A Home For The Aged: A BBM Marlins Expansion Dynasty

[tarcone]

I started a Pure Sim career thanks to Sui.

[Suicane]

I'm the new Billy Mays!

DO YOU LOVE BASEBALL SIMS? SURE, WE ALL DO!!!

[Suicane]

1994 NATIONAL LEAGUE


1994 AMERICAN LEAGUE



1994 POST SEASON
ALDS
Mariners sweep the Yankees 3-0
Orioles beat the Indians 3-1

NLDS
Astros beat the Braves 3-1
Mets beat the Dodgers 3-1

ALCS
Mariners defeat the Orioles 4-2

NLCS
Mets romp over the Astros 4-0

1994 WORLD SERIES
The Mets defeat the Mariners 4 games to 1 to claim the 1994 World Series Title.

[Suicane]

1994 EXPIRING CONTRACTS

C Geno Petrali: Really good guy who wants to stay but we don't need a left handed hitting catcher and even paying him the minimum is not beneficial to our finances. We opt to let him walk.

RF Chris Gwynn: With the emergence of LF David Hulse and a whole host of Outfielders ready to go, we decide to pass on offering a contract to Chris.

SP Bryn Smith: We make every attempt to sign him for near what he made this year but he wants a raise and we don't have ability to give it to him. We let him go.

SP Frank Tanana: Man, Frank was kind of bitchy when we talked to him. He thinks a slight raise is in order but we arn't willing to pay him. He's gone.

SP Armando Reynoso: LOL. Yeah, sure. GOODBYE.

RP Dale Polley: He just isn't good enough to warrant paying even a minimum contract to. So long Dale.

[Suicane]

1994 ARBITRATION CASES

SP Ryan Bowen: He wants $360K. We offer $200K. He wins. So be it.

RP Rudy Seanez: He wants $270K. We offer $220K and win.

[Suicane]

START OF 1995 FINANCES

Farm System:	$5,600,000	(10th)
Scouting:	$6,200,000	(10th)
Medical:	$3,400,000	(10th)
Salaries:	$6,800,000	(28th)
Salary Budget:	$5,400,000	
Cash:		$1,300,000

We have almost zero wiggle room right now when it comes to finances. Do I risk spending money and hope we win enough to generate attendance and some positive cash flow? Of course if I spend and we continue to lose then I'll be out of cash quicker than A frog farts and i'll be in deep doodie.

Of course as always I wanna spend money in our system too but man am I hamstrung.

One course of action is to try and dump the contracts of Ozzie Gullen and Joey Cora, which combined add up to about $1M dollars. Both of those guys are horrid defensively as well which would go to something else I wanna do which is improve our infield defense.

Well, as we head into Winter time let's see what we can do.

[tarcone]

I would lower medical a little. You had guys hurt all season long at that amount. May as well let them get hurt at a lower cost.

[Suicane]

Yeah but nothing catastrophic. I don't know what i'd do if one of my young guys blew something out.

[Suicane]

1995 OFFSEASON MOVES

November 7th: Renogotiated: SP Ryan Bowen to a 3 year deal worth $370K per year. I'm not sure of his talent level but he has decent and this is a pretty fair deal. It helps that he likes playing here.


November 7th, Trade:

We Send
-----------------
SS Ozzie Guillen	30	77/77	$430K/1YRS
SP Ryan Bradley		19	53/78	$4K/ARB97

To The Boston Red Sox In Exchange For
-----------------
SP Pete Walker		25	63/70	$134K/2YRS
SP Tim Van Egmond	25	74/77	$7K/ARB97
$400K Cash

Really like this deal from a couple of perspectives. Firstly it saves us $300K and brings in $400K so financialy it's a very nice deal. And I think the talent end is a win for me as well. We gave up a decent prospect in Bradley but he's years away from contributing. Losing Guillen was....well I dunno. He hit ok but his defense was shit. On the other hand we have no idea how Cordero will work out and it was nice having a veteran backup there but what can ya do.

From our end Walker is more or less a 40 man roster filler type guy but Van Egmond is just the kind of pitcher i like, good control and good endurance, I can easily see him competing for a rotation spot. I think both sides are happy with this deal.



December 1st, Trade:

We Send
-----------------
2B Joey Cora		29	75/75	$630K/2YRS
3B Phil Hiatt		25	67/71	$7K/ARB97
RP Rudy Seanez		26	73/75	$220K/1YRS
RP Josias Manzanillo	27	71/73	$13K/ARB96

To The Chicago Cubs In Exchange For
-----------------
SS Rey Sanchez		27	78/78	$218K/1YRS
RP Paul Assenmacher	33	76/76	$420K/1YRS

Well now, a case of give and take. We gave up on 2 young electric arms but with Heredia and Percival slotted in the back end of our pen they were both expendable. Losing Cora doesn't bother me at all as Sanchez is a defensive whiz at SS & 2B and that's something I really wanted. I believe he can also be a quality bat as well. The only drawback is that he's in the last year of his contract but ya gotta take the good with the bad. Assenmach struggled last year but his stuff is still really good, better than anyone we've had on our team in it's short existance and more importantly he's a Lefty who can come in and we believe get out big time left handed bats. I'm very pleased with this deal.



December 18th, Trade:

We Send
-----------------
2B Donnie Sadler	19	49/66	$150K/1YRS 	
C  Craig Colbert	29	59/61	$150K/1YRS
SP Glenn Dishman	24	60/83	$4K/ARB97

To The Colorado Rockies In Exchange For
-----------------
C  John Flaherty	27	72/73	$113K/ARB96
LF Ozzie Timmons	24	58/76	$5K/ARB97
$500K Cash

What we give up are 2 guys who were 40 man roster filler and a sound SP prospect and what we gained was a better all around backup catcher and a decent LF prospect as well as $500K. I'm very happy with this deal.



January 25th, Trade:

We Send
-----------------
LF Ozzie Timmons	24	58/76	$5K/ARB97

To The Oakland Athletics In Exchange For
-----------------
LF Scott Lydy		26	59/62	$8K/ARB97
SP Chris Eddy		25	64/71	$6K/ARB97

Not much to this deal, just trying to fill out my 40 man roster cheaply and I don't have many tradeable assets. Eddy actually seems to have decent stuff so he's more than just a warm body, that's good I suppose.



February 12th: Signed: Catcher John Russell for 1 year at $160K. The 34 year old veteran is rated 60/60 and will be our AAA Catcher and fill out or 40 man roster.

[Suicane]

Ooooh i'm apprehensive and excited for this upcoming season. I was really into playing all my games but being horrid every year will suck that out of me soon I think, and I honestly dont like the way Moguls AI runs a team when you sim. This is an important season for me and my fishies!!

[Suicane]

1995 MLB OFFSEASON MOVES

BIG FREE AGENT SIGNINGS
Mike Greenwell signed with Seattle for 4 years at $3,150,000
Bill Swift left the Giants to sign with the Angels for $1,800,000 at 2 years.
Robbie Thompson also left the Giants to go to Texas for 3 years and $2,550,000.
Jose Canseco left the Rangers and signed with Baltimore for $2,450,000 and 2 years.
John Wetteland left Montreal to sign with Seattle at $1,700,000 for 3 years.
Mitch Williams went from Philly to Cleveland.
Sean Berry exited Montreal and signed with the Mets for $2.5 Million and 3 years.
Dennis Eckersley went from Oakland to Cleveland.
Jeff King left the Pirates to sign with the Yankees for 3 years at $2.6M.
Eddie Taubansee went from Houston back to his original club of Cleveland.
Bruce Hurst and Mike Stanton signed nice deals to pitch in Texas.
The Red Sox signed Charlie Liebrandt for 2 seasons.
Bob Patterson and Bobby Thigpen went to the Dodgers.
Orlando Merced left the Pirates to become a Twin.
Micky Morandini left Philly to play in Oakland.
Dave Martinez went from the Giants to the Mets.
Ed Sprage left Toronto for Cleveland.
Otis Nixon signed with Boston.
Jeff Conine joined the Chicago Cubs.
Paul Molitor went back home and signed with Millwaukee.


TRADES
The only big deal of the offseason saw the Mets acquire Seattle closer Sasaki Kazuhiro in exchange for a slew of young talent including RP Anthony Young and some solid prospects.


RETIREMENTS
Vince Coleman, Ozzie Smith, Mike Gallego, Carlton Fisk, Dave Winfield, Kevin Bass, Lonnie Smith, Larry Anderson, Armando Reynoso, Bob Walk, Charlie O'Brien, Cecil Espy, Neal Heaton, Wally Backman, Nolan Ryan, Charlie Hough, Jeff Reardon, Bryn Smith, Frank Tanana. Those are just the names that standout to me, of course there were alot more.

[Suicane]

1995 ROSTER AND PREVIEW

C-  Dave Nilson		25	83/89	$146K/ARB95
1B- JT Snow		27	79/89	$146K/ARB95
2B- Rey Sanchez		27	79/79	$218K/1YRS
SS- Wil Cordero		23	75/87	$146K/ARB96
3B- Vinny Castilla	27	79/79	$146K/ARB95
LF- Tom Goodwin		26	77/89	$850K/4YRS
CF- David Hulse		27	67/69	$146K/ARB96
RF- Chad Curtis		26	77/77	$146K/ARB95
 
BENCH
C-  John Flaherty	27	72/72	$146K/ARB95
C-  Nelson Santovenia	33	62/62	$180K/1YRS
1B- Gene Larkin		32	66/66	$410K/2YRS
2B- Terry Shumpert	28	73/73	$330K/1YRS
2B- Kurt Stilwell	29	69/69	$280K/1YRS
RF- Jon Nunnally	23	70/73	$146K/ARB97


PITCHING STAFF
SP- Tony Saunders	20	73/83	$146K/ARB95
SP- Chuck Smith		25	73/80	$146K/ARB96
SP- Ryan Bowen		27	75/76	$370K/3YRS
SP- Phil Leftwich	25	73/75	$146K/ARB96
SP- Tim Van Egmond	25	74/77	$146K/ARB97
CL- Troy Percival	25	78/81	$146K/ARB97
SE- Gil Heredia		29	77/78	$280K/3YRS
SR- Paul Assenmacher	34	76/76	$420K/1YRS
SR- Pete Walker		25	70/73	$134K/2YRS
MR- Jeff Ballard	31	63/63	$190K/1YRS
LR- Eric Hillman	28	64/66	$200K/1YRS


AAA
C-  John Russell	34	60/60	$160K/1YRS *
1B- Tim Costo		26	58/61	$12K/ARB97 *
SS- Esteban Beltre	27	63/65	$26K/ARB96 *
LF- John Cangelosi	32	66/66	$12K/ARB97 *
CF- Carl Everett	23	73/92	$12K/ARB97 *
RF- Shawn Green		22	74/88	$12K/ARB97 *
SP- Frank Seminara	27	69/69	$113K/ARB95 *
RP- Chris Eddy		25	70/73	$12K/ARB97 *
RP- Jose Alberro	25	68/71	$12K/ARB97 *
RP- AJ Sager		30	66/69	$12K/ARB97 *
RP- Gary Buckels	29	63/66	$146K/1YRS *

AA
1B- Guillermo Velasquez	26	53/56	$16K/ARB97 *
SS- Keith Kessinger	28	52/60	$12K/ARB97 *
LF- Scott Lydy		26	59/62	$12K/ARB97 *
SP- Cory Lidle		23	71/85	$8K/ARB97 *


A
2B- Ralph Milliard	21	54/72	$5K/ARB97
3B- Mike Lamb		19	51/74	$8K/ARB97
SP- Rodrigo Lopez	19	61/92	$6K/ARB97
SP- Ryan Rupe		20	58/90	$5K/ARB97

R
2B- Jerry Hairston	18	53/72	$5K/ARB97
3B- Troy Glaus		18	57/83	$5K/ARB97
SP- Adrian Hernandez	20	51/91	$5K/ARB97
SP- Josh Fogg		18	51/85	$5K/ARB97
SP- Lance Davis		18	51/87	$5K/ARB97
RP- Eric Gagne		19	57/70	$5K/ARB97
RP- Jason Childers	20	51/83	$5K/ARB97
RP- Tony Cogan		18	47/78	$5K/ARB97

Ok, lets start top to bottom. Our Catching situation I think is very nice. Nilsson/Flaherty is a nice combo that allows Dave to sit against hard lefties. Financialy both guys are likely to be arbitration cases at the end of the year, so that's not good but I'm hoping we have the ability to lock Nilsson up long term.

JT Snow and Gene Larkin will platoon at 1st base with Snow going against righties. I don't think JT will become arbitration eligable this year so that's a good thing.

Rey Sanchez at 2B is like a much better version of Joey Cora. Better hitter, MUCH better fielder. The kind of guy you can put out there and not worry about. Wil Cordero at SS is an unknown, he has all the talent in the world I just hope i'm not rushing him. Vinny Castilla will play everyday at 3B although I really would like to see him hit righties better but I think he's about as good as he's gonna be in that department. I wouldn't be surprised to see him flourish, flounder or anywhere in between. The left side of my infield defense is gonna be suspect again, but at least the right side should be pretty awesome.

In the Outfield David Hulse will start the year as my CF against righties, he impressed me enough last year that I feel ok starting the season with him and seeing what happens. Goodwin will move to LF against righties and CF against lefties. Chad Curtis will play RF against righties and LF against lefties and Terry Shumpert will be our RF against lefty bats. Green and Everett will start the year in AAA to get a little more seasoning but i'm already prepared to call them up if neccesary, and once they get here they will start. Green and Curtis will likely platoon in RF once Shawn gets the callup.

Our bench is decent enough. Jon Nunnaly has impressed enough with his power to win a spot and Shumpert and Stillwell can play all over the place so while they arn't world beaters they do provide flexability.

As for our pitching staff, well it's the starters who are the question marks. We have 5 young guys, all of whom could easily go one way or the other. I'm pretty excited to see what we get out of them this year. Our bullpen I think I've built pretty damn well. Percival, Heredia and Assenmacher are all being counted on to be top notch. Walker, Ballard and Hillman will not have the pressure on them in the front of the pen and i'm hoping they can all come thru and be solid contributers. I like having 3 righties and 3 lefties, gives me the ability to do alot of situational pitching.

Overall theres obviously a ton of question marks, but one thing is for sure, we're no longer an aged team. This squad will live or die by how youth is served.

[Suicane]

START OF 1995 FINANCES

Farm System:	$7,000,000	(5th)
Scouting:	$7,200,000	(5th)
Medical:	$3,100,000	(13th)
Salaries:	$6,300,000	(28th)
Salary Budget:	$3,700,000	
Cash:		$2,200,000

Clearly we have to find a way to make money, and the way to do that is to win. However, with our $2.2M cash reserve I don't think i'll run out of money this season, but alot of guys are nearing arbitration so just treading water isn't gonna cut it. I can't continue to just play year to year and try and fill wholes cheaply, I need to generate positive cashflow and quick. We'll see.



1995 STARTING LINEUPS

RIGHT HANDED			LEFT HANDED
1. LF Tom Goodwin		1. CF Tom Goodwin
2. 2B Rey Sanchez		2. 2B Rey Sanchez
3. 1B JT Snow			3. 3B Vinny Castilla
4. 3B Vinny Castilla		4. LF Chad Curtis
5. C  Dave Nilsson		5. 1B Gene Larkin
6. RF Chad Curtis		6. SS Wil Cordero
7. CF David Hulse		7. RF Terry Shumpert
8. SS Wil Cordero		8. C  John Flaherty

[Suicane]

Edited in the award winners to the end of season post.

NL MVP: LF Eric Davis, Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Cy Young: SP Greg Maddux, Atlanta Braves
NL ROTY: SP William Van Landingham, San Fransisco Giants

AL MVP: CF Bernie Williams, New York Yankees
AL Cy Young: SP Mike Mussina, Baltimore Orioles
AL ROTY: 2B Ray Durham, Chicago White Sox

[Suicane]

Welp, it's about time to start the season. YAY!!