2046 Athens Fighting Centaurs Preview

[chicoruiz]

The “Fighting Centaurs”. So…A centaur is the body of a horse and the torso of a man, right? So how would centaurs fight? Would they rear back on their hind legs and kick out with their front hooves? Or would they just trot up next to each other and start punching each other in the face, which seems kind of comical? It’s been a long winter, and I’m thinking about these kinds of things way too much. Anyway, on with the preview…

CATCHER: Tokimasa Yano was the #3 overall pick in the 2044 draft, and so far he’s lived up to it. He has elite on-base skills, and showed power in the minors that should show up in the majors soon. Recent signee Pablo Alaniz looks to be the backup; it wouldn’t surprise me if another depth guy gets added when other teams start to cut guys loose.

FIRST BASE: Vinnie Youngberry is listed as the starter; he’s coming off a couple of nice AAA years but has no major league experience. Journeyman George Woolridge is also on hand.

SECOND BASE: Well… there’s a lot here, and not a lot to like, honestly. Jorge Reyes is listed as the starter; he brings a good glove and a bad attitude, and as guys like that are wont to do, he moves around a lot; Athens will be his eighth team in five seasons. Behind him I see Jim Abernathy, Santiago Morales, and Pepe Gonzales, all of whom profile better as utility guys.

THIRD BASE: Doug Glover had a half-season in Athens, posting a .668 OPS. He’s another guy with attitude issues; what’s with these guys? They need to get together and hug it out. Larry Blake just got signed and may challenge here.

SHORTSTOP: Rubem Bordonhos is the team’s best shortstop. He’s also their best second baseman and third baseman, but barring some successful cloning experiments, he’ll be at short. He’s really fast and really good (16 triples in 2043!). Behind him are the same guys I mentioned in the 2B comment.

OUTFIELD: LF Jack Moniker slots well in the leadoff spot; he gets on base and steals bases. His nickname is “Waddles” which seems cruel for a guy who stole 44 bases in 2044. Jose Leyva comes over from the BBA to play center. He’s a plus-plus defender who hasn’t really hit yet. The Centaurs waived Antonio Cortez, their erstwhile RF, leading me to believe they’re opening the spot for youngster Eamon Sherrill; if they decide to give Sherrill some AAA, there’s Craig White and Tony Vega, though Tony finds playing the field a challenging experience. And Cortez could return from waivers. Also, remember the name Quinn Greene here, maybe not this year, but soon.

DH: Alberto Robles is the very model of a modern DH: silver bat, iron glove. Vega might also see some time here.

STARTERS: Athens is paying a couple of guys eight million apiece to come over from Brooklyn in the BBA and throw baseballs, so one assumes they’ll be in the rotation. Takeo Aoki should be the stud, good for 200+ innings of good ball. Mike Charette, on the other hand, hasn’t really clicked as a starter yet, but there’s no reason why he shouldn’t. Behind those two, youngsters Doug Hamlyn and junkballer Aeneas Pittakis should be solid mid-rotation guys. And I think fifth starter Ghi-Cheng Kum could be a sleeper, though it’s hard to overlook a guy who stands 6’11”. Peter Dickerson and Wayne Jackson will lurk in the background, waiting...waiting...

BULLPEN: Steffan Gimsing- star of the upcoming movie “Not Another Teen Closer”. Honestly, does every team in the UMEBA have a young lights-out closer? Past him, we see another teen, Shing Ren, plus veterans David Rivas and Juan Ortiz. Marko Efremov and maybe Euan Ring will handle the lefty side of things.

Coming off a 73-91 season, it’s hard to be too optimistic about the Centaurs, especially in a division with Bucharest and Mumbai. And there’s no doubt there are issues to be dealt with, but if they can figure out the bottom half of their lineup, and if Charette and Kum step forward, this could be a nice little baseball team.

[allenciox]

Boy, they look awfully good. Definitely signficantly improved since last season.

[jtannehill]

Thanks Jim! Hopefully I won't play you 50+ times like last season. Everytime I turned around I was playing a three game series against you it seemed like:) You are still def the team to beat. Thank You for writing that up John! Good Luck to you this year!

[CTBrewCrew]

Looking forward to watching the umeba this season