2012 Franchise Progress Thread

[Armor and Sword]

Re: 2012 Franchise Progress Thread

I failed tomention on my trde of Ramirez that I also got a minor league prospect in

Trevor May


So Ramirez for

Hamels - Stud "A" potential expiring contract (will be #1 resign priority)
Polanco - 36 yr old 3B year left max expireing contract
Trevor May - "A" potential SP in AAA ball currently and in the rotation as 5th starter on the Zephyers.

I like it a lot.

[RyanLeaf16]

Re: 2012 Franchise Progress Thread

It is the trade deadline in my 'chise and I am hitting a brickwall with working out deals. I'm looking to add a more consistent bat, and at the same time prepare for life without BJ Upton. Mind you, I am not looking to deal Upton, I plan on letting him walk via free agency. However, I have other positions that I can move some bodies at and I want a someone who can take over in CF...or I will just go with Jennings in center and make a deal for a corner outfielder. I also had other positions I wanted to upgrade due to expected departures and being thin at a position. Those positions were (primarily): 2B and 1B. I also would like to get an everyday catcher, but, I think I'm going to have to pay a pretty penny for that and any decent catchers are not being moved...at least not in my game.

The guys I attempted to make a deal for are: Jesus Guzman (this could have been done, but, I wanted to give prospects and the Padres wanted ML ready guys), Gary Brown (Tigers were looking for a return on positions that I was thin at), Starling Marte (Pirates would not take on any money...however, this kid is a stud. I will be more willing to throw the kitchen sink at Pittsburgh for this kid. Plus, with McCutcheon out in CF, I think he's in the wrong organization )

I'm going to play my July 31 game and see if I can't work out a deal after the game. May go after Kyle Parker (Rockies) as a potential RF and move Zobrist back to 2B for the rest of the season. I need more production out of every position, and I can't keep putting Didi out there to go 0-4. Zobrist is likely moving back to the infield for the rest of the season so I can try to maximize the offensive output of my lineup.

[Nez477]

Re: 2012 Franchise Progress Thread

Great thread, I thought I'd join and discuss my franchise 10 games in.

I am in a 26-team Strat-o-Matic league that I've been in for almost 10 years now. It has a great ownership group and throughout the seasons I made the WS once and got swept. After that (in 2008) I tore down the team and started drafting/acquiring young talent. Now that my team is finally meshing together, I decided to take the team I built in strat-o-matic to MLB: The Show.

My Strat-O-Matic team is the Los Angeles Skyhawks, playing in the AL but at Dodgers stadium. So I had a difficult decision to make (or at least I thought I did).... play as the Dodgers or play as the Angels? I decided on playing in the AL as I needed a DH as that's how I built my team.

Then when I started my first game I realized.. I get to pick the stadium! So I play as the Angels, but all home games are in the Dodgers stadium.

My team is below. Again, it seems somewhat stacked but I really worked hard throughout the years to make it happen. To compile this roster in the show, before my franchise started, I traded the Angels to the other teams as fairly as I could (for example, Hosmer is my 1Bman so the Royals have Pujols).

SP1: Cole Hamels
SP2: Yovani Gallardo
SP3: Doug Fister
SP4: Jeremy Hellickson
SP5: Henderson Alvarez

RP1: Mike Adams
RP2: Rafael Betancourt
RP3: Andrew Bailey
RP4: Eric O'Flaherty
RP5: Jeremy Affeldt
RP6: Matt Guerrier

C1: Buster Poser
C2: Bobby Wilson (in my SOM team I have Rod Barajas but decided on just leaving the backup as a crappy dude instead of leaving the Pirates catcherless)
1B: Eric Hosmer
2B: Aaron Hill
SS: Jimmy Rollins
3B: Adrian Beltre
Util: Jeff Keppinger
Util: Brooks Conrad
Util: Don Kelly
LF: Corey Hart
CF: Cameron Maybin
RF: Seth Smith
OF: David Dejesus
DH: Adam Lind

Minors: Bryce Harper, Gerrit Cole, Kolten Wong, Gary Brown, Jordan Pacheco, James Darnell, Kelvim Herrera, Brad Peacock

So as you can see its a pretty stacked team. I'm 1st in pitching and 2nd in batting in the league after it was all said and done.

However, I'm 4-6 in my first six games. I'm doing pulse pitching for the first time in my The Show life, and it takes a while. I also am dealing with zone batting in MLB:TS 12 after my last game I played was MLB:TS 09. I am using the "Perfect" slider set, and thus far I mostly like it a lot.

Seth Smith has been the star thus far, hitting four homers through 10 games. Henderson Alvarez got absolutely shelled in his first start (a 14-10 loss to the Twins), and then turned it around with a 7 IP, 11K start yesterday against the A's (we'd end up losing the 4-2 lead we had for him, it was tied 4-4 going into the bottom of the 8th, and then Adam Lind hit a 2-run shot, his second of the game, off of Brian Fuentes into the RF seats).

I've had lots of great and lots of infuriating moments thus far in the young season. Some random bullets....

• I've hit 13 HR and 13 doubles in the first ten games. The doubles seem harder to come by in MLB 12 but I'm going to give it a few more games before consulting the slider crowd
• We got swept by the Twins. They annihilated my pitching.
• Jeremy Hellickson pitched a CG, 4K shutout against the Yankees. We only won 3-0, it was 1-0 going to the 8th. Very intense game but Hellickson was hitting his spots and inducing a lot of weak contact
• Phil Hughes shut me out with a 13k performance. He pitched to one batter over the minimum. He was just filthy.
• In game 2 against the Yankees (a game I think I lost), I had the most gratifying HR of my MLB: The Show career. I had been struggling to score runs (and still have, I think I'm 25th in the league in runs and 28th in batting average). Eric Hosmer was up against Ivan Nova with no one on, and on the 8th pitch of a nice battle, he threw a borderline high fastball on the outside corner. I timed it pretty well and the ball carried, carried... and just went over the fence over Mr. Granderson. I feel in general that I struggle with pitches up and away, and I hit an opposite field HR. Was just a really cool moment for some reason for me.
• Pulse pitching is HARD. You have to be really focused and not let it get to you. I obviously get in a groove sometimes (like my 11k performance by Alvarez), but then Andrew Bailey comes in and I struggle to get his rhythm down and before you know it, its tied.
• Variable umps are awesome. I get very frustrated sometimes and then fist pump a big backdoor slider that is obviously off the plate but called a strike. Very realistic.

Anyway, loving this game, I'll update all with how it goes. Harper is hitting .133 at AAA so no reason to move him up yet. But excited about having him join the squad at some point.

[Heroesandvillains]

Re: 2012 Franchise Progress Thread

Nez,

Doubles come in bunches. Even 25 games isn't really enough to gauge their trend frequency.

Barring them being extremely low, I'd avoid sliders for now. 1.3 isn't that far off at this point in time.

[RyanLeaf16]

Re: 2012 Franchise Progress Thread

Decided to fire up the PS3 for a few minutes and see if there were any deals I could work out. Right now, my offense is still struggling to be consistent and that has everything to do with ratings, and user-skill, but, I do believe ratings play a big part.

With that being said, I am .5 game out of the WC race and I am thinking of making a move to acquire offensive help. I've been stonewalled on most of the deals I have been working on, but, I decided to look at who is still in the running, who wants pitching and what moves would make sense. So, I notice that the Diamondbacks have an interest in Jake Shields. I check to see what the DBacks have been doing and see that they lead the NL West by 6 games and have acquired ARod from the Yankees and Carlos Lee from the Astros. Clearly the DBacks are making a run for the title. I fully expect to lose Pena and Scott in the off-season and have been looking for a consistent hitter at 1B instead of a high risk/high reward player like Pena.

Since Arizona now has Lee and ARod, I figure, I could make a run at Ryan Roberts since he was sent to AAA by the CPU AI and Matt Davidson, a power-hitting prospect that projects to be a bit more consistent at the plate. Good thing is that Roberts can play 2B and the outfield and Davidson can slide to 1B for 2013. Giving me a projected infield of Davidson, Roberts, Longoria and Hak Ju-Lee next season. Plus, I am able to get the DBacks to include Josh Collmenter in the deal as well.

I didn't complete the deal yet. I am going to sleep on it tonight and see if I want to pull the trigger tomorrow.

[UK0wnag3]

Re: 2012 Franchise Progress Thread

I just wanted to start off by thanking OS members for great rosters and OS for providing us a place to post all about our experiences we have with our games.!
But to move forward, I have started a franchise with the D'Backs and want to let Bauer stay in AAA for awhile before bringing him to big leagues. But now since Kennedy broke his hand (out 2-3 months) in first game of season. Is the only logical move to bring him up? Or should I trade for a veteran starter (one year left in contract) to let him upgrade in minors some more? Thanks for any help!

If your long guy is one of Miley or Collmenter, you could move them into the rotation and call up someone like Enright/Kroenke/Demel etc from AAA into the pen.

[BGPurples3]

Re: 2012 Franchise Progress Thread

If your long guy is one of Miley or Collmenter, you could move them into the rotation and call up someone like Enright/Kroenke/Demel etc from AAA into the pen.

I decided to see how Bauer would do in a MLB start and he out performed himself. He went 5.1 inning, with 3 hits, 1 ER, 9Ks. So I will keep him up in MLB before I make anymore pitching changing. Thanks for the help though. Collementer has pitched well too in the pen as a LRP.

[Franchize34]

Re: 2012 Franchise Progress Thread

Won the Series with the Cards. In the beginning of Offseason and Furcal retired, so need a SS. Best available is Aaron Hill, and he is a Type B. Don't know if that's worth it for a year or 2, or try out a prospect, like Ryan Jackson or Tyler Greene-who is a AAAA player in real life, not quite a big leaguer, better than AAA. Any ideas on other SS to try or trade for? I have a wealth of SP prospects due to trades.

[Nez477]

Re: 2012 Franchise Progress Thread

Nez,

Doubles come in bunches. Even 25 games isn't really enough to gauge their trend frequency.

Barring them being extremely low, I'd avoid sliders for now. 1.3 isn't that far off at this point in time.

This was a timely post.

Last night I played two games.

Game 1: Cole Hamles STRUGGLES against the A's to start the game. I'm just barely missing the zone or hanging breaking balls. It ends up being 7-0 after two including a Yeonis Cespedes 2-run shot.

I get a double off of McCarthy in the 3rd but can't get him home. In the 5th, I got a walk and single for Jeff Keppinger, my 9-hole hitter. He crushes a 3-2 fastball to straight center field for a homer. Yes, that Jeff Keppinger. Always fun to hit bombs with the little guys.

Anyway, I end up getting another run home on a double single combo in the 6th, its 7-4 heading to the 8th when Jeremy Affeldt gives up two runs and puts the game out of reach.

Game 2: I hit four doubles, a triple and three homers.

I only scored five runs though, embarrassing.

Yovani Gallardo looked good through four batters, but he bruised his hand somehow and had to come out. The bullpen does well enough, including SIX strikeouts by Andrew Bailey in three innings. I hung a breaking ball to Eric Sogard in the 8th with Mike Adams making it 5-4, but Betancourt pitches a perfect ninth for a 5-4 win.

So ya, I hit five doubles in the two games tonight. Looks like they will happen.

The triple was one of my favorite The Show hits in quite a while. Aaron Hill was a tad late on a breaking ball low but hit it squarely. I knew it would be at least a double off the bat, but it hit the ground, hit the top of the wall, and bounced pretty high in the air and the CF had to wait for it. It was a legit triple. Most of the triples I hit in 09 were the "the OF dives and misses" variety.

Anyway, my Angels are 5-7 now. The most runs I've won by is 4 in a 5-1 win, otherwise they have all been pretty close.

[BGPurples3]

Re: 2012 Franchise Progress Thread

I have a question about free-agency. Is there a way to get some decent FA in the offseason. I mean do you control some teams and allow good players to walk at times or do you let the CPU resign players the way they want? Thanks!

[franch1se]

34-14 with the Tucson Padres.

Padres placed Nick Hundley on the DL and took Yasmani Grandal from Me

Also just lost Andrew Cashner to the big club as well.

I got Catcher Ali Solis and SP Clayton Richard in return.

[lek]

Re: 2012 Franchise Progress Thread

Interesting stuff franch1se must be frustrating with the big club taking top guys.

Part three of preseason fictional White Sox. These are my top prospects.


2012 White Sox top prospects:

1) Brady Clark 3B L 23years old (A potential)
Clark has the potential to develop into a 300AVG 20HR guy. He also already has an above average glove at third. In short we love this guy. The problem is he plays third and the idea was to have Benny there for the foreseeable future.

2) Ed Branch LF/RF R 19years old (A potential)
Branch is young but has already shown substantial power and plate discipline. He seems like a perfect future fit for the middle of our order and we are watching his development closely.

3) Douglas Yates RHP 20 years old (A potential)
According to our scouts Yates has ace type stuff. He throws hard which is what we like. He has control issues but hopefully by 2013 we can slot him in to the top half of our rotation.

4) George Ramos RHP 24 years old (A potential)
Ramos is a control and movement guy which is not what we prize but our scouts assure us he has top rotation stuff. It’s a long shot but perhaps he can help in 2012.

5) Marty Kelly 2B R 24 years old (B potential) position two SS
Our scouts tell us Kelly should be a productive regular. We need a shortstop now but his primary position is second. Hopefully he hits in the minors and develops into a useful piece.


Others of Note

Alfonso Rodriguez 1B S 27years old (C potential)
He plays first which is Foreman’s position and our scouts say he has a limited future but this guy has raw power. He also hits from both sides and our lineup is a bit two right heavy. I wonder if we can pop him in at DH. A full year may yield +20 HR.

Ryan Pierce RHP 25years old (B potential)
Pierce came over from Atlanta and we think he has a good future. Mid 90’s fastball a decent if not outstanding curve and fair control. Pierce can go either way lets hope up.

Austin O’ Daniel LHP 24years old (B potential)
Austin came out of nowhere and finished 2011 7-1 in double A. He has a high 90’s fastball and not much else. If he can develop some control and work on secondary pitches we may have something big.

[UK0wnag3]

Re: 2012 Franchise Progress Thread

I decided to see how Bauer would do in a MLB start and he out performed himself. He went 5.1 inning, with 3 hits, 1 ER, 9Ks. So I will keep him up in MLB before I make anymore pitching changing. Thanks for the help though. Collementer has pitched well too in the pen as a LRP.

Personally, I still have Collmenter in the rotation. I seem to pitch well with him, I think the Game has him slightly overrated.

[OSUPoke2007]

Re: 2012 Franchise Progress Thread

Had a crazy game against Strasburg last night. He was blowing me away with that SLRV, I could not lay off of fit. 13 k's, only 2 hits through 8 innings. Had to keep gearing up for the 99 mph fastball that he was placing perfectly, kept swinging at the SLRV outside the zone.

Detroit (I'm deep into franchise) scored 4 runs on me so I am down 4-0 entering the 9th, with almost no hope of winning, let alone getting enough base runners to even make it close.

Lead off the 9th with the top of the order,
1st pitch single, only the 3rd base runner of the game.
2nd guy up gets a single, great 2 men on, no one out.
3rd hitter strikes out. 2 on 1 out.
4th hitter gets out, don't remember how. 2 on 2 out, down 4-0
5th hitter hits a 2 out double that scores both runs. now a 4-2 game, 1 on 2 out. Strasburg leaves the game after 8 2/3 with the shutout gone
6th hitter walked by the new pitcher! 2 on, 2 out, winning run at the plate.
7th hitter comes in, I work the count, and hit a 3-1 fastball to deep left center field. Off the bat, I though I won the game, but it dies at the warning track, game over.

So close!

[Travisssx17]

Re: 2012 Franchise Progress Thread

Just won the aces second game moving them to 2-0. The final score was 4-1. Player o the game was Tommy manzella who went 1 for 4 with avhome run. Wade Miley pitched good goin 6 innings while giving up 5 hits 1 run and 2 walksbut getting a strikeout also. Mike DeMark gets his first save of the season. Next game is the season opener for the dbacks as they face the giants. Ian Kennedy will take the mound.