I am now preparing the celebration of the 2014 Royals miracle run 2 ways. First I will celebrate the past by re-creating the 2014 season via Strat-O-Matic. Cards have arrived, I will use the as played method. This means use the exact rosters each game that was used in real life. I can also use the exact lineups if I chose. I may start that way but the point is to add my own touches to see if I can get more from the Royals. This will be difficult when by definition they have over achieved already. The 1985 Strat Royals were virtually impossible to duplicate, this team a tad easier but still the numbers won't add up I'm thinking.
The second project will use the Out of The Park Baseball game being delivered in a week or so. This game allows one to play the up coming 2015 season based on PECOTA projections from Baseball Perspective. I start with the spring training Royals roster and go from there. I can play as the GM, the manager or both. I will definitely be the GM and will start with hiring my own manager (not named Ned Yost - I know win the AL title get canned but Ned you suck). This game not only covers the major league roster but the entire organization at all levels- serious shit OOTP. I want to not only improve the team but I want to experiment with new strategies to take advantage of weaknesses I see in the game at major league level. This leads me to the subject of my first observation on 2015 MLB.
I played the Royals first game from 2014 last night on the road versus the Tigers, James Shields vs. Justin Verlander just as it was played last year. Both starters got hit hard early and got pulled before the 5th, Miggy hit 2 out off Shields and Torii Hunter hit a 3 runner. The Royals pop gun offense hit Verlander hard with singles and doubles (Billy Butler did get a solo) and when Drew Smyley came in for Verlander in the top of the 5th with runners on second and third 2 outs to face Mike Moustakas Royals down 5-4 I realized I was going to do something completely logical and in no way would ever have happened in a real situation in current modern day baseball. I pinch hit. First game of year 5th inning 1 run game, regular at bat- too soon? panic move? not realistic? Balderdash I say.
First I'll give the rationale for this particular game then I will broaden this to baseball as a whole.
1. The Royals don't have a big offense, Ned Yost would agree with this, this presents a great chance to score in mid innings with an historical great pen ready to close it down. This might be their last best chance to score.
2. Drew Smyly is a tough LH pitcher who later would be in the rotation.
3. Mike Moustakas is a LH batter and quite poor against LH pitching]
4. The Royals have a thin bench as all MLB teams do these day, Brett Hayes, Pedro Ciriaco, Jarrod Dyson and Danny Valencia. Hayes and Ciriaco are useless, Dyson also LH but they have 1 guy who hits LH pitching well, in fact his main job was to platoon with Moose until he was given away for a bag of beans known as Liam Hendricks. Valencia for Moose makes a lot of sense. The Tigers just brought Smyly in and are not going to go RH this early. If it fails Valencia is not as good versus RH pitchers and could be a liability later in game but he's not embarrassing versus RH. Moose is a much better fielder.
I pinch hit Moose files a grievance with his agent, Valencia flies out and the cat calls come. That historic pen does shut the Tigers down the rest of the way and in the 7th Billy Butler hits that tater to tie it 5-5. In the top of the 9th against Joe Nathan Alex Gordon walks, Salvy Perez doubles, runners 2nd and 3rd with 1 out Valencia up versus the RH. Valencia doubles for the lead, Holland closes Royals 1-0 Tigers 0-1. Even in the worst case scenario of the pinch hit decision it worked out. I would note Valencia also allowed a base hit that Moose would have gotten to.
My mentality with this Royals team is to actually embrace the Yost mantra but go much harder into it than he would, Take every base you can get, take risks and when chances are there assume there will not be another one-do something. Yost got a lot of props for the Oakland wild card game. The Royals ran crazy etc. but he had nothing to lose at that point. After that the Royal magic continued but not with any help from the manager. He went very conservative in every series after that. He appeared to not want to be singled out or second guessed. He found the book, played by it and prayed. Ned Yost is a bad game manager.
Now for what this game revealed (or confirmed for me) the broader problem with offense in MLB will follow in the next post.
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