standings

here are the standings so far for the al east

standings

Yankees rotation and lineup

pitching rotation for the yanks

lineups for the yanks

here is the yanks 09 rotation and lineup for this season. the way i am playing i might make a drastic change soon.

perfect game

i just gave up a perfect game to the royals. this is the worst lost i ever had against the computer

royals perfect game against the yankees

The season has offical started by deion

I finally got the rosters that i wanted. thanks to the guys over at operation sports forums. the roster that i been desperately waiting for, is here. i started my franchise with the new york yankees.

i will be doing the full 162 games and will keep everyone updated with the yanks franchise. so far i have played 4 games. after i get done with my game now. i post some more thanks everyone

Oh No.

Yes, the unthinkable has happened. My season has been deleted. My roommate has no clue how to work the PS3 and deleted it by accident. What should I do?

Getting the Roster in Order

I have started my season and The Show is proving to be an amazing game. I am using the Cleveland Indians, choosing them because of their good, young talent, pitching depth in both starters and relievers, and a fun stadium which I love.

But, there were some aspects of the Indians which I wasn’t happy with and I decided to make some moves as a result. I started with pitching. Starting off, my rotation was Cliff Lee, Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook, Anthony Reyes, and Aaron Laffey. Backup starters included Carl Pavano and Jeremy Sowers. I wanted top pitching 1-4 and, sorry Westbrook and Reyes, you aren’t top talent. My lineup, starting off was as follows:

1) Grady Sizemore

- I liked Grady, duh. I want him in centerfield and batting first each game.

2) Astrubel Cabrera

- I liked Cabrera too, not so much at the #2 spot in the lineup, but at 2nd. He is an amazing fielder and I value good fielding.

3) Victor Martinez

- As a switch hitting catcher/1b/DH, Martinez, was invaluable. I thought that he could turn it around after last season.

4) Travis Hafner

- Pronk is not my favorite. I think he’s a roider and last season, with the injuries, in my view, is proof of that. He’s a great hitter, but in the fielder, Hafner is an extreme liability. I wanted him gone and his trade value was pretty high.

5) Johnny Peralta

- Again, as a shortstop, Peralta’s power is huge, but I wanted a better fielder. Again, his trade value proved to be high.

6) Shin So-Choo

- Just disgusting against RHP, Choo was inked as my starting RF.

7) Mark DeRosa

- There is no better utility man in the league than Mark DeRosa.

Eight) Ryan Garko (I tried to just type an eight, but it came up a happy face. I don’t get it.)

- Garko is a great first basemen with better than average hitting and fielding, but ultimately, he was a deal breaker in a trade.

9) Ben Francisco

- Francisco is really not that good. He’s got a good arm but only average batting skills.

Bench:

David Dellucci

Josh Barfield

Kelly Shoppach

Matt LaPorta

Jamey Carroll

I made 5 trades right away, gaining pitching in return for hitting. Yes, 5 of ‘em.

Trade #1:

Indians trade LF Ben Francisco, SP Jack Westbrook, and SP Jack Cassel

in exchange for:

Rockies’ SP Ubaldo Jimenez, LF Scott Posednik, and SP Franklin Morales

- with this trade Ubaldo Jimenez was obviously my main target. He’s a young, power righty with huge upside. In my opinion, he is a definitely an upgrade over Westbrook. Scott Posednik is an amazing fielder and has great speed, albeit he is lacking batting wise.

Trade #2:

Indians trade 1B Travis Hafner and SP Anthony Reyes

in exchange for:

Braves’ SP Jair Jurrjens and RP Buddy Carlyle

- again, Jurrjens was obviously my main target. Along with Jimenez, I’ll have a #3 and #4 punch that other teams can’t compete with. Hafner is quite the bat to give away but it was worth it.

Trade #3:

Indians trade SS Jamey Carroll and SP Franklin Morales

in exchange for:

Diamondbacks’ SS Stephen Drew and RP Yusmeiro Petit

- Jamey Carroll is how old? Like 35, I think. Stephen Drew however is a defense force along with budding offensive potential. Can’t believe this trade actually went through.

Trade #4:

Indians trade SS Jhonny Peralta

in exchange for:

Brewers’ SP Carlos Villanueva

- With Peralta expendable, I went again for a young pitching stud. But again, I felt bad. The Brewers, with JJ Hardy at short, would’ve never accepted this in real life.

Trade #5: reversing the pattern

Indians trade SP Carlos Villanueva, 1B Ryan Garko, and SS Andy Cannizaro

in exchange for:

Rangers’ 1B Chris Davis, LF David Murphy, and RP Kason Gabbard

- this time I went after hitting. Villanueva was really too valuable a trade commodity as a #5 starter. And, my lineup would’ve sucked. Ryan Garko was forced to go, making way for Matt LaPorta to step in and show his stuff. David Murphy was really the steal of this trade. He is a great hitter and better than average fielder. He’s a much better option than starting Posednik in left every night.

In the first game of the season, Rafael Betancourt got a shoulder injury and I was forced to place him on the 60 day DL. I needed a good middle reliever to fill the void.

Trade #6:

Indians trade SP Rex Bonderman and LF David Dellucci

in exchange for:

Cardinals’ RP Kyle McClellan and 1B/LF Chris Duncan

- this trade really filled in my bullpen depth and bench power. Chris Duncan is nasty versus RHP and is also able to play 1B. I wasn’t too fond of playing Matt LaPorta every day. (I didn’t make him that good.) Kyle McClellan was really a steal. He’ll hopefully be productive for me this season.

That was the last trade. Really. (for now)

Top of my roster

My pitching staff

My lineup versus RHP

A Small Delay

When I picked up The Show, I planned on downloading the first roster update and then beginning my season. But, because some names still listed as FAs, Manny and Juan Cruz to list a couple, I’ll wait for the next update before starting my season. It’s important for me to have an updated roster before starting a season. So, stay tuned for that.

Another thing. Previously, I was thinking about using the Marlins or Reds for my season. But, after playing with the two teams, I don’t really like either of them. The Marlins’ farm system, one the best in the majors, is not represented truly in the game. This would leave me with very little trade value at the minor league level. And, call me a sissy, but I am not about to play 162 games with the lowly Marlins. Not fun. The Reds, while they do have a fun lineup, don’t present much in the way of pitching.

Right now, I am leaning towards playing with the Indians. Indians’ pitching isn’t good either but, unlike the Marlins, the Indians have trade value. In order to rev up the pitching staff, I wouldn’t mind trading Travis Hafner. Jonny Peralta and Ben Francisco could be out of town as well. I try to build teams that are strong in pitching and defense. Some trade targets for me include Ubaldo Jimenez and Jair Jurrjens. Please comment and tell me what you think. Should I chose the Indians or a different team. Any suggestions?

Gotta wait for this guy to hit the roster

Two Seasons!

Hey y’all. I’m the other writer on this blog and you will have the opportunity to follow my 162 game season here as well. Two baseball gaming nuts have teamed up to offer twice the coverage. It will surely be interesting to see how both our seasons go.

Tomorrow, I will be picking up my copy of MLB the Show ’09. I’ll wait for the first roster update to be available and then I will start my season. Right now, I am debating whether to do a season with the Marlins or the Reds. I am leaning towards the Marlins. Please let me know what you think by commenting. The Reds present a more potent lineup however the Marlins have more pitching potential. I think with a couple trades (I don’t like Cody Ross much) I could make the Marlins a bit better. The Marlins present a great challenge. Even making the playoffs in the NL East, with the likes of the Phillies and Mets, would be difficult.

Check out my other blog post about MLB the Show: Demo Impressions

Big news

Well i have picked up mlb 2k9 and the show 09. I have played mlb 2k9 and i must say it is a big improvement from last year. Still there are some things that needs to be fix but if they keep it up next  year they will give the show 09 and run for its money. This blog would be about me doing franchise for the show and mlb 2k. so get ready to have fun and read about a long 162 game season.