Given that promotion was the goal, 1992 has to be looked upon is slightly disappointing terms for our club. All the same, to win 89 games and finish within a half-dozen isn't too bad at all. Moreover, I do believe our squad is a stronger one than it was a year earlier. We just have to put it all together and get over the hump.
I doubt it is unrelated that our second-half drift coincided with us reverting to type and becoming too much of a TTO lineup, with the Ks up and BBs down yet again. We scored 60 fewer runs in the second half than the first despite hitting one more HR, a sure sign that less men were on base when we were going deep. This, among other factors, undoubtedly proved the difference between ourselves and the Nats in the end.
BATS
Solid throughout, with the exception of Clough who struggled to contribute and is unlikely to see much more action with us. Obviously this is missing some key producers with LaMarr and Kmet traded, and Torres on the IL. Ramirez once again proved himself to be top-shelf, a book Clarke needs to take a leaf or two from. Kingery, Rich and the three mentioned above all posted 2 bWAR or better campaigns. Our middle IF was good but not great, with Armstrong falling off the cliff after that splendid first half. In Wickham, Jensen, Torres and Armstrong we have four solid but completely unspectacular players. That said, those sorts of players at those positions are pretty much unicorns in this league and the few that do exist are out of our price range. I'll definitely continue my quest to find them, however, as I believe this is our weakest area.
On a brighter note, both Steve Platt and Ken Magown shoed in their brief cameos that they'll be very handy players indeed for us moving forward. Dave Castillo also showed flashes of brilliance that I hope are indications of more to come.
SHOPPING LIST: Plus-grade IFs aplenty.
BALLS
Good and bad news here. Braxton is a god and should give the Pitcher / RoY double a real shake. Baker was a huge add for us, going 6-2 / 3.24 for us after the trade. Fleming was having a stellar year before being bitten by the injury bug. Jordan started slowly but then was outstanding once he found his mojo. Fekete was decent enough. So, all in all, we've got the makings of a really solid spin for the next few years, with Romasco, Stanley and others working well as swingmen.
I'm also really happy with how the BP is looking, with their 3.53 ERA the Lobby's 3rd-best. Fernandez was brilliant, Turner a crucial addition, while Magliozzi also provided good service in middle relief. We've called up Cliff Breehl now, but he only got one expensive out and so the jury remains deadlocked on him for now.
But we had a few busts, too, most notably Cerutti, now gone, and Parker, now stuck in AAA. Clear, too, went down and stayed down and of course Eastwick is elsewhere now as well. George Starrette is another who didn't come on as planned.
So, while our front line looks great there's no doubt we need to upgrade the depth chart.
SHOPPING LIST: Reinforcements for now and later.
GLOVES
Somehow managed a positive, 4th-ranked ZR despite Jensen's eyesore numbers. Everywhere other than the IF looks AOK.
SHOPPING LIST: See BATS, above.
WINGS
As I mentioned, we gave Platt, Magown and -
sort of - Breehl a run in the final weeks of this season. I have mentioned before I see Lucas as the better catching prospect than Platt, and the experts seem to agree with that assessment, albeit marginally. Both are bat heavy and poor defensively, so I'd love to find a good D-replacement for the late innings to couple with one or both of them.
Of the others, those who show most promise at this moment in time are Aikens, Paiement and Gallagher - although I doubt any of the three are stars in the making.
Here's our pipeline at season-end:
We've been given $92m for next season, and the boss has insisted some of that be spent upgrading SS. He also wants more HR (we were ranked 5th again this year) and is still harping on about that stupid staff cohesion. Scouting Director Jim Bishop has unexpectedly retired, so I'll use that opportunity to fix these feuding (actually, they're only "Unhappy", but you get the drift...) idiots once and for all. Gonna be a busy break.