My TCB friends, my cable has been out for a week (thankfully the internet is fine) and while listening to the Milo Hamilton is wonderfully cathartic, I had an itch to see the Astros. I grabbed my copy of MLB 2k11, downloaded updated rosters and started a Franchise mode. I'm a simulation player so I found some difficulty sliders I liked and went to town.

I just finished my first full week's worth of games and I thought I'd share some stats/other info about the season, so far. If yall like this comment on it and I'll keep posting updates!

NOTE: the rosters I have have Castro & Kepp not injured, but as you'll see that got balanced out :(

The lineup

CF Michael Bourn (.179/.303/.250), 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 2B, 5 BB/ 11 SO

SS Clint Barmes (.280/.379/.440), 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 BB/ 6 SO

RF Hunter Pence (.438/.488/.938), 5 R, 12 RBI, 5 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 1 BB/ 5 SO

LF Carlos Lee (.323/.323/.355), 2 R, 1 2B, 4 SO

2B Bill Hall (.353/.353/.824), 3 R, 2 RBI, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 SO

3B Chris Johnson (.300/.290/.300), 3 R, 1 RBI, 3 SO

1B Brett Wallace (.267/.290/.567), 5 R, 4 RBI, 3 2B, 2 HR, 1 BB/ 8 SO

C Jason Castro (.280/.308/.320), 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 6 SO

The bench

INF Jeff Keppinger (.333/.478/.333), 5 R, 1 RBI, 4 BB/ 4 SO

INF Angel Sanchez (.667/.667/.667), 1 R, 2 RBI

OF Jason Michaels (.286/.286/.286), 1 R, 2 SO

C J.R Towles (.000/.167/.000), 2 SO

The starters

Brett Myers (0-1), 1 GS, 4 IP, 6.75 ERA, 6 K/ 1 BB

Wandy Rodriguez (0-1), 2 GS, 14 IP, 1.29 ERA, 22 K/ 5 BB

Bud Norris, 1 GS, 3 IP, 12.00 ERA, 3 K/ 2 BB

Nelson Figureoa, 1 GS, 2 IP, 4.50 ERA, 5 K/ 1 BB

Wesley Wright, 1 GS, 6 IP, 1.50 ERA, 9 K/ 1 BB

Sergio Perez, 1 GS, 5 IP, 3.60 ERA, 9 K/ 0 BB

The bullpen

Fernando Abad, 4 G, 5 IP, 0.00 ERA, 9 K/ 3 BB, 1 Hold

Enerio Del Rosario (1-0), 4 G, 3.1 IP, 0.00, 4 K/ 3 BB, 1 Hold

Aneury Rodriguez (1-0), 4 G, 3.2 IP, 9.82 ERA, 2 K/ 5 BB, 1 Hold

Jeff Fulchino, 3 IP, 3.1 IP, 2.70 ERA, 2 K/ 1 BB, 1 Hold

Mark Melancon (0-1), 5 G, 7.2 IP, 4.70 ERA, 13 K/ 7 BB, 1 Hold

Brandon Lyon (0-1), 4 IP, 3.2 IP, 9.82 ERA, 8 K/ 0 BB, 2 Holds, 0-1 SV

Wilton Lopez (1-0), 3 G, 3 IP, 6.00 ERA, 6 K/ 1 BB, 2-3 SV

Game by Game

Astros 3 @ Phillies 4, W: Halladay, L: Myers, S: Madsen

Astros 1 @ Phillies 2 (13), W: Herndon, L: Melancon

Astros 7 @ Phillies 4, W: An. Rodriguez, L: Oswalt, S: Lopez

Astros 7 @ Reds 6, W: Del Rosario, L: Ondrusek, S: Lopez

Astros 5 @ Reds 6, W: Ondrusek, L: Lyon, S: Cordero

Astros 1 @ Reds 3, W: Cueto, L: W. Rodriguez, S: Bray

Marlins 7 @ Astros 8, W: Lopez, L: Choate

NL Central

Brewers, 5-2, ---

Cubs, 4-2, 0.5 GB

Pirates, 4-3, 1 GB

Cardinals, 4-3, 1 GB

Astros, 3-4, 2 GB

Reds, 2-4, 2.5 GB

League Leaders

NL East: Mets, 5-2

NL West: D-Backs, 4-2

AL Central: Royals, 3-4

AL East, Red Sox, 6-1

AL West, Angels, 4-2

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Okay, what do yall think? (Do I have too much time on my hands? Yes) Brett Myers, Bud Norris, AND Clint Barmes are all DL'd after the first week (Norris to the 60-day...) I strike out a lot as well as get a lot of strikeouts...I've been Lyon'd and have to deal with El Bufalo's empty average...Pence has been on a tear and after starting out slow Wallace went 3-4 with a homer and a double versus the Marlins in game 1 of the series (Pence hit a walk-off 2-run homer in that game). I, for one, have had a lot of fun and it feels somewhat realistic.