Category Archives: With A Jimmmitude

MLB The Show Rebuilding Challenge Part 3

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I have started a franchise in MLB The Show and decided to undertake a rebuild and complete transformation of an organization from top to bottom.

This is Part 3 of rebuilding a franchise in MLB The Show from top to bottom. Part 1 can be found here and Part 2 can be found here.

Step 7: Rebrand

Yes, a rebrand. I determined a rebrand was absolutely necessary. In addition to it being necessary, the pettiness I possess made it that much easier to do. I decided to relocate the team from Miami to Montreal and rename them as the Expos. The Montreal Expos are back at the expense of the Miami Marlins no longer being a thing.

Why Montreal?

This is easy. Former Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria once owned the Expos and was a key factor in the downfall and eventual relocation of the franchise to Washington. I have so much disdain for Jeffrey Loria that I decided that moving the team he constantly mismanaged and fell ass backwards into a World Series Championship with was deserving of a rebrand and relocation. While I do not have a problem with the Washington Nationals franchise as it currently stands, I cannot stand what Loria did to the people of Montreal. This is sort of a payback, a middle finger if you will to Loria who I consider to be the lowest of the low when it comes to owners in sports. Loria belongs in the same category as that rat Art Modell as far as I’m concerned.

Step 8: New uniforms and home ballpark

There were many choices in regards to which uniform set to use for the new Montreal Expos. I decided to go with the 2000-2004 set which was their final uniforms they wore.

A continuation of the franchise in regards to their uniform, at least for the time being. There could be a time when a throwback look could be used instead.

The stadium presented a different challenge. I had to decide on which stadium to use that was already existing in the game. Olympic Stadium in Montreal does not exist so I had two options. A fictional minor league stadium or a classic stadium. I decided to go down the classic stadium route because some of them are so absolutely ridiculous when it comes to dimensions. I choice the stadium with the most ridiculous dimensions possible. The Polo Grounds.

Extremely short down both foul lines, around 450 feet to the right and left center gaps, and 483 feet to the deepest part of center field. This is a stadium that is going to produce a lot of cheap line drive home runs, a ton of triples and inside-the-park home runs. The pure ridiculousness of the stadium is perfect for a scenario in which the Miami Marlins are now the Montreal Expos.

Bio-Dome plan for NBA seems doomed

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The NBA has a Bio-Dome type plan to resume their season down in Orlando and as time goes on it seems completely doomed.

The season is supposed to resume at the end of July with 22 teams participating all while essentially locked down in Bio-Dome type situation at Walt Disney World. Seems like a pretty solid way to continue their season and crown a champion. But there’s a problem. There has been a surge in COVID-19 cases in Florida which should be quite alarming.

The Orlando Pride had to withdraw from the NWSL Challenge cup due to players testing positive for COVID-19.

These players were in Orlando and tested positive, this seems problematic for a league looking to locate their isolated format down to Florida.

Adam Silver and the NBA can say whatever they want now about resuming the season, but the fact of the matter is it may not be safe. By the time the season is supposed to resume COVID cases could continue to rise which would put a premature end to their continued season plans. If the cases continue to spike a second lockdown period could occur in the state that seems to effortlessly thrive on chaos.

Not even Bud Macintosh and Doyle Johnson themselves would be able to make it through the chaos in Florida., even if they were to stumble upon another Bio-Dome for them to destroy. Only in the real world this Bio-Dome is Walt Disney World with Bud and Doyle being represented by COVID-19. We all know what happened in the movie, the Bio-Dome was destroyed. Bud and Doyle eventually revived the structure and thwarted an attempt by Dr. Noah Faulkner to blow up the Bio-Dome. Unfortunately there may not be happy ending for the NBA in Florida as the threat they are facing is not something that can be so easily defeated.

MLB The Show rebuilding challenge: Part 2

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I have started a franchise in MLB The Show and decided to undertake a rebuild and complete transformation of an organization from top to bottom.

This is Part 2 of rebuilding a franchise in MLB The Show from top to bottom.

Step 5: Tearing it down

After simulating a few months and finding the Marlins predictably in last place it was time to tear it down. I started searching for trades for some players and having trades offered to me as the trade deadline approached. I managed to trade away the following players to acquire more prospects and a few MLB players. Yaisel Puig, Scooter Gennett, Arodys Vizcaino, Drew Steckenrider, Caleb Smith, Brandon Kintzler, Corey Dickerson, Jonathan Villar, Garrett Cooper, Francisco Cervelli, Chad Wallach, Jesus Aguilar, Garrett Cooper, Miguel Rojas, Jon Berti, Matt Kemp, Matt Joyce and Lewis Brinson.

After these trades were executed my roster was looking very different. The MLB roster had some players who were already established, some with promise, but there were some pure developmental projects as well. There were very few actual Marlins players left. Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez, Jose Urena, Jordan Yamamoto, Ryne Stanek, Yimi Garcia, and Stephen Tarpley were my pitchers. Jorge Alfaro, Brian Anderson, Isan Diaz, Harold Ramirez and Magneurus Sierra were my position players. Everyone else was new to the team.

The acquisitions

There were plenty. My MLB roster now had a new look that comprised of a lot of players who were acquired via trade. J.D. Davis, Ranger Suarez, Francisco Mejia, Jorge Mateo, Hunter Greene, and Jonathan India highlight those on the MLB roster. Anthony Kay, Bobby Bradley, Austin Shenton, Yu Chang, and Yoan Aybar are some prospects who are close to making an impact at the MLB level. Alexfri Planez, Mariel Bautista, Michael Gigliotti, Logan O’Hoppe, Antoni Flores, Edgar Arredondo, Nick Decker, and Jake Holmes round of the rest of the acquisitions.

Step 6: Free agency

This is where things get interesting. Entering free agency where there are players who can help elevate the roster immediately. With the quality of talent I currently had and the financial flexibility due to the teardown of the roster there was an opportunity to sign at least one high profile free agent. Looking at the roster there two clear needs that were present. Outfielder and closer. Luckily there were two premier players at those positions. Mookie Betts and Ken Giles.

I immediately signed Betts to a 10-year $330 million deal. Betts is one of the best players in the game and will make an instant impact on the team. Signing Betts will also allow some flexibility when evaluating prospects to use in future trades. Outfield prospects do not need to progress as quickly and can be used to acquire an upgrade or two elsewhere.

Ken Giles was signed to five-year $34.8 million deal. Giles was far and away the best closer available and being only 30 at the time of the signing this should not be a deal that ages poorly, at least not immediately.

Betts and Giles were the only two free agents I signed and that led to the next step in my process. A step that is pretty controversial. A rebrand.

Sorry MLB, 50 games is not enough

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After the MLBPA’s proposal was promptly declined, MLB has proposed a season that would be around 50 games which just isn’t enough.

Good news! MLB came back with a proposal in a rather short period of time. Bad news! It stinks. The proposal includes a season that would be around 50 games according to Jeff Passan.

This comes after the 114-game proposal from the players was rejected. The amount of games proposed from the players seemed a bit high, but there has to be something closer to 80 games that they can agree upon. 50 games just isn’t enough.

50 games is just short enough for a team to get off to a fluky start and get into the playoffs when they clearly don’t belong. Take the 2015 Detroit Tigers for example, they started off hot and were 14-6 through their first 20 games. Detroit found themselves 28-22 through 50 games, just two games behind eventual World Series Champion Kansas City. Minnesota was also 30-20 through 50 games, eventually finishing second in the division. Their hot start proved to be a mirage as the bottom eventually fell out and the Tigers ended up in last place in the American League Central.

Sometimes teams get off to bad starts. A perfect example is the reigning World Series Champion Washington Nationals. Washington seemed to be dead in the water at 19-31 and in dead last in the National League Central. Thanks to a long enough season the Nats were able to finish at 93-69 and make the playoffs and eventually defeat the Astros in the World Series.

What it comes down to is having enough games to sort through the hot and bad starts. Baseball can be weird sometimes with teams playing above and below their skill levels, luckily the season is long enough for water to find its level. A season that is too short can result in teams that do not deserve to be in the postseason making it while teams that are superior sitting at home. If MLB wants to avoid an asterisk situation a 50-game season simply cannot happen. They need to have a significantly longer season in order to crown a proper champion.

MLB owners are a bunch of buffoons

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The MLB owners have rejected the counter-proposal from the MLB players union as the standoff between the two sides continues.

A chance at a return to baseball has now hit an all-time low. The MLB players union made a proposal Sunday evening that has received a rather quick rejection from the owners. Before we dive in to their rejection, let’s take a look at the proposal.

Nothing too extreme here. Only real point of contention should be the amount of games and length of season, but besides that there is nothing that cannot be negotiated. Unfortunately the owners did not view things the same way.

If there has been one side that has been completely unreasonable it is the owners side. The owners keep refusing to open the books to prove their losses are as massive as they claim. The owners want to pay their players pennies on the dollar and in return get the product/performance expected for the full salary.

If MLB really wants to return this year it is the owners who need to give in, not the players. The billionaire owners are the ones who can afford to take the losses right now. The owners will own the team much longer than their players will be playing baseball. This means that they will have many more opportunities to make back the money they are losing this season. Their players are not afforded that same luxury.

If baseball is going to return in 2020 it is the owners who need to meet the demands of the players, not the other way around. If not, it is the stubbornness of the owners that will give baseball the death sentence that many have been expecting for quite some time.

Roger Goodell and the NFL blew it big time

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Roger Goodell and the NFL had a chance to make an easy and smart business decision, but they managed to absolutely blow it.

What happened on Friday between Roger Goodell, the NFL, and Dave Portnoy could have been seen from a mile away. Portnoy won a charity auction which would have allowed him to come to Goodell’s house and watch a Monday Night Football game with the commissioner. The NFL sent Portnoy an email claiming that he failed their background check and would not be allowed to attend. Portnoy posted a video Friday reading the email that he received.

Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports have had several run-ins with the NFL which is why it played out in this manner.

The NFL had many chances to prevent Portnoy from winning the charity auction. Portnoy was not keeping it a secret that he was going all in on winning, posting multiple times saying so. The NFL very easily could have came in with a pseudo-wager that topped Portnoy’s to keep him from winning the auction, but they didn’t think of that. Sure, that would have caused some negative publicity from Barstool and Portnoy, but not to the level they are experiencing now. Portnoy has previously gone pretty far to make Goodell look like a clown, there is no doubt that he will push the envelope further now.

This could have been such an easy win for Roger Goodell and the NFL. Goodell could have leaned into the joke of him being a clown and maybe answered the door when Portnoy arrived wearing a clown nose. Playing along with the joke and potentially building a relationship between the two parties. This could have been a win-win-win scenario for the NFL, Goodell, and Barstool. Instead they opted to continue their battle and will end up on the losing side of things with Barstool and Portnoy the victors.

MLB The Show rebuilding challenge: Part 1

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I have started a franchise in MLB The Show and decided to undertake a rebuild and complete transformation of an organization from top to bottom.

Due to no actual baseball being played it felt weird playing a standard franchise in MLB The Show with my usual team, the Cleveland Indians. I decided to undertake a new challenge. To identify and select a team to rebuild from top to bottom.

Step 1: Criteria used when selecting a team.

I wanted to find a team that was lackluster at the MLB level, but has a good group of prospects that will be helpful down the line. (It is worth noting that I am using a roster that was uploaded by a user who created the full minor league system allowing for this to be more accurate than the generic minor leaguers in the game). Considering that the minor league rosters are accurate, I used the MLB farm system rankings to pick my team. After scrolling past the first three teams, I quickly found the team to turnaround. The Miami Marlins. Going to admit that there is some pettiness here. The pettiness factor will have a thorough explanation later.

Step 2: Sorting through the roster

Looking at the roster of the Miami Marlins there are some pieces that are clear trade candidates and others who point towards foundational pieces. After that it was time to cut bait with some players that have no future with the team. Anyone with a potential of “D” was released. This created room to make some short term signings. Next to go were players with potentials of “C” over the age of 30 with a rating of 70 or below. Those above 70 can be part of later trades.

Step 3: Finding good prospects in free agency

Sorting through the available free agents I found that there were some players available that would make great additions to an already robust farm system. Signing multiple players with a “B” potential who were 22 years old or younger was an easy way to add talent. It also provided some potential trade chips for a later date. A time when the team may be in a spot where playoffs are attainable.

Step 4: Short term signings

In an effort to acquire more assets I went to the free agent pool and signed some players for the sole purpose of flipping them for more prospects. Free agents were signed to deals for only one or two years making it easier to move them. Players such as Yaisel Puig, Scooter Gennett and Arodys Vizcaino were available in free agency. Signing Puig, Gennett, and Vizcaino provides a way to acquire younger and less expensive talent when the tear down eventually comes. Contending teams would value their ability and will pay quite a bit for them. It’s all about acquiring pieces to move and moving them at the right time.

MLB return seems less and less likely

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It was only yesterday that I pegged MLB returning with an all-time low from a percentage standpoint.

0.5%, that’s not good ladies and gentlemen. Now things seem to be getting worse as each day passes.

Both sides seem far apart and a resolution does not appear imminent. Some players such as the Indians Logan Allen have provided their side of the story since most of the coverage is unsurprisingly coming from an owner’s perspective. This is a good time to remind everyone to pay attention to how a story is being painted and to consider the source when info comes out.

There are a lot of stories/reports/tweets that is from an angle made to make the players look bad. Information from reports can be used to try and divide the two groups of players that exist. Those who get paid a lot and those on the other side of the spectrum. MLB has a serious issue going on right now that is making headlines for the wrong reasons. As long as there is information strategically being released to the public in an effort to make one side look greedy this problem will only continue. If baseball does return this season, it seems safer to bet on later rather than sooner.