The Show - An Online OOTP Baseball Simulation League

Pirates rebuild looking to "get it right the first time"

GM Andrew Nicodemus says in the Pirates Front Office. "I like were this team is headed. Maybe not next year, but the year after that Pittsburgh should be a strong contender. With Kansas City we went to the World Series 3 years in a row so i know what im doing. And thats the reason i came here, turning down offers from Minnesota, Detroit and NYY. The core of this team will be contending soon".

Its hard to argue with his logic when the team added another SP Will Romeo, to an already strong rotation. The team has some holes on offense but is expected to be able to fill those needs through free agency and the draft. Romeo has never pitched in the NL but is the team feels he will be able to become a solid top 3 starter.

Speculation is that other clubs owners will eventually make a pitch for Nicodemus to run one of those teams. He responded with.."No comment". "I have a few favorite clubs but i dont know the ownerships situation with them or if they are happy with their current GM's. Im very happy to be in Pittsburgh".

NL Preview & Predictions

NL East

1. Philadelphia 100-105 wins
2. New York Mets 95- 100 wins
3. Montreal 80-85 wins
4. Atlanta 77-83 wins
5. Florida 60-65 wins

Philadelphia - Philly rebuilt in a hurry last year and Won another World Series. There is alot of young talent in the field and on the pitching staff. The line-up features Edward Danielson, Emeel Salem, Bricio Pineda, and Vet Mitch Einerstein. The staff is lead by young studs Bibby, Fleschman, and Robert Savala.

New York Mets - The Mets won the wildcard and made the NLCS last year. The Mets are a nice mix of youth and Veterns. The Line up features Otis Beamer, Jeff Clement, Melky Cabrera, and Josh Vanetten. The staff is deep and talented. The stars here are Ryan Wagner, Justin Jones, and CL Luis Curujo.

Montreal - The Expos took a step back last year after making the NLCS in 2018. Montreal could sneak up again an give the big 2 fits. Montreal line-up features Ian Kinsler, Gustavo Ojeda, and Roger Kieschnick. The staff ace is Ian Snell. Look for Montreal to bring up a couple of quality prospects.

Atlanta - The Braves have been rebuild and starting to reap the rewards. The Line-up has several young studs Clarence Caskey, Aldo Rivera, Manny Lavendar, and Jon Jarvis. The staff is loaded in Stud SPs, James Dave, Michael Korte, Kevin Williams, and U. Tetsuzan. The Bullpen has plenty of talent. If this team, can produce to the thier talent level, the Braves will be in the wild card hunt.

Florida - The Marlins are rebuilding. The line-ups star is Rookie of the Year Zack Cozart. The staff has a young ace in Matt Harvey. Florida has some good prospects but it will be a couple of years before they are ready.

NL Central

San Antonio 90-95 wins
Chicago Cubs 90-95 wins
Pittsburgh 87-92 wins
Houston 75-80 wins
Cincinnati 65-70 wins
St. Louis 60-65 wins

San Antonio - The Stampede had a long year and lost 2 of thier Ace for most of the season due to injury last year. 2 years ago they won the World Series and the back bone of the team remains. The Line-up features All-stars Mark Hamilton, Michael Sabo, Edwin Encarnacion, and Dimitri Maldonaldo. The Staff is loaded with Aces S. Komiyama, I. Kennedy, V. Alvarez, Carlos Ortiz, and A. Fennell. The bullpen could be trouble spot for them.

Chicago - The Cubbies had 41 game improvement and won the NL Central. GM Ken Pape did a great job improving this team. The Line-up Features R. Zimmerman, B. Varada, and E. Iorg. The staff is deep and talented with A. Brown, P. Castillo, and R. Pinto. The Offense could use a little more punch, but there is help in the High Minors.

Pittsburgh - The Pirates have been a yearly contender in The Show for years. They are young and talented like the Cubs and the Stampede. The line-up stars J. Hermida, M. Black, V. Bowersox, and R. Beam. The Pirates have a good staff featuring R. Flores, D. Bielecki, and R. Simpson.

Houston - The Astros have been improved, but lost to key FA's in C. Dooley and D.Moles. The line-up is young and stars J. Montana, M. May, and K. Kulbacki. The staff is deep in SPs K. Kaesperaek, J. Ayala, C. Paulson, and J. Sturgeon. However, the bullpen could use an upgrade or 2.

Cincinnati - The Reds are building and made alot of move this off season. The line-ups stars are picks A. Duran, J. Reyes, and S. Strausbaugh. The staff is lead by M. Guan, S. Hasty, M. Turco, and C. Haper.

St. Louis - The Cards age finally caught up, and New GM Eddie K. is making moves to get younger. The line-up has been gutted by FA. It features youngsters A. Brighton and J. Lewis. The staff still has stud Y. Petit, D. Bush, and J. Greenfield. I have a feeling that those guys, may want to have thier suitcases packed, since they are likely going to be moved for prospects....

NL West

San Diego 95-100 wins
Portland 90-95 wins
Los Angeles 90-95 wins
Colorado 77-83 wins
Arizona 65-70 wins

San Diego - The Padres have been busy again this off-season. Wheeling and Dealing Pitching in order to win a World Series title (that eluded them last year). The Line-up features M. LaPorta, (MVP) W. Cranmer, A. Gordon, and N.Kosaku. The revamped staff is great and the pen should be improved. It features Aces L. Varela, R. Hobbs, S. Adams, K. Uehara.

Portland - The Stag have improved year and are loaded with young talent. They will be in the wild card hunt again this year, barring any major injuries. The line-up features C. Nemec, R. Fisher, and R. Sae. The staff is good and the Pen is loaded. It stars. N. Adenhardt, A. Garza, A. Hammond, and A. Blue

Los Angeles - The Dodgers and GM Carl B. have been extremely busy building a contender this off-season. They are the favorite to be most improved and could win the divison. The new Line-up features (Future Hall of Famer) C. Beamer, A. Mijares, W. Senji, and D. Valle. The staff is loaded with SPs E. Donahue, T. Alderson, K. Kiker, and J. Diggins. Watch out if the bats heat up on this team

Colorado - The Rockies have been the juggernaut of The Show for years, but the age is showing. The Line-up is still fearsome with E. Longoria, B. Moss, H. Haynor, and G. Sizemore. The staff is lead by (H.O.Fer) Mura Taro, T. Lumsden, and B. Potter.

Arizona - The Dbacks are probably the best 5th place team in The Show. However, they are stuck in the loaded NL West. The line-up stars D. Souza, F. Freeman, R. Bronstein, and R. McKellar. The Pen is solid but the SPs could use an arm or two. The staff aces are C. Cheng, M. Foster, and J. Walker

D-Rays Vow to Keep Competing - Part 1 (Pitching)

After a sensational 2019 when Tampa managed an AL best 111-50 record with major injuries to its ace SPs and better hitters many thought that the aging list would require a substantial rebuild. However, GM Ewin is determined that he can piece together another competitive roster even if it is one of the oldest in the history of The Show.

In today's press conference GM Ewin gave a brief rundown of the D-Rays roster for 2020 Spring Training.

Pitching

The D-Rays have officially decided to cut their losses with the injured Thomas Heintz whose ratings have dropped since his arm injury. Heintz has been placed on waivers and if no-one picks up his contract the D-Rays will seek to rehabilitate him in AAA.

Gary Van Landamier - pick up during the 2019 season from Kansas City to cover for the long-term injury to Heintz, Van Landamier shouldered a substantial part of the pitching burden despite suffering two injuries himself. He finished 17-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 210 innings, includng the July PoM award, and was rewarded with a 3 year extension. Van Landamier will anchor the Tampa staff in 2020. His 1 hit shutout against the Nationals in April was a deligh to watch and Tampa fans will be looking for more from this 34 ear old in the prime of his career.

Roy Hobbs - Currently in delicate negotiations for an extension, Hobbs remained healthy in 2019 and posted stats of 269 innings for a 19-12 record and 3.97 ERA. The ace in 2019, Hobbs now finds himself relegated to the #2 slot. At 36 Tampa may be prepared to trade him or let him go to free agency at season's end if a satisfactory contract cannot be negotiated. His 4 hit shutout against division rivals the Yankees in July really pleased Tampa fans and there is some pressure from fans for the organisation to meet Hobbs' demands.

Ramon Martinez - along with Hobbs, one of the few D-Rays starters to stay healthy in 2019. Martinez stepped up with the extra responsibility and produced a career best season of 267 innings 21-8 and 3.63 ERA including All Star selection. The 35 year old Martinez is believed to be close to signing a 2 year extension with the D-Rays.

Yamel Guevara - acquired from Baltimore at the trade deadline to cover the mass of pitching injuries suffered by Tampa. The 35 year old Guevara really struggled for Tampa in 2019, but will be given the chance to compete with Williams for the #4 slot. He will need a much better season if he wants Tampa to pick up the $9.25 million team option for 2021.

Michael Williams - always a solid contributor, Williams missed most of 2019 with injury posting only 78 innings for a 4-1 record and 3.23 ERA. The D-Rays will be looking to the aging (36) Williams to compete for the #4 slot or be a spot starter.

The D-Rays had expected Mark Prior and Chad Haper to retire, but quality seasons in 2019 will keep them around for 2020. Useful starters in the case of injury to the frontline starters, expect these two to pick up the majority of middle relief duties along with the solid but unspectactular Geraldo Martinez.

The ever improving close-out duo of Nicholas Cole (41 saves and 3.96 ERA) and Norman Belden (9 saves and 3.76 ERA) will continue to take responsibility for late innings. Belden has improved his endurance during the offseason and there is speculation that these two may be promoted to starting duties in 2021 with the retirement of some of Tampa's aging stars.

D-Rays Vow to Keep Competing - Part 2 (Lineup)

Lineup

Tampa have had to cover for the loss of two major players to free agency in Edwin Motz and Kyusu Nan.

Motz will be covered by the acquisition last season of Matt Bush and Nan will be covered by the free agent acquisition of Milt Washington - Tampa's only venture into the free agent market this season.
Catcher

For the first time under this front office, Tampa will enter the 2020 season with 3 catchers on the roster. The aging Joe Mauer will start vs R and the young Ashehei Ichyo vsL. However, the raw power and great arm shown by Sergio Lopez in limited chances last year has forced him onto the roster as a power benc hitter and backup catcher. Lopez excelled at AA, AAA and MLB last year and could be a real surprise packet if he can learn to hit the ungodly breaking pitches he'll face in The Show.

First Base/Designated Hitter

Matthew Hobgood has been on the fringes since 2018, but will get the chance to cement a spot at 1B in 2020. He has better defense than Anthony Soprano and Soprano will move to the DH slot and protect his aging body.

Second Base

The D-Rays front office can't hide their delight at picking John Raleigh in the 2018 draft. Protected to face mainly left handed pitching the last season and a half, Raleigh will start both ways in 2020 and should cement his spot at 2B.

Third Base

Wes Hodges will continue his role at 3B.

Short Stop

Matt Bush gets his chance to cement a permanent spot. Together with Hodges and Raleigh, this will round out one of the best defensive infields in baseball.

Outfield

The recently re-signed William Raynor will hold down CF and, barring more injuries, provide some pop in the middle lineup. Raynor has been restrained by injuries with the D-Rays so far and fans are hoping that a fully fit Raynor could substantially increase production.

The D-Rays will go again with a platoon in LF hoping that Wayne Johnston can improve on a disappointing 2019 and Eddie Coleman can continue his solid peformances.

Another platoon in RF with Milt Washington and Juan Sierra (27.8 VORP).

Bench

Pedro Sanchez comig off a great 2019 (23.1 VORP) will be the infield utility.

D-Rays Vow to Keep Competing - Part 3 (Prospects to Watch)

Prospects to Watch

The D-Rays have traded may picks in recent years and have been backing themselves to find some "hidden gems" late in the draft. Ichiyo and Raleigh have already made it to The Show, but some players to watch are:

Danny Gray SS/2B - a potenial power hitting middle infielder. Currently at the AA level. A 24th (!!!) round pick in 2018.

Juan Guzman OF - A 4th (!!!) round pick in 2018. An outfielder with all the tools. only average power, but this guy should make The Show. Worked hard on weights and his power in the offseason.

Winston Carter OF - a speedy outfielder with good contact. Currently at the rookie level. A 2nd round pick in 2019.

Waiting for a Chance

The D-Rays AAA farm team is full of guys knocking on the door of The Show:

Leo Pelchat MR
Raymon Vanek MR (being converted to SP)
Michael Wainwright MR
Paul Hoehn C
Juan Acosta 1B/OF
Pedro Duenas OF

Wild Card Round Predictions

It is playoff time, and time again for the series predictions!!!!!!!!!!!

Oakland vs Chicago White Soxs

Oakland won 99 games and the AL West for the 3rd year in a row. The White Sox won 105 games and AL Central for the First time. Oakland is built around pitching, while the White Sox are built to pound the ball.

The prediction.........White Sox in 5 games. The home field advantage pushes the Sox through.

Minnesota vs Tampa Bay

Minnesota won 99 games and won the wild card. Tampa won an AL best 111 games. Minnesota made a huge turn around under Nick Sherman's control. The Twins are lead by All Star Raymond Cornman. Tampa has been a playoff regular under Adam Ewin, and are a deep and well balanced team.

The prediction............ Tampa in 4 games. Tampa has the talent and the depth to go a long way.

Chicago Cubs vs Philadelphia

The Cubs won 95 games and the NL Central. The Phillies won 106 games and return to the playoffs after missing the post season last year. The Cubs made a huge turnaround under GM Ken Pape, and dethroned the Champs (San Antonio). Philly is a yearly contender for the title under GM Joe Woodring.

The Prediction.............The Cubs in 5 games. The Cubs have surprised all year, and it will continue in this round.

New York Mets vs San Diego

The Mets won 99 and the NL Wildcard. San Diego has been here a few times, but this Year they finally to the NL West title. Both teams are built around Pitching, Speed, and Defense. Both Team have a pop and speed on offense. This should be a great series.

The Prediction............ San Diego in 4 games. It will be close, but sorry I can not pick against my team

MVP & MIP: Tampa Bay

Here in Tampa we would have to go with the "Champion Team" approach rather than the "Team of Champions" approach.

If Raynor had been healthy and played the full season he might have had a chance at nomination for MVP, but four injuries this season prevent that.

I guess what I'd like to highlight is that Tampa Bay has nine offensive players with a VORP above 15. I think that shows a great evenness and spread of the workload.

Soprano (38.7) has remained solid and is a BARGAIN at $1.68m per year. Motz (33.3) has been solid backing up from a great year last year. A pity he will go to free agency. Raynor (32.6) has been beset by injury (nearly 10 weeks out) but still managed 26 HRs and a 7.56 RC/27. Hodges (28.1) could lay some claim to most improved player moving from .266/.341/.453 last year to .296/.369/.451 this year and taking his VORP from 13.9 to 28.1. Others incluse Nan (from 8.6 to 25.8) also heading to free agency, Raleigh (24.3) the 2018 #17 draft pick, Sanchez (from -9.0 to 22.1), Sierra (from 3.2 to 15.8) and Coleman (from -3.1 to 15.1). From this bunch I guess I would look at Sanchez as our Most Improved Player:

2018 LAD .219/.307/.308 for -9.0 VORP
2019 TBD .321/.386/.439 for 22.1 VORP

All of this ignores our greatest strength which has been the depth of our pitching. Still #1 in pitching despite losing three aces to long term injury (Williams, Heintz and Landamier - all 4 star SPs). Again, the effort across the board has been very even, but one player deserves special mention: Chad Haper.

2018 TBD 8W 7L 4.36 ERA 17.4 VORP
2019 TBD 15W 1L 3.48 ERA 31.9 VORP

MVP & MIP: Portland

If it were not for the fact that we can not vote for our own players I would have the same vote for both award and that is Sae. When Nemec, our second best hitter, went down it spelled trouble for our lineup. Two players stepped up in huge ways. While I seriously doubt either wins an award I would like to take time to point them out.

Fisher is a player who has always had great promise, but is one of those guys that seemed to have bust written all over him. While there were other youngsters that were being touted before the season began, he was seen as an afterthought. At 27 many felt his best chances had passed him by and he would be a marginal MLB player at best. Last season he hit a respectable .281 but the 12 home runs are not exactly what you want out of a firstbaseman. With no options which were any better he was put into the starting lineup at the start of the season with the team half looking for a replacement. This season he hit .312 with 32 home runs so far and has already almost doubled his RBIs from 53 to 101. He is a lot of the reason Portland will be a 90 something win team rather than bouncing around .500.

Sae is a player who a couple years ago showed a lot of promise and then last season was a big disapointment. As he approaches 30 many in the orginazation were beginning to question whether he would be the star most hoped. Last year was the first season into a long extention and it was looking like he was getting fat on the money. Last season he hit .267 with 26 hr and 101 RBI. All those numbers were down from the previous year when he hit .306 with 39hr and 119 RBI. Many were thinking he got his money and now would continue to slide in his play. This season with the injury to Nemec, Sae would have to step up or things could get ugly. Sae stepped up in a bigger way that most could have concieved. With a few games still left, he has broken many of the teams hitting records. He is hitting .319 with 51hr and 140 RBI and a few games still to play. He basically carried the Stags most of the season. Now his contract is looking like a steal.

Tampa Bay Minors Wrap

The Tampa Bay organisation has outdone its low ranking in the Baseball America rankings appearing in the post-season at all levels.

San Diego 2019 Season Preview

After 3 seasons of reaching the Playoffs, San Diego has made some moves this offseason in hopes of finally winning the world series.