[Westheim]

2005 PORTLAND RACCOONS – Opening Day Roster (first set shows 2004 numbers, second set overall; players with an * are off season acquisitions):

SP Nick Brown, 27, B:L, T:L (20-7, 2.84 ERA | 41-34, 3.15 ERA) – strikeout machine, setting a new single season K mark for the team with 240 in 2004 – and he set that mark for the third straight year; the prime source of joy in Portland these days, not bad for a pick from the next-to-last round.
SP Edgar Amador, 23, B:R, T:R (7-4, 3.42 ERA | 13-10, 3.70 ERA) – the “Fat Cat” is a serious groundball pitcher who is hard to homer off, and despite his gargantuan size he can field his own position; he did struggle with injuries last year, however, and at times also with his control.
SP Ralph Ford, 27, B:L, T:L (8-18, 4.26 ERA | 46-71, 4.09 ERA) – to say that he is struggling would be a wild understatement, and the stars refuse to align for him; once a promising young stud, now just another guy on a bottom-of-the-barrel team.
SP Felipe Garcia, 27, B:R, T:R (6-12, 4.67 ERA | 17-23, 4.39 ERA) – between injuries and frequent demotions, Garcia’s case for a rotation spot is wonky, but at least he still makes the minimum – thanks to the frequent demotions.
SP Ben Carlson *, 36, B:L, T:R (13-5, 3.69 ERA | 76-98, 4.26 ERA) – proven veteran signed on the morning of Opening Day, to stretch out the available personnel after the Randy Farley trade. Carlson is a flyball pitcher and has also issued 100+ walks three times in his career, while pitching as few as 185 innings.

MU Kazuhiko Kichida, 25, B:L, T:R (0-0, 3.72 ERA | 1-0, 6.75 ERA) – wins a bullpen job after the trade of Manuel Martinez; his previous record indicates trouble brewing even with mop-up duties.
MR Dave Williams, 30, B:L, T:L (2-1, 3.54 ERA, 1 SV | 7-3, 3.85 ERA, 1 SV) – another rule 5 pick that came out great for the Raccoons, Williams proved entirely capable of holding himself upright over 74 appearances for 48.1 innings, mostly in a specialist role, although he also pitched in extra innings a few times, with his longest outing being four innings.
MR Lawrence Rockburn, 24, B:R, T:R (1-2, 2.70 ERA | 1-2, 3.12 ERA) – after cameo appearances the last two seasons for a total of 26 innings, Rockburn has won a bullpen job out of the gate for 2005. He’s pretty much a run-of-the-mill right-handed reliever without any sparkling features.
MR Ricardo Huerta, 31, B:R, T:R (6-2, 3.30 ERA, 3 SV | 19-18, 3.80 ERA, 6 SV) – continues to impress with rock-solid relief work, pitching between 76 and 77 innings every one of the last three seasons. With the addition of Kichida for the dirty work, Huerta might get used in a more focused manner in 7th/8th inning assignments than before.
SU Marcos Bruno, 29, B:R, T:R (3-5, 3.09 ERA, 29 SV | 16-16, 3.59 ERA, 40 SV) – the next guy in a long parade of closers since Grant West’s retirement to not maintain a death grip on ninth inning leads, he is slotted back into a setup role with the emergence of Angel Casas after inheriting the job from Dan Nordahl early in 2004.
SU Domingo Moreno, 31, B:R, T:L (2-3, 3.33 ERA, 2 SV | 19-13, 2.97 ERA, 16 SV) – entirely steady and almost always reliable, Moreno has won a permanent setup assignment.
CL Angel Casas, 22, B:S, T:R (1-2, 2.70 ERA, 3 SV | 1-2, 2.70 ERA, 3 SV) – wins the closer’s job from Marcos Bruno after striking out 27 in 23.1 innings in his debut last year. Ever since Grant West left us in the dark, Casas might be our best bet to find the light again.

C Bob Wood, 24, B:R, T:R (.353, 0 HR, 1 RBI | .353, 0 HR, 1 RBI) – 17 AB in 2004, and 7 days of major league service for Wood, who is a magically adept defensive catcher, but might struggle to bat his own weight of 200 lbs.
1B/C Curt Cooks *, 30, B:R, T:R (did not appear | .277, 9 HR, 62 RBI) – signed as free agent and backup to Wood, to whom we are dedicated to be the new primary catcher; Cooks has no wonderful features to marvel about.

1B Albert Martin, 28, B:L, T:L (.271, 20 HR, 82 RBI | .283, 125 HR, 452 RBI) – the well fell dry for this slugger in 2004, as he was entirely unable to replicate three straight seasons of 26+ homers and 89+ RBI, with 30/110 outputs in 2002 and 2003; also can’t field a damn, and with the addition of prospect Adrian Quebell we suddenly have competition for his job.
1B/2B Ieyoshi Nomura, 21, B:L, T:R (.246, 1 HR, 11 RBI | .246, 1 HR, 11 RBI) – advertised for his high on-base ability, Nomura didn’t quite walk the opposition into the ground over 114 AB in 2004, but we still have hope; oddly while he has tripled and homered, he has not hit a double among his 28 major league hits.
SS/2B/3B Yoshi Yamada *, 27, B:L, T:R (rookie) – we fully intend to replace Conceicao Guerin with a 27-year old with no major league exposure; we do know however that Yamada can use his glove, and he also has speed, but will he ever get on base?
1B/3B Daniel Sharp, 27, B:R, T:R (.304, 5 HR, 55 RBI | .290, 29 HR, 215 RBI) – everyday third baseman, never mind the occasional stupid error, in the field or on the base paths; performs consistently without any major hot or cold streaks.
3B/SS/2B/RF/1B Miguel Ramirez, 26, B:R, T:R (.251, 12 HR, 49 RBI | .213, 27 HR, 104 RBI) – this butcher’s bat was at least marginally productive last season, batting for a .767 OPS over 291 AB. It’s still not enough to displace either of our corner infielders permanently, although playing him third and Sharp at first is a worthwhile alternative for extreme groundballer Amador.
2B/SS/3B/1B Brad Sheehan, 31, B:R, T:R (.245, 3 HR, 24 RBI | .226, 7 HR, 71 RBI) – wherever the hell he came from, somehow he stayed; plays all positions well, and is primarily a defensive backup.

LF/RF Clyde Brady, 28, B:L, T:L (.241, 14 HR, 55 RBI | .255, 78 HR, 360 RBI) – endured a year of patience including a half-season long slump and 60 days with no home runs whatsoever; when he’s not walking amongst the dead, he is actually a worthwhile player, but he’s gotta stretch to actually deserve being the highest-earning player on the team.
RF/CF/LF/1B Edgardo Torrez, 28, B:L, T:L (.297, 10 HR, 45 RBI | .278, 30 HR, 112 RBI) – this late bloomer has been held to 76 games by (hopefully not) crippling injuries in 2004; he combines most tools well under one hat, and one can only hope that he doesn’t get hurt again for more than half of the season.
RF/LF Christian Greenman *, 29, B:R, T:R (.251, 16 HR, 58 RBI | .244, 77 HR, 226 RBI) – second-biggest contract on the team after a trade with the Titans (mainly for prospect Ryan Miller) brought him in. Greenman can hold his own on the corners, and with more arm power moves to rightfield with Brady shifting to left, and while he hits for power primarily, he does not strike out an awful lot; however he hardly ever walks. And his GM hates him.
LF/CF/RF Edgardo Fernandez *, 26, B:S, T:R (.284, 5 HR, 51 RBI | .285, 7 HR, 107 RBI) – acquire in trade from the Wolves, Fernandez is the primary defensive backup to both corner outfielders, but you can see him start in place of either of them against same-handed pitchers, especially if they slump like Clyde Brady did extensively last summer.
LF/RF/CF Matt King, 27, B:R, T:R (.268, 0 HR, 7 RBI | .279, 1 HR, 66 RBI) – good defensive alternative, with a singles bat; held up quite well when Eddie Torrez was injured for a good chunk in 2004.

On disabled list: Nobody.

Otherwise unavailable: Nobody.

Other roster movement:
SP Fernando Piquero, 26, B:R, T:R (0-1, 4.91 ERA | 2-2, 4.02 ERA) – DFA after Ben Carlson signed on; if Carlson had not agreed to a deal, Piquero would have started the season as the #5 starter.
SP/MR Sergio Vega, 24, B:R, T:R (0-1, 3.38 ERA | 0-2, 5.44 ERA) – DFA because we can do much better.
LF/RF Chris Beairsto, 26, B:L, T:L (.217, 6 HR, 27 RBI | .214, 27 HR, 77 RBI) – DFA because he is an atrocious batter with 35% more strikeouts than hits.
Furthermore, MR Scott Boone and MR Rémy Lucas were returned by the Knights and Crusaders, respectively, after being taken in the rule 5 draft in December. Both were re-assigned to AAA St. Petersburg.

Opening day lineups:
Vs. RHP: CF Torrez – 2B Nomura – 3B Sharp – 1B Martin – LF Brady – RF Greenman – SS Yamada – C Wood – P Brown
Vs. LHP: 3B Sharp – 2B Nomura – CF Torrez – 1B Martin – RF Greenman – LF Brady – SS Sheehan – C Wood – P Brown

OFF SEASON CHANGES:

The Raccoons posted their franchise-worst eighth consecutive losing season at 78-84, and that after being 16 games over .500 on May 31. Since then Neil Reece is gone, Marvin Ingall is gone, Conceicao Guerin is gone, Randy Farley is gone, Dan Nordahl is gone. We mainly acquired prospects, some of which might be able to deliver this season (Quebell), and some of which are poised to leave a mark only further down the road (like Ryan Miller). The Raccoons thus shed WAR like crazy, and appeared in the bottom 5 of offseason WAR gains according to BNN.

Top 5: Stars (+12.3), Gold Sox (+12.2), Pacifics (+10.0), Warriors (+9.5), Crusaders (+5.4)
Bottom 5: Raccoons (-8.2), Canadiens (-8.3), Bayhawks (-9.2), Loggers (-9.4), Knights (-9.9)

PREDICTION TIME:

Last year we saw the team never being a factor and finish far out at 72-90. Well, they were never a factor, and finished far out, but that came only after two fabulous months of reaching for the Stars. Not that they were ever threatening the Titans.

This year, everything is lost as soon as they will have donned their unis for their first game in Vancouver. There is no hope. We are playing a completely unproven and potentially completely overwhelmed Double Yoshi middle infield, for crying out loud. We know our catcher won’t hit .200. Add two or three injuries and this thing gets flushed into the Pacific quicker than you get spell “disintegration”.

The Raccoons will grace the bottom of the division, and finish soundly mauled at 65-97. Or worse.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:

Last year, somebody analyzed the 24 team’s minor league departments while being completely drunk. The Raccoons were ranked first with 17 youngsters in the top 200. Most of those were relief pitchers, but they counted. We also had six among the first 61 selections.

This year we are ranked 16th, with 14 players in the top 200, but they are almost all in the latter half of those top 200. Furthermore, #2 Angel Casas (service time), #52 Lawrence Rockburn (service time), #72 Alejandro Rojas, #134 Aurelio Hernandez (rule 5 pick), #156 Keegan Crabtree, #191 Leonard Wyatt, and #199 Tony Rodriguez are no longer on the list for a variety of reasons.

24th (+13) – AAA MR Rémy Lucas, 26 – 2000 fifth round pick by the Crusaders, acquired in trade with Bill Corkum and Pedro Delgado for Manny Gabriel and Dale Moore, lost to Crusaders in rule 5 draft, and given back to Raccoons
47th (-23) – AA MR Pedro Delgado, 20 – 2002 first round pick by the Titans, acquired in trade with Bill Corkum and Rémy Lucas for Manny Gabriel and Dale Moore
54th (-32) – AAA CL Adam Riddle, 23 – 2002 second round pick by the Raccoons
81st (new) – AAA 1B Adrian Quebell, 22 – 2000 supplemental round pick by the Warriors, acquired in trade for Randy Farley and Dan Nordahl
99th (+30) – AAA MR Luis Beltran, 25 – 2001 seventh round pick by the Raccoons
111th (-9) – AAA MR Ed Bryan, 24 – 1999 fourth round pick by the Raccoons
113th (-2) – AAA MR Scott Boone, 24 – 1998 supplemental round pick by the Raccoons, lost to Knights in rule 5 draft and returned to Raccoons
125th (-13) – AAA MR Matt Cash, 22 – 2000 second round pick by the Raccoons
138th (-43) – AAA MR Cody Bryant, 22 – 2001 second round pick by the Raccoons
141st (new) – AA SS Ryan Miller, 20 – 2002 first round pick by the Titans, acquired in trade with Christian Greenman for Mark Thomas, Manuel Martinez, and Freddy Rosa
143rd (new) – A C Pedro Salas, 20 – 2003 supplemental round pick by the Falcons, acquire in trade with Bob Mays, Gary Tucker for Conceicao Guerin
157th (new) – AAA RF Bob Mays, 21 – 2001 supplemental round pick by the Titans, acquired in trade with Falcons with Pedro Salas, Gary Tucker for Conceicao Guerin
179th (-118) – AA OF Santiago Trevino, 22 – 2003 second round pick by the Raccoons
187th (-67) – ML C Bob Wood, 24 – 1999 third round pick by the Raccoons

23-year old CIN 1B Ray Gilbert is the #1 prospect for the second consecutive season. Some Barney Manning was 6-6 with a 7.06 ERA in AAA last year for the Miners’ AAA team, the Akron Ostriches, and continues to rank high at #14.

Next: first pitch!