By Steve Youngblood, Fargo Gazette

October 3rd, 2011: Fargo, ND – The Fargo Dinosaurs finished September and October with a 21-9 record, but it’s a case of too little, too late, as they finish the season 9 games out of the last wild card spot and out of the playoffs one year following the organization’s first playoff appearance.  The season was highly anticipated by Dinosaur fans that turned out consistently through the turnstiles again, resulting in a year-end attendance total over 2.5 million.

“Missing the playoffs leaves a bitter taste in your mouth,” said pitching staff ace Javier Encarnación.  “With the moves made in the offseason, we really believed we would be back and ready to go further”.

With an almost $30 million payroll increase, there was a belief by fans and the front office that another playoff appearance would occur as well.  “We were a little lucky last year with our record; we had some career years and an incredible run by our bullpen down the stretch.” said General Manager Cristian Shofar.  “We knew that we had to bolster the team to compensate, but it didn’t work out that way.”

There’s no way around finger pointing at the big name free agent acquisition from last offseason: left fielder Pedro Silva and his $16.8 million, four-year contract.  Silva finished the season with a .748 OPS and 18.2 VORP; not terrible numbers, but certainly not near what was expected.  Additionally, from May through July, his OPS rested in the low .600s, and his batting average was below .200.  He was able to pick it up in the last few months, as he hit for a .805 OPS in August and .957 OPS in September.  “Pedro really started to put it all together down the stretch run; we’ll look to build on that for next season.  We still see him as a cornerstone to our offense,” said manager Duncan Walker.

The Dinosaurs also suffered from a surprise key player from last season’s playoff run, that being 37-year-old second baseman Cipriano Carnossi.  Carnossi had a career year in 2010 with a .804 OPS and 39.9 VORP but began to show his age this season, as his hitting abilities deteriorated as the season progressed and he finished with almost two hundred points less in OPS and a sub-replacement level VORP.  He eventually stopped seeing regular playing time and was buried on manager Walker’s bench by season’s end.

As the team prepares for this offseason, there will likely be a need to fill one – if not two – middle infield spots.  Word around the front office is that they expect to have financial flexibility to dip into the free agent market or take on large contracts through the trade market to achieve the goal of bolstering the infield.  The plan is still to contend.  “We see this merely as a bump in the road for our organization.  We feel strong and confident in our abilities to field a contender not only for the next season, but many seasons afterward,” stated Shofar.  If the team hopes to hold onto the fan base’s attention and hard-earned dollars, they are going to have make good on this statement.