[Westheim]

By December, the Raccoons were really looking for outfield options after making some significant pitching upgrades. We had Brassfield, we had Pucks… and … uh, Tenazes? Down in AAA, David Flores, 23, and Humberto Hernandez, 26, were options for backup corner outfielders. Flores was a switch-hitter, Hernandez a left-handed batter.

…and the real problem was the free agent market, which had a lot of pitchers (especially in the top echelon of talent) and outfielders were few and far between.

So where does that leave us? Give Ken Crum a call? Among free-agent outfielders of any description, Ken Crum ranked third by career OPS among players with at least 500 career games. His .796 OPS was only beaten by Dave Lee (.799) and Juan Benavides (.835). Lee was a 13-year Buffos veteran, so had rarely come up against the Raccoons before, and had won two Gold Gloves in the mid-40s, but by the current decade had slipped first onto the DL and then onto the bench, getting only 112 at-bats last season. He’d be 36 in March. Still beat Benavides, who would be 40 before the end of the year. He had spent seven years with the Thunder, winning a home run crown in 2047 while in Oklahoma City. There wasn’t much left of his legs, though, and he should not get anywhere near an outfield at this stage.

Just behind Crum was 34-year-old Felix Rojas, another left-handed corner outfielder that had seen better times, and then Brent Cramer, who was only 29 and a genuine centerfielder. He had smashed the CL in 2050, winning the batting title and Player of the Year award with a .340/.438/.514 slash line. He hadn’t played a full season since, with knee, wrist, hamstring injuries, and with simply not hitting a lick. The Bayhawks had him the last two seasons. He batted .227/.306/.325 in 110 games in ’53, then was left to rot in AAA Baton Rouge last year, making only three appearances for San Francisco.

Could that somehow be fixed with a fresh coat of paint on his uniform? We all had our doubts. On the other paw, he’d be nearly free to sign and – again – he had won the CL Player of the Year just *four* years ago…! He wasn’t even 30 yet…!

While you were mulling over that, also consider that the relative dearth of impact outfielders on the market allowed Ken Crum to increase his price tag from about 3-yr, $12M to 4-yr, $16M, which was not the direction I was hot to go in.

We also *really* didn’t have anything that I was willing to trade anymore. When I came knocking on the Falcons’ door about Ethan Whitehead, an excellent defensive outfielder with a career OPS of a whopping .643, they looked at my roster and then just told me nah.

I was beginning to feel a bit queasy. Crum gone. Cox gone. Waters coming off a terrible season. Ramsay out for at least a month. Basically no centerfielder. It didn’t really same like a walk in the park of a title defense campaign…!

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December 6 – The Loggers acquire SP Juan Mercado (41-37, 4.33 ERA) from the Aces for two prospects.
December 6 – Veteran closer Mike Lynn, age 37, signs a 2-yr, $6.08M contract with the Capitals. Lynn, last with the Gold Sox, is 71-59 with a 2.48 ERA and 336 SV for his career.
December 7 – Indy deals SP Pete Becker (4-9, 2.82 ERA) to the Capitals for #84 prospect SP Hugo Saucedo.
December 9 – Oklahoma sends 2B/SS Ryan Spehar (.259, 1 HR, 27 RBI) to the Miners for a package of 3B/1B Doug Triplett (.242, 15 HR, 80 RBI) and a prospect.
December 11 – The Crusaders snatch up former Loggers INF Zach Suggs (.301, 141 HR, 594 RBI). The 28-year-old right-handed batter signs a 4-yr, $28.4M contract.
December 11 – The Thunder sign ex-POR CL Kevin Daley (85-86, 3.45 ERA, 91 SV) to a 3-yr, $9.24M contract.
December 11 – Being 42 years old on Opening Day does not prevent ex-VAN INF/LF/RF Felix Marquez (.272, 194 HR, 1,022 RBI) from cashing another $1.2M contract with the Capitals.
December 14 – Cincy adds ex-MIL 2B/SS Ricky Lopez (.232, 69 HR, 356 RBI) for a $1.06M contract.
December 17 – The Raccoons sign 27-yr old Japanese free agent, right-handed MR Takenori Tanizaki, to a $900k contract.
December 17 – Ex-Loggers keep dispersing, with 27-yr old righty SP Angelo Munoz (65-67, 4.05 ERA) inking a 7-yr, $31.92M deal with the Buffaloes.
December 19 – The Canadiens add ex-SAC 3B/SS Alex Adame (.291, 45 HR, 712 RBI) for $20.4M over four years.
December 19 – The Knights pick up ex-WAS SP Bruce Mark jr. (106-102, 3.31 ERA) for 2-yr, $5.95M.

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It’s an Asian pitcher almost every year now, huh? Taki at first, then Shui and Bak, and now another Japanese hurler in Tanizaki, who was said to have excellent control and to keep it on the ground with a 90mph fastball and a splitter.

It’s probably little consolation for the Loggers, but at least Munoz and Suggs gave them additional first-round picks, the #14 and #23 selections. The latter had wandered from the Knights to the Buffos to them.

New contracts for old Raccoons: Juan Jimenez got $470k from the Wolves; the Loggers grabbed back Dave de Lemos for $416k;