Bandit Post: End Of Season - The Bad (Vol 6.21)

[aaronweiner]

A frustrating season came to a predictable end this past week, as the Birmingham Bandits became the best team in the Frick League without a playoff berth. Birmingham had looked to be a lock for the playoffs at midseason, posting an early 34-20 mark and leading the division as late as August. However, by year's end, the Bandits found themselves four games behind Calgary for the wild card and pondering what might have been.

"Someone blew it, that's for sure," said RF Brett Favre. "But that's not what matters now. What really matters, what's really important, is that the team isn't playing for it all this year, and we ALL want back into that party."

Some people in Birmingham blame the manager. Some believe that it's the fault of the pitching staff, especially Alex Khodorkovsky, who crumbled miserably down the stretch. Khodorkovsky, after getting four All-Star votes, managed the following August/September line: 0-9 (yes, that's zero wins), 8.03 ERA, and, ha ha ha, a 44/9 K/BB ratio in 49.1 innings. Some believe it's the fault of management for not more completely accounting for Damian Bedgood's absence and for rushing him back into action, as the star righty was reasonably effective down the stretch but never really got it all together.

We'll break down the season's good news also - and there is a lot of it. However, let's assign the blame first. In this particular scribe's opinion, the fault was firmly on the shoulders of management, who brought in Donnie Rotten to fill up the rest of the team's cap space when the pitching staff was going well and left nearly no room at all to add pitching. While management was right to a certain extent - Rotten was a solid use of a profitable team's cap space and did hit 25 homers this season - they started the year without a fifth starter and ended it without a #3 starter, as no starting pitcher really stepped up. Using up all of their cap space and acquiring an untradeable asset created a false sense of security which was exposed by Khodorkovsky's collapse and Bedgood's non-starter.

"In other words, yes, we blame ourselves," said GM Aaron Weiner. "We could have done better for the team than Rotten, though we thought that suring up the infield defense and creating some flexibility there was the way to go. Do we think we should be fired? Absolutely not: but we can do better than this."

The pitching moves that the management made this year were mostly good, but the staff that the team started with was so bare bones that it didn't matter at all. Management is aware of this problem and is attempting to address this issue in the offseason.

"The problem is that we started the year with a skeleton crew bullpen," said pitching coach Joe Cooper. "Three Rule 5 draftees? I've never seen that. You have to credit management with bringing in a few veterans to hold down the fort during the season, but we need more depth in the pen."

Birmingham's bullpen problems have received a great deal of attention over the past two years, but management will have to stop for a second to consider the possibility that the rotation is flawed as well. Angelo Hidalgo started and finished the year well; the months in-between were less impressive. Bedgood's difficulty returning from injury and Khodokovsky's struggles are well-documented.

"Well, we're hoping that some members of this rotation are more consistent next year," said manager Lou Brown. "I think with a full spring training, Damian will be fine, and we're hoping to work out whatever problems Alex and Angelo had. We still think we're a pretty good team."

Maybe the most important factor, however, was the luck factor. Birmingham finished first in OPS but fifth in runs scored. Rotten didn't produce. Desoto didn't produce. The Rule 5 players were largely disastrous as opposed to commonly bad. In other words: Birmingham coulda been a whole lot better this year, and there's a good chance that with some luck, they will be next year.

"We thought we played well enough to win this year, but, apparently, luck thought otherwise," said shortstop Jack Dark. "I don't remember a team with as much poor luck that I'd ever played on, and I think it won't be long until you see Birmingham back in the playoffs again."

[lynchy34]

Khohordorsky's struggles are inexplicable. I'm sure he'll bounce back.

[aaronweiner]

Struggles are an understatement. The Russian Rocket got blown to little bits. We're talking dead cosmonauts.

[recte44]

Yeah, he's too talented for that, he'll bounce back. Depth is key in this game, though.

[felipe]

I'm hearing rumours out of Phoenix that the Talon may be interested in giving the Russian Rocket a new lease on life...if Birmingham has the balls to deal with wiley Phx GM Hopkins...

Apparently, Phoenix has several all-star calibre bullpen options that GM Hopkins is not above dangling...

Despite Phx's well documented struggles last season - they had the second best bullpen in the Johnson League...