OOTP5 Manager Career

[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]

2001 FREE AGENCY PERIOD REPORT

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]

2001 SPRING TRAINING REPORT

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]

2001 MAJOR LEAGUE LINEUPS AND ROTATIONS

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]

APRIL 2001

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]

MAY 2001

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]

2001 AMATEUR DRAFT REPORT

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!

[Ben E Lou]

JUNE 2001

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.)
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]

JULY 2001

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 NEWS

Tuesday 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 ...

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]

AUGUST 2001

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 NEWS

Saturday 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]

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2001

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

TEAM NEWS

Saturday 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]

2001 END OF REGULAR SEASON REPORT

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.

[Ben E Lou]

2001 POST-SEASON REPORT

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]

STARS OF THE GAME UPDATE

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 Star

The 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]

2002 BEGINNING OF YEAR TEAM NEWS

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]

2002 FREE AGENCY PERIOD REPORT

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. 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. 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]

2002 SPRING TRAINING REPORT

Chad Alejo has good pitching sessions!
1 Chad Alejo has increased his throwing velocity!
1 Danny Robinson has increased his throwing velocity!
1 Danny Robinson has improved his control!
1 Danny Anderson showed good strike zone judgement!
1 Hipolito Dominguez has increased his throwing velocity!
1 Cruz Muñiz showed good strike zone judgement!
1 Tobias Hachiro has good batting practice sessions!
1 Tobias Hachiro displays more power in batting practice!
1 Roger Googe showed good strike zone judgement!
1 Bill Hicks has good pitching sessions!
1 Bill Hicks has increased his throwing velocity!
1 Bill Hicks has improved his control!
1 Walter Mcdonald defense at Catcher suffers.
1 Walter Mcdonald has good batting practice sessions!
1 Walter Mcdonald displayed poor strike zone judgement!
1 William Polly displays more power in batting practice!
1 Michael Sylvain showed good strike zone judgement!
1 Joseph Gillenwater showed good strike zone judgement!
1 Brian Cataldo displays more power in batting practice!
1 Brian Cataldo showed good strike zone judgement!
1 Randy Wheeler has good batting practice sessions!
1 Randy Wheeler displays more power in batting practice!
1 Dean Sipe has good pitching sessions!
1 Sydney Davidson has good batting practice sessions!
1 Sydney Davidson displays more power in batting practice!
1 Sydney Davidson showed good strike zone judgement!
1 James Pratt has good batting practice sessions!
1 Carlos Villar has good pitching sessions!
1 Carlos Villar has increased his throwing velocity!
1 Carlos Villar has improved his control!
1 Kenneth Tamura has good batting practice sessions!
1 Kenneth Tamura showed good strike zone judgement!
1 Alvin Garofalo has good batting practice sessions!
1 Alvin Garofalo showed good strike zone judgement!
1 Luis Pierce displays more power in batting practice!
1 Luis Pierce showed good strike zone judgement!

[Ben E Lou]

2002 MAJOR LEAGUE LINEUPS AND ROTATIONS

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]

APRIL 2002

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 MONTH

Thursday 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]

MAY 2002

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 NEWS

Wednesday 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]

2002 AMATEUR DRAFT REPORT

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]

JUNE 2002

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]

JULY 2002

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 NEWS

Sunday 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]

AUGUST 2002

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 NEWS

None.

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]

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2002

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. 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 NEWS

Wednesday, 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]

2002 END OF REGULAR SEASON REPORT

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.

[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.

[Ben E Lou]

2002 POST-SEASON REPORT

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 was named NL Rookie of the Year.

P Elliot Feder and 2B Rodney Campbell 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]

2003 BEGINNING OF YEAR TEAM NEWS

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.