2000 Louisville Sluggers Team Preview

[jiminyhopkins]

Lousville, KY--

When you've reached the bottom, there's nowhere to go but up. One can hope, anyway.

GM Nick Spitulski was brought over mid-season to run, well, possibly the worst franchise in the MBBA. Faced with the daunting task of righting the ship of a 100 loss team without much of a farm system, it was hard to know where to start. "This franchise is an apalling dump heap overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable, mangled up in tangled up knots," Spitulski put it mildly.

Despite the erstwhile GM's assessments, there are actually a few bright spots on the franchise. Will they be enough to start the Sluggers down the path to redemption?

Give us a call in five years.

POSITION PLAYERS

C: Robin Larker was one of the more significant signings this offseason for Louisville, and will provide a source of switch hitting power and a veteran presence for the Sluggers. Larker's best season was only 2 years ago, when he slugged 38 homers for Hawaii.

1B: Akiru Matsumoto isn't a pitcher, but he threw a curveball of his own by accepting the Sluggers' 1 year arbitration offer. No matter, the club needed the veteran first baseman regardless, and his 3 year average VORP of 34 will go a long way towards bringing this offense to respectablility.

2B: Rob Van Winkle is by far the most popular player on the team. Fans always arrive early to the stadium, just to see the second baseman do donuts in the player's parking lot with his 1993 Mustang 5.0 prior to every home game. The fact that he's one of the better 2B's in the league doesn't hurt either.

3B: Michael Reeve certainly isn't Superman, but he's maintained an OPS above .800 the last two seasons and should get the majority of the playing time. Billy Gathreaux looks to get most of the ABs against lefties.

SS: Kenare Sobah is the Sluggers' highest paid player and one of the more popular hitters in the league. He didn't play like a 13 million dollar man last season, but its hard to blame him given the disaster of a team around him. Sobah looks to return to his .320/.410/.500 level of recent years. Hopefully batting him in the bottom half of the order this spring was an expiriment, as this guy should be a #2 or #3 easily.

LF: Dwight Smith was a late addition, signing with the team just as Spring training began. He replaces the recently traded Pio Vallejo in left, and while not quite having Vallejo's power, he should provide double digit homers of his own with a better batting average.

CF: Leandro Fernandez Luna is young and can hit the ball with authority, but he's not the answer in center. He'll provide double digit power and not much else until Armando Cabrera arrives.

RF: Clarence Blankenship isn't the prototypical power hitting right fielder. He's more known for his ability to get on base and rack up steals. Though his SB totals have fallen precipitously since his high of 83 in 1996, he's always a threat to be a game changer if the manager decides to let him loose. Highly touted prospect Mutt Musser will eventually dominate at this position, but not until 2001 at the earliest.

STARTING ROTATION

1. John Doherty was getting paid way too much. So much so that the control artist was released by the team late last season. He spurned the club that picked him up and became a free agent, and unbelievably signed a 3 year deal with the Sluggers at just over 40% of his previous salary. Regardless, Doherty was a 19 game winner as recently as 1997 and is still capable of being an ace.

2. Steve DiBartolomeo is the #2 starter. That should tell you all you need to know about this staff. Once a tremendously talented hurler in his mid 20's, DiBartolomeo begins his age 30 season with something to prove after struggling with a 5 ERA last year. Can he once again be the pitcher that won 15 or more games four years straight?

3. Ricky Jamaica is a hard thrower who has been "effectively wild" in the past. Though he walked 100 batters last season, he was still one of the more consistent arms on the staff, allowing only 155 hits in 189 IP last season.

4. Virgilio Guttiedez has made the team out of Spring Training with a 2-1, 3.60 stat line. He looked passable in two September starts for the big club last year. Can he bring it for the whole season?

5. Juan Nieves has no idea where the pitch is going when he throws it. Fortunately, most of the time the batter doesnt either, which has allowed Nieves to carve out a halfway decent (4.40 career ERA) tenure in the bigs. His control, such as it is, wasn't rated positively by the scouts this spring, however, so this expiriment may not last long.

BULLPEN

The closer is Kurt Hass, and his 139 saves over the past four years can attest to his ability in that role. The setup man looks to be Leo Lopez, who was one of the club's first FA signees this past offseason. His 6+ ERA raised eyebrows this spring, so hopefully Lopez has his head on straight come Opening Day.

Beyond that, the rest of the bullpen is up in the air. 22 year old Ramon Baca has developed nicely and figures to get his fair share of innings, provided he doesn't get his confidence blown up early. Ramon Castro and Sal Mejorado provided innings last season and look to be in the mix for 2000. Aaron Small and George Bruning both had great springs with ERA's in the 2's, but it remains to be seen how much they will figure into the ML bullpen situation.

WRAPUP

So what to expect? The offense will be solid, perhaps better than last year if a few guys bounce back from subpar campaigns. The pitching staff is a huge issue once you get past Doherty and maybe DiBratolomeo, but contention isn't the plan this season anyway. The club has some decent veteran talent, and could be active in the trade market this season as they unload higher priced players and start to collect prospects. Mutt Musser and Armando Cabrera are great young outfielders who will make and impact soon, and scouts have been raving this spring about right hander Dan Bernard's potential. But even he is a couple seasons away.

Patience will be the key word this season. The ML roster has its bright spots but isn't nearly enough to compete in the Atlantic Division, while the farm system has a few good prospects but is thin overall. Louisville's legendary fan loyalty will surely be tested in the year 2000.