Yet Another OOTP6 Dynasty: The Pale Hose

[Tavarin]

Very nice thread. Sad to see the White Sox fall so low, hope you can get them back up

[cknox0723]

Tavarin, thanks for the comment - I'm not sure I'll make much of an impact this year, but with a couple smart trades, this team could be competitive. Unfortunately, I've got to actually make those trades.

Anyway - the subject. Seemingly random, right? Well, it is - I was trying to think of one (these smarmy comments don't come naturally, you know), and realized that my previous subject - "A Man, A Plan, Panama" doesn't mean anything. I had always thought it was a palindrome -- spelled the same forwards and backwards -- but it's not.

Much like my grammatical exploits, the first day of free agency didn't go too well.

Well, it was a nice thought. After I clicked the ever-present 'Finish Day' button, I see that I was rebuffed by all of the non-scrubs. Sure, it's one day, but I don't have the cash to compete with the big spenders, so if I were ever to get a Lance Berkman, it would have been early on. Oh well. At least Piazza, J. Johnson, The Gload Code, and, um, Enrique Wilson liked my offers. Kyle Sleeth is also intrigued by my minor league offer, so that's dandy.

Also got a trade offer - Theo Epstein and Co. in New England wanted Jeremy Reed. They figured that a mediocre prospect named Harvey Garcia combined with The Man back in Baseball Mogul '99, Chad Allen, would do it. Allen, who's inexplicably rated fairly well, at least in my scout's eyes, apparently holds some sort of voodoo curse over roster makers. People - the man has had all of 250 at-bats over the last four years for a reason! I guess you just can't win sometimes. In any case, I laughed at their so-called offer. You would have too.

After all that vim and vigor, though, it's back to the drawing board. I notice a halfway decent 23 year old pitching prospect named Marc Kaiser who's pitched pretty well the last few years in Colorado's system. His strikeout rates, over one an inning, show that he does have some promise. Go figure that the Rockies gave up on him. I toss a minor-league contract offer at him and hope for the best.

I figure I may as well not be a complete cheapskate, since I'd ultimately regret that. Realizing this much, at least, I upgrade my offers to Garrett Stephenson and Brandon Villafuerte from minor league deals to one year deals at the league minimum, since neither would look out of place on the major league roster. I do the same for Chin-Feng Chen, though I don't quite know why. Ah, I remember now - it's the 'durable' injury rating. I also find another guy that I somehow missed - a 27 year old lefty mashing journeyman outfielder (how's that for a mouthful?) named Matt Diaz, so I offer him a minor league deal as well. However, while offering this deal, I began to realize that I was just dragging out my own ineptitude, so I decided to cut the chicanery and actually do some real GM-ing.

This, of course, means I've got to decide who to chase after between Berkman, Renteria, and Dotel, since I really don't have the cash to get more than one of them. I quickly scratch out Dotel - it doesn't look like his shoulder injury is scaring anyone off, and as much as he is an otherworldly, scary beast, he's not going to pitch more than 80 innings or so. Besides, I can cobble a bullpen together with my eyes closed.

But now that I look at it, I don't really need neither Berkman nor Renteria. Julio Lugo, much as he could quickly become annoying, isn't ridiculously bad, and we do have halfway decent outfield. At this point, it's dawned on me that we need a second baseman, so I panic and offer Ray Durham a two year deal worth $500,000 per year. I'm just as clueless as you when it comes to just how that happened, but why not? After some more careful pondering, I figure Berkman has too nice of a bat to pass up, so I kick his three year offer up to two and three-quarters million a year, which probably still won't be enough.

By the way, our team needs are listed as, well, every position but right field. And I'm just going blindly through the free agent list, picking out names that look snappy. I think we've got a fighting chance.

Craig

[Goodsox]

Awesome thread!! Your writing is outstanding and I am looking forward to you turning the Sox around. Don't be a cheapskate like the real Sox owner Go Sox!!!!

[cknox0723]

I knew I forgot some part of that stupid little idiom! I'm sticking to puns as my subject lines from now on...

Goodsox, thanks for the compliment! I'm trying to have fun writing this - I like looking at stats, but I think there's a lot more to these dynasties than rows and rows of numbers. If I find out what that elusive 'more' is, I'll let you know. Let me know what you think of the moves I'm making...

Somebody in Cleveland just went nuts, causing one supposed general manager of that other team in Chicago to do the same. What the heck am I talking about? Well, not only did my short-sighted plan involving Ray Durham fail miserably, it never even had a prayer's chance. Durham signed on Day 2 of free agency. Why so early, you ask? Well, he had 20,304,000 reasons to do so.

That wasn't the only curve that Jason Bere or, Aaron Sele or someone tossed us, though. Free agents continued to spurn us like it was 1872 - Jason Johnson received, apparently, some outrageous offer much greater than ours. So much for a cheap back-of-the-rotation guy. Brandon Villafuerte wants a longer deal (so I toss him a three-year offer for the minimum), Bashin' Berkman and our officials are still miles apart...hell, even Ross Frickin' Gload now wants more money. Spiffy, just spiffy.

I've now become a bit enamored with the prospect of having Mr. Berkman and his take-and-rake approach in the cleanup slot, so I make a serious play, or at least I think of it as such - 3 years, $9.9 million.

I also change gears on the backup first sacker tack - thrusting a minor league deal in the direction of Brian Buchanan, a former Yankee who is one of my personal favorites for no real reason. He's also a guy who'd actually make for some nifty insurance for the "Big Hurt".

Moving on, I add some spare pesos onto Jason Johnson's offer, pushing it up to over $1.7 million over the life of the three year deal. I doubt it will be enough, but what the heck.

Finally, I toss identical contracts at a couple of highly regarded relievers - Armando Benitez and Trever Miller. I don't think either one will bite at a three year deal that guarantees a whopping sum of $1.2 million, but maybe one of them put some heavy dough on the Cubs.

I feel like Dan O'Dowd, Colorado Rockies' GM, blindly changing tactics at the drop of a hat. If I end up with Denny Neagle, though, that's when I'll know something is wrong.

Craig

[cknox0723]

Well, color me an idiot. Octavio Dotel signed with the Mariners. He wasn't cheap, but a 4 year deal that totals just over $10 million is well, well below market value for someone as dominant as he. I guess the shoulder did scare a lot of teams off, and looking back on it, I'm among the guilty.

Plus ca change, plus ca reste la meme.

French for: "The more that changes, the more that stays the same".

I suppose that would be more applicable if I was in, say, Montreal, but it's still OK. I'm now officially a player in the Lance Berkman Sweepstakes - the offer is up to 3 years and $12 million total. Mr. Clutch (a.k.a. Armando Benitez) has also become a target, and I hope to add Brandon Villafuerte to the bullpen.

We still have the top offer on The Recurring Baseball Primer Character, as well as a bunch of living, breathing mammals of little importance.

Clicks 'The Button'

Oh, ****...

San Francisco : LF Lance Berkman, 6,290,500 per year, for 3 years.

Oh, ****.

The point is not that I was going to match that, because I didn't have enough money to come close. But it's a very painful example of just how easily one can make a stupid move. Instead of having a dominant closer (Dotel) or a top-20 hitter (Berkman), I've got neither. I won't get Edgar Renteria, either, so I've basically shot myself in the foot. It hurts a hell of a lot.

We did add Garrett Stephenson for a one year deal at the minimum wage. Oh, what the hell:

Chicago (A) : P Garrett Stephenson, 300,000 per year, for 1 year.

I feel like a proud father showing off his new son. OK, more like one of those guys with a snake, but I really do think Stephenson is a nice low-cost gamble. Of course, he'll probably go out and blow out his arm now. He's on the active roster and will be in the rotation somewhere.

The Twinkletowners of Minnesota, by the way, apparently have a new owner, because in four days of free agency they've already inked Larry Walker, Darren Dreifort, Mike Stanton, and Elmer Dessens. OK, someone like Francisco Cordero would be more impressive (he signed with the Phillies, by the way), but I thought I liked quantity over quality...

Craig

[cknox0723]

Edgar Renteria is now a Rockie - over $28 million over 4 years. A .430 or so OBP isn't out of the question.

Jason Johnson signed with the bloody Phillies - 4 years, $891,000 per year. I, of course, get stuck with the warm bodies that are Chin-Feng Chen and Enrique Wilson. Lovely, just lovely.

One Mr. Piazza now favors our offer once again, though - it's up to a $1.4 million deal for one year.

Other than that, and adding the other guys we're targeting - Villafuerte, Buchanan, and whatever guys we can get to minor league deals, there isn't much left.

We still need a starting pitcher, though. An upgrade there isn't impossible, like it would be in the middle infield, but it certainly won't be anyone that's much better than average. After some hemming and hawing, I throw a couple of offers out there - 2 years, $300,000 per year for Scott Schoeneweis and 3 years and $400,000 per year for Kip Wells. They're recognizable names, but my scout isn't a fan of either one. They've also taken similar career paths despite a four year age difference - early promise capped off by a solid 2004 and a not-so-hot 2005. If nothing else, they're not too expensive.

But neither offer takes, and a few days later Schoeneweis signs with Seattle for nearly six hundred grand a year. Back at the ranch, Cleveland quietly adds a few guys to patch their needs, and coincidence or no, both were formerly with us - Paul Konerko, to play first, and Scott Eyre, to set up for David Riske.

One day later...

While our crosstown rivals are signing guys like Tony Armas and Reggie Sanders, we probably won't even get a back-page mention for adding Brian Buchanan. I actually think that the journeyman will be good insurance in case The Big Hurt goes down, but he's nothing more than a lefty masher, really.

With the Buchanan signing, we're nearing the limit on the 40-man roster, so we do some crafty manuevering and get the roster back down to 35.

Time passes...

Eventually, I see that someone has outbid me, so to speak, on reliever Brandon Villafuerte. Since he's just another name in a sea of names, I let him go. He ends up in Florida. Interestingly, the Marlins also end up with Ross Gload, who gets a 2 year deal at $444,000 a year. Gload may get the glory, but Brian Buchanan saved me almost a hundred and fifty grand. That doesn't mean a whole lot, but I'll pretend it does.

The Twinkies add one of the many starters I resigned myself to stick to a limit on: Ted Lilly.

Cleveland, in the meantine, continues their ridiculous attempt to corner the market on our crappy former team members with the signing of Dan Reichert. More of the same drivel continues on Day 14 as Billy Koch ends up with Leo Mazzone, or whatever character is playing him in our alternate world (Ben Stroup).

Whistles...

On the seventeenth day of free agency, we do finally add someone for more than the minimum - Mike Piazza will don number 24 after signing his name to the one year, $1.4 million contract that we offered so long ago. Ordinarily, I'd be thrilled to sign someone of Piazza's caliber at such a premium position, but he's 37. At best, he'll give us a few years as a placeholder.

The rest of free agency, I imagine, will be spent waiting for the guys that stink to agree to minor league deals. But I'm still not satisfied with this offseason - until I reach an epiphany. I know how I can solve every problem this team has, and it's relatively easy.

All we need now is a team that's dumb enough to play along with us...

Craig

[cknox0723]

You know, it's not as easy as I thought to sucker a team out of some decent talent. Page eleven, paragraph six of the Beane Manifesto says to trade high and sell low, but it's tough to do that when you don't have anyone that's any good.

To steal a line from the immortal Peter Gammons, "April promises have wilted into May reality, blind faith to kinds of baseball agnosticism. There are 10-12 teams that are already peeking at 2004, and those that hold pitching know The Boss is screaming for middle relief..."

No, it doesn't all work, but it's still pretty solid, though I would've liked a reference to Temple of the Dog or someone.

But that's what minor league signings are for, right? (Don't remind me that I'm missing the point here - I'm well aware.)

We're able to ink five guys to the proverbial flyer, and they are as follows:

Rick Ankiel is a name that everyone is familiar with. It's now six years past his infamous postseason meltdown, and Ankiel has turned into a pitcher who's been pretty dominant against AAA hitters over the past two years, though the win-loss records don't really reflect it. He's given up considerably less than a hit per inning, but has also battled injuries, gopher balls, and his true arch-nemesis, the strike zone. His strikeout rates are very good, so there's some hope, but he's still a long shot to ever again be an effective starter.

Marc Kaiser has become increasingly effective as he's moved up the ladder, with his WHIP actually decreasing as he's moved from A-ball to AA and, last year, to AAA for 36 and two-thirds frames. He's posted solid strikeout rates and has shown at least average control, so there's hope. There'd be more if "Wilhelm" could add three miles per hour to his fastball.

Nate Robertson was a bit hit-lucky in 2004, but notched a solid 3.38 ERA in 16 starts for the Tigers after starting the year in the minor leagues. His numbers likely would have regressed had he had a bigger sample, but he was diagnosed with a herniated disc in late August and was shut down for the season at that point. No one expected the 28 year old to repeat his 2004 last year, but he must have slaughtered some cats in the offseason, because he had just about the worst 2005 imaginable. An ugly start was only a preview of things to come, and Robertson was unceremoniously released in October with a final ledger of:

22 GS, 2-13 record, 7.15 ERA, .893 OPS against

Undoubtedly, he'll end up in our rotation by August.

Kyle Sleeth is as mediocre of a prospect as they can get, especially for one who's won 25 games over the past two seasons. His strikeout and walk rates are mediocre, and he doesn't show some Moyeresque ability to prevent hits on balls in play. He is tall (6'5"), though, so I guess that's why I like him. Blame it on my inner scout.

Matt Diaz, an outfielder, is the lone hitter we signed, and that's probably being generous. In all fairness to Diaz, he ruptured his MCL on the first day of May in 2004, and perhaps last year was a bit of a down year because of that. But he did get over 100 at-bats in the major leagues, and despite a halfway decent batting average of .258, his OPS was just .644. He's still just 28 years old, so he's not a bad guy to have stashed down at Charlotte.

But we have something like 35 guys who can fit that general description.

Craig

[cknox0723]

Did anyone figure it out?

Damaso Marte was the man that was the centerpiece of my, uh, plan. The Panamanian...OK, Dominican (It was close, though!) righthander has 47 saves over the last two years, but also 24 (!) losses. He's not particularly expensive, as he'll only earn $1.05 million this year (though that will be somewhat irrelevant, as you'll see). His dominant 2003 is still viewable in the rearview mirror, so while his value isn't at its peak, there's still plenty there. I figured he was of limited use to us, but valuable to other teams. It made sense to deal him and try to patch one of our needs, or build for the future, or at least try to do something productive.

The problem, oddly enough, was finding a suitor. It seemed most teams that looked like contenders had a solid bullpen - reaffirming Joe Morgan's beliefs about proven closers - but, as I said (sort of) in my last post, the Boss (no, not Springsteen) was screaming for middle relief. I didn't see any middle infield help, though, and almost gave up. But then I realized what the Yankees had that I needed.

The answer, of course, was starting pitching. We may be studying an alternate reality set two years in the future, but these are still the Yankees we're talking about here. In addition to the familar names of Moose, Vazquez, and Contreras, they also signed Jason Schmidt to a deal this offseason that will pay him over $15 million annually. There were a lot of fifth starter types lurking as well - names like Dewon Brazelton and Eric Cyr and Jorge DePaula, all with at least some success at the major league level. And as if that's not enough, the Yankees are also blessed to have the #1 prospect in all the land - a 21 year old named Tyler Clippard, who put up a ridiculous 1.70 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in 9 starts at AA last year. All of this, of course, created a nice problem for the Cash Man.

But after plenty of careful consideration, I fixed the Yankees' problem, and they fixed mine. Marte and his 100 mph fastball head to the Bronx along fringe second base prospect Ruddy Yan and perhaps the most confused ex-Chicagoan ever - Kris Honel.

I'm sure you're all well aware of what I think of M. Bonne Figure by now, but he is highly regarded by the scouts, which counts for something, and he is just 22 years old. The Yankees have him stashed in Columbus, and with a bunch of middling journeymen (and Clippard) ahead of him in the pecking order, he'll have plenty of time.

Yan, 25 years old, is about as good of a prospect as you can be at that age without ever having played above A-ball. He hit .312 at Winston-Salem last year, drew 55 walks, and stole 48 bases. I still think the odds are against him, since he'll have to absolutely fly through the upper levels of the minors to have a shot, but if anyone can fly, it's Yan, quite literally.

In return, we add one of the Yankees' many back-of-the-rotation types in 27 year old Jorge DePaula, second base prospect Hector Made (pronounced mah-DAY), and everyone's favorite player - cash ($250,000, to be exact).

DePaula is somewhat well-known due to an auspicious debut in 2003, and he actually carried a no-hitter through six innings in his first major league start (Here's the box score) . His career has progressed well since then, as he has spent the last two years in the major leagues with pretty solid results - a 13-8 record and 3.67 ERA in 130 innings in 2004 (mostly due to a low BABIP), and a 7-10 mark last year, with an ERA of 4.02 in 152 and a third innings. DePaula has about average control and is has a strikeout rate a tick above average, but most of his limited success can be attributed to keeping the ball in the park - he surrendered just 14 home runs last year. The one negative I can see in DePaula's numbers, at least those from last season, is that while the ERA looks shiny, his component ERA is nearly a half run higher, and he gave up 15 unearned runs to boot. I don't expect DePaula to suddenly transform into an ace, but he's relatively young and still makes the minimum. He gives our rotation a lot more depth, and is someone I would consider keeping around for a while for the right price, since he is precisely the type of pitcher that I'm looking to add.

Made, a 21 year old middle infielder, leapt into prospectdom last year with a solid year in Class A. His 2004 line was pretty poor - .236 batting average, .299 on-base percentage, .354 slugging percentage. Last year, Made kicked up his walk rate, and his power spiked along with it. His .279 batting average doesn't wow you, but a .360 on-base percentage at such a young age shows promise, and his .445 slugging percentage includes 31 two-baggers, 10 triples, and 11 long balls. Made also swiped 36 bases at about a 72% success rate, and is well-regarded defensively. In short, he does many things well, and his well-rounded game should allow him to see the big leagues at some point in the future. I can't say the same for most of the other guys in the system, so that's a plus.

The Yankees, by the way, were so willing to part with a quarter-million bucks because they made over a $20 million profit last year. Their payroll is higher this year, at about $138 million, and the deal for Marte seems to reaffirm that Boss George is trying to make one last run for a championship. The money is a huge deal to us because we lost over six million bucks last year, and I'd like to be able to not worry about signability when it comes time for the amateur draft.

I can't wait until I can worry about making one last run for a championship instead.

Craig

[NYJuggalo45]

Craig,
I have to thank you and curse you at the same time.

Thank you for an extremely entertaining, in depth, and funny read. One of the best dyansty thread's I've ever encountered on the boards (and seeing the # of posts I have, it's been a few), and you haven't even gotten to the draft or played a game yet.

But I have to curse you as well, because before I logged on, I put in a dip (skoal, chewing tobacco for those not knowing the slang term) and I nearly choked on it from laughing while reading your thread. Luckily I didn't, and continued on, enjoying every sentence.

Will be looking forward to the rest of the off-season and upcoming season

[cknox0723]

NYJuggalo45:

Let me reciprocate the thanks here. I've enjoyed writing up my dynasty immensely - moreso than I ever would have imagined - but comments like yours, embellished or not, make it infinitely more enjoyable.

I'm not sure what direction I'll take this dynasty - I plan on playing the games out, getting to really know my team and all that. I enjoy putting as much detail in as I have - I feel it's a lot more like following an actual team through the papers, or something like that. However, I don't want the reports to become redundant.

As for the choking? (Which, I assure you, my Sox will not.)

Well, that just reminds me of an incident earlier this year involving myself, an acquaintance, a tuna fish sandwich, and a well-timed comment about my eating habits. These things seem infinitely funnier at 12:30 in the morning, three months later.

I'll leave with a proverb:

“Writing will be your companion through the darkest and brightest days of your life — if that is what you want. It exposes pain and guilt and the greatest joy. It is your own assessment of who you are. You should write as much as you can and as much as you want to. It will be something to turn to.”

Thanks very much to you and everyone else that's commented - I'm glad that other people are able to enjoy my somewhat unique style of writing. Hopefully, I'll be able to add some more tomorrow.

Craig

[cknox0723]

The Rule 5 Draft (NOT Rule V Draft) has always intrigued me. I guess it's the whole concept of taking from the rich and giving to the poor. It's not nearly as beneficial as the idea might make you think it would be, but it's a nice way to add an arm to the 'pen or a warm body to the bench. (And hey - guys like Lenny Harris aren't much more than warm bodies anyway!)

The hometown Sox have the third pick in the quasi-draft, and I do some manuevering beforehand in order to open two slots on the 40-man roster, just in case.

It turns out that we only needed one, but as luck would have it, it didn't matter, as no one was selected from our organization. The Pirates and Royals, with the two worst records in the league, both passed on their pick. (Of course they would. What kind of team could waste a roster spot on a semi-prospect when there's 70 wins to get?) I, of course, couldn't click the '2B' or 'SS' filters fast enough, but there was no one that jumped out at me.

So I borrowed the philosophy that most teams have used the past few years, and looked for a reliever in the mold of Montreal's Luis Ayala or Toronto's Aquilino Lopez.

In my mind, the most polished reliever and the one with the most potential were the same guy - 25 year old P.J. Bevis, from the Mets organization. Are we pilfering these New York teams or what? Bevis has put up strong numbers in Norfolk, the Mets' AAA affiliate, the last two years - garnering 12 wins and striking out 153 batters while walking 38 in 128.2 innings. He has really has been overpowering at times with his 94 mph fastball and sweeping slider, posting a WHIP scarcely over 1. Our scout even likes him, saying that he has a "huge arm and a nasty attitude". I don't want to set my expectations too high -- after all, there was a reason he wasn't on the 40-man roster -- but I could easily see Bevis playing a key role in our bullpen. The question, of course, is how soon that will be.

7 players were selected after Bevis, and the most interesting ones both went to our AL Central rivals.

21 year old Justin Jones, a lefthander, will be in the Tigers' rotation after winning 21 games at the AAA level for the Cubs the last two seasons. Jones has decent control, especially for a lefty, so it's not unreasonable to see him experience modest success, though a full year in a big league rotation may hinder his future ceiling.

The Twins, despite all their offseason spending, were even more desperate for a shortstop than I was. Their selection of 23 year old Casey McGehee from the Royals makes sense when you consider that, but it's still curious, since McGehee put up a woeful line of .186/.219/.271 in 62 games at AA last season. His defense isn't special, either, so if he starts as much as their depth chart predicts, I'd be shocked if the Twins won 84 games as they did last year.

Just before we're about to proceed through spring training, I take a gander at the free agents still available. There aren't many, and for the most part, they're lousy.

Carlos Lee is still available, though he wants a couple million bucks, and I don't really want to give him that, since he's not exactly the most consistent hitter in the world. Besides, even when he's raking to the tune of a 1039 OPS like last year, he's limited to an outfield corner, and doesn't walk a whole heck of a lot. It's besides the point that his talent level is closer to an 800 OPS; no matter how you slice it, Lee wants too much dough.

Brad Fullmer barely wants more than the minimum, and he can certainly make a push for a .300 batting average. But he's a first baseman, and that's it, so there's not much of a point with Frank Thomas still around.

That leaves Dmitri Young, who's looking for around $1.5 million. D.Y. was an All-Star last year, so he's got that going for him. He's not a take-and-rake guy like I prefer, but he does have a decent enough batting eye, drawing 47 and 60 walks the last two seasons. He's also hit over .310 the last two years, and though his home run totals aren't impressive, one must remember that Young has been trapped in Comerica Park, which would sap any good power hitter. Young is a left fielder or first baseman by trade, but he can fake third, too, if Joe Crede repeats his 2004 season (.638 OPS). All The Mad Russian (no, not Al Hrabosky) asks for in exchange for his services this year is one million, six hundred thousand dollars. I'm glad to give it to him, as he'll slot nicely into the middle of our order.

OK, now I'm ready to move on to spring training, and I'm serious this time. So I go back to the league standings screen...but just as I'm about to move on, I give in to my inner McCarthy and sign Brad Fullmer to a one year deal worth all of $310,000. He may not have anywhere to play, but the man certainly hits better than, say, Dave Hansen.

Speaking of The Eternal Pinch Hitter, I finally bite the bullet and the $440,000 and send him onward to free agency. I don't know who was running the show back in August, but it's extensions to guys like Hansen that can really limit your ability to make moves. Luckily, he's never been much, anyway, so we could afford to cut him and use the roster space on someone that might actually start a game here and there.

And that's about it, huh? Seems so. I've still got a few trades in mind, but I'll wait for the season to get underway some. Speaking of that, I've still got some things to write before it gets underway, so Opening Day isn't imminent.

But it's coming...

Craig

[NYJuggalo45]

Bevis is a pretty solid player for a Rule 5 type. I like the additions of DY and Fullmer, at the very least, both are solid hitters, even if their spot/position is yet to be determined. Did I miss the rookie draft?

[And1pg2]

Can't wait till next update. Even though i won't be able to read until Sunday because i won't be home.

[cknox0723]

Originally posted by NYJuggalo45
Bevis is a pretty solid player for a Rule 5 type. I like the additions of DY and Fullmer, at the very least, both are solid hitters, even if their spot/position is yet to be determined. Did I miss the rookie draft?

Nope, the rookie draft isn't until June, mostly because I figure it'll be our lone bright spot this year. Expect a lot of detail...

And1pg2, you may or may not be too happy - I actually may not get to update until tomorrow or even Tuesday, but the next update should be a pretty comprehensive (and entertaining) one.

Craig

[cknox0723]

After the cavalcade of releases on the first day of April, I decide to take a look and try to fill out my minor league teams.

Veteran backstop Tom Wilson was released by Anaheim. He may be 35 years old, he may only be able to hit left-handed pitching, but that's better than what I've got. Heck, he hit .331 in AAA last year with 17 big flies. I'll take that from a catcher any day, journeyman tag be damned. He inks a minor league deal.

There's only a few other infielders that are even available, and none are very interesting. The five poor souls are second baseman Alex Prieto and a bunch of middling third basemen - Jose Hernandez, Joe Randa, Chris Truby (who I'm sick and tired of teams cutting), and Willie Bloomquist. Bloomquist, despite very little talent, has hit .315 and .281 coming off the bench the last two years in Seattle. He doesn't offer much else aside from the Denny Hocking Seal of Approval that he can, in fact, play six positions. But I don't ask for much, so I offer Wee Willie a one-year deal at the minimum. He accepts. I also throw a minor league deal in the direction of Satan, also known as Chris Truby, but it actually lands at the feet of Jose Hernandez. I have lousy aim, it seems. But Hernandez hit 21 home runs in AAA last year, and I'm really not picky, so he comes on board as well.

Outfielder Jeremy Owens is one of those secondary skills goofs who hit loads of home runs and walk and strike out a lot. Their value tends to depend on whether they hit .220 or .260. J.O. looks a lot more like the former (or worse), but I'm sucker for guys who hit 33 home runs, even if they're 28 years old and at AA.

I also see Dave Roberts on the market, and we're starving for some speed. I take a look at his player card, and see that he put up a rather ridiculous line in AAA last year - .331 batting average, .405 on-base percentage, .465 slugging percentage, along with 57 steals, 30 doubles, and 14 triples. Yikes! I can't sign him to a minor league deal quickly enough, and he just may be our fifth outfielder ahead of Chin-Feng Chen. And did you know that Dave Roberts was actually born in Japan? Strange but true...

When it comes to starting pitchers, though, there are a lot more names available, and even some recognizable ones. Victor Zambrano, John Halama, and guys like that are nice, but they're a dime a dozen, and most of that genre of guys available want a major league deal. No thanks.

I do like former Rule 5 Pick Sun Woo Kim, though, and the scouts agree, calling him a "solid middle-of-the-road starter". I don't know where he'd fit, but maybe we can sneak him through waivers and down to Charlotte.

Veteran Ron Villone, a New Jersey native, may be 6-19 over the last two years, but that's very deceptive - his ERA was around 4.50. His peripherals were decent, and he's left-handed, so I give him a minor league deal as injury insurance, though he'll more likely end up as my #4 starter.

Jared Fernandez, another journeyman, is a knuckleballer. I couldn't care less about the results, so...what's that, you say? ERA under 4 the last two years in AAA? I can't sign him up fast enough.

The last two starting pitchers I sign are a pair of marginal prospects. 23 year old Josh Banks posted a 4.84 ERA in 13 starts with the Cerulean Kays last year, and his component ERA was a half run lower. His strikeout rate was strong in AAA in 2004, so he's certainly worth a minor league contract. The same goes for 24 year old southpaw Chris Narveson, whose time in the majors was two years ago. His numbers were similar, though, with the caveat being that Narveson's strikeout rate is lower. However, he doesn't appear to have the problem that Banks has with the gopher ball. The two pitchers aren't the type to wow the scouts, but they are precisely the type of pitchers that I like to add.

There's a gaggle of relievers out there, but most of them are like choosing between Chef Boyardee and Dinty Moore. There are some differences, but it's the same basic crap that'll make you sick in the end. And if you don't think that Paul Shuey will, in fact, make you sick, then you're a better man than I.

There is some nice minor league depth available, though, and I'm a more than willing employer.

For example, Gabe White is a nice arm to have on hand, and he's been decent with the Yankees the last couple of years. His eagerness to sign a minor league deal is somewhat puzzling, but it'll make my head hurt if I think about it for too long.

I very nearly took Aaron Looper in the Rule 5 Draft, but the fact that P.J. Bevis was four years younger won me over. Still, Looper's stats are similar, so he must have made some enemies in the Seattle front office to earn his release. Or perhaps he attacks hecklers?

Jose de Lao was a 10th round pick by the lovable Cubbies in last year's amateur draft, and proceeded to dominate the younger competition at Class A. His WHIP of 0.89 really is the best reflection of his stat line. He's 23 years old, so I doubt that he's got a ton of upside, but I have to at least take a look.

I make the requisite changes to the minor league system, dumping a few guys of little importance to compensate (among them big ticket free agent signings Garrett Stephenson and Nate Robertson) for the truckload of guys of little importance that I brought in. But hey, Chicago is the home of the deep-dish pizza, right? Zing!

Craig

[cknox0723]

It seems I may have tinkered with this team too much, but with a barren system, plenty of fresh faces have been needed, or at least that's how I'll justify it. With that, here are my final signings of the offseason (I mean it this time!11!!), as well as the guys that didn't make the cut, of whom there are plenty:

Dave Cash, yet another former Cub, is another seemingly unimpressive reliever who's put up strong statistics against younger competition. To be exact, he's 26 years old and has put up consecutive ERA's below 3.00 at AA the past two seasons. He's not overpowering, but he doesn't walk many, either. He'll be in AAA, if only because he deserves a shot there.

Mike Gonzalez is a hard-throwing Texan who put up an excellent 34 innings in AAA in 2004, and solid numbers at AA last season. It's a mystery to me why he's bounced between a handful of organizations, but I guess I may find out. His stats look strong, his peripherals look strong, he looks like a pitcher, and he's left-handed. Where's the downside?

Finally (Finally!!!), there's Shawn Marcum, who's still young enough (24) to be considered a prospect. His AA numbers have been ridiculous the last two seasons (WHIP's of 1.28 and 0.89, respectively), and his only flaw is that he is an extreme flyball pitcher, so he'd probably have more success at Comerica or somewhere similar. But he had a K/BB ratio of 89/8 last year. That's the kind of guy I want in my minor league system, not guys like...

These bums. The released ones. To be fair, these aren't all bad players, but there's only so much room, and for the most part, I didn't bring these guys in. So I, being the cold, heartless son-of-a-gun that I am, didn't feel bad cutting them.

Juan Acevedo and Robert Machado were both minor league-level talents on major league contracts. We've got plenty of payroll room, so now is as good of a time as any to cut the dead weight, even if it's cost over $1 million to do so.

Neil Cotts, Enemencio Pacheco, Carl Sadler, and offseason waiver claim Brian Sweeney were all out of options. Cotts, a southpaw, had some nice strikeout rates, but sure wasn't going to make the major league squad. Still, I wouldn't be surprise to see have some success someday. Pacheco was just replacement-level nothingness. Sadler actually had done some nice work in the minor leagues, but the scouts didn't like him at all, and he was hit hard in a brief major-league trial late last year. As for Sweeney, I don't know what I was thinking when I claimed him. 3.9 strikeouts per nine innings? Wait...I know what it was. I wasn't thinking...

Garrett Stephenson would have been a nice story, what with all of his injury troubles, but nice stories don't win ballgames. Neither do injured pitchers, as Felix Diaz learned all too quickly.

Reynaldo Garcia just sort of bothered me. He put up a 5.07 ERA out of the pen last year, and was probably not helped much by his defense, at least judging by his hit rate. But something about him...I would've spent all year rooting for him to fail, and what would the point of that have been?

Other than that, I mostly just let go a bunch of unimportant minor leaguers. The names, for those that are interested in such things, are Dave Maurer, Hector Mercado, GOLD GLOVER Mike Hessman, and Nate Robertson (who will now go by his nickname, Shuttle).

So after ALL of that house-cleaning, I finally have a team and organization that I am happy with. Call me a perfectionist, if you really want, and just imagine what I'll be like after we finish who-knows-how-many-games below .500 this year.

But speaking of this year, is anybody else ready for the season? Because, as I'm sure you're well aware by now, I could just drag this offseason out...oh, another page or two, at least.

Craig

[soc624]

thanks for writing this...i really enjoyed it...good luck with your sox

[soc624]

thanks for writing this...i really enjoyed it...good luck with your sox

[NYJuggalo45]

first and foremost, more great writing here, you have an excellent style that is enjoyable, funny and informative at the same time.

now, being a lazy a$$, if i remember correctly, the year is 2005 correct? next year essentially. so april 1st, KC dumps their starting 3b, seattle dumps their main utility guy, LA dumps their leadoff man, and TB dumps their ace. what are these teams thinking?

good job of picking up other teams crumbs and really giving you some solid depth all around. yeah, none of these guys will be stars, but they bring something to the table, and will be valuable if you get hit with injuries or have guys slumping

now start the damn season

[cknox0723]

Originally posted by NYJuggalo45
first and foremost, more great writing here, you have an excellent style that is enjoyable, funny and informative at the same time.

now, being a lazy a$$, if i remember correctly, the year is 2005 correct? next year essentially. so april 1st, KC dumps their starting 3b, seattle dumps their main utility guy, LA dumps their leadoff man, and TB dumps their ace. what are these teams thinking?

good job of picking up other teams crumbs and really giving you some solid depth all around. yeah, none of these guys will be stars, but they bring something to the table, and will be valuable if you get hit with injuries or have guys slumping

now start the damn season

Thanks - let me make things a bit more concrete here...

Well, it's actually 2006 (I don't know if I ever mentioned this or not, but I have now ), and since I'm playing without ratings or talents or stars, I've got two years of stats to work with.

Let me see about the guys that were released...let me see...

Well, for the most part, they're justifiable.

Joe Randa, for example, has put up two consecutive wretched seasons, with batting averages in the .220 range. So I can see where they're coming from.

Willie Bloomquist, oddly enough, was a rather strange guy to release, if only because the M's are carrying six outfielders and don't have a lot of depth in the infield. But Scott Speizio is still kicking around in AAA, so there you have that.

Victor Zambrano struck me as a strange guy to cut, as well, but the Evil Fishies are absolutely bereft with young pitchers - they've got anywhere from 7-9 starters that could pitch in the majors right now, so I guess Zambrano, who's starting to hit arbitration and therefore get expensive, was the odd man out.

Even Dave Roberts didn't have much of a shot at playing time in L.A..

It's strange how the AI seemingly has a lot of flaws, yet still makes a lot of moves that I agree with.

Anyhow, thanks again for the comment - I enjoy reading them, and yes, I should be starting the season soon. I've got some previews and other requisite nonsense coming, but the file is sitting on Monday, April 3, 2006, and I'm itching to change that. When I do, expect to know.

Craig