[Westheim]

February 12 – Journeyman reliever Ken Williams, 35, career ERA of 3.29, joins the Bayhawks for $716,000 over two years.
February 15 – 33-year old closer Stanley Holman goes to Oregon, but not to Portland. The Salem Wolves ink Holman for three years and about $1.3M. Holman has 80 career saves, #9 on the all time leaderboard.
February 16 – Former Raccoon Ben Green gets a 3-year, $1.29M deal from the Indians. Green only appeared in four games in 1979 before a torn rotator cuff sidelined him for the year.
February 17 – It’s closer signing time, as Mike Kelly takes his 93 career saves and 1.95 ERA to the Rebels. The 34-year old will earn $1.2M over three years. He is #5 in career saves, all achieved with the Buffaloes.
February 18 – Another Crusader moves his World Series ring around, as RF Yannick Roy takes a 4-year, $2.1M offer from the Falcons.
February 26 – 41-year old slugger Paul Ramey did not get a $443,000 contract from the Rebels anymore, but the Bayhawks are willing to shovel it down his throat. Whether he can deliver another .310 season at his age, remains to be seen.
March 11 – The Raccoons ink outfielder Lynwood McFarland, 28, to a 1-year, $85,000 deal. McFarland has no previous major league exposure, but might make the opening day roster as fifth outfielder.
March 28 – The Raccoons complete their roster by signing versatile infielder Ken Clement, formerly with the Bayhawks, for $95,700. He is a career .217 hitter.

I reorganized my minors rosters in February. About 30 guys were either moved up or sent down. Two promising relievers were moved up to the AAA roster: Jason White was a right-hander with killer stuff, K’ing almost 12 per nine innings, and if he continued that way in AAA, he would find his way to the majors this year. White had been our 7th round pick in 1977. Also moved up was Grant “Demon” West, our 1st round pick from last year. He had K’ed as many per nine as White, and in 28 relief appearances in AA had accumulated 18 saves. He was 22 and had to iron out some control problems, but I saw him on the 1981 Raccoons roster if all went well.

Three players were released, but I carried too many pitchers in AA class. I was looking for a backup infielder or backup outfielder for two or three of them. It was almost a free for all, but no deal came to fruition. Jorge Rodriguez, a reliever in AAA, was the object of interest of most other teams, but I had different plans for Rodriguez. I eventually signed McFarland (see above), who can play every position on the right side of the field (first, second, center, and right).

Sadly, a starting pitcher did not materialize. We would have to rely on Berrios and Powell getting back to former strength, Evans and Romero improving a bit here and there, and everybody staying healthy. Other than last year, where only Powell did not end up on the DL among those four.

I pursuited Julio Lujan in March, another former Crusader, whom they had tried to trade to Portland several times before for varying players. I never considered him a good deal and he demanded too much money in the end.

So, we went with the cheaper Clement as backup infielder. He could play all four positions around the diamond and was at least hitting around .220 consistently, so he was not that bad. Of course we had Angel Costa to turn around. I was long contemplating whether to put him up on opening day after his dismal season – at the plate at least, he still won the Gold Glove at second base!

Opening day roster for the 1980 Portland Raccoons (first set shows 1979 numbers, second set overall; players with an * are off season acquisitions; note that the Raccoons have *one* pitcher with a winning record):

SP Jorge Romero (1-6, 2.81 ERA | 30-35, 2.91 ERA) – was out four months with an injury; when not injured, received no run support or the pen blew the lead. He has the potential to turn in a 20-win season. I really do believe that.
SP Christopher Powell (13-15, 4.08 ERA | 35-45, 3.73 ERA) – was much better than in ’78 last year, but is very erratic, bringing up 8-run outings and 3-hitters in back-to-back starts regularly
SP Juan Berrios (4-16, 4.61 ERA | 25-49, 3.90 ERA) – had a horrible year, racking up a .200 record, but still holds 50% of ABL no-hitters; needs to improve, though, or he will be sent down the river.
SP Logan Evans (3-5, 2.22 ERA | 7-9, 2.97 ERA) – injured for most of the season, has shown a lot of promise, but finally needs to stay healthy and bring in a winning season

MU Tony Lopez (3-6, 3.58 ERA, 0 SV | 5-13, 3.79 ERA, 2 SV) – ERA inflated by starting experiments, he’s best at getting you through fifth, sixth, and seventh when your starter can’t
MR Bill Baker (0-1, 8.31 ERA, 1 SV | 6-8, 3.58 ERA, 8 SV) – lefty with a horrible season, injured twice, has to turn it around again
MR Ben Craig (1-2, 3.86 ERA, 1 SV | 1-2, 3.86 ERA, 1 SV) – has been inconsistent after coming up from AAA
MR Frank O’Rearden (1-7, 3.17 ERA, 1 SV | 1-7, 3.17 ERA, 1 SV) – second lefty, also came up from AAA, will be more used as situational lefty, but high leverage situations have not been for him last year as that W-L record shows
SU Ben Jenkins (2-6, 2.61 ERA, 2 SV | 12-12, 3.89 ERA, 2 SV) – closed at the end of last year, but never got many chances.
SU Brett Justice (2-2, 3.08 ERA, 3 SV | 5-4, 2.69 ERA, 4 SV) – lefty setup, he’s mostly solid, but has a tendency to bring you that one horrible outing that makes you want to choke him for weeks to come
CL Wally Gaston (2-3, 3.02, 18 SV | 14-18, 2.67, 28 SV) – the season stands and falls with him and whether he finally has improved his control. Had a BB/K ratio below 1 last year, but still has that killer stuff.

C Stephano Bocci* (.280, 7 HR, 83 RBI | .295, 18 HR, 236 RBI) – acquired from the Condors, will be our new #1 catcher and should be a huge improvement over free agent Darryl Maloney, whose defense eroded completely last year
C Kieran Lawson (.239, 2 HR, 15 RBI | .212, 7 HR, 46 RBI) – backup catcher, occassionally defensively challenged

1B Hoyt Cook (.204, 1 HR, 18 RBI | .216, 4 HR, 42 RBI) – backup, can produce clutch hits, but inconsistent overall
1B Wyatt Johnston (.262, 8 HR, 64 RBI | .262, 41 HR, 220 RBI) – average improved again ’79, but power was down, is still a rock at age 38
2B/3B Angel Costa (.183, 0 HR, 37 RBI | .223, 1 HR, 64 RBI) – won the Gold Glove at 2B, but if his bat doesn’t pick up, he will lose his spot this year – despite a .183 clip he played all but eight games in ‘79
3B/1B/2B/SS Ben Simon (.289, 28 HR, 94 RBI | .262, 61 HR, 265 RBI) – can play everywhere on the infield and was last year’s home run king; still has clutch issues which if solved could make him a 120 RBI-guy.
1B/3B/2B/SS Ken Clement* (.218, 1 HR, 35 RBI | .217, 2 HR, 79 RBI) – utility infielder with low, but consistent batting, signed as free agent, previously with the Bayhawks
3B/SS Pedro Hermundo* (.223, 8 HR, 65 RBI | .248, 28 HR, 159 RBI) – won the ’79 WS with the Crusaders, will start 3B with Simon to 2B (or Simon SS and Nixon 2B) if Costa keeps bottoming out
SS/2B Ralph Nixon* (.324, 16 HR, 75 RBI | .333, 54 HR, 321 RBI) – ’79 WS champion with Crusaders, almost won the triple crown in ’78, he will start SS and boost the Raccoons offense big time

LF/RF Daniel Hall (.233, 13 HR, 51 RBI | .246, 18 HR, 66 RBI) – struggled throughout, ended up back in AAA a few times, was injured twice, and faces an uphill battle; his OBP was better due to a ton of walks
LF/RF/CF Ben Cox (.260, 5 HR, 19 RBI | .260, 5 HR, 19 RBI) – came in in the Morris trade prior to ’79 and has stayed and started for much of the season in LF or CF (while Morris was axed during the season), was leadoff through much of his majors stint, but Hall has better OBP
LF/CF/RF Gustavo Zuniga (.224, 8 HR, 33 RBI | .241, 12 HR, 63 RBI) – missed almost two months with an injury and struggled at the plate afterwards, will start only as backup into the season
CF/RF/1B/2B Lynwood McFarland* - signed as free agent, no majors experience, will be backup, can also play infield
RF/LF Pedro Sánz (.278, 4 HR, 50 RBI | .293, 33 HR, 179 RBI) – I love him dearly, but he is injured very often, keeping his numbers down (exact copy from last season’s opening day roster); he has to stay healthy for once; defensively has range issues, but can throw out guys at third and the plate effortlessly

The main concern with the lineup may be whom to put at #1 and #2, which was an issue last season, with all speedy guys (Hall, Cox, Zuniga, Flores) struggling at the plate and suffering low OBP. Ralph Nixon consistently has a .380 OBP, but is a slow runner and his power can be put to better use further down.

I suck at lineup construction, but I will try to be systematic about it (and feel free to correct me at wrong assumptions): Simon’s bat should put him in cleanup, where he does most damage, although his unclutchiness has been reason to worry before. Wyatt Johnston, Pedro Sánz and Ralph Nixon have big bats as well, as does Daniel Hall, when it comes to solely power. Nixon’s high OBP could be useful to put before Simon, so he’s #3, replacing Sánz there. Hall stole the most bases in ’79, which makes him a candidate to leadoff, while Sánz and Johnston will be #5 and #6.

This leaves Bocci, Cox, Hall, and Costa. Costa sucked hard last year, so he’s at the bottom of the order. Cox is also fast like Hall, but with a tendency to be caught stealing. They had much more success in double steals when Hall was ahead and the opposition tried to get the out at third than the other way round, which always failed. Bocci has a high batting average, but is slow and doesn’t draw many walks and has a lower OBP. He could still be #2.

Sigh. Whatever. We will try the following:

Opening day lineup: LF Hall – C Bocci – SS Nixon – 3B Simon – RF Sánz – 1B Johnston – CF Cox – 2B Costa – P Romero

When Lawson catches for Bocci, he will switch places with Cox. If Costa fails to click, the infield will shift to accommodate Hermundo at third. Hermundo is very quick, too, and we could drop Bocci to #8 to cleanup before the pitcher and start Hermundo in leadoff with Hall to #2.

What do I predict for this somewhat rebuilt team? The pitching is still the same, but we have two champions aboard and cut some dead weight (Dolder, Flores, Maloney). The loss of Ed Sullivan should be set off by Nixon and Hermundo multiple times. If the starters stay healthy and improve or at least hold their level (in cases other than Berrios’, who HAS to come around), then I think this team could get a lot closer to .500 than they ever have. I see the numbers 78-84 before my eyes.

Updated prospect rankings show that Cameron Green is ranked the #2 prospect in the sport (he was #34 last year)! Grant West (see above) is #27, outfielder Ken Clark #79, 1B Matt Workman #81 (was #100), all playing in AAA to start the season. The Raccoons had two Top 20 prospects last year: Daniel Hall was #3 and is no longer eligible, while Juan Martinez (#19 last year) returned to Mexico with a forked up knee to pursue a career as assistant manager of an illegal underground sweatshop. Or whatever.

Darryl Maloney went unsigned and we will not receive a supplemental pick for him. Meh.

BBN gives us +11.7 WAR over the off season, making the Raccoons the biggest gainers. Next are the Rebels (+5.5), Knights (+4.8), Loggers (+3.4), and Buffaloes (+3.1). Worst: Cyclones (-3.7), Aces (-4.4), Pacifics (-5.3), Condors (-7.5), and – uh-oh! – the champions Crusaders (-9.6). The Crusaders just fell apart with half a dozen key players either becoming free agents or being otherwise traded. The Raccoons don’t mind.

We will open the season against the Crusaders, too, starting at home against them and the Condors, before traveling to Frisco and Vancouver. First pitch coming up.