2061.3 What is going on in Omaha?

[handaspencer]

Greetings BBA GM's I thought it was appropriate to hear from GM Spencer so he could disclose his secret recipe to having this rebuild situation sitting at 30-17 and sitting up 4 games on powerhouse Nashville. If you was hoping to discover the secret you can stop reading any further because there is nothing i have done to turn this thing around so drastically. This is 100% on the players and I have done nothing next level to stump anyone. Our goal with this season has been consistent and the messaging has been the same.

#1 We spent all of last season cutting payroll and we sit with the 27th highest payroll in the league at 68+ million. We will be turning a profit this season for the first time in several years. And with the early success our attendance and revenue is drastically better than last season. So far so good we are fixing the finances.

#2 We wanted to bring in competition and see what we got and who we wanted to return next year. To our surprise this club has embraced the competition and everyone is pulling in the same direction. Take a moment look over my roster and tell me who the stars are? I will save you time we don't have any stars we just have a team.

We just had 2 goals for this season advance the finances and create competition with a mixture of veterans hungry for another opportunity and young players just needing an opportunity. Both goals have been achieved we only have a single player making 10+ million on the roster and we have a pile of guys breaking out and having career years. Lets take a look at some of these key guys who have earned every dollar and then some.

Joe Roy has really grown for us this season. Roy is hitting at a .397 clip with 6 doubles and 4 HR and has a steller .418 OBP. Roy has been one of the best 4th OF in the league who is also getting several starts this year.

Roberto Villanueva is bouncing back after being put on the shelf by Sacramento the past couple years. We had a big hole this offseason at 3B and was just looking for a stop gap for this season and Villanueva has blown us away. Besides him playing good defense he is on pace to hit 55 doubles for us this season. He seemed to be a good fit with our roster of guys who can on base and with that gap power he is making it count when he makes contact.

Waiver wire claim Takeichi Suzuki from Montreal is having a breakout season. We seen him on the waiver wire and he seemed like the perfect type guy to give an opportunity to. He was on the younger side and had shown the ability to get on base he just needed an opportunity. He got his opportunity and he was ran with it. He is hitting .343 with an .381 OBP and a 121 OPS+. He is exactly the profile we was looking for and is flourishing surrounded by a team that also gets on base at a high rate.

Last season we had several older infielders on the roster and was blocking Fernando Tovar. After some of the moves we made last year we was able to give Tovar a look toward the end of last year and he showed some promise. He is someone we wanted to bring back this season and give him a ful year. One thing has been consistent with Tovar throughout his minor league career which is his ability to get on base and that has not changed this year. How about hitting .384 with a .419 OBP in 105 AB's, can he continue at this clip we will see but historically he has shown to be a pesky batter.

Perhaps the most shocking player offensively has been another waiver wire claim Keaton Guest who we claimed from Des Moines. Entering opening day we didn't even have our DH position locked down but we found Guest on waivers in his walk year at age 36. We felt Guest could be a good clubhouse guy to our younger bats and possibly hungry for an opportunity and he has not disappointed. It has been several years since Guest was given the opportunity to start most games and he is thriving. Historically he is having an outlier type season but his offensive numbers are incredible through May and he is also thriving surrounded by guys that get on base.

We cant forget about our young 1B Stan Lodge who we acquired from Twin Cities in the Nakamura deal who exercised his opt out last season. Lodge showed flashes last season and we made some moves to give the 1B job to him this season and boy has he ever claimed that spot. Lodge already has 11 doubles, 4 triples and 5 HR and is getting on base at a .370 OBP clip. He is batting cleanup and also playing solid defense for us. He is looking like a good return on that trade so far.

Over the past season we traded almost all our top SP so how do we find ourselves an ace? How about a rule 5 pickup from San Fernando Felipe Mendez who signed a minor league deal in the offseason but was not protected in the rule 5 draft. In 10 starts for Omaha he is 4-2 with a 2.37 ERA. He spent all of last season in AAA last season and I liked his numbers I felt like he needed to return to the BBA and with him being an iron man i could count on him and could be an excellent mentor for the younger guys. I did not realize he would be one of the top SP in all the league this year so far.

This group of guys above are the newer guys to the squad that we added to compliment many of the other guys that was on the roster last year. Is all this sustainable or will this just flame out? There is strong believe that things may start to cool but the numbers are showing us this team might be much better than their 71-91 preseason prediction. I don't believe anyone believes Omaha can continue at a .638 winning clip but even if they can finish the season playing .500 the rest of the way you are looking at a playoff team and who would have guessed that. One thing is undeniable this team gets on base and wears out opposing pitchers and puts pressure on defense. Ranking first in the Frick in runs scored, hits, and batting average. Omaha ranks 3rd in stolen bases, and extra base hits. You think its all offense no so much this pitching staff is holding its own. One thing this staff does well is keep the ball in the ballpark by only allowing 39 HR's so far and they lead the league in strikeouts with 389. Keeping the ball in the park and stalling rally's is a great key to pitching staff sucess.

As everyone can see I didn't make any major moves didn't sign any major FA's i just told a few guys i want to give you a chance and they have delivered. All the credit needs to go to these guys on the field for the incredible ride we have seen through April and May. I can't wait to see what this team develops into we see team chemistry as real good and everyone is just having fun playing loose and free. I could not be more proud of this squad GM Spencer said. You didn't need to be a 1st round pick for this squad rather its a waiver wire pickup, minor league contract or a rule 5 pick we gave you a shot. Everyone had a fresh start here and that has proven successful.

[Dington]

Way to jinx it!

[BaseClogger]

I’ll keep waiting for Suzuki’s batting average to come down but I did the same thing with Miguel Montero last season.

Mendez should have been taken in the R5 so kudos to you on that move.

[RonCo]

Making small moves to get guys who can at least play some reasonable time is a solid approach. So, while I'm not taking bets on how long the Cyclone run is going to last, I do think you can claim a good bit of the credit!

[recte44]

Every little move coming up roses for you. Congrats!

[lordtoffee]

Kevin, you do deserve a lot of credit. You put together a good team, and still have budget room to beef up if you want to at the deadline.