jman2050 Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 General Information Description: A dynasty featuring one of the most interesting, yet often overlooked franchises of this decade, the Texas Rangers! Roster: KG roster from MVP 07 Difficulty: Pro No Fantasy Draft No sliders (for the time being. Suggestions are welcome) Plan to play evert game during the season. No sims. Opening Day Rotation Opening Day Lineup Opening Day Analysis Well, I'm still getting the hang of running this particular organization, so I hope to learn a lot in the coming weeks. However, from what I can see, things are shaping up fine from the start. I'm not doing any crazy lopsided trades to start the season, instead I'll see how the current team performs before I make any decisions regarding roster changes. As for the game itself, we start out right out of the gate with a very good Los Angeles Angels team. Won't say too much about it, and instead save my comments and such for after the opener. Regardless of what happens, here's to a great season! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stinkysmelly2 Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 why not sammy sosa? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubsfaninfla Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 why not sammy sosa? Because (no offense), KG's rosters aren't the most accurate when it comes to the actual rosters themselves. The hitter/pitcher ratings are right on the dot though. Sosa's having a superb spring, and it would be no surprise to see Sammy on the Rangers. (Notice the alliterations in the above sentence) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djmakaveli Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Nice choice of a team, but one tip save your images as JPG at 50% compression you wont loose one bit of quality and it will load 20x faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jman2050 Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Yeah, I figured that out after I uploaded the images. They'll need to be smaller anyway, as I don't have GBs of space to dedicate to MVP images (and there will be a lot of them). Future images will either be in JPG or will be reduced in size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RmembrZito75 Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Tell me when you're gonna take mailbag, I'll ask a few... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jman2050 Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Millwood Flat as Angels Pound Their Way to Victory With high expectations, the Texas Rangers entered their season opener against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hoping for a big bang. Instead, they leave with barely a whimper. Despite 11 hits off Angels starter Bartolo Colon, the bats could muster only one run against him. "We weren't ready for them. We planned to come out strong, but the truth is we weren't ready," said first baseman Mark Teixeira, who went 2-4 and scored the Rangers only run. "Obviously it's only the first game, but to lose like this is never easy, regardless of the date." Kevin Millwood never seemed to get into any sort of rhythm, giving up two runs in the 3rd inning, including an RBI triple by Orlando Cabrera, and 1 run in each of the next two innings. But it wasn't until the 6th that things went downhill, when he gave up three home runs in quick succession, including a back-breaking 2-run shot by Vladimir Guerrero, making the score 8-0, putting the game virtually out of reach. A run in the 9th by the Rangers knocked Colon out of the game, and Scot Shields faced a bases-loaded threat with one out. However, Ian Kinsler flied out and Kenny Lofton grounded out to end the game. April 2nd, 2007 Box Score Game Analysis What a pitiful way to start the season. It was just a terrible game all around. There's no valid reason for getting 11 hits and only 1 run. None at all. The good news is that it's still early, so we have plenty of time to get things in order. The next day has Padilla going, and I have confidence he'll be able to do what he can to get us the win. I just hope the offense can actually muster up some runs this time. The Mailbag Submit questions you would like answered and they will be addressed at the end of the next game. Try to keep things realistic folks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfgiantsflgators Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 quick tip for what it's worth: noticed that garrett anderson was a single short of the cycle. stats like that might be something to keep an eye out for in later recaps. overall so far, this looks promising. good luck with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jman2050 Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Lackey Baffles Rangers For the second straight game, an Angels starter lasted until the 9th inning. This time however, he would never leave the game. The Texas Rangers continued to be dormant at the plate as they lost their second straight game to start the season 9-0. John Lackey, despite throwing 111 pitches, was able to finish his first complete game shutout of the season by striking out Kenny Lofton. "It's extremely frustrating," Lofton said after the game, "[Lackey] had great stuff today, and even when we hit him we couldn't capitalize." When asked about the shutout, Lackey responded that he was 'relieved' after the game ended. "I threw a lot of pitches out there, but hey, you got to do what you got to do." Lackey had support early, as the Angels wasted no time getting runs on the board off Vicente Padilla, as Vladimir Guerrero and Garrett Anderson tripled in succession to make the score 2-0, followed by a sacrifice fly to increase the lead to three. They wouldn't stop there, as they tacked on two runs in the 3rd and one in the 5th, followed by a crushing two-run homer by Howie Kendrick. When all was said and done, the Angels had once again blown out their division rivals. Orlando Cabrera continued his torrid start, getting 4 hits for the second straight day. He was a home run away from completing the cycle. April 3rd, 2007 Box Score Game Analysis Another terrible loss followed by... another terrible loss. Once again, the offense remained a hollow shell, while allowing the Angel relievers another day of rest. I'm not gonna panic yet, as it's only the start of the season, but losing in such horrible fasion is still inexcusable. For the next game, it's important that to Escobar early, and give the chance for their relief pitching to flex some muscles. As long as we don't make him look like Cy Young like we did Lackey today, we should have a chance. The Mailbag No mailbag questions to be addressed. Ask them if you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanRobinson Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 "As long as we don't make him look like Cy Young like we did Lackey..." Ah but you forget that Lackey IS (potentially) Cy Young-ish. :-D I'll follow. Question for the mailbag: Who do you foresee as your best starter? What are your expectations for the season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philliesphan18 Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I was going to ask you why you only had it on pro and not all star, but now I see the scores and I see why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiberger Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 If you upload the stylesheets included in the boxscore extractor mod to your website, the layout won't be messed up. Apart from that, this dynasty looks good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jman2050 Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 I was going to ask you why you only had it on pro and not all star, but now I see the scores and I see why. I'll bump it up to All-Star when I, you know, end up being GOOD at this game. I'm hoping this season will improve, but I anticipated a rough start right from the getgo. Also, the April 4th game vs the Angels was rained out and rescheduled for May 7th. I get to face Boston now. Yay :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superciuc Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Good dynasty.Keep it up :jive: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jman2050 Posted March 14, 2007 Author Share Posted March 14, 2007 (I've really got to get the hang of hitting in this game) Offensive Woes Continue In Shutout Loss "The rest was supposed to help," Manager Ron Washington stated, "I just don't understand what's going on." Coming off the heels of a complete game shutout by Angels pitcher John Lackey, the Ranger bats were ice cold once more against Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Throwing an astounding 126 pitches and 10 strikeouts, he went the distance, handing Texas their second complete game shutout in a row. The Rangers have scored only one run in their first three games, and no batter has hit more than a single, resulting in a piddling team slugging percentage of .235. Brandon McCarthy did what he could to keep his team in the game, keeping the dangerous Boston bats in check for five innings. Things fell apart in the sixth however, when he allowed a three-run shot by J.D. Drew to bring the deficit to 4. Scott Feldmen, Joaquin Benoit, and Akinori Otsuka shut the door the rest of the game, but with the Rangers hitters kept in check, the damage had already been done. April 6th, 2007 Box Score Game Analysis I've really got nothing to say about this. Come back to me when we actually score a freaking run. The Mailbag Q: Who do you foresee as your best starter? What are your expectations for the season? A: We'll continue to rely on Millwood and Padilla for our best starts, but I think everyone should keep an eye on McCarthy, as he has great stuff and will really help us keep our rotation solid. As for which one will be the best, it's a tossup at this point. I can't make any conclusions until we've seen what they do during the season. Especially McCarthy. As for our expectations this season? Obviously we want to win it all, but seeing as we've been trailing behind teams like the Angels for a while now, a reasonable expectation would be to finally get over that hump and get a division crown. With the way they've been playing though, it's going to be a tough ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jman2050 Posted March 14, 2007 Author Share Posted March 14, 2007 (You know what I figured out after completing this game? You can aim your swing using the left analog stick. Excuse me while I get some glass and cut myself for being so stupid.) Blalock Ignites Offense. Rangers Win First. Joy in the locker room abounds, along with a heavy sigh of relief. "We really needed this," Hank Blalock told the media after Texas's 5-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox. "We have a lot of work to do this season, but for now I'm just glad we have a win under our belt." Blalock provided just the spark the offense needed, launching a go-ahead two-run double into the gap in left field in the 6th inning to put the Rangers on top for good. Robinson Tejeda did his part, putting up seven strong innings while allowing only two runs. Eric Gagne, in his first appearance of the season, made a case for his elite status by shutting the door on Boston in 9 pitches. For the first three innings however, the game played out very similarly to the first three games. RBIs by Manny Ramirez in the 1st and 3rd inning put the Sox up by two. Meanwhile, the Rangers managed only one hit off starter Jonathan Papelbon, who also recorded five strikeouts in that span. Those would be the only Ks Boston pitchers would get though. In the 4th, Mark Teixeira doubled to record the Rangers' first extra-base hit in the season, bringing Blalock to the plate. A single up the middle brought the Boston lead to one. It was all Rangers from then on. Teixeira singled in a run in the 6th before Blalock's go-ahead double to bring the score to 4-2. The Red Sox would never threaten again, managing only one more single off Tejeda before being shut down by Akinori Otsuka and Gagne. "We hit a few snag to start the season, but I'm confident things will work out from here on out." Blalock said before retreating to the locker room. The Rangers face Boston one more time before hosting a three-day series against Tampa Bay. April 7th, 2007 Box Score Game Highlights Blalock hits the go-ahead 2-run double in the 6th. Teixeira scores from 1st. 2B Ian Kinsler nearly throws away the final out. Teixeira recovers and records the final out. Game Analysis I'm pretty relieved that my guys were able to come through n a tough spot. For a bit there, I thought things would stay the same. I gotta hand it to Blalock though, he had a lot of heart driving in those runs for us. He's gotten a lot of flack for his performance recently, but I'm confident he'll rebound this season. This game is only the beginning. Also gotta hand it to Teixeira for hitting that double to start things off. We definitely needed it. We can't rest on our laurels though. We're still 1-3 and face a very Schilling in a tough matchup. I'm counting on Volquez to get the job done. The Mailbag None this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jensen240 Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Congratulations on your first win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jman2050 Posted March 17, 2007 Author Share Posted March 17, 2007 Haven't forgotten this. Played 4 games since the last recap, I'll have them up periodically over the next day or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jman2050 Posted March 25, 2007 Author Share Posted March 25, 2007 Ortiz Finds His Swing in 4-2 Loss David Ortiz began the season in a slump, driving in only one run in four games with no home runs. However, he proved to be the only offense the Red Sox needed. Behind Ortiz and pitcher Curt Schilling, the Sox handed the Rangers their fourth loss in five games, 4-2. Edinson Volquez took the loss by giving up 4 runs in the first three innings. Volquez began the game strong, getting the first two batters out in quick succession, before allowing a triple to Manny Ramirez. Ortiz stepped up to the plate, batting only .100 in his first four games. He broke out of his slump though with a two-run homer to left field, giving the Sox an early 2-0 lead. He would step into the box again in the third inning with runners on the corners. He would have another big hit, launching a double into center field, scoring both runners to bring the lead up to four. Schilling was masterful in his seven innings of work, allowing only two runs and striking out five. Those two runs came on back-to-back doubles by Frank Catalonotto and Michael Young in the sixth inning. With only one out, the Rangers threatened to come back into the game, but Schilling got out of trouble by inducing Mark Teixeira to ground out, followed by a fly out by Hank Blalock. Julian Tavarez came out in the ninth and retired the side to finish the game. April 8th, 2007 Box Score Game Highlights Varitek records the final out in a 1-2-3 9th inning. Game Analysis I'm not happy about this loss, but hey, it's baseball. We have to look at the big picture and the whole season. Sure, it's discouraging now but I have a feeling we'll turn things around. Millwood will come through for us tomorrow no doubt, so I look forward to that. Still though, we need to be more productive on offense. Our pitching has been okay so far, but our offense really needs to step it up. The Mailbag None this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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