Bobby Beat 2002 v2: April News and Notes

[jiminyhopkins]

Washington, DC

Aside from some great games and overall good play from the Bobs this month, the highlight for the fans in April was the announcement on April 18th that the club had agreed to a 5 year contract extension with star shortstop Waichirou Moronobu. In the deal, Thumper gets a $2 million raise for next season, and it escalates from there to a possible $10.5 million payday should the club decide to pick up the 5th year option.

Moronobu recorded a breakthrough 2001 season, hitting .306 while smashing 38 home runs and driving in 128. In addition, the native of Saitama, Japan stole 33 bases and accrued such Moneyball stats as a 62.7 VORP and a 7.2 WAR. And while some fans may not know what that means, they do know that Thumper comes to play everyday and is evolving into a consummate team leader on offense and defense. Aside from a single trip to the DL in 1999, he has averaged 158 games per season since the day he was called up in 1995.

In fact, fan enthusiasm for the club is returning to traditional levels, with the club reporting an astounding 50% increase in year-over-year attendance for April. Fans are no doubt encouraged by a club that was in first place in the JL Atlantic for much of the first four weeks of the season, only recently slipping to half a game behind Baltimore. Fans are also excited about rookie sensation Paco Morales, the 24 year old third baseman who just today was named the JL Rookie of the Month for his .419/.456/.600 April.

SO is this team for real? Well, the offense is good as always, ranking second in the league in runs scored and OPS. But the pitching, while decent to start the month, has really shown up as a weak spot, ranking toward the bottom of the league in numerous categories. A few untimely blowouts toward the end of April didn't help those numbers, obviously. And with veteran starter J.F. Kellogg experiencing the mother of all career regressions at age 34, it is plain to see that some pitching must be brought in in order for this team to realistically compete. One remote possibility might be former star Bobwhite Shane Christen, who was recently placed on the trade block by the Las Vegas Hustlers.

Stay tuned for further updates!

[recte44]

Damn, JFK's stuff is gone. He's Williamson Prushnok at this stage, at best.

[Al-Hoot]

Did you happen to notice how much your fan interest went up when you re-signed Thumper?

[jiminyhopkins]

It actually went up 6 points. I was shocked it increased that much.

[Al-Hoot]

"Extremely popular" local popularity.

It would be really interesting how long the Fan Interest stays at its new number, and how slowly or quickly the Fan interest goes back down, as I think it eventually does after a change based on acquiring a player.