Our A's are chasing back to back titles as the 2037 playoffs get underway. Can our offense bounce back from a poor finish to the regular season, or will our trip to the postseason be brief?
Rotation Ferris - 24m (3.5war) If you look at his ERA+ and FIP- numbers, he's about as good as he's ever been, his contract is fully valued if not a bit over but if he's in the rotation next year, it certainly won't hurt us Decaro - 6.5m (0-2war) Sad to see him fall apart after a brilliant 2036, obvious guy to move on from in my opinion, given our depth at SP Patterson - 5m (1war) It would be really nice to see some improvement with his movement in the dev lab, the over .300 BABIP and 4.5 BB/9 is causing a really high WHIP, and allowing less hits in 2038 would be nice to see Bullpen Reisinger - ?m (1-2war) I would certainly expect a better year out of Reisinger in 2038. 3.7 BB/9 out of a 60 control guy is super unlucky. He was really brutal against lefties this year, with a 6.05 ERA, compared to a 2.56 ERA against righties. I'm not sure how you fix that though, short of managing every game. I'd be curious to see his ratings against lefties, maybe it was just bad luck. He does throw over the top, so I wouldn't expect the splits to be THAT stark Weiss - 740k (5war?) Absolutely historic, the type of season Weiss had, that's all I can say, 5 war season out of a guy that never started a game? are you kidding me? there's no way that's ever happened in real life O'Banner - ?m (1-2war) Nice guy to have as the long man, depending on ARB, wouldn't like paying 8m for his production, but if it's 5-6m, that's still not bad Scholl - 3.5m (0-.5war) Someone who just can't seem to put it together, when his HR numbers are down his walks are up and vice-versa, good spot to save a little money here Cope - ?m (0-1war) Cope's ERA has been steadily declining the last 4 years, I'd think he'd see more action next year if Weiss moves into the rotation Huntley - 740k (1-2war) Looking forward to seeing what Huntley can do in 2038 after making the jump from AA this year, his WHIP was too high this year, so hopefully he can improve the BABIP and BB/9 a bit Curtis - 4m (1war) I'd expect something between his great 2037 and his first two years. His .4 HR/9 I would certainly expect to be worse next year Garland - 1.4m (who cares?) Garland is just one of those guys that gets it done somehow, you look at his peripherals and expect to see a 5 ERA but a 3.9 ERA out of the #5 guy is solid Savings: 10m Lineup Ackley - 4m (1-1.5war) such a dissapointment, I was really hopeful after seeing his potential 3 or 4 years ago that he could be a solid, perennial 4war starting catcher, now he looks more suited to be a backup Boakye - 6m (1-1.5war) another solid backup, at 6m I'd really look to move on from him and find a true starting catcher this offseason (I know, not easy) Brailovsky - 13m (2.5-4war) scary to spend so much on a guy that can't really play defense anywhere other than 1B and proved his bat can really struggle I'd seriously consider shopping him and seeing if there's a more proven bat out there to play LF/1B for us Taveras - 6.5m (2-3war) Taveras is a tough one, he's like Garland, in that, he just seems to perform when given the chance, even though you wouldn't really expect him too, given his ratings, his future with Oakland would really depend on FA/trade market moves imo Palomares - 740k (3-5war) I see such a high ceiling with Palomares as a prototypical leadoff guy, great speed, great ability to get on base, great Gap power, gold glove caliber defense in the corner outfield (what was his ZR in CF?)... Looking forward to what he does in a full season Savings: 19-25.5m Total: 29-35.5m A starting catcher and a power bat to play 1B or LF are the biggest needs I see this offseason, given that I, personally, would move on from Brailovsky and possibly Taveras. But, of course, it's tough to say without seeing the trade value of those guys. Overall the team still looks really good, exciting times in Oakland for years to come for sure, with all the young talent. I'm sure the virtual fans in Oakland would riot if Fisher let you go this offseason 😅
Thanks for another detailed annual review! I think DeCaro will definitely be gone; Scholl I am still not 100% sure, but I do like several of our younger (and cheaper) relievers. I have a hard time believing both Tavares and Brailovsky will be back... but I'd also be surprised if I move on from both. I think when all is said and done one will be back and I'll move on from the other... but we will see!
Just at the 8:45 mark, but wanted to stop and say congrats to your yankees! never been a fan myself, but, I love your and jomboy's content, so I'll be rooting for them.
Sat down for a Sunday break and saw this episode was up so decided to watch it straight away but was worried when I saw how short it was.. so gutted to see us out of the playoff’s so quickly and especially not having Saldana get a chance to pitch us into the ALDS. Damn Rangers get one over us again!! Just two runs was never going to cut it and it’s that batting that proved our downfall for the second half of the season. Very disappointing especially when it was so strong until the ASB. 12th in HR’s was really weak for us At least those Yankees must have given you a smile last night 👍🏼 Felt bad for Bibbie who I thought pitched really well but Stanton just did it yet again and then Soto put it to bed and knocked the fight out of Cleveland. Great series though and they fought really well but that power you have was just too tough to overcome.
Yeah, it's hard to believe it's been 15 years since the Yankees were in the World Series. As bad as the streak from 1981 to 1996 when I was growing up! Yankees being the Yankees, just getting there is not enough - need another four wins next week!
Your team kinda became what my Phillies became in real life, .500 team After the all star break. When the bats go cold, it's not much you can do. Luckily the team has a strong young core that will be ready to challenge next year.
In terms of the offseason, certainly think you should heavily consider trading Ferris if possible. He’s still good, but using him as your ace is mainly justified by his consistently good performance over several seasons IMO. Considering just the past year and your scour ratings, he’s been passed by some other guys in the lineup. I do think that if you move on from him (either this year or next) it lets you consider paying Weiss close to what he wants, although that’s certainly a risk and it might be better to let Weiss play out his arbitration before deciding on an extension (unsure how much of a discount extending him now compared to then would be) I like Tavares, but it’s probably the right move to trade him for cost savings unless you can find him an every day role, especially with new guys coming up in the minors. You should certainly extend Blanco and Huntley if they’re looking for reliever prices. You can certainly justify keeping Reisinnger if he wants a similar contract, but honestly think one of this years rookies could fill that role without the personality. I think he’s trade able so you could resign him in the exclusive period and then trade him once you’ve confirmed options you prefer. At catcher, I prefer Boakye to Ackley on account of the better offence. If you can get Boakye on a similar deal to Ackley (unlikely) you should keep Boakye, but otherwise trading one of them is justified. You may need to trade away one of your expensive arbitration players. I lean towards trading Brailovsky if that’s the case, but it’s certainly close and may be better to go based on what their trade value is. Think Aldana is more of a AAAA guy and should be treated as such- good depth, but not a starter at all. I’d strongly consider an extension for Palomares if it’s cheap. Also might be worth looking at an extension for Ortega. This is probably the cheapest he’ll ever get, and I think if you can add another 2-3 years to his contract it would be a positive move as long as the price isn’t too high.
Thank you for the recommendations! I think I'm on board with most of them, but we'll see how everything plays out. The primary ones where I might go in a different direction are: Ferris (He's on the trade block, but I don't think he's going to waive the NTC, so we may just have to make the payroll work with him next season) Catcher (You're technically right in that Boakye has a 78 career wRC+ versus 75 for Ackley, but with Ackley likely to cost about $2 million less next year, I might move on from Jadon) Ortega is still locked up for three more years (including team options), so he's no willing to talk extension yet. Weiss will probably be in the rotation next year, but is still looking for over $200 million for a 10 year extension. Given that he's already Fragile, almost 26, and we manipulated his service time so we still control him for five more seasons, I'm probably just going to go year to year with him until we are forced to make a decision.
Kind of expected early exit. Even though offence dried up we have had 2nd batting war, which shows that war is not a perfect stat, bur also that the batting order could have been better.
What you would have changed in the batting order? Losing Ortega meant we needed to use some less obvious players near the top of the order, but other than that there's nothing that really jumps off the page to me other than maybe dropping Keith to seventh from sixth against RHP.
@@whyme943 Maybe changing something in the order would have helped, but to me there was nothing obvious to do. Brailovsky, Landin, and Uresti all just stopped hitting after the All-Star break. With those guys as our 2, 3 and 5 hitters with no Ortega, switching things up to me might not have helped more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic!
@@oldschoolsports It's not easy, but maybe moving Toribio to bat 2nd instead of Landin, he actually played better after the deadline. Brailovsky with his aweful defence in left field and nonexistent offence should have been benched to give Tavares more at bats, probably 5th spot. Uresti could have been moved to bat 3rd, if he doesn't bat in the run, he can get on base for your best hitter Ramos. Keith bats 7th and Landin 6th. I feel like every season Boakye is better both defensively and ofensively than Ackley, but never gets to be a starter. Mesidor/Dolan is a coin toss, probably Dolan had an edge with better on base%. My argument is that the changes would have given more rbi chances to guys that hit for power and better runners early in the lineup.
@@Thekowalonet Thanks, I hear you on Toribio. That makes sense and I did have him near the top of the order against LHP, definitely could have flipped him with Landin against RHP also and then dropped Keith. I don't think I'd ever consider taking the left handed hitting Brailovsky out of the lineup against righties for Tavares. I think in real life something like that maybe works, but in the game if I'm confident in my scouting, I'm almost always going to just suck it up and keep the guy with the better ratings in the lineup and expect reversion to the mean eventually. You are technically right about Boakye, but with a 78 career wRC+ versus a 75 for Ackley, I'm still not going to lose a lot of sleep over that one!
Disappointment. I am reminded of the last time our A's came off a WS championship and two guys with stellar years that were going to inevitably revert to the mean; same end result, just a different script. It was certainly disheartening, but in my mind the guys really missed Ortega's presence, excellence and example- and ended up losing heart and steam in the second half when the grind begins to really hit players. I am onboard with your general ideas for who to keep and perhaps release/trade. I would definitely like to see Palomares assume primary LF and Brailovsky move back to 1B and Keith issued his thanks but letter. I know I said trade him, but I am a bit torn about Tavares, he actually swung the bat pretty well, not sure if his salary is warranted though, tough decision. Same with a number of other players. Boakye is hard to part with as a rock-solid defensive catcher, but if you can find a decent replacement I would understand moving on from him. I am miffed with Dolan and his lack of performance during a run to the playoffs, I expected a better showing. Mesidor is doing OK and with his stellar 3B glove and arm I would give him first shot at the starting role. I am feeling good about our bullpen, OK with the starters and once again concerned with the lineup. Obviously if Ortega returns to form things should be much better, however I don't like the vibe of the position group w/o him. Thankfully I feel we have some additional outstanding prospects coming up soon-ish, so maybe I am making too much of it. We shall see. Oh, and I was reminded that despite our success, seeing the payrolls and Genus and other diamond-level players has us still chasing them uphill on a slippery slope. 😞 Looking forward to the hot stove this year OSS, good luck!
I'm glad that you decided to leave the owner goals on. I thoroughly enjoy them. Once you figure out that all the crap at the top is pure narrative. The only thing of any consequence is the bottom line or two. If he's good with your performances, then you're good. If he's not, then you need to worry. Btw. Mr. Fisher is likely to say that you are alienating your fans, despite the modest increase in fan interest. So predictable.
I'm surprised that you didn't set up your rotation to let Saldona pitch Game One. He was clearly your ace. You are probably controlling your lineup and pitching staff. You probably set your rotation at the start of the year and never adjusted it thereafter. I'm sure that if you asked your AI manager to set iit somewhere along the way, it would have made the adjustment. Very disappointing series, especially since your best pitcher didn't get to throw one pitch. However, Alex Vasquez would understand...... 😂
I thought the Ressinger signing was a good one. Did you ever receive emails of players having problems with him? Also unfortunately Keith is liable to downgrade during the off-season, so I wouldn't blame you for moving away from him. Retire his number n remember what his greatness used to be
No significant problems I know of associated with Reisinger during the season, and Team Chemistry is Ecstatic right now. Reisinger is now arb eligible even though we only signed him to a one year deal since he doesn't have much service time, so I think we either bring him back or trade him away for some decent value. We definitely have to move on from Keith. Will stink to take a hit to fan interest when a Wrecked 36-year-old who just hit .227 leaves us, but even at a low contract number I don't think I can justify bringing him back!
@@oldschoolsports Well, since he hasn't been that much of a cancer in the clubhouse. The ? Becomes do you want him back simply as a player. Despite his relative poor performance I think he's due to have a bouce back year. Ortega as well.
@@scottdonavin7500 I think Reisinger will definitely pitch better next season too... but if there's enough trade value, I'd still consider moving on from him!
