[Westheim]

March 22 – The Raccoons trade AAA MR Francisco Trujillo to the Gold Sox for AAA SP Carlos De los Angeles.
March 28 – The Bayhawks add SS/3B John Harris, a career .289 hitter for 1-yr, $304k.

That was it for the winter.

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1989 PORTLAND RACCOONS – Opening Day Roster (first set shows 1988 numbers, second set overall; players with an * are off season acquisitions):

SP Kisho Saito, 28, B:L, T:L (14-12, 3.19 ERA | 105-78, 3.07 ERA) – workhorse and strikeout machine, although there were some concerns about his constitution at the end of last season.
SP Scott Wade, 26, B:R, T:R (12-6, 2.98 ERA | 42-28, 3.15 ERA) – very consistent starter, mostly turning in 2-run games, and can go into the eighth and beyond with little difficulties; somebody to build on.
SP Carlos Reyes *, 29, B:R, T:R (10-12, 3.99 ERA | 79-91, 3.84 ERA) – free agent signing, spent most of his career with Salem and the last few months of ’88 with the Capitals; decent throughout, but considered a placeholder for than anything else.
SP Carlos Gonzalez, 26, B:R, T:R (5-14, 5.35 ERA | 33-39, 3.87 ERA) – constantly injured, and last year was massively beaten by the opposition; is in danger of being axed.
SP Steven Berry *, 27, B:R, T:R (did not play | 0-0, 0.00 ERA) – rule 5 pick from Oklahoma City, should be a decent guy; his major league experience is limited to 2.1 innings.

MR Juan Martinez, 22, B:R, T:R (1-1, 3.35 ERA | 5-3, 3.32 ERA, 1 SV) – struggled early in the season, rebounded in the second half in a semi-setup role; appears to be good enough for 7th/8th inning roles, but could also be used as long man.
MR Ken Burnett, 26, B:L, T:L (0-2, 24.00 ERA | 1-2, 10.97 ERA) – things really are not as bad as they seem. He has only 10.2 IP overall in his career and has all the tools necessary to become a solid reliever.
MR Jason Bentley, 27, B:R, T:R (1-2, 4.62 ERA, 1 SV | 4-8, 3.70 ERA, 3 SV) – had a horrible start to his season and never really recovered; can punch out key people or have the game blown open.
MR Jackie Lagarde *, 25, B:R, T:R (2-0, 2.09 ERA, 1 SV | 2-0, 2.09 ERA, 1 SV) – added from the Condors; great stuff, maybe not a new Richard Cunningham, but expected to be a strong 7th inning guy, and maybe more down the road.
SU Dirk Campbell, 34, B:R, T:R (5-3, 3.31 ERA | 16-15, 3.96 ERA, 2 SV) – in a terrible bullpen last season, Campbell was one of the few bright spots; in fact, apart from Grant West he was the only reliever not traded, demoted, or released over the course of the season.
SU Nate Goodman *, 31, B:L, T:L (0-3, 2.95 ERA, 2 SV | 40-45, 2.87 ERA, 54 SV) – elite, experienced reliever to solidify the bullpen from the left side; 602 career games for Atlanta and Denver, all but one in relief.
CL Grant West, 32, B:L, T:L (3-4, 2.51 ERA, 34 SV | 27-11, 1.81 ERA, 288 SV) – nickname “Demon”, says it all. Ultra-reliable, a true killer. That line has not changed in a few years, and although he had his worst ever ERA in 1988, he *is* a machine.

C Sam Dadswell, 28, B:L, T:R (.280, 14 HR, 65 RBI | .270, 77 HR, 357 RBI) – has improved a lot on defense last year, and also raised his offensive output; with this a trying year, he will face David Vinson in battle for the future primary spot.
C David Vinson, 23, B:R, T:R (.248, 2 HR, 10 RBI | .248, 2 HR, 10 RBI) – made his debut last year and was the clear backup, but some ascert him a bigger future than every catcher the Raccoons have ever had.

1B Tetsu Osanai, 30, B:L, T:L (.350, 25 HR, 109 RBI | .328, 144 HR, 658 RBI) – offensive monster with a big punch; won his second batting title and MVP last season; has started 564 consecutive games for the Raccoons at first base – every single one since being acquired from Vancouver.
1B/3B/RF/LF Mark Dawson, 35, B:R, T:R (.259, 31 HR, 115 RBI | .244, 253 HR, 1,081 RBI) – #1 on the all-time home run and RBI leaderboards; three consecutive Gold Gloves at third base; refused a trade this winter, and will be in the last year of his contract; awesome player, who contributed a lot to the team, but who should appear here for the last time.
1B/3B/2B/SS Matt Higgins, 24, B:S, T:R (.178, 0 HR, 0 RBI | .178, 0 HR, 0 RBI) – acquired from the Stars for Richard Cunningham last July, his current stats tell little about the potential he possesses; his OBP was already at .339 last year, and he should build greatly from there.
1B/3B Ben O’Morrissey, 23, B:R, T:R (.375, 1 HR, 3 RBI | .375, 1 HR, 3 RBI) – also acquired last season; appeared in six games at the end of the season; much to like about his swing, which leaves pitchers ducking; we will try to accommodate him at second base.
1B/3B/SS/2B Antonio Gonzalez *, 26, B:R, T:R (.256, 3 HR, 44 RBI | .247, 16 HR, 148 RBI) – acquired from the Blue Sox, will mostly play shortstop; good versatile player with mostly defensive upside.
1B/3B/2B/RF/SS/LF/CF Justin Reader *, 25, B:R, T:R (.262, 0 HR, 24 RBI | .266, 0 HR, 45 RBI) – acquired from the Falcons; good contact and potentially high OBP, with in turn zero power; plays every position well; he will still have to fight for playing time.

LF/RF Daniel Hall, 33, B:R, T:R (.255, 13 HR, 62 RBI | .263, 152 HR, 621 RBI) – pretty complete player, first ever Coons draft pick; has always been compromised by nagging injuries and in the last years long droughts at the plate; a leader nevertheless.
CF/RF/LF Glenn Johnston, 22, B:L, T:R (.263, 3 HR, 30 RBI | .263, 3 HR, 30 RBI) – most likely used in center, also a pretty complete player at a young age with the exception of somewhat lacking power; debuted last season.
LF/CF/RF Jeff Martin *, 22, B:L, T:L (.274, 5 HR, 22 RBI | .274, 5 HR, 22 RBI) – also made his debut for the Pacifics last year; good defense with a contact/gap bat; primary use may be in center.
RF/LF Gustavo Quintanilla, 25, B:R, T:R (.212, 1 HR, 13 RBI | .227, 5 HR, 44 RBI) – very strong defense, with a bat that does not help too much and makes him prone to be replaced from AAA.
LF/RF/1B Daniel Dumont, 23, B:L, T:L (.252, 1 HR, 21 RBI | .252, 1 HR, 21 RBI) – will start in a platoon in right with Quintanilla; weakest defense among outfielders, but his bat should break through; one of three outfielders that debuted last season.

On disabled list:
SP Logan Evans, 33, B:L, T:L (6-7, 3.33 ERA | 118-89, 3.10 ERA) – was decent with the occasional outburst of ill control, before going down to radial nerve compression; will go to rehab at AAA in April.

Opening day lineups:
Vs. RHP: 2B Higgins – CF Johnston – LF Hall – 1B Osanai – 3B Dawson – C Dadswell – RF Dumont – SS Gonzalez
Vs. LHP: 2B O’Morrissey – SS Higgins – LF Hall – 1B Osanai – 3B Dawson – C Vinson – CF Johnston – RF Quintanilla

We gained 1.1 WAR this off season, placing us 9th among the 24 teams overall.

Top 5: Rebels (+10.9), Cyclones (+9.4), Indians (+9.4), Knights (+5.9), Pacifics (+3.0)
Bottom 5: Canadiens (-7.1), Loggers (-8.2), Scorpions (-8.8), Miners (-16.2), Stars (-19.5)

PREDICTION TIME:

This will be a year where we will look less at the record and more about how our young players mature individually and collectively. We can only hope we’re not skinned day in and day out.

It’s hard to make an estimate. The bullpen is shored up, and our youngsters have all the talent they need to succeed. We should be on the road back to the top already. The Raccoons will finish 79-83, just below .500.

Player development:

Our minor league system ranks 1st overall after taking on a massive amount of talent lately, and despite some of the guys that were ranked last year not being ranked anymore (Dumont, Johnston for call-ups or other reasons):

19th – AAA CF Neil Reece, 22 – 1984 first round pick by Buffaloes, acquired last year for David Jones and others
22nd – ML 1B/3B Ben O’Morrissey, 23 – 1987 first round pick by Cyclones, acquired last year for Ed King and Dani Perez
26th – A LF Luis Maldonado, 19, international discovery by Richard Steward
33rd – ML INF Matt Higgins, 24, 1985 first round pick by Stars, acquired last year for Richard Cunningham and others
37th (+13) – AAA SP Luis Herrera, 21 – 1985 third round pick by the Miners, acquired in trade three years ago
41st (+140) – AA SP Miguel Lopez, 20 – international discovery by the Warriors, acquired last winter for Manuel Paredes and Odwin Garza
45th (-17) – AAA CL Albert Matthews, 19 – 1987 supplemental round pick by the Raccoons
61st – AA MR Alonso Villegas, 21 – international discovery by Crusaders, claimed off waivers from Blue Sox this winter
85th – AAA SP Kiyomitsu Sano, 23 – 1983 third round pick by Pacifics, acquired two years ago from Falcons for Ricardo Gonzalez
88th (+25) – AA OF Vern Kinnear, 20 – international discovery by Nathan Bruce
93rd – AAA OF Randy Powers, 23 – 1983 supplemental round pick by Capitals, acquired this winter for Billy Mitchell
162nd – AA 1B Orlando Alvarado, 22 – 1985 supplemental round pick by Miners, acquired this winter for Juan Ramirez and cash
173rd – AAA 1B Vincente Rodriguez, 24 – 1985 round 3 pick by the Raccoons

Note the amount of trades to get these guys.

Next: first pitch!