2046 Tripoli Piranhas Preview

[chicoruiz]

Tripoli felt their old nickname was a little too militaristic, so they re-branded in 2045. And of course, nothing says “kinder, gentler”, more than a fish that can strip the flesh from a cow in two minutes. Did it help the on-field product? Not so much, but hope springs eternal in the North African desert. Let’s see what they have to offer this season…

CATCHER: Takanobu Nishikawa will be 34 by Opening Day, and he’s coming off a less than stellar 2045 (this will prove to be a theme in this preview). Kevin Lyons and Katsumi Kato will duel for the backup job, if such a thing is worth dueling over.

FIRST BASE: Like Nishikawa, Morgan Hollinger slumped in 2045 after a pretty good 2044, probably due to tearing his meniscus in July. If he doesn’t return to form, Alejandro Carranza could conceivably make the jump from AA; the other major league options don’t inspire confidence.

SECOND BASE: Takechi Eida is the best 2b in the division for my money; does a .469 OBP and 45 steals sound pretty good? Sixto Palma is a backup who has as much chance of replacing Eida as I do of replacing Prince William.

THIRD BASE: The aptly named Michael Best is making almost 9 million, and is worth every red cent of it (6.2 WAR). Alfredo Padilla is the backup I guess, but I’m expecting that he and Palma will have plenty of time on the bench to hydrate and talk about life and stuff…

SHORTSTOP: Rule 5 pick O-Min Paek gets his first shot at the bigs at age 27. He’s a really good fielder; as a hitter, he’s…a really good fielder. Dan Jackson, lately arrived from Mumbai, is another viable option.

OUTFIELD: As far as I can tell, the Piranhas currently plan to play Virgil Shafer in LF against righties and in RF against lefties. Either way, he’s a good glove with some pop. Wilson Ford, named after two U.S. presidents, has a glove that will create lots of outs, and unfortunately a bat that will do likewise. Kevin MacKeith is yet another member of the “good in ’44 slumped in ‘45” club. He’s penciled in for RF against righties. Francisco Mendez is currently listed as the LF versus lefties, but he’s a left-handed hitter. I find the Tripoli outfield very confusing, frankly; I suspect there’s more tweaking to be done here.

DH: Antonio Roman has the potential ratings and minor league stats to be a big star; he didn’t light the sky on fire in a partial season in the majors last year, but he’s only 20 and patience is a virtue.

STARTERS: Jayden Nicholls pitched much better in a half season in Tripoli than his 4-11 record would indicate. Mahad Einan, age 19, gave the Piranhas 156 innings of 3.79 ERA ball, and they’ll take that every year. Another teen, Cedric Bolitho, jumped all the way from A-ball to the big time and at least held his own. Veteran Charlie Iron-Knife came over in a trade. I for one am glad to see him switch divisions; he’s really good, and it seemed like we faced that sucker 30 times last year. Norberto Villareal is currently in possession of the fifth rotation spot, but Michail Nagabin and Pedro Vega could have something to say about that.

BULLPEN: Finally, a closer in this division who’s old enough to shave every day. That would be David Marquez, yet another 2045 slump victim. Other names for the wide-awake UMEBA fans to know: Roberto Lizardo, Mathias Lovlein, Netuno Markert, and lefty James Braddock. All are on the other side of 30; an oddity in the youth-crazed UMEBA.

Honestly, it’s hard to see how this team lost 93 games last year. If they can get their outfield sorted out and get some bounce-back seasons from a few guys, they might have something here. I know I keep saying that about every team, and simple math tells me that somebody is going to have to lose some of these games, but I gotta call ‘em as I see ‘em.

[woods]

simple math tells me that somebody is going to have to lose some of these games

Oh don't worry, we've got big plans for that over in Cairo. Nice preview!

[tylertoo]

nothing says “kinder, gentler”, more than a fish that can strip the flesh from a cow in two minutes.

Palma is a backup who has as much chance of replacing Eida as I do of replacing Prince William.

He’s a really good fielder; as a hitter, he’s…a really good fielder.

Finally, a closer in this division who’s old enough to shave every day.

Excellent preview and some really good lines! You have a future ahead of you as a scribe covering fictitious baseball!

[CTBrewCrew]

How much spring is left in those 31yo legs of Best...

[tylertoo]

How much spring is left in those 31yo legs of Best...

The Best is yet to come....

[CTBrewCrew]

Oooo i see what you did there...

[allenciox]

I expect Tripoli and Mumbai will be battling it out for playoff spot.

[tylertoo]

I am not counting out Athens, and I don't think their spring training showing thus far is a fluke.

[jtannehill]

Seeing how the predictions last year had me winning 61 and Athens won 73 with a terrible Sept, I'm fine with hanging in the weeds somewhere waiting....waiting:)