Opening Day Press Conference (Hoppy Endings, pre Sim 1) [PP:2057.08]

[neugey]

Unlike the end of last season, GM Mike Bauer was in a good mood this week and scheduled a press conference to field several questions and breakdown the opening day roster.

On not being selected for a fellow GM preview – “Look I get it. We’re towards the bottom of the BBA in revenue and payroll. Mired in a rebuild. Finished last in the Frontier last season. Not really in a big market. Your Mom doesn’t play for us. I’ve been picked last in gym class before. It happens.”

On his outlook for the 2057 season – “A lot of crap hit the fan in 2056, it was such a hard luck year with injuries and pitching implosion. We don’t expect 2057 to be as bad. We’ve gotten younger as a team and our ceiling is getting higher, even if we are early on in a rebuild. But I think we have what it takes to escape the Frontier basement and finish up closer to .500 again.”

On manager Alonso Chavez and his coaching staff – “Still believe in Chavez and think he did an okay job in an awful 2056. He’s still got the pulse of the team and seems to make good moves in-game. He’s got 3 years left on his contract and it would take some major issues to fall out of favor. I think we’re good with our skipper.”

On the Frontier Division – “It’s becoming a more competitive division. Las Vegas seems to be out of their temporary funk and getting closer to contender status again. The Oysters are the defending champs for a reason. Mexico City still has a good core and they’re always primed for a rain-out game or three south of the border. Boise has some solid talent that we’re going to have to scout. Any division with Your Mom in it, you’ve got to take seriously.”

On the upcoming Amateur Draft – “Very excited for it. There seems to be more talent available in this year’s edition. Some players with wonderful high ceilings. Very much looking forward to it and hope that a generational talent falls to us. I’m not sure what our official pick position is, possibly somewhere from the 10-15 spot.”

On catcher Jay Pochin – “He may be quite as talented as when we traded with Sacrament to get him. But as a lefty hitter with respectable defense, he’ll still see a decent amount of at bats.”

On catcher Ubaid bin Saleh – “We’re happy with the hitting we saw last year in his rookie outing, but the work behind the plate has to get much better. The zone rating and catcher framing weren’t good and we expect it to pick up in 2057.”

On 1B Steven Collins III – “Very happy with what he gave us last year. He can still get it done on the basepaths and we may continue to hit him leadoff, but not as often as 2056. We expect him to remain solid with average and homers. He’ll continue to post numbers that help him reach the BBA Hall of Fame someday.”

On 1B/LF/RF Dean Procter – “He really struggled toward the end of the last year and we need him to step up in 2057. He’s one of the few lefties on the team so he’ll be in a lot of strong side platoons and we need him to hit for contact.”

On 2B Scott Bell – “As indicated by the recent contract extension, he is the anchor of our lineup. Anytime we give him a day of rest it feels like a bigger challenge to win without him. His defensive presence and all-around skills make him invaluable.”

On 3B Ray Hoskins – “He’ll continue to log 400+ at bats as our mostly full-time third baseman. After hitting just .251 in 2056, we expect him to be much closer to .300 and hopefully 70+ RBI.”

On SS Damek Korbel – “Two words: stay healthy. His injuries came at frustrating times last season and cost us games. His defense at shortstop and solid hitting are very important to us. At 37 it may be his last year with the team, so he’s playing for his BBA future and next contract.”

On INF Pedro Guzman – “He’s the only switch-hitter on our team, and it’s good to have one around. He’s a solid defensive backup in the infield. As a player with no home run power though he really needs to hit well in order to keep his roster spot for all of 2057.”

On SS/SU John Jowers – “Plays very good defense at many positions, all except third base and catcher. He has solid HR power and is great on the bases. He’ll be an important backup this season as a super utility player and if he steps up may have a bigger role in future years. This is his rookie outing so we’ll see how he handles it.”

On LF/OF Kane Gregson – “Kane is our captain and we still love his ability to draw walks and hit for power. He’ll slide into the lineup often against lefties as a weakside platoon option. It’s an important year though as it’s the last year of his contract and we’ve decided to leave any possible talks of an extension until the summer months.”

On LF/SU Dwight Hartsock – “He was a glue guy for us in AA last year and we think he might be ready for the show. Had a nice spring training. We wouldn’t have considered trading Sandslash Keshab if Hartsock wasn’t in our system. If he can continue to grow as a hitter he’ll be good to go since he’s stout and versatile defensively.

On CF Dan Flores – “We love what ‘Pizzaburger’ has given our club and expect another solid season from him. But at 39, he’s in the last year of his contract and for 2058 and we do feel a need to get younger at the position. But I wouldn’t rule out him returning in a backup role in the future.”

On RF Matthew Woods – “When we face right-handed pitching, Woods is a big part of our gameplan and a threat to go deep in multiple at-bats against any opponent. His power and eye are vital in those matchups.”

On DH Gonzalo Martinez – “He may see hit at-bits dip a little this year due to the presence of Spork, but he’s still by far the best lefty killer in our lineup. We hope he has a great 2057; when he’s in a slump it feels like the wins are tough to come by.”

On SP Jose Martinez – “He’s a solid veteran starter and will get the ball on opening day. He just needs to keep the home runs down and he can be fairly effective in our rotation.”

On SP Matt MacCartney – “We’re going to give him a chance to be the top lefty in our rotation. We’re praying for a throwback performance to his Sacramento days last decade. To get there, he’ll really need to focus and the defense will need to come through.”

On SP Glenn Hargrove – “Hoping for a good rookie outing for Hargrove in our rotation. We feel he could be our future ace with some experience and confidence. A lot of our rebuild is riding on his right arm.”

On SP Roman Rodriguez – “We’ll continue to give ‘Steel Claw’ a chance in the rotation, even though 2056 was rough. He could easily slide down into the bullpen though if the results aren’t there again. He’s on a fairly short leash as a starter.”

On SP/2Way Brent Gilbert – “’Spork’ will hopefully stick as our 5th starter and 2-way player. He hit well in spring training and is the x-factor on our team. He can play 1B and a bit of LF and RF too. He’s also solid on the bases as a runner. He should a decent amount of at-bats and as we go I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be tougher to keep him out of the lineup.”

On RP Gary Owens – “Gary’s fell out of the rotation since the last two seasons have been very rough. There’s a reality where Owens can make his way back into the rotation, but he’s going to have to look great in relief first.”

On RP Randy Lawrence – “I don’t think there’s a possibility of Randy starting again, but if he pitches to his abilities he can be solid in our bullpen. I’d say though he’s on the bubble and will need to step it up or he could be supplanted.”

On RP Wu-Shiun Yang – “We saw him as a stopgap at first, but Yang was steady in 2056 and was one of the few bullpen pieces in 2056 that didn’t implode. That’s why he earned my trust to stay in the majors for 2057.”

On RP Ivan Martinez – “He has the best sheer arm talent of our entire pitching staff and the ‘Marty Party’ amazes and entertains our fans. But his penchant for hanging the wrong pitch and getting hit hard at inopportune times means he’ll need to do good work as a middle reliever before we trust him with greater responsibilities again.”

On RP Jose Lopez – “He’s lights out in AAA but has struggled and been long-ball prone in the BBA in the last few years. He is talented though and we’re hoping for some positive regression and better numbers this year. Definitely a make-or-break year here.”

On RP Ming-Hoa Jing – “We’re very happy to have Jing and his extraordinary curveball as a relief option this season. But consistency will be key and he’ll need to keep the walks down.”

On RP Bill Young – “He’s been the most reliable lefty in our bullpen for years now. I think we’ll continue to need his stability and we’ll expect him to serve as a setup man and get the occasional save opportunity.”

On CL Renato Lacerda – “Very happy to have this battle-tested veteran this season and we need him to help steady our bullpen. He rarely walks hitters and will rely on our defense to help him.”

[trmmilwwi]

Need more Pizzaburgers and Sporks for sure. This was a fun read!