Recapping the 1954 Season
So as I had mentioned, we started the year and I was very much concerned about our starting pitching. I felt like that was what was holding us down last year and outside of SP Dan Floyd, closer Pat Wright and his setup man RP Larry Stott, I had no real ideas where this group would led us.
To start the season this was our top 5 in the rotation
#1 SP Dan Floyd was by far and away our #1 SP. He had come off a season where he went 16-4 with a 2.81 ERA at the age of 38. He was entering the last year of his contract ($14 million originally was 4 years and $56 million). He is very financially ambitious and Floyd was looking for a 4 year deal that would pay him around $90-100 million for his age 40-43 seasons. That was a tough pill to swallow for me, who tends to be very age concerned especially with pitchers.
#2 SP Joe Johnson (25) who had a career record of 8-11 with a 4.53 ERA. He was pretty solid as a rookie mostly RP in 2052, but assumed more of a starting role in 2053 starting in 28 games (29 total) and was 3-8 with a 5.20 ERA. Not exactly numbers that scream #2 starter, but he had a fantastic spring 1.13 ERA so we decided to see what he could do early in the season. Johnson ended up being a huge surprise for the 2054 season going 15-5 with a 4.19 ERA.
#3 SP John Moore (24 who just celebrated his birthday at the start of the season April 11th). Moore was a 2nd year pitcher who was the #27 prospect as of June 2053. In his rookie season he was 8-4 with a 4.95 ERA (92 ERA+) and was a good back of the rotation arm. Problem was he would be sidelined for the rest of the season after a 4-2 4.32 ERA (105 ERA+) start to the 2054 season.
#4 JJ Walker (soon to be 28 after the start of the season) Walker who was signed as a low budget free agent signing in the off-season had pitched in the Thunder Bay organization but was orginally a 2nd round draft pick (2044) of the Toledo Neptunes. He eventually rose up to the #50 prospect in April 2050. Surprisingly perhaps he became a minor league free agent after the 2050 season. He pitched in parts of 3 seasons with TB (51-53) and compiled a 5-12 won/loss record with a 4.13 ERA starting 54 games. He signed an FA deal in February 2054 for $950,000. Walker was another pleasant surprise starting 20 games and appearing in 26 total. He was 7-8 with a 4.16 ERA that would earn him a deal in the off-season at what we hope are team friendly rates.
#5 SP Francisco Perez (32) signed a 1 year $1.7 million dollar deal after pitching for us in the 2053 season. His numbers as a starter were not electric by any means in 53 (7-15 5.01 ERA) which is why he was not immediately re-signed. He had some success earlier in his career in Duluth with a 79-106 record with 3 saves and a career ERA of 3.91 in 1580 IP. Unforuntately he hadn't shown anywhere close to that form last year with us, but we gave him another shot with the show me $1.7 million dollar deal. Francisco was great in the MR role as he pitched to a 2.61 ERA in 48.1 IP in 30 relief appearances. We would like to find a way to keep him, but he has higher role and money aspirations.
Now you can see the reasons that I was hugely concerned with our starting rotation. Al Pellerin was starting in the bullpen after a spring injury and I still wasn't convinced of his ability to start. The contract extension we gave him was more out of fear, than good business sense. The previous seasons we had Floyd, Moss, Pellerin and not much else. We choose to not re-sign Moss and gave Pellerin a deal, which I had regretted. In the 2054 season, for the same money although in separate trades, we basically got Bill Lutz for Pellerin. I like Lutz much better.
The off-season prior to the 2054 season was largely a bust as far as the pitching staff went. We had spent big money on free agent OF Jim Ashley (34) to the tune of a 4-year deal worth $20 million each of the first 3 years with a team option $22 million in 2057.
We had passed on re-signing P Dave Moss (39) who signed a 1 year deal with Thunder Bay for $7 million. Moss had pitched in Chicago in my first season 2052 and was less than spectacular.
SP Terry Noble (36) would have been a good option to go after, but after signing Ashley, and concerns about his age we passed. He signed a 1 year deal with Thunder Bay for $18.3 million.
There were not any other "big" free agent" pitcher signings prior to the 2054 season.
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Truth be told I had done a poor job when I started this league of reviewing things such as settings. Players develop a bit quicker in this league and age a bit slower. So my misguided thoughts on veteran pitchers in particular, didn't necessary translate to the GLBL. Truth be told I am still learning some of the nuances of this very fun and entertaining league.
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These were the reasons why during the season we went all out to sign 4 pitchers who would make a huge impact on our club. And as you will see, 3 of those 4 will stay with us into the 2055 season. It would cost us though a long time starter for us.......who wanted 4 years and $96 million....