The Mallards

[Muskies]

The year is 2009 the Madison Mallards have been on the best run in their 19 year of existence. In the last six years they have made the playoff 5 times and won one World Series title. Both attendance and fan support are at all time highs. Sadly, news broke today that a plane crash has taken the lives of the owner, Chad Stuart Sr., General Manager Gregory White, and Manager Alex Rodriguez, the three men responsible for getting the franchise to where it is at today. With them at the helm the team compiled a record of 564 – 409 over the last six seasons with:

• Countless all-stars,
• Two MVPs, 2006 - 1B Carlos Pena (now with the New York Mudfish) and 2007 – 3B Wesley Mills (now with the Austin Mystics)
• Two time Outstanding Pitcher Robert Aquino (2006 & 2007)
• 2007 Rookie of the year – RF Dave Hansen

The organization will be run by the Chad Stuart Jr; who has been the COO for the past few years. In a recent press release Stuart Jr. said, “ We are deeply saddened by the loss of my father and GM White, both of whom were beloved by their families and fans of the Mallards and who built this team to where it is today. Both Dad and Mr. White would want us to press forward. With the Rule 5 draft and the Winter Meetings less than one week away I have named Kage Marvin as the new GM of the Mallards. Given his time with and knowledge of the organization I believe this will provide a smooth transition and continued excellence of the Mallards organization.

Kage Marvin has been in baseball since he obtaining his business degree from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. He started with the organization in the finance department and worked is way into player development, starting as a minor league scout and working his way up to the Director of Scouting and player development. He has been training for this role his whole life has he has followed baseball since he was a young boy.

[Muskies]

The worst kept secret in the league is the fact that both Sr. and White mortgaged the farm system to create a championship team, fortunately for them it worked in the fact that they won a World Series title and have had a string of playoff appearances. This has boosted the fan base and brought in additional revenue. Now the minor leagues are pretty depleted with only a couple players who look like they have major league potential. Now the challenge will be to maintain a contender while keeping one eye on the future. In 24 hours I have the Rule 5 draft; all the players worth protecting are already on the 40 man roster, so I won’t have to shuffle on my end, and I currently have 37 players on the 40 man roster so I probably won’t be active, not that I won’t take a look. In just over 48 hours Mr. Stuart and I will head off to the Winter Meetings, so I have to dig into the roster to look for any opportunities.

I will run through the Mallards current personnel listing although at this stage I don’t think that I will be making any changes, it is late in the game and the team has been through enough. (This won’t prevent me from looking to see who is available)

[Muskies]

The league is set up with 32 teams, 2 conferences each with 3 divisions.

[Muskies]

Here is a snapshot of past champions

[Muskies]

[Orcin]

Welcome back!

I like the backstory. I'll be following this one.

[Muskies]

Manager – Nolan Meredith (59 yrs) – The former Bench Coach of the Mallards, agreed to a one year deal to manage the team. He was a solid bench coach for Rodriquez and to maintain continuity of the year we will give him a shot at managing the team.

Bench Coach – Fred Flowers (59) – a veteran manager in the USBL has spent the last 10 years as manager of the KC White Sox. He agreed to come on as bench coach to help with the transition.

Pitching Coach – Pat Holb (49) - He was recently signed to a two year deal, OK at handling veterans, unfortunately we seem to have a pretty young pitching staff so I am not sure how this will work.

Hitting Coach – Antonio Mendez (61) – Appears to be the strongest coach on the team, excellent at teaching hitting; he has been with the organization since 2002.

Trainer – Jose Martinez (53) – He has been the Mallards trainer for three years, he has one year left on his contract. He is rated at Outstanding at legs and recover, excellent at other and decent at Arms and Back.

There are no other openings or changes to be made in the minor leagues. We do have quite a few contract expiring after the 2009 season so that will be something to keep an eye on during the season.

[Muskies]

This is a position that will be critical as we move to rebuild the minor leagues. Our current Scouting Director is Ernie Davies (52) Ernie is decent at scouting majors and International and average at Minors and Amateurs and favors ability and is signed through 2010. At this point, I don’t see him lasting long enough to sign another contract; I will certainly be looking to sign a director who is stronger at the minors and the amateurs. I have looked out for available scouts, but there is nothing available.

With that being said, he is currently in the position so Ernie and I immediately got to work scouting the current roster, we don’t have a lot of time before the Winter meetings.

Our current scouting player development budgets are $2.4 million, half of the league average and well below the maximum of $14 million. I will look to increase these in the offseason.

[Muskies]

Jeremy Wilder (25 – R) – (9-14, 3.86) – Will be arbitration eligible at the end of the season, has upside, but is fragile and has a questionable head on his shoulders.

Albert Higgins (28 – R) – (10-13, 4.05) – Higgins will be under team control for three more years; is durable but with a questionable work ethic. He was acquired via trade midway through 2008.

Kenny Campbell (24 – R) – (12-13, 4.45) – Campbell is under team control for two more years, looks like he could compete to be the number one starter going into next year.

Robert Aquino (29 – R) – (16 – 9, 4.49) – The “veteran” of the staff, is a two time pitcher of the year for the National League. He is on the downside of his career and signed a 6 year deal at $16 million per year at the start of the 2008 season. Hopefully he has some gas left in the tank, I don’t think there will be many takers at the Winter Meetings, but maybe moveable at the trade deadline.

Pancho Juarez (24 - R) – (9-2, 3.08) – Was pitching strong prior to an injury, but will be back by spring training. Expect him to be a middle of the rotation, three more years until salary arbitration.

Summary – On the surface this looks to be a pretty solid rotation. With the exception of Aquino they are all on their rookie contracts for at least two more years. Both Wilder and Higgins look ok, however, they are fragile and could be clubhouse distractions. That being said the price is right and they could be used in a trade later in the season to help restock the minor leagues.

Bullpen

CL – Mike Howell (34 – L) – (6-0, 44SV, 1.10ERA) - At two time all star for the Mallards, who had an excellent year last year. He is at the end of his career, but is under contract for the next two years at $7 million / year.

SU – Albert Davila (23 – R) – (2 -1, 4.17ERA, 41IP) – Davila is the Mallards primary set up man at this point. Last year was his first year in the majors and he remains under team control for four more years.

The rest of the bullpen under contract pitched a combined 39 innings last year, with three having no experience outside the minors.

Summary – Clearly some work will need to be done here. There are plenty of free agent relievers on the market. Surely there will be some bargains to be had…

[Muskies]

Catcher

Scotty Hubbard (30 – R) – (.297/.3360/.537, 26HR, 83RBI) – Nothing to change here; strong hitter, solid defensively, he won the 2007 Gold Glove award. I am a little nervous about his contract he just signed a 5 year $16 million contract, the last couple years could be a problem.

There are no backups worth the time to discuss. I will certainly be on the lookout for a good young catcher who will be able to step in a couple years; hopefully while Hubbard still has value.

Infield Corners

First Base – Al Hill (25 – L) – (.300/.351/.504, 20HR, 74RBI) – Should develop into a .330 hitter with home run power; he doesn’t have a great eye. He is not arbitration eligible for three more years.

Third Base – Miguel Ruiz (27 – R) – (.279/.341/.503, 29HR, 84RBI) –Ruiz currently splits his time between 3B and SS, although 3B is his stronger position. He is a strong fielder with home run power, arbitration eligible for the next two years.

Third Base – Calvin Taylor (33 – R) – (.223/.281/.450, 14HR, 44RBI) – Currently starts at 3B versus left handed pitching. He is schedule to earn $15.6 million in the last year of his contract. No a lot of option with this one, not a lot of teams looking for an over the hill, overpaid infielder.

Katai Nishikawa – (23 – 1B/DH – L) – (.278/.326/528, 38HR, 134RBI) – Nishikawa has a huge bat (9/9/10) in contact and power. Average defensively, but a threat every time at the plate.

Middle Infield

Second Base – Wing Liu (27 – R) – (.262/.321/.414, 17HR, 52RBI) – Acquired via trade in the middle of 2008. W. Liu is slightly above average offensively, but his defensive skills are off the charts

Short Stop – John Benson (24 – R) – (.167/.167/.333) – Benson had only six at bats in 2008. He is in the line up due to the departure of Wesley Mills to free agency. He is splitting time at SS with Ruiz above based upon pitching.

Summary – The infield looks pretty good. Shortstop is certainly a trouble spot, defensively we are ok there; which is more important, we have plenty of offense at the corners, catcher and the DH. I would rather look for some young talent at this position.

[Muskies]

Left Field – Gerardo Martinez – (20 – L) – (.249/.274/.371, 4HR, 18RBI) - 2008 was Martinez first year called up to the majors, He projects to be a .350 hitter, with power and outstanding defensive skills. He will be in his rookie contract for 4 more years.

Right Field – Dave Hansen – (24 – L) – (.285/.345/.426, 13HR, 43RBI) – Hansen in a former Rookie of the Year, he is projected to be a .330, 30HR, 110 RBI. He is under contract through 2011 at $6.5 million per year. A good deal if he produces.

Center Field – David Chamings (30 – R) - .300/.383/.454, 14HR, 52RBI) – Strong hitter and strong fielder; Chamings is the most popular Mallard with the fans. He is signed through 2013 at $17 million per year with 2014 being a team option.

Summary – Starting outfield is solid, not many changes to be made or additions. The utility outfielder Steve Shaffer projects to be a career 300 hitter so we have may have some trade potential down the road.

[Muskies]

The current year budget is $136 million, with payroll currently at $103 million. I don’t really want to do anything to raise payroll significantly, I still need room for operating expenses and to provide for a profit. I will explore some trades at the Winter Meetings, but in general would prefer to see how the season plays out before I start shuffling too much, after all we have had a playoff team five of the last six years. I will need to add some depth to the bullpen, however.

[Muskies]

After 48 hours of pouring through the personnel listings and the rosters, we arrived hopped up on caffeine and bleary eyed in South Beach for the annual Winter Meetings. The annual “dance” of the GM’s to use this last chance to bolster their rosters for the upcoming season.

We had a lot of offers from other teams, but overall we are satisfied with the core team we have, for the most part they are young, contracts are reasonable and we have made the playoff’s five out of the last six years. If we can stay healthy I think we will be in good shape. We looked for some deals to bolster our minor league system but the player cost was to high, since we don’t have a lot of options in AAA to make the Show.

In a nutshell, I took the time to introduce myself to the other GM’s to build fruitful relationships in the future, but we didn’t make any deals.

[Muskies]

AP is reporting that Mallard first basement Al Hill is in serious condition after a lawnmower accident, severed three fingers, two were reattached. Hill was in the hospital for 5 days and will be out for six months, however he vows to make a comeback.

“Really, the guy should be released for being stupid. Fortunately is still making the league minimum, so I have a couple of years to see how he recovers. In the meantime, Nashikawa, will cover first base and I will rotate the DH position, amongst the rest of the roster.”

On a side note, with the story lines a nice feature would be to include “stupid” clauses in the contract negotiations for situations like these, probably a coding nightmare, but if you are in huge contract and player pulls something like this it would be nice to have an out.

[Muskies]

We signed to middle relievers to bring additional depth the bullpen.
- Joe Snow (4 – 3, 3.50 ERA, in 69 innings for 2 years at $1.9 million)
- Carlos Barrios ( 6-7, 3.90 ERA in 76 innings for 1 year at $1 million)

The fans were completely uninterested in the news, I think they are ready for spring and getting the season underway.

Spring Training

Spring is in the air. The Mallards have arrived at spring training. The Mallards had a loss of 4.3 in WAR, primarily due to the loss of Wesley Mills (3B), however, Miguel Ruiz was ready to take over at 3B. Losing A. Hill in the lawnmower accident was not ideal, but we have to move forward. Nishiwaki and Vallejo will platoon at first until Hill’s return.

Results

- 13 – 11, with no injuries!!!
- R. Aquino earned the opening day start by going 2 -1 , with a 1.12 ERA
- We had three relievers who were out of options and had to put on waivers to make room for the current staff
- P. Juarez, predicted to make a play of the opening day start had a rough spring going 0-2, with a 9.42 ERA
- 7 guys hit over .300 in spring training with SS J. Benson leading the way.
- Nishikawa hit .361 and 9 HR

[Muskies]

Received the following email regarding season expectation

Mr. Johnson,

After reviewing the roster and several other factors, I have come to the conclusion that the team should at least make the playoff.

Sincerely,

Chad Stuart Jr.
Chairmen & CEO


I agree, I think this team is build to win now. However, I also need to keep my eye on the future, we are two or three years away from these young talented players looking for contracts. I won’t be able to afford to keep them all.

[Muskies]

Opening Day Roster

Gerard Martinez (LF)
Orlando Vallejo (1B)
Katai Nishikawa (DH)
Dave Hansen (RF)
Miquel Ruiz (3B)
David Chamings (CF)
Scotty Hubbard (C)
Wing Liu (2B)
John Benson (SS)

Top Prospects


42. Vincent Hudson (SP) 23 – A
87. Juan Cruz (3B) – 22 – AA

[Muskies]

Record: 1 – 4, .200, 2GB
Position: 6th (behind Tampa, Kansas City, Detroit, Columbus and Memphis)
Avg: .323
Runs Scored: 10
Runs Allowed: 18
Defense: .730
Fan Interest: 100
Power Ranking: 30

• Last Week: (1-4): 1-2 vs New York, 0-2 vs Tampa
• 4/1: MAD 3, NY 1: Aquino 9 IP, 6H, ER, 2K
• 4/2: NY 3, MAD 2: Wilder 8 IP, 3H, BB, 2K
• Howell BS, 1/3 IP, 2ER, HR in the loss
• 4/3: NY 3, MAD 0: Higgins 6 2/3 IP, 7H, 3ER, BB, 8K
• 4/4: TAM 5, MAD 2: Campbell 7 IP, 4ER, BB, 5K
• Liu 2-4, 2R, HR
• 4/5: TAM 6, MAD 3: Juarez 6 2/3IP, 11H, 5ER, 3K

[Muskies]

Results

Record: 5 – 7, .417, 3 GB,
Position: 3rd (behind Memphis and Tampa)
Avg: .255 (8th in the NL)
Runs Scored: 42 (13th in the NL
Runs Allowed: 44 (5th in the NL)
Defense: .730 (3rd in the NL)
Fan Interest: 100
Power Ranking: 17th

• Last Week: (4-3), 1-0 vs. Tampa, 1 – 2 vs. Austin, 2-1 vs San Fransisco
• 4/6: MAD 3, TAM 2: Aquino 8 IP, 7H, 2ER, 4K
• Howell earned his first save of the season
• Timothy Davis (WAS) got is 2000th career hit
• 4/7: AUS 4, MAD 2: Wilder 8 IP, 4ER, 7K
• Nashikawa was injured day to day for 5 days
• 4/8: AUS 12, MAD 3: Martinez 3-4, 2RBI, 2B, 3B
• 4/9: MAD 8, AUS 0: Higgins 8 IP, 4H, 4K
• Glenn Cooper (LA) pitched a perfect game
• 4/10: MAD 9, SF 3: Campbell 7IP, 5H, 2ER, 5K
• Liu 3-5, 4 RBI
• 4/11: SF 4, MAD 1: Juarez 7 IP, 6H, 2ER, 4BB, 2K
• 4/12: MAD 6, SF 1: Aquino 9 IP, 7H ER
• Next week: 3 vs. Jacksonville, 3 @ Washington

[Muskies]

Record: 9-9, .500, 2 GB
Position: 3rd (behind Tampa and Memphis)
Avg: .253
Runs Scored: 67
Runs Allowed: 64
Defense: .742
Fan Interest: 100
Power Ranking: 12

• Last Week: (4-2), 3-0 vs. Jacksonville, 1-2 vs. Austin
• 4/14: MAD 5, JAC 2: Ruiz 2-4, R, HR, 2 RBI
• Wilder 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 5 K
• 4/15: MAD 1, JAC 0: Higgins 8IP, H, BB, 9K (Game Score 88)
• Battle (JAC) 8 IP, 3 H, ER, BB 7 K (Game Score 78)
• 4/16: MAD 3, JAC 0: Campbell 8 IP, BB, 10K (Game Score 89)
• Chaming: 3-4, R, 3 RBI, HR
• 4/17: WAS 10, MAD 7: Juarez 6 R, 35 Pitches in the first inning, 2 errors allowed 4 runs to score
• 4/18: MAD 5, WAS 0: Aquino 9IP, 4 H, BB, 2 K (Game Score 80)
• 4/19: WAS 8, MAD 4: Wilder 5 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 HR
• Next Week: 3 @ Memphis, 3 vs. Dallas

We earned our first sweep of the year against Jacksonville, hopefully not the last. Overall the team has shown steady improvement. Three outstanding pitching performances by Higgins, Wilder and Aquino all with games scores 80 or above. Juarez continues to struggle, through 3 starts is 0 – 3 with a ERA of 5.60. He has been the victim of poor defense, with 6 of his 17 runs coming as unearned.