Poblanotes 2047.6- Can Any Of The New Guys Play???

[chicoruiz]

As the dog days of this season wear on for the Chilis, my only consolation has been that this isn’t really my team. I took it over when the winter meetings were almost over (I sure could have used a Rule 5 guy or two) and the payroll, while not exorbitant, was higher than it should have been given the talent on hand. Remember the commercial where the guy keeps saying to himself, “I’m not gonna pay a lot for this muffler”? I was that guy, except saying “I’m not gonna pay a lot for this bad baseball team”.

Those things being the case, my acquisitions have been almost exclusively waiver claims and minor league free agents. So, do any of these minimum-wage guys have any value, or am I just doing busy work to delude myself into thinking I’m making progress? Let’s look at the players I’ve added:

C Howard Burton- My only trade acquisition. I don’t trade much, partly because nobody wants any of my players (except uberprospect Hector Cano) and partly because I’m aware that other GMs are probably smarter than me. I made an exception for Burton because he was a lefty-hitting catcher who’d had some success with Calgary. So far, he hasn’t been able to translate that success to El Paso, but he did recently get his BA up to a season high of .218, so I have no regrets.

P Han-Lee Kim (waiver claim)- I’m on the fence about this one. He’s sporting a 4.22 ERA so far and filling a needed hole in the rotation, but he’s 33 and thus is highly unlikely to be a part of the next Chilis team that means anything.

P Ruben Rubio (waiver claim)- A hot start in Albuquerque earned him a promotion to West Texas, but his 6.35 ERA and 1.71 WHIP make me hope for his sake he kept his apartment in Albuquerque. Still only 24 though, with nice ratings and a positive work ethic.

3B Ed Leialoha (waiver claim)- He’s Hawaiian, and his name is a combination of two of the only Hawaiian words I know: “Lei” and “Aloha”… Holding down 3B for me right now and hitting a pretty empty .270. Has positional versatility, and I could see him as a utility man on a real team.

P Roberto Frias (waiver claim)- He has a 10 stuff rating and a 50 overall rating, so when he showed up on the waiver wire, how could I resist? 44 innings and a 9.67 ERA later, I dropped his sorry a** right back onto the waiver wire. He was claimed by Rockville, and with my luck he’ll turn out to be really good for them.

OF Jim Hennessey (FA signing)- In my never-ending quest for right-handed OFs, I signed Jim, whereupon he promptly broke his rib and will be out for three more weeks. He’s a speedy slap hitter; I’m giving myself an “incomplete” on this one.

P Miguel Abline (FA signing)- Has pitched pretty well in a small sample size so far (only 11 appearances). He could still disappoint me, but I need to feel good about something, I’d I’ve decided it’s going to be Abline.

OF John Smith (FA signing)- His .269 batting average is okay, but he has shown no power whatsoever, and surprisingly for someone with his great speed, he’s not rated in CF, where I could really use him. Deserves to be as anonymous as his name suggests.

P Ben Pyrmont (FA signing)- My latest hope; he’s made four starts for the Chilis and so far, so… well maybe not good, but at least fair (4.74 ERA). His ratings suggest that he might actually keep this up, but his ceiling is certainly back-of-the-rotation-ish.

So, of those nine guys, I’d say four- Burton, Leialoha, Abline, and Pyrmont, could have a future as a second-line player on a decent team. Kim and Smith are at least useful in the short term, it’s too early to make a call on Rubio and Hennessey, and only Frias was an unmitigated mistake. That’s not too bad, I guess. The real test will come this offseason, when I have money to spend and the stakes become higher.

[Fat Nige]

I hope you succeed, but a lot of GM’s have tried and died in the attempt to get Wichita/El Paso to play