LOUISVILLE COLONELS
Saturday, July 1, 2006
As you can see in the team rankings, we have achieved a better balance on the team this year. I would still like to see the defense a little higher in the rankings. I think the home runs will be there in the second half as Brown, Bland, and Simon hit their quotas.
The lineup is a work in progress, but I like this one with the speed at the top. Byrne would prefer to bat Simon #1, Hartman #2, Dominguez #3, and John #7. I like John better in the #2 spot because of his low strikeout total. Hartman still has work to do on his game, but he is only 22 years old. I still envision Simon settling in at the bottom part of the order and driving in runs for us. Dominguez could swap with Simon eventually but I am playing the hot hand in the #3 spot at the moment.
I can’t say enough good things about Aaron Wilkerson. He has been a great fifth starter and gives me the luxury of keeping Juan Hernandez at AAA to work on his stuff and control. Enriquez says that Hernandez needs to bring his stuff up a notch to compete at the big league level. He has 101 K’s in 96 IP at AAA, so maybe he is making progress.
You may notice that closer George King is injured with a diagnosis pending. That just happened yesterday and has not been reported yet. If King is seriously injured, the contingency plan at closer is Edgardo Garza, the best overall candidate for the job. Brooks has better strikeout potential and Jones is also an option, but Garza deserves the first chance because he has more experience. A year ago, I would have moved O’Daniel into the role but I have better younger options now.
I will let my favorite blogger (CBATradeRumors.com) make some points about the team in the next post, and you can just peruse these stats on your own as you wish. I do want to point out a couple of minor things.
Backup catcher Rich Stanley was the starter for Salt Lake City prior to the trade, so his stats reflect his activity there. He will be a free agent after this season, but he is anxious to sign a contract extension with us at a very reasonable price. It will likely happen soon.
You will notice some high at bat totals for reserves due in part to various injuries but also a determined effort to get the bench players in the lineup once or twice per week. I hope this will pay off late in the season in the form of fresh and healthy starters.