From the Pits to the Surface, Part II

Dr K · **Posted:** Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:45 pm

If you have been around the MLBPPWORLD 2008 Season Mode Forum, you'd know that I had a log entitled From the Pits to the Surface. It was a terrific log, but it wasn't my best work. If you've read about my Las Vegas Sinners you'd know that I can do a lot better. This time, I'm coming back with From the Pits to the Surface... with a twist. It's 2009. Nothing at all happened in 2008. I never acquired Ryan Zimmerman or King Felix. I only have people who were on the 2009 Opening Day roster for the Pirates.

Question: Dr. K, you don't have MLB Power Pros anymore, how are you going to do the log?
Answer: It's simple, you see... I have a great baseball simulation on my computer. I intend to use it for this log.
Response: Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, cooooooool...

Question: What about your 2009 Boston Red Sox?
Answer: The Red Sox are a great team, with or without me. It can wait until I get bored of this one, or a bug occurs. Which is unlikely, considering OOTP just released a new patch today with fixed many of the bugs I experienced.

Sooner than later, I'll create a "Rules of Engagement" post. My system will rely heavily on the flip of a coin to determine whether or not I accept a proposal from the computer. The post will also inform you guys of what settings I am playing on, etc. . .

jacobye46 · **Posted:** Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:48 pm

the pirates arent actually that bad this season and I'll follow
make sure to follow my mini-log too :wink:

RobDiesel61 · **Posted:** Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:58 pm

ANOTHER LOG :bowdown:

jacobye46 · **Posted:** Fri Jun 19, 2009 7:00 pm

hey dr.k

To make you feel better, the Pirates were able to win their division in my power pros file in 2009, but that was only with 80 wins but still...

Dr K · **Posted:** Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:23 pm

Quote:

Rules of Engagement

Trades
Unlike most of my previous dynasties, this one will have a touch of realism. I will not allow outlandish trades... the Pirates won't end up with Ryan Zimmerman in April by giving up overpaid veterans. Instead, trades will be realistic. From the start of the season to the beginning of July, the trade frequency setting will be on average and the computer will be set to heavily favor prospects. In July, the frequency will increase to VERY HIGH with FAVOR VETERANS. I find that towards the deadline, teams usually go after that veteran who can bring the leadership and experience they need while they're in contention. If anyone objects to this decision, if you could state why, I'd appreciate that.

On top of the above, I will be using a dice system. It's simple, quick and easy. I cannot confuse myself with it. I'll take two dice. The object is to roll a number above three to accept a trade on both dice. If I do not, I resort to a coin flip. Tails will automatically tell me to deny a trade, while heads will tell me to accept. It's simple enough. If the computer is offering me a trade which I need guidance on, you guys have the final say as to whether or not I take it.

For example, if the Yankees are for some reason over budget and out of contention that they offer me CC Sabathia for some prospects and Zach Duke, I'll ask you guys if it's alright to accept the trade. I'd detail my current financial setting, how under budget or over budget I may be, that kind of stuff that you really need to think about in OOTP. Remember, the goal is to make a winner without getting fired.

Free Agent Signings/Extensions
Signing a Free Agent and issuing extensions are two sides of the same coin. However, my dice and coin system will not be in affect. Well, it will be to an extent, but not as much as it will be in a trade... for example, before the off-season, I'll roll a dice. Whatever number it lands on is how many free agents I can sign. However, I am limited to one A-type free agent a year. If Rich Harden becomes available and so does Matt Holiday, just because I can afford them, I can't sign both of them. I can, on the other hand, acquire both of them if I trade for the other during the season. I won't want to take on that kind of financial risk though. The Pirates have a small budget so most of my talent has to be homegrown if I want to be successful anyway.

For extensions, you guys have complete control over that. If Adam LaRoche's contract is up, I have to make a poll and ask you guys if I should resign him. I'll post his stats for the season and his updated scouting report. I will NOT post his ratings. For a challenge and for fun, I have scouting set to very low with ratings completely disabled so I have to rely on PROJECTED statistics and my scout's reports.

Hall of Fame Induction

Waivers

Draft

You guys are going to be my draft advisers. I'll post who's eligible to be drafted with their potential ratings in numeric form (20-80). From that, you will tell me who I should try and draft. During the draft, I'll post updates.

Code:

With the number one pick in the 2009 draft the Washington Nationals select twenty year old right-handed pitcher, Stephen Strasburg from San Diego, California.

That kind of stuff.

/End of Rules

DeathJohnson · **Posted:** Sat Jun 20, 2009 7:32 am

Shouldn't this be in free for all?

RobDiesel61 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:35 am

DeathJohnson wrote:

Shouldn't this be in free for all?

no,its a log

Dr K · **Posted:** Sat Jun 20, 2009 12:06 pm

2009 Pittsburgh Pirates Roster: The Starting Pitchers

The Pirates don't exactly have the best pitching staff in the majors, but the players they do have can turn into an incredible rotation if used correctly. The mix of righties and lefties is potent, and so is Ross Ohlendorf, the staff ace. The twenty-six year old right hander is as good as they come and when he's finally seasoned in the big leagues, he'll be able to battle Johan Santana deep into the ninth inning of a key playoff game.

Starters

Ross Ohlendorf
2008 Stats: 1-4, 6.13 ERA, 58 Ks, and 33 BBs in 69 innings pitched.
Contract Status: 400k till arbitration.
GM's Comments: Ohlendorf is a great player. His 2008 and career statistics may not show it at this point, but I'm confident in Ross as are ace. He has all the tools to be a star in the majors, but he just needs to put them together. When he does that, the Pirates will have one of the best staff ace's, and I don't intend on wasting his talent in the back of the rotation.

Paul Maholm
2008 Stats: 9-9, 3.71 ERA, 139 Ks, and 63 BBs in 206.1 innings pitched.
Contract Status: $3.5m in 2009, $4.5m in 2010, $5.8m in 2011, $9.8m in 2012...
GM's Comments: Vastly overpaid for what he's worth. He could anchor a trade in the near future at this point, but I definitely want to trade him away before he makes nine million. Prospects are prefered.

Ian Snell
2008 Stats: 7-12, 5.42 ERA, 135 Ks, and 89 BBs in 164.1 innings pitched.
Contract Status: $3.0m in 2009, $4.3m in 2010, $6.8m in 2011, $9.3m in 2012...
GM's Comments: He's in the same boat as Maholm. I'd like to deal him sometime before 2012, preferably in his prime, to cash in on a large amount of prospects and a solid, young arm. Otherwise, he's a good player.

Zach Duke
2008 Stats: 5-14, 4.82 ERA, 87 Ks, and 47 BBs in 185 innings pitched.
Contract Status: Zach Duke is set to make 2.2 million in 2009. After that, he is eligible for arbitration.
GM's Comments: This young left-hander is one of my favorite players and one of the best in this rotation. Once he figures out how to put everything together, he'll be one of the best pitchers in the game, probably.

Jeff Karstens
2008 Stats: 2-6, 4.03 ERA, 23 Ks, and 13 BBs in 51.1 innings pitched.
Contract Status: $402k in 2009, $400k in 2010, $400k in 2011. After that, he's eligible for arbitration.
GM's Comments: Karstens is a great player. It'll take some time for him to figure stuff out, but he's cheap. He won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Middle Relievers

Brian Slocum
2008 Stats: 0-0, 27.00 ERA, 1 Ks, and 0 BBs in 2.0 innings pitched.
Contract Status: $400k in 2009, $400k in 2010, $400k 2011...
GM's Comments: He only had two outings last year for Cleveland, and he wasn't that great. However, I'm confident he can turn it around against national league hitting.

Craig Hansen
2008 Stats: 2-7, 6.22 ERA, 3 Saves, 32 Ks, and 43 BBs in 46.1 innings pitched.
Contract Status: $825k in 2009, $700k in 2010, $700k in 2011...
GM's Comments: This twenty-five year old has extraordinary promise. With a few seasons in the big leagues already under his belt for us and Boston, he only needs to go over the basics and calm down when runners are on base and he's behind in the count. Otherwise, he's a cheap, decent player.

Sean Burnett
2008 Stats: 1-1, 4.76 ERA, 42 Ks, and 34 BBs in 56.2 innings pitched.
Contract Status: $409k in 2009 and $400k in 2010.
GM's Comments: Solid player. Not much more to say.

Jesse Chavez
2008 Stats: 0-1, 6.50 ERA, 16 Ks, and 9 BBs in fiteen innings pitched.
Contract Status: $402k in 2009, $400k in 2010, $400k in 2011, $400k in 2012...
GM's Comments: Jesse Chavez is a young, powerful right-handed pitcher. He can strikeout any batter in the game - including Albert Pujols and David Wright. As it stands, he's a back end of the spectrum middle reliever for us, but as the season progresses, I expect him to be right up there with Hansen and Slocum.

Set-up Men

Tyler Yates
2008 Stats: 6-3, 4.66 ERA, 63 Ks, and 41 BBs in 73.1 innings pitched. He had one save.
Contract Status: $1.3m in 2009... eligible for arbitration.
GM's Comments: Yates is one of the most dangerous relievers in the game. When he's on the top of his game, not many batters can hit him. That's why he's the main bridge to Capps.

John Grabow
2008 Stats: 6-3, 2.84 ERA, 62 Ks, and 37 BBs in 76.0 innings pitched. He collected four saves.
Contract Status: $2.3m until arbitration...
GM's Comments: A good, solid player. If he could be a starter, he'd be my number two guy.

Closer

Matt Capps
2008 Stats: 2-3, 3.02 ERA, 39 Ks, 5 BBs in 53.2 innings pitched. He racked up twenty-one saves.
Contract Status: $2.3m until arbitration...
GM's Comments: This is one of the best guys in our bullpen, which is why he's our closer. He has the kind of control scouts dream about. He knows how to induce weak contact, but his fastball needs some work.

Prospect Watch: Contrary to popular belief the Pittsburgh Pirates have a terrific farm system full of excellent pitchers. According to Baseball America, Pittsburgh's best pitching prospects are Brad Lincoln and Jimmy Barthmaier who are in Triple-A. Right now, they could be called up at anytime if disaster strikes Pittsburgh's pitching staff. Brad and Jimmy will only be called up if Tom Gorzelanny is unable to, or is already up in the majors.

LightningMan117 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 20, 2009 12:26 pm

Ok, HOW COULD LOSE/SELL POWER PROS?!!!!!!!!!!!

Dr K · **Posted:** Sat Jun 20, 2009 3:21 pm

Wow. This is taking longer than I thought and I still have posistion players to do!! Oh well. I have enough time I guess. Comments so far, if any?

ChiCubsFan4 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 20, 2009 3:49 pm

Looking good so far.

DeathJohnson · **Posted:** Sat Jun 20, 2009 4:00 pm

RobDiesel61 wrote:

DeathJohnson wrote:

Shouldn't this be in free for all?

no,its a log

Actually it should. It's not MLB PowerPros...

ChiCubsFan4 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 20, 2009 4:03 pm

Wait, what is it?

DeathJohnson · **Posted:** Sat Jun 20, 2009 4:14 pm

Dr K wrote:

Question: Dr. K, you don't have MLB Power Pros anymore, how are you going to do the log?
Answer: It's simple, you see... I have a great baseball simulation on my computer. I intend to use it for this log.

ChiCubsFan4 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 20, 2009 4:14 pm

A baseball simulation? As in it's not a game?

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From the Pits to the Surface, Part II

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