By: JoJo Franks

Jacksonville — “You gotta admire the grit of our team,” said a weary Burton after the deciding game against the inter-division rivals Kentucky Thoroughbreds. “We had a great season, but our bats just didn’t have it this series. Kentucky’s pitching is wild.”

For many in the FHead fans, the season was a tale of too little too late. For all the bluster and bold moves of the off-season, the Featherheads made scant moves during the season, opting instead to allocate their resources more as a team who was preparing for a rebuild as opposed to a team who reached its highest win total in 8 years and fourth most all time.

“There were a number of trades we were considering during the season, but nothing felt right at the time,” Hannahs said in his end of game presser. “I think in hindsight, it’s easy to look back and say ‘we should have picked up x, y, or z, but it’s easier to say that now than at the time – especially with how much we would have had to give up in order to get some of those more elite players. We had a special thing going in Beaufort and I think there’s a lot of guys in our organization that slot in nicely for Florida in the near future.”

Does it make sense to opt to not trade AA players to win a PEBA championship? Apparently not to Hannahs. “First, I don’t think that’s particularly fair. My job is to give us a good shot to win every year. I can do that without selling the farm for rentals. Second: don’t forget that we’re in a good spot to start seeing the result of our great farm system. We could realistically see another 3-4 rookies start contributing the way we saw positive contributions from Love, Villareal, Acosta, and van Dam.”

The 3-4 players cryptically mentioned could be pitchers like Antonio Perez, Randall Doane, Steven Miller or Manuel Serrano; and batsmen such as Roberto Ortega, Tiburcio Penela, Bill Navarro, or Mike Thompson. All of these players were members of the AA Beaufort Loggerdoggers who made an unprecedented run to the 2029 Great Northern Cup, squeaking into the playoffs in the last week of the regular season, only to run roughshod over the competition – never losing more than one game in a series.

For many fans, the promise of future cost-effective success feels underwhelming for a team with the financial resources of the Featherheads franchise, but Hannahs is quick to respond to this critique as well…

“We will always be a stronger team when we can have cost-controlled players making up a significant portion of our major league squad. This is why we invested so heavily in international signings this year.”

While many disgruntled Jacksonvillians are still fresh in their mourning period, one can’t help but admit the sentiment holds weight. The F-Heads are sitting pretty on a treasure trove of young talent, itching to make their way down the panhandle. Thanks in part to the unprecedented shopping spree during the international free agent signing period, the Featherheads have bonafide prospects up and down their system.

To many, the Featherheads are too slow to change… too slow to take the chances necessary to build a winning club… or at least a club that can win the whole thing. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Hannahs and company pull out this coming off-season. The Featherheads faithful wait with bated breath to see what, if anything, will finally get them excited. It is perhaps gauche to say, but the pennant just doesn’t do it for us anymore.

We need rings. We need champions in Florida once more.