Sticking Points 2052.2: What Is Going Right in Rockville?

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Sticking Points 2052.2: What Is Going Right in Rockville?

Post by JimSlade » Fri Sep 16, 2022 3:51 pm

You know how all was cool with Wile E. Coyote when he chased the Roadrunner off a cliff and found himself standing in mid-air? As soon as he became aware of his miraculous state, he went crashing back down to earth, with an anvil following suit. Today's report threatens to be that moment of gravity-restoring self-awareness.

Don't look now, but the Rockville Pikemen are 15-16, a mere 7 games behind the division-leading Atlantic City Gamblers. A .484 winning percentage is not something we usually celebrate, but something's going right in Rockville. As a veteran player who understandably preferred to keep anonymous told me, "We were bracing ourselves for a serious rebuild. Instead, we're treading mediocrity. It doesn't feel much different than last season."

What is going right for a team that ranks near the bottom in most team pitching and fielding statistics?

Well, despite dumping veteran RF Angel Gonzalez, in one of the team's many moves to stay under the salary cap, Rockville still has a few guys who know what to do with a bat. The team ranks in the middle of the top half of many batting statistics, equally putting up crooked numbers on both sides of the Won-Lost ledger.

DH Matthew Reilly's 30-game hitting streak, which was recently snapped, was one of the stories of the early season. Julio Barajas and bargain-basement replacement RF Gilberto Villanueva have also driven the middle of the team's scrappy lineup. Off the bench, the team has gotten massive early-season contributions from infielder Vasco Fonzarelli, who will bravely take his mediocre glove out to any spot in the infield to earn time at-bat. In part-time play, The Fonz has been knocking a home run every 10 at-bats, while hitting an uncharacteristically high .360 BA.

The Pikemen's surprisingly tepid start has been accomplished without veteran shortstop and team lead Chip Puckett, who's just started a rehab assignment from an injury suffered in spring training. Luke Collingridge took most of the reps at short to start the season, but his incredible propsensity to maintain an OBP lower than his BA sent him back to Dodge City to, you know, look at a pitch now and then. A combination of Heng-zong Guan, Fonzarelli, and rookie Cam Whitten has held down the middle infield, doing the best they can to outhit their fielding limitations.

Like Puckett, veteran starting pitcher Jafar Haamid has also been rehabbing from a spring training injury. Youngsters Felipe Mendez and Luis Gonzalez have held their own, while expected relative veteran cornerstones Nathaniel Davis and Matt McCartney have performed like kids rushed up from AA. Beside closer Edward Johnson and surprise spring training phenom Ernesto Viera, a 30-year-old career minor leaguer who only had a cup of coffee with New Orleans in 2046, the bullpen has not been strength it was last year. It hasn't helped that middle reliever Wu-jiang Lin has been knocked out of action since spring training with post-concussion syndrome. Lin is being shut down for another 7 weeks, at minimum.

So how does Rockville manage to stay so mediocre, and is that a healthy thing for a franchise in need of a new core of affordable stars? Rumors are that GM Jim Slade is still shopping manageable veteran contributors, showing a willingness to take short-term hits for long-term gains. Haamid is rejoining the rotation, as Davis tries to work through a balky back. Win some, lose some.
BBA GM, Rockville Pikemen
Former UMEBA GM, Mumbai Metro Stars
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