Post 2 - GLOOMTOWN

[RichY]

THE EL PASO TIMES
GLOOM IN THE LOCKEROOM by David Gutierrez
As the losses pile up the mood in the Chili's locker room resembles that of the next worst frontier disaster in history, the Donner party. The pitching staff is getting pummeled in the terror dome that is the Church of the All Inclusive Park. The all inclusive part this year means every team gets an equal opportunity to batter the Chili's pitchers. Offensively things aren't much better as they are 13th in runs scored despite playing in that band box. Bright spots are few and the cavalry isn't coming as the upper levels of the system are devoid of impact talent. There are deep cracks in the players unity and some veterans want out. Manager Rushd Ercan appears out of ideas and the lame duck skipper has lost the team while the rest of the staff has become corporeal versions of the “Hang in there” cat posters. Still some good ol' fashioned professional pride has the team playing a bit better in the last two weeks but it's likely a dead cat bounce as the team probably doesn't have the strength to hang on that limb. Any trades that might happen will be with an eye towards the future so there's no real immediate help there. The new general manager is busying himself moving the deck chairs around on the Titanic as he probably wishes the draft came three times a year. All that being said let's try to find some faint stars in the cloudy night sky that is the 2046 season so here are all star break award winners:

Best Pitcher: 21 yr old Phil Cole is an easy call here. His ERA- is actually a bit better than league average and he's been the Chili's most consistent hurler. His future is bright and the team figures to govern his innings in the second half by possibly employing a six man rotation.

Best Position Player: Anastasio Lopez has a 141 wRC+ and his defense has been bad but not awful which has added up to a 2.4 WAR thus far.

Most Improved Player: This one's tough because there aren't many options but I will go with Sumitomo Takahashi. His improvement has been very modest but he has reduced his BB/9 and HR/9 rates but his K/9 has slipped a bit. The 24 year old might still have some room to grow and he could be a useful 5th starter in the near future. Like I said, there aren't many options.

Best Rookie: This one's easy...Phil Cole.

Winston Churchill once said “ When you are going through hell, keep going.” Hell's a bit dramatic for this situation as Mr. Churchill was referring to something and that was a bit more important than baseball but that's all this organization can do. The fans can look to players like Phil Cole, Gerald Sizemore, Hector Cano Jr, Earl Hutchinson and Sertac Safavi and hope they will be part of the turn around but more help will be needed. With some competent veterans having expiring contracts and opt outs at the end of the season next year figures to be just as difficult. The team will have to root for compensation picks and for the team to reinvest the salary savings wisely.

[Fat Nige]

And I had five years of shaking my head and wondering what to do next lol.

The most cursed franchise since Judas

[FuzzyRawley]