Bandit Post, Vol 0.0, 1997

[aaronweiner]

While nobody will be asking the question "What if?" about the 1996 season, when the Birmingham Bandits won 87 games and the wild card, the new year brings nothing but uncertainty and big questions as to whether Birmingham might have done better throwing caution to the wind and grabbing some top talent off the free agent wire. Instead, Birmingham goes into 1997 with more questions than answers, a serious arm injury to one of the franchise cornerstones, and more doubts than certainties.

A quick rundown of the Bandits' offseason is, in fact, very quick. The big move of the offseason was already chronicled here, as Chris Brown was shipped to Vancouver for Jimmy Dugan in a swap of starting first basemen. Birmingham signed just two free agents. Porfino Garza was signed after Birmingham failed to sign Pravit Prabhkar. Garza is a utility infielder who is likely to be more productive than John Carver. The other signing was Hunter "Seeker" Clark, a swingman signed to attack the heart of the plate and get into the hearts of local fans.

The small list of moves meant that Birmingham's bullpen, their biggest problem area in 1996, actually grew weaker this year. It would be difficult to call Clark a serious upgrade over anyone last year. Birmingham flirted with the idea of signing Damario Poso, who went to Louisville for $6.3 million per season, and Oscar Acosta, who signed with Austin for a startling $7.7 million per year, but decided the price tags on those players far exceeded their value.

So how did Birmingham fill in the gaps in their pen? The - *gasp* - Rule 5 draft, where Birmingham drafted three pitchers. The only one to see major league time is Porter Capps, who is reminiscent of a righthanded Norm Charlton. Birmingham also grabbed two intriguing minor leaguers: James Moultrie, AA All-Star, and interesting project Gene Reilly.

The moves this offseason, other than the deal for Dugan, suggest that Birmingham may consider this season a tough year. It might be a different story if Damian Bedgood wasn't starting the year on the 60-day DL, if Birmingham had decided to use serious resources to upgrade the problem pen, if the fourth starter wasn't Abdal Tutmosa.

It's not that there isn't any good news for the Bandits. With the exception of Brown, Birmingham will return the whole lineup that finished third in runs scored last year while adding a huge power bat in Jimmy Dugan. Sammy Bodeen signed a one-year extension, avoiding all talk of arbitration next year and hopefully setting him up for a multi-year deal after the 1998 season. Star outfielder Medric Wood is locked up until the new millenium. The team is in negotiations with Bedgood but reportedly wants to see how he rehabs from his arm injury; both sides are hopeful they can come to an agreement soon.

However: there's little question that Birmingham has gone through a serious phase shift this season, and the fact that Birmingham has passed Hayden Finch through waivers means that the Bandits might be packing it in at some point this season. If they can hold on until June, however, they'll get the biggest addition of all: Bedgood back from the DL. At that point, it's anyone's game.

[mad0die]

Yeah, I overspent on Acosta, but I could afford it and the need was there.

[aaronweiner]

Well, there's little question that Acosta can pitch, so it's not as if you overspent on a dud.

[DoubleB]

I declined arbitration on Poso after banishing him to the minors last season.

He was my worst reliever when I took over Hackensack.

[aaronweiner]

I'd say that says more about the Hackensack bullpen than it does about Poso, though.

[mad0die]

Yeah, I really liked Poso too.