Pinstripes: Mattchu12's 2020 New York Yankees

[Mattchu12]

Hello all,

New to running my franchise on OperationSports after being a long time contributor at DynastyNation before it met its untimely end. I'm sure there will be some growing pains, but hopefully I can figure this whole thing out after checking out some of the other quality threads on OP. Here is the obligatory franchise information post:

Platform: MLB 20 the Show

Rosters: SimBaseball Full Minors (with Yankees prospects added)

Sliders: Armor and Swords

Roster Control: 30-Team Control

Play Style: Play every Yankees game, post of every 6th game, lots of "notes" or "mailbags" along the way.

Management Rules: I will only be controlling the New York Yankees on a day-to-day basis. However, I will be going through each team on a 15-day basis to adjust lineups and pitching staffs to ensure someone hitting .100 isn't playing everyday over someone red-hot on the bench or some starter with a 8 run ERA isn't sitting in the rotation while there is a long-man ready to take his spot. On a 30-day basis I will be looking at call-ups and send-downs. I will also discuss the option for community members to "adopt" teams within my franchise that can then make some calls of their own, and even perform roster moves at the appropriate times.

Injury Rules: I will be implementing the "Hat of Death" where I will use a randomizer with 15 player names (5 starting position players, 3 starting pitchers, 4 relievers, 3 bench players) and 5 blank spots. Then I take a list of ten blank spots, two major injuries (months), three mild injuries (weeks), and two minor injuries (day-to-day). Randomize both, and the top spot happens. I like this a lot better than having four of your guys out or the season in the first week of April or have a young player retire due to injury at the end of the season and mess up the whole fun of franchise. The Hat of Death will only apply to my team and happen every 7 days.

If you have any suggestions or requests, things you'd like to see, please let me know! Thanks!

UPDATE (8/16/20): After coming back to my franchise a few weeks later, I realized when I was going through the other teams and getting them updated (moving hot players up in the lineup, shifting rotations, etc) that there was an issue with how my franchise was set up initially a ton of players had barely played over the first month. I'm talking like, top relievers having 2 IP to their names while long-men had ridiculous innings racked up. Trying to do what I can to fix this oversight, so I'll be doing some testing and then starting this thing over so that it is a little more realistic. If anybody has any work-arounds or ideas, feel free to let me know! Thanks!

[Mattchu12]

As promised, here are the details of the Adopt-A-Team feature of my franchise:

One user may adopt any single team of my franchise. What that would mean is that you would get to, within reason, have a say in setting lineups and pitching staffs for the majority of the season and then have a say in roster moves as we get deeper into the season. In the past, I have limited this to having the right to adjust the major league roster's lineups and pitching staff every 15-days, a say in call-ups or send-downs every 30-days, and then be able to make two trades from June 1st to July 31st. All moves go through me and/or the community depending on what the state of the franchise is.

In the offseason, every team will be given a "agenda" and each team will be different based on their circumstances. For instance, the Red Sox might spend big on a couple of players. The Marlins probably won't do that. The agenda's will be set prior to the beginning of bidding, and a system will be fleshed out based on where were are in the state of the franchise at that point.

If you would like to participate in this feature, comment below and we can DM back and forth about your vision for your franchise. I will add the username along with the team name in this thread as we go along, so if you do not see a team listed below, that team is still available to be adopted. Thanks!

[mlblover15]

Hello old friend!! long time no hear lol. Like I told the young man in his Miami Marlins thread I still wish I had the passion and ability to do this style of writing. I miss it soo much.

I do wish you the best of luck o this, welcome to our small family here on OS. we are well I am very proud to have you as a member that is for sure. No leet me rephrase that and say it is an HONOR to have you here as a member of this community.

I will do my best to try to keep up on this...

I wish only the best for you and your Yankees.

[moose141]

Always love a good Mattchu dynasty! You used to have the cleanest looking page in the league page on DM/DN. Always loved your tables, they gave so much information on your page. Excited to see this underway for you.

[Mattchu12]

Quote: Originally Posted by mlblover15

Hello old friend!! long time no hear lol. Like I told the young man in his Miami Marlins thread I still wish I had the passion and ability to do this style of writing. I miss it soo much. I do wish you the best of luck o this, welcome to our small family here on OS. we are well I am very proud to have you as a member that is for sure. No leet me rephrase that and say it is an HONOR to have you here as a member of this community. I will do my best to try to keep up on this... I wish only the best for you and your Yankees.

Much appreciated! Hope you and yours are doing well! I definitely miss the old DynastyNation crew as I've been working on this franchise. It's good to be able to do something though!

Quote: Originally Posted by moose141

Always love a good Mattchu dynasty! You used to have the cleanest looking page in the league page on DM/DN. Always loved your tables, they gave so much information on your page. Excited to see this underway for you.

I liked the page the way I liked my pinstripes, clean and tidy! haha. Glad to see another familiar face around here!

[Mattchu12]

APRIL IN REVIEW: NOT HOW YOU START, BUT HOW YOU FINISH

The Yankees came into this season with a lot of expectations. They forced a Game 6 against the Houston Astros, a contest that has certainly left a bad taste in the mouths of the Bronx Faithful, and took their ace this winter when Gerrit Cole signed his mega-deal to join the club. They also hoped to open the season with their team finally healthy, though spring training did not allow that to be the case. By the end of camp, the Yankees had lost Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Luis Severino, James Paxton, Aaron Hicks, and Tommy Kahnle to the DL. In the cases of Severino and Kahnle, it was for the season entirely after they went under the knife for Tommy John Surgery. Stanton was expected back in April and Paxton in May, but Hicks and Judge were likely out until June or July at best.

"Obviously, not what you want to have happen, but we've got depth for a reason and we're going to look to those guys to get us through," said skipper Aaron Boone. "We're ready for that challenge."

The Yankees broke camp with Clint Frazier starting in right, Michael Tauchman in center, and Brett Gardner taking up left. The infield remained Luke Voit, DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres, and Gio Urshela as it had been the year prior. Miguel Andujar was the everyday DH, Gary Sanchez did the catching. Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, and JA Happ remained in the rotation while Jordan Montgomery and Mike King joined them on the back end.



"It'll be great to have Monty back after missing so much time, and we loved the way Kinger was throwing the ball in camp, so we're really looking forward to seeing what he does for us in the early part of the year," said Boone.

Things started out bumpy for New York in March, however.

Gerrit Cole's debut was shortened thanks to rain in Baltimore, though the Yankees did pick up the win. Masahiro Tanaka, JA Happ, and Jordan Montgomery were all lit-up in the following three games. Mike King salvaged the turn through the rotation by beating Tampa Bay in his 2020 debut.

Things improved for Cole the next time out, dominating the Rays but losing the game anyways as Charlie Morton stymied the offense that had been struggling out of the gate. DJ LeMahieu and Luke Voit carried most of the burden, while Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar struggled to find their timing.

"You don't want to take those first few games to heart," said Boone. "These guys are still getting up to game speed."

Masahiro Tanaka turned things around in his second start, though both Happ and Montgomery were lit-up in their respective starts. Mike King continued to be solid. Happ made headlines after being skipped over for Montgomery and King, citing frustration at not being pitched every fifth day as he expected. The Yankees chimed back starting they preferred him against Baltimore for match-up reasons, citing the right-handed power of Toronto.

Injuries bit again in the series against Baltimore. Despite winning the next three games and finally seeming to right the ship, the club lost Michael Tauchman to a dislocated shoulder. He is expected to be out until May at the earliest, causing the club to sign Lonnie Chisenhall to a one-year deal.

"We love that Lonnie can play a few different positions, the outfield and infield corners, so it should help provide some flexibility for us," said general manager Matt Pierce, whom took over for Brian Cashman after he was promoted to Team President this past winter.

The club originally put Miguel Andujar in the outfield for the time being, but he broke his nose on a bunt gone wrong in the series against Texas. Things continued to be an issue for Happ as he struggled again in the series against Oakland, as did the rest of the Bronx pitching staff. Both Mike King and Gerrit Cole took loses as the Athletics swept the club on the road. The Yankees won their series against Texas on the road, though after another disasterous effort from Jordan Montgomery, they demoted the lefty to the minors.



"Monty needs some time to get his feet under him," said Boone. "I'm sure he's going to be back up before we know it."

The club called up Deivi Garcia to replace whom, and he was roughed up by the Tigers in his MLB debut as he allowed eight runs in less than three innings. They did commit to giving him a few more starts, however. The Yankees did rally to beat the Tigers as Giancarlo Stanton rejoined the roster and gave the club a much needed boost, swatting a pair of homers in his return.

With Stanton back and the lineup starting to see success, things picked up for the Bombers. Especially with Miguel Andujar being back for their series against the Indians. The Yankees seven straight from April 21st to April 28th before dropping game two of their second series with Detroit.

Things did end on a sour note for the month however as the club announced that it was removing JA Happ from the rotation.

"I think we all know about my contract situation," Happ said referencing a vesting option that depended on games started. "It's not hard to see what is going on here. I don't have to spell it out for you."

The Yankees removed Happ citing a 1-4 record, a 10.80 ERA, lasting just 25 innings in six games started, and a horrid 2.9 K/9 to a 4.0 HR/9 rate. While it has not been confirmed by team officials, there is an apparent threat on-going that Happ will file a union grievance if he does not continue to get starts. They have not announced a replacement, but it seems likely that it will either be Nick Nelson or Mitchell White. The Yankees traded Estevan Florial to the Dodgers for White during spring training to bolster their pitching depth.

On the plus side, the Yankees end their first month of the season in first place after going 19-13 to start the season. Offensively, they are clicking well and have the league leader in hits in DJ LeMahieu andLuke Voit is in the Top-10 in home runs to open the year. Masahiro Tanaka has the second-most wins in baseball, Aroldis Chapman has the second-most saves, while Gerrit Cole has the third lowest ERA among qualified pitchers to date.

Cole also leads the American League in strikeouts, one behind Aaron Nola for the lead in the majors. He also has the top Pitching WAR for the majors.

"We couldn't be happier with how he's pitched," said Boone. "He's been a beast and he's really stepped up when we need him the most."

The Yankee will face a steep challenge in May as they will need to continue to get by on the guys that they have. James Paxton is expected to return sometime at the end of the month but with Happ and Montgomery down, the club will continue to look to their minors for help. For now, it's Deivi Garcia and Mike King with guys like Nick Nelson, Mitchell White, and possibly even Clarke Schmidt not too far behind them.



Offensively, the club will hope Miguel Andujar can take a step forward but the rest of the guys are clicking. The bench has been an issue from day-one, but the club brought up Matt Duffy to replace Tyler Wade towards the end of the month and he's hit well in his limited time. Mike Ford and Kyle Higashioka have both performed well as needed. The club could look for help, but right now, the offense has been a strength.