2054 Frick’in Geoghegan Preview: Bluebirds vs Tropics

[neugey]

Nashville will enjoy its 7th straight year in the BBA playoffs, this time as a #5 seed. The Bluebirds finished a game ahead of Long Beach and Twin Cities to stay out of a play-in scenario. This is clearly not the 100+ game division winner of past years, yet the playoff-tested Bluebirds remain dangerous.

Star 1B Wafid Bishr continues to spearhead the Nashville offense, as shown by his 40 homers and 109 RBI in 2054. CF Theo Bourges also contributed 33 homers. Those two players between them have 4 Sawyer Silk Awards. As if that wasn’t enough, 3-time Silk winner RF Juan Rivera was acquired just before the trade deadline. He has been excellent as a Bluebird with a .310/.366/.661 line in 168 at-bats. All of these Silk winners provide a very stable offensive core for Nashville, who finished 2nd in homers and 3rd in runs scored in the Frick. 2B Helmet Grun continues to shine statistically as one of the most well-rounded hitters at the keystone position in the BBA. All in all, the Bluebirds have plenty to work with on offense.

Defensively, it can be a bit of challenge for Nashville. They did acquire an excellent defensive catcher in Jesus Rodriguez in late June who will probably see the brunt of the post-season action. Despite good ratings, SS Niaz Minhas struggled with 20 errors and -6.3 ZR. It seems like the outfield defense played better than the infield did in 2054.

Nashville pitchers led the Frick in strikeouts, but also gave up a lot of walks and runs in the process. SP Barney Lindsay went 15-7, but with a 4.39 ERA and 1.39, it’s evident the run support was a huge factor. The two-time Nebraska winner can still be an ace, but he hasn’t been quite so dominant in the last few years. At least no Bluebirds starter finished with an ERA over 5.00. They have been just effective enough to allow their offense to prosper. The team finished with just a +33 run differential despite a 87-75 record, so they may not have much margin for error. The bullpen has not been as dominant as prior editions, and Quirke Roddis regressed a little after his breakout 2053 campaign. The Bluebirds pitching will have to put together some great collective outings in order for Nashville to advance.

Flipping over to Hawaii, the Tropics seem to have the more solid pitching and defense. Ace SP Semih Gurani bounced back after a subpar 2053, posting a 12-8 record with a 3.53 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP. Terry Hansen’s year season was cut in half by injury, but he’s healthy now and could be an x-factor as the fourth starter. Young lefty Phil Thompson is transitioning from the bullpen to the rotation and is starting to earn the full trust of the coaching staff with a 3.35 ERA. The rotation as a whole is very young but improving. The bullpen is a mix of young and veteran players who work in a committee approach – no player had more than 10 saves. We will see if the strategy of having no real stopper or closer will limit the Tropics in the postseason.

Defensively, the Tropics aided their pitching staff by committing the 2nd fewest errors in the Frick. SS Thomas Kramer, a 3-time Zimmer winner, may be a candidate again this year after posting a humongous +32 ZR. Beside him, 3B Will Patterson flashes great range with his own +7.6 ZR. RF Pedro Huerta is probably the lone weak link on defense, but the Tropics cannot afford to take his bat out of the lineup.

Offensively, Hawaii has been in the middle of the pack, and it may be a battle to keep pace with other teams in the post-season. DH Adam Backhouse, with a .313 average, 44 home runs and 132 RBI’s, is the guy many opponents choose to pitch around. That makes Huerta with his .283/.327/.570 line very important. 22-year old Mitch Wareham is a solid super-utility player that could play a big role. The hitting of aging veteran 1B Mike Campbell (37 years old and with one year remaining on his contract) will also be pivotal.

Verdict: This is probably going to be a close series, but Hawaii seems like the more well-rounded team. Despite their lack of playoff experience, they must start somewhere. I think they will have what it takes to win game 5 and advance.

[Jwalk100]

The game logic likes to play head games. Nashville will move on 3-2. All 5 games will be won by the road team.

[CTBrewCrew]

Hawaii has been beset by injuries

[Dington]

Hawaii is faltering and Nashville is just getting hot (I hope) so I think we will win, too. Late season injuries suck. Hawaii had a helluva season until the injury bug hit. Grun hasn’t played the field for awhile after I moved him to DH and we’ve been playing better. Swapping Minhas for McNeill will be the death of me, jus those fully not yet.