Wise Kraken 29.2032: Split With Vegas Highlights Growth

[aaronweiner]

The Carolina Kraken came into the 2032 season with lowered expectations, but they may have sold themselves short. The Kraken went 3-4 in the last sim to keep close to .500 after three sims, and barring two meltdowns by their superstar closer, Rafael Mata, the Kraken could have gone 5-2 last week and won a series against the Las Vegas Hustlers. As it were, Carolina split four with Vegas and two with Atlantic City, then closed out the sim with a loss to Charm City to run their record to 9-11 on the season. The meltdowns by Mata this week were startling but not unprecedented; Mata generally doesn't get going until midway through the season.

"We obviously have some growth to achieve in spots, but we're getting better all the time," said Kraken manager Chet Rouse. "We have lots of reasons to believe we're going to be better this year."

The Kraken offense rebounded in a big way in the last sim, as slumping players like Chet Gabriel, Jorge Vargas, and Chris Klein all put up strong numbers, and outfielder Gabriel Delgado continued his strong April with another home run. Valeri Kharlmanov, returning from the DL, gave the team a lift as well, hitting .308 in six games. The pitching staff had serious problems in the last sim, especially with the long ball, but overall the Kraken were perfectly fine.

"If we approach .500 this season and we've got all that talent in our organization, the sky's the limit," said Lucas Meech, whose strong start has him as a JL Rookie Player of the Month candidate. "I bet we still have another gear here too."