Atlantic City Hustle #2

[tommyboy]

The Atlantic City Hustle. Thats what has been happening...These guys don't rebuild, they reload with veterans on undervalued contracts and a young crew developing the whole time to be the next group of veterans. The whole time, always contending....why stop that train now? Can you say the Spurs model? They dont rebuild they reload...Veterans at undervalue deals and a focus on developing the young guys to be the next stars

Best Player - Valeri Kharlamov (8/8/6/8/5 Talents, .284/.373/.448, 18 HR, 60 RBI) - In his prime and one of the top players in the game at age 30 he is still in his prime for a couple more seasons with a reasonable contract. He's the best 2b in the league.

Heart of the Team - Antonio Sanchez (7/7/9/9/6 Talents, .260/.375/.468, 24 HR, 83 RBI) and Rafael Bido (7/6/9/10/5 Talents, .263/.347/.545, 25 HR, 58 RBI) - Sanchez is the DH but has been hitting since he was drafted in 2014 and is a great leader. Bido - Hes not a clubhouse leader, but the guy has been a solid player for every and has bought into the hustle. He has been with the team since he was drafted in the 7th round of 2017. At 32 I would expect 3 more productive years out of him. At this point hes a borderline top 10 1b.

The killer B.B.'s are the vets who are still productive at senior ages (Boone Carlyle (9/7/6/8/5 Talents, .269/.342/.403, 15 HR, 56 RBI) and Mingo Boone (7/8/10 Talents, 17 - 9, 3.31 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 159 K)....you can call them Manu Ginobli - will they ever die? Eventually but 1 year contracts to help bridge the gap make sense...if we somehow end up getting knocked off our winning season with a key injury or two, they can be traded for a useful asset near the deadline.



The next set of leaders of the Atlantic City squad
Hiroyuki Rin (10/8/9 Talents, 4 - 1, 3.98 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 27 K) - Perfect example of a guy who came out of nowhere and just took time to develop into a star...and hes young at 24. Despite his numbers this year, he could easily become the star of the staff.

Chang-Hyeok “Berserker” Chang - He should be a late season call up...He could give them a chance to run at the this years title and a future corner outfielder for years to come.

Joaquin Camacho (8/7/4/4/9 Talents, .329/.362/.468, 3 HR, 22 RBI) - hitting .325 as a rookie Catcher....yes please...keep it coming at a tough position to fill.

Alfredo Gonzalez (6/8/6/5/5 Talents, .240/.286/.351, 6 HR, 43 RBI) and Juan Cruz (5/5/8/6/5 Talents, .244/.296/.461, 23 HR, 63 RBI) are under 30 and solid OF's. Pairing them with Chang should set them up for a solid OF for the next 3-4 years.

Offseason goals - sign vets to sensible short term deals, find either a young development SS or an aging vet on a one year deal. Dont rock the boat...just the standings.

[bschr682]

Love the style. Content not so much. Sanchez is the only vet who is on a nice deal. The rest are paid big bucks. Gonzalez and Cruz are not outfielders to build around at all, Cruz actually will be 30 very shortly, and adding Chang wouldn't even make a complete OF as none of these guys can play CF. Rin lost a ton of stamina due to injury so while he very well might be an amazing closer, a star of the staff he will never be now. Carlyle is a very productive bat but because Sanchez is the entrenched DH he is a tremendous liability due to his horrific fielding at 3B. One or the other has to go and soon. And to top it off signing aging vets with the intent on flipping at the deadline no longer really works in our league.

While AC might just club there way into the playoffs this year, the moment AC plays a solid team in an extended series, they should get bounced (although in OOTP who knows). The Spurs always seem to win by doing all the little things correct (in baseball that means defense) and by having tremendous system depth, so I don't think that analogy fits at all. So in the end while I do enjoy the style and effort, yea...

P.S. I fully understand this will come off ridiculously harsh but I just really wanted to embed that quote so I went overboard.

[felipe]

Don't beat around the bush Brett! Tell us how you really feel!

Atlantic City took a beating when Carlyle inexplicably lost his defensive ratings at third early in the season.

I'm sure they'll be fine.

[bschr682]

I just happened to watch Billy Madison the other day and was trying to figure out a way to use that clip. So yea I know im being a dick here but it kinda fits?!

[tommyboy]

Its all good...I certainly dont take it personally.

[bschr682]

hahahaha. Exactly. And like I said I do like the style. Kind of a quick hits team preview sort of thing.

[Cliche]

Gamblers were actually built to be a pitching first team this year, with a few hitters doing the heavy lifting. Rin's stamina lumping and Sutton going down kinda ruined that a little. Still, we're more of a run prevention team right now. And yeah Carlyle getting the "you suddenly lost your 8 rating at 3B" lump hurt a lot.

I would say the team is actually built fairly well for the playoffs, but the RANDOMIZER will make the call on that.

[tommyboy]

Some timely hitting in the playoffs and you have a great chance.

8 to gone is real tough. Something like that ever happen before..never seen someone go from a great fielder to skillet hands.

Gamblers were actually built to be a pitching first team this year, with a few hitters doing the heavy lifting. Rin's stamina lumping and Sutton going down kinda ruined that a little. Still, we're more of a run prevention team right now. And yeah Carlyle getting the "you suddenly lost your 8 rating at 3B" lump hurt a lot.

I would say the team is actually built fairly well for the playoffs, but the RANDOMIZER will make the call on that.

[Cliche]

I believe OOTP has a range gate for 3B and when you cross it you're just toast.

[tommyboy]

And now that I am in the same division...this team is screwed. Complete blowup and 10 year rebuild.

[felipe]

that is definitely the direction Havana should take

[Lane]

And now that I am in the same division...this team is screwed. Complete blowup and 10 year rebuild.

Mine only took 3!

[udlb58]

I believe OOTP has a range gate for 3B and when you cross it you're just toast.

Yes, below roughly a 3 on the 1-10 scale = no rating at 3B. The downhill slide had been happening for a few years now, just surprised it has only affected his range.