The Not as Clever as usual 2057 Talons Preview

[Trebro]

The Not as Clever as usual 2057 Talons Preview

I usually find a really funny, silly way to put this together, but I didn't have a hook, so this year, it's a more down to earth one, which I guess is fitting because it's worth less points, too. (I ended up deciding losing two points to put together a better preview was worth it.)

For the record, I did not look at the final roster for the Talons when creating this, as I like to make my own guesses.

First, let's review 2056. I predicted the team would go 75-87. They finished 73-89, just to spite me and not let me brag about my personal time machine, which I use exclusively to pick out the records of BBA teams. You might think that's a poor use of a time machine, but hey, at least it doesn't kill any butterflies.

Looking at attendance, it still hovered above 3,000,000 fans, just barely, so keeping the bleeding down plus a lower overall payroll helped make this past season less of losing proposition than it could have been, but the claws are still pointing downwards in terms of their long-term fortunes. The playoff appearances in 2051 and 2053 are definitely in the rear-view mirror as the major-league car sits in neutral.

Everything is holding serve right now from last year, including quite a bit of the roster. But unless Your Mom starts to ball out even more, I can't see the team doing significantly better. Still, I appreciate that the Talons Reclusive GM™ did make some moves to shore up some of the holes from 2056. It would have been easy to cruise along with more cheap promotions and collect ticket money. Instead, he's used what he had available to make tweaks.

The Hitters, or: Angels in the Infield

The Talons, by my count, are keeping 6 of their starting 9 back again. Given the team's struggles, that's probably not ideal but it is familiar.

After a mid-season trade, Angel Zalapa is back to play more second base and lose another 20 points off his batting average. He'll turn 42 during the tail end of the season, assuming he makes it that far. His defense is still great, with an overall ZR of 7.2, but I'll note he was negative for the time he was with Valencia. He can't possibly be looked at for full-time duty.

Luis Pena, a new addition, will throw balls to Jorge Pena, who doesn't add much to the lineup. The shortstop has good defensive metrics (per the scouts, he's got so much blues 23 and me thinks he's related to BB King), but zero bat, managing just .196 last year. Jorge Pena at least can hit .240 but that's not exactly what you want from first base.

Don Perezis back at third to round out the infield. He's a quietly good player, which means I hate him because I can't make any snarky jokes.

The outfield features Andrew Wright, Jyri Kulmala, and it looks to be Michael O'Halleran, who made waves by signing a huge deal as an unproven player during the 2055 off-season. He was given time at the Toledo Liberty to learn how to be a winner, and now it's time to see what he can do at the big-league level. Maybe. The outfield is going to be the heart of the offense. Wright recovered nicely in 2056 and the Talons will need that to keep going. Kulmala is good at getting on base despite a weak average, but he's one of the best defensive center fielders in the game right now.

Catcher was the other big change. Phoenix replaced their aging catcher with...an aging catcher! Roelof Klooster is 38, but he's still as of this writing one of the better BBA catchers. He's able to hit well over .250 while providing strong defense and leadership abilities. Can he keep it up? The Talons will collapse entirely if he can't.

Hmm, who am I forgetting? Oh yeah: Yer Mom. That guy's pretty good. Now a full-time DH, Mr. Mother will be the focal point of the lineup once again. The question will be how many people are on base for him to knock in, assuming they don't keep his wood stiff and just throw him balls. Scoring could be a real issue for him in 2057.

Elevator Pitch: The Talons should improve their defense but outside of a few players, don't expect a lot of crooked numbers from this team.

The Starting Pitchers, or: I can almost just cut-copy-paste.

Like the starting lineup, the Talons feature a lot of familiar faces here.

Damien Theophanous, as does Nick Rivers and Jaypee Estancia and Slobodan Omeragic, making up 4/5 of the rotation. It looks like Lucas Rose, a new addition from the Angel trade, might be the 5th starter, but because he's 23 and has an option, watch him play for the Liberty instead.

No matter what, this is not a great rotation. It's full of fourth starters, players who can eat innings but also give you ERAs around 5ish. In fact, only Omeragic was under 5. Now with the changes on the team at catcher and short, there should be better defense behind them. But still, scoring over 5 runs a game is a lot to ask of any team, let alone this one.

Elevator Pitch: The starting pitching could use one of the starters out there in the FA market, if the owners can find the cash.

The Bullpen, or Give them the Dough

As with my own team, it's hard to know who the Talons are going to take with them because they keep experimenting with players and usage. I can tell you for sure that recently acquired Josh Dougherty will be the closer, but that's all I really know for sure. Dougherty was always far too soft on batters, walking over 4 per every nine innings. He's going to have to rise to the occasion in 2057 because I don't see a lot of opportunities for saves, so converting as many of them as possible will be essential to keeping Phoenix in the mix in 2057.

Jim Thompson did in fact improve in 2056 and will probably support Dougherty as a set-up man. Neil Davies may also fill this role. I don't see feel-good story Jodie Hanna making the roster, but it's possible she might, given how much the team has supported her cause as the first woman to play in the BBA.

It will be interesting to see if Abdul-Qahhar Nadeem can repeat his strong 2056, in which he had an ERA of 3.72 in 53 games. He was an afterthought in 2055, so this is one to watch.

However, as in the past, I'll note this is a place where I wish the Talons would check free agency for as I can't help but think there's better players out there. Someone has to pitch those middle innings.

Elevator Pitch: Folks going "who is that guy?" will help sales as people stop at merch tables during the seventh inning stretch to grab programs.

The Summary, or: Meet the New Team, Same as the Old Team

The middle ground of the BBA is a weird place. It's hard to break out of, and entirely too easy to fall down into perpetual losing. But it can be frustrating staying just outside of the playoff races.

The Talons and their Reclusive GM™ find themselves there once again. They don't have a lot of new players coming up from the minors yet. They don't have enough cap space to make an insane splash, and the players available are aging, just like the current Talons. That means with some exceptions, you can't really just buy players to get out of the funk. It's a devil you know situation for them, I think, and that devil is good for 75 wins, even if there are some things to be really concerned about, like the inability of the starting pitching to find any separation between the first and fifth starters.

This isn't a bad team, but it's not one that's going to compete after the All-Star break, no matter what the BBA national predictions say. I'm still not convinced that these older players can sustain everything, so I think I'll with another 75-87 prediction, with the note that I think the team could easily win or lose about 5 more in either direction. They'll go as far as the aging stars will take them, which I think should be the team motto. How about it, Sean?

[jiminyhopkins]

Spot on. I mean really. Rose will remain up for now and O'Halloran will go down, but otherwise you called it.

I wish I could have spent more but it's those goddamn negative bonus funds! That 11 mil would have really helped!

Thanks again for another great preview! I say it's worth full points!

[Trebro]

Glad you liked it and as always, my pleasure. I know some folks like to mix up who they review but I feel like I can write a better one if I've been following the team for several years.

Now go prove me wrong and nab a Wild Card!