MLB 11 The Show "Franchise/Season" Progress Thread

[citizenbrain]

Re: MLB 11 The Show "Franchise/Season" Progress Thread

Through May 2, I am 14-14. Longo, Stanton, Avila, McCutchen, Kennedy and Bumgarner have been awesome. Reyes, Cano, Perry, Hanrahan, & Kimbrel have been horrible.

At one point Kimbrel blew two saves in a row, so I put Hanrahan in as closer for a few games. In the last two, Hanrahan has blown both saves. Right now it just seems like the bullpen cannot close out a game to save their lives.

Kimbrel has been lights out for me
he's 1-0
18 for 18 saves
22 IP
6 hits allowed
0.82 ERA
20 strike outs

my only beef is that 2 of those hits were homeruns..but solo shots so luckily still got the saves.

[ckarlic]

Re: MLB 11 The Show "Franchise/Season" Progress Thread

OK. ALCS update. I just lost against the Twins in a heartbreaker that puts the Twins up 2 games to 1. Here is what happened. AJ Burnett was up against Carl Pavano in Minnesota. AJ continued his great september pitching in this game going 7 innings and allowing 0 runs. I was up 2-0 in the bottom of the 8th when i decided to bring in Robertson since AJ had a high pitch count and was gassed. Robertson gave up 2 singles and a walk to load the bases with 0 outs. I survived that inning by giving up only 1 run.

Onto the bottom of the 9th and I naturally bring in Mariano to face the Twins 3,4,5 hitters. I got Mauer to ground out to Tex on 2 pitches. Next up Morneau. He lines a 1-1 pictch to Swisher for a single. Next up is Kubel who is 0-3 at this point. The count was 2-1 and I wanted to pitch a 2 seam fastball low and away to induce a doubleplay but I missed my target and the ball drifted up and towards the middle of the plate and Kubel deposited it into the center field stands for a walk off 2 run homerun.

As a result, im now down 2-1 in the ALCS. Could this finally be the year the Twins figure out the Yankees in the postseason? We shall see. Im going to forget about this game and try to win game 4 so I can bring the series back to New York.

[hoform22xu]

Re: MLB 11 The Show "Franchise/Season" Progress Thread

I started a fantasy draft season with the Marlins.

[ckarlic]

Re: MLB 11 The Show "Franchise/Season" Progress Thread

2011 ALCS Update: The Yankees took game 4 easily winning by a score of 7 to 1. Garcia pitched great going 8 innings of shutout ball. The Yankees were also helped by a 3 run bomb by Arod in the 5th.

Game 5 was a close game and I had Hughes going up against Blackburn (Hughes has been the ace for me and had won the Cy young in 2011) Both Hughes and Blackburn pitched great but 3 errors by the Yankees is what did the Yankees in in Game 5 as Blackburn only needed 1 run to win the game as he pitch 8 1/3 innings of shutout ball. The Twins won Game 5 2-0.

Now its back to Yankees stadium for Game 6 and hopefully Game 7. CC will pitch against Liriano.

NLCS was won by the Marlins who took the series over the defending 2010 champs SF Giants 4 games to 1

[ckarlic]

Re: MLB 11 The Show "Franchise/Season" Progress Thread

GAME 6 ALCS from Yankees Stadium was another Yankees Classic. CC was going up against Liriano and the Yankees got onboard early by scoring 3 runs in the first. The wind was blowing out straight to centerfield 17 MPH so I knew this game would be a homer fest. CC never really settled down and the game was back and forth. I was up 7-5 in the top of the 8th and i brought in Soriano to get through the 8th so I could bring in Mo to save the game. Well that blew up in my face and the Twins almost batted around and scored 4 runs in the 8th.

Bottom of the 8th and im down 9-7 and Swisher hits a solo shot to bring the Yankees to within 1. I didn't score anymore runs in the 8th. Chamberlain pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning. The Yankees had Gardner, Jeter, and Granderson scheduled to hit in the bottom of the 9th. The score is 9-8 in the 9th. I knew the Twins would bring in Nathan as he was the best closer in the AL in 2011 with 57 saves. I knew I had a tough task ahead of me if I wanted to stay alive to play another game. The 9th didnt start to good for the Yanks and both Granderson and Jeter grounded on. Next up is Granderson who ends up depositing a 1st pitch curveball over the left field wall to tie the game to force extra innings.

Joba pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the 10th and that set up a dramatic Walk off HR for Jorge Posada.




Onto Game 7 where the Yankees will have AJ go up against Pavano. GO YANKEES!!!

<iframe width="690" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Hb7n_nZFMBA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[ckarlic]

Re: MLB 11 The Show &quot;Franchise/Season&quot; Progress Thread

2011 ALCS GAME 7 Yankees vs Twins:



Well, it was a hard fought game but the Yankees defeated the Twins in Game 7 thanks to a clutch RBI Double in the 7th and a 2 run HR by Granderson. Onto the World Series to face the Marlins in a rematch of the 2003 World Series.

Here are some pictures and highlights from the game:











Game 7 highlights:

<iframe width="690" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8v9db2x2_po" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Up to Date Playoff Brackets:

[jv35]

Re: MLB 11 The Show &quot;Franchise/Season&quot; Progress Thread

And my fantasy draft Marlins continue to struggle into the middle of May. We went into Washington for three games and got swept. The starting pitching was great and the hitting was so-so, but the back of the bullpen was horrible again. Kimbrel blew saves 6 & 7 on the year in games 1 & 3. Game 3 was really frustrating because Ian Kennedy dominated Washington for 6.2 innings, and Joel Hanrahan was able to strand a runner on 3rd to end the 7th and get the first two outs in the 8th. The first run Kennedy gave up was a solo shot to Prince Fielder. On a change up at the bottom of the zone, outside of the PCI. Then Kimbrel came in the 9th with a 4-2 lead. I got the first out, then walked two guys. Then the #8 hitter grounded a ball to Longo for the game-ending double play, but Longo airmailed the ball into right field and the lead runner came around to score (the thing that really angered me was that the computer scored it as an earned run). Anyways 3-2 one out runners on 1st & 3rd the #9 hitter hit one over my left fielder's head and the Nats walked off.

Then the bats broke out in a big way taken both games of a series at Citi Field. The pitching was good as usual, but I believe everyone in the lineup had at least 3 hits apiece in the two games.

[Cowswin]

Re: MLB 11 The Show &quot;Franchise/Season&quot; Progress Thread

Quick update.

22 games remain in the season and I trail Boston by 3.5 games in the division with an 81-59 record.

Josh Willingham, Francisco Cervelli, and Greg Golson all suffered season-ending injuries in a 2-week span. I called up Mark Trumbo and Jesus Montero to replace the injured. Montero is backing up Martin, and Trumbo has assumed the DH role since I had to move DeJesus to left to replace Willingham.

Mariano Rivera is chasing K-Rod's single season saves record, as he recorded his 54th save in my last game. Ivan Nova leads the team and majors in both wins (18) and ERA (1.39).

ARod has 42 HRs this season, and has 704 for his career. Granderson has 35 HRs and 105 RBI in a breakout year.

Will provide further updates with screenshots once the playoffs start.

[fanofikedavis]

Re: MLB 11 The Show &quot;Franchise/Season&quot; Progress Thread

Quick update.

22 games remain in the season and I trail Boston by 3.5 games in the division with an 81-59 record.

Josh Willingham, Francisco Cervelli, and Greg Golson all suffered season-ending injuries in a 2-week span. I called up Mark Trumbo and Jesus Montero to replace the injured. Montero is backing up Martin, and Trumbo has assumed the DH role since I had to move DeJesus to left to replace Willingham.

Mariano Rivera is chasing K-Rod's single season saves record, as he recorded his 54th save in my last game. Ivan Nova leads the team and majors in both wins (18) and ERA (1.39).

ARod has 42 HRs this season, and has 704 for his career. Granderson has 35 HRs and 105 RBI in a breakout year.

Will provide further updates with screenshots once the playoffs start.

im sorry if you already said it, but what difficulty are you playing on?

[Cowswin]

Re: MLB 11 The Show &quot;Franchise/Season&quot; Progress Thread

im sorry if you already said it, but what difficulty are you playing on?

All-Star for both pitching and batting.

[ckarlic]

Re: MLB 11 The Show &quot;Franchise/Season&quot; Progress Thread

Here is the highlight reel for Game 1 of the 2011 World Series between the Yankees and the Marlins. It was a tight game. Johnson vs Hughes. Johnson was throwing heat the first few innings but I finally caught up to him in the 3rd inning with a solo shot by Martin. I then got to him again in the 5th when Posada hit a 3 run bomb. Hughes was on a roll this game pitch a complete game only giving up 1 run (A solo shot by Dobbs in the 6th inning) Yankees win Game 1 of the 2011 World Series 5-1.

Next up is CC vs Nolasco. CC has had an ok season for me this year. Not as dominating but pretty effective at times.

<iframe width="590" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SX643e4hwec" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[ckarlic]

Re: MLB 11 The Show &quot;Franchise/Season&quot; Progress Thread

Game 2 2011 World Series didnt go so well for the Yankees. CC went up against Nolasco and pitched well but I think i pressed my luck by sending him back out in the 8th. He gave up only 1 run up until the 8 and retired 10 hitters in a row before the 8th inning. That is when things started to go bad. He gave up 3 straight hits allowing the Marlins to tack on another run to make the score 2-0. With no out i brought in Joba and then Colon but after all was said and done, the marlins put up 6 runs in the 8th.

1 run would have been enough as I could only muster up 4 hits against Nolasco who pitched a complete game shutout. He also struck out 11.

Series is now tied at 1 with the next 3 being played at Florida. Next up is AJ Burnett who is having a great postseason so far vs Javier Vasquez the former Yankee.

[BwanaKuu]

Re: MLB 11 The Show &quot;Franchise/Season&quot; Progress Thread

I decided to start a "dream" franchise with my Phillies to possibly get some fan revenge for that early exit this postseason.

Using Ridin's v2 rosters based off of OSFM. I call this a "dream" franchise because I started with the roster completely healthy and Pence (one of my new personal fav players, was at his first game as a Phillie and rooted for him ever since).

I went with a fairly classic Phillies Lineup cerca 2008:

Jimmy Rollins - SS
Shane Victorino - CF
Chase Utley - 2B
Ryan Howard - 1B
Hunter Pence - RF
Raul Ibanez - LF
Placido Polanco - 3B
Carlos Ruiz - C
Pitcher

Rotation:
Roy Halladay
Cliff Lee
Roy Oswalt
Cole Hamels
Vance Worley

Bullpen:
Ryan Madson - CL
Brad Lidge - SU
Antonio Bastardo - SU
Jose Contreras - MRP
Danys Baez - MRP
Juan Perez - MRP
Joe Blanton - LRP

Bench:
Michael Martinez
John Mayberry Jr. (another fav player who I hope develops into my platoon LF with Ibanez)
Ross Gload
Wilson Valdez (maybe I should list him under bullpen as well? another fav as I was at that 19 inning game)

Opening day had the good Doctor on the mound who went 7 innings of 3 run ball. Took an early 1-0 lead with a homer from Ryan Howard in his first at-bat. Astros knocked in 3 before Raul Ibanez knocked in a 2 run HR to tie things at 3. Howard knocked in the go-ahead run with an RBI triple (Howard can run? ). Used Jose Contreras for the 8th and 9th for the win.

Next game was a NAIL BITER and once of the best RL/Show games I've ever played/witnessed. Cliff Lee pitched 8 scoreless innings while Bud Norris had a perfect game until the SIXTH inning! Carlos Ruiz worked a walk that inning before Jroll finally broke up the perfect game with a grounder through the middle in the 7th. Nothing came of that hit unfortunately. In the eigth inning I managed to work the bottom of my order onto base for runners at 1st and 2nd. I pulled Lee and pinchhit with John Mayberry Junior against a lefty from the Stros' bullpen. First pitch he BLASTS a 3 run homer to finally break the 0-0 tie. The stros started burning through their bullpen as I worked another two men on base with the top of my order. They walked Utley for some reason to face Ryan Howard who ripped his second homer of the year to deep left field to make it 6-0. I had Bastardo and Lidge warmed up and sent in the heartattack Lidge for the 9th. First out was easy enough before they ripped a solo shot to left. I had already sat Bastardo down and had Perez and Baez warming up. Perez was called on to go against a lefty and unfortunately let one on base. I brought in Baez who promptly gave up a 2 run shot to Carlos Lee. Immediately began warming Bastardo and Madson but Baez managed to get the final two outs to finish things up. Loved that the Stros still had some fight in them in the 9th.

Howard got player of the game for the 1st game while Lee earned player of the game for the 2nd.

I love these rosters so far and this is by far my favorite franchise start with second being my all-timers for each time franchise. It's hard to beat Mike Schmidt blasting a 2 run walk-off HR on opening day, but I "know" the current players more.

If anyone's interested my ranks are 8th for batting, 2nd for pitching, and 3rd for defense with these rosters. Pence really adds a lot to the offense and a healthy Utley and Howard also help. My goals are a world series win and to break the 102 mark set by the 2011 team, lofty for sure but only 101 wins to go for the latter.

[ckarlic]

Re: MLB 11 The Show &quot;Franchise/Season&quot; Progress Thread

Game 3 2011 World Series Yankees at Marlins:

Well, it wasn't what I had planned going to Florida for Game 3. It was Burnett vs Javier Vazquez. I thought i was going to face the Vazquez from the Yankees but unfortuantely it wasnt. Vazquez pitched great against the Yankees going 8 innings giving up only 1 run. The Marlins now lead the World Series 2-1

Here are the highlight from the game.

<iframe width="690" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qwY7gYlMo98" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Game 4 I will have Garcia to pitch against Johnson. I want to save Phil Hughes and CC for games 5 and 6 (if there is one : ( )

[decga]

Re: MLB 11 The Show &quot;Franchise/Season&quot; Progress Thread

I have not posted an update for about 3 weeks. I was trying to salvage my Braves franchise season. The white flag is clearly being waived. My record is a beismal 34-66.

I did finally get Heyward back after the All-Star break. Prado is done for the year. To make it worse, I was playing against the the Reds game 100. Chipper made a helluva diving stab towards the 3B line something I thought I couldn't do. He threw out of Votto. He tore his groin out for 1 to 2 months.

Something realistic happen. I was pitching, the ball hit him straight flush on the head. The pitcher fell flat out, like he had been shot. McCann got the ball and threw it to 1B. McCann then dropped his glove and him and Fredi checked on this pitcher. They took the pitcher out of the game. I would love to see a trainer and team checked on the pitcher.
He was only out for a "black eye".

I have 62 games remaining. Can I finish the 47-15? I am going to try. I play every last game. It has truely been a challenge.