The Good the Bad and the Ugly:

The Good:

Tempe has a few good pieces going into the 2019 season. The 2018 batting champ 3B/1B – Javier Padilla who hit .334 last year and OF – Tony Figueroa who hit .329 both return as the main cogs in the lineup. This team overall hits for average and use the gaps well. There is some nice young talent waiting in the wings. A couple of them seem to be on the fringe of being ready for the jump, but the Knights GM BeerCloud Collins would like them to get a little more development in Chandler, AZ.

The Bad:

Pitching….Pitching….Pitching…..

How bad is the Knights pitching? It’s as bad as……. a guy showing up to his girlfriends house to meet her parents with another date. Both that guy and Tempe’s pitching staff are gonna get knocked around a bit. There is some hope in the future, with a few good prospects that they have growing up in the minors. The future for both starters and relievers look decent in the coming years. But as far as this season……well this conversation is over.

The Ugly:

Tempe’s ballpark is without a name. Or maybe it has one above the scoreboard above centerfield and we just cant make it out from the press box. This field is enormous. It’s so big that the 2nd base umpire can’t see the center field wall from where he stands. Or maybe he just can’t see, I don’t know. But it is huge. It plays 483 to center, 460 to left center, 454 to right center, 367 to left field and 352 to right field. This ballpark was build for hitters who hit for average and use the gaps well. And for pitchers, which only shows how bad the pitching really is in Tempe. Now building a team to match your home ballpark is good. But on the flip side, you still have to play the other 82 games in the other teams ballparks. And if your build for your ballpark alone, your not built for the other 82 games. Past legendary GM Alan Ehlers made it work, but new GM BeerCloud Collins is more of a traditionalist and has made a pea to:

“Tear this Wall Down”

The 2019 season will be a get to know the team and league for BeerCloud. With a few good pieces in place and a promising minor league system the knights will be a fun team to watch grow in the coming years. But this year Knights……”show me watcha got”.