9-News: 39.026 – Roster Shuffles Ignite Nine?

[RonCo]

A rugged start creates a bit of friction in any executive front office, and the Nine are not immune. At one point the team everyone was saying should breeze to a Heartland title was sitting on a 15-22 record, the owner was on the horn daily to the GM, and the manager was being raked over the coals by a fanbase who is used to their flameouts coming in October rather than May.

So the front office went to work.

“Simple changes, really,” explained assistant GM Fred Morrison, who seems to be taking more of a PR role with the club these days. “Not things everyone would see.”

That’s true enough. The changes have been small, but possibly mighty. Backup centerfielder Anibal Moran was returned to AAA instead of playing Abdeljillill Sediki full time in order to add rookie reliever Jose Sanchez to the roster. Starter Hiroyasu Osaragi has been shuttled back and forth to Indy as he works on his suddenly missing repertoire, and—perhaps most stealthy—center field prospect Michel Noel was called up from Indy to take the roster slot of Pat Allen.

Noel is learning left field as he plays it, but the club got tired of Allen’s glove work, and the two-season veteran’s bat wasn’t making enough impact to cover for it. “Pat Allen has proven he’s a big league hitter in the past,” Morrison said. “So we expect he’ll be back with the big club sometime soon—but his .220/.219/.475 slash just wasn’t cutting it right now, and Noel is the next guy in line.”

Noel has previously been one of the club’s premier prospects in center field over the past few years, but he’s adapting to left. The concern is that he’s got a god stick for center, but worries exist about his ability to contribute offensively over the long haul. Early returns (.250/.308/.250) are inconclusive, at best.


LINEUP JUGGLING KICK-STARTS THUM?

In addition, manager Bill Inkster has taken to tweaking the batting lineup, taking rookie sensation Dong-po Thum out of the lead-off spot against tough righties, and instead placing Andy McKinney there. The move seems to have ignited them both. “I’m not sure how long we’ll keep running them in that order,” Inkster said. “But we wanted to take some pressure off Dong-po.”

Similarly, Inkster has also taken to giving Lucas McNeill, the team’s primary superstar, a day off against the tougher left-handers in the league, substituting catcher Pablo Alaniz in and letting catcher Aaron Stone DH in hopes to keep Stone, who is no longer exactly a spring chicken, fresher.

Bottom line here is that since the swap, both McKinney and Thum have broken out of the doldrums, and McNeill is putting up some nice, McNeillish numbers (16 homers and 2.2 WAR already). That Alaniz has been productive with the bat doesn't hurt the idea at all, either.


RESULTS SHOW IN WIN COLUMN – Team Dedicated to Championship

The collective result has been impressive. The team has posted a 16-8 record in that time period, rocketing to a slim lead in a highly competitive Heartland division in which every team is within a game a half of each other.

“We know a lot of people are overlooking or division,” Inkster said. “We’ve got some good teams, and good players over here, though. It’s going to be a battle all year, but we have every intention of taking home the last crown before expansion changes everything.”