Never mind.

Fuck this game.

The Spending Spree: A Midseason Report

After another disappointing season, Syracuse was considering walking away and leaving the Upstate NY market for Buffalo to, uh, roam, alone. However, with a core of solid young players, Cesar Nunez, Bernie Espinosa and Sting Berger who had not yet reached their peak, they decided to give it one more run at the playoffs.

And give it a go they did, they signed a world record 5 type A free agents, this is a look at those, and a few other, deals that turned an overlooked franchise into a playoff contender.

The Type A’s

Rigo Pineda SP

2/15 with (9 mil mutual option) no trade clause

The first type A to sign with the SFB, Pineda was signed to replace Tommy Liverman, dealt at the end of last year to get younger at catcher (more on this in a moment). Pineda got off to a very slow start, but has since moved his ERA toward the respectable line.

Geoffrey Bates RF/LF/1B

2/17.5 (10 mil mutual option) no trade clause

Syracuse went after Bates for two reasons. Hector Santos was going to cost too much money, and Bates provided an improvement. Bates provides a nice compliment to Hector Hernandez, and also can take some Abs from the rapidly aging Charlie Stevens. Bates was an original SFB, traded in season 1 to Los Angeles for the face of the franchise, Adam Haynes. Bates has been his typical self the first half, again hitting .300, but his dip in power is a cause for concern.

Ross Livingstone SUa

2/8 (5 mil mutual option) No trade clause

The biggest area of concern for the SFBs was the bullpen, Syracuse had offers out to 6 different relievers, and Ross Livingstone was the first to bite. Livingstone is a lefty with even splits and good but not great splits. When he was signed there was a thought he could be the closer. It is an absurd contract, given his history and his ability level, but the SFB felt they could not get shut out of the bullpen market, given they had to turnover 70% of the arms there, and did not feel they had the kids on the farm to acquire them all in trade. Livingstone has just been fantastic thusfar for the SFBs, with a ERA just above 2 and a 4:1 K:BB ratio.

Brian Hunt SUa

3/18 (6 mil mutual option)

If there was one player Syracuse targeted from the start, it was Brian Hunt. His ratings are everything you want in a setup reliever. Incredible makeup, with very good splits, pitches and controls. The real highlight, however, is Hunt’s incredible rubber arm. Among the most durable pitchers in the entire world, Hunt also possesses a very high health rating. Syracuse did not hesitate to give this 33 year old a 3 year deal. Hunt is far and away the MVP of the Boeheim's this season.

Derek Page C/DH

2/5

Seriously? This guy was available for 2/5? A durable, everyday catcher with an 880 career OPS and an above average PC rating?

Had Syracuse known Page was available, they would not have traded Liverman for young catching phenom Rich Beech. As it is now, Page and Beech platoon the catching duties, with Page giving Stevens the occasional rest at DH. As a pair, they form a very formidable catching duo. Page has been the offensive MVP for the Boeheims, so much so that he has taken over the cleanup spot in many of the early season starting lineups.

Other signings.

Benito Carreras SUb

1/750k (1 million mutual option)

Despite possessing a career ERA over 6, Carreras has nice ratings for relievers. He has come a long way since his debut season with San Diego. Strong against RH batters, Carreras possesses a dominate slurve and three other nice pitches. Control is a weakness for him, but his price was very affordable, and with Hunt and Livingstone eating most of the important middle relief innings, Carreras wasn’t going to see the mound enough to sabotage a season.

Daniel Jefferson SS

1/ 2.2 (2.2 mil mutual option)

Syracuse was ready to start the year with an all glove no hit SS in Santiago Chantres, but Jefferson comes back to Syracuse for a second tour. A slight upgrade over Chantres, Jefferson is an all glove almost no hit SS. There is no question Jefferson carries the glove and the arm to play SS, but his health is a concern.

Benito Valentin Util

1/1.4

Once it was decided Chantres wasn’t going to be the everyday SS, it didn’t make sense to give him service time to be the backup, so a search for a util guy was in order.

The second piece which came over with Haynes in the Bates deal, Valentin never lived up to Syracuse’s expectations. His glove never developed to be an everyday SS, but Valentin does have the ability to back up every position. As an arb eligible guy at the end of last season, Valentin was looking for 5.1 million, or a long term deal of 5/24. Syracuse couldn’t cut him fast enough. Seriously, the brass ones on that guy. After languishing for the first few days of spring training, the SFBs finally pulled the trigger and brought him back to be the utility man, and occasionally rest Jefferson.

Trades

Sherm Washington CL

2/8.2 (7.8 mil mutual option)

Acquired from the Metropolitans for last years 46^th overall pick, Jason Miller, Washington legitimized the SFB bullpen. A durable right hander who is death to righties, the acquisition of Washington allows Hunt to pitch as much as needed and still have a quality arm behind him.

Currently, Syracuse stands third in the very rough AL North. They are hanging onto the final playoff spot, with Richmond just 5 games back and closing fast. There is no doubt that the spending spree has worked. Syracuse bullpen has done a complete 180, going from a glaring weakness to the biggest strength of the club. At this point, you would have to say the 5 draft picks and over 100 million dollars were well worth it.

Minimum Wins Cutoff Update

We're a bit over 1/3 of the way into the season, so I'd figure I'd list a few of the teams that may be in danger of losing over 100 games this season (other than Salem). Think of it as a friendly public service announcement. I'll also rate how much "trouble" the franchise's GM is in on a scale of "detention in HS" to "being thrown out of an airplane with no parachute." You can guess where your team's rating falls in between these two. So without further ado...


Montreal Grand Orange (15-29): Only Marino Reyes has an OPS above .800 among all hitters, and the team is 30th in the World in preventing runs. At 15-29, they've essentially played to their record.

"Trouble" rating: Charlie Weis' future with Notre Dame.


Philadelphia Phenomenauts (18-26): They're on pace to lose 96 games this season, but the Phenomenauts have improved their team quite a bit by promoting the bulk of their stacked AAA squad to the majors. For what it's worth, they've won 10 of their last 18 games.

"Trouble" rating: Nolan Ryan's career strikeout record.


Florida Cottonmouths (16-28): They still can't hit a lick (fewest runs scored in the AL), but at least the pitching's held together reasonably well after the departure of Molina and Thomas. A slight uptick in offense through either a trade or better luck would get them out of the doghouse.

"Trouble" rating: Gordon Ramsay's public image.


Los Angeles Hangars (18-26): A sub-.300 team OBP is atrocious, but the rotation has actually been pretty solid, and the bullpen really has nowhere to go but up. Gettting a few guys who can post a league average OBP would help, but this doesn't look too bad.

"Trouble" rating: The Detroit Lions' winless streak.


Las Vegas Armijos (15-29): Their record isn't so hot, but they're clearly a better team than this; they've won 3 games less than expected, and the promotion of star prospect Alex Bravo should give this team a shot in the arm. Still, 15-29 is pretty ugly, and Bravo alone can only improve the team so much.

"Trouble" rating: Tim Raines' HOF chances.


Tacoma Down Pour (16-28): They've been pretty bad up to this point, but have made plenty of trades to improve their roster. The team you see now is radically different from the Opening Day squad.

"Trouble" rating: Baseball's national popularity.


San Juan Rincons (13-31): Just swept by the Downpour, and on a 6 game losing streak. Somehow, their expected win percentage is actually worse than their current record. The only team currently at risk of failing to meet the 50-win mark. They need help, and fast.

"Trouble" rating: Rae Carruth.

Pinky McWainhouse's Death Watch, Day 2

In an attempt to hasten his demise, and perhaps collect the injury insurance on the ancient hurler, the Jayhawks started the old troll Red Wainhouse on just one day of rest 12/5 PM. This was after his 68 pitch shellacking in the 12/4 PM2 sim.

Wainhouse did not disappoint. Yankee fans that is. Wainhouse's control problems from the day before did not disappear, as he walked Fritz Rushford on four pitches to start the game. Shawn Robinson then made an error, but Wainhouse's telegraphed pitches were hit right at fielders and he escaped the jam, through no fault of his own.

In the second inning Wainhouse gave up a 2-out single. He then allowed Kris Dickey to steal second, due to a dreadfully slow motion, probably brought on by his Osteoporosis. Again the Greys hit the ball hard, but did not capitalize.

The 3rd inning was where the fun really started. Rushford singled. Next, the aging superstar, who has lost much of his speed, still managed to steal second. Wainhouse has already allowed 3 steals this year. Starting with season 4, 102 runners have tried to run on the old man, and just 24 were thrown out. There are already signs this is getting worse.

Bronson Ritz then launched a HR to right center, giving the Greys a 2-1 lead. Wainhouse gave up another line drive for a double, before being rescued by a Marco Hunt (who is only playing for defense) ground out.

In the 4th Wainhouse caused more damage. He gave up a leadoff blast to CF, which Shawn Robinson had to use his great skill to run down. The play caused his hand tendonitis to act up, and he had to leave the game. Robinson is day to day. Way to go Red.

Wainhouse proceeded to give up a three more singles in the inning, and a walk. The old luckbox managed to escape giving up just one run, when Ritz's bases loaded fly, deep down the line, was held by the park. Wainhouse won't be so lucky when he's pitching in Wrigley Field.

Overall the brittle old vet took just 5 innings to throw 96 pitches before being mercifully pulled for a pinch-hitter. In his 9 innings this year, Pinky has given up 13 hits, 5 runs, 3 walks and an injured centerfielder. Opposing hitters have a nifty .325/.372/.500 line against him. He didn't get the loss, but it wasn't for lack of trying, his offense just bailed him out before his bullpen did the inevitable in giving the game to the Greys.

Doctors are still leaving 12/22 as the best guess date for his inevitable season ending injury, but if he continues to throw on 1-day of rest, the time-table could be moved up.

Red Wainhouse Death Watch, Day 1

The rotting corpse of Red Wainhouse finally made its way back to the mound for the 12/4 p.m. sim. Wainhouse sat out the first quarter of the season with a very bad case of Osteoporosis and possibly an enlarged prostate. Wainhouse is seeking a second opinion on that one, but rumor has it that he just wants another hand in there where the sun doesn't shine. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but we did overhear his new teammates saying that maybe he should be called "Pink" now.

After much calcium therapy, Wainhouse was far from respectable in his Jayhawk debut. He was a shadow of his very old self in vulturing a win from Gabe Thompson. Red was tagged for 6 hits in 4 innings, including 3 doubles and 2 runs. It would have been worse, but Clay Gibbons made an outstanding play on a Fritz Rushford screamer down that line. The rocket would have been yet another double; Wainhouse also picked a runner off in that inning, but still managed to give up a run.

Wainhouse never threw hard, but his slider doesn't break like it used to, and his change up is looking more and more like his mediocre fastball. He's also having trouble spotting his pitches like he used to. He only gave up one walk, but that was because they were lighting him up before he had a chance to throw 4 balls on most occasions.

All told, Wainhouse made the average Grey look like a .353/.389/.529 hitter on Thursday night. This on the heels of a 1-4, 4.87 ERA post-season that saw him give up 5 HR in season 8. He's got about $15 million coming from the Jayhawks over the next two years, so other than his time on the DL, they'll roll him out there in a wheel chair once it becomes necessary.

The next start on the death march will be his home debut in a Jayhawk uniform against Sioux Falls Saturday, assuming his decrepit, rotting corpse is up for the task of starting by then.