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Old 02-07-2009, 04:56 PM   #394
jamus23
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 896
Season in review: Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators (68-94)


Runs scored rank: 12th
Runs allowed rank: 22nd

Code:
Overall Batting: 
 
Name           POS   G  AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI   R  BB   K  AVG  OBP  SLG SB CS
A. Carrillo     RF 158 591 145 31  4 21 106  87  60 132 .245 .320 .418  3  2
C. Romero       CF 159 573 143 31  5 29  94 112 117  95 .250 .376 .473  9  6
C. Lei          3B 153 571 181 25  2 21  99  95  51  77 .317 .387 .478  8  3
D. Rosier       SS 156 566 116 27 10 29  83 113  93 156 .205 .325 .442 54 12
J. Constantino  LF 144 557 183 31  3  5  56  81  44  40 .329 .379 .422 20 13
D. Lane          C 153 523 152 23  1 35 113 117 116  68 .291 .422 .539  3  0
E. Schuh        1B 137 409 109 31  2 22  81  55  36 107 .267 .332 .513  1  0
J. Hise         1B 132 358  95 15  0  5  50  44  65  71 .265 .379 .349  1  0
R. Steele       RF 117 354  97 14  1  7  55  37  31  83 .274 .332 .379  0  1
R. Matamoros    2B 118 326  86 16  0  8  48  31  19  66 .264 .309 .387  2  0
A. Wolfe        2B 109 243  66 13  1  9  35  39  25  39 .272 .344 .444  1  4
E. Fudge         C  88 201  56 16  2  7  26  39  27  41 .279 .359 .483  9  8
K. Lillibridge  LF  81 158  50  9  4  2  19  31  13  42 .316 .368 .462 11  2
A. Vazquez      1B  50 111  22  5  0  0  11   2   5  18 .198 .233 .243  0  0
J. Miller       SS  46  84  11  4  1  0   3  10   5  22 .131 .189 .202  1  0
D. Lopez        3B  28  52   8  2  0  2   8   6   5  21 .154 .224 .308  0  0
R. Depaz        CF  26  31   4  2  0  0   4   3   3  13 .129 .229 .194  0  1
T. Olinger      SP  11  16   1  0  0  0   1   0   0  11 .063 .063 .063  0  1
T. Sullivan Jr. RF   9  10   2  0  0  0   0   3   0   5 .200 .200 .200  1  1
T. Sanchez      MR  10   2   0  0  0  0   0   0   0   0 .000 .000 .000  0  0


Code:
Overall Pitching: 
 
Name          G GS  W  L SV   ERA    IP  HA   R  ER  BB   K CG SH 
M. Urick     29 29 18  2  0  2.67 195.2 165  66  58  57 177  0  0 
M. Nuņez     34 34  8 14  0  6.36 174.0 171 134 123 118 131  0  0
H. Jimenez   33 30  8 15  0  6.98 172.2 248 138 134  56  77  3  1
R. Coy       24 24  6 13  0  7.23 122.0 159 106  98  82  81  1  0
M. Tsumemasa 62  0  8  8 21  4.50 104.0  78  58  52  79  78  0  0
C. Pasley    61  0  2  3  1  6.42 102.1 112  73  73  34  50  0  0
E. Braley    77  0  3  7  3  5.29 100.1  97  62  59  46  60  0  0
C. Schulz    60  0  5  2  2  5.21  96.2 122  59  56  37  42  0  0
T. Olinger   18 18  5 10  0  6.70  96.2 108  79  72  75  67  1  0
T. Sanchez   46  0  2  1  1  4.76  68.0  73  46  36  35  22  0  0
M. Hewitt    23  5  0  5  0 13.00  54.0  90  81  78  59  21  0  0
F. Margolis  10 10  1  5  0  9.53  45.1  47  50  48  50  26  1  1
E. Pabst     16  5  3  4  0  9.80  45.0  75  55  49  22  27  0  0
K. Kelley     8  6  1  4  1  9.46  32.1  42  35  34  38  13  0  0
S. Campana    6  6  0  4  0  5.91  32.0  47  23  21   3  21  1  0
J. Basham     5  5  0  2  0 14.88  16.1  37  28  27  13  11  0  0
M. Alvarez    5  0  0  0  0 14.21   6.1  13  10  10   7   5  0  0




Thoughts:

After making the playoffs two years in a row, this season was very disappointing for Nashville. It is the first 90-loss season for the Predators since 2076, and the first last place finish since 2069. A number of reasons contributed to the decline: ill-advised trades, injuries to key players, and under-performance by certain players.

The Good:

Offensively, the team wasn't too bad. Daniel Lane is one of the best catchers in the league, and he had yet another outstanding season to prove that. He had the 4th highest OPS among all catchers. Clarence Lei has quietly turned into a very steady performer at the hot corner for Nashville. His .865 OPS marked his third straight season with an .800+ OPS. Carlo Romero, Edward Schuh, and Jonathan Constantino all had solid campaigns as well, although Romero's .849 OPS was a rather large drop from last year's 1.010 total.

Mose Urick had a typically outstanding season, despite missing virtually all of April and most of May to injury. His ERA led the American League, and he tied for 6th in wins. By rights, he should win the Cy Young Award, although the voters may be swayed by the gaudy win total of someone like Denver's Kenny Pillsbury. If Urick did win, it would be his third in a row, and he would be the first AL pitcher to win three straight Cy Young Awards since Hall of Famer Robert Padgett won four in a row from 2048 to 2051. He is also the first AL pitcher to lead the league in ERA four years in a row since Padgett did it in that same '48-'51 period. Unfortunately, aside from Urick, there was nothing good about the Nashville pitching staff.

The Bad:

Veteran shortstop David Rosier saw his OPS plunge from .902 last year, to an uninspiring .767 this season. Talented young outfielders Alvin Carillo and Reginald Steele struggled with consistency, though Carillo at least finished strongly. Hopefully, that improvement will continue into next season. The team stuck with Jerry Hise at first base for far too long before finally picking up Schuh in a trade. Likewise, Ronald Matamoros saw way more action than he deserved.

I mentioned this last year, I believe, and again at the beginning of this season: the failure to find a decent number 2 starter after Urick would eventually cost Nashville. The Predators seemed to have one, in 25 year old Rene Romero, who posted a respectable 4.70 ERA last season, but before this season began, Nashville traded Romero to Knoxville for Carillo. While Romero posted a 4.18 ERA this year for the playoff-bound 79ers, Nashville had to deal with the Opening Day injury to Urick. Though Urick came back and pitched great, the team collapsed early and never recovered. Marco Nunez pitched like the 39 year old with control problems that he is. Scrap-heap pickups Hector Jimenez and Robert Coy pitched horribly. The bullpen was a nightmare, also.

Outlook:

Priority number one has to be resigning Mose Urick, who is set to become a free agent. If Urick walks, this team is likely to stay near the bottom of the division for awhile. However, there is reason for optimism, especially if Urick stays. The offense will remain the same, and guys like Carillo and Steele should improve with more experience. If Nashville could find that elusive number 2 starter, plus another decent starting pitcher, and 2 or 3 quality relievers, it should be ready to contend again. Again, though, easier said than done. Every team in the league could use another decent starter or two, but not every team is going to get them.
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