2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

[sink4ever]

Re: 2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

I just finished up my first season (2013) in my Cubs/Astros franchise. I'll start the recaps with a review of the Cubs' minor league system (for a better look at the stats, you may want to "Right Click -> View Image").



2013 Minor League Season Recap









Top Prospects
Javier Baez - The young shortstop acquitted himself quite well in AA, maintaining a solid approach at the plate and showing good pop. He won't be rushed, but with a good start next season he could force a promotion to AAA.

Jorge Soler - One of the most exciting prospects in the system, Soler handled AA easily before being promoted to AAA. His overall offensive game was impressive and it wouldn't be surprising to see him make it the majors for good sometime in 2014.

Albert Almora - Almora bounced back and forth between A and AA, generally filling in for injured players. His performance was rather uneven, but the potential is obviously there. In 2014 he'll get a chance to stick at AA.

Arodys Vizcaino - After coming back from injury, Vizcaino had a pit-stop in AA before moving up to AAA. Another year in the minors may be necessary for him to build up his innings and stamina, but he's very close to competing for a rotation spot. His K rate actually increased when he moved up to AAA, but he could stand to lower the walks a bit.

Arismendy Alcantara - A talented and versatile player, Alcantara proved to be good at pretty much everything this past season. Despite moving around the diamond to play at several positions, his offensive play never suffered as he continued to produce at the top of the lineup.


Arriving Soon
Alberto Cabrera - After a somewhat rough start, Cabrera managed to finish strong despite allowing too many hits. His K rate was solid, however, and the consensus is that he's quite close to putting it all together. Profiling as a back of the rotation starter or possible reliever, Cabrera could find himself in the majors quite soon.

Martin Perez - Acquired in the Soriano/Jackson trade with Texas, the young lefty is nearly major league ready. With a ceiling of a solid #2, the Cubs hope he'll be ready to win a rotation spot by 2015.

Logan Watkins - A versatile utility player, Watkins can do a bit of everything and is the perfect type of player to round out a team's bench. Although he didn't have eye-popping stats in 2013, he does have a decent bat and an advanced approach at the plate. Look for him to get time at several different positions in 2014 as he prepares for a career as a super-sub.

Josh Vitters - Even though his stock has dropped a bit and he'll probably never be an All-Star 3B, Vitters still has a bit of upside with the bat. He'll probably get a chance in 2014 to share some time at 3B with Ian Stewart, but his window is closing.


Stock Rising
Christian Villanueva - Known more for his glove, Villanueva showed he's got a good enough bat to be considered a long-term answer at 3B. The bit question is whether the power will develop, but he's at least proved so far that he's able to hit well for average.

Dan Vogelbach - Despite missing a bit of time due to injury, Vogelbach turned in one of the more impressive offensive efforts in the system. Hitting for a blend of power and average, he's shown himself to be more than a raw slugger. Since his defense will never be great, it's definitely benefited him to show such a polished bat.

Trey Martin - Martin opened quite a few eyes with his strong season in AA. Not only did he hit for power, he had a decent walk rate and kept his strikeouts down. Not one of the more well-known prospects, he could definitely


Stock Falling
Matt Szczur - Now at best a 4th OF, Szczur put up rather mediocre numbers in AA and flat out struggled in AAA. Other outfielders like Trey Martin and John Andreoli have passed him by and his future with the club is in question.


Sleepers
John Andreoli - The speedy CF showed a solid knack for getting on base and could be the kind of guy who grows into a solid 4th OF.

Willson Contreras - Before missing a chunk of the season with an injury, Contreras was putting up better than expected offensive numbers. Not only was he squaring up the ball and hitting for a solid average, he proved to be very disciplined at the plate and willing to get on via a walk.

Barret Loux - Between top prospects such as Vizcaino, Paniagua, and Johnson and newly acquired pitchers like Perez, Buckel, and Matzek, Loux tends to get lost in the shuffle. He quietly had a very impressive 2013, limiting baserunners and putting together a solid K/9. He's a bit of a dark horse candidate for the 5th rotation spot in 2014.

[sink4ever]

Re: 2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

And here's the review of the Astros' minor league system.



2013 Minor League Season Recap









Top Prospects
Jonathan Singleton - After returning from his suspension, Singleton did his best to prove that he was too good to keep in the minors. He began with a rather brief stop in AA before absolutely dominating AAA to finish the season. While he may start 2014 in AAA to refine his skills, there's no doubt that he's very close to taking over at 1B for the Astros.

Carlos Correa - Correa bounced between A and AA for a little bit before being promoted for good. The youngster certainly held his own against older competition, but don't look for him to be rushed up. He'll probably get a full season at AA next year to continue his maturation as a player.

Rio Ruiz - Ruiz demonstrated his ability to square up the ball and proved to be exceptional at getting on base. There's still hope that his power will progress a bit more, but he still projects to be a very productive player even if he doesn't hit more than 15-20 HR's.

George Springer - Other than a few too many strikeouts and a somewhat low walk rate, you couldn't ask for a much better season. Springer hit for a high average with good power and also showed a bit of speed. If he can increase his BB% and decrease his K% as he moves up, he should have a very bright future indeed.

Lance McCullers - 123 innings in AA is very impressive for a 19 year old. Maybe more impressive is that he managed to strike out nearly 1 per inning. While Lance was not overmatched, he'll probably repeat the level last year and work to improve his command. There's also talk that he may start incorporating a curve into his arsenal.


Coming Soon
Brad Peacock - After being acquired via trade, Peacock made short work of his opponents in AAA. There's no reason to doubt he has a very good chance of winning a rotation spot in spring training.

Dallas Keuchel - The soft-tossing lefty was sneaky good this year despite a very low K/9 of 4.4. There are concerns about his ability to translate this success to the majors, but he's doing his best to deprive management of any excuses to keep him down.

Alex White - Opponents struggled to square up White's pitches as he only allowed 7 hits and 0.5 HR per 9 innings. Possibly the most important thing is that he managed to stay healthy for the entire season. White has always had good stuff and now it's really starting to show over a sustained stretch of time.

Fernando Martinez - Despite missing some time with injury, Fernando had a very solid season. Everything points to him being ready to compete for a spot in the outfield next season, especially since the team could use some LH power.


Stock Rising
Bobby Borchering - Relatively unheralded entering the season, Borchering did nothing but anchor the middle of the Redhawks lineup. The switch-hitting 1B/3B could find himself battling for a bench spot with the big league club next spring.

Delino DeShields Jr - Despite not stealing as many bases this year, DeShields saw his stock rise due to an unexpected power surge. He's been moving around the diamond a bit defensively, playing both infield and outfield. If he keeps up this offensive production, he'll certainly find a spot in the starting lineup.

Domingo Santana - Having the best HR/AB ratio of anyone on the team is a good way to get noticed. Despite being young for the level, Santana displayed a strong offensive game. Originally projected to be 4-5 years away from the majors, his ETA will assuredly move up if he continues putting up these kinds of numbers.


Stock Falling
JD Martinez - After a horrid start in the majors, JD was demoted to AAA to refine his game. Unfortunately, he generally scuffled there as well, struggling to find any sort of consistency with the bat. He'll get another chance to stick with the big league club in '14, but rumor is that the organization is quickly losing patience.

Robbie Grossman - Robbie just never got it going this year. His batting average was disappointingly low, he failed to get on base consistently, and he didn't show much power. He'll almost certainly begin 2014 back in AAA in order to get back on track. The potential is still there, he just needs to translate it better to game results.

Jonathan Villar - Between missing time with injuries and struggling mightily against RH pitchers, Villar's prospect status has lost a bit of shine. He should get plenty of AB's in AA next year if he can stay healthy, and he better take advantage of them to keep from becoming an afterthought.


Sleepers
Nolan Fontana - He can hit for average, has a bit of pop, is very good at getting on base, has the speed to steal a few, and is versatile defensively. While no one tool is at an All-Star level, Fontana is a very useful and well-rounded player. His floor looks to be a solid super-sub.

[vinny_pizza]

Year two of my franchise with the Nats finds me 4 back of the Phils in mid June. We've had injury upon injury and one of the most productive long ball teams last year is mediocre at best in the power department. Trying to keep this patchwork team afloat until some of our key players like Granderson and Brandon Moss get healthy has been a bear. Last night against the Marlins Max Scherzer was pitching a gem, 7 innings with 10 k's and a 2-1 lead and then he gets snakebit. An error and an absolute bomb from Miguel Cabrera with two outs in the top of the 8th sets him up for a loss. But hold the phone, with two down in the bottom of the 8th, we get back to back singles from recent acquisition Johnny Gomes and aging vet Derek Jeter. That brings up Jose Bautista with a chance to tie it. Looking at a 1-1 fastball low and down the middle, Bautista tees off on it and crushes a HR onto the grass in cf!

Jose Valverde closes the door and we get a big confidence boost in grand fashion!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

[N51_rob]

Re: 2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

Just had an awesome series with JJ Hardy. Finally getting back into my O's franchise (I play every game) so I am at the July 2 - July 4 series in Chicago. JJ came into the game hitting .266. He went 9-13 (.692), 2 2b, 1 HR, 2 BB, 5 R, and 7 RBI to boost his average to .290. I can't remember having a series like that with anyone recently. Won 2 of 3 and currently sit 4.5 game in front of Toronto at 54-32.

[redsoxfan25]

Re: 2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

In my franchise I'm at today's date (Aug. 10) and I'm 20 games ahead in the division with 89 wins. In MLB 12 it was more fun for me as I was ahead in the division by 5 or 6 games, so there was a little tension going into the pennant race. This year is kind of boring now, basically I know I'm going to the playoffs at this point.

What I do now to keep it somewhat interesting is when someone's energy gets even halfway I give them the day off and use some of my bench guys. No sense in having, say Ortiz or Pedroia get injured at this point.


Here have been my injuries at this point:

Ortiz: 2-3 months (fractured forearm)
Middlebrooks: 1 day (bruised hand)
Lackey: Day to day (strained forearm) [Made his next start]

I also started the year with real life injuries.

Forgot to mention Gomes was out 2-3 months with a dislocated shoulder. He recently got injured again, this time only 1-6 days with a bruised leg.

[nascarfreak24ny]

Re: 2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

In a multi team fantasy draft 2 of my 5 teams made it to the playoffs, Baltimore had Strasburg, so I decided to play through the playoffs with him pitching, in his first 4 games he went:
4-0
36 IP
12 H
1 BB
53 K's
0 ER
4 CG, SO
0.00 ERA
0.36 WHIP

That put us at game 7 of the world series, Balt vs. Arizona
Strasburg had pitched in game 5, and on two days rest, he went to the hill for game 7 with about 65 % of the energy bar filled, and he was again dominant,
7 IP
2 ER
11 K
4 H
1BB

we won the world series (pedro alverez got the MVP)
but Strasburg had one of the filthiest 5 game stretches I have ever seen, it was incredible to play with him, and his change up was the best pitch, fastball up and in got alot of guys, but I could put the change anywhere and they would swing right over it.

[daenius]

Re: 2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

Finally got around to playing the last month of my Yankees Franchise - now: Playoff time!

I'm in the middle of the ALCS against Detroit right now and to say it's epic would be an understatement.

But first, here's the 2013 Division Winners/WC Teams + MVP & Cy Young Winners:

1st AL East: New York Yankees (100-62)
1st AL Central: Detroit Tigers (90-72)
1st AL West: Los Angeles Angels (98 - 64)
AL Wild Card: Boston Red Sox (92-70); Cleveland Indians (89-74)

1st NL East: Washington Nationals (99-63)
1st NL Central: Cincinnati Reds (87-75)
1st NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (93-69)
NL Wild Card: San Francisco Giants (92-70); Atlanta Braves (91-71)

MVP
AL: Curtis Granderson NYY | .344 | 50 HR | 146 RBI
NL: Stephen Strasburg WAS | 20-7 | 3.06 ERA | 250 SO

Cy Young
AL: Jered Weaver LAA | 20-7 | 2.43 ERA | 161 SO
NL: Stephen Strasburg WAS | 20-7 | 3.06 ERA | 250 SO


PLAYOFFS

AL Wild Card Game: CLE defeated BOS
NL Wild Card Game: SF defeated ATL

ALDS: NYY defeated CLE (3-1)
ALDS: DET defeated LAA (3-1)

NLDS: LAD defeated CIN (3-1)
NLDS: SF deafeated WAS (3-2)

NLCS: LAD vs SF (so far LAD lead 2-0)

Now a more detailed breakdown of my ALCS so far:

Game 1 | DET 7-4 NYY | Yankee Stadium (50,291) | Smyly vs Sabathia

DET: 11 Hits | 2 Errors
NYY: 12 Hits | 3 Errors

It was an error-heavy Game 1 in the Bronx.

Youkilis was tagged with 2 errors, one of which cost the Yankees a run early in the 2nd inning.
Miguel Cabrera blasted a 2-run shot to dead center in the 4th before Youk made up for his early error by hitting a 2-run shot off Smyly in the 5th.

Francisco Cervelli drove home a run in the bottom of the 6th inning, tying the game at 3 until Prince Fielder gave the Tigers the lead with a 2-run HR off long reliever Phil Hughes in the 7th inning. Torii Hunter put things out of reach with another 2-run shot in the top of the 9th inning.
Mark Teixeira gave the Bronx Bombers hope for a comeback by smacking a 2-out run-scoring double into left field. After Cano and Granderson both walked, the bases were loaded but Alex Rodriguez grounded out to 1B to give the Tigers the win.

Sabathia 5.1 IP | 8H | 3R | 1ER | 2BB | 7SO
Smyly 6.1 IP | 9H | 3R | 3ER | 1BB | 4SO

Cabrera 2-5 | HR | 2 RBI | 2R


Game 2 | DET 9-8 NYY | Yankee Stadium (50,291) | Verlander vs Pettitte

DET: 10 Hits | 0 Errors
NYY: 16 Hits | 0 Errors

Miguel Cabrera continued his onslaught of the Yankees with a 3-run HR off Andy Pettitte in the 1st inning. Victor Martinez followed suit as the Tigers hit back-to-back homeruns and the Yankees fell into an early 4-0 hole.

The Yanks' main problem in Game 2 was cashing in on their countless hits as they kept leaving men on base during the first 4 innings.
Cabrera smacked a 2-run shot to left field in the 5th inning, putting the Bronx Bombers behind even further.

Luckily the bats seemed to warm up from the 6th inning onwards, as the Yankees scored 2 runs each inning from then on.

Down 6-7 in the top of inning 9, long reliever Ivan Nova gave up another 2-run HR, this time to Austin Jackson who increased the Tigers lead back to 3 runs.

Another 9th inning comeback bloomed as unsung hero Brett Gardner took Tigers closer Phil Coke deep to left field with a 2-run HR to shorten the Tigers lead to only one run.

Ichiro and Robinson Cano both singled with only 1 out, putting the tying run on 3rd and the winning run on 1st base.
Now it was Curtis Granderson, the league MVP and up until now the Yankees' motor (5 HR, 10 RBI in the ALDS) to at least tie the game at 9.
After 2 balls Granderson got a fastball right down the middle and smacked it to center field. Two feet more and it would have been a walkoff for the Yankees.
Unfortunately, Austin Jackson made the play and the Tigers ended up winning Game 2, 9-8.

Pettitte 5.0IP | 6H | 6R | 6ER | 2BB | 1SO
Verlander 6.1 IP | 11H | 4R | 4ER | 1BB | 8SO

Cabrera 2-4 | 2 HR | 5 RBI | 3R


Game 3 | NYY 5-1 DET | Comerica Park (45,010) | Dickey vs Fister

NYY: 14 Hits | 0 Errors
DET: 6 Hits | 0 Errors


Game 3 of the ALCS at Comerica Park, Detroit.

R.A. Dickey, aquired by the Yankees just before the trade deadline, was on the mound in probably the biggest game of his career so far, and he delivered.

Behind a monster effort by R.A. Dickey it was Mark Teixeira who lead the Bombers with a HR and 3 RBI as well as Travis Hafner and Ichiro who also contributed RBIs in the 7th and 8th innings respectively.

Dickey was lights-out from the start, allowing only 5 hits and 1 run in 7.0IP while striking out 4. David Robertson only gave up 1 hit in the 8th inning while Boone Logan struck out the side in the 9th to give the Yankees an important win in this ALCS.

Dickey 7.0 IP | 5H | 1R | 1ER | 1BB | 4SO
Fister 5.1 IP | 9H | 3R | 3ER | 0BB | 1SO

Teixeira 3-5 | HR | 3 RBI | 1R

So far there have only been victories for the away team. Can the Yankees take 2 more from Comerica Park and close out the series at home?

[daenius]

Re: 2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

Now a more detailed breakdown of my ALCS so far:

Game 1 | DET 7-4 NYY | Yankee Stadium (50,291) | Smyly vs Sabathia

(...)


Game 2 | DET 9-8 NYY | Yankee Stadium (50,291) | Verlander vs Pettitte

(...)


Game 3 | NYY 5-1 DET | Comerica Park (45,010) | Dickey vs Fister

(...)


So far there have only been victories for the away team. Can the Yankees take 2 more from Comerica Park and close out the series at home?

Game 4 | NYY 5-1 DET | Comerica Park (45,010) | Kuroda vs Scherzer

NYY: 9 Hits | 0 Errors
DET: 2 Hits | 2 Errors

Instead of relying on their heavy bats, the Bombers scored 4 of their 5 runs playing small ball.
Errors by Andy Dirks and Omar Infante allowed Brett Gardner and Mark Teixeira to reach 1st and 2nd base in the 1st inning. Cano singled to center, loading the bases and Granderson drove in the first run of the night on a single to right. Alex Rodriguez hit a sac-fly to right field which allowed Mark Teixeira to score.

The Tigers came within one run in the 2nd inning when Prince Fielder scored from 3rd while Martinez grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. This ended up being their only run in the game as Kuroda tossed 6 strong innings of one-run ball while allowing only 2 hits. A strong effort by the Yankees bullpen from the 6th inning onwar

Cano added a solo blast in the 3rd inning, while Rodriguez scored on a Cervelli sac-fly in the 4th inning to make it 4-1 Yankees. The Yankees catcher added one more RBI in the top of inning number 9 for the final score of 5-1 Yankees.

Kuroda 6.0IP | 2H | 1R | 1ER | 3BB | 3SO
Scherzer 5.0IP | 6H | 4R | 2ER | 1BB | 2SO

Rodriguez 2-3 | RBI | 2R | 2 2B


Game 5 | NYY 2-1 DET (F/10) | Comerica Park (45,010) | Sabathia vs Verlander

NYY: 9 Hits | 0 Errors
DET: 4 Hits | 0 Errors

Game 5. A probably series-deciding pitching matchup between a struggling C.C. Sabathia and a vintage-postseason Justin Verlander.

The Yankees started off with a bang, as Mark Teixeira took Verlander deep on a 430-feet solo-HR to give his team an early 1-0 lead.

Prince Fielder, assigned to the DH spot for this game, promptly answered with a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the 2nd inning, and the game was tied at 1-1.

This seemed to be all of the offense fans would see though, as the two starting aces both locked in and went lights-out in a pitching duel that did not seem to end.

Verlander only gave up 6 hits and one run in 7 strong innings while striking out 5 while Sabathia went 9 innings, giving up 4 hits and one run while striking out 6 and walking only one batter.

The 10th inning would be the only inning of free baseball fans at a sold out Comerica Park would see, as Ichiro singled to left and went on to steal 2nd and 3rd base successfully with Brett Gardner once again stepping up and delivering an important hit for his club, as he singled home the Japanese.

Mariano Rivera picked up his 2nd postseason save in a 1-2-3 inning.

Now the series shifts to the Bronx for Game 6 and if necessary, Game 7.

Sabathia 9.0IP | 4H | 1R | 1ER | 1BB | 6SO
Verlander 7.0 IP | 6H | 1R | 1ER | 0BB | 5SO

Rivera (S, 2) 1.0IP | 0H | 0R | 2SO

[baseballkid97]

Re: 2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

I have been struggling somewhat since the AS Break, playing around .500 since then (7-8). Still have a 2.5 game lead on Boston heading into a series against the White Sox in Chicago.
Offense really clicked in my last series in San Diego, taking 2 of 3 and scoring 29 runs in the 3 games. I think that since I had been struggling since the break it was important to win that series and now I really need to win this series in Chicago.
In order to ensure an East title I need to try and get back to the way I was playing in the first half, and if the SD series was any indication, I'm on the right track.
I have a pretty tough schedule coming up as I play 7 at home vs. DET and LAA (Good in my franchise), then 3 at Fenway. I think if I can take 7 of those 10 I will be in pretty good shape the rest of the way since the schedule lightens up a little bit with 13 games in a row against sub .500 teams.
After that I finish off the season with 4 at home vs BOS (HUGE series 1st wknd of Sept), 4 in Baltimore, 3 more in Boston, 3 in Toronto, 6 at home with SF and TB, then 3 in Houston.
I think as long as I take advantage of the sub .500 teams and win AT LEAST 4 vs Boston, the only good team I play after that (7 games) I should be in pretty good shape to win the division.
I should say that one thing I'm not too worried about is pitching, it has been fine since the break but my offense has been inconsistent. I'll score 14 one night then score a total of 3 the next two. Pitching seems to keep the opposing team to 3 or 4 per game, which is manageable if I can have timely hitting and a solid 'pen, which I have. (See post on page 94)
My current record is 67-44 on August 5th and I'll go ahead and predict a first place finish of 98-64.
Probably will update again on September 1st in the franchise. (I'm guessing 5 weeks or so in real life?)

[HouseKeepinItReal]

Re: 2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

Just started a 30 team franchise using osfm o.d roster and decided to sim up until today,s date and then pick a team who is in the hunt and to my pleasant surprise as of July 30th 2013 the Chicago Cubs are leading the wildcard by 0.5 ahead of Atlanta and NYM at 58-47 so I am going to take over playing on HOF pure analog everything default sliders except I turn injuries and. errors up . This is going to be awesome trying to take a bunch of rookies(cubbies) who are just having fun playing small balland putting history behind them saying maybe the Mayans are right its the ending of the old world the curse is being lifted! Let the nrw world begin

Well what a terrific season for the cubs as they finished the season at 88-74 and were set to play the Braves in Atlanta for the wildcard, however, the cubs were up against Cy Young candidate Kris Medlen who went 15-1 with a 1.98 era during the regular season. Matt Garza was set to start for the Cubs and while the cubs were lacking power in their lineup with Ian Stewart's team leading 25 Hr and a team BA of .240 they were confident going into the one game wildcard especially how well the pitching staff has been all season but the Braves were simply not going to miss out on a post season season series in heart breaking fashion for a third straight year despite going 2-4 in the season series with the cubs they broughtTheir tomahawks to this one and knocked out the cubs in a 11-2 stomping where they would go on to face the nl leading dodgers.

[HouseKeepinItReal]

Re: 2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

Well what a terrific season for the cubs as they finished the season at 88-74 and were set to play the Braves in Atlanta for the wildcard, however, the cubs were up against Cy Young candidate Kris Medlen who went 15-1 with a 1.98 era during the regular season. Matt Garza was set to start for the Cubs and while the cubs were lacking power in their lineup with Ian Stewart's team leading 25 Hr and a team BA of .240 they were confident going into the one game wildcard especially how well the pitching staff has been all season but the Braves were simply not going to miss out on a post season season series in heart breaking fashion for a third straight year despite going 2-4 in the season series with the cubs they brought their tomahawks to this one and knocked out the cubs in a 11-2 stomping where they would go on to face the nl leading dodgers.

here is the cubs 2013 roster.

Lineup

1) Castro - SS
2) Dejesus - LF
3) Rizzo - 1B
4) Hairston - 2B
5)Schierholtz - RF
6)Schneider - C (Free agent acquisition)
7)Stewart - 3B
8) Aaron Hicks - CF (traded two A prospects to Minnesota, RP and SS)
9) pitcher

Soler
Castillo
Sweeney
Sanchez - 2B - Free Agent acquisition
Soriano
Valbuena

Starting Pitching

garza
samarzidja
wood
scott baker
jackson

LRP - Feldman
LRP - Villanueva

MRP - Russell
MRP - Takahashi

SU - Nicholas Scott (me) 75 overall with B potential (converted Dillon Maples attributes, absolutely no adding) I had a two seam fastball(88mph), cutter(87mph) and slow curve (72).

SU- Fujikawa

CP - Marmol



Played on HOF default sliders. I used pure analog for everything and I also discovered a thumb technique for pure analog hitting which has allowed me to make top 20 in Challenge of the week if you are interested send me a message and i can try and explain it to you but basically i was able to hit inside pitches a lot better and was putting a drive into a lot of my hits and pushing the ball opposite field really well and making solid contact which i believe is quite difficult with pure analog.

[Mutafan]

Re: 2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

I am 124 games into my Indians season. I am 68-56, 4 back of Detroit but 3 ahead in the current Wild Card race. There are still 5 teams fighting for the 2 spots, however, so I am going to have to really play well at the end of the season. I just swept Oakland at the O.Co (after taking only 1/4 at home from them earlier in the season) so now I have 4 pivotal series in a row: at LAA, MIN, at Atlanta, at Detroit. After that the schedule eases up in September. I am shocked at how realistic almost all of my stats are. As a pitcher I walk less but give up more hits, so my WHIP is almost identical to the real Indians. As a hitter I have a few more homers (because Carlos Santana has 34 because of an April HR bender, everyone else is about right) and I walk a ton less (the only issue I have with the game) and steal a little more...but everything else is about right on. It's been loads of fun.

[redsoxfan25]

Re: 2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

With rosters expanding and already winning the East, I called up top prospect Xander Bogaerts. He ended the Triple-A season on fire so I figured I'd give him a look. He made his ML debut against Doug Fister and the Tigers. He started at SS, giving Drew the day off.

Although he commited an error the second play of the game, he finished the day 2-3 with a single, pop out and a HR with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs.

[Dienerbird55]

Re: 2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

The month of May hasn’t been too kind to the Yankees here in 2013. On May 27, the Yanks enter play vs the Mets 7-14 in the month, and 16-34 overall. With the record falling fast and the team’s hope of success fading away, ownership has already started the rebuilding process. A few minor trades have taken place earlier in the month. On May 11th, RP David Robertson was sent to Cincinnati for SP Nick Travieso and RP Dan Langfield. The following day, RP Boone Logan was traded to Milwaukee for C Cameron Garfield. In an attempt to improve the catching offense, the Yanks picked up C John Buck from the Mets for OF Brennan Boesch. Boesch became a spare part when OF Curtis Granderson returned from injury. ANd finally, after a dreadful first few weeks, SP Andy Pettitte decided he didn’t have what it took to pitch anymore, and has officially retired from baseball.
The team is hoping to bring up some of the minor league talent to get them some major league experience, and prepare them for 2014. They are hoping that some of the veterans will pick up their play, and generate some interest on the trade market in the next 2 months. Expected to be traded are: SP Kuroda and OF Granderson, Gardner, Wells. The Yankees will also be fielding offers on SP CC Sabathia and 2B Robinson Cano, although a trade is not expected. C John Buck may also be released in the upcoming days if his play does not pick up. C Austin Romine is expected to replace him in this scenario.

Current Lineup:
CF Gardner .218 / 3 HR / 9RBI
LF Granderson .061 / 2HR / 3RBI
RF Almonte .217 / 4HR / 12RBI
2B Cano .290 / 14HR / 27 RBI
DH Wells .279 / 6HR / 20RBI
1B Roller .100 / 0HR / 0RBI
C Buck .154 / 1HR / 2RBI
SS Joseph .250 / 1HR / 7RBI
3B Mustelier .368 / 3HR / 5RBI

Bench:
OF Ichiro .195 / 0HR / 8RBI
IF Nunez .159 / 0HR / 2RBI
C Cervelli .216 / 2HR / 4RBI
IF Nix .240 / 4HR / 10 RBI

Pitching
SP Sabathia 2-5, 3.27 ERA
SP Kuroda 3-5, 3.92 ERA
SP Hughes 2-3, 2.31 ERA
SP Nova 4-4, 3.06 ERA
SP Phelps 2-4, 4.15 ERA

BP Betances 0-0, 0.00 ERA
BP Warren 0-2, 4.57 ERA
BP Chamberlain 1-2, 6.05 ERA
BP Nuno 1-1, 2.08 ERA
BP Kelly 1-2, 4.42 ERA
BP Claibourne 0-0, 0.00 ERA
CP Rivera 0-0. 3.46 ERA, 9 Saves

Other players who have been on the MLB Team:
-IF David Adams (AAA starting 2B)
-OF Melky Mesa (AAA starting OF)
-C Austin Romine (AAA C)
-OF Thomas Neal (AAA OF)
-P Brett Marshall - (AAA SP)
-IF Alberto Gonzalez (re-signed and placed in AAA)

Minor League Yankees to look for:
C JR Murphy (AAA)
C Gary Sanchez (AA)
2B Jose Pirela (AA)
SS Cito Culver (AA)
OF Slade Heathcott (AA)
OF Mason Williams (AAA)
P Jose Ramirez (AAA SP)
P Jose Campos (AAA SP)
P Dan Langfield (AAA RP)
P Mark Montgomery (AAA RP)
P Rafael DePaula (AA SP)
P Nick Travieso (AA SP)


No longer with the organization:
-RP David Robertson (trade with CIN)
-RP Boone Logan (trade with MIL)
-OF Brennan Boesch (trade with NYM)
-SP Andy Pettitte (RETIRED)
-3B Alex Rodriguez (Banned for Life, didn’t play in 2013)
- IF Adam Kennedy (released)
-1B Lyle Overbay (released)
-C Chris Stewart (released)
-OF Ben Francisco (released, never played a game, Mesa/Boesch is a better option)
-DH Travis Hafner (released, was 1-33 with him. Just could not hit the ball)

[HouseKeepinItReal]

Re: 2013 Franchise/Season Progress Thread

In my 30 team franchise the Reds have won back to back world series and both years they defeated the Angels in 6 & 7 games. In 2014 the Baltimore Orioles won the Al east with an 81-81 record. In 2013 the Cubs made a wildcard appearance but lost to the Braves. Also in 2014 their was a three way tie in the American league for the wildcard where the twins beat the rangers but then lost to the Indians. Now in 2015 the Astros may be coming around as they lead their division with 11-7 record ...