[CBeisbol]

What Really Happened:
Disaster! 99 losses.
The dream outfield of Eric Davis, Brett Butler and Darryl Strawberry sputters.

What Happened in OOTP:
Coming off a 110 win season but a playoff disappointment, we have some medium size decisions to make.

What to do with Mike Morgan and Eddie Murray are the biggest.
Morgan has been superb (leading the NL in ERA the last 2 seasons, 13.6 WAR during those seasons) but is going to be 32.
Murray had a terrible 1991 (.242/.292/.399 for a 99 wRC+).

I think about moving Hollins to 1B to replace Murray - but worry that his bat isn't really enough for 1B.* I think about moving Bonilla to 1B and finding someone for RF.* I think about re-signing Murray.* I think about signing free agent catcher Mickey Tettleton to play 1B.

While I'm thinking about this, Mike Morgan signs with Toronto.* We dance with Roger Clemens but he signs with the Angels. Nolan Ryan is coming off a rebound year where he managed 20 starts for the first time in the OOTP era.* He's 16 wins shy of 300 and 86 K's shy of 5000.* We sign him to a lucrative one-year contract.*

Murray signs with the Royals and the Astros offer us Dave Winfield. We accept. Bonilla is our first baseman, Hollins will man 3rd and Mike Sharperson deserves to start somewhere. He's traded to the Royals for SP prospect Dave Nied.

During spring training we realize we need a backup SS and CF.* We sign Gary Pettis and Jose Uribe.

We start the season like this

C: Mike Scioscia, Carlos Hernandez
IF: Bobby Bonilla, Willlie Randolph,* Dave Hollins, Jose Oquendo, Dave Hansen, Rafael Bournigal
OF: Rickey Henderson, Brett Butler, Bobby Bonilla, Mike Huff, Bill Bean, Lloyd McClendon
SP: Mike Morgan, Orel Hershiser, Ramon Martinez, Nolan Ryan, Bob Ojeda
RP: Lee Smith, Rod Beck, John Wetteland, Larry Anderson, Dan Plesac, John Patterson

Uribe and Pettis are getting a few more PA's in AAA

The boss wanted more home runs. Replacing Sharperson's 4 with Hollins (7 homeruns in 10 games last September) and Murray's down season with Winfield should do the trick.


Jose Oquendo lasts 2 innings before he tears a hamstring.* We have to rush Jose Uribe up.* He never starts hitting.* Ryan spends most of April on the DL.* Dave Nied looks great in his place.* Henderson is on and off the DL.* Willie Randolph finally starts showing his age on defense.* Hollins looks like a 1B playing 3B. Hershiser after signing an extension in the off-season is getting bombed regularly.* Mike Scoscia has like a 50 wRC+. We try Jose Offerman at SS.* He somehow has a -8 UZR in 3 weeks

I keep thinking things will turn around.* They don't.

At least Ryan got his 5000th strike out in May (his IRL 5000th strikeout victim was Rickey Henderson.* This time Rickey is his teammate).* 300 wins looks like a long shot.

We call up catching prospect* Mike Piazza who has hammered the ball at every stop.* He's an improvement over Scioscia with a 70's wRC+.

Dave Winfield is miserable.* This isn't what he signed up for.* We send him to the Yankees for OF Roberto Kelly who has been languishing in AAA.

Bob Ojeda, after 61 starts with OOTP LA (he made 60 real life starts in LA), is put on the trade block.* The Red Sox offer a SS, John Valentin.* That's not a fair trade.* We spin the wheel of chance and throw in IF Eric Young as well.*

Willie Randolph, Ramon Martinez and Bobby Bonilla go down with season ending injuries.* Willie Randolph leads off one final late season game as a pinch hitter (had an opener in the leadoff spot who pitched the top of the first so Randolph could take one last PA) in LA so the fans can say goodbye to him.*

The youngsters, largely, performed down the stretch
Piazza hit .288/.413/.558 in September
Jose Offerman looks much better at 2B than SS in Randolph's absence.
Eric Karros has a productive few PA's in Bonilla's stead.
Billy Ashley homers in his first MLB PA
Catcher Darrin Fletcher is throwing out wouldbe base stealers left and right (10 out of 19)

Though David Nied, who, in April, looked like a viable starter for 1993 is getting absolutely shelled

One old guy had a good Septmeber too.
Nolan Ryan won pitcher of the month with 5 wins and a 1.04 ERA
He ends the season with 17 wins
If you recall he needed 16 to win his 300th.
Congratulations, Nolan.

And we finished on a slight positive.* Or, at least not a negative.* 81-81


Key Decisions:
I really don't know what I could have done differently
It was largely injuries and guys with previously steady performances who didn't perform.

Every position player bedsides Brett Butler had a down year
C Scioscia from 3 WAR to negative WAR
1B Bonilla from 9 WAR to 3 WAR
2B Randolph from 4 WAR to 2 WAR
3B Hollins from 167 wRC+ to 119 wRC+ and 29 errors at 3rd. But, 3 WAR
SS Oquendo from 4 WAR to 0 WAR
LF Rickey from MVP to 3 WAR
RF Winfield was good, Kelly has been negative WAR

I lost like 15 WAR with Scioscia, Bonilla, Randolph, Oquendo and Rickey

To start thinking about next year
Tommy Lasorda retired.*
Rickey has an opt-out.* Will he leave after a down year?* Will he want to come back?* We'll certainly try to bring this future hall of famer back.
We got Nolan Ryan's 5000th K and 300th win to happen in blue.* Do we bring him back for another year?

We have expansion
We'll have to protect 15 players from the draft.* Who will they be?* And who will be unprotected?