Bayou Brief - Fayetteville Season Recap

[Reg]

By Scott Plack, Sportswriter

Fayetteville Braggars 74-70, AAA

Because of New Orleans youth emphasis, Fayetteville became a stop over for mainly organizational soldiers, whose only big chance to make it to the majors would be predicated on injury. The two exception to that rule were Leonard Martin and a belated appearance of Robby Shepherd. Shepherd spent the first two months riding the pine, and then spent substantial time attempting to clear waivers, before being able to work on his development at AAA. Martin, who spent spring training with the Trendsetters, found himself tagged as the team captian of the Braggarts and he took advantage of the oppurtunities presented him. Martin showed surprising power and finished second in league with 20 homeruns. Trendsetter fans can look forward to seeing Martin play, and he has been called up for September in a preview tour.

Shepherd on the other hand has seen his value drop, especially after struggling at the PEBA level. He still rates out at being a average to slighty above average hitter, and though he didn't manage to eek out a hit in limited time in the big leagues, he did manage to bat .300 for the second half of the season at AAA. Shepherd is a major liability on the field, because he plays first base like a DH.

As far as pitching goes, it is hard to tell if there will be any standouts. The Braggarts featured a sub par defense, will several players playing out of posistion, a problem Tanner has vowed to correct. Rumor has it that organizational soldiers with no defensive value were all going to be canned in the near future. That being said the 1-2 punch of Yvon Vezina and Ricardo Aguilera each with an ERA under four was impressive and should continue to be so next year as well. Vezina was paticulary on fire after being called up in May and June, but struggled a bit in the later months. Aguilera was consistently good except for the month of September.

As indicated above Tanner is looking to overhaul the Braggarts in anticipation of prospects rising from the lower level. In preparation, Tanner hired a new manager, hitting coach and pitching coach taking advantage of talent that previously coached down in Mexico. Also, next season will feature two players who should shine bright in the future for the Trendsetters, 1B Ty Green and C John Ray.