Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

RED SOX MEMOIRS - SPIDERMAN AND THE ROCKET (1996 - )

http://espn.go.com/i/page2/photos/06...712_nomar1.jpghttp://a.espncdn.com/media/pg2/2001/..._clemens_i.jpg

As you may or may not have guessed from the title this is a player-centered dynasty in the vein of OD's Ryan Zimmerman one and PoC's Ken Griffey Jr. one ; one that centers around a player, or players in this case, but also gives plenty of attention to the team as well.

This one centers around former beloved Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra (Spiderman) and former Red Sox pitcher and all-time great Roger (The Rocket) Clemens. I decided on Nomar because he was a phenomenal player when he was with the Red Sox. He looked destined for Cooperstown in his early to mid 20's, hitting a robust .372 in 2000 at the age of 26 and winning rookie of the year in '97 with 30 homers, a league leading 209 hits, and a near .900 OPS. I, and I think many Red Sox fans, have wondered how his career may have turned out differently if not for the trade in '04 and the injury problems he began facing. In short, I wonder what would have happened if he had played his entire career with the Red Sox, and this dynasty is an attempt to give an idea of what might have happened if things had turned out slightly differently. The Rocket wasn't in my original plans for this dynasty, but he has always been a favorite player of mine, and once I saw that he was still on the Red Sox in '96 on the game I decided to include him. Largely because I wonder the same thing about him as I do Nomar, what might have happened differently if Dan "Dumbass" Duquette had elected to resign him at the end of the '96 season and if he had stayed a Red Sox player for most, if not all, of his career.

I will be using CatKnight's Competitive Balance settings. Other than that I simply say this: I do solemnly swear that I am up to no good (:P)....I mean I do solemnly swear not to rip off the computer and keep an eye on the league for the sake of competitive balance :D.

So let's get this underway!

An Introduction to the Stars of the Show!

SS/DH Nomar Garciaparra (79/92), 22 years old

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Nomar will begin this as a 22 year old rookie and the team's starting designated hitter. There really isn't much question about his ability to hit, but his defense is a big achilles heel right now, and with the more sure-handed John Valentin on the roster to handle SS and no real DH on the team Nomar will simply fill that role, as well as filling in around the infield in case of injuries, ineffectiveness, or need for a day off. In Nomar's three year's of rookie ball he has amassed 24 homers, 115 RBI's, 183 hits, 108 runs, and a .270/.324/.430. Not remarkable, but with his rating of 79/92 at only 22 years old you have to think he'll do much better in the bigs.

SP Roger Clemens (96), 33 years old

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Roger starts at 33 years old and going on his 13th year in the league. He is coming off a poor season (by his standards), going 10-5 with a 4.18 ERA in 1995. But over his career at this point he is 182-98 with a 3.00 ERA and 2333 strikeouts in 2533.1 innings pitched. He is in a contract season, and being that he is a focal point of the dynasty and the ace of the otherwise weak pitching staff we will be re-signing him ASAP.

Opening Day Roster

The Starting Nine:
1. DH Nomar Garciaparra (79/92), 22 years old
2. SS John Valentin (82), 29 years old
3. 1B Mo Vaughn (84), 28 years old
4. LF Mike Greenwell (81), 32 years old
5. C Mike Stanley (82), 32 years old
6. RF Jose Canseco (86), 31 years old
7. 2B Jeff Frye (75), 29 years old
8. 3B Tim Naehring (74), 29 years old
9. CF Troy O'Leary (75/79), 26 years old

Thoughts: 1-6 it's pretty solid. Nomar and Valentin in the leadoff spot provide us with two guys very capable of making contact and drawing walks, and Vaughn, Greenwell, Stanley, and Canseco are all RBI machines and capabling of going yard in any given at bat. That said, 7-9 is extremely iffy. Naehring really shouldn't be starting for any team with realistic playoff aspirations, and while Jeff Frye and Troy O'Leary aren't completely horrible they do leave a lot to be desired. The defense is also seriously lacking. None of them are anything to write home about, and only O'Leary, Greenwell, Valentin, and Naehring are average-ish. Possible spots we would look to upgrade, depending on how the first few weeks/months of the seasons go would definite be third base, and probably center field, second base, and left field.

The Bench:
LF Phil Clark (71/79), 27 years old
CF Dwayne Hosey (72), 29 years old
LF Kevin Mitchell (76), 34 years old
SS Wil Cordero (76/85), 24 years old
C Bill Haselman (72), 29 years old

Thoughts: Pretty decent depth. Mitchell only just last season smacked 30 homers and put up an OPS of 1.110 in 310 at bats. Wil Cordero is also a good bat off the bench, and if he can figure it out with the glove he'll probably find himself in the starting line up, although he'll probably find himself there anyways since Naehring is an injury waiting to happen.

The Starting Rotation:
1. Roger Clemens (96), 33 years old
2. Bret Saberhagen (88), 31 years old
3. Jamie Moyer (82), 33 years old
4. Tim Wakefield (78), 29 years old
5. Butch Henry (75), 27 years old

Thoughts: Not too bad. Excellent top two in Clemens and Saberhagen. Clemens should continue to be a Cy Young contender, despite his relatively poor 1995 season, although I do have some doubts about Saberhagen moving forward. Then a solid 3-5 with Moyer, Wakefield, and Henry. Moyer, Wake, and Henry are all pretty much soft tossers, but it does provide an excellent contrast to the hard throwing Clemens, and somewhat hard throwing Saberhagen.

The 'Pen:
CL Tom Gordon (84), 28 years old
SU Heathcliff Slocumb (77), 29 years old
SR Mike Maddux (75), 34 years old
SR Mike Stanton (77), 28 years old
MR Stan Belinda (74), 29 years old
LR Steve Ontiveros (74), 35 years old

Thoughts: Meh. It's not completely horrible, but I don't expect it to win us any more games than it loses us. The backend of Gordon and Slocumb is quite good, and Stanton is a strong short reliever, but otherwise it's not very impressive. Fortunately, though, the bullpen is one area where I happen to have a lot of minor league depth, with Rich Garces, Brian Shouse, and Hideki Okajima all capable of coming up in the event of injury or ineffectiveness.

Overall thoughts: I think we've got a pretty competitive team. The projected win-loss right now has us pegged for 99 wins, five games behind the Yankees projected 104, which seems a little optimistic. However if the league played out with everyone matching their projected win-loss that would give us the Wild card by seven games over Baltimore. Our performance this season probably hinges on the performance of Nomar, the back of the rotation, and our all-or-nothing sluggers.

Noooooooooooomaaaaaaaaaaaahhh

April 2
Red Sox (0-1) @ Tigers (1-0)
Red Sox 5 - Tigers 6

Both of our stars put in good games, but unfortunately it still wasn't enough to pull through with a win on opening day. Nomar grounded out in his first career at bat, but finished the game 2-4 with a walk, two runs, and his first career homer and first career steal. Clemens turned in a strong performance, but unfortunately the defense made two errors and let him down, as he allowed five runs, but only one was earned. Overall his line was 6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 HR, 5 R, 1 ER, 9 K. Mike Greenwell also homered and drove in two runs, while the big hitter on the Tigers side was Travis Fryman and his three run homer.

WP - Bob Scanlan (1-0)
LP - Mike Stanton (0-1)
HR - Mike Greenwell (1), Nomar Garciaparra (1), Cecil Fielder (1), Travis Fryman (1)

April 3
Red Sox (1-1) @ Tigers (1-1)
Red Sox 10 - Tigers 9

Bret Saberhagen started this game strong, but fell apart and allowed five runs in the fifth inning. Fortunately, though, the offense and bullpen showed up to play. Mike Greenwell went 5-6 with three runs and an RBI and Jeff Frye went 2-5 with a homer and four RBI. While the bullpen allowed only two runs (one earned) in 4 1/3 innings.

WP - Mike Maddux (1-0)
LP - Brian Williams (0-1)
SV - Tom Gordon (1)
HR - Mo Vaughn (1), Jeff Frye (1), Cecil Fielder (2), Alan Trammel (1)

April 4
Red Sox (2-1) @ Tigers (1-2)
Red Sox 10 - Tigers 9

The pitching blew it out the ass again, but fortunately the offense showed up and won it for us again, in spite of four Tiger home runs. Valentin and Mike Stanley both hit three run homers, and Canseco went 4-5 with a homer, while Moyer allowed 6 runs in 4 1/3 innings. Nomar, Naehring, and Frye also had an RBI each.

WP - Stan Belinda (1-0)
LP - Fernando Rodney (0-1)
SV - Tom Gordon (2)
HR - Mike Stanley (1), John Valentin (1), Jose Canseco (1), Cecil Fielder (3), Alan Trammel (2), Chad Curtis (1), Bobby Higginson (1)

Thoughts: The offense has been really strong from 1-8. O'Leary is hitting like a chimp with a railroad spike through his head, but everyone else is more than picking up the slack. It's a good thing too, because the team is sporting an ERA over 6.00. Oh, and everyone on defense might as well start wearing their gloves on their head and try catching the ball with their teeth. They would probably make fewer errors that way.

Greenwell - wow, what a guy. I wish he had lasted longer. Nomar, Greenwell, the Rocket all on the same team. Too bad Burks went out to Colorado or wherever.

Rich Garces! Viva El Guapo!

Any chance you are considering trading Slocumb to the Mariners? For a starter and catcher who shall remain nameless? I would highly advise it!

Good concept, I would have done something similar myself, if I wasn't already engrossed in multiple dynasties across different games.

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Originally Posted by Alloutwar

Greenwell - wow, what a guy. I wish he had lasted longer. Nomar, Greenwell, the Rocket all on the same team. Too bad Burks went out to Colorado or wherever.

Rich Garces! Viva El Guapo!

Any chance you are considering trading Slocumb to the Mariners? For a starter and catcher who shall remain nameless? I would highly advise it!

Good concept, I would have done something similar myself, if I wasn't already engrossed in multiple dynasties across different games.

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Nomar, Greenwell, and the Rocket are all doing fantastic, too.

El Guapo is almost certain to see some major league time before the end of the season, possibly soon.

Haha. Well because of the way Baseball Mogul just is, Varitek is already in my farm system, rated as a 70/88 or something, but for some reason Lowe isn't. Hmm, maybe Slocumb goes, Lowe comes to Boston, and Garces comes up and replaces Slocumb.....;).

Thanks :). Rocket is/was one of my favorite players, but unfortunately his time in Boston was before I started watching baseball. Same with Nomar, his last season in Boston was my first season of paying attention to baseball.

April 6
Athletics (0-4) @ Red Sox (3-1)
Athletics 6 - Red Sox 7

Wow. Great game. We score four runs in the final two innings to win the game; two in the eighth on a Kevin Mitchell pinch hit single, and two in the ninth on a Canseco ground out and bases loaded Jeff Frye walk to win the game. Nomar played a good game going 2-5 with two runs, additionally Jeff Frye hit two doubles and Mike Stanley homered, while Wake' struck out ten but allowed six runs in eight innings.

WP - Mike Stanton (1-1)
LP - Jim Corsi (0-1)
HR - Mike Stanley (2)

April 7
Athletics (0-5) @ Red Sox (4-1)
Athletics 0 - Red Sox 1

Wow. What a great game pitched by both sides. Tim Hudson shut us down and pitched an eight inning complete game allowing only one run on seven hits and five walks, but fortunately for us Clemens was just too good on this night and pitched a complete game, three hit shut out, while sending the A's down on strikes 13 times. The lone run of the game came on a Valentin RBI single in the sixth.

WP - Roger Clemens (1-0)
LP - Tim Hudson (0-2)

April 8
Athletics (1-5) @ Red Sox (4-2)
Athletics 2 - Red Sox 1

We really should have whipped the A's starting pitcher in this game. He didn't have a single rating above 67 besides his endurance (which was 82), but instead he shut us down for seven innings and we failed to touch the bullpen either. Good news is Troy O'Leary seems to be snapping out of his funk after going 3-3 with two doubles.

WP - Willie Adams (1-0)
LP - Bret Saberhagen (0-1)
SV - Jim Corsi (1)
HR - N/A

Thoughts: Can't be disappointed with 4-2 and a tie for the division. The pitching seems to be coming around. Clemens pitched a fantastic game in his one start this weekend, and Saberhagen also threw a great game in the 2-1 loss (7 IP, 7 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 5 K). Our big hitters are doing just as well as we were hoping. Vaughn is hitting .381/.536/.571, and Greenwell is hitting .407/.448/.667. Noooommmmaaaaahhhh is also ripping the cover off the ball with a line of .360/.448/.560, and The Rocket has been a beast in his two starts, pitching almost 16 innings with a 0.57 ERA and 22 strikeouts to only four walks. Coming up we've got the 3-3 Blue Jays coming to Boston.

You are missing the score for the last game. Great start though

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Originally Posted by rockiesfan4ever

You are missing the score for the last game. Great start though

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Whoops :o. Fixed it. Thanks though :).

I can still hear the echos of the Fenway fans as Derek Jeter comes up to bat...

Nomars better, NOMARS BETTER, NOMARS BETTER!

That was then...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OldYankFan

I can still hear the echos of the Fenway fans as Derek Jeter comes up to bat...

Nomars better, NOMARS BETTER, NOMARS BETTER!

That was then...

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He was better. But then his body just started falling apart on him. Probably a 'roider. He was so good when he was young, and then nothing.

April 9
Blue Jays (4-3) @ Red Sox (4-3)
Blue Jays 3 - Red Sox 2

Stieb managed to shut us down (in spite of being at the end of his career rated as a high 60's/low 70's pitcher and not having pitched in two years) for seven innings of one run ball, and we couldn't touch the 'pen either. Jose Canseco thoroughly embarassed himself going 0-5 with three strikeouts.

WP - Paul Quantrill (2-0)
LP - Stan Belinda (1-1)
SV - Mike Timlin (1)
HR - Juan Samuel (1)

April 10
Blue Jays (4-4) @ Red Sox (5-3)
Blue Jays 2 - Red Sox 8

A great game pitched by Tim Wakefield (7.1 IP, 5 H, 5 BB, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 K) worked in tandem with a great offensive output to help us win this game. The young Garciaparra especially had a great game at the plate, collecting three hits in four at bats, scoring twice, hitting his second homer and driving in three runs.

WP - Tim Wakefield (1-0)
LP - Woody Williams (0-2)
SV - N/A
HR - Nomar Garciaparra (2)

April 11
Blue Jays (4-5) @ Red Sox (6-3)
Blue Jays 2 - Red Sox 12

Butch Henry spins a gem in his first start of the season, going seven innings and giving up only one run, and the offense completely goes off against Hentgen. Everyone in this game but Valentin got a hit, and everyone but Jeff Frye drove in a run. We also got homers out of Mike Greenwell, Mike Stanley, Jose Canseco, and Tim Naehring. Nomar went 3-4 with a walk, two runs, and two runs driven in.

WP - Butch Henry (1-0)
LP - Pat Hentgen (0-1)
SV - N/A
HR- Mike Stanley (3), Tim Naehring (1), Mike Greenwell (2), Jose Canseco (2)

Thoughts: The offense really picked it up against the Jays, and the pitching didn't falter at all. It was nice to see the back end of the rotation put in some good innings, as well as seeing the bullpen hold tight. We're flying high at 6-3, a half game ahead of Baltimore, and it's also fun seeing the Yankees at 3-5 at the bottom of the division. Nomar is absolutely ripping the cover off the ball, batting at a .405/.477/.649 clip.

April 12
Brewers (7-3) @ Red Sox (6-4)
Brewers 6 - Red Sox 3

A strained elbow kept Vaughn out of this game, as it will the next three as well. Pitching was the big story in this one, with Clemens getting roughed up a bit and Cal Eldred shutting us down for seven strong innings of two run baseball. Mike Stanley was 2-3 with a homer and two ribbies in a losing effort.

WP - Cal Eldred (1-0)
LP - Roger Clemens (1-1)
SV - Mark Davis (1)
HR - Mike Stanley (4), Jose Canseco (3)

April 13
Brewers (7-4) @ Red Sox (7-4)
Brewers 3 - Red Sox 4

Someone might easily have mistaken the line score of this game for something written in binary code or ASCII, with both teams putting a lot of 1's and 0's on the board throughout the game. Bret Saberhagen pitched a solid game (5.1 IP, 9 H, 2 BB, 3 ER, 3 R, 7 K), but the bullpen is what really saved us. We got 3.2 innings out of Mike Stanton and Heathcliff Slocumb without either allowing a run or a walk, only three hits, and two K's. Offensively, Naehring had two runs batted in and drove in the winning run on a sac fly in the bottom of the sixth with O'Leary on third.

WP - Mike Stanton (2-1)
LP - Ben McDonald (1-2)
SV - Heathcliff Slocumb (1)
HR - N/A (previously I had been listing homeruns hit on both teams, but from now on, unless it's relevant in some way (500th of career, league leader, etc.) I'm only going to be listing homeruns hit for the Red Sox)

April 14
Brewers (7-4) @ Red Sox (7-4) (prior to this game I was writing the team's record after actually playing the game, but I'm going to start writing what it is before the game since I've gotten in the habit of writing these as the games is played, and not after I play the game)
Brewers 3 - Red Sox 6

The fourth inning was the big story of this game. The home half of the fourth featured a triple by John Valentin, an RBI single by Tim Naehring, an RBI double by Jeff Frye, and a two run single by Nomar. Moyer also had his first solid start of the season, going seven innings and allowing only three runs on five hits and two walks.

WP - Jamie Moyer (1-0)
LP - Steve Sparks (1-2)
SV - Heathcliff Slocumb (2)
HR - N/A

April 15
Brewers (7-5) @ Red Sox (8-4)
Brewers 5 - Red Sox 7

A three run cushion after the first inning made it easy for Wakefield to settle in early, and settle in he did. Wake' allowed only three runs over nine innings on no walks and nine hits, striking out two. Offensively, all our RBI's game from the 3-6 hitters. Valentin had three RBI's on a 2-4 day, while Canseco had two RBI's on a 4-4 day, as well as scoring twice.

WP - Tim Wakefield (2-0)
LP - Brian Givens (1-1)
SV - N/A
HR - N/A

Thoughts: The team is really going on all cylinders right now. We've got a game and a half lead over the second place Orioles, as well as boasting one of the highest team batting average's in the league (.319) and lowest team ERA's (3.85). The end of the month is big for us, with six of our next twelve games against the Orioles, along with three against the Yankees and three against the Tigers. Fortunately Mo comes back when we start our next series against the Tigers on the 17th.

April 17
Red Sox (9-4) @ Tigers (5-7)
Red Sox 11 - Tigers 5

Roger Clemens ERA continues to climb at an astounding rate. It's gone from 0.57 before the start before this one, to 3.51 after this one. He's still racking up strikeouts, with 35 in 25 innings, but it would be nice if he could get a handle on keep guys from crossing the plate. Vaughn homered in his first at bat back from injury and finished the game 2-4 with a homer and three RBI's, while Nomar went 2-5 with a homer and a career-high four RBI's.

WP - Roger Clemens (2-1)
LP - Brian Moehler (1-2)
SV - Steve Ontiveros (1)
HR - Mo Vaughn (2), Jose Canseco (4), Nomar Garciaparra (3)

April 18
Red Sox (10-4) @ Tigers (5-8)
Red Sox 8 - Tigers 3

A fantastically pitched game out of Saberhagen (7 IP, 5 H, BB, HR, 3 R, 0 ER, 6 K) in combination with three RBI's out of Stanley and a two run homer out of Naehring help make us the victor in this one. We go for the sweep tomorrow.

BREAKING NEWS

Today we opened contract talks with Clemens, and much to my surprise we were able to lock him up right off the bat. We signed Clemens at four million a year for five years, which will take us through the 2000 season. Through four starts this season Clemens is 2-1 with a 3.51 ERA and 35 strikeouts, to only six walks, in 25 2/3 innings.

WP - Bret Saberhagen (1-1)
LP - Omar Olivares (0-1)
SV - N/A
HR - Tim Naehring (2)

April 19
Red Sox (11-4) @ Tigers (5-9)
Red Sox 4 - Tigers 5

Jose Lima pitched a good game to help prevent us from completing the sweep. The Tigers also got homers out of Cecil Fielder and Travis Fryman. One brightspot we can take away from this game is that John Valentin seems to finally be remembering how to hit a god damn baseball after going 3-5 with two ribbies and raising his batting average to .200.

WP - Gregg Olson (1-1)
LP - Heathcliff Slocumb (0-1)
SV - N/A
HR - N/A

Thoughts: We're playing really well right now. We currently boast a 2 1/2 game lead over the Orioles, which we'll hopefully be able to substantially build upon as six of our next nine games are against them. I'm a little bit concerned with Clemens' ballooning ERA, but hopefully now that he's locked up and getting paid handsomely he'll turn it around and start earning those fat paychecks. After things start evening off, as they should soon, I'll look into addressing any needs that present themselves

April 20
Orioles (8-7) @ Red Sox (11-5)
Orioles 8 - Red Sox 9 (12 innings)

What a fantastic game. First we come back from being down five in the eighth to tie it on a three run shot by Mo Vaughn and a two run shot by Mike Greenwell. Then after Cal Ripkin singles home two runs in the top of the 12th, we still manage to come back to win it following a triple by Nomar, an error by the shortstop, a walk, and a two run double.

WP - Mike Maddux (2-0)
LP - Randy Myers (0-3)
SV - N/A
HR - Mo Vaughn (3), Mike Greenwell (3)

April 21
Orioles (8-8) @ Red Sox (12-5)
Orioles 6 - Red Sox 2

Our defense kinda did us in in this one. Going into the eighth inning Butch Henry had allowed only one run to the Orioles, but an error and some other bad plays allowed the Orioles to put five runs on the board in eighth and take game two in this critical early season series. Fortunately we're turning to Clemens for the rubber game of this three game series.

WP - Sidney Ponson (2-0)
LP - Butch Henry (1-1)
SV - N/A
HR - Mo Vaughn (4)

April 22
Orioles (9-8) @ Red Sox (12-6)
Orioles 0 - Red Sox 7

A very well pitched game by Mr. Clemens helped us win the rubber game in a big early season match-up. Clemens went eight innings without allowing a run, gave up only five hits, walked one, and struck out ten. We also got homers out of Tim Naehring and Mike Greenwell, as well as a 4-4 game out of Nomar, with two doubles, two runs, and two RBI's.

WP - Roger Clemens (3-1)
LP - Scott Erickson (1-2)
SV - N/A
HR - Tim Naehring (3), Mike Greenwell (4)

Thoughts: We played very well against the Orioles, which is huge. I think it's great, and also very important, that we were able to take two of three from them early in the season, especially when we figure to be gunning at each other and trading blows frequently throughout the season. When we face them again for the final three games of the month they'll be facing our top three pitchers (Clemens, Saberhagen, Moyer), so I have high hopes for that series as well. Anyways, next up we have the Yankees, who have vastly underperformed to this point in the season (8-10, projected to go 100-62). Hopefully we play well against them and they don't start righting the ship against us.

April 23
Red Sox (13-6) @ Yankees (8-10)
Red Sox 4 - Yankees 5

Well this game was extremely frustrating. Bret Saberhagen put forth an excellent start, seven innings, three runs, five strikeouts, and the offense played well enough to win. But unfortunately our bullpen gave it up. Mike Stanton allowed the tying run in the eighth, and then Slocumb gave up the winning run in the bottom of the ninth when he threw a wild pitch with a man on third base.

BREAKING NEWS

In this game Canseco and Jeff Frye both suffered injuries. Frye will only miss the next two games with a minor case of shoulder bursitis, but Canseco on the other hand will miss 12 days with a twisted knee. Jeff Frye's injury isn't particularly consequential because it's only two days, and neither is Canseco's because he's been hitting like he has nails shoved in his brain (.590 OPS last 10 games).

WP - Jeff Nelson (1-1)
LP - Heathcliff Slocumb (0-2)
SV - N/A
HR - Tim Naehring (4)

April 24
Red Sox (13-7) @ Yankees (9-10)
Red Sox 4 - Yankees 5

Another frustrating game. We really should've beaten their starter up, but instead he handled us pretty well for seven innings, holding us to four runs. Bernie Williams did a number on us, going 2-4 with three RBI's. Pat Kelly also hit an inside the park homer. Troy O'Leary had a two run single, and Wil Cordero went 3-4.

WP - Scott Kamieniecki (2-1)
LP - Steve Ontiveros (0-1)
SV - John Wetteland (4)
HR - N/A

April 25
Red Sox (13-8) @ Yankees (10-10)
Red Sox 1 - Yankees 5

Well that was beyond embarassing. Wakefield allowed five runs on eight hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings, and our whole offense was Nomar, who went 2-3 with a walk and drove in our only run in the top of the ninth. Bernie Williams kept crushing us, too, going 2-4 with 3 RBI's.

WP - David Cone (2-2)
LP - Time Wakefield (2-1)
SV - N/A
HR - N/A

Thoughts: The Yankees pretty much took us out behind the wood shed in these three games and pulled themselves back above .500, as well as shrinking our lead from 3 1/2 games to 1 1/2 games. Bernie Williams crushed our pitching all series, going 5-12 with a homer and seven RBI's in the three games. On a happier note Nomar is sporting a 15 game hitting streak and is leading the team in a variety of offensive categories, including batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, RBI's, steals, and runs.

RED SOX MAKE SOME ROSTER CHANGES

We changed up the roster a bit today. Specifically, we switched from an 11 man bullpen to a 13 man bullpen. The call-ups were Rich Garces (77/84) and Hideki Okajima (75/82), in place of Dwayne Hosey and Phil Clark. Both Okajima and Garces will take the middle relief spots in the 'pen, with Stan Belinda (74) and Steve Ontiveros (74) moving into long relief. The move can be explained as such: I never use my bench, I always seem to be low on arms outta the 'pen, and the bullpen has been faltering lately.

In other news, with the month nearing it's ending point I'm planning on doing a little two part series talking about prospects currently in the farm, and then a look at where we plan on going in the draft. Just letting you know :). Also after the month is up and I do my monthly wrap-up, I'm gonna be looking for some feedback on how I've been doing, what you like/dislike, what you think of the formatting, that kinda thing. You can give it to me now, but I was gonna wait till after the month so I can get my monthly report out too.

Viva el Guapo! Dios Mio! el Guapo est el hombre de los man-boobages.

I like your flow and how you're going. One piece of advice - if you're not going with storyline, but more a game recap/serious dynasty, then the more detail you can furnish - screenshots, monthly/compiled stats (use Miz's Box Score Parser), the better. I know when reading dynasties (even my own) it can get tedious to look through game recap, after game recap, after game recap...

Breaking it up with a special story (like the injury above, roster move above, or a Rocket screenshot/resigning notice) is a real help to the reader. Different fonts/colors or headings, like you've used are good. If you could delineate where your games break a bit more clearly, either with another <return> or the ***** or _______ approach, that may help. It's not a biggie since you split posts by series anyhoo. Also - maybe an around-the-league, or posting standings is always a help.

One last tip - always double check, and tRIPLE-check everything. You have a pitcher up there named Time Wakefield. He may be timeless, true!

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Originally Posted by Alloutwar

Viva el Guapo! Dios Mio! el Guapo est el hombre de los man-boobages.

I like your flow and how you're going. One piece of advice - if you're not going with storyline, but more a game recap/serious dynasty, then the more detail you can furnish - screenshots, monthly/compiled stats (use Miz's Box Score Parser), the better. I know when reading dynasties (even my own) it can get tedious to look through game recap, after game recap, after game recap...

Breaking it up with a special story (like the injury above, roster move above, or a Rocket screenshot/resigning notice) is a real help to the reader. Different fonts/colors or headings, like you've used are good. If you could delineate where your games break a bit more clearly, either with another <return> or the ***** or _______ approach, that may help. It's not a biggie since you split posts by series anyhoo. Also - maybe an around-the-league, or posting standings is always a help.

One last tip - always double check, and tRIPLE-check everything. You have a pitcher up there named Time Wakefield. He may be timeless, true!

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Thanks for the constructive criticism. And just to address your points, I am planning on using a bit more in the way of screenshots and things like that soon (especially because I recently downloaded that freeware screenshot thing CatKnight posted in the Dynasty Help thread). I am a little reluctant to use things like Miz's box score parser because I don't want to bog each update down with a million numbers, and/or make each series update so much work that this becomes a chore for me to keep up with. I'll try to split the games up a little more to make it easier on the eyes, and maybe include a little more color in each post. Also the around-the-league and standings is gonna be in every monthly update, but I think I'll also start throwing in that kinda thing at random here and there between updates. Good catch with the Wakefield thing :o, normally I'm better about that kind of thing, but I've been slacking a bit lately. Thanks again for the criticism!

April 27
Red Sox (13-9) @ Orioles (11-10)
Red Sox 8 - Orioles 3

Clemens seems to be back to his normal self since getting paid. He went 6 2/3 and only gave up three runs on five hits, while striking out eight, in this start. Hideki Okajima also made his first career appearance, going 1 1/3 innings without allowing a hit, a walk, or a run, and striking out one. Mike Greenwell and Tim Naehring were the big guys on offense, as both drove in eight runs, with Greenwell also smacking a dinger.

WP - Roger Clemens (4-1)
LP - Sidney Ponson (2-1)
SV - N/A
HR - Mike Greenwell (5)

April 28
Red Sox (14-9) @ Orioles (11-11)
Red Sox 2 - Orioles 8

Bret Saberhagen pitched like he was throwing with his left arm in this game, only going 2 1/3 innings and allowing six earned runs. It also didn't help any that just about everyone who made it on base safely got left there. We somehow managed to only score two runs, despite collecting eight hits and four walks on offense. I can't say I have high hopes for the rubber game in this series with Jamie Moyer, but who knows, maybe he can pull something out of his ass.

WP - Kent Mercker (2-1)
LP - Bret Saberhagen (1-2)
SV - N/A
HR - John Valentin (2)

April 29
Red Sox (14-10) @ Orioles (12-11)
Red Sox 6 - Orioles 7

Easily the most frustrating game of the season so far. Jamie Moyer was going great into the seventh inning, with us leading 6-2, before allowing a bases loaded triple to Roberto Alomar to bring them within one. Before it was all said and done they managed to get a run out of Mike Maddux and Hideki Okajima each and put five runs on the board between the 7th and 9th innings to win the game. Alomar also fell a homer short of the cycle, while Nomar extended his hitting streak.

WP - Roger McDowell (2-1)
LP - Hideki Okajima (0-1)
SV - N/A
HR - Mike Stanley (5), Nomar Garciaparra (4)

Thoughts: The team is really struggling right now. Although I suppose it is somewhat expected, the chances of us being able to play .650 ball all season were slim to none, especially with our defensive deficiencies and below-average pitching staff. Regardless, with the first month of the season in the books it's getting time to address our problems, be it through trade, free agency, or otherwise. There's a good chance of the line-up getting shaken up a bit, and the pitching staff is DEFINITELY gonna get shaken up somehow very, very soon.

LEAGUE UPDATE - APRIL

AMERICAN LEAGUE

STANDINGS

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/3...enhunter14.jpg

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/7...enhunter2y.jpg

PITCHING LEADERS

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/3...eenhunter5.jpg

NATIONAL LEAGUE

STANDINGS

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/6...nhunter3es.jpg

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/1...eenhunter4.jpg

PITCHING LEADERS

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/4...enhunter6f.jpg

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS - APRIL

NOTABLE SIGNINGS/RE-SIGNINGS

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/3...gsaprilcop.jpg

MILESTONES

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/3...enhunter14.jpg

For those who want to see it, McDowell's line from the no-hitter and the game recap of the no-hitter:

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      CLEVELAND  ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
    J. McDowell  9.0  0  1  0  0  0  4 110  2.91

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HTML Code:

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Milwaukee Brewers at Cleveland Indians
April 20, 1996

TOP OF THE FIRST
Jack McDowell takes the mound for the Indians.
Chuck Carr flied out to center field. <--->
Fernando Vina flied out to center. <--->
Jeff Cirillo grounded to the pitcher. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the first, the game is tied at 0.

BOTTOM OF THE FIRST
Steve Sparks takes the mound for the Brewers.
Kenny Lofton walked. <--1>
Kenny Lofton was caught stealing second. <--->
Omar Vizquel grounded to second. <--->
Albert Belle doubled down the left field line. <-2->
Manny Ramirez doubled in the right field gap, scoring a run. <-2->
Jim Thome walked. <-21>
Eddie Murray flied out to left. <-21>
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
At the end of the first, Cleveland leads 1 to 0.

TOP OF THE SECOND
Greg Vaughn popped up to second. <--->
Dave Nilsson flied out to left. <--->
John Jaha grounded to second. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the second, Milwaukee trails 1 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE SECOND
Brian Giles walked. <--1>
Carlos Baerga singled into the right field corner, advancing the runner to third. <3-1>
Tony Pena grounded to second, scoring a run. <--1>
Kenny Lofton singled back through the middle. <-21>
Omar Vizquel grounded to the pitcher, forcing the runner at second. <3-1>
Albert Belle flied out to center. <3-1>
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
At the end of the second, Cleveland leads 2 to 0.

TOP OF THE THIRD
Jose Valentin grounded to second. <--->
Kevin Seitzer struck out. <--->
Mike Matheny walked. <--1>
Chuck Carr struck out. <--1>
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the third, Milwaukee trails 2 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE THIRD
Manny Ramirez walked. <--1>
Jim Thome walked. <-21>
Eddie Murray grounded to the pitcher, forcing the runner at second. <3-1>
Brian Giles singled to center field, scoring a run. <3-1>
Carlos Baerga grounded to the third baseman for a double play (5-4-3). <3-->
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the third, Cleveland leads 3 to 0.

TOP OF THE FOURTH
Fernando Vina flied out to right. <--->
Jeff Cirillo popped up to second. <--->
Greg Vaughn popped up to second. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the fourth, Milwaukee trails 3 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH
Tony Pena flied out to right field. <--->
Kenny Lofton flied out to right. <--->
Omar Vizquel lined out to the second baseman. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the fourth, Cleveland leads 3 to 0.

TOP OF THE FIFTH
Dave Nilsson popped up to second. <--->
John Jaha grounded to first. <--->
Jose Valentin struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the fifth, Milwaukee trails 3 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH
Albert Belle singled down the right field line. <--1>
Manny Ramirez flied out to center. <--1>
Jim Thome grounded to short for a double play (6-4-3). <--->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the fifth, Cleveland leads 3 to 0.

TOP OF THE SIXTH
Kevin Seitzer grounded to second. <--->
Mike Matheny grounded to first. <--->
Chuck Carr flied out to left field. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the sixth, Milwaukee trails 3 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH
Eddie Murray flied out to center. <--->
Brian Giles grounded to short. <--->
Carlos Baerga flied out to left field. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the sixth, Cleveland leads 3 to 0.

TOP OF THE SEVENTH
Fernando Vina lined out to right field. <--->
Jeff Cirillo lined out to third. <--->
Greg Vaughn lined out to second. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the seventh, Milwaukee trails 3 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH
Tony Pena struck out. <--->
Kenny Lofton singled to left. <--1>
Omar Vizquel walked. <-21>
Albert Belle struck out. <-21>
Manny Ramirez struck out. <-21>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
At the end of the seventh, Cleveland leads 3 to 0.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH
Dave Nilsson struck out. <--->
John Jaha flied out to center. <--->
Jose Valentin popped up foul down the third base line. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the eighth, Milwaukee trails 3 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH
Graeme Lloyd came in to pitch for the Brewers. <--->
Jim Thome struck out. <--->
Eddie Murray grounded to short. <--->
Brian Giles struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the eighth, Cleveland leads 3 to 0.

TOP OF THE NINTH
Kevin Seitzer flied out to center. <--->
Mike Matheny grounded to first base. <--->
Chuck Carr flied out to right. <--->

INDIANS WIN: 3-0

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SPIDERMAN AND ROCKET UPDATE - APRIL

SS/DH Nomar Garciaparra (79/92), 22 years old

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/781...enhunter3w.jpg

Nomar is off to a fantastic start in his first season in the bigs! He's really been one of the guys to carry the team throughout the first month of the season. He's leading the team in batting average (as well as the league), slugging percent, OPS, steals, runs, he's second by .003 points in OBP and second in RBI's by one. He's looking like a good MVP candidate at this early stage of the season, and an early favorite for AL Rookie of the Year.

SP Roger Clemens (95), 33 years old

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2860/rocket.jpg

Clemens was very good in his six starts this month. He's also looking like a good candidate for the Cy Young Award this early in the season. He's leading the AL in wins and strikeouts, he's ninth in ERA, and third in innings pitched. He's also the only starting pitcher on my team with an ERA under 5.00, which means we need him to keep it up and hold the pitching staff together until we figure out what we're gonna do with the rest of the staff.

TEAM UPDATE - APRIL

BATTING LINEUP

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/767...enhunter1z.jpg

Overall the lineup is doing pretty well. However there are certain members of the lineup that need to pick it up, or else they're gonna find themselves on the bench, traded, or demoted. Namely these players would be John Valentin, Troy O'Leary, and Jose Canseco. Hopefully those three start performing like they're capable of, and everyone that's ripping the cover off the ball continues to do so.

PITCHING STAFF

http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/6...pdateapril.jpg

Everyone in the starting rotation but Clemens has pitched like complete horsesh!t so far this season. The bullpen has actually been really good, and way, way better than I anticipated them ever being. Hopefully we can get a little regression toward the mean out of the rest of the starting rotation so I don't have to ship everyone out and/or bring up a bunch of unproven kids.

Lot to catch up on! Here we go...

1) NOMAH!!!!
2) You're still playing Nomar as the DH even with Valentin flirting with .200? You're a braver man than I.
3) Canseco out for 12 days? Thank god he's taking steriods, he might've been out a month! :D
4) I like the transition to the 'arms-race' style bullpen. You can get away with it early in the year, but when people need days off in July and August, you might want to consider reverting to a 11 or 12-man 'pen.
5) A few of your monthly update screens are missing (including Roger's), but it was a nice game McDowell pitched for his no-no. Shame he had to walk the #9 hitter, though!
6) Love the colors; makes everything easier to read
7) Looking forward to the farm review/draft strategy session. I'm very interested to see where you go with your selections.

Alright, I think that's enough for now. Keep up the good work, as always!

Oh, and Go Sox!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PotatoOfCouch13

Lot to catch up on! Here we go...

1) NOMAH!!!!
2) You're still playing Nomar as the DH even with Valentin flirting with .200? You're a braver man than I.
3) Canseco out for 12 days? Thank god he's taking steriods, he might've been out a month! :D
4) I like the transition to the 'arms-race' style bullpen. You can get away with it early in the year, but when people need days off in July and August, you might want to consider reverting to a 11 or 12-man 'pen.
5) A few of your monthly update screens are missing (including Roger's), but it was a nice game McDowell pitched for his no-no. Shame he had to walk the #9 hitter, though!
6) Love the colors; makes everything easier to read
7) Looking forward to the farm review/draft strategy session. I'm very interested to see where you go with your selections.

Alright, I think that's enough for now. Keep up the good work, as always!

Oh, and Go Sox!

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1. He's killing it!
2. Nomar is horrendous defensively, and so is Wil Cordero. The line-up is definitely gonna get shaken up at some point soon though.
3. I can't tell if that injury is helping or hurting us, lol.
4. Right now we've got 13 in the 'pen so I think we're set ;).
5. Yeah, I just noticed that. They were up when I first posted everything and for some reason they disappeared, but I don't know why :confused:. I'm working on fixing it now though.
6. Yeah, I'm gonna add a little more color into the updates moving forward.
7. Once you see how ugly my farm looks it'll probably be easy to see where I plan on going, lol.

Okay, the missing pictures should be fixed and all up there now. They are for me anyways.

May 1
Tigers (9-15) @ Red Sox (14-11)
Tigers 8 - Red Sox 6

Oh. My. God. I can't believe that game. We were up 6-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, and Tom Gordon gave up FIVE RUNS in the ninth inning to blow it for us, wasting a fantastic start by Butch Henry in the process! We managed to put men on the corners in the bottom of the inning, but couldn't do anything with it. On the brightside Valentin may possibly be remembering how to hit a baseball, after going 2-5 with a homer in this game. Nomar also extended his hitting streak to 19 games.

WP - Brian Williams (1-2)
LP - Tom Gordon (0-1)
SV - Gregg Olson (3)
HR - Mo Vaughn (5), John Valentin (3)

May 2
Tigers (10-15) @ Red Sox (14-12)
Tigers 3 - Red Sox 6

We almost wasted a beautiful start by Clemens (7 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, 2 ER, 5 K), but fortunately we managed to put six runs on the board in the final two innings to win it. Valentin really seems to be putting it together (finally), as he collected his second consecutive multi-hit game, going 2-4 with a walk, two runs, a homer, and two RBI's.

WP - Roger Clemens (5-1)
LP - Jeff Weaver (1-2)
SV - Tom Gordon (3)
HR - John Valentin (4)

May 3
Tigers (10-16) @ Red Sox (15-12)
Tigers 4 - Red Sox 2

Seriously, this is just getting ridiculous. It's tied 2-2 in the top of the ninth and they have the bottom of their order coming up, so I'm thinking we're going to extras, and then this happens:

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TOP OF THE NINTH
Mike Maddux came in to pitch for the Red Sox. <--->
Tony Clark grounded to first. <--->
Bobby Higginson popped up foul down the first base line. <--->
Mark Parent singled to left field. <--1>
Kevin Koslofski doubled down the right field line, scoring a run. <-2->
Shannon Penn singled to short right-center, scoring a run. <--1>
Chad Curtis flied out to right field. <--1>
2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the ninth, Detroit leads 4 to 2.

---

It was an epic pitcher's duel, though. As both starters went eight innings and only gave up two runs. Also, Nomar's hitting streak came to an end at 20 games :(.

WP - Jose Lima (3-1)
LP - Mike Maddux (2-1)
SV - Gregg Olson (4)
HR - Mike Stanley (6)

Thoughts: Next up we've got the creampuffs known as the Kansas City Royals. But we really need to right the ship against them, as we've got series against the Angels, Mariners, and Yankees coming up in the next couple weeks. Fortunately (maybe?) Canseco comes back from injury in a couple days, and John Valentin is hitting like he's capable of.

PART I - THE FARM

Many people (myself included) believe that the best way to build a successful baseball team is through the draft and the farm system. And with that being so the future of the Red Sox may be a bleak one, as we lack a large number of elite prospects. However, that being said, right now I'm going to go over what we do have for elite prospects.

SP Jeff Suppan (79/94), 21 years old

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/5654/screenhunter1.jpg

Jeff is easily the #1 prospect in our farm system at the time, rated at 79/94. He sports fantastic control and movement, especially at a young age, and it should develop to an elite level if he reaches anything close to his full potential. His power isn't quite as good as his control and movement, but it's still quite good for a 21 year old. As far as his pitches go, his sinker is already a major league quality pitch, and his curve and change should continue to develop and become solid, if not better, pitches, while his fastball should become a good solid pitch as well. There's a really good chance of him coming up very soon and starting for the major league team, especially if guys like Moyer and Saberhagen continue to struggle.

RF Trot Nixon (75/88), 22 years old

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/9...enhunter4m.jpg

Trot is the #1 hitting prospect in the Red Sox farm system, and by quite a wide margin at 75/88. He's really already a major league bat and if Jose Canseco (or any other outfielder) gets traded at some point this season (or I get fed up with them sucking), he'll be the one to get the call-up to the bigs. His contact is a little low, as is his speed. But he more than makes up for it with his good power stroke and plate discipline. As of now he's barely an average defender, but I expect that to improve and for him to become a Gold Glove caliber outfielder. Health may be a slight concern with him, but hopefully not.

2B Freddy Sanchez (68/89), 18 years old

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/3...enhunter6u.jpg

Although his peak grades out a little higher than Trot's, I don't expect him to actually be better or more valuable than Nixon. He still should be very good, though. His best attribute is easily his contact, followed by his fielding ability, with everything else kind of clumped together after that. It's still a little early to tell exactly how he's gonna develop, but the .850 OPS at rookie ball says good things, in my opinion. Health will likely be a concern, but we'll have to wait and see what happens.

SP Tomokazu Ohka (63/88), 20 years old

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/5...enhunter2f.jpg

Very good control with Ohka. His power and movement should also develop nicely. All four of his pitches are very close in terms of quality, his fastball and curveball are the best of the four however. Health is a big, big concern with this guy, though. I'm not sure I believe he's gonna stay healthy enough to get the playing time he needs to develop, but hopefully he does because he could be a really valuable piece of the Red Sox pitching staff in the future.

SP Jin Ho Cho (57/85), 20 years old

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/8...enhunter3f.jpg

Although the ratings will tell you that Ohka has a better future than Cho, I personally believe Cho has a better chance of being successful (especially due to Ohka's health concerns). His control and power are both quite good, and his movement isn't that far behind them. One drawback he does have, however, is that he's only going out there with two pitches, a fastball and a curveball. Both are quite good (especially the curve), but if he's not getting one over on any particular day it would be really easy to just sit on the other and tee off. Health doesn't appear to be a concern with Cho (certainly not as much as it is with Ohka). I really look forward to seeing how he develops.

1B Morgan Burkhart (65/86), 24 years old

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/9...enhunter5n.jpg

Although the peak tells you this guy will be good, I really don't think he will be. He's 24 years old and he still has yet to make it past AA, not to mention he is an enormous health risk. He does have some potential offensively, with good contact, power, and eye vitals, but the chances of him improving much at his age are slim to none in my opinion. But who knows, maybe I'm wrong and he's just a late bloomer.

1B Andy Dominique (65/86), 20 years old

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7...eenhunter7.jpg

Now this guy might be something. He's already just as good as Burkhart, and four years younger. He's also an injury risk, so a lot depends on that, but if he can stay healthy he could be quite good. His contact and eye are both borderline major league quality already, and if his power develops he should be an excellent player. He's a butcher with the glove, but we do play in the AL and there's always possibility for improvement moving forward.


So there they are. The elite prospects in the Red Sox farm system. It might be a stretch to call some of them elite, particularly the last three, but that's what we've got to work with. That being said, the elite prospects we do have are quite good, but they're not enough, I think. Clearly that means this upcoming draft is going to be a big one for us. And in the next post of this series I'll be detailing where we're looking at going and what we're looking at doing in the draft.

Also some honorable mentions go to:

1B/3B/DH Shea Hillenbrand (65/79), 20 years old
CF Michael Coleman (65/84), 20 years old
C Steve Lomansey (65/81), 18 years old
1B Juan Diaz (67/81), 22 years old
C Jason Varitek (70/83), 24 years old
SP Aaron Sele (75/81), 25 years old
SP Ken Grundt (63/82), 26 years old
SP Paxton Crawford (63/82), 18 years old
RP Sun-Woo Kim (63/82), 18 years old
SP Brian Rose (62/80), 20 years old
RP Brian Barkley (54/81), 20 years old
RP Jamie Brown (54/81), 19 years old

May 4
Red Sox (15-13) @ Royals (11-17)
Red Sox 4 - Royals 2

Quite an exciting game here! We were down 2-0 going into the seventh, but we put up three in the seventh on doubles by Jeff Frye and Tim Naehring, and a single by John Valentin. Jamie Moyer also pitched a very good game, going eight innings and allowing only two runs on six hits and two walks. Jeff Frye fell just a double short of hitting for the cycle, going 3-5 with two runs, a homer, two RBI's, and a triple.

WP - Jamie Moyer (2-0)
LP - Kevin Appier (2-5)
SV - Tom Gordon (4)
HR - Jeff Frye (2)

May 5
Red Sox (16-13) @ Royals (11-18)
Red Sox 8 - Royals 6

Wakefield started this game out great, allowing only one run through the first six innings, but he came back out for the seventh and allowed five runs in the inning before getting yanked in favor of Mike Maddux and nearly blowing the game. Fortunately, though, we were lucky enough to get an RBI single by Naehring in the eighth to reclaim the lead, and a solo homer by NOMAH in the ninth to give us a bit of a cushion. We got some really good production from certain members of the offense tonight. Nomar went 3-4 with a walk, three runs, a homer and three RBI's, John Valentin went 2-4 with a walk and three runs, and Mo Vaughn went 2-3 with a walk, a homer, and two RBI's.

WP - Mike Maddux (3-1)
LP - Hipolito Pichardo (0-3)
SV - Tom Gordon (5)
HR - Mo Vaughn (6), Nomar Garciaparra (5)

May 6
Red Sox (17-13) @ Royals (11-19)
Red Sox 12 - Royals 5

This game was immensely fun to watch in PBP GM mode. The whole offense really went off, but Mo Vaughn in particular really had himself a game. Vaughn went 4-5 with two homers, two doubles, and six RBI's. Naehring also had a fantastic game, going 4-5 with three runs, a homer, and an RBI. But rather than sitting here and listing off everyone's stats from this game, here it is:

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BOSTON              ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb    avg
N. Garciaparra (DH)  4  2  1  2  0  1  0  0    .396
J. Valentin (SS)      4  0  1  1  0  0  1  0    .217
M. Vaughn (1B)        5  4  0  2  2  6  0  0    .366
M. Greenwell (LF)    5  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .346
M. Stanley (C)        5  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .274
J. Canseco (RF)      4  2  1  2  1  1  0  0    .264
T. Naehring (3B)      5  4  0  3  1  1  0  0    .377
J. Frye (2B)          5  3  0  2  0  2  0  0    .303
T. O'Leary (CF)      4  0  0  0  0  1  0  0    .211
TOTALS              41 16  3 12  4 12  3  0

  2B:  M. Vaughn 2 (5), J. Frye (8), J. Canseco (4)
  HR:  M. Vaughn 2 (8), T. Naehring (5), J. Canseco (5)
  GIDP:  M. Stanley, J. Valentin

          BOSTON  ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
        B. Henry  7.0  5  1  1  5  4  7  98  3.41
      R. Garces  2.0  2  0  0  0  0  2  28  0.00
          TOTALS  9.0  7  1  1  5  4  9 126

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WP - Butch Henry (2-1)
LP - Jose Rosado (0-4)
SV - N/A
HR - Mo Vaughn 2 (8), Tim Naehring (5), Jose Canseco (5)

Thoughts: It's really nice to come out of Kansas City with a sweep. We really needed it after struggling as badly as we did against the last three teams we played, and we needed to go into the next couple weeks feeling good since we've got some tough competition coming up. It's also good that Valentin seems to be kind of starting to put it together at the plate. His batting average is still barely above .200, but he's got a .730 OPS and he's playing solid defense. I'm willing to give him a little bit longer to lose his starting position. Jose Canseco and Troy O'Leary, however, on a short leash, especially with Nixon tearing it up in the minors.

Also something interesting I thought I'd share with all of you:

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/713...nhunter1ns.jpg

It's really great seeing that many guys from our lineup in the top ten in the triple slash stats, and total bases.

And also the updated AL East standings:

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4...enhunter3a.jpg

BREAKING NEWS

RED SOX AND EXPOS SWAP OUTFIELDERS

http://www.bestsportsphotos.com/imag...roductid=17375

We put Jose Canseco on the block and got a quick bite. Today we agreed to send right fielder Jose Canseco to the Montreal Expos in exchange for 24 year old center fielder Rondell White. The 31 year old Canseco had been hitting .264/.302/.473 with five homers and 13 RBI's at the time of the trade, and had just played in his first game back from a twister knee injury. White, in addition to being much younger, was performing considerably better than Canseco thus far in the season. Rondell is currently hitting at a .301/.363/.480 clip with four homers and 16 RBI's, while also playing magnificent defense in center field. I had been getting unhappy with Canseco's utter inability to get on base at a consistent rate, and that's what led to this trade. Rondell will take over for Troy O'Leary in center field, while top prospect Trot Nixon will be called up to man right field.

The new lineup will look as follows:

1. Jeff Frye 2B
2. Rondell White CF
3. Nomar Garciaparra DH
4. Mo Vaughn 1B
5. Mike Greenwell LF
6. Mike Stanley C
7. John Valentin SS
8. Trot Nixon RF
9. Tim Naehring 3B

JOSE CANSECO

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/654...enhunter5e.jpg

RONDELL WHITE

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/8...enhunter4o.jpg

So originally I was planning on doing a two-part thing where it was gonna go current farm system, draft strategy. However, I didn't realize until now just how many players I'm actually looking at in the draft. So now instead of just farm system, draft strategy, it's gonna be a three part series that goes farm system, draft strategy - pitchers, draft strategy - hitters. Tentatively anyways.

Anyways, thanks for reading :D. Just wanted to update you all on that :).

May 8
Angels (19-11) @ Red Sox (18-13)
Angels 3 - Red Sox 5

Clemens pitched another very, very good start in this game. He went the first seven innings and allowed only two runs on five hits and no walks, while striking out seven Angel hitters on 130 pitches. Nixon and White made their Red Sox debut's in this game. Nixon went 1-2 with a walk and a run, while Rondell went 0-4 with a strikeout.

WP - Roger Clemens (6-1)
LP - Mark Langston (3-4)
SV - Tom Gordon (6)
HR - John Valentin (5)

May 9
Angels (19-12) @ Red Sox (19-13)
Angels 4 - Red Sox 12

Now this was fun to watch. Everyone in my starting lineup had a hit, and everyone but the #8 and #9 hitters scored runs, and everyone but the #9, #1, and #2 hitters drove in runs. But instead of sitting here and mindlessly listing the stats for you, here's the boxscore:

HTML Code:

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BOSTON              ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb    avg
J. Frye (2B)          5  1  0  1  0  0  1  0    .305
R. White (CF)        4  1  1  1  0  0  0  0    .290
N. Garciaparra (DH)  4  1  0  2  0  1  0  0    .383
M. Vaughn (1B)        3  2  1  3  1  3  0  0    .370
M. Greenwell (LF)    3  1  1  2  0  1  1  0    .343
M. Stanley (C)        2  1  2  2  1  3  0  0    .285
J. Valentin (SS)      4  1  0  1  0  2  1  0    .220
T. Nixon (RF)        4  1  0  0  0  2  1  0    .333
T. Naehring (3B)      4  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .372
TOTALS              33 10  5 12  2 12  4  0

  2B:  J. Frye (9), J. Valentin (9), N. Garciaparra (13)
  HR:  M. Stanley (7), M. Vaughn (9)
  GIDP:  T. Naehring

          BOSTON  ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
  B. Saberhagen  6.2  7  1  1  4  4  6  92  5.06
      R. Garces  2.1  2  1  0  0  0  3  43  0.00
          TOTALS  9.0  9  2  1  4  4  9 135

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Definitely a stat-booster for everyone involved :D.

WP - Bret Saberhagen (2-2)
LP - Jim Abbott (3-1)
SV - N/A
HR - Mike Stanley (7), Mo Vaughn (9)

May 10
Angels (19-13) @ Red Sox (20-13)
Angels 5 - Red Sox 7

¡Muy excelente! We managed to complete the sweep over a very, very good California Angels team. Naehring was the big hitter in this game, going 3-4 with two runs, a homer, and three RBI's. Nomar tacked on a homer and two RBI's of his own, while Rondell White went 2-3 with a walk and a run.

WP - Jamie Moyer (3-0)
LP - Trevor Wilson (3-2)
SV - Mike Maddux (1)
HR - Nomar Garciaparra (6), Tim Naehring (6)

Thoughts: The team is playing quite well again, especially after sweeping a very formidable Angels team. The offense in particular is really tearing sh!t up right now. We've scored fewer than five runs on only two occasions this month. Nomar and Vaughn especially are hitting like machines right now. White isn't exactly tearing it up right now (only a .658 OPS in 11 at bats so far), but Nixon is hitting well in his first three major league games, going 3-9 with two runs, three RBI's, and two walks, for a line of .333/.455/.333.

PART II - DRAFT STRATEGY
THE PITCHERS

Now that we've gone over what we've got already down on the farm, it's time to take a look at what's available in the draft and what positions we're looking to address. Specifically in this part we're gonna look at the pitchers we've got on our board (and in the next and final part of this series we'll look at the hitters we're eying).

I personally think that one of the biggest holes in our farm system is the lack of quality arms looking to come up in the next couple years. Suppan is the only pitcher of future ace quality we have. Ohka is good, but he's a big injury risk and he'll be more of a good #2 or #3 than an ace, and Cho is also good, but he'll probably peak as a #3 or maybe a #2. As such, one area we'll really be looking at in this draft is the starting rotation. Fortunately for us there is no shortage of starters in this draft (is there really ever though). Now, since we don't exactly have an absurdly high pick in this draft, the chances of us getting a pitcher peaked at 95 or 96 are slim to none, so we'll be looking in the second-tier of guys peaked at 90-94. We're also looking to a get a guy that's relatively close to the majors.


SP John Lackey (70/92), 17 years old

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/286...nhunter1sk.jpg

This kid looks like he's gonna be something special. He has fantastic endurance, and control and power are both top-notch, and though his movement isn't as good as his other two vitals it's still very, very good, especially for a 17 year old kid coming outta high school. His fastball is definitely his bread-and-butter pitch, and it's already major-league quality, and his curveball looks like it'll be the pitch to develop into his strikeout pitch. His change and slider should also prove to be solid three and four pitches. The really nice thing we see in Lackey is that he is about as injury-proof a pitcher as you'll ever see. There's a really good chance that if he makes it to us we'll pick him up, and he could even be ready to pitch in the majors by the end of the season!


SP Ben Sheets (72/91), 17 years old

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/6...eenhunter2.jpg

Very, very similar to Lackey. Great endurance, and already major-league quality control. His power and movement are behind his control in terms of development, but, like Lackey, they're very good for a 17 year old pitcher. His best pitch is easily his curveball, he could already get major league hitters out with it. His fastball isn't too far behind that, and his sinker isn't too far behind his fastball. His change-up isn't too hot and probably never will be. It's also nice to see that he's not an injury risk either. It would be a tough call between him and Lackey if they're both available when we pick, especially because both will probably be pitching in the majors before they're 19.


SP Cliff Lee (63/90), 17 years old

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/1...enhunter3g.jpg

Both of those two guys are pretty highly coveted by other teams, I think, so it may be unlikely that either of them make it to our pick. And in the event that they don't, this young lefty will be one of the first pitchers we look to next. He's got a lot in common with the other two in that he's a very good control pitcher, but both his other vitals are a little bit behind, but still very good for someone whose 17 years old. One relative advantage that he does have on Lackey and Sheets, though, is that he has a vast arsenal of pitches. Things start with his fantastic heater and curveball, then his second tier pitch is his slider, and then a bit behind that is his change, cutter, and four-seamer. Now obviously not all of those pitches are gonna develop at the same level, but I think it's a safe bet the fastball and the curveball will be really, really good pitches, the slider will be a bit worse than the other two, and the rest of them will just kind of be throw in pitches every now and again. Health is a little bit of a concern here, but it shouldn't be a huge problem. He's not quite as advanced as the other two, but there's a really good chance he'll be pitching in the bigs before the time he's 20 as well.


SP Chris Capuano (64/93), 17 years old

http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/1...eenhunter4.jpg

The chances of Capuano getting to us may be the worst of any of the three previously mentioned, but we're hoping that the fact that he's a little less advanced than Sheets and Lackey will let him slip to us. He may very well turn out to be the best of the four guys we've looked at so far. All his vitals are very, very close, with power and control currently grading out the highest. He also has two very good pitches in his fastball and slider, and a solid third pitch in his change. His health isn't a major concern either. He's also only 17 years old so there's a good chance of him being in the majors before long too.


SP Aaron Harang (65/91), 17 years old

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/3...eenhunter6.jpg

I think Harang is probably the most likely of the five to get to our pick. His biggest asset is his already borderline major league level control, and the fact that his power isn't too far behind his control. His movement is a little further behind, but still is quite good. His fastball and splitter are his clear #1 and #2 pitches, and his curve could develop into a solid #3, but unfortunately his slider probably won't be anything special. The best thing about Harang may be the fact that he's about as likely to get injured as Rich Harden is to stay healthy.


So there you have it. The pitchers we're hoping to get a shot at drafting with our first pick in the draft. It may be slightly wishful thinking on all five of them, particularly the first two, but hopefully at least one will get to my pick. There are a host of other arms with a higher peak but not as close to The Show, so maybe the teams ahead of me will look at the higher peak's and bite on that and pass on the guys I'm looking at.

Honorable Mentions/Pitchers We May Draft If None of The Above Are Available/Pitchers We May Draft If They're Available in Later Rounds:

SP Kyle Lohse (61/89), 17 years old
SP Junior Herndon (51/92), 17 years old
RP Chad Qualls (67/90), 17 years old
SP Dicky Gonzalez (54/93), 17 years old

May 11
Red Sox (21-13) @ Athletics (13-23)
Red Sox 7 - Athletics 4

Pretty good game by the offense here. Basically all of the damage came in the second inning, in which we put up six of our seven runs. We scored on doubles by Valentin and Vaughn, and singles by Naehring and Nixon, as well as Rondell White's first homer in a Red Sox uniform. Nomar had a good game, going 3-5 with two runs and a solo homer. Wakefield was working himself into and out of trouble all day, but overall pitched a good game, going 7 1/3 innings and allowing only three runs in spite of eight hits and two walks, as well as striking out eight.

WP - Tim Wakefield (3-1)
LP - Steve Wojciechowski (1-3)
SV - N/A
HR - Nomar Garciaparra (7), Rondell White (1)

May 12
Red Sox (22-13) @ Athletics (13-24)
Red Sox 2 - Athletics 8

Not exactly our best game. Bad hitting and bad pitching combined to make this game rather depressing to watch. Prieto went eight innings against us and allowed only two runs and struck out six, while McGwire and Munoz both homered and drove in multiple runs. Nomar had a good game again, going 3-4. But unfortunately the few opportunities we had to score we did not capitalize. We turn to Clemens in the rubber game against the A's, against whom earlier this season he threw a complete game, three hit shutout while striking out 13.

WP - Ariel Prieto (2-2)
LP - Butch Henry (2-2)
SV - N/A
HR - John Valentin (6)

May 13
Red Sox (22-14) @ Athletics (14-24)
Red Sox 4 - Athletics 3

What a brilliantly pitched game by Clemens. Just simply stunning. Clemens pitched his second complete game of the season, and allowed only three runs on six hits and three walks, but the truly astounding number would be the 17 strikeouts he amassed. He struck out McGwire four times, Pedro Munoz three, and Lovullo three! In other news, Valentin went 3-4 with a homer and two RBI's, and raised his batting average to .248.

WP - Roger Clemens (7-1)
LP - Mike Mohler (1-2)
SV - N/A
HR - Mike Stanley (8), John Valentin (7)

Thoughts: The team is playing some really good baseball right now. We find ourselves currently in a tie for first place in the AL East, and two games back of the White Sox for the lead in the Wild Card. We're really turning into an offensive juggernaut, as we're sporting the highest team batting average in baseball, the fourth highest home run total, the fourth highest run total, and the second highest team OPS in the league. The pitching is another story though. Clemens is still the only thing holding the pitching staff above water, and if the other starters don't start figuring it out really soon they're gonna be gone in some way, shape, or form.

PART III - DRAFT STRATEGY
THE HITTERS

Now that we've taken a look at the pitchers we're looking at with our #1 pick in the draft, let's take a look at the hitters on our radar.

In our farm, aside from a Nixon and Sanchez, and a couple first basemen that I'm quite honestly iffy on, we don't have much for position players. We've got a few guys peaked in the low 80's, but no one that I think will really be THAT good. In this draft there are a few positions we're looking to address. In particular 3B, 1B, OF and C. We've already got a few guys down there at catcher, but no one that's a real head turner, and we have really no one at 3B, and with Tim Naehring being relatively old and lacking in terms of vitals we need to get someone in the system that might be capable of taking over in a season or two. Vaughn's contract expires after this season and even though he's having a fantastic season, I'm not sure I want to resign him. We don't really have anyone in the system at shortstop, and with John Valentin approaching his 30's and not playing very well this season, we want to have a shortstop of the future in the system sooner rather than later.


3B Aramis Ramirez (65/93), 17 years old

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/5...enhunter1i.jpg

Although Chone Figgins is also in this draft and looks a little better for the time being, we like Aramis. We're looking for a guy who can really carry a line up and a team, and that's what Aramis offers. He's got great power, and his contact and eye are also fantastic. His glove isn't great right now, but we think it could improve to an average or better level. He also doesn't appear to be any sort of injury risk, which is always something to keep an eye on when scouting the draft.


C Guillermo Rodriguez (63/92), 17 years old

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/633...enhunter2v.jpg

We really like Guillermo's bat, especially at his position. His contact power, and eye are all quite close, and quite good. Given a couple years to develop he could become a premier offensive catcher at the major league level. His defense certainly isn't anything to scoff at either. Very strong arm and good handling, and although his fielding isn't the best it should develop decently. Health isn't a concern with him either, as it is with some other catchers in the draft, like Yorvit Torrealba.


C Victor Martinez (68/88), 17 years old

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/184...enhunter3e.jpg

Very similar to Rodriguez above. He's a little bit closer to major league ready, but doesn't have quite as high a peak as Rodriguez. His bat is very, very good already and could be major league quality by the end of the season. His defense is also quite good and he could end up developing into a Gold Glove catcher. Health is even less of a concern with him than it is with Rodriguez.


1B Mike Hessman (57/88), 18 years old

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5...enhunter4k.jpg

Hessman looks like he'll have a very strong bat in the majors. His power and plate disciple/eye are both already very good, and although his contact is a bit behind it's still something to be feared. Unfortunately he looks like he'll be a liability with the glove. He's also a major injury concern, and that's the one thing that scares me about him.


CF Vernon Wells (66/90), 17 years old

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1...enhunter5t.jpg

This draft is a little bit dry of outfielders. Especially outfielders without major health concerns. So that's why, even though I'm not a huge fan of Wells, he's on my radar. Wells strongest asset is definitely his glove. He looks like he has a really good chance of winning a few Gold Gloves in his career. He's also got a very strong bat, however, especially considering his position. Very good contact, eye, and power, and he's also capable of stealing a few bases a year.


SS Jimmy Rollins (62/88), 17 years old

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/4...nhunter6tv.jpg

This draft is a very, very thin on shortstops. And Rollins is the only one of the two with first round potential that may actually be available when we pick (the other is Cristian Guzman, and he's peaked at like 95). That being said, I'm actually quite fond of Rollins. He's got quite a good bat for a shortstop, and he's got leadoff speed. He should be capable of becoming a .300/.400/.500 hitter with 20-30 homers and 30-40 steals. He's also got a very strong glove at a very important position. And he's probably one of the healthiest players you'll ever see.


So those are the six position players I've got my eye on. There are a few other players that I'm considering (though not as seriously so I'm gonna list them as honorable mentions, as always), but unfortunately this draft is very thin on position players, especially position players that I may actually be able to get my hands on. I'm really hoping Aramis will get to me, we really need someone that might be able to become a game-changing power bat.

Honorable Mentions/Hitters We May Draft If None of The Above Are Available/Hitters We May Draft If They're Available in Later Rounds:

LF Luke Scott (61/90), 17 years old
1B Nick Johnson (57/92), 17 years old
2B Chase Utley (63/86), 17 years old
LF Adam Shabala (56/90), 18 years old

So are we liking the inclusion of more pictures, miscellaneous articles, box scores, etc.? I definitely am. I'm just wondering because that was one of the suggestions made to me by AoW.

Yes, definitely liking - breaking up the entries better, more eye-candy for the short-attention-span or more visually-stimulated folks. Clemens looking good.

Were you going to number your parts I - II - III, or just I - II, and have II/Pitchers and II/Hitters? I was confused by seeing 'Part II' twice.

One question - how does the White/Canseco trade look for the Expos? They're getting a guy who is performing worse, and paying him more, for a smaller deal...are they contending at all? Obviously, your dynasty, so it's up to you if you want to do the whole justification/see it from their side thing (I totally didn't until my latest dynasty). Just wondering where your going with that.

That's a pretty huge draft analysis, wow. Considering the failure rate of draftees, I usually only break down the guys I get...and even then, only the top few. :p Good effort though, it is appreciated!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alloutwar

Yes, definitely liking - breaking up the entries better, more eye-candy for the short-attention-span or more visually-stimulated folks. Clemens looking good.

Were you going to number your parts I - II - III, or just I - II, and have II/Pitchers and II/Hitters? I was confused by seeing 'Part II' twice.

One question - how does the White/Canseco trade look for the Expos? They're getting a guy who is performing worse, and paying him more, for a smaller deal...are they contending at all? Obviously, your dynasty, so it's up to you if you want to do the whole justification/see it from their side thing (I totally didn't until my latest dynasty). Just wondering where your going with that.

That's a pretty huge draft analysis, wow. Considering the failure rate of draftees, I usually only break down the guys I get...and even then, only the top few. :p Good effort though, it is appreciated!

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I fixed the I - II - III thing. I did mean to make it I - II - III, but I just copied and pasted the II one so I wouldn't have to do all the format/text editing over again and forgot to change the II to a III.

I think it's a pretty fair deal for them. They are in contention (20-19, 1 GB) and before Canseco the only proven power bat they had was Moises Alou, so it gives them another home run/RBI threat in the line-up. Plus Vlad is still a year or two away for them, so it gives them a good stop-gap until then. Canseco's contract actually runs out in '98, which should be perfect timing for Vlad to come up.

I'm gonna break down the top two or three or four guys I draft, but I always like to give a little peek at who I'm looking at beforehand too.