Tampa Bay Devil Rays Owner Mode

[goose]

Well I was going to done one with the M's but i wanted something more challenging. I'm still tweaking with sliders to get it right but its going along.

Year 1-May 1

17-7: 1 game ahead of the Yanks

LF: Carl Crawford-.298 1 HR 7 RBI 11 SB

CF: Rocco Baldelli-.298 3 HR 15 RBI 18 SB

RF: Danny Bautista-.302 1 HR 13 RBI

1B: Aubrey Huff-.314 3 HR 9 RBI

DH: Josh Phelps-.279 2 HR 6 RBI

3B: Alex S. Gonzalez-.284 0 HR 8 RBI

SS: Julio Lugo-.244 0 HR 5 RBI

2B: Roberto Alomar-.269 0 HR 0 RBI

C: Kevin Cash-.250 0 HR 1 RBI

Bench:

Eurardo Perez

Brian Buchana

Toby Hall

B.J Upton

Travis Lee

Rotation:

1-Mark Hendrickson 4-0 .069 era 28 k

2-Dewon Brazelton 2-2 2.69 era 30 k

3-Scott Kazmir 3-1 2.31 era 23 k

4-Robert Bell 2-1 1.29 era 20 k (10 day DL with cracked ribs)

5-Doug Weatcher 2-1 1.08 era 18 k

Bullpen:

LRP-Travis Harper 0-0 0.82 era 10 k 1 save

MRP-Lance Carte 1-1 1.82 era 8 k

MRP-Jesus Colome 0-1 3.86 era 4 k

SU-Trever Miller 0-0 0.00 era 7 k 2 saves

Closer-Danny Baez 0-0 1.17 era 4 k 7 saves

Finances:

Revenue-$10.9M

Expenses-$17.8M

Income--$6.9M

Bank--$1.9 M

Payroll-$71 Million

Level 2 Seating-25000 capacity: 1 sold out game

Ice Cream

Pop Corn

Pizza

[goose]

Year 1-May 9

23-9: 5.5 games ahead of the Orioles

LF: Carl Crawford-.279 1 HR 7 RBI 20 SB

CF: Rocco Baldelli-.280 4 HR 18 RBI 21 SB(14 day DL, sprained rib cage)

RF: Danny Bautista-.323 1 HR 20 RBI

1B: Aubrey Huff-.279 4 HR 12 RBI

DH: Josh Phelps-.276 2 HR 6 RBI(8 day DL, dislocated finger)

3B: Alex S. Gonzalez-.289 0 HR 9 RBI

SS: Julio Lugo-.255 0 HR 7 RBI 11 SB

2B: Roberto Alomar-.276 1 HR 5 RBI

C: Kevin Cash-.154 0 HR 1 RBI

Bench:

Eurardo Perez

Brian Buchana

Toby Hall

B.J Upton

Travis Lee

Rotation:

1-Mark Hendrickson 5-0 .064 era 38 k (top 10 in k's)

2-Dewon Brazelton 3-3 3.26 era 37 k

3-Scott Kazmir 4-1 2.37 era 25 k

4-Robert Bell 3-1 0.93 era 26 k

5-Doug Weatcher 3-2 2.08 era 25 k

Bullpen:

LRP-Travis Harper 0-0 0.69 era 11 k 1 save

LRP-Jorge Sosa 2-1 2.11 era 12 K

MRP-Lance Carter 1-1 0.96 era 9 k

MRP-Jesus Colome 0-1 3.00 era 9 k

SU-Trever Miller 1-0 0.00 era 7 k 2 saves

Closer-Danny Baez 1-0 0.79 era 4 k 10 saves( tied for 2nd in saves)

Finances:

Revenue-$15.8M

Expenses-$20.8M

Income--$5.3M

Bank--$34 k

Payroll-$71 Million

Level 2 Seating-25000 capacity: 1 sold out game (Average 21042)

Ice Cream

Pop Corn

Pizza

Got some revenge of the yankees after they swept me in a three games series in april by sweeping them in a four game series in may. Afterwards though dropped 2 of three to the twins. Injuries are starting to hit me as Josh Phelps dislocated his finger diving head first into second, and is out for 8 days.I put Travis Lee in his place who is hitting .280 there. Rocco Baldelli one of my more productive hitters cracked his ribs while trying to rob a homer, I guess he landed on the fence hard or something. He's out for 2 weeks and I replaced his him Robert Buchanan who is hitting .275 so far. My bench is getting thin so I can't take many more injuries.

Also I think I'm pretty close to getting my sliders the way I want them, the hitters are actuall making me pay for mistake pitches now.

[goose]

Just making a note, that Barry Bonds hit homerun # 714 on May 10th against the Pirates to tie Babe Ruth for second all time. Now needs 42 to become #1.

Curious how close this will come to matching up with the real date :?:

[goose]

Hmm on the last game of the road trip, a 6-2 win against the the chi sox i sent Miller into the 9th the finish it because it wasn't a save situation. The last pitch of the game is a screaming liner right back at his head. For some reason he turns around and it hits him in the back of the head, dropping him, the ball flies into the air and Lugo runs, dives, and makes an awsome catch to end the game.

Problem is, Miller suffered a concussion and is out for a week. There goes my best relief pitcher :?

hmmm in a span of 4 games I now have three guys on the dl with a week or more. May need to adjust the injury slider.

Speaking of sliders I believe I have perfected my sliders for everything else so far.

and with the home stand ending, i was albe to get out of debt in the bank but couldnt accumlate enough money to buy that peanut stand. Oh well, back into debt I go. :?

25-10 5 games ahead of yanks/orioles who are tied for second.

[goose]

Kevin Cash once again went 0-4 against the Royals and was batting .146 at the end of the game. I have been platooning him and Toby Hall(.205) to see who is the best fit and they both suck but Cash is the lesser of two evils so I put him on the trading block(I doubt anybody will want him) and sent him down to AAA Durham. I promoted Joey Gathright to the Majors. Joey was hitt .325 with 3 homers,26 rbi, and 23 stolen bases. Rated a top 100 prospect, Joey might do well in the leadoff spot, should crawford continue to sip.

Also Hendrivkson lost his first game of the year, 5-2 against Kanas City.

[goose]

On May 14th Barry Bonds hit Home Run # 715 against the Houston Astros to pass Babe Ruth and become # 2 on the all time home run list. He now needs 40 to tie Hank Aaron and 41 to pass him.

Also Joey Gathright started against the Royals batting leadoff in leftfield. The kid went 0-3 with 2 walks,2 stolen bases, and 1 run.The 3 outs he did make were hard liners right at someone. very quick this kid is.

[APR]

This is a pretty good read. Not many people would have the guts to start a Tampa Bay Owner Mode, let alone post it on here. Anyways, it seems like you're doing pretty good with the D Rays. Your pitching is doing extremely well. Keep up the good work, and I hope you finish in the green!

[Sean O]

Agreed, this is really entertaining. Nothing particularly interesting or weird like injuries really happens in any dynasty I play, so it's strange that you're having such a comparatively realistic experience. The D-rays are respectable, just unfortunate to have no budget, a terrible stadium and a relatively disinterested fanbase.

Best of luck.

[APR]

Agreed, this is really entertaining. Nothing particularly interesting or weird like injuries really happens in any dynasty I play, so it's strange that you're having such a comparatively realistic experience. The D-rays are respectable, just unfortunate to have no budget, a terrible stadium and a relatively disinterested fanbase.

Best of luck.

They have a better stadium now that he is doing OWNER MODE. And it seems like his fanbase is very interested, 21,000 a game!!! HELLO!! :D

[goose]

That was pretty much the whole reason I went with the devil rays. I wanted to rebuild a team that is buried into the ground, and hopefully make them perianial winners in a few seasons. Always a big fan of Lou's even after he left the M's, the team I've always wanted to see succeed besides the Mariners is the Devil Rays.

Although I will say, realisticly I should be 3-5 wins less that what I am, I didnt get the sliders exactly the way I wanted them till about the 8th game or so of the year, so I started out on a 6 game winning streak.

Quick update: Ended up with a 2-2 split in the four game series with the royals. Pitching is starting to slip just a little, but hopefully I can get it back on track before long, pitching and speed is what this team is built around.

Have gone 5-5 in my last 10 games, but luckily for me, the orioles and yanks havent done any better so I still remain 5.5 games up on Baltimore and 6.5 up on the yanks. Will post a screen shot of the current standings in about an hour.

Also Josh Phelps is off the DL.I;ve decided to leave Travis Lee is at DH though for the time being, as he is hitting .323 there.Plus he is left handed with some power, so that adds to his value. :wink: Might put Phelps on the trading block, just to see what offers I can get from him, I need to trade someone, as I have Four 1b's on the team. Aubrey Huff playing first, Travis Lee DHing, and Josh Phelps and Eraurdo Perez on the bench. Hopefully I can get another catcher, as Toby Hall's durability is pretty low and I find myself having to rest him at least once a week, with some long road trips coming up and no backup, I can't afford to do that. :|

One last thing, since it's May 16th, the first look at the all star voting is out. And I dont have any players on the top 5 of any position. Although I think once Rocco Baldelli comes off the DL he might sneak on there after a few weeks, also I think Travis Lee may sneak in as a backup with some more AB's. I also think I should see one or two pitchers in there.

[goose]

They have a better stadium now that he is doing OWNER MODE. And it seems like his fanbase is very interested, 21,000 a game!!! HELLO!!

Yes I was very surprised that I am drawing as well as I have been. I been keeping my ticket prices pretty much near default as well, adjusting them of course for the impact of games. Maybe it helps that I have a promotional day every other day or so.

Although, in a three game series in early may in which I took two out of three against the orioles, the last game of the series was a complete sellout, and it wasnt even a promotional day! 8O

[goose]

Standings as of May 17th, 2005:

[APR]

Because you're using a team like the Devil Rays, and you shouldn't be getting a lot of fans to games (but you are so great job :mrgreen: ) you should post for us what you are doing as far as ticket prices go, and what your concession prices are for that game.

Just a suggestion, otherwise, this is the most fun I've had reading a dynsaty for a long time.

[goose]

Well my ticket prices kinda vary on what the game impact is, and what will make me the most money.Thats one of the reasons I am so astouned that I get as good of a turnout as I do, because I dont cater to the fans, I go with what makes the most money, which sometimes is higher prices and less fans. But on an average I go like this:

Impact of below 5:

Lower deck : $35

Upper deck: $15

field: $25

Impact of 5+:

Lower deck :$45

Upper deck: $25

field : $35

And if I make it to the playoffs:

Lower deck: $65-80

Upper deck: $45-60

field: $55-70

I sell 82% of lower deck, 81% of upper deck and 83% of field

As far as concession prices go:

Piazza: $4.50 74%

Popcorn: $2.50 54%

Ice Cream: $4.00 80%

I'm still kinda messing with the concession sales to get the best result, I may raise ice cream to 4.50 because it seems to be popular, and then lower piazza and popcorn .50 each. We'll see.

Also my average attendance is 20827.

[APR]

I did one Owner Mode a lil while ago, and I did basically the same thing as you did with buying the new sections of seating. You can find the results here:

http://www.mvpmods.com/index.php?name=Foru...ight=owner+mode

However, the only differences including me simulating my season with another team, and I only bought a Soda Shack beacause I was told it would bring in the most money...WRONG!

Anyways, still a great read, the best on the site IMO. Can't wait until your next post.

[goose]

Joey Cathright continues to impress me. Even though he is only hitting .154 at the moment, he has done alot to earn his keep.When he has gotten on base, his speed has proven invaluable on the base paths, and he has maked an excellent #2 hitter. Also he defense is what has kept him in the everyday lineup. Great range in CF and today he saved the game by throwing a runner out at home in the 6th. I was up 2-1 when Hendrickson started to get tired after throwing 78 pitches in 6 innings, eith runners on first and second, pudge hits a single up the middle. With a speedy Sanchez roundnd third, Gathright pickups up the ball and fires a one hopper to Toby Hall who tags Sanchez just before his feet cross the plate. First thrown out at home play of the year !

On the other side of the spectrum Jesus Colome is on thin ice. In that same game I brung him in in the 7th. He got the first person to ground out. He then proceeded to give up a double, a two run homer to magglio ordonez that put me behind, and back to back singles. His era of 5.28 is highest on the team. :evil: If it wasnt for Jorge Sosa once again coming in and bailing me out, and timely hitting in the top of the 9th to win it, he would of been demoted right there.If he gives up just one more run, in his next 5 apperances, he is being sent down. :twisted:

Will have a complete update once the road trip is over. :wink:

[APR]

Ever think about doing a dynasty on Dynastymanager.com???

[goose]

Yeh, but If I remember correctly that costs money, I'm not willing to put money down for something that I can easily do for free elsewhere, like here. :wink:

[APR]

Yeh, but If I remember correctly that costs money, I'm not willing to put money down for something that I can easily do for free elsewhere, like here. :wink:

Good point. Maybe to cut down on some of the writing you do, you can post screenshots of high points of the game??? Just a suggestion.

[goose]

Year 1-May 24

30-15: 4.5 games ahead of the Yankees

LF: Carl Crawford-.284 1 HR 10 RBI 29 SB(Leads MLB in SB, 3B, 2nd in Runs scored)

CF: Rocco Baldelli-.285 4 HR 18 RBI 21 SB

1B: Aubrey Huff-.305 5 HR 22 RBI

RF: Danny Bautista-.299 3 HR 31 RBI

DH: Travis Lee-.324 1 HR 11 RBI

2B: Roberto Alomar-.311 1 HR 8 RBI 11 SB

3B: Alex S. Gonzalez-.250 0 HR 10 RBI

SS: Julio Lugo-.2470 HR 15 RBI 16 SB(7 day DL- inflamed elbow)

C: Toby Hall-.194 1 HR 6 RBI

Bench:

Eurardo Perez

Brian Buchanan

Josh Phelps

B.J Upton

Joey Gathright

Rotation:

1-Mark Hendrickson 5-1 1.04 era 44 k (tied for 1st in Shutouts, and IP)

2-Dewon Brazelton 3-3 3.45 era 47 k

3-Scott Kazmir 5-3 2.91 era 36 k

4-Robert Bell 5-1 1.16 era 44 k

5-Doug Weatcher 5-3 3.05 era 37 k

Bullpen:

LRP-Travis Harper 0-0 0.40 era 14 k 1 save

LRP-Jorge Sosa 3-0 2.02 era 14 K

MRP-Lance Carter 2-2 1.09 era 17 k

MRP-Jesus Colome 0-2 4.96era 13 k

SU-Trever Miller 1-0 0.00 era 8 k 2 saves

Closer-Danny Baez 1-0 1.02 era 7 k 14 saves( 3rd in saves)

Finances:

Revenue-$19.5M

Expenses-$27.8M

Income--$8.27M

Bank--$3.27 M

Payroll-$71 Million

Level 2 Seating-25000 capacity: 1 sold out game (Average 20827)

Ice Cream

Pop Corn

Pizza

The end of the road trip going into the end of May. Rocco Baldellit got off the DL and on the same day Julio Lugo got an inflamed elbow and replaced him. Roberto Alomar has been on fire the last couple of weeks so I rewarded him by moving him up in the lineup.

[APR]

Wow, you have 3.27 million in the bank??? That's pretty good for 45 games into the season!

[goose]

lol I suppose I should of put () next to those minues

thats negative $3.27 m in the bank and a negative $ $8.27 m Income.

[APR]

lol I suppose I should of put () next to those minues

thats negative $3.27 m in the bank and a negative $ $8.27 m Income.

LOL, thats ok, you probably just came off of a long road trip??

If you are able to keep up that pace though and make it to the playoffs, you will definitely finish in the green.

[goose]

I'm not too worried about the money, I heard you don't start making money until after the all star break and if you make the playoffs, the money really rolls in.

Made my first trade of the year, nothing major though.I needed a backup catcher and none of the catchers I have in the minors seemed to be ready for the majors yet, so I traded one of my excess 1b(Perez) to the Colorado Rockies for Catcher Tom Wilson.Wilson was batting .289 with 2 homers and 9 rbi's. Perez had yet to get a single hit in 20 ab's.

[goose]

It's absolutely sick how realistic this game can be sometimes.

The last 10 games or so the only reason I have been able to pull out wins is because of my good pitching and speed.Driving in runs is NOT something this team does well at all.It's really frustrating at times when I can get a leadoff hit with Crawford, steal second, bunt him over with baldelli and then watch Huff and Batistia do nothing with it, or watch alomar hit a triple and then watch a k,k, popout.Makes me furious sometimes, now I know what Lou Pinella really feels like. :evil:

But then again, what do I expect from the Devil Rays at this point?

Lost two out of three to Oakland.I think I found the one player I can't get out.Eric Chavez.I hate him. He went 10-12 in the series with 4 homers and 13 rbi's No matter what I threw at this guy, he hit and and he hit it hard.Also Tom Wilson goes 0-3 with a walk in his first start as a Devil Ray, oh well I just got him mainly to give Hall a rest every once in a while anyways.

I think my main concern at the trading deadline will be power.I need someone who can drive in runs and can hit for power.Preferably a catcher, I dont think I have the resources for a Javy Lopez or a Pudge Rodriguez, so I may have to go for a Victor Martienez or to a lesser extent, a Miguel Olivio.

Also the Yanks are finally starting to act like the Yanks. They have won 8 in a row and are charging hard and fast, now just 3 games back. :!:

Two more quick notes: The last game of the A's series was the second highest draw of the year 24907, pretty good for a 4/10 impact, although it was a promotional day.Also I am going to try Josh Phelps at 3B for a few games and see how he does, Alex is slipping fast and if Phelps keeps hitting at his .280 pace and can play decent D at third, I'll take it over Alex's .240.If it works out it will be kinda funny because that will make three 1B I will have in the everyday lineup.

Next up: The Al West leading Seattle Mariners, it'll be fun pitching to Ichiro.