If the Pioneers were a type of apple, I'd say they were a seed.Yeah, I know, I'm cheating there a little. That's fine. This is a club in transition, though. After a long and epic run under the guidance of a set of Hall of Famers, the Pioneers are facing life the morning after.
It's hard to say this, but the Pioneers would probably be in better shape if they didn't have Resurrection Santos to deal with. Or, really, just his contract. At 29, the guy is still in his prime, and should be able to do 4+ WAR falling out of bed. But, the deal is $25M, and in today's BBA economy, that's a tough pill to swallow unless you can lay claim to a fair chance at 6 or more WAR.
That's not really his fault. Nor, really, is it GM Kevin Dickson's. If there's a team that is being slammed by the league's transition on salary cap and media contracts more stoutly than the Pioneer's, I'm not sure who it would be. That the transition has come in almost perfect tandem with the final curtain calls of Carlomaria Donadoni and Larry Stinson didn't help. Calgary's 2061 was a tale of First to Worst, and it really was not pretty. Stinson has retired now, and Donadoni? Well. He's 41 and really should consider stepping down any time now. His sub-replacement season was sad to watch, and a reprise in 2062 won't be much better.
I'll say this for Dickson, though. He's not just sitting tight and weathering the storm.
The Pioneers have been busy in the trade market, mostly trading down with established guys and adding through Rule 5. They signed a solid rotation part in Edmond Thomas, who should fit in with 31-year-old ace Shinsui Hasegawa (whose 12-17, 4.79 numbers last year covered up a still-respectable 91 FIP-). With 3B and leadoff guy Ollie Long in place, and solid all-around corner OF Michael Little able to carry the team for periods of time, there exists some firepower. And Jeff Sawyer is probably not turning a big WAR year, but he can Hit Ball Far often enough that lightning could strike with him now and again.
It's interesting to see Calgary being a bit active in the IFA market, too.
Cautiously, I'd say. Careful not to go too far, but dropping a few of those precious millions into the semi-lottery that is the international world.
What I'm saying is that, though I'm not particularly thrilled with the team that Calgary is going to field on a daily basis in 2062, there is enough star power here that they could play a mean spoiler. Good teams could bounce away from Calgary with a series loss here or there. And if the club gets a little luck here or there they could do something. I'm not predicting it. That would be to go against the odds, and I think that's bad business. But someone, somewhere is going to be playing the Pioneers and come up empty.
Bottom line, though. I admit I'm rooting for Santos.
It would be fun to see him post one more big 7 WAR season.
2061 saw Calgary fall from first (100 wins) to 5th (74 wins). Watching the team work during this off season makes me think that the real future for the team--kind of like Austin, but with a different vibes 2063 or (more likely?) 2064.
To put it directly, I think fans of the club in 2062 are going to have to deal with the frustration that comes from watching a club that, while occasionally being a tough out, will still more often than not be an out.