The Olde Towne Team: 2015 Boston Red Sox (and beyond...)

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-26-2015, 08:04 PM

With the real 2017 season not turning out very well for the Boston Red Sox, I wanted to take a shot at building up the team that I grew up rooting for. See if I couldn't turn the Sox into a contender within a few years. While I hope this gets a few views (comments are always welcome), it is primarily designed to keep me motivated and on task with my league.

Rules will be pretty standard, using the most recent "September" rosters that the great OOTP team just put out. I will act as GM and Manager, but no doubt will rely upon my "bench" coach at times. Trading will be set to hard, favor prospects, injuries off (just hate that part of the game/life), fatigue is on but set to low, and trading frequency set to low. Trading of draft picks is allowed. Budget is controlled by owner and have a self-imposed requirement to be in the bottom 1/3 of league payroll (21-30) for the entire 2015 season. Since I am starting off at 11th place, I will need to make some moves. I will check the payroll number each month and make any necessary changes to keep in the bottom 1/3. Owner can fire me, I will not make any player edits, and scouting accuracy is set to normal.

While I will make some initial trades to get the team headed in the right direction, I will try to limit the amount of trades that I make after the initial set up. The first handful of posts are designed to set the foundation, and then will likely sim in bi-weekly intervals so that things keep moving along.

With that, welcome to Beantown and off to Fenway!

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-26-2015, 08:13 PM

Here is what I am starting off with...

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-26-2015, 08:14 PM

Team finances:

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-26-2015, 08:35 PM

For me, the baseball Hall of Fame is a place that only the "best of the best" players belong. The absence of Peter Edward "Pete" Rose, Sr., from the HoF was something that I could not allow to continue.

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-26-2015, 08:44 PM

Mr. Henry has spoken and now it is my job to make it happen. I am glad that I was given the goal of just getting a winning record, as it could be a rough first year for the team as I slash payroll. Working towards the playoffs in a few years also fits my vision for the team. I will admit though I am a little worried about having to get a contract extension to Uehara. At 40 years old, and declining skills, that has the makings of disaster written all over it.

A quick check shows that Koji wants to discuss a three (3) year deal worth a total of $42,500,000 ($14,166,666 per). Yeah, that is never going to happen!

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-26-2015, 08:55 PM

After looking over the team and scouting the league, I was able to find three (3) moves that will allow for much lower player payroll and hopefully not destroy any chance the team has at being respectable.

Trade #1: Boston sent Hanley Ramirez (former RoY, 3 time All-Star, 2 time silver slugger), Pablo Sandoval (2 time All-Star, former World Series MVP), a mid/low prospect (Marco Hernandez), and five (5) draft picks to the Arizona Diamondbacks for 1B Paul Goldschmidt (2 time all-star, 1 time silver slugger, and 1 time gold glove). The move cleared $33,000,000 in season salary and provided a career salary savings of a whopping $110,500,000.

The plan is to use Goldschmidt at first base in place of Ramierz, and hopefully land a F/A that I have my eye on. Goldschmidt should provide a little better defense at first, and his lower salary and age sure doesn't hurt.

Clemente21PIT · 09-26-2015, 09:23 PM

Yes! No more Hanley or Pablo, you didn't trade away the farm, and you got a great young MVP-caliber player in Goldschmidt. I look forward to your dynasty Chowderhead!

PS: I agree with not re-signing Uehara. Maybe Chapman, Kimbrel, or Joe Kelly as closer. Or perhaps Storen of the Nats?

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-26-2015, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clemente21PIT

Yes! No more Hanley or Pablo, you didn't trade away the farm, and you got a great young MVP-caliber player in Goldschmidt. I look forward to your dynasty Chowderhead!

PS: I agree with not re-signing Uehara. Maybe Chapman, Kimbrel, or Joe Kelly as closer. Or perhaps Storen of the Nats?

Thank you for the kind words. I ran a few test sims and Hanley actually hit very well, but I thought it was worth the chance to go younger and cheaper. Never was a fan of the Pablo trade in "real" life, so I was looking to move him in the game from the get go. I thought I was pretty set at the SS position, so letting Hernandez go was not too much of a worry. Hopefully Goldschmidt puts up respectable numbers and plays a little GG defense.

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-26-2015, 10:37 PM

Trade #2:
Another move to shed salary and get younger. Boston sent #1 starter Rick Porcello, the top rated Red Sox prospect (ranked 18th overall in the league) Yoan Moncada, 5 draft picks, including the 4th and 5th round draft picks, and a salary equalizer of $2,247,042 to the Blue Jays for 23 year old SP Marcus Stroman.

Ratings on Stroman are off the charts, but has very little actual experience. In my test sims, Stroman had a couple of solid to near all-star seasons, but also had a few seasons where he was below league average. Losing Porcello might hurt (not that bad of a pitcher) but I could not justify that salary. What I am really worried about is what Moncada might turn into. He oozes talent -- this was a gamble move. The trade gave a season payroll savings of $12,000,000 and career payroll savings of $81,500,000.

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-26-2015, 11:07 PM

Trade #3
The final trade to start the season was to focus on getting another young arm into the rotation. Boston sent #3 starter Clay Buchholz (2 time All-Star), Ben Moore (minor league catcher), Robby Ross (minor league SP), Joe Kelly (minor league SP), and 5 draft picks (including my #1 and #2) to the Cardinals for SP Michael Wacha.

I think this last trade was the most costly, rendering me with no real meaningful draft picks, another one of my starting pitchers, some respectful minor league talent, and very little long term payroll savings. Wacha, like Stroman, has the ratings to indicate that he could be something special but has no real experience. The payroll savings was $11,735,000 season savings, with a like amount for long-term savings.

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-27-2015, 12:00 AM

Free Agent Signing
Boston announced the signing of Cuban free agent 3rd baseman Luis Yander La O Camacho to a three (3) year deal with a player option for a 4th year. Total value of the contract, if all options and bonuses are reached, is $22,750,000. While not rated to hit for power, he does show signs of being able to put the ball in play, provide some speed on the bases, and should prove to be a solid glove at the hot corner.

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-27-2015, 12:11 AM

While not necessarily a top prospect, it was disheartening to learn that Michael Kopech decided to retire from baseball to accept a basketball scholarship so he could attend college. Accounting to scouting reports, Kopech had three average to above average pitches, stuff and control potential ratings that were above average, and the stamina to pitch later into ball games.

After trading away the meaningful portion of the upcoming draft, losing a prospect does not help me one bit.

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-27-2015, 10:24 AM

Well, one month down and it is not looking too good for Boston. Despite having a few bright spots during the month, the Red Sox are off to a dismal record of 6-16 for the month of April. Good enough for not only last place in the AL East, but also tied for the worst record in baseball.

The trades I made have not worked out very well. Not only have the players I traded away done outstanding (just look at the NL batting leaders - Hanley is crushing the ball), the players I was counting on are hardly making any positive impact. Being 10 games out of 1st place after just 1 month is not what I had hoped for. It is going to be a long season...

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-27-2015, 11:24 PM

Here is a closer look at how the team did in the month of April. From the team perspective, Boston ranked near or at the bottom of most stats. As for the players, only Ortiz (.301, 5 HR's & 15 RBI) and Swihart (.343 BA) put up noteworthy numbers. Stroman (1-4 with 3.15 ERA) has been on the wrong side of a few close games, and Goldschmidt, Wacha, and La O Camacho have yet to produce anywhere near what was expected.

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-27-2015, 11:34 PM

Good news is that I was able to lower payroll enough to get to 24th lowest team payroll in the league. This places me within the bottom 1/3 of payroll -- right where I needed to be. One nice surprise is that the fan interest has somehow increased despite the lousy month the team had. Overall attendance is down, but still drawing well. Money for extensions and F/A is looking real good.

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-27-2015, 11:55 PM

April Awards:
Edwin Encarncion took AL hitting honors, while Carl Crawford smashed his way to the NL award. The outstanding pitchers of the month went to KC's Johnny Cueto and to the Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright.

April 9th: Mark Teixeira scored his 1,000th run of his career.
April 25th: Mark Buehrle notched his 200th career victory.

.

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-28-2015, 09:12 PM

Yikes! May was a difficult month for Boston, with the team getting only 8 wins in 29 games (8-21, .276%). This dismal showing firmly entrenched the Red Sox in last place in the AL East (20 games out of 1st place) and the worst record in all of baseball. Somehow the team owner is still in a good mood despite the horrendous ball play.

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-28-2015, 09:22 PM

The Dodgers (32-18) and the Mariners (34-16) each have the best record in their respective leagues. The NL Central Division has four (4) teams within 3 1/2 games of the lead. The Royals look like they are going to be a team in contention for another WS trip. The Hanley Rameriz trade continues to haunt Boston, as he leads the NL in BA and OPS. What I wouldn't give for that production right now.

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-28-2015, 09:29 PM

While the team is not winning, Boston is still drawing in the fans pretty well. Payroll sits at $85,573,000, good enough for 24th place overall. Fan interest at 88, while still high for such a bad team, has dropped since last month. This team needs to turn things around, and quick.

CHOWDERHEAD · 09-28-2015, 10:41 PM

May Awards:
Jose Bautista took AL hitting honors for the month of May thanks to his .416 BA, 15 HR's, and 31 RBI's. Brandon Belt captured the NL hitting award by hitting .339, with 6 HR's and 23 RBI. The outstanding pitchers of the month went to Oakland's Drew Pomeranz (5-0, 1.36 ERA) and the Dodgers ace Zach Greinke (5-1, 2.11 ERA).

May 7th: Carl Crawford scored his 1,000th career run.
May 13th: Feliz Hernandez notched his 2,000 career strikeout.
May 15th: Adrian Beltre hit his 400th career home run.
May 18th: Miguel Cabrera his his 400th career home run.
May 22nd: Jose Reyes scored his 1,000th career run.

09-26-2015, 08:35 PM	#4
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	Welcome to Cooperstown! For me, the baseball Hall of Fame is a place that only the "best of the best" players belong. The absence of Peter Edward "Pete" Rose, Sr., from the HoF was something that I could not allow to continue. Attached Images __________________ Life is Good!

09-26-2015, 08:44 PM	#5
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	Goals Mr. Henry has spoken and now it is my job to make it happen. I am glad that I was given the goal of just getting a winning record, as it could be a rough first year for the team as I slash payroll. Working towards the playoffs in a few years also fits my vision for the team. I will admit though I am a little worried about having to get a contract extension to Uehara. At 40 years old, and declining skills, that has the makings of disaster written all over it. A quick check shows that Koji wants to discuss a three (3) year deal worth a total of $42,500,000 ($14,166,666 per). Yeah, that is never going to happen! Attached Images __________________ Life is Good! Last edited by CHOWDERHEAD; 09-26-2015 at 08:47 PM.

09-26-2015, 08:55 PM	#6
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	Let the Trading Begin! After looking over the team and scouting the league, I was able to find three (3) moves that will allow for much lower player payroll and hopefully not destroy any chance the team has at being respectable. Trade #1: Boston sent *Hanley Ramirez* (former RoY, 3 time All-Star, 2 time silver slugger), *Pablo Sandoval* (2 time All-Star, former World Series MVP), a mid/low prospect (*Marco Hernandez), and five (5) draft picks to the Arizona Diamondbacks* for 1B *Paul Goldschmidt* (2 time all-star, 1 time silver slugger, and 1 time gold glove). The move cleared $33,000,000 in season salary and provided a career salary savings of a whopping $110,500,000. The plan is to use Goldschmidt at first base in place of Ramierz, and hopefully land a F/A that I have my eye on. Goldschmidt should provide a little better defense at first, and his lower salary and age sure doesn't hurt. Attached Images __________________ Life is Good! Last edited by CHOWDERHEAD; 09-28-2015 at 10:52 PM.

09-26-2015, 10:37 PM	#9
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	More Trade Fun Trade #2: Another move to shed salary and get younger. Boston sent #1 starter *Rick Porcello, the top rated Red Sox prospect (ranked 18th overall in the league) Yoan Moncada, 5 draft picks, including the 4th and 5th round draft picks, and a salary equalizer of $2,247,042 to the Blue Jays* for 23 year old SP *Marcus Stroman. Ratings on Stroman are off the charts, but has very little actual experience. In my test sims, Stroman had a couple of solid to near all-star seasons, but also had a few seasons where he was below league average. Losing Porcello might hurt (not that bad of a pitcher) but I could not justify that salary. What I am really worried about is what Moncada might turn into. He oozes talent -- this was a gamble move. The trade gave a season payroll savings of $12,000,000 and career payroll savings of $81,500,000. Attached Images __________________ Life is Good! Last edited by CHOWDERHEAD; 09-28-2015 at 10:51 PM.*

09-26-2015, 11:07 PM	#10
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	Looking for an Ace *Trade #3* The final trade to start the season was to focus on getting another young arm into the rotation. *Boston* sent #3 starter *Clay Buchholz* (2 time All-Star), *Ben Moore* (minor league catcher), Robby Ross (minor league SP), Joe Kelly (minor league SP), and 5 draft picks (including my #1 and #2) to the *Cardinals* for SP Michael Wacha. I think this last trade was the most costly, rendering me with no real meaningful draft picks, another one of my starting pitchers, some respectful minor league talent, and very little long term payroll savings. Wacha, like Stroman, has the ratings to indicate that he could be something special but has no real experience. The payroll savings was $11,735,000 season savings, with a like amount for long-term savings. Attached Images __________________ Life is Good! Last edited by CHOWDERHEAD; 09-28-2015 at 10:50 PM.

09-26-2015, 08:04 PM	#1
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	The Olde Towne Team: 2017 Boston Red Sox (and beyond...) With the real 2017 season not turning out very well for the Boston Red Sox, I wanted to take a shot at building up the team that I grew up rooting for. See if I couldn't turn the Sox into a contender within a few years. While I hope this gets a few views (comments are always welcome), it is primarily designed to keep me motivated and on task with my league. Rules will be pretty standard, using the most recent "September" rosters that the great OOTP team just put out. I will act as GM and Manager, but no doubt will rely upon my "bench" coach at times. Trading will be set to hard, favor prospects, injuries off (just hate that part of the game/life), fatigue is on but set to low, and trading frequency set to low. Trading of draft picks is allowed. Budget is controlled by owner and have a self-imposed requirement to be in the bottom 1/3 of league payroll (21-30) for the entire 2015 season. Since I am starting off at 11th place, I will need to make some moves. I will check the payroll number each month and make any necessary changes to keep in the bottom 1/3. Owner can fire me, I will not make any player edits, and scouting accuracy is set to normal. While I will make some initial trades to get the team headed in the right direction, I will try to limit the amount of trades that I make after the initial set up. The first handful of posts are designed to set the foundation, and then will likely sim in bi-weekly intervals so that things keep moving along. With that, welcome to Beantown and off to Fenway! __________________ Life is Good! Last edited by CHOWDERHEAD; 01-09-2018 at 09:27 PM.

09-26-2015, 08:13 PM	#2
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	The Team (for now...) Here is what I am starting off with... Attached Images __________________ Life is Good! Last edited by CHOWDERHEAD; 09-27-2015 at 12:01 AM.

09-26-2015, 08:14 PM	#3
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	$$$ Team finances: Attached Images __________________ Life is Good! Last edited by CHOWDERHEAD; 09-27-2015 at 12:02 AM.

09-26-2015, 09:23 PM	#7
Clemente21PIT Major Leagues Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 434	Yes! No more Hanley or Pablo, you didn't trade away the farm, and you got a great young MVP-caliber player in Goldschmidt. I look forward to your dynasty Chowderhead! PS: I agree with not re-signing Uehara. Maybe Chapman, Kimbrel, or Joe Kelly as closer. Or perhaps Storen of the Nats?

09-27-2015, 12:00 AM	#11
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	Sox Sign Cuban Free Agent *Free Agent Signing* Boston announced the signing of Cuban free agent 3rd baseman *Luis Yander La O Camacho* to a three (3) year deal with a player option for a 4th year. Total value of the contract, if all options and bonuses are reached, is $22,750,000. While not rated to hit for power, he does show signs of being able to put the ball in play, provide some speed on the bases, and should prove to be a solid glove at the hot corner. Attached Images __________________ Life is Good! Last edited by CHOWDERHEAD; 09-27-2015 at 12:03 AM.

09-27-2015, 12:11 AM	#12
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	Sox Lose SP Prospect to Retirement While not necessarily a top prospect, it was disheartening to learn that *Michael Kopech* decided to retire from baseball to accept a basketball scholarship so he could attend college. Accounting to scouting reports, Kopech had three average to above average pitches, stuff and control potential ratings that were above average, and the stamina to pitch later into ball games. After trading away the meaningful portion of the upcoming draft, losing a prospect does not help me one bit. Attached Images __________________ Life is Good!

09-27-2015, 10:24 AM	#13
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	April 2015 Well, one month down and it is not looking too good for *Boston. Despite having a few bright spots during the month, the Red Sox* are off to a dismal record of 6-16 for the month of April. Good enough for not only last place in the AL East, but also tied for the worst record in baseball. The trades I made have not worked out very well. Not only have the players I traded away done outstanding (just look at the NL batting leaders - *Hanley* is crushing the ball), the players I was counting on are hardly making any positive impact. Being 10 games out of 1st place after just 1 month is not what I had hoped for. It is going to be a long season... Attached Images __________________ Life is Good!

09-27-2015, 11:24 PM	#14
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	April 2015 Team & Player Stats Here is a closer look at how the team did in the month of April. From the team perspective, *Boston* ranked near or at the bottom of most stats. As for the players, only *Ortiz* (.301, 5 HR's & 15 RBI) and *Swihart* (.343 BA) put up noteworthy numbers. *Stroman* (1-4 with 3.15 ERA) has been on the wrong side of a few close games, and *Goldschmidt, Wacha, and La O Camacho* have yet to produce anywhere near what was expected. Attached Images __________________ Life is Good!

09-27-2015, 11:34 PM	#15
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	Finances Good news is that I was able to lower payroll enough to get to 24th lowest team payroll in the league. This places me within the bottom 1/3 of payroll -- right where I needed to be. One nice surprise is that the fan interest has somehow increased despite the lousy month the team had. Overall attendance is down, but still drawing well. Money for extensions and F/A is looking real good. Attached Images __________________ Life is Good!

09-27-2015, 11:55 PM	#16
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	News & Notes *April Awards: Edwin Encarncion* took AL hitting honors, while *Carl Crawford* smashed his way to the NL award. The outstanding pitchers of the month went to KC's *Johnny Cueto* and to the *Cardinals* ace *Adam Wainwright. April 9th: Mark Teixeira* scored his 1,000th run of his career. April 25th: *Mark Buehrle* notched his 200th career victory. . Attached Images __________________ Life is Good! Last edited by CHOWDERHEAD; 09-28-2015 at 10:49 PM.

09-28-2015, 09:12 PM	#17
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	May 2015 Team & Player Stats Yikes! May was a difficult month for *Boston, with the team getting only 8 wins in 29 games (8-21, .276%). This dismal showing firmly entrenched the Red Sox* in last place in the AL East (20 games out of 1st place) and the worst record in all of baseball. Somehow the team owner is still in a good mood despite the horrendous ball play. Attached Images __________________ Life is Good! Last edited by CHOWDERHEAD; 09-28-2015 at 10:00 PM.

09-28-2015, 09:22 PM	#18
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	May 2015 - MLB Standings & Leaders The *Dodgers* (32-18) and the *Mariners* (34-16) each have the best record in their respective leagues. The NL Central Division has four (4) teams within 3 1/2 games of the lead. The *Royals* look like they are going to be a team in contention for another WS trip. The *Hanley Rameriz* trade continues to haunt *Boston, as he leads the NL in BA and OPS. What I wouldn't give for that production right now. Attached Images __________________ Life is Good! Last edited by CHOWDERHEAD; 09-28-2015 at 10:48 PM.*

09-28-2015, 09:29 PM	#19
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	Finances While the team is not winning, *Boston* is still drawing in the fans pretty well. Payroll sits at *$85,573,000, good enough for 24th place overall. Fan interest at 88, while still high for such a bad team, has dropped since last month. This team needs to turn things around, and quick. Attached Images __________________ Life is Good! Last edited by CHOWDERHEAD; 09-28-2015 at 09:56 PM.*

09-28-2015, 10:41 PM	#20
CHOWDERHEAD Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Omaha - Home of the College World Series! Posts: 2,850	News & Notes *May Awards: Jose Bautista* took AL hitting honors for the month of May thanks to his .416 BA, 15 HR's, and 31 RBI's. *Brandon Belt* captured the NL hitting award by hitting .339, with 6 HR's and 23 RBI. The outstanding pitchers of the month went to *Oakland's* *Drew Pomeranz* (5-0, 1.36 ERA) and the *Dodgers* ace *Zach Greinke* (5-1, 2.11 ERA). May 7th: *Carl Crawford* scored his 1,000th career run. May 13th: *Feliz Hernandez* notched his 2,000 career strikeout. May 15th: *Adrian Beltre* hit his 400th career home run. May 18th: *Miguel Cabrera* his his 400th career home run. May 22nd: *Jose Reyes* scored his 1,000th career run. Attached Images __________________ Life is Good! Last edited by CHOWDERHEAD; 01-09-2018 at 09:32 PM.