Tuber Times 2063.46: Tater Skins - Top-Heavy Rotation / Big Sim Looms

[cheekimonk]

Tuber Times
7 May 2063
Boise, Idaho
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by Tony Toney
Good Returns on GM Ben Teague's Effort to Rework Rotation
As we've noted here at The Times, Boise GM Ben Teague had the task of resetting the rotation in 2063. However it came out, the Spuds were set to have 4 new starters. While one of the additions hasn't quite panned out so far, a strong April from the sole returnee has combined with the 3 others to buoy Spuds pitching. The good guys?

- RHP Josh 'Kid' Clark: 7 G, 7 GS, 3-1, 3.83 ERA, 40.0 IP, 3.2 K/BB, 1.38 WHIP, +0.6 rWAR
- RHP Mahad 'Furball' Einan: 7 G, 7 GS, 3-2, 2.79 ERA, 42.0 IP, 1.1 K/BB, 1.24 WHIP, +1.3 rWAR
- RHP Thomas Turner: 6 G, 6 GS, 3-3, 3.44 ERA, 36.2 IP, 1.4 K/BB, 1.25 WHIP, +0.9 rWAR
- LHP Dan Boman: 6 G, 6 GS, 4-1, 3.72 ERA, 36.1 IP, 2.6 K/BB, 1.29 WHIP, +0.8 rWAR

That's a nice 3.55 ERA from those four guys. RHP Niegloslaw Woywitka has logged an exceedingly ugly 7.71 ERA, an 0-5 record, 1.95 WHIP, and -0.9 rWAR which is nearly double the 2nd-worst number among all Spuds pitchers. Regression to the mean will take place, of course (looking at Einan and Turner), but odds are a couple of the top 4 remain solid while Woywitka's numbers stabilize. That hopefully means solid production as the season progresses as rotation is currently 6th in the JL in ERA, pitching WAR is 5th, and the Spuds have allowed the 5th least runs.

Sim #6 Looms
Peeking ahead at the Spuds schedule even before the season you could have circled Sim #6 as a critical test. It turns out it's even more critical as Boise is looking to hang in the upper-middle neighborhood of the JL eyeing a Wild Card. This week brings three games series at home vs Calgary and on the road at Las Vegas. The Spuds struggles against the Hustlers are well-documented but this is the chance for the 2063 edition to set themselves apart. There's plenty of time to recover from a rough week and it's fair to expect to lose both series but, adding a home game vs the Mexico City Aztecs, a 2-5 or worse Sim would be a gut punch...so let's see 3-4 or above!