Eureka traded DH/OF Mike Bergeron last offseason. Bergeron had refused to sign an extension for several seasons. His salary was going to be high, Eureka had ample outfield options, Bergeron's defense dictated he was mostly a DH-type, his stats had slipped for three consecutive seasons (from a .1011 OPS in 2013 to a .981 OPS in 2014, to an .864 OPS in 2015, and an .829 OPS in 2016t), and the team had some infield needs.
So, rather than holding on to him in the seemingly vain hope he would sign a deal, Eureka made it known he was available. There were surprisingly few offers for him. Eureka finally accepted an offer from So Cal for him, shipping him to the other league! The return was relatively modest in terms of Juan Garza, a fringy 1B/DH type with the potential for a high batting average, doubles power, and good on-base skills, catcher Takaaki Hiryama, who has stabilized the catching position for Eureka, and 19-year-old OF stud Luis Galindo, who may one day be every bit as good as Bergeron.
No one anticipated Bergeron's resurgence this year. He is having the best year of his career, and carrying So Cal's offense. It is hard to understand why he is having such a resurgence: is it better health, weaker pitching, a better hitter's park, or a desire to prove himself after several years of decline.
Whatever the reason, the value of this trade, as with any other, will take several seasons to sort out.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Ouch! Injury Bug Stinging Hornets Repeatedly
Eureka has been hit harder by injury this season than any other season to date. The following major league players are currently on the DL:
Anthony Atkinson: the 23-year-old team ace, he made it through 14 starts before succumbing to elbow ligament reconstruction surgery. He will be out for another 10 months.
Dave Goodwin: the Hornets' best setup man, with a 1.69 ERA in 32 innings, Goodwin (24 years old) also succumbed to elbow ligament reconstruction surgery, and will be out for another 9 months.
Gary Ferris: the 25-year-old rookie thirdbaseman and young slugger sprained his elbow. He will be out for only 2 more weeks.
Jesus Gonzalez: ole man (30-years-old) Gonzalez is an elite CFer defensively, and he hold his own offensively (.816 OPS). He is out for two months with elbow inflammation.
Will Harris: Harris made it to the majors in his first professional season. At age 23, he fits in with many of the other baby Hornets. He was providing solid defense, speed, and decent OBP (.340) in his first season. He will be on the DL for 3 more weeks with a sprained ankle.
Clement Milford: The 25-year-old Milford had been demoted this year to AAA after a slow start in the majors. However, he was about to be promoted after finding his stroke in AAA when he broke his kneecap. He will not recover for another 7 months.
Thanks to depth, the team has been able to remain competitive. Reserve OF/1B Andrew Padgett has been particularly effective, posting an .869 OPS.
Anthony Atkinson: the 23-year-old team ace, he made it through 14 starts before succumbing to elbow ligament reconstruction surgery. He will be out for another 10 months.
Dave Goodwin: the Hornets' best setup man, with a 1.69 ERA in 32 innings, Goodwin (24 years old) also succumbed to elbow ligament reconstruction surgery, and will be out for another 9 months.
Gary Ferris: the 25-year-old rookie thirdbaseman and young slugger sprained his elbow. He will be out for only 2 more weeks.
Jesus Gonzalez: ole man (30-years-old) Gonzalez is an elite CFer defensively, and he hold his own offensively (.816 OPS). He is out for two months with elbow inflammation.
Will Harris: Harris made it to the majors in his first professional season. At age 23, he fits in with many of the other baby Hornets. He was providing solid defense, speed, and decent OBP (.340) in his first season. He will be on the DL for 3 more weeks with a sprained ankle.
Clement Milford: The 25-year-old Milford had been demoted this year to AAA after a slow start in the majors. However, he was about to be promoted after finding his stroke in AAA when he broke his kneecap. He will not recover for another 7 months.
Thanks to depth, the team has been able to remain competitive. Reserve OF/1B Andrew Padgett has been particularly effective, posting an .869 OPS.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Injuries, KC Have Eureka Singing the Blues
Injuries and Kansas City's resurgent performance have Eureka singing the blues. Top setup man Dave Goodwin was lost for the season with an elbow injury requiring elbow ligament reconstruction surgery. Twelve days later ace Anthony Atkinson was lost for the season with the same injury. Secondbaseman Clement Milford, who was struggling to the tune of a .219/.240/.333 slash line and was sent to the minors to regroup, then broke his knee cap. Prognosis? Also gone for the rest of the season.
The pitching has not been as dominant as last year, and the offense remains inconsistent. There are some quality performances, however. Pat Short has been valuable in the setup relief role, and reigning TML Cy Young award winner Jake Nelson has stepped into the ace role. First baseman Dwayne Hatcher has come into his own, batting .319 with 20 home runs and 63 RBIs at the All Star break. This somewhat makes up for the performance of Jack Watson, who has slipped from .322/.359/.603 a year ago to .229/.281/.382 this season. John Jones, a 23-year-old called up and slotted in at secondbase when Milford was sent to AAA, has started this season batting .344, with a .431 OBP. He has been put in the leadoff spot against righthanders. Round 2 draft pick Will Harris came up to play CF against lefties and be the 4th outfielder against righthanders. He has a .350 OBP in the early going, with 5 SBs and 12 runs scored in 20 games.
It remains to be seen if Eureka can keep up with Kansas City. The pundits all think they will not, but this team has heart, and came back to win the division last year on the last day of the season.
In other news, in the International Complex is a group of nine young men who have potential, but not a lot to show thus far. In keeping with the developmental focus, 6 of the 9 players are pitchers.
The pitching has not been as dominant as last year, and the offense remains inconsistent. There are some quality performances, however. Pat Short has been valuable in the setup relief role, and reigning TML Cy Young award winner Jake Nelson has stepped into the ace role. First baseman Dwayne Hatcher has come into his own, batting .319 with 20 home runs and 63 RBIs at the All Star break. This somewhat makes up for the performance of Jack Watson, who has slipped from .322/.359/.603 a year ago to .229/.281/.382 this season. John Jones, a 23-year-old called up and slotted in at secondbase when Milford was sent to AAA, has started this season batting .344, with a .431 OBP. He has been put in the leadoff spot against righthanders. Round 2 draft pick Will Harris came up to play CF against lefties and be the 4th outfielder against righthanders. He has a .350 OBP in the early going, with 5 SBs and 12 runs scored in 20 games.
It remains to be seen if Eureka can keep up with Kansas City. The pundits all think they will not, but this team has heart, and came back to win the division last year on the last day of the season.
In other news, in the International Complex is a group of nine young men who have potential, but not a lot to show thus far. In keeping with the developmental focus, 6 of the 9 players are pitchers.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Overcoming Injuries, Erratic Pitching Early On
Eureka has been fortunate in the early going. Batting champion SS Hennessey, 2B Clement Milford, new acquisition and starting catcher Takaaki Hirayama, and new acquisition and starting DH Roberto Guzman have been injured for either all or part of the season so far. The pitching staff, a strength of the team, has been inconsistent and not very good. But the team is 14 and 5, and in first place. There has been some luck involved, because the projected record based on current performance is 11 and 8, and the team is 5-0 in 1-run games, 2-0 in extra innings, and 8-2 away from home.
It is time now for the team to assert itself with better performance. Cy Young winner Jake Nelson (3-0, 1.24 ERA) is the only consistent starting pitcher so far. The others (Anthony Atkinson, 1-2, 4.94 ERA; Royce Butterfield, 2-1, 5.95 ERA; Bob Smith, 2-0, 5.23 ERA; Toshiki Koda, 1-2, 5.65 ERA) have been woefully inconsistent, if not downright poor. The bullpen has not been much better (William Nolan, 7.71 ERA; Carlos Nunes, 7.27 ERA; Claude Howard, 4.66 ERA) headline the underachievers. There is some good news: long man Mike Miller (2.13 ERA), middle reliever Dave Goodwin (.93 ERA) and setup man Pat Short (0.00 ERA) have been quite good.
On the offensive side, rookie slugger Gary Ferris has been struggling mightily, with a .188/.240/.261 slash line. He has somehow managed 9 RBIs in 19 games, despite hitting near the bottom of the lineup. Michael Brown, logging a lot of plate appearances because of injuries, has a .175/.232/.238 line. A bright spot has been firstbaseman Dwayne Hatcher, hitting .382/.455/.706 with 5 HRs and 14 RBIs.
Kansas City has been tough, and is running neck-and-neck with Eureka. The Hornets have to become sharper to repeat as division champions.
It is time now for the team to assert itself with better performance. Cy Young winner Jake Nelson (3-0, 1.24 ERA) is the only consistent starting pitcher so far. The others (Anthony Atkinson, 1-2, 4.94 ERA; Royce Butterfield, 2-1, 5.95 ERA; Bob Smith, 2-0, 5.23 ERA; Toshiki Koda, 1-2, 5.65 ERA) have been woefully inconsistent, if not downright poor. The bullpen has not been much better (William Nolan, 7.71 ERA; Carlos Nunes, 7.27 ERA; Claude Howard, 4.66 ERA) headline the underachievers. There is some good news: long man Mike Miller (2.13 ERA), middle reliever Dave Goodwin (.93 ERA) and setup man Pat Short (0.00 ERA) have been quite good.
On the offensive side, rookie slugger Gary Ferris has been struggling mightily, with a .188/.240/.261 slash line. He has somehow managed 9 RBIs in 19 games, despite hitting near the bottom of the lineup. Michael Brown, logging a lot of plate appearances because of injuries, has a .175/.232/.238 line. A bright spot has been firstbaseman Dwayne Hatcher, hitting .382/.455/.706 with 5 HRs and 14 RBIs.
Kansas City has been tough, and is running neck-and-neck with Eureka. The Hornets have to become sharper to repeat as division champions.
Friday, October 11, 2013
At Last
Eureka's fine starting pitching finally brought the Hornets to first place in the Sparky Anderson Division. However, the team is ranked 10th in home runs, with superstar Bergeron only batting .264 with 15 home runs. A nice offensive surprise has been Jack Watson, who has followed up a .217/.289/.365 14 home runs year with a .345/.378/.655 24 home runs year this year with 57 games remaining.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Hanging In
Eureka has been hanging in despite the loss of leading hitter Mike Bergeron, out for a month with a broken foot. Eureka's pitching has been strong, leading the league with the fewest runs allowed. The offense is inconsistent, but some of the hitters have been stellar, including Jack Watson (.381/.403/.679), Jesus Gonzalez (.366/.444/.683), and Bob Hennessey (.338/.384/.470).
A recent blow was the loss of #2 starter Royce Butterfield, out 2 to 3 months with a herniated disk.
If Eureka can find some offensive consistency, look out!
A recent blow was the loss of #2 starter Royce Butterfield, out 2 to 3 months with a herniated disk.
If Eureka can find some offensive consistency, look out!
Friday, September 13, 2013
Runs, Anyone?
Eureka is playing some pretty low scoring ball in the early going. The hoped-for maturation of the younger hitters has not happened yet. Outfielder Hatcher is hitting .203 in the early going, and Ito is doing even more poorly, at .171. In addition, starting centerfielder Gonzalez and starting rightfielder Otero are on the disabled list with early-season injuries.
The starting pitching, however, has not disappointed, with with a league-leading ERA of 2.66 to this point in the season.
The Hornets management hopes the team will produce enough runs to win consistently. Some bad contracts were cut last season, and the full brunt of the full load of those contracts are being felt this season, so there is no wiggle room to add an additional veteran bat or two.
The starting pitching, however, has not disappointed, with with a league-leading ERA of 2.66 to this point in the season.
The Hornets management hopes the team will produce enough runs to win consistently. Some bad contracts were cut last season, and the full brunt of the full load of those contracts are being felt this season, so there is no wiggle room to add an additional veteran bat or two.
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