Things in Bakersfield have been...well...bumpy the past few seasons. The take over of GM Lenny Banovez started strong with playoff appearances and a team that seemed to be on the cusp of making a push for a PEBA title run. That however, was short lived. With the team now hovering near the bottom of the league the past three seasons and buried under large contracts that have yet to pan out, we ask "When will the Bears break out or is the break down long term?"
Banovez finally broke his silence for the first time in 8 seasons and addressed the media today. "The last three seasons have not been ideal obviously." said Banovez. "It's never easy to take over a winner. You can find yourself staying between lines to sustain success that was there prior, but may not fit what you'd do. So you have to ride that wave. Hindsight is always 20/20. We could have done a lot different, but we did find ourselves making moves that were more risky than I would have liked. That said, I truly believe that we have used this time to rethink the club from the ground up and create a solid structure that we can use to build a sustainable culture of winning. It may be a few years off, but I feel like it's there."
Banovez didn't go into specifics, but we can speculate about the emergence of young talent now making its way through the system, and some making an impact at the PEBA level now. Bernardo Romano and Oliver Flores both saw significant time with the Bears this season. Romano making a true impact, while the phenom Flores finding his first season a bit of a struggle. This year also saw the unexpected Corbin Taylor destroy pitching at every level of the minor leagues and continue that trend at the PEBA level, be it a small sample. They're maybe something to what Banovez is saying.
Mix that with Superstar Catcher Mauro Mata and the consistent Tsuginori Takahashi there may be the makings of something, even if you have to squint to see it.
The questions marks are in two high priced contracts of Jeffrey Mendoza and Júlio Jaramillo . Mendoza who was once arguably the best of the best in PEBA has found himself aging and overpriced. This probably keeps him a career long Bear. The question is...how much is left in the tank? Jaramillo has never lived up to the hype or the paycheck. He may be movable as there is still obvious upside that new surroundings could bring out. With Banovez though, you never know how long he will hold the line.
Which leads Bakersfield's fan left wondering if he wants to win the battle or the war.