[Westheim]

Finding a slugger was a maddening, endless, joy-deprived experience during this winter of 2013-14. Even one with the most menial secondary requirements, like, you know, don’t kill your team while playing leftfield.

There were a few candidates, sure. But unless you could blow $2.5M on somebody to sign a Roberto Pena type (never mind his wrecked condition, which he shared with surprisingly many other players we investigated), you were going to have to make a few hard choices.

There was Pena, of course, rumored to demand about $2M. He was only 29, but owned six Gold Gloves, and had been part of the 2007-2009 Crusaders title trifecta. But his offense had let up in the last two years, and even worse, his body had as well. At 29 he was basically an old man.

Moving on to actual old men, there was 35-year old (moving hard on 36) Ken Potter. He had 253 career homers, but nobody in Portland had noticed, because every single one of them had been hit for a Federal League team. Offensively he was still productive, but there was the mild issue that his hip had given out just 17 games into the 2013 season and he had never made it onto the field again. His defense was pretty bad, he had no speed, and all you could hope for at best were a few dingers here and there. He had hit 18 when his body held up long enough for 120 games with the 2012 Blue Sox. 18 would have been already pushing for the team lead on the 2013 Critters.

Lionnel Perri, to be 37 on Opening Day, was perhaps a compromise candidate, but he was also a type A free agent, and the Raccoons – with chances for them sinking into oblivion well bigger than for them to make one last challenge before the lights inevitably would go out – were keen to keep their (lone…) first round pick in the 2014 draft.

There was one last guy in Earl Clark, 33, another player that had exclusively or almost exclusively played in the Federal League in this group. He had also missed half the season with a broken wrist and a quad issue, batting .319/.434/.458 for the Rebels. That was a rather common slash for him, and in a normal season, he would hit 15 dingers although his body didn’t look much like it, as he was rather short (5’10’’) and not too well packed with muscle. He also led the FL in triples in 2011 (one year after Jon Merritt, then a youthful 34, did it for the Coons in the CL), so he had a lot of aces up his sleeves. Problem was just that he was one of those $2.5M guys and the Raccoons couldn’t hope to land him. $2.5M was pretty much all they had available, and so far we had no backup infielders, no backup catcher that was not a joke, and the second base situation was dreadful at best. Clark was not eligible for compensation, however, probably because of the injuries, and was thus a perfect fit … for a team with $1M more in the bank. I blamed the Mexican Prick all the way here.

Yeah, the infield. Shortstop is a problem right now. Walt Canning can probably play it, although he’s a better third baseman. But third base is clogged already with Jon Merritt in his final year (turning 38 in May) and Matt Nunley fighting for recognition. Nunley’s cards looked pretty bad for 2014, though. He had batted .187 for the ’13 Coons, with a .227 slugging percentage. I was tempted to try a platoon between the two (Merritt was right-handed, Nunley left-handed), but Nunley was going to end up in AAA anyway with a bad April. He was a strong defensive third baseman, too, though, and Calderón was *very* confident as far his future was concerned and considered him a great steal for a fourth round pick. Well, he does not have home run power. He hit 16 dingers in the minors … since being drafted, three and a half years ago.

I like some power from the hot corner. I liked Mark Dawson … before he just died. I liked Ben O’Morrissey … before he turned into an asshole. Daniel Sharp was a nice player for other reasons. Cam Green’s defense always drove me nuts. Thinking about it, the Raccoons haven’t had THAT many third basemen in their history! Ed Sullivan was the positional leader from 1977 to 1979 before leaving for the Condors, and he hit for power, mashing 20 bombs in ’77. Then came Pedro Hermundo from the Crusaders, but only was here for a year before being turned into the Cyclones’ SP Jack Pennington, and amazing pitcher at that time, unfortunately unaffordable and flicked the Buffaloes halfway through the (sad) 1981 season for … Mark Dawson. Now, Dawson was moved all over the place, playing every corner competently, but between him and Cam Green we covered third base from 1981 through 1990. Green left halfway through, and Dawson was released during a dismal ’91 with O’Morrissey taking over, straight through mid-1997 and the full-blown collapse. Mike Crowe got the assignment after that, failed hard, and was canned by 1999. César Gonzalez, originally a first baseman, played there in 2000 (about his worst career year), before the Age of Sharp broke. 2008 and Ricardo Martinez (shivers) aside, Sharpie held down third base all throughout the 2000s. Then came Merritt, except for 2013, when Ken Rodgers got most of the playing time due to injury.

The only position with less change in the positional leaders in team history is first base: Wyatt Johnson (1977-1981), Matt Workman (1982-85), Tetsu Osanai (1986-92), Matt Higgins (1993, which was a stopgap thing, because he was really not a first baseman, and led in appearances at second base every other year from 1989 through 1994), Esteban Baldivía (1994-95), Liam Wedemeyer (1996-98), the aforementioned César Gonzalez (1999), Al Martin (2000-05), and Adrian Quebell (2006-13). Really, the 90s were a mess, but not as bad as the interlude between David Vinson and Craig Bowen behind the plate. Eight years during which the Raccoons unveiled a new primary catcher at least twice per season. Brrrrr.

Yeah, back to the present times. Second base is another problem. Now, if we can’t get a slugger, Sambrano plays leftfield, so second base is going to be either a different acquisition, or Jason Bergquist, who batted .200 during his callups in 2013. Calderón thinks he’ll be useful, but that’s not how he talks about Nunley.

But if we’re assuming that the Raccoons don’t go anywhere in 2014, which is extremely likely, it might not be a bad idea to stick Bergquist to the keystone, split the left side of the infield between Merritt, Nunley, and Canning, and just find a quality backup that can play all over the infield again. Preferrably one less bitchy than Rodgers.

Then the Raccoons might still pursue Earl Clark, but then Jason Seeley has to go. Not that I am sad to see his backside. We had mildly high hopes for him, but he flew under the radar consistently in all three partial season with the Raccoons. 600 PA, not even close to league average, and he’s 27. Anything you turn him into might probably be a gain. (Then, the same thing might be said for Pat White) All you needed was to find a team dumb or desperate enough to take a flyer on his alleged potential. There I was, always having assumed that the only “potential” you had left at 27 was for grey hair, incontinence, and death.

Turns out the Titans were stupid enough. On December 4, we had a deal of Seeley for backup catcher Randy Porter plus a middling prospect when I got greedy and wanted two middling prospects. Their GM, Travis Adamietz – a few years ago an intern for the Raccoons! – said he wanted to think about it, then traded for Rodrigo Lopez overnight and as quickly as that Jason Seeley was no longer required by them. And I had forgotten to bring by bat with rusty nails sticking out to the winter meetings.

That was even before the Titans swooped up Earl Clark. The Raccoons hadn’t even yet figured out a way to make a sensitive offer to him. While the Titans more or less won the winter meetings, the Raccoons were left wondering why the lid of that garbage can kept falling down again and again, and onto their tiny paws.

Finding a right-handed backup catcher was no joy, either. I trade to trade for the Gold Sox’ Gary Brown and the Wolves’ Morgan Little during the winter meetings, but all they cared about was Ricardo Carmona. Sure. The Gold Sox had literally nobody that could be hoped to play centerfield next year, and they refused to even consider Jason Seeley or Pat White. Nope, Carmona or bust!

Among free agents was Raúl Hernandez, who had been the Loggers’ primary catcher the last few years. Now, it’s the Loggers! I’d be cautious to sign the Loggers’ former primary janitor as a backup to Slappy, and certainly there had to be flaws with Hernandez, a Gold Glove winner in 2012 and also owner of a 2010(!) World Series ring. Sure they were flaws! He was a very good defensive catcher, had no real home run power, but had hit almost 30 doubles on average the last three years. But he had also led the CL in strikeouts in 2012 and 2013 and his OPS had been in the .610s either year. But for a team that had not a lot going for itself, he was probably not a bad signing…

+++

December 2 – The Scorpions swipe former local and divisional rival INF Adriano Lulli (.266, 96 HR, 713 RBI), who was with the Pacifics for a number of years. He gets a 1-yr, $750k deal.
December 3 – The Pacifics console themselves with 37-year old ex-DAL 1B/3B Dennis Berman (.283, 283 HR, 1,343 RBI), who agrees to a 2-yr, $3.6M contract.
December 3 – The Thunder pick up 29-year old ex-SAC/SFW SP Jorge Gine (94-72, 3.63 ERA), who won 15 games in 2013. He is bound to receive $16.08M over six years.
December 4 – Big free agent name off the table: former Titans SP Tony Hamlyn (275-159, 2.59 ERA) signs a 2-yr, $7.08M contract with the Warriors. The 38-year old southpaw sits at 3,697 career strikeouts, just 86 behind career leader Martin Garcia.
December 4 – The Thunder want all the pitching! They ink 36-yr old left-hander Ralph Ford (152-187, 4.05 ERA), last with the Stars, to a 3-yr, $4.5M deal.
December 4 – Ex-Titan 2B Jesus Ramirez (.256, 36 HR, 305 RBI) becomes a Crusader. The 28-year old gets a 3-yr, $4.78M contract.
December 5 – Another new Crusader is unveiled, with ex-RIC SP Colin Sabatino (31-53, 3.97 ERA) signing a 5-yr, $8.3M contract.
December 5 – The Titans don’t hold back, either, acquiring 33-yr old LF/RF Rodrigo Lopez (.291, 53 HR, 769 RBI) from the Scorpions for four prospects, including #2 prospect RF Michael Matos, a 19-year old Cuban in A-ball.
December 5 – The Indians acquire INF Ryan Dawson (.259, 40 HR, 281 RBI) from the Wolves, along with cash, while parting with SP Aaron Walsh (22-16, 3.87 ERA).
December 6 – More new players in the CL North, as the Titans add ex-RIC LF Earl Clark (.312, 125 HR, 860 RBI) for 2-yr, $4.48M, and they also acquire MR Jeff Lyon (3-5, 3.53 ERA) from the Gold Sox for a second-rate prospect.
December 7 – It doesn’t stop for the Titans, who sign 34-yr old OF John Alexander (.287, 198 HR, 925 RBI), who split 2013 between the Raccoons and the Falcons, to a 2-yr, $3.72M contract, and add 2B Jose Gutierrez (.284, 4 HR, 115 RBI from the Wolves for OF/1B/SS Dylan Grindstaff (.242, 5 HR, 29 RBI) and a minor leaguer.

+++

So far the Titans have parted with 32 players. It will be a completely new team in 2014. The Coons’ lone addition remains Ron Sakellaris.

I also made an offer to J-Alex during the winter meetings. Two years, $3.4M guaranteed, $3.8M with incentives. Was snubbed.

What else? Tomas Castro hooked up with the Condors on a very cheap 1-year deal. He only made it into 45 games with the Scorpions in 2013, battling hamstring woes. Coonskinner Alexis Legendre is out of the division, signing with the Falcons.