Could There Be An America's Team? Let's try

[Brad K]

Spring Training

RP Camilo Pascual has collapsed, 2.0 as a reliever and not enough stamina to be an emergency starter. No bites on the trade market. He has two option years left but refused demotaion. Waive/DFA.

CF Curt Flood dropped to 10 defense in CF. Tony Oliva gets the job. Possible Flood/Al Oliver platoon in LF.

RP Camilo Pascual cleared waivers. Refused demotion. Released.

Traded 3B Loyd Christopher age 24 2.0/2.0 and LF Joe Lis age 24 2.0/2.0 for Catcher Duffy Dyer age 24 2.0/2.0, RF Rod Gaspar age 24 2.0/2.0, and 1B Charles Carr age 23 1.5/1.5. Lis has no options, Christopher has one option, both are on MLB contracts. Dyer, Gaspar, and Carr are on minor league contracts with full options.

Traded RP/SP Bobby Conner age 29 2.5 in either role and minor league SP Larry Killingsworth age 22 1.0/2.0 for RP Mike Paul age 24 2.5/3.0. Retained 25% ($25k) of Conner's contract for both 70 and 71. Conner refused to be demoted. Paul is at minimum wage and has 3 options.

On April 1 scouting report Bill Mazeroski's fielding rating went to 15. Previously 12. That increase keeps him on the team as the defensive replacement at 2B.


Curt Flood, Bill Mazeroski

[Brad K]

April 6 1970

Season starts today. We open tomorrow at home against the Mets.

Payroll is second in MLB. Owner wants us to play better than .500. BNN says we'll run away from the East by 17 games. We were 20-10 in Spring Training which proves our lineup of half second string is better than the other guy's half second string lineup.

Rotation is strong. Blass is probably a better 5th starter than Cuellar but Cuellar is in the rotation to avoid having three lefties in the pen.

Murtaugh wanted Cesar Tovar in the leadoff spot. I over ruled and put Bob Bailey hitting first. Tovar can steal but I prefer OBP and Bailey has that.

Freddie Patek won the three way battle for short over Gene Alley and Joe Foy. If Patek performs up to his ability the trade for Foy will have been for naught. It happens that way sometimes.

I have a waiver claim in for RP Jack Billingham age 27 3.0 by both my scout and OSA. If I get him everyone else must think he's no good. If I get him I'll demote an IF or OF to keep Billingham on the roster for essentially a try out. I can't demote any of the pitchers I have.

Perhaps indicative of a weakness, the late inning defensive lineup involves three subs and two players changing position.

[Brad K]

April 8 1970

Waiver claim of Jack Billingham went through. Demoted OF Johnny Jeter. Now have 5 OFs plus 2B Cesar Tovar can play all three OF and 3B Bob Bailey can play left. With six RPs I moved Steve Blass to number 5 starter and Mike Cuellar to the pen. I don't mind 3 LH RPs when I have 3 RH RPs. Murtaugh put Billingham in middle relief use more often with a secondary role of setup. (High Leverage on Wilbur Wood is my selection.)


April 10 1970

CF Tony Oliva age 31 4.5 accepted 2.85m/6 last year vesting 400 PAs. Fan interest modifier up three to 33.


April 14 1970

C Earl Battey cleared waivers and refused demotion. Traded Battey age 35 2.0 making $50k for 1B 2B 3B LF Kurt Bevacqua age 23 1.5 as 3B making $23k. Bevacqua has an option used this year and two more. Short drive for Bevacqua. Just had to go Indianapolis to Columbus.

[Brad K]

...

[Brad K]

June 1 1970

Around The League

SP Sandy Koufax is rated at 5 stars in the fourth year after his historical retirement. His 1967 and up record is 57-30 with a 2.84 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 22.2 WAR. His contract with SF has a player option after 1970 when his contract reduces his pay from $412k to $378k for 1971-73. 1973 has a vesting requirement of 180 innings pitched.

3B Richie Hebner is hitting third for StL and has a .319 batting average for the year with 6 HRs. The Cards kept him in AAA most of 1968. His MLB totals for a bit of 68 through May 1970 are .295 BA with 12 HRs and 5.9 WAR.

The Walking Man, Milton Hite, is playing 2B regularly for the Dodgers. He hit .193 last year but his OBP was .367. He's hitting .192 this year but his OBP has dropped to .338, his lowest since 1963.

SP Don Wilson has a 66-57 record with teams that usually win 70ish games, and a career 3.23 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. His career WAR of 17.7 is a bit higher than historical. It will be interesting to see if his career after his stats run out in 74 is strong like Koufax' is.

1B Donn Clendenon signed with the Mets this year, a year after his real life arrival on the Miracle Mets. He is hitting .325 with 15 HRs. If he doesn't hit another HR for the year and bats .270 the Mets got a bargain on his $43,400 salary.

OOTP hasn't been as generous with 2B Ken Hubbs as it was in my past saves. He fell out of the majors after 1966 when he appeared in only 44 games. He is playing for the AAA Richmond Braves on a $59,900 MLB contract.

Richie Hebner, Donn Clendenon, Ken Hubbs

[Brad K]

...

[Brad K]

...

[Brad K]

July 20 1970

Since attendance isn't increasing I'm concerning about money. Manny Sanguillen has taken over the regular catchers job and Milt May in AA is 2.5 stars. I also signed 32 year old FA Don Pavletich 2.5 to a minor league contract.

Soooo... C Tim McCarver age 28 3.0 but less on the details than Sanguillen, RP Clay Carroll age 29 2.5, SS Jimmy Sexton age 18 1.0/2.0 BC league for RP Nolan Ryan age 23 3.5/4.0 as RP 2.5/3.5 as SP and CF Michael Mitchell age 23 2.0/2.5 AAA league. Trading Ryan was the Mets idea.

So far Ryan is extra wild in this save. He's led the NL in walks three times including a year where he pitched only 176 innings. His highest IP is 237. This year he's 7.5 BB/9, the highest of his career.

Like McCarver, Curt Flood is another backup with a regular's salary. Looks like a mistake signing him to an extension.

[Brad K]

Sept 1 1970

August was our worst month of the year with a record of 16-13. Three weeks in we were 11-11 and our lead had dropped to 9 games. It's now 12 1/2 but has been as high as 15.

Cause is lower offense. We're now rated second in runs scored. After a team batting average of .294 for a while we've dropped to .290 which takes a significant slump considering the number of prior at bats supporting the higher average.

Despite similar ratings C Milt May isn't hitting like Tim McCarver did. McCarver over performed his rating while May is under performing his. McCarver hit .343 with us (99 ABs) while May is hitting .209 (43 ABs).

Murtaugh wants to hit Cesar Tovar leadoff. I prefer Bob Bailey's higher OBP. However Bailey has 22 HRs. Against LHP Murtaugh will hit Baily third against LHP with Tovar first and Oliva second. I'm letting him do that but over ruled him against RHP where Bailey stays at leadoff.

For some reason SS Freddie Patek is hitting .310 in the 8 spot. Him and Sanguillen at .331 in the seventh spot might be why Bob Bailey has 68 RBI hitting mostly leadoff.

[Brad K]

...

[Brad K]

Our Pennant Series opponent is the Dodgers and we have advantages on the season in both runs scored and runs allowed. We placed 2nd and 1st in the categories while they placed 4th and 3rd. They won 93 games while we won 100.

A major concern is that our record from August on is only 31-25. Yes we lost a lot of games by 1 or 2 runs but The Python has us only two wins better than actual.

I cut the pitching staff to ten by moving RP Jack Billingham to the playoff eligble roster. I moved OF Johnny Jeter to the playoff roster. I carried 11 pitchers through the season because I didn't have anyone I could send to AAA.

Murtaugh wants to make Nolan Ryan the stopper. I think he's too wild for that. I'm sticking with lefties David Levezey and Wilbur Wood even though the Dodgers are a mostly rightly lineup.

Hope the Pirates play like it's July.

[Brad K]

October 11 1970

Won pennant series 3 games to 2.

Game 1 at Pit win 4-2
Game 2 at Pit loss 3-6
Game 3 at LA win 4-3
Game 4 at LA loss 6-7
Game 5 at Pit win 2-1

Each team scored 19 runs.

[Brad K]

...

[Brad K]

Oct 19 1970

Off Season Thoughts

The new ballpark did not help attendance. Someone should tell the Rays.

In Pirates Moneyball I got two (maybe three) increases in market size. I reversed them. In retropsect I didn't need to because I had self imposed spending restrictions. Anyway, I sure could use a market size bump here which is one of the goals of this save.

Payroll needs are increasing faster than budget. I got a $100k budget increase this year after none last year. There's $1.2m for FAs and $1.4 for contract extensions. I cut back a bit on scouting and development where I've been a top spender.

There really aren't any holes in the team which is the situation to expect with a team that was first in runs allowed and second in runs scored. What I need to look for is players in decline.

In the future I might take a closer look at some never made the majors players. West Division champ LA had two as position player regulars, one as a SP, and one as RP. However maybe I should let AI teams have the advantage if there is one since humans have the advatage on players who made the majors. Well, usually. I cut Koufax loose based partly on RL knowledge. He's now pitched four years past his historical retirement, is rated 4.5 stars, and led the league in IP, K, and WHIP.

I carried 6 RP last year due to lack of minor league options. I'd like to go back to five. I'm not going to re sign Lindy McDaniel age 34 2.5 so that would do it.

Bill Mazeroski says he'll play for another year for $75k (made $200k in 1970) but I think I'll probably bring up Dave Cash for the 2B backup. Also in the struggle to find a SS I traded for Joe Foy with the Twins paying 40% of his salary but I'm still paying too much for a backup.

Tony Oliva looks to be able to play CF for another year. He's rated 12 there but if he drops much Al Oliver who never gets a rating over 10 or 11 will get the job. The best defensive CF on the team is Cesar Tovar who is playing 2B. Last year he was the defensive sub in CF.

Need to try to sign some players to multi year contracts. SP Bob Moose age 23, currently a RP Nolan Ryan age 23, C Manny Sanguillen age 26, and LF Al Oliver age 24. Maybe SS Freddie Patek age 26.

[Brad K]

Awards

CF Tony Oliva collected a Gold Glove. CF Jay Johnstone got a Gold Glove for his work in RF with the Padres.

Murtaugh wins NL Manager of the Year.

Bob Gibson wins Cy Young.


Transactions

Traded 3B SS Joe Foy age 27 2.5 at each position for CF Jay Johnsstone age 24 2.5. Retained 25% on Foy and Twins have 40% of his $320k annual for the next two years so SD gets a decent left side IF for $112k per year.

Traded SP Mike Paul age 25 2.0/2.5 for RF Dan Ford age 18 2.0/3.0, C Robert Williams age 22 2.0/2.0, RF Gary Funtas age 24 1.5/1.5. Paul has a MLB minimum wage contract and is taking up a spot on the 40 man but I can't see him making the majors with us. None of those received in trade have MLB experience.

Signings on Oct 24 1970: CF Jay Johnstone age 24 2.5 $195k/3 years, SP Bob Moose age 23 3.5 $1.33m/6 years last year is team option, SS Freddie Patek age 26 2.5 $225k/3 years. LF Vic Davilillo age 34 2.5 signed a minor league contract. Rule 5 eligible and not on 40 man. Would need several injures to need him in the bigs.

Signings on Oct 25 1970: C Manny Saguillen age 26 3.5 $880k/5 years. C Don Pavletich age 32 2.5 signed a minor league deal. There's our third catcher although once called up he can't be sent back down without clearing waivrs. Also he's Rule 5 eligible and I haven't put him on the 40 man.

4.5 star FAs are LF Rico Carty age 31 and SP Sandy Koufax age 34. No 4.0 star FAs. 3.5 star FAs are 1B Mike Epstein age 27, SP Gaylord Perry age 32, and LF Frank Robinson age 35.

OF Curt Flood exercises right under 5/10 rule.

Rule 5 Draft. Must have a good organizatin. Lost four players. SP Ronald Kent age 29 2.0 AAA, CF Ron Woods age 27 2.5 AAA, LF Vic Davalillo age 34 2.5 AAA, and 2B Darrell GIbson age 28 2.0 AAA.

Ron Woods, Vic Davalillo.

[Brad K]

Spring Training 1971

Problems. OSA shows Cesar Tovar fielding at 2B as 10 my my scout says its 1. Good OF ratings though. My scout says Curt Flood can't hit anymore. Everything red. Fielding still great. OSA still has him as a good hitter.

Waive/DFA on RP Pedro Bourbon age 24 2.0/2.5, RP John Gelnar age 24 2.0, and SS Marty Martinez age 29 1.5. No options and they won't make the team. All cleared waivers and accepted demotion.

Over the winter I let 2B Bill Mazeroski file for FA. With the collapse of Tovar's fielding at 2B and Martinez not making the team I signed Maz for one year at $65k. He wanted $86k last fall. I suppose I might have done better than Maz but he's very popular and had he signed elsewhere I would have taken a fan interest hit.

[Brad K]

April 5 1971

The sudden collapse of Cesar Tovar's ability to play 2B is an OOTP thing and there's no plausible real life explanation for it that can be put in one of my newspaper articles. Likewise with Curt Flood's hitting decline to rookie league not ever going to make it to the bigs level while retaining his Gold Glove defensive skills.

Tovar is on the IL. He's a good hitter and a great defensive OFer. When he's off I'm going to send him for a minor league rehab and shop a trade. Flood, I don't know. I have him set as a defensive replacement only. He's better on defense than the guys I could bring up from AAA. Anyway I'm not going to write a news story about these events.

The owner says play better than .500 ball. BNN predicts a first place finish by nine games over the Mets.

[Pelican]

Do you play with recalc on and rely on actual stats. I ask because of Flood’s sad history IRL. He refused a trade to the Phillies, challenging the reserve clause, and ended up sitting out the season. He tried to come back in 1971 with the Senators, but had nothing left. IRL he had a serious drinking problem by this point. Sensitive and thoughtful guy who deserved better. With development on he might play another five years at a high level.

Tovar also a mystery in his rapid decline IRL. I was elated when the Phillies acquired him, but he was a shadow of his old self.

[Brad K]

Tovar didn't play 2B IRL for a few years. Then he started playing second again. I checked and OOTP gives him a rating at 2B for the later years. I realize this is an unusual situation but its just plain wrong to take away 2B and give it back later. He didn't stop playing 2B because he lost the ability.

I play recalc with dev on. Sometimes players will do well past their RL retirement date, sometimes not.

I was super impressed by Flood's interviews on Burns Baseball MLB spent a hundred years cheating players. It's better but it still happens.

[Brad K]

May 1 1971

A couple weeks ago I waived/DFAed Curt Flood. He cleared waivers. Wouldn't accept demotion. Released. Moved Cesar Tovar from IL to rehab assignment to the backup OF role.