Call to the Post - 2040 Season Updates

[Thoroughbreds]

Well it has been a turbulent start to the 2040 season for the Kentucky Thoroughbreds and their time as perennial playoff contenders seems to be perilously close to being over. Some key players have struggled early on this season and some trusty veterans are definitely on the downside of their careers. Early on the Thoroughbreds fell to 6 games below .500, but a recent 9-3 stretch has brought them back to 32-32, good for 3rd place in the Dixie Division. They are already 5 games out of the wildcard with some very good teams ahead of them.
With dwindling crowds and their window of opportunity seeming closing shut, will management sell of some pieces and rebuild, or will they try and resign some of the star players and retool?

Bartolo Cervantes provides much needed boost to the rotation

Coming into the season, most people thought the starting rotation would be the strength of the Kentucky Thoroughbreds. Full of veterans, most of whom are still in their prime, nobody saw much .. or any cause for concern.
That changed quickly when 3 of the 5 pitchers in the rotation struggled immensely to start this season. Dong Hak Yi , who in 2038 went 21-8 and won the pitcher of the year and then went 14-11 last year is 4-8 with a 5.12 ERA this season - he hasn't been able to string together 2 quality starts all season long. Mr. Consistency, Valke Petiet has been even worse. Over the past 3 seasons Petiet is 38-25 with a 3.50 ERA. In the offseason he gained a couple of miles of speed on his fastball so many were predicting a breakout year from him, but so far in 13 starts he has an ERA of 6.01.
The worst of the bunch was the mercurial Sa-Yoor Chang who couldn't get anyone out. In 6 starts Chang went 0-6 with a 7.91 ERA and was promptly shipped of to Okinawa for a 4th round pick next season.
Kentucky definitely did not want to trade Chang as he is only 25 year's old and he has great stuff. He was an all-star back in 2036 when he was only 21. But the had no room for him on their roster so they got what they could for him and moved on.
All this has set the stage for Bartolo Cervantes. a 24 year old - mid level prospect who has spent the last 3.5 seasons in AAA for Kentucky. Cervantes has been nothing short of amazing since his call up, going 3-0 in 6 starts with a 1.44 ERA. His best start was his last on when he pitched a complete game 3 hit shutout against the Scottish. What makes his start all the more impressive is that 5 of his 6 opponents have been teams above .500 - including the aforementioned Scottish as well as that juggernaut Florida team. He is currently riding an 18 inning scoreless streak and has struck out 24 batters over his last 3 starts. He has come along at exactly the right time when the team neaded a shot in the arm - literally.
Nobody expects this level of success to continue, but if he can keep is control he may have found a permanent home in the rotation.

Kentucky goes defensive with the first pick

With the 22nd pick in the draft Kentucky selected a slick fielding shortstop who was playing college ball in Europe. Jose Reyes isn't known for his offense, but he could emerge as the top defensive infielder in this year's draft. Kentucky's current shortstop Naomi "Dr. Evil" Honma is one of the greatest defensive shortstops in PEBA history but at 35 years old he is showing signs of slowing down. In an ideal world Reyes will replace Honma in the next year or so. The question will be can Reyes hit enough to be an everyday shortstop. He was immediately placed in AAA on the Jefferson County Independance where he will pair in the middle of the infield with Dave Ramirez who was last year's 1st round pick for Kentucky. Ramirez has exceeding expectation and should be ready for the show very soon. Could this be the middle infield of the 'near' future for Kentucky. It will be very interesting to see how this trial run goes in Jefferson.

Future questions on 2 stars

2 players who have not struggled early on are starter Ruben Rivera and centerfielder Pedro Bermudez. Signing Rivera to a 6 year deal at an AAV of 23 million a year was a huge risk considering his extensive history of injuries. But somewhat surprisingly Rivera has stayed healthy and not surprisingly pitched well. He is off to a 7-23 start with a 2.92 ERA this season. The problem is he can opt out of his contract at the end of this season. If he stays healthy and continues to pitch well, we he try and cash in on another long term contract? At the age of 31 it will be very tempting for him - it will be a tough blow for Kentucky to lose him for nothing - will they consider trading him before that happens?
Pedro Bermudez is off to another great start, he is improving every year. After posting a career high WAR of 6.5 last season he is on pace to better that this year. Currently he is hitting .306 with 10 homers and 43 RBI all well playing great D in centerfield.
Bermudez has one more season arbitration season before he becomes a Free Agent. Reports are that Kentucky has been negotiating hard to sign him to a new contract but Bermudez has refused to sign so far.
These situations will be interesting to follow as what happens with this two could really change the landscape of the future for the Thoroughbreds.

[Thoroughbreds]

Fortune has finally started to turn around for Kentucky, thanks to a recent 5 game winning streak they have moved up to second place in their division and they are just a half game out of the final wild card spot. They now sit a season best 10 games over .500. A little more than a month ago making the playoffs seemed like it was off the table, but now they are right in the thick of the race.
They have a huge week coming up - first it is Charleston who played like they were shot out of cannon to start this season, but disaster has struck this month as they only have managed 5 wins against 19 losses. Kentucky will not want to give them any life and let them back in the race. Unfortunately for Kentucky they will have to face Zhu and Goto who are two of the top starters in the league.
After Charleston it is New Jersey who are just a half game ahead of Kentucky in the standings - New Jersey is also in a divisional battle with West Virginia so these games will be huge for them as well. This week wiill go along way to determining if Kentucky makes the playoffs or not.

Bermudez puts his signature on a contract
It has been a big month for Kentucky's star centerfielder Pedro Bermudez. He was selected to his 3rd consecutive all-star team, not an easy feat when you have to compete for spots against guys like Knopp, Osmond, Martinez and Harada to name a few.
The bigger news for Kentucky fans was that Bermudez decided to commit to Kentucky long term by signing a 6 year contract worth 137 million dollars. It as a massive deal that perhaps signals that Kentucky is not ready to try and rebuild just yet. Pedro is 27 years old and this deal will take him through his prime years. This season he is hitting .287 with 16 homers, 71 RBI and 29 stolen bases. He is one of the better defensive outfielders in the league and by all accounts he is great in the clubhouse. He has been described by fellow teammates as the unquestioned leader of the team. He is the one that leads by example and holds everyone on the team accountable.
The question going forward will be can the Thoroughbreds surround him with enough talent to remain playoff contenders?

Infield of the future in Jefferson County?
Well at least potentially 3/4 of it. The Thoroughbreds don't have the best or deepest farm system in the league by any stretch of the imagination but that doesn't mean they are void of all talent. In fact there are some exciting things happening in with the Jefferson County Independence, who are challenging for the AAA playoffs for the first time in several years. Much of their success has to do with their middle infield, which features 3 players that the organization hope will be starting with the big club in the very near future.
The trio is led by 2nd baseman Dave Ramirez who was selected 31st overall in last seasons draft. Ramirez, who is probably good enough to be in Kentucky's starting lineup right now, has been on a fast upward trajectory since he was drafted. in Triple A this season he is hitting .296 with 12 homers, 56 RBI and a 3.1 WAR. He projects to be a good defensive 2b in the PEBA as well. If he doesn't make it up this season I would be shocked if he wasn't in the starting lineup at the start of next year.
With their first pick in this year's draft, Kentucky went the college route as well, selecting a Cuban born shortstop by the name of Jorge Reyes with the 22nd overall pick. Reyes was selected for his great defensive abilities and not so much for his hitting. The thought was it would be awhile before he could hit enough to not be too much of an anchor on offence before he was called up. Surprisingly the club opted to start him at AAA where he has actually held his own. In his first 150 at bats he is hitting a respectable .250 while still maintaining his elite defensive prowess. It may not be that long before he makes the transition to the PEBA.
Finally we have Hank Petiet at first base. Petiet was signed for almost 9 million dollars as an International free agent way back in 2034 and has been working his way up the ranks ever since. Last season in single A, Petiet won Kentucky's minor league player of the year after he hit .281 with 34 homers. This season he started in double A, but after a successful 80 game stint he was quickly moved up to AAA. After 28 games he is hitting .274 with 4 homers.
Currently on the Thoroughbreds roster, shortstop Naomi Honma is noticeably start to slow down - 2nd baseman Luke Kossan is still playing well but he will turn 34 later this year and the team has nobody on the roster that is going to be the everyday first baseman in the future.
The arrival of Ramirez, Reyes and Petiet couldn't be coming at a better time.


The struggles of Dan Gore

One key player that has struggled the entire season has been DH Dan Gore. After piling up big numbers over his first 3 years and being selected an all-star in his first 2 full seasons, things have been miserable for Gore. Not only is he not helping the club, he has been hurting them. Time and time again he has come up in big spots and failed to deliver. How much longer can the team continue to put him in the clean-up spot? Not only are his numbers down, but they are way down in every category. Last year his slugging percentages was .528, this year it is .376 - a drop off over 150 points! After getting on base at a better than .360 clip over his first 3 years, he is below .300 this season. He total WAR for the last 2 seasons is over 8 which is good for someone who does not play a defensive position. This year it is a -0.7, hence the fact that he is probably doing more damage then good. I can list numbers like this for virtually every category, but the fact remains he is not hitting and nobody can seem to pinpoint why as his swing looks much the same as it did in previous years. He generally has good protection hitting behind him in Ferguson. Is it a lack of confidence? Has the PEBA figured out a weakness with him? Either way he needs to figure it out or the Thoroughbreds will not make the playoffs. It is actually good news that they are in the still in the mix with him struggling so badly.

[Thoroughbreds]

As the season winds down the Kentucky Thoroughbreds once again find them in a dogfight just to make the PEBA playoffs. Last season they were eliminated on the final day of the season and it should be touch and go again this year. The Thoroughbreds sit 1.5 games outside of the wild card spot behind the suddenly red hot Manchester Maulers. The good news is the Maulers have an extremely tough schedule over the last few weeks, they have Florida, New Jersey (times 2), the Scottish and Charleston still to play. The bad news is, Kentucky has more than just Manchester to deal with. they are a half game behind Charleston and Charleston's schedule isn't as hard as Manchester's. Right behind Kentucky is West Virginia, who everyone has been expecting to make a run and continue their playoff streak.
Up next for Kentucky is Havana who are in the 2nd wildcard spot and are 3.5 up on Kentucky. A series win for Kentucky would bring Havana back into their sights. The Thoroughbreds also have Florida, West Virginia and Charleston to face...on the bright side they face San Antonio in 9 of their last 15 games - San Antonio sits at 52-87 and last place in the division.
Things were looking good for Kentucky when they swept Florida 2 weeks ago, but last week Florida returned the favour and then Charleston took 2 out of 3 and now the Thoroughbreds are on the outside looking in.

End of an Era for Honma

For the last 14 years Naomi "Dr Evil" Honma has been one of the best shortstop in the PEBA, especially defensively. He has racked up a total war of 64.5 over the years, a number that should at the very least get him some consideration for the PEBA hall of fame. He is a been a big part of the Kentucky team over the past few seasons. Unfortunately for Honma it seems as if father time has caught up to him. HIs average is down to .231 this season and his production is way down - he has 4 homers and only 20 RBI - this will be the first time in his career that he won't hit double digits in homers. Kentucky would be able to live with those numbers if his defense at shortstop remained at an elite level, but that has not been the case, he has just been slightly above average this season. The big problem is Honma after this season still has 2 years and 42 million dollars left on his contract so he won't be going anywhere -except occupying a roster spot.
Taking his spot will be the Thoroughbreds 2039 first round draft pick Dave Ramirez - Ramirez is the odds on favorite to win Kentucky's minor league player of the year. I believe they wanted to keep him in AAA for the playoffs but it is all hands on deck for Kentucky in their fight to make the postseason. Ramirez is slated to be the team's 2nd baseman of the future, but right now he should provide an upgrade at shortstop. He is hitting .313 with 17 homers in AAA this season.

Did management jump the gun with Yi contract?

When Dong Hak-Yi went 21-6 with a 2.93 ERA in 2038 at the age of 25, Kentucky believed they had their future ace for the next decade. He was awarded the Golden Arm award that season and although 2039 was not nearly as good he still ended up at 14-11 with a 3.81 era and he lead the league with 248 innings pitched. 36 wins in 2 seasons at the age of 26 was all the proof Kentucky needed and the promptly signed him to a massive 6 year 70 million dollar contract extension, which will start at the beginning of next season. Maybe the Thoroughbreds should have looked a little closer at the regression he had between 2038 and 2039 and should not have acted so hastily in offering such a large contract to him. This year Yi had struggled in many of his starts. He is 13-12 with a 4.43 ERA - not terrible, but also nowhere near a 20 million per season player. His big problem is the long ball he gave up 27 last year and 24 so far this season - he seems to give them up at the most inopportune times as well. If they are going to make the postseason this year they will need some big starts from him, but more importantly how do the next 6 years unfold for Mr. Yi? This could end up being a big mistake for the organization.


Could this be the final season for Paul Connor?

Not many people can remember a time when Paul Connor did not manage the Kentucky Thoroughbreds. 14seasons, 10 playoff appearances, only one season below .500. Even prior to that he managed double A in the Thoroughbred organization where he won a championship. Unfortunately in the 10 playoff appearances with Kentucky he has not been able to win a championship. Now Kentucky is on the brink of missing the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row, They have several young players ready to make the jump to the big team and many are wondering if a fresh face and a new message is needed in the locker room. Many would argue though that Connor is the perfect guy to help nurture the next generation as he has a proven track record. If he does leave, he most certainly would not remain unemployed for long.
The book is not closed on him yet - especially if he can drag this Kentucky team into the playoffs for yet another time.

[Thoroughbreds]

Every series is do or die now for the Kentucky Thoroughbreds. With so many teams so close in the wildcard race, they can't afford to stumble or they will be out of it and looking towards next season.
They passed the first test in their last series against Havana. Going into the series Havana was holding the number 2 wildcard spot 4 games up on Kentucky and the teams were split 3-3 over their first 6 meetings of the season.

Game 1

Game 1 saw Kentucky go with their ace Ruben Rivera (16-8), while Havana had Jack Sosa (11-7), their 24 year old former 1st round pick on the mound. This game also marked the start of rookie Dave Ramirez at Shortstop for Kentucky in place of veteran Naomi Honma.
Havana threatened early after Antao Crilanovich lead off with a double and then made it to third with one out but Rivera buckled down and managed to get out of the inning unscathed. Rivera wasn't so fortunate in the 3rd when after getting 2 out he gave up a single to Jose Corona which was immediately followed up by a 2 run homer by Pepe Padino. It was the rookie's 17th homer of the season and after 3 Havana lead 2-0.
In the top of the 4th Kentucky immediately responded. Sosa got the leadoff man, but then 2 singles and a walk later, the bases were loaded. Rookie Ramirez drew a walk which forced in a run and then veteran Luke Kossan singled which scored 2 more and suddenly after 3 and a half Kentucky had the lead 3-2. After a 17 minute rain delay in the 5th, everything was relatively quiet until the top of the ninth when Kossan led of the inning with a lead-off double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Juan Carlos Cruz which gave Kentucky a 4-2 lead going into the ninth.
Omar Bickford, who has been Kentucky's best reliever by a country mile, pitched a perfect ninth inning which gave Kentucky the opening game 4-2. Rivera picked up his 17th win of the season, giving up 2 earned runs over 6.2 innings while Sosa took his 8th loss of the year.

Game 2

In the second game of the series, Havana went with their ace Masahiro Masuyama (10-8) while Kentucky countered with Dong-Hak Yi (12-11). Yi has had a very up and down season so you never know what you are going to get with him. Havana struck early with Crilanovich again leading things off with a double but this time Havana was able to score thanks to a Padino single and it was 1-0 after 1. In the top of the 2nd Kentucky managed to get 2 people on, but backup catcher Tony Gonzalez hit into a double play to end the threat...double plays would play a big role in this game. In the top of the 3rd Dan Gore, would hit his 2nd triple of the season, scoring 2 runs and giving Kentucky a 2-1 lead. Gore has been off all season and is a big reason that Kentucky is not currently in the playoffs.
In the top of the 6th Kentucky managed to get the leadoff runner on but a Kyle Ferguson double play would end the threat. In the bottom half Havana would threaten for the first time since the first inning. a leadoff double by Jose Corona and then a wild pitch and Havana had tying run on third with nobody out. Padino would then hit a fly ball but veteran Shu-de Mu would get his 7th assist of the season by throwing out Corona at home. Another double play and this one would end up being costly for Havana. WIth 2 outs and nobody on they did rally - Kolomon Amsell would lash a double down the left field line, which was followed up by a bloop single by Nori Ozaki and suddenly the game was tied going into the 7th. In the top 7th and 8th double plays would end rally's for Kentucky and in the bottom of the 8th with 2 on, Havana would hit into a double play of their own to kill the rally. The game would go all the way to the top of the 11th inning where it was Luke Kossan coming up clutch again with a 1-out double that would score Dan Gore which made it 3-2 going into the bottom half. Mike Travis then pitched a perfect 11 inning - his 3rd inning of work without giving up and hit and he would earn this win and even his record at 3-3.
Suddenly the Thoroughbreds had a chance to sweep the Leones in Havana - a result that would be massive boost to their playoff chances.
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Game 3

The final game of the series pitted Kentucky's Luis JImenez (10-10) vs 32 year old Volmer Buscher (-8-9). There was no score and not much happening until the bottom of the 4th, when Havana managed a walk, 2 doubles and 2 singles that would ultimately cash in 3 runs. They would tack on another run in the 5th on a Crilanovich single to go up 4-0. A pinch hit double by Steven Brasnett in the 7th would score Crilanovich to make it 5-0, which was way more than enough for Buscher and Havana. Kentucky would only manage 4-hits on the day and ultimately leave Havana on a sour note, but overall they had to be somewhat satisfied in taking 2 out of 3.

The next series is another massive one. They host West Virginia with a chance to knock West Virginia further out of the playoff picture. With just a half game separating the 2 teams, the Alleghenies will be looking to do the same to the Thoroughbreds. Realistically Kentucky will need to take 2 out of 3 to stay relevant in the pennant chase. Could it be some measure of revenge against W.V. after the ended Kentucky's playoff run a couple of seasons ago? Stay tuned!