2046 Manama Pearls Preview

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2045 record: 102-59

2045 recap: Breezed their way to a Burt League title. Had to fight in the playoffs, however, narrowly defeating Beirut in the Round of Four before losing to Mumbai in the United Cup. Swept the major awards, with Santiago Zúñiga winning Pitcher of the Year, and DH Mario Guerrer taking home the Position Player of the Year. Yet somehow for Manama, a team that has become the standard of UMEBA excellence, falling short of a championship makes the season feel like a failure.

2046 outlook: The big three of Guerrer, Sadaharu Oh III, and Joshua Koka will continue to carry the offense. Koka is still only 25, and has become a much more disciplined hitter than he was in his 51-homer campaign two years ago. It’s like he realized he’s got these monsters hitting behind him, so he may not need to put up 50 homers as long as he can get on base and let the big bats drive him in.

Oh is coming off somewhat of a down year, but he’s still just 29 and has the same power swing he hit 50 home runs with in 2043. He appears to have done something to anger the BABIP gods last season, because a .259 average on balls in play is well below his career rate. Look for his production to jump back up towards the usual this year.

The Pearls also signed first baseman Nacho Méndez, a move which lets them move Wally Geoghegan to second base full-time and shift James Holman to shortstop, for a more offensive-oriented lineup. “As if they needed more offense,” the rest of the league was quoted as saying.

The rotation is still the class of the Burt League. Susila Kartosuwiryo put up one of the best pitching seasons in UMEBA history last year as a 19-year-old, and it’s possible that he’ll be even better this season. Scouts who have seen him pitch this spring are saying that he’s actually gained a couple ticks on his fastball. Zúñiga will back him up, followed by a new addition to the rotation, last year’s closer and Reliever of the Year award winner, Edwin Harney. I don’t think there’s any doubt about Harney’s ability to take on a starter role after seeing him get extended in a few key playoff games for the Pearls last October.

César ‘Warthog’ Sánchez will also join the rotation to replace the departed Johan Trojka. The last time Sánchez pitched in the UMEBA (when he was a young wart-hoooooog), he led the league in strikeouts, but had an ERA of nearly 6. The stuff will still play, the question will be how many guys he’ll walk in the process.

Manuel ‘Smalls’ Camacho will be shifted into the closer role vacated by Harney. Camacho was the one inconsistent starter for the Pearls last season, so it will be interesting to see if the 20-year-old can adjust to shorter, more high-leverage outings. Lefty Dave Walsh was acquired this off-season in a trade to bolster the bullpen, and he could also potentially fill a stopper/high leverage role.

2046 Prediction: 100-62. Kartosuwiryo, extra motivated after his 2nd-place finish in the Pitcher of the Year voting, tells the league to hold his beer and embarks on an otherwordly dominant campaign, leading the Pearls to their third straight 100-win season.

[CTBrewCrew]

Pearls are the UMEBA version of YS9. They just keep winning