Deja Vu... All Over Again (Replaying the 2012 Season via Sim)

[Ben Grimm]

I purchased a PC sim called Out of the Park Baseball yesterday.

I figured I'd see if I can "fix" the 2012 Phillies. So far, I've done the first month and the Fightin's are 13-10 (as opposed to 11-12 in real life after 23 games). First thing I did - with Howard and Utley on the DL for so long - was make a trade for a RH bat. With a marginal budget to work with, I had to send Dom Brown to the Padres for Chase Headley and moved Polanco over to 2B with Galvis backing up 2B & SS - mostly PHing and PRing when needed.

Amazingly, Polly must have forgotten how old he is since he's leading the team with a .362 Avg.

The difference on offense is the Phils are top-5 in the NL for OB% - something they've lacked lately. They're also top-5 in hits, runs scored and SBs. But, 15th in SLG & HRs. Only one player has more than 1 HR and that's Rollins with three.

Pitching-wise, they're top-5 for starter ERA and dead last in bullpen ERA. Any of this sound familiar?

Instead of releasing Podsednik, like the Phils did, I moved him to San Fran for Gregor Blanco - they get the more proven player while the Phils get a bit younger - especially since Pierre's already on the roster along with Nix.

Mayberry went on the DL the first week, but has been solid since returning (about 6 games).

Halladay is top-5 for ERA but only has a 1-3 record to show for it - looking like Cliff's start to 2012. Hamels has the highest ERA of the starters (4+) but is getting good run support and has 3 wiins.

Ruiz started out like a house afire, but has cooled lately. He leads the team in RBIs, but there are 2-3 others within one or two.

So far, the NL East has every team over .500 with the Marlins & Nationals both at 15-8. The Phils started out 2-6 which dropped them to #29 on the Power Meter, but have gone 11-4 the rest of the month and are now #9 in MLB.

I'm trying to be a bit more aggressive - which is what I wanted Charlie to do early this year. It's paying off a bit - especially with the hit-n-runs with contact guys at the plate. At worst, it's eliminated possible double plays.

It's been fun to go thru so far. I'll try to keep this updated as I go through each month.

[Ben Grimm]

Mid-May now and the Fightin's are up to 21-14 (2 games behind both Washington and Atlanta who are tied at the top). Massive injuries are a problem in the outfield. Lost both Mayberry and Pierre long-term (6-9 weeks each) and have to rely on farm system players since I moved Dom Brown. So far, they're okay but it won't last too long. My have to make a move if we hit a 3-4 game losing streak. Rollins has been in beastmode for the most part - up to 6 HRs and just knocked his second triple of the season. Victorino was in a two-week slump but a bases loaded double got him out of if and Freddy Galvis is becoming one of the best pinch hitters ever. Both Halladay and Lee are top-10 in ERA yet have a combined 2-6 W/L record. Worley laughs at them with his 4 wins while holding an ERA approaching 5.

[philliesfiend55]

Ben, You mentioned Out of the Park Baseball's Sim games, well you should also Check out Out of the Park Baseball's photo galleries (google: Gambo and T_Will photopack Or Out Of The Park Developments) Over 17,000 photo sections of players from 1870 to present and they add to it daily). You can request photos of certain players and members are happy to provide them, if available. During the regular season they post photos of each new player who makes their major leagues debut. You can Download photos to share with the other members of the forum. I enjoy it and recommend it,

[Ben Grimm]

May is now complete and the Phils find themselves leading the NL East by two games over the Marlins. The Nats took a big hit with Jayson Werth landing on the 60-day DL with a fractured collarbone. He was their best hitter while they were in first for more than a month while still having the AVG leader, HR leader, ERA leader & strikeout leader. They haven't called up Harper yet, but he's hitting .344 in AA with 12 HRs already.

Placido Polanco reached his 2000 hit milestone on May 5th.

Bullpen is still shakey as ever, but the rotation's been solid enough to go 7+ for the most part with the top three. Qualls has been lights out as a set-up so far.

Ryan Howard's due to return in a week from his Achilles tendon injury and Juan Pierre finally returns since injuring himself mid-April. Utley's still a month away and it's another whole month after that until Mayberry returns.

Thome & Blanton are bugging me about contract extensions and with Ryan returning, Thome's likely to be moved for some depth. Who knows? Maybe the O's will take his bat like they did in real life.

Here's what the team looks like so far:

April 13-10 (.565)
May 20-9 (.690)
Overall 33-19 (.635)

Extra-inning games 6-1
One-run games 12-4

NL Rankings

Batting

Batting Average (2nd)
On Base Percentage (2nd)
Slugging Percentage (9th)
On-Base + Slugging (3rd)
Runs Scored (2nd)
Hits (2nd)
Extra-Base Hits (7th)
Home Runs (16th)
Strikeouts (2nd)
Stolen Bases (1st)

Pitching

Earned Run Average (5th)
Starters' ERA (2nd)
Bullpen ERA (15th)
Runs Allowed (4th)
Hits Allowed (14th)
Opponents AVG (11th)
BABIP (12th)
Home Runs Allowed (1st)
Bases on Balls (1st)
Strikeouts (6th)

Batting Leaders

Batting Average: P. Polanco (.329)
On-Base Percentage: P. Polanco (.397)
Slugging Percentage: J. Rollins (.471)
On-Base + Slugging: H. Pence (.842)
Hits: H. Pence (61)
Doubles: H. Pence (17)
Triples: J. Rollins (3)
Home Runs: J. Rollins (8)
Runs Battin In: J. Rollins (31)
Runs Scored: J. Rollins (39)
Stolen Bases: S. Victorino (14)
Total Bases: J. Rollins (99)
Wins Above Replacement: J. Rollins (2.3)

Pitching Leaders

Earned Run Average: R. Halladay (2.05)
Wins: C. Hamels (6)
Saves: J. Papelbon (15)
Innings Pitched: C. Lee (82.0)
Shutouts: C. Lee (1)
Hits per 9IP: C. Lee (7.35)
Home Runs per 9IP: R. Halladay (0.27)
Strikeouts: C. Hamels (76)
K's per 9IP: C. Hamels (8.96)
K's per BB: R. Halladay (25.50)
Opponents AVG: C. Lee (.218)
Walks + Hits per 9IP: R. Halladay (0.89)
Wins Above Replacement: C. Hamels (3.1)

[Ben Grimm]

Ouch. June begins with a loud thud. Roy Halladay goes down with an elbow injury that will take 8-9 months of recovery time - making it close for ST next year. Howard's been activated and Thome was traded to the Rangers for SP Matt Harrison. I'm not a big fan of his (though he did have a good year in '12), and he came over with an ERA of 4.80, but he's 2-0 so far with an ERA in the 2s and will be used as a platoon #5 with Kendrick depending on opponent. They have Ryan figured out in this - he's over 1K per game and has himself a golden sombrero so far in his first 10 starts. It took a long time, but Victorino finally hit his first dinger of the season.

Amateur draft was held, and so far 5 of the first 6 picks have signed. I only recognized 2-3 names who went early and simply used my first three picks on a power-hitting corner outfielder, power starting pitcher, and a second baseman. I then had enough of it and auto-drafted the next 20+ rounds.

[Ben Grimm]

Now it's the end of June with the true dog days coming up. Rough time as Hamels decided to go cold for a few starts and Blanton picked up the slack along with Worley. Utley's now on minor league rehab and should be good to go in two weeks. Pierre played two games and immediately go injured again and is back on the DL - joining Mayberry. It's gonna be tough without Halladay for the 2nd half & may be required to make an offer for a pitcher if this team leaks oil. So far, so good though and I don't want to take on any more salary.

After a slow start (2 doubles after 10 games), Ryan's heated up a bit launching 4 homers over his last 15. His overall numbers aren't great, but much better than Thome is doing currently. Quiet player so far is Headley. He's top 5 in almost every category for the team - including runs, hits, walks, RBI, HR, SB, 2B & OBP. He's been extended in a very fair deal for both sides as his contract never goes over $10M per year and he'll only be 31 or so when it expires.

Here's the Fightin's thru June with the AS Game creeping up.

April 13-10 (.565)
May 20-9 (.690)
June 18-10 (.643)
Overall 51-29 (.637)

Extra-inning games 7-2
One-run games 17-6

NL Rankings

Batting

Batting Average (4th)
On Base Percentage (2nd)
Slugging Percentage (8th)
On-Base + Slugging (3rd)
Runs Scored (2nd)
Hits (3rd)
Extra-Base Hits (7th)
Home Runs (14th)
Bases on Balls (2nd)
Strikeouts (1st)
Stolen Bases (1st)

Pitching

Earned Run Average (2nd)
Starters' ERA (1st)
Bullpen ERA (15th)
Runs Allowed (2nd)
Hits Allowed (11th)
Opponents AVG (9th)
BABIP (8th)
Home Runs Allowed (1st)
Bases on Balls (1st)
Strikeouts (10th)

Batting Leaders

Batting Average: H. Pence (.297)
On-Base Percentage: S. Victorino (.361)
Slugging Percentage: H. Pence (.454)
On-Base + Slugging: H. Pence (.813)
Hits: H. Pence (91)
Doubles: H. Pence (23)
Triples: J. Rollins (4)
Home Runs: J. Rollins (12)
Runs Battin In: H. Pence (44)
Runs Scored: J. Rollins (63)
Stolen Bases: S. Victorino (21)
Total Bases: J. Rollins (144)
Wins Above Replacement: J. Rollins (3.2)

Pitching Leaders

Earned Run Average: C. Lee (2.20)
Wins: C. Hamels (8)
Saves: J. Papelbon (21)
Innings Pitched: C. Lee (118.2)
Shutouts: C. Lee (1)
Hits per 9IP: C. Lee (7.89)
Home Runs per 9IP: V. Worley (0.35)
Strikeouts: C. Lee (110)
K's per 9IP: C. Lee (8.34)
K's per BB: C. Lee (5.79)
Opponents AVG: C. Lee (.231)
Walks + Hits per 9IP: C. Lee (1.04)
Wins Above Replacement: C. Hamels (3.19)

[Ben Grimm]

It's the end of July - and the end of the non-waiver trade period. The Phils are holding their lead over Miami by five games, but are feeling the pressure of not having Halladay in the lineup. Luckily, the offense has been steady and pretty much everybody is healthy for the first time. This month also highlighted a couple late-inning comebacks - one from as much as being down 7-2 in the 9th inning and putting up 8 runs to win 10-7.

With the deadline looming, I was looking for some possibilities for 2013 by moving some expiring contracts/underperformers while not hurting the active roster for a playoff push. With the return of Utley - along with Headley already at 3B - Polanco became expendable. Polly's having a great year, so it hurt a bit to move him, but couldn't pass up on an underachieving LF in Alex Gordon who's got a manageable contract thru the next few years as he was extended prior to 2012.

What's been really hurting has been LHPs in the pen. So far, only Savery is holding his own. That made it essential to move two younger bodies for Phil Coke.

Here's where the team is at now:

Transactions

July 1st - Released UTIL Michael Martinez
Representing the Phillies for the 2012 All-Star Game were Cliff Lee, Jimmy Rollins and Hunter Pence.

July 11th - Activated SP Joe Blanton from 15-day DL
July 16th - Traded RP Michael Schwimer and RP Jacob Diekman to Kansas City Royals for 2B Johnny Giavotella
July 19th - Activated OF John Mayberry Jr. from 60-day DL
July 19th - Purchased contract of 2B Chase Utley from AAA Lehigh Valley
July 19th - Traded 2B/3B Placido Polanco to Kansas City for LF Alex Gordon
July 19th - Sent LF/CF Gregor Blanco to AAA Lehigh Valley
July 21st - Placed LF Alex Gordon on 15-day DL - Recalled Gregor Blanco from AAA Lehigh Valley
July 24th - Activated LF Juan Pierre from 60-day DL - Sent CF Laynce Nix to AAA Lehigh Valley
July 31st - Traded RP Michael Stutes to Minnesota Twins for RP Phil Coke

Team Info

April 13-10 (.565)
May 20-9 (.690)
June 18-10 (.643)
July 14-9 (.609)
Overall 65-38 (.631)

Extra-inning games 9-2
One-run games 20-8

NL Rankings

Batting

Batting Average (3rd)
On Base Percentage (2nd)
Slugging Percentage (4th)
On-Base + Slugging (2nd)
Runs Scored (2nd)
Hits (4th)
Extra-Base Hits (5th)
Home Runs (10th)
Bases on Balls (2nd)
Strikeouts (1st)
Stolen Bases (1st)

Pitching

Earned Run Average (7th)
Starters' ERA (2nd)
Bullpen ERA (15th)
Runs Allowed (4th)
Hits Allowed (11th)
Opponents AVG (10th)
BABIP (11th)
Home Runs Allowed (4th)
Bases on Balls (1st)
Strikeouts (12th)

Team Leaders

Batting

Batting Average: P. Polanco (316), H. Pence (.306)
On-Base Percentage: P. Polanco (.369), H. Pence (.363)
Slugging Percentage: H. Pence (.485), C. Headley (.460)
On-Base + Slugging: H. Pence (.848)
Hits: H. Pence (123), J. Rollins (121)
Doubles: S. Victorino (28), C. Headley (27), H. Pence (27)
Triples: J. Rollins (4), H. Pence (3)
Home Runs: J. Rollins (16), C. Headley (15), H. Pence (13)
Runs Battin In: H. Pence (65)
Runs Scored: J. Rollins (83)
Stolen Bases: S. Victorino (29), J. Rollins (24)
Xtra Base Hits: C. Headley (44), H. Pence (43)
Total Bases: H. Pence (195)
Wins Above Replacement: J. Rollins (4.0)

Pitching Leaders

Earned Run Average: C. Lee (2.56)
Wins: C. Hamels (12), C. Lee (10)
Saves: J. Papelbon (27)
Innings Pitched: C. Lee (165.0), C. Hamels (152.2)
Shutouts: C. Lee (2)
Hits per 9IP: C. Lee (7.85), J. Blanton (8.61)
Home Runs per 9IP: V. Worley (0.50), C. Lee (0.65)
Strikeouts: C. Lee (151), C. Hamels (129)
K's per 9IP: C. Lee (8.24), C. Hamels (7.60)
K's per BB: C. Lee (5.59)
Opponents AVG: C. Lee (.232), J. Blanton (.251)
Walks + Hits per 9IP: C. Lee (1.04), J. Blanton (1.18)
Wins Above Replacement: C. Lee (5.7), C. Hamels (4.4)

[Ben Grimm]

August started out quite rough as far as health goes. Both Cliff Lee and Jimmy Rollins were on the DL for three weeks. Trotting out a rotation of Hamels, Blanton, Worley, Kendrick and Harrison isn’t the recipe for success, but the bats maintained and the bullpen improved with the better balance from the few tweaks made last month.

A couple of milestones were reached this past month.

Date: 8/8/2012

Jimmy Rollins collected hit number 2000 of his career as he went 4-5 for the Phils against Atlanta.

Date: 8/13/2012

Ryan Howard reached the 300 home run mark with a 418-foot shot to right-center field in Miami.

Here's where the team is at now:

Team Info

April 13-10 (.565)
May 20-9 (.690)
June 18-10 (.643)
July 14-9 (.609)
August 20-9 (.690)
Overall 85-47 (.644)

Extra-inning games 10-2
One-run games 24-12

NL Rankings

Batting

Batting Average (4th)
On Base Percentage (2nd)
Slugging Percentage (3rd)
On-Base + Slugging (2nd)
Runs Scored (2nd)
Hits (5th)
Extra-Base Hits (6th)
Home Runs (9th)
Bases on Balls (1st)
Strikeouts (1st)
Stolen Bases (1st)

Pitching

Earned Run Average (5th)
Starters' ERA (2nd)
Bullpen ERA (12th)
Runs Allowed (2nd)
Hits Allowed (7th)
Opponents AVG (9th)
BABIP (7th)
Home Runs Allowed (6th)
Bases on Balls (1st)
Strikeouts (14th)

Team Leaders

Batting

Batting Average: H. Pence (.304)
On-Base Percentage: H. Pence (.363)
Slugging Percentage: J. Rollins (.483), H. Pence (.482)
On-Base + Slugging: H. Pence (.845), J. Rollins (.838), C. Headley (.830)
Hits: H. Pence (153), C. Headley (142)
Doubles: H. Pence (32), S. Victorino (31), C. Headley (30)
Triples: J. Rollins (6)
Home Runs: C. Headley (21), J. Rollins 20), R. Howard (18), H. Pence (17)
Runs Batted In: H. Pence (78), C. Headley (76)
Runs Scored: J. Rollins (91)
Stolen Bases: S. Victorino (32), J. Rollins (25)
Xtra Base Hits: C. Headley (53), H. Pence (53)
Total Bases: H. Pence (244), C. Headley (239)
Wins Above Replacement: J. Rollins (4.8)

Pitching Leaders

Earned Run Average: C. Lee (2.52)
Wins: C. Hamels (15), C. Lee (12), V. Worley (11)
Saves: J. Papelbon (37)
Innings Pitched: C. Hamels (197.2), C. Lee (178.1)
Shutouts: C. Lee (2)
Hits per 9IP: C. Lee (7.72), J. Blanton (8.55)
Home Runs per 9IP: C. Lee (0.61), V. Worley (0.66)
Strikeouts: C. Hamels (168), C. Lee (160)
K's per 9IP: C. Lee (8.07), C. Hamels (7.65)
K's per BB: C. Lee (5.33)
Opponents AVG: C. Lee (.228), J. Blanton (.253)
Walks + Hits per 9IP: C. Lee (1.03), J. Blanton (1.22)
Wins Above Replacement: C. Lee (6.2), C. Hamels (5.5)

[jalbright]

I'm guessing you're running a little ahead of the baseball Pythagorean theorem with that record in one run games. Do you know how many runs total the Phils have scored and allowed?

[Ben Grimm]

So far...

653 runs scored
506 runs allowed

[Ben Grimm]

I just got the following message...

Peter Angelos, owner of the Baltimore Orioles, has passed away. He succumbed to a longtime illness yesterday. The sad news was announced today at a press conference in Baltimore. His son, Peter Angelos Jr., will take over the ownership of the team.

That's odd to put something like that into a game.

Also, Ruben Tejada - the young shortstop for the Mets - was forced to retire from baseball at age 22 because of a shattered wrist that cannot not be repaired well enough to allow him to play.

[Ben Grimm]

A terrible September so far. As of 9/1, the Phils had a 9 game lead over Atlanta. Since then, the Phils have stumbled along with a 9-12 record with the Bravos going 15-6 in the same span. The lead is now down to 3 games with 9 to go. I'll try to finish this tonight or tomorrow and see what the playoff picture looks like.

[Ben Grimm]

Phils take 3 from Washington but the Braves did the same with Miami. Only 6 games to go for both teams, but the 3 game lead looks a bit safer now.

[Ben Grimm]

End of the regular season.

After that 9-12 start through the first three weeks of September, the Phils finished with a flurry as they tried to outpace the Braves in the final weeks of the season - winning the division by 4 games and surpassing the 100-win mark for the second consecutive season.

Toughest part of the season was the pitching staff and bullpen. I hardly expected Halladay to go down for the year so early. Add in Lee with two stints on the DL followed by Hamels on it once, and the rotation was thin. The bullpen improved - mostly by subtraction via appearance limits, L/R matchups or trades.

Ryan Howard's return was successful as he was on pace for 40+ HRs. Chase's started out slowly, but he had a solid final month. As figured prior to the regular season last year, Wigginton and Nix were practically worthless. They may be paid to play for somebody else this offseason. On the pitching side, many of the young kids failed in the pen, and Contreras fell apart towards the end.

There was one strange game. During a heated battle against Atlanta with the Phils down 7-3, Chase Utley launched a 3-run HR during the 6th inning to bring the game within one. In their final at bat, Utley was up again against Johnny Venters. Venters drilled Chase in the ribs, and after much jawing, Utley charged the mound - leading to a bench-clearing brawl. Both Venters and Utley were ejected - as was Brian McCann. The game also saw Atlanta starter Julio Tejeran go down with an injury in the first and his replacement, Randall Delgado, was forced to leave in the second - both with elbow soreness.

Here's a breakdown of how the team did overall as well as basic hitting/pitching stats below.

Overall Record: 101-61 (.623), 1st place in NL East
Home: 54-27
Road: 47-34
Extra Innings: 11-3
One-run Games: 28-15
Last 10 Games: 8-2
April: 13-10
May: 20-9
June: 18-10
July: 14-9
August: 20-9
September: 14-13
October: 2-1

NL Rankings

Batting

Batting Average: .262 (4th)
On-Base Percentage: .343 (1st)
Slugging Percentage: .406 (4th)
On-Base + Slugging: .750 (2nd)
Runs Scored: 793 (2nd)
Hits: 1444 (6th)
Extra-Base Hits: 459 (8th)
Home Runs: 153 (9th)
Bases-On-Balls: 638 (1st)
Strikeouts: 1007 (2nd)
Stolen Bases: 142 (1st)

Pitching

Earned Run Average: 3.92 (8th)
Starters' ERA: 3.81 (9th)
Bullpen ERA: 4.24 (12th)
Runs Allowed: 660 (3rd)
Hits Allowed: 1459 (14th)
Opponents AVG: .259 (12th)
BABIP: .299 (8th)
Home Runs Allowed: 142 (t-6th)
Bases-On-Balls: 395 (1st)
Strikeouts: 1082 (16th)

Team Statistics

Batting

POS  Player Name         G    AB    R   H   2B  3B   HR  RBI   TB  BB    K   SB  CS   AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS

C    Carlos Ruiz        142  484   68  111  23   0    6   66  152  74   71    6   1  .229  .336  .314  .650
1B   Ryan Howard*       107  401   80  100  20   0   27   78  201  61  110    4   2  .249  .348  .501  .849
2B   Chase Utley*        63  208   27   51   6   1    7   28   80  33   32    2   3  .245  .379  .385  .764
3B   Chase Headley#     160  620  101  173  40   2   25   90  292  70  133   15   8  .279  .361  .471  .832
SS   Jimmy Rollins      143  594  112  167  23   7   24   80  276  55   63   26   4  .281  .345  .465  .801
LF   Alex Gordon*        49  163   22   36   4   2    7   20   65  31   46    1   0  .221  .355  .399  .754
CF   Shane Victorino#   159  619   80  169  37   6    7   70  239  67   79   45  15  .273  .353  .386  .739
RF   Hunter Pence       158  617   92  186  35   4   25  101  304  58   95   13   6  .301  .362  .493  .855

C    Brian Schneider*    29   80   10   21   4   0    1    8   28  16   10    0   0  .263  .381  .350  .731
1B   Jim Thome*          50  144   22   26   6   1    6   31   52  30   32    1   0  .181  .318  .361  .680
1B   Darrin Ruf           3    6    1    1   0   0    0    0    1   0    2    0   0  .167  .167  .167  .333
2B   Pete Orr*           17   32    3   12   1   0    0    4   13   1    6    0   0  .375  .394  .406  .800
2B   Johnny Giavotella    4   10    1    1   0   1    0    3    3   0    0    0   0  .100  .091  .300  .391
IF   Placido Polanco     82  320   35  101  26   2    3   44  140  21   18    6   1  .316  .369  .438  .806
IF   Freddy Galvis#      96  200   23   60   9   1    6   32   89  10   31    5   1  .300  .343  .445  .788
UT   Ty Wigginton        57  134   20   29   4   0    2   17   39  20   36    0   1  .216  .323  .291  .614
UT   Laynce Nix*         50   78    6   12   1   1    2   10   21   8   18    0   0  .154  .227  .269  .497
OF   Gregor Blanco*      65  165   24   41   3   2    2   18   54  31   32    5   2  .248  .371  .327  .699
OF   Juan Pierre*        58  160   23   54   9   2    0   12   67   5   10   12   3  .338  .355  .419  .774
OF   Lou Montanez        33   92   12   27   8   0    1   15   38  15   12    1   0  .293  .391  .413  .804
OF   John Mayberry Jr.   27   55    8   15   1   0    2    6   22   9   12    0   1  .273  .375  .400  .775
OF   Tyson Gillies*       5    6    1    2   0   0    0    1    2   0    1    0   0  .333  .333  .333  .667

* - Bats LH # - Bats Both

Pitching

POS  Player Name         W   L   SV    ERA   G  GS     IP    H    R   ER  HR   BB   K   WHIP  OAVG  BABIP

SP   Cole Hamels*       15   8    0   3.78  31  31  211.2  234   99   89  18   41  180  1.30  .277   .334
SP   Vance Worley       13   9    0   4.33  33  33  212.0  230  103  102  19   59  148  1.36  .274   .314
SP   Cliff Lee*         14   5    0   2.65  28  27  203.2  180   63   60  12   34  177  1.05  .233   .289
SP   Joe Blanton         9   7    0   4.01  28  28  182.0  181   84   81  23   51  102  1.27  .260   .277
SP   Matt Harrison*      8   8    0   4.80  19  19  123.2  131   67   66  19   32   76  1.32  .274   .292

CL   Jonathan Papelbon   4   3   44   2.72  52   0   49.2   28   15   15   3   16   45  0.89  .163   .202
RP   Justin De Fratus    6   2    3   2.73  46   0   59.1   44   18   18   4   24   53  1.15  .209   .260
RP   Chad Qualls         7   1    4   2.93  47   0   55.1   44   20   18   8   13   51  1.03  .216   .248
RP   Joe Savery*         6   0    1   3.05  41   0   41.1   38   14   14   1   14   36  1.26  .244   .311
RP   Jose Contreras      3   3    3   6.46  33   0   39.0   44   30   28   4   25   34  1.77  .282   .339

     Kyle Kendrick       6   4    0   5.20  28  14  110.2  135   66   64  20   35   49  1.54  .301   .303
     Roy Halladay        4   5    0   1.95  11  10   73.2   62   18   16   3    2   59  0.87  .228   .281
     Pat Misch*          1   0    1   3.43  15   0   21.0   20    8    8   1    5   13  1.19  .247   .284
     Phil Coke*          0   2    1   2.95  18   0   18.1   16    6    6   2    7   11  1.25  .235   .255
     Michael Stutes      2   1    0   7.04  16   0   15.1   23   12   12   0   10   14  2.15  .338   .426
     Antonio Bastardo*   1   2    0  11.25  12   0   12.0   10   15   15   3   11   15  1.75  .222   .259
     Michael Schwimer    1   0    0   6.52   9   0    9.2   17    7    7   2    5    7  2.28  .386   .429
     Jeremy Horst*       0   0    0   7.45  13   0    9.2   13    8    8   0    5    8  1.86  .317   .394
     David Herndon       1   1    0   8.22   6   0    7.2    9    7    7   0    5    4  1.83  .310   .360

* - Pitches LH

Next up is the postseason.

In the NL, Philly, St. Louis and Arizona won their respective divisions with Atlanta & Milwaukee playing a one-game set for the Wild Card. For the AL, the Yankees, Royals , and Angels topped their divisions while AL East rivals Tampa Bay & Boston go heads-up to see who advances.

Hoping to get thru the rest by the weekend, and if by chance the Phils make the WS, I'll run it separately.

[Ben Grimm]

It's playoff time. Milwaukee defeated Atlanta in the WC matchup and face the Phils in a best-of-5 series in the NLDS. Cole Hamels has me nervous as he's been very shaky during the final month of the season and it carried into the postseason. Below are the results.

2012 National League Division Series (3-1): Philadelphia Phillies (101-61) over Milwaukee Brewers (86-66)

Game 1
Sunday, October 7th, 2012 at Citizens Bank Park

                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9    R    H    E
Milwaukee Brewers         2   0   0   0   0   1   0   0   0    3    6    0
Philadelphia Phillies     0   0   0   0   0   1   1   3   X    5    8    1

  PITCHERS: MIL - Grienke, Rodriguez (8)
            PHI - Lee, Qualls (8), Papelbon (9)

             WP - Chad Qualls
             LP - Zach Grienke
           SAVE - Jonathan Papelbon

 HOME RUNS: MIL - Braun
            PHI - Headley, Howard

ATTENDANCE: 43,337
   WEATHER: Partly Cloudy (54 degrees), wind blowing out to right at 9 mph


Game 2
Monday, October 8th, 2012 at Citizens Bank Park

                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9    R    H    E
Milwaukee Brewers         2   2   0   0   0   1   0   2   0    7   17    1
Philadelphia Phillies     0   0   0   0   0   0   0   1   1    2    7    0

  PITCHERS: MIL - Estrada, Loe (8)
            PHI - Hamels, De Fratus (8)

             WP - Estrada
             LP - Hamels
           SAVE - none

 HOME RUNS: MIL - Gonzalez (2), Robinson
            PHI - none

ATTENDANCE: 43,318
   WEATHER: Partly Cloudy (51 degrees), wind blowing out to center at 10 mph


Game 3
Wednesday, October 10th, 2012 at Miller Park

                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9    R    H    E
Philadelphia Phillies     0   2   0   0   0   1   0   2   1    6   11    2
Milwaukee Brewers         0   2   1   0   0   0   0   1   0    4    8    0

  PITCHERS: PHI - Worley, Qualls (7), Coke (8), Papelbon (8)
            MIL - Gallardo, Rodriguez (7), Loe (8), Axford (9)

             WP - Qualls
             LP - Rodriguez
           SAVE - Papelbon

 HOME RUNS: PHI - Pence, Utley
            MIL - Gomez, Lucroy

ATTENDANCE: 42,099
   WEATHER: Roof closed, 65 degrees


Game 4
Thursday, October 11th, 2012 at Miller Park

                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9    R    H    E
Philadelphia Phillies     0   0   1   0   0   0   0   0   2    3    5    1
Milwaukee Brewers         0   0   0   0   1   0   0   0   0    1    7    1

  PITCHERS: PHI - Lee, Savery (7), Coke (8), Qualls (9)
            MIL - Grienke, Schlereth (9)

             WP - Coke
             LP - Grienke
           SAVE - Qualls

 HOME RUNS: PHI - Rollins
            MIL - none

ATTENDANCE: 41,739
   WEATHER: Roof closed, 65 degrees

Next up is the NLCS vs the St. Louis Cardinals who took care of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Should be a good series.

[bluesky5]

Do you have the options to play the games if you wish? Obviously you simulated a lot [at least] since you got to th NLCS in 11 days, lol.

[Ben Grimm]

Do you have the options to play the games if you wish? Obviously you simulated a lot [at least] since you got to th NLCS in 11 days, lol.

Yes. But that would naturally take forever. So, what I'm doing is each game singly (checking to make sure of no injuries and no stupid AI player substitutions prior to the start of the game) and basically running it inning by inning in fast mode. Once a pitcher is either getting up in pitches (in which I'll manually address the bullpen) or he's due to hit in certain situations, I go pitch by pitch. Generally, I blow thru the first 4-5 innings in about 20 seconds (unless my starter's getting torched) and then slow it down for the later innings.

One good example is, say my starting pitcher's up to 100 pitches in the 7th... The other team's at the plate and I've got my bullpen not quite warmed up. I can either go one batter at a time, use an option to sim up to when a runner gets into scoring position, or simply blow thru the inning. I usually go until a runner gets into scoring position. If none do, it simply finishes the inning out so it moves quite quickly.

[Ben Grimm]

The Phils got by the Cardinals, but at a cost. Carlos Ruiz fractured his wrist during game 3 and is out for the remainder of the season. Erik Kratz and Brian Schneider will carry the catching duties from here on out. The Cards took a hit in game 2 when Lance Berkman was ejected for making contact with the home plate umpire while arguing balls and strikes. He was suspended for the next two games.

Cliff Lee was incredible. 17 shutout innings during his two starts. Hamels was once again shaky giving up first-inning runs, but the bats bailed him out. No home runs allowed by the Phillies pitchers this series.

2012 National League Championship Series (4-1): Philadelphia Phillies (101-61) over St. Louis Cardinals (89-63)

Game 1
Monday, October 15th, 2012 at Citizens Bank Park

                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9    R    H    E
St. Louis Cardinals       0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0    0    5    1
Philadelphia Phillies     0   0   0   0   0   3   0   1   X    4   10    0

  PITCHERS: STL - Wainwright, Rzepcynski (7)
            PHI - Lee, Qualls (9)

             WP - Cliff Lee (1-0)
             LP - Adam Wainwright (1-1)
           SAVE - none

 HOME RUNS: STL - none
            PHI - Gordon, Headley (2), Howard (2)

ATTENDANCE: 43,488
   WEATHER: Partly Cloudy (51 degrees), wind blowing left to right at 9 mph


Game 2
Tuesday, October 16th, 2012 at Citizens Bank Park

                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9    R    H    E
St. Louis Cardinals       5   0   0   1   0   0   0   1   0    7    9    1
Philadelphia Phillies     2   2   0   0   2   7   0   0   X   13   16    3

  PITCHERS: STL - Carpenter, Rzepcynski (5), Boggs (6), Karstens (6), Westbrook (7), McClellan, (8)
            PHI - Hamels, Qualls (7), Savery (8)

             WP - Cole Hamels (1-1)
             LP - Mitchell Boggs (0-1)
           SAVE - none

 HOME RUNS: STL - none
            PHI - Pence (2), Rollins (2)

ATTENDANCE: 43,585
   WEATHER: Clear skies (51 degrees), wind blowing out to right at 10 mph


Game 3
Thursday, October 18th, 2012 at Busch Stadium

                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9    R    H    E
Philadelphia Phillies     0   0   0   0   2   0   0   0   2    4    7    0
St. Louis Cardinals       0   0   0   1   0   2   0   0   0    3    9    0

  PITCHERS: PHI - Worley, Misch (6), De Fratus (7), Papelbon (9)
            STL - Saunders, Motte (9)

             WP - Justin De Fratus (1-0)
             LP - Jason Motte (0-1)
           SAVE - Jonathan Papelbon (3)

 HOME RUNS: PHI - none
            STL - none

ATTENDANCE: 46,517
   WEATHER: Partly Cloudy (48 degrees), wind blowing left to right at 11 mph


Game 4
Friday, October 19th, 2012 at Busch Stadium

                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9    R    H    E
Philadelphia Phillies     0   0   0   1   1   0   0   5   0    7   10    3
St. Louis Cardinals       2   0   0   0   1   0   0   0   5    8   11    0

  PITCHERS: PHI - Blanton, Misch (9), Qualls (9), Papelbon (9)
            STL - Wainwright, Salas (8), Rzepczynski (8), Gregerson (8), Boggs (8)

             WP - Mitchell Boggs
             LP - Chad Qualls
           SAVE - none

 HOME RUNS: PHI - none
            STL - none

ATTENDANCE: 46,799
   WEATHER: Partly Cloudy (55 degrees), wind blowing out to center at 16 mph


Game 5
Saturday, October 20th, 2012 at Busch Stadium

                          1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9    R    H    E
Philadelphia Phillies     3   0   1   0   1   0   0   0   2    7   12    1
St. Louis Cardinals       0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0    0    8    1

  PITCHERS: PHI - Lee
            STL - Carpenter, McClellan (6), Rzepcynski (7), Boggs (8), Karstens (9)

             WP - Cliff Lee (2-0)
             LP - Chris Carpenter (1-1)
           SAVE - none

 HOME RUNS: PHI - Howard (3)
            STL - none

ATTENDANCE: 46,594
   WEATHER: Clear skies (50 degrees), wind blowing out to right at 9 mph

It's now flashback to 1980 time. The 2012 World Series sees the return of the Kansas City Royals for the first time in over 30 years. It also reunites Placido Polanco and Alex Gordon with their formal teams as both were swapped in what was a 5-player trade (Schwimer, Diekman & Giavotella being included as well).

The Royals have been riding on their offense as they have 5 hitters with season averages over .300, though their pitching is quite erratic with Luke Hochevar the only one having any type of quality season.

[Ben Grimm]

Was bored today and ran the WS. What a huge disappointment.

Yes, the Fightin's won the World Series, but the Royals put up no fight whatsoever as they were swept 4-0.

I'll put up gamescores tomorrow and list all probable free agents and potential signings. Maybe I run this another year and see if Halladay can hold up with a ripped elbow.

Do I extend Victorino?
Do I extend Blanton?
Do I work a deal with Pence?
Do I long-term Ruiz?

I already extended Hamels, and have Alex Gordon in LF for the next 4 years averaging $9-$10M.

2013 Position Players:

C - Ruiz
1B - Howard
2B - Utley
3B - Headley
SS - Rollins
LF - Gordon
CF - ??
RF - (Pence)??

Not sure if I want to extend Vic as he wants a 4-year, $34M deal. I have hitters - it's just a matter of covering the CF area. Pence wants $16M and I may go there since he was so good this year and it's only one season. I can't get a FA like Upton, Hamilton etc since I'm carriying Headley and Gordon, but I'm not concerned since they add a ton to the offense. I may go platoon in CF with Mayberry and whomever, though the whomever will face most of the hitters since he'll be against RHPs who still are 70% of rotations - Need to find another Pierre.

[Ben Grimm]

I'll put up final results tomorrow or Sunday.

Then it's time for the FA market to open, and I'll have to hold Ruben's pen behind his back