12/8/2009: Arlington, VA – This past season witnessed a transfer of power in Arlington.  After getting off to a very poor start, the club was purchased by former U.S.  Senator Daniel J. Woods and new General Manager Daniel DiVincenzo was handed the reins.  Most expected the team to fall apart with the instability of the front office but instead the 'Crats were able to put together a respectable second half of the season.  Even with this second half improvement, the 2009 season was a disappointment and the Bureaucrats will be looking to improve a great deal in 2010.

Expectations were high at the opening of the 2009 season; the club was fresh off its first playoff appearance and everyone expected a repeat behind the arms of their ace Víctor Matos and young guns Michael Bender and Ronald Workman.  Last season, at the tender age of 21, Workman was the first pitcher in PEBA history to notch 20 wins and was expected to repeat, or even improve on, his historic performance.  At the start of the '09 campaign, Michael Bender already had two stellar years under his belt: a 3.25 ERA though 398 innings, earning himself a total of 26 wins.  Oh, and he did it all before he could legally purchase an alcoholic beverage.  To support their starting rotation, Arlington went out and got Andrés López from the Duluth Warriors for the final year of his contract.  Many analysts picked the Bureaucrats as division favorites, but a rough season lay ahead for Arlington.

"Arlington will live and die by their pitching…” noted one columnist.  And die they did.  A team ERA of 4.00 was good for sixth in the Imperial League, but that does not tell the whole story.  Bright young stars Bender and Workman crashed to earth as they both imploded in 2009, torpedoing any hopes of a second playoff appearance for the 'Crats.  Michael was bitten by the injury bug, going down a grand total of five times before landing on the 60-day Disabled List in August with a knee injury.  His ERA was more than twice his career average and he ended up walking more batters than he struck out in his 114.0 innings.  Workman, on the other hand, had no excuses to pin his poor performance on.  The 22-year-old struggled to keep his ERA under 6.00 for most of the season and had lost 12 games before the All-Star break.  At that point, his alarming incompetence earned him his first demotion to AAA Newport News.  After his short stint in the minors, Workman was back in Arlington and showed limited improvement in August before righting the ship in September.  Unfortunately, this turn around was too little too late and the Bureaucrats had slipped comfortably into fifth place in the Pan-Atlantic Division, where they would remain until the end of the season.  The team can only hope that Bender will be healed and Workman will regain his 2008 form going into the 2010 season.

However, the front office might be looking to bring in some help for the rotation via free agency.  However, this would show that the team's confidence in the two youngsters has been shaken.  That is a scary thought as there are virtually no high-quality starting pitching prospects in the high minor leagues of the organization.  Kevin Hollins is perhaps the closest they have, though the club is still waiting for his control to come around after he walked 27 batters in 37 innings this past season in AA Hampton and 62 men in 97 innings for AAA Newport News.

The Bureaucrats bring a few other needs to the offseason as well.  Depending on how things settle out in infield, a shortstop may be needed.  David Teague had been manning the position towards the end of the season but may be moved to a corner position in 2010.  The catching situation is also cloudy as super-prospect Larry Brown is apparently not yet ready for major league duty after faltering in AAA this season.  Ronnie Johnstone is still the starting catching but many people are questioning his age and his decrepit power numbers and batting average.  Infield depth will have to be addressed as well as defensive wizard Sun Phan was struck down by a devastating injury to his face and it is not known if he will be able to return.

With the Winter Meetings approaching, trade rumors have been starting to heat up again around the PEBA.  It will be interesting to see if the Bureaucrats will be active at the meetings; GM Daniel DiVincenzo has stated that Arlington will compete in 2010.  At the same time, the organization has been busy restocking the minor league system after an abysmal 2009 amateur draft by the former front office.  It might take a very intriguing offer to draw the 'Crats into trade talks since it they will be reluctant to part with anyone who could contribute to the big-league club or any of their few minor league prospects.

"We feel that the path to success lies in a good draft and a focus on player development," says DiVincenzo.  "That doesn't mean we aren't open to talks though, by any means.  We won't balk at the opportunity to make a move that will benefit our club.  We're also not afraid to go out and get some free agent help if the need arises."

Spring training will be a very busy one for Arlington.  As of right now, only Víctor Matos is a lock for the starting rotation and it would seem that Owen Hinton and Peter Goodwin are the only relievers who already have defined roles.  Fans are anxious to see how Bender and Workman respond to last season and can only hope for the best.  Many eyes will also be on outfielder Chris Wright.  Wright filled in for an injured Travis Bunch before a he too was sidelined by an injury at the end of the season.  During his first experience at the PEBA level, the young slugger quietly put up some solid numbers.  Through 53 games he hit .269, was on base 36% of the time and owned a slugging percentage of .515.  However, these numbers are much better than his career numbers in the minors so it remains to be seen if he has actually turned the corner.  The bullpen will also have a new look this year after the departures of Hollis Godwin and John Page; Godwin became a free agent after the conclusion of the 2009 season and Paige was dealt to the Kalamazoo Badgers right before the trade deadline.

The Bureaucrats will definitely be underdogs in 2010 and will be looking to improve on their 73-89 record.  If Bender and Workman can return to form and Matos has another great year, it will be up to the offense to put the team over the top.  The front office believes that their group of young talent, including recently extended Kiril Nijenboer, accompanied by a core of steady veterans will allow them to put a competitive team on the field for all 162 games.