The OOTP AI Still Cheats!!!---MLB & The NY METS 2018

[rjl518]

With the NY Mets off to an 8-1 start, we are clearly leading the NL East with no issues.
Was this kind of start I expected with this team?
Yes, but a lot of the games we won were very close, almost too close for my tastes with a superstar lineup and rotation. (AI CHEATS?)
Mike Trout is the batting leader and the pitching staff has too many leaders to announce at this time.
But look at who is NOT off to good starts.
Bryce Harper (.206), Freddie Freeman (.235) and Buster Posey (.207).
I really don't think its time to make any batting order changes yet, still too early.
Plus, we have faced only right handed starters this year and there no left handers on the schedule yet.
Lets see what this week brings!

[rjl518]

And they're off:
ALE: BOS gets out to a very slim early lead with the NYY right behind them.
ALC: The Royals are out in front with MIN and CHW following.
ALW: SEA, OAK and TEX hold on to that division, while HOU is starting at the bottom.
NLE: Its the NYM at the top and I do not think that will change at any point of the season. (Maybe)
NLC: The CHC and PIT are on pace, leading that division.
NLW: It the LA Dodgers and the SD Padres??? Are you kidding me??? They both have a better record than the Mets! (9-1)! The MLB has been turned upside down!
The Padres have the highest power rating as well!
Something really wrong here!

Anyway, Todd Frazier (BOS) and Eric Thames (MIL) are your Players of the Week!

[rjl518]

Early Week:
OAK Athletics @ LA Dodgers
NY Yankees @ BOS Red Sox
SEA Mariners @ KC Royals

Late Week:
ATL Braves @ CHI Cubs
CHI White Sox @ MIN Twins
OAK Athletics @ SEA Mariners

[rjl518]

Series Preview: MIA Marlins @ Marlins Park (3-Games)

On to South Beach for a set of games with a Triple AAA baseball team called the MIA Marlins.
Should we win this series?
We better!
No excuses!
Now of course, that being said, why do I have the feeling that all these games are going to be nail-biters. (AI will Cheat?)
Kluber, Syndergaard and Kershaw will get the starts for this series.

[rjl518]

4/9

NY METS 4
MIA Marlins 0
Marlins Park

NYM Corey Kluber is awesome as the Mets shutout the Marlins.

For NYM:
Corey Kluber goes 7 innings and gives up only 2 small hits while striking out 6 batters.
He has yet to allow an earned run this season.
Buster Posey and Aaron Judge smack their 3rd HRs this season.
Bryce Harper had two hits tonight as well as Judge.

For MIA:
Dan Straily pitched pretty darn well.
He only allowed 1 run on 6 hits.
It was the bullpen that gave the Mets the extra runs in this one.
The Marlins could only manage 3 hits tonight.

[rjl518]

4/10

NY METS 6
MIA Marlins 0
Marlins Park

The "Mighty Thor" swung his hammer and crushes the poor Marlins with a 2nd straight shutout!

For NYM:
The recap for Syndergaard below says it all.
Mike Trout went 1-4 including hitting his 4th HR of the year.
Carlos Correa finally got on the HR board, getting his 1st of the year.

For MIA:
They got 9 hits off of Noah.
Starlin Castro and JT Realmuto got 2 each tonight.
Jose Urena went 5 innings and gave up just the 3-run HR.
I still think that kid is going to be something special.

The Mets win their 4th series in a row and will try to sweep tomorrow night.

[rjl518]

4/11

NY METS 3
MIA Marlins 5
Marlins Park

NYM Clayton Kershaw gets outpitched by MIA Odrisamer Despaigne as the Marlins get one win over the Mets.
Kershaw went 6 innings and gave up 2 earned runs on 8 hits.
He struck out 7.
Max Scherzer gave up 2 more runs out of the pen.
Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve had two hits each tonight.
Of course i don't expect to win very single game with this superstar team.
But the AI didn't give me much of chance in this one. (AI CHEATS!)
Players like Posey, Freeman and Arenado are just not producing like they should.
I guess a lineup adjustment is in order.
Anyway, the Mets have the day off on Thursday before heading home to take on the "Brew Crew!"

[rjl518]

4/12

No baseball today for the Mets, but Jerry Blevins goes to the CHI Cubs.

[rjl518]

Series Preview: MIL Brewers @ Citi Field

The Mets head home for 6 games.
The first 3 are against the Brewers.
This team is stingy and they are not to be taken lightly.
With players such as Thames, Arcia, Yelich and of course, Ryan Braun, the Brewers are a team that I think, might be heading to the playoffs.
The pitching rotation is below-average, but i do not count out them out.
Strasburg, Sale and Kluber will get the starts for this interesting series.

[rjl518]

4/13

MIL Brewers 1
NY METS 5
Citi Field

Stephen Strasburg knocked out 11 Brewers batters and only gave up 1 run on 3 hits.
Jose Altuve went 3-5 as he had a good day at the plate.
Carlos Correa and Nolan Arenado hit a couple of long balls, their 2nd of the year each.
It was cold and it was an ugly wet night, but the Mets come out on top to take the 1st game of the series.

[rjl518]

MLB News:

Michael Conforto to the Nationals.
Boy this AI is really screwing me up

[rjl518]

4/14

MIL Brewers 3
NY METS 5
Citi Field

A little rally was needed but the Mets get the win.
Chris Sale, again, has an average day.
He did get 9 strikeouts, but he gave up 3 runs on 6 hits.
Luis Severino got the win and Kenley Jansen notches his 4th save.
Jose Altuve hit his 2nd HR on the year and Freddie Freeman hit his 3rd.
A towering blast that went 493 feet!
Had to post the screenshot to prove it!
Nolan Arenado had two hits on the day.
We will try for the sweep tomorrow.

[rjl518]

4/15

MIL Brewers 2
NY METS 1
Citi Field

Corey Kluber pitches a great game getting 10 strikeouts.
But he gave up 2 HRs to MIL Eric Thames and Christian Yelich, which proved to be the difference makers in this one.
Jose Altuve went 3-4 including two doubles.
A turning point in the game was early as the Mets had bases loaded and no one out in the 1st, but Gary Sanchez grounded into a DP.
We never really did much after that as the MIL bullpen shut us down the rest of the way.
But we do win the series over the Brewers and we now await for the "boys from DC" to show up!

[rjl518]

The NY Mets are still large and in charge with a 12-3 record and a 4 game lead in the division.
I made some lineup order changes as the top of the lineup is producing, but the bottom is having some issues.
Judge, Harper, Freeman and Arenado are all hitting below .230
I guess these guys haven't woken up yet.
The pitching staff is doing just fine, but the mound masters can only do so much when you don't score runs.
The loss to MIL today was our 1st home loss of the year.

[rjl518]

The weather has been playing havoc with the early part of the season so far.
But some teams do not seem fazed by it.
BOS, TB, TOR and the NYY are staying close to each other in the AL East.
The MIN Twins are looking down on everybody else in the AL Central.
SEA and TEX are seeing each other very closely in the AL West.
In the NL East, the ATL Braves and WAS Nationals are trying to stay close to the NY Mets.
The CHI Cubs are still the dominant team in the NL Central.
In the NL west, I cant believe I'm saying this, but the SD Padres lead that division. ARZ is on a 7-game winning streak and the SF Giants have only ONE win this year and have lost 10 in a row.

Players of the Week (1959 Topps):
TOR Justin Smoak
WAS Michael Taylor

[rjl518]

Mon-Thur:

[rjl518]

Fri-Sun:

[rjl518]

Fri-Sun Page 2:

[rjl518]

Series Preview: WAS Nationals @ Citi Field (3-Games)

The Nationals pay us a visit in the early part of the week.
We beat them 2-1 at their home and I am pretty sure that they would like to pay us back.
They also gave us our 1st loss this season, so I want to take this team out.
They lead the league in HRs so far, so I know they can hit the ball even without Bryce Harper.
Michael Taylor has the hot hand at the plate, so we have to shut him down.
Syndergaard, Kershaw and Strasburg get the calls for another important series against the Nats!

[rjl518]

4/16

WAS Nationals 2
NY METS 1
Citi Field
(10 Innings)

The Mets cant finish the game as the Nationals hit 2 HRs to win it in extras! (AI CHEATS!)

Noah Syndergaard was awesome, but Ken Giles gives up the game tying HR and Max Scherzer gives up the game winner.
WAS Anthony Rendon, of all people, hits a HR off of Giles in the 9th to tie the game.
Freddie Freeman had two hits tonight for the Mets.
We had a lot of long ball outs, because the wind kept the ball in the park.
Interesting how it didn't affect the Nationals as they hit two of them out. (AI CHEATS!!)
First time this season that we have lost two straight games.