Blowing in the Wind 2058.4: After Offseason Selloff, Jacksonville Contending Anyway

[aaronweiner]

It was widely assumed that when the Jacksonville Hurricanes traded away Bernie Stuart and Manoell Whanon earlier this year that they would fall quickly out of contention, as their aging offensive core and depleted pitching staff would not be enough to maintain their recent run of wild card berths. However, the Hurricanes players had something else in mind, and the team stands just one game outside a wild card berth, having played above-.500 baseball the entire season.

"We thought it was probably better not listening to what anyone else thought," said rotation ace Bob Anderson. "Seemed right to go out and do our jobs the best we could, and it turns out we're pretty good at them."

Jacksonville led the league much of the year in run prevention, which speaks to the strength of their pitching staff, especially the rotation and closer Alejandro Chavez, who is having a career year in what was already a long, impressive career.

"This franchise has trusted me in the ninth inning for a long time and I like to reward their loyalty," said Chavez, whose 16 saves. 1.17 ERA, and April Pitcher of the Month selection will almost surely put him in the All Star Game for the sixth time. "My teammates have game, too."

There have been some nice surprises this year. Fan favorite Bae Pae, a rookie centerfielder, has adjusted to the pro game and hit .370 in May. Fellow rookie John Jensen is a reasonable contender thus far for the Joe Gillstrom, and Juan Marroquin moved a step closer to his free agency by posting even more outstanding numbers for the Hurricanes; this year he has taken his game to the next level. The team's offense is predictably bottom-rung, but has done enough to keep the team in games.

"We've worked hard to make sure that we can stay in contention despite all the issues," said Hurricanes GM Aaron Weiner. "We might make more moves if we find out we're falling out of contention later this season, but with us thick in the middle of the wild card, we're going to try to see if we can make it back to the playoffs again. It's a fascinating year in Jacksonville."

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[RonCo]

Interesting team. JAX is playing three games over their Pythagorean projection.

[aaronweiner]

Interesting team. JAX is playing three games over their Pythagorean projection.

It has been an interesting team. I'd some of my kids up picking up the slack except they're not really fully ready yet. Getting Wignes back was key - I was really struggling terribly without him. It's really helped that every one of my starting pitchers is doing the job.

I could probably be convinced to give up Marroquin if someone came at me with an offer at least as good as an S1 and take the L, but so far I'm fairly pleased with my winning record.