2009 Omaha preview

[Fat Nige]

Last year: 66-96
Omaha’s recent peak was their run to the Cartwright Cup in 2005, the end of five consecutive second places in JL Midwest. Since then they’ve been sliding down the wins dipping to 66 in 2008, their lowest tally since 1999 and their first bottom finish since then. Luis Luna impressed in his first season with the Barnstormers making 34 starts, the most on the team, and turning in a 12-11 record with an ERA below four. 37-year-old pitcher Jay Lee started well, going 9-4 in his first 17 starts but was then traded to Carolina along with 14-year Barnstormer Kenji Masaki for top pitching prospect Allan Kennedy. No-body else managed more than eight wins as ten pitchers shared out the starts. On the offensive side two players cranked out 22 long balls each, outfielder José Munóz & first baseman Miguel Toro with Toro topping the RBI charts with 93, 20 more than anyone else.

Off Season Transactions: 2008 had seen many major upheavals & trades as the Barnstormers broke up a side that had grown old together and the off season saw much of the same. First to go was top offensive bat Munóz who headed to Des Moines in exchange for 29-year-old infielder Wilfredo Bonilla. Manager Juan Carrillo got the bullet and John Ganzel was promoted from their Triple-A affiliate to fill the role. Luna picked up a five-year $23.7m contract extension but the biggest noise was made with the signing of free agent Bernard Maselli. Bernard made his MBBA debut in 1997 and went on to a eight-year career with California & Seattle before easting East to the EBA. Now 2009 would see his return to the MBBA with the Barnstormers. 30-year-old Alfonso Rodriguez arrived from Cuba on a three year $1.9m contract to try his luck in the MBBA while the only other free agent arrival was 35-year-old catcher Theo Epstein on a one-year deal. Another 35-year-old, infielder Melvin Bradshaw also arrived from New Orleans for a minor leaguer.

Spring Training : The Barnstormers showed signs that perhaps an improvement was on the cards for 2009 as they went 11-13 with eight of the losses being by two runs or less. It was a good spring for two ex-Marquette players who had arrived mid-2008, leftfielder Allen Stephens hit .422/.469/.689 with three homers while closer Javier Alomar went 2-0 with three saves in seven outings.

The 2009 Rotation
When the Barnstormers broke camp the rotation looked like this
Luis Luna was slated to be the ace No.1 pitcher following his 34 start effort last year. Luis has had three full seasons before that with Las Vegas and sports two MBBA Landis Memorial Series rings from his time there. A strikeout pitcher, Omaha will be hoping he can repeat last year’s 167 K’s.
Tenth year veteran Vicente Martinez will be the No.2 guy. He has an 83-61 career record for the Barnstormers but hasn’t hit double digit wins since 2006. He’ll give up a load of hits but has control of the plate and won’t walk many while directing a whole host back to the dugout as the umpire brings up his fist.
The Barnstormers No.3 will be 29-yr-old Clarence Murray. He posted a 5-5 record last year after his arrival from Chicago where a four year career never quite hit the heights of his rookie season 14-9. Keeps his ERA under check with plenty of K’s but you should always beware of 100+ walk seasons.
30-year-old Mathew Krieger will hold down the No.4 slot in his eighth year in Omaha. He managed a 12-8 record in 2005 but hasn’t broken a 50% win rate since. With his walks per season getting up near 100 and his ERA+ dropping like a stone the Barnstormers might be looking for a replacement before long.
35-year-old Gary Lammond will start holding down the No.5 slot, 3-8 last year sort of sums up his long career. He’s in his third stint with the Barnstormers and as well as 295 MBBA appearances for six teams he’s also fitted in 20 for EBA Belfast. Just four ERA+ figures above 100 in 12 years, 5.9 WAR total over the last five years as well as no more than 40 K’s a season since 2003 suggests what a reach that is.

The Position Players: The pitchers will be pleased to see ninth year veteran catcher Tobias Kelly back behind the plate after a 10-month injury layoff while Toro will be looking to repeat his 22 homers & 93 RBI season at first.
28-year-old Jason McKinney is the man tasked with replacing long time favourite Lance Pere at second base. In 91 games since coming over from Carolina he has hit .224 with three homers & an OPS+ of 67. Maselli will man the hot corner on his MBBA return following four years with Brussels in the EBA where he was a few RBI shy of 500 during his spell. Ex-Kernel Bonilla will play short, a position he last played for eight games in 2007.
28-yr-old free agent signing Allen Stephens will start his first year in the outfield alongside the ninth year 29-yr-old Eric Rouse & 31-yr-old Jesús Cruz in what is a youthful trio by Omaha standards. All three will produce plenty of heart attacks as they attempt to produce a solid defence but they’re there for their bats as Omaha will be looking for 200+ runs to be driven in by the trio.
The final member of the starting line-up will be Melvin Bradshaw who will spend his first year in Omaha performing DH duties. In over 1100 MBBA games he has a career record of 78 homers & 434 RBI and averages of .275/.378/.421.

2009 Predictions: Omaha might have got rid of a pile of old players but they’ve replaced them with some that are almost as old. I struggle to see where they can get more than 50 wins from the rotation so the bullpen will be under real pressure to even equal last year’s 66 win mark. The Barnstormers’ are caught on the’ hang on or rebuild’ wheel of fortune and I hope they get the right spin soon
2009: 54-108 as the Barnstormers continue their fall

[agrudez]

Ouch.

Just out of curiosity, in your opinion, where exactly do I lose a dozen wins from last season?

My infield last season got 569 ABs from Bill Ewing and 579 ABs from Phan Ta. This year those ABs are going to Maselli and Bonilla.

My rotation last season got 15 starts by Harry Martin 11 by Coy Davis. This year those starts go to a healthy Martinez.

My outfield will have a full season of Stephens (and no aggravating sub .300 OBP from Mr. Munoz).

My bullpen will have a full season of Alomar.

Etc.

Pere wasn't with the team long enough to impact my record much and Lee's FIP was higher than Murray's last season, but worst case we can call that a 'wash'. The only real loss I suffered, then, was Masaki's glove, by my count.

[trmmilwwi]

Great writeup with a little bit of history thrown in. Good stuff... the prediction win total may be on the low side but otherwise. Let's bring this back up at the end of the campaign to gauge how close the wins were..

[Fat Nige]

I was a tad harsh on the win total and I think Alomar could make a huge difference if you can get the game to him. There's a lot of creaking bones to keep healthy but if they do and the starters can get the game to Alomar I'll give you 62

[felipe]

their manager is just some brash rookie