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The Mashers played sub-.500 ball over the second half of the season, finishing firmly out of the playoffs at 79-83. An improvement over last season but this team needs legitimate upgrades to actually go anywhere.
The positives:
-Griffey Jr. and Maddox led the conference in doubles with 55 apiece. Maddox also hit .284 and somehow drove in 63 runs from the leadoff spot, and blew away the competition in CF with a +29.3 ZR, while also leading in range factor and defensive efficiency. If he doesn't win a gold glove I'm rioting.
-The middle of the order was productive. Particularly productive was Colavito, who slashed .283/.372/.531, leading ALL LF in pretty much every single important power category. I'm hoping he'll get the silver slugger he deserves this time; he even outperformed someone's perfect Hank Aaron. Easily the best collection mission I've done despite having to shell out 15k to lock Jimmy Piersall to my roster.
-Kirby Yates saved 30 games and recorded a 2.68 ERA. Rick Rhoden shockingly went 15-11 with a 3.64 ERA and trailed only staff ace Tom Seaver in IP.
-Kell and Grote continued to carve out niche roles in the offense, getting their fair share of hits.
-In total the Mashers led the conference in ZR at +40 and were 7th in runs scored. The team is one PP windfall (perfect Boudreau, perhaps?) away from fixing the starting rotation and making a new home in Perfect. Tournaments beginning next week may make this more feasible.
The negatives:
-Max Muncy needs to go.
-Live gold and silver pitchers are excruciatingly hard to watch.
Sending good vibes to all those still battling for a league trophy.
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