Toe

I've been on a kick of listening to horror movie soundtracks over the last few days, and it's got me thinking - what are some of the best original soundtracks out there? I'll start with one of my all-time favourites...

It's hard for me to say if it's easy to get into, since I've been buying the game every year since 2010. Still, there are so many options to choose from that if you don't like the game at first, you can find a control scheme that works. My brother and I both play this every day, and we both use totally different controls for pitching and hitting. I used the pitching meter and zone hitting, while he uses pulse pitching and timing for hitting.

Polanco is one of those guys that I just can't hit with, despite his stats being OK.

It's season two, just after the All-Star Break with my Chicago White Sox. I had 6 all-stars - Gerrit Cole was AL starter, while Juan Minaya and Alex Colome were both in the bullpen. Daniel Palka was the starting RF (he made it as DH, but the game was at Dodgers Stadium), while Wellington Castillo and Marcel Ozuna were also on the team. After the break, my team has a 10 game lead on the division and leads the majors in wins. My only real weakness, in my mind, was the rotation. I had Cole, Reynaldo Lopen, and Carlos Rodon all pitching well, but Danny Salazar was struggling and Michael Kopech was just not ready. So I've added Robbie Ray from the Diamondbacks to really strengthen that group, sending them Yolmer Sanchez and an A level pitching prospect in return. Earlier, I had signed Ben Zobrist to a one-year deal, so Sanchez had been playing in Triple A for me. I've played a fair chunk of the games in season 2, but even when I sim this team just rakes. We aren't a big home run team, but we lead the majors in batting average and on-base percentage by a huge margin. With a strong pitching staff, I'm pretty confident that this team is set up to make a run in the postseason.

Report: Erik Karlsson hoping for competitive offers from Senators, Canadiens It would be crazy if Karlsson ends up back with the Senators after all of this.

I loved that Ghostbusters game. The gameplay was OK, but it was being placed into that universe that really made it feel special. I'll probably pick it up again.

No way - keep going!

I had a tear in my eye by the end of the teaser. This series is going to kill me.

It's hard to watch the games because of how many terrible bats are in the line-up. When Freddy Galvis is one of your BETTER hitters, it's a problem. At least we have Vladito in the bigs, plus Bichette and co. coming up.

It was supposed to be heavily weighted in Jason's favor, though. That's why it was so satisfying when you did manage to escape and survive.

I've seen some pretty good players go in the Rule 5. I was one of only a handful of teams to not take someone in my game.

I've started a franchise as the White Sox with the rosters being out, and in the first season we overperformed and made the playoffs. We lost the wild card game to the Red Sox. My only change was adding Bradley Zimmer and Danny Salazar to the team, and trading Yonder Alonso for Eric Thames (I just couldn't hit anything with Alonso, and Thames was a better bench player since he could play 1B and the outfield). I definitely expected to at least have season one be a rebuilding season. Going into season 2, Eloy and Moncada have become very solid middle-of-the-order bats. Tim Anderson is still not great at the plate, but his defence and speed make him useful. And in free agency, I added Marcell Ozuna and Gerrit Cole. My team isn't as deep or good as the Yankees, but I think it's the best in the division by a wide margin.

I definitely feel that. The only way I get to play D&D is if I run the game. I've only been able to play 5E once as a player.

I really enjoyed Season 2 of Discovery. Can't wait to see where they go for Season 3, and we've got so much more Star Trek content coming in the future. It's exciting!

I'm hoping to sign him long term in the off-season. I'm also probably going to let Bichette stay in AAA for the season since I've always liked Freddy Galvis in The Show.

I've played most, but I tend to sim some of the middle innings of games if I'm winning big or getting blown out. And this weekend I'll probably sim a lot to get close to the trade deadline.

So with the new rosters out, I've started my real franchise. I'm going to try to play a long term one with the Jays. My big moves have been to call up Vlad, and then trade for Albert Almora Jr. and Ozzie Albies. Both are still young, both are good, and Albies has the most team friendly contract in the league. I had to give up a lot of prospects, but nobody I particularly liked (and none of my top pitching prospects). I also had to include Ken Giles in the deals, but signed Craig Kimbrel to a one year deal to compensate. I plan on moving him at the deadline unless I'm in contention. I'm 5-2 to start the season, but I attribute most of that to the awful pitching staffs of the Tigers and Orioles. Vlad has started off hitting over .400, Teoscar just hit 5 doubles in a single game, and Grichuk is the new Barry Bonds. I don't expect this to last, but it sure is fun!

I just went 6 for 6 in a game with Randall Grichuk, including 3 home runs and 7 RBIs. That is all.

Yeah, that's why I'm not spending too much time in each season. Once those rosters come out, I'll start my real franchise with either the Oakland A's or the Atlanta Braves.

I simmed forward to the first offseason with the Texas Rangers. My team lost 90 games, but we didn't expect to win anything anyways. What I did play was fun, though - Shin-Soo Choo and Asdrubal Cabrera had career years, I had some fun moments with rookie players collecting some first milestones, and we beat up the Angels a lot. At the deadline, I made some deals to acquire some prospects and then flipped them to the Yankees to get Migual Andujar. I also freed up some money for the off-season and picked up a few decent bullpen arms. In the off-season, I replaced my coaching staff, re-signed everyone (including Choo and Cabrera), and then added Matt Kemp to primarily DH and play a little LF. Nomar Mazara is still a work in progress, but Joey Gallo took a big step and with his stats is capable of playing 1B, 3B, RF, CF, or LF. I did want an upgrade at 3B defensively, so I was able to get Moustakas on a short 2 year deal for $6 mil a season while other teams went in on Rendon and Donaldson. I've also added a few more arms to the bullpen. I feel like I've got a good offence and defence - it's just my pitching that's lacking. Mike Minor is my best starting pitcher. 1B - Andujar 2B - Odor / Cabrera 3B - Moustakas / Cabrera SS - Andrus / Cabrera LF - Choo / Kemp / DeShields CF - Gallo / DeShields RF - Mazara / Kemp / DeShields DH - Kemp I also drafted a short stop in the first round that is essentially Trea Turner with a slightly weaker bat. He's already good enough to play in the MLB, and has a ton of potential.

Yeah, I thought this would happen later in the season. And seeing him go to San Francisco is a bit strange - do they think they have a shot in their division?

I think players are getting their guaranteed money now to protect themselves from the inevitable lock-out or strike.

First thing I've noticed is that animations are a little less "wooden". Also, players who are just average defenders are more prone to making small mistakes, but recovering. I've seen players bobble a bouncing ball at second, but recover with plenty of time to make the out.

Game has been purchased and installed. Now I'm just sitting here at work, wishing I was at home playing it.

I find playing outfield in RTTS annoying because of the camera. 3B is easier since you only really have to worry about a small area of the field, and making those clutch throws to first across the diamond can really be exciting. You don't really need speed, either, so you can kind of ignore that stat.