Spring Camp begins
All too soon we’re into Spring Training 2049 and the off season has rushed by. Many roster spots have yet to be finalised but the fact that the Red Crescents only have 43 in camp to start with shows that while there are places to be won, there are not many serious contenders.
One of the weakest spots is catcher, although once more Diesel “All-Star” Dave will lend his power & strikeouts to the starting role behind the plate, there is no competition to back him up. We tried and sadly failed to sign anybody to push Pablo Espinoza and indeed have yet to sign or perhaps promote anybody to go behind the plate in Triple-A. Shortstop is a mess too with a cluster of mediocre candidates in Camp, nobody appears to be challenging Grady Fern for second and the hot corner only has a couple of realistic candidates, Anastasio Guillen seemingly ahead of Sancho Castillo to start with by virtue of his performance last September.
In the outfield we have seven in camp with most eyes on Rule 5 selection Manchu Li who looks almost a lock for a backup outfield spot, but perhaps has an outside chance of beating last year’s Rule 5 success story Vinnie Coalman out for the starting rightfield role. Roy MacGugan seems to have blossomed suddenly over the last few months of 2048 and now seems ready to claim the starting first base role after two previous spells in Riyadh. This would allow Masaki Sato to return to his best role as DH, seemingly leaving Umar Mutemi without a role as well as questioning where new expensive signing Michael Blankenship fits into the picture?