Well, Season #10 is history in Mattingly, and while we didn't do quite as well as in Season 9, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. We finished 74-88, which is seven games worse than we finished in Season 9, however, we were only 6 back of the WC2 position. As such our plan going forward is to add some offense in the off-season (probably at the Catcher position) and make a run for that wildcard.
We don't anticipate many changes in our lineup. We hope, again, to upgrade at catcher, and we will consider Tony Leary at CF (or part of a platoon there). Otherwise, there isn't much we can do. Some of these plans, however, might change depending on whether we can make some trades. Some players on offense who me might like to move include Cap Glass and Kevin Aldred, but we'll only do it if we get something back in return.
As for pitching, we don't expect Richard Takada to be back. He said that he wishes to test free agency, and if he nets us a draft pick, we would be happy to take it. Besides, we want to use the money that he would demand on offense. We'll be able to say more about both offense and defense once the world rolls over, but these are generally our goals for the off-season.
As for this past season, Pete Benes had a strong season. He belted 26 HRs for 73 RBIs, both career highs. He also hit 24 doubles, which is yet another career high. We hope to he expand on this next season. He'll be entering his arbitration years soon, at which time we'll need to make a decision on him.
Rookie SP Angel Kelly put together a pretty decent season for his first at the big league level. He finished with 11 wins, posting a 3.33 ERA. If he can keep these numbers steady, or better yet, improve upon them, he will find a spot in our rotation for a long time to come.
That's all for now. We'll be back with more information following rollover!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Monday, December 28, 2009
It's Been Awhile!
It has been a while since the blog was updated. In fact, the blog was last updated shortly after the First-Year Player Draft in Season 9, and now we are approaching Roster Expansion in Season 10!
We finished Season 9 81-81 just a few games back of the playoffs. We hoped to build on that in Season 10. We didn't have much money to spend on free agency. The most significant move we made in the off-season was to call up 3B prospect Mark Baines.
Let's just say that Season 10 has not lived up to expectations. We are currently 58-72, way out of everything. We've traded several key players and we're hoping for better things next season.
We've made three key trades this season.
In the first, we moved IF Aramis Maduro to Toronto in exchange for SP prospect Enrique Juarez. This trade has worked out for both sides. Maduro is getting some playing time with playoff-bound Toronto, while Juarez is coming out of the bullpen for our Triple-A team. He will probably spend all of next season in Triple-A before possibly joining the big league team in Season 12.
In the next trade, we sent IF Skeeter Wilkinson to Minnesota in exchange for RP Diego Canseco. This trade looks good for both sides as well. Wilkinson is playing better than he ever did in Augusta, while Canseco is pitching extremely well for our Double-A team. We plan to pitch him in Triple-A next season before possibly joining the big club in Season 12. Canseco is probably the best short-relief prospect that we've got.
Finally, we moved SP Billy Ray Sewell in exchange for SPs Brian Hennessey and Eduardo Bournigal and LF Johnny Davis. Sewell is pitching well for Pittsburgh as they gear up for the playoffs. On our side, Hennessey is pitching well for our Double-A squad, slated for a Season 12 Big League arrival, while Bournigal is currently with the Triple-A team also slated for a Season 12 promotion. That is four pitchers all slated to hit the big league team in Season 12. Davis has not played since the trade, and was included mostly for salary reasons. His salary comes off the books next season and he doesn't figure much into our plans. Essentially, we've added four young pitchers through trades.
We did not get much help from the draft this year. The overall quality of this year's draft was weak, and we didn't select until 20th. We ended up with 2B Trevor Salazar. He's got a ton of power, but poor splits and weak eye, so whether he makes much of an impact at all is very much up in the air. In the second round we selected SP Galahad Mulder. He looks like a fair SP, however, his split against RHs and control are concerning. Other than that, not much came out of this draft.
So we will play out this season and hope for the best next season. With lots of salary coming off of the books, we'll look to add a catcher. Not much else will be available through free agency. Hopefully Baines will pan out at 3B and Tony Leary at CF (we've given up on Kevin Aldred there). We're also likely to get a pick in the top half of the draft who can help us down the line, along with other players who will be coming up between now and then.
We finished Season 9 81-81 just a few games back of the playoffs. We hoped to build on that in Season 10. We didn't have much money to spend on free agency. The most significant move we made in the off-season was to call up 3B prospect Mark Baines.
Let's just say that Season 10 has not lived up to expectations. We are currently 58-72, way out of everything. We've traded several key players and we're hoping for better things next season.
We've made three key trades this season.
In the first, we moved IF Aramis Maduro to Toronto in exchange for SP prospect Enrique Juarez. This trade has worked out for both sides. Maduro is getting some playing time with playoff-bound Toronto, while Juarez is coming out of the bullpen for our Triple-A team. He will probably spend all of next season in Triple-A before possibly joining the big league team in Season 12.
In the next trade, we sent IF Skeeter Wilkinson to Minnesota in exchange for RP Diego Canseco. This trade looks good for both sides as well. Wilkinson is playing better than he ever did in Augusta, while Canseco is pitching extremely well for our Double-A team. We plan to pitch him in Triple-A next season before possibly joining the big club in Season 12. Canseco is probably the best short-relief prospect that we've got.
Finally, we moved SP Billy Ray Sewell in exchange for SPs Brian Hennessey and Eduardo Bournigal and LF Johnny Davis. Sewell is pitching well for Pittsburgh as they gear up for the playoffs. On our side, Hennessey is pitching well for our Double-A squad, slated for a Season 12 Big League arrival, while Bournigal is currently with the Triple-A team also slated for a Season 12 promotion. That is four pitchers all slated to hit the big league team in Season 12. Davis has not played since the trade, and was included mostly for salary reasons. His salary comes off the books next season and he doesn't figure much into our plans. Essentially, we've added four young pitchers through trades.
We did not get much help from the draft this year. The overall quality of this year's draft was weak, and we didn't select until 20th. We ended up with 2B Trevor Salazar. He's got a ton of power, but poor splits and weak eye, so whether he makes much of an impact at all is very much up in the air. In the second round we selected SP Galahad Mulder. He looks like a fair SP, however, his split against RHs and control are concerning. Other than that, not much came out of this draft.
So we will play out this season and hope for the best next season. With lots of salary coming off of the books, we'll look to add a catcher. Not much else will be available through free agency. Hopefully Baines will pan out at 3B and Tony Leary at CF (we've given up on Kevin Aldred there). We're also likely to get a pick in the top half of the draft who can help us down the line, along with other players who will be coming up between now and then.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
New Blood
Well, the draft has come and gone. All we got this season was one future ML player, but that's all that we expected, given the weak draft class, and the fact that we only had one selected in the top 130 or so. We ended up with SS Turner Schoeneweis at #9, which we were happy with, because we had him in our top three. He will unseat Randy Atkins as our SS of the future. While his defense will suffer a bit, he hits for more power and a better average. We just hope he can reach those projections. Atkins should still serve as a starter for us for at least a season or two.
As for the big league squad, we're currently standing at 31-34, only three games back of the WC2 position. We're halfway through our killer set against the NL North, having gone 3-3 in the first two series. If we can take two from Minnesota and steal one from Chicago, we'll be in okay shape.
We've made some roster moves. The net difference is that we brought back last year's closer, Eli Rivera, as a set up man and we sent long-reliever Bernie Adkinsson down to the minors.
Hot players are led by Skeeter Wilkinson who has gone 12-40 with 4 HRs and 10 RBIs, Aramis Maduro who is on a 9-game hitting streak, and Alex Johnson who has given up just four hits and 0 ER in his last three appearances and 7.1 IP.
Cold players include Pete Benes who is just 5 for his last 30, Midre Cela who is 5 for his last 34, and Jumbo Tabaka who is 2 for his last 15.
As for the big league squad, we're currently standing at 31-34, only three games back of the WC2 position. We're halfway through our killer set against the NL North, having gone 3-3 in the first two series. If we can take two from Minnesota and steal one from Chicago, we'll be in okay shape.
We've made some roster moves. The net difference is that we brought back last year's closer, Eli Rivera, as a set up man and we sent long-reliever Bernie Adkinsson down to the minors.
Hot players are led by Skeeter Wilkinson who has gone 12-40 with 4 HRs and 10 RBIs, Aramis Maduro who is on a 9-game hitting streak, and Alex Johnson who has given up just four hits and 0 ER in his last three appearances and 7.1 IP.
Cold players include Pete Benes who is just 5 for his last 30, Midre Cela who is 5 for his last 34, and Jumbo Tabaka who is 2 for his last 15.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Back in it
Well, our fortunes have certainly changed since the last update. Since then we've been able to go 8-3 to improve to 25-26 overall. Currently, we're four back of the WC2 position, which puts us very much in it.
Over the last several games, Pete Benes has been injured. He is due back after tomorrow's PM2 cycle. We'll have to make a decision in terms of a roster move. We could send down either Trey Hafner or Jumbo Tabaka. At this point, we're leaning toward Tabaka, as he hasn't been able to get on-base nearly as much as we would have liked so far this season. Hafner gives us power off the bench, where one swing of the bat can be a difference maker late in the game.
We received our draft list. This is probably the weakest draft class I've seen. We have our eye on three different infield prospects and at 9, we hope to get one. This is a draft without any real first round picks, so 2nd round caliber players will go in the first, but that's all we can hope for.
Three up: Rule 5 selection Robert Daniels has been hitting really well lately, going 12-38 with 10 runs scored and 5 RBIs. Hipolito Castillo has been heating up as well, going 10-34 with 8 runs and 5 RBI. Finally, D'Angelo Rivera continues to pitch well, giving up only two hits in his last four appearances.
Three down: Bernie Adkinsson is not doing any favors for the starting rotation giving up 11 ER in his last four appearances, spanning 8.1 IP. Midre Cela has cooled off considerably, collecting just four hits in his last 29 ABs. Finally, Trey Hafner hasn't filled in all that well for Pete Benes, posting just six hits and no home runs in 28 ABs.
Over the last several games, Pete Benes has been injured. He is due back after tomorrow's PM2 cycle. We'll have to make a decision in terms of a roster move. We could send down either Trey Hafner or Jumbo Tabaka. At this point, we're leaning toward Tabaka, as he hasn't been able to get on-base nearly as much as we would have liked so far this season. Hafner gives us power off the bench, where one swing of the bat can be a difference maker late in the game.
We received our draft list. This is probably the weakest draft class I've seen. We have our eye on three different infield prospects and at 9, we hope to get one. This is a draft without any real first round picks, so 2nd round caliber players will go in the first, but that's all we can hope for.
Three up: Rule 5 selection Robert Daniels has been hitting really well lately, going 12-38 with 10 runs scored and 5 RBIs. Hipolito Castillo has been heating up as well, going 10-34 with 8 runs and 5 RBI. Finally, D'Angelo Rivera continues to pitch well, giving up only two hits in his last four appearances.
Three down: Bernie Adkinsson is not doing any favors for the starting rotation giving up 11 ER in his last four appearances, spanning 8.1 IP. Midre Cela has cooled off considerably, collecting just four hits in his last 29 ABs. Finally, Trey Hafner hasn't filled in all that well for Pete Benes, posting just six hits and no home runs in 28 ABs.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Hanging on by a Thread
Well, since the last update, things have gone from hanging in there, to barely hanging on. In the past ten games, we've gone a rather pathetic 2-8, dropping our overall record to 17-23. We currently stand six games back of the WC2 position, currently held by Trenton. I believe that we can compete with teams like Trenton and Salt Lake City, however, it's all but decided that either San Francisco or Anaheim will win the WC1.
While our deficit is not insurmountable, it's always tough to come out of a hole. We've responded by placing several players on the trade block. Anaheim inquired about Richard Takada, but refused to offer value in exchange for him. Hard to blame them - their system is all dried up, and the window could be closing for them. They need to hang on to what few prospects they have.
We're willing to part with any contracts that expire over the next two seasons, but the ones that don't expire until the end of Season 10, well, we're in no hurry to move them. There will be some players that we'll want to move this season, but first we'll see if we can't play our way back in. The biggest issue is that almost every offensive player is underperforming, and we're dead last in runs scored. If these guys ever put it together, we could make up some ground.
Midre Cela is still hitting well, posting a .963 OPS with 14 RBIs. He has cooled off some, though. D'Angelo Rivera finally surrendered his first run of the season, but he is still sporting an impressive 0.50 ERA in 18 innings of work. He is making a case for the closer's job in Season 10, and maybe even later this season if Rod Sweeney is traded. Willie Mercado is also pitching well out of the bullpen, posting a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings of work.
Speaking of Sweeney, he is not pitching especially well, as he is posting a 6.14 ERA in 14.2 IP. He's also blown a save. Alex Johnson is doing even worse, sporting a 7.91 ERA in 19.1 IP. Finally, Robert Daniels hasn't been able to come out of his funk, as he's still posting a lowly .269 on-base percentage.
While our deficit is not insurmountable, it's always tough to come out of a hole. We've responded by placing several players on the trade block. Anaheim inquired about Richard Takada, but refused to offer value in exchange for him. Hard to blame them - their system is all dried up, and the window could be closing for them. They need to hang on to what few prospects they have.
We're willing to part with any contracts that expire over the next two seasons, but the ones that don't expire until the end of Season 10, well, we're in no hurry to move them. There will be some players that we'll want to move this season, but first we'll see if we can't play our way back in. The biggest issue is that almost every offensive player is underperforming, and we're dead last in runs scored. If these guys ever put it together, we could make up some ground.
Midre Cela is still hitting well, posting a .963 OPS with 14 RBIs. He has cooled off some, though. D'Angelo Rivera finally surrendered his first run of the season, but he is still sporting an impressive 0.50 ERA in 18 innings of work. He is making a case for the closer's job in Season 10, and maybe even later this season if Rod Sweeney is traded. Willie Mercado is also pitching well out of the bullpen, posting a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings of work.
Speaking of Sweeney, he is not pitching especially well, as he is posting a 6.14 ERA in 14.2 IP. He's also blown a save. Alex Johnson is doing even worse, sporting a 7.91 ERA in 19.1 IP. Finally, Robert Daniels hasn't been able to come out of his funk, as he's still posting a lowly .269 on-base percentage.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Hanging in There
Even though we went just 4-6 in our last ten to fall to 15-15, we're happy with it. We actually won the series against Anaheim, avoided a sweep against San Francisco, and played a tough series against Salt Lake City. Especially against Salt Lake, even though we dropped three of four, every game was decided by a single run and could have easily gone the other way. We'll now move into a three game series against St. Louis followed by another three against SLC. After that our schedule will really soften up. We're five back for the division and two back of SLC for the WC2, so I'd say we're still in striking distance at this point.
As for performances, Cap Glass has cooled off some, but is still performing well, posting a .908 OPS, Midre Cela is red hot right now, hitting 14-30 in his last 10 games (1.152 OPS for the season), and D'Angelo Rivera is still untouchable, reaching 14.1 scoreless frames in 14 appearances.
As for the bad, Skeeter Wilkinson isn't doing much hitting at all, slugging just .307 on the season while leaving a ton of runners on base, Brandon Hansell has yet to get it going, batting just .241 with no home runs, and Robert Daniels is posting a rather pathetic .265 OBP.
As for performances, Cap Glass has cooled off some, but is still performing well, posting a .908 OPS, Midre Cela is red hot right now, hitting 14-30 in his last 10 games (1.152 OPS for the season), and D'Angelo Rivera is still untouchable, reaching 14.1 scoreless frames in 14 appearances.
As for the bad, Skeeter Wilkinson isn't doing much hitting at all, slugging just .307 on the season while leaving a ton of runners on base, Brandon Hansell has yet to get it going, batting just .241 with no home runs, and Robert Daniels is posting a rather pathetic .265 OBP.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
On a Roll
Since our last update, we've really improved our play. We've won 8 of 12 to improve our record to 11-9. We're currently 2.5 games back of Trenton in the NL East, but only a half game back of San Francisco for the WC2.
With this morning's game, we completed a sweep of Monterrey. The highlight of this game was David Matos, who pitched a 2-hit complete game shutout, surrendering only one walk. Despite throwing his 5th quality start (out of 5 total starts!) this season, he just picked up his first win.
We're really going to find out where we stand over the next few days. Tonight we'll enjoy an off day, and then move into 16 straight games against Los Angeles/Sarasota, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City. If we can come out of that with our heads above water, we'll be in great shape, but if we play poorly, we might be done for.
Cap Glass is playing well early this season, with a team high six home runs and 1.130 OPS. Midre Cela has come on strong lately as well, with four home runs and a 1.058 OPS. Finally, D'Angelo Rivera is still pitching well out of the bullpen, posting 10 scoreless innings with a .080 WHIP in nine appearances.
Not all is well, however. Jumbo Tabaka is batting just .133 after 45 ABs, Pete Benes just .163 and no home runs after 43 ABs, and Ted Reith is hitting just .158 after 38 ABs. These players need to pick it up!
With this morning's game, we completed a sweep of Monterrey. The highlight of this game was David Matos, who pitched a 2-hit complete game shutout, surrendering only one walk. Despite throwing his 5th quality start (out of 5 total starts!) this season, he just picked up his first win.
We're really going to find out where we stand over the next few days. Tonight we'll enjoy an off day, and then move into 16 straight games against Los Angeles/Sarasota, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City. If we can come out of that with our heads above water, we'll be in great shape, but if we play poorly, we might be done for.
Cap Glass is playing well early this season, with a team high six home runs and 1.130 OPS. Midre Cela has come on strong lately as well, with four home runs and a 1.058 OPS. Finally, D'Angelo Rivera is still pitching well out of the bullpen, posting 10 scoreless innings with a .080 WHIP in nine appearances.
Not all is well, however. Jumbo Tabaka is batting just .133 after 45 ABs, Pete Benes just .163 and no home runs after 43 ABs, and Ted Reith is hitting just .158 after 38 ABs. These players need to pick it up!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)