Travis7401's North Dakota riggers Thread

[Travis7401]

2054 Season Preview

Starting Pitchers -
Raul Robles - Big FA pickup for the riggers, I really felt like I could use another top level SP and I picked him up. I signed him for 3 seasons with his big pay years when I can't play IFA anyway. His 3rd year is a $14M team option, which will allow me some flexibility should I need to get rid of him to pay younger players (if he falls off badly). He's a left handed pitcher with all 3 pitching ratings between 60 and 70, so he should thrive in the sphere.

Dave Meyer - the riggers ACE last season, he's coming off a league leading season in wins and two really good statistical seasons, so I think he is definitely a top tier pitcher. Having him and Robles as the top 2 (the order doesn't really matter) makes me really happy. I don't think there is a better pitcher out there for less than $1M salary through 2057, very excited to give him his long term offer when the time comes.

Terry Morgan - Played really well last year, a good all round pitcher and a lefty, which I like. He's young and he's cheap (Scheduled to make lass than $1M/year through 20058) and he has a nice future with the riggers.

Jose Rivas - Another free agent pickup. Rivas should also fit in nicely with the riggers. He's got a good track record of pitching very well for defensive teams (like LV). He did not play super well in spring training, but I'm hopeful he can make a positive contribution this year in the #4 spot

Freddy Ramos - Struggled as a rookie last year, but he's got the type of ratings that should allow him to play really well in the sphere. I'm looking for him to have a much better season this year. If he doesn't, there are a couple of players waiting in the bullpen to slide into this $5 spot

Bullpen
Francisco Garcia - is going to play closer again for me this season. He did pretty well in that role down the stretch last year after Montes struggled. He pitched extremely well this spring, so I'm hoping for more of the same. He's never really hit his stuff potential, but I'm hoping I can get some good seasons out of him as a closer (he has $3M team options the next couple of seasons).

Ed Mullins - will play setup and LOOGY for me. He did extremely well in this role last year. So well, in fact, that his arbitration estimates for next season are through the roof. I'd love to bring him back next year, but his current estimate is over $5M and that's a bit rich for a bullpen player (unless they are a GOAT).

Tyrone Massey - Playing setup man again for me this season. He's done well in this role for several seasons now and I hope he can keep it up for me! He's also a secondary closer option as well.

Jesse Wiseman - Always a rigger hero since I took the team over, he's going to start out providing long relief in the bullpen again. He had a ratings drop from OSA but he pitched really well in spring training and has been a reliable performer for the riggers for many seasons now. He's on the team because of his performance track record not because of shiny ratings. If one of my SPs struggle, I'll put Wiseman in without hesitation.

Kadidou Idogbe - With the arrival of Robles, he got bumped from the #5 spot to the bullpen. I'm glad to have another lefty with stamina in the bullpen and I think DOG will do well this season. He won 15 games last year as a SP so I won't hesitate to put him back in the starting rotation if my starters are struggling

Esteve Montes - Had a rough season last year as a closer the first half and never really recovered. I'm hoping he plays better this season. If he doesn't I'll probably decline his team option because there are some good RPs waiting in AAA to take his spot!

David Johnson - Pitched well last year after being promoted from AAA so I'm giving him another opportunity at that WBL level this year. If he struggles, I have other pitchers waiting in AAA for a shot!

 

[Yankee151]

In 2052 I predict the Riggers will narrowly miss the playoffs in place of San Francisco, who will go on to beat Istanbul in the WS 4-1.

 

[Orlando]

That was 2053

 

[Travis7401]

2054 Season Preview (continued)

Depth Charts -
DH - Roosevelt Gonzales - Roosevelt will also be playing some 1B as well, in order to keep his positional skills sharp and give DANI ROD a break when necessary, but I'm hoping that his rookie year will be an easy transition by playing mostly at DH. Would love to see him in the .800 to .850 OPS range his rookie year.

C - Claudio Montes - Montes is back for another season. He struggled a bit defensively last season and I'm hoping he can pull it together a bit more this season. Good offensive numbers would be a bonus but I expect about .750 OPS

1B - DANI ROD - the much scorned Rodriguez is back to prove he's worth more than a 4th round pick! I'm expecting solid defensive play and .800-.850 OPS from him

2B - Pedro Chavez - Chavez did not play nearly as well as expected last season and I'm hoping for a lot more from him. He's not as good defensively as my other options, so he's going to need to hit a lot better to earn his spot. He'll be rotating heavily with Clement Launay as well.

SS (vs RHP) - Mulia Kusuma - Was so bad last year I demoted him to AAA. He's been good in the past for the riggers and has elite defensive skillset, so I'm hoping he can at least get the bat up to an acceptable level

SS (vs LHP) - Clement Launay - Launay's range has dropped a little bit to 60, but he's still going to be a very solid defender. I'm starting him at SS against LHP because Kusuma really struggles against LHP. Against RHP Launay will get every other game at 2B. He could also play some OF or 1B if needed. Would like to see clement get on base at a .340 to .350 rate

3B - Rafael Juarez - Had a really slow start to last season and his hitting numbers ended up below his usual marks. I'd like to see his power return a bit and for him to be in the .850 OPS range again. Still a good defender as well

RF - Quentin Magnanti - Was a really pleasant surprise last year. His ZR was pretty bad and he's probably my worst fielder, but he hit almost .900 OPS. I'd like to see his defense to improve a bit and for him to keep his bat going strong. I think last year was a bit on the high end for what I can expect from his hitting, but I'd be pleased with .800 to .850 OPS

CF (LF against LHP) - Mason Brett - Had a breakout year last season and was phenomenal in all phases of the game. I would love to see his OBP in the .340-.350 range and for him to steal a bunch of bases!

LF (CF against RHP) - Julio Manuel - managed to fight off MS and have another good year, but it was his worst year hitting of his career (he was still great in the field though). I'd love to see him get back above .800 OPS and for his OBP to be back in the .330 range

Backup Catcher/DH - Murray Sanders - This was a week spot on my 25 man roster last year. Murray isn't great defensively but he should be good enough. His bat looks a little better than the guy he's replacing and it is also skewed toward being better against LHP, which will make him serviceable as a DH against LHP if Roosevelt has some rookie struggles. Having a RHB with some power for pinch hitting will also be nice. I don't think he's a long term solution, but until Isam Nazih is ready I hope he can be a serviceable player. If he's not, I've got a couple options in AAA

Utility Infielder/Talisman - Douglass Tagg - The man, the myth, the legend. Douglass Tagg provides talismanic powers on a daily basis and plays good defense when he's needed to spell a player at 2B, 3B, or SS. As long as he's providing his Talismanic services and fielding well, I'm fine with whatever offensive contributions he makes. OPS over .650 would be a delight.

4th Outfielder - Solano Lares - He's been a good rigger since I took over, but I think this will be his last season for us as 4th outfielder. I've got a couple of promising looking players in AAA that will be looking to get their cup of coffee in the WBL at the end of 2054. He might also be playing a little bit of 1B this year as well.

I let the computer set my lineups based on the depth charts, and they look pretty good to me. If Clement Launay and Mulia Kusuma are getting on base at a really nice clip, then I might move them to the #1 spot and slide everyone down a spot, but we'll see. They both struggled early last season to get on base and I was getting crushed due to that. I think I'd actually like the lineup better if everyone slid back a spot, but I'm interested to give this CPU suggestion a try. I should have a good amount of power in spots 2-7 (or 3-8 if I slide back) with no real weak link in the lineup. The hitters who lack power (like Brett, Launay, and Kusuma) at least have high enough OBP and base running skills to make them useful for that purpose.

 

[Travis7401]

I think this is definitely my best team on paper so far, but that makes me a bit nervous. I'm going to predict 85-90 wins, but if the starting 5 pitchers really live up to their potential, then I think it could be better.

 

[Travis7401]

2054 Season Review

I predicted playoff berth with 85-90 wins, with the possibility of doing a little better if the SPs performed. We ended up exceeding expectations with a rigger record 93 wins and 2nd place in the SL, and all of that despite fighting the injury bug that decimated my SP lineup. As you go through you'll notice I give grades to each player based on their performance within their expected role.

++ means exceeded expectations of role on team
+ means met expectations of role on team
- means slightly underachieved expectations of role on team
-- means greatly underachieved expectation of role on team

Starting Pitching:
Well, we finished 1st in the SL for SP ERA with 3.85, which is phenomenal considering the injuries we had to battle through. The bummer about the injuries is that two of my promising pitchers suffered long term injuries that could effectively end their careers if they suffer the ratings drops that are typical of those injuries. This year was a great reminder of how important depth can be if you want to be a playoff team. If I didn't have multiple additional starting pitcher options in the bullpen and AAA, I think everything might have come crashing down. Instead, the youngins came up and did a great job filling in for the injured pitchers. I think my ballpark also helps young pitchers to transition and have success, so that was fortunate this year.

Raul Robles (+)
He was the best pitcher on the team, so I'd say he met expectations. He wasn't quite the ACE I was hoping he might be, but 3.56 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 123 ERA+ ratings are all more than acceptable for me. I'm looking forward to several more good seasons out of Robles and I'm really glad I signed him.

Dave Meyer (--)
He struggled early and then picked up a 13 month possible career ending injury. Things really couldn't have gone worse for Meyer this season. I really hope he comes back to the form he had in 2052 and 2053, because he was the ACE of this team and losing that type of young player, on an amazing team friendly contract, really hurts.

Terry Morgan (++)
Morgan really rose to the challenge to fill in as the #2 pitcher on this team. 15 game winner, 3.4 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 129 ERA+ means he pitched as well as Robles this season while being on a salary of $800k/year. He's one of my few young promising pitchers to avoid the injury bug so far, so lets hope that continues, as I think he has a long future with the team.

Jose Rivas (+-)
I figured Rivas would get hurt at some point, but he went down earlier than expected and missed the rest of the season, so that's where the (-) rating comes from. While he was healthy, he was a phenomenal pitcher for the riggers, putting up great stats and a 5-1 record as a starter with an amazing QS% of 70%. It was just a bummer he had to get hurt so early. He wanted too much money in an extension, so he'll be a free agent next season

Freddy Ramos (+)
Didn't quite have the BREAKOUT year I was hoping for, but he was still solid this season, he was overshadowed by a couple of rookie pitchers, but I'm confident he's got things headed in the right direction now and I'm looking forward to some great seasons form him in the future.

Kadidou Idogbe (++)
Started the season in the bullpen as my long relief/emergency starter, but he came in to the starting lineup when DAVE was injured and won 14 games in 3/4 of a season as a starter. Had a 3.27 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 115 ERA+, which are great stats for a #5 SP in my book. One of the few rigger pitchers to be with Mr. Manager since 2049, he's earned the renewal of his team option for the 2055 season. Not a flashy player, but his solid career without major injury or any horrible stretches of performance makes him a true blue collar rigger hero

Leo Leckenby (+-)
Gets a + for his performance, coming up from AAA to throw solid 3.11 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 141 ERA+ statistics. He started in the bullpen but eventually moved into a SP slot after yet another injury, he did very well in that role and earned a spot as one of the 4 starting pitchers for the playoffs. Unfortunately, he suffered a year long injury (thus the -) and now we'll have to see if this promising young pitcher will ever recover. This type of shit is why I'd honestly prefer to keep young pitchers in the minor leagues for longer. It seems like every under 25 year old pitcher I call up to the WBL has a super high chance of getting a major injury.

Victor Williams (++)
Another AAA call up, I was a bit worried about this one since he hadn't been pitching well in AAA, but the DYSON SPHERE allowed him to have a nice solid half season as a SP in the WBL, with a 3.92 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 111 ERA+. He may have to start next season in AAA or the bullpen, but I can be confident I've got a solid, but not flashy, SP waiting to help out in case of injury.

[xtable]
{tbody}
{tr}
{td=127x@}Name{/td}
{td=54x@}W{/td}
{td=54x@}L{/td}
{td=54x@}SV{/td}
{td=54x@}ERA{/td}
{td=54x@}G{/td}
{td=54x@}GS{/td}
{td=54x@}IP ▴{/td}
{td=54x@}HA{/td}
{td=54x@}R{/td}
{td=54x@}ER{/td}
{td=54x@}HR{/td}
{td=54x@}BB{/td}
{td=54x@}K{/td}
{td=54x@}WHIP{/td}
{td=54x@}OAVG{/td}
{td=54x@}BABIP{/td}
{td=54x@}WAR{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Terry Morgan SP{/td}
{td}15{/td}
{td}7{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}3.40{/td}
{td}30{/td}
{td}30{/td}
{td}201.1{/td}
{td}201{/td}
{td}85{/td}
{td}76{/td}
{td}28{/td}
{td}41{/td}
{td}131{/td}
{td}1.20{/td}
{td}0.258{/td}
{td}0.278{/td}
{td}2.4{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Raúl Robles SP{/td}
{td}16{/td}
{td}6{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}3.56{/td}
{td}30{/td}
{td}30{/td}
{td}200.0{/td}
{td}204{/td}
{td}82{/td}
{td}79{/td}
{td}23{/td}
{td}33{/td}
{td}154{/td}
{td}1.19{/td}
{td}0.266{/td}
{td}0.305{/td}
{td}4.0{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Freddy Ramos SP{/td}
{td}13{/td}
{td}9{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}4.32{/td}
{td}29{/td}
{td}28{/td}
{td}185.1{/td}
{td}184{/td}
{td}99{/td}
{td}89{/td}
{td}26{/td}
{td}48{/td}
{td}94{/td}
{td}1.25{/td}
{td}0.261{/td}
{td}0.268{/td}
{td}1.1{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Kadidou Idogbe SP{/td}
{td}14{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}3.81{/td}
{td}28{/td}
{td}26{/td}
{td}158.1{/td}
{td}166{/td}
{td}79{/td}
{td}67{/td}
{td}18{/td}
{td}35{/td}
{td}94{/td}
{td}1.27{/td}
{td}0.268{/td}
{td}0.287{/td}
{td}2.1{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Victor Williams SP{/td}
{td}8{/td}
{td}4{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}3.92{/td}
{td}22{/td}
{td}14{/td}
{td}101.0{/td}
{td}114{/td}
{td}47{/td}
{td}44{/td}
{td}13{/td}
{td}21{/td}
{td}53{/td}
{td}1.34{/td}
{td}0.286{/td}
{td}0.301{/td}
{td}0.9{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Leo Leckenby SP{/td}
{td}4{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}3.11{/td}
{td}29{/td}
{td}10{/td}
{td}92.2{/td}
{td}90{/td}
{td}33{/td}
{td}32{/td}
{td}10{/td}
{td}21{/td}
{td}48{/td}
{td}1.20{/td}
{td}0.255{/td}
{td}0.268{/td}
{td}0.9{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}José Rivas SP{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}3.18{/td}
{td}10{/td}
{td}10{/td}
{td}70.2{/td}
{td}63{/td}
{td}25{/td}
{td}25{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}52{/td}
{td}0.96{/td}
{td}0.239{/td}
{td}0.278{/td}
{td}2.2{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Dave Meyer SP{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}4{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}6.20{/td}
{td}9{/td}
{td}9{/td}
{td}45.0{/td}
{td}53{/td}
{td}33{/td}
{td}31{/td}
{td}9{/td}
{td}20{/td}
{td}42{/td}
{td}1.62{/td}
{td}0.288{/td}
{td}0.331{/td}
{td}0.1{/td}
{/tr}
{/tbody}
[/xtable]

 

[Travis7401]

2054 Season Review (continued)

As you go through you'll notice I give grades to each player based on their performance within their expected role.

++ means exceeded expectations of role on team
+ means met expectations of role on team
- means slightly underachieved expectations of role on team
-- means greatly underachieved expectation of role on team

Relief Pitching:
Francisco Garcia (--)
WOOF. Started the season as my closer and just got absolutely shredded. I eventually demoted him to AAA to make room for replacements 7.07 ERA and 1.59 WHIP. This dude never lived up to his potential and I'll be denying his team option next season

Ed Mullins (--)
WOOF2. Another horrible season from a player who did very well last year. 5.14 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. Demoted him to AAA as well to make room for younger players to shine. I tried him in an expanded roll this year and he really faltered. I did extend him on a very team friendly deal to play LOOGY next year for me. I'm confident he can do well in a more limited capacity because his vs LHB ratings are much better.

Tyrone Massey (++)
He's an old standby for the riggers and he had a really nice season. After about 1/3 of the season was up I forced him into the CLOSER role and he played really well, with a 2.9 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. His stamina means he always gets a lot of innings whether he's playing Closer, Setup, or Stopper for the team.

Jesse Wiseman (+-)
Another injured rigger pitcher. He was another emergency SP who was injured before he could even get a start. That's the (-) part of his rating. On the (+) he pitched very well again this season with a 2.87 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He came back in August and helped the riggers put together a really nice run to lock the playoff spot up. I've been trying to extend him, but he wants more than I'm comfortable paying a pitcher in his role. This is going to be my first really difficult financial decision in regards to a player I have a soft spot for.

Esteve Montes (-)
had a very bad start and then got shelled when I was forced to use him as a SP for a few games due to injuries, so his stats took a bit of a hit there as well. He did pitch much better down the stretch in the stopper role, so I'm not 100% sure what I plan on doing with him next season since he has a team option. His high leadership ability makes me inclined to keep him and give him another chance.

David Johnson (++)
Johnson started the season in the stopper role and thrived there, before eventually moving to setup man as Massey got moved to closer. David had a really nice year with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.

Paco Duran (++)
A late season free agent addition I brought in to stabilize the bullpen and provide a spark. He was only here for like 1/4 of the season and only pitched 19 innings, but he had a 1.86 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP, so he obviously performed his duty. It was nice to be able to pick him up cheap in free agency rather than having to trade for bullpen help.

Bilgin Dikerdem (++)
Called up in September to get his CUP OF COFFEE, he's pitched 9 innings in a LOOGY role and has yet to give up a run and has a great 0.62 WHIP. Has appeared in 2 games in the playoffs as a LOOGY as well and hasn't given up a run. Nice start for this young dude and I think he's got a bright future.

HIPPO (-)
The CPU manager absolutely refused to use this dude. I had him on the roster for half the season and he pitched 3 innings, lol. His stats look bad, only had a single bad appearance that accounted for most of his WBL time. I imagine HIPPO will be getting more time next season, if the CPU will play him.

[xtable]
{tbody}
{tr}
{td=156x@}Name{/td}
{td=54x@}W{/td}
{td=54x@}L{/td}
{td=54x@}SV{/td}
{td=54x@}ERA{/td}
{td=54x@}G{/td}
{td=54x@}GS{/td}
{td=54x@}IP ▴{/td}
{td=54x@}HA{/td}
{td=54x@}R{/td}
{td=54x@}ER{/td}
{td=54x@}HR{/td}
{td=54x@}BB{/td}
{td=54x@}K{/td}
{td=54x@}WHIP{/td}
{td=54x@}OAVG{/td}
{td=54x@}BABIP{/td}
{td=54x@}WAR{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Tyrone Massey RP{/td}
{td}4{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}33{/td}
{td}2.90{/td}
{td}74{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}87.0{/td}
{td}84{/td}
{td}32{/td}
{td}28{/td}
{td}7{/td}
{td}13{/td}
{td}58{/td}
{td}1.11{/td}
{td}0.257{/td}
{td}0.291{/td}
{td}1.2{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Esteve Montés RP{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}8{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}4.08{/td}
{td}36{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}81.2{/td}
{td}73{/td}
{td}39{/td}
{td}37{/td}
{td}15{/td}
{td}33{/td}
{td}72{/td}
{td}1.30{/td}
{td}0.240{/td}
{td}0.264{/td}
{td}0.0{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}David Johnson RP{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}3{/td}
{td}3.10{/td}
{td}68{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}72.2{/td}
{td}58{/td}
{td}27{/td}
{td}25{/td}
{td}3{/td}
{td}15{/td}
{td}62{/td}
{td}1.00{/td}
{td}0.216{/td}
{td}0.268{/td}
{td}1.7{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Ed Mullins RP{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}5.14{/td}
{td}52{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}56{/td}
{td}58{/td}
{td}33{/td}
{td}32{/td}
{td}12{/td}
{td}23{/td}
{td}49{/td}
{td}1.45{/td}
{td}0.27{/td}
{td}0.295{/td}
{td}-0.6{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Francisco García RP{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}6{/td}
{td}13{/td}
{td}7.07{/td}
{td}41{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}49.2{/td}
{td}59{/td}
{td}40{/td}
{td}39{/td}
{td}10{/td}
{td}20{/td}
{td}33{/td}
{td}1.59{/td}
{td}0.299{/td}
{td}0.316{/td}
{td}-0.7{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Jesse Wiseman RP{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}2.87{/td}
{td}23{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}37.2{/td}
{td}35{/td}
{td}14{/td}
{td}12{/td}
{td}4{/td}
{td}10{/td}
{td}18{/td}
{td}1.19{/td}
{td}0.241{/td}
{td}0.252{/td}
{td}0.1{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Paco Durán RP{/td}
{td}3{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}1.86{/td}
{td}14{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}19.1{/td}
{td}12{/td}
{td}4{/td}
{td}4{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}8{/td}
{td}18{/td}
{td}1.03{/td}
{td}0.188{/td}
{td}0.239{/td}
{td}0.3{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Bilgin Dikerdem RP{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}10{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}9.2{/td}
{td}4{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}6{/td}
{td}0.62{/td}
{td}0.129{/td}
{td}0.16{/td}
{td}0.2{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Hipólito Pascoalinho RP{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}6{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}3{/td}
{td}4{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}4{/td}
{td}3{/td}
{td}0.333{/td}
{td}0.444{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{/tr}
{/tbody}
[/xtable]

 

[Yankee151]

didn't know Paco was still around you got a nice deal

 

[Travis7401]

didn't know Paco was still around you got a nice deal

He'll be a free agent again next year, as he wants like $8M to stay.

 

[Travis7401]

2054 Season Review

Catchers and DH -
I'm lumping together Catchers and DH players because otherwise I wouldn't have enough to talk about. I had solid play from both the starting catcher spot and some decent but not spectacular play from the DH position as well.

++ means exceeded expectations of role on team
+ means met expectations of role on team
- means slightly underachieved expectations of role on team
-- means greatly underachieved expectation of role on team

C Claudio Montes (++)
Claudio had his best season as a rigger, he played very solid defense and .808 OPS. He had a solid average and OBP and his slugging was driven by 47 doubles! I'm really excited to have this dude around for several more years and would love to see his bat to continue being this good!

C Murray Sanders (+)
The backup catcher position was a pretty big leak fo rme the last couple of years, so I set out to sign a solid RHB that could provide a little pop for the team and play some platoon DH against LHP. Murray Sanders did well enough in both roles, anytime you can get 1.0 WAR from a backup you are doing well. His overall OPS was .784 but his OPS against LHP (his DH role) was .853.

Roosevelt Gonzalez (+)
The Rookie was a bit rough around the edges at times but he still hit .834 OPS (.856 vs RHP) so he did a solid job as DH against RHP and he also played pretty well in 23 games at 1B as well. I expect really big things from him in the future!

Carter Gibson (-)
I traded for Carter, mostly for nostalgia and the hope that he'd get back to his old form with a move back to the riggers. He really didn't play that well, unfortunately only putting up 0.735 OPS which really isn't acceptable from the DH spot. Hopefully he can play much better next season!


[xtable]
{tbody}
{tr}
{td=156x@}Name{/td}
{td=64x@}G{/td}
{td=64x@}AB{/td}
{td=64x@}R{/td}
{td=64x@}H{/td}
{td=64x@}2B{/td}
{td=64x@}3B{/td}
{td=64x@}HR{/td}
{td=64x@}RBI{/td}
{td=64x@}TB{/td}
{td=64x@}BB{/td}
{td=64x@}K{/td}
{td=64x@}SB{/td}
{td=64x@}CS{/td}
{td=64x@}AVG{/td}
{td=64x@}OBP{/td}
{td=64x@}SLG{/td}
{td=64x@}OPS{/td}
{td=64x@}WAR ▴{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Claudio Montés C{/td}
{td}140{/td}
{td}544{/td}
{td}75{/td}
{td}162{/td}
{td}47{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}13{/td}
{td}71{/td}
{td}250{/td}
{td}41{/td}
{td}68{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}0.298{/td}
{td}0.348{/td}
{td}0.460{/td}
{td}0.808{/td}
{td}4.3{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Roosevelt González 1B{/td}
{td}123{/td}
{td}402{/td}
{td}65{/td}
{td}112{/td}
{td}21{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}24{/td}
{td}70{/td}
{td}205{/td}
{td}27{/td}
{td}78{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0.279{/td}
{td}0.324{/td}
{td}0.510{/td}
{td}0.834{/td}
{td}1.3{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Murray Sanders C{/td}
{td}99{/td}
{td}328{/td}
{td}37{/td}
{td}86{/td}
{td}13{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}18{/td}
{td}64{/td}
{td}155{/td}
{td}25{/td}
{td}73{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0.262{/td}
{td}0.312{/td}
{td}0.473{/td}
{td}0.784{/td}
{td}1.0{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Carter Gibson LF{/td}
{td}27{/td}
{td}91{/td}
{td}14{/td}
{td}22{/td}
{td}7{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}3{/td}
{td}14{/td}
{td}38{/td}
{td}11{/td}
{td}26{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0.242{/td}
{td}0.317{/td}
{td}0.418{/td}
{td}0.735{/td}
{td}-0.2{/td}
{/tr}
{/tbody}
[/xtable]

 

[NML]

C Claudio Montes (++)

Claudio had his best season as a rigger, he played very solid defense and .808 OPS. He had a solid average and OBP and his slugging was driven by 47 doubles! I'm really excited to have this dude around for several more years and would love to see his bat to continue being this good!

You must've forgotten that he's a NML player

 

[Travis7401]

2054 Season Review

Infield -
We got really good production from the 3B position with Juarez winning 4.4 WARS and The MIF spots combined all season with Chavez, Launay, Kusuma, and TAGG combining 5.9 WARS from the MIF spots. I felt like the 1B position was a bit of a let down with only 1 WAR won from Dani Rod (though he has been playing better in the offseason)

++ means exceeded expectations of role on team
+ means met expectations of role on team
- means slightly underachieved expectations of role on team
-- means greatly underachieved expectation of role on team

Rafael Juarez (++)
Another solid season for the team asshole, he hit 38 HRs this season to go along with his good defense and ended up winning 4.4 WARS

Pedro Chavez (++)
Played good defense and put up .782 OPS from the 2B position for a total of 2.2 WARS in platoon duty of 96 games played.

Clement Launay (+)
Another MIF platoon player who played about 2/3rds of the games and put up 1.5 WARS. He had a really nice high OBP of 0.374 and played really well as a leadoff batter. He once again had a short injury this season but once again has a solid but not spectacular season. He was a bit - in ZR this year at SS, so he might be losing a bit of a step as he is now 28.

Mulia Kusuma (+)
After a terrible season last year, Kusuma came back nicely and put up 1.5 WARS in platoon duty at SS. He didn't hit particularly well, but his OBP was .338 which is ok and he played solid defense with a +4.8 ZR in half a season at SS

Dani Rod (-)
Didn't play as well as I expected this year. He hit 26 HRs which is nice, but his batting average and OBP were lower than I'd like. .744 OPS from the 1B position is not what I'm looking for.

Douglass Tagg (++)
The Man, The Myth, The Legend. Was + Defensively at 3 2B, SS, and 3B and was a key element in thrashing Buffalo @Lloyd Carr throughout the season. Only won 0.7 Baseball WARS but won 12 TALISMAN WARS this season!

Marcus Duggan (-)
CUP OF COFFEE DUGGAR did not thrill, as he was negative defensively and had a truly loathsome OBP of 0.229 to give hisself -0.4 WARS. I'm not sure what his future is with the riggers, since DOUGLASS holds down the utility infield spot, but he might have a role as a platoon middle infielder at some point.




[xtable=skin1]
{tbody}
{tr}
{td=156x@}Name{/td}
{td=64x@}G{/td}
{td=64x@}AB{/td}
{td=64x@}R{/td}
{td=64x@}H{/td}
{td=64x@}2B{/td}
{td=64x@}3B{/td}
{td=64x@}HR{/td}
{td=64x@}RBI{/td}
{td=64x@}TB{/td}
{td=64x@}BB{/td}
{td=64x@}K{/td}
{td=64x@}SB{/td}
{td=64x@}CS{/td}
{td=64x@}AVG{/td}
{td=64x@}OBP{/td}
{td=64x@}SLG{/td}
{td=64x@}OPS{/td}
{td=64x@}WAR ▴{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Rafael Juárez 3B{/td}
{td}151{/td}
{td}565{/td}
{td}93{/td}
{td}149{/td}
{td}22{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}38{/td}
{td}100{/td}
{td}289{/td}
{td}51{/td}
{td}137{/td}
{td}22{/td}
{td}12{/td}
{td}0.264{/td}
{td}0.336{/td}
{td}0.512{/td}
{td}0.848{/td}
{td}4.4{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Pedro Chávez 2B{/td}
{td}96{/td}
{td}305{/td}
{td}40{/td}
{td}93{/td}
{td}14{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}7{/td}
{td}36{/td}
{td}130{/td}
{td}14{/td}
{td}29{/td}
{td} {/td}
{td} {/td}
{td}0.305{/td}
{td}0.356{/td}
{td}0.426{/td}
{td}0.782{/td}
{td}2.2{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Clément Launay 2B{/td}
{td}106{/td}
{td}334{/td}
{td}45{/td}
{td}91{/td}
{td}24{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}36{/td}
{td}125{/td}
{td}54{/td}
{td}79{/td}
{td}11{/td}
{td}8{/td}
{td}0.272{/td}
{td}0.374{/td}
{td}0.374{/td}
{td}0.749{/td}
{td}1.5{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Mulia Kusuma SS{/td}
{td}89{/td}
{td}318{/td}
{td}46{/td}
{td}89{/td}
{td}9{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}17{/td}
{td}108{/td}
{td}26{/td}
{td}54{/td}
{td}20{/td}
{td}8{/td}
{td}0.280{/td}
{td}0.338{/td}
{td}0.340{/td}
{td}0.678{/td}
{td}1.5{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Dani Rodríguez 1B{/td}
{td}153{/td}
{td}540{/td}
{td}76{/td}
{td}133{/td}
{td}30{/td}
{td} {/td}
{td}26{/td}
{td}74{/td}
{td}241{/td}
{td}38{/td}
{td}123{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td} {/td}
{td}0.246{/td}
{td}0.297{/td}
{td}0.446{/td}
{td}0.744{/td}
{td}1.0{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Douglass Tagg SS{/td}
{td}90{/td}
{td}250{/td}
{td}34{/td}
{td}59{/td}
{td}20{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}29{/td}
{td}96{/td}
{td}11{/td}
{td}50{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td} {/td}
{td}0.236{/td}
{td}0.276{/td}
{td}0.384{/td}
{td}0.660{/td}
{td}0.7{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Marcus Duggan SS{/td}
{td}10{/td}
{td}35{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}8{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td} {/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}13{/td}
{td} {/td}
{td}3{/td}
{td} {/td}
{td} {/td}
{td}0.229{/td}
{td}0.229{/td}
{td}0.371{/td}
{td}0.600{/td}
{td}-0.4{/td}
{/tr}
{/tbody}
[/xtable]

 

[Travis7401]

2054 Season Review

Outfield-
Just great production from the three starter positions, combining for 10.9 WARS total from the outfield spots. Mason Brett was the MVP of the team this season, just doing everything well. Manuel and Magnanti were both solid starters playing their roles well this season.

++ means exceeded expectations of role on team
+ means met expectations of role on team
- means slightly underachieved expectations of role on team
-- means greatly underachieved expectation of role on team

Mason Brett (++)
I didn't think he could top last season's performance, but he did. He was solid defensively, he hite over .850 OPS, and he stole 72 bases. I think he's one of the most valuable players in the league right now, especially considering his salary

Julio Manuel (+)
His bat fell off quite a bit this season, especially his power. I think we might be seeing the effects of his MS now. On the plus side, he played great defense (+12.7 ZR at LF/CF) and he had a pretty solid base stealing record as well, with 26 SBs to only 6 CS

Quintin Magnanti (+)
He didn't hit as well as he did last year, but he still had .800 OPS and he played a lot better defense this season and was only very slightly negative ZR at RF. I still don't know if he's my long term solution at the position, but as long as he keeps playing well he's welcome on the team!

Solano Lares (-)
The 4th outfielder had his last season with the riggers. I appreciate his contributions to the team, but his bat has just fallen off too much and his defense isn't quite good enough to make up for it.

Jose Vigil (-)
CUP OF COFFEE Vigil didn't play very well in his first few starts, but he's a Rookie! I feel like he has a bright future for the riggers and he's going to be the 4th outfielder next season.

Dan White (--)
Dan was the Hunger Games player and he was just really not good at all. Under .500 OPS and he didn't play as well as I'd like on defense either. He could be a good 4th outfielder at some point, but I think he just needs to develop a bit more!



[xtable]
{tbody}
{tr}
{td=156x@}Name{/td}
{td=64x@}G{/td}
{td=64x@}AB{/td}
{td=64x@}R{/td}
{td=64x@}H{/td}
{td=64x@}2B{/td}
{td=64x@}3B{/td}
{td=64x@}HR{/td}
{td=64x@}RBI{/td}
{td=64x@}TB{/td}
{td=64x@}BB{/td}
{td=64x@}K{/td}
{td=64x@}SB{/td}
{td=64x@}CS{/td}
{td=64x@}AVG{/td}
{td=64x@}OBP{/td}
{td=64x@}SLG{/td}
{td=64x@}OPS{/td}
{td=64x@}WAR ▴{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Mason Brett CF{/td}
{td}150{/td}
{td}604{/td}
{td}98{/td}
{td}194{/td}
{td}30{/td}
{td}9{/td}
{td}16{/td}
{td}73{/td}
{td}290{/td}
{td}46{/td}
{td}43{/td}
{td}72{/td}
{td}14{/td}
{td}0.321{/td}
{td}0.374{/td}
{td}0.480{/td}
{td}0.854{/td}
{td}6.1{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Júlio Manuel LF{/td}
{td}141{/td}
{td}551{/td}
{td}59{/td}
{td}152{/td}
{td}28{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}8{/td}
{td}75{/td}
{td}214{/td}
{td}28{/td}
{td}71{/td}
{td}26{/td}
{td}6{/td}
{td}0.276{/td}
{td}0.315{/td}
{td}0.388{/td}
{td}0.704{/td}
{td}2.4{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Quentin Magnanti RF{/td}
{td}146{/td}
{td}545{/td}
{td}83{/td}
{td}151{/td}
{td}21{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}25{/td}
{td}87{/td}
{td}249{/td}
{td}52{/td}
{td}118{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0.277{/td}
{td}0.343{/td}
{td}0.457{/td}
{td}0.800{/td}
{td}2.4{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Solano Lares LF{/td}
{td}41{/td}
{td}119{/td}
{td}17{/td}
{td}31{/td}
{td}4{/td}
{td}4{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}14{/td}
{td}46{/td}
{td}7{/td}
{td}30{/td}
{td}6{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}0.261{/td}
{td}0.302{/td}
{td}0.387{/td}
{td}0.688{/td}
{td}0.0{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}José Vigil CF{/td}
{td}15{/td}
{td}50{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}12{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}13{/td}
{td}4{/td}
{td}13{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0.240{/td}
{td}0.296{/td}
{td}0.260{/td}
{td}0.556{/td}
{td}-0.2{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Dan White CF{/td}
{td}25{/td}
{td}68{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}13{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}0{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}14{/td}
{td}9{/td}
{td}18{/td}
{td}6{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}0.191{/td}
{td}0.291{/td}
{td}0.206{/td}
{td}0.497{/td}
{td}-0.6{/td}
{/tr}
{/tbody}
[/xtable]

 

[Gooksta]

Just hurry up and win one already

 

[Travis7401]

I don't care about winning championships, those are mostly luck. I'm just here for the DECADES OF DOMINANCE

 

[Gooksta]

Can the word dominance be used without winning a ship??

 

[Travis7401]

Well, ships will come as a matter of course if you dominate long enough. You just can't focus on it.

 

[Mr. Radpants]

Will they come with a system approach that is also Anti-GOAT? That's the real question.

 

[Travis7401]

Will they come with a system approach that is also Anti-GOAT? That's the real question.

I think that making the playoffs consistently is the key to giving yourself opportunities to play the "win 3 straight coin flips" game that is the playoffs. I'm pretty sure any system that can consistently make the playoffs can win a ship eventually. I think people get disheartened when they have "the best" team and lose, forgetting that even the best team in the league is probably only a 60/40 favorite over the most loathsome of playoff teams. That means even an extremely loaded team lucking into favorable matchups can only expect to win the ship 1/5 tries, statistically. I do admit that my strategy probably puts me in a less favorable than average statistical spot than a team that is built with a wonderful young core of GOATS, so in most years I'll be looking at the 1/8 odds and some more loathsome years they might be worse. The upside of the no-GOAT policy is that I think it will help me make the playoffs with more regularity (at least in the SL) so I'll get more tries. Simming like 8 seasons a calender year makes it a bit easier to play the long game too. If I haven't won a ship by 2070, I might reconsider something

The Denver Broncos are the perfect examples of this, they won 3 straight games that were probably 45/55 or worse odds for each game. That shit happens, someone has to win. Make the playoffs enough and it'll happen eventually.

 

[Wolfman21]

2048 was my year. 10 other seasons making the playoffs and never made it back to the world series

 

[Lloyd Carr]

2048 was my year. 10 other seasons making the playoffs and never made it back to the world series

 

[Wolfman21]

I agree

 

[Travis7401]

2055 Season Preview

Starting Pitchers -
I'll be doing a bit of an unconventional starting lineup this season, I'm running 6 SPs, a pitch count, use highest available on occasion, and making starters available in relief. I'm doing this to try to get more innings to my best pitchers, both SP and RP, and also allow me to carry fewer total RPs. We'll see how it goes

SP1. Raúl Robles - Robles played pretty darn well last season, but looking at his career stats, I think I might be able to expect even better out of him this season. He's on an expensive salary this season, but has a nice cheap team option for next year, so barring injury or a ratings crash, he should be the #1 pitcher for the riggers for a couple of seasons at least. No role in the bullpen as I'd like to see him start as many games as possible

SP2. Paul Lee - I picked up Lee in a trade/fleece with @Schauwn and I really like the way he fits into my starting lineup at the #2 spot. He didn't play to his ratings last year for Lisbon and he suffered an offseason ratings drop, but his salary is good for a #2 SP. He's only 26 years old and I've got him under contract for the next 3 seasons, so he should be around for a while. I hope the transition to the sphere helps him, and I'll be interested to see how he performs since he's my first truly high stuff SP I've had. No role for him in the bullpen as I'd like to see him start as many games as possible

SP3. Terry Morgan - Has been a consistently good pitcher for the riggers the past two years. He's a perfect rigger style pitcher, so I imagine he'll be serviceable for several more seasons until he goes to free agency. I'd prefer if my rigger pitchers were in the #4 and lower spots, but injuries have changed my plans a bit. I also have him set for a backup for the closer role in relief, because his two best pitches would make him a 65/55/65 RP and I think his stamina will allow him to play there if I need some extra help in a long game in a critical situation. I might not give him that bullpen role until June when I slide him down to the #4 slot.

SP4. Kadidou Idogbe - Back for another season of eating some innings as an average SP late in the lineup. With his current extension demands being more than I'd like to pay for his role on the team, he'll likely be a free agent next season, but he's been a serviceable and solid pitcher for a long time for me, so I'm hoping to get another good year out of him before he leaves. He's the only SP to start for me from 2049 till now. Set to a middle relief role in the bullpen.

SP5. Freddy Ramos - Freddy finally started to turn the corner a bit last season when he put up average numbers. I'm hoping this year he can emerge and have a starter quality season I expect and earn a spot as my #5 SP for future seasons. I'm hoping he can fill the role of Kadidou Idogbe going forward. Freddy is also set for long relief because he's got high stamina. Since he's not one of my best pitchers, I'd prefer his innings come in games that don't matter as much.

SP6. Victor Williams - Another RIGGER PITCHER type who played pretty well last season in his first appearances due to injury. I picture him as a future #5 or #6 type SP. He'll start the season as the #6 pitcher with a long relief backup role in the bullpen.

Other players of note:

Dave Meyer - Was one of my best pitchers for several years before picking up a long injury last may. He didn't suffer any official ratings drops, so I've got my fingers crossed that he can return to his pre-injury form once he's rehabbed. He's got 2 months left on injury, so I figure he should be ready about June 1st after rehabbing in AAA. I'll plug him in as my #3 pitcher with no pitch count or bullpen assignment and then slide whoever is pitching the worst of Dog, Ramos, Williams to the bullpen or AAA.

Leo Leckenby - Will not see any playing time this year as he's out for whole season (6 more months) due to injury. Not sure where he'll slot in next season.

 

[Yankee151]

Smh no Kadidou Itrogbe nickname

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

 

[Travis7401]

2055 Season Preview

Relief Pitchers -
Due to making starters available in relief, I'm only carrying 5 RPs (11 pitchers total) so these guys should get more innings than traditional RPs, which is something I want as I look to maximize value from each roster spot.

Closer - Muslih bin Dabir - Probably the biggest FA pickup of the offseason (it was pretty quiet). I overpaid him this season because I didn't really have another need other than closer, and I decided to go with him instead of the other FA options because I also wanted to keep him away from @ZackMills because he has killed me in these past couple of years, especially in the offseason. He's a bit on the old side, but his skillset has traditionally done very well in my park, so I'm thinking he should do well for me this season. He's got a 5M (T) for next year if he does well and I decide to keep him. He's got 55 Stamina so he should be able to play a good number of innings (I'm hoping for 80+ games in high leverage situations)

Setup - David Johnson - Johnson played very well for me in the setup role last season so that's where I've got him again. He's only got 35 stamina, so I'm thinking even being set as the only setup reliever he'll probably only get about 7-75 innings max this season just due to fatigue since he only has 35 Stamina. If he doesn't play well, I'll probably use Tyrone Massey in this spot.

MR1 (Use Most Often) - Tyrone Massey - Massey has consistently been one of my best pitchers for years, so I'm excited to hopefully get him a lot more innings through my new setup. With only 2 official MR pitchers and him being set as USE MORE OFTEN, I'm hoping that he's going to get a lot of innings and hopefully high leverage innings (with my #5 and #6 SPs set to long relief as their bullpen role). He's got 70 stamina so I'm hoping for 120+ innings out of him. Not quite Orlando Grinaldo for SF levels, but more than the average RP

MR2 - Bilgin Dikerdem - Dickerdam didn't give up a single earned run last season in his CUP OF COFFEE time and he's fully developed now. He was drafted as a SP with 2 good pitches and a 3rd bad pitch, so his transition to RP gives him high stuff and good stamina. He'll be getting a lot of innings like Massey and I'm hoping for 110+ if he pitches well. If he doesn't pitch well, I'll be transitioning someone else into this spot.

LOOGY - Ed Mullins - Pitched extremely well as a LOOGY 2 years ago, but did not make the transition to MR well at all last year. His splits are such that he really shouldn't be used against RHB at all, so he'll be set as specialist only. I'm going to evaluate whether or not that a full time specialist is feasible with only 5 RPs on a roster, and if it is not he's probably the first person to get knocked down to AAA or waived in order to make room for a more versatile RP. If I can make it work, he'll hopefully be getting the least amount of innings by far, but hopefully they'll be highly effective tactical innings.

Other players you might see:
Esteve Montés - Esteve has had a decent career with the riggers and I decided to extend him this season, but he suffered a ratings drop to 40 movement in the offseason so I'm a bit scared to pitch him, lol. Probably only see him in case of injury of if one of the RPs is really suffering

Pascoalinho, Hipólito - HIPPO is a @Orlando trade product but he's seen a rating drop to his potential stuff. He's currently a 60/55/50 rated RP so he should be serviceable at least and he's also got decent LOOGY splits, so he could replace Mullins if Mullins doesn't pitch well. The one thing that really scares me about him is that he hasn't even pitched well in AAA yet.

Shaun Tattershall - An unspectacular looking RP with 50/60/55 ratings and low stamina. He's a younger player and will likely stay in AAA unless there is an injury.

Roberto Ramos - I didn't give him enough time in AA. He pitched so extremely well in a partial season at AA that I figured he would be ready, but he really struggled in AAA last season and his control rating stalled likely because I dicked the dog on his development. Hopefully he can pull it together in AAA this season. If he gets his control issues taken care of in AAA, I might bring him up for a CUP OF COFFEE, otherwise he'll be looking at 2056 in AAA as well.

 

[Travis7401]

Smh no Kadidou Itrogbe nickname

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

That's why I traded for him in the first place, lol. I also call him DOG.

 

[NML]

Crazy is going to kill in ur park.

 

[Travis7401]

2055 Season Preview

Catchers and DH-
I feel pretty well situated at Catcher, with the same two players returning, but DH is my worst projected position and might be a little up in the air early in the season as I likely can only carry one of Geeves/Gibson on the 25 man roster. If neither of them is hitting well, this could be one area where I look for help through trade, or I could slide over one of my platooned 1B as well.


C - Claudio Montés - Montes has been a solid performer for me since 2050, but last year was his first really breakout star level season. I'm hoping for more of the same this year and expect him to put up average to good defensive numbers at the catcher position with a .750 to .800 OPS bat as well. He hit really well last year in general, but I'd like to see him live up to his power numbers a bit more going forward.

C/DH - Murray Sanders - Sanders will provide backup catcher duties and he also has a very good split against LHP, so he can DH as well and also is a good pinch hitter as well. It would be nice if he could put up similar numbers to last year with .750-.800 OPS and 1+ WAR coming off the bench.

One of the following DH will be on the 25 man roster to start the season, the other will be in AAA in case of injury or failure.

DH - Carter Gibson - Carter Gibson has a good split against RHP so I don't have any problems using him as a DH in that role. He's played well for me in the past, and if he can play to his RH splits he should .800 OPS I'd be okay with him as part time DH. This is probably one of my weakest projected positions, so I went out and got a second option in Geeves in FA.

DH - Laoghaire Geeves - I picked up Geeves in FA because I'm not super confident in Carter Gibson playing up to his ratings. Geeves has a better complete bat and similar RH splits to Gibson, so he won't light the world on fire from the DH spot, but it would be nice if he could give me .775-.800 OPS if he ends up starting as DH.

 

[Travis7401]

2055 Season Preview

Infield
I'm going to be using a platoon at 1B for the first time in a few seasons, and I'm excited because it should lead to really nice production from that spot and the added benefit of always having a really solid pinch hitter on the bench as well. Plus, if neither of my DH players work out, I can always start DANI ROD at 1B full time and use Roosevelt at DH. I'll be using a 3 player starting rotation/platoon through the middle infield just like I did last season, with each getting about 100 games, depending on who is hot. I've got a new starter at 3B who is a downgrade on paper when it comes to the bat, but has the TALISMAN intangibles that will hopefully help the team play well. And then as always we've got DOUGLASS on the roster for his utility and TALISMANIC powers. I've also got a HG dude that I'll rotate into the 25 man roster to get some time as a starter and another young utility player who I'd like to get some COFFEE time and is also available in case of injury.

1B LHP - Dani Rodríguez - Dani Rod won't get as many games this season, but with his splits against LHP I expect him to hit a little better, probably in the .800 to .825 OPS range, then he'll be a good RHB pinch hitter off the bench as well. My guess is he ends up with less WARS than he's capable of as a starter, but a better WAR/Game ratio and therefore more overall value to the team from his roster spot. 1.0-1.5 WARS would be nice. He could end up as full time starting 1B again if the DH spot doesn't shake out, and in that case I expect better performance than last year. Something in the 800 OPS range and 2-2.5 WARs would be

1B RHP - Roosevelt González - I expect Roosevelt to really pop this season and emerge as my best hitter. Something in the 850 to 900 OPS range with solid 1B defense would be ideal and I'm putting him in the #4 spot in the lineup

2B - Pedro Chávez - Pedro Chavez will get about 2/3s of the games at 2B this season. He should put up average to good defensive stats at 2B and he was the best all around hitter of my middle infielders last season. He's probably the most expendable of my middle infielders just due to his lack of secondary utility, but as the best bat of the bunch don't be surprised to see him starting more often if he gets hot.

2B RHP / SS LHP - Clément Launay - Clement will get about 1/3 of the starts at 2B and 1/3 of the starts at SS. Clement's defense wasn't as good as usual last season, probably slipping a bit as he's aging but I still figure he should play average to good defense at 2b and acceptable defense at SS. His OBP was a phenomenal .375 last season and he's a good solid base runner as well, so he presents some value there. Clement also has super utility skills, so he's a good player to have in case of injury since he can even backup outfield positions as well.

SS RHP - Mulia Kusuma - Mulia Kusuma will get about 2/3s of the starts at SS, mostly against RHP since his splits strongly favor the right side. He's a good defender at the SS, but OSA says his range has dropped a bit so I'm not sure he'll be as good as he has been in previous years. He's never had any power or SLG but he can still contribute since he can get on base at a .330 to .340 rate and then he's a pretty good runner when he gets there

3B/Talisman - Craig Decker - I moved Juarez in the offseason because I didn't like his extension demands and I wanted to get some value out of him on the trade market while I can. Signing Craig in free agency to a good contract was what allowed me to do that. Craig isn't going to be an all star like Juarez, but he's a nice serviceable starting quality player and he brings the added bonus of having Talisman qualities to the team. If he can hit for about 750 OPS and play good to great defense, I'll be really happy with this signing even though I lost one of my best hitters.

UIF/Talisman - Douglass Tagg - THE TALISMAN. I'm hoping for his normal + defense at 3 positions and loathsome hitting. As long as he can provide that positive defensive value he should end up somewhere in the 0-1 WAR range as a utility infielder, which is fine considering his +10 TALISMAN WARS he gives me every season.

Other players who will likely see some action on the 25 man roster:
Sean Smith - The HUNGER GAMES pick, he'll start the year on the AAA roster but I'm going to bring him up in early June and get him at least 100 ABs at some point during the season at the 2B spot. I'm not sure who he'll be replacing on the 25 man roster yet, but it will very likely be one of the DH players or one of the IFs. If he's playing well he'll get even more opportunities to knock off one of the 2B guys as a part time starter. Smith has the potential to put up some good stats this season, so I'm hoping that I can do my part to have him WIN the HG for @Karl Hungus

Marcus Duggan- DUGGAR is a utility infielder type and he's got a decent enough bat that he could be a positive WBL player (especially if my scout is right about his eye being better than OSA thinks). I don't think he's going to be a starter for me at any point, but he's cheap insurance in case of injury and I'd like to continue to get him some WBL reps each year to make him a little less shell shocked if he ever does end up a starter due to injury.

 

[Travis7401]

2055 Season Preview

Outfield

RF - Quentin Magnanti - Quintin has regularly outplayed his ratings for the riggers, and I'd love for that trend to continue this season. His hitting was down a bit last season, but his defense was much better, so he ended up providing a relatively similar overall contribution to the team. He's probably the worst starting defender on the team, providing somewhere between slightly bad to average defense, but his hitting has been solid. As long as he hits above 800 OPS I'm ok with his less than stellar defense.

CF - Mason Brett - Brett was truly amazing last season, but I doubt he can replicate that level of success since a lot of his WARS came from his absurdly good stolen base ratio. He also hit better than his ratings last season as well. The good news is that even if that other stuff drops off a bit, his defense has room to improve relative to his abilities as well. I expect to see him to drop off a bit in the hitting and stolen base departments, but if he can shore up his CF defense then there's no reason he shouldn't be a 3+ WAR player again and maybe better than that.

LF - Júlio Manuel - Julio's MS still has me a bit worried, as he's shown a pretty steady decline in his hitting the last 3 seasons, with his HR numbers in particular suffering. The good news is that he's still playing phenomenal defense in LF and he's contributing on the base paths as well. Even with an OPS of between 700 and 725 he's contributing solid numbers to this team and can easily put himself in the 2.5-3 WAR range I expect from starters, but I'd love to see him hit 20+ HRs again and be up in the 750+ OPS range and put up 4+ WARs

4th OF - José Vigil - Jose Vigil has current bat ratings of over 50 in every category and he's a 55+ at defense in each spot, so he should be ready to roll as 4th outfielder. I expect he might struggle a bit since he's a rookie, but my 4th outfielder spot was the biggest value leak on the team last season so I'm hoping he can play solid enough defense at least that he provides me 1 WAR as a utility player/sub. I think he's got a future with the team as a starter once he's fully developed, but for now I should have a really nice 4th


Additional Players who might see some time:

Dan White - My hunger games guy from last year, wasn't fully developed enough at that point and he sucked pretty badly. The good news is that he had some very positive development in the offseason, especially with his eye, and his experience gained in RF also has made him an acceptable defensive 4th outfielder as well, as he's now rated 50+ at each spot. I plan on getting him some more work at each spot in AAA and in pre season and I'm hoping he can be a good 4th in the future. He's never going to be a great hitter with 45 contact and low power/GAP but if his Ks and Eye ratings develop to where they are projected, he could end up being a high OBP guy like Clement Launay and he has outstanding baserunning skills, which compliments that skill set nicely. He won't likely see any time on the 25 man roster until September unless there is an injury.

Thomas Nix - Another potential 4th outfielder moving forward. He's got 50+ in every bat rating except for power, so he shouldn't be too Loathsome at the WBL level. I'm getting him RF experience in spring training and AAA this season, so he'll be 50+ at each outfield spot by next year. He's got good base running and solid intangibles, so I can see him being a good solid 4th outfielder of the future as well.

 

[TonyGin&Juice]

@Travis7401 is pretty much the WBL version of Mike Rizzo.

 

[Travis7401]

I have absolutely zero baseball knowledge, lol. Is that a compliment or an insult?

 

[TonyGin&Juice]

I have absolutely zero baseball knowledge, lol. Is that a compliment or an insult?

I'm not sure if you're serious or joking but the "we aim to be continuously competitive and not go all in" line is one Mike Rizzo has trotted out on more than one occasion.

 

[Travis7401]

I'm serious, I don't know anything about actual baseball, so I had no clue how to take the comparison. Based on that quote it sounds fair. I'm trying to put together a team that makes the playoffs as regularly as possible long term, so it is a bit different philosophy than trying to put together the BEST POSSIBLE TEAM in pursuit of CHAMPIONSHIP OR BUST type hopes. SHIPS are mostly luck anyway, having a good season is something the GM/Manager has more control over.

 

[TonyGin&Juice]

I'm serious, I don't know anything about actual baseball, so I had no clue how to take the comparison. Based on that quote it sounds fair. I'm trying to put together a team that makes the playoffs as regularly as possible long term, so it is a bit different philosophy than trying to put together the BEST POSSIBLE TEAM in pursuit of CHAMPIONSHIP OR BUST type hopes. SHIPS are mostly luck anyway, having a good season is something the GM/Manager has more control over.

It's a good thing you can't be fired in our league because Mike Rizzo is likely going to be unemployed after this season.

 

[Mr. Radpants]

Rizzo is about SP and the 3 run HR, the comparison falls apart.

Travis is more system based, playing to his park. Now apparently he's hopping on the gimmick pitching system bandwagon as well.

 

[Travis7401]

Yeah, my completely logical/long run outlook on sports isn't really a realistic strategy for a real life owner/GM/corch, fans get spoiled by success and always want something better. Next thing you know you are out on your ass for barely missing the playoffs one year, lol. Sports are insane. The fact that we get like 10 seasons in a calendar year also helps with the patient approach. If I had to stew on a playoff loss for 6 months I'd be a lot more likely to overreact. As it is, I only made one borderline overreaction by signing the closer who beat me in the playoffs for $10M a year.

 

[Travis7401]

Rizzo is about SP and the 3 run HR, the comparison falls apart.

Travis is more system based, playing to his park. Now apparently he's hopping on the gimmick pitching system bandwagon as well.

I've got a whole bunch of marginal rigger ball Starting Pitchers and my bullpen has some good players, but I was lacking depth. I figured this might be the best way to get my best pitchers in the most high leverage innings with the roster I have. My true gimmick pitching system is still a few years away as all my bullpen arms that it requires are in A or AA.

 

[TonyGin&Juice]

Rizzo is about SP and the 3 run HR, the comparison falls apart.

Travis is more system based, playing to his park. Now apparently he's hopping on the gimmick pitching system bandwagon as well.

I'm not talking specific strategies, I'm talking overall philosophies, which is an accurate comparison in this case. I mean, I run my team pretty similar to how AJ Preller runs the Padres if MLB would allowed non-holds-barred draft pick trades that doesn't mean I'm loading up on MIF prospects and long shot starters to be the face of the team that takes the field in 2060 at Bay of Pigs Stadium.

 

[ZackMills]

Rizzo is about SP and the 3 run HR, the comparison falls apart.

Travis is more system based, playing to his park. Now apparently he's hopping on the gimmick pitching system bandwagon as well.

 

[Travis7401]

I don't think my team is quite as good as last season, but I'm hoping for fewer injuries. I'm predicting 85-90 wins and playoffs.

 

[Gooksta]

you probably win it now

 

[Travis7401]

2055 Season Preview

Starting Pitchers -
I'll be doing a bit of an unconventional starting lineup this season, I'm running 6 SPs, a pitch count, use highest available on occasion, and making starters available in relief. I'm doing this to try to get more innings to my best pitchers, both SP and RP, and also allow me to carry fewer total RPs. We'll see how it goes

SP1. Raúl Robles - Robles played pretty darn well last season, but looking at his career stats, I think I might be able to expect even better out of him this season. He's on an expensive salary this season, but has a nice cheap team option for next year, so barring injury or a ratings crash, he should be the #1 pitcher for the riggers for a couple of seasons at least. No role in the bullpen as I'd like to see him start as many games as possible

SP2. Paul Lee - I picked up Lee in a trade/fleece with @Schauwn and I really like the way he fits into my starting lineup at the #2 spot. He didn't play to his ratings last year for Lisbon and he suffered an offseason ratings drop, but his salary is good for a #2 SP. He's only 26 years old and I've got him under contract for the next 3 seasons, so he should be around for a while. I hope the transition to the sphere helps him, and I'll be interested to see how he performs since he's my first truly high stuff SP I've had. No role for him in the bullpen as I'd like to see him start as many games as possible

SP3. Terry Morgan - Has been a consistently good pitcher for the riggers the past two years. He's a perfect rigger style pitcher, so I imagine he'll be serviceable for several more seasons until he goes to free agency. I'd prefer if my rigger pitchers were in the #4 and lower spots, but injuries have changed my plans a bit. I also have him set for a backup for the closer role in relief, because his two best pitches would make him a 65/55/65 RP and I think his stamina will allow him to play there if I need some extra help in a long game in a critical situation. I might not give him that bullpen role until June when I slide him down to the #4 slot.

SP4. Kadidou Idogbe - Back for another season of eating some innings as an average SP late in the lineup. With his current extension demands being more than I'd like to pay for his role on the team, he'll likely be a free agent next season, but he's been a serviceable and solid pitcher for a long time for me, so I'm hoping to get another good year out of him before he leaves. He's the only SP to start for me from 2049 till now. Set to a middle relief role in the bullpen.

SP5. Freddy Ramos - Freddy finally started to turn the corner a bit last season when he put up average numbers. I'm hoping this year he can emerge and have a starter quality season I expect and earn a spot as my #5 SP for future seasons. I'm hoping he can fill the role of Kadidou Idogbe going forward. Freddy is also set for long relief because he's got high stamina. Since he's not one of my best pitchers, I'd prefer his innings come in games that don't matter as much.

SP6. Victor Williams - Another RIGGER PITCHER type who played pretty well last season in his first appearances due to injury. I picture him as a future #5 or #6 type SP. He'll start the season as the #6 pitcher with a long relief backup role in the bullpen.

Other players of note:

Dave Meyer - Was one of my best pitchers for several years before picking up a long injury last may. He didn't suffer any official ratings drops, so I've got my fingers crossed that he can return to his pre-injury form once he's rehabbed. He's got 2 months left on injury, so I figure he should be ready about June 1st after rehabbing in AAA. I'll plug him in as my #3 pitcher with no pitch count or bullpen assignment and then slide whoever is pitching the worst of Dog, Ramos, Williams to the bullpen or AAA.

Leo Leckenby - Will not see any playing time this year as he's out for whole season (6 more months) due to injury. Not sure where he'll slot in next season.

2055 Season Review - Starting Pitchers

Overall I was really happy with my starting pitching this season. For much of the year they were #1 in the league in ERA and they finished at #2 after September call ups and starters getting rested cooled the team off a bit. The 6 pitcher rotation, pitch counts, and the ability to use SPs in relief on occasion worked well (after some adjustment so players weren't missing starts) and allowed me to carry only 5 players in the bullpen.

SP1 Raul Robles - Was absolutely amazing last season. He had the lowest ERA in the league by a good margin, his WHIP was below 1, and he won 17 games. I think he should have been the SL arm wizard, but he finished 2nd.

SP2 Freddy Ramos - really had a breakout year and went from being a typical rigger pitcher to being a stud. He had a 17-3 record and picked up a couple of saves to boot. A sub 3 ERA and a WHIP of right around 1.0 and a QS% of 73%. I had him pegged as the 5th pitcher going into the season, so this was a real pleasant surprise!

SP3 Paul Lee - Lee had a solid season with a good ERA and a WHIP right at the 1.0 mark, which is what I expect from my pitchers. I'm excited to see if he can get even better next year, as my pitchers tend to improve after a year in my system (see Robles first year vs second year). Very solid performance for a #3 pitcher.

SP4 Victor Williams - Victor started the season as the #6 pitcher and proved that he was a very solid rigger pitcher. He won 15 games and had decent ERA and WHIP. He did fade a bit down the stretch, but he was very reliable.

SP5 Terry Morgan - Took a slight step back from his 2053 and 2054 performances, but he still put up solid rigger pitcher type numbers. He got cold in September and finished a little worse statistically than he looked for most of the season

SP6 (First Half) Kadidou Idogbe - DOG was a serviceable pitcher as always, but he was the lowest performing pitcher and least likely to have a future with the club, so when Dave Meyer was ready to come back from Injury he was the obvious choice to send down. DOG was one of the original SPs I aquired from @Lloyd Carr when I took over in 2049 and he's been the affordable inning eating #5 type SP with a career winning reacord. What more can you ask for? It is with a heavy heart that I let him walk into free agency this off season, but his demands were just higher than I was willing to pay for a #5 or #6 SP. Still, he's managed to earn his way into several areas of the rigger career leader boards (3rd in career wins).

SP6 (Second Half) Dave Meyer - Dave returned from injury and played about as well as the guy he was replacing. It wasn't horrible and he showed some promise, so I was at least excited about that. He had the highest BABIP of any of the SPs by a good bit, so I'm hoping that some of the poor performance I can just chalk up to bad luck. I'm excited to see if he can regain his form he had in 2052 and 2053. His ratings didn't suffer any major drops, so I'm hoping he should be good to go!


[xtable=skin1]
{tbody}
{tr}
{td=156x@}Name{/td}
{td=64x@}W{/td}
{td=64x@}L{/td}
{td=64x@}SV{/td}
{td=64x@}ERA{/td}
{td=64x@}G{/td}
{td=64x@}GS{/td}
{td=64x@}IP{/td}
{td=64x@}HA{/td}
{td=64x@}R{/td}
{td=64x@}ER{/td}
{td=64x@}HR{/td}
{td=64x@}BB{/td}
{td=64x@}K{/td}
{td=64x@}WHIP{/td}
{td=64x@}OAVG{/td}
{td=64x@}BABIP{/td}
{td=64x@}WAR{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Raúl Robles SP{/td}
{td}17{/td}
{td}7{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}1.83{/td}
{td}34{/td}
{td}27{/td}
{td}191.1{/td}
{td}157{/td}
{td}44{/td}
{td}39{/td}
{td}11{/td}
{td}29{/td}
{td}157{/td}
{td}0.97{/td}
{td}0.224{/td}
{td}0.273{/td}
{td}6.1{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Freddy Ramos SP{/td}
{td}17{/td}
{td}3{/td}
{td}2{/td}
{td}2.92{/td}
{td}32{/td}
{td}26{/td}
{td}184.2{/td}
{td}152{/td}
{td}62{/td}
{td}60{/td}
{td}16{/td}
{td}35{/td}
{td}107{/td}
{td}1.01{/td}
{td}0.227{/td}
{td}0.246{/td}
{td}3.0{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Victor Williams SP{/td}
{td}15{/td}
{td}7{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}3.75{/td}
{td}28{/td}
{td}27{/td}
{td}172.2{/td}
{td}186{/td}
{td}81{/td}
{td}72{/td}
{td}15{/td}
{td}37{/td}
{td}93{/td}
{td}1.29{/td}
{td}0.276{/td}
{td}0.302{/td}
{td}2.8{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Terry Morgan SP{/td}
{td}11{/td}
{td}13{/td}
{td}1{/td}
{td}3.94{/td}
{td}34{/td}
{td}27{/td}
{td}178.1{/td}
{td}183{/td}
{td}84{/td}
{td}78{/td}
{td}20{/td}
{td}28{/td}
{td}103{/td}
{td}1.18{/td}
{td}0.264{/td}
{td}0.284{/td}
{td}2.7{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Paul Lee SP{/td}
{td}11{/td}
{td}7{/td}
{td} {/td}
{td}3.32{/td}
{td}32{/td}
{td}28{/td}
{td}170.2{/td}
{td}131{/td}
{td}64{/td}
{td}63{/td}
{td}22{/td}
{td}41{/td}
{td}156{/td}
{td}1.01{/td}
{td}0.209{/td}
{td}0.243{/td}
{td}2.6{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Dave Meyer SP{/td}
{td}5{/td}
{td}6{/td}
{td} {/td}
{td}4.28{/td}
{td}18{/td}
{td}14{/td}
{td}88.1{/td}
{td}93{/td}
{td}44{/td}
{td}42{/td}
{td}11{/td}
{td}28{/td}
{td}82{/td}
{td}1.37{/td}
{td}0.263{/td}
{td}0.312{/td}
{td}1.4{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}Kadidou Idogbe SP{/td}
{td}6{/td}
{td}4{/td}
{td} {/td}
{td}4.37{/td}
{td}24{/td}
{td}13{/td}
{td}94.2{/td}
{td}107{/td}
{td}50{/td}
{td}46{/td}
{td}16{/td}
{td}23{/td}
{td}57{/td}
{td}1.37{/td}
{td}0.291{/td}
{td}0.304{/td}
{td}0.1{/td}
{/tr}
{/tbody}
[/xtable]

 

[Travis7401]

Hmmmm, why did I never finish my season reviews? RIGGERS WERE REALLY GOOD IN REGULAR SEASON, REALLY BAD IN THE PLAYOFFS. THE END.

 

[Travis7401]

Hmmmm, why did I never finish my season reviews? RIGGERS WERE REALLY GOOD IN REGULAR SEASON, REALLY BAD IN THE PLAYOFFS. THE END.

BUMP FOR 2056. Wasn't sure what to expect from the team since I shipped off so much value at the end of last season. I thought we'd still make the playoffs, but I definitely didn't envision coming in 1st in the SL. The playoffs weren't as bad this time, but still lost in the 1st round because WE WERE WHO WE THOUGHT WE WERE.

Gonna be going through the org and moving magnets around this weekend. Might update this with an actual review if I feel particularly optimistic.

 

[Travis7401]

I've skipped these for the past few years and I think it had reduced my IMMERSION so I'd like to start it back up.

SEASON PREVIEW - 2058

STARTING PITCHERS -
Could be a bit interesting this year with the departure of Raul Robles, who was one of the best pitchers in the league over the last few seasons. I'm moving back to a 6-man rotation because I have a good number of solid pitchers and I think distributing the innings between 6 of them will be a good plan going forward. I should have a good bullpen this season as well, so a lot of the back end of rotation guys are going to be on pitch counts that will limit the number of times they have to face batters. A couple of these guys are on the last years of their contracts and I've got several young pitchers coming up through the system, so you may see some changes going forward.

Paul Lee - He's a long term rigger and he moves up to the #1 spot with Robles departure. He's given me 3 straight seasons with solid WHIP, FIP, and ERA+ and I've got him signed long term on a pretty reasonable 12.5M AAV contract, considering what SPs demand in this league.

Samuel Seguin - He's in the 2nd year of a 2 year contract with the riggers. He's getting a bit long in the tooth at age 34, but his skillset fits the team perfectly and he performed well last season. At $10M he's pretty good value considering he was aquired via Free Agency. It will be interesting to see if I can talk him into extending for an additional year

Dave Meyer - Really up and down career with brilliant seasons and then sub-par injury marred seasons. I'm hoping he rebounds from last year's disappointment and provides me with a top notch effort. I've got him on a low pitch count so I'm hoping that will help with his durability issues. His salary is 4M this year and then 2.5M AAV going forward, so he's a really good bargain.

Terry Morgan - Classic rigger pitcher I experimented with him in a relief role last year and he didn't respond well. He wanted to be a SP and got upset about being used in relief. When I moved him back into the starting rotation he really improved. He has been a solid good but not great pitcher, and that's fine from the #4 guy in a lineup at 1M a year. This is the last year of his first contract, and I'll make a decision about bringing him back during the season based on his performance and his salary demands

Freddy Ramos - Another player who I attempted to use in a relief role last year as an experiment, only to find he really struggled and was upset. He's generally had a decent career for the riggers as a #5 type pitcher in that rigger archetype. I'm hoping he can pull together a good last season on his first contract, making 1.1M this season. As with Terry Morgan, I will balance his performance against his future demands, but I'd say Morgan has a bit

Xavier Wood - It's almost like I clone these 50/55/65 pitchers! After a very solid statistical career in the minors, Xavier wood is getting his shot at the big leagues. I expect he might struggle as a rookie this season, but I'm ok with that because I think he'll provide me nice value going forward as another "system pitcher."

 

[Travis7401]

SEASON PREVIEW - 2058

RELIEF PITCHERS -
Going with several new faces in the bullpen this year and I'm excited about it because I think it will be improved from last season's misguided experiment and it will also be cheaper now that CRAZY left. While there are always plenty of solid reliever options available in free agency, my entire bullpen will cost less this year than what top tier relief pitcher FAs got paid. I had to shell out some serious cash the last few seasons for a quality closer while I was waiting on a few prospects to develop, so I'm excited that they are finally ready for the big leagues!

Closer - Roberto Ramos - Had a solid rookie campaign last season and seemed to have a knack for the closer role, taking over after Crazy shit hisself in the first two months, so I will be playing him there again this season to start. I'm changing a bit about my pitching philosophy, so he might lose out on some of his save opportunities.

Setup/High Leverage - Gabriel Castillo - Castillo had a really good minor league career for the rigger affiliates and he's now fully developed and ready for the big leagues! He has the best ratings on paper of any of my relievers and he had a nice article about him on the website to boot! I'm starting him out in a setup role/6th inning role with high leverage situations selected as a secondary role. With many of my pitchers on pitch counts, I'm hoping that he plays to his ratings and gets lots of high leverage opportunity to help my close game record, which was horrible last season. It might be a bit hasty to put him in such an important role so early in his career, but I'm really hoping he rises to the challenge!

Middle Relief - Bilgin Dikerdam - Had a rough season last year, but he's got a skill set I really like with 2 great pitches and 60 stamina to be available for lots of innings. If he gets back to his expected performance, I'll add the high leverage secondary role to him as well. Until I determine he's back to his 2056 form, he'll be getting the LOOGY secondary role because he should do that really well.

Middle Relief - Shaun Tattershall - Has pitched really well in his first two seasons with the riggers despite having lackluster ratings. I always give playing time to people who perform well, so he's going to be in the bullpen again this season and I hope he rewards me with another good year.

Middle Relief - Edward Trembath - Another rookie and a guy who might be a starting pitcher for the riggers in the future, with half a dozen solid pitches. This year the SP lineup is full, so he gets a shot to prove hisself by starting in the bullpen. I'm a little nervous about his low GB% and movement combination, and the fact that he gave up a good number of HRs in the minors, but I'm hoping the dyson sphere really helps his game.

Middle Relief - Leo Leckenby - Was a starting pitcher before injury woes made me put him in the bullpen. Then last year he was pitching so extremely well in the bullpen that I moved him back into the starting rotation for 15 games, and he finished with a 2.39 ERA, which was stellar! He has half a dozen 45-50 rated pitches and his stuff rating is 45, but he's always pitched well for me so I keep him on the roster! He really reminds me of former rigger pitcher Jesse Wiseman, who had a similar skillset and success with the team for many seasons. I'm a little concerned about his stuff rating dropping to 45 and I didn't want to start him as an SP this season, despite his statistical success, because he is injury prone. I'll be putting him in the middle relief-long relief role to start, which is what I always did with Wiseman. If he keeps pitching like a fuckin ace, then I'll swap him out for the worst performing SP mid season.

 

[Yankee151]

Dang ISTANBUL LEGEND Seguin is still going strong. Thought he'd fall off after I let him walk.

 

[TonyGin&Juice]

Dang ISTANBUL LEGEND Seguin is still going strong. Thought he'd fall off after I let him walk.

None of you fools pay any attention. Seguin is the just another example of the RESURRECTION VIA ROSARY PRAYING that takes place in South Beach. See also: Thu, Mwantaga, Ryley Cutwolf.

 

[Travis7401]

SEASON PREVIEW 2058
I think I've got a really nice solid core group of players who are 22-27 years of age and really coming into their prime years. I'll have some turnover at DH and in the infield in the next few years, but I think I'm generally well situated with prospects showing well in the minors to replace players leaving for cheap. I think my main inefficiency this season is in my bench spots where I have zero power bats for pinch hitting. Will look to remedy that in the future. I think the health of Pinky and Nazih will be key for the riggers, as the backups I have for those positions will result in a HUGE drop in offensive production potential.

Batters

DH - Jamie Robles - Played very well for the riggers last season in the DH spot and is back for another year! I wish I had a better platoon option for him, as he isn't as good against LHP but I let Dani Rod walk in the offseason when he wanted too much money. DH will be an interesting spot going forward for the riggers. I have a couple players in AAA who might make good platoon options, but nobody amazing. Good news is DH is usually pretty easy to fill in FA, even if it is cost ineffective.

C - Isam Nazih - Nazih had a second fine season with the riggers, but it was once again derailed by a late injury, leaving North Dakota without his important bat for the playoffs. Love his defensive ability and I'm hoping for a solid 800 OPS season from him. I think he's one of the key elements to keeping the rigger batting order solid, especially against Left handed pitching.

1B - Roosevelt Gonzalez - Hasn't really had a true breakout season yet, and he spent a little time injured last season, but he's still been a solid bat for the middle of the lineup. I'd love to see him show his true power one of these seasons and finish up with 35+ HRs. I think a breakout year from Gonzalez could provide the riggers with the power that they've been missing.

2B - Calvin Lewis - The only FA offseason addition to the riggers. I'm not sure how this guy slipped through the cracks, but I signed him for $750k a season and I think he should play really well as a platoon starter against RHP. He's also a LH infield bat, which I prize in my ballpark. I think his high contact bat and good base running skills might make him a solid leadoff type bat, even though his eye isn't great. I'm either going to start him at the #1 or #2 spot. If he isn't getting on base at a .330+ pace then I might move him to the #9 or #6 spot, but I think I'm going to start him in either the #1 or #2 spot to take advantage of his base running and high contact. He doesn't have any power, but a high gap rating should play well in my park and I bet he's pretty productive. Not the best looking defensive player, but he might still have room for improvement there. I'll give him some platoon help against LHP this season. @Schauwn why you never give this dude a shot?

SS - Nicky Ansley - Coming off another stellar season in which he shattered the SB record for the league. Ansley's defense at SS isn't quite what I'd like, but he's lead the league in batting average the last couple of seasons and his OBP of >.400 coupled with his base running makes him a true terror. I'm contemplating putting him at the #2 spot to take better advantage of his high average by having more base runners in front of him. His power isn't great, but he's still putting up a ton of extra base hits every season (45-50) so it might be cool to have more runners on base in front of him. I think in the long run I'll be moving him to 3B as his range drops and his SS defensive rating isn't up to rigger standards. I just need a SS to replace him first!

3B - Craig Decker - Deckerades is one of my weakest starters on paper, with low 45 contact rating and starting to get over the hill at age 34. He's in his last contract year for the riggers and I'm hoping for some Talismanic action from him this season. If he manages to hit around 740 OPS and is a +Defender I'll be happy. I have a couple of AAA guys who might make stop gap 3B if he falls off this season, but I think Nicky Ansley will be the starter here next year.

RF - Jose Vigil - Had a stellar 4.8 WAR breakout season last year and I expect he'll be the RF option for the riggers for several years to come! I was pleased to see his power really started to show last season and he's becoming a viable #3 type hitter with a solid complete bat.

CF - Felipe Flores - He has been a very solid defensive CF for the riggers the last few seasons, but he's just been loathsome at the plate. I'm hoping he can turn the corner this year because his hitting really should be better, according to his ratings. If he hits over 750 OPS he could be a 5 WAR player with his defensive skill set. Seeing some improvement from his bat would really improve the back end of the North Dakota lineup.

LF - Julio Manuel - The MS/injury woes had him down last season, but I'm praying the rosary that he returns to be a solid 3 WAR player this season. I really missed his bat last year, especially against LHP where his splits put him into the #3 spot in the lineup when he's playing well. He's suffered a bit of ratings drop this season, but I'm hoping that's just based on last year's injury poor performance. He's signed through the 2061 season, so he's got several years left and I think this might be a key turning point in his career.

Backup/Playoff C - Shane Whiteway - It would be nice if my backup catcher had a big bat so he could pinch hit more, but with Nazih's injury issues in the last few seasons, I like that Whiteway is a solid defensive catcher. He doesn't have any power in his bat at all, but he does get on base at a decent rate, so he isn't a complete liability offensively. He's the right price for a backup catcher and isn't a liability, so he'll likely be around for a while until I develop a catcher prospect.

Utility IF - Clement Launay - Launay had a really bad season last year and I'm hoping he can bounce back as platoon starter at 2B against LHP where he's always done pretty well in the past. He always walks a ton, so his OBP is often good enough to be a leadoff type player if his batting average is .240 or better, but he just couldn't hit at all last season. I'll probably start him in the #9 spot but if he's getting on base >.340 I'll probably bump him up to the #1 spot against LHP and let Nicky Ansley hit behind him at #2. Good intangibles for a backup, but this will likely be his last season with the riggers as his contract is up and his fielding is starting to let him down. Could be replaced during the season with a AAA player if necessary.

Utility IF/Talisman - Douglass Tagg - The Man, The Myth, The Loathsome Legend. Getting a little long in the tooth to cover SS defensively, but he's the only option on the roster so he'll get some time there, lol. Should still be solid defensive option at 2B and 3B. If he manages to accumulate 0.3 WARS this season, he will eclipse 4 WARS WON for his career and North Dakota will throw a ticker tape parade in his honor. Entering year 2 of a 10 year contract extension, so we'll see how far these players take it before retiring. The riggers have never had a losing season with Douglass on the roster... that WHITE HOT VERY HIGH leadership

4th OF - Thomas Nix - Nix played well for the riggers as 4th outfielder and occasional starter last season. In order to keep Julio Manual healthy I'll likely be giving him a good number of starts at LF against RHP this year. He will cover the LF and RF positions as backup, and if Felipe Flores needs a rest Julio or Jose will slide over to the CF spot. Thomas Nix should be able to hold this spot for a season or two, but I do have other solid options in AAA should he falter. Also have Wesley Fonkert coming up through the system and 1-2 years away from being WBL ready.