MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Cardinals trade Alex Reyes to Yankees

With one day left on Reyes' DFA, the Cardinals have agreed to trade him to the Yankees for CF C.J. McElroy and RP Johan Oviedo. Both players were at one time part of the Cardinals farm system.

Alex Reyes was traded after DFA'd 9 days ago as his struggles at the MLB level continued this spring. While Reyes was considered at one time the top prospect in the Cardinals organization, his lack of production has not only dropped him from that top spot, it also made him expendable. The Cardinals will be getting 26 year old switch hitting CF C.J. McElroy. McElroy is a top 50 prospect and will join an already deep outfield that the Cardinals currently have. McElroy will start the season as the starting CF in Springfield. Johan Oviedo was traded to the Yankees a year ago, but is back in the Cardinals organization as they continue to restructure the depth of their bullpen/relief staff. Oviedo is also a Top 50 prospect. Oviedo will also start the season in Springfield.

The Cardinals will continue the Spring evaluating their 40 man roster and seeing if any other changes need to be made before the season starts in 20 days.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Cardinals place Carlos Martinez on the 10-Day DL

After having a rough spring last year due to injuries, the Cardinals have experienced their first significant injury of the this spring.

Carlos Martinez was shut down only after 11 pitches of his latest start due to a strained bicep. The Cardinals have placed him on the 10-Day DL as its expected that Martinez will be out for 2 weeks. Thankfully Martinez will return before Spring Training concludes and should be able to pitch a few innings before the regular season starts to ensure there are no further complications.

[reyes the roof]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

I'm off to a 4-0 start but my six man bullpen is currently in shambles. The second game of the season I blew an 8th inning lead and needed 17 innings to finally get the win, but thanks to my poor bullpen management I needed three innings out of two different relievers, making them unavailable the next day. I got three shutout innings from Jandel Gustave as he got the win but I had no choice but to send him to AAA to get a fresh arm available. Steven Matz came through with 7.1 innings the next day to save the pen but then Zack Wheeler left with an injury after recording one out in my next game and I needed 5.2 innings from Jason Vargas out of the pen. My house rule is if someone leaves a game with an injury they go on the 10 day DL no matter how minor it is but I didn't need to worry about the house rule because Wheeler fractured his foot and is out 1-2 months. Fortunately for him he signed an extension in the off-season so he didn't need to worry about getting injured in a contract year. My first thought about replacing Wheeler was to insert Vargas in the rotation but I pitch really well with him out of the pen and I feel like that creates two holes because Vargas is a downgrade from Wheeler and there will probably be a dropoff in the bullpen. I have some arms I could call up in to the rotation but I'm a little concerned about stamina, I'm probably going to need a 7th arm in the bullpen to combat that

[jvalverde88]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/onli32u_fAg" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/onli32u_fAg" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Congrats man!

I still have never won the World Series in the Show.

[Rocket32]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

The final month of the regular season is underway in my Yankees franchise. At September 3rd we have a record of 79-58. September call ups have arrived.

The following players have been promoted:
Luke Voit
Billy McKinney
Hunter Pence
Joe Mauer
Zac Curtis
Jonathan Hernandez
Justus Sheffield.

Weren’t many guys to call up, all the maneuvering to get Kershaw (injured for season) depleted a lot of the depth.

Our AA team, the Trenton Thunder, have advanced to the postseason. AAA Scranton didn’t make it.

The month of August treated us pretty well. We swept the Twins in 3, took 2 of three from Toronto, swept the Rays in 3, lost 2 out of 3 to Boston, won 2 of 3 vs Baltimore, split a 4 game series with Detroit, swept Baltimore in 3, got swept in 2 games by Philly, then took 2 out of three from the White Sox.

We are still 4.5 games behind the 84-54 Red Sox. We closed the gap to 1 game going into that series with them but we’ve slipped back again. We are in a 3 way battle for a wild card spot with Seattle and Houston. Yanks are 1 game behind the Astros for the top wild card spot and 0.5 game above Seattle for a wild card spot. Toronto is also lurking in the race being 6.5 games out. Unlikely but still possible for them.


Some interesting playoff races to watch this year. Our division is one of course. The AL Central is basically already decided as usual, Cleveland holds a 19 game lead. Angels lead the West by 2.5 games, Houston and Seattle are both within 4 games.

Nationals are fighting Philly for the East. Nats are 1 game up on Philly. Cubs have full control of the Central with a 10 game lead. Dodgers are leading the West by 8 games. The NL wild card is a huge battle. Phillies and Rockies currently occupy the spots. Giants, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, and Mets are all there right behind them.

For the Award races our MVP candidate this year is Bryce Harper. 306 BA, 45 HR’s, 109 RBI’s. Trout is very likely taking home the award though, 365 BA, 54 HR’s, 128 RBI’s. Machado is 3rd.

Sevy is battling Sale and Kluber for the CY Young. Sevy 2.65 ERA, 16-5 record, 183 SO.
Sale is 1st 2.54 ERA, 16-6 record, 224 SO. Kluber is 3rd. Not looking good but Kluber is attempting to extend the streak of an Indian winning the CY Young to a 3rd straight year. Previous winners are Kluber and Carrasco.

Starting off September as rosters expanded the Yankees signed OF Jarrod Dyson. He’s declining at age 34 and is nearly useless vs left handed pitching, his main purpose is as a potential pinch runner late in games. Contract is only through this season. 82 speed and is a very aggressive base runner and is one of the best base stealers in baseball with a 99 stealing rating.

Yankees also struck a minor last minute deal before the August 31st trade waivers deadline. We acquired OF Carlos Gomez from the Rays for SP Casey Meisner. Gomez is on an expiring contract and is 32 years old. His main role is as a potential defensive replacement for late in games, likely for Nelson Cruz. We haven’t had that since we moved Aaron Hicks at the deadline.

Both are small moves just taking advantage of expanded rosters and fine tuning for the final stretch.

Much important baseball left to be played for us.
2 vs Tampa, 3 at home vs Toronto, 3 at home vs the White Sox, then a lot of important games arrive. 3 at home Vs the Angels, 3 on the road against Seattle, 4 vs Tampa, a critical 4 game set in the Bronx vs Boston, then we end the season at home vs Tampa.

9 games against the 57-80 Rays and 3 vs 55-82 White Sox. Must win games for sure. Need to take advantage of those games,very few of them should be losses. The games against Seattle, LA and Boston could ultimately decide our fate as we are competing with all 3 of them for the postseason.

Hope we don’t get a wild card game vs LA, I don’t want any part of MadBum in a win or go home game.

[DJ]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Heading into June 2019, and the Mets hold a .5 game lead over the Nationals for first place in the N.L. East. Washington hasn't missed Bryce Harper (he's in San Diego), and the Phillies have also really improved in 2019, as they're just 5 games back, but well over .500.

Still a couple of weeks out from getting Jay Bruce off of the 60-day DL. That will be a welcomed return to the lineup.

[SoxSoxSox]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Congrats man!

I still have never won the World Series in the Show.

Wow. I have two titles out of four postseason apps. But I change teams a lot, so out of the lifetime of the MLBTS series I've completed maybe 8-10 seasons.


I hope you get this monkey off your back this season in St. Louis. You deserve it.

[RogerDodger]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

My Dodgers just turned 59-60 after taking three of four from the Rockies, who occupy the second Wild Card spot in the NL. We're now 2.5 games back from that spot. Next up, three against the Giants who occupy the first Wild Card spot.

The Rockies games were exhilarating, a rollercoaster of emotions. Honestly, I've never been this absorbed in a video game franchise.

SDS deserves a ton of credit.

[BBHH1989]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

20 games left in my Blue Jays Franchise and with a record of 78-64 we currently have the 1st wildcard spot with 1,5 games ahead of the Red Sox who are struggling after leading the division for a long time. Yankees are now ahead but still not out of reach.
We are 3 games ahead of the Mariners so at least a wildcard spot should be possible.
Justin Smoak slowed down big time but still leads the HR race with currently 41.
We decided to go all in and called up both supertalents Vladdy and Bo.
Next up the series finale vs the Indians and after that a 3 game series against the Red Sox which could decide the race for wildcard spot 1.

Lost the first 2 games against Boston after leading both with 4 runs after 5 innings. The last game I quickly got a 7-0 lead but again Boston managed to get a run here and there to enter the 9th with only 7-6. Fortunately Osuna was able to get the save without bigger problems.
After that the 3 game series against the Yankees went way better as I was able to win game 2 and 3. Vladdy scored his first 2 Homeruns in Yankee stadium and also besides that he is already a big contributor.
With 13 games left I am now 1 game behind the Yankees for the division. 1,5 games ahead of the Red Sox and 3 ahead of the Mariners who are currently in the 3rd spot of the wildcard race.
Next up a 3 game series against the Orioles.

[mlblover15]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Ok, so there has been a great deal that has gone on since my last post. I swept the Indians in the ALCS to advance to the world series. The Cubs blew a 3-1 series lead to allow the Dodgers to advance to the World Series.

It was a rematch of the 1988 World Series. It was time for revenge!!!!

Games one and two in Oakland the A's took fairly handily. Game three in Los Angeles was a back and forth game until the Dodgers would prevail in extras with a walk-off home run to win game three.

Game four was all Oakland as they demolished the Dodgers by 8 runs. Then it was time for game five. Chris Bassist the A's fifth starter was making his first postseason start for the A's. The A's starter came ever so close to making history as he threw a perfect game through seven-plus innings to hold off the Dodgers to lead the A's to their first World Series championship in nearly 30 years.

Then the offseason came and went. Bryce Harper went to Seattle for a mega-deal. the biggest shock of the offseason is that the A's acquired Manny Machado to a 5 year $170M contract.

The A's also signed Adam Jones and Charlie Blackmon to contracts. They also traded away fan favorite first baseman Matt Olson to the Padres for Eric Hosmer.

they helped improve their infield defense even more by acquiring Rougned Odor from the Rangers in trade.

so with all the offseason stuff complete. it is time to see if t his team can successfully defend its newly minted world series title.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

No more exhibition, games count for real now

Spring Training has come to a close and the regular season is upon us. The Cardinals closed spring training with a 13-16 record, but best of all they are injury free to start the 2021 season.

Cardinals 25 man roster:

C - Carson Kelly
1B - Matt Carpenter
2B - Kolten Wong
SS - Paul DeJong
3B - Patrick Wisdom
LF - Tommy Pham
CF - Magnerius Sierra/Harrison Bader
RF - George Spring

C - Francisco Pena
IF - Kiki Hernandez
IF - Marwin Gonzalez
OF - Stephen Piscotty
OF - Harrison Bader/Magnerius Sierra


Rotation

Michael Wacha
Carlos Martinez
Jack Flaherty
Jose Quintana
Miles Mikolas

Bullpen

Tyler Lyons
Dean Kiekhefer
Sam Freeman
Jordan Walden
John Brebbia
Roberto Osuna

Closer

Trevor Rosenthal


The Cardinals will open the 2021 season in New York against the Mets.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Cardinals lose in extras, on a walkoff d'Arnaud homerun

Cardinals lose their home opener for the first time in the 4 years as they lose a wild shootout in New York, 7-6. The ball was absolutely flying out of Citi Field thanks in part to 15mph winds blowing out. The Cardinals and Mets combined for 9 homeruns, including 3 dramatic homeruns in the 9th and 10th innings. With the game tied at 6 entering the 9th, Kike Hernandez in his Cardinal debut, blasted a homerun over the left field wall to the give the Cardinals a 7-6 lead. Not to be outdone, Larry Yates took a 3-2 pitch off of Trevor Rosenthal into the left field seats to tie the game at 7 in the 9th and send us to extras. In the 10th, Travis d'Arnaud took the 2nd pitch from Roberto Osuna and placed it in the left field seats as well to give the Mets the 8-7 walkoff win.

The Cardinals 3 most reliable arms let them down in the bullpen. Freeman, Rosenthal, and Osuna each gave up solo homeruns that tied, or in Osuna cases won, the game after the Cardinals had taken the lead. Michael Wacha wasn't sharp in his season opener as he went just 5 innings allowing 5 runs on 9 hits. Matt Carpenter had a day at the plate going 2 for 4 with a pair of homeruns and 3 RBI. Patrick Wisdom had 3 RBI's of his own along with a homerun and double. George Springer was 1 for 3 with a single and a walk in his debut.

Next up is Game 2 on Saturday night with Carlos Martinez taking the mound against Zack Wheeler.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Springer slams...Cards win 7-3 over Mets

George Springer hit his first official homerun as a St.Louis Cardinal today with a grand slam in the Top of the 7th to break a 3-3 tie, and help propel the Cardinals to a 7-3 victory over the Mets.

Carlos Martinez pitched 5 1/3 innings, but didn't factor into the decision as he left after walking Arenado with one out in the 6th. Martinez allowed 3 runs on 7 hits, but did strike out 8. The bullpen was shaky again, but Jordan Walden, Sam Freeman, and Roberto Osuna closed it out preserving the victory. Sam Freeman was removed from the game due to arm issues.

Next up is the series finale with Mets on a Sunday afternoon with Jack Flaherty going up against Stephen Matz.


Sam Freeman lands on 10-Day DL with shoulder issue

Sam Freeman has been placed on the 10 Day DL with a left shoulder strain. Freeman was removed from today's game after recording 3 outs on 8 pitches in the 8th and then throwing 2 pitches in the 9th. After evaluation, it was determined that Freeman has a strain in his left shoulder and will be shelved for at least 10 days. He will be re-evaluated in a week. This may explain his lack of production in spring and in Thursday's game against the Mets.

Adam Cimber has been recalled from Memphis to fill his void.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Cards lose again in extras..4-3 to Mets

For the 2nd time in 3 games, the Cardinals lost in extra innings to the Mets. This time it was a 4-3 loss in 12 innings. Once again Roberto Osuna and Trevor Rosenthal were unreliable. Osuna gave up the game tying homerun in the 8th and Rosenthal took the loss after giving up a run on 3 hits and an intentional walk without ever recording an out. Adam Cimber was good in his debut as he went an inning striking out 2 while giving up a hit. Tyler Lyons, John Brebbia, and Dean Kiekhefer were solid as well.

Jose Quintana got the start after Jack Flaherty was scratched due to back issues. Quintana's first pitch in a Cardinal uniform to Larry Yates traveled 407 ft to left center field. Quintana wouldn't give up another earned run after that. The only other run to cross the plate while he was on the mound did so thanks to Tammy Pham's error (2 of the year)

Offensively the Cardinals weren't brilliant but were ok. Much like last year the Cardinals had opportunities to drive in runs but failed.

Next up the Cardinals travel to Milwaukee for 3 against the winless Brewers. Miles Mikolas will get the start against Ariel Pena.


Jack Flaherty lands on 10 Day DL

Jack Flaherty's first start of the new season will have to wait another 2 weeks or thereabouts. Jack Flaherty was scratched from his start after experiencing back stiffness. The Cardinals thought about just skipping this start and waiting to see if he was better in a week, but due to not having an off day for the next 12 days, the Cardinals elected to put him on the DL. Luke Weaver was recalled from Memphis and will start Tuesday in Milwaukee.