State of the Ship: All evened up

Given that we've passed the 36 game mark, putting us 22.2222222% of the way through the season, it seems like the perfect time to examine how our team has fared so far!

Ok, not the perfect time... but as good a time as any. After a gruesome 2-9 start, we've gone 16-9 to improve to 18-18. Our series defeat against New Orleans this past week snapped a streak of 6 straight series wins. Right now, we're not as good as we wanted to be, but we're in a great position to break out. Here are my notes on what we've done so far, what our bright spots are, and what we need to improve upon:

- There is no one, anywhere, who will argue against Rob McNamara being our MVP thus far. He's hitting .375 with 9 homers and 13 doubles, and he is well on his way to having the best season of his career so far. He's also giving us exceptional defense up the middle, sporting the second-best fielding percentage of any starting 2B in the AL. Even if he only plays 123 games (as he did last year) he's on pace for about 31 homers, 44 doubles, and 130 RBI. Those are MVP numbers right there.

- Our two big rookies, Danny Milligan and Cyrus Torres, pretty much round out our top 3 players at this point. Milligan is batting .350 (and that's after slowing down over the past week or so) and giving us stellar defense behind the bag. Torres has only been up for 3 starts, but he's won all 3 of them, sporting a cool 2.61 ERA. He pitches again tonight against Augusta, a subpar offensive team so far this season, and he is looking to start his career 4-0. Both of these guys should be easy Rookie of the Year candidates, and don't be surprised to see them both at the All-Star game this year.

- Our fielding has been surprising this year; we're currently 4th in the AL in fielding percentage. This almost worries me, because we're not that good of a defensive team, but still, if our guys can keep up the good work in the field it should allow our pitching to carry more games for us this season.

- Speaking of our pitching, it's been spotty at best. Torres is an extreme bright spot, Don Wang has been excellent as expected, and Marino Fuentes has been such a surprise that he assumed the closer role after Harry Paz got traded. The rest of our pitching, however, has been mediocre if not awful. If you count both Jeffrey Rivera and Ivan Dotel as starters (they've been rotating in and out of the bullpen), then we've got 5 starters with ERAs over 5. Yes, you heard me right. A team that was supposedly built on pitching has only 1 of 6 starters with an ERA under 5, and that's Torres. Our team ERA is third-to-last in the AL, and our bullpen has been about as bad as expected. Overall, if we want to contend at all this year, our pitching has got to snap out of it, and fast.

- Vic Servet deserves special mention, because he is like a totally different player this year. While last season he acted like a malcontent much of the time, this season his teammates have called him a joy to play with, and the joy is showing. He's hitting .304 and already has 14 doubles (he had 18 all of last year). In 130 games he'd hit about 51 at this pace. He only has 3 homers, but hopefully his stroke will come back around as well. He's even giving us improved defense at CF. With my favorite season 8 rookie Orval Yeats still slumping, Servet has even moved into a leadoff role, and he has certainly earned it thus far.

- Prezuiwf has done a lot to restock our farm system. Jose Moreno, Max Guillen, and Bart Hamelin should all be very good ML contributors in a couple of years, and we had to give up very little talent that we had real major league plans for. I think prezuiwf has done a good job finding future talent this year, though I'm a bit critical of his inability to bring much in to shore up our woes at the big club this season.

Well, that's it for now. I'll finally be attending my first Snow Pirates game of the season tonight against Augusta, so if anyone is sitting in section 209, look for me. I'll be the guy in the dirty Jared Brown jersey (I really should pick up a Yeats or Torres jersey while I'm there). See you at the ballgame!

BREAKING NEWS: Polin Castillo traded for Bart Hamelin

MLB Trade Rumors is reporting this afternoon that the Snow Pirates have dealt highly touted Dominican relief prospect Polin Castillo to Fargo for breakout relief prospect Bart Hamelin and cash.

This deal is sort of strange for a couple of reasons. First, coincidentally, both relievers have exactly the same minor league ERA: 3.91. Even more bizarre is that they have exactly the same IP and ERA this season: 9.1 innings with a 4.82 ERA (though Hamelin is in AA while Castillo is in AAA). They both turned pro in season 6, and Castillo is beating Hamelin in nearly every other statistical category; however, Castillo is already 24 while Hamelin is 21.

The second reason why this deal strikes me as odd is that Castillo could be in our major league bullpen right now. While his AAA ERA right now is high, it's only a small sample size, and he has only allowed runs in two of his nine appearances, meaning he's just been hit hard a couple of times while remaining dominant the other seven times. He could have easily replaced Santiago Mercado, for example, and rescued us from a bullpen blackhole and walking PR nightmare at the same time. We still have a couple guys in AAA like Einar Gonzalez and Angel Cortez, but neither is as enticing an option as Castillo would have been this year in the event of an injury to a ML guy (or if, you know, we just wanted to improve our bullpen and actually make the playoffs).

That said, the return on value is also relatively questionable. Castillo was a highly sought-after international free agent who eventually fetched a $7.5 million signing bonus when we nabbed him in season 6. Hamelin, by comparison, was a 15th round draft pick (489th overall) out of high school who commanded a staggering... get ready for it... $28,000 when he signed with Fargo as minor league fodder (the kid lost the closing job on his own high school team his senior year, then went and injured himself in a pickup football game a month before the draft). After a disastrous season 6 campaign that saw him post a 6.55 ERA in only 11 innings of work, most would have left him for dead. But Fargo minor league pitching coach Frank Itou worked with Hamelin in the offseason, helping him vastly improve his command and transform his curveball into a go-to pitch. Since then, Hamelin has been very good, posting ERAs in the 3's consistently prior to this season and showing a competitive but levelheaded temperament that led to former Fargo AA coach Wilbur Halter calling him "mature beyond even my years."

Still, it's unclear which of them will become the better pitcher. It will really hurt losing Castillo's ability to effortlessly strike batters out, and replacing a consistent groundball pitcher with a flyball pitcher usually spells trouble. But scouts have always been concerned with Castillo's struggles against lefties, while those seem to be Hamelin's forte (he is also pretty mean against righties). Despite being treated with kid gloves in the minors, Hamelin also has the stamina to pitch around 2 innings per appearance, while Castillo will probably have a career of one-inning appearances. That is a big deal for our bullpen, which usually becomes rather exhausted during long strings of consecutive games. Hamelin also sports a very good fastball, while Castillo relies almost exclusively on his breaking pitches which may not be enough to fool major league batters.

Overall, this trade is a real "wait and see" for me. Both guys have huge potential, and obviously the organization must see more upside in Hamelin if they were willing to deal an ML-ready reliever for him. We won't be able to accurately judge this one for a long time.

BREAKING NEWS: Snow Pirates make second trade of the day

According to several sources, the Snow Pirates have made yet another move today, acquiring prospect Max Guillen from the Mexico City Invaders in exchange for minor leaguers Heath Thompson and Felipe Bolivar. You may remember Guillen, as we traded him away just one year ago to Mexico City for Ivan Dotel. Guess prezuiwf just felt like renting him out.

Guillen is extremely talented, sporting a fastball that has touched triple digits. He uses it to blow past guys, striking out more than a batter per inning in the minors, and while he has struggled at times (especially against lefties), he's still only 21 and has plenty of time to develop. He'll likely become a long reliever for us with the potential to start every now and then if need be (that is, if prezuiwf doesn't turn around and trade him yet again).

Thompson, our 2nd round pick way back in season 5, has always been one of my favorite minor league guys. He plays hard and his stats in the minors have been insane-- .320 batting average and 139 homers in 515 games. I guess the rationale was that he was blocked by other guys, but still, he had to have been a better bench option than Derrek Beck. I guess prezuiwf was worried about his ability to hit lefties and his rumored injury propensity. As for Felipe Bolivar, the organization hasn't looked back since replacing him with Daryle Moran, and he was primarily seen as organizational depth. I think we should really look at the deal in terms of Thompson vs. Guillen, and in that respect, I think we got an even deal-- we traded away a likely useful bench guy for a likely useful bullpen guy. Prezuiwf has done plenty over the past day to bolster our minor league pitching depth, and I think it will go a long way in a few years when Guillen and Jose Moreno are on the big club.

BREAKING NEWS: Snow Pirates trade Paz, minor leaguers for SP prospect Moreno

According to ESPN, the Snow Pirates have just reached a deal with the Colorado Springs Night Watchmen that will send Harry Paz and minor leaguers Harry Serra and D.T. Woodson to the Night Watchmen in exchange for prized pitching prospect Jose Moreno, who was already traded once this year from New Orleans.

Prezuiwf told ESPN that the organization considered the trade to be a "coup," but that both sides have come out ahead. Colorado Springs is looking for major league help in order to help it win another World Series, while the Snow Pirates, despite winning their last two games, have been actively seeking to shake up their bullpen. The move has also fueled speculation that Paz's bullpen spot will soon be filled by Don Wang after Cyrus Torres is called up.

My analysis of the deal is a tentative win. Paz has been something of a disappointment during his tenure in Syracuse, and his performance so far this year has been awful. We were promised improvement this year, and while the sample size is small, Paz's 6.14 ERA certainly isn't doing wonders for our team. Serra is a guy who prezuiwf said today he "didn't really see being a major league contributor anyway," and Woodson lacks the ability to consistently shut down lefties. All in all, we unloaded three problematic guys for a player with tons of potential.

Moreno, selected 17th overall last year by New Orleans, was a coveted pickup for many reasons, not the least of which is that, according to Prezuiwf, we came very close to drafting him. While the decision was ultimately made to draft Tony Barrett (knowing he wouldn't sign and thus securing the 4th overall pick this year), prezuiwf made no secret of the fact that he was never entirely happy passing on Moreno. Today he commented on how surprised he was that Moreno "just fell into our lap." As a player, Moreno certainly has lots of potential, showing off his considerable talents for three seasons at Vanderbilt. He has gotten off to a rocky start this year in AA, but the organization indicated that Moreno would be played in A ball and would likely not see major league action until he turns at least 25 (he is now 22). He is a big strikeout pitcher, something the organization is somewhat lacking, and he projects to have four decent pitches including a low-90's fastball. He also sports a changeup, but our minor league coaches will likely tell him to drop it, as it is by far his least effective pitch. He did have a fairly serious knee injury his sophomore year at Vandy, but he said last year that it has completely healed and that we should see no more problems there.

The odd thing about this deal is that it doesn't really clue us in as to whether prezuiwf intends to continue attempting to contend this year. It's true we gave up ML talent for prospects, but the prospect is one we've always coveted anyway and the ML talent is a guy who's struggling right now. Perhaps we're in for another trade or two soon, but either way I'm already looking forward to seeing Moreno join our roation in three years.

Report: Prezuiwf already looking to shake up team

After a disastrous 2-9 start, it appears prezuiwf is panicking. I understand if he wants to make some moves, but considering Jeffrey Rivera was just brought up today, Cyrus Torres has yet to make his debut, and our pitchers are clearly just going through a bad stretch, it seems odd that we'd be willing to just throw in the towel. This is fresh off the wire:

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Prezuiwf is not wasting any time attempting to wheel and deal after the Snow Pirates lost again yesterday in an 8-5 defeat against the hated Red Dogs. It is unclear whether he is preparing to salvage the season or hoard prospects for the future, but according to him, everyone is available.

"I expected to contend this year," prezuiwf said. "2-9, that's just unacceptable. For a team that won 80 games last year to regress like that, we need to make some changes right now. A lot of GMs say 'Let's wait 40 games, 60 games..." Not me. You can tell that this team isn't doing what it's supposed to do."

Sources have indicated that the Snow Pirates have already talked to half a dozen teams, and players like Vic Servet, Harry Paz, and Ismael Liriano have all been discussed. Servet in particular has apparently drawn interest from multiple teams.

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The first series of the year: a disaster

A few notes about a very painful 4-game, season-opening series against the Minnesota PeaceFrog. In case you were smart and didn't bother watching the games this weekend, we lost all four games:

- A four-game sweep may cause some people to panic, and don't get me wrong, it's a terrible way to start the season. But think of it this way: while games in April count just as much as games in September, don't let those April losses get you down just because the record looks worse. Sure, right now we're 0-4, and that is an ugly record. But imagine if it was later on in the season and we were 50-30. Now a 4-game losing streak makes us 50-34. Doesn't look quite so ugly, does it? The point is, there's a ton of baseball left to play, and this team isn't as bad as their 0-4 record indicates.

- Minnesota is a lot better than I thought. Four games isn't enough to judge a team, but I believe they are a stronger squad than people give them credit for. Just wait until Murray Mahaffey and Howard O'Brien heat up.

- In my last post I said we should pray the bullpen doesn't blow too many games for us this year. After four games, our bullpen is 0-2 with a combined ERA of a bazillion. There's nowhere to go but up, but this 'pen will be a problem area for us this year.

- Don Wang's season ERA is currently 189.00. Almost makes you wish we left him in for the full 9 innings to actually see a 189-0 game, doesn't it? But seriously, Wang had an awful start, but I expect him to do very well this year. Tim Juden, too. Don't worry about the rotation, it's the least of our problems.

- While the 0-4 record looks ugly, let's not overlook the fact that two of those losses were by 1 run. It says a lot about the bullpen, but it also encouraging that we weren't blown out every game.

- We had some massive bright spots this series from unlikely contributors. Alberto Felix pitched like the 3-time All-Star we expected last season, going 5 shutout innings en route to a 13-inning loss. Vic Servet and Willie Ayala also started the season reasonably strong after disappointing years in Season 8. But the real showstopper was Danny Milligan, who went 7-for-17 to hit .412 with a homer, a double, and three walks. This rookie looks like the real deal so far; hopefully he keeps up the good work for the remainder of the season.

Our chances look decent tomorrow, when we throw out Ivan Dotel to face the equally limping Milwaukee Cream Citys and mediocre starter Patsy Cummings. I'm not giving up hope, but if we can't nab a win tomorrow, I will become a bit pessimistic about this season...

Season 9 preview, part 3: The Bullpen

Alright guys, here's the third and final part of my in-depth preview for your Season 9 Syracuse Snow Pirates. This time I'll be examining easily the worst part of the team last year, the bullpen. Will it be improved? Will it continue to blow games left and right? And who will actually be in the 'pen this year? Let's examine some possibilities:

Hal Davenport - For my money, this is the guy who should be the closer this year. Yeah I know Harry Paz did a decent job last year, and yes I know Bill Walker was brilliant as a September callup (and I will discuss both of them below), but Davenport was the best reliever on the team for the duration of Season 8, posting a 3.43 ERA as a middle reliever and setup man. He had a mediocre 4.69 ERA the year prior, but at age 27 I believe he finally came into his own and become the pitcher we all hoped he'd be when we dealt Albert Fanrsworth for him back in Season 6. Scouts say his stuff is actually still improving, so as far as I'm concerned, the closer role should be Davenport's to lose in Season 9.

Harry Paz - Of course, while Davenport SHOULD be closing, in all likelihood Paz will retain the role he performed with such mediocrity last year. Don't get me wrong; Paz is a good pitcher, posting a 4.03 ERA last year as a 24-year old rookie. He's got four good pitches including a nasty sinker, and he had more than a K per inning last year. By all accounts, he very well could turn the corner this year and pitch phenominally. My concern is this: why take the chance? What if he turns out to be a total bust? Prezuiwf clearly thought very highly of him when he traded both Ronnie Golub (a prodigious power-hitting catcher) and Peter Mullin (our former LF of the future) for Paz and Danny Milligan. But Paz has yet to display his supposed skills at the ML level, and if it weren't for the enormous hype surrounding Milligan, I think many people would begin to suspect we got swindled. This will be a big year in determining whether Paz is worth his weight at the ML level. I would make him a setup man until he shows he's capable of posting a sub-4 ERA for at least half a year, but he might get thrown back into the closer role to sink or swim this season.

Bill Walker - Walker is the oft-forgotten piece of the deal that sent mediocre third baseman Boomer Lidle to the Riverdogs for future rotation hopeful Jeffrey Rivera. Walker was also shipped to us in that trade, and last year at age 23, he put up a 1.93 ERA in a tantalizing 9.1 innings of work at the ML level in September. Time will tell if Walker is really as good as he looks, but scouting reports have been calling him a stud, with 5 plus pitches including a challenging fastball and a very above average curveball. He's not known for being a strikeout artist (except for last year in AAA), but he finds ways to get guys out and could be our secret weapon as a rookie this season. Walker likely won't have a sub-2 ERA, and his fragility will likely limit him to under 35 innings this season, but he kills righties and could make our other relievers better by helping them out of jams from time to time. This guy could have a very bright future in Syracuse if he's as good as he's looked so far.

Felipe Cairo - Cairo may take a step backward this year as he turned 39 a few weeks ago and has clearly lost a bit of zip over the past two seasons. If he is as good as last year, however, he will be a solid option in the 'pen, giving us around 70 innings with a sub-4 ERA. If he can regain his Cy Young-caliber form, that's gravy. But if he posts a 4.3 ERA this year, I'll be happy. At $3 million, he's not costing us an arm and a leg for what we can expect to get, though I wouldn't be surprised to see Cairo retire after this season, thus not making him much of a long-term option.

Santiago Mercado - If this guy ever took those stupid sunglasses off, maybe he'd be able to see the writing on the wall-- a 5.95 ERA in his first two major league seasons is not enough to keep him on this team, and this season will likely be his last chance to prove himself. Opponents hit an embarrassing .300 off of him last year in a season in which Mercado was supposed to emerge as a frontline reliever. The secret may be in his lack of versatility: he only has two pitches, a fastball with a lot of movement and a curveball that looks more like a motionless changeup. Once hitters realize that Mercado's strategy is to just blaze the ball past them, they're usually able to start spraying them all over the outfield. If Mercado brings himself down to an ERA of 4.50, I'll be relatively happy, but at this point, I'm just praying he doesn't single-handedly cost us too many wins.

Marino Fuentes - This odd waiver pickup was a mild surprise, attaining a 4.70 ERA last season. However, we are paying him $2.7 mil this year, which is way too much for production of that low caliber. Unless he suddenly learns how to pitch like a star, I don't expect us to resign him after this year, but with one of the most celebrated changeups in the majors, I guess we could get lucky and have him figure things out this season. My prediction is an ERA barely below 5.

Ben Wilson - When Ben Wilson was drafted in season 1 by Mexico City (way back when they were known as the Chihuahuas) he was undoubtedly tapped as a future starter. Taken in round 1 with a supplemental pick, scouts raved about his curveball, his excellent control, and his virtually nonexistant injury risk. Well to be fair, he has never gone on the DL, but that is almost a bad thing-- he tortured us last year with a 6.19 ERA, allowing opponents to hit .327 off of him and slug .525. Boiled down, even the league's worst hitters turn into Jamie May when Wilson's on the mound. Call it confidence problems (he was a glorified mopup man last year), call it age (he's only 26 this season), call it heightened expectations. But whatever you call it, at least give it credit for what it is: suckiness, and suckiness that may be what ends up dooming this team. He only took 2 losses this year, but that's because he only came in when we were up or down by a ton of runs. The fact that he actually managed to get 2 losses while barely pitching in any pressure situations is mind-boggling, and it shows that there's little we can do with Wilson that won't kill this team. Alas, he will likely at least start the year on the big league roster this year.

Jeffrey Rivera - My prediction is that Rivera will be in the pen this year. While spring training doesn't tell much, Rivera has strung together a couple bad starts that have brought his ST ERA up to an even 6, showing he may not be quite ready to start against ML competition. He may be used in low pressure bullpen situations this year to build up his confidence, though, and might even spot start in the event of injuries or fatigue. I already commented on Rivera in part one, so I'll leave my analysis at this and hope he helps our cause out of the bullpen.

Don Wang - The more I think about it, the more I've got this inkling that Wang, a rotation stud from last year, will wind up in the bullpen. It was bound to happen eventually as his arm began to feel the ravages of age, though I'd rather see him start 32 games than come in as a reliever in 50. Nevertheless, he would be a great weapon to us as a long reliever, keeping the rest of the bullpen rested and allowing us to hang onto leads if need be. I also discussed Wang in part 1, so I won't do it much further, only saying that if Wang winds up in the bullpen, I hope he's used in high pressure situations to alleviate our need to use guys like Ben Wilson.

The verdict? The bullpen will hopefully be better this year, but with a couple bad eggs and a couple old guys, it's tough to tell whether our 'pen will help us or hurt us this season. Toss in the fact that the bullpen will be used often (since we'll be employing at least a couple starters with low stamina) and the quality of the bullpen could be a critical factor in deciding our fate this season. I'd like to believe that our improved starting pitching and offense will carry us into the postseason, and yet I've got a sinking feeling that in the end, ourbullpen will somehow do us in...

Anyway, that's it for the season preview. Keep it here for an outlook on the division (and on our chances at a playoff appearance) as well as news, musings, and updates during the season. I hope you're all looking forward to the start of the regular season as I am. GO SNOW PIRATES!!!

Season 9 preview, part 2: The Offense & Defense

Welcome to part 2 of my in-depth Snow Pirate season 9 preview. Last time I discussed the state of our starting rotation; in this post, I'll examine the offensive players who will likely be on the team this year, along with defensive notes, position-by-position.

C: Felipe Reynoso, Danny Milligan, Calvin Watanabe

Prezuiwf sought to make Reynoso the third ML catcher in as many years with whom the team cut ties, engaging in trade talks with several teams concerning the slugger. At the end of the day, he decided a tandem of Reynoso's power and Milligan's excellent hitting and defense would make the Snow Pirates deadly at the catcher position. Reynoso, a former 3rd round pick back in season 5, had a .908 OPS in his rookie year hitting mostly righties, while Watanabe handled platoon duties to rest Reynoso and provide some much-needed defense. This year, it is unclear whether Reynoso or Milligan will be the regular starter, but it looks somewhat likely that Milligan will be held in the minors to start the year so as to delay his arbitration clock. Either way, Watanabe should enjoy his last few weeks as a major league ballplayer, because once Milligan is on the 25-man roster it will be sayonara for Calvin. All in all, the catcher position should be an offensive bright spot for this team, and Milligan has the potential to become one of the most feared hitters around. Both should hit in the top half of the order.

1B: Orval Yeats, Wayne Lidle

In case you haven't heard, Lidle was unceremoniously demoted to AAA this week after prezuiwf was unable to find a suitor for him. He may be back (and in fact, likely will be the first option in the event of an injury) but for now, it looks like Yeats will handle full time 1B duties against righties while the position will be filled according to convenience against lefties. As for Yeats, he had a mesmerizing rookie campaign, hitting .309 and stealing 109 bases (good for 5th all time in a single season and amazingly putting Yeats 2nd on the all-time Snow Pirates list for a career). He was robbed of Rookie of the Year honors of course, but he looks to come back better than ever this season as one of the premier leadoff men in the league. Even more amazing is that he was only caught stealing 4 times last season (including his first game of the season), giving him an astounding 96.4 stolen base percentage, 2nd in history among players with 100 or more steals. In a nutshell, some are wary of Yeats since first base is often considered a power position, but when you've got a guy who slap hits successfully and is constantly in scoring position, it's hard not to appreciate his bat (and legs) in the lineup.

2B: Rob McNamara, Derrek Beck

The addition of McNamara late last season gives an enormous boost to this team, both offensively and defensively. With only 59 career games at 2nd base under his belt, McNamara will move to the position full time, hopefully stabilizing our defense up the middle. His consistent bat will be good for 30 homers and a batting average between .290-.300, a vastly far cry from the black hole often seen at 2B last year. And speaking of that black hole, Beck has found himself remaining on the roster (for now) but don't look for him to be used as much more than a pinch runner or defensive replacement after batting below the Mendoza line in 300 at-bats last year. He will be useful in that regard, but here's hoping McNamara stays healthy so we don't have to see Beck hit every day. McNamara will likely bat third when Reynoso is playing and may bat second or fifth when Milligan is behind the plate.

SS: Willie Ayala

The bat of Yorvit Ortiz in spring training should be a constant reminder to Ayala that his days are numbered if he doesn't improve both his defense and offense. Ortiz will likely take over at this position in a couple years (when his glove is ready), but for now, Ayala is our man. After a quick start last season, the former 3rd overall pick finished batting .251 with 23 homers and 41 doubles. Not a totally disappointing season to be sure, but also not one worthy of his hype. His bat should get bumped way down in the order this year, and his usual routine of striking out 110+ times per season is starting to wear thin. Ayala's not a true weak spot persay, but it makes you long for the future when Ortiz and his golden glove are roaming the infield. In two years, if Ayala hasn't lived up to his hype, he'll either be on bench duty or, perhaps, the unemployment line.

3B: Sadie Watson, Charley Shelley

With the Rob McNamara trade, Charley Shelley went from young stud to benchwarmer from one minute to the next. This season will introduce the interesting experiment of jamming Watson's bat into the lineup by placing him at third base, despite his poor throwing arm. Still, Watson has the potential to hit 30 home runs this year, and Shelley will likely come in as a defensive replacement and be used often to rest Watson. Shelley has disappointed so far (23 home runs in 1065 at-bats) but he is still only 25 and has the tools necessary to become a dangerous player. Having an offense good enough to keep Shelley's bat on the bench 75% of the time should be considered a good sign for the Snow Pirates.

LF: Chris Damon, Ismael Liriano

Damon, the Snow Pirates' most prolific home run hitter in history, was almost gone after last year before both sides reached an agreement on a contract extension to keep the slugger in Syracuse. Damon was remarkable last year, hitting 39 homers and batting .292, his best average in three years. His defense is adequate, and I'm glad that this fan favorite is going to play out the next few years of his career in Snow Pirate orange and black. The platoon situation here, however, is rather baffling. Prezuiwf has vowed to find a place for Liriano to play, and luckily, the DH option will always be open. But prezuiwf claims Liriano will play the field as well, perhaps allowing the aging Damon to log some games at DH and even come in to cover first base in a pinch. The 22-year old Liriano does need to remain in the lineup-- his .840 OPS in the same year he bought his first legal beer in the U.S. is cause for celebration-- and I don't doubt that a regular lineup consiting of both Damon and Liriano will be formulated from night to night.

CF: Vic Servet

It's getting a lot harder to love Vic Servet. At only age 29, his skills have been consistently declining (after winning Rookie of the Year, his yearly OPSes have decreased every single season). Last year he was a complete liability; he was a total disaster at the plate (OPS of .713) and in the field (career low .984 fielding percentage at CF with a look of total cluelessness when it came to getting to balls hit in his direction). The struggles came first, of course; then came the childish whining in the press about having to play for a losing franchise every year and not having the talent to succeed (sort of hard to backup when you're the worst player on your own team). Servet is known for being patient on the field, but his usually cool temper got the better of him last season, and the fact that he's in only the second year of a $39 million contract doesn't make him much easier to root for. Sources say his attitude has been a revelation since the beginning of spring training, and it's shown in his play (3 homers already), but time will tell whether the former savior of the Snow Pirates will truly live up to his hype or become a total bust.

RF: Daryle Moran

Moran wound up finishing a respectable 4th last year in Rookie of the Year voting, posting a 20-40 in his inaugural season. Look for that to eventually grow to 30-50 (or more) as Moran matures and learns how to get on base more often. The .248 batting average will also grow, and I can see him developing into a player who hits around .275-.285. This year I expect him to hit 2nd or 9th (as he did last year) so as to compliment Yeats' ability to get hits and get himself into scoring position. A poor season by Moran could be a huge blow for this offense, as the team is hoping to see Moran progress this year and put up better numbers. A down year could spell doom for the Snow Pirates, though as a last resort, Felipe Bolivar still happens to be kicking around in our minor league system (I know, it was news to me too!) and adds depth in case of injury or underperformance.

DH: Connie Diaz

While the DH slot will likely be rotated based on need, the position of lefty slugging specialist appears to have been bestowed on new acquisition Diaz, who prezuiwf picked up off the scrap heap this offseason. Diaz hit 75 homers over the past two seasons in Oakland's AAA lineup, and prezuiwf feels he has the potential to shine in a lefty platoon role for the big club. Diaz has a truly awful glove and isn't the most durable player around, so unfortunately his versatility is limited; however, prezuiwf seems more than content to let him DH against lefty starters only, and he will fill out the offense nicely with his powerful bat. He'll get maybe 225 at-bats, but don't be too surprised if he seizes the opportunity to hit 15-20 home runs this season in his limited playing time.

So what's the final verdict? This team will be a lot better offensively than last year's. While we sometimes struggled to score runs, half our lineup were rookies in their early 20's. Those rookies will evolve and mature this year, and we can reasonably expect them all to improve upon their Season 8 stats. The addition of McNamara could be the key that unlocks the potential of this offense, and rookie Milligan is an enormous upgrade from Watanabe in the catching platoon. All in all, I am very excited for this offense, and it (in tandem with our improved pitching staff) looks to make us a surprise force to be reckoned with in the AL North this year. A playoff spot is not at all out of the question and in fact, the more I think about it, the more I fully expect to reach the postseason.

That's all for now, but in the near future I'll be writing my third and final part of this preview: the bullpen. I know, it could be a horror show (but then again, we could get a few nice surprises...). Stay tuned for that installment, coming soon.

Season 9 preview, part 1: The Rotation

Currently, there are seven pitchers (that we know of) in spring camp who are fighting for 5 coveted rotation spots. In part one of my in-depth preview of the upcoming season, I'll take a look at all seven of them and give my prediction as to who will be our main 5 this year.

Vince Baker - An absolute lock for the rotation, and it should come as no surprise. Probably prezuiwf's best free agent signing since taking over the reigns as GM, Baker posted a stellar 2.84 ERA for us last year, easily making him our best starter. Our offense plus his lack of excellent stamina only earned him a paltry 10 wins last year, but what it really comes down to is his ability to keep us in the game, and with an improved offense this year (which I'll talk about in a future post) he should see his win totals skyrocket. At age 36, he really doesn't appear to have missed a step, and at only $7 million this year, he's one of the best bargains in the league as well.

Don Wang - Our other star in the rotation last year will be back this season at an even better bargain price-- $4.4 million, which will be his salary through season 11. So why do I only give him an 80% chance of being a regular starter this year? One word: stamina. At only 33, while Wang can still throw the ball as well as anyone, he can't go as deep into games as we need him to. He only averaged about 4 and 2/3 innings per start last year (not even enough, on average, to qualify him for a win) and he isn't getting any younger. This isn't necessarily a bad thing-- our bullpen was terrible last year, and it would be great to have a long reliever as good as Don Wang who can also spot start from time to time. But it would be nice to see him in the rotation, and he will probably make at least a few starts to begin the year until our next pitcher on the list is called up...

Cyrus Torres - The golden boy of the season 6 draft showed last year just how ready he was, posting a 1.86 ERA in 212.1 innings in AA and AAA with an 18-3 record and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 194:56. He tossed a no-hitter in his first game in AAA and averaged 7 and 1/3 innings per start. In other words: the kid's a phenom, and it's no surprise that whenever a we're having trade talks, his name constantly comes up. Prezuiwf has diligently held onto him though, and this year he looks poised to immediately enter the rotation as a total stud. Prezuiwf has already stated that he will hold him back for a few starts to give him more seasoning (read: delay his arbitration clock), but once Torres is unleashed on the league, look for him to skillfully compete for Rookie of the Year honors, if not the Cy Young award. As I said, he'll be held out for the beginning of the year, but if he starts the day he comes up, look for him to make his ML debut at home against last year's top power hitting squad, the Atlanta Cherokee.

Alberto Felix - If Vince Baker is prezuiwf's best acquisition since he started in Syracuse, Alberto Felix may be his worst. Last year, we paid the then-37-year old $8.5 million to give us a 5.93 ERA and a .304 opponent batting average. Ouch. Opponents OPSed well over .800 against him and he seemed to get shelled every game. While it's hard to defend this signing, there is a silver lining: Felix actually turned in 12 quality starts last year, suggesting that he may still have something left in the tank. Make no mistake, though-- Felix is a whipping boy for other teams, and unfortunately, prezuiwf insists on keeping him in the rotation, stating that Felix "still has the potential to be an ace in the hole" for Syracuse. Looks like someone's been drinking the Kool-Aid. In any case, it's easy to give prezuiwf a pass due to his other, more positive moves over the past few years, but this signing is just terrible. Alberto, I hope you prove me wrong this year, but I won't hold my breath.

Ivan Dotel - Definitely a solid point in our rotation. Don't look at just the stats-- it's true he finished the season with a 4.50 ERA, but that was due to a bunch of garbage starts in which he gave up tons of runs at the end of the year. His ERA was under 4 for most of the season, and I hope we see that same quality again this year. He led the team in quality starts last year with 16 and sports a wicked fastball that helps him get out of jams. The jury's still out on whether it was worthwhile to deal Max Guillen for him, but so far he has been very solid and could end up being the difference between a playoff berth and a trip to the living room sofa this October.

Tim Juden - Prezuiwf went into the winter meetings announcing that he wanted to walk out with a new starting pitcher, and just when it looked like that was merely a dream, he managed to land Juden for a few minor leaguers. Juden hasn't posted an ERA above 4.25 since season 2, though it's slightly worrying that he has played in an extreme pitcher's park for the past 2.5 seasons. Still, Juden's got a solid track record with 3 plus pitches and should fill out the rotation nicely. His biggest selling point for us is his ability to go deep into games-- he averaged over 6 innings per start last year and should give our bullpen sporadic breathers after working hard for guys like Wang and Baker. Juden is in the last year of his contract and both sides have said that they will wait until after the season before making a decision about extending his deal; Juden has been more overt, however, about his desire to test free agency rather than resigning. Still, having a pitcher of his caliber this year shows that prezuiwf is looking to win this season and is giving our minor league guys (namely Roger Murray) more time to develop.

Jeffrey Rivera - Last but not least, we come to a guy who has been lauded by scouts for his fastball and his control, and equally derided by critics about his attitude and his decision to infamously spurn LSU's verbally agreed upon scholarship offer to play in the pros. Rivera's talent cannot be denied, and he posted a 3.42 ERA in a full season of AAA last year. Many would count this as evidence that the 22 year old is ready for prime time, but prezuiwf has stated that he thinks it's possible that Rivera will need more time to develop his changeup command and work on getting more lefties out. Scouts also say that his minor league strikeout totals are a mirage and he may not be able to properly adjust to the decreased K rates he'll have to endure at the ML level. It's possible that Rivera will start the season in the bullpen, and then work his way into the starting five after he's proven himself (or next season if/when Juden leaves).

People who will definitely NOT be in the rotation (barring an injury epidemic):

Ben Wilson - He had a 6.19 ERA in 68.1 innings of low-pressure mopup situations last year. The guy's a bust. No thanks.

Felipe Cairo - Used to be an All-Star SP, but prezuiwf likes him out of the bullpen. He's getting too old to handle the stress of a 33-start grind. Cairo has stated that he feels more comfortable as a reliever at this stage of his career.

Dwayne Stewart - Served us well in last year's cup of coffee, posting a 2.25 ERA in 4 innings of work. Unfortunately, despite his wicked sinker, injuries may be the only thing that will let Stewart sniff the majors again.

Roger Murray - As I said above, Murray will pitch in the minors all year, even if our ML starters start to go down with injuries. He may get a September call-up, but as prezuiwf commented, "That's for him to decide. We'll see what he can do in AAA this year." He hasn't been stellar in the minors so far but has performed solidly.

That's all for now, stay tuned for my next post when I'll tackle this season's starting lineup (or lineups) and identify our offensive strengths and weaknesses.

Welcome to the new Syracuse Snow Pirates blog

Hello all, and welcome to the unofficial fan blog of the world's greatest baseball team, the Syracuse Snow Pirates! In the coming days I will be posting previews of the upcoming season, and news will be readily available here throughout the year. It looks like it's going to be a very competitive season of Snow Pirate baseball, so I hope all of you are as pumped as I am.

This week I will be posting a breakdown of the team and what we can expect this upcoming year, as well as an analysis of the division and of GM prezuiwf's offseason moves. Stay tuned.