MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

[Brandwin]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

Offseason in review.

I wonder why your offseason had a good crop of free agents? Everytime I sim the first season there is hardly any quality guys in the free agent pool.

[DJeterFan2]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

I wonder why your offseason had a good crop of free agents? Everytime I sim the first season there is hardly any quality guys in the free agent pool.

I got a tip from the 30-team franchise control thread or somewhere on here to sim the first few days of the offseason. That way there's a realistic amount of FA's available. It is highly unlikely that Scherzer, HanRam, Headley, and many others get extended so I thought that was fair to see them hit FA. However, guys like Hunter Pence, Curtis Granderson, and Elvis Andrus somehow hit FA. I quickly had their respective teams sign them back to the deals they currently have after 1 year of salary of course.

[guayo10]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

Since I'll be playing all the games, I restarted so I can go through Spring Training and see what works and what doesn't. I've played 5 games thus far (starters usually go 3-4 innings for now) here are some stats. I'm 3-2; beat Pit 6-1, lost to Pit 4-6, beat Phi 6-3, beat Tor 4-1, lost to Wsh 4-7.

Starting Lineup
SS Derek Jeter 2-12 (.167) 1 HR 2 RBI .417 SLG
RF Ichiro 5-14 (.357) 1 RBI 4 SB
CF Mike Trout 4-12 (.333) 1 HR 3 RBI 1 3B
LF Bryce Harper 1-11 (.091) 1 RBI (can't seem to buy a hit at the moment)
DH A-Rod 3-12 (.250) 1 RBI
1B Raul Ibañez 4-14 (.286) 2 HR 3 RBI (hit both in my 2nd ST game)
2B Alfonso Soriano 2-15 (.133) 2 RBI
C Francisco Cervelli 2-7 (.286) 2 RBI
3B Hiroyuki Nakajima 2-5 (.400) 1 RBI

Competing for bench spots
C will have one for the season Wil Nieves 2-7 (.286) 1 RBI & JR Murphy 1-7 (.143)
3 from the following:
Serious Competition
LF Juan Pierre 2-6 (.333) 1 RBI
RF Vernon Wells 1-6 (.167)
3B Yargevis Solarte 1-4 (.250) 1 RBI
2B Brian Roberts 1-5 (.200) 1 RBI
SS Cesar Izturis 1-6 (.167)
CF Franklin Gutierrez 1-8 (.125) 1 HR 3 RBI
1B Carlos Peña 1-5 (.200)

On their way down
3B Placido Polanco 0-1
CF Andres Torres 0-7
3B Kelly Johnson 0-2
SS Brendan Ryan 0-4

Now my rotations with one slight change
1.Masahiro Tanaka 0-0 2 IP 2 SO 1 BB 4.50 ERA
2.Jose Fernandez 0-0 2 IP 2 SO 0.00 ERA (Traded Clarkin + Severino + Phelps and all my other C prospects, will keep trading the Fish my best prospects via draft till 2020/2021 or so)
3.Freddy Garcia 0-0 3 IP 5 SO 1 BB 0.00 ERA
4.Barry Zito 0-0 4 IP 2 SO 4.50 ERA
5.Donthrelle Willis has not pitched yet, pitched one game with Phelps before dealing him. He went 2 IP 1 SO 0.00 ERA

My pen as of now, still 2 open spots for MRP
MRP Adam Warren 0-0 4.2 IP 5 SO 0.00 ERA
MRP Sean Burnett 0-0 3 IP 2 SO 1 BB 0.00 ERA
SU Andrew Bailey 0-0 2.2 IP 3 SO 1 BB 3.38 ERA
SU Jose Contreras 0-0 2.2 IP 2 SO 2 BB 0.00 ERA
CL Dellin Betances 0-1 3.1 IP 5 SO 1 SV 5.40 ERA (came in in a late extra inning game and got the lost, giving up HR to the Buccos)

In competition
1.RP Manny Corpas 0-0 4 IP 2 SO 0.00 ERA
2.RP Chase Whitley 1-0 3.1 IP 3 SO 2 BB 2.70 ERA
3.RP Matt Thornton 1-0 1.1 IP 2 SO 3 BB 6.75 ERA
4.RP Nick Maronde 0-0 2.2 IP 2 SO 6.75 ERA
5.SP Jonathan Sanchez 1-0 4 IP 6 SO 6.75 ERA
6.RP David Aardsma 0-0 1.2 IP 3 SO 2 BB 5.40 ERA
7.RP Preston Claiborne 0-1 1.2 IP 1 SO 2 BB 21.60 ERA

So now my depleted farm system has these guys as the top 10 prospects:
1.RP Chase Whitley 24 57 C (don't really consider him a prospect since he will/most likely be in my opening day squad and throughout the year)
2.CP Dellin Betances 25 54 C (same as above, now my closer for better or worse)
3.3B Yargevis Solarte 26 63 C (^^^^^)
4.RP Preston Claiborne 26 68 C (^^^^^)
5.C Kyle Skipworth 24 67 D (will more than likely not be resigned, unless he play extremely well in the minors)
6.SP Rafael De Paula 23 63 D
7.C JR Murphy 22 61 D
8.LF Ramon Flores 21 65 D
9.SP Jose Campos 21 61 D
10. SP Jose Ramirez 24 64 D

Without the 4 C guys who will more than likely be on my opening day team, the rest is well garbage.

I should be able to get a couple more games in today and closer to Opening day, will keep on updating as I go. Will be interesting to see if Manny and Whitley knock Thornton and Claiborne out of the opening day 25. Also the catcher situation and the extra bench spots, see how those unfold.

Side note besides the Fernandez move, I also added Braun to the Nats instead of Rios since I didn't feel they got enough back. Also not a Brew Crew fan, slotted Rios in his place. As for the Rangers they got Span, not a fan of Texas either. Both teams will receive some sort of compensation later on, be it a steal in the draft or something like it. I will also be instating some sort of cap to myself so I don't build a mega roster. With 30 team control it will be easier for other teams to resign their stars or trade them away before hitting free agency. Thus far I've pitched well with a couple and struggled with others. Hitting wise after Trout it has gone downhill, Ibañez has been a surprise thus far. Still really early though.

[BA2929]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

Quick question: How do you know if a guy you're trading for, or is on your team, is arb eligible? For example: Guys like Eric Hosmer and some others say they're only on a 1-year deal when I look at their player card. Am I missing where the exact contract details are? Or are the contracts just messed up in the game?

[DJeterFan2]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

The Mariners visit the Bronx for a 3-game set.



Series Recap below:

Spoiler

How Sweep It Is!: Yankees Sweet Swings Sends Seattle home via Sweep

Game 1: This game was simulated, the Yankees take game one of the series, 3-1, behind 7 innings of quality pitching from Jason Hammel. Javier Baez went deep in this game.

Game 2: The Yankees walk off after a wild Chase.





Tanaka pitched 8 brilliant innings in his second start of the season. His only hiccup came on a Robbie Cano opposite field home run in the first. After the first inning, Tanaka made the M's hitters look foolish at the plate. After the game, Tanaka told reporters, "I knew that pitch was gone after I started my wind up. Cano is a great hitter who knows this park well. My 2-seam didn't run away like I wanted it to and he put a good swing on it." That pitch was the best swing the Mariners had for the remainder of the ballgame.

On the other side of the mound was James Paxton. The Yankees struggles against left handed pitching has been well documented throughout the past season, and today was no different. Paxton recorded 12 strikeouts in the game. Manager Joe Girardi mentioned the quality of young arms that the M's have. "You've got Hernandez, Iwakuma, Walker, Paxton. That's a pretty good set of arms there. The M's have got a great future and it showed tonight. Our hitters pretty much looked helpless tonight."

In the 9th inning, Paxton was removed from the ballgame and was relieved by Fernando Rodney. The top of the order as well as the whole Yankees lineup was relieved to see Paxton go. Gardner lead off the inning with a single to right. After a Jacoby Ellsbury sacrifice, Chase Headley was at the plate with the game on the line. As cool as a cucumber, Headley lined a base hit into right center to score Gardner and seal the victory for the Yankees.



Manny Banuelos earned player of the game honors for pitching a perfect 9th inning. In the postgame interview, Banuelos mentioned making the most of his opportunities. "I know that I'm coming into an environment where you're expected to succeed before the first pitch. I've been in this organization long enough to know what it takes. My goal is to be a starter, but I'm happy to provide for the team in anyway possible."

Game 3: Baez's single sinks Mariners





The matchup was great on paper. Max Scherzer vs. Felix Hernandez. Though each starter didn't pitch terribly, both were gone by the 5th inning. Scherzer gave up a 2-run homer in the first inning which was the beginning of a long night of work for Max. "I just didn't have a feel for all my pitches tonight. Manny was great out of the pen. He really did his job well, and saved those guys down there a lot of work. My hats off to him", Scherzer said.



Great he was, Banuelos pitched five no hit innings of relief as Scherzer was not able to make it out of the 5th inning after serving up 2 home runs on 100 pitches. Banuelos' effort out of the pen earned him Player of the Game honors for the second consecutive day.

With a long stint of relief in the series finale, Banuelos believes he knows what his role is for the Yankees. "I believe that my role is similar to the role that David Phelps and Alfredo Aceves have had in the past. To be the guy that my team can rely upon to get one out, nine outs, or fifteeen outs. Whenever my bullpen coach calls my name Ill be ready.

The true hero of today's game was Javier Baez. After a series to forget to begin, the season, Baez feels as if his bat is finally coming around. "In Chicago, I felt like I had to be a difference-maker on offense. Here in New York, while the spotlight is brighter, I feel like I can relax at the plate and take the stress out of each at bat. With guys we have 1-5 in our lineup, it allows guys like Avisail and myself to be a little more loose at the plate."

The inning started with a Brian McCann flyout to deep right field. After Avisail Garcia reached on a single, Manager Joe Girardi put on the hit-and-run for Jed Lowrie at the plate. "The game is knowing when to take risks. We like to play all styles of baseball. Some days when our offense is struggling, we'll have to find ways to get some runs in.", Girardi said during the post-game interview. Lowrie delivered a basehit to right field which allowed Garcia to advance to 3rd. Baez was 0-3 at the plate going into the at bat. Baez roped a solid line drive to left field to score Garcia and seal the sweep for the Yankees.

[DJeterFan2]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

Hey all. Just wondering if you guys/gals could offer some feedback on the presentation of my chise.

Thanks!

[DJeterFan2]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

It's a rematch of the 2014 American League Championship Series: Yankees. Tigers. Let's Do It!



Series Recap below:

Spoiler

Game 1: This game was partially simulated. The 6th inning did Cliff Lee in again as he gave up 4 runs to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead. A Jack by Jacoby tied the game in the 7th. However, the Yankees lose a heartbreaker as the Tigers sink the Tigers on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th by Alex Avila.




Game 2: Yankees win big, lose Ivan Nova to "arm fatigue"



The Yankee bats woke up against Tigers pitcher Drew Smyly. Small ball and the long ball keyed the Yankees 9-run attack. After Detroit scored two early runs in the game, the Yankees responded immediately in the top of the third on a 3-run shot by player of the game Carlos Beltran. Ivan Nova pitched a great game thought was only able to go the requisite 5 innings for his victory. After the game, Nova said that he felt like he was out of gas after 75 pitches. "I had to will my way through that 5th inning of work.", said Nova.



Nonetheless, the Yankees were able to win the game rather comfortably. In the post-game interview Carlos Beltran mentioned his struggles at the plate. "My timing just isn't there right now. I think it's a part of the process in getting back to playing ballgames on an everyday basis. I hope that the home run can get me back on track here." Going into the game, Beltran was batting .189 with 1 home run and 4 RBI.

In the post-game interview, Girardi mentioned that Nova will need to pace himself after coming back from Tommy John Surgery. "He's gonna need to understand that he'll have to work his way back slowly. We may skip his next start depending on how his bullpen goes."

In the finale of the series, the Yankees send Jason Hammel to the hill.

Game 3: This game was fully simulated. Hammel continued his solid start to the 2015 campaign by tossing 8 innings of 1-run baseball. Yankees' rookie outfielder, Ramon Flores, came through in the top of the 11th inning by hitting a 2-run home run to right to give D-Rob the chance to shut the door in the bottom half.

The 8-2 Yankees will travel to Chicago for a 3-game set against the cubs.

[Chetballard]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

So after 55 pages of franchise progress, am I the only one who use the Arizona Diamond backs. I did a thread search and it appears noone else uses the Dbacks.

I am 63-44 2 games ahead of Dodgers around July 29/30th playing every game. I will most more season info later,just surprised noone else use the dbacks. I think i picked the most boring team in baseball

[DJeterFan2]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

So after 55 pages of franchise progress, am I the only one who use the Arizona Diamond backs. I did a thread search and it appears noone else uses the Dbacks.

I am 63-44 2 games ahead of Dodgers around July 29/30th playing every game. I will most more season info later,just surprised noone else use the dbacks. I think i picked the most boring team in baseball

I guess so haha. The D-backs are an interesting team I would think. It would be nice to follow a chise or Dynasty with the D-Backs and see how they get back to the class of the NL West.

[DJeterFan2]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

Two of baseball's most storied franchises meet as Baez returns to his old stomping grounds in the north side of Chicago. Yankees. Cubs. It's on.



Series Recap:

Spoiler

Baez Wreaks Havoc Against Former Team.



Game 1: Tanaka and Baez shows the Cubs faithful what they're missing out on.

Javier Baez returned to Chicago with a boom from his very first at-bat. A big 3-run home run in the 2nd inning of Cubs starter Jake Arrieta. The fans booed him slightly, but the trade wasn't his fault. "He was struggling here in Chicago, and Cash felt as if we had an opportunity to acquire him. We sent a lot of talent over here to Chicago, but we felt that Javy could be the guy to lead this next core of Yankees in the future", Girardi said during the post-game interviews. Baez finished the game 1-3 with that 3-run home run.



Masahiro Tanaka returned to Chicago with one thing in mind. Exact revenge for last year's loss in which the Cubs hit him hard. This time around, Tanaka was excellent through eight innings of work. He struck out 9 Cubs and scattered 3 hits en route to player of the game honors. After the game, Tanaka said, "I wanted to be aggressive early against the Cubs batters. McCann and I had a gameplan and we executed it really well. My curveball and splitter were there tonight. That was the key for me tonight. I felt like I could've completed the game, but with a big lead, Girardi said that I should shut it down for the night."




Game 2: Scherzer and Wood each twirl gems in classic pitchers duel.

Old school baseball fans would be proud of a game like this one. Each starter brought their A-game in this one. The Cubs needed a great start from their starter in this one after their bullpen was used extensively in last night's game. Travis Wood answered the call and then some. His only hiccup came in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by Mark Teixeira.

Throughout the entire ball game he had the Yankees batters off balance. "His circle change up was really effective tonight. Any time you can get that kind of deception and movement on a pitch, it's going to be a really tough night", said Headley during the post-game interview.



Yankees starter Max Scherzer was just as brilliant going 7 innings of 3 hit baseball while striking out 8. His effort earned him player of the game honors. In the post-game interview Scherzer said, "Travis pitched one hell of a ball game today, I knew that I had to be on my game today, because if I gave up 2 or 3 runs, that may have sealed the loss for us today. I felt as if my fastballs had more life today. I was able to get a head in the count with it then work with the soft stuff later in the count and the second time throughout the line up."

The Yankees were able to tack on a couple of insurance runs in the top of the 9th to give David Robertson some breathing room. Robertson pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to pick up his 3rd save of the season.





Game 3: A late inning classic goes down to the wire.



Before the game, Yankees shortstop, Javier Baez, let reporters know that he wanted to leave Wrigley with a bang. He did just that as in the fourth inning after being brushed back by Cubs Starter Jeff Samardzija, Baez sent the next pitch deep into the bleachers in left-center. The Cubs fans were angry at this point as their former SS circled the bases slowly after seeing the ball back on the field. Baez finished the series going 4 for 12 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI.

Meanwhile, Yankees starer Cliff Lee was excellent through 7 innings of work giving up only one run while striking out 8. However, things took a turn for the worst when Lee came out in the 8th with the Yankees up 3-1. Lee walked the lead-off man and gave up a double to Anthony Rizzo on the following pitch. Lee was relieved by Phelps. Phelps was not able to keep the lead intact as he gave up a single up the middle to Justin Ruggiano, followed by a sacrifice fly by Wellington Castillo.



The Cubs and Yankees traded zeroes until the top of the 10th inning when Avisail Garcia came through with a big home run to right center field. With Robertson warm since the 9th inning, he felt great going into the 9th. However, the cubs were able to rally to put on the winning runs at 2nd and 3rd. With Jorge Soler at the plate against David Robertson on the mound, it's time for another edition of:

Who Kept Their Cool Presented by Wrigley 5 Cobalt Peppermint Gum:

Spoiler

D-Rob strikes out Soler on a nasty front-door knuckle curve to secure the sweep for the Yankees.





Player of the Game, Avisail Garcia on his big home run. "I got a pitch down and away, and honestly I was just looking to get an extra base hit in the gap. The ballpark was playing big all series long, I'm just really surprised I got enough to get it out of here." This was Garcia's first home run of the season. "D-Rob was great in the 9th, he really bunkered down and got the job done. The game was never in doubt.", Garcia added.

The Yankees will travel to Toronto for a 3-game set to close out the road trip.

[Gronk4M13]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

Yankees Franchise:

I'm tried starting a franchise a few times and haven't been able to stay interested. So, I'm starting this one and am determined to stick with it.

I simmed through yesterday's date, letting the CPU manage the roster for the most part. Heading into today's game at Boston, the Yankees stand at 42-38. The Yankees are in third place in the AL East, 1.5 games behind the division leading Rays (45-38) while the Orioles are in second place at 43-37. The Yankees are in second place in the AL Wild Card race, just behind the Orioles.

I placed Alex Rodriguez on the trading block. Reportedly, the Dodgers and Brewers are interested.

Amateur Draft Picks:

1: First Baseman Martin Chico (86 potential)
2: Central Fielder Clayton Mohsin (78 overall)
3: Right Fielder Kenny Davison (70 potential)
4: Third Baseman David Schuetzle (69 overall)
5: Right Fielder Diego Garcia (67 overall)

Schuetzle is 18, so he has plenty of time to develop. Garcia is 19. Chico is 20, and hopefully won't take too long to get that 86 potential in the lineup.

Currently, the Yankees are in a 3 game series with the arch-rival Red Sox. The series is tied 1-1; New York beat Boston on Friday, then the Sox won at home. The rubber match takes place today; CC Sabathia (6-4 record, 3.62 ERA) starts at pitcher for the Yankees while Clay Buchholz starts for Boston. Both are seeing their first action in the series in this game.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

Two of baseball's most storied franchises meet as Baez returns to his old stomping grounds in the south side of Chicago. Yankees. Cubs. It's on.
...

Ummm, you must be a New Yorker! Wrigley Field is North Side of Chicago off of Addison Street. The Sox play down on 35th Street, which is the near South Side.

[DJeterFan2]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

Ummm, you must be a New Yorker! Wrigley Field is North Side of Chicago off of Addison Street. The Sox play down on 35th Street, which is the near South Side.

Oops forgot to proofread that part. Fixed.

[DJeterFan2]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

The Yankees travel north of the border for this AL East matchup. Yankees. Jays. Right Now.



Series recap:

Spoiler

Games 1 and 2 of this series were simulated. The Yankees lost the game on a couple of late inning heroics by the Jays. The first game, the Yankees lost 6-5 on a 7th inning go-ahead home run by Jose Bautista. The Yankees lost game 2 of the series 2-1 on a 9th inning walk off home run by Jose Reyes.

Game 3: The Jays and Yankees finish the series with another late-inning classic.

In the finale, the Yankees sent ace Masahiro Tanaka to the mound. With the Yankees in a bit of a funk and on a losing streak, Tanaka was determined to be the stopper. "As the ace of this staff, it is my job to right the ship when we're in a flux.", Tanaka said before the game.

Tanaka, however, was not particularly effective in the ball game. The Jays had their gameplan and executed it well. The Jays put up 4 runs early in the game within the first three innings, including a long 2-run home run by Edwin Encarnacion. After 4 innings, the Jays had a 4-1 lead.



However, the fortunes of the Yankees changed in the middle innings. The Yankees were able to tack on a couple of runs on a Brian McCann 2-run double in the 5th. In the 6th, after Yankees rookie outfielder Ramon Flores led off the inning with a double to right-center, Cervelli worked out a walk setting up Brett Gardner with 2 on and no one out. On a 3-2 pitch with the runners going, Gardner lined a rope into right-center field for a 2-run double and a 5-4 lead. In the process Gardner was able to get Tanaka off the hook and 5 gutty, yet sub-par innings pitched.

The Yankees were able to tack on an insurance run via a solo home run by Carlos Beltran. In the bottom half of the 9th, closer David Robertson got into trouble. After a Goins line out and consecutive singles Gose and Reyes, the Jays were set up with the winning run on base. Robertson was able to get OF Kenny Wilson to ground out to short on a fielder's choice, which allowed Gose and Reyes to advance to 2nd and 3rd. With the game on the line, it was David Robertson vs. Edwin Encarncion, in another edition of:

Who Kept Their Cool Presented by Wrigley 5 Cobalt Peppermint Gum:

Spoiler

D-Rob does it again as he strikes out Encarnacion looking on a cut fastball giving the Yankees the 6-4 win and avoiding the sweep. However, D-Rob is not as enthused as McCann is. He's done this before.





Our reporters were able to catch up with player of the game Brett Gardner, who finished 4 for 4. "Some days pitchers won't have their best stuff. It's our job to pick them up. As far as my day at the plate goes, I just tried to put some good swings on the ball. Just putting it in play gives me a chance with my speed. I know I've been struggling a bit lately, so it's no surprise that I was moved down in the lineup. I can't take it personally. Instead I just have to do my job in the 9-hole so that the top of the order can drive me in once the lineup turns over."

The Yankees will return home to the Bronx for a 4-game set against the RedSox.

[jth1331]

Re: MLB 14 The Show Franchise Progress

I can't believe how frustrating it is to see nearly every player retire when they hit 35/36 years old.