Trav Fixes the Mariners (MLB11)

TravTex

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So, I downloaded the full minors rosters for MLB:The Show 2011 and figured I'd start up a Mariners franchise to see if I can do something with them. I have a solid base of experience with craptastic teams, having focused heavily on playing the Royals for some time.

I'll see if I can't move along at a decent clip, particularly with the 2011 season (When I'm getting serious about playing games, I'll usually play one per series -- The sim engine is surprisingly good). I'm playing a game a week for spring training because, well, who cares?

At first glance, I'm thinking it'll take at least two or three years to get into the playoffs (Could make a run in 2012, but would have to get pretty stupid in Free Agency, and I like to build up a base of solid minor league teams as well as competing in the bigs).

As it stands, I'm about ten games into spring training and... Jeez, these guys suck. This year's Mariners remind me strongly of last years Royals. Felix is even better than Zack, though there's little to no offensive support behind him. Decent speed on the basepaths, and I'm actually pretty happy with the defense at this point -- Though things will have to change a bit, great D isn't so great when the guys in question have no bats.

Some thoughts from the first batch of spring training:

Jack Cust sucks. Hard. In a 'Why is this guy even on the team' sort of way. Finding a DH that can actually hit will be an early season priority. If I have to drag up a one-trick pony hitter from AA, I fully intend to. Gah.

Pineda will be good. It will probably not be THIS year, though. Could've probably stood a season in the minors, but there really isn't much of a choice from a quick glance at the rotation.

Smoak could be a stud, but again... Probably not this year.

Bedard, Fister, Vargas -- Meh.

Desperately need another catcher. Olivo is looking like a solid roster slot, but if he stubs a toe or needs a day off we're fricked. I've already brought up Bard for the role, but it was an act of desperation.

Infield: I like Wilson's glove so far. Ditto with Figgins. The only lock at this point, though, is Smoak. Dustin Ackley has tons of potential, but is a long way off.

Outfield: A whole lot of Meh. Ichiro is Ichiro, but has a lot of mileage -- Probably isn't going to be part of a -successful- Mariners team, which is a few years off.

Minors: Honestly? Kansas City's kids looked a lot better. There are a few promising faces down there, but it really is slim pickings with the occasionally hopeful shot at mediocrity.

Problems: Uh... Everything. We have one, maybe two slots in the rotation that are solid. The bullpen is mediocre at first glance. Aardsma is decent but unspectacular at this point, and suffers the same situation that Soria has in KC. Not many games to save if you can't score any runs. I'd say C, 1B, RF are okay for now, everything else is fair game... But I don't really have anyone worth trading for anything that would help. Felix is locked down long-term to a huge contract, but attendence and revenue would likely drop into the toilet if I tried to deal him for a couple prospects.

THIS is going to be interesting.

As it stands: 4-1 start to preseason. Then came the skid, currently at 5-6.
 
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TravTex

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Spring Training... 9-20. Couldn't work out a worthwhile trade to get a decent DH into the lineup. These M's are all sorts of frustrating in their inability to generate runs... Ichiro doubles, groundout to third, strikeout, flyball. Repeat.

Opening day embodied what's showing up as a Major Problem with the M's. Firstly, as we're getting ready to take the field, I'm informed that Felix has a sinus infection. Okay, so let's reorganize the rotation to get him time. Bedard gets opening day.

Here's the line:

SEA: 2 / 11 / 0
OAK: 7 / 10 / 2

What the hell?! Get guys in scoring position and the whole team turns into spastic monkeys. Oakland tried in multiple ways to give us the game, just wouldn't happen.

Seattle gets off to an 0-4 start. Team ERA for the first four games: 8.18
 
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TravTex

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sammyc521":zpdgotov said:
Just like real life, guys on base, guys stay on base.

Cust is busily setting some sort of anti-clutch record for screwing up with guys in scoring position.

KC is desperate enough to take basically nothing for Kila Ka'aihue or even Eric Hosmer. Neither has Cust's power versus RHP, but Kila's a more well-rounded DH, and Hosmer is a full-on A prospect -- But in need of development, it'd be an immediate downgrade. Tempted to pull the trigger on one of those.
 
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TravTex

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Couple weeks into the season, the M's finally win their first game. 1-7 to start. Jack Cust is hitting .143, what a pickup. Aardsma, having blown a save in spectacular fashion, has a 54.00 ERA.
 
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TravTex

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TRADE TRADE TRADE TRADE... TRADE TRADE TRADE

While not surprising, considering the recent change in ownership and general management, the Mariners have made a rare April trade with the Toronto Blue Jays involving six players.

To the Blue Jays go Chone Figgins, 3B, Guillermo Pimentel, LF, and Jason Vargas, SP.

To the Mariners go Zach Stewart, SP, Brett Lawrie, 3B, and Travis Snider, LF

In related news, Jack Cust, DH has been placed on waivers. He's out of options, but apparently the Mariners just don't care and want to send him to AAA, anyway.
 
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TravTex

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June 2011

The M's have continued to suck vigorously, although they have been showing the occasional sign of life, lately. So far, I'm pretty happy with the trade -- Though it hasn't been all happy joy.

April brings us all of 8 wins, and 20 losses. Smoak and Felix look good, but it's an atrocity otherwise. Travis Snider manages 7 homers, and his .241 average is, at least, better than Cust.

Through May, the Mariners are 18-38. The team batting average has crept up to .263, but it's pitching that has started to tear us up. 4.99 team ERA.

Notables:

J. Smoak: .317 BA, 3HR, 23 RBI
T.Snider: .256 BA, 12HR, 37 RBI
Felix: 3-3, 3.52 ERA
Pineda: 68 K in 67.1 IP, 7 QS of 12 starts.

Unnotables:

J.Wilson: .220, 0 HR, 12 RBI
E. Bedard: 2-7, 5.21 ERA
Z. Stewart: 1-5, 8.85 ERA

... Stewart will be spending some time in Triple A. He's a great young prospect, but doesn't have it, yet.

Wilson and Bedard have actually IMPROVED to get to those numbers.

DRAFT:

r1: Isidro Ramirez, CF
r2: Glenn Driver, RP
r3: Enrique Sierra, SS
r4: Rafael Guillen, 3B
r5: Steve Lopez, 1B

Another trade goes through at the beginning of June, as the Mariners receive SP Kyle McClellan and RP Eduardo Sanchez for 2B Jack Wilson and RP Joe Nelson.

The Mariners string together a few wins, and Snider hits three home runs in four games, pushing his total to 15. Seattle stands at 21-38.
 
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TravTex

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So, inasmuch as I like to start out a season with my Hand-Picked version of the roster, we went pretty quickly along with the 2011 season. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get too much accomplished in trades. Simply stated, the M's didn't really have any desirable trade players. In a rebuild, I'm not going to trade off promising prospects... and I'm not going to trade away the superstar 24 year old starting pitcher locked into a long contract... AND I'm not going to just bail on Ichiro, hoping to let him retire a Mariner.

June started out pretty good, with the Mariners winning 12 of 14, sticking a 7-game win streak in there. After that, though... there really wasn't much to rejoice.

39-54 at the All-Star break. 2/3 of the Mariner's representation came from the earlier trade.

Brett Lawrie, Travis Snider, and Ichiro all made the All-Star team. Lawrie, putting in a bid for rookie of the year at 3rd base, was sitting at .284 with 6 HR and 15 SB.

07/28: C Bard to Cardinals for C Steven Hill and RP Francisco Samuel

And... that was it for trades.

The Seattle Mariners finish 2011 at 65-97. Definitely a 'Same Old Mariners' feel, but there were bright spots.

Smoak: .287, 24 HR, 79 RBI
Snider: .242, 31 HR, 98 RBI
Lawrie: .272, 12 HR, 63 RBI, 30 Stolen bases. Chone who?

K. McClellan: 11-5, 3.32 ERA
F. Hernandez: 11-12, 3.70 ERA
D. Aardsma: 3.26 ERA, 30 Saves

Pineda was a bit schizo... He finished the year with 166 K in 176 IP, but gave up a ton of hits. 7-12, 5.22 ERA. I expect a better season out of him next year.

Yankees defeat the Phillies in the World Series. Damnit.

On to the Offseason!
 
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TravTex

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To begin the offseason, the contract with the Manager ends (What? Meh, whatever, would've fired him, anyway), and the 3B coach retires. Player retirees are C Steven Baron and 1B Vince Catricala. Nobody notices.

We get a bit done before free agency goes into full swing, making the following moves:

LF Travis Snider: 6.21m/3y
RP Dan Cortes: 1.51m/3y
1B Justin Smoak: 7.18m/3y
LF Michael Saunders: 1.68m/3y
SP Kyle McClellan: 17.09m/3y
2B Sean Kazmar: 970k/5y
Jamison Trahan (Who?) 3B coach, 3 years @ 1.2/year

10/29: Gene Lamont refuses Mariner's offer to manage the White Sox. Jerk.

11/01: C Steven Hill; 1.94m/4y
Manager: Tony La Russa, 3y @ 6.8/year

11/10: RP Shawn Kelley: 3.31m/4y
Bedard goes to the Braves. No offer made.

11/22: CP David Aardsma: 8.12m/2y

11/25: 3B Matt Mangini: 900k/5y

11/27: 1B Mike Carp: 80k/2y
3B Matt Tuiasosopo: 70k/2y

11/29: SP Doug Fister: 5.12m/4y

12/01: CF Greg Halmon: 960k/3y

12/03: RP Denny Bautista: 2.1m/3y

12/04: SP David Pauley: 1.57m/2y

12/06: C Steve Holm: 1.29m/3y

No players taken in Rule 5 Draft

12/10: C Jesus Sucre: 130k/3y

12/14: LF Milton Bradley takes offer from CWS

12/17: 2B Skip Schumaker: 2.01m/3y

12/28: SS Luis Rodriguez: 990k/3y

01/11: SP Chris Young takes Pirates offer. Damn!

01/14: CF Nate McClouth: 5.16m/2y (Probably going to play LF with Snider at DH.)

01/17: SS Jonathan Herrera: 1.89m/3y

01/23: RF Matt Gamel: 1.57m/4y

02/03: 2B Joaquin Arias: 1.57m/4y

02/11: SP Luis Atilana: 5.48m/5y
3B Ross Mitchell: 2.05m/5y
CF Jason Pridie: 2.36m/4y

02/15: Arbitration: Aaron Laffey, 440k

02/16: Arbitration: Brandon League, 1.4m

02/18: Renew Lcuas French for 400k, Renew Scott Patterson for 110k.

---------------------------------

No big splash as I was hoping, though getting LaRussa on board was a pretty big deal. McClouth will contribute, and Schumaker is likely to win a good number of starts at second. Otherwise, this is still looking like about a 70-win team on the surface with .500 being a vague possible best.

14-15 Spring Training just confirms the impression. We have surprisingly hot bats for the month, though. Gutierrez knocks 4 homers, and five other players have 3. Maybe we can generate some runs for Felix and McClellan.

-------------------

2012: LaRussa's Mariners.
 
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TravTex

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Random News: The Mariners trade for Jose Iglesias. The man is a defensive nightmare, and immediately finds himself as the starting SS for the M's. Unfortunately, the '12 M's are 4-8.
 
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TravTex

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Yeah, Ichiro 2012 is an aging outfielder in a contract year. He's hitting .400-plus early in the season, but he's coming off a year of hitting in the .270's with only 30 stolen bases (Matching Lawrie's rookie campaign). I could probably make out pretty well with trading him closer to the All Star break to some random desperate team looking for that final piece for a playoff run.

Would like to see him retire a Mariner, but it could certainly hamper things.
 

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whoah, that was weird. I started reading your first post and before you know it I had read all of them haha. Very intriguing even though I've never played for some reason. keep it coming!
 
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TravTex

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7-16 moving into the beginning of the month. These guys are frustrating as hell. Pitching is pretty solid, yet all of these supposedly solid bats are mustering around a .230 batting average. Mariner fans do not seem to be nearly as surprised as I am. Ahem.

Looking at development, it's obvious Ichirio is on the downslide. Sure, he's solid now, but his skills are deteriorating. The Iglesias trade also netted us one Dayan Viciedo, so all is not lost if Ichiro does find himself on the trading block. It'd hurt, but another 100-game losing season might hurt a bit more.

None of our bats are showing up, so far. Smoak and Snider are quiet. One of the best hitters on the young season is Steven Hill, and that should tell you how anemic the offense has been.

The M's are settling solidly into a rut. I've got 0-3 starters with sub-4 ERAs.
 
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TravTex

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The team is flooded with 'A' potential players, most of whom aren't bringing their 'A' game. Some of last year's 'A' guys are now 'B' guys, and a couple of 'B' guys are now 'C' guys. It's like the move up to the Pacific Northwest sucks the baseball talent right out of ya.

LaRussa is undoubtedly wondering what possessed him to take the job.

05/2012: State of the M's

SP:

Felix: Underperforming to a great degree. Last season's 11-12 record isn't near as much of a concern as his increased ERA. His contract is eating up 12-15 million dollars per year for the next four or five years. He's starting out 2012 1-2 with an ERA over 4.20

Pineda: Still tons of potential, but his velocity and K's have tailed off a bit in the offseason after a nagging shoulder injury. Losing velocity could be a KILLER for this guy, as his main problem so far has been over-reliance on his fastball.

Fister: Above and beyond the call of duty. Second best pitcher in the rotation so far this season, with the lowest expectation to start.

Zach Stewart: Definite improvement over his brief attempt at the bigs last season, putting up almost a 9 ERA. 0-3, but keeping his ERA under 4.00, so it's hardly his fault.

Kyle McClellan: The ace so far. 2-1, 2.96 ERA.

-----------------

RP:

Brandon League: Frustrating. The guy can give up two runs in three pitches, then lock down for a couple innings. Excellent reliever that can get erratic and give up blow-up innings.

Dan Cortes: Very promising, starting to trust the guy with higher-pressure situations.

Josh Lueke: Middle of the road, flashes of potential. Not there, yet.

Shawn Kelley: See Lueke, Josh.

David Aardsma: Need an upgrade at closer. Not bad, not dominant.

---------------

Infield:

Justin Smoak: Kid is off to a rough start, hitting under .220 through April. Too much talent to bench him, but how long does THAT hold out?

Skip Schumaker: Stop-gap to hold the position down until Ackley develops enough to take over. It's a pretty close thing, but the young converted outfielder/first basement still doesn't have the fielding part quite down.

Jose Iglesias: Pitcher's best friend, so far this year. The guy absolutely keeps runs off the board in the field. Great range, great arm, great glove. Not a horrible bat, but it's been just as iffy as everyone else's so far... at least he brings something else to the table.

Brett Lawrie: Sophmore slump. After an All-Star rookie campaign, he's come out of the gate hitting under .200.

Steven Hill: Since Olivo started tailing off, has taken over as the uncontested starting catcher. Second best batting average on the team.

-------

OF:

Ichiro: Has lost a step. Already caught stealing a couple times. Great glove, still. Hitting over .370, so is the only bat on the team. Left on base pretty often.

F. Gutierrez: Excellent fielder, but the bat hasn't been there. I'm pretty close to benching the guy, moving McClouth back over to CF, and letting Snider get back on the field. Hitting in the .120 range, it's pathetic.

Nate McClouth: Decent in the field, one of our better crappy hitters so far. Ain't great, but has a lock in the lineup by being better than putrid. .240's, 5HR for April.

Travis Snider: Not really thriving in the DH role. The kid is capable of 30-40 homers per season, and can hit for average when he has his head out of his ass. Hasn't had his head out of his ass.

Up-and-Comers:

Dayan Viciedo
Dustin Ackley
Michael Saunders
Isidro Ramirez
Luis Atilana
 

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file.php


I think your avatar fits perfectly with your last post.
 
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TravTex

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The Trade... of Ichiro



*cue dramatic music*



Okay, so despite the first couple months of suck, the '12 Mariners clawed their way back to relevance. Just after the draft, in which we selected a batch of utterly useless people that I shall not name (If you see me talking about some dude we've desperately plugged into the lineup because everyone else died, he probably came from this year's draft), we're sitting at 28-33.

Snider is starting to come alive, hitting .299 with 8 homers... at which point he immediately screws up his MCL and goes on the DL.

Before the break, I finally give up on Frank. He's still hovering around .200, and McClouth is ALSO a good center fielder, so we work to sucker some other team into dealing with him.

The Cleveland Indians step up, and we end up trading CF Franklin Gutierrez, CP David Aardsma, and 3B Brett Lawrie for CP Chris Perez and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall.

Yes, I realize Lawrie was an All Star as a rookie last season, but he's been less-than stellar this season. Chisenhall is a comparable hitter, a better fielder, and has a better contract. Perez makes Aardsma look rather incompetent. He's sporting a 0.93 ERA at the trade to Aardsma's 5.03. Apparently Cleveland REALLY wanted Frankie.

At the All-Star Break, we're at 43-49, riding a 7-game win streak. The only Mariner on the AS roster is newly-traded Chris Perez.

A game after play resumes... Snider and Saunders both immediately put themselves on the 60-day DL... TWO PLAYS from one another. Snider tears his hamstring sliding into home on a strech-out score. Not to be outdone, Saunders jacks himself... get this... diving back to second on a foul ball.

FUUUUUUUU....

Not long after, we trade Ichiro.

It was a tough call. I was wanting to hang on to the dude, as he crossed his 2500 hit milestone this season. Then I started floating him on the trade block, and nobody really cared. 38 year old right fielder without a great deal of power, it's a hard sell. Then along came Philly.

Trade:

RF: Dominic Brown
SP: Roy Oswalt

for

RF: Ichiro
SP: Doug Fister
SS: Carlos Triunfel

Mariners, at 45-52, now find themselves rated #2 in MLB in Starting Pitchers.
 
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TravTex

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10-game winning streak.

Post All-Star Break lineup, probably not looking to make any more moves before the end of the year.

Rotation: Felix, Oswalt, McClellan, Pineda, Stewart

Zach Stewart is a stand-out after looking like crap in his brief attempt at the majors last season. 8-4, 3.65 ERA, 96 K in 115 IP. Primary pitch is a 92-95mph sinker with 4-6 inches of late drop. Sinker, sinker, slider, sinker, slider. Pretty nasty stuff, only 25 years old. Making up for Pineda's slide toward mediocrity.

Closer Chris "Pure Rage" Perez has already topped David Aardsma's last season total saves (Granted, many of those saves were for the Indians), holding an ERA under 2.00. 26 years old, but in a contract year. Aardsma had an extra year under contract when we made the trade, but we would've been stuck with Aardsma another year, so I'm fine with having to pay up.

Infield: Smoak, Ackley/Schumaker, Iglesias, Chisenhall.

Smoak's underperforming terribly. .230's, single-digit homers at the break. Ackley and Schumaker are sharing time at second. Schu is still a better fielder, and a more consistent hitter at times. Ackley has more power and better speed.

Iglesias is a stud at shortstop, plain and simple. He's got a hoover glove, a great arm, absurd range. He's also been hitting in the .270-.280 range and is sneaking up on ten homers. Might have to find a way to keep him in the lineup even if he didn't bring a bat to the plate, just for the defense.

Chisenhall is keeping about even with Lawrie's development. He's not much different as a hitter, and doesn't have quite as much speed on the bases. He's got a better glove, and is a year older than Lawrie. On the surface, the trade is pointless, but Chisenhall -did- bring along a 4-year contract, while Lawrie was going to want to Get Paid in two years.

Outfield: Saunders/Snider, McClouth, Brown/Viciedo

Kind of a rotating mess in the outfield, after trading off Ichiro and Frank. Saunders and Snider are sharing time in left, also rotating through the DH slot. McClouth has locked down center and is showing more power than expected. Brown, the recent acquisition from the Ichiro trade... at 24 years old, the dude could turn into the Mariner's next Ken, Jr. Hits for average, hits for power, good arm, good glove, good speed.

Might be too late to turn things around THIS season, and injuries are being a bit of a problem... BUT, this is looking like a team that can contend, finally.
 
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