Chase to 40
Takanawa Times Volume 10
Monday, October 1, 2012
Tricia Takanawa here today to talk about the race to 40 wins for the Seoul Crushers. GM Mark Kierstead was ridiculed at the pre-season team meeting for saying his team would be lucky to win 30 games this season. The Crushers are at 38-87 so far this year. With a few games left in the season, 40 should be reachable. Some playoff teams will rest starters to make sure they don’t get injured.
40 wins is bad, but the good news is that they get the first pick in draft. That should help the rebuilding effort.
Some owners think Kierstead had a fire sale and some owners think it was a great move. Kierstead picked up LF John Wood, who has had a few injuries this season. Wood signed a four-year deal worth $15,268,800. Sadly, he just started to get hot towards season’s end. Some GMs thought the Wood move was horrible. Wood brought in fans with his popularity and will help keep them until players in the minors are ready.
Another player picked up this off-season was CF Jaime García. García was a good, cheap acquisition, but due to the following, he was traded at the deadline:
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04-25-2012 |
Injured (mild shoulder strain), out for 2 weeks. |
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05-09-2012 |
Injured (bruised cheekbone), day-to-day for 4 days. |
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06-07-2012 |
Injured (sore hamstring), day-to-day for 4 days. |
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06-16-2012 |
Injured (bruised jaw), day-to-day for 1 day. |
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06-28-2012 |
Injured (back soreness), out for 2 weeks. |
García batted well but needed to be moved in order to pick up C Yosuke Imai, who joined a very talented Ranma Pandas team.
The third pickup in the off-season that helped the Crushers was SS César “Pepi” Castillo. Castillo did not play up to par and was also moved at the trade deadline. The Castillo trade netted the Crushers an extra 1st rounder for the 2013 draft.
The overall thought is this: The Crushers would be nowhere near 40 wins if these three players were not on the team at one point during this season. Kierstead did what he had to do to win. He also did what he had to do to get quality players on the team. His moves were 100% what the team needed. No matter what other people think, Kierstead was here for the team and players, and next season, maybe he will win 50 games.
One thing is sure: The Seoul Crushers are improving and on their way to the top. How long it takes to get there, who knows? But 40 wins this season would be a great sign.
I am Tricia Takanawa and Seoul is on the rise. This is the Takanawa Times.