2062 San Fernando Bears

[Krathan]

The San Fernando Bears are coming off of a season in which they finished 91-71, qualified for the postseason with a Wildcard spot, and lost a hard fought 5 game Geohagen Round series to the Bikini Krill.

General manager Kurt Imber went into the offseason looking to improve his club in order to find a way to get deeper into the postseason in the tough Pacific Division.

Bears moving out:

Disappointing pitcher John Dawson was released despite being owed $11M for '62.

Outstanding pitcher Sakutaro Kuwano was a casualty of the salary cap, and was traded to Yellow Springs.

Excellent relief pitcher Abban Layar became a free agent.

The highly effective platoon bat Jules Le Gal became a free agent.

Bears moving in:

The consistently productive 2B Bill Irvine was acquired via trade.

2062 Pitching Staff:

The starters:
Morgan Tomsett returns to the staff after another solid showing in 2061.
Alexander Swanson will look to build off of his breakout 16 win season last year.
Morris Chapa will look to improve on a nice first turn in the rotation last year after having only 8 starts in his previous 106 BBA appearances.
Ielemia Faletose looks to return to the rotation, hoping to pick up where he left off before suffering a torn UCL and missing all of 2061.
Jerry Richards will try to take control of the 5th rotation spot after spending most of last year in the bullpen.
Robert Wilson, Richard Bullock, Jerry Richards provide depth in case any of the guys above struggle or deal with injuries.

I like this group. I feel like they have a chance to be really good. However, there are a number of question marks here as well. Swanson was fantastic last year, but he has been inconsistent throughout his career. Chapa only has one season under his belt as a full time starter. Faletose has been excellent but will he be the same after missing a full year?

The bullpen:

Bryan Longstaff will once again be the closer. He filled that role quite well last season, with 42 saves.
Dhrtatman Seshadri struggled in Chicago before being dealt to San Fernando last season. He excelled in a Bears uniform, with a 1.26 ERA in 28.2 innings.
Bob Butler will return for 2062 after being part of this bullpen the last 4 seasons. He has been a stable, but unremarkable pitcher during that time.
Myung-joo Pak went through the reliever conversion process this offseason. The Bears are hoping that he will see better results now that is focusing on just two pitches and a short relief role. He showed some promise as a starter when he was first called up with Yellow Springs in the mid 50's but has been a below average starter in AAA since 2059.
Steve Fuller provides a decent lefty out of the pen.
There are a few other intriguing arms in the pen this season. I like Orhan Atil, Ben Weaver, and Duane Bishop.


I think there is enough talent here that they should be able to put together a solid bullpen. If the starters pitch up to their capabilities, then this group should be pretty successful. If they end up needing to be leaned on too heavily, its possible some of the cracks will show a bit more.

The Offense:

Catcher Augusto Annis had a very good 2061 after a solid 2060. He lumped in the offseason.
Manny Trujillo was an above average bat off the bench behind the plate. He also lumped a bit.

I'm going to say these guys should produce well again in 2062 despite the ratings changes. I've seen enough ratings move up then down then up again to not worry too much about them for now.

1B Felix Ramos is a nice player with a good track record who is coming off of a down year. His development report has a lot of red on it over the last 12 months. There are plenty of options waiting in reserve if he doesn't come through but he looks like he should still be able to handle the job this season.

2B Bill Irvine was a great addition to this ballclub. He should fit into the lineup and the infield quite nicely.

3B Yuu Suzuki was a huge part of the team's success last year. San Fernando gave up a lot to get him and he proved his worth right out of the gate by winning the Sawyer Silk MVP. It was the best year of his career and I see no reason why he shouldn't continue to crush the ball for the Bears this year. Even if he takes a little step back, he'll still be a force.

SS Qutuz Mahdi has been lumping over the last year, both offensively and defensively. That's the bad news. The good news is that he still looks like an excellent defender with a decent bat. He may not be quite the player he was a year or two ago, but this version of Maui should still be a real asset to the Bears.

Rule 5 pick Jose Reyes looks like a guy who can be a nice bench player, with a decent glove and good contact skills with some gap power.

I like the addition of Irvine and I think this group should be solid overall. I also really like Frank Jardine who will almost certainly get quite a few at bats this season.

CF Sonny Bigalow had an up and down offseason but he should continue to be a productive player in CF, with outstanding defense and some pop at the plate.

LF Chris Hall is a nice player. He was very good at the plate in 2061 but struggled in the field. He worked on that in the Dev Lab and made great progress. I think he should be a valuable part of the team this year.

LF Keith Tims had an impressive rookie showing offensively. He also struggled in the field but seems to have gotten worse there in the dev lab. He may also see time at 1B, especially if Ramos struggles.

RF Tommy Harrington had a rough time in 2061 and will look to bounce back.

OF Steve Morris and Rafael Marquis look like guys who can step in if needed as well.

I think this group of outfielders is pretty strong. There are a lot of lefties in the group but Bigalow and Marquis help balance that out a bit. They should play solid defense, especially with Bigalow in center.


Overall, I like the team the Bears have assembled. Sure, there are some question marks in the starting rotation and with a couple of aging players, but I feel like this team has the ability to compete in the Pacific again. I don't think they have done enough to overtake Sacramento, but I also believe they should still be very much in the playoff hunt.

I believe the Bears will come close to their 91 wins from last season, but not quite hit that mark. My prediction is that San Fernando wins 89 games and finds their way back into the postseason. Do they have enough to get past the Geohagen round this year? As Charlotte and Montreal have proven the last two years, all you have to do is get in and get hot. I say they have the talent to do that

[Krathan]

Sorry. Forgot to add the links originally.

[BaseClogger]

Seems about right!