--------
Javier Alomar - Staring lifelessly into the void
Alomar was acquired from the then GM of the Marquette Suns (the great Tim Meseck – currently of division rival Yellow Stone employ) in 2008, in one of Stever’s earliest trades of his MBBA career (which, of course, makes Alomar one of the longest tenured Barnstormers by proxy – behind Eric Rouse and (sort of) Luis Luna). This deal was the first (with many more to come) of the young GM’s ‘block-busters’ as it also saw perennial HR leaderboard mainstay Allen Stephens joining the Barnstormers with two top prospects in Jake Barnett and Ricardo Rios plus 2 other pieces heading the other way.
All in all, the deal seems to have benefited both sides; however, as of 2014, it is interesting to note that only Barnett and Alomar are still with their clubs – an easy win (despite Alomar’s success) for the Suns in that regard. During his tenure (comprising 5 full seasons and 2 partial ones), Alomar has been one of the league’s most steady closers – ranking on the top 10 leaderboards for both SVs and GFs in every full season but 2010 (the year that future HOFer Brendan Meyer graced the Barnstormer’s ‘pen). During his tenure (roughly 5 3/4th seasons), he has compiled 7.2 WAR in Nebraska, which is good for an average of 1.25/season – an impressive metric for a reliever (and even more so when considering that the GB specialist has never made more than 4M/season [what he is currently signed for through the 2017 season] during that time) with an average ERA+ of just north of 130. His best season came last year, in which he threw 70.2 IP to the tune of a 2.8 ERA (with a 2.9 FIP - good for 1.6 WAR). This season; however, the now 30 year old is looking to repeat that performance as he currently has a 2.93 ERA through 15.1 IP (with a 2.87 FIP – good for 0.3 WAR) – and, even more impressively, having yet to throw a HR (which has always been his greatest asset – with a career .75 HR/9) ball to date.
--------
Harry Martin - practicing his ventriloquism act
Setting the table for Alomar since 2012 has been Harry Martin – whose acquisition is widely regarded as the lynchpin that brought the Omaha bullpen to its current level. First acquired in 2008 (in a trade that predated even the Alomar one) from the then GM of CAR (the prolific Ben Teague – now of, a bit ironically, Marquette fame) as part of the package that saw Nebraska’s favorite son Lance Pere unsanctimoniously dealt for relative scraps. At the time, Martin was viewed as a failed prospect after spending much of his young professional career as a highly touted SP prospect. In the following offseason, Stever attempted to put Martin’s career on life support by fully transitioning the youngster to the bullpen with which he rewarded him with a -0.5 WAR in 2009 (his first full season there). After that debacle, Stever made quick work of banishing him back to CAR (along with another seemingly failed RP conversion, Luis Flores) for one of the great gloves in league history – Kenji Masaki.
After back to back resurgent campaigns for CAR immediately following the trade (a 2.57 and 3.2 ERA respectively in ’10 and ’11), Stever recognized his mistake and sent The Viper packing to reacquire his Frankenstein’s monster and, thus far, it has turned out to be one of his best deals of his MBBA career as Martin has rewarded him with 2.9 WAR in 2 1/3rds seasons in Omaha – good for an impressive 1.25/season average (all while never making more than 3.25M/year [his current contract through 2016]). To date in a Barnstormer uniform, the now 28 year old has put up an ERA+ north of 145 and has ranked top 5 in HLDs in both of his first 2 seasons in Nebraska. Thus far in 2014, the right-hander is on pace to record his best season to date with a 1.82 ERA through 29.2 IP (with a 3.23 FIP – good for a 0.6 WAR).
--------
The Barnstormers bullpen, during the tenure in question, has featured some quality veteran leadership in the forms of names such as Neil Huggins, Darrell Dowdle and Cliff Webb to name a few; however, they have all played 3rd fiddle to the young 1-2 punch that Omaha has relied (and will continue to rely ) on to anchor their bullpen – and solve their long standing end of game woes.
