2052.2: Bad News Bears - First Half Performers

[BaseClogger]

Below is a summary of the five most dissapointing first half performances for the 2052 San Fernando Bears.

Wasim Ala - OF
Wasim Ala emerged as a conerstone of the San Fernado organization thanks to his 4.7 WAR season as as 24 year-old in 2049. Having hit 20 home runs with strong defense and a .361 OBP, Ala appeared to have few weaknesses in his game. Since then, a lack of quality contact has limited Ala's batting average, and he's only ammased 4.1 WAR in the 1,443 PAs since his breakout in 2049. San Fernando hasn't done him any favors by lining him up in center field so frequently, where's he's less impressive defensively than his more comfortable right field. Still in his prime, the Bears hope Ala can get hot down the stretch and add to his current home run total of 8, while increasing his walk rate to match prior seasons. Luckily for them, his .241 batting average is as high as it's been since 2049.

Daniel Camacho - SP
In their search to add proven starting pitchers to the rotation, the Bears gave Daniel Camacho a one-year, $5.5M contract just after Opening Day as the BBA continued to sort through a historic free agent class. Camacho was coming off of a 2.7 WAR season in 2051, having kept his ERA under 4 over nearly 170 innings. The hope was that the 28 year-old's control issues were finally behind him, having tamed his BB/9 down to 4.2. It's unknown whether it's his challenging new home park or the change of teams, but unfortunately for the Bears Camacho's BB/9 has surged upwards to 6.1 so far in 2052. That walk rate has lead to an ugly 6.29 ERA, and San Fernando must now consider whether they can continue giving Camacho starts.

Neil Davies - RP
Neil Davies was acquired as part of the package returned from Rockville in exchange for Angel Gonazalez during the 2050-2051 offseason. He'd found moderate success as a reliever, and San Fernado hoped he might have further potential as a starting pitcher. Unfortunately for both the team and the player, Davies has been a dissapointment since arriving. The Bears tried using him in high leverage situations last year, and while he was one of their better relievers, a 5.30 ERA was all he could muster. Now with an improved bullpen, Davies finds himself in low leverage situations thanks to his 4.76 ERA. Without much improvement, Davies is likely to become a free agent at the end of this season.

Ramon Gonzalez - RP
Ramon Gonzalez makes this list because expectations for him were much higher than that of most Bears pitchers. Gonzalez has the most electric arm on the staff, and for the second straight season the Bears tried to harness it as part of their starting rotation. Both times, the experiment has been cut short almost immediately thanks to a combination of dissapointing early results and lat breaking free agent signings. Gonzalez continued to struggle in the bullpen in 2051, and while he's been better as a reliever in 2052 his inability to transition to the bullpen has left the Bears with few options to move on from some of their ineffective starters.

Jimmy Bumble - RP
Not expected to be an impact pitcher, all that's been asked of Jimmy Bumble this season is to succeed as a left-handed specialist. Bumble was identified as one of San Fernando's few bright spots in their bullpen in the 2051 media guide. But since then, Bumble's ERA has floated in the mid-to-upper 4s because of his mediocre control. Bumble hasn't thrown many innings, and despite the Bears asking Bumble only to succeed in situations most favorable to him, his ERA sits at 4.91 and he's only striking out 5.5 batters per 9 innings.

[bschr682]

Sure seems i got the better end of that Bumble/Munoz trade...

[Lane]

It is the official position of the Long Beach Surfers organization that Camacho deserves to stay in the starting rotation.

[BaseClogger]

Sure seems i got the better end of that Bumble/Munoz trade...

Could really use some starting pitching depth too. Ouch, had not looked at that history.