Franchise: Detroit V. St.louis 2009

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I'm not big on starting on new franchise, but I'm going to because of MVPComm Rosters 1.2. With a new franchise, I feel like offering something new to keep it interesting. Previously I've done mock expansion teams (Nationals with 2k7), all new teams (with logos, unis, etc) with MVP08, etc. With these v1.2 rosters and custom sliders, the game is going to play as well as it can, and we'll just have to accept that.

For this franchise, I got the idea of have "performance points" for each team using fantasy scoring (single =1pt, HR=4pts, Win=10pts, ec) to sort of have a "head-to-head" challenge with myself. I already had the setup in an excel spreadsheet from way back, so all I do is enter the team totals into a sheet (which I already do to track slider results/tweaks) and *poof* you get the team's "performance points" for that game.

I picked Detroit and StL because [1] they are equally rated teams, [2] have similar rosters, [3] have a rich history against each other, [4] have a chance to make the playoffs, [5] allow me to play in all the stadiums, against all the teams/players, and [6] a chance to meet in the WS (small chance).

I will play/sim in alternating fashion, and only keep performance points in the games I play. I'm also figuring out "season Bonus Points" (3 players with 30+ HRs, etc), and I'll edit this post later and remove all this stuff and replace it with the details. So far, I've played 1 series with each team ... while trying the sliders to account for the changes made in the rosters.

Should be interesting & fun, with minimal update work, as I'll update after each series (quick and easy).

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I'll fix these later, the type is too small and/or stretched.

[Maestro23]

This looks interesting CC. I'm liking the concept.

Good start man.

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Something happened to my FRAP'd images from the game. Either I moved them to a folder that I cannot find or deleted, or I deleted the images from the FRAPS folder by accident. So, I'm gonna have to update this threa "all primitive" up to the 10 game mark, and then return to "flashy" for my current series (DET@SEA & CHC@StL).

Here's Detroit's Update ...

I'm not gonna do any write ups on the games ... anchient history.

Performance Scoring (Played Games Only)

Game 1 = -10,

Game 3 = +31,

Game 5 = -6,

Game 7 = +23,

Game 9 = -40,

Season Total = -2

THe 10-5 loss at home to CWS with giving up 9 runs in the 8th/9th innings REALLY hurt the season total. 10 runs, 16 hits ,AND the loss ... in what was a 5-1 lead in the 7th, before the bullpen got all "oops I did it again".

Scoring is as follows (for both teams' offenses) ...

RS = 4pts

1B = 1pt

2B = 2pts

3B = 3pts

HR = 4pts

BB = 2pts

SO = -2pts

SB = 2pts

CS = -1pt

Win = 10pts

Loss = -10pts

Take the difference between Detroit's P-Score and Opp's P-Score and add/subtract 10pts for the win/loss. Simplest way to do it, without giving all sorts of bonus points for Grand Slams, CG's, SHO, SV, etc.

Detroit's Team Stats and AL Central Standing through 11 games (I'll post slider totals, played & Simmed, after 10 games played).

Bullpen ERA!!! 'Nuff said.

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St. Louis Update through 10 games ... same deal with the FRAP images (missing).

Performance Points (Played games only)

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Game 1 = -14

Game 3 = +29

Game 6 = -15

Game 7 = +8

Game 9 = 0 (yes, 0 ... dominated the stats (Xbase hits, SBs, lots of Wellemeyer K's), lost the game. Sucks.)

Season totals = 8 (Game 11, not represented was a BIG win over the Cubs *grin*)

St. Louis Player Stats and Standings ...

Must've missed Pineiro's stats ... he's started 2 games.

Game play options ...

Inside Edge removed

No ball cursor

No strike zone

3-step pitching (90/90/90)

MVPComm v1.2 rosters

Darkspace sliders

Inuries off

DH both leagues (I know, I know)

I was using one set of sliders for Detroit, another for StL. The ones I was using for StL make the offense too weak (IMO), and I found myself not fearing anyone in the opp's lineup, since almost everything is a routine play with little pop. I've used Darkspace sliders for both teams since and noticed how much more the ball pops off the bat. Still realistic HRs, XBase hits, etc ... just more hard hit balls, forcing me to have to pitch more cautiously. Different sliders work for different folks. Whatever makes ya happy. I'm really enjoying how this game plays ... all things considered.

[jaywil]

Great Start, I like the idea. Will be fun to watch this ....

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Slider Settings Used for this franchise (Darkspace with tweaks, my changes in bold) For my own enjoyment, I placed the equivalent default level in parenthesis to get a feeling of the slider's overall difficulty)>

All settings start at pro level and are adjusted from there, hence player cards unlockable.

Pitcher Fatigue: 50

User's Batting options (Avr=AS)

Batter Succes: 60 (AS)

Batter Contact: 40 (LEG)

Batter Power: 65 (AS)

Pitcher Handedness Inf: 100 (ALL)

I.E. Batter Zone Inf: 100 (ALL)

Batting Pitch Influence: 90 (ALL@75)

Batting Eye Influence: 25 (AS) -- OFF, 0

Hit Direction Influence: 25 (LEG) -- OFF, 0

Zone Hitting Influence: 30 (LEG), OFF, 0

Bunt Contact: 40 (AS)

Bunt Success: 40 (LEG)

Computer's Batting options (Avr=AS)

Default Difficulty Sliders

CPU Batter Succes: 60 (AS)

CPU Batter Contact: 60 (Pro/AS)

CPU Batter Power: 95 (LEG+)

CPU Pitcher Handedness Inf: 100 (ALL)

CPU I.E. Batter Zone Inf: 100 (ALL)

CPU Batting Pitch Influence: 90 (ALL@75)

CPU Bunt Contact: 50 (Pro)

CPU Bunt Success: 50 (Pro)

User's Pitching options (Avr=LEG)

Pitch Meter Speed: 100 (LEG)

Pitch Speed: 90 (~LEG)

Gesture Recognition: 90 (LEG+)

Hold Timing Influence: 30 (AS/LEG)

Release Timing Influence: 65 (AS/LEG)

Pitcher Rating Influence: 95 (AS/LEG)

Pitcher Break Influence: 90 (AS)

Pitcher Composure Influnence: 95 (LEG+)

Computer's Pitching options (Avr=AS/LEG)

. .... Default Difficulty Sliders

CPU Pitch Success: 55 (Pro)

CPU Pitch Selection: 90 (LEG+)

CPU Strike Zone: 0 (LEG+)

CPU Pitch Zone: 5 (LEG+)

CPU Pitcher Composure: 90 (Pro)

User's Fielding options (Avr=LEG)

Fielding Errors: 45 (~AS)

Throw Meter Influence: 95 (LEG+)

Fielders Speed: 60 (LEG)

Computer's Fielding options (Avr=AS)

CPU Fielding Errors: 50 (Pro)

CPU Fielders Speed: 60 (LEG/AS/Pro)

Users's Running options (Avr = AS)

Baserunning Speed: 55 (LEG+)

Pickoff Success: 50 (Pro)

Catcher Throwout Success: 40 (AS)

Computer's Running options

CPU Hit N Run: 75 (~LEG)

CPU Sac Bunt: 70 (AS/LEG)

CPU Squeeze play: 65 (AS)

CPU BaseRunners Aggression (AS)

CPU Steal Aggression: 65 (LEG+)

CPU Steal Success: 50 (LEG+)

Game Settings:

Injuries = OFF

Active BullPen = OFF

Catchers Suggestions = OFF

Inside Edge = OF/Removed

DH = BOTH

SmartHold = ON

Hurry Up Baseball = ON/OFF (OFF, lately)

Ball Trail = OFF

Strikezone = OFF

Dynamic Landing Indicator = FIXED

Vibration = OFF

Zone Hitting = OFF

Pinpoint Pitching = OFF

Batters Eye = OFF

3 step pitching/Release Timing = ON

[LouisvilleLipp]

What do the terms Avr, As, Leg , All and Pro represent?. I have a idea but want to make sure.

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What do the terms Avr, As, Leg , All and Pro represent?. I have a idea but want to make sure.

They are abbreviations for default sliders.

Avr=Average

AS=All-Star

Leg=Legend

Pro=Pro

For example, for Batting Success, here are the slider setting for the default sliders:

Legend-50. Allstar-60, Pro-60, Rookie-65

Darkspace broke it all down. Y0u can find it in his thread here: http://www.mvpmods.com/index.php?showtopic=38851

He and I "geeked it up" last year and went through and did this stuff for all the sliders when we were making custom sliders. It was "real" fun, b/c in 2k8 there were no slider numbers, you had to 'count the clicks' ... 1 to 100. Fun, tremendous fun.

The abbreviations were just to give me an idea of what "level" my sliders were. As I suspected they are in between All-Star and Legend. Harder pitching, average hitting.

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I'll say this ... I was pretty pissed off after Lyon blew the save in game 2 ... after Galaragga had a no-no through 6, and Rodney breezed through the 7th and 8th. I waffled over leaving Rodney in (especially since Lyon had lost the closer's role), but Rodney's fatigue was increasing, and well ... Lyon ... well, he's now a sparingly used middle reliever.

Verlander has been a tough-luck loser so far. Not pitching strong, but well enough to win some games (or at least one).

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THe Muckin' Fets ... aw well, we kicked your @$$ in the 06 NLCS. Take it.

Note: I have team/player stats, standings, slider comparisons completed after series #7. THis is series #5. So once I get caught up on updates, I'll post the numbers.

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Oops, forgot to change the summary for game 3, will fix later.

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Here's a franchise stats update after 22-24 games.

Neither team is exactly tearing it up. Actually this is embarassing. *grin*

Cabrera is a beast. Porecello and Galarraga are a blast to pitch with, and probably have ratings higher than they deserve on this game. Detroit is struggling at 8-14, but has picked up the pace (see next 3 series updates, soon to come)

Molina is enjoying hitting behind Pujols and Ludwick. Cards pitching is pretty good. Khalil Greene has 5 HRs, mostly due to two 2HR games that occurred during the simmed games. Ankiel is struggling, which is weird b/c I usually mash with lefties.

[THE.DOCTER]

I heard Adam Everett was seen rubbing some cream into his elbow ^_^

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He wanted to use 'the clear' but when he went to look for it, he couldn't find it.

[JoeRudi26]

The dynasty looks great, CC, keep up the good work!   B)

[THE.DOCTER]

Yeah this is a great orriginal idea. BTW i saw it on the 2k forums, Id post there but i cant stand them saying "chise" every other word. lol.

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You guys might remember a week ago I posted that a kid I know got called up to Arizona Diamondbacks. Tonight he got recalled to fill in for Scott Schoenweiss while Scott deals with the death of his wife.

I started coaching the pitchers at Streator HS the year after Clay graduated, so I didn't coach him ... my only real link is that we played on the same summer softeball team when he would return from college. His HS coach for 4 years and I continued to coach HS baseball for 3 more years, and then coached a junior high team to the state championship, and now we coach 8/9yo's and TBall teams together.

Tonight we had the honor of watching Clay Zavada make his MLB debut AND get his first major league WIN!!!

THis kid is the real deal, both on the mound and in life ... plus he's got a killer "Wyatt Earp" moustache that's going to get him plenty of publicity.

His story is heart-breaking, grounding, and inspiring all in one. If you missed it, here it is:

Clay Zavada: A Lunch-Pail Prospect for the Diamondbacks

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/sports/b.../21pitcher.html

STREATOR, Ill. — Days before the Yankees signed C. C. Sabathia to a $161 million deal, one of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ most promising minor league pitchers rose before dawn at his house on the outskirts of this central Illinois town.

An overnight storm had coated the roads in ice, and the thermometer read 8 degrees. It was the perfect morning to sleep in, but not for Clay Zavada, who steered his Nissan Sentra toward town — past frozen cornstalks, an abandoned farmhouse and the red lights of windmills blinking in the distance. A dilapidated motel and a series of fast-food restaurants indicated his arrival in Streator.

Zavada could not afford to be late. This was the only time the high school gym would be empty, and his old coach — the assistant principal — would have time to catch for him.

“If you don’t get it done early and get it out of the way, it’s kind of hard to get it done,” Zavada said, slamming a two-seam fastball toward the gloved hand of Nick McGurk. “You’ve got to get in here and get it done.”

Once the sun came up, Zavada knew there would be other demands on his time. His uncle might call him to work at the family sawmill. A cousin in the construction business often needs a hand. And Zavada has a long list of chores waiting for him on the 40-acre property his father left him and his brother — logs to be split and sold for firewood, a go-kart awaiting refurbishing and posting on eBay, or the thick bushes choking a grove of walnut trees that need clearing. For that task of protecting the trees, the federal government sends him a small yearly subsidy.

Despite an impressive 0.51 earned run average and a 3-1 record last season as a reliever for the Class A South Bend Silver Hawks, Zavada, 24, must work outside of baseball to pay his bills. Last season, he earned $280 a week — before taxes — from the Silver Hawks. His income is typical of the roughly 4,500 minor league players, about 10 percent of whom will play in even one major league game.

“Not all of these guys are getting million-dollar bonuses,” said A. J. Hinch, the director of player development for the Diamondbacks. “I don’t know that everybody is quite aware of what these guys go through in order to give themselves a chance to make it.”

Zavada had never been a hotly pursued prospect until now. His work last season, which included allowing six hits in 35 innings, earned him a coveted spot on the Diamondbacks’ 40-man roster. In spring training, he will have the chance to compete for one of the 25 spots on the major league roster.

Zavada had considered playing N.C.A.A. Division I baseball, but big-time college recruiters do not stop here. After playing at Illinois Valley Community College, he transferred in his junior year to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, which competes in Division II. In 2006, the Diamondbacks drafted him in the 30th round, paying him a $1,000 signing bonus that after taxes, barely paid the deposit on his apartment in Missoula, Mont., where he played on a summer rookie team.

That December, Zavada’s father, Clarence, a quality-control manager for a nuclear plant, died of a heart attack. Zavada’s mother, Linda, had died when he was 3; his older brother, Dustin, was serving in the Navy. Suddenly, Zavada found himself responsible for looking after his family’s property, a mix of farmland and forest that was his father’s pride and joy.

“That’s when the wheels kind of came off the track,” Zavada said. “He was my life. My brother and him, that’s all we were. The three of us.”

Zavada failed to report to spring training in 2007 and lost touch with the Diamondbacks, who dropped his contract later in the summer.

“I was just sitting around, trying to figure things out,” he said.

That fall, Zavada decided to honor his father’s wishes by completing his bachelor’s degree at Edwardsville. He also took a part-time job delivering furniture.

“I was pretty much done with baseball,” he said.

Last spring, he graduated with a degree in business. At the prodding of a friend, he decided to celebrate by trying out for an independent team, the Southern Illinois Miners.

“I hadn’t picked up a ball in over a year,” he said.

After a few practice games that were “absolutely awful,” Zavada said, he eventually picked up momentum.

“From that point on, it was like, boom,” said Zavada, who is 6 feet 1 inch and 195 pounds. “I didn’t have a negative thought in my mind.”

Zavada’s performance caught the attention of the Diamondbacks, and in June, they re-signed him to a one-year contract. He was assigned to the Silver Hawks.

“He opened some eyes — one, being left-handed, and two, he had a good arsenal,” Hinch said. “But he didn’t come in with a lot of accolades. He’s had to earn every bit” of the attention he is starting to get.

Zavada does not argue the point.

“I’ve been a low-percentage shot for baseball my whole life,” he said.

Last Monday, Zavada’s sneakers squeaked down the aisles of the Kroger supermarket as he hunted for breakfast. He grabbed a box of store-brand raisin bran cereal — at $1.89, it was $2 less than the name brands nearby.

“As far as food is concerned, I don’t buy anything that’s not on sale, or not cheap,” he said.

A few aisles away, he tucked a pack of chicken thighs under his arm. “Almost five pounds of it for $3,” he marveled.

As much as baseball is Zavada’s dream, it is also a paycheck. Being on the 40-man roster will quadruple his salary, at the very least. If he is selected for the major league team, he will earn the rookie minimum, $400,000.

“It’s good that I play baseball and I actually have a job that I know I can go to in about two months,” he said. “Some people can’t. Some people around here, they’re barely getting by.”

Once a bustling town of coal mines and bottle factories, Streator is now home to about 14,000 people, many of whom drive long distances to work at power plants. The nearest interstate is 13 miles away, and there is not even a Wal-Mart, although Zavada said many residents welcomed plans to build one because it might bring jobs.

The only cinema — a renovated movie palace called the Majestic — charges $5.25 a ticket. The theater’s owner addressed members of the audience before a recent screening of “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” pleading with them to come back soon and to invite relatives and friends.

“I’m going to try to keep it open through the end of the year,” he told the crowd.

The temperature was still in the single digits by the time Zavada returned home from the grocery store about 9 a.m. In the kitchen, he poured a bowl of raisin bran and turned up the volume on his kitchen radio. “Swap Shop,” a live classified advertising show broadcast every morning on a local AM station, was about to start.

“This is the home run derby of Streator,” Zavada said, slurping his cereal as Gunner, his Labrador retriever, waited hopefully at his feet. “This is what you live for.”

On this morning, the items for sale or trade included a pair of turquoise bracelets, a 2-year-old cocker spaniel, an Xbox video system “only used once,” an extra-large Green Bay Packers jacket with tags attached and a 1994 Honda Civic. One woman called in looking for beeswax. Another wanted to alert her neighbors that two dogs — “a shepherd and a hunting dog” — seemed to have gotten loose at the end of her block.

Not long ago, Zavada said, he got an “awesome deal” on a 1996 Honda Rebel motorcycle that he bought from “Swap Shop.” He fixed it up and sold it on eBay, making a $900 profit.

“If you can find a deal, you can definitely make a mint,” he said.

Like many of his neighbors, Zavada’s livelihood relies on a mix of odd jobs and an entrepreneurial spirit. He is a regular at the Streator pawn shop, searching for underappreciated treasures that can be sold online. During the harvest, he drove a truck for a farmer who had shattered his ankle after falling off a grain bin.

His pitching is equally versatile. Zavada takes pride in his best pitch, a changeup, and said that for now, baseball was his priority. But it is clear that he also takes pleasure in other tasks, like clearing brush behind his house, or slicing an old telephone pole into smooth, straight boards at his uncle’s sawmill. Using his pitching hand to line up the blades of an industrial saw may make the Diamondbacks’ management cringe, but Zavada says he will not give it up.

“You got to do what you got to do,” he said. “It’s how I grew up, you know. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Last Sunday, Zavada spotted an opossum that had been wandering around his property for days. He grabbed his grandfather’s shotgun over the fireplace and raced outside. Later, as Gunner trotted toward the house with the carcass in his mouth, Zavada ordered the dog to drop it. With any luck, he explained, this animal may attract another.

Raccoon pelts are selling for $25 apiece.

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Get to know this kid, he's worth rooting for.