TRENDSETTER’S CHANGES ARE MANY, BUT WILL THE RESULTS BE ANY DIFFERENT?

[Trendsetters]

By Peter Barroquere, New Orleans Times Picayune

February 5, 2039




(LITCHFIELD PARK, AZ)




“I've kind of looked at my whole career as a spring training invite.

-Jamie Moyer




The groundskeepers line the basepaths, the clubhouse attendants fold the towels and hang the uniforms in their lockers. Spikes are shined to a polish, pallets full of baseball bats arrive from the manufacturer and Litchfield Park, AZ gets ready to welcome the 2039 New Orleans Trendsetters to another Spring Training. Baseball has arrived. Hope springs eternal and the hot stove begins to cool to a simmer. Now fans can sit back and wonder, “Will the Trendsetters make the playoffs?” Nobody can predict the future but I feel pretty confident in the answer to that last question and the answer is, “No”.




General Manager Chuck Valenches had a busy off-season. A new logo and new uniforms did not necessarily mean new players, but it sure seems like a lot of those players with expiring contracts wound up on the clearance racks along with those old brown and orange(ish) t-shirts.




The good news is that many of those old contracts have expired and are off the books. The commitment to the rebuild is ensured. 12 players left the Big Easy, including Miguel Heredia and Jorge Medina whose contracts immediately freed up 24 million a year in payroll. OF Kazunari Ito, one of the few who put up solid numbers last season (.275/20/60) opted out of his contract after one year and entered the free agency market, eventually signing with the Long Beach Oilers of the WIL. Taking their place are a bevy of younger kids looking for an opportunity and some veterans looking for a last chance to keep putting on the uniform day after day. The Trendsetters have their work cut out for them, especially with a brutal schedule to start the season with 20 of their first 26 games on the road.




Here is a quick look at the potential starting lineups and rotation for the 2039 New Orleans Trendsetters:




Starting Rotation




Nathan Gallard – At the young age of 23, Gallard has become the unrivaled clubhouse leader. Originally the 4th overall pick by former GM Reg LeBlanc in 2036, Gallard has teased ace-like stuff during his two years in the bigs but has yet to develop that killer instinct that will make him that true #1 starter. But, in a rotation devoid of true stars, Gallard will start the season as the #1 starter and will continue to be the Captain of this squad.




Joe Arnold – Batters did not seem to have a problem getting hold of many of “Slippery Joe Arnold’s pitches last season. Arnold will always be tied in fans minds to his outrageous 6 year $134 million dollar contract that the Trendsetters took ownership of last season. Arnold did not help himself by having one of the worst seasons of his career (7-16/5.01 ERA) Arnold’s contract runs for three more seasons so manager Alfredo Vega will just have to figure out places he can hide Arnold until the end of the 2041 season.




Luis Lopez – The 31-year-old was picked up as a Minor League free agent last August and was put into the rotation to finish out the season. Lopez was a pleasant surprise and he proceeded to go 3-3 with a very respectable 3.08 ERA and a 134 ERA+ score. Lopez will hold down the #3 spot in the rotation and fans will hope he reverts back to the form he showed five years ago with the London Underground when he consistently posted sub 4.00 ERAs.




Shadi Quakili – Another late season surprise was the 23-year-old South African. Plucked out of a tryout camp in Johannesburg that was only run by the Trendsetters as a favor from owner Jack Cobb to the owner of a local soccer team, Quakili has made steady progress through the organization before making his big-league debut in 2038. In six starts in September, Quakili went 4-2 with a 3.15 ERA and a 3:1 K/BB ratio. Quakili may eventually have to add a fourth pitch to his arsenal to go with the fastball, sinker and circle change, but Quakili has been equal to the task so far.




David Sanz – Acquired as part of the Hideo Miura trade with Toyama last year, Sanz started 2038 in AA and then moved up to AAA Fayetteville before his September debut. Like Quakili, Sanz was a nice surprise for a team that fielded arguably the worst staff in the PEBA. This winter, Sanz spent time adding a curveball to his arsenal and the front office is hoping for a breakout year.




Starting Lineup




CATCHER – Last year was a disaster behind the plate for the Trendies as they managed to field a catching tandem that couldn’t hit or catch. A new tandem is in place, though no the one envisioned by GM, Chuck Valenches. Freddy Morales, one half of the Florida Farstriders IL champion catching tandem joins the Trendies this season. New Orleans did try to sign the other half of the platoon, Francisco Alejandrez, but lost out to Reno in the bidding war. Toby Marriot, the former Alleghenie, will be the backup.




FIRST BASE – New Orleans has plenty of options here to choose from. For now it looks like they will use a tandem of Juan Jose Torres at 1B with his stellar glove and Ron King, who swings a more potent bat will spell him when he is not the DH. John Lightbody could also see time there.




SECOND BASE – Just before the start of Spring Training GM Chuck Valenches accumulated more draft capital by dealing solid 2B Vasil Albers to Palm Springs along with an 8th round pick in exchange for their 3rd round pick. This deal gives New Orleans three picks in the 2nd and 3rd rounds and two in each of the 4th and 5th rounds. Joining the club on a one year deal is 35 year old Emilio Diaz. The career .277 hitter will likely occupy a spot near the top of the lineup and should lend a veteran presence to a fairly young club.




THIRD BASE – Jorge Moreno and recent Rule 5 draftee John Lightbody will split the duties. Likely manager Alfredo Vega will ply the hot hand. Moreno has an adequate glove but has struggle at the plate while Lightbody has had better results at the plate while not bringing the solid glove Moreno can. Lightbody did hit .314 the last year he was a starter in New Jersey in 2037.




SHORTSTOP – The rumor throughout the winter was that New Orleans was looking to find another second baseman and would then move Vasil Albers to SS, however, having dealt Albers to Palm Springs, it appears for now that Thomas Johnston’s job is safe. Johnston has always had a good glove, and did hit better than expected last year, but Johnston drew just NINE walks in 414 plate appearances, so the Trendies will be on the lookout for an upgrade. Don’t be surprised if Pedro Trujillo gets another crack at it.




LEFT FIELD – The first of what the Trendsetters hope will be many products of a productive farm system, Michel Bastide stormed his way through the minors last year. “The Albino Rhino” combined for 27 HR and 110 RBI between AA, AAA and the PEBA. He finished the season by hitting .310 in 27 games in September. He will inherit the spot from Kazuniro Ito, who left via free agency.




CENTER FIELD – Juan Baidakoff, a bench player throughout his 11-year career made the most of his opportunity to grab the starting position with a solid .293/12/40 effort over 116 starts last year. Baidakoff also played a solid CF and has given Trendie fans a reliable CF who can fill the gap until prospect Gabriel Santos arrives in 2-3 years,




RIGHT FIELD –  is coming off of a better than average season (stellar for Dodson) which saw zthe 31 year old hit .270/24/70, leading the team in HR and RBI. He still has trouble drawing a walk, but his power and defense will keep him in the cleanup spot this year, though he may switch out with DH Ron King once in a while. Fans can only hope Dodson can repeat his All-Star performance from a year ago.




DESIGNATED HITTER – Ron King would probably get the nod at first base if Torres did not possess a far superior glove. As it is, King played admirably well moving around the lineup and jumping between 1B and DH. Torres struggled at the plate last year, which necessitated King’s move to full time 1B so that could be the same story this year.




So roll out the baseballs, start stretching and begin doing what baseball fans everywhere do in earnest each spring. Hope. It may not be fulfilled, but the journey to get there is one millions of fans enjoy and who knows, maybe this team can break .500*?




*They won’t break .500.










Season Tickets for the upcoming 2039 season are available and tickets for the home opener vs. the San Antonio Calzones of Laredo on April 15th can be purchased by calling (504) 55WHIFF.

[Thoroughbreds]

Good stuff,

Interested to see how Luis Lopez does. Former 12th overall pick - 2 no hitters early in his minor league career. He could be a nice diamond in the rough

[Trendsetters]

iI'm not expecting much. He would be a nice surprise. Right now I'm pretty much just giving everybody with a pulse a chance to pitch and hope some of them turn into halfway decent pitchers.