2055 Calgary Preview

Team, Division, League, Playoff, and all other comprehensive previews go here.
User avatar
mragland
BBA GM
Posts: 640
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2021 7:14 pm
Location: Fayetteville, AR
Has thanked: 39 times
Been thanked: 374 times

2055 Calgary Preview

Post by mragland » Sun May 28, 2023 12:18 pm

Just a Number

Image
Let's just get this out the way at the beginning. Kevin Dickson is ancient. Like, 'every day is a gift' kind of old. The association as whole is a gerontocracy. It's bizarre, and it doesn't look to be changing anytime soon. Dickson has held his position as general manager of the Calgary baseball club for fifty years. Let that sink in for a moment. They will pry the reigns of this team from his cold, dead hands. Shockingly, at ninety-three, Dickson isn't even the oldest active (a word we perhaps use generously here) BBA GM. The oldest would be Atlantic City's John (Wild Turkey) Momberg, who is a spry 101.

A whopping 23 of 32 head executives of BBA clubs are above what is considered retirement age (which is 67 years-old at the time of this writing). Momberg is the elder statesman of the BBA and sole centenarian GM, for now. Behind him, there are three nonagenarians, including Dickson, Rockville's Jim Slade (91), and San Fernando's Kurt Imber (91). There are five octogenarians, Hawaii's James (Hand me My) Walker (88), Madison's Mike Simon (87), The Team in Colorado's Brett Golden (83), Edmonton's Mike Neugebauer (82), and Las Vegas's Matt Rectenwald (81). There are eleven septuagenarian GMs, Louisville's Brian Pinnell (79), San Antonio's Tim Meseck (79), Charlotte's Seth Moland-Kovash (78) Phoenix's Sean Marko (77), Yellow Springs' Rob McMonigal (77), Jacksonville's Aaron Weiner (76), Twin Cities' Alan Ehlers (76), Boise's Joe Lederer (75), New Orleans's Jim Roberts (75), Potland's Chris Wilson (75), and Montreal's Douglas Aiton (74). Three of the association's sexagenarians are above 67, Des Moines' Patrick McLaughlin (69), Chicago's Kevin Chmura (68), and Mexico City's Fred Holmes (68). The rest are a mere smattering of whippersnappers.

It's a hoot when the group of them comes together, and of course, at their age it's good to be anywhere. Many of these guys can remember rotary telephones, leaded gas, pitchers who hit. Their children's names? Maybe not. Watching all these geezers shuffle around the ballroom floor during the winter meetings is, well, something, and if nothing else, evocative of a large US Senate hearing, though somehow more decorous and congenial than the group of elected geezers.

In all seriousness, though, it's hard not to conclude that baseball can keep one young at heart, and alive. These guys must truly love the game to cling to it so ardently, for such a very long time.

Speaking of long, Kevin Dickson has quite a track record as a BBA GM, 4470 wins and 4104 losses (a .521 win percentage), three pennants, and two championships. Connie Mack, by way of comparison, had a mere 3731 wins (a .486 win percentage) and 5 World Series championships in his career. By the time he was Dickson's age, Mack was dead. Amazingly, Kevin has only helmed one team in his remarkable career. Kevin Dickson is the Calgary Pioneers, and the Pioneers are Kevin Dickson, and the end of this union doesn't appear to be in sight.

So, anyway, what about this 2055 Pioneers team? It looks like more of the same in Calgary, and that ain't good news.

Calgary comes off of a 2054 campaign that was rough. The team went 73-89, finishing twenty-three games out of first place, eleven out of the wild card. In an offensively dynamic Frontier Division, playing in a hitter-friendly stadium, the Pioneers' 816 runs scored was only the fifth-most productive of eight squads. Troublesome for Calgary, because pitching and defense were not their forte. They gave up a total of 896 runs on the year (15th in the JL), for a -80 run differential.

Calgary, whose starters posted a painful-to-contemplate 5.53 ERA last year, lost some pitchers to free agency, most notably starters Jaypee Estancia (111 ERA+) and Edward Crutcher (91 ERA+ as as starter). Ramón González (2.8 WAR, 109 ERA+) looks like an able enough replacement for Estancia, but will the Pioneers have enough talent to scratch together a big league rotation? Returning starter Shinsui Hasegawa (6.53 ERA) wasn't that bad. Hear me out. His FIP- of 95 last season was at least respectable, and his .346 BABIP was a largely undeserved millstone around his neck that he just couldn't overcome. If he can get that HR rate down from 1.3 (closer to 0.8), and it looks like he could, and the team puts a defense behind him, Hasegawa will be fine, maybe even better than fine. But those are some weighty qualifiers, and he might need to wait another season or two for the Pioneers to shore up their fundamentals in the field.

The remainder of the rotation remains a murky picture. Leon Ludeman (4.89 ERA in 33 starts), the 29-year-old German with a difficult personality, can carry a lot of innings (and grudges), but hasn't been able to repeat his successful 2052 season (3.62 ERA, 4.0 WAR). Franklin Badger started 17 games last season (4.74 ERA), but was fairly unremarkable in those appearances. Cristo Muñóz had 10 starts for Calgary in 2054, and was just plain bad (6.65 ERA, 146 FIP-). José Mércio wasn't much better in his 13 starts (5.31 ERA, 122 FIP-). It's entirely possible the Calgary rotation will take a step back in '55, but help may be on the way. Daniel Thornton (2.18 ERA in 18 starts at AA last year) and Nalany Ahotaein (4.79 ERA in 19 starts at AAA) should get a good looks this spring, and may make a positive contribution this season.

The bullpen was pretty average last year (8th in ERA in the JL at 4.30). The addition of Bill Keil will help with depth, which is needed, but there are no big changes to see here.

The Calgary lineup isn't particularly old by contemporary BBA standards, but three of the four most productive hitters are entering their age 34 seasons. First baseman Larry Stinson (138 wRC+, 3.4 WAR) remains a force in the cleanup spot. Third baseman Carlomaria Donadoni has been a consistent performer at the plate the last three years (an OPS+ of 133 in each). Designated hitter Robert Chenoweth saw a slight dip in production last year (126 wRC+), following an impressive comeback season in '53 (136 wRC+). Calgary will need these guys to continue aging gracefully, at the very least, because the Pioneers will need to score early and often to keep their heads above water.

In the field, the Pioneers will look very much the same as the '54 edition. There have been no significant position player additions via free agency as of this writing. The team was 11th in zone rating and 12th in defensive efficiency in the JL last year, which is not great. Not quite a cover your face and peak through your fingers kind of defense, such as might be seen in, say, Mexico City, but well below association average. CF Jeffrey Tate is okay in the outfield, but not so slick a fielder as to make up for his 67 OPS+ at the plate and provide real value. Second baseman Thomas Jefferson is passable. Rookie Dan Cobbs seems poised to get the bulk of the starts behind the dish. He should be fine. The less said about the remainder of the squad, the better. There is no reason to expect significant defensive improvement in '55.

Opposing lineups will continue to look forward to seeing the Pioneers on the schedule next year, and Calgary hitters will have a hard time pushing across enough runs to make up the difference with those given up. Early predictions call for a repeat 73-89 record. This looks reasonable.
Morris Ragland
President, Baseball Ops, Beirut Cedars (8/25/46 - 10/23/47)
President, Baseball Ops, Valencia Stars (10/24/47 - present)
925-891 Lifetime Record
2048 Caleca Winner

"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." - W. Churchill

User avatar
Jwalk100
GB: FL Pacific Division Director
Posts: 3042
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2020 9:42 pm
Has thanked: 1818 times
Been thanked: 771 times

Re: 2055 Calgary Preview

Post by Jwalk100 » Sun May 28, 2023 1:37 pm

Lots of league flavor in this one.

Great job!
Image
ImageImageImageImageImage

User avatar
Dington
GB: Recruiting & Development Director
Posts: 4816
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2020 12:06 am
Has thanked: 2074 times
Been thanked: 1147 times
Contact:

Re: 2055 Calgary Preview

Post by Dington » Sun May 28, 2023 2:01 pm

mragland wrote:
Sun May 28, 2023 12:18 pm
Just a Number


Hawaii's James (Hand me My) Walker (88),
:lol:
Image
Nashville Bluebirds GM
HOW I BUILD A WINNING TEAM <---Click
Kuwait City GM 2042-43
2043 UMEBA United Cup Champion*

User avatar
chicoruiz
BBA GM
Posts: 626
Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2020 2:32 pm
Has thanked: 187 times
Been thanked: 436 times

Re: 2055 Calgary Preview

Post by chicoruiz » Sun May 28, 2023 6:19 pm

I may be 101, but at least I have all my teeth. I keep them in a mason jar on my nightstand…
( “In baseball you don’t know nothin’...” Yogi Berra)

User avatar
BaseClogger
BBA GM
Posts: 1254
Joined: Sun May 08, 2022 8:55 am
Has thanked: 1081 times
Been thanked: 294 times

Re: 2055 Calgary Preview

Post by BaseClogger » Sun May 28, 2023 7:59 pm

Most thorough preview so far. Bravo!
San Fernando Bears GM since 2051

User avatar
CTBrewCrew
GB: FL Heartland Division Director
Posts: 5111
Joined: Wed Sep 04, 2019 11:20 am
Location: Milford, CT
Has thanked: 923 times
Been thanked: 1317 times

Re: 2055 Calgary Preview

Post by CTBrewCrew » Mon May 29, 2023 11:36 am

BaseClogger wrote:
Sun May 28, 2023 7:59 pm
Most thorough preview so far. Bravo!

agreed!
Image

User avatar
trmmilwwi
BBA GM
Posts: 5220
Joined: Mon May 07, 2012 5:05 pm
Location: Chicago
Has thanked: 238 times
Been thanked: 213 times

Re: 2055 Calgary Preview

Post by trmmilwwi » Tue May 30, 2023 12:46 pm

Fun read! "the 29-year-old German with a difficult personality, can carry a lot of innings (and grudges)" was noteworthy writing, it made me chuckle.
trmmilwwi - GM San Antonio Outlaws
MBWBA Manager of the Year FL 2010, JL 2016, JL 2018

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic

Return to “Previews”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests