aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

[aukevin]

I always enjoy The Show's career mode, and this year has been really good so far, so I thought I'd put this career stuff up. Let's see how long I can keep it going, LOL. I'm trying to make the Braves squad as a second baseman and I think I'm doing pretty well in Spring Training. I'm batting a decent average, but I'm not producing or scoring many runs, but I am at the bottom of the lineup. I still have a week to go in Spring Training before I learn my contract fate I guess. Hopefully I've done enough to stay with the organization, my goal is AAA. The Braves sure haven't done much in spring training so far, I hope the regular season works out better.

I'm coming into the league as a 21 year old rookie straight out of college. I'm still getting used to The Show's controls, so I've really made some base running mistakes so far which has hurt my run total. I also can't hit for much power yet, I'm not sure if that's because of my ratings or my skill. I initially set my player up with contact ratings for both RHP and LHP about mid-way on the skill slider. I don't have much of a power swing yet, but my power against lefties is a bit stronger. I am also a switch hitter. I also used my initial attribute points to give me some speed, it's about halfway full on the skill slider as well. My fielding attributes are about average with what points I was given, but my arm strength isn't anything special. I also haven't devoted many attribute points to my plate discipline or vision yet.

I've gotten some good praise from Bobby Cox this spring so far because of quite a few multiple hit games. The coach is still wanting to see more run producing hits out of me though. I fail those challenges the most. Fielding-wise I've been real solid so far, only botching one play so far this spring.

Anyway, here's a rundown of my player and what I've done so far in Spring Training in my first year. I've been flying through spring training so there isn't much to see except game logs of my performance, maybe I can write more interesting stuff once the season gets rolling if anyone cares...

Player: Kevin Bottoms #9 Position: 2B/IF Bats: Switch Throws: Right MLB Competition: Martin Prado, Pete Orr Scouting report: College: 3-year starter for the Auburn University baseball team. Focus: Hitting contact and speed are expected to increase, with good fielding skills. Needs work: Plate discipline and base running awareness.

Current Statistics

Spring Training - Grapefruit League
Avg	G	GS	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	K	BB
.339	20	15	22	1	0	0	1	3	8	0
Braves spring training record: 8-15

Career Log

March 1st vs.. LAD, batting 7th playing 2B:
RBI single in the 5th driving in Jeff Francoeur and cutting the lead to 4-3.
Final line: 2-4, RBI and K. 3 of 3 career goals successful.
Braves lose 4-3

Quotes from first career spring training game:
"I had lots of butterflies out there at the start, but I think I got in the groove pretty fast. I wish I could have done more to help the team win this first one, but overall I think I had a good one."

March 2nd vs. PIT, batting 7th playing 2B:
Struck out with no men on in the 3rd.
Great diving catch towards 2B and a throw to get Freddy Sanchez out at first in the 5th inning.
2-out single in the 5th. Left stranded at first.
Struck out with player in scoring position in the 7th.
RBI single in the 9th with two men on to cut deficit to 3-2.
Final line: 2-4, RBI, 2 K. 2 of 3 career goals successful.
Braves lose 3-2

Quote on the webgem in the 5th inning
"It happened so fast that instincts just took over. All I was thinking was, PLEASE let me not throw this ball in the stands after that catch!"

March 3rd vs. HOU, batting 7th playing 2B:
1-out single with no men on in 2nd, picked off.
Threw out Adam Everett on a grounder to second in the 5th.
Struck out in the 5th
Struck out in the 7th
Caught a pop up in the 9th off the bat of Carlos Lee.
Final line: 1-3, RBI, 2 K. 1 of 3 career goals successful.
Braves win 3-1

Quote on today's performance
"Yeah... Roy Oswalt is pretty dominating. I think he got the best of me today, but I'll get him next time. I'm just glad the other guys on the team could pick up my slack."

March 4th vs. LAD, did not start:
Failed to reach in a pinch hit situation in the 8th.
Final line: 0-1. 0 of 1 career goals successful.
Braves lose 6-3

March 5th vs. WAS, batting 7th playing 2B:
Lead off single in 9th, out on a fielder's choice by Ryan Langerhans.
Final line: 1-4. 1 of 3 career goals successful.
Braves win 2-1

* Applied 100 training points in Batting cages vs. RHP *

March 6th vs. WAS, did not play.

March 7th vs. DET, batting 8th playing 2B:
Popped out for the third out in the 1st, stranding two men on base.
Allowed infield single in the 2nd to Magglio Ordonez.
1-out single to right in the 4th, picked off.
Caught pop up off the bat of Curtis Granderson in the 6th.
Successfully thew out Brandon Inge at first in the 8th.
Final line: 1-3. 2 of 3 career goals successful.
Braves lose 10-3

Quotes on today's game
"I need to wake up out there on first and quit getting picked off. I keep killing the momentum doing that."

March 8th vs. NYY, batting 7th playing 2B:
Caught a pop up off the bat of Derek Jeter to end the inning.
Nice play to the left to get Robinson Cano out at first on a grounder to second in the 6th.
Retired Jason Giambi on a routine grounder in the 6th.
Final line: 0-3, K. 2 of 3 career goals successful.
Braves lose 11-0

Quote on the loss
"We could've gone across town and gotten Goofy to come over here and play for me today, not a good game by me offensively."

March 9th vs. PIT, did not start:
Failed to reach in a pinch hit situation in the 8th.
Final line: 0-1. 0 of 0 career goals successful.
Braves lose 7-5

March 10th vs. TOR, batting 7th playing 2B:
Retired Vernon Wells on a routine grounder in the first.
Singled in the 2nd to load the bases, moved to 2nd on a walk but left on base.
Reached on a two-out single in the 6th, picked off
Nice play to my right to get Lyle Overbay out on a grounder in the 7th.
Started a double play off the bat of Jason Phillips.
Final line: 2-4. 2 of 3 career goals successful.
Braves lose 4-1

* Applied 100 training points to training with Batting Coach *

March 11th vs. STL, batting 8th playing 2B:
Let a catch-able ball pass for a single in the 1st.
Singled in the 4th with two outs; left stranded
Singled in the 11th, but caught attempting to steal second.
Final line: 2-5. 0 of 3 career goals successful.
Braves lose 4-3

March 12th vs. STL, did not start:
Failed to reach on a pinch hit opportunity in the 9th.
Final line: 0-1. 0 of 0 career goals successful.
Braves lose 6-3

March 13th vs. HOU, batting 8th playing 2B:
Left bases loaded in the 3rd when grounded out to first.
Singled in the 5th with two men on.
Final line: 1-3. 1 of 2 career goals successful.
Braves win 7-6

* Applied 100 training points to training with Batting Coach *

March 14th vs. HOU, did not start:
Pinch hit single to lead off the 8th, stayed in the game as SS.
Pop fly out moving runner to third in the 9th.
Final line: 1-2. 1 of 2 career goals successful.
Braves lose 6-5

March 15th vs. NYY, batting 8th playing 2B:
Struck out with two men on in the 2nd.
Pop fly out to the warning track in the 6th.
Final line: 0-4. 0 of 2 career goals successful.
Braves win 3-0

Quote on today's performance
"I'm glad the boys didn't need me today, I would've let them down. I'll get them next time."

March 16th vs. STL, did not start:
Pinch hit opportunity in the 9th inning with two-outs resulted in a double to left-center.
First career extra base hit!
Final line: 1-1. 0 of 0 career goals successful.
Braves lose 5-2

March 17th vs. STL, batting 7th playing 2B:
RBI groundout to first base in the 2nd inning to cut the lead to 3-1.
3rd inning single, moving runner to second base. Thrown out at third.
Final line: 1-4, RBI, K. 2 of 3 career goals successful.
Braves win 7-5

Quote on today's performance
"It had been a while since my last RBI, I'm glad I could help the team out and cut into the lead early in the game."

March 18th vs. CIN, batting 7th playing 2B:
One-out single in the 4th, advanced to 2nd on single by Scott Thorman. Advanced to third on a passed ball.
Scored on a fielder's choice by Mike Hampton.
First career run scored.
Final line: 2-5, run. 2 of 2 career goals successful.
Braves win 6-3

Quote on today's performance
"I finally reached the plate. I didn't know if I could ever keep my head straight long enough on the basepaths to score a run. I'm glad I could help the team out."

* Applied 100 training points to training in the weight room *

March 19th vs. CLE, did not play
Braves win 3-0

March 20th vs. WAS, batting 7th playing 2B:
Near error at second on a grounder from Robert Fick, but I recovered and got the batter out at first.
One out single in the 9th.
Final line: 1-4 run. 1 of 3 career goals successful.
Braves lose 4-1

March 21st vs. FLA, batting 7th playing 2B:
Reached on infield single in the 5th to load the bases.
Singled in the 8th with a runner on base.
Final line: 2-5 run. 0 of 3 career goals successful.
Braves lose 9-7

March 22nd vs. NYM, did not play
Braves lose 2-0

March 23rd vs. PHI, batting 7th playing 2B:
Reached on infield single in the 5th to load the bases.
Singled in the 8th, out on a fielder's choice hit into by Ryan Langerhans.
Final line: 2-4 run. 1 of 2 career goals successful.
Braves win 5-2

* Applied 100 training points in Batting cages vs. RHP *

[Red-Viper]

Re: aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

Looks good, I'll follow if you do go through with it

[aukevin]

Re: aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

I finished out spring training with the Braves. I had a couple good games in there, one 3 hit game and one game with my first career homerun. We'll just ignore the fact that it was just a spring training homerun. The homerun came off the pitch of the Indians' Jake Westbrook.

Towards the end of spring training I spent some time with Braves Strength and Conditioning coach Frank Fultz to improve my speed and baserunning ability.

So with spring training over, I just gotta wait and see if I get picked up by the Braves organization.

On a side note, the Braves didn't do too hot in the spring, ending with a record of 10-20. Hopefully that was just a result of feeling out some new players and once the season starts, they'll get hot.

Final Spring Training statistics:

Spring Training - Grapefruit League
Avg	G	GS	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	K	BB
.306	27	19	26	1	0	1	2	4	15	0
Braves' Final spring training record: 10-20

Continued Career Game Log

March 24th vs CLE, did not start:
Pinch hit opportunity in the 8th resulted in a strikeout.
Stayed in the game at 3rd base.
Final line: 0-1. 0 of 0 career goals successful.
Braves lose 6-0


March 25th vs WAS, batting 8th playing 2B:
Robbed of a 3-run homerun when a ball was caught right above the right field wall.
Took away a hit from Felipe Lopez on a diving catch to my left at second.
Final line: 0-4, 2 K. 1 of 4 career goals successful.
Braves win 7-1


March 26th vs HOU, did not start:
Pinch hit opportunity in the 9th resulted in a strikeout.
Final line: 0-1. 0 of 0 career goals successful.
Braves lose 2-1


March 27th vs DET, batting 7th playing 2B:
Two-out single in the 3rd but left stranded.
Started a double play in the 6th inning to get the team out of a possible jam.
6th inning single down the right field line, advanced to second on a Scott Thorman single, but left stranded.
8th inning, two-out single, advanced to second on a Scott Thorman single, but left stranded.
First career three hit game!
Final line: 3-4. 2 of 2 career goals successful.
Braves win 4-2


March 29th vs CLE, batting 8th playing 2B:
Solo homerun to right field.
First career homerun! (even if it is spring training)
Final line: 1-4, HR. 2 of 4 career goals successful.
Braves lose 5-1


* Applied 100 training points in sprint drills *


March 30th vs CWS, batting 7th playing 2B:
Final line: 0-5, 3 K. 0 of 4 career goals successful.
Braves lose 7-5


March 31st vs CWS, did not start:
Bases loaded pinch hit opportunity in the 9th, struck out.
Final line: 0-1, K. 0 of 1 career goals successful.
Braves lose 7-5


* End of Spring Training *

[aukevin]

Re: aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

From the Associated Press -
Braves sign rookie to one-year minor league deal

Atlanta Braves GM John Schuerholz gave out the news today a contract offer has been extended to rookie Kevin Bottoms. The Braves second baseman who started 19 games in spring training, while batting .306 has accepted the offered, and will report to AAA in Richmond to play second base for the team. The contract is a one-year deal and will pay the rookie $51,000. Quote from Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox: "Kevin did a fine job out there all spring long. He came in at the perfect time with the opening at second base when Marcus Giles signed with the Padres. Kevin showed a knack for getting on base all spring, he just needs some work with driving in runners when they are in scoring position. He also needs to develop more of an "eye" at the plate. I think our guys down in AAA can really develop him into a player I could see on this team in the future." Quote from Kevin Bottoms: "I'm thrilled that I was offered the contract. I've got a year to prove myself down in AAA and hopefully I can show the guys in the front office to extend this contract a few more years. I've always wanted to be a Brave and I'll do anything to stay with this organization."

[gritzblitz56]

Re: aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

Looks great Kevin. Is this in the classic career mode or 'Road to the Show'?

I just picked up the game and was thinking about starting a career as a Braves 2B also and was wondering which career mode I should use.

[aukevin]

Re: aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

Looks great Kevin. Is this in the classic career mode or 'Road to the Show'?

I just picked up the game and was thinking about starting a career as a Braves 2B also and was wondering which career mode I should use.

Thanks!

It's road to the show. I like it more than the previous years' straight career mode because it is more fun playing for me only being the one player instead of the whole team. Baserunning if fun too, but I'm not the greatest at it. You really got to watch the game though when you are on base. You don't have a few of the pitch count or outs, so you need to pay attention so you know when to run on full counts with two outs, or if you should just run as far as you can depending on the outs. I do wish there was a better view of what was going on when you are on base and your teammate gets a hit. Sometimes you can see where the ball is in the outfield, but sometimes you have to rely on the announcers. It's fun rounding second though because you can pick up your base coach to see if you should run on home or not when you back is to the ball.

One difference that I don't really like between the old career mode and road to the show is that my goals are all just at the plate goals, like don't strikeout and drive a run in, etc. The other career mode wanted you to steal bases and do good in the field. Maybe now that I'm out of spring training and about to start the real season those kind of challenges will be back, but I didn't like that my performance was only graded according to my ability at the plate. I've made some awesome catches and plays in the field that get no recognition from the coach (and I've booted a few too), but so far my coach only sends me letters of congrats for getting good hits. I'm hoping that changes once the season starts.

[WTF]

Re: aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

Looks great brother... definitely will keep up with this. Congrats on making AAA.

[aukevin]

Re: aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

From the blog of rookie 2B Kevin Bottoms -

Well, I've been in the minors with the Richmond Braves (class AAA) for almost a month now, and man is it a different environment that spring training. I thought just trying to make the team was high pressure, try being in a situation where your play will determine the outcome of a game. I've been in that situation already a handful of times this first month in Richmond, and unfortunately, I've not delivered more times than I have. My performance over the first few weeks has been up and down, but I'm positive that I am moving in the right direction. My batting average is .267 right now, a little lower than I'd like. I'm mostly batting second in the lineup, but on three occasions I have been the lead-off hitter, so to best help the team I need that average a little higher. The season started out with a four-game set against the Buffalo Bison at their stadium. I didn't do too well, coming away with just a .200 average for the series, but it was the next series at the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees that I got going some. This series I did have a series average over .300, and the I had the best game of my short career at the time when I batted 3 for 5 in a game with 2 doubles and a triple. I've really been hitting it hard on sprint drills in practice and I think is starting to pay off as I've picked up an extra step of speed it seems. I'm still a bit of a deadhead on the base paths from time to time, I gotta stay sharp out there. After the Yankees series, we finally played our first game at The Diamond in Richmond. I wish I could have given the fans something to cheer about, but I and the team fell flat on our faces, dropping all three games in the series, a series that I only batted .167 in. I wasn't feeling too good right around then because my average had dipped all the way down to .213 and I just wasn't helping the team at all offensively. But things were about to turn around when the Louisville Bats strolled into town. The Louisville series started out great for me. With our team tied 3-3 in the 9th inning, I came to the plate with 1-out and a runners on the corners, so I knew I just needed to get good wood on the ball and pick up a sac fly for the win. I got a sinker low and away on the first pitch and I went the other way with it to deep right just over the right-fielder's head and we won the game 4-3. The crowd went nuts and for the first time, I really felt like a professional player. I kept it going for the rest of the series in which I blasted my first career regular season homerun as well. Not only that, I hit two homeruns in the series. The first homer was late in a game that we already had in the bag, but the second homerun was in the first inning of the last game of the series. Willie Aybar had led the game off with a single and I was able to give the team an early 2-0 lead with my homerun. I actually was named Player of the Game for that game, which capped a 4-game sweep of the Bats. After the Louisville series we hit the road to Indianapolis and then over to play the Bats again, this time in Louisville. I had gotten my average up around .270 at this point and I have been able to keep it at that level since that time. I actually picked up a couple more homeruns on the road trip which surprised manager Dave Brundage. This is what the coach said one night after a game about my 4 homeruns: "When we got Kevin after spring training, I knew he'd bring a solid glove and some speed to the team, I wasn't expecting to see this opposite field power he's been showing. We'll have to see if he keeps that power swing going. Where he is right now in the lineup, we are mainly asking him just to get on base for T.J. (Bohn) and Chris (Woodward), but we're happy for homeruns as well." I also started to show some speed on the base paths by picking up a couple steals in the games. One steal directly led to a game-winning hit by T.J. Bohn to score me from second. T.J., by the way, has been awesome this year. He leads the International League in not only average but homeruns. So now I am ready to finish out this first month in Triple-A. I've learned a lot already about the game and how to be more patient at the plate to get the pitches I want. I've got to get my strikeout totals down though. I've been spending a lot of time in the batting cages honing my skills against right-handed pitchers and well as developing a little more power, which seems to be paying off. My season stats look like this at the moment: AAA Richmond Braves Avg G GS 2B 3B HR R RBI K BB Fld % .267 22 18 5 1 4 6 9 20 2 100 %

[bravosfan]

Re: aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

Good stuff, Kev.

Just started a RTTS of my own, more fun than I expected.

[Blaxican8504]

Re: aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

This is cool. I'll be reading.

[aukevin]

Re: aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

-from the Atlanta Journal Constitution
Renteria injured, Braves call up rookie 2B from Richmond

May 5th, 2007: Atlanta Braves shortstop Edgar Renteria dislocated his knee while sliding into second base which will have him sidelined for at least a month and a half. As a result, the Braves have called up rookie Kevin Bottoms from AAA Richmond. Bottoms is a second baseman in AAA, but has shown the ability to play shortstop as well as thirdbase in a pinch. Bottoms is batting a meager .267 for Richmond, but his outstanding fielding and 5 homeruns in the month of April raised some eyebrows.

Quote from Braves manager Bobby Cox about the Renteria injury and the rookie call up:
"It's going to hurt not having Edgar in the lineup everyday, but these things happen. We'll get him rehabbed and back on the field as soon as possible. We're going to call up two infielders from AAA, Kevin Bottoms and Chris Woodward, to fill Edgar's spot. Pete Orr will be heading down to try and figure out what's wrong in his game this year. We'll start Woodward at SS for the first few games since he has the most experience, but look for the new kid to get in a few games. I'm interested in seeing how he adjusts to the big leagues."

Quote from rookie Kevin Bottoms on being called up to Atlanta:
"It's a dream come true, and one that I never thought would happen this fast. I'm ready though. I realize I'll start on the bench, but I'm just going to have to prove myself when opportunities present themselves."

[bravosfan]

Re: aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

That didn't take long.

Welcome to The Show.

[aukevin]

Re: aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

from the blog of Kevin Bottoms -

May 31st entry -
Well, I've been in The Show for a month now and things are a lot tougher here. I sat on the bench for the first week after being called up. You'd think that would be boring, but no way! It's great being in the same dugout as guys like Chipper and Andruw. I got my first start against the Padres and guess who was pitching, that's right, Greg Maddux! He embarrassed me to the tune of 0-4 with 3 strikeouts. Things didn't get much better and I thought they were going to make me hitchhike back to Richmond, I was having a real hard time adjusting to the pitching in the majors. I did pick up a hit in my second start, a little looper to right field. What a rush! Of course, after that, I did what many have come to expect from me, I got picked off.

Anyway, over the first month, my average floated around .150 - .200 but thankfully coach Cox had some patience with me and let me keep starting. I even got to give Chipper a couple days off over at third base. That was crazy, I think I'll stick to the middle of the infield.

The prognosis on Renteria right now is that he should return at the end of June. I think it is still up in the air what will happen when he returns. I need to get things going a little better to prove I belong here in Atlanta.

[aukevin]

Re: aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

That didn't take long.

Welcome to The Show.

yeah, no kidding. I was shocked, especially since I wasn't doing too well, LOL

This is cool. I'll be reading.

Thanks!

[aukevin]

Re: aukevin's MLB 2007 The Show Career mode updates

- from the Associated Press

Braves find heroics from unlikely rookie

It's a situation that all kids dream of in their backyards, the chance to come up to bat in extra innings, with the bases loaded and try to win the game for their team. That opportunity was ceased tonight by Atlanta Braves rookie SS Kevin Bottoms when he nailed a grand slam pinch hit homerun in the 10th inning of a 3-3 game against the Braves and the Cubs in Wrigley Field. Oh yeah, did we mention that there were 2 outs in the inning as well? After a bench clearing celebration for the rookie, the Braves took care of business in the bottom of the 10th and came away with a 7-3 win. The homerun was Bottoms's first of his very young MLB career.

Kevin Bottoms was called up from AAA Richmond in early May to fill in or injured Edgar Renteria, and he hasn't had much success in Atlanta until recently. Batting just .167 in the month of May, coaches and fans were starting to wonder if the rookie was ready for so much so early. It was just one year ago that Bottoms was a junior 2B for the Auburn Tigers baseball team. But over the last week of May, Bottoms starting putting some hits together and even picked up his first major league extra base hit in Milwaukee. That little improvement and his sure fielding glove has kept the kid in manager Bobby Cox's good graces despite the low batting average.

Time will only tell if this extra inning heroics is the turning point for Bottoms or if he will continue to struggle in the majors. One thing's for sure though, he is the most popular 21 year old in Atlanta right now.

Quote from Bobby Cox on putting in Kevin Bottoms to pinch hit:
"Well, it was late in the game and we needed a pinch hitter. Kevin's been looking pretty good the past week in the batting cages and I knew he wanted to try and win the game for us. Luckily it worked out!"

Quote from Kevin Bottoms on the grand slam:
"Honestly, I was just trying to make contact out there, try to find a hole in the defense and drive in a run. Before the bat though, Chipper told me that Ohman would try to bait me with low and away stuff, so I was looking for that. He left a fastball a little over the plate and I just went with it to right field. It just went over the ivy and that was the ballgame. I got totally mugged when I crossed the plate, it was one of the best moments of my life. Hopefully this is the start of something great for me here in Atlanta."