Category: Gaming Blogs

The young A’s have been the surprise of the 2023 season. However, with early success can come negativity in different ways. In the case of the A’s it has been some of the veterans raising a stink.

Fans near the bullpen overheard a conversation between ‘the old guys’ and decided to post it on TikTok. The post has gone viral as the discussion covered topics about other GM’s being stupid to take trades from Blackstone and how some of the attention being given to young rookies is insulting to those that have ‘earned’ it.

Blackstone was surprised that it was an issue at all.

“I thought veteran ballplayers would behave a bit more like you know, veterans.”

As most of this season has taught us, the A’s don’t care if anyone has a problem with how they do business on or off the field. Blackstone also makes it clear daily that he won’t have his hand forced one way or the other.

“I don’t really care if someone wants to complain as long as their play backs up what they claim and then we can look into making it right for them. What I have a problem with, is when players complain and play like garbage. That makes my decision easy, though – so I guess it’s not really a problem.” He continued with his discussion and pointed out one issue he noticed with his trades and how he is running the team in general.
“I know we have made some big moves for young talent. Some people on forums have a problem with that because it isn’t realistic. It’s a good thing I operate on my own terms and don’t need to run things by some ‘experts’ in a forum, asked if he had anything to say to those critics he smiled and said “Yeah… F**k you!”. To make his final point, “If they think this is about fairness, ask how the Mets were able to make any sort of trade to get Steven Kwan for Brett Baty. They are $50 million over their budget and shouldn’t be able to make such a move, but the league let it happen. Did I complain? Nope. I am making my own moves and we will do what is allowed and what other teams agree to. That is business.”

The A’s are currently operating with an enormous budget of $82 million and it looks likely to grow as the team continues to part ways with anyone over the age of 25 or without any real developmental future.

“We have room in our organization for good ballplayers that have a future. If you have tools we can work with, we can make you into an asset.” said an unnamed coach during practice.

As it stands, Blackstone made more moves after the meeting.

Parting ways with Jhonkensy Noel and Ernie Clement along with speedy OF prospect Esteury Ruiz, the A’s grabbed Brett Baty away from the Guardians. With 3B continuing to be a defensive issue for the A’s (Ezra Guzman and Sherten Apostel have both had trouble holding down the hot corner) the hope is that Baty will be the long term answer. The problem? The A’s are starting to get long term answers halfway through a season that might cause a logjam very soon.

The answer to the TikTok video was clear as well when Blackburn was traded with Austin Beck and Cristian Pache to the Blue Jays for pitching prospect, Ricky Tiedemann. As the A’s started to thin out their recently full compliment of OF prospects they also ended the stolen bases contract they had to start the season. The kickstart to earn $10 million was accomplished and now they have entered into agreements for rotating sponsorships for wins, saves, double plays, home runs and strike outs.

The season started with a jolt. It was met with a quick introduction back to reality. Now, after the first two months of the 2023 season in the books there are a lot of experts scratching their heads.

The A’s started the season with a highly surprising sweep of the Angels. They followed it with a series win over Cleveland. The rest of the month of April was less fun for the Green Goblins as they lost 13 of their next 22 games with one more surprise sweep of the Mets. Much of the struggle that has come this season has been from the middle relievers as the starters have out-performed expectations.

The only reason Sam Moll has a 5-o record as a reliever is because he has given up a lead all 5 times and it has fallen on the offense to catch back up. This is the case for Paul Blackburn, Ken Waldichuk and Domingo Acevedo. The shocking aspect of this team is that they are winning in spite of their pitching and until recently, it has been strictly through aggressive baserunning; and some under-the-hood moves that are feeling bigger and bigger thanks to Hawk Blackstone’s constant attention to the minor leagues and consistent communications with teams that are clearly tanking. Not to mention making nearly $10 million in two months by stealing over 110 bases as a team.

So, what’s going on?

The A’s have the second best record in the majors at 37-21 with a 2.5 game lead on the Rangers. Yes… That happened. But the real question is how?

First, there was the hiring of Rickie Shields as hitting coach after the first month of the season saw the A’s flounder with a .229 team average. The team has not only improved to a .259 average, but their XBH totals are first in the league as well (leading in Doubles with Tampa and leading alone with 21 Triples). The big stat increase has been their HRs as they are now at 79 on the season (still 30 off the lead of Atlanta with 109), but considering they had only 29 in the month of April, something positive is happening and that’s welcome news for the fans.

The biggest change has been in three of the team’s biggest leaders making it clear that this is an opportunity they plan on holding onto. Jo Adell has improved his average from .195 in the first month to .298 as the season enters June, did we mention he is 4th in the Majors with 17 HRs and 44 RBI while also leading the league in Triples?

Royce Lewis struggled to be much more than a base stealer to start the season. As the steals came down in the month of May, his average and power jumped. His first home run was a grand slam against the Mariners to open May and has since gone to resemble the player and leader they needed. His hustle and willingness to move around the field for any position has also gone a long way with his teammates. The A’s have made one thing clear this season and that is that as of right now – there are no specialty players.

“We are younger than any team and that means that we are still building our strength literally and figuratively.” said Blackstone as the team limped into May with a few injuries and some green rookies being called up.

Speaking of rookies. That is basically what this team is. They don’t know that they should be losing and that’s what makes them dangerous. With Earl Childress being signed out of nowhere prior to spring training, some personalities wondered if Blackstone was crazy signing the farm boy from Southern Illinois. Childress was a state champion wrestler and a utility player for his high school baseball team. Having been recruited by numerous midwestern colleges he eventually decided to turn it all down to help on his family farm. “My dad got hurt and I had to make a decision – go off to college and hope that after a few years I might get drafted, or help my parents keep their farm. It wasn’t really a tough decision.” That’s when Blackstone saw the news that a high character player was making a huge sacrifice.

“Mr. Blackstone came to the farm in a helicopter while I was finishing up feeding the cattle. At first I hollered at him because he was spooking the animals. Once I realized that he was wearing A’s gear, I started to freak out a little bit and realized I had forgotten to wash my hands before shaking his… they were pretty nasty, but he didn’t seem to mind.”

Two Cuban players also have made a big splash in Ezra Guzman and Alan Amoros. They are both batting in the high .200s with nearly 20 HRs between them. “Those guys can do it all and we are a better team because of it.” said catcher Shea Langeliers.
The A’s have come together quickly this year and most of that is due to purposeful team building.

More moves that have happened for the A’s include trades for Alexis Diaz from the Reds as the new closer. He has blown two straight saves in the last week, but the team has faith that he will get back to where he was with 10 straight to open his time in May.
They also traded for Taj Bradley and Shane Baz from Tampa and also pried away Luis Patino in a later trade. Yet another young arm in Eury Perez from Miami was snagged in Hawkstone’s typical lighting deal strategy for trades.

Bringing in Jorge Mateo as a stolen base machine has paid off big so far and with two years of team control left on his deal, the A’s are excited about what he can do as his skillset is expanded.

Some players are on the shitlist and they are all pitchers. Domingo Acevedo, Ken Waldichuk and Paul Blackburn are all clinging to their roles with young talent nipping at their heals in AAA ball. While currently injured, James Kaprielian is one player that may have saved his career with an impressive 4-2 record and a 2.70 ERA carrying 47 Ks and only 12 walks with a 1.24 WHIP.

Our Next Update will feature prospects and an update on the A’s scouting process as we come up on the draft.

After a tumultuous few years of ‘will they or won’t they?’ – the new ownership of the A’s franchise made it official. This is the last year for the team in Oakland. A move to Las Vegas has been approved and stadium construction is well underway.

The new owner, Rob Demnow made his fortune in selling fleece-wear throughout the midwest before striking it big nationally and expanding his empire throughout the world. He recently sold his stake and founded a new company dedicated to sweat wicking technology – and he bought the Oakland A’s for a rock bottom price (details are yet to be released).

He appointed a new General Manager, Hawk Blackstone to be lock step with his mantra – ‘Fleece them all!’.

Blackstone took over the operations on the eve of Spring Training and the moves were fast and furious. The first piece of business was getting a new sponsorship deal to help build the team’s revenue. He was able to get Adidas, 44, and Cooperstown Bat Co. to agree to each pay $30,000 per stolen base. That was the first sign that things were about to change in a huge way. $90,000 per stolen base suddenly turned heads.

When asked about the plan, Blackstone simply remarked ‘We are stealing money, legally… and metaphorically… and maybe literally?’ as the media in attendance chuckled along with his implied humorous remark, some wondered what was coming next.

The next was a complete demolition of what the old regime had ‘put together’. There were some players that Blackstone was happy to keep around, but he wanted to make a splash and show A’s fans that things were about to change.

First, he made numerous trades and brought in some big, yet unproven names.

He traded Aledmys Diaz and Tony Kemp to the Twins for Royce Lewis. Lewis was officially brought in as a 2B with his current secondaries intact.

Then came the trade of Ramon Laureano and Manny Pina to the Angels for Jo Adell, Mickey Moniak and Kevin Maitan. Adell and Moniak will stay in the outfield, but Maitain will rotate between 1B and 3B – as of the trade no team assignment was announced as to minors or majors.

The next moves involved getting Vidal Brujan and Taj Bradley from Tampa Bay for Jesus Aguilar, Drew Steckenrider and Devin Foyle. Followed by Acquiring Dylan Beavers from the Orioles for Conner Capel, Pablo Reyes, and Cody Thomas. Other players acquired include Thomas Saggese from Texas for Nick Allen and a couple minor leaguers and Deury Carrasco from Houston for Ryan Noda and Trenton Brooks.

The biggest trade was getting OF, James Wood from the Nationals for Trevor May, Brent Rooker and Jace Peterson. This wasn’t only because Wood is a huge potential player in a huge body, but because it was the first true fleecing of a team and possibly the system itself. The Nationals sent May and Peterson through waivers after the trade, figuring no one would put in a claim. Except, Hawk Blackstone that is – he put in a claim to grab the players back and told them not to unpack their bags as they were going to be traded again – this time to the Astros for 3B Tyler Whitaker.

Other pickups included a huge haul of free agents.

Outfielders – Abraham Almonte, Andres Tavarez, Pedro Hernandez, Theodore Rosario, Enrique Vasquez, Robby Starr, Chip Dillon, and Merle Childress.

Infielders – Sherten Apostel (signed a huge 9-year, $40 million contract), Ezra Guzman, and Alan Amoros.

Relief Pitcher – Freddie Irrizarry

With all of these moves it was a lot to digest. One thing is clear – if any team should be on the top of your list to watch it is this Athletics team.

*Note – Upon testing some of the trade logic, I am convinced that it doesn’t matter which rosters you use. Using the A’s I was able to part ways with veteran players and trade them in packages for some of the best prospects in baseball. More to come in my next post.

As I become more excited about baseball season and baseball in general (football and basketball are quickly dying on my interest list – what’s a hockey? – Just kidding) I am looking to try a few new things going into MLB 23 as a Franchise Mode player.

First – I will be using the stock rosters supplied by SDS. I have a suspicion that edited rosters are ruining already bad trade logic. On top of that, I also think the game itself will function better in the mode if I keep it in the parameters of the development decisions.

Second – My team choice this year will come down to a couple of aspects and the first is actually not salary, but stadium age/style. The next aspect will focus on recent/semi recent team performance – playoff appearances and overall vibes.

I plan on re-locating and possibly re-branding the team I choose this year. I also hope to find some time to do monthly updates with occasional player and prospect tracking and updates with my own unique twist on things (as is the nature of personal web pages).

My Top Teams For Franchise Mode This Year –

Los Angeles Angels – Stadium was built in 1966. Team has under-performed for years even with the biggest names in the game. This would be a complete overhaul as the team was briefly up for sale in 2022.

Oakland Athletics – Try to throw a rock on YouTube without hitting some clown doing their over-delivered franchise mode of rebuilding the A’s. The way I see it, this is a team that should either be moved and invested in or cut from the league. To build this team with any real simulation effort will take a lot of time… I am intrigued.

Pittsburgh Pirates – The team has a few pieces, but there’s no motion towards actually building a winning team. The stadium does not need rebuilt, so less work on that end. I think Oneil Cruz is the next huge superstar and it would be fun to build a team around him.

Cleveland Guardians – Haven’t won a World Series since 1948. Progressive field is starting to show its age and while they have major renovations planned, it won’t be in this iteration of The Show. Not to mention, this team has one of the lowest budgets in the game. The biggest aspect for me is that this is my favorite team as well.

Kansas City Royals – I am not a fan of anything about this team. Their colors are lame. The stadium is straight out of 1970’s poor fashion decisions – the fountains are stupid. The World Series banners look like they were made in someone’s garage. Oh, and the team is terrible. Sounds like a fun rebuild/rebrand, actually.

Tampa Bay Rays – The team outperforms the local fans. Somehow, they aren’t a bad team. Their stadium is utter trash and the fans are somehow worse in terms of attendance (as a Guardians fan, I know of what I speak). Tampa would be a team I select primarily as a rebrand with some tough decisions to make everywhere outside of Wander Franco.

Cincinnati Reds – One of the most pathetically bad ownership groups in sports. The stadium isn’t really old, but it doesn’t do much for me aesthetically. There are a couple pieces here to build around, but it would take a couple years to make it a team worthy of any excitement. Not bad for a franchise team, I won’t rebrand, but I might build a new stadium – bad for every fan in real life though.

I will be paying close attention to the changes they have made to scouting as it will most likely require a new update in my franchise mode house rules.

House rules will still be in effect as they have made the game a lot more fun for me. The biggest change for me this year involves using stock rosters – and that might end up changing more than I thought possible.

While there are some aspects that need to be tuned up a bit and perhaps a few others that will need an overhaul, the new DMZ Mode is a lot of fun.

While you are still dealing with other actual player, most of the baddies you face are AI – and they aren’t pushovers for the most part. Sure, some of them feel like you are playing the campaign on regular, but if you try to do a mission by yourself – prepare to ask a teammate to come and revive you (which takes quite a long time… because, ummm, a friend told me about it. My knowledge of this has nothing to due with me getting downed by AI enemies – tongue firmly through cheek here).

If you are sick of the try-hard wannabe streamers killing you in Warzone, give DMZ a try, it’s a hell of a good time.

Instead of pouring tons of time into articles I will be streaming my Franchise Mode on Twitch and uploading the journey on Youtube.

For the sake of my interest, I will be using the Browns as it is obviously my favorite team and they should be a fun build with a lot of limitations due to the salary being given to Watson and the lack of early draft picks for the first two seasons (to start, anyway).

FOR LIVE STREAMS – GO TO TWITCH

FOR UPLOADS – GO TO YOUTUBE

I will try to maintain communications as any of you comment on the stream. My Franchise gaming is largely one of my relaxation gaming times, so if there’s not a lot of chatter from me, it is only because I am vibing and maybe have some tunes on in the background.

Looking forward to rocking my house rules and having you along for the journey.

The first iteration of the sliders is ready and I have a feeling we will have to tune these throughout the year as EA makes their own adjustments. The main aspects of gameplay I feel need tuned the most are Pass Defense and the Running Game (too easy for human while CPU can’t figure it out on offense).

Franchise Mode

All-Madden Difficulty

11 Minute Quarters

Accelerated Clock set to 15 seconds

Staff Talent Cost = Slow

Progressive Fatigue = On

Practice Settings = Backups Only (Half Pads or Full Pads) – This is strategic in that it keeps your starters fresh with some practice XP, but allows your backups to get some training. I changed this to be Half or Full because I think getting XP to some of your sleeper picks that don’t get into the game is a big part of a lasting Franchise Mode.

Human Sliders

QB Acc – 54

Pass Block – 50

WR Catch – 54

Run Block – 15

Fumbles –   50

Pass Def Reaction – 50

Interceptions – 18

Pass Coverage – 35

Tackling – 50

CPU Sliders

QB Acc – 35

Pass Block – 45

WR Catch – 47

Run Block – 85

Fumbles –   55

Pass Def Reaction – 4

Interceptions – 6

Pass Coverage – 0

Tackling – 55

Special Teams 

Set Punt Accuracy to 100 and Punt Power to 55 all others at 50

Game Options –

Injuries – 10

Fatigue – 60

Min Player Speed Thresh – 45 – This creates the slight gap for the super fast to matter and some slow LBs to get burned in some coverage, etc.

Auto Subs 

Position   In/Out

QB = 95/65

HB = 85/75

WR = 85/75

FB/TE = 85/75

OL = 85/80

DT = 87/76

DE = 89/76

LB = 87/76

CB = 87/74

S = 87/74