2008 Part 2

As I figured, I missed a couple of players in my last edition.

Ty Taubenheim is with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, while Ryan Roberts has joined the Texas Rangers franchise.


I'm not exactly positive as to some of the transactions towards the end of spring, as there are some players on the "official" roster (via syracusechiefs.com) that seem like they shouldn't be there (ie. Al Quintana and a total of four catchers).

My educated guess would have the two catchers be Curtis Thigpen and Robinzon Diaz. I've heard they will basically split time, while also playing other positions. Sal Fasano refused his assignment to Syracuse earlier this month, in a way helping clarify a problem between having two great catching prospects, but also housing a vet. While I like Fasano, this helped save a roster spot, while allowing two great talents a shot at showing their stuff.

The infield should consist of our first view of highly touted, but slower than expected developing 1st baseman Chip Cannon. I believe the plan was for him to join Syracuse by midseason last year, but his play did not dictate the callup. The other three I would expect to start, can play pretty much any infield position, so I think their positions will be interchangable. These include Sergio Santos, Hector Luna, and newcomer Joe Inglett. Inglett was a pickup that had me excited in September, as he was one of those players who stood out to me when I saw him play the past couple years (Buffalo Bisons). I think he will be a good fit at second base, especially considering the Blue Jays apparent want for Russ Adams to now play some outfield. Santos struggled a bit last year, while Luna played well in his limited time in Syracuse. Also on the roster, is Pedro Lopez. Lopez spent time between Louisville, Charlotte, and the majors last season. He put up formidable numbers in batting average but not much in terms of power.



Outfield is where I am having problems figuring out the situation. As I stated earlier, I've read that Russ Adams is supposed to spend time in the outfield. I think with all of the position changes for him, he will be pitching next year..... but really, the depth Toronto has in the infield warrants either trading Adams or trying this out. Adam Lind and Wayne Lydon will return to Syracuse. Toronto again wants Lind to spend as much time as possible in Triple A, and this year there is no Reed Johnson injury to cause him to start the year in the majors. In fact, there is no Reed Johnson period. His release caused the purchase of Shannon Stewart's minor league contract. Matt Watson should be in the outfield for the Chiefs, however, I cannot find exactly where he is right now. David Smith looks to also join the Chiefs. He was in New Hampshire last year. I believe he is here in place of Buck Coats, who stays with Toronto after the Scott Rolen injury.

Pitching looks strong to start the season. However, I see a few conflicting reports as to who is actually on the team and who isn't..so I am going to wait until I can get something that looks solid before I type up my thoughts towards the pitching.

Hopefully, there will be some new information involving the pitching staff soon, so I can put my thoughts up before the opening series against the Bats.

2008 Part 1

Well, well, well... it's March, which can only mean that baseball is just around the corner! As with most seasons, many new faces look to be coming to Syracuse this year, while many others have said goodbye. I figured I would throw some odds and ends to whoever happens to stumble upon this blog, and maybe we can decipher what the team is going to look like this year.

I'll start with a few Chiefs who have said goodbye to the Toronto organization over the Winter season.

• Outfielder John Ford Griffin is now in the Los Angeles Dodgers system. He signed a minor league contract in mid-December. It was tough to see him go, but hopefully a change in scenery can bring him back to the potential he had shown in previous years.
• Shortstop Ray Olmedo made a couple trips over the Winter. He was first claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates in early February. However, as he was placed on waivers at the end of February, he was picked up by his current team, the Philadelphia Phillies. I thought Olmedo would have been a better bet than keeping Sergio Santos in the system, but I guess that's not how the Blue Jays see it.
• Within the past couple days, John Hattig was signed into the Mets organization. How ironic would it be to have him back next year, if the Mets were to come to Syracuse.
• First baseman and popular blog topic, Kevin Barker was signed into the Cincinnati Reds organization. I will be very interested to see what response he gets during the opening series, if he ends up on the Louisville Bats.
• Moving on to some pitchers, Lee Gronkiewicz signed with the Red Sox.
• Scott Sauerbeck and Justin James may also be around for the opening series, as Cincinnati picked Sauerbeck up, while trading for James during the offseason.
• In the "Wow, That's Corny" category, Ryan Houston was picked up by.....Houston.

I am sure I am missing one or two players, but that's a good gist of what has happened over break.

Within the short future, I will discuss the signings that happened over the Winter, and what I would project the Chiefs lineup to look like as we start the 2008 season. One thing for sure, they will be led by the same managers, as Toronto has decided to bring back the same core...led by Doug Davis. Yes, we can all rest easy now....

Before I go, since I have not run this blog over the Winter, I would like to be serious for a moment and give my belated condolences to the family and friends of ex-Chiefs pitcher Joe Kennedy, who was taken way too soon. Tragedies like this make it easy to realize that there are things much more important than this game.

Until next time, stay safe everyone.