1983 Team Previews

[Pike]

Out of the Basement?
GM Pike: "Enough is enough."

March 15, 1983
by John P. Carmichael


Hard to believe that only 4 years ago this team was poised to challenge the juggernaut that is the 'Pooner Nation. A 2nd place finish seemed to suggest bright days ahead. Instead, old players got older, and the team coulddn't rebuild the bullpen fast enough to make a similar run in 1980. Last year the Sox finally hit the bottom, this writer hopes, and failed to win 60 games. But with notable free agent pickups and timely trades this season---and the continued development of a promising core of young position players---Sox fans finally have a reason to take the paper bag off their collective heads.

Folks, we might just have a decent team on our hands. No, really.

1983 Offseason Activity

Free Agency

SP Sandro Gonzalez
Gonazalez is a fire-balling rightie who posted a 3.77 ERA last year for the Rio Grande Roadrunners. While not overly impressive last year, Gonzalez posted a 2.52 ERA in 1981 and should do well in the fairly neutral confines of Metropolitan Park. "His scout ratings, despite the inconsistency, are still very high and indicate he can be a star in this league." says GM Pike. Questionable though, is the 69+ million contract awarded to Gonzalez. After he rakes in 15 million this season, Gonzalez will command 9.5 million in salary cap for the next 4 years before a mutual option year in 1988. If he tanks, this could seriously hand cuff the team, in a similar fashion after the Rasmussen signing a few years ago.

SP Eddy Barraclough
Signed for a relative bargain price of just over 2 million, Barraclough could prove to be the best pick up of this offseason. A 2.88 ERA last year for San Diego, and a career ERA of 3.48 indicate that Barraclough should provide stability in the middle of the rotation. Although not a hard throwing pitcher, Barraclough is a sniper with the baseball and is often able to place pitches exactly where the bat isn't. He'll be one to watch this season for sure.

MR Bernard Sanders
After a certifiable off-year (he posted his highest ERA since the 1977 season) Sanders looks to regain his sub-3.00 ERA form at his new digs in the Windy City. Similar to Barraclough, Sanders throws a fairly soft ball but with precision placement. He will be the go-to man for middle relief innings, and if he reverts back to his 2.76 ERA career stat line form the Sox should be in great shape (especially critical considering the low-endurance nature of some in the rotation).

SS Tsou Yu-bao
Say it with me: You Go! You-Bo! Despite terrible scout ratings in the contact department, Yu-bao's eagle eye at the plate and penchant for hitting the gaps bears itself out in an impressive stat line for the Chinese import. After a trade sent last year's SS Chase to New York, the Sox really needed to address this position. Yu-bao's signing on the last day of free agency brought a wave of relief to the Sox front office, and he is a certifiable upgrade over Chase in terms of offensive production, hitting for a .381 OBP last year in Toronto.

3B Alex Garcia
Garcia played SS last year for the CL's Atlanta Firecrackers ending the season with a .316/.363/449 stat line. This was no fluke as Garcia has not hit below a .351 OBP the last three years and has hit for over a .300 average in 3 of the last 4 years. However, Garcia is fairly weak against Southpaws, and was platooned often in his time with Colorado. No decision has been made yet if the Black Sox will continue to do this with Garcia.

Trades

The Sox set about rebuilding an aging, and relatively weak rotation by trading 21-year old minor league starting pitcher Greg Wilson, 18-year old minor league starting pitcher Villalobas and 20-year old minor league right fielder Wilkinson to the Baltimore Gothams, getting 23-year old starting pitcher Alan O'Dell and 31-year old reliever Brian Taylor in return. O'Dell had a breakout season last year at AAA Washington with a an outstanding 0.82 WHIP and 1.88 ERA in 205 innings pitched. O'Dell will be a major storyline this season, as Sox front office folks hold their breath to see if O'Dell can develop into a dominant FOOL pitcher.

Next, the Sox sent 31-year old starting pitcher Ite Beens, 30-year old second baseman Jesse Chase and 19-year old minor league right fielder Edgar González to New York for 25-year old center fielder Greg Baird and 22-year old starting pitcher Silvian Blaeck. Baird was a .279/.327/.474 hitter in 1981, before falling off the proverbial cliff last year with a paltry .194 AVG in 222 AB's. According to Black Sox scouts, Baird is still rated very well as a hitter, with good all around ability. The Sox will try to keep some of the pressure off, inserting Baird in the 7 spot in the lineup. Silvian Blaek could prove to be a fantastic addition to the rotation, if he can translate his dominate success in AAA to the majors. He pitched at a lights-out pace at AAA Newark, with a 0.98 WHIP and 1.70 ERA in 174 innings pitched. At just 22 years old, the Sox are hoping that Blaek, along with Cedric Huard and Alan O'Dell, will help form the core of a great rotation for many years to come.

The Lineup

The Black Sox will need a couple of guys to step up this year if they expect to be effective with the bats. Theodore Roussy returns to left field, and should once again be a capable lead off hitter. His .305 AVG was good enough for inclusion in last year's All-Star game, and he still represents a great baserunning threat with speed that scouts say still rates at 100.

Partnering with Roussy at the top of the lineup is 1B Bill Chapman. Chapman hit for a .307 AVG last year and made a great 1-2 punch with Roussy. Equally dangerous against lefties or righties, Chapman has proven to be a great value at 2.5 million per season.

After the first two spots, the lineup becomes extremely murky. There a few dependable power hitters on the lineup, Devin Johnson looks like the defacto candidate, but his exceedingly poor ability to hit for AVG casts a doubt on his possibly coming in as a #3 or #4, or even #5 man in the lineup. DH Sippo Murto looks like the next most logical #3 man, with decent all around ability. Murto hit just 7 dingers last year, but did collect 76 RBI's.
Where the Sox will put Garcia and Yu-bao is most interesting. Garcia might be best suited as the #3, despite a lack of power, as a small-ball strategy. Yu-bao would perhaps follow at #4 (.381 OBP), with either Johnson or Murto batting #5.

The rest of the lineup will likely fall into place easily after that with Auchinleck and Perez in the 6 and 7 spots.

Pitching

This is the best rotation the team has had since Pike took over. Cedric Huard, last year's big VL pickup, returns and looks every bit like the team's ace. He was solid in his first year in the majors, garnering a 3.31 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has a decent fastball that sets up an excellent slider. O'Dell will fill the #2 spot, with Gonzalez #3. Barraclough will pitch 4th, while trade acquisition Blaek will be eased into the major league level of competition in the 5th spot.

The bullpen should be exceptional this year, with last year's closer, Kiemon Ine, resigned for another 3 years and looking primed for another solid year, after posting a 2.11 ERA last year. Assuming the closer position this year is fireballer Brian Taylor. Taylor has absolutely nasty stuff, and good enough ability to get the ball in the right spots to be dominant in the last inning. He had an outstanding 1.95 ERA last year for the Baltimore Gothams. Rounding out the pen is new pickup Eugene Mills and returning MR Galvan. Both posted decent ERA's last year and should be able to hold a lead in the middle innings.

In summary, the Black Sox have a staff that should continue to develop and will certainly be better than anything we have seen in the last three seasons.

All in all, this will be an interesting year for the Sox. Can they get out of the basement? Absolutely. There really is no reason this team should fall short of anything less than 70 games. An 80-win season would not surprise either. With that in mind, I will be the ever-intrepid hopeful and predict a 75-79 record and a return to respectability for the Sox this year.

[Commo_Soldier]

Not enough time to do a team review, but I think I will probably finish 3rd - 8th. Not sure, but I did a major overhaul to my strategies as since I have came back my team has almost always underperformed.

I came up with the following predicted standings for the 1983 Season

CL
Napa (2nd)
Baltimore (3rd)
Brooklyn (4th)
Wyoming (5th)
Toronto (8th)
New York (10th)
Rio Grande (11th)
Atlanta (16th)

RL
Hartford (1st)
San Diego (6th)
Ann Arbor (7th)
Columbus (9th)
Long Island (12th)
Boston (13th)
Colorado (14th)
Chicago (15th)

***Note*** overall projection in () and all projections came from a crude usage of the team positional strength overview. So no personal looking at the teams was done by me.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Commo_Soldier

Not enough time to do a team review, but I think I will probably finish 3rd - 8th. Not sure, but I did a major overhaul to my strategies as since I have came back my team has almost always underperformed.

I came up with the following predicted standings for the 1983 Season

CL
Napa (2nd)
Baltimore (3rd)
Brooklyn (4th)
Wyoming (5th)
Toronto (8th)
New York (10th)
Rio Grande (11th)
Atlanta (16th)

RL
Hartford (1st)
San Diego (6th)
Ann Arbor (7th)
Columbus (9th)
Long Island (12th)
Boston (13th)
Colorado (14th)
Chicago (15th)

***Note*** overall projection in () and all projections came from a crude usage of the team positional strength overview. So no personal looking at the teams was done by me.

Heh, that explains that then. I only had maybe five-eight players expected to be on my major league squad in the last file (thanks to spring training), and none of them stars.

Still, as effective a way of looking at things as any. I look forward to seeing how your predictions play out, Commo. Sorry if my spring training habits aren't conducive for quick preseason predictions.

[Pike]

I didn't get a chance to set anything for spring training, had holes all over...hopefully that ranking is more indicative of that and not that my team is way worse than I'm thinking.

[Chief Rum]

lol...I just noticed your sig, Pike.

[Tasan]

Pike always has the best, FOOL relevant sigs.

[Pike]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

lol...I just noticed your sig, Pike.

Originally Posted by Tasan

Pike always has the best, FOOL relevant sigs.

lol, yeah I have fun with them. Glad you guys enjoy them!

[Chief Rum]

Believe it or not, I am going to try to keep this short. If that's possible.

STARTING PITCHING

SP Demesu Berui (15-15, 2.97, 241 K)
SP Tu-Fu Qian (17-13, 3.00, 271 K)
SP Ron Clarke (1-0, 2.13 in 12.2 IP)
SP Dominic Shearer (3-2, 2.47 in 76.2 IP)

Backups: Doyle Adams (14-7, 3.18), Nori Kitamura (10-20, 3.63, 171 K)

I experimented last year with a four-man rotation modelled after muns' very successful rotation, and I had some pretty good success with it. There are four main guys, and two backups who rotate in a little to alleviate the pressure a bit. Berui and Qian are the stars, but I have high hopes for both Clarke (the ultimate soft tosser) and Shearer (a former Pooner). They switched into the rotation from the backup spots, while last year's starters, Adams and Kitamura go back to the backup spots. I had the 4th best starters ERA in the CL, and I felt that was brought down a bit by Kitamura. So we'll see how things go.

RELIEF PITCHING

Closer: Dennis Marnane (3-7, 45 SV, 1.77)
Setup: Stan Miller (5-1, 2.09)
Setup: Stan Osborn (1-3, 3.62)
Middle Relief: Gerald Grant (6-0, 2.32)
Middle Relief: John Martland (32 SV, 3.33 in AAA)
Middle Relief: Sean Reinhart (2-1, 3.00 in AAA)
Long Relievers: Adams and Kitamura

This was an area of strength for me last year, as I had the best pen in the CL. It should be as strong this year. Marnane, Miller and Osborn have been dominating at the top for a while, and Grant was last year's rookie phenom in the staff. Martland and Reinhart are two long awaited stid relief prospects who are finally ready to reach the bigs. They still have growing to do, and will only get better as the season goes on.

CATCHING

Jose Lopez (.255, 0, 26, .637)

Backup: Eric Cherry (.219, 5, 33, .602)

Lopez has very nice ratings at the plate, but has yet to match it with the stats. I am hopeful he will breakthrough this year, as he is similar in ratings to old Colorado backstop Alfredo Alvarado. Cherry is actually a 1B who masqueraded as an awful defensive 3B last year. He isn't starting this year, so when I needed to drop my backup catcher, Vicente Mota, to create room for a potential free agent pickup, Cherry got the call to grab the catcher's mitt on those days Lopez can't go. Lopez is a terrific defensive catcher, so he'll play as much as I can make him.

INFIELD

First Base: Carlos Trujillo (.237, 11, 53, .688)
Second Base: Larry Abbott (.303, 8, 46, .809, 50 SB)
Shortstop: Rodrigo Cruz (.274, 14, 57, .757 with NPV)
Third Base: Teobaldo Cutileiro (.288, 10, 68, .745 in AAA)

Backups: 3B Yoshi Kiyomizu (.207, 7, 28, .660 with SD), 2B Luis Castillo (.287, 1, 43, .729 in AAA), and 1B Cherry

As you can see, I have a lot of INFs, and I am even trying to sign another one. Most of them had disappointing seasons, which is why there are some new faces. Another reason why the change up is that my team defense (easily the worst at .975) was clearly the culprit for us falling short, as both pitching and hitting graded out very well. Abbott was platooned a little, but he should play a full season this year, which, combined with a bounce back, should allow him to put up star numbers. Trujillo had his worst year ever, and I don't see him not bouncing back with the power numbers unless my free agent signee takes at bats from him. Cherry is backing him up. Cruz and Kiyomizu were key pickups who bring power and solid defensive credentials to the left side of the infield, replacing Alex Garcia and Javier Rodriguez, who were let go. Cutileiro is this year's top hitting rookie in the system. He is a poor defensive 3B, but should still do much better there than Cherry and John Hunt did last season, neither of whom are 3B. Castillo is a quick bat, good defense player who will lend a defensive hand at all of the infield positions.

OUTFIELD

Left Field: Jose Gonzalez (.217, 15, 61, .639, 44 SB)
Center Field: Alan Poole (.322, 10, 56, .838, 17 SB)
Right Field: Roy Sullivan (.293, 8, 40, .790)

Backup: Wilson Contreras (.304, 18, 87, .804 at AAA)

This was the center of the Crackers' offensive universe last year, and it actually underperformed. Gonzalez was a HOY candidate and the CL homerun leader three seasons ago, but has underachieved two years running. I believe he is too talented to do that three years in a row. Sullivan was a quality signing from Wyoming before last season, and I think he can do very well in a better hitter's park. With Hunt allowed to leave in free agency, Sullivan gets all the at bast in RF this year. Poole was easily the team MVP last year, becoming the first Cracker to win the CL batting title since Rich Haas in 1976. He has been one of the better under-rated signings I have made. Contreras is another young player looking for a chance. He will back up all three spots.

OUTLOOK

Like last year, not really sure. Two years in a row, and three in four, my hitting has been pretty depressed by the pitching-heavy CL. The one year it didn't, I went to the Classic. So I am counting on the new faces to have an impact, and the old ones to bounce back from poor years. It's a big risk going with Clarke and Shearer at the #3 and #4 spots, and I have a lot of kids on this team. So I can't see winning the CL, although I do think I can reproduce last year's 81-73 record and 3rd place finish.

In fact, that's what I am predicting. 80-ish wins and 3rd place. Just outside of the playoffs (unfortunately).

[Commo_Soldier]

Originally Posted by Commo_Soldier

I came up with the following predicted standings for the 1983 Season

CL
Napa (2nd)
Baltimore (3rd)

RL
Hartford (1st)
San Diego (6th)

Well, got the playoff teams right. Here would have been my predictions with the real rosters.

CL
Napa (2nd)
Baltimore (3rd)
Atlanta (5th)
Brooklyn (6th)
Toronto (8th)
Wyoming (9th)
New York (11th)
Rio Grande (14th)

RL
Hartford (1st)
San Diego (4th)
Colorado (7th)
Long Island (10th)
Ann Arbor (12th)
Columbus (13th)
Boston (15th)
Chicago (16th)