A Crock of Gunt: Aurora Pre-season Outlook

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A Crock of Gunt: Aurora Pre-season Outlook

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A Crock of Gunt: Aurora Pre-season Outlook
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March 31, 2013: Reno, Nevada – The 2013 PEBA season is here, as the five-time Desert Hills champion Aurora Borealis prepare to defend their crown by taking on the Reno Tenpinners tomorrow night. Mark Gunter sits down with Northern Lights News reporter Francis Ferry to take a peek at the coming season.

Gunt: Well, folks, the 2013 PEBA season is upon us and another year of Aurora Borealis baseball is set to begin. I’m your host Mark Gunter, my partner George Crocker is AWOL, and this is “A Crock of Gunt”. Who knows if we will ever see my esteemed yet lunatic partner again, but the show must go on. Tonight, we speak to Northern Lights News baseball writer Francis Ferry about her thoughts on the coming season. There have been a lot of changes around the league, within the division and within the team. Perhaps the biggest question to date will be, “Can Aurora hold off Tempe for the division crown this year?” Welcome, Francis.

Ferry: Thanks, Mark. Has there been any word on George?

Gunt: No more than we already know from his Facebook postings and his pirating of the Aurora baseball Twitter account. What a twit! Hay Hootee… (shakes his head) unbelievable. With the trail he’s left, I’m shocked the Mexican police have yet to find him. Francis, let’s look at the changes made in Aurora this off-season.

Ferry: Well, Mark, the biggest changes center around who is not here, and we may experience that Opening Night here in Reno. John Roach was moved to the Tenpinners in a deal that brought starter José Reyes to the Borealis. It was a sad day for many Aurora fans, as “Pep” was a fan favorite.

Gunt: John was a great guy. I look forward to touching bases with him tomorrow during BP. The Tophams sure have not been shy about making moves, and this one saved the club $12M this year and next.

Ferry: It does. How John will respond in Reno is anyone’s guess. He started well in spring training, but his last three starts have been very shaky, giving up 13 R in 15.2 IP. His big problem last year was walks; I think that’s the main reason Aurora gave up on him. That seems to continue to be a problem, as he walked 11 in those 15 innings, although he did strikeout 14.

Gunt: From what I’ve seen, John seems to still have a lot of movement on his pitches, but he appears clueless as to where those pitches are going. I’m sure he’ll be pumped up for his start against Aurora. Now Aurora picked up Reyes in that deal, and they’ve installed him as the #5 starter for the moment.

Ferry: José is a 15th round pick from the Inaugural Draft and has spent his entire career in Reno. He has a career 41-62 record. Batters are hitting .254 against him (.273 last year), but the coaching staff expects that to improve with the tight defense he will have behind him here. Aurora had the top defense last year, and they look to continue that this year. He has been prone to giving up the gopher ball, but he also has a decent BB:K ratio. You know how it goes, Mark. A ball sneaks through the infield, a ball falls short in the outfield… now you have a big inning, where if those balls are caught, you have a 1-2-3 inning.

Gunt: Aurora is betting on him to be better than he showed in Reno last year. I look at it as he can’t be any worse than Roach showed last year, and he’s $8M cheaper. Maybe Aurora is onto something with the “better defense” approach. Reyes posted a 3-1 record in his four starts in spring training, with three of those starts vs. Duluth, Palm Springs and Omaha being quality – 12 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 BB and 5 K. The one loss to Tempe, he struggled with his control, walking five in 2 IP.

Ferry: He’s been working hard this spring, that’s for sure. Two other changes are the departures of Chris Weaver and Aaron Turner via free agency. That was another $29M cut from the payroll by not re-signing those two. Weaver is still looking for employment, which is a little surprising. I hear he has reduced his demand some. Turner, who had a great year off the bench for Aurora, signed a one-year deal with West Virginia.

Gunt: And Aaron is not off to a great start, hitting only .189 this spring. Taking Weaver and Turner’s spots on the roster are En-guo Guao and Michael Burton. They’ll join holdovers John Knight and Cory Pierce. Knight had a great spring, while Pierce was injured for most of it. Burton was solid, while Guao started strong but had a weak last week. What are your thoughts about the Aurora outfield?

Ferry: Well, for one, they’re thin. The Opening Day roster has only four outfielders, and unless they deal one of their infielders or DH Octávio Pexego, they will be sticking with four. What makes me nervous about this is that CF becomes the team’s weakness; not a good place to be weak, especially with a staff that likes to give up fly balls. Neither Knight, Burton nor Pierce is very proficient in CF, and an injury to Guao could have disastrous effects. Aurora may be banking on Brad Cain starting the year at AAA with a very hot bat and then promoting him so they have a better option in CF.

Gunt: We know what Knight brings to the table if he can remain healthy, and Pierce, the reigning Royal Raker, should only get better. What about En-guo? What can we expect from him?

Ferry: Guao really tore it up at AAA last year, and even showed some pop with 15 HR. That translated very well to the majors when he got a call-up and hit .400 in 12 games before slamming himself into the wall in CF. He has great speed and Toro is hoping that En-guo can fit into the leadoff spot and ignite the team. He stole 33 bases at AAA last year, and there is so much to like about this kid on the base paths. I’ve been told that Aurora is looking to get back into the base stealing business. After stealing over 200 bases in ‘08, ‘09 and ‘10, Aurora stole only 88 last year as they took a more conservative approach with their power-laden lineup. I expect to see Guao, Knight and even Richardson amping it up on the bases more this year.

Gunt: What of the catching spot? Wilson Berry went down with a leg problem that’ll keep him out for three weeks. It’s believed that Aurora tried to trade Bob Keller at numerous points during the off-season; with reports that he was nearly dealt to Florida during the Winter Meetings. What do you see happening here over the next few weeks?

Ferry: Aurora is certainly lucky they kept Keller, as Scott Vinson is probably a year away. Keller had a great spring, hitting .359, while Ernie Card managed only a .190 average. Keller will enter Opening Night as the starter, and I suspect that Aurora will give him the three weeks to prove himself. If he struggles, it’s back to AAA, and Card will remain the backup. Should Keller succeed, then it’s back to AAA for Card after two serviceable seasons with the club. I think they'd much rather have Keller here, as he’s a far superior backup defensively than Card. He’s better than Berry, so we may see some late-inning defensive replacements happening this year.

Gunt: Keller struggled last year in a brief stay with Aurora, but he did show some pop with 5 XBH, including 2 HR. Keller has proven he can hit at all levels he’s played at. He’s also done a pretty good job against opposing base stealers, something Aurora has not very efficient at despite their phenomenal 2010 number of 44.9%, best all-time.

Ferry: I think it’s very important that Aurora get that number close to 40% this season. With their pitchers struggling with walks these past two seasons, teams began to take advantage of this, especially Tempe.

Gunt: True. Okay, so let’s turn our attention to the bats… (ring… ring… ring)… Mark Richardson had a phenomenal spring… (ring… ring… ring)… leading the Sovereign League in hitting, HR, RBI… (ring… ring… ring)… Is that your phone, Francis?

Ferry: Nope, I think it’s yours… (ring… ring… ring)

(Gunter removes his phone, which indeed is ringing)

Gunt: (groans) George…

Crock: HEY THERE, BOYS AND GIRLS! HOW YA ALL DOING? GEORGE CROCKER HERE! YOU DIDN’T THINK I’D LET THE SEASON START WITHOUT ME, GEORGE CROCKER, WORLD BASEBALL LEAGUE ALL-STAR?

Gunt: George, you don’t need to scream.

Crock: OH, I’M SORRY… I CAN’T HEAR YOU.

Gunt: Trust me, George, (rolling his eyes) we can hear you.

Crock: HERE, LET ME TAKE IT OFF SPEAKERPHONE… is that better?

Gunt: Yeah, that’s better. Where are you George?

Crock: Well, I’m on a boat. They’ve built an apartment for me on this boat, they bring me food – not very good, though. Nothing like what Georgiana cooks for me. Anywhose, I took this fishing boat out of San Carlos and then they transferred me to this other boat – speedy little sucker. I mean, this puppy flew as if it were a flying fish or something. Hey, by the way, did I tell you they had flying fish here? So totally cool! Not that they have wings, mind you. I don’t want to confuse you Mark-o.

Gunt: Not at all.

Crock: I figured you’d be doing the show tonight, so I plugged into it with my phone… hey Francis, what’s crack-a-lackin’?

Ferry: George, it is good to hear from you…

Gunt: (in a low voice) Speak for yourself…

Ferry: So where are you headed?

Crock: Well, I’m supposed to be heading to the States on this big ole shipping craft. Not sure where in the States, though. Maybe I’ll end up back in Frisco. We had a great party there the other night. Man alive, that was the bomb-diggity, foe sheezy! Maybe Mikey can throw us another bash. Anyway, they all speak Chinese or some type of “ese” like that on this boat. I ask and all they say is, “USA”. Big help they are. Maybe we’ll sail down the Colorado River into Aurora for the home opener. Shoot off fireworks from the bow or somethin’ like that. After all, there is nothing that I, George Crocker, like more than fireworks.

Gunt: George, how long have you been on that boat?

Crock: Gee… I’m not sure. The days all seem to blend together. They keep me in my apartment. They told me it was safer that way – Mexican police and immigration police and all. I was assured it would all be kosher. I don’t know, Marky-Mark. A week? Ten days? You know, Mexico is a long ways away from the U.S. of A.

Gunt: (sarcastically) Yep, that’s true, George. (shaking his head)

Crock: So Francis, what’s the deal with King George? I bet he's flame-throwin' the strikes past the hitters, just like the old days! They didn't deal him, did they? You know, getting PEBA news in Mexico is, like, next to impossible.

Ferry: Well, George is still with the team. My understanding is there was some very tepid interest, but it never got anywhere. Thompson had a very poor spring, pitching in eight games (two starts) for nine innings total and giving up 19 H, 19 R and an OAVG of .432!

Gunt: And it’s even worse than that; in his last appearance, a start against Yuma, he gave up 10 H and 8 R. Against Yuma!

Ferry: The question really becomes this: Will there be a team willing to take a chance on Thompson – which I find unlikely – or will Aurora simply eat the three years and $12M he has left on that contract? Can they really afford to keep him on the roster?

Crock: Man, oh man… I thought for sure ole Georgie was going to turn it around. How about “Sugar Bear”?

Gunt: Miguel’s struggled with his control some, but the coaches expect that he’ll turn it around. They point to his age and past success. Frankly, the whole rotation is looking ragged.

Crock: “Slappy”? Tillerman? KO-ji-MA?

Ferry: Well, everyone but Bradley, that is. He looks better than ever. He’s struck out 25 in 16 IP and walked only four. Aurora really needs to find that second shutdown starter to complement him and match up with Hancock and McCullough.

Crock: Ah… Hancock is so overrated! He's so… 2012!

Gunt: (mutters) Right…

Crock: You heard it here first: Bill Bradley wins the Golden Arm this season! He’ll win 20 games and strikeout 350 batters. If that doesn’t spell “Golden Arm”, then the voters are dyslexic or something!

Ferry: Come on, George… Bradley may match those figures, but Hancock is about as tough as they come.

Crock: Hey Mark-a-licious, I got to fly. Some of those Chinese guys are coming at me and not looking to happy. Good luck tomorrow. See ya, Fran…. (click)

(prolonged silence)

Gunt: You know, Francis, I really don’t want to know.

Ferry: Ah, come on, Mark, sure you do. You know George. If nothing else, it’s quite the story.

Gunt: Indeed, it will be quite the story. Well, we are running short on time. Francis, any other thought before the season begins?

Ferry: Well, I see this Aurora team as one that should match last year’s record-breaking team offensively. I do have my concerns about the defense – especially in CF, as I outlined earlier – but I think this team will only go as far as their pitching will allow. Last year, it was the pitching that kept them from repeating as Sovereign League champs. They have been beating around the bushes looking for starting pitching, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a big move happening much sooner than later. Whether that involves moving draft choices, prospects or a big name – such as McDonald, Knight or Edwards – remains to be seen.

Gunt: A predicted finish?

Ferry: I think they’ll win the division again. If they can make a move to improve the pitching, then I don’t see a team beating them.

Gunt: Agreed. Thank you, Francis Ferry, for your insight. Folks, get yourselves ready, as Aurora Borealis baseball starts… now!
Michael Topham, President Golden Entertainment & President-CEO of the Aurora Borealis
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