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Any thoughts, feelings, plans, rumors, surprises at just about the quarter mark of the season?
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In Virginia....
What We Like:
-- Yoritoki Maeda looks appears to be putting together a Stout Slugger level season. With some of the other bats a little colder, Maeda has been a saving grace for us this season.
-- Nate "The Skull" Magness may be hitting his prime. Though it's hard to say "quietly" because I've been yacking about him for 10 years, but Magness - who has quietly put up 16 wins in 5 separate seasons - is 5-0 with a 2.76 ERA to anchor the backside of the rotation.
-- The Fresh Blood is contributing. MacPherson and rookie Yamauchi have been great in their 1B platoon. Yamauchi's 9 HRs and 1.037 OPS have to have him among the leaders in the New Brew conversation. Lonnie Scott, while not fantastic with the stick, has had some timely hits and sound defense.
-- Sammy Scott and Ivan Olivo have been pretty lockdown, airtight in the 8-9 role. While Olivo has had a taste of Todd Jones in him putting a few too many batter on to create drama, but when push comes to shove, he slams the door shut.
Surprises:
-- Rod Phillips is having a statistically unique season. His BA is a paltry .185, but he has an OBP of .409 and is on pace to break the single-season record for free passes.
-- Dale O'Hegarty came back from a Spring Training injury to a resounding "meh". While his .369 OBP is respectable, a .210 avg doesn't cut it in the lead-off spot... especially for $16.0 per.
-- Mel Woodbury is still the best in the business... but a slow start has him in the unfamiliar role as a contributor instead of the straw that stirs the drink. Interesting sidenote, for only the 2nd time in my 12 seasons in the BLB, Woodbury is actually willing to negotiate an extension right now despite having a full season left on his deal. The only other player to ever negotiate with me prior to his last season is Danny Nelson about 6 years ago.
The Next Quarter:
-- I don't foresee any major changes in the next 40 games, however, the biggest thing we're watching right now is the development of Gus Jenkins in AAA. He just picked up more points from OSA in the last two SIMs (from 5-5-5 to 5-6-6). He's still not asking to come up yet, but he may be impossible to keep down all season.
****
In Virginia....
What We Like:
-- Yoritoki Maeda looks appears to be putting together a Stout Slugger level season. With some of the other bats a little colder, Maeda has been a saving grace for us this season.
-- Nate "The Skull" Magness may be hitting his prime. Though it's hard to say "quietly" because I've been yacking about him for 10 years, but Magness - who has quietly put up 16 wins in 5 separate seasons - is 5-0 with a 2.76 ERA to anchor the backside of the rotation.
-- The Fresh Blood is contributing. MacPherson and rookie Yamauchi have been great in their 1B platoon. Yamauchi's 9 HRs and 1.037 OPS have to have him among the leaders in the New Brew conversation. Lonnie Scott, while not fantastic with the stick, has had some timely hits and sound defense.
-- Sammy Scott and Ivan Olivo have been pretty lockdown, airtight in the 8-9 role. While Olivo has had a taste of Todd Jones in him putting a few too many batter on to create drama, but when push comes to shove, he slams the door shut.
Surprises:
-- Rod Phillips is having a statistically unique season. His BA is a paltry .185, but he has an OBP of .409 and is on pace to break the single-season record for free passes.
-- Dale O'Hegarty came back from a Spring Training injury to a resounding "meh". While his .369 OBP is respectable, a .210 avg doesn't cut it in the lead-off spot... especially for $16.0 per.
-- Mel Woodbury is still the best in the business... but a slow start has him in the unfamiliar role as a contributor instead of the straw that stirs the drink. Interesting sidenote, for only the 2nd time in my 12 seasons in the BLB, Woodbury is actually willing to negotiate an extension right now despite having a full season left on his deal. The only other player to ever negotiate with me prior to his last season is Danny Nelson about 6 years ago.
The Next Quarter:
-- I don't foresee any major changes in the next 40 games, however, the biggest thing we're watching right now is the development of Gus Jenkins in AAA. He just picked up more points from OSA in the last two SIMs (from 5-5-5 to 5-6-6). He's still not asking to come up yet, but he may be impossible to keep down all season.
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