Baseball Mogul 2006--My First Dynasty Attempt

[Ben E Lou]

Well, I'm not sure whether or not the game is fully ready for a serious dynasty attempt, but if it isn't, I think it is close, so I'll give it a shot. If nothing else, this should help me to notice any "little things" that need to be addressed still. This game has definitely come a very long way since it was released. Here are the details of my gamestart:

SEASON: 2005
TEAM: Atlanta Braves
ROSTER SET: Game-generated fictional
DIFFICULTY: Mogul (hardest)
INJURY FREQUENCY: -70% (just trying it out to see if this is better)

Given a game-generated roster, there are a couple of imbalances to deal with (a starting-quality catcher who is pissed about being on the bench, for example), so I make a few trades to balance out the roster, which leads me to my first observation: I'm not seeing the AI-tries-to-fleece-you issue when I use the trading block. The problem, apparently, is in computer-offered trades, which I would rarely use anyway. I traded that starting-quality catcher and a prospect at a position I'm loaded at (2B) for a #2-type starting pitcher, who was the best offer I got from the trading block. Pretty good first impression there. At any rate, my next post will give my roster. The Team-->Roster export makes reporting on a dynasty roster a very simple process.

[Ben E Lou]

NAME	POS	CUR	POT	HLTH	CON	PWR	SPD	EYE	ARM	RNG	FLD	DEF	AGE	SALARY	YRS	ROSTER
Studer, Douglass	C	89	89	83	76	88	51	82	68	68	68	67	34	$4,900,000	--	#4 / C
Rogers, Marc	C	74	74	83	70	68	49	78	64	70	71	63	32	$530,000	3	Bench
Pierce, Jermeill	C	71	100	71	67	75	55	68	78	86	75	81	21	$1,300,000	3	(AAA)
Traylor, Kevin	C	68	68	74	61	63	53	67	78	86	71	78	26	$316,000	--	(AA)
Worthy, Luke	1B	80	80	63	76	87	59	83	67	49	59	49	36	$1,600,000	1	#3 / 1B
Gagnon, Terrell	1B	78	78	91	77	81	49	76	71	59	75	67	26	$1,850,000	3	Bench
Ray, Craig	1B	71	80	67	74	80	54	67	74	78	75	75	23	$800,000	2	(AAA)
Spaulding, Richard	1B	64	72	83	50	74	56	68	74	77	72	74	23	$360,000	3	(AA)
Moore, Joey	2B	83	83	87	77	67	89	76	80	89	83	91	26	$2,100,000	3	#2 / 2B
Huston, Mitchell	2B	76	89	81	78	74	68	74	86	96	70	93	22	$380,000	--	Bench
Seth, Joe	2B	71	93	70	68	74	68	68	81	83	72	80	23	$316,000	--	(AAA)
Isnor, Paul	3B	78	78	74	81	70	89	80	78	80	68	78	30	$1,050,000	--	#1 / 3B
Howell, Tobin	3B	75	75	72	74	78	53	80	70	74	77	70	32	$3,250,000	1	Bench
Baer, Gregory	3B	68	68	92	65	68	49	74	70	74	78	72	30	$800,000	2	(AAA)
Sklar, Mark	SS	79	79	88	77	68	86	72	80	88	65	79	30	$1,200,000	--	#8 / SS
Olson, Evan	SS	68	86	92	65	68	75	61	77	80	74	78	26	$360,000	1	(AA)
Arthur, Mark	SS	65	75	79	55	61	51	63	76	81	74	77	25	$400,000	3	(AAA)
Carradus, Chris	LF	75	75	74	79	79	50	74	61	65	64	59	32	$1,100,000	--	#5 / LF
Smith, Marcus	LF	68	68	67	76	72	59	72	65	65	89	72	38	$1,600,000	1	(AAA)
Hickman, Joseph	LF	68	68	68	79	72	76	74	59	61	86	67	34	$450,000	--	(AAA)
Wayne, Mike	LF	60	60	70	86	60	52	74	65	81	76	78	22	$316,000	1	(A)
Lenglet, Chip	CF	77	77	75	77	75	60	74	81	89	77	88	29	$360,000	--	#7 / CF
Riddiough, Vernon	CF	68	86	71	71	71	60	67	75	83	74	80	21	$340,000	3	(AA)
Iacona, Ty	RF	80	80	79	86	75	63	76	92	88	96	96	28	$2,300,000	1	#6 / RF
Ostraco, Bo	RF	78	78	68	86	65	77	86	72	80	79	78	28	$1,400,000	1	Bench
MacLeod, Lloyd	RF	74	74	77	72	76	56	67	77	77	67	75	29	$700,000	--	Bench
Thomas, Robert	RF	74	81	76	74	80	63	67	74	78	75	76	25	$900,000	3	(AAA)
Baly, Dan	RF	65	65	78	68	67	79	75	74	78	75	76	25	$316,000	--	(AA)

Position-by-position comments:

CATCHERS: Studer isn't much defensively, but should be a real asset with his bat. Jerneill Pierce looks like the future. I hope he develops enough this year to be a starter next year, as Studer's contract will be up. If Pierce is looking solid be mid-season and/or we're out of the race, I'll unload Studer.

FIRST BASEMEN: Here's hoping the aging Luke Worthy and the mediocre Terrell Gagnon can hold down the fort dcently enough until Cray Ray is ready.

SECOND BASEMEN: I'm pretty much loaded here, and I even traded a guy away. Seth looks like a long-term solution here, and could arrive in the bigs by mid-season.

THIRD BASEMEN: Isnor turned in a .371 OBP and 35 SB's last year. If he can continue to put up those kinds of numbers, he'll make me happy. If not, I'll be turning to free agency or the draft to fill this position.

SHORTSTOPS: Sklar's got the good fielding skills I value in a shortstop, and should hold down the position fine for Evan Olson's eventual arrival.

LEFT FIELDERS: If 2B Seth or C Pierce develop, I'll trade the current starters at 2B and/or C for a better left fielder, in all likelihood. Carradus, our best option, doesn't look all that good.

CENTER FIELDERS: Lenglet has never been a full-time starter, but he's got good range out there, and a decent bat. I'm hoping he can be solid until Riddiough develops.

RIGHT FIELDERS: Iacona barely beats out Ostraco for the starting position, based on his outstanding fielding. Ostraco will be our primary PH. Both could be gone next year if Robert Thomas lives up to his potential.

Pitching in the next post...

[Ben E Lou]

NAME	P	CUR	FUT	HLTH	END	CNTRL	PWR	MOV	ROLE	AGE	SALARY	YRS
Shimazaki, Haruhisa	SP	87	87	92	88	94	76	86	Starter #1	29	$4,000,000	4
Dimitya, Mike	SP	79	79	68	83	71	74	94	Starter #2	28	$770,000	3
Montoro, Sid	SP	79	79	89	86	96	86	72	Starter #3	35	$1,350,000	--
Mulek, Ben	SP	83	83	70	89	95	80	86	Starter #4	30	$2,400,000	--
Kenmotsu, Nagate	SP	74	78	72	72	91	76	87	Starter #5	24	$580,000	3
Williams, Jonathan	RP	92	92	79	19	79	93	96	Closer	31	$4,000,000	--
Unger, Tommy	RP	86	89	81	23	89	92	89	Setup	35	$1,400,000	--
Shoots, Scott	RP	75	75	75	19	76	86	88	Short	29	$360,000	4
Barnes, Brian	RP	77	78	71	49	74	86	82	Middle	26	$316,000	--
Hardman, Paul	RP	75	75	65	23	82	78	67	Long	25	$660,000	3
Rudinger, Guy	RP	77	77	76	23	82	78	67	Alt.	28	$770,000	3
Appolonia, Daniel	SP	74	81	68	68	86	78	80	(AAA)	19	$320,000	--
Miller, Richard	RP	75	78	67	33	94	80	78	(AAA)	24	$430,000	2
Miller, Brandon	SP	72	72	59	76	78	80	80	(AAA)	25	$390,000	--
Rosenkranz, Kevin	RP	75	75	78	25	77	78	79	(AAA)	29	$316,000	--
Hout, Jeremy	RP	75	78	76	26	79	82	74	(AAA)	27	$420,000	--
Crone, Eric	RP	74	74	56	23	76	81	86	(AAA)	28	$340,000	--
Elgaly, Alan	RP	71	71	76	25	78	76	79	(AAA)	31	$316,000	--
Kardon, Joe	RP	72	72	67	25	79	77	80	(AAA)	29	$316,000	4
Ford, Greg	SP	79	80	70	67	74	88	87	(AAA)	25	$316,000	--
Heras, Juan	SP	68	74	82	78	63	76	96	(AA)	22	$316,000	--
Lindgren, Keith	SP	67	72	59	80	77	74	92	(AA)	21	$316,000	--
Cousineau, Stan	RP	71	74	62	28	79	79	95	(AA)	24	$316,000	3
Guglielmino, Brian	RP	70	70	68	25	68	81	83	(AA)	28	$330,000	--
Peterson, Scott	RP	70	71	79	45	81	76	82	(AA)	26	$316,000	--
Rascon, Tomas	RP	68	68	74	25	76	76	79	(AA)	28	$316,000	--
Dina, Wily	RP	68	68	68	25	77	77	80	(A)	25	$316,000	--
Davidson, Ray	SP	67	77	74	67	86	75	86	(A)	24	$316,000	2
Forrest, Chris	SP	63	63	72	52	76	68	86	(A)	35	$316,000	2
Hauseman, Dylan	SP	60	60	60	74	76	77	71	(A)	31	$316,000	--
Coleman, Brad	SP	49	55	78	65	74	79	72	(R)	26	$316,000	--

I didn't change the rotation order before I did the export. Mulek will by SP2. After Shimazaki and Mulke, the rotation is rather suspect. We've got a couple of good young arms in AAA in Appolonia and Ford, and they'll be watched carefully. No other particularly solid-looking prospects in the minor league system, though. Just a lot of mediocre-or-worse looking guys. I'll definitely want to get some pitching in the draft.

Overall, because it was the first season, I used the simulator to run this season 20 times. We came out with an average record of 78.35-83.65. Florida (97.4-64.60) won the division 16 of 20 times. The simulator has us picked to finish fourth.

[Ben E Lou]

BEGINNING FINANCES
Payroll: $54.5M (22nd overall)
Cash on Hand: $5.1M
Fan Loyalty: B-

I lower ticket prices, go with Pay TV, and increase farm/scouting/medical spending to near the top of the league, where I intend to keep all three. I also lower concession prices a bit (around 10%) to try to get the fans to the park.

[Ben E Lou]

2005 MIDSEASON REPORT

RECORD: 33-48, 4th place, 14 games behind division-leading Philly

TEAM LEADERS
AVG: 1B Luke Worthy, .278
HR: LF Chris Carradus and 1B Worthy, 13 each
SB: 2B Joey Moore, 10
W: RP Tommy Unger, 6
SV: Jonathan Williams, 16
SP ERA: Haruhisa Shimazaki, 4.31
RP ERA: Williams, 1.86

FINANCES
YTD PROFIT: $-1.8M
CASH: $3.3M
AVG ATTENDANCE: 40,339
FARM: 1st
SCOUTING: 1st
MEDICAL: 1st

KEY INJURIES
SP2 Mulek went down in early May to severe elbow tendonitis, and it looks like he's going to miss the balance of the season. He was 2-3 with a 3.67 ERA at the time of the injury. I called up Greg Ford, who had a 4.13 ERA in five starts at Richmond at the time, to replace him in the rotation.

3B Paul Tisnor went down with a broken tibia in mid-May, and is expected to be out until mid-August. Tobin Howell moved into his starting spot.

SP Ford, called up to replace Mulek, looks to miss a month with a broken collarbone. He'll be back in late July. I called up Appolonia to replace him in the rotation.

PROMOTIONS/DEMOTIONS
RF Robert Thomas, rated 74/81 on 4/1, batted .304 with a .538 slugging percentage in Richmond, and his ratings had climbed to 81/91 by May 31st! At that point, I called him up to start, and made a pretty big trade...

TRADES
...dealing starting RF Iacono, along with aging SP Montoro and prospect SP Brandon Miller, for another good, young arm: Houston's SP Tom Davenport, a 22-year-old rated 77/87 who had been in AAA. I moved him directly into my rotation.

As the trade deadline approaches, there looks to be a strong possibility of me trading away guys like C Douglass Studer: well over 30, in the final year of a contract, and with a viable replacement in AAA who is almost or fully ready. I'll check in around July 31st.

[Ben E Lou]

I just ran into what for me is a show-stopping bug. Ben Mulek, he of the four-months-and-out-for-the-season severe elbow tendonitis, was "re-injured" on July 19th, but this time, with merely a twisted ankle, and he's listed as returning in 8 days. Just to double check, I waited until July 27th and put him in the rotation. He went nine, allowing only one run. I want to continue with these players, so I'll save the team right here and report the problem, but I don't want to continue until this is fixed.

[Ragone]

Most.. Unexpected.. twist... Ever

[Bee]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

I just ran into what for me is a show-stopping bug. Ben Mulek, he of the four-months-and-out-for-the-season severe elbow tendonitis, was "re-injured" on July 19th, but this time, with merely a twisted ankle, and he's listed as returning in 8 days. Just to double check, I waited until July 27th and put him in the rotation. He went nine, allowing only one run. I want to continue with these players, so I'll save the team right here and report the problem, but I don't want to continue until this is fixed.

I think we have a new cure for severe elbow tendonitis!

[Ben E Lou]

Continuing dynasty now (8.15). I put injuries back to 0%.

[Ben E Lou]

2005 DEADLINE DEAL
On July 29th, we're sitting at 43-59, and 14.5 games out of first. My promising youngsters in AAA are coming along ok, so I decide to unload some salaries, get a left fielder, and start the youngsters at 2B and C. I put C Studer, LF Carradus, and 2B Moore on the trading block, and I get an offer from Arizona that pleases me greatly. They offer LF Paulo Correa (86/87), a 25-year-old left fielder with some pop in his bat, solid fielding skills, and a $3.7M per year contract signed through 2007. Correa is a .330-18-63 player at the time of the trade. After making this trade, I call up 2B Joe Seth (79/95), who was .267-14-60 in Richmond to date, and C Jermeill Pierce (75/100), who was only .252-7-55. Because C Studer was in the final year of his contract, I figured I'd go ahead and pull the trigger on this, and hope I don't stunt Pierce's growth. Since he's rated 75, which is "average big leaguer," I expect to be ok. The 21-year-old will probably struggle at the plate some for a year or two, but I really like his 93 rating in handling pitchers.

[Ben E Lou]

2005 REGULAR SEASON END REPORT

RECORD: 68-94, 5th place, 27 games behind division-champ Florida

TEAM LEADERS
AVG: LF Paulo Correa--.355 after the trade,
HR: LF Correa--32 overall
SB: SS Sklar--17
W: Hauhisa Shimazaki 13
SV: Jonathan Williams, 28
SP ERA: Haruhisa Shimazaki, 4.11
RP ERA: Scott Shoots, 3.68

FINANCES
YTD PROFIT: $3.0M
CASH: $7.9M
AVG ATTENDANCE: 37,675
FARM: 5th
SCOUTING: 5th
MEDICAL: 1st

KEY INJURIES
No big ones in 2nd half.


Gotta run now, but I'll post full stats later tonight. Overall, I'm peased with the solid young players that I have. I think we've got something to build upon.

[Ben E Lou]

2005 STATS REPORT

NAME	ROSTER	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	SB	CS	BB	K
Isnor, Paul	#1 / 3B	65	280	41	72	9	3	8	29	0.257	0.318	0.396	0.714	13	4	20	43
Worthy, Luke	#2 / 1B	145	580	79	151	33	3	29	86	0.260	0.342	0.478	0.820	2	1	69	113
Correa, Paulo	#3 / LF	132	523	93	177	27	1	32	88	0.338	0.433	0.577	1.010	15	11	82	121
Thomas, Robert	#4 / RF	106	397	51	109	21	2	20	69	0.275	0.363	0.489	0.852	5	0	48	107
Lenglet, Chip	#5 / CF	149	573	54	152	32	0	19	63	0.265	0.321	0.421	0.742	4	0	39	105
Sklar, Mark	#6 / SS	154	597	81	173	27	3	10	65	0.290	0.347	0.395	0.742	17	2	53	123
Pierce, Jermeill	#7 / C	58	223	27	62	17	0	7	27	0.278	0.335	0.448	0.783	1	0	17	40
Seth, Joe	#8 / 2B	58	238	26	60	19	0	3	26	0.252	0.296	0.370	0.666	1	0	10	61
Ostraco, Bo	Bench	144	307	41	85	15	1	5	33	0.277	0.341	0.381	0.722	17	3	24	33
MacLeod, Lloyd	Bench	30	30	4	10	4	0	0	7	0.333	0.364	0.467	0.831	0	0	2	4
Howell, Tobin	Bench	109	387	42	91	16	2	15	40	0.235	0.313	0.403	0.716	1	0	42	54
Huston, Mitchell	Bench	52	77	2	7	1	0	0	2	0.091	0.136	0.104	0.240	0	0	4	16
Gagnon, Terrell	Bench	130	188	27	54	7	2	8	28	0.287	0.349	0.473	0.822	0	0	18	31
Rogers, Marc	Bench	25	59	9	19	3	0	3	9	0.322	0.385	0.525	0.910	0	0	6	9

Correa, Thomas, Pierce and Seth are all 25 and under, giving us a promising young core group. 21-year-old Pierce has the makings of a superstar.

PLAYER NAME	ROSTER	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	H	BB	K	HR	SV	BS	HD	CG	SHO	QS
Shimazaki, Haruhisa	Starter #1	33	33	13	9	4.11	217	234	60	150	22	0	0	0	4	1	18
Ford, Greg	Starter #2	22	22	6	10	5.40	138.1	140	62	115	32	0	0	0	0	0	11
Mulek, Ben	Starter #3	18	18	5	10	4.44	125.2	135	30	110	18	0	0	0	3	1	7
Kenmotsu, Nagate	Starter #4	27	27	4	13	4.73	167.1	190	33	113	34	0	0	0	1	1	10
Appolonia, Daniel	Starter #5	16	14	3	7	4.81	95.1	110	30	70	13	0	0	0	1	0	8
Williams, Jonathan	Closer	80	0	3	7	4.05	86.2	74	36	68	14	28	7	0	0	0	0
Unger, Tommy	Setup	88	0	10	8	3.73	91.2	98	23	86	11	0	3	3	0	0	0
Shoots, Scott	Short	77	0	6	5	3.68	115	110	50	96	14	0	2	1	0	0	0
Hardman, Paul	Middle	47	0	2	2	5.31	59.1	74	27	35	14	1	0	0	0	0	0
Rudinger, Guy	Long	24	2	3	1	5.24	44.2	50	21	33	3	0	0	0	0	0	1
Heras, Juan	Alt.	3	0	0	0	2.84	6.1	4	5	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Davenport, Tom	(AAA)	16	16	4	7	4.58	96.1	93	34	54	15	0	0	0	1	0	9
Miller, Richard	(AAA)	1	0	0	0	22.50	2	7	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0

Good live arms in Ford, Kenmotsu, Appolonia and Davenport make the pitching staff's future look bright, also.

[Ben E Lou]

2005 POSTSEASON KEY SIGN/RELEASE DECISIONS

Players boldfaced/underlined/italicized are re-signed.

PLAYER NAME	AGE	RTG	CURRENT	ASKING	RUMORS	COMMENTS
1B Luke Worthy	37	77/77	$1.6M	$4.35M x 3	Willing to compromise	Youngsters C. Ray and T. Gagnon should be fine.
3B Paul Isnor	31	79/79	$1.05M	Arb. $2.05M		I win arbitration at $1.7M.
CF Chi Lenglet	30	79/79	$360K	Arb. $2.05M		I keep him one more year, waiting for Riddiough to be ready
RF Bo Ostraco	29	78/78	$1.4M	$2.35M x 6	Cares about more than money	Solid backup OF for a decent price, I sign him for $2.35M x 3
RF Lloyd Macleod	30	72/72	$700K	$1.3M x 6	Doesn't like Atlanta	I oblige him and give him his change of pace.
3B Tobin Howell	33	73/73	$3.25M	$2.6M x 5	Willing to give a little	I think I can find a backup 3B cheaper than him.
SP Ben Mulek	31	84/84	$2.4M	$4.3M x 5	Happy in Atlanta	Going with Shimazaki and 4 youngsters in '06 rotation.
CL Jonathan Williams	32	92/92	$4M	$5.85M x 6	Money isn't #1 priority	I'm not ready to give a closer than kind of money.

[Ben E Lou]

2005 FREE AGENCY/AMMY DRAFT

FREE AGENCY
Looking over my roster, the main position at which I could use a FA is 3B. Other than that, I have a fairly-young player who I'd like to give a shot to at every position. Nice! There are a few solid-looking third basemen, so I decide to wait a bit. On December 1st, I sign 3B Raphael Rubio to a five-year deal worth $5.5M per year, with a no-trade clause. Rubio hit .303 with 24 HR's and 97 RBI for the Twins in '05. He's rated 87 in contact, 84 in power, and is a pretty good-fielding 3B as well.

AMATEUR DRAFT
I could use another good, young SP or two, but if a superstar is available at any position, I'll probably go after him.

1(3)--SP Thad Reed (71/99)--This 20-year-old looks like he could be a star. He didn't strike out a bunch of people in HS or college, but I don't know how the draft works yet. He did have a 3:1 K/BB ratio in his final (Sophomore) year in college at Arizona.
2(3)--SS Justin Bratt (61/89)--Bratt is 19, and made very few errors with a range factor over 6 in each of his four years in high school. He's got 82 speed, too. Could be a slick-fielding leadoff hitter one day.
3(3)--SP Stu Helland (51/91)--He's got a lot of developing to do if he's going to be useful. Improved his ERA by over a half a point in each of his four years in HS, down to 3.45 as a Senior. K/BB ratio was 1.90 overall in HS.
4(3)--1B James Vanover (51/82)--Vanover is an 18-year-old who had a .617 slugging percentage as a HS Senior.
5(3)--SP Chad Fisher (48/68)--Don't have a clue yet what to look for this late in the draft, but this guy had a 2:1 K/BB ratio at Baylor last year, and is friends with one of our minor leaguers. What the heck?
6(3)--LF Pedro Cepeda (53/64)--At .66, had the best slugging percentage last year among all remaining players.

[Ben E Lou]

Looking over my roster right before Spring Training, I sign a couple of cheap players as backups. C Josh Rosen has a weak bat, but a 94 in handling pitchers and an 81 arm. I also sign 41-year-old OF Jerry Woodhouse for some outfield depth this year.

[Ben E Lou]

2006 ROSTER/FINANCES

NAME	POS	CUR	PEAK	ROSTER	AGE	SALARY	YRS
Pierce, Jermeill	C	75	100	#8 / C	22	$1,300,000.00	2
Rosen, Josh	C	68	71	Bench	25	$450,000.00	1
Traylor, Kevin	C	71	72	(AAA)	27	$316,000.00	--
Rogers, Marc	C	71	71	(A)	33	$530,000.00	2

In his first full season in the bigs, Pierce looks like he could be a stud one day. His .515 slugging percentage this spring makes me wonder if he'll begin to contribute with his bat this season. Rosen is good defensively, but unlikely to impress at the plate.

Gagnon, Terrell	1B	80	80	#5 / 1B	27	$1,850,000.00	2
Spaulding, Richard	1B	73	80	Bench	24	$360,000.00	2
Ray, Craig	1B	76	81	(AAA)	24	$800,000.00	1
Vanover, James	1B	51	82	(R)	18	$10,000.00	--

Nothing spectacular here, but we look solid and young.

Seth, Joe	2B	76	93	Bench	24	$316,000.00	--
Huston, Mitchell	2B	84	91	#7/2B	23	$380,000.00	--

Two solid-looking young players who are arbitration-eligible next year will battle for long-term supremacy here. Huston gets the nod for now as he is a superior fielder.

Rubio, Raphael	3B	86	86	#2 / 3B	27	$5,500,000.00	5
Isnor, Paul	3B	80	80	Bench	31	$1,700,000.00	1
Baer, Gregory	3B	68	68	(AAA)	31	$800,000.00	1

FA signee Rubio gives us a solid bat in the 2-hole, and a decent glove at the hot corner.

Sklar, Mark	SS	82	82	#1 / SS	31	$1,200,000.00	--
Olson, Evan	SS	74	85	(AAA)	27	$450,000.00	1
Kaplan, Travis	SS	71	77	(AA)	24	$316,000.00	2
Arthur, Mark	SS	69	75	(AA)	26	$400,000.00	2
Bratt, Justin	SS	61	89	(A)	19	$13,000.00	--

Sklar has good range and a decent arm, but makes too many errors at SS for my liking (29 last year). IF Olson can improve a bit at the plate in his first season at AAA, he could get the call-up, as he is an excellent fielder.

Correa, Paulo	LF	87	87	#3 / LF	26	$3,900,000.00	2
Wayne, Mike	LF	61	61	(R)	23	$350,000.00	1
Cepeda, Pedro	LF	53	64	(R)	21	$10,000.00	--

Acquired in a deadline trade last season, Correa had a monster spring, and looks to continue to put up good numbers.

Lenglet, Chip	CF	79	79	#6 / CF	30	$2,050,000.00	1
Woodhouse, Jerry	CF	80	80	Bench	41	$2,450,000.00	1
Riddiough, Vernon	CF	75	89	(AAA)	22	$340,000.00	2

Lenglet, a better fielder than Woodhouse, continues to start for the time being, but this position eventually will undoubtedly belong to Vernon Riddiough by next spring, if not sooner than then.

Thomas, Robert	RF	84	87	#4 / RF	26	$900,000.00	2
Ostraco, Bo	RF	79	79	Bench	29	$2,350,000.00	3
Baly, Dan	RF	70	70	(AAA)	26	$316,000.00	--

Thomas hit .275 with a .489 SLG last season. He's not the big bopper I'd prefer at cleanup, but he's a solid hitter, a good defensive right fielder, and inexpensive--at least for now.

Ford, Greg	SP	88	88	Starter #1	26	$316,000.00	--
Shimazaki, Haruhisa	SP	88	88	Starter #2	30	$4,000,000.00	3
Kenmotsu, Nagate	SP	81	82	Starter #3	25	$580,000.00	2
Appolonia, Daniel	SP	80	88	Starter #4	20	$320,000.00	--
Davenport, Tom	SP	77	83	Starter #5	23	$1,000,000.00	1
Heras, Juan	SP	72	72	(AAA)	23	$316,000.00	--
Reed, Thad	SP	71	99	(AAA)	20	$26,000.00	--
Davidson, Ray	SP	68	74	(AA)	25	$316,000.00	1
Coleman, Brad	SP	57	57	(A)	27	$316,000.00	--
Fisher, Chad	SP	48	68	(R)	20	$10,000.00	--
Helland, Stu	SP	51	91	(R)	17	$10,000.00	--

The rotation is young and promising-looking, and first-round pick Thad Reed looks like he'll be a stud for us.

Unger, Tommy	RP	84	84	Closer	36	$1,400,000.00	--
Shoots, Scott	RP	76	76	Short	30	$360,000.00	3
Hardman, Paul	RP	75	75	Setup	26	$660,000.00	2
Miller, Richard	RP	76	77	Middle	25	$430,000.00	1
Hout, Jeremy	RP	77	77	Long	28	$420,000.00	--
Cousineau, Stan	RP	75	75	Alt.	25	$316,000.00	2
Crone, Eric	RP	73	73	(AAA)	29	$340,000.00	--
Rosenkranz, Kevin	RP	75	75	(AAA)	30	$316,000.00	--
Kardon, Joe	RP	73	73	(AAA)	30	$316,000.00	3
Rudinger, Guy	RP	73	73	(AAA)	29	$770,000.00	2
Dina, Wily	RP	69	69	(AA)	26	$316,000.00	--
Rascon, Tomas	RP	69	69	(AA)	29	$316,000.00	--

I'll address the bullpen next season, when it looks like we're ready to win. For now, it doesn't look very impressive.

BEGINNING-OF-SEASON FINANCES
Payroll: $42.45M (27th overall)
Cash on Hand: $7.56
Fan Loyalty: C

[Ben E Lou]

2006 MIDSEASON REPORT

RECORD: 35-46, 4th place, 17 games behind division-leading New York

TEAM LEADERS
AVG: LF Paulo Correa: .308
HR: LF Correa and RF Thomas: 13 each
SB: 3 players tied with 4
W: Haruhisa Shimazaki: 7
SV: Tommy Unger: 14
SP ERA: Nagate Kenmotsu: 3.19
RP ERA: Gordon Regan: 2.37

FINANCES
YTD PROFIT: $3.2M
CASH: $10.7M
AVG ATTENDANCE: 40,335
FARM: 1st
SCOUTING: 1st
MEDICAL: 1st

KEY INJURIES
CF Chip Lenglet suffers a severe shoulder separation on April 18th, and was out for nearly 2 months. Riddiough is only hitting .254 in AAA at that point, so I move veteran Woodhouse into the starting lineup and sign a 39-year-old backup OF.

PROMOTIONS/DEMOTIONS
At the end of May, 1B Craig Ray was hitting .315 with a .644 slugging average in Richmond, and his ratings had climbed to 81/87 from 76/81 this spring. I call him up to the bigs, and as a result, trade Terrell Gagnon away (below).

At the end of June, SS Evan Olson has progressed to 83/94 overall with very, very good fielding ratings. His defense should help our young pitchers. Mark Sklar gets dealt away.

Also at the end of June, 17-year-old 3rd-round pick SP Stu Helland was looking very good in rookie ball, and his ratings had jumped to 62/93, so he got the call-up to Single-A.

TRADES
1B Terrell Gagnon. I put him on the block for bullpen help, since our record at the time is near .500. The Cubbies offer hard-throwing righty RP Gordon Regan, a 78-rated 29-year old who has a 1.59 ERA in 17 IP this year. We pull the trigger on the deal.

SS Mark Sklar. Putting him on the block for more relief pitching yields an offer from Florida for the 1(27) pick in the 2006 draft, RP Morgan Smith. Smith is a 72/87-rated 21-year-old who already has an 86 control rating. He should be a nice pickup for us, and perhaps can be our closer one day.

With the trading deadline approaching, I cast an eye toward CF Vernon Riddiough, down in AAA. He's still rated 75/89, but he's batting .305 with an OPS above .800 as of July 4th. If he continues to hit at this rate, I'll have to take a look at dealing Lenglet, who is in the final year of his contract, before the deadline.

[Ben E Lou]

2006 DEADLINE DEAL

As I had hoped, CF Vernon Riddiough had a fantastic July. His AAA average climbed to .312, and his OPS to above .850. His ratings are now 82/94, and I deem him to be ready for The Show. As a result, starting CF Chip Lenglet, in the final year of his contract, becomes expendable. Because Lenglet is only a 79/79 player, I include $3M cash in the trading block offer, and am pleased to see Cincy offer up RP Toby Beyer. 27-year-old Beyer was unhappy in Cincy, and pitched poorly, but my scout has him rated 82/82, with control/power/movement all in the mid-80's. Here's hoping he'll help shore up the 'pen.

[Ben E Lou]

2006 END-OF-REGULAR-SEASON REPORT

RECORD: 83-79, 2nd place, 18 games behind division-champ New York.

Wow! We had a stellar 2nd half, going 48-33. This young team is coming together, and missed being the Wild Card by only 3 games. Nice!

TEAM LEADERS
AVG: LF Paulo Correa: .303
HR: LF Correa: 40
SB: SS Evan Olson: 7
W: Hauhisa Shimazaki: 15
SV: Tommy Unger: 31 (5 BS)
SP ERA: Nagate Kenmotsu: 3.08
RP ERA: Gordon Regan: 3.33

FINANCES
YTD PROFIT: $4.8M
CASH: $8.4M
AVG ATTENDANCE: 40,081

KEY INJURIES
Nothing more than around 3 weeks in 2nd half.

[Ben E Lou]

2006 STATS REPORT

NAME	POS	CUR	PK	SLOT	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	SB	CS	BB	K	AGE	SALARY	YRS
Olson, Evan	SS	86	93	#1 / SS	83	339	47	98	20	4	9	43	.289	.323	.451	.774	7	1	12	56	27	$450,000.00	1
Riddiough, Vernon	CF	84	94	#2 / CF	61	252	26	58	12	1	2	19	.230	.276	.310	.586	2	1	14	48	22	$340,000.00	2
Correa, Paulo	LF	87	87	#3 / LF	149	587	103	178	27	2	40	106	.303	.383	.560	.943	7	1	67	143	26	$3,900,000.00	2
Thomas, Robert	RF	89	89	#4 / RF	148	588	84	164	37	3	27	81	.279	.340	.490	.830	6	0	52	144	26	$900,000.00	2
Rubio, Raphael	3B	84	84	#5 / 3B	140	553	82	158	29	1	26	73	.286	.355	.483	.838	0	0	57	120	27	$5,500,000.00	5
Ray, Craig	1B	83	86	#6 / 1B	101	404	53	107	22	3	11	51	.265	.314	.416	.730	1	1	27	99	24	$800,000.00	1
Huston, Mitchell	2B	93	93	#7 / 2B	153	608	65	163	19	4	13	67	.268	.302	.377	.679	7	8	27	92	23	$380,000.00	--
Pierce, Jermeill	C	82	100	#8 / C	144	518	56	126	26	0	6	56	.243	.310	.328	.638	2	3	40	93	22	$1,300,000.00	2
Spaulding, Richard	1B	81	87	Bench	69	84	12	25	4	0	3	17	.298	.433	.452	.885	0	0	19	24	24	$360,000.00	2
Ostraco, Bo	RF	79	79	Bench	93	167	21	36	5	1	0	12	.216	.305	.257	.562	5	5	16	21	29	$2,350,000.00	3
Woodhouse, Jerry	CF	74	74	Bench	52	157	24	39	5	0	6	18	.248	.348	.395	.743	1	1	23	24	41	$2,450,000.00	1
Isnor, Paul	3B	80	80	Bench	64	167	27	41	8	2	1	17	.246	.323	.335	.658	7	5	18	22	31	$1,700,000.00	1
Seth, Joe	2B	78	94	Bench	51	71	10	18	3	0	2	12	.254	.338	.380	.718	0	0	7	14	24	$316,000.00	--
Rosen, Josh	C	69	71	Bench	19	60	4	11	5	0	0	3	.183	.222	.267	.489	0	0	3	8	25	$450,000.00	1

This became a pretty solid lineup as the year progressed, and we're very young, of course. Only two everyday players become FA's this year, and neither should command a huge salary yet, so I should be able to keep salaries under control at least for now.

NAME	P	CUR	PK	SLOT	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	H	BB	K	HR	SV	BS	HD	CG	SH	QS	AGE	SALARY	YRS
Ford, Greg	SP	92	92	Starter #1	32	31	12	11	3.54	221	177	91	182	22	0	0	0	6	4	16	26	$316,000.00	--
Shimazaki, Haruhisa	SP	88	88	Starter #2	33	33	15	8	3.23	245.1	201	56	156	23	0	0	0	7	4	22	30	$4,000,000.00	3
Kenmotsu, Nagate	SP	86	86	Starter #3	30	30	11	12	3.08	219	183	57	142	34	0	0	0	6	3	19	25	$580,000.00	2
Davenport, Tom	SP	83	91	Starter #4	32	31	13	12	3.79	214	188	71	123	34	0	0	0	3	2	16	23	$1,000,000.00	1
Appolonia, Daniel	SP	82	87	Starter #5	26	26	8	9	4.22	175	172	44	126	30	0	0	0	2	0	14	20	$320,000.00	--
Unger, Tommy	RP	81	81	Closer	73	0	4	6	4.46	68.2	53	24	70	7	31	5	0	0	0	0	36	$1,400,000.00	--
Regan, Gordon	RP	78	78	Setup	67	0	8	6	3.33	81	66	42	61	11	0	3	0	0	0	0	29	$450,000.00	1
Beyer, Toby	RP	83	83	Short	74	0	4	9	7.23	69.2	92	32	56	15	15	11	4	0	0	0	28	$2,250,000.00	2
Shoots, Scott	RP	77	77	Middle	45	1	2	2	4.22	59.2	56	25	46	8	1	1	0	0	0	0	30	$360,000.00	3
Miller, Richard	RP	77	77	Long	32	3	3	2	4.50	50	52	16	36	14	0	2	0	0	0	0	25	$430,000.00	1
Cousineau, Stan	RP	78	79	Alt.	16	7	4	3	3.42	55.1	43	13	39	12	0	0	0	1	1	3	25	$316,000.00	2

The rotation looks rock-solid, and the salaries are all manageable. It looks like my primary offseason objective should be to improve the bullpen.

OVERALL
If I can improve the bullpen, I see no reason why we can't be a serious contender for at least the next 5 years or so. I've been using Normal Broadcast, and below-average prices for tickets and concessions, so I definitely have some room to grow my payroll as my team improves.

[Ben E Lou]

2006 EARLY OFFSEASON MOVES/COMMENTS

I decide to head off arbitration with some of my young guys. I figure that I'd rather lock 'em up now than wait until after they have bigger seasons. With that in mind, I ink the following contracts:

2B Mitchell Huston--4 years @ $4.85M per year.

2B Joe Seth--2 years @ $1.45M per year. Good deal for a backup player. He'd probably have made more if he'd gone to arbitration both years.

SP Greg Ford--4 years @ $6.1 M per year, plus a team option of 2 years @ $6.2M. (Curious to see how these options work now...)

The Dodgers beat the Twins 4-3 in the World Series.

[Ben E Lou]

2006 POSTSEASON KEY SIGN/RELEASE DECISIONS

PLAYER NAME	AGE	RTG	CURRENT	ASKING	COMMENTS
1B Craig Ray	25	83/86	$800K	3 x $3.1M	He's a good fielder with a solid bat.I sign him to a 5-yr deal for $3.5M, with a 1-yr team option.
SS Evan Olson	28	86/93	$450K	Arb.	I missed the fact that he was arbitration-eligible. I win arbitration, and sign him for $4.25M
CF Jerry Woodhouse	42	74/74	$2.45M	1 x $2.3M	I can probably find a younger, cheaper backup outfielder.
3B Paul Isnor	32	80/80	$1.7M	Arb.	I'd like to keep this solid backup around for another year. I lose arb. And he gets $2.55M.
C Josh Rosen	26	69/70	$450K	1 x $450K	Great defensive backup catcher. I sign him for another year.
SP Tom Davenport	24	83/91	$1M	3 x $5.4M	Had a VERY solid year in his first full season in MLB. Should be worth the 4 x $5.2M he gets.
RP Tommy Unger	37	81/81	$1.4M	Arb.	Not willing to take a chance on a guy who is only a little above average, and 37 years old.
RP Gordon Regan	30	78/78	$450K	2 x $2.5M	That's more than Im willing to pay for a guy with Regan's ability.

[Ben E Lou]

2007 FREE AGENCY/AMMY DRAFT

FREE AGENCY
As I've already mentioned, the key this offseason is the bullpen. With my signings, the payroll has increased to $57.5M. Looking at how things went last year, and the $8.4M in cash on hand, I think I'd feel comfortable with a payroll of around $62.5M this year. Unfortunately, there are no RP's with ratings over 80 or better available via free agency. Unger and Regan, who I let go, are the second and thrd-best RP's available. I decide to go ahead and grab RP Gordon Regan early, since he's young, and one of the better ones out there. I spend $2.25M for 2 years to sign him, and then turn my eye towards making a trade. The Dodgers have a very good young reliever named Shawn Fillmore. I trade my 5th starter, Daniel Appolonia to Fillmore and a good-looking prospect, SP Kevin Swanson, who is rated 59/87. I figure that Thad Reed is ready to enter the rotation this spring, so this trade clears a slot for him, too. Fillmore is rated 93 in control, 85 in power, and 93 in movement. I'm very happy to have this lefty in the 'pen.

I can't afford to really give up anything else to get another reliever, but I think we'll be at least decent in the 'pen with what I've now got.

AMATEUR DRAFT
Obviously, the 'pen needs to be a priority. Apart from that, I'll just go with the best-looking players that I see. They can always be trade bait.

1(16)--RP Alex Biggans (71/81)--There were guys with better potential available, but Gibbans looks like he will be able to help me more quickly. This 20-year-old decides to turn pro after one season at LSU in which he had a 2.96 ERA. He already has 81 control, 76 power, 78 movement. I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the big club before the year is over.
2(16)--RF Rob Mifflin (67/81)--A good fielder with decent range, this 21-yuear-old's biggest weapon is his bat. He hit .422 in his third and final year at UVA, with a .681 slugging percentage.
3(16)--SP Andy Mehozonek (48/87)--High upside 17-year-old, but he has a lot of developing to do.
4(16)--2B Alex Shoots (49/80)--He'll probably never play for me, even if he develops, because his worst rating is his range (47). Future trade bait if he pans out.
5(16)--RP Alex Benitez (61/61)--Had a 2.86 K/BB ratio as a Senior at Baylor. Still not knowing if there's rhyme or reason to booms/busts, I decide to grab this guy due to his relatively-high current ratings and solid college stats.
6(16)--SS Daveed Mantilla (49/50)--Highest slugging percentage of remaining hitters.

[Ben E Lou]

Right before Spring Training, I realized that I didn't have enough major-league-caliber backup outfielders, so I sign CF Eric Holste to a one-year deal worth $2.05M. He's an 84/84 player who should be a solid backup.

[Buccaneer]

Team-->Roster export makes reporting on a dynasty roster a very simple process

I agree. Very nice formatting.

[daedalus]

Looking good so far, Ben.

[CraigSca]

Keep up the good work, Ben....I'd like to hear more and more about this.

[Galaril]

SkyDog is this dynasty DOA ?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Galaril

SkyDog is this dynasty DOA ?

Maybe. I've been running lots of tests, and I might restart with some history, now that I have some settings I really, really like. I'm not certain, though.

[Galaril]

Thanks for the info.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

Right before Spring Training, I realized that I didn't have enough major-league-caliber backup outfielders, so I sign CF Eric Holste to a one-year deal worth $2.05M. He's an 84/84 player who should be a solid backup.

84/84 backup player for who?




Todd

[Ben E Lou]

OK. I tweaked my settings to the perfection of my liking, and wanted to start with a "pure" league with the new settings from Day 1, and 25 seasons of history, so I'm starting a new dynasty. Sorry for the inconvenience.