PDX Baseball: The Complete History of the Portland Pioneers

[tobin834]

Before we begin:

- I have bumped the Active Roster size from 28 to 30.

- This journal is inspired by the look of artoodeetoo's clean look that I think he has perfected.

- I am a baseball fan, but not a genius by any stretch. I will make mistakes you think are stupid.

- This journal will begin in 2021, right before the Expansion Draft for both Portland and Charlotte.

- I'm also saving this space here for additional journal notes that may be relevant if the time comes.

This journal is a re-do due to me messing up the Settings in my old save.

[tobin834]

Re: PDX Baseball: The Complete History of the Portland Pioneers

Reserved for future use.

[tobin834]

Re: PDX Baseball: The Complete History of the Portland Pioneers

Reserved for future use..

[tobin834]

Re: PDX Baseball: The Complete History of the Portland Pioneers

Reserved for future use...

[tobin834]

Re: PDX Baseball: The Complete History of the Portland Pioneers

Portland is the next MLB Franchise

Portland, OR — The sun peaked through the blinds that were half drawn leaving a sun pattern on the Executive table. It was an unusually sunny but cold day in Portland as the members of PDX Baseball met to discuss the future prospects of bringing a Major League team to the Portland, Oregon area.

It wasn't a far fetched idea either. The city had hosted the Portland Trailblazers of NBA fame for decades and now the great northwest was ready for an expansion into other professional sports. Where the NFL would be far too expensive or risky to setup with Seattle's Seahawks being right there, but baseball seemed to be something that could work with all things considered.

Seattle did have the Mariners, but how the baseball schedules are designed that meant the Mariners would (and do) travel a whole lot of miles. This would seem to give them a little break while also allowing the teams to build on a rivalry that could benefit a lot of money for both organizations.

The man behind this entire plan was Travis Thomas, a man who'd rode the tech-boom coattails until finally acquiring enough wealth to start his own dream – a professional baseball team. At just 41 Thomas would be one of the youngest owners in professional sports, and the youngest in Major League Baseball.

As the men all gathered to hear the fate of the Portland project, the call came in.

Granted.

The room went crazy and the Portland Pioneers were officially welcomed into the fraternity of Major League Baseball.



Portland Hires Buck Showalter as Manager

PORTLAND - Owner and General Manager Travis Thomas has announced the hiring of Buck Showalter as the first Manager of the Portland Pioneers.

Showalter previously managed the 2018 Baltimore Orioles before taking a studio gig that allowed him to comment on the game instead of managing it. Even during his tenure with Network television, his colleagues said that Showalter missed the game and longed to get back out there to manage.

Showalter will bring his incredible experience to a team that is largely in need of it. The fans seemed to take the news positively although to be fair, the honeymoon period is upon us and anything the Pioneers do won't really be argued with.

[tobin834]

Re: PDX Baseball: The Complete History of the Portland Pioneers

Spring Training Notes

03.13.21
The Portland Pioneers send 30-year-old RHP Jake Odorizzi to the Atlanta Braves getting 24-year-old RHP Touki Toussaint, a 4th-round pick, and a 16th-round pick in the upcoming MLB Draft.

Odorizzi was scheduled to make 9 Million this year, much more than we were prepared to pay for one player at this stage of the game. We decided to get a RHP in Toussaint (though he's out 8 weeks to begin the season with a shoulder injury) and two draft picks, one of them a 4th round pick which will come in handy towards building a future organization as opposed to an MLB team.



03.16.21
The Portland Pioneers send 28-year-old 1B Austin Slater and 27-year-old LF Austin Dean to Pittsburgh getting 31-year-old LHP Tyler Anderson and a 6th-round draft pick in the upcoming MLB Draft.

Let me address this quickly - we overpaid for Tyler Anderson. That is how bad our Pitching Staff is and both Slater and Dean wouldn't have started, so as thin of a team as we are, that means they need to go to make room for people who will play. Anderson will be our 3rd starter as it stands now. I am happy we at least secured a 6th round pick to help build our minor league system up next year.

[johnstone1987]

Re: PDX Baseball: The Complete History of the Portland Pioneers

Is this still 97 or did you jump ahead to 2021?

[tobin834]

Re: PDX Baseball: The Complete History of the Portland Pioneers

Is this still 97 or did you jump ahead to 2021?

Yes, I corrected the beginning sorry, and thanks for pointing that out. Yes, VERY angry at my original Portland save because I loved it. The problem is for some reason there was literally no minor league system for my team or the other expansion team, and worse yet - nowhere to get guys. I wanted to continue that save soo soo bad as I was having a lot of fun with the thought of going through all those years.

Now, I guess it's 2021 or die because I can't set this game up for anything. Literally the hardest of all my games to setup - I feel like often times, that IS the game.

[tobin834]

Re: PDX Baseball: The Complete History of the Portland Pioneers

A Quick Look Into the Future: 2021 Season Preview


Today we're going to take a quick look at the new 2021 MLB season and predict some big things. Now, we're nowhere near qualified to do so, but we're going to anyway. We have two new Expansion teams in this year with both Charlotte and Portland joining the mix. Charlotte will be joining the National League East while Portland will be sitting in the American League West. Honestly, the divisions are getting pretty full again (especially the West) with the Angels, Astros, Athletics, Rangers, Mariners and Pioneers all in the division. For the record that's the order in which we see them finishing as well.

If we're talking about teams, we see the Dodgers beating the White Sox in the World Series this year. The Dodgers are just too strong, and as we have it, the'll be winning 109 to 115 games this year – league best. The White Sox on the other hand will put up a fight but go down in 5. Again, we're not qualified to do this, but we're going to do it anyway. When has it ever stopped you from giving your opinion online? Exactly.

Moving on.

If we're talking about players, we look no further than Juan Soto with Washington. Soto has such an impact on the Nationals (who we predict doing very well this year), but his partner in crime Trea Turner is second on our list for top two candidates for league MVP. Throw in Max Scherzer to be a wildcard in the Cy Young race and the Nationals are going to go deep into the playoffs. Again, those darn Dodgers man.

Anyway, we have Jacob Degrom winning the Cy Young this year. The Mets are lucky to have him, and we can't wait to see the games between the Mets' Degrom and the Nat's Scherzer.

Man we're packed this year for a great season. Let's Play Ball!!! (okay, that was a cheesy way to end, sue us)

[tobin834]

Re: PDX Baseball: The Complete History of the Portland Pioneers

The Pioneers Open the Season in Texas

The Pioneers come into this game beyond excited. Fans have been waiting for this forever, the players are excited to hit the field, and the first series in Portland Pioneers history is scheduled to take place. The Texas Rangers will host the Pioneers for the franchise's first game ever.

The first game will see RHP Anthony DeSclafani taking on Kohei Arihara for Texas. Both men the Ace of their respective roster of course. Game two will feature Joey Lucchesi as he takes on Kyle Gibson, and the third and final game of the series will take place between Tyler Anderson and Dane Dunning.

After these three games the Pioneers will have to fly even further as they travel to Toronto to visit the Blue Jays. A lot of traveling for a new club, but that's part of paying the Major League dues. The Pioneers fans could care less – baseball was about to be back in Portland.

Portland Pioneers at Texas Rangers
Apr 1, 2021	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Portland (0-1)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	8	0
Texas (1-0)	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	x	4	4	0
W: H. Yang (1-0) L: T. Antone (0-1) S: T. Hearn (1)

Spoiler

A tough loss on the road for our first game against Texas. Was happy with Anthony DeSclafani tonight. 6 Innings pithed with 1 earned against him and 7 strikeouts on 2 walks. I'm happy with that as an expansion team, you can't really ask a whole lot of your roster - but he kept us in the game tonight. It was when TJ Antone got into the game that the 4 runs came. TJ will do fine, and he's honestly one of our better pitchers, but he had an off night (hopefully) because we're really counting on him this year.

Portland Pioneers at Texas Rangers
Apr 2, 2021	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Portland (0-2)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
Texas (2-0)	0	1	1	3	0	1	0	1	x	7	12	0
W: K. Gibson (1-0) L: J. Lucchesi (0-1)

Spoiler

Another tough loss for the Pioneers, this time it wasn't even close. I still like our team as crazy as that might be given a 0-2 start. I know, there is a ton of time left in the season - a full season practically. That's what I'm most afraid of. How bad will it get. This year its about winning in the board room, not on the field. Trades, signings, building a franchise worth something is what Portland was doing this year. It was almost as if we're too busy to play the games.

[johnstone1987]

Re: PDX Baseball: The Complete History of the Portland Pioneers

This is OOTP right? No Minor League Farm Systems?

[tobin834]

Re: PDX Baseball: The Complete History of the Portland Pioneers

Yes OOTP. I setup the game incorrectly to where I had literally nobody on my team in the farm system and no way to get more until the draft (which I tried moving up) but ghost players were all over. I'm not sure how to build my minor league team this way.

Furthermore, I am almost certain I imported something twice because there were duplicate players. Honestly, I liked playing back in the day but having to play the modern years make it a little less fun than back in the day. I am honestly still trying to figure it out when playing this.