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Makin' it rain: Las Vegas Pacmen

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
I am ready to pull the plug on the season. Stay tuned for the fire sale of the year.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
So I haven't don't trade analysis for a while... here are the trades I've made since my last one.

Las Vegas sends:
3B Walter Seguin
next year 2nd

Helsingborg sends:
C Bill Harris

First move of the off-season. Losing Pottenger and not confident in Vis, I went for a catcher that I've wanted for a long time. Oddly it looked like he's hit his peak around 24 but as a LH power hitting catcher, he was a perfect fit for me. Seguin was huge in me winning a ship with 28 doubles, 10 tripes and 30 HRs last year. His issue with me was his lack of OBP and my park hurts RH batters. That said: his 3 Playoff HRs will always be appreciated in Vegas.

Las Vegas sends:
next year 6th rounder
SS Rhys Opie (AAA)

BR sends:
3B Steve Green (WBL)

I was very into Green. Great defense, LH 3B, can play SS and RF too. Just a super utility type I hoped would be a decent starter vs. RHP. He's been a huge disappointment with a .661 OPS vs RHP. But it was kinda a "let's see if this guy fits" trade so it's not that big of a deal.

Las Vegas sends:
3B Hector Rivera (WBL)
C Gabel Vis (WBL)
1B Ehran Bahceli (WBL)

Cairo sends:
SP Randy Hapgood (WBL)
cash needed (~$1.1m)

This was an odd deal. I came into the year with the best bench I've ever had in anticipation of injuries. It was probably the #1 reason I was leading the NL in runs about 40-45 games in... my bench players were keeping my starters healthy and hitting themselves. But down went Punchy Wong and I decided I needed a similar talented guy in my #2 slot in order to have a chance moreso in the playoffs than the regular season. Hapgood has been very solid for me and his FIP this year (3.37) is a lot lower than his ERA. He's been unlucky. The issue was I didn't have anyone to replace the guys I lost.

Vis has woken up in Cairo with a .397 OBP. Bahceli is a steady player at 1B (.833 OPS with me) and has been OK in Cairo. Rivera has had a vintage year in Egypt with a .397 OBP himself. My team could've really used all three guys badly especially once Juarez got hurt.

This trade probably sunk my season as my offense has gone to hell and I'm not sure I really needed Hapgood. What is especially frustrating is Rivera was only in the trade for the cash back and I never even got the cash (thinking with me over budget I had to even out the salaries).

With the injury to Juarez and departure of Vis, this was my quick turn around to try and remedy it. I gave up two guys on the minimum plus a solid AAA prospect for Benny Jones (maybe a better version of Bahceli after all) plus Pottenger who was awesome for me last year. Problem was Jones got off to a horrific start with me.

@doh Vegas sends:
Rafael Franco (WBL)
Jorge Martinez (WBL)

Borg sends:
Rute Xarito (DL)
Rolf VonTirpitz (AAA)
Douglas Tagg (AA)
Enrique Gomez (A)
Las Vegas 2047 second rounder

This was the start of my attempt to just move on in pieces from this team. Franco is a premier set up guy (and could close). Grim Reaper started out hot and is a great source of average. Franco has a 1.74 ERA with Helsingborg and Reaper has hit .280.

Part of the motivation of this deal was to trade these guys away while they were healthy. They've both had terrible injury problems so I wanted to trade them before they perhaps got another. But I really miss Franco especially. He might've been the MVP of my team last playoffs (8 app, 9.2 IP, 0 R) with some huge innings to bridge from SP to 8+9 guys Sutton and Izo.

The haul is solid but not special. I wanted my 2nd back.. I loved the second round last draft. Rolf is an experiment as a vs. LHP catcher (and he's failing so far). Tagg was depth. Gomez has some special skills, is a LH MIF and just 18. My scout sees 4* potential but the low WE scares me a bit. Rute was for salary purposes and I'll try to flip him once he is healthy.

Las Vegas sends:
C Oscar Pottenger (WBL)

Amsterdam sends:
P Doug Vance (AAA)

Again trying to move guys. Vance IMO could become a really good LH specialist/be a solid long man. Victor Wilkins is having a bad year/due for a raise so I might replace him with Vance who has a lucky 2.50 ERA. Potty is a great luxury item though for any contender. Only 80 defender in the WBL and big power/patience.

Istanbul sends:
SS Noberto Rodriguez (A)

Las Vegas sends:
RP Dawud (WBL)

Dawud had been quite good for me with a 3.23 ERA. I mostly just wanted to dump his salary ($6.7m) after his one-year FA deal. Rodriguez is a lottery chip who my scout likes a lot more than OSA.

Las Vegas sends:
3B Matt Weaver (DFA)
4th

Berlin sends:
"3b" Pancho the GOAT Ninor (WBL)

Well I wouldn't start losing and drop out of the race so I wanted to target guys I could get on the cheap who just are hitters. This trade forced me to move Fazackerly from DH to 1B but when you can trade for a GOAT, you go for it. Weaver I had DFA'd and his salary matched up with Ninor.

Maybe Spider's found a second career at DH? He looked finished the last few years but sometimes if you move a guy to DH, he can play more often is better. He has a .313 avg with a .387 OBP on the year. He's 37 but I think he has one more good year in him.

Australia sends:
Jae Hong Hong, LF (WBL)

Las Vegas sends:
Ashley 'Rush Hour' Manley, 1B (AAA)
Douglas Tagg, SS (AA)

Hong has been on my radar for a while. I like his skills plus he can play 2B which is rare for a power guy. He's a FA and I'd like to get him to sign a 2/20 or so deal. Manley I had promoted for a sim (and he had 2 HRs in 3 games) but he's just a vs. LHP 1B/DH and not much more and those guys don't play well in my ballpark. Tagg could be a good utility player. Switch hitters at 2B/SS are nice to go after.

Once I get eliminated I'll have a "what happened this year" post...
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
Yeah going for it, then selling the half assed going for it. I didn't want to trade away any huge pieces but hopefully I can re-sign Hong because he's lighting it up with us.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
So this is just an idea/I've been signing players to make it happen but I'm going to try out this experiment next year in AAA:

Offense: A team with all 80 (or close to) base stealers. Will have base stealing up all the way in strategies for individual players.

Defense: Best ratings possible with an emphasis on range.

I've decided since I never have hitting prospects in AAA that I want to try this out. I'm suppose to have 2-3 legit pitching prospects up there or I would've wanted to try a 3 man rotation with 35 PCs that are just RP.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
So this year was a disappointment. I went into the year thinking I had my best offense since I joined the WBL and a really great rotation/bullpen. Why didn't the year go well? A few reasons.

Injuries

Before the year started, I lost my relief ace in Eric Sutton (1.95 ERA last year) for 3 months. This forced me to slot Franco from my 7th inning guy to my 8th inning guy and really thinned out my bullpen. Then SP Punchy Wong got hurt. It was his first injury of his career (and happened the sim after I signed him to a 2/30 contract of course). This was significant in terms of a trade I made. Finally, with my offense sputtering, I lost the services of my LF Dean Juarez which forced me to make another trade/really significantly hurt my year.

The Hapgood Trade

At the time of the SP Randy Hapgood trade, I was 19-13 on May 7th. I felt pretty good and my offense was leading the league in runs. I thought I needed Hapgood to have any shot in the playoffs. I traded away my depth hitting wise in 3B Hector Rivera, C Gabel Vis and a starter in 1B Ehran Bahceli. The biggest strength my offense had early in the year was I was keeping everyone fresh and playing match ups. Vis was keeping Harris rested by starting vs. LHP which he kills. Bahceli had a nice platoon going with Matt Weaver. Rivera was playing well vs. LHP. All of the sudden (with the Juarez injury soon afteR) I went to a very empty bench and a bad lineup. Hapgood was good for me and I'm looking forward to his future, but this deal hurt my chances of getting to the playoffs significantly.

Defense

My defense was just horrible this year. I had built this team to have low HRs given up and a lot of GBs. Unfortunately for whatever reasons my defense just didn't work out. What's very frustrating was I was 3rd in ZRs but somehow 7th in DE. I have to find a better combination of players and fit in the pieces better next year.

I also think other little things hurt: Chris Brown refusal to be good, Harris having his worst year, Langille/Steve Green/Alejandro Velasquez just all being basically useless, Onye Medina hitting then not, Izo having bad luck and blowing a ton of games, horrible record in one-run games.

So with that said I liked a few of the things about this year especially trades...

-- I got some much needed hitting prospects in my trades of Dawud, Jorge Martinez and Tempo Franco. I also like Vance who I got for Pottenger as a real solid long guy in my bullpen.

-- The years from McHeshi and Fazackerly were absolutely amazing. McHeshi had a healthy (until last sim) year and was the 2nd best position player in the game. Fazackerly hit for tons of power and will make it hard on me to sign him to a good extension.

-- Cliff Jackson was 2nd in varsity in ERA at just his age 23 year. He made the leap going from half of the time RP/half SP to full SP with ease.

-- My farm system actually added players for the first time in a long time during the course of a season. I've got a real deep system right now with the addition of two first round picks and extra 2nd/3rds that I really liked. The trio of Colon, Snyder and Gerritson at AA could all be real good pitchers too and Colon especially is close. I've added hitting prospects which my system lacked. I feel like I may hold onto prospects more since my payroll is exploding with the lack of minimum guys on the roster.

-- The trades for Hong and Benny Jones didn't kill my system and I added two more bats that I can keep for 2047. Hong especially leaving Australia IMO could have a huge '47. Jones was great with me vs. RHP and will get a platoon partner in the off-season. Catcher Rolf too can help as a v LHP catcher at the minimum which as I wrote above, I just don't have a lot of players at that salary. The big thing though is I had too many automatic outs last year and Jones/Hong being added to the fold for a full year adds length to my lineup.

So as I look at my team needs this is a quick list:

-- Payroll flexibility (probably will need to trade one of Hapgood, Wong or maybe Fazackerly)
-- Two more hitters who are RH... the interesting thing is I have a bunch of multi position guys so hitters at any position especially IF/CF would do.
-- elite RP to replace Tempo (hoping Mah can do it but his control sucks. Maybe Ed Snyder for a season?)
-- Improved bench players
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
Going into the off-season I have a few goals....

1. Lock up Fazackerly

I feel like after his best year in the WBL, Fazackerly will be very good for a few more years at DH. I have a lot of cap space for extensions and think 10-12m/year for him is more than fair. Maybe for 3-5 years. Getting him to sign a good extension would be huge for my club.

2. Get cheaper

Already with the Hapgood/Xarito trades, I shaved $18m off this years payroll and $12m off next years. I need to find ways to get cheaper at positions and that by extension means get younger.

3. IFA Signings

I won't have the money to get huge in IFA, but I do want to sign a bunch of $1m or less players that I profile as fitting what I look for. I've had great success with cheap IFA deals and I'm not adverse to going over the $4m threshold if that means I get 6-7 guys I like. I haven't gotten any stars from my strategy but I've gotten a ton of useful 2-3.5* players that I've either promoted or used as trade fodder. My whole philosophy here has been kill them with numbers as opposed to going for the big fish. It's worked well and this year I want to see if I can get a few dudes.

4. Improve bench

Last year my bench went from a huge strength to weakness because of trading/injuries. This year I want it to be a strength again and will be looking at FAs and trades. There's one FA I want a lot who would fit perfectly that I hope to get. I'd like to upgrade at utility IF as well. Maybe catcher as my current back up Rolf is solid offensively but not great defensively.

5. One More Bat

I like my lineup a lot more than last year. I think Langille will start full time and I'll move Chris Breezy to SS for his bat. That said: I do want to see if I can get another bat. The good thing is I have position flexibility with McHeshi and others so I could use one at 3B, OF, 1B and move guys around to make it work. I just need to find the right guy.

6. Extra Arms?

With the injury to Punchy Wong getting a set back, plus trading Randy Hapgood, I'll have to get an extra SP. I think I will try out 20 year old top prospect Francisco Colon in ST to see how he does. If his ratings get close to their potential, I may go with him. I could also turn to a cheap under $3m FA and then move that guy to the bullpen once Punchy is back. In the bullpen, I'm short as well and I have a few FA offers. I'm going to try to get a couple under $2m FAs to fill it out. I could also call up Ed Snyder to try and fill a bullpen position.

7. All in?

The last item to consider is it time to go all in? Is it time to trade future 1s and just go for it? My goal has always been to make the playoffs and hope for the best. SP wise, I think I'm good enough to win a ship. Offensively? I'm about there. I think I need another good bat. Bullpen is where I'm concerned. Sutton and Izo are a great 8-9 but trading away a Tempo Franco I don't have the bridge yet. When I compare this team to my 2045 team, I do think they are about as good as each other. But I do think Varsity (and SOUTH LEAGUE) has had their best teams get even better. According to OSA, I have the #1 farm system and I do have extra picks, so it is time to cash in on this and go for it? Or do I continue to try and long term just be a 90-92 win team that mades mid-season deals in a push for the ship?
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
So I've made a few trades this off-season....

Las Vegas sends:
SP Hapgood (WBL)

Berlin sends:
Swapping of 1st and 2nd round picks this year (basically I move up 4 spots) plus right to swap firsts one year of the next 3 seasons
2nd next year
3B Hor (A)

From a talent perspective, I hate this deal. I didn't get much back. It was mostly to get rid of the $14m Hapgood was owed this year (he's only owed $8m/year starting next year). The idea was get some assets and use the $14m in other ways.

Las Vegas sends:

RP Rute Xarito (WBL)
OF Kjell Hedblom (WBL)

Seoul sends:

P Cedronelli (AAA)
$500k

Salary dump part II. Xarito is a decent RP but making $4.5m is just too much for me (I acquired him as a salary dump). Hedblom is a very useful #5 OF and hits well vs. LHP. But I wanted to try out Lenny Utting as my 4th OF this year as a younger option so I moved Hedblom away even though I like him a lot.

Cedronelli is a league average RP who is at the minimum. I actually think I could use him.

Las Vegas sends:

CF Onye Medina (WBL)
C Rolf (WBL)
2nd next year

Istanbul sends:

CF Harry Milburn (WBL)

The above two moves allowed me to make this move. By having McHeshi at 3B, I had a huge hole in my OF still to fill. Medina just is killed by my ballpark and is hitting arb next year. He's still young (24) but I thought I needed to move him while he still had value. Losing Rolf hurts too, he is almost exactly what I wanted in my back up catcher except I wish his fielding was better. But he's still young and at the minimum is a great back up.

Milburn is an interesting player to me. He recently had some 5-6 WAR years before going down to 2.6 last season. His salary IMO is fair ($10.5m this and next year) and at 30 I don't think he's done. A consolidation year of 4.5 or so WAR would be great for me. His gap power should play in my park and in a LH heavy lineup, a nice RH bat should help. Defensively he's OK in CF and great in LF/RF. As of now, I'm going to go with McHeshi at 3B and him in CF. If there are problems, I can shift players around to put him in LF, Juarez in RF, Hong at 2B, McHeshi in CF. I also like the fact he has two TOs as well so if he's doing well, I can keep him and if not, I can decline the options.


Hitting wise, I am fairly set for next year. I think my lineup vs. RHP will be:

Milburn CF
Fazackerly DH
McHeshi 3B
Juarez RF
Hong LF
Harris C
Jones 1B
Brown SS
Langille 2B

vs. LHP is still being hashed out. I need a C and 1B vs. LHP and I like a couple guys in FA that I hope to get this sim.


Pitching wise on the other hand... I'm still scrambling a bit. I just signed Luis Sandoval to a $1.1/1-year deal. Will spaces to fill this is how I envision starting the year:

SP1 - Torres
SP2 - Jackson
SP3 - Romero
SP4 - Colon/Vance/FA
SP5 - Sandoval

Note: I plan to put in Punchy Wong once he is back from his injury in June.

CL - Izo

SU8 - Sutton

MR - Vance/FA/Colon
MR - Vance/FA/Colon

LR - Mah

LHS - Wilkins

At this point, I'm going with a 11-man staff to start the year and will see how it goes.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
I've decided to start using 7-Day lineups for the first time in a while... Four reasons why:

1. I want to get rest in for my better players against the four "tanking" teams in Lisbon, NZ, KWest and BR. I'm done with BR (and only won 2 of 3) but I'm a big believer in resting guys and I think that I'm going to try and win against the lesser teams without all of my top guns. I'm hoping the rest does me well long term.

2. I'm trying to tailor my lineups against opposing SP. For instance, I have players who have a better eye and I'll try to start them vs. guys who walk more. Or guys who are better avoiding Ks vs. high K pitchers.

3. Tailor to my ballpark in having more LH hitters in games at home vs. on the road.

4. Most importantly: give my extreme GB pitchers the best infield defense they can get.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
Sold a few prospects in trades and a made a couple more...

Berlin sends:
$500k

Las Vegas sends:
Hugh Nelson (AAA)
Rung-ming Ci (DFA)​
Nelson at $1.1m just couldn't find a spot on my roster. Ironically right after dealing him when Juarez went down, I could've really used him. Ci I got on waivers and liked a lot but like Nelson I couldn't find a spot for him. I could use both right now but needed to clear their small salaries and get some cash in the process.

Dublin sends:
SS Skeeter Chong (WBL)
SP Joe Fritz (WBL)

Las Vegas sends:
SP Buddy Gerritson (AAA)
SP Calvin Kodde (AA)
CL Ricardo Munoz (AA)
I've had my eyes on Fritz for a while. I see him as a possible Eric Sutton part II (OK SP, dominant RP). He's also only making $2m the next two years so I love that. I haven't had a good SS in a long time (maybe ever since I joined this league) and paid a huge price for Chong. He has no power but I want his OBP as my team has a very low OBP (despite leading the league in walks). Too many Ks and Chong can help with that.

Gerritson was third pick in a two player draft. He has the potential still to be a very good and cheap back end of the rotation guy. He's the type that if you have him asa #4 or #5 you have a good rotation. I also think that minimum salary guys will be even more valuable in this game as guys refuse to sign extensions. Kodde I got a MLFA this year with a small bonus and IMO he could be a #5 too. LH pitchers do better in the NL for whatever reason. Munoz IMO is a 8th inning guy.

I paid a heavy price but I like both guys I got back.

Las Vegas sends:
SP Punchy Wong (WBL)
2B Miguel Mateo (A)

Amsterdam brings home:
CF Numan Farid (WBL)

Made this deal for a few reasons. First of all, I shed $10m off next years payroll (assuming Punchy exercises his PO). With the injury to Farid, my bench and lineup lost some length in them so I wanted to get another quality hitter and buy low on Farid. It also helps me next year allowing me to probably move one of Hong, McHeshi or Milburn to save some more money.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
Some general thoughts on the year...

I've been pretty pleased with how the season has gone. The injury to Dean Juarez (who looked like he was going to have a break out year) is probably the most frustrating thing to happen. This is two straight years he's had major injuries which is not good for his future. Just a few bullet points on why I think I've had about as good of a year as I could...

-- Mason Fazackerly has been incredible again. His .919 OPS is a little down and he's really cooled off since an incredible April when he was POTM but his hitting has been huge for me.

-- Raul Torres is having a nice bounce back year. He wasn't terrible last year by any measure (3.32 FIP) but has gone back to his dominant ways with a 2.61 FIP this season. An improved HR rate is the culprit.

-- The rest of the rotation has been stellar. Luis Sandoval has been a perfect #5 SP (3.43 ERA at $1.1m) and Jose Romero is having his best year while Cliff Jackson continues to be a great #2 SP. I've been also surprised that Francisco Colon has a 3.24 ERA as a rookie and should be rookie of the year.

-- I've had lots of power in my lineups with probably 3 30+ HR guys and 6 20+ HR guys with 3 more closing in on 15. If Juarez didn't get hurt, I bet I would've had 4 30+ guys. The most pleasant surprise is Benny Jone who has 33 HR in just 418 PA.

-- The bullpen actually has been a disappointment. Eric Sutton continues to be a top 5 RP (+4.2 WPA!!) in the WBL but Kitamura has taken a big step back with a horrific year (-2.0 WPA). I was hoping Joe Fritz would be a new Sutton but he hasn't been good at all. Ed Snyder and Cedronelli have both been solid but Victor Wilkins is in his last year as my LOOGY.

-- Happy I shed Punchy Wong's salary and got a useful piece back in Farid. I am also kinda happy with the Skeeter trade although I lost a lot of capital making it. But I did need OBP badly and my SS position has been ABs wasted really for a long time in this league. I can't remember the last time I had a good one.

-- Chris Brown after two horrific years has been OK vs RHP but incredible vs LHP (.993 OPS). His contract pays him less than $6m over the next 3 years too which in his new economy is huge.

-- Defense! Finally! I'm happy to be 2nd in DE and that might be my biggest key to winning.

-- I've somewhat put myself in a better financial situation too by getting rid of Wong and getting some cash in trades. It's absolutely paramount to me that I not only make the playoffs but win a round to get some playoff money.

-- My pitching staff is very young and still very cheap (and will be for a few years).

-- Finally, I've rested guys a good amount over the year. I have pushed my SPs even giving everyone but Sandoval extra starts in 1 or 2 day off weeks and resetting my rotation after the ASB. The big key for me will be to clinch (or be so close it it's automatic) going into the next sim so I can give even more days off.

What concerns me:

-- Dermott McHeshi has taken a step back. His power and contact ratings have gone down significantly. He had 74 XHB including 39 HR last year vs. just 46 XBH this year in just 15 less starts. He's probably going from a 8 WAR guy to a 4.5 WAR guy for good which is not ideal considering I just signed him up to play with me over the next four seasons. He can still be valuable with the lack of good 3B but he isn't a superstar anymore which is sad.

-- As I posted above, could Dean Juarez be a guy who gets hurt all of the time?

-- With a couple trades and graduations, I've started to empty out my farm system which was rated "#1" by OSA last year. I've also had multiple first round picks over the last couple years just be terrible. My first round pick form this year already looks bad.

-- Fazackerly, by far my best offensive player, is gone. So I'm thinking about moving Hong Hong to DH, Jaurez in LF, Milburn CF, Farid RF, McHeshi 3B, Skeeter SS, Brown 2B, Jones 1B, ?? C. Good news is I feel like I'm set offensively for next year. Bad news is that this offense was only 6th in RS this year. Unless I get a great catcher, I don't see a ton of improvement and in fact maybe some steps back from Hong, Milburn, Jones and Brown. I'll need a stronger bench next year. Also might have to move a guy (I'd prefer Hong because of his lack of D, but I think he could put up better numbers as a DH).

-- Speaking of Skeeter, I do not love the extension I signed him to.

-- Long term I don't have many really good prospects. Enrique Gomez in AA is a future star. I have some parts at C that could make a platoon. Maybe Carlos Beltran could be a nice platoon RF. But I'm going to start losing guys to FA and will need to figure out how to keep them.

-- Back end of the bullpen still needs another great arm and I don't know if Ed Snyder will improve enough to be that guy. I'm still searching for the next Eric Sutton -- converted average SP who becomes a dominant RP. I don't think it's Fritz.

OVerall, here is really the thing that is the most important problem/question to my team and way of thinking with the game...

-- I have $23m in budget room (and probably more of a spike with playoff revenues) and don't really need much next off-season (upgrades but I'm pretty set most positions). The question is more I've always kinda managed my finances year to year due to the fact that I always want to try and win. I've made deals like the Punchy with the idea of saving money but nothing ever really long term. I've put off savings 3-4 years down the line to save money now a lot of times. The big question to me is can this strategy work now? With the difficulty of extending current vets and how much more they want/get from FA, is this way of doing business plausible anymore?
 

osick87

Well-Known Member
Community Liaison
There's a few Catchers that are looking to be solid free agent signings. I will probably offer Vis a contract but there are

Vis
Harris
Charles (not ideal)
Pots
Salas

Fenemore can get on base but is meh defensively. Coates fell off a cliff for you but was good until this year. Jose Cortez is a miFA that might be worth the gamble.
 

osick87

Well-Known Member
Community Liaison
Was that post a

shh.gif
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
There's a few Catchers that are looking to be solid free agent signings. I will probably offer Vis a contract but there are

Vis
Harris
Charles (not ideal)
Pots
Salas
Was that post a

shh.gif

Fenemore can get on base but is meh defensively. Coates fell off a cliff for you but was good until this year. Jose Cortez is a miFA that might be worth the gamble.

:laughing:

I've had Vis before and think he'd fit in with me on a one-year deal. I think John Larking will be for sure with my WBL team as a back up (LH and 80 D) paired with an offensive RH catcher. Maybe Murray Sanders on my AAA team although I don't know if he's ready. I would just bite the bullet and play them together but as I posted before, I'm jam packed everywhere else so I'll need improvement somewhere in my offense. I guess I try to move Hong/Milburn/someone else and spend more on a big ticket FA but financially I don't think that makes sense.
 

osick87

Well-Known Member
Community Liaison
Only one way to find out a guy's ready.

If it makes you feel better, I liked Sanders when I looked over your team.
 

Orlando

Well-Known Member
Utopia Moderator
I'm still pretty convinced DE means nothing.

Tempo has been really good for me and healthy, but I'm a little sad I let Gomez go in that trade. It made sense for both of us though.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
I'm still pretty convinced DE means nothing.

Tempo has been really good for me and healthy, but I'm a little sad I let Gomez go in that trade. It made sense for both of us though.
I think it was a great trade for both sides. Going into our potential playoff series I think Tempo might be the biggest advantage you have over me. My set up guys aren't great.

EDIT: and I think Babip means more

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

Orlando

Well-Known Member
Utopia Moderator
I think it was a great trade for both sides. Going into our potential playoff series I think Tempo might be the biggest advantage you have over me. My set up guys aren't great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yeah definitely win now for me and Gomez was kind of blocked. I'm thinking of moving Naz to the pen for our series. He, Tempo and Jorge would make it so my SP just needs to throw 5 decent innings.
 

Gooksta

Well-Known Member
I'm still pretty convinced DE means nothing.

Tempo has been really good for me and healthy, but I'm a little sad I let Gomez go in that trade. It made sense for both of us though.
Test it out.. field a crappy defensive team and get back to us with results
 

Orlando

Well-Known Member
Utopia Moderator
i am guessing your team must be making up for it somewhere else.
Or DE doesn't mean much. Everyone is bunched together. I've moved from first to fifth in a sim. There are better ways to judge defense. I have a good defensive team.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
Didn't have enough hitting.... some thoughts on my team going forward position by position:

Catcher-- Bill Harris is a FA and gone. John Larking is 80 DEF and an OK LH hitter. He will be on the big club next year. Murray Sanders in AAA killed AA (.899 OPS) and was better in AAA. I think he needs another year in the minors though so I'm thinking about going for a one-year RH catcher like a Gabel Vis to pair with Larking.

1B-- I really liked how my Mercier vs. LHP and Jones vs. RHP platoon worked. Both are FAs after 2048 but Jones with 37 HR and Mercier with great D and solid numbers vs. LHP made a nice platoon at a rather cheap price ($5m). They'll be worth about $7m next year. Long term I don't really have anyone there.

2B-- Chris Brown will be here for at least next year if not longer. He had a great bounce back season with 22 HRs in a 2.0 WAR. His D at 2B is still very good. Enrique Gomez lurks as my #1 prospect and a legit 5* potential guy though. Probably will be ready by OD 2049.

SS -- Skeeter Chong will be here for a bit as well. I signed him to a four-year extension and desperately need him to continue to be average defensively and I need him get on base at a higher clip than he did with me. I don't have much OBP in my lineup so if he could give me .375 or so that'd be huge.

3B -- I think McHeshi will stay here for a while as well. I was disappointed with his defense (-5 ZR) and his batting numbers are going down. I think he's going to be about a 4 WAR player from here on out which is concerning at 28 he'd already slip his ratings this badly.

OF -- I'm pretty much set with Dean Juarez in LF, Henry Milburn in CF, Numan Farid in RF. It's a great defensive and very good offensive set up. Lenny Utting was actually really good v LHP (.800 OPS) and could stay in to platoon as my fourth OF. I might try to move Milburn to create some space salary wise.

DH -- Time to realize that my best hitter Mason Fazackerly is gone. The good news is Hong Hong (in a FA year) will take over. Hong has become awful defensively (-12 ZR at 2B/LF) but hit 32 HRs and had a .876 OPS v RHP. I'm thinking of pairing him with a guy I can get cheap who'll face LHP. There will be drop off but not as dramatic as it could be. Plus I think guys can hit better (not as tired) when they just DH.

Overall -- I need to find some more runs. I think better platoons might be a way. A full year at LF of Juarez, Chong at SS and a better C is another way. I think the new set up will at least save some runs with better defense.

SP -- Nothing wrong with my set up as I head into next year. I was 2nd in ERA and with Torres, Jackson, Romero, Colon I feel great about my 1-4. Colon at 3.23 should be New Wizard of the Year. Jackson hits his first year of arb while Torres is signed through 2050. I'm going to work on an extension for Romero too. The best part is they are 21, 23, 24 and 27. I was really pleased with Luis Sandoval as my #5 as he is cheap next year ($1.2m) and his ERA was awesome (3.31)

RP -- Little more concern here than my rotation. Eric Sutton was again awesome with a 2.15 ERA. But Izo Kitamura took a huge step back. Also I hoped Fritz would be the next Sutton but he was just average in the bullpen. The good news is I have Ed Synder as a potentially very good RP at the minimum for a while. Mah started out with bad control but it's really improved. I'm going to non-tender Victor Wilkins who fell off a cliff these last two years and Cedronelli who was good but isn't worth what he's suppose to make. I could use a really good RP though badly.

So that's where I stand. Unless I can move some salary I'm going to be pretty much the same next year just hoping for a little better health and strides from my younger players.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
So to update my off-season... I was very pleased with how it went. Going into the year, this is the most complete and probably best team I've ever had in the WBL/UBL. Here are the transactions:

Istanbul Sends:
CL Gael 'Fang' Jabiri

Las Vegas Sends:
C Murray Sanders AAA
3rd Round Pick

I felt like one of the things that was missing from my bullpen in the playoffs was a dominant RP except for Sutton (who seemed to tire as the year went on). I've always loved Jabiri and got him in the fire sale. His great movement/control will play in my park and I get to move Sutton to SU8. I feel like you need 2-3 dominant RP to win the post-season.

Sanders is a potentially good catcher. He has OK defense but power from the right side. I got him 45th overall in the 2046 draft and he had climbed my system rather easily. I traded him because he just doesn't fit my ballpark and I think he's a bit of a tweener for my team.

Las Vegas sends:
4th Overall Pick (belonged to Berlin)
RF Carlos Beltran (AAA)
LF Hong Hong (WBL)

Istanbul sends:
LF Alfonso Saucedo (WBL)
SP bin Fariq (WBL)

This was the best value I could get for fourth overall and I took it. Sauce is good for me because I need a young bat badly in my lineup. Herc is more of a luxury item as I have him slotted as my #5 SP. The good thing about him though is I wanted two LHP in my rotation because of the way my ballpark. The other thing is if I get into the playoffs, I can play match ups and use him as my #4 (or better) in a playoff series depending on my opponent's lineup. He also has a high K rate which is lacking and I Think my ballpark will depress his HR rate.

Beltran is kinda like the reel Beltran: RF with good plate patience. I see him as a tweener too as in he starts for bad teams, is a bench or platoon player on good teams. I think he could be a solid regular. I actually will miss Hong Hong as he hit 36 HRs and was going to be my DH. I think he has 1-2 good seasons left as a good hitter. He kills RHP but can't hit LHP. I don't know though with his significantly his ratings have dropped how much time he has left.

Las Vegas sends:
SP Luis Sandoval (WBL)

False Bay sends:
CF Dolf von Broeke (A)

Minor deal... Sandoval had a 3.31 ERA last year and I couldn't get a buyer. I basically dumped his $1.2m salary and got a lottery ticket. Think I could've done better but seemed like no one wanted Sandoval.

Signed OF Numan Farid to a two-year/$7.2m extension

I see Farid as a guy who starts 80-90 games as a bench guy/fills in for injuries. This deal fits that. He also was a 3.1 WAR player in 2046 and fits my ballpark. I do not like how his defense is slipping at a rapid pace. I usually see that as a precursor to having overall dips. Overall though I like him as my "10th" hitter who can give guys rest and fill in when I get injuries

Signed CL Fang Jabiri to a four-year/$30.8m extension

It's probably an overpay for a closer about to enter his age-28 year but I wanted to lock him up. He's probably good through his age-32 season, and his movement/control are elite while his stuff has become very good too. Even with some regression, I still see him at the least as a great RP.

Signed CL Artac to a one-year/$3m contract

As usual, I waited it out in FA to just see who was left then slot them in. I needed a LH specialist and this is about as good as it's going to get for me. He's coming off a great season for NZ and at 35 years old, he's a good fit as just a LH specialist. I hope to get a great WPA season out of him.

Signed DH Ivan Ruiz to a one-year/$11m contract

Very , very pleased to get Ruiz. It adds a lot of depth to my lineup and allowed me to put Farid on the bench and my team to absorb an injury. He kills RHP and should destroy pitching in my ballpark. He won't hit for as high of an average as Fazackerly but he is a bit younger and should hit for more power.

Signed C Jose Salas to a one-year/$7m contract

I desperately needed a RH catcher and Salas I feel fits with John Larking (LH, defensive specialist). Salas is coming off back to back .800 OPS years. He was decent for me and I'm hoping he only catches 4-5 games per week and stays fresh for the playoffs. He's caught a ton of games the last two years (137 and 127 GS plus playoffs) so I hope he has a little left in the tank.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
Position by position thoughts on the year....

Catcher

Another RH power hitter who fails with my team. Jose Salas had a woeful .660 OPS (.805 LY) including a .339 (!!!) OPS in June before he got hurt. I ended up just rolling with John Larking who is an 80 defender hitting .303 with gap power. I just traded for Robert Maurice who will fill the hole left by Salas. I think for a while it'll be Larking + an OK defensive good hitting RH catcher for a while.

First Base

Benny Jones had a breakout 2047 with 37 HRs. An injury this year has slowed him but his AVG/OBP are better at the cost of a lot of power. Still on pace 21 HRs and about a 2 WAR. I think I'm going to let him walk and try to get a better 1B next year. Hocine Mercier has been a defensive specalist and actually real good vs. RHP (.814 OPS) but just terrible vs. LHP (.326 OPS) so I don't really know with him. Overall, I expect next year for 1B to be a FA/trade and a lot better.

Second Base

Another solid year from Chris Brown. Last year it was a 2.0 WAR (hurt by playing SS/3B a bit) and this year he's on pace for a 2.2 WAR with very good defense but a power outage -- 22 HRs to a projected 11 this year. My top prospect (and maybe the best hitting prospect in the game) Enrique Gomez has destroyed AA/AAA and is a LH hitter. I'm thinking about bringing him up in a couple of sims and the least he will be the starting 2B next year. Brown has struggled at 3B defensively so it could be interesting. Brown would be a great extra IF (although I already have that) or maybe a good 3B. There are lots of things I can do.

Shortstop

Skeeter Chong has basically given me what I want: solid D (-0.9 ZR) and OBP (.365). He is just kinda like parring a hole at this point. Not helping or hurting my team much. The only thing that concerns me is his $10-11m due each of the next two years. I don't think he's worth it but at this point it's so hard to get a solid SS that maybe he is. Alejandro Velasquez has been outstanding backing him and McHeshi at 3B up. I'd love to move Chong and use that money somewhere else.

Third Base

McHeshi has settled into a 4-5 WAR player. His numbers are basically the same as last year except this year he's been much better defensively. He's 2nd in WAR in NL which just shows this position lacks elite players. So he doesn't hurt me. I'm thinking about when Gomez comes, moving Brown here and McHeshi back out to CF. Who knows at this point. Ted Carter in AAA has a chance to be good. OSA thinks he is, my scout does not.

Outfield

Saucedo has been as good as I can ask thus far. He's 2nd in the NL in WAR as a dominant hitter and defender. Juarez has been very good with an OPS just below .900. His LF defense has been bad but that's not the end of the world. CF has been OK. Milburn was traded away because his K rates got insane but defensively he was incredible. I've decided to roll with Farid in CF depending on match ups. He's hit .301 with very solid gap power with average defense across the board. Saucedo and Juarez are both still under 27 but they're both going to get significantly more expensive in 2050. Farid is signed cheap for another year Plus TO so he will stay. I could move Juarez to DH and McHeshi to CF. Jack Jones is the lone guy in the minors I have.

DH

Ivan Ruiz has replaced Mason Fazackerly pretty well (.900) but isn't as good as him. He's a one-year rental. Next year it'll be another one-year guy or maybe move Juarez to DH.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
Wow... that is my favorite Lil Wayne song and I'm surprised anyone else knows it. Any Manny Fresh beat = fire.

I absolutely loved Ted Carter when I drafted him. I thought for sure he'd be very good WBL player. Good ratings, VH Intel/Work Ethic and incredible college stats (.952 OPS). He hasn't lived up to what I thought he'd be. He murdered A-ball (1.000+ OPS) last year then was OK in AA. This year he destroyed AA with over a 1.000 OPS in over 200 ABs and is in AAA.

Really don't know what will become of him at this point. Kinda looks like AAAA player to me.
 

osick87

Well-Known Member
Community Liaison
His WAR looks weird considering his offence is pretty solid and his 3B D is good.

I'll add him to my newly conceived AAAA/ possible miFAs shortlist.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
His WAR looks weird considering his offence is pretty solid and his 3B D is good.

I'll add him to my newly conceived AAAA/ possible miFAs shortlist.
Yeah maybe his ratings are more OSA than my scout. The other crazy thing is this is his first full year out of college and he's already killed A/AA so he's going to either be in AAA for 4 seasons or become a good WBL player.
 

osick87

Well-Known Member
Community Liaison
I think any rating that is 40+ just makes players dominate A.

I mean Channing is 18 and I had to put him in AA because A wasn't a challenge
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
New OOTP16 Climate

I've posted before about my overall team strategies and how I've attempted to win. I think overall my strategy of getting as much value as I can out of trades, trying to win without building a super team, constantly moving prospects/restocking my system with IFA/MLFAs and platooning/using DRs to get as much value 1-25 on my roster is the same. Of all the teams in the league, I've probably tried to build the team that has the least holes and uses everyone on the roster more vs. it seems like the prevailing idea of getting superstars. I think both work but I just think that if you want to have a team that makes the playoffs more often than not, this is more of a sustainable strategy.

With that said, I think the 16 game (and the league expansion and activity) has changed some of the way I go for it. First of all, I think we are in a time with by far our most active owners and obviously adding the two teams disperses the talent particularly in IFA/the draft. We have two extra picks per round and a ton of more money in IFA. This isn't related to the switch, but I've seen the specific player that I target in IFA that I used to get easily for $250-400k now cost $1m which has severely limited my system. It's made it really hard for me to trade prospects and restock.

I think the biggest change with '16 is more realistic (in some cases) extensions and players wanting to test FA. I think it's great for the league but that's a story for another day. It's led me to believe that you can cycle through certain positions year after year easily. DH, 1B, RP there are going to be good FAs almost every year so I'd rather sign guys to one-year deals and hope for the best in FA than invest a ton in a prospect.

I have 7 WBL FAs this year and don't really have much interest in re-signing all of them. I think I could get equal replacements with older players on one-year contracts and would rather take my chances striking out in FA. To me, not using assets to get guys in FA, using those guys to win now is the way to go right now. It's just too big of a risk to sign some of these guys to huge extensions is one reason. The other is I think with the amount of FAs we will continue to have you can just cycle through positions. I'm going to have ~$45m for FAs next year and feel pretty good with my rotation and virtually my entire bullpen set. I also am pretty set at 2B, SS, 3B, LF (or DH), CF, RF, C. Just need some plug ins at DH (if I keep Juarez in LF), C v LHP, LH specialist and 1B.

Trade market wise I don't think a lot has changed. People overvalue their own players and I've attempted to shop guys who could help teams and I'd trade for basically nothing but it just seems no one wants to take them on. For instance, one guy I did move in Luis Sandoval who had a great ERA last year I got basically nothing for. I do have a different valuation of players than most (I'm probably the biggest taking a guy in the WBL vs. prospect person in the league) because I value winning now over future winning but it's still a out of whack trade market.
 

OU11

Pleighboi
Utopia Moderator
Yeah, trade market has changed a lot. Nobody wants to trade at all anymore. Everybody is scared of salary, which I think is unfounded now since the budgets have seemingly adjusted.
 

Orlando

Well-Known Member
Utopia Moderator
Doh always skates around the fact that he overvalues his own players. Also as OU noted, the trade market is much different. Nice write up otherwise though.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
Doh always skates around the fact that he overvalues his own players. Also as OU noted, the trade market is much different. Nice write up otherwise though.
Trade market wise I don't think a lot has changed. People overvalue their own players and I've attempted to shop guys who could help teams and I'd trade for basically nothing but it just seems no one wants to take them on. For instance, one guy I did move in Luis Sandoval who had a great ERA last year I got basically nothing for. I do have a different valuation of players than most (I'm probably the biggest taking a guy in the WBL vs. prospect person in the league) because I value winning now over future winning but it's still a out of whack trade market.

I favor certain things like defense and movement in pitchers that others don't care as much about. I probably value avoid Ks and pitcher control a lot less than everyone else.

I'm starting to believe though that avoid Ks is becoming a lot more valuable because of how terrible defense is in the league.
 

Orlando

Well-Known Member
Utopia Moderator
I'm just saying you make that claim a ton, but it's a league wide thing. You aren't exempt.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
Some thoughts on the year...

First sucks what happened in the playoffs. 7-Day lineups aside, Izo had a 1.88 ERA in the regular season and ended up with a -1.1 WPA in the first two games. Just a complete disaster. He'd given up 5 ER over his last 34 app going into the playoffs... then 5 ER in his first 2 in the playoffs. Just a disaster.

Honestly the rest of the series I thought went well for me. I should win at least two games when I score 6,7,5,3 runs over four games. Pretty crazy though every game was was either one-run, extras or walk off. IT was just Izo and a Sutton implosion that screwed me. Disappointing because I was #1 in NL bullpen ERA. I really could've used Ed Snyder too.

One more point and I've posted this before: I've basically built my team to beat Amsterdam (or a team like them). I thought with how my park is and the fact I couldn't out slug a team like that, I'd try to build a team that combats their best attributes. I went 12-5 vs. them in the regular season and was 1-2 pitches away from beating them in the playoffs so that's all I can really ask for.

Overall, I think this was the best team I've had. It was my highest average by 10 points. I had my best record and run difference (by a wide margin) and I basically rested the last 2.5 weeks. I think I was one RP short (again could've really used Snyder or not had Sutton decide to end his career as a good RP). My offense/SP were both good enough.

What I need going forward...

Next year is very interesting. Offensively -- only really on offense need a catcher (preferably RH), 1B and DH. Could also slide Dean Juarez to DH and get a LF instead. Have the depth in OF with Farid, IF with Velasquez, C with Larking behing IMO the perfect back up (80 D, LH, 490k contract). Happy with how my offense was... in my park 844 runs is a lot. Might try to move Dean to DH to improve the defense because he is shot in LF.

Pitching wise I'm set at SP. In fact, I will try to move one of them to improve somewhere else/get some depth in my farm system. I probably won't move Jackson (I want him to retire a Pac Man) or Colon. Herc might be hard to move because he's a FA. So Torres would probably be the guy to move because I think I'd get the most back. I'd move Jose Romero too but I don't think I'd get much for him.

Bullpen wise, I need Snyder to come back without his ratings getting destroyed. Izo, Jabiri are both great RPs who just had a bad postseason. I love Joe Fritz at $2m as a lower MR/LR. I do need a new LH specialist (maybe I'll just make it Doug Vance). Mah really took a giant step forward. I just hope Snyder is OK.

So going forward... the idea will be trade some of my SP depth for future prospects. I also have $50+m in space so I'm thinking of using that on C, 1B, DH maybe #5 SP if I trade a guy away. Maybe finally this will be the year I go all out in IFA and replenish my farm system.
 
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Mr. Radpants

Trog Five Standing By
I think the biggest change with '16 is more realistic (in some cases) extensions and players wanting to test FA. I think it's great for the league but that's a story for another day. It's led me to believe that you can cycle through certain positions year after year easily. DH, 1B, RP there are going to be good FAs almost every year so I'd rather sign guys to one-year deals and hope for the best in FA than invest a ton in a prospect.

Yeah, unless you're one of the teams that magically can't negotiate with free agents.
 

doh

THANK YOU Dermott McHeshi
Yeah, unless you're one of the teams that magically can't negotiate with free agents.
Yeah I do think that's a bit nuts. I think something like Aguilar's contract with Berlin makes more sense. It takes more $$/years to get the good FAs is a good compromise.
 
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