California Angels 1970

[sharknut]

We ended up 4 back, we "should" have been 7 games up, but the computer doesn't play the game..........wait........

....anyway..The A's ended up making it to the World Series after sweeping the Red Sox, but they fell to the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 as the trade for Thurman Munson paid off. George Scott was the WS MVP.

1 World Series, 3 Division titles and 3-2nd place finishes in the last 6 season means I get a hefty raise and contract extension.

However, this contract came from a new owner with deeper pockets, the Angels were sold right after the World Series ended. I will have about 25% more to work with, however he is "meddling". The previous owner was hands off.....we will see how this goes, he expects to win.

[sharknut]

After winning the World Series, the Phillies are selling and Thurman Munson is available for our 2b, David Rusco. I will do this deal, so now I am trading recently signed Bill Freehan (sorry, Bill) for a 35-year old quality reliever and #92 prospect Roger Erickson to open up the C position for Munson and I have Ivan DeJesus already at 2b, so the loss there will be negligible.

Yes, Munson is 31 and has 6 years left on the deal he signed with Yankees 2 years ago. But he just won the World Series for the 2nd time, he's won 6 Gold Gloves and is an 8-time All-Star.

With my increased payroll from the owner, I still have room to add 1 more quality player. He wants an All-Star 3rd baseman.

Time for me to get Graig Nettles

[sharknut]

Change of plans:

Nettles is a 34 year old pending UFA. The Red Sox are asking for a ton for him.....however....they are offering 28 year old 2b Juan Beniquez for 34 year old Blue Moon Odom.

Beniquez has won ROY, 1 gold glove, 1 silver slugger and been an All-Star 3 times. Odom is still a really good pitcher with 4 years at $656,000 a year left and Beniquez has 3 years left at $610,000.

I have a nice 2b with Ivan DeJesus and I was going to use Odom as my closer this year, but I did sign 35-year old Bob Johnson as a swing man, and he can close as can Dick Drago.

I already signed 2 backup infielders, Jack Brohamer and Doug Radar to back up all my infield spots, but I can use DeJesus at all those spots and when my 36 year old SS Jim Fregosi becomes a UFA next year, I can have DeJesus slide right into that spot unless I can upgrade again.

Beniquez' 162 game avg has been .278/.327/.371 7 HR 20 doubles 10 triples 42 steals and a 4.2 WAR and over a 5.0 zone rating at 2b. He started games at 7 positions last year and is doesn't have a spot open this year.

Rookie of the Year Ozzie Smith is their 1b!! 2b Rick Burleson is an All-Star that hits over .300, the SS is Al Cowens who is a 5 time All-Star and Graig Nettles is at 3rd.

So I will take Beniquez in exchange for Odom, whom I will assume will start for them as they already have Rollie Fingers to close.

ETA....fan interest went from 84 to 87, nice. I am bumping up season ticket prices, though I am still low compared to most clubs. Season tickets are already up 10% over last year.

[sharknut]

Some updates in free agency and the draft:

Yankees signed 27 year old Cesar Cedeno to a 4 yr/$3.1 million deal
Yankees signed 37 year old Mel Stottlemyre to a 3 yr/$2.2 million deal
Red Sox re-signed 27 year old Dwight Evans to a 5 yr/$5.58 million deal
Yankees signed 29 year old Mike Schmidt to a 3 yr/$1.6 million deal
Cardinals signed 33 year old Jim Palmer to a 3 yr/$2.6 million deal

In the draft:
1-Seattle-Ryne Sandberg
2-Cubs-Don Mattingly
3-White Sox-Chili Davis
4-Twins-Kent Hrbek
5-Mets-Fernando Valenzuela (did not sign)
6-Cleveland-Andres Galarraga
7-Twins-Howard Johnson
8-Blue Jays-Mark Eichhorn (did not sign)
9-Reds-Brett Butler
10-Giants-Jose DeLeon

At 23, we picked 21 year old SP Ray Fontenot. We have almost nothing in our system as far as quality starting prospects outside of Dave Rozema, so I targeted the best SP left. He will start at Single-A. None of our other picks were actual major leaguers.

Our minor league system started last year at #5, but after Eddie Murray graduated to the big club, we fell all the way to #18 by the end of the year. We have rebounded up to #9 after the draft, we may not have top 10 prospects, but we have the most players in the top 100.

#22-2b-Steve Sax-A
#41-rf-Mike Davis-AA
#42-2b-German Barranca-AAA
#53-c-Ted May-A
#71-sp-Brian Holton-A
#73-sp-Victor Cruz-AA
#80-ss-Jesus Alfaro-AA
#93-cf-Vernon Armstead-AAA
#94-rf-Joseph Stewart-AA

[Pelican]

Mention of Ivan DeJesus and Ryne Sandburg reminds me of arguably the worst trade in history, Phillies trading Larry Bowa and Sandburg to the delighted Cubbies for DeJesus. The lesson there for me is never deal a talented young player until you are sure what you've got. And certainly not for a replacement-level guy. And don't throw in a franchise icon.

[sharknut]

Originally Posted by Pelican

Mention of Ivan DeJesus and Ryne Sandburg reminds me of arguably the worst trade in history, Phillies trading Larry Bowa and Sandburg to the delighted Cubbies for DeJesus. The lesson there for me is never deal a talented young player until you are sure what you've got. And certainly not for a replacement-level guy. And don't throw in a franchise icon.

That has to be a top 10 or 20 worst trades of all time. DeJesus is much better in my world, IRL he'd be pissed I keep trading for 2b or SS to take his spot.

Just wanted to list a few players who are "out of position" in this world as opposed to real life (lots of CF moved to middle infielders)

Ozzie Smith-1b
Chet Lemon-3b
Juan Beniquez-2b
Ralph Garr-2b
Al Cowens-SS
Rick Manning-SS
Gorman Thomas-SS
Ken Oberkfell-SS
Lou Whitaker-3b
George Brett-1b
Bob Watson-C
Ron Washington-C
Manny Trillo-C (the man who "blocked" Sandberg at 2b for the Phils. LOL)

[sharknut]

As Spring Training begins, here is the lineup and rotation we will roll with:

Juan Beniquez-2b .275/.336/.347 36 steals
Gary Matthews-LF .291/.357/.411 13-hr 23-2b 93 rbi 25 steals
Reggie Smith-CF .290/.375/.449 20 hr 98 rbi 32-2b
Eddie Murray-1b .276/.340/.438 18 hr 89 rbi 38-2b
Thurman Munson-C .307/.333/.495 15 hr 30-2b 73 rbi
Roy Howell-3b .281/.339/414 5 hr 23-2b in 380 ab
Jim Wynn-DH .253/.352/.423 21 hr 27-2b 80 rbi
Jim Fregosi-SS .299/.365/.417 9 hr 38-2b 87 runs

Bert Blyleven 18-9 2.85 ERA 1.31 WHIP 153 K
Burt Hooton 16-9 3.18 ERA 1.23 WHIP 110 K
Bob Johnson 5-12 4.08 ERA 1.41 WHIP
Steve Carlton 9-13 3.81 ERA 1.24 WHIP 154 K
Rudy May 10-10 4.02 ERA 1.37 WHIP
Rick Wise 2-0 3.00 ERA 1.15 WHUP in 7 starts before injury

[sharknut]

Rick Wise was really poor in spring training coming off his injury, I may regret dealing him, but I was offered Steve Fireovid, the #180 prospect who was a swing man his first year in A ball. He does have 80 stamina, so he could definitely start down the road.

It also frees up $400,000 and with my increased budget it gives me the ability to go after the best UFA's next off-season. (Hello Graig Nettles? John Candelaria? Both?)

[sharknut]

14-9 in April and our division was tight all month. The A's are last, but just 3 games behind us. We were every position in the division from 1st to last, but we ended April on an 8-2 run.

We are 1st in runs scored, but our production has been very evenly spread

Munson-20 RBI (2 grand slams)
Smith-18 RBI
Fregosi-14 RBI
Matthews-12 RBI
Briggs-11 RBI
Howell-11 RBI
Murray-10 RBI

Ivan DeJesus has apparently decided he is sick and tired of being the 5th infielder and is hitting .469/.500/.571 in 46 AB's, but he's been starting every game the last week.

This is the 1st year we only have 4 minor league clubs, we lost our extra 'A' level team in the offseason. Our Salt Lake AAA affiliate is 19-6, our El Paso AA affiliate is 17-7 and our Salinas team in A ball is 13-11.

[sharknut]

I should be fired. In the real world, when a new owner comes in, splashes some money he expects the team to win.

I just had the worst month I have EVER had. We went 8-20. Everything went wrong.

Reggie Smith out for 6 weeks, Jim Fregosi out for 8 weeks.
Munson-2 RBI for May
The bullpen went 1-10

I could go on, but that's not even the worst of it. The Developmental Report came out, and.....I am screwed.

I just traded for Munson 3 months ago at age 30 with 6 years left, and he just dropped 20% at catcher skills, 12% at hitting and 10% of power. He went from All-Star level to barely above replacement. Eddie Murray already dropped 5% of contact, and he's just 23. Fregosi dropped, Jim Wynn dropped.....my whole team.

I'd fire me.

[sharknut]

I started June 6-7 while losing both Munson and Doug Radar for at least 5 weeks each. I also started making deals and signing players that never should have been placed on waivers.

Former 1st round pick Ruppert Jones was our 4th/5th OF but I am not sure how much more he would develop, so I dealt him along with Dennis Lamp, who has been stuck in AAA for 3 years to Atlanta who is rebuilding. In exchange we received 32 year old SP John Glass. He is a pending UFA who has averaged 3.3 WAR a season. He has gone 2-0 with a 2.2 ERA in his first 2 starts for us.

30 year old Doug Rau was 3-5 with a 2.60 ERA for the Cubs, who for some reason put him on waivers despite being paid the minimum. He is on pace for a 4.3 WAR and will go into the rotation as well.

While I was at it, I claimed 27 year old Mike Krukow from the Padres. He was on pace for a 3.8 WAR and went 13-10 last season with a 4.2 WAR. I don't like taking advantage of stupid AI moves, but I am in last place.

I then dealt Dick Drago straight up for 24 year old Ken Landreaux. Landreaux hit .297/.343/.443 with 9 HR with a 3.4 WAR in his first season as a starter. He has hit 2 HR in his first 4 games for us while hitting over .500.

The only good thing about the injury to Reggie Smith was that we promoted 22 year old Vernon Armstead from AAA and he has been really good. He's hit .299/.407/.468 with 2 HR and 2 SB in 80 AB's since promotion. He was a 2nd round pick 4 years ago and this was his first season at AAA and is the #93 prospect.

[sharknut]

June ended up 12-17. Gary Matthews demanded a trade, I fired my pitching coach.

Not sure how I still have a job.

[sharknut]

As we approached the ASG, we were still taking on water, but we won our last 5 games to give a glimmer of hope. 42-52 in last place 10 games out is not where we wanted to be, but I have hope. The chemistry has gotten back up to happy, though Matthews still wants a trade.

Ken Landreaux has been a great pickup, 8 HR and 27 RBI in the 32 games since we traded for him and was just named player of the week. Since trading for John Glass, he's gone 7-0 with a 1.91 ERA, I am making good deals to try to get ourselves back in this,

I shopped around our former 2nd round pick Alfredo Edmead who is stuck at AAA and I was offered All-Star pitcher 36 year old Jim Rooker, who I lost in the Rule 5 draft to Seattle so I had to do that.

2 weeks until the deadline and we start with 7 games on the east coast. If we can't make progress in the 10 games before then, I will try to get some younger players for vets. But I have a feeling we may make a little run here.

[sharknut]

I made 2 deals to free up money and a spot next year. Jim Wynn was a fan favorite spending 8 years here but had 1 year left and was going to be the 5th OF next year, so I dealt him for Dock Ellis. Ellis is a UFA after the year but can still be a good arm for us. I then dealt Rudy May for Al Bumbry, and exchange of 2 UFA's to be, so he can take the 5th OF role from Wynn.

[sharknut]

We didn't make a run, we are now 13 out of 1st. I dealt Steve Carlton with about $2 million and 3 years left on his deal for Carlos May with 1 year left at. $130,000. After newcomer John Glass asked for $900,000 a year, I dealt him for 24 year old Floyd Bannister and hope he can continue his development.

The owner is very angry with me

[sharknut]

We went 15-13 in August and we are 14 out with 17 to play. Just a terrible year all around. The team is healthy and our minor league teams are in 1st/2nd/2nd/2nd, but I need to do a lot of work in the off-season.

Fred Lynn is a superstar and he will be a free agent and I have over $2,000,000 in room. He's the target, he's just 27 and averages .312/.401/.534 23 HR 101 RBI in his 7 seasons.

....dammit, we had a brief power outage and now I have to replay the 27th-31st of July since I couldn't close the game out properly.
One of the games was rained out, the replay of the games gave us a 15-12 record in August.

[sharknut]

I have a prospect in A ball who can't hit and has little pop but his eye is max rated as is his speed.

.218/.438/.339 97 steals in 102 attempts. In 4 years in minors, he is 306 out of 353 in steals or 87% which is amazing given that he is a volume stealer. We will see how he does in AA next year.

[sharknut]

15-13 in September. We were over .500 in 4 months, under .500 in 2 months and ended 78-84. Our pythag record was 82-78, but still a huge disappointment. I can't blame injuries, the team was just not as good as the sum of their parts. Blyleven led the league in ERA, but only picked up 12 wins because of blown leads and poor run support.

Roy Howell ended up hitting .301/.363/.475 with 18 hr and 103 RBI's, great year. Gary Matthews was .291/.326/.451 with 24 HR 27 steals, 101 runs and 89 RBI, great year. Reggie Smith missed 6 weeks and still hit .289/.372/.488 with 20 HR, great year. Dan Briggs went .290/.337/.425 with 17 HR 75 RBI and 85 runs, great year. Still ended up 12 back.

The 95 win Tigers won a 1-game playoff over the Orioles and they will face the 90 win Royals in the ALCS while the 93-win Astros will face defending champion 92-win Philadelphia in the NLCS. It's anyones title to win.

Going into the last game of the season we could have finished with the 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th pick in the draft. Of course we won, so we will pick 12th. NOTHING going right.

This year has Strawberry, Eric Davis, Tony Fernandez, Juan Samuel, Van Slyke, Tartabull, Von Hayes, Valenzuela, Storm Davis......amongst other players ranked higher than their RL career would show. (Mark Eichhorn #1 prospect, Ivan Calderon #2, Dion James, #5)

[sharknut]

Each series went 5 games, as mentioned, these teams were evenly matched. The Royals took the ALCS as Rick Manning hit 2 HR and knocked in 10 runs to be the MVP. In the NLCS, defending champion Philadelphia took the first two games in Houston before the Astros rallied in Philly to send the series back to Houston for game 5 where the road team made it a perfect 5-for-5 for road teams and they reached their 3rd straight World Series.

The MVP was former Angel David Rusco. He was our big free agent acquisition 2 years ago FROM Philadelphia who busted in California, so we traded him back to Philly.....where he was awesome again. Sigh

[sharknut]

The Kansas City Royals took home their first World Series title in dramatic fashion coming back from an 0-3 deficit over the Phillies. The Phillies rolled in the first three games outscoring the Royals 25-9 but the tide turned in a marathon game 4.

Philadelphia starter Frank Tanana did everything he could to bring home the title in game 4 throwing 147 pitches over 14 innings, striking out 8, allowing just 4 hits and not walking anyone. But Warren Cromartie tied the game at 1 in the 7th with a solo hr and 5 Royal pitchers allowed only 8 hits total as the Royals took game 4 6-1 in 16 innings.

After that, the Royals took games 5,6 and 7 outscoring the Phils 21-10 and the dynasty that Philadelphia fans thought they had in their grasp slipped away.

Bob Horner won the AL MVP with 39 HR .320/.370/.556 and free agent Fred Lynn won his 2nd MVP with Montreal with 30 HR .336/.413/.572.

Robert Elliott won his 5th!!!! Cy Young with the Yankees with 18-8 3.14 ERA and Frank Tanana won his 1st with 20-9 2.90 ERA.

Rich Rodas won NL Rookie of the Year with 15-14 and a 3.46 ERA with the Phillies and Chili Davis won the AL award at catcher for the White Sox hitting 19 HR .319/.361/.508

I am going to go after Fred Lynn with all I have in free agency, I am going to make deals to get my team back in the playoffs.