Slug This...The Hopkins Era...2009 3.5 What the Slug?

[felipe]

18 games into 2009, and the Sluggers sit at 11-7.

No, that isn't a typo.

In season's recently past, long-tims Slug watchers might have reasonable expected that record to read 1-17, especially considering the early season opponents of the Louisville club; the resurgent Omaha Barnstormers, the perpetual mediocre, hovering around .500 Phoenix Talon, the powerhouse Hawaii Tropics, the...well...the...uh...existing...somewhat...California club....and hated divisional rivals Washington and Greenville.

How have the Sluggers done it?

"I don't mean to take all the credit,"GM Hopkins explained,"But it mostly all boils down to my genius."

Genius Hopkins has plucked ripe fruit off of the discarded scrap-heap of unwanted EBA veterans and failed AAA pitchers and seamlessly molded them into a star club that may break all MBWBA single season records.

Spaniard Victor Paez arrived from Ireland in the off-season, and has sparkled in the early going, giving up only 6 earned runs over 4 starts of 30 innings. Its early days yet, but its surely reasonable to expect he can continue his torrid pace all season-long.

Thirty-five year-old Curt Bandelow has been plucked from AAA free-agent obscurity and given the Sluggers 2 fantastic starts (out of three), in his first MBBA action since 2003, (a paltry 2 game audition with New Orleans). Has his early season success proved that MBBA GM's from Vancouver, Hawaii, and New Orleans, all have severe talent recognition deficencies? Early signs conclusively point to the fact that Curt is a bonafide superstar, and should have been reconised as once in his earlier MBBA stops.

Another vaunted member of the unstoppable Slugger rotational juggernaut is Montreal cast-off Cleo Blanco. Montreal is the club that threw good money at washed-up Ted Dever last season after Genius Hopkins had released him and paid him $24 million not to pitch for Louisville. Montreal also apparently decided that Blanco wasn't good enough for them. Apparently they've been eating too much poutine up there in Montreal, and have cheese running out their ears, because Blanco is off to a fine start in 2009 for Louisville.

The re-made Slugger line-up has also contributed mightily to the teams success.

Can rookie right-fielder Sam Sung continue to hit .400 all season long? I think it would be unreasonable not to expect that. Sung is a beast!

Young catcher Jorge Diaz is hitting .364 in the MBBA after having only 288 AAA career at-bats. Slugger watchers can rightly expect him to challenge Sung for the MBBA batting crown all season long.

Waiver wire pick-up, Bill Wordsworth, is hitting over .300 and making everyone in Louisville forget about last season's second baseman, Cody Chamberland.

Its still early days in 2009, but every right-thinking Slugger fan has visions of the '2009 Johnson League Cartwright Cup championship winning Louisville Sluggers', dancing through their heads.

[Manny]

Oh gosh that literally made me laugh out loud which was hard to explain to my clients but worth it. Keep up the great work.

[agrudez]

In season's recently past, long-tims Slug watchers might have reasonable expected that record to read 1-17, especially considering the early season opponents of the Louisville club; the resurgent Omaha Barnstormers, the perpetual mediocre, hovering around .500 Phoenix Talon

I love how Omaha being .500 makes them 'resurgent' (a positive), but Phoenix being .500 makes them 'perpetually medicore' (a negative). A couple seasons of being terrible sure does adjust one's outlook!

Grats on the start, btw. You've come back to Earth a bit in Sim 3 (and are sub .500 in PYTH), but it is a huge step in the right direction regardless.

[Greeney03]

Nice write up "Genius Hopkins"

But remember, this is a marathon...

[nverhoev]

"Another vaunted member of the unstoppable Slugger rotational juggernaut"

The best.