Tweet
Washington Bats (98-64) - Stout Division Champion
WHAT WENT RIGHT:
- Back to Back Stout Champions - 1983, 1984, 1986 and now 1987. Once considered an underdog in the division when I took over in 1979, Washington has clearly become the Stout's power. Lead the entire league in wins.
- Starters - I finished 2nd in the league in starters ERA as well as team ERA, in most part, thanks to the starters. That is a pretty big accomplishment all things considered. I went with a 6-man rotation for the season to try and keep my older veterans healthy and still managed to be second in the league.
- Miguel Angel Padilla - I knew he was going to be good, but I wasn't sure how good he would be or if it would be this soon. MAP turned 22 just last month. If Robbie Shannon didn't have the year he did, MAP would likely be the Washington Bats 2nd Stout Slugger.
- Mid-Season Deals - My biggest need at the deadline this year was relief pitching. I traded for Pittsburgh closer Martin Carlton. While he wasn't pleased to be moved from closer to middle relief, "Eager Beaver" dominated. 1.96 ERA, .87 WHIP, 39 K, 5 BB, 36.2 IP. He is locked up for a few more seasons.
I also traded former face of the franchise Joe Sierra to Maine in exchange for Eddie O'Fallon. He was a big improvement for me over Sierra, but Ol' Joe found his swing again in Maine. I re-signed O'Fallon to a big deal and got rid of Sierra's contract. He might flourish in a change of scenery but Sierra had become a lazy hitter in Washington and had to go.
- Robert Abbott - I did not expect Abbott to be called up this early, but due to injuries the organizations top prospect made his debut early in the summer of 1987. The rookie (now #3 overall prospect in the BLB), hit .318, with 31 SBs, 67 R, 47 RBI in 105 games. Similar to MAP, would have likely been an award winner this year if someone in California (Wilkerson) didn't have a monster year.
- Russ McEvoy - My #1 FA target paid off big time. While other teams waited for demands to go down, I struck early and landed the best SP of the bunch. McEvoy finished 16-8 with a 2.40 ERA. He is now the face of the staff.
WHAT WENT WRONG:
- Injuries - Currently at the BLB level, I have eight players injured. Eight! In the opening round of the playoffs, due to injury, I was without my #2, #3 and #4 SPs, (Joe Chavarraga, Romano Gonzalez, Cristofor Villazon), my closer (Grant Lewis), my RF (Dave Robbins), my CF who replaced Robbins in the lineup (Larry Fitzsymons) and my OF defensive replacement and pinch runner specialist (Carlos Bamentos). This doesn't even include the injuries that I had to key players during the season, namely Michio Nago and R.A. Grounds.
- Dave Robbins - Traded for in the off-season, the acquisition has been a bust. Not so much what I had to give up, a late 1st round pick and an Organization top 20 prospect, for Robbins and $16,000,000....but the production I got. He wasn't terrible, .743 OPS, 9.5 VORP, but he hit only .211 and suited up for just 105 games. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he returns to form because I have him under contract for three more years.
- Most of the Pen - One of my teams downfalls early in the season was the 'pen. While they finished 6th in the IL, not awful, there were good individuals...but a lot of duds early on. Plus, for the first half of the season I think I was 9th or 10th, despite being about 10 games better in the standings then the next team in the IL.
- Power Outage - I finished 10th in the IL in homeruns despite MAP hitting 30 of them. Murdock had 19, Robbins 13, Nago 7, Summers 6....I lost a lot of games this season by two runs or so, despite having about double the base runners than the opposing team.
OUTLOOK FOR 1988
If we fastforward to opening day...
Lineup:
1) Michio Nago (CF)
2) Robert Abbott (2B)
3) Eddie O'Fallon (1B)
4) Miguel Angel Padilla (LF)
5) Mike Murdock (C)
6) Dave Robbins (RF)
7) R.A. Grounds (SS)
8) Pete Summers/Xalbador Ansoategui (3B)
9) -Pitcher-
Rotation:
1) Russ McEvoy
2) Joe Rodriguez
3) Joe Zazueto
4) Ryan Vest
5) Jody Kurtz
Bullpen:
MR1) Martin Carlton
MR2) Caleb Alston
MR3) Cristian Ramirez
SU1) River Matthews
SU2) Takejiro Ito
CL) Grant Lewis
What?! Where is Joe Chavarraga? Where is Romano Gonzalez? Where is Cristofor Villazon? The pocket aces are just about done in D.C. Gonzalez is willing to re-sign, but I think it is time to get younger with the staff. Chavarraga has a mutual (or maybe team) for '88 at $8,000,000 but like Gonzo, it might be time to get young. Villazon, while no spring chicken, will remain with the team in 1988, and likely be the #2 starter, but he is out with injury for seven months. Kurtz? Zazueto? Vest? No...this isn't going to be the Bats of old. The days of top notch SP are over. Definitely a position of interest for the off-season, but the looming free-agents look to be overpriced and old. Might have to make do with what I have in the organization.
FINAL THOUGHTS
-Great season, amazing first half, terrible finish. I knew this team was old, especially in the rotation, so I went with the 6-man. It worked for about 90% of the season, then the old-timers hit a wall and got hurt. A tough year to swallow. Spent a ton of money. Traded picks and prospects. Lead the league in wins. Lost in a game 7. Haven't made in back to the Brewmaster's Championship game since winning it in 1983. Once one of the leagues premier pitching franchises, lead by a veteran staff, is slowly becomming one of the leagues younger teams lead by a lineup full of potential.
WHAT WENT RIGHT:
- Back to Back Stout Champions - 1983, 1984, 1986 and now 1987. Once considered an underdog in the division when I took over in 1979, Washington has clearly become the Stout's power. Lead the entire league in wins.
- Starters - I finished 2nd in the league in starters ERA as well as team ERA, in most part, thanks to the starters. That is a pretty big accomplishment all things considered. I went with a 6-man rotation for the season to try and keep my older veterans healthy and still managed to be second in the league.
- Miguel Angel Padilla - I knew he was going to be good, but I wasn't sure how good he would be or if it would be this soon. MAP turned 22 just last month. If Robbie Shannon didn't have the year he did, MAP would likely be the Washington Bats 2nd Stout Slugger.
- Mid-Season Deals - My biggest need at the deadline this year was relief pitching. I traded for Pittsburgh closer Martin Carlton. While he wasn't pleased to be moved from closer to middle relief, "Eager Beaver" dominated. 1.96 ERA, .87 WHIP, 39 K, 5 BB, 36.2 IP. He is locked up for a few more seasons.
I also traded former face of the franchise Joe Sierra to Maine in exchange for Eddie O'Fallon. He was a big improvement for me over Sierra, but Ol' Joe found his swing again in Maine. I re-signed O'Fallon to a big deal and got rid of Sierra's contract. He might flourish in a change of scenery but Sierra had become a lazy hitter in Washington and had to go.
- Robert Abbott - I did not expect Abbott to be called up this early, but due to injuries the organizations top prospect made his debut early in the summer of 1987. The rookie (now #3 overall prospect in the BLB), hit .318, with 31 SBs, 67 R, 47 RBI in 105 games. Similar to MAP, would have likely been an award winner this year if someone in California (Wilkerson) didn't have a monster year.
- Russ McEvoy - My #1 FA target paid off big time. While other teams waited for demands to go down, I struck early and landed the best SP of the bunch. McEvoy finished 16-8 with a 2.40 ERA. He is now the face of the staff.
WHAT WENT WRONG:
- Injuries - Currently at the BLB level, I have eight players injured. Eight! In the opening round of the playoffs, due to injury, I was without my #2, #3 and #4 SPs, (Joe Chavarraga, Romano Gonzalez, Cristofor Villazon), my closer (Grant Lewis), my RF (Dave Robbins), my CF who replaced Robbins in the lineup (Larry Fitzsymons) and my OF defensive replacement and pinch runner specialist (Carlos Bamentos). This doesn't even include the injuries that I had to key players during the season, namely Michio Nago and R.A. Grounds.
- Dave Robbins - Traded for in the off-season, the acquisition has been a bust. Not so much what I had to give up, a late 1st round pick and an Organization top 20 prospect, for Robbins and $16,000,000....but the production I got. He wasn't terrible, .743 OPS, 9.5 VORP, but he hit only .211 and suited up for just 105 games. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he returns to form because I have him under contract for three more years.
- Most of the Pen - One of my teams downfalls early in the season was the 'pen. While they finished 6th in the IL, not awful, there were good individuals...but a lot of duds early on. Plus, for the first half of the season I think I was 9th or 10th, despite being about 10 games better in the standings then the next team in the IL.
- Power Outage - I finished 10th in the IL in homeruns despite MAP hitting 30 of them. Murdock had 19, Robbins 13, Nago 7, Summers 6....I lost a lot of games this season by two runs or so, despite having about double the base runners than the opposing team.
OUTLOOK FOR 1988
If we fastforward to opening day...
Lineup:
1) Michio Nago (CF)
2) Robert Abbott (2B)
3) Eddie O'Fallon (1B)
4) Miguel Angel Padilla (LF)
5) Mike Murdock (C)
6) Dave Robbins (RF)
7) R.A. Grounds (SS)
8) Pete Summers/Xalbador Ansoategui (3B)
9) -Pitcher-
Rotation:
1) Russ McEvoy
2) Joe Rodriguez
3) Joe Zazueto
4) Ryan Vest
5) Jody Kurtz
Bullpen:
MR1) Martin Carlton
MR2) Caleb Alston
MR3) Cristian Ramirez
SU1) River Matthews
SU2) Takejiro Ito
CL) Grant Lewis
What?! Where is Joe Chavarraga? Where is Romano Gonzalez? Where is Cristofor Villazon? The pocket aces are just about done in D.C. Gonzalez is willing to re-sign, but I think it is time to get younger with the staff. Chavarraga has a mutual (or maybe team) for '88 at $8,000,000 but like Gonzo, it might be time to get young. Villazon, while no spring chicken, will remain with the team in 1988, and likely be the #2 starter, but he is out with injury for seven months. Kurtz? Zazueto? Vest? No...this isn't going to be the Bats of old. The days of top notch SP are over. Definitely a position of interest for the off-season, but the looming free-agents look to be overpriced and old. Might have to make do with what I have in the organization.
FINAL THOUGHTS
-Great season, amazing first half, terrible finish. I knew this team was old, especially in the rotation, so I went with the 6-man. It worked for about 90% of the season, then the old-timers hit a wall and got hurt. A tough year to swallow. Spent a ton of money. Traded picks and prospects. Lead the league in wins. Lost in a game 7. Haven't made in back to the Brewmaster's Championship game since winning it in 1983. Once one of the leagues premier pitching franchises, lead by a veteran staff, is slowly becomming one of the leagues younger teams lead by a lineup full of potential.
Comment