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I was very pleased overall with the progress made in our rebuilding project and 81-81 record. The offense was fine as we finished 2nd to Washington in the IL in scoring. The pitching was less satisfactory but it is at least clear where we need to improve.
The infield was solid all around and appears to be set for several years to come barring serious injury. Everyone contributed offensively - 1B Kenichi Sato .302/.349/.465, 2B Len John .291/.356/.409, 3B Vern Branch .306/.398/.433 and SS Ivan Solis and IL batting champ .322/.364/.431. We've also got rookie Victor Fernandez who struggled early but showed increased productivity the last two months of the season. He could push John for the starting 2B job next season.
The situation in the OF is a little more difficult to judge. Ivan Arellano, .259/.348/.491 produced a fine rookie campaign which included 30 HRs and 101 RBIs. I am a little concerned that Arellano could be a good candidate for a sophmore slump. I noticed that in the middle of the sesaon he dropped entirely off the BA-top-100 list though he remained on my top-prospect list. That could be cause for concern and I have no good explanation for it since he continued to produce at a high level.
My second best OF performer was 34 year-old journeyman Scott Neville, .254/.314/.471 who produced 69 EBHs in 543 ABs. I'll take it. Neville hit a remarkable .317/.386/.672 against LH pitching and anchored our line up when we facied a southpaw. What I wish we had was one more just like him only who hammers righties instead.
The thrid OF position was perhaps our weakest link. Three players logged significnat playing time besides Neville and Arellano. Steve Bing .274/.333/.407 is probably the favorite to win a starting spot nest season. Disappointing was Raul Perez who logged a .773 OPS the prior year but managed only .230/.297/.380 this season. Ton Schevallis also logged 199 ABs and was somewhat better than Perez at .236/.320/.442 as he displayed some XBH potential especially late in the season.
It is likely that Vern Branch will get some playing time in RF (where he already has a rating)during spring training with the idea of possibly moving John to 3B and giving the 2B job to Fernandez.
Once we finally managed to sign FA Clint Lance in early June our catching was acceptable. He hit only .240/.342/.350 but he produced his usual fine defense throwing out 46.7% of opposing base stealers. I had hoped to resign Lance to an additional year and even though he backed off his initial demand of $36 million over two years his current demand of $26 million over 2 years is still not in the ballpark. The catching job will probably go to highly regarded prospect Manny Cisneros who hit .313/.368/.534 for our AAA affiliate. Cisneros' stock has been rising lately at BA as he is now the 13th prospect.
The starting pitching was anchored by 23 year-old Jerry Sizmore 15-9, 3.00 but the remainder of the rotation is in doubt at this time. Both Jud Graham 7-9, 3.75 and Jared Fields 3-8, 4.79 spent some serious time on the DL and though my scout liked both a season or two ago the injuries appear to have taken a toll as he doesn't like either much now. We hope to resign late season FA acquisition Fernando Ascencio who went 3-1, 2.16 with 27 Ks and 6 BBs in 33.1 innings but there are concerns about his less-than-stellar resume. Also likely to earn a spot in next season's rotation is newcomer Victor Brousseau obtained in a deadline trade with Dallas. Brousseau went 5-1, 2.11 in 6 regular AAA starts after his acquistion though he got roughed up in the post season by the Wilmington affiliate. Swing man Pete Collins, 3-6, 3.54 in 18 starts and 33 relief appearances will also compete for a rotation spot. We have a young and inexpensive team with plenty of FA money to sling around and it is likely that we will be competing seriously for a another starter or even two come free agency.
The bullpen was a serious weak spot as they let quite a few late inning leads slip away. FA acquisition Tsunayoshi Sato 3-3, 3.75 was a disappointment as our closer notching just 30 saves. Both Joe Aguilara 9-3, 3.25 and mid-season acquisition Roger Simonds, 7-2, 3.54 were good more often than not but the less said about the rest of the pen the better. Fortunately we have several highly regarded prospects in AAA, who appear to be ready for the bigs so I am planning to count on them and focus my FA $ on the starting pitching.
The infield was solid all around and appears to be set for several years to come barring serious injury. Everyone contributed offensively - 1B Kenichi Sato .302/.349/.465, 2B Len John .291/.356/.409, 3B Vern Branch .306/.398/.433 and SS Ivan Solis and IL batting champ .322/.364/.431. We've also got rookie Victor Fernandez who struggled early but showed increased productivity the last two months of the season. He could push John for the starting 2B job next season.
The situation in the OF is a little more difficult to judge. Ivan Arellano, .259/.348/.491 produced a fine rookie campaign which included 30 HRs and 101 RBIs. I am a little concerned that Arellano could be a good candidate for a sophmore slump. I noticed that in the middle of the sesaon he dropped entirely off the BA-top-100 list though he remained on my top-prospect list. That could be cause for concern and I have no good explanation for it since he continued to produce at a high level.
My second best OF performer was 34 year-old journeyman Scott Neville, .254/.314/.471 who produced 69 EBHs in 543 ABs. I'll take it. Neville hit a remarkable .317/.386/.672 against LH pitching and anchored our line up when we facied a southpaw. What I wish we had was one more just like him only who hammers righties instead.
The thrid OF position was perhaps our weakest link. Three players logged significnat playing time besides Neville and Arellano. Steve Bing .274/.333/.407 is probably the favorite to win a starting spot nest season. Disappointing was Raul Perez who logged a .773 OPS the prior year but managed only .230/.297/.380 this season. Ton Schevallis also logged 199 ABs and was somewhat better than Perez at .236/.320/.442 as he displayed some XBH potential especially late in the season.
It is likely that Vern Branch will get some playing time in RF (where he already has a rating)during spring training with the idea of possibly moving John to 3B and giving the 2B job to Fernandez.
Once we finally managed to sign FA Clint Lance in early June our catching was acceptable. He hit only .240/.342/.350 but he produced his usual fine defense throwing out 46.7% of opposing base stealers. I had hoped to resign Lance to an additional year and even though he backed off his initial demand of $36 million over two years his current demand of $26 million over 2 years is still not in the ballpark. The catching job will probably go to highly regarded prospect Manny Cisneros who hit .313/.368/.534 for our AAA affiliate. Cisneros' stock has been rising lately at BA as he is now the 13th prospect.
The starting pitching was anchored by 23 year-old Jerry Sizmore 15-9, 3.00 but the remainder of the rotation is in doubt at this time. Both Jud Graham 7-9, 3.75 and Jared Fields 3-8, 4.79 spent some serious time on the DL and though my scout liked both a season or two ago the injuries appear to have taken a toll as he doesn't like either much now. We hope to resign late season FA acquisition Fernando Ascencio who went 3-1, 2.16 with 27 Ks and 6 BBs in 33.1 innings but there are concerns about his less-than-stellar resume. Also likely to earn a spot in next season's rotation is newcomer Victor Brousseau obtained in a deadline trade with Dallas. Brousseau went 5-1, 2.11 in 6 regular AAA starts after his acquistion though he got roughed up in the post season by the Wilmington affiliate. Swing man Pete Collins, 3-6, 3.54 in 18 starts and 33 relief appearances will also compete for a rotation spot. We have a young and inexpensive team with plenty of FA money to sling around and it is likely that we will be competing seriously for a another starter or even two come free agency.
The bullpen was a serious weak spot as they let quite a few late inning leads slip away. FA acquisition Tsunayoshi Sato 3-3, 3.75 was a disappointment as our closer notching just 30 saves. Both Joe Aguilara 9-3, 3.25 and mid-season acquisition Roger Simonds, 7-2, 3.54 were good more often than not but the less said about the rest of the pen the better. Fortunately we have several highly regarded prospects in AAA, who appear to be ready for the bigs so I am planning to count on them and focus my FA $ on the starting pitching.
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