OOTP 8 Dynasty: The Padres (but not Madres) of 04'

[DawnBTVS]

I ran this dynasty earlier but stopped after the ill fated corrupted save file popped up. I'll be using OOTP 8 for this.

I'll likely go month by month with results as going game by game is just too arduous and tasking. All draft imports (if any) will come from the latest Lahman Database. Coaches and Scouting are checked off and typical MLB rules apply (i.e. DH in AL, none in NL). All ratings are turned off along with star ratings. When hiring a coach or scout, I'll offer them an additional $50,000 for every year increased or decreased to make it a bit more challenging to myself.

Started a simulation of the 2003 season and simmed through the season with the concept that I would take over the worst team in Major League Baseball. It all sounds so simple right? Not that many teams that can be truly awful and lay claim to horrible apathy from the fans (and media alike). Worth noting is that the worst team in 2002 was a tie between the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Detroit Tigers who both went 55-106. Milwaukee went 56-105 that year as well. Detroit's pythagorean record was even worse at 52-109!

But we're not talking about 2002. We're talking about 2003. In Real Life, the "immortal" Detroit Tigers went 43-119 and finished a mind boggling 47 games back of division winning Minnesota, who went 90-72. I never knew such ineptness could be a standard met but the Tigers rammed into it head on with flair.

That, however, was completely dismantled in the 2003 sim. The two worst teams were the San Diego Padres at 71-91 and the Los Angeles Dodgers at 72-90. San Diego actually had some decent ability as they were 8th in OBP, 2nd in Walks, 9th in Bullpen ERA, and 6th in Strikeouts. But they were far more horrible than Los Angeles, who despite ranking almost dead last in every hitting category, were almost Top 6 in every pitching category in large part thanks to their home park.

Thus the 71-91 San Diego Padres won out on the sweep stakes of obtaining their new GM in me. What a prize! And to spice things up, I'll be performing solely the role of General Manager, thus I won't have any hands on relationships in terms of how pitching staffs are set up or how lineups are set up.

Here's how the San Diego Padres stack up record wise over the past several seasons... I'll clearly have my work cut out for me as this team is now 5 seasons removed from going 98-64 and losing the World Series to those New York Yankees.
2000: 76-86
2001: 79-83
2002: 66-96
2003: 71-91 (Simmed)

It's currently October 7th so let's take a comb over of our beloved bottom feeders.

[DawnBTVS]

Jake Peavy is an ace, in theory but not quite in actuality. He threw 182 innings and had 170 K but a very solid 8.41 K/9 but also married that to a BB/9 of 4.40 and allowed 29 HR. Even with great defense, that's hard to help keep an ERA down and his 5.39 ERA shows it. Even with his struggles, he still had a respectable enough 11-13. He's also young at 22 and slated to only make the minimum.

Clay Condrey is an interesting story, despite being 27. He started only 6 games with a 5.97 ERA and 17 BB to 20 K, not a good sign. His AAA numbers do show some potential though with a 2.28 ERA in 26 starts and a K/9 of 7.36 in 170 IP. Worth keeping an eye on.

The prior GM also made a move, acquiring Mark Mulder for 11 starts but he was really great. A 4-4 record with a 3.70 ERA and a K/9 of 6.35 while allowing opponents to hit only 0.251. The downsides are that we gave up Ryan Klesko and Josh Willingham for him, and then he signed a 2 year extension worth $13.1 Million in total! At least he'll be entering his prime years with us.

Brian Lawrence was lucky (.285 BABIP, .273 OBA) but did have a 4.78 ERA and 9-17 record. This despite allowing 30 HR and only striking out 111 batters in 203.1 IP. He's arbitration eligible and only made $327K last year so he shouldn't cost much this season. If he can bounce back to his 2002 numbers (3.69 ERA and 149 K in 210 IP), he could be a monetary steal. At worse, he's a below average innings eater.

Saving the best pitcher for last, let's all brightly fawn over Adam Eaton. He went 15-11(!) with a 3.03 ERA (!!) and 170 K in 216.2 IP. Here's our true ace, folks. The scary thought is he was slightly unlucky with a .300 BABIP but still had hitters going with a .249 OBA and allowed just 12 HR. He's also arbitration eligible but made a little over $2 Million ($2,044,953 to be exact) last season. I'm hoping that the price doesn't rise too much, especially in light of Not Fox Mulder's contract extension.

[DawnBTVS]

The relievers were very solid for the team overall, not much of a surprise but again there's some potential in this group.

Somebody named Ben Howard (how bland) posted a 3.41 ERA in 33 appearances with a 8.18 K/9 despite an extremely unlucky 0.347 BABIP. He's a young 24 and could provide some long term talent for this team. He also proved Closer ability with 13 S and a 1.82 ERA in 20 games at AAA.

Mike Bynum is 25 and had a 4.26 ERA. He also had a 0.324 BABIP and I'm ready to write him off... when I see 14 K vs. 2 BB in 12.2 IP. Not something you see very often. He also had a 1.18 WHIP. Looks like the BABIP made him unluckier than usual. Should experience a bounce back year in 2004.

Mike Matthews is the first arby eligible reliever and is a ripe 30. It really showed. He had a 4.56 ERA in 75 IP and had a BB/9 of 4.68, not good at all. He also only had 60 K. Hoping he gets next to nothing.

Serving as a part time closer was the ancient Matt Herges at 33. He had 18 Saves and an 8-5 record, oof. Also a horrible 4.90 ERA in 68 IP and like Matthews, struggled with walks by giving up a free pass 30 times. Only struck out 53. And arby eligible so I'm hoping we can get some new blood in. Of course he made an eyebrow raising $2.23 Million last season. The hell?

Luther Hackman, a 29 year old was another reliable reliever with a 3.71 ERA in 87.1 IP. He allowed 13 HR but had a K/9 of 7.34, not stellar for a reliever but did have a 1.18 WHIP. He did kill righties in particular with a .557 OOPS and 39 K against 11 BB. Also arby eligible and may cost a bit more.

The mustache hero of fans everywhere, 35 year old Rod Beck is also on our team and made $1.66 Million last year. Easily our best reliever as he had a sterling 2.07 ERA in 69.2 IP despite missing all of 2002. Also had a K/9 of 10.27 with an OBA of .231. If he can put up those numbers again this season, I'll happily pay him the $1.66 Million he's scheduled to earn.

Finally we come to our quasi closer in Trevor Hoffman who was far cheaper at $525,000 than Herges but equally struggled. He had 10 saved and a 4.65 ERA in 79.1 IP, not a good sight. He also had a BB/9 of 4.66, which is a really scary sight to see out of a guy who's 36 years old.

We have some potential young arms along with a potential 1 year wonder in Rod Beck. Otherwise we'll be in a pretty tough situation if guys have to split closing duties and generally struggle with control again.

[DawnBTVS]

Our catchers can't hit, are fairly old, and can't get on base even if their contracts gave them a $5 Million bonus to top 60 walks. Just take a look at the motley crew.

Gary Bennett, Wiki Gonzalez, Miguel Ojeda, Humberto Quintero, Mike Rivera, Mike Rose, and Vance Wilson

Bennett: He was stuck at AA despite being 31. And still only hit .250 so he'll be let go to tentatively swim in the shallow pool of the shark infested waters of Free Agency.

Gonzalez: He's older than Rivera and hit worse at A with a .303 OBP and yet he made $327K last year and is schedule to earn at least that this season because he's again arbitration eligible.

Oejada: Just No. A guy who hit .190 + a .261 OBP manages to out suck Vance Wilson! And he can't play D.

Quintero: It's telling that I'm excited by a crappy hitting 24 year old at A level. His whopping stats include 9 HR with a .265 BA and .326 OBP in 343 AB. This guy, ladies and gentleman, is arguably our best hitting catcher in the entire system! And he played 69 games at DH.

Rivera: A 27 year old at A level with a .322 OBP, the true description of our entire squad offensively.

Rose: The usual suck fest at the A level.

Wilson: Age 30 with 16 HR. But then you see he hit .223 and had a .294 OBP. He couldn't even get on base 3 out of 10 times. At least he was good defensively, throwing out 46.1% of would be base stealers. You think could be a possible platoon candidate but outside of slugging .396 against RHP in 351 AB, he's a black hole hitting wise. He still made $543K last year and is arbitration eligible.

We really need a catcher. I'd ecstatically settle for cknox's Miguel Olivo after this group.

[DawnBTVS]

We have only 1 second baseman on the team in Nick Green. He had 20 doubles, 11 HR, and a .420 SLG as positives. He also had just 18 BB in 87 games and a .295 OBP while also hitting .251.

Juan Castro is listed at 3B but joined our team briefly after a stint at Cincinnati where he hit .261 with a sterling .308 OBP. Like Green, he also displayed some surprising power with a .418 SLG. He actually hit lefties well to the tune of .286/.325/.468 so hopefully gets a platoon spot. He'll also be making a decent sum of $472,500 so it'd be nice if could produce something.

Young talent like Sean Burroughs are great, especially when they can put up a .285 BA and decent .333 OBP. They're bad when they only put up a .392 SLG but there is potential as he smacked 29 doubles in 515 AB.

Let's just skip Lou Merloni for the sake of my sanity. I'll just point you to his .212/.307/.274 line and the fact he made $567,000. Needless to say, his old butt is moving on.

One of two SS, Donaldo Mendez split time between A and AA despite being 32. He had 23 doubles and 10 HR but struggled getting on base with a .311 OBP at AA and a .221 BA.

Mark Loretta is our best infielder by a mile despite playing SS. He had 17 HR on top of 54 BB and had a great line of .298/.355/.415 on the season. It's glaring that I'm excited about a guy who walks 54 times... and can almost hit .300. Of course he too was largely overpaid and is scheduled to make a crazy $7.18 Million this season.

Our outfielders are probably the best group overall. Jason Bay in LF had 37 doubles with 68 BB and a .364/.433 OBP and SLG on the season.

Shane Victorino mostly played at AA but was decent despite his young 22 age as he hit .261 and stole 12 bases in 15 opportunities.

Xavier Nady was largely disappointing walking just 22 times and putting up a .327 OBP despite a nice .279 BA.

Arbitration eligible Brian Buchanan was a surprise despite being 30 years old with a .341 OBP and 45 BB. That's all he has going for him though as he slugged .369 and tacked on a .248 BA.

So it seems that the entire San Diego Padres offense rests on the bats of Jason Giambi, freaking Mark Loretta, and Jason Bay. That sounds about right.

Next post will feature any minor league dreck that look even a quarter decent as well as the results of hopeful, ambitious extensions handed out in the hopes that fans can at least marvel that I'm willing to spend (very little) money.

[DawnBTVS]

A name I somehow managed to look over was 22 year old Oliver Perez, infamously known for a great strikeout rate and no lack of control. Nice to see that carried over despite his numbers at AAA where he threw up a 1.04 ERA with 127 K in 104 IP. In 8 starts for the big club, he went 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA with a sterling K rate of 10.19 despite a really uninspiring BB rate of 5.34. He's the 6'3" 160 pound anorexic version of Randy Johnson I guess.

Justin Huisman, a 24 year old closer at AAA also flashed potential with a 3.38 ERA and 14 Saves. He had a 31 K to 5 BB ratio and a 0.88 WHIP in 24 IP. Could be a potential September callup with another strong season (or earlier if the reliable loosely termed stars of our bullpen implode earlier).

Final player worth noting is Phil Nevin who signed a 6 year deal worth $62.87 Million and is making $10.48 Million a year. Needless to say, his .410 SLG and .698 OPS last year at age 32 was not worth it. At all.

With those 3 names out of the way, I offered several extensions to talents that impressed me that I hope can actually fulfill some semblance of hype and potential.

Despite being arbitration eligible, Adam Eaton is willing to talk over a 3 year deal worth $8.37 Million (or 2.79 per year). He made a hair over $2 Million last year and could be a steal at that rate so I'm glad to offer him the deal. I also throw in a $250,000 bonus should he win the Cy Young, doubtful but his numbers proved promising in that regard.

Oliver Perez wants a 2 year deal for $2.96 Million (1.48 per year). I offer it to him despite some minor concerns over his lack of control and the fact that his contract will be up when he's just starting to hit his prime years (25-28).

I offer a 3 year deal to Jake Peavy for $4.65 Million (1.55 per year). He's struggled a lot with his ERA but I'm hoping improved defense can fix that. I also like that he's gone 17-20 over the past 2 seasons despite being just 21 and 22 years old.

The final extension offered goes to Jason Bay who wants a 3 year contract for $14.37 Million (4.79 per year). He was one of our best hitters so I offer it and throw in a $300,000 bonus if he can reach 550 Plate Appearances. If he signs it, that'll take him through most of his prime.

[DawnBTVS]

Jason Bay, Adam Eaton, Jake Peavy, and Oliver Perez all agreed to the extensions offered to them. Their total cost for at least the next 2 seasons will be $10.61 Million with some potential bonuses pushing that total up to almost $12 Million should they be met. A really good cost for arguably our best pitcher, our best hitter, and two young starters with potential to turn into aces down the road.

We'll be losing C Gary Bennett, 3B Lou Merloni, and CF Mark Kotsay to free agency. I can see your eyes bugging at Kotsay but the guy made $6.68 Million last season while hitting .257 and tacking on a .686 OPS despite 45 BB. Not enough contact and not enough power means he's gone. He's willing to take a 3 year deal for $2.37 Million ($790,000 a year) but even then, his inability to show much power as an outfielder just isn't going to be worth it.

It's arbitration time and there are some numbers that make me cringe a little but nothing truly outlandish (unless you eye Matt Herges but I'm not). Brian Buchanan and Matt Herges are the big money makers, garnering $1.67 Million and $1.78 Million respectively. Vance Wilson will make $434,765 and probably stay on just due to his defensive reputation. Luther Hackman gets $327,240 much to my pleasure although mediocre starter Brian Lawrence gets $828,000. Finally Mike Matthews will make $535,500 this season and will likely stay on the roster due to his decent K/9 peripheral.

As we hit free agency, we are surprisingly middle of the pack in regards to team payroll sitting at $64.539 Million but that's largely bolstered by the huge salaries of Jason Giambi, Phil Nevin, and Mark Loretta who are all making a combined $32.838 Million. That's just over half of the entire team payroll including managers and scouts! We'll have roughly an additional $47 Million to make moves to try and bolster the squad through free agency.

Onwards, we shuffle!

The big keys are getting hitting depth (especially at Catcher) and some younger arms at middle relief.

[DawnBTVS]

Needless to say, the luminary big names like Cliff Floyd, Garret Anderson, and Adrian Beltre won't even give us a cursory glance so I quickly shuffle over to the list of Catchers. I spot a familiarly intriguing name in Scott Hatteberg but he wants way too much money, as does Bengie Molina who smacked 22 HR. Slightly dismayed at the hostile reactions to any attempts at communication, I spy Robert Fick who was 29 years old. He only hit .253 but had 14 HR and more importantly, walked 51 times. I throw him a three year $7.11 Million (2.37 per year) deal that he desires and continue on.

2B Jerry Hairston wants a one year deal worth $770,000. He's got some decent doubles power, is entering his prime, and walked a fair amount (43) despite a low BA so I figure, what's the harm and offer him the moolah.

A minor league deal gets thrown to Russ Springer who's old but that 0.86 ERA is really hard to overlook, even if it was at the AAA level.

Our final offer goes to Jay Powell for one year at $530,000. He put up a 2.20 ERA at AAA last year at age 31 but has shown good major league ability in 2001 and 2002 so it's worth seeing if he can give us anything in 2004.

[DawnBTVS]

Our first signee is Robert Fick. Glad to have a Catcher who can not only get on base with a walk but also shows some home run power as well. Jerry Hairston soon follows as does Jay Powell and Russ Springer. The foursome will earn a total of just $3.67 Million for the 2004 season.

The biggest contract signed thus far goes to Geoff Jenkins thanks to the San Francisco Giants. He signed a seven year deal worth $161.7 Million! Last year he had a .944 OPS while batting .338 with 23 HR.

To make room for Powell, I decide to controversially put Trevor Hoffman on waivers in hopes that he can land in AAA. I also send Miguel Ojeda down to AAA to create an extra roster spot.

I decide I could use another first baseman to join Jason Giambi so I throw out a one year deal to Sean Casey worth $780,000. He was at AAA for almost half the year with Cincinnati but did manage to hit .319/.358/.412 in just 216 AB with the Reds with 11 BB in 216 AB. He largely was in against RHP and it showed with a .339/.380/.438 line. If he can give us similar production, it'd be well worth the price and more.

I also throw minor league deals to Morgan Burkhart (43 BB and .768 OPS at A level), 39 year old reliever Roberto Hernandez (2.66 ERA at AA) and Kevin Ohme (3.32 ERA and 29 S at AA), a 32 year old Closer.

[DawnBTVS]

As expected, Morgan Burkhart and Roberto Hernandez are less than enthused with our contract offers and proceed to tell me so through very harsh words.

Also the Philadelphia Phillies claimed Trevor Hoffman off of waivers. Sean Casey also signs his contract, thereby pretty much giving us what should be our starting 25 man roster when Opening Day arrives. We've added some solid bats in Fick and Casey while getting some good depth at the relief spot in Springer and Powell.

Also decided to do a little cleaning up in the minors by releasing without any cost SP Carlton Loewer, SP Brian Tollberg, and C Mike Rose. I also put Mike Matthews on waivers with the hopes he'll sneak through so I can shunt him down to AAA and call up Closer Justin Huisman who is not only much younger, by six years, but also was lights out at AAA and deserves a chance to replace the departed Trevor Hoffman.

Kevin Ohme signs and will start the year as the Closer at AAA. Matthews made it through waivers and I quickly stashed him down at AAA to join the other bevy of relievers including Russ Springer, Jay Witasick, Brandon Villafuerte and Clint Nageotte.

Clay Condrey has one option year left, which is absolutely perfect because Mark Buehrle is on waivers from the White Sox. He's a young 24 years of age and had a 3.85 ERA with 12 wins last year, including 104 K in 198.2 IP. He's also fairly cheap, making just $1.79 Million for the 2004 season. I can't click the claim button fast enough. A scant three days later and we win out, claiming another young arm who could be a stud.

Next post will be a preview of the National League West and your one and only San Diego Padres!

[DawnBTVS]

The Arizona Diamondbacks won the division last year and show no signs of slowing down. Their strength is two top of the rotation stars in Curt Schilling and Brandon Webb. Edgar Gonzalez and Elmer Dessens were pretty standard league average and Chris Capuano was simply awful.

Their bullpen is arguably one of the best in MLB with Byung-Hyun Kim prior to his meltdowns, Jose Valverde, Matt Mantei, and Scott Service all proving to be extremely good.

They have little at Catcher and FA signee Javy Lopez can give them a .360+ SLG and absolutely nothing else, but at least there's power there. Carlos "Yogi Bear" Baerga was a find last year with a .319 BA and .863 OPS but to expect that to continue is asking a lot out of a first baseman. They also have power thanks to David Wright at 3B who was drafted then missed 8 months with an injured labrum, Luis Gonzalez, J.D. Drew, and Raul Mondesi.

PREDICTION: 88 Wins, 74 Losses. Very solid talent in the staff and at the plate makes them the odds on favorites.

In second place came the San Francisco Giants. They too have a good core of starters in Kevin Correia, Kirk Rueter, and Jerome Williams along with a modestly talented bullpen thanks to names like Tim Worrell and Joe Nathan.

While they don't show a lot of pop in the HR department, they can get on base thanks to a who's who of older veterans. Apparently San Francisco thought they were playing in 1995 with names like J.T. Snow, Rafael Palmeiro, Craig Biggio, Barry Bonds, and Marquis Grissom. With that offense though comes some form of veteran savvy intangibleness (that could probably be measured... as in guys walk more as they get older as stated in Moneyball) so this team still poses a dangerous threat but if age catches up, they could spiral horribly.

PREDICTION: 83 Wins, 79 Losses. Pitching can hold up enough to counteract any aging meltdowns.

Colorado was merely 2 games above average last year. Their pitching doesn't inspire much fear due to playing at Coors Field, despite the surprising 3.82 ERA from Darren Oliver. They have some talent in Closer Brian Fuentes but their talent still rests solely with their bats. Todd Helton, Kazuo Matsui and his 17 HR(!), Juan Uribe and his 15 HR(!), and Larry Walker all provide the ability to hit almost 20 HRs if not more a season. Think of them as a less talented San Francisco Giants and their record will show it.

PREDICTION: 73 Wins, 89 Losses. The lack of pitching and extreme home park will hurt them towards the end of the year.

The Los Angeles Dodgers had great pitching but still finished with only 1 win more than us. They don't have much in the rotation outside of A.J. Burnett and Wilson Alvarez but their bullpen is their greatest strength thanks to their home park. Guys like Guillermo Mota, Paul Quantrill, Paul Shuey, and of course Closer Eric Gagne make the late innings a beast to get through if you're in a close game.

Unfortunately they don't have much of an offense to speak of. They have next to zero power but Scott Podsednik can hit over .300 and both Kevin Millar and Dave Ross combined for 30 HR last season. Outside of those guys, Cesar Izturis relies on his high batting average and Brian Jordan can get on base but had just 2 HR in 225 AB last year.

PREDICTION: 66 Wins, 96 Losses. Their bullpen can keep them afloat but the lack of depth in the rotation and lack of power will doom them.

Finally we come to the San Diego Padres, a team that's 18th in MLB with a payroll around $70 Million. There's some good power to be found as 7 players managed to crack double digits in HRs but the ability to get on base remains a looming question. Robert Fick offers power and OBP but Sean Casey has struggled with any power output. As long as they have Jason Giambi, they can be dangerous but it remains to be seen if the offense has taken any steps forward.

The starters are rather solid up and down the line with young arms in Mark Buehrle and Jake Peavy being relied on to take big steps. The bullpen remains arguably the best part of the team but there are questions surrounding who gets the vacated Closer job after Trevor Hoffman was grabbed off waivers. Justin Huisman has no major league experience but Rod Beck does. His great numbers in more IP may prove to be needed more, though.

PREDICTION: 75 Wins, 87 Losses. Not a drastic improvement over last year but the talented Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants will keep them from making any serious run.

Things of Note
Mark Mulder is the number one in the rotation while Mark Buehrle will take over the fourth spot. Oliver Perez will start the year off at AAA and Justin Huisman will kick off the year in the role of Closer.

There will be a platoon as Sean Burroughs will see time against RHP and Phil Nevin will take the 3B spot against LHP. The same will occur with Robert Fick against RHP and Vance Wilson against LHP as well as in CF with Xavier Nady against RHP and Jerry Hairston against LHP.

Personally, being a fan of utilizing platoons, I'm most curious to see how the season ends up.

[DawnBTVS]

I created a 30 team College feeder league as well and we'll see how that goes when future drafts take place.

We're sitting at 12-12 after the first month of the season. Although our pitching has struggled (12th in ERA, 16th in Starter ERA), our bullpen has been absolutely remarkable sitting with a 2.62 team ERA. We're doing well in HRA with 24, good for seventh place but the walks are a problem as we're fifteenth with 96.

On the other hand, our hitting has been tremendous. We're third in OBP at .357 and seventh in OPS at .781.

Jason Giambi paces our club with a .944 OPS and 4 HR with 15 RBI. Slugging SS Mark Loretta is hitting .341 with 11 doubles and 12 BB vs. 9 K. Jason Bay has 3 HR and 17 RBI too. All of our free agent pickups are paying off well in the early going. Robert Fick has a .814 OPS with 11 B vs. 8 K and 8 RBI. Jerry Hairston has 7 RBI along with a .361 OBP and finally Sean Casey has a .400 OBP in only 16 AB.

We've even got some speed on the basepaths thanks to Nick Green who's stolen 10 of 12 bases and thrown in a .400 SLG too (although his .298 OBP is horrible).

Pitching wise is a completely different story. Adam Eaton is our best starter with a 4.41 ERA in just 3 starts. He and Mark Buehrle (5.68 ERA) both have more walks than strikeouts. Jake Peavy has been up and down with a 6.58 ERA and 19 BB vs. 26 K while both Brian Lawrence and Mark Mulder have been unlucky as both guys have solid K to BB ratios (21:7 for Lawrence, 31:10 for Mulder).

As mentioned earlier, however, our bullpen has been outstanding. We have 4 pitchers with an ERA lower than 1.30. Rod Beck continues to pitch superbly with a 1.29 ERA and 16 K vs. 3 BB. New Closer Justin Huisman has only 8 K vs. 5 BB but has a 0.66 ERA and 6 Saves. Matt Herges has also bounced back nicely with 12 K vs. 5 BB and an ERA of 0.64. Jay Powell has struggled with a 5.00 ERA but does have 9 K in 9 IP.

In the minor league spotlight, Oliver Perez is pitching well at AAA with a 2.79 ERA and 44 K vs. 13 BB in 42 IP. Russ Springer has a 0.00 ERA in 10.1 IP as well. Ryan Howard is hitting .358 in 109 AB although he only has 6 BB. At AA, Shane Victorino is progressing nicely with 12 BB vs. 16 K and a .324 BA to go with his .859 OPS.

[DawnBTVS]

On May 29th we lost Adam Eaton to dead arm syndrome for 2 weeks. Not a good sign to see this early in the year. He had a 4.17 ERA in 8 starts and just 41 IP.

I decide to call up Roger Deago in part because he has 3 option years left. He's 4-3 with a 4.30 ERA at AAA.

On the month, we finished with a record of 24-27, sitting us in third place behind Los Angeles and Colorado. We're tied with San Francisco. Just goes to show how good my predicting skills are.

We're hitting really well but struggling as a whole on the pitching side of things. We're dead last in Starter ERA at 6.31, 13th in Runs Allowed with 288, and 13th in Walks Allowed with 193.

Mark Mulder is 4-6 with a 7.07 ERA largely as a result of allowing 98 hits and 12 HR in 71.1 IP. It's clear that our defense is becoming a fair problem as he has 52 K vs. 18 BB. Jake Peavy is 4-4 with a 6.51 ERA but has struggled with control (53 K vs. 43 BB). Brian Lawrence is 4-3 with a 5.68 ERA and like Mulder, has allowed a lot of hits with 67 in 52.1 IP. Otherwise his peripherals don't look that bad with 5 HRA and 33 K vs. 13 BB. Finally we come to Mark Buehrle who has a 1-6 record and a 7.35 ERA in 52.2 IP. He's been otherwise horrible with 18 K vs. 23 BB (Yes, more walks than strikeouts).

Luckily we have a crew of stand out relievers. I decide to Luther Hackman on waivers and designate for assignment due to his 8.22 ERA in 23 IP and 17 K vs. 14 BB numbers. I call up Russ Springer who had a 0.00 ERA and 14 Saves at AAA in 22.1 IP. Our best reliever is a surprise as Matt Herges has fashioned a 1.89 ERA in 33.1 IP of work. [b]Mike Bynum[b] has a 2.45 ERA with a K/9 of 8.18 and Ben Howard has a 3.12 ERA despite only 10 K vs. 10 BB. Rod Beck has dropped off somewhat but still sports a 3.13 ERA and a K/9 of 8.94. Finally Jay Powell has improved up to a 4.15 ERA with 19 K in 21.2 IP.

Justin Huisman has been an incredible replacement of Trevor Hoffman. He has 14 Saves and a 1.09 ERA with just 21 HA in 33 IP and 17 K. For those curious, Hoffman has been changed to a normal reliever with Philadelphia and has fashioned a 4.37 ERA with 17 BB vs. 16 K in 22.2 IP.

While our relievers have been great, our hitting has dramatically improved as well. Jason Giambi remains a star with a .319/.469/.500 line and 8 HR. He also has 39 BB vs. 34 K. Phil Nevin is hitting .306/.341/.553 with 4 HR in only 85 AB. Xavier Nady largely facing RHP, is raking them to the tune of a .340/.385/.531 line in 147 AB with 4 HR and 11 BB. Mark Loretta has developed an eye and has a .389 OBP and .433 SLG to go with his 26 BB vs. 25 K. Sean Burroughs is also killing RHP to the tune of .318/.369/.396 with 9 BB vs. 18 K in 154 AB. Robert Fick has been a steal with 29 BB vs. 14 K and a .405 OBP. Jason Bay has a .345 OBP and .447 SLG along with 7 HR and 24 BB. Nick Green has even managed to raise his OBP up to .322 along with a .460 SLG. His base prowess has dropped a bit as he has 18 SB in 26 SBC (69%). Ideally, he'll have to be around 73-74% for it to be successful in the long run. Jerry Hairston also has a .361 OBP with 10 BB and has hit LHP very well with a .366/.409/.537 line in 41 AB. Vance Wilson still sucks but has given us a .403 SLG and is hitting LHP well with a .303 BA and .515 SLG in 33 AB. Brian Buchanan has been largely awful but Sean Casey has largely struggled due to the lack of AB (33) and largely facing RHP with 32 AB vs. 1 AB against LHP.

At the AAA level, standouts include Clay Condrey with a 3.07 ERA and 56 K in 73.1 IP, Oliver Perez with a 6-4 record and 2.00 ERA along with an insane 95 K in 85.2 IP. Jay Witasick has a 1.21 ERA and 35 K in 22.1 IP. Ryan Howard is hitting .321/.376/.404 but only has 2 HR. The upside is that he has 19 BB and 20 SB in 28 SBC.

I decide to promote Shane Victorino from AA to AAA. He was hitting .317/.364/.491 in 224 AB with 15 Doubles, 6 HR, 16 BB, and 7 SB in 10 SBC. I also promote both Humbero Quintero and his .328/.384/.436 line and Kahlil Greene and his .327/.403/.405 line from A to AA.

[DawnBTVS]

We kick off the post with the Major League Draft, full of young hungry college players with only 7 rounds devoted to picks (if the NFL can do 7 rounds with a 53 man roster, we can do it with a 25 man roster!) Also Luther Hackman made it through waivers and was optioned down to AAA. Also Adam Eaton made his return from the DL on 6/13. Roger Deago in his lone start went 2.2 IP with 9 hits and 3 BB. Not a single strikeout recorded.

Since we were so awful last year, we not so surprisingly get the first pick in the draft. Our head scout likes SP Paul Maholm who's a stud at 6'2 and 225. Unfortunately, his GB rate was only 46%. I like 22 year old SP Scott Baker a little more. He has a 57% ground ball rate and can get his fastball anywhere from 92-94 MPH.

We continue down the rotation path, selecting Joe Saunders and his 61% groundball rate with our second round pick. He can also get it from 91-93 MPH.

With our third round pick, we need some depth at 3B so we select Andy Marte, young at 20 years old with a slight frame but should fill out as he grows older.

We bolster our relief corps a little with the selection of Joey Devine, a potential future Closer. A groundball rate of 61% is great to go along with a fastball that can touch 99 on the gun.

Fifth round becomes CF Brandon Watson, a LH bat who hits to all fields and is still fairly young at 22 years old. Gives us some minor league depth in the outfield.

Our sixth round pick is a 1B named Adam Greenberg, another LH bat who can also hit to all fields. He's 23 but his small stature at 5'8 180 should help him draw more walks than normal.

Our final pick in the draft is another SP in Sean Henn, a 23 year old lefty with command of 3 pitches and a 57% ground ball rate. Not much on the gun, topping out at 90 MPH, but we're hopeful his deception can fool hitters.

With the draft over, all 7 of our picks will start their careers off at the Single A level.

On 6/23, Jason Giambi leaves me a voicemail saying he's far too good for the Padres organization. He's hitting .293/.454/.450 with 9 HR in 222 AB but he's also 33 years old and making an exhorbitant amount of money at slightly more than $15 Million per season. I decide to shop him around and see the offers we get. We still have Sean Casey who's put up a .344 OBP in just 54 AB against RHP.

We get a deluge of offers, to no surprise really.

The deal that intrigues me most is one offered by the Los Angeles Dodgers. They're willing to package A.J. Burnett who's 4-6 with a 5.49 ERA and more BB than K but the key guy is Catcher Dave Ross. He's clearly hampered by Dodger Stadium as he's hitting .276/.351/.698 on the road with 15 HR in 116 AB. And he's a CATCHER. I also throw in Mark Mulder, who's been horrendous with us to the tune of a 4-10 record and 7.57 ERA. Our budget room would improve by just over $11.2 Million with this trade as well and give us a proven power bat at a historically weak hitting position excluding maybe a handful of names as well as a statistical improvement at one spot in the rotation.

And our fan interest plummets because they think a 33 year old making $15 Million should stay on a team struggling to win games so long as he complains behind the scenes. After the trade, Sean Casey and Xavier Nady will platoon at 1B and Dave Ross will be the de facto starter at C, hitting 5th against RHP and 8th against LHP.

As we close June out, we've plummeted to dead last in the NL West with a 31-46 record but in some positive optimism, we're only 11 GB of the 1st place Dodgers who are 41-34.

Just to show how good the hitting has been for our team, even Jake Peavy and Mark Buehrle have combined for a BA of .418 in 55 AB including 2 HR by Peavy! Who needs Mike Hampton when we have our very own star slugger.

Nick Green is hitting .286/.329/.460 with 7 triples and 7 HR. He also has 27 SB in 36 chances for a success rate of 75%. Jason Bay remains our best HR threat with 11 on the season and a line of .289/.370/.455. He also leads the team in RBI with 51, just one ahead of Green. Jerry Hairston is hitting .272/.332/.390 with 17 doubles while continuing to rake LHP to the tune of .351/.406/.491 in 57 AB. Mark Loretta also has 17 doubles and 30 BB vs. 37 K. He's hitting .264/.340/.356. Xavier Nady has 26 XBH and a .406 SLG while hitting RHP to a .276 BA and .737 OPS. Sean Burroughs is our best contact man with a .329/.385/.421 line with 235 AB (93%) coming against RHP. He's hitting .323/.380/.400 against them! Robert Fick continues to produce a great .368 OBP with 35 BB vs. 25 K and has even added 4 HR. Both Brian Buchanan and Phil Nevin continue to struggle as neither has even a .300 OBP. Buchanan's hitting LHP better with a .792 OPS though while Nevin also has an .809 OPS against LHP. Sean Casey has largely faced RHP and put up a .621 OPS but still hasn't found much power. Finally Dave Ross in a mere 21 AB does have a .381 SLG with 1 HR.

Adam Eaton has been the lone bright spot in our rotation with a 3.52 ERA in 11 starts and just 5 HRA in 61.1 IP. Brian Lawrence is 4-7 with a 5.50 ERA, Mark Buehrle is 4-8 with a 5.53 ERA, Jake Peavy is oddly 6-7 but has a 6.32 ERA, and A.J. Burnett went 1.2 IP with 5 HA and 1 K vs. 2 BB in his lone start. His ERA closely resembled that of Deago.

But we do have a fabulous bullpen, although they've started to fall off a bit. Mike Bynum has a 1.96 ERA with 35 K in 36.2 IP. Closer stud Justin Huisman has 17 S and a 2.23 ERA in 40.1 IP. Rod Beck has a 2.68 ERA with 39 K in 43.1 IP. Finally Matt Herges is 5-0 with a 3.12 ERA and 31 K in 49 IP. Our strugglers include Ben Howard with a 4.21 ERA, Jay Powell with a 5.30 ERA, and Russ Springer with a 5.79 ERA in 9.1 IP.

On the minor league level, SP Oliver Perez is 7-7 with a 2.86 ERA. Jay Witasick has a 1.00 ERA and 8 S in 36 IP. Ryan Howard is hitting .300/.358/.399 but only has 4 HR in 323 AB. At AA, Kahlil Greene in 100 AB is hitting .340/.396/.460 with 2 HR. Finally of our rookie draft picks, Scott Baker is impressing with a 1.00 ERA in 18 IP. Joe Saunders has a 2.08 ERA in 21.2 IP and Brandon Watson is hitting .304/.371/.375 with 5 BB vs. 6 K in 56 AB.

For those curious, Mark Mulder made 1 start and put up a 2.25 ERA in 8 IP but had just 2 K and allowed 2 HR. Jason Giambi is hitting .435/.548/.478 in 23 AB with 0 HR. Interestingly, he's also paired up with Fred McGriff who's also had just 23 AB after being called up from AA.

[DawnBTVS]

Over 100 views! Thanks.

July starts off ominously when Brian Buchanan goes out for 3 weeks with a torn thigh muscle on July 5th (that can't be good). He had a .712 OPS with 6 HR in 73 games.

Given the vacant roster spot, I decide to call up Oliver Perez and make him a middle reliever. He'll get some valuable experience and his strikeout ability will be better served there in the short term.

In more positive news, we had Justin Huisman make the All-Star team along with Dave Ross, probably more for his numbers with the Dodgers than us but I'll take all the credit of course.

On July 13th, scout Jeremiah Fisher says his crew has pinpointed a release issue with Mike Bynum but corrected it and he should improve. He already has sterling numbers as a reliever but if it makes him even better, I'll gladly accept it.

On July 25th, Buchanan is eligible to come off the DL, putting us in a quandary. Oliver Perez actually started 2 of 3 games and put up a 0.84 ERA with 10 K vs. 6 BB in 10.2 IP. I decide to send Brian Lawrence down to AAA after his 4-9 record with a 6.00 ERA for us in 20 starts. His issue was mainly the HR with 16 in 105 IP.

Given that he's 28 years old, I decide to see what we can get by shopping Lawrence around. The Boston Red Sox are offering up 3B Dallas McPherson, a 24 year old who played in Single A last year and is currently in AA this season. Between the two leagues, he's hit 16 HR in 568 AB with 23 Doubles and 54 BB vs. 80 K. I decide to complete the deal and it saves us slightly more than $301K.

At the end of July, we're still in last place with a 41-63 record (Just 34 W off my prediction... still do-able!) and we've dropped to 14.5 GB.

The Rotation
Oliver Perez has a 1.45 ERA in 3 starts but 0 W and 0 L. He has 13 K in 18.2 IP for a K/9 of 6.43, not bad. Adam Eaton is 2-6 with a 4.20 ERA but has 42 BB in 83.2 IP. A.J. Burnett has bounced back and has a 2-1 record with a 4.39 ERA in 26.2 IP. Mark Buehrle is 5-10 with a 5.32 ERA while Jake Peavy is 7-11 with a 5.69 ERA. In 43 starts, they've combined to give up 35 HR and Peavy has walked 70 in 118.2 IP for a BB/9 of 5.33. Awful.

The Bullpen
The saving grace of our squad with Justin Huisman having a 2.13 ERA and 20 S. Rod Beck has a 2.38 ERA with 54 K in 56.2 IP and Mike Bynum has a 3.00 ERA with 46 K in 48 IP. Ben Howard, Jay Powell, and Russ Springer all continue to struggle as they have ERAs of 5.15, 5.19, and 5.32 respectively.

The Lumber
Dave Ross has cooled off a bit since joining us with a .243/.294/.378 line in 111 AB but does have 2 HR. Robert Fick continues to be a great find with a .729 OPS and 6 HR to go along with 42 BB. Vance Wilson at least gives us a .402 SLG with 4 HR in 107 AB. Sean Casey continues to disappoint with a .236/.299/.309 line and it's clear that Ryan Howard will get a shot when September call ups occur. Nick Green continues to be a star with a .780 OPS and 10 HR to go with 35 SB in 45 chances (77.8% Success Rate). Now if only he could walk a little more as he has 28 in 415 AB. Jerry Hairston also has a .728 OPS and thrown in 5 triples for added measure. Mark Loretta has a .719 OPS with 24 doubles and 41 BB. Juan Castro has been a fine backup with a .318 BA and .379 SLG in 66 AB. Sean Burroughs continues to kill with a .330/.385/.438 line and 24 XBH in 324 AB. Xavier Nady has struggled against LHP but has a .376 SLG on the year with 7 HR. Jason Bay continues to be worth the gamble during the offseason hitting .301/.393/.483 with 15 HR and is tied with Green for the team lead in RBI. Phil Nevin continues to be the outfield suck machine getting equal PT against both LHP and RHP, which I can't fathom why. He's "better" against LHP... which means .231/.297/.396. I may try and shop him around during the offseason. Brian Buchanan has been slightly better with a .721 OPS and has 7 HR. He's killed lefties to a .274/.370/.500 line but struggled horribly against RHP.

The Lower Levels
Jay Witasick has a 1.02 ERA and 14 S and will be a call up in September. Ryan Howard is hitting .308/.362/.415 with 7 HR and 47 SB in 61 chances (77.0% Success Rate). At AA, Dallas McPherson with a .340/.396/.463 line, SS Donaldo Mendez with a .258/.342/.430 line, and SS Kahlil Greene with a .305/.360/.414 line all will be promoted to AAA at the start of August. At A, Scott Baker will be promoted to AA after a 6-0 record and 0.82 ERA in 65.2 IP. He also has 75 K vs. 9 BB. Joe Saunders will join him after putting up a 2.47 ERA and 4-2 record in 62 IP. Also joining them will be Andy Marte with a .293/.349/.427 line in 157 AB and Brandon Watson with a .315/.383/.400 line in 165 AB. Joey Devine has only 3 K in 18.1 IP, which is largely why he'll remain at A despite 13 S and a 0.98 ERA.

[DawnBTVS]

Good news early as Jeremiah Fisher lets me know that Brandon Watson has started becoming more selecting and laying off bad pitches.

At the end of August, we're 54-77 and improved ever so slightly to 14 GB of the 68-63 Colorado Rockies. Good news is that we are 7-3 in our last 10 games, though. Our struggles have largely been in 1 run games (16-25) and a horrible June (7-19). We went 13-14 in August though and hopefully can improve on that in September.

The SP has also been gradually improving. Combined they are 24-35 (40.7%) but we have 3 starters under a 5.00 ERA with Jake Peavy sitting at 5.12. Oliver Perez has been our best Starter right now with a 3-2 record and a 3.54 ERA in 9 starts. Adam Eaton also has a 3.54 ERA but a 4-6 record. A.J. Burnett is 3-1 but has a 4.82 ERA in 9 starts.

On the relief side, Justin Huisman is up to 23 S and a 2.53 ERA in 64 IP. Matt Herges and Mike Bynum have ERAs of 2.76 and 3.06 along with a 8-5 combined record. Rod Beck has dropped off a bit but still has a 3.73 ERA.

The hitters continue to produce on the other hand. Nick Green is hitting .290/.333/.470 with 15 HR and 88 RBI. He also has 45 SB in 59 SBO (76.3%). Jerry Hairston is hitting .271/.353/.392 with 7 HR and 49 RBI. Mark Loretta is hitting .286/.357/.398 with 5 HR and 46 RBI. Jason Bay is hitting .303/.394/.468 with 18 HR and 77 RBI. Xavier Nady is hitting .271/.323/.418 with 11 HR and 60 RBI. Sean Burroughs is hitting .306/.359/.394 with 4 HR and 39 RBI. Robert Fick has found some power and is hitting .269/.357/.410 with 8 HR and 41 RBI. Sean Casey is also slowly coming around hitting .253/.326/.359 with 3 HR and 33 RBI. Finally Dave Ross continues to Slug but not offer much else with a .229/.294/.398 line and 7 HR with 34 RBI.

Here are the players getting called up for September. Reliever Jay Witasick with a 1.08 ERA in 50 IP and 12.1 K/9, 1B Ryan Howard who's been hitting .296/.350/.389 with 52 SB, and CF Shane Victorino hitting .264/.330/.370 in 254 AB with 12 SB. I've also decided to call up SP Clay Condrey and his 3.50 ERA at AAA and see if Mark Buehrle can fare better in the bullpen.

Also 1B Adam Greenberg will be promoted up to AA after hitting .333/.405/.432 with 21 BB vs. 27 K in 192 AB.

Jason Giambi with a .271/.426/.473 line (11 HR in 207 AB) has been great for the Dodgers while Mark Mulder has been decent if unspectacular with a 7-5 record and a 5.20 ERA.

[DawnBTVS]

With the end of the season upon us I decide to see who should receive extensions. An offer goes to Jay Powell for one year at $790,000. We also shoot a one year offer to Matt Herges for $2.67 Million. Sean Burroughs is arbitration eligible but I send an offer for two years worth $3.04 Million ($1.52 Million per season).

The following players will be allowed to hit free agency, either due to age or poor statistics: Russ Springer, Rod Beck, Jerry Hairston who wants to test FA, Vance Wilson, Sean Casey, Mark Loretta, Jay Witasick, and Juan Castro.

Sean Burroughs gets extended on 9/10. On 9/12, both Herges and Powell sign their extensions. The three will combine to make $4.98 Million next season.

Our final season standings: 66-96 and dead last in the NL West. We finished 9 wins back of my prediction, not bad but definitely below expectations. We closed out September and October with a 12-19 record (38.7%).

We were mostly solid offensively finishing 4th in OBP at .343 and 8th in OPS with .754. Unfortunately we finished 8th in runs scored at 809 and 16th in HR with just 134.

Pitching wise, we were just bad. Our team ERA was 14th at 4.91 and we were 13th in BB with 607 vs. 12th in K with 1071.

Here are the final numbers for our pitchers. Clay Condrey in 6 starts went 2-1 with a 3.09 ERA despite 13K vs. 24 BB. Oliver Perez went 4-4 with a 3.90 ERA and 80 K in 92.1 IP. Adam Eaton went 5-11 with a 4.04 ERA and 90 K vs. 68 BB in 151.2 IP. Jake Peavy went 9-14 with a 5.15 ERA and 179 K vs. 92 BB in 183.1 IP. Mark Buehrle went 8-14 with a 5.57 ERA and 71 K vs. 51 BB in 173 IP. Finally A.J. Burnett went 4-4 with a 6.13 ERA with 49 K vs. 52 BB in 79.1 IP.

CL Justin Huisman had 29 S and a 2.88 ERA in 75 IP. Matt Herges had a 3.35 ERA in 94 IP with 65 K. Mike Bynum had a 3.53 ERA in 74 IP with 70 K. Rod Beck had a 3.93 ERA in 87 IP with 80 K. Jay Powell, Ben Howard, Jay Witasick, and Russ Springer finished with ERAs of 4.67, 5.04, 5.25, and 6.63.

While our pitchers were up and down, mostly down, our hitting was clearly far superior. Nick Green had a .306/.348/.496 line with 200 H and 72 XBH (19 HR) with a team leading 110 RBI in 653 AB. He also had 57 SB in 72 SBA (79.2%). Jerry Hairston had a .278/.351/.393 line with 37 doubles and 56 BB vs. 81 K in 623 AB. Mark Loretta had a line of .291/.365/.403 with 42 doubles and 67 BB vs. 75 K in 595 AB. Jason Bay had a line of .308/.394/.478 with 21 HR and 104 RBI with 83 BB in 581 AB. Sean Burroughs had a line of .293/.347/.385 with 22 doubles in 512 AB. Xavier Nady had a line of .267/.320/.413 with 11 HR and 63 RBI in 487 AB. Robert Fick had a line of .272/.359/.412 with 10 HR and 53 RBI in 405 AB. Sean Casey bounced back and finished with a line of .261/.331/.358 with 17 doubles in 310 AB. Phil Nevin had a line of .240/.300/.424 with 12 HR and 43 RBI in 288 AB. Dave Ross had a line of .217/.291/.402 with 12 HR and 49 RBI in 276 AB. Finally Brian Buchanan had a line of .227/.318/.387 with 9 HR and 35 RBI in 238 AB.

Also call ups Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino hit .231/.265/.292 in 65 AB and .226/.293/.283 in 53 AB.

An upside to our season is that we did make $47.89 Million in balance and still averaged a shade under 41,000 fans per game.

The World Series champions were the Minnesota Twins defeating the Colorado Rockies 4-3 in the 2004 World Series. The Twins finished the season with a 95-67 record.

Award Winners
AL Silver Slugger - Milton Bradley who hit .329/.428/.516 with 20 HR, 100 RBI, and 24 SB.
NL Silver Slugger - Chase Utley who hit .356/.414/.645 with 40 HR and 150 RBI.
AL Cy Young - Roy Halladay went 19-10 with a 2.73 ERA and 227 K.
NL Cy Young - Dontrelle Willis went 20-6 with a 3.04 ERA and 198 K.
AL ROY - Jason Bartlett who hit .308/.328/.432 with 10 HR and 58 SB in 389 AB.
NL ROY - Adam LaRoche who hit .338/.383/.523 with 20 HR, 104 RBI, and 34 SB in 656 AB.

The offseason will see the Padres looking for defensive improvement, more home run power, and we also need a Manager, Bench Coach, Pitching Coach, and a Team Doctor.

[DawnBTVS]

To kick the offseason off in proper style, we get the arbitration hearings. Dave Ross will make $4.21 Million, Mark Buehrle will make $1.43 Million, Brian Buchanan will make $1.33 Million, A.J. Burnett will make $1.33 Million, Xavier Nady will make $972,900, and Luther Hackman will make $350,000.

I also decide to try and shop 33 year old Phil Nevin around. He's set to make $10.48 Million despite putting up a .698 OPS in 2003 and a .724 OPS in 2004. The San Francisco Giants are offering up SP Jerome Williams. He's just 22 years old and split time between the bigs (10-10 with a 4.40 ERA) and AAA where he had a 1.99 ERA in 40.2 IP. The one thing I like is that he had 139 K in slightly more than 200 IP total. The trade goes through and will give us an additional $10.48 Million in projected budget room up to over $71 Million.

I throw a one year deal worth $640,000 to SS Pokey Reese. He was awful at the plate with a .174/.250/.275 line in 69 AB but is a slick fielder, which is somewhat imperative up the middle for us. I also throw a one year deal worth $640,000 to 2B Jose Hernandez. He'll shift over to 3B and be a defensive replacement for Sean Burroughs who committed 23 errors in 131 games! And as a bonus, Hernandez put up a .364 OBP in 225 AB for Oakland. I throw a one year deal worth $690,000 to 1B Robin Ventura. Yeah, he's 37 but he's still a great fielder, can mentor Ryan Howard, and walked 46 times with 16 HR for Oakland in 377 AB last season. I also throw a one year deal worth $2.02 Million to LF Rondell White. A very good fielder, he also played between the Yankees and Seattle last year and put up 10 HR and 15 BB in just 227 AB.

Coaching wise, we also make several offers. We sign Terry Harrison as our new Manager for 5 years at $360,000 per year. He's a little aggressive on the basepaths but prefers power and OBP, making him a decent fit for us. We sign Josh Jenkins as our Pitching Coach for 1 year at $40,000. We sign Evan Starr to a 4 year deal at $370,000 per year in large part due to his love for OBP. We sign Michael Baldwin as a Scout to a 3 year deal worth $60,000 per year. Again, largely signed due to his preference for OBP. I largely want a staff of uniformity here. We sign Jerome King as a Scout to a 3 year deal for $80,000 per year. Yet another "stathead" OBP fan. Finally we sign Dennis Clark as our Team Doctor to a 5 year deal worth $160,000 per season. I have no idea how a TD can cost so much more than a scout, but whatever.

On 12/8, Ventura accepts his deal. The next day says Hernandez and Reese sign as well. Finally White signs on 12/15. The foursome will combine to make $3.99 Million while being large upgrades to our defense, which we sorely sorely needed, and giving us a little pop. I throw a one year deal worth $1.38 Million to RF Ben Grieve who hit 11 HR and had 79 BB in 488 AB last year between Tampa Bay and Anaheim. On 1/2, Grieve accepts his contract offer solidifying our 25 man roster.

Heading into Opening Day of 2005, the San Diego Padres payroll is ranked 30th at $38.50 Million! Here we go, Underdogs to the max. The Boston Red Sox have the highest payroll at $152.97 Million. That's a hair under 4X our payroll!

[DawnBTVS]

The Colorado Rockies are clearly the team to beat, coming off a World Series loss last season. Interestingly, they only went 83-79 on the season too. They're willing to spend and scarily improved their offense with the additions of Mike Piazza who's hit 30 HR the past two seasons and Jeff Kent who hit 24 HR last season for Houston. They also still have Todd Helton and Larry Walker.

Their pitching is mostly solid but unspectacular outside of Aaron Cook who put up a 3.50 ERA and relievers Joe Borowski and Brian Fuentes who threw up ERAs of 2.57 and 2.73.

Prediction: 86-76

The Los Angeles Dodgers slightly improved upon expectations last season. Their starting rotation is more marginal than Colorado's but their bullpen is stronger with guys like Guillermo Mota and his 1.59 ERA (are you kidding me?!), Eric Gagne and his 2.21 ERA, and Jose Santiago and his 2.86 ERA.

Their biggest bat, by far, remains Jason Giambi who hit 22 HR in 309 AB for them but otherwise they rely on high batting averages from Scott Podsednik, Jose Bautista who hit .338 last year, and Oscar Robles who hit .320 last season.

Prediction: 80-82

The Arizona Diamondbacks completely fell off the planet last season after a great 2003. They have some credible 20 HR power in bats like J.D. Drew, Robby Hammock who hit 23, and Bret Boone who hit 23. Javy Lopez also added 18.

Their starters like the rest of the NL West were largely average outside of Edgar Gonzalez who went 14-10 with a 3.65 ERA. Their bullpen also largely struggled with their best arm being Mike Koplove who put up just a 3.88 ERA. Curt Schilling fell back down to earth with a 12-16 record and a 4.44 ERA.

Prediction: 77-85

The San Francisco Giants were also disappointing, much like the Diamondbacks. Their starters are largely, surprise, unspectacular but Noah Lowry shows promise with a 3.97 ERA in 5 starts (11 games) last year. Their bullpen was largely very solid, resting on the arms of Scott Eyre and his 2.83 ERA, Joe Nathan and his 3.49 ERA with 14 S, and Michael Wuertz with his 3.70 ERA and 18 S.

Offensively, they have two big bats in Barry Bonds and Geoff Jenkins who combined for 58 HR last season and really not much else. Jose Cruz and Ray Durham are both quite capable of getting on base but everybody else is largely awful.

Prediction: 70-92

Finally we come to the San Diego Padres. They were fantastically awful winning just 66 games despite a rather solid offense. They have 3 players with some power in Dave Ross, Jason Bay, and Nick Green who all combined for 69 HR last year. Ben Grieve and Jose Hernandez can get on base but outside of that, the offense largely consists of a team that is the sum of its parts with reliance on platoons to mask deficiencies.

Starting pitching lacks a real standout pitcher although Oliver Perez showed some potential with a 3.90 ERA as did Clay Condrey with a 3.09 ERA in just 6 starts. The bullpen was mostly solid relying on the arms of Justin Huisman and his 2.88 ERA and Matt Herges with his 3.35 ERA.

Prediction: 75-87 (Call me an optimist but surely we can win just 9 more games, right?)

As for the Padres and what to expect. I've decided to be the "hands on" GM in the mold of Billy Beane. Basically running things but pretending through the media that Manager Terry Harrison has all control.

The rotation will feature Oliver Perez as the #1, Adam Eaton, Clay Condrey, A.J. Burnett, and finally Jake Peavy. Mark Buehrle will take over as a mop-up reliever in the bullpen largely because he inspires little confidence. Justin Huisman remains the Closer and Matt Herges will remain the #1 Setup Reliever.

Offensively, most positions will see a platoon of some sort. Catcher - Dave Ross will hit against RHP and Robert Fick will hit against LHP. First Base - Ryan Howard will hit against LHP while Robin Ventura, the better defender, will play against RHP. Third Base - Sean Burroughs will hit against RHP and Jose Hernandez will hit against LHP. The only players that will largely play full time are 2B Nick Green for his bat and he's our only 2B really, SS Pokey Reese for his glove and as he's our only real SS, LF Rondell White for his glove and small pop, CF Jason Bay for his power, and RF Ben Grieve who has offensive and defensive upside over Brian Buchanan.

Scott Baker, Kahlil Green, Shane Victorino, and Dallas McPherson will start the year at AAA. Joey Devine and Sean Henn, since converted to a reliever, will start the year off at AA.

Feel free to chime in with your own predictions and any players you're cheering on.

[DawnBTVS]

Almost over 200 views, appreciate the people following and hope you're enjoying this. We zip through April and finish with a 12-12 record, the same number as the start of the 2004 season. One positive sign is that we're 5-1 in games decided by one run. Followers will know how awful we were last year in that category.

Hitting wise, we're up and down as to be expected with a small sample size. Rondell White has been tearing things up with 6 HR and 13 RBI while Nick Green, Ryan Howard, and Sean Burroughs have combined to steal 27 bases and only been caught 3 times. Ben Grieve has put up a .347 OBP with 10 BB vs. 17 K and Jason Bay is hitting .301/.414/.446 with 14 RBI. Ryan Howard is off to a hot start hitting .344/.375/.377 while Dave Ross struggles but is slugging .345. Pokey Reese, Robin Ventura, and Jose Hernandez aren't doing much with their bats yet but their defense has been solid. Robert Fick has also struggled but does have 2 HR and 6 BB vs. 10 K.

Pitching wise, Oliver Perez and Adam Eaton are struggling in part due to allowing 11 HR combined in 11 starts. Promising is that Perez does have 35 K in 26.1 IP. Clay Condrey has gone 3-0 with a 3.49 ERA while Jake Peavy is 1-2 with a 4.32 ERA and A.J. Burnett is 2-2 with a 4.45 ERA. The bullpen remains very, very solid with Justin Huisman getting 6 S and a 0.00 ERA in 9.1 IP. Ben Howard, Matt Herges, Mark Buehrle, and Mike Matthews have combined to put up an ERA of 2.99 in 88.1 IP.

At AAA, Dallas McPherson is hitting .301/.345/.379 in 103 AB while Shane Victorino is hitting .265/.315/.500 in 102 AB. At AA, Joey Devine has a 0.82 ERA in 11 IP with 5 S. Adam Greenberg is hitting .290/.364/.458 in 107 AB while Brandon Watson is hitting .274/.342/.330 in 106 AB.