Obviously I must be talking about our Red Sox. The best team in the league last year got
better and they’re among the favorites to go deep in the playoffs. What’s that you say? They weren’t the best
team last year – they only won 69 games?
How’s that possible? On paper
they surely were preseason picks to get a shot at a ring. Oh yeah, Bobby V got involved.....
No, I’m taking about the latest version of OOTP. Unlike the Red Sox, last year’s version was
also very good. But somehow, almost
unbelievably, it’s even better this year. I love the depth of this game and all the
different ways you can play it as I’ve mentioned in previous reviews. This year’s version has a lot of subtle
improvements. There is a new player
origin system - not only a customizable draft but also international free agents, both amateurs and established players, and ability to scout internationally and in the indy leagues for that diamond in the rough. In fact the entire scouting engine has been improved. Also the trading AI is much better. In the past I used to be able to "cheat" by making trades that maybe only Ruben Amaro Jr. would realistically accept.
Anyhow, I just recently started a
game to try and see if I could do as well at managing the Sox as John Farrell
has.
I started off slowly, but then
pulled off a 12 game winning streak in May
that gave me some hope. I was flirting with .500 most of the season,
and heading into September I was 5 games behind the Royals for the 2nd
wildcard. I had been in 3rd or 4th place in the
AL East all season and didn’t really notice how many games behind I was in the
division. As I was simulating the
season, only stopping to adjust my lineups and calling up AAA reinforcements as
needed, I just kept my eye on the wildcard race. And as September went on I got as close to 3
games but couldn’t catch up. On the last
weekend the Red Sox no longer showed on the wildcard leader board (my view just
showed the top 3 teams) and I was
resigned to get ready for the offseason (which in this game can be just as much
or more fun!) But then something
unexpected happened: I WON THE AL EAST!
Without even realizing it, I won the last 7 games of the season to finish with
87 wins. Ahead of New York (86), Tampa
(85) and Baltimore (83). The Royals and Cleveland
took the wildcards. Tigers and Oakland
were the other division champions. I was
somewhat impressed as to how close that was to what actually happened this
season in the American League. In the NL
it was a different story. The division
winners were Atlanta, Milwaukee and San Francisco. The Mets and Cincinnati won the
wildcards. So I started playing the
postseason. The LDS was tight, going to
a 5th game which I played pitch by pitch. Verlander against Doubront. Down by a run, I
tied it in the 8th but pretty much emptied my bench with pinch
running and hitting. Finally in the 14th
inning I got a run across against Phil Coke and had to decide whether to let
Koji pitch his 3rd inning of relief, or finally bring in my closer
(Hanrahan) (In May Andrew Bailey was sidelined for 10 months –
some more realism from this game). In
real life I might not trust anyone other than Koji, but he was tiring and I did
have my closer available so in came Hanrahan.
It was a nail biter. He allowed
runners to get to 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. I had a decision to make – infield in or
out? I had nobody left in the bullpen,
so I didn’t really want to give up the tying run, but with the infield in a routine
ground ball could get through and end the season for me. My heart was racing as I made the
decision. Everyone in! I let out a sigh of relief as Alex Avila
fouled out for the 2nd out. I
could now put my defense back to normal and just try and get an out. Jhonny Peralta stepped up and hit a deep fly
ball, but Victorino tracked it down as we advanced to the ALCS. That was pretty anticlimactic as I swept
Cleveland in 4 straight. Then on to the
Fall Classic where I easily disposed of the surprising Brewers in 5 games to
win the World Series:
One of the things I love about
this game is how it really shows that baseball is a game of inches. A well
placed hit and I’m eliminated in the ALDS, but a foul pop up and I go on to
become World Champions. Just like in real life - if Pedro Martinez doesn't pitch to Posada maybe we break the curse in 2003; if Dave Roberts doesn't get a good jump, we're still waiting for 2004 to happen.
Let’s now hope John Farrell has the same success
in the postseason as I did with this realistic simulation.
If your favorite team doesn't win it all this season, you can buy this game and have all off-season to simulate what might have been if you had been at the helm.
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