What if Dee doesn't do PEDs?: A Miami Marlins Franchise (MLB The Show 16)

[crusaderhoops10]

Crusader will lean on star power
of The Show's Miami Marlins

MIAMI (AP) -- An ingredient in any ‘chisers bucket list includes completing a Major League Baseball season.

For Crusader, what better time than now?

“I’ve always wanted to play out an entire MLB season,” Crusader said. “Easier said than done.”

Crusader’s ‘chisin history includes many football programs, namely the Florida Gators, UCF Knights and Miami Dolphins in past-gen systems. It’s been awhile -- years in fact -- since Crusader was in a place where ‘chisin hard was a true option.

The Miami Marlins and MLB The Show 16 makes sense now.

“I’ve dipped my toe in now and again considering a franchise in The Show,” Crusader said. “ I’ve got a schedule that works, a great product, and most importantly, I’ve got a team I think I can fall in love with.”

Miami is an easy choice because of Crusader’s South Florida roots. It was always going to be the Dolphins and Gators or Knights. There’s really no competition for the Marlins either.

It helps that they have such an appealing roster.

Miami isn’t short on stars, namely Giancarlo Stanton, Dee Gordon and Jose Fernandez.

“I expect to be chasing records from the start,” Crusader said. “Stanton has as much power as anyone, Gordon is a blaze on the basepaths and Fernandez can dominate on the mound. What’s not to love?”

The rest of the roster, if anything.

This isn’t one of the worst teams in the league, closer to the middle of the pack. Seven of the eight batters are rated 80 or above. There are some young, up-and-comers like Marcell Ozuna (80 OVR, LF, 25 years old) and Christian Yelich (82 OVR, CF, 24 years old).

When it comes to pitching, after Fernandez you’re not getting a lot of strong arms.

“It’s a good mix, I think,” Crusader said. “I love the stars, really like some of the young guys. It’s going to take work to make a run at the postseason. That’s how we like it around these parts.”

When it comes to the MLB, nothing is more challenging than the grind. 162 games. That’s a lot. A lot of time to invest.

The plan is to keep it simple. A dynamic difficulty will be used (for now), expectations for playing games will be realistic, and the load required to report them won’t be too much.

“Going to try to keep it light and fun,” Crusader said. “I don’t mind losing, or dominating, if it comes to that. There’s going to be a long feeling-out period and hopefully down the road, we get a good, fun franchise that I’m looking forward to.”

Franchise info
Difficulty: Dynamic
Yearly goal: Reach postseason
Contract goal: Win Division Series
Team Budget: $114.5M
Team Rankings: 14th overall
Triple-A: New Orleans Zephyrs
Double-A: Jacksonville Suns
Stream link: twitch.tv/akennedy13

[crusaderhoops10]

2016 Roster and Coaching Staff


Dee Gordon is Miami's highest
rated player.

Pitching
Starting rotation
R, Jose Fernandez, 93
L, Wei-Yin Chen, 82
L, Adam Conley, 78
R, Jarred Cosart, 78
R, Tim Koehler, 76

Bullpen
LRP, L, Justin Nicolino, 72
LRP, R, David Phelps, 69
LRP, R, Edwin Jackson, 68
MRP, L, Chris Narveson, 68
MRP, R, Jose Urena, 63
MRP, R, Dylan Axelrod, 60
MRP, R, Bryan Morris, 76
SU, R, Carter Capps, 85
SU, L, Mike Dunn, 79
CP, R, A.J. Ramos, 82
RP, L, Brad Hand, 68
RP, R, Dustin McGowan, 63

Batters
Lineup vs. RHP
1. 2B, L, Dee Gordon, 94
2. CF, L, Christian Yelich, 82
3. RF, R, Giancarlo Stanton, 94
4. 1B, L, Justin Bour, 82
5. 3B, R, Martin Prado, 83
6. LF, R, Marcell Ozuna, 80
7. C, R, J.T. Realmuto, 77
8. SS, R, Adeiny Hechavarria, 80
9. Pitcher slot

Lineup vs. LHP
1. 2B, L, Dee Gordon, 93
2. CF, L, Ichiro Suzuki, 78
3. RF, R, Giancarlo Stanton, 94
4. 3B, R, Martin Prado, 83
5. LF, R, Marcell Ozuna, 80
6. 1B, R, Chris Johnson, 74
7. C, R, J.T. Realmuto, 76
8. SS, R, Adeiny Hechavarria, 80
9. Pitcher slot

Bench
RF, L, Ichiro Suzuki, 79
C, R, Jeff Mathis, 67
1B, R, Chris Johnson, 74
2B, L, Derek Dietrich, 71
LF, R, Cole Gillespie, 67
C, S, Tomas Telis, 68
SS, R, Miguel Rojas, 66
RF, R, Justin Maxwell, 64
1B, R, Xavier Scruggs, 61

Coaching Staff
Manager: Don Mattingly, 1-$2.35M
Hitting coach: Reggie Stocker 1-$816K
Pitching coach: Juan Nieves, 4-$366K
1st base coach: Perry Hill, 4-$466K
3rd base coach: Mark Lerma, 1-$700K
Farm director: Alden Allison, 3-$941K

[crusaderhoops10]

Jose Fernandez will start Game 1.

Interleague battle first test
Miami, Detroit to play 2-game series

MIAMI (AP) -- It’s an interesting start.

Crusader and the Miami Marlins won’t start off against a team they’ll be seeing much this season with AL-foe Detroit coming to town for the first two games of the year.

“I honestly don’t know what to expect early on,” Crusader said. “I don’t want to expect too much. Probably not going to be drawing a lot of walks or handing them out, if you know what I mean.”

Detroit is coming off a last-place finish in its division after winning it back in 2014. Hoping to bounce back, the Tigers certainly have some talented to pieces to help them do so.

One of the most feared batters in all of baseball, Miguel Cabrera (96 OVR), sits right there in the No. 3 hole. Ahead of him is newly acquired left fielder Justin Upton (90 OVR).

The Tigers will be missing a bat with no DH in Miami the next two days, but they still have enough that can do some damage.

“Cabrera is the scariest,” Crusader said. “He steps to the plate and you don’t see a cold zone above the plate.”

One thing that may favor Miami, the entire Detroit batting order swings from the right side of the plate. That’s not exactly what you want to put out there against Miami ace Jose Fernandez.

“I think Jose will get us out to a good start. That’s what I’m most confident about,” Crusader said. “Hitting, baserunning, fielding, those are all things that will take time for us to sharpen up -- and yes, I’m referring to my stick skills. Pitching won’t be as difficult. Jose is going to go right after them.”

Crusader says he doesn’t want to get too cute out there in the early part of the season. That means not trying too much small ball and being conservative on the basepaths.

“We don’t want to waste any runners,” Crusader said.

Projected starters
Game 1: MIA Jose Fernandez, DET Jordan Zimmerman
Game 2: MIA Wei-Yin Chen, DET Justin Verlander

Miami lineup vs. RHP
1. 2B, L, Dee Gordon, 94
2. CF, L, Christian Yelich, 82
3. RF, R, Giancarlo Stanton, 94
4. 1B, L, Justin Bour, 82
5. 3B, R, Martin Prado, 83
6. LF, R, Marcell Ozuna, 80
7. C, R, J.T. Realmuto, 77
8. SS, R, Adeiny Hechavarria, 80
9. Pitcher slot

Detroit Lineup vs. RHP
1. SS, R, Jose Iglesias, 85
2. LF, R, Justin Upton, 90
3. 1B, R, Miguel Cabrera, 96
4. RF, R, J.D. Martinez, 85
5. 2B, R, Ian Kinsler, 85
6. C, R, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 79
7. 3B, R, Nick Castellanos, 77
8. CF, R, Cameron Maybin, 76
9. Pitcher slot

[crusaderhoops10]

Chris Johnson watches his home run leave the park.

Pinch-hit pine lifts Fish
Johnson saves the day in the 8th

MIAMI (AP) -- Who would’ve scripted this?

With Miami’s bats cold as ice, leave it to Chris Johnson, on the first pitch he saw, to provide the Marlins with the spark they needed to beat the Detroit Tigers 3-1 in the season opener.

Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Johnson was brought on to pinch-hit for pitcher, Jose Fernandez, who had tossed a gem to that point. A fastball high in the zone was taken deep over the centerfield fence, giving Miami its first lead of the evening.

“Just bringing in a righty with a lefty on the mound,” Crusader said. “That’s all that went into it. Otherwise, it probably would’ve been Ichiro getting the nod.”

Detroit’s Blaine Hardy gave up the blast, and then another insurance run later in the inning.

Dee Gordon notched his second single of the game, and then swiped his second bag to move over into scoring position. Christian Yelich grounded out to advance Gordon to third, and then Giancarlo Stanton sent a fly ball deep enough to right to plate Gordon.

Fernandez had struck out 14 and allowed just three hits through eight. With the lead, closer A.J. Ramos got the chance for his first save of the season.

Ramos quickly went to work, striking out two of the three batters he saw, including Miguel Cabrera.

“Couldn’t be more proud of the pitching,” Crusader said. “Glad we didn’t waste it and were able to get the W.”

Detroit starter, Jordan Zimmerman, was tough to figure out for the Fish. He went six innings and Miami only managed four hits and one walk against him.

Detroit got on the board first when Justin Upton drove in Cameron Maybin in the top of the third.

Miami tied the game, 1-1, when J.T. Realmuto drove in Justin Bour in the bottom of the seventh.

“Getting a game under our belt, I think we’ll be even better tomorrow,” Crusader said. “It will be interesting to see the drop-off on the mound, but I think we’ll have better at-bats all around.”

Wei-Yin Chen will start for the Marlins while Justin Verlander takes the mound for the Tigers.

Linescore
Detroit 001 000 000 130
Miami 000 000 12X 390

Detroit leaders
Justin Upton: 1-4, RBI
Cameron Maybin: 1-3, R

Miami leaders
Dee Gordon: 2-4, R, 2 SB
Justin Bour: 2-4, R
Martin Prado: 2-4
Nick Johnson: 1-1, HR, RBI, R
Giancarlo Stanton: 0-2, RBI, BB

Detroit pitching
Jordan Zimmerman: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Justin Wilson (BS, 1): 1.0 IP, 2 H
Blaine Hardy (L, 0-1): 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER
Bruce Rondon: 0.1 IP, 1 H

Miami pitching
Jose Fernandez (W, 1-0): 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 14 K
A.J. Ramos (S, 1): 1.0 IP, 2 K


Adeiny Hechavarria hits a home run in the seventh innings.

More of the same
Not much changes as Marlins beat Tigers, 2-1

MIAMI (AP) -- The script didn’t change much in Game 2.

A gem on the mound, a late-game home run and A.J. Ramos shutting down the top of the order in the ninth.

The Miami Marlins improved to 2-0 with a 2-1 victory in the second game of a two-game series vs. the Detroit Tigers Wednesday.

Wei-Yin Chen played the role Jose Fernandez did in the season-opener, going seven innings, allowing four hits and striking out nine. Bryan Morris came in and pitched a perfect eighth and then Ramos mowed through Detroit’s first two batters before striking out Miguel Cabrera to end the game.

“I’m really confident in Ramos and our starters have done great so far to allow our bullpen to come in for good situations,” Crusader said. “Can’t ask for much more so far this season.”

The swing that made the difference: Adeiny Hechavarria in the bottom of the seventh. He finally figured out Justin Verlander, turning on a fastball and sending it over the left field wall to break the tie.

Verlander was ahead all day, didn’t walk anyone but Miami did tag him for seven hits.

“You want to take pitches but it’s hard when he’s starting you off right down the middle,” Crusader said. “We took advantage some, but probably not enough. Still feeling everything out, I expect we’ll start having better at-bats.”

Dee Gordon did so the first time he came to the plate. He then promptly swiped second and was brought home when Giancarlo Stanton singled up the middle.

Not many Marlins made it into scoring position the rest of the afternoon. Hechavarria’s shot was their only extra-base hit.

Detroit also had just one extra-base hit when its eight-hole, Cameron Maybin, took Chen over the left field wall for a solo shot in the top of the third.

In two games vs. Detroit, the Marlins pitchers allowed just seven total hits and two runs. Miami batters managed 17 hits.

“That’s a good number (of hits) but it feels like we aren’t threatening to score enough,” Crusader said. “That will need to change.”

Linescore
Detroit 001 000 000 140
Miami 100 000 10X 280

Detroit leaders
Justin Upton: 1-4
Cameron Maybin: 1-3, HR, RBI, R

Miami leaders
Dee Gordon: 1-4, R, SB
Giancarlo Stanton: 1-4, RBI
Justin Bour: 2-4
Adeiny Hechavarria: 1-3, HR, RBI, R

Detroit pitching
Justin Verlander (L, 0-1): 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 K
Justin Wilson: 1.0 IP, 1 H

Miami pitching
Wei-Yin Chen (W, 1-0): 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 9 K
Bryan Morris (H, 1): 1.0 IP
A.J. Ramos (S, 2): 1.0 IP, 1 K

[crusaderhoops10]

Giancarlo Stanton, left, and Bryce Harper headline the Marlins-Nationals series.

Miami heads to D.C. for first road test

MIAMI (AP) -- Miami will see Washington seven times the month of April, beginning with a three-game series on the road this weekend.

Washington is one of the more exciting teams in the league, possessing a roster with a lot of talent.

“We did very well vs. Detroit’s batters but that was with our two best starters,” Crusader said. “It will be different this weekend.”

Miami hit the ball well (17 hits in two games) but only walked once and had just two extra-base hits.

Dee Gordon recorded three hits and stole two bases in the two-game series vs. Detroit. Giancarlo Stanton drove in two runs, both of which were Gordon.

Miami had a home run in each game, one a pinch-hit shot from Chris Johnson and then a blast by eight-hole Adeiny Hechavarria.

“It’s good to see the bottom of the order contributing,” Crusader said.

Johnson is one player that will get a start in this series with Miami beginning it against left-hander Gio Gonzalez.

With a lefty on the hill, Johnson starts at first over Justin Bour, and Ichiro at center over Christian Yelich. Johnson and Ichiro are both 1 for 1 pinch-hitting this season.

Projected starters:
Game 1 - MIA L, Adam Conley, 79 OVR (0-0), WAS L, Gio Gonzalez, 82 OVR (0-0)
Game 2 - MIA R, Jarred Cosart, 78 OVR (0-0), WAS R, Tanner Roark, 79 OVR (0-0)
Game 3 - MIA R, Tom Koehler, 78 OVR (0-0), WAS R, Joe Ross, 79 OVR (0-0)

Miami lineup vs. LHP
1. 2B, L, Dee Gordon, 93
2. CF, L, Ichiro Suzuki, 78
3. RF, R, Giancarlo Stanton, 94
4. 3B, R, Martin Prado, 83
5. LF, R, Marcell Ozuna, 80
6. 1B, R, Chris Johnson, 74
7. C, R, J.T. Realmuto, 76
8. SS, R, Adeiny Hechavarria, 80
9. Pitcher slot

Miami lineup vs. RHP
1. 2B, L, Dee Gordon, 94
2. CF, L, Christian Yelich, 82
3. RF, R, Giancarlo Stanton, 94
4. 1B, L, Justin Bour, 82
5. 3B, R, Martin Prado, 83
6. LF, R, Marcell Ozuna, 80
7. C, R, J.T. Realmuto, 77
8. SS, R, Adeiny Hechavarria, 80
9. Pitcher slot

Washington lineup vs. LHP
1. CF, L, Ben Revere, 81
2. 3B, R, Anthony Rendon, 81
3. RF, L, Bryce Harper, 97
4. 1B, R, Ryan Zimmerman, 83
5. LF, R, Jayson Werth, 84
6. 2B, L, Daniel Murphy, 82
7. C, R, Wilson Ramos, 75
8. SS, S, Danny Espinosa, 77
9. Pitcher slot

Washington lineup vs. RHP
1. CF, L, Ben Revere, 81
2. 2B, L, Daniel Murphy, 82
3. RF, L, Bryce Harper, 97
4. 1B, R, Ryan Zimmerman, 83
5. LF, R, Jayson Werth, 84
6. 3B, R, Anthony Rendon, 81
7. SS, S, Danny Espinosa, 77
8. C, R, Wilson Ramos, 75
9. Pitcher slot