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Post by dukecrunchybagel on Jan 3, 2012 0:07:03 GMT -5
JANUARY, 2001 RUNNING THROUGH THE SECOND TIER
The biggest of the free agents have signed, and Reds head into the new year with just a few dollars left in the budget to address the still woeful pitching situation.
On new years day the Reds sign a couple of minor league free agents, catcher Tim Spehr, a light hitting catcher who was most recently with the Royals in 1999, and right-handed reliever Chris Nichting, who played in seven games for the Indians the year before.
Jim Bowden lost on another pitcher when right-hander Ismael Valdes signed with the cross-town Angels on January Fourth on a one-year $2.5M deal.
Several second-tier free agents got signed on the Fifth: OFs Bobby Bonilla (1 yr/$900K) and Bernard Gilkey (minor-league deal) by the Cardinals, southpaw reliever Mark Guthrie by the A’s (2 yr/$3.6M), 3B Dave Magadan by the Padres (1 yr/$750K), 3B Greg Norton by the Rockies (1 yr/$750K), and LHRP Kent Mercker by the Red Sox (minor league deal).
Having lost out of Valdes, Bowden went to plan B and in a move designed to placate fans for last summer’s trade of Barry Larkin brought Eric Davis back to the Reds on a $1.5M one year deal on Jan. 8. The wisdom of adding yet another outfielder to the Reds mix is somewhat doubtful, but Eric the Red, it was hoped, would be able to help tutor the young outfielders who were coming up and provide clubhouse leadership that left with Larkin. Most fans were ecstatic to have Davis return for a third stint in Cinergy Field.
Several ex-Reds signed minor league contract on the Ninth, Hector Carrasco by the Blue Jays, and Thomas Howard by the Pirates. The only major-league signing was IF Wilton Guerrero by the Giants to a one-year $1M deal. The single big league signing on the 10th was catcher Kelly Stinnett by the Angels on one-year $500K deal.
On the eleventh, the Red Sox snagged David Cone from the Yankees on a one-year deal with undisclosed terms, while OF Reggie Sanders inked a one-year $1.5M deal with the Diamondbacks. A couple more ex-Reds found homes on minor-leagues deals on the 12th: Roberto Kelly by the Rockies and Jeff Brantley by the Rangers.
On the 14th, the White Sox and Blue Jays swapped their respective aces when the White Sox sent Mike Sirotka along with southpaw Kevin Beirne, OF Brian Simmons, and minor league right-hander Mike Williams for David Wells and RHP Matt DeWitt.
On the 16th, the Reds signed right-handed pitcher Frankie Rodriguez, whose best season in 1996 (and it wasn’t very good) with the Twins to a minor-league deal.
On the 18th, SP Ramon Martinez returned to Chavez Ravine and the Dodgers on a one year $1.5M contract. On the 26th, the Royals actually signed a free-agent, infielder Luis Alicea to a one-year $800K deal.
HISTORICAL NOTES:
A couple of dominos fall in this month – Kelly Stinnett was signed by the Reds on January 10 and would be Larue’s backup. Since Taubansee is still around, no need for this signing.
Wilton Guerrero was signed by the Reds and not the Giants. It was actually a very good signing for the Reds as Guerrero played just about everywhere and put up a .338/.352/.408 for Bob Boone in 2001. He returned to reality the next year was a throw- in as part of the Ryan Dempster deal. The Reds don’t sign Guerrero, because I elected to have Eric Davis’s return to the Reds instead, a move I could see JB making in the circumstances. Sheer grandstanding – from a roster standpoint it makes no sense at all. In real life, Davis was signed by the Giants; he had nothing left in the tank at age 39 managing only a .205/.269/.365 line.
The final and largest domino is an outgrowth of the trade of Pete Harnisch as part of the July fire sale to the A’s. On January 8th, Billy Beane pulled a genius of a deal getting Cory Lidle from the Devil Rays, OF Johnny Damon and 2B Mark Ellis from the Royals, giving up C A. J. Hinch (yes, the current Dbacks GM) and SS Angel Berroa to the Royals, and OF and past ROY Ben Grieve to the Devil Rays to the Devil Rays, while the Devil Rays shipped veteran closer Ramon Hernandez to the Royals. The problem with the deal is that A’s in this scenario have absolutely no need for Lidle – they have the Big Three all ready to go (Hudson, Mulder, Zito) plus Harnisch and Gil Heredia. Without Lidle, the deal just does not work, as each team was dealing for specific needs. Pity for the A’s.
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Post by Lark11 on Jan 15, 2012 14:13:06 GMT -5
Duke, helluva a thread. Seriously, nicely done. Fun to see what might have been contrasted with what actually was. I'm impressed you manage to get the context of the era (motivations, payroll limitations, presence of John Allen and his influence, etc) down so well, as that stuff tends to disappear quickly with the passage of time. Who was managing the Giants back then? Using Damon Minor as a defensive replacement for J.T. Snow? That's a fire-able offense! Also, wouldn't Bowden releasing toolsy outfielder Kimree Bartee constitute a "fit of sanity", rather than insanity? People still rail against the Reds giving Larkin that last big money contract, but I (as unbiased as I am didn't have a problem with it then and don't have a problem with it now. You don't often get the chance to have a homegrown star spend his entire career with one organization. For it to happen, a perfect storm of events is almost necessary and the organization and player are both going to have give up more than they might want at times during the career. The Hall of Fame induction and the Cincy celebration that follows will be well worth the money that Larkin made in his last contract. Sometimes, the narrative is important. And, I think this is a prime example. Seeing Larkin "sign with the White Sox" just drives home that point home even further. That just wouldn't have been right. Interesting to see Eric Davis come back for a third stint with the Reds. Personally, I was pissed that the Reds let him leave after the second go around. Like Larkin, Davis should always have been a Red. Injuries would have made it even harder than in Larkin's case, but at the very least his return engagement should have meant that he ended his career in Cincy. Why didn't we get a reasonable team option on his one year deal to return to Cincy? I'm guessing because it was a minor league deal? Either way, that was a mistake. Anyway, really a nice job, DCB! It's fun taking a walk down memory lane.
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Post by dukecrunchybagel on Jan 18, 2012 13:29:28 GMT -5
Thanks for the nice thoughts. The manager of the Giants in 2001 should be familiar name (HINT: rhymes with quaker). Actually, I kind of suspect you knew that. The 2001 sim is, I think, now ready to fire, so I should have us through spring training over the weekend. But... but... but... Bartee was a five-tool outfielder! And yes, only with Bowden could plan B for not beefing up the rotation enough be signing another outfielder. Even if it was Eric Davis.
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Post by dukecrunchybagel on Jan 23, 2012 1:45:02 GMT -5
SPRING TRAINING 2001
There were a few final tweaks before spring training camp opened at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, but they were just that the Reds were headed to Florida with their starting lineup generally already in place and most of the questions in the rotation.
The last few free agents of any value signed in the early part of the month – the Pirates signed reliever Mike Lincoln to a minor league deal on Feb. 3, and a plethora of minor-league signings on the Eighth: Willie Blair by the Indians, Tony Fernandez by the Brewers, Ken Hill by the Devil rays, and 44-year old lefty Jesse Orosco is inked for his 22nd major league season by the Dodgers. The Reds get in on the act signing veteran catcher Matt Walbeck to a minor-league deal on the 9th, just in time for the catcher and pitchers to report.
New manager Bob Boone, willing to work on the cheap after two and a half years of mediocrity as skipper of the ailing Kansas City Royals, has just two spots yet to be decided on his 25-man roster. All but assured of spots barring injuries are the tentative starting lineup:
SS – Pokey Reese RF – Alex Escobar CF – Ken Griffey Jr. LF – Eric Davis 1B – Sean Casey 2B – Alfonso Soriano C – Eddie Taubansee (vs RHP), Jason Larue (vs. LHP) 3B – Aaron Boone
Bench – Juan Castro (IF), Alex Ochoa (OF), Chris Stynes (2B/3B/OF)
Rotation: Frank Castillo Oswaldo Fernandez Steve Parris Joe Nathan Ron Villone or Elmer Dessens (the other being the long reliever)
Bullpen MR – Scott Sullivan, Mark Wohlers LHSU – Dennis Reyes RHSU – Scott Williamson Closer – Danny Graves
One of the free spots would have to be left-handed bat, D. T. Cromer being the most likely choice, while the last spot could be either a twelfth pitcher or another man on the bench. Ron Villone becomes the #5 starter over Elmer Dessens.
On the fifteenth a couple of major-league free agents were signed OF/DH Henry Rodriguez by the Yankees (1 yr. $1.5M) and SP Bobby J. Jones by the Padres (1 yr/$625K).
As if the Reds didn’t have enough outfielders, Bowden brought back Deion Sanders on minor league deal on Feb. 19. At least D. T. Cromer would have some dubious competition. Bowden thought about bringing over volatile slugger Ruben Rivera after the Padres cut him on March 14, but didn’t have the budget, the Giants inked him on March 21. Still, when Brian Cashman approached Bowden about reacquiring highly touted prospect 3B Drew Henson, who came over in last year’s trade for Denny Neagle, JB fixed his sites like a laser on young Dominican slugger Willie Mo Pena. A deal would be finalized on March 21 sending Henson and young right handed starter Scott MacRae (actually quite a find for Bowden in 32nd round on the 1995 draft) – once again diluting what dubious depth the rotation had. Bowden declared it his best trade ever: “This is the trade they’ll remember me for.â€
The Dodgers were one of the more active teams during the spring. On Feb. 24th, in a trade of disgruntled outfielders, the Dodgers sent CF Devon White to the Brewers for Marquis Grissom and Ruddy Lugo (as a PTBNL). On March 17, they dealt reliever Antonio Osuna and southpaw prospect Carlos Ortega to the White Sox for a trio of pitching prospects lefty Orlando Rodriguez, and righties Andre Simpson and Gary Majewski.
There was a flurry of trades as spring training ran down. On March 26, the Rockies dealt one time blue-chip prospect Brian Rose to the Mets for reliever Mark Leiter. On the 27th, the Giants sold catcher Doug Mirabelli to the Rangers. The 28th saw a couple of veteran DHs cut loose – the Yankees cut Glenallen Hill, who would get no playing team compared to Dmitri Young, while the Angels axed Jose Canseco. Both would get chances elsewhere, the Royals inked Hill on April 2, while the White Sox on April 24. The Marlins turned a major deal with the Padres sending infielder Cesar Crespo and outfielder Mark Kotsay to the Padres for starter Matt Clement and ex-Red utility-man Eric Owens, and a prospect. The Cubs and A’s swapped infielders, the Cubs dealing corner-man Eric Hinske to the A’s for middle infielder Miguel Cairo. In a deal of spare parts, the Diamondbacks got catcher Chad Moeller from the Twins for utility infielder Hanley Frias. Other vets getting their pink slip that day included, SP Ramon Martinez (cut by the Dodgers), OF Quinton McCracken (cut by the Cardinals), southpaw Kent Mercker (Red Sox), catcher Scott Servais (Astros), infielder Ed Sprague Jr (Padres), and Hector Carrasco (Blue Jays).
The last deal of the Spring took place between the Rockies and the Brewers who each reordered their bullpens – the Rockies sending Mike DeJean, Mark Leiter, & Elvis Pena to the Brew Crew for Juan Acevedo, Kane Davis, & Jose Flores.
The Reds closed the Spring, by cutting prospect Ed Yarnall, another part of the Denny Neagle deal, on April 2. The last two spots on the 25-man were taken by Cromer and reliever Chris Piersoll, the Rule V pick from the Cubs. The Reds prepared for opening day with Frank Castillo getting the call against big-bucks lefty Mike Hampton and the Rockies on April 5.
NOTES: Baseball Mogul 2012 does not have an accurate schedule for 2001. To make life easier on me, I will use their schedule.
HISTORICAL NOTES: The WMP deal included OF Michael Coleman with Henson. Coleman came over from the Red Sox in the Chris Stynes, but I voided that deal because the payroll constraints that forced that deal were not present. MacRae would, I think be an equitable substitution, coming off a solid year for Louisville with 3.59 ERA an 1.48 WHIP.
Bowden did stretch the budget to sign Ruben Rivera who appeared in 117 games for Bob Boone, knocking out 10 dingers with a .255/.321/.426 line. He would end up with the Giants the next year as a free agent.
The other two changes from reality nixing some deals the Angels made but are not necessary since they have Michael Tucker on board. On March 25 they dealt reliever Mike Fyhrie and cash to the Cubs for outfielder Jose Nieves. Not a big deal, I know. On March 28, they acquired Glenallen Hill for reliever Darren Blakely. Since Hill has no role in the Yankees with Dmitri Young, I assume they Yankees just cut him.
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Post by dukecrunchybagel on Feb 20, 2012 1:07:06 GMT -5
APRIL, 2001
On opening day, it’s a battle of new free agent aces, as the Colorado Rockies send southpaw Mike Hampton against Frank Castillo and the Reds. Bob Boone’s lineup is:
SS- Pokey Reese 2B- Alfonso Soriano 1B- Sean Casey CF- Ken Griffey Jr. LF- Eric Davis 3B- Aaron Boone C - Jason Larue RF – Alex Escobar P—Frank Castillo
Mike Hampton absolutely dominates the Reds, going the distance and allowing only five hits and no earned runs in a 4-0 victory. Castillo went 6 1/3 innings giving up three earned runs—a third inning single by Ron Gant plating Neifi Perez was the only the Rox needed. Scott Sullivan also gave up an eight inning solo shot by Todd Helton.
The second game is lost 3-2 with Pedro Astacio outdueling Oswaldo Fernandez, the Rox winning the game on an eight inning rally – Todd Helton scoring the winning run on a double by Brent Mayne off of Mark Wohlers.
The Reds win the on the Eighth, despite Joe Nathan getting chased in the third inning, with a two-run homer by Aaron Boone off of southpaw Mike Myers in the eighth.
The Reds swing west for a six game road trip against the Dodgers and Padres. It is a disaster – the Reds can only manage one victory, a 4-3 extra inning game against the Padres on April 11- thanks to back-to-back doubles by Sean Casey and Eric Davis. Worse yet, the team is already banged up, with Junior appearing in only one game with a bruised knee, Escobar likewise limited with a sore shoulder, and Aaron Boone ending up on the 15-day DL with a severely sprained wrist. Alex Ochoa and Chris Stynes both end up with most of the playing time and Eric Byrnes makes his Reds debut in CF when Boone goes down vs. the Padres. So far, the team is just not hitting, with Pokey Reese at .278 the sole player batting above .250, and very little in the power department 4 dingers (Boone, David, Stynes, & D. T. Cromer). Starting pitching except for Villone and Nathan has been decent, but the bullpen (particularly Williamson, Wohlers, & Piersoll) are shaky.
The Reds return to Cinergy for a three game series versus the Cubs, and after a disappointing 6-4 loss in the first game, the Reds put together their first winning streak, taking the second game 6-4 on the strength of an Eric Davis sixth-run three-run blast, and the rubber game 6-2 on a bases-loaded single by Jason Larue scoring Griffey & Ochoa.
The streak is short-lived as on the 20th, the Reds lose 8-7 as Graves blows a two-run lead in the ninth inning. Jeff D’Amico outpitches Castillo for a 4-2 loss, but Oswaldo Fernandez prevents a sweep on the 22nd with six strong innings and a 4-1 victory.
The Reds hit the road and return to awfulness, getting swept by the Pirates. With this loss, the Reds are solidly in the cellar at 5-13 and Bowden decides it’s time to shake things up. Aaron Boone is activated from the 15-day DL, Eric Byrnes (.190/.261/.238), Jason Larue (.176/.176/.176) both go back to Louisville, and veteran Matt Walbeck takes over as Taubansee’s platoon partner.
After a 9-3 thrubbing by the Brewers, the Reds finally get a good-news, bad-news win on the 27th 9-6 with Junior breaking out of his slump with two dingers and 5 RBIs. The bad news: Sean Casey suffers a groin-pull and hits the 15 Day. Chris Stynes and D. T. Cromer will platoon at 1B for Bob Boone, and veteran OF Deion Sanders is recalled to take the vacant roster spot. The Reds get a second victory the next day on a ninth-inning rally against Curtis Leskanic, with Pokey Reese plating Eddie Taubansee with the tying run and Aaron Boone scoring the winning run ahead on a wild pitch moments later, taking the series vs. the Brewers.
Unfortunately, the Reds then lose two in a row to the Rockies, salvaging the last game in a 13-3 romp thanks to Taubansee’s five RBI performance. Through May 2, the Reds are a miserable 8-17, tied with the Cubs and 10.5 games behind the streaking Houston Astros.
Outside of Davis (.306/.390/.500 4 GR 15 RBI), Griffey (.319/443/.611 4 HR 13 RBI), Ochoa (.288/.362/.500 2 HR 6 RBI) and the now-injured Casey, the Reds are not hitting worth a lick:
Boone .242/.342/.364 1 HR 3 RBI Castro .071/.188/.107 0 HR 1 RBI Cromer .192/.214/.423 2 HR 7 RBI Escobar .231/.333/.277 0 HR 5 RBI Reese .264/.322/.671 0 HR 7 RBI 4 SB Soriano .202/.269/.313 2 HR 9 RBI Stynes .204/.271/.352 2 HR 3 RBI Taubansee .203/.273/.380 3 HR 10 RBI
The rotation has been mediocre with Frank Castillo going 0-5 with .282 OBA and 5.23 ERA, Oswaldo Fernandez 2-1, .238 OBA, 4.01 ERA, Joe Nathan 2-1, 2.53 ERA, .256 OBA, but averaging barely five innings a start, Steve Parris 0-0, .250 OBA, 3.70 ERA, and Ron Villone in just two starts 0-2, .444 OBA, 17.18 ERA.
The bullpen has been mixed as well:
Dessens 0-1, .364 OBA 8.40 ERA Graves 2-3, .273, 3.29, 3 saves Piersoll 0-1, .256, 4.57, 2 saves Reyes 1-1, .196, 4.50 Sullivan 0-0, .268, 4.50 Williamson 0-0, .229, 4.82, 1 saves Wohlers 1-2, .350, 2.77
Meanwhile, in Commiskey Park, Larkin is batting .280 for his new team. The White Sox are 14-11, a half a game behind the Indians.
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Post by dukecrunchybagel on Dec 25, 2012 0:31:57 GMT -5
MAY, 2001
It's been a busy year for me which included a hard-drive destroying my existing sim, so I've finally reloaded the darn thing and am ready to resume this thread.
The Reds head back to Cinergy Field for four games against the Rockies. Disaster strikes in the opener as in the very first inning, Frank Castillo catches his cleats in a divot and lands awkwardly, Elmer Dessens immediately replaces him, but the Reds ace is diagnosed with a broken fibula and hit the 60-day DL a few days later; Dessens gets the spot in the rotation and Hector Mercado gets called up. The Reds win the other three games – Oswaldo Fernandez outpiches Pedro Astacio on the 4th, and then Eric Davis goes crazy belting four dingers in a couple of slugfests which gives him nine, two behind the D-Back's Matt Williams. The D-Backs then come in for two games and get swept, winning on the 8th on a baseloaded plunk of Aaron Boone by Matt Mantei, and a 4-2 win against Randy Johnson. The Reds conclude a very successful home-stand with a 13-18 record giving them uncontested control of fifth place.
It's off on road for a quick stop in Three Rivers Stadium before heading to the west coast as Sean Casey returns to the lineup and D. T. Cromer gets optioned back to Louisville. They start on a good foot with the now hot-hitting Alex Escobar driving in three runs to lead the Red to a 9-4 victory. Elmer Dessens has his first official start on the 12th and is solid, giving up only one run in six innings on the way to a 5-1 victory, thanks also to a couple of dingers by Junior off of Kris Benson. The Bucs take the rubber game behind Jason Schmidt, 8-1.
At Pac Bell Park, Ron Villone has a solid five shutout innings and a two-run home run by Aaron Boone, start in leading the Reds to a 10-4 thumping of the Giants. After that the Reds bats shut down as they are beat 3-2 by Livan Hernandez on a Barry Bonds 7th inning dinger off of Dennis Reyes, and 3-1 against Shawn Estes on a two-run single by Shawon Dunston off of Elmer Dessens.
The Reds get their hats handed to them by the Padres 11-2 thanks to a Bubba Trammell seventh-inning grand slam off of Chris Piersoll. With Reds starters Steve Parris, Ron Villone, & Joe Nathan, routinely lasting until maybe the fifth or sixth inning, Bowden signs veteran starter Ken Hill, released a few weeks earlier by Tampa Bay to a minor-league contract. The Reds close the road trip with a 7-4 victory behind two hits each by Sean Casey, Alfonso Sorriano, & Matt Walbeck, snapping the three-game losing streak.
Joe Nathan gives up a first inning three-run home run to Eric Karros, and the Reds go on to lose 7-4 on the 19th. Worse, Scott Sullivan is hit by a line-drive and ends up on the 15-day DL with a broken bone. Southpaw Justin Atchley, holding AAA opponents to .206 OBA, gets the call to the bigs. A small trade takes place this day at the Indians deal reliever Justin Speier for the proverbial player to be named later (in this case Brian Jenkins who joins the Indians farm system on the 21st). On the next day, Elmer Dessens fails to make it past the fourth inning in a 8-4 Dodgers victory with Kevin Brown getting the W.
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Post by dukecrunchybagel on Dec 25, 2012 0:34:58 GMT -5
Interleague play begins on the 21st with a three-game homestand against the Devil Rays. In an increasingly distressing trend, Ron Villone doesn't even make out of the first inning in a 10-8 slugfest loss against Ariel Prieto. The Reds eek out a 5-4 victory on the 22nd with a pinch-double by Deion Sanders off of Jeff Wallace scoring Aaron Boone in the eighth. Workhorse Osvaldo Fernandez pitches seven innings, but Justin Atchley gets the win and Danny Graves his ninth save. The Devil Rays take the rubber game in a 10-2 thumping with Aubrey Huff and Jose Guillen both knocking out three-run shots off of Steve Parris in the third inning.
Since beginning the west-coast road trip, the Reds have gone 5-8 and are putting serious strain on the bullpen. Steve Parris has an 8.35 ERA, Joe Nathan's is 6.14, Elmer Dessen's 5.12, Oswaldo Fernandez 4.76 – only Ron Villone has done well, with a 3.54 ERA, but managing less than five innings a start. With a critical need for somebody to eat innings, Ken Hill's contract is purchased from Louisville, and Joe Nathan is optioned down.
The day off doesn't help the Reds, as they are totally overrun by the Cardinals in a 20-2 loss on the 25th with Jim Edmonds getting 6 RBIs and Placido Polanco another 4. The next is just as bad a 11-0 shellacking with a three-hit shutout by Daryl Kile. Eddie Taubansee sprains his ankle and hits the 15-day DL, with Jason Larue getting another chance after killing AAA pitching. The Reds manage to win the finale, 3-2 behind a seven-inning, eight strikeout start by Steve Parris over Andy Benes.
On the 28th, Ken Hill makes his Reds debut in Wrigley Field against Carlos Zambrano. Hill does in fact eat innings, seven of them, but comes out a run behind. Justin Atchley gets lit up for three eight inning runs and Hill and the Reds loses, 6-2. A solid five-inning start and Alex Escobar's fourth home run, give the Reds a 5-2 victory over Jason Bere and the Cubs. The rubber game goes to the Cubs 5-3 when Elmer Dessens gives up a third-inning Slam to Sammy Sosa. Back in Cinergy, John Smoltz goes the distance to hand the Reds a 3-1 defeat on the May 31.
The Reds thus close the month of May 12-14 bringing their overall record to 20-31, half a game into the cellar and already 12.5 behind the Astros. The offense has been solid:
A Boone .270/.383/.388 4 HR S Casey .246/.330/.366 J. Castro .143/.167/.143 E Davis .249/.309/.492 12 HR A Escobar .284/.368/.388 4 HR K Griffey .259/.368/.466 10 HR A Ochoa .192/.300/.269 P Reese .266/.329/.731 5 Hrs 9 Sbs A Sorriano .264/.343/.425 12 SB C Stynes .257/.350/.314 E Taubansee .343/.390/.455 M Walbeck .217/.265/.261
The rotation has been weak:
E Dessens 2-5 5.91 ERA .301 OBA O Fernandez 0-7 5.09 ERA .258 OBA J. Nathan 1-2 6.14 ERA .241 OBA S Parris 3-4 7.21 ERA .293 OBA R Villone 1-2 3.27 ERA .224 OBA
The bullpen quite overworked: J Atchley 1-0 3.86 ERA 14 IP (10 G) .316 OBA D Graves 2-3 5.79 ERA 23.1 IP 10 SV – 2 Bsv H Mercado 0-0 4.98 ERA 34.1 IP .270 OBA C. Piersoll 2-2 4.42 ERA 36.2 IP .220 OBA D Reyes 2-2 4.45 ERA 28.1 IP .259 OBA S. Sullivan 3-2 3.76 ERA 26.1 IP .218 OBA S Willaimson 1-0 5.18 ERA 24.1 IP .239 OBA M Wohlers 2-1 5.34 ERA 30.1 IP .287 OBA
Meanwhile, Barry Larkin was doing very well for the White Sox with a .366/.416/.563 line, despite missing a couple of weeks on the DL. The White Sox are 4.5 behind the Indians.
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Post by dukecrunchybagel on Dec 29, 2012 23:23:04 GMT -5
EARLY JUNE, 2001, AND THE RULE IV DRAFT
The Reds enter June on a skid, having a dismal 20-31 and with a rotation in shambles. First up is the remaining three games against the Braves, who start the month one game behind the Expos. On the First, the Braves put three across the plate in the fifth with a key two-out two RBI single by Rafael Furcal off of Steve Parris in a 4-2 victory. In a minor deal, the Dodgers dealt catcher Tim Laker to the Bucs for pitcher Jason Ryan. On the second, the Reds and Ken Hill come up short 4-3 to Tom Glavine on a two-run fifth inning home run by Javy Lopez. The Tribe do a deal today – OF Jacob Cruz heads to the Rockies for OF Jody Gerut and C Gerald Laird. In the more bad news department, Elmer Dessens is diagnosed with a sprained finger and is retroactively placed on the 15-day DL. John Riedling is called up to give some bullpen flexibility until Dessens next scheduled start against the Astros on the 4th. The Braves complete the sweep with a 7-6 victor; Danny Graves walks Rico Brogna with the bases loaded to blow the save.
The Reds head to Enron Field in Houston with Rob Bell, making the trip from Louisville, getting his first start of the season for the Reds against Shane Reynolds. Southpaw Hector Mercado is optioned back to Louisville to make room. The Reds lose their sixth in a row when Jeff Bagwell hits a couple of two-run shots, in the fifth against Bell, and the eighth against Justin Atchley. A ninth inning rally comes up a short when Ken Griffey pops up a Billy Wagner pitch with Alex Ochoa on first and Juan Castro on second and the Bell gets the 6-5 loss. The Reds then go on to lose #7, 10-8, a Moises Alou breaking the game open in the seventh. The Royals win a deal when they send reliever Jose Santiago to the Phillies for starter Paul Byrd. Roy Oswalt completes the sweep with 9-2 victory on the Sixth. The Reds have yet to win a game in June and three games out of fifth place. Scott Sullivan is reactivated and Justin Atchley gets send back to AAA.
On June 5 is the 2001 Rule IV draft and the Reds have the #17 draft pick in the draft (three spots higher than in history). Bowden liked young high school arms, but in this draft, unlike the actual 2001 affair, he is not facing the budget crunch that led him to choose the not-likely-to-sign Jeremy Sowers with the Reds first pick. He also is starting to benefit from the extra money that John Allen agreed to spend on scouting in last year's budget negotiations, so the Reds take Pasco High School right hander Jeremy Bonderman with their pick. The A's draft Pepperdine southpaw Noah Lowry and Sowers is drafted and not signed a few picks later by the Giants. They draft pitcher Justin Gilliman (historical) in the second round and in the third round southpaw Lenny DiNardo (ahistorical). All other picks are the historically bad ones.
NOTES: I didn't want to totally rewrite the disaster that was the 2001 draft with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight (and for example make the first four draft picks David Wright, Dan Haren, Ricky Nolasco, and Ryan Howard – all of whom were available each time the Reds picked), nor could I change who Jim Bowden and the Reds scouting staff was at the time. History testifies that they preferred young high school power arms and five-tool outfielders. I did want to give the Reds the benefit of a little more scouting dollars and the lack of financial constraints, so I culled the list of draftees and compiled a list of players who had varying degrees of major league success; five-tool outfielders weren't really around by the #17 pick so my list consisted of two high-school power pitchers (Bonderman & J. P. Howell) who got the heaviest weighting, seven college pitchers (Brad Hennessey, Lowry, Haren, Mike Gosling,Kirk Saarloos, & Nolasco), and five position players (Wright, Jayson Nix, J. J. Hardy, Mike Fotenot, & Jeff Mathis) and then I gave a 20% of a failed pick. Each round I added a few players, took away those that were drafted historically, and increased the chance of failure. I did this for the first four rounds of the draft – only Bonderman in round one and DiNardo in round three came up randomly.
Still, even though changes are a quite positive change from Bowden's 2001 draft. In real life, not a single player drafted by the Reds that year made it to the show. Okay, 35th round selection Nick Markasis did, but that was after he was redrafted in the first round a couple of years later by the Orioles.
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Post by dukecrunchybagel on Nov 14, 2013 17:25:30 GMT -5
CLOSING OUT THE FIRST HALF
The Reds head out to Dodger Stadium where they'll send Ken Hill against Luke Prokoopec; Hill gives up three runs early and is lifted for a pinch hitter, giving the Reds bullpen even more work. Still Scott Sullivan and Scott Williamson manage to hold the Dodgers to one more run and the Reds manage to tie the game in the top of the sixth on a bang-bang ground out to short by Chris Stynes scoring Alfonso Sorriano. Dennis Reyes gives up an RBI single to Adrian Beltre to score Gary Sheffield and give the Dodgers the win, and the Reds their ninth-straight loss in the 7th. Jeff Shaw gets the save. Loss #10 follows with a four-hit complete game effort on a 12-1 blowout featuring an Adrian Beltre grand slam against Dennis Reyes. In adding injury to insult, Matt Walbeck hits the 15-day DL with a wrenched knee. Fortunately, Eddie Taubansee can be activated prior to tomorrow's game. On the ninth, Osvaldo Fernandez gives up four runs in the first inning on back-to-back dingers by Shawn Green and Adrian Beltre. Beltre adds another one, his fifth in the series so far against the Reds. Rumors abound that Bob Boone's job is one the rocks. The Reds finally break the streak of futility on the 11th as Steve Parris puts up a strong seven inning two run outing and Chris Stynes belts an upper-deck three-run home run in the fourth off of knuckle-baller Dennis Springer to give the Reds a 5-2 victory.
Bowden makes some changes as the team jets off east to Fenway for three against the Red Sox, optioning John Riedling down and bringing southpaw Hector Mercado back to try and get the quite overworked Dennis Reyes some down time. The Reds promptly revert to their losing ways as a seventh-inning rally against Dennis Reyes and Scott Sullivan leads to a 5-3 loss. Worse, Eddie Taubansee fractures a toes and goes back on the 15-day DL. Corky Miller gets called up to back up Jason Larue. The Reds win on the 12th 9-8 on a strong six-inning seven-strikeout shutout performance by Ron Villone. Following the game, the Red Sox deal reliever Justin Duchscherer to the Rangers for catcher Doug Mirabelli. The Reds nearly blow the game in the ninth as Hector Mercado and Scott Sullivan give up six runs, but Danny Graves gets Nomar Garciaparra to hit into a double play to get the save. Rob Bell gets lit up in the rubber game, exiting in the third inning down five runs as the Reds go on to lose 5-2. Dennis Reyes separates his shoulder and hits the DL, necessitating a flurry of moves – Deion Sanders, batting .167/.211/.222 is designated for assignment, southpaw Chris Peters, signed back on the sixth is added to the 25- and 40- man rosters to take over Reyes's bullpen spot, Rob Bell is optioned back to AAA, Elmer Dessens is reactivated, and D. T. Cromer, batting .397 down in AAA, is brought back to the Bigs. All the while, Bowden expresses his “complete confidence” in Bob Boone. Elsewhere, the Pirates deal infielder Enrique Wilson to the Yankees for reliever Damaso Marte.
After an off day, the Reds are in Kansas City to take on Blake Stein. The Reds score in each of the first three innings, but the Royals battle back to a 5-4 lead. Aaron Boone hits a solo home run in the ninth against Doug Henry to tie the game, but Danny Graves gives up a walk-off single to Raul Ibanez, scoring Johnny Damon and a 6-5 loss. JB makes a minor (ahistorical) deal today, obtaining Greg Myers from the Orioles for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Corky Miller gets sent back to AAA to make room. Scott Winchester is DFA'd to make room on the 40-man. The Reds lose again on the 16th by an identical 6-5 score – a three-run Eric Davis home run and fine start by Steve Parris are wasted when Chris Peters gives us a seventh-inning grand slam to Carlos Beltran. Paul Byrd dominates on the 17th as the Royals bring out the brooms.
The Reds return to Cinergy Field for three against 32-34 Seattle Mariners as Brett Tomko returns to Cincinnati to battle Elmer Dessens. In a deal just as baffling in this scenario as it was when it really occurred (on June 15 historically), the Red dealt Rob Bell to the Rangers for outfielder Ruben Mateo and third baseman Edwin Encarnacion, as Bowden continues to stock up on five-tool outfielders. The fact that Bowden still won the deal is besides the point. D.T. Cromer gets to take the bus up to Louisville. (In real life Ken Hill, having never pitched in the majors for the Reds was released and signed the next day by the Red Sox). Dessens can't make it out of the third, and once again, the Reds are blown out 10-5. Chris Peters seperates his shoulder and goes on the 15-day DL. Southpaw Justin Atchley will rejoin the team. The A's and D-backs swapped outfielders today as well, Ryan Christianson goes to the Snakes for Rob Ryan. The Reds get their third win of the month with a 3-2 victory over the Mariners. In the eighth inning Ken Griffey Junior singles, steals second and third, and scores on a ground ball by Sean Casey. The rubber game features Ron Villone against Gil Meche with solid starts from both sides; the games goes to the eleventh when Danny Graves in his second inning, gives up an infield single by Stan Javier, a sacrifice, and then a double to Jay Buhner and a single to Carlos Guillen. The Reds lose 4-2, Grave's ERA is now 5.86, he has 5 loses and 3 blown saves to go with 2 wins and 13 saves.
On the 22nd the Giants come to Cinergy just as the Braves deal bad-boy reliever John Rocker (and his 7.86 ERA) to the Tribe for a couple of relievers, Steve Reed and Steve Karsey. Another Steve, Parris, gets the start against Russ Ortiz. Junior get a two-run double in the second, and homers by Pokey Reese and Greg Myers spot the Reds a 6-3 lead after four, but the bullpen can't hold it and Shawn Dunstan plate the tieing run in the seventh on a double off of Justin Atchley. The game goes to extra inning where Danny Grave's run-of-misery continues, giving up five eleventh inning runs to see his ERA balloon up to 6.68. Despite the dinger, Myers gets dealt after the game to the A's for future considerations and Matt Walbeck is reactivated. Myers went 4 for 23 in his six games for Bob Boone. The Reds also sign former Red Scott Service to a minor league contract. The 23rd is no better as Mark Gardner goes the distance in a 5-2 loss. Scott Williamson fractures his foot and goes on the 15-day DL, Luis Vizcaino gets called up. In a couple of minor deals, the Yankees acquire reliever Jay Witasick from the Padres for infielder D'Angelo Jimenez, and in a deal of used parts the Tigers send Dave Mliclki to the Astros for Jose Lima. The Reds do avoid the ignominy of a second double-digit losing streak when Elmer Dessens pitches eight shutout innings in an 8-0 rout of Jerome Williams with Junior, Eric the Red, and Soriano all going deep.
On the 25th it's off to Seattle for three against the Mariners. Osvaldo Fernandez takes on Paul Abott in the opener and gets the victory thanks to a three-run upper-deck home run by Sean Casey off of Arthur Rhodes. Danny Graves gets into trouble manages to strike out Mark McLemore with two runners on to get a save in the 8-7 victory. On the morrow, Eddie Taubansee is reactivated and Jason Larue batting a meager .184 gets his second trip back to Louisville. Steve Parris gets a solid start and Eric Davis a two-run dinger, his sixteenth, and the Reds now actually have a three-game winning streak. Ken Hill gets beat up in the finale as the Reds get roughed up 7-4.
With interleague play complete for the year, the Reds head off to Busch Stadium to take on Garrett Stephenson and the Cardinals on June 28. On this day, the Giants trade southpaw Alan Embree to the Pale Hose for a minor leaguer. Eric Davis continues his hot hitting with six RBIs including a game-winning top-of-the-ninth grand slam to give the Reds a 10-7 victory in the opener. On the 29th, the Reds get shut down on a two-hit shutout by Alan Benes, losing 5-0 paced by two home runs by Jim Edmonds; Elmer Dessens takes the loss. Before the rubber game, Dennis Reyes is reactivated and Hector Mercado is optioned back to AAA. Elmer Dessens goes seven strong inning while Eddie Taubansee hits a seventh-inning single, plating Scott Casey and Ken Griffey Jr. for the win; Danny Graves delivers another shaky save. The Reds conclude June 8-20 and the Reds prepare for four against the Diamondbacks who are a game and half behind the Giants.
On the First, Steve Parris pitches well, but Justin Atchley gives up a two-run homer run to Mark Grace, and Randy Johnson goes the distance and the Reds open July with a 4-2 loss. Following the game, Jim Bowden announces that one-time Reds ace Jose Rijo has been signed to a minor-league contract and in the first move of what could be a new fire sale that reliever Mark Wohlers has been dealt to the Yankees for Ricardo Aramboles. John Riedling is recalled to Cincinnati. On the second Ken Hill is truly awful in the way only Ken Hill can be, giving up five runs and not making it out of the first inning as the Reds lose to Albie Lopez 8-3. More woes hit the Reds pitching as Ron Villone is diagnosed with a stress fracture and is lost to DL, Elmer Dessens goes a day early on the Third with Hector Mercado recalled; Lance Davis will take Dessens's spot on the 4th. The other Davis, Eric, and Junior both go deep for the Redlegs in a 9-7 victory but Dessens and Eric Davis both end up on the DL after the game, with a broken hand and strained neck respectively. Adam Dunn is called upon to become the starting left fielder. Lance Davis earns the win over Curt Schilling 9-4 for the split thanks to a 3-run blast by the Mayor capping the fireworks.
After a much needed off day, it's off to Milwaukee for a three-game set against the Brewers, Jamey Wright against Osvaldo Fernandez. The Reds drop the opener 2-1 on a 10th inning triple by Geoff Jenkins to score Ron Belliard off of Danny Graves. The Reds fare better on the Seventh, with Ben Sheets facing off against Ken Hill. Hill is wild and the Reds are quickly down 3-0 but battle their way back capped by a grand slam by Adam Dunn in the seventh against lefty Ray King. The Big Donkey got his first Big League dinger off Sheets earlier in the third, a massive moon shoot over the right field wall. Chris Piersoll gets the win, while Graves picks up his nineteenth save. Steve Parris has an ailing ankle, so Joe Nathan is called back up to start the rubber game against Jimmy Haynes. Struggling southpaw Justin Atchley returns to Louisville. Nathan's start is solid, unlike Haynes, and the Reds take the series with a 5-2 victory, bringing their July record to a solid 4-3.
Finally, a threesome against the Pirates closes out the first half. Hector Mercado is demoted back to AAA and veteran Scott Service makes his return to the Reds. The opener is a battle of southpaws, Lance Davis, in his second start, against Jimmy Anderson. Aaron Boone belts a first inning three-run jack against Anderson, who then settles down. Davis cruises until giving up a three-run shot to Aramis Ramirez in the sixth. Junior retaliates in the seventh with a two-run shot off of Damaso Marte, and the Reds go on to an 11-7 victory. Luis Vizcaino gets the win. Todd Ritchie dominates the Reds on the Tenth, with a 7-0 thumping. Following the game, back up catcher Matt Walbeck is sold to the Phillies, Corky Miller is promoted to take his spot (as happened historically), Scott Williamson is reactivated and Scott Service outrighted back to Louisville. The Reds win the finale 7-4 with Ken Hill getting the victory over Jeff Brantley, who yields a game-winning seventh-inning grand slam to Alfonso Soriano.
Despite a 6-4 record in July, the first half Reds finish a dismal 34-55, half a game behind the Cubs and Brewers, with the worst record in the National League. The team’s pitching has been terrible far beyond expectations, devastated by injuries and a bullpen that is grossly overworked. The rotation outside of Ron Villone and Frank Castillo's three starts has been miserable:
Pitcher W-L ERA WHIP IP K/9 OBA O Fernandez 2-10 4.92 1.41 115.1 4.06 .270 K Hill 3-9 5.38 1.64 88.2 5.68 .319 S Parris 5-7 5.75 1.77 83.0 7.37 .303 E Dessens 4-7 5.16 1.54 68.0 4.24 .296 R Villone 2-2 3.63 1.35 52.0 8.31 .240 J Nathan 1-2 5.09 1.13 47.2 12.23 .235 F Castillo 0-0 0.90 1.00 20.0 4.05 .254 L Davis 1-0 6.57 1.30 12.1 6.57 .279 R Bell 0-3 12.60 2.70 10.0 9.00 .408
As for the bullpen, Danny Graves has 20 saves but has been miserable, only Scott Williamson as the eighth inning man, and Chris Piersoll as the blow-out guy have been tolerable:
Pitcher Recrd ERA IP S Sullivan 4-3 4.70 47.0 H Mercado 1-0 4.86 46.1 C Piersoll 3-2 3.77 45.1 D Reyes 2-3 5.08 44.1 M Wohlers 2-1 4.75 41.2 D Graves 2-7 5.75 40.2 J Atchley 2-0 4.81 39.1 S Williamson 4-3 3.82 33.0 L Vizcaino 1-0 4.50 10.0 J Riedling 0-0 6.48 8.1 C Peters 0-2 15.43 4.2 S Service 0-0 9.00 2.0
The offense has been at best mediocre – Eddie Taubansee has been great behind the plate, and Sean Casey is well, Sean Casey, while Eric Davis's return to Cincinnati has provided some unlooked for power. But Griffey has been in tremendous funk, and neither Alex Escobar nor Alfonso Sorriano have lived up to expectations:
Batter G R HR RBI SB BA OBA SP OPS Pos K Griffey 87 44 15 41 6 .238 .367 .428 .795 CF A Soriano 87 49 11 43 15 .265 .326 .442 .768 2B S Casey 85 49 11 42 0 .298 .380 .467 .847 1B P Reese 85 53 8 29 17 .277 .337 .394 .731 SS A Escobar 83 43 6 31 3 .279 .371 .373 .744 RF A Boone 73 28 7 36 5 .244 .354 .374 .728 3B E Davis 73 39 19 53 5 .236 .306 .487 .793 LF E Taubansee 57 20 2 28 .315 .364 .399 .763 C C Stynes 55 13 3 14 0 .268 .320 .393 .713 1B-IF-RF A Ochoa 51 10 1 10 2 .217 .309 .349 .658 RF-LF J Castro 43 7 1 10 0 .263 .279 .386 .665 C-2B-SS D Cromer 34 5 0 3 0 .147 .340 .206 .546 1B M Walbeck 23 8 0 9 0 .232 .284 .268 .552 C J LaRue 19 3 0 1 0 .184 .262 .263 .525 C R Mateo 10 3 0 2 0 .231 .333 .269 .602 LF A Dunn 6 3 2 5 0 .136 .269 .409 .678 LF G Myers 6 1 1 1 0 .174 .240 .305 .544 C D Sanders 6 2 0 2 2 .167 .211 .222 .433 CF
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Post by gmburchfield on Jan 1, 2016 13:47:05 GMT -5
I enjoyed this
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Post by dukecrunchybagel on Jan 5, 2016 17:03:12 GMT -5
Thanks. I enjoyed doing it, but Baseball Mogul 2011 was an incredibly difficult platform to keep going (not helped by the fact my hard drive died twice during the production). The project ended up being way too time consuming to keep going, giving the necessities of real life. The second hard drive crash which I think was right a few weeks after my Nov. 2013 post killed the whole project.
Before the second rash, I had worked on getting this thread up to the trading deadline, the next deal was going to be Hector Mercado going to the Phillies (which happened historically during the 2002 spring training), but realistically would likely have gotten to a similar return as Mercado did in real life, which was Reggie Taylor -- that thought was enough to totally discourage me. (You're probably too young to remember my rants about Taylor on the old ESPN boards).
I had sort of decided Ryan Madson would also go the Reds in that deal since the Phillies were in a pennant chase.
I also was planning to fire Bob Boone after the seasons; JB was also going to be on a short-leash after the fact that the season was turning into something truly awful. I was kind of playing with the idea of hiring Wayne Krivsky in early 2003; I hadn't decided at all though. The Reds went with Dan O'Brien during the 2003-4 offseason.
Still one of these days, I might try another thread.
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