Expanding Westward: The Fresno Outlaws

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Fresno Outlaws

(2008-????)

House Rules

FA'cy Rules

• OFG FA Revised House Rules.
• I can sign a maximum of 7 FA's, but its unlikely I would ever sign that many.
• I can sign a maximum of one 93+ FA, 2 90-92, and 3 85-89.
• I may institute a sort of pay scale based on players ratings.

Trades

• The only way I can make trades is through the trade block and by accepting computer offers.
• I cannot alter trade offers except to balance cash, when offered trades by the CPU.
• I can only make six trades a year, three during the season and three in the offseason.

Other

• Some league settings are changed, ask if you really want to know.
• No equalized cities.
• I reserve the right to make/reverse trades, sign FA's, and do whatever else I deem necessary in order to keep the competitive balance and keep the league from going out of whack.

Team Firsts:

• First strikeout: Wandy Rodriguez of Jayson Werth, top of the 5th inning, 4/1/08
• First Hit: Kevin Cash off Tim Wakefield, bottom of the 3rd inning, 4/1/08
• First RBI: RBI single by Jody Gerut, bottom of the 6th, 4/1/08
• First Run: John McDonald, bottom of the 6th inning, 4/1/08
• First HR: Marcus Thames off Mark Redman, bottom of the 2nd inning, 4/4/08
• First SB: Norris Hopper off Kevin Correia - Damian Miller, bottom of the 1st inning, 4/2/08
• First Win: Wandy Rodriguez over the Brooklyn Outlaws, 8IP ER 3H 3K 0BB, 4/1/08
• First Save: Geoff Jones, IP 0H 0BB K, 4/1/08

All-time Team Leaders:

• Hits: To be updated at end of season
• Home runs: To be updated at end of season
• Steals: To be updated at end of season
• RBI's: To be updated at end of season
• Runs: To be updated at end of season
• Wins: To be updated at end of season
• Strikeouts: To be updated at end of season
• Saves: To be updated at end of season
• ERA: To be updated at end of season

All-Stars:

N/A


Award Winners (MVP, RoY, CYA):

N/A


Gold Gloves:

N/A


Playoff Appearances and Results:

N/A


First Round Draft Picks:

2008: SS Brandon Crawford, #6 Overall

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Major changes coming from MLB’s Winter Meetings


There are so many major changes coming down from MLB this winter you may not recognize the league when April of ‘08 comes around.

There are a litany of changes raining down from the MLB Winter Meetings this season.

Most notable of these changes is the league’s decision to expand for the 2008 season. The league will add two teams to the AL, one to the west and one to the east. The AL East will be welcoming the Brooklyn Crusaders to their ranks. This will mark the second time a Major League Baseball team will inhabit the Brooklyn borough of New York City, and the first time since Walter O’Malley made the fateful decision (a decision that caused pangs of both anger and anguish for fans) to move the Dodgers from Brooklyn to The City of Angels on October 8, 1957. The second team added will be the Fresno Outlaws, adding yet another team to the California mix. Fresno will however be the first Central California team, as opposed to the Dodgers, Angels, and Padres of SoCal, and the Giants and A‘s of Northern California. Fresno and Brooklyn were chosen over the other reported top choices of Pasadena (CA), Oklahoma City, New Orleans, San Mateo, and Newark (NJ). Commissioner Selig cited ever increasing attendance, increased parity, and the potential overall gain from another round of expansion as reasons for the decision. “Plus,” Selig began “its been, what, 10 years since our last round of expansion? That’s way too long to go without adding a team or two.” he finished. The Outlaws are in the process of being sold to a group of investors headed by Mark Cuban, and the Crusaders are expected to be sold to a group headed by Brooklyn native and Rap/Hip-Hop maverick Jay-Z.

The second change is the league’s decision to eradicate interleague play from the regular season schedule, meaning teams AL and NL teams will only play each other in Spring Training and the World Series. When reached for comment about the decision Selig said the following: “We feel as though most mainstream fans don’t care about interleague play one way or the other, and there aren’t many, if any, fans that are true fans of interleague play in and of itself. Whereas there are hundreds of baseball purists that are repulsed by interleague play and refuse to go to games for exactly that reason. In short, we believe we have more to gain than lose by ridding ourselves of interleague play.”

The third and final change isn’t nearly as major and could almost go without acknowledgement. The league decided to get rid of the “unbalanced schedule”, where teams in the same division play each other more than they do teams from other divisions. So expect more eastern teams against western teams, in short.


NOTE #1: Originally I had selected San Mateo as the AL West city to be added to the league, however I didn’t realize how close it was to San Francisco and Oakland at first and I didn’t like the idea of splitting an already relatively average market 3 ways. There weren’t really any other Western cities that appealed to me and I really liked the sound of the Fresno Outlaws, so despite their inability to feasibly support a team I put the Outlaws there anyways and played with the city data to the point where they can support a payroll of ~60 million.

NOTE #2: I don’t really have a problem with interleague play and/or unbalanced schedules, but I had to turn them off in order for the schedule to work properly.

NOTE #3: For the sake of realism, lets pretend that this article was written during the winter meetings of '05 or '06, since neither team would've had a stadium built in 4 months, and it would also take longer than that to sell the team.

[rockiesfan4ever]

This will mark the second time a Major League Baseball team will inhabit the Brooklyn borough of New York City, and the first time since Walter O’Malley made the fateful decision (a decision that caused pangs of both anger and anguish for fans) to move the Dodgers from Brooklyn to The City of Angels on October 8, 1957.

Sounds like there is some inside feelings you need to let out.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

New MLB Teams Outlaws and Crusaders begin construction of their new stadiums


The two newest additions to the MLB family of teams have begun construction on their new ballparks.

Fresno’s new ballpark will be located just outside the city. The stadium will seat approximately sixty thousand fans. It will be an open air stadium and the field material will be made of natural grass. The ballpark will be somewhat of a pitchers haven as the dimensions measure 338 feet straight down the left field line, 379 to the gap in left-center, 403 to straight away centerfield, 388 to the right-center gap, and 346 down the left field line. Don’t expect to see a ton of homers hit in this ballpark, but because of the deep dimensions there should be a good share of triples, doubles, and perhaps even an inside the park homerun or two. The playing field will have about an average amount of foul territory and the visibility for players is expected to be very good with a high quality infield. Currently the name of the ballpark is simply “The Fresno Ballpark”, however there is a pending sale of the naming rights to Subway and the name is expected to be changed to Subway Field once the sale goes through.



Brooklyn’s new ballpark is going to be located directly in the heart of Brooklyn. The ballpark will be considerably smaller than its sister team’s ballpark, only seating approximately fifty-two thousand fans, but will also be an open air stadium with natural grass. The playing field itself, however, is considerable in size, going 349 feet to left, 389 to the left-center gap, 396 to dead center, 383 to right center, and 350 to left. The sheer size of the ballpark is going to cause an enormous cut in the number of homeruns in the ballpark, you should, however, see plenty of doubles and triples. The playing field is of a much lesser quality than soon-to-be Subway Field as well. The infield quality is fair at best, and will likely lead to an increase in errors, and there is almost no foul ground. The name of the field is currently Brooklyn Coliseum, but it is unclear whether or not the new owners or MLB will decide to sell the naming rights of the stadium.



The league is pulling out all the stops to have these stadiums ready for opening day.


NOTE: To "build" these stadiums I just kept hitting "Generate Random Ballpark" on the stadium editor window.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Sounds like there is some inside feelings you need to let out.

I don't care, I'm not a Dodgers fan. I just know how badly it pissed the fans off. My english teacher last year, my junior year, was this really cool, old fashioned guy who'd been around when the Dodgers and Giants used to play in New York and he still considers, and calls, them the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Bonds signs with expansion Fresno Outlaws


Barry arriving at the park to sign his new contract and attend the press conference

Embattled home run king Barry Bonds signed on the dotted line with the Outlaws late last night. The signing comes as a relative surprise in that it came completely out of the blue with no prior indications of interest or intent to sign. However, although it was still unexpected, it is a move that makes sense and understandable on both sides. Bonds was highly unlikely to get touched by any contending team, regardless of how team X needed a bat, because of all the baggage, but a new team like the Outlaws can deal with the baggage because they stand almost no chance to contend and a superstar presence like Bonds’ will help get fans to the ballparks and spending money. Plus, as the saying goes, all publicity is good publicity, especially when you’re a brand new team. The deal is worth 7 million dollars for one year.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Expansion Draft complete, Outlaws get slick-fielding shortstop John McDonald


John McDonald was one of the Fresno Outlaws first selections in the Expansion Draft

The Expansion Draft has come and gone for the Outlaws and Crusaders, now lets take a look at the Outlaws roster.

Lineup:


The lineup doesn’t look particularly strong, and is probably every bit what you’d expect of a first-year expansion team. The lineup doesn’t have a single hitter that’s expected to hit higher than .300, and only one even comes close with Gload expected to hit .288. Most of the lineup is relatively old, containing only two players younger than 29, Dallas McPherson (27) and Willy Aybar (25). However it is a powerful lineup, capable of grinding out some at-bat’s. Gload, Bonds, Thames, and McPherson are all capable of popping one over the fence at any given time, and Bonds, Gerut, and Aybar all have an above average eye and plate discipline to match, while Gload, Thames, and Hopper all have an average eye and plate discipline.

Lineup Grade: D+


Defense:


The defense does appear to be a real strength, however. Johnny Mac’, as he was known in Toronto, is arguably the best defensive shortstop in the league, while Kevin Cash is one of the top defensive catchers in baseball, and Hopper, Gerut, and Thames make up a strong defensive outfield. The team possesses top-of-the-line defenders at the two most important defensive positions on the field, catcher and shortstop, which is always a good thing.

Defense Grade: B


Bench:


The bench, while not particularly strong, is well balanced and should be fairly good this season. The bench looks like what every bench should look like. It has a left handed, or in this case switch-hitter, power bat off the bench for the late innings in Brooks Conrad, who can even run a little with a speed rating of 80. It has a well balanced left-handed, veteran hitter in Mark Sweeney, who is also a decent fielder. It has a decent defensive utility man in Angel Sanchez, that can play all over the infield, a defensive minded back-up catcher in Gary Bennett, and lastly, but certainly not least, a good defensive outfielder with a little speed and a little pop in Jason Repko. So while this bench is particularly talented in the pure sense of the word, it is well-balanced and has everything a bench should have.

Bench Grade: B-


Starting Rotation and Bullpen next

[rockiesfan4ever]

You have to do it manually

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Expansion Draft complete (cont'd), Outlaws get young lefty Sean Marshall


The 25 year old lefty was taken from the Cubs in the Expansion Draft

Starting Rotation:


The starting pitching, much like the starting lineup, isn’t particularly talented and, also much like the starting lineup, is every bit what you’d expect an expansion team’s starting rotation to look like in its first season. Wandy is the only even league average starter and the only with any semblance of a hope of posting a sub-4.00 ERA. Marshall is still young with some upside, and has a very good groundball percent of 46.1 and his best pitch is his sinker, both of which bode well with a good defensive infield and the high quality of the infield surface. Throw in the fact that he’s lefthanded and he has some value. Rasner has excellent control and also has a good sinker, both of which should bode well and are things to like about. Rasner won’t strike many guys out, but his good control and knack for getting groundballs are both very good and should make up for the strikeouts, or lack thereof, to some extent. Baek has very good control and a good fastball, that’s all he really has going for him, however. Hes not going to strike many guys out and he has to pitch to contact, which isn’t a particularly good thing since his stuff isn’t that impressive. Lastly, Hong-Chih Kuo is a strikeout artist. Kuo has a good fastball, clocked at 94-96 and a decent slurve and can strike guys out with the best of them. However, he has very poor control and movement, leading to a lot of walks and a lot of hard hit balls. He is left-handed, however, and the strikeouts are a plus.

Starting Rotation Grade: C-


Bullpen:


The bullpen isn’t that strong, but it also isn’t bad, and plenty of teams could come calling to the Outlaws, offering up some good prospects, at the trade deadline trying to get some relief help. Closer Jesse Carlson isn’t suited to the closer role, but he’s the best the Outlaws have got. He has good control and power, along with three solid pitches, a fastball, a change, and a knuckle curve. He also has a groundball percent of around 55%, on the high/elite end of the spectrum for that stat. If he pitches well the Outlaws should get plenty of tantalizing offers for him from teams looking for relief help at or before the deadline. The set-up man, Chris Schroeder, can strike hitters out like nobody’s business, but that’s about all he can do. He has almost no control or movement, and his only pitches are his fastball and an average-at-best hard curve. The rest of the guys in the ‘pen, Geoff Jones, Randor Bierd, Brandon League, and David Aardsma, are all basically strikeout guys with either a very good GB% or a very poor GB% and very little else.

Bullpen Grade: B


NOTE #1: I didn’t really perform a fantast draft, per se. I just tried to assemble a team that I think of players that would realistically make up an expansion team.

NOTE #2: I don’t feel like doing a long drawn out roster analysis for the Crusaders like I did the Outlaws, since I intend to run the Outlaws and not the Crusaders, so I’ll just make a quick post of what their roster is without any analysis, etc., later.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

I can't find an expansion draft option anywhere.

Yeah, you have to do it manually. I basically just looked around all the teams and selected players for each team that I thought either would've been unprotected in an expansion draft, or was a player that realistically would've been on an expansion team, or both.

[RedsoxRockies]

an ok expansion team, could use a better lineup, but still, good job drafting.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

So, If I were to do it, it is quite time consuming?

It shouldn't take more than an hour to do two teams. I'm a little more deliberate and analytical than most people probably are so it probably took me a bit longer than it might take someone else. The time consuming part is going through and trading for the players you "drafted". Beerchaser has some method of coming up with a draft pool posted somewhere on the forums, I'm not sure where though.


Crusaders Roster:

Player Name	Team	P	Overall	Peak	Age	Injured	Salary	Years
Johnson, Randy	BRO	SP	86	86	44	14	$10,000,000	1
Spilborghs, Ryan	BRO	CF	79	79	28	0	$380,000	Arb '09
Walker, Tyler	BRO	RP	79	79	31	0	$750,000	1
Ward, Daryle	BRO	1B	78	78	32	0	$1,200,000	1
Werth, Jayson	BRO	RF	78	78	28	0	$1,700,000	1
Bruntlett, Eric	BRO	SS	77	77	30	0	$600,000	1
Correia, Kevin	BRO	SP	77	77	27	0	$1,075,000	1
Cotts, Neal	BRO	RP	77	77	28	0	$800,000	1
Wakefield, Tim	BRO	SP	77	77	41	0	$4,000,000	1
Lewis, Fred	BRO	LF	76	76	27	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Izturis, Cesar	BRO	SS	76	76	28	0	$2,850,000	1
Byrd, Paul	BRO	SP	76	76	37	0	$8,000,000	1
Blanco, Henry	BRO	C	75	75	36	0	$2,800,000	1
Phillips, Andy	BRO	1B	75	75	30	0	$30,000	1
Escobar, Alex	BRO	CF	75	75	29	0	$30,000	Arb '08
Marte, Andy	BRO	3B	75	79	24	0	$20,000	Arb '09
Watson, Brandon	BRO	CF	74	74	26	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Smith, Matt	BRO	RP	74	74	28	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Majewski, Gary	BRO	RP	74	74	28	0	$30,000	Arb '08
Cairo, Miguel	BRO	2B	73	73	33	0	$850,000	1
Redman, Mark	BRO	SP	73	73	34	0	$1,000,000	1
Lara, Juan	BRO	RP	73	73	27	0	$59,000	Arb '10
Peguero, Jailen	BRO	RP	73	73	27	0	$72,000	Arb '10
Bako, Paul	BRO	C	70	70	35	0	$30,000	1
Griffin, Tim	BRO	RP	67	89	21	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Keeter, Jeff	BRO	SS	66	72	16	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Gerstman, Wheeler	BRO	SP	66	96	16	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Yunis, Americo	BRO	C	64	71	20	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Harris, Jason	BRO	RF	63	68	21	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Brodsky, Terry	BRO	3B	60	64	21	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Emerson, George	BRO	RF	55	94	17	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Montayes, José	BRO	RF	54	68	17	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Hoefer, Matt	BRO	RP	52	95	17	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Scorsone, Dan	BRO	SP	49	92	17	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Maddali, Garrett	BRO	SP	48	87	19	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Moon, John	BRO	RP	48	87	19	0	$380,000	Arb '10
Syme, Dave	BRO	RP	46	85	18	0	$380,000	Arb '10

[RedsoxRockies]

Also, I assume you went into commish mode, and made the computer drop the player. Right?

When I do drafts, I just go into commish mode and use the force trade to make the expansion teams. It does not take too long in my opinion

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

When I do drafts, I just go into commish mode and use the force trade to make the expansion teams. It does not take too long in my opinion

Yeah, thats what I did.

[dannymac910]

GO CRUSADERS!!!!!!

sorry dawg.