2045.4: The Bad

[Rubaboo]

Making one thing clear to start: to boil down the bad things that happened during the season on a 99 loss team to a few easily explained bullet points is a wildly dramatic over simplification. This was a team that was never going to be able to hang in a loaded Frontier division. Maybe instead of 'The Bad' this TN should be called 'Came up Substantially Short of Expectations'. It needs a subtitle or something. Anyway...

2045 marked a trapdoor for Mexico City. A team that has had aspirations of hanging with the big boys in the Frontier and has had some moderate success doing so over the last several seasons officially hit free fall. Stars were moved out, youngsters got a shot, and the Aztec fan base cast its collective eyes towards the next season, while hoping that 2045 would end quickly. To find a scapegoat amongst a herd of similar looking Caprids would be an exercise in futility. Locating a few pressure points, however, is a more manageable project and a necessary one as the Mexico City front office seeks a path moving forward. There are definitely a few key points that the management team could start with...

1) The Isworth Trade

Marvin Isworth had a breakout season in 2044, posting 4.5 WAR. He looked like he took a major step forward and would be joining Manny Collazo and Fernando Moreno as an offensive engine in the Aztec lineup. He was never able to replicate those results in 2045 however, producing league average results at the plate while struggling to perform with the leather at SS. After much back and forth and even more speculation, Isworth and the Aztecs failed to put together an extension that worked for both sides. Isworth then got hurt, removing all hope of a comp pick coming back to the organization if Isworth hit the market and, at the same time, removing all leverage from the Aztec front office. The choice became sign Isworth to a substantial deal or trade him for fractional value. The Aztecs chose the latter, moving him to Charlotte for a single prospect who might become a slightly worse version of Isworth someday. A bad look all around. The optics of moving a 24 year old who just put up 4.5 WAR at 2B are bad. The optics of failing, or refusing, to find some common ground with a player who could be a foundational piece for a club now entering a rebuild are bad. This could be miserable for Mexico City. The Aztecs have no depth at middle infield. This deal has very little potential to look good for the Aztecs and has a high probability of looking very, very bad.

2) Pitcher Regression

Internal belief in Mexico City was that the staff was in a decent position to perform will in 2045. Whether that was optimism or wishful thinking is a debate for another time but, needless to say, the organization's belief that it was in a decent position with the pitching staff was completely misplaced. Almost every pitcher on the roster posted numbers that are well below league average. Reliever Reynaldo Rodriguez was the only player to post a FIP under 4. The rotation often failed to put the team in a position to win games (41 SP wins) and the bullpen failed to see to conclusion many of the games that saw an Aztec SP leave with a lead (38 bullpen losses). Injuries to Ed Lynch and to AJ Mahoney, and inconsistent play from Jeff Weber while covering for those injuries didn't help matters but Maziba Isa was terrible and left out there to struggle, Abdi Murunga and Sergio Vasquez failed to hold up to the roles that the Aztecs had planned for them this season. This is a team that historically prides itself on building around pitching and defense. 2045 will have many questioning what, exactly, this team is built around now and the team has some work to do in the offseason to figure that out.

3) Overall Roster Construction

There are a number of different theories on roster construction. Stars vs Scrubs, super platoons, cyclone, etc. The Aztecs seem to have deployed some version of 'Hope the Sum is Greater Than the Whole of its Parts' in 2045. Aside from Manny Collazo and Fernando Moreno, the team seems to be made up of a large number of role players, #3-4 starters, and 6th inning relievers. This is not a formula that will combine to create a winner in the hyper-competetive BBA environment. As the team takes a step back to reload, it would be beneficial to upper management to keep in mind the last 3 seasons in mind and make sure to not build a similar roster for a potential return to contention. Fans of the franchise would like to cheer for a winner, rather than root for a longshot.