56.16- Casinotes- 20 Questions

[chicoruiz]

These are the questions I’m asking myself after a year that brought more questions than answers. Understand: I’m just writing them down for my own benefit; I’m not expecting you to answer any of them. Although Lord knows I could use all the help I can get…

1. What will my 2057 budget be? I made more money than my budget this year, but I spent even more. Not sure how the old owner is going to react to that.

2. I expect to have decent cap room to pursue free agents. Should I go all out to go get a big-money pitcher to two to straighten out the rotation, or should I lay back in the weeds and wait?

3. Am I stupid for retaining all my big league coaching staff? The results have not been there, but they seem like they’re as good as most of what’s on the open market.

4. Is Antonio Santiago someone I can count on in the 2057 rotation, or am I headed for yet another disappointment?

5. Speaking of which, a year ago I was high on Troy Torres, James Robinson and Leo Hill, and they all flopped. Can any of them rebound?

6. Obviously Francisco Ortiz ain’t no starter, but will he recapture his mojo in the bullpen, or is he cooked?

7. Is it worth keeping Antonio Garcia around at all, or should I just eat the last year of his contract?

8. Jeffrey Flowers hasn’t really lit up AAA, but I gave up a player to get him, and he’s out of options. Is there a place for him on the big league pitching staff?

9. Which of my bullpen guys should I keep and which should I flush? They all seem like basically the same guy to me.

10. Marc Vaughn (he of the 14 stuff rating) stunk it up in the majors, but dominated in AA. Has he earned another shot?

11. Is there a lefty reliever in the organization anywhere? Andrew McLean? Tok Takahashi? The ever-disappointing Matt Schneider?

12. Did 1B Tyler Ober find his footing? He started out cold, then got hurt, but was okay in the second half.

13. Can I live with Yodo Sato’s glove at second base? He hit .297 and stole 47 bases, so he’s gonna play somewhere…but where?

14. Is DH Jared Dixon fool’s gold? He doesn’t bring much except batting average to the party, and even that slid a bit in September. Maybe this is a home for Sato.

15. Is 3B Ernesto Gonzalez going to exercise his player option for 2057? You’d certainly think so, and that’s okay with me; he’s still viable even at his advanced age.

16. Similarly, will OF Bronx Cortez opt out? Him I could stand to let go, because I have a bit of a logjam in the outfield right now. Even if he opts in, he hit 35 home runs and should have some trade value.

17. If Cortez stays, can Michael Harris cut it as a long-term center fielder? He made the all-star team as a rookie, so I have to find a place for him.

18. If Cortez goes, I can move Harris to right, where he’d be happier, but would Steve Pick and Kevin Myers be an acceptable center field platoon?

19. Can Jonathan Burns pick up sufficient third base skills to be Gonzalez’s heir apparent, or do I need to find another option?

20. Am I ever going to figure out this league? Granted, I’ve taken over two franchises that had a LOT of problems, but this being at the bottom almost every season is wearing on me. Sometimes I feel like the baseball equivalent of Toonces, The Cat Who Could Drive A Car..

[trmmilwwi]

Fun read. Lefties in the bullpen will be a hot commodity again methinks. Keep chugging along, you'll build this thing!

[lordtoffee]

Like the format to this TN. You will break through, and it will feel really good.

[KJChmura]

Ortiz is cooked. But I didn’t think he’d be THAT bad

[Krathan]

This was a good read. I like the way you approached this TN