State of the Team

Ever since I "began" my fandom, and started this most humble site I have scoured the webs to find sources of information, opinion, humor and rant. Many of those pages are listed in the sidebar, but the one thing that has been lacking (for the most part) is hope. I keep reading the "blow up the team" mantra. They already did last year! By moving Nady, Marte and Bay at the deadline, they destroyed any hope of 82 in '08. Of course, pitching is what destroyed 82. But remember, and much as stats and projections and yadda yadda are tools, don't forget to be a fan. To hope for wins. A popular tag this year, hope is what gets us through winter, and looking forward to the day when pitchers and catchers report. Hope is what makes every fan of every team believe that this could be the year. Well obviously, the Buccos and their fans are hoping that this is "the year" for very different reasons than most. Staring us in the face is the 1933-48 Phillies. So, is there hope that the Buccos won't set the MLB record at 17 straight seasons? The answer is profoundly simple: Yes and no and maybe. Let's dissect a bit, shall we? 1B: Adam Laroche. Probably should be traded, but I would wait until the summer trade deadline. He's worth little right now, as he's always a second half hitter as everyone knows. I would re-up Mientkiewicz and spell Adam from time to time. Maybe he's finally hits early, and then his value is increased. 2B: Freddy Sanchez. What other choice do the Buccos have? They can't trade him as they have NO middle infield options. The former batting champion did have a good end of the season after getting through some injury issues. Stick with him. Bixler will be fine for a backup. SS: Jack Wilson. Again, the lack of middle infield depth ties our hands. Hu from the Dodgers is not a centerpiece, so trading Jack isn't the no-brainer everyone thinks it is. Bixler is a competent backup, but isn't a starter. I would sign Rafael Furcal and then slot him at either 2B/SS. Then (and only then) can you trade one (and only one) of Freddy/Jack. Otherwise I would be happy with Jack as the starting day SS. 3B: Andy Laroche. Depending on how he looks in the spring, Neil Walker should get every chance to fight for this job. I like giving Andy a real starting chance, but really the next two seasons are lame duck until Pedro's ready. Plus Mientkiewicz is a backup as well. LF/RF: Brandon Moss. I like Moss a lot and think he will do well. It should be his job to lose, assuming he's recovered from surgery. CF: Nate McLouth. Unlike many, I am not a hater here. The Gold Glove winning Nate is our best position player, and our starting centerfielder. If Andrew McCutcheon blows us away in spring training, then he moves to right. LF/RF: Steven Pearce. This gets a little ugly. Realistically we're at least 1 season away from McCutcheon and Tabata, so we'll just have to rotate in Nyjer Morgan and a reupped Jason Michaels for the time being. Unless of course you can sign a Rocco Baldelli. Then Michaels is probably gone, and Morgan/Pearce are your rotation guys. C: Ryan Doumit. Easy call here. Paulino is the backup. So the lineup is this (currently): 1. Freddy Sanchez 2. Jack Wilson 3. Nate McLouth 4. Ryan Doumit 5. Adam Laroche 6. Brandon Moss 7. Steven Pearce 8. Andy Laroche 9. Pitcher But I would like to see this instead: 1. Rafael Furcal 2. Freddy Sanchez 3. Nate McLouth 4. Ryan Doumit 5. Adam Laroche 6. Rocco Baldelli 7. Brandon Moss 8. Andy Laroche 9. Pitcher As for the pitching side, the starters are pretty bad. Lots of maybes .... Maybe Maholm is a #1. Maybe Snell and Gorzo regain they're form. Maybe Ohlendorff and Karstens are legitimate starters. Maybe Duke can be useful again. There have been plenty of whispers about Paul Byrd and Pedro Martinez. I would love to go out and buy Derek Lowe, but he'll never come here, and the defense doesn't suit his style. Pedro is a great call, he would be the toast of the town again, and he and former pitching coach Kerrigan could probably teach these guys a few things. I would try and package Duke/Gorzo with Wilson, and get a legitimate starter. 1. Paul Maholm. By default, he's the ace. 2. Ian Snell. Fingers crossed. And toes. 3. Pitcher acquired in the Jack Wilson trade. Enough already, get some pitching. 4. Pedro Martinez. Would be fantastic to see. 5. Karstens/Ohlendorff/Gorzo/Duke. Not a bad #5. Bullpen. Ugh. Capps is a decent closer, who could be moved at the deadline. No point trading him now when there are too many closers on the market already. Wait. Then you have Grabow, as the only other guy with a solid job (but can be moved in a package deal if necessary next summer like Marte was). Plenty of competition for the others. I just don't have the patience to go through them all, but I think Meek shows much better than last year. Is 82 possible? With these changes, YES. If they trade high on NateDog/Rye, NO. Will it happen? MAYBE. But I hope so.