[Westheim]

The hideously broken and terminally inept team of your choice does not have the best hitting in the world, but it would do. There are two things that we don’t have: qualified pitching, and money. We also have no catching, no defense at third base, and we lost all confidence, but we should start with qualified pitching and money.

With Miranda off to free agency, we have four starters from last year left over (Carl Bean, Randy Farley, Miguel Lopez, and Ralph Ford), who are all shaky, yet will cost an arm, a leg, and then still over $2.3M in 2002. Ford makes the minimum, and we will add Nick Brown to that mix on another minimum deal, so make that about $2.46M.

By contrast, our last place bullpen, which projects to be Nordahl, Miller, Diaz (ARGH!!), Bruno, Martinez, perhaps Perez, and if we’re really desolate Joly, would come us $1.17M. A cheaper bullpen you will have trouble to build. A more awful bullpen - … you will have trouble to build.

Our principal relievers’ performances in 2001:
Nordahl: 54.2 IP, 4.61 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 38 BB, 49 K
Miller: 63.2 IP, 4.24 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, 43 BB, 43 K
Bruno: 68.2 IP, 4.46 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, 50 BB, 58 K
Diaz: 38 IP, 3.55 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 35 BB, 34 K
Martinez: 41 IP, 4.17 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 26 BB, 32 K
Wade: 94 IP, 5.27 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 43 BB, 66 K
Joly: 35 IP, 5.14 ERA, 1.91 WHIP, 29 BB, 19 K
Perez: 7.1 IP, 11.05 ERA, 2.32 WHIP, 6 BB, 4 K
Vega: 6.1 IP, 4.26 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 4 BB, 3 K

Yeah, that’s a tremendous bunch.

Now, we had some Spanish-speaking mook as pitching coach last year, who always talked a lot, but I wonder whether he ever said something more substantial than “Beisbol been berry good to Eduardo”. He was thrown into the Columbia River. We engaged in a bidding war for the Capitals’ pitching coach for eight years, Jose Castro in October. Yes, another Spanish-speaking mook, but this one at least knows what a slider is and doesn’t encourage our youngsters to “see wetter you can drow de curvy won”.

Bottom line is, we need help in the bullpen. We can not sign free agents since we are $600k overbudget, so we have to trade for fresh meat. And we have already established which player we are going to trade because we can easily replace him with somebody who might hit for the same or a tad more, defend just as well, and will receive 10% of the money. Ramiro Cavazos, our only Gold Glover in 2001, has to go. It’s really nothing personal. He had his highs and lows, but overall I liked his act.

It’s down to the Mexican Prick and his stubbornness, or ******edness, or both.

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November 18 – The Loggers start recharging for another run at the CL North division, adding ex-CHA RF Taisuke Mashiba (.300, 70 HR, 442 RBI) for 3-yr, $3.54M. Mashiba sat out all of the 2001 season.
November 23 – Former Indian SP Chang-se Park (59-62, 3.55 ERA) becomes a Gold Sock for 5-yr, $10.52M.
November 23 – The Indians console themselves by trading for the Titans backup outfielder Christian Greenman (.226, 30 HR, 86 RBI), parting with SP/MR Ray Conner (4-6, 4.90 ERA).
November 26 – The world champions load up, adding not one, but TWO former Scorpions(!) in SP Joe Mann (96-72, 3.62 ERA), giving $10.96M over six years to the 30-year old righty, as he suits up in a blue shirt with yellow numbers, and the same outfit is handed to 28-yr old INF Masaaki Matsumoto (.313, 23 HR, 508 RBI), who will make $8.32M over four years.
November 27 – They keep going: the Titans lost outfielder Josh Thomas to free agency, but they add 31-yr old ex-DEN LF/RF Chih-tui Jin (.299, 66 HR, 433 RBI) for 6-yr, $12.48M.
November 29 – Former Buffalo INF Lance Hitchcock (.294, 10 HR, 246 RBI) signs for 3-yr, $3.64M with the Aces.
December 1 – Rule 5 draft: 16 players in total are picked over five rounds. It’s the Scorpions who are making everybody miss their dinner reservations. The Raccoons draft 27-yr old right-handed reliever Ricardo Huerta from the Pacifics.
December 1 – The Titans add a right-handed MR Nathan Harrison (7-6, 4.45 ERA, 3 SV) from the Gold Sox, parting with OF Luis Alonso (.261, 34 HR, 273 RBI).
December 3 – 33-yr old ex-BOS SP Sergio Gonzalez (89-105, 4.09 ERA) signs a 4-yr, $6.54 deal with the Capitals.
December 5 – The Indians trade 37-yr old OF Tomas Maguey (.274, 56 HR, 750 RBI) to the Miners for two prospects.

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Huerta has appeared in 84 games for the Wolves and Pacifics since 1997. He’s 5-6 with a 4.94 ERA and one save, walking 50 and whiffing 87 in 118.1 innings. Better than Joly, I guess. Vince pointed him out, said “take that one, and none other”, and what’s another $134k in salaries when you’re over your budget, anyway?

The first trade I tried to line up was for the Gold Sox’ right-hander Scott Hood, who had saved 41 games last season. Vince was thrilled about him. I was thrilled about him. But initially the Gold Sox could not work the $1M in contract difference into their own sparse budget, and they did not have an easily flippable overpaid veteran either to make up the difference. Things got better after the first few high-caliber free agents were off the table, with a pile of money locked up in contract offers for them, but they were not interested in a one-for-one trade after all.

There are other teams showing faint interest in Cavazos, but it’s hard getting a deal done. I need a strong bullpen arm. We can fudge together some form of rotation, but the bullpen is cancerous…

What else? Gabby De La Rosa, whom we traded to the Stars for Cesar Gonzalez (don’t get me started) three years ago, re-signed after saving 97 games for them in the meantime. Also, the Gold Sox had Antonio Donis. Check out that the K column. We trade him and his K’s more than double. And that’s why it’s most important to have the Kleenex cupboard fully stacked at all time in the office.

Maybe it’s me. I’ve traded tons of relievers the last few years. Oh, they want another player in that deal? Well, pillage the bullpen! Take anything you’d like. Two for the price of one.

Yeah it’s me. I suck.