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Old 12-21-2019, 03:17 PM   #855
BirdWatcher
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What's wrong with the San Antonio Keys?

(Sorry to be so late with this, Palaaemon- last few days got crazy busy so just getting to it now.)

A few short seasons ago it appeared that the San Antonio Keys were a team on the rise in the Shoeless Joe League.
They had the consensus best catcher in the league in Erik Buonopane. They had probably the best hitting second baseman in Jared Hancock. And they had two young stars on the rise in Joe Brodeur and Bud Lindsay.

So here we are, a few years later, and every one of those stars still wears the Key's uniform. And the team languishes in 10th place, tied with the Pittsburgh Roadrunners, 27 games behind the league leading Columbus Whalers.

What gives?

Well, it might be easy to blame it on the team chemistry being tainted by both Joe Brodeur and 25-year old shortstop Oscar Pereida being, well, jerks, and disruptive influences in the clubhouse. And certainly the fact that Brodeur spent the first half of the season sidelined by a drug suspension didn't help.
But this team also has multiple captains and sparkplugs. Even with the oft-injured Lindsay now on the IL again for the rest of the season (and yes, that will hurt moving forward, but doesn't explain the bad record up to now), the team still has two captains in third baseman Norm Howard, acquired from Phoenix in a mid-July trade, and starting pitcher Sam Jones. And they have three hard-working sparkplugs setting the tone, led by the great Jared Hancock. Outspoken center fielder Zach McClelland, especially given how angry he currently with the team's play and indeed his own on-field performance, probably doesn't help the chemistry. But it's hard to imagine that chemistry alone is the issue.

What about ownership and the fiscal realities of the team? Well, the owner, 64-year old Nick Halliburton (no, seriously, his name is Halliburton!), is an interesting mix of extremely patient while prioritizing winning and taking a very active role (some would call it interfering) in the everyday running (ruining?) of the team, and being very controlling fiscally. Probably not the best mix, but not necessarily a recipe for disaster either. And while the team only has the 11th highest budget, they are 6th in payroll, and play in a very big market with strong fan loyalty, and in spite of their continued disappointing play, fan interest remains pretty high. They are currently 11th in the WPK in attendance. Not great, but not bad. They have money. This isn't the problem.
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Okay, what about the obvious? That pitching staff. It's pretty bad. The bullpen is just okay and the rotation is simply bad. But they don't get much help from the defense either, which is one of the worst in the league. So maybe we can lay the blame here and move on? Well, there is blame to be laid here, but is that the whole story?
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Probably not. They are 5th in runs scored, which is in the top half of the league, but only 8th in OBP, 7th in batting WAR, 6th in HR's. They are a very good running team- 4th in stolen bases and 2nd in base running. But let's face it, for a team with multiple offensive superstars, these numbers are underwhelming.
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The fact is, stars don't make a big league ball club. This team lacks depth and it is hurting them.
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So ultimately, really, the answer to the question "what's wrong with the San Antonio Keys?" is: they just aren't very good.
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Last edited by BirdWatcher; 12-21-2019 at 03:20 PM.
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