MLB Showdown 2014 Player List: AL East

0		Red Sox		Yankees		Rays		Blue Jays		Orioles
B1	35	Dustin Pedroia	45	Brett Gardner	74	Evan Longoria	83	Melky Cabrera	13	Nick Markakis
B2	34	David Ortiz	44	Jacoby Ellsbury	70	Desmond Jennings	86	Edwin Encarnacion	10	Adam Jones
B3	23	Xander Bogaerts	47	Derek Jeter	73	James Loney	81	Jose Bautista	4	Nelson Cruz
B4	32	Mike Napoli	49	Brian McCann	80	Ben Zobrist	99	Jose Reyes	7	J.J. Hardy
B5	28	Allen Craig	46	Chase Headley	67	Yunel Escobar	96	Dioner Navarro	5	Chris Davis
B6	24	Jackie Bradley	55	Alfonso Soriano	71	Matt Joyce	97	Colby Rasmus	17	Jonathan Schoop
B7	27	Yoenis Cespedes	52	Martin Prado	68	Logan Forsythe	87	Juan Francisco	12	Manny Machado
B8	30	Brock Holt	41	Carlos Betran	76	Jose Molina	93	Brett Lawrie	16	Steve Pearce
B9	33	Daniel Nava	56	Ichiro Suzuki	77	Will Myers	94	Adam Lind	11	Caleb Joseph
B10	31	Will Middlebrooks	53	Brian Roberts	72	Kevin Kiermaier	92	Munenori Kawasaki	6	Ryan Flaherty
B11	22	Mookie Betts	58	Mark Texiera	69	Ryan Hanigan	88	Anthony Gose	20	Delmon Young
B12	36	David Ross	43	Francisco Cervelli	66	David Dejesus	100	Josh Thole	19	Matt Weiters
S1	26	Clay Buckholz	57	Masahiro Tanaka	78	Jake Odorizzi	82	Mark Buehrle	18	Chris Tillman
S2	29	Rubby De Le Rosa	48	Hiroki Kuroda	61	Chris Archer	85	R.A. Dickey	3	Wei-Yin Chen
S3	40	Brandon Workman	51	David Phelps	65	Alex Cobb	90	Drew Hutchison	9	Ubaldo Jimenez
S4	39	Allen Webster	50	Brandon McCarthy	63	Erik Bedard	89	JA Happ	14	Bud Norris
R1	38	Koji Uehara	54	David Robertson	75	Jake McGee	91	Casey Janssen	2	Zach Britton
R2	21	Burke Badonhop	42	Dellin Betances	62	Grant Balfour	98	Todd Redmond	15	Darren O day
R3	37	Junichi Tazawa	60	Adam Warren	79	Joel Peralta	84	Brett Cecil	8	Tommy Hunter
R4	25	Craig Breslow	59	Shawn Kelly	64	Brad Boxberger	95	Aaron Loup	1	Brad Brach

2014 Status Update: Rough Draft

I thought I would try and keep everyone updated on how our project is going. We have just finished our first rough draft of the 2014 season. What that means is all 600 players have been put through our formula. What is next for us to do is compile all those results by position. Yay data entry!!!

Oscar Taveras

In Remembrance of Oscar Tavaras

When we make an MLB Showdown card one goal of ours is to give a portrayal of a player's year. Taking an entire year of a player's career and representing it on a single piece of paper measuring 2.5 by 3.5 inches is a daunting task.We all appreciate the hard work players put into honing their craft. All players spend time away from their families so our families have an excuse to gather together and enjoy something together. Capturing all those moments you all have with your loved ones on a card is impossible. Part of our goal is to help make it easier for you all to remember the great years these players had that lead to all your great times. It is a much more daunting task to try and capture a players life in a card. Sadly it happens more often than we would wish.

World Series Game 2

Well, my simulation had the same result, but took a different path to get there.  Last night the Giants took game one of the World Series on the road.  James Shields looked awful, and Bumgarner looked brilliant.  I figured the Royals would cool off as they rode momentum all the way here, but 6 days off is too much time off for a team on fire like that.

I did play out Game 2 using the 2014 set, with the same rules as Game 1.  And here is how it played out:

World Series Game 1

Tonight we will see the first game of the 2014 World Series, a series that features two teams who did NOT win their divisions, but were propelled forward after winning their respective Wild Card games.  I have missed watching two games of the entire playoffs, so you can bet that I will be watching the game tonight.

With that in mind, I decided to take the 2014 MLB Showdown cards (still being developed, but we made sure to have the charts for the Royals and Giants) and play out the World Series.  I enrolled the help of my brother (@BubblesMcFly) and knocked out the first two games.  A few things to note: there is no Travis Ishikawa card in the 2014 set, so I used the injured Angel Pagan in his place.  We also did our best to keep the lineups the same as they have been for the teams in the playoffs.  So, without further ado, here is what happened in Game 1.

Card of the Week - 10/15/14

I've been having some fun the last couple of CotW posts reminiscing about the original sets.  A couple of weeks ago, I posted about Konerko and Jeter, both of whom have retired, but will have a card in the upcoming set that we are currently in the process of completing.  That got me to thinking about the players who had a card in the original 2000 MLB Showdown set from Wizards of the Coast who will also have a card in our 2014 set (who aren't named Jeter or Konerko).  Those players are:

#MLBPostseason

With the American League Championship Series starting tonight, I was thinking about how close we are to the end of another MLB season.  Four teams remain in one of the most exciting playoffs in recent memory.  It all started with the Kansas City comeback against Oakland in the first Wild Card game.  Then a questionable managerial decision sent game 2 of the San Francisco/Washington series to the longest MLB Playoffs game ever.  We have seen the best pitcher in baseball have two horrible 7th innings in his two playoff starts, watching his team get eliminated.  And we saw Delmon Freakin' Young help power the Orioles to a comeback win over the Tigers and propel them forward into the ALCS.

So how do things go from here?  Who is going to win it all?  Be sure to vote in our poll to the right, but also comment below or tweet to our staff with your opinions on who will take home the Commissioner's Trophy.