We Got Wood - 41.13 - The One Where We Get Reminded We Suck

[7teen]

Things have gotten quiet again around Portland (we can think me being on Christmas break with nice weather and playing a lot more golf in December than I am used to for that). After a modest Spring Training that saw the team finish slightly under .500, some hopes were high heading into the 2041 season that this club could improve and push forwards to winning 63 games. "That's the goal this season and every season here for the first 5 years" commented GM Chris Wilson. "We fell short of that goal last year but we are going to try and improved and get to it this season." 63 Wins is significant because it means we didn't lose 100!

Well, reaching that goal may be tough as the club started 1-4 out of the gate. Yeah sure, we could scream the sky is falling but it is still early but all the holes and weaknesses of the team were fairly exposed in those 5. The offense was bad, scoring under 2.5 runs over the first 5 contests. Only Jon Mick will start the season with a positive WAR after the first 5 games. "It's a pretty small sample size don't ya think" commented Mick after the club dropped its 4th loss of the season. "We are still going to need time to gel and see if we can get things going offensively. You can't base things off the first 5 starts."

The first 5 starts saw the Lumberjacks implementing the first phase of the Master PlanTM where the team puts a lot of emphasis on defense, potentially sacrificing offense in the early going. The defensive first guys like Brandon Howeth-Arneson Jr and Nikita Schipper struggled heavily out of the gate as the duo combined for just 4 hits over the Lumberjacks first 5 games.

The pitching though seemed to benefit some early on as the team is tied for 5th in runs allowed early as each starter has made one start. Feliciano Rafael made his Portland debut on opening day and allowed 3 runs over 7 innings pitched, a solid start, but saw little run support in the Lumberjacks 3-1 defeat in Twin Cities. "I felt good out there and was confident if the opponent hit the ball in play I'd be strongly supported by my defense. The guys behind me have some of the best gloves I've pitched in front of. Hopefully we can produce more runs as the temperature heats up."

The club is optimistic things will get better. A 4-game series at home against Chicago is on the slate for later this week into next week and that should help make the record look a little better for the good guys.

[HoosierVic]

Vinnie is touched you consider the Sox the good guys ...

[7teen]

Vinnie is touched you consider the Sox the good guys ...

No. NO. NOPE!