Tuber Times 2063.33: Chasing .500

[cheekimonk]

Tuber Times
1 April 2063
Boise, Idaho
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by Tony Toney

Boise Spuds owner Francis Nephi Grigg, IV held a stunning press conference at an Opening Day ceremony with other BBA team owners. He openly expressed his unhappiness with GM Ben Teague's performance over the past couple of seasons. "We owe it to the fans to deliver a quality product. A competitive squad. I share the frustrations of the Spuds fan base and especially after last year's 90 losses," said Grigg. "I have challenged Teague to produce a winner. At the very least I want to see a .500 record, but I think I've given him the leash to reach 85 wins. Whether he delivers, well, we'll discuss things and go from there."

Boise ended last year 9 games away from a .500 record. How does the squad make up those 9 games and maybe 4 more? Here's our guess:

1) Stem the bleeding, part I: The rarity of a Teague team allowing more than 900 runs has been discussed ad nauseum and we have taken a look at the pitching component. The Spuds set up the perfect time for a lot of cap space to open up in the offseason. The success or failure of how that space, and the trade market, was used remains to be seen, but this was work that wrapped up before Spring Training began. Or earlier.

2) Stem the bleeding, part II: Pitching woes alone don't equate to allowing 900+ runs. It's defense as well. Start at catcher where, as much as Tadanobu Otani is becoming a well above-average offensive talent, he carried a stunningly anemic 16.5% RTO. While his arm is not elite, it is far better than allowing 83.5% successful stolen base attempts. A higher emphasis needs to be put on holding runners to try and cut that number down.

It doesn't take a deep dive to find more defensive woes. Second baseman Ryan Geauxinue missed 11 weeks in 2062 but he started at the position when he was healthy. Maybe he shouldn't have. The 36yo had a painful -14.6 ZR and .857 EFF up the middle. So maybe the more defensively-minded Fernando Segura posted better numbers in those 11 weeks? No, sir. Segura offset his incredible .459 OPS with a ZR of -0.8 and .985 EFF. The Spuds need better from him and to at least cover average defense with above-average offense. We'll see.

SS Dan Raymond had elite defensive numbers and so his lacking offense can be better tolerated. In centerfield, Bob Hills had a so-so ZR of +5.4 and 1.022 EFF. That's pretty solid. But the corners, infield and out, were something else.

The majority of innings at rightfield were manned by 37yo Martin Hemming which is criminal given him turning in a -6.6 ZR and terrible .927 EFF. Tsutomu Yamauchi taking over the position full-time, and Hemming hitting the pavement, was overdue before 2062 ended. At third, offensive weapon Bill Kuhn committed 23 errors (you read that right) for a .938 PCT. Wow. His offense covers a lot but that much?

3) Get off your ass: Hills, Raymond, and Segura. They formed a vortex of dark energy at the bottom third of the lineup where anything that entered never came out the other side. Raymond was understandable at shortstop, Hills less so at center (and that has been addressed by a trade for Toad Johnson who IS an upgrade defensively and SHOULD be an upgrade at the plate), but Segura? Good lord. Giving a player the space to realize his offense numbers from AAA and sitting with a thumb up your ass look very similar. The Segura situation can be allowed to fester for 3 weeks at best for any serious team. Less is preferable. Actually, Segura figuring out ML pitching is preferable. Strongly preferable.

4) ML lineups require regular maintenance: The Spuds return five players with a WAR of +2.9 or higher. Deadwood, for lack of a better word, like the aforementioned Hemming (-0.7 WAR), 1B Pedro Hozven (+1.4), and 1B José Montoya (-0.5), has been jettisoned. It's almost criminal that they were allowed to act as drag on the offense for as long as they did. That having been said, players must be placed where they will be most productive. Teague has restructured the lineup and we'll see if the results are positive.

5) Let talent that's been groomed, bloom 22yo 1B William Coleman recorded 22 2B, 1 3B, 14 HR, 73 RBI, a slash of .337/.412/.474, and .886 OPS in 2062. Oh, at AAA Salt Lake City in 121 games. There is no excuse for him not being called up until September of last year. Thankfully, he is listed as a platoon starter on Opening Day. May he become full-time if he can earn it. But stop playing favorites and ignoring what's right in front of you!