Casinotes 56.14- FA Report Card

[chicoruiz]

For the first time since I took over in Atlantic City, I had some decent money to spend in free agency this past offseason. So I spent it. But did I spend it wisely? Let’s take a look…

P EDDIE ARMSTRONG (6.5 million)- Eddie was a notch worse than his career averages; a motif that will be repeated several times in this list. Still, a 4.77 ERA and a WHIP of 1.47 is okay for a back-of-the-rotation starter, which is what Eddie would be on an actual baseball team.

P ANTONIO GARCIA (1.4 million)- I don’t know what cloud passed through my mind when I signed this guy; you don’t expect too much for 1.4 mil, but you have a right to expect more than 1-6, 6.57. Probably my only signing I’d give a resounding “F” to.

P FRANCISCO ORTIZ (2 million)- Francisco was coming off a couple of good years as a reliever, but I thought there was no reason he couldn’t succeed as a starter. There obviously IS a reason; I still don’t know what it is, but when a guy goes 1-14, 6.47 he’s trying to tell you something. He’ll be back in the pen for 2057 trying to reclaim the magic of 2054 and 2055.

1B TYLER OBER (12 million)- Tyler missed some time with injury, and when he did play, he was a notch or two behind his career performance level. Like Armstrong. He’s signed long-term, and I don’t hate that; he’s still a guy who’s capable of hitting 30 homers and playing solid defense.

SS MATTHEW HEWAT (2.4 million)- Shortstops who can both hit and field are a rare commodity in the Brewster, and I certainly didn’t have the opportunity to get one. So I settled for Hewat, who’s hitting .276 as I write this and whose fielding is… not terrible. His offense is hurt by the fact that he walks about as often as Professor Xavier.

OF LEE HOGAN (12.5 milion)- His stats took a step backward in 2056. Like Armstrong. Like Ortiz. Like Ober. Like Hewat. Still, he’s an okay player, and I need him around because he’s a switch hitter, and all my other outfielders are pure lefthanded hitters. This is a situation I’ll need to address in the offseason.

OF MANCHU LI (1 million)- In my quest to find an affordable, good-glove center fielder I acquired Manchu. He’s very fast and reputed to be a great bunter, so I had him bunting at every possible opportunity to boost his otherwise anemic offense. Didn’t work. He’s arb-eligible, and will be seeking his fortune elsewhere in 2057.

I think I’ll have money to spend in free agency again this offseason, but before I spend it, I need to solve the riddle of why everyone I sign underperforms. I’ve tried to tweak their individual strategies to boost their strengths, but that’s obviously not the answer. Maybe they just don’t like the Atlantic City salt air…

[KJChmura]

Kicked myself for not bringing Hewat back this year

[BaseClogger]

I’m afraid what you saw is what you’re going to get with Ober. Maybe one more above average season.

[trmmilwwi]

I kinda forgot about Hogan. Wish I could have kept him but he was due for some dough.