View Full Version : My attempt at managing the 2001 Cardinals
Using a very realistic program called Baseball Mogul, I took my shot at managing through the 2001 St. Louis season, and tried to see how far I got as the Cardinals manager that year...
www.sportsmogul.com
My team has a few holes to fill... at third base I need a better starter than Paquette. I also really want to dump the salaries of Andy Benes and Ray Lankford. I can find another solid starter easily, and I'll sign a good free agent to replace Lankford. I will round up some non-major league talent I feel it is unnecessary to have on my team... and see if I can get a more solid third basemen than Craig Paquette....
I was able to trade the aging Larry Sutton, releiver Luther Hackman, Carlos Hernandez, and some rookie I had named Elvis Quach and I got Jeff Cirillo in return. Larry Sutton is easily replaceable, and I may have to sign a free agent to replace Hackman. If I can trade Mike Timlin (overpaid) I can easily get a quality setup man. Hackman was expendable. I'm deep in catchers, and Carlos Hernandez was my most expensive one. Quach I never heard of.
I ditched the expenses of Lankford (and threw in Jesse Orosco,) and got Tim Belcher. He's really no use to me, but there was absolutely no other offer any other team would accept. How on earth did Jocketty get Williams for him???
I looked into trading Andy Benes, but there were no good offers out there.
I did trade the expensive Mike Timlin and Mark Thompson away for a pitching prospect... Dan Morrison.
For some reason, the Dodgers were really interested in some of my prospects, and traded me Jeff Shaw! I was shopping around 3 unneeded players on my team... a backup catcher (age 30), a shortsop, and a center fielder all whom I didn't need. Shaw although expensive should greatly help my releif pitching problems.
I traded a few prospects without any purpose (Ages above 28, too marginal, etc...) for Bill Simas. Chicago seemed to want to ditch his salary. Since they offered me enough cash to pay him for two years, I took the deal.
Here are the free agents I signed:
Jose Canseco (New leftfielder)
Scott Erickson (Ankiel's backup starter)
Lance Johnson (OF insurace)
Bobby Bonilla (Bench depth)
And I replensihed my farm by taking some rookies
Noam Garrison (The game automatically makes up new players if they are needed, like rookies.)
Aaron Myette (SP)
Kenny Walker (RP)
Tim Drew (SP)
Dave Mengkry (SS)
My Set Lineup:
2B Vina
SS Renteria
CF Edmonds
1B Mcgwire
RF Drew
LF Canseco
3B Cirillo
C Matheny
Bench
1. Marrero C/IF/OF
2. Polanco IF
3. Paquette IF/OF
4. Robinson OF
5. Saturria OF
6. Wilkins C
Rotation
1. Kile
2. Morris
3. Hermansen
4. Stephenson
5. Ankiel
RP's
Closer: Shaw
Setup: Veres, Kline
Middle: Simas, Christiansen
Long: Alan Benes
Time to play the first month!
April
Well, I'm first place, with Houston a half game behind. Record is 13-11. Cincinatti had a startling run to first place, but are now at 12-12.
Vina is doing awesome this month... has a .305 BA. Jim Edmonds is hitting .342 with 7 home runs. Mcgwire has a .415 OBP despite his .210 average. Eight home runs too. Drew has been okay... .350 obp and 2 homers. Canseco and Cirillo have been pretty bad, .215 and .229 averages. The Pujols watch has started. In the minors this month he has a .295 average, .571 slugging percent, and .366 on-base percent.
Darrly Kile and Matt Morris are doing pretty good but could be better. e.77 e.r.a., and has a 2-2 record. Matt Morris 3.52 e.r.a., and a 2-1 record. Rick Ankiel has surprised so far in his encore. He has a 3.04 era, a 2-1 record and 24 k's in 23 innings. Hermanson has done average, 4.08 e.r.a. Stephenson has a 6.25 era and I'll send him to the minors in favor of Andy Benes.
Jeff Shaw has a 0.80 era, but besides him the releif has been reather average. Most of em have 4 something e.r.a's. I sent Christiansen down to the minors... he had been horrible. In his place is Dan Morrison, who has done really well in the minors.
With a big losing streak, a big winning streak, another losing streak and then a pretty .500 period my team finds itself at 24-28. Houston is leading the division at 29-22.
Ankiel has exploded, and now has a 4.59 era. Jeff Shaw has only given up 3 earned runs in 35 innings, and his e.r.a. got even LOWER... 0.76 now. Veres and Kline are yet to improve thier 4.50 era, so Bill Simas (2.95) has a setup role. Dan Morrison has a 3.85 era, so he'll stay for now. Darryl Kile's era has dropped to 2.50, and Matt Morris's is up to 4.53. Hermansen has a 3.72 era, and Benes has a nice 3.02.
Mcgwire's batting average is now .188, and Vina has had his average fall to .272. Renteria has continued to slump. On bright side of the offense, Cirillo's average and obp percent have shot up to .301 and .396, and Canseco has 15 homers out of nowhere. I moved Renteria to the #7 hole because he isn't hitting good. J.D. Drew, who was hitting 5th is now the #2 hitter. That lets the hot hitting Canseco and Cirillo get the 5 and 6 slots.
The Pujols watch... he's hitting .294 with 14 homers and a .371 on-base percentage in the minors. He has a .553 slugging percentage. I will bring him up next month if Canseco doesn't improve his .220 batting average.
Houstin is still in first, but I am only 1.5 games out. I was playing .500 ball for a few games before we went on a 12-3 tear. The teams record is now 42-37. In the wild card race, I'm second to Los Angeles and San Fransico, those teams both have a 48-31 record.
The hitters have all gone thier directions. Vina's hitting .260, Drew is continuing to be mediocre. Mcgwires era is "up" to .245. He has 25 homers and is tied for the league lead with Griffey. Cirillo's average is down a bit and he hasn't hit a homer all month (he has 3.) Canseco is moving to the bench for Pujols, he has a .221 batting average and 18 homers. Edmonds's average plummeted to .245, but he is producing otherwise.
Kile and Morris are doing well. Kile is 8-4 with a 2.65 era, and has 88 k's compared to 29 walks. Morris is 5-6 3.26. Hermanson, Benes and Ankiel all have ERA's in the high 3's low 4's, and are a combined 15-14.
Jeff Shaw has finally given up a few runs, and has a 1.66 e.r.a. The rest of the bullpenn has been good. Simas has a 2.15 era. I will alter some strategies and rely on my starters more. Maybe Pujols can contribute a bit of offense and my better than average pitching can bring me above the Astros. I have to look to make a big move soon. I need another star hitter and if I'm lucky, Pujols is it.
In fact I already made on move. I traded Eli Marrero and cash for Jamie Moyer. He has a really good ERA this year.
Losing streak, winning streak, losing streak. Overall I fell a few steps back.
My offense has gotten better. Cirillo has a pretty high average, and Pujols played pretty bad. I think he may be left in the minors until september. Edmonds, Mcgwire, and Vina have been producing, but we need a power hitter in there. Canseco is up to 21 homers so I put him back in his left field slot.
My rotation has been doing really good. Ankiel has a 4.51 era though, and he's struggling the most. Kile has a 2.84 era, Morris 3.73, Hermansen 3.81, and Moyer 2.13!
I'm going to shop Hermansen for a hitter...
...I traded a bunch of players for one in a pretty unrealistic trade:
Hermansen, Canseco, Christiansen, Robinson, and Craig Paquette for Gary Sheffield. I had reserves basically everywhere. Andy Benes was pushed out of the rotation when I got Moyer, but he has room now with Hermansen gone. Canseco would have been replaced by Sheff anyway. Christiansen was in the minors. I have 2 players of nearly identical skills to Robinson. Paquette's absence opens up a spot for Bonilla. Cool how things just work out.
Blah, Blah, Blah. Still second place, 69-52 record, behind Houston. They have tons of offense. I can't complain my offense isn't doing well now, I have Mcgwire, Sheffield, Drew, Edmonds and Cirillo.
Matt Morris had his ERA rise really high for some reason...
My Record is 83-76, I am 1 game out of the wild card (Dodgers and Giants are in the runnings also.)... there are 3 games left in the season...
Game 1: 1-0 win, tied for lead, the other team lost.
Game 2: 6-5 loss in extra innings... there is now a 3 way tie going down to the last game of the season. It is up to Jamie Moyer....
Game 3: 10-3 win. I'm tied with the Giants, and the Dodgers are officially out of the running after losing. There will be a 1 game playoff... It will be my Matt Morris vs. their Ramon Martinez...
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS AT SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS:
TOP OF THE FIRST
Fernando Vina struck out. <--->
J.D. Drew struck out. <--->
Gary Sheffield homered over the right field fence. <--->
Mark McGwire flied out to left. <--->
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the first, St. Louis leads 1 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE FIRST
Marvin Benard walked. <--1>
Dave Berg struck out. <--1>
Marvin Benard was caught stealing second. <--->
Jeff Kent was hit by a pitch. <--1>
Matt Morris balked. <-2->
Barry Bonds grounded to short. <-2->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the first, San Francisco trails 1 to 0.
TOP OF THE SECOND
Jim Edmonds walked. <--1>
Jeff Cirillo walked. <-21>
Edgar Renteria dribbled weakly to the catcher. <-21>
Mike Matheny popped up to the catcher. <-21>
Matt Morris grounded to third. <-21>
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
In the middle of the second, St. Louis leads 1 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE SECOND
Rich Aurilia struck out. <--->
J.T. Snow grounded to short. <--->
Armando Rios struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the second, San Francisco trails 1 to 0.
TOP OF THE THIRD
Fernando Vina singled up the middle. <--1>
J.D. Drew flied out to center. <--1>
Gary Sheffield popped up to first. <--1>
Mark McGwire struck out. <--1>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the third, St. Louis leads 1 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE THIRD
Bobby Estalella walked. <--1>
Ramon Martinez struck out. <--1>
Marvin Benard walked. <-21>
Dave Berg struck out. <-21>
Jeff Kent lined out to right. <-21>
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
At the end of the third, San Francisco trails 1 to 0.
TOP OF THE FOURTH
Jim Edmonds popped up to the catcher. <--->
Jeff Cirillo doubled down the third base line. <-2->
Edgar Renteria struck out. <-2->
Mike Matheny was intentionally walked. <-21>
Matt Morris lined out to right. <-21>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
In the middle of the fourth, St. Louis leads 1 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH
Barry Bonds grounded to second. <--->
Rich Aurilia popped up to the catcher. <--->
J.T. Snow flied out to right. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the fourth, San Francisco trails 1 to 0.
TOP OF THE FIFTH
Fernando Vina grounded to third. <--->
J.D. Drew struck out. <--->
Gary Sheffield doubled down the third base line. <-2->
Mark McGwire singled in the right field gap, scoring a run. <--1>
Jim Edmonds grounded to third. <--1>
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the fifth, St. Louis leads 2 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH
Armando Rios walked. <--1>
Bobby Estalella hit an infield single to second. <-21>
Felipe Crespo pinch hit for Ramon Martinez. <-21>
Felipe Crespo popped up to first. <-21>
Marvin Benard flied out to right. <-21>
Dave Berg grounded to short. <-21>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
At the end of the fifth, San Francisco trails 2 to 0.
TOP OF THE SIXTH
Felix Rodriguez came in to pitch for the Giants. <--->
Jeff Cirillo hit an infield single to short. <--1>
Edgar Renteria grounded to first. <--1>
Edgar Renteria was caught stealing second. <--->
Mike Matheny popped up to third. <--->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the sixth, St. Louis leads 2 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH
Jeff Kent grounded to first. <--->
Barry Bonds grounded to third. <--->
Rich Aurilia grounded to short. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the sixth, San Francisco trails 2 to 0.
TOP OF THE SEVENTH
Matt Morris grounded to second. <--->
Fernando Vina grounded to first. <--->
J.D. Drew struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the seventh, St. Louis leads 2 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH
Rick Wilkins came in to play First Baseman. <--->
Placido Polanco came in to play Shortstop. <--->
Bobby Bonilla came in to play Left Fielder. <--->
J.T. Snow flied out to right. <--->
Armando Rios popped up to the catcher. <--->
Bobby Estalella popped up to the catcher. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the seventh, San Francisco trails 2 to 0.
TOP OF THE EIGHTH
Alan Embree came in to pitch for the Giants. <--->
Bobby Bonilla struck out. <--->
Rick Wilkins grounded to first. <--->
Jim Edmonds struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the eighth, St. Louis leads 2 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH
Damon Minor pinch hit for Alan Embree. <--->
Damon Minor grounded to second. <--->
Marvin Benard grounded to third. <--->
Dave Berg grounded to third. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the eighth, San Francisco trails 2 to 0.
TOP OF THE NINTH
Robb Nen came in to pitch for the Giants. <--->
Jeff Cirillo singled through the right side. <--1>
Placido Polanco laid down a sacrifice bunt to the catcher. <-2->
Mike Matheny was intentionally walked. <-21>
Luis Saturria pinch hit for Matt Morris. <-21>
Luis Saturria flied out to center. <-21>
Fernando Vina grounded to third. <-21>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
In the middle of the ninth, St. Louis leads 2 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE NINTH
Jeff Shaw came in to pitch for the Cardinals. <--->
Jeff Kent singled up the middle. <--1>
Barry Bonds flied out to center. <--1>
Rich Aurilia singled through the hole. <-21>
J.T. Snow grounded to third for a double play. <-2->
Cardinals WIN: 2-0
Woohoo! Playoffs! I get to go against (checking....) the Diamondbacks! Hooray! Oh wait... Johnson and Schilling... Schilling and Johnson.
Game 1:
Yess!!! I beat Randy Johnson!!! Darryl Kile won, 5-4. Shaw got the save. J.D. Drew homered. With my better overall rotation I am set for life if I can beat Schilling...
Game 2:
I lose 8-7 in the bottom of the 9th.
Game 3: Brian Anderson vs. Matt Morris
I lost 6-4 :(
Game 4: Alan Benes vs. Bobby Witt... I passed the start (and all of my playoff hopes) to Rick Ankiel.
Ankiel had to leave the game early, and my releivers blew a 5 run lead to lose the game.
(Arizona won the World Series 4-1 vs. Cleveland. Trevor Hoffman got the Cy Young, Gary Sheffield MVP, and somehow Nelson Figuroa got ROY)
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