MLB 11 The Show "Franchise/Season" Progress Thread

[Marino]

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

Finished my opening road trip with a 3-3 record. Should've been 4-2 but I somehow managed to blow a 9-2 lead against the Phillies and lost 10-9 when Chae Utley hit a walk-off 3-run HR off K-Rod

That's 2 blown saves already for Mr. Rodriguez.

Playing in Citizens Bank Park was crazy; both teams hit over .300 for the series and the fewest runs scored on either side in any of the 3 games was 7.

Back in NY now and halfway through the Citi Field opener and Jason Marquis is pitching a 2-hit shuout.

Damn, I'm 70 games in and Broxton only has one blown save, and you 2 already in April.

[slickdtc]

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

Crazy thing in my Franchise... I just played my 6th straight extra inning game! (7th straight 1-run game) Good news is I'm 5-1 in those games... 2 of them I came back in the 8th and 9th innings. Cabrera has been too clutch.



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Geez. I got into 2 straight extra innings games and it KILLED my bullpen. One went 12 innings, the second 14 innings. I was going to have to get into my starters before I ended it with walkoff hits (first game a 3R HR by Ramon Hernandez, I forget who/how I won the second).

[cardsleadtheway]

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

Hey Cards...

How well is going the Fall Classic with your A's ?

I finished the series with the Red Sox and went into Philadelphia to start my first world series.

Game 1: David Price versus Brett Anderson. Both pitchers won the Cy Young in their respective Leagues. When was the last time two Cy Young winners faced off against each other in the world series? We managed to get to Price in the second inning for two really tough runs. His running fast ball is just ridiculous. Even still, SS Paxton hit a solo shot off him when it ran right back into his wheel house. He did it again in the fifth inning to make it 3-0. For some reason, Phillies skipper (no idea who, wish they would fix this) decided to pinch hit for Price in the bottom of the fifth. Well it worked out, as Shin-Soo Choo belted a solo shot pinch hit home run. Kentucky Joe Blanton came in for relief and did not manage to let any more runs cross the plate. Anderson was dealing, but his pitch count got up there. Luckily for us, the combined efforts of Henry Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Andrew Bailey let us steal a road win against those Phillies.

Game 2: Cliff Lee versus J.A. Happ. Lee was coming off a shutout in the ALCS, so I was hoping he would be bringing a little of that with him to the series. He did not. After four innings, The Phillies were up 4 nothing. I can't put all the blame on Lee though. Dustin Pedroia, who always kills me, managed to get 3 straight doubles and score all three times. And I thought my days of facing him were over when he got traded. Ziegler gave up another two runs, back to back solo shots by Werth and Soriano. We started to make some noise in the 8th and 9th, but couldn't get above the final 6-4 score. Phillies closer, Mike Gonzalez, made it interesting, but he tight-roped out of it.

Game 3: Back in Oakland finally. Gio to face off against Roy Halladay. Halladay did not bring his best stuff to the mound, but he did get in and out of danger like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. With a pitch count up pretty high, he got pulled by the 4th. Gio was Halladay's lefty counter part. He was up to 4 er and 112 pitches after only 4.1 innings, unfortunately, he got tagged for another 3 runs when he left with bases loaded and ziegler allowed them all to score on a double by, you guessed it, Pedroia. We couldn't get back into that game and lost 9-3 as well as the home field advantage.

Game 4: I had to make the call between going back to Anderson or letting Mazarro get the call. I decided to go with Mazarro so that I could face off against their other batting order (and hopefully have some advantage against Pedroia). It turned out to be a good call, even though Ibanez belted a home run in his first appearance of the series. Price was dealing again, but this time we had a better look at that RFB. Pena finally woke up and belted his first of the series and third of the playoffs (including a crazy inside the park variety that bounced around all the walls in Fenway). Pena awoke the offensive beast, as we went on to win the game 6-1, all scores coming from solo shots.

Game 5: Anderson versus Happ. Anderson was just as good as his last start (and all starts in the playoffs going 5-0). Happ was ok, giving up 4 runs, but we still got to him a bit and managed to chase him out in the 6th. Blanton was dealing again. He could not get a score off of him. I elected to take Anderson out in the 8th, despite pitching a shutout, due to his high pitch count. Fuentes and Bailey were perfect again.

Game 6: Back to Philly. Cliff Lee versus Trevor Cahill (Lee on the A's and Cahill on the Phillies? What a bizarre universe). Cahill went through our lineup like a knife through butter. At least the first go around. Second time through, Pena belted another one, to make it 3 in the series. Carter, Quentin, and Paxton all followed suit after Dunn got hit by a pitch. 5 nothing, and they let him keep pitching. Pena did it again, a three run shot this time. Meanwhile, Lee got his form back on. He was impossible to hit, until Pedroia got a double and Tulowitzki drove him in. Then Lee became impossible to hit again. With a high pitch count and a comfortable lead, I took him out after 6. Up 8-1, Fuentes, Matt Capps, and Andrew Bailey finished out the game and the series.

It only took 4 seasons, but man was it worth it. I have heard that the celebration is rather weak, and it is, but fun nonetheless. Somehow Paxton ended up as the playoff and world series MVP, despite Pena belting 4 homers and a dozen or so RBIs. Pedroia of course got the NL playoff mvp.

Then we went into the off season and got some key acquisitions without spending very much money. Zack Grienke had sat out the whole season on the FA list (I pretend TJ surgery). So I picked him up for 1 year at $5 mil. I also got Joakim Soria for 1 year at $1 mil. I even tried to get Matt LaPorta for $2 mil, but Boston got just as wise and grabbed him up for a 2 year $17 Mil contract. I let Braden, Ziegler, Joey Devine, and Kouzmanoff. In need of a second baseman, I watched closely to see how free agency would shake out for Chase Utley, but Boston had his numbers way out of my price range. No other 2nd base option, so I figured I would ride it out with a spring training tryout. At the end of February, I notice that the Phillies had pulled their huge offering for Tulowitzki. I guess they lost out on too many arbitration hearings. I offered a 1 year $2 mil deal and he accepted. I will lose out on a draft pick, but I could get it back if he doesn't re-sign with us. I just didn't want the kid to sit out a whole year in FA, and he shores up my 2nd problem. I should play him SS, but my SS can't play 2nd so Tulo gets the job.

A funny thing happened right after the arbitration hearings. A bunch of teams released their top player. Guys like C.C., Hamilton, Fielder (MVP), Halladay, all got released to make budget room. I am considering going after Halladay because I really like him, I could use another pitcher especially since Grienke is a one year rental, Drabek, Ross, Richard, and de los Santos have still not panned out for me, and I don't want Halladay to sit it out a whole year in FA. He wants $18 mil though. Will be a tough decision. If I sign him to one year, I might be able to re-sign him to a lesser contract. Or I might lose him to another team. Or he might retire. Next year, Suzuki will be due for a raise, and Anderson and Bailey the year after that. Could get expensive.

[thaSLAB]

Geez. I got into 2 straight extra innings games and it KILLED my bullpen. One went 12 innings, the second 14 innings. I was going to have to get into my starters before I ended it with walkoff hits (first game a 3R HR by Ramon Hernandez, I forget who/how I won the second).

Yeah it definitely took a toll on my bullpen, especially my MRP's (and had my first blown save with Valverde.) Three of the games only went 10 innings, and then one each of 11, 12 and 14-innings. My lineup as a whole is pretty tired LOL. I've been having to DH some otherwise position players to keep them somewhat fresh. Overall, I love the managing aspect of this type of situation... last year I think I only had a total of 10 extra inning gms.


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[yankecrazy]

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

Well, I decided to give Chamberlain and Garcia each one more shot, as they have both been solid this ST. Garcia would get his shot against Boston, while Chamberlain squares off against Baltimore.

Garcia: 8.0 IP, 10H, 2ER (on 2HR), 1BB, 3K
A really solid outing. Actually, outstanding, given Boston's potent line-up, however, Garcia was very lucky to just allow two runs, given that he gave up 8 other hits. Only having 3 strikeouts is a small concern as well.

Chamberlain: 8.0 IP, 7H, 0ER, 0BB, 10K
Unbelievable outing for Joba, as he kept the O's hitters off balance all night. He gave up a few hits, including some sharply hit doubles, but never let up, allowing no runs and stranding the only runner to reach 3rd by striking out the final two batters he faced. Joba threw 104 pitches, and showed that he can be effective even when his fastball dips into the high 80's (he was sitting at 89 in the 8th).

As a result of these two performances, the Yankees have decided to give the 5th rotation spot to Joba Chamberlain. Freddy Garcia will be the long man out of the pen, and first in line for a rotation spot should there be a need.

The Yankees have yet to announce a decision for the final bullpen spot. The competition is now between Bartolo Colon, Steve Garrison, and Luis Ayala.

[duke776]

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

In my A's franchise I lost 2 out of 3 to the Yankees to fall to 7-8.

Then the Rays took 3 out of 4 against me to drop my record to 8-11.

Luckily we bounced back against the Rangers and we took 2 out of 3 to get to 10-12.

First game of the Royals series Joe Blanton got lit up again, giving up 6 runs in 3 innings. We went on to lose the game 8-5. After the game I decided to release Blanton because he is terrible, luckily Seattle claimed him off waivers and got me off the hook for paying his $4.8M salary. When I signed him in the offseason I was really hoping he could help out my rotation but 6 starts later with a 11 ERA it was time to let him go.

2nd game was a really great game. Early on it looked like Ian Snell would struggle once again (what a suprise), but after issuing two first inning walks he managed to get out of the inning with no hits and no runs. That would be a trend in the game for both pitchers, no hits and no runs. Seth McClung had me baffled. After the first out in the top of the 5th, Ian Snell gave up the first hit of the game to the Royals 2nd baseman Taylor Montgomery. Next pitch the runner was erased though, thrown out trying to steal second. Snell got out of the inning with no damage. First batter of the bottom of the fifth, Bill Hall, led off the inning with a double down the left field line to break up McClungs no hitter. A batter later, Brian Roberts hit a RBI single to center field to put the first run on the board. Roberts would also score later that inning making it 2-0 Athletics. Snell continued to pitch great, and ended up with a line of 8 IP 2 H 4 K's and 4 BB. We scored two more in the bottom of the 8th to pad our lead, then Will Ohman came in and shut the door and we won it 4-0.

Final game of the series was terrible. Sean Marshall pitch absolutely terrible once again, giving up 6 runs in 4 innings. My pen gave up 5 more runs and we lost it 11-2. We are now 11-14 on the season.

As you might be able to tell, my starting pitching sucks. I have faith in Bronson Arroyo because he's thrown a few good outings but his two bad one's have been terrible. Ian Snell certainly showed he could possibly stick around, and I hope he continues to pitch the way he did in his last outing. Wil Ledezma isn't that good either, although I have gotten some okay outings from him. Marshall has been terrible every time out I believe, and if he doesn't pick it up in his next two starts I'll probably give Jason Jennings a shot. Bartolo Colon was called up to take the place of Joe Blanton, he'll make his debut against the powerful lineup of the Angels. Hopefully he can pitch well. I know I have the bats to contend, and my pen is good enough, but my starters are going to hold me back. If I'm in the race in Mid-June/Early-July I'm going to shop around some top prospects of mine for top of the rotation talent from teams out of the race.

[cardsfan2222]

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

Congrats Cards. It's about time you won one. With Greinke, Soria, and Tulo, you should be favorites to win it again. Halladay would just add another Cy Young contender to your rotation.

After blowing a 6-0 lead in the previous game against the Cubs, my offense didn't want that to happen again. We scored 4 in the first, 8 in the 3rd, and 3 more in the 4th to take a 15-3 lead, and force the Cubs to blow through their bullpen for the second straight game en route to a 16-6 win. Despite all the runs, none of them came via the home run, as the power is still not there.

[COMMISSIONERHBK9]

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

right now i am using the yankees with knights opening day rosters. i am 4-11. my latest transactions was i optioned ivan nova,lance pendleton,hector noesi and david robertson to triple a.i recalled kevin millwood,phil hughes and carlos silva.i released addison maruszak.

as for my disable list it is as follow. arod is out 1-6 days. wilkins arias is out for 3-4 weeks.

[DJ]

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

Damn, I'm 70 games in and Broxton only has one blown save, and you 2 already in April.

Par for the course for me. Although last year my bullpen struggles were with the Rockies. K-Rod (with Feliciano as the setup man) was money for me last year.

[cardsleadtheway]

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

Congrats Cards. It's about time you won one. With Greinke, Soria, and Tulo, you should be favorites to win it again. Halladay would just add another Cy Young contender to your rotation.

After blowing a 6-0 lead in the previous game against the Cubs, my offense didn't want that to happen again. We scored 4 in the first, 8 in the 3rd, and 3 more in the 4th to take a 15-3 lead, and force the Cubs to blow through their bullpen for the second straight game en route to a 16-6 win. Despite all the runs, none of them came via the home run, as the power is still not there.

Thanks man. It would be nice to have Halladay to replace Cliff Lee. I would have loved to keep Lee longer, but he had to go off and retire after year 3 of a 5 year contract. 35 years old, and only 10 years before calling it quits. If I get Halladay, I should do it sooner than later. The way the game works, I will have to pay the same whether he plays all year long or pulls a Roger Clemens. Grienke is pitching like he really did come off TJ. He has some really good movement on his pitches, but he gets hit, and hard. I love the way his two seamer moves, but his 4 seam is batting practice, despite being around 95. And it isn't just me pitching with him. Sim games seem to be the same. His era for the spring was around 6 and he is already in the high 5's in the first two weeks of the season. Good thing I didn't over pay for him. Tulowitzki had a 2 home run game on a sim, but is batting under the Mendoza. Maybe the CPU knows something I don't. Soria, though, has been quite good in the pen. I have 4 closers on my roster (same as Philly had in the last season) in Bailey, Fuentes, Soria, and Capps. It is nice having a tough bull pen, plus closers can be traded since their value is really high and many teams end up without any after the first season.

[Doormat]

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

Just tried out a quick game from season mode to get the trophy for the Padres (The trophy where you have to win a game using their camo unis). Having a 5-3 lead into the 9th forgot what pitcher I had (against the Mets btw) person on third and on first with 2 outs, 3-2 count and the 11th pitch to Angel Pagan ended up being a home run to right. My mouth never seemed to go back up after that and I ended up losing the game.

[PhilliesFan13]

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

The story on my Phillies franchise:

First off, I play my franchise just like the real season. I play one game a day to go along with the real Phillies season. I do all the real roster moves such as injuries, call-ups and send downs, trades, waiver claims, etc.

Through the first 18 games of this season, I am 11-7, but it has not been easy or fun at all. In fact, it's been more of a struggle than anything else. I'm surprised I even have a winning record with the way things have been. My hitting has been terrible. I just cannot seem to get any kind of consistent offense going in any game. I haven't even scored more than 5 runs in a game so far this season! I don't know what the problem is anymore. My pitching is great. Team ERA of 2.84. I just can't figure out why my hitting has suffered so much. I don't know...maybe I just stink at this game now.

Here are some of my stats so far:

Team Batting Average - .248
Team Hits - 144
Team Runs Scored - 68
Team Doubles - 32
Team Triples - 5
Team Home Runs - 15
Team RBI - 66
Team Stolen Bases - 14
Team Caught Stealing - 6
Team Walks - 28
Team Strikeouts - 121 (Way too high)
Team Slugging % - .386
Team OBP - .277
Team OPS - .663

I have not been pleased with these numbers at all through the first 18 games.

Some individual player stats:

Jimmy Rollins - .239 BA, 0 HR, 7RBI
Placido Polanco - .184 BA, 1 HR, 5 RBI
Ryan Howard - .313 BA, 7 HR, 16 RBI
Shane Victorino - .219 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Raul Ibanez - .217 BA, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Ben Francisco - .210 BA, 2 HR, 7 RBI
Carlos Ruiz - .347 BA, 1 HR, 8 RBI
Wilson Valdez - .171 BA, 0 HR, 5 RBI

Bench:

Ross Gload - .250 BA, 1 HR, 3 RBI
John Mayberry Jr. - .450 BA, 2 HR, 7 RBI
Pete Orr - .158 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Michael Martinez - .158 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Brian Schneider - .400 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI

As you can see, Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz have been my best starting position players so far.

I've been going back and forth between timing and zone hitting, but I still can't seem to settle on what I like more. Same with camera angles. I was using wide offset for awhile. I was also playing on All-Star hitting and pitching and moved down to Veteran when things stopped working for me.

What do you guys think of my team so far this season? I'd like some opinons. Thanks.

[PSUlions15]

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

The story on my Phillies franchise:

First off, I play my franchise just like the real season. I play one game a day to go along with the real Phillies season. I do all the real roster moves such as injuries, call-ups and send downs, trades, waiver claims, etc.

Through the first 18 games of this season, I am 11-7, but it has not been easy or fun at all. In fact, it's been more of a struggle than anything else. I'm surprised I even have a winning record with the way things have been. My hitting has been terrible. I just cannot seem to get any kind of consistent offense going in any game. I haven't even scored more than 5 runs in a game so far this season! I don't know what the problem is anymore. My pitching is great. Team ERA of 2.84. I just can't figure out why my hitting has suffered so much. I don't know...maybe I just stink at this game now.

Here are some of my stats so far:

Team Batting Average - .248
Team Hits - 144
Team Runs Scored - 68
Team Doubles - 32
Team Triples - 5
Team Home Runs - 15
Team RBI - 66
Team Stolen Bases - 14
Team Caught Stealing - 6
Team Walks - 28
Team Strikeouts - 121 (Way too high)
Team Slugging % - .386
Team OBP - .277
Team OPS - .663

I have not been pleased with these numbers at all through the first 18 games.

Some individual player stats:

Jimmy Rollins - .239 BA, 0 HR, 7RBI
Placido Polanco - .184 BA, 1 HR, 5 RBI
Ryan Howard - .313 BA, 7 HR, 16 RBI
Shane Victorino - .219 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Raul Ibanez - .217 BA, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Ben Francisco - .210 BA, 2 HR, 7 RBI
Carlos Ruiz - .347 BA, 1 HR, 8 RBI
Wilson Valdez - .171 BA, 0 HR, 5 RBI

Bench:

Ross Gload - .250 BA, 1 HR, 3 RBI
John Mayberry Jr. - .450 BA, 2 HR, 7 RBI
Pete Orr - .158 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Michael Martinez - .158 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Brian Schneider - .400 BA, 0 HR, 2 RBI

As you can see, Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz have been my best starting position players so far.

I've been going back and forth between timing and zone hitting, but I still can't seem to settle on what I like more. Same with camera angles. I was using wide offset for awhile. I was also playing on All-Star hitting and pitching and moved down to Veteran when things stopped working for me.

What do you guys think of my team so far this season? I'd like some opinons. Thanks.

All I can say is good luck, I'm not doing a Phillies franchise this year because I get to emotionally involved, and gets me p*$$ed when I lose, so this year I decided to go with the pirates, I play a series then sim a series and were 18-4(The sim Pirates are amazing as my four loses are from games played.) The one good spark is my star Rookie, Wiz Khalifa.

[PhilliesFan13]

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

All I can say is good luck, I'm not doing a Phillies franchise this year because I get to emotionally involved, and gets me p*$$ed when I lose, so this year I decided to go with the pirates, I play a series then sim a series and were 18-4(The sim Pirates are amazing as my four loses are from games played.) The one good spark is my star Rookie, Wiz Khalifa.

"Emotionally involved" is a perfect phrase. Maybe that's my problem. Maybe I'm trying too hard. I mean, I want realistic baseball and don't want to go 162-0, but it is so frustrating when I can't get anything going offensively.

I'm playing the Phillies game with the Padres tonight right now. Roy Oswalt vs. Mat Latos. I'm in the bottom of the 7th inning tied 1-1. Both teams only have 2 hits. Frustating man...seems like every game is like this.

[PSUlions15]

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

"Emotionally involved" is a perfect phrase. Maybe that's my problem. Maybe I'm trying too hard. I mean, I want realistic baseball and don't want to go 162-0, but it is so frustrating when I can't get anything going offensively.

I'm playing the Phillies game with the Padres tonight right now. Roy Oswalt vs. Mat Latos. I'm in the bottom of the 7th inning tied 1-1. Both teams only have 2 hits. Frustating man...seems like every game is like this.

Yea for me it gets to tough and that's why I end up batting bad because I get to involved, just like in real life. I do live in Philly, and you know how we can be, we always expect the best from our team. The best advice I can give you is to try with a new team or tough it out .