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Wendell Gee's Moscow Mules

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
Me and Lloyd gone be Trading Places.

12564-19933.gif
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
[BCOLOR=rgb(255, 204, 0)]Wendell. It is time to have a reasonable discussion of some things. [/BCOLOR]

I let the note fall back to the coffee table. I knew what things Mr. bin Aliyy wanted to discuss. And it wasn't the newest borscht cafe in Star City.

Moscow is not Boston. A mayoral campaign here is won before it is announced. It happens in the board rooms and the fish markets. This is how it goes down. "Greetings. I am owner of Moscow Mules baseball club. You like baseball, yes, comrade? Of course you do. I am the man who brings baseball to Moscow. Our citizens forget hard times, work harder for your factory, buy more of your vodka, nyet? Our citizens buy your baseball merchandise. We are all happy. Just think! No time for marching, no time for protest. Just work hard and go to baseball games. This is how we work together, you and I. And when I am mayor, За нашу дружбу!"

This is how the boss wins the mayoral race before he announces his candidacy. Every first class seat he buys for me is already occupied by a copy of The Art of War. I don't know how the flight attendants do it.

It was going to be a difficult reasonable discussion. I had put his team and his war in reverse. It was not Sun Tzu on my mind these days. It was W. B. Yeats. The Mules this season were no iron warriors. We were a rough beast, slouching towards Bethlehem to be born.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
Moscow in Midsummer

It is not all borscht and bureaucrat in the summer. Mr. bin Aliyy assigned me a handler after my drunken rage. Her name is Зоя, which is pronounced somewhere between Zoe and Zoya, except far back in the throat. Зоя is not a pretty woman. She has never married. She comes to visit me once per day, when we are in Moscow. And I am always in Moscow now. I am not allowed to travel with the team.

Зоя does not know baseball. She knows control and appearance. "Wendell, you are a dark eye. Is my job to surround you with clouds, like storm, like smoke, always swirling. If no one knows where the center is, they will always strike at the smoke. In this way we all get along."

Her job I think is to count vodka bottles: the ones in the cupboard, the ones in the garbage, the ones in the linen closet.


Catcher

Pei Wong came over in the big preseason trade with Helsingborg. Pei Wei hit .410 in 12 games in AA Novaya Maka. I sent him up to AAA Khatukay where he hit .360 in six starts. In mid-April I put him on the WBL roster. He hit for .308 in his first week, but has endured some four- and five-game hitless streaks. His average is now .200. I still think he is our future and will ride it out.

Jalil bin Fawwaz is a recent call-up. He is playing for the first time in the big leagues and is completely decent at everything he does. He is probably our #3 catcher of the future but for now provides us some OBP stability.

Zoubeir Adipo started the season behind the plate - another rookie season catcher on our roster. He was sent back down to Khatukay to continue to work on his stroke so we could get a look at Fawwaz.

Leo Eihfeld was our fixture at backstop when I arrived here. He played the 2041 and 2042 seasons as our top catcher after the departure of journeyman Hilal Abdul-Hadi. In retrospect Eihfeld was probably the weakest link on the entire squad although he hit a respectable .259/.314 lifetime split with us. His time here is done.

Ken Barnes and Hyeon-san Kwon played games for us last year, and both are probably in their final seasons in our organization down in AAA.

Malte Kjellson is repping in AA but will get the call to AAA after we clear out the system this fall. He was a 2nd round pick in 2039.

Fokke Neef is our top C prospect. He was our 2nd round pick in 2042 and is hitting lightly. But he's 19, and still splitting time with four other 2042 draft picks.

Summary: Solid enough at catching. At least I have a handle on the position now.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
Borscht and Business

I do not want to talk about my rage. Or the embarrassment I caused Mr. bin Aliyy. It comes from thinking I know what's about to happen. What he's about to say. It comes from the internal monologue I have with myself, and no one to bounce it against. Like Howard. He was my chief scout in our Key West UBL days, back before the Great Implosion.

I miss Howard.

He died in a rehab facility in south Florida in 2038. Some detox boot camp run by some paramilitary for-profit outfit called Tough Love.

I hadn't believed Mr. bin Aliyy's report. On our first trip to Key West at the end of May, I left the team and went straight to the Miami-Dade County courthouse. It took me one day to get access to the records, another day to read everything in Howard's file. On the third day I found his remains in a concrete urn at Boystown Pineland County Park. When the team flew back to Moscow, I stayed and filed a legal motion to take his ashes to Key West. No one contested the action. So at the All Star break I returned to Miami-Dade County, picked up his urn, drove a rental car to Key West, chartered a boat, and hove to at a little spot off the Marquesas that only Howard and me knew about. We did a lot of sailing in the off-season, way back when, Howard to look for talent around the Caribbean, me to get away from the office. We saw a ghost ship one night, coming up out of a low fog off the port bow. The ghost ship heaved as if in high seas though the night was calm. When the dawn's light broke, we swam out to the spot we saw the ship go down, and sure enough we found gold scattered like beggar's coins in the coral.

That's where I put Howard.

Calm seas and prosperous voyages, my friend.

Without his eyes I do not see what I am missing in the organization analysis. Perhaps the exercise is good, nevertheless.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
1B/DH

Aurelio Valencia began the season as DH. He is a former 1st round pick (2034) and signed a modest contract extension of 800K@3y in the spring. After hitting .215 through the first three months he was sent down to Triple A in June. Valencia can play 1B if he must but he has the poorest position glove on the Mules roster and is best suited to DH. Valencia is in his last option year.

Prospect Alonso Donatello was called up to replace him. Donatello was a 2039 international find with a more adequate 1B glove than Valencia so he brings a little more roster flexibility. He hit .188 in a one week audition then was sent back down - not so much a short fuse as it was the realization that Velez was still in Triple A. Donatello is almost certainly the 1B of the future but needs a little more development time. He has two option years left.

Luis Velez began the season in Triple A. He was called up the end of June and has hit .297/.326/.500. He has a fine LF/1B glove and brings us defensive flexibility. Velez was an IFA signed in 2035. His contact rating has continued to improve while his power ceiling has dropped. He is in his last option year.

Jaime Robles is currently slotted at DH although he is a fine RF/1B. He was an international find in 2039 and one year later was listed as the #3 prospect in the WBL. In 2040 he was a Single A All-Star. In 2041 he was a Double A All-Star and LF Glove Wizard. In 2042 he was placed on the WBL roster and twice named NL Rookie of the Month. He was selected to the WBL All-Star game this year. He currently leads the team in BA and RBI. The move to DH was done to protect the team's most prized bat, but he will likely start games in the field to keep his defensive rating up.

Prospects: Michael Foster was a 2042 3rd round pick (CPU). He was named a Single A All-Star this year and his ratings ceilings keep increasing. He has slashed .288/.367/.508 with 25 HR and OPS+ 145. Andre Marchant was likewise a 2042 2nd round pick (CPU) and like Foster his ceilings keep rising. Marchant's slash is .247/.346/.341. Both players have mediocre gloves.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
Rain

He came in on a charter bus with blacked out windows. The man didn't fly. No one knew how he arrived on the pitcher's mound every fifth day in Buenos Aires, or Buffalo, or Seoul. Some said he had a racing yacht in every port and a Lambo stashed away in seven cities. Some said it was a darker business. But he arrived in Moscow with the rain. No fans greeted him. He just showed up and put on the Moscow Mules uniform hanging in his locker, letting his fingers run across the stitching on the brim of his red cap. No media. No Soviet Russia jokes. Just a quick team meeting to go over the rotation.

Tripod, to his delight, went to closer. Gerard Martin to setup. Mezyan to setup. Mason dropped to #2. The manager finished his changes and pinned the paper to the door.

Hellman, Mason, Marrero, Heida, Sasaki. It was a rotation that could pitch its way into November, if need be.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
I'm impressed with Hellmann. He's gone 8.0 innings in both his Moscow starts, player of the game both times, and we've won both. I knew he was good of course but I never really zoomed in on his stats before now. Scrolling down through his game log, this dude is a fighter. He averages 7+ innings per start.

Average innings per start (pitch counts affect some of these guys)
Hellmann 7.1
Mason 6.1
Sasaki 6.2
Marrero 5.2
Heida tough to calculate with many relief appearances

Edit: Tadanobu Sasaki picked up his 2000th career strikeout this sim against the Seoul Glow. His box was 8.0 innings, 7 hits, 1 run (a HR), no walks, 9 strikeouts. Word.

http://utopia.allsimbaseball9.com/game/lgreports//box_scores/game_box_995.html
 
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Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
OF Jaime Robles has borcked a finger trying to make a catch. And now he'll be out four weeks. Is there even a chance we can make it into the playoffs without our batting champ? Robles started all 135 games prior to his injury. He has hit .346/.392/.568 for the season, and is a 6.5 WAR player. Robles was discovered playing ball in Guatemala in 2039 and this is his second season of WBL play. This is the first injury that puts him on the DL.

Tape that finger up around a bat, son, and let's go!
 

Lloyd Carr

Well-Known Member
OF Jaime Robles has borcked a finger trying to make a catch. And now he'll be out four weeks. Is there even a chance we can make it into the playoffs without our batting champ? Robles started all 135 games prior to his injury. He has hit .346/.392/.568 for the season, and is a 6.5 WAR player. Robles was discovered playing ball in Guatemala in 2039 and this is his second season of WBL play. This is the first injury that puts him on the DL.

Tape that finger up around a bat, son, and let's go!

Seriously, what a baby.

You're in the playoff hunt. He shouldn't miss a game, let alone four weeks.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
"Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
nothing remains quite the same"


At 55° North, Moscow sits at the same latitude as Edinburgh, Scotland. It's impossible to sleep in Edinburgh in the summer; the sun sets at 11pm and rises by 4am. In the winter, you're lucky to have five hours of daylight. The seasonal grip has its hold on all of us. No one sleeps in Moscow in the summer; no one stirs above a slumber in winter. And already autumn is upon us.

"For all of my running and all of my cunning"

Winter plays tricks on us. Imagine a winter with Jack Torrance at the Overlook Hotel. As the mind switches from summer to winter, ghosts begin to appear in the streets of Moscow. The streets, the pool halls.

The empty living rooms.

"if I couldn't laugh I just would go insane"

I was awakened by the strumming of a guitar, close enough I could hear the squeaks of calloused fingers across steel strings. It was three in the morning. I pulled myself out of bed and opened the door to the living room.

There was Howard Ross. He was sitting on the braided hearth rug with his back to the fireplace.

"Hey, chief. Heard you were looking for me. Like this 12 string Bozo?" He held it up for me, then cradled it again.

Howard was not shining. Not shimmering. I couldn't see the fireplace through him. He had pronounced it Bah-zo, not bozo. Bah-zo is the right way to say it. Howard would have known that.

"I buried you with a few gold escudos." I sat down on the sofa facing him. "It's a lot warmer there."

"I miss baseball, chief. It ain't all Field of Dreams in there." He hitched his thumb at the fireplace behind him.

"They say you were in rehab. What happened, Howard?" I went to the liquor cabinet but it was dry. Зоя had seen to that. No more booze for Wendell Gee. Not even when he needed it.

"After you went in the tank, man...." He stopped strumming and retuned the guitar. "You know it was a bitch, man, keeping you sober. Seeing you go under was worse."

"What happened to Pedro?" My mind seemed to be clear but my thoughts ran slow. Cold syrup.

"His ex-wife got it all. She went back to Chattanooga. Sold the team to Mr. Gooksta and his goon squad. The feds got interested. There was a shoot-out. Pedro was in the middle."

"In a submarine."

"In a submarine. It's a crazy life, man. You should write a book."

A book? Nobody would read it. Everybody lived a crazy life any more. The Great Implosion changed a lot of things.

"if we weren't all crazy we would go insane"

"You should get some rest, Howard. You've had a big day. I'm just going to lie down here on the sofa and go back to sleep. We still might make the playoffs. I still might need a brain."

Howard had resumed his strumming. Still trying to get the song right. "I'm not going back in there, chief. I like my baseball out here. And man, I've got some stories for you."

The long Moscow daytime was past. It had felt like only yesterday we were having Autograph Day. But the daylight had shortened and the darkness came earlier. Moscow is at the same latitude as Glasgow and Copenhagen.

I don't know how they get any work done in those places in the winter. The long Moscow night time was ahead.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
Retirements

SS Pedro Martinez retired down in Class A Belgorod. Martinez, 33, got his start in Dublin, played two years for us in Moscow, four years in Tehran, then a year apiece in Sao Paolo and Buenos Aires. We picked him up on a minor league contract in July. Martinez had a lifetime .281/.368 batting split and played in 17 postseason games with Moscow. He was a one time NL Player of the Week.

P Manny 'Champagne' Diaz retired in Class AAA Khatukay. He was 36. Diaz played for most of his years in the Amsterdam organization but only made four major league appearances with the Tulips before they released him after the 2041 season. Buenos Aires picked him up in 2042 and he made 17 appearances for the Gauchos, including one postseason appearance. Despite the 99+ mph velocity of his fastball, Diaz never had much movement on his pitches and consequently gave up many home runs over his career. We picked him up in the off-season and kept him on standby for a call-up. He never got that call though, and retires with his 97-99 mph fastball still intact.

(Had to dig up this information from the 2042 almanac because these guys are instantly deleted apparently.)
 

OU11

Pleighboi
Utopia Moderator
I'm looking at Pedro now. I thought you meant they were deleted so you had to dig up their stats.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
When I click a link to them, it sends me to Jim Unknown. When I search for them, it doesn't find them. Is the commish version of the db different from the one I download?

Edit - neither of them is in my OOTP game. I had to go to the 2042 almanac for both of them.
 

OU11

Pleighboi
Utopia Moderator
That's really odd, it should be the same. I know the website would probably delete them but you should have them in the game. Does it not show retired players in the league section?
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
That's really odd, it should be the same. I know the website would probably delete them but you should have them in the game. Does it not show retired players in the league section?

Under the league reports for Recently Retired players, I see 5 Jim Unknowns. Under Retired Players, the list is empty.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
Obscure Prospect Alert

SS Nessun 'Steely' McNiven, age 23, was an 11th round pick in the 2041 draft. He hit lightly his first season in Class A Belgorod, but in his second year hit .308/.420 and earned a promotion to Class AA Novaya Maka. Once again, he struggled his first season there, but this season he hit .275/.343 and earned a 2043 AA Glove Wizard award at his shortstop position. Steely will start 2044 in Novaya but he could earn a ticket to Class AAA Khatakay before the season is over. If the Irishman keeps breaking through his ceilings, he could get a shot at the big league roster as soon as 2045.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
Wild Cards

"Good job." Howard was whittling a piece of bleached white driftwood in my favorite chair in front of the fireplace. He couldn't move far from the fireplace. I could move that chair any time. But the dude was dead. You gotta have a heart.

"What do you mean, 'good job'? We're 13 games worse than last year and Helga is 9 games better. Know why? Juan Alonzo Valencio Escubar y Padilla. I traded my best weapon to the guy I have to fight through to get to the Show. I'm an idiot."

"Yeah, but you got bank on that. Let's see, Pei Wei, Leo, Carlitos, and two first round picks, one of which turned into Nico. Who knew Carlitos would blow out his finger and miss most of the summer, eh? He came back in August and won five straight starts in Triple A, then pitched a perfect inning at Helga night before last. It's all working out, chief."

"Funny you use the word 'bank.' We finished the season 7M in the hole, attendance was down 26%, and the big boss was furious at me for killing his mayoral campaign. Last year we cleared 30M and won a hundred games." I was looking around for some gin, some schnapps, some anything. I settled for some herbal tea. Vintage Tazo Calm. Would be better with a jigger of rum. But Зоя had put the nix on that.

"Last year was an anomaly." Howard ran his thumb over the driftwood stick. I had no earthly idea what he was making. "Moscow has been black and red, black and red. Spend and win, cut and shovel. You'll get it figured out."

"Did I tell you the latest on Nobuhito Heida?" I put the WBL Times on the arm of Howard's chair. My chair. "NL Pitcher of the Month for September. He went 6-0 in six starts with a 2.09 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. Sonofagun was on fire. Overshadowed of course by Kasib, and the K shootout between Mason and Nakamura, and of course the acquisition of Hellman. But he pitched his ass off for us."

"That the guy you couldn't extend?"

"Yeah. He asked for 10M for five years. I came back with 8.2 and two years. He countered with 8.7 and two. We were close, Howard. I thought about it for a couple days then agreed. Eight point seven and two. He said he had to think about it. Talk it over with his family. He came back and said he was worth more than that. Nine million. Ten. Twelve. Fifteen. Now he's asking 19 and five years. Holy shit. We were so close. I didn't want another Sasaki on my hands. Sasaki and his 18 and two. Sheesh."

"Nico hurt us there."

"He did. As soon as Hellman showed up with his 15M and three, Heida decided to show us who the best pitcher on our staff was."

"It's the price of winning, chief. You win games, players just want to get paid. Here." Howard handed me the piece of wood he'd been working on.

It was a couple of inches long and curved into a hook. Some kind of cross hatched design was etched into the sides of it. The hook had a little barb on it. It was smooth. Really smooth. In fact it felt a lot like-

"Is this bone?"

"Yeah. I found it in that Spanish wreck."

It was easy to see why I had mistaken it for driftwood. It had the same color and texture. "Howard, uh, what kind of bone is this?"

Howard shrugged. "The kind of bone that keeps a gold coin in a death grip. Go ahead. It's your ma'kau. It will bring you luck."

I held the ma'kau in the palm of my hand. Out of all the thoughts churning in my head, the image that kept coming back was the kind of fish this thing would hook.

It was a big fish. It was not a happy fish.

It was the kind of luck that would feed a man well for a day. But would return for him in the night of his dreams.

"Thanks, Howard."

"No problem, chief. I think I'm just going to stay on this side for a while and catch up on the news. TV is not a big thing over there."

"Okay, uh, okay, Howard. I'll see you around then."

"Good night, chief."
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
Sasaki Rips Off Own Arm, Throws It at Bill Harris

l9lxSnk.png


In Game 2 of the NL Sacrificial Lambship, Tadanobu Sasaki knew he needed to change something. He had faced former teammate Juan Padilla twice and given up runs to him both times. Helsingborg led Moscow 3-1 in the top of the 3rd inning.

"We must win this game. So I make a sacrifice to the gods. After Padilla homer, I say, 'You want hari kari?' Gods say, 'No, we want arm.' So I rip off tricep and throw at Bill Harris face. Hardest part was left handed."

Veteran Soong-yong Ku filled in as Sasaki was attended to. Juan Padilla continued his scoring push but Mules 3B Hugo Yazîcî tied the game with a homer in the 6th, and Valdinei Custance delivered the game-winning homer in the 9th. Moscow leads the series two games to none.

Sasaki and GM Wendell Gee had a brief meeting after the game. Gee appeared to be satisfied with Sasaki's sacrifice. "The worst that could happen now? A five game series. Five games! We might break even!" Then he paused and reconsidered. "Down side is Sasaki is owed $37M in guaranteed money the next two years. Hope he comes back strong. They're gonna try and patch in his old muscle."
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
Ghost of Howard Ross

Mr. bin Aliyy agreed to my request. I don't know why. I mismanaged the ticket prices so badly that the 11 playoff games against Borg and Dam couldn't pull us out of the red. We ended the year a quarter million in the hole; it would have been a lot worse if we hadn't started with almost a 7M cash carryover from 2042. I guess the big boss felt bad for cutting our budget by 4M.

He was really damn happy with me though for making the playoffs. I mean silly happy. Our race to the wire with Seoul and the dramatic series with the Hammers had him smiling. It was a chilling sight and I never want to see it again. His smile is ferocious. The 72 hits we put up in six games against the Tulips were beyond comprehension. The fact that we lost the NL pennant meant almost nothing to him. What mattered was that baseball was the talk of the borscht bars again. Knowing Karoly, he would keep the spin going. So the boss was happy.

And so I wasn't too surprised when I came home from a short day at the arbitration table to find Howard in the middle of our tense Game 2 win over Helsingborg. And I mean literally in the middle of the game. The dark Sweden sky was above him. Damp dewy October grass under his bare feet. He was sitting in short left field, watching Dominique Gonnet in center field make the throw to the plate that nailed John Sawyer at the plate and ended the 8th inning Hammer threat.

"Play of the series right there," he said, and paused the game.

The sudden quiet was breathtaking. I turned around slowly to take it all in. My ordinary apartment living room had been painted with DuPont's interactive integrated coating layer and the latest sound system was installed, all in one afternoon. There was no projector, no projection. The coating layer worked as a TV screen, receiving the signals through wiring in the walls. There was also an olfaction accessory on the mantel - so I smelled the grass. And the room's thermostat was wired in, so yeah, it was a bit damn chilly, particularly with the wind blowing left to right.

Howard hit play again. I smelled the grass, I felt the breeze, I heard the restless roar of Hammers Stadium.

And I saw Gonnet's throw arc in from the black heavens above, straight down into the waiting mitt of Pei Wong, a strike from 300 feet, the tag, the call - "OUT!" - and the sudden hush of 41,918 people.

Except for one lonely voice. "Beer, ja!"

"Beer, ja," said Howard, and that became the way we talked about that play whenever it came up. Beer, ja.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
If you see something you like, you go for it. Howard's been telling me that since he was a kid in his dad's accounting office in Milwaukee. Today I acted on that advice in two overnight trades with Key West.
I needed bullpen, and Key West had it. Muniz will become the Mules closer, a critical piece we've been missing, and Rivas will got a long look in the rotation, perhaps even as high as #3. Both are young and bring continuity to our aging pitching staff.

In return, Key West gets draft picks to play with. @Gooksta enjoys the draft and has fun with it. For me it's a big headache.

The prospects were a pair I picked up this past September as minor league free agents. The Moscow farm system is one of the worst in the league and so I've been cleaning it out and restocking it with odds and ends that catch my eye. Stanley was a former 1st round pick that Baton Rouge gave up on. Larsen was likewise a 5th round pick. I added them to our system after minor league seasons were over, so I never got a chance to see them play. Both are outside shots, but both bear watching.
 
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Gooksta

Well-Known Member
Both are somewhat inconsistent right now.. but both should be shutdown relievers when they fully develop for yrs to come.. Larson is a diamond in the rough type i like trying to find.. he fits the mold. It doesnt always happen. But when they do it is fun to watch..
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
Both are somewhat inconsistent right now.. but both should be shutdown relievers when they fully develop for yrs to come.. Larson is a diamond in the rough type i like trying to find.. he fits the mold. It doesnt always happen. But when they do it is fun to watch..

This is why I like trading with you. We both like to look for value and we both get what we want out of OOTP.
 

OU11

Pleighboi
Utopia Moderator
Can't wait for next year. Gonna be a dog fight everyone is getting noticeably better. I actually think I may be the underdog next year after giving up Ammar.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
Awards

Pei Wei Wong awarded Glove Wizard at Catcher! Huzzah!

Although he only hit .224 in his first season in the WBL, his .317 OBP was good enough to keep him in the backstop. Wong threw out 42 of 90 base snatchers for a RTO% of 46.7%. That's badass.

xcLygwd.png
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
Mules 2043 GM Moves (Detailed)

tl;dr WBL valuation learning curve is steep and I climbed it all year long.

Extensions

My first day in the UBL I focused on keeping a 100-win team together. I extended LF Valdinei Custance to 4 years at 20M total, SP Donald Mason to 5/20, MR Noel Abbott to 4/9, and MR Mezyan Asad to 4/8. To keep the rotation together I had to take the plunge and extend SP Soong-yong Ku to 1/15 and SP Tadanobu Sasaki to 2/37. Sasaki was a blunder because he was already signed through 2043. The rest of these were solid extensions.

Soon afterwards I extended SS/2B/3B Juan Padilla to 5/42, a fantastic deal for an elite player, MR Gerard Martin to 3/11, and 1B/DH Aurelio Valencia (3/2.4). Martin did yeoman work for us in the bullpen. Valencia gave us great value at 1B/DH.

Releases

I released MR Gabriel Wagterveld, MR Malmoud Jamal, MR Oliver Martinez, and SP Ed Watson and almost immediately brought them back, although Helsingborg picked up Wagterveld. Jamal did good work for us in the bullpen, while Martinez spent the year in AAA then retired. Watson is still in AAA, and Wags blew up his arm while with the Borg.

Free agents

MR Mark Martinez (1/900k) underperformed and spent the season in AAA.
P Hyun-chul 'Tripod' Pak (2/8M) became a key part of our bullpen and sometimes the rotation when we needed a swing arm. Ended the season as our closer. Always has a great attitude. Love this guy.
SS Mario Duarte (2/6M) filled the gap left by Padilla. I had no Plan B at SS. Duarte was adequate but his backup Dehmer was better. Still a big hole for us.

Trades

(1) SP Cesar Marrero came to us from False Bay in return for two 3rd round picks. It was a great pickup for our rotation. Marrero had an All Star season and recorded career strikeout #2000. His most memorable game was shutting down Amsterdam in Game 1 of the NL Series.

(2) SS Juan Padilla went to Helsingborg in return for C Pei Wong, P Leo Morales, P Carlitos Bernardino, and Helga's 1st round picks in 2043 and 2044. Those picks turned into P Nicodemus Hellmann and CL Leonardo Muniz. So for Padilla I got an ace of aces in Hellmann, a closer in Muniz, an everyday catcher in Wong, and bullpen in Morales and Bernardino - possibly SP roles for both eventually. I felt remorse for this trade every day, but it was one of those things I had to do to set up a better future. Padilla had a great year up in Helsingborg and lit us up in the lambships, though we ultimately sent him and his teammates home in Game 5, thanks largely to the pitching of Hellmann.

(3) P Pedro Martinez came from Buffalo in return for a future 3rd round pick. Just one of those guys that caught my eye and I wanted him in my organization. He underperformed for us but I still like him. I think he could go in the rotation.

Draft

C Fokke Neef, SS Marcal Arbida, and RF Ron Haney were the only signings of note. None look spectacular now but all should make a WBL roster some day.

Injuries

P Carlitos Bernardino blew out his finger a day after being named the #18 prospect in the WBL. He's back, but stuff and movement are shattered. The most disappointing moment of the year right there. I had super high hopes for this guy. P Bohdan Ohberg blew out his arm but was only ever a minor part of my plan. He's back and may go in the bullpen this year. OF Jaime Robles broke a finger and missed the final month of regular season, but returned strong for the postseason. We had no real injuries to the rotation, the bullpen, or position players other than these. A very healthy year for us.
 
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Orlando

Well-Known Member
Utopia Moderator
Loved your first season Wendell. You blended right in and never missed a step. Can't wait for Wong to blow up. Wish Leo would start for you. Tempted to beg for him back.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
Loved your first season Wendell. You blended right in and never missed a step. Can't wait for Wong to blow up. Wish Leo would start for you. Tempted to beg for him back.

I've got Leo penciled in #4 in the rotation. He was really inconsistent last year, particularly from the rotation. He'd pitch a quality start or two then blow up. Had that brilliant one hit shutout. Finished with a 4.54 FIP and 1.29 WHIP over 16 starts, 24 relief appearances, 135 innings. Did have 9 quality starts. I'm not looking to move him, but it may take me another year or two to figure out his place.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
And pencil this in as my biggest boneheaded move of the year.

When I took over the Mules, the ticket price was set at (I think) $35. I thought (a) that was the regular ticket price, not realizing the AI probably set it high for playoffs, and (b) hey, a little increase every year was fine, homie.

So I raised ticket prices to $40.

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I didn't get a clue until late in the season. If not for the revenue from eleven playoff games, we'd be in a world of hurt.
 

Orlando

Well-Known Member
Utopia Moderator
You got that quick hook thats for sure. I look forward to this season. You went out and grabbed some good pieces.
 

Orlando

Well-Known Member
Utopia Moderator
Sorry for the extra post, but in regards to your attendance, you probably still made a lot more money at 2.66 million at $40 a pop compared to the 3.34 million $25 a pop the CPU likely had set up in 2042. We did raise your prices to $35 for the playoffs.
 

Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
2042 gate: 98,706,527. Attendance 3,355,404. Avg ticket price $29.41. (includes playoffs)
2043 gate: 80,286,529. Attendance 2,657,526. Avg ticket price $30.21. (ditto)

Hmm. I must have discovered the ticket pricing issue earlier in the season than I remember. I dropped prices several times but attendance barely changed until our playoff sellouts.
 

OU11

Pleighboi
Utopia Moderator
2042 gate: 98,706,527. Attendance 3,355,404. Avg ticket price $29.41. (includes playoffs)
2043 gate: 80,286,529. Attendance 2,657,526. Avg ticket price $30.21. (ditto)

Hmm. I must have discovered the ticket pricing issue earlier in the season than I remember. I dropped prices several times but attendance barely changed until our playoff sellouts.

Yeah attendance won't really swing in-season unless you raise ticket prices (it will fall). Unless you are selling out and only raise it 50 cents a month or something. But lowering it will bring up your attendance numbers a lot this year
 
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