BOW's 2012 Season Assessment

Bowling Green looks to Retool in 2012

I started off my 2011 season summary as follows: “With 2011 being considered the first (of several) rebuilding years……” Now that the draft is over, that mentality has not changed significantly. While I was secretly hoping that a Lawrie, Hosmer, or Pineda would slip down in the draft for me to select, but I also know that my fellow managers are not THAT careless!

I scooped-up Brandon Beachy as BOW’s first pick. Quality starting pitching is always in short supply, so I could have done worse.

I remember someone saying (was it Lamanna?) that it is always nice to select players / cards that you like and can have FUN with. As my No. 2 pick, I went with Aroldis Chapman. I’ve always been a sucker for those pitcher cards that are dripping with strike-outs (think Mark Littel / Victor
Cruz back in the 70s). As long as his arm does not fall-off throwing 103 mph, Mr. Chapman has a tremendous upside potential.

Figuring it was time to start adding some position players, Jose Altuve was my 3rd round pick.
He’s got speed, potential for a good glove, and a minor league history of high OBP. With the decimation of the Houston roster of any experienced players, Altuve should be playing full-time
in 2012. His glove is a welcomed addition after two seasons with Kelly Johnson’s 2b4.

Needing to add some power potential, I went after the “other” Thames (Eric) in the 4th round.
He’s not much of a glove man, but the power potential is there (.535 in minors). I am hoping that another season will get his glove to at least OF3.

While I really didn’t need another full-time catcher with Kurt Suzuki on the roster, I couldn’t pass-up the switch-hitting backstop with the longest last name in the majors, Jarrod Saltalamacchia. (Did I spell it correctly?) Kurt has been slipping with both the bat and glove, so I am hoping that “Salty’s” second season in Boston will be one of forward progress. One of these
catchers could be trade bait for next season.

What do the Bowlers look like for 2012?
C = Kurt Suzuki & Jarrod Saltalmacchia platoon….Suzuki hits better versus lefties, but with no power. Both have +1 arms, which does not bode well. Salty also suffers from the “Wakefield Effect “( 12 pb rating).
1B = Mitch Moreland with a return of Kila Ka’ Aihue as back-up. (With ManRam out for 50 games in Oakland, Ka’ Aihue may get some time at DH in 2012.)
2B = Kelly Johnson with Jose Altuve breathing down his neck
3B = still a “gaping hole” / Aging Casey Blake, Nick Evans, & Josh Harrison will cover
this corner. UGH!!!
SS = Derek Jeter…..barring INJ, he is still hoping extend his streak of playing in every
TBA game to-date. Making it harder is the fact that he DID miss time last season for an injury!!

LF = lefty Eric Thames & righty Kyle Blanks will be mixed-and-matched out there
CF = Cameron Maybin still young and improving!! BOW’s only “1” glove
RF = Ryan Ludwick will still cover out here while Domonic Brown matures. Nate McLouth and Ryan Langerhans (another FUN card!) will also get some playing time at all three OF positions.

UTIL = Jed Lowrie with a young Eric Sogard waiting in the wings. Could Sogard be the answer at 3B for BOW in 2013? Scott Sizemore already went down with INJ in Spring Training and
Sogard is in the mix!

DH = Jim Thome and (what’s left of) a returning Pat Burrell should be adequate here…power
+ OBP

PR = Jarrod Dyson returns as the late-inning speedster

SP = CC Sabathia / Bronson Arroyo / Gavin Floyd / Dillon Gee / Brandon Beachy….the weak spot will be Mr. Arroyo and his mega-HRAs. The fill-in guys will be a mix of Tommy Hunter and a recovering Phil Hughes. Overall, not too shabby……a (small) step above adequate, maybe?

Middle men = Brian Duensing will double as the lefty specialist and will replace Tim Wakefield as the long man when Arroyo gets blown-out in the 3rd inning. There are some young arms that will be looked at intently, such as righty Fautino de los Santos (OAK) and lefty Tim Collins (KC). Both could slip into the closer roles for their respective teams. This could be great news for BOW, as current closer Neftali Feliz is slated for the TEX rotation in 2012. After a season in exile, Scott Feldman returns, albeit with limited innings.

Set-up = Aroldis Chapman will be the main lefty and Ernesto Frieri will be the main righty. Neither is a “close the door” type with their current cards.

Closer = Neftali Feliz returns, but with a much more porous card than last year. Righties will be his nemesis.

Whim picks were made with CLE 2b Cord Phelps and BOS RP Michael Bowden. With Jason Kipnis as the rising 2b star, he’s hoping Phelps forces CLE to give him some MLB playing time…..and they put him at 3B!

2012 could be slightly worse than 2011…possibly flirting with .500, but probably somewhat
worse.

There are no plans of grandeur here! Check-in next season.