What’s the point in the first and second teams in a division having a playoff? They’ve played 162 games to determine first and second. I’m not a fan of unnecessarily bloating playoffs, or the wild card for that matter.
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Originally Posted by Questdog
We have a first baseman that has played every game since he's been on the team, so that is not an option......
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As we are already pointing at the 32-year old white elephant in the room, we can also talk about him. In the late 80s, Tetsu Osanai was rated a 17/14/9 for a few years, and his defense was a 7 or 8 (out of 20), none of which changed a lot while we changed scouts more often than our underpants. We have noticed his defense fall apart for a few years now, and his offense was more so-so for two years (measured against his previous success) with a sub-.300 batting average in 1990 and a poor power output (14 HR) in 1991.
New scout Guerra has re-rated him 13/10/9 now. He rates his defense a 2. OSA had him 12/9/9 in a fall update, which has not changed in the January 1, 1992 report.
The really bad part is this: Tetsu is due $5.5M over the next five years. So, yeah, we have a first baseman with 1,030 consecutive starts at his position, but he looks to be aging quickly. I also think, he’s gaining weight. I don’t track weights at all, but … I don’t know for sure.
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The Raccoons enter January looking for an infielder and a starting pitcher. There were a few veteran SP’s left, including Bastyao Caixinha and Judd Montgomery (yeah, the Loggers can’t even hold on to their ONE credible pitcher, that franchise is in a truly sorry state and ought to be moved to Siberia…), but their demands were a bit too high for my taste and they were also all type A free agents. We still had some money left from the budget increase, but I didn’t want to add another 5-yr, $4M contract. Unless he breaks a leg, O-Mo will be arbitration eligible in 1992, and the same is true for Albert Matthews. And that is on top of all the other salaries. Our payroll is – as of January 1 – at $8.3M for players only, 14th in the league. Yes, our budget ranks 5th now. I cut something off player development recently and I want to shoot more cash into there again now.
There *was* about $1M left to spend in the coffers, though.
You know which two teams have the smallest budgets, just over $9M? The Loggers are one, and the other team is – shockingly enough – the big-market Crusaders!
January 5 – Ex-CHA SP Bastyao Caixinha (82-80, 3.35 ERA) becomes a Pacific by signing a 6-yr, $4.62M contract.
January 9 – The Capitals find ways to actually further improve their team with the addition of ex-SFB OF Diego Rodriguez (.294, 60 HR, 543 RBI). The 30-year old receives a 3-yr, $1.71M contract.
January 10 – The Stars sign INF Alberto Reyes (.263, 34 HR, 305 RBI) to a 1-yr, $272k deal. The Raccoons receive a supplemental round draft pick.
January 12 – The Falcons acquire 20-yr old prospect SP Ernest Fleming from the Warriors, sending over MR Brit Osborne.
January 13 – The Canadiens sign ex-TOP SP Arnold McCray (114-108, 3.17 ERA) to a 4-yr, $3.76M contract. McCray has always suffered from poor run support in Topeka.
January 16 – Journeyman closer Andres Ramirez (59-69, 2.56 ERA, 465 SV) lands in Indy for this season, signing a 1-yr, $650k contract.
January 22 – The Raccoons and Crusaders strike a deal, sending 30-yr old SP Raimundo Beato to Portland, while New York receives 30-yr old LF/RF Raul Castillo and prospect RF Alfonso Rojas.
January 27 – Dallas inks ex-VAN SP Tia Fa (75-71, 3.35 ERA), who lost 17 games last year, for 6-yr, $3.78M.
January 29 – The Bayhawks and Aces trade veterans as C Didier Bourges heads for the Bay and OF Zahid Mashwanis is sent to the desert. Mashwanis, 32, has been more successful in his career than the 31-yr old Bourges, but his best years are already gone for some time.
January 31 – At age 35, once-a-Coon 3B Cameron Green gets another payday, $1.71M over three years from the Warriors. Green has a career .246 batting clip with 112 HR and 658 RBI.
“Pooky” Beato is an excellent addition to the bottom end of our rotation. He can really be a #3, but I see him more in the #4/#5 region given the talent we have assembled. He spent a long time with the Canadiens before the Crusaders gave him a 6-yr, $4.02M payday. Four years of that contract are still left to pay at $670k apiece. We unload add-on outfielder Castillo, who made only three appearances for us last July before getting hurt, and a prospect that is too far away to help us in the next two or three years, which will be a key time for the team. If we want to win big, we don’t have many years left with our young talent reaching free agency after the 1994/95 seasons. “Pooky” by the way has stuff in him. He won 21 games in ’88 for VAN, and K’s about 150 a year.
But I have said that everything will fall to pieces for the last eight years, and we have not had an entirely dismal season since. Of course, the new $15.9M budget helps a great deal.
Vicente Guerra dug out an 18-year old Venezuelan shortstop in Conceicao Guerin while down there this month. He could develop in a strong, if defensive, shortstop. Or into nuthin’. He was inked, with a 4-star potential asserted by Guerra. It’s your job, Vince, you know best how to lose it.
If you remember, back in 1977 I couldn’t decide between CL Andres Ramirez and our Daniel Hall as our first draft pick. Ramirez would have been a more healthy pick over the last 15 years, but we have Grant West and everything came up crisp in that regard.
With two months to go, we could use some middle infield-capable backup in addition to Matt Duncan, who may start the season with the Raccoons. Duncan, 25, hit .303 last year in 33 AB, which is not the level he will at over a full season, but he gives us strong defense for all four infield positions off the bench, a left-handed bat, and can also play outfield if necessary (left so-so, right more-less-so, and center better not-at-all). Duncan may only hit .220 over a full season, though, so our final infielder should pack a punch. We could throw in a right-handed reliever with Daniel Miller basically ready to join the team for Opening Day. But which one? Lagarde and Martinez are no-no’s, so we are looking at Matthews and Carrillo. Miller can’t really do long relief, so we may *really* look at Matthews to be traded …?