2035-34: Talons Team Standouts

[jiminyhopkins]

Phoenix, AZ--

With the Talons in the playoffs for the first time ever, lets take a look at some of the induvidual performances that have taken the franchise to October.

The Talons offense is rightly feared throughout the league. Well balanced and powerful, the lineup shows no weak spots. CF Thad Meyer (.302/.341/.530, 28 HR, 87 RBI, 56 SB) might not be a serious MVP candidate, but maybe he should be. The more you look at his stats, the more you realize what a great season he had. The guy led the BBA in doubles with 60, for example. The usual suspects also contributed, led by DH Mario Deortez (.293/.355/.551, 42 HR, 109 RBI) and C Andres Martinez (.245/.338/.519, 34 HR, 91 RBI). Another story is 2B Manuel Martinez (.283/.334/.454, 20 HR, 75 RBI, 49 SB), who came out of nowhere to post a 5 war season and is probably a favorite for a Zimmer award for his defense at the keystone. In addition, team captain 1B Al Gordon (.299/.386/.584, 31 HR, 81 RBI) had a career year with a .970 OPS, good for second in the JL and 5th in the BBA.

On the pitching side, Ace Jose Trujillo (19 - 7, 4.01 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 158 K) had a career high in wins and was tied for the league lead in that respect. Leading the team in pitchers' war, however, was Bob Corrigan (11 - 9, 3.99 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 143 K), who was as solid a #2 as any. Despite an up and down year, Timofei Bakitski (2 - 8, 4.91 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 74 K) recorded 40 saves, and his FIP of 3.54 was a run and a half lower than his ERA. LHP Germao Real (2 - 1, 3.10 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 40 K) actually recorded 1.0 war as a lefty specialist, underscoring how dominant he was in that role. And veteran SP Martin Pacheco (4 - 1, 3.08 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 31 K) was signed off the scrap heap midyear and ended up being a valuable member of the rotation down the stretch.

All this, despite rather pedestrian seasons from young stars such as SS Tu-fu Yong (.272/.351/.464, 19 HR, 63 RBI) and RF Bartolo Ortiz (.271/.341/.485, 24 HR, 72 RBI). The team wasn't among the league leaders in OBP, and there are only two real threats to run in the lineup. Not to mention the fact that there was no real #3 starter, and the bullpen's two highest ERA's were at the closer and setup role.

But it's October and the Talons still have games on the schedule. Maybe thats why the owner is "happy" for the first time in seven seasons.

Go Talons!