WHIV 2036.18- Down The Stretch We Come

GM: Matt Rectenwald

Moderator: recte44

User avatar
recte44
GB: Commissioner
Posts: 43001
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 12:14 pm
Location: Oconomowoc, WI
Has thanked: 141 times
Been thanked: 1608 times
Contact:

WHIV 2036.18- Down The Stretch We Come

Post by recte44 » Thu Nov 08, 2018 5:27 pm

Down The Stretch We Come
September 24, 2036


It's been a while since we here at WHIV checked in, so let's catch up, shall we? Going into August it sure looked like the Hustlers had a damn good chance of winning the JL Sun Belt Division, but then they slumped to a 12-15 August, and thus far a 10-11 September. This puts them 5 1/2 games behind the Mexico City Aztecs with five games left to play. So, let's just forget about the division, and concentrate on the Wild Card. Vegas is currently tied for the #2 Wildcard spot with Atlantic City, and 1 1/2 games ahead of the Huntsville Phantoms. So, these last five games are going to be key. The next two are at Mexico City, followed by a day off and then a three game set at San Antonio.

***Injuries have been a big part of the Hustlers season. They have lost an incredible 878 player days to injury this year, check it out:
Major League DL Season Summary - Days and $
Pos Name Salary DL Days $ on DL
P Tony Medine $500k 7 $19.2k
1B Gervasio Ridder $13M 14 $1M
P Manuel Orozco $500k 28 $76.9k
P Gerardo Fajardo $9M 169 $8.36M
C Hank Brewer $12M 42 $2.77M
CF Antonio Cortez $500k 35 $96.2k
CF Miguel Gil $800k 56 $246k
P Joey Flannery $500k 28 $76.9k
RF Jayden Harsnett $19.98M 49 $5.38M
3B Kazuo Yamamoto $500k 7 $19.2k
2B Alberto Benitez $500k 120 $329k
CF Juan Sweetworld $19.68M 14 $1.51M
P Wayne Muirhead $500k 7 $19.2k
P Chin Kim $500k 98 $269k
SS Miguel Rodriguez $500k 63 $173k
P Javier Garcia $500k 11 $30.2k
P Wayne Jackson $500k 63 $173k
LF Hector Gomez $500k 46 $126k
2B Quant Kouros $500k 21 $57.7k
Total on DL 878 days $20.73M

If the Hustlers should hang on and make the playoffs, Kouros won't be healthy until at least the Doubleday Series, and it looks the same for Cantu. Obviously Fajardo and Harsnett were the big losses and neither will be back this season, nor will the rookie shortstop Rodriguez.

***With Harsnett out the Hustlers could have looked at the trade market, in fact other GM's specifically called Las Vegas after that injury. GM Matt Rectenwald chose to do nothing, instead giving rookie Sadaharu Oh III a real shot at replacing some of Harsnett's production. He hasn't disappointed, becoming a power producer in the lineup against RHP, while Henry Rectenberg has moved back into the outfield with Oh III at DH in those lineups.

***The "big" deadline addition was shortstop Dong-soo Chon who was supposed to be the replacement for Rodriguez. Unfortunately he can't hit his way out of a wet paper bag, so the Hustlers ultimately brought Kagehisa Echi back to the bigs where he has been below replacement level himself. With Kouros healthy the Hustlers were playing Antonio Cruz at shortstop so the loss of Kouros was essentially a double-edged cut to the lineup.

***While others may have more WAR or whatever other stat you want to cite, Hustlers manager Edward Allen has been vocal of his praise for Rectenberg. "I don't care what stat you claim, Rectenberg is our MVP and there's not even a debate," said an emphatic Allen. "It's been a pleasure seeing him finally blossom into the player we all thought he'd be."

***The Hustlers have an interesting decision upcoming from first baseman Gervasio Ridder who has a $13M player option for 2037. The Hustlers and Ridder have had some extension talks, but insiders have stated the demands are much too high for the Hustlers to pull the trigger. "Obviously we want to keep him, he's a lifetime Hustler and a future Hall of Famer," said GM Rectenwald. "Sometimes what feels right and what's right for the team are two different things." With a potential Ridder exit on their minds, the Hustlers have given Ron Dumont a look and he's been decent in limited time. The other half of an internal solution would be third baseman Kazou Yamamoto who is back with the club after the Roster Expansion. "Kaz and Ron could be an inexpensive platoon at first base, obviously if that's the case then we're coming up shy about 3 WAR from what Gervasio has given us," Rectenwald mused.

***Vegas has been seeking their next ace pitcher since Gary Estes and it seems like Hao Kun is going to be that guy. "He has been fantastic," said Allen, "and we think he's an ace right now. Hao should garner some Nebraska votes this year if the rest of the league is paying attention."

Ted
Ex-GM
Posts: 5630
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2015 2:50 pm
Has thanked: 368 times
Been thanked: 378 times

Re: WHIV 2036.18- Down The Stretch We Come

Post by Ted » Fri Nov 09, 2018 5:52 pm

That price tag isn't as high as the talent and days lost would suggest. Lots of teams have paid more to players on the DL, but not lost nearly this amount of quality innings and PA's. (Point being you got hit all over the place, lots of young cheap players going down.)
Ted Schmidt
Twin Cities Typing Nightmares(2044-present)
California Crusaders (2021-2038)
Image

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic

Return to “Las Vegas Hustlers”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests