[MLBFan]

Is This the Year for Boston?

The Boston Red Sox were sent home packing last year as they were defeated by the New York Yankees in the ALCS. Fortunately, a breath of fresh hope has come to Boston in the form of SS Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod, as the fans call him, was involved in one of the biggest deals of the decade which sent Manny Ramirez to Texas. Unfortunately, the Red Sox also had to trade Nomar Garciaparra to the Chicago White Sox after Nomar expressed playing time concerns. Therefore, the Sox also acquired Magglio Ordonez. Where does this leave the Sox? What position does this put them in? Well, they are in a good one. Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez get to recreate some of the Arizona magic which lead the Diamondbacks to a World Series championship in 2001. In this case though, the fans are hoping for 2004 and BEYOND.

Most of you already know what the organization's lineup will look like, which includes an all-star caliber rotation and an extremely potent offense. The only upgrade Boston probably will look to make this year is the acquisition of a left-handed starting pitcher at the deadline to cruise them to an American League Championship victory. Otherwise, look for the Sox to be a very secretive organization this year with very little, if any, blockbuster moves.

[numbuh48]

Wouldn't it make more sense to start in '04?

[MLBFan]

Originally Posted by numbuh48

Wouldn't it make more sense to start in '04?

...I was thinking about that after I made this thread, and you are right... it does make more sense to start in '04. I'll edit the main post shortly reflecting the change.

[MLBFan]

Basically, I'm going to take the time and share the settings I'm using and everything with you guys;

My universe has three minor league levels (Triple-A, Double-A, and Single-A), with a forty-five round amateur draft. This allows for everyone's farm system to be filled out with minor league depth, no matter how terrible it is. I realize this will take playing time away from potential real life superstars, but I'm sure these fictional players will run out of gas a few years into their career that we don't really need to worry about that. Scouting is also off, however when the amateur draft pool is revealed and during the draft, it is turned back on for realism. As for injury settings and stuff, I have injuries set to HIGH (realistic modern day) and player fatigue at average. Trade frequency is at very low, hard for a difficulty, and favor prospects. At the deadline, frequency will be turned up a tad and teams will then favor veterans instead of specs.

Here's to A-Rod having a successful career in Boston, and to numbuh48 for encouraging me to start in 2004 for more realistic action than in 2003. And I'm glad I did, to. I did a little test sim of the 2003 universe after changing my mind, and saw Mark Teixeira blasting sixty home-runs with a .378 average, yeah... no.

[MLBFan]

Spring Training Updates

As Spring Training is coming to an end and rosters are getting finalized, it's safe to say that the baseball season is about to begin. Baseball fans everywhere are rejoicing, especially if you are Boston Red Sox fan. The team with a phenomenal off-season, with acquisitions like Curt Schilling and Alex Rodriguez, went 14-10. They had the second best record in the Spring, behind the Toronto Blue Jays. Regardless, analysis are predicting Boston to walk away with the AL East. Here's a look at how their new players did:

SS Alex Rodriguez -- playing in 24 games; 3 home-runs, .400 average, and an OPS of 1.106. He had one of the better springs in the majors.

LF Magglio Ordonez -- playing in 24 games; 1 home-run, .313 average, and an OPS of .753. He didn't have the best spring, but he performed well.

SP Curt Schilling -- pitching 20 quality innings; 3 wins, 2.25 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.10.

CL Keith Foulke -- pitching nine innings of relief, 4 saves, 0.96 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.93.

The team suffered no injuries -- thank God. This made the process of creating an opening day roster easy; Pedro Martinez will be the ace of the Boston rotation, Curt Schilling following him, and rounding out the rotation will be Derek Lowe, Bronson Arroyo, and Tim Wakefield. As for the lineup, it's very predictable and the most common choice; Damon, Mueller, Ortiz, Rodriguez, Nixon, Ordonez, Varitek, Millar, and Reese at second. The team is projected, by Baseball America, to win ninety-six games. That's the front office's goal, too.

Also! The Red Sox have been actively shopping for a left-handed starter to start the season off with. According to their GM Theo Epstein, it isn't anyone of "high caliber" but it is a suitable "back-end" starter. Possible candidates? Thirty-eight year old Tom Glavine of the Mets, twenty-eight year old Scott Downs of the Expos, and thirty-year old Mark Redman of the Oakland A's; it would be nice to see Glavine in a Sox uniform, but given his age... he may not be the most viable option. "We want to clear up some salary, and clear the logjam we have in the outfield. Right now, we have five outfielders on our 25 man roster... I'd like to cut that down to four," said Theo Epstein. "The news is going to be leaked sooner or later, so I'm going to say it now: Trot Nixon is the guy we are looking to deal. He may be an excellent guy in the clubhouse, but if he can garner us that pitcher... we are willing to deal. Pitching and defense win championships, not offense."

The twenty-nine year old Nixon is an adequate defender with a plus bat, but Gabe Kapler, twenty-eight, has gold glove potential defense. Boston's first game of the season is against the Baltimore Orioles. Pedro Martinez will get the start for Boston, while Sidney Ponson will start for the Orioles. The game takes place at Camden Yards.

In non-Red Sox related news, the Blue Jays have acquired LF Jason Lane from the Astros in exchange for C Gregg Zaun. The trade is mutually beneficial to both teams; Zaun is expected to be the starting catcher for the Astros. Jason Kendall was traded by the Pirates to the Angels. The Angels only gave up Adam Kennedy, which makes the deal go in the Angels favor.

[MLBFan]

Boston, San Diego Complete Blockbuster
May First, 2004

The Red Sox were not kidding at all when they said they were willing to deal RF Trot Nixon in favor of pitching. In fact, they just finalized a deal which would send the star right-fielder west, to San Diego, for decorated left-handed pitcher, David Wells. 'Boomer', as the fans call him, is ecstatic to be calling the AL East his home once again. "When my agent called and told me the news, I started jumping for joy. I made my career in the AL East. I've played for the Yankees, Jays, and Orioles... but never the Red Sox. I'm honored to be included in their plans of creating a championship caliber team." Wells told Baseball News Network reporter Lisa Sammons. "Now I'll be honest with you... when I heard Boston was looking for a left-handed arm, I did not expect that arm to be me. You heard the reports of them wanting the two year younger Glavine, or ten year younger Redman of Oakland. Again though, I'm just happy to be going to Boston."

The legendary Theo Epstein made some comments about the trade, too. "I was looking at my possible options -- I had Glavine in New York who would make an excellent fifth starter, but then I decided I wanted more. Originally, I contacted Oakland about their asking price on Barry Zito, and it seemed sort of high... so I walked away from that, and inquired about a few more players before deciding on Wells. At first, they wanted a lot, naturally. However, I explained that Wells is old and aging fast; plus, I had them look at his weight -- can you believe he weighs 265 pounds? Anyway though, after we considered all the internal and external factors, a deal kinda just came together and Nixon was packing his bags for San Diego." Epstein shortly did make a wonderful trade. Wells, on most teams, would be a number one or two starter, but on the Sox? On the Sox, Wells is a number three starter at best, but he'll be putting up ace-like numbers. Can you sing the best rotation in the league song, because that's what it currently looks like to me.

For the month of April, the Sox did well. They did well enough to claim first place in the AL East, which is nothing short of amazing. The Blue Jays though, not the Yankees, are knocking hard on the gate. They are trying very, very hard to dethrone Boston. It could happen, too. The Sox are performing poorly against their Canadian brethren, claiming only one game out of six already played thus far in 2004. Things could change in an instant though, so nothing is certain; especially now the with acquisition of a new ace.

Other General Managers though, weren't silent. The Phillies sent 2B Placido Polanco to the White Sox for 3B Joe Crede. Then, the Expos responded by trading LF Juan Rivera to the Diamondbacks in exchange for one of the better relievers in the game... RHP Matt Mantei. Then, the Angels' C David Ross found himself being thrown out of town to Colorado for RHP Vladamir Nunez. And it does not end there because the Mets and Rays exchanged players. Fred McGriff is heading back to the NL East, while C Jason Phillips is being welcomed with open arms by the Devil Rays.

Lots and lots of trades are going down, naturally. Teams aren't strengthening their team for the post season right now, but they are strengthening their teams so they don't have to make as many blockbusters come July. It's nice to see, and it is even better to see a well-liked guy named Mike Mussina pick up his two-hundredth career win. Mussina, thirty-five, isn't likely to reach 300 wins, but it is possible that the 200 win guy finds himself a spot in the Hall of Fame if he can keep pitching like he normally does for another four years or so.

American League Awards

Batter of the Month: CF Mark Kotsay -- .389/7/17
Pitcher of the Month: SP Johan Santana -- 4-1 & 1.76 ERA
Rookie of the Month: CF Curtis Granderson -- .345/4/13

National League Awards

Batter of the Month: CF Jason Michaels -- .523/5/22
Pitcher of the Month: SP Kevin Millwood -- 5-0 & 0.76 ERA
Rookie of the Month: 3B Chad Tracy -- .303/4/11

[MLBFan]

Disappointing May Dethrones Boston
June 15, 2004

After an extremely disappointing May, Boston dropped to third place in the AL East with a record of 27 wins and 25 losses. They were two games behind the Yankees for first place. How did it happen? It began on the second of May when Boston was viscously outscored by the Cleveland Indians, thus they were swept. Then, the Sox looked to recover at home vs. Kansas City, but again, was swept and brutally outscored. Who's to blame? It is, indeed, the pitching staff -- and some components of the offense.

Boston pitching for the month of May mustered up an unimpressive combined ERA of 5.33. The offense wasn't doing any better either. You see, new additions like Magglio Ordonez and Alex Rodriguez are turning out to be nothing more than offensive flakes -- maybe they can't stand the big, buzzing media outlet that is Boston? It's a possibility, especially since A-Rod hasn't been able to bat over .250 or hit more than 10 home-runs thus far this season. The twenty-eight year old shortstop better find his groove soon, or he may be shipped out of town. Rodriguez's training partner, Ordonez, is doing slightly better in the average department, but again, lacks the power which made Boston fans crazy about him. Ordonez is batting .302 on the season with two home-runs, and a .756 OPS. Both players look to get back on track to make a push for the post-season as soon as possible.

Last month, the Red Sox acquired 40 year-old left-handed pitcher, David Wells from the San Diego Padres. Wells hasn't been lights out, unfortunately, but he is coming around. In Wells' first five starts with the Red Sox, he put up an ERA of 5.32 and a win-loss record of one and four. However, Wells has been meeting with Red Sox Pitching Instructor Will Clarke to discuss changes that need to be made. And since those meetings, Wells has won his three starts and lowered his ERA almost a full run to 4.68. Wells' secret? "Keeping the ball down. When I came back to the American League, my pitches were everywhere but down in the zone, so I was getting teed off. Mr. Clarke reworked everything with me and now I'm enjoying more success as a ground ball pitcher rather than a pop fly one." Wells told the media outside his recently purchased home in Lowell, Massachussets. Is he gearing up for a contract extension? Reports say the Red Sox have offered him a 3.5m/year contract for two years.

On to the 2004 First Year Player Draft:

There is a lot of prime talent in the draft pool this year! Players like SP Felix Hernandez, SP Matt Cain, MR Huston Street, MR Jonathan Papelbon, and SS Hanley Ramirez are just some of the premier talents in this pool. The Red Sox have the twenty-fifth overall pick this year, and they are expected to be looking for a young, talented middle infielder.

[MLBFan]

2004 Amateur Draft Recap
June 15, 2004

The 2004 Amateur Draft was chopfull of pitching talent this year. Many top-flight starters like Felix Hernandez, Francisco Liriano, Zach Duke, and Josh Johnson went with the top four picks of the draft. That means, in order, the Devil Rays, Dodgers, White Sox, and Cubs all have new, dominant young starters on their team. And to round out the fifth slot was the most sought after shortstop in the draft -- and even most sought after hitter -- Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez went to the Kansas City Royals where he is expected to make an immediate impact. Boston also was able to draft some prime talent with their twenty-fifth of the draft. They took 2B Aaron Hill.

2B Aaron Hill - 25 Overall Pick of the 2004 Amateur Draft, Boston Red Sox
Aaron Hill was probably the second best middle infielder available in the draft, behind Hanley Ramirez. Hill was not drafted in the top 10 of the draft because of the large signing bonus he demanded. Hill's agent made it very clear to the media that his client would ONLY accept a large, rather risky contract. The 22 year old second baseman as described by Boston scouts is a player with superstar potential and premier power at the second base position. He is expected to be called up to the majors in September, but depending on his performance in Triple-A, he could be up before then.

SP Jonathan Papelbon - 55 Overall Pick of the 2004 Amateur Draft, Boston Red Sox

Papelbon was a steal for the Red Sox in the second round. Why? He possesses the physical makeup and the stuff to be a top of the rotation starter, but due to his inability to go late into games, Paps will probably become one of the better bullpen arms in the game. However, as seen with David Wells, it is highly possible that the Boston pitching coach is able to rework Paps and turn him into a starter. Papelbon is twenty-three.

CL Cla Meredith - 85 Overall Pick of the 2004 Amateur Draft, Boston Red Sox

Meredith, twenty-one, is projected to be nothing more than a quality bullpen arm, or a late inning shutdown guy. It depends on whether or not he is able to get his head in the game and pitch effectively, instead of worrying about the cute blonde sitting behind home plate. Cla, though, will probably be called up to the majors, like Paps and Hill, in September.

Boston also drafted C Geovany Soto, CF Adam Stern, MR Edinson Volquez, and 1B John Ford-Griffin.

[bwburke94]

This is exactly why historicals need to be tweaked. Han-Ram was already in the Sox system before '04.

[BigRed75]

You seem to be a person of strong convictions.

[PhillieFever]

Originally Posted by bwburke94

This is exactly why historicals need to be tweaked. Han-Ram was already in the Sox system before '04.

Using the default DB,players enter the league in the year they made their MLB debut,for that reason it's tough to use minors in historicals.But if you use the Gambo DB,players will enter the league in the year they made their professional debut.So getting what you want is just a simple matter of using a different DB.