The 3 Man Rotation: Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2004

[Poli]

I once read an article years ago in "Sport" Magazine that detailed a 3 man rotation in baseball. This article stuck with me through the years, and I've thought about trying it out a few times with OOTP. I'm going to give it a go now.

The 3 man rotation isn't what it appears. In fact, every 3 innings I will be changing the pitcher. On any given day a team will face either 2 right handers and 1 lefty or vice versa. Two days rest (sometimes three with an off day in there) should be adequate rest for most of the players.

That puts my team staff up to 9. I'll also have one additional left hander and right hander in the pen. Either could come into the game in the event of a pitcher getting shelled or in extra innings. Preferably, one would be a closer type.

That gives me a staff of 11. Obviously, if most of them are going to pitch 3 innings each outing, I need some high endurance types. When I take over my team, those with low endurance are likely to leave.

As the title suggests, I'll be running the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. OOTP6.whatever right now. I'll be upgrading to 6.5 when it comes out in a few days. I'll also be in manager mode.

Any house rules? Not that I can think of right now. I won't be controlling the hitters, as this is more about the pitching staff. I'll simulate next half inning when that half of the inning comes up. Waiver wire is 3 days.

Your input and suggestions are welcome.


(Yes, this means the AE Walk On Dynasty is on hold for now...still trying to mess with that editor from time to time.)

[Poli]

I begin my tenure by immediately coming to terms with a few veteran free agents. David Cone, John Burkett, Ryan Rupe, Kazuhiro Sasaki, Kevin Ohme, and Mike Bordick are all brought in.


Danys Baez, Chad Gaudin, and Lance Carter are sent to San Diego for Jay Witasick. The three I sent had low endurance, while Witasick has a high endurance and is a better pitcher overall.

The 40 man roster now has three open slots, and I fill them with Cone, Bordick, and Witasick. All three are brought up to Tampa Bay. I send Todd Ritchie down since he was willing to accept the assignment.

[Poli]

The rotation is this:


Day One: Jeremi Gonzalez (r), John Halama (l), Jay Witasick (r).
Day Two: Mark Hendrickson (l), Travis Harper (r), and Damian Moss (l).
Day Three: Victor Zambrano (r), Trever Miller (l), and David Cone (r).

Are two fillers are Al Reyes and Paul Abbott. Reyes will double as the team closer, should I feel the need to use one.



As for our hitters:


Mike Bordick wins the job at second base over Rey Sanchez. Here's who made the roster:

Catchers: Brook Fordyce, Toby Hall.
Infielders: Robert Fick, Tino Martinez, Rey Sanchez, Geoff Blum, Julio Lugo, Mike Bordick.
Outfielders: Carl Crawford, Rocko Baldelli, Jason Romano, Jose Cruz, Eduardo Perez, and Aubrey Huff.

I see the everday lineup as:

Crawford, LF
Baldelli, CF
Huff, DH
Martinez, 1B
Cruz, RF
Lugo, SS
Blum, 3B
Hall, C
Bordick, 2B.

[Poli]

On the waiver wire is Kerry Robinson, so I take a shot at him. He'd have to be better than Romano.

[Poli]

I go ahead and drop ticket prices down since no one really wants to go to a Devil Rays game. 8 bucks gets you in. Hopefully, that'll bring in a few people. Opening day is against the Yankees and I schedule to promotions in a row. Retro Day is opening day, and it's followed by Baseball Cap day. Then we'll roll into April.

[Poli]

I don't envision giving you a game by game account. I do think you should hear about the first game and how it went though.

Tampa's Gonzalez allowed a leadoff single to Kenny Lofton. Lofton would then be caught stealing by Toby Hall. Gonzo would then retire the next 8 in a row, before giving way to John Halama.

At this point, Tampa is winning, 2-0. Halama gives up a solo shot to Gary Sheffield, but settles down and completes the rest of his three innings without incident. Jay Witasick shut the door the rest of the way, pitching three innings of shutout ball.

Tampa Bay wins, 4-1. Halama gets the win, Witasick the save.

[JeeberD]

Mark Hendrickson

Woot, go Coogs!

[Poli]

Mark, Harper, and Moss all give up a run, but we hold on to win again, 4-3. Harper with the W, Moss the save.

[Poli]

Kerry Robinson arrives in Tampa Bay. To make room on the 40 man, I release Fernando Tatis (AAA). Romano goes down to AAA.

[Poli]

I was fearful of Trever Miller. Down 2-0, he gives up 4 in the 5th. We lose, 6-0. We don't have many quality lefthanders, and Miller is our last option there right now. In fact, I'd like to have another lefty (instead of Abbott) on the team, but I just don't see it happening right now.

[Balldog]

Interesting idea!

[Poli]

As the first week comes to a close (Monday is the start of the new week in this game), I'm in first place. 6-1. Wow. I wouldn't have guessed that.

Miller nearly cost us a game, but we worked through it and won it in extra innings. Reyes came in and pitched two scoreless innings in that one. Abbott has yet to play.

I'm constantly looking for left handed help, but I'm not finding it on the waiver wire. Our record probably has something to do with it. I did get Pedro Feliciano off of waivers. I'll give Miller one or two more shots to show me something before I make the move.

I'm having problems with the the CPU pinch hitting for my infielders with no thought about what might happen in the next inning. Fick has played a few games at third base due to this. No errors there, so I shouldn't complain.

Stats:

Overall Pitching:

Name G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K J. Halama 3 0 3 0 0 3.00 9.0 5 3 3 4 4 T. Harper 2 0 2 0 0 1.50 6.0 4 1 1 1 3 A. Reyes 1 0 1 0 0 0.00 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 D. Cone 2 0 0 0 0 0.00 6.0 4 0 0 4 4 J. Gonzalez 3 3 0 0 0 3.00 9.0 5 3 3 3 6 J. Witasick 3 0 0 0 3 1.00 9.0 5 1 1 5 10 M. Hendrickson 2 2 0 0 0 3.00 6.0 9 2 2 0 1 V. Zambrano 2 2 0 1 0 4.50 6.0 8 3 3 2 2 P. Feliciano 2 0 0 0 0 0.00 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 T. Miller 2 0 0 0 0 9.00 6.0 7 6 6 4 3 D. Moss 2 0 0 0 2 4.50 6.0 5 3 3 3 5

[Poli]

Next week and we're 10-2. The loss was ugly and to the Yankees. They scored in all but one inning of the game.

I sent Sanchez down and called up Damian Rolls. Rolls can play more positions than Sanchez. It also allows me to use Bordick more like a utility player...and perhaps keeps Fick from third base.

Miller left the next game he pitched early, and Reyes came in to finish up. I can't believe he was tired after just an inning. Miller did make it through his next turn, though.

Stats:

Overall Pitching:

Name G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K J. Halama 4 0 4 0 0 4.50 12.0 8 6 6 7 6 A. Reyes 3 0 3 0 0 0.00 6.2 3 0 0 3 6 T. Harper 3 0 2 1 0 7.00 9.0 11 8 7 3 4 P. Abbott 1 0 1 0 0 3.00 3.0 4 3 1 2 5 J. Gonzalez 4 4 0 0 0 3.00 12.0 7 4 4 3 9 J. Witasick 4 0 0 0 4 0.75 12.0 6 1 1 9 14 D. Cone 4 0 0 0 0 3.00 12.0 13 7 4 7 7 M. Hendrickson 4 4 0 0 0 5.25 12.0 16 7 7 2 2 V. Zambrano 4 4 0 1 0 6.00 12.0 16 8 8 6 6 P. Feliciano 2 0 0 0 0 0.00 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 T. Miller 4 0 0 0 0 7.84 10.1 12 9 9 5 6 D. Moss 4 0 0 0 2 5.73 11.0 13 7 7 5 7

[Poli]

2-4 for the week. We're now 12-6. We're tied with Boston for the lead.

An ugly week, Trever Miller wore out his welcome with a 9 runs allowed performance, and has been placed on the waiver wire. Anaheim is the current taker. Feliciano was called up and didn't fare much better in his debut with the club. To make room for Feliciano on the 40 man, I released Rey Sanchez. Feliciano had pitched two games with his previous club before coming to Tampa.

One note: I owe Halama an inning. I accidentally left Gonzalez in one inning too long. I'll make up for it.
Stats:

Overall Pitching:

Name G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K J. Halama 6 0 4 1 0 6.35 17.0 15 12 12 11 6 T. Harper 5 0 4 1 0 4.80 15.0 15 9 8 5 7 A. Reyes 4 0 3 0 0 1.08 8.1 5 1 1 3 8 P. Abbott 1 0 1 0 0 3.00 3.0 4 3 1 2 5 J. Gonzalez 6 6 0 1 0 3.79 19.0 13 8 8 6 13 J. Witasick 6 0 0 0 4 0.56 16.0 6 1 1 12 18 D. Cone 6 0 0 0 0 2.25 16.0 16 7 4 8 11 M. Hendrickson 6 6 0 0 0 4.50 18.0 23 9 9 6 4 V. Zambrano 6 6 0 2 0 6.00 18.0 20 12 12 11 10 P. Feliciano 3 0 0 0 0 10.39 4.1 5 6 5 2 2 T. Miller 5 0 0 1 0 13.89 11.2 20 18 18 7 6 D. Moss 6 0 0 0 3 5.82 17.0 18 12 11 6 10

[MizzouRah]

Very interesting. I can't wait until get about 80 games under your belt.. just to see the team and pitching stats.


Todd

[Poli]

Thanks guys. After an early start, things are starting to unravel. The #4 lefty has really struggled, first Miller and now Feliciano.

We're now 13-11, thanks to Boston and Oakland. Boston swept us.

Overall Pitching:

Name G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K T. Harper 7 0 5 1 0 4.95 20.0 20 13 11 8 12 J. Halama 8 0 4 1 0 4.88 24.0 19 13 13 15 11 A. Reyes 6 0 3 1 0 1.64 11.0 7 2 2 4 13 P. Abbott 2 0 1 0 0 9.00 4.0 7 6 4 4 6 D. Cone 8 0 0 0 0 4.29 21.0 29 15 10 10 12 J. Gonzalez 8 8 0 1 0 4.88 24.0 20 13 13 7 15 J. Witasick 8 0 0 1 4 1.21 22.1 13 5 3 14 26 M. Hendrickson 8 8 0 1 0 4.50 24.0 27 12 12 8 6 V. Zambrano 8 8 0 2 0 4.88 24.0 27 14 13 13 15 P. Feliciano 5 0 0 2 0 9.64 9.1 11 11 10 4 6 D. Moss 8 0 0 0 3 6.55 22.0 23 17 16 11 17

[Poli]

A good week. We're 18-13 now, 2 games behind Boston and New York.

Gonzalez was injured, and will spend 2 weeks on the DL with a strained tricep muscle.

Todd Ritchie was called up, and pitched 3.1 shutout innings in his 2004 debut. Yes, I owe Halama another 1/3 inning.

Maybe I'm just impatient. I'm growing tired of Moss now. At least Feliciano's ERA is slowly coming down.

Overall Pitching:

Name G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K J. Halama 11 0 6 1 0 4.13 32.2 25 15 15 17 15 T. Harper 9 0 6 1 0 3.81 26.0 23 13 11 8 18 A. Reyes 7 0 3 1 0 4.09 11.0 8 5 5 6 13 P. Abbott 3 0 2 0 0 8.31 4.1 7 6 4 4 6 D. Cone 10 0 1 0 0 3.46 26.0 31 15 10 10 15 J. Gonzalez 10 10 0 1 0 5.46 29.2 25 18 18 13 18 J. Witasick 11 0 0 1 7 1.15 31.1 20 6 4 17 35 M. Hendrickson 10 10 0 1 0 4.80 30.0 32 17 16 13 9 V. Zambrano 10 10 0 3 0 6.60 30.0 38 23 22 19 16 P. Feliciano 7 0 0 2 0 7.04 15.1 14 13 12 8 7 T. Ritchie 1 1 0 0 0 0.00 3.1 0 0 0 0 3 D. Moss 10 0 0 1 3 6.33 27.0 31 22 19 14 21

[Poli]

Well, good news and bad news. Good news is I got Halama 4 1/3 innings...so now he owes me an inning. We're also 23-14, .5 games behind NY.

Bad news is Ritchie is out with back spasms for 5-6 weeks. Rob Bell was called up to take his spot.

I also acquired Adrian Beltre from the Dodgers for Bartolome Fortunato. Fortunato had developed into a good reliever in AAA, but didn't have the endurance I require. Beltre could add some pop to our lineup. Blum will become our utility guy with Rolls going down to AAA.

Overall Pitching:

Name G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K J. Halama 13 0 8 1 0 3.38 40.0 27 15 15 18 16 T. Harper 11 0 7 1 0 3.38 32.0 26 14 12 9 22 A. Reyes 8 0 3 2 0 4.63 11.2 10 6 6 7 14 P. Abbott 3 0 2 0 0 8.31 4.1 7 6 4 4 6 P. Feliciano 9 0 2 2 0 5.06 21.1 16 13 12 10 11 D. Cone 12 0 1 0 2 3.38 32.0 38 17 12 11 18 J. Gonzalez 10 10 0 1 0 5.46 29.2 25 18 18 13 18 J. Witasick 13 0 0 1 9 1.45 37.1 24 9 6 23 42 M. Hendrickson 12 12 0 1 0 6.00 36.0 44 25 24 16 9 V. Zambrano 12 12 0 3 0 6.00 36.0 43 25 24 19 24 T. Ritchie 3 3 0 0 0 0.00 8.0 4 0 0 1 8 D. Moss 12 0 0 1 3 6.61 32.2 40 27 24 15 23

[Poli]

We're 27-16, .5 games up now on Boston. New York and Toronto are on our heels as well.

Richie Sexson has joined the team as a free agent. The slugger has struggled this season and it caused him to be released by Arizona. He was immediately picked up by Milwaukee, but released again two weeks later. Both times he refused assignment to the minors.

We'll see how it goes with him. I'm assuming this move won't be appreciated by Tino Martinez. To make room for Richie I released Paul Abbott. He wasn't playing much as our 11th pitcher. 3 games and a high ERA convinced me I could actually do without the 11th pitcher on the team.

Also gone is Robert Fick. Fick was doing well as a pinch hitter, but struggled at the plate overall. He was sent to St. Louis for Mike Matheny. Catcher Brook Fordyce was sent down to open up a catching spot for Matheny.

That gives me some roster flexibility. Rolls will return to the club.

[MizzouRah]

Richie Sexson has joined the team as a free agent. The slugger has struggled this season and it caused him to be released by Arizona. He was immediately picked up by Milwaukee, but released again two weeks later. Both times he refused assignment to the minors.

Good for you, but I hope this is fixed in 6.5.

[Poli]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Good for you, but I hope this is fixed in 6.5.

Yeah, so do I. I'll probably reboot for 6.5.