Sunday, December 14, 2008

The Tragic Side of the Game

Coaches often like to start assessment of their club's potential with the phrase, "If we can stay healthy..." And it's no wonder, considering the impact injuries can have on a franchise, in both the short- and long-term. Losing a star for 2 months can be enough of a setback to completely derail a playoff contender. So, here's a look at some of the high-profile injuries that have made headlines thus far in Season 2.

SS George LaRocca, Hartford Hartattacks
Bulging disk in back, 44 days until healthy
- One of the premiere hitters in the league and a key piece of Hartford's title run one year ago, LaRocca went down in the 1st inning of a 7-6 loss to the New York Monarchs. The loss of LaRocca from the Hartattacks' offensive attack was deemed significant enough by GM hartjh14 that he chased down a replacement on the trade market. It took 3 prospects, but Hartford landed RF Keith Osbourne from the Cincinnati Boomers. Osbourne has performed very admirably for his new team, hitting .324 with 9 HRs and 18 RBIs in 18 games. Once LaRocca returns, the Hartattacks should have all kinds of offensive flexibility, making them a scary team in that hitters' park of theirs. Of course, defending world champions with a 5-game lead on their division are always scary.
SP Hamish Harvey, Louisville Sluggers
Elbow surgery, 127 days until healthy
- One of the biggest pitching free agents of the offseason is already done for the year after signing a 5-year deal worth $34.6 million with the Louisville Sluggers. Harvey spent Season 1 in Charlotte, where he put up very solid numbers for the Knights. The world was his oyster upon hitting the open market, and he cashed in only to flame out after 4 starts. Granted, he looked absolutely dominant in his 4 starts, going 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA and an even lower WHIP. The Sluggers currently lead their division without him, so no one is throwing them a pity party, but injuries still sting. If nothing else, they can take solace in the fact that they've got Harvey locked up for 4 more seasons, and if he comes anywhere close to his pre-injury numbers, he will still prove a good investment.
RP Quentin Conroy, Buffalo Bulldozers
Elbow surgery, 63 days until healthy
- Returning to the AL East, we find the story of Quentin Conroy which has more peaks and valleys than a roller coaster. On the day of the Rule 5 Draft, Conroy got the notification that he had been selected 19th overall by the Buffalo Bulldozers. For young prospects, there are not many greater thrills than being a Rule 5 selection, as it gives players the opportunity to play in the bigs all season if things go well. Unfortunately for 22-year-old Conroy, leaping to the major leagues from the Texas Longhorns' High A team got to him. He made 4 relief appearances and posted an 18.90 ERA over 3.1 innings before deciding he'd serve his team better by going under the knife than toeing the rubber. Conroy has some great stuff and will likely become a useful setup man someday, but this simply was not his year.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Journalist Strains Neck Following Moran Rumors

If you tried to follow every lead generated since the Oklahoma City Kingfishers announced SP Ron Moran was on the trading block, you likely got dizzy. Though the offers trickled in at first, GM Sour Surfer now claims, "We have received interest from 8 or 9 teams. Varying levels of interest of course, but interest nonetheless. In terms of formal offers, 6 different teams submitted something."

Why so much interest? It's rare an SP of Moran's quality and youth is made available, and teams don't want to miss the opportunity. In Season 1, Moran was 20-11 with a 2.89 ERA, the boneified ace of the OKC staff. He was a Cy Young award nominee, though he did not win the honor.

"We didn't make him available out of desperation, just practically," said Sour Surfer, whose team is 3rd in the competitive NL West with a 26-23 record. "We're 3rd league-wide in ERA and 31st in AVG. We lack balance, so that's why it makes sense for us." The Kingfishers play in a pitchers' park which probably has something to do with the lack of production from their lineup, but it is also not hard to spot the easy outs in their lineup.

Our sources indicate only 3 teams remain frontrunners in getting a deal done. The Line on Mendoza will have all the juicy details if and when a trade is finalized.

Sluggers, Kingfishers finalize deal: After a slow and deliberate process, the Kingfishers finally found a package they liked for SP Ron Moran. It ended up being a much larger deal than the Kingfishers antcipated going in, but both sides seemed pleased.

The Kingfishers packaged SP Ron Moran, SS Earl Cust, and minor-league SS Vic Fernandez to get 1B Charlie Freeman, SP Vasco Megias, and minor-league SS Iago Randa. Freeman was the centerpiece of the deal for the Kingfishers, as the 23-year-old completes a fearsome heart of the order for them with LF Sal Knight and 3B Magglio De La Vega already in place. Megias and Randa were mostly brought in to replace departing pieces from the trade.

The Sluggers were able to snag Moran, a pitcher who garnished a large chunk of interest on the market, but they also got an everyday SS in Cust. After they lost their starting SS, Jose Maduro, to forearm nerve irritation for 3-4 months, GM bdixon felt importing a new one during this deal just made sense.

Fernandez and Randa are both major league potential, with Fernandez being an offensive player and Randa flashing his glove whenever possible. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact these two footnotes of this blockbuster will have someday.

Memphis Stories

It comes to my mind that it would be a nice timing to write something about the Blues since the team is doing very well right now. There current records of 32-16 is putting the team to the second place of their division, behind the Nashville Sounds. It seems that there will be an horse race here.

The current success of the Blues is due to some players. The most important player is Rico "Cy Young" Parra. He had a good start, but he lost two of of his last five games. He is a good pitcher, and he should be able to come back to the winning road.

Another pitcher that is showing that he is a big league player is Sammy Alvarado. He is having an ERA of 2.03 in ten played games, and a records of 3-2. For now, he is playing as a started of the Blues, but he may be use as long reliever later in the season.

Some veterans of the Blues are also showing some good stuff on the mount. I'm talking here about Roosevelt Gant(5-2, 4.08), Pedro Crespo(3-2, 4.87) and Alex Beltre(2-2, 4.34).

P.T. Dodson join the team as a free agent in the offseason. He is doing very well right now. He has three wins and an ERA of 3.38 in 26.2 innings. This guy could become a starter before the end of the season.

Since Christy Gold was brought back from the Triple-A, he is having a perfect records in three starts, with an ERA of 0.86. He finish the last season in the minor, and it seems that this demotion help him a lot. Now, he may have a starter role until the end unless he start losing.

Pitching is not the only thing that makes the success of the Blues. The offensive staff is also doing his part.

Bryan Guerrero is still making contact with the ball with an AVG of .398 and also 27 stolen bases. Nigel Kelly is the power hitter of the team with ten HR and 46 RBI.

There is two players leading the Blues with 14 HR, Rafael Montanez(.318) and Jerry Piazza(.260). The Blues still needs some more power at bat.

The amateur draft is coming. So, we will see which talent the Blues will get.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Important Imports

Four international players have accepted contracts to play with Double Mendoza League teams this year with accompanying signing bonuses of upwards of $5 million. We examine each of them to see how much impact these guys might have some day on the major league game.

2B Felipe Gonzalez, Memphis Blues, $5.0 mil
19-years-old, Boca Chica, DO, Low A
Gonzalez is an all-around adequate player, which is probably reflected by his adequate signing bonus. He won't make all the plays at 2B and his impatience at the plate will make him a streaky hitter, but his game is so well-rounded that it's tough to get too down on him. When he makes contact, he always seems to find a way to get on base. He could mature into a nice role player some day.


RP Victor Jacquez, Cincinnati Boomers, $5.8 mil
18-years-old, San Fransisco De Macoris, DO, Low A
This 18-year-old reliver has a rubber arm and good enough stuff to earn him a ticket to the show someday. He's more of a finesse style pitcher, with neither his Sinker or Change Up overwhelming hitters, but enough command and velocity to record outs. If he had a 3rd pitch he'd be a nightmare, but he should nevertheless prove valuable for his ability to eat innings whenever necessary.


SS Tomas Duran, Chicago Gangsta' Chimps, $6.7 mil
18-years-old, Sabana Grande De Boya, DO, Low A
Known mostly for his glove, Duran is a versatile role player who should wiggle his way onto many different 25-man rosters over the years. His work at the plate could be better, but lacks any true weakness, which only enhances his utility. Some general managers have a hard time justifying $6.7 million towards a role player, but Duran may prove to be a very sound investment at that price given the roster flexibility he will someday afford his club.


2B Vladimir Arias, Cincinnati Boomers, $7.6 mil
20-years-old, Boca Chica, DO, High A
Already a pretty mature player for his age, the Boomers are hoping Arias will mimic fine wines and get better with age. Much like Gonzalez, he probably won't make any highlight reels in the field, but he is a very patient player at the plate who knows what to do with his pitch once he gets it. Though scouts wish he could handle right-handers a little better, his occasional flashes of power compensate for that deficiency. A more major knock on him, though, is his shoddy baserunning. Gifted with speed, his inability to make the most of it means he won't snag many extra bags.

It's worth nothing that each player listed here was born and bred in the Dominican Republic, and a majority of the other international free agents signed thus far played there as well.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Who's on the Hot Seat?

It's never too early to start putting an ear to the rumor mill when it comes to GMs in danger of losing their jobs. Our sources indicate that there are a couple of seats beginning to boil, one in each league.

In the American League, plessburglar is probably starting to feel a little toasty. The Chicago Gangsta' Chimps won just 61 games in Season 1 and are on pace to get a game worse, with 60 wins this year.

But it's not for a lack of guts in the case of plessburglar, who really tried to shake this team up during the offseason. He imported SS Rudy Park from the world of free agency, who was a major contributor to the world championship Hartford Hartattacks team of a year ago. Unfortunately, playing in a bigger market has caused Park's numbers to take a nose dive, which doesn't help translate into wins for the struggling Chimps.

Also new to the big league squad this year is 22-year-old wunderkind 2B James Martin. Acquired in a high-profile trade from the Oklahoma City Kingfishers, Martin spent last season at AAA. One of the bright spots of the team, Martin has had no problem transitioning to major league pitching, posting a .404 avg with 12 HRs and 35 RBIs through 43 games.

The elephant in the room, though, is the pitching staff. With no true ace, the Chimps have posted a major league worst 6.43 team ERA. Even SP Jesus Furcal, another free agent addition to this year's squad, has failed to flourish on the north side. Furcal inked a $4.2 million deal with the Chimps in the offseason, only to post a 5.84 ERA to this point.

Over in the senior circuit, jjirish70's Richmond Spider Monkey club is just treading water. After winning 62 games last season, they are projected to win 64 this year. While this club has a few ballplayers on it, it lacks any of the star power necessary to post consistent wins. SS Greg Evers does the heavy lifting in terms of run production, but is a farcry from being an all-star type player.

The Spider Monkey seem to be a more balanced team than the Gangsta' Chimps, but unfortunately they are mired in mediocrity. SP Will Gragg is pitching out of his mind this year, but even his 5-1 record hasn't propelled this club beyond the realm of average. He is the only noteworthy arm in an otherwise underwhelming pitching staff.

Of course, the season is young and both GMs have time to improve their squads over the duration of this season. But as it stands, something must be done to rejuvenate both of these ballclubs, or these two general managers might be taking out classified ads in the near future.