Off Topic
Mistaken Public Radio discusses this preview and the Beef's spring training episode. Note: I am not responsible for the opinions expressed by MPR. That's why DM is suing their ass.
Chicago Black Sox
2060: 74-88 (4th, Frick League Heartland)
GM: Renato Umali (2057-61)
GM Record: 240-276 (.465)
GM Salary: $900,000
2060 Attendance: 1,620,142 (32nd)
2060 Tkt price: $24.00 (1st)
2061 Tkt price: $25.00 (1st)
2060 record against NSH: 5-9
2060 record against DM: 9-5
Current Fan Interest: 58
Renato Umali begins his fourth full season as general manager of the Chicago Black Sox. The team made almost no new acquisitions in the offseason. The Sox feature the exciting 22-y.o. Panamanian second baseman/left fielder Ángel De La Cruz (7/6/6 DEF 10), 39th overall pick in the '55 draft. Other youngsters include three sophomores: center fielder Bill Barrett (.281-22-71), backstop Marcos Echevarría (5/6/5), and dh Kyle Beers (.286-19-76). Salary-heavy leftfielder Hasheem Makin (4/8/8) has failed to play up to his $20mm paycheck, despite the change in scenery from Des Moines. Makin's salary is tied for 6th in the league with ATC's lf-er Okyay Nisancî (9/5/5). We'll get to the rest of the lineup below. Echevarria finished strong, gaining the September Frick League player-of-the-month. The Sox also have a cast of excellent prospects, some of whom could be breaking into the majors sooner rather than...This includes 22-y.o. first baseman Timofei Gadomsky (.319-33-118 at AAA after jumping from RL).
Pitching-wise, The talented trio of Bodine, Moya, and Hines return to shoot their shot, baseball-wise, and pitch the team late into the game, when an unsettled bullpen will step in. Vinnie Vitale Stadium appears to be a pitchers park. Since that's so, let's start with the Chicago pitching.
Expected Starting Rotation
Stevie Bodine (6/8/9)
Carlos Moya (6/7/7)
Adam 'Nasty Boy' Hines (10/6/6)
Bobby Sherman (5/6/6)
Fifth spot: Salvador Montáñez (5/6/7), and/or Dhrtatman Seshadri (5/6/7) and/or Tim Adams (6/5/6)
The Big 3 Bodine, Moya, and 2060 free-agent splash Nasty Boy (6 year, $119mm) started 97 of the Sox starts last season, with a combined W-L record of 34-29 and WAR of 11.6. They each pitched over 190 innings. No one else recorded more than six wins. Adams started 21 last season and Montanez, 15. Sherman started 8 games last year and has 12 wins in five seasons as a Sox (Sok?).
Bodine originally signed with the Phoenix Talons in 2052 but opted to play college ball, and was then picked 2nd overall by Chicago in 2055. At 25 years-old, he is ranked 2nd in the league among starters. Moya was acquired from Sacramento along with Jeremy Starks, Dirk Bessi, and two others for shortstop Badr Islam. The 27-y.o. Nasty Boy Hines chose Chicago in a fierce free agent fight among a handful of teams. The guy has Iron Man status and the Sox fans, hell BBA fans, look forward to an improved 2061 from him.
The Sox Pen
Once the domain of now 34-y.o. Mike Baker (164 saves from '53 t0 '58), Jae-ho Chang (6/6/6) could anchor the bullpen in '61. Sox fans will remember him from '51 through '55, when he appeared in 182 games for Chicago; his best year was probably '53 when he saved 29 and had a 1.0 WAR. Coming over in the August trade last season that sent fan-favorite catcher Todd Tatlock to Nashville. Last year's pen featured William Mejía (52 games) and Motuha Kalinda (31), who each saved 14 games. Southpaw Art Cherry (51) saved 8. Fellow southpaw Randolph Marable (46 games) struck out 66 in 67 innings. So, Kalinda chose to move to Atlantic City. Umali & Co drafted three 30-something relievers in the Rule 5 draft to see who might stick: Dmitr Zhivlyuk (5/6/7), Carl Vincent (6/5/6), and Eddie Armstrong (5/5/8). My bet is on Zhivlyuck to stickyuck. Let's not forget 25-y.o. Azim bin Ghalib (5/6/6), who started 32 games for the Sox in 2059. Cherry (7/6/7) seems the best among the relievers to close contests.
So, Chicago features the Big 3 in the rotation and a potpourri of guys in the pen, with Cherry probably the best, followed by bin Ghalib, Baker, Chang, and Zhivlyuck, supported by Marable and the rest. Yoriyuki Ine (7/5/5), one of the only FA signees this off-season, could serve as a specialist v lefties. Ine and his arm turn 35 tomorrow. Wish him a happy b-day.
Hitters
I've mentioned the probable top-five in the Sox order: De La Cruz (2b), Barrett (cf), Echevarria (c), Beers (dh), Makin (lf).
Makin sits at 396 career home runs. For Chicago, he’s hit 28 in a, for him, season’s worth (122 games). A come-back season from him, which might be difficult in Vinnie Vitale Stadium, would do a lot to bolster the offense.
De La Cruz, although not a speedster, gives the fans an exciting guy at leadoff. Barrett is misplaced at centerfield. His -11.4 ZR is hurting the pitchers. That was third-worse zone rating for center fielders in the BBA. Perhaps next year, when the Sox let Makin go, Barrett can be moved to left. Finishing up the order versus righties is veteran first baseman Jorge Gutiérrez (.248-28-81), whose 2.3 WAR was third among batters for the Sox last season. Then there's third sacker Jeremy Starks (.226-19-52), shortstop Ayyad Faisal (.220-10-42 with a 9.3 ZR), and right fielder Ragheb Burhan (.257-27-60). Burham (4.5) was second only to Bodine (4.8) in WAR last season. Against lefties we might see him lead off. Trent Moyer (.253-11-43), at first, and Adhyapayana Mehta (.235-6-46), at 2b, may also start vs southpaws. Moyer is a hefty young slugger while Mehta, well, meh, it's time to cut ties with him. His contract runs out this season, and with the talented De La Cruz, I would let Mehdi walk. The Sox offense belted 189 homers last season.
The Beef, Sports Radio 88.8, is hopeful for a .500 record from Chicago this season. That may be doable. But it would probably be 81-81, not 82-82.
The league pundits have tentatively earmarked the Sox with a 78-84 record, placing 4th in the Heartland again. A loss record in the mid-80s appears to be familiar territory for this team. On the upside, WAY UP, is the Sox 6th-ranked minor league system. It's hard not to drool at some of these batters who are not far from vying for spots in the majors: Gadomsky, Tony Cochran (.418 at RL), Enrique Caballero (5/8/8), Sergio Lópes(.317-18-72 at AAA), Jesús Suárez (6/6/5), Amitatman Praveen (5/7/9), and Lysander Ruvelas (8/5/5). Youngest of the bunch, Al Schumann (7/7/5) seems poised for a promotion to Single-A. The Sox have a lot of hitters on the not-so-far horizon. Starter Orlando Rúbio, 7th overall in '59, won 18 games at A-ball. If anybody's ready for a promotion to AA, it's this guy.This team was a nemesis to Des Moines last season, winning 9 out of 14 games, including a late-September four-game sweep. The only other suggestion I have is lower the Chicago ticket price. Highest in the league ($25) seems out-of-place. Nashville’s tkt price is $16. That will probably go up. Against the recommendations of some, I let my assistant GM set my tkt price, and I hope the game finds a perfect balance between that and getting the right amount of people through the turnstiles to maximize team revenue. YMMV
Will they contend? As things stand, perhaps not this season. But leverage some of this up-and-coming talent, either on-field in Chicago or to bring in an ace in the pen, do some awesome FA signings when the contracts of Makin and Gutiérrez are gone, and with a good centerfielder to aid the pitching staff, Chicago seems on the verge of nailing down a playoff spot.
