Romero--.300
HR: 3B Schuster—14
RBI: 3B Schuster—48
SB: CF Dyke—23
SP ERA: Shultis—3.25
RP ERA: Dinger—1.80
SAVES: Dinger—11
SP K’s: Cobbs—126

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:No new development in June.

AAA NOTES
2B Alan “The Hammer” Dye is hitting .306, and up to 5/4/5. He’s got “Good” talent in power, but is only slugging .423. I want to see some of that power show itself before I promote him. LF Jacobo Sousa also needs to show some power. He’s hitting .292 , but only slugging.402. CF “Superfly” Sylvain is up to .310, with ratings still at 5/4/4. Major league starting CF Joseph Dyke raised his OBP 28 points this month, and earns a temporary reprieve. RF Heasley had a tough month. His average dropped 30 points to .242.

AA NOTES:
Hipolito Dominguez has dropped his ERA to 3.45, and the scout is saying he may be ready for AAA. I’ll let “The Terminator” stay in AA for at least another month though. LF Sidney “Tumbleweed” Sutton is hitting .299 and slugging .507. The scout says he could play in AAA. He gets the call-up. He’ll DH, since all three OF slots at AAA have good prospects.

A NOTES:
June draftee RP/SP Dean Sipe has a 0.00 ERA in 7 relief appearances. I’ll put him in the rotation now. C Walter McDonald is hitting .300 after his first month. 1B Muniz is hitting .305 and slugging .480. Four-star prospect SS Roberti Pauli is only hitting .259 in this, his third season at “A” ball. I’m a bit concerned.

KEY E-MAILS:
I received no e-mails of note.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: Ciro Rojas, ANA (5-1, 1.13) and Michael Diaz, SD (5-1, 1.81)
Batters Of The Month: LF Silvio Freire, DET (.394, 23RBI) and CF Chris Korando, PIT (.345, 28RBI)

TEAM NEWSTuesday 6/6/2000 :
Anthony Schuster crushes 2 homers against St. Louis.
Anthony Schuster has 6 RBI against St. Louis.

Saturday 6/10/2000 :
James Shultis strikes out 13 against Montreal.

Friday 6/16/2000 :
James Shultis strikes out 13 against Philadelphia.

Tuesday 6/20/2000 :
Elliot Feder pitches a 4-hit shutout against Colorado!!
Earl Nakamura has been released.

Thursday 6/29/2000 :
Anthony Schuster hits a 451-foot homerun!!


IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS

[Ben E Lou]

<center>JULY 2000</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 12-12
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 52-54
CURRENT STANDING: Third place, 13 games behind the division-leading Mets.

INJURIES DURING MONTH:
SP Jimmy Cobbs strained a back muscle, and missed two weeks.
MR Tomas Nieves has bone chips, and will be out until early September.
RF Mejia strains his posterior cruciate ligament on the 26th, and will be out for three weeks, opening the door for Michael “Superfly” Sylvain to make the jump. He’ll start out in RF, and if he does well, he’ll replkace Dyke in CF when Mejia returns.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The rotation is lookin’ GOOD. Figueroa has dropped his ERA to 3.92. Shultis, at 4.09, has the highest ERA of the bunch. Joshua Dinger has been flat-out overpowering as the closer. He’s racked up 17 saves in two months, and has a 1.38 ERA.

3B Schuster and 1B Romero were named to the All-Star team. I’ve moved Schuster into the 3rd spot in the lineup.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 1B Romero--.311
HR: 3B Schuster—18
RBI: 3B Schuster—65
SB: CF Dyke—27
SP ERA: Cobbs—3.19
RP ERA: Dinger—1.38
SAVES: Dinger—17
SP K’s: Shultis--147

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT: Monday 7/10/2000 :
Santos Saavedra has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to D ...

Monday 7/17/2000 :
Samuel Charneco seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...

Monday 7/24/2000 :
Samuel Figueroa seems to have improved his pure stuff!
Tobias Hachiro has lost some power...

Monday 7/31/2000 :
Theodore Barrett seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...
Sidney Sutton has lost some power... SP Figueroa is now considered a 5-star prospect. His ratings are up to 6/7/8. Hachiro’s power loss was attached to a fractured hip. So far no loss in his speed, which is why I drafted him in the first place. Barrett is a concern, as he’s our starting catcher. He’s never provided much offense, and hasn’t this year either (.256-7-43-.738OPS), so hopefully he won’t get any worse, as he is still rated AVG in contact. Sutton is a big-time prospect. He’s still rated “Good” in Power, and his current ratings are 4/6/8. I still think he’ll be a very productive big-leaguer.

AAA NOTES
SP Willie “The Fireball” Prahl is 11-4 with a 3.38 ERA, and has 6/6/4 ratings.

2B Alan “The Hammer” Dye is up to .310, with ratings still at 5/4/5. He’s got “Good” talent in power, but is only slugging .431. I want to see some of that power show itself before I promote him.

LF Jacobo Sousa also still needs to show some power. He’s hitting .294, but only slugging .399.

LF Sidney “Tumbleweed” Sutton is batting .261 and slugging .489 after a month in AAA, and his ratings are at 4/6/8. It won’t be long ‘til he’s in Atlanta.

RF Heasley is hitting .243, and his ratings sit at 4/3/3.

AA NOTES:
Hipolito Dominguez is rapidly advancing. His ERA is down to 3.08. “The Terminator” gets the call-up to AAA..


A NOTES:
SP/RP Dean Sipe has done well so far in the rotation. He’s now 3-3 with a 2.93 ERA.
SP William Bent is 3-3, 2.88.
SP Jim Decker has turned in a 6-1, 2.63 ERA effort thus far.
SP Chad Alejo is 6-9, 4.43.

C Walter McDonald is up to .358, with a .585 slugging percentage. The scouts say he’s ready for A, and I agree
1B/3B Cruz Muniz is up to .320, with a .494 slugging percentage.
1B Tyler Poulson is hitting .331 with a .438 slugging percentage.
SS Robert Pauli had a HUGE month, raising his average from .259 to .297, and re-establishing himself as part of our future.
RF Gregory Priolo, a one-star prospect, is hitting .382 with a .549 slugging pct. I call him up to AA.

KEY E-MAILS:
I received no e-mails of note.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: Matthew Luc, DET (3-1, 1.49) and Kenneth Borchert, NYM (4-1, 0.56)
Batters Of The Month: Armando Fresno, MIN (.354,6,22) and Elmer Connors, STL (.359,8,22)

TEAM NEWSThursday 7/6/2000 :
Antonio Mejia has 4 hits against San Francisco.

Tuesday 7/11/2000 :
1B Emil Romero will play in the OOTP-Allstar game!
3B Anthony Schuster will play in the OOTP-Allstar game!

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
The great Jose Cabello of Milwaukee collected his 2000th hit this month.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>AUGUST 2000</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 14-13
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 66-67
CURRENT STANDING: Fourth place, 18 games behind the division-leading Mets.

INJURIES DURING MONTH:
None. RF Mejia returned from injury, but he’s lost his spot to “Superfly” Sylvain.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The rotation still looking solid all around. Jimmy Cobbs had a fantastic month, going 3-0 with a 1.03 ERA. The AI left Joshua Dinger in for three innings when he was getting shelled. He gave up 15 runs in that appearance, very frustrating considering he only gave up one run from June 12th to August 15th—over 2 months. His stats now won’t reflect how effective he’s been overall.

Offensively speak, 3B Schuster is still having a very good year (.308-23-82). Superfly Sylvain got his first major league homer, and is hitting .240. He’ll stick at age 22.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 1B Romero--.313
HR: 3B Schuster—23
RBI: 3B Schuster—82
SB: CF Dyke—39
SP ERA: Cobbs—2.61
RP ERA: Holley—3.45
SAVES: Dinger—19
SP K’s: Shultis--190

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT: Monday 8/7/2000 :
Tyler Poulson has gained more power!
Alan Dye has learned reading pitchers better, his stealing ability raises to B ...

Monday 8/21/2000 :
Benito Gutierrez increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!
Benito Gutierrez has improved his plate disclipine!

Monday 8/28/2000 :
Tobias Hachiro seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact... 1B Poulson was already on the radar screen as a prospect. Additional power is a nice plus! 2B Alan “The Hammer” Dye now has the potential to be a bona-fide all-around threat. With current starter Rodney Campbell in the final year of his contract, “The Hammer” is set to take over in ’01. Gutierrez is now a 3-star prospect (avg/avg/avg). Hachiro lost power last month. He’s a candidate for getting cut soon.

AAA NOTES—Note: I’m reporting month-by-month on 3 ½ star and up players, and any others who are performing extremely well.
SP Willie “The Fireball” Prahl is 12-8 with a 4.14. His ratings are still 6/6/4..

SP Hipolito Dominguez had a rough welcome to AAA. In five starts, he’s 2-3 with a 10.52 ERA, having given up 30 ER in 25 2/3 innings.

2B Alan “The Hammer” Dye is up to .315, with ratings still at 5/4/5. He’s starting to show some power—his slugging pct is up to .462.

LF Jacobo Sousa is hitting .310, slugging .415 and is rated 4/4/4.

LF Sidney “Tumbleweed” Sutton is batting .259 and slugging .443, and his ratings are at 4/6/8.

RF Heasley is hitting .257, and his ratings sit at 4/3/3.

AA NOTES:
C Walter McDonald hit .295 with a .767 OPS in his first month at AA

A NOTES:
SP Chad Alejo had a good month. He is up to 9-9, 4.30.
SP William Bent had an excellent month. He is now 7-3, 2.72. Scout says I could try him at AA, but he may not be ready. I’m going to call him up.
SP Jim Decker continues to impress. He’s now 9-2 with a 2.36 ERA. I call him up as well, despite no scout recommendation to do so.
SP/RP Dean Sipe struggled this month. He’s now 4-6, 4.40
1B/3B Cruz Muniz is now dominating Class “A” pitching. He’s hitting .329 with a .927 OPS. I call him up, again with no scout rec.
1B Tyler Poulson is hitting .322 with a .793 OPS.
SS Robert Pauli is now hitting .279 with a .713 OPS.

KEY E-MAILS:
I received no e-mails of note.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: Antonio Rosas, CWS (3-1,0.82) and Richard Rubalcaba (3-0, 0.25)
Batters Of The Month: LF Hernan Gomez, CWS (.406, 28RBI) and Luis Ruano (.343, 33 RBI)

TEAM NEWSTuesday 8/1/2000:
Jimmy Cobbs pitches a 5-hit shutout against Los Angeles!!

Friday 8/11/2000:
Benny Conde slams 2 homers against Philadelphia.
Benny Conde drives in 5 runs against Philadelphia.

Wednesday 8/16/2000:
Anthony Schuster slams 2 homers against Florida.

Tuesday 8/22/2000 :
James Shultis strikes out 11 against Houston.

Thursday 8/31/2000 :
Jimmy Cobbs strikes out 11 against Montreal.

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
Jose Cabello is making a run at the Triple Crown! He's hitting hitting .338 with 42 homers and 101 RBI's. He leads the leave is homers, is tied for the lead in RBI, and is only 3 percentage points off the lead for the batting title.

MY SEPTEMBER CALL-UPS OF NOTE
None. Just a few vets.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>SEPTEMBER 2000</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 11-18
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 77-85
CURRENT STANDING: Fourth place, 27 games behind Division Champion Mets.

INJURIES DURING MONTH:
None of note.

SEASON-END TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 1B Emil Romero--.305
HR: 3B Anthony Schuster—27
RBI: 3B Anthony Schuster—96
SB: CF Joseph Dyke—47
SP ERA: Jimmy Cobbs—2.60
RP ERA: Tomas Nieves—3.12
SAVES: Dinger—23
SP K’s: James Shultis--226

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 9/18/2000:
Daniel Oxendine increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!

Monday 9/25/2000:
Alvin Garofalo has learned reading pitchers better, his stealing ability raises to C ...

Monday 10/2/2000:
Howard Boykins has worked out more, his duration raises to A ...
Bobby Day seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff...Oxendine is a 32-year-old 3B/SS hitting .279 at AAA. The increase in contact may help him earn a spot as a backup next year. Garofalo’s increase is likely insignificant. Boykins is a left-handed reliever in the bigs. Day is a middle-reliever with not a lot of hope to begin with.

KEY E-MAILS:
I received no e-mails of note.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

TEAM NEWSFriday 9/15/2000:
Jimmy Cobbs strikes out 12 against Florida.

Wednesday 9/20/2000:
Ferdy Puente slams 2 homers against Colorado.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: Jonathan Kiesel, NYY (4-1, 0.83) and Clifford Pina, FLA (2-0, 0.55)
Batters Of The Month: CF David Galloway, SEA (.389, 3, 18) and 2B Thomas Rasmussen, PHI (.333, 10, 31)

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

MY SEPTEMBER CALL-UPS OF NOTE
None. Just a few vets.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2000 END OF REGULAR SEASON REPORT</center>Manager: Ben Lewis Batting AVG: .252 (17th)
"Record: 77 Wins, 85 Losses, .475 Winning Pct." Homeruns: 124 (22nd)
"Home Record: 45 Wins, 36 Losses" Walks: 276 (30th)
"Away Record: 32 Wins, 49 Losses" Stolen Bases: 139 (5th)
"1 Run Games Record: 21 Wins, 29 Losses" Runs Scored: 649 (T-24th)
"X-Innings Record: 4 Wins, 8 Losses"
"Record vs LHP: 23 Wins, 64 Losses" Pitching ERA: 3.79 (12th)
"Record vs RHP: 54 Wins, 21 Losses" Opponents AVG: .232 (2nd)
"Payroll: $55,140,471 (20th)" HRs Allowed: 172 (25th)
Fan Interest: 33/100 (26th) Walks Allowed: 406 (13th)
Runs Allowed: 665 (9th)

Player # Pos Birthday Bats Throws AVG HR RBI SB OPS
CATCHERS
Theodore Barrett 79 C 9/8/1967 Right Right 0.261 14 71 2 0.782
Antonio Aguiar 76 C 3/17/1972 Right Right 0.267 2 15 0 0.691
INFIELDER
Benny Conde 96 1B 11/6/1972 Both Right 0.311 7 31 2 0.792
Rodney Campbell 68 2B 3/19/1970 Right Right 0.28 10 62 0 0.768
Anthony Schuster 24 3B 5/4/1969 Right Right 0.292 27 96 10 0.86
John Blakemore 32 SS 8/24/1970 Right Right 0.141 1 11 5 0.403
Eddie Lopez 95 2B 2/28/1974 Left Right 0.237 5 18 3 0.76
Samuel Charneco 3 3B 10/13/1964 Right Right 0.271 5 24 0 0.684
Emil Romero 97 1B 10/11/1965 Left Left 0.305 13 62 2 0.826
Eduardo Fuensanta 53 SS 2/23/1967 Right Right 0.273 21 71 0 0.802
OUTFIELDER
Joseph Dyke 57 CF 12/28/1967 Right Right 0.235 2 40 47 0.593
Andres Cobo 22 CF 10/13/1966 Right Right 0.285 1 9 4 0.697
Michael Sylvain 35 CF 3/21/1978 Right Right 0.252 2 20 7 0.679
Ferdy Puente 72 LF 6/8/1966 Right Right 0.234 13 58 34 0.628
Antonio Mejia 78 RF 9/22/1969 Right Right 0.228 0 28 15 0.532

Player # Role Birthday Bats Throws ERA W L S WHIP
STARTERS
Jimmy Cobbs 91 SP 11/3/1967 Left Left 2.6 9 6 0 0.93
Elliot Feder 50 SP 6/15/1969 Both Right 3.76 12 16 0 1.12
Samuel Figueroa 75 SP 10/21/1974 Left Left 4.21 10 11 0 1.1
Roberto Medina 60 SP 5/10/1966 Left Left 4.29 9 10 0 1.3
James Shultis 43 SP 10/22/1967 Left Left 3.85 7 10 0 1.24
William Braziel 93 SP 11/21/1969 Left Left 5.79 1 1 0 1.43
John Washburn 43 SP 5/18/1965 Left Right 0 0 1 0
RELIEVERS
Joshua Dinger 15 CL 7/8/1978 Right Right 5.59 5 9 23
Milford Holley 6 MR 3/12/1966 Left Left 3.13 4 5 1
John Honda 7 MR 9/3/1970 Right Right 4.52 7 7 8
Howard Boykins 37 MR 6/9/1974 Left Left 3.14 4 2 2
Frank Kral 73 MR 11/6/1972 Right Right 4.32 0 1 2
Santiago Martines 30 MR 10/29/1967 Right Right 3.38 6 3 0
Santos Saavedra 38 MR 3/4/1974 Both Right 0 0 0 0
Tomas Nieves 48 MR 4/30/1974 Right Right 3.12 3 1 0

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2000 POST-SEASON REPORT</center>

POTENTIAL FREE AGENTS/CONTRACT EXTENTIONS
3B Anthony Schuster—He had a very good year, our best prospect at the position (Muniz) just got called up to AA in September, and he only wants an increase of around $800K per year. I ink him to a 3-year extension for $3.99 per year.
C Theodore Barrett—He actually is asking for a little less money. We’ve got a five-star prospect at AA (McDonald). At age 33, I sign him to a 2-year extension. (He wanted three)
MR Milford Holley—He’s 34 years old, and wants a four-year deal for $3.35M per year. We’ve got a deep pen, with three 3 ½-star-or-better guys waiting in the wings at AAA. See ya Milford.
SP Jimmy Cobbs—He’s had three straight nice seasons, but he’s looking for a $1.5M per year raise, and we’ve got Willie “The Fireball” Prahl in AAA, who had a 13-8 record with a 3.91 ERA down there, and his ratings are up to 7/6/4. I let Cobbs fly.
MR Santiago Martines—Another MR who is wanting too much money. Bye.
SP John Washburn—He agrees to a minor league contract.
2B/SS Steve Fulmer—He only wants a near-minimum salary, and he’s still got “B” range at 2B. I sign him to a one-year deal for $350K.
3B Samuel Charneco—He gave me a decent bat off the bench, and is still rated 6/4/5. I give him a one year deal for $750K.
SP James Shultis—He went 7-10 with a 3.85 ERA, and still only wants $900K per year for three years. Sign him up!
SP William Braziel—Only wants $430K for 2 years. Rated 6/5/6. good insurance. I sign him.

MANAGER UPDATE
My reputation rises to Very Inexperienced. The owner mood is at 53. It has been a Relationship with Blaney for 10 months now. I pop the question and she still doesn’t want to get hitched yet. I get offered a 1 year contract extension for $550K.

RECAP
American League Rookie Of The Year Award:
Chester Urso (C()!
He batted .276 in 577 AB, with 20 homers and 67 RBI.

National League Rookie Of The Year Award:
Enrique Orozco (COL)!
He had a record of 14-6 with an ERA of 2.35.
In 31 games started, he pitched 210.1 innings, fanning 184 and walking 35 batters.

American League Cy Young Award:
Antonio Rosas (C()!
He had a record of 21-6 with an ERA of 2.35 and 4 shutouts.
In 35 games started, he pitched 253 innings, fanning 168 and walking 44 batters.

American League MVP Award:
Silvio Freire (DET)!
He batted .353 in 601 AB, with 41 homers and 132 RBI.

National League Cy Young Award:
Jordan Abston (NY)!
He had a record of 16-4 with an ERA of 1.99 and 1 shutouts.
In 31 games started, he pitched 190.1 innings, fanning 157 and walking 16 batters.

National League MVP Award:
Elmer Connors (SL)!
He batted .336 in 539 AB, with 43 homers and 111 RBI.

American League Gold Glove Award Winners:
Pitcher: Angel Camuñas (KC)
Catcher: James Skates (MIN)
First Base: Kenneth Sherman (TEX)
Second Base: Carl Rios (NY)
Third Base: Bill Stanton (BAL)
Shortstop: Gregory Coppin (TOR)
Leftfield: Silvio Freire (DET)
Centerfield: Joaquin Fernandez (TB)
Rightfield: Edward Watson (BOS)

National League Gold Glove Award Winners:
Pitcher: Robert Mcniel (PIT)
Catcher: Adolfo Payne (ARI)
First Base: Jose Medina (MIL)
Second Base: Rodney Campbell (ATL)
Third Base: Mariano Barrera (PIT)
Shortstop: Robert Broaddus (PIT)
Leftfield: Alejandro Sanchez (HOU)
Centerfield: Ivan Baca (HOU)
Rightfield: John Sapp (LA)

American League Standings:
(Name W L PCT GB AVG ERA)
Eastern Division
Boston 89 73 .549 -- .256 3.63
Baltimore 82 80 .506 7 .250 3.67
Toronto 71 91 .438 18 .244 3.84
Tampa Bay 69 93 .426 20 .246 4.43
New York (A) 65 97 .401 24 .253 4.45
Central Division
Detroit 101 61 .623 -- .269 3.60
Minnesota 88 74 .543 13 .267 4.19
Chicago (A) 84 78 .519 17 .252 4.06
Cleveland 81 81 .500 20 .261 4.17
Kansas City 73 89 .451 28 .243 3.93
Western Division
Oakland 93 69 .574 -- .259 3.69
Anaheim 82 80 .506 11 .249 4.03
Texas 81 81 .500 12 .253 3.78
Seattle 75 87 .463 18 .265 4.20

National League Standings:
(Name W L PCT GB AVG ERA)
Eastern Division
New York (N) 104 58 .642 -- .263 3.01
Florida 85 77 .525 19 .244 3.95
Philadelphia 84 78 .519 20 .255 3.60
Atlanta 77 85 .475 27 .252 3.79
Montreal 68 94 .420 36 .249 4.01
Central Division
Chicago (N) 96 66 .593 -- .264 3.96
St. Louis 89 73 .549 7 .272 3.84
Milwaukee 86 76 .531 10 .257 3.80
Houston 85 77 .525 11 .263 3.87
Pittsburgh 67 95 .414 29 .259 4.55
Cincinnati 60 102 .370 36 .251 5.15
Western Division
San Francisco 91 71 .562 -- .242 3.25
San Diego 85 77 .525 6 .245 3.41
Colorado 80 82 .494 11 .245 3.57
Arizona 74 88 .457 17 .244 3.77
Los Angeles 65 97 .401 26 .239 3.98

Playoffs :
Divisional Series :
Minnesota (1) against Detroit (3)
Boston (3) against Oakland (0)
St. Louis (1) against New York (N) (3)
San Francisco (1) against Chicago (N) (3)
LCS :
Boston (4) against Detroit (2)
Chicago (N) (4) against New York (N) (2)
World Series :
Chicago (N) (2) against Boston (4)

Leaders:
TOP 5 in BATTING AVG :
.357 Richard James(SEA)
.353 Silvio Freire( DET,AL)
.344 Roger Frey(SL)
.336 Elmer Connors(SL,NL)
.335 Seymour Werner(DET)
TOP 5 in HOMERUNS :
49 Larry Entwistle(C(,NL)
45 Laurence Tobar(FLO,NL)
45 James Parente(ARI)
43 Jose Cabello(MIL,NL)
43 Elmer Connors(SL,NL)
TOP 5 in RBI :
132 Silvio Freire( DET,AL)
119 James Parente(ARI)
117 Thomas Rasmussen(PHI)
113 Larry Entwistle(C(,NL)
111 Phillip Dileo(ANA,AL)
TOP 5 in ERA :
1.82 Ronnie Ramirez(MIL)
1.99 Jordan Abston(NY)
2.31 Wilbert Payton(BC,NL)
2.35 Antonio Rosas(C(,AL)
2.35 Enrique Orozco(COL)
TOP 5 in WINS :
21 Antonio Rosas(C(,AL)
19 Michael Diaz(SD,NL)
19 Arthur Jan(OAK,AL)
19 Patrick Spurling(BOS,AL)
18 James Lingerfelt(MIN)
TOP 5 in SAVES :
46 Chester Toombs(BC,NL)
42 Otto Deane(SD)
41 Mark Pellham(OAK)
41 Matthew Freeman(MIL)
40 George Dam( DET,AL)

THOUGHTS
Obviously, we have a promising-looking future with all those 4 and 5 star prospects advancing towards the majors.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>STARS OF THE GAME UPDATE</center>

RF Jose Cabello--Milwaukee, Age 32--6/10/5
Cabello had another outstanding year. He batted .322 (his highest ever) with 43 homers and 109 RBI’s. He led the league in slugging pct (.644). He made a run at the Triple Crown before fading a bit in September. He’ll certainly shatter the career home run record next season. He has 558, and the record is 567. He made his 8th All-Star appearance, and collected his 200th hit.

2B Laurence Tobar--Florida, Age 29--7/10/7
.298, 45 HR, 103 RBI. He also stole 21 bases. Tobar led the league in runs scored with 121, and was 2nd in homers with 45. He made his 4th All-Star appearance.

LF Albert Evans--Chicago(N), Age 34--9/7/5
Evans had a slight drop-off in power, but everything else remained about the same. He hit .317 with 23 HR, 88 RBI and 35 SB. He made his 7th All-Star appearance

Larry Gutowski--3B,Minnesota, age 33, 8/5/6
Gutowski racked up his 9th straight 300+ season, hitting .305 with 12 HR and 63 RBI. He missed five weeks due to various injuries, and his contact rating dropped from 9 to 8.

SP Raul "Goldie" Grajeda-Detroit--age 36--10/6/8
Goldie Grajeda may be fading. He went 13-15 with a 4.13 ERA this year.

SP Pedro Diaz--Montreal--Age 34--10/8/9/7
His streak of six straight seasons with an ERA under 3.00 was snapped this year, but his string of being either 1st or 2nd in WHIP was extended for a 7th season. He went 14-13 with a 3.20 ERA.

[Anrhydeddu]

You have thrown up a whole bunch of information and stats but you can step back and evaluate and tell us what it means as far your team, esp in relation to short and long term decision areas?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by Anrhydeddu
You have thrown up a whole bunch of information and stats but you can step back and evaluate and tell us what it means as far your team, esp in relation to short and long term decision areas? Well, first of all, baseball IS a game of statistics. I will continue to post all these stats so I can print them and go over them.

Apart from that, I believe I've done what you've requested throughout the narrative. I've discussed each solid minor league prospect, and my strategy for the timing for their arrival in the bigs. Apart from that, my goal is simply to stay afloat. With a team this bad in Very Hard manager mode, I'm just trying to avoid getting fired before my prospects make it to the bigs. I'm trying to make short-term decisions (hence shorter contracts) to keep enough talent around to keep the team able to meet owner expectations until I can get some real talent, then some wins, then increased fan support, then increased financial wherewithal, then be able to sign big free agents. I thought that was obvious.

[Ben E Lou]

2001 POSITION REPORT: Catchers

Theodore Barrett (6/6/7) had a pretty solid season last year (.261/14/71). 23-year-old 5-star prospect Walter McDonald (Good/Brl/Brl) appears to be the future. McDonald is now rated 3/5/8. He destroyed single-A pitching (1.112 OPS) and handled AA well also (.817). 28-year-old Antonio Aguiar (4/5/5) was a decent backup in his first year in the bigs, hitting .267 and playing decent defense. None of the other catchers in the organization appear worth mentioning.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Barrett is 33, and signed through 2002. I’m hoping he can give me one or two more good seasons until McDonald is ready to go.

QUESTION FOR THOSE READING: Should I start a new thread for each season?

[Ben E Lou]

2001 POSITION REPORT: First Base

Emil “Space” Romero (6/6/4) makes $4M at age 35 this year. He’s still great defensively (“A”, .991). He was the left-handed half of a platoon last year, and performed well. 28-year-old Benny Conde (4/4/3) had a nice rookie year as the right-handed half of the platoon. He’s a switch hitter, and despite his not-so-great ratings, his over .300 in his last four seasons in the minors, and did likewise in his first season in the majors. 19-year-old Tyler Poulson (Good/Good/Avg), a four-star prospect, hit .323 in single-A, but appears to still be a few years away (ratings 2/2/3). Another guy who may be an option down the road is 1B/3B Cruz Muniz (Avg/Brl/Avg). He is 22, and had a .531 slugging pct in Class A.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Well, our financial situation is not good, so this position is of particular concern. If Romero can give me one more good year, that will help. Once his $4M salary is cleared from my payroll, I’ll probably have to sign another FA to fill this position until Poulson or Muniz is ready. I’d LOVE to see Conde surprise me and continue to out-perform his ratings.

[Ben E Lou]

2001 POSITION REPORT: Second Base

Rodney Campbell (6/5/7), acquired by trade last year, won his first Gold Glove last year and hit .280. He’s 30 and in his prime. 22-year-old Alan "The Hammer" Dye (Good/Good/Good) is almost ready. The Hammer is rated the #18 prospect in all of baseball, and is almost ready (5/4/5).

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Clearly, "The Hammer" is the future here. I’d like to see him show some of that “Good” power in AAA before I promote him. He began to show some late last year, slugging .467. I really hope he can hit with power in AAA the first half of the season, so I can trade Campbell, who is in the last year of his contract, before the deadline. I would be GREAT to be able to call up The Hammer AND get something good for Campbell!

[Ben E Lou]

2001 POSITION REPORT: Third Base

Anthony Schuster (6/6/6), age 31, has been the starter for the past five seasons, and he was our best offensive player last year. He's good defensively as well ("B" range"). The aforementioned 1B/3B Cruz Muniz (Avg/Brl/Avg) is our best prospect here. 36-year-old 3B/LF Samuel Charneco (6/4/5) looks like he can still give us a decent right-handed bat off the bench. He hit .271 last year.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Schuster is signed through 2003. This job appears to be his for a good while.

[Ben E Lou]

2001 POSITION REPORT: Shortstop

Eduardo Fuensanta (6/8/5), 33, returns for the final year of his $8.2M contract. He slugged .486 and played great defense. We have a four-star prospect in 22-year-old Robert Pauli (Good/Fair/Avg). Pauli has "B" range, but still appears to be a few years away from the bigs. He hit .277 in his third year of “A” ball last year. Maybe he’s finally ready for AA this year.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Well, Fuensanta is in his last year, and no prospect is on the immediate horizon. Of course I’ll go with Fuensanta this year, and probably end up signing a free agent for next season, when he’ll be 34 and probably looking for a several-year deal.

[Ben E Lou]

2001 POSITION REPORT: Left Field
I overpayed via free agency last year for Ferdy Puente (5/4/6). He’s 34, and in the last year of a rather expensive contract ($5.2M) for someone who had a .628 OPS. He did play great defense though, and stole 34 bases. 4 ½-star prospect Sidney "Tumbleweed" Sutton (Good/Brl/Brl) is almost ready. This 25-year-old, the #68 prospect in the land, had a .798 OPS in two months at AAA, and is rated 4/6/8 right now. 3 ½-star prospect Jacobo Sousa (Avg/Good/Avg) hit .299 at AAA last year, and is rated 4/4/4. I like his "B" range at LF. 34-year-old Andres Cobo (4/2/7) can play all three outfield positions with "B" range at each and remains a good utility OF option.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: If someone is willing to take on Puente’s big salary, I’ll unload him right now and turn LF over to “Tumbleweed” Sutton. Otherwise, I’ll let Sutton remain in AAA for now.

[Ben E Lou]

2001 POSITION REPORT: Center Field

Joseph Dyke (6/2/6) has started in CF for the past four seasons. He's a good baserunner ("B" in both speed and stealing, 47 SB’s last year). He's signed through the end of this year. He's average defensively (C range, .992, C arm). 22-year-oldMichael "Superfly" Sylvain (Good, Brilliant, Good), hit .252 in 202 major league at bats last year in right field, after hitting .314 in AAA. He has 5/4/5 current ratings, “B” range in CF, and an “A” arm.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Dyke is only making $1.1M in this, the final year of his contract. He’ll make a nice backup in CF and LF, but his days of starting in Atlanta are over. I’m turning over the reigns in CF to Superfly!

[Ben E Lou]

2001 POSITION REPORT: Right Field

30-year-old Antonio Mejia (6/3/5) got hurt and lost his starting job to Superfly Sylvain last year. He’s got “A” range in RF though, which is why I’m letting him start and benching Dyke for Sylvain. Mejia also has "A" stealing ability. Our big prospect here is 4-star talent Bryan Heasley (Good, Good, Avg). He's currently rated 4/3/3, and he hit .256 last year in his first season in AAA. He's got an "A" arm.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Mejia is in the last year of his contract. I hope to have Heasley ready to go by the beginning of next year. Otherwise, I’ll probably need to sign a FA next winter to hold down the fort.[/b]

[Ben E Lou]

2001 POSITION REPORT: Starting Pitchers

34-year-old Roberto Medina (9/7/6) returns after a 9-10, 4.29 ERA season. He’ sin the last year of a $5.3M per year deal. James Shultis (7/6/6), 33, is cheap at $900K per year, and turned in a 7-10, 3.85 ERA effort. Youngster Samuel Figueroa(7/7/8) showed he was ready as a rookie last year, going 10-11 with a 4.21 ERA. If this young lefty can take it to the next level, I’ll be very happy. The scout says that 24-year-old Willie "The Fireball" Prahl (Good/Avg/Avg) is ready to face big league hitters. He’s rated 7/6/4, and has had three years in AAA with sub 4.00 ERA’s. his time is now. Elliot Feder (7/6/7/), who led all of baseball with 7 CG’s last year and has “A” endurance, returns at age 31 to be the ace of the staff. 31-year-old William Braziel (6/5/6) will start the year at AAA. He’ll serve as our rotation insurance policy.

The SP prospect pool is pretty decent for us. Discussion begins of course with 23-year-old Hipolito “The Terminator” Dominguez (Good/Good/Good), the #48 prospect in baseball. He struggled in a late-season promotion to AAA, but with his 4/6/6 ratings, I think that’s where he belongs to start this season. Chad Alejo (Avg/Good/Good, age 19, is a 3 ½-star prospect who’ll likely start the year at AA. William Bent (Good/Avg/Good) had a 2.72 ERA in A-ball last year. The 20-year-old will also be at AA. Yet another 3 1/2 –star SP is Jim Decker (Avg/Avg/Good). Decker’s 19 and will also be in AA. SP/RP Dean Sipe (Avg/GoodGood) hopes to make an impact one day, but for now is stuck in A-ball.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: The rotation looks decent as is, and only Medina will become a FA after this season, which is fine, since “The Terminator” should be ready to step in next year. With my financial struggles, this isn’t the year to sign a big FA, but before I can make a big run, I’m going to want a bona-fide ace. If one doesn’t emerge from among the ranks, I’ll have sign on as a FA eventually.

[Ben E Lou]

2001 POSITION REPORT: Relief Pitching

Joshua Dinger (Brl/Good/Good) had 23 saves in the last 5 months of the season, and is rated 9/5/7. He’s only 22, and looks to be the closer for a LONG time. The top lefty is 26-year-old Howard Boykins (8/6/8). The best righty is also a youngster, 26-year-old Tomas Nieves (8/6/7). Waiting in the wings at AAA is 24-year-old righty Douglas Diez (Good/Avg/Brl). Diez had a 3.36 ERA down there last year, and is rated 6/3/7.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: The 'pen still looks solid and deep.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2001 FREE AGENCY PERIOD REPORT</center>

Here's the current situation in Atlanta:

Owner Mood: 53
Chemistry: 94
Owner Type: Normal
Owner Expectation: Play .500 ball in 2001!
Team Market: Below Average
Fan Loyalty: Very Good
Fan Interest: 33
Cash on Hand: $310,664
Total Payfoll: $50,245,642
Last Year Income: $53,514,289
Available Money: $3,579,311

TRADES
I find a team willing to take LF Puente’s salary! I trade him to Texas for a half-decent 1B prospect, which I can use. 19-year-old Shane Murphy (Avg/Avg/Good), a 2000 2nd-round draft choice, comes over for Puente. He hit .279 in “A” ball last year. The trade frees up some cash to sign a good left fielder.

DESIRES
I have a little over $8M available for free agents, and all I want/need is someone to play left field until Sidney “Tumbleweed” Sutton is definitely ready. I find a guy and go after him. I sign Scott Mcfarland (6/5/5) to a one-year deal for $3.25M. Macfarland is nothing special, but he’s a decent player with a lifetime .736 OPS to hold down left field for Sutton.

POST-FREE AGENCY THOUGHTS
My payroll is only $48.8M, so hopefully I can turn a profit this year and have money to sign a FA or two to make a run at the playoffs next year. For now, this squad appears to have the potential to meet the owner expectation of finishing .500, but not much more.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2001 SPRING TRAINING REPORT</center>Shane Murphy displays more power in batting practice!
Douglas Diez has increased his throwing velocity!
Douglas Diez has improved his control!
Stephen Dills has good batting practice sessions!
Hipolito Dominguez has increased his throwing velocity!
Hipolito Dominguez has improved his control!
Cruz Muñiz has good batting practice sessions!
Cruz Muñiz showed good strike zone judgement!
Sidney Sutton showed good strike zone judgement!
Tobias Hachiro has good batting practice sessions!
Tobias Hachiro displays more power in batting practice!
Roger Googe has good batting practice sessions!
Roger Googe showed good strike zone judgement!
Bill Hicks has good pitching sessions!
Walter Mcdonald has good batting practice sessions!
William Polly showed good strike zone judgement!
Michael Sylvain displays more power in batting practice!
David Bischoff has good batting practice sessions!
David Bischoff showed good strike zone judgement!
Tim Spurr has increased his throwing velocity!
Tim Spurr has improved his control!
Joseph Gillenwater has good batting practice sessions!
Joseph Gillenwater showed good strike zone judgement!
Willie Prahl has good pitching sessions!
Willie Prahl has improved his control!
Lawrence Burgan showed good strike zone judgement!
Bryan Heasley displays more power in batting practice!
Carlos Villar has increased his throwing velocity!
Alvin Garofalo showed good strike zone judgement!
Robert Falconer has good batting practice sessions!
Robert Falconer displays more power in batting practice!
Luis Pierce displays more power in batting practice!

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2001 MAJOR LEAGUE LINEUPS AND ROTATIONS</center>

Batting Order vs. RHP
1. CF Sylvain (5/4/5)
2. 2B Campbell (6/5/7)
3. 3B Schuster (6/6/6)
4. SS Fuensata (6/8/5)
5. 1B Romero (6/6/4)
6. C Barrett (6/6/7)
7. LF McFarland (6/5/5)
8. RF Mejia (6/3/5)

Batting Order vs. LHP
1. CF Sylvain (5/4/5)
2. 2B Campbell (6/5/7)
3. 3B Schuster (6/6/6)
4. SS Fuensata (6/8/5)
5. C Barrett (6/6/7)
6. 1B Conde (4/4/3)
7. LF McFarland (6/5/5)
8. RF Mejia (6/3/5)

Pitching Rotation
1. Feder (7/6/7)
2. Medina (9/7/6)
3. Figueroa (8/7/8)
4. Shultis (7/6/6)
5. Prahl (7/7/5)
Closer: Dinger (9/5/7)

Strategy
Pitching and defense is the order of the day this year. We’ve got a little more pop in the lineup as well. Sylvain will run a lot at the top of the order.

Outlook
I really think we can finish over .500 this year.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>APRIL 2001</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 12-14
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 12-14
CURRENT STANDING: Fourth, 6 games behind division-leading Mets.

INJURIES:
Ugh. C Barrett fractured his jaw fractured his jaw in a home-plate collision on 4/8, and is Out for another week or so into May.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
2nd-year SP Figueroa has a good month, going 3-2 with a 2.78 ERA to lead the rotation. No other starters’ performances are particularly bad or particularly good. Dinger has a 2.45 ERA and 7 saves in 7 chances.

The bats are a bit silent. WE’re near the bottom of the league in most offensive categories.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 4/10/2001:
Eddie Lopez increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!
Eddie Lopez has improved his plate discipline!

Monday 4/24/2001:
Roger Googe seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less

Monday 5/1/2001 :
Daniel Davila has lost some power... Lopez could become something of note. He’s hitting .324 down at AAA. He can play 2b/3b/cf. his talent is up to avg/good/good. Hmmmm. Neither Googe nor Davila is significant to my plans.

AAA NOTES —Note: I’ve decided to report month-by-month on 3 ½ star and up players at all classifications, and any others who are performing extremely well.
SP Hiplotio “The Terminator” Dominguez—He went 2-1 with a 4.45 ERA. His ratings are 5/6/6 now.
MR Douglas Diez—He has a 2.45 ERA and ratings are 7/3/8. If someone falters, he’ll get called up.
C Walter McDonald--.744 OPS. Ratings 4/5/8. Getting close it would appear…
2B Allen “The Hammer” Dye--.953 OPS. 5/4/5 ratings. That power is starting to show up…
LF/CF Jacobo Sousa--.753 OPS. Ratings 4/4/4.
LF/RF Sidney “Tumblewee” Sutton--.719OPS, 4/6/8
RF Bryan Heasley--.713OPS, 5/3/3.

AA NOTES:
SP William Bent—3-1, 1.96, 2/2/6
SP Jim Decker—2-2, 5.34, 0/2/4
3B/1B Cruz Muniz--.853 OPS, 2/4/2

A NOTES:
SP Chad Alejo—3-1, 3.21, 1/4/5
SP Dean Sipe—4-0, 1.10, 2/6/6. The AI says he’s ready for a call-up, and so do the numbers. I call him up.
1B Tyler Poulson--.603 OPS, 2/2/3
SS Robert Pauli--.872 OPS, 2/3/3

KEY E-MAILS:None.He’s a big prospect already. Nice to have another position he can play if necessary.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
Sheesh. I’ve been dating Blaney almost a year-and-a-half now, and she turned down another marriage proposal.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: Edward Munoz, SEA (2-1, 1.15) and Kenneth Borchert, NYM (4-1, 0.99, three shutouts!)
Batters Of The Month: Allen Acker, CWS (.407, 22 RBI) and Charles Leonard (.357, 27 RBI)

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
Star player LF Albert Evans of Chicago racks up his 2000th hit this month. He’s still going strong, with an “8” contact rating and a .347 average, at age 35.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTH Thursday 4/20/2001 :
John Blakemore slams 2 homers against Pittsburgh.
Thursday 4/27/2001 :
Eduardo Fuensanta has 4 hits against Cincinnati.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>MAY 2001</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 11-17
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 23-31
CURRENT STANDING: Fourth place. 13½ games behind the division-leading Mets.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
CL Dinger is dominating again. He’s leading the NL in saves with 15, has a 1.44 ERA, and he’s yet to blow a save. His ratings are up to 10/6/7. The starting pitching staff has ERA’s ranging from 3.41 (Figueroa) to 5.59 (Shultis).

The bats are still fairly dormant across the board. Superfly Sylvain is leading the lead in stolen bases with 25 in 31 tries. His ratings are up to 6/4/5.


PLAYER DEVELOPMENT: Monday 5/15/2001 :
Chad Alejo has lost some movement on his pitches...
Chad Alejo has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to
Steve Fulmer seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less
Tim Spurr has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to
Monday 5/22/2001 :
James Shultis seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff...
James Shultis has lost some movement on his pitches...
James Shultis's control seems to have taken a bump...
Monday 5/29/2001 :
Alberto Iglesias plate discipline seems to have faded...
Alvin Garofalo has lost some momentum, his stealing ability drops to D Grrrr. Alejo was looking like a nice find. He’s now down to three stars….I’ll need to watch Shultis very carefully. His ratings are 7/6/6, but his talent is down to Avg/Poor/Fair, and he has a 5.59 ERA.

AAA NOTES —Note: I’ve decided to report month-by-month on 3 ½ star and up players at all classifications, and any others who are performing extremely well.
SP Hiplotio “The Terminator” Dominguez—6-1, 4.30 6/6/6
MR Douglas Diez—2-0, 4.91, 7/3/8
C Walter McDonald--.877 OPS. 4/6/8. Getting closer…..
2B Allen “The Hammer” Dye--.929 OPS. 6/4/5 ratings. In another month or so, he’s getting called up.
LF/CF Jacobo Sousa--.777 OPS. 4/4/4.
LF/RF Sidney “Tumblewee” Sutton--.748OPS, 4/6/8
RF Bryan Heasley--.835OPS, 5/3/3.

AA NOTES:
SP William Bent—7-1, 2.13, 2/2/6
SP Jim Decker—3-6, 6.55, 0/2/4—I send him back down to Single A.
SP Dean Sipe—3-1, 2,81, 2/6/6.
3B/1B Cruz Muniz--.708 OPS, 2/4/2

A NOTES:
SP Chad Alejo—3-1, 3.21, 1/4/5
1B Tyler Poulson--.802 OPS, 2/2/3
SS Robert Pauli--.775 OPS, 2/3/3

INJURIES:
No major ones this month.

KEY E-MAILS:
none.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: Arthur Jan, OAK (5-1, 0.77) and Ronnie Ramirez (MIL) 6-0, 0.95
Batters Of The Month: Al Mouser, OAK (.298, 8HR, 31RBI) and Elmer Connors, STL (.417, 28 RBI)

TEAM NEWS Thursday 5/18/2001 :
Elliot Feder pitches a 4-hit shutout against Montreal!!
Wednesday 5/24/2001 :
Scott Mcfarland has 5 RBI against Pittsburgh.
Saturday 5/27/2001 :
Michael Sylvain has 4 hits against Colorado.

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2001 AMATEUR DRAFT REPORT</center>

DRAFT POSITION: 11

DRAFTEES
1. 1B Danny Anderson (Avg/Good/Brl) This 22-year-old 4-star left-handed hitter helps fill a position I’m concerned about.
2. SP Greg Benedict. (Avg/Avg/Avg). Benedict, a 20-year-old righty, fields his position well (“A” range). Could crack the rotation one day.
3. SS Brian Cataldo (Fair/Avg/Fair). Cataldo has “A” range. At age 18, he’s got some time to maybe improve as a hitter.
4. OF Sydney Davidson (Fair/Fair/Fair). He can play all three outfield positions. He’s a two-star guy. Age 19.
5. 2B/3B/SS James Pratt (Fair/Avg/Fair). Ability to play three positions gives this guy some potential value.
6. SP/RP Michael Mclaughlin (Avg/Good/Avg). 19 years old. He has “E” duration as a starter. Could be a guy with good versatility for us.
7. C/1B Kenneth Tamura (Fair/Fair/Avg). Has “B” range at both positions. Maybe a backup one day.

POST-DRAFT TOP TEN MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEMS
1. LA
2. Cleveland
3. Seattle
4. Texas
5. Baltimore
6. Chicago (A)
7. Cincinnati
8. Montreal
9. Atlanta
10. Toronto

ATLANTA TOP 100 PROSPECTS
C Walter McDonald—8th
2B Alan Dye—21st
SP Hipolito Dominguez—47th
LF Sidney Sutton—(60th)
RF Bryan Heasley—(92nd)

[Superman=#54]

Good stuff Skydog my favorite OOTP 5 dyansty report. As for creating a new thread for each season is not needed. Maybe, every 5 seasons you should create a new thread.

I was wondering how long is Dinger under contract? He will probaly be looking for big money when his contract is up.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by Superman=#54
Good stuff Skydog my favorite OOTP 5 dyansty report. As for creating a new thread for each season is not needed. Maybe, every 5 seasons you should create a new thread.

I was wondering how long is Dinger under contract? He will probaly be looking for big money when his contract is up. Thanks for the kind words!

Dinger was called up by the @%$% AI in 1999 to pitch a grand total of 1 2/3 innings, starting the clock on arbitration. This is this third year in the bigs, making him arbitration eligible after this season.

[Superman=#54]

Ouch, that hurts so this will be a big descion to make. Do you resign him or not? If so how much will you pay before you reach the limit.

Good Luck!:eek:

[Ben E Lou]

<center>JUNE 2001</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 11-17
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 34-48
CURRENT STANDING: Fourth place. 19 games behind the division-leading Mets.

INJURIES DURING MONTH:
No major injuries

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
SP Medina is really struggling. He has a 5.63 ERA. He may get replaced in the rotation soon. Dinger has 19 saves and a 1.39 ERA. He finally blew a save after converting his first 18 opportunities.

Offensively, we’ve been anemic. The first base platoon that performed so well last year is stinkin’ it up this year. Romero is at .227 with 6 homers and 24 RBI’s, and Conde is at .181 with 1 homer and 4 RBI. What’s worse is that there is no alternative at AAA right now. No one else is standing out as performing really badly, but no one is tearing it up offensively either.

MID-SEASON TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: RF Mejia--.288
HR: SS Fuensanta--17
RBI: SS Fuensanta--51
SB: CF Sylvain--.242
SP ERA: Figueroa—3.52
RP ERA: Dinger—1.39
SAVES: Dinger—19
SP K’s: Shultis—104

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 6/5/2001 :
Dean Sipe seems to have improved his pure stuff!
Dean Sipe is hitting his spots better, his command improved!
Brian Cassady increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!

Monday 6/12/2001 :
Samuel Charneco has lost some momentum, his stealing ability drops to E ...
Eddie Lopez plate discipline seems to have faded...

Monday 6/19/2001 :
Bobby Day seems to have improved his pure stuff!
Bobby Day's pitches have more bite now, the movement has improved!
Bobby Day is hitting his spots better, his command improved!

Monday 6/26/2001 :
Eduardo Fuensanta has lost some power...
Gregory Priolo increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!
Lucas Valverde is hitting his spots better, his command improved!Sipe, a fifth-round draft choice, has improved to the point of being a five-star prospect now, #33 in all of baseball! Nice…Fuensanta’s power decrease to “Good” is a little concerning at age 34. Fortunately he’s in the last year of his contract.

AAA NOTES —Note: I’ve decided to report month-by-month on 3 ½ star and up players at all classifications, and any others who are performing extremely well.
SP Hiplotio “The Terminator” Dominguez—1-1, 4.25 6/6/6
MR Douglas Diez—3-0, 3.12, 7/3/8
C Walter McDonald--.936 OPS. 4/6/8. One more increase in contact or power, and I’ll promote him.
2B Allen “The Hammer” Dye--.889 OPS. 6/4/6 ratings. Methinks it is now “Hammer Time.” (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) :p
LF/CF Jacobo Sousa--.772 OPS. 4/4/4.
LF/RF Sidney “Tumbleweed” Sutton--.842OPS, 4/6/8
RF Bryan Heasley--.853OPS, 5/3/4.

AA NOTES:
SP William Bent—9-4, 2.96, 2/2/6
SP Dean Sipe—6-2, 1.55, 3/6/6.
3B/1B Cruz Muniz--.766 OPS, 2/4/3

A NOTES:
SP Jim Decker—1-3, 4.41, 0/2/4
1B Danny Anderson--.757 OPS, 2/2/6
1B Tyler Poulson--.765 OPS, 2/2/3
SS Robert Pauli--.788 OPS, 2/3/3

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
Well, since I’m calling up Allen “The Hammer” Dye to play 2B, starter Rodney Campbell is expendable. I could REALLY use a first baseman, so I trade Campbell along with 1B Romero. Kansas City accepts the two of them for a VERY good player, 1B Eugene Lamb (6/8/7). Lamb looks to be entering his prime in his 5th season in the bigs at age 29. He’s hitting .271 with 18 homers and 46 RBI’s this season. He has “C” defensive range, and a .999 fielding pct.. He’s arbitration eligible, but I go ahead and give him a three-year extension for $4.65M per year. Welcome aboard, Eugene!

Our new batting order:

1. CF Sylvain (6/4/5)
2. 2B Dye (6/4/6)
3. 3B Schuster (6/6/6)
4. 1B Lamb (6/8/7)
5. SS Fuensanta (6/8/5)
6. C Barrett (6/6/7)
7. LF Mcfarland (6/5/5)
8. RF Mejia (6/3/5)

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: John Guest, MIN (4-1, 1.57) and Pedro Diaz, MON (4-0, 1.17)
Batters Of The Month: C Jared Barrows, ANA (.337, 11 HR, 23 RBI) and Elmer Connors, STL (.337, 9 HR and 24 RBI)

TEAM NEWS Monday 6/5/2001 :

Willie Prahl fans 11 batters against Florida.


Thursday 6/8/2001 :

Joseph Dyke has 4 hits against Chicago (N).
Joseph Dyke scores 5 runs against Chicago (N).


Saturday 6/17/2001 :

Eduardo Fuensanta hits 2 homers against Milwaukee.


Thursday 6/22/2001 :

Anthony Schuster has 4 hits against Colorado.


Friday 6/30/2001 :

James Shultis strikes out 11 against Florida.

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[ShagVT]

Outstanding as usual, SkyDog. I agree with the long thread approach for now - just makes it easier to keep up with.

Also, I checked out your website - the clips of your album sound positively beautiful. My wife loved it as well, so I'm sure we'll be putting an order in pretty soon.

[GrantDawg]

Great stuff, Dog. Keep it up.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>JULY 2001</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 12-14
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 46-62
CURRENT STANDING: Fourth place, 22.5 games behind the division-leading Mets.

TEAM NEWSTuesday 7/4/2001 :
Eduardo Fuensanta hits a 453-foot homerun!!

Friday 7/21/2001 :
Anthony Schuster crushes 2 homers against Los Angeles.
Michael Sylvain has 4 hits against Los Angeles.

Saturday 7/22/2001 :
Anthony Schuster extends his hitting streak to 16 games!

Wednesday 7/26/2001 :
Anthony Schuster extends his hitting streak to a career high 20 games!

Thursday 7/27/2001 :
Anthony Schuster extends his hitting streak to a career high 21 games!

Friday 7/28/2001 :
Anthony Schuster extends his hitting streak to a career high 22 games!

Saturday 7/29/2001 :
Anthony Schuster extends his hitting streak to a career high 23 games!

Sunday 7/30/2001 :
Anthony Schuster extends his hitting streak to a career high 24 games!
Eugene Lamb crushes 3 homers against Montreal.

Monday 7/31/2001 :
Anthony Schuster's hitting streak was snapped at 24 games!

Monday 8/1/2001 :
Anthony Schuster was named National League-Batter of the Month!
He batted .347 in 98 AB, with 7 homers and 17 RBI.

INJURIES DURING MONTH:
No major ones.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
It appears that Medina, at age 35, might still have a little something left after all. He went 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA this month to lower his ERA to a decent 4.62 for the year-to-date. 26-year-old Figueroa appears to have settled in as a rotation mainstay already in his second year. He’s 9-8, 3.81. Overall, the rotation is looking mediocre. ERA’s range from 3.81 to 4.89. Staff ERA is 4.21

Offensively, the addition of Eugene Lamb has been a nice little pick-me-up. He had a .986 OPS for the month, and 3B Anthony Schuster, hitting in front of Lamb, was the Batter of the Month. 2B Alan “The Hammer” Dye proved himself very much ready for the bigs, hitting .315 with 16 RBI this month in the #2 slot. He hit a homer as his first career hit, and had a 15-game hitting streak during the month.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 3B Schuster--.291
HR: 1B Lamb--22 (2 teams)
RBI: SS Feunsanta--20
SB: CF Sylvain--43
SP ERA: Figureoa—3.81
RP ERA: Dinger—1.75
SAVES: Dinger—25
SP K’s: Shultis--130

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 7/3/2001 :
Sidney Sutton seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...

Monday 7/10/2001 :
Andres Cobo seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...

Monday 7/17/2001 :
Robert Falconer has improved his plate disclipine!

Monday 7/31/2001 :
Lucas Fernandez has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to D ... :mad: BAD news about Sidney Sutton! He turned 26 this month, dropped that contact, and dropped from a 4 ½ star prospect to a 2-star guy. He is still rated 4/6/8, and his talent is avg/good/brl, so he COULD improve some more. Nonetheless, he’s a decent left-handed bat, and big-league starter Macfarlnad is only hitting .241 against RHP (.333 against LHP), so I call up Sutton to start in LF against right-handed pitching. Cobo gets sent down. None of the other development news appears to be of any significance.

AAA NOTES
SP Hiplotio “The Terminator” Dominguez—12-3, 4.42, 7/6/6, 5 stars (gonna let him finish out the year in AAA)
MR Douglas Diez—4-1, 3.33, 7/4/8, 4.5 stars
C Walter McDonald--.989 OPS. 4/7/8. 5 stars
LF/CF Jacobo Sousa--.851 OPS. 4/4/4. 3.5 stars.
RF Bryan Heasley--.827 OPS, 5/3/4. 4 stars.

AA NOTES:
SP William Bent—11-6, 3.30, 2/2/6. 4 stars.
SP Dean Sipe—9-2, 1.55, 4/6/6. 5 stars. His stats and my scout say he’s ready for AAA. I call him up.
3B/1B Cruz Muniz--.777 OPS, 2/4/3. 4 stars.

A NOTES:
SP Jim Decker—3-5, 2.81, 0/2/4. 3.5 stars.
1B Danny Anderson--.813 OPS, 2/2/6. 4 stars.
1B Tyler Poulson--.684 OPS, 2/2/3. 4 stars.
SS Robert Pauli--.811 OPS, 3/3/4. 4 stars. Stats and scout say he’s ready for AA. I call him up.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: John Nielsen, ANA (3-0, 0.00) and John Choy, NYM (5-0, 1.38)
Batters Of The Month: LF Patrick Meredith, ANA (.329, 26 RBI) and 3B Anthony Schuster, ATL (.347, 17 RBI)

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>AUGUST 2001</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 13-14
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 59-76
CURRENT STANDING: Fourth place, 26 games behind the division-leading Mets.

TEAM NEWSSaturday 8/5/2001 :
Eugene Lamb slams 2 homers against Houston.
Elliot Feder has 4 hits against Houston.

Monday 8/14/2001 :
Samuel Figueroa pitches a 2-hit shutout against New York (N)!!

Thursday 8/24/2001 :
Michael Sylvain has 4 hits against Montreal.
Michael Sylvain crushes 2 homers against Montreal.
Eduardo Fuensanta slams 2 homers against Montreal.

Friday 8/25/2001 :
Michael Sylvain sets a new season Team-Record for Stolen Bases with 50!

INJURIES DURING MONTH:
None.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
Shultis struggled in July, and REALLY struggled in August. He had a 5.14 ERA in July, and a 6.27 in August. The rest of the pitching staff remains mediocre. The staff ERA drops to 4.17

Sidney “Tumbleweed” Sutton had a nice first month in the bigs, hitting .262 with a .808 OPS. His platoon partner McFarland, getting to hit against left-handed pitching, hit .296. “Superfly” Sylvain may be coming into his own. He hit .330 this month with a .919 OPS! He’s still only “4” in power (with Brilliant talent). Of course, the kid is still only 23. 2B Alan Dye shows that his first month wasn’t a fluke. He followed up a .315 July with a .307 August. Team batting average rises to .257, 14th overall.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 3B Schuster--.288 (Dye is hitting .311, but not enough AB’s to qualify)
HR: 1B Lamb—29 (2 teams)
RBI: SS Feunsanta—76
SB: CF Sylvain--52
SP ERA: Figureoa—3.86
RP ERA: Dinger—1.61
SAVES: Dinger—32
SP K’s: Shultis--158

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 8/14/2001:
Steve Fulmer has lost some momentum, his range at 2B drops to C ...
Steve Fulmer has lost some momentum, his range at 3B drops to D ...
Steve Fulmer has lost some momentum, his range at SS drops to E ...
Carlos Villar seems to have improved his pure stuff!
Bill Collins increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!
Luis Pierce has lost some momentum, his range at C drops to D ... Fulmer was at AAA. He’s done at age 36. I’ll let him finish the year down there, but he won’t be re-signed. Collins, who can play 1B/LF/RF, has his contact rise to “Good”. He might now become a viable utility player, and even the right-handed half of a platoon.

AAA NOTES
SP Hiplotio “The Terminator” Dominguez—15-3, 3.90, 7/6/6, 5 stars.
SP Dean Sipe—1-1, 4.10, 4/6/7, 5 stars. (This was his first month in AAA.).
MR Douglas Diez—4-2, 3.95, 7/4/8, 4.5 stars
C Walter McDonald--.953 OPS. 4/7/8. 5 stars
LF/CF Jacobo Sousa--.878 OPS. 4/4/5. Down to 1 star as he turns 26. Talent still avg/good/avg
RF Bryan Heasley--.828 OPS, 6/3/4. 4 stars.

AA NOTES:
SP William Bent—14-8, 3.79, 2/2/6. 4 stars.
3B/1B Cruz Muniz--.758 OPS, 2/4/3. 4 stars.
SS Robert Pauli--.787 OPS, 3/3/4. 4 stars (First month in AA).
SP Chad Alejo—1-3, 2.23, 1/4/5. 3 stars. (First month in AA. Worth reporting due to his stats.)

A NOTES:
SP Jim Decker—5-6, 3.30, 0/3/4. 3.5 stars.
1B Danny Anderson--.847 OPS, 2/2/6. 4 stars. Scout and stats say he’s ready for AA. I call him up.
1B Tyler Poulson--.712 OPS, 2/2/3. 4 stars.
SS Robert Pauli--.811 OPS, 3/3/4. 4 stars. Stats and scout say he’s ready for AA. I call him up.
CF Stephen Dills—1.043 OPS, 2/4/5. 2 stars. Great performance. I call him up to AA.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: Samuel Avendano, ANA (5-0, 0.71) and Kim Thomas, ARI (5-0, 1.20)
Batters Of The Month: LF Jason Bevilacqua, BOS (.376, 9 HR, 26 RBI) and James Parente, ARI (.383, 28 RBI)

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

MY SEPTEMBER CALL-UPS OF NOTE
I call up 2-star SP William Braziel to replace Shultis in the rotation. No one else of significance.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2001</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 8-19
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 67-95
CURRENT STANDING: Last place, 34 games behind Division Champion Mets.

TEAM NEWSSaturday 9/2/2001 :
Alan Dye has 4 hits against New York (N).
Eduardo Fuensanta drives in 6 runs against New York (N).

Thursday 9/14/2001 :
Eugene Lamb crushes 2 homers against Cincinnati.

Saturday 9/23/2001 :
Michael Sylvain sets a new season NL-Record for Stolen Bases with 57!

Monday 9/25/2001 :
Eugene Lamb crushes 2 homers against San Diego.

INJURIES DURING MONTH:
None of note.

SEASON-END TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 3B Schuster--.283
HR: 1B Lamb—36
RBI: 1B Lamb—93
SB: CF Sylvain--58
SP ERA: Figureoa—3.67
RP ERA: Dinger—1.65
SAVES: Dinger—36
SP K’s: Figueroa--172

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 9/4/2001:
Steve Fulmer has lost a step. His speed drops to C ...
Steve Fulmer has lost some momentum, his range at 2B drops to D ...
Steve Fulmer has lost some momentum, his range at 3B drops to E ...
Walter Mcdonald has lost some momentum, his stealing ability drops to D ...
Andres Cobo seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...

Monday 9/11/2001:
William Dewalt plate discipline seems to have faded...

Monday 9/18/2001:
Scott Mcfarland has lost some power...

Monday 9/25/2001:
Joseph Gillenwater increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!
Joseph Gillenwater has gained more power!
Joseph Gillenwater has improved his plate disclipine!
Sydney Davidson has lost some momentum, his range at LF drops to B ...
Sydney Davidson has lost some momentum, his range at CF drops to D ...
Sydney Davidson has lost some momentum, his range at RF drops to B ... Fulmer’s free-fall continues…WHOA! CF/RF Gillenwater, a former 3rd-round draft choice, becomes a 5-star prospect (Good/Good/Avg)! He hit .305 with a .788 OPS this year in single-A. He’s 20, and has “A” range at both CF and RF. The others were not of note.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: Vincent “Stud” Bridges, SEA (4-2, 2.06) and Kenneth Borchert, NYM (3-0, 0.88)
Batters Of The Month: 2B Allen Acker, CWS (.384, 7HR, 20RBI) and C John Linville, PIT (.384, 9HR, 28RBI)

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
Former Brave Jessie “Ugly” Meng gets his 2,500th hit.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2001 END OF REGULAR SEASON REPORT</center>

Full year-end stat report can be found at: http://www.benelou.com/dynasty/clubhouse2001.htm

It is too frustrating to try to format the report for this board. :mad:

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2001 POST-SEASON REPORT</center>

POTENTIAL FREE AGENTS/CONTRACT EXTENSIONS
SS Eduardo Fuensanta—He’s 34, and wants a four-year deal for over $10M per year. He’s good, but not THAT good. I can’t afford to take that risk.
SP Roberto Medina—I’ve got two 5-star SP’s at AAA (Sipe and Dominguez). Medina is the only member of my ’01 rotation whose contract is up, and he’s 35 years old. Easy choice. Bye-bye Roberto.
LF Scott Mcfarland—He could be a valuable bat off the bench and as a right-handed platoon half. He signs for a good bit cheaper than I paid him this year. Three years, $1.8M per year, as opposed to the $3.25M contract from this year.
CF Joseph Dyke—He’s been relegated to a bench player/pinch hitter. I tried to sign him for <$1M, but he wouldn’t. He’s gone.
RF Antonio Mejia—He’s never had anything resembling a big year, and he wants over $3M per season. He’s gone.
3B Samuel Charneco—He’s 36, but he hit .291 as a pinch hitter this year with 7 RBI in 16 at bats. He only wants $300K. What the heck? I re-sign him.
SS Steve Fulmer—He faded big-time. He’s gone.
C Daniel Turberville—He was our #3 catcher, spending most of the year at AAA. He’s outta here.

Well, at least I’ve freed up some $$$.

LEAGUE RECAP
American League Rookie Of The Year Award:
Norberto Cardenas (ANA)!
He had a record of 16-9 with an ERA of 4.11 and 1 shutouts.
In 33 games started, he pitched 221.1 innings, fanning 122 and walking 83 batters.

National League Rookie Of The Year Award:
Robert Costanza (FLO)!
He had a record of 14-9 with an ERA of 3.21.
In 31 games started, he pitched 193.1 innings, fanning 108 and walking 44 batters.

American League Cy Young Award:
John Guest (MIN)!
He had a record of 21-6 with an ERA of 2.03 and 2 shutouts.
In 36 games started, he pitched 266.2 innings, fanning 212 and walking 88 batters.
Guest has been consistently good throughout his career. He’s a five-time All-Star, but this is his first Cy Young Award. This 36-year-old has 175 career wins, and a 3.34 ERA.

American League MVP Award:
Donald Verdi (BOS)!
He batted .322 in 583 AB, with 27 homers and 90 RBI.
Verdi is also a Gold Glove CF this year. He stole 32 bases, and had a .952 OPS. A GREAT all-around season. He’s 31 years old, and has 214 homers, 237 steals and a .849 lifetime OPS.

National League Cy Young Award:
Kenneth Borchert (NY)!
He had a record of 21-6 with an ERA of 1.36 and 4 shutouts.
In 34 games started, he pitched 251 innings, fanning 198 and walking 33 batters.
WOW!!!! What a season!!! A brilliant year to cap off what has been a very strong career. Borchert is 36 years old and has 192 career wins. This was his first Cy Young Award, but the third straight year he’s had an ERA under 3.00.

National League MVP Award:
Elmer Connors (SL)!
He batted .369 in 572 AB, with 38 homers and 117 RBI.

Back-to-back MVP Awards for this 31-year old. Connors won the batting title by 46 points this year. After four years of 24-29 homers and 270’s average, he’s become a superstar the last two years. He had 211 hits this year.

American League Gold Glove Award Winners:
Pitcher: Lester Vidal (BAL)
Catcher: Edward Heiss (CLE)
First Base: Emil Romero (KC)
Second Base: Andres Paz (BAL)
Third Base: Earl Saenz (OAK)
Shortstop: Israel Fleita (OAK)
Leftfield: Silvio Freire (DET)
Centerfield: Donald Verdi (BOS)
Rightfield: Billy Smith (TOR)

National League Gold Glove Award Winners:
Pitcher: Oswaldo Quintanilla (SL)
Catcher: Christian Singh (SD)
First Base: Bill Atchison (FLO)
Second Base: Laurence Tobar (FLO)
Third Base: Anthony Schuster (ATL)
Shortstop: Felix Romano (COL)
Leftfield: Michael Keck (SF)
Centerfield: Michael Sylvain (ATL)
Rightfield: Jose Cabello (MIL)

MANAGER UPDATE
My reputation rises to Still Inexperienced. The owner mood is at 27. It has been a Relationship with Blaney for almost 2 years now. I pop the question and she still doesn’t want to get hitched yet. I get offered a 1 year contract extension for $575K.

THOUGHTS
We’ve got some cash freed up now and the guys I want returning. In 2002, for the first time I’ll be able to put what I feel like is fully “my” team on the field.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>STARS OF THE GAME UPDATE</center>

NOTE—This will be the last “Stars Of The Game” update. From now on, I’ll do a report on the MVP and Cy Young winners, and anyone who reaches a milestone or gets inducted into the HOF.

RF Jose Cabello--Milwaukee, Age 34--6/8/5
Cabello had a very good year, but not one like he’s grown accustomed to. He was .284-30-90-.858 OPS and won the Gold Glove. He did establish a new career HR record. He’s at 588 and counting. The RBI record is a possibility as well. He needs 215 RBI’s to tie the all-time record of 1,702. Looking at Cabello’s records makes we want to discuss a retired player who is truly a LEGEND in this universe….

LF Lawrence “The Natural” Coldwell—RETIRED
I just ran across him. He’s probably currently considered “the greatest to ever play the game”. Here’s the 4-1-1 on The Natural. All-time RBI Leader (1702)
[*}10th All-Time in Hits (2,721)
5th All-Time in HR’s (530)
3rd All-Time in Walks (1,426)
1st All-Time in Runs (1,834)
1st All-Time in Stolen Bases (636)
6 Career 30-30 seasons.
4-Time Gold Glove
7-Time All StarThe Natural retired this year, and is in the HOF.

2B Laurence Tobar--Florida, Age 31--7/10/7
.272, 43HR, 99 RBI. He was 2nd in the League in HR’s, made his 5th All-Star appearance, and won his first Gold Glove.

LF Albert Evans—Free Agent, Age 36--8/7/5
Looks like his 30-homer, 30 steal days are behind him, but he can still hit. He was .322 with 20 HR’s and 83 RBI and 15 SB’s. He was an All-Star for the 7th time in his career.

Larry Gutowski--3B,Minnesota, age 33, 8/5/6
He’s fading. For the first time in 9 years, he didn’t hit .300. .277-7-54. He got his 2000th career hit this year.

SP Raul "Goldie" Grajeda-Detroit--age 38--10/6/8
He’s done. He went 11-15 with a 4.84 ERA, giving him 226 career wins. He retired and was inducted into the HOF.;

SP Pedro Diaz--Montreal--Age 37—8/7/8
He had yet another outstanding season, going 18-5 with a 2.15 ERA. He now has 178 career wins, and a lifetime 2.93 ERA. He was selected to his fourth career All-Star game.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2002 BEGINNING OF YEAR TEAM NEWS</center>
Wednesday 1/31/2002 :
Steve Fulmer retires ...
Fan loyalty drops to Good...
Team market falls to Small.
Roberto Medina becomes a free agent.
Antonio Mejia becomes a free agent.
Daniel Turberville becomes a free agent.
Tomas Nieves gets a new one-year contract worth $1,282,500 through salary arbitration.
Joseph Dyke becomes a free agent.
Eduardo Fuensanta becomes a free agent.
Joshua Dinger gets a new one-year contract worth $3,664,286 through salary arbitration.
Michael Sylvain gets a new one-year contract worth $2,442,857 through salary arbitration.
John Blakemore gets a new one-year contract worth $488,571 through salary arbitration.
Howard Boykins gets a new one-year contract worth $1,343,571 through salary arbitration.
Frank Kral gets a new one-year contract worth $793,929 through salary arbitration.Well, first of all, it looks like it will be even hard to get people to see this team. I have a feeling that I NEED to win this year. Dinger is getting some pretty big bucks, but he deserves it based on his performance to date.

Owner Mood: 27
Chemistry: 98
Owner Type: Normal
Owner Expectation: Play .500 ball in 2002!
Team Market: Small
Fan Loyalty: Good
Fan Interest: 31

[Ben E Lou]

2002 POSITION REPORT: Catchers

Theodore Barrett (6/6/7) is in the last year of his contract at age 34. He’s had a nice 10 years with Atlanta, but the handwriting is on the wall: 24-year-old 5-star prospect Walter McDonald (Good/Brl/Brl) is now rated 4/7/8, had a .956 OPS in AAA last year, has a stronger arm, and is the #12 prospect in all of baseball. 29-year-old Antonio Aguiar (4/5/5) has hit .262 in two seasons in the bigs as backup catcher, and will remain in that role..

OVERALL THOUGHTS: McDonald looks ready to take the next step. I’ll trade Barrett prior to the free agency period.

[Ben E Lou]

2002 POSITION REPORT: First Base

Eugene Lamb (6/8/7), acquired via trade last year, is a good power guy in the middle of the order. He’s 30 years old, and hit a career-high 36 homers last year. He’s signed through 2004. We have two solid-looking prospects, 22-year-old Danny Anderson (Avg/Good/Brl) and 20-year-old Tyler Poulson (Good/Avg/Avg).

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Lamb is set for at least the next three seasons. Perhaps by then Anderson or Poulson will be ready.

[Ben E Lou]

2002 POSITION REPORT: Second Base

23-year-old Alan "The Hammer" Dye (Good/Good/Good) hit .311 with 23 SB’s in his half-season call-up as a starter last year. The Hammer has 6/4/6 ratings. 27-year-old Eddie Lopez (4/6/6) spent last year hitting .267 with 19 HR’s at AAA. He’s likely to be in the majors as a backup 2B/3B/CF.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: It looks like “The Hammer” will be a fixture at 2B for quite some time.

[Ben E Lou]

2002 POSITION REPORT: Third Base

Anthony Schuster (6/6/6), age 32, has been the starter for six season. He had another solid year, hitting .283 with 20 HR’s and a .792 OPS, while winning the Gold Glove for his D. Our best-looking prospect is 3B/1B Cruz Muniz (Avg/Brl/Avg). Muniz is 23 years old. He had a .917 OPS in 2000 at single-A, and a .757 last year in AA. He’s currently rated 2/4/3, and will probably spend 2002 in AA.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Schuster is signed through 2003. I doubt Muniz will be ready for the bigs by 2004, but Muniz will be 34 then. I may have to do a tap dance to make this work out.

[Ben E Lou]

2002 POSITION REPORT: Shortstop

With the departure of Eduardo Fuensanta, we really have no one here who is starter material. The best option appears to be John Blakemore (3/5/6) a C fielding rated career backup. A decent-looking prospect is 4-star guy Robert Pauli (Good/Fair/Avg). Pauli has “B” range at SS. He had an OPS of .802 in 103 games in A-ball, then .842 in one month at AA. He’s currently rated 3/3/4.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Alan Dye has “B” range at SS. He could play there, and I’d start Lopez at 2B. My preferred option will be to sign a 2B or SS via free agency.

[Ben E Lou]

2002 POSITION REPORT: Left Field
Sidney "Tumbleweed" Sutton (4/6/8) had an inauspicious debut. Sutton, now 26, was called up on August 1st to be the left field vs. RHP. He hit only .200 in 160 at bats. Another option out there is Scott Mcfarland (6/5/5). Mcfarland had a decent year, hitting .276 with little power. 26-year-old Jacobo Sousa (Avg/Good/Avg) (4/4/6) has become a one-star guy. He had a very good year in AA though, hitting 19 HR’s with a .870 OPS. He may deserve a look. I like his "B" range at LF. 35-year-old Andres Cobo (3/1/6) can play all three outfield positions with "B" range at each and remains a good utility OF option.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Hmmm. A VERY interesting situation here. Sousa probably looks like the most promising option, but with my owner getting more and more upset with me, I may be forced to sign a FA who is more “proven” in LF.

[Ben E Lou]

2002 POSITION REPORT: Center Field

Michael "Superfly" Sylvain (Good, Brilliant, Good) (6/4/5) won a Gold Glove in his first full season and set a new NL stolen base record (58). The top prospect is Joseph Gillenwater (Good/Good/Avg). Gillenwater is 20, and can play RF or CF with A range.HE hit .305 with 15 HR’s in his second season in A-ball.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: If Superfly can start showing us some of that “brilliant” power, he’ll become one of the most complete players in the game. He looks to have a place in my outfield for a very long time.

[Ben E Lou]

2002 POSITION REPORT: Right Field

I let the mediocre Antonio Mejia become a free agent. My current best option is 24-year-old prospect Bryan Heasley (Good, Good/Avg) (6,3,4). Heasley bats left-handed, is the #98 prospect in the game, and has an “A” arm. Heasley had a very good year in his second AAA season, hitting .323 with 16 HR’s.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I’m ready to turn over RF to Heasley.[/b]

[Ben E Lou]

2002 POSITION REPORT: Starting Pitchers

27-year-old lefty Samuel Figueroa(8/7/9) is the ace of the returning starters. He went 13-12 with a 3.67 ERA last year. This will be his third major league season. Elliot Feder (7/6/7/), has been a solid inning-eater in his career, and appears to still be such a guy. Willie "The Fireball" Prahl (Good/Avg/Avg) (7/7/5) gave us 179 innings with a 5.01 ERA as a rookie last year. This 25-year-old could now be ready to become a solid piece of the rotation. 24-year-old Hipolito “The Terminator” Dominguez (Good/Good/Good) (7/6/6), the #41 prospect in baseball, looks like he’s ready. He went 15-3 with a 4.13 ERA in AAA last year. 32-year-old William Braziel (6/6/6) has been very good in seven seasons at AAA, but has struggled when he’s been called up to the bigs at times (6.49 ERA in 349.1 innings).

The SP prospect still looks pretty decent. SP/RP Dean Sipe (Good/Good/Brl) (5/6/7) advanced rapidly and suddenly last year. He started the year in A-ball, where we was utterly dominant, going 4-0 with a 1.10 ERA in 5 starts. He started 14 games in AA, going 9-2 with a 1.61 ERA. By the end of the year, he had gotten 5 starts in AA, with a 4.10 ERA. He’s now the #46 prospect in the game, and will start the year in AAA. William Bent (Good/Avg/Good) (3/2/6) continues to progress. In his first year at AA, he went 14-8 with a 3.79 ERA. This 21-year-old is a 4-star prospect. A 3 1/2 –star SP is Jim Decker (Avg/Avg/Good) (1/3/4). Decker had a tough half-year at AA, going 3-6 with a 6.55 ERA.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: The rotation could be decent as is, but could really benefit from having a bona-fide ace. I’d love to put a rotation of ACE-Figueroa-Feder-Prahl-Dominguez out there, with Braziel and Sipe waiting in the wings in case of injury/poor performance.

[Ben E Lou]

2002 POSITION REPORT: Relief Pitching

Joshua Dinger (Brl/Good/Good) (9/6/7) is only 23, and already has 59 career saves. He’s making $3.6M this year via arbitration 27-year-old Howard Boykins (9/6/8) returns as our best lefty set-up option. He’s had 3.14 and 3.16 ERA’s the last two years. The best-looking righty is 31-year-old John Honda (8/7/7). 26-year-old lefty Cosme Reynoso (Good/Avg/Brl) (7/6/7) is also worth mentioning. He appeared in 79 games last year, posting a 3.69 ERA. [b]Tomas Nieves (8/6/7) is a 27-year-old righthander who can give us some good innings as well.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: The ‘pen is young, very good and very deep.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2002 FREE AGENCY PERIOD REPORT</center>

Here's the current financial situation in Atlanta:

Cash on Hand: $$3,948,674
Total Payfoll: $35,318,214
Last Year Income: $51,217,976
Available Money: $17,348,436

TRADES
Well, I looked at the free agents and realized I wasn’t going to land a true ace SP, so I looked around to see if I can trade for a solid one. I trade C Barrett, SP prospect Decker, and mediocre 1B prospect Robert Falconer to Kansas City for SP Eric Freeland (7/7/7). Freeland is 29 years old, and has turned in ERA’s of 3.52, 3.48 and 3.36 and started 100 games in the last three seasons. He should help solidify the rotation. Freeland is signed through 2003.

Speaking of trades, I take a look at my player tracker to see how some guys I’ve traded away have done. Here ya go…

SS Ricardo Cazares has turned into an utter superstar for St. Louis. :mad: He’s rated 8/10/8, and hit .323 with 29 HR’s and 92 RBI’s last year.
RP Henry Mukai was moved to middle relief by the Cards. He’s had two solid seasons in MR.
2B Rodney Campbell finished the season at .272 with 14 HR’s, and was not re-signed by KC. He could come back via free agency this year!

DESIRES
The trade for Freeland leaves me with $18.97M available for FA’s. I need a second basemen or shortstop, and could also really use another outfielder. There are a few guys out there who might help me put a winner on the field in ’02. Here’s who I end up signing:

RF Ruben Rodriguez (Avg/Brl/Good (5/8/6)—This 27-year-old has 90 homers over the past three seasons. He has “C” range in RF, and bats left-handed. He gets a 4-year deal for $5.5M per year. ( Bryan Heasley can play LF, and will probably get a shot there.)

2B Rodney Campbell (Good/Avg/Avg) (6/5/6)—I bring the 31-year-old Campbell back, this time with a 3-year deal for $8.75M per year. :eek: He’s still got “A” range at 2B. Allen “The Hammer” Dye will move over to SS.

Comment: I really like that AI teams will aggressively go after FA’s for more than they’re worth. I NEEDED Campbell, so I was forced to pay dang near double what I would have liked to pay.

POST-FREE AGENCY THOUGHTS
For the first time, I feel like I’m going to put a pretty sound team on the field. As I mentioned earlier, this is definitely the first year that I’m putting “my” team out there. Let’s see how we do!

[Anrhydeddu]

SS Ricardo Cazares has turned into an utter superstar for St. Louis. He’s rated 8/10/8, and hit .323 with 29 HR’s and 92 RBI’s last year.
RP Henry Mukai was moved to middle relief by the Cards. He’s had two solid seasons in MR.
2B Rodney Campbell finished the season at .272 with 14 HR’s, and was not re-signed by KC. He could come back via free agency this year!

Let's see. One trade ended up in the AI's favor, one was a wash and the other in your favor. Even with this small sample, these are the results I have always gotten (with the majority being washes). I just never understood the experience of others in making a rule eliminating trades or applying a "fairness" test. But then again, I wouldn't play a sports sim without trading.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2002 SPRING TRAINING REPORT</center>

<a href=p810.html>Chad Alejo</a> has good pitching sessions!
1 <a href=p810.html>Chad Alejo</a> has increased his throwing velocity!
1 <a href=p1847.html>Danny Robinson</a> has increased his throwing velocity!
1 <a href=p1847.html>Danny Robinson</a> has improved his control!
1 <a href=p812.html>Danny Anderson</a> showed good strike zone judgement!
1 <a href=p2582.html>Hipolito Dominguez</a> has increased his throwing velocity!
1 <a href=p2552.html>Cruz Muñiz</a> showed good strike zone judgement!
1 <a href=p1006.html>Tobias Hachiro</a> has good batting practice sessions!
1 <a href=p1006.html>Tobias Hachiro</a> displays more power in batting practice!
1 <a href=p563.html>Roger Googe</a> showed good strike zone judgement!
1 <a href=p1004.html>Bill Hicks</a> has good pitching sessions!
1 <a href=p1004.html>Bill Hicks</a> has increased his throwing velocity!
1 <a href=p1004.html>Bill Hicks</a> has improved his control!
1 <a href=p2842.html>Walter Mcdonald</a> defense at Catcher suffers.
1 <a href=p2842.html>Walter Mcdonald</a> has good batting practice sessions!
1 <a href=p2842.html>Walter Mcdonald</a> displayed poor strike zone judgement!
1 <a href=p268.html>William Polly</a> displays more power in batting practice!
1 <a href=p1332.html>Michael Sylvain</a> showed good strike zone judgement!
1 <a href=p3114.html>Joseph Gillenwater</a> showed good strike zone judgement!
1 <a href=p2314.html>Brian Cataldo</a> displays more power in batting practice!
1 <a href=p2314.html>Brian Cataldo</a> showed good strike zone judgement!
1 <a href=p2998.html>Randy Wheeler</a> has good batting practice sessions!
1 <a href=p2998.html>Randy Wheeler</a> displays more power in batting practice!
1 <a href=p2889.html>Dean Sipe</a> has good pitching sessions!
1 <a href=p2965.html>Sydney Davidson</a> has good batting practice sessions!
1 <a href=p2965.html>Sydney Davidson</a> displays more power in batting practice!
1 <a href=p2965.html>Sydney Davidson</a> showed good strike zone judgement!
1 <a href=p1068.html>James Pratt</a> has good batting practice sessions!
1 <a href=p838.html>Carlos Villar</a> has good pitching sessions!
1 <a href=p838.html>Carlos Villar</a> has increased his throwing velocity!
1 <a href=p838.html>Carlos Villar</a> has improved his control!
1 <a href=p2928.html>Kenneth Tamura</a> has good batting practice sessions!
1 <a href=p2928.html>Kenneth Tamura</a> showed good strike zone judgement!
1 <a href=p1414.html>Alvin Garofalo</a> has good batting practice sessions!
1 <a href=p1414.html>Alvin Garofalo</a> showed good strike zone judgement!
1 <a href=p122.html>Luis Pierce</a> displays more power in batting practice!
1 <a href=p122.html>Luis Pierce</a> showed good strike zone judgement!

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2002 MAJOR LEAGUE LINEUPS AND ROTATIONS</center>

Batting Order vs. RHP
1. CF Sylvain (6/4/5)
2. SS Dye (6/4/6)
3. 1B Lamb (6/8/7)
4. RF Rodriguez (5/8/6)
5. C McDonald (5/8/8)
6. 3B Schuster (6/6/6)
7. 2B Campbell (6/5/6)
8. LF Sutton (4/6/8)

Batting Order vs. LHP
1. CF Sylvain (6/4/5)
2. SS Dye (6/4/6)
3. 1B Lamb (6/8/7)
4. 3B Schuster (6/6/6)
5. C McDonald (5/8/8)
6. RF Rodriguez (5/8/6)
7. 2B Campbell (6/5/6)
8. LF McFarland (6/5/5)

Pitching Rotation
1. Figueroa (8/7/9)
2. Feder (7/6/7)
3. Freeland (7/7/7
4. Dominguez (7/6/6)
5. Prahl (7/7/5)
Closer: Dinger (9/6/7)

Strategy
We’ve definitely added some pop to the order, with the signing of Rodriguez and the calling up of McDonald. I’ll tone down the base stealing just a bit as a result.

Outlook
I really think we can finish over .500 this year. If we don't, I wouldn't be surprised if I get canned.

[korme]

Good read SD, I'll be following :)

[Ben E Lou]

<center>APRIL 2002</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 13-15
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 13-15
CURRENT STANDING: Third, 2 games behind division-leading Mets.

INJURIES:
Ugh. 3B Schuster tore a thigh muscle in the fourth game of the season, and he’s still Out now. He’s expected to return in mid-May.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
Free agent Freeland (3-1, 2.89) and 2nd-year man “The Fireball” Prahl (4-1,2.48) lead the rotation. Rookie Dominguez struggles early (0-3, 6.28). Dinger has 8 saves, and hasn’t given up a run or walk in 11 IP.

Superfly Sylvain is lighting is up! He hit .343 for the month, with a .935 OPS. Overall, we’re in the middle of the pack in both batting (.253, 16th) and pitching (3.80, 13th).

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: CF Sylvain--.343
HR: 1B Lamb and RF Rodriguez—4
RBI: SS Dye, RF Rodriguez and C McDonald--13
SB: SS Dye--8
SP ERA: Prahl—2.48
RP ERA: Dinger—0.00
SAVES: Dinger—8
SP K’s: Prahl--26

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 4/2/2002:
Walter Mcdonald plate discipline seems to have faded...
Brian Cassady has lost some momentum, his range at 3B drops to D ...
Brian Cassady has lost some momentum, his range at SS drops to D ...

Monday 4/9/2002:
Eric Freeland has worked out more, his duration raises to C ...

Monday 4/23/2002:
Greg Benedict seems to have improved his pure stuff!
Bill Collins seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...
Jacobo Sousa has lost some momentum, his range at LF drops to C ...
Jacobo Sousa has lost some momentum, his range at CF drops to D ...
Lucas Valverde has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to E ...

Monday 4/30/2002:
Cruz Muñiz seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...

Muniz’ drop hurts.

AAA NOTES —Note: I’ve decided to report month-by-month on 3 ½ star and up players at all classifications, and any others who are performing extremely well.
SP Dean Sipe—3-1, 1.15, (7/6/8), 5 stars—With Dominguez struggling in the bigs, Sipe gets called up and takes his place in the rotation.
MR Lucas Fernandez—0-0, 1.04, (7/8/5), 4 stars
RF Bryan Heasley--.882 OPS, (6/3/4), 4 stars

AA NOTES:
SP William Bent—3-1, 2.97 ERA, (2/2/5), 4 stars
MR Carlos Villar—0-0, 3.52 ERA, (2/5/4), 4 stars
1B Danny Anderson--.867 OPS, (3/2/7), 4 stars
SS Robert Pauli--.863 OPS, (3/3/4), 4 stars

A NOTES:
SP Greg Benedict—4-0, 0.66 ERA, (1/2/3), 4 stars
1B Tyler Poulson--.670 OPS, (2/2/3), 3.5 stars
CF Joseph Gillenwater--.623 OPS (2/3/3), 5 stars

KEY E-MAILS:None.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
I finally have worn Blaney down. She accepted my proposal of marriage.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: Anthony Hilton, KC (2-1, 0.66) and Oscar Melgoza, NYN (4-0, 0.57)
Batters Of The Month: LF Jason Bevilacqua, BOS (.308, 7, 32) and 2B Reggie Barraza, MIL (.355, 8, 28)

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTHThursday 4/5/2002 :
Alan Dye has 4 hits against Philadelphia.
Alan Dye scores 4 runs against Philadelphia.

Thursday 4/12/2002 :
Eugene Lamb slams 2 homers against Chicago (N).

Monday 4/16/2002 :
David Bischoff hits a 454-foot homerun!!

[Ben E Lou]

<center>MAY 2002</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 15-12
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 28-27
CURRENT STANDING: Second place. One-half game behind division-leading Mets.

KEY INJURIES:
BUMMER! I got 3B Schuster back, then two weeks later lost 1B Lamb for 6 weeks to a broken hand! Grrrrr. It looks like he’ll be out until early July.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
CL Dinger had one really bad outing, giving up five runs and blowing a save, and his ERA has ballooned to 4.35, but he’s been very effective overall, saving 14 of 16. Dean Sipe has been decent in his first month in the bigs, going 1-2 with a 4.44 ERA in 4 starts. The rest of the rotation has ERA’s ranging from 3.56 to 4.48. We’re still in the middle of the pack (3.98 and 16th) in team ERA.

The bats are waking up! We’re 5th in all of baseball in batting average (.264) and homers (66). Rookie catcher Walter McDonald had a big power month, hitting 11 homers and slugging .698 in May. Youngsters Sylvain and Dye at the top of the order are giving pitchers fits. They’ve combined for 35 SB’s to date, and 72 runs. Dye is 5th in the NL in batting average (.338).

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 2B Dye--.338
HR: C McDonald--12
RBI: C McDonald--33
SB: CF Sylvain--18
SP ERA: Figueroa—3.56
RP ERA: Boykins—2.84
SAVES: Dinger—14
SP K’s: Figueroa--59

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 5/14/2002:
Stephen Dills has lost some momentum, his range at CF drops to E ...

Monday 5/21/2002:
Danny Robinson's pitches have more bite now, the movement has improved!
Danny Robinson is hitting his spots better, his command improved!

Monday 5/28/2002:
Eugene Lamb plate discipline seems to have faded... 24-year-old Robinson, who has toiled in the minors since ’96, is a guy I signed for the minimum in hopes he’d develop. He’s 5-3 with a 2.36 ERA in AA this year, and is now a 3 ½-star prospect. Nice!
b]AAA NOTES[/b] —Note: I’ve decided to report month-by-month on 3 ½ star and up players at all classifications, and any others who are performing extremely well.
SP Hipolito Dominguez—3-1, 1.82 (7/6/6), 5 stars. Well, he struggled mightily in the bigs, but he’s been dominant in AAA.
MR Lucas Fernandez—0-0, 0.57, (7/8/5), 4 stars
RF Bryan Heasley--.928 OPS, (6/3/4), 4 stars

AA NOTES:
SP William Bent—4-4, 3.90 ERA, (3/2/5), 4 stars
MR Carlos Villar—0-1, 5.82 ERA, (2/5/4), 4 stars
1B Danny Anderson--.796 OPS, (3/2/7), 4 stars. He’s said to be ready for AAA. I call him up.
SS Robert Pauli--.792 OPS, (3/3/4), 4 stars

A NOTES:
SP Greg Benedict—5-3, 2.69 ERA, (1/2/4), 4 stars
1B Tyler Poulson--.733 OPS, (2/2/3), 3.5 stars
CF Joseph Gillenwater--.743 OPS (2/3/3), 5 stars

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: Timothy Rainbolt, TOR (2-1, 0.61) and Kim Thomas, ARI (3-1, 1.19)
Batters Of The Month: LF Silvio Freire, DET (.311, 29 RBI) and 2B Ronald Demuth, MON (.354, 10, 26)

TEAM NEWSWednesday 5/2/2002 :
Eddie Lopez has 4 hits against New York (N).
Eddie Lopez crushes 2 homers against New York (N).

Tuesday 5/8/2002 :
Walter Mcdonald crushes 2 homers against Colorado.

Monday 5/14/2002 :
Walter Mcdonald was named Player of the Week!
He batted .364 in 22 AB, with 4 HR and 6 RBI.

Wednesday 5/16/2002 :
Walter Mcdonald hits a 451-foot homerun!!

Friday 5/18/2002 :
Alan Dye has 4 hits against New York (N).

Monday 5/21/2002 :
Walter Mcdonald slams 2 homers against Pittsburgh.
Walter Mcdonald scores 4 runs against Pittsburgh.

Saturday 5/26/2002 :
Alan Dye has 4 hits against Philadelphia.

Monday 5/28/2002 :
Walter Mcdonald hits a 454-foot homerun!!
Walter Mcdonald hits 2 homers against Montreal.

Tuesday 5/29/2002 :
Ruben Rodriguez has 4 hits against Montreal.

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2002 AMATEUR DRAFT REPORT</center>

DRAFT POSITION: 3

DRAFTEES
1. 1B Hugh Anderson (Avg//Brl/Brl) This 19-year-old 4 ½ star left-handed hitter also has “A” range.
2. SP Donovan Wade. (Avg/Avg/Good). Wade is 23 years old, and a 3 ½-star guy.
3. LF/RF Jose Melendez (Fair/Fair/Good). He’s got great range at both positions, and blinding speed. Being only 18, perhaps his hitting can catch up to everything else and make him a good option.
4. 2B/3B Bill Vanpelt (Fair/Avg/Fair). He’s a two-star guy with “B” range at 2b and 3b. Age 21.
5. SP/RP George Ruelas (Avg/Good/Avg). He’s a three-star guy, age 22. Lefty.
6. 2B/3B/SS Harry Muth (Poor/Good/Fair). 23 years old. Doubtful, but if other things could improve to match that “Good” power, who knows?
7. SS Randolph Sikorski (Fair/Poor/Avg). He’s 21, and has “A” range (with a .983 fldg pct.) at SS. He’s a left-handed hitter, so perhaps one day he could have value as a PH/defensive replacement.

POST-DRAFT TOP TEN MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEMS
1. LA
2. Texas
3. Colorado
4. Cleveland
5. SF
6. Tampa Bay
7. Kansas City
8. Philly
9. Chicago (A)
10. Anaheim

We’re down to #24 now, as most of our guys are no longer considered prospects.

ATLANTA TOP 100 PROSPECTS
CF Joseph Gillenwater (30th)
1B Hugh Anderson (72nd)
RF Bryan Heasley—(98th)

[Ben E Lou]

<center>JUNE 2002</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 14-14
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 42-41
CURRENT STANDING: Second place. 3.5 games behind the division-leading Mets.

INJURIES DURING MONTH:
No major injuries

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
Overall, the pitching struggled this month, dropping to 24th in ERA (4.34). No one individual in the rotation had a huge drop, other than Sipe, who had a 7.61 ERA in the month.

The offense continues to improve. We’re now 5th in hitting (up to .265), 3rd in homers and 6th in runs score. C McDonald has emerged as a serious rookie of the year candidate. He hit .308 and slugged .626 this month. “The Hammer” leads the league in hits (104) and is in the thick of the batting title race.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 2B Dye--.323
HR: C McDonald--18
RBI: C McDonald--54
SB: CF Sylvain--31
SP ERA: Prahl—3.80
RP ERA: Boykins—2.23
SAVES: Dinger—17
SP K’s: Figueroa--88

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 6/4/2002:
Samuel Charneco has lost some power...
Jose Melendez has lost some momentum, his range at LF drops to B ...
Jose Melendez has lost some momentum, his range at RF drops to C ...

Monday 6/11/2002:
Samuel Charneco seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...
Jacobo Sousa is getting faster, his speed increases to B ...

Monday 6/18/2002:
William Polly increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!

Monday 6/25/2002:
Anthony Schuster seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...
Ruben Rodriguez has lost some momentum, his range at CF drops to D ...
Ruben Rodriguez has lost some momentum, his range at RF drops to D ...
Joshua Dinger has worked out more, his duration raises to C ...
Jacobo Sousa plate discipline seems to have faded... Charneco is 37 and at AAA. No biggie…That really hurts for Melendez. He was drafted chiefly because of his defense, hoping that his offense would improve. Serious doubts now cast on him making it….Sousa is still stuck at 4/4/6…Polly has been in A-ball for all four years since he’s been drafted…Schuster’s still 6/6/6…Rodriguez now may become a defensive liability….Dinger just keeps getting more and more fearsome. He had an 0.71 ERA in June.

AAA NOTES
SP Hipolito Dominguez—4-3, 2.79 (7/6/6), 5 stars. His report now says he could “pitch very well” at the big league level. I promote him, and send Sipe back down.
MR Lucas Fernandez—0-0, 2.92, (7/8/5), 4 stars
1B Danny Anderson--.711 OPS, (3/3/7), 4 stars. Pretty decent first month in AAA.
RF Bryan Heasley--.892 OPS, (6/3/4), 4 stars

AA NOTES:
SP William Bent—4-6, 3.24 (4/3/5), 4 stars. Computer doesn’t say so, but that rise to “4” in stuff makes me promote him to AAA.
SP Danny Robinson—7-4, 3.02 (3/3/5), 3.5 stars
SS Robert Pauli--.766 OPS, (3/3/4), 4 stars

A NOTES:
SP Greg Benedict—6-5, 2.91, (1/3/4), 4 stars
SP Donovan Wade—1-1, 1.80 (0/2/5), 3.5 stars. Nice start for our 2nd-round pick from this year.
1B Hugh Anderson--.877 OPS (2/3/5), 4.5 stars
1B Tyler Poulson--.725 OPS, (2/2/3), 3.5 stars
CF Joseph Gillenwater--.791 OPS (2/3/3), 5 stars

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Pitchers Of The Month: Cecil Sanders, TX (4-0, 1.32) and Hernan Palacio, CHC (4-0, 2.05)
Batters Of The Month: LF Hernan Gomez, CHW (.356, 11, 27) and LF Alejandro Sanchez (.337, 27 RBI)

TEAM NEWS Sunday 6/3/2002 :
Sidney Sutton crushes 2 homers against San Diego.

Wednesday 6/6/2002 :
Alan Dye extends his hitting streak to a career high 20 games!
Michael Sylvain has 4 hits against Milwaukee.

Friday 6/8/2002 :
Alan Dye extends his hitting streak to a career high 21 games!

Saturday 6/9/2002 :
Alan Dye extends his hitting streak to a career high 22 games!

Sunday 6/10/2002 :
Alan Dye extends his hitting streak to a career high 23 games!

Monday 6/11/2002 :
Alan Dye extends his hitting streak to a career high 24 games!
Ruben Rodriguez has 4 hits against Montreal

Tuesday 6/12/2002 :
Alan Dye extends his hitting streak to a career high 25 games!

Wednesday 6/13/2002 :
Alan Dye sets a new season Team-Record for Hitting Streak with 26 games!
Alan Dye extends his hitting streak to a career high 26 games!

Friday 6/15/2002 :
Alan Dye extends his hitting streak to a career high 27 games!

Saturday 6/16/2002 :
Alan Dye's hitting streak was snapped at 27 games!
Ruben Rodriguez crushes 2 homers against Florida.

Saturday 6/23/2002 :
Ruben Rodriguez has 4 hits against Colorado.

Monday 6/25/2002 :
Anthony Schuster scores 4 runs against Montreal.
Michael Sylvain scores 4 runs against Montreal.
Scott Mcfarland has 4 hits against Montreal.
Walter Mcdonald has 4 hits against Montreal.
Walter Mcdonald hits 2 homers against Montreal.
Walter Mcdonald has 5 RBI against Montreal.
Walter Mcdonald scores 4 runs against Montreal.

Tuesday 6/26/2002 :
Rodney Campbell hits 2 homers against Montreal.

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
The great Jose Cabello hit his 600th career homer this month (off of our own Dean Sipe), further extending his all-time record. He’s still rated “8” in power, and is 34. He probably still has a good bit more homers in him.

Toronto’s Benny Ferros threw a PERFECT GAME this month! Ferros is one of the game’s bright stars. He’s 35 years old, and has 220 career wins. Fierros also has over 3,000 strikeouts.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>JULY 2002</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 13-12
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 55-53
CURRENT STANDING: Third place, 4 games behind the division-leading Mets.

TRADES
3B Schuster has struggled offensively (.235-7-28), and has another year on his contract. Anaheim has an aging 3rd baseman in the final year of his contract who is still hitting a ton. I have a shot at the Division Title, and I want him for the stretch drive. On July 30th, I trade Schuster and 4-star SP prospect William Bent to Anaheim for 3B Philip Dileo. Dileo is 36 years old, and is nearing the end of a great career. He has 370 lifetime homers, and 2064 hits. This season, he’s hit .285 with 23 homers and 59 RBI’s to date. Like Schuster, he has “B” range at 3B. Dileo is a 6-time All-Star.

TEAM NEWSSunday 7/22/2002:
Michael Sylvain hits a 455-foot homerun!!

Tuesday 7/24/2002:
Ruben Rodriguez hits a 452-foot homerun!!

Monday 7/30/2002:
Eugene Lamb hits 2 homers against New York (N).

INJURIES DURING MONTH:
No major ones.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The staff ERA dropped 24 points to 4.10 (19th) this month. Nice! Dominguez, now 8/7/6, is looking to be ready now. He went 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA during the month.

The biggest news offensively is that “Superfly” Sylvain is starting to show some of his promised power. His ratings are now 7/6/6, and he slugged .514 in July. I’ll move Dye into the leadoff position, and let Sylvain bat second, to give him more RBI chances.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 2B Dye--.311
HR: 3B Dileo--23
RBI: C McDonald--68
SB: CF Sylvain--42
SP ERA: Prahl—3.51
RP ERA: Boykins—2.49
SAVES: Dinger—20
SP K’s: Figueroa--121

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 7/2/2002:
Andres Cobo plate discipline seems to have faded...
Alan Dye positions himself better now, his range at SS increases to A !

Monday 7/9/2002:
Joshua Dinger is hitting his spots better, his command improved!
Jacobo Sousa seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...

Monday 7/23/2002:
Lucas Fernandez has worked out more, his duration raises to C ...
David Bischoff increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!
David Bischoff has improved his plate disclipine! Cobo is washed up…Great news about The Hammer!….Can Dinger get any better??? Wow!….Looks like Sousa is going to end up being nothing more than a potentially decent left-handed bat off the bench...Fernandez is a MR in AAA…Bischoff, a 3B/2B in AAA, now has 3.5 stars, Good/Fair/Avg talent, and “B” range at 3B. He could be a contributor….

AAA NOTES
SP Dean Sipe—5-2m 1,82 (8/7/8), his stars have gone from blue to gold. He has 2.5 gold now.
MR Lucas Fernandez—0-4, 3.19, (5/8/5), 3 stars—He dropped 2 points in “stuff.” Bummer.
1B Danny Anderson--.745 OPS, (4/3/8), 4 stars. Developing pretty quickly now. He may be ready for the bigs before Lamb’s contract runs out in 2004. Nice!
RF Bryan Heasley--.873 OPS, (6/3/4), 4 stars. I want one more improvement in contact and/or power before I call him up.

AA NOTES:
SP Danny Robinson—8-5, 2.97 (3/3/5), 3 stars
SS Robert Pauli--.765 OPS, (3/3/4), 4 stars

A NOTES:
SP Greg Benedict—6-5, 2.91, (1/3/4), 4 stars (Out for season with ruptured disc…)
SP Donovan Wade—3-1, 2.88 (0/2/5), 3.5 stars.
1B Hugh Anderson--.846 OPS (2/3/5), 4.5 stars
1B Tyler Poulson--.755 OPS, (2/2/3), 3.5 stars
CF Joseph Gillenwater--.793 OPS (2/3/3), 5 stars

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Benito Vargas (KC)!
He had a record of 3-0 in 4 games started, with an ERA of 0.89.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Adrian Cortes (DET)!
He batted .355 in 93 AB, with 5 homers and 19 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Amando Medeiros (SD)!
He had a record of 2-1 in 4 games started, with an ERA of 0.98 and 1 shutouts.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Maximo Farmer (PIT)!
He batted .386 in 88 AB, with 9 homers and 31 RBI.

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>AUGUST 2002</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 10-17
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 65-70
CURRENT STANDING: Third place, 10 games behind the division-leading Mets.

INJURIES DURING MONTH:
SP Figueroa is diagnosed with bone chips in his elbow early in the month. He’ll likely be done until the last week or two of the regular season. Dean Sipe was called up to replace him.

TEAM NEWSNone.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
Without Figueroa, the staff ERA rose 9 points to 4.19 (21st). Elliot Feder was horrid, 0-3 with a 9.24 ERA in 5 starts. Sipe was respectable in his return to the bigs: 0-1, 4.10 ERA in 4 starts. “The Fireball” Prahl is putting together a nice sophomore campaign. Right now he’s 11-7 with a 3.53 ERA

We struggled offensively this month, mainly at the top of the order. Dye hit .233, and Sylvain .239, dropping our team average to .257. Hopefully the youngsters will bounce back enough in September to get us up over .500 for the year.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 2B Dye--.296
HR: 3B Dileo--27
RBI: C McDonald--76
SB: CF Sylvain--51
SP ERA: Prahl—3.53
RP ERA: Boykins—3.18
SAVES: Dinger—26
SP K’s: Figueroa--122

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 8/6/2002:
Jose Melendez has lost some momentum, his range at LF drops to C ...
Jose Melendez has lost some momentum, his range at RF drops to D ...
George Ruelas's pitches have more bite now, the movement has improved!
Kenneth Tamura seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...

Monday 8/13/2002:
Tyler Poulson has learned reading pitchers better, his stealing ability raises to C ...
Bill Hicks's control seems to have taken a bump...
John Neville has worked out more, his duration raises to B ...

Monday 8/20/2002:
Tyler Poulson has lost some momentum, his range at 1B drops to E ...

Monday 8/27/2002:
Hugh Anderson has lost some power...
Luis Pierce has gained more power!Melendez, drafted for his defense, is now below-average defensively. He’ll probably end up getting released…Ruelas is a single-A MR…Tamura was a 7th-round draft-pick…1st-round pick Anderson’s power drops from Brilliant to Good….

AAA NOTES
1B Danny Anderson--.746 OPS, (4/3/8), 4 stars.
2B/3B David Bischoff--.645 OPS, (4/3/4) 3.5 stars
RF Bryan Heasley--.838 OPS, (6/4/4), 4 stars.

AA NOTES:
SP Danny Robinson—9-6, 2.74 (3/3/5), 3 stars
SS Robert Pauli--.753 OPS, (3/3/4), 4 stars

A NOTES:
SP Greg Benedict—6-5, 2.91, (1/3/4), 4 stars (Out for season with ruptured disc…)
SP Donovan Wade—3-3, 3.28 (0/2/5), 3.5 stars.
1B Hugh Anderson--.824 OPS (2/3/56, 4 stars
1B Tyler Poulson--.770 OPS, (2/2/3), 3.5 stars
CF Joseph Gillenwater--.780 OPS (2/3/3), 5 stars

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Friday 9/1/2002:
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Roberto Medina (NY)!
He had a record of 4-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.32.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Chris Korando (CLE)!
He batted .343 in 108 AB, with 10 homers and 35 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Urso Ramos (LA)!
He had a record of 5-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 0.92.
National League-Batter of the Month:
John Linville (PIT)!
He batted .378 in 98 AB, with 8 homers and 23 RBI.

Yes, that’s the same Roberto Medina that I let become a free agent. He’s been used in relief most of the year (46 relief appearances, 10 starts), and has a 4.56 ERA. He did have a very nice August for the Yanks.

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

MY SEPTEMBER CALL-UPS OF NOTE
None.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2002</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 8-19
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 73-89
CURRENT STANDING: Fourth place, 18 games behind Division Champion Mets.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
I got fired on 9/28/2K2. :mad: It is going to be truly sad to watch this team blossom as I go elsewhere.
I also asked Blaney about having kids, and she says she wants none at all. I send her packing.

TEAM NEWSWednesday, 9/4/2002 :
Eugene Lamb crushes 2 homers against Chicago (N).

INJURIES DURING MONTH:
None of note.

SEASON-END TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 2B Dye--.293
HR: 3B Dileo--30
RBI: C McDonald--90
SB: CF Sylvain--60
SP ERA: Freeland—3.58
RP ERA: Dinger—3.60
SAVES: Dinger—28
SP K’s: Prahl--140

MONTHLY AWARDS
Sunday 10/1/2002 :
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Arthur Jan (OAK)!
He had a record of 4-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.04.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Chet Hall (SEA)!
He batted .350 in 80 AB, with 8 homers and 29 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Ronnie Ramirez (MIL)!
He had a record of 3-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 0.72.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Felix Romano (COL)!
He batted .404 in 114 AB, with 7 homers and 26 RBI.

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[ShagVT]

Oh man - just as the kids were starting to come into their own. Unbelievable.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2002 END OF REGULAR SEASON REPORT</center>

DUH! I have my own web space. I’ll upload the entire league at the end of each season (replacing what was already there). The end-of-2002 update is being uploaded right now. It can be found HERE (http://www.benelou.com/dynasty/).

[Ben E Lou]

TIME FOR A POLL!

Should I leave manager mode so I can take over the Atlanta team again, or just take over whoever I can, and just continue to report on how the younsters are doing? To vote, go HERE (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=100532#post100532).

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2002 POST-SEASON REPORT</center>

POTENTIAL FREE AGENTS/CONTRACT EXTENSIONS
None. The computer takes over.

SEASON RECAP
Note: Since I’m now uploading the entire league each season, I’ll just use this space to mention my players who win awards, and to list the World Champs. URL’s will be given for my award-winners.

Arizona beats Oakland 4 games to 1 to win it all.

C Walter McDonald (http://benelou.com/dynasty/p2842.html) was named NL Rookie of the Year.

P Elliot Feder (http://benelou.com/dynasty/p1033.html) and 2B Rodney Campbell (http://benelou.com/dynasty/p227.html) both won Gold Gloves.

MANAGER UPDATE
Fired by Atlanta. My rep rose to “Bad Manager”. I’ve met a new chick named Denise, and as of 1/19/2K3, it is a “real relationship.” I’m offered three jobs: Minnesota, Montreal and Pittsburgh. Easy choice. I want to stay in the NL East and match up against Atlanta. I sign a two-year deal to take over the Expos.

THOUGHTS
Montreal hasn’t won a division title since 1952!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Skydog,

Just wanted to say I'm enjoying this! Makes for a great read!

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2003 BEGINNING OF YEAR TEAM NEWS</center>

Just arbitration awards in the team news screen. They don’t mean much yet, so I won’t report them.

Owner Mood: 80
Chemistry: 80
Owner Type: Good Man (rather patient)
Owner Expectation: Do not finish last in 2003!
Team Market: Slightly Above Averagel
Fan Loyalty: Fair
Fan Interest: 42

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by Godzilla Blitz
Skydog,

Just wanted to say I'm enjoying this! Makes for a great read! Thanks!

[Ben E Lou]

2003 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Catchers

Kenneth Whitener (Avg/Fair/Fair, 6/5/6, 32yo) is a lifetime .287 hitter (.741 OPS) with a “B” arm. He had an .801 OPS in 404 at bats last year. Whitener is a switch hitter. Jose “Wild Card” Camacho (Avg/Brl/Good,4/9/6,26yo) had an .819 OPS in 293 at bats as a rookie. The best prospect is a 3-star guy, Harold Gingras (Avg/Avg/Avg,3/4/5,21yo). Gingras was called up to AA midway through last season, and had a .729 OPS the rest of the way there.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Whitener is solid, but Camacho looks like he’s going to be a star. Whitener is making almost $3M, and is signed through 2004. I’ll probably trade him for an upgrade at another position. I’ve got other guys who can back up Camacho.

[Ben E Lou]

2003 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: First Base

John Swenson (Good/Brl/Brl,6/8/9,25yo) already has three solid seasons in the bigs (.797 overall OPS) under his belt. He hit .294 with 23 HR’s last year. He’s got “C” range. Another option is Michael “Porky” Sisco (Good/Brl/Brl,6/8/10,26yo). Sisco has had limited playing time, due to Swenson’s presence, over parts of the last four years. He has 406 at bats, and 18 HR’s. Swenson has “D” range. Also waiting in the wings is 5-star prospect Harry “Pluto” Reid (Good/Brl/Good,4/5/4,22yo). Reid spent all of 2002 in AAA, his first season at that level, and hit .299 with 22 HR’s. Finally, we also have a four-star prospect George Palafox (Good/Good/Avg,1/2/3,24yo). George has been in single-A for six seasons.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Talk about a logjam! I’ll play Reid in 3B or LF in AAA, and probably trade Sisco away, since Swenson is younger, more “proven” and plays a little better defense.

[Ben E Lou]

2003 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Second Base

For the last four years, Ronald Demuth (Good/Brl/Avg,6/10/6,27yo) has been the starter. He led the league in homers last year with 39, and was in the top ten in SLG, Runs and RBI. What is there not to like about this guy??? Well, there’s that “E” fielding range and 22 errors he had last year for one thing. Tyrone Sweeney (Avg/Avg/Avg,4/5/6,26yo) has “C” range, and can also play 3B, SS and CF. He’s super-fast and a switch-hitter. He should be a useful utility guy. Sweeney has a .753 OPS in 390 major league at bats, and is 29 for 34 in SB’s. There are no prospects above 2.5 stars.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: When I see the rest of the squad, I’ll make a decision as to whether or not I want to keep around a defensive liability such as Demuth at 2B. I already have good power hitters at C and 1B. If I have one more, I’ll likely trade away Demuth.

[Ben E Lou]

2003 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Third Base

Douglas Cox (Avg/Avg/Avg,6/4/6,35yo) started last year for the fifth year in a row. Cox isn’t that strong offensively anymore (.709 OPS last year), and has “E” range. No prospect has more than 2.5 stars at 3B either.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I’ll probably trade 1B Sisco for a 3B. Cox only makes $684K this year, so he can back up.

[Ben E Lou]

2003 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Shortstop

Ryan Wiens (Good/Fair/Fair,7/4/5,32yo) has held down the fort at SS since ’98. He’s got “C” range and a lifetime .274 batting average. He’s got “B” range at 2B though. Last year, he hit .272 with 9HR’s and 69 RBI. This is another position with no prospects better than 2.5 stars.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Wiens looks like he’d be strong defensively at 2B, with a decent #7 or #8 bat. If I trade 2B Demuth, it would be for a better defensive SS.

[Ben E Lou]

2003 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Left Field

Earl Binbaum (Avg/Fair/Avg,7/3/6,26yo) is the returning starter. Earl looks like a solid no-speed #2-hitter. He had a .354 OBP last year, and finished 8th in hitting, with a .305 average. He has “C” range in LF. David Martin (Fair/Poor/Avg,4/3/4,32yo) is the utility OF. He has A or B range at every OF position. He’s only had 398 at bats despite spending all or part of seven seasons in the bigs. In Russ Mangan (Avg/Brl/Avg,4/5/6,24yo), we have an almost-ready prospect. Mangan’s got some all-around talent, with an “A” arm, and “A” speed and stealing ability. He can play LF or RF with C range. He’s a 4.5 star guy.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Mangan is the future, either here or in RF. Binbaum is fine as the starter until Mangan is ready.

[Ben E Lou]

2003 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Center Field

Paul Eckhoff (Avg/Fair/Fair,5/3/4,32yo) was the starter last year, unfortunately. He doesn’t provide much value at all. He had a .665 OPS, and only has “C” range. We have no prospect worth mentioning in CF either.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: We need help at CF.

[Ben E Lou]

2003 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Right Field

Ronald “Swordfish” Feely (Good/Brl/Avg,6/8/5,26yo) looks to have the potential to be a star, but so far he’s been just a little above average overall. He’s had three full seasons in the bigs, and is eligible to be a FA after this year. Feely has “D” range and an “A” arm. LF/RF Mangan (mentioned in LF info) is the only prospect worth mentioning.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I like having three big bats in the 3-4-5 positions. I’ll probably risk trading away 2B Demuth to upgrade my defense, as I’ll still have C Camacho, 1B Swensen and Feely. Feely is the riskiest of those three.[/b]

[Ben E Lou]

2003 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Starting Pitchers

The rotation has LOTS of potential, despite Montreal having a 4.37 ERA last year. In his first full season, Dewey Baumer (Brl/Avg/Brl,10/6/8,25yo) showed in his first full season that he’s probably got the goods to be the ace of the staff. He put up an 11-8 record with a 3.26 ERA, and was 2nd in the league in WHIP at 0.88. Steve Adams (Brl/Fair/Avg,9/6/6, age 27 can perhaps put up ace-like numbers as well with a little better defense. In four full seasons, he has 42 wins and a 4.23 ERA. He was 2nd in the league with 5 CG’s last year. Ronald Smith (Good/Avg/Good,7/6/8,33yo) looks like a solid #3 or #4 guy. He has a lifetime 4.39 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Five-star-prospect Freddy Castonguay (Brl/Brl/Brl,8/6/9,25yo) was 8-12 with a 4.46 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in his first full season last year. Finally, there’s Benjamin Lopez (Good/Good/Good,7/6/6,24yo). This youngster already has three full seasons in the majors under his belt. He hasn’t shown us too much yet (22-35, 5.08), but he’s still quite young. I have no problem putting a guy like him in the #5 spot.

There are also three four-star SP prospects: Hikoshirou Haruhiko (Good/Good/Avg,5/5/4,22yo), Ross Constantine (Good/Fair/Good,1/1/3,21yo), and Billy Hague (Avg/Brl/Good,4/7/5,25yo). It will be nice to watch them develop.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I’m happy with those five guys in the rotation. If I need to improve an offer to get some of the position players I need, I’d be willing to trade away one of my SP prospects.

[Ben E Lou]

2003 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Relief Pitching

Left-hander Richard Brandl (Good/Avg/Avg,8/7/6,30yo) has been our closer since ’97. Last year, a small handful of bad outings gave him a 5.09 ERA. He was 40 for 49 in save opps. Righty Samuel Marmolejo (Good/Good/Good,9/9/7,32yo) looks like he may be a better option as the closer. He had a 2.59 ERA in 72 appearances last year. Another pretty solid right-hander is Edgar Thornley (Good/Good/Brl,8/7/8,31yo), who has a 3.87 ERA in 653 lifetime appearances. Five-star lefty prospect Daniel Houtz (Good/Brl/Brl,7/7/8,22yo) struggled as a rookie (2-3, 5.08), but looks like he has the goods to be an important part of the ‘pen. Finally, there’s 25-year-old 4.5 star prospect Dion Martinez (Good/Good/Brl,9/6/8,25yo). This right-hander should improve from his 5-3,5.76 ERA first full season.

There are several more good MR prospects—too many to list here one-by-one. I’ll list them in the monthly minor league reports when we get there.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I’ll probably start the season with Marmolejo as the closer. If those good young arms can improve with age and (hopefully) a better defense behind them, the ‘pen will become a strength.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2003 MONTREAL FREE AGENCY PERIOD REPORT</center>

TRADES
I pull off a BLOCKBUSTER deal with San Diego. They get C Whitener, 2B Demuth and 4-star pitching prospect Constantine. In return, we get SS Abel Pardo (Avg/Good/Avg,4/4/5,24yo and CF James “Handyman” Wuest (Good/Brl/Brl,7/9/10,32yo! Pardo has “A” range at SS. He hit .314 in AAA last year, but only .174 in 16 games after being called up. He’s a risk offensively, but should shore up the middle of the infield defensively. “Handyman” should be a great pickup for us. He actually was originally drafted by the Expos, and spent 4 ½ seasons with the Expos until being traded to SD in the deal that brought RP Dion Martinez to Montreal. He’s a 4-time All Star with a lifetime .495 slugging pct and .857 OPS. He’s got “B” range in CF. Handyman is in the last year of a contract that will pay him $7.01M this year.

I also ship 1B Cisco and a MR prospect to Cleveland for 3B Anthony Jones (Avg/Good/Brl,6/6/9,35yo) and LF/CF Bernard Romain (Fair/Brl/Avg,0/4/2,19yo). Romain could amount to something nice one day. Jones is a bit of a risk, as he’ll be 36 before the season starts. He has “B” range, and hit 25 homers last year. He’s a 3-time all-star.

After the trades, here’s the financial situation in Montreal:
Cash on Hand: $-5,000,000
Total Payroll: $47,001,700
Last Year Income: $49,135,432
Available Money: $0

DESIRES
Fortunately, I filled all my perceived needs via trades, as I have no money for FA signings.

POST-FREE AGENCY THOUGHTS
Well, this certainly looks like a squad that should exceed the expectation of not finishing last. If the pitching matures as I expect, with a little luck we could contend for the playoffs.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2003 MONTREAL SPRING TRAINING REPORT</center>

John Galbreath showed good strike zone judgement!
Billy Hague has increased his throwing velocity!
Harry Reid has good batting practice sessions!
Harry Reid displays more power in batting practice!
Harry Reid showed good strike zone judgement!
Freddy Castonguay has increased his throwing velocity!
Winfred Dunaway has good batting practice sessions!
Bernard Romain has good batting practice sessions!
Bernard Romain displays more power in batting practice!
Bernard Romain showed good strike zone judgement!
Francis Pharris has increased his throwing velocity!
Francis Pharris has improved his control!
Paul Williams has good batting practice sessions!
Paul Williams displays more power in batting practice!
Paul Williams showed good strike zone judgement!
Franklyn Armstrong has good batting practice sessions!
Franklyn Armstrong displays more power in batting practice!
Norman Hovey has increased his throwing velocity!
Raphael Perez has increased his throwing velocity!
Alberto Martos has good batting practice sessions!
George Palafox has good batting practice sessions!
George Palafox displays more power in batting practice!
Vincent Fisher has good batting practice sessions!
Vincent Fisher displays more power in batting practice!
Roberto Santoro has good pitching sessions!
David Tejeda has good batting practice sessions!
Tatsuko Matsuta showed good strike zone judgement!
Leonardo Lera displays more power in batting practice!
Leonardo Lera showed good strike zone judgement!
Billy Reid displays more power in batting practice!
Billy Reid showed good strike zone judgement!
George Matta has good batting practice sessions!
George Matta displays more power in batting practice!
Matthew Desmond has good pitching sessions!
Matthew Desmond has improved his control!
Benjamin Lopez has increased his throwing velocity!
Benjamin Lopez has improved his control!
Carlos Saldivar has good pitching sessions!
Carlos Saldivar has increased his throwing velocity!
Harold Mcallister has increased his throwing velocity!
Allen Murray has good batting practice sessions!

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2003 MONTREAL MAJOR LEAGUE LINEUPS AND ROTATIONS</center>

Batting Order vs. RHP
1. LF Birnbaum (6/3/6)
2. 3B Jones (6/6/9)
3. CF Wuest (7/9/10)
4. 1B Swenson (6/8/9)
5. RF Feely (6/8/5)
6. C Camacho (4/9/6)
7. 2B Wiens (7/4/5)
8. SS Pardo (4/4/5)

Batting Order vs. LHP
1. 2B Wiens (7/4/5)
2. 3B Jones (6/6/9)
3. CF Wuest (7/9/10)
4. RF Feely (6/8/5)
5. 1B Swenson (6/8/9)
6. C Camacho (4/9/6)
7. LF Birnbaum (6/3/6)
8. SS Pardo (4/4/5)

Pitching Rotation
1. Baumer (10/6/8)
2. Castonguay (8/6/9)
3. Adams (9/6/6)
4. Lopez (8/6/6)
5. Smith (7/6/8)
CLOSER: Marmolejo (9/9/7)

Strategy
We should have a good bit of pop in the lineup. We’re not going to run much.

Outlook
There’s little/no reason to believe we won’t exceed expectations by a good bit this year. I feel like this is a playoff team..

[Ben E Lou]

<center>APRIL 2003</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 8-12
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 8-12
CURRENT STANDING: Last, 3 games behind division-leading Mets. It is a very close division early on.

MAJOR INJURIES:
None.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTHTuesday 4/8/2003:
James Wuest crushes 2 homers against San Diego.

Monday 4/14/2003:
James Wuest hits a 452-foot homerun!!

Tuesday 4/22/2003:
Abel Pardo has 4 hits against Philadelphia.

Tuesday 4/29/2003:
Dewey Baumer strikes out 12 against Florida.


MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
SP Lopez has struggled early. He’s 0-1 with an 8.83 ERA in four starts. 25-year-old Castonguay starts off 3-0, 3.18. On the whole, we’re in the middle of the pack pitching-wise, with a 4.24 ERA (14th).

Offensively, we’re only hitting .235 (25th) as a team. CF Wuest (1.146 OPS, 9HR) and #8 hitting SS Pardo (.300) are the notable exceptions to our struggles offensively.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: CF Wuest--.333
HR: CF Wuest--9
RBI: CF Wuest--17
SB: UT Sweeney--4
SP ERA: Castonguay—3.18
RP ERA: Thornley—0.63
SAVES: Marmolejo--4
SP K’s: Castonguay--33

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT: Monday 4/21/2003 :
Vincent Fisher seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...
Richard Marano has lost some power...

Monday 4/28/2003 :
Michael Bedoya increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!
Daniel Houtz seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff... Bedoya becomes a 3.5 star prospect. Houtz drops a bit to four stars.

AAA NOTES
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—3-0, 1.39, (6/5/4), 4 stars
MR Harold Mcallister—1-0, 0.82, (7/6/7), 4.5 stars
3B/1B Harry “Pluto” Reid--.991 OPS (4/5/4), 5 stars
LF Russ Mangan--.902 OPS, (4/5/6), 4 stars

AA NOTES:
CL James Barta—0-2,4.73,8SV, (2/4/4), 5 stars
LF Michael Bedoya--.779 OPS, (3/3/2), 3.5 stars

A NOTES:
1B George Palafox--.541 OPS, (1/2/3), 4 stars
CF Bernard Romain--.671 OPS, (1/4/2), 3.5 stars

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
I asked Denise to marry me. She said too early.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Shawn Wilcox (MIN)!
He had a record of 2-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 1.27 and 1 shutouts.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Adam Spitz (TOR)!
He batted .493 in 75 AB, with 5 homers and 21 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Terry Hall (ARI)!
He had a record of 2-0 in 4 games started, with an ERA of 0.70.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Laurence Tobar (FLO)!
He batted .369 in 84 AB, with 7 homers and 29 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>MAY 2003</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 16-13
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 24-25
CURRENT STANDING: T4. 5.5 games behind division-leading Mets.

KEY INJURIES:
None.

TEAM NEWSThursday 5/15/2003:
Jose Camacho crushes 2 homers against Arizona.
Jose Camacho has 5 RBI against Arizona.

Monday 5/26/2003:
Ryan Wiens has 4 hits against Arizona.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The pitching improved across the board, dropping our team ERA to 3.98 (14th). Lopez rbounded nicely from his 8.83 start. He was 3-1 with a 3.55 during the month. Marmolejo is settling in nicely as closer. He has 10 saves and a 1.71 ERA now.

The offense is still struggling, with a .241 batting average (25th). However, we’re 10th in runs scored, primarily due to being in the top ten in both homers and walks.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: SS Pardo--.291
HR: CF Wuest--12
RBI: C Camacho--34
SB: UT Sweeney--11
SP ERA: Baumer—3.08
RP ERA: Marmolejo—1.71
SAVES: Marmolejo--10
SP K’s: Castonguay--63

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 5/5/2003 :
Paul Eckhoff has lost a step. His speed drops to B ...
Paul Eckhoff has lost some momentum, his range at LF drops to D ...
Paul Eckhoff has lost some momentum, his range at CF drops to D ...
Paul Eckhoff has lost some momentum, his range at RF drops to D ...
James Barta seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff...
James Barta has lost some movement on his pitches...
James Barta has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to B ...
John Swensen has lost some momentum, his range at 1B drops to D ...

Monday 5/12/2003:
Tyrone Sweeney plate discipline seems to have faded...
Franklyn Armstrong has lost some momentum, his range at 1B drops to D ...
David Martin has lost a step. His speed drops to B ...
David Martin has lost some momentum, his range at LF drops to B ...
David Martin has lost some momentum, his range at CF drops to C ...
David Martin has lost some momentum, his range at RF drops to C ...

Monday 5/19/2003:
Bernard Romain has lost some power...
Bernard Romain seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...
Benjamin Lopez seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff...

Monday 5/26/2003:
Tyrone Sweeney is getting faster, his speed increases to A ...
Michael Bedoya has lost some momentum, his range at LF drops to E …Sheesh. A tough month development-wise.

AAA NOTES
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—5-1,3.69, (6/5/4), 4 stars
MR Harold Mcallister—1-1, 1.51, (8/7/8), 4.5 stars
3B/1B Harry “Pluto” Reid--.973 OPS (4/5/4), 5 stars
LF Russ Mangan--.933 OPS, (4/5/6), 4 stars

AA NOTES:
CL James Barta—0-6, 5.96, (2/2/4), 4 stars—I send him back down to single-A
LF/CF Michael Bedoya--.823 OPS, (3/3/2), 3.5 stars

A NOTES:
1B George Palafox--.825 OPS, (1/2/3), 4 stars
CF Bernard Romain--.811 OPS, (0/4/2), 2 stars (dropped from 3.5 stars)

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
merican League-Pitcher of the Month:
Perry Edelstein (DET)!
He had a record of 4-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 0.69.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Al Mouser (OAK)!
He batted .427 in 103 AB, with 5 homers and 19 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
John Choy (NY)!
He had a record of 6-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.31 and 1 shutouts.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Paul Moak (LA)!
He batted .324 in 102 AB, with 11 homers and 24 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
Urso Ramos of LA tossed a perfect game against the Cubs. It is the 2nd no-hitter of Ramos’ career. He’s a 32-year-old with 89 career wins, and a 3.12 career ERA.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2003 AMATEUR DRAFT REPORT</center>

DRAFT POSITION: 12

DRAFTEES
1. 2B/3B/SS Arthur Owens (Avg/Fair/Brl)—Owens has “C” range in all three of those positions, making him potentially valuable for his versatility.
2. LF Cecil Wendling (Avg/Good/Fair)—Could become a decent power hitter. Left-handed bat.
3. SP Max Conde (Fair/Good/Avg)—He’s got some potential. At only 18, we’ve got time for his stuff to improve.
4. SP/RP Robert Springer (Avg/Avg/Good)—E endurance as a starter. Could be something though.
5. CF/RF Ben Henriques (Fair/Fair/Fair)—A range at both positions.
6. 2B/3B Steven Smidt (Fair/poor/Fair)—Only 19. A range at 2b and 3b.
7. 2B/3B/SS/LF/RF Jaime Tyson (Fair/Poor/Fair—Only 19 and can play five different positions. Doubtful, but who knows?

POST-DRAFT TOP TEN MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEMS
1. Philly
2. Texas
3. SF
4. LA
5. Anaheim
6. Tampa Bay
7. Colorado
8. Cincinnati
9. Chicago (N)
10. Oakland

We’re #23.no

MONTREAL TOP 100 PROSPECTS
3B/1B Harry Reid—31st
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—62nd
LF Russ Mangan—82nd
1B George Palafox—97th

[Ben E Lou]

<center>JUNE 2003</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 13-14
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 37-39
CURRENT STANDING: Third. 4 games behind Mets.

KEY INJURIES:
None.

TEAM NEWSSunday 6/1/2003:
Billy Reid has been released.

Tuesday 6/10/2003:
Anthony Jones slams 2 homers against Colorado.

Wednesday 6/11/2003:
Earl Birnbaum has 4 hits against Colorado.

Sunday 6/15/2003:
Benjamin Lopez fans 12 batters against Cincinnati.

Wednesday 6/18/2003:
Anthony Jones hits 2 homers against Los Angeles.

Thursday 6/19/2003:
Douglas Cox hits a 453-foot homerun!!

Friday 6/27/2003:
John Swensen slams 2 homers against Milwaukee.

Saturday 6/28/2003:
Dewey Baumer pitches a 2-hit shutout against Milwaukee!!

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The pitching continues to improve, the team ERA dropping to 3.37 (8th). Adams had a particularly good month, going 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA in 6 starts. Baumer was even better: 4-1, 1.47. Marmolejo racked up 8 more saves, and had a 2.19 ERA for the month.

We’re still counting on walks (3rd) and homers (7th) to score runs (14th). We’re hitting .239 (28th). Feely showed signs of stepping it up. He had a .807 OPS and 6 HR’s for the month. The biggest underachiever this year has been 1B Swensen. He’s only hitting .211, with 9 HR’s and 44 RBI’s. I thought he’d take it to the next level this year. Instead, he’s right now having his worst season.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: CF Wuest--.272
HR: CF Wuest and C Camacho--15
RBI: C Camacho--45
SB: UT Sweeney--16
SP ERA: Baumer—2.50
RP ERA: Marmolejo—1.89
SAVES: Marmolejo--18
SP K’s: Castonguay--93

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 6/2/2003:
James Wuest plate discipline seems to have faded...

Monday 6/9/2003:
Douglas Cox has lost some power...
Douglas Cox plate discipline seems to have faded...
Allen Murray has gained more power!
Allen Murray has improved his plate disclipine!

Monday 6/16/2003:
Tyrone Sweeney increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!
Tyrone Sweeney has gained more power!
Tyrone Sweeney has improved his plate disclipine!

Monday 6/23/2003:
Gregorio Cruz seems to have improved his pure stuff!
Gregorio Cruz's pitches have more bite now, the movement has improved!
Gregorio Cruz is hitting his spots better, his command improved!

Monday 6/30/2003:
Carlos Davila has lost some momentum, his range at C drops to E ... Wuest’s drop doesn’t appear to hurt him much….Cox is old, and that is expected….1B/3B Murray become a 3.5-star guy (Avg/Avg/Brl)…Super-sub Sweeney may earn a starting spot somewhere. He’s now rated Good/Good/Avg, 4/5/6…Cruz, a double-A SP, is now a 5-star guy! (Good/Brl/Good)…

AAA NOTES
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—8-3,4.07, (6/5/4), 4 stars
MR Harold Mcallister—2-3, 1.53, (7/6/8), 4.5 stars
1B/3B Allen Murray--.929 OPS, (4/3/5), 3.5 stars
3B/1B Harry “Pluto” Reid--.914 OPS (5/5/5), 5 stars
LF Russ Mangan--.852 OPS, (4/5/6), 4 stars

AA NOTES:
SP Gregorio Cruz—6-2, 3.42, (3/5/4), 5 stars—The AI says he’s ready for a call-up. I send him to AAA.
LF/CF Michael Bedoya--.744 OPS, (3/3/2), 3.5 stars

A NOTES:
MR Antonio Latta—0-3, 5.40, (1/2/5), 4.5 stars
CL James Barta—2-0, 1.65, 7 SV, (2/4/4), 4 stars—I send him back up to AA.
1B George Palafox--.865 OPS, (1/2/3), 4 stars
CF Bernard Romain--.811 OPS, (0/4/2), 2 stars (dropped from 3.5 stars)

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Lester Vidal (BAL)!
He had a record of 2-0 in 3 games started, with an ERA of 1.45.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Luis Alcaraz (BAL)!
He batted .468 in 79 AB, with 7 homers and 19 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Pablo Sanchez (HOU)!
He had a record of 4-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.42.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Larry Entwistle (C()!
He batted .291 in 103 AB, with 12 homers and 26 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>JULY 2003</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 19-7
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 56-46
CURRENT STANDING: First place, 4 games ahead of the 2nd-place Mets!!!

KEY INJURIES:
None.

TEAM NEWS Wednesday 7/2/2003 :
John Swensen drives in 5 runs against New York (N).

Saturday 7/12/2003:
James Beazley slams 2 homers against Houston.

Sunday 7/27/2003:
Anthony Jones has 4 hits against Atlanta.

Wednesday 7/30/2003:
James Wuest has 4 hits against New York (N).

Thursday 7/31/2003:
Ronald Feely has 5 RBI against Milwaukee.

Thursday 8/1/2003:
Dewey Baumer was named National League-Pitcher of the Month !
He had a record of 4-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.08.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The pitching, obviously led by Baumer this month, has now taken its place among the best in the league. The staff ERA is 3.43 (4th), and we’ve allowed a .228 average (1st)

The team batting average still is low at .240 (29th), but we’re scoring enough runs (16th) to get it done. RF Swordfish Feely had another good month, hitting .289 with 5 HR’s to raise his OPS to .775 for the year. CF Handyman Wuest had a stellar month, turning in a .943 OPS.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: CF Wuest--.280
HR: CF Wuest--20
RBI: RF Feely--60
SB: UT Sweeney--20
SP ERA: Baumer—2.08
RP ERA: Marmolejo—1.70
SAVES: Marmolejo--25
SP K’s: Castonguay--117

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 7/7/2003:
Harvey Baker has worked out more, his duration raises to C ...

Monday 7/14/2003:
Timothy Cadiz increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!

Monday 7/21/2003:
John Galbreath has lost some power...
Paul Chasse has lost some momentum, his stealing ability drops to E ... None of these appear to be of much significance…

AAA NOTES
SP Gregorio Cruz—0-2, 8.66, (4/6/4), 5 stars—He developed higher ratings, so I guess I’ll keep him at AAA.
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—9-5,3.82, (6/5/4), 4 stars
MR Harold Mcallister—4-3,1.30, (7/7/8), 4.5 stars—Martinez has really struggled in the bigs (6.34), so I call up Mcallister and send Martinez down.
1B/3B Allen Murray--.615 OPS, (4/3/5), 3.5 stars
3B/1B Harry “Pluto” Reid--.885 OPS (5/5/5), 5 stars
LF Russ Mangan--.848 OPS, (4/7/6), 4 stars—One more point in any category, and he’s getting called up to The Show.

AA NOTES:
CL James Barta—1-8, 4.60, 19SV (2/4/4), 4 stars—He’s doing much better in this stinit in AA

LF/CF Michael Bedoya--.796 OPS, (3/3/2), 3.5 stars

A NOTES:
MR Antonio Latta—2-4, 5.46, (1/2/5), 4.5 stars
1B George Palafox--.805 OPS, (1/2/3), 4 stars
SS Arthur Owens--.683 OPS (1/2/5), 3.5 stars

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Oscar Sabatini (TB)!
He had a record of 5-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.88 and 1 shutouts.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Moises Escobar (TEX)!
He batted .417 in 96 AB, with 5 homers and 19 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Dewey Baumer (MON)!
He had a record of 4-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.08.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Larry Entwistle (C()!
He batted .326 in 89 AB, with 11 homers and 25 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
Tuesday 7/15/2003 :
These players were selected for the AL OOTP-Allstar Team:
P Jonathan Kiesel from New York (A)
P Patrick Spurling from Boston
P Perry Edelstein from Detroit
P Arthur Jan from Oakland
P Angel Alarcon from Texas
P Mark Harris from Detroit
P Josias Silva from Minnesota
P Odon Macedo from Seattle
P Alberto Pacheco from Oakland
P David Kramer from Kansas City
C Jared Barrows from Anaheim
C Amando Salerno from Baltimore
1B Al Mouser from Oakland
2B Josue Muñoz from Minnesota
3B Moises Escobar from Texas
SS Alonso Ejea from New York (A)
LF Jason Bevilacqua from Boston
CF Ralph Myler from Chicago (A)
RF Joe Stringfield from Baltimore
1B Michael Sisco from Cleveland (traded him away this year)
LF Silvio Freire from Detroit
CF Adrian Cortes from Detroit
LF John Hayes from Tampa Bay
2B Keith Thompson from Texas
2B Nathan Teran from Oakland
These players were selected for the NL OOTP-Allstar Team :
P John Choy from New York (N)
P Justin Ward from Los Angeles
P Pablo Sanchez from Houston
P Craig Smith from San Francisco
P Ramon Flores from Cincinnati
P Richard Matsumura from Los Angeles
P Kim Thomas from Arizona
P Alberto Plaza from Arizona
P Jeffery Prickett from Arizona
P Angel Hernandez from Colorado
C John Linville from Pittsburgh
C Bill Bankston from Chicago (N)
1B Stewart Harshman from St. Louis
2B Laurence Tobar from Florida
3B Paul Moak from Los Angeles
SS Ricardo Cazares from St. Louis (traded away when I was in Atlanta)
LF Justin Muirhead from Arizona
CF Adrian Apodaca from New York (N)
RF Elmer Connors from St. Louis
1B Walter Prisco from Colorado
RF Randy Argo from Cincinnati
CF Hector Montoya from Florida
RF Manuel Vizcarrondo from Houston
2B Raul Romero from Los Angeles
3B Larry Entwistle from Chicago (N)

[Ben E Lou]

<center>AUGUST 2003</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 15-13
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 71-59
CURRENT STANDING: First place, 2 games ahead of the 2nd-place Mets.

KEY INJURIES:
None.

TEAM NEWSSaturday 8/2/2003:
James Wuest slams 2 homers against Milwaukee.

Monday 8/4/2003:
John Swensen hits 2 homers against New York (N).
Ronald Feely crushes 2 homers against New York (N).

Saturday 8/9/2003:
James Wuest hits a 451-foot homerun!!
James Wuest crushes 2 homers against Pittsburgh.

Monday 8/11/2003:
Anthony Jones has 4 hits against New York (N).

Saturday 8/16/2003:
Ryan Wiens has 4 hits against Philadelphia.

Tuesday 8/19/2003:
Benjamin Lopez fans 11 batters against Atlanta.

Wednesday 8/20/2003:
Ronald Feely slams 2 homers against Atlanta.

Monday 8/25/2003:
Ronald Feely was named Player of the Week!
He batted .500 in 18 AB, with 4 HR and 12 RBI.

Wednesday 8/27/2003:
Anthony Jones slams 2 homers against Atlanta.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The pitching continues to be among the best in baseball. Baumer continues to lead the way among the starters. He’s now 12-5, 2.18.

The team batting average comes up to .245 (25th), and we’re now 8th in runs scored. 3B Anthony Jones had a big month, turning in a 1.011 OPS and 6 HR’s, 19 RBI. RF Feely hit 10 homers and drove in 30 runs. CF Wuest chipped in 7 homers and 18 RBI’s.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: CF Wuest--.287
HR: RF Feely--28
RBI: RF Feely--90
SB: UT Sweeney--23
SP ERA: Baumer—2.18
RP ERA: Marmolejo—1.78
SAVES: Marmolejo--30
SP K’s: Lopez--148

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 8/4/2003:
James Wuest has improved his plate disclipine!
Tatsuko Matsuta seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...

Monday 8/11/2003:
Harvey Baker has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to D ...

Monday 8/18/2003:
Allen Murray seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...

Monday 9/1/2003:
Gregory Alkire seems to have improved his pure stuff!
Gregory Alkire's pitches have more bite now, the movement has improved!Murray drops off to 2.5 stars…SP Alkire becomes a 3.5-star guy…

AAA NOTES
SP Gregorio Cruz—2-3, 6.34, (5/6/5), 5 stars—He had a much better month, and his ratings continue to improve.
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—9-8,4.07, (6/5/4), 4 stars
MR Dion Martinez—1-0,0.74, (9/7/8). He’s now a 3.5 gold star guy. He struggled in the bigs, but clearly has outclassed AAA hitters. He’ll be with the big club in September.
3B/1B Harry “Pluto” Reid--.913 OPS (5/7/5), 5 stars
LF Russ Mangan--.862 OPS, (4/7/6), 4 stars—One more point in any category, and he’s getting called up to The Show.

AA NOTES:
CL James Barta—1-8, 3.67, 19SV (2/4/4), 4 stars—He’s doing much better in this stint in AA
LF/CF Michael Bedoya--.804 OPS, (3/3/3), 3.5 stars

A NOTES:
SP Gregory Alkire—11-3, 3.46, (1/4/4), 3.5 stars
MR Antonio Latta—5-4, 4.37, (1/3/6), 4.5 stars
1B George Palafox--.791 OPS, (1/2/3), 4 stars
SS Arthur Owens--.692 OPS (1/2/5), 3.5 stars

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Perry Edelstein (DET)!
He had a record of 2-0 in 4 games started, with an ERA of 0.78.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Armando Fresno (BOS)!
He batted .380 in 108 AB, with 6 homers and 29 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Justin Ward (LA)!
He had a record of 3-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 0.49.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Chris Rettig (CIN)!
He batted .376 in 93 AB, with 7 homers and 28 RBI.
American League-Player of the Week:
SS Alonso Ejea (NY)!
He batted .440 in 25 AB, with 1 HR and 6 RBI.
National League-Player of the Week:
LF Jerry Grimmer (SD)!
He batted .409 in 22 AB, with 5 HR and 12 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2003</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 17-15
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 88-74
CURRENT STANDING: DIVISION CHAMPS by four games over the Mets!!!

KEY INJURIES:
None.

TEAM NEWSMonday 9/1/2003:
Jonathan Streetman has been released.

Tuesday 9/2/2003:
Earl Birnbaum has 4 hits against Houston.

Thursday 9/11/2003:
Ryan Wiens has 4 hits against San Diego.

Saturday 9/20/2003:
Earl Birnbaum has 4 hits against Florida.

Sunday 9/28/2003:
Earl Birnbaum has 4 hits against Florida.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: LF Birnbaum .281
HR: CF Wuest--35
RBI: RF Feely--101
SB: UT Sweeney & SS Pardo--29
SP ERA: Baumer—2.46
RP ERA: Marmolejo—2.17
SAVES: Marmolejo--39
SP K’s: Castonguay--186

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
Denise broke up with me.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Edward Muñoz (SEA)!
He had a record of 4-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 0.47 and 1 shutouts.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Billy Smith (TOR)!
He batted .292 in 96 AB, with 7 homers and 29 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Joseph Maldanado (MIL)!
He had a record of 3-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 0.92.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Paul Moak (LA)!
He batted .368 in 87 AB, with 7 homers and 21 RBI.
OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2003 POST-SEASON REPORT</center>

POTENTIAL FREE AGENTS/CONTRACT EXTENSIONS
CF James “Handyman” Wuest—He made $7.01M this year. I sign him to a 6-year deal, for $8M per year. He’ll be 38 when it runs out.
3B Anthony Jones—He wants $3.03M for 3 years. With Harry “Pluto” Reid looking almost ready at AAA (5/7/5, .906OPS), I decide that Jones will not be re-signed.
SP Steve Adams—He went 14-10 with a 3.47 ERA, and is only 27. I sign him to a 4-year deal for $4.75M per year.
SP Ronald Smith—I’ve got two youngsters at AAA almost ready to go, but Smith only wants $1.26M per year for four years. That’s a nice insurance policy.
MR Edgar Thornley—He wants $3.05M per year for 3 years. He was my top setup guy, but with the depth I have at MR, I’d rather not spend that chunk of change.
SS James Beazley—He’s a 34-year-old backup, wanting $860K per year. He’s historically provided a good bat off the bench (.808 lifetime OPS). I sign him up
CF Craig Regner—Backup who can play all three OF positions. He only wants a 1-year deal for $500K. I keep him.

PLAYOFF REPORT

DIVISION SERIES VS. CINCINNATI

Reds Info
The Reds, like us, had no one put up “superstar” offensive stats, but they had some solid production out of several guys. They had five guys with 90+ RBI: 2B Lawrence Mcdaniel (.260-30-99), LF Chris Rettig (.276-27-100), RF Randy Argo (.254-26-91), SS Gene Maurice (.269-22-102) and 3B Earl Saenz (.292-22-91). Leadoff hitter Julian Gonzalez was a nice sparkplug (.280, 91R,36SB). The pitching staff was led by Cy Young candidate Ramon “Smokey” Flores (21-4, 2.54). Their #2 guy, Vernon Ferguson, also turned in a good year (13-11, 3.33). The rest of the rotation is suspect. Their bullpen is solid. 37-year-old closer Alton Homes had 41 saves and a 2.63 ERA.

Game 1
Baumer starts Game 1 for us, against their #3 guy, Fabian Valtierra, who was 7-12 with a 4.05 ERA on the year. We put runners on second and third with one out in the first, but Feely and Swenson are unable to deliver. However, in the top of the third, Birnbuam draws a one-out walk, and Anthony Jones goes yard to deep center, giving us a 2-0 lead. The Reds score an unearned run in the bottom of the inning, on a Baumer throwing error. In the top of the 7th, 2B Wiens gets a leadoff double, and Sweeney, pinch hitting for SS pardo, sacrifices him to third. Beazley pinch hits for Baumer, but grounds out to third, then Birnbaum K’s. In the bottom of the inning, the Reds get three runs off of new pitcher Brandl, and take a 4-2 lead. WE come right back in the top of the 8th, as Swenson doubles in Jones, and Camacho follows with a 2-run shot, to give us a 5-4 lead. Unfortunately, Mcallister and Thornley can’t hold ‘em. They give up five runs in the bottom of the eighth, and we go down quietly in the ninth. Reds win 9-5.

Game 2
We send Castonguay to the mound in game 2, against their ace, Flores. Early on, this one is a classic pitcher’s dual. Neither team gets a hit until the bottom of the 3rd, when Cincy’s 8 and 9 hitters start off the inning with back-to-back singles, but Castonguay holds ‘em right there. Neither team seriously threatens until the bottom of the fifth, when Cincy’s catcher, Gregory Nisbet, who had only 3 homers all year, hits a solo shot to left. Flores continues to shut us down, but we break through with an unlikely two-out rally in the top of the seventh. Swensen walks, Camacho gets an infield hit, then Wiens doubles them both in. Castonguay remains in the game through the 8th, giving up no more runs. In the top of the 9th, we blow it wide open off of RP’s Alberto Plaza and Ronnie Yarbro. Feely leads off with a solo homer, then Sweeney, who has subbed at 2B, follows with a single to left and a steal. He goes to third on a catchers throwing error. Camaco is intentionally walked, and Wiens hits a sac-fly to score Sweeney. Plaza is replaced by Yarbro, but does no better. He gives up a walk, then a 3-run homer to PH Paul Eckhoff. We lead 7-1, and the Reds go down humbly in the bottom of the 9th. Expos win 7-1.

Game 3
The series moves to Montreal for this one. We send Adams to the mound against Vernon Ferguson. Cincy breaks through first, in the top of the third, on a 3-run shot by Randy Argo. We get two back in the bottom of the 4th, on a Wiens DP and a Pardo triple. We get two more the next inning as Wuest doubles in Birnbaum and Jones. There’s no further scoring until the 9th, when Marmolejo comes in to shut ‘em down. Unfortunately, he’s unable to do so. Mcdaniel singles in a run to tie us up at four. We do nothing in the bottom of the 9th, and it goes to extra innings. Rettig leads off the top of the 10th with a homer off of Marmolejo, and they manage another run as well. We go quietly in the bottom of the 10th, and we’re down two games to one. Cincy 6, Montreal 4.

Game 4
With our backs against the wall, we send Baumer back out there on 3 days’ rest against rookie Samuel Cardenas (12-12, 5.20). Baumer doesn’t appear to have his best stuff today, and he gives up a single run in each of the first three innings. However, our offense jumps on the rookie early and often. Birnbaum leads off the bottom of the first with a solo homer, and by the time the inning is over we’ve sent 9 men to the plate and scored four runs. Feely hits a two-run shot in the bottom of the second as well. Baumer coasts from there, and ends up going 7 innings . Camacho puts the finishing touches on the win with a grand slam in the bottom of the 8th, giving him 6 RBI on the day! We take an 11-3 win to avoid elimination at home.

Game 5
This is a re-match of Game 2, pitching-wise: Castonguay vs. Flores. This time the offenses are able to break through though. The Reds get a two-run double from Mcdaniel in the bottom of the first to grab an early lead. We come back in the next frame as Pardo doubles in Wiens for one run. In the top of the third, Flores gets wild, walking three straight batters with one out. Swenson makes him pay with a sac fly, scoring Jones without a throw, and it is all tied up at 2-2. The pitchers hold ‘em until the top of the 6th, when Swenson leads off twith a single, and is followed by a Camacho double, scoring him. Wiens grounds to first, sending Camacho to third, then Pardo singles in Camacho, and we lead 4-2. Saenz gets a solo homer in the bottom of the inning, cutting the lead to 4-3. In the bottom of the 7th, backup catcher Ryan Porter delivers a pinch-hit homer off of Castonguay to tie the game. Just as in Game 2, we make it happen once Flores is gone in the top of the 8th. Swenson walks, and Sweeney pinch runs. Camacho strikes out, then Wiens singles to center, sending Sweeney to third. Pardo follows with a single, scoring Sweeney. Our scoring ends there, but it is enough. Thornley gives us a scoreless 8th, and Marmolejo gets ‘em 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th, and we advance to the NLCS!!! Montreal 5, Cincy 4

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES VS ARIZONA
The D-Backs, last year’s World Champions, were the NL Wild Card team, with a record identical to ours: 88-74. The D-Backs relied on pitching to get them where they are. Their team batting average was .241 (29th), but their team ERA was 3.50 (3rd). Offensively, their two main weapons were RF Gregory “Air” Franko (.271-36-103) and LF Justin Muirhead (.285-29-98). CF James Parente chipped in 88 RBI’s while hitting .233. Apart from the three of them, no one had over 65 RBI. Their ace pitcher, Kim Thomas (13-9, 2.54) strained his rotator cuff in the last week of the regular season and will miss the entire postseason. They still have Terry Hall (12-5, 2.75) and Jamie Steigerwald (13-9, 3.33). Their bullpen is pretty strong also. Merle Grizzle had 10 saves and a 3.00 ERA, and Jeffery Pricket had 28 with a 1.87 ERA.

Game 1
The series opens in Arizona. Baumer goes out there against Douglas Treece (11-16, 4.20). “Air” Franko opens the scoring in the bottom of the first with a two-run shot off of Baumer. Feely answers with a solo homer leading off the 2nd. Franko and Parente get back-to-back homers to lead off the 4th, and we’re down 4-1. Pardo doubles in Wiens for a single run in the top of the 5th. Muirhead gets a solo homer to lead off the 6th, and that ends the scoring. The D-Backs follow their blueprint from the season: good pitching, and offense by Franko, Muirhead and Parente. Arizona 5-2

Game 2
Game 2 features Adams vs. Steigerwald. Our offense goes crazy in this one, chasing Steigerwald in the third inning. When the dust clears, we win by a touchdown, 14-7. Swenson drives in five runs, and Camacho has 4 RBI’s. We get seven doubles in the game. Adams gets the win. Montreal 14-7

Game 3
We send Castonguay to the hill in this one. He is opposed by Terry Hall. Muirhead doubles in a run in the top of the first but we come back with two in the bottom, from a Swenson sac-fly and a Camacho single. No other scoring happens until the bottom of the 6th, when Birnbaum singles in Swensen to give us a 3-1 lead. However, it falls apart in the top of the 7th. , as Castonguay gives up five runs. The big blow is a pinch-hit triple by Chase Smith—a .345 hitter in a backup role this year. We load the bases in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, but Feely strikes out looking, and we’re down 2 games to 1. Arizona wins 6-3

Game 4
Smith gets his first postseason start, and this one is utterly forgettable. Smith, Brandl and Bach all get rocked in this one. Muirhead has two homers for Arizona. We fall 17-2.

Game 5
Baumer refuses to have the NLCS lost on his watch. He carries a perfect game into the top of the ninth inning before giving up a one-out single to the 26th batter he’s faced on the day, and is replaced. Swensen and Wiens collect 2 RBI’s each. Baumer strikes out 12 in 8 1/3 innings, and we win 4-0

Game 6
Adams gets roughed up in the third inning, and we fall behind 6-0. Parente hits two homers and drives in 6 runs on the day. The D-Backs coast to and 11-5 win to take the NLCS

SEASON RECAP
Detroit beats Arizona 4 games to 3 to win it all.

Monday 11/3/2003:

American League Rookie Of The Year Award:
Jesus Quintana (TEX)!
He batted .283 in 502 AB, with 11 homers and 47 RBI.
National League Rookie Of The Year Award:
Samuel Cardenas (CIN)!
He had a record of 12-12 with an ERA of 5.20.
In 32 games started, he pitched 187 innings, fanning 159 and walking 109 batters.
American League Cy Young Award:
Perry Edelstein (DET)!
He had a record of 15-3 with an ERA of 1.71.
In 29 games started, he pitched 168.1 innings, fanning 139 and walking 19 batters.
American League MVP Award:
Moises Escobar (TEX)!
He batted .344 in 570 AB, with 34 homers and 103 RBI.
National League Cy Young Award:
Justin Ward (LA)!
He had a record of 18-1 with an ERA of 1.68 and 1 shutouts.
In 34 games started, he pitched 225.2 innings, fanning 170 and walking 42 batters.
National League MVP Award:
Larry Entwistle (C()!
He batted .266 in 575 AB, with 47 homers and 130 RBI.
American League Gold Glove Award Winners:
Pitcher: Mauro Uribe (BOS)
Catcher: Max Alvarez (NY)
First Base: Ronald Rodriguez (KC)
Second Base: Keith Thompson (TEX)
Third Base: Anthony Schuster (ANA)
Shortstop: George Francois (ANA)
Leftfield: Jason Bevilacqua (BOS)
Centerfield: Joaquin Fernandez (TB)
Rightfield: Matthew Wellman (CLE)
National League Gold Glove Award Winners:
Pitcher: Ramon Flores (CIN)
Catcher: Gregory Nisbet (CIN)
First Base: Peter Adams (CIN)
Second Base: Rodney Campbell (ATL)
Third Base: Richard Reel (PIT)
Shortstop: Jay Penning (FLO)
Leftfield: Hugo Reyes (NY)
Centerfield: Eduardo Reyes (HOU)
Rightfield: Antonio Mejia (NY)

MANAGER UPDATEThis was a pretty good year. I think I made the owner happy. I more than met his expectation.Well, that much is definitely true. His mood rises to 100!

THOUGHTS
We bring the first Division Title to Montreal since 1952. What more can be said? We’re also returning a good bit of talent. This team could challenge for the world title for a few years.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2003 END OF SEASON REPORT</center>

The end-of-2003 update has now been uploaded. It can be found HERE (http://www.benelou.com/dynasty/).

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2004 BEGINNING OF YEAR TEAM NEWS</center>

Team market grows to Good!
Tyrone Sweeney gets a new one-year contract worth $624,286 through salary arbitration.
Abel Pardo gets a new one-year contract worth $753,214 through salary arbitration.
John Swensen gets a new one-year contract worth $3,827,143 through salary arbitration.
Freddy Castonguay gets a new one-year contract worth $3,759,286 through salary arbitration.
Anthony Jones becomes a free agent.
Dion Martinez gets a new one-year contract worth $808,857 through salary arbitration.
Edgar Thornley becomes a free agent.
Earl Birnbaum gets a new one-year contract worth $583,571 through salary arbitration.
Dewey Baumer gets a new one-year contract worth $5,265,715 through salary arbitration.
Benjamin Lopez gets a new one-year contract worth $350,000 through salary arbitration.

Owner Mood: 100
Chemistry: 100
Owner Type: Good Man (rather patient)
Owner Expectation: Do not finish last in 2004!
Team Market: Good
Fan Loyalty: Fair
Fan Interest: 54

[Ben E Lou]

2004 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Catchers

Jose “Wild Card” Camacho (Avg/Brl/Good,4/8/6,27yo) returns for his third season in the bigs. He hit .221 with 24 homers and 77 RBI’s in his first full season. If he can cut down on his strikeouts (173), he could take his game to the next level. The primary backup is Paul Chasse (Avg/Poor/Fair,5/4/3,27yo), who can also play 1B. Carlos “The Bull” Davila (Avg/Good/Good,4/5/7,27yo) batted .268 with 15 HR’s in AAA last year.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Camacho is eligible for arbitration after this year. If he can bring that batting average up just a bit, he’ll become the long-term solution at catcher. Davila is nice insurance.

[MizzouRah]

Skydog,

Great read! Easy to follow and just enough info without getting boring. Get fired at Atlanta, then return to win the division the following year... priceless.

Wishing you continued success....


Todd

[oykib]

Originally posted by MizzouRah
Skydog,

Great read! Easy to follow and just enough info without getting boring. Get fired at Atlanta, then return to win the division the following year... priceless.

Wishing you continued success....


Todd

Maybe the players were tired of him telling them how to wear their socks.;)

[Ben E Lou]

2004 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: First Base

John Swensen (Good/Brl/Brl,7/8/10,26yo) took a bit of a step back offensively, only hitting .233, but he chipped in 27 HR’s and 96 RBI. I’d like to see some of that “Good” contact this year. 3.5-star manGeorge Palafox (Good/Good/Avg,1/2/3,25yo) can’t seem to rise above single A. He’s spent seven years there. I need to just call him up to AA and see how he does I guess.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Swensen looks like a superstar in the making. I hoping he’ll have a monster year soon.

[Ben E Lou]

2004 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Second Base

Moving Ryan Wiens (Good/Fair/Fair,6/4/5,33yo) over from SS was one of the best decisions I’ve made. He responded with a 4.66 range factor and only 14 errors in 154 starts at 2B, not to mention batting .280 with 44 doubles and 81 RBI. He’s in the last year of his contract. Tyrone Sweeney (Good/Good/Avg,6/5/6,26yo) was our super-sub last year. He played six different positions, and appeared in 98 games, even though he only started 22. He has “C” range at 2B. Sweeney was also used effectively as a pinch runner—stealing 29 bases in 33 chances. His contact and power rose to Good and Good during the year.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Sweeney is a switch-hitter, and Wiens bats right-handed. Wiens dropped on point in contact in the off-season, from 7 to 6. I feel like Sweeney deserves a shot. I’ll platoon them, with Sweeney against RHP. Wiens will replace Sweeney defensively, and can also back up at SS.

[Ben E Lou]

2004 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Third Base

I let Anthony Jones (http://benelou.com/dynasty/p293.html) become a free agent because Harry “Pluto” Reid (Good/Good/Good,6/7/5,23yo) is looking ready for the bigs. He had 25 homers and an .887 OPS in AAA last season. He’s got “E” range at 3B.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Hopefully SS Pardo’s A range will give us enough “D” on the left side of the infield. Jones had 24 homers, but only 62 RBI. I’m thinking/hoping Reid can match that RBI output this year, and he has more upside.

[Ben E Lou]

2004 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Shortstop

Abel Pardo (Avg/Good/Avg,4/4/6,25yo) came over in a trade and started 155 games at SS. The youngster hit .238 in the #8 hole, and played pretty solid defense. Arthur Owens (Avg/Fair/Brl,1/2/5,19yo) is a 3.5 star guy with C range at 2B/3B/SS. He has potential, but is a good ways away from the bigs. Angel Velasco (Fair/Poor/Brl,4/2/9,30yo) will get some time in the bigs this year, chiefly by virtue of the fact that he can play 1B/3B/SS/CF/RF

OVERALL THOUGHTS: If Pardo can give me “Good” power eventually, I’d be thrilled and see it as a bonus.. Right now, I’m happy with his defense. At #8 in the order, I don’t worry about his offense.

[Ben E Lou]

NEW POLL ADDED

I'm considering making every name in the pre-season report hyperlinked to his corresponding player card. This would require some extra time on my part, but would be worth it if it would be more useful than just giving you the main page URL: www.benelou.com/dynasty. You can vote in the poll and make comments by clicking HERE (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=102614#post102614).

[Ben E Lou]

2004 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Left Field

Earl Birnbaum (Avg/Fair/Avg,6/3/6,27yo) is the returning starter. He was our primary leadoff man, despite having little/no speed. He turned in a .340 OBP last year. Russ Mangan (Avg/Brl/Avg,4/7/6,25yo), looks like he might be ready. He had 22 HR and an .842 OPS in AAA last year. Mangan’s an all-around talent, with an “A” arm, and “A” speed and stealing ability. He can play LF or RF with C range, and is a 4-star prospect.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I’ve got to give Mangan a shot. Birnbaum, being a left-handed hitting who can play LF or CF, will get some at bats.

[Ben E Lou]

2004 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Center Field

James “Handyman” Wuest (Good/Brl/Brl,7/9/10,33yo) got a long-term deal (through 2009). He was among the league leaders in OBP, HR, R and BB, plus he has B range in CF.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: CF belongs to the Handyman. He’s a genuine star.

[Ben E Lou]

2004 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Right Field

Ronald “Swordfish” Feely (Good/Brl/Avg,6/8/5,27yo) took his game near the star level last year, tuning in a 30 HR, 101 RBI effort. He cut down a little on his strikeouts (from 188 to 155). If he can continue to lower that number, he’ll be a big-time threat. His range improved to “C” during last season and he has an “A” arm.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Feely took over the cleanup spot during the season. He had an OPS over 1.200 in the postseason. He looks poised to become a great one.[/b]

[Ben E Lou]

2004 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Starting Pitchers

Dewey Baumer (Brl/Avg/Brl,10/7/8,26yo) has already become the bona-fide ace. He was third in the league in ERA (2.46) and WHIP (0.85) last year. Freddy Castonguay (Brl/Brl/Brl,10/8/9,26yo) began to show some of his potential in his second full season (13-6,3.46). He appears to have more upside than Baumer even. Lefty Steve Adams (Brl/Avg/Avg,9/6/6, age 28 led the staff in Wins last year with 14, and had a 3.47 ERA. Ronald Smith (Good/Avg/Good,7/5/7,34yo) looks like he could be getting a little shaky. He struggled in the postseason. Finally, there’s Benjamin Lopez (Avg/Good/Good,6/6/7,25yo). He had a decent-enough showing for his age (9-10,4.48).

We have three SP prospects worth mentioning at this point:: Hikoshirou Haruhiko (Good/Good/Avg,6/5/4,23yo, 4 stars), Gregorio Cruz (Good/Brl/Good,6/6/5,23yo, 5 stars), and Gregory Alkire (Avg/Good/Avg,1/4/4,20yo,3.5 stars). Haruhiko and Cruz both could probably use at least another half-season at AAA.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Baumer-Castonguay-Adams looks like the 2nd coming of Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz. Barring injury, I’ll try to keep these three around for a LONG time. Since I don’t have a lot of FA needs, and I do have some money available, I might look for a little more reliable option in the #4 slot. On the other hand, between Smith, Lopez, Haruhiko and Cruz, we can probably get by. We’ll see what is available.

[Ben E Lou]

2004 MONTREAL POSITION REPORT: Relief Pitching

Righty Samuel Marmolejo (Good/Good/Good,9/9/6,33yo) had 39 saves and a 2.17 ERA last season as the closer. Left-hander Richard Brandl (Good/Avg/Avg,8/7/6,31yo) is a former closer who had a 5.17 ERA in 63 appearances last year. Four-star lefty prospect Daniel Houtz (Avg/Brl/Brl,7/7/8,23yo) was a decent 5-3 with a 4.52 ERA. Dion Martinez (Good/Good/Brl,9/6/8,26yo), a right-hander, shuffled between the bigs and AAA. I think he’s ready now. Leonard Bach (Good/Good/Brl,8/6/8,25yo) could be a factor. Harold Mcalister (Good/Good/Brl,8/7/8,25yo), a right-hander, performed very well (3.09 ERA) after get called up at the beginning of August. Finally, there’s Eric Whiten (Avg/Good/Brl,7/6/8,29yo). Whiten spent 2003 in AAA, compiling a 2.82 ERA. Lefty Carlos Saldivar (Good/Brl/Fair,8/8/5,24yo) looks to be almost ready. He’s had three solid years in AAA.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Between these eight guys, I should probably be able to find enough talent to field six solid guys in the ‘pen, although I may try to sign one proven relief pitcher.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2004 FREE AGENCY PERIOD REPORT</center>

TRADES
As opposed to last season, when I was shuffling things around like crazy in the offseason, I have no reason to make any trades right now.

Here’s the financial situation:
Cash on Hand: $7,233,994
Total Payroll: $44,886,072
Last Year Income: $55,229,085
Available Money: $22,577,007

DESIRES
I have no strong needs, but I have money available. I have a star, near-star or likely-star-to-be at C,1B, 3B, LF, CF and RF, and three SP’s. If there is a star/near-star 2B, SS, SP or RP out there, I’d go after them. Otherwise, I’d be content to stand pat. Here’s who gets signed:

SP Marcos Fernandez (Good/Avg/Brl,8/7/8,33yo)—3yrs@$5.75M—Fernandez has been a steady guy in six seasons in the bigs, all with Toronto. He is 54-49 with a 3.37 ERA, and has been in the top 10 in WHIP each of the last 5 seasons. He was 10-9,3.91 in ’03. He shores up the #4 spot in the rotation for now.

SS Matthew Erwin (Avg/Brl/Fair,4/9/6(—3 yrs@$5.5M--I just couldn’t resist this guy. He has only C range at SS, but he has 110 homers in the past three seasons with the Cubs. He was 2nd in the league with 47 last year. Pardo will be the defensive replacement, but this guy gives us another dangerous bat in the lineup.

RP Sol Steele (Good/Avg/Brl,9/7/9,27yo)—5yrs@$4.25M—He’s established himself as a reliable setup guy. He’s had an ERA under 4.00 for five straight seasons, and he’s only 27. He’ll be my top setup guy. He’s also got “E” endurance as a starter, so he could fill in there in case of multiple injuries.

3B Earl Gosser (Avg/Fair/Avg,6/3/6,31yo)—3yrs@$850K---Gosser has B range at 2B and 3B. He’s never been a full-time starter, but he has a lifetime .261 average in parts of seven seasons in the bigs. He’ll be a defensive replacement for 3B Pluto Reid and his “E” range.

POST-FREE AGENCY THOUGHTS
I decided to go ahead and spend the money to take us to the next level. I believe this is a 100-win, World Series caliber team now.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2004 MONTREAL SPRING TRAINING REPORT</center>

Gregory Alkire has increased his throwing velocity!
Gregory Alkire has improved his control!
Abel Pardo has good batting practice sessions!
Harry Reid showed good strike zone judgement!
Harold Gingras has good batting practice sessions!
Harold Gingras displays more power in batting practice!
Harold Gingras showed good strike zone judgement!
Winfred Dunaway displays more power in batting practice!
Luis Borras has good batting practice sessions!
Luis Borras displays more power in batting practice!
Luis Borras showed good strike zone judgement!
Timothy Cadiz displays more power in batting practice!
Bernard Romain has good batting practice sessions!
Bernard Romain displays more power in batting practice!
Hikoshirou Haruhiko has good pitching sessions!
Paul Williams showed good strike zone judgement!
Franklyn Armstrong has good batting practice sessions!
Franklyn Armstrong displays more power in batting practice!
George Palafox has good batting practice sessions!
George Palafox displays more power in batting practice!
George Palafox showed good strike zone judgement!
Rodolfo Napoles has good batting practice sessions!
Rodolfo Napoles displays more power in batting practice!
Rodolfo Napoles showed good strike zone judgement!
Vincent Fisher has good batting practice sessions!
Vincent Fisher displays more power in batting practice!
Vincent Fisher showed good strike zone judgement!
Cecil Wendling has good batting practice sessions!
Max Conde has good pitching sessions!
Max Conde has increased his throwing velocity!
Steven Smidt has good batting practice sessions!
David Tejeda has good batting practice sessions!
David Tejeda displays more power in batting practice!
Jaime Tyson has good batting practice sessions!
Jaime Tyson displays more power in batting practice!
Jaime Tyson showed good strike zone judgement!
Michael Bedoya displays more power in batting practice!
Michael Bedoya showed good strike zone judgement!
Daniel Houtz has increased his throwing velocity!
George Matta showed good strike zone judgement!
Carlos Saldivar has good pitching sessions!
Carlos Saldivar has improved his control!
Allen Murray has good batting practice sessions!
Allen Murray displays more power in batting practice!
Allen Murray showed good strike zone judgement!

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2004 MONTREAL MAJOR LEAGUE LINEUPS AND ROTATIONS</center>

Batting Order vs. RHP
1. 2B Sweeney (6/5/6)
2. 1B Swensen (7/8/10)
3. CF Wuest (7/9/10)
4. SS Erwin (4/9/6)
5. RF Feely (6/8/5)
6. C Camacho (4/8/6)
7. LF Mangan (4/7/6)
8. 3B Reid (6/7/5)

Batting Order vs. LHP
1. 2B Sweeney (6/5/6)
2. 1B Swensen (7/8/10)
3. CF Wuest (7/9/10)
4. SS Erwin (4/9/6)
5. RF Feely (6/8/5)
6. C Camacho (4/8/6)
7. 3B Reid (6/7/5)
8. LF Mangan (4/7/6)

Pitching Rotation
1. Baumer (10/7/8)
2. Castonguay (10/8/9)
3. Adams (9/6/6)
4. Fernandez (8/7/8)
5. Smith (7/5/7)
CLOSER: Marmolejo (9/9/6)

Strategy
Sweeney will run a lot at the top of the order. Otherwise, with this lineup I’ll just try to bash people into submission.

Outlook
I said it earlier: this looks like a Championship-caliber ballclub.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>APRIL 2004</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 11-14
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 11-14
CURRENT STANDING: Tied for last. 4.5 games behind Florida and the Mets.

MAJOR INJURIES:
None.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTHSunday 4/18/2004:
Tyrone Sweeney hits a 470-foot homerun!!
Tyrone Sweeney slams 2 homers against Florida.

Friday 4/23/2004:
Ronald Feely crushes 2 homers against Cincinnati.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The pitching staff has a 4.60 ERA (21st). We’ve given up more homers (40) than any other staff in the league. The Big Three (Baumer-Castonguay-Adams) aren’t to blame though. They are at 3.22, 3.86 and 4.06. The other two starters and most of the ‘pen are struggling early. I won’t make any moves just yet.

Offensively, we’re hitting .246 (21st) as a team, but we’re 7th in the league with 27 homers. Feely is leading the way early (.321-7-21).

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: RF Feely--.321
HR: RF Feely--7
RBI: RF Feely--21
SB: LF Mangan--4
SP ERA: Baumer—3.22
RP ERA: Martinez—1.35
SAVES: Marmolejo--4
SP K’s: Baumer--34

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 4/5/2004:
Max Conde has lost some movement on his pitches…

Monday 4/26/2004
Roberto Santoro’s pitches have more bite now, the movement has improved!Nothing major there.

AAA NOTES
SP Gregorio Cruz—1-1,4.22, (7/6/5),5 stars
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—2-1,4.13,(6/5/4), 4 stars
MR Leonard Bach—0-1,2.08,(8/6/8),4.5 stars
MR Carlos Saldivar—0-2, 3.86, (8/8/5), 3.5 stars

AA NOTES:
SP Gregory Alkire—0-3,5.81, (1/4/4), 3.5 stars
MR Antonio Latta—1-0-,8.64,(1/3/6), 4.5 stars
CL James Barta—1-0,1.13,5SV, (2/4/5), 4 stars
1B George Palafox--.494 OPS, (2/3/4), 3.5 stars

A NOTES:
SS Arthur Owens--.811OPS,(1/2/5),3.5 stars

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
I now have a relationship with a gal named Jillian.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Friday 5/1/2004:
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Patrick Spurling (BOS)!
He had a record of 2-2 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 0.40 and 2 shutouts.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Brain Haveman (BOS)!
He batted .447 in 85 AB, with 7 homers and 20 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Justin Ward (LA)!
He had a record of 2-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.16.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Adrian Apodaca (NY)!
He batted .411 in 90 AB, with 10 homers and 28 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>MAY 2004</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 21-8
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 32-22
CURRENT STANDING: First. One game ahead of the second-place Marlins.

We had a 14-game winning streak during the month, which greatly contributed to our taking over first.

MAJOR INJURIES:
MR Daniel Houtaz, who was 1-3, with 2 saves and a 4.20 ERA, is out for the season with bone chips in his shoulder. I called up Leonard Bach, who was 3-1 with a 3.22 ERA in AAA, to replace him

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTH<a href=http://www.benelou.com/dynasty/p2397.html>John Swensen</a> has 4 hits against Arizona.

Monday 5/10/2004
<a href=http://www.benelou.com/dynasty/p3137.html>Harry Reid</a> was named Player of the Week!<br> He batted .500 in 24 AB, with 2 HR and 4 RBI.

Friday 5/14/2004 :
<a href=http://www.benelou.com/dynasty/p146.html>Ronald Feely</a> hits 2 homers against St. Louis.

Saturday 5/15/2004:
<a href=http://www.benelou.com/dynasty/p2397.html>John Swensen</a> hits 2 homers against St. Louis.

Monday 5/17/2004 :
<a href=http://www.benelou.com/dynasty/p2444.html>Matthew Erwin</a> was named Player of the Week!<br> He batted .480 in 25 AB, with 2 HR and 9 RBI.

Tuesday 5/18/2004:
<a href=http://www.benelou.com/dynasty/p2564.html>Jose Camacho</a> crushes 2 homers against Atlanta.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The pitching staff lowered the ERA to 4.12 (17th). #4 starter Fernandez has gotten it together (6-2,4.15) and the Big Three are all having solid seasons as expected. The only pitcher on the entire staff with an ERA above 4.00 for the month of May was #5 starter Ronald Smith and he REALLY struggled (0-1,9.89) in 6 starts. He’s getting demoted (if he’ll accept the demotion). Whoever is doing best in AAA will replace him in the rotation.

Offensively, we’re hitting .256 (12th) as a team, but we lead the league in homers (75) which is a big reason why we’re leading the league in runs scored (280). Pretty much every starter had a good month in one way or another. Leadoff man Tyrone Sweeney was one of the major catalysts though. He turned in a .974 OPS, with 3 homers, 17 RBI and 15 stolen bases. He scored 25 runs during the month! RF Feely also had a big month--.290-10-29.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: RF Feely--.304
HR: RF Feely--17
RBI: RF Feely--50
SB: 2B Sweeney--18
SP ERA: Baumer—3.29
RP ERA: Martinez—2.20
SAVES: Marmolejo--11
SP K’s: Castonguay--66

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 5/10/2004:
Harold Gingras has learned reading pitchers better, his stealing ability raises to C ...
Hikoshirou Haruhiko has worked out more, his duration raises to A ...

Monday 5/24/2004:
Bernard Romain has lost some momentum, his stealing ability drops to D ...
Roberto Santoro has worked out more, his duration raises to B ...

Monday 5/31/2004:
Richard Brandl has worked out more, his duration raises to A ... Nice to get some bumps in pitchers’ endurance. The SB changes aren’t a big deal either way.

AAA NOTES
SP Gregorio Cruz—4-1,3.33, (7/6/6),5 stars
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—3-3,4.98,(6/5/4), 4.5 stars
SP Billy Hague—4-2,1.96,(6/8/6), 1 gold star—He’s got the best ERA among starters at AAA. He gets the call-up as Smtih accepts the demotion to AAA.
MR Carlos Saldivar—0-2, 4.25, (8/8/5), 3.5 stars

AA NOTES:
SP Gregory Alkire—1-6,5.50, (1/4/4), 3.5 stars
MR Antonio Latta—1-1,3.91,(2/3/6), 4.5 stars
CL James Barta—3-2,2.75,11SV, (3/4/5), 4 stars
1B George Palafox--.559 OPS, (2/3/4), 3.5 stars

A NOTES:
SS Arthur Owens--.830OPS,(1/2/5),3.5 stars

NEW PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
William Hager (KC)!
He had a record of 5-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.79.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Ralph Myler (C()!
He batted .340 in 103 AB, with 10 homers and 26 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Ronnie Ramirez (MIL)!
He had a record of 4-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 1.15.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Raul Romero (LA)!
He batted .390 in 105 AB, with 5 homers and 20 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[ShagVT]

Not exactly the start you expect from a championship contender, eh?

One thing that would be nice would some sort of a season recap between end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs, so we have a better feel for who the achievers are on the team.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by ShagVT
Not exactly the start you expect from a championship contender, eh?

One thing that would be nice would some sort of a season recap between end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs, so we have a better feel for who the achievers are on the team. Good call. Since I haven't MADE the playoffs up to now, that hasn't been necessary. ;)

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2004 AMATEUR DRAFT REPORT</center>

DRAFT POSITION: 25

DRAFTEES
1. LF/CF/RF Frank Chester (Avg/Fair/Avg)—He has A,B and A range, and is very fast (B speed, A steal). If his hitting can improve just a bit, he could be a stud.
2. SP George Martinez (Fair/Good/Avg),18yo,2.5 stars—He’s young, so he’s got a long time to improve..
3. 2B Francisco Labarbera (Fair/Fair/Fair),19yo,2 stars—B range, A speed.
4. 3B Lloyd Schulman (Fair/Avg/Fair),18yo,2 stars—He has C range.
5. MR Dean Linke (Avg/Avg/Avg),18yo,2.5 stars—Maybe one day…
6. SP/RP Jacob Poulson (Fair/Avg/Avg),18yo,2.0 stars—Knows 4 pitches. Could be a viable starter one day.
7. C Ralph Watson (Fair/Poor/Fair,19yo,1 star—Bottom o’ the barrel…

POST-DRAFT TOP TEN MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEMS
1. Philly
2. LA
3. Texas
4. SD
5. Houston
6. KC
7. Colorado
8. Anaheim
9. Atlanta
10. Chicago (A)

We’re #17 now.

MONTREAL TOP 100 PROSPECTS
SP Gregorio Cruz—27th
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—45th

[Ben E Lou]

<center>JUNE 2004</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 12-15
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 44-37
CURRENT STANDING: Third. 2.5 games behind the Mets, and ½ game behind the Marlins, who lead the Wild Card race..

MAJOR INJURIES:
Dewey Baumer ruptures an elbow ligament on June 27th, and is set to be out 7-8 weeks. Ouch. Neither of my options at AAA looks like I want to go with him yet, so I sign FA SP/RP Harry Stickles (Avg/Avg/Good,8/7/7,34yo). Stickles was cut by the Brewers in April. He’s a left with a lifetime ERA of 4.37 in 10 seasons in the bigs, mostly as a reliever. He has “E” endurance as a starter. I sign him for $680K for the season.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTHTuesday 6/1/2004:
Richard Marano has been released.

Tuesday 6/8/2004:
Steve Adams strikes out 11 against St. Louis.

Friday 6/25/2004:
Matthew Erwin hits 2 homers against Houston.

We were no-hit by 25-year-old Keith Ewers (www.benelou.com/dynasty/p3094.html) during the month. He is 8-4 with a 2.72 ERA.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
Well, the staff ERA lowered to 3.95 (14th), but that was before losing Baumer. The top four pitchers in the rotation all had ERA’s under 3.30 for the month, and the ‘pen was pretty solid as well. Hague got bombed in his first two outings in the #5 rotation slot, but has been decent in the last two starts—11IP, 6ER. I’ll let him stick around another month in the rotation.

The offense cooled off a little, but we’re still tied for first in homers (95) and 4th in runs scored (382). Sweeney continues to DAZZLE in the leadoff role. He’s now got a .359 OBP, with 39 stolen bases in 46 tries.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 2B Sweeney--.297
HR: RF Feely--17
RBI: RF Feely--55
SB: 2B Sweeney--39
SP ERA: Castonguay—3.10
RP ERA: Martinez—2.16
SAVES: Marmolejo--18
SP K’s: Adams--110

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 6/7/2004:
Freddy Castonguay has lost some movement on his pitches...

Monday 6/14/2004:
Raphael Perez seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff...
Raphael Perez has lost some movement on his pitches...
Raphael Perez's control seems to have taken a bump...

Monday 6/21/2004:
Winfred Dunaway has lost some power...
Alberto Martos has lost some momentum, his range at RF drops to E ...

Monday 6/28/2004:
Paul Williams increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!
Paul Williams has improved his plate disclipine!
Harvey Baker has worked out more, his duration raises to C ...
Carlos Saldivar's control seems to have taken a bump... None of these changes appear to be of major significance.

AAA NOTES
SP Gregorio Cruz—5-2,4.03, (7/6/6),5 stars
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—3-7,5.69,(6/6/5), 4.5 stars

AA NOTES:
SP Gregory Alkire—4-8,5.08, (1/4/4), 3.5 stars
MR Antonio Latta—1-1,2.65,(2/4/7), 4.5 stars
CL James Barta—4-2,2.05,18SV, (3/4/5), 4 stars
1B George Palafox--.598 OPS, (2/3/4), 3.5 stars

A NOTES:
SS Arthur Owens--.781OPS,(1/2/6),3.5 stars

NEW PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Perry Edelstein (DET)!
He had a record of 5-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 0.53.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Ralph Myler (CWS)!
He batted .281 in 96 AB, with 11 homers and 27 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Dale Yuan (CHC)!
He had a record of 4-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 1.54.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Clarence Howard (FLO)!
He batted .347 in 98 AB, with 9 homers and 20 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
Mark Harris (www.benelou.com/dynasty/p1252.html) of Detroit threw a no-hitter against Boston. He’s 4-5 with a 3.14 ERA.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>JULY 2004</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 9-15
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 53-52
CURRENT STANDING: Third. 8.5 games behind the Mets. We’re 5 games behind the Brewers, who lead the pack for the Wild Card berth.

MAJOR INJURIES:
Ouch!!! Another MAJOR injury. This time it is Castonguay. He tears his rotator cuff, and is done for the year. Smith gets called back up. Then, to continue our incredible run of injuries to the pitching staff, Billy Hague, who was starting to put it together (4 ER in his last 20 IP) goes down for 6 weeks with bone chips in his elbow on 7/27. I decide to call up Cruz rather than trade for a SP immediately. Cruz pitches pretty well in his debut on 7/30 (5IP, 1 ER), so I decide to stand pat.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTH Sunday 7/4/2004:
Freddy Castonguay fans 12 batters against San Diego.

Tuesday 7/13/2004:
P Steve Adams will play in the OOTP-Allstar game!

Wednesday 7/21/2004:
Ronald Smith fans 11 batters against Philadelphia.

Tuesday 7/27/2004:
Tyrone Sweeney has 4 hits against Milwaukee.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
Adams struggled this month (0-3, 6.06), and of course three members of the rotation are injured. FA pickup Stickles has done quite well (3-2,3.10). Most of the guys in the ‘pen had decent months.

We’re slumping offensively, down to 9th in runs scored, and hitting .242 (26th). We’re still first in homers with 123. One guy that sure isn’t slumping is Tyrone Sweeney though. He hit .303 this month to raise his overall average to .298

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 2B Sweeney--.298
HR: RF Feely--22
RBI: RF Feely--72
SB: 2B Sweeney--47
SP ERA: Baumer—3.15
RP ERA: Martinez—3.00
SAVES: Marmolejo--23
SP K’s: Adams--140

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 7/5/2004:
Robert Springer's control seems to have taken a bump...
Robert Springer has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to D ...

Monday 7/19/2004:
Earl Birnbaum has lost some momentum, his range at LF drops to D ...
Earl Birnbaum has lost some momentum, his range at CF drops to D ...
Francisco Labarbera increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!
Francisco Labarbera has improved his plate disclipine! None of these changes appear to be of major significance yet, although if Labarbera can improve a little more, he could be a potential starter.

AAA NOTES
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—6-9,4.99,(7/6/5), 4.5 stars

AA NOTES:
SP Gregory Alkire—4-10,5.07, (1/4/4), 3.5 stars
MR Antonio Latta—1-2,2.36,(2/4/7), 4.5 stars
CL James Barta—5-2,1.73,22SV, (3/4/5), 4 stars
1B George Palafox--.649 OPS, (2/3/4), 3.5 stars

A NOTES:
SS Arthur Owens--.772OPS,(1/2/6),3.5 stars

NEW PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Esteban Mendez (MIN)!
He had a record of 3-1 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 1.00.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Ralph Myler (CWS)!
He batted .378 in 98 AB, with 11 homers and 30 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Oscar Melgoza (NYM)!
He had a record of 5-0 in 7 games started, with an ERA of 1.19 and 1 shutouts.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Hector Montoya (PHI)!
He batted .444 in 90 AB, with 4 homers and 15 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
These players were selected for the AL OOTP-Allstar Team :
P William Hager from Kansas City
P Perry Edelstein from Detroit
P Carol Gallagher from Baltimore
P Patrick Spurling from Boston
P Josias Silva from Minnesota
P Jonathan Kiesel from New York (A)
P Antonio Rosas from Chicago (A)
P Percy Regnier from Oakland
P George Dam from Detroit
P Stephen Skinner from Tampa Bay
C Jared Barrows from Anaheim
C Rey Longoria from Toronto
1B Brain Haveman from Boston
2B Ronald Demuth from Toronto
3B Moises Escobar from Texas
SS Luis Szymanski from Detroit
LF Patrick Meredith from Anaheim
CF Ralph Myler from Chicago (A)
RF Jesus Quintana from Texas
1B David Mohn from New York (A)
LF Silvio Freire from Detroit
CF John Ucelay from Toronto
RF Manuel Vizcarrondo from Minnesota
2B Keith Thompson from Texas
2B Chet Hall from Seattle
These players were selected for the NL OOTP-Allstar Team :
P John Choy from New York (N)
P Virgil Valles from San Francisco
P Justin Ward from Los Angeles
P Steve Adams from Montreal
P Ronnie Ramirez from Milwaukee
P Dean Sipe from San Francisco
P Samuel Figueroa from Atlanta
P Jaime Ramirez from Florida
P Merle Grizzle from Arizona
P Miguel Vasquez from Los Angeles
C Walter Mcdonald from Atlanta
C Gregory Nisbet from Cincinnati
1B Peter Adams from Cincinnati
2B Raul Romero from Los Angeles
3B Rodney Jolly from Philadelphia
SS Jeffrey Ganey from Pittsburgh
LF Luis Ruano from Chicago (N)
CF Adrian Apodaca from New York (N)
RF Elmer Connors from New York (N)
1B Stewart Harshman from St. Louis
RF Clarence Howard from Florida
LF Jerry Grimmer from San Diego
RF Randy Argo from Cincinnati
3B Charles Gee from Milwaukee
3B Denver Banks from San Francisco

[Ben E Lou]

<center>AUGUST 2004</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 20-8
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 73-60
CURRENT STANDING: First. Three games ahead of Florida. 3 ½ ahead of the Mets.

MAJOR INJURIES:
Baumer returns from the DL on the 18th, and Smith accepts assignment to AAA.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTH Tuesday 8/3/2004 :

Jose Camacho hits a 457-foot homerun!!


Saturday 8/7/2004 :

John Swensen hits a 454-foot homerun!!


Monday 8/9/2004 :

Jose Camacho slams 2 homers against Philadelphia.
Jose Camacho has 6 RBI against Philadelphia.


Friday 8/13/2004 :

James Wuest hits a 457-foot homerun!!
James Wuest has 4 hits against New York (N).
James Wuest crushes 2 homers against New York (N).
James Wuest scores 4 runs against New York (N).


Wednesday 8/25/2004 :

John Swensen has 5 hits against Pittsburgh.
James Wuest slams 2 homers against Pittsburgh.
Matthew Erwin slams 2 homers against Pittsburgh.


Monday 8/30/2004 :

Earl Birnbaum has 4 hits against Atlanta.


Tuesday 9/1/2004 :

Dewey Baumer was named National League-Pitcher of the Month !
He had a record of 3-0 in 3 games started, with an ERA of 0.45.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
Well, as is obvious above, Baumer came back as good as ever! The rest of the staff was pretty solid as well. We’re at 3.88 ERA (13th).

The offense picked up this month as well. We’re up to .245 (22nd), still leading the league in homers, and are now 3rd in runs scored. John Swensen (.921 OPS), Handyman Wuest (.965) and Matthew Erwin (.883) led the way this month.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: CF Wuest—283
HR: 1B Swensen—29
RBI: RF Feely—84
SB: 2B Sweeney—53
SP ERA: Baumer—2.71
RP ERA: Bach—3.02
SAVES: Marmolejo--29
SP K’s: Adams--172

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 8/2/2004:
Gregory Alkire has lost some movement on his pitches...
Carlos Davila has lost some power...

Monday 8/16/2004:
Bernard Romain has learned reading pitchers better, his stealing ability raises to C ...

Monday 8/23/2004
Raphael Perez has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to C ...
George Martinez's pitches have more bite now, the movement has improved!

Monday 8/30/2004:
Ben Henriques increased his bat control, resulting in more contact! Alkire drops to 3 stars…

AAA NOTES
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—9-11,4.17,(7/6/5), 4.5 stars

AA NOTES:
MR Antonio Latta—1-3,2.91,(3/4/7), 4.5 stars
CL James Barta—5-5,3.08,27SV, (4/5/5), 4 stars—I call him up to AAA.
1B George Palafox--.642 OPS, (2/3/4), 3.5 stars

A NOTES:
SS Arthur Owens--.800OPS,(1/2/6),3.5 stars

NEW PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Perry Edelstein (DET)!
He had a record of 5-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 0.72.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Rueben Thaler (OAK)!
He batted .388 in 98 AB, with 8 homers and 26 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Dewey Baumer (MON)!
He had a record of 3-0 in 3 games started, with an ERA of 0.45.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Gregory Franko (ARI)!
He batted .370 in 108 AB, with 11 homers and 32 RBI.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 12-17
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 85-77
CURRENT STANDING: Tied for 2nd. 2 games behind Division Champion Mets 3 games out of Wildcard. :mad:

MAJOR INJURIES:
Baumer pulls his bicep tendon on 9/24. At the time we were 2 games out of first. He missed the final week-and-a-half of the regular season. We were 5-3 after he went out.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTH Wednesday 9/1/2004 :
Ronald Feely has 4 hits against Atlanta.
Ronald Feely slams 2 homers against Atlanta.
Ronald Feely drives in 5 runs against Atlanta.
Ronald Feely scores 4 runs against Atlanta.

Saturday 9/11/2004:
Tyrone Sweeney sets a new season Team-Record for Stolen Bases with 56!

Friday 9/17/2004:
Matthew Erwin crushes 2 homers against Pittsburgh.

Friday 9/24/2004:
Ronald Feely hits 2 homers against San Francisco.

Wednesday 9/29/2004:
Tyrone Sweeney sets a new season NL-Record for Stolen Bases with 60!

Thursday 9/30/2004:
John Swensen has 4 hits against Colorado.

Thursday 10/1/200 :
Ronald Feely was named National League-Batter of the Month!
He batted .289 in 97 AB, with 10 homers and 24 RBI.

Sunday 10/3/2004:
Matthew Erwin has 4 hits against Philadelphia.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
Gregorio Cruz stunk it up this month (11.72 ERA), and was replaced in the rotation for his final 2 starts by Billy Hague, who was 1-0 in 2 starts. Adams had a very rough month (1-4,7.53), as did Stickles (2-4,7.33). Fernanded (3-0,2.91) was the only starter to fare well this month.

The offense had a strong final month, but couldn’t overcome the bad pitching. We ended up first in the league in runs with 759, and first in homers with 215. Camacho had a good month (.919OPS), as did Erwin (12HR,.989OPS), and Feely was player of the month with his 24 RBI’s.

YEAR-END TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: CF Wuest—.276
HR: SS Erwin--36
RBI: RF Feely—111
SB: 2B Sweeney—60
SP ERA: Baumer—3.05
RP ERA: Steele—3.36
SAVES: Marmolejo--35
SP K’s: Adams--195

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 9/6/2004:
Porfirio Leyva's control seems to have taken a bump...

Monday 9/13/2004:
George Palafox plate discipline seems to have faded...

Monday 9/20/2004:
Dion Martinez seems to have improved his pure stuff!
Lloyd Schulman seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...

Monday 9/27/2004:
Winfred Dunaway increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!
Antonio Latta has worked out more, his duration raises to C ...

Monday 10/4/2004:
Max Conde seems to have improved his pure stuff!
Max Conde's pitches have more bite now, the movement has improved!
Dean Linke seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff...
Dean Linke has lost some movement on his pitches...
Dean Linke has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to D ...Conde becomes a 3.5 star prospect…

NEW PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Arthur Jan (OAK)!
He had a record of 3-1 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 0.79 and 1 shutouts.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Luis Szymanski (DET)!
He batted .304 in 92 AB, with 8 homers and 22 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Avery Twiggs (MIL)!
He had a record of 2-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 0.46.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Ronald Feely (MON)!
He batted .289 in 97 AB, with 10 homers and 24 RBI.

OTHER LEAGUE NEWS OF INTEREST
Ronald Demuth, who we traded away in the deal that brought us CF Wuest and SS Pardo, hit 54 homers and drove in 131 runs this season for Toronto.
Atlanta still hasn’t come around. They went 72-90 this year. The AI traded “Superfly” Sylvain to Tampa Bay for three decent-or-better prospects. This looks like a smart trade for Atlanta, as Sylvain was in the last year of his contract.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2004 POST-SEASON REPORT</center>

POTENTIAL FREE AGENTS/CONTRACT EXTENSIONS
1B James Swensen—I sign him to a 5-year deal for $6.25M per year. He looks to be entering his prime. He hit .266 with 32 homers this year.
CL Samuel Marmolejo—He’s 34, and we’ve got the rest of the bullpen all returning. Still, he’s been rock-solid as the closer. I’m able to get him to sign a 2-year deal for $5.5M per year.
2B Ryan Wiens—He was a backup and defensive replacement this year. He accepts a pay cut: 2 years @$1.9M.
LF Earl Birnbaum—Backup LF (6/3/6) signs a 3-year deal for only $900K per year. Nice!
CF Craig Regner—This guy had an .814 OPS in limited use, can play all three OF positions, and was willing to take $500K per year. I sign him.
SP/RP Harry Stickles—He can start or go in relief, and he had a decent year. He accepts $1M for 2 years.
CF Paul Eckhoff—Spent all year at AAA, and really has no hope to play in the bigs for us. He’s outta here.
CF David Martin—Ditto Eckhoff. Gone.

PLAYOFF REPORT
Detroit beats LA in 6 games to win back-to-back World Championships.

SEASON RECAP
Detroit beats Arizona 4 games to 3 to win it all.

American League Rookie Of The Year Award:
Manny Neyra (DET)!
He batted .327 in 520 AB, with 6 homers and 63 RBI.

National League Rookie Of The Year Award:
Harry Reid (MON)!
He batted .263 in 548 AB, with 24 homers and 65 RBI.

American League Cy Young Award:
Arthur Jan (OAK)!
He had a record of 16-10 with an ERA of 1.53 and 3 shutouts.
In 34 games started, he pitched 246.2 innings, fanning 241 and walking 51 batters.
That’s Jan’s 2nd Cy Young Award. The 35-year old has 199 career wins.

American League MVP Award:
Ralph Myler (CWS)!
He batted .312 in 596 AB, with 49 homers and 133 RBI.
Myler’s 27, and appears to be a mega-star in the making.

National League Cy Young Award:
Justin Ward (LA)!
He had a record of 17-4 with an ERA of 1.52 and 1 shutouts.
In 35 games started, he pitched 225.1 innings, fanning 167 and walking 40 batters.
Back-to-back Cy Young seasons or this 32-year old. He’s 50-15 over his last three seasons.

National League MVP Award:
Rodney Jolly (PHI)!
He batted .295 in 567 AB, with 32 homers and 137 RBI.
26-year-old wins the MVP in only his 3rd full season.

American League Gold Glove Award Winners:
Pitcher: Mark Harris (DET)
Catcher: Manny Neyra (DET)
First Base: Emanuel Whaley (MIN)
Second Base: Ronald Demuth (TOR) (AUGGGH!!! I traded this guy away because of his glove!!!)
Third Base: Brock Hettinger (BOS)
Shortstop: Simon Fuentes (MIN)
Leftfield: Hernan Gomez (CWS)
Centerfield: Michael Sylvain (TB)
Rightfield: Jacob Parker (TB)

National League Gold Glove Award Winners:
Pitcher: Dewey Baumer (MON)
Catcher: Filiberto Amezcua (MIL)
First Base: Peter Adams (CIN)
Second Base: Rodney Campbell (ATL)
Third Base: Richard Reel (PIT)
Shortstop: Jay Penning (FLO)
Leftfield: Keith Rosales (COL)
Centerfield: Nathan Bejarano (FLO)
Rightfield: Elmer Connors (NYM)

MANAGER UPDATEThis was a pretty good year. I think I made the owner happy. I more than met his expectation.Yup. His mood is at 100. Jillian broke up with me. I’ll probably never have a kid in the bigs.…

THOUGHTS
Well, we had several key injuries in the year, and still finished only two games out. If SP’s Baumer and Castonguay come back full speed, we’ll likely be a serious contender once again next year.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2004 END OF SEASON REPORT</center>

The end-of-2004 update has now been uploaded. It can be found HERE (http://www.benelou.com/dynasty/)

[tucker342]

great stuff SkyDog, keep up the good work:)

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by tucker342
great stuff SkyDog, keep up the good work:) Thanks! Gonna play out some/all of 2K5 this morning.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2005 BEGINNING OF YEAR TEAM NEWS</center>

Sunday 1/31/2005:
Paul Eckhoff retires ...
David Martin retires ...
James Beazley retires ...
Fan loyalty increases to Average!
Tyrone Sweeney gets a new one-year contract worth $2,415,714 through salary arbitration.
Freddy Castonguay gets a new one-year contract worth $3,759,286 through salary arbitration.
Dion Martinez gets a new one-year contract worth $841,429 through salary arbitration.
Jose Camacho gets a new one-year contract worth $2,178,214 through salary arbitration.
Dewey Baumer gets a new one-year contract worth $5,265,715 through salary arbitration.
Leonard Bach gets a new one-year contract worth $966,286 through salary arbitration.
Harold Mcallister gets a new one-year contract worth $1,072,143 through salary arbitration.

Owner Mood: 100
Chemistry: 100
Owner Type: Good Man (rather patient)
Owner Expectation: Play .500 ball in 2005!
Team Market: Good
Fan Loyalty: Average
Fan Interest: 72

I got re-signed for a 2-year deal as Manager in the offseason.

[Ben E Lou]

As a result of looking at the poll numbers, and some wise input, I've decided to combine the postiion-by-position preview into one post, with a link to the previous year-end roster at the top of that post. Then, if any FA's are signed or players are traded for, I will provide a hyperlink to their player card.

[Ben E Lou]

2005 MONTREAL POSITION REPORTS

Here is a link to our team roster at the end of 2K4. (http://benelou.com/dynasty/team17.html)

CATCHER
Jose “Wild Card” Camacho (Avg/Brl/Good,4/9/6,28yo) returns for season four. His last two seasons have been virtual carbon copies of one another. 2004 saw him turn in .225-25-70 numbers. He’s been a decent #6 hitter for us, but will never be a viable option for higher in the order unless he can cut down on K’s (345 over the last 2 seasons), and raise his batting average. His primary backup is Paul Chasse (Avg/Poor/Fair,4/4/3,28yo), who can also play 1B. Carlos “The Bull” Davila (Avg/Good/Good,4/6/8,28yo batted .289 with 24 HR’s in AAA last year.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Camacho has been steady behind the plate. I don’t know yet whether or not he’s the long-term solution, but I’ve got two more seasons before he is FA-eligible. Davila will begin the season at AAA, but if he develops any more, he’ll get called up to start vs. RHP.

FIRST BASE
John Swensen (Good/Brl/Brl,7/8/10,27yo) batted #2 last year, due to the presence of several power hitters and his having a .350 OBP. He hit 32 homers and scored 96 runs. Based on his talent, George Palafox (Good/Good/Avg,2/3/4,26yo) ought to turn into something, but he hasn’t shown me much yet. After spending seven seasons in single-A, I called him up to AA, and he had a .645 OPS.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: It looks like Swensen is coming into his own. He’s signed to a long-tem contract, and should be just entering his prime. I expect big things out of him.

SECOND BASE
Tyrone Sweeney (Good/Good/Avg,6/6/6,28yo) took over as the starter and leadoff hitter last year, and responded with 60 SB’s and 89 R’s. With all the power in the lineup behind him, I need to cut down on his running a bit to reduce CS’s. Ryan Wiens (Good/Fair/Fair,6/4/6,34yo), a former starter, is a capable defensive replacement and backup at 2B (B) and SS (C).

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Sweeney is a leadoff hitter with some pop and very good speed. He’s eligible to become a FA after this season, and will likely get a long-term contract

THIRD BASE
Harry “Pluto” Reid (Good/Good/Good,6/7/6,24yo) earned rookie-of-the-year honors last year, putting up a .263-24-65 season. If this guy can take it to the next level soon, our dangerous lineup gets even more dangerous. Because of Reid’s “E” range at 3B, Earl Gosser (Good/Fair/Avg,6/4/6,32yo) will often replace him defensively. Gosser has “B” range.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: If Reid’s defense can get a little better, he might be stationed in the hot corner for a number of years to come.

SHORTSTOP
Matthew Erwin (Avg/Brl/Fair,5/9/6,31yo) hit in the #4 and #5 spots, and drove in 104 runs with 36 homers. He’s got “B” range. Defensive whiz Abel Pardo (Avg/Good/Avg,4/4/6,26yo) will still be counted on for his speed and defense off the bench. Arthur Owens (Avg/Fair/Brl,2/2/6,20yo) is a 3.5 star guy with C range at 2B/3B/SS. He had a .798 OPS in his second year of A-ball last year, and will likely start the season in AA.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Erwin gives me great power and good defense, and Pardo is a capable backup. I can’t complain here.

LEFT FIELD
Russ Mangan (Avg/Brl/Avg,4/7/6,26yo), looks like an all-around talent, with an “A” arm, and “A” speed and stealing ability. His hitting was less-than-stellar in his rookie campaign (.204-14-58). He platooned with Earl Birnbaum (Avg/Fair/Avg,6/3/6,28yo) most of the season, with Mangan starting against RHP’s.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Mangan has a greater upside and will be the primary starter this year. Birnbaum can also play CF, and bats left-handed, so he’ll get some at-bats as well. Time will tell if Mangan can become what I think he will.

CENTER FIELD
James “Handyman” Wuest (Good/Brl/Brl,7/9/10,34yo) stuggled in the power department last year (16HR), but everything else looked fine, especially his .360 OBP.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: CF still belongs to the Handyman. I will start him in the #2 hole, and move Sweeney to #3. I hope he lasts, as he’s our highest-paid player ($8M), and signed through 2009.

RIGHT FIELD
Ronald “Swordfish” Feely (Good/Brl/Avg,6/8/5,28yo) had the kind of year I thought he was capable of last year (.275-34-111). He has “C” range and an “A” arm.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: There’s no reason not to expect Feely to be a star for several years. He’s signed through 2005.

STARTING PITCHER
Dewey Baumer (Brl/Avg/Brl,10/7/8,27yo) is the ace of the staff, but missed about 10 weeks last year due to injury. He won the Gold Glove Award, and went 10-7 with a 3.05 ERA. He has a lifetime 0.92 WHIP. Freddy Castonguay (Brl/Good/Brl,10/8/9,27yo) tore his rotator cuff and July and went out for the year. I’m hoping he can come back full-stength. He’s still listed as out for two weeks. Lefty Steve Adams (Brl/Avg/Avg,9/6/6, age 29 was an All-Star last year, but then had it rough in July and September. He finished 13-12 with a 4.28 ERA. Marcos Fernandez (Good/Avg/Brl,8/7/8,34yo was signed as a FA last year, and chipped in a 13-6, 3.70 ERA season. The number 5 spot in the rotation is up for grabs. Veterans who might get that spot are: Benjamin Lopez (Avg/Good/Good,6/6/6,26yo) (8-7,3.83 at AAA), Ronald Smith (Good/Avg/Good,7/5/7,35yo) (2-5,7.00 at MLB, 4-2,3.16 at AAA), Billy Hague (Avg/Brl/Good,6/7/6,27yo) (4-2,1.96 at AAA, 2-6,5.21 at MLB) and Harry Stickles (Avg/Avg/Good,7/7/7,35yo) (6-6,4.63). If things REALLY struggle, RP Sol Steele has “E” endurance as a starter as well.

We have three SP prospects worth mentioning at this point:: Hikoshirou Haruhiko (Good/Brl/Good,7/6/5,24yo, 5 stars), Max Conde (Avg/Good/Avg,1/3/4,20yo, 3.5 stars), Gregorio Cruz (Good/Brl/Good,8/7/6,24yo,5 stars) and [b]Gregory Alkire (Avg/Good/Avg,2/5/4,21yo,3.5 stars). Cruz got rocked in a callup to MLB (0-7,7.84) last year.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: If Baumer and Castonguay can bounce back from their injuries, there’s no reason to believe the rotation won’t be quite solid, no matter who finally wins the fifth starter job. I’m hoping that Baumer-Castonguay-Adams canb be a long-term Big Three for us.

RELIEF PITCHING
Righty Samuel Marmolejo (Good/Good/Good,9/9/6,34yo). He only blew one save all year. The aforementioned Sol Steele (Good/Avg/Brl,10/7/8,28yo) should be the primary setup man. Dion Martinez (Brl/Good/Brl,10/678,27yo), a right-hander, showed himself very much ready last year. He turned in a 3.82 ERA in 55 appearances. The top lefty is Richard Brandl (Good/Avg/Avg,8/7/6,32yo), who had a 3.95 ERA in 82 appearances last year.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: The ‘pen had no one finish last year with an ERA over 4.00, and nearly everyone returns. Looking solid here.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2005 FREE AGENCY PERIOD REPORT</center>

TRADES
None. I’m happy with my roster at this point. I may trade a SP or two away if someone settles in nicely at #5.

Here’s the financial situation:
Cash on Hand: $10,843,646
Total Payroll: $72,084,301
Last Year Income: $66,755,970
Available Money: $5,515,315

DESIRES
I have no strong needs, not a lot of available money, and three stars (Baumer, Feely and Sweeney) poised to become FA’s after this year. I need to focus on keeping enough payroll available for those three guys. I abstain from signing anyone this year.

POST-FREE AGENCY THOUGHTS
This year boasts the strongest crop of free agents I’ve seen yet. If I had the money, there are several guys I’d go after. However, I feel very good about my team as-is.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2005 MONTREAL SPRING TRAINING REPORT</center>

SPRING TRAINING NEWS:
Harry Reid has good batting practice sessions!
Harry Reid displays more power in batting practice!
Harold Gingras has good batting practice sessions!
Harold Gingras displays more power in batting practice!
Harold Gingras showed good strike zone judgement!
Luis Borras displays more power in batting practice!
Luis Borras showed good strike zone judgement!
Timothy Cadiz has good batting practice sessions!
Timothy Cadiz showed good strike zone judgement!
Bernard Romain displays more power in batting practice!
Bernard Romain showed good strike zone judgement!
Hikoshirou Haruhiko has good pitching sessions!
Hikoshirou Haruhiko has improved his control!
Paul Williams has good batting practice sessions!
Paul Williams displays more power in batting practice!
Franklyn Armstrong has good batting practice sessions!
Rodolfo Napoles has good batting practice sessions!
Rodolfo Napoles showed good strike zone judgement!
Vincent Fisher showed good strike zone judgement!
Cecil Wendling displays more power in batting practice!
Cecil Wendling showed good strike zone judgement!
Ben Henriques displays more power in batting practice!
Steven Smidt displays more power in batting practice!
David Tejeda displays more power in batting practice!
David Tejeda showed good strike zone judgement!
Jaime Tyson has good batting practice sessions!
Jaime Tyson showed good strike zone judgement!
Frank Chester showed good strike zone judgement!
Francisco Labarbera showed good strike zone judgement!
Leonardo Lera has good batting practice sessions!
Lloyd Schulman has good batting practice sessions!
Ralph Watson displays more power in batting practice!
Ralph Watson showed good strike zone judgement!
George Matta displays more power in batting practice!
George Matta showed good strike zone judgement!
Carlos Saldivar has increased his throwing velocity!
Allen Murray displays more power in batting practice!

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2005 MONTREAL MAJOR LEAGUE LINEUPS AND ROTATIONS</center>

Batting Order vs. RHP
1. 2B Sweeney (6/6/6)
2. CF Wuest (7/9/10)
3. 1B Swensen (7/8/10)
4. SS Erwin (4/9/6)
5. RF Feely (6/8/5)
6. 3B Reid (6/7/6)
7. C Camacho (4/9/6)
8. LF Mangan (4/7/6)


Batting Order vs. LHP
1. 2B Sweeney (6/6/6)
2. CF Wuest (7/9/10)
3. 1B Swensen (7/8/10)
4. RF Feely (6/8/5)
5. SS Erwin (4/9/6)
6. 3B Reid (6/7/6)
7. C Camacho (4/9/6)
8. LF Mangan (4/7/6)

Pitching Rotation
1. Baumer (10/7/8)
2. Castonguay (10/8/9)
3. Adams (9/6/6)
4. Fernandez (8/7/8)
5. Stickles (7/7/7)
CLOSER: Marmolejo (9/9/6)

Outlook
If we can stay healthy, I see no reason why we won’t contend to be in the World Series.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>APRIL 2005</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 14-10
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 14-10
CURRENT STANDING: Three-way tied for first with Philly and Florida.

MAJOR INJURIES:
None.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTHThursday 4/1/2005:
Harry Stickles refused assignment to the minors.
Brett Kent has been released.
Alberto Martos has been released.
George Matta has been released.
Lloyd Schulman has been released.
Vincent Fisher has been released.

Saturday 4/9/2005:
Ronald Feely hits a 451-foot homerun!!
John Swensen slams 2 homers against New York (N).
Ronald Feely hits 2 homers against New York (N).

Wednesday 4/13/2005:
John Swensen has 4 hits against Houston.

Friday 4/29/2005:
Harry Reid hits a 453-foot homerun!!

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
Well, based on our stats, we shouldn’t be doing this well. The pitching staff hasa 4.37 ERA (23rd), but the only starter under 4.19 is Castonguay (2.43). Marmolejo has been stellar (1-0,6 saves,0.00). Once we get a lead, we don’t lose it so far.

Offensively, we’re not doing much better, hitting .235 (27th) with 101 runs (21st). Wuest (1.092OPS) and Swensen (1.002) are tearing it up, while the rest of the bats have been largely dormant. Sweeney is only hitting .211 in the leadoff spot, and Erwin is at .186 at #4.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: CF Wuest--.342
HR: CF Wuest--6
RBI: CD Wuest--17
SB: LF Mangan and 2B Sweeney--7
SP ERA: Castonguay—2.43
RP ERA: Marmolejo—0.00
SAVES: Marmolejo--6
SP K’s: Adams--26

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT: Monday 4/4/2005:
Dion Martinez has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to D ...
John Rucks has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to D ...
Allen Murray increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!
Allen Murray has gained more power!

Monday 4/11/2005:
Jaime Tyson has improved his plate disclipine!
Russell Snyder has lost a step. His speed drops to E ...

Monday 4/18/2005:
Paul Williams plate discipline seems to have faded...
Dean Linke's control seems to have taken a bump...

Monday 4/25/2005:
Billy Hague has worked out more, his duration raises to C ...
Cecil Wendling has gained more power!
Ronald Feely plate discipline seems to have faded...
Steven Smidt has lost some momentum, his range at 2B drops to B ...
Steven Smidt has lost some momentum, his range at 3B drops to B ...
Jose Camacho is getting faster, his speed increases to B ...
Steve Adams's pitches have more bite now, the movement has improved!
Steve Adams is hitting his spots better, his command improved!
Allen Murray has lost some power... Lots of stuff, but the only major thing is SP Adams’ improvement to Brl/Good/Good at age 29.

AAA NOTES
SP Gregorio Cruz—2-1,1.33, (8/7/6),4.5 stars
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—4-1,2.83,(7/6/5), 5 stars
CL James Barta—1-2,5SV,(4/5/6),4 stars

AA NOTES:
SP Gregory Alkire—3-0,2.15, (2/5/4), 3.5 stars
MR Antonio Latta—0-0,1.80,(3/4/7), 4 stars

A NOTES:
SP Max Conde—3-1,4.00,(1/3/4),3.5 stars
SS Arthur Owens--.671OPS,(2/2/6),3.5 stars

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
I now have a relationship with a gal named Eva.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Luther Windle (NYY)!
He had a record of 0-1 in 3 games started, with an ERA of 0.66.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Royal Devera (TB)!
He batted .344 in 93 AB, with 9 homers and 21 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Tito Galarza (SF)!
He had a record of 5-1 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 2.23 and 2 shutouts.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Chris Rettig (CIN)!
He batted .375 in 96 AB, with 8 homers and 24 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
Thursday 4/28/2005:
ATL: Hipolito Dominguez pitches a NO-HITTER against New York (N)!!

[Ben E Lou]

<center>MAY 2005</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 13-16
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 27-26
CURRENT STANDING: Third place, 3.5 games behind division-leading Mets..

MAJOR INJURIES:
SP4 Marcos Fernandez tears his triceps muscle on 5/21, and is Out For The Season! :mad: Gregorio Cruz at that point was 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA in 7 AAA starts. I call him up.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTH Monday 5/2/2005:
Matthew Erwin hits a 454-foot homerun!!

Friday 5/13/2005:
Matthew Erwin hits 2 homers against Philadelphia.
Matthew Erwin has 6 RBI against Philadelphia.

Saturday 5/14/2005:
Freddy Castonguay strikes out 12 against Philadelphia.

Tuesday 5/17/2005:
James Wuest slams 2 homers against Colorado.
James Wuest has 5 RBI against Colorado.

Wednesday 5/18/2005:
Freddy Castonguay pitches a 3-hit shutout against Colorado!!

Thursday 5/19/2005:
Jose Camacho hits 2 homers against Colorado.

Monday 5/23/2005:
Russ Mangan crushes 2 homers against Colorado.

Wednesday 5/25/2005:
Russ Mangan hits 2 homers against Colorado.
Russ Mangan has 5 RBI against Colorado.

Sunday 5/29/2005:
Jose Camacho has 4 hits against Pittsburgh.

Monday 5/30/2005:
James Wuest has 4 hits against Philadelphia.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The pitching staff had a nice month overall, lowering the team ERA to 3.98 (15th). We’re have the lowest opponent’s average in the league at .230. Castonguay led the way, putting up a 1.44 ERA, 4CG’s and 1 shutout in 6 starts. Despite these great numbers, he only had a 2-2 record.

We looked even worse at the plate. We’re now batting a league-low .227. Leadoff hitter Sweeny had a good month, batting .305 and scoring 16 runs.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: CF Wuest--.306
HR: CF Wuest--12
RBI: CF Wuest--36
SB: LF Mangan and 2B Sweeney--13
SP ERA: Castonguay—1.86
RP ERA: Marmolejo—1.77
SAVES: Marmolejo--9
SP K’s: Castonguay--70

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 5/2/2005:
Frank Chester seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...
Steve Adams's control seems to have taken a bump...

Monday 5/9/2005:
Freddy Castonguay has worked out more, his duration raises to A ...
Antonio Latta has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to D ...
Russ Mangan positions himself better now, his range at LF increases to B !
Nodin Motoki plate discipline seems to have faded...
Harvey Baker has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to D ...

Monday 5/16/2005:
Abel Pardo plate discipline seems to have faded...

Monday 5/23/2005:
Francis Pharris has lost some movement on his pitches...
Francis Pharris has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to D ...
Daniel Houtz seems to have improved his pure stuff!
Daniel Houtz's pitches have more bite now, the movement has improved!
Daniel Houtz is hitting his spots better, his command improved!

Monday 5/30/2005:
Steven Smidt has learned reading pitchers better, his stealing ability raises to A ...
Mangan might be turning into something special out there in LF after all….Adams still looks very good despite the drop in control…Castonguay, the emerging new ace of the staff, can now go longer. Nice!…Houtz is already in the bigs. The improvements make him clearly the primary lefty..

AAA NOTES
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—7-2,2.53,(7/7/6), 5 stars—He’s looking like he’s ready for the Bigs. I’ll give him another month or so in AAA, then call him up if someone is struggling in the rotation.
CL James Barta—2-3,6.85,14SV,(5/5/6),4 stars—Bad stats, but he continues to develop, so I’ll leave him there.

AA NOTES:
SP Gregory Alkire—5-1,2.34, (2/5/4), 3.5 stars
MR Antonio Latta—0-0,0.75,(4/4/7), 4 stars---I call him up to AAA.

A NOTES:
SP Max Conde—7-1,4.00,(1/3/4),3.5 stars
SS Arthur Owens--.827OPS,(2/2/6),3.5 stars

MR Robert Springs—2-0,1.08,(1/3/5),2.5 stars---I promote him to AA.
C David Tejada—1.030OPS,(2/4/2),1.5 stars—I promote him to AA, despite the AI’s protests.
2B Timothy Cadiz—1.020OPS,(2/5/5),3 stars—Another one promoted in spite of the AI.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None..

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Josias Silva (MIN)!
He had a record of 2-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 1.09.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Kenny Funk (DET)!
He batted .427 in 96 AB, with 6 homers and 24 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Urso Ramos (LA)!
He had a record of 3-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 0.61.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Hugo Reyes (NYM)!
He batted .382 in 89 AB, with 10 homers and 31 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2005 AMATEUR DRAFT REPORT</center>

DRAFT POSITION: 17

DRAFTEES
1. CF Joseph Marion (Fair/Avg/Avg),19yo,3stars—He has A range in CF, and B/B speed. If he can get that contact rating up, I see him in the bigs one day.
2. SP Paul Swick (Avg/Avg/Avg),21yo,3 stars—Could be something one day.
3. 2B/3B/SS Keith Ivers (Fair/Poor/Avg),22yo,2 stars “B” range at all three positions, and B/B speed. Needs to improve with the stick to have a shot.
4. SP/RP Porfirio Fernandez (Avg/Avg/Good),18yo,3 stars—A youngster with a long time to develop. Only E duration as a starter, and knows only two pitches.
5. C David Holly (Fair/Fair/Fair),18yo,1.5 stars—At least he’s young.
6. RP Mark Mart (Fair/Avg/Good),18yo,2.5 stars—Ditto.
7. Alva Galaz (Fair/Poor/Fair),18yo,1 star—Scraping the bottom of the barrel.

POST-DRAFT TOP TEN MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEMS
1. Texas
2. Pittsburgh
3. San Diego
4. Houston
5. Cleveland
6. Colorado
7. San Francisco
8. Kansas City
9. Atlanta
10. New York (N)

We’re #22 now.

MONTREAL TOP 100 PROSPECTS
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—14th
SS Arthur Owens—94th

[Ben E Lou]

<center>JUNE 2005</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 20-8 VERY NICE!
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 47-34
CURRENT STANDING: First place, .5 games ahead of the Mets.

MAJOR INJURIES:
None this month.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTH Wednesday 6/1/2005:
Eric Molinaro has been released.
David Lamb has been released.

Monday 6/6/2005:
Tyrone Sweeney has 4 hits against San Diego.

Saturday 6/11/2005:
John Swensen slams 2 homers against Atlanta.

Tuesday 6/21/2005:
James Wuest hits a 451-foot homerun!!

Sunday 6/26/2005:
James Wuest hits a 455-foot homerun!!
James Wuest has 4 hits against Florida.
Steve Adams fans 12 batters against Florida.

Monday 6/27/2005:
James Wuest was named Player of the Week!
He batted .550 in 20 AB, with 3 HR and 5 RBI.

Wednesday 6/29/2005:
Ronald Feely crushes 2 homers against Houston.
Matthew Erwin has 4 hits against Houston.
Matthew Erwin has 5 RBI against Houston.

Thursday 6/30/2005:
Earl Birnbaum has 4 hits against Houston.

Thursday 7/1/2005:
Harry Reid was named National League-Batter of the Month!
He batted .375 in 96 AB, with 7 homers and 19 RBI.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The pitching remained about at the same level. The staff ERA lowered slightly to 3.93 for the month. Castonguay continues his stellar season with a 3-1,2.51 month. Cruz has gotten rocked in 7 starts (10.64 ERA) and needs to be sent down. Benjamin Lopez is 9-3 with a 3.88 ERA at AAA, and gets called up. Marmolejo racked up 10 saves over the course of the month.

Offensively, we released two months of frustration this month, raising our team batting average to .250, good for 14th overall! As was mentioned above, 3B Harry “Pluto” Reid was batter of the month. Others who had strong months were 2B Sweeney (1.014 OPS), RF Feely (.916OPS) and CF Wuest (.915).

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: CF Wuest--.299
HR: CF Wuest--16
RBI: CF Wuest--51
SB: 2B Sweeney--27
SP ERA: Castonguay—2.08
RP ERA: Marmolejo—2.20
SAVES: Marmolejo--19
SP K’s: Castonguay--103

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 6/6/2005:
Bernard Romain has lost some momentum, his range at LF drops to D ...
Bernard Romain has lost some momentum, his range at CF drops to D ...

Monday 6/13/2005:
Winfred Dunaway has lost some momentum, his stealing ability drops to D ...
Paul Swick has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to D ...

Monday 6/20/2005:
Michael Bedoya has lost a step. His speed drops to E ...

Monday 6/27/2005:
Billy Hague has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to D ...
Franklyn Armstrong has gained more power!Romain sure hasn’t amounted to much. Armstrong (Good/Avg/Avg,6/3/4,25yo) becomes a 3.5 start prospect now!

AAA NOTES
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—7-2,2.53,(7/7/6), 5 stars—He’s looking like he’s ready for the Bigs. I’ll give him another month or so in AAA, then call him up if someone is struggling in the rotation.
MR Antonio Latta—2-0,10.92,(4/4/7), 4 stars—P.U.!!! He stinks so far at AAA. I’ll give him one more month to see if he can get it together. Otherwise he goes back to AA.
CL James Barta—3-4,6.23,19SV,(5/5/6),4 stars—Stats improving some now…
1B Franklyn Armstrong--.797OPS (6/3/4),3.5 stars

AA NOTES:
SP Gregory Alkire—7-2,2.39, (2/5/4), 3.5 stars
MR Robert Springer—0-0,2.92,(1/3/5),2.5 stars—Nice first month at AA.
C David Tejada—.704OPS,(2/4/2),1.5 stars—He belongs here.
2B Timothy Cadiz—.899OPS,(2/5/5),3 stars—VERY good first AA month.

A NOTES:
SP Max Conde—9-2,3.60,(1/3/4),3.5 stars
SS Arthur Owens--.889OPS,(2/2/7),3.5 stars

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month: Kieth Webb (BOS)!He had a record of 3-0 in 3 games started, with an ERA of 0.83.American League-Batter of the Month: Ronald Demuth (TOR)!—Trading this guy away continues to haunt me!He batted .408 in 103 AB, with 10 homers and 27 RBI.National League-Pitcher of the Month: Cosme Ejea (SD)!He had a record of 3-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 0.66.National League-Batter of the Month: Harry Reid (MON)!He batted .375 in 96 AB, with 7 homers and 19 RBI.


OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
Two no-hitters came on the same day, Saturday, June 25th. The first was by Antonio “Stinky” Rosas of the White Sox. This was the first no-no of his career. This guy has been dominant for 5 ½ of his 6 ½ seasons in the bigs. The highest ERA he’s put up after his rookie 4.07 has been 2.57. This year, he’s 9-5 with a 1.91.

San Francisco’s Tito had the other no-hitter. This 31-year old won five World Series with the Tigers, before signing a 6-year deal this past offseason with the Giants. He is 13-3 with a 2.31 ERA so far in this campaign. He already has 4 shutouts and 8 complete games.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>JULY 2005</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 18-6! We’re on a ROLL—38-14 over the last 2 months!
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 65-40
CURRENT STANDING: First place. 6.5 games ahead of the Mets. BEST RECORD IN BASEBALL!

MAJOR INJURIES:
None this month.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTHSunday 7/3/2005:
James Wuest hits a 466-foot homerun!!
James Wuest crushes 2 homers against Los Angeles.

Wednesday 7/6/2005:
Matthew Erwin hits a 463-foot homerun!!

Sunday 7/10/2005:
James Wuest hits a 463-foot homerun!!
Freddy Castonguay fans 12 batters against Philadelphia.

Tuesday 7/12/2005:
P Freddy Castonguay will play in the OOTP-Allstar game!
1B John Swensen will play in the OOTP-Allstar game!
CF James Wuest will play in the OOTP-Allstar game!

Sunday 7/17/2005:
Steve Adams fans 12 batters against Florida.

Thursday 7/21/2005:
Ronald Feely crushes 2 homers against San Diego.

Saturday 7/23/2005:
Matthew Erwin slams 2 homers against Pittsburgh.
Matthew Erwin drives in 6 runs against Pittsburgh.

Thursday 7/28/2005:
James Wuest scores 4 runs against New York (N).
Matthew Erwin drives in 5 runs against New York (N).

Saturday 7/30/2005:
John Swensen has 4 hits against Philadelphia.

Sunday 7/31/2005:
Tyrone Sweeney slams 2 homers against Philadelphia.

Monday 8/1/2005:
Russ Mangan was named Player of the Week!
He batted .429 in 21 AB, with 3 HR and 8 RBI.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The pitching staff lowered its ERA by over 20 points, to 3.72 (8th). Castonguay continues to challenge for the Cy Young Award with a 4-1,1.47 month. At this point he’s first in the NL in ERA, 2nd in wins, 3rd in IP and 6th in K’s. Adams continues to make up for his slow start. He was 2-0 with a 2.58 in 5 starts. Lopez was 1-1 with a 6.30 in 4 starts in the #5 slot this month. 35-year-old Harry Stickles continues to get it DONE. He’s 7-2 with a 3.72 ERA overall, 3-0 with a 2.45 in July.

WE continue to climb offensively, raising our team average 6 more points to .256. We’re 2nd in runs scored too. 3B “Pluto” Reid had another very good month after his player-of-the-month June, turning in a.954 OPS. He’s now at .283 with 16 homers, 51 RBI and a .803 OPS. Swensen had a monster month, turning in a 1.035 OPS, as did Erwin (.964). LF Mangan may be coming into his own. He had a .950 OPS.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 1B Swensen--.293
HR: CF Wuest and RF Feely--20
RBI: CF Wuest--65
SB: 2B Sweeney--38
SP ERA: Castonguay—1.92
RP ERA: Steele—1.93
SAVES: Marmolejo--25
SP K’s: Castonguay--139

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 7/11/2005:
Marcos Fernandez seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff...
George Palafox has gained more power!
George Palafox has improved his plate disclipine!

Monday 7/18/2005:
John Galbreath has lost some momentum, his range at 1B drops to E ...
Ben Henriques has lost some momentum, his range at CF drops to B ...
Ben Henriques has lost some momentum, his range at RF drops to B ...
Russ Mangan has lost some power... Consider Fernandez is 34 and out for the year, that isn’t surprising…He’s still 8/7/8 at this point….Palafox is now Good/Brl/Average talent-wise. If his 2/3/4 ratings can come up to match that, he’ll be useful…Mangan still is “Good” in power.

AAA NOTES
SP Gregorio Cruz—4-3,1.94, (8/7/6),4.5 stars
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—7-4,2.84,(7/7/6), 5 stars—With a 5 ½ game lead, I’m going to let him spend some more time in AAA. Hopefully I won’t need him until next season. I can save a year on the arbitration clock by keeping him down for now.
MR Antonio Latta—5-0,4.95,(5/4/7), 4 stars—He cut his ERA in half this month, and increased a rating. He belongs in AAA
CL James Barta—4-5,5.46,24SV,(6/5/6),4 stars—Stats and ratings continue to improve.
1B Franklyn Armstrong--.754OPS (6/3/4),3.5 stars

AA NOTES:
SP Gregory Alkire—9-4,2.65, (3/5/4), 3.5 stars
2B Timothy Cadiz—.869OPS,(2/5/5),3 stars

A NOTES:
SP Max Conde—13-2,3.51,(1/3/4),3.5 stars
SS Arthur Owens--.877OPS,(3/2/7),3.5 stars—I call him up to AA.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
James Cudd (ANA)!
He had a record of 3-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 1.09 and 1 shutouts.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Wilbert Mccormick (KC)!
He batted .398 in 93 AB, with 7 homers and 22 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Rickey Thrower (CHC)!
He had a record of 3-0 in 4 games started, with an ERA of 1.05.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Tyler Emory (SF)!
He batted .432 in 81 AB, with 3 homers and 9 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
These players were selected for the AL OOTP-Allstar Team :
P Oscar Sabatini from Tampa Bay
P Antonio Rosas from Chicago (A)
P Matthew Engelman from Toronto
P Josias Silva from Minnesota
P Arthur Jan from Oakland
P Eugene Galligan from Toronto
P William Degregorio from Cleveland
P Alex Guardado from Cleveland
P Antonio Padilla from Cleveland
P Rhett Washington from Seattle
C Daniel Turberville from Cleveland
C Manny Neyra from Detroit
1B Eugene Lamb from Baltimore
2B Ronald Demuth from Toronto
3B Wilbert Mccormick from Kansas City
SS William Renzi from Toronto
LF Silvio Freire from Detroit
CF Ralph Myler from Chicago (A)
RF Steven Backes from Anaheim
1B Al Mouser from Tampa Bay
CF John Ucelay from Toronto
CF Bryon Davis from Texas
LF Luis Alcaraz from Baltimore
2B Royal Devera from Tampa Bay
3B Roberto Uriarte from Tampa Bay

These players were selected for the NL OOTP-Allstar Team :
P Tito Galarza from San Francisco
P Joseph Siggers from Florida
P Freddy Castonguay from Montreal
P Douglas Treece from Arizona
P Dean Sipe from San Francisco
P George Basora from Houston
P Darron Zamarripa from Chicago (N)
P Jason Doane from Cincinnati
P Merle Grizzle from Arizona
P Angel Hernandez from Colorado
C Tyler Emory from San Francisco
C Nathan Jackson from New York (N)
1B John Swensen from Montreal
2B Raul Romero from Los Angeles
3B Paul Moak from Los Angeles
SS Ricardo Cazares from St. Louis
LF Hyman Hinderliter from Florida
CF James Wuest from Montreal
RF Elmer Connors from New York (N)
1B John Hopper from Houston
CF Scott Betton from Pittsburgh
LF Jerry Grimmer from Pittsburgh
LF Chris Rettig from Cincinnati
3B Denver Banks from San Francisco
3B Charles Gee from Milwaukee

[Ben E Lou]

<center>AUGUST 2005</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 16-12. That runs our record to 54-26 over the last three months.
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 81-52
CURRENT STANDING: First place. 9 games ahead of the Mets. Best record in baseball.

MAJOR INJURIES:
None this month.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTHTuesday 8/2/2005:
Steve Adams fans 11 batters against New York (N).

Sunday 8/7/2005:
Jose Camacho slams 2 homers against St. Louis.

Thursday 8/25/2005:
Jose Camacho has 4 hits against Chicago (N).
Harry Reid has 5 RBI against Chicago (N).

Monday 8/29/2005:
Matthew Erwin hits a 464-foot homerun!!

Wednesday 8/31/2005:
Steve Adams pitches a NO-HITTER against San Francisco!!

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The pitching staff lowered its ERA even more, by 12 points, to 3.60 (6th). Of course, Adams’ no-no leads the way. He only allowed one baserunner, a walk. For the month, Adams was 4-2, 1.92. Lopez was solid in the #5 slot: 3-1,2.91. The ‘pen remains stellar overall. The HIGHEST bullpen ERA we have at the moment is Brandl’s 3.65. Castonguay is now 4th in ERA (2.30), 2nd in wins (17), and 6th in K’s (173). Tito Galarza of SF (3rd ERA, 1st W’s and K’s) stands in his way for the Cy Young Award though.

The offense continues to be strong as well. We’re 3rd in runs scored. Wuest continues his very strong season, putting up a .946 OPS. Mangan also has a star-caliber month, with a .902 OPS.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: CF Wuest--.290
HR: CF Wuest and RF Feely--26
RBI: CF Wuest--83
SB: 2B Sweeney--42
SP ERA: Castonguay—2.30
RP ERA: Martinez—2.93
SAVES: Marmolejo--30
SP K’s: Adams--177

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 8/15/2005:
Benjamin Lopez seems to have improved his pure stuff!

Monday 8/22/2005:
James Wuest has lost some power...
Raphael Perez has worked out more, his duration raises to B ... Lopez is now Good/Good/Good,6/6/7, vying for a more permanent rotation spot….Wuest drops to Good/Good/Brl….Perez is a AA pitcher who appears to have very little hope…

AAA NOTES
SP Gregorio Cruz—5-5,2.66, (8/7/6),4.5 stars
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—8-8,3.38,(7/7/6), 5 stars
MR Antonio Latta—7-0,4.19,(6/5/7), 4 stars
CL James Barta—5-7,5.25,31SV,(6/5/6),4 stars
1B Franklyn Armstrong--.790OPS (6/3/4),3.5 stars

AA NOTES:
SP Gregory Alkire—11-7,2.75, (3/5/4), 3.5 stars
2B Timothy Cadiz—.818OPS,(2/5/5),3 stars
SS Arthur Owens--.890OPS,(3/2/7),3.5 stars—Good first month in AA

A NOTES:
SP Max Conde—14-5,3.41,(1/3/4),3.5 stars

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Luther Windle (NYY)!
He had a record of 5-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 0.86 and 1 shutouts.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Laurence Tobar (NYY)!
He batted .346 in 107 AB, with 6 homers and 21 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Chad Alejo (ATL)!
He had a record of 5-0 in 3 games started, with an ERA of 1.35.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Richard Reel (PIT)!
He batted .347 in 95 AB, with 4 homers and 24 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 20-9. We were a stellar 74-35 over the last four months.
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 101-61
CURRENT STANDING: First place. Division champs by 12 games. Best record in baseball.

MAJOR INJURIES:
None this month.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTHThursday 9/1/2005:
James Wuest slams 2 homers against San Francisco.

Sunday 9/4/2005:
Freddy Castonguay pitches a 2-hit shutout against Atlanta!!

Tuesday 9/20/2005:
Ronald Feely crushes 2 homers against Milwaukee.
Matthew Erwin slams 2 homers against Milwaukee.

Tuesday 9/27/2005:
Matthew Erwin crushes 2 homers against Colorado.

Wednesday 9/28/2005:
John Swensen has 4 hits against Colorado.
Steve Adams hits 2 homers against Colorado.
Steve Adams has 5 RBI against Colorado.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The pitching staff finished with the 3rd-best ERA in the game at 3.50. Adams (2.00), Baumer (3.00), Castonguay (2.45), Lopez (2.92) and Stickles (2.59) ALL had very good months, and Marmolejo closed out the season with 12 saves and an 0.64 ERA for the month to give him 42 for the season.

The offense continues to be strong as well. We’re 3rd in runs scored. Wuest continues his very strong season, putting up a .946 OPS. Mangan also has a star-caliber month, with a .902 OPS.

YEAR-END STARTERS’ KEY STATS
2B Sweeney--.275, 21 HR, 68 RBI, 50 SB, 100 R
1B Swensen--.280, 25 HR, 84 RBI, 95R, .362 OBP
CF Wuest--.295, 33 HR, 101 RBI, 101 R, .942 OPS
RF Feely--.257, 32 HR, 82 RBI
SS Erwin--.263, 32 HR, 101 RBI
3B Reid--.265, 21 HR, 65 RBI
LF Mangan--.244, 23 HR, 72 RBI, 31 SB
C Camacho--.226, 20 HR, 81 RBI

SP Adams—15-10, 3.09
SP Baumer—14-7, 4.11
SP Castonguay—20-8, 2.32
SP Lopez—7-3, 3.68 (14 starts)
SP Stickles—10-6, 3.66
CL Marmolejo—9-2, 2.93, 42 SV

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Arthur Jan (OAK)!
He had a record of 4-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 0.76 and 1 shutouts.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Rueben Thaler (OAK)!
He batted .390 in 105 AB, with 7 homers and 30 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Ray Doss (CHC)!
He had a record of 3-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 0.70.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Hugo Reyes (NYM)!
He batted .426 in 101 AB, with 12 homers and 30 RBI.
SF: Craig Smith pitches a 2-hit shutout against New York (N)!!

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2005 POST-SEASON REPORT</center>

POTENTIAL FREE AGENTS/CONTRACT EXTENSIONS
SP Dewey Baumer—An interesting choice here. Adams, Castonguay, Cruz, Haruhiko, Lopez could make an excellent rotation, but Baumer has been so steady, and is only 28. I sign him for 5 years at $5.8M per year.[/b]
RF Ronald Feely—He’s been a steady force in RF, and at the plate, with 96 HR’s and 294 Rbi’s over the last three seasons, and he’s 29 years old. I sign him to a $5.75M-per-year deal for four years.
2B Tyrone Sweeney—He’s the only one of the three who gets a big raise percentage-wise over his arbitration salary. He jumps to $4.25M per year, for 3 years.

All three of these salaries are faily mild jumps. The three guys made $11.75M combined this year. They’ll make $15.8M next year. Not bad!

PLAYOFF REPORT

DIVISION SERIES VS. PITTSBURGH

Pittsburgh Info
The Pirates won a fairly weak NL Central with a 84-78 record. They were 17th in hitting and 11th in ERA. They have two primary offensive weapons in LF Jerry Grimmer (4/10/9, .240, 40 HR, 108 RBI) and CF Scott “Cowboy” Betton (4/9/8, .276, 36 HR, 101 RBI, 30 SB). They also had no real staff ace. They had four guys in the rotation 27 and under, and a 35-year old. The best season of the bunch was turned in by 25-year-old Richard “Stinky” Ammon: 11-6, 3.75 ERA. The other four had either a losing record and/or an ERA over 4.00. The bullpen was their strength, boasting five guys with ERA’s of 3.08 and below. Closer Angelo Ibanez had 34 saves, 3 blown saves and a 2.96 ERA. On paper, we should win this series hands down, especially if our pitchers can contain Grimmer and Betton.

Game 1
We open at home, and send Castonguay out there against 24-year-old Juan Maldonado (9-11,4.64). We jupm on the youngster in the bottom of the first. Wuest walks with two outs, and Feely takes him deep. The Pirates come back with one in the top of the third, but we strike for two more in the bottom, this time on a Swensen walk followed by a Wuest 2-run shot. Pitt closes to 4-3 in the top of the 5th, but we break it wide open with 5 runs in the bottom of the 7th, the big blow being a grand-slam by Harry Reid. Wuest gives us two more in the bottom of the 8th with another 2-run shot, and from there we coast to an 11-5 win in game one.

Game 2
For Game 2, it is Adams against 25-year-old Lawerence “Mirror Man” Midgett (8-16,3.95). This time Scott “Cowboy” Betton stings us for a 3-run shot in the top of the first, and they add another in the 2nd to take a 4-0 lead, which is where things stand until the bottom of the 3rd. Camacho leads off that inning with a homer, and Wuest doubles in Swensen later on to cut the lead to 4-2. Adams continues to hold ‘em right there, and in the bottom of the fifth the offense explodes for SIX runs, four on an Erwin grand slam, and 2 on a Mangan 2-run shot, and we lead 8-4. Feely adds a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 6th, and that’s all the scoring. Expos 11, Pirates 4

Game 3
After a day off, we head up to Pittsburgh, looking for the sweep. Baumer takes the mound against Ammon, and Ammon fares better than any of their starters to date. We open the scoring in the top of the third on a Tyrone Sweeney solo homer, but their SS, Kevin Slama, who had only one homer all year, answers with a solo shot of his own to tie it. Harry Reid gets another solo shot in the top of the fourth, and there things stand until the bottom of the eighth, when the bullpen gives up a walk, HBP and then back-to-back doubles to give the Pirates a 4-2 lead. We refuse to go quietly though. Feely leads off the inning with a double, and after Erwin is intentionally walke, Reid draws a free pass as well, loading the bases. However, Ibanez gets Camacho to ground into a double play, scoring a run, and gets Mangan to ground out to end the game, and we fall 4-3.

Game 4
We send Stickles to the mound for this one, saving Castonguay in case there’s a game 5, or he can start the opener of the NLCS. The strategy pays off wonderfully, as Stickles gives us 7 2/3 innings, allowing 3 runs, while the offense has another big day. Swensen hits a 2-run homer, and Feely a solo shot. Add in several doubles, and you get a Montreal 11-4 win to advance to the NLCS!

NLCS vs. LOS ANGELES

LA Info
The Dodgers won the NL West with a 90-72 record, and then swept the Mets in the Division Series. They are similar offensively to us, with seven players hitter 20+ homers, but with no one over 31. Leadoff hitter and star-in-the-making 23-year-old Roy Wilson had 22 HR’s, 37 SB’s and scored 94 runs. Their leading RBI guy, with 95, was 1B Robert Price, but they had 7 guys with 71+ RBI. Their rotation looks like it can make up favorably with ours as well when everyone is healthy, which they are now. Their bullpen appears to be their weakness. Their closer is 24-year-old Carlos Jimenez (6-9, 33sv,4.36ERA,8bs). I feel like if we can get to their ‘pen, we can do some damage.

Game 1
In the opener, we send out Castonguay against Urso Ramos (14-4,2.28). Ramos missed 5 weeks in August and Sept with a ruptured biceps tendon, but posted a 2.76 ERA in Sept and Oct after his return. He’s been a steady guy, with 125 career wins, a 3.02 lifetime ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. All that having been said, our offense gets the jump on him early, as Wuest follows a Swensen double with a homer in the bottom of the first. The Dodgers make it close, and tie it at 4-4 in the top of the 8th. However, we get to their ‘pen, as expected, for two runs in the bottom of the frame, and Mamolejo shuts ‘em down in the 9th to give us a 6-4 victory to take a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2
Adams takes it to the hill against Justin Ward (10-5,2.35).Ward won the Cy Young in 2003 and 2004 but missed 9 weeks this year with two different injuries. The Dodgers jump on Adams for two in the top of the first on a homer by SS Mark Seabolt (.273-25-94). We tie it at 2-2 in the bottom of the 5th, but LA gets back-to-back homers off of Adams to lead off the 7th, and lead 4-2. Sweeney singles in Mangan in the bottom of the inning to cut it to 4-3, but this time their bullpen holds up, and we fall 4-3.

Game 3
The NLCS shifts out to the west coast. And it is Baumer vs. 23-year-old Ernesto Gallegos (12-10, 3.71). We flex our muscles and send the rookie to an early shower in the second inning, and then breeze to a 12-3 win. Feely has a big day, going 4 for 5 with 2 homers and 6 RBI, and Wuest scores 5 runs.

Game 4
Stickles is on the hill against game 1 starter Ramos for this one. In the early going, it is a pitchers’ duel, but the Dodgers score a single run in the 4th, 5th and 6th innings to give them a 3-0 lead. Erwin homers in the top of the 7th to cut the lead to 3-1, but the Dodgers get a three-run homer in the bottom of the 8th off of Brandl, and hand us a 6-2 loss to tie the series at 2-2

Game 5
Game 2 starter Ward comes back against Castonguay, and combines with the ‘pen for a 5-hit shutout. We fall 6-0, putting our backs against the wall heading back to Montreal.

Game 6
It is Adams vs. Gallegos for this one. WE open the scoring on an Erwin homer in the bottom of the second, but the Dodgers answer with 3 in the top of the third. Solo shots by Feely and the fourth and Camacho in the eighth tie the score though. Marmolejo gets out of a bases-loaded one-out jam in the top of the ninth with no runs scoring, but we’re unable to win it in the bottom. Marmolejo gives up a solo shot to lead off the 10th, and we go down 1-2-3 in the bottom to lose the game 4-2, and get eliminated.

The Dodgers lose a 7-game World Series to the Chisox.

SEASON RECAP
American League Rookie Of The Year Award:
Dennis Dennis (NYY)!
He batted .279 in 563 AB, with 6 homers and 40 RBI.

National League Rookie Of The Year Award:
Billie Kakuzo (SD)!
He batted .278 in 500 AB, with 15 homers and 63 RBI.

American League Cy Young Award:
Antonio Rosas (CWS)!
He had a record of 21-7 with an ERA of 2.17 and 2 shutouts.
In 36 games started, he pitched 261.1 innings, fanning 206 and walking 42 batters.

American League MVP Award:
Ronald Demuth (TOR)!
He batted .301 in 585 AB, with 48 homers and 142 RBI.

National League Cy Young Award:
Tito Galarza (SF)!
He had a record of 24-7 with an ERA of 2.43 and 6 shutouts.
In 34 games started, he pitched 251.2 innings, fanning 254 and walking 41 batters.

National League MVP Award:
Hugo Reyes (NYM)!
He batted .296 in 568 AB, with 38 homers and 120 RBI.

American League Gold Glove Award Winners:
Pitcher: Mauro Uribe (BOS)
Catcher: Bill Villasenor (MIN)
First Base: Emanuel Whaley (MIN)
Second Base: Fred Murray (BOS)
Third Base: Brock Hettinger (BOS)
Shortstop: Simon Fuentes (MIN)
Leftfield: John Hayes (TB)
Centerfield: Michael Sylvain (TB)—Superfly wins his third Gold Glove!
Rightfield: Matthew Wellman (CWS)

National League Gold Glove Award Winners:
Pitcher: Keith Ewers (SL)
Catcher: Filiberto Amezcua (MIL)
First Base: Sang Womack (PIT)
Second Base: Israel Fleita (PIT)
Third Base: Richard Reel (PIT)
Shortstop: Samuel Acosta (ARI)
Leftfield: Daniel Hazley (SL)
Centerfield: Eduardo Reyes (HOU)
Rightfield: Elmer Connors (NYM)

MANAGER UPDATEThis was a pretty good year. I think I made the owner happy. I more than met his expectations!
Hearing around the league, and it looks like my reputation rose to Average Manager!

THOUGHTS
Well, we were clearly good enough to go all the way. We just didn’t get it done when we needed to. Most all of the key players are either in or about to hit their prime, and very few guys are dropping off just yet (but I’m crossing my fingers on 34-year-old CF Wuest.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2005 END OF SEASON REPORT</center>

The end-of-2005 update has now been uploaded. It can be found HERE (http://www.benelou.com/dynasty/).

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2006 BEGINNING-OF-YEAR TEAM NEWS</center>

Ronald Smith retires ...
Freddy Castonguay gets a new one-year contract worth $5,265,715 through salary arbitration.
Dion Martinez gets a new one-year contract worth $1,051,786 through salary arbitration.
Russ Mangan gets a new one-year contract worth $1,710,000 through salary arbitration.
Jose Camacho gets a new one-year contract worth $2,836,429 through salary arbitration.
Daniel Houtz gets a new one-year contract worth $1,343,571 through salary arbitration.
Benjamin Lopez gets a new one-year contract worth $350,000 through salary arbitration.
Paul Chasse gets a new one-year contract worth $350,000 through salary arbitration.
Harold Mcallister gets a new one-year contract worth $1,343,571 through salary arbitration. Smith retires with a couple more years left on his contract, and a lifetime record of 81-107. His best season was 2001, when he was 11-7 with a 3.12 ERA for the Expos. He spent most of 2005 in AAA. He retires at age 36, (before any free-fall in his ratings incidentally.)

Owner Mood: 100
Chemistry: 100
Owner Type: Good Man (rather patient)
Owner Expectation: Play .500 ball in 2005!
Team Market: Good
Fan Loyalty: Average
Fan Interest: 89

[ShagVT]

Let me get this straight - you were two wins short of the World Series last season, you had the best record in baseball with a fairly young team and no significant roster churn. And the owner's expectation if 0.500 ball?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by ShagVT
Let me get this straight - you were two wins short of the World Series last season, you had the best record in baseball with a fairly young team and no significant roster churn. And the owner's expectation if 0.500 ball? Yeah...I am getting the impression that a "rather patient" owner only raises his expectations slightly from year-to-year. I expect that it will take a few seasons before his expectations go higher. Other owners I've had in other manager careers raise the bar much more quickly. This is the first "Good Man" I've managed under ever.

[Ben E Lou]

2006 MONTREAL POSITION REPORTS

Here is a link to our team roster at the end of 2K5. (http://benelou.com/dynasty/team17.html)

CATCHER
Jose “Wild Card” Camacho (Avg/Brl/Good,5/9/6,29yo) returns for season five. I pretty much know what to expect from him at this point. His last three seasons have all seen him put up 20-25 homers with an average in the 220’s. He hit #7 and #8 for us most of the year last year. He did cut his strikeouts down from the 170’s to the 150’s, and his contact rose from 4 at the beginning of last season to five, so maybe he’ll be a bit more productive. His primary backup this year will be Carlos “The Bull” Davila (Avg/Avg/Good,4/6/8,29yo, who batted .303 with 23 homers in AAA last year. Harold Gingras (Avg/Avg/Avg,5/5/5,24yo can catch and play 1st base. He’s a 3-star prospect. Last year’s backup is still on the roster, Paul Chasse (Avg/Poor/Fair,4/4/3,29yo).

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Davila intrigues me, as he’s batted .289 and .303 with 24 and 23 homers the last two years in AAA. I want to get him some at-bats. I may start him vs. LHP’s and see how he does. With Davila’s call-up, Gingras will play every day in AAA now, and Chasse becomes the odd man out.

FIRST BASE
John Swensen (Good/Brl/Brl,7/8/10,28yo) batted #2 last year, and had a .362 OBP, 25 HR’s and 95 runs scored. He’s signed through 2009. George Palafox (Good/Brl/Avg,2/3/4,27yo) still hasn’t impressed. Franklyn Armstrong (Good/Avg/Avg,6/3/5,26yo) hit .331 in AAA last year, and bats right-handed. He may get some at-bats, as Swensen only hit .197 vs. LHP last year.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Armstrong, a former 7th-round draft choice, may just work his way into a platoon situation if Swensen can’t pick it up against lefties.

SECOND BASE
Tyrone Sweeney (Good/Good/Avg,6/6/6,29yo) has been the starter for two years and our leadoff hitter. He was 50 for 66 in stolen bases last year, hit 21 homers, and scored 100 runs. Ryan Wiens (Good/Fair/Fair,6/4/6,35yo), a former starter, is still a capable defensive replacement and backup at 2B (B) and SS (C). 3 ½-star prospect Francisco Labarbera (Good/Fair/Avg,1/2/3,20yo) has come onto the radar screen as a guy with potential. He batted .305 in single-A last year.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I am very comfortable with Sweeney as the starter. He’s signed through 2008.

THIRD BASE
Harry “Pluto” Reid (Good/Good/Good,6/7/7,25yo) followed up his rookie-of-the-year 2004 with almost identical numbers, except that his strikeouts dropped from 153 to 108. Because of Reid’s “E” range at 3B, Earl Gosser (Good/Fair/Avg,6/4/6,33yo) will often replace him defensively. Gosser has “B” range.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: If Reid can step it up a bit offensively, our already-dangerous lineup just gets that much better. He’s going to be around a while it appears. For the first time, he’s eligible for arbitration after this season.

SHORTSTOP
Matthew Erwin (Avg/Brl/Fair,4/10/6,32yo)[b] is in the third and final year of his FA contract. He’s hit over 30 HR’s and driven in over 100 runs in each of the past two seasons in Montreal. He’s got “B” range. Abel Pardo (Avg/Good/Fair,4/6/6,27yo) will still be counted on for his speed and defense off the bench. Arthur Owens (Avg/Fair/Brl,3/3/7,21yo) is a 3.5 star guy with C range at 2B/3B/SS. He was called up to AA late in the season, and responded with an .853 OPS.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Erwin gives me great power and good defense, and Pardo is a capable backup. I can’t complain here. Both of their contracts run out after this season.

LEFT FIELD
Russ Mangan (Avg/Good/Avg,4/7/6,27yo), stepped it up a notch last year, hitting 23 homers, stealing 31 bases, and improving his hitting from .206 to .244.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: If Mangan can take it up another notch, he will become the long-term solution out there.

CENTER FIELD
James “Handyman” Wuest (Good/Good/Brl,7/8/10,35yo) rebounded from a 16HR effort in ’04 to hit 33 last season, with a .940 OPS, the third-best in his stellar career. Barring injury, he’ll pass 2,000 hits this year.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: CF still belongs to the Handyman. He is signed through 2009. If he puts up solid numbers that long, not only will I be a happy manager, but he’ll likely play himself in the Hall of Fame. He’s 144 homers away from the magical 500.

RIGHT FIELD
Ronald “Swordfish” Feely (Good/Brl/Fair,6/8/5,29yo), a lifetime Expo, got a four-year deal after last season. He has 96 homers and 294 RBI’s over the last three seasons. He has “C” range and an “A” arm.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: There’s no reason not to expect Feely to be a star for several years.

STARTING PITCHER[/u]
[b]Freddy Castonguay (Brl/Good/Brl,10/8/8,28yo) was clearly the ace last year (20-8,2.32). He’s in his contract year. Lefty Steve Adams (Brl/Good/Avg,10/7/6, age 30 tossed a no-no last year en route to a 15-10, 3.09 season. Dewey Baumer (Brl/Avg/Brl,10/7/8,28yo) had a bit of an off year for him (14-7,4.11). At his age, there’s no reason to expect that he won’t bounce back.. Benjamin Lopez (Good/Good/Good,8/6/6,27yo) looked pretty good in 14 starts (7-3,3.68). Marcos Fernandez (Good/Avg/Brl,7/6/8,35yo tore his bicep in May after an 0-5, 5.60 start. He’s in the last year of his contract, and will make $5.75M this year, so he’ll get a shot. Other veterans who could see starts in the event of injury or poor performance are: Billy Hague (Avg/Brl/Good,6/8/6,28yo) (6-8,3.87 at AAA) and Harry Stickles (Avg/Avg/Good,7/7/7,36yo) (10-6,3.66).

We have three SP prospects worth mentioning at this point:: Hikoshirou Haruhiko (Good/Brl/Good,7/7/6,25yo, 5 stars), [b]Gregorio Cruz (Good/Brl/Good,8/7/6,25yo,5 stars) and [b]Gregory Alkire (Avg/Good/Avg,4/5/4,22yo,3.5 stars). Cruz has had stints in MLB in each of the past two seasons, but has gotten ROCKED (1-11,8.08).

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Well, Stickles refuses assignment to AAA and I’m not ready to lose him yet, so he’ll begin the season in the fifth spot of the rotation. Obviously Castonguay-Baumer-Adams will be in. The fourth spot will be decided after spring training. Right now it is between Fernandez coming off his injury, Haruhiko and Lopez.

RELIEF PITCHING
Righty Samuel Marmolejo (Good/Good/Good,8/8/6,35yo) led the league with 42 saves last year, while blowing four. Sol Steele (Good/Avg/Brl,10/7/9,29yo) (4-3,2.78) will be the primary setup man again. Dion Martinez (Brl/Good/Brl,10/7/8,28yo), a right-hander (6-3,3.40) should also be an important piece again. The top lefty is Daniel Houtz (Good/Brl/Brl,8/8/8,25yo), who had a 3.10 ERA in 62 appearances last year.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: The ‘pen has been one of our strong points, and should continue to be.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2006 FREE AGENCY PERIOD REPORT</center>

TRADES
None. I’m happy with my roster at this point.

Here’s the financial situation:
Cash on Hand: $14,100,628
Total Payroll: $79,776,872
Last Year Income: $71,600,751
Available Money: $6,924,507

DESIRES
I have no strong needs, and TWELVE players set to be FA’s after this year, including most of my bullpen, one every-day player (SS Erwin) and stud SP Castonguay. I won’t be signing anyone this year..

POST-FREE AGENCY THOUGHTS
There wasn’t a strong crop of FA’s available anyway. Really only one player caught my eye as someone I could afford and might want. I’m happy putting this bunch out there again.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2006 MONTREAL SPRING TRAINING REPORT</center>

Ryan Martine displays more power in batting practice!
James Barta has increased his throwing velocity!
James Barta has improved his control!
Luis Borras has good batting practice sessions!
Luis Borras displays more power in batting practice!
Timothy Cadiz has good batting practice sessions!
Bernard Romain has good batting practice sessions!
Paul Williams showed good strike zone judgement!
Norman Hovey has increased his throwing velocity!
Norman Hovey has improved his control!
Joseph Marion displays more power in batting practice!
Joseph Marion showed good strike zone judgement!
Cecil Wendling has good batting practice sessions!
Keith Ivers has good batting practice sessions!
Roberto Santoro has increased his throwing velocity!
Max Conde has improved his control!
Ben Henriques displays more power in batting practice!
Steven Smidt has good batting practice sessions!
Steven Smidt displays more power in batting practice!
David Tejeda displays more power in batting practice!
Jaime Tyson showed good strike zone judgement!
Frank Chester displays more power in batting practice!
Frank Chester showed good strike zone judgement!
Francisco Labarbera displays more power in batting practice!
Daniel Houtz has good pitching sessions!
Daniel Houtz has improved his control!
Leonardo Lera has good batting practice sessions!
Leonardo Lera showed good strike zone judgement!
David Holly displays more power in batting practice!
Dean Linke has increased his throwing velocity!
Dean Linke has improved his control!
Mark Mart has increased his throwing velocity!
Ralph Watson has good batting practice sessions!
Ralph Watson showed good strike zone judgement!
Alva Galaz has good batting practice sessions!
Alva Galaz showed good strike zone judgement!
Harvey Baker has good pitching sessions!

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Keep this one rolling! Very interesting franchise .....could you
put more emphasis on the top 100 prospects ....Other than that Im sold .

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by CHEMICAL SOLDIER
Keep this one rolling! Very interesting franchise .....could you
put more emphasis on the top 100 prospects ....Other than that Im sold . Good call! I think I'll report on the Top 10 Prospects every April and August. Of course, you can look at the Top 100 in detail via the year-end web report (www.benelou.com/dynasty) as well.

I was out wayyy past my bedtime Wednesday night, thanks in part to GrantDawg and JonInMiddleGA, so I went to bed ridiculously early Thursday night, and am now up before 4am on Friday. I should be able to finish a season this morning before I need to start being productive.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2006 MONTREAL MAJOR LEAGUE LINEUPS AND ROTATIONS</center>

Batting Order vs. RHP
1. 2B Sweeney (6/6/6)
2. 3B Reid (6/7/7)
3. 1B Swensen (7/8/10)
4. CF Wuest (7/8/10)
5. RF Feely (6/8/5)
6. SS Erwin (4/10/6)
7. C Camacho (5/9/6)
8. LF Mangan (4/7/6)


Batting Order vs. LHP
1. 2B Sweeney (6/6/6)
2. 3B Reid (6/7/7)
3. CF Wuest (7/8/10)
4. RF Feely (6/8/5)
5. C Camacho (5/9/6)
6. SS Erwin (4/10/6)
7. 1B Swensen (7/8/10) (with Armstrong getting 40% of the starts vs. LHP in the early going)
8. LF Mangan (4/7/6)

Pitching Rotation
1. Castonguay (10/8/8)
2. Baumer (10/7/8)
3. Adams (10/7/6)
4. Fernandez (7/6/8)
5. Stickles (7/7/7)
CLOSER: Marmolejo (8/8/6)

Outlook
Again, I think the only obstacle to us being a serious contender is staying healthy.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>CURRENT TOP TEN PROSPECTS IN THE UNIVERSE</center>
1. SP Jose Gonzalez (Good/Brl/Brl,4/7/5,23yo,Flo,AAA)—He was the 1(19) pick in 2003. He is injury prone, and missed 15 weeks in AA last year with three different injuries. He was 6-3 with a 2.09 ERA in 10 starts at AA.
2. SP Teddy Chiasson (Good/Brl/Brl,3/4/6,22yo,KC,AA)—Chiasson was the 1(15) pick in ’03. He started 26 games in A-ball last year, and put up a 13-3 record, with a 2.35 ERA, and 248 K’s in 168 1/3 innings.
3. CF Joshua Laux (Good/Brl/Good,4/5/5,19yo,PHI,AAA—Laux was the 1(1) pick in 2005. He batted .257 with 13 homers in 331 AB’s at AAA last year.
4. 2B Daniel Ector (Good/Brl/Brl,5/5/8,22yo,HOU,MLB—Ector, drafted 1(1) in 2004, was called up to the bigs last year. He had 86 at bats, and batted .174. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like he’ll play every day, as the Astros have a 6/10/7 guy as their starting 2B.
5. SP Raul Gimenez (Good/Brl/Good,7/7/6,22yo,CIN,AAA—He was 2002’s 1(11) pick. Gimenez as 9-5 with a 3.77 ERA last year in his first season at AAA.
6. [CF Mckinley “Blue” Stair (Good/Avg/Brl,3/3/7,21yo,CLE,AA)—The 1(2) pick in ’04, Stair was hitting .350 in A-ball last year when he got called up to AA, where he batted .271 with a .732 OPS.
7. SP Scott Bigham (Good/Good/Brl,0/3/5,19yo,LA,A)—Bigham was the 1(27) pick last year. He had a rough year, going 3-7 with a 5.55 ERA in 15 starts.
8. SP Edward Liss (Good/Brl/Good,5/6/5,24yo,PIT,AA)—Liss was the 1(26) pick by SF in ’01. He’s been traded twice. It took him four years to get it together in A-ball, but he posted a 2.74 ERA at that level in ’04. Last year in AA, he was 13-5 with a 2.47 ERA. He is starting the year in AA again, but he looks to be soon ready for AAA.
9. SP James Struthers (Good/Good/Brl,7/6/6,23yo,PIT,AAA—Struthers was 8-7 with a 3.38 ERA in AAA last year. He was the 1(4) pick in ’04.
10. SP Antonio Navarro (Good/Avg/Brl,7/6/7,23yo,DET,AAA—This kid started ’05 in AA, but ended up getting some time in the Bigs by the end of the year. He was 8-3 with a 2.66 ERA in 15 starts in AA, and had a 5.14 ERA in 7 IP in MLB. He starts the year in AAA. He’s a 1(28) pick from 2002.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>APRIL 2006</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 15-11
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 15-11
CURRENT STANDING: Tie for first with New York.

MAJOR INJURIES:
None.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTHThursday 4/13/2006:
Russ Mangan hits 2 homers against St. Louis.

Tuesday 4/18/2006:
Matthew Erwin crushes 2 homers against Arizona.

Thursday 4/20/2006:
Dewey Baumer strikes out 14 against Chicago (N).

Friday 4/21/2006:
Harry Reid has 4 hits against Chicago (N).

Tuesday 4/25/2006:
Harry Reid has 4 hits against Los Angeles

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The pitching has been quite solid. We’re 6th in ERA (3.45) and 5th in BA allowed (.221). The rotation members all have ERA’s of 4.18 or less. Castonguay is leading the way at 3-1 with a 2.56. Marmolejo has a 5.23, the result of one bad outing, but he’s 6 for 7 in saves.

As usual, we’re low in batting average (.233—27th), but doing pretty well in scoring (tied for 12th). No one is really tearing it up. All eight regulars have between 9 and 14 RBI’s. Interestingly enough, cleanup hitter Wuest has the fewest at 9 (with a decent .765 OPS).

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 1B Swensen--.291
HR: C Camacho--5
RBI: C Camacho--14
SB: 2B Sweeney--11
SP ERA: Castonguay—2.56
RP ERA: Martinez—1.26
SAVES: Marmolejo--6
SP K’s: Baumer--37

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 4/10/2006:
Tyrone Sweeney has lost some momentum, his range at 2B drops to D ...
Tyrone Sweeney has lost some momentum, his range at CF drops to E ...
Antonio Latta has worked out more, his duration raises to C ...
Max Conde seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff...
Mark Mart has lost some movement on his pitches...

Monday 4/24/2006:
James Wuest seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...
Matthew Erwin has lost some power...
Francisco Labarbera seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...
Wuest drops to Avg in contact. He’s still 7/8/10 at this point. He’s 35, and signed through 2009, so I’m a little worried…Labarbrera drops to 3 stars.

AAA NOTES
SP Gregorio Cruz—1-1, 3.86 (8/7/6)—His stars now become gold (2 ½).
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—4-1,2.13,(7/7/6)—He’s also now at 2.5 gold stars. He’d be the first guy called up if someone in the rotation falters.
MR Antonio Latta—1-1,2.65,(7/5/7), 4 stars
CL James Barta—1-3,7SV,(6/5/6),4 stars

AA NOTES:
SP Gregory Alkire—0-0,4.45, (4/5/4), 3.5 stars
SS Arthur Owens--.940OPS,(4/3/7),3.5 stars

A NOTES:
No one great than 3 stars.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
Eva and I got married. She doesn’t want children yet.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Sunday 5/1/2006:
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
James Cudd (ANA)!
He had a record of 5-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.26.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Rueben Thaler (OAK)!
He batted .303 in 99 AB, with 11 homers and 20 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Junior Prado (FLO)!
He had a record of 3-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 0.75 and 1 shutouts.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Maximo Farmer (NYM)!
He batted .326 in 95 AB, with 8 homers and 28 RBI.
American League-Player of the Week:
1B Michael Sisco (CWS)!
He batted .360 in 25 AB, with 5 HR and 10 RBI.
National League-Player of the Week:
LF Keith Rosales (COL)!
He batted .448 in 29 AB, with 3 HR and 10 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
Friday 4/26/2006:
MON: James Wuest gets his 2000th career hit!!

[Ben E Lou]

<center>MAY 2006</center>

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 18-12
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 33-23
CURRENT STANDING: 2nd place, ½ game behind the Mets.

MAJOR INJURIES:
None.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTHTuesday 5/2/2006:
Harry Reid has 4 hits against Houston.

Sunday 5/7/2006:
Russ Mangan has 4 hits against Pittsburgh.

Wednesday 5/10/2006:
James Wuest has 4 hits against Atlanta.
Ryan Wiens has 4 hits against Atlanta.

Thursday 5/11/2006:
James Wuest has 5 hits against Atlanta.

Sunday 5/21/2006:
Jose Camacho hits a 465-foot homerun!!

Tuesday 5/23/2006:
John Swensen hits 2 homers against Chicago (N).

Thursday 5/25/2006:
Tyrone Sweeney hits 2 homers against Chicago (N).

Monday 5/29/2006:
Matthew Erwin was named Player of the Week!
He batted .500 in 24 AB, with 4 HR and 12 RBI.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The pitching was even better this month than last month. We lowered the staff ERA to 3.38 (8th), and are now first in opp avg. (.215). Adams had four wins, and Buamer led the starters in ERA with a 2.47, The five starters were at 3.38 or better this month, and overall are 3.71 or better.

Our team batting average jumped to .255, good for 9th overall, and we’re now 2nd in runs scored. Swensen had 11 homers, 25 RBI and a 10.61, and Feely put up a 1.057 OPS, 9 homers and 25 RBI to lead the way. Wuest, with a .346 batting average, let me know that he’s not done just yet, but he did see his ratings drop to 6/7/10.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 1B Swensen--.318
HR: 1B Swensen--13
RBI: RF Feely--36
SB: LF Mangan--18
SP ERA: Baumer—2.54
RP ERA: Mcallister—3.06
SAVES: Marmolejo—13
SP K’s: Adams--84

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:Monday 5/8/2006:
Porfirio Leyva seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff...

Monday 5/22/2006:
Jaime Tyson seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact... No biggies here.

AAA NOTES
MR Antonio Latta—2-2,2.55,(7/5/7), 4 stars
CL James Barta—3-5,13SV,(6/5/6),4 stars

AA NOTES:
SP Gregory Alkire—3-0,2.54, (4/5/4), 3.5 stars—He gets called up to AAA. AI says he’s ready.
SS Arthur Owens--.897OPS,(4/3/7),3.5 stars—AI says he’s ready, and he gets called up to AAA.

3B Winfred Dunaway, a 1-star 28-year-old with 4/3/4 ratings, has a .995 OPS and gets called up to AAA.

A NOTES:
No one great than 3 stars.

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
John Dyer (TEX)!
He had a record of 3-1 in 7 games started, with an ERA of 1.24.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Bobby Henn (SEA)!
He batted .370 in 92 AB, with 7 homers and 19 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Raul Gimenez (CIN)!
He had a record of 3-0 in 3 games started, with an ERA of 0.50.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Richard Cressey (FLO)!
He batted .490 in 98 AB, with 5 homers and 21 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

[Ben E Lou]

<center>2005 AMATEUR DRAFT REPORT</center>

DRAFT POSITION: 30

DRAFTEES
1. 2B/SS Alberto Deluna (Fair/Good/Fair,19yo,2.5 stars)—I’m hoping that he can improve that contact rating over time.
2. 1B/3B Adam Carlberg (Avg/Poor/Avg,19yo,2.5 stars)—Has A range at both positions. Could become something.
3. SP/RP Aaron Pina (Avg/Avg/Good,19yo,3 stars)—Has E duration as starter, C as reliever.
4. LC/CF/RF Billie Brobst (Fair/Fair/Avg,19yo,2 stars)—Has speed and can play all three OF positions. Now only if his bat would come around…
5. 2B/3B/SS Vincent Swain (Fair/Poor/Fair,20yo,1.5 stars)—He has A range at 3 IF positions. Worth a shot.
6. SP/RP Ben Labarbera (Fair/Avg/Avg,18yo,2 stars—Only has value because of his E starter duration.
7. RF Kuehiko Gombei (Fair/Poor/Fair,20yo,1 star—Last guy left in the pool. E range, B arm

POST-DRAFT TOP TEN MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEMS
1. KC
2. Cleveland
3. Pittsburgh
4. Atlanta
5. Florida
6. SF
7. Minnesota
8. New York (A)
9. Cincinnati
10. Philadelphia

We’re #29 now.

MONTREAL TOP 100 PROSPECTS
SS Arthur Owens—81st

[Ben E Lou]

:mad:
:mad:
:mad:
:mad:
:mad:

My players.dat file is corrupted!!! It now has a size of ZERO. This career is now over. :(

I'm pretty sure I know how it happened. A thunderstorm came up yesterday, and I was shutting everything down. While OOTP5 was saving, we lost power for about 3 seconds. I'll be that is what nailed the database. I am REALLY bummed about this one!

:mad: :mad: :mad:

I'll start a new career soon.

[JeffNights]

Hey, that is an abosulte fucking bummer!!

for a real challenge use the real mlb rosters and start as the tigers this season....good luck!@

[MizzouRah]

That sucks.

Did you have previous seasons backups?


Todd

[Ben E Lou]

Originally posted by MizzouRah
That sucks.

Did you have previous seasons backups?


Todd unfortunately, no...but i sure will in the future

[Madmax]

Sky: This was a very good read and thank you for posting it. Too bad it ended the way it did..

[tucker342]

THAT SUCKS:(
It was a really good read though:)