[Questdog]

Here's the Skinny on the Skunkbears

I promised that I would get rid of all the pains in the rumpus we had on our team and I have accomplished that and much more! I also got rid of everyone named "Tom". That was for deeply personal reasons that I do not want to divulge.

Editor's Note: A bug in OOTP caused too many players to get Tom for a name in the past. Markus has fixed the bug and it won't be an issue from here on out, but I got tired of all the derned Toms.

If you read through the list of trades I made, you will see that I gave away a lot more talent than I received. However, I think we will be able to score more runs than last year, at least relative to the rest of the League. Run scoring for everyone is going to be way down this year. Plus I finally convinced Mr Perkins, our team owner, that the short right field fence was hurting us more than helping us. We will still have a pretty good park for hitting, but it will not be a joke anymore. The home runs must be earned from now on.

Pitchers
Back in 1882, when I was the boss of the new Omaha Mutuals, Lee Sprague (28-3.5) won 41 games for me. My pitching staff this season does not have 41 career victories among them. We will have to see if trading Hurler Trophy winner Lou Townley (26-3.4) was a huge mistake or not.

Al Rice (23-7.6)
He was only 15-12 in his rookie season and his emergence into a star hurler is a prerequisite for us to succeed in repeating as Champions of the Liberty League. We can afford for most anyone else on the team to get hurt or have an off year, but not Rice. He absolutely must lead us to the promised land or we will not get there. I think he will do it or I would not have traded Townley, no matter his abrasive personality. Rice throws very hard and has impeccable control. In the practice games this Spring, hitters only hit .180 against him and he only walked 7 batters in 8 starts.

Dave Frazier (28-5.7)
Frazier was awesome last season in a limited role: he went 14-6 and had the lowest ERA in the League. We'll see if this lefty can have the same success in a much expanded role. He does not throw very hard, but has good control and is very smart in the pitcher's box.

Jiggs Niedermeyer (24-5.8)
Acquired in a trade with Cincinnati, he has never had a winning season in his professional career. He was 24-30 in the International League last year, but had great stats otherwise. He's still a rookie and had a great Spring, but if he falters we have several other candidates for the 3rd pitcher's spot at Syracuse, including Wild Bill Perrell (24-7.3) and Ed Price (24-5.7).

Catcher
Jimmy Babcock (31-6.9)
Jimmy never had hit much in his career until last season when he was hitting .324 until an injury in early August put him out for the rest of the season. But it is his catching ability that keeps him in our lineup and I really do not expect him to hit as well this season. Cliff Robinson (30-6.1) will be the #2 catcher. He is not nearly as good a receiver as Babcock, but is probably a better hitter. He has an especial knack for drawing walks and is also a pretty good runner for a catcher (Babcock is not).

First Base
Sam Cowan (32-5.1)
Cowan had an absolutely perfect season last year...literally. He went 2 for 2 with a triple, but broke is kneecap on Opening Day and missed the rest of the season. The year before he won the Batting Title. At 32, I was skeptical about his ability to recover from the injury, but this Spring he has been hitting like the Hit King of old, though while he sat out the season others passed his hit total and he is no longer the all-time Hit King.

Second Base
Ed Aldrich (24-6.8)
We gave up a lot to get the reigning 2-time GNA MVP onto our roster and he'll be playing out of position at second base (he's really suited best to third), but as a lead-off hitter, there is no one close to his ability. He scored an unbelievable 143 runs last year with Omaha and I know with the new rules he will not come close to that this season, but I still expect him to lead the League in runs scored. He led the GNA in both batting average and walks and was on base in almost half of his plate appearances.

Third Base
Jesse Flanders (27-5.4)
Part of the booty we got for Lou Townley, Flanders can hit with power, run a little and is a solid defender (1882 Gold Glove at Shortstop). His one drawback is that he strikes out quite a bit, but I can overlook that as power hitters have been rare in Detroit.

Shortstop
Ed Engelhardt (23-5.0)
More of the booty for Townley and SS Tom Nelson (21-6.6), he had a pretty good year as a rookie last season (though not as good as Nelson). I expect him to grow as a hitter this year and especially to learn how to take a pitch every once in a while. He is a solid defender and an excellent base runner. He stole 22 bases last year and was only caught 4 times.

Left Field
Al Lewis (22-9.1)
His rookie season last year was not all that pretty and I originally planned to have him start out at Syracuse this year, but he knocked the cover off the ball in the Spring games. He led the team in extra-base hits and RBI's and tied for the team lead in runs scored. So he will start in left and even if he does not hit, having his joyful personality around is a major plus, as is his ability to pitch in emergency situations.

Center Field
Fred Negus (24-6.7)
He came over in the trade that brought us Aldrich from Omaha. He has good range, but makes a few too many errors and does not have much of an arm at all. He also does not hit for any power. However, he hits for a good average, draws a few walks and is one of the smartest and most prolific base stealers in baseball. Last year, he pilfered 59 bases and was only caught 11 times. Fred Bianco (29-6.9) and rookie Ren Dunbar (24-6.8) will be the backup outfielders and either one of them could end up as the full-time center fielder if Negus proves unworthy.

Right Field
Ben Smith (28-6.7)
My plan was to move Smith back to left where he is more comfortable, but Lewis' Spring showing has Smith back in right where his arm is a bit of a liability. It is not weak, but not what I would want ideally in my right fielder. Once again, he hit for squat in the practice games, but if he can approach the 15 home runs, 90 RBIs and 31 steals (with only 4 times caught) that he produced last season, I will be tickled pink.

Some of the players who did not make the final cut may seem a bit surprising: 1B/3B/RF Dave Odekirk (23-6.5) - Lewis in left field left him with no position, but I am pretty sure that his services will be called upon sometime before the season is over. He had a solid, if unspectacular rookie season in Louisville last year, but as an amateur he showed prodigious power potential. 2B Reddy Daley (24-6.8) - I expected our 1st pick in the December draft to step right in and take over at second, but after he struck out 5 times in his 1st 12 at bats I knew he would need a little seasoning at Syracuse. Hopefully not too much, because he is already 24.

So, I have taken a huge gamble in getting rid of some players that I feel very confidently are going to become big stars. Especially all the Toms: Nelson, Duncan, Trever and Panozzo. Jocko Cole, Lou Townley and Ed Bush were pretty fine players, too. But our clubhouse is going to be a much happier place to hangout. And I am fairly confident that we have enough talent here to win the Championship as long as Al Rice becomes a Hurler Trophy candidate. It all comes down to that. And if we fail, I have won 5 straight pennants as a manager and I guess I am due for an off season sooner or later.

See you on Opening Day!

Bartholomew Levy
April 19, 1888