2044 Vancouver Mounties Preview

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7teen
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2044 Vancouver Mounties Preview

Post by 7teen » Tue Sep 08, 2020 9:39 am

Sometime around the early 2000s, when I was about 20 or so, I went to the Nascar night race in Daytona, Florida with my dad and a few cousins who were older than me. About mid race I opened a bag of chips I had brought with me. A random hand from 3 seats down reached into my bag and grabbed a handful. I didn't know the guy. Never met him in my life. But he felt the need to eat my chips. I tossed the rest on the ground. After the race, fans began spraying beer in the air. My dad reached back to punch a fan and opted not to do it. As we sat in the parking lot after the race on the front stretch, a lady needed to pee. Rather than find the nearest porta potty, a couple guy surrounded her with beach towels and she squatted in the middle of the parking lot. This prompted one of my cousins to comment "This place is a cesspool".

Fast forward 40 or so fictional years and thus is the climate of a game in Vancouver. Rowdy drunken fans. Beer stained seats. And concourse areas that wreak of urine. "You can notice it because there are so few people here" said one fan last season during a game. "The empty void that is the Northwoods Outpost allows you to notice all the bad things. And there are a lot of bad things. It's no wonder it's been dubbed the 'Northwoods Out House' in this area".

Fans are rarely seen flocking to Vancouver games, despite some solid talent. Of course, after five straight seasons of failing to fill 2 million seats, the Mounties have seen an uptick of over 2 million the last 3 years but back to back losing seasons is seeing the trend fading back towards that mark again (they had 2,073,344 in 2043). Can the team fill seats in 2044 or will the promise of a new stadium help bring this once proud franchise back to prominence? Can the team that won 97 games in 2041 recover from the 74 and 77 win seasons of 2042 and 2043? Let's take a look....

Off-season Moves
Signed Hank Brewer - C
Signed Pepe Flores - P
Signed Ignacio Castaneda - P
Traded Masaki Sato - 1B
Lost Jose Dominguez - RF in Rule 5 Draft
Lost Emilio Gutierrez - P to Free Agency
Lost George Robertson - 1B to Free Agency
Lost Jose Luna - P to Free Agency

Overall, not a lot of major moves outside of the Sato trade with Edmonton. Brewer will likely be the regular Catcher and will add veteran leadership behind the dish. At age 38, Brewer has definitely lost some ability but he can still be an OBP threat. Sato is a big bat heading to Edmonton who hit 164 homeruns in 5 seasons with Vancouver but only produced a WAR over 1.5 once in his time in Vancouver. The other pitchers gained are risky, low movement guys, who can perhaps make it work in the spacious Northwoods Park.

Who to Watch on Offense
The offense has 5 big names in the middle of the order you'll want to make sure you are in your seat to watch when they come to bat. Fernando Castillo is fresh off his best WAR season to date despite what appears to be a slight dip in most of his stats last season. He still hit over 30 homeruns for the 3rd straight year while swiping over 40 bags for the 2nd time in a row. If he's facing a righty on the mound, be sure to watch Angel Gonzalez. After an 8.4 WAR year in 2041, Gonzalez has seen a steady decline in his WAR number the last two years mainly because he's not getting on-base as much. But he's still a power threat and a run producer in the middle of the order. As a CF, Vancouver has an advantage over most teams with a hitter in that spot. If Gonzalez doesn't get the run home, then odds are Jeffery Smith will. A 5.5 WAR last season has Smith as one of the elite hitting outfielders in the Pacific Division, if not most of the Frick League. Alejando Ortiz will make most forget who Sato is after the trade. Ortiz, though primarily a platoon guy, will still be good for 25 homers in 2044 out of the 5 spot. Then there is rookie Brad Parkinson who is expected to see full-time action in 2044 after a brief cup of coffee in 2043. Parkinson got 17 at-bats in 2043 and had 6 hits including his first 2 big league homeruns. The rookie may not hit for average and may strike out a few hundred times, but expect at least 20-30 doubles as well as 20-30 homeruns from this guy when he isn't drawing walks.

Of course if you're just into name recognition, you can always stick around and watch David Noboru bat 8th.

Pitching is Steady, but Not Overwhelming
While the offense is the draw in Vancouver, the pitching isn't going to wow you. Now, don't get me wrong, they have some solid guys that can win games in the marathon haul of a 162 game season. Miguel Ayala and Lando Klomp are serviceable guys who every team would take in their rotation, but they don't scream "20-game winner" or "shutdown starter". The rest of the rotation are above average 3-5 guys in the current state of the BBA and Vancouver may also be hoping rookie Richie Vanness can elevate his game in 2044. Vanness made 3 starts last season and posted a 1-1 record and 2.14 ERA and 0.76 WHIP. A guy with all 6 ratings and 4 pitches in the blue/green in the middle or bottom of your rotation is not a bad thing to have at all these days.

The weak spot, at least from what I can tell, is going to be those 6-8 innings. The bullpen looks underwhelming, filled with warty guys with low movement or low control (hey, that's the state of most teams in the BBA now though, right?) With the departure of Jose Luna in free agency, it appears the closers role will go to the Commie Child. Herrera will be an interesting guy to watch in the 9th this season. He's not exactly been a lights out guy in the middle innings the last two seasons but has some electric stuff. If it wasn't for that 1 endurance he'd be an interesting guy to watch as a starter since he has 4 above average pitches in his repertoire. The only thing standings between Commie Child being an elite closer for Vancouver this season will be his control. It ranks in at a 3.

Overall Prediction
They're better than Portland.
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But seriously, this team can be a contender in the red-headed step child division of the Frick League in 2044. Their offense has enough parts and their starting rotation is good enough to win enough games to keep them in the hunt. The bullpen is thin and could be an un-doing but we'll see if they can make it work. I expect 4-5 teams to separate themselves from the rest in the Pacific this season and Vancouver should be in that mix. Im going to give them 87 wins in 2044. That's just a random guess of a number. But I think that's enough to keep them both in the hunt for the division crown as well as in the hunt for a wild card spot in the Frick League this season.

Just make sure if you attend games in Vancouver this season, you take your shoes off before entering your home. That urine smell will follow you home!
Chris Wilson

LB Surfers 95-96
FL Pac Champs: 95

Madison Wolves 99-2039
JL MW: 99-2009, 17, 20, 21
JL WC: 12
JL: 01, 04, 09, 12
FL Heartland: 32
FL WC: 31, 33
BBA Champs: 04, 09

Portland Lumberjacks 2040-
FL Pacific: 50
FL WC: 49, 51
FL Champs: 49, 51

Vic Caleca TN of the Year 2046

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Re: 2044 Vancouver Mounties Preview

Post by RonCo » Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:51 pm

Tell us how you really feel!
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Re: 2044 Vancouver Mounties Preview

Post by StormZ_23 » Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:52 pm

My lawyers will have to contact you about those ludicrous statements you made about the Northwoods Outpost. As for the preview, I pretty much agree with you. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the team underperforms like the last couple of seasons since the rosters are very similar. Anything can happen.
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2041 Frick League GM of the Year
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Re: 2044 Vancouver Mounties Preview

Post by CTBrewCrew » Mon Sep 14, 2020 8:02 pm

They call it “Grannys Peach Tea” up in Vancouver
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Re: 2044 Vancouver Mounties Preview

Post by FuzzyRawley » Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:42 pm

CTBrewCrew wrote:
Mon Sep 14, 2020 8:02 pm
They call it “Grannys Peach Tea” up in Vancouver
Granny's Peach Tea is also what they call Lululemon yoga pants that are past they're prime.
:cool: They say it don't be like it is, but it do!

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Re: 2044 Vancouver Mounties Preview

Post by StormZ_23 » Fri Nov 13, 2020 12:25 am

Well that didn't happen lol
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2041 FL Pacific Champions

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Re: 2044 Vancouver Mounties Preview

Post by 7teen » Fri Nov 13, 2020 8:30 am

7teen wrote:
Tue Sep 08, 2020 9:39 am
Overall Prediction
They're better than Portland.
StormZ_23 wrote:
Fri Nov 13, 2020 12:25 am
Well that didn't happen lol
I at least thought I'd get that right. Never been more happy to be more wrong I guess. haha
Chris Wilson

LB Surfers 95-96
FL Pac Champs: 95

Madison Wolves 99-2039
JL MW: 99-2009, 17, 20, 21
JL WC: 12
JL: 01, 04, 09, 12
FL Heartland: 32
FL WC: 31, 33
BBA Champs: 04, 09

Portland Lumberjacks 2040-
FL Pacific: 50
FL WC: 49, 51
FL Champs: 49, 51

Vic Caleca TN of the Year 2046

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