Monday, July 16, 2007

The Tones are slightly off key...



Just glancing at the Springfield Tones’ roster, it seems like they would be better than their .500 record indicates. As for how they would do as a real team …

Line-up (w/o DH)

1. Ichiro Suzuki – RF - .353 AVG, 5 HR, 39 RBI, 23 SB
2. Shane Victorino – CF - .279, 11, 37, 28
3. Albert Pujols – 1B - .308, 17, 53, 1
4. David Wright – 3B - .293, 16, 51, 19
5. Hideki Matsui – LF - .273, 12, 54, 2
6. Russell Martin – C - .313, 11, 61, 16
7. Carlos Guillen – SS - .317, 14, 67, 7
8. Orlando Hudson – 2B - .298, 7, 47, 3
9. (Pitcher)

Pitching Staff

1. Johan Santana – 11-6, 2.60 ERA, 133 K, 31 BB, 1.02 WHIP
2. Daisuke Matsuzaka – 10-6, 3.84, 123, 38, 1.24
3. Felix Hernandez – 6-4, 3.66, 86, 26, 1.40
4. Dontrelle Willis – 7-8, 4.81, 80, 53, 1.58
5. Justin Germano – 6-3, 3.55, 37, 16, 1.13

Bullpen

Middle Relief – Sergio Mitre – 4-4, 2.81, 58, 19, 1.22
MR – Joe Saunders – 3-0, 2.97, 14, 12, 1.42
MR – Chad Durbin – 6-3, 4.12, 49, 35, 1.38
Set-up – Al Reyes – 1-1, 4.09, 38, 13, 1.03, 17 Saves
Set-up – Sean Marshall – 4-3, 3.48, 38, 17, 1.28
Closer – Francisco Cordero – 0-2, 2.70, 51, 13, 1.04, 28

Summary

If you want name recognition, you have to look no further than the starting rotation for the Springfield Tones. In Santana, Matsuzaka, Hernandez and Willis, the Tones have four potential aces. However, Santana is the only sure-fire stud at this point (and even he is a little behind his standards). Matsuzaka has had his growing pains, although he seems to be finding his groove of late. Hernandez has not been the dominant pitcher we saw in the first couple weeks of the season (he too is pitching better of late), and Willis garners the fourth spot in the rotation mainly on talent and past performance, as he has totally underachieved up to this point in the season. The rotation is rounded out be the surprising Justin Germano.

The Tones’ line-up is solid with the likes of Ichiro, Pujols and Wright; however, it seems to be missing one big bat, which would enable Wright to bat in his more comfortable 5th slot. If the Tones were in the Kansas City division, the addition of Jim Thome as the DH would remedy this problem to a certain extent. Without the DH, the Tones line-up is scary by the fact that you have to face Ichiro and Pujols to start off the game. Victorino offers solid bat control and good speed which would enable the Tones to play small-ball before Pujols and Wright step to the dish. After Wright comes Matsui, Martin, Guillen and Hudson. While Martin is quickly establishing himself as one of the best-hitting catchers in the game, Matsui, Guillen and Hudson are solid bats that lack the necessary pop or speed to really take this offense to the next level.

Defensively, the Tones are above average. Up the middle, they have Martin at catcher, Guillen at short, Hudson at second and Victorino in center. Martin is a solid catcher and Hudson has very good range at second. Given everyday playing time in centerfield, Victorino should at least develop into a slightly above average fielder. Guillen however is well-below major league average defensively. At the corners, Wright and Pujols offer exceptional defense despite the slight drop-off experienced by Pujols so far this year. At the corner outfield spots, Matsui is slightly above average and Ichiro, moving back to his original position, gets my vote for best defensive right-fielder in the game.

In the bullpen, the Tones are led by Francisco Cordero. Cordero has put together a very solid first half to the season and has electric stuff. Manning the 7th and 8th innings for the Tones will be Al Reyes and Sean Marshall. The middle relief crew is led by Sergio Mitre who could develop into very solid starter in the future.

As a whole, the Tones have the potential with their pitching staff to field one of the best, if not the best, teams in the league. With their pitching staff in mind and missing a big bat, the Tones would be smart to rely on some small-ball to score runs. The middle relief core is nothing to write home about but won’t be horrible either. At the back of the bullpen, the set-up men worry me because they have never had prolonged success at the major league level. Overall, the Tones need to Willis to pick it up and their bullpen to be steady to compete for the top spot.

Note: What if Liriano and Carpenter weren’t hurt? That could be one scary rotation.

Rankings

Line-up
1. Alba
2. 300
3. Tones

Starting Pitching
1. Tones
2. 300
3. Alba

Defense
1. 300
2a. Alba
2b. Tones

Bullpen
1. Alba
2. 300
3. Tones

Overall
1. 300
2. Tones
3. Alba

What does everybody think? Give me some feedback on the main league page. More team profiles will be up soon.

No comments: