Dugout Dirt 49.01 - The Greathouse Tenure

[DugoutDesperado]

In his inaugural year stationed in Jacksonville during the 2042 season, the Canes went 53-109 with the remnants of what was left under the perineal powerhouse roster assembled under his predecessor. Along with the remnants of the talent was also a massive amount of contracts that were much higher than the older players were putting out.

In some cost-cutting moves in getting rid of some big time names like David Noburu, the Canes were able to fill in a few of the voids and increase the number of wins by 11 to finish 64-98 during the 2043 season and then increase by another 10 wins in 2044 by finishing 74-88.

The improvements stalled in 2045 as the Canes finished with a similar record of 73-89 but after that, the crops of young pitchers from the non-stop pitching draft picks over the previous three seasons starting making their way through the system. Combined with a solid offense assembled over the previous three seasons, the trio of Scott Davis, Peter Dean and Takehide Gertrudes arrived in the 2046 season when the Canes finished 84-78 and one game short of the playoffs.

After leading the Johnson League Atlantic Division for most of the first half during the 2047 season, the Canes made the playoffs only to have Scott Davis get injured the week prior to first round which ended in an early exit for the Canes. In 2047 the Canes finished with a record of 93-69.

The 2048 season saw the addition of two more young arms with Stephen Best and Jose Hurtado. The result was Jacksonville’s best record during the Greathouse tenure with 98 wins and 64 losses which offered them a first round bye. Unfortunately, the Canes again were not able to win a post-season series.

Going into the 8th season, will the current regime be able to build on its success and go deeper into the playoffs? One fan stated that Greathouse has done a great job turning the franchise back into its winning ways, but thus far he has just been the equivalent of Matthew Stafford in the Brewster Baseball Association and that view will likely not change until the Canes can at least win a post-season series or better yet make a Landis/Monty Brewster Memorial series appearance.

[DugoutDesperado]

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