The Cool Of The Grass 2049.3: Des Moines Starts Undefeated

[aaronweiner]

We saw this movie last year. Des Moines was leading the Heartland Division after a month last year, and finished with 94 wins. This time? They're 5-0 to lead a division where - get this - one team has a losing record. That's not to say that their start isn't impressive, but it's a pretty clear indicator that, unsurprisingly, whatever they do this year will be challenging.

"We're obviously really excited to start the year undefeated, but nobody finishes the year undefeated," said Hasheem Makin, who uncharacteristically started the year off by going 10 for his first 19 (Makin has a career batting average of .220). "We know that this is a long season, not a short one, which is something we learned last year when we were in first place early."

Still, Des Moines did post a fairly dominant 5-0 in their first five. The Kernels outscored their opponents by 38-12 over the five games, hitting 12 homers in the five games and allowing a league-low 2 flat ERA over the span. It's not possible to do what they're doing over the long haul, but there are some things that might be real about it.

"Our starting pitching is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was when we started here," said Kernels GM Aaron Weiner. "And it's not just Alaric. We might not have the best rotation in the Frick League, because there are some incredible groups, but, you know, we also might."

The Kernels' hot start has led some team observers to wonder whether or not we'll see top prospect Carlos Souza earlier than expected, and Des Moines has already traded for a new starting third baseman and has signed new closer Luis Pina to augment a bullpen group that is somewhat diminished by the injury to Deron Alexander. In fact, we thought we'd never have to write this, but Des Moines might have some issues dancing so close to the cap.

"It's kind of a funny world, isn't it?" asked Alaric, who had a stellar first start in 2051, with six baserunners and 7 Ks. "When I came here the team promised they'd try their best to improve, and maybe we have done it."

Des Moines will also get starter Jon Brown and potential starting right fielder Enrique Rodriguez back soon, and it's possible that the Kernels are not nearly so bad as people thought they might be. Some of the more optimistic preseason predictions had them in first place. Maybe, just maybe, this team isn't nearly as bad as people thought it was.

"You don't lift a forty year curse by accepting the curse and hoping it goes away," said Makin. "You reach out and you grab that thing by the throat and you choke it until it's no longer your problem. We're working hard to take this thing down."

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