The FOFC OOTP Interactive Dynasty - Seasons 1-4 (2007-2010)

[bbgunn]

2009 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER UPDATE

STATS
The final regular season stats for Season 3 (2009). If you want a team-by-team breakdown of your player's stats, let me know.

BATTERS

200909batters.png

PITCHERS

200909pitchers.png

TRANSACTIONS

* Andrew Foley was called back up to the Texas Rangers on September 1st. He finished the season in Arlington.

* Larry McGillicuddy was called up to AAA Richmond Braves on September 1st.

* David Gonzalez was promoted up to AAA Durham Bulls on September 1st.

* In the Diamondbacks organization, on August 1st Buster Stallworth was sent down to rookie league Missoula for some seasoning. Ace Cobb was promoted up to AAA Tucson on September 1st, while on the same day the Diamondbacks promoted Buster Stallworth back up to Short Season A Yakima.

* Ches O'Peake was promoted up to AA Harrisburg on September 1st.

* Ivan Carrillo was promoted up to AA San Antonio on September 1st.

* Darryl Tovar was called up to AA New Hampshire on September 1st.

* Jace Hunter was called up to AA Huntsville on September 1st.

* Dan Schoonover was sent up to Short Season A Boise on August 1st.

* On September 1st E Z Tyler was demoted back down to low-A Augusta, this after going 8-3 with a 2.78 ERA with San Jose.

* Dex Morgan was promoted up to AAA Tacoma on September 1st.

* On September 1st Nick Wadden was promoted up to high-A Winston-Salem of the Carolina League.

* After a pretty good season with Carolina in the Southern League, Dave O'Shea was promoted up to AAA Albuquerque on September 1st, where he finished the season.

* On September 1st James McDowell was demoted to low-A Lake County of the South Atlantic League.

INJURIES

* On August 31st, a strained rotator cuff muscle prematurely ended Rob Nielsen's stellar regular season (out 4-5 weeks). However, since the Royals made the playoffs (more on that later), Nielsen may have a chance to pitch in the playoffs at the age of 20 (his birthday is October 4th).

* Back spasms knocked Al Mighty out of action for about two weeks on August 8th.

* Larry McGillicuddy suffered a damaged meniscus on August 23rd that kept him out for 2 weeks.

* On September 1st Kuji Chagulia strained his Achilles and missed two weeks.

* Bad injury news for E Z Tyler. Not long after returning to Augusta, the young pitcher suffered a herniated disc in his back on September 6th. He will miss a total of seven months. Ouch!

OTHER NEWS AND NOTES

* Willie Mays Hayes added another five hit game to his resume, this time on September 30th against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He went 5-7 with one RBI and 3 runs. More importantly, his game helped keep the Cubs in the playoff hunt (more on that later).

* David Gonzalez had a five-hit game against Jacksonville on August 12th. He went 5-6 with a triple, a home run, 5 RBI and 5 runs!

* Ches O'Peake was in his element on August 12th. He pitched a three-hit shutout against Frederick, with 6 K and 1 BB.

MLB STANDINGS
200909alstandings.png

200909nlstandings.png

As you can see, two FOFC teams - Kansas City and Tampa Bay - qualified for the playoffs outright (and will play each other), while a third - the Chicago Cubs - will play a play-in game with hated rivals St. Louis to determine the wild-card entry in the National League.

Now that we have some FOFCers in the major league playoffs, I will be giving a bit of game-by-game analysis to end Season 3. We will see if Rob Nielsen, Will Brown, Hideaki Tanaka, and/or Willie Mays Hayes will become the first FOFCer to earn some MLB jewelry.

200909leaders.png

Kansas City 1B Alex Gordon was just .008 shy of batting .400 in a season.

[bbgunn]

Thursday, October 8th, 2009
Play-in Game
St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs

36,930 people were on hand at Wrigley Field to see this one. Willie Mays Hayes started in left field.

Bottom 1st - Hayes comes up with two outs and nobody on base. He grounds out. Score: 0-0.

Bottom 4th - With a man on first base and no outs, Hayes hits a pop fly to the St. Louis left fielder. The Cubs would later score a run in that inning. Score: 1-0 Cubs.

Top 6th - An Albert Pujols 2-run home run gives the Cardinals the lead. Score: 2-1 Cardinals.

Bottom 6th - Hayes leads off. On the first pitch he sees, he hits a pop fly to the center fielder. Cubs go three-and-out. Score: 2-1 Cardinals.

Top 7th - The Cardinals add another run. Score: 3-1 Cardinals.

Bottom 8th - Hayes comes to bat with no outs and a runner on second thanks to a double. Hayes takes a wild pitch, which allows the base runner to move to third base. Hayes hits another fly out to the center fielder, but this will be counted as a sacrifice fly, as the runner is able to tag up and come home. Score: 3-2 Cardinals.

FINAL: St. Louis 3, Chicago 2

The Cubs fail to advance to the playoffs. Hayes went 0-3 with 1 RBI.

[bbgunn]

2009 MLB LEAGUE DIVISIONAL SERIES MATCHUPS
The team listed last has home-field advantage.

American League
Tampa Bay Rays vs Kansas City Royals
Seattle Mariners vs Boston Red Sox

National League
St. Louis Cardinals vs Colorado Rockies
Philadelphia Phillies vs Milwaukee Brewers

[kingfc22]

Is it possible to see my minor league breakdown. I'd like to see how I managed to move up all the way to AAA.

[chesapeake]

The Nats would like to make an officla request for a 'do over' on their decision last year to release Nielsen.

[duff88]

Dear Braves...

Trade me right fucking now

P.S. Thanks for ruining me.

[vex]

Let's go Royals!

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

Is it possible to see my minor league breakdown. I'd like to see how I managed to move up all the way to AAA.

You got it. I can't do it right now, but I'll try to get that up for you tomorrow.

[Icy]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

The Nats would like to make an officla request for a 'do over' on their decision last year to release Nielsen.

That move was one of the things that still irritate me from OOTP AI. First they release their top draftee after a good season where he was even promoted to the majors, then they sign him again, wtf??

[bbgunn]

I had a little extra time, so, by request, here are David Gonzalez's 2009 stats, team-by-team:

2009davidgonzalez.png

Gonzalez played at Single-A Vero Beach until June 24th, when he was promoted to AA Montgomery. On September 1st, he was promoted to AAA Durham.

[bbgunn]

Saturday, October 10th, 2009
ALDS - Game 1
Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals

Almost 42,000 people were on hand to witness the first Royals home playoff game in I-don't-know-how-long. Rob Nielsen gets the start for the Royals, while 2B Will "The Real Deal" Brown will bat second in the lineup tonight. Rays SP Chris Seddon (who went 17-7, 3.17 ERA during the season) starts for the visitors. C Hideaki Tanaka, as has been the custom for most of the season, will ride the bench. We'll see if he gets called up for some pinch-hitting duty.

Top 1st - Nielsen gets the first batter to ground out. Not so lucky with the second batter, though, as Akinori Iwamura hits a double. After walking Delmon Young, Nielsen catches Iwamura trying to steal third, then gets B.J. Upton to ground out.

Bottom 1st - Will Brown grounds out as Rays pitcher Chris Seddon gets all three batters out.

Top 2nd - After getting the first two batters out (the second a strikeout), Nielsen allows two straight singles. He then strikes out the last batter.

Top 3rd - Things don't go Nielsen's way when he gives up a home run to the first batter of the inning, Erold Andrus. Nielsen then strikes Iwamura out for his 3rd K. He gives up a single to Young, but catches him stealing. B.J. Upton pops out to end the half-inning. 1-0 Rays.

Bottom 3rd - A rain delay of 8 minutes.

Top 4th - All three batters go out, with Nielsen striking out two of them. That's five K!

Bottom 4th - Brown leads off and gets a single. But the next three batters go down.

Top 5th - Nielsen walks the first two batters, then gets revenge on Andrus by striking him out (6 K). He then gives up a single to Iwamura to seemingly load the bases, but the runner that was previously on second base - C Dioner Navarro, the guy ahead of Tanaka - tries for home and is safe! The trailing runner that had stopped at second base makes his way to third base as well. Next, Delmon Young hits a sacrifice fly that allows the runner on third to come home. Nielsen then walks B.J. Upton, and that's all she wrote for Nielsen as he is taken out of the game. 3-0 Rays.

Bottom 6th - Brown comes up with one out and no men on base, but pops out.

Bottom 8th - Brown comes up again with one out and none on base, but this time grounds out.

FINAL: Tampa Bay 3, Kansas City 0
2009aldstbkcgm1.png

Seddon gets the win, while Nielsen gets the loss. He finished with 3 ER, 6 K, 4 BB, and 1 HR. Will Brown went 1-4. Hideaki Tanaka did not get into the game. Remember, the ALDS is a best-of-five series, so Kansas City - the AL's best team in the regular season - is in a bit of trouble.

OTHER PLAYOFF RESULTS
Boston 5, Seattle 4 (11 inn.) (Boston leads series 1-0)
Philadelphia 7, Milwaukee 6 (Philadelphia leads series 1-0)
Colorado 4, St. Louis 3 (Colorado leads series 1-0)

[thehitcat]

"Pretty Good Season?!?"" .370/.404/.480

Who the hell does Florida have at first I'd like to know.

Hopefully they call me up or trade me to a team that can use a hitter.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by vex

Let's go Royals!

You'n me are bolting for greener (emphasis on the GREEN) pastures soon, bud. We've made our mark in the majors, now it's time to get the national exposure and the 8 figure salary. Me and Boras have been talking.

[vex]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

You'n me are bolting for greener (emphasis on the GREEN) pastures soon, bud. We've made our mark in the majors, now it's time to get the national exposure and the 8 figure salary. Me and Boras have been talking.

I have no problem staying if they pay up. But do you really think the Royals are going to give me the record 300mil contract that I deserve? I think not.

[Coffee Warlord]

Precisely my point. Chicago, LA, or New York for us, my stalwart teammate.

[iamlegend]

9-2 in A ball. Nick's climbing the ranks, I'll see you guys in the Majors soon

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by thehitcat

"Pretty Good Season?!?"" .370/.404/.480

Who the hell does Florida have at first I'd like to know.

Hopefully they call me up or trade me to a team that can use a hitter.

The Florida 1b this season was a 28-year-old named Mike Jacobs. He hit .236/.292/.404. Florida must have been upset with him because they put him on waivers at the end of the season. The only 1b left on the major league roster is a 34-year-old named Mike Lamb, who only played in six games this year. While Lamb is better at some other things, O'Shea is already a better contact hitter than he is. I wouldn't be surprised to see O'Shea in a Florida uniform in 2010.

[cmp]

Eric Anderson's been playing well at AAA. Hopefully once he gets to the majors he can keep playing at that level.

[bbgunn]

Sunday, October 11th, 2009
ALDS - Game 2
Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals

Another crowd of 42,000 arrives at Kaufmann Stadium to watch the Royals play the Rays. Scott Kazmir - the Triple Crown pitcher from last season - gets the ball for the Rays, while Julio Cesar Pimental gets the mound for the hosts. 2B Will Brown once again bats second for the Royals, behind SS Joshua Johnson and ahead of 1B Alex Gordon. C Hideaki Tanaka once again rides the bench for Tampa Bay.

Bottom 1st - With one out and no one on base, Brown pops out to right field.

Bottom 2nd - After striking out the first batter, Rays pitcher Kazmir walks the next three to load the bases. He then throws a wild pitch to the next batter, which allows RF Billy Butler to come home. He then gets the final two outs. 1-0 Royals.

Bottom 3rd - Again, one out and no one on base, but this time Brown strikes out.

Top 4th - After giving up a double to Rays C Dioner Navarro, Pimental gives up a homer to 1B Danny Richar. 2-1 Rays.

Top 5th - It's two outs and Rays 2b B.J. Upton is on first base. SS Brendan Harris comes to bat. Pimental throws a ball, and Upton proceeds to steal second. The next pitch is a strike, which Upton uses to steal third. Apparently Pimental is not interested in holding runners. The next pitch is hit for a line drive to left field, and Upton scores. 3-1 Rays.

Bottom 6th - Brown leads off the half-inning but hits into a groundout.

Top 7th - Pimental gives up another two-run homer, this time to Navarro. 5-1 Rays.

Bottom 8th - With runners on first and third, and with one out, Brown hits a sacrifice fly to right field. 5-2 Rays.

Bottom 9th - The Royals try to start a rally as the first two batters hit singles. The third batter, Mike Stodolka, hits into a 3-6-3 double play. Pinch hitter Corey Slavik then comes in to hit a single, and the runner on third comes home. That would be all the scoring, however, as the next batter strikes out.

FINAL: Tampa Bay 5, Kansas City 2
2009aldstbkcgm2.png

Brown's day: 0-3, 1 RBI, 1 K. Again, Tanaka does not play. Tampa Bay heads home up 2-0.

OTHER PLAYOFF RESULTS
Seattle 6, Boston 4 (series tied 1-1)
Milwaukee 6, Philadelphia 2 (series tied 1-1)
St. Louis 8, Colorado 5 (series tied 1-1)

[bbgunn]

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
ALDS - Game 3
Kansas City Royals at Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay leads series 2-0

A crowd of nearly 42,000 packs Tropicana Field. Royals 2B Will Brown again bats second, while C Hideaki Tanaka fails to crack the starting lineup for the Rays.

Top 1st - With none on and one out, Brown strikes out.

Top 3rd - With two men on first and second, and one out, Brown hits into a 5-4-3 double play.

Top 6th - With a man on first base and none out, Brown hits a pop fly to right field. Two batters later, with two outs, LF Chris Lubanski slams a two-run homer to put the first points on the board. 2-0 Royals.

Bottom 7th - Tampa Bay gets its first run of the game when Rocco Baldelli hits a double, bringing Delmon Young home. It's bittersweet, though, as Baldelli injures himself running the bases. 2-1 Royals.

Top 8th - Will Brown leads off and strikes out. The next, batter, star Alex Gordon, hits a single, but injures himself on the way to first base and is taken out of the game.

Bottom 8th - With men on the corners and one out, Akinori Iwamura hits an RBI single to tie it up! Game tied 2-2.

Top 9th - Royals C Rob Bowen hits a single that allows Mike Stodolka to come home from second. 3-2 Royals.

FINAL - Kansas City 3, Tampa Bay 2
2009aldstbkcgm3.png

Again, Tanaka does not play. Brown has his second hitless playoff game, going 0-4. Baldelli strained a groin muscle and will miss two weeks, while AL batting champion and MVP candidate Alex Gordon is out for a month to five weeks - the rest of the postseason - after straining an MCL.

Rob Nielsen is listed as the starter for the Royals for Game 4.

OTHER PLAYOFF RESULTS
Seattle 3, Boston 2 (Seattle leads series 2-1)
Milwaukee 5, Philadelphia 1 (Milwaukee leads series 2-1)
St. Louis 2, Colorado 1 (St. Louis leads series 2-1)

[vex]

Horrible, horrible postseason for Will Brown so far.

[bbgunn]

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
ALDS - Game 4
Kansas City Royals at Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay leads series 2-1

Another capacity crowd at Tropicana Field. Rob Nielsen gets the start for the visitors, while Jeff Neimann gets the ball for Tampa Bay. Royals 2B Will Brown is batting fifth tonight. Rays C Hideaki Tanaka will have another front-row seat for the game.

Bottom 1st - With Nielsen on the mound, the Rays fly out and ground out. Nielsen walks the next batter, while the fourth batter hits a pop fly.

Top 2nd - Brown leads off the inning but grounds out on the first pitch he sees.

Bottom 2nd - Three batters come up, and Nielsen does not give up a hit.

Top 3rd - Royals 1B Casey Rogowski hits a solo shot 393 feet to center right. 1-0 Royals.

Bottom 3rd - Against the first batter, Dioner Navarro, Nielsen gives up his first hit of the game, a single. But he strikes out the next batter, while the last two outs come via fielder's choices, including an impressive leaping putout by Will Brown at second base for the last out.

Top 4th - With none on and two outs, Brown grounds out.

Bottom 4th - After striking the first batter out and getting the second one to ground out, Nielsen gives up a single and a double before getting the final out.

Bottom 5th - After two pop outs, Nielsen walks Erold Andrus, then Akinori Iwamura hits a triple which allows Andrus to come home. The next batter would ground out. Score tied 1-1.

Top 6th - With a man on third base and one out, Rays RF Erold Andrus commits an error on a Joshua Johnson hit, which allows the runner to come home. 2-1 Royals.

Bottom 6th - Ground out, ground out, strike out (Nielsen's third on the night).

Top 7th - Brown leads off, but strikes out swinging.

Bottom 7th - Nielsen strikes out the first two batters, but hits the next one. He makes up for it by striking out his third batter of the inning. Nielsen now has six K's.

Bottom 8th - Iwamura, leading off, hits a single off Nielsen. The next batter, Delmon Young, hits into a 6-4-3 double play. B.J. Upton then grounds out, with Brown getting the assist.

Top 9th - With Chris Lubanski on second and one out, Brown strikes out swinging. No problem, though, because the next batter, Mike Stodolka, hits a double to bring Lubanski home. The next batter, Corey Slavik, hits a single that allows Stodolka to come home. At this point Tampa Bay changes pitchers, but the rout is on! Rogowski hits a single, moving Slavik to second. The next batter, Rob Bowen, hits a single that allows Slavik to score. Then CF Joey Gathright hits a double and Rogowski comes home. That's four runs before Johnson grounds out. 6-1 Royals.

Bottom 9th - Nielsen strikes out the first batter for his seventh K. But at that point, KC manager Buddy Bell, perhaps protecting his ace, pulls Nielsen out of the game, preventing a complete game. Closer Gilbert De La Vara strikes out the last two batters.

FINAL: Kansas City 6, Tampa Bay 1
2009aldstbkcgm4.png

The Royals even up the series at 2-all and force a Game 5 back in Mizzou. Nielsen gets his first postseason win with the following stats: 5 H, 1 ER, 7 K, two walks. He was named Player of the Game. Brown went 0-4 with 2 K. Tanaka, once again, did not play.

OTHER PLAYOFF RESULTS
The Royals weren't the only team to even their series at 2-2.

Boston 2, Seattle 1 (series tied 2-2)
Philadelphia 4, Milwaukee 2 (series tied 2-2)
Colorado 6, St. Louis 4 (series tied 2-2)

[bbgunn]

Friday, October 16th, 2009
ALDS - Game 5
Tampa Bay Rays at Kansas City Royals
Series tied 2-2

It's 50 degress at game time. Rays P Chris Seddon takes the mound, as does Royals P Justin Verlander. Will Brown bats fifth again, and again Hideaki Tanaka is on the bench.

Bottom 2nd - Brown leads off the inning but pops out to the second baseman.

Bottom 4th - With no men on and two outs, Brown grounds out.

Bottom 5th - With Mike Stodolka on third base, Royals CF Frank Diaz slaps an RBI single between the first and second basemen for the first score of the game. 1-0 Royals.

Top 6th - The game is evened up when a Dioner Navarro sacrifice fly brings home B.J. Upton from third. Game tied 1-1.

Bottom 6th - With a man on first and two outs, Brown finally gets his first hit since Game 1, a single. The following batter, Stodolka, is hit by a pitch to load the bases. But Rob Bowen hits a fly out.

Top 7th - The Rays take the lead by scoring three runs in the inning, two of them off of an Iwamura double that brings home two runners. 4-1 Rays.

Bottom 8th - With no men on and two outs, Brown strikes out looking.

FINAL: Tampa Bay 4, Kansas City 1
2009aldstbkcgm5.png

Kansas City is eliminated from the playoffs as no home team wins a game in the series. Will Brown's Game 5 stats: 1-4, 1 K. As for Tanaka... well, hopefully he will be of some use in the ALCS.

OTHER PLAYOFF RESULTS
Seattle 4, Boston 1 (Seattle wins series 3-2)
Milwaukee 16, Philadelphia 4 (Milwaukee wins series 3-2)
Colorado 8, St. Louis 3 (Colorado wins series 3-2)

Tampa Bay will have home field advantage in their series against Seattle, and likewise for Colorado against Milwaukee.

[thealmighty]

Dear Orioles,

Please get me to a winner (that ain't y'all) soon.

Regards,

Al

[bbgunn]

Sunday, October 18th, 2009
ALCS - Game 1
Seattle Mariners at Tampa Bay Rays
Series tied 0-0

C Hideaki Tanaka didn't get in the game, so I'll make this one quick:

2009alcsseatbgm1.png

OTHER PLAYOFF RESULT
Milwaukee 2, Colorado 1 (Milwaukee leads series 1-0)

*******

Monday, October 19th, 2009
ALCS - Game 2
Seattle Mariners at Tampa Bay Rays
Seattle leads series 1-0

Tanaka is shut out of the game again, but this time he is a bit happier.

2009alcsseatbgm2.png

OTHER PLAYOFF RESULT
Milwaukee 3, Colorado 0 (Milwaukee leads series 2-0)

*******

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
ALCS - Game 3
Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners
Series tied 1-1

Again, Tanaka is shut out. Tampa Bay probably could have used him.

2009alcsseatbgm3.png

OTHER PLAYOFF RESULT
Colorado 2, Milwaukee 1 (Milwaukee leads series 2-1)

*******

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
ALCS - Game 4
Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners
Seattle leads series 2-1

Tampa Bay management: have you no respect for the legend that is Hideaki Tanaka?

2009alcsseatbgm4.png

OTHER PLAYOFF RESULT
Milwaukee 6, Colorado 2 (Milwaukee leads series 3-1)

*******

Friday, October 23rd, 2009
ALCS - Game 5
Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners
Seattle leads series 3-1

Hideaki Tanaka's 2009 postseason ends without him even stepping onto a field.

2009alcsseatbgm5.png

OTHER PLAYOFF RESULT
Milwaukee 5, Colorado 4 (Milwaukee wins series 4-1)

[bbgunn]

WORLD SERIES

Milwaukee sweeps Seattle in four games to win their first World Series title ever.

MINOR LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

SS Eric Anderson and the Ottawa Lynx made the playoffs in the AAA International League, and they beat Charlotte 3 games to 2 to advance to the Governors Cup - the IL version of the World Series. There Ottawa was swept in four games by Pawtucket. Anderson's postseason stats: .368 average in nine games, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 12 K.

The Tucson Sidewinders advanced to the playoffs in the AAA Pacific Coast League and won the whole thing, but they had sent CF Ace Cobb down to AA before the playoffs began, so he was not on the championship roster.

CL Ivan Carrillo's San Antonio team played 2B Kuji Chagulia's Tulsa team in the AA Texas League playoffs, with Tulsa winning 3 games to 1 to advance to the league championship. There, Tulsa lost in seven games to Arkansas. Chagulia's postseason stats: .400 in seven games, 4 RBI, 4 K, 3 BB. Carrillo's: 0.2 IP in one game, 1 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K.

In the high-A Carolina League, SP Nick Wadden's Winston-Salem team made the playoffs as the number one seed, but lost three games to two to Frederick, who went on to win the championship. Wadden's stats: 1 GS, 3 HA, 0 ER, 4 K, 1 BB.

In the Short Season-A Northwest League, 1B Buster "Boom Boom" Stallworth's Yakima team played Vancouver for the championship, and Yakima won three games to two! Boom Boom becomes the first FOFCer to win a championship at any level. His stats: .111 in five games, 1 RBI, 3 K.

In the rookie Gulf Coast League, Jacob Tyler's Orioles made the semifinals, but lost 3 games to 0 to the Yankees. Tyler's stats: no hits in three games, 4 K.

AWARDS

The AL MVP award went, as expected, to Kansas City 1b Alex Gordon (.392, 40 HR, 148 RBI). Milwaukee 1b Prince Fielder (.358, 49 HR, 146 RBI) won the NL MVP.

Rob Nielsen did not win the AL Cy Young award; instead, Boston's Abe Alvarez (22-10, 2.69, 241 K) gets the award. In the NL, Colorado's Glen Perkins (20-3, 2.00 ERA, 221 K) wins the award.

No FOFCers won Rookie of the Year.

Pittsburgh outfielder Zinto Hirdt becomes the first FOFCer to win a Gold Glove at the MLB level. He gets the 2009 award for center field.

SS Dex Morgan wins a Gold Glove in the Southern League for his play at shortstop.

1B Dave O'Shea needs to make room in his trophy case. The 2009 Southern League All-Star won the 2009 Southern League MVP for his play, as well as the Gold Glove for first base.

OTHER NEWS

Barry Bonds, Craig Biggio, and John Smoltz retire and are elected into the Hall of Fame.

This will make Nicolas Fillion happy: Manager Rheal Cormier was fired in Atlanta. No replacement had been named as of November 14th. The only manager firing on a team with an FOFCer on the roster was Jim Tracy (Pittsburgh), replacing him with 33-year-old Steve Little.

[Zinto]

A new manager and a gold glove hopefully next year goes better for Zinto and the Pirates.

[Coffee Warlord]

Bah, no ROY for me?

[thehitcat]

Wow that's a nice haul. Hopefully between the MVP and the newly found glove I'll take the job in Spring Training.

[bbgunn]

Welcome to Season 4 (2010) of the FOFC OOTP Interactive Dynasty!

I'll just keep going in this thread until after Season 5, then we'll start a new thread. Hope you don't mind.

For those not in the dynasty already, you can still sign up for the 2010 draft and have your player inserted into Season 4, but you have limited time! To sign up, go here:

The FOFC OOTP Interactive Dynasty - Sign-Up Thread

*******
OPENING DAY STATUS - APRIL 2010

I'll start Season 4 by posting some basic information about our FOFCers, their current assignments, financial info, roster spots, etc. You can find that info below.

We begin the 2010 season with a record 11 FOFC players on MLB rosters! This include some that made some impressive jumps in level. James McDowell made the Cleveland starting rotation without ever throwing a pitch in AA or AAA! Kuji Chagulia will start for Colorado without ever taking the field in AAA. Mike Schaplowsky will also make his MLB debut for Seattle, while Nicolas Fillion returns to Atlanta only a few months after Rheal Cormier was fired as manager.

Not on a major league roster are Andrew Foley, who played for the Rangers for under two months last season, and Dave O'Shea, who I thought might make a run at the Florida first base position, but the Marlins have him stuck in AA! The Marlins signed two aging 1b - Casey Blake and Greg Norton - who are 36 and 37, respectively. You'd think they would bring up O'Shea and let him learn the major league game, especially since the rest of the lineup (which includes Hanley Ramirez and Randy Wynn) is experienced. (Florida also has an aging Todd Helton and a 27-year-old Josh Kreuzer at 1b in AAA. Both are better batters than O'Shea currently, but O'Shea is better than the big team first basemen.)

Many FOFCers could make the jump to The Show in 2010, as most of those still in the minors are starting the year playing AAA ball. Looks like it's gonna be a big year for us!

2010openingdaystatus1.png

2010openingdaystatus2.png

[thehitcat]

Um wow. Looks like I'm going to need a trade...of course I am only 20 but still...

[iamlegend]

cmon Nick Wadden, climb the ranks

[kingfc22]

Back to AA and back to CF.

Hopefully, I can get back to AAA quickly.

[PilotMan]

E Z finally looks like he is starting to develop a little. Here's to a big season, after some long years in A ball. As for Jacob, he looks to be on the same path of a slow trip to stardom.

[bbgunn]

2010 APRIL/MAY UPDATE

STATS

BATTERS

201005batters.png

PITCHERS

201005pitchers.png

TRANSACTIONS

* We had more players join the ranks of the major leagues in April and May. SP E Z Tyler was called up from AAA Fresno to the San Francisco Giants on May 1st. Tyler pitched only one game in Fresno after coming back in late April from a herniated disc injury suffered last September. He won the game with only two hits allowed, 1 ER, 5 K and 4 BB in 7.0 innings. That was enough for the Giants. Tyler is now second on the Giants' rotation, behind Micah Owings.

* 2b Andrew Foley was brought up rather quickly, on April 18th. But a finger blister landed him on the DL for two weeks on April 29th. When he was taken off the DL on May 17th, the Rangers sent him back to AAA for some rehab (on a finger blister?), but brought him back to Arlington a week later. Foley is batting 9th in the Rangers' lineup.

* 3b Micah Williams made his long-awaited major league debut on April 22nd, when the Dodgers called him up. He is currently platooning; he starts at 3b and bats first against righties, while L.A. plays Chipper Jones at third against lefties.

* Another player making his long-awaited major league debut is 3b Jace Hunter, who was called up today (June 1st) by the world-champion Milwaukee Brewers. Actually, Hunter may not make his debut tonight; he is listed as the backup 1b/3b. He is behind two young stars: Prince Fielder at first and Ryan Braun at third.

* Perhaps the most surprising of the FOFCers making their debut in April/May is 1b Darryl Tovar, who was called up by the Toronto Blue Jays on April 21st. The 19-year-old's .333 average in AAA Syracuse must have impressed Blue Jay management. Tovar is the starting first baseman and is batting fifth.

* Not sure why, but Mike Schaplowsky was sent down to AAA Tacoma for one game during the first week of the season, then called back up to Seattle. It didn't bother him much, as you will see in a minute.

* 1b Dave O'Shea was called up to AAA Albuquerque on May 1st. He is the backup 1b behind Todd Helton.

* SS Dan "The Man" Schoonover has jumped around between low-A Peoria, high-A Daytona, and AA Tennessee.

* SP Nick Wadden was called up to high-A Kannapolis on May 1st.

INJURIES

* See above for the Andrew Foley injury.

* 2B Will "The Real Deal" Brown suffered a bruised wrist on April 24th, but it was nothing serious. He didn't miss any playing time.

* Pittsburgh P Deacon "Hurricane" Palmer suffered a finger blister on May 14th and missed two weeks.

* A jammed finger on April 27th slowed SS Dex Morgan down for about a week, but didn't keep him out of any games.

* On April 22nd CL Ivan Carrillo suffered a tender shoulder, but was only day-to-day for two weeks.

* On May 18th 3B Larry McGillicuddy fractured his wrist and was put on the DL for two weeks. As of June 1st, he has one day left.

* CL Frank Justice has yet to play in 2010 due to that fractured elbow he suffered last July. The good news is that he has only two weeks left on the DL as of June 1st. Hopefully he'll have a good rest of the season.

* A strained back muscle on May 1st put SS Eric Anderson on the DL for two weeks.

* On April 21st CF Ace Cobb strained his Achilles tendon and was put on the DL for 7-8 weeks.

* SS Dan Schoonover strained his posterior cruciate ligament on May 10th and missed two weeks.

* SP Nick Wadden suffered dead arm syndrome in a game on May 27th and will miss a total of two weeks.

OTHER NEWS AND NOTES

* LF Mike Schaplowsky has taken the AL by storm. He won Rookie of the Month honors for both April and May! He hit .308 in April, and in May he hit .315 with 2 HR and 15 RBI.

* 2B Kuji Chagulia got himself a Rookie of the Month award as well. He was named best NL newcomer for May. He hit .298 during the month with 10 RBI and a .387 OBP.

* On April 24th, Pittsburgh hurler Deacon Palmer pitched a 4-hit shutout against the Houston Astros. He had 4 K and 2 BB.

* On May 3rd Baltimore LF Al Mighty won the AL Player of the Week award. During that preceding week he hit .481 with 4 RBI.

MLB STANDINGS
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The best teams to date were champs Milwaukee and the Boston Red Sox. Atlanta, Colorado, and Kansas City are the other FOFC teams leading their divisions, while Tampa Bay, Cleveland, and Seattle are over .500.

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Note that Deacon Palmer has the second-best ERA in the NL.

[bbgunn]

Nobody signed up for the 2010 draft, so there will be no draft coverage this time around.

[vex]

Rob...7.06 ERA?

[bbgunn]

I didn't track this before now, but two players - Rob Nielsen and Al Mighty - could possibly be eligible for arbitration after the season. You need three service years in the major leagues to be eligible, and they are getting close to that.

Also, you need six service years to become eligible for free agency, so we are still a number of years away from seeing the first big paydays.

[Young Drachma]

The Rays aren't smart. Tanaka is the truth.

[bbgunn]

2010 JUNE/JULY UPDATE

STATS

BATTERS

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PITCHERS

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TRANSACTIONS

* Another FOFCer joins the majors as CL Ivan Carrillo was promoted up to San Diego on July 23rd. Carrillo has pitched in four games since then, with a 9.82 ERA and a loss in 3.2 IP.

* The trade deadline brought I believe only the second FOFCer trade since the dynasty started. On July 29th the Cleveland Indians traded SP James McDowell to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for SP Sergio Castro. McDowell is now a teammate of Willie Mays Hayes. McDowell is listed as fourth in the Cubs' rotation, and has yet to pitch in a Chicago uniform as of August 1st.

* On July 19th the Phillies called up SS Eric Anderson from AAA Ottawa. In 71 games in Canada Anderson hit .293/.319/.328 with 31 RBI.

* After nine games in Short Season A, on July 1st the Orioles promoted 3B Jacob Tyler to high-A Frederick of the Carolina League.

INJURIES

* Terrible news for Seattle LF Mike Schaplowsky. After his season began with so much promise, on July 27th the 20-year-old tore ankle ligaments while rounding the bases against Toronto. Doctors announced the grim news the next day: Schaplowsky will be out of action for 13 months. Here's hoping Schaplowsky recovers faster than that.

* On July 16th San Francisco SP E Z Tyler suffered a tender elbow that will keep him out of action a total of two weeks.

* 2B Andrew Foley missed a lot of Rangers games in June. On the 1st, he went on the DL for two weeks with a fractured foot. Then, on the 17th a strained hip muscle kept him out another two weeks.

* A crazy two months for Richmond SS Larry McGillicuddy. On June 4th, he dislocated a finger and was out about a week. On June 19th, he went 5-8 against Pawtucket with an RBI and a run. On July 4th, a damaged meniscus knocked him out for a week. Then on the 30th, he went 5-6 against Scranton-Wilkes Barre, with 1 HR, 5 RBI and 2 runs.

* David Gonzalez suffered a strained back muscle on July 28th and will miss two weeks.

OTHER NEWS AND NOTES

* Three FOFCers were selected for the 2010 All-Star Game: Pittsburgh LF Zinto Hirdt, Pittsburgh SP Deacon Palmer, and Baltimore LF Al Mighty. Mighty started for the AL and went 0-3 with 2 K before he was pulled in favor of Cleveland's Derek Jeter. Hirdt came in as a pinch hitter in the 7th and went 0-1. Palmer did not play. The NL won 6-2, with Milwaukee 3B Ryan Braun named MVP.

* Big news for C Nicolas Fillion in Atlanta. First, this past offseason the Braves traded away star C Brian McCann and a pitcher to Cleveland for CF Grady Sizemore and a closer. This left Fillion backing up Jarrod Saltalamacchia in 2010. But on July 19th, Atlanta traded Saltalamacchia and a minor league pitcher to Philadelphia in exchange for 1B Nick Johnson. That means the job is now officially Fillion's! He has been the starting catcher since then. (Fillion has filled in at catcher and first base on many an occasion in 2010, but will be THE catcher for the foreseeable future.)

* After dealing with a long-term injury, CL Frank Justice pitched in his first game in about a year on June 17th, and made his major league debut at the same time. Justice pitched one inning of the Mets' 8-0 win against Philly. He had two Ks and allowed no hits.

* Before getting called up to the Phillies, on July 6th Eric Anderson went 5-6 against Richmond in AAA. He had 2 RBI and 2 runs.

* Three FOFCers were selected for the 2010 Pacific Coast League All-Star Game: Albuquerque 1B Dave O'Shea, Tucson 1B Buster "Boom Boom" Stallworth, and, before being promoted, Portland CL Ivan Carrillo. O'Shea started for Team 1, while Stallworth started for Team 2. O'Shea went 0-3, while Stallworth went went 1-3. Carrillo did not play. Team 2 drilled Team 1 5-0.

* David Gonzalez was selected for the 2010 Southern League All-Star Game. He started for the West Division and went 1-4. The West won 7-3.

MLB STANDINGS
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There's Milwaukee, Colorado, Boston, and Kansas City, and then there's everyone else. The NL East leader actually has a losing record on August 1st! And how did the Phillies become the worst team in the NL?

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Pittsburgh SP Deacon Palmer not only leads the NL in ERA, but he leads the entire majors! He also leads the NL in wins. Can you say Cy Young at age 20? Kansas City SP Rob Nielsen is tied for the AL lead in strikeouts. Meanwhile, Milwaukee 3B Ryan Braun is making a bid for the batting Triple Crown.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by vex

Rob...7.06 ERA?

It's 5 something now. Stop your complaining and hit some more home runs. All we need is 6 runs when I start, what's the big deal?

[PackerFanatic]

Boo injuries...no wonder my ABs are way down.

[collegesportsfanms]

man you are killin me! 13 months? really? and my season had so much promise too. Wonder how far Seattle will drop now that I'm out of the lineup.

[ntndeacon]

No one... not even the pathetic Pirates can stop the Hurricane!

[duff88]

Thank you Braves.

The NL East sucks though, leading the division under .500 is pretty bad.

[Travis]

Wow, the Brewers look like they have a pretty ridiculous offense right now. Hopefully Hunter can stay with them for what'll hopefully be another playoff run.

[PackerFanatic]

Originally Posted by Travis

Wow, the Brewers look like they have a pretty ridiculous offense right now. Hopefully Hunter can stay with them for what'll hopefully be another playoff run.

If only they could do that for realz this year...

[bbgunn]

2010 END OF REGULAR SEASON UPDATE

STATS

BATTERS
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PITCHERS
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TRANSACTIONS

* On September 17th SS Dex Morgan was called up to the Seattle Mariners. Congratulations! In 15 games to end the season, Morgan batted .242 with 4 RBI, 6 BB, 17 K, and 10 SB.

* On August 14th, the Washington Nationals called up SP Ches O'Peake, where he stayed the remainder of the season. Congratulations! In AAA O'Peake was 10-8 in 26 starts with a 2.12 ERA and 254 K.

* On September 1st, RF David Gonzalez was promoted to AAA Durham. In 6 games there he hit .227 with an RBI, a walk, and 7 K.

* On September 14th, 3B Larry McGillicuddy was promoted to the Atlanta Braves. Congratulations! While in Atlanta, McGillicuddy hit .250 in 15 games with 2 RBI, 3 BB, and 13 K. Once the season ended, the Braves sent McGillicuddy back down to Richmond.

* After the regular season ended, the Blue Jays sent 1B Darryl Tovar to AAA Syracuse.

* After doing reasonably well in Single-A, the Baltimore Orioles promoted 3B Jacob Tyler to AA Bowie on September 1st. In 6 games there he hit .217.

* SP Nick Wadden was sent up to AA Birmingham on September 24th, but the AA season was over by then. (Too bad for Wadden, because Birmingham won the Southern League title a few days before.)

INJURIES

* Cubs star LF Willie Mays Hayes strained his Achilles tendon and was put on the DL for five weeks starting September 12th.

* A damaged meniscus put Cubs SP James McDowell on the DL for two weeks starting September 24th.

OTHER NEWS AND NOTES

* August and September belonged to Kansas City 2B Will Brown. The Real Deal won three AL Player of the Week honors in August. (Amazingly, he did not win Player of the Month honors.) The awards coincided with an amazing hitting streak that went 32 games before being snapped on September 19th against Seattle. Then at the end of the season came the news that Brown won the AL batting title for 2010 with a .381 average! Not as good as teammate Alex Gordon's .392 last season, but still good enough for the 58th best batting season in major league history.

* San Diego P Ivan Carrillo, shortly after joining the Padres, was assigned to a setup reliever position. The Padres have confidence in their closer Cla Meredith, who has saved 40 games for them this year.

* Philadelphia SS Eric Anderson had another five-hit game on August 21st - his first in the majors. He went 5-5 against the Nationals with 1 RBI and 1 run.

* If you are wondering why Andrew Foley's at-bats are somewhat low, it's because he's mainly been a backup player this year in Texas.

MLB STANDINGS
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What an amazing August and September for Kansas City, as they smoked past the competition to win over 110 games and claim the best regular-season record in the AL for the second straight season. They will play the Yankees in the ALDS, and Boston will play Oakland.

In the NLDS, three of the four teams will feature FOFCers. The Colorado Rockies will play the Mets, while Milwaukee will play the Diamondbacks.

201009leaders.png

Ryan Braun of Milwaukee wins the second league Triple Crown in four years. (Philadelphia's Ryan Howard won it in 2007.) The top four home run hitters in the NL are all Brewers! Pittsburgh's Deacon Palmer finishes in first in the majors in wins and ERA, while Kansas City's Rob Nielsen wins the strikeout crown. San Francisco's E Z Tyler finished third in the NL in ERA.

[bbgunn]

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
ALDS - Game 1
New York Yankees at Kansas City Royals

A 57-degree night with a chance of rain. Rob Nielsen gets the ball for Kansas City, while Joba Chamberlain starts for the Yankees. Will Brown bats fifth, behind Miguel Cabrera at cleanup and Alex Gordon at the third spot.

Top 1st - Nielsen walks the first two Yankees. He then strikes out Robinson Cano. Alex Rodriguez comes up next, and he hits into a groundball at first base. That allows a base runner to come home and score a run. The next Yankee then grounds out to end the inning. 1-0 Yankees.

Bottom 1st - RF Billy Butler claims the lead for Kansas City with a 2-run blast early in the half inning, hit 456 feet to left field. After a ground out and a fly out, Will Brown comes to bat and hits a pop fly to center field. 2-1 Royals.

Top 2nd - A walk, fly out, walk, strike out, fly out for Nielsen.

Top 3rd - A strikeout, then a fly out. A-Rod then comes to bat and slaps a line drive past the third baseman for a double. Nielsen then walks the next batter, but strikes out the next Yankee.

Bottom 3rd - Butler is hit by a pitch with no outs. Next up, Alex Gordon slams one 448 feet to center field to give Kansas City two more runs. Cabrera strikes out, then Brown hits a pop fly to right field. The last Royal batter strikes out. 4-1 Royals.

Top 4th - Fly out, strike out, walk, groundout.

Top 5th - First Yankee at bat lays down a successful bunt. Next, Robinson Cano hits a single, and the other baserunner goes all the way to third. A-Rod then hits a pop fly which allows the runner at third to come home. Nielsen then strikes out the next batter, and the following batter hits a popout. 4-2 Royals.

Bottom 5th - Butler, then Gordon, then Cabrera get on base. With one out and the bases loaded, Brown comes to bat. He hits a fly out to center field, but that allows Butler to come home from third base for a sacrifice fly. Immediately afterwards, the Yankees manager takes Chamberlain out of the game. 5-2 Royals.

Top 6th - Nielsen walks Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada, and at that point KC manager Buddy Bell takes Nielsen out of the game. Justin Verlander then strikes out the next two and gets another batter to ground out.

Top 7th - The Yankees' Michael Costanzo hits a sacrifice ground out that allows Cano to come home and score. 5-3 Royals.

Top 8th - Posada hits a solo home run to bring it to within one run. 5-4 Royals.

Bottom 8th - Will Brown, leading off, gets his first hit of the game, a single past the shortstop. The next batter, Chris Lubanski, tries a sac bunt, the Yankees throw to second, and Brown is out. That effectively kills the inning.

Top 9th - Joakim Soria comes on and closes the game, although he gave up a single.

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Nielsen gets the win. He had 6 K and 8 BB, and allowed only 3 hits and 2 runs. Brown was 1-3 with one RBI.

OTHER AL PLAYOFF RESULT
Boston 9, Oakland 8 (Boston leads series 1-0)

[bbgunn]

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
NLDS - Game 1
Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers

41,800 people come to Miller Park to watch the world champions play the Diamondbacks. Jace Hunter will not start; let's see if he gets in the game.

Top 2nd - Arizona's starting pitcher Kent Wade hits a sac fly that allows Stephen Drew to come home from third. 1-0 Diamondbacks.

Top 6th - Drew hits a single which allows Justin Upton to come home from third. 2-0 Diamondbacks.

Bottom 6th - Prince Fielder ties it up for Milwaukee with a two-run home run that barely scrapes the right field wall. Game tied 2-2.

Bottom 7th - Milwaukee takes the lead when J.J. Hardy hits a solo HR to left field. Later, with one out and Tony Gwynn Jr. on second base, Jace Hunter makes his postseason debut! He comes in as a pinch hitter for the pitcher. Diamondback pitcher Wade must have been scared out of his mind, because he intentionally walks Hunter. The next batter, Brad Nelson, hits a fly out to center field that allows Gwynn Jr. to move over to third. But then Corey Hart hits into a groundout to end the inning, and Hunter's participation in the game is over. 3-2 Brewers.

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