Calgary Herald Sports-Wrap - 1998 Volume 1

[KCCardinalFan]

The Marauders have come out of the gates fighting for .500. Calgary has a world-class offense with a turd of a bullpen, so that equation usually ends up in a trade at some point, stay tuned.

Johnie Iraq is 27, and really really good. Can he claim the mantle of best position player in the game? So far in 1998 The Chosen One is hitting .340, with 9 homeruns and driving in 23. That 1.013 OPS looks nice as well. The speedy Iraq is also one of the best defensive players in the game. Also off to fast starts are 3B Joshua Yeomans (.383 with 19 RBIs), Catcher Gustavo Maldanado (.351), and 1B Joe Sullivan (.283 with 6 homeruns and 14 driven in).

The young rotation also has shown signs of being very good. Leading the pack is Lee Plemel who is 4-0 in six starts, posting a 2.95 ERA and a nice 1.13 WHIP. Worth noting is that an injury, or continued slow start, may open the gates for prospect Lorenzo Morales, who has struggled a bit in AA but was still recently promoted to AAA.

Overall the new GM isn't terribly disappointed, but a move or two in the pen could really turn things around in Calgary.

[BigRed Mosquito]

Having Iraq, is something any new GM would love.

[KCCardinalFan]

Having Iraq, is something any new GM would love.

Yes, I walked into a pretty nice situation overall!

[lynchy34]

I think you left out a couple reallys when you were describing how good Iraq is.

[KCCardinalFan]

I think you left out a couple reallys when you were describing how good Iraq is.

He hasn't had a season to match those ratings yet, so I'll just use two at this point. Subject to edit though...

[recte44]

He's had an injury history. Honestly, I'm still trying to understand how the previous regime dealt Izatt. Calgary had the best young position player and young SP in the game. WOW.

[KCCardinalFan]

At least he got a decent haul, highlighted by Chris Coll who is just dying to come up and hit in front of Iraq!