[mikev]

N'Awlins News Volume 5 Offensive Preview

Heading into the 1995 season, the Crawdads are hoping that they can actually stay healthy. Injuries to key members of the team were killers last year, and the loss of Guam Fantomhorsfli in the outfield is tough. The team is leaning towards a retool/rebuild and cutting costs, especially since the Asskernels have a juggernaut built.

Catcher - Champ Kind

Kind was rated as the top offensive catcher in the Frick League last season. He hit .300, slugged .500, and even stole a base!!! His .836 OPS was good, and if he can manage to raise his OBP he will turn into a complete monster. We're hoping that he will continue his stellar production from a position that really doesn't have a lot of offensive studs.

First Base - Willie Williams

Williams blossomed after getting the hell out of Long Beach last season in the Donnie Rotten trade, bumping into a 9/5/8/7/7. This allowed the team to move Jack Dark and his 4 million dollar contract and slot Williams into the starting role at first. In limited time (227 ABs) last season, Williams put up a .344/.392/.559 line. 30 of his 78 hits were for extra bases. Williams is also rated very well as a defensive first baseman, so we're hoping that he'll stick around here for quite some time.

Second Base - Vic "Creole" Wood

One of the many Crawdad injury victims last year, Wood was primed for a breakout season before a broken foot sidelined him for six weeks in the middle of May. Wood hit about .290 last year, slugged .450, but his OBP was a pretty bad .324. He's really going to need to work on his plate discpline during Spring Training, as he is only in the lineup for his offense. His defense is not very good, and we have considered teadhing him first base and moving WIlliams to third

Third Base - Pepper Brooks.

Brooks sort of came out of nowhere last season to put up a pretty solid year. He tailed off towards the end of the season, but it was the first time he'd played consistantly in his professional career. Still, he hit .284/.323/.489 for an .812 OPS. Again, lack of plate discpline hurt, but he hit 22 homers, 24 doubles, and played a decent third base. He's actually a better second baseman, though, so a move might be in order if Creole Wood can handle the first base job.

Shortstop - Mike Diamond

Mike D. was aquired from Buffalo and expected to be a major part of the Crawdad's offense last season. Of course, he got hurt and missed all but 50 games last season, and might not be ready for the start of this year. A career line of .287/.351/.439 looks awfully good, and 24 of his 50 hits went for extra bases last year. Diamond is a fantastic fielder at four different positions, giving the team some flexiblity to move him around if needed. A full year of production from him will help what was a very mediocre offense in 1994.

Left Field - Archibald "Moonlight" Graham

Moonlight was another injury victim last season, however he wasn't hurt until September and the Crawdads were well out of the FLM race by then anyways. His average and OBP were slightly down from his career numbers last year (.260/.325 vs .279/.337), but Graham is still a spectacular corner outfielder defensively, and his production is good enough at the plate, especially given his very reasonable 1.9M contract. He's basically got just about everything an owner wants in a player. Recte, please bump him to superstardom, he really deserves it.

Center Field - Eric Davis

Davis, the high priced MLB defector from 2 years ago, did not disappoint last season as the Crawdad's center fielder. He hit .262/.344/.510 with 33 homers, 103 RBI, 100 runs scored, 29 doubles, and even 37 stolen bases. Clearly the team MVP, he returns looking to put up the same big numbers that he did last year. We're hoping that his production coupled with Mike D returning will be a formidiable combination in the middle of the order this season.

Right Field - Arthur Jagger

Aquired via trade with Long Beach for Jack Dark, Jagger will fill the hole left by the departure of Guam Fantomhorsfli to Buffalo. As a reserve outfielder last year in LBC, Jagger posted an outstanding .348/.376/.471 line. He is slotted as the starter this year, and it will be his first year of consistant playing time. Jagger project to mostly be a singles hitter who doesn't strike out a ton, but he plays very good defense in right field and shouldn't hurt the team at the plate. Realistically, he could equal most of Guam's production from last season minus the home runs.

Bench and Reserves

Christopher Crawford, OF - Crawford will see some starts in right field, primarily against left handed pitchers. He will also get plenty of pinch hit opportunites against lefties.

Porfirio Garza, IF - Garza will be used as primarily a defensive replacement for Vic Wood this year. He performed admirably as a full timer last year due to injuries, but really isn't cut out for it and is best when his time is limited.

Lemuel Mattis, C - Mattis, a New Orleans local favorite, performed well as the backup catcher last year. More of the same, as he's cheap, doesn't complain about playing time, and the fans love him. He'll also see pinch hitting duties against both left and right handers.