Power Pros Forum

Agents so far:
Edwin Encarnacion - Tdud123
Ben Zobrist - Tdud123
James Shields - AgentP
Micah Owings - AgentP
Spanky Rodriguez - LetsGoMets77
Bronson Arroyo - LetsGoMets77
Brayan Peña - LetsGoMets77
Julio Lugo (not on my team) - LetsGoMets77

So I just won the World Series with the Cincinnati Reds on Normal in 2007 Power Pros for the Wii. Read through some of the season logs here, and thought it'd be fun to try my own hand while also explaining some of my trials and tribulations of my first season mode. I know 2007 is kinda dead, but if anyone is interested, let me know!

As a startup, my team went 155-7 in the regular season, and then 11-1 in the playoffs. The only time they were in doubt was in the NLDS, where I was tied 1-1 after Pedro Martinez out dueled Elizardo Ramirez 7-5 and I was then was down in game 3. But Francisco Rosario (the best FA pickup in MLBPP07 by far) shut down the Mets for a few innings and the combination of Spanky Rodriguez (created player) and Shin-Soo Choo came together to win me game 3, and we never looked back. Swept the Twins in four games in the World Series, and (out of position SS) LF Macier Izturis was named MVP after he batted well over .500 with 10+ RBI.

Resigning began, and I'm glad I saved before it, as it is hard to resign guys! I ended up letting Izturis, Brandon Phillips, Bill Melendez (created player LHP) and Tanyon Sturtze walk. We'll see if the remaining guys can repeat as champs as I move from Normal difficulty to All-Star

Gonna list my lineup as of post 4 here - so people will know what my team looked like at the beginning-ish of this log:
C - Spanky Rodriguez # (3 TRJ, A CON, F PWR, C SPD, B ARM, A FLD, A RES)
1B - Brayan Peña % (2 TRJ, B CON, E PWR, E SPD, E ARM, D FLD, D RES)
2B - Jose Lopez (2 TRJ, B CON, C PWR, A SPD, D ARM, C FLD, C RES)
SS - Ben Zobrist (2 TRJ, C CON, D PWR, D SPD, B ARM, D FLD, D RES)
3B - Edwin Encarnacion (3 TRJ, B CON, B PWR, C SPD, B ARM, C FLD, C RES)
LF - Brad Hawpe (3 TRJ, C CON, A PWR, C SPD, B ARM, E FLD, B RES)
CF - Joey Gathright (2 TRJ, C CON, F PWR, A SPD, D ARM, D FLD, C RES)
RF - Shin-Soo Choo (2 TRJ, C CON, D PWR, B SPD, D ARM, D FLD, E RES)
Bench - Micah Owings 1B $ (1 TRJ, D CON, G PWR, G SPD, E ARM, E FLD, F RES)
Bench - Reggie Willits OF (1 TRJ, C CON, F PWR, C SPD, D ARM, E FLD, E RES)
Bench - Josh Hamilton OF (2 TRJ, C CON, F PWR, E SPD, D ARM, D FLD, F RES)
Bench - Freddy Bynum OF (2 TRJ, E CON, D PWR, A SPD, D ARM, F FLD, F RES)
Bench - Troy Tulowitzki SS (2 TRJ, C CON, E PWR, D SPD, F ARM, D FLD, D RES)

SP - Bronson Arroyo (95, B CTRL, A STAM, 4 pitches)
SP - Elizardo Ramirez (94, C CTRL, A STAM, 3 pitches)
SP - James Shields (94, C CTRL, A STAM, 4 pitches)
SP - Scott Mathieson (98, D CTRL, B STAM, 3 pitches)
SP - (Damian) Rolls * (89, D CTRL, B STAM, 2 pitches)

Closer - (Aroldis) Chapman * (89, D CTRL, C STAM, 4 pitches)
Setup Man - Pedro Feliciano (89, B CTRL, C STAM, 3 pitches)
Middle Relief - (Josh) Sharpless *R (92, G CTRL, D STAM, 3 pitches)
Middle Relief - Francisco Rosario (97, E CTRL, C STAM, 4 pitches)
LOOGY - Micah Bowie (94, D CTRL, C STAM, 3 pitches)
Swing Man - Tony Armas Jr.(92, C CTRL, A STAM, 4 pitches)
Long Man - (Madison) Bumstead *R (86, D CTRL, B STAM, 4 pitches)

AAA - Jaret Wright SP (93, C CTRL, B STAM, 4 pitches)
AAA - Jason Vargas SP (92, F CTRL, B STAM, 3 pitches)
AAA - (Abe) Obradovic *R (83, C CTRL, D STAM, 2 pitches)
AAA - (Shawn) Cancel *R (86, D CTRL, D STAM, 3 pitches)
AAA - Juan Padilla (89, C CTRL, D STAM, 3 pitches)

* Denotes drafted computer made player
# Denotes success mode player
$ Owings is a converted RP from season one who occasionally still pitches for me
% Peña is a converted C from season one who still catches for me from time to time
R Denotes rookie player

So through two All Star games, I'm 1-1. Game 1 was a dominating 3-1 pitching performance by Bronson Arroyo that led me to victory. Game 2 was started by Elizardo Ramirez...a no name SP who had 100% quality starts in my normal season with no walks...and he gave up 7 runs in 3 1/3 innings.

I eventually was down 13-5, but fought back to 13-10 on the back of a Jose Lopez homerun and some random base knocks. And with one out Lopez had a chance to tie it with another homer...but he flew out to foul territory so...notsomuch.

I'll take 10 runs though - that's a record for me at the All Star level!

So I'm 9-7 now. Was 4-6, but went on a nice little streak as of late. This last game was probably my funnest ever - my first walkoff!

I was losing 1-0 the entire game, with Shawn Chacon somehow always able to shut me down. They kept him in in the bottom of the 9th inning, and after two quick outs Shin-Soo Choo hit a double. Edwin Encarnacion then knocked him in with a deep single, and Brayan Pena followed that up by putting guys on 1st and 3rd. So then Jose Lopez comes up (a personal fave) and on a mistake pitch he sends a liner over the second basemen and my team erupts out of the dugout.

So awesome. Now if only I could get the computer to accept a trade!

So it has been a while since I posted, but this season continues - and man do I suck!

The Cardinals have an 18 game lead on the Cubs, and then my Reds, the Brewers, the Astros, and the Pirates are all between 22 and 27 games back, and it's mid-July. I went on a crazy 15-20 game losing streak that involved Bronson Arroyo setting the mark for most homeruns given up by an active pitcher but now FINALLY (especially after trading for Brad Hawpe) my team is starting to come around and win some games, albeit too late.

I recently took 2 out of 3 from the Astros, which led to some thoughts for me:
1. Lance Berkman owned this series. He hit like 5 homeruns, providing all but one run of offense for his team. The Astros rewarded him by trading him, straight up, for Jake Westbrook after our series ended. I laughed so hard - and will be very excited to face this punchless offense in the future.

2. Some of these field/lighting settings are SO HARD to hit on. The first two Astros games I dominated on offense, but then the third was a night game and the Astros field was just so bright. A lot of my swings were just flailing and I lost 0-1. For the first time in a long time, I reset the game to try again the next day. My effort was better (5 hits instead of 1) but I still didn't make much meaningful contact. Stupid lighting.

3. I kinda love my team right now. Some of the highlights:
SS - Troy Tulowitzki (Ben Zobrist got put on the 15 day DL twice in a row and Tulo is my backup. I've actually been putting A speed Freddy Bynum at 2B a lot and shifting Lopez to SS).
RF - Brad Hawpe (replaced Bynum/Josh Hamilton/Reggie Willits as a much needed 2nd power threat)

My team is mostly about speed at the top (Gathright, Choo, Rodriguez, Bynum when he plays) with Lopez, Encarnacion, Peña, and Hawpe then driving them in.

Elizardo Ramirez (feels like my ace 9 times out of 10)
Scott Mathieson (sneaky good)
and Rolls, a computer lefty with a fastball and a slider

Man, now a few hours later, after I played two games:
- First game was a rough one versus the Cubs. Played them close the whole way, then a late Alfonso Soriano homerun off a rookie clinched it.
- 2nd game was a BLAST! Started off with James Shields getting killed - in 2+ innings he gave up a grand slam to Soriano among other runs. I was down 5-0 before I knew it. But I trickled back...a run here, a run there, a nice 3 run inning at one point, and all of a sudden it's 6-5 them.

I get it to 6-6 in the 8th.

In the 9th they make it 7-6.

In the bottom of the 9th, Freddy Bynum starts a little rally by singling, stealing 2nd, and getting knocked in by Edwin Encarnacion to make it 7-7.

10th goes by, nothing. 11th is the same.

Top of the 12th, Jacque Jones hits a BOMB to right off of Tony Armas Jr., making it 8-7 bad guys.

Bottom of the 12th, again Freddy Bynum leads off. Single, steals 2nd. Gathright hits a grounder to SS, and the SS throws to third to get Bynum but I was already headed back. 1st and 2nd, no outs.

Encarnaction hits it up the middle - they get the out at 2nd but Encarnacion beats the throw at 1st.

Shin-Soo Choo hits a laser blast single, scoring Bynum and making it 1st and 3rd.

Brad Hawpe comes up and hits it right at 1B, but a tough grounder. Encarnacion is mashing A down the 3rd base line and just beats the throw. REDS WIN! REDS WIN!

I'm now 25 games back by the way, with the Stros and Pirates behind me and the Brewers just ahead of me. But at least I gained a game on the Cubs by taking 2 of 3.

Yo, I'll take Tulo and Hawpe if we can have agents

Lol what do you mean? I've never really done the season log thing before - but I'm down for whatever!

It's just kinda bragging rights for a player's performance- like if Hawpe or Tulowitzki hit a homer, I would cheer them on.

Some logs also include the right for users to negotiate their client's contract.

Oh cool, that works for me! I like the negotiating idea for sure and my guys can use all the fans they can get!

Reds pull out opener, drop 2nd game versus Giants

The Cincinnati Reds started their 3 game set versus the Giants this weekend with a double header. Game 1 set fastball specialist Scott Mathieson versus curvy Matt Morris, while the nightcap pitted 2nd year pitcher Damian (Not his real name, but the name I gave him) Rolls versus Barry Zito.

In the early game, Morris (4-6) was cruising early. His one misstep was a Brad Hawpe HBP, but that proved to be beneficial since it knocked Hawpe from the game. For 5 innings Morris and Mathieson matched zeroes, before Mathieson gave up a solo HR to Bengie Molina. Francisco Rosario also allowed an inherited runner to score in the 7th, followed by Pedro Feliciano (2-1) giving up a solo shot to Great Gonzalez in the bottom of the 8th.

Starting the 9th, the Reds had had base runners, and had stolen countless bases on the poor armed Bengie Molina, but without the result of runs. That all changed when Edwin Encarnaction started things off with a base knock and a steal. Shin-Soo Choo flew out, but they Reggie Willits (in play for the injured Hawpe) hit a line drive single to knock in the Reds' first run. Jose Lopez forced Willits at 2nd, and all appeared lost. But Morris hit Brayan Peña and Spanky Rodriguez with back to back pitches, loading the bases for pinch hitter Troy Tulowitzki. Tulo responded by lining a 1-2 pitch over the 2nd baseman's head, finishing at second base after tying the game. Freddy Bynum, who has been playing 2B with Lopez shifting over to SS in Ben Zobrist's absence, then singled in Rodriguez and Tulo for the go-ahead runs. Submariner Aroldis (Again, not his real name, but it's convenient!) Chapman (23) then picked up the save with three quick outs.

In the late game, the Reds never stood a chance against the dominant Barry Zito (9-2). Damian Rolls (3-4) pitched an efficient 6 innings, earning the quality start, but Zito gave up just three hits in the complete game shutout, with only two threatening hits the whole game, both coming from Brad Hawpe, whose day game injury turned out to just be cramps that healed with fluids.

General Notes:
- Ben Zobrist has under 10 games remaining on his DL stint, which will pressure Coach Joe Stekova to decide how he wants to set his lineup. Freddy Bynum has performed admirably at 2B in Zobrist's absence, offering the team a much needed speed-threat to pair with Joey Gathright, although Jose Lopez has seen his batting average drop with the added pressure of SS responsibilities. A Lopez/Zobrist reunion seems likely, with Bynum seeing spot starts around the infield and outfield.

- Speaking of SS, Troy Tulowitzki had a pinch hit single in the night game as well, resulting in a 2-2 with 1 R and 2 RBI statline. While I'm sure Tulo would like everyday at bats, he seems to respond quite well to the premier pinch hitting role of the team.

- After some early season late inning blowups, and a brief job loss to Manny Delcarmen (since traded in the Brad Hawpe deal) and Francisco Rosario, Aroldis Chapman has settled in to become one of the best closers in the game. His 23rd save in the day game marks his 12th scoreless inning in a row, quite the accomplishment for the 2nd year closer.

7/27/08 Reds lose the rubber game against Giants after brutal 7th inning; Manager tossed; Trade Executed

After winning several series lately, things were looking up for the Cincinnati Reds. But the Giants did their best to shut down that optimism, winning the 3rd of three games by a score of 4-1.

Reds starter Bronson Arroyo (6-9) gave the team a solid 6 2/3 innings, allowing an RBI single to Pablo Ozuna in the 2nd and a run scoring triple to Randy Winn in the 5th. The Reds had their own 4th inning double by Spanky Rodriguez that knocked in Jose Lopez, so the game was close.

But enter the 7th. Arroyo balanced two outs around one single, and then tired while pitching to Giant starter Matt Cain (10-4). In came Tony Armas Jr., who started the year poorly but had been pitching better as of late. His 3-2 pitch to Matt Cain was a bloop single to left, and Randy Winn followed with a similar hit to load the bases. Omar Vizquel then hit a liner down the left field line that scored two, putting the game out of reach at 4-1. Manager Joe Stekova came out to argue the call and was immediately ejected even though replay appeared to show the ball landed in foul territory.

"The call was disappointing," said Stekova. "Your guys give 110% out there and two runs in that situation is a momentum killer. Obviously all you can do is try to forget about it and move on to the next one."

"I didn't get a good look at it, but it doesn't matter because I gotta make my pitches," said Armas Jr.

The loss was especially disappointing for the Reds given their lineup shakeup, with Freddy Bynum moving to 2nd and Edwin Encarnacion to 5th. And despite 9 hits, they were only able to muster that one run thanks to several caught steaings. Stekova has already said that Bynum, after a rough game, will return to the bench for the next game, with Troy Tulowitzki taking over at SS.

"We just need some kind of spark," said Stekova. "The pitching is there, and our guys need to do their best to support it."

General Notes:
- Help is on the way - in terms of pitching. The Reds successfully traded Jaret Wright and Juan Padilla to the Phillies for Victor Zambrano. All three players were minor leaguers, but the Reds like Zambrano for his solid change up and C speed as a bench base stealer. Zambrano was sent to the major league roster with Jason Vargas shifted to AAA in a corresponding move.
- Time will tell if the lineup move that Stekova promised helps. 9 hits was a 5 game high for the Reds, and while Bynum didn't have any of those hits, players around him did. Stekova seems to think Jose Lopez will get back to good at 2B while also giving a lineup spot to Tulowitzki.
- Joey Gathright stole his league leading 68th base in the game. Gathright has an outside change at 100 with 50+ games remaining in the season. "It's always in the back of my mind, but at 27 games back I care more about catching the Cardinals right now," said Gathright. "But I wouldn't hate hitting that milestone."

Reds eke out a series win; get Zobrist back; trade Bowie

The Mets came to town with +22 wins compared to the Reds. They leave with a +21 margin thanks to some timely hitting from the boys in Red.

In game one, the Mets took an early 1-0 lead off of Tony Armas Jr.(3-1) before Brad Hawpe tied things with a 2nd inning HR (his 19th). Armas himself then started a 5th inning rally off Mets starter Brian Bruney (0-1) with a single, and several bloops later the Reds had the lead. A Troy Tulowitzki groundout and Shin-Soo Choo double scored two more runs, and some nasty relief from Madison Bumstead (including a wicked 3-2 called strike on Carlos Beltran) and Aroldis Chapman (save 24) was all the Reds needed to win 4-1.

Tulowitzki, in his first attempt at securing a starting role, went 0-4 with the aforementioned RBI. Freddy Bynum was 1-1 with a stolen base in his first game off the bench in quite some time. "The early cuts from Tulo weren't great, but starting can take some time," said Coach Joe Stekova. "I'm just happy our guys came through with the W today, especially thanks to some nasty pitching from Maddy out there."

Game two pitted Mike Pelfrey (3-0) against Elizardo Ramirez (6-10). Ramirez had a rough go of it in the bottom of the 2nd, with a Carlos Delgado HR (#26) opening things, Shin-Soo Choo error continuing things, and then several timely bases loaded hits making it 3-0. Choo atoned for his mistake with a 2 out 3B that knocked in Tulowitzki and Gathright, and the game seemed well in hand. However, in the 4th inning, with one out, Tulowitzki's throw was late on a Lew Ford infield single. The Mets then continued to rally (thanks as well to a Tulowitzki error) and ended the frame up 8-2. The Reds worked their was back to 8-4, and had the bases loaded in the 9th inning against J.C. Romero (save #3), but Josh Hamilton lined into a double play off of a great catch by Jose Reyes.

Ramirez's 4th inning meltdown (aided by some terrible fielding) was the story in this one, but one nice story was the four innings of hitless relief from newbie Victor Zambrano. He came in after Ramirez was lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the 5th, and made pitching look easy, hopefully giving the Reds yet another weapon to work with in the pen.

Game three represented the return of Ben Zobrist, just off the DL and called up to the majors with Micah Bowie being sent down. Zobrist was not in the starting lineup, as Coach Joe Stekova wanted to see how Tulowitzki could do against DCB'er Aaron Sele (0-1). Sele was not sharp in this game, giving up back to back homeruns to Edwin Encarnacion (29, 30) and Brad Hawpe (20, 21) in the first inning. Scott Schoenweis would later do the same in the top of the 5th inning, which overall led to an immense 7-2 lead going into the 9th inning thanks to a solid 7.1 inning effort from James Shields (5-7). Things got hairy in the 9th, with Victor Zambrano loading the bases and Aroldis Chapman (Save #25) allowing two runs to score before getting a double play to end the game.

Zobrist, the man who may or may not get his starting spot back after returning, had a single in a 9th inning pinch hit at bat and replaced Tulowitzki in the field thereafter. "It just felt good to swing the bat and run the bases a little," said Tulowitzki. "I'm ready for whatever the team needs from me from here on out."

Tulowitzki, whose two hits and one RBI placed him at 3-12 with two RBI in Zobrist's stead, seemed to feel he had done enough to cement a spot in the lineup. "When I'm in the game, we win," said Tulowitzki. "That's all there is to it."

General Notes
- The trade deadline ended after the third game, but not without fanfare for either team. The Reds traded recently demoted lefty Micah Bowie to the Tigers for cash considerations. The Mets also made a trade on this day, sending Scott Schoenweis, fresh off a rough outing, to Boston for Julio Lugo. Given Jose Reyes' strong play as of late, Lugo will likely act as a bench bat and defensive replacement for the World Series contender Mets.

- That last game is the first time that Encarnacion and Hawpe have ever gone back to back, and the boys were excited about it, especially doing it twice. "Man, that's something special," said Hawpe. "Definitely not something you get to do every day." As for Encarnacion, he was just happy to set the team off with the right tone. "It feels like we're always behind to start, so it was nice to bash a few in early and get Jamie up 3-0," said Encarnacion.

- One odd moment occurred in the first game, when Josh Paul singled to RF but a quick relay throw from Brad Hawpe to Jose Lopez to Brayan Peña was able to get Paul out rounding first. "We practice that stuff all the time, so it's great to see it work for once," said Lopez. "I know my hitting hasn't been up to par as of late, but it's nice to at least make a different with little stuff like that in the field."

I don't think that Julio Lugo is a good bench bat or defensive replacement

I don't think Julio Lugo is good but I'll be his agent anyway

Lol awesome. The Mets grabbed him, not me, but I can give you guys updates on his frequent DNP's throughout the year.