Owner Mode

[duke776]

Re: Owner Mode

Anybody see that article on Operation Sports comparing MVP 05 to The Show 09. The editor simply saying that after playing The Show for months... it doesn't really matchup to MVP 05 in terms of greatness. I was thinking about getting a PS3 for that game alone. I am glad I decided to buy Action Replay/ used copy of the game for Xbox. The only REAL ISSUE i have ever had with MVP is it gives an edge to the losing team and its not completely random but even with that they never literally take a game away from you forcibly, you still have an opportunity to win so it's that big of an issue.

What level are you playing on? I have seen a few instances of this, but that's a small percent for over 1000 games. I'm not 100% sure, but it might do that if you are playing on MVP level, as I've heard that before. I play on all star with some adjusted sliders, and haven't seen it in my season yet. I'm not putting down your statement, but I've heard that before and the people that it happened to were mainly on MVP difficulty(with some on All Star).

Also, how are you doing in your owner mode so far?

[hitstreak13]

Re: Owner Mode

Hey guys 20-31 now . Was able to get in a game today and lost 16-3. Yes, I was blown to oblivion today. I don't know what happened but did have an inkling as to what was going to happen after the first 2 batters led off with a HR. Daniel Cabrera, for the 5th time this season, wasn't able to go 5 innings. I don't know what to do with the guy. I guess its back to the minors for him. His ERA of 8.11 through 10 starts is not appealing (although his 71 K's are).

I finally had more than 10,000 fans for the first time since April so I was really happy about that. My financials are not improving as i am projected to lose just over $7 million this year. If that happens, no way I would be able to afford any top tier talent next season. As the Nationals, rebuilding has been difficult. I have a solid farm system, but that's not going to get me a championship. I need to be patient. I will spend a few seasons of drafting and developing my prospects and hopefully field a winning team using a $30 million payroll (Marlins model). I am playing another one right now.

[cubsfan203]

Re: Owner Mode

This thread is making me want to dig up the xbox and play some MVP again.

Here's the old thread about owner mode, lots of great information in there.
http://www.operationsports.com/forum...mode-tips.html

[hitstreak13]

Re: Owner Mode

This thread is making me want to dig up the xbox and play some MVP again.

Here's the old thread about owner mode, lots of great information in there.
http://www.operationsports.com/forum...mode-tips.html

Wow, nice link. I looked through the threads and couldn't find this. Thanks a bunch.

You should try owner mode again. Although the show is a much improved game, it just doesn't appeal to me. Owner mode is the best franchise mode of all time imo. Once I got over the bad graphics (compared to the show on ps3) it became really fun once again. I have never in my life played a franchise mode that requires so much strategy. You can't just throw money at players or you will literally go broke. Just flat out fun.

By the way, I am 22-32 in my franchise. The small ball approach is working pretty well for me thus far.

[duke776]

Re: Owner Mode

Just played a great game against the Dodgers. I was shut out through 5 innings and only got 2 hits, and they scored 3 runs off of my pitchers through 6. Bottom 6 we start clicking. I send up 7 guys to the plate, and 3 score.

I bring in Omar Donnely even though he is struggling because he is the only righty I wanted to use in that situation(I'll explain a little more about my bad pen set up later). He ends up giving up a couple hits and a run without getting an out, and I bring in Gary Majewski to get out of the inning, and he does so without giving up a run.

I kept Majewski in because he was pitching well, and threw few pitched the previous inning. He ends up giving up two hits. Then I bring in Guardado, who lets the man on second score and then gets out of the inning.

Bottom of the 8th and top of the 9th were eventless.

Going into the bottom of the 9th I was down 5-3 with my 4, 5 and 6 hitters coming up. Dunn leads it off with a solo shot to center field. Then the dodgers closer proceeds to get three straight outs to shut the door.

Now, my bullpen has become a mess and inconsistent. For some reason I though it'd be a great idea to have 3 lefties, which was a terrile idea. So, I knew I had to make a move of some kind, and I get an email that LaTroy Hawkins was placed on the trading block. He's signed for 1 year @ $3.6MM, and he was doing very good(1.62 ERA). At first I was cautious because of his salary, but then and see that their SS is struggling, so I decide to see if they will take Alex Gonzalez for Hawkins. I've wanted to get rid of Gonzalez because of his contract($4.5 MM for 3 years), although he had been hitting well(.308 avg). They accepted the trade, so I'm happy.

After that I demoted Bill Bray(one of my lefties in my pen), and called up Jeff Banon. Banon was my starting SS at AAA, who was hitting .286. He'll be my backup IF, and Jeff Keppinger will now be my starting SS. I also made Omar Donnely my Long relief pitcher, and he'll probably stay in that spot until he pitches better. A 99 mph fastball is nice and all, but if he doesn't have another decent pitch and can't locate his pitches he won't be any good.

[hitstreak13]

Re: Owner Mode

Just played a great game against the Dodgers. I was shut out through 5 innings and only got 2 hits, and they scored 3 runs off of my pitchers through 6. Bottom 6 we start clicking. I send up 7 guys to the plate, and 3 score.

I bring in Omar Donnely even though he is struggling because he is the only righty I wanted to use in that situation(I'll explain a little more about my bad pen set up later). He ends up giving up a couple hits and a run without getting an out, and I bring in Gary Majewski to get out of the inning, and he does so without giving up a run.

I kept Majewski in because he was pitching well, and threw few pitched the previous inning. He ends up giving up two hits. Then I bring in Guardado, who lets the man on second score and then gets out of the inning.

Bottom of the 8th and top of the 9th were eventless.

Going into the bottom of the 9th I was down 5-3 with my 4, 5 and 6 hitters coming up. Dunn leads it off with a solo shot to center field. Then the dodgers closer proceeds to get three straight outs to shut the door.

Now, my bullpen has become a mess and inconsistent. For some reason I though it'd be a great idea to have 3 lefties, which was a terrile idea. So, I knew I had to make a move of some kind, and I get an email that LaTroy Hawkins was placed on the trading block. He's signed for 1 year @ $3.6MM, and he was doing very good(1.62 ERA). At first I was cautious because of his salary, but then and see that their SS is struggling, so I decide to see if they will take Alex Gonzalez for Hawkins. I've wanted to get rid of Gonzalez because of his contract($4.5 MM for 3 years), although he had been hitting well(.308 avg). They accepted the trade, so I'm happy.

After that I demoted Bill Bray(one of my lefties in my pen), and called up Jeff Banon. Banon was my starting SS at AAA, who was hitting .286. He'll be my backup IF, and Jeff Keppinger will now be my starting SS. I also made Omar Donnely my Long relief pitcher, and he'll probably stay in that spot until he pitches better. A 99 mph fastball is nice and all, but if he doesn't have another decent pitch and can't locate his pitches he won't be any good.

Thats a pretty solid trade right there. Hawkins is a pretty solid relief guy and could be valuable as a 7th inning, maybe 8th inning guy. Alex Gonzalez has some pop, but I think you may miss his defense. He is a very solid defender. However, I understand your desire to pick him up. Playing in the NL Central, Hawkins may be able to get the tough hitters out, while Gonzalez is overpaid for what he brings, so 2 thumbs up there.

Right now in my season, I am 23-35 and am in deep trouble. Alex Cintron has stepped it up lately, hitting .333 with a HR, 6 RBI, 3 2B, and 2 SB in the 5 games. My pitching continues to falter and am now a whopping 13 games behind the Mets. I will now abondon my plan to obtain pitching. My plan was to wait for my stars to return and upgrade the rotation in the mean time. I was so close to pulling the trigger on Jonathon Sanchez from SF. I was offering a solid package of prospects (Chris Marrero, Ian Desmond, and Nick Johnson) but they rejected and wanted a little more. Sorry, but no thanks. I was willing to add about $5 million in payroll, but that will no longer happen. Since I am this far in, I am going to trade Nick Johnson for some prospects (maybe two 3 star guys) in hope of finding a diamond in the rough. I am very picky about what I am looking for. I will search for 2 pitchers: 1) a guy who can develop into a middle of the rotation type guy. I will heavily evaluate his pitches, his stamina, the scouting reports, etc. 2). I desperately need a closer. I will def. look for a guy who I can develop. I have a few solid relievers down in the minors, but I need a power armed guy to develop into a future closer.

One of the guys I am looking at is Ian Kennedy. Although he doesn't posses lights out stuff, I think he has pretty good command of his pitches. I know with some seasoning, he can be a number 3-4 type guy. Jordan Zimmerman is waiting in the wings (hasn't been called up from AA ball, but is an Ace in the waiting) and a young Ian Kennedy can help me out. Pair those up with an improving Scott Olsen (3-5 with ERA of 3.95), and I have 3 solid starting pitchers heading into next seaon.

[duke776]

Re: Owner Mode

Thats a pretty solid trade right there. Hawkins is a pretty solid relief guy and could be valuable as a 7th inning, maybe 8th inning guy. Alex Gonzalez has some pop, but I think you may miss his defense. He is a very solid defender. However, I understand your desire to pick him up. Playing in the NL Central, Hawkins may be able to get the tough hitters out, while Gonzalez is overpaid for what he brings, so 2 thumbs up there.

Ha, took me one game to realize I'd be missing defense as Keppinger missed some plays that Gonzo would've easily made. Also, being in my bullpen must infect pitchers with something, Hawkins gave up the lead in his first appearance for me. But, I do think he will be a strong contriutor to my pen.

Right now in my season, I am 23-35 and am in deep trouble. Alex Cintron has stepped it up lately, hitting .333 with a HR, 6 RBI, 3 2B, and 2 SB in the 5 games. My pitching continues to falter and am now a whopping 13 games behind the Mets. I will now abondon my plan to obtain pitching. My plan was to wait for my stars to return and upgrade the rotation in the mean time. I was so close to pulling the trigger on Jonathon Sanchez from SF. I was offering a solid package of prospects (Chris Marrero, Ian Desmond, and Nick Johnson) but they rejected and wanted a little more. Sorry, but no thanks. I was willing to add about $5 million in payroll, but that will no longer happen. Since I am this far in, I am going to trade Nick Johnson for some prospects (maybe two 3 star guys) in hope of finding a diamond in the rough. I am very picky about what I am looking for. I will search for 2 pitchers: 1) a guy who can develop into a middle of the rotation type guy. I will heavily evaluate his pitches, his stamina, the scouting reports, etc. 2). I desperately need a closer. I will def. look for a guy who I can develop. I have a few solid relievers down in the minors, but I need a power armed guy to develop into a future closer.

It's always nice to find those players, like Cintron, who come out of nowhere and solidly contribute. I wouldn't have given up anymore than what you offered either, so I say it was a good idea to not try to give up more.

One of the guys I am looking at is Ian Kennedy. Although he doesn't posses lights out stuff, I think he has pretty good command of his pitches. I know with some seasoning, he can be a number 3-4 type guy. Jordan Zimmerman is waiting in the wings (hasn't been called up from AA ball, but is an Ace in the waiting) and a young Ian Kennedy can help me out. Pair those up with an improving Scott Olsen (3-5 with ERA of 3.95), and I have 3 solid starting pitchers heading into next seaon.

I think Ian Kennedy would be a nice pick up for you. Like you said he isn't going to dominate every batter, but he can be a solid starter. If you get him, Scott, Ian, and Jordan would be nice to have at the front of the rotation for you.

Also, it looks like I may end up being a seller later in the year. I'm now 12-18 and falling more and more. Hopefully I'm just in a slight slump, but my hitting has been terrible recently. I still have some hope that I can get the wild card because of my starters, but if I can't get my hitting going I'll probably dump some salary towards the deadline.

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Re: Owner Mode

Hey all,

I have begun to play MVP 05 for Xbox once again, after ridding myself of the abomination known as MLB 2K9. While I do have MLB 09 for PSP for the RTTS mode and some cool roster management features in Season mode, I spend most of my baseball gaming time in MVP's Owner Mode.

I started off fresh, using rosters that I had updated myself back in 07, and conducted a fantasy draft. I am in charge of the K.C. Royals, who now play at George Brett Field.

Here is my lineup:

RF - Ichiro
2B - C. Figgins
1B - M. Texiera
DH - My created player
3B - K. Youkilis
LF - Reed Johnson
CF - G. Sizemore
C - D. Mirabelli
SS - J. Cantu

Rotation:

R. Halliday
J. Beckett
C.C. Sabathia
A.J. Burnett
J. Suppan

Bullpen:

R. Hernandez
T. Percival
P. Shuey
(no other real notable names...since I can't remember off hand who they are!)

Bench:
P. Fielder
R. Quinlan
G. Soto
(again, can't recall the rest)

Manager: Charlie Manuel

As soon as I started up MVP 05's Owner Mode last week, I was hooked once again. I felt like I was back in my college dorm room, waisting hour after hour getting my Chicago Cubs to the World Series while building up the brand new Ron Santo Stadium!

I will post more info once I get back home from work...I think that some of the big name talent on my team will have to go in order to boost my bottom line. The nice thing is that guys like Sizemore were still somewhat unproven back in 05, so their contracts are pretty small.

I have enjoyed following your Owner Modes and can't wait to post my updates as well!

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Re: Owner Mode

As promised, here is some more info on my Royals Owner Mode.

I am currently at May 17th of my first year. I am in second place in the AL Central, 4 games behind Detroit, with a 20-18 record.

Here are my team leaders in several categories:

Hitting - Avg.
1) Ichiro - .315
2) D. Mirabelli - .311
3) M. Teixeira - .297

Home Runs

1) M. Teixeira - 12
2) Created player - 8
3) C. Figgins - 8

RBI

1) M. Teixeira - 25
2) Created player - 20
3) C. Figgins - 19

Pitching - ERA

1) F. Rodney - 1.61
2) A.J. Burnett - 2.96
3) R. Hernandez - 3.12

Wins

1) R. Halladay - 5
2) J. Suppan - 3
3) A.J. Burnett - 3

Ks

1) Burnett - 41
2) Halladay - 40
3) J. Beckett - 38

My team's payroll is expected to be about $75 million, following a trade which sent Juan Encarnacion (who was on my bench) to the Dodgers for a Top 100 prospect (Jung-Hoon Choi). Encarnacion's contract was over $4 million/year; Choi's is just over $1 million.

As of now, I have lost $6.77 million for the season, and have -$1.77 million in the bank. Many of my games have been on the road so far, so I am hoping to turn the financials around soon.

George Brett Field features only 20,000 seats so far. It has an ice cream stand and pizza stand, Coach's Kiosk and Slugger's Souvenirs stores, and a baseball history museum.

[hitstreak13]

Re: Owner Mode

Hey all,

I have begun to play MVP 05 for Xbox once again, after ridding myself of the abomination known as MLB 2K9. While I do have MLB 09 for PSP for the RTTS mode and some cool roster management features in Season mode, I spend most of my baseball gaming time in MVP's Owner Mode.

I started off fresh, using rosters that I had updated myself back in 07, and conducted a fantasy draft. I am in charge of the K.C. Royals, who now play at George Brett Field.

Here is my lineup:

RF - Ichiro
2B - C. Figgins
1B - M. Texiera
DH - My created player
3B - K. Youkilis
LF - Reed Johnson
CF - G. Sizemore
C - D. Mirabelli
SS - J. Cantu

Rotation:

R. Halliday
J. Beckett
C.C. Sabathia
A.J. Burnett
J. Suppan

Bullpen:

R. Hernandez
T. Percival
P. Shuey
(no other real notable names...since I can't remember off hand who they are!)

Bench:
P. Fielder
R. Quinlan
G. Soto
(again, can't recall the rest)

Manager: Charlie Manuel

As soon as I started up MVP 05's Owner Mode last week, I was hooked once again. I felt like I was back in my college dorm room, waisting hour after hour getting my Chicago Cubs to the World Series while building up the brand new Ron Santo Stadium!

I will post more info once I get back home from work...I think that some of the big name talent on my team will have to go in order to boost my bottom line. The nice thing is that guys like Sizemore were still somewhat unproven back in 05, so their contracts are pretty small.

I have enjoyed following your Owner Modes and can't wait to post my updates as well!

Welcome to the club Arlington. Owner mode has been an absolute blast. Although MLB 09 the show is a very solid game, it just isn't for me. I have always been into MVP 05 and am having one hell of a time playing this game.

As the Nationals, I am 25-35 (2 game winning streak) and am still 13 games behind the mighty Mets. I haven't had a chance to play too much because of my job. But, I have tomorrow and Friday off so I will hit up about 5-6 games within those 2 days for you guys . Christian Guzman continues to hit well for me. Through 60 games, he is hitting .333 with 2 HR and 17 RBI and, more impressively, a .390 OBP. Daniel Cabrera stepped up for a change, pitching his 2nd complete game of the year (tied for 3 in the national league behind Volquez's 3 and Peavy's 4). As far as financials go, I am $3 million in the red and recieved a warning from my advisor (oh oh). I will make ground most likely as I play 15 out of my next 20 games at home. Update comming later tonight.

[Sacrafice]

Re: Owner Mode

I have had not much time, but got me in a couple games tonight. Both were mini comebacks against the Reds. I was down 2-0 in game #1 and won 3-2 and was down 3-2 in game #2 and won 6-3. I am 4-4 on the season mainly off the bats of Bill Hall and Prince Fielder. It's still way to early to see how the season will turn out and if many changes will be made during the season, but I expect a couple mainly on my bench to bring in another Veteran to go along with Craig Counsell.

Here is my stats so far in the young season. Some guys have not started out so hot, but others have more than made up for it. The Bench players have not had many at bats so nothing to note there.

"Lineup"
Rickie Weeks: .179 - 0 HR's - 0 RBI's
Corey Hart: .250 - 1 HR - 7 RBI's
Ryan Braun: .233 - 2 HR's - 5 RBI's
Prince Fielder: .367 - 4 HR's - 7 RBI's
Bill Hall: .379 - 2 HR's - 3 RBI's
Mike Cameron: .172 - 0 HR's - 1 RBI
J.J. Hardy: .148 - 0 HR's - 2 RBI's
Jason Kendall: .364 - 1 HR - 3 RBI's

"Bench"
Casey McGee (3B)
Chris Duffy (OF)
Craig Counsell (IF)
Brad Nelson (1B)
Mike Rivera [C]


"Rotation"
Ben Sheets: 0-2 - 10.2 - 8.44
Yovanni Gallardo: 1-0 - 15.0 - 1.80
Dave Bush: 1-1 - 14.0 - 6.43
Manny Parra: 1-0 - 7.0 - 2.57
Jeff Suppan: 1-0 - 7.0 - 2.57

"Bull Pen"
Carlos Villanueva: 0-0 - 1.1 - 0.00
Seth McClung: 0-1 - 1.0 - 9.00
Mitch Stetter: 0-0 - 1.0 - 0.00
Jorge Julio: 0-0 - 0.1 - 0.00
David Riske: 0-0-1 - 3.0 - 6.00
Todd Coffey: 0-0 - 3.2 - 2.46
Trevor Hoffman: 0-0-1 - 1.0 - 0.00

[hitstreak13]

Re: Owner Mode

Wow, I accomplished something I have never done before. I have won once again and am now 26-35 (not too shabby). Well, Jason Bergmann pitched a 5 solid innings during his spot start. Not only did he get the win (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3K) but he added a 3-run HR in the bottom of the 4th to help pave the way for a 4-3 victory . I have never hit a HR with a pitcher in this game. My fans are starting to show their support as I had 13,000 people in attendance (avg about 8000). Gosh, it is tough being a small market team.

Talk about realism!! The Braves just signed Ben Sheets . This made me love the game even more. The Braves are just 7 games from the Mets and I am 12. Well, the Braves announced that they signed sheets to a 3 year deal worth $39 million. Talk about making a push at the Mets. Derek Lowe is out for 17 days, so they decided to try their luck out with him. This just made the division and wild card that much more difficult.

[duke776]

Re: Owner Mode

Hey all,

I have begun to play MVP 05 for Xbox once again, after ridding myself of the abomination known as MLB 2K9. While I do have MLB 09 for PSP for the RTTS mode and some cool roster management features in Season mode, I spend most of my baseball gaming time in MVP's Owner Mode.

I started off fresh, using rosters that I had updated myself back in 07, and conducted a fantasy draft. I am in charge of the K.C. Royals, who now play at George Brett Field.

Here is my lineup:

RF - Ichiro
2B - C. Figgins
1B - M. Texiera
DH - My created player
3B - K. Youkilis
LF - Reed Johnson
CF - G. Sizemore
C - D. Mirabelli
SS - J. Cantu

Rotation:

R. Halliday
J. Beckett
C.C. Sabathia
A.J. Burnett
J. Suppan

Bullpen:

R. Hernandez
T. Percival
P. Shuey
(no other real notable names...since I can't remember off hand who they are!)

Bench:
P. Fielder
R. Quinlan
G. Soto
(again, can't recall the rest)

Manager: Charlie Manuel

As soon as I started up MVP 05's Owner Mode last week, I was hooked once again. I felt like I was back in my college dorm room, waisting hour after hour getting my Chicago Cubs to the World Series while building up the brand new Ron Santo Stadium!

I will post more info once I get back home from work...I think that some of the big name talent on my team will have to go in order to boost my bottom line. The nice thing is that guys like Sizemore were still somewhat unproven back in 05, so their contracts are pretty small.

I have enjoyed following your Owner Modes and can't wait to post my updates as well!

Seems like you have a solid team. Good luck catching the Tigers, and hope to see more updates about your team.

I have had not much time, but got me in a couple games tonight. Both were mini comebacks against the Reds. I was down 2-0 in game #1 and won 3-2 and was down 3-2 in game #2 and won 6-3. I am 4-4 on the season mainly off the bats of Bill Hall and Prince Fielder. It's still way to early to see how the season will turn out and if many changes will be made during the season, but I expect a couple mainly on my bench to bring in another Veteran to go along with Craig Counsell.

Here is my stats so far in the young season. Some guys have not started out so hot, but others have more than made up for it. The Bench players have not had many at bats so nothing to note there.

"Lineup"
Rickie Weeks: .179 - 0 HR's - 0 RBI's
Corey Hart: .250 - 1 HR - 7 RBI's
Ryan Braun: .233 - 2 HR's - 5 RBI's
Prince Fielder: .367 - 4 HR's - 7 RBI's
Bill Hall: .379 - 2 HR's - 3 RBI's
Mike Cameron: .172 - 0 HR's - 1 RBI
J.J. Hardy: .148 - 0 HR's - 2 RBI's
Jason Kendall: .364 - 1 HR - 3 RBI's

"Bench"
Casey McGee (3B)
Chris Duffy (OF)
Craig Counsell (IF)
Brad Nelson (1B)
Mike Rivera [C]


"Rotation"
Ben Sheets: 0-2 - 10.2 - 8.44
Yovanni Gallardo: 1-0 - 15.0 - 1.80
Dave Bush: 1-1 - 14.0 - 6.43
Manny Parra: 1-0 - 7.0 - 2.57
Jeff Suppan: 1-0 - 7.0 - 2.57

"Bull Pen"
Carlos Villanueva: 0-0 - 1.1 - 0.00
Seth McClung: 0-1 - 1.0 - 9.00
Mitch Stetter: 0-0 - 1.0 - 0.00
Jorge Julio: 0-0 - 0.1 - 0.00
David Riske: 0-0-1 - 3.0 - 6.00
Todd Coffey: 0-0 - 3.2 - 2.46
Trevor Hoffman: 0-0-1 - 1.0 - 0.00

Sucks that Sheets is struggling, although it's really early. It seems like your line up is either hit or miss(in terms of how good they're doing). I think you definitely have a good shot at making a run at the playoffs with this team, they're pretty talented.

Wow, I accomplished something I have never done before. I have won once again and am now 26-35 (not too shabby). Well, Jason Bergmann pitched a 5 solid innings during his spot start. Not only did he get the win (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3K) but he added a 3-run HR in the bottom of the 4th to help pave the way for a 4-3 victory . I have never hit a HR with a pitcher in this game. My fans are starting to show their support as I had 13,000 people in attendance (avg about 8000). Gosh, it is tough being a small market team.

Talk about realism!! The Braves just signed Ben Sheets . This made me love the game even more. The Braves are just 7 games from the Mets and I am 12. Well, the Braves announced that they signed sheets to a 3 year deal worth $39 million. Talk about making a push at the Mets. Derek Lowe is out for 17 days, so they decided to try their luck out with him. This just made the division and wild card that much more difficult.

Congratulations on the homerun with the pitcher. I've hit probably 5 or 6 out with a pitcher in 1000+ games, although most came from Carlos Zambrano. Good to see you got some more fans out for that game, hopefully it's a trend. I'm sure you'll love facing Sheets the next three years



Well, my team is still in a terrible hitting slump. My last game just devastated me, I lost 9-3 giving up a billion home runs. I'm something like 13-22 and have won 1 out of the last 10 games.

I'm now promoting some of my minor leaguers up to higher levels to see how they fare, and to see if I can shed some more payroll. It's tough to promote my pitchers though, because it seems like every single starter is dominating. Which I guess makes for a good surplus, but I can only see a select few perform at AAA to see if they are ready for the bigs.

I have one very interesting pitcher in my minors, he is a starter with only two pitches(4 seam and slider) but he has a 0.65 ERA in 50 or so innings. I am thinking he'll eventually have to be a reliever because he only has two pitches.

Also, I started up my MVP 06 dynasty again so I'll probably play a little less of this for right now, but when I get back on track in this owner mode I'll probably make it the majority of my playing time again.

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Re: Owner Mode

Ok...I just finished my first season with the Royals last night (I did a lot of simming/managing).

The Royals had a somewhat disappointing year, finishing the season 80-82, 10 games or so out of first place. Pitching proved to be the problem, as my top starters were quite underwhelming.

I lost a good chunk of money in the first season, but am only am $800,000 in the red. I invested in more stores and concession stands throughout the year (especially after 10/10 game impact homestands against Detroit and Cleveland) and cut some more payroll by trading CC Sabathia and Jeff Suppan for younger, cheaper talent.

In the offseason, I allowed Josh Beckett to head to free agency, since I will no longer put up with his losing record and +5.00 ERA. Plus he wanted almost $5 million per season. In his place, I signed Cliff Lee, who asked for about half as much as Beckett and had a much better season.

Other notable potential free agents I resigned were A.J Burnett and Mark Teixeira (who was a steal for 2 years @ $1 million per - even though he won the AL Silver Slugger at 1B and was second in AL MVP voting).

I filled positional needs, the minors and the bench with more young, cheap players, all with contracts under $1 million.

In the end of the offseason, my total payroll (staff and players included) is at $83 million dollars. My highest contracts belong to Ichiro ($13 million per) and Roy Halladay ($11 million per). I may look to move Halladay for some big-time prospects in the upcoming season, since he underperformed in my first year. Ichiro is too valuable at the top of my lineup and I think I will keep him around for a long time.

[hitstreak13]

Re: Owner Mode

Was able to get in a few games these past 2 days, and can say with utmost confidence that I may have little to no chance of chasing any of these teams. I lost 5 straight games guys and am now 26-40 and am a distant 15.5 GB from the Mets and 10.5 GB from the Braves. I was actually trying to pursue Bronson Arroyo from the Reds to shore up my rotation, but it never materialized. Well, that will no longer happen this year. I have made it official that I will no longer pursue players for the remainder of the year.

I made some moves this time around. I sent Daniel Cabrera (2-6, 6.11 ERA, 2 CG, 81 K's, 33 BB) out to AAA and brought up Jordan Zimmerman. Zimmerman's MLB debut went pretty well as he recieved a ND. He pitched 6 innings, gave up 3 hits, K'd 7, walked 2, and allowed just 2 earned runs. If Scott Olsen (4-5, 4.05 ERA) can continue to progress, have Cabrera bounce back, and hope that Zimmerman can pitch to his potential, I may have a chance next year. I already know what I am in the market for next season (will not talk about draft just yet).

First, I will sign 1 more big bat to perhaps play 1st (Will get rid of Johnson). I need someone to hit about 15-25 dingers a year to complement Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Dunn (injured), and even Josh Willingham (6 HR's this year, but has missed time).

Second, based on my financial standing, I may have to cut payroll next year so I will most likely be seeking a middle of the rotation type guy anywhere between $2-$4 million per year. If I can get a 3 or 4 type starter that would be perfect as long as Olsen keeps progressing, Cabrera improves, and Zimmerman lives up to his potential.

I am only $1.9 million in debt since I have a long home stretch. Don't worry guys, I am not quitting nor simming my season. I will play every game. Hell, if I have the opportunity, I would love to play spoiler.