In my first meeting with him after becoming GM, Mr. Jacoby outlined some of his goals for the 1980 season.
* Achieve a winning record
* Improve team stolen bases total
* Sign Closer Lee Lewis to an extension
* Acquire a hometown player
* Increase team attendance
* Keep building the team up in order to make the playoffs in the next 3 seasons
The first goal, achieving a winning record, is very doable. The team has some talent, and just two seasons ago won 90 games. But this past season the team fell to 75-79, prompting Mr. Jacoby to make a change.
The second goal, increasing total stolen bases for the team, is also reasonable. The Mallards had 100 steals as a team last season, and were led by 2B Dan Musgrave and 1B Alex Thigpen, both with 22 steals. Young shortstop Richie Swan stole 18 bases last year, but was also thrown out 14 times. He has elite speed, and if he can improve his base running instincts, should see more success.
Signing closer Lee Lewis to an extension is an interesting one. The dude is 39 years old. But he still has top closer ability. This past season, his first with the Mallards, he had 31 saves, but compiled a 3.96 ERA, which needs to improve. He also has not spent more than one season with a club since his first seven years in the league, which were all spent with the Kansas City Keystones. Last season we were his 12th team since 1968. That’s a new team every season since 1968. We will have to see what he is looking for in an extension.
Acquire a hometown player - Right now Russ Hamlett, LFer for the Milwaukee Chiefs is the only current Big Leaguer from Milburn. This one might be tough. But we’ll scour the minor leagues too to see if we can find anyone. But we’re not going to make a deal solely to bring in someone from Milburn. It has to be the right move to help the team.
Attendance has been down the last few years, so we need to do something about that. Winning will help. We have a young team, with some exciting players, so that should help too.
For the last goal - again, we have a young team, so I think we are in a pretty good place to keep growing and maturing. If we can continue to do that, we should be in a pretty decent place to consistently participate in the playoffs.