Baltimore Bulletin 2008-3 Season in Review Part 1
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:43 pm
Well it was another promising season in Baltimore, a playoff appearance, but yet another year without a championship. In the past 10 seasons the club has reached the post season 9 times but has no rings to show for it. In fact of the nine playoff appearances only once have they even reached the championship series. This season was a nice bounce back after missing the postseason last year. The team was led by the highest scoring offence in the league. Here is a position by position review of the 2008 Monarchs.
Catcher: Ralph Butt had an injury filled and disappointing season. After a career year back in 2006 Butt has had two disappointing years in a row. He’ll be 32 at the start of next season and with no prospects ready to take his place we need Ralph to bounce back. Long time backup Armando Crespo will never wow anyone with his bat but brings top notch defense and is capable when needed.
First Base: Stephen Lubinwas having a monster season before a back injury ended his season. His .336/.379/.672 line is A+ production for a #3 or #4 in the lineup. Lubin is locked in as a key piece of the lineup for the next few years.
Second Base: Jeff Mueller flies under the radar on this team. He hits enough home runs but has never consitantly hit for a great average. His defense is average and is a useful utility type guy in that he can move around the diamond if required. His real value to Baltimore is his splits against lefties. With Dale Bunker and Stephen Lubin weak against south paw hitting Mueller provides a nice counter balance in the lineup (0.939 OPS against lefties in 2008).
Third Base: Dale Bunker is without question the MVP of this team for the past two seasons. Bunkers offensive contributions are amongst the best in the MBWBA. At only 25 years old the future looks bright for this player.
Shortstop: Dirk Spencer had an average season at the plate hitting .253/.323./.408. Known for his defense Spencer does not need to hit all that well to be a valuable member of the lineup.
Left field: The left field position was in a bit of flux this season. The new DH rule moved long time fixture Daniel Labrie out of Left field. The team initially went with youngster Darby Burnett. Burnett struggled before Antonio DOminguez was put in his place. This is a production position the team needs to improve for next year.
Center field: Rod Roberts had a terrific year and has developed into one of the teams stars. The team likes him at the top of the lineup and he has shown surprising power by hitting 26 home runs this year.
Right field: Another corner outfield spot that was in flux all year. The corner outfield spots need some attention for 2009. Dominquez, Mike Roberts, and Burnett all split time at this position with approximately replacement level production. Hopefully someone takes hold of these positions for next year.
DH: Daniel Labrie has been one of the games best producers over the past decade plus in the league. Labrie showed the same great on base skills (.421 OBP) that have made him a house hold name. Its no surprise that with Bunker and Lubin hitting behind him that Labrie managed to score 130 plus runs for the second season in a row.
Improvements needed: Corner outfield bats require more production. Lubin and Bunker are likely to regress a bit from career year numbers and this area should provide more production to allow for margin of error. A younger backup catcher may be a target for trades. Team finished first in runs scored but was amongst the worst in team defense.
Strengths: Corner infield positions are as good as any in the league.
Catcher: Ralph Butt had an injury filled and disappointing season. After a career year back in 2006 Butt has had two disappointing years in a row. He’ll be 32 at the start of next season and with no prospects ready to take his place we need Ralph to bounce back. Long time backup Armando Crespo will never wow anyone with his bat but brings top notch defense and is capable when needed.
First Base: Stephen Lubinwas having a monster season before a back injury ended his season. His .336/.379/.672 line is A+ production for a #3 or #4 in the lineup. Lubin is locked in as a key piece of the lineup for the next few years.
Second Base: Jeff Mueller flies under the radar on this team. He hits enough home runs but has never consitantly hit for a great average. His defense is average and is a useful utility type guy in that he can move around the diamond if required. His real value to Baltimore is his splits against lefties. With Dale Bunker and Stephen Lubin weak against south paw hitting Mueller provides a nice counter balance in the lineup (0.939 OPS against lefties in 2008).
Third Base: Dale Bunker is without question the MVP of this team for the past two seasons. Bunkers offensive contributions are amongst the best in the MBWBA. At only 25 years old the future looks bright for this player.
Shortstop: Dirk Spencer had an average season at the plate hitting .253/.323./.408. Known for his defense Spencer does not need to hit all that well to be a valuable member of the lineup.
Left field: The left field position was in a bit of flux this season. The new DH rule moved long time fixture Daniel Labrie out of Left field. The team initially went with youngster Darby Burnett. Burnett struggled before Antonio DOminguez was put in his place. This is a production position the team needs to improve for next year.
Center field: Rod Roberts had a terrific year and has developed into one of the teams stars. The team likes him at the top of the lineup and he has shown surprising power by hitting 26 home runs this year.
Right field: Another corner outfield spot that was in flux all year. The corner outfield spots need some attention for 2009. Dominquez, Mike Roberts, and Burnett all split time at this position with approximately replacement level production. Hopefully someone takes hold of these positions for next year.
DH: Daniel Labrie has been one of the games best producers over the past decade plus in the league. Labrie showed the same great on base skills (.421 OBP) that have made him a house hold name. Its no surprise that with Bunker and Lubin hitting behind him that Labrie managed to score 130 plus runs for the second season in a row.
Improvements needed: Corner outfield bats require more production. Lubin and Bunker are likely to regress a bit from career year numbers and this area should provide more production to allow for margin of error. A younger backup catcher may be a target for trades. Team finished first in runs scored but was amongst the worst in team defense.
Strengths: Corner infield positions are as good as any in the league.