Got WSB 2K3 to work again, so here is my Devil Rays 'chise...

[msstherock]

OK, I got WSB 2K3 to work again, so, I started up my Devil Rays 'chise again. I will run this franchise realistically. The Devil Rays are my favorite team, so I will run this true to life and will not make insane trades, etc. Anyway, I simmed to today's date, so I can pick up the season from here and start the journal. So, until I play my first game, here are some stats for the first year simmed to today:

AL East
Yankees 47-15
Red Sox 38-23
Orioles 32-39
Devil Rays 26-36
Blue Jays 23-41

AL Central
White Sox 32-30
Royals 32-30
Twins 29-32
Indians 27-36
Tigers 23-37

AL West
Angels 32-29
Mariners 32-30
Rangers 28-33
Athletics 26-36

NL East
Expos 41-22
Braves 32-30
Marlins 30-34
Mets 29-33
Phillies 26-36

NL Central
Astros 40-23
Cardinals 34-27
Cubs 31-31
Reds 28-34
Pirates 26-36
Brewers 24-37

NL West
Giants 34-28
Padres 34-29
Dodgers 32-30
Rockies 32-31
D-Backs 30-32

Overall, my record isn't much different from the Rays' actual record, just a few games better.

Interesting Stats:
Vlad Guerrero is batting .398!
Rocco Baldelli is batting .339 only 10 points higher than his actual avg.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the way the sim worked out. I'll have an update later on with the Reds series.

Matt

[msstherock]

Complete game shutout for Zambrano...

Victor Zambrano tossed a gem on Tuesday night against the Reds going a full 9 innings in a 5 hit shutout performance. The Rays' bats were on fire as well totaling 20 hits and 9 runs in the 9-0 victory. Manager Lou Piniella was extremely pleased with the team's performance, "Lately, we've just been putting too much pressure on our bullpen and it was nice to see them get a break with Victor's [Zambrano] performance tonight. The only real guys that were rested in our pen were Seth [McClung] and John [Rocker]." The win tonight will hopefully pull the Rays out of a tailspin they are currently in, losing 5 of their last 6 and putting too much work into the pen.

The Rays' bats were awake against a weak Cincinnati staff and a struggling Ryan Dempster (1-7). Julio Lugo, the Rays player of the game, went 3-5 with his 4th HR of the year, a double and a stolen base. "Everybody was getting on tonight. No disrespect to the Reds, but we were just on tonight. Hopefully, we can keep this trend up and win more games like this." Winning Pitcher Victor Zambrano also regained some confidence, "It was a great night for all of us, Lou [Piniella] told me before the game to just go 6 innings because our pen was tired, I guess I did a little better than just 6 innings eh? Either way though, I just felt like I was in a zone out on the mound. Chris [Bosio], our pitching coach, came out in the 8th and asked if I wanted out, I told him 'No way am I coming out of a shutout.'"

Final Stats:
WP - Victor Zambrano (4-6) CG&11K's
LP - Ryan Dempster (1-7) 5IP&5K's

Matt

[msstherock]

Complete game shutout for Zambrano...

Victor Zambrano tossed a gem on Tuesday night against the Reds going a full 9 innings in a 5 hit shutout performance. The Rays' bats were on fire as well totaling 20 hits and 9 runs in the 9-0 victory. Manager Lou Piniella was extremely pleased with the team's performance, "Lately, we've just been putting too much pressure on our bullpen and it was nice to see them get a break with Victor's [Zambrano] performance tonight. The only real guys that were rested in our pen were Seth [McClung] and John [Rocker]." The win tonight will hopefully pull the Rays out of a tailspin they are currently in, losing 5 of their last 6 and putting too much work into the pen.

The Rays' bats were awake against a weak Cincinnati staff and a struggling Ryan Dempster (1-7). Julio Lugo, the Rays player of the game, went 3-5 with his 4th HR of the year, a double and a stolen base. "Everybody was getting on tonight. No disrespect to the Reds, but we were just on tonight. Hopefully, we can keep this trend up and win more games like this." Winning Pitcher Victor Zambrano also regained some confidence, "It was a great night for all of us, Lou [Piniella] told me before the game to just go 6 innings because our pen was tired, I guess I did a little better than just 6 innings eh? Either way though, I just felt like I was in a zone out on the mound. Chris [Bosio], our pitching coach, came out in the 8th and asked if I wanted out, I told him 'No way am I coming out of a shutout.'"

Final Stats:
WP - Victor Zambrano (4-6) CG&11K's
LP - Ryan Dempster (1-7) 5IP&5K's

Matt

[msstherock]

Complete game shutout for Zambrano...

Victor Zambrano tossed a gem on Tuesday night against the Reds going a full 9 innings in a 5 hit shutout performance. The Rays' bats were on fire as well totaling 20 hits and 9 runs in the 9-0 victory. Manager Lou Piniella was extremely pleased with the team's performance, "Lately, we've just been putting too much pressure on our bullpen and it was nice to see them get a break with Victor's [Zambrano] performance tonight. The only real guys that were rested in our pen were Seth [McClung] and John [Rocker]." The win tonight will hopefully pull the Rays out of a tailspin they are currently in, losing 5 of their last 6 and putting too much work into the pen.

The Rays' bats were awake against a weak Cincinnati staff and a struggling Ryan Dempster (1-7). Julio Lugo, the Rays player of the game, went 3-5 with his 4th HR of the year, a double and a stolen base. "Everybody was getting on tonight. No disrespect to the Reds, but we were just on tonight. Hopefully, we can keep this trend up and win more games like this." Winning Pitcher Victor Zambrano also regained some confidence, "It was a great night for all of us, Lou [Piniella] told me before the game to just go 6 innings because our pen was tired, I guess I did a little better than just 6 innings eh? Either way though, I just felt like I was in a zone out on the mound. Chris [Bosio], our pitching coach, came out in the 8th and asked if I wanted out, I told him 'No way am I coming out of a shutout.'"

Final Stats:
WP - Victor Zambrano (4-6) CG&11K's
LP - Ryan Dempster (1-7) 5IP&5K's

Matt

[msstherock]

Re: Got WSB 2K3 to work again, so here is my Devil Rays \'chise...

"Dominican Prospect turns down Piniella and Rays."

Dominican prospect Greasy Hernandez turned down Chuck LaMar, Lou Piniella and the rest of the Devil Rays organization on Tuesday. The San Cristabol native had numerous scouts from around the league watching him over the past several months, and the Devil Rays seemed to be his likely choice, however, something peaked his interest more in the past few days. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Devil Rays were Hernandez' two finalists, but, Arizona won out. Hernandez said that "Arizona seemed to be the most logical choice for me. While I was very interested in Tampa and playing for a man like Lou Piniella they have their CF of the future and I didn't feel comfortable with a move to RF as they wanted me to do. So, with that, I felt what was best for me was signing with the Diamondbacks." Devil Rays Manager Lou Piniella was surprised by the move, "According to his agent we had him locked-up. But, things happen in a matter of moments and he did what was best for him. I know he wasn't sour on the idea of moving to RF, but, it didn't work out." Rays GM Chuck LaMar was taken aback when he received the news, "I was quite surprised, Greasy seemed to really feel comfortable with our plans for him, but, I guess Arizona promised something we couldn't deliver." The Devil Rays say they will continue to expand their serach for foreign talent over the next few years, with heavy emphasis on South American Winter leagues.

[msstherock]

Re: Got WSB 2K3 to work again, so here is my Devil Rays \'chise...

"Dominican Prospect turns down Piniella and Rays."

Dominican prospect Greasy Hernandez turned down Chuck LaMar, Lou Piniella and the rest of the Devil Rays organization on Tuesday. The San Cristabol native had numerous scouts from around the league watching him over the past several months, and the Devil Rays seemed to be his likely choice, however, something peaked his interest more in the past few days. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Devil Rays were Hernandez' two finalists, but, Arizona won out. Hernandez said that "Arizona seemed to be the most logical choice for me. While I was very interested in Tampa and playing for a man like Lou Piniella they have their CF of the future and I didn't feel comfortable with a move to RF as they wanted me to do. So, with that, I felt what was best for me was signing with the Diamondbacks." Devil Rays Manager Lou Piniella was surprised by the move, "According to his agent we had him locked-up. But, things happen in a matter of moments and he did what was best for him. I know he wasn't sour on the idea of moving to RF, but, it didn't work out." Rays GM Chuck LaMar was taken aback when he received the news, "I was quite surprised, Greasy seemed to really feel comfortable with our plans for him, but, I guess Arizona promised something we couldn't deliver." The Devil Rays say they will continue to expand their serach for foreign talent over the next few years, with heavy emphasis on South American Winter leagues.

[msstherock]

Re: Got WSB 2K3 to work again, so here is my Devil Rays \'chise...

"Dominican Prospect turns down Piniella and Rays."

Dominican prospect Greasy Hernandez turned down Chuck LaMar, Lou Piniella and the rest of the Devil Rays organization on Tuesday. The San Cristabol native had numerous scouts from around the league watching him over the past several months, and the Devil Rays seemed to be his likely choice, however, something peaked his interest more in the past few days. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Devil Rays were Hernandez' two finalists, but, Arizona won out. Hernandez said that "Arizona seemed to be the most logical choice for me. While I was very interested in Tampa and playing for a man like Lou Piniella they have their CF of the future and I didn't feel comfortable with a move to RF as they wanted me to do. So, with that, I felt what was best for me was signing with the Diamondbacks." Devil Rays Manager Lou Piniella was surprised by the move, "According to his agent we had him locked-up. But, things happen in a matter of moments and he did what was best for him. I know he wasn't sour on the idea of moving to RF, but, it didn't work out." Rays GM Chuck LaMar was taken aback when he received the news, "I was quite surprised, Greasy seemed to really feel comfortable with our plans for him, but, I guess Arizona promised something we couldn't deliver." The Devil Rays say they will continue to expand their serach for foreign talent over the next few years, with heavy emphasis on South American Winter leagues.

[msstherock]

Re: Got WSB 2K3 to work again, so here is my Devil Rays \'chise...

Last 2 games of the Cincy series I simmed (I only play 1 game of every series).

Game 2:
Reds 7
Rays 3

Game 3:
Reds 9
Rays 8

Up next: A 3 game homestand against the Pirates

[msstherock]

Re: Got WSB 2K3 to work again, so here is my Devil Rays \'chise...

Last 2 games of the Cincy series I simmed (I only play 1 game of every series).

Game 2:
Reds 7
Rays 3

Game 3:
Reds 9
Rays 8

Up next: A 3 game homestand against the Pirates

[msstherock]

Re: Got WSB 2K3 to work again, so here is my Devil Rays \'chise...

Last 2 games of the Cincy series I simmed (I only play 1 game of every series).

Game 2:
Reds 7
Rays 3

Game 3:
Reds 9
Rays 8

Up next: A 3 game homestand against the Pirates

[msstherock]

Re: Got WSB 2K3 to work again, so here is my Devil Rays \'chise...

"Parris pitches well, but Rays' bats kept at bay."

It was a great performance Friday night by Steve Parris, unfortunately for him, none of the Rays' bats awoke for a thing called 'Run Support.' Parris pitched 8 innings and gave up 1 run in a loss to the Pirates on Friday. "I felt good out there all game long, Randall [Simon] just got a hold of one in the 8th inning and that's what put us away." Put them away it did, Rays pitching coach Chris Bosio headed out to the mound after the homerun to give relieve Seth McClung time to get loose, soon after, Piniella made the switch in the 9th. Seth McClung came in and simply got 'rocked.' "No doubt, I got it handed to me tonight, I totally took us out of the game." Manager Lou Piniella's patience is wearing thin, "If its not our pitching then its our hitting, if its not our hitting, then its our pitching. We just can't seem to get everything going at once." Obviously, between great starts, the Rays' pitching staff has been weak at best and GM Chuck LaMar has said the team will make some moves at the deadline to improve upon that. "Right now we're just building the foundation. We're the youngest team in baseball and a lot of our kids are pressing, many of them are just learning how to handle high-pressure situations. What we want to do is help them work through that and bring in some veterans for some leadership roles. So, we know this season is a crap-shoot, we're gonna keep looking at our young players and find a good mix of veterans to bring in as well."

The box score:
Pit 5 8 0
TB 0 4 0

WP - J. Suppan (3-5)
LP - S. Parris (4-7)

Game 2:
Pit 0 2 0
TB 3 7 1

WP - J. Kennedy
LP - K. Benson
SV - L. Carter

Game 3:
Pit 3 5 0
TB 0 11 1

WP - J. Fogg
LP - V. Zambrano
SV - M. Williams

Up Next: @ Yankees

[msstherock]

Re: Got WSB 2K3 to work again, so here is my Devil Rays \'chise...

"Parris pitches well, but Rays' bats kept at bay."

It was a great performance Friday night by Steve Parris, unfortunately for him, none of the Rays' bats awoke for a thing called 'Run Support.' Parris pitched 8 innings and gave up 1 run in a loss to the Pirates on Friday. "I felt good out there all game long, Randall [Simon] just got a hold of one in the 8th inning and that's what put us away." Put them away it did, Rays pitching coach Chris Bosio headed out to the mound after the homerun to give relieve Seth McClung time to get loose, soon after, Piniella made the switch in the 9th. Seth McClung came in and simply got 'rocked.' "No doubt, I got it handed to me tonight, I totally took us out of the game." Manager Lou Piniella's patience is wearing thin, "If its not our pitching then its our hitting, if its not our hitting, then its our pitching. We just can't seem to get everything going at once." Obviously, between great starts, the Rays' pitching staff has been weak at best and GM Chuck LaMar has said the team will make some moves at the deadline to improve upon that. "Right now we're just building the foundation. We're the youngest team in baseball and a lot of our kids are pressing, many of them are just learning how to handle high-pressure situations. What we want to do is help them work through that and bring in some veterans for some leadership roles. So, we know this season is a crap-shoot, we're gonna keep looking at our young players and find a good mix of veterans to bring in as well."

The box score:
Pit 5 8 0
TB 0 4 0

WP - J. Suppan (3-5)
LP - S. Parris (4-7)

Game 2:
Pit 0 2 0
TB 3 7 1

WP - J. Kennedy
LP - K. Benson
SV - L. Carter

Game 3:
Pit 3 5 0
TB 0 11 1

WP - J. Fogg
LP - V. Zambrano
SV - M. Williams

Up Next: @ Yankees

[msstherock]

Re: Got WSB 2K3 to work again, so here is my Devil Rays \'chise...

"Parris pitches well, but Rays' bats kept at bay."

It was a great performance Friday night by Steve Parris, unfortunately for him, none of the Rays' bats awoke for a thing called 'Run Support.' Parris pitched 8 innings and gave up 1 run in a loss to the Pirates on Friday. "I felt good out there all game long, Randall [Simon] just got a hold of one in the 8th inning and that's what put us away." Put them away it did, Rays pitching coach Chris Bosio headed out to the mound after the homerun to give relieve Seth McClung time to get loose, soon after, Piniella made the switch in the 9th. Seth McClung came in and simply got 'rocked.' "No doubt, I got it handed to me tonight, I totally took us out of the game." Manager Lou Piniella's patience is wearing thin, "If its not our pitching then its our hitting, if its not our hitting, then its our pitching. We just can't seem to get everything going at once." Obviously, between great starts, the Rays' pitching staff has been weak at best and GM Chuck LaMar has said the team will make some moves at the deadline to improve upon that. "Right now we're just building the foundation. We're the youngest team in baseball and a lot of our kids are pressing, many of them are just learning how to handle high-pressure situations. What we want to do is help them work through that and bring in some veterans for some leadership roles. So, we know this season is a crap-shoot, we're gonna keep looking at our young players and find a good mix of veterans to bring in as well."

The box score:
Pit 5 8 0
TB 0 4 0

WP - J. Suppan (3-5)
LP - S. Parris (4-7)

Game 2:
Pit 0 2 0
TB 3 7 1

WP - J. Kennedy
LP - K. Benson
SV - L. Carter

Game 3:
Pit 3 5 0
TB 0 11 1

WP - J. Fogg
LP - V. Zambrano
SV - M. Williams

Up Next: @ Yankees

[msstherock]

Re: Got WSB 2K3 to work again, so here is my Devil Rays \'chise...

Just wondering if you guys are enjoying this Franchise at all? I really enjoy doing them and I just want to make sure you guys like the format. If not, do you guys have any tips to make it more interesting, etc.? Also, is their any interest in a Devil Rays 'chise. I know they are my fav team, but, most people might be disinterested. Just looking for some constructive criticism is all.

Matt

[msstherock]

Re: Got WSB 2K3 to work again, so here is my Devil Rays \'chise...

Just wondering if you guys are enjoying this Franchise at all? I really enjoy doing them and I just want to make sure you guys like the format. If not, do you guys have any tips to make it more interesting, etc.? Also, is their any interest in a Devil Rays 'chise. I know they are my fav team, but, most people might be disinterested. Just looking for some constructive criticism is all.

Matt