Your 2021 Oakland Athletics

[Purple Cowboy]

Meh... I'm pretty much stalled out on this one, my main hangup being the messed up career leaderboards which makes me feel like I don't have a true "game history." This being my first dynasty I've pretty much figured out what I like and dislike, and now that I can actually run a historical sim without bungling everything up and now that my "open in another browser" works (thanks darkcloud), I'm going to start something new. I'll sim out the rest of the season to see how the 2021 boys did and post some results. Thanks for those of you who followed along, I hope you don't feel cheated.

[Jestor]

Sorry to hear that you´ve stalled on it, as it was a really fun read.

Let us know how Rowley Dickinson finishes up!

[Purple Cowboy]

Thanks Jestor!

Here's how things panned out:

The end of the season…

33-year old Chicago Cubs catcher Dave Bellhorn hit his 500th career home run at Wrigley Field in the Cubs’ 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers on August 13. Bellhorn of course tempered his personal achievement with the team loss and expressed his desire to continue to help the first-place Cubs.

J.D. Knisley went onto the 15-day disabled list on August 17 after coming out of a 5-3 ballgame against the Yankees in the top of the 4th inning complaining of elbow soreness. Many fans initially killed the 34-year old on talk radio for “packing it in” but then realized that a two-week break might be just what Knisley needs to be fresh for September. Fred Cake (7-6 7.59 ERA) was recalled from AAA Sacramento.

A week later shortstop Edgard Galdames found himself on the 15-day disabled list after being plunked on the wrist by Baltimore’s 19-year old lefty Carl Roark in the 1st inning of a 13-1 blowout against the Orioles. 20-year old prospect Brandt Margerson took Galdemes’ spot and split time at short with Jamie Klee.

Leading MLB in saves with 41, Bill Mathis gave us a scare when he came off complaining of a sore back in what ended up being a 3-2 loss at home against the Texas Rangers on Friday, September 3. A trip to the 15-day list meant Gregg Basnett came back from AAA and fan-favorite setup man Fairfax von Schoening handled the closing duties.

On the 13th of September Mumbles Yamasita went onto the 15-day with a bruised cheekbone after being pegged in the face in a 7-4 loss to the Texas Rangers in Texas. The beaning apparently helped spark a Texas comeback as they were trailing 4-1 at the time. 30-year old Bertram Holsinger was recalled from AAA to cover center field.

The very next day long reliever Stacy Renteria came out of a game and was diagnosed with dead arm syndrome. 29-year old Harry Allen was called up to fill Renteria’s slot in the bullpen.


FINAL STANDINGS

 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STANDINGS - END OF SEASON

   AMERICAN LEAGUE           NATIONAL LEAGUE
   Eastern Division          Eastern Division
 Boston      99-63  -      New York     106-56   -  
 Baltimore   81-81 18      Philadelphia  92-70  14 
 Toronto     78-84 21      Florida       82-80  24  
 New York    77-85 22      Washington    75-87  31
 Tampa Bay   68-94 31      Atlanta       56-106 33½

   Central Division          Central Division
 Chicago     99-63   -     Chicago    99-63   -
 Detroit     86-76  13     Cincinnati 83-79  16
 Kansas City 74-88  25     Pittsburgh 72-90  27 
 Minnesota   72-90  27     Houston    71-91  28
 Cleveland   61-101 38     St. Louis  62-100 26
                           Milwaukee  54-108 45
   Western Division
 Oakland     107-55  -       Western Division
 Los Angeles  91-71 16     Los Angeles   105-57  -
 Texas        90-72 17     Arizona        94-68 11
 Seattle      66-96 41     Colorado       88-74 17
                           San Diego      73-89 32 
                           San Francisco  69-93 36

The only surprising thing about the standings is that the Arizona Diamondbacks really spiraled in the last two months of the season and nearly dropped the wildcard to the Philadelphia Phillies. At the All-Star break we had projected the National League wildcard winner would come from the West because we didn’t believe in the Phillies but the men from Schwilladelph showed a lot of heart and their bullpen really helped keep them in a lot of games. Philly’s 24-year old closer Jose Martinez ended up tied with our Bill Mathis for the MLB lead in saves with 44. Martinez had 61 innings pitched and a 1.31 ERA compared against Mathis’ 62.1 innings and 1.44 ERA. Mathis’ 0.90 WHIP, 65 strikeouts, and 7 walks were more than matched by Martinez’ 0.79 WHIP and 80 strikeouts against just 9 walks as hitters managed just a .180 batting average against the Philadelphia closer compared with .213 against Mathis. Mathis was good, but he obviously benefited from playing behind a big offense.

Mumbles Yamasita ended up with the American League batting title after hitting .366 in 560 at-bats in 2021, edging out teammate Teddy Revelez who hit .366 in 522 at-bats. Yamasita was on the DL for the final two weeks of the season and Revelez dipped above and below Mumbles during that period but ended dead even but the at-bats clearly give it to Yamasita.

Our boy Rowley Dickson led Major League Baseball in wins with 25 but his 2.38 ERA finished behind Boston’s 20-game winner and MLB legend Zach Duke in the American League who posted a 2.25 ERA. Duke (252.1 innings pitched) also notched 331 strikeouts against Dickson’s (256.2 innings) 309 but they were second and third behind the Mets’ superstar Brandon Radley who sent 360 batters down in 255 innings. The AL Cy Young Award is going to be close between Duke and Dickson but Radley looks a lock to take home the NL version of the award.

Yamasita led the AL in stolen bases with 52 and Revelez had 190 walks to lead MLB.

This had to be a record year for beanings in the head. Every team had at least two players go onto the disabled list for prolonged periods with a fractured skull, broken cheekbone, or fractured eye socket.

The playoff picture looks like this:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Boston Red Sox
Oakland Athletics
-THE ultimate pitching matchup... at least in games 1 and 4: the legendary man with all the rings and Cy Young Awards in Zach Duke against our up-and-coming superstar Rowley Dickson. The injury to Dome Guevaro leaves us in a tough spot for the playoffs as the lineup will be lacking the relentlessness that it showed for the first 4 months of the season. Boston will be without regular starting catcher Calvin Jones as the 33-year old recovers from a fractured wrist. Like Guevaro, Jones isn’t expected to play at all in the playoffs although there’s a miniscule chance he could come back for the World Series if the Sox get that far. In terms of a prediction our lineup has been spotty at best since the Guevaro injury as opposition managers have pitched around Teddy Revelez and Boston certainly has the arms to put us into a short slump. The media certainly thinks that Boston’s better pitching, a hallmark of their championship teams, will negate our superior lineup but I think we just have too much for them even with the Guevaro injury.

Los Angeles Angels
Chicago White Sox
-The Angels nearly dropped the Wild Card to their division rivals Texas Rangers in the last week of the season but all year long they managed to stay just a half-step ahead of the fiery, young Rangers thanks to their seemingly endless resources. The defending AL Champion White Sox have been strengthened all year by their big off-season signings from the Mets in starting pitcher Bowie van Ingen and perennial .300 batting average and 30 home run left fielder Brandt Wurz. However, the ChiSox will be without Wurz (torn tricep) and two-time All-Star first baseman Jake Hubble (strained cruciate ligament) for the entire playoffs while 36-year old starter Chip Grimsley, a 13-game winner this year, will skip the Angels series with a tender shoulder as will centerfielder Damario Rosado and his .317 average, 41 home runs and 122 RBI. It’s not all good news for the Angels, though, as their superstar-in-the-making Danilo “Silencer” Tabarez has been rehabbing a ruptured elbow ligament for the last three months and won’t be available to play third base at all this series. Tough series to call… we’d certainly rather see the Angels as we owned them this year but the gaping hole created by Tabarez’ absence probably gives this series to the White Sox.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Arizona Diamondbacks
New York Mets
-The defending champion Mets look as strong as ever led by 30-year old lefty Brandon Radley, a 4-time Cy Young Award winner, who went 22-6 with a 2.44 ERA this year. The Mets have a lot of contributors like 32-year old catcher Leith MacIlwhom who had a .344 batting average and 25 home runs but the team is all about 30-year old first baseman Hippolyte “Workhorse” Ashe who led all of baseball with 61 home runs and 181 RBI. 27-year old third baseman, Bill Cake, the brother of our stopgap starting pitcher Fred Cake, will miss the playoffs with a fractured skull. Cake is normally a .275/25/100 guy every year. The D-backs will be hindered by the loss of their 24-year old rising star Nathan “Gobbler” Webb who went 16-7 with a 2.28 ERA in 33 starts before going onto the disabled list with a strained rotator cuff muscle but otherwise will have a full-strength squad. With 40-year old C.C. Sabathia and 41-year old Brandon Webb having to anchor the staff it seems the Mets will be able to overpower Arizona.

Chicago Cubs
Los Angeles Dodgers
-You know the Cubs have some issues closing games when 39-year old soft-tossing middle reliever Felipe Martinez is the most trusted arm in the bullpen. Yet their reliable lineup has had them out in first place in the NL Central all year long. Meanwhile the Dodgers were in a struggle with the Diamondbacks in the West all year until September when the Bums finally pulled away. The Dodgers are hurting though and will be without their regular third baseman and right fielder, in addition to two solid middle relievers. Even though the Dodgers won 105 games this year it seems like everyone is picking the Cubs here.


RESULTS:
ALDS
Red Sox 3 Oakland 1
-For some insane reason manager Jeff Hance had Neifi Villaluazo and Gib Glaus starting games 1 and 2 of this series and we promply lost both games in Oakland by blowout. Rowley Dickson managed to pick up a win in game 3 but Nori Nakamura didn’t have it in Game 4. Plenty of outrage throughout the Bay area that veteran J.D. Knisley didn’t even get a chance to start despite being signed just for this reason.

Angels 3 White Sox 2
-Chicago held 1-0, and 2-1 leads in this series but the Angels showed a lot of coolness under pressure and battled back both times to eventually squeak out the series victory in 5 games. For a team that barely made the playoffs the Angels certainly proved that they belong.

NLDS
Mets 3 Diamondbacks 0
-What can you say? The Diamondbacks seemed to be in awe of the defending champions and it showed on the field as Arizona committed 7 errors in three games and just looked completely out of their depth from the opening pitch of game 1.

Cubs 3 Dodgers 1
-The predictions were correct as the Dodgers just couldn’t manage to overcome the big injuries to their lineup and bullpen. Many had thought their season-long struggle with the Diamondbacks would have them battle-tested for the playoffs but with both NL West clubs going out meekly in the first round talk has turned to how weak of a division the West must actually be.

ALCS
Red Sox 4 Angels 2
-The Red Sox kept rolling as they went back to the World Series for the fourth time in the last six years. Zach Duke and Eloy Furse have looked dominant on the hill for Beantown who many think are at a “last chance” phase before major changes will need to be made to the roster.

NLCS
Mets 4 Cubs 2
-The Mets somehow managed to go back to their second straight World Series in a fantastic, tight series where they only outscored the Cubs by a single run. One break here or there and it would have been the Cubs going to the big dance but instead they’ll be looking towards next season.

World Series
Mets 4 Red Sox 1
-The Mets would have none of it… throttling both Eloy Furse and Zach Duke en route to their second consecutive championship. After falling behind 3-0 the Sox managed to get game 4 against the Mets’ fourth starter but they just appeared overmatched from the start.

Notes:
Mumbles Yamasita picked up a Gold Glove for his work in center field.

Rowley Dickson won the AL Cy Young Award with a 25-2 record, 2.38 ERA, 35GS, 256.2 IP, 210 HA, 32 BB, 309 K, and .218 OBA.

Teddy Revelez took the AL MVP with his .366 batting average, 42 homers, 147 RBI, and 190 BB.

Despite leading all rookies with 29 home runs and 92 RBI, rookie Francisco Quinenes’ .254 batting average was enough to give the Rookie of the Year award to Balitmore’s Chinese sensation Ming Chew who was a very solid .299 hitter with 19 homers and 76 RBI. Chew’s OBP of .392 was much better than Quinenes’ .311.