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08-12-2007, 12:53 PM
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#1 | |||
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Pasttime: An Alternative MLB History (OOTP)
I was talking to a friend from the Mountain West and was trying to convey the main differences of how major league baseball is so ingrained in the culture of cities like New York, Boston and St. Louis among others.
So I started thinking about it and thought it might be interesting to see what it would be like if baseball hadn't gotten started or grown in the places it was originally..and to basically create the same setup that we're used to today, but have different franchises, from different places and with completely different histories. Also, I wanted to see if I could create a pretty organic league where the talent came from high school and college feeders almost entirely. It hasn't been 100% that way because of the way the game is setup when you let it simulate multiple seasons while adjusting the league strategy and such...but, it's still interesting to see how it works. So, I'm going to start in 2006...but before we get there, I'll be recapping each of the teams in the league and the histories of the teams and their standout players throughout history, to give you an idea of who we're dealing with. Divisional play began in 1962 and the designated hitter rule has yet to be adopted as of the 1999 season. The World Series is and remains a best-of-nine game tilt. There has never been interleague play and the LCS is best-of-seven games. The regular season lasts 162-games. ALIGNMENT AS OF THE END OF THE 1999 SEASON Quote:
Last edited by Young Drachma : 09-06-2007 at 09:24 AM. |
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08-12-2007, 12:58 PM
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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EXPANSION IN THE DIVISIONAL ERA
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The only team in history to fold to date are the Billings Mustangs, the 1917 World Series champs and 1930 AL Champs folded at the end of the 1948 season. The Phoenix Firebirds were spawned in 1949 to replace them and that team became the Fresno Grizzlies in 1962. Last edited by Young Drachma : 08-12-2007 at 12:58 PM. |
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08-12-2007, 01:02 PM
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#3 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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TEAM-BY-TEAM HISTORICAL CAPSULES (To the end of the 1999 season)
ATLANTA FIRECRACKERS (1901-1952, Louisville Colonels, (1953-present, Atlanta Firecrackers) WORLD SERIES TITLES (8): 1905, 1930, 1933, 1951, 1954, 1989, 1990, 1996 NL PENNANTS (21): 1905, 1912, 1913, 1916, 1921, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1953, 1955, 1971, 1972, 1994 NL EAST PENNANTS (8): 1971, 1972, 1977, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1996 Legends of the Game: ATLANTA FIRECRACKERS #1 Sloan Sullivan (1949-1955), 2nd Base/3rd Base Sullivan might have gone into the Hall of Fame as a Keokuk Comet, but he cut his teeth with the Louisville/Atlanta franchise. He went UNDRAFTED in 1950, but quickly established himself first at the 1950 NL Rookie of the Year with Louisville, before winning the 1951 NL MVP. He went with the team in 1953 to Atlanta and spent three seasons as a Firecracker before moving on to Phoenix in 1956.) #38 TONY "The Tiger" MITCHELL (1965-1980), Left Field Tony Mitchell is synonymous with greatness in Atlanta. He sent his entire career as a Firecracker and is still the franchise leader in homers with 414 and RBI at 1514. He won 3 gold gloves and was a 6-time All-Star during his career. #18 RONALD ROSS (1973-1993), Pitcher Another lifer who spent his career as a Firecracker, Ronald Ross is the standard bearer for Atlanta hurlers. He won 20+ games five times and ended his career with 308 wins, a franchise record. His 2.79 career ERA is 5th all-time in franchise history. |
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08-12-2007, 01:06 PM
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#4 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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BALTIMORE COLTS
(1962-1974, Norfolk Tides 1975-present, Baltimore Colts) WORLD SERIES TITLES: 0 AL PENNANTS: 1: 1988 AL EAST TITLES 2 : 1988, 1989 If you're looking for a franchise that epitomizes futility, it's this one. Until their breakthrough seasons in 1988 and 1989 when they managed to win an AL pennant and won the division the following yea,r this team spent the first 25 years of its existence no higher than 4th place and they only did that three times during that span. Since 1992, the team hasn't finished higher than 5th. Always a rumored candidate to be headed elsewhere, the Colts are the doormats of the American League. LEGENDS OF THE GAME: Fred "Daddy LongLegs White", #45, Pitcher Fred White was born and raised in Baltimore and was drafted by Keokuk out of the University of Oklahoma in 1962. He spent from 1962-1974 as a member of the Comets Big Red Machine, winning 6 top pitcher award during that span. In 1975, at 37-years old he requested a trade to his new hometown team in Baltimore and was allowed to go. He managed to win another three Top Pitcher awards in Baltimore and was named to five more All-Star games. He finished his career in Montreal where he won another Top Pitcher in 1980. He's always said that he was glad he got to pitcher at home and even went to the lengths of living in the same house he grew up in during the season. "It was always a trip that I could walk out of the same door that I did as a schoolboy, but instead of going to learn reading for Mrs. Jones or arithmetic from Mr. Sadler, I was throwing heat at Memorial Stadium and not only was I not skipping school, I was getting paid for it. It was such a hoot." In 1990, MLB renamed the Top Pitcher award the Fred White Award. |
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08-12-2007, 01:09 PM
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#5 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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BIRMINGHAM BARONS
(1924-present, Birmingham Barons) WORLD SERIES TITLES: (4) 1946, 1949, 1971, 1980 AL PENNANTS (7) 1931, 1943, 1943 AL EAST TITLES (5) 1971, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984 I'll get back to the Legends of the game section eventually, I just want to get through all of the team's and to recap their histories a bit before moving on. If you decide to 'adopt' a favourite team, then I'll focus on them a bit more, too. |
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08-12-2007, 01:11 PM
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#6 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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BOSTON BROWNS
(1901-1913, St. Louis Browns, 1914-1948 Providence Browns, 1949-present Boston Browns) WORLD SERIES TITLES (4): 1922, 1924, 1929, 1939 NL PENNANTS (8): 1910, 1941, 1978, 1980 NL EAST TITLES (5): 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980 Last edited by Young Drachma : 08-12-2007 at 01:11 PM. |
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08-12-2007, 01:12 PM
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#7 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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BROOKLYN KINGS
(1924-1948, Omaha Royals, 1949-present Brooklyn Kings) WORLD SERIES TITLES (4) 1931, 1959, 1997, 1998 NL PENNANTS (5) 1956 NL EAST TITLES (3) 1981, 1997, 1998 CHICAGO WHALES (1901-1910 Indianapolis Greens, 1911-present, Chicago Whales) WORLD SERIES TITLES (2) 1903, 1938 NL PENNANTS (5) 1902, 1918, 1949 NL WEST TITLES (3) 1978, 1988, 1994 CHICAGO CYCLONES (1901-1961, Rochester Red Wings, 1962-present, Chicago Cyclones) The Cyclones transferred from the National League to the American League in 1962, upon their move to Chicago to protect the territorial rights of the Chicago Whales, who play on the South Side of Chicago. The Cyclones are the team of the North Side. WORLD SERIES TITLES (4) 1917, 1933, 1935, 1957 LEAGUE PENNANTS (9) 1919, 1923, 1934, 1937, 1958 AL WEST TITLES (3) 1969, 1973, 1975 COLORADO SPRINGS SKY SOX (1901-1948, Tacoma Rainiers, 1949-present, Colorado Springs Sky Sox) WORLD SERIES TITLES (3) 1934, 1977, 1984 AL PENNANTS (8) 1923, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1987 AL WEST TITLES (4) 1974, 1977, 1984, 1987 COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (1901-1910, Saint Paul Saints, 1911-present, Columbus Clippers) Say you're looking for a team that epitomizes greatness. Need a team that's the best at what they do year in and year out? Trying to find the 'evil empire' of this MLB universe? Look no further than...Columbus, Ohio? Maybe it's that real world long-time Yankee affiliation that recently ended that's rubbed off into this game, but the Clippers are simply the class of Major League Baseball in this universe. 13 World Series titles are the most of any team, as are their 29 postseason appearances. WORLD SERIES TITLES (13) 1901, 1908, 1912, 1913, 14, 1916, 1923, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1965, 1969 AMERICAN LEAGUE PENNANTS (26) 1904, 1919, 1932, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1954, 1957, 1968, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1993 AL EAST TITLES (11) 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1990, 1993 If you want to feel better about your bandwagon jumping ways, you can simply tell anyone who teases you that the team hasn't won a World Series since 1972 and that they've only made two post-season appearances since 1976. So...it's surely sometimes rough, even at the top. DETROIT MUSTANGS (1901-1910, Sioux City Cornhuskers, 1911-1923, Nashville Sounds, 1924-1967 Dallas Travelers, 1968-present Detroit Mustangs) WORLD SERIES TITLES (5) 1945, 1948, 1952, 1976, 1987 NL PENNANTS (7) 1901, 1914, 1924, 1944, 1946, 1950, 1970 NL WEST TITLES (5) 1970, 1976, 1986, 1987 FRESNO GRIZZLIES (1949-1961, Phoenix Firebirds, 1962-present Fresno Grizzlies) WORLD SERIES TITLES 1973 NL PENNANTS (1) NL WEST TITLES 1962, 1973, 1980, 1997 KANSAS CITY ELITES (1901-1910 Hartford Dark Blues, 1911-1923, Jersey City Whites, 1924-1952, Jersey City White Sox, 1953-1975 Jersey City Elites, 1976-present, Kansas City Elites) WORLD SERIES TITLES (7) 1909, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1961, 1981, 1995 NL PENNANTS (12) 1908, 1915, 1917, 1960, 1962, DIVISION TITLES (13) 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1981, 1990, 1995 |
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08-12-2007, 01:14 PM
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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I'll finish the team history capsules next, but I wanted to share a little story with you, that I think will whet your thistle about what's to come in this particular MLB iteration.
SLUGGERVILLE If you want a glimpse at how the steroid era in real life might look to people looking at it in the future, the 1950-1970 era in The Major Leagues might be a good glimpse. Prior to this time, no one hit home runs. It was just a rare occurrence and hardly a priority in the game. But the offensive explosion that commenced during this period of time in baseball was simply unparalleled and might never be matched again. Among these was the man who simply in a class by himself. With a work ethic that was unparalleled in sports prior to his arrival, he simply approached the game with a focus and dedication that yielded results that no one ever expects to see duplicated. Simply put, Sloan The Slugger Sullivan, established a pace that'll never be duplicated. Here are just a smattering of his achievements: Quote:
Fellow Hall of Famer, Josh "Detroit Red" Ferguson, whose 702 career homers for the Dallas/Detroit franchise between 1965-1980 would normally place him singularly ahead of most batters, had the misfortune of spending his career 'backing up' Sullivan in terms of accolades for the title of best power hitter in the game. But, he did manage to get his own place in the record books in 1968, by breaking Sullivan's single-season home run record of 91 HRs that Sully set back in 1961. Ferguson's record stands at 93. Only five men in history have hit 80+ homers. Sullivan did it seven times. Ferguson did it twice in 1968 when he set the new record (93) and again in 1969 (82) and new newcomer in the form of Panamanian slugger Adrian Rivera, who hit 82 homers back in 1993 with Vancouver. Last edited by Young Drachma : 08-12-2007 at 01:17 PM. |
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08-12-2007, 02:03 PM
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#9 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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KEOKUK COMETS
So, you're the type looking for the Green Bay Packers of Baseball, eh? Look no further than the Keokuk (IA) Comets. The team spent from 1901-1913 in Kansas City. But in 1914, Bud K.P. Moore, purchased the team and decided to move it to his hometown of Keokuk, Iowa. The hamlet of less than 20,000 people on the Mississippi River was an unlike place for a major league baseball team, except maybe for the fact that it converges along the lines of the borders of Illinois and Missouri, too. The team never won a pennant from the time it moved to Keokuk, its four previous World Series titles all came in Kansas City between 1904 and 1911. Anyway, the team managed to survive well into the 1960s, but barely. Moore refused to sell and refused to move the team. But, when Moore was basically into his 100s and on the brink of death, many possible owners were salivating at the opportunity to buy the team and conversely, there were some MLB owners who felt the "small-town experiment" had come to to a close in the burgeoning era of big-business baseball to come. But, a group of local investors spanning well into rural Illinois and Missouri -- all who have adopted the team as their own -- as well as the Iowa faithful from throughout the state, created the Keokuk Community Professional Baseball Club, Inc., and acquired the franchise in 1962, ensuring that the club will never be moved out of Keokuk, due to the community trust setup of the ownership structure. The community luck must've worked. The team won its first World Series in 1963. Repeated in 1964 and won three straight from 1966-68. They went from the doormats of MLB to one of the recent standard-bearing franchises. But unlike a big city club, they're hard to hate and have a fan base that spans the nation and the globe. WORLD SERIES TITLES: 9 1904, 1906, 1907, 1911, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968 NATIONAL LEAGUE PENNANTS: 14 1965, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1985 NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST DIVISION TITLES: 14 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1996 Last edited by Young Drachma : 08-12-2007 at 02:04 PM. |
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08-12-2007, 02:43 PM
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#10 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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LOS ANGELES ANGELS
(1901-present, Los Angeles Angels) WORLD SERIES TITLES: 5 1902, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1985 AMERICAN LEAGUE PENNANTS: 8 1951, 1976, 1998 AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST DIVISION CHAMPS: 8 1976, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1998 LOS ANGELES STARS (1977-present, Los Angeles Stars) WORLD SERIES TITLES: 0 NL PENNANTS: 0 NL WEST TITLES: 1 (1998) MEMPHIS BLUES WORLD SERIES TITLES: 0 NL PENNANTS: 0 NL EAST TITLES: 2 (1993, 1995) MIAMI MARLINS (1901-1948, Toledo Mud Hens 1949-1967, Philadelphia Colonials, 1968-present, Miami Marlins) WORLD SERIES TITLES: 2 1960, 1962 AL PENNANTS: 3 1982 AL EAST TITLES: 6 1962, 1963, 1964, 1977, 1982, 1991 MONTREAL ROYALS (1977-present, Montreal Royals) WORLD SERIES TITLES: 0 AL PENNANTS: 0 AL EAST TITLES: 1 (1985) NEW ORLEANS ZEPHYRS (1924-1952 New Orleans Pelicans, 1953-present New Orleans Zephyrs) WORLD SERIES TITLES: 1 (1950) AL PENNANTS: (7) 1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1996 AL WEST TITLES: (8) 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1990, 1996 NEW YORK BOMBERS (1901-1910 Boise Hawks, 1911-1923 Wichita Wranglers, 1924-1962 New York Bombers) WORLD SERIES TITLES: 1 1910 NL PENNANTS: 3 1903, 1906 NL EAST TITLES: 3 1971, 1973, 1982 NEW YORK HIGHLANDERS (1901-1948, Portland Beavers, 1949-1952, San Antonio Missions, 1953-present New York Highlanders) WORLD SERIES TITLES: 7 1915, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1925, 1928, 1986 AL PENNANTS: 11 1942, 1952, 1967, 1997 AL EAST TITLES: 6 1966, 1967, 1986, 1987, 1997, 1998 PHILADELPHIA BLUE JAYS (1901-1948, New York Metropolitans, 1949-present, Philadelphia Blue Jays) WORLD SERIES TITLES: 3 1936, 1987, 1991 NL PENNANTS: 6 1947, 1969, 1986 NL EAST TITLES: 9 1969, 1970, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992 SALT LAKE CITY BEES (1977-present, Salt Lake City Bees) WORLD SERIES TITLES: 0 AL PENNANTS: 0 AL WEST TITLES: 1 (1988) |
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08-12-2007, 02:59 PM
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#11 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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SAN FRANCISCO SEALS
(1901-1910 Colorado Springs Sky Sox, 1911-present, San Francisco Seals) WORLD SERIES TITLES: 2 1937, 1944 AL TITLES: 9 1906, 1909, 1911, 1922, 1929, 1945, 1981 AL WEST TITLES: 3 1972, 1980, 1981 SEATTLE PILOTS (1962-present, Seattle Pilots) WORLD SERIES TITLES: 1 (1970) AL PENNANTS: 3 1991, 1995 AL WEST TITLES: 10 1967, 1970, 1971, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 TAMPA YANKEES Why in God's name would a team in the south call itself the Yankees? Simple. To let people KNOW where the owners are from. When oil and cattle magnate P.D. Barnes decided to relocate his ballclub from the Rockies in Casper, Wyoming to Tampa, Florida in 1924, most thought he was crazy for going from one extreme to the other. But in retrospect, it seems he's figured out pretty vividly that Tampa would eventually become snowbird country and that the swamplands would be come prime real estate for who else -- but lots of Yankees. WORLD SERIES TITLES: 8 1926, 1927, 1940, 1947, 1958, 1992, 1994, 1999 AL PENNANTS: 8 1905 AL EAST TITLES: 8 1979, 1981, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999 TORONTO MARLIES (1962-present, Toronto Marlies) WORLD SERIES TITLES: 1974 NL PENNANTS: 1 NL EAST TITLES: 1 VANCOUVER CANADIANS (1962-present, Vancouver Canadians) WORLD SERIES TITLES: 3 1975, 1982, 1993 NL PENNANTS: 5 1983, 1992 NL WEST TITLES: 6 1975, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1991, 1992, 1993 Last edited by Young Drachma : 08-12-2007 at 03:04 PM. |
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08-12-2007, 03:17 PM
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#12 | |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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BOMBERS TO BECOME THE HEROES FOR 2000 SEASON
NEW YORK -- With many questioning the name 'Bombers' for a New York team after the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City, team officials mulled over the name change, consulted fan groups and decided to change their name to coincide with the team's 100th season in professional baseball in 2000. The team will officially be renamed the New York Heroes. Quote:
The team broke ground on a new ballpark that will open next year and is rumored to be named Heroes Stadium, replacing the team's current stadium and will be adjacent to Central Park. Last edited by Young Drachma : 08-12-2007 at 03:17 PM. |
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08-12-2007, 03:39 PM
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#13 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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There are no minor leagues in this particular universe.
There are two tiers of feeder leagues tho. The High School League is a two-league setup of 20 teams total. The teams are simply named for posterity and it doesn't really matter where they're located or anything like that. It's designed more to be like a Junior Major setup like hockey. Players can't enter MLB until they're 18. And players in both the Developmental Leagues and the Collegiate Leagues are subject to the 20-round draft. I've rooted it so created players no longer enter the draft, which is how I wanted it, so we could in theory track a 15-year old kid from the Developmental Leagues, through his career in the majors knowing where he played and stuff. Using cities wasn't as fun, since it would be hard to make the game choose players by city/state, I chose the franchise approach. But for the purposes of this dynasty, those teams are nominal and don't affect where franchises are placed in the majors or anything. In the Developmental Leagues (15-18), the teams are: AMERICAN JUNIOR --- Detroit Tigers Cleveland Blues Baltimore Orioles Houston Astros Philadelphia Athletics Washington Nationals Colorado Rockies Milwaukee Brewers Boston Red Sox New York Yankees NATIONAL JUNIOR ---- Philadelphia Phillies St. Louis Cardinals Brooklyn Robins Chicago Cubs Indianapolis Indians Pittsburgh Pirates New York Giants Minnesota Twins Boston Braves Cincinnati Reds For guys who need "more seasoning", we have the Collegiate League. EASTERN COLLEGIATE --- Seton Hall Ohio State Harvard Yale St. Louis University Navy Rutgers Ferrum North Carolina Monmouth (IL) WESTERN COLLEGIATE --- Colorado Oklahoma Stanford Air Force Oregon State Wyoming Oregon Colorado State UCLA Nevada |
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08-12-2007, 04:01 PM
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#14 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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1999 MAJOR LEAGUE LEADERS IN SELECT CATEGORIES
PITCHING (I have the settings on 4-man rotations, Relievers and Closers Often..not very often) ---  BATTING ---  |
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08-12-2007, 04:17 PM
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#15 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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The last expansion was in 1977, as you well know now. MLB officials have been debating for a while about when the next expansion would take place, with cities from all over the country seeking entry into the majors.
At the owners meetings in 1997, the MLB owners approved an expansion for the 2002 season, 25 years after the last expansion, with just two teams being added. The realignemnt scheme has yet to be announced, but is expected in the coming days. League officials are EXTREMELY wary of creating the setup preferred by most of the media these days, which is a four-team four-division per league setup, but in order to do this, two more teams would need to be added and MLB officials have rejected this despite the interest from more than enough ownership groups. Most argue that this format would "water" down the product in MLB and the preference these days is to maintain the "integrity of the game" by maintaining the current alignment, with two teams going to one league and the other league waiting for a few years before expanding the same way. Mums the word at MLB headquarters on the new alignment, as well as what two cities will be awarded expansion franchises for 2002. |
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08-12-2007, 04:26 PM
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#16 | |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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MLB UNVEILS NEW ALIGNMENT FOR 2002
NEW YORK -- MLB officials say they are "proud" to announce the new alignment for the 2002 season, which will include two new teams for the first time since 1977. The two as of yet not announced franchises will play in the newly realigned AL East and the NL West. The realignment will cause for the first time a variety of changes that will alter the game forever. The first, is interleague play. League officials have said that the current setup just wasn't something they could maintain long-term. "While we're as aware of history as anyone, the fact remains that this is something most people have wanted to see for at least the past fifty years and it's not practical for us to continue separating the entities when for all intent and purposes, they are the same organization," said MLB executive director Frank Robinson. The new three-division setup will be the first realignment since 1962, when divisional play began. The new setup will also faciliate a second-place division team advancing to the playoffs. But the playoff berth is not called a wild card. Instead, all of the non-division leading teams will compete for a leaguewide playoff berth that's called the President's Division. "Each League President has decided to award a playoff berth to team with the best record in their league that does not qualify for the post-season via the conventional regular season mechanism. This will improve competition, spur interest in baseball for the entire season and create deeper and more meaningful opportunities for teams to compete for as long as they can," said Robinson. The new alignment is: Quote:
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08-12-2007, 04:31 PM
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#17 | |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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At this point, I'm working my way up to about 2006 when I decide to take over a team and then we'll focus on that. So these recaps are largely just fly-bys until then.
2000 PLAYOFFS --- Quote:
ALCS: New York def. New Orleans 4 games to 3 NLCS: Fresno def. Atlanta 4 games to 2 WORLD SERIES: New York def. Fresno 5 games to 1 |
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08-12-2007, 04:54 PM
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#18 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2001 POST-SEASON
--- AL EAST: Tampa Yankees (102-60) AL WEST: Chicago Cyclones (94-68) NL EAST: New York Heroes (93-69) NL WEST: Fresno Grizzlies (97-65) ALCS: Chicago def. Tampa 4 games to 3 NLCS: Fresno def. New York 4 games to 1 WORLD SERIES: Fresno def. Chicago 5 games to 2 |
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08-12-2007, 05:12 PM
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#19 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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With an added round of playoffs planned starting next season, MLB has announced that for the first time in the history of the modern World Series, the series will be shortened from a best-of-nine game series, to a best-of-seven games series.
This is to compensate for the new realignment next season with the addition of Portland in the National League West and Washington, D.C. in the American League East. |
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08-12-2007, 05:21 PM
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#20 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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MLB WELCOMES TWO NEW TEAMS
MLB's first expansion in 25 years will take place this month as the new Portland Beavers of the National League West and the Washington Senators of the American League East will get set for their first major league seasons. Portland last had a major league from 1901-1947, in the form of the club that became the New York Highlanders. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. has never had a major league entry and the Senators hope to give the D.C. faithful something to cheer about. We don't do an expansion draft. We just let the new teams sign players as they will and while it kinda sucks for them, that's been status quo policy since the inception of the league. |
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08-12-2007, 05:37 PM
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#21 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Now I'll be simming from 2002 until the 2006 season. I haven't decided if I'll start in 2007 or not. I think I might try to do that, though.
I have no idea what team I want to take over, at this point. But the history of having this league develop as it has, has me intrigued if nothing else. |
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08-12-2007, 05:45 PM
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#22 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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The new schedule is setup like this in 2002.
20 intra-division games, 6 games against inter-divisional opponents, 3 games against a primary inter-league divisional opponents, plus 7 games (a three-game set and a 4-game set) against two teams from other divisions in the other league. |
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08-12-2007, 06:31 PM
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#23 | ||
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2002
--- Quote:
2002 PLAYOFFS --- ALDS: Baltimore def. New York 3-0 ALDS: Chicago def. Los Angeles 3-1 NLDS: Memphis def. Los Angeles 3-1 New York def. Fresno 3-0 ALCS: Baltimore def. Chicago 4-0 NLCS: New York def. Memphis 4-3 2002 WORLD SERIES --- New York Heroes def. Baltimore Colts 4 games to 1 (First title for the New York Heroes franchise since 1911, back when they were the Boise Hawks.) 2003 ---- Quote:
---- Tampa def. Chicago 3-0 Los Angeles def. New York 3-1 NLDS --- Detroit def. Toronto 3-1 Philadelphia def. Detroit 3-1 ALCS --- Los Angeles def. Tampa 4-1 NLCS --- Philadelphia def. Detroit 4-1 2003 WORLD SERIES --- Los Angeles Angels def. Philadelphia Blue Jays 4 games to 3 |
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08-12-2007, 07:21 PM
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#24 | ||
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2004
---- Quote:
--- Montreal def. Seattle 3-0 Chicago def. Tampa 3-0 NLDS --- Vancouver def. Brooklyn 3-2 Fresno def. Keokuk 3-1 ALCS --- Chicago def. Montreal 4-1 NLCS --- Vancouver def. Fresno 4-3 2004 WORLD SERIES --- Chicago Cyclones def. Vancouver Canadians 4-0 2005 ---- Quote:
ALDS --- Montreal def. Birmingham 3-1 Baltimore def. Colorado Springs 3-2 NLDS --- Chicago def. Fresno 3-2 Toronto def. Los Angeles 3-2 ALCS --- Baltimore def. Montreal 4-2 NLCS --- Chicago def. Toronto 4-2 2005 WORLD SERIES --- Baltimore Colts def. Chicago Whales 4 games to 1 This was the first World Series title in Baltimore's franchise history. |
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08-12-2007, 08:26 PM
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#25 | |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2006
--- Quote:
ALDS --- Montreal def. Baltimore 3-1 Colorado Springs def. Tampa 3-0 NLDS --- Vancouver def. Brooklyn 3-1 New York def. Chicago 3-1 ALCS --- Montreal def. Colorado Springs 4-1 NLCS --- Vancouver def. New York 4-1 2006 WORLD SERIES ---- Vancouver Canadians def. Montreal Royals 4-1 2006 marks the first-ever All-Canadian World Series. |
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08-12-2007, 08:58 PM
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#26 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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ECONOMICS OF THE GAME
On the cusp of my taking over a team and starting to participate in earnest in this dynasty, I want to talk a bit about the economics of how all of this works. In 1981, Major League Baseball organized the combined media trust, a pool of radio, television and other media rights of the collective teams. While there is no revenue sharing besides this, the teams each get an equal sum from this each year. In 2006, that amount is estimated at $50 million per team. This is ultimately, how teams like Keokuk are able to survive in the current landscape of a major league sport. There is no salary cap or salary floor, so teams can spend whatever they want based on their revenues/intakes each year. With baseball in random places, there are always potential major league cities seeking to poach from other cities. MLB owners have been reluctant in recent years to approve team moves. The last team to move cities were the Jersey City Elites who moved to Kansas City in 1976. But as it turns out, there are two targets within the bullseyes of several cities that smell blood. The New Orleans Zephyrs, still grappling with the impact of Hurricane Katrina has had on the New Orleans community, are planning to move for the 2007 season, though they have yet to indicate where their new home will be. The frontrunner is Houston, Texas. San Antonio is also vying for the team. Meanwhile, the Salt Lake City Bees are on the block, for sale after nearly 30 years in Utah's capital and largest city. The team has only had one playoff appearance during that time and ownership -- unwilling to sink more money into the team to create a winner -- have conceded that it might be time for a change of pace. The front runner in that team's race is less certain. Both Las Vegas and San Diego have expressed strong interest in the ballclub, as have an ownership group in Tuscon, Arizona. The advantage that the Arizona group has over the previous two, is that state previously was home to a major league club -- the Phoenix Firebirds played there -- before moving to Fresno in 1962. The idea with league alignment -- to some degree, but not completely -- has to be identify markets that baseball could be paramount. The idea of an entire city revolving around baseball for the season appeals a great deal to the owners the current MLB. It allows fans to be engrossed in the product on the field, it allows people watch on national television via The Baseball Network -- a broadcast station that broadcasts baseball 24-7 -- and gives fans unparalleled access to the sport. It's how it's remained the national pasttime well into the 2000s, despite the fact that other sports are working hard to nip the game in the bud in a variety of ways. But anyway, back to team moves. MLB's owners meet November 1st. There will be an emergency vote to decide to approve where New Orleans move. Salt Lake City will not be sold by then most likely and as a result, that team will most likely spend a lame-duck year -- possibly more -- in their current locale. |
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08-12-2007, 09:04 PM
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#27 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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ZEPHYRS MOVE TO HOUSTON APPROVED BY MLB
NEW YORK - The New Orleans Zephyrs are on the move. But this time, the move is permanent. The ballclub will become the first move in nearly a quarter century in the major leagues, as they will play the 2008 season in their new home of Houston, Texas. The Houston Generals will play at 42,000 seat Ambush Stadium in downtown Houston. "We're excited for this new day," said owner Lee Evans. "This is a proud day for Houston and for all of the fans of baseball in that great city. We're thrilled to be major league!" Houston becomes the first major league team in Texas since the Dallas Travelers moved to Detroit back in 1968. "It was indeed a glaring omission on the part of Major League baseball to leave a state as great as Texas without major league representation for so long," said MLB spokesman Paula DeBerry. |
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08-12-2007, 09:16 PM
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#28 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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TAMPA OWNER TELLS REPORTER A 'HINT'
TAMPA -- Yankees owner Paul Waterbury, talking with a reporter with the St. Petersburg Times last week "off the record" said that he might be interested in moving the team when the Yankees lease ends at the end of next season. The Yankees have not made any secret of their desire to replace aging Wicketts Field, but the team refuses to invest its own funds to build a new ballclub and would prefer to play a new city-funded park. The city of Orlando is consider building such a facility to woo a major league club and this would obviously cause serious problems for Tampa should the proposal pass. When probed about the tip he gave, he says "there is no truth to that," but the reporter stands by the comments that Waterbury supposedly made. "We're not staying here. I want to do something different and I'd love to leave my mark on this club, by being somewhere else. Those were his words," said the reporter who prefers to stay anonymous. The Yankees have been in Tampa since 1911, so to move them would be huge replacement of an "institution," said one local writer. But don't expect it to happen. "They've been using their own name -- The Yankees -- as leverage that they'll move back north for about 60 years now. Most times, we just roll our eyes and tell them to go ahead. This guy isn't any different than his predecessors." |
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08-12-2007, 09:26 PM
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#29 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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DARK CLOUD TAKES OVER IN TAMPA
TAMPA BAY -- In a surprise move to everyone (including the author of this dynasty), the Tampa Yankees have quieted the talk about the team's rankling over its new stadium woes, by announcing that they have hired a new general manager and Team President. Dark Cloud, who worked in the private sector and was not a baseball exec prior to his hiring, says that despite that, he's a student of the game and believes that he's the right guy for the job. "I love baseball and not just that, but I understand how to right a organization that's trying to reach the next level." As the CEO of The Centurion Corporation, Dark Cloud helped that company posted triple-digit returns over the past decade before retiring to run an equity fund. "I'm looking forward to having the background of a stadium outside of my office is a welcome sight." The Yankees last won the World Series in 1999. They've won the AL East in 2001, 2003, 2004 and again last season before being dispatched in the playoffs by Colorado Springs in three straight in the AL Division Series. The Yanks need to shore up their hole in left field and could use another reliable arm in their rotation. "We're going to be aggressive and we're going to win. That's what I was brought here to do." |
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08-12-2007, 09:47 PM
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#30 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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November 1, 2006
We're the defending AL East champions. Conversely, the goal is to win this year. If we can increase the stock of the team in the media, it'll be a lot easier to get suitors for the team in a play to get a new stadium from Tampa. That's what ownership is saying. That we're gonna throw the book at this season to try to win and to get the Yankees back in the news for winning, rather than our recent string of post-season choke jobs. Here is the PDF of the 2006 Team Leaders on our squad from the past season. I'll go into detail about the current standouts on the team, the future stars on the reserve squad and a little bit about Tampa Yankees history. But...this will at least let you know what we're dealing with at the moment. Here's the current 25-man roster. Last edited by Young Drachma : 08-12-2007 at 09:47 PM. |
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08-12-2007, 09:56 PM
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#31 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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You can't really root for (or against) the franchise until you know the stars who have made it what it is today. So here are the historical:
BATTING LEADERBOARD PITCHING LEADERBOARD |
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08-12-2007, 10:00 PM
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#32 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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Lot of work into this, nice set up and background.....I'll be following.
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08-12-2007, 11:25 PM
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#33 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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SCANNING THE ROSTER: TAMPA YANKEES (2006 OFF-SEASON)
------ WHAT WE GOT: Outfielder Mark Thompson is the best offensive threat from last year. He hit .326 with 38 HRs and 102 RBI. The 6th overall pick of the 1987 draft, he was the 1993 Rookie of the Year and has won the Sullivan award twice, as the best offensive player in the American League. (1998, 2003) His 720 career home runs are sixth on the all-time list. He's within reach of Miami legend Vicente Vargo's 771 home runs for 5th all-time. Leland Corbin. He's a 25-year old centerfielder. 1st round pick of the 2000 draft. In his second full-season in the majors, he hit .304 with 30 HRs and 118 RBI this past year. He's got a rifle for an arm, too. Austin Taylor, a 31-year old catcher who is in his first season with the Yankees after 3 1/2 years in Boston. 2007 will mark the 2nd year of a three-year deal worth $26.4 million that signed back before the 2006 season. The Chickasha, Oklahoma native hit 19 HRs last year with 90 RBI as the starting catcher for the Yanks. Broderick James, 26-year old starting second baseman, who was the Yankees 1st round draft pick back in 2003. In his first full Major League season in 2006, he hit .276 with 17 HRs and 62 RBI. He's still got some power potential, too. Gabriel Vega 28-year old first baseman from Bixby, Oklahoma. Four-straight seasons of .300 or above was completed after he hit .318 in 2006 with 16 HRs and 79 RBI. Durable, hasn't missed a game since 2003. The 1998 first-round draft pick of the Yankees, he won the 2002 AL Rookie of the Year award. SS Scott Atkins, the 2003 AL Gold Glove winner at shortstop, Atkins was acquired in late 2002 near the trade deadline from Columbus in a four player deal. One of the best defensive players in the game, his offense came back in 2006, as he hit a career best 10 HRs, en route to a .260 batting average, 60 RBI season with 83 runs scored, also a career high. The 29-year old right hander is one of the most popular members of the Yankees in recent years, too. On the rotation side. the staff is anchored by Santiago Martinez, a 28-year old right hander from Houston, Texas. In his second season with the Yankees after being acquired from Kansas City, he matched a career high with 19 wins in 2006. (He won 19 back in 2004 with Kansas City) He walks a lot of batters (101 BB in 281 IP in 2006) and his ERA is pretty high 3.93 this past year, but he's a solid guy that could probably hang out in the 3 or 4 spot for most championship teams and we'd like to get him there on ours, ideally through acquisitions. Jesus Alarcom, the 1998 1st overall pick of the draft by Boston, Alarcom was a storied junior pitcher, coming up with the Indianapolis Indians. His pro career has been all with the Yankees, after being acquired in 2000 and during that time, he's been a solid pitcher. 2006 ended his streak of four straight seasons of 16+ wins (14-15, 4.41 ERA, 125 K in 261 IP) WHAT WE NEED: The bottom line is, we need more offensive punch in this lineup. I'd like to replace 3B Ray Mack, who has manned the hot corner in Tampa for the past five years, with someone who can hit better. He's a career .214 hitter and he has some pop in his bat, but simply put that's not going to get the job done long-term. Our pitching staff is woefully short of guys who can blow you away and I like a staff that's got the components of fire-breathing dragons. We might even go with a five-man rotation -- which isn't standard in this league -- simply because I'd like to put less stress on our aces and it'd be good to see if it can't help things. |
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08-12-2007, 11:34 PM
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#34 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2006 GOLD GLOVE WINNERS
--- Scott Atkins won the 2006 AL Gold Glove at shortstop, the 2nd of his career. He was the only Yankee to win one this year. AL --- P: Jaime Aguilar, San Francisco C: Ryan MacNaughton, Baltimore 1B: William Shaw, Montreal 2B: Adrian Bishop, San Francisco 3B: Corey Wills, Columbus LF: Kazu Endo, Washington CF: Hunter Thomas, Washington RF: Bryan Larsen, Chicago NL --- P: Anthony Mobley, Atlanta C: Carlos Jaramillo, Vancouver 1B: Alfredo Lopez, Portland 2B: Jeremy McCarthy, Portland 3B: George Owens, Brooklyn SS: Jack Davis, Vancouver LF: Jon Gregory, Toronto CF: Javier Cortez, New York RF: Pablo Lara, Keokuk |
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08-12-2007, 11:50 PM
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#35 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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DOWN ON THE FARM
---- We're woefully poor on the prospect front. None of our prospects are in the Top 20. Our top rated prospect at present is 20-year old outfield prospect Dave Johnson. He was a 1st round pick of the Yanks back in 2005. He's got great speed, is left-handed and has the potential to hit for average and gap power. He played his junior league ball with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was a two-time Junior League all-star. 1B Duncan Cole is a 20-year old from Overland Park, Kansas and was a 2nd round pick in this past year's draft. He played his junior league ball in Milwaukee. He projects well as a power hitter, but is a pretty awful fielder. He's one of those kids that might either be feast or famine. The last of our players rated in Baseball America's Top 100 is Will Griffin. Another outfield prospect, he's 20 and was a 3rd round pick in the 2006 draft. He's got decent outfield range and could turn out to be a pretty good hitter, too. ------ ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Washington's Paul Anderson won the AL Rookie of the Year award for 2006. He went 16-16 with a 3.52 ERA this year with 225 Ks in 278 innings. On the National League side, Chad Ford, center fielder for the Los Angeles Stars captured the award. Ford, 23, hit .300 with 19 HRs and 79 RBI. ------- FRED WHITE AWARD: 34-year old Jay Milligan of the Montreal Royals won his first Fred White award as the AL's best pitcher in 2006 this past season, going 26-5, 2.60 ERA with 253 Ks in 280 innings. On the NL Side, Edgar Stuart of the New York Heroes captured the award. He went 19-11 with 250 strikeouts and a 3.21 ERA. It was the second such honor for the 31-year old Syracuse, NY native. He won the award in 2004 as well. ---- SULLIVAN AWARD: Ronnie Knapp, the Montreal Royals catcher won the Sloan Sullivan award for the AL in 2006, hitting 42 HRs and 132 RBI, with a .333 average this past year. It was his second straight season as the AL's Sullivan award winner and helped to lead the Royals to the AL pennant. Matt Kirk, Fresno's second baseman bagged his first ever Sullivan award in 2006, hitting .337 with 36 HRs and 125 RBI in 2006. The 28-year old Kirk hails from Vineland, New Jersey. |
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08-13-2007, 12:15 AM
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#36 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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FREE AGENT EVALUATION METHODOLOGY
In past dynasties or OOTP games, I've been very much focused on ratings. Assemble the best ratings and talent and move on. For some reason, I don't know if it's vested history or whatever..but I'm look almost entirely at stats in this dynasty. Ratings matter, as they should. But I can tell you that most of my player evaluation will almost entirely come down to what a guy has put up numbers wise to decide who we're going to sign or not. While winning makes for a better story on one level, signing guys and having them flop and trying to explain it, is a lot more interesting to write as a storyline. So either way, I'm here to entertain. Let's go shopping. |
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08-13-2007, 12:27 AM
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#37 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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EARLY BIRD GETS WORM:
Yanks go dealing, get Sizemore and Kirk from Fresno. TAMPA -- The era of Dark Cloud has officially begun in Tampa. The Yankees new GM wasted no time remaking his franchise, sending fan favorite and future Hall of Famer Mark Thompson, who has been patrolling the right field wall in Tampa for his entire career, along with his 720 career homers, along with four other players and cash to the Fresno Grizzlies for reigning MVP 2B Matt Kirk and 32-year old outfielder Michael Sizemore, along with two prospects. Along with Thompson, whose entire $15 million contract the Yankees paid for Fresno to take, they sent 2B Broderick James, a talented young player who at 26, many believe still has the space to breakout to do even more damage in the future. In fact, he was one of the players cited by Dark Cloud as the 'hardest to let go of'. "He's got a bright future ahead of him still. The hardest part about developing fantastic players is dealing them. But in this particular case, we're happy with what we're getting back." 31-year old reliever David Eaton, who went 7-8 with 5 saves in 63 appearances last season was also included in the deal. along with a minor leaguer and a prospect. In Kirk, the Yankees get a bonafide star. He signed a 3-year extension worth $42.5 million to sign the deal to come to Tampa and gives them a decisive bat and upgrades their defensive position at 2nd as well. Meanwhile, Sizemore allows them to get a little younger in right field (he's 32) and while he'll never be mistaken for a power hitter (just 37 HRs in his career spanning over nine seasons), he's one of the best in the game on the basepaths (521 steals in his career and four straight seasons of 60+ steals currently) and is a career .330 hitter. Some might say the Yankees gave up too much to make this deal work, but Dark Cloud has a swift rebuttal for that. "We felt this was a great deal for us and at the end of the day, we did what we had to do to make it work. We're just getting started here and this is a statement in that direction." The move dropped the Yanks budget room by $25 million, leaving the club about $42 million in budget room to make moves. The team's payroll is currently at $59 million after this deal. |
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08-13-2007, 12:53 AM
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#38 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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November 20, 2006
--- We dealt 2B Jeff Jones (.226 in 106 ABs last season) and pitcher LHP Chris Mobley (9-6, 4.37 ERA, 70 Ks in 23 starts, 28 appearances overall) SP Frank Williams, plus cash to the Philadelphia Blue Jays for OF Jeff Bowman and prospect SS Juan Juarez. Bowman, 25, hit .274 last year with 3 HR and 24 RBI in 94 games with the big club, which was his rookie year. Williams, 30, is a southapaw who was acquired by Tampa prior to the start of last season from Philadelphia in a three player deal. He went 14-15 last year with a 3.38 ERA, with 77 Ks in 255 innings in his only season with Tampa. For me, the most exciting part of the deal is seeing whether that Juarez kid will pan out to be anything special. Giving up two lefties is difficult, sure. But...I think this was a good opportunity for us to leverage our desire to get better, while still thinking of the future. I have trading on "hard" by the way. I've made a few offers on free agents, but we'll just have to see how things pan out before we know whether or not they'll bite on our offers. |
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08-13-2007, 09:11 AM
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#39 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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November 23, 2006
--- We dealt two more major leaguers, this time Arthur Groves who was 11-9 back in 2005 and made 26 relief appearances last year, along with reliever Adam Travis (6-2, 1 SV in 54 appearances last year) to Houston for three prospects. The deal was handy from two perspectives. It saved us some money (about $6 million) and we got three kids that I think might help us later. The three players were 19-year pitcher Francisco Rivera, 19-year outfielder Mike Rivers and 22-year old pitcher Will Robinson Last edited by Young Drachma : 08-13-2007 at 09:12 AM. |
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08-13-2007, 12:48 PM
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#40 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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November 24: Signed IF Tony Bauer to a one-year contract. (.276/1 HR/56 RBI for Chicago last year)
November 30: Signed SS Kris Corrigan to a one-year contract. (.285/3 HR/36 RBI from Kansas City) December 5: Signed 3B Alberto Rivera to a 4-year deal worth $42.6 million. Rivera, 31, was an all-star for the first time with Vancouver last year and was part of their World Series title team. He hit .344 last year with 3 HRs and 67 RBI. December 6: Signed SP Sean Blair to a four-year deal worth $74.1 million. Blair, 31, spent the past seven years with Baltimore. He's had back-to-back 20 win seasons. He was 23-9, 2.99 ERA with 268 Ks. December 9: Sent SP Jesus Alarcom (14-15, 4.41 ERA in 2006) along with five minor leaguers to Keokuk Comets for P Pete MacNamara (4-0, 1 SV 3.00 ERA in 18 games in 2006) along with two minor leaguers. December 12: Signed SP Danny McKinney to a three-year deal worth $44.2 million. 36-year old righthander went 12-20 last year with a 4.46 ERA in 41 starts. Struck out 223 batters. Signed OF Hunter Thomas to a one-year deal worth $720,000. Has won four straight gold gloves at centerfield position. Hit .283 last year with 10 HRs and 60 RBI with Washington. December 14: Signed OF Bang Lee to two-year deal worth $9.4 million. The 30-year old Taiwanese star hit .270 last season with 30 HRs and 104 RBI last year in Washington. December 19: Signed OF Luis Silva to a four year deal worth $106.9 million. Silva, 28, spent the past six years in Los Angeles (NL). He hit 30 HRs last year with 103 RBI and a .313 average. --- If you can't tell we're about 20 million bucks over budget. That makes this season even more of a make or break season for us. I'm perfectly okay with this, mind you, it's just...quite the investment into talent to see if we can't come out of it on top. We're basically done. We have a few small offers on the board, but nothing major. I'm trying to pull the trigger on one more deal that'll get us from under a few of the contract we inheirted as the result of trades and well, one in particular...that if we can do, it'll be an arbitration number that was higher than I'm comfortable with. ------- December 25: We sent catcher Austin Taylor, OF Leland Corbin and pitcher Michael Barton to Salt Lake City for SP Jerry Lucas and minor league reliever Bill Berry. Lucas, 30, went 19-13 last year in Salt Lake with 3.76 and 271 Ks in 330 IP. December 29: Signed P Ryan Messer to a 2-year deal worth $11.9 million (2-3, 3.76 ERA in 30 appearances last year in Salt Lake) Last edited by Young Drachma : 08-13-2007 at 03:38 PM. |
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08-13-2007, 02:59 PM
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#41 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Major Deals and Acquistions
--- I thought it might help to understand the context of the deals I've made, to know what other free agents were signed this off-season and for how much. So here you go: ---- November 2006 -- Vancouver re-signed 38-year old pitcher Pepe De Jesus to a three year extension worth $12.4 million. De Jesus was 17-8 last year with a 3.46 ERA in 26 starts. Columbus re-signed pitcher Howard Johnston to a 3-year deal worth $14.5 million, the third year is a mutual option year. The 36-year old southpaw was 15-15 last year with a 3.48 ERA. He had 200 strikeouts in 41 starts. DECEMBER 2006 ----- Detroit signed third baseman Britt Warren to a four-year deal worth $72.9 million. In Montreal last year, the 29-year old Warren hit .317 with 28 HR and 107 RBI. Keokuk re-signed catcher Tim Cox to a four-year deal worth $71 million. 32-year old Cox hit .272 last year with 25 HRs and 75 RBI with the Comets last season. Atlanta signed reliever Gary Mitchell to a two-year deal worth $15.7 million. He went 4-6 last year with 6 saves in 63 appearances for Birmingham, with a 3.23 ERA. He's expected to be their closer. Washington signed former Seattle first baseman Doug Donahue to a three-year deal worth $8.8 million. He hit .278 last year with 16 HRs and 72 RBI with the Pilots. Houston signed former San Francisco 2nd baseman Tommy Glenn to a three-year deal worth $31.6 million. The final year of the deal is a team option worth $11.6 million. Glenn, 37, hit .318 last year with 5 HRs and 46 RBI for the Seals. 32-year old southpaw Joe Dixon will get the chance to start again after he inked a 3-year/$25.7 million deal with the Seattle Pilots after seven years with Miami. He hasn't been a regular starter since 2004 when he went 13-19 with a 4.90 ERA in 40 starts. Last year, he made 58 appearance (4 of them starts) and went 4-5 with 1 save and 4.73 ERA. Colorado Springs re-signed SS Brendan Blair to a three-year extension worth $20.3 million. The 28-year old hit .289 last year with 8 HRs and 72 RBI last year. Montreal re-signed Pedro Rodriguez to a 3-year deal worth $14 million. The 35-year old hurler went 23-10 last year with a 3.48 ERA. As you can see, this is the sort of league where players can clearly start and finish their career with a team if they're productive. I think that's a cool aspect of things. With the added playoff format, there is more parity than before. Nine different teams have won the World Series since 1998. |
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08-13-2007, 03:32 PM
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#42 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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I just changed the minimum number of years necessary to become a free agent. It's now just 3 years from six. I also eliminated arbitration. The reason was, I didn't like how because we have so many kids in the minors due to backlog and stuff, that a lot of those guys don't get freed from their deals until late into their 20s. I think it'll be a problem we'll be able to completely remedy in a decade or so. But...at least now I'm actively aware of it.
I've also pulled back the trade deadline from August 31st to August 15th. Last edited by Young Drachma : 08-13-2007 at 03:33 PM. |
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08-13-2007, 05:13 PM
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#43 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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We made a three-team deal with Boston and Miami on the eve of spring training.
The main parts that you'll care about are: Boston acquired: 1B Gabriel Vega (.318/16 HR/79 RBI) from Tampa and SP Nick Dawson (14-19, 4.78 ERA) from Miami Miami acquired: 2B Jose Molina (.273/5 HR/74 RBI) and a prospect from Boston. RF Michael Sizemore (.336/2/44), C Jose Valverde (.279 in 61 ABs) and three other players from Tampa Tampa acquired: 1B Orlando Romero (.285/41/124), C Brandon Schneider (.315/32/78) and two other players from Miami. |
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08-13-2007, 05:35 PM
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#44 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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I'm not sure how we'll run this.
I think for the first season, I'm going to give monthly updates of the team's progress. Then I'm going to try..if we're in contention to update to the current date in the 2007 season and then run through each day by day until we get through the end of the season. Just seems like a fun way to do it and I've NEVER run a dynasty that way. If we're out of the race, it's an unlikely thing though. It'll just bore me. |
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08-13-2007, 07:50 PM
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#45 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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MAY 1, 2007 UPDATE
STANDINGS AS OF MAY 1, 2007
Code:
THOMPSON HAPPY IN FRESNO After what will most certainly be a Hall of Fame in Tampa, Fresno outfielder Mark Thompson says that he's thrilled to be a member of the Grizzlies. "I couldn't be happier, man." Thompson, 38, has showed no signs of slowing down with age. He's leading the majors in both homers (14) and runs batted in (40) to start the season, reiterating why Fresno pulled the trigger on the blockbuster deal to acquire the accomplished slugger. Meanwhile in Tampa, GM Dark Cloud says that he's just fine with his team they way it is. "I'm pleased with these guys and there isn't anything about us that I'd change right now," said the head of the AL South leading Yankees. "We haven't even peaked yet, so I'm excited about what's ahead for us," said DC about his ballclub. SO FAR, SO GOOD FOR BLAIR, YANKEES So far, the signing of SP Sean Blair, has panned out perfectly for Tampa. The 31-year old ace has started off the season 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA in his first six starts with 40 strikeouts and just 13 walks so far this year. "It's really great down here," said Blair about his new team. "It's been a focused, but relaxed atmosphere pretty much from day 1." Blair is in a three-way tie for 2nd in the majors for most wins so far this year and fifth in the majors in ERA. |
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08-13-2007, 08:52 PM
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#46 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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We dealt Cuban defector and outfielder Juan Melendez (.213, 3 hr, 4 SB in 89 ABs), SS Scott Atkins (.343 in 67 ABs) and a prospect to San Francisco for four players including OF Takuya Yamasaki, who is the first player from Wales in the major leagues. Though of Japanese descent, he was born in Wales where his father was a diplomat and where is mother was born. His nickname is Tea-Time.
(Note: I changed his name to make the story more interesting. Nothing else..) The 30-year old veteran is hitting .317 so far this year with 3 HRs and 9 stolen bases as the starting right fielder in San Francisco. Melendez, 24, is a five-tool player with lots of upside and most are wondering if there is panick in Tampa at the growing gap (currently three games) between the Yankees and Marlins in the AL South. "We think Takuya is an excellent addition to our ballclub and we think the other players we acquired in the deal have the ability to contribute for us down the road," said Yankees GM Dark Cloud. |
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08-13-2007, 08:56 PM
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#47 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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TAMPA TO YANKEES: MOVE IF YOU WANT
Officials representing St. Petersburg and Tampa have both told the Yankees that if the team wants to seek out a new stadium deal elsewhere, that they have the blessing of the city. "The taxpayers have spoken," said St. Petersburg county commissioner Beth Page, "and they're tired of sports teams trying to dictate what price that the people will pay for stadiums for billionaires." The Yankees have been in Tampa for over 90 years, but it seems increasingly likely that the team will relocate as soon as 2008. "We've identified a few cities that have been proactive in their communications with us and we'll begin to have discussions with them about our future," said Yankees spokesman Darryl Henderson. |
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08-13-2007, 09:51 PM
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#48 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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JUNE 2007 STANDINGS
Code:
Last edited by Young Drachma : 08-13-2007 at 10:25 PM. |
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08-14-2007, 12:17 AM
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#49 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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YANKEES OFFICIALS VISIT INDIANAPOLIS
INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana was the first locale on the list of potential cities for the Yankees ownership group last week, after the team publicly announced plans to relocate the ball club or to explore options to that end. Indianapolis, a major metropolitan hub in the midwest says it's the "perfect" locale for the ballclub. "We're already home to a huge base of Yankees fans, but more importantly, we're a city on the rise," said Stuart McClellan, in a piece for the Indianapolis Star entitled, "Why the Yankees should relocate to Indianapolis." Also on the list of potential visits are Newark, New Jersey, which recently built a new multipurpose facility, Las Vegas, Nevada, Orlando, Florida; Toledo, Ohio; Hartford, CT;,and the former home of the Yankees back in the early 1900s, Wyoming. But this time, the city of Cheyenne is vying for the team. The team's first decade were spent in Casper. Ownership said the last visit is more a courtesy than anything else. "We feel it's a good way to assess where the Yankees brand penetrates and we feel like that part of the country is about where our signal ends in terms of carrying large swaths of the nation," said Team President and GM Dark Cloud. It's anyone's guess what will happen with this process, but team officials said they hope to have a deal in place by August 1st. Tampa officials have already indicated the team can extend its lease for another year if need be, provided the team (if moved) is out for good in 2009. But..city officials say that they're not in a hurry to see the team go. "They're great for business. But I don't know what they are doing," said Pete Mitchell of the Tampa-St. Pete Board of Tourism. Last edited by Young Drachma : 08-14-2007 at 12:17 AM. |
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08-14-2007, 11:37 AM
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#50 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2007 FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT----
I'm just going to cover the notable picks from our side. It's a 25-round draft. Generally speaking, high school and college stats mean nothing in the context of trying to assess prospects at this level. ---- ROUND (OVERALL) 1 (29): Dan Crowley, Catcher, 22, Seton Hall Crowley is not the best prospect in this draft. But he is the best player at our pick who is ready for the majors right now. He boasts a 79 GAP and 76 Power number and is rated 92 at Catcher. That combination makes him the kind of kid that I'd like to have now, that can help us now and would allow me to deal one of my catching prospects for other players that can help us down the stretch. 2 (58) Pedro Montoyoa, Starting Pitcher, Dominican Republic. 95 STUFF/49 MOVEMENT/75 CONTROL He's got lots of upside as a front-line starter if he pans out, but at age 19, it's going to be a while before we'll hear from him, if at all. 3 (87) Carlos Vargas, Closer, Seton Hall POTENTIAL: 98/65/75 The closer on the College World Series champion Seton Hall Pirates, Vargas is a 22-year old hurler who has decent endurance (45) and might be worth exploring into a spot starter role down the line, once he develops, just purely on his intangibles. 4 (116) James Nelson, 2B, Randallstown (HS) Maryland POTENTIAL: 62/68/18/48/63 He's not going to do much positionwise, he's just marginal and needs to bulk up, but he's got the ability to be decent with the stick down the road. Now, I have a penchant for..in the later rounds of draft, recreating a whole pool of new players for the teams to choose from. You may say "THAT'S NOT FAIR?!" But here's the deal. The game is absolutely awful at draft modeling. Even in the lower leagues without massive tweaks. My tweaks will take hold in time, but they're just not here yet and I'm not happy with the talent distribution in this league. Part of it probably has to do with the lack of minor league development to track player progress. But anyway...to bolster the youth movement in the game, I created a glut of foreigners mostly (Dominican Republic, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Netherlands Antillies , maybe one or two others) and it's only like another 35 players that were any good of those that I created, the rest are crap. All we're at the level of "draft-eligible prospect" or "very young and raw" and the idea is...to have them into the lower rounds. It gives us the whole "hidden gem" effect, plus it just makes the draft a lot more interesting than drafting one-star guys in the 4th round. And it's fair, because the computer gets its shot well before I do. And I'm all about making the computer teams better and spreading the wealth disproportionately in their favour anyway. Otherwise, there isn't a point in writing. 5 (145): Alfredo Velasco, Dominican Republic, Shortstop POTENTIALS: 68/72/15/85/61 He's just 18. And there were NO DOUBT better players ahead of him on the board. But I decided it was more important for us to go with need, at this point, than to go with "best player available." If he pans out, we have a solid shortstop for on our hands, with potential to hit for average. 6 (174): Vincent Lacy. 19, South Africa, Starting Pitcher POTENTIALS: 57/66/60 7 (203): Steve Bradley, 19, Houston, TX, HS POTENTIAL: 46/63/75 Next year's draft is going down to 10 rounds. The long draft is kinda silly with the lack of a minor league system. I might go lower after that, if I choose to. It's silly to drag it on for no reason when the players drafted will almost never make it to the majors anyway. |
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