Time Warp

I just wanted to say with the additions of Jerry Hairston, Jr. to the Louisville Bats roster, as well as Lance Carter joining the Chiefs (albeit on the DL), I have now seen way too many players from my fantasy baseball teams of the past. Of course, I never said they were exactly great teams, but both were pretty formidable guys up until the last year or two.

4/3/08: Chiefs Shutout Bats on Opening Day

On a gorgeous day at Alliance Bank Stadium, there was an even better view than the new grass. That view was the pitcher's mound, where both the Syracuse Chiefs and the Louisville Bats were involved in an amazing pitcher's duel. Highly touted Bats prospect Homer Bailey only made one glaring mistake today, but it was enough to give the Chiefs the victory on opening day. That mistake came in the fourth inning, as Adam Lind rocketed a shot that hung up long enough for a solo home run to straight away center field. That was the only run Bailey (0-1) gave up, and it was all Syracuse needed, as David Purcey pitched a gem. Purcey (1-0) pitched six innings, giving up only two hits, while striking out seven batters. The trio of Bill Murphy, Mike Gosling, and Shawn Camp completed the shut out for the Chiefs. Syracuse did get an insurance run in the eighth inning, after a Joe Inglett line drive double brought home Jorge Velandia, who had tripled two batters earlier.

Toronto continues to confuse me, as I now have no clue who the starting rotation will be for the Chiefs. Mike Gosling and Bill Murphy seemed like possibilities to be in the rotation, but their use in the game this afternoon makes me doubt that.

Top prospect for the Reds' Jay Bruce struggled in his first game this year, going 1 for 4 and striking out twice.

Kevin Barker (listed as on the 7 day DL) was out for practice in the field, but he did not play today. I have a feeling he will get at least one start in his return series to Syracuse.

I learn something new everyday, apparently. Watching the replay of the game on tv tonight, we were informed that Lee Gronkiewicz had a great spring training this year with Toronto. Well, maybe he performed well, but it would have been in a Red Sox uniform, as I reported here previously. I think simple "I don't knows" are a little more appropriate than spurting out a random guess as a fact, but then again, I guess that's just my preference. Just a pet peeve of mine, especially in the Syracuse media..where I've read in the Post Standard that Karl Goehring let in a goal for Binghamton a few months ago (he was Syracuse's backup at that point and DID NOT play in the game overall). But enough with that rant.

Syracuse takes on Louisville again Friday at 2pm (weather pending)

Probable pitchers: Matt Maloney (LOU) vs Josh Banks (SYR)

Update on Bats

Upon looking at the finally updated roster for the Louisville Bats, I am disappointed. Former Chiefs Kevin Barker and Scott Sauerbeck are both on the 7 day DL, which means there is a good chance we will not see them. However, for your Yankee fans, former Yankee Andy Phillips is down with the Bats, as well as Jim Brower.

Well that's it for preseason, time to go watch some ball!

Louisville Bats: Series Preview

Louisville Bats (0-0):
Parent Club - Cincinnati Reds


Who to watch:

Jay Bruce

Syracuse starts off with a bang facing Baseball America's top overall prospect. Bruce was expected to battle for a spot this year in Cincinnati, but to the surprise of some starts off the year with the Bats. The only reason he is not in the majors is the surplus of outfielders in Cincy. This guy has star written all over him, with his only downfall being a few too many strikeouts. With injury prone Griffey in the outfield in Cincy, I expect Bruce called up sooner rather than later.

Homer Bailey

If not for being injured towards the end of last year, Bailey would most likely be in the Reds' rotation to start the year. He has great stuff, which we will get to see opening day, as he is the projected starter. I'm not impressed with Cincinnati's starting rotation, which means Bailey could get the call as early as mid-May in my opinion.

Kevin Barker

Obviously, he will have some motivation this series, and that is when Barker really performs. He heard the jeers from the crowd (including mine) and I am sure he wants to give us one more proverbial kick in the gut. For all of the times he seemingly didn't give his all, this is the one time I can almost guarantee he will not be lazy and most likely try to have the last laugh. He still has the bat, as proven in the last week of last season. I have a feeling he will use it, much to the chagrin of Syracuse fans.

Projected Starters:

4/3: Homer Bailey (LOU) vs David Purcey (SYR)

4/4: TBA vs TBA

4/5: TBA vs TBA

4/6: TBA vs TBA

As for the rest of the Bats, I am not even sure who else will be on the team, as a request sent to the Louisville Bats front office for a current roster was not return, and as of this entry, the Louisville Bats website is not fully up to date. So I have no clue how the teams match up. If I have time, maybe I will throw something up later.

2008 Preview

On paper, I am not exactly sure what to expect from the Chiefs this year. The team looked more impressive before injuries kept Randy Wells and Buck Coats in Toronto to start the year, but I guess that's not exactly a surprising development in Toronto's case.

Catchers:

This is the best looking part of Syracuse this year. Curtis Thigpen and Robinzon Diaz are extremely good with the bat. Thigpen's .285 batting average was among the best for the Chiefs last year, while Diaz batted over .300 the whole year (most of which was with New Hampshire, however he did hit .338 in his 19 games with Syracuse towards the end of last season). The only downfall of this group is the inconsistency at throwing out base runners. Diaz's arm was stronger, while Thigpen seemed to improve his throwing during his stint in Toronto. With question marks around many other areas, this duo is very steady. A-

Infield:

With 18 games being the most that one player (excluding Russ Adams, as he is being groomed more to DH and spend time in the OF) from this group spent in Syracuse last year, I am not exactly sure what to expect. Chip Cannon brings some power, while Hector Luna brings a decent stroke with him. The late addition of Jorge Velandia doesn't add much to the team, whose infield yields an extremely small amount of power, aside from the Cannon and Sergio Santos. Santos, however had no home runs in his 13 games in Syracuse last season, after taking 20 out of the yard in his stint with New Hampshire. Defensively, Inglett seems solid, while Santos will hopefully break out of his fielding slump that occurred during his late season callup last year. There is potential on Cannon's part, but the rest of the infield has a lot of red flags in my opinion. D+

Outfield:

Looking at the names, most people would be excited to have this outfield. Adam Lind should be able to have some good numbers this year. He still has a problem with striking out a bit too much, but hopefully that is something that was worked on during the offseason. Wayne Lydon brings speed to a team that only had 60 steals last year (2nd least in the IL). I think he'd be a bigger weapon if manager Doug Davis would be willing to take more chances involving Lydon's speed, though. David Smith going on the DL takes away the most powerful hitter in the group, while giving Russ Adams more of a chance to get some playing time in the outfield. Defensively, this group will benefit greatly due to the newly installed grass at Alliance Bank Stadium. Lind and Lydon were both liabilities at times in the field last year. Lydon improved towards the end of the year at seeing the ball (early on he would often misjudge fly balls, which would end up as extra base hits, due to the extremely fast carpet at ABS), while Lind still seems to be having troubles, at times seeming afraid to dive on the hard outfield surface. With Russ Adams learning the ropes in the outfield, I do expect some mistakes. Overall, not a great defensive group, but one that can put some numbers up when at the plate. B-

Pitching:

The starters on this team should be Josh Banks, David Purcey, Mike Gosling, Bill Murphy, and possibly Davis Romero. These are the only five on the team who have had recent history of playing the role of starter. Bubba Nelson was used for a majority of the year as a 1 or 2 inning reliever, but may be considered to start. Banks should provide a bit of consistency, while Gosling and Murphy provided decent ERA's last season. Romero's return from missing last season may be turbulent to start, but I think he will be a nice addition.

The relievers look adequate but not great. Jordan De Jong, Shawn Camp, and Kane Davis should provide good numbers. John Parrish spent much of last year in the majors, but also had an ERA of over 5, while an almost even K/BB ratio. The rest of the group all come from AA.

Overall, this group will be hit or miss. The starters look good, but after the 6th or 7th inning, things may be shaky. If Purcey can turn into the strong pitcher that has been expected of him and a darkhorse or two become strong and reliable relievers, this staff could be great. At this point, who knows. B-

Coaching/Toronto:

Anyone who reads this blog probably knows where this is going. We all know that the main reason for a farm team is to serve the major league club. This is why in some cases certain players are used in positions that most sane people wouldn't agree with, pitch counts are given causing a struggling pitcher to stay out for 3 innings to hit that magical number of 75, even though it causes the team to be down 8-0, etc. Most teams, however, do not seem to pull this as much as Toronto.

Since most of these things are not public knowledge (who is on a pitch count, etc), I have to group both the coaching and Toronto as one group. In situations of game play that are not controlled by Toronto, we have manager Doug Davis, pitching coach Rick Langford, and batting coach Al Le Boeuf to rely on. This is where things fall apart at times. Last year, it seemed as though Davis and Langford were a step behind most of the year. Everyone in the stadium would feel that opposing team home run coming, but a Langford visit to the mound seemed to come right after the home run, kind of the equivalent to a doctor telling a patient to cut out fast food after that third heart attack. Again, I cannot judge what happens behind closed doors or how these managers develop players during practice. What I can judge are situations when the Chiefs consistently play by the book. No matter what situation, if the count was 3-0, Davis put up the stop sign. I can count the times at home games where a player swung at a 3-0 count. ONE. One time, and it was one of the last games. Davis does not allow this team to gamble, which puts Syracuse at a distinct disadvantage. Opposing managers know how to play defensively against the Chiefs, something that I think cost them at least 5-6 wins last year. When I made a statement to a player late last year that I felt Davis should be replaced, his response to me? "You're not the only one." That says it all. F


Where do I see this team finishing? Around the same spot as last year. I think offensively there are some holes. This reminds me of last year, when a good amount of the team took about 2 months to finally start hitting. Defensively, I don't see another 10 error game (I would hope not..) but I think there will be struggles. If Toronto stays healthy, things may be a bit better, but I don't think too much. If Toronto doesn't strip us like last year and some other years, add a couple wins to the total.

My Prediction: 65-75

Feel free to comment, respond, whatever.

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.