Tweet
LINK
Expectations remain high for the '88 season in Philly despite a (self induced) turbulent offseason. A flurry of moves have drastically reshaped the overall direction of the franchise and it remains to be seen if this offseason will ultimately allow this team to reach its goal of winning a championship.
Gone are several key veterans who made up a large part of last year's Wild Card team. Each contributed, in there own way, to the success and ultimate failure of the 1987 team. Among them:
2B Desi Rochs - played in a career low 133 games and failed to reach 500 ABs for the first time in his long career due to injury issues (to be expected at his age). He rebounded late in the season and was a strong contributor during the postseason, putting up a .405 | .490 | .619 line in 12 playoff games.
C Jerry Fortin - a solid contributor in '87, he would have been welcomed back, but he chose to decline his player option to test the FA market.
SP Nathan MacOwl - Really carried the staff during the first half of the season, but faded badly during the second half and playoffs.
CF Mel Woodbury - One of the most dominant hitters in the league, but injury concerns are ever present. A huge contributor when he was on the field, but he was unvailable when he was needed most.
SP Bill Gillespie - Gillespie was being counted on to hold down a spot in the back end of the rotation and he simply had an awful year. He was virtually unusable for the majority of the season.
1988 Starters
C - Victor Alveraz - very young C who we are expecting to keep his head above water
1B - Joe Seagarra - key addition during the offseason. With the loss of Fortin, a RH bat was needed for our lefty heavy lineup.
2B - Jim Newlin - The addition of Seagarra allows the versatile Newlin to move to 2B where his bat will play much better
3B - Juan Coera - Coera has to be one of the most anonymous good players in the BLB. 7 straight years of 30+ VORP at the hot corner.
SS - Geoff Scott - young SS poised for a huge breakout year.
LF - Orinosuke Takahashi - tentatively penciled in at LF (pending ST). Takahashi is a high upside ? mark at this point.
CF - Jose Urra - veteran CFer who helps us add much needed depth in the OF. We don't need him to be a star, but we do need him to bring his lunchpail everyday
RF - Greg Josey - Josey will be a big key to the offense this season. He's just 28, but seems to be at bit of a crossroads. Last year was an incredible struggle from beginning to end. We expect a stong bounce back year.
1988 Bench
C - Jim Vallee - tremendous defensive C. Will be expected to step in in Victor Alveraz stumbles
IF - Sammy Gaines - utility infielder in the truest sense of the term. Can't hit at all, but is a 6+ rated defender at all 4 infield positions.
OF - Dave Ibison - Last year's starting RFer, could see significant time at any of the three OF spots.
OF - LS Gaudet - he is to the OF what Sammy Gaines is to the IF. Gaudet has speed to burn and will frequently be used as a pinch runner/defensive replacement.
1988 Starting Rotation
SP - Joe Aurillo - had an interesting year in '87. His numbers were outstanding, but he only had a 10-9 record. He was close to the top of the league in lowest run support.
SP - Tim Nathan - We don't make the playoffs without Nathan last year and we don't get past a badly beat up WAS team in the first round without him either.
SP - Ben Irvin - had a very strong season in '87 when he was healthy. missed about 10 weeks with a shoulder strain.
SP - Joe Arredondo - essentially the key to our offseason plan to strengthen the starting rotation. No question he upgrades our staff over last season when Bill Gillespie entered the season as our #4.
SP - Ray Minnoz - absoulutely nothing was expected out of former 1st rounder Minnoz in '87. He began the year in AAA and got the call when Bill Gillespie and Dave Seivewright fell flat. We don't need him to be great, or even good this year. If he can just be an average 5th starter, we'll be happy.
1988 Bullpen
RP - Trevor Broomfield - he can make you shake your head at times, but overall he is a decent guy out of the pen. He had a near month long stretch last year when he was basically untouchable
RP - Cristian Correa - rookie setup guy last year who made the All-Star team
RP - Chet Clark - young LHer who had a good dose of success in his first taste of the BLB last year
RP - Adam Starks - another young LHer who can soak up innings (he's a borderline starter) productively
RP - Jesus Taborga - was good early on last sesaon, but ran out of gas in the second half. We do not expect to see him get many high leverage innings
CL - Joe Alveraz - Tied his career high with 43 saves and won 10 games as well. Sub 2.00 ERA. He's certainly not the best the BLB has to offer at the closer position, but we're glad to have him
1988 Expectations
Same as the last 4 years, we expect to compete for the Porter Division crown. The Freedom have finished the last 4 years either: in 1st, tied for 1st or 1.0 games back. A lot of key components are different, but different isn't always a bad thing. Our lineup is much younger, but most of those young guys have BLB experience and our pitching staff is improved over the staff that started the year last year. Predicted record: 90-72.
Expectations remain high for the '88 season in Philly despite a (self induced) turbulent offseason. A flurry of moves have drastically reshaped the overall direction of the franchise and it remains to be seen if this offseason will ultimately allow this team to reach its goal of winning a championship.
Gone are several key veterans who made up a large part of last year's Wild Card team. Each contributed, in there own way, to the success and ultimate failure of the 1987 team. Among them:
2B Desi Rochs - played in a career low 133 games and failed to reach 500 ABs for the first time in his long career due to injury issues (to be expected at his age). He rebounded late in the season and was a strong contributor during the postseason, putting up a .405 | .490 | .619 line in 12 playoff games.
C Jerry Fortin - a solid contributor in '87, he would have been welcomed back, but he chose to decline his player option to test the FA market.
SP Nathan MacOwl - Really carried the staff during the first half of the season, but faded badly during the second half and playoffs.
CF Mel Woodbury - One of the most dominant hitters in the league, but injury concerns are ever present. A huge contributor when he was on the field, but he was unvailable when he was needed most.
SP Bill Gillespie - Gillespie was being counted on to hold down a spot in the back end of the rotation and he simply had an awful year. He was virtually unusable for the majority of the season.
1988 Starters
C - Victor Alveraz - very young C who we are expecting to keep his head above water
1B - Joe Seagarra - key addition during the offseason. With the loss of Fortin, a RH bat was needed for our lefty heavy lineup.
2B - Jim Newlin - The addition of Seagarra allows the versatile Newlin to move to 2B where his bat will play much better
3B - Juan Coera - Coera has to be one of the most anonymous good players in the BLB. 7 straight years of 30+ VORP at the hot corner.
SS - Geoff Scott - young SS poised for a huge breakout year.
LF - Orinosuke Takahashi - tentatively penciled in at LF (pending ST). Takahashi is a high upside ? mark at this point.
CF - Jose Urra - veteran CFer who helps us add much needed depth in the OF. We don't need him to be a star, but we do need him to bring his lunchpail everyday
RF - Greg Josey - Josey will be a big key to the offense this season. He's just 28, but seems to be at bit of a crossroads. Last year was an incredible struggle from beginning to end. We expect a stong bounce back year.
1988 Bench
C - Jim Vallee - tremendous defensive C. Will be expected to step in in Victor Alveraz stumbles
IF - Sammy Gaines - utility infielder in the truest sense of the term. Can't hit at all, but is a 6+ rated defender at all 4 infield positions.
OF - Dave Ibison - Last year's starting RFer, could see significant time at any of the three OF spots.
OF - LS Gaudet - he is to the OF what Sammy Gaines is to the IF. Gaudet has speed to burn and will frequently be used as a pinch runner/defensive replacement.
1988 Starting Rotation
SP - Joe Aurillo - had an interesting year in '87. His numbers were outstanding, but he only had a 10-9 record. He was close to the top of the league in lowest run support.
SP - Tim Nathan - We don't make the playoffs without Nathan last year and we don't get past a badly beat up WAS team in the first round without him either.
SP - Ben Irvin - had a very strong season in '87 when he was healthy. missed about 10 weeks with a shoulder strain.
SP - Joe Arredondo - essentially the key to our offseason plan to strengthen the starting rotation. No question he upgrades our staff over last season when Bill Gillespie entered the season as our #4.
SP - Ray Minnoz - absoulutely nothing was expected out of former 1st rounder Minnoz in '87. He began the year in AAA and got the call when Bill Gillespie and Dave Seivewright fell flat. We don't need him to be great, or even good this year. If he can just be an average 5th starter, we'll be happy.
1988 Bullpen
RP - Trevor Broomfield - he can make you shake your head at times, but overall he is a decent guy out of the pen. He had a near month long stretch last year when he was basically untouchable
RP - Cristian Correa - rookie setup guy last year who made the All-Star team
RP - Chet Clark - young LHer who had a good dose of success in his first taste of the BLB last year
RP - Adam Starks - another young LHer who can soak up innings (he's a borderline starter) productively
RP - Jesus Taborga - was good early on last sesaon, but ran out of gas in the second half. We do not expect to see him get many high leverage innings
CL - Joe Alveraz - Tied his career high with 43 saves and won 10 games as well. Sub 2.00 ERA. He's certainly not the best the BLB has to offer at the closer position, but we're glad to have him
1988 Expectations
Same as the last 4 years, we expect to compete for the Porter Division crown. The Freedom have finished the last 4 years either: in 1st, tied for 1st or 1.0 games back. A lot of key components are different, but different isn't always a bad thing. Our lineup is much younger, but most of those young guys have BLB experience and our pitching staff is improved over the staff that started the year last year. Predicted record: 90-72.
Comment