MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Lost our second game of Spring Training to the Astros, 11-3. Poor defense and pitching led to our demise. MadBum wasn't bad going 2 innings, striking out 3, walking 2, and allowing a run on 3 hits.

Our defense was bad as guys couldn't make plays when needed, as Wisdom whiffs on a ball, Jacobs bobbles a ball that he can throw a runner out at home, etc...

Next up is Miami again as Carlos Martinez will get his first start of the Spring.

[Other Guy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

So I haven't played a baseball game in about 4 or 5 years before now so I started my Astros franchise on beginner. I won the WS back to back in years 3 and 4, so now I'm looking for a new challenge. I'm going to bump up to experienced level and start a rebuild with the Pirates. I'm going to try and put together a traditional squad with strong pitching, speed and defense up the middle, and power at the corners.

Oh, and why the Pirates? I love NL ball, they have a great stadium, and I had a Pirates hat when I was a kid.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

For the second game in a row, 3B Patrick Wisdom's (top prospect in our system) inability to field his position leads to a rally by the opposing team that costs us the game. We dropped this game to the Marlins 7-1 thanks to Wisdom's 2 errors in one inning on routine plays. He now has 4 errors in 3 games (total of 8 innings played). He was called up last year when Carpenter got hurt and struggled mightily both in the field and at the plate. We are going to have to do some thinking as to whether we want to continue to give him chances or give him a change of scenery.

Also good to see Earl Hendricks in mid-season form by giving the Marlins boarderline pitches and squeezing our staff.

Frustrating.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

It's only Spring Training but we got our first walkoff win of the new year. After blowing a 5-1 lead over the Nationals, we win in the bottom of the 10th, after a Jeremy Hazelbaker sacrifice fly with 1 out to score Magnerius Sierra who led the inning off with a double. He advanced to 3rd, after Aledmys Diaz grounded out to 2nd.

Lance Lynn looked good in his 2 innings allowing 0 runs on 2 hits and fanning 3. Our bullpen was shaky, with Marco Gonzales giving up 3 runs, 2 of them to Bryce Harper on a 2 run shot. Sam Tuiviala gave up the tying 2 runs in the 8th. Danny Farquhar pitched a perfect 9th and 10th to secure the win.

Our starters played most of the game, but I did do late game substitutions on double switches. Patrick Wisdom did get into the game and went 0 for 2, though he hit the ball hard twice. He also made 2 good plays at 3rd to prevent the Nats from going ahead in the 9th.

I thought my roster was off thru the first 4 games of Spring Training and it turns out it was. We only had 39 players on the 40 man roster. So Paul DeJong was added after the game. He'll play in tomorrow's contest against the Mets.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

We have gone through the rotation in Spring Training thus far and our starting pitching staff looked good. We have some question marks at the lower levels in the bullpen but all in all thru 5 games I'm pleased with our pitching staff that will open the season.

Starters:

Michael Wacha
Madison Bumgarner
Carlos Martinez
Lance Lynn
Mike Leake

Bullpen:

Tyler Lyons
J.P. Howell
Danny Farquhar
Sam Freeman
Kevin Siegrist

Set up Man:

Jordan Walden

Closer:

Trevor Rosenthal

Our starting fielders have been determined, but we are still deciding on the bench

C- Carson Kelly
1B - Matt Holliday
2B - Kolten Wong
SS - Aledmys Diaz
3B - Matt Carpenter
LF - Randal Grichuk
CF - Magnerius Sierra
RF - Stephen Piscotty

C - A.J. Ellis/Josh Thole
IF - Reuben Tejada (definite)
IF - Justin Wilson or Paul DeJong
OF - Jon Jay (definite)
OF - Harrison Bader, Anthony Redmond, or Jeremy Hazelbaker

We still have 3 weeks of Spring Training to decide.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

We have lost 3 straight and have been shutout in 2 of those losses. Our bats have gone cold despite being in sunny Florida.

We continue to negotiate the trade market for Patrick Wisdom. Guy has a ton of potential, but he's just not producing.

He's going to start at 3B today and play the entire game. If things don't change, he may be gone before tomorrow's game as the return on him is high.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Snapped our 3 game losing streak against the Braves with a 4-2 victory. Lance Lynn went 4 strong innings allowing 0 runs, 3 hits, and striking out 6.

I continue to be torn on what to do with Wisdom. Tons of potential, but he just isn't producing. And while I know its only Spring Training, he didn't perform well in his stint in the majors last year and didn't hit all that well down in Memphis. As I said, the market for him is high and I'm tempted to give him a change of scenery as we have only 3B ready to make an impact (Paul DeJong, Bryce Denton, and Harrison Murdock)

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

We are at the fun point of Spring Training where I basically split the group into two teams per se and guys play the entire game. Pitchers are still short leashed to an extent (5 IP or 70 Pitches for starters) but position players will play out the game and I'll manage as if I only have 5 bench players. This allows me to evaluate players a little more, see how they do with 3-4 AB's per game. See how pitchers do as they pitch out of tough situations or match up relievers.

I also will skip starts for guys at times so the youngsters can start and pitch a "full" game.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

We continue to go back and forth on Patrick Wisdom, our 3B prospect. One day I'm ready to ship him out and the next I think I'll give him more time. We have a plan in place for either decision

If traded his most likely landing spot will be the Rays (our favorite trade partner) as they are willing to part with Brendan McKay, a highly touted prospect at 1B. We currently don't have a "future" first baseman in our organization and McKay fits our plan perfectly.

But I hate trading young talent for fear of the return being a bust and the player we sent away becoming future all stars.




Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[a bit outside]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Yes sir, Murphy is always a big player in my world too....even when nobody involved in the trade is named Murphy.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

We continue to evaluate our roster as we decide who will be on the Opening Day Roster. Biggest question marks are still who is the 2nd infielder (Justin Wilson or Paul DeJong) and who is the 2nd outfielder (Jeremy Hazelbaker or Harrison Bader)

We also continue to evaluate what to do with Patrick Wisdom. Rays are still high on him, by offering up Brendan McKay, but still not ready to pull the trigger.

Other than that, our roster is pretty much set.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Spring Training has come to a close. Our opening day roster is set and we did decide to keep Patrick Wisdom at 3B in Memphis. We'll monitor how his month of April goes and re-evaluate in May.

Now time to get the new season started! We square off with the Nationals in Busch to start the new year!

The quest for 3 straight NL Central Division crowns begins now!

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Opening Day is in the books and we took a 1-0 loss at the hands of the Nationals. Scherzer completely dominated us throughout most of the game. We had our chances, but was unable to get a key hit when it counted. Only hits were Carpenter and Sierra each singled.

Wacha was superb in his outing, allowing a solo homerun to Steven Pearce in the 2nd, that would turn out to be the game winning homerun and only run of the game. Frustrating way to start.

Our bullpen was very good as well pitching shutout innings as Wacha was pulled after walking Norris to start the 7th and being at 98 pitches.

Some key injuries early on:

Chris Sale - White Sox - Out 2-3 months with Fractured Arm
Jake Arietta - Rockies - Out 2-3 weeks with Sprained Elbow Ligament
Christian Yelich - Marlins - Out 2-3 months with Broken Shin
Jonathan Lucroy - Brewers - Out 3-4 weeks with Pulled Calf
Brandon Belt - Giants - Out 1-2 months with Torn Hamstring
Anthony Rizzo - Cubs - Out for season with Torn Achilies Tendon (career threatening)

Hope the injury bug stays the hell away from us.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

After dropping the first two games of the series, we avoided the sweep and picked up our first win of the year beating the Nationals 9-0. We had the long ball working as Grichuk, Carpenter, Sierra, and Kelly all went deep in this game. Carlos Martinez was solid going 6 strong, allowing 2 hits,
giving up 0 runs and striking out 8.

We did have Tyler Lyons exit the game with back issues. But I believe he'll avoid the DL and just be out a few days.

Our homestand will continue as we welcome the Reds into Busch for the first weekend series of the year.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB 16 Franchise Progress Thread

Once again we drop 2 out of 3, this time in a series vs the Reds. It's like we just simply find ways to lose games. And for the 2nd time this year, Wacha loses a game thanks to the offense not scoring a single run for him. At least this time we scored after Wacha was removed, but we came up short as Holliday watched strike 3 go by with the bases loaded in a 3-2 ball game.

Sam Freeman and Kevin Siegrist have been just awful out of the pen. Neither guy can pitch to a batter or two without issuing a walk.

Next up is a 3 game series in Pittsburgh against the first place Pirates who are 6-0 to start this young season. We are currently 4 games out and really need a series win.