Chasing The Storm 2043-1 Offseason Review

[njherdfan]

After the dark days of 2042, there are, maybe, brighter days ahead for the Seattle Storm. It was clear that things were going to change once the season ended; now, let's take a look at how Seattle spent its offseason, and what fans might have to look forward to.

In perhaps Seattle's most interesting offseason move, franchise legend Trey Williams was not retained as the manager. There were rumors of friction between Williams and the front office, and after his contract expired, Williams has moved on. Because Seattle wanted to show that they were not beholden to the past and could look beyond franchise legends, they chose Juan Escobar to be their new manager. That's right, folks. The Mustache himself will be at the helm in Seattle. Escobar has never managed before, but Seattle fans are hoping that his lack of managerial experience will not be a drawback. While Seattle fans are certainly hoping that Escobar will not fail, it will be interesting to see if a lack of success as a manager will hurt the incredibly positive feelings that all Storm fans have for him.

On the player transaction side, Seattle's most consequential decision was resigning Ken Walter. The move was not without controversy, as Walter signed a truly massive contract and will now be Seattle's highest-paid player. Walter, who swept into the Brewster as a 19 year old and began dominating for the next 5 years has not been the same type of pitcher since he suffered a series of injuries. Seattle fans are holding their breath that Walter can regain some semblance of the performance that he displayed before. While there is a chance that Walter will continue to decline and his contract will be a burden, there might be a small silver lining in the fact that Walter's contract gets smaller every year.

Despite struggling so mightily last season, Seattle has been otherwise pretty quiet as it relates to offseason transitions. Rumor has it that Seattle will look inward to improve its lineup, but it remains to be seen what, if anything, will be done to improve Seattle's pitching, which was pretty bad last year. At this point, it appears Seattle's fans will simply need to wait to find out.

[7teen]

I’ll be interested to see how Escobar does going from hitting coach to manager. Or if it even matters.

And wow, that Walter contract.