Coming Attractions: Troy

A look at the 2008 Troy Haymakers (again?)...
The Lineup:
After two bockbuster trades this off-season, the Haymakers' lineup will have a different look in 2008. Gone are the two speedsters at the top of the lineup last season in Carl Crawford and Ichiro Suzuki, and a slugging secondbaseman in Chase Utley. In are the super-slugger Matt Holliday, the power hitting-slick fielding Andrew Jones, useful outfield bat Andre Ethier and scrappy middle infielders David Eckstein and Mark Ellis. Returning to the lineup are corner infielders Conor Jackson, Aubrey Huff, and Chad Tracy, catcher Ronny Paulino and outfielder Vernon Wells.
"I'm excited about the upcoming season," said firstbaseman Conor Jackson, "We have a solid foundation here to build a competitive franchise for years to come. The point is to build on our success from last season." The second season for the Haymakers should be an interesting one, and there are some questions. Mainly, are there enough bats to compete this season? Although Vernon Wells and Andre Jones are gold-glove caliber fielders, they both are set to have down seasons. Plus Chad Tracy will be out half the season with an injury. There is a lot of speculation about production with Jackson and Aubrey Huff at the corners; their projected OPS of .780 for Huff and .833 for Jackson are well under the NASBL league average at those positions.
Here's a look at the 2008 Haymakers lineup by position:
C: Ronnie Paulino
1B: Conor Jackson/Chad Tracy
2B: Mark Ellis
3B: Aubrey Huff/Chad Tracy
SS: David Eckstein
OF: Matt Holliday
OF: Andrew Jones
OF: Vernon Wells


Rotation and Bull-pen:
The recent addition of Jered Weaver is all the buzz at camp this spring, and has the front of the Haymakers rotation looking solid as they try to rebound from a starter ERA of over 5.50 last season. The loss of BJ Ryan to injury and Matt Capps in the Weaver trade hurts the depth of the pen, but Brian Fuentes and Huston Street are a solid lefty-righty combo and should continue to be successful. "We both had really great seasons last year," said set-up man Fuentes, "And we should continue to dominate. Kerry is back for us and should be able to give us a few quality innings. I won't go out and say we are the team to beat this season, but we will be solid." The main question in the pitching staff will be if there will be enough depth for 2008. The Haymakers are going into the draft with only seven pitchers, and as it stands Scott Olsen will be the 4th starter.
Here's a look at the Haymakers 2008 pitching staff:
1. Fausto Carmona
2. Brad Penny
3. Jered Weaver
4. Scott Olsen
5. The Ball Boy ???
Set-up: Brian Fuentes
Closer: Huston Street

MSU Management looking for an OF??

Miami: Word out of Miami has the Surf seeking another OF. Word out of the Surf Clubhouse has OF's Raul Ibanez, Mike Cameron and Melky Cabrera on the Hot Seat. It has also been rumored that the 2006 Fireman of the Year Chad Cordero could also be on his way out of Miami. Miami's GM James Bessinger has stated " I want some Speed and Defense in my outfield".

SILENT KNIGHTS PLAYING CARDS CLOSE TO THE VEST

(New York Daily Mirror - January 31, 2008)

NEW YORK - There was once a time, not very long ago, when the off-season meant a flurry of activity for the Knights. Seldom would a week pass that did not find Mitch Pak juggling several potential trades with a few different clubs. It seemed that the Knights forever had feelers out, scouring the trade wires, inquiring as to the availability for this player or that, boldly trading early-round draft picks. The Knights had a way of keeping the winter interesting.

But no more. The Mid-Season Massacre of 2004 did more than ship out the Knights then-cornerstone group of players. It signaled a sea change in how the Knights do business. Where Mitch Pak would often openly speak about the direction of the club and what his intentions were for the draft or pre-season trades, now almost no information is forthcoming from the Knights front office. Like the gunslingers of the Old West, Mitch Pak is keeping a poker face and holding his cards close to the vest, while trades and signings occur almost daily around him. The era of trading for the sake of trades appears to be over. A perfect example of the Knights new policy occurred this week, when ex-Knight Mike Cuddyer was drafted #1 in the 2008 Supplemental Draft by division rival Grundy County. When called for comment and to address some fans' complaints that Cuddyer should have been retained, the New York sports media was blandly advised that Mitch Pak would make no personal comment but that "the club" would be making a statement. The Knights thereafter simply faxed a terse statement to New York sports media outlets, wishing Cuddyer well in his new city. Not a word has been heard about the issue since.

Its difficult to predict where Pak is going this winter and spring in terms of addressing the club's needs. While at least one NASBL observer has predicted that the Knights will draft Yovani Gallardo with the #8 pick, this would not seem likely, since the Knights already have six starters on the staff. While the Knights have shopped Dontrelle Willis to the other NASBL clubs, the prevailing rumor is that the Knights have not received what they deem to be fair trade offers for him. Again, there has been no confirmation on this point, and it remains as likely as not that the Knights will draft Gallardo. Its anyone's guess.

In the opinion of this page, it seems most likely that the Knights will be looking for a bat with their first pick, to make up for some of the offense lost by the paring of Mike Cuddyer and Jacque Jones from the roster.

DFW trades for Ian Snell & Milton Bradley

In a move to get some much needed younger pitching help DFW traded Fan Favorite Placido Polanco to HHA for Ian Snell. Polanco who had been a Spur since joining the NASBL said "he has no hard feelings towards DFW and is looking forward to helping HHA reach the World Series again". Polanco's unwillingly ness to play third base was part of the reason for the move and having a log jam with 3 second baseman was another. Freddy Sanchez who traded for on Draft day of 2007 from VFS will spend time between 2B and SS. Alex Gonzalez looks to be the starting SS. With age and hamstring injuries slowing last years starter (and WS hero)Carlos Guillen. Carlos was told by Doctor's that he won't have the range he was accustomed to at short. Dr. Richmond's always right with his prognosis (from a '2' to a '4' duh).

DFW also picked up Milton Bradley (from HHA) for some OF help. Bradley comes to DFW with a lot of baggage. The team hopes they can harness his potential in the right direction. They need to keep umpires and water bottles away from Milton and work on his anger management. It's like in the 3 stooges when Curly saw a rat he would yell, "Moe- Larry cheese, Moe- Larry cheese" The Spurs just need to keep a lot of cheese around. Another big plus is that Dallas has some of the finest Hospitals in the world. One hospital's claim to fame is what they did to the 'Big Indian' in "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest". We would like to apologize for this write-up being late. Apparently the reporter was in Cabo San Luka following another story a few weeks ago.

Springfield Times Predicts the First Round of the NASBL Draft

Springield (AP) - Being that the Topes do not have a selection until the 31st pick in the NASBL draft as a result of a controversial mid-season trade to bring Rich Harden (who the Springfield press has labeled "a less talented version of Mark Prior") to the Topes fold, the Springfield Times has put together a mock first round to determine what the Topes will be missing out on. This year's draft talent may be the best in memory, with more than 30 players on the board having first round talent, making it one of the more difficult drafts to predict.
1. GCG
CF - B.J. Upton
The Grizz need outfielders badly…Upton is surprising #1 over Braun
2. GRK
3B/DH - Ryan Braun
Lefy pitchers will run and hide (or catchers will hold up four fingers)
3. NJT
1B - Carlos Pena
Not every year that production like this is available in the draft, let alone at #3
4. OJW
SS - Troy Tulowitzki
Omar's successor. Outlaw is happy to take him at #4
5. ILL
SP - Tim Lincecum
Young fireballer could be scary paired with Halladay for the Chows
6. PCM
OF - Hunter Pence
Will play LF for the Chin Music with Torii Hunter patrolling center
7. TRY
SP - John Maine
Will be the #2A of the staff behind Fausto and with the addition of Jared Weaver, will give the Haymakers the makings of a really good, really young staff
8. NYK
SP/RP - Yovani Gallardo
This level talent can't be passed up at #8
9. MSU
SP - Daisuke Matsuzaka
Dice-K would have been the #1 pick if the draft was held in April. Gyro-ball comes to Miami
10. LCC
Closer - Joakim Soria
All those bats don’t do you any good without a closer. This guy is one of the best and is only 23
11. LVI
OF - Delmon Young
21 years old. 2 at the cornes with a negative 4 arm. Wow
12. SPL
3B -Alex Gordon
The next George Brett? Allows Troy Glaus to be moved to DH where he belongs
13. ILL (via trade from VFS)
1B - James Loney
Honolulu wanted him, but Chows love the bat and glove
14. HHA
1B - Casey Kotchman
Stan's quest for 1's at every position gets closer to coming true
15. ILL (via Trade from SPR)
2B - Dustin Pedroia
On base machine will lead off for the Chows
16. DFW
CF - Chris Young
Just missed 30-30 in his rookie season. Great defensive Centerfielder

Fighting Sioux - Comparing 2007 and 2008 Teams

The Burlington Free Press

Much has been made (at least in this paper) of the talent drain in Vermont's dugout over the past off season. But in the interest of not being fodder for a future firejoemorgan.com column, we will take an objective look at the issue.

The 2007 version of the Vermont Fighting Sioux set a franchise record for victories with 93 and reached the Less Filling LCS. If VFS fans are to expect the same in '08, Sioux GM/Coach Justin Rabidoux will need to bring the loaded dice to each game.

By using Win Share calculations available at hardballtimes.com, the cloudy future becomes much clearer for our sabermetric fans.

The 2007 Sioux roster and Win Shares

1b Albert Pujols - 39
2b Robinson Cano - 18
ss Derek Jeter - 33
3b Ryan Zimmerman - 25
LF Emil Brown - 15
CF Mark Kotsay - 12
RF Brian Giles - 23
Ca Jorge Posada - 24
DH Carlos Delgado - 24
SP1 John Lackey - 17
SP2 Brett Myers - 11
SP3 Ervin Santana - 13
SP4 Jeff Suppan - 12
SP5 Aaron Cook - 11
Cl Billy Wagner - 12

Total '07 WS = 289

The 2008 Sioux roster and Win Shares

1b Pujols - 32
2b Cano - 21
ss Jeter - 24
3b Zimmerman - 21
LF Eric Byrnes - 26
CF Coco Crisp - 16
RF Casey Blake - 12
Ca Posada - 26
DH - Frank Thomas - 17
SP1 Lackey - 22
SP2 Suppan - 8
SP3 Cook - 10
SP4 Santana - 3
SP3 Miguel Batista - 12
Cl - Wagner - 11

Total '08 WS = 261

The '07 total was 289 and the '08 total is 261, for a difference of 28 WS. A WS equals 1/3 of a win meaning this year's version of the Sioux should expect a drop of 9 wins. That puts the Sioux win total in the mid-80s, which is familiar territory. Additionally, this analysis does not take into account bench and pitching depth beyond the scheduled starters. Expanding the analysis to look at this results in a dreary outlook in 2008; last year's Vermont team had a deep bullpen, solid bench and the luxury of low-inning starters Josh Johnson and Francisco Liriano who combined for a 17-8 record with a 3.70 ERA.


Vermont's roster stands at 16 players; the rest of the roster will be filled by one supplemental draft pick and 13 rookie/free agent draft selections (and don't forget there is no 1st round pick this year). To expect similar depth for this year's team is unrealistic, unlikely and just not gonna happen.

Bottom line - Vermont lost too much to injury, old age and diminishing skills (no steroids here Sen. Mitchell) to reach the 90 win mark again. 82-80 and no playoffs is the early preseason prediction which is sure to bring the boo birds out to the park this year.

Outlaw Welcomes Mike Napoli

Outlaw welcomes Mike Napoli as our first player addition in 2008. Mike's got the type of sweet right-handed power stroke, never subpeoned or Mitchell'd, that fits well in Wreckin' So Field. While some Outlaw wags questioned why the second overall Supp pick wasn't used to fill a bigger need or secure a player with better stats or who could contribute more playing time, Wales president Mark Hildebrant replied, "How often do you see a catcher who can hit right-handed pitching and not kill your defense available in the draft? Experience told me, when you see that, grab it! And given that Ramon Hernandez has been having terrible troubles in Winter ball, and that Mike is at that age where catchers often take their game up a notch, we decided to grab him. We'll be able to put his limited AB to good targeted use this year. Mike's power numbers climbed signigicantly throughout the latter part of his minor league career, giving hope to continued improvement as he gains major league experience.