N.Y. Mets Franchise

[Knight165]

Well the guy with the Braves franchise who is posting about how to get Miguel Tejada...got me itching to start a franchise and put some highlights here.
I'm playing this franchise in manage only mode..with some of the edits(pitcher) we are speaking about in the other threads.
I'm going to keep it short and give highlights of other happenings around the league.

April 3, 2006
Opening Day, Shea Stadium
The New York Mets took on the Washington Nationals today to start the 2006 season. A capacity crowd watched Pedro Martinez and Livian Hernandez take the hill for their respective clubs.
From the start, you could see that Martinez had his A game, while Hernandez was struggling. Martinez struck out the side in the first and the third innings, while Hernandez was very erratic and had runners on in each of his first four innings.
It was the Mets who struck first, in the first inning with a solo homerun by Carlos Beltran. In the third they added two more on a two run shot by Cliff Floyd. Hernandez, who just did not have it was pinch hit for in the top of the sixth and it was the lone bright spot for Washington as Marlon Anderson hit a pinch hit homerun to make it 3-1 , but it was downhill from there as the Mets added two more runs in the bottom of the seventh off reliever Joey Eischen.

The final tally was
New York 5 runs on 11 hits and no errors
Washington 1 run on 5 hits and no errors

Martinez 7.0 IP 4H 1R(1ER) 1BB and 12K's
Hernandez 5.0 IP 7H 3R(3ER) 1BB 2K's

Player of the Game: Carlos Beltran 2-4, 1HR, 1double, 2RBI


My current squad

SP1 Pedro Martinez ...............LR Darren Oliver
SP2 Tom Glavine...................MR Jorge Julio
SP3 Steve Trachsel...............MR Royce Ring
SP4 Victor Zambrano.............MR Chad Bradford
SP5 Aaron Hielman................SU Duaner Sanchez..............CP Billy Wagner

C Paul LoDuca.................Bench C Ramon Castro
1B Carlos Delgado.................... 1B Julio Franco
2B Kaz Matsui
SS Jose Reyes........................IF Jose Valentin
3B David Wright......................Util Chris Woodward
RF Xavier Nady.......................OF Victor Diaz
CF Carlos Beltran....................OF Endy Chavez
LF Cliff Floyd

This is just to help you guys see how a franchise plays out....
I'll keep you posted on important events around the league and any trades/milestones/rumors/major injuries..that happen if the interest is there.

M.K.
Knight165

[Knight165]

Re: N.Y. Mets Franchise

One quick side note.

Before my spring training began I made it clear to my coaches and scouts what I expected.
From my batting coach I wanted my players to strike out less and walk more. I'm a big propenent of working the count.
I told by pitching coach that my pitchers needed to be fundementaly sound in their approach and strength and stamina is very important.

At the end of spring training while the press was clamoring about the power surge in my teams offense and how many strikeouts my pitching staff was piling up...I told them I was unhappy with the way things were going. Homeruns are great...but as I told the Daily News...I'd rather win 10 games 1-0 than 1 game 10-0.

So I promptly fired both my pitching and batting coaches and hired ones that were more in line with my vision for my squad.

An unfortunate victim in my pitching coaches style and training was lefthanded relief specialist Royce Ring. While Royce certainly has the potential to be a member of my pen...and maybe even my left handed setup guy one day....I felt it was better...especially this early in the season to go with a veteran. So I sent Royce Ring down to AAA where he would get more work and brought up LHP Matt Perisho. Perisho will be a middle relief guy and sometime setup man when Duaner Sanchez is unavailable. Perhaps sometime in the season Ring will get the call-up.

Also....while not actively seeking a trade...I have put my feelers out for a full time RF and 2B......and like every team in the league a SP or RP.
While I feel that Xavier Nady will fieild his position adequately and his hitting against LHP is well above average...I would love to pick up a full time left handed hitter or even better a switch hitting LF. While Endy Chavez with his speed and good range is good for a spell...he is not a full time player.
At 2B Kaz has just not lived up to his potential. I would love to find a speedy player who has superior defensive skills...that could perhaps hit #2 in my batting order so I could move LoDuca down to #6 against LHP and #7 against RHP.

M.K.
Knight165

[imapotato]

Re: N.Y. Mets Franchise

Hope the Phillies sweep ya!

In my Franchise, they are a pain...we have slugfests...and late game heroics...they are in 1st and the NATIONALS are 2nd, I am 3rd

The Braves are last...Ha, like that would happen

A tip to be realistic

Have injuries on max and have your Medical costs LOW, you will have to call people up, guys will get hurt, still not as much as I'd like, but it makes you work your minors and such

[Knight165]

Re: N.Y. Mets Franchise

Hope the Phillies sweep ya!

In my Franchise, they are a pain...we have slugfests...and late game heroics...they are in 1st and the NATIONALS are 2nd, I am 3rd

The Braves are last...Ha, like that would happen

A tip to be realistic

Have injuries on max and have your Medical costs LOW, you will have to call people up, guys will get hurt, still not as much as I'd like, but it makes you work your minors and such

Great! Thanks for the tip!
Another thing...I bought my guys an autopitcher....it should improve their plate vision and discipline.

M.K.
Knight165

[Bravesfan47]

Re: N.Y. Mets Franchise

One quick side note.

Before my spring training began I made it clear to my coaches and scouts what I expected.

Whats that? A 2nd place finish and maybe a wild card spot??? Cause that Division title isn't coming to NY any time soon! LOL well enjoy you franchise man. I couldnt even wait for the first roster updates and i'm glad i didn't. Its a great game and i'm glad i bought The Show this year. Keep this updated. I'd love to hear about you Chise.

[Knight165]

Re: N.Y. Mets Franchise

Whats that? A 2nd place finish and maybe a wild card spot??? Cause that Division title isn't coming to NY any time soon! LOL well enjoy you franchise man. I couldnt even wait for the first roster updates and i'm glad i didn't. Its a great game and i'm glad i bought The Show this year. Keep this updated. I'd love to hear about you Chise.

Arghhh....THE BRAVES!.....
I wish it was the Dale Murphy era again....lovable losers!
I swear...Bobby Cox must have sold his soul to the Devil....I don't know how he has done what he has done. Simply amazing.

M.K.
Knight165

[Knight165]

Re: N.Y. Mets Franchise

Game 2 Shea Stadium New York Mets(1-0) vs. Washington Nationals(0-1)
Tom Glavine vs. John Patterson

In game 2 against the Nationals I figured my squad would pick up right where they left off...especially since they looked great in BP and pre-game warmups.
That was not the case though as Patterson had some magic working right from the start. His 2 seam fastball seemed to tie up every batter and the Mets seemed to be in some trouble in the early goings.
Tom Glavine was equally as sharp keeping the Washington batters off kilter with his wicked change up.
Through the first three innings Patterson and Glavine were trading gems dealing zeroes with Glavine giving up just one hit through three frames while Patterson totally shut down the Mets giving up no hits and also walking no one.
While Glavine continued his dominance into the top of the fourth inning on just 55 pitches, Patterson absolutely imploded....giving up 6 runs on just 4 hits but also walking two in the inning. While Randy St. Claire tried to calm the struggling pitcher down....manager Frank Robinson had no choice but to end his misery pulling his pitcher with 2 outs in the fourth. Ramon Ortiz came in and got pitcher Tom Glavine to fly out to center...but CF Randy Church bobbled the ball allowing Kaz Matsui to score. Glavine was thrown out at second trying to stretch out the error.
Glavine continued his strong outing until the seventh when he gave up a run when Ryan Church singled home Jose Guillen. With 2 outs and 2 men on base....Glavine then walked #2 batter Jose Vidro.With his pitch count at 114 and obviously struggling manager M. Knight had seen enough and summoned reliever Chad Bradford from the pen to preserve the 6-1 lead. Bradford delivered striking out the dangerous Alfonso Soriano.
Bradford gave up a 2 run homerun to Ryan Zimmerman in the eighth....but got out of the inning and Knight turned the ball over to closer Billy Wagner who shut down the Nats in the ninth.

Glavine W(1-0) 6.2IP 5H 1R(1ER) 2BB 9K's
Patterson L(0-1) 3.2IP 4H 6R(5ER) 2BB 3K's
Wagner S(1)

The Mets(3-0) also took game three of the series and lead the NL East by a 1/2 game over the Braves(3-1)

Next up.....the Florida Marlins(2-1) Zambrano vs. Mitre


M.K.
Knight165

[ericjwm]

Re: N.Y. Mets Franchise

Game 2 Shea Stadium New York Mets(1-0) vs. Washington Nationals(0-1)
Tom Glavine vs. John Patterson

In game 2 against the Nationals I figured my squad would pick up right where they left off...especially since they looked great in BP and pre-game warmups.
That was not the case though as Patterson had some magic working right from the start. His 2 seam fastball seemed to tie up every batter and the Mets seemed to be in some trouble in the early goings.
Tom Glavine was equally as sharp keeping the Washington batters off kilter with his wicked change up.
Through the first three innings Patterson and Glavine were trading gems dealing zeroes with Glavine giving up just one hit through three frames while Patterson totally shut down the Mets giving up no hits and also walking no one.
While Glavine continued his dominance into the top of the fourth inning on just 55 pitches, Patterson absolutely imploded....giving up 6 runs on just 4 hits but also walking two in the inning. While Randy St. Claire tried to calm the struggling pitcher down....manager Frank Robinson had no choice but to end his misery pulling his pitcher with 2 outs in the fourth. Ramon Ortiz came in and got pitcher Tom Glavine to fly out to center...but CF Randy Church bobbled the ball allowing Kaz Matsui to score. Glavine was thrown out at second trying to stretch out the error.
Glavine continued his strong outing until the seventh when he gave up a run when Ryan Church singled home Jose Guillen. With 2 outs and 2 men on base....Glavine then walked #2 batter Jose Vidro.With his pitch count at 114 and obviously struggling manager M. Knight had seen enough and summoned reliever Chad Bradford from the pen to preserve the 6-1 lead. Bradford delivered striking out the dangerous Alfonso Soriano.
Bradford gave up a 2 run homerun to Ryan Zimmerman in the eighth....but got out of the inning and Knight turned the ball over to closer Billy Wagner who shut down the Nats in the ninth.

Glavine W(1-0) 6.2IP 5H 1R(1ER) 2BB 9K's
Patterson L(0-1) 3.2IP 4H 6R(5ER) 2BB 3K's
Wagner S(1)

The Mets(3-0) also took game three of the series and lead the NL East by a 1/2 game over the Braves(3-1)

Next up.....the Florida Marlins(2-1) Zambrano vs. Mitre


M.K.
Knight165

Looks great Knight! You seem to be getting VERY realistic results so far. What are your full slider settings & are you playing on veteran difficulty? The slider settings & difficulty really make a difference, even in MO Mode.

[Knight165]

Re: N.Y. Mets Franchise

Had time for one more game tonight...
Eric...I'll post my settings tomorrow.

Game 4 Shea Stadium New York Mets(3-0) vs. Florida Marlins(2-1)
Victor Zambrano vs. Sergio Mitre

In the pre-game interview with manager M. Knight, New York Post reporter N. Osie asked the skipper what he thought of his opponent today, the 2006 Florida Marlins? Perusing the roster and probable lineup, Knight pointed to the #3 spot on the card, 1B and former New York Met Mike Jacobs. " The guy can hit...and with Miguel Cabrera(SS) hitting behind him....teams are going to have no choice but to pitch to him" He then noted that the Marlins might surprise some people with their young pitching staff, including the starter for today, Sergio Mitre. "The guy throws BB's!"

The first inning went relatively quiet for both clubs as Mitre and Zambrano got a feel for how home plate umpire Pete Moss was going to call this game.
In the Mets half of the second LF Cliff Floyd led off the inning with a clean single up the middle. RF Xavier Nady then stepped in and promptly hit the first pitch to left where Josh Willingham, who usually finds himself behind the dish...showed why left field is going to take some time to adjust to. In what looked like an easy fly ball, got by Willingham and rolled to the wall. Floyd, who thought the ball would be caught hesitated and had to hold at third.
The next batter, Kaz Matsui worked the count full and then ripped a base clearing double down the right field line. Zambrano failed to move the runner on a sac bunt and leadoff hitter Jose Reyes ground to the second base for what seemed like the second out...but 2B Alfredo Amezega threw the ball away allowing Matsui to come all the way around from second to score on the error. Mitre worked out of the inning however and seemed unshaken by the bump in the road.
After Zambrano set the Marlins down in the top of the third, things got very ugly, very quickly for the Fish as the Mets absolutely blindsided Mitre and the rest of the Marlins relief crew.
The final tally of the game was
New York Mets 14_____Florida Marlins 1
The line
NY Mets 14R 19H 0E
Fla. Marlins 1R 9H 2E

Zambrano(1-0) 7.0IP 8H 1R(1ER) 1BB 3K's
Mitre(0-1) 5.1IP 9H 7R(6ER) 2BB 3K's

The Player of the Game Kaz Matsui...4 for 5 ...HR, Double

Notes...Matsui is batting .467 for the year. If he keeps this up...I might not need a new second baseman!

Tip....It took me a while...but I finally figured out how to see what players are on the bench for the opposing team. When you pause the game and go to the GAME OVERVIEW section and then click on the BATTING ORDER. If you go left or right it gives you each teams bench players. For pitchers....you have to go to the game overview and then players stats...and you can figure out what's pitcher are in the pen(if you did not look before the game) Unfortunately, you can't see the "status" of the pitchers...but I guess you wouldn't really know in a real game anyway.

M.K.
Knight165

[ericjwm]

Re: N.Y. Mets Franchise

After Zambrano set the Marlins down in the top of the third, things got very ugly, very quickly for the Fish as the Mets absolutely blindsided Mitre and the rest of the Marlins relief crew.
The final tally of the game was
New York Mets 14_____Florida Marlins 1
The line
NY Mets 14R 19H 0E
Fla. Marlins 1R 9H 2E

Zambrano(1-0) 7.0IP 8H 1R(1ER) 1BB 3K's
Mitre(0-1) 5.1IP 9H 7R(6ER) 2BB 3K's


M.K.
Knight165

Playing as Florida in the MO mode, that kind of blowout looks all too familiar, lol. The problem is that most of the Marlins new pitchers & batters ratings are very low. I've had to make qutie a few adjustments to certain players. For Willingham, Hermida & H Ramirez I upped their contact & plate vision. A few of my starters like Olsen, Vargas & Moehler needed their stamina & durability raised.
Since I've made those changes things have drastically improved, especially their ability to score on a more consistent basis... not to mention the K's cut way down.

[Knight165]

Re: N.Y. Mets Franchise

Game 5 Shea Stadium, Flushing New York
New York Mets(4-0) vs. Florida Marlins(2-2)
Aaron Heilman vs. Josh Johnson

Mets Notes: RP Matt Perisho sent to AAA..........SP Brian Bannister called up from AAA
With the stamina edits for relievers(knocking them down), I notice that I must now use my pen very wisely. No more having every pitcher available every day and certainly not at their max durability. Much more strategy.
That being the case...with Bannister having a great spring training AND an excellent first start with the Tides, a 1 hit shutout, I felt that having him in the #5 starting spot and moving Aaron Heilman to the pen gives me much more flexibility. Heilman out of the pen is very effective against left handed hitters so Perisho, my lefty specialist became the odd man out. Heilman can also spot start(like today) and long relieve. He gives me alot of options and I need guys that can chew innings. He and LHP Darren Oliver do just that out of the pen for me.

The New York Mets suffered their first loss of the young season today. Florida starting pitcher Josh Johnson(W1-0) gave the bullpen a much needed rest today as he went 5.2 innings scattering 5 hits and giving up three runs, just one of them earned. It was Florida errors(2) that gave the Mets the early lead and when Johnson walked Xavier Nady for the third time in the afternoon, Florida manager Joe Girardi had to be wondering what was going on....but reliever Chris Resop ended the New York threat by striking out Julio Franco.
The top of the sixth proved the turning point as the Marlins scored three runs to tie the game on a two run double by Miguel Cabrera.
Florida then posted three more runs in the eighth and while closer Troy Bowyer made things interesting by allowing one run to score in the ninth and the tying runs to second and third...he got Julio Franco to strikeout once again to end the ballgame.

Florida Marlins(3-2) 6R 10H 2E
New York Mets(4-1) 4R 9H 0E

Johnson(W1-0) 5.2IP 5H 3R(1ER) 3BB 7K
Heilman (0-0) 6.0IP 6H 3R(3ER) 1BB 6K
Bradford took the loss
Bowyer got his second save.

The Mets took the rubber game of the series by a score of 4-3 riding out a shaky start by Met ace Pedro Martinez(W2-0)
Dontrelle Willis(L1-1) was also way off his game and took the loss.
Wagner got his second save.

Next up...THE BREW CREW!!


M.K.
Knight165

[Bravesfan47]

Re: N.Y. Mets Franchise

Here we go Brew Crew, Here we go!!

[chknwang321]

Re: N.Y. Mets Franchise

keep it coming Knight, good read

[Knight165]

Re: N.Y. Mets Franchise

Before tonights game I just want to give you a little rundown of happenings around the league.

April 9,2006

The Mets and the Braves are tied for the lead of the NL East at 4-1.
The Cubs lead the Central at 3-1.
The Diamondbacks lead the West at 2-3!

In the AL the Devil Rays are the East frontrunners at 4-1.
The Indians lead the Central at 4-1 and
The Mariners have the Major Leagues best record at a perfect 6-0.

Cinncinatti's Red Adam Dunn has just 6 hits on the season...ALL OF THEM HOMERUNS!

...............NL Batting Leader...........................AL Batting Leader............
..............LA D. Navvaro .563..........................CLE V. Martinez .579.......
..............SF L. Niekro... .556..........................CHI J. Uribe.......529.......
..............SF M. Alou..... .478..........................NYY R. Cano.... .500......
..............CHI D. Lee..... .474..........................DET C. Monroe. .500.....
...............ARI L. Gonzlez .474..........................BOS A. Gonzalez .500

Injuries(only players on the ML squads)
SEA S. Choo.....1-2 months...fractured leg
COL B. Hawpe....2-3 weeks ...sprained knee ligament

There are no transactions of yet(trades)
There are a few guys sent down and called up...but nothing of signifigance.

M.K.
Knight165

[Knight165]

Re: N.Y. Mets Franchise

Well I know that I said next up was the Brew Crew....but I forgot about on little thing. The Washington Nationals. Yeah...maybe it is easy to overlook them but in game one of the series in our nations capital, you'll see why that was a mistake.

Game 6 RFK Stadium, Washington D.C.
Washington Nationals(3-4) vs. New York Mets(5-1)
Tom Glavine(1-0) vs. Ryan Drese(0-1)

This spring, much was made about Alfonso Soriano's refusal to play leftfield for the Washington Nationals. Eventually, manager Frank Robinson convinced his moody star that it was good for him and necessary for the team. In the early goings of the 2006 regular season...Washington fans wondered wether the whole ordeal was worth it....as Soriano and the Nats opened up against the New York Mets, dropped three straight and saw Soriano leave New York with a dismal .200 batting average and just 1 homerun.

Well, Soriano immediatly got hot following his departure and when the Mets came to town....he promised not to get shut down again. Would he live up to that promise?...

From the start...Washington pitcher Ryan Drese looked like he was having trouble pushing off the mound and getting good stuff on his pitches. Leadoff hitter Jose Reyes took Dreses first pitch and put in down the leftfield line for a quick double. Paul Loduca moved him to third on a ground out to second base and in stepped Carlos Beltran who belted Dreses first pitch over the centerfield wall for his second homerun of the season. Drese seemed to settle down and got out of the first giving up just two runs. Even so...the 41,453 fans in RFK seemed to rally around their team.

Tom Glavine took the mound and immediately took the almost full RFK stadium right out of the game with a very quick 1-2-3 inning including setting down Alfonso Soriano on three pitches. Things did not look well for the Nats as Drese struggle in every inning giving up single runs in the fourth and fifth while scoring none themselves.

Frank Robinson thought something might be wrong with his young pitcher, but Drese repeatedly told his manager he was alright. With two outs in the sixth inning Drese motioned to the dugout and his day was done. Later it would be revealed that the National pitcher had a strained shoulder and his line showed it. 5.2 IP....6 H....4 R(3ER).....2BB...0 K's. With the strain...he could not muster enough stuff to get a strikeout and some wonder why Robinson left him in so long. As it stands...Drese will be out 2-3 weeks...maybe longer.

With Glavine throwing another game reminiscent of his younger days, you would think the Washington team would just mail it in...but they pushed hard after every ball, ran out every ground out and finally got to Glavine in the seventh inning for a run. New York manager M. Knight handed the ball over to RP Jorge Julio(L1-1) with 1 out and the bases loaded.

His first batter was Alfonso Soriano and he showed the faithful why it was worth waiting for him. On a 2-2 count Soriano put the Nats up with a homerun over the leftfield wall.

The Washington relievers shut the Mets down for the final two innings and a 5-4 win. Chad Cordero earned his third save.

Washington....5R....7H...2E
New York.......4R....9H...0E

Drese........5.2IP.. 6H....4R(3ER)....2BB...0K
Glavine......6.1IP.. 4H....1R(1ER)....3BB...9K
Cordero S(3)

On a side note....the CPU AI was very lifelike in the eighth inning when they started the inning with lefty specialist Joey Eischen to turn Carlos Beltran around to the right side and pitch to Carlos Delgado....and then bring in righty Gary Majewski to pitch to David Wright for just the one batter.

M.K.
Knight165