Casinotes 54.1- New Faces of 2054

[chicoruiz]

When financial pressures have got your unmentionables in the vise like mine do, you can’t really offer much in the way of a long-term contract to any free agent. And when you can’t offer long-term contracts, the players you get pretty much tend to be from the “irregulars” bin. And since I also don’t have much of a surplus of anything, including prospects, trading was pretty much out of the question. So my 2054 class of new arrivals tend to be guys where you kind of have to squint to see the positives. But in most cases, the positives might be there. Let’s take a look at the players who’ll be donning Atlantic City uniforms for the first time this year:

SP Daniel Camacho: He’s got a career 4.79 ERA, which is, if not inspiring, at least not terrible. The bad news is, he got lit up in the GBC last year, and in San Fernando the year before, which doesn’t inspire confidence. He tends to pitch better in the pen, but I need him to start if at all possible.

RP Knox Sked: Knox is a GBC legend; probably the best reliever in the history of that league. This wasn’t a huge need for me, but I’ve always wanted him even back to my Jerusalem days, so when I saw that he was available I couldn’t resist.

RP Josh Miller: A waiver claim from the Vegas organization. He pitched well in 51 innings last year, and scouts like his pitch movement and control, so I figured, why not… If he’s good enough for Las Vegas, he’s probably good enough for me.

C Rich Chandler: Taken in the second round of Rule 5, he beat out incumbent backup C Blake McCoy with a hot spring. He’s not as polished a receiver as McCoy, but he’s got a little bit of pop in his bat, and anyway, no backup catcher is going to play over Octavio Moreno unless it’s absolutely necessary.

1B Eric Wignes: He doesn’t have the type of power you want from your first baseman, but he’s a superior glove man with a career .350 OBP. I gave him a two-year deal just because most of my better options had no interest in signing with me for what I had to offer.

1B-DH Antonio Martinez: A stereotypical DH; low BA, high SLG. He’s 33 and his stats have been on the downswing of late, but he had bit of a rebound in 2053 as a part-timer, so I thought I’d take a chance and bring him back to the franchise where he started his career.

SS Frederick Manchild: Seems like every BBA team has a good-field-no-hit shortstop, and this year, Fred is mine. He’s played five years in the BBA and only accumulated 390 plate appearances, so it’s about time someone gave him a real shot.

OF Arturo Maes: What can you say about a 34-year-old who’s available in the Rule 5? He’s been wandering in the minor league wilderness pretty much since 2046, but I needed a glove man in center, and he did hit 23 homers one year so… Of course, he immediately got injured, so God only knows what odds and sods will patrol center for the Gamblers in April and May.

OF Hyeon-Uk Hong: He has the unenviable task of replacing our all-star, Jose Romero in right field. He ain’t Romero, but he’s a nice little all-around player with no glaring weaknesses, and I was very happy to see him available in the later stages of free agency.

OF Adrian NIlson: He has absolutely nothing to prove in the minors, and he’s shown well in his 275 major league ABs as well. I was penciling him in at RF before I got Hong; the guess is he’ll end up somewhere in the lineup anyway when one of the above guys breaks my heart.

So where does that leave the Gamblers? Well, since I’m based in Atlantic City, I’ll use a poker hand metaphor: I’m not all in on this team, but I’m not quite ready to fold my hand either…

[trmmilwwi]

Fun read! Essentially "these guys may be ok at some point"! Ha! Double down and split the aces! Errr.. since I am in San Antonio I guess I should say "hope you hit the river"!

[BaseClogger]

I put in an offer on Sked and tried claiming Miller so I like those guys. Good luck with Camacho haha

[Trebro]

Camacho pissed me off so bad last year.