MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

[mlblover15]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

2018 Home Run Derby

Rd #1

#8 Eric Hosmer 14 (462)

Vs.

#1 Khris Davis 15 (470x2)

both hitters earned bonus time which was the very deciding factor in this matchup. with time running out on the clock Davis hit a tailing ball just over the wall in the extreme left field corner as time expired to advance to the second round.

#5 Carlos Correa 9 (439)

Vs.

#4 Nolan Arenado 10 (445)

It seemed as though the Rockies third baseman wasn't all that impressed with Correa's total. He seemed to get off to a sluggish start as Arenado didn't hit his first home run until the first full minute ran off the clock.

After that, he and his personal pitcher seemed to get in synch. Arenado ran off 10 home runs in less than three full minutes. He hit the round winner with under 30 seconds remaining on the regulation time clock. not needing his: 30 bonus time to dispatch his opponent.

This will set up a semi-final match of

#1 Khris Davis

Vs.

#4 Nolan Arenado


Back to continuing 1st round action.

#6 Micheal Conforto 17 (462)

Vs.

#3 Matt Olson 7 (452)

well if you had Matt Olson with this total of home runs and losing to the biggest surprise of the derby so far the Mets Michael Conforto congrats. This is one of if not the biggest upset in this year's derby so far.

Conforto put on show folks. twice going yard a total of five times in a row before suffering power outages. Hitting his two longest (461, 462) home runs in the bonus time.

#7 Rhys Hoskins 12 (463)

Vs.

#2 Matt Joyce 13 (457)

Rhys Hoskins put on a show which he really had to do to even have a chance to beat the 2nd seed overall in this year's derby. Hoskins needed all of his regulation and bonus time to get his total of 12 home runs.

Matt Joyce got off to a very slow start before going off for a solid two minutes before hitting the winning hr of the round with time expiring on the clock in regulation.

This will set up the other semi-final matchup

#4 Michael Conforto

VS.

#2 Matt Joyce

Now it is on to the Semi-Finals

first matchup

#4 Nolan Arenado 18 (468)

Vs.

#1 Khris Davis 16 (479)

We have the upset of the night folks. Nolan Arenado knowing he needed to put up a huge number got off to rocket hot start. Hitting the first six pitches out of the yard for home runs. In his final minute, he went on to hit another five in a row.

The American Leagues leading home run hitter simply didn't have enough in the tank to get it done even with bonus time. Nolan Arenado will advance to the finals to face the winner of the other semi-final matchup.

#6 Michael Conforto 13 (462)
Vs.

#2 Matt Joyce 13 (471)

Matt Joyce needed every second of both Regulation and bonus time to get this to a tie. To force a swing off.

Conforto managed to hit just four home runs in the 90 second time period. It looked as though that surprisingly would have been enough. with time dwindling down Matt Joyce came through with two home runs to win the round to advance to the finals as time expired.

That would pit the Colorado Rockies Nolan Arenado against Oaklands Matt Joyce.

#4 Nolan Arenado 15 (457)

Vs.

#2 Matt Joyce 11 (471)

Nolan Arenado is your 2018 home run derby Champion.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Took our first loss of the Spring to the Twins, 3-1. To rub salt in the wound, Kevin Siegrist came in to close out the game and struck out the side.

Our bats were ice cold..

[DJ]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Thank goodness for the Marlins. The Mets brought an end to their losing way (4 straight and 6 of 7) with a 3-game sweep of the Marlins in Miami.

45 games to go in the regular season.

[Watson]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

My Rockies franchise got way too easy and by the time I found a good slider set I re-started completely with the Braves.

Despite the record and run differential, I'm really happy with how everything is turning out for now, but the results are...odd. When I win, I almost always win by 3+ runs. In games that are decided by 1 or 2 runs, I'm 1-6. Freddie Freeman and Preston Tucker are ****ing supernovas for me and can't stop hitting home runs. Freeman leads the league with 20, Tucker is 3rd with 18 and he has three different three home run games.

I switched to classic pitching and that's produced weirder results. Mike Foltynewicz, and Anibal Sanchez have yet to pitch in a loss while Brandon McCarthy has taken no-hitters into the 5th a few times. But Teheran and Newcomb? I just can't throw strikes with them for whatever reason.

Around the league, pretty much every division has one head scratchier. Trout and Ohtani have produced pretty pedestrian numbers a month in, but the Angels' pitching has been surgical. I think they had like, five straight 1-0 or 2-1 wins. It was absurd.

As bad as my luck in one or two run games has been, the Red Sox have been even worse.I don't think they have won a single game by two runs or less.

[DJ]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

My Rockies franchise got way too easy and by the time I found a good slider set I re-started completely with the Braves.

Despite the record and run differential, I'm really happy with how everything is turning out for now, but the results are...odd. When I win, I almost always win by 3+ runs. In games that are decided by 1 or 2 runs, I'm 1-6. Freddie Freeman and Preston Tucker are ****ing supernovas for me and can't stop hitting home runs. Freeman leads the league with 20, Tucker is 3rd with 18 and he has three different three home run games.

I switched to classic pitching and that's produced weirder results. Mike Foltynewicz, and Anibal Sanchez have yet to pitch in a loss while Brandon McCarthy has taken no-hitters into the 5th a few times. But Teheran and Newcomb? I just can't throw strikes with them for whatever reason.

Around the league, pretty much every division has one head scratchier. Trout and Ohtani have produced pretty pedestrian numbers a month in, but the Angels' pitching has been surgical. I think they had like, five straight 1-0 or 2-1 wins. It was absurd.

As bad as my luck in one or two run games has been, the Red Sox have been even worse.I don't think they have won a single game by two runs or less.

I seem to always struggle against McCarthy when I run up against him in my Mets franchise. Something about his motion and placement of pitches keeps me off balance.

[Rocket32]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

The Yankees have done it, the evil empire is back on top of baseball for the first time since 2009! We did it 1 game later though as we got hammered in game 6 9-3. Alzolay threw 6 innings of 1 run ball, what do you know. Tanaka was terrible allowing 7 runs through 4 innings.

On to game 7 we went, still at Yankee Stadium. Wind blowing out to Right. We sent Sonny Gray to the mound and the Cubs went with Darvish. Gray was only at like 80% but still came up with a clutch performance. First he escaped a bases loaded jam in the 1st, then Machado put us in front with a 3 run HR in the bottom half. In the 4th, Gray made one bad pitch which resulted in a solo shot from Contreras. In the bottom half Sanchez responded with his own solo shot. 5-1 Yankees. In the 6th Gray got into some trouble, can’t blame him for it though, it was just a poor management decision. Pushed him to far.

He gave up 2 runs before Robertson entered and shut down the inning. In the 7th Betances dominated, striking out 2 of 3 batters. Darvish was taken out in the 5th, after 2 scoreless innings from Montgomery, Judge launched a solo shot off Cishek. 6-3 Yankees. Kahnle held them scoreless in the 8th. In comes Chapman looking to secure a World Series championship. He struck out Schwarber, got Heyward to ground out, then got Russel to hit a routine fly ball to Judge. YANKEES WIN THEIR 28TH CHAMPIONSHIP, win game 6-3. We won the series 4-2.

What a first season.
Giancarlo Stanton is the Postseason MVP, finishing with a 345 BA, 10 HR, and 21 RBI’s. Brett Gardner is the World Series MVP with a 462 BA, 1 HR, and 5 RBI’s. That may end up being Gardner’s last game in a Yankee uniform, whether he retires or not, what a sendoff that series and award would be for him though.

Now it’s on to see what the offseason holds in store.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

The Yankees have done it, the evil empire is back on top of baseball for the first time since 2009! We did it 1 game later though as we got hammered in game 6 9-3. Alzolay threw 6 innings of 1 run ball, what do you know. Tanaka was terrible allowing 7 runs through 4 innings.



On to game 7 we went, still at Yankee Stadium. Wind blowing out to Right. We sent Sonny Gray to the mound and the Cubs went with Darvish. Gray was only at like 80% but still came up with a clutch performance. First he escaped a bases loaded jam in the 1st, then Machado put us in front with a 3 run HR in the bottom half. In the 4th, Gray made one bad pitch which resulted in a solo shot from Contreras. In the bottom half Sanchez responded with his own solo shot. 5-1 Yankees. In the 6th Gray got into some trouble, can’t blame him for it though, it was just a poor management decision. Pushed him to far.



He gave up 2 runs before Robertson entered and shut down the inning. In the 7th Betances dominated, striking out 2 of 3 batters. Darvish was taken out in the 5th, after 2 scoreless innings from Montgomery, Judge launched a solo shot off Cishek. 6-3 Yankees. Kahnle held them scoreless in the 8th. In comes Chapman looking to secure a World Series championship. He struck out Schwarber, got Heyward to ground out, then got Russel to hit a routine fly ball to Judge. YANKEES WIN THEIR 28TH CHAMPIONSHIP, win game 6-3. We won the series 4-2.



What a first season.

Giancarlo Stanton is the Postseason MVP, finishing with a 345 BA, 10 HR, and 21 RBI’s. Brett Gardner is the World Series MVP with a 462 BA, 1 HR, and 5 RBI’s. That may end up being Gardner’s last game in a Yankee uniform, whether he retires or not, what a sendoff that series and award would be for him though.



Now it’s on to see what the offseason holds in store.

Congratulations!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[Rocket32]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

To the offseason we go.

Notable Retirees: BAL Andrew Cashner due to injury. Torn rotator cuff at 32 years old.
BAL Chris Tillman Age 30 due to injury, fractured head.
TOR: Curtis Granderson age 38.
TOR JA Happ age 36
CLE: Mike Napoli age 37
DET: Francisco Liriano age 35.
DET Victor Martinez age 40. Regression came for him, got dropped to 55 OVR.
KC: Jon Jay age 34.
MIN Fernando Rodney age 42.
LAA Albert Pujols age 39
LAA Chris Young age 35.
SEA Ichiro Suzuki age 45
SEA Jayson Werth age 39
LAD Rich Hill age 39
LAD Chase Utley age 40
SF Derek Holland age 32
SF Pablo Sandoval age 32, due to ability.
Erick Aybar age 35
Jose Bautista age 38.
Michael Bourn age 36
Jason Grilli age 42
JJ Hardy age 36
Matt Holliday age 39
John Lackey age 40
Huston Street age 35
David Wright age 36.

Our retirements were: the legendary SP Bartolo Colon age 45
2B Jonathan Diaz age 33
C Erik Kratz age 38
LF Shane Robinson age 34.
And the biggest one, SP CC Sabathia age 38. He wasn’t being brought back anyway but good to see him retire a Yankee after one more ring, due to ability, not age.

Ichiro Suzuki and Albert Pujols were inducted into the hall of fame. Both well deserved.

Our staff is all still under contract. Would like to get rid of that fake manager, not realistic coming off a championship but this guy needs to go. Larry Holland is D grade, brings nothing but negatives to the team, and as a result hurts morale. Hate to waste money on a new one but might have to do it.

First order of business will be our exclusive free agent negotiations.
Our free agents are Manny Machado, David Robertson, Brett Gardner, Neil Walker, and Adam Warren. I want Warren back, the rest can probably leave. Robertson is looking for 8.7M a year. Would like to replace Robertson with a dominant lefty reliever in free agency. Only lefty we have in the bullpen is Chapman. Machado is demanding 31M a year. Gonna wait to see if Harper is available before making a move on him.

Walker wants 4.8M a year. He’s 33 and will be regressing. Unless we circle back to him late in free agency he’s gone. Gardner wants 4.9M a year. He’s very likely gone. Can’t deal with that weak throwing arm anymore, a liability defensively. His bat isn’t worth overlooking that. He’s 35 and will be regressing. Hicks is just as good if not better at this point. He also expects to be an everyday player, yeah. Not happening. It’s been a good run Gardner. Warren wants 3.4M a year. Will definitely make an offer to him.

Offseason is officially here.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

We got back to our winning ways in the Spring with a 3-0 win over the new look Orioles. Chris Jacobs homered and Grichuk and Wisdom each drove in a run. Mikolas struck out 5 of the 6 batters he faced and Alex Reyes pitched a solid 3 innings, something we needed to see from him. Jordan Hicks and Zack Burdi were once again great out of the pen. Both are giving me something to think about in terms of putting the 25 man roster together.

Roberto Osuna pitched well, but we have explored potential trade partners for him. He struggled in his time with us last year, including the playoffs. He is talented and could be a staple in our pen for a long time, but we have guys like Hicks, Burdi, and now Socolovich who are pushing their way thru the Show door.

In the outfield we continue to see a crowd. Juan Fabregas and Oscar Mercado are seriously putting in their notice to be on the opening day 25 man roster. With Pham struggling last year and this spring it does open a door to the 5th outfielder spot. Bader is the 4th, with Grichuk, Sierra, and Piscotty the starters.

Also Carson Kelly in 2 starts this spring is making a case to not be overlooked and allowed to be the everyday catcher like he was 2 years ago. While his average isn't great, he is hitting the ball hard just having bad luck. And his calling of games, blocking dirt balls and throwing out runners has been good. With us hesitant about bringing Navarro back with how he fell off at the end of the year, there is a chance for Kelly to make the 25 man roster and Navarro let go. But we need to see more. Navarro is experienced and still a capable switch hitter at the age of 36.

It's funny, you go into spring with a pretty good idea who the 25 man roster is going to be on opening day and a few games in you're second guessing that 25 man roster.

[Sumodeads]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

The Yankees have done it, the evil empire is back on top of baseball for the first time since 2009! We did it 1 game later though as we got hammered in game 6 9-3. Alzolay threw 6 innings of 1 run ball, what do you know. Tanaka was terrible allowing 7 runs through 4 innings.

On to game 7 we went, still at Yankee Stadium. Wind blowing out to Right. We sent Sonny Gray to the mound and the Cubs went with Darvish. Gray was only at like 80% but still came up with a clutch performance. First he escaped a bases loaded jam in the 1st, then Machado put us in front with a 3 run HR in the bottom half. In the 4th, Gray made one bad pitch which resulted in a solo shot from Contreras. In the bottom half Sanchez responded with his own solo shot. 5-1 Yankees. In the 6th Gray got into some trouble, can’t blame him for it though, it was just a poor management decision. Pushed him to far.

He gave up 2 runs before Robertson entered and shut down the inning. In the 7th Betances dominated, striking out 2 of 3 batters. Darvish was taken out in the 5th, after 2 scoreless innings from Montgomery, Judge launched a solo shot off Cishek. 6-3 Yankees. Kahnle held them scoreless in the 8th. In comes Chapman looking to secure a World Series championship. He struck out Schwarber, got Heyward to ground out, then got Russel to hit a routine fly ball to Judge. YANKEES WIN THEIR 28TH CHAMPIONSHIP, win game 6-3. We won the series 4-2.

What a first season.
Giancarlo Stanton is the Postseason MVP, finishing with a 345 BA, 10 HR, and 21 RBI’s. Brett Gardner is the World Series MVP with a 462 BA, 1 HR, and 5 RBI’s. That may end up being Gardner’s last game in a Yankee uniform, whether he retires or not, what a sendoff that series and award would be for him though.

Now it’s on to see what the offseason holds in store.

Congrats man a game 7 victory!! That must've been a nerve wracking series. Way to bring #28 back to the Bronx!

[MightyMaxxx13]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Atlanta Braves Franchise

July 1, 2019

Braves Record: 33-52 (5th)

Well it looks like we are officially out of it. We started to make up some ground in May after a putrid start, then on June 7th Brian Dozier came up with a fractured wrist after a slide into second. He was our cleanup hitter and biggest power threat in the lineup, and it seems our offense has bottomed out a bit without him. He should be back a few weeks after the all-star break, but at 19 games under .500 it seems like we will be on the outside looking in for the second year in a row. That of course is far from our only problem, as the pen continues to cough up leads behind inconsistent starting pitching.

At least this year we have started to get a glimpse of the future, as a few promising rookies are starting to come into their own. LHP Kolby Allard was roughed up by the Nats in his last start, giving up 10 H and 5 ER in 5 IP. Aside from that he has looked decent, posting a 3.51 ERA, 40 K's and a 1.12 WHIP in 41 IP. Third baseman Austin Riley was a human highlight reel in June - including a pinch-hit grand slam and a walkoff homer against the Nationals at home. He is slugging .500 with 8 home runs in just 104 AB. Righty Mike Soroka has been a stud, going 5-1 with a 2.11 ERA. He tallied 2 complete game shutouts and twice took a no-hitter into the 8th inning.

As we start to look toward the trade deadline we've placed impending free agents Arodys Vizcaino and Julio Teheran on the block. Trading Teheran is a tough call, as he is a career Brave and has started 6 consecutive opening day games for the franchise (a team record). However we have a lot of promising pitchers coming up the pipeline and a long-term contract is not in his future. To further complicate things, both of them are in the middle of the worst seasons of their career. Teheran is 4-7 with a 5.81 ERA and Vizcaino was earlier demoted from the closer role, but has since rebounded a bit and currently has a 4.60 ERA with 8 saves. A team willing to flip a prospect for either one would have to believe they can turn them back into contributors. The market has been lukewarm so far, though the Cubs seem to be interested in Teheran as they currently sit 2 games back of Milwaukee in the central division and need a pitcher to bolster their rotation.

Sucks to be in the basement, again. Have to ride out the rest of the year and try to fix this leaky bullpen in the offseason.

[LowerWolf]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

I almost feel bad for the Padres. Three straight walkoff homer wins for my Braves against them.

• Freeman with a leadoff homer in the 9th for a 2-1 win in the series opener.
• Flowers with a leadoff homer in the 9th for a 6-5 win in game two.
• Freeman with a three-run homer in the 11th for a 4-1 win in game three. And Freeman sent the game to extras with a two-out RBI single in the 9th after Albies just missed a walkoff homer with a drive to the warning track.

[mjavon]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

Spoiler

I've been having a lot of fun so far with my first franchise in any baseball game ever.

Went with the Rockies, purely because I'm (probably) moving to Denver this fall. I have little baseball knowledge, and even less about what teams/players are good at what, so I'm learning as I go here.

I traded away Charlie Blackmon because he's in a contract year and by looking at what he wants there's no way I'm going to be able to keep him, DJ LeMahieux (spelling?), AND Nolan Arenado, so I figured I'd at least try to bolster my bullpen which is pretty terrible.

Traded Away: Blackmon 84 OVR, 31 yo OF, Ryan McMahon 63 OVR, A potential, 1B, 23 yo

For:
Liam Hendricks - 83 OVR RP
Matt Olson - 78 OVR 1B, A potential, 25 yo

Despite losing Blackmon, I've been bouncing between 1st and 2nd in the NL in batting average anyways. It was good to add a little depth and ability to my bullpen and not lose much in terms of hitting.

Just played a thriller against the Dodgers last night to tie them for the lead of the NL West the week before the draft. I had a 5-2 lead at home going into the top of the 9th and had two outs. They wound up going on a run and tying the game up at 5. Bottom of the ninth, Matt Olson hit a line to right field juuust outside the reach of the CF, that became a triple. Two batters latter and pinch hitter Bradford Robnett hit an RBI double to secure the win with the walkoff. I play game 3 of the home series against the Dodgers tomorrow to determine the division leader since we're tied now. I'm 4-1 so far this eason against them.

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I'm about 100 games into the season now, and we're slipping a little bit. Still second in the NL West at this point, but now I'm 5 games behind the Dodgers, and only a few games ahead of the Giants who have come out of seemingly nowhere to be in contention all the sudden.

Still trying to decide whether the Blackmon trade has been the right decision or not. Liam Hendricks has been a solid reliever for me, posting a sub-.300 ERA. Matt Olson on the other hand is batting below .200, which would be fine if his slugging were higher... I've sort of demoted him from an every day 1B, to a platoon 1B - he hits against righties really well, but against lefties I'd rather slide Bradford Robnett down from the outfield.

Besides Robnett, I called up another outfielder Carlos Chavez who has been fantastic over the last month - he is batting .336 as a rookie in the majors. He specializes in hitting left-handers, but surprisingly he also leads the team in batting average against righties as well. This is just through 24 games, so probably the law of averages will probably set in soon enough, but he's off to a great start.

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[Rocket32]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

For the first move of the offseason, we fired manager Larry Holland. The list of real managers that are available: Fredi González
Clint Hurdle
John Gibbons
Mickey Callaway
Don Mattingly
Brian Snitker
Terry Francona

Not sure if Francona’s contract ended or if the Indians fired him after they got steamrolled by the Angels in the ALDS. I assume the rest were fired. The guys on that list that we have interest in are Francona, Mattingly, and Callaway. Mattingly and Francona both come with successful resumes. Mattingly is a former Yankee player and coach and nearly became the manager years ago. He’s also managed a financial juggernaut before, the LA Dodgers. He managed 3 90+ win Dodgers teams.

Francona has a long history of success. Managed a lot of 90+ win teams, 2 championships, and recent WS appearance in Cleveland. We offered them both 3 years. Mattingly is more expensive then Francona though. Just have to wait now.

An offer has been made to Warren as well. 5.40M over 2 seasons, 2.7M a year.

[Sumodeads]

Re: MLB The Show 18 Franchise Discussion Thread

For the first move of the offseason, we fired manager Larry Holland. The list of real managers that are available: Fredi González
Clint Hurdle
John Gibbons
Mickey Callaway
Don Mattingly
Brian Snitker
Terry Francona

Not sure if Francona’s contract ended or if the Indians fired him after they got steamrolled by the Angels in the ALDS. I assume the rest were fired. The guys on that list that we have interest in are Francona, Mattingly, and Callaway. Mattingly and Francona both come with successful resumes. Mattingly is a former Yankee player and coach and nearly became the manager years ago. He’s also managed a financial juggernaut before, the LA Dodgers. He managed 3 90+ win Dodgers teams.

Francona has a long history of success. Managed a lot of 90+ win teams, 2 championships, and recent WS appearance in Cleveland. We offered them both 3 years. Mattingly is more expensive then Francona though. Just have to wait now.

An offer has been made to Warren as well. 5.40M over 2 seasons, 2.7M a year.

Cmon man, Donnie Baseball all day!