Is the Trendsetters Master Plan a Master Failure?

[Trendsetters]

11/4/2039

-NEW ORLEANS

The 2039 season is over and as a lifelong baseball fan, I am grateful. The glimmer of hope Trendies had for at least a competitive team lasted exactly 3.1 innings when Bob Dodson hit a one out single to score a runner from 3rd, giving New Orleans a 1-0 lead on Opening Day. New Orleans would then proceed to give up a grand slam in the bottom of the inning to fall behind 4-1 and the season never recovered. The team lost ten of their first eleven games, went 7-18 in April to quickly settle at the bottom of the division and spent the season right there. Scraping up a win here, a waiver claim there and never once getting their head above water.

However, this is pretty much what the front office expected. The biggest disappointment for GM Chuck Valenches was the lack of development at the upper levels. Nathan Gallard spent a good portion of the season on the IL, David Sanz blew out his elbow at seasons end, Michel Bastide even missed a number of weeks with injury. The players who had shown progress and life in 2038, players like Bob Dodson and DH Ron King, reverted back to the pumpkins they always were. The team strategy has been to keep payroll low while the more prized younger prospects develop and move up the chain and then spend on free agents to complete the puzzle and compete. But, even that line of thought may need some adjusting. There are some voices in the front office saying that the team may need to spend some money this offseason and at least make an effort to field a competitive team otherwise they risk losing too much fan support. With the farm system making steady improvement, the Trendsetter’s will need some money to re-sign those players and add a Free Agent or two.

Let’s first take a look at this years team, position by position:

C – Freddy Morales-.247/12/44. This turned out to be an upgrade over the past catching tandem with Morales settling in to start 109 games and put up solid, if not spectacular numbers and mentor the younger pitching staff. Morales even became the first all-star starter in years for New Orleans. Morales did exercise his player option so a replacement will be needed. Prospect Beco Walton is still a year or two away so the job may fall to Kan-Goo Yi.

1B – John Lightbody-.259/1/36. First base was really a mish mash of light hitting nobodies and usually Lightbody got the nod by default with 74 starts. He is a light hitting infielder with a good glove, but expect Lightbody to move over to 3B next year. The Trendsetters did make a July deal with Okinawa for Manuel Munoz to provide a bit more pop and he will be expected to get the bulk of at bats in 2040.

2B – Tenshin Kudo-..269/15/61. Kudo was a pleasant surprise as he assumed starting duties for the first time since 2033 and in the twilight of his career had a solid season, setting career highs in almost every category. Not bad for a 36 year old. Kudo had signed a one year deal and will be testing free agency, but the Trendies may bring him back on a short budget friendly contract.

3B – Jorge Moreno-.240/6/33 – This is likely the end of the road for Moreno. He has a solid glove but little range to flash it and he just doesn’t do anything with it. He doesn’t hit, doesn’t have any pop, doesn’t get on base. He just sucks up at bats to the tune of 3 million plus in arbitration.

SS – Thomas Johnston-,271/6/47 Johnson has always been underappreciated by fans and the league. He plays a solid SS, hits for a solid average and doesn’t take his pants off and streak through the Quarter. That’s pretty much all that Trendie fans can expect from their team these days. Johnson will very likely hold down the position until a better solution comes along, but so far one has not.

LF- Michel Bastide-.277/16/76 – Bastide led the team in batting and RBI this season despite missing three weeks with a hamstring strain and was one of the few players to cement a place in the lineup for 2040. Bastide may switch over to RF for 2040 to replace the declining Bob Dodson with Richard Mancuso replacing him in LF.

CF- Ricardo Rojas-.230/19/46 – Rojas took early possession of CF after last years CF Juan Baidikoff lost any idea of how to swing a bat. Rojas led the team in home runs with 19 and did it mainly from the leadoff spot. A place in the order he settled into by being one of the few players with an OBP% over .300. Like Johnson, Rojas will get the opportunity to play everyday until a better option comes along. That option may be Gabriel Santos, currently in Single-A Ensenada.

RF – Bob Dodson-.265/16/59 – Bob Dodson has been a solid RF for the last few years. He plays excellent defense with a cannon for an arm and even displays occasional bursts of power. He had a stellar 2038 and was the team’s lone All-Star representative. This year it looks like Dodson has run afoul of Father Time. The bat speed is a little off and the power just isn’t there anymore. After belting 13 HR in the first half, Dodson hit only three the rest of the year and lost his starting job in September when he went 4-for-27. Dodson is a clubhouse favorite and management has always found a spot for Dodson as he usually found a way to contribute. If this was Bob Dodson’s last hurrah, hopefully the organization will find a way to bring him back to the front office in some kind of role.

DH – Ron King-..208/15/62 – New Orleans had a plethora of good glove 1B this year so King’s starts were all at DH and after coming off a career year in 2038, King reverted to the mean. King’s numbers across the board fell and even though King did sign a three year extension last offseason, the salary is not prohibitive enough to prevent his benching next year if he repeats.

Starting Pitching

Pitching was a big part of the problem for the Trendsetters. The woeful performance of the starting five kept them down near the bottom of the league, even as players were moved in and out of the rotation. The New Orleans starters ranked 15th in the league with a 5.12 ERA. Here is a look at some the more familiar villains.

Record/ERA/WHIP

Nathan Gallard-3-6/5.05/1.62 – The supposed ace of the staff, “Pitchy McPitch Face”missed more than half of the season with rotator cuff inflammation and only made 13 starts and was underwhelming in those starts. Gallard will have to put in a lot of work this offseason to get to the heights expected of the former 1st round pick.

Joe Arnold-8-15/3.63/1.30 – Slippery Joe actually put up decent numbers and his 8-15 record does not tell the whole story. Arnold only received 2.7 runs of support per start but still managed 17 QS and threw more than 200 innings without missing a turn in the rotation. While the team would like to get Arnold’s contract off of the books, he has done his part this season.

Luis Lopez 6-15/6.11/1.68 An unmitigated disaster. I do not know if Lopez has a future with the club, but if he does, it will be at a near minimum contract as the Trendsetters have already elected not to offer him arbitration. Lopez has been a decent reliever in the past, but if he is in the rotation again, you know the Trendsetters are in trouble.

Lewis Uige-2-3/2.50/1.23 – Uige was a late waiver claim from Aurora last August and he performed very well in his eight starts. The fear is that he will be much like a David Sanz or Shadi Ouakili, both of whom had strong Septembers in 2038 only to fizzle out the following year. Due to a lack of choices, Uige will get a chance in 2040.

David Sanz-7-13/5.72/1.48 – Coming off of a stellar debut last September, it was hoped that Sanz could become a regular fixture in the middle of the rotation but struggled from the get go and, to add insult to injury, blew out is left elbow tendon in his last start of the year and will likely miss all of 2040 as he recovers

Bullpen

The bullpen for the Trendsetters was a highlight for the team, one of the few. Patching together some discarded arms from other teams and a couple of judicious FA signings, the New Orleans spent most of the season as a top 4 bullpen, only fading at the end to finish 7th in the league. It’s just too bad they didn’t have too many leads to protect. Here are a few arms that were notable

Shinkichi Hasegawa-1-10/3.65/1.28. Hasegawa started out in middle relief this year and was not happy about it at all and not shy about displaying his displeasure. After a rather heated discussion between Hasegawa, Pitching Coach Julio Villanueva and Manager Alfredo Vega, Shinkichi moved into the closers role and notched 24 saves in 30 opportunities. Hasegawa had been on a friendly two year deal and exercised his player option to seek greener pastures elsewhere.

Keizo Arai-2-2/3.61/1.59 – It’s hard to figure out just who Keizo Arai really is. A pitcher with a decent ERA but the rest of his numbers are pretty average, or is he a bullpen workhorse who has trouble finding the plate? The answer is likely a bit of both. He has good stuff, keeps the ball in the park, but he can’t find the plate much of the time issuing 49 walks in just over 70 innings. Arai was extended for one more year at 2.88 mil so I guess the Trendsetters do have a role for him to fill next year.

Lou Long-3-4/4.24/1.31 – There are not many roles in the pen that Long has not filled at one time or another. He even managed eight saves in 2039. His versatility and ability to handle any role will keep him around to eat up a few innings.

Anthony Batticelli-3-3/1.20/1.26 – Another waiver claim pickup, Batticelli found an immediate home in the Trendsetters bullpen. New Orleans is currently trying to resign the arbitration eligible right hander to a one year extension.