Cairo Team News - 2059.01

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Despite the strong start to the season for Cairo the team announced a new general manager in a press conference today. Team officials introduced the new GM, Don MacIntyre who then made a statement to the reporters gathered for his introductory press conference. Despite the fast start for Cairo, fans have expressed concerns over the high degree of GM turnover as MacIntyre becomes the third GM to run the team in just a matter of months. The new GM assured fans that he was looking to bring an element of stability to the team saying he was committed to guiding the team through this period of transition. Don stated, “looking at the team we have, I am confident our early season results are indicative of our teams ability and I am looking forward to maintaining the Cairo standard initiated by my predecessor”. Don made it clear that he was happy with the squad he is inheriting stating, “Given the talent we have in the organization, we don’t need to rebuild the ship from scratch. All we need to do is continue to steer the ship in the direction it is currently headed making minor adjustments to the course as we deem necessary".

With the beginning of a new regime in Cairo, now is as good of a time as any to review the first 38 games of the season to understand just what the new GM will be inheriting.

Offense: Offensively, Cairo has been just about league average scoring just 7 more runs then the average GBC team. On average, Cairo is slashing .332/406/.738 compared to the average GBC team which is slashing .325/.427/.752. While Cairo is exceeding the league average for OBP, the team lacks pop with its .427 slugging percentage good for 2nd worst in the league. To improve the effectiveness of the offense, Cairo will likely have to look to increase power production, targeting hitters capable of hitting the ball out of the ballpark. Cairo’s park factors do play a role here with advanced metrics indicating that Pyramid Park is not friendly to the long ball, attenuating home runs at a rate of 20% relative to the average park.

Pitching: Cairo’s pitching staff has been very effective during the early portion of the season as the teams FIP is a quarter run better then league average. The pitching staff has been intelligently designed to synergize with the elite defense the team regularly makes use of. While Cairo pitchers are roughly league average in regards to K% and BB%, the staff has been proven to be elite regarding keeping the ball in the ballpark. Cairo’s 2.6 HR% is third in the GBA behind just London and Athens. Cairo starters have consistently done there job, providing a respectable 101 FIP-, but where the pitching has really shined is in the bullpen. Cairo relievers have been 28% better then the league average pitcher and have ultimately helped Cairo to perform well in tight games.

Fielding: Fielding has proven to be the specialty of the Cairo defense, with a team that regularly generates gold stars in fans score books. If the winning ways of Cairo were to be a sandwich, the fielding ability of this team would certainly be the secret sauce. The Pharaohs have already amassed a mammoth +34.29 ZR which surpasses all teams in both the GBC and BBA. Blair Peyton has proven to be a defensive mastermind and is the heart of the Cairo defense out in CF leading all players in zone rating accumulating a value of 12.169. Dima Rozinov isn’t far behind, currently fourth in zone rating and anchoring the SS position for Cairo. The teams excellent zone rating has proven an effective means of turning batted balls in play into outs as Cairo has maintained a very solid .735 defensive efficiency through the early parts of the season.

Overall Comments: Overall, Cairo has gotten of to a very strong start, leading the GBC in run differential resulting in a 24 and 14 record. Cairo has been led by a solid pitching staff and an elite defense which routinely eases the burden on the pitching staff. Watching Cairo games, fans are often treated to an array of web gems as the team routinely is converting batted balls to outs. Plays are often made on balls that other teams wouldn’t even come close to fielding. The team has also thrived on the base-paths which has helped the team to supplement the often lacking power from the offense. As Cairo continues through the season, the team will likely continue to lean into its superior defense in an effort to suppress the opponents ability to score runs. If Cairo can just manage to add some offensive output, the team will truly become a juggernaut for the rest of the GBC to deal with. However, the challenge here will be maintaining the defensive standard with any hitting upgrades of which the Pharaohs may target.

While offensive upgrades will probably be on the radar of the new management, this team will ultimately go as far as the pitching and defense takes them. Cairo hopes to use their defensive prowess to their advantage, making them a tough team to play against as they make opponents earn every hit.

[Jwalk100]

Nice team news!